recyclemaniacs have infiltrated campus...souri highway 150 and botts road. it would replace the...
TRANSCRIPT
Re c y c l e M a n i a i s spreading like a vi-rus across campus.
R e c y c l e M a -niacs, as they are
self-dubbed, have one goal — to recycle record amounts of waste on the UMKC campus.
“[Our goal is] to continue to in-crease recycling rates on campus through adding the number of ma-terials we recycle, increasing the amounts of recycling overall and improving the infrastructure for recycling on campus,” said Kaye Johnston, coordinator of Campus Facilities Management and chair of the Sustainability Team.
RecycleMania, sponsored by the Sustainability Team on the UMKC campus, is a friendly competition among more than 551 colleges and universities across the country to determine who can recycle the most from Jan. 18 through March 27.
Johnston said UMKC has brought its A-game to the competi-tion since first getting involved in January 2008.
“In 2007, campus recycling rates were at 14 percent, with only 127 tons recycled,” she said. “Since then, our recycling rates in 2008 shot up to 27 percent (or 234 tons recycled) and, in 2009, a 50 percent recycling rate (or 880 tons), which also included construction waste recycling.”
UMKC began competing in Re-cycleMania for two reasons.
First, it is one of the require-ments of the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment University of Mis-souri President Gary Forsee signed in 2009.
Second, the university became a member of the Association for Advancement of Sustainabi l-ity in Higher Education (AASHE) through a partnership with the Geosciences Depar tment and
Campus Facilities Management to fund the costs of membership. Re-cycleMania is one of the resources AASHE provides.
In addition to vamping up recy-cling efforts on campus, Johnston
said UMKC has reported its Cool Planet Clean Air Carbon Baseline Carbon Calculations and is on tar-get to meet the requirements of that commitment.
In the meantime, Roo Recy-
cleManiacs are ready to start a re-cycling revolution at UMKC.
For more information about Recy-cleMania, visit www.recyclemaniacs.org.
The first week of the year brought snow and frustrations.
The UMKC Alert! system was used Jan. 7 to notify faculty, staff and students via phone calls, text messages and e-mails about late openings.
The university ran into problems when many people who should not receive the alerts did and others who were signed up for alerts were not con-tacted.
Wandra Green, associate director of Public Relations, said the system did not fail.
“Our vendor’s system (Everbridge) performed as required,” Green said. “However, several people who have ended their affiliation with UMKC – and a few individuals with no af-
filiation with UMKC – were notified by the Alert! process. This was due to some data not being deleted from the Everbridge system.”
Therefore, when it was decided to delay opening the university Jan. 8, the alert was issued the afternoon of Jan. 7 without using the vendor mass notification venues so the data prob-lem could be identified and resolved, Green said.
Jessica Bond, UMKC alumnus who graduated three years ago, said she received the alerts.
“Three emails on my personal e-mail (which I have no idea how they obtained that info) from the emer-gency alert system,” she said “I just thought it was funny because UMKC is kind of famous for ridiculous stuff like this happening.”
Elijah Spurgeon, a UMKC student, was one of the Roos who did not get contacted by the alert system on Jan. 7. He said he hopes he is in the future.
“I’d certainly like to be contacted if there is anything to be contacted about,” Spurgeon said.
On the other hand, Jason Patterson, junior in Mechanical Engineering, said the amount of notifications he re-
ceived was overkill. “Some people received no messag-
es while I received eight text messages in the span of five minutes, plus the system called my cell phone and house phone leaving messages on both,” Pat-terson said.
He isn’t sure the system is some-thing he wants to deal with.
“I am not sure if this is what I signed up for,” Patterson said. “I really just need a text message. I question the system’s ability to alert everyone in the event of a real emergency, not just a late start because of a little snow.”
Green said the point of the system is to use several avenues to contact the students and faculty.
“The system is designed to pro-vide several avenues of emergency no-tification to students, faculty and staff
in the event of situations which could impact the safety and welfare or our UMKC community, or which could create a major disruption of campus operations,” she said.
Toni Jantz, junior studying Politi-cal Science, said the system was not as efficient as it should have been at handling the notification. But he also said that is the chance you have to take.
“I also think it is really important to put this into perspective,” he said. “Yes, the system failed this time, but we would be in a much worse place if we did not have the system at all.”
Green said she was not aware some Roos were not contacted on Jan. 7 and will be looking into why they were not reached.
www.unews.comJanuary 18, 2010 Vol. 77, Issue 16
RESTAURANT WEEK page 8
NEW PROGRAMS AT SWINNEY page 12A look inside the Bloch Mansion
Rachael HerndonStaff Writer
Alert system faced some glitches
Alexia Stout-LangNews Editor
INSIDE P.
10
“I just thought it was funny because UMKC is kind of famous for ridiculous stuff like this happening.”
JESSICA BONDUMKC alumnus
RecycleManiacs have infiltrated campus
Photo Illustration ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
RecycleMania is upon us. That means many RecycleManiacs will be scouring campus in search of materials to fill up the recycle bins - even if that means a little wastebucket and dumpster diving. Student Ryan Larson practices a covert approach to filling up the bins.
A new nuclear weapons parts facility in Kansas City is one step closer to becoming a reality to the dismay of some Metro residents.
The Kansas City City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted Thursday to ap-prove a more than $650 million plan to build a 1.4 million square foot campus on a 185-acre site near Mis-souri Highway 150 and Botts Road.
It would replace the 60-year-old Bannister Federal Complex, located at Bannister Road and Troost Av-enue, currently used by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technol-ogies.
Approximately 15 members of PeaceWorks Kansas City, a local organization opposing construction of the plant, attended the committee meeting along with 40 advocates for the new facility.
“The meeting was highly con-gested,” Jane Stoever, member of PeaceWorks, said. “Many of the people who had not come early like we had were standing in little space. It was clear they brought their sup-port out in force. We were glad we were there and that we could speak up for peace.”
Council members John Sharp and Cathy Jolly introduced the de-velopment because it would be in their district.
Sharp said he views building the facility as an economic develop-ment issue.
“This work will continue either here or in New Mexico,” he said. “I want to keep these jobs and eco-nomic growth here.”
About 10 people on each side of the issue were given two minutes each to speak their minds about the facility.
Some simply stated affiliations with unions, schools or businesses that would benefit from the devel-opment while others gave longer ex-planations of their positions.
Maurice Copeland, who retired from the Honeywell plant, said he opposes the plant because of the burden it will place on taxpayers and the harmful effects working in a facility that regularly processes carcinogenic substances can have on employees.
Some of the people he worked with have developed leukemia be-cause of exposure to carcinogenic chemicals, he said.
“What it takes to produce death also kills the producer,” Copeland
said.Stoever said she is aghast about
the amount of tax dollars that will be used to fund the project.
“They gave the go ahead to $10 million that will go toward the in-frastructure, including roads and the highway en-hancements as matching funds with the Missouri Department of Transportation up to $10 million,” she said. “Huge expense for the h ighway sys tem out there. And then the tax breaks are up to $65 mil-lion.”
When she looks around Kansas City, Stoever said she can see many other projects that could use city funding.
“The tax abatement of $65 mil-lion means the money that could have come from taxes for schools and libraries, for example, or hospi-tals or to roads is not going to come. That’s a discouragement at a time when our inner city has so many needs.”
Officials said they do expect to
collect taxes from the facility. Currently, the Honeywell plant
is on tax-exempt property and the new facility would generate an an-ticipated $5.2 million annually in local property taxes.
PeaceWorks members said they understand the appeal of the many financial benefits of the new plant. But they believe the costs will out-weigh the ben-efits over time.
“It will help maintain 2,100 jobs at the cur-rent Kansas City plant,” Stoever said. “But the
hidden costs of working there, the exposure to contaminants that does not come to light for many years, these will continue to imperil Kan-sas City employees. There will be financial gain, but then later after the federal funds stop supporting this whole deal, Kansas City might be left behind.”
Stoever said the PeaceWorks members were dismayed the com-mittee voted in favor of the facility,
but they were not surprised. The full city council will be vot-
ing on the facility next Thursday and it is expected the proposal will be approved.
Currently, Stoever only expects one council member to oppose the proposal.
“We knew this was a seal in the coffin,” she said. “In the city coun-cil meeting itself, there will be one person who will vote against this development plan because he is op-posed to nuclear weapons and that is Ed Ford. He has told us that he will vote against the development plan.”
Nevertheless, PeaceWorks mem-bers will continue to advocate peace rather than making bombs, mem-bers said.
“The fact that these are nuclear bombs the Kansas City plant is mak-ing parts for, it’s a death machine,” Stoever added. “Instead we want to push for green jobs. Something life giving instead of death giving. More solar technology, more wind technology.”
For more information about PeaceWorks Kansas City, contact Stoever at 913-206-4088.
A piece of legislation slated to go before Congress Jan. 20 has been dubbed by opponents as the Dirty Air Act of 2010.
Formally referred to as the Murkowski Amendment, the leg-islation was drafted by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in response to plans announced by the Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA) in December to limit emissions from big polluters.
The amendment would block the EPA from putting many regulations into place, citing it as a cost-saving measure.
Many local environmentalists are concerned about the amendment.
“This amendment undermines 40 years of work protecting human health and the climate through the Clean Air Act,” said Jill DeWitt, community outreach policy coordi-nator for Burroughs Audubon Mis-souri and resident of Crestwood. “These decisions should be made with sound science, not politics. We must support strong, effective clean air legislation.”
DeWitt believes the amendment
comes down to three things – more pollution, less security and no ac-countability.
“Over the last few months, Sena-tor Murkowski has been trying to find avenues for an attack on the Clean Air Act in response to EPA’s recent final ruling that carbon diox-ide pollution endangers public health
and human welfare,” she said. “EPA is poised to issue final tailpipe emis-sions standards for cars and light trucks in March and to continue its work to establish appropriate green-house gas standards for stationary sources such as power plants, refin-eries and industrial sources.”
Burroughs Audubon has joined
forces with the Missouri chapter of Sierra Club to encourage constitu-ents to contact Sen. Claire McCaskill regarding the amendment.
Melissa Hope, associate regional representative for Sierra Club, said McCaskill is still considered a swing vote on climate legislation.
Hope said it is significant more than 400,000 Americans submitted comments last month in favor of the EPA’s proposal to limit pollution.
“Senator Murkowski’s amend-ment would disregard decades of re-search, scientific debate, court cases, public hearings and comments that state that global warming is happen-ing and that it will be dangerous to human health and welfare,” she said. “... We cannot afford to ignore that global warming pollution will en-danger public health in the U.S. and around the world.”
DeWitt agrees.“A vote for the Dirty Air Act is a
vote for more pollution, for protect-ing polluters and against clean air,” she said. “It is a vote that will move America backwards and roll back the progress we have made over the last 40 years.”
DeWitt said there is good and bad
news about the amendment. “The good news is that, under
the agreement, Murkowski needs 60 votes for the amendment to pass,” she said. “The bad news is that the vote is being set up as a litmus test
on climate. We must not only defeat this attack on the Clean Air Act but demonstrate clear support for mov-ing forward on climate legislation with a strong vote margin.”
2January 18, 2010 www.unews.com
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Some community members are concerned about industries’ pollutants.
Alexia Stout-LangNews Editor
Alexia Stout-LangNews Editor
Missourians fight for clean air
“The hidden costs of working there, the exposure to contaminants that does not come to light for many years, these will continue to imperil Kansas City employees.”
JANE STOEVERPeaceWorks
Kansas City steps closer to new nuclear facility
“This amendment undermines 40 years of work protecting human health and the climate through the Clean Air Act.”
JILL DEWITTCommunity outreach policy coordinator for Burroughs Audubon
Concerned citizens gathered at the Central Branch of the Kansas City Public Library last Tuesday to confront racism head-on.
Attendees were presented with the results of the State of Black Kansas City 2010 Equality Index program.
Since 2006, the Urban League has been producing the Black Kan-sas City Equality Index in conjunc-tion with Dr. Matthew Forstater, executive director of the Center for Full Employment & Price Stability (C-FEPS) and associate professor of Economics at UMKC.
