BriefsMSU making effortsto conserve waterIn light of regional and nation-

wide drought conditions, MSUhas adopted a water conservationplan. After realizing City Utilities’water storage levels are at 65 per-cent, the university took immedi-ate action to cut back on waterusage. Conservation efforts have

included shutting down the threefountains on campus, reducingirrigation, eliminating vehiclewashing and prioritizing leaks.City Utilities recommends

individuals take steps to conservewater as well. Turning off faucetswhile not in use, taking shortershowers and tending to waterleaks are just a few of the volun-tary measures recommended byCity Utilities.

Fall convocationspeaker announcedWarren St. John, the best-

selling author of “Outcasts Unit-ed,” will be MSU’s fall PublicAffairs Convocation Lecturespeaker. St. John, also a featurewriter for The New York Times,will discuss his writing processand relate it to lessons studentsmay find relevant.The week-long conference will

feature a series of keynote presen-tations, panel discussions and spe-cial events.This year’s theme, Inclusive

Excellence, is intended to discussthe recognition and cultivation ofindividual talent from differentbackgrounds.The free convocation lecture

will be held on Oct. 9 in JuanitaK. Hammons Hall for the Per-forming Arts.

Smoking ordinanceexemptions madeIn response to city smoking

ordinance changes made in May,the city of Springfield has com-pleted promised business exemp-tions.Now, smoking is allowed in

pre-existing cigar bars, privateclubs, bingo parlors and certainretail tobacco stores. Included in the exemptions are

the Opus Club, located inside ofFedora Social House, and TheAlbatross Hookah Lounge.

CalendarAugust 20 to August 27

TuesdayPanhellenic RecruitmentInformation Meeting, 6 p.m. atPSU ballroomSAC Concert: Lights and BenRector, 7 p.m. at North Mall BearPawInterfraternity CouncilInformation Meeting, 8:30 p.m.at PSU ballroom

WednesdayThe Standard’s Back-to-Campus Expo, all day at PlasterStudent UnionSAC Dive-In Movie: Jaws, 9p.m. at Foster Recreation FamilyAquatics Center

ThursdayPanhellenic RecruitmentBegins, 6 p.m. at PSU ballroom,ends on SundaySAC Presents: The Carnival! 9p.m. at North Mall

FridayLate Registration and ScheduleChanges Deadline, all day atOffice of the RegistrarSAC Mixer, 7:30 p.m. at PSULevel 1 Game CenterGlow Climb, 9 p.m. at FosterRecreation Center

SaturdaySAC Splash and Foam Party, 6p.m. at North Mall

Grand openingeventsMonday

Ribbon-cutting ceremony, 3p.m. at Foster RecreationCenter

TuesdayFitness contests: pull-ups,crunches, planks and more; 4-8 p.m. at Foster RecreationCenter

WednesdayKentucky Derby races, 7:45p.m. at Foster RecreationCenterDive-in-movie, 9 p.m. atFoster Recreation Center

ThursdayThree-point contest, 4-8 p.m.at Foster Recreation Center

FridayRock wall climbing, 9 p.m. atFoster Recreation Center

By Kris CollinsThe Standard

Since the conception of the project between 2003 and2004, the Bill R. Foster and Family Recreation Centerhas been a highly anticipated addition to the MissouriState campus. Since November 2011, the project’s original projected

opening date, several hiccups in the plans pushed thegrand opening to yesterday, Aug. 20, 2012.The opening has been delayed four times in total.

When the November deadline wasn’t met, it was pushedback to February. February came and went, pushing thedate back a month further. When the March deadlinewasn’t realized, the goal was to open by June of 2012.At first glance, one can see that a lot of time and effort

have been put into the design and execution. Terry Row-land, Missouri State University project manager-archi-tect, said the project incurred various problems along theway that required attention.“Issues come up and you meet your challenges,”

Rowland said. “It’s a constant flux of information thatyou act off of and correct and move on.”Weather conditions were the primary factor in the

delays. A cold winter makes the ground more difficultwith which to work when digging is involved. Similarly,the spring rain poses problems when the ground becomestoo saturated, according to Rowland.As Rowland mentioned before, unforeseen issues

arise that have to be handled. The spring deadline wasmissed, in part, due to a problem with getting steel fromJoplin, Mo.Rowland admits that parts of the project could poten-

tially have been done before the Aug. 20 deadline, but theextra time was used to complete the project the right way. “The truth is that parts of it might have been in earli-

er, but since we were so close, we decided we wanted tobutton up a lot of loose issues and open up and give thestudent the full experience,” Rowland said. Apart from the aesthetics of the building and the

amount of use students and faculty will get from therecreation center, the issue with memberships of graduat-ed students still remains.The university is offering former students who helped

fund the project free memberships based on his or hercredit hours. The problem that Rae Faiman, who gradu-ated last May, and other recent graduates face is that theyaren’t able to use their memberships.Faiman currently lives in Columbia, Mo; too far away

to use the new facility.

“I think it was good to let them (former students) stilluse it, but, at the same time, so many people moved awaythat it seems pointless,” Faiman said. Cindi Barnett, director of campus recreation, said the

membership plan was modeled as closely as possible tothe wishes of the student body, which were voiced duringthe early planning stages of the project. Barnett said otheruniversities around the country usually don’t offer mem-berships based on dues paid.Graduated students that do live close enough to use

the facility and attended the university while the projectwas underway can activate their membership, based oncredit hours, until July 31, 2016.Whitney White, who graduated over the summer with

a bachelor’s degree in public relations, has already takenadvantage of her membership.“I’ve been a couple times already,” White said. “It’s

not like any other gym that I’ve used. It’s pretty wellequipped with everything you’d need. It’s nice that I canwork out in the same building that I can swim laps in.Before, you had to trek from one part of campus to theother. It’s really nice that it’s all in one location now.”White mentioned the wait was frustrating, but her

nearly three years of free membership has made it worth-while.Barnett made the point that former students have

funded past renovations to the university that they wereunable to enjoy, but later generations are. She said the Foster Family Recreation Center should

be looked at as something for future generations of stu-dents to enjoy. It will be something of which all facultymembers and students, past, current and future, can beproud.Special events will be held throughout grand opening

week. An event schedule can be found athttp://www.missouristate.edu/recreation/RecCenter/grandopening.htm.

Steph Anderson/THE STANDARDResident adviser Diana Dominguez welcomes freshmen students during the bear path convocation aspart of the new student festival on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012, in front of the new Bill R. Foster and FamilyRecreation Center.

Open for fitnessFoster Recreation Center opens its doorsafter six years and four missed deadlines

Tuesday | August 21, 2012 | Volume 106, Issue 1

The newQB in townGlaser camefor MSU’sstarting jobPage 6

Evan Henningsen/THE STANDARD

Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD

Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD

Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD

Steph Anderson/THE STANDARD

Bookstore director accused of stealing $400,000By Dayle DugginsThe StandardAfter finding more than $400,000 missing

from the Missouri State University Bookstore,director Mark Brixey is no longer employed bythe university. In a press conference Monday afternoon,

interim President Clif Smart announced that thecase was turned over to the Springfield PoliceDepartment on Aug. 16 for further investigation.In an Aug. 20 press release, the police

department said no arrests have been made, butthe incident will be investigated as an embez-zlement case. In a written statement, Smart said the univer-

sity suspects that Brixey “transacted businessoff the regular books for multiple years by cash-ing checks payable to the university and keepingsome or all of the cash.”

About two weeks ago, during a routine inter-nal audit, we discovered irregularities in howcash was being handled in the bookstore,”

Smart said at Monday’s pressconference. “Upon furtherinvestigation on that day, wefound more than $81,000 incash in the desk of the director,Mr. (Mark) Brixey. Since then,the good work of our Office ofInternal Audit has led us to thediscovery that more than$400,000 is unaccounted for

over the past three years.”Smart said the Office of Internal Audit will

go through every year’s records until theybelieve they have found all of the missingmoney. Brixey began working for the bookstore as a

student and had been the director of the book-

store for 12 years, according to an MSU pressrelease.Smart said the $400,000 loss is about 1 per-

cent of the bookstore’s revenue for the three-year period in question.Brixey, who was on vacation when the

money was found in his desk, was placed onadministrative leave on Aug. 13, Smart said.Administrators gave him several opportunitiesto explain the large amount of money in hisdesk. Brixey was later given a letter saying hewould be terminated unless the discrepancycould be clarified. Brixey resigned on Thursday. Kent Thomas, special assistant to the presi-

dent, will be the interim director of the Univer-sity Bookstore.Smart described the loss as significant. “It’s frankly unacceptable and must be fully

investigated,” he said. “I can’t tell you how dis-appointed I am in this.”

Brixey

Hours of operation:Monday-Thursday:6 a.m.-11 p.m.

Friday:6 a.m.-9 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

SundayNoon-11 p.m.

By Lindsey HowardThe Standard

Today, biting into a chicken sand-wich may tell more about a person’sopinions on an important social issuethan their diet.

Dan Cathy, chief operating offi-cer of Chick-fil-A, stirred up contro-versy with comments regarding thecompany’s stance on same-sex mar-riage in several incidents in June andJuly. Though the business has sincereleased a statement saying, “Goingforward, our intent is to leave thepolicy debate over same-sex mar-riage to the government and politicalarena,” many turned the commentsinto a social debate.

The controversy has trickleddown to college campuses, withschools, such as Duke Universityand Davidson College in North Car-olina, cutting ties with the restaurantand students at universities, fromNew York University to WichitaState, petitioning for Chick-fil-A tobe eliminated from their campuses.

Chick-fil-A has been located onthe MSU campus for only a year,replacing Grill 155 at the beginningof the fall 2011 semester in the Plas-ter Student Union.

There hasn’t been a petition toremove Chick-fil-A from MSU andKenneth Coopwood, vice presidentof diversity and inclusion, said apetition would have no impact.

“The relationship with Chick-fil-A is based on a contract, not publicopinion about their CEO’s view onsame-sex marriage,” Coopwoodsaid. “I can’t project that petitionswould have an impact on theMSU/Chick-fil-A contract if thosepetitions did not illuminate someunlawful treatment to others byChick-fil-A.”

