Sisco, who will be elected this Friday at the SGA banquet, has selected her Directors of Student Relations, Communications and Finances. She has taken it upon herself to bring both new and old faces to those offices in the Student Government.

“I’m really excited about the new directors,” Sisco said, “I’m feeling pretty positive on the selections I’ve made.”

She has selected Mike Hollander as her new director of Finance. Hollander is unknown to SGA and has no prior experience, which is what Sisco was looking for in the position. She said that eight individuals applied for the position, but believes Hollander brought something fresh to the office.

“He has the experience in finance,” Sisco said. “He’s an accounting and finance double major and I felt that is what I needed, and I wanted a fresh face.”

The directors of Student Affairs and Communications will have familiar faces, which Sisco wanted. She chose Monterio Seewood, senator of SGA, as her new director of Student Relations. She said he had a great interview and believed his ties with students would be beneficial for the position.

“I think he’s a great mediator for SGA and other organizations,” Sisco said.

Seewood sees this as a golden opportunity to get students and organizations involved. As the new director of Student Relations he wants to work with Student Affairs to restructure the PLC. He said he’s spoken to Shana Meyers, vice president of Student Affairs, and they are heading into the process of restricting the PLC.

“A lot of the problems we’ve had this year has steamed towards communication,” Seewood said, “I know that’s a big issue on Katie’s list and I want students and organizations to know they can come to me.”

Ashley Stegall, director of Communications, will be returning to her position after having 10 applicants apply for her position. Sisco said Stegall has the overall experience for the office of director of Communications, and she knows the ins and outs of SGA.

“Honestly, Dillon and I didn’t want to train someone new to come into the position,” Sisco said. “Everyone knows that Dillon and I are new to SGA, so bringing someone in who has experience is just better.”

Stegall said she is excited to return to SGA next year. After serving under SGA President Jacob Scott, she said that her experience would be beneficial for Sisco’s agenda for next year.

“I really enjoy doing this position,” Stegall said. “I think the most important thing is listening to the students, and we’ve done a good job doing that this semester and we want to continue that.”

Sisco will be inaugurated on Friday, April 19 at the SGA Awards Banquet.

“This 5K run really hit home for our chapter,” Alex Atkinson, Phi Delta Theta member, said.

Phi Delta Theta will end the school year with a 5K run on Western’s campus. The proceeds will benefit the victims of Lou Gehrig’s disease and their local Phi Delta chapter. Atkinson said the event is very beneficial for students and members of the community to attend.

The event will take place on April 27, 2013 at 11:00a.m., and the group advises those who plan to participate to check in from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. before the event begins. The run will begin at the Missouri Western State University in the Looney Complex.

The prices for registration are $16 for college and high school students, and for others, the price is $26 to be able to participate in the event.

“This is really something we wanted to bring forth to ALS for the victims, families and the community to show how much Missouri Western wants to give back to the community,” Atkinson said.

The members of Phi Delta Theta expect a turn out of around 150 people from Missouri Western students as well as members of the St. Joseph Community. Jacob Dowell, member of Phi Delta Theta, said the event profits would go 50 percent for Lateral Sclerosis Association to benefit the victims of Lou Gehrig’s disease. He said the chapter will cover t-shirts and all other costs.

The other 50 percent of the gross proceeds will go to our local Phi Delta Theta chapter, which will be used for their philanthropy and fundraising events in the future. He believes the event will bring in more students since it’s on campus this year.

“5Ks are a pretty big thing around here,” Dowell said. “We’ve had a lot of people come up and talk to us about getting involved on campus for this walk.”

Ethan Kelly, president of Phi Delta Theta, said it’s very important to get people from the community out and involved in events like this one. He said Greek organizations can always throw an event together and bring other Greek organizations together, but to get a whole community involved in something like this is a big step for them.

“I’m hoping to get a lot of people on campus to come,” Kelley said. “We are trying to get other organizations involved and having it on campus is a central location for this event.”

If a business would rather donate products or gift cards, the group would appreciate it. There will be a raffle for donated products and top runners will receive prizes. If there are any questions, the group has asked others to contact Jonathan Hund, treasurer of Phi Delta Theta at (816)341-3430 or jhund@missouriwestern.edu.

