3.29.11

Boomer!

M e e t t h e ma n behind MSU’s fun-loving ma s c o t

P a ge 6

Tuesday • March 29, 2011 • Vol. 104 Issue 25

Cuonzo, out.

Briefs Time and location changes for student body election debate

The time and location for the student body election debate and open forum has changed. The event will now be at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30, in PSU Ballroom West.

Students are encouraged to attend to become better acquainted with their ticket choices and better versed on the emphases of all platforms.

Professor receives funding for studies

Lynn Robbins, professor of biology at Missouri State University, received two awards totaling $116,000 from WEST, Inc. The awards will fund two studies designed to determine potential risk factors to endangered bats from the operation of wind energy facilities in northern Missouri.

The studies will employ a minimum of eight students from the biology department throughout the summer. Most of the students will be graduate students working on various bat research projects dealing with conservation of Missouri’s bats.

Calendar March 29 to April 4

Tuesday

SAC meeting 4 to 5 p.m., PSU 313 Student Senate meeting 5:30 to 8 p.m., PSU 313 Escape from Polygamy: One Woman’s Journey 7 to 8:30 p.m., PSU Theater

Wednesday

New York Times Faculty Workshop and Luncheon 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., PSU 314 Coronary Health Improvement Project session 12:15 to 1 p.m., Taylor Health and Wellness conference room Group Nutrition Counseling: Cholesterol and Diet 4 to 5 p.m., Taylor Health and Wellness conference room Interfraternity Council meeting 5:15 to 6 p.m., PSU 313 Panhellenic Council meeting 6 to 7 p.m., PSU 313 Spring 2011 Public Affairs Convocation Lecture: Nancy Lublin 7 to 8 p.m., Juanita K. Hammons Hall

Thursday

The New (and Old) Ways Students Cheat: What You Can Do About It noon to 1:15 p.m., Meyer Library 204 CHHS Student Research Symposium 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., PSU Ballroom Golden Key meeting 4 to 5 p.m., PSU 313 Group Nutrition Counseling: Focus on Fiber 4 to 5 p.m., Taylor Health and Wellness conference room Students for a Sustainable Future 4 to 5 p.m., Temple Hall Pit Special Response Team 5 to 6 p.m. Strong Hall 201 Coronary Health Improvement Project session 5:15 to 6 p.m., Taylor Health and Wellness conference room Exercise Science Association: Guest Speaker – Dr. Griesemer 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Kings Street Annex 119

Friday

Ecopalooza 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., North Mall Board of Governors meeting 1 to 3 p.m., West Plains campus First Annual African American Image Awards 7 to 9 p.m., Kentwood Hall 2011 Relay for Life Bank Night 5 to 7 p.m., PSU 308 Author Kevin Brockmeier speaks 7 to 9 p.m., PSU Theater

Kyle Moats

Michael Gulledge/THE STANDARD

Kyle Weems

Michael Gulledge/THE STANDARD

Kevan Elkins/TNJN

Cuonzo Martin speaks at a press conference in Knoxville, Tenn., after accepting his new job as the Tennessee Volunteers head basketball coach.

Around midnight Saturday: Martin informs Moats he will visit UT Saturday evening: Martin informs Moats of interest in Tennessee job

Martin accepts coaching job at Tennessee

By Jon Poorman The Standard

The saying goes, “All good things must come to an end.” For Cuonzo Martin’s coaching career at Missouri State University, the end came Sunday afternoon after three seasons on the job.

Martin stepped down from his role as the Bears’ head basketball coach to fill the vacancy at the University of Tennessee.

“When opportunities knock and present themselves at such a high level, you have to figure out what’s best for you and your family," Martin said at a press conference in Knoxville on Monday. “My timetable is I plan

Around 6:30 p.m.

Sunday: Martin meets with players and informs them of decision

Between 2 and 4 p.m.

Sunday: Moats is informed that Martin will take UT job

on being here for the duration. My job is coaching every day one day at a time, God willing, so the next day I can continue to coach this team. I don't look 10, 15 years down the road because nothing’s guaranteed.”

The deal with the Volunteers came after Martin and MSU were unable to reach an agreement on a 6-year extension, which was offered to Martin on March 7, said Kyle Moats, MSU director of athletics.

Moats added that he would not discuss the terms of the extension offered to Martin.

However, he said alumni, students, donors, fans and the entire Bears nation should be grateful for Martin’s contributions.

“When you take a job, the goal is to leave it in better shape than when you inherited it,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any question that coach Martin and his staff have done that. In his three years, he has done what he was hired to do, which is win, develop student-athletes on the court and

7 p.m. Sunday: Moats holds press conference to discuss coaching situation with media

prepare them for life after basketball.

While doing all this, he has exhibited class, consistency and optimized a true role model.”

Freshman guard Nathan Scheer said the reality of the situation hit the team hard once Martin’s decision was announced.

“Everybody was pretty upset,” he said. “We had heard rumors and stuff about it, because I mean, it’s been going on for a while now. But just to hear it all happen came pretty quickly on us.”

Junior forward Kyle Weems, the player who Martin helped mold into the MVC Player of the Year, said Martin met with the team at around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

“He just appreciated us, because without us, none of that would be possible,” Weems said. “He did everything in his power to put himself in a position, and this is just the art of the business. I’m just going to try to take See MARTIN page 10

Moats on search 1. Successful pedigree “We want someone from a culture of winning.”

2. Proven recruiter “It is the life blood of our program.”

3. Compliant “This is non-negotiable.”

4. Involved with community and donors 5. Academic priority 6. Ability to develop players “It has to be the right fit. I want someone who understands who we are as institution, wants to be at Missouri State and wants to be a part of the Ozarks.”

Q&A with student body election candidates Reporting by Rachel Bonar and Amanda Hess The Standard

The Standard: What do you perceive to be the biggest area of concern for students?

Scott Turk: I would say letting your voice be heard; that’s why we incorporated it within our very first three words. We want to listen to them, respond to them, ask them questions, gauge their interest, see where they truly need their needs met.

TS: How do you plan to help students get through the budget cuts and the difficulties it will bring?

Emily Bernet: I’ve got a lot of experience with kind of what’s going on in the budget cut, just because I’m a member of cabinet in SGA. The budget for Missouri State isn’t actually looking too bad.

There’s a 7 percent cut. Missouri State has a lot of reserves that will actually be able to cover part of that. So something we were really looking into was just making sure that, if there’s going to be a budget change, if the amount of cost per credit hour is going to go up, that students have a say in this. That they say, ‘You know, I understand that there could be a change, but this is how I want it done.’

ST: Another thing with the

budget cut is that we want to ensure those cuts aren’t from things that the students really need. Cuts infer that you’re either going to be losing specific programs or specific things that students might be really passionate about.

TS: What’s the main reason why you want to be SGA president and vice president?

ST: I would say it’s primarily because it’s something that Emily and I both know we can do, and we can do well. And every single thing about the position just seems like something I would absolutely love, every single minute of every day. If we are elected, I think I would just live for it every single day, basically.

EB: It’s really cool because Scott and I decided to run almost a year ago together. So we’ve been able to really gauge things; research a lot of things that students are concerned about and kind of, almost prepare a little bit.

TS: On your platform, it says you want to encourage the recipe of Bear Sauce to be revealed. We were just wondering why that was one of your platforms you found important and would you still try if Sodexo doesn’t renew their contract?

See TURK page 9

Reporting by Rachel Bonar and Amanda Hess The Standard

The Standard: Why do you believe you should be SGA president and vice president?

Ally Layton: Well, I think that Emily and I have wide-spanning campus involvement. I think we’re very passionate about what we do.

We want to look for the betterment of Missouri State as a whole rather than any type of title or anything associated with it. I think that we just really want to help out the campus; and I think that, with our wide campus involvement, we kind of cover a lot of areas of campus.

Emily Hollander: I also think that, when Ally and I get to talking with each other and to other students about SGA, and even with some of the administration, we both get really excited. I know early this week we were speaking with some individuals, and when we left that meeting, we both felt so energized and excited. We really feel that we made a good decision by choosing to run.

TS: What do you perceive to be the biggest area of concern for students?

AL: That’s tough because all students are really different. I think one of the biggest areas of concern

for students right now is the fact that, since our name changed in 2005, I think Missouri State’s moved in such a positive direction in terms of school spirit and campus pride and unity. But I think that unity needs to expand even more. I think that we all need to have a united Missouri State pride to put our university on the map. I think there are so many different ways we can do that, but in terms of an overarching problem for students or an overarching kind of them, that’s what I see.

TS: You want to increase hours in Meyer Library’s proctoring center. I was wondering if you have any ideas for how to fund that.

AL: In terms of funding, I’m not entirely sure how to go about that, honestly. I don’t have a specific university entity in mind. I know that, in order to increase the library hours, we’ve kind of been creative and had creative solutions in terms of moving custodial staff to different hours or different areas of the library. We’re going to have to be creative in our solution, and I also think it’s also not just going to come from the two of us. I think that we need people on committees assessing things like that — students with diverse backgrounds See LAYTON page 8

2

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Standard

News

Color-blind students have trouble with campus parking lot signs SGA working on project to make markers more colorblind friendly

By Megan Gates The Standard

Amanda Goff, a freshman entertainment major, is colorblind and has difficulty reading the parking lot signs around campus. She decided to call the Transportation and Safety Office to see what would happen if she got a ticket for accidentally parking in the wrong lot and what she could do to fight it.

“I noticed right when I got to school that (Missouri State University) had the green and blue parking, and they also had yellow and red,” Goff said. “In my English class, we had to write a paper about a problem on campus. So I called down to the (Department of Safety and Transportation) and was like, ‘Are you aware that colorblind stu-

dents are having trouble parking on campus?’

