University News // October 28 // Issue Eleven

Monday October 28, 2013

Volume 81, Issue 11

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Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

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Miller Nichols Library will not buy more print books due to budget limitations.

Hope Austin

Contributing Writer

The Miller Nichols Library has decided to forego buying physical books. The library made the decision to eliminate print materials due to budget limitations.

“Over the years the cost of paying subscriptions for journals has gone up and up and up,” said dean of libraries Bonnie Postlethwaite “We’ve looked at the numbers since 2008, and they’ve been anywhere

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from a 12 percent increase [in inflation] every year. It has gone down to six percent, which is a lot higher than the average inflation rate.

Our budget is only so big, and we have to pay for the journals first. So, our amount of money left for books has decreased.”

Dr. Joan Dean, curators teaching professor of English, does not believe that the library’s decision is a good one. Having served as interim dean of libraries, she isn’t sure how this could have happened.

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“It’s much more than an unfortunate decision,” she said. “Has there been any effort to assess what students and faculty need and want?”

According to Postlethwaite, efforts have been made to assess the demands of both students and faculty.

“The serials portion of the budget also includes subscriptions to databases, and some of those databases are actually for books,” Postlethwaite said. “When we did a survey back in 2011, both the students and the faculty said they really wanted electronic resources, because they want be able to get thing when the library’s not open.

Our strategy has been to honor that request and do more electronic licensing of resources instead purchasing physical items.”

Postlethwaite said that many only think of paper items when referring to physical items. However, she said this would also include items like DVDs. A concern voiced by Dean about using electronic resources is that students may have a harder time getting engaged with denser academic works than if they were in physical form.

“Books have value that cannot be realized electronically,” Dean said.

“But it’s better to have it in electronic form than to not have it at all.”

Another concern is that local community colleges also borrow books from the Miller Nichols

Photo // Roze Brooks Library. Pat Sparks, an English instructor at Metropolitan Community College- Longview, finds this decision very disturbing.

“The interlibrary loan system is a delicate ecosystem,” she said, “We count on other institutions to have the books we don’t. This is particularly true for community colleges, which have few books in comparison to a library like Miller Nichols. As an alumna of UMKC, I have to say that I have always been very proud of Miller Nichols Library.

A great library is a mark of a great institution - the degradation of the library degrades UMKC.”

Postlethwaite said that the library is trying to do the best they can.

“We are trying to make sure people can get their hands on the books they need, one way or the other,” she said.

“I don’t feel like we’re keeping people from getting to the resources. We’re finding other ways of getting the resources in people’s hands.”

Postlethwaite stressed that the problem Miller Nichols Library is facing is not unique to UMKC. “Every library in the country is experiencing this,” she said “We wish the publishers weren’t charging so much.” haustin@unews.com

Local community colleges will suffer from the decision to stop buying books.

Photo // Roze Brooks

Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

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Popular cigarette alternative raises eyebrows Kate Baxendale

Copy Editor

Electronic cigarettes are a billiondollar industry, with an estimated 4 million users in America according to the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association.

These battery-operated nicotine vaporizers are portrayed by celebrities like Jenny McCarthy as a chic alternative to tobacco cigarettes. Before e-cig users “light up,” recent research or lack thereof could cause some to reconsider.

What is an e-cig? A brief history lesson Traditional electronic cigarettes were originally three-part devices consisting of an atomizer, a battery and a cartridge, which was filled with e-liquid. Many users faced complications with three parts, complaining of e-liquid leaking from the cartridge.

Today, most e-cigs have two parts: a rechargeable battery and a cartomizer, the piece that combines the atomizer and the cartridge into one unit. The atomizer heats the e-liquid until it produces vapor.

E-cigs produce the same amount of vapor no matter how hard the user inhales.

Users can choose to “vape” nonnicotine e-liquid or nicotine e-liquid.

Nicotine levels vary and are selected according to the user’s preference.

E-liquid normally contains the chemical propylene glycol, nicotine, flavorings and other unidentified additives. The end of the e-cig lights up to simulate the glow of a real cigarette.

Users can pay anywhere from $30 to $100 for a starter kit. The Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association estimates replacement cartridges cost about $600 annually, less than half the price of a yearly tobacco cigarette habit.

UMKC pharmacist publishes review paper about e-cigarettes Dr. Lauren Odum, a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist and graduate of the UMKC School of Pharmacy, recently published her discoveries about e-cigs as a method to quit smoking. She was quoted in a Sept. 9 article in The Washington Post regarding her research and her work at a smoking cessation clinic in Columbia, Mo. Odum told The Washington Post that the research is skewed because “…people who have a positive experience [with e-cigs] are more likely to report back.” Odum said they received a lot of helpful information from surveys conducted on former smokers who use e-cigarettes to quit smoking.

Odum said the best trial to date was conducted by The Lancet, the

The components of an e-cigarette.

Archaeologist shares interesting discoveries

world’s leading medical journal.

Researchers did a control panel in which participants were randomized by ethnicity, sex and nicotine dependence level. They tested the use of nicotine e-cigs, nicotine patches and placebo e-cigs to help quit smoking. The results concluded that all three were moderately effective at helping smokers to quit.

“The one flaw with this study is they needed a few more people to enroll,” Odum said. “E-cigarettes hold a lot of promise, but they need to be FDA regulated.”

Odum said a lot of patients have attributed e-cigs to helping them cut back or quit smoking.

“These are people who have tried to quit over and over using the FDA approved medications,” Odum said.

“They still had trouble quitting.”

Lack of federal regulation creates concern

Although the Food and Drug Administration was given the authority to regulate e-cigarettes under existing tobacco product laws, it has no authority to regulate the ingredients, advertisements or sales to minors.

“Manufacturing processes aren’t the best,” Odum said. “The FDA has found things like a product with trace amount of toxins. Some cartridges leak which could be a hazard for pets and children. Practices need to be better so they can be safe and so what is actually in them [e-cigs] is what is being advertised.”

Electronic cigarettes were invented in the 1960’s but have only recently gained popularity, particularly among teens. USA Today reported that e-cig use among high school students has risen from 4.7 percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2012. U.S. middle school students are also vaping at an increasing rate: 1.4 percent used e-cigs in 2011 and 2.7 percent in 2012. The Center for Disease Control estimates that 1.78 million middle and high school students have tried e-cigs.

This recent doubling in statistics is alarming to Odum, who fears children and teens will eventually switch to real cigarettes.

“E-cigarettes may become a gateway to tobacco cigarettes,” Odum said. “We live in a culture where cigarettes are becoming less and less popular, but the concern is if everybody starts using e-cigs will they start to smoke real cigarettes?”

Odum said because e-cigarettes come in a variety of flavors and appearances they may be appealing to people who may have never smoked any form of cigarette in the first place.

“E-cig companies are selling them just fine without running clinical trials, and they are not necessarily motivated to run a trial,” Odum said.

Dr. Jodi Magness Hope Austin

Dr. Lauren Odum, board certified pharmacotherapy specialist and graduate of the UMKC School of Pharmacy.

Photo // Google Since e-cigs are not regulated by the FDA, companies can skirt around mandatory trials and they are not allowed to claim it as a method to quit smoking.

“If they want to make that claim, they have to go through the FDA,” Odum said.

One UMKC senior who wished to remain anonymous uses a VP vaporizer, a three piece device that she refills with e-liquid.

“I normally only use it when I’m drinking,” she said. “It’s pretty harsh in the beginning, but it smoothes out after a couple puffs.”

The student uses e-liquid that contains 18 to 20 milligrams of nicotine. She also smokes tobacco cigarettes regularly. She bought her vaporizer online for $25.

“The problem is there is no end point,” she said. “I can sit and puff on my vaporizer all night. You can just constantly smoke it.”

She had previously tried e-cigarettes and she did not like the experience. Her brother used a vaporizer to help him quit smoking last year and he referred them to her.

A UMKC junior who also wished to remain anonymous used e-cigarettes hoping they would help him quit smoking and save him money.

“I bought the cheap $10 gas station kind,” he said. “It was a snap decision

Photo // Google

I made at 7-11. I wanted to see if it was a good avenue to help me stop smoking. It [the product] claimed it would last for two packs but it didn’t. They were just alright. It’s definitely not the same.”

The student said he probably would have spent more money on e-cigs had he continued to use them.

He still smokes tobacco cigarettes.

Senior Grace Freeman bought a non-nicotine e-cig two years ago. She smoked in high school and she often vapes around her friends who still smoke tobacco cigarettes.

