Warren County Newswire

NATIVITY INCIDENT NEARS CLOSURE

2012-01-06T10:53:00.000-08:00

The Monmouth College Courier has learned that negotiations are nearing completion in the controversial case involving the removal of images of the baby Jesus and other nativity figures from the Monmouth public square last month.

A source at the State’s Attorney office has confirmed that the five Monmouth College students arrested for stealing the figures have been told that in lieu of filing criminal charges, the State’s Attorney has recommended that the students enter the County Diversion Program which involves working in community service projects for a specified period of time. If the students accept the offer, no criminal charges will be filed.

The nativity figures were removed from the town square and placed in the yard of the residence of the college president on the night of December 12th. The figures were later returned to the town square undamaged.

WINTER BREAK

2011-12-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

The Warren County Newswire will be on hiatus during the Monmouth College winter break. We will resume publication in February. Thank you for your interest and support in 2011.

THE AMISH TOUCH

2011-11-20T07:20:00.000-08:00

By Robert Cook

After starting out in the food industry and serving over two million satisfied customers at Filling Station Three in Monmouth, Chuck Fry decided to move into a less time consuming business.

He chose handmade furniture and now supplies the surrounding counties with traditional, hardwood furniture, much of it traditional Amish hardwood. In the same building as his once famous restaurant, Fry has worked with Monmouth
College for the last eight years. Seven of the buildings in Monmouth College are furnished with handmade, Amish craftsmanship, including Founders Village, North Hall, Peterson Hall, Cleland Hall, Winbigler, the fraternity complex, and the new Greek house on Broadway. Iowa Weslyan College is now following in Monmouth's footsteps and filling its halls with Mr. Fry's products.

Traditional Amish Hardwoods is an international distributor of its unique products. "We do most of our business outside of Monmouth", Fry said, and explained how necessary it was to expand his business beyond the local community. Mail order is Fry's most profitable enterprise.

Small, homebound shops in Pennsylvania are Fry's largest producer of handmade furniture. Some are Amish, while others are merely dedicated to the craftsmanship. Fry is always honest about what furniture is of Amish make and what is not. The pieces can be custom or premade

to fit the customer's needs. Oak, quarter-sawed oak, cherry, and maple are the most common hardwoods used. When furniture is in need of repair, Fry often contracts the work to the original builders.

Questioning the product is every buyer's right, but Fry has no worries about his products. "It's solid, quality wood" he said, "our reputation speaks for itself." Fry gladly offers anybody to lift a chair and feel the solid construction of the furniture, some of which is even signed by the
artist. Fry warns against cheap, wood veneer that is glued on top of particle board to make a piece of furniture that merely looks like hardwood.

Fry does not bother with sales and coupons. He said he believes his product is worth the same price all year round and he does not need marketing ploys to sell it. So far, his honest, simple business has served him well.

A REVOLUTION IN GAMING

2011-11-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

By Kevin Lindsay

When you used to walk into a bar or grill, you would see what was perceived as normal; multiple televisions showing sports highlights, people feeding dollar bills into the gambling machines and some people playing the occasional pinball machine. But ever since 1989, Golden Tee Golf, a coin-operated videogame, has been changing the infrastructure of not only bars and restaurants but the changing the face of arcade industry as well. Golden Tee Golf is your typical stand-up arcade game (think a little bigger than a PacMan machine). The player stands in front of the cabinet and spins a trackball which is basically a cue ball . Depending on the way you hit the trackball, the golf ball responds in different ways such as the distance the ball goes, the height and the accuracy (how far left and right).

According to the website of Incredible Technologies, the makers of this revolutionary video game, Golden Tee Golf ‘is the most successful coin-operated amusement game in history. With more than one billion games played to date, Golden Tee has generated over $3 billion in revenue for thousands of small business owners around the globe and revolutionized the coin-operated amusement industry.’ To explain just how big Golden Tee Golf really is¸ Marketing Director of Incredible Technologies, Gary Colabuono said the following, “Since 1996 we've sold 50,000 cabinets but over a quarter million game updates.”

Over the past 23 years, Golden Tee has done what no arcade game has ever done and that’s evolved from a small time arcade game to a multimillion dollar a year success. Pac-Man was and still is a huge success but it never has obtained the status and the money that Golden Tee Golf has. One of the biggest reasons for all of the success was the beginning of the International Tournament System (ITS) in 1995. The creation of this tournament system linked every single Golden Tee across the world through a simple telephone line. This brought together monthly tournaments where players would spend more money playing more games in the monthly tournament in order to increase their ranking. With the release of Golden Tee Fore! in 2000, the ITS grew even bigger with the monthly tournaments being divided by brackets. Gold was the cream of the crop, silver was in the middle and bronze was for those players just starting off. Fast forward to 2005 and the release of Golden Tee LIVE changed everything. Players now had their own players account. Player cards have been around since 2000, but now a player could check in (and pay for their game) with a credit card, their Golden Tee Player card or gift cards. Gone were the monthly tournaments, because now, every game played was its own tournament. Every time a player started a game for prizes, they would be placed in a fifty man tournament. First place through 20th would win some sort of money. First place would win $10 and 11 through 20 would win a dollar back. 21st through 50th also wins a virtual golf ball.

With the release of Golden Tee LIVE 2012 in September 2011, Incredible Technologies now has a world ranking system and anybody who has played at least one game gets ranked. According to Colabuono, “we have had over 63,000 players play at least one game of 2012 in the last month and a half. There are also almost 17,000 people who have actively played each of the five 2012 courses as well.” Even though there are over 60,000 Golden Tee players, only a decent amount can say that they have made a living from the game. Brian Bernhardt of Alexis, Illinois has been playing Golden Tee for over 10 years. “I started playing Golden Tee while working at a bowling alley in Iowa City, Iowa. The more that I kept playing the game, the better I got. 10 games turned to 20 games and it just grew from there.” When Bernhardt was asked about his earnings over the years, his answer was astonishing, “I would have to say that I have made between 80 and 100 thousand from Golden Tee. I work for an operator (of arcade games, including Golden Tee) that’s based in Iowa and the way I found that job was through playing Golden Tee. If I didn’t start playing Golden Tee 11 years ago, I don’t know what I would be doing with my life now.”

For a lot of players like Bernhardt, the main reason they keep playing the game is for the money, but that’s not the only reason. The competitiveness keeps the guys glued to these games as well. Andrew Haas from Ohio explains it best, “I'd be lying if I said I'd play as much as I do now if there was no monetary incentive, but I really do enjoy the competition aspect of the game, especially the live tournaments. “Andrew Haas is a name that is instantly recognizable in the Golden Tee community. Haas is constantly at the top of the leaderboards. He credits his love for the game of golf and the live Golden Tee tournaments as one of his reasons for getting so attached to the game. “I always have enjoyed golf, so that's what initially drew me to the game, but going to my first live tourney and seeing how good those guys really were made we want to get better. Combine that with seeing how much money you could make on the monthly tournaments (and now daily tournaments), and I was hooked.”
Golden Tee Golf is one of the biggest entertainment entities in the video game industry.

The game has garnered mainstream media attention year after year, even having the Golden Tee World Championships taped for the Golf Channel a few years ago. Some of the biggest names in sports also play Golden Tee, including Chicago Bears player Brian Urlacher. From 1995 until 2001, professional golfer Peter Jacobsen’s name was included in the games title and to this day he still supports the game and appears as an on screen commentator for Golden Tee LIVE. With media playing such a pivotal role in everyone’s life, Golden Tee can only continue to grow from here. As long as there is money to be made playing the game as well as the occasional sand trap or water hazard to throw off player’s scores, Golden Tee will continue to be a coin-op success.

Good Year For Crops

2011-11-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

By Kelsy Lewis

Farmers don’t have much to complain about this year. Gene Pool of Fulton County has been in the farming business for 38 years and explained that there were very few problems this year. Matt Frakes, a farmer of Warren County, also commented on the yield and price of locally farmed crops.

Pool farms beans and corn. Compared to last year, yield is up. Before harvesting this year Gene expected that the crops would be about the same as last year because it was mainly dry, but we also had a pretty wet spring. He referred to the fields as a “garden spot” for growing in these weather conditions. Corn yield is up about 30-45 bushels, from 135-150 bushels last year to 165-195 bushels this season. Beans were about the same as last year producing 55-70 bushels. This year corn is going for $6.25-$6.40/bushel and beans are going for about $12.00-$12.50/bushel for a Fulton County farmer.

Matt Frakes of Warren County farms corn, beans, oats, and alfalfa hay. Crop yield in Warren County tends to be a little higher than in Fulton County, getting about 231 bushels/acre, which is going for $6.40-$7.10/bushel. Beans are yielding 71 bushels/acre and selling at $12.97/bushel.

The two farmers agree that input costs tend to be the highest. The three main elements that go into crops are seed, fertilizer, equipment, and gas. Since farmers can trade in their equipment, it keeps cost lower. “Farmers incomes are effected considerably, but over the years losses and gains seem to average out. The farmer has the power to control what goes on.” According to Gene, “when the farmer has no money, the consumer has no money.”

Pool found that beans were a little too dry and corn had nearly perfect moisture levels. This year the expense of a dryer was cut out, which impacted input expenses substantially. The dryer is used to dry the corn to get the moisture level at 15% to sell and about 14% to store. This year, monitors were reading that corn was picked at about 22%-23% moisture. In order to store beans, they need to be at about 13%, but this year when cut, they were at about 9%. The difference in the moisture levels in corn and beans is that a dryer can only be used on corn. Beans have to dry from the air for the moisture level to drop.

Most of the crops sell for exports. Gene says most farmers around Fulton County go to Havana, IL where they sell to river terminal barges that take the corn and beans along the Illinois River and then is transported through St. Louis, eventually connecting to the Gulf. Another option is to sell to ethanol plants in Pekin and Peoria Illinois.

BLACKOUT

2011-10-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

By: Braunwyn Feil

The stands explode with cheering students sporting black t-shirts that read “Monmouth College Blackout.” While the fans continue cheering for their winning football team, they also continue to show their support for an important cause. As students walk by, their backs read, “Awareness, Understanding, and Respect.” This is the motto chosen to represent the cause, Easter Seals Disability Services. Hundreds of students attend the Blackout home game for football each year, and participate by buying a shirt for $10.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) gets the student body involved by selling the shirts as a way to raise money for Easter Seals. According to SAAC’s sponsor, Coach Bittner, 489 shirts were sold on campus this year. While students were eager to buy a shirt, many were unsure of what Easter Seals has to offer our community. According to the official Easter Seals website, “Easter Seals provides exceptional services, education, outreach, and advocacy so that people living with autism and other disabilities can live, learn, work, and play in our communities.” Over the past 90 years, 550 sites have been created throughout the United States, with services that include medical rehabilitation, children’s services, along with adult and senior services.

The Blackout originated in the fall of 2008 at Elmwood/Brimfield High School, with the idea that money should be raised for Easter Seals. The man behind the success is Todd Hollis, a coach for the Elmwood/Brimfield football team, that experienced Easter Seals through his daughter, who was receiving services at the time. Hollis explains, “Easter Seals represents a haven for families of children with disabilities… The kids are treated like rock stars when they go to Easter Seals.” The idea of the Blackout was born when Hollis took his football team on a tour of the facility where they became so moved by the experience that the players asked to raise more money. Hollis says, “That inspired me to grow our efforts the next year and the Blackout was the result of our brainstorming.” The Blackout consisted of selling t-shirts to all the high school students and the community, and hosting a Blackout football game. The fundraiser became an annual event that spread to surrounding schools, including Monmouth College. Participating in the Blackout is a great way to support a team and raise money for Easter Seals. Hollis says, “Over the four year history of the Blackout, we have had 30+ schools participate… with nearly 20,000 shirts in central Illinois.” The Blackout has been very successful and continues to grow each year, reaching more and more students who can help raise money for Easter Seals. Jess Bybee, a former Elmwood student, who now attends Monmouth, states, “It’s amazing to see something that started at my small high school reach the college level.

Buying a shirt was a small way to help the families of Easter Seals and support MC.” By buying a t-shirt, the students of Monmouth College are not only changing the lives of Easter Seals’ patients but also impacting their own lives. Hollis reminds us, “The message of the Blackout that they carry with them- the message of acceptance, respect, and understanding, can change their workplace, how they raise their children, and the environment that they live in.”

Students Say Not So Fast

2011-09-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

By Kevin Lindsay
For almost a year now the buzz among students at Monmouth College has been the proposal of a new academic calendar. Rumors started swirling last fall that the faculty senator was creating a committee to oversee this task. All of the tension between students and the faculty, and even between faculty members themselves grew to a T this month in a heated debate that spanned nearly three hours.

The faculty gathered to vote on a proposed calendar change to a 4-4 system. The 4-4 system would limit the classes that students had to take per semester to only 4 at a time with the possibility of 5, depending on the students major. The proposal failed with 48 faculty voting no and 47 faculty voting yes. When asked if he was disappointed about the failed vote, English Professor Mark Willhardt said “In one sense I am [disappointed with the vote] because, in my opinion, the changes proposed were actually minimal.” He further stated that “to eliminate the Human Societies rubric doesn’t mean those courses will cease being offered; to reduce the arts and sciences requirements doesn’t mean that the College fails to endorse the Arts, or the Sciences.”

When the Courier published an article covering the failed vote, student’s responded. In the middle of the heated discussion that some would call a faculty meeting, Political Science professor and faculty-senate member Farhat Haq believed that the faculty needed to stop postponing a calendar change. “I have been here for over 24 years and this is the most trustworthy administration I have seen thus far. It’s time to move forward and take the risk.” Many students who heard Haq’s words agreed. Junior Business major Steven Seers said “I agree with Farhat. We need to move on and take risks. We all took risks by coming to college and sometimes calculated risk equals what we need to make things for the better.” Senior Business major Joshua Williams shared some of the same views as Prof. Willhardt saying, “I think it was silly for the faculty to vote 4-4 down. From what most of the students know, it seems like it would lighten the workload for them a lot. Many people think that the students would party more instead of studying more, but others think with the school time managing better, that the students could and would probably do the same.”

Not everyone thinks that 4-4 would be easier. Junior Communications major Taylor Nania said “I understand what they're trying to accomplish with the 4-4 calendar, but I don't particularly agree with it because there are students on campus with multiple majors and multiple minors. Having the 4-4 plan doesn't allow students to take the amount of classes they want to achieve those majors and minors, therefore not letting them get the education they want.” Other students were not aware of the change at all, including incoming freshman and transfer students. David Hazlett, a sophomore transfer student told the newswire “I had no idea that there was even a proposed change until I read the Courier. You would think that the school would at least mention something to all of us considering the change will affect the future students the most.”

Junior Biochemistry and Chemistry major Jake Nysather had a lot to say about the proposed 4-4 change as well. “I believe the 4-4 system is a terrible idea for any students who are planning on going pre-professional or are planning on going into education. This [new system] will not prepare students as well as the system does right now. “ Nysather continued on with his praise for the proposal being voted down, “the new system would force students to stay an extra semester or year, which will drive students away and make the enrollment plummet. No one and their parents want to spend more money than they have to.” Whether the students agree or disagree with the proposed 4-4 scheduling plan, we won’t know anything about the next move until the next faculty-senate meeting on October 4th.

TEA PARTY RALLY

2011-09-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

By Ryan Bronaugh

“I’m here today to exercise my own 1st amendment rights to address the demonization of the Tea Party movement,” Associate Professor of Economics, Richard Johnston said as he opened the public speech he gave to a crowd of around 350 last Thursday at the 2nd Annual Tea Party Rally at the Lake Storey Lions shelter in Galesburg.

Professor Johnston took the stage following the Galesburg Area Tea Party President, Deb Marty’s welcome brief, which included a plea to respect the right to free speech by the evening’s speakers, the Pledge of Allegiance, singing of the National Anthem, opening prayer by Pastor Bob Malone, and Master of Ceremony speech by Knox County retired Judge Harry Bulkeley.

Chuckles and quiet applause could be heard as he warmed up the crowd saying, “If I sound like I am backing down at all, at the end of the speech give me an F. I have no intention of giving in to the political correctness that is like a metastasizing cancer throughout our society,” adding, “I will not remain silent because it might—quote, unquote—offend someone.”

The quiet applause turned to cheers when Johnston announced, “I am offended by the bankrupting ideology of out-of-control officials who demonstrate by their deeds that they have every intention of continuing to trample on our freedoms.”

Johnston’s first subject in addressing the demonization of the Tea Party movement he represented on Thursday, was the issue of racism. Many Tea Party members have grumbled over how, in their opinion, the Tea Party’s message is often presented as racist by news, and other media outlets. Johnston started by borrowing two quotes. The first came from the British American financial journalist, and one time editor for Forbes Magazine, Peter Brimelow, saying, “The modern definition of racist, is someone who is winning an argument with a liberal.” Johnston then lifted a t-shirt for the crowd to see and said, “the shirt reads as follows, ‘hate speech—any written or verbal communication that disagrees with the liberal-back-slash-socialist agenda or the policies of the Obama administration.’” Both quotes earned widespread applause from his audience.

Following quotes borrowed from Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, Johnston said, “look this up on the internet, as a candidate for President, Senator Obama said the high deficits under President Bush were unpatriotic. I would have used the word immoral to describe those deficits, but who am I to quibble with the choice of words of a man whose greatest attribute is his ability to make speeches.

“The Tea Partiests are accused of being terrorist. I’m sorry to say this, but we are guilty as charged,” said Johnston. “Why?” he asked rhetorically. “I have no doubt the thought of not spending money you do not have, of not dictating we must buy health insurance, and of having a real choice as to the schools we send our children to, terrorizes those who want to keep the government boot on the neck of those who want freedom,” Johnston said.

“We don’t hate teachers,” Johnston said, “we just recognize, as was pointed out by someone else, socialism doesn’t work anywhere else, why would we expect it to work in education?”

Addressing the motivation behind the Tea Party’s stance on abolishing the minimum wage, Johnston said, “the true minimum wage is zero. That’s exactly the amount the unemployed person receives when no potential employer values their work at $8.25 an hour, or whatever other arbitrary value is conjured up by economic illiterates.” He then quoted Milton Freeman speaking on the minimum wage law calling it, “the most anti-negro law on the books of this land,” Johnston then said, “he’s right.”

The race issue was reintroduced into the speech later when Professor Johnston said, “I’m tired of being called—quote, unquote—racist by members of a political party who allow people such as—quote, unquote—Reverend Jessey Jackson, and—quote, unquote—Reverend Al Sharpton, to be in Presidential debates. You know Reverend Jesse Jackson, when he’s not busy making babies out of wed-lock he’s saying very Reverend-like-things about President Obama such as, and I quote, ‘I wanna cut his nuts off.’” Laughter could be heard from several sections of the crowd.

Tying the issue of poverty with one of single parent homes Johnston said, “of course I am required to say that some women do a heroic job of successfully raising a child by themselves—yada yada,” after pointing to unspecified statistics Johnston said, “you want the best predictor of a child being poor, it’s being raised by a single parents.”

The Galesburg Area Tea Party announces their scheduled meetings, times and locations in Galesburg’s The Registered Mail.

TENGO GUSTO

2011-09-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

By Meg Grzenia

It’s mealtime and gallo pinto is being served in that corner, pot stickers are across the terrace, and the Irish lamb stew is right across from the beef empanadas. Of course, this is no ordinary luncheon. These and other delicious, ethnic foods were served last Saturday at Monmouth College’s 17th Annual Cultural Festival. The Brazilian-themed event was sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Life and Public Affairs Committee and included displays from the college’s international students and SOFIA (Summer Opportunities for Intellectual Activity) project members, as well as performances from a Brazilian dance company.

The SOFIA students began the festival with a bang as they sported towering headdresses and flashed samba moves choreographed with the help of Professor Diana Ruggiero, Associate Professor of Modern Foreign Languages. One of the projects assigned to the SOFIA students was to handcraft the headdresses which are part of the traditional Brazilian wear when samba dancing. Senior Ashley Lutz was excited about the project. “We practiced the dance about a million times and we’re really happy that we could share it with people today,” said Lutz.

Edilson Lima, a professional Brazilian dancer who also contributed to the creation of the SOFIA choreography, followed the students’ performance in a dazzling display of his own. Lima, who specializes in various indigenous-based dances, has been an established dance teacher in Chicago for 12 years. After his performances, the audience, persuaded by Lima’s incredible energy, was led in dances originating in Rio de Janeiro and the Amazon. Ten countries, including Brazil, were represented at the festival: Canada, Costa Rica, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands.

A great passion and wealth of information was shared by the intercultural students concerning their native countries, but they didn’t fail to mention how much they liked their new campus life, too. “My favorite class would have to be Introduction to Economics,” said senior Katie Murphy who hails from County Antrim, Ireland. “My professor definitely keeps the class entertaining.”
Monmouth College’s Director of Intercultural Life, Ruby Pentsil-Bukari, said that the turnout was noticeable compared to years past. “Many more students were engaged this year than in years before. Overall, [there was] great food and great participation from students, faculty, and community members. Thanks to Professor Ruggiero for her dance classes, the physical plant for setting up the equipment, and to God for great weather!”