“The lady who answered the phone didn’t say anything. She just flat-out laughed at me and was like, ‘Well, we have an officer here that’s colorblind, and he doesn’t have a problem with it.’ She said if students are colorblind they need to memorize the lot numbers.”

Goff said she asked the employee what would happen if she got a parking ticket due to her colorblindness and was told she would be ticketed and couldn’t appeal it.

“I asked her what would happen if I were to park in the wrong spot because I’m colorblind. She said I would get a ticket,” she said. “The employee said they wouldn’t tow my car because it’s such a hassle, but that they might put a boot on it and that I couldn’t appeal it. They wouldn’t take being colorblind as an excuse.”

Larry Combs, transit supervisor, said he was unaware of Goff’s phone call to the Transportation and Safety Office.

“I was not aware that we had had a student call the office requesting help,” he said. “The

employee’s response who handled the call was inappropriate and will be dealt with accordingly, as the only tickets that are not appealable are those issued for meter parking and disabled parking.”

Goff said she was in such shock that she couldn’t remember the name of the woman who answered the phone.

“It made me feel dumb, upset and mad that she acted that way,” she said. “I would have liked her to not have laughed at me; to have asked what the problem was, if they could help, or if I’d like to talk to the officer who is colorblind.”

Austin Kramer, SGA director of administrative and informational services, said he’s working on a project to make the parking lot signs more colorblind friendly.

“Our original changes that started last semester were to rename the parking lots with a building name and a direction,” he said. “A student came to us and raised the colorblind issue, and we decided we wanted to incorporate that into our original project.”

Kramer said the new signs would have the same format but

would have the color of the lot written on them.

“We would keep the same unified format with the colors of the lots remaining the same,” he said.

“However, we’d write the color of the lot underneath the color symbol on the sign so colorblind students could identify the lots.”

SGA has been working with the Transportation and Safety Office to implement these changes, Combs said.

“This past week, we had a meeting with SGA to discuss colorblindness,” he said. “We discussed the idea of putting symbols on the signs to better help students tell the difference between lots.”

Approximately 8 percent of men and 0.8 percent of women are colorblind, with red-green colorblindness in men being the most common, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

In the normal human eye, there are three cones that allow a person to see color, according to the CDC. However, a person who’s colorblind may have one or more of the cones missing or damaged, making it difficult to distinguish between

different colors.

Due to a rare eye disease, Goff can’t tell the difference between yellow and green or blue and black, she said.

“My brother and I are the only people they know of so far who have (this combination of) disease(s),” she said. “Right now, they’re diagnosing it as Rod/Cone Dystrophy and Retinitis Pigmentosa. We can’t see perfect vision no matter what they do. We’ll experience colorblindness, and eventually we’ll go blind. They don’t know when. It could be four months from now or four years, but sometime we’ll go blind. They don’t know why it happens, and there is no cure because it’s so rare.”

Goff said that, while she still has her sight, she would like the parking signs on campus to be changed to be more colorblind friendly.

“I’d like to see a shape with a color added to the sign,” she said.

“That way I’d know the blue square I can park in but the yellow circle I can’t. Still keep the colors, just add a shape to it so it’s not solely dependent on the color.”

President Cofer appoints committee to campaign for smoke-free campus

By Nick Simpson The Standard

As businesses around Springfield and the country close their doors on cigarette smoking, so are college campuses. Missouri State has already sported a rigorous smoking policy, but even that is about to change. President James Cofer has put together a committee to campaign for a smoke-free campus.

Earle Doman, vice president of Student Affairs and dean of students, chairs the committee and discussed possible methods of breaking the news to students and enforcing the new policy.

“OTC was really one of the first universities in the country to go non-smoking,” Doman said.

“They still have violations that occur, but they have changed a way of thinking on their campus.

We shared this information at orientation last summer, and we’ll put a little more emphasis on it this summer. We expect by next fall there will be much more of a visible campaign.”

Doman recognizes the difficulties behind enacting this broad of a policy.

“We’re trying to talk about changing culture,” he said. “One of the things that was determined was, let’s not go ‘cold-turkey.’ Let’s start with an educational phase. But, there are violations that are occurring on campus right now.”

Doman said informing people is the key to enforcing the policy.

“Last fall, the weather was still nice, and there was a lady in her mid-20s smoking at the tables behind the student union at lunch time,” Doman said. “So I sat down, introduced myself and began visiting with her. Eventually I said, ‘Oh, by the way, you’re violating university policy.’ To which she responded ‘What!? Oh, I just didn’t know.’And that’s the typical response I’ve gotten from most people.”

Doman said there are many efforts get the word out to students, staff and faculty about the smoking ban.

“We’ll continue to put ads in the school paper, but unfortunately not everyone reads the school paper,” he said. “We’ve done campuswide e-mails, and I’m sure we’ll do that again.

We’ll have a statement from the president that goes to everybody. We’ll probably visit more forums. We have also visited with RHA and gone to (their) hall government meetings.”

Doman said the university is using resources to spread the word about the policy.

“We’re trying to change the cultural awareness,” he said. “But we need to have everybody involved. I can’t expect our Safety and Transportation Department will be our ‘smoking cops,’ but I would hope they would help in the process. One thing they’ve talked about are business cards with information on the smoking policy.”

Doman admits even he has trouble bearing the weight of a policy with such mixed feelings

behind it.

“I’m not a purist about this either,” he said. “I was headed off to a meeting the other day and was behind a person who was smoking, and I didn’t confront it. I just went to the meeting because, I have to admit I’m someone too, who if you tell me I can’t do something, I’ll say, ‘Well, what do you mean?’”

But Doman said he has faith in the policy and faith in the university to follow it.

“I think the overwhelming majority of people will cooperate. They just need to know,” he said.

“We’re not saying you can’t smoke; we’re just saying you can’t smoke here. For years, we haven’t allowed smoking in the buildings. Residence Life (and Services) has had designated smoking areas, and they’ve defined them even more lately. But they’ve already started communicating the aspect of going smoke-free, along with the campus, in a couple years.”

Doman said these changes reflect an overall national shift in opinion about cigarette smoking.

“We’re not forging new territory here, that’s for sure,” he said. “You are seeing evidence of different stances on smoking everywhere. We’re an educational institution. The facts are clear on the harmful effects of smoking and of secondhand smoking.”

There have been many different reactions from students about the ban, but as Doman had hoped, many are also finding some understand-

ing about the policy.

Brad Bower, a junior secondary education major, shared his thoughts.

“I don’t smoke myself, so I’m pretty much indifferent,” he said. “I think as long as it’s a safe distance from the building, I don’t see why not.

And, as long as they have a place to dispose the

See SMOKING page 9

Weekly Crossword © 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.

ACROSS 1 Ballyhoo 5 Astronaut Grissom 8 On the rocks 12 Wander 13 Suitable 14 Protuberance 15 Something unexpected 17 Forum wear 18 Charged bit 19 "Pop Goes the -" 21 Whiskers 24 Relative standing 25 Capri or Wight 26 Land boundary finder 30 Sheep's call 31 Impaired by age and dampness 32 Past 33 Smith and Jones, e.g.

35 Worry 36 Census statistics 37 Arouses boredom 38 Incite to action 41 Tavern 42 Hawaiian island 43 Encircle 48 Despot 49 Before 50 Become unraveled 51 Jekyll's bad side 52 Potent stick 53 Monetary penalty DOWN 1 120 min. = 2 2 Thee

3 Standard 4 Ottoman, for one 5 Profit 6 Boom times 7 Managers 8 Amount consumed 9 Dove's calls 10 Advantage 11 Transaction 16 Scepter 20 A deadly sin 21 Drool catchers 22 Birthright barterer 23 Winglike 24 Regulations 26 English county 27 Three feet 28 Curved molding 29 Deteriorates 31 Creche trio 34 Character 35 Way out there

Last Weekʼs Puzzle Answers

37 It holds the mayo 38 This and that 39 Simple 40 Roe provider 41 Author Harte 44 Coffee vessel

45 Mentalist Geller 46 A Bobbsey twin 47 Hair coloring

Tuesday

March 29, 2011

Don’t forget to vote next Tuesday

Getting mass emails can be annoying. That is especially true when you receive the same mass email more than once from the same person.

In the past week or so, I’ve been lucky enough to receive the same mass email multiple times from the same person. But this was an email I was actually glad to have fill up my inbox.

The email I’ve repeatedly received was from Missouri State’s president’s office. It was a reminder to vote in the upcoming elections. If this barrage of emails was for anything other than voting, I’d be pretty ticked off. But voting is different.

Even if the April 5 general election isn’t the most important election ever, students shouldn’t ignore it. Even if smaller elected officials like school board members and city councilmen can’t as easily stand for “hope” or “change” or be as flashy as Obama, they still have important jobs that can easily affect you and your family.

When I’m pissed off at my school board or city councilmen, it’s my duty to vote them out of office.

Or, if I like the job they’re doing, it’s my duty to

Greg Edwards Columnist

keep them in office.

That’s the beauty of living in a democratic republic. If I don’t like what my elected officials are doing at any level, I have the right and obligation to boot them out.

Some people may only vote in presidential elections and opt out of voting in “not as important” elections. Usually, students choose not to vote in either because they don’t know the issues or think they can’t vote because they are living away from home.

If you’re one of those types of students, I have some simple solutions.

First, take the time to learn about the issues.

With this new-fangled invention known as Google, it’s simple to educate yourself about any issue or candidate. No kidding.