“I normally use it when I’m drinking with my high school friends,” Freeman said. “I like them.

I don’t feel the need to smoke when I vape.”

Freeman’s only complaint is her e-cigarette dies quickly and often needs to be charged.

Push for regulation, additional research E-cigarettes containing nicotine still create dependency on the additive. Odum has seen the negative long-term effects of tobacco smoke, but she said there are too many uncertainties to claim that e-cigarettes are a healthy and safe alternative.

“We still don’t know the longterm consequences of e-cigs,” Odum said. “Can the vapor irritate people’s lungs? We probably won’t know for years. The concern is similar to cigarettes. We didn’t know tobacco smoke was bad for us for so many years.”

Forty attorneys general sent a letter to the FDA last month pushing for the regulation of electronic cigarettes. The FDA set an Oct. 31 deadline to propose a plan to regulate them, but there is doubt as to whether the deadline will be met.

“It [e-cigarettes] defeats the purpose of public health,” Odum said.

“It’s a different issue for people who are trying to quit smoking. E-cigs don’t have tar, which causes cancer.

If e-cigs have a role in society at all, it is to help people quit smoking.”

Photo // Google

Contributing Writer

Dr. Jodi Magness’s lecture “The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls” drew a large crowd on Oct. 24 at the Miller Nichols Learning Center.

The lecture focused on Magness’s research on the site of Qumran and its relationship to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

“First of all, I am using the term Dead Sea Scrolls to refer to the collection of scrolls in the 11 caves around Qumran,” she said, “not to other ancient scrolls that were found in other places around the Dead Sea that have no connections to this community.”

Magness’s findings suggest that Qumran was a settlement of an apocalyptic Jewish sect who believed the end was near.

“They believed that there would be a forty year-long apocalyptic war and, of course, the outcome was preordained by God,” she said, “and this victory would usher in a Messianic era. Another peculiarity of this sect was that they anticipated the arrival of not one, but two Messiahs.”

Magness’s findings are based upon those of Catholic archeologist Roland de Vaux, whom many find controversial.

“In fact, everything about Qumran is controversial,” Magness said.

“There are people who would disagree with everything I am saying.”

The Archaeological Institute of America provided the lecture.

“We get these lectures based primarily on the number of members in the Kansas City/Lawrence Chapter,” said Jeff Rydberg-Cox, the director of the UMKC Classics and Ancient Studies Program. “So if you’re not a member, let me encourage you to think about joining.”

Magness holds a senior endowed chair in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. To learn more about her research visit her website jodimagness.org. haustin@unews.com

kbaxendale@unews.com

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Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

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In case you missed it:

LGBTQIA Programs & Services Ally photoshoot:

Photo // Janet Rogers

LGBTQIA Programs and Services hosts an Ally photo shoot on Oct. 24. Anyone who supports inclusivity of LGBTQIA individuals are invited to attend. More than 104 people showed up for the photo including Chancellor Leo Morton and Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Mel Tyler.

UEC Open Mic Night: Left: Students read both original and published works at open mic night.

Right: English Professor Ben Moats plays acoustic guitar and sings at the Undergraduate English Council’s third annual open mic night.

Photos // Roze Brooks

Women’s Panel: Women in the Kansas City community join Kristin Hetle (third from left), director of strategic partnerships at UN Women, for a panel discussion.

Photo // Roze Brooks

Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

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Seminar on Recommender systems using Hadoop

experiencing the situation or object.

Sumanth Koushik Kalli This technology has evolved over the Beat Writer last 20 years into a rich collection Satish Bhat, senior software of tools that enable the practitioner engineer for machine learning at or researcher to develop effective Adknowledge lectured Oct. 24 recommenders. on “Large Scaled Recommender Recommender systems are either Systems using Hadoop and collaborative systems, content based Machine Learning.” The seminar recommender systems or Hybrid was conducted by Dr. Yugyung Lee, systems. A collaborative system is associate professor from the School the basic approach to a recommender of Computing and Engineering. system and it is a user to user This worked as an introduction recommendation system. Netflix that aimed to make use of Hadoop uses this this type of recommender core infrastructure. It also introduced system. technologies that are an integral In the Content based recommender part of Data Platform infrastructure systems, items that are similar to namely Apache Flume, Apache Pig, ones that the user liked in the past Apache Scoop, Apache HIVE and are considered as the criteria in Apache Mahout. recommending a particular item.

“Recommender systems helps you This is known as an item-to-item decide what you need to buy in a recommendation system. Pandora particular scenario,” Bhat said. and Rotten Tomatoes work on this Recommender systems content based recommender system. transform the way people find A Hybrid Recommender system products, information and people. is a combination of collaborative Recommender systems study and content based recommender patterns of behavior, so a person can systems. Amazon uses a dynamic know what they will enjoy without recommendation system that

changes the recommendations based on each item a visitor views. This is also known as Real Time targeting.

“We work for desktops and mobile devices but, now we are using mobile devices to take statistics to gauge the users traffic and put in more concentration,” Bhat said. “In Adknowledge, we show our users ads on his or her demographic and behavioral information.”

Clustering is based on the patterns observed in the clicks of many users and the similar ones are grouped into a cluster. The likes and clicks are the major basis of this clustering.

“Presently, we have 4 to 5 clustering algorithms running at a particular point of time in Adknowledge and last three clicks are used as clustering metric,” Bhat said.

A/B Testing is used to check the impact on each cluster. A/B clustering is commonly used in web development, marketing and advertising. Usually, Backtesting is done before A/B testing.

Hadoop is designed for Batch processing so it can be used for Real

time processing. But, when Apache Storm is used on top of Hadoop, it works the best for Big Data in real time processing. With SQL or Apache HIVE, Hadoop can be used without using Java. Apache Flume is designed for efficiently transferring bulk data between Hadoop and structured data stores such as relational databases or dumping log files from the web servers.

“The good thing about Hadoop is it has such a big community of programmers, who are giving inputs and one day it may be transformed to become Real time. But, the bad thing is that is depends on how well we code the program otherwise it may crash or not do as we expect it to do,” Bhat said. “Machine learning is one of the best fields to be in and also the hardest fields because we need to learn, read stuff and keep updating.

But, it is rewarding in terms of career and money.”

He explained how students can become a data scientist by concentrating on issues likes data mining and semantic web. He also

asked students to participate in coding competitions like Kaggle, an open source competition that teaches how to learn new skills and improve coding.

“You can build your own recommender system and get data from the government websites on census or there are free data providers as well,” Bhat said.

Bhat made it to the final round of a Google interview and shared some of his experiences during that time. He advised students to learn programming as in-depth as they can.

“If you know programming you are the best and as a software engineer, any company looks for programming.

Basic understanding of Algorithms, memory occupied by algorithms and time complexities are the topics that are covered in interviews,” Bhat said. skalli@unews.com

Check out the U-News broadcast channel for exclusive video content at:

www.youtube.com/user/UMKCUnewsBroadcast

Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

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UMKC Internships: the project, but they’ll work with the Elizabeth Golden planners.”

Co-Editor-in-Chief This hands-on approach allows students to build relationships as Anna Lerner Contributing Writer well as create work samples to show Erin Melrose Broadcast Assistant future employers.

“The field is so small,” Kim said.

UMKC’s internship program “It’s all about word of mouth.”

Kim said it’s common for students attracts more than 50 students per semester, with the majority coming to receive internships through from the communication studies indirect ways. Often, they attend city department. Dating back to 1952, the meetings to meet employers or are program also attracts students from recommended by a faculty member.

“Students have to search for criminal justice, political science, English, engineering, urban planning opportunities, but maintaining a and design, biology, business and healthy relationship with faculty can be helpful,” Kim said. “Sometimes economics.

“Without an internship, no one faculty members are asked to will hire you,” said Dr. Sungyop Kim, recommend one or two good urban planning and design internship students for a job or internship.”

Students majoring in coordinator. “Employers want job communication studies with an candidates to have experience.”

Urban planning and design emphasis in journalism are also requires all majors to complete an required to complete a three-creditinternship as part of the general hour internship as part of their general curriculum. education requirements.

In order to receive three credit According to Kim, the curriculum includes a liberal arts foundation hours, the student must complete with a strong focus on planning and 225 hours of work over the course of the semester. The internship must urban redevelopment.

“Students with internships also satisfy the goals set forth by the participate in making housing and department.

The goals include providing ontransportation plans,” Kim said.

“They work with professionals as the-job experience for students, part of the team. They won’t direct allowing students to appreciate a

professional environment and giving students understanding of how the work affects the organization.

