Alum

ni honored

at 66th annual

Achievem

ent D

ay

Jessie Newman

Editor-in-Chief

Last week the William

Jewell College department of

athletics decided to no lon-

ger fund the College’s dance

team. According to Dr. Dar-

lene Bailey, director of athlet-

ics and chairwoman of the

department of physical edu-

cation, “We are not going to

be able to fund the program

in the future to the level that

it has been funded in terms of

hiring the adjunct coach and

offering talent awards."

After Bailey met with the

team’s coach, Erin Gray, the

team members were notified

of the change in their pro-

gram.

“[The changes] got out

there a little bit before I

would have like it to, and I

would have preferred to have

a meeting with the team, but

it didn’t work out that way,"

Bailey said.

The team currently has 11

members, four of whom are

graduating this May. The re-

maining seven members will

still receive their talent awards

but will no longer have to

meet any requirements with

the department of athletics.

This decision came after

Bailey reviewed the entirety

of the athletic department’s

programs.

“We have a certain number

of intercollegiate sports that

we sponsor and dance is not

one of them, and dance is a

kind of support program . .

. with some directives that I

have been given in terms of

the athletic program overall. I

had to best use the resources

we had left," Bailey said.

Dance team members have

not taken this decision light-

ly. A “Save the WJC Dance

Team" Facebook group has

already attracted over 325

members, several hundred

signatures have been col-

lected on a community-wide

petition and team members

have voiced concerns to Bai-

ley during a meeting.

According to senior dance

team member Kelly Rags-

dale, the team still has several

unanswered questions.

“[Dr. Bailey] didn’t answer

a lot of our questions," Rags-

dale said. “She wouldn’t give

Volume 24, Issue 18

Friday, March 5, 2010

WWW.THEHILLTOPMONITOR.COM

Snowy

winter

may break

records

PAGE 4

Despite large

snowfall, expens-

es have not ex-

ceeded budget.

Debate

takes first

in state

Team prepares for

national tourna-

ments in Texas

and California.

PAGE

5

Tennis

continues

domination

PAGE

8

Team will face

steep challenges

in upcomin

matches.

H

il

l

t

o

p

M

o

n

it

o

r

WILLIAM JEWELL COLLEGE

continued on page 6

Dance team budget,

coach eliminated;

students fight decision

Dr. Joanne Kersten passed away Friday, Feb. 26. Kersten,

‘74, was professor and chairwoman of nursing. She will be

greatly missed by her colleagues, alumni and the campus

community.There will be a celebration of her life at 2 p.m.

today at Hosanna Lutheran Church in Liberty and a visita-

tion one hour prior to the celebration at 1 p.m.

In Memoriam:

Trista Turley

Managing Editor

Yesterday students at colleges and univer-

sities nationwide protested increases in tu-

ition. According to ABC News, over 100

events were held across the United States at

such campuses as the University of Texas, the

University of Oklahoma, Syracuse University

and Arizona State University. The idea for the

protest originated in the University of Cali-

fornia system, where students are facing 32

percent fee increase. Students at California

and 33 other states united for the March 4

Day of Action to Defend Education.

The protests took several different forms.

At many colleges and universities, students

marched with signs and circulated petitions.

In Maryland, students walked out of class

at noon. At the University of California at

Santa Cruz, students blocked entrances to the

campus and intimidated university employ-

ees. Protests at the University of California at

Berkley led to arrests. Some students protest-

ed tuition increases in general, while others

protested the amount of money going toward

non-educational programs such as sports, de-

velopment projects and administrator salaries.

Organizers of the protests hope to use mo-

mentum from Thursday’s event to grow a sus-

tainable national movement.

Trista Turley can be reached at

turleyt@william.jewell.edu

Kyle Rivas/Hilltop Monitor

James Bradley, author of the best-selling book Flags of our Fathers, gave the Achivement Day address

at last night’s dinner. Bradley’s speech focused on the “everyday hero" as exemplified by the men in

the famous photo “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima."

California students spark

nationwide tuition protests

Joanne Kersten

One of my favorite past-times is

to read old issues of the Hilltop Moni-

tor. It is amazing how some student

concerns and issues never die. Com-

munication seems never to have been

a strong suit with the administration;

since its death, there has always been

someone who wants to revive the

Tatler; the cafeteria food has never

truly met student standards.

As I have read and considered sev-

eral past issues, one of the most inter-

esting sections of the paper seemed

always to be the editorial page. I enjoy

reading what was on the minds of my

predecessors. Sometimes I get ideas

for columns, and other times I am just

amazed at their guts. They had no hes-

itation to explore difficult questions

and question the norm, without fear

(at least not that I could tell). I guess

that these people had others who

helped them to achieve this level of

confidence. I only guess this because it

has been the case for me also. Perhaps

the alumni the College are honoring

today could name one or more people

who have influenced them in a strong,

positive way.

Today I find that my strength and

drive come f rom strong, influential

women. I am empowered by women

who defied stereotypes by maintain-

ing successful careers, proving their

intelligence and still having compas-

sion for others.

Some of the world will celebrate

International Women’s Day Mon-

day. This is a time to inspire women

and celebrate achievement. Although

this is not a common holiday in the

United States, I like to believe that I

celebrate the essential message of this

day everyday.

As this College celebrates the

achievement of some amazing alum-

ni, two of whom are strong, influen-

tial women, I am disappointed. Last

night’s dinner although beautiful, was

another reminder of the work still left

to do. James Bradley, a best selling

author and last night’s special guest

speaker, continues the white, male

Achievement Day Dinner speaker

tradition. Despite having immense re-

spect for and interest in Mr. Bradley,

I couldn’t help but wonder “why not

a woman."

Some may argue that the Kansas

City audience who attend the din-

ner would not be receptive to any

women who have a national follow-

ing comparable to the male speakers

the College has scheduled in previous

years. No female speaker quite fits the

necessary description. I don’t buy this

argument. If we are progressive and

open enough on our own campus to

invite Dr. James H. Cone to present a

lecture over black liberation theology,

a female Achievement Day speaker

seems not only to be well accepted by

this campus, it seems fitting.

The safe, widely accepted white

male speaker does not accurately re-

flect W illiam Jewell’s self-professed

vision to “empower and challenge in-

dividuals and communities to enrich

their lives and society."

When will Kansas Cit y not only

get to know William Jewell as a place

of great achievement, but also a place

of great progress.

The Hilltop Monitor is published by the students of

William Jewell College, Liberty, Mo.

Subscriptions are available for $30.00 per year. Entered as

First Class matter Sept. 27, 1911, in the post office of Lib-

erty, MO 64068, under the act of March 3, 1880. Editorial

comment does not necessarily reflect the views and policies

of the College.

The new alcohol policy at William Jewell College officially went into

effect Monday. After much work and discussion on the part of Student

Senate, Jewell’s Trustees, as well as faculty and administrators, students of

legal drinking age, meeting various requirements set forth by the policy,

now have the choice to exercise the liberty to consume alcohol.

If you glance at Jewell’s webpage, you will find the slogan “Live what

you learn". In fact, the very thing which our school prides itself upon is the

concept of responsible living. A quick look at the core curriculum, being

the “Responsible Self " in combination with the “Responsible Speaker,"

simply reaffirm that which our school seeks to accomplish: to encourage

students to live responsibly.

The direction of the College, at least from the perspective of a Student

Senator, has been one which recently has increased its focused on cultivating

an “adult-adult relationship" with students. In many ways, Jewell has

increased the means of communication and involvement of students in

policy changes and issues which affect us as a whole, the alcohol policy

and proposed honor code, to name a few. It is partially because of the

mentioned “adult-adult relationship" that administrators and Trustees have

endorsed the changes in the alcohol policy.

The new alcohol policy is of course a great stride in relation to campus

life and direction of the College. The passing of such a change proves

faculty and Trustees deem the campus community trustworthy and

responsible enough to take on new privileges. However, it must be said that

with the newfound ability to drink on campus within limits, the privilege

is not to be abused. In consideration of the time and effort contributed by

campus organizations as well as college faculty and administrators, and

just as important, fellow students and future classes, I ask we take our new

liberties with responsibility.

I am sure we have all heard the “be responsible" talk. However, if we are

to follow in the mission of our College and the purpose of our education,

to live and be challenged by what we have learned, such a message must

not be drowned out. The new alcohol policy simply presents us all with

the opportunity to prove our ability to act as responsible adults, to set in

habit character and form ourselves into the individuals we are to become

in the future, and to open additional doors leading to increased liberties

and responsibilities. It is my sincere hope that we “ live what we learn",

consuming responsibly, minding authority set in place, and striving to

better ourselves and preserve changes for future generations of students.

For a complete list of changes to the alcohol policy including restrictions

and requirements, please consult the student handbook, Student Affairs or

your Resident Life staff.