College Curriculum Debate Continues

2011-09-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

By Meg Grzenia

Change may be the only certain thing in life, but Monmouth College’s latest faculty meeting proved that some change is dead without a fight. Nearly 100 faculty members met at the Stockdale Center Tuesday night to discuss and vote on the proposed calendar change for the college. The vote to pass the proposal was extremely close, with 47 faculty members in favor of the calendar change and 48 against it. According to The Courier, Monmouth College’s student-run newspaper, the proposal would have altered several aspects of the current curriculum beginning next year.

The introduction of a 4-4 schedule would see that students took only four courses each semester and that professors would teach only three courses. The proposal also demanded that the two science course requirements be lowered to one and the same would go for the two art course requirements. The human societies (i.e. history, religion, and sociology) requirement would be dropped altogether. What followed President Mauri Ditzler’s welcome address was a 2-hour dynamic dispute between opposing stances on the proposal. Farhart Haq, professor of political science and a member of the faculty senate, said that she believes substantial time was spent developing the motion over the summer. “We can reject the work that the summer group has done and the work that we have been talking about for a year and a half, or we can say we trust our fellow colleagues and administration,” said Haq. “I have been here for over 24 years and this is the most trustworthy administration I have seen thus far. It’s time to move forward and take the risk.”

Faculty members like Haq had hoped for the vote to pass, fervently considering the 4-4 schedule as a way to delve deeper into course material and enrich students’ learning experience. English professor Mark Willhardt was also among the proposal supporters and expressed that he valued the students’ right to choose.

Those who had misgivings about the proposal were anxious to speak as well. Kenneth McMillan, professor of economics, stated that his opposition began early on and wondered why the 4-4 proposal was the only solution offered if the faculty senate “truly wanted to improve the academic program.” He also voiced concerns for transfer and double-majoring students. “They’re going to have a harder and harder time meeting their degree requirements [if the proposal passes],” McMillan said.

An unexpected turn came at the beginning of the meeting when history professor Simon Cordery moved to postpone the vote until February 2012. “I feel that this should be revisited in a thorough fashion; we need to take a step back and say ‘is this really the structure that we want?’” Cordery said.

Despite the outcome of the vote, there is still hope for the 4-4 plan, or, at least a calendar change. Under President Ditzler’s request, the faculty senate remained after the meeting to discuss a modified proposal which will be announced to the entire faculty before surfacing at the next faculty meeting.

THE BEE WHISPERERS

2011-08-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

By Ryan Bronaugh

Two brave and dedicated Warren County residents have been whispering to bees. Not literally, perhaps, but nonetheless they have had their share of close and personal time with nature’s hardest worker. From bee rescues—taking bees from areas where they are not welcomed guests to a more formidable home, like the campus garden—to honey extraction, both had plenty of practice working with the, often misunderstood, pollinators.

Last weekend two Monmouth College professors, Craig Vivian and Marlo Belschner visited the hives in the campus garden to extract a little honey, as well as to check on how each of the five current hives were doing. Vivian pointed out that by this time next year, he would like to see ten additional hives in the same location. The Courier was on site to witness the process, and to ask many of the thousands of questions that come to mind when one watches someone intentionally interact with an insect that has the capability to cause painful stings, and even death if one is allergic to bee venom (Vivian pointed out that bees will often kill mice, and other intruders, by stinging them and then cooking them in a small bee-made furnace they produce by forming a swarm-ball around the body).

“If you’re going to keep bees, you need to have a smoker and a hive tool,” Vivian said. The hive tool looked very similar to a miniature pry bar, and was used in a similar manner as well. The bees produce a glue-like substance called propolis, which sticks the boards of the wooden hive together, as well as keeps the hive water and wind proof. The hive tool allows someone to lift the boards apart, cracking the propolis seal, and to lift the frames (panels the bees build the combs on, which can be removed in order to extract the honey without harming the bees or hives permanently) as well. The propolis also serves to keep all spaces which allow entrance to the hive to be no more than 3/16 of an inch; a space which bees can pass through but very few other creatures can. The bees collect tree sap and other products of nature inside their body in order to produce the propolis through their mouths.

The smoke is simply, smoke. Vivian used newspaper to stuff the smoker and get a small flame going, then, he later used dried leaves he collected off the ground to produce the smoke needed to calm the bees. The smoke makes the bees think there is fire, and in order to prepare for such a natural disaster they hunker down deep within the hive and feed on honey. Their bellies full, they then become slightly more lethargic and docile. Ready for handling.

As Vivian and Belschner began to dismantle the hive in a practiced and intentional manner, Vivian took the time to explain each process, why they did it, and what they were doing. Displaying a drone bee, he picked up one of the larger bees from the colony and rubbed it along his face to demonstrate the fact that drones have no stinger.

As the process carried along, it became easier and easier to relax around thousands of swarming, and crawling bees—protective equipment included a hat, and not much else. Two students, residents of the Garden House, wore nothing more than khaki shorts, not even shoes. Each hive presented new opportunities for Vivian to point out different characteristics of the bees and their hives. Some hives were much better prepared for the coming cold months, with masses of brood (the nurseries of the hives) surrounded by masses of honey.

Craig Vivian acknowledged that he does not like to handle the bees any more than absolutely necessary. Not because of any discomfort—Belschner said that she has seen him take as many as fourteen stings to the back of the neck without paying much attention to the attacks at all—but because he believes that the less they are messed with, the more docile they become; making them much easier to handle. The pair may take one more look inside the hives before the bitterest of winter hits, but they will not be extracting anymore honey. The campus hives are beneficial as teaching tools, as well as to give home to one of nature’s most stunning creatures.

TEXT ME NOT

2011-05-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

By Joe Testolin
In a recent survey of 1,043 college students at the University of New Hampshire, almost half said they feel guilty about texting during class when it's not allowed. Even so, texting is quite common: 65 percent said they send at least one text message during a typical class.

After reading this stunning survey Monmouth College's own journalism class decide to conduct a survey of their own to get professor's opinions on texting in their classrooms.

This survey required students to contact professors by phone using numbers selected at random. The survey offered 43 professors five possible solutions to state what their feelings were towards texting in their classrooms. Of those surveyed, 58 percent of professors said that texting wasn't a problem.

Of that 58 percent, a third of professors said they would not impose any restrictions on students texting in class. A quarter said that texting was not a problem in their class. While texting is not a problem for the majority of professors, 42 percent still saw it as an issue.

Of those that indicated that texting was a problem, 19 percent said they would permit students to leave electronic devices turned on, but require them to leave the classroom if they are seen texting, 16 percent would require students to turn off electronic devices when they enter a classroom, and 7 percent would permit students to leave electronic devices turned on but reduce a portion of their grade if they are found texting.

In another recent survey from the American Life Project found that 64% of teens with cell phones have texted in class; 25% have made or received a call during class time.

After being informed of the two surveys about the students texting in class, Monmouth College Professor Dr. Lee MaGaan found the results confusing of Monmouth's very own survey.

“If I was asked two years ago this question, I would say that texting wasn't a problem in the classroom.” said MaGaan. “But I feel that is a growing problem and I found it difficult to understand how most of the professors at the college didn't feel that there was a problem. Having a cell phone in the classroom causes problems when the students should be participating and listening in class discussions but are instead texting. This upsets the environment of the whole class and hurts the students. Those students who are eager to participate in discussions and the teachers who are teaching are being distracted by watching students’ send text messages and surfing the web on their phones.”

A Bright Alternatuve to Campus Drinking

2011-04-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

By Lissa Sexton

Empty beer cans linger by sidewalks, accompanied by bits of shattered glass. The bathrooms of dorms are littered with half wet paper towels, while the hallways are masked with the smell of stale booze, old pizza, and discarded case boxes. Urine can be found drying in many elevators, and the ground is spotted with vomit while on your walk to the cafeteria. Inside, restless and tired students---the ones that have managed to awake for Sunday brunch---either stand by the soda fountains chugging glass upon glass of water while waiting for their greasy, stomach settling omelet, or are laughing about all of the trouble they have caused the last two nights, last night’s hair and makeup still intact.

Although this is a common Sunday morning scene on colleges and universities across the entire country, why do students at Monmouth College feel as though they have to get belligerently intoxicated weekend after weekend? “It’s simple,” says junior communication major, Jamie Schingoethe. “There’s nothing else to do. I would rather be out with my friends after a stressful week rather than sitting in my room doing nothing on a Friday or Saturday night.”

However, according to several of the representatives from school sponsored activity groups, such as A.S.A.P. and S.O.D.A., there are numerous opportunities for students to participate in non-drinking events on campus throughout the course of the entire year. The Association for Student Activity Programming, better known as ASAP, is the main activity programming board on campus. This organization is staffed by students and is advised by the Stockdale Student Center staff, which holds bi-weekly After Hours events, and is also the campuses biggest student organization. Aside from the weekly events, they also show movies in the Dahl Chapel, bring musicians, guest speakers, and comedians to campus, and are also in charge of planning Family Weekend, Homecoming, Holiday Banquet, and Scots Day. “All in all, we typically have about a hundred students attend each event on average, said Danielle Tucker, who is in charge of the organization. Although the number may seem small compared to the 1,347 students who attend Monmouth College, Tucker also noted that, “We are actually pretty satisfied with the attendance number, as it has continually grown over the last few years.” According to Whitney Hagy, an Illinois College junior who is also the Travel Coordinator for their Student Activity Board, she says that, “The turnout for our events changes, but we typically get between one hundred to two hundred students at each one. For traveling, I can normally only take around forty-five students at a time.”

A founding member of S.O.D.A., Derek Keist, says that, “When we first started S.O.D.A., we wanted our events to aim towards people who don't drink alcohol and, as a result, don't usually go out and socialize on weekends. Since Derek Huff and I worked as Head Residents, we both knew residents who instead stayed in their room and played video games alone. Therefore, our events started off as just hooking up video games to attract that crowd and help them socialize with one another.” With a general average of forty to fifty people at each event, Keist added that, “As our popularity grew and we were able to get more support from the school, we decided to target other people besides gamers. This is when we started holding events in the Huff with the sports equipment and the pool.”

With movies, musicians, comedians, talent shows, and game nights in the Huff offered to students almost every weekend, it seems as though the lack of motivation or awareness of the events may be the most prevalent reason as to why students do not attend the activities. “We promote our activities through Facebook, posters, flyers, emails, and get general input from surveys,” says Tucker. Regardless, the students just don’t seem to be getting the message. “I normally don’t even know about the events until after they have passed,” said Schingoethe. “I don’t really pay much attention to the flyers that are hanging up, and are too busy to read through every email that I get.” Libby Willis, a junior attending Eastern Illinois University, says that while the school is significantly bigger, activities on campus are well publicized, which in turn increases attendance. “There are constantly flyers and posters being hung throughout campus and instead of sending out daily email reminders, every Thursday a mass email is sent to the entire school which highlights the week’s calendar and activities. It makes it a lot easier to have everything organized into one, because it’s easy for others to get deleted.” Willis added that, “I’m pretty sure that at least 90% of our undergraduate population is involved in a school sponsored organization.” Hagy, from Illinois College stated that, “Our S.A.B. is broken down into five subcommittees (travel, entertainment, music, dance, special events, and impact), and each committee must produce six events. We promote our activities and events through posters, flyers, campus announcements, promotional giveaways, Facebook events, calendars, etc. Because we are very well organized and have such a variety of events for students to go to and become involved with, even when our numbers are low, most all IC students attend several events throughout the course of the year.”

While the attendance rates may not change and the awareness of events can only grow, members of Monmouth College’s A.S.A.P. would like to make it clear to all students that anyone can join the organization group. According to their Facebook page, “Anyone can join ASAP! We welcome new members throughout the year! We meet every Thursday at 6:00pm in the Tartan Room of Stockdale Center. Each meeting is different but ultimately you get to help decide what should come to campus! The meetings are always fun and we love to reward our members. You never know what surprises we may have!” Tucker added that, “With the exception of executive board members, we usually only have about fifteen students at each weekly meeting, but we would like a bigger turnout.” The same open meeting policy also goes for most other organizations on campus, which in turn can get a more diverse opinion on the type of activities offered on campus, thus increasing involvement, participation, interest, and attendance. Therefore, for students who are currently on campus, they are advised that instead of drinking (or at least before downing their first beer), that they should take the time to check their emails and take notice of the flyers posted in all of the buildings. Furthermore, thinking about how much better they will feel on Sunday morning after laughing at a comedian in the Dahl, rather than avoiding piles of throw up and taking a Tylenol with their fourth cup of water should be a substantial queue to check out the student based activities.

SURVEY: IS TEXTING GETTING OUT OF HAND?

2011-04-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Zaubi

A recent survey done by the Pew Foundation indicated that daily text messaging among teens has increased from 38 percent of teens texting daily in 2008, to 54 percent in 2009. When a Visiting Professor of Communication Studies at Monmouth College read the survey results, he proposed a survey to see how texting was affecting classroom behavior.

According to Professor Joe Angotti “I decided to assign the survey because I kept hearing more complaints from colleagues that texting during a class was a growing problem.” Angotti told The Courier in an email. “Everyone seemed to have a different opinion regarding what to do about it.”

The survey was conducted by the journalism class at Monmouth College by phone using numbers selected at random from the college Redbook. The survey offered 43 professors five possible solutions to curbing texting in classes. Of those surveyed, the majority of professors, 58 percent, did not perceive texting to be a problem.

Of that 58 percent, a third of professors said they would not impose any restrictions on students texting in class. A quarter said that texting was not a problem in their class.

While texting is not a problem for the majority of professors, 42 percent still saw it as an issue.

Of those that indicated that texting was a problem, 19 percent said they would permit students to leave electronic devices turned on, but require them to leave the classroom if they are seen texting, 16 percent would require students to turn off electronic devices when they enter a classroom, and 7 percent would permit students to leave electronic devices turned on but reduce a portion of their grade if they are found texti

NEW FACE IN CITY HALL

2011-04-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

BY SARAH ZAUBI
Assistant News Editor

By the end of my interview with Monmouth’s new Director of Community Development Paul Schuytema, I was watching him explain a Sims-esque board game designed to help visualize the process of building and revitalizing a town. This may seem like an odd approach to revamping Monmouth, but for Schuytema it is just an extension of his diverse work background.

Schuytema graduated with an master’s of fine arts in science fiction writing, but held a variety of software-heavy jobs. After running student publications at Monmouth College and a game company in the city of Monmouth, Schuytema worked as the director of the office of creative software development with University of Illinois Extension.

“When I first moved to Monmouth after graduate school, I hated it,” Schuytema said, explaining the transition from software to government. “It was a small town and I was from Chicago. It took moving down to Dallas for three years, and trying to live in Dallas where everything is driving, with kids, to realize ‘Oh, I was wrong about Monmouth.’”

From that point Schuytema became a self-proclaimed “small town evangelist,” and made his way back to Monmouth to start a technology business. It was through the challenges of running a software company with limited small town resources (e.g. no infrastructure, no work forces, one dial-up phone connection) that he became interested in economic development in a small town.

“All along the last 10 or so years I’ve been working to evangelize Monmouth,” Schuytema explained, “because I love the small town, but also studying the challenges of running small businesses and being an entrepreneur in a small town. I’ve also been consulting with the Institute for Rural Affairs on small town economic development.”

All of this is to help revitalize the city of Monmouth, especially its downtown district. Schuytema seems optimistic about the outcome.

“I took pictures of all these buildings that people are like ‘oh this is so terrible, all the stuff that’s happening downtown,’” Schuytema said. “Then I go back through those pictures and say ‘that particular building, someone’s investing a quarter of a million dollars into, this one has architectural plans, this one’s purchased. There’s all the stuff going on that people don’t see all the time.”

Schuytema also hopes to start holding art festivals that will draw more people downtown, such as blues or art festivals. He emphasized that Monmouth has the foundation for a lot of great art and cultural events, events that are realistically within the city of Monmouth’s reach.

“Everybody is fighting for less and less resources,” he said. “The recession hit small towns last, and it’s toughest for us to get out of. So, we’re in a context that’s very challenging. The good news is Farmland’s put 50 million dollars in the plant in the last five years. They’re the biggest employer around. Look at the college. A few years ago made some changes to how it was going to recruit and grow and it’s really strong. And the fact that they’re going to build this building is a game changer.”

The connection between the health of the downtown area and Monmouth College was also a large focus for the new director.

“If you say that you put $800,000 in that building, put some really great lofts and apartments in it, some good businesses, it’ll maybe work out in the spreadsheets at $600,000. The tricky part is finding a way to fill that gap.”

What fills that gap can’t be loans, but according to Schuytema investments are the key. These could be investments from the city or even Monmouth College. If the college could invest hard cash, Schuytema explained, they could help close that gap and probably help steer some of the uses, such as studio space for art students.

For now, a wine store will be coming soon to the downtown area, as well as beautification projects and art and cultural events in the square, not to mention niche businesses.

“It’s a marathon not a sprint,” Schuytema cautioned.

Monmouth Alums in Japan Feel The Pain

2011-03-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

By Wesley Teal
When the earthquake struck, Yoshiaki Obara, a Monmouth alumnus was chatting with a colleague. At first, he was not overly concerned. After all, a fifth of the world’s major earthquakes happen in or near Japan.

“We are (so to speak) used to the earth shaking,” said Obara via email, but he soon realized the March 11 quake was much worse than normal.

With the ground quaking under his feet, Obara and his colleagues began to evacuate their building. As they made their way to the evacuation area, he narrowly missed being hit by siding falling from the building.

The March 11 quake registered a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale and left much of northern Japan in shambles. According to UPI reports, 9,080 people have died as a result of the quake and ensuing tsunami. Another 13,561 are missing. In addition, 270,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes.

The CEO of Tamagawa Academy and University in Tokyo, Japan, Obara was spared the worst of the destruction. Tokyo was 231 miles from the epicenter of the quake.

In central Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered serious damage during the earthquake and tsunami, resulting in the release of radioactive material On March 12, the Japanese government ordered the evacuation of all those living within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of the plant. Radiation from the plant has also contaminated parts of the Japanese food supply.

“The nuclear accident has turned out to be a good occasion for us to realize how much we have depended on electric power and unless we cut down our level of living standard we keep depending on nuclear power,” said Obara. “We have to realize that it means a departure from US style [of] life, mass-production, mass-consumption style economy,” said Obara.

Quake reaches Monmouth

As repeated aftershocks continue to shake Japan, some Monmouth students are doing their parts to aid relief efforts.

When Yohei Yasukawa, a computer science major from Japan, heard about the disaster he began to contact his friends and family back home. After finding out his family and friends were OK, Yasukawa wanted to do something to help the people of Japan.

“What can I do with my specialty in computer science?” Yasukawa asked.

With some friends, Yasukawa began to develop an app for Android-based phones and iPhones. The app is known as “Whistle on Android” and simply “Whistle” on the iPhone.

“It’s an alarm for signaling S.O.S. in order to notify people around that there’s a person who needed help,” he said.

Yasukawa’s app has been downloaded over 10,000 times since it was posted on the Android platform on March 12, but is still waiting to be approved by Apple before it is added to the iPhone app store.

Others have turned to fundraising. Over the past two weeks, International Club has been raising money by giving away painted Japanese characters and dorm storming. The proceeds they receive will go to the American Red Cross Japan fund in Galesburg to aid relief efforts.

For the club’s three Japanese members, their efforts are especially important.

“We can’t do anything for Japan except for this,” said Ryo Tsumura.

Club president Scott Haynes said the response from students and faculty had been strong. In their first two days of fundraising, Haynes said the group had raised about $500. As of Tuesday, March 23, the group had raised over $930.

College Newspaper Reveals Privacy Violations

2011-03-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

By Andrew Drea
Junior Jackie Deskovich spent the past semester abroad in Thessaloniki, Greece. While she walked the streets of the city and focused on her studies, private information including her social security number and Monmouth transcripts were available on the Monmouth network for any incoming or current student or faculty member to view.

Due to a wrongfully clicked security option on a directory on the school’s public folders system, anyone with a Monmouth College email address could log in to see any study abroad applicant’s entire application instead of a preselected list that was created but not activated. The applications included professor recommendations, transcripts, grade point averages, home addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers. All applicants who had applied to go off campus from 2008 to those applying for next year were open for public consumption, including those who were denied the chance to go.

“It was an honest error,” said Vice President for Student Life Jacquelyn Condon. “It was believed that only certain people had access to this and that it was not available to just anybody who wanted to look at it. We feel terrible about it.”

The problem was brought to the attention of the Office of Student Affairs on Monday after an investigation by the the staff of the Monmouth College newspaper The Courier. Applications for Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 were promptly deleted but the majority of applications from years past were still available. Those documents were closed to student access by Tuesday night and apology emails were sent out to affected students on Wednesday. However some, like Deskovich, are upset with the entire issue.

“That’s not really OK,” Deskovich said. “I would not like that on the internet. The fact that my social is on there is not OK. There’s no academic reason to have my social security anywhere on your website. None. Transcripts, that’s an academic thing that nobody can steal my identity from.”

While applications for off campus study often require a social security number on the cover sheet of the application, Monmouth College’s official transcripts only list the last four digits of a social security number, questioning the need for such an important number to be required for an application.

“I don’t trust anybody at this school enough to give them my social security number,” said Deskovich. “I don’t care; look at my grades. You’re my professors, you can see my grades but the only other people that ought to know my social security number are my parents. Other than that, no one needs to know that unless I’m filling out an application or something.”

