NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PA I DPERMIT NO. 32St. JOSEPH, MO

Vol 94 | Issue 13 griffonnews.com January 19, 2012

Some Western students made unique New Year’s resolutions. Learn about them on page 4.

CME hosts a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Page 3

The Griffon News previews the rest of the basketball season.Page 8

Procrastinators pack walk-in registrationEboni Lacey | News Editorelacey@missouriwestern.edu

As students piled in the downstairs location of Eder Hall for the final day of reg-istration known as “Walk-in Registration,” staff and faculty wondered yet again why students waited so long to enroll in their classes. On Jan 12, over hundreds of new, returning and trans-ferred students waited for quite a few hours in line to enroll for classes.

“A lot of times you never know why people wait so long,” Bursar Daniel Eckhoff said. “Why would you wait until today? There is no ben-efit. I don’t think anybody enjoys waiting in line and the frustration of not into classes.”

Though walk-in registra-tion was a little easier for students this year, as the registration team allowed all students to come in at 1:00 p.m. rather then divide the times by class level, quite a few registration leaders were surprised at the huge num-ber of students in line and the consistent pace of the line.

According to Eckoff, all students that applied for ad-mission by Dec. 1 were eli-

gible to pre-register online. However, those that waited until the walk-in registra-tion date had to go through admissions, advisement, registration, financial aid and payment options in just a few hours; a process that usually takes two weeks to complete.

“We try to make things go as smooth as possible,” Reg-istrar Susan Bracciano said.

“We usually get new stu-dents that didn’t apply in time and students that de-cide last minute that they don’t want to go away to another school. Returning students sometimes come in to talk to their advisers. But, we get less of the continuing students.”

SEE WALK-INPAGE 2

Students filled the hallway in front of the Registrar’s office Jan. 12, trying to fit the whole enrollment process into one afternoon. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

“A lot of times you never know why people wait so long.”

Daniel Eckhoff, Bursar

Homework, working for-ty hours or more per week, and keeping up that GPA. These may be some of the factors leading to the loss of membership in the Student Senate. The spring semester starts this week, and the senate will be back in session.

According to former Sena-tor Nick Brew-er his reason for leaving was school-related, not the lack of confidence in the Senate.

“Partially, one rea-sons I left the Senate was my schedule, and I wouldn’t be able to make most of the meetings,” Brewer said.

Other reasons for Sena-tor’s leaving were not due to a lack of confidence in the senate, but rather for their own benefit.

According to SGA Presi-dent Alison Norris, only 2 students left the senate who were studying abroad, and those graduating. As stated by Norris she believes it’s

time to recruit new Senators.“We are going to run ads,

and asking the current Sena-tors to spread word to oth-ers,” Norris said. “The Stu-dent Senate has a retreat coming up, and we will hopefully see a few people come out with interest in be-coming a Senator.”

The membership rate at the moment for

the Student Senate stands at 16, ac-cording to SGA Vice President Jacob Scott.

“We just need two-third vote to pass legisla-

tions, which we have been able to

do.”Although it’s a positive

sign that the Senate is able to pass legislation, having a few new members wouldn’t hurt.

“We are going to recruit, even if we don’t have a full Senate, and we are still able to pass legislation for the Spring Semester,” Norris said.

Student Senate seeks new membersMatt Hunt | Asst. News Editormhunt8@missouriwestern.edu

SEE SENATEPAGE 2

In just a matter of 10 hours students who worked with former International Stu-dent Services Coordinator Huey-Shi Chew managed to get 78 signatures de-manding information about the termination of Chew’s employment.

“We are curious as to

what specific standards of the university Huey-Shi [Chew] failed to meet,” The petition says, “Based upon the information currently available to students, it would seem that Huey-Shi was very satisfactory, and that her future at Western was promising.”Chew’s departure was one

of 13 since the reorganization of Student Affairs. Interna-

tional students have praised her dedication to students and were baffled by her de-parture.

Gilbert Imbiri, Student As-sistant for the International Student Services office, said that the petition was read and approved by the Inter-national Student Club, but that the petition is as far as their concerns will go.

“That’s all we can do is

sponsor it,” Imbiri said. “We all live with a student visa status so we just don’t want to get in trouble.”

Before the end of the se-mester, petition organizers sent the signed document to administrators, who did not directly respond to the re-quest. Missouri law protects former employees from their employers by not allowing them to release information

about their former employ-ment.

Sharon Moore, one of the students who helped write the petition, said she had mixed feelings about Peralez’s response. Esther Peralez, Vice President for Student Affairs, responded to the petition by stating that Missouri law prevented her from disclosing informa-tion about Chew’s employ-

ment, but told Moore that if she had any concerns they should discuss them with Tay Triggs, assistant dean of student development or Steve Potter, international student adviser.

Students petition Student Affairs, request information concerning dismissal Dave Hon | Editor-in-Chiefdhon1@missouriwestern.edu

SEE PETITIONPAGE 2

Take a break from textbooks

2 12

Keisha Caldwell (right) plays with the Nook display as Rodney Roberts Jr. (left) and bookstore employee Bailey Griffin (middle) look on at the Missouri Western bookstore.

Jason Brown | Photo Editor

I HAV

E A

DREAM THAT ONE DAY THIS NATION WILL RISE UP

AND

LIV

E O

UT TH

E TRUE MEANING OF ITS CREED:

“WE

HOLD TH

ESE T

RUTHS TO BE

SELF

-EVI

DENT,

THAT..

.

ALL MEN ARE

CREATEDEQUAL”

I HAVE A DREAM TODAY

FREE AT LA ST! FREE AT LAST!

THANK GOD ALMIGHTY,

WE ARE FREE AT LAST!

AND IF AMERICA IS TO BE A GREAT NATION, THIS MUST BECOME TRUE. AND SO LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE PRODIGIOUS HILLTOPS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE MIGHTY MOUNTAINS OF NEW YORK. LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE HEIGHTENING ALLEGHENIES OF PENNSYLVANIA, LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE SNOW-CAPPED ROCKIES OF COLORADO. LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE CURVACEOUS SLOPES OF CALIFORNIA. BUT NOT ONLY THAT: LET FREEDOM RING FROM STONE MOUNTAIN OF GEORGIA LET FREEDOM RING FROM LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN OF TENNESSEE. LET FREEDOM RING FROM EVERY HILL AND MOLEHILL OF MISSISSIPPI. FROM EVERY MOUNTAINSIDE,

If your organization would like to announce an event, e-mail the information to

stories@thegriffonnews.com

Thursday, Jan. 19• WarandPeaceFilmSeries:

“Budrus,”KemperRecitalHall,7p.m.

Friday, Jan. 20• MLKCandlelightVigil,Griffon

Plaza(outsideBlumUnion),5:30p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 21• GriffonMen’s/Women’s

Basketballvs.PittsburgState,LooneyComplex,1:30p.m./3:30p.m.

• MLKServiceDay,BlumUnionLobby,9a.m.

Sunday, Jan. 22• MLKGospelCelebration,

KemperRecitalHall,3p.m.

Monday, Jan. 23• MLKDrumMajorforJustice

AwardsBanquetandCulturalExhibition,FulkersonCenter,6p.m.

• HumanRightsPictorialandInformationFairs,BlumUnionLobby,allday.ThroughJan.27.

