Wiz Khalifa
Hip-hop artist entertains large campus crowd
P a ge 4
Tuesday • April 17, 2012 • Vol. 105 Issue 27
Task force questions general education curriculum By Damien M. DiPlacido The Standard
Briefs Ecopalooza 2012 concert to celebrate sustainability
Students for a Sustainable Future will host Ecopalooza 2012, a solar-powered concert, to raise awareness about environmental sustainability. The concert will be on Thursday, April 19 from noon to 9 p.m. on the Bear Paw. Bands will include: Luna Jamboree, Beartones, The Violet Lockets, Black Bonnet Ballyhoo and Plaid Dragon. Local businesses and vendors will be present and activities like tie-dye and slack lining will be available to students.
In college, regardless of age, race, gender or walk of life, every student has to deal with general education requirements at one point or another. In a university setting, they can be one of the great equalizers. On the other hand, course drift is a potential problem that can negatively impact a great deal of students without them knowing it. According to Etta Madden, English professor and chair of the Task Force on General Education Revision, it’s a common occurrence with classes that have 50 or so different sections.
“Course drift is when you have a class like PED 100 or CIS 101, for instance, and students in different sections say, ‘You have to do that in your Madden course, and you got a D. My course is easy and I got an A,’” Madden said. “If you think about the big picture, they’re experiencing such different learning outcomes for the same gen ed classes.” This is just one of the many dilem-
mas MSU’s task force is working diligently to improve. The task force held open sessions on general education revision on April 10, and then again on Monday, in the Plaster Student Union. Madden, a key speaker at last Tuesday’s open session, said MSU’s general education program should reflect the character of the university and prepare the students to be successful and effective in their future roles in the 21st century. “It’s about accreditation,” Madden said. “It’s about student learning, but accreditation is, are you as an institution doing what you said you were going to do when it comes to your stu-
dents’ learning? We’ve done so much research looking at what happens at other institutions across the country.” The task force is geared to organize their work into three phases, MSU’s General Education Review says. Phase one focuses on developing knowledge of the nature of gen ed classes and crafting a mission statement. The second phase is formed around the effective design of a new general education curriculum, and the third phase is to play an active role in guiding the committee’s recommendations through the approval process. See TASK FORCE page 14
Evangel University to host Arrive Alive Tour for students
Evangel University is hosting the Arrive Alive Tour from UNITE today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The program uses a hightech simulator, impact video and a number of other resources to educate students about the dangers of texting while driving. UNITE provides health and wellness programs to high school and college campuses across the nation. Their programs are designed to heighten awareness on the dangers of drunk driving and distracted driving.
Calendar April 17 to April 23
Tuesday
Public Affairs Conference 2012, all day Drop Second Block Classes at 25 percent credit or refund, all day Student Government Association meeting, 5:30 to 7 p.m. at PSU 313
Wednesday
Public Affairs Conference 2012, all day Connectivity and Cartesian Anxiety, 9 to 10:15 a.m. at PSU Ballroom East Engaging Democracy: How Citizen Uprisings Will Reshape America, 7 to 8 p.m. at PSU Theater
Thursday
Public Affairs Conference 2012, all day Boomer’s Crew Auditions meeting, 4 to 4:30 p.m. at Hammons Student Center Racquetball Lobby Students for a Sustainable Future meeting, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Temple 105
Friday
Public Affairs Conference 2012, all day Day of Silence, all day Remembering Michael Burns, Poet and Founder of the MSU Creative Writing Program, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Carrington Auditorium
Saturday
Boomer’s Crew Auditions, 7:45 to 9 a.m. at Hammons Student Center West Court, $20 fee
Monday
Study Away 101 Information Session, 3 to 4 p.m. at PSU 315A The Dangers of Prescription Medication Abuse, 7 to 8 p.m. at Carrington 208
Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD
Ann Coulter signed books and answered questions after her 17-minute lecture April 10 at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts. While lecturing, she criticized Obama and his policies to the students who attended.
Coulter contract questioned Event lasted 52 minutes, cost $10,000 By Dayle Duggins The Standard “He’s an atheist like the rest of his party,” Ann Coulter said of President Barack Obama while speaking at Missouri State on April 10. “They’re all atheists.” Dressed in a black skirt suit and heels, the slender, blonde-haired political commentator took the
stage for what seemed to be a standup comedy act, receiving approval from the audience in the form of laughter throughout the entire event. Coulter, also a lawyer, columnist and New York Times bestselling author, was brought to Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts by Student Activities Council to discuss her political opinions, answer audience questions and sign copies of her books for attendees. Coulter received $10,000 for the speaking event, $8,000 of which was funded by the Student Involvement Fee, Student Activities Council President Courtney Current said. Each semester, students pay the $16
fee and approximately half of they money goes to fund SAC programming, according to the organization’s website. The College Republicans collected the other $2,000 through fundraising events including a dinner and silent auction, Molly Moran the secretary of the organization said. “The expectation was that she would speak for one hour; that was all that had ever been contracted,” Current said. “So, speakers always just fulfill their contract length duty, some occasionally speak over, but we didn’t expect that of her.” Coulter spoke for a total of 52 minutes, 35 of which were dedicated to questions from the audience.
“It started a few minutes late just because we were waiting for people to filter in and so technically for being that close fulfilled (her contract),” Current said. “We were happy with how the event actually went, but we were just a little disappointed with the student turnout considering all the communication that proceeded beforehand.” Randy Blackwood, the executive director of athletic and entertainment facilities for Missouri State, said the event had a drop count (number of tickets torn by workers) of 455 tickets, filling 20 percent of the hall’s 2,200-seat
See COULTER page 15
Houghton returns from Los Angeles Local comedian to host live talk show on KOZL By Damien M. DiPlacido The Standard Just because he returned to Springfield doesn’t mean that funny man Jeff Houghton was chewed up and spit out by the endless California grind of molding a comedy dream into a solid reality. It turned out the host of KOZL’s new live talk show, “The Mystery Hour,” had to leave Springfield just to find out where
he belonged for the time being: Right back in 417-land. “LA has all of my money now for the most part,” Houghton says. “If anything, I spent a lot in parking tickets. To make it out there, you have to have one or three things: talent, perseverance and luck.” Growing up in Iowa City, Houghton got his degree in communication studies from the University of Iowa and ended up in Springfield by chasing love, something he has become familiar with over the years. “My girlfriend, who is now my wife, is from here,” Houghton says. “We dated long distance for a year and a half and I had to go see if it was real. I moved down
here in 2003 not knowing anybody. Springfield ended up being the perfect place for me.” In 2004, Houghton began working at the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks and also started doing improvisational comedy at The Skinny Improv. While making his bones in the local comedy scene, he was informally known as “The Blood Drive Guy” around Missouri State’s campus. Houghton says when he was younger, specifically around high school age, he started realizing he had the ability to make people laugh. It was at The Skinny Improv that he learned to hone his See Houghton page 2
Josh Campbell/THE STANDARD
Houghton is an Iowa native.