Volume 49 Issue 12 April 3, 2014www.meramecmontage.com

MT H E M O N T A G E

EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF THE PIE

Change in student activities budget process continued on page 3

Three years in: Archers’ budget breakdown continued on pages 6 & 7

NEWS2April 3, 2014

Jevon Mallory hearing set for May 19

After a continuance was granted on Dec. 16, 2013, Feb. 24 and March 31, Jevon M a l l o r y , c h a r g e d with a class

D felony and assault in the

first degree, after an April 18, 2013 attack on student Blythe Grupe, remains in the St. Louis County Jail in Clayton, Mo., with bond set at $50,000.

Mallory, a former STLCC-Meramec student who allegedly attacked Grupe in a Communications South bathroom, was charged April 23, 2013 and bond was initially set at $10,000. After a Grand Jury Indictment was filed on May 22, 2013, Mallory’s bond was increased to $50,000 on June 24, 2013.

Mallory is set to appear before Judge Robert S. Cohen at a 9 a.m. hearing on May 19, 2014.

Book donations to fund scholarship program

Students can donate used books through April 14 and provide scholarship opportunities for STLCC study abroad students. Collection bins are located in HW, HE, CN, BA, SO and SC.

The Global Studies and International Education Committee will host a book sale between CN and CS April 15 and 16, with proceeds donated to a study abroad scholarship fund.

Corrigan presents on natural disasters

T h e Sky Club w e l c o m e s D o n C o r r i g a n , e d i t o r - i n -chief of the W e b s t e r -K i r k w o o d Times and professor of journalism at Webster University, from 4-5 p.m. on Monday, April 7 in BA 105.

Corrigan’s presentation will be about his book “Show me…Nature’s Wrath” and his experiences as a journalist covering natural disasters. Corrigan’s book will be available to purchase for $5 (cash only).

Disability Awareness Day keynote selected

Aaron Likens, author of “Finding Kansas: Living and Decoding Asperger’s Syndrome,” will present at 10 a.m. April 25 in the Meramec Theatre during Disability Awareness Day.

Visiting artists host free demonstrations

The Sculpture Club will host visiting artists, featuring glass and plaster patina workshops in April and May.

Philip Hitchcock will present from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. Tuesday, April 8 in HE 131. Hitchcock will discuss and demonstrate plaster surface treatments used in contemporary sculpture applications, as well as how to make plaster look like bronze, copper and brass.

Rich Brooks will host a glass workshop from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 8 in HE 131. Brooks will demonstrate a slumped glass and glass fusing techniques to create jewelry and small sculpture.

All events are open to students, staff and faculty.

The club also hosted polish artist Ewa Budka April 2, who discussed the artwork of her contemporaries in Poland.

For more information, contact 314-984-7362.

Meramec Morsels: News BriefsGrammy-winning musician at Meramec

Meramec will welcome g r a m m y -award winner J o a n n e Shenandoah from 2:30-4 p.m. on April 9 in HW 102. Shenandoah’s visit is sponsored by the Global Studies Program.

Shenandoah, a singer and songwriter, has performed at four presidential inaugurations, Woodstock ‘94, the Vatican, the White House, Madison Square Garden and international venues throughout the world. She has received more than 40 music awards and 13 more Native American awards than any other musician. She is a member of the Iroquois.

Admission is free and doors will open at 2 p.m. For more information about Shenandoah, visit her website at http://www.joanneshenandoah.com.

JEVON MALLORYDON CORRIGANJOANNE SHENANDOAH

Meramec sponsors alcohol screening

The Meramec Counseling Department will host alcohol screenings from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9 in BA 105. The event, hosted on National Alcohol Screening Day is free and open to faculty, staff, students and community members.

For more information, contact the Counseling Department at 314-984-7575.

NEWS 3April 3, 2014

Change in student activities budget request processSteve Brady announced student club budget request process for 2015 fiscal yearCASSIE KIBENS PRODUCTION MANAGER

At the March 25 Student Governance Council (SGC) meeting, Steve Brady, STLCC-Meramec student activities manager, announced changes to the student activities budget for the 2014-2015 academic year. By April 8, student clubs are required to submit a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on July 1.

The change to the process comes from Kent Kay, district vice chancellor of finance. According to Brady, The Vice Chancellor for Finance interpreted the policy to mean that all the money in the student activities budget goes primarily to clubs versus department and campus committee events.

“We had to submit a budget, which was finalized on Monday [March 24] morning, and it complied,” Brady said. “Since all the money on the student activities budget now goes to clubs, from Monday morning on, we’ve been working to get the word out and to meet with people, to make sure they understand the process, understand the ramifications of

it and understand how they can benefit.”

Students will have to now envision what their possible budget will look like for the upcoming fiscal year and submit for review by the Student Activities Budget Committee. In previous years, clubs would participate in a “lottery of events” to earn money

through various campus activities. The money then would be used to fund club events.

“Now I think clubs have more power; the SGC has more power,” Oscar Zamora, SGC president, said. “Now clubs, instead of waiting to get chosen at the lottery of events, clubs can submit an unlimited number of requests.”