The internship should be a part of the academic process. Both the organization and the students are required to sign a form in agreement of the previously set goals.

Dr. Linda Kurz, undergraduate communication studies internship coordinator, strongly supports the internship program and recommends all majors complete an internship.

“Internships are only required for those in the journalism emphasis, but I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend those with other emphasis also complete an internship,” Kurz said.

Within the communication studies major, students have the opportunity to choose an emphasis in journalism and mass communication, film and media arts or interpersonal and public communication.

Kurz said the majority of students don’t have a problem finding an internship, considering students only apply to three or four places before they receive an offer.

“Most of the time, it’s not a problem since people are constantly calling wanting interns,” Kurz said. “If it is [a problem], we’ll search together. I have students come to me having no

idea where to look, and they’ll leave my office with two to three places to pursue.”

Grima Chavarkar, senior communication studies major and business administration minor, found her internship on her own.

She received a paid internship from the Kansas City VA Medical Center by walking in and asking about opportunities. She received a research coordinator position, where she worked 25 hours per week in order to obtain three credit hours.

“I really enjoyed the experience and learned a lot of new things in the medical field, and as a result, got a lot of references and business connections,” Chavarkar said.

In her role as research coordinator, she worked primarily with patients 55-70 years of age who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

“I got to see the process of a study get FDA approved, from start to finish” Chavarkar said. “Everything was very structured and organization was a key factor in the work.”

According to Chavarkar, the experience was a positive one, as she acquired many new skillsets, becoming more adept in time management and improving her communication skills. This was helped in part by participating in

nationwide conference calls.

“I had to learn a lot of new things myself, and there was a great amount of on-the-job training which was pretty surprising since I expected there to be more training from the start,” Chavarkar said. “I had never had an office job before, so this was an entirely new experience for me.”

Nancy Wilkinson, director of student services at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management, recommends all students develop some work experience before graduation.

“We strongly encourage students to gain some career-related work experience whether in an internship or as a part-time employee,” Wilkinson said. “However, an internship is not required in any of our programs currently. Having that ‘foot in the door’ can lead to a fulltime position in the future.”

According to Wilkinson, this type of experience can also help to validate a student’s major and career plans.

“If a student who plans to be an accountant, for example, gets an internship in a firm and learns that he or she does not enjoy that type of work or work environment, stress or hours, the hope is that the realization will come in time to change majors,”

INTERNSHIPS

53%

Over 7,300 students and recent graduates and over 300 companies to uncover how students and employers really feel about internships in a survey by Internships.com.

63%

Complete at least 1 Internship

of companies plan to hire more interns in 2013 than they did in 2012.

1/3

2/3 72%

BY THE NUMBERS

28%

Completed 2 or more

PAID internships UNPAID internships

58% offer college credit 36% offer company perks 23% offer travel stipends 15% offer food stipends of students consider compensation to be the least important factor when consider an internship.

MOST IMPORTANT

QUALITIES

employers consider when hiring an intern:

#1 Interview performance #2 Relevant experience #3 Strong resume / cover letter #4 Academic performance #5 References #6 Attendance at preferred schools

66% believe the interview & expericence are the most important

Source: http://www.internships.com/eyeoftheintern/news/idc-news/internships-survey-2013-internship-trends/?utm_source=sm&utm_medium=li&utm_ campaign=eoti_120612&utm_term=survey#!

Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

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Are they worth it?

Wilkinson said.

Kurz said she believes this also applies to communication studies majors.

“Every now and then I have a student with a bad experience,” Kurz said. “Internships can tell you what you don’t want to do as much as they tell you what you want to do.”

In order to prevent bad experiences from occurring regularly, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour division regulates unpaid internships in order to ensure they abide by the minimum wage requirements.

If an intern receives a position in a “for-profit” private sector, it will be considered employment and must meet the following criteria: 1. The internship must be similar to training, which gives an educational environment.

2. The experience must benefit the intern.

3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff.

4. The employer receives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern.

5. The intern is not entitled to a job at the end of the internship.

6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

The intern should not perform “routine work of the business,” meaning the intern, if unpaid, should not be required to complete clerical

work or do any work in which the employer directly benefits.

According to the 2010 Fair Labor Standards Act, “Although if the interns are engaged in the operations of the employer or are performing productive work [clerical work] then the fact that they may be receiving some benefit in the form of a new skill or improved work habits will not exclude them from the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime requirements because the employer benefits from the interns’ work.”

The Department of Labor’s six-factor test began with a 1947 Supreme Court case, Walling v.

Portland Terminal, in which the court ruled that railroad trainees were not employees and didn’t require payment.

“If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” said Nancy J. Leppink, the acting director of the department’s wage and hour division, to The New York Times.

Nationally, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 47 percent of internships are unpaid. While research has not been completed locally, it is estimated that the majority of Kansas City-based internships are unpaid.

Karen Vorst, internship coordinator for the department

of economics, refuses to forward information to students about unpaid internships.

“We do expect our internships to be paid,” Vorst said. “We believe that if the experience is worthwhile and mutually beneficial, students must be paid for their time and efforts.”

Jameka Taylor, senior communication studies major and criminal justice minor, received an unpaid internship with U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.

“I was happy with the compensation,” Taylor said.

“Payment was not necessary. The experience was priceless.”

Mary Donaldson, senior communication studies major, also received an unpaid internship working for KCTV5.

“A lot of the time I would go out on stories with reporters,” Donaldson said. “I also had to do a lot of office work like filing and answering the phones, they made me edit scripts and log footage. I worked Saturday mornings and would help run the assignment desk.. I didn’t mind not being paid.”

Manon Eilts, marketing communications director and internship coordinator of the United States Tennis Association- Missouri Valley, said he is careful to not violate the law when providing work for his unpaid interns.

“Interns may help with administrative tasks on occasion, but we give our interns projects they can own from start to finish so they

have actual samples of work they can show a future employer,” Eilts said.

Although Kurz believes 99 percent of students have good experiences with internships, the program is not without faults.

“I spent my entire summer doing tedious chores for a public relations firm,” said one intern, who wishes to remain unnamed. “Part of the time I was creating press packets by inserting papers into bags and the other part I was sitting alone in my office doing nothing.”

The student received an unpaid internship and accepted on the basis of completing “real-world work.”

“On the first day, I was asked to create a blog post for a product of theirs,” he said. “I thought ‘OK, this isn’t too bad. It could be worse,’ and that was actually the best assignment they gave me. The days following involved backing up their computers, mailing packages and being told there’s nothing else for me to do, so I had to wait at my desk without anything to do for the rest of the day. This was not how I imagined my summer.”

Even though the experience itself was not worthwhile, the student believes the internship helped to build his résumé.

“Many jobs in the public relations world require previous internship experience, so just having this on my résumé has helped greatly,” he said.

“It would have been nice to have actual work experience to share with future employers, but I still don’t

regret having the experience.”

Kurz said this situation is extremely rare and refuses to allow students to take internships with companies known for requiring interns to complete menial tasks.

“I don’t allow students to do grunt work. I tell students it’s not their responsibility to make coffee,” Kurz said. “This is supposed to be a sound learning experience.”

As a result, 40 percent of UMKC students receive jobs based on their internship, according to Kurz.

“People would rather hire someone they know,” Kurz said. “If a student has an internship [with a company] then a job opens, the employer would much rather hire someone they know who has a good work ethic than search through hundreds of résumés.”

Daniel Molina, Crossroads Public Relations account manager and internship coordinator, said he is a firm believer in interns receiving fulltime jobs based on their internship.

“Multiple interns, including myself, have been hired for full-time positions as a result of an internship,” Molina said.

For more information on internships, visit career services or the specific department of interest. egolden@unews.com alerner@unews.com emelrose@unews.com

INTERNSHIP RESOURCES @ UMKC UMKC Career Services publishes and continually updates an Internship Reference Guide. The UMKC Internship Reference Guide is available at http://www.career. umkc.edu/career/sites/default/files/Internship%20Reference%20Guide%202013.pdf. The Internship Reference Guide contains information about academic department internship contacts, credit/non-credit internship course options, as well as eligibility and completion requirements. Listed below is contact information regarding internships per department directly from the Internship Reference Guide and more information is available in the guide.