Coopwood said that, though theMSU contract language with busi-nesses such as Chick-fil-A includesnondiscrimination language in it,sexual orientation is not listed in theprotected groups. He says, however

that administration is not aware ofany discrimination by Chick-fil-A.

“We are not aware of any dis-criminatory conduct on the part ofChick-fil-A against prospectiveemployees, employee, or customerson our campus,” Coopwood said.

Some students question whetheror not the business’s values contra-dict the university’s policies ondiversity and inclusion.

Lauren Dow, a junior socio-polit-ical communication major and co-president of Spectrum, MSU’sbisexual, gay, lesbian, transgenderand ally alliance, said she hasn’teaten at Chick-fil-A in a while.

Dow, speaking as an individualand not as a member or leader ofSpectrum, said she doesn’t feel therestaurant represents the same valuesas MSU.

“I don’t think the values ofChick-fil-A are in line with our pub-lic affairs mission or the values ofMissouri State,” Dow said. “It wouldbe very difficult to remove Chick-fil-A at this point, though.”

Coopwood, however, doesn’tthink Chick-fil-A’s stance on same-sex marriage contradicts MSU’smission for diversity and inclusionand said Cathy’s statements are partof his right to free speech and haveno bearing on the restaurant’s rela-tionship with the university.

“MSU’s mission is to providediverse and equitable access to qual-ity education,” Coopwood said.“Anyone who meets MSU admis-sions standards can get this educa-tion whether they agree with Chick-fil-A or not. We value diversity, butwe also value freedom of expres-sion.”

While Springfield residents wait-ed in lines for hours to show theirsupport for the restaurant located at3700 S. Glenstone Ave. on Aug. 1,which was dubbed “Chick-fil-AAppreciation Day,” Dow said shedoesn’t believe that active protests atrestaurants are the answer.

“I won’t be actively protesting

because I don’t think it will solveanything but irritating some staffwho are not in control of the situa-tion to begin with,” Dow said. “Inthe future, I may try and start an edu-cational campaign for those whowould like to know why so manypeople are boycotting, but that willbe the extent of my activism on theissue.”

Management at the PSU locationdeclined to comment and didn’t per-mit employees to comment on how,if at all, business has been affectedsince the incidents this summer.

Though Coopwood acknowl-edged that a number of students areconcerned about the issue andencourage continued dialogue, hesaid that MSU hasn’t received com-plaints about discriminatory behav-ior by Chick-fil-A.

“We haven’t seen any reason tothink that Chick-fil-A has discrimi-nated against any individuals on thiscampus,” he said. “We would needto be sure that complaints arederived from allegations of a wrong-ful act versus a matter of publicdebate.”

Chick-fil-A creates conflictThe Standard Tuesday, Aug. 21, 20122 News

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ACROSS1 Four qts.4 One of Hollywood's Wilson brothers8 Back12 "I" strain?13 Exceptional14 Therefore15 Affectionateparrot17 Panorama18 Tend a text19 Flexes20 Smaller map22 Twosome24 Benefit25 Biblical tales29 Hostel30 Foe of Rockyand Bullwinkle

31 Eggs32 Reduced fromAAA to AA+34 Declare35 Differently36 Sports venue37 Place40 Admitting customers41 Covers42 Settee for two46 Jason's ship47 Basin accessory48 Yon maiden49 Hammerheadpart50 Say it isn't so51 April 15 payment

DOWN1 Solidify2 Past3 Serenade, often4 Trip around theworld?5 Tarry6 Bungle7 Homer's neighbor8 Echo, for short9 Green land?10 On in years11 Joins the crew?16 Paradise19 Prejudice20 Footnote abbr.21 Zilch22 "Gay" city23 Saharan25 Spacecraft

compartments26 Trysting venue27 Tied28 Detectivewriter Paretsky30 Hairless33 Cause34 War god36 Mimic's forte37 Rebuff a mash-er38 Grow weary39 Advantage40 Microwave, e.g.42 Started43 Have bills44 "Eureka!"45 Cowboy nickname

Restaurant’s stance onsame-sex marriage startsprotests across U.S.

Josh Campbell/THE STANDARDChick-fil-A opened on Missouri State’s campus in the Plaster Student Union in the fall of 2011 andhas been subject to protests at universities, including Wichita State, after its Chief Operating OfficerDan Cathy spoke out against same-sex marriage.

MSU’s contract with Chick-fil-A

Source: Policy gathered from Kenneth Coopwood, MissouriState’s vice president of diversity and inclusion

In connection with the furnishing of equipment, supplies,and/or services under the contract, the contractor and all sub-contractors shall agree not to discriminate against recipientsof services or employees or applicants for employment on thebasis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disabili-ty, or veteran status. If the contractor or subcontractoremploys at least 50 persons, they shall have and maintain anaffirmative action program which shall include:

1. A written policy statement committing the organization toaffirmative action and assigning management responsibilitiesand procedures for evaluation and dissemination 2.The identification of a person designated to handle affirma-tive action;3.The establishment of non-discriminatory selection stan-dards, objective measures to analyze recruitment, an upwardmobility system, a wage and salary structure, and standardsapplicable to layoff, recall, discharge, demotion, and disci-pline;4. The exclusion of discrimination from all collective bargain-ing agreements; and5. Performance of an internal audit of the reporting system tomonitor execution and to provide for future planning.

TuesdayAug. 21, 2012

The StandardPhysical address:Clay Hall744 E. Cherry St.

Postal address:901 S. National Ave.Springfield, MO 65897

Newsroom: 417-836-5272Advertising: 417-836-5524Fax: 417-836-6738Standard@MissouriState.eduThe Standard is publishedTuesday during the fall andspring semesters.

Differential tuitionneeds student opinionsWould you like to pay more tuition? Most of

us would say no. What would you say aboutpaying more in tuition for specific classes inyour degree program?Well, even if you don’t want to pay more for

some of your courses, that may be the policygoing forward at Missouri State University.According to “Clif’s Notes,” interim PresidentClif Smart’s blog, most recent post on Aug. 9,the Board of Governors has approved theuniversity’s new policy for “consideringdifferential fees program.”This means that colleges within the university

can propose an increased fee for their courses tothe board in addition to the regular increases intuition. The first of these fees has already gone into

effect for the College of Business this fall.Upper-level undergraduate classes in COB (300level courses and above) now charge a $25 perclass fee for each student.$25 might not seem like a lot right now, but

over time, it adds up and, in five years’ time,COB can apply to have the fee increased if it’sdeemed necessary.It’s that application process that is

concerning. According to the Differential Feesentry in the Policy Library on MSU’s website,colleges are asked to provide research showingthe need for an increased fee. They can useevidence to cite the need for the fee, such as jobplacement, expected impact on enrollment,total cost to students, and expected use of thefees, to prove their point.Another suggestion for evidence is student

input; however, it’s not a required step of theprocess and this just seems wrong. It gives theimpression that MSU doesn’t take students’opinions into account when making policychanges regarding the cost of their education.With the budget cuts the state of Missouri has

been experiencing over the last several years,it’s been necessary to raise the cost of tuition.SGA was consulted about increases in tuitionand it was done for all students, regardless oftheir degree program.Some degree programs do cost more and set

students up for a more financially successfulfuture (take business administration versus anelementary school teacher), but students’opinions should be taken into account whenadding an additional fee for specific classes.We — the students — are the ones enrolling

in classes, footing the bill for our education,creating a reputation of successful MSUgraduates and encouraging others to attend theuniversity. Our opinion does matter and shouldbe required to be taken into account whenadding additional fees.

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romneyannounced Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsinas his running mate, a move that continuesto cause a flurry of reaction from peopleon both sides of the political aisle on Aug.11.

Though I didn’t greet the announce-ment with the shock, and admittedly, hor-ror, that I felt the last time a Republicanpresidential candidate made the VPannouncement (Sarah Palin, really!?), thepotential to live in a country run by Rom-ney, with Ryan by his side, makes menervous.

I don’t particularly identify with anypolitical party, but after doing my fairshare of research, when it comes to theissues that matter most to me as a collegestudent and a woman, I cannot, in goodconscience, cast my ballot for a Rom-ney/Ryan ticket in November.

I’m not going to try to argue, at least inthis particular column, why reproductiverights for women and support for same-sex marriage are reasons why Americaneeds to give President Obama anotherfour years in office. I’m going to showthis, rather, through the issue that is per-haps the most important to college stu-dents: the bank account.

Before being vetted as Romney’s run-ning mate, Ryan, chair of the House Budg-et Committee, made national headlines forhis budget plans dubbed “The Path toProsperity.” More commonly known asthe Ryan budget, this proposal and Ryan’svoting record on education offer a glimpseat what higher education would look likeunder a Romney/Ryan administration.

Firstly, Ryan’s budget contains star-tling cuts to the Pell Grant program, a

need-based federal program that providesgrants to low-income students. The cur-rent maximum amount students canreceive in Pell Grants is $5,500 per year,and while the Ryan budget doesn’t plan tolower this figure, it doesn’t call for it toincrease each year as it had previouslyunder the Obama administration. In addi-tion, the plan calls to change eligibilityrequirements, meaning fewer studentswould qualify to receive these grants.

According to an analysis by EducationTrust, a national education reform organi-zation, Ryan’s proposed changes, whichwould reduce the amount of money for theprogram by about $170 million, wouldresult in more than 1 million students los-ing the grants completely over the nextdecade.

As someone who has relied on PellGrants to help fund my education, the ideathat this program, which has helped me somuch, may be in jeopardy for future stu-dents in similar situations frightens meimmensely. As the price to attend collegecontinues to skyrocket, cutting funding forthe Pell Grant program would result inlarger loans for students who will graduatewith an increasingly alarming amount ofdebt, which is a large burden when oneconsiders the current job market.