The way the study works is by comparing minorities to whites.
Gwen Grant, CEO of Urban League, said the research shows that blacks are regressing economically.
“In the face of mounting trou-bles, it is our responsibility to change the course and conscience
of our country and our communi-ty,” Grant said. “We need to con-front the everyday issues confront-ing African-Americans. It takes all of us, but it also just takes one.”
Grant spoke twice, including a speech on what Dr. Martin Lu-ther King, Jr. w o u l d t h i n k of the state of black America.
“I think [ K i n g ] wo u l d h a v e m i x e d e m o t i o n s t o -day,” she said. “He would joy-fully acknowl-edge what has gone well, but he would be sad-dened by our apparent failure. I can remember one of his impassioned speeches calling us to change the situation. It’s really quite troubling. He would be wondering why is it
that still twice as many black moth-ers have out of wedlock births and still black children are more likely to attend a failing public school and should they reach high school, they are more likely to drop out before
graduation.”F o r s t a t e r
thinks the study is beneficial to create changes in policies.
“Many of us don’t need to be shown facts that racism exists,” he said. “We can go to the facts. The [Equality Index] is a lot of
ammunition. This is a tool that can be used to support public policies to address these issues. Otherwise, what is the purpose?”
He also said UMKC students should get more involved in solv-
ing the issue. “Roll up your sleeves and get
involved in your community,” Forstater said. “They get so much out of it. It’s not like the organiza-tions get free help. The student’s experience is irreplaceable. You can only get so much learning out of a book. The real life experience of being in the community and in-teracting is irreplaceable.”
Grant and Forstater suggest one way to get involved is through the Urban League.
The League’s goals, listed on the Equality Index, state, “Oppor-tunity for children to thrive, oppor-tunity to have a job with a living wage, opportunity to have safe, af-fordable housing and opportunity to prosper with businesses of our own. These fundamental issues must remain our focus as we seek to close the gaps in education, in-come, wealth and health.”
The program ended on a hope-
ful note.“Get angry, get urgent and do
something different,” Grant said. “It’s just the beginning. We’ve got to do more.”
After the meeting, Councilwom-an Sharon Sanders Brooks said she and the city council rely on studies like the Equality Index to help cre-ate change.
Funding to complete the Equal-ity Index has decreased recently.
In the past, UMKC has support-ed a great deal of the research C-FEPS conducts to create the Equal-ity Index.
“Because of the economy, UMKC had to reduce the amount of support,” Forstater said. “That was disappointing and I hope that they can go back to full support of what we are doing. It’s so important.”
For more information about the Equality Index, visit www.ulkc.org.
Marcia Merrick made local head-lines in 2009 with her volunteer work.
She is an advocate for the poor, homeless and battered.
Molly Merrick, Marcia’s 25-year-old daughter, cannot remember a time when her mom wasn’t helping others.
“Growing up, my mom always had compassion,” Molly said. “She would serve breakfast at a family shelter on Saturday mornings. But she would say that they needed more than just a hot meal.”
Feeding and clothing people wasn’t enough for Marcia, Molly said. Mar-cia felt they needed more of a personal connection.
“So mom started getting to know the people and befriended them,” Molly said. “Even if these people had a chance to start all over, all they had was what was in their backpack. Mom learned about their needs.”
More than 20 years later, Marcia continues in the same spirit.
“I go to laundromats and watch people,” Marcia said. “If I have an available washer and dryer, I just go up to them and I say, ‘Hey, how about a washer and dryer at your house? So you don’t have to do this?’”
Early in the morning, usually around 6 a.m., Marcia drives a white van around downtown and hands out lunch sacks and bottled water.
Each sack has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a piece of fruit and a homemade cookie.
“The cookie represents home,” Marcia said. “There is something about the homemade that we all hun-ger for, regardless of where we are in life.”
Next to the food, Marcia also hands out encouragement.
“Inside (each sack) is a note of en-couragement,” she said. “Because I want them to know that I am thinking
about them all the time, not just when I am in their presence.”
Marcia learns about peoples’ needs in various ways.
“I go to the bus stops and sit there. I travel on the buses around the city to see what the need is. Otherwise, you don’t really get to know who needs help unless somebody sends them di-rectly to you.”
When Marcia finds someone in need, she responds with an action.
“I go to shelters, I take people to appointments, I do one-on-one men-toring with people,” she said. “I’ve sat in emergency rooms. I go to doctors’ offices.”
One day, she found a pregnant lady with a baby and a stroller in Truman Hospital.
Marcia went up to her and offered help.
“She gave me her name and her phone number,” Marcia said. “Almost immediately, I called it to check that it was a working number. I worked with her for five years. She was a prosti-tute.”
Many times, Marcia gives away the essentials she needs to survive, even giving away her own bed once.
“She is very giving,” Molly said. “She walked into the church today and her hands were very cold. I asked,
‘Mom, where are your gloves?’ And she said, ‘I gave them away.’”
Marcia lives on a limited budget.“I live on $728 a month, and $475.19
of it goes to health insurance,” Marcia said. “I am not a Johnson County girl that has everything, and this is not just my little side kick to feel good. This is not about feeling good, Honey!”
Marcia’s drive to serve comes from knowing pain in her own life.
“Growing up, I was not wanted,” she said. “And I never wanted for somebody to feel the rejection and loneliness that I felt … I just know that I would not be here today without some people who took care of me.”
Faces that stay in memoriesLast week, Marcia encountered a
woman at the City Union Mission. “She stood out to me. I said, ‘I have
not seen you here before, can you just tell me a little bit about how you got here?’”
The woman’s husband is dying at the VA hospital. The bank foreclosed on their house because the husband lost his job. And the woman lost her job because she was missing work while at the hospital with her husband.
“The woman lost everything,” Marcia said. “Now, do we blame her?”
Marcia said some people ask why she is enabling the homeless.
“That’s what they see because they have everything,” she said. “They say, ‘Let them fall on their faces.’”
But this could mean letting them die, Marcia said.
In a KMBC video, available at www.kmbc.com/video/21761285/index.html, Marcia delivers a sack lunch to one man living under I-35.
“This last week [the last week of 2009], he froze to death,” Marcia said. “Now, am I responsible for that? I don’t think I am. But I am responsible for not having the next guy to freeze to death, or a women, or a child.”
Her eyes water with tears when she talks about John. He is another home-less man Marcia works with who is presently missing.
“John told me when we met that they [the homeless] are invisible peo-ple,” Marcia said. “They can go away in a lickety split. … Nobody knows them. And it happened. He vanished.”
Marcia worked with John for about 10 years. She continues to search for him.
“I ask people on the street, but nobody talks,” she said. “It’s a tough one.”
John never fit in, Marcia said.
3News
www.unews.com January 18, 2010
See MERRICKI page 16
Photo LYDIA STRONG
Marcia Merrick feeds Kansas City’s homeless.
Lydia StrongStaff Writer
Rachael HerndonStaff Writer
“In the face of mounting troubles, it is our responsibility to change the course and conscience of our country and our community.”
GWEN GRANT CEO of Urban League
Kansas City confronts racial issues
Ultimate volunteer saves lives
The 2010 census is coming and Kansas City is getting ready.
Last Tuesday, the 2010 Census Portrait of Amer-ica Road Tour stopped in Kansas City to spread the word about the census coming this spring.
Speakers included Councilwoman Sharon Sanders Brooks, from the 3rd District, and Leg-islator Scott Burnett, from the 1st District.
The overall theme of the event, “It’s in our hands,” stressed the importance of the count.
The count not only determines how federal, state and local funds are divided, but it is the basis for many academic studies and a reflection of the population in Kansas City.
Burnett said the census is vital for distribut-ing funding.
“Billions and billions, hundreds of billions of dollars are divided up by how we’re counted,” Burnett said. “It’s very, very crucial that we do what we can do.”
While the census divides and generates mon-ey for regions, it also costs money.
Dennis Johnson, regional director of the U.S. Census Bureau, said it saves money when resi-dents fill out the form.
“It’s better for you to fill out the form,” John-son said. “It’s much easier for you. It’s much cheaper for the federal government as well, and that tax payer. That’s the important thing.”
When someone does not fill out the census, the government sends out an employee to locate the person, which can be costly.
“For every one percentage point, that’s one single percentage point of the population, that returns a census form, we save the tax payer about $90 million,” Johnson said.
It was clarified that while the census is in-credibly important, it is not incredibly compli-cated to fill out and return.
Sanders Brooks further broke down the sim-plicity of the census.
“The census this year should be very easy to fill out because it is only 10 questions,” she said.
Burnett said the census is confidential. “We do everything that we can do to go into
the undercounted areas and try and pull out some more of the people,” he said. “Many of the people in my district are reluctant to fill these forms out. But they are not shared with anyone else, they are just used for the census.”
For college students, there is often a question of where the census will count them.
“We look for where you spend most of your time,” Johnson said. “Let’s say you have a house
here and you travel away to college, you’re at college for eight months or nine months, you’d be counted at the college.”
Overall, Kansas City is looking forward to the 2010 results of the census.
Look for the census to be delivered to mailboxes in March. For questions or con-cerns regarding the census, visit www.census.gov/2010census.
[email protected] [email protected]
4January 18, 2010 www.unews.com
News
Photo CHRISTIAN ROSE
Roos prepare for ice skating fun at the Ice Terrace at Crown Center.
Photo PATRICK SHAMI
Representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau urge Kansas Citians to participate in the census.
Patrick ShamiContributing Writer
Although Kansas City is still beneath a blanket of snow and the temperatures hover just above freezing, the Activity & Program Council (APC) continues to heat things up around campus.
Thursday night, APC sponsored their annual outing to Crown Center’s Ice Ter-race for an evening of frosty fun under a clear sky.
Participants hit the ice, some quite liter-ally, from 7-9 p.m. Along with several mem-bers of the APC and Student Life staff, there were approximately 100 UMKC students in attendance.
“This is one of the events that I really look forward to every year,” sophomore Jessie Larkin said. “I’m actually missing ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to come.”
Crown Center has hosted the annual event for the past several years, drawing some pretty large crowds from the student body.
Students skated, some expertly while others slip awkwardly across the ice, with the backdrop of the flagship building amid shooting water fountains and trees strung
with twinkling, white lights.LaShaundra Randolph, coordinator of
APC, said she was excited about the upcom-ing events sponsored by her department.
“We are committed to bringing events to our campus that not only draw students out from under their blankets in the resi-dence halls for a good time, but we also have several upcoming events that foster a sense of community and global awareness,” Ran-dolph said. “This is especially relevant now with the recent tragedy in Haiti.”
The night wound down with no major accidents but plenty of bruised egos and sore ankle’s.
Randolph urged students to become more involved by attending the APC meet-ings held at 7 p.m. every Thursday in the Brookside Room of the Administration Center.
A list of upcoming APC events and a link to their official YouTube page can be found on their Web site at www.apcactivi ties.com.
Events are free and open to all UMKC students. Contact the APC office at 816-235-1457 for more information.
Note from the editor: Each week, the Students in Free En-terprise (SIFE) Team from the Bloch School of Business and Public Administration, with assistance from a group of re-spected business people, will answer your financial ques-tions.
Susana Garcia-Bech, an Education and Spanish major, asked, “How do I qualify for more money with financial aid after it has been awarded? For example, I quit my job.”
According to UMKC’s Fi-nancial Aid and Scholarships Office, if you were consid-ered an “independent” student when you completed the FAF-SA, you and/or your spouse must meet at least one of the special circumstances listed below.
Additionally, if you were considered a “dependent” stu-dent when you completed the FAFSA, you and/or your par-ents must meet at least one of the following special circum-stances to appeal your finan-cial aid award:
The Special Circumstance Appeal form and additional information are available on their Web site, www.sfa.umkc.edu.
Amanda Miller, a Chem-istry student, asked, “I have a lot of student loans, am close to graduation and I have yet to find a job. Should I focus on student loans or my other debt first?”