College of Arts & Sciences: Architecture, Urban Planning & Design Contact for Internships: Sungyop Kim, PhD 816-235-6898 kims@umkc.edu Internship/Course Title: UPD 490 Communication Studies Contact for Internships: Dr. Linda Kurz 103C Manheim Hall Kansas City, MO 64110 816.235.5846 Internship/Course Title: COMS 484 Criminal Justice & Criminology Contact for Internships: Dr. Toya Like Assistant Professor

5215 Rockhill Rd Kansas City, MO 64110-2447 816-235-5706 liket@umkc.edu Internship/Course Title: CJC 491 Economics Contact for Internships: Professor Karen Vorst 202G Manheim Hall 816-235-5875 Fax: 816-235-2834 Email: vorstk@umkc.edu Internship/Course Title: ENG 497: Internship English Language & Literature Contact for Internships: Jennifer Phegley

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Associate Professor; Director of Undergraduate Studies 16F Cockefair Hall 816-235-5973 phegleyj@umkc.edu Internship/Course Title: ENG 448 (49526): External Internship Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration Contact for Internships: Student Contact for Internships Employer Contact for Internships Nancy Wilkinson, Manager of Career Services Bloch #115C 816-235-2217 wilkinsonn@umkc.edu

School of Computing & Engineering i Contact for Internships: Sschool of Biological Sciences Whitney Molloy Flarsheim Hall 547B Contact for Internships: 816-235-2360 Dr. Lynda Plamann 816-235-5159 Biological Sciences Building molloyw@umkc.edu 015 Internship/Course Title: 816.235.1827 CIV-ENGR 491; MEC ENG 816.235.2577 491; COMP-SCI 491; IT 491 plamannl@umkc.edu Or contact Tammy Welchert at welchertt@umkc.edu Internship/Course Title: BIOL 399 Introduction to Research LS 499 Undergraduate Research

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Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

8

All Hail Sporting KC as the league winner from the host Dan Moreno nation, Morocco.

Senior Beat Writer Sporting Kansas City will end 2013 Sporting KC put Kansas City’s qualifying for both the MLS Playoffs name on the international map. and the Champions League playoffs.

With the MLS Playoffs ensured for the third year in a row, SKC also advanced to the playoffs of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Sporting KC advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2013-2014 continental tournament after a 0-0 draw last Wednesday against CD Olimpia from Honduras.

Head Coach Peter Vermes’ team finished first in its group after winning both away games and tying the home matches against CD Olimpia and Real Estelí from Nicaragua.

The eight teams that qualified for the playoffs emerged from the 24 teams that started the group play last August. The quarterfinal matchups will be played in a home-and-away format in March 2014.

Entering the playoffs as the competition’s seventh seed, Sporting KC will face second-seeded Cruz Azul from Mexico.

Cruz Azul finished second last season after losing the Liga Bancomer MX title against Club America and is considered one of the biggest teams in its country. It is also the most successful team in the CONCACAF Champions League history, having won the tournament five times.

The winner of the tournament will earn a spot in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup along with the champion clubs from each of the six continental confederations as well

Sporting KC’s Chance Meyers tackles two opposing players.

Vermes, who was recently added to the MLS Hall of Fame, has had an unforgettable year so far, putting “The Soccer Capital of America” on the map. dmoreno@unews.com

Sporting KC’s Aurelien Collins attempts to score.

Photo // Orlin Wagner - AP Photo

Photo // Orlin Wagner - AP Photo

UPB to sponsor transportation to select men’s basketball games Since the men’s basketball Kate Baxendale games will start at varying times Copy Editor throughout the season, Gosney said The 2013-2014 men’s basketball students should check the athletic season will kick off at 7:05 p.m. Nov. department’s Facebook and Twitter 1 against Rockhurst University in pages for shuttle times to each the Blackout Game at Municipal game. The athletics department will Auditorium. Since home games also send emails to students with will be played off-campus, the information regarding shuttle times.

Union Programming Board, “We felt this was a way students UMKC Athletics and the Student could get down to Municipal and Union have collaborated to feature enjoy a good game of basketball complimentary shuttles to and from without having to deal with parking select matches. and all the craziness down there,” “UPB decided to sponsor the buses Gosney said. “We finished up the as part of an increased effort by details a few weeks ago and we’re UPB as well as the Office of Student trying to get the word out there Involvement to help draw attention now.” to and support UMKC Athletics,” Gosney presented the new said Habib Hassan, vice president of service at the Student Government UPB. Association meeting Oct. 14 in Shuttles for the Nov. 1 game will order to make students aware of the depart at 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. at the shuttles.

Student Union. The 4 p.m. shuttle “We all wanted to come together will take students to Johnny’s to make UMKC’s first year in the Tavern, just blocks from Municipal, WAC as successful as possible,” for a pre-game event. Students can Hassan said. purchase half-price appetizers and With all the recent changes to the free pizza will be provided. Students men’s basketball program, UPB and will also receive a Blackout T-shirt the athletics department wanted to to wear to the game. Return shuttles provide a way to transport as many will depart for the Student Union at fans as possible to cheer on the Roos.

8:15 p.m. and immediately following “We have a new coach and a new the end of the game. conference, so there’s a lot of buzz “When we officially moved off going on around campus about campus down to Municipal we basketball right now,” Gosney said. started talking about ways to get The UMKC athletics deprtment’s students to the games,” said Mitch Facebook page is UMKC Kangaroos Gosney, a graduate assistant from and its Twitter is @TheUMKCRoos. the athletics department. “We didn’t think it was fair for students to have kbaxendale@unews.com to pay $10 for parking.”

Student T-shirt design for the Blackout game against Rockhurst Nov. 1.

Photo // UMKC Athletics

Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

Susan Kirschenman: Born to Golf

Susan Kirschenman, junior golfer, shines this season.

He started taking us to golf lessons Dan Moreno and then I began playing every Senior Beat Writer summer in golf tournaments. There Junior golfer Susan Kirschenman is always something new to learn in shined this fall as she played her third golf.” season under Head Coach Brianna After leaving home, Kirschenman Broderick’s lead. came to Kansas City to represent Last week, Kirschenman recorded UMKC. a top-10 54-hole tournament score in “I am very proud of my school and UMKC history for the third straight team,” Kirschenman said. “Playing event. She finished in a tie for 14th golf at UMKC is such a delight. place with a 226 in the Blue Raider Who wouldn’t love playing golf as Invitational at the Old Fort Golf their job? I know I can say this for all Course in Murfreesboro, Tenn. the girls that we all enjoy getting to “Our team is very blessed. We represent Kansas City. It really helps have great coaches and teammates that we come from a school that who are willing to go the extra mile really values athletics. Everyone is for each other,” Kirschenman said. very supportive of us. Our professors “I see this season as a building block are always very understanding of our for us. I am hoping we will use what hectic schedule and that is hard to happened this season and use that to find.” motivate us to play even better.”

With one more year to go, The Huxley, Iowa, native was Kirschenman, who is majoring introduced to golf early in life by her in communication studies and parents, Linda and Terry. business, has already decided her “I started playing golf when I was path following graduation. four years old,” Kirschenman said.

“I would love to go professional “My dad and mom decided to learn after college if given the opportunity,” golf as newlyweds. My dad loves Kirschenman said. “I am interested to coach and so when they had my in advertising and event planning. I brother and I he let us learn as well. could use my degree to be involved

9

Photo // UMKC Athletics in a golf company that plans golf tournaments around the world. I love working with all types of people and I think with my background in golf this could be a great fit for me.”

With a big smile on her face, Kirschenman described herself as an extrovert and enjoys relaxing when she is not studying or practicing.

“I am interested in making things like scrapbooks and paintings,” Kirschenman said. “I am an extrovert, so I love spending time with my friends. I enjoy trying new restaurants that have food from other countries.”

The Roos will start their spring season in March 2014.

Kirschenman has already set goals for next season.

“My main goal for next semester is to keep fighting hard with my team to represent Kansas City,” Kirschenman said. “We are a great team and just need to believe in ourselves to get the job done. I will be giving everything I have at the golf tournaments to help out the team.” dmoreno@unews.com

Kirschenman recorded a top-10-54-hole tournament score.

Photo // UMKC Athletics

Health Journal:

Shaking off the sniffles type of tea, black, green or white, Lindsay Adams contains catechins, an antioxidant Senior Beat Writer which boosts the immune system.

Cold weather has arrived and with Mixing crushed ginger with a cup it, cold season. The average adult of orange juice and a few spoonfuls contracts three colds per year, which of honey and lemon juice can also usually last an average of nine days. help prevent colds and soothe a sore Here are some simple ways to avoid throat. Taking the vitamin right at getting a cold or to get rid of one the onset can potentially shorten a cold by about a day. Another popular faster.