MARCH 5, 2010

2

OPINION

THE HILLTOP MONITOR

The Monitor is a member of the

Associated Collegiate Press and

the Missouri Collegiate Media

Association

A word from the staff...

Editorial staff:

Jessie Newman, Editor-in-Chief • Trista Turley, Managing Editor

Alison Ward, Chief Copy Editor

J.P. Bartmess, Sports Editor • Jesus Lopez, Entertainment Editor

Samantha Sanders, Business and Advertising

Staff writers, photographers and copy editors:

Ashton Botts, Jenn Carney, Brian Davidson, Cassie Dinges,

Christina Duzan, Max Frankel, Crystal Goddard,

Megan Hathaway, Matt Jones, Kasia Kovacs, Tara Moreland,

Cally Owsley, Susan Peoples, Rachel Reis, Selina Rios,

Melissa Slagle, Jimmy S tuart, Jared Speckman, Anna Thoma,

Sara Valladares, Kyler Wooldridge

The Hilltop Monitor

Friday, MARCH 5, 2010 • Volume 24 • Issue 18

Copyright © 2010. All Rights Reserved

Same Hill, New View

WWW.THEHILLTOPMONITOR.COM

Every other week a member of the

William Jewell Student Senate will be featured

as a visiting writer for the Hilltop Monitor.

Jessie Newman

Editor-in-Chief

Tori Odell

Student Senate Vice President

Let us know

what you think

Letters to the Editor

monitor@william.

jewell.edu

Spring break is right around the

corner. While most students are ex-

cited about this week off f rom lec-

tures and tests, I am dreading it. My

second semester is almost halfway

over, and I have no idea what I am

going to do and where I’m going to

be next fall. Ideally, I will be right

here at William Jewell College, but

if things stay the same way they are

right now, I won’t be back.

Not because I don’t want to be,

but because I simply can’t afford

it. I love William Jewell and ev-

erything about it. The professors,

the peers and the classes make

me feel as if this is exactly where

I want to be and where I need to

be. Sometimes I’ll admit I that I

have my doubts of whether or not

I am actually capable of meeting

the standard of intelligence that

Jewell has set for its students, but

then I get my course work bac k

and see that I’m doing just fine.

I honestly can’t imagine at-

tending any other college or uni-

versity. I’ve never really found a

place where I felt like I fit in and

a place where I felt as welcome

as I do at Jewell. The professors

actually care about the students’ suc-

cess. The classes are challenging and

require us to think. I feel like I am

actually learning something at this

school.

I’ve heard what to me are horror

stories about bigger colleges and uni-

versities – that the c lasses are so big

that the professors don’t even know

the students by name; that they have

so many students that they couldn’t

possibly grade everything, so the

quality of your work really doesn’t

matter; that there are just no one-

on-one relationships with the college

professors. While for some people

this may be fine, for me, attending a

big college or university would be a

living nightmare.

I would fail in a heartbeat. I

would lose confidence. I wouldn’t

feel motivated. Those are not good

things to feel in a college or univer-

sity setting. The only reason I can say

this with such conviction is because

I know myself, and I know the type

of person that I am. When I am not

presented with an environment in

which I can feel encouragement and

an academic challenge, I am not a

motivated student. I just won’t strive

for my personal best. Jewell provides

me with these things.

Lately I’ve been looking at my op-

tions and at the possibility of trans-

ferring, at least for one semester, so

I’ve referred to the catalogue a few

times and one line stood out to me:

“While the cost of quality education

is substantial, any student possess-

ing the necessary academic skills and

motivation should not be denied an

opportunity to attend college for lack

of financial resources."

This line is something for me to

hold on to right now. I feel like I

possess the necessary academic skills

and the motivation to pursue my

education, but I feel, due to lack of

financial resources, that I am going to

be denied the opportunity to attend a

college in which I can get the educ a-

tion that I want to receive.

Sure, I could go to a cheaper col-

lege, but as stated previously, would

I really be getting an education if I

went somewhere that didn’t provide

me the environment in which is

necessary for me to succeed. It

may sound as if I’m just being

nit-picky and making judgments

without facts, but it goes a lot

deeper than that. It ’s something

that I have put more than just 30

minutes into thinking about – it ’s

something that I’ve been think-

ing about since last semester.

So for now, I’m just going

through my days as if I will be

here next semester, but in reality

all I can think about in the bac k

of my mind is, “Where am I go-

ing to be and what am I going

to do." I don’t have the answers,

and I don’t know of the resources

available to help me find them.

While my advisor and profes-

sors are extremely supportive and

see the potential I have here at Jew-

ell, there’s really nothing they can do

either.

We all have those times and those

things that try to defeat us, whether

it’s midterms or home life or friends

or everything crashing down on us.

Sometimes we have to hold on to

something and right now that some-

thing for me is the saying, “If there’s a

will, there’s a way," and the hope that

I’ll find a solution so that my lack of

academic resources do not hinder my

success, as stated in the catalogue.

I’ve almost ran out of ideas of where

to look, but I’m not giving up with-

out a fight. If there’s something bog-

ging you down, don’t let it defeat you.

Keep fighting or keep looking for the

solutions and the best outcome.

Crystal Goddard

Staff Writer

Trista Turley

Managing Editor

Members of William Jewell’s Pry-

or Leadership class are moving for-

ward with their Legacy Project with

plans to establish an Outward Bound

Center pilot program in Kansas City.

When established, the program will

offer experiential learning opportuni-

ties to at-risk youth in Kansas City.

The aim of the program is to teach

character development and leader-

ship skills, such as self-reliance and

conflict resolution, in a hands-on

fashion.

Members of the Pryor class are

currently assessing the Kansas Cit y

community to determine the needs

of the city’s at-risk youth and the lev-

el of interest in an Outward Bound

Center.

“We’re still working out the pro-

gramming and what it will offer,"

Matt Goldschmidt, senior Pryor fel-

low, said. “Basically we want it to

offer a service for youth during the

evening times and wilderness experi-

ences during the weekend, such as ca-

noeing down the Missouri [River] or

maybe something on the Kat y Trail."

Anna Dickson, junior Pryor fel-

low, generated the idea for the proj-

ect. Dickson said she was inspired by

her own Outward Bound experience

in the Florida Everglades, as a sopho-

more.

“As a Pryor fellow, I joined my

sophomore year and went on Out-

ward Bound over winter break,"

Dickson said. “I had a phenomenal

experience. It was one of the first

times I had ever experienced authen-

tic community-building between

people who otherwise had very little

in common."

Dickson maintained her interest

in Outward Bound long after her own

excursion. She contacted the Outward

Bound center in Denver, Col. and ap-

plied for an internship there. When

it came time for the Pryor Leadership

class to choose their Legacy Project,

Dickson thought of establishing a

similar center in Kansas City.

“I had jokingly talked of how cool

it would be to have an Outward Bound

center in Kansas City and how much

support it would have f rom William

Jewell alums. It just seemed like a

really natural relationship," she said.

“I talked to Kevin Shaffstall [direc-

tor of the Pryor Leadership program]

before the [Legacy Project] proposals

were due, and he said I should write

the proposal for it."

Alaina Barclay, senior Pryor fel-

low, said the Pryor students’ rela-

tionship with Outward Bound was a

major factor in the class’ decision to

select Dickson’s proposal.

“Since we have hand’s-on-experi-

ence with Outward Bound, we know

the impact it can have on people’s

lives, and just helping kids experience

the same impact we did was a major

factor in our decision," Barclay said.

“We knew that it could be something

great for our community.

Goldschmidt expressed a similar

sentiment.

“[Outward Bound] is one of the

great experiences a person can face

because it gives you an adrenaline

rush in overcoming mental and phys-

ical challenges," he stated. “We want

to offer some experience like that to

kids in Kansas City. We want to offer

healthy challenges instead of leaving

them to work up an adrenaline rush

in non-healthy ways such as gangs or

violence.

In addition to working on a com-

munity assessment, the Pryor fellows

are also working to build relation-

ships with Outward Bound person-

nel. Over spring break, Emily Nixon,

senior, will visit the New York-based

head quarters of Outward Bound In-

ternational, while seniors Josh Brett-

man and Amber Hull will visit an

Outward Bound center in the San

Francisco Bay area and Ian Talbot

will visit the center in Denver.

Last weekend, Barclay and Gold-

schmidt attended an Out ward Bound

conference in Kansas City. There

they established contacts and ex-

plored various ways of marketing the

project. They also attended seminars

that demonstrated the power of ex-

periential learning. Barclay recalled

one seminar in which a group of ur-

ban youth who were involved with

Outward Bound performed a musi-

cal routine.

“It was just amazing to see these

kids who came f rom these awful and

impoverished places work so hard to

put on this amazing performance,"

she said. To know that ’s one of the

things Outward Bound can do for

these kids was just amazing and won-

derful."