According to the Depart-ment of Education, when you graduate, you will have a six-month grace period before a payment is due.
There are programs that allow you to consolidate your loans and make only one pay-ment and will even base your payment on your income. For more information, check out the Department of Education’s Web site at www.ed.gov.
Please e-mail your financial quest ions to UMKCSIFE@ yahoo.com.
SIFE Financial
CornerRachael Herndon
Staff Writer
Kansas City prepares to be counted
Christian RoseStaff Writer
Roos enjoy APC Ice Capades
- Separation, divorce or death- Reduction of income- Unusual medical and dental expenses- Elementary or secondary school tuition- Child care expense - Repairs to student’s vehicle- Required books and/or supplies- Personal computer purchase
The new year brings resolutions, new classes and a fresh start.
But this year also brings with it new laws. Many of these new laws will affect young adults.
One new piece of legislation is designed to have a large impact on how Americans spend their money and how young adults build their credit.
On May 22, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Credit Card Accountability, Respon-sibility and Disclosure Act, which is aimed at protecting Americans with credit cards and young adults who want credit cards. The act will offi-cially go into effect Feb. 22.
This new set of laws restricts anyone under the age of 21 from acquiring a credit card without the signature of a parent or guardian un-less the person can prove he/she has sufficient income to repay any debt acquired with the credit card.
“I think it’s a start,” senior Ty-son Fisher said. “When you’re 18, 19 years old, you don’t have a lot of life experience, really, to manage money. Some people do, but I think a lot of people don’t. With the way the economy’s going, we might as well set some kind of boundaries for the youth.”
There is also a restriction on credit card companies targeting col-lege students.
Companies advertising to stu-dents must clearly explain the terms of the agreement the company has with the channel in which they are
distributing the card, such as an agreement with the university or a separate company sponsoring the distribution.
For example, credit card com-panies frequently make agreements with businesses like Papa John’s Piz-za where free pizzas are given to stu-dents who sign up for a credit card.
Now, before a student signs up for a credit card, they will be informed clearly of what they are signing and why.
Some critics complain these laws affecting young adults inhibit their ability to build credit. But propo-nents for the law cite that parents are still able to help their children build
their credit in a controlled manner without the fear of card abuse.
A study found that in 2009, 84 percent of undergraduate students had credit cards, up 8 percent from 2004. The majority of those card-holders do not pay off their balances every month and have a median debt of $1,645.
As of last year, 80 percent of Americans have a credit card and over half of those card holders have credit card debt.
Other aspects of this new legis-lation are supposed to help lighten the burden for those who do have a credit card.
As of New Year 2010, all forms and statements sent out by credit card companies have to include clear language the layman can easily see and understand.
The law prevents unfair rate in-creases and now cardholders will have at least a 45-day notice if the terms of their initial agreement, such as fees and interest rates, are going to change, giving the consumer suf-ficient time to negotiate the condi-tions, cancel the card or transfer the balance.
Establishments must also inform customers if a transaction will cause their account to go over the limit, which allows the customer to “opt-in” to fees attached to going over the limit.
And one of the most subtle changes is credit card companies cannot change the due date for pay-ments every month.
Payments will be due the same day every month unless a different date is negotiated by the cardholder or the credit card company gives at least a 45-day notice.
For a more exhaustive list of the terms of the Credit Card Account-ability, Responsibility and Disclo-sure Act, visit www.whitehouse.gov.
5News
www.unews.com January 18, 2010
Photo courtesy GOOGLE IMAGES
New rules aim to regulate credit card companies.
Missouri Politicians Series: by RACHAEL HERNDON
State Senator Jolie Justus finds causes to believe in and puts them into law in Jefferson City.
She represents the 10th District of Missouri, which encompasses much of Kansas City from down-town to south Kansas City.
“What I focus on is early educa-tion and higher education,” Justus said describing her general areas of advocacy.
There are many challenges in the Missouri Senate that Justus ac-knowledges. The budget is one large concern.
She said the best way to maxi-mize the budget is to find out where the state gets the most bang for its buck.
“Let’s take a look at the pro-grams that we have that we fund every year,” Justus said. “Say we spend $1 million on one program. Let’s find out how many dollars those dollars are bringing back
into the state. Take a look at every single government program that we have, including tax credits, and make sure that we are getting the most bang for the buck.”
Justus said Missouri has the fifth lowest taxes in the nation.
While there are statewide strug-gles with the fund-ing, Justus still fights for the vul-nerable people in her district.
“We have a policy in this coun-try that makes complete sense that people should not be just living off of government dollars,” she said. “They should be
putting themselves on a path to be-ing able to support themselves.”
One way she is helping her constituents do this is by support-ing a reform in state child care subsidies.
“My number one priority since I got elected is the child care sub-sidy from the state of Missouri.
Right now, Missouri provides child care assistance for working people. It essentially says that if you make up to a certain amount of money, you get a voucher or a subsidy, to help pay for your child care. Child care if very expensive.”
She said the limits on income make it so that working parents may have to turn down a raise or promotion because extra money would mean they could no longer afford child care.
“Because we fund it at such a low level, the woman has to turn down the raise and say, ‘No, I can’t accept the raise because then I lose my childcare subsidy.’ Then it goes from $5 a week to $140 a week and then I cannot afford my rent, my electricity. We need to do a bet-ter job in this state of transitioning people off of that and not doing that cliff effect where one day you are qualified and the next day you are not.”
Justus said child care subsidy reform is an example of maximiz-ing state dollars.
“There are lots of studies that show that for every dollar we spend on child care, you’ll get $6
back immediately and in the long term,” she said. “It’s even more be-cause you are going to need fewer prison beds and fewer dollars for homeless services.”
Child care is not the only cause she supports in Jefferson City.
“I work on a lot of other issues, though,” she said. “I work on issues that I see in my legal practice. I’m
the pro-bono director and so I rep-resent a lot of kids in foster care. This past year I pushed through a foster care reform bill that I am very proud of.”
Check out everything Justus had to say on the podcast “Coffee with Rachael,” available at www.unews.com.
Justus talks education and child care
“There are lots of studies that show that for every dollar we spend on child care, you’ll get $6 back immediately and in the long term.”
SEN. JOLIE JUSTUS10th District of Missouri
Melissa OribhaborAssistant News Editor
New credit card laws will affect most Americans
Photo PATRICK SHAMI
Senator Jolie Justus fights for Missouri youth.
Some people dream of going to far off places and meeting strange and exotic people.
But what happens when UMKC itself is a far off place, full of strange and exotic people? A fresh-man from one corner of the world can share the same anxiety as a freshman from around the corner.
That’s what the English Partner Program (EPP) is all about.
“The English Partnership Pro-gram is a new program for Inter-national students who take inten-sive English classes at the Applied Language Institute (ALI) and American students who have an interest in learn-ing more about in-ternational students, their home coun-tries and their life here in the U.S.,” Melissa Thomas, from UMKC Inter-national Academic Programs (IAP), said. “The main goal for the inter-national students is that they use English with a native speaker in an authentic setting. The main goal for the American students is that they learn more about other countries, cultures and people.”
The Study Abroad program at UMKC already helps hundreds of students travel around the world to experience life and cultures very different from their own. Now, in conjunction with the ALI, UMKC has adopted this new program to help international and domestic stu-dents broaden their horizons.
UMKC modeled this new pro-gram after a similar one at North-western University.
Thomas thinks it is a perfect
way for study abroad students to give back and share their experi-ences with international students.
In the program, both students commit to meeting one hour a week for four weeks to speak English wherever they choose.
The students meet for coffee, grab lunch, shop at the Country Club Plaza or other fun activities that encourage communication.
After four weeks, both students can continue meeting or change partners. Students can sign up for a single four-week stint, or partici-pate in the program multiple times if they desire.
The ALI has many students interested in par-ticipating, so there is no shortage of spots avai lable. Additionally, stu-dents are not re-quired to be in the UMKC Study Abroad program to become an Eng-lish Partner.
Freshman Keely King decided to
give the program a chance after she got an e-mail about the EPP last se-mester.
“As a freshmen and someone who came to college knowing no one, it was great to meet someone who was in the same boat as me,” King said.
King was partnered with Moj-taba Al Bader, a student from Saudi Arabia.
King said their meetings re-minded her of how different other parts of the world are.
For example, in Saudi Arabia, men can pay their wives about $10,000 to marry them.
The opportunity to meet with someone from the other side of the
world brings with it the ability to find out about vastly different cul-tures and forge new friendships de-spite being in a new and potentially frightening place.
“Not only is it super rewarding but you learn so much and get a chance to get out of your own little bubble,” King said. “I truly feel as though I have made a great friend and even a lifelong companion. Even though our time is over, I look forward to meeting with my partner again and maintaining the bond we made.”
American students interested in
participating in the EPP should con-tact Melissa Thomas at [email protected] to request more informa-tion.
Once the application process is finished, the IAP will make a match and contact both partners with a suggested time and day for the first meeting.
Students will meet at the ALI that first time and from there leave for an activity of their choosing. From that point on, the day and time will remain the same throughout the four-week period.
Photo ETHAN PARKER
Keely King enjoyed the English Partner Program.
Photos courtesy LABUDDE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
“As a freshmen and someone who came to college knowing no one, it was great to meet someone who was in the same boat as me.”
KEELY KINGStudent
Ethan ParkerOnline Editor
6January 18, 2010 www.unews.com
News
PENDERGAST’S CURIOUS MATCHBOOKS
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by ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
Once upon a time, matchbooks were the primary form of advertis-ing.
So it was in the days of T.J. Pend-ergast, or Boss Tom, who controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Mo. as a political boss during the Great Depression.
Pendergast collected matchbooks from all over Kansas City. In fact, 95 matchbook covers from Kansas City can be found in the Pendergast col-lection at the Miller Nichols Library.
Some of the matchbooks adver-tise products like Gold Tip gum, Gillette razors and Cleo Cola. Oth-ers advertise places of business like the National Dollar Stores, Allstate Tires and The Ambassador Hotel.
By far the most curious, eye-brow-raising covers are targeted specifically at the gentlemen of Pen-dergast’s day.
A matchbook cover for The Bachelor’s Laundry Co. states “for the sterner sex exclusively.” It was printed before the Women’s Libera-tion Movement had made much of an impact on society’s structure.
Kelleher’s Woodland Tavern took a slightly more risky approach to gaining patrons.
The matchbook cover features a picture of a naked woman in a re-clined position, sipping on a glass of wine. It says, “We are bent on pleas-ing you.”
These and more unique match-book covers can be viewed by visiting the LaBudde Special Col-lections, on the fourth floor of the Miller Nichols Library.
More information can be found online at http://library.umkc.edu/spec-col-home.
January is National Stalking Aware-ness Month and the Women’s Center is trying to inform students about the seri-ousness of stalking.
Last Friday, the Women’s Center set up information tables in Royall Hall and they will set up another table on Tuesday at Oak Street Residence Hall.
The National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) estimates that each year in the United States, 3.4 million adults are victims of stalking.
“There are a lot more people stalked than what people like to think,” said Ker-ra McCorkle, violence prevention coor-dinator for the Women’s Center Violence and Response Project. “For the most part, a lot of people think that celebrities are stalked when the majority of people that are stalked are actually just normal peo-ple like you and I.”
Celebrities tend to get stalked by fans they have never met, but according to NCVC, 75 percent of stalking victims know their stalker.
The Women’s Center has resources to help students who feel they might be victims of stalking.
They have a “stalking kit” with a camera and a booklet to document any incidents that may happen.
“Stalking is one of those issues that is difficult to prove unless you have docu-mentation, so we’ll give you one of those kits … and make sure you start docu-menting it,” McCorkle said.
Although more prevalent, stalking is not limited to female victims. Men also can be victims of stalking and it can turn violent, regardless of gender. The Wom-en’s Center is open to men and women who need help.
The NCVC estimates 54 percent of female victims of homicide who were killed by people they know reported be-ing stalked by them at one point. If there is a problem, it is important to get help right away.