An underlying issue is a violation of FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Students are protected from having their documents released to anyone other than faculty and staff. Students must even sign a form to allow parental access to files.

“Only people with legitimate educational interests should have access to information that’s in a student’s file,” said Condon. “And a file is either the paper or the electronic.”

Condon explained that legally, a school that violates FERPA could be fined through the withholding of federal financial aid. Normally, schools are alerted to FERPA violations by the Department of Education and are only fined if no action is taken to correct the violation, so Monmouth College will not be fined or even required to report the offense to the federal government. In addition, legal action cannot be brought against individuals at a school.

“This is not something that someone has done maliciously,” said Condon. “This is clearly an error.”

Monmouth Track Dominance Continues

2011-02-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

By Dan Nolan
College Sports Information

MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Monmouth College men and women chalked up their 12th and 10th Midwest Conference indoor track championships, respectively, in dominating fashion at the meet held in Grinnell, Iowa.

The Fighting Scots had a combined 17 first place finishes for the men and women and set four school records. The women outdistanced the field by more than 120 points while the men were 89 points ahead of the pack. Roger Haynes was named the MWC’s men’s and women’s Coach of the Year and six Monmouth athletes were named the meet’s Outstanding Performers. Seniors Saidu Sesay (track), Peyton Lumzy (field) and Michael Blodgett (field) were the men’s winners while Mary Kate Beyer (track), Jae Moore (track) and Allison Devor (field) were the women’s representatives.

Beyer claimed two individual titles and a relay crown in her final indoor conference meet. The senior broke her own school record to win the 5,000-meters in 17:44.07. She led a Scots’ 1-2 finish in the 3,000, running a 10:19.17 to finish 13 seconds ahead of Rachel Bowden. Beyer also ran a leg on the winning distance medley relay. Marlee Lane, Kenzie Payton and Brittney Frazier joined Beyer to break the tape in 12:51.15.

Bowden was the bridesmaid three times in the championships. In addition to a second in the 3K, the sophomore took second in the 800 run with a school record time of 2:18.70. She clocked a personal-best in the mile, but was two-tenths off the pace to place second. Aron Jackson and Alyssa Edwards helped Bowden with points in the 800, finishing sixth and eighth. Edwards also picked up a seventh-place finish in the mile.

The Scots women dominated the throws where Devor led the charge. Monmouth filled the podium in the weight throw when Devor threw a school record and improved her provisional throw with a winning mark of 56’4-1/2”. Raven Robinson unleashed a personal best to take second, just ahead of Amanda Streeter. The trio nearly duplicated the feat in the shot put. Devor won with a throw of 43’7-1/4”, two feet ahead of runner up Streeter. Robinson took fourth.

Moore picked up two wins. The senior sprinted to a win in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.50. Kimarri Campbell placed third and Alexa Allen was fifth in the 55 dash. Moore ran the leadoff leg of the winning 4x400 relay on the final day. Moore, Morgan Leffel, Whitney Didier and Kaci Lierman clocked a 4:05.48 for the win.

Didier and Morgan Ryan were 1-2 in the pole vault where Leffel placed sixth. Didier cleared 11’7-3/4” for the title. Mackinsey Marquith, Bailey Jackson and Leffel took solid points in the long jump, finishing 2-3-4. Marquith improved her provisional mark with a jump of 18’0-1/4”.

Jackson turned in a personal-best to place second in the triple jump, just ahead of Marquith. Leffel finished fifth. Four high jumpers including Chelsea Widdop and Emily Tysma tied for second after clearing 4’11-1/2”. Widdop was awarded second and Tysma was fifth.

The women took advantage of their depth to bunch points in the running events. Moore and Allen were 2-3 in the 200 dash and Payton scored in sixth. In the 55-meter hurdles, Allen ran an improved provisional and personal-best time of 8.35 to take second and Ryan was fifth. Lierman and Didier each ran career-bests in the 400 meters. Lierman finished second, less than three seconds out of first. Didier took fourth and Leffel was sixth.

The sprint medley relay team turned in a school record. Payton, Leffel, Lierman and Didier clocked a 4:18.47 and finished third.

Sesay was the big winner for the men, claiming one relay and two individual titles. The senior’s career-best 6.51 in the 55 dash made him the champion by more 12-hundredths. Kainte Green sprinted to a third-place finish in the race.

Monmouth’s men nearly claimed the entire podium in the 200 where Sesay ran a 22.43 to earn his second crown. Green was just nine-hundredths back to place second and Logan Hohl was fourth.

SPRING BREAK ADVISORY

2011-02-23T21:27:00.000-08:00

By Jacob Willis

Spring is in the air and College students across the country have one thing in mind: Spring Break! In less than two weeks campus dorms will be closing and students will be free to do as they please for over a week. Whether it is finding a beach on the coast, hitting the slopes, or even just taking a load off at home. Spring Break is a time for students to take a vacation from the stress of school and let loose. However, it is no secret that the freedom of spring break can lead to some dangerous situations. Here are just a few tips to keep you safe and feeling good this spring break.

Workouts: If you are not already doing it START! You want to be looking your best before you hit the beach or the sun, so the more time spent in the gym the better.

Save Big Money!: Its always better to have more than enough rather than not enough when heading on vacation.

*TIP- Students going on spring break should look to save about $500-$1000 to bring along. Don’t forget you have to save for food, drinks, alcohol, night clubs, etc. for every day you are on spring break. Most night clubs and bars will have a special deal for the week so make sure you do your research to save the most of your money.

Pack Wisely: just because it is spring break does not always mean the weather will feel like it. From experience last year, Panama City Beach can still be pretty brisk at the beginning of March. Temperatures may only touch 70 degrees on some days, which is not necessarily a no shoes, no shirt, no problem type day. Make sure you throw in a long sleeve T-shirt and maybe a couple hoodies just in case the weather is not the best.

Contact Person/ I.C.E: Make sure whoever you are traveling with including yourself, informs someone of your daily itinerary so someone knows where and what your are doing at all times. Check in with your contact daily and let him or her know if your travel plans change.

Watch your cash: Do not carry large amounts of cash with you. Anything can happen at any given point, and it could really put a damper on the trip to loose all of your cash at one time. Try and keep whatever you will not need of your cash locked up or hidden back at the hotel. This includes credit cards, debit cards, and any other forms of cash.

Alcohol: Know the law: Inform yourself and others of the drinking laws within the state you are traveling before you go. Find out beforehand what will happen if you violate these laws. In most cases forms of identification and A LOT of cash will be needed, so be smart. Otherwise, your trip may be ending earlier than planned.

Ride the bus: Drunk driving is nothing to play with while on break. Police will be using this time period to catch as many people as possible who fall into this category. Find out what public transportation is available around you. In most places they will offer public transportation for free. While out at night it is smart to put the number of a taxi service in your wallet of purse.

Protect your friends: If you see a friend that is non-responsive, make sure to lay them on their side to prevent choking on spit or vomit. Don’t take a risk, call someone immediately. Better safe than sorry.
Make a plan: Figure out how much alcohol you will be consuming at the beginning of the day. Make sure you incorporate a bottle of water into your plan after at least every 3 drinks. Also make it a plan to watch your drink. Stalkers are lurking everywhere on spring break, looking for that perfect opportunity when you set your drink down.

Safe sex: If you choose to have sex over break use protection every time. Condoms are easy to stash in a wallet or purse and will do the deed to prevent pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases.Keep Sex Sober: Having sex under the influence can bring up some potential risk you would rather not deal with. Even if you think there is consent, having sex under the influence can be considered sexual assault in some cases.

Choose Wisely: It is very easy to make friends on spring break. But be sure to really get to know the person before trusting them. It is hard to tell where someone has been let alone who they have been with just by talking to them.

These tips could be life savers while on your stress free vacations, so make note. Be smart, be safe, and most importantly be responsible this spring break.

THE BATTLE FOR EGYPT

2011-02-04T01:57:00.000-08:00

An Interview with Professor Petra Y. Kuppinger

Petra Kuppinger is an Associate Processor in the Department of Sociology/Anthropology at Monmouth College. Since coming to Monmouth in 2000, Kuppinger has published eight professional articles. Most of her work stems from dissertation research in Cairo, Egypt, where she spent years doing fieldwork. In 2009 she presented a related paper about female leadership in Muslim communities at Oxford University. She is now on sabbatical in Stuttgart, Germany conducting research in German Islam, which she hopes to turn into a book.

Professor Kuppinger was interviewed by the Warren County Newswire and Monmouth College Courier via email on
February 3.

Courier: Were you surprised by the anti-Mubarak demonstrations, or could you see them coming?

Before the uprising happened in Tunisia earlier in January few, including myself, would have foreseen the current events in Cairo. When the protesters in Tunis were successful and ousted their dictator in a matter of days, it was clear that people in other Arab countries and here in particular the vast ranks of the younger generation were watching these events very carefully. They took and compared notes. At that point it became increasingly clear that Tunisia could become a model.

Courier: What do you think of the response by the Obama administration?

The Obama administration (and here I would also include the major European leaders, since I am in Europe at present) were too slow and hesitant to take clear sides with the peaceful demonstrators in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities. Of course, the situation is tricky as US and European administrations had been backing Mubarak and his regime for three decades. They had been pleased to have a staunch ally in him who reliable took their side in various Middle Easter and global conflicts, and in the “War on Terrorism.” That Mubarak did this often at the expense of his people and certainly as the expense of democracy did not so much concern Western governments. Thus the situation was difficult for Obama, Sarkozy, Merkel and others as they had to find the appropriate moment to drop their former ally and switch sides. They soon realized they had to switch sides as otherwise years of lecturing the Arab World about democracy would sound even more hypocritical than it had always sounded to the Arab masses.

In addition Western leaders were/are struggling with irrational fears of all things Islamic which is one reason why they supported Mubarak, Ben Ali and Co. for so long, as these dictators promised to keep the “Islamist” threat in check. How many of this was a useful hype remains to been explored in the future. As Western leaders debated when and how to drop Mubarak their most urgent concern was/is: what role with Islamic forces and here in particular the Muslim Brotherhood play in the future of Egypt. This fear, I think, led them to hold on to Mubarak and disregard the people of Egypt for much too long.

Courier: What kind of government is likely to evolve from this movement? Do you see any legitimate leaders emerging from the demonstrations?

The people in the streets of Egypt and in particular the core of courageous demonstrators who hold their positions on Cairo’s central Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) are a broad cross-section of the population. It is a grass root movement in the truest sense of the word. They fight FOR Egypt and they fight FOR a better future. How exactly this will unfold is yet unclear. All these people know is that they have been treated like immature children for decades and they will no longer put up with this political system. They have seen their political leadership and economic elites amass huge fortunes and keep an utterly corrupt system in place for decades.

Mohammed Al-Baradei or Ayman Nour (local liberal opposition leader) could take positions of interim leadership until a reasonable political system has been established and the constitution changed accordingly. Details will have to be negotiated along the way. I think one of the amazing features of this protest is that it is a project in the making. No political group has set up a scheme or master plan for these events. It is the people, and here very much the electronically linked younger generation who are driving this movement. There are no ideological slogans or banners.

Courier: What are the chances that the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood could form a government that would be acceptable to the people?

The role of the Muslim Brotherhood is interesting and at the same time secondary in these protests. The Brotherhood was as surprised as anybody else by the recent events. That’s why it took them so long to issue statements and get onboard. The Brotherhood has in the meantime joined the protest, not as a leading force, but as participants. If one is familiar with the Egyptian political scenery, it is interesting to note that demonstrator do not use Islamic symbols or slogans to claim ownership of the events for Islamic groups (note that all demonstrators wear westerns style clothes, they wave Egyptian national flags, nobody carries Islamic banners like the old Brotherhood slogan “Islam is the solution”).
In the Western hype about Islamists the Muslim Brotherhood who denounced violence a long time ago has been demonized for too long. While militant Islamist groups exist, they are increasingly marginal. The Brotherhood is certainly not one of them. Over the past two decades, in particular, the Brotherhood has turned into a political force not unlike various European Christian Democratic parties. The Brotherhood is also thoroughly pro-capitalists (as it includes numerous wealthy business people) which in part explains its initial hesitance to support the protest as they also fear the anger of Egypt’s disenfranchised masses.
The Brotherhood could be a likely partner in a larger political coalition of parties. They are the only larger organized opposition group (even though they were/are illegal). If the Brotherhood plays a role similar to the AKP, the current ruling party in Turkey of Prime Minister Erdoğan, they could play a rather positive role in the struggle to fight corruption and make Egypt into a more democratic country.

Courier: What are the chances that a new government might produce Iran style Islamic rulers?

Egypt is not Iran and 2011 is not 1979. When Ayatollah Khomeini took power in Iran in 1979 he triggered hopes for similar regime changes in many Muslim countries. Islamist political movements mushroomed in the 1980s. As the movements (see for example in Turkey, but also the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt) watched the situation unfold, they realized fairly quickly that the Iranian model did not produce the type of society they had hoped for, or even wished to live in. One after the other these movements corrected their agendas and designed new ways and models. They ushered in a period of “Post-Islamism” in particular in the Middle East and among European Muslims. The term “Post-Islamism” (termed and elaborated in particular by the sociologist Asef Bayat) denotes new/revised movements with drastically reworked agendas. These groups, parties and movement search to develop ways to produce a democratic system that includes Islamic groups and agendas. Again Turkey is the best example – and indeed is carefully watched in the Arab world for that matter. Egyptians today can see the example of Iran and Turkey and there can be little doubt that Turkey is the more attractive and successful one for the masses in the street.

Courier: What is your reaction to the pro-Mubarak forces that attacked demonstrators yesterday? The Western press has described them as "goon squads" hired and paid by Mubarak. Do you agree?

There can be no doubt that the Pro-Mubarak demonstrators are predominantly paid thugs and plain clothes police men. They are brought to Tahrir Square to push the demonstrators of the square. It is not surprising that they came in on Wednesday after Mubarak announced, what he and his political buddies thought was a great compromise, that he would not run again for the elections in September. This announcement added insult to injury for the demonstrators and once more testifies to just how far removed from the masses the Egyptian leadership is. Mubarak and his buddies seemed to have seriously thought that this announcement would send the millions home happily, and their own predicament would be over. As this, of course, did not happen they took out their time-honored tool box of violent repression to deal with their opponents. So they brought in their thugs. Since then the regime has shown its ugly and repressive face once more in full.

In the meanwhile numerous journalists (Arab and Western alike) have been beaten and their cameras taken away. Numerous international TV crews who all have office in the building close to the Egyptian TV had to leave that building as the thugs were attacking in particular the office of Al-Arabiya, one of the well-respected Arab Gulf networks. The German public TV crew, for example, reported that they had to move to a nearby hotel (not a bad deal, a five star high rise hotel with an excellent view onto the square). The very latest report (Thursday early afternoon, Cairo time), however said that bookings in these local hotels would not be renewed. This is one more sign that the government is involved here. Who else could tell an international hotel chain (in this case the Hilton Hotels) how to handle their bookings?

Personal Note
I am in total awe at the courage and dedication of the Egyptian people. They have my utmost respect. I wish them success and hope they establish the kind of democratic system they wish for and deserve!

THE AGONY OF RAISING TAXES

2011-02-04T00:49:00.000-08:00

By
Britta Nichols

On January 12, the Illinois House passed a massive income-tax increase to help the state dig out of a $13 billion deficit. The question now is whether the tax hike will help or hurt the Illinois economy. According to Ken McMillan, Professor of Political Economy and Commerce at Monmouth College, the state faced a dilemma. “There was a major crisis in the state of Illinois, and the state had two options: to reduce spending or to increase taxes.” In the short term, most state officials say Illinois had no choice but to increase taxes which will allow the State to decrease some outstanding debt and pay this year’s bills. But will the tax increase hurt the state economy in the long run?

In addition to an increase in individual income-tax rates from 3% to 5%, there was a corresponding corporate tax rate increase from 4.8% to 7%. McMillan, a former State Senator, says it’s the corporate tax hike that will hurt the state in the long run. “Illinois’ corporate tax is the highest in the country. As of now, Illinois is a much less attractive place to live in.” Companies look at the facts and see that corporate income taxes are now higher than surrounding states; so many companies may choose to go elsewhere.

To many college students, the tax hike may not seem relevant, but when reality sets in after college, graduates will see the effect of the income tax on their paychecks . Less money in a paycheck means less money spent on extra activities that could boost the troubled economy in this country, and especially Illinois. And if Illinois corporations decide to leave the state, it will mean fewer jobs for college graduates to fill.

TOP OF THE HEAP FOR SCOTS TRACK

2011-02-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

By Dan Nolan
Just days after the Monmouth College track team was ranked among the nation’s best by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the Scots men and women are rated in the nation’s top four when it comes to dual meet competition.

The USTFCCCA compared teams based on a dual meet setting and the Monmouth women garnered 118.31 points. That’s enough to be third in the dual meet rankings, just 12 points out of the top spot. Monmouth’s men scored 128.72 points to rank fourth, less than 11 points out of second. The top four men’s teams are all in Monmouth’s region.

The USTFCCCA uses a formula based on Division II automatic qualifying standards. An athlete’s top performance for the season is calculated into points for head-to-head team competition. The virtual meet is then scored as a regular meet to determine each team’s dual meet power ranking.

BUDGET CRISIS HITS HOME FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

2011-01-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

By Michelle Bruce
This semester, students who were eligible for the Monetary Award Program saw a painful decrease in their funding. For the spring semester, students suffered a 5% decrease in funding that is used to pay tuition and other college expanses.

The MAP Grant gives grants to Illinois residents who attend approved colleges in the state and who show financial need. Eligibility is shown based on information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or as we know it, FAFSA.

Monmouth College students received an email from Jayne Schreck, the College Financial Aid Director, saying that the reduction reported at the beginning of the semester was an estimate, and will be finalized at the end of the semester. .
For the last couple of years, the funds for the MAP Grant have been diminishing at a rapid pace. To be eligible to receive the MAP Grant for this coming year, applicants have to file FAFSA as soon as possible. Schreck adds, “The deadline is an unknown moving target which will occur when the state’s funds are depleted.”

Last year, the budget for the MAP grant was cut in half, losing around $200 million, and 130,000 eligible students were denied funding because the program ran out of money. For the 2010-2011 school year, a projected 22,000 students did not receive money.

Like many students, Megan Lehrer is afraid of losing the MAP Grant, “If I don’t get the MAP Grant next year, I don’t even know if I will be able to come back for my senior year.”

. This huge reduction means fewer students will be eligible for the MAP Grant and those who are eligible will receive less money. The Financial Aid Department is stressing the importance of filing FAFSA as soon as possible. While FAFSA requires completed tax returns, Schreck suggest students file with estimated numbers because “it is more important that it is filed early/before the deadline.” Students can always re-access FAFSA and change tax information.

NEW TWISTS AT VITA

2011-01-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

By Charlie Jo DeMay

The Monmouth College Vita program has discovered new and improved ways to provide the community with its important service. Continuing its twelve-year tradition, the program is again giving free low-income tax service to Monmouth residents. This year, however, there will be the added attraction of a Spanish-speaking interpreter to assist Hispanics in tax preparation.

John White, the intercultural outreach coordinator with the University of Illinois Extension contacted VITA program coordinator, Judy Peterson, and offered to assist with free translation. VITA will also be having another important addition to the program. At each location there will be a member of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to assist families with FAFSA preparation. “Income taxes are a huge part of filing for FAFSA, so we are excited to have them here to help out,” said Peterson.

The first session starts February 2nd and will kick off the tax preparation at three different locations: the Warren County Public Library; the Galesburg Public Library; and at Monmouth College in the lower level Wallace Hall. The Spanish interpreter will be available at the public library location.

Judy Peterson and co-coordinator Patrick Montgomery have continued make VITA prosper for the students participating in the program as well as the patrons they serve.
Student program coordinator Kylie Near has been involved in the VITA program for two years now. “I did VITA for the first time last year and really had a blast doing it,” Near said. “Not only did I get 2 credit hours that I could use towards graduation, but also I can use my experience to put on my resume. I learned how to interact with the public and how to accomplish filing low-income taxes.”

Local resident Sandra Simpson has been utilizing the free tax service since it started. “I can’t afford to hire a private accountant to file all my taxes, so when I first found out about this program I was thrilled,” Simpson said. For more information about where you can get VITA tax preparation service go to the Monmouth College website at www.monmouthcollege.edu

ROSEVILLE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL OPENS

2011-01-25T22:36:00.000-08:00

By Michell Nutting
When Roseville Elementary closed its doors in 2010, residents of Roseville wanted another option for an elementary education in town. Roseville Community Christian School located within the Living Light Tabernacle Church, has opened and is in full swing for the 2010-2011 school year.

Teacher Karyn Beavers and her four students, Mea Blunt, Timothy Pence, April Rogers and Jessilyn Wainman are making sure that RCCS operates like a traditional school.
“We try to run our school like a normal school. Our kids get here at 8 o’clock, we run on the Monmouth-Roseville Junior High schedule because our kids can use those buses to get here. We come in in the morning; we usually open with prayer, we do our morning activities and the kids get started on their individual school work,” said Beavers.

The four students range from second to fourth grade which sometimes is a challenge for Beavers. “It’s a lot of preparation. You have to be prepared and you have to know what you are doing. They are all doing very well, and definitely with the small class size they get a lot of one on one attention.”