Maintaining healthy sleep habits is home remedy is making a tea out of one of the most important strategies, fennel seeds by boiling them in water as lack of sleep deprives the immune and adding honey.

If suffering from a cold, there are system of energy. According to a study published in the Archives of several ways to make it less painful.

Internal Medicine, sleeping seven Another way to cut down on throat hours or fewer leaves a person soreness is to take a hot shower. The three times more likely to develop a steam vapors can clear sinuses for relief from throat pain or irritation. respiratory illness.

Staying properly hydrated is also Posture, surprising as it may be, is important. Don’t wait until the cold also a component. Staying upright has completely taken hold. After the while sleeping by propping your head first sign of feeling bad or sniffling, up on pillows can reduce congestion.

Don’t just slump on the sofa and get hydrated. Starting to drink water or juice early can cut down on cold catch up on missed television when symptoms, especially painful or feeling under the weather. Light uncomfortable stuffy noses, coughing exercise often boosts the immune system. They key is to not over and sore throats.

Gargling warm saltwater several exert, instead keeping the heart rate times a day can flush out bacteria under 100. Exercise can also affect causing a sore throat, according to your likelihood of getting a cold. many studies. About half a teaspoon According to a University of South of salt per cup of water usually does Carolina study, people who walk the trick. Don’t overdo the amount most days or do moderate activity for of salt in the water or it can actually 30 minutes average two fewer colds have the opposite effect. Be sure to per year than the average person. It spit out the mixture rather than also showed that people who do not exercise very often got more than swallowing.

Making a throat coat at home four colds per year. can help. Coats can be made out of ladams@unews.com any number of pantry staples. Any

Health Recipe:

Provençal Poached Egg in Aigo Boulido Lindsay Adams Senior Beat Writer Cold season is here to stay, so protect the immune system with plenty of foods that ward off a cold before it starts. Two herbs that really can help are sage and garlic. Garlic is the magical flavor that makes everything taste better, but it makes the food healthier as well because it contains allicin, which creates antioxidants when it decomposes. A 2001 study in Advances in Therapy found that people who took garlic supplements for 12 weeks had fewer colds and felt better faster. Sage is an herb that has a long history of use for medicinal purposes, usually for sore throat remedies. Sage has oxygenhandling enzymes, flavonoids and phenolic acid as well as adding a lovely flavor to food.

Aigo Boulido is a traditional herb soup, which is said both to cure and prevent a hangover, as well as aid digestion. It is perfect for a late morning meal or a light lunch or supper. This is an updated version with more protein from the egg for a heartier, more filling meal with the same restorative herbs. This recipe has only 221 calories per serving and 10.3 grams of protein and features garlic and sage as main ingredients.

The recipe yields about 4 servings.

Illustration // Joey Hill

Ingredients

2 heads new-crop garlic (about 1/4 of a cup minced garlic or about 10 cloves) 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 12 sage leaves 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary (can also substitute thyme) Salt and pepper 4 eggs 4 slices whole wheat bread, lightly toasted (Slightly stale bread works best for this.)

Chopped scallions

Directions

Peel and slice or mince the garlic cloves while warming the olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat.

Add the garlic and sage to the oil and let them sizzle a bit, but without browning them. This will take about two minutes, then season with about a teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper. After seasoning, add 6 cups of water and rosemary to the mixture and bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to a brisk simmer. Cook at a simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

After it has simmered, ladle about an inch of soup into a skillet. Cook over medium heat, bringing to a brisk simmer. For each serving, poach an egg in the mixture for about three minutes. Also for each serving, place a slice of toast in a soup bowl and, with a slotted spoon, lift a poached egg onto each piece of toast. Ladle the soup over the egg and toast. Sprinkle with chopped scallions to garnish. ladams@unews.com

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Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

10

The magic of Derek Hughes seizes reality from UMKC Students Jessica Turner Senior Beat Writer The UMKC Union Programming Board hosted a magic show by Derek Hughes in the Student Union Theatre. Hughes captivated the audience with an evening of comedy and inconceivable illusions.

Student Services Coordinator LaShaundra Randolph and UPB President of Operations Brandon Jackson joined UPB vice president Habib Hassan and social justice coordinator Brittney Wright to organize the UPB event.

“Tonight’s entertainer is a magician, and he has prepared his magic on MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central,” Wright said. “He’s David Blaine’s number three friend on MySpace… Prepare to be amazed.”

From the moment Hughes stepped onto the stage, he entertained the audience with jokes about the difference between “a trick” and the more profound “magic.” He explained that if he opened the show with magic, the students in the audience would be too overwhelmed. Instead, he started small and built up to the more mystifying material.

“Magic is like sex for me,” Hughes said. “Here we are. It’s our first time together. I’m a little nervous. I want to please you… You want to be pleased.

I’m afraid you might compare me to the best magician you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Was he better than me? Did he blow your mind?

Multiple times? I’m afraid if you feel bad for me, you might fake it.”

Hughes set up tricks early in the show and refrained from revisiting them until later, to prove to the audience that he had preconceived certain events. For example, near the beginning of the show, he handed a student in the front row an envelope to keep safe and secure until he requested it.

“I am a magician,” Hughes said.

“It is my job, before you leave this room, to try to get into your brain and blow your mind — really freak

UPB hosted a magic show featuring Derek Hughes at the Student Union Theatre, Oct. 24.

From left: Brandon Jackson, LaShaundra Randolph, Derek Hughes, Brittney Wright, Habib Hassan solid, dimensional object. Hughes how you get into magic.” narrowed it down to one card. then placed it in a brown paper bag Hughes performed a trick during “The eight of diamonds,” Natasha and with one swift motion, pressed which he asked a student to think said. the bag flat in his hands so that it of any specific card. He then “That’s crazy,” Hughes said. appeared to be nothing more than revealed that, within his own deck “Because I knew there would be a crumpled up piece of recycling. of cards, he had turned one single a skeptic here tonight, ‘Tasha, No one could determine where the card in the opposite direction. The so I made a commitment to your bottle had gone. student announced he had the astonishment.”

Several of Hughes’s tricks included two of diamonds in his mind. The He addressed the audience a deck of playing cards, and he was backwards card in Hughes’s deck member who held his commitment. able to determine which cards was the two of diamonds.

“Do you have the envelope?” he student volunteers had picked out “Don’t blow this off,” Hughes said. asked her. of the deck or even certain cards “Don’t blow this off as coincidence…

Hughes maximized the crowd’s students were simply thinking of.

Amazing things happen.” incomprehension with the envelope, Hughes jokingly explained that he which was sealed inside another has experienced several coincidences envelope, which had been placed in his life. He would pick up the phone inside a third envelope. to call a friend and coincidentally the “Inside this envelope, because I same friend would be calling him. He knew you would be here tonight, I would have a dream about someone placed one and only one card… the he hadn’t seen in years and then run eight of diamonds,” Hughes said. into them the next day at the mall.

“See, Unbeliever? Get off my damn “I started thinking maybe it’s not stage. Give it up for ‘Tasha, our a coincidence,” Hughes said. “Maybe amazing skeptic!” it’s extrasensory perception, and I The audience completely lost have to warm up to it, but once I’m it. The finale included Hughes in the zone, miraculous things are producing missing cards from an possible. Because I believe I have earlier trick from his pants. found a way to tap into the collective “I pulled my deck out of my pants!” unconscious.”

Hughes shouted.

He knows that not everyone feels The crowd was absolutely this way, though. hysterical.

“Is there anyone here who After his college tour, Hughes will thinks the two of diamonds was so be in Las Vegas at Harrah’s Main impossible that I had to prearrange Showroom Nov. 5-9. it with that guy?” Hughes asked.

“Mac King, an amazing magician “Anybody skeptical?”

— he’s been doing that room for 15 A student named Natasha was years — and when he goes on break, called to the stage after admitting her he has me come fill in, so it’s a huge skepticism. honor,” Hughes said.

“Get up here,” Hughes demanded.

Hughes and Blaine have known She approached the stage as her each other since they were teenagers. peers clapped and welcomed her “I just had dinner with him two presence. nights ago in New York,” Hughes “No, no, don’t applaud the said. “I was going to crash on his skeptic,” Hughes said. “Let me ask couch, but I didn’t need it because I you something, Skeptic. Do you had just pulled an all-nighter… He’s UPB hosted a magic show featuring Derek Hughes at the Student Union Theatre, Oct. 24. think you have free will? Freedom of Photo // Jessica Turner choice?”