Don’t qualify for Pell Grants? Don’t

worry. If you had to take out a loan to fundpart of your education, the Ryan budgetincludes provisions that would affect yourwallet, too; as the proposed budgetincludes provisions that would doubleinterest rates on student loans from theircurrent rate of 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

Interest rates were set to double July 1with the expiration of a previous cut thatCongress passed in 2007. Congress was ina gridlock until they finally reached anagreement to pass an extension to the bill,a measure Ryan did not support. He wouldhave allowed interest rates to double, untilagreeing upon a measure that would cut aprovision from the Affordable Care Act inorder to fund a one-year extension.

Ryan has been reluctant to keep inter-est rates for students low in the past. IfRomney becomes president and choosesto adopt the Ryan budget, college studentsmay suffer higher interest rates.

Though Romney’s choice of Ryan as arunning mate certainly doesn’t mean thathe plans to adopt the Ryan budget as hisplatform, he has referred to the plan as“marvelous” in the past, leaving manywondering how higher education will fareunder a Romney administration.

After all, if Romney upsets PresidentObama and takes office in January, andhigher education suffers deep cuts, youcan always follow Romney’s advice forhow to pay for college, given at an Aprilspeech at Otterbein University in Ohio,and “borrow money if you have to fromyour parents,” because, clearly, every fam-ily has an extra $20,000 or more sittingaround just begging to be spent.

LindseyHowardManagingEditor

Ryan budget hurts students’ wallets

Hello, Bears! I’d like to welcome everyone back

to campus for what is sure to be a greatschool year, and I’d like to extend anextra special welcome to all of our new,incoming students. As your StudentBody President, I’m looking forward torepresenting all of you throughout thisyear and wanted to take some time toextend a personal hello to each andevery one of you.

Student Government Association iscommitted to enhancing your experi-ence at Missouri State, and I’d love toshare some of the ways in which wehope to do so over the next year. As theofficial voice of the student body, SGAplans to continue to represent studentinterests in areas, such as studentaffairs, sustainability and academicpolicy.

It’s sure to be an exciting year oncampus, and as students, we have a lotto be proud of when it comes to attend-ing Missouri State. The grand openingof the Bill R. Foster and Family Recre-ation Center is a great example of theconstant progress being made on cam-

pus. The facility was designed specifi-cally to cater to student requests andstands as an illustration of what can beaccomplished when the universitycommunity comes together to support agreat idea.

There are several other points ofpride across campus, including therecent renovations of both Garst andBlair-Shannon Dining Centers, the newentrance to campus at National Avenueand Monroe Street, and new diningoptions in the Plaster Student Union.

On Sept. 15, students will have evenmore reason to be excited about being aBear when our football team hosts theirfirst home game. Tons of great activi-ties are scheduled for the entire week-end, and the game itself will be fol-lowed by a concert and fireworks show.

I’d like to encourage every student tocome celebrate being a Bear, and ofcourse, every student will be admittedfor free with their MSU ID.

I’d also like to encourage every stu-dent to make their voice heard bybecoming involved with the StudentGovernment Association. As a student,you can join SGA as a representative ofanother student organization or repre-sent your class at large. Another optionis to join one of SGA’s three commis-sions, which oversee specific areas,such as capital improvements, sustain-ability initiatives, and student bodyelections. Lastly, there is the CampusJudicial Board, which is composed ofseven students.

With all of these opportunities, anystudent can find a way to become moreinvolved in the Missouri State commu-nity. If you’re interested in making yourvoice heard, please join us for what issure to be a fantastic year. For moreinformation about anything mentionedhere, please contact SGA@missouris-tate.edu or stop by SGA’s office in PSU123.

Oxendine: ‘A lot to be proud of’ at MSU this yearPaigeOxendineSGAPresident

Dear Students:“And I’ll taste every moment

and live it out loud,I know this is the time, this is the time to beMore than a name or a face in the crowdI know this is the time, this is the time of my life,The time of my life”

Those lyrics from the song “TheTime of My Life,” written by ReggieHamm and performed by American Idolwinner David Cook, were the basis formy message at the New Student Convo-cation on Sunday. It is a message I wantto emphasize again in this letter.

This is the time when you canexplore new ideas, study things thatintrigue you, read anything that interestsyou, learn from the best professors, andbegin to develop your worldview.There is, however, much more to a col-lege experience than just studying andlearning; you have the opportunity tomake a difference in your communityby volunteering, whether during an

alternative spring break trip, helpingbuild a habitat home, working at Con-voy of Hope or another organization, orany of a thousand other activities.

This is also the time to enjoy life –before the demands of a real job over-whelm you. Travel, study abroad in thesummer or for a semester; cheer on theBears at our first football game on Sat-urday night, Sept. 15, then attend theconcert on the field after the game; joina fraternity, sorority or club; hike,canoe, or hunt in the Ozarks; and all thewhile make lifelong friends fromaround the state and the world.

Have a great year. Better yet — havethe time of your life, and be more than aface or name in a crowd — make a dif-ference.

ClifSmartInterimPresident

Smart: College is ‘time to enjoy life’ before real world

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Send a letter to the editor

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Student Media Center 113

Editor-in-Chief Megan GatesMegan9043@Live.MissouriState.eduManaging Editor Lindsey HowardHoward13@Live.MissouriState.eduNews Editor Dayle DugginsDayle426@Live.MissouriState.eduSports Editor Jon PoormanJonathan121@Live.MissouriState.eduLife Editor Kelsey BerryKelsey432@Live.MissouriState.eduPhoto Editor Steph AndersonAnderson76@live.missouristate.eduAdvertising Manager Sandy KingSandyKing@MissouriState.eduFaculty Adviser Jack DimondJackDimond@MissouriState.edu

The StandardEditorial PolicyThe Standard is the official stu-

dent-run newspaper of MissouriState University. Student editors andstaff members are responsible for allcontent. The views expressed do notrepresent those of the university.

Letters and Guest ColumnsLetters to the Editor should not

exceed 250 words and shouldinclude the author’s name, tele-phone number, address and classstanding or position with the univer-sity. Anonymous letters will not bepublished. Guest column submis-

sions are also welcome. The Stan-dard reserves the right to edit allsubmissions for punctuation,spelling, length and good taste. Let-ters should be mailed to The Stan-dard, 901 S. National Ave., Spring-field, MO 65897 or e-mailed toStandard@Missouri State.edu.

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advertising that is libelous, pro-motes academic dishonesty, vio-lates any federal, state or locallaws, or encourages discriminationagainst any individual or group onthe basis of race, sex, age, color,creed, religion, national origin, sex-ual orientation or disability.

The Standard reserves the right toedit or reject any advertising copyat any time. The Standard encour-ages responsibility and good tastein advertising. Political advertise-ments must show clear endorse-ment, such as “Paid for by (Adver-tiser).” A sample of all mail-orderitems must be submitted prior tothe publication of the advertise-ment. Advertising having theappearance of news must have theword “advertisement” printedabove. Such ads must be bordered.Clear sponsorship must be shownon each advertisement. Positionrequests will be honored when pos-sible but are not guaranteed.In case of error or omission, The

Standard’s liability, if any, will notexceed charge for the space occu-pied by the error. The Standard isnot responsible for typographicalerrors that do not decrease the valueof the advertisement. Liability for anyerror is limited to the first insertion ofthe erroneous advertisement.

Newspaper TheftEach reader is permitted one copy

of the paper per issue. Additionalcopies may be purchased from TheStandard office for 25 cents each.The Standard may waive this fee ona case-by-case basis if extra copiesare available. Newspaper theft is acrime. Violators may be subject tocivil and criminal prosecution.

Cartoon by Rachel Brown

This is the opinion of The Standard’sEditorial Board

TuesdayAug. 21, 2012

CalendarAugust 21 toAugust 27

TuesdaySAC concert featuring Lightsand Ben Rector 7 p.m. at theBear Paw, freeNew Student Festival 3 p.m. atthe PSU, free

WednesdayDine-In Movie: JAWS 9 p.m. atthe Foster Recreation Center, freeOpen Dancing 4 p.m. at TheSavoy Ballroom, free

ThursdaySAC After Hours Presents: TheCarnival! 9 p.m. at the NorthMall, freeThink ‘n Drink Trivia 7:30 p.m. atPatton Alley Pub, freeTAG Thursday 9 p.m. at TheOutland, $5

FridayGlow climb-Blacklight ClimbingParty 9 p.m. at the FosterRecreation Center, freeSAC Mixer 7:30 p.m. at the PSULevel 1 Game Center, freeDowntown Book Club 7 p.m. atMudloungeThe Detectives Back-to-SchoolBash 8:30 p.m. at The Outland,21+ $3, under 21 $5

SaturdaySAC Saturday Splash and FoamParty 6 p.m. at the North Mall,freeSkinny Improv Mainstage 8 p.m.at 306 South Ave, $12

SundaySAC Films Presents: TheAvengers 9 p.m. at the PSU, freeThink ‘n Drink Trivia 7:30 p.m. atPatton Alley Pub, freeFaculty Recital: Peter Collins,Piano 3 p.m. at Ellis Hall 217b,free

MondayIl Da Morte 8 p.m. at The OutlandBallroom, cover chargeAncient Art of Bellydance 6p.m. at the Savoy Ballroom, $10per class

BearFit free weekoffers exerciseclassesFitness classes taught by

trained student instructors, alsoknown as BearFit, are free for stu-dents and MSU employees theweek of Aug. 20-25.Classes include Bear Strength,

Ab Attack, Yogalates, cycling andwater aerobics. All classes are inthe Foster Recreation Center withclasses Monday through Saturday.A semester unlimited pass for

Aug. 20 through Dec. 13 costs$35. Paying per class is also anoption, costing $2 a pop.For more information or a

complete list of BearFit classes,go to Campus Recreation’s web-site,www.missouristate.edu/recre-ation.

Calling all freshmanand transfersThe New Student Festival will

be held 3-4:30 p.m. Tuesday Aug.21 in the Plaster Student Union.The festival is a resource for

student organizations to reach outto new students and is also a greattime for freshman and transferstudents to explore all the differ-ent organizations that are avail-able for participation.