The Pryor students hope to launch

an Outward Bound pilot program in

the near future. Those who are inter-

ested can follow the project’s prog-

ress on Twitter at www.twitter.com/

outwardboundKC.

Trista Turley can be reached at

turleyt@william.jewell.edu

After considering my op-

tions for what to write about

this week, I decided that school

would be an appropriate topic,

considering I really did come

to Vienna to study. Although

I have been here for six weeks,

I just finished my second week

of classes. This is because right

after I arrived, we had three

weeks of Intensive German

classes and then a week break

preceding the official start of

the semester.

So—the first thing I want to

tell you about my educational

experience is where I go to

school. In Japan, I attended a

Japanese university. In Vienna,

however, all the IES students

in the program go to class at

the IES center. We do not at-

tend a university, but profes-

sors from the conservatory

(just across the street from the

center), the University of Vi-

enna and other schools come

and teach us. The IES center

is located in a building called

the Palais Corbelli (Corbelli

Palace). That’s right, I attend

balls and go to school in a

palace now. About one third

of the palace is rented by IES.

We have a red-carpeted stair-

case, statues on the landings,

paintings on the ceilings and

chandeliers in almost every

classroom.

Speaking of classrooms, I

should tell you a bit about my

classes. My German class is

taught by a nice Austrian lady

with a very long name that I

cannot pronounce.

I am taking a literature class

that discusses and analyzes

literature written by Austrian

women after World War II.

My teacher is an Austrian

gentleman who translates a lot

of the texts for us because most

of us know very little German.

He is full of delightful random

facts, such as the color green

is for hope in Austrian culture,

and in German they say some-

one is “yellow with envy."

My business class will be

fun because we will not have

much homework and we get

to take field trips.

Music history is taught by a

fantastic gentleman who also

has a last name I cannot pro-

nounce. He plays harpsichord,

which is just really cool! I take

piano lessons from a profes-

sor at the music conservatory

here.

My final class is called

the Performance Workshop.

Open only to music majors,

we are put into various mixed

ensembles and work on pieces

for concerts. We perform in

class nearly every week, so we

get lots of practice with stage

presence, memorization, etc.

All my classes are interest-

ing, and all my professors are

quite knowledgeable in their

fields. I go to school in a pal-

ace. To top all that off, our pro-

gram coordinators are fantas-

tic. One of the Austrian guys

is on a minor league soccer

team and raps in a band. One

of the other guys, also Aus-

trian, says we never have any-

thing to worry about while we

are in Vienna because he has

the power to fix any problem,

including failed tests (I want

to test the failed test theory,

but would rather not use my

own test). Japan was definitely

the best program ever, but so

is Vienna. So, I guess I got

lucky and picked the two most

amazing programs offered.

PERSPECTIVES

Denise Wood is studying this semester

at IES Vienna Music

in Vienna, Austria and can be reached

at woodd@william.jewell.edu

D e n i s e W o o d , O v e r s e a s C o l u m n i s t

Vienna, Austria

Confessions of a World Traveler

MARCH 5, 2010

THE HILLTOP MONITOR

3

WWW.THEHILLTOPMONITOR.COM

View from

Abroad: Jam

aica

Photo courtesy of Christine Campfield

Christine Campfield, junior, (right) traveled to Jamaica last month on a dental medical mission trip. Campfield joined a group of 60 volunteers on a 10-day trip to provide free dental

clinics in St. Mary’s Parish, Jamaica. Campfield, a pre-medical major, worked as a dental assistant. Overall, the volunteers treated 2,686 patients. “I was so honored to be part of

this team," Campfield said. Campfield is a member of William Jewell’s Rotoract Club and was able to take part in the missionary trip thanks to the local Rotary district. She is pictured

here with Sandra, an administrative assistant to the missionaries.

Legacy Class moves forward on Kansas City Outward Bound project

THE HILLTOP MONITOR

CAMPUS

MARCH 5, 2010

WWW.THEHILLTOPMONITOR.COM

4

D

aniel Belcher ‘92

Susan Cham

bers ‘90

Karen Edison ‘85

Hiley W

ard ‘51

Cassie Dinges

Staff Writer

Dr. Hiley Ward, ’51, achieved

much in his lifetime, and as of yes-

terday evening, William Jewell Col-

lege Achievement Day Honoree

can be added to that list of accom-

plishments. Ward, who passed away

in October, will be remembered as

a proud William Jewell alumnus,

prolific author, Pulitzer Prize win-

ning journalist and according to his

daughter, Laurel Boures, a bit of a

prankster.

“He always said he would be in-

famous [at Jewell] for his pranks,"

Boures said.

Ward detailed in his memoirs

some of his stunts pulled during his

time at William Jewell. He worked

as a waiter in the dining hall, and

one joke involved stuffing cheese

in radiators in order to fill the hall

with a foul stench. Ward had a seri-

ous side as well. He protested seg-

regation in the College’s newspaper,

publishing both an anti-segregation

cartoon and an opinion piece on the

subject.

“He was an open advocate for

equality for blacks. He often spoke

out against segregation - he even

participated in marches," Boures

said.

After receiving his bachelor’s de-

gree in philosophy at William Jew-

ell, Ward continued his education,

obtaining his master’s degree f rom

Berkley Baptist Divinity School in

1953, his master’s of divinity in 1955

from McCormick Theological Sem-

inary and his doctorate in journalism

history and international communi-

cation in 1977.

Ward’s prolific professional ca-

reer spanned many decades. He was

the religion editor for the Detroit

Free Press during the 1960s and early

‘70s. It was during this time (1968)

that Ward earned his Pulitzer Prize

for general local reporting. The story

that prompted such recognition cov-

ered the Detroit race riots. Ward’s

job at the Detroit Free Press took him

overseas frequently; he wrote about

every session of the Vatican Coun-

cil. Ward also served as the president

of the Religion Newswriters Asso-

ciation U.S.-Canada from 1969 to

1972.

After leaving his job at the De-

troit Free Press, Ward pursued a

teaching career. Ward taught jour-

nalism at Mankato State in Minne-

sota and at Wichita State University

in Kansas. After WSU, Ward taught

at Temple University in the depart-

ment of communication where he

served as chairman for a term.

In addition to Ward’s accom-

plishments in journalism, he was a

prolific author. Ward had 14 books

published, most of them with reli-

gious themes. He also penned col-

lege textbooks on the subjects of

newswriting, feature writing and

United States media history.

Various awards that Ward re-

ceived throughout his career include

the William Leidt award from the

Episcopal Church in 1968, the Texty

award (f rom the Text and Academic

Authors Association) in 1997 for

“the best new textbook." The Ameri-

can Journalism Historians Associa-

tion awarded Ward for his lifetime

achievement in 1999.

Ward’s brother, Dr. Harry Ward,

William Jewell College alumnus

class of ’51, will be accepting the

Achievement Day award on Hiley

Ward’s behalf.

Cassie Dinges can be reached at

dingesc@william.jewell.edu

Tara Moreland

Staff Writer

Dr. Karen Edison, William Jew-

ell College Class of ’85, is among the

four Jewell alumni to be honored at

the 2010 Achievement Day Convo-

cation today.

Edison is currently an associate

professor and chair woman of the der-

matology department at the Univer-

sity of Missouri-Columbia, where she

has taught since 2001. She was named

chair woman of the department at the

university in 2003, which is also where

she received her M.D. and graduated

cum laude in 1989. Edison complet-

ed her residency and internship at

the University of Missouri’s internal

medicine department.

In addition to her medical work at

the University of Missouri-Columbia,

Edison also co-founded the Center of

Health Policy, which strives to provide

quality healthcare to the residents of

Missouri. Her work with healthcare

also led her to serve as a Robert Wood

Johnson Health Policy Fellow, where

she worked with Senator James Jef-

fords of Vermont. She also has served

as a physician at the Truman Memo-

rial Veteran’s Hospital in Columbia,

Mo., where she received the honor of

Staff Physician of the Year in 1998.

Edison described her experience

at William Jewell as an enriching one,

as well as instrumental to her success

in the field of medicine.

“Jewell was a wonderful experi-

ence for me," Edison said. “Je well is

very nurturing, and it helped me to

develop leadership skills and broaden

my world view."

Edison also spoke about the im-

portance of taking advantage of the

many opportunities that the College

offers its students.

“You’ll never have another op-

portunity like the one you have right

now, so you should take advantage of

every one that you get," Edison said.

“If you’re thinking about traveling or

studying overseas at Jewell, don’t hesi-

tate to do it."

As an English and biology major,

Edison said that she studied the hu-

manities quite a bit, and thinks that

it is important for students to have

experience and knowledge in them

as well. Edison believes that what she

learned within her majors at Jewell is

still extremely relevant to her career as

a professor and a physician.