“Yes,” she answered. you out. I have made a commitment Murmurs of, “Oh, my God,” “And you live confidently within to your astonishment. Here, inside this little envelope, before the show, and, “What the—,” were repeated that illusion?” Hughes asked her.

“Yes,” she said, laughing at his I sealed my commitment to your throughout the theater, but voices were nearly swallowed by the implication. astonishment.”

“Yeah,” Hughes said, sarcastically.

Hughes then changed the shouting and applause of the “Most of us do.” lengths of several ropes right before bewildered students.

“We’re going to do it again,” Hughes presented Natasha with the audience members’ eyes. He Hughes said to one student.

“You a deck of cards. He gave her the shredded a newspaper several times, crumpled it up in his hands, and look pissed. We’re going to do it opportunity to cut the deck. She refused. He told her that she did not when he unfolded it, it was whole again.”

Each time he performed one of his make that choice on her own. She again in its original form. He deduced spectacular tricks, he had a bit of then decided she did wish to cut the names of cities, people and animals humor to accompany it. deck. Again, Hughes informed her that students were thinking of.

“People ask how you become a that she was simply under his spell At one point, he presented the audience with a beer bottle, tapped magician,” Hughes told the audience. and he had already anticipated that it against the microphone stand “That’s a question you hear all the decision. Hughes allowed Natasha to to show the students that it was a time as a magician. ‘How’d you get select a group of cards as he fanned into magic?’ Suck at sports. That’s them out before her. She eventually

Photo // Jessica Turner super crazy. He really is. He always has been.”

In addition to the astounding performance from Hughes, the UPB has several other upcoming events as well.

On Monday, Oct. 28, UPB, along with the University News and K-Roo, will host a pumpkin carving event at the Student Union at 6 p.m.

Prizes will be given to students with the most creative pumpkins. The carving festivities will be followed by a screening of “The Conjuring” in the Student Union Theatre at 7 p.m.

There will also be a showing at noon for students who are unable to make the evening viewing.

“On Tuesday [Oct. 29], we’re doing a community service event, taking people to The Boys and Girls Club to help pass out candy,” Hassan said. “To sign up for it, students can just go to the Office of Student Involvement.”

The mission of The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, as stated on its website, is to promote “the development of self-esteem, values and skills for boys and girls, ages five to 18, with a special emphasis on youth from disadvantaged circumstances.” Wright advised interested students to sign up early, as UPB will only choose 10 student volunteers.

All of UPB’s events can be found on its Facebook page. To learn more about Hughes, join his mailing list or watch his videos, visit www. derekhughes.net. jturner@unews.com

Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

11

2013 Oscar Contenders

Lindsay Nelson Broadcast Assistant

Crisp weather is settling in and aromas of pumpkin-flavored everything are thick in the air. The best season of the year is upon us — Oscar season. It’s time to sit down with a hot pumpkin spice latte and get familiar with this year’s potential Academy Award nominees.

August: Osage County

Twelve Years a Slave

In theaters Nov. 8: The tagline “Misery loves family” should be enough in itself to get the attention of the Academy. This adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play may possess the finest acting performances audiences will see all year. Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Juliette Lewis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin and many others are brought back to their childhood home after a family crisis. This film might just take the “Best” in every category.

The nominations that could be awarded to this film are endless.

Steve McQueen could easily be up for Best Director for his illustration of a free black man kidnapped into slavery. Beyond the breakthrough leading performance of Chiwetel Ejiofor, the supporting roles are sure to see the nominee spotlight as well, with actors Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch in the mix.

Saving Mr. Banks

The Way, Way Back

In theaters Dec. 20: This film follows the author of the beloved “Mary Poppins” when she is invited to Hollywood to oversee her book, being adapted into a movie. Through the efforts of Emma Thompson as author P.L Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, a nomination will be hard to avoid.

This mesmerizing film served as the directorial debut of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Faxon and Rash are already Oscar-anointed screenwriters, having won Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Descendents” in 2013. As “The Descendents” was also nominated for Best Picture, it is likely the Faxon and Rash duo will find a slot at the 2014 Oscars, as well.

American Hustle

Gravity

In theaters Dec. 18: Director David O. Russel is at it again. He was nominated three times in the past two years and directed seven actors to nominations of their own. This time it is as though Russell picked all of his favorites to tell the story.

Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are all wrapped up in an FBI-Mafia-con artist triangle. Someone is bound to end up on the Oscar ballot.

Alfonso Cuaron’s blockbuster will either be a definite yes or an absolute no. There is a lot of pressure put on a movie with a cast of two people, and even more so on one set in space. Bullock and Clooney have been Oscar favorites for a while now, but will that have any gravity on their situation this year?

Other potential films to keep on the radar include “The Monuments Men,” “Out of the Furnace,” “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “Dallas Buyer’s Club.” lnelson@unews.com

All Photos // IMDB.com

Don’t miss “The Foreigner”

KC Rep’s new comedy keeps the audience in stitches a scheme to allow Charlie complete Lindsay Adams privacy. Froggy tells the landlady Senior Beat Writer Betty Meeks (Kathleen Warfel) that “The Foreigner” is absolutely Charlie is a foreigner and doesn’t delightful theatre. It is a wildly fun understand any English. At first romp that doesn’t take itself too Charlie is embarrassed and hesitant seriously, and its effervescence is to perpetuate this lie, but soon he its biggest accomplishment. This finds it freeing and starts to really comedy, while set in the 1980’s, is have fun with the act. timeless when it comes to laughs.

People reveal incredibly private The show revolves around two things in front of him, believing Englishmen, the meek Charlie Baker he cannot understand them, and (Martin Buchanan) and his friend, he quickly starts to understand Staff Sergeant Froggy LeSueur (Rusty the drama and deceit of the people Sneary), who travel to a fishing lodge staying at the lodge including the in rural Georgia from England where slow Ellard (Kyle Hatley), his Charlie’s wife, with whom he has a sister, the heiress Catherine Simms problematic relationship to say the (Emily Shackelford), and her fiancé, least, is dying. Hoping to take his preacher David Lee (Charles Fugate). mind off the matter for a little while, Charlie uncovers a plot to take the Froggy has taken his friend across lodge away from the sweet and dotty the pond. Feeling like a fish out of Betty, seemingly spearheaded by water and deathly shy, Charlie is Owen Musser (Gary Neal Johnson), still unhappy so his friend cooks up a redneck building inspector.

For a show that has the Ku Klux Klan drop in to threaten characters, “The Foreigner” stays away from the easy and crude dark comedy route, as well as managing to keep from becoming completely ridiculous and offensively slight in its treatment.

There are moments in the show so incredibly hilarious that the laughter continued longer than the actors could wait for it to subside.

Buchanan’s depiction of the change in Charlie is commendable.

The transition from a man who is looking for a personality to one whose personality is larger than life never feels forced or rushed.

The show only works because of Buchanan’s committed performance.

To be utterly comedic one has to be extremely courageous, and Buchanan puts himself out there and leaves it all on the stage.

The performance Hatley puts in

as Ellard is challenging physically and a difficult role to play without overacting or coming off as disrespectful. He manages to veer from the stereotypical or insensitive in the role, instead imbuing the character with personality and energy. It would be difficult not to love his rendition of Ellard. His chemistry with Buchanan is great and their scenes when Ellard is teaching Charlie English are some of the best in the show.

Sneary is fantastic as Froggy, a role that is fairly small and mostly used to set up the conceit of the play and the ending. Despite that, Sneary’s Froggy is incredibly genuine. One of the stand-out moments in the play is a long space of time where Sneary has very little dialogue, but his reactions to what is going on and seeing his greatly changed friend is phenomenally funny.

The rest of the cast is equally impressive. Warfel is great in a part that seems tailor made for her. The self-centered, but kind hearted Catherine is handled well by Shackelford and Fugate is appropriately slimy in his role.

Johnson plays a role quite opposite from his last few and seems to relish playing the ignorant, backwoods hick.

Slapstick humor and outrageous antics keep the laughs coming and the audience enthralled, even with a much longer playing time than most comedies. “The Foreigner” should not be missed.

For more information on performance times, check out http:// www.kcrep.org/ ladams@unews.com

Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

12

First time playwright makes world premiere

The Prism shattered

UMKC student Cynthia Hardeman is following her dreams Lindsay Adams Senior Beat Writer Cynthia Hardeman, a senior at UMKC, is getting a taste of success with her first play, “Truth Stands,” receiving a world premiere at the Coppin State Repertory Stage.