Coheed andCambria to performat the Gillioz In preparation of releasing two

new albums over the next sixmonths, Coheed and Cambria willbe setting out on a tour that willland them in Springfield MO onOct. 26 at the Gillioz Theatre.Accompanying them will be

The Dear Hunter and Three onFriday. Tickets go on sale Friday,Aug. 24 at 10 a.m. The cost forpurchasing general admittancetickets in advance is $22.50. Tick-ets are available at the Box Office,can be charged by phone at 417-863-9491 or athttp://www.etix.com.

Briefs

Beating the distanceJosh Campbell/THE STANDARD

Getting to the GreekSuccessfully navigate your waythrough sorority recruitment this fall.

Skype dates are just one of the many ways to keep in touch with friends and family while students are away at college.

By Kelsey BerryThe StandardIt’s that time of year again. Sum-

mer has come to a screeching halt,classes are starting again, and stu-dents have made their way back tocampus to begin another memo-rable semester. With busy schedulesand new friendships forming, some-times it’s easy to lose touch withclose friends and family back home. Technologies, like social media

and texting, make it simple andeasy to send an “I miss you” mes-sage or wall post, but what if onewas looking for a more personalway to let a loved one know thatthey are thinking of them, despitetime constraints and a busy sched-ule? Here are five easy and unique

ways to keep in touch with closefriends and family back home whilebeing away at school, working hardto earn that degree. Send a message in a bottleInstead of simply writing a let-

ter, slapping a stamp on it and mail-ing it, why not get creative? Small,glass bottles are easy to find ateither Hobby Lobby location inSpringfield (1535 E Battlefield Rd.or 1717 W Kearney St.) or Jo-Ann

Fabrics (3370 S Glenstone Ave.)and only cost a couple dollars. Oncethe letter is written, slide it into asimple glass bottle, ship it off in apadded mailer, and wait for aresponse from a happily surprisedfriend. Make sure to write the letteron a small sheet of paper that willeasily slide in and out of the top ofthe bottle. Also, don’t forget thatgetting the letter out is half the bat-tle, so the recipient might appreci-ate a string tied around the letter inorder to more easily pull it out.Writing a letter is often much morepersonal than sending an email, textor Facebook message. Not to men-tion, nothing beats opening yourmailbox to discover a letter from afriend instead of just finding bills.If you thought letters were old-fashioned, try sending atelegramYeah, these are still around and

they’re actually very simple to sendonline. Telegramstop.com offers theold-fashioned service of sendingprinted telegrams to your recipient.This website allows the sender topreview the telegram before ship-ping it and also provides the optionto include a photo, if desired. Thetotal cost to send a message is $6.45and payments are made through

PayPal. Chances are, most peopleprobably haven’t received manytelegrams, so sending one would bea fun and thoughtful way to surprisethem. Share a journal Let’s face it, this isn’t “The Sis-

terhood of the Traveling Pants” andnot every group of friends can sharea single pair of jeans. So instead,why not share a journal? If a groupof close friends happened to attenddifferent universities but still wantto stay involved in each other’severyday lives, sharing a journal isa great way to accomplish that.Write short, daily entries detailingthe events of the day that one wouldnormally share with friends if theywere there, too. After a week ortwo, mail the journal and send thema quick text, alerting the addresseeto be on the lookout for a packagein the mail. Then, spend the nextfew weeks living life and anticipat-ing a response. After graduation, thejournal will be a keepsake full ofdaily college life for friends toremember their college yearstogether, even though they werespent apart. Shoot a quick video on yourphoneEven with all this old-fashioned

letter writing stuff, it’s still great totake advantage of all the technologythat is meant to keep individualsconnected. Although generally a bitmore impersonal, the use of tech-nology to keep in touch can be funand inventive. If there happens to

be a few spare minutes in-betweenclasses or on the way to work,shooting a quick, homemade videois a great way to say hello and letsomeone know you are thinking ofthem. Having a smartphone makesthis increasingly easier and you canbet that the recipient will enjoybeing able to see your face whilegetting your message. The onlyadditional effort on your part ismaking sure your hair looks okay. Grab some coffee (via Skype)A large majority of social inter-

action involves food of some kind,so why let the distance impede onlunch and coffee dates? ClaireCoulter, a senior photographymajor, has a best friend at SouthernVirginia University with whom sheused to bake all the time in highschool. Now, they continue the tra-dition over Skype. “It’s nice to allow ourselves time

to catch up and goof around whiledoing something we used to dotogether all the time,” she said in aFacebook message.Video chatting offers the addi-

tional perks of sharing things thatcome up in conversation, such ascurrent venues and activities. Plus,the ability to visually read someoneelse’s body language can add great-ly to conversation and help to avoidmiscommunications. If you’re not afan of Skype, you can always useFacetime on your Apple products orGoogle+ Hangouts to video chatwith several friends at once.

Friendships don’t have to end whenyou leave home for college. Trythese unique ways to keep in touch.

By Nicolette MartinThe Standard

If you came to Missouri Statelooking for a calm, relaxing firstweek of classes, you probably cameto the wrong place. The first week isjam-packed with move-in, meetingnew friends, picking up books,going to class (unfortunately), andif you’re looking to join a Panhel-lenic social sorority, you can addone more thing to that growing list:formal recruitment.Missouri State’s six national

Panhellenic sororities (Alpha ChiOmega, Alpha Delta Pi, AlphaSigma Alpha, Delta Zeta, GammaPhi Beta and Sigma Kappa) willparticipate in formal recruitment, aprocess that will take place fromAug. 23 to Aug. 27.

During these days, potentialnew members, who are personsinterested in becoming a member ofa fraternity or a sorority, will visitand interact with the different chap-ters. Chapters are local groups ofnational fraternal organizations. According to Andrea Weber, the

assistant director of student engage-ment for fraternity and sorority life,the conversations in which thechapters and potential new mem-bers will engage will progress fromday-to-day.

Here are the topics you canexpect to discuss throughoutthe recruitment process:Day 1 (Thursday, Aug. 23 and

Friday, Aug. 24): getting-to-know-you type questions.Day 2 (Saturday, Aug. 25): dis-

cussing philanthropies, what thesororities do during the year, anddeeper conversations about the indi-vidual.Day 3 (Sunday, Aug. 26): more

personal things about the organiza-tions’ and individuals’ values.Furthermore, as the days

progress, the dress attire willbecome increasingly more formal.Are you unsure of what you shouldwear each day? Don’t be. Dress CodeAccording to the 2012 Guide to

Fraternity and Sorority Life, on dayone, the least formal of the days,you should wear your recruitmentT-shirt.On day two, you should dress in

business casual attire. According toMissouri State’s Career Center, thisincludes khaki or cotton pants orskirt; a sweater, cardigan, knit shirtor nice blouse; and conservativeshoes.Day three, preference day,

should be the most formal of thedays. On this day, you should wear

formal attire, including, but not lim-ited to, dresses and heels. Throughout recruitment, there

might also be some terms of whichyou are unsure. For example, theterm “recruitment” has officiallyreplaced the term “rush.” Here are some more termswith which you should becomefamiliar:Active: a member who has been

initiated into a chapter, is an under-graduate and actively participatesBid: a formal invitation to join a

fraternity or sororityChapter: a local group of a

national fraternal organizationFormal recruitment: the period

of time set aside by the Inter-Frater-nal Council and Panhellenic Associ-ation for meeting potential newmembersInitiation: a formal ceremony,

during which a man or womanbegins full fraternity or sororitymembershipNew member: a member who

File photo/THE STANDARDParticipating in recruitment activities can lead to great friendships.

u See GREEK page 5

The StandardTuesday, Aug. 21, 2012 5Life

Roundhouse kicks, cheesy one-liners makefor an entertaining ride in ‘Expendables 2’

has accepted the bid of a fraternity or sorori-ty, but has not yet been initiated

Panhellenic Association (PHA): the cen-tral governing body of women’s social soror-ities

Panhellenic Counselor (Pi Chi): an initi-ated member of a sorority who guides poten-tial new members through the recruitmentprocess – counselors are disaffiliated fromtheir chapters

Philanthropy: a charitable project spon-sored by an organization

Potential new member: a person inter-ested in becoming a member of a fraternityor sorority

Recruitment: the mutual choice andselection process to determine fraternity andsorority membershipJust RelaxThis process can be overwhelming; espe-

cially for freshmen that are still desperatelytrying to get settled into their new homeaway from home, but Weber gives advice to

those planning to go through recruitment; tocalm their nerves.“Everyone who is going through recruit-

ment is nervous, even the chapter members,because you are all meeting new people, justremember that,” Weber said. “Additionally,everyone is in the same situation as you.Take a deep breath and just be yourself.”Do a little self-examinationIn her welcome letter to potential new

members, Vice President of RecruitmentHollie Brower encourages each person totake the time to find out what she values inlife and look for a sorority that shares thosevalues. Emily Skelton, a sophomore child and

family development major who joined AlphaChi Omega in the fall of 2010, shares thisbelief.“The most important thing is to go into it

with an open mind,” she said. “You neverknow which [chapter] will really feel likehome until you get there. Once you get there,you can tell right away which sorority you fitinto.”If you have more questions about the

recruitment process or fraternity and sororitylife, visit the Office of Student Engagementin Room 101 of the Plaster Student Union.

GreekContinued from page 4

File photo/THE STANDARDWhile formal recruitment can sometimes be stressful and overwhelming, make sureto leave plenty of time for fun, team-building activities when going through therecruitment process to join a social sorority.