At the March 28 SGC meeting, the SGC became a

club to comply with the new procedures. The SGC will also become the repository of the current money in club accounts that is not allocated by April 8.

“It makes it a little bit more difficult for current club officers and members to future cast what can happen in the next calendar/fiscal year,” Joshua Gage, vice

president of the Veterans Club, said. “It’s going to be a huge hurdle, but the two-week time frame to re-do constitutions and reorganize your entire methods of how everything’s been going on is going to be a challenge itself, but it should be overcome pretty easily.”

According to Brady, he and the executive council of the SGC have been working on a plan to ask for extra funds that

can be allocated throughout the upcoming fiscal year. These funds would be for extra activities clubs do not have the money for but want to sponsor the event.

“Inspiration could strike in November for somebody for an absolutely incredible event and you’d love to be able to fund it, but if you don’t have a funding source that would be a shame,” Brady said.

With the new budget process, department and campus committee events are also effected. Their budgets will be re-allocated to the student clubs. According to Brady, an option for the department committees is to pair with a club to sponsor the event.

“The challenge will be, clubs are students and committees are faculty and staff,” Denise Sperruzza, associate professor and head of the Diversity Committee, said. “This is like our administrative-type duties and these are some of the things we do that we have to do because you’re an employee here. Those are two very different things so

that will be challenge.”Sperruzza said she is sad that

funding will be cut for committees, but sees a few advantages to working with clubs as well.

“An advantage I see is that it might help student involvement, because that’s one of the biggest challenges, any event on campus, to get students to show up,” Sperruzza said. “So that might be an advantage that could come out of it.”

With the one-week time crunch Gage said he anticipates some frustration to re-do the constitutions and create a new budget, but believes the new budget will balance out the clubs as well.

“It’s focusing more on the members of the club to make the club survive which is teaching club members and the clubs themselves how to be more independent with a St. Louis Community College as a parent helping their child,” Gage said. ”They’re there for the guidance and instruction, but it’s a learning block for the clubs themselves.”

JOIN THEMONTAGE!

JOIN THEMONTAGE! The Student Voice of Meramec

We are now accepting applications for editorships for 2014-2015. Editor

applications are due April 25th

Become An

EDITOR!APPLY TODAY

IN SC-220A

Contact Shannon Philpott, Faculty Advisor 314-984-7857 or sphilpott@stlcc.edu

Clubs can spend money on the following:

Speakers Events Performers Services Travel Publicity Refreshments (excluding alcohol)

Capital purchases, with approval of the Campus President

246,116

Information from Campus Life Office

Student Activity Fee Money May Not be used for

Regular Salaries Donations to an individual or organization, commercial or non-profit

A political Party or Candidates A religious denomination for religious purposes

Student Organization may conduct fundraising activities for legitimate charitable causes within college policies and procedures.

“Now I think clubs have more power; the SGC has more power.”

-Oscar Zamora

With the recent push for the legalization of cannabis, it is time to begin discussing reform for our nation’s policy on all drugs. The legalization and regulation of all drugs would be beneficial.

Our country has an ugly overcrowding issue in our jails and prisons. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, imprisoning its citizens at more than five times the international average. Contributing to this phenomena, drug violations make up the largest category of arrests reported to the FBI in 2012. 82% of these arrests were for possession. In many cases, the individual was an otherwise productive member of society who, upon being arrested, becomes a burden to the taxpayers.

The current drug policies are also having a terrible impact on our neighbors to the south. Because many drugs are illegal, yet a massive demand exists, the black market booms. Cartels in Mexico make an estimated $18 to $39 billion each year from their sales to the United States. In their

struggle to control and maintain a hold on this market, violence among the cartels has soared in recent years. Thousands of people die each year in Mexico. Leaders in Latin America have begun to speak up on the issue.

Juan Manuel Santos, current President of Colombia, spoke about the war on drugs saying “the strategy that we have followed these 30 or 40 years has practically failed, and we have to recognize it.”

He went on to say “there are good arguments for legalizing, but I would prefer to reach that conclusion after an objective discussion… The U.S. says, ‘We don’t support legalization, because the cost of legalization is higher than no legalization.’ But I want to see a discussion where both approaches are analyzed by experts to say, really, the cost is lower or not.”

A common rebuttal to legalizing drugs like cocaine and heroin is that this would lead to more prevalent use. There is no evidence that demonstrates this. However, it can be said that legalization would increase the safety of the use of drugs. In a regulated market, the businesses selling must adhere to certain standards. Users would know exactly what they were buying. Cases similar to overdose deaths caused by heroin being cut with fentanyl, a much stronger opioid, would not occur in a regulated market. Also, clean needles would be available for users. Roughly one third of AIDS cases in the United States are caused by the sharing of needles.

History has shown that people will use substances and that making use a crime creates a whole new set of problems. Our drug policy has failed. It is time to begin exploring alternate options.