1. Nocrimesreported.

Beshears Hall

Juda Hall

Commons

Leaverton Hall

Griffon Hall

Scanlon Hall

Vaselakos Hall

Missouri Dept. of Conservation

Griffon Spring Sports Complex

Blum Union

Fulkerson Center

Leah Spratt Hall

Hearnes Center

Remington Hall

Murphy Hall

Eder HallPopplewell Hall

Spratt Stadium

Baker Family Fitness Center

Griffon Indoor Sports Complex

Looney Comlex

Wilson Hall

Potter Hall

Logan Hall

Downs Drive

NEWS January 19, 2012

The Griffon NewsPage 2

CALENDAR OF EVENTSCAMPUS CRIME REPORTS

CAMPUS INFORMATION

According to three-year veteran registration leader Robin Ussher, who is the new student registration intern, a good amount of students that walked in were return-ing students that perhaps weren’t fully knowledgeable of the process.

“A surprising handful of currently-enrolled freshman seemed unaware of the regis-tration process,” Ussher said. “They took advantage of this day.”

One returning student, Justin Morton, felt that the registration process was extremely long and quite drawn out.

“You stand in line for about five hours,” Morton said. “It

“What we were asking for was something that the col-lege could not comply with under the sunshine laws,” Moore said.

“So, I understood the re-sponse in that sense, but on the other hand, she could have definitely made an ef-fort to find a different way in her power to address our concerns.”

While Triggs respects the students’ right to ask ques-tions, she wishes that stu-dents would focus on con-cerns that affect the entire student body or things that the administration can con-trol.

“They have a right to ask questions,” Triggs said. “I just hate that we can’t answer a lot of those questions.”

While the position remains empty, Imbiri is filling in the gaps by helping new interna-tional students adjust. Last week was the start of orien-tation for new international students. Imbiri also said that Potter has been help-ing after Chew’s departure.

However, as stated on the Student Governments web-site a full senate has 20 Sena-tors, but that isn’t stopping the current one in place.

“With the 10 Senators that we have, we only need 6 at the Senate meetings to con-duct our business,” Norris said.

According to current Stu-dent Senator Brian Shewell,

takes too long.”Another student who was

registering for the first time felt the day was beneficial overall.

“You get everything done at once, but it is so long,” Va-larie Weems said.

Rather early or late, the

he will wait to see what the plan for gaining membership will be at the first meeting when they return from Win-ter break.

“By the first meeting we should have an idea on how we plan to get students en-gaged, and want to par-ticipate in the Student Sen-ate,” Shewell said. “I will be spreading word to other students, and let them know how they can bring their own ideas fourth.”

It seems that SGA execu-

Even with the extra help, Imbiri said that the Interna-tional Student Services office is struggling.

“It feels empty,” Imbiri said. “There’s no body in charge. This semester just began and a lot of students need help.”

The search committee has yet to fill the position, but Imbiri said that several inter-views have been scheduled.

“It’s a field that needs a specific someone to do it,” Imbiri said, “When she left, I’m the one kind of in charge of all the students. It’s frus-trating because I’m just a stu-dent too.”

Triggs hopes to have the position filled by March at the latest. She also said that the new Director for Global Engagement should have a breadth of knowledge and be able to provide leadership.

“It’s not just about some-one having an open door policy and having a great relationship with students,” Triggs said. “You’ll find that all over campus. But we also need someone who can come in a give the university some direction in regards to the in-ternational program.”

WALK-IN: CONTINUED FROM FRONT

PETITION: CONTINUED FROM FRONT

SENATE: CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Opportunity for potential Senators at SGA retreat

registration team is happy that students are coming into Western and that Western is continuing to grow every semester. The team is also proud of the great amount of students that desire to attend Western, but unfortunately have to be turned away for

tives are already getting to work to find ways to get people involved in the stu-dent senate. “Our plan is to recruit two men and two women as Senators,” Scott said. “If students are serious about becoming a Senator, then the 3-day retreat would be the best way to gain in-stant access to the Senate. If students attend the 2 night, 3 day retreat that would count for 3 meetings.”

According to Senate mem-bership requirements, a stu-

To provide better safety to the students and give the campus the most efficient technology, the key office and the facilities department partnered with residential life to install new key mech-anisms for the residential halls.

Instead of the old pad-lock keys that have been in use for several years, the departments decided to get brand new key sliders for every front door of the dorms. According to Key Access Specialist and Assis-tant Locksmith Clint Barnes, the student’s safety was the number one reason for in-

stalling the new key system.“The largest part of my

job is safety,” Barnes said. “I hold that end very, very high. There is no other way around it. Students have to feel safe. Student safety is number one.”

Residential Assistant Der-ek Thompson, who stated that he didn’t hear about the new key systems, felt that the lock upgrade might have been a little unnecessary.

“I liked the old ones bet-ter,” Thompson said. “They were easier to use. I guess these ones are better for win-ter weather. We have locks that already worked and I don’t think we really needed them if they were expen-sive.”

According to Barnes, thou-

sands of dollars were spent to purchase and install the new locks. Last year, the Fa-cilities Department drew up a bid to install the new sys-tems. Barnes also thinks that Residential Life paid for the

upgrade.“I’m pretty sure Residen-

tial life paid for it,” Barnes said.

Barnes noted that anytime a department requests for new locks or mechanisms,

the department is entitled to pay for it.

“It doesn’t come out of maintenance budget because we don’t have it.”

Griffon Hall Resident Jer-rica Brown also felt the new lock upgrade were a mean-ingless addition to the cam-pus.

“It doesn’t seem like there is a difference,” Brown said. “I think they are really point-less. I think they are wasting money on pointless things that don’t benefit students.”

In addition to the new lock system, the key office has found more efficient ways to ensure campus security. The security is due mainly to students that need or desire access into academic build-ings. To achieve access, a

New key mechanisms installed at residence hallsform must be signed by the department chair, vice presi-dent of the department and dean or director of that de-partment. This form must be filled out every semester.

“Just because you want ac-cess into room x,y,z doesn’t mean you are going to get it,” Barnes said.

Barnes also gives a stern warning to students that have access to any academic building about the impor-tance of being responsible of your electronic chip key and not losing it or loaning it out.

“If you loan your chip to somebody, we are going to know about it,” Barnes said. “I can run an audit and tell you exactly who came into that door.”

dent must attend 3 meetings to become a senator.

According to Norris, the decline in membership has been an issue the last cou-ple years. “We have a lot of non-traditional students at Western, and students with schedules that don’t fit with our meetings,” Norris said. “We must now show the students how important the Senate is, and how hard we work for the student body.”

numerous reasons.“Down at Admissions,

there are a lot of people that don’t get through,” Ussher said. “I’m sure it’s hard to be the person that says you can’t enroll with us this se-mester, but somebody’s got to do it.”

Some students turned away by Admissions

Eboni Lacey | News Editorelacey@missouriwestern.edu

Petition requests not granted due to Sunshine Law

The new locking mechanisms for the suites slant downward. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

The line for walk-in registration wound through most of the first floor of Eder. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

MWSU BookstoreBlum Student Union

Check out the rental and digital options on many titles

The only source for MWSU testbooks where a portion of every dollar spent goes directly to Missouri Western State University.

Great selection of school supplies

The Bookstore Staff Thanks You For Your Patronage!

Check us out on

Shop In-Store or Online at whywaitforbooks.com

The Western family will welcome a new staff mem-ber. Ann Pearce, Special As-sistant to President Vartabe-dian, who will replace Beth Wheeler, Director of External Relations.

According to Wheeler, Pearce has extensive ex-perience that will benefit Western. “Her extensive experience in higher educa-tion include working with the Missouri Department of Higher Education and the General Assembly,” Wheeler said. “She is a great fit for Western.”

Ann Pearce will not take the title of Director of Exter-nal Relations; she receives her own title as the Special Assistant to the Univer-sity President. According to Pearce she will take on many of the same duties as Wheel-er.

“The duties include gov-ernmental relations at the local, state, and federal lev-els,” Pearce said. “Also being a university liaison with the greater St. Joseph communi-ty and with decision makers throughout the state.”