Take nearly all your aging ‘80s and ‘90saction stars, throw in a few fresher faces,and every joke you can think of about saidaging stars, and you have the recipe for“The Expendables.” Again.“The Expendables 2” finds Barney Ross

(Sylvester Stallone) and crew (JasonStatham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, TerryCrews, Randy Couture and LiamHemsworth) hunting down bad guy, Vilain(Jean-Claude Van Damme), who has stolensome weapons-grade plutonium and killedone of the crew in the process.Now, the team is out for revenge and

blah, blah, blah. The story doesn’t reallymatter, does it? No one is going to see“The Expendables 2” for the gripping sto-ryline and plot twists because, let’s face it,there aren’t any.You’re going to “The Expendables” for

the action, of which there is plenty; lots ofheads exploding and even a few round-house kicks to the face. Most of the starseven got to showcase their mad skills,especially Li and Statham, which makessense because they’re really the only ones(of the good guys, anyway) who can actu-ally fight.This brings us to a few of the new

names added this time around, such as

ChuckNorris and Jean-Claude Van Damme.JCVD made an excellent villain and, eventhough we all know in real life he’d kickStallone in the teeth any day, he also madea good match for the crew.Norris, on the other hand, was absolute-

ly brilliant. He wasn’t in the movie much,but when he was, it was pretty amazing,mostly because he killed everything stand-ing in his way and led a barrage of cheesyjokes and one-liners.There were plenty of those, as well. So

many, in fact, that one could almost say theentire movie was nothing but one-liners,which is okay, but they were all prettygroan worthy and everything that attempt-

ed to be actual dialogue was terri-ble; absolutely terrible.No, you’re not watching for the

story, but some of it was a bit much.For example, when someone says,“I’m dying,” when it’s painfullyobvious they are, in fact, dying.Really? Did you really need to saythat? No, you didn’t. The movie isfull of instances like that.However, I suppose some of that

can be made up for in a few scenes,such as the one scene that has afunny back and forth thing betweenBruce Willis and ArnoldSchwarzenegger; and any scenewith Chuck Norris.Honestly, as much as I was shak-

ing my head at the ridiculousnessand the cheese factor of “TheExpendables 2,” there was that littlepart of me that enjoyed the jokesand roundhouse kicks. As long asyou know why you’re going towatch “The Expendables 2,” itshould be an enjoyable experience.

KarmanBowersMovieReviewer

By Tim GodfreyThe StandardIf you had walked into Ham-

mons Student Center on Aug.17, you might have thought youwere watching a playoff game.Missouri State volleyball play-ers were diving to keep the ballin play, leaping to spike the ballacross the net, and giving highfives to each other after everypoint, no matter who the pointwas for or against. The Missouri State volley-

ball team played its annualMaroon and White game lastFriday, and the preseason scrim-mage gave Bears fans a sneakpreview of what their volleyballteam will look like in the 2012-2013 season. They put on a per-formance, not only appreciatedby the fans, but also by head

coach Melissa Stokes.“I am really pleased with the

work ethic right now,” Stokessaid. “Everybody did what theyneeded to do in the offseason toget ready. I am very happy withwhere we’re at right now.”

TuesdayAug. 21, 2012

WednesdayWomen’s soccer, 7 p.m. atArkansas

FridayField hockey, 3 p.m. at VCUMen’s soccer, 8 p.m. at homevs. BelmontVolleyball, 7 p.m. at OklahomaWomen’s soccer, 6 p.m. at homevs. Nebraska-Omaha

SundayWomen’s soccer, 11 a.m.at Indiana

Men’s soccerTuesday, Aug. 14Missouri State 0 2 — 2Tulsa 1 0 — 1Friday, Aug. 17Missouri State 0 0 — 0SIU-Edwardsville 2 1 — 3Women’s soccerFriday, Aug. 17UALR 0 0 — 0 Missouri State 2 3 — 5Sunday, Aug. 19North Texas 0 1 — 1Missouri State 0 0 — 0

Scorebox

CalendarAugust 21 to August 26

BriefsTickets for Battlefor Bell baseballgame to go on sale Tickets for a fundraising base-

ball game to be played betweenMSU and Drury at HammonsField, known as the Battle forBell, will go on sale Monday,Aug. 27 at area Price Cutter loca-tions and the ticket window in theO’Reilly Family Event Center.All tickets will be sold as gen-

eral admission on a first-come,first-serve basis with advancetickets going for $5. They willalso be on sale the day of thegame for $10 at the HammonsField Box Office.All of the proceeds from the

game will go toward helping for-mer MSU shortstop and GlendaleHigh School head coach HowardBell in his fight against Amy-otrophic Lateral Sclerosis, alsoknown as Lou Gehrig’s disease.While playing for MSU in the

mid-‘80s, Howard was a three-year letterwinner and the Mid-Continent Conference Player ofthe Year in 1986.

Missouri State aimsto improve studentfootball experienceMissouri State is aiming to

improve the football experiencethis year and plans to do that havealready taken shape for the firsthome game on Sept. 15.In addition to the football

game, played at 7 p.m. againstNo. 24 Murray State, there willalso be post-game fireworks and aconcert by the band A Rocket tothe Moon.“Because it occurs early in the

school year, football can be one ofthe first rallying points for ourcampus community,” interimMSU President Clif Smart said ina statement. “The game is impor-tant, but so is the camaraderie andschool spirit that the game daysgenerate. It is yet another aspectthat makes college life at MissouriState special, so we want to do allwe can to make it memorable inevery way.”The weekend of events

includes a pep rally, social mediastudent scavenger hunt, BearFestVillage tailgating and more.Check MissouriStateBears.comfor more information.

Men’s basketballfinalizes schedulefor nonconferenceThe Missouri State men’s bas-

ketball team announced the com-pletion of its 2012 nonconferenceschedule last week.The Bears’ slate includes

games against San Diego State,Oklahoma State, South Carolina,Oral Roberts, Tulsa, New MexicoState and Valparaiso.“I like our non-conference

schedule," head coach Paul Lusksaid in a statement. "It presentssome good challenges for usagainst some great programs, andI think the balance of teams weplay will help get us ready for thegrind of The Valley schedule."

I came to Missouri State asa freshman in 2008 and I canstill remember the very firsttime I got a taste of Bearsfootball. Unfortunately, thattaste was not a pleasant onebecause they lost the game35-27 to Washburn, a Divi-

sion II school.MSU, which plays in the

toughest I-AA conference inthe nation, lost to the DivisionII Washburn Ichabods. Thatpretty much sums up what myexperience was like. No otherwords are really needed. It

was embarrassing.The Bears finished the

2008 season with a 4-7record. The following years,the team went 6-5 in 2009(which is at least somewhatrespectable), 5-6 in 2010, and2-9 in 2011.Head coach Terry Allen’s

overall record at MSU in sixseasons: 25-41 (.379). Hisconference record at MSU iseven worse at 16-29 (.356);his team’s average record is 4-7.This year, the Bears were

picked to finish at the bottom

of the Missouri Valley Foot-ball Conference for the sec-ond consecutive year — ninthlast year and 10th this year(the conference added SouthDakota State, and they, likeevery other team, were alsopicked ahead of MSU).

I can’t make any definitepredictions about what willhappen this season, but theprognosis certainly doesn’tlook good for the maroon andwhite.Even though the team has

been average at best over thepast several years, the higher-ups at MSU felt like some-thing needed to be done toimprove the football experi-ence.Right now you’re proba-

bly thinking, “Well, duh. We

Winning is the key to gaining football supportJonPoormanSportsEditor

u See POORMAN page 8

Fireworks andconcert won’tchange thegridiron culture

Fightingto findhis placeMizzou transferAshton Glaser cameto Missouri State fora chance to be thestarting quarterbackBy Brandon CorriganThe Standard

There’s no need to adjust your eyes; that’s notTim Tebow donned in a No. 16 Bears jersey.Aside from being arguably the spitting image of

each other physically, Mizzou transfer quarterbackAshton Glaser and the former Heisman winner havesomething else in common: fighting for the opportuni-ty to earn playing time.With the departure of starting quarterback Trevor

Wooden, who was kicked off the team for violatingundisclosed team rules on May 10, Glaser joins theBears offense, looking to fill the void at the positionhead coach Terry Allen has coined the most “obviousquestion mark on our team.”If Glaser is truly the answer to that question and the

man poised to guide a team that’s been picked to rot inlast place in the Missouri Valley Football Conferenceafter a dismal 2-9 record last season, it remains to beseen.The job won’t simply be handed over as sopho-

more Kierra Harris and Glaser remain in a dead-heatrace for the No. 1 quarterback position. Through two scrimmages, Glaser has racked up

397 yards by completing 31-of-57 passes with fourtouchdowns and three interceptions.“I was a little rough around the edges today,”Josh Campbell/THE STANDARD

Mizzou transfer Ashton Glaser went 31-for-57 for 397 yards, four touchdowns and threeinterceptions in two MSU preseason scrimmages this year. u See GLASER page 7

Volleyball Bears gearup for 2012 seasonand Valley title raceTeam pickedsecond inconferencepreseason poll

File photo/THE STANDARDKaren Rivatto (13) returnsfor her senior season as anoutside hitter for the Bears.

u See VBALL page 7

File photo by Steph Anderson/THE STANDARDSophomore Kierra Harris (right) is competing with junior Ashton Glaserfor the starting quarterback position this season.

Men’s soccer team looks to repeat as conference championBy Matt AtenThe StandardThe Missouri State men’s

soccer team was picked to fin-ish second in the MissouriValley Conference in 2012 bythe MVC Preseason Coaches’Poll, receiving three first-place votes.

“Polls are always interest-ing, especially in preseasonbecause nobody has played agame yet,” head coach JonLeamy said in a statement lastweek. “However, it is nice toget some recognition, andapparently some other coach-es in our league felt goodabout our team. We feel great

about our team.”Leamy guided the Bears to

a share of the MVC regularseason title after going 5-1 inconference play last season,but several key players fromthat team, including top goalscorer Heath Melugin, havegraduated from the program.Despite the loss of such

high-caliber players, MSUreturns six starters from a yearago, including three membersof the MVC All-FreshmanTeam in 2011: Andrew Turn-er, James Fawke and ParkerMaher. Turner was the onlyMSU player named to thisyear’s Preseason All-MVCTeam.