Every week a new anti-smoking ad makes its way onto the air that seems to directly compare cigarettes to an annoying estranged family member. One commercial portrays a cigarette as a four inch tall, poorly dressed man who demands, “When I say pause the movie, we pause the movie” as he drags his victim out the front door of a middle class suburban home. Such details are important because they reveal the methods by which anti-smoking campaigns hope to deter teens from smoking. The idea is that by establishing cigarettes as a villain for middle class teens, kids will be less inclined to smoke due simply to a desire not to be controlled. However, the desire to fit in and relieve the omnipresent anxiety of adolescence is a far stronger and more

genuine pressure being applied to teens that turn to cigarettes for relief.

Nicotine addiction is too strong a force to be cured by cute taglines and clever characterization. Despite what the media seems to believe as true, a hash tag never led anyone to quit smoking. For smokers, there is a chemical dependency that needs to be satisfied in order to achieve even a feeling of normalcy. Proper treatment of the situation such as the use of nicotine patches, hypnosis, or quitting cold turkey by substituting the addiction for another vice are needed. Not to mention, most smokers are already aware of the effects smoking has on their bodies.

The methods currently being used by anti-smoking campaigns are not only

ineffective on a fundamental level; but also seem to insult the intelligence and maturity of adults who are old enough to legally purchase tobacco products. It is hard to imagine that anyone aged 18 or older has seen one of these commercials and thought, “Wow! How neat, it’s time to quit smoking cigarettes immediately”— much like a young boy might choose the Luke Skywalker action figure over the Darth Vader one simply because the media has portrayed Vader as the villain. The demographic that these ads are targeting have for more developed minds that make decisions based on many factors not limited to the youthful desire to “fight the good fight”. Anti-smoking campaings need to take more effective approaches.

To place an advertisement, contact the advertising manager for rates, sample issues, etc., 314-984-7955.

Editorial views expressed or content contained in this publication are not necessarily the views of St. Louis Community College, the board of trustees or the administration.

The Montage is a student publication produced seven times per semester at St. Louis Community College - Meramec, 11333 Big Bend Blvd., Kirkwood, Mo., 63122. 314-984-7655.

One copy of The Montage is free of charge. Up to 10 additional copies available, $1 each, at the office of The Montage, SC 220. Bulk purchases may be arranged with circulation manager.

Editorial policy: All letters should be no longer than 500 words and must include identification as a student or faculty member, phone number and address for verification purposes. Phone numbers and addresses will not be published. All letters are subject to editing for content and length. All letters submitted will be published in print and online.

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OPINIONS4April 3, 2014

BILLY GARDNERSTAFF WRITER

CHALLENGINGCONVENTION

Common Sense

JAKE HUNNGRAPHICS EDITOR

KEEPIN’IT

REAL

ScaredStraight

Seeing a 10 year old walking around with a smart phone that Is slightly better than yours is a bit out of the question… or is it? It seems that everywhere we go and every step we take, a child holding a smart phone or any type of technology in their hands seems to be getting more plentiful. So what’s the big idea? Yes, technology has absolutely improved a large number over the past few years including learning games and different types of apps to help youngsters improve their knowledge, but it should be taken

back to the old days. Give your child a book or a puzzle to complete. Take them outside and make learning fun and active instead of having them sit on the living room couch staring into a screen that’ll only make their vision worse and impair their communication skills. It seems that lately kids stick themselves inside a four-wall room playing multi-player games on laptops together, instead of running outside and enjoying the weather.

Your pre-teen might give you the whole ‘I hate you!’ scream while running off to their room and slamming their door shut scenario because they don’t have the cool phone like his/her friends do, but then again that’s seemingly more bearable than having to see their head stuck in their phone all day. What’s the point of a 13 year-old having an Iphone anyway, so they can drop it, crack the screen, and give you another added expense? Or maybe so they can go over their text messaging limit and make your monthly phone bill even higher. Parents complain about ‘oh these kids and their technology’ but they hand it to them. Give the children the technological resources they need for school, set a limit on the time they have, and let them enjoy life the way it should be enjoyed.

DALILA KAHVEDZICSTAFF WRITER

A NEWPERSPECTIVE

VirtualReality

OPINIONS 5April 3, 2014

STLCC is a good school; No one can argue that it is a great choice for a community college, so why is it being presented as a pre-school with the new Earl E. Bird ad? Surely there are better alternatives and ideas to commit to that would represent our school better.

Earl E. Bird is an animated cartoon designed to persuade returning students to register for classes earlier. His green feathers and hysterical attitude show that registering early is no joke, but it’s childish and insulting to their intended audience. If STLCC wants to be taken seriously, it needs to take its students seriously.

Earl E. Bird is an insult to the maturity and intelligence of the STLCC student body. Not only does it portray a childish demeanor, it fails to really convey a meaningful message.

The video itself looks like a kid in second grade drew it, the music is blatantly generic and message is even more childish. Fly By Night Productions, the tiny division responsible for this mass murdering of Dignity, should invest more time in learning what students need and want and less time animating ineffective advertisements. Though, admittedly, their follow through was effective. There are signs posted around school, Youtube videos published and outlets used on Facebook, however if you search, “Earl E. Bird” on facebook, dozens of matches are gong to show; Earl E. Bird is not creative or original. More thought should be put into something so precious as enrollment for a school that has been experiencing a declination in it.