“Both my English and biology

majors are still relevant to my profes-

sional life today," Edison said.

Edison believes there are two skills

that are essential for every student to

learn while in college: Writing profi-

ciently and being able to speak well

with other people, two things Edison

uses in her medical career often as she

not only teaches, but also continues to

practice medicine and contribute to

the academic world in her field.

Edison will be speaking about her

experiences since graduating f rom

William Jewell at the Achievement

Day Convocation Ceremony on to-

day in Gano.

Tara Moreland can be reached at

morelandt@william.jewell.edu

Alison Ward

Chief Copy Editor

A native of St. Joseph, Mo., Dan-

iel Belcher, ’92, has developed his

musical education at William Jewell

College into an international opera

career. Belcher will be honored as

one of this year’s Achievers at today’s

Achievement Day Convocation.

“Needless to say, I feel that my

education [at William Jewell] pro-

vided me the perfect foundation

to begin a career in music. A lot of

people think you have to start out in

a conservatory…[but my] education

provided me a superb foundation,"

Belcher said.

After receiving his undergraduate

degree in music performance, Belcher

spent a year at Boston’s New England

Conservatory. He then pursued a

master’s degree at the opera center at

Julliard. From there, Belcher trained

for two years at the Houston Grand

Opera and then began a career as an

international f reelance opera singer.

He has worked in 17 different coun-

tries and across the United States.

“I always told myself it ’s one of

those careers that you kind of have to

go for it, and if it doesn’t work out, it

doesn’t work out. The competition is

extreme, it ’s ferocious," Belcher said,

citing his audition for the Houston

Grand Opera where over 500 sing-

ers auditioned but only three were

accepted. “I decided to go for it

and, well, it ’s still going on. It hasn’t

stopped. So one job kind of led to

another, which leads to another, and

you hope you do the best you can and

they’ll rehire you."

Belcher’s current role is Taddeo

in “The Italian Girl In Algiers" with

the Salt Lake City Opera. In the fall,

Belcher performed with the Lyric

Opera of Kansas City as Captain

Corcoran in “H.M.S. Pinafore." His

next role will be as Figaro in The

“Barber of Seville" with the Portland

Opera.

Among his mentors at the Col-

lege, Belcher noted that two mu-

sic professors were most influential

during his undergraduate studies:

Dr. Ron Witzke, professor of music,

and the late Dean Wilder, director

of vocal studies and voice professor.

Belcher still keeps in contact with

Witzke, and Wilder was the profes-

sor who convinced Belcher to switch

from music education to music per-

formance.

“I think it’s important in life to

surround yourself with people that

you trust…[who] speak to you f rom

the heart," Belcher said. “I’ve been

very lucky that in these two men-

tors I’ve had that. I think that ’s what

a true mentor is…[one who] will

speak to you f rom the heart."

While at the College, the music

performance major was involved in

musical ensembles, Cardinal Blaz-

ing, the Tatler Review and Greek life

with Phi Gamma Delta fraternity

where he was an officer. Belcher said

that the most valuable, lasting aspect

of his undergraduate career is the re-

lationships he made and still main-

tains.

“I guess I’m a ‘survivor, ’ and I’ve

done pretty well with the arts. [The

honor is] so humbling because I

think of my group of f riends [from

the College] and every single one of

them has achieved in their individual

careers," Belcher said. “I kind of look

to them as models, so for me to be

receiving this award, I honestly think

of them…it’s exceedingly hum-

bling."

Alison Ward can be reached at

warda@william.jewell.edu

Jesus Lopez

Entertainment Editor

Susan Chambers is the Ex-

ecutive Vice President of the

Global People Division for Wal-

Mart Stores, Inc. Since 2006,

Chambers has been responsible

for managing, attracting and re-

taining the world ’s largest pri-

vate workforce. In 2008, she was

named one of the United States’

“50 Most Powerful Women in

Business" by Fortune magazine.

Prior to joining Wal-Mart,

Chambers worked for 14 years

with Hallmark Cards, Inc. She

was the Director of Applica-

tions Development at Hallmark

before beginning her career at

Wal-Mart in 1999. Today, she

oversees a workforce of over two

million employees and reports

directly to Wal-Mart’s CEO,

Mike Duke.

Chambers also served on

President Obama’s Econom-

ic Recovery Advisory Board

(PERAB) on the Education and

Training Subcommittee. The

PERAB was designed to create

facilitated economic recovery

and subsequent growth by giv-

ing business a presence within

the decision-making process of

both legislatures. The President

commented that, “The walls of

the echo chamber can sometimes

keep out fresh voices and new

ways of thinking – and those

who serve in Washington don’t

always have a ground-level sense

of which programs and policies

are working." Chambers worked

specifically with the Education

and Training Subcommittee, a

subset of the program created

to devise ways of effectively and

efficiently training an efficient

workforce.

Chambers graduated from

William Jewell in 1990 with a

bachelor of science in systems

and data processing.

Jesus Lopez can be reached at

lopezj@william.jewell.edu

Crystal Goddard

Staff Writer

“The weather is somewhat calming down, but we haven’t had

our last winter storm of the season yet," began the NBC Action

Weather blog on Feb. 22. According to the blog, this winter

has been record-tying so far.

There have been 14 days this winter where more than one

inch of snow has fallen, this places winter of 2009-2010 in a

three-way tie with 1898-1899 and 1911-1912 with at least one

inch of snow fall. If the predictions are right and there is one

more snow storm, this winter could potentially set an all-time

record for Kansas City. A record that has stood strong for just

short of a century.

Another figure shows that with just .6 of an inch would

move this winter to second place as far as snowy winters go.

Kansas City has had 34.3 inches of snow to date. The last time

Kansas City saw anywhere close to this amount of snow was

in the 1918-1919 winter season with 30.5 inches. The sec-

ond place record was in 1897-1898 with 34.8 inches of snow.

These numbers just figure in December-February snow fall to-

tals. If March snow totals are figured in, Kansas City would

need 32 more inches of snow to match 1911-1912 which had

a total season snow fall of 67.0 inches between December and

March.

As the figures show, this is one of the harshest winters in

about a century. As far as snow storms go, the naming sys-

tem has made it up to the letter K. The most recent storms

that Kansas City endured were Jake, a category one storm, and

Koko, a category three storm, which blanketed William Jewell

College with five to nine inches of snow. Was William Jewell

College prepared to handle this abnormally massive amount of

snow that Kansas City has endured this winter.

The grounds, facilities management and security depart-

ments all work together to keep the campus safe when snow

and ice cover the Hill. When the forecast calls for snow, facili-

ties management begins to prep. “The first thing we do is make

sure to get equipment ready t o go," Nathan Spencer, grounds

supervisor, said.

Grounds and facilities start their days at 5 a.m. to get ready

for the others to arrive on campus by 7 a.m. when it snows. The

facilities staff works on all of the stairs when they arrive at the

College. Custodians are in charge of clearing the stairs for the

buildings to which they are designated, mostly the porches and

stairs outside of the residence halls and building located on the

Quad. Electricians and others take care of the stairs on the

outskirts of campus. Then for the next week or so after a snow

storm, they treat areas where refreeze might be a problem.

“The roads and parking lot are the main concern. We want

people to be able to get around campus when it snows" Spencer

said, “after one inch of snow fall, groundskeeping comes in to

push off the snow."

This year about 90 tons of salt mixture has been used on

roads and parking lot, which is more than average. About 20

pallets have been used on the stairs in sidewalks, which is about

average for any given winter.

“We get a lot of students com-

plaining that when we plow it

blocks them in. This is not our in-

tention, though. We push snow

towards the cars, not on purpose

but because it’s the only way to

plow for walking paths," Spencer

said.

“It would be helpful to have

a snow route or for students to

move their cars, so we can plow,"

Rich Busby, director of facilities,

added. “Security and grounds

have to pull the cars out of the

snow when they get stuck, so we

don’t intentionally create more

work for ourselves. It’s just the

only way that we can plow."

The snow has not caused the

department to go over budget

this year.

“The department has a budget each year that all of the sup-

plies come from and the overtime just comes from our salaries.

This year we are fine on our budget, but as spring nears we’ll

just have to be more careful with the budget, since the snow

does drain it. Typically we buy the supply at the end of summer

which saves some money for the budget," Spencer said. “More

snow this year is not a problem."

The department has enough sidewalk pallets for about one

more snowfall and enough road treatment for the rest of the

year.

“The hardest part about being prepared for the snow is keep-

ing our equipment running. The snow is really hard on it, and

we’ve had to make a lot of repairs this year," Spencer said.

