4.5.11

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Ecopalooza

Students give sustainability a whirl

P a ge 4

Tuesday • April 5, 2011 • Vol. 104 Issue 26

The beginning of a new era Briefs Bookstore offering discount for voting

The Missouri State bookstore has agreed to partner with the Student Government Association to encourage students to vote in this year’s student body elections. The Missouri State bookstore will be offering a discount equal to the student-voter turnout percent, up to 20 percent. If voter turnout reaches 35 percent, then the Missouri State Bookstore will increase the discount to 25 percent on all BearWear and souvenirs, and if voter turnout reaches 50 percent, then the discount will increase to 30 percent on all BearWear and souvenirs. Students will be able to claim their discount on Monday, April 11 and Tuesday, April 12. Students can vote Tuesday and Wednesday for student body president and vice president along with other issues at elections.missouristate.edu.

Calendar April 5 to April 11

Tuesday

SGA student body elections all day, elections.missouristate.edu SAC meeting 4 to 5 p.m., PSU 313 Student Senate meeting 5:30 to 8 p.m., PSU 313 “Website Building Workshop” seminar 9 to 11 a.m., Meyer Library 205

Wednesday

SGA student body elections all day, elections.missouristate.edu Graduate Student Council meeting 5 to 6 p.m., PSU 312C Interfraternity Council general meeting 5:15 to 6 p.m., PSU 313 Panhellenic Council general meeting 6 to 7 p.m., PSU 313 Sexual Orientation: A Primer for Professionals Working with College Students noon to 1 p.m., PSU 313 Designing & Conducting Performance Appraisals 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Glass Hall 115

Thursday

Staff Senate meeting 11 a.m. to noon, PSU 313 Group Nutrition Counseling 4 to 5 p.m., Taylor Health and Wellness conference room Students for a Sustainable Future meeting 4 to 5 p.m., Temple Hall Pit "Building the Ultimate Business Plan" Seminar 6 to 9 p.m., Glass Hall

Friday

2011 Relay for Life all day, Plaster Sports Complex Sustainability Commission meeting 4 to 5 p.m., Carrington Hall 104C

Monday

SAACS meeting 5 to 6 p.m., Temple Hall 105 Disney College Program informational session 5 to 7 p.m., PSU 314 Coronary Health Improvement project 5:15 to 8 p.m., Taylor Health and Wellness conference room

Matt Kile/THE STANDARD

Paul Lusk speaks at a press conference Saturday after he was introduced as the 17th head basketball coach in MSU history.

Lusk begins tenure as MSU coach By Jon Poorman The Standard

After seven seasons as an assistant coach at Purdue, Paul Lusk was introduced as Missouri State’s 17th head basketball coach at a press conference on Saturday. Lusk has big shoes to fill after Cuonzo Martin took the Bears from worst to first in the Missouri Valley Conference in just three years on the job. However, Lusk and Martin came from the same coaching staff at Purdue under head coaches Gene Keady and Matt Painter. Lusk replaced Martin as associate head coach for the Boilermakers when Martin took the MSU job in 2008. Kyle Moats, MSU director of athletics, said many coaches throughout the country were very

interested in being the Bears’ head coach. He received more than 80 inquiries regarding the position. Moats said he wanted to bring in someone who met basketball and university standards at the highest level. “With the success coach Martin had, and the momentum he had created, it was very important for me to find someone who had that similar philosophy in all aspects of our program to continue to move us forward,” Moats said. “When I spoke to coach Keady, he said that Paul was more than ready to be a head coach.” After Lusk met with his new players on Saturday night for the first time, he asked them what their plans were for the evening. Sophomore guard Keith Pickens jokingly answered, “Going out and picking up some ladies.” Lusk responded right back, “You know they don’t like you guys because you’re good looking: They like you because you can put the ball in the hole.”

Easing the transition

Pickens said Lusk has a good sense of humor and part of the reason he had such a good first impression with his new players — important when students are going through the process of changing coaches. “Just the way he talks to us, jokes around with us,” Pickens said when asked what has made the transition easier. “Like last night when we met him, (Lusk) was joking around with us already. It’s just a comfortable feeling already, so I think it will be good.” “He’s a funny guy, nice guy, same mentality as coach Martin. I think he’s a good guy and great fit for this program.” Lusk said it is his responsibility to help the players get through the coaching change. “I said (to the players), ‘It’s my job to help you navigate through this process,’ because there are a wide range of emotions they’re going through,” he said. “That’s what I’m here to do.” Moats said it was his goal to make sure the players got a quality coach and the transition process goes smoothly.

“I promised our student-athletes we would find a great coach and we would do it in a timely fashion,” he said. “It was important to me that the transition was as seamless as possible. I am pleased most for them that this process fulfilled that promise.” Junior forward Kyle Weems said he gives credit to MSU officials for finding a coach who fits well within the culture of Missouri State basketball. “The closure that myself and the guys are feeling right now, words can’t describe,” Weems said. “Getting the No. 1 guy on Moats’ and Dr. Cofer’s lists is really key. I just want to give them a lot of credit for going out and getting a real character guy.” Now that Lusk is at the helm, Weems said the team can finally move on and start working toward next season. “The best thing (Lusk) said was that he’s ready to get into attack mode,” he said. That’s exactly how I feel — kind of ‘let this healing process be done with and let’s get going.’” See LUSK page 2

Presentation shows increase in cheaters By Lauren Healey The Standard

About 95 percent of students will admit they’ve cheated at least once in the course of their education, and 60 to 80 percent of students report they’ve cheated at least once in college, according to a cheating seminar presented on campus last week. Have you? “The New (and Old) Ways Students Cheat: What You Can Do About It” webinar presented by Scott Howell, Ph. D., was shown March 31 in Meyer Library 204 coupled with a discussion by teachers in attendance. Cheating in the classroom increased dramatically from 1961 to 1991, according to the presentation. In 1961, 26 percent of students admitted to copying another student on a test. In 1991,

that number doubled to 52 percent. Only 16 percent of students in 1961 cheated by using notes, while 27 percent admitted to doing the same thing in 1991. Gary Rader, director of online education development and policy in the Internet Instruction Department, said the seminar’s goal was to raise cheating awareness of faculty between different departments. “We wanted to show the scope of the problem and put it into perspective in regards to our own campus and how bad — or maybe not so bad — of a problem it is,” he said. “We have some weaknesses we need to address. The sharing and collaboration between departments will help us to find those weak places.” According to the presentation, one weakness is

linked to fraternities and sororities. The presentation said about 66 percent of students who attend colleges with fraternities/sororities, but are not associated with them, admitted to cheating. Eightytwo percent of students associated with but not living in a fraternity/sorority house admitted to cheating. Finally, 90 percent of students who lived in a fraternity/sorority house admitted to cheating. Overly difficult or overly easy tests tend to encourage cheating because the student doesn’t see the point. Instructors should avoid them, according to the webinar. Lisa Street, coordinator of field education in the Social Work Department, said she wants to focus on incorporating academic integrity as a part of professional integrity.

“Social work is a program that has a code of ethics,” she said. “When social workers prepare reports in practice, it impacts people’s lives. The preparation for that is in college and graduate school, so when my students become practitioners and write a report that sends someone to jail, for example, it means something — the truth. Their signatures need to mean something.” Rader said the growing number of online courses

being delivered from MSU to students needs to be taken into serious consideration. “For our accreditation, we need to ensure that the people who are taking the courses online are who they say they are and the courses aren’t full of students engaging in plagiarism and cheating,” he said. “It all goes back to courses designed specifically for delivery from a distance. There is the option for online See CHEATING page 2


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