Beavers also says that although this is a private school her students are still involved with other activities, like girl scouts.

With the building of the old elementary school being turned over to the Village of Roseville, Beavers is not sure whether they will be able to occupy the vacant building or not. However, Beavers is optimistic about enrollment for next year. RCCS plans on having a few open house events for people to come visit their school. If you would like further information you can call the school at 309-426-1787.

BACK ON TRACK

2011-01-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Lawrence University at Monmouth College, Monmouth, Ill.

Monmouth 75
Lawrence 39

Monmouth jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back in a 75-39 win over Lawrence. Colleen Forrest buried eight three-pointers to break the school record for threes in a game with Tina Forth. The Fighting Scots’ defense held the Vikings to 13 first half points and 25 percent shooting for the game. Monmouth used 15 players in the game to post the home win, a night after suffering their first home loss in a year. Forrest led all scorers with 24 points as she connected on 8-of-15 treys.

A NEW TRADITION CONTINUES

2011-01-11T15:25:00.000-08:00

By Dan Nolan

MONMOUTH, Ill. – Monmouth area youth will get a little extra when they attend the Monmouth College basketball games against Lawrence University on Jan. 15.

For the second consecutive year, the Fighting Scots basketball teams, as part of the NCAA’s Take a Kid to the Game (TAKG) initiative, are encouraging adults to bring children ages 14 and under to Saturday’s contests at Glennie Gym. The women’s game tips off at 2 p.m., with the men’s action to follow.

Admission is free and fans 14 and under will have the opportunity to win prizes and to participate in a variety of halftime activities. Monmouth’s mascot, Big Red, is also scheduled to be in attendance and available to have his picture taken with fans of all ages.

“This is a great way to introduce kids to the college game and experience college basketball in person,” said Scots’ women’s coach Melissa Bittner. “You miss so much of the atmosphere of college ball if you just sit at home and watch it on TV. Our hope is that by coming to the game, kids will become interested in athletics and become more physically active and healthier. You’ll want to get there early, while we still have plenty of prizes.”

Members of Monmouth’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be assisting in the giveaways and activities. Last year, more than 30 youth participated in the effort.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our college community and the Monmouth community to make a connection,” said Bittner. “We do numerous community activities throughout the year, but this is specifically designed to benefit Monmouth’s youth.”

NEW RECORD FOR MONMOUTH WOMEN

2010-12-29T13:31:00.000-08:00

BY Dan Nolan

Monmouth set the women’s school record for consecutive home victories, notching their 11th straight with a 62-48 win over Trine University. The Fighting Scots roared to a 17-point first half lead on Claire McGuire’s three-pointer with 6:19 left, but the Thunder wouldn’t give in, cutting the deficit to eight just three minutes later.

Monmouth’s first half surge was keyed by Colleen Forrest’s 13 points on five-of-seven shooting. The Scots regained a 12-point edge, 30-18, at halftime and kept that margin for most of the second half. Forrest finished with 21 points and Zipporah Williams added 10. Haley Jones cleaned the glass for the Scots, pulling down 10 of their 37 rebounds.

HOME BURGLARIES IN MONMOUTH

2010-12-12T07:42:00.000-08:00

By Nate Neighbour

Contrary to persistent rumors of an increase in residential burglaries in Monmouth, there has actually been a decrease since last year.

Through October of this year there were 21 residential burglaries reported to police. For all of last year 49 residential burglaries were reported. On average there were approximately four residential break-ins per month in 2009. So far this year, that number is down to an average of around two break-ins per month.

Crime statistics in Monmouth are – by statute - part of the public record and should be made available to anyone upon request. Gathering information on 2009 crime statistics for this story, however, required filing a Freedom of Information Act form. Police officials offered no explanation on why that was necessary.

SHEPHERD SHINES AS ALL STAR

2010-12-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

By Dan Nolan

MONMOUTH, Ill. – Monmouth College wide receiver Matt Shepherd (Leesburg, Fla./Leesburg) made the most of his opportunities at last Friday’s D3 Football Senior Classic in Salem, Va.

Playing for the North squad, Shepherd saw plenty of action as a receiver and returner in the game that featured the nation’s top Division III seniors. While no official stats were kept, the Fighting Scot made some big plays, hauling in nearly 80 yards worth of receptions.

No reception was bigger than Shepherd’s catch on a crucial fourth-and-six late in the game with his team trailing 18-17. His 41-yard catch in double coverage kept the North’s drive alive and set up his team’s winning 34-yard field goal with six seconds left. A special teams turnover returned for a TD on the ensuing kickoff gave the North an extra six points for the final 26-18 score. Shepherd’s late catch was icing on the cake for the Fighting Scot senior, who also returned a kick 50 yards and hauled in a 25-yard pass in the first half. He also got the chance to run from the line of scrimmage on a reverse.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life,” said Shepherd of the all-star game. “I’ve never seen a group of people care so much about Division III. All the players and coaches were amazing. It was a great way to end my college career. I was just happy to be able to represent Monmouth College, our team and the conference one more time on the field.”

LATE BASKETBALL SCORES

2010-12-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

By Dan Nolan
WOMEN’S BASLETBALL

Illinois College 59
Monmouth College 73

Monmouth led from start to finish in a 73-59 win over Illinois College. The Scots used a smothering defense to force the Lady Blues into 23 turnovers – 15 by steals. Illinois College got in a hole early thanks to Monmouth’s 10-0 run to open the game. IC then fell behind by 19 with 3:21 left in the first half on Haley Jones’ bucket. Monmouth kept the pressure on in the second half and led by as many as 22 when Zipporah Williams went coast-to-coast after a steal and layup. Jones finished with 23 points, Justine Boone chipped in 13 and Williams added 10.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Illinois College 82
Monmouth College 69

Monmouth couldn’t come back from two Illinois College runs in an 82-69 loss to the Blueboys. The Scots took a brief lead late in the first half when David Johnson’s bucket gave Monmouth a 36-35 lead. IC answered with a 12-3 run to close the half and retake the lead. The Scots never led after intermission, but trimmed the deficit to five, 69-64 on Curtis Oler’s three-point with 7:21 to go. That sparked a 13-4 Blueboy run that iced the game. Corey Gruber paced Monmouth with 16 points, Bryce Donaldson added 14.

Election 2010: Looking Back and Ahead

2010-12-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

By Ryan Bronaugh

A bleak economy fueled the fires of political change in the 2010 elections, and will continue to do so in the upcoming primaries of 2011. That was the unanimous opinion of a distinguished panel of journalists and political strategists who convened in Monmouth recently as part of the Midwest Matters Initiative sponsored by Monmouth College.

According to all four members of the panel, which included Mike Glover- political reporter for the Associated Press, Steve Grubbs-political strategist for the Republican Party, Rick Pearson-political reporter for the Chicago Tribune, and David Wilhelm-political strategist for the Democratic Party, the massive Republican sweep of the 2010 elections, as well as the Tea Party phenomenon, was driven primarily by a poor U.S. economy, and unless that economy begins to show signs of improvement, we will most likely see a similar sweep in the 2012 elections.

Moderated by adjunct political science professor Robin Johnson, the panel discussed the results of the 2010 elections, voter turnout, strategies used by both parties to gain voter favor, and many of the hot topics affecting the political climate, such as, health care, immigration, and the economy. Unlike other recent elections, the War on Terror, which consumed $660.4 billion in 2010 in military spending alone, was apparently not a hot issue in this last election, and was not discussed.

Most panelists agreed that there will be some gridlock in Congress as a result of the elections, however, the view on the measure of the congestion varied from one panelist to the next. While Mike Glover of the Associated Press felt strongly that Congress will do little between now and the elections of 2012 due to a Republican effort to stalemate Democratic favor among voters, Steve Grubbs stated that if Congress manages to sign off on the budget, than “they’ve done the only job that’s really expected of them, and they have to come up with a budget.”

On health care, the panel appeared split. Glover, and Wilhelm, thought the bill will move along through Congress, and some agreement will be made and a bill passed. According to Glover, health care is “too much of a heart felt issue,” and no one wants to be held responsible for Americans not being able to receive proper medical care. Pearson, and Grubbs, both stated that the Republicans would send a response bill, but it will be symbolic and, “nothing much will come of it.”
While the details fluctuated among panelists, the general thought on immigration was that it will most likely not go anywhere. Grubbs said a bill will move through Republicans, but nothing as extreme as what we saw in Arizona will likely be repeated.

As for the future economy, all opinions looked grim. Pearson predicted a very slow reduction in unemployment over the next two years, a result he said of, “poor state budgets, no more support checks will be coming in from Washington,” and “municipalities are reeling even more.” He went on to say that, “voters want to see outs; blood on the floor, but no one wants it to be them—their programs on the chopping block.”

Wilhelm pointed out that a recent poll showed that, of the voters who said Wall Street was to blame for the poor economy, 60/40 voted Republican. He added that government “doesn’t have much impact on economic growth, especially in the short term.” Glover agreed that there isn’t much government can do for the economy, and Grubbs cautioned Monmouth College graduates to seek practical skills after college, skills that will help them land good paying jobs.

Prior to questions taken from the audience, Johnson asked all four panelists whether the Tea Party phenomenon is as strong in the Midwest as it is in other parts of the country and why. There was no disagreement that it was in this election, and that it was a direct response to angst over the poor economy. “People are freaked out, and the Tea Party was a funnel,” Wilhelm said. Pearson said he thought the party “will never get as organized as a true third party,” but will continue to play a role as long as the poor economy is a factor. Grubbs agreed and added, “It’s important to understand where the motivation is coming from. The largest capitalist country on earth is asking the largest communist country on earth to loan it more money. Americans are seeing that this is not the America they grew up in.”

Panel moderator Robin Johnson closed the discussion by announcing that The Midwest Matters Initiative will continue to hold events, such as this week’s panel. He said our goal is to “not only educate its students about important Midwest issues, but to be a part of the solution, as well.”

New Records at Monmouth College

2010-11-19T16:57:00.001-08:00

By Kelsey Beshears

Hard work paid off for Fighting Scots women this week as two school records were shattered in two different sports.

In swimming, the 400-yard medley relay time was broken on Saturday when Annie Higdon, Krysta Sparks, Rachel Holm and Erica McAloon cruised to a 4:18.16 time, bettering the old Monmouth College pool record by nearly two full seconds. Higdon, Holm and McAloon added Rachel Buckham in the 400 freestyle relay to pick up another first in 3:58.65.

“We didn't know what the pool record was going into the relay so breaking it was really exciting. It's great to know that we can still break records while being sore and tired from practices. I do believe we can break more records. I wouldn't expect anything less from our team,” said junior captain, Rachel Holm.
Another record was set when volleyball coach Kerri Shimmin became the winningist coach in Fighting Scots history. Shimmin guided the Scots to a 6-2 league record and the first conference title since back-to-back crowns in 1981 and ’82. The Scots, who had just two seniors on the roster and started two freshmen, reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2007.

“I was surprised to hear Coach Kurt tell us that we broke this record to be honest I wasn;t even sure what the record was before this. I feel proud of our relay team and I definitely think that after a taper we can break it again and that is the goal that I have set for this group,” said sophmore, Erica McAloon.

The women’s and men’s team each placed third at the invitational. Competing against; Loras College, Lake Forest College, Knox College, Illinois College, Eureka College, and Milikin University. With the women falling short of just forty points by second place; Loras College and short seventy-eight points to Lake Forest College. The mens team lost to Lake Forest College and Loras College also.

Another record was set when volleyball coach Kerri Shimmin became the most winning coach in Fighting Scots history. Shimmin guided the Scots to a 6-2 league record and the first conference title since back-to-back crowns in 1981 and ’82. The Scots, who had just two seniors on the roster and started two freshmen, reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2007.

Horror of Horrors

2010-11-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

By Ryan Bronaugh

Alex J. Kane, a junior English major at Monmouth College, has a scary story to tell. And editor Bill Tucker of the Library of Horror Press is willing to pay for it! Kane recently sold a short story titled “The Darkling Door” to Tucker, which will be printed in the anthology, titled Made You Flinch: Horror Stories to Unnerve, Disturb, and Freak You Out. The anthology, and Alex’s story, will be available at Amazon.com, selected bookstores, and horror conventions as early as Christmas 2010.

While “The Darkling Door” sets a small milestone in the author’s career, it is actually the second story of Kane’s to be published. When Bill Tucker bought the first story of his to be sold, Alex set out to write another specifically for the Made You Flinch anthology. His efforts paid off. Within six days of submitting “The Darkling Door” he received a contract to sell the short story. Commenting on the success of the story Alex told The Warren County Newswire this week, “I definitely feel like it’s a great place to start, although there are still plenty of goals I’ve set for myself that are a long way off. I certainly have no objection to getting paid for doing what I love more than anything, and the small-press horror industry has a massive readership.”
Alex gives credit to his education; he has taken four creative writing classes since high school, including Advanced Creative Writing at Monmouth College with Professor Bruce. On his major influences Alex said, “I think reading Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, was the single most intense push I’ve received toward taking writing seriously, but also there are certain aspects of life—College, age maturity, disillusionments of various kinds, heartbreaks, et cetera—that sort of drive you to the point of ‘do-or-die.’”

Success is often born from failure, and Alex is no stranger to disappointment in his writing. He has been writing for several years and said, “Over the past year, I’ve written seventeen finished short stories, some of which have been submitted and rejected over a dozen times.” He also had advice for other writers still trying to reach that goal of being published, “I can tell you that there’s really no secret. You simply have to read, write, and observe everything with a writer’s eye. The more you write, the better you get; simple as that. Those who find success as writers, I’m told, are the ones who simply never give up. Write, submit, and repeat. It’s really that easy. You just can’t get discouraged.”

Considering his approach to writing specifically for a targeted publication, Kane says that this is his second time of attempting such a tactic. He told the Warren County Newswire, “the first instance is ‘A Son of Nibiru,’” which fits into the science fiction genre rather than horror, unlike “The Darkling Door.” He said, “still haven’t received notification of how I fared the first time around.”
“The education I’ve received at Monmouth College,” Kane said, “has broadened the scope of my understanding about the world, as well as given me a deeper appreciation for the more formal components of literature.” For those wanting to read Alex’s story, read other stories and musings by Alex, or simply keep track of his writing career, he maintains a website, www.alexjkane.com. “I will definitely be keeping folks informed about when and where my work becomes available [on the website],” he said.

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD

2010-10-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

FOOTBALL

OVERTIME VICTORY FOR FIGHTING SCOTS
By Monmouth College Sports Information

Monmouth made the most of their second chance and posted a 16-13 come-from-behind overtime win over Carroll, knocking the Pioneers out of a share of first place in the Midwest Conference.

Trailing 13-0 with 9:59 remaining in the game, the Scots staged the second fourth quarter rally in two weeks, this time forcing overtime. Michael Davis hauled in a Brik Wedekind pass for a 27-yard gain to the Carroll one yard line. Trey Yocum capped off the 69-yard drive with a one-yard TD plunge to trim it to 13-7 with 6:40 left. Monmouth got the ball back near midfield with 48 seconds remaining with no timeouts left as Wedekind hit four different receivers, ending with a five yard toss to Davis to tie the game at 13 with 14 seconds to go. After the extra point kick was missed, the Scots kicked long and held Carroll to force the extra period.

The Scots’ defense bent, but did not break in the extra session and gave the Scots a chance when Carroll’s 23-yard field goal sailed left. Monmouth kept the ball on the ground on their possession, moving to the Carroll five. Matt Batton then atoned for the missed extra point, hitting the winning 22-yard field goal in overtime. The Pioneers dominated the Time of Possession, holding the ball for more than 40 minutes and outgaining the Scots 345-266. Rod Ojong led Monmouth’s defense with 15 tackles. Peyton Lumzy added 12.

CROSS COUNTRY
By Monmouth Sports Information

MONMOUTH, Ill. – Paced by two school records, the Monmouth College women’s and men’s cross country teams placed second and fourth, respectively, at the Midwest Conference Championships held Saturday at Gibson Woods Golf Course.

Monmouth’s women tied the school record with five all-conference runners as senior Mary Kate Beyer picked up her fourth all-league honor. Beyer also set the Monmouth record for a conference championship time with a 21:53.05 over the 6K course to place second.

Three sophomores and a freshman also achieved all-conference status. Sophomore Rachel Bowden earned her second all-league honor in as many years, running a 23:13.00 to place fifth and classmate Aron Jackson took 12th with a 23:36.79. Freshman Alyssa Edwards was just 10 seconds back in 14th position after running a 23:46.61. Tori Beaty – another sophomore – was Monmouth’s final all-conference runner in 18th place after touring the course in 23:54.22.

On the men’s side, senior Geoff Bird and junior Jon Welty each earned all-conference status for the second time in as many years. Bird’s second-place time of 25:27.86 was a Fighting Scots’ record for the 8K Midwest Conference Championships. He was just three seconds behind the winner, Alexander Reich of Grinnell. Welty clocked a 26:29.05 to place 18th.

VOLLEYBALL

Univ. of Chicago 3, Monmouth College 2

Monmouth College 3, North Park University 1

Monmouth College 3, Anderson College 2

Illinois Wesleyan 3, Monmouth College 0

NEWSWIRE LANDS CAMPUS INTERVIEW WITH CONGRESSMAN HARE

2010-10-29T01:58:00.000-07:00

By Ryan Bronaugh

Congressman Phil Hare, Democratic Representative of Illinois’ 17th district, visited the Monmouth College campus this week for a one-on-one interview with the Warren County News wire. Taking time out from a hectic schedule nearing the close of a “toss up” election campaign, Hare discussed the future of Illinois’ district structuring, negative campaign ads, and his efforts to get students and young adults out and voting in this November’s election.

With tight elections come slanderous, often demonizing, campaign ads and this year’s election campaigns have been no exception. All over the country, media in all its forms have been utilized to reach out to voters in the attempts to scare or depress voters, and the election for the seat in the 17th district of Illinois has been no exception. Phil Hare’s first response to the question of why his, and Schilling’s, campaign has chosen to run negative ads was to address that, while this election is the worst he has personally encountered, he has heard from other representatives in other states, that it could be a lot worse. He did add; however, “I’ve been around this business for thirty years, and this is as bad as I’ve seen it.”

Hare first addressed the April 1st campaign ad which featured the Congressman’s statements on The Constitution. He said the statement was taken out of context, and that he was addressing the person, who had just knocked a woman out of her seat in an attempt to get into the congressman’s face and badgering him and the crowd, and not the question on what he thought of the constitution; which he avers he had answered already several times. After he made the statement that, “I don’t worry about the constitution on this,” (speaking of the proposed healthcare reform) and the camera man’s reply of a snickered, “jackpot!” he knew that he had been bullied into a trap, and “the entire thing was an ugly scene.”

Hare maintains that he knows where his financial support comes from, and that his ads are not negative, but designed to bring facts to the surface, and will always be directed to the issues and never designed to harm [Schilling], or his family. He also said that negative campaign ads “are designed to depress voter turnout,” and that the real down fall of them is the message they send to people wanting to get into “this business” when they do are not directed solely at the issues at hand. Hare said that under democracy it is legal to accept help from third party donors and not report it, but the problem with it is, “it promotes the idea that anyone can come in and purchase a seat.” Hare added that people who do these types of acts do not always understand the consequences of their actions.

Hare’s message to Monmouth College students was in regards to financing school. He said he believes that investing in the education of the youth always has a good return investment. He began with by bringing attention to the fact that the party has recently given the Pell Grant its largest raise ever, and that by cutting out the “middle man” they have freed up billions to go into the federal student loan program.

If he is reelected Congressman Hare plans to introduce a bill that will wipe out the debt and interest owed in student loans for students who work for five years in areas of high priority in their given fields. “This is not limited to teaching,” he said. The bill, which Hare said his office is in the middle of scoring right now, would allow students to work in their fields of interests based on a community demand. “Rather than leave the state of Illinois to pursue work elsewhere based on pay, or to take a job in desperation because they know they have student loans to pay off, they will be allowed to work to doing what they like and to free themselves of debt.” He pointed out that the bill will also allow businesses’ to pass cost on.
This Tuesday will mark another election filled with high angst and the possibility of many changes in Washington, and Illinois’ 17th district will be a part of it. Concerning the election campaign Phil Hare said, “As angry as I am, and I am angry, I have nothing bad to say about [Schilling’s] family, or him. I’m here to help you do whatever you want to do, not tell you what to do.”

Green Party Candidate

2010-10-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

LOVE YOUR BODY

2010-10-25T04:24:00.000-07:00

By Courtney Gosney

This month Monmouth College is celebrating vaginas! In recognition of Fine Arts Month and National Love Your Body Day, a number of events were scheduled to promote women’s issues and awareness. The first event was to end fat talk and promote a healthier body image among women. “Fat Talk Free Week” is aimed at raising consciousness about the dangers of fat talk and the impact it has on women’s overall self-esteem and confidence. This event coincided with “National Love Your Body Day” that was celebrated Wednesday. Many women around campus wore “Love Your Body” t-shirts to support the cause.

To wrap up the week, the theatre department presented the Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. The participants of the production are also carrying out a number of “Happenings”, different displays around campus to gain awareness for the production, including, among other acts, chalking the sidewalks of campus with different vagina terminology. The show includes a series of monologues that analyze issues that affect women all over the world. They cover a range of topics including: relationships, sex, motherhood, menstruation, sisterhood, development of personal identity and women’s empowerment.

