So close
Bears come up short in fifin nal seconds ag ai n s t U N I
P a ge 6
Tuesday • February 1, 2011 • Vol. 104 Issue 18
Briefs University cancels Tuesday classes
All day and evening classes at Missouri State University are canceled for today because of an expected winter storm. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning effective 6 a.m. today. Missouri State announced the cancellation around 9:30 p.m. Monday via text and e-mail alerts. At 10 p.m. Monday, the National Weather Service was predicting 10-14 inches of snow. Other school closings in the area include Drury University, Evangel University, OTC and Springfield R-12 public schools.
Attracting a full house
SGA commends Bears Backing Haiti
On Tuesday, Jan. 25, the Student Government Association passed a resolution commending campus individuals and organizations whose contributions helped to make the attainment of the Bears Backing Haiti Project’s goal a reality.
African American Heritage Month
Missouri State University opens African American Heritage Month with a kickoff ceremony from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. today in the Crystal Ballroom of Kentwood Hall, 700 E. St. Louis St. The event features dances, speech, songs and poetry. The theme “African American Warriors: Civil War Before and Beyond,” is based on the National African American Heritage Month theme of African Americans and the Civil War.
Calendar February 1 to February 7
Tuesday
Student Activities Council meeting, 4 p.m., PSU 313 Student Senate meeting, 5:30 p.m., PSU 313
Wednesday Life After MSU, 5 p.m., PSU
Speed Networking, 5 p.m., PSU Ballroom West Interfranternity Council meeting, 5:15 p.m., PSU 313 Panhellenic Council meeting, 6 p.m., PSU 313
Thursday Chinese New Year
Staff Senate meeting, 4 p.m., PSU 313 Life After MSU, 4 p.m., PSU Students for a Sustainable Future meeting, 4 p.m., Temple Hall pit
Monday
Residence Hall Association meeting, 4 p.m., PSU 313 Bear Blitz Volunteer Team meeting, 6 p.m., Siceluff Hall
Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD
Attendence at Lady Bears games (above) and other MSU events has been low due to economic difficulties.
Filling all of the seats at events can be difficult By Rachel Bonar The Standard
It’s the beginning of a new year, and JQH Arena, along with Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts, are looking for audiences to fill their seats. However, MSU officials said sometimes reaching full attendance can be a problem. “I think the economy is playing a role in the difficulties, especially when it comes to companies and organizations,” said Stewart Davis, director of marketing and promotions in the athletics’ development department. “We are finding their discretionary dollars for employee benefits and activities are being cut, which means fewer ticket sales from that segment.” To help offset the effects of today’s economy, athletic events are being made more affordable, Davis said. “It is also important during these times that we really promote the affordability of our events,” Davis said. “We have kids 12 and under free to all football games and Monday through Thursday basketball games. For Lady Bears basketball, tickets start at just $7 and Bears tickets
start at $10. We are working to make MSU athletics a viable option for families during these tougher economic times.” Ticket sales at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts have seen some effects of the economy as well, said Deborah Gallion, director of marketing and promotions at Juanita K. Hammons Hall. “In today’s world, we are specifically dealing with an economic downturn that makes disposable income even tighter, as well as an increasing inclination to access entertainment individually, online, on-demand and in one’s own personal space rather than in a shared public environment,” Gallion said. “It is a trend that demands that arts and entertainment rethink how we present and how we market.” Along with economic problems, types of artists may not draw in large crowds of people, Gallion said. “We have 2,200-plus seats in our venue,” she said. “Our mission is to present a wide range of artists to the campus community and the community at large, and some of those artists will not draw a crowd of 2,000 or even 1,000 patrons. We often have shows with small but very enthusiastic and appreciative audiences.” There are many ways that events are promoted to help bring up attendance, Gallion said. “For most of our shows we have media underwriters, generally radio, television stations and sometimes print media, who run promotional spot schedules and ads for the shows. We also sometimes do on-air and online promotions to give away tickets and further promote the
By the Numbers
11,000
JQH Arena filled to capacity
10,655
Largest attendance at a Bears game this season
7,574
Average attendance at a Bears game this season
2,264
Juanita K. Hammons Hall filled to capacity
event.” Gallion said, along with media promotions, special discounts are offered to increase audience size. “We can also offer special discount opportunities to move ticket inventory,” Gallion said. “We have student discount tickets available to most of the shows that we present. We also provide tickets to local charitable events throughout the year — for silent auctions, door prizes and more — and this provides promotion for the See SEATS page 2
Chinese New Year celebrated with festival on campus By Kaycie Surrell The Standard
The campus community kicked off the Chinese New Year with a banquet last Friday in the Plaster Student Union Ballroom. The Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Every year the festival begins Feb. 3, the first day of the lunar month, and lasts for fifteen days, ending with a lantern festival. The Chinese New Year festival makes the American light-andChristmas-tree act seem quite small. For Friday’s celebration, the PSU Ballroom was filled to the brim and covered in red, a color symbolizing good luck. Every table was full, leaving only standing room, which was hard to find. Attendees were dressed to the nines in party attire. They spoke excitedly and animatedly about the night’s celebration and coming year, the year of the rabbit. The Chinese New Year is an extremely important celebration that exemplifies the very essence of “out with the old and in with the
new.” It is a holiday rooted in Chinese mythology that would scare the pants off of jolly ol’ Saint Nick. “There was a monster called ‘Nian,’ which is an evil (monster) living in the ocean, but always came out to kill people and destroy houses on the last day of the lunar calendar year,” said Peng Zhang, a business administration graduate student. “So ancient Chinese people decided to banish ‘Nian’ through fireworks and firecrackers when it came out, and this really worked. Then people kept doing this on every last day of the lunar calendar, and it became a big festival for Chinese people.” The celebration also utilizes traditional activities that everyone can appreciate like eating lots and lots of food. There is usually a feast on the eve of the new year, when people enjoy various dishes and sweets. The PSU banquet offered a variety of Chinese foods like mapo tofu, Kung Pao chicken and dumplings. Laura Searcy, a senior with an individualized major in Chinese language and culture, spent last year’s Chinese New Year celebra-
Britney Shryer/THE STANDARD
Patrons of the Chinese New Year Banquet in the PSU Ballroom were entertained with song and dance performances. tion in Quingdao, China. Searcy celebrated the festival with a Chinese friend, she said. Though they celebrated with food, drinks and fireworks, the intensity of the celebration was unique. “It’s like a war zone when you’re there,” she said. “It’s a long time, so it’s just constantly really
loud. Car alarms go off nonstop. It’s really awesome.” The festival lasts for fifteen days, and there are traditional activities that take place each day. The first day through the 14th day are spent visiting with family and See FESTIVAL page 8