For those of you who pull out the “I can’t vote because I’m in college” card, take the time to get an absentee ballot. If you get an absentee ballot, you can vote for your

hometown issues in the comfort of your dorm. Or, you can even register to vote in Greene County and skip the absentee ballot route. Either way works.

Even if it is a little cliché, Dr. Cofer had a great explanation for why people should vote.

“As we are reminded daily, not everyone around the globe is afforded the right — and responsibility — to vote,” Cofer said in his mass email. “I think the only thing worse than not having the right to vote at all is having the right and not exercising it.”

Yeah, this is an argument everyone gives for why voting is important, but it is true. As registered voters, it is our duty to put people in office who will not suck.

To go along with the general election that is available to all registered voters, students will also soon be able to vote for their student body president, vice president, use of Wyrick funds, changes to the SGA Constitution and a bunch of things up that alley.

This year’s election should be better than last year’s. Last year, the candidates for student body president and student

body vice president ran unopposed. Since they were running unopposed, they basically won automatically, which wasn’t very exciting.

“Yay! You beat … no one.”

Now, we will actually have a choice for whom to vote. I’m not going to endorse either ticket for student body president and student body vice president, but I have a pretty good idea of whom I will vote for. And so should other students.

Picking the two students who will represent our university for an entire year is a big deal.

So, take the time to vote on April 5. If you’re either not registered in Greene County, can’t go to your hometown on a Tuesday to vote or didn’t get an absentee ballot, then try to figure something out for the next election. Even if you’re too late for this election, just use it as a reminder to plan ahead for the next one.

Also, take the time to vote for Missouri State’s issues sometime during April 4-6. Since student body elections are done completely online and are open for more than one day, you don’t really have an excuse for not voting.

Cartoon by Rachel Brown

It’s nice to have options again in SGA election

It’s student body election time again, and thankfully we have two options for student body president and vice president this time around as opposed to just one.

Don’t get us wrong. Swett and Mellish achieved a lot this past school year, but it’s refreshing to have options again.

Your two options are the following: Scott Turk and Emily Bernet on one ticket or Ally Layton and Emily Hollander on the other.

Though both tickets boast a lot of SGA experience, The Standard believes Layton and Hollander are the stronger candidates.

Though experience is good, a well-organized platform is even better. Layton and Hollander not only boast a strong platform but also one with clear themes of sustainability, diversity and transparency.

It’s very obvious from a cursory reading of their platform what these ladies identify as important issues on campus and what they plan to represent if elected.

Both tickets feature feasible ideas that can be easily accomplished as well as some more pie-in-the-sky type ideas. As an organization, SGA’s purpose is to lobby for student interest, so why not have some far-out ideas?

(Note: Revealing the recipe for Bear Sauce does not fall under “feasible ideas” or even “pie-in-the-sky ideas.”)

What’s reassuring about Layton and Hollander’s more difficult platform points is that they openly admit these ideas will require teamwork and creativity to come to fruition.

During their Q-and-A session with The Standard, they answered honestly when they didn’t know where funding for some of their ideas would come from. Again, reassuring that they recognize this.

Student body polls open April 4 and close April 6.

Regardless of which ticket you choose, you’ll be voting for an experienced, well-spoken candidate whose vice president is named Emily.

However, if you want a student body president and vice president who are in tune to the needs of all sectors of the student body — commuters, dorm dwellers, fraternity and sorority life, Honors College students, international students — Layton and Hollander are the clear choice.

Martin’s departure stings, but it was going to happen eventually

Here’s the thing about Cuonzo Martin: The man has interesting stories coming out his ears. By now, almost everyone on the Missouri State campus has heard the inspiring story about how he was diagnosed with nonHodgkins lymphoma at the age of 26, fought the disease and won.

If you prefer a rags-toriches sports story, there’s the one about Martin taking over a depleted men’s basketball program at MSU in 2008, recruiting new talent and developing the talent he had, and turning the Bears into a Missouri Valley Conference champion in just three seasons.

But perhaps the most telling Cuonzo Martin tale — and the one that best represents why he no longer has an office in Hammons Student Center — came at the Coach of the Year banquet earlier this month in St. Louis when Martin accepted that award.

With tears in his eyes, Martin told the audience that his mom took him and three siblings to open houses in Chesterfield, Mo., and how

The Standard

Kevin Agee Guest Columnist

oddly familiar the atmosphere felt to a family that lived in East St. Louis.

“We’d fall asleep in those beds like we were at home,” he said. “And she said, ‘You can have this one day, but you have to dream past what you see right now.’” *** Yesterday, Cuonzo Martin left Missouri State behind and was introduced as the new head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. Some members of the MSU community are bitter about his departure, and it’s hard to blame them. Here was a dynamic young coach who just brought the school its first-ever championship and seemed to be committed to the program long-term.

Then Sunday happened.

Martin abruptly resigned, met with his players and sions are also welcome. The Standard reserves the right to edit all submissions for punctuation, spelling, length and good taste. Letters should be mailed to The Standard, 901 S. National Ave., Springfield, MO 65897 or e-mailed to Standard@Missouri State.edu.

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boarded a plane to Knoxville.

Just like that, he was gone.

It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Not now. Not at the benefit of Tennessee, who didn’t even seem to be in the picture in the coaching rumors surrounding Martin.

Consider this: The news was surprising enough to make ‘Cuonzo Martin’ a trending topic worldwide on Twitter on Sunday night.

So people are upset.

Some feel cheated. Others such as myself are just disappointed.

But if it didn’t happen Sunday night, it was going to happen down the road, and Missouri State fans need to embrace that reality.

Dreaming to be a head coach enabled ‘Zo to leave his alma mater, Purdue, and join the Missouri State family. Dreaming past what he saw allowed him to build the program from the ground up. Unfortunately, that mindset also ended his tenure three years to the day it began.

As the saying goes, coaches in any sport are hired to be fired. And if they’re not fired, they’re

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probably going to leave for a higher profile job. Steve Alford left this school for greener pastures at the University of Iowa more than 10 years ago.

Even Creighton’s Dana Altman, who spent more than 15 seasons coaching at Creighton, left the Valley for Oregon and the Pac-10 Conference this year.

This is the high cost of success for mid-major men’s basketball programs such as the one at Missouri State.

Coaches move on, and loyalty is not part of the equation — especially when schools such as Tennessee can offer Martin an annual salary of $1.3 million for five years, more than four times as much as he earned at MSU. Martin’s mom encouraged him to have a vision and see beyond his environment.

Today more than ever, Missouri State fans need to embrace that attitude and focus on the big picture. The program is still here, even though Martin is not.

A coach with a dream to move up in the world will be Missouri State’s next head coach, anyway.

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Tuesday

March 29, 2011

Calendar March 29 to April 4

Tuesday

Art of Africa 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Meyer Library 306 Social Media Secrets and Strategies seminar 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Glass Hall 115, admission: $119.00 per person Women’s History Month keynote speaker: Carolyn Jessop 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., PSU Theater Spanish Movie Night presents: “Open Your Eyes” 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Siceluff Hall 225

Wednesday

Sixteenth Annual Senior Art Exhibition all day, Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts fourth and fifth floors

“Times Talk” kickoff event 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., PSU 314 ABC Quizical at the Q 7 p.m., Q Enoteca Spring 2011 Public Affairs Convocation Lecture: Nancy Lublin 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts SAC Films presents: “True Grit” 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., PSU Theater

Thursday

“My First Time” 7:30 p.m., Vandivort Centre

Multilingual Film: “The Yacoubian Building” 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Siceluff Hall 225

Friday

First Friday Art Walk 6 p.m., various downtown venues 17th Annual Auction 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Civic Center Exhibit Hall, admission: $25 Sarah Good: In the Space of Soil exhibit 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Brick City 110 SAC presents: Jack’s Mannequin concert 7 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., O’Reilly Family Event Center, admission: $12 or $22 First Annual African American Image Awards 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Kentwood Hall Crystal Ballroom SAC presents Rock ‘n Bowl 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., PSU Level One Game Center

Saturday

Play: “Jack and the Super Duper Way Big Beanstalk” 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., Skinny Improv Theatre, admission $5

Provost passionate for Gen Ed

G

By Amanda Hess The Standard

eneral education is something Belinda McCarthy, Missouri State’s provost, is very passionate about, and she has taken this passion with her through the colleges she has worked for.

McCarthy became MSU’s first provost in 2006. Before MSU, she was a professor of criminal justice and public affairs and dean of the College of Health and Public Affairs at the University of Central Florida for 16 years.

She began her administrative career at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as the associate dean for Social and Behavioral Sciences.

“I saw the opportunity back in Alabama to become an administrator and increase research and academic standing,” McCarthy said. “That’s what I like to do: increase academic standing and serve the students.”

As provost, McCarthy is in charge of all academic programs. Deans and support services on campus report to her. McCarthy said the re-evaluation of Missouri State’s general education requirements is the most important thing to happen in her career.

“Students need to pick up skills they will use for the rest of their lives here,” she said. “Skills like critical thinking and reasoning are extremely important.”

Students need a wide variety of skills to be flexible in a changing world, she said. Many people are worried that colleges aren’t teaching the skills students need.

“We want to be able to teach students how to read any newspaper, to be able to vote responsibly, things everyone needs to know as a citizen,” she said. “College is four years of your life and the last real chance you have to focus on learning. There isn’t a lot of security out there, and you need skills that will get you somewhere in this world.”

These skills take time, like putting together a puzzle, McCarthy said. You try many different things before you master the skill of knowing where each piece goes. Finding a way to teach those skills will take time as well.

“Re-evaluating general education requirements will not happen overnight,” she said. “It will take at least a year. We have a survey of the faculty and learning outcomes. It will take a while.”