The show brings particular attention to the shocking rate of domestic violence committed against women each year. Co-Producer, Lorena Johnson-Miles, said she hopes the monologues “…bring light to the women’s rights issues that are still very prevalent in our society today and encourages women on campus and in the community to make a stand for change

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD

2010-10-25T04:03:00.000-07:00

FOOTBALL
Beloit 34
Monmouth 27

VOLLEYBALL
Iowa Wesleyan 3
Monmouth 1

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Monmouth placed first of ten teams at Illinois College.

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Monmouth placed first of eight teams at Illinois College.

WOMEN'S SOCCER
Monmouth tied Lawrence 1-1, lost 1-0 to St. Norbert

NO ORDINARY CANNON

2010-10-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

BEHIND THE BIG BANG
By Kelsey Beshears

The Monmouth College cannon that is shot off every homecoming game was a class gift given to the school by the Class of 1903. According to Jeff Rankin, Director of Communications for Monmouth College, there was a big rivalry between the class of 1903 and 1904. Some members of the Class of 1904 were apparently so discouraged and envious of the great gift given by the previous class, that several members stole the cannon and dumped it into Cedar Creek. Their first plan was to take it to Oquawka and dump it in the Mississippi River but it got stuck in the mud when they were trying to load it into the wagon.

In the senior yearbook, a “wanted” poster appeared, offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the thieves. This was not just an idle threat. The cannon was federal property, and the theft was considered a felony. During the summer of 1904 a grand jury was convened to look into the matter. Most of the alleged perpetrators, as well as some of the young women of the class, were questioned, but all kept silent and the state’s attorney eventually dropped the case. But according to Rankin “The senior class would never forget the outrage”

During the first summer it was in the creek, the cannon partially surfaced and came into plain site, but one of the students of the class of 1904 buried it with rocks. On their commencement day, members of the class of ‘04 went to the creek, dug up the cannon, dug a trench, and buried it 30 feet away from where it previously located.
The rivalry of the two classes was never-ending. On the 25th anniversary of the class of 1903, students of 1904 hoped to dig out the cannon and to present it to the class as a goodwill gesture, but the plan never took place.
“Garrett Thiessen, the legendary Monmouth chemistry professor, became obsessed with locating the cannon and led some unsuccessful search parties near the Cedar Creek Bridge, said Rankin. Finally, on October 9, 1952, Thiessen was able to enlist the aid of Illinois Power Company, which sent an employee along on the search with an electronic device used to locate gas pipes. At 5 p.m., after working 2-1/2 hours, Eugene Painter of the power company was downstream with the metal detector, away from where the college party was searching, and located the cannon barrel sticking 6 inches out of the creek bed under several inches of water. According to Rankin, they were able to drag the barrel to a small island and from there they attached a cable from a wrecker truck on the bank.”

The cannon was then displayed outside Thiessens office so it wouldn’t be stolen again. Rankin goes on to explain that “Finally, during commencement weekend of 1954, on the 50th anniversary of the graduation of the Class of 1904, a ceremony was held in which former student Wallace Barnes apologized for the theft and symbolically turned the cannon back to the surviving members of 1903. Today, some 148 years since its manufacture, 106 years since its theft and 56 years since being officially returned to the class that donated it, the cannon continues to be a fascinating piece of Monmouth College lore. Little did the Class of 1903 realize when they dreamed up the idea for their class gift that it would be the most memorable class gift in the college’s history.

ELECTION FERVOR HITS HOME

2010-10-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

A Candidate Speaks to Monmouth College
By Ryan Bronaugh

According to most polls, the Illinois 17th Congressional District, which includes Monmouth, is one of many “toss up” districts that the Democrats could lose in this year’s congressional elections.

The Warren County Newswire conducted a one-on- one interview with the Republican candidate Bobby Schilling this week. Schilling is running to replace Democratic Representative Phil Hare who stepped in as the Representative in 2006 after his long time predecessor and mentor Lane Evans, chose to retire. Hare was then elected into the House in November of 2008. According to his website Bobby Schilling, the owner of the small pizza store St. Giuseppe’s Heavenly Pizza in Moline, IL, was inspired by the 2008 presidential election and began considering to run for the House soon after. His endorsements include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney. His website says his support is built at the “grassroots level,” and adds that approximately one-third of his campaign volunteers are registered Democrats.

One issue discussed during our interview with Schilling was the future of the 17th District in regards to its current geographical layout. The District, which was designed to include Democratic strongholds, stretches from the northern area of Sterling, through Moline, as far south as the East ST. Louis suburbs and back north into Springfield, includes Galesburg, Monmouth, and Macomb without covering Peoria, Beardstown, or Jacksonville. Illinois will undergo redistricting in 2011, as is custom for states following a census. Bobby Schilling stated that the redistricting, “has not been discussed,” at this point, but that he believes Iowa’s Congressional map should be used as an example for Illinois. Schilling stated that the unfortunate side to redistricting is that it “allows the politician to choose the voter opposed to the voter choosing the politician.” Illinois will most likely lose a District in 2011, when asked if this is a concern for him Schilling replied, “no matter what happens it seems it will benefit us.” As far as who is primarily to blame for the shape of Illinois’ Districts—Schilling claims, “both parties are to blame.”

We asked Schilling why his campaign, as well as his opponent’s, has chosen to run negative campaign adds rather than adds that focus only on his accomplishments. Schilling said, “Its unfortunate, [positive campaign adds] was the direction we started in. [Hare] comes in with lies and deceit and we must respond by hitting him on his voting record.” Schilling added, “[Hare] has voted 99% of the time with Nancy Pelosi. Why pay someone from our District who is not representing the voice of Western Illinois? We don’t align with Washington elitists.”
Schilling said he has made efforts to reach out to young and minority voters. “I’m not really sure what other Republican campaigns are doing, but we have tried to bring people to our rallies by hosting local popular bands, and by just getting out and speaking to people,” Schilling stated. He claims that he has seen a positive response from minority voters who have approached him on many occasions thanking him for not leaving certain rural areas out of chosen rally locations. “They say that I am a man from under the hills,” referring to an upper-class area of Rock Island where Schilling is from, “but I want to send the message that I am running for all Illinoisans.”

Congressman Hare has so far declined an interview with the Warren County Newswire.

HOMECOMING VICTORY

2010-10-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

SCOTS HANG ON TO EARLY LEAD
By Kenneth Collins

(MONMOUTH) The Monmouth college football team roughed out a win against the Foresters of Lake Forest, defeating them by a score of 27-10 in front of an ecstatic crowd for a perfect ending to homecoming weekend. Senior wide receiver Matthew Shepherd and freshmen running back Trey Yocum led the way for the fighting Scots by scoring 2 touchdowns each as the Scots now improved to (4-3) and keep their chances going towards winning conference.

The fighting scots came out firing as they scored 4 touchdowns in the first half, which 3 of those touchdowns came in the 2nd quarter as freshmen quarterback Brik Wedekind hooked up with Shepherd twice in less than 1:30. On the defensive side of the ball Junior linebacker Cory Bishop led the team with 10 tackles, Junior line backer Adam Hoste had a fantastic day recording 9 tackles and an interception and Junior Defensive back Erick Weber recorded 2 interceptions. Senior Defensive back Fletcher Morgan also had a big game recording 8 tackles and coming up clutch with big plays at the right moments. “We played a very solid first half” said Senior Captain and starting defensive end Trevor Newton. “We told ourselves before the game that in order to win conference we need to win out the rest of games, and our guys just came out ready to play and it definitely showed in the first half.

The second half of the ball game was then a different story as the Fighting scots werent able to put any more points on the board and GAVE up 10 points. With 9:10 left in the game Lake Forest Kicker Tim Gruzwalski booted a 26 yard field goal to put the score to 27-10 which would end up to be the final score. Monmouth punted the ball away 5 times in the second half struggling to find any type of steady rhythm for both sides of the ball. “The second half was a poor reputation of how football showed be played by us and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we wish would of played a lot better on both sides of the ball” said Newton. Although Monmouth wasn’t able to play as well as they would have liked they were still able to have a +5 turnover ratio to finish the game. “We didn’t end the game that we would have liked to end it but we came out with the victory and that’s all that matters. We now have to put our focus towards next weekend and get ready to for another big game against Beloit.” The Fighting Scots will travel to Beloit, Wisconsin next weekend, Saturday, October 23 at 1pm to face Beloit College

DOWNTOWN MONMOUTH GETS A LIFT

2010-10-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

Monmouth Bakery To Open On Main Street
By Joe Florio

(MONMOUTH) A $30,000 loan has been given to a new business in the city of Monmouth’s downtown district. The new business is a bakery that is being financed with a loan from the city’s revolving fund. It will be located at 200 E. Main, across the street from the Bijou Pub. The downtown coffee shop that had been in that location closed last month, joining a number of other stores in the downtown district have closed their doors in recent years. The loan was officially approved by the City Council this week following a presentation by Eric Hansen, Monmouth’s administrator.

“The revolving fund loan is separate from the downtown development grant”, said Hanson. The loan provides low interest loans to small businesses” The revolving fund loan has been in the cities possession for ten years and is a city wide loan so it’s not confined to the downtown area.“The owner of the business applied for the loan and she took advantage of it” commented Hanson. “The city has concerns for vacancies”

When asked if there was any help from the college in rebuilding Monmouth Hanson commented that the downtown development grant and the revolving fund loan are not related to the college but the college is a key driver in renovations to the city of Monmouth. The latest proof of the Colleges revival help is the Alpha Xi Delta women’s fraternity house being built on the corner of Broadway and S. 8th St. Both the city and the college are actively involved in reviving the city of Monmouth.

WEEKEND SCOREB OARD

2010-10-03T11:47:00.001-07:00

FOOTBALL
St. Norbert 48
Monmouth 2

VOLLEYBALL
Monmouth 3
Lake Forest 1

Kalamazoo 3
Monmouth 0

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Carroll 4
Monmouth 1

MEN’S SOCCER
Carroll 2
Monmouth 1

THEATRE REVIEW

2010-10-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

The Learned Ladies
By Joe Testolin

An outstanding cast made Moliere's "The Learned Ladies" an evening of fun and entertainment at Wells Theater this weekend. The Monmouth College Crimson Masque preformed this 17th century French classic to enthusiastic audiences. This 2010 take on Molière's 17th-century play The Learned Ladies was a smart and sharp rendition of the classic and flowed as breezily as music.

This version of The Learned Ladies was translated into English verse by Richard Wilbur and was directed by Janeve West. The entire work is performed in rhymed couplets, yet the rhyme doesn't intrude. In fact, it is so subtle that it would be possible to hear the entire play without being certain that is was rhymed. But still the flow and pacing of the play are enriched by its presence.

Moliere's play concerns a middle class Frenchman, Chrysale (played by Nick Dadds), who has a wife and two daughters. His wife (Ariel Guerrero), his sister (Ivy Bekker), and his older daughter (Emily Frazer) have fallen under the spell of a charlatan named Trissotin (Mike Carioto), who plans to use their money to build his academy for women. Trissotin also aspires to marry the younger daughter and thereby acquire a lovely and rich wife. Henriette (Mary Bohlander), the younger daughter, has her own marriage plans. She loves the poor but handsome Clitandre (Austin Wearsch), who earlier courted her sister without success. The central conflict of the play concerns the husband's sponsorship of one candidate for bridegroom while the wife supports the other.

This rendition of The Learned Ladies by Moliere provided a comical and insightful way to describe “how we show our knowledge” as stated by director Janeve West. This play is set in the year 1672, so it includes a lot of older English which is hard to understand for our time, but the way it is used allows the language of the play to flow and almost have a rhyme to each verse.

NEW DYNAMIC FOR TOWN/COLLEGE RELATIONS

2010-09-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

[Editors Note: The following article was published exclusively in the Monmouth College Courier on September 24th. In the article, the President of Monmouth College, Mauri Ditzler, foresees a new and “dynamic interaction” between the city of Monmouth and Monmouth College. The Warren County Newswire will be following important developments in this process with a series of special reports over the next weeks and months.]

Town/Gown Poll Results
By Adam Kinigson

From April 7-8 2010, Monmouth College conducted aN unprecedented citywide survey in which 300 Monmouth citizens were polled in order to get a better understanding of the town’s attitude toward the college.

“Part of ensuring you have a good relationship with your neighbor is to find out what they think about you,” said President Mauri Ditzler. “The first couple of questions asked whether or not the public thought the college was on the upswing or going downhill.”

According to the poll, 84.7 percent of the people surveyed believe the college is improving, while only one percent felt it was declining. Also, 79.7 percent of the people believe the college is an important asset to the community.
On top of generating income for the town, the college has also helped create new jobs. In fact, according to the poll, from 1993 to 2004 the college added 487 new students which created 76 new jobs.

“You can imagine people saying that as the college gets larger, the more problems arise,” said Ditzler. “It’s a great endorsement of our students that we increased in size and people still remain positive.”

However, not everyone is in favor of the college expanding. According to the survey, in order to expand its student population, Monmouth College would have to purchase additional land within Monmouth city limits in order to build additional student housing. Since Monmouth College is a non-profit organization it does not pay property taxes, which means expansion would take properties off the tax rolls.
46.7 percent felt that this was the biggest disadvantage the college had on the community.

“Every time the college buys a house people will say, ‘there goes another 5,000 dollars in property tax,’ but we say that the town is growing and the money goes back into the college,” said Ditzler. “The school is one of the town’s greatest employers. People like the idea of more jobs.”

A combined 44.7 percent of the people believe that the greatest impact Monmouth College provides the citizens is the overall economic impact on the town and the 250 full time and part-time jobs the college supplies.

“I hope that over the next 10 years there will be a dynamic interaction between the town and college,” said Ditzler. “It’s not about competing with the town, but rather working together with it. You can’t make improvements if you don’t know what to fix.”
Thanks to the poll, the college now has a better understanding of the town’s outlook toward it and how relations between the two can improve for the future.

“I’d like people in Monmouth to say this is a great place to live and Monmouth College contributes to that,” said Ditzler. “I also want people to say that the college is great school to attend because it’s in a great town.”

ARCHER GOES BOTH WAYS

2010-09-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

New Traffic Patterns
By Joe Testolin

MONMOUTH — City officials voted unanimously this week to pass an ordinance to make the 500 block of W. Archer a two-way street City Administrator Eric Hanson said he spoke with Monmouth-Roseville School District Superintendent Paul Woehlke who gave him the green light to move forward and make the one-way street a two-way street to minimize traffic congestion around the empty school.

Hanson also reported that work on the water supply for the south side of town would begin within 10 days with an expected completion date of December. 1. He said contractors would use a bore method rather than using open cuts in an effort to lessen disruption for the residents in that area
.
In other action, City officials honored Monmouth Fire Chief Jim Conrad. The Council recognized the retiring fire chief for his years of service to the city. Local 1702 presented Conard with a mounted "Chief's Axe" and Mayor Rod Davies presented Conard with a commemorative plaque. Both presentations were met with a standing ovation from Council members and visitors.

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD

2010-09-20T06:44:00.000-07:00

FOOTBALL
Monmouth 30
Lawrence 25

WOMEN'S SOCCER
Monmouth 0
Greenville 0\
(double overtime)

MEN'S SOCCER
Greenville 3
Monmouth 1

VOLLEYBALL
Lincoln Christian 3
Monmouth 0

Monmouth 3
Robert Morris 1

Monmouth 3
Coe 1

WOMEN'S TENNIS
Lake Forest 9
Monmouth 0

From Coorain to Monmouth

2010-09-19T09:19:00.000-07:00

A Required Text Comes to Life
By: Arica R. Brazil

“The Road From Coorain.” has been required reading for freshman students at Monmouth College for the past two years. The book can be seen around campus sticking out of book bags of students or in the hands of others cramming to read the sage green paperback.

The book came to life on campus this week in the form of its author, Jill Ker Conway, who appeared at a college convocation. The writer stood in comfortable confidence in front of college faculty and students dawning a light blue blazer and elegant, simple jewelry. The title of the convocation was “Thinking about Women” and Conway spoke specifically to the women in the audience, urging them to believe as women that they are capable of anything. Conway, currently seventy-seven, explained her unique childhood, her adolescence, and also touched on her adulthood. Not only did she discuss her personal life, but her close connection to feminism. Her views went hand in hand with her title, and she believes wholeheartedly in a woman’s ability to perform as well as men in the various arenas of the workplace, sports, etc.

But perhaps, the most compelling statement from Conway was “the need for courses which would provide a outlet for the major research of women.“ Monmouth College does have a Women’s Studies course, but many in the audience wondered if this could be expanded. Perhaps a course on Women’s History, or Women’s Sports History would better prepare the women of Monmouth College for adulthood. Perhaps Monmouth could birth a Jill Ker Conway of its own if these additional classes were added.

Conway only spoke for an hour, but without a doubt opened the minds of students here on campus. Concluding the night with this “I am very happy to hear the comments (concerning her topic) and questions tonight. The road from Coorain to Monmouth is complete.”

Sleigh Bells Ring

2010-09-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

SNOW ROUTES AND YOU
by Kasandra DeFrieze

Monmouth, IL - It's never a bad idea to be thinking this early in the year about driving and parking on snowy streets. The Monmouth City Council began discussing that issue this week, and Monmouth College students need to start thinking about it as well.

Two or more inches of snow on the roads mean inconvenient parking for Monmouth College Students. The city’s snow routes forbid parking on certain streets during these conditions. At the City Council Meeting last week, Alderman Bob Wells proposed the addition of more streets to be added to the snow routes this winter.

City officials believe Monmouth College students receive more parking tickets than the rest of the population. During the snowy season, parking tickets and inconvenient walking conditions make the months of December and January the most stressful for Monmouth College students. During circumstances of two or more inches of snow on the roads, students are not allowed to park their cars on certain streets surrounding the college. These roads make up the city snow routes where parking is forbidden.

Snow route violtions cost $50. The snow route affecting Monmouth College students most is D Street from 11th Avenue to Broadway and 1st Street from 2nd Avenue to Boston. Most cars seen parking on these streets belong to Monmouth College students, so students are the prime candidates for tickets during the snowy season.

Eric Hanson, City Administrator, claims the problem rests in inadequate communication of information. “You’re coming into a town and you’re not familiar with all of our city ordinances so a lot of it is just not knowing,” Hanson said. “However, it is posted; the information is out there.”

Many college students are familiar with the colorful windshield decoration of parking tickets during the winter months. Better communication for Monmouth College students could help solve this problem. “I am quite confused on the snow routes,” Junior Shara Welter said. “I think the school should send a little reminder out once it gets closer to the winter months . . .We see a lot of the same people during that time,” Hanson said. “Some people say they didn’t know and (psy), but some also get multiple accounts just because they don’t want to pay. It’s an expensive lesson to learn.”

The proposition for changing snow routes will be discussed further at the next city council meeting. The new snow routes may include: East Ninth Avenue from South Sixth to Main Street; East Third Avenue also from South Sixth to Main Street; Second Avenue from South Main to D Street; Archer Avenue from North Main to North B Street.

Tanney Injury Confirmed

2010-09-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

COACH BELL DISCUSSES QB SITUATION
By Kelsey Beshears.

Monmouth, IL - Monmouth College football coach Stephan Bell confirmed today that All American quarterback Alex Tanney received a serious injury to his right shoulder in Saturday’s game against Grinnel. Bell said Tanney was injured when he was hit by a defender after throwing a pass in the first quarter. “He spun around and the defender landed on him.” Bell said he is out indefinitely, which means there might be a slight chance he could come back for another game later in the season, but they are taking it day by day. His position will be filled by Brik Wedekind who is a Freshman from Princeton, IL. Coach Bell said of Wedekind "He did a good job. After the first couple series he got comfortable and did well. The more (playing time) he gets the better he will become."

MONMOUTH FOOTBALL MISFORTUNE

2010-09-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

MONMOUTH, IL - Informtion regarding the condition of Alex Tanney, Monmouth’s All American quarterback is still not being made available by the college. Tanney was injured in Saturday’s game against Grinnell. School officials say they are unable to release information due to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) rules. Informed sources tell the Newswire, however, that Tanney may be out for the season. We will report on Tanney’s condition when information is released by the College.

MC TRACK DOMINANCE CONTINUES

2010-05-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

MONMOUTH, Ill. – Monmouth College’s men’s and women’s track teams successfully defended their Midwest Conference titles, picking up the men’s 10th straight league crown and the women’s sixth.

Each team led after Day 1 of the two-day meet in Jacksonville and widened the gap on the rest of the field on the final day. Carroll was the runner up to Monmouth in both the men’s and women’s competitions. The Scots’ men posted 202 points to the Pioneers’ 123. The women won by a 248.5 to 127 margin.

Monmouth coach Roger Haynes swept the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year honors. He shared the men’s honor with Carroll’s Shawn Thielitz. The Scots’ Gloria Lehr and Amanda Streeter were named women’s field Performers of the Year along with Melissa Norville of Illinois College. Monmouth’s Tyler Hannam earned the men’s field Performer of the Year and teammate Luke Reschke was tabbed the men’s track Performer of the Year, sharing the honor with Illinois College’s D.J. Jackson and David Montgomery of Grinnell.