Hardeman was always interested in theater, but had never explored the writing side before.

“This just opened a whole new world of theater for me,” Hardeman said.

It started with an introductory theater class at UMKC. “My teacher suggested I take a playwriting class,” Hardeman said.

“I did, and wrote a play and, boom, that’s the play that’s being produced.”

Coppin State University in Baltimore produced the show as well as submitted it to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival competition.

“I got the idea I wanted to write something that was young and relevant to younger people interested in the theater,” Hardeman said.

Hardeman is influenced by many different experiences in her own life and the people around her.

“I was actually talking to my cousin about his brother,” Hardeman said. “They didn’t grow up together and they led, like, completely opposite lives and they were being reintroduced to each other.”

Hardeman used that idea as a foundation for her play “Truth Hurts,” which is based on two brothers, raised apart, meeting each other much later and figuring out how to interact. Hardeman said the show focuses on, “how they find that common denominator is music in their lives that connect them even though they are like on opposite ends of the spectrum.”

Hardeman wrote the play in class, and her professor, Frank Higgins, recommended that she submit it to a workshop.

“I was one of six finalists who made it to this workshop, workshopping the play with artists, directors and producers from all over the country,” Hardeman said. “After that it ended in a concert reading of the play and at the concert reading was the artistic director from Coppin State University and he wanted to work it some more and give it a full production.”

Hardeman has yet to write another full length show, but she has been keeping busy writing a short play and trying to finish up her degree in Spanish.

Hardeman was also the winner of the 2012 Project Playwrights 2.0

Photo // Google Lindsay Nelson Broadcast Assistant

Cynthia Hardeman premieres her play ‘Truth Stands.’

Photo // Cynthia Hardeman Competition, after competing in tell the story from a youth’s point of rounds with five other Kansas City view as I work and talk with youths, playwrights. but also from a parent’s perspective “[The competition takes place] in and from a society’s perspective.” two weekends where you stay up all Hardeman has many inspirations, night after being given a prompt for a but cited two as the major influences two-character play,” Hardeman said. and interests that drive her work: Hardeman currently works as a young people and music. parent education specialist for the “There’s sort of a connection to state of Missouri. them for me,” Hardeman said. “I’m “I work with foster kids and their always driven by trying to create parents,” Hardeman said. “I began to a community or a place for young get quite a bit of Spanish-speaking people to have a voice, to facilitate clients. I know how to speak empowerment or hope.

Spanish through my experience with “[Writing is] trying to make a the military, but I wanted to learn difference for at least one person. If formally. I wanted to be better.” my story is able to reach at least one To improve her ability to person I’ve done my job,” Hardeman communicate with clients, said.

Hardeman went back to school for a “Truth Stands” has also been degree in Spanish. picked up by new theater group KC “I still work with Spanish- Melting Pot to be produced at the speaking clients,” Hardeman said. “I Just Off Broadway Theatre in Kansas still plan on doing both until writing City. The show will open their 2015 for the theater can support me. “ season.

Hardeman served in the Air Hardeman also gave a shout out to Force for seven years, stationed all Higgins. around the world, travelling and “He’s been instrumental in experiencing different cultures and making the connections I need to countries. make outside in the real world, in “Definitely having had all of these the real working world of theater,” experiences allow me to tell a varied Hardeman said. “His advice has been amount of stories,” Hardeman said. invaluable.”

“It gives some depth to the characters I write about. Not only am I able to ladams@unews.com

Katy Perry released her third album with Capitol Records entitled “Prism” on Oct. 22. The promise of the album, which contains 16 tracks, dies after the first four minutes.

The first track is her single, “Roar,” was released earlier this month. The single is easily the best song on the album. It is reminiscent of both “Part of Me” and “Firework.” The lyrics call out the cynics and conformists and remind oddballs and optimists to follow their ambitions. “I went from zero to my own hero,” she sings. It is a faultless example of the artist listeners have loved ever since “Kissed a Girl.” This is the type of song Perry is known for and listeners hope for.

The rest of the album fails to reach the standard. The second track, “Birthday,” is like a bad sequel to “California Girls.” The line repeated the most is “Make it like your birthday every day.” The beat and melody are the same from start to finish. There is no build or sufficient bridge.

“Dark Horse” is no better. It is like the ugly stepchild of “ET.” The atmosphere of the two songs

is almost identical except “ET” is enticing and “Dark Horse” is almost tolerable. The subsequent song, “This is How We Do,” should never have been allowed on the album. Or produced. Or written.

Of the last nine songs on the album, there are roughly two good songs.

“Double Rainbow” is reminiscent of “Not Like the Movies.” With lyrics like “They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and “You speak to me, even in my dreams,” the song started to sound like Perry again. “It Takes Two” is the second to last track and the first to illustrate the newer sound listeners would have appreciated throughout the rest of the album. It is easy to note the song is about her ex-husband Russell Brand. She sings “I had to grow up, I wish you could too,” and “But let me be first, baby, to say ‘I’m sorry.’” This track made listening through the other 13 songs worth it.

Katy Perry is still among the best of the female artists in the industry today. Her voice and her lyrics are as strong as they have always been, but “Prism” is overall subpar to the expectations she has established for herself. lnelson@unews.com

Check out the U-News broadcast channel for exclusive video content at:

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Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

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Website Reviews: This Week on DVD Coffee Lunch Coffee

Chole Robbins

Copy Editor

Dead in Tombstone

No movie can go wrong when it has Danny Trejo. Movie pitches these days probably start with, “Okay, so we’ve got Danny Trejo…” “No, he’s too expensive – but we can afford Brad Pitt to fight those zombies.”

This movie is about an outlaw (Trejo) in the Old West who is shot to death and makes a deal with the devil (Mickey Rourke) to come back and collect the souls of the men who betrayed him. If he can kill each of these men himself by midnight, he can escape damnation. The situation gets complicated when a widow (Dina Meyer) vows revenge on the leader of the gang, Red (Anthony Michael Hall).

Viewers will have to be patient for the first half hour, which is a typical Western. The second Trejo is shot – over and over and over – viewers know they are in for an unusual experience.

Parts of the film have some great stylization, from the intro with cast names shown as wanted posters to a pocket watch opening to a portal to Hell. Besides these bits and some short forays back into the devil’s chamber, the movie is fairly straightforward.

People looking for an action flick with plenty of blood and guts and a twist will find an obvious choice in “Dead in Tombstone.”

The Internship

Movies like “Old School” are incredibly divisive: people either love and quote them daily or hate the very thought of them. “The Internship” is a similar movie, and the studio banked on that love.

Salesmen Billy and Nick (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) are fired in favor of sales machines and, after some failures in the job-search world, fake their way into an internship at Google. The two have complications

Photo // coffeelunchcoffee.com

due to their inexperience and frankness, but of course get the girl, the job and the respect of their snarky peers.

The plot is predictable from start to finish, but the situations are hilarious and the casting is brilliant.

Will Ferrell has his usual cameo as a completely inappropriate veteran salesman, Aasif Mandvi is a perfect supervisor with a stick up his butt and Dylan O’Brien is the totally adorable reluctant ally.

The ’80s references – and the fact that they are pointed out by one of the younger reject interns – is a sort of meta moment for every movie by this group. Instead of subtle references or lines, this movie gives entire conversations, trying to figure out where that water came from in “Slash Dance.”

After the intensity of the modern Western, curl up with some popcorn and mind-numbing hilarity with “The Internship.”

The Conjuring

Erin Melrose

Broadcast Assistant

Networking is a powerful staple in the business of succeeding. Kansas City’s Alana Muller has based an entire career on mastering this skill and sharing its importance with her followers. After boldly leaving her career as director of talent management at Sprint, she set her sights on the entrepreneurial world. Vowing to start her journey by routinely grabbing “coffee, lunch and coffee” with new and old acquaintances she encountered daily, her first purpose was to network. Whether conversation was light-hearted or inspirational, Mueller utilized all of the insight and eventually wrote about the experiences in her book “Coffee Lunch Coffee.” Now president of Kauffman FastTrac, she is hard at work providing structured learning programs and helpful guides for future entrepreneurs. Her blog keeps readers up to date with networking events around the city, along with video seminars and exercises that assist in the journey of taking an idea and making it a reality. http://www.coffeelunchcoffee.com

Alana Mueller left her executive position at Sprint and worked her way up to become her own boss.