One of the things that McCarthy likes to do is talk to faculty and students, she said. She speaks to many professors as part of the tenure process.

“I’ve really liked talking to faculty about their passions,” she said, “to hear what they like and about their research. That passion cuts across all areas of the university.”

She has learned a lot from her interviews with faculty, she said. Some have surprised her more than others.

“There are some things in physics that are very interesting,” she said. “I never would have thought physics was fun, but when you start to interact with it, you become interested. I played that game called Angry Birds; it’s so stupid, but it teaches trajectories. We need more ways like that to make those types of topics more accessible.”

Michael Gulledge/THE STANDARD

Missouri State Provost Belinda McCarthy aims for a well-rounded education for students.

One of the ways teachers have tried to make information more accessible is with blended classrooms, she said. Classes that are part lecture and part online could serve students’ interests. Programs that allow students to interact with what they are learning help with student understanding too.

“Everyone can get to (his or her) own level of ability and then people can discuss it,” she said. “I think faculty would enjoy classes much more with students coming into the lecture with a level of ability already in place.”

The new general education program will most likely be more rigorous than the current program, she said. Students would not be able to sleep through classes; they would have to stay

engaged in the lecture.

“My goal is for people to come out of classes thinking it was interesting and finding it fun but still learning what they need to,” she said.

“It will take a lot of effort. A happy medium is needed between students applying themselves and faculty trying to make things more interesting.”

McCarthy said she has no intention of leaving Missouri State anytime soon.

“I would like students to have the skills to live happily and productively for the rest of their lives,” McCarthy said. “I am in the best position to try to get things done. You change because you are either afraid or inspired: I would like to inspire them.”

Sunday

Students celebrate true colors

Monday

By Matt Kile The Standard

Musical: “Chicago” 2:30 p.m., Springfield Little Theatre

SAC presents: Zombie Week all day, North Mall

Spring boot camp 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., downtown YMCA, admission: $20 for Y members, $50 for non-members

Briefs Eco concert rocks for resources

Students for a Sustainable Future will host Ecopalooza, a free solar powered concert featuring a variety of bands along with vendors and activities that encourage ethical consumerism, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday at the North Mall.

Artists performing at the event include Cory King, Jesse and the Rippers, Jah Kings, Luna Jamboree, Luke Stanton and A Cub Bella. Vendors present at the concert include Global Fayre, James River Basin Partnership, Watershed Committee, The Coffee Ethic, Bo Brown Survivor Man, Gelato Mio and United Students for Free Trade.

The Indian Students Association hosted Tarang: Colors of India, a celebration of traditional Indian culture, Saturday evening in the PSU. Those in attendance were served a threecourse meal consisting of authentic Indian cuisine. Following the meal, attendants moved to the PSU Theater where performers presented Bharatanatyam, a traditional Indian dance form (right).

The evening concluded with a fashion show celebrating Indian style and Saathiya, a dramatic play in the Bollywood genre that blends love, drama, music and dance (bottom).

Matt Kile/ THE STANDARD

‘Aluminum’ mixes metal, music

“The Aluminum Show,” a lively theatrical experience mixing special effects, acrobatics, jazz and modern dance, aluminum costumes and puppetry, will come to Springfield for an 8 p.m. performance at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts on Friday.

The show, which features inanimate industrial materials coming to life, will continue with a 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. performance on Saturday. Admission for the event ranges from $15 to $50.

Matt Kile/THE STANDARD

Matt Kile/ THE STANDARD

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Life

The Standard

5

Professor shares roots with students

By Rachel Bonar The Standard

Sharmistha Self, an associate professor in the economics department, lights up when she talks about her students. It is the glow of a teacher who loves what she does and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Born and raised in India, Self grew up in a different world.

“Whenever I talk to my students, I talk about the poverty in India; I personally did not belong to that class,” Self said. “Looking back now, things seem very strange. I grew up surrounded by servants who did all the work. Now, I kid myself. I have to cook my own food. I have to drive my own car and clean my own house. I had servants who did all of that for me. I didn’t know how to cook when I came here because I never had to cook.”

Self’s parents also had a great impact on her life. Originally from Bangladesh, Self’s mother was a descendant from one of the princely states.

“I used to tell my mother that she became a commoner after marrying my father,” Self said.

As for her father, he held the most influential role in Self’s life as she grew up.

“In my children’s life, I think I play much

When I go to India, initially when the plane touches India, I am in tears because I am so overwhelmed.”

more of a role in terms of helping them make decisions and choices than my mother did for me,” Self said. “It’s just something I accepted.

She was always there. She was always loving; however, when it came to major decisions, it was

Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD

always my father who made them. I always went to him for advice, and if I ran to my mother, I think that she would have told me to go talk to my dad.”

Today, Self still visits her parents on occasion. She often feels the pull of India and remembers her love for her first home.

“I am an American citizen, but my roots are in India,” Self said. “When I am here, there is a constant yearning that I have, even now after I have lived here for so many years. When I go to India, initially, when the plane touches India, I am in tears because I am so overwhelmed. But, after a week, I want to come back (to America).

My kids are here; everything is here.”

Growing up in India, Self remembers the traditions taught to her by her parents. She also remembers how they influenced the decisions that were made for her future. One of these decisions was that of an arranged marriage to someone she had never met before.

“My parents knew his family, and growing up in India, I didn’t question it,” Self said. “I wasn’t thrilled about it. They introduced me to him, and once I met him, I thought I loved him because I knew he was going to be my husband.

I was meeting him knowing this was the man I was going to marry. This is something I wouldn’t want for my children, but arranged marriages work. My parents had an arranged marriage, and

Associate professor of economics, Sharmistha Self is dedicated to her students.

they were married for so many years. The only good thing is that you go in with no expectations.

You don’t know the person, so what expectations could you have? But, it didn’t work out for me.”

Along with her arranged marriage, Self had to look to her future in academics as well. She was known as a good student and even won an international scholarship after high school. Her father wanted her to study in more analytical subjects, but Self had other dreams.

“I wanted to study art. I paint very well — at least I think I do. But, my dad said, ‘No, you are a good student and you are going to be an accountant,’ which my dad was, ‘or an economist.’ I had no idea what economics were about, and I remember the first day before college I cried my eyes out because I had no idea what I was getting into. My dad thought that was right for me, and now I’m glad I did it. I don’t know if I could be as successful as an artist.”

Later in life, Self came to the United States for graduate work with the help of a scholarship.

She graduated in 2002 with a Ph.D. and later accepted a job at Saint John’s University in St. Joseph, Minnesota.

“It is a private liberal arts college, and I loved the people. I loved the place and the students, but it was just too cold there,” Self said. “I just couldn’t handle it when it started snowing in April and May, so I decided to look for a job again. I have small kids. Now they are 11 and 13, but they seem small to me. I am a single parent, so even though I do research, I didn’t want to be at a research school where expectations for research would be very high.”

Today, Self spends her time raising her two children, teaching students and conducting research for soon-to-be published works.

“I have always been interested in gender studies,” Self said. “I am a developmental economist, which means I work with issues that See ROOTS page 8

Fantasy action flick ‘Sucker’ packs big punch

Who has two thumbs and was very excited to Karman see the new Zack Bowers Snyder film “Sucker Punch?”

Movie This girl and Reviewer probably a lot of you reading this.

Well, I got to see it, and let’s just say I was not disappointed.

In case you hadn’t heard about “Sucker Punch,” it’s about a young girl named Baby Doll (Emily Browning) who is imprisoned in a mental institute by her evil stepfather

and faces a lobotomy in five days. She and four other girls retreat to an alternate reality and devise a plan to escape.

And escape they must, for the world they actually live in is not pretty. (That’s not to say that the look of the film isn’t pretty, because this film looks fantastic.)

It’s dirty and it’s gritty, but at the same time, it’s beautiful. The color contrast is sharp, the girls are beautiful and the costumes are sexy. It’s highly stylized and definitely a Zack Snyder film. If you’ve seen “300” or “Watchmen,” then you know what I’m talking about.

There is an element of ridiculousness, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?

They’re retreating to a fantasy world where

they have these impractical outfits, defy gravity and fight dragons and reanimated Germans. It has to be ridiculous, but it’s so much fun.

Really, it just makes me want to put on a sexy costume, grab a big gun and kick some ass. I hope that’s not just me.

Anyway, let’s examine the story a bit. It wasn’t what I expected. It started off a little slow, and it took me a minute to figure out what was actually going on once Baby Doll fell into her world. There wasn’t much of a transition; it just kind of happened.

“Sucker Punch” is more of a action-driven movie than a story-driven one. The reasons for doing what they’re doing and why they are there, etc., don’t really make a dif-

ference. I never found myself actually caring about the characters; I just wanted to see them fight.

Then again, that’s what this movie is really all about, isn’t it? It’s an action fantasy. You’re not going to go see “Sucker Punch” for an emotional story line. You’re going to go to see pretty girls in skimpy costumes killing the bad guys.

I think this is a film that most people can enjoy. It’s visually stunning and full of large-scale battles and slow-motion shots.

Women can enjoy it because it’s all about strong women literally sticking it to the man and being sexy along the way. Men will enjoy it because, well, have you seen the costumes?

Tuesday

March 29, 2011

Scorebox

Baseball Friday, March 25 Oral Roberts 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 - 5 Mo. State 0 0 0 1 5 2 2 0 0 - 10 Sunday, March 27 Oral Roberts 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 - 5 Mo. State 00500010X-6 Softball Tuesday, March 22 Okla. State 00000001-1 Mo. State 00000000-0 Saturday, March 26 Indiana State 0001000-1 Missouri State 2201100-6 Sunday, March 27 Indiana State 0000010-1 Missouri State 3200100-6 Volleyball Saturday, March 26 Oral Roberts 0 Missouri State 2 Field Hockey Friday, March 25 (Four 20-minute scrimmages) Saint Louis 0 Missouri State 5 Saint Louis 1 Missouri State 0 Saint Louis 2 Missouri State 2 Saint Louis 2 Missouri State 1

Calendar

March 29 to April 4

Tuesday

Men’s golf away at UALR/First Tee Intercollegiate, 8:30 a.m.