Reschke made the biggest splash on the men’s track with a 400-dash time that not only is the nation’s fastest, it also equaled the automatic qualifying time for Division I. After missing last season with an injury, the senior reclaimed the 400-meter dash title in convincing fashion. His fourth title in the event came in a automatic qualifying time of 46.75 – breaking his own school record by nearly a second. He added a second-place finish in the 200 where he ran a personal-best and first-time provisional qualifying 21.62 in the prelims. His 21.78 in the finals was just one one-hundredth behind Jackson of IC.

Lehr scored in all four of her events, winning two. The senior took top honors in the shot put and discus. Lehr’s provisional throw of 43’1-1/2” in the shot led a 1-2-3 Scots finish. Amanda Street was second and Allison Devor was third. Lehr also threw a provisional mark to win the discus. Her 140’4” toss was a personal-best. Devor placed third in the event.

Hannam won the men’s high jump for the second consecutive year. The junior cleared 6’9-1/2” to win by two inches. Nick Byom cleared 6’7-1/2” to place third on a judge’s decision and Sean Wells was fourth.

Streeter unseated defending champion Lehr in the hammer throw. Streeter heaved a personal-best and first-time provisional mark of 154’6” for the title. Lehr placed second and Devor took fourth with a career-best 140’5”.

Sprinter Jae Moore was successful in defending her 100-dash crown. The junior clocked a 12.81 to win by 25-hundreths. She also placed second in the 200.

Moore, Morgan Leffel, MacKinsey Marquith and Kaci Lierman sprinted their way to a win in the 4x100 relay. The foursome’s 49.83 was nearly a second faster than the runner up. Leffel and Lierman also gained valuable points in the 400 where they finished 2-3. Lierman, Leffel, Moore and Rachel Bowden clocked a second-place time of 4:04.60 in the 4x400 relay.

Whitney Didier picked up the women’s other first in the meet. Didier equaled her personal-best and provisional height of 11’7-3/4” to win the pole vault. She also took third in the 400 hurdles.

Besides Reschke’s win in the 400, Monmouth’s men picked up four other firsts – all in the field events. Four Monmouth Students were selected as track performers of the year.

WOMEN – TEAM RANKINGS
1) Monmouth College (IL) 248.5
2) Carroll University 127
3) St. Norbert College 117
4) Illinois College 79.5
5) Ripon College 61
6) Knox College 49
7) Beloit College 47
8) Grinnell College 32
9) Lawrence University 18

MEN – TEAM RANINGS
1) Monmouth College (IL) 202
2) Carroll University 123
3) Grinnell College 113
4) St. Norbert College 102
5) Ripon College 95
6) Illinois College 86
7) Beloit College 25
8) Knox College 21
9) Lawrence University 13

TRACK PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR

Women’s Field:
Melissa Norville (Illinois College)
Gloria Lehr (Monmouth College)
Amanda Streeter (Monmouth College)

Women’s Track:
Megan OGrady (Carroll University)
Lindsay Gruenke (Carroll University)
Jenny Scherer (St. Norbert College)
Emily Schudrowitz (St. Norbert College)

Men’s Track:
D.J. Jackson (Illinois College)
David Montgomery (Grinnell College)
Luke Reschke (Monmouth College)

Men’s Field:
Tyler Hannam (Monmouth College)

Men’s Coach of the Year:
Roger Haynes (Monmouth College}

Women’s Coach of the Year:
Roger Haynes (Monmouth Collge)
Shawn Thielitz (Carroll University

SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT RESULTS

2010-05-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

NCAA Division III Softball

Game 3 of 2010 Midwest Conference Championship Tournament (Lake Forest College)

Monmouth College 4, Ripon College 2
St. Norbert College 5, Monmouth College 0

INSIDE THE OSF

2010-05-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

A Tale of Two Patients
By: Brittney Parker

Within the college student body, the OSF Clinic has a less than positive reputation. Is the bad rep of the clinic justified? This is a first hand evaluation by two students of one service provided by OSF: Surgery

Surgery is something no one ever predicts for themselves. One of the scariest things a person can hear is when a doctor tells him or her they must have surgery immediately before something worse happens. For college students who do not have primary doctors in Monmouth, many things begin to run through his or her mind. “The first thing I did was call my parents to see if I could come home to get surgery done there and be with my family,” says Kate Runge, who had her appendix removed in 2007. “I was a freshman and I had just moved into the college, I didn’t really know what to expect which scared me even more. All I knew was the bad things people had told me about the clinic, like misdiagnosing patients and lack of knowledge.” She went on to explain that this was her biggest fear. “As if surgery wasn’t bad enough I had to get it done at a place I was not comfortable with, that just added to it.”

I too was faced with these concerns when I was told I had to have surgery immediately. I was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia, and that if I didn’t get it taken care of, it would only get worse and cause my intestines to get pinched closed. If this was to happen, I would have to go in for emergency surgery, which according to the doctor would be a dangerous situation.

Runge checked into the emergency room at 4:30 in the morning and was taken to a room immediately after, despite common beliefs of waiting hours to be looked at. Although, this is where her experience began to frighten her. “After about an hour and what seemed like 50 tries later, I finally got an IV in my hand. That was after I had already passed out, because of the amount of pain I was in, while walking to the bathroom. Except the nurse made my roommate help me.” She explained that the doctor who was going to perform the surgery seemed knowledgeable and told her how the operation and recovery were going to go, which she said put her at ease.

I was first treated by a clinic doctor, who then set up an appointment for me to meet with the general surgeon. Although this first doctor seemed knowledgeable, she didn’t really answer any of my questions and still left me wondering. I was not really given any other options either, other than to go home. This left me with a less than positive outlook on the situation. A few days later, I met with the surgeon, Dr. Mukund Godbole. After talking with him, I felt comfortable that he knew what he was talking about and doing. He explained the history of how hernia surgeries used to be preformed as opposed to how they are done now to “ensure a faster recovery.” He asked about my lifestyle and how active I was and together we decided the best option for hernia repair, which he explained, “was a mesh piece which would make recovery faster and less painful than getting stitches.” I set up an appoint for surgery four days later, since it was “quickly getting worse and needed to be taken care of as soon as possible” according to Dr. Godbole.

I still had misgivings about getting surgery done at this hospital, so I had my Mom call around at home to see if there was a way I could get into a hospital at home. I thought it was strange that my doctor in Monmouth did not do an ultrasound or see how big the hernia was, although he had said when he was feeling around that it was as big as the tip of his thumb. No hospitals at home would be able to see me until the end of May, so I was forced to stick with OSF.

I had to go back the day after my consultation to get a blood test for a blood count. When I walked into the lab room, I was immediately placed into a room and the nurse followed in directly after me. I told my nurse about my fear of needles and blood, let alone getting my blood taken. I had explained that I had only gotten it done once before and almost fainted. She talked me through it while she was doing it. I had never had such a good experience with anything dealing with needles as that was. (Not to mention the chair was one of the most comfortable things I had ever sat in.)

The day of my surgery, I went into the Out Patient waiting room. I sat there for a minute before I was taken into the pre-operation room. The nurse had me read over a few sheets of paper dealing with the anesthesia, but explained that it was just for insurance purposes and unless I have an allergy I am unaware of, nothing bad would happen. I explained my fear of having an IV and that I have never had one before. She told me that they would not be able to give me laughing gas because they did not have a gas tank in the room I was in, but she reassured me that they would make it the most painless they possibly could and would make it a pleasurable experience. Instead of gas, I was given a shot in my hand that would numb my vain before they put the IV in. I though, a shot before a shot, I’m not so sure of that. The numbing shot involved little to no pain at all so when she put the IV in, there was no pain at all.

I was walked through everything from what my arm would feel like once the IV was in my body to why they gave me a hot blanket, and what would happen as they added drugs to my IV. The nurse administering the anesthesia talked with my parents and me to decide on the best solution for surgery, as well as the painkillers I would be admitted with during surgery to help reduce the pain immediately after surgery. My surgeon came out before I was pushed into the operation room, to meet with my parents and answer any questions they had that the nurses couldn’t answer. My parents were given lunch tickets and received a free lunch from the cafeteria in the hospital, which they said was not bad food at all.

When I was pushed into the operation room, I was greeted with a handful of nurses. They told me to move onto the operation table, which seemed extremely small. I talked with them for about five minutes while they put monitors on me and strapped my arms up to separate boards. Before I knew it, I was waking up and telling the nurses all about the dream I had. I was transferred back to my bed and was wheeled away.

The doctor had gone to the waiting room and explained to my parents how the surgery went and what he did. He explained that when he blew up my stomach with air, he saw that the hernia was a bit smaller than he had originally thought and he could use stitches as opposed to the mesh piece. He explained that recovery would not be as quick, but that the risk of it opening up again is not likely.

My parents returned to my room, and within 40 minutes I was released. I had to use the bathroom and walk, once I did that the nurse told me I could leave whenever I wanted. The nurses called in my prescriptions and my parents were able to pick them up as soon as we left the hospital.

For never having a surgery before, I had one of the most surprisingly comfortable experiences. I would recommend OSF hospital to anyone. The nurses were caring and took all of my concerns into consideration. They made sure I was comfortable at all times and explained in detail everything that would happen. My surgeon was extremely knowledgeable and put everything at ease. He was personable and explained the entire surgery beforehand, as well as telling me about the discomfort I would feel after surgery.

After being released, Runge’s incision became infected and she returned to the doctor to get it looked at. He told her “you will be bikini ready in no time” but “my scar is probably around three inches and definitely looks like I got knifed in an alley way. It has pulls in the line and looks terrible. It stills hurts sometimes, so I’m guessing it wasn't done properly?” She also added, “I went back and found out my doctor "retired" soon after I had my surgery, a little fishy if you ask me.”

When Runge looks back on the entire experience, as a whole, “I feel like there are some nurses that didn’t seem to know how to help me. But overall the hospital seemed more knowledgeable, as a whole, despite the doctor I had. Perhaps there are just certain individuals that are not properly trained, but I wouldn’t hold it against the hospital portion.” If she was to give advice to anyone needing a surgery and who are not able to go home, she says “I would call around and ask how the operation and recovery are for the surgery you’re going to have, then compare that to what the doctor tells you. I feel like that would be a quick and easy test to see if he or she is trustworthy. I wish I would have done that.”

SLOW GOING FOR NEW ROSEVILLE SCHOOL

2010-05-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

by Michelle Nutting

(ROSEVILLE) Residents of Roseville and surrounding communities have high hopes for the new Roseville Community Christian School. But with a low turn out to last Thursday night’s meeting, one member of the Feasibility Committee, Paul Peterson, expressed some disappointment “The turnout was low on Thursday and that’s surprising because the first meeting a lot of people showed up.” A low attendance could indicate signs of low enrollment.

Peterson said, “We had 9 sign up last Thursday, I’m praying for 50 but I’m not sure what we’ll get, probably around 20.” Surveys were mailed out to Roseville residents handed out at the meeting. These surveys measure demographic information about each family interested in having its children attend the new school. The committee will meet this Friday to review surveys and determine how many students are expected to attend the school in August.

ZEBESTOCK RETURNS

2010-05-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

(MONMOUTH) Students at Monmouth College came together on Saturday night for Zeta Beta Tau's annual music festival Zebestock. Over fifteen acts performed throughout the evening to help raise money for ZBT's national philanthropy Children's Miracle Network.

Zebestock is ZBT's biggest annual fundraiser. All students are welcomed and encouraged to perform in the event, and since Monmouth's chapter of ZBT is packed full of musicians, there were no shortage of performances throughout the evening.

President of the fraternity John Gryzwa said "I think it's cool that we can come together and raise money by playing music, and doing something we all love to do."
Kassi Heald-Schmelzer, a senior at Monmouth, said that "We all look forward to Zebestock every year, so it's good to know that it's going to a good cause."

Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals. Donations from Zebestock helo Children’s Miracle Network fund medical care, research and education that saves and improves the lives of 17 million children each year. For more information on the Children's Miracle Network, go to http://www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org/Index.aspx

LATE SPORTS SCORES

2010-05-02T20:28:00.000-07:00

TRACK

MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Monmouth College track team is right where coach Roger Haynes wants them to be after winning the men’s and women’s team titles at Saturday’s Fighting Scots Invitational.

Monmouth’s women won by more than 15 points and the men were first by just over eight points in the 12-team field.

SOFTBALL
May 2, 2010

Game 1
Monmouth 5, Cornell 4

Game 2
Monmouth 10 (13-20), Cornell 8

A NEW SCHOOL FOR ROSEVILLE

2010-04-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

Community Christan School Set to Open in August
by Michelle Nutting

With Roseville Elementary school closing its doors after the 2009-2010 school year, churches around the Roseville area have taken action to give Roseville residents another option for an elementary education. The community came together on Thursday night at the Roseville Community Church to discuss the new school.

Feasibility Committee member, Paul Peterson lead the discussion about what stage the school is currently in and what needs to happen next. The school will be located in the classroom section of the Roseville Community Church and will open its doors in August. Peterson explained that all building requirements, minus a few changes such as adding exit lights and door holders, have been met. Peterson is optimistic about the size of the school saying, “There will be plenty of classrooms.” Tasha Skees of Roseville explained how the school came about. “It was brought up a long time ago but action was never taken. But with the Roseville Elementary school closing, 3 elders decided it was time.”

However starting a new school creates some challenges. “We are looking for tuition to be between $2950 and $3500, but we are hoping to be as close to the $2950 mark as possible” said Peterson. “The tuition is not an upfront payment; the school board is looking at a monthly payment plan, with a higher cost upfront.” This tuition would not include books for the students, unless the school board decides on a curriculum where books are included. “If the school board chooses a curriculum with books included, parents will not have to pay $250.” However, the school still needs general classroom supplies as well as volunteer help in every aspect. Peterson stated that some generous gifts have already been donated to the Roseville Community Christian School. “We have received computers, which haven’t arrived yet, lumber for a playground, as well as labor help for the kitchen. The list goes on and on.”

The community has also considered the idea of having a scholarship fund for students. Skees has high hopes for the school. “I think it would be wonderful. My daughter is only two so she won’t be going there for awhile but it affects the town as a whole.”

The number of students they expect to attend the school is still unknown. If you are interested in donating or if you need any further information, please contact the Roseville Christian Church at 309-426-2131.

SWINE FLU RERUNS?

2010-04-29T18:47:00.001-07:00

H1N1 AGAIN?
By Ross Donnan

The general anxiety of the H1N1 virus that struck America recently has essentially melted away with the snow. There were two separate spikes in the number of cases confirmed around the U.S., and CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the Illinois Department of Health have always been predicting of a third spike or “wave” which is expected with a pandemic Flu. The first wave occurred in April 2009, and the second in October 2009, and officials are predicting a third wave in March-May of 2010.

The seasonal Flu usually hits its second peak around March to May, and the Administrator of the Warren County Health Department Jenna Link claims “We saw a slight peak in influenza A (which is not H1N1 just Influenza) activity the end of March first week in April but these are not confirmed H1N1 cases.” For Warren County “Things have been pretty quiet” says Link, “but the H1N1 vaccine has now been added to the seasonal Flu vaccine, so that should help.”

Just because we have not been hearing much about the virus does not mean we are out the woods quite yet. Officials say to keep getting vaccinated because the numbers of infection are low, which means there is limited exposure to H1N1 and people can build immunity. This also does not mean to stop taking all the necessary precautions to keep from getting ill, just because there is a lull in the amount of infection does not mean it won’t spike again. The CDC claims that when college students return home, they may bring the infection with them and spread it to family and friends.

SSo for now, we don’t have to brace ourselves for a third “wave”, but as previously mentioned the public should not let down its guard. Although some may feel as though the illness was overplayed, the reality is that it affected 41 million people nation wide and is connected to 10,000 deaths and localized cases are being reported daily. Although the numbers are fewer, the effects are just as devastating as before, so just keep washing those hands a lot.

SWINE FLU RERUNS?

2010-04-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

H1N1 AGAIN?
By Ross Donnan

The general anxiety of the H1N1 virus that struck America recently has essentially melted away with the snow. There were two separate spikes in the number of cases confirmed around the U.S., and CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the Illinois Department of Health have always been predicting of a third spike or “wave” which is expected with a pandemic Flu. The first wave occurred in April 2009, and the second in October 2009, and officials are predicting a third wave in March-May of 2010.

The seasonal Flu usually hits its second peak around March to May, and the Administrator of the Warren County Health Department Jenna Link claims “We saw a slight peak in influenza A (which is not H1N1 just Influenza) activity the end of March first week in April but these are not confirmed H1N1 cases.” For Warren County “Things have been pretty quiet” says Link, “but the H1N1 vaccine has now been added to the seasonal Flu vaccine, so that should help.”

Just because we have not been hearing much about the virus does not mean we are out the woods quite yet. Officials say to keep getting vaccinated because the numbers of infection are low, which means there is limited exposure to H1N1 and people can build immunity. This also does not mean to stop taking all the necessary precautions to keep from getting ill, just because there is a lull in the amount of infection does not mean it won’t spike again. The CDC claims that when college students return home, they may bring the infection with them and spread it to family and friends.

SSo for now, we don’t have to brace ourselves for a third “wave”, but as previously mentioned we should not let down our guard. Although some may feel as though the illness was overplayed, the reality is that it affected 41 million people nation wide and is connected to 10,000 deaths and localized cases are being reported daily. Although the numbers are fewer, the effects are just as devastating as before, so just keep washing those hands, a lot.

SCHOOL VANDALS REMAIN AT LARGE

2010-04-27T06:20:00.000-07:00

THE CLEANUP
By Emily Friedrich

It was a community effort to clean up the extensive damage to the two vandalized schools in Monmouth. It was an especially large undertaking for Immaculate Conception, the small parochial school, which had to close its doors on Monday. It took a small army of thirty workers from a disaster restoration service out of Chicago along with the Immaculate Conception crew to make the building safe enough for students on Tuesday. MRHS was able to have a quick enough turnaround time to open doors on Monday.

The damage to the two schools vandalized over the weekend was extensive. Police and school officials say that tens of thousands of dollars worth of property were destroyed at the two schools. Over half of the computers at Immaculate Conception were ruined, many of which were brand new. The MRHS auditorium was awash in chemicals, as the vandals discharged fire extinguishers. 560 chairs in the auditorium had to be individually scrubbed down.

Middle school teacher Teri Bruner says she feels personally violated. “That’s what makes you feel so vulnerable when something like this has happened. I feel like I’ve been hit in the stomach just as hard as can be.”

MRHS Principal Jeff Bryan says the incident has bigger implications for the community. “You don’t hear kids say look what they did to the school, it’s look what they did to our school.” He understands just how personally the students and community are taking it. “They want whoever’s done it to get caught.”
Both schools are in the process of replacing valuable items, but each expressed it’s not the material items that count. “We’re going to be okay. We can replace the things that were damaged. No one was hurt and those are the important things,” said Bruner. Her goal is to make sure her students still feel comfortable at school. “We want them to feel safe. We want to acknowledge that we have had a tragedy and something happened, but we’re going to be okay because of that in spite of what occurred. We want them to know that things that were damaged were things and not people.”

Among the items that are replaceable, Bryan says it’s the sentimental items that cannot be replaced are what hurts the most. He was not surprised at how many people called the High School inquiring about the well-being of the 1983 state football championship trophy. “I really feel like of all the things a vandal can do, to damage the kid’s trophies, you’re asking to get caught.”

No arrests have been made so far, but the Monmouth Police Department is following leads. Local authorities were able to collect forensic evidence like fingerprints from some of the trophies at MRHS and footprints at ICS. Bryan is optimistic. “Somebody will start talking about it and bragging. Some kids will hear about it, and they’ll tell us about it.”

SCHOOL VANDALISM FOLLOW

2010-04-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

The following information was gathered by reporter Ashley Lutz while covering the school vandalism story:

ICS is no longer requesting help from the public with the actual cleanup at the school. However, some students at the school have organized a garage sale for the community where you can either buy or donate items for them to sell. All the money is going to ICS. The garage sale is May 1st on 717 Fairway Dr. from 8 to 2 The woman in charge is Lori Ferguson. Cell: 309-2217970 or home: 309-7342753

TWO MONMOUTH SCHOOLS HIT BY VANDALS

2010-04-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

MAJOR DAMAGE AT BOTH SCHOOLS
By Maureen Soso

Monmouth Police took the unusual step of issuing a press release following public demands for more information about major vandalism at two Monmouth schools over the weekend.

Police say that unknown suspects broke into Monmouth Roseville High School and Immaculate Conception School during the overnight hours of Friday April 23rd 2010 andthe early hours of Saturday April 24th 2010.

Almost every room in both schools - including libraries, classrooms, locker rooms, and kitchens - were ransacked resulting in thousands of dollars in damage. Both schools also had trophies and trophy cases as well as computers and other electronic equipment destroyed.

Five Monmouth Police Officers and two Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigators are on the scene. The investigators say that evidence was recovered at both schools. Despite the weekend crimes, Monmouth-Roseville High School was in session today, while Immaculate Conception will resume classes tomorrow.

MONMOUTH ENTERS A DIVERSE ERA

2010-04-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

THE NEW FACES OF MONMOUTH
By Ashley Lutz

Diversity is on the rise in the city of Monmouth, Il, and its largely due to the need for workers at one of Monmouth’s largest employers, which has difficulty finding Caucasian workers to apply for jobs.