According to President Vartabedian, Ann Pearce has the experience Western needs.

“Ms. Pearce has 25 years of impressive experience at the University of Central Missouri,” Vartabedian said. “She has a track record of ef-fective performance in the areas of expertise that we were seeking.”

President Vartabedian states that she is responsible for all things governmental from local to federal level. “She is primarily responsible for building and sustaining strong and positive leader-ship with those in influential

and decision making roles,” Vartabedian said.

Though she is the Special Assistant, rumors have cir-culated as to whether Ms. Pearce would receive her own parking space. Accord-ing to Pearce the rumors are true.

“I do have my own park-ing space, and it is justified,” Pearce said. “I will not be sitting behind my desk all day.” The position requires Pearce to travel quite a bit on and off campus. Pearce states that she must be confident that there will be a space for her when she returns to cam-pus for her meetings.

According to Pearce she is ready to get to work.

“I am anxious to meet as many members of the Mis-souri Western family as I can, and to work closely with them to hear their views,” Pearce said. “The more I re-searched the university the more I was impressed by it.”

President Vartabedian stated that Pearce stood out as having both extensive legislative and academic ex-perience. “I have been very impressed with Ms. Pearce’s willingness to 'go the extra mile',” Vartabedian said, “and do whatever is need-ed to be done to further the goals of Missouri Western.”

Ann PearceSpecial Assistant to the President

Ann Pearce hired as new special assistant to President Vartabedian

I HAV

E A

DREAM THAT ONE DAY THIS NATION WILL RISE UP

AND

LIV

E O

UT TH

E TRUE MEANING OF ITS CREED:

“WE

HOLD TH

ESE T

RUTHS TO BE

SELF

-EVI

DENT,

THAT..

.

ALL MEN ARE

CREATEDEQUAL”

I HAVE A DREAM TODAY

FREE AT LA ST! FREE AT LAST!

THANK GOD ALMIGHTY,

WE ARE FREE AT LAST!

AND IF AMERICA IS TO BE A GREAT NATION, THIS MUST BECOME TRUE. AND SO LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE PRODIGIOUS HILLTOPS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE MIGHTY MOUNTAINS OF NEW YORK. LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE HEIGHTENING ALLEGHENIES OF PENNSYLVANIA, LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE SNOW-CAPPED ROCKIES OF COLORADO. LET FREEDOM RING FROM THE CURVACEOUS SLOPES OF CALIFORNIA. BUT NOT ONLY THAT: LET FREEDOM RING FROM STONE MOUNTAIN OF GEORGIA LET FREEDOM RING FROM LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN OF TENNESSEE. LET FREEDOM RING FROM EVERY HILL AND MOLEHILL OF MISSISSIPPI. FROM EVERY MOUNTAINSIDE,

NEWS January 19, 2012

The Griffon NewsPage 3

MLK: Campus organizations celebrate civil rights leader

Eboni Lacey | News Editorelacey@missouriwestern.eduMatt Hunt | Asst. News Editor

mhunt8@missouriwestern.edu

To celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s long-lasting words of respect, honor and service to one another, the Center for Multicultural Education is hosting a weekend of events from a community service day to a formal banquet and even a gospel jubilee.

“We want to re-educate students on all the param-eters on what Dr. King stood for and what social justice work he did during his life,” Keisha Caldwell, CME program assistant, said.

On Friday, Jan. 20, the CME will host a Candlelight Vigil at 5:30 at the Griffon Plaza, which is located right outside of the Blum Union. The CME will then host a day of service on Saturday, Jan. 21, which begins at 10 a.m. For the day of service, the CME plans to meet first in Blum lobby, and then break off into groups to serve and provide assis-tance to community cen-ters such as St. Joe Haven, Habitat for Humanity, the Open Door Food Kitchen and the YWCA. The service day will continue until 2 p.m.

On Sunday, the CME is partnering with local church “Word of Faith” to host a Gospel Celebration, held in Kemper Hall, beginning at 3 p.m. The last event will be the Martin Luther King awards banquet and cultural exhibition, which will be in the Fulkerson Center, begin-ning at 6 p.m. Though the banquet and the service day are annual events, the CME decided to hold the events over the weekend, instead of during the week, in hope to achieve more student par-

ticipation.“The banquet and service

day we have done for years,” Caldwell said. “But, we decided to have our events postponed, until students came back because we had low attendance in previous years of having events on Martin Luther King Day.”

CME Intern Leah Hayes feels that all students should take this opportunity to cel-ebrate Martin Luther King, rather then just take the day off.

“As far as a college stand-point, we are all here for a reason,” Hayes said. “We are in college to educate our-selves. We all should learn what Martin Luther King

was all about. Let’s not be ignorant and think Martin Luther King day is a day off. Martin Luther King stood for social justice. It’s a day on, not a day off.”

During the banquet, the CME will be giving out a “Drum Majors for Justice” award to certain nominees that demonstrate excellent service and social justice to the St. Joseph community. The CME is also remember-ing Martin Luther King by co-hosting the candlelight event with the fraternity that he was a member of, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Alpha Phi Alpha mem-ber Mark Bush feels that co-sponsoring the event is

a great way to remind the Alphas of what being apart of a fraternity is all about.

“Brother King was not afraid of change but rather an agent of change,” Bush said. “He is the ideal Alpha man, which is why we honor him in remembrance of what he did because if we forget where we came from, we will never make it to where we are going.”

All events are free for Missouri Western students. The Gospel Celebration is free for everybody. The banquet, however, is $10 for non-students.

FEATURES January 19, 2012

The Griffon NewsPage 4

Another year, another New Year’s resolution to at-tempt to lose weight and stay in-shape. Allow the op-portunities in 2012 to stick with it.

Anytime Fitness has a deal students should check out if they want to keep their New Year’s resolution of keep-ing fit alive. While the Baker Center is free to students, the hours may not be fitting for students who have to work late or would like to get up early and work out be-fore class. For just $36 for a yearly membership (because students get a 10% discount with student I.D.), students can have access to Anytime Fitness, a 24-hour gym that has treadmills and ellipticals with TVs attached to them, various machines and free weights as well.

Located at 1209 N. Belt Highway, Suite f (near Pane-ra Bread), Anytime Fitness is a suitable gym for every-body, according to manager

Amanda McGinley.“It’s so convenient,” Mc-

Ginley said.Once a member is added,

he or she will be given a tiny gray key that unlocks the door once it is waved near the sensor, giving access to all members at any time of the day or night. Plus, once the key has been activated for 30 days, the member will be able to use the key at any Anytime Fitness locations.

Not only is Anytime Fit-ness convenient, it also of-fers personal trainers (which costs extra) if you need a lit-tle more motivation, a mas-seuse (separate cost) to help you relax afterward, tanning beds (which costs $15 extra) and classes which are includ-ed in the membership.

“Once you’re a member, you can take classes like aerobics, Zumba, cardio-strength, kickboxing and pilates; we have a ton,” Mc-Ginley said.

If students would rather just take a class, however, they might find what they are looking for at Zumba in

the Room-ba at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, in the Grif-fon Indoor Sports Complex. (Note: People should show up around 30 minutes prior in order to get through reg-istration; donations are en-couraged).

Zumba is a Latin dance that incorporates aerobics with several types of dances including salsa, hip-hop and merengue.

Zumba in the Room-ba is an event open to the pub-lic that will raise money for YWCA Choices program, which provides life skills training for seventh grade girls, and could possibly break the current record (held by Missouri Western) of 498 people Zumba-ing in a room for one hour in the “Guinness Book of World Records.”

According to Jennifer Bagley, the head honcho of the event, Zumba will draw a sweat, but it’s still a fun, easy workout.