“The biggest thing is just knowing what resources are available to you and speaking out against it,” McCorkle said. “A lot of times we think if we ignore the problem it’ll go away. But stalking isn’t one of those issues. People that want to stalk will continue to stalk.”
Although stalking is a crime in all 50 states, it is not always easy to find help or even identify a problem.
Stalking is hard to verify without any actual threat, but it’s the repetition that la-bels the behavior as stalking. The Wom-en’s Center emphasizes that if someone expresses a desire to end contact and the other party repeatedly continues contact, then it becomes stalking.
“If you just know your surroundings and know what’s going on, you can tell some behaviors that are repetitive, that’s one of the main things you can do to figure out if the problem even exists,” McCorkle said. “Knowing yourself and knowing what’s uncomfortable for you are the two big things.”
For more information about stalking awareness or where to find help, visit the Women’s Center in Haag Hall or the Na-tional Center for Victims of Crime Web site at www.ncvc.org.
Melissa OribhaborAssistant News Editor
Women’s Center increases
stalking awareness
Study abroad without leaving campus
Police tip of the week
brieflymentionedby MELISSA ORIBHABOR
Ca
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Classifieds
Campus Crimes as of Jan. 15CRIMES 2009 YTD 2010 YTDBURGLARY* 3 4ROBBERY 0 0MOTORVEHICLETHEFT* 0 0LARCENY 4 5AGGRAVATEDASSAULT 0 0COMMONASSAULT 0 0FORCIBLESEXOFFENSES 0 0DRUGLAWVIOLATIONS 0 0
*MOTORVEHICLETHEFTSANDBURGLARIESINCLUDEATTEMPTS
Police Blotterby ALEXIA STOUT-LANG
7News
www.unews.com January 18, 2010
Roommate needed to share 2-bed-room 1-bath condo near Plaza/West-port (2 miles from bookstore). Nice. Gated. Parking. Laundry.$450/month + 1/2 [email protected]
College Works Internship!$10k average per SummerAll Years & MajorsPrinceton Review Top 100 [email protected] call Sean 314-374-2600
Jan. 91:37 p.m. Burglary –A student returned to her room in Johnson Hall to find items missing. Later she discovered the property was not missing.
Jan. 105:48 p.m. Burglary –A student returned from break to find property missing from her room in Johnson Hall.
Jan. 115:52 p.m. Vehicular Accident –The reporting party backed into another vehicle in the Rockhill Parking Structure.
11:53 p.m. Illness –An intoxicated party at Oak Street Residence Hall became ill and was transported to the hospital.
Jan. 12
9:25 a.m. Injury –A student slipped and fell on ice at 52nd Street and Rockhill Road and was transported to the hospital.
9:40 a.m. Disturbance –Individuals on the Hospital Hill campus were contacted after police received a report of a do-mestic dispute.
10:34 a.m. Information –A party in the Bloch School was contacted in regard to a vehicle being taken.
2:45 p.m. Larceny –A student returned to her area in the Dental School to find prop-erty missing.
3:13 p.m. Illness –MAST was contacted for a stu-dent feeling weak.
4:01 p.m. Vehicular Accident –Two cars struck each other while in the University Center parking lot.
10:08 p.m. Disturbance –An intoxicated party in Johnson Hall was acting belligerent to-ward staff at the front desk.
Jan. 1312:59 a.m. Mental –A party in Johnson Hall was hav-ing a manic episode and taken in for a mental health evaluation.
Jan. 149:37 a.m. Injury –A student on the Hospital Hill campus slipped and fell down stairs.
11:03 a.m. Illness –A student in the Rockhill Park-ing Structure was transported by MAST due to a diabetic epi-sode.
11:17 a.m. Larceny –A student left her phone in Sco-field Hall and returned to find it missing.
11:19 a.m. Parking Violation –A vehicle was towed at 53rd and Holmes streets.
11:41 a.m. Larceny –An LCD TV was stolen from the Performing Arts Center.
12:11 p.m. Property Damage –A student returned to Oak Street Parking Structure to find a large dent in his trunk.
12:45 p.m. Illness –A student in Johnson Hall was having diabetic health issues but refused transport by MAST.
1:37 p.m. Hit & Run Vehicular Accident –A victim’s vehicle was struck in Oak Street Parking Structure by another vehicle that left the scene.
4:24 p.m. Larceny –A student returned to her vehi-cle in the Oak Place Apartments parking lot to find an item miss-ing.
Internship Brunch Presented by Mercury Association For the 22nd consecutive year, Mercury As-
sociation is hosting an internship brunch for Communication Studies students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
It will take place at 9 a.m. Jan. 26 at the Plaza Marriott
More than 30 internship directors from lo-cal businesses will be in attendance looking for interns.
It is advised that students go dressed profes-
sionally and take a résumé, portfolio and con-tact information. Students will have an opportu-nity to meet all the businesses in a set up similar to speed-dating.
The event is not exclusively for Communica-tion Studies, as it is open to all UMKC students.
However, the companies present do repre-sent jobs directly related to communications.
Students interested must RSVP to umkcmer [email protected] by Jan. 19.
UMKC hosts 20th Annual Freedom BreakfastThe African American Student Union and
the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs will host the 20th Annual Freedom Breakfast from 7:30-9 a.m., Jan. 20 in Pierson Audito-rium.
“Basically, it’s a time to recognize and hon-or the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King,” said Keichanda Dees-Burnett, assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs. “It’s important to recognize not only the work he has done but recognize the progress we have made, not only as a campus community but as
a country – we all play a part.”Chancellor Leo Morton is scheduled to
speak and the event will feature tribute acts by students who will perform a dance, song or poem.
The keynote speaker this year is Dr. Clovis Semmes, the new director of Black Studies at UMKC.
Attendance is free, but reservations are re-quired.
Visit the University Center, room 160 or call Dees-Burnett at 816-235-5628 to RSVP.
Scholarship established for the Law SchoolThe UMKC Law Foundation was given a $1
million dollar endowment by Dr. Mary David-son Cohen.
The Julian Klein Davidson Scholarship was named in honor of Cohen’s father, who graduat-ed from the Kansas City School of Law in 1905.
The scholarship will be awarded to top stu-dents who show great potential and dedication to the practice of law. The award is designed to draw more quality applicants to the School of Law.
In a statement, UMKC School of Law Dean
Ellen Suni thanked Cohen and cited the impor-tance of this scholarship,
“Especially in these difficult economic times, a full scholarship not only allows tal-ented students to attend law school and commit more of their time and energy to their studies, but it reduces their debt load upon graduation, thereby increasing their options within the le-gal profession,” Suni said. “We are most appre-ciative of the generosity of Dr. Cohen and the impact that her father’s legacy through this gift will make in perpetuity.”
- Gender- Race- Whether the person is/was wearing a hat of any kind- If the person has facial hair- Hair color- Hair length
- What color jacket, if any
- What color shirt
- What color pants
- What kind of shoes
- The persons last known
direction of travel
From Michele Taylor, UMKC Crime Prevention
Listen to Alexia Stout-Lang’s weekly podcast, Wiretap, Christian Rose’s podcast, Dating 101,
and Melissa Cowan and Casey Osburn’s podcast, usounds, online at www.unews.com/podcasts.
Report suspicious persons to the UMKC Police Depart-ment immediately. If you are
able, get a thorough description of the person. Some descriptive features to take note of include:More than five
billion crayons are produced
each year.
DID YOU KNOW?
8January 18, 2010 www.unews.com
Culture
Kansas City metro restaurants will open up their doors for the First Annual Restau-
rant Week Jan. 31.Diners can enjoy good food for
a good cause. To help fight hun-ger in Kansas City, “lunches will include two courses for $15 per person and dinners will include three courses for $30 per person (excluding beverages, tax and gratuity). Ten percent of each res-taurant week lunch or dinner price will go to Harvesters.”
Some of the restaurants partic-ipating include 801 Chop House, The American Restaurant, Chaz on the Plaza, Drum Room, Garo-zzo’s, Grand Street Café, Julian, Lidia’s, The Melting Pot, Nara, reVerse and Zest.
Many restaurants participating are expensive, but some are very affordable. Yet, all are promising delicious dining.
“Kansas City Restaurant Week is a great showcase of the qual-ity and uniqueness of Kansas City restaurants,” said Rick Hughes, Kansas City Convention and Vis-itors Association President and
CEO. “It’s also a perfect oppor-tunity to fight hunger and bolster our local economy. From family-
owned eateries and outposts of well known restaurant chains to progressive, chef-driven restau-
rants, Kansas City has something to suit everyone’s tastes.”
For college students, it may be
advantageous to check out the more expensive restaurants because of the discounted prices.
Restaurants that would make this cut are Skies (a revolving restaurant atop the Hyatt Regency in Crown Center), the American Restaurant (at Crown Center with awesome win-dows that open to Kansas City), Cap-itol Grille (Plaza) and Ruth’s Chris Steak House (Plaza).
Downtown: 801 Chophouse, Bristol Seafood Grill, Maker’s Mark Lounge, McFadden’s, The Drum Room and The Marquee Bar and Grill.
Crown Center/Crossroads: Benton’s Steak & Chop House, Fio-rella’s Jack Stack, Lidia’s, Milano, Pierpont’s, Skies, The American Res-taurant and The Brasserie.
Plaza/Brookside: Aixois , Bo Lings, Café Sebastienne, Chaz, Grand Street Café, Jardine’s, McCor-mick & Schmick’s, The Capital Grille and The Melting Pot.
Waldo: 75th Street Brewery, Lew’s Grill & Bar and The Well
Westport: Blanc Burgers + Bottles
Visit www.kansascityrestaurant week.com to view Restaurant Week restaurants, menus and to make res-ervations.
Rachael HerndonStaff Writer
Photo courtesy GOOGLE IMAGES
Café Sebastienne is located in the Kemper Art Museum.
Kansas City’s first Restaurant Week is coming
When we think of space, we often think of something immeasurable and infinite.
But the “Poetics of Space” exhibit at the Kemper Museum of Contem-porary Art displays the concept of space, both interior and exterior, in photographs.
The exhibit opened in April of last year and will run through March 14.
Named after the book by Gaston Bachelard, the exhibit was the vision of former curator for the museum, Christopher Cook. The photos are part of the permanent collection, which has grown to more than 1,000
pieces since the museum opened in 1994.
“We have a strong collection to draw from,” said Margaret Keough, Marketing and Communications Manager for the museum. “(The piec-es of an exhibit) are having a conver-sation here, and (people) are able to step into it and see something.”
People may have seen the pieces before but not necessarily in this con-text.
“We are always looking for dif-ferent ways to interpret the art in our collection,” Keough said. “The hope is when people come, they see some-thing new and different each time.”
The “Poetics of Space” collec-tion ranges from shots of industrial machinery and houses, to people and animals, to landscapes and natural ar-chitecture.
“You can see the mix of interiors and exteriors, manmade and natural, and how space plays into our world, how it confines us or opens things up for us,” Keough said. “What’s nice about our collection is you do get some Midwestern voices.”
Two of the artists are from Kansas City – Mike Sinclair and Terry Evans.
There are 17 artists total and more than 20 photographs.
Yet, there is much more to see in the museum’s seven galleries, including the restaurant and court-yard. Some pieces rotate while others stay by popular demand “or because
they’re too heavy to move,” such as the giant spider sculpture near the en-trance of the building, said Keough.
The next exhibit to replace “Poet-ics of Space” is undecided, Keough said.
But “The Katrina Painting” ex-hibit by David Bates will open in the main gallery May 21.
Another exhibit Keough is look-ing forward to is a collection of Ian Davis paintings, which will open at Kemper at the Crossroads on Feb. 26.
“All his paintings have groups of men,” Keough said. “And you can never tell if something just happened or if something is about to happen.”
The only Davis painting in the museum is “Comeuppance.” Groups of identically dressed men are stand-ing on a submerged highway. But you don’t know if the water is rising or go-ing down, Keough said.
Davis will also speak at the ex-hibit Feb. 27.