The media has covered the hell out of this, probably more than the Presidential election night and morning after. They are repeating the same video of the accident over and over again. It’s a good thing to keep the people of America and around the world informed, however once they start reporting false or inaccurate information on the death toll, suspects or if the child was a boy or girl. It’s a tragedy once they start doing that, they are misinforming the general public, which makes them not reliable. The reasonable solution would be for them to take a step back, think things through and report the right information.

Reporting 24/7 is great, but you can only do it for so long. CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, National newspapers and online blogs need to report new information besides the same video, death toll or misinformed information.

As a journalist, I would’ve stopped my printer and waited for the information, or keep a running death toll on our social media outlets and websites. They run numerous posts with different numbers, which confuses the general public and they start to blame the news network.

So, take a step back, reanalyze your information and report the news that the people want to see and hear.

Jordan Carney, Western student: “I think MoWo Confessions sheds a negative light on the University. Even submissions are anonymous, names are still used in the posts, which are often immature and poorly thought out. Anyone can like the page, and those who view it will not have a positive impression of our students.“

Allie Mayes, Western Student: “I like probably many other people have mixed feelings about MOWO Confessions. I agree some of them are funny, but I feel like it is going to far and people may get hurt by this page. In a way it reminds me of Gossip Girl, where people would send in gossip or confessions. I feel like at first it isn’t harmful, but the more people keep “confessing” the more hurt and angry some people will get. I can’t really judge people for sending their information to the page, but at the same time, you never know how what you say might affect how someone else feels.”

Mimi Le Ho, Western student: “It was funny at first because people were saying and actually confessing things. Then, it turned into people talking about other races. For example… “White girls this, and black girls that. Also, there are a lot of negative things said about Greeks. I don’t considering it confessing anything, just a way for people to bash a group of people anonymously.“

Sebastian Smith, Western student: “I think its hilarious and I spam them constantly. However I think people who are really using it to talk shit on are people need to sack up and not hide behind some dumb ass wall.“

R.J. Jackson, Western student: “Some posts are funny, the majority are just flat out mean. But given some of the very real moments there I can totally see the potential value of it for people who just need to get something off of their chest.”

Kelsey Guthery, Western student:  ”People give too much validity to what other people say. Don’t take everything so seriously, realize sometimes people just aren’t going to understand you or like you, and realize that sometimes you just can’t change that. But mostly; stop taking everything so seriously. Someone anonymously posted about you/your organization on a facebook page? So what. If that’s what’s going to keep you up at night, that says a lot more about you than about them, really.”

Lisa Uketui, Western student: “Some of the comments need to be removed. Freedom of speech is cool but it should be done tastefully. No one needs to be put down by anyone opinion or not. This just seems like a place for bullying anonymously. Kelsey, your life might go on because someone said something negative about you but not everyone is like you and that needs to be taken into consideration. If you don’t have anything positive to say, then don’t say it.”

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*Photo by. MoWo Confessions facebook fan page.

MOWO Confessions makes the “burn book” from Mean Girls look childish.

A new Facebook fan page has been created for students to express their needs, both physical and emotional. The group has received much attention since it was created on March 1, 2013. The page has asked Western students to send their crazy, funny stories or a confession they would like to see posted on their page.

Both students and faculty have expressed their views towards the page. Minerva Torres, advisor for the Nontraditional Assosication, said the page, “may be a good way for people to vent or get stuff off their chest so to speak. On the other hand, if there’s not a good moderator, it could get pretty negative.” She has expressed that several individuals on campus have asked her opinion on the page as a faculty member on campus.

“I was asked if I had seen it multiple times ’till I finally pulled it up. Honestly, not my thing,” Torres said.

MOWO Confessions has reached over 800 members on Facebook alone, but they also have a Twitter and Tumblr page as well. Students have reached out and voiced their opinions on the page. Freshman Allie Mayes said that many students have mixed feelings about MOWO Confessions.

“I agree some of them are funny, but I feel like it is going too far and people may get hurt by this page,” Mayes said. “In a way it reminds me of Gossip Girl, where people would send in gossip or confessions.”

She said the group has organized a large base which she feels at first wasn’t harmful, but the more people keep “confessing,” the more hurt and angry people will become.