“Zumba is the best kind of workout because you don’t know it’s a workout until it’s

over and you’re sweating,” Bagley said. “It’s just fun; you’re constantly moving, and if you’ve never done it before, it’s not so difficult that a newcomer would be overwhelmed.”

Soccer player Abby Wid-rig, who attended Zumba in the Room-ba last year, would agree with Bagley when it comes to Zumba being a de-cent workout.

“It was a nice change of pace from running, yet I still (got) a good workout,” Wid-rig said.

In addition, this event is a way to meet new people and find a permanent class to join in the future. After the event ends, the instructors will be available for chit-chat and will be handing out informa-tion regarding their classes.

So think of Zumba in the Room-ba as a fun gateway to opportunities of keeping in-shape.

“I would say give it at least one try. I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it, but I really did,” Widrig said. “I’m look-ing forward to it.”

Tightening those cheeks, ditching the butts and mend-ing that hole in the pocket are just standard goals peo-ple set for New Year’s reso-lutions. This year, however, students are going for some-thing a little more rewarding.

Brittany Moses is giving up dairy products to stay healthy, but that is not her top priority.

She is doing it to save her voice.

Moses majored in music business and songwriting at Middle Tennessee State University and is now at Missouri Western for grad school. Currently she is an active artist and is in the TE-SOL program.

Moses says some profes-sional singers don’t consume dairy, and she claims her dad told her milk is bad for her singing; that’s when she de-cided 2012 was the time to quit it.

“The reason it is so bad for your voice is because milk creates mucous, as gross as that sounds,” Moses said. “The more phlegm and mu-

cous you have in your throat, (the more it) creates a block-age and prevents getting out the notes.”

So just stop consuming dairy products, it’s as simple as that, right? Not necessar-

ily.“My biggest obstacle right

now is working in a restau-rant that most of the entrees have cream or cheese strong-ly influenced in their menu items...which is hard to re-

sist,” Moses said.“Another challenge is go-

ing out to eat making sure the entree or meal doesn’t have creams or cheeses. Also, some coffee shops don’t have soy or other dairy alterna-tives. So that stinks!”

Yet Moses has some meth-ods for overcoming her de-sire to eat dairy products.

“I am actively trying to research some new recipes that have alternate methods of cooking and not using creams and cheese because every recipe has it in it,” Mo-ses said. “I also just try to just tell myself I am lactose intol-erant, which I feel like I kind of am at times.”

Moses has also been sub-stituting almond milk for regular milk (which she says tastes better anyway) and margarine for butter.

While Moses is taking the healthy route, another stu-dent plans on taking a differ-ent route -- road routes that is.

Senior Kayla Roumas wants to work on her spon-taneity and, as Willie Nel-son puts it, “get on the road again.”

Roumas has really only

taken one real road trip with-in the past two years, so she’s itching to drive out of the state to someplace like San Diego, Calif.

However, what she will have to work on for 2012 is allowing herself to do it.

“The hardest part will probably be letting go of my habit to meticulously plan everything and making more time,” Roumas said.

Making more time goes under the heading of school, considering she still has two semesters left.

“I’m not graduating until December, so hopefully I’ll squeeze a few in,” Roumas said.

Another student who is looking to travel abroad and be well-known is aspiring comedian Jeff Jones.

“My official New Year’s resolution would be to make moves,” Jones said. “I want the world, and I can’t get it sitting still.”

In order to have “the world” (not to be confused with Pinky and the Brain’s “taking over the world”), however, he and his friend and colleague Nick Ford are trying “start a revolution” by

launching their new clothing line.

“The clothing line is a shout out to real people who do real things,” Jones said.

Jones plans on having shirts with different slogans, their main one standing for “real people doing real things” or “RNDRT” (the “n” is another word Jones uses for people, which you can probably figure out). The point of it is to encourage people to be true to them-selves, real to their character.

Jones said Hanna Green-well, who is an art major at Western, is already coming up with designs, and an-other friend who will be the accountant and has some valuable connections to help Jones and Ford’s project.

With already having an RNDRT fan base and im-pending advertising, Jones is hoping the clothing line will boost his standup comedy presence — and it all started with making a move.

“Frankly, it’s already going to be huge; we already have people bugging us about shirts, and I’ve also seen RD-NRT on statuses.”

Blair Stalder | Features Editorbstalder@missouriwestern.edu

Blair Stalder | Features Editorbstalder@missouriwestern.edu

Avoid the norm in 2012TOP TEN 2012 RESOLUTIONS

1 GET FIT AND EAT HEALTHY2 GET ORGANIZED

3 SAVE MONEY

4 ENJOY LIFE TO THE FULLEST

5 LEARN SOMETHING NEW

6 QUIT SMOKING

7 VOLUNTEER

8 FALL IN LOVE

9 MORE FAMILY TIME

10 RECYCLE

Take advantage of zoomba ‘Anytime,’ get fit for new year

WITHOUT A GYM

SUPERMAN

SIDE PLANK CRAB WALKMOUNTAINCLIMBER

WALLSIT

How to: Take a seat on the ground. Lift your rear

o� the ground in a bridge with your hands just outside your shoul-ders. Next, walk back-

wards 8 to 10 feet, stop and then reverse the

motion forward.

How to: Lay �at on your stomach with your arms resting in front of you on the ground.

Your legs should also be lying �at on the ground. With your head in a neutral position, lift both arms and legs simultaneously, as if

you were �ying. As you lift up your lower back should contract.

How to: Lie on the ground on your side. Your shoulder should be in line with your elbow. Lift and hold in the

planked position for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

How to: Start out on the �oor in a push-up position, hands shoulder-

width apart. Tighten your abs so your body is straight from head to heels. While keeping your upper

body still, draw one knee at a time towards your hands, moving as

quickly as possible.

How to: Stand with your head and back against a wall. Position your feet shoulder-width apart, about 18 inches from the wall,

and keep your arms at your sides. Lower your body into a squat position until your thighs are parallel to the �oor and hold.

WORK OUT

Dollar Night

Every Thursday

$5 Cover$1 Wells$1 Bottles

DJ Rudy C spinning your favorite Top 40 Hits till the lights come on!

No Place

Ring in the new year

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GET PUBLISHED.

ENROLL IN JOU210

Your Name Here | Staffyou@missouriwestern.edu

RA of the MonthName: Ben Olsen

Home: Lawson, MO

Major: Wildlife Conservation and Management

Favorite Movie:Grumpier Old Men

Most memorable moment here at Western: Accepting MWSU Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society as TWS(The Wildlife Society) Student Chapter of the Year 2011 in Hawaii

Ben continually goes above and beyond in his work as an RA. This month Ben helped to create the large dice advertisements for Casino Night that were placed around campus and in all of the residential halls. He also helped with the construction of the Black Jack tables for Casino night on three separate evenings.

Why live on campus:I like being on campus because of being close to classes. Also being close to friends who live on campus and going to fun programs like The CA-SINO Night coming up Thursday December 8th 9 to midnight. I also like not having to drive during the winter.

FEATURESJanuary 19, 2012

The Griffon NewsPage 5

“The Debt,” starring Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington and Jessica Chastain, pleas-antly surprised me. While I was expecting a typical po-litical espionage story (that, honestly, would probably confuse the heck out of me), I got a completely riveting, multi-faceted, well-acted ad-venture.

“The Debt” tells the sto-ry of Mossad secret agents Rachel (Chastain), Stefan (Marton Csokas) and David (Worthington) living under-cover in Germany in 1965 to

catch a Nazi war criminal. The film flashes back and forth between the charac-ters in 1965 and their future counterparts in 1997. The ramifications of their actions in the ‘60s are catching up to them, and the audience has to sit in suspense to find out exactly what happened to them thirty years earlier.