“That’s what makes us different,” Keough said. “We work with contem-porary artists so we’re able to bring them in.”
The museum has also teamed up with KCUR to produce Kemper ART-casts, an art podcast featuring artists, employees and volunteers for the mu-seum.
To keep up on new exhibits, pod-casts and more, visit www.kemper art.org.
Melissa CowanStaff Writer
Photo courtesy KEMPER ART MUSEUM
Hide photography included in exhibit.Photo courtesy KEMPER ART MUSEUM
Eastman photo on display in the exhibit.
Kemper Museum captures space
Sharp’s 63rd Street Grill is a cozy, locally owned and operated restaurant.
Located just south of campus at 63rd Street and Brookside Pla-za, this restaurant is the place to go when you don’t know what you want to eat.
Their menu consists of all the American staples and it is open until 2 a.m. so patrons can get one of the best breakfasts in town.
In the past year, a lot has changed. But the best parts have stayed the same, including the regulars and the restaurant’s best plates.
For hungry breakfast lovers, consider ordering a half order of the “Farm Boy Benedict,” – bis-cuits and gravy with scrambled eggs, cheese and onions.
It is said a full order could fill a man for a week.
This may be true considering it is rare to see someone finish even the half order.
From the parking lot, the smells from other Brookside restaurants can entice even indecisive eaters into wanting a big, juicy burger.
Luckily, Sharp’s has several different topping combinations for their giant, tasty burgers.
The “Cheesy Burger” is a safe choice with two cheeses of your choice melted over a 6-ounce burger.
Sharp’s also has new happy hour specials, making afternoon the best time to claim a table and thoroughly enjoy everything Sharp’s has to offer.
In the bar, diners can get a $3 eggwich and a $3 mimosa or Bloody Mary. For just $6, one an have an egg-cellent alcoholic breakfast.
Another new special is pizza night on Wednesdays. Custom-ers can get a 9-inch three-topping pizza for $4.99 in the bar.
Sharp’s offers a late-night drink happy hour from 10 p.m. to midnight. Bartenders are friendly and can make just about any drink you can think of.
While the general menu of
Sharp’s may be over the aver-age college student’s budget, there are many wallet friendly options.
Burgers, breakfasts and en-trees range from $8-$15 each.
For more about my experience, check out the Money Worth Eat-ing podcast at www.unews.com.
Photo RACHAEL HERNDON
Sharp’s Cheesy Burger is a huge, tasty treat.
dating 101by CHRISTIAN ROSE
9Culture
www.unews.com January 18, 2010
I read someplace (most likely on a bumper sticker while sitting in traffic) that youth is wasted on the young.
Oh, the little pearls of wisdom peo-ple choose to plaster on the backsides of their automobiles.
In our infancy, most of us learn ba-sic skills needed to forge through the rest of our lives. And with some de-gree of fortuitousness, the majority of our appendages will still be attached.
Many times in the microcosm of our childhood, we master small les-sons that help define the tiny world in which we live.
“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day … especially if there is a prize somewhere in the box.”
“If you fall down, get back up as quickly as possible and get a band-aid.”
“Ask as many questions as annoy-ingly as possible until you get every-thing figured out.”
“Look twice before crossing the street and then call once you get where you’re going.”
Probably the most important lesson we learn as children is “When every-thing hurts, a kiss from your mother usually makes everything better.”
All these rules and lessons, howev-er, seem to escape us once we become adolescents and much of the wisdom gained is completely thrown out once we hit puberty.
Our parents’ little angels suddenly morph into monsters overnight while they sleep safely behind their bedroom door.
Play dates, T-ball and make believe are replaced by tantrums, speeding tickets and a blatant disregard for any form of perceived authority.
My folks were patient while I kicked and screamed my way through this phase and it most likely helped that I went away to school. But most parents have to simply suffer through while clinging to a small glimmer of hope that “this too shall pass.”
This week my friend found out he is HIV-positive. He is 20 years old.
Although this is no longer an im-mediate death sentence, his life will forever be changed in inconceivable ways.
Every week, you read my column and get a peek into my dating life and social circles and I often feel you know me as well as many of my best friends.
You are my ear, my touchstone and, more importantly, you are my friends, colleagues and peers.
Please remember the lessons we learn as children that keep us out of harm’s way.
“Don’t run with scissors.”“Never play with fire.”“Don’t talk to strangers.”And “Even if it tastes good, too
much of anything will give you a stomach ache.”
You are your own best friend and, besides your mom (and for me, my schnauzer), no one will ever love you as much.
So take care the lessons learned in your youth are not wasted.
Childhood Wisdom
The decade has officially come to an end and a new one has begun.
2000 through 2009 brought many changes, good and bad, to the music scene. Rolling Stone posted their top 100 albums of the 2000s on Dec. 9. Listed below is their top 10.
According to www.rolling-stone.com, more than 100 artists, critics and industry gurus helped compile the list.
1. Radiohead – “Kid A”Released by Capitol Records
in 2000. “Kid A” was released just 10 months into the decade only to make number one for the entire decade. Radiohead set the bar so high with this album that none of their others could reach it. As their fourth album, “Kid A” changed the style of rock forever. It has an electronic twist that many bands mimicked throughout the decade. I completely agree with this choice.
2. The Strokes – “Is This It”Released by RCA Records in
2001. These New York rockers add-ed a new vibe to 1970s punk, add-ing excitement that can get nearly
anyone up to jump and dance. “Is This It” has an aura about it that most anyone can enjoy. This truly is an album you can listen to from front to back.
3. Wilco – “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”Released by Nonesuch Re-
cords in 2001.
4. Jay-Z – “The Blueprint”Released by Roc-A-Fella Re-
cords in 2001. Jay-Z is one of the best hip-hop artists of all time and “The Blueprint” is one of his best albums of all time. The album was recorded during his feud with Nas, which brought out extreme lyrical genius. Timbaland and Kanye West assisted in producing hit tracks off the album. “The Blueprint” also helped jumpstart Kanye West’s career as a producer. In 2009, Jay-Z released the third volume to his blueprint series, “Blueprint III.” For its influence on music and the hip-hop genre, “The Blueprint” would definitely have been on my top 10.
5. The White Stripes – “Elephant”Released by V2/Third Man Re-
cords in 2003. Jack and Meg were the duo that this decade adored. Songs like “Seven Nation Army”
flooded the radio airwaves, and continue to do so. “Elephant” is a must for being towards the top.
6. Arcade Fire – “Funeral”Released by Merge Records in
2004. Arcade Fire’s debut album helped define the world of inde-pendent rock. With a folk feel to it, “Funeral” didn’t just use strings and accordions to look neat, they utilized them. This is something that helped redefine indie music for the next generation of rockers.
7. Eminem – “The Marshal Mathers LP”
Released by Aftermath/Inter-scope Records in 2000. This album may have been higher on my list. Eminem is one of the most influ-ential hip-hop artists of the 2000s. He had been put down and criti-cized for being a womanizer and a homophobic, but fans knew the ge-nius behind it all. The rhyming, the content and everything about “The Marshal Mathers LP” was seeing through to the real Slim Shady.
8. Bob Dylan – “Modern Times”Released by Columbia Records
in 2006.
9. M.I.A. – “Kala”Released by Interscope Re-
cords in 2007. M.I.A. introduced us to the world of female indie/rap/pop vocalists. “Kala,” her break-through album, circulated every major radio and music television station across the world. She re-invented hip-hop into one huge dance party and proved that she could sample any song ever made into a dance hit.
10. Kanye West – “The College Dropout”
Released by Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records in 2004. Kanye West brought about this skater-rapper style that penetrated into high schools and colleges everywhere. Aviator sunglasses, backpacks, bright colors and skate shoes are now top wardrobe choices of hip-hop artists. The Chicago artist is known to call himself, “the first with a Benz and a backpack.” De-spite West’s recent debacle with Taylor Swift, I still admire his raw musical talent. He went through a lifetime of rejection, only to show those who doubted him just how talented he is.
Casey OsburnStaff Writer
Top ten ranked albums of the decade
money worth eatingby RACHAEL HERNDON
Sharp’s 63rd St. Grill
Photo CASEY OSBURN
Tattoo of the week:
save the dateCompiled by KELLEY KATES
10January 18, 2010 www.unews.com
Culture
Monday, Jan.18NORML meeting: Aquaris Books hosts the discussion: “America’s War on Drugs: A Failed Policy in Kansas City.” The discussion will run from 7-9 p.m. at 3936 Broadway Ave.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday: University will be closed in observance.
Tuesday, Jan.19Tuesday Tune-up: Drop by the MindBody Connection in University Center, room 161 for a tune-up sponsored by the Health and Wellness Center.
New Aerobics Session: There is a new aerobics ses-sion beginning at Swinney Recreation Center and many classes are available. Contact Annie Pazder or Alison Kram-er or visit the Web site at www.umkc.edu/src.
Wednesday, Jan.20Rugby: The UMKC Rugby Team will host a recruiting event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Jan. 20-22 . This event is open to the public.
Live Music at the Record Bar: Empires, a Chicago-based five-piece band, are coming to the Record Bar. The band has been gaining atten-tion since they released their songs for free on their Web site and Myspace page more than a year ago. Empires’ powerful hooks and soaring choruses have people spread-ing the word about this up-and-coming band. Come see the show at 1020 Westport Road, beginning at 11 p.m. Tickets are $7. 18+.
Thursday, Jan.21Live Music at the Beau-mont: Lights, an electro-vibey rocker out of Toronto, who is currently on tour with Owl City will show off her musical skills and promote her recently-released, debut album, “The Listening.” The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Beaumont Club. Tickets are $14.
Beyond Gender: The Di-versity of Women’s Lead-ership: UMKC Women’s Center and Starr Women Leaders Program are sponsor-ing the event which will fea-
ture a diverse panel of women sharing their stories of leader-ship. The event will be mod-erated by Keichanda Dees-Burnett, assistant director of UMKC Multicultural Student Affairs, and will be held from 6:30-7:45 p.m in the Univer-sity Center Alumni Room.
UMKC Men’s Basketball: Roos take on the Western Il-linois Leathernecks. Tip-off is at 7:05 p.m. at Municipal Au-ditorium.
Friday, Jan.22
Second Annual Martin Lu-ther King Jr. Keynote Ad-dress: Dr. Angela Davis will discuss social justice issues in recognition of the impor-tant contributions and legacy of one of the most inf luential civil rights leaders. Tickets are free through the UMKC Central Ticket Office and are required. The lecture starts at 6 p.m. in Swinney Recreation Center. For more information contact Leo Leckie at 816-235-1298 or [email protected].
KC Rep:“Around the World in 80 Days”: Opens at 8 p.m. at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, 4949 Cherry St. For tickets and more information, call 816-235-2700. Shows run through Feb. 14.
Saturday, Jan.23UMKC Women’s Basketball: The Roos take on the IUPUI Jaguars at 4 p.m. at Municipal Auditorium.
Kate Clinton Live: Kate Clinton is an America-loving political humorist and family entertainer who still believes that humor gets us through peacetime, wartime, scoun-drel time and economic down times. Tickets are $35, doors open at 7 p.m. in Pierson Au-ditorium.
Sunday, Jan.24
Live Music at Jerry’s Bait Shop: Building Rome is a St. Louis-based alternative rock band that just released the album “Nightmare.” Come check out the show at 7:30 p.m. at Jerry’s Bait Shop in Lee’s Summit.
Bartle Hall: The Mid-Amer-ica Boat and RV show takes over Bartle Hall this weekend.
Body art can be either wonderfully meaningful or a permanent mistake.
Tattoos are lifetime memories and always have some sort of story behind them, whether they are sig-nificant to that person or a drunken weekend blunder.
Two years ago, senior Kurt Kincaid sat four and a half hours to get his back piece done in one session at Freaks Tattoo on Noland Road.
He designed it after the well-known Sublime sun but added his own ele-ments to it.
“The rotting apple core would have to indicate that I could be a sun on the out-side,” Kincaid said. “And be happy and there may be some things on the in-side that are rotting away at me.”