Crystal Goddard can be reached at

goddardc@william.jewell.edu

Christina Duzan

Staff Writer

William Jewell College began allowing alcohol on campus

for students of legal drinking age as of last Monday. Students

currently 21-years of age or older or who will be 21 by May 15

must complete both parts of AlcoholEdu before being allowed

to consume alcohol on campus. In preparation for the new

policy resident assistants went through training to prepare them

for possible situations that may arise.

“Implementation of the alcohol policy went very well.

Members of the housing staff were trained on the new policy,

students have received complete information regarding the

changes, alcohol education was started and will continue in-

definitely, the College has met with local constituents to bring

them up to speed," Ernie Stufflebean, assistant dean of students

and director of residence life, said.

While the resident assistants’ job has not changed, imple-

mentation of the new alcohol policy requires resident assistants

in upperclass housing to be more aware activities in the dorms.

“[My job] does not change because of the fact I am in a first-

year dorm. The repercussions hold more gravity now, so it is

more important to decide what constitutes a violation [accord-

ing to policy]. Then Student Affairs will deal with the issue

on an individual basis," Betsy Hendrix, sophomore resident

assistant in Melrose Hall, said.

In upperclass housing however, where there are residents of

legal drinking age, resident assistants will be keeping a closer

eye on dorm activities. “[The policy] makes us more aware of

what goes on in the dorm and [the guidelines] help us know

exactly what to look for," Tom Farinacci, resident assistant in

Browning Hall, said.

“[The policy] has not specifically changed the job. Before we

were aware of alcohol and now we are more aware of specifics,"

Kate Hatfield, resident assistant in Browning, said.

Efforts have been made to make all students on campus

aware of the new alcohol policy and the consequences of viola-

tions. “[Our] resident director held a hall meeting to discuss

the policy with students. Any student that was not present has

to meet with him on an individual basis," Hatfield said.

“People have to be more responsible now. The first couple

of weeks will be hectic as everyone learns the new policy, but it

will simmer down after a few weeks [and students fully under-

stand the new policy]," Farinacci said.

As before, there are consequences for underage students who

are intoxicated on campus. “Because the repercussions are a

lot worse, it may affect their return to campus, but they need to

know this is their home and they can come back. [We] would

rather they return [home] than stay the night at someone else’s

house," Hendrix said.

Whether or not underage students they will be immedi-

ately affected by the new policy, they still need to be aware of

the new rules and the violation policy. “Individuals get three

cumulative chances during their time at Jewell and their fourth

offense results in being kicked off campus," Hatfield said. “In-

dividuals have to learn to take responsibility," Farinacci said.

Currently 86 of the eligible 270 residents have completed

both parts one and two of AlcoholEdu. “The number changes

daily," Shelly King, dean of students and the first-year experi-

ence, said. There are more students eligible, but “I have heard

back f rom many commuter students that they are not interested

in completing the program," King said.

“[Several students] have obtained their new student ID with

birth date noted and are now eligible to consume alcoholic

beverages in the privacy of their residence, as policy permits. To

date, no reported violation of the new policy has been reported.

It seems those students eligible to consume alcohol by the new

policy have thus far been respectful of the established boundar-

ies set forth in the policy," Stufflebean said.

Christina Duz an can be reached

at duzanc@william.jewell.edu

Tara Moreland

Staff Writer

Two members of the Wil-

liam Jewell College debate

team are celebrating their

new title as the Missouri

State Parliamentary Debate

Champions.

David Dingess and An-

drew Potter, sophomores, de-

feated McKendree Univer-

sity, Truman State University

and Carthage University to

capture the title of State

Champions. There were 15

schools competing Feb. 19-

20 at Webster University in

St. L ouis, with eight of those

schools representing the state

of Missouri. This year’s tour-

nament at Webster also al-

lowed for non-state schools

to compete.

Dingess and Potter’s suc-

cess at this tournament

marks the third consecutive

state title for William Jewell

debate, as well as the sixth

consecutive year in which

William Jewell debaters ad-

vanced to the final round of

the tournament.

In addition to Dingess

and Potter’s success, Matt

Reisener, first-year, was

named top Missouri speaker,

as well as second speaker in

the tournament overall. Re-

isener and his partner Tyler

White, first-year, went unde-

feated and top seed through

the preliminary rounds and

defeated Southwest Bap-

tist University in the first

elimination round. The team

made it to quarterfinals be-

fore losing to Truman State

University.

Reisener was pleased to

receive such a high honor at

the tournament, but also was

grateful to his partner for

helping them to do well at

Webster.

“ The state tournament was

probably the most successful

tournament of the year for

Tyler and me. We haven’t

been partners for very many

tournaments, so for us to be

the top-seeded team and re-

ceive the recognition we did

was a very welcome surprise,"

Reisener said.

Reisener also gave praise

to Dingess and Potter for

their exemplary performance

and state title win.

“Also, David Dingess and

Andrew Potter are some of

the most talented debaters in

the country, and are going to

wow some people at nation-

als this year," Reisener said.

William Jewell debaters

Michael LaCombe, sopho-

more, and Jimmy Stuart,

first-year, also did well at the

tournament, qualifying to

the elimination rounds of the

competition.

Dr. Gina Lane, Head de-

bate coach and professor of

communication, was very

proud of William Jewell’s

performance at the Webster

tournament and expects the

success of the team to con-

tinue.

“Jewell has established

themselves as the squad to

beat for the Missouri State

Debate title," Lane said.

Now that the William

Jewell debaters have brought

home the Missouri State title

yet again, the team is looking

ahead to the National tour-

nament.

“ This was our last tourna-

ment before Nationals in late

March, and I am very proud

of the momentum we have

created," Lane said.

The William Jewell de-

bate squad will be competing

at two national tournaments

this spring, the National Par-

liamentary Debate Associa-

tion Championships, which

is being held March 18-22

at Texas Tech University in

Lubbock, Texas, and the Na-

tional Parliamentary Tour-

nament of Excellence, which

is March 27-30 at Azuza Pa-

cific University in Los An-

geles, California. The debate

duo of Heather Swadley,

first-year, and Abby Thom-

as, sophomore, currently are

ranked 32nd going into the

Tournament of Excellence.

The squad is hoping to qual-

ify more teams and will find

out next week if they will be

taking any other duos to the

national tournaments.

Tara Moreland can be

reached at morelandt@

william.jewell.edu

THE HILLTOP MONITOR

MARCH 5, 2010

CAMPUS

WWW.THEHILLTOPMONITOR.COM

5

Debaters Dingess & Potter

win state championship

International Women’s Day

continues, focuses on history

Taylor Hartford

Staff Writer

National Women’s History Proj-

ect started in Santa Rosa, Cal., by

five women who started the project to

raise awareness of women’s historical

impacts on history and create equality

within schools in the classroom. Molly

Murphy MacGregor, Mary Ruthsdot-

ter, Maria Cuevas, Paula Hammett and

Bette Morgan created this project in the

hopes that women would be recognized

in history.

These five women advocated for

March to be recognized and celebrated

as National Women’s History Month.

In the beginning, however, it was not

always Women’s History Month. Ac-

cording to the NWHP website, “Presi-

dent Jimmy Carter issued the first Pres-

idential Proclamation during the Week

of March 8, 1980 as National Women’s

History Week." In 1986 there were al-

ready 14 states that had been celebrat-

ing and declaring March as Women’s

History Month. The year 1987 marks

the year that Women’s History Month

became a nationally yearly-recognized

event.

International Women’s Day, March

8, is celebrated every year. Originally,

this day was a socialist holiday that

was set aside to honor the women who

worked. “In 1910, at an International

Conference of Socialist Women in Co-

penhagen, Denmark, 100 women repre-

senting 17 countries voted to establish

an International Women’s Day." In the

1960’s, feminists took up the day again

and started promoting it.

Also on the NWHP’s website there

is a section that speaks about how they

started “writing women back into his-

tory. We convinced Congress and the

White house of the need for our nation

to celebrate and recognize women’s role

in history on an annual basis. As a re-

sult of our efforts, the week of March

8th (International Women’s Day) was

officially designated as National Wom-

en’s History Week. In 1987, we led the

successful campaign to have the en-

tire moth of March declared National

Women’s History Month," according to

their website.

Ever y year NWHP comes up with a

theme for the month and they recognize

women that are culturally, economically,

and racially diverse. This year’s theme

is “Writing Women Back into His-

tory." This year marks their 30th year

anniversary since they started the pro-

gram. W ithin this theme, the NWHP

has a list of women from many different

years listed as honorees. They wanted to

“highlight themes and honorees from

previous years."

Scrolling through the list, one can

see how many diverse women are men-

tioned. Last year’s theme was “Women

Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet."

Ninety-eight women were named in the

list. Some other highlights from previ-

ous years are “ Women’s Art Women’s Vi-

sion", “Generations of Women Moving

History Forward", “ Women, Builders of

Communities and Dreams", “Women

Pioneering the Future" and many oth-

ers. All of the women mentioned are

being celebrated as. In 2005, the theme

“Women Change America" recogniz ed

all women.