Though the idea and intention are good, it only encompasses a small portion of students and leaves out all the others. Early registration only benefits

students who are already enrolled. Its intention is to keep students longer and therefore gain a higher profit, but why are we dismissing new students or returning students? STLCC should focus more of its energy on recruiting new students than keeping the old; community college is meant to be a segue and each campus should recognize that. Instead of worrying about keeping students for two years, STLCC should focus on creating a great environment for new students; a welcoming smile, not a silly bird with a reading problem.

Once STLCC figures out what kind of school it is, then it can improve. The college is a community college, but should bear the attitude of a university; that would attract new students who do not want to feel like STLCC is a cop-out from “real” universities. Meramec, in particular, offers a variety of degrees, has great programs and competent professors. There is no reason to regard the college as “easy.” Classes at Meramec are not throw away courses; just like any c o l l e g e course, they take persistence a n d effort.

That being said, STLCC is a community college not a community playground. Students come here to learn, develop skills and figure out what career they wish to pursue. A silly green bird does not represent the student body, Director, Wee Toldu-So should note that, “No, we are telling you so. Stop treating our education like a preschool.”

Dear Sir,

I recently finished reading the March 20, 2014 edition of The Montage and found it to be quite interesting and entertaining.

I especially enjoyed the “Spring fashion Faux pas” by Mr. Cullen Miller. While I do not agree with Mr. Cullen’s opinion on much of what he wrote the article did prove to be quite beneficial to me in both my Sociology and Logic classes where we have been learning about Micro cultures and rhetorical fallacies respectively.

I do have some questions for Mr. Cullen. If he might be willing to answer them in his next article I would be most appreciative.

1. Where might I find a copy of the United States Men’s Dress Codes? I checked on line and found nothing. As I do most of my shopping at the thrift store, it is hard for me to make the right purchases. Also on that subject, for some reason no one has posted any age requirement signs on any of the clothing displays. I am a little embarrassed to ask, I am sure you understand.

2. Would love to locate a copy of the Ten Commandments of Men’s Fashion you cite in your article. Is it an expensive publication, can I find it on E-Bay?

3. The issue of sandals seems to be a major thorn for you. I may be confused but it seems to me that in many Asian cultures some form of sock has been worn with sandals for many generations. The Tabi sock, shoe, boot of Japan are good examples. Oh, and my toenails are ugly – you are correct there but it comes from going barefoot most of my life. I guess no socks is the best alternative for the poor people!

4. I specifically like the way you told your readers to “lose the attitude” – nice reflective touch.

5. Categorizing people by the way they choose, or can afford to dress as “slobs”, “Dumbass” and “caricature of a jock/nerd” was an excellent invitation to conflict.

6. Although I see more issues, I will end this on a simple note.

I would never challenge you on your concept of style but I do feel that when presenting your opinion you might wish to eliminate all the contradictions in it first, primary of which is telling us we need to “be more original” while basically bludgeoning us about our wardrobes.

My name is R. Papa Nyk Lindsoe and I am a full time student at Meramec

Earl E. Bird or early childhood education?STLCC enrollment posterbird not suitable for a college audience

In response to “Spring fashion faux pas’”

CORY MUEHLEBACH STAFF WRITER

ILLUSTRATION BY CORY MONTERO

Letter to the editor

INDEPTH6April 3, 2014

7

0

3

$15,000 $25,000 $13,000

2013 Operating Budget: $130,000

$130,000 + $200,000 = $330,000

Three Years In:Archers’ Budget Breakdown

Sports teams at all STLCC Campuses

Given to each of the sports teams.

Reserved for sports administration.

Spent. The remaining budget will be given to teams.Dollars made from

concessions due to athletics not being able to fundraise

Years that STLCC has been consolidated as district-

wide athletics

Each team is given $15,000 while sports administration has budget of $25,000. The administration expenses include NJCAA Membership, MCCAC Dues, Region XVI Dues, office supplies, athletic training supplies, software, emergency team and facility costs and miscellaneous costs. The leftover budget is given to the teams.

Operating Budget Travel Budget Total STLCC Athletic Budget

*Numbers are an estimate based on information provided by the STLCC Athletics Department.

As STLCC braces for potential cuts in state aid and drops in enrollment for the 2014-15 academic year, programs, department events and student activities may be at

risk without adequate funding. STLCC receives money from state aid, property

taxes and student tuition and fees. When property taxes are reduced, state aid is reduced and enrollment is down, the college feels the effects, Acting Vice President of Student Affairs Kim Fitzgerald said.

“Simple economics say if your income goes down that in order to meet your budget you have to cut your expenses. If your income goes up, the\n you can spend whatever you want,” Fitzgerald said. “But what we’re looking at is, ‘Okay, how do you cut some of the spending? If you cut this, how do you still maintain good services, programs, course offerings and all of that?’”