Women’s golf away at UALR Classic, 8 a.m.

Wednesday

Baseball at home vs. Kansas, 6:30 p.m.

Friday

Baseball away at Saint Louis, 6 p.m.

Saturday

Baseball away at Saint Louis, 2 p.m.

Softball away at Illinois State, noon Track and field away at Razorback Spring Invitational, 9 a.m.

Volleyball away at UTA Invitational, all day Men’s soccer at home vs.

Mid-American Nazarene, 1 p.m.

Men’s soccer at home vs.

Northeastern State, 6:15 p.m.

Football at home Intrasquad Scrimmage, 10 a.m.

Sunday

Baseball at home vs. Saint Louis, 1 p.m.

Softball away at Illinois State, noon

Women’s soccer at home vs.

Missouri Valley College, 1 p.m.

Monday

Men’s golf at home Branson Creek Invitational, 8:30 a.m.

Briefs Bears complete first scrimmage of spring practice

The Missouri State football team played their first spring scrimmage over the weekend and got the chance to see some fresh faces.

Sunday’s scrimmage saw a total of 34 offensive plays that included 18 plays on the ground and 16 in the air.

Quaterbacks Trevor Wooden and Mitchell Jenkins split time running the offense and combined to go 10-for-16 in the air with 45 combined yards passing.

Jenkins was 8-for-12 with 38 yards passing while Wooden was 2-for-4 with seven yards in the air and 35 yards on the ground in six rushing attempts.

Mikel Cooper-Falls had the longest offensive play of the day: a 17-yard pick-up on thirdand-long toward the end of the session. The sophomore missed the entire 2010 season with a knee injury. Chris Douglas and Vernon Scott collected eight rushing yards apiece, while Stephen Johnston played but did not collect any carries.

Nine different receivers caught passes from the tandem, including a team-high two from Dan Reichert who rejoined the team this spring.

Spring practice will continue for the Bears. Their next scrimmage will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Plaster Sports Complex.

The man behind the mask Boomer is much more than a bear

By Harrison Keegan The Standard

It’s every musical theater major’s dream to perform every week in front of thousands of adoring fans. Senior Brandt Shields has lived that dream for the past two years. There’s only one catch — he doesn’t have any lines.

Shields has been playing the role of Boomer at most football, volleyball and basketball games at Missouri State. He said he has enjoyed the freedom of the characShields ter.

“You really get to make it your own,” he said. “There are a few things that we’re required to do, but otherwise I just go with the flow of how the game’s going.”

Shields said he feeds off of the crowd when he is in the suit and likes being part of the game-day experience for fans.

“I like being able to pump up the crowd and get things going,” he said. “I love being at all of the games and being part of the action.”

This year, Shields was the leader of Boomer’s crew. In addition to playing Boomer at many of the games, he was also responsible for scheduling who was in the Growl and Boomer costumes at games and community events.

This may seem like a full plate for some people, but for Shields, it’s only the beginning.

Maybe the busiest man at MSU, he serves as student governor on the

Matt Kile/THE STANDARD

Senior Brandt Shields has played the part of Missouri State’s mascot Boomer for the past two years.

Missouri State Board of Governors, leads tours with university ambassadors and emcees Bears baseball games.

Rachel Elder, a university ambassador with Shields, said she can see his personality come through whether he is working games or giving tours.

“I think he brings more enthusiasm than anyone we have on the team,” Elder said. “In and out of the suit, he lives for the Bears.”

Shields said he loves spreading the word about MSU, and in some ways, Boomer is the school’s biggest ambassador.

“Missouri State has so many

benefits to it that being able to go out and sell the university to perspective students is great,” he said.

“To see students who you’ve given a tour to come to the university the next year is a really cool feeling.”

Being student governor means that Shields represents the students to the Board of Governors. He attends Student Government Association meetings and other events on campus and then reports at board meetings every month and a half.

Next year, Shields will hang up the mascot suit and begin his master’s in business administration at MSU. “I’m really interested in the

business side of entertainment,” Shields said. “With theater and sports, there is so much that goes on behind the scenes that makes it all happen.”

Being part of that game-day entertainment for fans is what Shields will miss most about being Boomer.

“I’ll miss being part of the action,” he said. “It’s going to be tough not being Boomer anymore and going back to watching the games. You can’t dance around as much when you’re not in costume; people look at you kind of funny.”

Royals, Cards season outlook Royals should be excited Cardinals look to move for future, not this season past Pujols distraction Jon Poorman

Benjamen Loewnau

Sports Editor/ Royals fan

Sports Reporter/ Cardinals fan

I’m from Kansas City, so I’m a Royals fan by birth.

I grew up attending games at Kauffman Stadium, watching guys like Mike Sweeny, Joe Randa and Carlos Beltran. I’m a Royals fan, no matter what, even if they suck.

Last year’s 67-95 record wasn’t a surprise to anyone in Kansas City, trust me. Every year, before the beginning of training camp, you seem to hear the same old story about how this season might be the season the Royals break through. And by break through, I don’t mean make the playoffs. I mean not having a losing record.

The Royals haven’t had a winning record since 2003 when they went 83-79. Woohoo. I don’t even want to talk about playoffs. I don’t know what it’s like to experience the Roy-

als in the playoffs because it hasn’t happened in my lifetime. The last time they went was the year they won the World Series in 1985, four years before I was born. But even though every season seems to end the same way (somewhere in the range of 85105 losses), true Royals fans are loyal to their team and will always have hope.

The Royals have a lot of good, young talent coming up in their farm system, so it’s not crazy to say that in a couple of years they might have a pretty decent team. Guys like Eric Hosmer, Mitch Mustakas, Wil Myers, John Lamb, Mike Montgomery and Christian Colon help make up the No. 1 farm system in the

See ROYALS page 7

The hearts of Cardinal Nation collectively dropped when the deadline passed and no agreement had been reached between the St. Louis Cardinals and Albert Pujols.

For now, the choice has been made, and at 11 a.m. Feb. 16 the future of the St. Louis Cardinals may have been changed forever.

In the weeks and even months leading up to this deadline, the buzz had been around a deal of Alex Rodriguez proportions. Rumors of what MLB.com called a “sought after 10-year deal worth $300 million” had been swirling.

If this deal were to be agreed upon, Pujols, arguably the best player in the game today, would become the highest-paid player in major league baseball history.

Pujols would surpass A-Rod as

the highest-paid player. A-Rod made $33 million as a Yankee between 2009-10, according to ESPN.com.

Yes, the verdict is still out as to whether $300 million is appropriate, but when you look at the numbers and Pujols’ impact on baseball, what becomes evident is that no one today is more consistent.

It is hard to imagine $300 million being a reasonable figure, but the man who has been dubbed “the machine” deserves a little more of the money pie than he is currently enjoying.

Numbers cannot lie, and what Pujols has done since he has been in the league is Hall-of-Fame worthy.

See CARDS page 7

Spring practice kicks off 2011 season Bears make a change at QB, other positions

By Jon Poorman The Standard

Spring is here again, and that means one thing — college football.

The Bears opened their spring practices last Tuesday at Plaster Field, and although the team lost more than 20 seniors in the offseason, they are optimistic that the upcoming season can be a success.

“Well, it’s exciting,” head coach Terry Allen said of his team getting back on the gridiron. “We’ve got an awful lot of new faces. We’ll hopefully find out a lot by the time April 16 rolls around.”

Michael Gulledge/THE STANDARD The Bears are returning 31 The Bears will play Arkansas and Oregon in two of lettermen and nine starters their first three games of the 2011 season. from last year’s 5-6 team (4-4

in MVFC play).

Senior running back Chris Douglas, who rushed for 1081 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, said spring practice is the time to see who will play a major role for the Bears in the fall.

“It feels great,” he said.

“This is the time to see who’s going to step up. We’ve got to come together as a team because we’re pretty young.

We lost 20 plus seniors, and we’ve got to see who’s ready to step up and play against those big-caliber teams like Arkansas and Oregon.”

Douglas and fellow senior Stephen Johnston will make up a backfield that will once again feature two different types of running backs. Johnston is known more as the bruiser, while Douglas is the speed back.

“Having a season like I did, it makes your confidence pretty high,” Douglas said.

“But it also helps to have

another running back like Stephen Johnston by your side, because it’s hard to stop two running backs. So he takes a lot of pressure off me.

“After you pound somebody so many times, they don’t want to get hit anymore, and it’s easier to set up a move and outrun them,” he added.

“That’s why I really appreciate Stephen helping me out and taking those carries.”

Also joining the duo in the backfield is sophomore quarterback Trevor Wooden.

Wooden is taking over the play-caller reigns from fouryear starter Cody Kirby.

Despite the change, Allen said the offense won’t look too different from last season.

“From all indications of what we’ve been able to see, Trevor’s a little more elusive (than Kirby) as far as rushing the football,” he said. “We could do a little bit more quar See FOOTBALL page 7

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Sports

The Standard

7

Welber and Dolan are ‘one-one’ golfing punch for Bears Coach says junior team captains are top players

By John Cook The Standard

For St. Louis Cardinals fans, they’re his Carpenter and Wainwright. For horse racing fans, they’re his two best thoroughbreds. For women’s golf coach Kevin Kane, they’re not his onetwo punch — they’re his one-one punch.