The true stars of this film are undoubtedly the two women that play Rachel. Chastain has been every-where in the past year, from her role as Celia Foote in “The Help” to Brad Pitt’s wife in “The Tree of Life.” What pre-vents audiences from tiring of her is her incredible ability to transform. Chastain’s por-trayal of ‘60s housewife Celia is completely different from how she plays ‘60s woman Rachel. Rachel is tough and confused, speaks several lan-guages flawlessly, and is si-multaneously sexy and ruth-less. Chastain embodies all of these qualities well, mak-

ing the audience’s immer-sion into her story simple.

Rachel of 1997 is played with the same panache by Mirren. The audience is not privy to all of the details concerning her skittish and scarred personality, and that adds greatly to the intrigue of the story. Mirren plays Rachel beautifully. All of her character’s pain is apparent, and a brutal fight scene is es-pecially impressive. Mirren is 66 years old, and she fights with more tenacity than I’ve seen in many actresses forty years younger. Mirren truly commits to her role.

The Nazi war criminal that the agents are pursuing is the Surgeon of Birkenau, an obvious nod to Josef Mengle, the butcher of Birkenau. The man who plays this “sur-geon,” Jesper Christensen, is great in his role. He is creepy and terrible, but just charm-ing enough to make his dom-inance believable. Seeing him as a mainstream doctor in Germany especially made my skin crawl – knowing that this character hurt and killed so many, and then see-ing him practice legitimate medicine was an interesting and affecting contrast.

This movie is absolutely worth the $1.20. The acting is superb and the story is in-credibly interesting. Rent this movie only if you’re ready to be completely absorbed for a couple hours; this isn’t the kind of movie you can watch for homework background noise.

Caitlin Cress | Managing Editorccress1@missouriwestern.edu

Suberb acting makes ‘Debt’ worth the money

The opening sequence of ‘The Debt’ features actors Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas as their characters return home from a dangerous undercover mission. allmoviephotos.com

Max the Griffon got an ex-treme makeover prior to the start of the basketball season, and that caused Weston Bak-er, the former man behind the Max mask, to quit.

According to Baker, who filled Max’s costumed shoes for the past year, the old Max costume was in dire need of some rehab.

“Old Max is beat up,” he said. “He has rips in the arms, his tail’s coming off, his feet are falling apart, the head stinks. It stinks every-where. You sweat just a little bit in there and you could smell him from probably 15-20 feet away.”

Unfortunately for Baker, the new Max costume was not at all what he had imag-ined it would be.

“I saw a picture of the new one, and I was really upset about it,” he said.

Baker describes the new costume as completely wrong: the head is so big is hurts the wearer’s neck, the feet are too big to run with and the body is too padded for Max to dance as he typi-cally does. Baker was so un-comfortable in the new cos-tume that he felt he had no choice but to quit.

“For me, it’s like when you put the old [costume] on, you become that Max; you become that character,” he said. “With the new one, there’s no character to it. The character that it builds is like a Barney-type figure.”

Baker said that the head of Max 2.0 is so heavy that it caused him physical pain to wear the costume.

The new Max costume de-buted at Coach Smith’s 600th wining game in Novem-ber. Baker did not make it through the whole game.

“I told the cheerlead-ing coach, Bryan Allen, ‘I can’t wear that thing. I can’t breathe, I can’t run around, my neck hurts from wearing it for ten minutes,’” he said. “So I just couldn’t do it any-more.”

Baker’s departure was very sudden and left the cheerleading squad without its most recognizable mem-ber.

“Bryan was kind of up-set with me, which I kind of figured he would be,” he said. “I hear now that all the cheerleaders hate me.”

Allen was displeased to lose Baker, who filled the

mascot position with a posi-tive attitude and lots of en-thusiasm.

“Weston was excellent at what he did. I’m sorry to lose him, but if he’s not going to be 100 percent dedicated, we needed to find someone

else,” Allen said.Allen doesn’t agree with

all of Baker’s concerns about the new Max, and thinks that the costume just needs a little getting used to.

“I like the new Max. It looks sharp,” Allen said.

Baker does not think that the new Max can be broken in.

“I think it’s going to be awful from day one to year seven,” he said.

Cheerleader Pierce Kar-guth wore the Max costume

during the second Northwest vs. Western football game of the season. He agrees with Baker: the suit does not feel like Max.

“Personally, I like the old one,” he said. “It [the new Max] takes a little getting used to. The feet are a lot bigger, and the head is hu-mungous. It wears you out real quick. It’s just harder to move.”

Since Baker’s last game, Allen has since found a re-placement. Max’s costume is now filled by a different performer. Karguth, who has been off-campus due to break has not seen the new

mascot in action yet, but knows him personally.

“But, based on his person-ality, he’ll do a good job,” Karguth said.

Allen expressed interest in getting Baker back on the squad, but Baker is not inter-ested in being Max is his cur-rent form.

“If they switched back to the old Max, I’d pick it back up at the drop of a hat. Un-fortunately, that’s not the case,” he said. “He was due for a change, but if they would have just got a new Old Max, it would have been ten times better.”

Caitlin Cress| Managing Editorccress1@missouriwestern.edu

Max’s makeover causes mascot turnover

Weston Baker (above) in the old Max costume. This costume’s seri-ous state of disrepair caused the the school to replace it. ‘Max 2.0,’ as Baker named it, is pictured on the left. The position of mascot has been filled since Baker quit. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

OPINIONS January 19, 2012

The Griffon NewsPage 6

The Griffon News is written and published by students of Missouri Western State University during the fall and spring semesters. The first copy of each issue is free; addi-tional copies are 50 cents. Content of this paper is developed independently of the facul-ty and administration, or other campus organizations or offices. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas, information and advertising to The Griffon News office, Eder 221, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, Mo. 64507, or by phoning (816) 271-4412 (advertising and news room). You may also e-mail thegriffonnews@gmail.com. Copy and advertising must be received by noon Friday, the week prior to publication.

Guidelines for letters to the editor:• All letters to the editor must be typed and double spaced. Letters must be no longer

than 350-400 words and guest columns no longer than 500 words. Letters and columns will be edited for style.

• All letters must include signature and identity verification information, such as phone number. The Griffon News reserves the right to edit all letters for length and Associated Press style.

• The Griffon News will not withhold names under any circumstances. Anonymously submitted letters will not be published.

• Views expressed on the opinion pages are not necessarily those of The Griffon News staff or Missouri Western State University.

Managing EditorDesign Editor

Graphics EditorNews Editor

Assistant Graphics EditorPhoto EditorSports Editor

Assistant Sports EditorMultimedia Editor

Opinions EditorFeatures Editor

Assistant Features EditorAd Manager

Faculty Advisor

Dave HonEditor-in-Chief

Caitlin CressAndy InmanBrooke CarterEboni LaceyNat LarsenJason Brown Thomas Huitt-Johnson Kyle Inman Nathan PickmanEllis Cross Blair StalderChristian MengelKyler PenlandKen Rosenauer

The Griffon News Staff

Dr. Martin Luther King once asked the public "What are you doing for others?" To celebrate his day, maybe we should all ask ourselves the same question. As we are all in school to achieve the knowledge to create a suc-cessful career and future for ourselves and our families, the question of whether we are helping others along the way comes into play. We all have the same goal and dream of earning a degree, and perhaps if we could help others just a little more, we could help ourselves as well. Whether it means sharing notes, creating study groups, tutoring or even helping out in a campus event or organi-zation, helping others is the one true definition of service which is a pure ingredient of success.

If you could only remem-ber one thing about Dr. King, remember that he gave his life to obtain justice for oth-ers. His reasoning for en-during assault, arrests and disrespect came from his de-termination to develop a bet-ter future for a more united society where character and personality are more impor-tant then color and race. As

Dr. King became successful for serving others with peace and respect, certainly we can do the same with our cam-pus and our peers.