If you have a tattoo you would like featured in U-News, contact Casey Osburn.
Casey OsburnStaff Writer
The Bloch Mansion on campus has been known by many names. How-ever, it has never been owned by the Bloch family.
The University Archives in New-comb Hall has few articles and infor-mation on the mansion. The Kansas City Public Library also offers little information about it.
Tonya Crawford, senior archives specialist for the UMKC University Archives, however, did find some in-formation on the house.
“It was also referred to on several oc-casions as ‘The Shields House’ or ‘The Shields Mansion,’” she said. “Although it was still known as Oxford Hall for a time after UMKC acquired it.”
The Bloch Mansion, built as the Oakland, has been used for educa-tional purposes since 1954, after Mar-tha B. Shields died.
The mansion housed other educa-tional institutions as well.
“Over the course of several years, Mrs. Shields deeded ground along the property swath to the university,” Crawford said. “In 1954, the Barstow School purchased the remaining prop-erty from the Shields estate.
“In 1958 Barstow school trans-ferred the property to the J.C. Nich-ols company in exchange for 40 acres of J.C. Nichols property at 115 State Line Rd., where Barstow built a new school.
“During the time the Nichols Company owned the property, the mansion itself was leased to the St. Paul School of Theology (Methodist) and used the building for classes. The University seems to have acquired the house around 1965,” Crawford said.
The mansion was once home to many treasures such as two unmarked articles the Archive has from 1920 and 1939.
One of these articles is on display at the Bloch Building. Kansas City Star Magazine - Sunday, January 10, 1926 stated, “An English Country Place Recreated – Old World Charm makes this Kansas City residence an impressive one.”
Crawford said, “At any rate, the two (short) articles talk about how much the estate is valued at and the
other article talks about how the man-sion is stuffed with art treasures and it has hosted some VIP’s over the years as well.”
The house has held treasures since it was built. When the Shields’ resided there, they owned many antiques and valuables, including an ornate music cabinet and a silver soup tureen re-sembling a life-size turtle.
Margot Asquith, in her memorable trip to Kansas City in 1922, said in her book “My Impression of Ameri-ca,” “We traveled to Kansas City the night of the lecture and were met upon our arrival and taken into the country house of Mrs. Edwin Shields.
“After greeting her, I observed her fine tapestries, oriental china, portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and other old masters. After breakfasting with Mrs. Shields, I asked her to show me over her beautiful house. I was re-minded of Glen (Margot’s ancestral home in Scotland) by the freshness of the chintzes and the general feeling of air and comfort that I saw wherever I went.
“For those of us that cannot speak so authoritatively as Mrs. Asquith, Mrs. Shields’ home truly has a per-vading charm which keeps the rich-ness of the furnishing and the impres-siveness of its exterior subdued. And, in perfect taste, it makes it the high type of American home. The prevail-
ing atmosphere is of good taste and comfort.”
Crawford said another typescript said the current School of Law build-ing occupies part of the space which was the polo field for the original house.
The beautiful architecture of the original home was detailed by the 1926 article by saying, “At the crest of a hill at 51st and Cherry streets, almost obscured by foliage is the home of Mrs. Edwin W. Shields, a fine reproduction of a house of Tudor period,” it said. “Much of its architec-tural beauty was copied from an ac-tual English country house in Farnley, Yorkshire.”
Today, the Shields’ precious Oak-land is the Bloch Mansion. The house has been added on to and is used for the UMKC School of Business and Public Administration. While beauti-fully maintained and preserved, the house has managed to stay up with the times with modern and contem-porary art.
For more about the house, stop by the Bloch Mansion to view a case of old articles.
The living quarters of the building are beautifully maintained and acces-sible to students.
The addition is a cohesive compli-ment to the mansion.
Rachael HerndonStaff Writer
Campus art: the Bloch Mansion
Photo RACHAEL HERNDON
The Bloch Mansion retains its timeless charm.
Subs cr ib e @w w w.unews .co m
As the movement for equality continues, Abraham Lincoln is shown to be just as im-portant now as he was during the Civil War.
A new exhibit focusing on the life of Lincoln opened Jan. 4 at the Central Branch of the Kansas City Library. It runs through Jan. 28.
“Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Times, A Man for All Times” chronicles the life, strug-gles and glory of former President Lincoln.
Displayed in the main lobby of the library, the exhibit features poster-like boards broken into sections, which highlight the timeline of Lincoln’s life.
Each section of the display points to differ-ent parts of Lincoln’s life with the biggest sec-tions being “Civil War President” and “Slav-ery and Emancipation.”
The exhibit’s Web site says, “Among the images featured in the exhibit are some of Lincoln’s greatest speeches, letters and proc-lamations — including the Emancipation Proclamation — written in his own hand.”
Unfortunately, as one might have expected with an exhibit of this nature, it features no original artifacts.
The purpose of the exhibit is to help people
understand who Lincoln was, personally and politically. Plenty of information to justify taking a look at the exhibit is available, yet the exhibit stands alone, much like a piece of artwork, for guests to view.
Those interested in the exhibit would need to be truly interested in the very specific his-
tory of Lincoln and his presidency.“Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Times,
A Man for All Times” suggests that Lincoln’s character is universal, highlighting the impor-tance of freedom and equality as a civil rights movement for all people, continuing today.
The traveling exhibition was developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
Admission is free. For more information about the exhibit and the Kansas City Pub-lic Library, visit http://www.kcpl.lib.mo.us/event/abraham-lincoln-man-his-time-man-all-times.
Winter is here, and it’s sure making an im-pression this year.
With more than a foot of snow and record low temperatures, the likes of which Kansas City hasn’t seen in 20 years, it’s not surprising many people altered their plans over the holi-day season.
So, what do you do when you look outside and see bewildered-looking mountain goats wearing parkas? It’s simple – play a game.
Quality family-time aside, playing a game is something everyone has done at one time or another. Whether you bust out an old Mo-nopoly board or a tattered edition of Scrabble, a number of games out there can pass the time for anyone interested in staying inside, and staying warm.
First, don’t think your choices are limited to those games stocked in the aisles of your lo-cal Wal-Mart. Countless games are out there that serve as a great distraction.
Games aren’t just for kids anymore.Here are three games you probably haven’t
heard of.Fluxx – Published by Looney Labs, Fluxx
won a Mensa Award back in 1999. It is a card game where the rules for how you play change from one turn to the next.
Fluxx was first released in 1997 in a mod-est, black and white edition, and became an instant underground hit. Now in its fourth printing, the creators of Fluxx have developed seven different versions of the game, from Monty Python Fluxx, where one card insists you speak with a British accent while it’s in play, to Zombie Fluxx, a version of the game where Zombies keep players from winning.
You can pick up any version of the game
for about $12.Chez Geek – Remember those times when
you had to deal with your wacky roommate? How about the time you pulled a sofa out of a dumpster? Was that just last week?
In Chez Geek, a card game from Steve Jackson Games, you play a member of a house-hold full of common tenants, all who have to compete with each other to see who can slack off the most.
You have parties, hang out with friends, dodge losers and play with the cats, all the while trying to bum stuff from your roomies so you can have snacks while you watch TV. Chez Geek is another game with multiple versions, including Chez Greek, the frat-house version. This game will cost you about $17.
Shootin’ Ladders: Frag Fest – Finally, why not revisit a board game classic? While Chutes & Ladders may be a bit on the basic side for most of us college-types, luckily there are some twisted minds over at Smirk & Dag-ger Games. Shootin’ Ladders: Frag Fest is billed as another “Good Game Gone Bad.” It takes the classic game from your childhood and turns it on its ear.
In Shootin’ Ladders, you take up the roll of a deranged gingerbread man and play in sev-eral different scenarios that involve mutilat-ing and tormenting other gingerbread men all across Candyland itself.
Imagine a board game version of Halo with gingerbread men and rocket-propelled gum-drops; you get the picture. This game will set you back about $38.
This is, by no means, a definitive list.Visit the U-News Web site for more infor-
mation on where to find these games and more like them.
“The purpose of the exhibit is to help people understand who Lincoln was, personally and politically.”
How to: Ethan Parker
Online Editor
11Culture
www.unews.com January 18, 2010
Beat winter boredom
Patrick ShamiContributing Writer
Photo PATRICK SHAMI
The Lincoln Exhibit shows the many parts of the 16th president’s life.
Lincoln exhibit opens at Downtown Library
Last week, the Roos played two away games where their away sta-tus was not as important as their poor shooting skills.
Their first contest was against the Oakland Grizzlies.
The game in Rochester, Mich. started off slow.
Both teams started out looking dead and made only 7-of-27 at-tempts combined during the first eight minutes.
They went on a streak that turned their 8-7 advantage into a 19-9 advantage.
The Grizzlies then pushed their lead even further, to 41-24, with 1:38 until halftime.
The Roos scored a mere five points before the half leaving the halftime score at 41-29.
The breakaway lead by the Grizzlies was attributed to their ability at the free throw line.
The Grizzlies made 12-of-14 at-tempts, while the Roos only made 4-of-6.
The Roos started the second half with a mission to win the game.
This determination was imme-diately noticed when the Grizzlies started losing their hard earned lead.
Roo players Spencer Johnson and Kirk Korver sank back-to-back 3-pointers that shriveled the Grizzlies’ lead to 48-40. The Roos continued to fight against the slow-ly recovering Grizzlies and with 10:17 remaining the game was 55-51, Grizzlies.
However, these efforts were not enough as the Grizzlies went on a 10-0 run, made 7-of-8 free throws,
had several unanswered 3-pointers and finally ended the game, 87-73.
In their second game of the week, the Roos faced the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Mastadons.
The game’s final score was 78-69, and, while it was a close match, it showed some poor shooting by the Roos.
The Saturday night game start-ed with a strong run from the Mast-odons.
During the first 11 minutes the Mastodons’ lead grew, 22-10.
The Roos’ poor shooting was already showing as they only made 3-of-14 attempts.
Freshman Alex Bazzell scored a 3-pointer at the 6:52 mark and cut the deficit to nine points, 22-13.
But the Mastodons answered each long shot the Roos took and entered halftime, leading 36-28.
The shooting percentages for the first half showed how much dif-ferent the game it would have been were the Roos more accurate.
The Mastodons shot 50 percent during the first half and the Roos only shot 29.6 percent.
The Mastodons came into the second half on fire and made 4-of-6 shots, but the Roos were not fin-ished.
They began slowly chipping away at the Mastodons’ lead in a last minute effort.
Yet, this was not was not enough and the Mastodons broke away again, 69-51.
The Mastodons secured their lead, adding nine more points to finish the game, 78-69.
On Thursday night, the men will look for a win against Western Illinois at Municipal Auditorium.
The UMKC women claimed two more wins last week starting at Swinney Recreation Center Jan. 11.
Continuing their home-game winning streak the women took a big win against the South Da-kota State Jackrabbits, 67-64.
“I’ve been waiting for a win like this for the longest time,” senior guard Chazny Morris said. “Like all four of my years that I’ve been here, I’m just ecstatic.”
The Jackrabbits held a spot in the top-20 teams of the division last year, and this win will tie
UMKC for second in the Summit League. Morris gave credit to her team for performing
well. “I’m proud of my teammates,” she said. “[I’m]
happy that we could all step up on a big game like this.”
The women had an 11-point lead with almost a 50 percent shooting average in the first half. But the Roos saw a small slump halfway through the second half that gave the Jackrabbits some momentum closing the gap to 3 before a UMKC timeout.
“Coach always says that basketball is a game of runs,” Morris said. “We talked about it in a time-out and said, you know, we need a stop and get a score and keep it going.”
That’s just what Morris did, taking the mo-mentum back for her team with a game-changing 3-point play.
“We had to keep attacking and that really helped,” Morris said.
The women are 4-0 at home and hope to take these wins into their away games.
“The last home games we’ve been playing and winning, they really give us the boost that can give us some wins on the road,” Morris said.
And that it did, when the women hit the road and took a season defining win against the Sum-mit League leaders Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW). This puts both UMKC and IPFW at a 5-1 standing in the Summit League, tying the teams for first place.