Ever since the duo of Kelsey Welber and Catherine Dolan struck their first tee shot at Missouri State, the pair has been a dream come true for Kane.

“I wouldn’t say they’re my one-two-punch,” he said. “But rather they’re my one-one-punch. As a head coach, it’s not often you get two number one players.”

Welber’s and Dolan’s paths have been intertwined from their freshman year; even their living arrangements have been the same.

“We lived on the same floor in the dorms our

freshman year,” Welber said. “Right now, we both live with swimmers, basically in the same place right off campus. She majors in business; I major in marketing. So we even see each other on campus all the time.”

The two were named coteam captains their sophomore year, which is unheard of. Now, as juniors, they’re on their second tour leading the team.

“From their first year as freshmen, you could see they had that little something extra,” Kane said.

“There aren’t many teams that have sophomores as captains, but just the way they go about their business, it wasn’t a hard decision.”

Recently, both Dolan and Welber showed how dangerous they can be on the golf course.

Dolan won her first collegiate title on March 6 at the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz.

Dolan went in to the final round in fourth place, down two strokes. The Ballwin, Mo., native pushed ahead in the final holes, however, shooting a oneunder par 71 and finishing with a four-stroke victory.

“In the practice round, I really hadn’t been hitting it well, so I never saw it coming,” Dolan said. “But I started off with an eagle and a birdie, and that really gave me the confidence I needed to win.”

Welber had a similar performance at their last tournament, placing second at the Jackrabbit Invitational in Primm Valley, Calif.

Welber shot a record-setting 215 for 54 holes, firing 70-68-77 to finish second by two strokes. The second round 68 also tied the MSU record for 18 holes.

“Seeing Catherine winning the tournament before gave the team the confidence that we can shoot lower than we think we can,” Welber said. “It just goes to show that, when you’re focused and competitive, you can do whatever you set your mind to.”

Welber, who came all the way from Plano, Texas, said Missouri State was the perfect fit for her.

“Out of all the schools that I visited, I just loved the team,” she said. “The city was the perfect size.

The school was a perfect size, and it was probably the farthest north I would have gone considering the

Michael Gulledge/THE STANDARD

Kelsey Welber and Catherine Dolan make up a formidable duo for the MSU women’s golf team. They are both in their second year as team captains. weather.”

Kane said Dolan’s first trip to Missouri State ended in a similar result.

“Her and her parents came on a Friday, and you could just tell that it felt right,” Kane said. “The next morning in my office, she committed to Missouri

State right then and there. I had never had that happen before.”

Both women said winning another tournament and winning conference was their top goal.

“I think we’re all starting to realize we can shoot lower,” Dolan said. “We’re

not afraid anymore to try and reach for that next level.”

The team will finish the UALR Classic in Hot Springs, Ark., today before traveling to Waco, Texas, on April 11 to compete in the Baylor Spring Invitational.

Starting pitching key in Bears’ sweep of ORU Eagles

By Benjamen Loewnau The Standard

The offense and the pitching were timely for the Missouri State Bears baseball team in a two-game sweep of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.

For the Bears, the starting pitching proved to be vital, with seven innings pitched from freshman Nick Petree on Friday and five innings from sophomore Grant Gordon on Sunday afternoon.

“I think, really, the key for us is starting pitching,” head coach Keith Guttin said.

Both Petree and Gordon fanned six batters while only giving up a combined seven runs, all of which were earned runs.

Michael Gulledge/THE STANDARD Junior pitcher Dan Kickham folThe Bears now have a 13-9 lowed suit with the Missouri State starters by shutting the door on the record on the season.

Royals Continued from page 6

league, according to MLB FanHouse. The website also has Hosmer ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the league.

As a Royals fan, that is exciting to hear and gives me hope for the future. However, this season might be similar to last season. As

Football Continued from page 6

terback run stuff, but the basic premise of the offense will stay the same.”

The Bears start off their 2011 season with a tough test: facing Arkansas, a nationally ranked team from last season. In their third game of the season, MSU will face national championship runner-up Oregon, led by Heisman Trophy candidate LaMichael James.

much as it pains me to say, I don’t see any reason the Royals should be better than they were last year.

A lot of my reasoning has to do with the trading of Cy Young winner Zach Greinke.

But who knows, maybe the Royals will surprise everyone this year and finally break out of their long-endured losing rut. Or maybe we will have to wait a couple more years for our young prospects to mature. All we can do as Kansas

“Unfortunately, we’re going to face those teams with a lot of new faces, so that in itself is a task,” Allen said. “We can’t back out of the contract, and we’re going to play those games. They (the players) all know who we play this year. As far as work in the weight room and those things, we had a much higher work caliber because of it.”

Wooden said he is looking forward to the opportunity to face elite competition and is optimistic the Bears can give the Ducks and Razorbacks a lot to handle.

Oral Roberts offense with his third save of the year to give Missouri State the 6-5 win. “(I was) just glad to get the save, because coming out here, cold weather and everything, I’m just glad we got that win today,” Kickham said. “I think it was a good win for us.”

The weather over the weekend kept Missouri State and ORU from playing the entire series after the cancellation of Saturday afternoon’s game.

Despite the weather nearing freezing temperatures, Gordon only allowed three runs on the day.

Senior Blake Barber and sophomore Clay Murphy came out of the bullpen and held the Bears’ lead after the Oral Roberts’ bats started to show signs of life.

“Kickham’s been good, and (Grant Gordon) gave us a good start,” Guttin said. “I thought we

City fans is hope. Just hope.

Either way, we still have a beautiful, newly renovated stadium where we can throw back some brews, hang out with friends and family, and just enjoy the game of baseball.

Oh, and let’s not forget the 2012 All-Star festivities. This year may not bring much change, but Royals fans do have some things to look forward to in the next couple of years.

“I’m trying to put up some points,” Wooden said. “First things first, I want to air the ball out, right away, out the gates. I look to put up quite a few touchdowns against them.

“The way I look at it, all of them were born between 1987 and 1992, and I was born in 1990, so I’m right there in the middle of it, and I’m going to do my best to compete with them,” he added. “We walk on the same Earth, and we lift the same weights; so as far as I’m concerned, we’ve got a game ahead of us.”

pitched pretty well all day.”

Along with the starting pitching being a key throughout the weekend, the Bears’ ability to get down a few well-placed bunts was an improvement, Guttin said.

“We’re getting some bunts down,” he said. “We got some bunts down Friday and bunts down today, and they factor into those runs.”

Missouri State laid down a couple well-placed bunts in the third inning of Sunday’s ballgame, which contributed to the five runs scored that inning.

Junior outfielder Derek Mattea sent a two-run home run over the Missouri State bullpen with nobody out to start the third inning for the Bears.

From then on, the Bears had the lead and never looked back.

Junior first baseman Brent Seifert gave Missouri State some

Cards Continued from page 6

For the past 10 seasons, Pujols has guaranteed fans and followers an average of about 40 home runs per year, 123 runs batted in, while never dipping his batting average below .312.

Imagine losing this type of production from your lineup; now imagine not seeing No. 5 standing at first base.

Weird, right?

Well, not to worry, because amid all this talk of the Cardinals possibly losing Pujols after this season, an above-average team is taking the field all around him.

We take for granted that a man who has a career .317 batting average and has averaged 173 hits since he began his career in 2004 roams in

power as well with his two home runs in Friday afternoon’s matchup in Tulsa.

“I was seeing the ball well on Friday and put some good swings together and hit it hard. They just happened to go over the wall,” Seifert said.

Seifert’s home runs came in the fourth and fifth innings on Friday, and each home run came off of fastballs that he was able to get a piece of, he said.

Seifert’s two home runs accompanied Petree’s six strikeouts in seven innings pitched on the way to a 10-5 victory.

The weekend sweep for the Bears moves their overall record to 13-9 on the year with a 7-2 record at home at Hammons Field.

Next up, the Bears will play at 6:30 p.m. on March 30 at home against Kansas.

left field.

He goes by the name of Matt Holliday, and he’s not too bad himself, raking in $16.3 million last season.

We also are quick to forget that two perennial Cy Young candidates, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, toe the rubber every five days, with the exception of Wainwright this season due to Tommy John surgery.

Let us not forget threetime Gold Glove catcher Yadier Molina, who kneed all 20 innings of a nearly seven-hour game on April 17 of last season.

Then there are budding stars in 2010 Rookie of the Year candidate Jaime Garcia and center fielder Colby Rasmus, who are both 24 years old.

The point is that the Cardinals are more than capable of fielding a team that has a potential of 90plus wins without Pujols.

However, why would they

do that if one signature would allow him to be a Cardinal for the next decade?

Players like Pujols are not the type of players who come around all the time. He is a rarity and staple to the city of St. Louis.

It may be a broken record, but Pujols has been an irreplaceable piece of the team and the city over the past 10 years.

He has left such an imprint on the illustrious organization that his contract negotiations made the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the weekend before the deadline.

Giving hope to Cardinal fans across the country is something that has been known all along and needs to be held onto throughout this process.

On the day he reported to camp, Feb. 17, Pujols said one phrase that should be remembered: “I want to be a Cardinal forever.”

8

News

Roots Continued from page 5

affect developing countries, poor countries. You look at any developing country around you, and how can you not look at gender issues? I have many focuses, but gender is only one of them. Over time, it is just so evolved that [with] every topic and every idea that I want to look at, the more I end up finding the gender aspect to it.”

Along with her love for economics, teaching gives Self a sense of accomplishment. Economics, to her, is used every day and is a subject that everyone should learn something about. Economics is a subject that shows people what happens within the world.