Missouri Western students should be proud of the unity established on our campus. From our standing section at every football, basketball and baseball game to our diverse campus organiza-tions that have created a well mixed blend of unity among campus life, our school has created an amazing place for students to feel comfortable, united and respected. Dr. King would be very proud.

Yet, there is more work to be done. This work can and should be done by each and every student. This work involves helping each other out in our classes. Think about how many times you were confused on an assign-ment or had to miss a few classes. Now think about how many times you need-ed help to finish an assign-ment, catch up on work or needed help understanding something. Truth is we have all been there and we all should thank those helpful peers that helped us pass a class which made us another

small step closer to gradua-tion. If we continue to help each other out in our classes and academics, we would all be more successful.

No one maintains success without knowing how to help others out. Spend just a little more time being use-ful and available to help oth-ers. The reward in return is something better than any 'A' you could receive on any exam or paper. Having the feeling that you helped someone become successful assures that you have been an impact to a person's life. Remember that society re-members greatness not by what a person has done on paper but by how many peo-ple a person has touched. Dr. Martin Luther King was an author, activist, global leader and Noble Peace Prize win-ner. Yet, we don't remember him for that. We remember him by the millions of peo-ple he reached in just one word, sentence or speech. His memory lives on because his words live on and these words motivate us to create a "beautiful symphony of brotherhood" in our school just as he did with our na-tion. Long live the king.

Griffons should follow MLK

Ringing in the New Year, a fellow Eagle Scout, some-one I know, confessed to the brutal murder of 22-year-old Alissa Shippert.

The night I found out I was staying up late working on our website, GriffonNews.com. In our small commu-nity, people knew Quintin worked with Shippert. Somehow, he walked around for seven months, acting rel-atively normal, with murder on his conscience.

What is done is done. Sadly, the community I call home can’t get passed that. Quintin’s facebook wall remains open and a litany of ignorant, belligerent, and

downright hypocritical com-ments have been appearing on his wall since.

Before I continue it should be noted that I know he confessed to both charges. I recognize that his mug shot, which has been run on national news now, shows no regret in the man’s face. For all intents and purposes, Quintin is a murderer.

What I find further depressing is the actions of the rest of us. We cannot change Quintin. What he has done cannot be reversed. So, when people I went to school with post in his face-book that they will pray for his swift death or hope he

gets raped in prison, I want to thank those people. Thank you. I now see how ignorant and soulless you are.

Another posted that if Quintin ever got out, people would murder him. Now, I don’t want to turn this into a column about the death penalty and the moral impli-cations of a society deeming someone unfit to live in it. You, dear poster on his face-book wall, are not society. We have courts, prosecutors, judges and juries to decide those things. Not one man, who has most likely never studied criminal justice or sociology.

Please, for those of you who know Quintin and are connected to his now inac-tive social networking sites, don’t post there. He’s never

going to see it. Do you really think they have facebook in prison? They don’t. You know who does have face-book: his family. His two sis-ters are finishing their last year at Platte County High and are probably being tor-tured by their peers already.

My condolences to Miss Shippert’s family, but I also have sympathy for Quintin’s family. For every-one involved, the tragedy won’t end after his sentenc-ing. These things linger, but hopefully not for long.

Another ignorant idea coming out of this is that somehow, Quintin’s rank of Eagle Scout somehow had something to do with his violent tendencies, or that, being and Eagle Scout isn’t as much of an honor as our

society says it is. Lighting strikes even the tallest of trees.

I can assure you, that in no way, would the training of the Boy Scouts of America ever play into the amoral kill-ing of an innocent woman. The last line of our Motto is “to keep myself physical-ly strong, mentally awake and morally straight.” Those aren’t just words though, everything in scouting teach-es us how to be a good per-son to ourselves and to each other. I know that scouting has made a significantly pos-itive impact on my life.

Does this mean that Scouting went wrong with Quintin? Not at all. It doesn’t mean anyone around Quintin did anything wrong, includ-ing his parents. It means that

lightning strikes the tallest of trees, too. Ever since I had known Quintin he was never a violent or angry per-son. But, sometimes people just aren’t born with some-thing. Our idea of evil is that evil is a possession of some sort, meaning that those who murder in cold blood have evil. Maybe evil is lacking something. Maybe no amount of scouting could fix that ever.

I will defend, protect and adhere to the scouting way of life until I die. The actions of individuals do not reflect on an organization as a whole. If that were true, America, and all countries for that matter, would not be considered great societies to live in.

Community needs to step up

NAT LARSENnatgdc@gmail.com

He’s twenty-eight years late, but the fear of Big Brother isn’t over yet. Big Brother is the dictator of George Orwell’s "1984", but I’m not talking about a generic totalitarian figure-head. I’m talking about a much worse evil that could cripple the Internet.

SOPA, or the Stop Online Piracy Act, is an Internet cen-sorship bill that would pro-hibit websites from display-ing copyrighted intellectual properties, or IPs. In theory this sounds like a good idea, but in action it is more detri-mental to our country's free-dom of speech than piracy is

to the music and film indus-try.

SOPA states that any web-site that might “engage in, enable, or facilitate” copy-right infringement is subject to penalty under this law. What exactly does “engage in, enable, or facilitate" mean? Simply stated, this means that an IP holder can seek a court order against a website and shut it down due to copyright infringe-ment. This can be anything from a YouTube tribute video, to movie and music download links. What this means for the Internet is that anything the RIAA and the

MPAA sees as unfit can be subjected to having their URL blacklisted and made inaccessible to the public.

This doesn’t stop piracy though; the same websites can still be visited and used if a person has the IP address. What this does is create a censored Internet based on what an organization thinks is acceptable. This is way too much power for these organizations, with known agendas, to have.

SOPA feels so much more restrictive and fascist than a country based on free speech and basic human rights should even consider. If we

pass this law, our media is no better than the censorship in China. In 1996, China started to ban websites and cen-sor the Internet in fear that information could be subver-sive to the government. In fact, China employs Internet Police strikingly similar to Big Brother’s Thought Police.

In fact, this not only vio-lates free speech, it also has a negative impact on the economy. Websites that have user submitted content such as Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr could all be affected by this act, not to mention all the future websites that could be affect-

ed, or even cease to exist. There’s a good chance that every site you frequent could be affected by this act.

What SOPA is, and what it says it is, are two completely different things. We must act on the rights we have before they are taken away. This is going down a one-way road we won’t be able to return. It’s our duty as US citizens to act against an atrocity that could damage our freedom that we pride ourselves on so much.

There are various founda-tions that are raising aware-ness to this bill, the fore-most being the Electronic

Frontier Foundation. The site www.EFF.org was founded to inform the public about threats to Internet neutrality, which in our technological day and age, is one of our most important assets.

The threat of a censored life has finally come upon us. This doesn’t just affect IP owners, the economy, or some political agenda. This act will directly affect you and your daily life. If you don’t want the possibility of seeing only what a bent organization wants you to see, it’s time for action.

Anti-piracy law steps on free speech

I HAVE A DREAM, TOO

Late StartSpring 2012 Classes

Need to change your schedule? Need to add a course?Know someone who just returned from Military Service, who just decided not to go to another University, etc.?

Potential new students contact Admissions 816-271-4266

Courses that Begin After January 29th

Students may register online through Jan. 23rd. After Jan. 23rd, visit the Offi ce of the Registrar, Eder 102, to enroll.

For more information, call 816-271-4211.Registration possible through the fi rst day of each class.