Liz Voyles, the President of New World Immigration Services, says “This is mainly due to the ongoing need for laborers at Farmland Foods.” She says it is common for Mexicans and African refugees with green cards to work at the meat packing plant.

Families like Alma and Claudia Conches moved to Monmouth for better working experiences. Alma Conches and her family moved here from Mexico when she was only in sixth grade. She explains how hard the transition was, especially without knowing English. “School was tough at first, but I would stay after to work with one of the Spanish teachers who taught me English” Conches states.

Conches explains how she has noticed the rise in diversity. “When we first moved here, there were not too many other Mexican families. Now I see them all around.” She also talked about the two Mexican restaurants in town and the growing amount of Mexican grocery stores. Conches adds, “It is nice to see things that remind me of Mexico, even thought I do not live there any more.”

Alma’s cousin, Claudia Conches has a similar story. Her family moved here a little after her uncles moved to DeKalb, IL. She was six years old when her family picked up and moved to Monmouth because of the work opportunities also. “Monmouth was the first place my parents felt comfortable with their jobs” says Conches.

LATE SPORTS SCORES

2010-04-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

BASEBALL

April 24, 2010 vs. Knox

Game 1
Monmouth 8, Knox 1

Game 2
Monmouth 12 (11-18, 4-4), Knox 2

The Scots kept their playoff hopes alive and moved Roger Sander to within one win of his 300th career victory in an 8-1, 12-2 double-header sweep of Knox. Robbie Hinkle had a day for the Scots, going 7-for-9 with eight RBIs while banging out four doubles and a three-run homer.

SOFTBALL

April 24, 2010 vs. Grinnell

Game 1
Monmouth 8 (11-19, 7-5), Grinnell 0 (6)

Game 2
Rained out

Monmouth clinched their third straight Midwest Conference Tournament berth with an 8-0 win over Grinnell. Charlotte Hoffmann scored the only run Kelsey Williams would need in the second inning. Hoffmann raced home with the game's first run on Daphne Beal's base hit.

RETURNING THE FAVOR

2010-04-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

CLEAN UP TEAM FOR THE DAY
By: Brittney Parker

While driving through Monmouth early Saturday morning, between the neighborhood garage sales and children playing in the parks, the Monmouth College football team could be seen raking leaves, picking up sticks, planting flowers, and trimming back trees.

This past weekend marked the football team’s second annual community clean up. The players signed up in groups of three and four and were assigned to work at one of sixteen places. Property owners contacted Coach Steve Bell to request clean up crews. As far as what the players are required to do at the homes, Bell said, “It all depends on the owners. Some just need yard work done, like planting flowers, and some ask them to move heavy furniture.”

The player’s were not necessarily finished after they finished working at one house. Senior Trevor Newton explained that “We have to call coach and ask him where to go next. He sends us to a house nearby to help those guys out. We really aren’t done until noon, and there’s no slacking off.”

“It’s cool to be able to help a community that has always supported us. It’s just another way for us to be able to give back,“ according to junior Fletcher Morgan. Morgan raked a yard full of leaves then moved heavy items from the basement to outside. “The bags of homemade cookies we got were a nice surprise in the morning... definitively got me moving,” says Morgan while eating a handful of chocolate chip cookies during a break.

Sophomore Corey Bishop said, “It kinda brings us closer and makes us work on teamwork, which shows when we get on the field. We have to learn to work together and communicate effectively. I guess that shows in the success we’ve had for in past years.” He goes on to say, “Even though it’s a lot about football, it helps us realize that we don’t just go to Monmouth College for football, there is a lot more to it.”

A major reason for the clean up within the community is to do just that, show the players that it is important to help out and give back to the people that support them.

CONFLICTED VICTORY

2010-04-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
by Lucas Pauley

On Saturday April 3 Senior Dan Higgins broke the school record for javelin with a toss of 208’7 at the Washington Invitational in St. Louis, Mo. Breaking the record was bittersweet for Higgins because the record had been held by his coach, Roger Haynes, who set the record in 1982. The record granted Higgins the title of Midwest Conference Men’s Field Performer of the Week.

“It was hard to break my own coach’s record but it was an amazing feeling to be able to break a record that has stood for so long,” Higgins said.

Higgins has been constantly improving over the past three years. In 2008 and 2009, Higgins was the javelin conference champion. He also qualified for nationals the past two years by a process of provisional qualifying, but did not get to go. Even so, after struggling with an injury to his left oblique all of the 2009 season, Higgins recorded a 193’8, which was his personal best at the time.

Higgins returned to Monmouth in January to student teach at West Central Middle School in Biggsville, Ill. Because Higgins had not completed all his years of athletic eligibility Higgins knew that he had a chance to improve on the progress he had made over the past two years. “I realized I was here for a reason so I might as well take full advantage of the opportunity,” Higgins said.

Higgins has enjoyed his time at West Central this semester, where he is student teaching the physical education classes for the middle school. Balancing the tasks of being a student teacher and a student athlete has proved to be an interesting adjustment to his life at home.“It has definitely been a challenge. I wake up at 6:30 in the morning and I usually don’t get back to my down until 7 at night. But I find myself having fun the whole time,” Higgins said.

Once Higgins knew that he was returning to school he began to watch a lot of film of Olympic javelin throwers and worked hard to improve his concentration while on the field. The preparation has paid off for Higgins, but he has had his sights set on more than just breaking the conference record.

“I am feeling really confident right now and hope to break my own record and hopefully go to nationals and do even better,” Higgins said.
Higgins, who is currently third in the nation for the javelin throw, says he is going to continue to prepare just as he has been doing all season.
I just want to focus even more on my concentration as I prepare for the rest of the season and nationals,” Higgins said.

With his throw this past weekend Higgins has automatically qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships which begin on Saturday, May 27 in Berea, Ohio.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

2010-04-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Monmouth College track team recorded three school records and two athletes come within a whisper of NCAA Championship’s automatic qualifying standards at last Saturday’s meet at Augustana College where the women placed third and the men fifth.

Tyler Hannam (Woodhull, Ill./Alwood) equaled the Fighting Scots’ high jump record and cleared the NCAA provisional qualifying height in the process. The junior won the event by two full inches and cleared 6’10-3/4” to tie national champion Eric Ealy’s school mark from 1986. Hannam’s nation’s-best height was just a quarter inch from the automatic qualifying height. Nick Byom and Sean Wells each cleared 6’6” to take third and fifth, respectively.

Recuperating through the indoor season has paid off for Luke Reschke (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) who eclipsed his own 400-meter dash school record. Reschke turned in the top time in the nation of 47.52 to win by nearly a second. His time was just two-hundredths off the automatic qualifying standard. He also placed third in the 200 with a time of 21.99. Shane Reschke ran a 49.78 in the 400 to finish seventh in the 400.

Monmouth’s third record-setting performance came on the women’s side where Rachel Bowden (Lexington, Ill./Lexington) set the new standard in the 800. The freshman clocked a 2:20.58 to take eighth in the field of 25.

Thrower Gloria Lehr recorded an improved provisional mark in the discus. Her lifetime-best throw of 146’11” placed her second and moved her to third in the national rankings. Lehr and Amanda Streeter added more points in the shot put. Lehr was sixth at 41’4-1/2’ and Streeter turned in a throw of 39’1-1/4” to take eighth. Streeter also had a career-best 151’0” in the hammer throw to place seventh.

The Scots took four of the top seven places in the women’s high jump after each cleared 4’11-3/4”. Sarah Stinson was third, Kaci Lierman tied for fourth, Chelsey Widdop took sixth and Heather Hull placed seventh.

Morgan Leffel led three Scots in the scoring for the women’s long jump. Leffel soared a winning distance of 16’9-3/4” to win by four inches. Widdop placed third at 15’11” and Alison Andrews was eighth at 15’6”. Leffel also ran a PR in the 400 where she was fifth in 1:00.39.

Javelin thrower Brittany McCline unleashed a personal-best to place second in that event. McCline’s mark of 125’2” improved her previous best by nearly five feet. Lehr placed second at 124’9” and Hull was eighth at 106’6”

Just six inches kept Whitney Didier from winning the pole vault. Didier cleared 11’2-1/5” to place second. Widdop and Didier were 5-6 in the 400 hurdles. Widdop clocked a 1:10.06 and Didier a 1:10.86.

Jae Moore scored points in two sprints. Her 12.72 in the 100 placed her fourth and she ran a 26.52 in the 200 to finish sixth.

The Scots will be competing at the Drake Relays and the Loras Open this weekend.

LATE BASEBALL SCORES

2010-04-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

April 18, 2010

Game 1
Monmouth 8, Univ. Chicago 7

Game 2
Univ. Chicago 19, Monmouth 7 (8-16, 2-4)

Fresh off a double-header sweep of Knox, Monmouth split a Sunday twinbill with the University of Chicago, taking the opener 8-7, but falling in Game 2, 19-7. Trailing 7-3 in the fifth inning of Game 1, the Scots took advantage of a hit batsman and an error to put four runs on the board. Brad Winkler supplied the big blow with a two-run base hit to trim it to 7-6. Tom Shaver then tied the game at 7-7 with a sac fly. Tied in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded, Kyle Higginson singled in Brett Peterson with the winning run to give Phil Scott the win in relief. Monmouth never lead in Game 2, spotting the Maroons four first inning runs in the seven inning contest. Mitch Comstock and Caleb Ruyle drove in two runs each.

COUNTY BOARD

2010-04-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

COUNTY FACES GRANT REDUCTIONS
by Kerri Yost

Jenna Link of the Warren County Health Department outlined areas of concern regarding the county’s health at the County Board meeting this week. The Department is expected to lose two grants due to state budget cuts with “the women’s health grant taking a big hit,” explained Link.

Link also feared that the department may lose grant funding to test for West Nile Virus in the area. This is due to the low number of reported cases of the virus in Warren County. Areas with more cases of the virus are prioritized.

The department is also still closely watching Influenza A and H1N1 as there was a spike in influenza cases reported in the county in the previous two months. Although there is a large amount of H1N1 vaccine still available, much of it is outdated and will need to be destroyed. Link says that the demand for the vaccine was drastically overestimated last year and, “there will be a lot of vaccine that will go to waste.”

A presentation was also given by Ken Crain of Key Builders regardubg the possibility of fixing the roof at the courthouse. “Honestly, I would recommend replacing the entire roof,” said Crain, rather than just try and patch it again. After much discussion, further information about cost and options was requested from Crain to be presented at the Building and Grounds committee meeting on May 5.

A PEER REVIEW

2010-04-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

“ATTEND THE TALE OF SWEENEY TODD…”
A Theatre Review by Tynan Sinks

There’s a buzz in town about the spring musical Sweeney Todd that premiered Thursday in The Wells Theater at Monmouth College. And rightfully so. Residents and students can only experience a full musical once every two years, and this one is well worth the wait.

From the moment you step into the theater, you are transported to dark and dreary 19th century London. The chorus members’ ominous and foreboding energy grabs you from the opening number and carries you throughout the show. Though the show has little choreography, every move that the actors make is calculated and so well rehearsed that they give the show momentum from the very beginning. The standout performance of the evening was given by Emily Frazer, the female lead Mrs. Lovett. With her strong understanding of the character she was playing and her impeccable comedic timing, she commanded your attention throughout the entire performance. Dane Feenstra impresses the audience yet again. With his effortless vocal talent, he embodies his character Anthony, and was a delight to watch. Mike Carioto showed the greatest dimension, leaving the audience stirred with his interpretation of the character Tobias.

The lead male character, Todd, was played by Nick Munson. Nick’s vocal range continues to impress, though his performance of the brooding and angry character of Todd was less than believable. Danielle Kita played Johanna, but showed little understanding of the conflict that her character was experiencing, though she too was a vocal high point of the production. The set design of this production is one of the best that Monmouth has ever seen. The backdrop of warehouse windows, Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop, Pirelli’s wagon, all came to life before the eyes of the audience. Another visually stunning moment was the “City on Fire” sequence when the chorus helps move the show along to its immanent climax.

As a whole, Sweeney Todd is one of the strongest productions that Monmouth has seen in recent years.

TAX DAY PROTEST

2010-04-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

TEA PARTY COMES TO MONMOUTH
By Samantha Latora

An estimated 200 people clad in red, white, and blue, gathered on Monmouth College’s Dunlap Terrace Thursday to participate in and observe the Tax Day Tea Party. Protestors held signs high in the air saying “Obama Commander in Thief”, “This Change Sucks”, and “Stop spending money we don’t have”

Senior Monmouth College student, Seth Cocquit organized the rally. “The purpose of this event is to spread awareness to students and to the community that there are alternatives to the current leadership in Washington D.C.,” Cocquit stated. Another Monmouth College student, Stephanie Arrowsmith, said “This event is for the people of the community to discuss feelings against big government and their distribution of our money.” Arrowsmith agrees that something must be done, “Politicians are getting raises when there are people in our country and other countries who are starving.”

Several community members, including Professor Dick Johnston, Joyce Fox, David Peterson, and Larry Mason spoke at the gathering. Warren County resident Joyce Fox boldly stated, “I am not insured and I don’t want Obama care.” Gina O’Sullivan, of Monmouth, Illinois said she is tired of the way the government is being run. “I hope enough people wake up and realize the government isn’t ours anymore. If we don’t fight, we will lose completely.”

A single protestor carrying signs protesting against the Tea Party movement circulated through the crowd and condemned not only the movement, but Fox News, and the Tea Party’s racist roots in a boisterous voice. A security guard quietly asked him to leave. He did so, but not without first raising his voice on several other topics.

BACK TO THE ROUTINE AT SCHOOL BOARD

2010-04-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

CAUTION RULES AT LATEST MEETING
by Maureen Soso

Times are tough and luxury items were nowhere to be found on Tuesday night’s Monmouth-Rosedale school board agenda. While some of the items subject to approval were routine, like the approval of new school personnel, other topics came under fire. One hot-button issue discussed and disapproved was the changing of the names of local schools to encourage unity among the community. A move that would have required new funding. “We shouldn’t spend any money until we get our financial legs under us,” said David Clark. While several other board members believed it would bring a positive shift to the Monmouth culture, the majority ruled it would be unnecessary and bring about expenses that the district cannot afford.

While most of the meeting was filled with questions about budget, the school board seemed to be moving in a very cautious but correct direction for this upcoming school year. One major hole in their agenda came from the Governor Quinn’s Proposal of the Illinois 2010-2011 budget. Since there is a chance that the Illinois legislature could act on a six month budget, there could be a significant change in the school’s budget come January. Therefore, the 1% sales-tax increase approval was also set aside until further information was brought to the board.

Another school issue being voted on was the upcoming 2010-2011 school calendar, and board members approached the topic with severe caution. Several suggestions were made in regards to correlating breaks among school districts as well as different levels, but members were disagreeing on who to shape the break toward: students, parents, or faculty. While members took precaution as to not anger any of the groups, a motion was made to forward the decision until surveys were sent out to parents asking them their opinion.

The meeting adjourned after over two hours, with a lot of vital information for the upcoming year still not set in stone.

34 VOICES

2010-04-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

Highway 34 Delays Spur Student Action
by Andy Drea

U.S. Highway 34 between Monmouth and Burlington, Iowa is unique for many reasons. It happens to be the only stretch of Highway 34 in Illinois that is two lane. At one point, it also runs alongside West Central High School, so it is traveled by high school students every day. With a large amount of traffic, especially from inexperienced teenage drivers, and only two lanes, it should be no surprise that another reason for it’s uniqueness is the volume of accidents or “close-shaves” the road sees on a daily basis.

“Car wrecks happen almost daily on that road,” said Monmouth College freshman Lauren Gerst, who attended West Central High School. “It’s really bad.” Because of these issues, the Illinois Department of Transportation has committed itself to improving the road. However, problems with consruction have pushed parts of the project back.“I’m not surprised,” said Gerst, who has been interested in the highway’s issues since May 2007 when she was sitting in her Spanish class and saw a head-on collision between a semi-trailer truck and a Chevy Suburban right in front of her school. “It was an ‘enough’s-enough’ kind of thing,” Gerst said. Over the summer after the accident, she and a few other people discussed organizing an extracurricular group at school. When they returned for the fall, they organized the group: 34 Voices.

In the later two years of her high school career, Gerst gave speeches in Burlington about the road. She and a few other students lobbied in Springfield to Senators and Representatives for money for the road, which found it’s way in to last year’s capital bill. The group even discussed the matter with Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN). Now, though Gerst and many of the group’s founding members have graduated and the group has been on hold as of late.

“They haven’t been active recently,” said West Central Superintendent Ralph Grimm. “There’s no reason to be active.” The hold up in the road’s construction, according to Grimm, is the lack of the money allocated for the project from the State of Illinois, which was a part of 2009’s Capital Bill. The money would be generated by selling capital bonds. “Every delay that occurs in selling those bonds and making that money available delays construction and continues to put students and staff at risk,” said Grimm. “It’s simply a matter of funding.”

But once progress picks up again, Grimm believes the students will “stand ready to mobilize again.” Already in the group’s short history at the high school, they have organized letter writing campaigns and compiled and delivered petitions.

“That’s the next step we’re kind of aiming toward,” said Gerst. “I worked on Highway 34. I lived on Highway 34. I went to school on Highway 34. I couldn’t just avoid it. They can’t ignore us forever.”Until the project moves forward, the school district still worries about the volume of vehicles and the speed at which the travel as they pass the school. “We have a signific ant number of trucks that go by there every day,” said Grimm. “We’ve been extremely lucky. An accident can happen at any time.”

Op-Ed Page

2010-04-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Childhood Obesity
An Editorial by Brittney Parker

The city of Monmouth is failing to collect and provide critical information to its residents about childhood obesity, despite increasing awareness and concern about the problem

Several national magazines have published cover stories on the problem recently, and First Lady Michelle Obama has made childhood obesity a personal crusade. But even with this raised awareness, it’s virtually impossible to find statistics about obesity in Monmouth and Warren County. There are no government or medical offices that can offer statistics on how serious the problem is here.

Schools in the county are doing their part by requiring students to regularly attend gym classes and outdoor recess. But prevention can only succeed if the problem is studied and classified. So far, no one appears to be doing that.

ARE NEWSPAPERS OBSOLETE?

2010-04-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM

Monmouth College, in conjunction with its Communication Studies Department, will sponsor an all-star panel discussion on the ‘future of journalism.’ Three esteemed alumni panelists with extensive expertise in the journalism field will join moderator and Visiting Professor Joe Angotti. This program is funded through the college’s Buch Fund for alumni returning to campus and by the Public Affairs Committee.

Set to occur on Thursday, April 15 at 7pm in Wallace Hall 114, the alumni panelists will discuss their perceptions of the direction that modern journalism is taking. Several key questions will be addressed, including:

- What will happen to newspapers?
- Where will we get our news?
- Will there be a need for trained and experienced journalists in the internet age?

Joining Angotti in the discussion will be former Monmouth alums, Jane Carlson, Jay Dickerson, and John Sharp. “I expect this to be a fervent, lively and highly educational forum,” said Angotti. “The overall alterations in the dynamics of the news profession, coupled with the rapid changes in technology, the business of journalism is changing rapidly.”

The Panel

Jane Carlson - graduated from cum laude Monmouth College in 1998 with a degree in English. At MC, she was editor-in-chief of The Oracle for two years, twice received the college’s Rosanna Graham Webster award for creative writing. From 2006 to 2009, she worked at The Register-Mail, first as education reporter and then as features editor. Jane returned to her alma mater in 2009 in a joint position as director of student publications, for which she advises the student newspaper and literary magazine, and a development research officer identifying and qualifying prospective donors to the college.

Jay Dickerson - graduated from Monmouth College in 1999 with a double major in English and Communications and Theater Arts. He worked as the editor of the Tri-County Press in Cuba City, Wis., from 2000-2001; as features editor at the Gaylord Herald Times in Gaylord, Mich., from 2001-2003; and since 2003 has served as the editor of The Galena Gazette in Galena, Ill. He and his wife Hillary, a 2000 Monmouth College graduate and the editor of the Republican Journal in Darlington, Wis., live in Galena and have three daughters.

John Sharp - is the City Hall beat reporter with the Peoria Journal Star as well as an adjunct journalism instructor and student publications adviser at Illinois Central College in East Peoria. He is a 1998 graduate at Monmouth College, having double majored in Speech Communications and Business Administration. John also has a Master of Arts degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. He co-authors a Monday political column called Word on the Street and the daily blog, Word on the Web.

LATE SPORTS SCORES

2010-04-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

SOFTBALL

April 14, 2010 vs. Augustana (2) at Rock Island, Ill.

Game 1
Augustana 4, Monmouth 3

Game 2
Augustana 9, Monmouth 1 (8-14, 4-3)

The Scots led briefly in both games, but fell in a twinbill to Augustana 4-3 and 9-1. Brittany Forney's second inning single produced the opening game's first run, but Augustana answered with one of their own in the bottom of the third. Single runs in the fifth and sixth gave Monmouth a 3-1 lead, but the Vikings plated three runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth to post the win. After Lauren Bergstresser scored in the first inning of Game 2 on a Morgan Seiler single, it was all Augustana thanks to five Scots errors allowing seven unearned runs. A five run sixth ended the game early.

GOLF

MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Monmouth College women played some of their best golf this spring and captured their own Fighting Scots Spring Invitational at Gibson Woods Golf Course last weekend.