Although STLCC departments, activities and programs have faced budget cuts over the years, elements of the budget for Archer athletics have been retained since the consolidation of sports in 2011.

For district-wide athletics, STLCC allocates $330,000 per year. That number is then divvied up into two separate accounts, per team — an operating budget and travel budget.

In 2013, the operating budget was $130,000, which was separated equally among the seven teams for replacing ripped uniforms, equipment, field maintenance, game officials and the everyday operating expenses for each team. For travel, the athletic department received $200,000.

“When we were in transition [in July 2011], we were given a dollar amount,” Co-Athletic Director Johnna Kinney said. “Within that dollar amount, we didn’t get to decide, ‘This sport gets that much and this sport gets that much.’ We were told each sport gets ‘this amount.’”

According to Co-Athletic Director Sharon Marquardt, in each of the Archers’ seasons — 2011, 2012 and 2013 — because the budget amounts do not rollover to next season, each team spent their operating budget down to zero, each year.

“Everybody has spent their allotted amount. We spend our operating budget down to zero,” Marquardt said. “It doesn’t rollover. Coaches do extremely well spending it literally down to the penny. If they do have money left over, they’ll buy a new uniform or whatever, so that’s not on next year’s budget.”

Marquardt, who oversees the Archers’ budget, while Kinney focuses more on NJCAA rules and regulations for the athletics department, said that the money for the operating budget is designated from upper administration, whereas the travel budget comes from student fees.

“The operating budget is the budget that downtown established for us. I’m assuming when they billed the district budget for the year, that’s built in there. That’s what we get annually,” Marquardt said. “Some of that travel fund comes from some of the student fees that are paid for student activities. I know that’s within the big budget of our district; there’s no revenue coming over to feed that. It’s just within the district.”

According to Steve Brady, manager of Campus

Life at Meramec, the amount that each campus’ student activities fund sets aside for athletic travel is decided by the number of credit hours of enrollment at each institution (STLCC-Meramec, STLCC-Forest Park, STLCC-Florissant Valley and STLCC-Wildwood). That money is put toward each team’s meals, hotels and transportation for away games.

At Meramec, during the 2015 fiscal year, it is projected $84,640 of the $246,117 that student activities will put toward campus based funds will be allocated for athletic travel. Brady said during a March 25 Student Governance Council (SGC) meeting that STLCC-Florissant Valley, STLCC-Forest Park and STLCC-Wildwood would pay $49,040, $53,380 and $12,940 respectively.

“We’re mandated by Board Policy to pay for athletic travel,” Brady said at the meeting. “STLCC takes the number of credit hours that are generated and it says, ‘This percent is generated by the Meramec campus.’ In this case, it’s 42.32 percent. So our share comes to about $84,000. We have no control over that.”

Although student activities are allowed to fundraise and student fees support athletic travel, the athletic department is not allowed to fundraise.

“We, as an athletic department, do not do concessions because we are not allowed to fundraise. We don’t have a place to take any revenue of any type,” Marquardt said. “When the transition came down, it was a decision that was made by upper administration at the time. I don’t know the exact reason why we can’t fundraise. I don’t know the answer to that.”

SPENCER GLEASON EDITOR IN CHIEFREBECCA BIUNDO INDEPTH EDITOR

INDEPTH 7April 3, 2014

AthleticTravel Budget:

$200,000

Admin Spent:$3,000

Remaining budget added to postseason budget

Postseason:$47,000

(District and National Travel)

Three Years In:Archers’ Budget Breakdown

Forest Park

Florissant Valley Meramec

Wildwood

How the money is spentTravel Budget Total STLCC Athletic Budget

Prior to each season, the coaches of each team plan out their schedule. They choose what trips and games that they play.

While traveling out of town, coaches for all seven teams, Kinney (women’s volleyball), Marquardt (softball), Scott Goodrich (baseball), Juergen Huettner (women’s soccer), Dan O’Keefe (men’s soccer), Randy Reed (men’s basketball) and Shelly Ethridge (women’s basketball) are given their own athletic procurement card.

Marquardt said that those procurement cards are only used for food and hotel.

“When they make those transactions, they have a non-local expense report that they have to fill out,” Marquardt said. “They have to fill it out for each day that they’re gone. Then they attach the original receipts to that expense report.”

From there, according to Marquardt, the expense

reports follow a paper trail checks and balances line that begins with the athletic department’s secretary. Then they are sent to Kinney and Marquardt, followed by the Director of District Wide Athletics and Meramec President Pam McIntyre and finally they are sent to the Cosand Center downtown, where they are looked over again.

“Then it’s allocated to a budget, which would be our operating budget,” Marquardt said.

Before the consolidation in 2011, Marquardt said that athletics was losing money every year. But now that they are three years into the Archers’ athletics, they are starting to see athletics stay afloat.

“The initial couple of years, from my standpoint, didn’t show any financial advantage,” Marquardt said. “But now that we’re in it, you can see that from the administrative side, they were doing what was best for our district. So far, it’s paid off.”