COM 104 – 18 (21992) Oral Communication Mon 6:30 pm – 9:45 pm, 2/6 - 5/8

ENG 104 – 42 (22005) College Writing and RhetoricOnline Course, 1/30 - 5/8

MUS 101 – 43 (21461) Perspectives In Music (Ancient to Modern) Online Course, 1/31 - 5/8

SOC 110 – 41 (21947) Introduction to SociologyOnline Course, 1/30 - 5/8

MAT 081-083 – 41 (22044, 45, 46) Foundations of Univ MathOnline Course, 1/30 - 5/8

The Missouri Western men's basketball team bat-tled back but couldn't find enough offense to overcome a slow start and fell to North-west Missouri State 64-53 at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

“I thought defensively we weren't too bad,” coach Tom Smith said. “You give up 64 points at home and you have a chance to win most games. Northwest did a good job and they are good defensive-ly, but we didn't shoot it very well.”

James Harris hit a jumper to put the Griffons up 2-0 but the next five minutes was all Bearcats as DeShaun Coo-per and Kyle Haake couldn't miss from deep and put Northwest up 14-2.

“We have to play better de-fense to start the game off,” guard Reed Mells said. “We just have to hold teams until we can pick it up on the of-fensive end.”

Mells and Alex Tuluka-

Brittany Griswold scored 17 points in the first half; Jes-sica Koch had four steals in the second.

But it was Alex Noble's layup and Alicia Bell's free throws that gave Missouri Western its third straight win, as the Griffons defeated Truman State 65-64 Wednes-day night at MWSU Field-house.

The win itself shouldn't come as a big sur-prise, as the Bulldogs and Griffons are tied for sixth in the conference with six more weeks to play. But the way the Griffons struggled in the first half compared to the second half definitely saw a change, and the role players proved to be the difference.

"It was so fun having the whole team together and complete something that we wanted to do," Koch said. "We all wanted to beat that team. We all wanted to play well. We came together and we did it."

The role players came through when Western need-ed them to most. Down 60-59 with less than one minute to play, Koch went up for a 3-pointer, only to see the ball dribble around the hoop and bounce out. That's when No-ble jumped up to take the of-fensive rebound, and scored a quick two-point bucket to give Western its first lead of the game.

Bell went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the fi-nal 25 seconds, and Kallie Schoonover wrestled away a defensive rebound to give the ball back to the Griffons and maintain the lead.

"We've fought back before but we haven't successfully fought back," Western coach Lynn Plett said. "I think Tru-man has really improved. I thought they played really well tonight and for us to

Mfumupembe came off the bench and each hit a 3-point-er to get some offense going for the Griffons. Western cut into the lead with buckets from big men Lavonte Doug-las and Justin Reid before Mells hit another 3-pointer on an assist from T.J. Johnson that cut the Bearcats lead to 23-22. Haake answered with a 3-pointer to give North-west a 26-22 lead at the half.

Western fell down 32-41 in the second half before con-secutive shots from 3-point range by Tuluka-Mfumu-pembe, Harris, and Johnson cut the Bearcats lead to 41-45. The two teams traded bas-kets and the score was 50-45 with seven minutes remain-ing.

Cooper hit five straight points off of consecutive Griffon misses and hit four free-throws in the final min-utes to seal the game for Northwest.

“They are much more experienced than we are,” Smith said. “They have five or six kids that have been

beat them was huge for us."Western (5-8, 3-5) found

itself in a hole early. With Griswold the only offense early, Truman (8-5, 3-5) took advantage. Its tight defense countered with an electrify-ing offense that scored 29 points in the first nine min-utes. Western, down by its biggest margin of the night -- 16, found a little offense after that as Truman took a 41-32 lead into the half.

"We didn't come out very strong," said Griswold, who had a game-high 23 points. "We couldn't let them get a huge lead that we couldn't come back. I guess that was the drive for me to keep go-ing, that I'm not going to give up on this."

The Bulldogs never added to its lead, instead went back-and-fourth with a hungry Griffons team that wanted to make a statement at home.

Truman packed on a few buckets to take a 51-44 ad-vantage, but Alex Saxen nailed a 3-pointer to cut the Bulldogs lead from seven to four. Becka McHenry, who led her team with 18 points, matched Saxen's 3. But the Griffons didn't let the deficit affect them.

Another reserve, Brittany Casady, put in a 3 to again cut Truman's lead down to four. Both teams matched five points apiece as the game locked at 59-54 with 6 minutes and 45 seconds to play.

"There was a time where there was a stalemate," Koch said. "They were playing just as tough of defense as we were."

Koch was the answer. Af-ter a drought of more than three minutes in which nei-ther team scored, Koch threw up a contested 3 that swished through the net, marking the score at 59-57. Less than two minutes later, Griswold joined her teammate as she put in a left-handed two-pointer that tied the game.

After Nicole Gloor made one-of-two free throws, Koch shot another 3 that bricked off the rim, when Noble -- a senior -- took the rebound and scored to give her team the lead.

"This whole year, even be-fore the new year, we were such a hard working team," Koch said. "I think finally we're just starting to play together and it's starting to show."

Western's defense didn't allow a field goal from from the 6:45 mark until McHenry put in a two-pointer with 13 seconds to play to cut West-ern's 63-60 lead down to one. But Bell knocked down both her free throws and McHen-ry fouled out, leaving Tru-man without its biggest of-fensive threat.

The Bullodogs missed on a 3 to tie, and Breanna Daniels made a layup at the buzzer to end the game 65-64 to give Western the win.

through the league three years now, and I think that showed tonight.”

The Griffons were un-able to stop the scoring of Haake and Cooper who led the Bearcats with 21 and 22 points. The two shot a com-bined 12-for-19 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point dis-tance.

Tu l u k a - M f u m u p e m b e led the Griffons in scoring with 12 points, going 4-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line. Mells added 10 points including 2-for-3 from 3point range.

The Griffons shot 18-for-53 from the field and were beat on the boards, getting out-rebounded 35-23. The starting five shot a combined 10-for-38 including the three leading scorers Harris, John-son and Douglas shot a com-bined 5-for-25 from the field.

“Our key kids have got to step up and play,” Smith said. “We're not going to be able to survive when they don't give us more offensive production.”

Offensive struggles cripple Western Thomas Huitt-Johnson | Sports Editorthuittjohnson@missouriwestern.edu

Kyle Inman | Asst. Sports Editorkinman@missouriwestern.edu

T.J. Johnson looks up at the reree in disbelief as a Truman State player holds onto a jump ball during the Jan. 11 game. Western lost 86-87, making it the fifth straight loss for the Men’s Bas-ketball team. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

Jessica Koch drives towards the basket during the first half of the Lincoln game. Western won 74-66, making their home record 2-3. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

Trio of wins boost Griffons’ confidenceSPORTS January 19, 2012

The Griffon NewsPage 7

SPORTS January 19th, 2012

The Griffon NewsPage 8

First-TeamDAVID BASS, DE, Jr.

Bass finished his junior campaign with 14.5 sacks, one shy of the school record

GREG ZUERLEIN, PK, Sr.Zuerlein finished the season with 21

consecutive field goals -- an NCAA record --and was 9-for-9 on field goals over 50 yards.

Honorable MentionMICHAEL HILL, RB, Jr.

SCOTT GRONER, P, Sr.

ALL-AMERICAN HONORS

Top 10 Individual Performances of 20111) GREG ZUERLEIN -- Nov. 19, 2011 vs. Northwest Missouri State  Zuerlein went 3-for-3 in field goals, all over 50 yards. He    also kicked a school-record 58-yard field goal. The game    solidified the kicker into history, as he finished his career    with NCAA records with 21 consecutive field goals made    and 9-for-9 on kicks made over 50 yards.

2) RACHEL LUTEYN -- Jan. 26, 2011 vs. Emporia State  Luteyn finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and   eight blocks.