After missing the firstthree matches of his freshmanseason, Turner played thecenter back position in thefinal 16 matches and led allfreshmen with 14 starts. Turn-er helped the defensive unit tolimit opponents to just 10

u See SOCCER page 8

Football motivated by low rankingBy Jon PoormanThe StandardMissouri State soph-

omore safety MikeCrutcher is irritated. Histeam was picked to fin-ish at the bottom of theMissouri Valley Foot-ball Conference thisyear, and he, along withhead coach Terry Allenand many other players,

don’t believe that is howthe season will play out.“It just ticks me the

wrong way,” Crutchersaid. “We’ve reallygrown as a team in theoffseason, and I thinkwe’re going to take itgame by game and winthem all.”Crutcher is one of

nine returning starterson a defense Allen has

high expectations forafter ranking toward thebottom of the league inmany statistical cate-gories last season.“I will be disappoint-

ed if this isn’t the bestdefensive football teamwe’ve had since I’vebeen here,” Allen said.“It’s the best group

u See FOOTBALL page 7

MSU football records2008: 4-72009: 6-52010: 5-62011: 2-9

The StandardTuesday, Aug. 21, 2012 7Sports

Glaser said after Saturday’s per-formance. “I made a few mis-takes, but it’s nothing that wecan’t get fixed. I had some goodplays and some plays I wish Icould take back, but it’ll get bet-ter.”The path to MSUWhen Glaser told his father,

Sean, that he wanted to playfootball, the elder Glaser wascaught a bit off guard. He fig-ured Glaser’s athletic abilitieswere stored in his feet, not hisarms. Turns out it was both.“He’d been playing soccer

since he was 4 years old, and Ifigured that’s what he wasgoing to do,” Sean Glaser said.“Then he comes out at his firstgame in eighth grade, and he’sstarting. I didn’t even know heknew anything about football.”When Glaser began high

school as a Springdale (Ark.)Bulldog, he switched from run-ning back to quarterback, whichproved to be a wise decision.By the time he finished his

senior year, he’d directed thetop offense in Arkansas. Hethrew for 3,169 yards and 31touchdowns while rushing for351 yards and 17 more scores;stats that earned him the acco-lade of Arkansas OffensivePlayer of the Year in 2008,while also garnering all-stateand all-conference honors.He was also a four-year

starter and an all-state soccerplayer.Rated the No. 21 quarter-

back in the nation, according toRivals.com, he chose Mizzouover Arkansas, Auburn, Kansas

State and Oklahoma State.“I could have stayed in

Arkansas, but I was the kind ofkid that always wanted to getaway and try new things to findout who I really was,” Glasersaid. “At the time, Mizzou wasNo. 1 in the nation, so it wasreally cool.”Things, however, didn’t go

as smoothly as planned for the6-foot, 205-pound quarterbackhis freshman year in 2009, as hehad a difficult time transitioninginto college.His roommate and fellow

freshman quarterback, BlaineDalton, was dismissed from theprogram in August, Glasertotaled his car in a nasty acci-

dent after a home game, heendured a challenging stretchwith his girlfriend, and heserved a one-game suspensionfor an undisclosed disciplinaryissue, forcing him to miss theteam’s trip to Nevada, accord-ing to an article from theColumbia Tribune.Glaser never really recov-

ered and was lost in the depthchart behind the likes of BlaineGabbert and James Franklin,never reaching higher than No.3 in three seasons.His only playing time came

in a 69-0 win over MVFC foeWestern Illinois in 2011 inwhich he ran twice for 3 yards.“When I first got to Mizzou,

I was an absolute handful andthat might have had somethingto do with me not really gettingthe opportunity to play there,”Glaser said. “But, I’ve come along way.“I’ve gone through a lot of

maturing. I’ve been in this busi-ness for a while, and I’m excit-ed to come out here and showeveryone that I’m a good foot-ball player.”Glaser’s mother, Carin, is

thrilled with the opportunityMSU has provided her son.“I think this is going to be a

good situation for him,” shesaid. “He’s the most competi-tive person I know and to sit onthe sidelines is not in his natureat all.”Glaser, who describes him-

self as a golf enthusiast and acountry-music-loving southernboy, has already noticed a dif-ference in the pace of play fromDivision I-A to I-AA.“The play is slower, and I’ve

had to adjust to that,” Glasersaid. “From being at Mizzou,my brain goes 500 miles perhour. You just have to react sofast. Here, you have a split sec-ond longer and it changeseverything. Balls I’ve thrownthat would be considered late atMizzou are great throws here.”The most important date on

Glaser’s calendar is Sept. 1. Heremembers, vividly, holding theclipboard on the sidelines at BillSnyder Family Football Stadi-um last season as Mizzou wasdefeated, wondering, “What if Iwas in the game?”This year, when the Wild-

cats take on the Bears, he mayfind out.

GlaserContinued from page 6

Sarah Hiatt/THE STANDARDGlaser was the No. 21 quarterback in the nation coming out of high school andpicked Mizzou over Arkansas, Auburn, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

we’ve had up front defen-sively, the linebackers aresolid and I like those guysback there in the secondary.”The Bears are led by Pre-

season All-MVFC sopho-more linebacker AndrewBeisel, who was the team’stop tackler in 2011 with 84total stops. “We’re really motivated,”

Beisel said. “All we can dois go up. Just the fact that wehave more depth makesmore people want to start.

Things are looking up. Thestarters that have their posi-tion need to work harderevery single day. We have asaying: ‘ESD, every singleday we grind.’”Also seeing playing time

at inside linebacker this yearwill be junior Ryan Callen-der and sophomore transferSeginald Chaney. Outsidelinebackers will include jun-ior Nick Canavan and sen-iors Nate Davis and RodneyKelly.Crutcher and sophomore

Caleb Schaffitzel willanchor MSU’s secondary atthe safety positions whilejuniors Howard Scarborough

and Sybhrian Berry willlikely hold down the corner-back spots.The defensive line will

include experienced playerssuch as juniors MartinMontgomery and EricPearce, and senior TevanFerguson.Even with great optimism

about the defense, the Bearshave some serious questionsto answer on the other sideof the ball.MSU returns four starters

on the offensive line, so thebiggest task will likely bereplacing the production ofthree key, departed skillplayers: quarterback Trevor

Wooden, wide receiver Jer-maine Saffold and runningback Chris Douglas.Saffold and Douglas

graduated, and Wooden waskicked off the team on May10 for violating undisclosedteam rules.Replacing those three

starters will not be easy, asWooden led the Valley intotal offensive yards lastseason, Douglas piled up1,562 yards and 14 touch-downs over the past two sea-sons and Saffold left MSUwith both the season andcareer receiving yardagerecords.Perhaps the most impor-

tant of all decisions left to bemade is to pick a startingquarterback. The candidatesare returning sophomoreKierra Harris and juniorAshton Glaser, a transferfrom Mizzou.“We’ve got great compe-

tition at that position,” Allensaid. “There’s no more obvi-ous question mark on ourteam.”The Bears’ top receiving

threat is senior CadarriusDotson, who comes into theseason with 953 yards andfive touchdowns in hiscareer. Sophomore JulianBurton and junior DorianBuford both have experience

and will likely see a lot ofplaying time. Freshman TreKelley, who was veryimpressive in preseasonscrimmages, also has achance to make an impact.The Bears will also

expect good production fromPreseason All-MVFC seniortight end Matt Thayer, theonly offensive MSU playerrecognized by the league.The Bears will likely play

the running back position bycommittee, but do have 2009leading rusher Mikael Coop-er-Falls in the backfield,returning from a knee injurythat kept him on the sidelinefor the entire 2011 season.

FootballContinued from page 6

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I’ve gone through a lotof maturing. I’ve been in

this business for awhile, and I’m excited to

come out here andshow everyone that I’ma good football player.

-MSU junior quarterbackAshton Glaser

Stokes said she was look-ing for her team to accomplisha few goals during the scrim-mage: to play hard, to havegreat communication and tohave fun. Stokes said all thegoals were achieved.Last season, the Lady

Bears had an overall record of22-9 with a 15-3 record in con-

ference play, eventually losingto Wichita State in the Mis-souri Valley Conference Tour-nament and then falling toPepperdine University in thefirst round of the NCAA Vol-leyball Tournament.This season, the Bears

were picked second in theMissouri Valley Conference,with the University of North-ern Iowa holding the first-place position and WichitaState ranked third. AlthoughStokes said she doesn’t pay

much attention to any of thepreseason rankings, she didsay she was pleased with Mis-souri State’s position.“It feels great that we’re

picked second,” Stokes said.“That shows we have greatrespect from coaches andplayers.”The Bears won’t play UNI

until Oct. 27, but don’t expectthe team to have that date cir-cled on their schedule because,according to junior setterCarly Thomas, every game is

important.“The thing about us is, we

get everybody’s best,” Thomassaid. “Everybody is excited toplay the Bears. Every game isa battle for us and they are allexciting.”The Bears are scheduled to

play from Aug. 24 to Nov. 24,starting with a difficult stretchof tournaments in Norman,Ok., Springfield, Mo. and onegame in Manhattan, Kan. When asked how they keep

their bodies fresh and consis-

tently perform at their best,Thomas said the team takesice baths after every practiceand eats a healthy diet. Shealso said a lot of credit goes tothe team’s “amazing” athletictrainer, Shannon Derricks.Stokes said that she likes to

keep her team loose by havingfun and doing some “goofythings.” When asked aboutwhat those goofy things were,Stokes smiled and said, “Whathappens in the locker roomstays in the locker room.”

While team fun stays in thelocker room, team perform-ance stays on the court. Whenthe team steps out onto thehardwood this season, theywill be more than happy toshow Missouri State and theopposing teams what they cando.“Hard work and effort,”

senior defensive specialistShelby Strang said. “I thinkthat’s what we pride ourselveson — good defense and defi-nitely hard work.”

VballContinued from page 6

goals in its final 15 matches. “Andrew really led and

directed a lot of our defenselast year,” Leamy said. “It isneat to see him recognizedby the coaches. On the otherhand, we think we’re goingto have some other playerswho will join him on that listand stand out as the seasongoes on.”