For more information about the

NWHP or National Women’s History

Month, go to http://www.nwhp.org/.

Taylor Hartford can be reached at

hartfordt@william.jewell.edu

RAs keep close eye as new alcohol policy takes effect

Record snow blankets College; budget safe for now

Planeteers Tip of the Month:

Buy a reusable and washable to-go container

to use in the cafeteria. Even though the to-

go containers from the cafeteria are paper

and compostable, they are not recyclable.

This way, you won’t have any waste and you

can help cut down on costs in the cafeteria

so dining services can buy organic food!

6

www.thehilltopmonitor.com

THE HILLTOP MONITOR

COMMUNITY

MARCH 5, 2010

Dance team

continued from page 1

us any comparisons to other teams. She said that she would not discuss that with us.

Our main question was . . . why cheer is not being asked to sacrifice anything and we

are being cut completely."

“The cheer team supports us and Dr. Bailey said that the cheer team is taking a

different direction. Her actual quote was that ‘I won’t be able to explain it in a way you

will be able to understand,’" Ragsdale said.

“We asked her what other sports teams were asked to make sacrifices, and we are

the only team being asked to sacrifice," Ragsdale said.

According to Bailey, this decision “is not to say that there still can’t be some kind

of dance program as a student activity. If the students want to try to continue in some

way, that is certainly something that can happen. I think there probably was a time

when that is how the dance team did exist."

Ragsdale does not believe this would work properly. “It would pretty much be a

dance club," she said.

In addition to unanswered questions, the team believes the whole matter has been

handled in a very unprofessional fashion. Bailey stated that the decision “is no reflec-

tion on [the team’s] performance . . . or their coach this year." However, Ragsdale and

the dance team believe that “[Dr. Bailey] had a direct conflict with our coach and that

she is taking it out on us."

In an email sent to dance team members after they were notified of the change,

Bailey said, “I expect there will be some upset folks about this, particularly since I am

confident Erin will not handle it well."

Bailey has since apologized formally to the team for the manner in which the

email was written.

Prospective students who have shown interest in trying out for the team also have

been notified of the changes.

“There were a couple, and I talked to our admissions folks last week to be sure to

talk to those students. That is one of the reasons for the timing of this was to make

sure that we didn’t inappropriately misrepresent ourselves," Bailey said.

“When we are doing what we love, and we are doing it well – to have that taken

away doesn’t seem fair, especially when no one else is asked to make any kind of sac-

rifice," Ragsdale said.

“I don’t want them to think that I am not willing to talk about it. I am happy to

talk with anyone who has questions or wants to talk about the future," Bailey said.

Student Senate has scheduled a Town Hall Meeting for Tuesday at 7 p.m. to ad-

dress student questions and concerns.

Jessie Newman can be reached at

newmanj@william.jewell.edu

This year’s produc-

tion of The Vagina

Monologues took

place in Gano for the

first time. The play’s

first production at Wil-

liam Jewell College

was in 2003. The next

production came in

2007 and has been

produced at the Col-

lege consecutively

ever since. (Left) Wom-

en in the show prepare

to take the stage in a

scene about a violent

rape in the Middle

East. (Top right) A por-

tion of the cast enjoys

the rest of the show

after presenting their

monologues. (Bottom

right) Liz Fritz, senior,

delivers a monologue

about her “angry va-

gina."

Brian Davidson /

Hilltop Monitor

Vagina Monologues returns for fifth Jewell production

New e-book technology pondered by educators, staff

Rachel Reis

Staff Writer

If one were to ask William

Jewell College professors their

opinions on digital textbooks,

they may answer with a bal-

anced argument about the pros

and cons of using the technol-

ogy, likely because they have

considered its application to

their own syllabi.

Textbook publishers are try-

ing to get on the proverbial

high-speed bandwagon and

create new technology that

would appeal to the student

and professor alike. Adding to

the ever growing list of stu-

dent-applicable technology is

DynamicBooks from Macmil-

lian, a new version of textbooks

that allows teachers to edit

the textbook by reorganizing

chapters and editing or delet-

ing entire paragraphs of text

without consent of the pub-

lisher according to individual

class needs.

Digital textbooks offer an

interesting dilemma for the

college students. Pilot pro-

grams at schools like North-

west Missouri State University

have shown that there is quite

an even divide between stu-

dents who like using e-readers

and students who prefer stan-

dard texts.

The application of new tech-

nology for textbooks and texts

has different facets of progress

at William Jewell College. The

planning for the improvement

of digital texts and the other

resources the library provides

has been in place since 2002.

Curry Library will contin-

ue to review and progress this

summer as the library staff will

do a total review of its resourc-

es and analyze where it needs

more. The College is currently

preparing for its accreditation

review to occur in November,

and Dr. Milton Horne, profes-

sor of religion, is in charge of

looking at the resources that

the College provides for the

students.

Horne said Curry Library

is currently “leaps and bounds"

ahead of where it was 10 years

ago. The library now offers 900

electronic books and is switch-

ing to more and more online

journals.

When asked about the possi-

bility of transitioning to digital

textbooks as a professor, Horne

said he has considered the

switch. A 100-page introduc-

tory text he uses for his level II

CTI class Judaism, Christiani-

ty and Islam has a baseline cost

of $60. Digital textbooks offer

a lower price, but at the same

time, once they are bought, they

cannot be resold like a printed

textbook. However, from a

recent personal experience, he

brought to light another issue

about the negative effects of

the switch to digital texts and

more online resources. Being

in compliance with copyright

laws and provisions is especial-

ly difficult when it is so easy to

download a book onto the In-

ternet. Horne has been directly

affected by noncompliance with

copyright laws. He published a

commentary over the biblical

books Proverbs and Ecclesi-

astes which he found down-

loaded on a website without his

permission. He was able to call

his publisher, and his work was

removed from the website.

Where this new technology

fits in at William Jewell is still

a mystery. Alongside the pos-

sibility of a pilot program with

Kindles next semester, the Li-

brary is considering purchas-

ing an iPad, a sort of versatile

e-reader, about the same size as

a laptop monitor.

“A lot of our faculty love

physically opening a book,

wandering the shelves and

getting lost in the serendipity

of the moment of finding the

right book," Stephanie De-

Clue, director of Curry Library,

said. When considering the

advantages and disadvantages

of e-books, DeClue said, “[un-

til they get a technology that

allows students to highlight

with something that looks like

a highlighter and write with

something that looks like a

pen, the complete switch to

true digital texts, in my opin-

ion, will not occur in the im-

mediate future."

Rachel Reis can be reached at

reisr@william.jewell.edu

Jesus Lopez

Entertainment Editor

Have you ever heard someone

say that something is “up in the

air." Turn the phrase into a per-

son: an older, debonair man, pos-

sibly George Clooney, present him

with a suit, a refined urbane man-

ner and an obsession with f requent

flyer miles and you have the main

character of our last Best Picture

nominee, Up in the Air.

George Clooney plays Ryan

Bingham, a man with a curious

occupation. His job is to tell peo-

ple they don’t have a job anymore.

In a plot fit for an economically-

downtrodden nation, Clooney

plays a corporate hit-man hired to

travel around the countr y and fire

people.

Bingham occupies an interest-

ing position because, while he is

the source of so much disorder,

he himself has an expressed love

of order. He is an organized, ef-

ficient man who travels with a

neat suitcase and always flies first

class, keeping a careful eye on his

frequent flier miles and making

only purchases that will help him

accrue more. His character’s very

existence is a sort of foil to his oc-

cupation, order against disorder.

That is, (at the risk of sounding

like a lousy male) until women get

involved. Two women, to be spe-

cific: one invades internally ques-

tioning the value of Bingham’s oc-

cupation claiming she can design

a computer program a-la internet

video chat to fire people remotely

and efficiently. The other woman

comes externally: an attractive

business traveler who shares Cloo-

ney’s love of traveling, but threat-

ens his idyllic nomadic existence.

Director Jason Reitman (of

Juno fame) manipulates the key

questions of the

film cleanly, ex-

pertly: what is

bad about the

modern nomad.

He is f ree. He

is the contem-

porar y embodi-

ment of libera-

tion, existential

latitude with a

first class pass.

Bingham is

fully conscious

of this latitude

and glamor-

izes it for pub-

lic speaking

occasions. As

a motivational

speaker, Bing-

ham advocates

a philosophy of

freedom con-

gruent to his

own. In a con-

veniently pre-

packed and prepared metaphor, he

urges his audience to get every-

thing that weighs them down into

a backpack and, then, set it on fire.

The return is f reedom.