3) MICHAEL HILL -- Oct. 28, 2011 at Southwest Baptist  Hill ran for a school record 246 yards as the Griffons      defeated Bearcats.

4) JAMES HARRIS -- Dec. 27, 2011 vs. Missouri Southern  Harris went 5-for-6 on 3s and scored 28 points as  Western defeated No. 1 Missouri Southern.

5) JACKIE BISHOP -- Apr. 4, 2011 vs. Southwest Baptist  As the Griffons opened the Spring Sports Complex,   Bishop pitched a no-hitter, her second of the season.

6) DAVID BASS -- Sep. 10, 2011 Central Missouri  Western defeated top-20 Central Missouri as Bass   finished with four sacks.

7) ISAAC ROME -- May 12, 2011 vs Fort Hays State  Rome hit a home run in top of the 9th to give Western the    lead over Hays and advance the Griffons to next round.

8) GREG ZUERLEIN -- Oct. 01, 2011 at Missouri Southern  Zuerlein made a school record (at the time) 57-yarder   and made all five of his field goals.

9) SHELBY CORKILL -- Oct. 21 Pittsburg State  Corkill had 26 kills in Western's win, most in a Griffons    uniform since 2003.

10) K.C. RAMSELL -- Sept. 4, 2011 vs Southwestern Oklahoma  Ramsell scored two goals in the win, her second-straight    game with two goals and just her second game played   as a Griffon.

Fresh off of a 30-point per-formance in a losing effort to Nebraska-Omaha, Jessica Koch needed help in order for Missouri Western to win in the MIAA. Brittany Gris-wold was her help Wednes-day night.

Griswold led the Griffons in scoring with 17 points and Koch was second with 12 as they secured their first MIAA win this season in their 62-51 victory against rival North-west Missouri State at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

Koch, who up until Wednesday night had played three-straight 40-minute games, has been the only Western threat on the offen-sive side of the ball. Need-ing help, Griswold -- a junior transfer -- stepped in for the Griffons.

"We saw their heads falling and we took advantage of it," Griswold said. "We took that high and that adrenaline rush that we had, and we just started pushing it up the court."

Griffons coach Lynn Plett referred to himself as a "cra-zy coach" because he doesn't limit his players from shoot-ing the ball. Griswold was a prime example of that. The junior shot the ball 18 times, including nine 3s. Even when she went 1-for-7 from the 3-point line in the first

The Missouri Western men's basketball team bat-tled back but couldn't find enough offense to overcome a slow start and fell to North-west Missouri State 64-53 at the MWSU Fieldhouse.

“I thought defensively we weren't too bad,” coach Tom Smith said. “You give up 64 points at home and you have a chance to win most games. Northwest did a good job and they are good defensive-ly, but we didn't shoot it very well.”

James Harris hit a jumper to put the Griffons up 2-0 but the next five minutes was all Bearcats as DeShaun Coo-per and Kyle Haake couldn't miss from deep and put Northwest up 14-2.

“We have to play better de-fense to start the game off,” guard Reed Mells said. “We just have to hold teams until we can pick it up on the of-fensive end.”

Mells and Alex Tuluka-Mfumupembe came off the

half, Griswold kept shooting. She made both her 3s in the second half, one which was in the midst of a 19-3 run to start the half.

"Cory [O'Dell] and I talked about it before the game," Plett said. "One of these teams is going to go out feel-ing a whole lot better and the other is going to have to wait for another day. Fortunately that wasn't us."

Western (3-8, 1-5) only trailed the game when Northwest led 2-0. Koch and Alicia Bell quickly turned the advantage in the Griffons fa-vor when the duo went on an 11-2 run, all points scored by the team's leaders.

Western came out in the second half leading 34-26, but the intense play favored the Griffons as they halt-ed the Bearcats, who only scored one field goal in the first 13 minutes of the second half. Western jumped out to its biggest lead, 53-29 before Northwest could start much on offense.

"When you're going up against your rival, the re-cords really don't matter," said Koch, who had a game-high 12 rebounds. "It was a clean slate, 2012, and we're ready to be a new team."

The rivalry between the two teams continued on the court just as it had in years past. With both teams des-perately in need of an MIAA win, the physical matchup

was shown throughout the night. Plett said it wasn't a must-win game, but they wanted it. Northwest coach Gene Steinmeyer, whose team made it to the Elite 8 last year in the NCAA Divi-sion II National Champion-ship, told the Saint Joseph News-Press that Plett did a good job of preparing his team.

"I didn’t have the team ready to go," Steinmeyer said. "Lynn did. I didn't, bottom line. Put the credit where it belongs; put the blame where it belongs.”

Freshman Stacey Mgbike stepped off the bench and made her biggest contribu-tion to the team so far this season. Mgbike tallied nine rebounds in 16 minutes, the most action she has seen all year. Plett said he went with Mgbike more because he wanted to counter some of the Bearcats strength.

"Stacey, I thought, did a good job," said Plett, who also mentioned Alex Saxen and CC Bozeman as players off the bench who stepped up. "It's always nice to get some support help."

Saxen, who scored 14 points in the loss to Nebras-ka-Omaha, went 2-for-6 from the field with nine points. Bell scored 10 points and led her team in assists with 5.

bench and each hit a 3-point-er to get some offense going for the Griffons. Western cut into the lead with buckets from big men Lavonte Doug-las and Justin Reid before Mells hit another 3-pointer on an assist from T.J. Johnson that cut the Bearcats lead to 23-22. Haake answered with a 3-pointer to give North-west a 26-22 lead at the half.

Western fell down 32-41 in the second half before con-secutive shots from 3-point range by Tuluka-Mfumu-pembe, Harris, and Johnson cut the Bearcats lead to 41-45. The two teams traded bas-kets and the score was 50-45 with seven minutes remain-ing.

Cooper hit five straight points off of consecutive Griffon misses and hit four free-throws in the final min-utes to seal the game for Northwest.

“They are much more experienced than we are,” Smith said. “They have five or six kids that have been through the league three

years now, and I think that showed tonight.”

The Griffons were un-able to stop the scoring of Haake and Cooper who led the Bearcats with 21 and 22 points. The two shot a com-bined 12-for-19 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point dis-tance.

Tu l u k a - M f u m u p e m b e led the Griffons in scoring with 12 points, going 4-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line. Mells added 10 points including 2-for-3 from 3point range.

The Griffons shot 18-for-53 from the field and were beat on the boards, getting out-rebounded 35-23. The starting five shot a combined 10-for-38 including the three leading scorers Harris, John-son and Douglas shot a com-bined 5-for-25 from the field.

“Our key kids have got to step up and play,” Smith said. “We're not going to be able to survive when they don't give us more offensive production.”

Griswold helps Griffons beat Bearcats

Men crippled versus BearcatsKyle Inman | Asst. Sports Editorkpinman@gmail.com

Thomas Huitt-Johnson | Sports Editorthuittjohnson@missouriwestern.edu

Griffons get first MIAA win against Northwest

Kallie Schoonover (11) charges past a Truman State defender. Western won 65-64, improving to a three win streak. Jason Brown | Photo Editor

Jessica Koch drives towards the basket in the first half of the Truman game. Koch extended her double-digit scoring to 23 games, also leading the Western women with eight re-bounds in the game.

Jason Brown | Photo Editor

Brittany Griswold (21) bounces off a Truman State defender to make a layup in the first half of game. Griswold had a career high 23 points versus the Bulldogs.

Jason Brown | Photo Editor

James Harris (5) drives towards the basket versus Lincoln. The Griffons fell 66-63 to the Blue Tigers, dropping their record 1-6 in the MIAA play Jason Brown | Photo Editor