“I can’t really judge people for sending their information to the page, but at the same time, you never know how what you say might affect how someone else feels,” Mayes said.

Other students, such as junior Jonathan Mullock, have seen a status which included his name. He said the page was a great idea in the beginning, but it becomes something much more personal when you’re the person in the post.

“People started to go too far with what they said about each other,” Mullock said. “I think it’s kind of sad how many people at MoWo will say horrible things about people behind their backs.”

Senior Jordan Carney believes the group has shed a negative light on the University and it could damage the reputation that Western has.

“Even submissions are anonymous, names are still used in the posts, which are often immature and poorly thought out,” Carney said. “Anyone can like the page, and those who view it will not have a positive impression of our students.”

Mary Beth Rosenauer, sophomore and former SGA candidate, has been mentioned on the page several times and believes it was time to express how she felt. She has been mentioned both in a negative and positive manner.

“All I can say is it’s highly unprofessional and gives Missouri Western an immature image compared to other universities,” Rosenauer said. “Feels like high school again.”

The group continues to reach new members daily and the status is updated on an hourly basis most of the time.

“This is going to be a virtual burn book, like a college version of Mean Girls,” Rosenauer said.

Click on the links below for more information on MOWO CONFESSIONS: 

Students express concern for MOWO Confessions: http://outfrontwithhunt.com/2013/04/16/western-students-respond-to-mowo-confession-page/

Take our poll: 

President-elect Katy Sisco and Vice President-elect Dillon Williams were elected to SGA. Sisco and Williams received 268 votes, compared to presidential candidate Mary Beth Rosenauer and Derek Thompson, who had 174 votes.

A total of 443 students voted in this year’s SGA election, which showed a decrease compared to last year’s numbers, where 1,065 students voted.

“I feel very honored and excited for this opportunity to be elected the President of SGA,” Sisco said. “I’m excited for next year and ready to get things going.”

Mary Beth Rosenauer, who ran against Sisco for SGA presidency, congratulated Sisco as the next President of SGA and plans to work with her in the future. She said in the debate that Sisco and herself are friends and plan to remain in contact.

“I stay in contact with Katie every day,” Rosenauer said. “We are really good motivators for each other, and I’m very proud and excited for her.”

Since she was elected, Sisco plans on keeping her campaign promise by visiting with organizations on campus throughout the rest of the school year. She wants the students to rest assured that she plans to keep them informed with everything SGA is doing.

“Dillon and I have already started plans for our administration next year,” Sisco said.

This new administration wants students to know they are welcome to come forth with issues on their minds. Sisco said she would try her best to fix any issues that are brought forth to SGA.

Sisco believes her connection with residential life as a Residential Assistant will help the process become smoother when she brings up the issue of bringing back Residence Council to SGA as one of the branches for SGA. She was part of the effort to help RA’s bring back Residence Hall Association. If RHA is able to be reinstated, then Sisco believes RC might be an afterthought.

“It would be beneficial to us to get more students involved on campus,” Sisco said. “We can put in place our representation and students can come and voice their opinions that live on campus.”

Student leaders found the numbers low and the process of voting confusing this time around. Last year, students were able to go to Missouri Western’s homepage and click the “Vote Here” button. This year, students had to click the “Students” tab to vote. SGA Senator MonTerio Seewood said he is happy for Katy Sisco and Dillon Williams. Seewood said Sisco and Williams had no SGA experience, but he believes they are both great leaders and are eager to learn.

“We found that voting this year was quite low, compared to past elections,” Seewood said. “I hope that next year we can find a way to get the students more engaged and interested in SGA and their elected student leaders.”

Jacob Scott, president of SGA, said that he is excited to see the new president and vice president take the oath and start their term. He believes Sisco and Williams will do a great job leading the Senate and are willing to work in the transition with Scott. However, he believes the election wasn’t as competitive as last year.

“The election wasn’t as competitive as the one last year,” Scott said. “I think it was low because of spring break and there wasn’t as competitive like it was between my opponent and I on certain issues.”

The inauguration is set for April 19 at 5:30p.m. in the Fulkerson Center.

Approximately 30 Missouri Western National Guard members would benefit from a Missouri House bill that would offset $1.5 million of scholarship cuts made by the federal government.