MSU also returns one of2011’s top goal scorers injunior Cole Alexander.Alexander finished third onthe team in points scored in

2011 with seven.Alexander delivered the

game-winning goal in theteam’s first of three exhibi-tion games, a 2-1 victoryover Tulsa on Aug. 14.Maher contributed with anassist on Brandon Besong’sequalizer in the 67th minute.

“We did some goodthings defensively andplayed better collectively,”Leamy said. “We createdsome good goal-scoringopportunities. There weresome negatives and thingswe need to keep working on,but overall there were morepositives than negatives andthat’s the mark of a goodteam.”

need to recruit better players and win moregames.” Apparently, that is not the solutionthe MSU administration had in mind.

Instead of trying to find a way toimprove the quality of the team we throwonto the field every week and serve up asa money-gaining sacrifice to powerfulFBS schools like Oregon, Arkansas and K-State, MSU decided to form the FootballExperience and Stadium Evaluation TaskForce Committee.

The Report and Recommendationsdocument produced by the committee anddated March 29, 2012, includes reports onseveral aspects of the MSU football stu-dent and community experience, including

creating tradition, addressing issues withthe bleachers on the east side of the stadi-um (which the report claims to be “safe”),the student game day experience, andBearFest Village.

The report has some good ideas that I,personally, think would make the MSUfootball experience more exciting for stu-dents, and the process of transforming ithas already begun, as a fireworks displayand concert have been scheduled follow-ing the first home game of the season onSept. 15.

However, the recommendations madein the report can only do so much toimprove the level of spirit and support forthe football program.

Last season, fellow Valley member andDivision I-AA national champion NorthDakota State averaged 18,143 fans perhome game; 7,339 more than MSU’s

home average. Plaster Sports Complexonly holds a maximum of 16,300 fans, butMSU’s average attendance was below11,000. That’s not even 70 percent atten-dance.

So, what’s the difference betweenNDSU and MSU? I seriously doubt thatthey have a bigger support base because ofthings like fireworks, concerts and a coolfight song; it’s because they are a winningprogram. The people like winning.

Don’t get me wrong. What the com-mittee is doing will help and I think it’s arespectable endeavor, but to get the kind offootball atmosphere and experience theywould like to see, the product on the fieldhas to get consistently better. Until thathappens, however, I think MSU will con-tinue to lack outstanding support for itsfootball program.

What’s new at Missouri State University this yearThe Standard Tuesday, Aug. 21, 20128 News/Sports

PoormanContinued from page 6

By Dayle DugginsThe Standard

What do cigarettes, stoplights andparking passes all have in common?

Besides the fact that cigarettes canbe smoked in a car, with a parkingpass, at a stoplight—not much; unlessyou’re familiar with Missouri State. Inthat case, you would know, as of Aug.15, cigarettes may only be smoked oncampus inside private vehicles or indesignated smoking areas during per-formances or events.

Since the conclusion of the lastschool year, many changes have beenmade on MSU’s campus, rangingfrom new policies to new additions onthe grounds. Many are obvious, suchas the construction on Kings Street,while others require an observant eyeor a slap on the wrist before madeclear.

No one likes to be left in thedark—or parking tickets—so, checkout below what’s new at MSU tomake sure you’re in the clear.Tobacco-free MSU

As of this semester, smoking onMissouri State’s property is prohibit-ed; with few exceptions.

Since August 2010, the universityhas been working toward a tobacco-free environment, using several phas-es to implement the plan, rather thanordering those who smoke on campusto quit cold turkey.

In the past, students have walkedclass to class, cigarette in hand, some-times sharing secondhand smoke withneighbors. The most recently revokedportion of the phase-in plan included26 designated on-campus smokingregions. In an attempt to provide a

healthy learning and working environ-ment for students, employees and vis-itors, MSU has made these options athing of the past.

During on-campus performancesand events, smokers can venture toone of four designated smoking areasto get their nicotine fix. These areascan be found at the following facili-ties: Juanita K. Hammons Hall for thePerforming Arts, JQH Arena, Ham-mons Student Center and Robert W.Plaster Stadium. Otherwise, smokingon campus is restricted to a privatevehicle.

The policy, however, does not havedefined enforcement guidelines. Ifindividuals are seen smoking on theproperty, others can ask them torefrain from doing so or, in the case ofa repeated problem, students can bereferred to the Office of Student Con-duct. City streets that run throughcampus also pose another problem, asthe city’s smoking ordinance onlyholds weight in enclosed public areasand places of employment.Commuter Overnight Parking

Commuters with yellow permitsare no longer allowed to leave theircars in MSU parking lots overnight, asof Aug. 1.

The Parking Administration Officeoffers free, temporary overnight per-mits for school-related needs. Eveningparking passes are an alternative forthose regularly leaving their carovernight. A year-long evening passcosts $60, or $40 for the school year.

Overnight parking is considered tobe between the hours of 3 and 5 a.m.Overnight parking passes can be pur-chased at the Parking AdministrationOffice, located at 700 E. Elm St., or

online at http://www.missouris-tate.edu/safetran. Without an eveningpermit, cars are subject to ticketing,which almost guarantees a salty startto the day. On-campus Dining

Red Mango and Panda Expresswill soon be an on-campus diningoption in Plaster Student Union,replacing Wok ‘N’ Roll and Freshens,a smoothie and frozen yogurt vendor.

According to Chartwells Directorof Operations, Tony Hein, Red Mangoand Panda Express will be openingearly in the semester. Red Mango iswaiting on equipment to be delivered,and then training will begin whiledelivery timelines for Panda Express’equipment lacks a firm date.

Because the appliances for PandaExpress must be custom made, bottle-necks in production are a realityChartwells is having to deal with,Hein said.

“Hopefully we will have our RedMango ready to serve their amazingproduct around the second week ofSeptember,” Hein said in an email.

Hein declined to give a set date forthe vendor openings.

“Definitely this semester, earlyon,” he said in regards to PandaExpress.

Along with PSU dining,Chartwells is looking to improve theoverall dining experience in the Garstand Blair Shannon dining centers.

Over the summer, Garst was com-pletely renovated, making up-closefood production part of the diningexperience. The expansion of thefacility is set to open on Nov. 1, Heinsaid.

Blair-Shannon’s atrium was also

remodeled over the summer in orderto cater to students that use the dininghall and the brand new Foster Recre-ation Center. Labeled the “Bears’Den,” the area will serve as the dininghall’s grill, pizza and pasta area. From7 to 9:30 a.m. and 9 to 11 p.m., theatrium will also offer healthy pre- orpost-workout options that includesmoothies.

“[Chartwells’ goal is] to offer a‘WOW’ service experience along theway with a great culinary programthat offers variety and quality to ourcustomers,” Hein said.Monroe Street and NationalAvenue Traffic Light

At the end of the spring semester,construction began on the MonroeStreet and National Avenue intersec-tion in order to create a main entranceto Missouri State’s campus.

Despite having four signs markingthe borders of MSU’s main campus,the university lacked a defined mainentrance, Ken McClure, vice presidentfor Administrative and InformationServices, said.

“It will be the way by which peo-ple come in and out for a lot of cam-pus events,” McClure said. “It willalso aid in our ultimate goal of recruit-ment and retention.”

Eventually, McClure said the mainentrance will include a welcome cen-ter building. The process, however isstill in the planning phase.

The addition, which includes anextended median on National Avenue,left and right turn lanes on MonroeStreet and a traffic light to help withcongestion, was a coordinated effortbetween the city and university,McClure said. MSU will be construct-

ing major signage at the intersection toclearly mark the official entrance.

Between signage and relocationefforts with the city, McClure said theuniversity will be spending less than$200,000. The money for the project,which has been a long-term goal ofmany administrators at MSU, willcome from carry-over funds in theadministrative and information servic-es budget.

The Board of Governors approvedthe signage efforts at the intersectionduring the August board meeting.McClure said the university’s effortsat the main entrance will be complet-ed by the end of the fall semester.Kings Street Construction

In an effort to enhance the westmall area, ranging from Carrington toStrong Hall, Kings Street is currentlyunder construction. Along with chang-ing the landscape in the area, the con-struction efforts will help with excessrainwater buildup—a major issuemany ran into while traveling acrosscampus in the past.

According to Bob Eckels, thedirector of Facilities Management,much utility work needed to be doneunderground for water-cooling pur-poses, as well.

“By extending the pedestrian waythat’s coming from Madison, uptoward the rec center, to the sportscomplex, a lot of what you see on thenorth side is going to be carried on tothe south,” Eckels said.

The project also calls for the cre-ation of a brick plaza area where thewest mall and Kings Street intersect.Upon completion, the plaza will boasta brick bear head.

SoccerContinued from page 6

The StandardTuesday, Aug. 21, 2012 9Advertisement

The Standard Tuesday, Aug. 21, 201210 Life

Solution in Next Week’s Issue

Petitioners challenge marijuana penaltiesBy Kaycie SurrellThe Standard

This conservative com-munity doesn’t exactly have agreat reputation when itcomes to leniency regardingthe law; particularly when itcomes to drug-relatedcharges. The Springfield CityCouncil, however, is takinganother look at the severity ofthe charges that could coststudents their financial aid.

The City Council metAug. 13, addressing a specialordinance submitted to regis-tered voters to amend Chap-ter 78 of the Springfield CityCode. Changes to the amend-ment would directly affectthe prosecution of marijuanaand drug paraphernalia cases.A hot issue for students, thisamendment was a culmina-tion of efforts seeking toaddress the touchy topic.

The 1998 Amendments to

the Higher Education Act of1965 made possible the strip-ping of financial aid from stu-dents convicted of drug-relat-ed crimes while pursuinghigher education. Theamendment says that a stu-dent found guilty of the pos-session or sale of a controlledsubstance will be ineligible toreceive any grants, loans orwork assistance for school.

School is expensive andthe costs add up; tuition, fees,books, living expenses. Theadded expense of a drug-related conviction and thelength to which it affects youreducation is undeniable.Groups like SpringfieldNational Organization for theReform of Marijuana Laws,NORML, and Show-MeCannabis have been hard atwork raising awareness andcollecting signatures tochange legalization laws inthe city.