Student Activities from STLCC-Meramec, STLCC-Forest Park, STLCC-Florissant Valley and STLCC-Wildwood combine to pay for the Archers’ athletic travel budget of $200,000. The percentages from each campus are based on the institution’s enrollment and credit hours.

$49,040

$84,6

40

$53,380$12,

940

42.32%6.4

7%

26.69%

24.52%Team Sports:

$148,000

Administration:$5,000

Softball/Baseball:

$24,000due to more NJCAA allowed playing

dates and larger roster

Soccer/Volleyball/Basketball:

$20,000per team

ART&LIFE8April 3, 2014

“ On April 22, I go to Air Force basic training. I am nervous, but excited. My brother is in the Air Force already so he has helped prepare me.”

- Anastasia Cazacu

The competitive ballroom dancer will make her way to the skies this month. With her first year coming to an end, freshman Anastasia Cazacu will face a new challenge.

“On April 22, I go to Air Force basic training,” Cazacu said. “I am nervous, but excited. My brother is in the Air Force already so he has helped prepare me.”

Cazacu was born in Moldova, a country settled between the Ukraine and Romania, and lived there until the age of 16. Three years ago her father got a job in St. Louis and moved Cazacu and her brother with him. Her mother stayed behind because the family decided to keep their family home. Cazacu said that she thinks it is her father’s intention to move back to Moldova one day.

“My mom stayed in Moldova because my parents decided to keep the house, so family life is a little different these last three years,” Cazacu said. “When we lived together we ate dinner as a family almost every night.”

Cazacu is shipping out for basic training in April, but finals do not begin until May.

“I will be taking my finals early since I leave for basic training before the semester ends,” Cazacu said.

Cazacu will be able to resume school in the fall semester since basic training is eight weeks long.

“I will be attending my basic training in Texas, and I joined the reserves with a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in services such as hotel management, so I will still be able to attend classes in the fall,” Cazacu said.

According to Cazacu, the Air Force appealed to her for the assistance that they provide with college tuition payment.

“The Air Force is paying for my education, so that is the main reason why I’m going,” Cazacu said.

Cazacu said that family life is very important to her, but has

changed since moving to the U.S. When speaking of Moldova, Cazacu said that it was peaceful place, but also corrupt.

“In Moldova, you can pay some police officers directly and you won’t get a ticket,” Cazacu said. “Even some teachers offer to give a better grade in class for money.”

Cazacu said that American life was a difficult transition early on.

“It was really difficult making friends because I did not know English at all,” Cazacu said. “I had to learn English in American high school.”

Cazacu’s final two years of high school were spent at Parkway Central where she was a part of the Pom squad, a group similar to cheerleaders, but with more emphasis on dancing.

Since learning English upon moving to the U.S., that puts the total number of languages that Cazacu speaks at five.

“I speak Russian, Romanian, Moldovan and French,” Cazacu said with a smile. “My parents wanted me to learn French, but the other languages are commonly spoken in Moldova. English was difficult in the beginning because I had to learn the rules and grammar.”

Cazacu recently applied for a scholarship in Russia but said that if she does not get it, or if it does not coordinate with her Air Force commitment, then she will most likely be returning to Meramec in the fall before transferring.

“If it doesn’t work out with the Russia scholarship, I will probably come back here for a semester before applying at another school,” Cazacu said. “I would like to major in international relations at University of Illinois-Chicago.”

Her desired major is another reason that she hopes the Air Force will allow her to take the Russia scholarship if offered.

“ I n t e r n a t i o n a l communications seems like a good fit for Russia and the U.S.

Air Force to come together,” Cazacu said.

When she is not studying, working or preparing for her upcoming commitment to the Air Force, Cazacu enjoys competitive ballroom dancing and other leisure activities.

“I have competed in countries such as Russia, Bulgaria, the Ukraine and Germany,” Cazacu said. “I have won 73 medals in ballroom competition.”

Cazacu said her social time is spent with friends and watching the occasional soccer game, as well as running to keep fit.

“I like to go to movies with

friends and watch soccer games,” Cazacu said. “I also enjoy running to keep in shape. I run three times a week and four miles each time. My favorite place to run is at Creve Coeur Lake.”

Cazacu said she has no worries about keeping active

considering everything she has on the horizon.

“With basic training [this month] and my potential scholarship, and the possibility of being back at Meramec for the fall semester, I have plenty to keep me occupied,” Cazacu said.

Sights on the skiesMulti-lingual Meramec student will depart for Air Force April 22

FACTSFUN

Meet Anastasia Cazacu

73Number of

medals won for ballroom dancing

competition

April 22

Cazacu will leave for Air Force basic

training 5Number of

languages Cazacu speaks

>>>>>>

English

RussianRomanian

Moldovan

French

JASON JAMISON STAFF WRITER

PHOTO BY: DARLA STORM

Anastasia Cazacu, freshman, will leave for Air Force basic training this month. Cazacu will be training in Texas.

ART&LIFE 9April 3, 2014

Every 14 seconds the sound of a gong spread throughout the STLCC-Meramec student center March 26. Each time the gong rang, a women in the U.S. was abused. Pink, blue, white and grey T-shirts also fill the lobby, with anonymous stories of rape, abuse and assault.