“Once I came from India, I realized that students’ knowledge here was so narrow,” Self said. “They know so little about the world.

They barely know what is going on inside their own neighborhood and within their own circle, and they can just survive like that.

Sometimes when I’m in class, I will see their eyes getting big because they didn’t have a clue that this was how it goes.”

As a professor, Self shares her knowledge with her students, her children and the readers of her published work. She shows the world how economics is in everyday life and shares her knowledge on gender studies. As a woman with a life filled with experience, from India to America, Self has become a role model to some and an influential idol to others.

The Standard

Layton Continued from page 1

who have things to say. Two people can’t make all the decisions at the university; we’re going to need to collaborate on where that money needs to come from.

TS: How do you plan to help students get through the budget cut?

EH: Well, the budget cut — obviously that will be affecting students — but, like Ally mentioned, having creative solutions is an important part of what we’ll do. SGA is the student voice, obviously, and we’ll be taking all those concerns and addressing them with administration. How can we shift things around, or maybe alter things a little bit, but still keep things students are needing? So, getting creative is what we’ll have to do the most.

TS: Most of your platform is about sustainability, diversity and transparency. Why do you believe that these things are important for our campus?

AL: I’m extremely passionate about sustainability. I lived in Germany when I was 15; I was a student over there for a year. They’re extremely sustainable. I think we really need to be moving in that direction. If Missouri State as a whole can do that, that would be amazing. How progressive would that be for a university?

In terms of diversity, clearly I’m the director of equity and diversity, so I think it’s important that Missouri State values every single student for who they are, what they stand for and their diverse backgrounds.

In terms of transparency, there’s no reason why administrations or leaderships should ever have anything to hide. I know that there are some cases when you’re speaking with administration and things are very preliminary.

You don’t want to maybe get the word out on specific things because you don’t want to confuse students with too much information; but I think, in terms of what student government is doing for the students, it needs to be completely transparent. People need to know what SGA is doing, to have that

honest and ethical leadership component. It’s one of Missouri State’s pillars in its public affairs mission.

TS: One of the big issues is that students don’t pay attention to what SGA does. How do you plan to make students take SGA more seriously?

EH: We have several things with our communication-transparency portion of our platform. We’d like to make some video addresses to students. We’d like to maybe do an interview with The Growl; we know that would probably reach a different audience than maybe we have right now. Maybe having more attractions with you guys at The Standard. We have several different things like that — we’d like to address the students with those newsletters that are monthly, maybe a little bit more than that, and have the videos come out maybe twice a semester. We have a few things detailed in our platform to help get to know students. And also just talking to students; maybe student leaders are busy, but I think that’s important to take time to talk to students.

AL: And also, I think because we come from such diverse campus backgrounds, such diverse campus leadership, kind of overarching campus leadership, the people who we know are going to care about what’s happening in our administration. I think that’s going to help us a lot, if we’re elected, in the long run because people are going to say, ‘Hey, Ally and Emily, you said you were going to do this. Let’s keep you accountable. Let’s do it.’

Also in our platform, we mention the State of the Students Address. Currently, President Cofer does a State of the University Address, but there is not a State of the Students Address. I think we want to do something like this in a press-conference style, and have students, faculty, administration and staff all come. It would probably be, at the most, once a semester because there would be a lot of hype and a lot of education about it so that it can be filmed, hopefully put on our website, maybe on the Missouri State website, so that our leadership could be transparent.

TS: One of your platform points is to develop parking privileges for students who carpool. How would you

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

regulate whether students carpool other than based off their word?

AL: Looking into what we can do for that, there’s a couple different options and roads we’ve thought about and gone down.

I think the first avenue we explored — another university does this — that we’ve looked into for research is whenever a student goes into the parking administration office to get their parking pass, basically they would take the person they’re carpooling with. Say it’s their roommate. Say they’re both music education majors, and they both have the same kind of schedule. They’re both in the Pride Band together. Well, they could go to the parking administration office together. One person could say, ‘Hey, I’m going to carpool with this person. Therefore, I’m not going to buy a car pass.’ So we could document that in the system, so they would only be able to have one car pass or one parking permit for both people.

That’s kind of one avenue we explored so that if that individual, the second person, wanted to individually go in and get a parking pass, they wouldn’t be able to. And that’s something they would volunteer, that they would volunteer to get a parking pass with two people instead of one.

Another avenue we explored was to actually have a parking attendant to regulate whether there was more than one person in the car or not.

TS: You mention you want to increase solar energy on campus and incorporate it into buildings on campus by 2012. How do you plan to do that?

AL: The apartments that will be going up … in 2012 I think at least have (solar energy) in the architectural design. By then, we will know it’s going to happen and so, past our administration if we’re elected, that it would be able to be a continuing project. I think that in terms of the administration we’ve communicated with, it’s a viable option; it’s a feasible option. I also think the road we want with that solar energy is to heat the water in (future apartments.) It’s economically more sufficient than putting the energy back into the building’s power grid.

836-5524 l the-standard.org l standard@missouristate.edu

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Turk Continued from page 1

ST: We have several different ways that we would hope to achieve this point. First of all, the reason why we did it is just because it was just a running joke with a lot of the individuals within the PSU I interact with on a daily basis. So we were always like, ‘What’s in it?’

We were just trying to connect with the students in a way that would also represent our serious points, but you know, this is a question that students have.

Now if Sodexo’s contract were not renewed, well, first off, we would obviously ask Sodexo if they would reveal it. If the Sodexo contract does not get renewed, we would have some kind of ‘recipe-off’ or some kind of cook-off; have students see how close we can get with judges and everything present.

TS: You talk about doughnut-hole students. Could you please explain what that means and how you plan to offer balanced assistance to the student body?

EB: A doughnut-hole student is if you imagine a doughnut — which is where the idea comes in — there are students who have well-off families and are able to afford college. Then you also have the students whose families aren’t able to supplement their education, and they’re given more financial aid.

Then students that are kind of in the middle, middle-class families, their parents don’t really have enough money to pay, and then they’re not really given enough financial assistance.

So those are the doughnut-hole students who are graduating from college with a large amount of loans that they’re going to have to repay.

ST: What we’re seeing is that this gap inbetween those two (extremes) is growing, so we want to address and meet the need (of the middle class.

TS: How do you plan to address that need?

Smoking Continued from page 2

butts or whatever, I think it’s fine.”

Bethany Tiller, a graduate student in elementary education, said she is pleased with the university’s decision to go smokefree.

“I personally like it,” she said. “I’m a non-smoker, and I don’t like when I have to walk through clouds of smoke. I realize people have different things that they like to do, but I think it’s healthier for everybody if you can limit where smoking is allowed and try to take it away from areas where there are large populations. It’s kind of submitting people to something that

The Standard

ST: We’ve actually been in contact with different organizations and different community companies to see if there was a scholarship that could be funded specifically for this purpose. We haven’t had a solidified contract or anything, or talked with a company yet, but we would see if there would be any way that we could just swarm up scholarship and start it from there.

What we’re seeing at Missouri State is students aren’t retaining here as well as they used to, so we’re focusing a lot on retention. So we need to focus on that retention, and I think the biggest way to focus on that would be to increase the funding to those doughnut-hole students, the ones that are in the middle.

TS: A lot of students don’t really understand what SGA does or things that happen at SGA. How do you plan on making students take SGA more seriously?

EB: I’ve been in SGA for a really long time, so that’s something that we really notice.

Students really don’t necessarily even know what’s happening. If a change is made in their benefit, they won’t really ever know about it.

One of the things we kind of threw around is “The Colbert Report,” having a report like that, just to make it more fun and accessible.

ST: Something not only increasing the communication to the students in a manner that piques their interest like “The Colbert Report” does, but also it would be a matter of just ensuring that their needs are met and addressed and everything so they can say, ‘Oh, I did have a concern about that. I spoke about it. I was proactive in the venture, and I saw that come to fruition.’ And that is exactly what the Student Government Association should be.

TS: You mentioned earlier that you plan on increasing parking accessibility. How? ST: Well, we’ve already started analyzing the situation within Student Government Association. Essentially what I think it’s going to come down to is, we met with different individuals about the parking concerns on campus because it seems to be a huge one

they have no control over.”

Jimmy Pecher, a senior music major, opposes the ban, and insists that things are going to be slow to change.

“I think it’s really dumb just because of the fact we pay so much money and I would say a good 50 percent of the people on campus are smokers,” he said. “If they’re going to ban it, at least they should give us facilities to where we can easily access them. Everybody is still going to smoke on campus.

There’s no way to really keep to the strict policy.”

Doman said there will be options available for smokers, such as smoking in their own private vehicles. His and the committee’s hopes are to see a smoke-free MSU campus by fall 2012.

Last Weekʼs Sudoku Answers

among students. What we want to do is reallocate (parking) as necessary; to combine different sections, maybe for the colored lots and everything, because students aren’t able to park everywhere they need to in order to get to the places they need to. As well as several different other options: expanding on current parking structures if that’s a possibility, looking at different parking structures, places on the campus where we could have parking structures, and ensuring that if parking spots are taken away that they’re replaced somewhere else.

TS: Is adding more parking actually feasible considering it’s not on the long-term plan?

I don’t think they’re talking about it for the next five or six years.

EB: It has to be something feasible because students need it. It may not be on the long-term goal, but what Scott and I would do as representing students is say, ‘This is something students need. Let’s get this done.’

ST: Members of our campaign have actually met with the parking administrators and went and talked about different options that were available. The one that looks most plausible right now is to increase parking by (creating) an L-shaped parking structure near where The Monroe is located.

TS: On your platform, it says ‘to decrease general education required hours from 125 to 120.’ How are you planning on trying to change that?