Heidegger’s urge to destroy

is reiterated in a radically anti-

materialist message that moves

away from life bound to price tags,

mortgages, designer furniture,

stuff. All the junk becomes an ag-

gregate whole ball chained to the

leg weighing one down. Remove

the junk and free yourself. Marx

would be proud.

It sounds like the project that

Clooney’s character is advocating

is a f reedom from ideolog y. Why

get rid of your stuff. To be free of

the cat-and-mouse, winner-loser

game of capitalism. Can you be

worried about paying for the stuff

you don’t have. Can you be fired

from a job you don’t have. Can

you lose at a game you’re not play-

ing.

As the movie c lear ly, cruelly

and kindly shows, you can never

stop playing the game. The threat

to Clooney’s job is not something

he can simply stuff in a bag and

burn; it’s very real. His newfound

lady friend turns serious to a point

of commitment, threatening the

nomad adventure he so ardently

loves. Here, the two points are

very clear: ex-

istence is a

game you can’t

stop playing.

Sometimes,

you will lose;

sometimes,

you will win;

and, at other

times, you will

do both at the

same time.

Despite ei-

ther outcome,

you have to live.

Without ruin-

ing the ending,

I’ll only tell you

the romance

doesn’t end in

a pretty man-

ner. Clooney’s

character falls

hard for the

business trav-

eler, takes her

in and forms a

life with her. Nonetheless, the

romance ends with no great trag-

edy but the quiet closing of a door

in a small moment that’s acutely

painful because it’s so small. There

is no mood music in the scene.

The moment is just long enough

to make the audience aware that

things have changed.

But, like I said, Bingham, you,

I – we have to live.

Well, how do you live anyway.

Up in the Air ends right before it

can give you the answer to that

question. The movie ends with

Bingham still the image of unre-

stricted f reedom, light as a feather

in spite of his emotional burdens

and psychological weight.

The seemingly nihilist end-

ing does not satiate, but provokes

and exhausts the question, “How

do you live." The light leaves the

screen, but the question stays with

you on the way out of the theater,

into the parking lot, in your car

telling your girlfr iend about your

materialist reading of the film and

in bed listening to someone sleep

nearby.

Our key question here seems

to be as much about ethics as it

is about what color shirt to wear

tomorrow. There’s an inequity in

both problems, but they’re both

about how to exist on some large

or small level. The curious thing

about the question is that as soon

as you’re down to form an answer

you have to actuality to deal with

and decisions to make, you have

to live. Reitman could have made

the ending as melancholy as he

wanted to. But, instead, he choos-

es to have Bingham persist in his

senseless and seemingly-nihilistic

optimism smiling, walking, go-

ing and going. He might reflect,

might even change. Right now,

however, he lives.

And, that is what is most im-

portant. How do you live. You

live. That ’s all.

Jesus Lopez can be reached at

lopezj@william.jewell.edu

Megan Rettig

Guest Writer

If you’re lost on Lost,

that’s exactly how it should

be. The title and original

premise make you think

it’s a show about Lord-

of-the-Flies-type survival.

However, the sixth season

of Lost is more reminiscent

of Star Trek than Gilligan’s

Island. As this highly popu-

lar show nears its end (the

final season will end May

23), we’re asking how one

series goes from a realistic

commentary about forming

a society to fantasy.

The original premise of Lost is the crash

of Oceanic F light 815 onto a seemingly-

uncharted island in the Pacific. The survi-

vors of the crash have to determine how to

survive and live together. There are approxi-

mately 15 main characters, though the cast

varies slightly from season to season. The

series starts with the unoriginal character of

Jack, the brave and reluctant leader. Kate is

the girl next door with sex appeal. Sawyer

is a bad boy that audiences love to hate, but

grow to hate to love him.

Shortly into the series, viewers are intro-

duced to “ The Others," a group of people

who live on the island and terrorize the

survivors. At first they appear to be sav-

ages, but turn out to be a

technologically advanced

people with a whole settle-

ment which is somehow

not found by the survivors

during the first two seasons.

They are the enemy of the

survivors, until they’re, sud-

denly, not. The two com-

munities form an alliance

which is later dissolved.

They claim to be the good,

but they go back and forth

between saving the survi-

vors and killing them too

often for the audience to

decide how they feel about

them. Viewers have yet to

figure out who the bad guys

are: The Others. The other Others. Both.

In any case, this is far from the most

bizarre or confusing aspect of the show.

Early on, viewers learn that the island has

magical healing powers: a woman’s cancer

is cured, a paralyzed man walks. There is

the button that must be pushed every 108

minutes or the world will end (a quan-

dary that somehow fills an entire season.)

My personal favorite mystery is the smoke

monster, which is exactly what it sounds

like: a monster that wreaks havoc amongst

the survivors, and is also apparently a judge

of right and wrong. And, of course, the

island—naturally—travels through time.

This description of the show may beg

the question: with all the absurd plot twists,

why the massive and obsessive fan base.

The show has many factors that make it

appealing. It is extremely complex—don’t

bother trying to start watching now, there

are too many back stories that build upon

each other. Though the script is nothing

special, the plot is completely unpredict-

able. And of course once you start watch-

ing, you have to finish. The questions about

the origin and purpose of the island and its

inhabitant are endless. While Lost fans as-

sume that these questions will be answered

in the end, it would be true Lost style to

leave you confused.

So how does a show go from just sur-

vival to time travel and smoke monsters.

One assumes that the writers only could

do so much with the few characters in a

single setting (Gilligan’s Island only last-

ed three seasons). So you add a group of

other inhabitants, then a button that saves

the world. Eventually you get a show that

barely resembles its first-season-self. De-

spite this criticism, the show is still mas-

sively popular, so it must be doing some-

thing right. It’s too far gone to return to its

original tagline, “Live together, die alone,"

but maybe it can answer enough questions

to give its fans true closure.

Megan Rettig can be reached

at rettigm@william.jewell.edu

Kyler Wooldridge

Staff Writer

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British

Columbia, Canada ended Sunday af ter over two weeks of

intense athletic competition. These games, played out every

four years, are the highest level of competition for sports that

take place on ice and snow.

Some William Jewell College students said they didn’t see

any of the games. Gatlin Hebert and Nic Wheeler, first-years,

said they didn’t have time to watch any of games because

of schoolwork and social commitments. Adam Al Douri,

first-year, said that he might have tried to find time in his

busy schedule to watch them but, “there really weren’t that

many places to watch them in Eaton Hall and I didn’t really

hear many of my f riends talking about it, so I didn’t really

bother."

First-year Jeremy Morris did catch a small section of the

games, but they weren’t a large blip on his radar either. The

only sport that was on during the time of the day he had free

time was curling. “In debate we argued whether curling was

a sport or not," Morris said. “I don’t think we reached any

definite conclusion."

Some students had a little more time on their hands and

did watch a good portion of the games. The lure for first-

years Scott Tipton was the success of the U.S. team. “The

U.S. was very competitive through the whole Olympics and

it was really cool to see us get the most medals." The United

States would finish the games with the overall medal lead at

37. Those 37 medals were also a record for one country at an

Olympic Winter Games (the previous record was set at 36

by Germany in 2002).

“My favorite event to watch was the ski-jump," Peter

Hanman, first-year, said. “It takes a lot of courage for some-

one to fly up the air like that." Hanman also believed that

the event that got the most viewers was probably the Open-

ing Ceremonies on Feb. 12. “The opening ceremonies for the

Summer Olympics in 2008 were so good I think a lot of

people tuned in to see if the Canadians could do better than

the Chinese."

Finally, there were those who tried to watch every event

they could. Kelsey Kump, first-year, said, “I’m a big fan of

the Olympics, I actually get a little crazy about them." Her

favorite moment f rom the Games was the triumph of Evan

Lysacek in men’s individual figure skating. Lysacek’s medal

won his medal with bit of controversy. Some believe Evgeni

Plushenko was robbed of a gold medal. Kump also said, “I

like how the Games keep getting more progressive with the

addition of more ‘modern’ sports like snowboarding. It keeps

everything f resh."

Overall, William Jewell students agreed their favorite

aspect was the competition between the athletes. “When

it comes down to it the nationalities are secondary to the

events. I think people are really about watching the great

competition more than anything else," Kump said.

Kyler Wooldridge can be reached at

wooldridgek@william.jewell.edu

WWW.THEHILLTOPMONITOR.COM

Etc.

FEBRUARY 5, 2010

7

THE HILLTOP MONITOR

Etc.

MARCH 05, 2010

‘And the nominees for Best Picture are . . .’

photo courtesy of angelikablog.com

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, the man hired to fire people when

the employer loses their gall. Bingham’s uncanny love for his profession is

made uncannier by the his love of the transcontinental commute.

Reitman entertains, destroys romantic illusion of dispossession, detachment through Clooney’s modern nomad

Up in the Air

Guest review: Who’s lost on Lost.