Couch Surfing

From its humble beginnings in 2004, Couch Surfing is now on the rise in more than 100,000 cities and utilized by 7 million people. Providing a central platform worldwide, this website connects its members, based on the destination of choice, with locals who are willing to share their couch as a means of accomodations. The unconventional method certainly beats racking up expensive hotel bills but also requires some thorough research. Members set up profiles based on interests, photos and knowledge of the area, and they are able to message and screen potential hosts. Along with saving money, Couch Surfing goes a step further by making trips memorable and offering a local’s point of view not normally found with tour guides. Raved about

by Forbes magazine, the experience is for people “who want to meet and adventure with new friends around the world.”

Photo // couchsurfing.org An open mind is a travel essential with Couch Surfing.

https://www.couchsurfing.org

Karmaloop Photos // IMDB.com Save this one for last, after the sun has set, and turn out all the lights.

“The Conjuring” is seriously spooky, and basements will be at the end of everyone’s list to visit after watching it.

The film follows Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) as they investigate a family home overrun by malevolent spirits.

The Warrens bring in a crew to set up motion-activated cameras and record sound, and everyone starts experiencing frightening things.

They find out that there is a witch who had been hanged there, and all the people her spirit had killed in some way were also trapped in the house.

There is a lot happening in this movie, all preying on different fears of today’s audience. There’s a witch ghost, a demonic possession, a creepy doll that moves on its own and of course a little girl ghost. Logically, the plot is all over the place and sort of ridiculous. Illogically, the wide net worked – people are bound to be frightened by at least one part of the equation.

The film is loosely based on real events that happened to real people: the Warrens and the Perron family (Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston).

The women of both families consulted the director and said it’s fairly accurate. On second thought, watch “The Conjuring” first, with the lights out, and follow it up with some cartoons. crobbins@unews.com

This self-proclaimed dot.com survivor has weathered fierce style competition over the past decade. Dedicated to igniting individuality, Karmaloop is home to more than 300 different apparel brands for men and women alike. The wellcurated selection ranges from funky Jeffrey Campbell pieces to affordable, every day gear like LRG. Embracing cultural style in all aspects, there is also a wide variety of home and tech items, such as mustache hangers and pizza party lights.

Whether the goal is outrageous or tame, Karmaloop refuses to showcase anything but originality, and founder Greg Selkoe plans to “keep killing shit from now until eternity!” http://www.karmaloop.com

Photo // Google

Wu Tang is certainly forever on Karmaloop.

With music reigning popular in the blog world, it can be difficult to decide which to follow. Earmilk is operated by the source and is based out of Canada and the U.S. A couple of journalists along with fellow musicians began to review, feature and broadcast music happenings all over the world. The breath-of-fresh-air blog sheds light on artists not yet found on the radio.

In hopes of further expanding the melodic horizons of its visitors, all genres are welcome as albums and singles are rated and reviewed. In an effort to keep its readers up to date, Earmilk gives a first look into upcoming album releases as well as concerts and events around the nation.

Earmilk

Photo // earmilk.com In addition to spotlights and reviews, Earmilk offers weekly playlists.

http://www.earmilk.com

Photo // herreport.com

Her Report Giving voice to women around the world, Her Report aims to inspire females through the journeys of their peers. The concept stems from the notion that people often learn things about themselves through the way others live. Founder AnnaMarie Houlis is a 22 year-old student on the path to self-discovery, much like 20-somethings everywhere. She has turned her travel into a guide and uses Her Report as a platform for fellow women by interviewing and writing about them along the way. Model Elle Evans was recently featured on the site for her role in Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” video. The article targeted the politics that coincide with sexual liberation as a female. http://herreport.org

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Photo // karmaloop.com

emelrose@unews.com

Model Elle Evans says the key component for aspiring models, is to be in touch with your own sense of reality.

Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

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Monday October 28, 2013 | Issue 11

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Disclaimer: The views of individual writers expressed below in this section do not represent the official stance of U-News. U-News welcomes participation from all UMKC students.

Letters to the editor may be submitted to Editors-in-Chief Roze Brooks and Elizabeth Golden, editor@unews.com.

I don’t Obamacare Whatever happened to about your arguments Halloween night?

The first issue that came up was Matt Melson the idea of “Obama Death Panels.”

Broadcast Assistant This was a made-up argument With the recent implementation of claiming the policy would involve the Affordable Care Act, commonly panels of judges that would evaluate known as Obamacare, certain the living to see if they were worthy problems have come up during the of staying alive after they became Three last few weeks. The biggest problem sick. I know... spooky. years since the passing of this act, is the functionality of the website.

The whole debate began back in Obamacare is now in full swing, and 2010 with the passing of the health I still have yet to hear about anyone care law, which provides affordable being sentenced to death by one of health care to everyone within the these panels.

Fast forward to the most recent United States. There were many provisions that allowed for this act issue: the website that people are to be influential in the health care using to apply for the new affordable world. For example, you cannot health care. Many people are not be dropped by your coverage if you able to apply, some have to do the become ill or make a mistake on application multiple times before your application. This upset many it goes through and for others, the insurance companies because this website has not worked at all. was their way to screw people out of While this is a very frustrating part of the process for those trying to apply health care.

The act also expands Medicare, for health care, it is not necessarily allows young adults to stay on their because the site is dysfunctional. parents’ plan until age 26 and gives Overwhelming traffic to the website small businesses tax credits for has made it difficult for the servers providing its employees with health processing the information to keep insurance. This combination of up.

These have been the two biggest changes made for what seemed to be a great act to pass for the American issues to come out after the passing of Obamacare. The arguments against public. Right?

Wrong. It was only a matter of the Affordable Care Act literally have time until it became more about gone from a something you’d find in politics and less about helping a Stephen King novel to “uh well, I people. There was a brief period of mean...uh the website doesn’t even time where there was some hope work. I mean come on.” Seriously?

I am all for democracy and having but that was before the political bantering between the two sides differing points of view but when started. What seemed like a great did we go from intelligent civil step forward for this nation turned discourse to bickering, shouting and into a garbled mess of political rants. incoherently rambling like a mad

Lindsay Nelson Broadcast Assistant

Matt Melson man? This nation deserves better than what its government has been giving it. There has to be a time when politicians stop worrying about whether or not they are going to be re-elected and do what is truly best for the American public.

The Affordable Health Care Act may not be perfect and the website may not function at times but that does not mean the people we elect can now act like four year-olds and go on tantrums because something passed that they did not support. If there are actual problems that arise from this act such as more deaths, more insurance companies going bankrupt or some death panels start showing up then there is cause for alarm. But if the only major problem you have right now is that the website is not functioning properly, then I don’t Obamacare about your argument. mmelson@unews.com

When I was a kid, Halloween was the best holiday in existence.

It nearly outranked Christmas.

Costumes, candy and a mandate to get to stay up late—what else could a kid ask for? Now everything is different. The entire structure of the holiday has become a lie. Children in today’s society are getting shortchanged of the proper Halloween experience.

The new idea of trunk-ortreating is rampantly taking over.

Instead of walking their children around the neighborhood, groups of people just hole up in parking lots or cul-de-sacs. They put candy in the trunks and let kids walk from car to car to collect candy. These kids have no idea what they are missing out on. The location is restricted, the accumulation of candy is limited and there is a far greater possibility of running into someone in the same costume.

If I were a child in this situation, I would simply opt out on Halloween.

I would rather pretend it didn’t exist than participate in such a sad excuse of a holiday. However, even those lucky enough to partake in trick-ortreating are often unable to live it to its full potential.

Halloween used to be a mandatory event. Every house in the neighborhood had candy ready to dish out as early as 6 p.m.. Waves of kids would flow from door-todoor until at least 10 p.m., even if it was freezing outside. I remember my friends or siblings and I would wear our coats as we walked to the next house, but we took them off before taking a single step towards the next door. Nowadays children are coerced

Lindsay Nelson into wearing their coats for the entire night, and their dissatisfaction is very apparent when no one can tell who or what they are dressed as because the jacket covers up their costume. There is only one thing worse than wearing winter apparel over a costume, and that is being held hostage from Halloween altogether.

Each year more and more children are told they are not allowed to go trick-or-treating. Some parents claim this decision is a safety precaution because there are a lot of weird people out there, which is understandable. However, I do not believe that is a strong enough excuse. I think it is a cop out for when parents don’t want to spend the time and energy walking their child around the block.

There will always be weird people. There will always be cold weather. Kids will always love candy and Halloween will never cease to be a holiday. Do we not want the upcoming generations to have as many fond memories as we did?

Provide a proper place to collect pounds of candy, force a coat only when necessary and take the time to enjoy the experience with them.

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