The Missouri Legislature has combined efforts with the department of Higher Education in drafting legislation to ensure $1.5 million of tuition assistance will be provided for student veterans in the Missouri Guard.

House Bill 857, known as the “Show Me Heroes Education Fund,” was brought to the surface by Veteran Committee Chair, Charlie Davis (R-Webb City). The Veterans Committee has taken the challenge of reallocating the funds for students who are veterans of the Missouri Guard and Air Guard.

The plan developed when Davis and other members of the Missouri House heard the Federal government may slash the tuition assistance of $5 million that they give the National Guard each year. Davis said he would like to see the state of Missouri put in place the $5 million, but the $1.5 million is just the beginning for what the Missouri Legislature is planning to do.

“The Federal government has failed to inhere to these men and women who signed open-ended contracts, possibly give their lives and to hear that they would not receive the benefit because the Federal Government said ‘nope’,” Davis said. “They are going to pull these benefits, and it’s just a tragedy.”

In Fiscal Year 2013, the state of Missouri utilized $2,564,733 in federal funds for over 1,116 veterans of the Army Guard and Air Guard which received state tuition. Davis said the state of Missouri can’t help fund the active Army, Navy or Coast Guard, considering those are Federal level branches. Joseph Wilson, senior instructor of Military Science, said he thinks the legislator is doing the best thing for the men and women who enlist and serve their communities in the National Guard.

“There’s a lot of students who depend on the tuition assistance, considering we have several students who have or are participating in the National Guard,” Wilson said. “Many of our soldiers are hoping that the assistance will be reinstated by August or September.”

Davis said those in the Missouri House decided when the Federal government failed, the state of Missouri would stand behind the men and women who are serving in the National Guard to help them further their education.

“The bill cannot help our active Army soldiers,” Davis said. “But those in the active Guard, those are the ones we can help and will help.”

Elway Ching Sam, Army National Guard member and student, said it’s important for the government to come together now and find a solution to this problem. He believes it’s fair to provide scholarships to veterans in the Missouri Guard.

“If someone is brave enough to provide the service for multiple amounts of years, then they should get the full benefits to go to college,” Ching Sam said.

Davis said the bill is now going to rules of approval then it will hit the floor for debate. He plans on the bill being debated on the floor in the next couple of weeks and will head to the Senate and Governor for approval.

The first site I discovered is for those who are interested in their state government. The Missouri Government website is a great place to find news and information regarding the recent House Bills. The site offers individuals the opportunity to look through the different departments in Missouri and see what’s new. The site to find the news is http://www.mo.gov/news/
The second sight to find news and information regarding the state of Missouri is going through http://www.missourinet.com/. This site offers a list of information regarding education. It’s a great site that can give student journalist the opportunity to view different bills the Missouri Legislature has from report guards to guns in schools. It gives you an in-depth view on what the bills will do and how it will affect students.
The third site that I’ve discovered deals with investigative reporting. The Center for Investigative Reporting is probably one of the most interesting sites you’ll ever find. The link to the site is http://cironline.org/ and you can go through and view the stories that they have posted and how they go into detail to discover the information. The site states that, “We arm the public with thoroughly reported stories that offer deep explanations of complex issues – from the environment to immigration, government accountability,education, health, campaign finance and more.” The site gives any individual the opportunity to view and discover how they can uncover their own investigative piece.
The last two deal solely on education, mostly higher education. The first, is the The Chronicle of Higher Education, where I have found stories myself and have worked on. They give you a yearly look at what student journalist should be reporting on. The link for this site is http://chronicle.com/section/Home/5 and once you enter the site, your mind will be blown! They have sections for Opinion & Ideas and Facts & Figures. Once you click into these sections you’ll find stories that you wouldn’t even think of and it will get you excited and ready to do a story!

The last one I saved is my favorite and I use it quite often. I enjoy reading the Huffington Post and all their savvy stories. The link for this site is, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/education and you can discover so much. They have stories such as What Education Reformers can learn from Gay Marriage and much more. I would highly recommend reading the article over the reformers. I’ve posted the link address at the bottom of the page here. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-j-petrilli/what-can-education-reform_b_3019003.html
Go outside of your comfort zone and find the stories that take time and not just a day here and there!