EB: The idea behind this is that, to be a full-time student, you have 12 hours, but the average amount of hours taken per semester is 15. So if you’re here for four years, you take 15 hours a semester, two semesters a year, that’s 120 hours. So we see that 120 hours should be the amount of graduation requirements it takes. You shouldn’t really have to stress yourself taking 18 hours. The general education requirements are going to be reviewed this year. They’re going to change some things — so that’s where we see this working the best.

TS: In your platform, you talked about

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improving the library. How? ST: There are two separate points that we hit pretty strongly on the library. We really hope that we could work with the library staff and administrators to see if we could expand, first off, the eating service within it. Instead of just having a Kaldis and a vending machine, see if we could have an expanded eating service for whenever students are studying late and get hungry. Then they don’t have to leave the library and go to the Plaster Student Union or one of the restaurants outside of Missouri State. So we would hope to bring (eating places) on campus and see if there’s anything we could use block or BearFare for; see if using your ZipCard would be a possibility.

It’d be really similar to the (places) that are in Glass and Strong right now, if we can get something a bit expanded there.

Now, the second point we hit on the library is the conference rooms within them, or the “study rooms,” where it says that you’re supposed to have three students minimum for them. But a lot of the times if you ever go in during finals week or anything, it’s not being regulated. There’s nothing that’s ensuring that three students are in there, so a lot of the times there’s just one person. Or there’s somebody who’s left their items there, and they’ve walked away. So they’ve had it for extended hours studying. So (it would) just making it more fair for (all) students.

TS: How are you going to make sure that’s regulated?

EB: Well, the first thing is that if you want a study room and it’s for three people, then three people need to go to the front desk and say, ‘Here’s my ZipCard. There’s going to be three of us in this room.’ So right then you have to have three people in it.

And then, since there’s a lot of library staff, that’s something we want to work with them on and ask them, ‘How do we best do this?’

But our idea right now is that whenever they go and put up a book, just like, do a quick walk through, make sure it’s being utilized how it’s supposed to be.

Tunnel of Oppression challenges ideas of hate

By Courtney Atkinson The Standard

Residence Life and Services sponsored the Tunnel of Oppression March 23-24 in Wells House to challenge people’s thoughts and perceptions on current issues dealing with hate and oppression.

The Tunnel of Oppression put on scenarios in which actors covered different types of diversity. Many of the plays were scenarios that gave an inside view on an individual’s life. A few of the skits involved the audience.

The Tunnel of Oppression included six different rooms, which portrayed issues that plague many individuals.

These rooms included the oppression of women room, the domestic violence room, the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender room, the race room, the body image room and the disability room.

This was the second year the Tunnel of Oppression has been offered to Missouri State University students, said Colt Kraus, Tunnel of Oppression supervisors. The supervisors are planning on sponsoring the program again in 2012.

“There really wasn’t an event of this nature before at Missouri State University,” said Kyle Wesolowski, a Tunnel

of Oppression supervisor. “There was a calling for it because this kind of program was never available to students or to the community.”

Wesolowski, an assistant hall director, and Angela Strider, the ResLife coordinator of Leadership Development and Programming, worked together to bring the program to Missouri State University, he said.

“The main idea is to make people aware of what different oppressed groups go through on a day-to-day basis,” Kraus said.

Camille Fagan, a psychology major, attended the Tunnel of Oppression two years in a row.

“The intensity was high this year,” Fagan said. “The scenarios were more realistic. They were the big issues everyone faces but no one really talks about.”

“The room that impacted me the most was the race room,” said Tyler Roe, a chemistry education major.

“We’ve had all these problems with racial differences in the past, and we still can’t manage to get over it in America.”

For the program to succeed, Wesolowski plans on changing the rooms in the Tunnel of Oppression next year for students to be able to see a vari-

Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD

The Tunnel of Oppression includes skits that challenge ideas of hate.

ety of issues, he said.

“We are rotating rooms every year, and we are planning on doing that from now on,” Wesolowski said.

Wednesday night alone was as successful as Tunnel of Oppression 2010, he said.

“Last year we had roughly 200 [total attendants], and Wednesday night alone we had 200,” he said.

Wesolowski believes this year was more successful due to increased publicity for the event, he said.

“We had over a 93 percent return rate for people who said, ‘Yes, I want to do help in any way I can,’” Wesolowsk said.

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The Standard

News

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Professor speaks on Middle East

By David Hunton The Standard

A visiting professor said Wednesday night that the future of the Middle East countries currently experiencing turmoil was uncertain.

“We are at the start of a new future up for grabs,” said Kanan Makiya, the Sylvia K. Hassenfeld Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis University.

Makiya’s speech, titled “The Fall of the Dictators: What’s Next?,” which was presented in the Plaster Student Union, provided a look into the similarities and differences between the various protests spreading throughout the Middle East. It was sponsored by the Middle Eastern studies program.

“If one can speak of a fundamental character of the protests, it is a fundamental rejection of dictatorship and autonomy,” he said.

Makiya, who has written several books about politics in the Middle East and is the founder of the Iraq Memory Foundation, cautioned that this did not fundamentally imply a progression toward democracy, however. Each country faces its own set of internal and external pressures that would guide them to potentially different solutions.

“Tunisia for example could easily gain democracy quicker than Egypt,” he said. “There’s risk in that, though, in that the corrupt officials from the previous government could gain positions in the newer government as with Communism and the Berlin Wall.”

Other countries were more worrisome.

“Libya is more of an

Martin

Continued from page 1

myself to keep everybody molded as one. I wish coach Martin the best of luck.”

Weems said although Martin is now gone, he hopes that everyone on the team, includ-

unknown quality. The problem there is a lack of institutions,” Makiya said.

He said fears that organizations such as al-Qaida would use the protests as ways to regain footing in the countries in question were largely unfounded, however. The protests, he believed, were ideologically counter to what alQaida believes.

“The triumph of protesters in Egypt and Tunisia is radical Islam’s defeat,” he said.

He stressed that “we are looking at something new” with the protests in the Middle East.

“The uprisings are primarily work of a younger generation as comfortable with smartphones and the Internet as anyone in Springfield,” Makiya said. “Empowerment will not easily be taken from them.”

He also said it is important to note that the most stable countries currently experiencing protests were those who had already been pursuing reform.

“Morocco has remained remarkably stable,” he said.

“The key difference is that Morocco’s king has been pressing for reforms, one way or another, in the past 10 years.

So the protesters there did not call for a regime topple but for more, faster reforms.”

He said one of the most positive aspects of the protests is that many had been relatively bloodless.

“People tend to forget Iraq had a popular uprising on the heels of the Gulf War,” he said.

“It was crushed. The human cost was 200,000.”

Professor David Romano, Strong chair of Middle East Politics at Missouri State University, said he agreed with

ing the incoming recruits, will remain at MSU. “I hope that they stay because I do plan on staying,” Weems said. “That’s something I guess we’ll have to worry about in the next couple of days, with it being so fresh. I’ve got faith. Everybody on this team loves each other like their own blood,

Michael Gulledge/THE STANDARD

Kanan Makiya, writer and professor of Middle Eastern studies, spoke on campus on March 23.

Makiya for the most part.

“I do differ with his shortterm diagnosis for Egypt,” Romano said.

He said he is worried that the younger generation who started the agitation is not currently in control in Egypt.

“I do believe, though, that overall things are looking very good,” he said. “It’s really a kind of grass-roots agitation caused by the same generation that is currently attending Missouri State University.”

He said he expected to see some form of electoral politics take shape in the countries where the protests are taking

like their own brothers. We’ll be OK.” Weems and Scheer both said playing under Martin has truly been a privilege, and they would love to see him succeed in the future.

“I’ve gotten to know him pretty well,” Scheer said.

“This past year, he’s taught me more than just basketball.

place.

“The overriding message that people should be getting from what’s happening in the Middle East is that of optimism,” he said.

Kay Chaudhri, 82, said the speech deeply affected her because she had lived in Bahrain for 13 years, teaching “mostly chemistry.” She said she felt Makiya’s presentation was very accurate, based on her past experiences in the Middle East and the information her former students were relaying to her.

“I’m still in contact with many of my students in

He’s helped me a great deal with that but also with how to be a man. I know he’ll do great down in Tennessee.

He’s a great coach, great man, and I wish him the best of luck.”

“There’s no hard feelings,” Weems said. “Coach Martin’s a great man, and I’m just glad I got three years with him.

Bahrain via Facebook,” the Springfield resident said.

“They’re all worried and unhappy.”

She said she was concerned about one former student in particular.

“The last I heard from him was a week ago,” she said. “It was a message that said simply, ‘Things are tense here. We are in the house. We are afraid.’”

Jake Ryan, a construction management major, said the information presented made him stop and think.

“You have to really appreciate what you have, after

“He’s brought the best out of me,” he added. “He just absolutely loves what he does. That’s why those bigger schools were coming after him. Tennessee just got a heck of a coach and a heck of a man.”

The search for Martin’s replacement is now underway. Moats said there would

hearing about this stuff,” he said. “What people are doing in uncomfortable situations, how they rise to the occasion, really makes you realize just how lucky your situation is and that you can perform better.”

The Middle Eastern Studies program is hosting a similar talk by Qubad Talabani, “The American Legacy in Iraq,” at 7:30 p.m. on April 6 in the Plaster Student Union.

Talabani is the son of the current president of Iraq and the representative to the United States for the Kurdistan regional government.

be no discussions with the media about the hiring process until the new coach has been hired.

Moats said he has a list of people who will be considered and that the assistant coaches on Martin’s staff at MSU would be considered for the job if they were interested.