Busy students make time

for Winter Olympics, enjoy

competition between athletes

photo courtesy of rcrawford79.files.wordpress.com

In 2004, Flight 815 crash landed on an uncharted island somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean. In the six years since their descent, the survivors of the

wreck have had to battle indigenous tribes, fantasy monsters and absurd plot twists. In spite of its nonsensical plot , the show retains a loyal fanbase.

Megan Rettig is a sopho-

more political science major

determined to make sense of

Lost or die tr ying.

JP Bartmess

Sports Editor

The William Jewell College

men’s and women’s track and

field teams are looking forward

to a break, their first one since

their return from the holidays.

Both teams finished their in-

door season, in which the Car-

dinals produced solid showings

in all of their meets.

“The teams have both done

great and will only get better.

I’m very proud of everyone,"

Tom Eisenhauer, head track

and field coach, said.

Two weeks ago, Eisenhauer

and his team traveled to Mar-

shall, Mo. to participate in the

Missouri Valley College Invi-

tational. It was a smaller meet,

but the Cardinals used it as a

way to gear up for the Heart of

America Athletic Conference

track and field meet the follow-

ing weekend.

“That was the purpose of this

meet. It was a small meet with

only four to five teams and was

very low key. We used it to tune

up for the conference champi-

onship meet," Eisenhauer said.

The Lady Cardinals received

a strong showing from their

short and long distance runners,

as well as their throwers. Shelby

Pettz, first-year, finished second

in the 400-meter dash. Another

first-year, Jess Connery, took

first in both the 1,000-meter

run and the 1,600-meter run

and Ayna Palvanova, first-year,

placed first in the 3,000-meter

run.

Brittany Riley, sophomore,

had a strong showing in the

field events, as she placed sec-

ond in both the women’s shot

put and weight throw.

Eisenhauer noted that the

biggest strength of this team is

something they share with the

men’s team. “We are strong in

both the distance events and

the throws, but I feel the great-

est strength on both the men’s

and women’s teams is the team

unity. The support these ath-

letes have for each other off and

on the track is amazing," Eisen-

hauer said.

On the men’s side, the Car-

dinals did well in the short dis-

tance events thanks to Clint

Ederer, first-year, who finished

third in the 55-meter dash, first

in the 200-meter dash and sec-

ond in the 600-meter dash.

“We knew Clint was going

to be strong in the sprints when

we recruited him, but he had a

great indoor season as a fresh-

man. This is only the beginning

for him, though. He will only

get faster, especially in the 400-

meter race," Eisenhauer said.

Also for the Cardinals, Kyle

Gillett, first-year, won the

1,600-meter run. Sharaden

Staten, first-year, placed second

in both the 55-meter hurdles

and the high jump. In the field

events, Colby Lehman, junior,

finished first in the weight

throw.

As both teams finished strong

at Missouri Valley, Eisenhauer

and the Cardinals hoped to

carry their momentum head-

ing into the Heart of America

Athletic Conference Indoor

Track and Field Champion-

ships, hosted at Graceland Uni-

versity. Both teams competed

well, (in the meet) according to

Eisenhauer, but they still have

to overcome some weaknesses

to beat some of the top teams

in the HAAC.

“I felt that both teams per-

formed very well at this meet.

There were at least two school

records set and a third that was

tied. We had several individu-

als finish in the top three. Our

biggest weakness as a team right

now is our small roster size,"

Eisenhauer said.

Throughout this indoor sea-

son, the Cardinals had four of

their athletes qualify for the Na-

tional Association of Intercol-

legiate Athletics Indoor Track

and Field National Champion-

ships, which started yesterday

and will end tomorrow in John-

son City, Tenn.

The individuals that are cur-

rently at Nationals are Jessica

Borey, first-year, in pole vault,

Riley for indoor weight throw,

Sara Shippy, sophomore, in the

55-meter hurdles, and Staten in

the high jump.

“Nationals is the reward for

a great season. We put in the

hard work and load up for con-

ference and for those few that

will be representing Jewell at

nationals, it’s about having a

great meet and placing as high

as they can," Eisenhauer said.

After this weekend, the team

will transition to the outdoor

track and field season. The

team has its first meet on the

last weekend of Spring Break,

when it will travel to Fayette,

Mo., for the Central Method-

ist University Open on March

20. Eisenhauer hopes the teams

bring the same work ethic and

intensity to the outdoor season.

“We’re just going to continue

down the path we’re on. As I

said before, our biggest weak-

ness is our small roster size.

Next year’s recruiting class is

shaping up very well. For us

to compete for those top three

slots, we just need more people

to score in more events. Like

I said, the individuals that are

competing for us right now are

doing very well and are placing

high in the events they’re com-

peting in," Eisenhauer said.

JP Bartmess can be reached at

bartmessj@william.jewell.edu

Jared Speckman

Staff Writer

The men’s and women’s tennis teams continued

their dominance of competition over the weekend

as both teams defeated Bethel College in Liberty

on Sunday.

The women went 5-1 in singles competition and

2-1 in doubles competition. The women, who are

without a senior, were led by junior Nikki Cham-

bers, sophomore Tanya Ratana and first-year Hana

Lindbloom, all of whom have perfect singles records

thus far this year.

“For the women, no one stood out above every-

one else. They are all playing really well right now

and ranked 23

rd

in the nation, and the team is really

starting to come together," Paul Worstell, head ten-

nis coach said.

The men also put on a good performance as they

took down Bethel 7-2. They responded well after

going 1-2 in doubles play to go undefeated in sin-

gles play at 6-0. Jewell remains in the top 30 in the

nation in men’s tennis.

“All six of the men’s singles players have been

playing well, especially Cody Pflugradt, senior and

Kyle Taylor, junior. The best part is that we’re not

playing our best tennis yet, so there’s still room to

improve," Worstell said.

The men and women will now put their unde-

feated records on the line against Tabor College

in Hillsboro, Kan. today and Friends University in

Wichita, Kan. tomorrow. Both teams will be relying

on their depth to take down the opposition.

“Both of our teams are deeper than theirs are, I

believe. But if we just play the way we’re capable of

playing, then we will come out on top this weekend

in all of our matches," Worstell said.

The match between William Jewell and North-

west Missouri State that was postponed earlier this

week will be played Tuesday, March 30 in Liberty.

Jared Speckman can be reached at

speckmanj@william.jewell.edu

WWW.THEHILLTOPMONITOR.COM

8

THE HILLTOP MONITOR

March 5, 2010

SPORTS

Today and Tomorrow

NAIA National Championships

Johnson City, Tenn.

Track and Field

Softball

Baseball

Today and Tomorrow

Friends University Tournament

Wichita, Kan.

Today

Mt. Mercy College

Baldwin City, Kan. 2 p.m.

Kyle Rivas / Campus Photographer

The William Jewell Cardinals men and women’s

basketball teams begin their March madness run

into the Heart of America Athletic Conference as

both teams hosted first round games at the Ma-

bee Center Wednesday and last night. The women

took on Lindenwood University last night as the

number one overall seed in the tournament. The

Lady Cardinals defeated the Lions for the third

time this season in convincing fashion, 72-41.

The Cardinals defeated the Lady Lions by 30 plus

points each time they played them this season.

Erica Ferguson, senior forward, led all scorers

with 16 points and added six rebounds. Ferguson

was also named to the second team HAAC All-Con-

ference team before the game. Hillary Adams, se-

nior guard, and Katie Bond, sophomore forward,

had 11 and 10 points respectively. Adams was

named to the first team HAAC All-Conference.

Also, Brandie Roberts, sophomore forward, who

suffered a knee injury and was out last night, was

named to the second team HAAC All-Conference

and Jessica Stewart, senior guard, was a Hon-

orable mention. To top it all off, Jill Cress, head

women’s basketball coach, was named as the

HAAC Coach of the Year. The Lady Cardinals will

now play tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the Mabee

Center against Baker University, the tournament’s

number four seed. As for the men’s team, the Car-

dinals faced off against the number six seed and

conference rival MidAmerica Nazarene University

on Wednesday night. Led by the hot hand of Kyle

Fisher (right), senior guard, who had 27 points on

nine of 15 shooting from the field, the Cardinals

defeated the Pioneers 85-69. Fisher was named

to the HAAC second team All-Conference before

the game along with Nick Larson, sophomore for-

ward, who was named to the first team and Jona-

than Benson was a Honorable Mention. Larson

had 21 points and Benson put up 19 points last

night. The team play tonight at the number two

seed, Evangel University, in Springfield, Mo. Tip-

off is set for 7 p.m.

Track and field finish indoor season strong

Men’s and women’s tennis teams remain undefeated

Men and women set to take on Tabor College and Friends University

Kyle Rivas / Campus Photographer

Basketball advances into semis in conference tourney