Denise Sperruzza, associate professor and head chair of the Diversity Committee, organized the sixth annual Clothesline Project, put on the week of March 24, which was co-sponsored by Women’s History Month committee. The project’s goal is to bring awareness to rape culture and to share the stories of Meramec students, according to Sperruzza.

“I think [Women’s History Month] is hugely important. I think that our students will greatly benefit by being exposed to differences, and practicing seeing those differences, communicating about those differences [and] understanding people’s perspectives,” Sperruzza said while the sounds of real women screaming played on a stereo behind her. “I think it’s more important at an academic institution because that should be coupled with education. Education is more than just the content of whatever class you’re taking; it’s learning how to think critically, it’s learning how to take

different perspectives and not immediately judge it, but think about it first. I think education would be less if these kinds of activities don’t happen on a college campus.”

Sperruzza said she was happy to be placed on the diversity committee because she teaches her class about communication between cultures and how acceptance is part of that as well.

“Personally my belief about diversity and acceptance is, I just think that people should accept everyone else as a person and of course not have to see the labels and that seems so cliche, but I wish we could get to a place where we didn’t have to have safe zone training,” Sperruzza said. “For example, there wouldn’t be a need to help people become more accepting. I wish people would just see each other for people and not worry about all of the other aspects. And that’s what I try to bring into my classrooms when I teach.”

Sperruzza said she also believes that feminism and other issues in the world exist on a spectrum. She said she thinks that life exists “in the middle” and not just on either extreme end.

“I think that just as other issues in our society, sometimes we don’t talk about [feminism] enough and people may not be aware that there is that spectrum,” Sperruzza

said. “There’s a concept that we teach in oral comm. it’s called ‘polarized language.’ We have terms whether we talk about somebody being fat or skinny or this character in a movie is the good guy or the bad guy, and we use that so much in our culture that we forget things exist on a spectrum, we forget that there’s middle grounds to all kinds of things. I think if we have more dialogue and conversations, then people will realize that.”

Sperruzza and students also attended the Take Back the Night event sponsored by both Diversity Committee and Women’s History Month. The goal of the event was to educate women and men about how women are perceived in society and what can be done to respect women more, according to Sperruzza. Students made signs and the women participated in a 10-minute walk around the

Meramec campus.“It’s so cool to see the

unification with all the students,” Madyson Lorraine, Meramec student, said while working on a poster for the walk. “There’s not that many people here but still, like the people who showed up, they’re taking time out to stand up for something that they believe in and that’s super cool.”

Sperruzza said she believed the goal of these Women’s

History Month events is to bring awareness to the issues.

“If I had to put it in one word: awareness,” Sperruzza said. “That would cover all of the issues, awareness of violence against women and awareness that this exists. If we could accomplish that, and increase awareness in students that would be amazing. If we could get to a place of more respect that would be even better.”

Bringing awareness to the Meramec campusSTLCC-Meramec students, faculty and staff celebrate women with a month-long schedule of eventsCASSIE KIBENS PRODUCTION MANAGER

“ I think [Women’s History Month] is hugely important. I think that our students will greatly benefit by being exposed to differences, and practicing seeing those differences, communicating about those differences [and] understanding people’s perspectives.”

- Denise Sperruzza

Pam McIntyre, president of STLCC-Meramec, leads the Take Back the Night walk around Meramec’s campus March 24.

PHOTOS BY: CASSIE KIBENS

Jamie Vergano and Alex Schwartz, Meramec students, work on a sign to hold during the Take Back the Night walk March 24.

Different colored shirts hang in the student center during the Clothesline Project week-long event. The event ran from March 24-27 and featured T-shirts with Meramec students’ experiences of sexual assault on them.

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1-ON-1 WEEKENDSThese special weekend dates are for students looking to get more information aboutPark University. Meet one-on-one with an admissions counselor and receive a tour of

our historic campus. RSVP early for time slots as space is limited!• May 16, 2014• June 6, 2014• June 14, 2014

• July 12, 2014• July 18, 2014

ART&LIFE 11April 3, 2014

Christine Salamone, 47, has been tutoring students for the past 3.5 years at STLCC-Meramec, including six subjects in sciences. This year alone she has tutored 105 students.

Salamone decided to become a tutor four years ago, after graduating from Meramec with a 4.0 honors GPA involving a human services degree specializing in hospice, and giving up her full four-year ride to UMSL because of her neuro-muscular disease.

“The way that I look at it is that I am doing a human service here,” Salamone said. “You know, I say this all the time. People tell me they don’t want to get up early in the morning or they can’t come in at 8 o’clock in the morning, and I say; you know what? I don’t want to get up either. You don’t know how much pain I’m in every day. I get up, I take 25 pills a day and I get up because my pain is so intense that I have to get up and I have to start moving.”

Salamone said she can try her best to motivate kids to come in, but there is only so much she can do until they decide to actually come in and get tutored.

