THE STANDARD M I S S O U R I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
VOLUME 110, ISSUE 11 | THE-STANDARD.ORG The Standard/The Standard Sports
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016
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He’s back Jason Kander returns to campus two weeks before Election Day Hanna Sumpter Staff Reporter @hannasumpter The Democratic candidate for Missouri’s United States Senate seat, Jason Kander, gave a short speech to students and other members of the community last week at Missouri State University. About 30 people gathered into a lecture room in the Plaster Student Union on Tuesday, Oct. 25, to hear Kander speak about millennial stereotypes, college affordability and student debt. James Moore, president of the College Democrats at MSU, said he and many young people would be motivated to vote in November to make changes in the government by changing the people the citizens send there. He then introduced Kander, calling him, at one point in his opening speech, a “trustworthy, hardworking” person. As Kander stood at the podium, he spoke about the stereotypes of laziness and self-centeredness placed on millennials. Kander believed that this stance was unfair. “I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the idea that there are a lot of people in MEGAN BURKE/THE STANDARD this generation that prefer for their personal idea of who they are, their personal identity, Jason Kander, democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks for the second time at to line up with who writes their paycheck, Missouri State, just 14 days before the election. for their job to line up with what it is they
want to do in the world,” Kander said. Kander said he saw this as “a service-centered endeavor” from millennials. Kander also added that “it seems like politicians in Washington talk about (college affordability) as if it is the only issue motivating the millennial generation, as if it’s motivating them purely out of self-interest.” When Kander transitioned at this point in his speech to college affordability, he spoke out about the debt people are faced with as an issue that does not only affect people from the ages of 18-25. Kander asked the audience about their student loans, whether they had some of their own or if they were being affected by the student loans of others. Most of the audience had their hands raised for one side or the other; one woman even raised her hand for both. “I have met an awful lot of people, of all ages, for whom college affordability affects their lives financially no matter what age they are and no matter whether or not it is their loans,” Kander said. “It affects the middle class families across the generations and that, I think, is why it is such an issue for the millennial generation, more so than just for their own student loans; it is also about their kids’ student loans.” Kander, as he has before, addressed Mis-
u See KANDER, page 8
Congressional debate comes to campus
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Congressional candidates, Democrat Genevieve Williams and Libertarian Benjamin Brixley, participated in an open debate on Wed. Oct. 26. Chloe Skaar Staff Reporter @chloeskaar Congressional candidates, Democrat Genevieve Williams and Libertarian Benjamin Brixley, participated in an open debate hosted on Missouri State’s campus last week. It was moderated by two MSU communication professors: Dr. Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk and Dr. Eric Morris. The debate was held in the Plaster Student
Union Theater on Oct. 26. It was sponsored by the Center for Community Engagement and the Holt Spicer Debate Forum. Current seat holder for District 7, Billy Long, was also invited to the debate but did not respond to the invitation. Williams made clear her distaste for Long’s lack of recognition of the debate, which was first acknowledged by Dudash-Buskirk. “It is not in the best interest of the democracy that Long represents for him to not be here,” said Williams, receiving applause from
the audience. “I find it very disrespectful that he could not be bothered to show up.” Both candidates insinuated during the debate that the current focus on the community’s drug problem would be altered under either administration. Williams said she would eventually like to see an end to the funding of the War on Drugs. “It’s a failed cause, just like prohibition was,” Williams said. She also said she is in support of the full legalization of recreational and medicinal marijuana.
Brixley agreed, saying he would also vote for the legalization of marijuana use and that he thinks prison inmates would be better off in rehabilitation centers. “We have to fight these old set of beliefs that marijuana cannot be utilized as a medicine,” Brixley said. The two candidates did, however, have opposing stances on Missouri’s recent passing of legislation that granted citizens simpler restric-
u See DEBATE, page 9
Ruddick charged with multiple crimes Alec McChesney Staff Reporter @Alec_McChesney On Nov. 15, Missouri State quarterback Breck Ruddick will be brought to trial on charges of cruelty to animals and allowing a dog to run at large. The charges were pressed because of an incident that oc-
curred in September that resulted in a friend’s dog suffering a broken jaw and numerous missing teeth. Springfield Animal Control ticketed Ruddick on Sept. 15 for his role in the incident. The sophomore quarterback was accused of cruelty to animals and dog at large. On Thursday of last week, Springfield Chief Municipal Prosecutor Carl
Yendes announced the charges would be filed. The first charge, cruelty to animals, comes from Sec. 18-9 (a) of the Springfield Municipal Code, which states: “No person shall be cruel or inhumane to any dog or cat by beating, torturing, kicking or any other physical abuse.” The second of the two charges comes from Sec. 18-53
(a): “It shall be unlawful for any person owning, controlling, harboring, possessing, or having the management or care of any dog to permit such dog to run at large.” Both of the charges are being handled in the Springfield Municipal Court. Each charge has the possibility of a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and/or up to 180 days in jail.
Ruddick, 20, has been accused of beating his friend’s dog that he was caring for during the morning of Sept. 20. The friend, Katie Riggs, is a student at Missouri State University as well. The incident between Ruddick and Riggs’ dog, Luca, led to the loss of several of Luca’s u See RUDDICK, page 8
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Second half rally: Page 6