Morris led the Roos again with 19 points in the game. Meanwhile, freshman forward Kim Nezianya backed UMKC with a career high of 17 points. Nezianya dropped three buckets in three minutes and led the women out of a 9-0 IPFW run.
The game was back and forth early on but with 14 minutes left in the opening half, UMKC took a lead and held onto it through the final buzzer.
On Monday night, the women travel on to Rochester, Mich. to take on Oakland.
If your New Year’s resolu-tion was to lose the weight you may have gained from overindulging during the holidays, then Swinney
Recreation Center is here to help – and save you some money.
Appropriately called the “New You in the New Year” five-week challenge, students defy the strong urge to stay warm at home with com-fort food by committing to exercis-ing two days a week.
“Some people prefer to work out on their own,” Alison Kramer, well-ness coordinator for Swinney, said. “But there’s other people that need something to motivate them to work out … and [group exercising] is sup-posed to be fun.”
The challenge runs Jan. 26 to Feb. 25. The group will meet in Swinney at 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
There is a $30 fee, but it will be refunded if students pledge to exer-cise on their own an additional hour per week.
Faculty and staff can also partici-pate but only half of their money will be refunded if they take the same pledge.
“The reward for them is to feel better, look better,” Kramer said. “If you’re only exercising twice a week, you might not get that reward.”
Students will take two Bod Pod tests (one at the beginning and one after the challenge) to measure their body composition (percentages of fat, bone and muscle), which are usu-ally $35 each.
“So they’re getting a $70 value for two of them, and classes,” Kram-er said. “And if they come the whole time for those five weeks then it’s free.”
But that’s not the only deal Swinney has coming up. Bod Pod
tests alone will be $10 through Feb-ruary, and three one-hour personal training sessions are $75, originally $125.
February will also bring a new challenge: a four-session “Love-Your-Bod” boot camp, an hour of exercise every Monday.
There is a $10 fee, but if students attended all sessions, they will be re-funded.
This also applies for “Lunch and Learn” every Wednesday (for healthy snacks and recipes).
Regular aerobics classes meet twice a week. Classes start Jan. 19 and end March 5. There is a $48 fee for one class, twice a week.
Students can try the class for free for one week, Kramer said.
“We’re doing these specials for students [because] they’re a lot cheaper [than usual],” Kramer said.
[email protected] KEVIN BRYCE
Swinney Recreation Center’s New Year’s specials promote fitness while saving students money.
Photo KEVIN BRYCE
Chazny Morris lays it up for two, leading her team with 24 points on Monday night.
John PfortmillerSports EditorKevin Bryce
Photo Editor
Melissa CowanStaff Writer
12January 18, 2010 www.unews.com
SportsSwinney offers aerobics specials for students
Men’s poor shooting loses two
gamesWomen win one at home,
one on the road
The time has come again to find out who the best teams in the AFC and NFC are.
After the first round of the playoffs, it seemed the Arizona Cardinals would be one of those contenders.
Quarterback Kurt Warner was said to have nev-er looked so good in his game against the Packers.
Warner threw more touchdown passes (five) than he did incomplete passes – he completed 24 of 28.
Warner looked like he was playing some of the best ball of his career with Fitzgerald leading the receiver core.
Yet, this was not the case last Saturday. The Cards met their match in round two of the
playoffs against the New Orleans Saints. The Saints came into the playoffs after a first-
round by-week and heavy doubts on whether they could regain the offensive playing style they had through most of the season.
Warner and the Cardinals seemed to have an unstoppable offense, scoring 375 points through-out the season.
The Saints toppled that stat, scoring 510 points during their season.
The game was expected to be a high-scoring offensive game and, even though it was, it was
mostly the Saints doing the scoring.The game opened by the Cards scoring on the
first play. The Saints answered right back, scoring a
touchdown within an instant. By the third quarter, the Saints were up by
nearly 30 points, ending 45-14. Quarterback Drew Brees, running back Reggie
Bush and tight end Jeremy Shockey simply domi-nated the game with some incredible plays.
The Saints will go on to face Minnesota next week in the NFC Championship game at New Orleans.
Round one was not one for the books for the New England Patriots either.
The Baltimore Ravens defense crushed the Pats, 33-14, causing numerous turnovers and three interceptions.
New England quarterback Tom Brady only completed 23-of-42 passes and threw two touchdowns.
The glorious and unstoppable Brady seemed to lose his magic.
The Ravens went on to face the Indianapolis Colts for round two of the playoffs.
The Ravens planned to keep the Colts on their three-game losing streak by forcing turnovers and playing off of the clock.
However, the Ravens were defeated, 20-3, be-cause the Colts did not allow them to implement their plan.
The Ravens created their own turnover mess and the Colts defense held the Ravens to only 87 rushing yards.
The Colts will continue on to face the New York Jets, who defeated Cincinnati in the first round and San Diego in the second, in the AFC Championship game.
Stats just won’t do for this 2009 playoff season, only time will tell who will end up on top.
Submissions, jabs and wrestling dominat-ed the ring Jan. 15 in the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah’s North Kansas City Casino.
Title Boxing Club of Kansas City brought in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters from local and regional areas to put on the type of show that is becoming popular amongst rowdy crowds.
Generally, these rowdy types followed boxing, but these days, MMA is where it’s at. Fewer rules, more styles of fighting allowed and plain out tougher fighters have made this sport explode. Professional organizations such as the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Champion-ship) have turned the fighting world upside down and have influenced local clubs into starting their own fight circuits such as the one featured last Friday night at Harrah’s.
Twelve fights were planned for the evening. However, several fighters on the card were ei-ther replaced or removed for unknown reasons. Nevertheless, for amateur MMA, the fights were fairly decent.
The evening began with a 155-pound weight class bout that went three rounds and ended in a decision. The next fight, however, ended after only 30 seconds in the first round
by way of a knockout. The 135-pound weight class fight was
one of the few where fighters actually used some nice overhand techniques.
Fighters were skilled in several areas such as jiu-jitsu and wrestling, yet there was no doubt these fights were strictly on an amateur basis. Amateur fight cards are common to local circuits and MMA clubs, nevertheless, they are still very entertaining.
Most fights ended by being stopped by the referee. For instance, one of the fighters was catching blows to the face over and over again from his opponent and ended up with a blood-splattered nose.
The fights brought out a crowd that was hun-gry to see these guys throw down. Many fights were filled with grappling and attempted sub-mission holds such as the guillotine, while oth-ers stood and banged it out and threw knees as any professional muay thai artist would.
Beyond the technique and skill, these fight-ers were out there to make a name for them-selves. Some gave it all they had while others seemed to roll over to take a loss. Either way, the fights were exciting and the small venue made it possible for everyone in the house to have a good seat.
[email protected] KELLEY KATES
Regional MMA fighters take over the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah’s North Kansas City casino.
“The Cards met their match in round two of the playoffs against the New Orleans Saints.”
Kelley KatesCulture Editor
13Sports
www.unews.com January 18, 2010
Men’s BasketballDate Event Place Time1/21 WesternIllinois MunicipalAuditorium 7:05p.m. KansasCity,Mo.1/23 IUPUI MunicipalAuditorium 7:05p.m. KansasCity,Mo.
Women’s Basketball1/18 Oakland Rochester,Mich. 6p.m.1/23 IUPUI MunicipalAuditorium 4p.m. KansasCity,Mo.
Track and Field1/22-23 ISUOpen Ames,Iowa AllDay
Sporting Events
sports shortsby JOHN PFORTMILLER
extra pointsby KELLEY KATES
Kansas City fights its way to the top
NFL playoff season kicks off with some surprises
RugbyThe UMKC Rugby Team will be
hosting a recruitment event Jan. 20-22 in the Quad.
The “Rugby Around the World” themed event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
The event shows how Rugby is a worldwide sport and will offer some insight into its beginnings in Kansas City as well as at UMKC.
The event is free and open to the public.
Track and FieldThe UMKC track and field team
finished the Nebraska Holiday Inn In-vitational and KSU Invitational meets on Saturday.
The Roos recorded five top-five finishers and 10 athletes recorded per-sonal bests. The Roos' next meet will be the Iowa State Open Jan. 22-23.
w w w.unews .com
14January 18, 2010 www.unews.com
Forum
I think I’m safe in assuming any-one who bothers to read this column has probably had more than their fill of the health care fracas this coun-try engaged in during the last half of 2009.
But before you turn to the cross-word puzzle, consider the side of the debate that didn’t get much press.
The hundreds of proposals on health care that have been offered by Republicans in Congress have been almost completely overshadowed by incessant debate over the horrendous mess the left has advanced as its ver-sion of reform.
Two of these ideas in particu-lar stand out as being things against which very few good arguments exist.
The first of these is the proposal to allow people to buy insurance across state lines, which Republicans have been advocating in Congress since at least 2006. Under the current system, citizens of Missouri can’t shop for health insurance anywhere outside their own state. Consequently, many state markets are dominated by only one or two health insurers.
Democrats routinely parrot this exact line as a justification for a government-run entitlement system to “compete” with private insurers.
The much better fix and one which wouldn’t add anything to our already stupendous national debt would be to simply allow competition across state lines by private compa-nies. More health insurers competing would mean cheaper options for more consumers.
Unfortunately, such a solution would run contrary to the left’s goal of government controls on the health care industry, not to mention their deep-rooted hatred of markets.
Hence congressional Democrats won’t touch this idea with a 10-foot pole.
Another completely sensible idea shunned by the congressional leader-ship is imposing caps on how much money trial lawyers can extort from doctors in damages unrelated to ac-tual costs of a doctor’s malpractice.
Currently, many doctors go through their days focused as much on covering their rear ends from po-tential lawsuits as they are on doing what’s best for their patients. This well-justified fear of lawsuits adds all sorts of costs to the health care sys-tem.
Doctors in high risk specialties like obstetrics or neurology often pay several hundred-thousand dollars
each year in malpractice insurance to guard against legal liability.
These costs are a major disincen-tive for anyone considering a career in medicine and help to contribute to shortages of doctors and less access to care.
Far greater than the direct costs of malpractice insurance though are the costs associated with defensive medicine.
When doctors order unnecessary tests and procedures simply to protect themselves from liability, everyone ends up paying the price.
Estimates vary, but many econo-mists charge the risk of lawsuits with adding as much as $200 billion in useless costs to the health care system every year.
As with allowing insurance com-petition across state lines, medical law-suit reform is complete anath-ema to Democrats in Congress.
President Barack Obama paid some lip service to the idea in his prime-time health care speech back in September, but neither the House nor the Senate legislation makes
any serious attempt at progress on the issue.
Coincidentally (or not), the trial lawyers who make their money from the current jackpot justice system are routinely among the most generous donors to democratic causes and can-didates.
These two proposals represent just the tip of the intellectual ice-berg of conservative ideas for mak-ing health care cheaper, more effi-cient and more accessible.
Moreover, Democrats could have easily coupled these ideas with a few of their own relatively less destructive proposals and eas-ily had a massive, bipartisan and widely popular health-care victory last summer.
The country would have been spared the ugly and divisive debates that tore the citizenry apart for six months, we could have avoided the corrupt bargains to buy Senate votes and the president could have, long ago, moved on to tackle the myriad issues that are more pressing.
EVAN HELMUTH
Credibility has become a phenom-enon of the past for many major news organizations.
Tabloids and entertainment magazines such as People and Na-
tional Enquirer have been known to pay for stories or other related items.
This practice, known as checkbook journalism, is frowned upon as it may distort a story and has rarely spilled over into mainstream media – until recently.
Many know who the Salahis are. In case you were lucky enough to not have gossip crammed down your throat at breakneck speeds, they were the couple who crashed the White House state din-ner.
The aspiring crap-television, I mean reality-television, stars stooped to an all new low.
The Salahis snuck into the state dinner (more like flaunted in front of the cameras and inept Se-cret Service) and took photos with several political figures. The other figure they were seeking was a six-figure bid from a network to tell their story.