Local volunteers, led bySpringfield NORML’s VicePresident Trish Bertrand andSecretary Maranda Reynolds,collected more than the 2,101valid signatures needed to putthe measure on the Novem-ber ballot.

Current charges for a mar-ijuana-related crime in thecity of Springfield are prettysteep. The convicted pays upto a $1,000 fine, along withup to 2 years of jail time andcommunity service; not tomention the period they’ll beineligible for financial aid.

Springfield NORML pres-ident, Kyle Leaver, has beenworking hard with the organ-ization to promote marijuanalaw awareness in the commu-nity.

“This is one step in theright direction for us,” Leaversaid. “While this doesn’thave a drastic effect on thecurrent law, the goal is also toalert the public eye that justbecause marijuana is decrim-inalized, doesn’t mean thateveryone will be runningaround, smoking it in thestreets.”

The amendment wouldhave those convicted of mar-ijuana-related crimes facingone-tenth of the charge previ-

ously stated by the law. Theinitiative’s goal is to lowerthe penalty for possessingfewer than 35 grams to a tick-et with a maximum fine of$150.

“For me, cannabis con-sumption by persons of legalage is the quintessential vic-timless crime,” ClintonLowrance, a screenwritinggraduate student, said. “Aswas the case with prohibitionin the early 20th century, thecriminalization of cannabishasn’t prevented crime,rather it has given rise tocrime through a black mar-ket.”

Springfield isn’t the onlyplace working hard to makesome changes. Colorado,Washington, Oregon, Mon-tana and Massachusetts allhave amendments or initia-tives addressing marijuana-and drug paraphernalia-relat-ed charges up for a vote thisNovember.

This isn’t only an issue forthose who partake in therecreational or medicinal useof marijuana. One-thousanddollars and the possibility ofjail time is a heavy sentencefor something that hasbecome sort of blasé when itcomes to the college commu-

nity. “I agree that people

shouldn’t serve jail time forusing marijuana, but I don’tthink $150 is expensiveenough to keep people fromdoing it either,” said juniorhospitality and restaurantadministration major CaseyFults. “It’s the same cost as aspeeding ticket while a minorin possession charge is up to$600.”

Amending the law won’tcompletely decriminalizepossession or sale of marijua-na, but the City Council willmeet again on Aug. 27 todecide whether to vote yes on

the amendment or put it to acitizen vote.

“If the council passes itthemselves, it’s easier forthem to make changes,” saidNORML Treasurer Reynolds.“If it goes to the voters andthey pass it in, they can onlychange it after six months andit has to be unanimous.”

If you’d like to contactyour City Council representa-tives and let them knowwhether or not you supportthe amendment. Their contactinformation can be found onSpringfield NORML’s Face-book page, http:/www.face-book.com/springfieldnorml.

Registered voters speakout to reduce charges

File photo by Evan Henningsen/THE STANDARDNORML is fighting to change legalization laws andreduce drug-related charges for students in Springfieldwith the amendment to Chapter 78 of the city code.

The StandardTuesday, Aug. 21, 2012 11News

Candidates under review to fill president position

By Megan GatesThe StandardMissouri State’s Presidential Search Com-

mittee is currently reviewing 40 applicants tofill the position of the president of the univer-sity, left vacant since June 2011. Former president James Cofer said at a

press conference held in June 2011 that heresigned from his position to return to the fac-ulty. He is currently scheduled to teach Busi-ness Statistics in the College of Business thissemester at MSU. Since June 2011, Clif

Smart has held the position ofinterim president and reportedto the Board of Governors tofill the void left after Coferresigned. Smart was hired inDecember of 2007 as the uni-versity’s general counselor toprovide legal counsel to theBoard of Governors, the pres-ident of the university, theadministration, the faculty and the staff.In spring 2012, the Board of Governors

created a presidential search committee of 20members made up of MSU faculty, Spring-field community members, and two students –Nii Abrahams and Paige Jenkins, who is alsothe student representative on the Board ofGovernors.The committee is on schedule and, current-

ly, 40 people have applied for the presidency– including Smart – and applications will con-tinue to be accepted until the new president isnamed on Nov. 1, 2012, Kincaid said.

“It’s a strong pool of applicants,” he said.“It’s very diverse and withreally good candidates.” The committee will first

narrow the pool to semifi-nalists who will have inter-views with the committee onSept. 8 and 9. After semifi-nalist interviews, the com-mittee will cut down thepool to two to four finalistswho will visit campus fortheir final interview with the Board of Gover-nors between Oct. 3 and 17, Kincaid said.Guiding the selection process are the job

description, 25-year assumptions and presi-dential competencies outlined by the board forthe committee:1. Experience developing relationships in a

variety of key areas, thereby enhancing theorganization’s presence and reputation.2. Experience leading and managing a

large, complex organization.3. Experience in successfully managing a

complex and challenging financial environ-ment.4. Capability to credibly lead a strong aca-

demic community, while ensuring that stu-dents receive an outstanding education at afair cost. Also of great interest to the board is the

student body’s impression of what the univer-sity needs in its next president, Jenkins said.

“(The Board of Governors) wants to knowwhat the students feel about this issue, orwhenever we bring up anything about thepresident, they always want to know what stu-

dents are looking for in the next president,”she said.

Once Jenkins was named to the commit-tee, she began emailing organizations on cam-pus and speaking with students about whatthey wanted to see in the next MSU president.The overwhelming answer from students:transparency, she said.

“The students want to know what’s goingon in our university,” she said. “…I think itwould be really helpful if they’d just tell uswhat’s going on – what they’re working on –because the president does so much in a day,it’s incredible… And I think if the studentssaw what a big job it was, they would under-stand more the commitment the president hasto the university.”

Abrahams also said students with whomhe has spoken want to see transparency in theadministration at MSU.

“Transparency with what the president’sdoing, what the Board of Governors is think-ing, and allowing students to know what’sgoing on so they feel like they’re part of theuniversity, as compared to other schools of ourcaliber where students are treated more likejust a number,” he said.

Playing into transparency is the need forvisibility in the next president, Abrahams said.

“For instance, going to basketball games,or inviting student leaders over for lunch,” hesaid. “That way the student body sees thepresident being active in the community andin the university.”

Also necessary for the next president ofMSU is stability, as within the last four yearsmany students have experienced the leader-ship of Michael Nietzel, Cofer and Smart,Abrahams said.

“A lot of seniors, or people who have justgraduated, have had three presidents duringtheir time at Missouri State. And that’s just

crazy,” he said.Despite initial concerns about his voice

not being recognized, Abrahams said the com-mittee has responded well to both his andJenkins’ input.

“At the beginning, I was a little concerned,but I knew I wasn’t chosen to be on the boardto just sit there and not talk—and the samething with Paige—so we both put our input inand it’s been well received,” he said.When finalists visit campus in the fall,

there will be opportunities for students andcommunity members to listen to finalists givespeeches, to meet them in person, and to pro-vide direct feedback to the board, Kincaidsaid.An online system will be set up closer to

the finalists’ visits to allow people to sendtheir feedback through a series of question-naires to the board before it makes its finaldecision about who to hire, he said.Details about finalists’ visits will be avail-

able once they are chosen on the search com-mittee’s website, Kincaid said.Names of the other candidates who applied

for the position will not be released because ofexceptions to Missouri’s Sunshine Law,allowing the Board of Governors and the com-mittee to keep names of applicants confiden-tial.To find out more about the presidential

search, visit the university’s official websitefor the committee at http://www.missouris-tate.edu/presidentialsearch.

By Anna ThomasThe StandardMarketing to prospective students is a

way to display Missouri State as the greatuniversity that it is, and President CliftonSmart believes we can do better. The Boardof Governors acted on their plan to researchbetter ways to recruit students by employ-ing Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, amarketing team, on Aug 3.

“To recruit students and promote theuniversity well, we need to know whatprospective students, parents, and alumnithink of us and then work to implementmarketing strategies based on what welearn rather than by guesswork,” Smartsaid. This plan, costing $159,500, will start a

process of interviewing students who chosenot to attend the university, past studentswho dropped out, and MSU graduates inorder to improve the school’s all-aroundrecruitment efforts.While the Board of Governors approved

spending funds on the marketing team, con-sidering MSU has not paid for research inabout ten years, others disagree with thecosts. Kevin Mickus, a geography, geology

and planning professor, commented on the

News-Leader story covering the topic, call-ing it a “waste of money”. Alexis Lewis, a senior speech and

pathology major, agrees with Mickus.“I just feel like the money could be used

in other ways than a research team,” shesaid. “I know people who came herebecause of their scholarship. Let’s put moremoney into that to recruit students.”Other students, such as Karolina Kosin-

ska, a sophomore biology major, just shrugtheir shoulders at the idea.“They could just ask us students their-

self, or see how other schools go about it,”she said. “But maybe these consultants willbe able to find something really interestingand new. We’ll see.”Once the research is completed, Smart

plans to implement it with staff here atMSU. He said it is a good use of money and

hopes those contacted to be surveyed willparticipate.“Marketing has been a priority for the

Board of Governors and the administrationfor several years. It has been a decade sincewe conducted comprehensive research onstudents, so it is long overdue.” Smart said. The research company will provide mar-

keting plans for this university, the six aca-demic colleges, the School of Agriculture,and diverse populations. Smart says theresearch will start soon and continuethrough early spring 2013. “Then again, students aren’t aware of

the amount of money the school puts intoanything,” Lewis said. “We seem obliviousuntil it’s something we think is ridiculous.The board probably knows what is best, andlet’s hope this is.”

Search committee on scheduleto name finalists in October

Kincaid

Smart

University hires marketing firm to research recruiting methodsMSU to spend$159,500 on student study

Express what you would like tosee MSU’s next president

Nii Abrahams NiiKapakpo3330@live.missouristate.edu Paige Jenkins Jenkins567@live.missouristate.edu

The Standard Tuesday, Aug. 21, 201212 Advertisement