“See me? Here I am. I do it every day and no, you don’t know how sick I am because I put on a good face but you have to dress for the day,” Salamone said. “If you come to school in pajamas, you’re not going to have a good mind set. And I believe that your mindset is so important to get you through every day.”

Salamone’s favorite part of tutoring is helping students learn that they can be all that they can be, and always have them believe

that they can receive a higher grade if they try hard enough. Salamone helped Casey Ernst, Meramec student, believe she could do well in science. Ernst was never fond of science but has recently received a 100 percent on her test. Ernst said that she has gained so much motivation

from Salamone and is provided with an easy and fun way to learn a subject that she was once appalled by.

Lauren Hance, Meramec student, had taken her first test in astronomy and when she did not do so well she realized she would try tutoring, and has been doing

better ever since.“Yep, she’s kind of amazing,”

Salamone interrupts. “You know what? Make sure that you don’t just say I help, because what do I always tell you Lauren? You put in hard work too, and thank all the students that come up here as well and everyone is able to work together and help each other.”

The hardest part for Salamone about tutoring is her availability. She wishes she could be more available and flexible for students when they need her.

“I always think that electrical outlets would be nice up here, I provide myself with markers, they provide you with blue and black but I noticed that we become aware of change with colors and are more alert to that and the students like it more.” Salamone said.

If Salamone could change one

thing about the way students look at tutoring, she said that students should look at tutoring as a tool.

“My wheelchair’s a tool, my cane’s a tool, my service dog is a tool, your pens and books are tools, learn how to use all your tools and use them wisely,” Salamone said. “Tutoring is offered, it is available, and if you don’t use it you’re gonna lose it.”

Salamone plans to tutor for as long as she can because she knows how helpful it is, considering she has went to tutoring when she attended classes as well.

“I admit now, I am crazy, but I’m crazy for you and to help you learn,” Salamone said about getting students to come to her.

Salamone believes in giving every person an equal chance, the same chance and believing in every student she meets.

A new perspectiveSTLCC-Meramec alumna returns to Meramec to tutor studentsDALILA KAHVEDZIC STAFF WRITER

“ My wheelchairs a tool, my cane’s a tool, my service dog is a tool, your pens and books are tools, learn how to use all your tools and use them wisely. Tutoring is offered, it is available, and if you don’t use it you’re gonna lose it.”

- Christine Salamone

Christine Salamone tutors a student. Salamone has been tutoring at STLCC-Meramec for 3.5 years. She has tutored approximately 105 students during that time.PHOTS BY: DALILA KAHVEDZIC

Christine Salamone poses with a group of students whom she tutors.

SPORTS12April 3, 2014

■ A personalized campus experience. ■ Curriculum that will prepare you for what employers really want. ■ Critical thinkers who can solve problems. ■ Faculty who know you by name and care about your success. ■ Evening and online classes available.

It’s time to check us out.

APPLY NOW for an education where you can really put your knowledge to work!

www.fontbonne.edu/meramecContact: 800.205.5862 / fbyou@fontbonne.edu

Continue your education at Fontbonne University

PHOTO BY: DAVID KLOECKENERSTLCC freshman guard Marcus Lampley (0) jumps through opposing players to go for a lay-up against Wentworth Military College on Feb. 28, 2014. The Archers defeated Wentworth, 72-67.

For the first time in the STLCC men’s basketball infant history, the Archers made it to the NJCAA Tournament and placed eighth in the country. After coming up just shy of making the NJCAA tournament in 2011 and 2012, their third time around gave them a ticket to nationals.

The tournament, which began on March 18, saw the Archers fall to Des Moines Area Community College, 75-64, placing them in the consolation bracket. Following a first game loss, the Archers bounced back winning two games to place them in the Consolation Championship Game.

Although STLCC lost, 70-61, to South Suburban College, in their championship game, they still came away with a top-ten finish in the country.

Freshman guard Cory Tesson mentioned how the team had to turn things around in order to make it as far as they did.

“We had to win three games to even get to the finals,” Tesson said. “Before that we weren’t doing so hot. We lost three in a row but after that we started kicking into gear.”

Players such as sophomores Randy Reed II and Cortez Conners guided the Archers

through the NJCAA Tournament. Throughout the 2013-14 season, Reed II

led the team with 21.2 points per game and Conners averaged the second most points with 16.5 per game.

Reed II’s father, Randy Reed, coached the team. It was Reed’s first year at the helm of the STLCC Archers.

Tesson said the team did well with first year Head Coach Reed. According to Tesson, players adapted to him and his way of coaching.

“Coach Reed is a great coach,” Tesson said. “I didn’t play all that much, but he’s a good coach for me so I can come out stronger and do better.”

The 2013-14 Archers had 15 names on their roster, with ten freshman. With possibly ten players returning next season, Tesson said he and the Archers hope to repeat as Region XVI Champions and move further on in the NJCAA Tournament.

“For all the players, we are real proud of ourselves for making it there,” Tesson said. “There are 16 teams that get to do that. It was a good experience.”

Third time is a charm for men’s basketballThe Archers place eighth at nationalsDAVID KLOECKENER ASST. SPORTS EDITOR