Really? You snuck into a state dinner and want money for the ridiculous stunt?
They should be arrested, not paid. Thankfully, the media managed to not give into their demands.
Then David Goldman’s story broke.His story is not tabloid garbage like the Salahis’. His
wife went to Brazil, taking their son, Sean, with her. She obtained a divorce in Brazil, won custody of
Sean and married a prominent Brazilian attorney. She then became pregnant and died during childbirth.
After much struggle, Goldman won back custody of Sean and returned home to the United States with him – on a chartered plane fully paid for by NBC.
NBC insisted they had already chartered the plane to bring personnel back from Brazil and merely offered an invitation to come aboard.
Goldman’s attorney said the invitation was ac-cepted “so the pair did not have to deal with mul-tiple camera crews.”
Multiple camera crews are bad, of course. But NBC’s single camera crew who took multiple shots and the full interview on the $90,000 flight weren’t too stressful. Checkbook journalism turned a beau-tiful story into trash, but did it subtly. NBC didn’t directly pay them, but indirectly used some form of monetary wealth to get the interview from them.
I don’t care how emphatically NBC denies it was checkbook journalism because it completely was.
They extended an invitation to the Goldmans knowing they would be able to exclusively inter-view them on the flight back.
And if you think the last story was bad, the next will shock you.
Jasper Schuringa, the hero who helped stop the attempted terrorist attack on flight 253 to Detroit, was offered several thousand dollars by CNN and ABC for pictures. Yes, the guy who helped stop a terrorist decided to stop bank off of the opportu-nity.
While many mainstream media outlets pay for pictures and try to deny it, a friend of Schuringa’s said he would not talk to the media unless they paid for his picture.
Really great hero there.The mainstream media needs to stop doing this.
Years ago, if you paid for an interview in any way, you took a NFL linebacker-sized hit to credibility.
In Dante’s “Inferno,” the ninth and final ring of hell is reserved for those who have committed treason.
In the very last area of the ninth ring of hell, traitors to their benefactors are imprisoned in ice while Satan makes snacks out of them.
The media is supposed to work to benefit the people, their benefactors. But the media betrays the people when they resort to checkbook journalism.
As gruesome as it sounds, being encased in ice while being eaten by the Devil would be fitting punishment for the journalists who commit the sin of checkbook journalism.
“Unfortunately, such a solution would run contrary to the left’s goal of government controls on the health care industry, not to mention their deep-rooted hatred of markets.”
What health reform could have been
JOHN PFORTMILLER
Checkbook journalism at its finest
By May 2009, I was sick of the big banks and their lack of legitimacy, values or compas-sion.
So, I chose to open an account with Solu-tions Bank.
Solutions Bank was a small, eco-friendly, customer-focused bank with awesome décor, staff and policies. It was the solution to my problem.
I banked with Solutions until they were purchased by Arvest Bank in December 2009. Up until then, I never had a single problem with Solutions like I had with Bank of America, U.S. Bank or Commerce Bank.
Arvest Bank decided to buy Solutions Bank and Harrington Bank, on the Kansas side, be-cause they were “failing” and needed help.
Arvest is the Wal-Mart of banks. Liter-ally, they are owned by the Waltons. And, they bought my sacred financial institution.
Now, Solutions Bank is beginning to look corporate. The architectural team of Arvest has been to my downtown branch to plan the re-model. Its Kansas City pictures and character-istic furniture are going to be sold at an FDIC auction.
I learned that Arvest let many of the Solu-tions Bank staff go. Thankfully, they kept my favorites at my branch.
However, with the corporate posters going up and the auction tags on all furniture, I feel like my favorite people have been taken out of my once favorite bank and put into corporate hell.
It is like seeing a zebra in Kansas or a polar bear in Africa.
Nonetheless, the bank I chose is gone. The
lime green and cobalt walls will be painted neutral. The awesome rug will be sold at auc-tion. The hometown pride instilled by prints of KC icons is tagged for sale.
Wholesale pens and cups have been shipped to give to customers. The word “Arvest” is on everything from mugs to posters. It’s disgust-ing and I hate it.
Arvest is apparently one of those corporate banks that “care” about people. What is left of Solutions Bank is what cares about people, not Arvest. Arvest does not know my name and the status of my account.
They know me as a new account and rout-ing number that will be printed on a letter with my new, probably ugly, checks and debit card.
They are allegedly the most “green” bank in Arkansas. However, this doesn’t mean any-thing to me. Arvest has no character, no com-passion and no life.
No company that sends boxes of thousands of non-biodegradable plastic ballpoint pens is green. At the very least, I applaud them for put-ting their name on their trash.
Solutions Bank woke up one day with 90 employees in the Metro and went to sleep with 5,000 employees in the country.
Most of the 90 that knew my hobbies and goals are gone and 5,000 more faceless people have been added.
Jason, Beau and Mindy have faces and per-sonalities and they are super.
I will continue to bank with Arvest until those people leave.
The Waltons suck for taking a business with character and values and stomping on it with their corporate boots and covering it with their stupid, corporate posters of soulless people with their fake smiles.
So, up yours, corporate America, for kill-ing the first bank I’ve ever loved. I think I will attend that auction and buy the pride my bank had with my money in your bank.
Doing so almost makes me feel a little bet-ter. Further, my bank wasn’t much of a failure in my opinion. My bank rocked and Arvest Bank is a failure.
RACHAEL HERNDON
Bank purchases kill small, good banks
15Forum
www.unews.com January 18, 2010
Word on CampusInterviewed by NILA HALL
What are you most interested in learning this semester?
“Other than my courses, I’m more interested in learning about student organizations.”
MATT PHILLIPS JuniorCommunication Studies/Journalism
“I’m interested most in learning Spanish because this semester’s course seems to be more challenging and I feel I [will] get a lot out of it.”
BOB MORRISSEY FreshmanChemistry/Pre-Dental
“I’m looking forward to learning more about my field because I’m a Psychology major.”
NICHOLE HARRELL SophomorePsychology
“My Speech for Actors and probably Oral Interpretations of Literature.”
KRISTIAN BOEH FreshmanTheater
“I want to learn where things come from in terms of the mathematical formulas, because I’m an Engineering major.”
EMILY GROMES FreshmanEngineering
“Diversity of the world, because it’s a big part of Sociology.”
CLAUDIA HAMILTON SeniorPharmaceutical Science/ Sociology
What do you th ink?
Did the weather over break affect your holiday
plans?
A. Yes
B. No
Go to www.unews.com and tell us your answer!
Your answers to last week’s question:
How effective do you think the Emergency Notification System is?
A. I don’t need that many alerts! B. It is reliable.C. I am not signed up.
A B
A. 67%
B. 33%
Imagine receiving a notice from the city where you live saying the tap water you and your family have been consuming for years is contaminated with a carcinogenic metal.
Think about the concerns that would be running through your mind and the panic that might grip you.
Now you know only a portion of what the residents of Hannibal and Louisiana, Mo. have been go-ing through since Jan. 7 when the Missouri Department of Natural Re-sources (MDNR) confirmed trace amounts of hexavalent chromium (chromium VI) were found in the cit-ies’ water supplies.
The problem was first discovered Dec. 22, when the MDNR received results from water tests completed.
Hannibal’s water sample con-tained 0.4 parts per billion (ppb) of hexavalent chromium and Louisi-ana’s sample had 0.1 ppb.
MDNR representatives said they contacted city officials “shortly” af-ter receiving the results, but waited until Jan. 5 to collect additional water samples and conduct further testing.
Results from the second round of tests showed higher levels of chromi-um VI than the original tests.
Hannibal’s drinking water tested at 0.6 ppb and Louisiana’s at 0.3 ppb.
These results prompted the MDNR to contact the city immedi-ately. But I can’t for the life of me see why they even bothered.
Despite acknowledging the levels of chromium VI in Hannibal’s drink-ing water exceed the health-screening
level set by the Missouri Depart-ment of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) on Dec. 24 of 0.4 ppb, resi-dents of both cities were advised that it is quite alright to continue drinking the water.
That decision was made after con-sultations between the Environmen-tal Protection Agency (EPA) and the DHSS.
That is about the equivalent of saying, “It’s alright to drink poison. Just know that’s what you are doing.”
Marcus Iszard, expert toxicologist and professor of Pharmacy at UMKC, regularly teaches that the only safe level of exposure to a carcinogen is no exposure.
The water in both of these cities is contaminated. The problem needs to be fixed, not brushed aside.
The truly bizarre part of this case is the water in Hannibal has higher levels of hexavalent chromium after it goes through the treatment process than it does before.
The water tests at 0.1 ppb of hexavalent chromium during intake at the plant, after the pre-sedimenta-tion basin and after the primary floc-culation and settling basin.
However, after it goes through the secondary settling basin and lime is added to adjust the pH, the level spikes up to 0.5 ppb. It stays at that level through the filter feed basin and throughout filtering.
When the water finally goes through the chlorination process, the chromium VI levels reach 0.6 ppb.
The reason government agen-cies are not issuing a warning about the water is because no state in the
country actually has a drinking water standard for hexavalent chromium.
The closest standard Missouri has set is for total chromium (measuring both hexavalent and trivalent chro-mium) of 100 parts per billion. Ob-viously, both cities’ systems comply with that steep standard.
In a press release about the taint-ed water in Missouri, the MDNR at-tempted to make the situation sound better by stating California uses a lev-el of 6 ppb of hexavalent chromium as a target goal for drinking water.
All that tells me is to avoid drinking tap water while I’m in California.
Tragically, problems with this metal, which is most often used for industrial processes, are popping up in counties across the state.
The incidents in Hannibal and Louisiana, located in Marion and Pike counties, have just added to the mysteries the government agencies have to look into.
Andrew, Buchanan, Clinton and DeKalb counties are currently the sites of investigations to determine the cause of more than 70 brain tu-mors in the area.
The EPA is researching the pos-sibility of a correlation between hexavalent chromium in a fertilizer that was widely distributed and the tumors.
Every environmental government agency has a huge job. It is next to im-possible to keep up with everything.
However, that does not give them free reign to brush aside this major concern in Hannibal and Louisiana.
If the MDNR, DHSS or the EPA will not tell the residents of those cit-ies to stop drinking their water, I will.
Don’t do it. It might be a little extra money to purchase a couple jugs of water each week. But which is more expensive, an 88 cent jug of water or your family’s health?
It’s an easy decision. [email protected]
ALEX
IA S
TOU
T-LA
NG
Stout’s Shouts
“The water in both of these cities is contaminated. The problem needs to be fixed, not brushed aside.”
There is literally something in the water
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A GRANT SNIDER ILLUSTRATION
“I think probably he just had an atten-tion deficit disorder. He did not do well in school. And where he grew up, no-body told you to get up and go to school.”
One day, John just gave up. “What happens when you don’t get
an education?” Marcia asked. “Common sense, you can’t move forward. He has lived on the street for over 20 years.”
John himself looked after many homeless people alongside the Missouri River, Marcia said.
“He was the Father of the River. That’s what the others called him.”
How Marcia keeps helpingMarcia has volunteered with the
homeless since she was a teenager. And getting things for people in need is be-coming harder.
“I had to get a 501(c)(3) non-profit status, so people could have a tax re-ceipt,” she said. “I started that because
people don’t want to donate unless they can get something back.”
She began Reaching Out, Inc. in Au-gust 2001.
“Oh my goodness, it’s a huge amount of work, lots of paperwork,” she said. “(Creating a non-profit) is a negative! But I made a deposit, because otherwise I would have just said, ‘OK, I am done!’”
Right now she needs perishables, grocery cards and gas cards.
“You can’t imagine the gas I burn. It’s crazy at $2.75 a gallon.”
People can also help by providing sack lunches.
“Sack lunches are huge,” Marcia said. “If people donate cookies, or just the dough, I can freeze it and take it as I need.”
Marcia can be contacted via her Web site, www.reachingoutinc.org.
Helping is simple, she said. “It starts simply with thinking about
somebody else besides yourself.” [email protected]
MERRICK from page 3
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