The Fighting Scots cruised to an 18-stroke victory after a scheduling change forced them to host their own tournament. Monmouth’s 395 was paced by senior medalist Lynsey Barnard’s 92. Kristin Humphrey took third with a 94. A 98 placed Nicole Hurst fifth. Senior Kendra Catteron toured the course with a 111 to tie for ninth and Kayla Winbigler took 11th after carding a 120.

SOFTBALL

April 11
St. Norbert 7, Monmouth 0 (8-12, 4-3)

April 10 (triple header)at Janesville, WI
Monmouth 9 Lawrence 5
Monmouth 8 Carroll 5
Beloit 2, Monmouth 1

TURNING SHAME TO FAME

2010-04-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

MONMOUTH'S WALL OF FAME
By Tynan Sinks

(MONMOUTH) In many towns across America, young people are hard pressed to find artistic outlets. Many young men and women take to the streets and make the walls of their city the canvas for their work. Monmouth is no different. It is not hard to find street art on many of the town’s buildings. Most of these forms of self expression are illegal and looked down upon by local residents. Many of the young artists tend to get arrested and punished for their actions.

When the back alley wall of The Buchanan Center for the Arts was being defaced, however, Director Susan Twomey decided to take a different approach to solve the problem. After seeing a piece of graffiti that was particularly high on the wall, she was worried not only for her building, but for the safety of the people who were tagging it. She left a note asking the artist to come in and talk with her about a more positive outlet for their artwork.

After meeting with three young men ages sixteen to nineteen, she invited them to come up with a mural design for the back wall of the Buchanan Center, and they agreed. “I could tell that they were good guys from the start,” said Twomey, “because if they weren’t, they would have never come in to talk to me.” Only a few days later, one of the young men came in with an initial mural design. Twomey took it to the board of directors, who were at first a bit skeptical about her idea, but soon felt a sense of pride in the concept of giving the artists an outlet for their work. After a few minor changes to the design, they unanimously approved the idea.

The idea was not embraced so quickly by the community though. At first, Twomey met with quite a bit of adversity because she was working so closely with these young people who many viewed as hoodlums. “Don’t you want them arrested?” One local man asked her, “That’s the only way they’re going to learn.” But Susan believed there were other ways. That’s not to say she wasn’t apprehensive though, “At first, I wanted anonymity,” She explained. She did not want to become too close with any of them in case one of them got into trouble with the law. Despite that, she and the boys soon built a bond of trust.

Susan was not the only one who began to trust them. As the project went on, locals started to see them frequently working hard on the mural and began to view them more as artists than gang members. Many people began to drop off donations for more paints and supplies to help the mural grow. It began to feel like the community was standing behind these young artists and their work. Most of the young people had rough home lives, and began to view the Buchanan Center as something of a safe haven for not only their work, but also themselves, and started hanging around the Center in their free time. “I began to refer to them as my lost boys,” Twomey said. They started hanging around the Buchanan Center for the Arts started to become something of a second home for many of the young people involved in the project, spending their free time there, doing homework, and working on art projects of their own.

Today, the first phase of the mural has been completed and it has evolved into an ongoing project between the Buchanan Center, The Lost Boys, and the community. As spring warms into summer, you can be sure to see some of Monmouth’s most talented local young artists hard at work on this remarkable mural that is bringing a new awareness and understanding to the community.

COMBATING CYBER BULLIES

2010-03-31T22:54:00.000-07:00

COLLEGE CALLS FOR BOYCOTT OF GOSSIP SITE
By Kerri Yost

"Boycott, boycott, boycott,” says Jacquelyn Condon, vice president for student life and dean of students at Monmouth College. Condon is referring to the gossip site collegeacb.com which is being criticized by students and faculty alike on college campuses around the country. “We are outraged about this site and are calling for a boycott of it.”

Collegeacb was created and is run by 19-year-old Peter Frank who attends Wesleyan University in Middleton, Conn. He created the site after the college gossip site Juicycampus.com shut down. Condon recommends that everyone stop visiting the site because “This guy is making money off of garbage,” and he makes money off of every visit people make.

Some actions the college is taking to deal with this problem include complaining to the FCC, senators, and congressmen. “We are deeply concerned and are filing formal complaints,” explains Condon. The College has limited options when it comes to situations like this since the site can’t just be shut down, and also because the people who are posting vicious and vile comments are anonymous.

Condon encourages anyone who has firsthand knowledge of a student being involved in inappropriate postings on this site to notify the Office of Residential Life to fill out an incident report. A hearing will be held for anyone found to be involved and Condon assures, “there will be sanctions against them for doing this.”
Brittany Forney, sophomore at Monmouth College, is hurt and disgusted by comments made about her on the website. Although she feels that the college is doing all it can, Forney is taking matters into her own hands. “My dad has gone to an attorney to see what rights I have in this situation.”

This situation comes in wake of other occurrences of cyber bullying such as that which occurred in Massachusetts causing the suicide of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince. “This isn’t a light situation,” say Forney. “People retaliate in different ways when they’re getting made fun of.”

Forney offers advice to other victims saying, “It’s hard to say don’t worry about it. You just have to know who you are.” Although Forney thinks what the perpetrators did was sad and hurtful she says, “All I would like is an apology. That’s all I care to get.”

LATE SPORTS SCORES

2010-03-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

TRACK

MONMOUTH, Ill. – One of Monmouth College’s oldest outdoor track and field records fell last weekend as the Fighting Scots competed at the 25-team Washington University Invitational in St. Louis where the women placed first and the men second.

Senior Dan Higgins eclipsed the school’s javelin record – set by his coach, Roger Haynes in 1982 – with a toss of 208’7. The mark bested the previous record by nearly three feet and won the event by more than 30’. Higgins effort also automatically qualified him for the NCAA Outdoor Championships where his throw ranks as the third-best in the country. Sean Wells placed eighth in the javelin at 159’8.

Gloria Lehr picked up three firsts for the women, including a win in the javelin. Her throw of 127’2 was a personal-best and les than a foot from the provisional mark. Heather Hull and Amanda Streeter finished 6-7 with marks of 109’0 and 102’7, respectively.

SOFTBALL

March 31, 2010
Game 1
Monmouth College 16
Illinois College 0.

Game 2
Monmouth College 9
Illinois College 4

BASEBALL

March 30, 2010
Game 1
Monmouth 13 (6-11), Loras 11

March 28, 2010
Game 1
Monmouth 5, Milwaukee School of Engineering 2

Game 2
Monmouth 7 (5-11), Milwaukee School of Engineering 2

March 26, 2010

Buena Vista 10, Monmouth 6 (3-11)

The Scots couldn't overcome five errors and nine walks in a 10-6 setback to Buena Vista. BVU scored seven runs over the first three innings, but Monmouth refused to surrender, scoring a pair of runs in the fifth to go with Terry Davis' solo homer in the second to trim the deficit to 7-3. Two more runs in the eighth and one in the ninth wasn't quite enough as Robbie Hinkle was saddled with the loss. Davis led the Monmouth offense with three hits and two RBIs.

SOFTBALL
Game 1
Monmouth 8, Robert Morris 3
Game 2
Monmouth 4 (4-9), Robert Morris 3

The Scots went about the double-header sweep from opposite ends of the spectrum in a 8-3, 4-3 twinbill win over Robert Morris. Monmouth used a six-run third in the opener to support the four-hit pitching of Kelsey Williams. After Val Stier drew a leadoff walk, Courtney Bennett and Daphne Beal singled to put the wheels in motion. Four more hits in the inning, including a double by Lauren Bergstresser set up a double steal as Bergstresser raced home with the fifth run of the inning before Brittany Forney drove in Brooke Twohill with a base hit. Monmouth's big inning in the nightcap came in the bottom of the seventh. The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first and led 3-2 in the seventh. With two out, Bergstresser reached on an error and Beal singled to center. Both advanced when the ball was mishandled, bringing Morgan Seiler to the plate with the winning run at second and two out. Seiler ended the game with a double into left center. Megan Butler got the win in relief of Charlotte Hoffmann.

GUTTER GOSSIP

2010-03-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

THE LATEST IN DIGITAL GOSSIP
By Meghan Calvagna

Whispers could be heard around Monmouth College this week regarding the new “gutter gossip” site that is capturing the attention of students at colleges across the country: collegeacb.com. The site is intended for students to write about school activities and recent events. However the site has turned into an all out bashing war. Everyone from students to teachers have been included in this electronic burn book.

Sarah Wintersteen, a junior at Monmouth College, was surprised and angry to find her name on the blog. “I think it is inappropriate. If you have something to say to someone say it to their face not online behind a computer screen.” The posting on the blog referred to her weight and other mean spirited topics. “Call me names all you want but don’t poke fun at my weight,” Sarah said. “I don’t want to eat in front of people anymore, wondering if they really think that about me.”

The official name for the site is College Anonymous Confession Board, or the ACB. The site claims that “It is quickly becoming the central hub of college campuses around the country, giving students the freedom to voice their opinions and ask questions about any facet of college life.”

One blogger described the site as “a more technological version of bathroom stalls, and the sides of bridges.”

But not everyone is using the site for negative and filthy comments. Others have risen above this, finding a sense of humor about the site.

“We are going to start creating new and better stories about ourselves,” says Melissa Krage, with chuckles and agreeing nods coming from friends around her. “I just love to hear that my life is so good that people need to write about it” commented Josh Van Swol. “I’m going to write about myself all the time.”

Whatever the reason for this site’s hate mentality, it is quite apparent that the majority of students around Monmouth College are utterly disgusted by the blog, calling it a high school approach to the latest trend in digital gossip.

XOXO
Gossip Girl

ROSEVILLE SPEAKS

2010-03-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

SIMMERING ANGER CONTINUES IN ROSEVILLE
By Ashley Lutz and Meghan Calvagna

The closing of the Roseville elementary school gets personal for most people who live there.

Sarah Johnson, who has a 6-year-old nephew who attends Roseville Elementary School, is particularly upset. Her nephew will now have to take the bus ride to a Monmouth school, which could be up to be a half hour ride. “He walks to school every day. It’s about a four minute walk. Now he has to ride the bus and he does not understand why.” The young boy is confused about why he has to go to a new school, and does not look forward to the change. Johnson says this will be a big difference in their lives. She also says that she will miss seeing the students walking to school and coming into the gas station where she works to pick up doughnuts. Johnson blames the economy for the school problems in Warren County. “If it was not for the economy right now we would not be in this situation.

“It’s a sad day in Roseville” says another resident. Jeremy Wise is the parent of a third grader in the district. He blames the school board for the situation “They made a very uneducated decision,” he declared. “They had a recommendation on Friday and a vote on Tuesday. An educated decision needs time. We didn’t get into this problem overnight and we are not getting out of it overnight.”

Another resident, who asked not to be identified said “It seemed as if there was a large vocal audience at the school board meeting giving their opinions on the closure, but the school board didn’t seem to listen. They would have been better to close the High School and leave the little kids local. The community would have taken better to that.”

The Monmouth-Roseville School Board is made up of 7 members appointed by both Monmouth and Roseville residents. Monmouth members include David Reid Clark, Mary Kelly, and Brad Larson. Roseville members are Mark Colclasure, Lynn Shimmin, and Russ Jensen.

STUDENT ROAST BEGINS

2010-03-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

LOCALLY BREWED JOE
By Kerri Yost

Statistics verify that Americans love and need their coffee. The United States is the leading consumer of coffee in the world. That’s why a group of students and professors at Monmouth College have been working together to create a good tasting organic coffee. Coffee beans grown in Bolivia are being shipped here monthly where they are then roasted in the Haldeman-Thiessen Science Building on campus. Roasting it locally allows for a fresher coffee that lasts longer.

Brad Sturgeon, professor of chemistry, is heading this coffee project which also includes several students as well as Professor Brian Baugh, Professor Keith Williams, and Professor Logan Mayfield. This group has conducted many experiments with the goal to create the best tasting coffee they can. They believe, along with others who have tasted it, they have achieved that.

Meaghan Gritzenbach, senior education major at Monmouth College, feels that this group’s coffee is superior to others. “This coffee has a fresher taste than others I have tried and I like that it’s made right here on campus.”

Sturgeon plans to start selling the coffee in Scots Market in the Stockdale building on the Monmouth campus as soon as the group gets approval from a health inspector for their standard operating procedures as well as for their product labeling and packaging. “If we can start selling it three weeks from today, that’d be good.” Sturgeon also plans to expand throughout campus by partnering with Aramark to sell coffee in other campus locations such as the Underground, the cafeteria, as well as the library.

Bringing the coffee to the community is another goal of the coffee project. “The business students involved will start to solicit for community businesses. We hope to go to them with samples of our coffee to get their interest in purchasing it for their business,” explains Sturgeon.

Sturgeon has plans for the future of the project as well. “In 2-3 years, I would like to take students on an alternative spring break to Bolivia to learn about coffee, free trade and the quality of the worker’s lifestyle.” Because it is a science project, he would also like to study the nature of coffee and how people choose what they do by experimenting with different types.

Although profits are expected from this project, Sturgeon explains that they‘re not in this for the money, but for the social concept. “Coffee just brings people together.”

STRONG DEMAND FOR FISH DURING LENT

2010-03-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

LENTEN DINING IN MONMOUTH

(MONMOUTH) The tradition of eating fish on Friday nights during Lent is still going strong in Warren County. A variety of restaurants continue to offer Lenten menus in the region. Although the variety is not great (it’s mostly catfish) several restaurants are known for the local dish.

The Knights of Columbus Fish Fry runs from February 19th until April 2nd, 2010 from 5:30 to 7pm. The price is $9 for adults and $6 for children. Knights of Columbus member Al McGuire of Monmouth, has been attending the Fish Fry for 19 years. "All members usually help out by serving fish in lines, it's the best fish in town."

The American Legion offers a catfish dinner for $9.25 year round on Friday and Saturday nights starting at 5pm. Norman and Wendy Pinney of Monmouth, are regular visitors of the American Legion. “We’ve been coming here for years. It’s the best catfish in town.” The Maple City Family Restaurant also runs a special year round on Walleye, Bluegill and Catfish for $7.80.

On Fridays in Roseville, the B & C Hometown Café offers a whole catfish with a salad bar and baked potato for $8.20. This dish is also run year round. In addition to the whole catfish, the B & C Hometown Café also offers a Fish Sandwich that can be ordered off the menu at anytime.

Also during Lent, each week a different church in Monmouth sponsors a worship service at the Strom Center from 7:15-7:45am on Fridays. Breakfast is offered before the service and is on a first come first serve basis

LATE BASEBALL SCORES

2010-03-21T08:15:00.000-07:00

FRIDAY, MARCH 19

Aurora 2 Monmouth 0
Aurora 7 Monmouth 0

2010-03-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

NEW YARD WASTE PICKUP APPROVED
By Michelle Nutting

(MONMOUTH) Monmouth residents will now have the benefit of a regularly scheduled yard waste pick up service. City Council passed a one-year, $12,500 contract with Maple City Recycling to provide the service.

The yard waste pickups will follow the regular trash pickup schedule. Residents are advised to place yard waste in biodegradable bags. “We support any activity that can beautify the city” said City Administrator Eric Hanson.

Other city council actions:

The city has granted the 1st Street Armoury a lease for another year. The city owns the building which is the current home of Starting Point.

The city approved an agreement with Farmland Foods for a 10 year service to provide water and wastewater services to the plant. Mayor Rod Davies said “This is important for Farmland and for the City of Monmouth.”

LATE BASEBALL SCORES

2010-03-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Monmouth 12 (2-7), Robert Morris 3

Monmouth got its home season off to a good start with a 12-3 win over Robert Morris-Springfield. Junior hurler Corey Gruber kept the Eagles in check over eight innings to notch his first collegiate win. He struck out seven and scattered six hits. Tom Shaver and Caleb Ruyle drove in Terry Davis and Chaz Baggio with the game's first runs in the second inning and the Fighting Scots never looked back. Monmouth put the game away with a six-run seventh when Davis and Ruyle drove in two runs each. Shaver finished his four-hit day with three RBIs and Ruyle knocked in four runs.

THE POLITICS OF MAPPING VOTING DISTRICTS

2010-03-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

A PROPOSAL FOR CHANGE
By Lucas Pauley

MONMOUTH — After three decades, many Illinois citizens are questioning the way the state's voting districts are drawn. For 30 years, the legislators of Illinois have been able to draw the district lines, but supporters for the Illinois Fair Map Amendment have suggested a system that would involve a group of non-legislators drawing the lines.

The issue affects everyone in Illinois and that is something Brad McMillan, director of the Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Studies at Bradley University, expressed when he spoke as a guest lecturer at Monmouth College last month.“If nothing changes, politicians go into a closed room in secret and create safe Republican and Democratic districts,” McMillan said.
He also pointed out that under the current system, if legislators cannot come to an agreement on a redrawn district, then a name of one of the competing candidates is pulled out of a hat and whichever party wins gets to redraw the map.
Two local organizations have been circulating petitions in support of the Illinois Fair Map Amendment. The Warren County Republican Committee has passed around petitions and collected about 100 signatures. Warren County Republican Chairman Andrew Youngquist is one of the leaders behind the local movement. “It’s time to take the politics out of redistricting and for people to pick the politicians, not for the politicians to pick the people,” Youngquist said. With many other states moving to a system where a group of unbiased, non-legislators draw the district lines, Youngquist said Illinois can do a lot to repair its image to the rest of the United States by making a change.
“It’s just one more brick on the load. When you have a governor who is set to go on trial and a reality show, a former governor in prison, a senate seat apparently put up for sale, this is just one more opportunity to clean the stables,” Youngquist said.
The other local organization promoting the Illinois Fair Map Amendment is the Warren-Henderson Farm Bureau. Manager Carol Ricketts said they have also been circulating petitions and have some at their offices as well. “This is not a fair way for drawing the districts,” she said. “With an unbiased party, the incumbents won’t be so assured of winning.” State Rep. Rich Myers, R-Colchester, is a supporter of the Illinois Fair Map Amendment.
"I support the effort and the proposal to at least redraw the district boundaries in a method not as political," Myers said. "It's nice to see such a mix of supporters, like various league of women organizations and farm bureaus, it's very interesting."
Myers' only disappointment is that the amendment does not apply to congressional districts. While State Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, agreed reform is needed, he said the Illinois Fair Map Amendment does not address all the problems, and could possibly make things worse. Sullivan noted how the Illinois Fair Map Amendment proposes a two-thirds vote to pass their redrawn map, and that the only way this will happen is if the incumbents are safe in their own districts. "This proposal does more than the current law does to protect the incumbents," Sullivan said.
He also spoke about the 17th Congressional district and how the Illinois Fair Map Amendment does nothing to address it. "The 17th district is possibly the most gerrymandered district in the state, and maybe even the country, and the people behind the Illinois Fair Map Amendment use it as a reason for reform, but the amendment does nothing to address this, and I think that is being disengenous," Sullivan said. "People believe, and I believe, we need some sort of reform but the Fair Map Amendment does not take the politics out of the process. The amendment is touted as a bipartasism reform effort, but it is anything but that. It is a Republican drawn form."
In order to make the change, the citizens need to collect 500,000 signatures in Illinois by April 1, then the issue will go on the November ballot. If passed, the amendment applies to redistricting beginning in 2011 for the election of members of the General Assembly beginning in 2012.For more information on the citizen’s movement, visit www.ilfairmap.com.

WASTEWATER AND MORE

2010-03-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

NEW EFFLUENCE IS CLOSE AT HAND
By Maureen Soso

(MONMOUTH) Monmouth‘s wastewater treatment plant is bringing a change that most residents will never see. Construction on the city’s new economically efficient wastewater treatment plant is coming to an end this month, leaving behind very little evidence of the previous 100 year old decaying system. Thanks to a State Assistance Grant awarded through the EPA, the waste in Monmouth will soon be taking a different route.

After new regulations passed by the EPA made the previous wastewater treatment plant out of date, reconstruction finally became necessary in 2006. “We had to decide how to invest the money,” says Public Works Director, Andy Jackson. The city faced two options: retrofit the current plant or create an entirely new plant. The city chose the later. The ground breaking took place in October of 2008 and has been underway since.

The EPA has set a completion date for the plant’s construction, but can the city meet the March 27th deadline? Bill Hart, the plant superintendent, gives reaching the deadline an 80-90% chance if the weather holds out. “This 40 degree weather is helping us out, getting all the ice melted out of the pipes,” says Hart. Failure to meet completion by the EPA’s deadline could result in a fine for the new plant, Hart says, “If we’re not done by the end of the month we’ve got to write the EPA and plead our case” Receiving a 90 day extension won’t be anything new; the city received one last December from conflicts due to weather.
Once the plant is completed, the changes for the people of Monmouth won’t be something they can taste or see. According to Jackson, the drinking water will look and taste exactly the same as it does now. The new wastewater treatment plant is located a mile and half out of town, out of sight for most residents.

NO COMMON GROUND

2010-03-03T10:34:00.001-08:00

MONMOUTH AND ROSEVILLE AT ODDS OVER SCHOOL CUTS
By: Emily Friedrich

(Monmouth, Ill.) You could cut the tension with a knife at last night’s public forum, as the community pressed the Monmouth-Roseville School Board for answers surrounding the district’s budget deficit.

Parents, residents and students in the packed auditorium voiced their disappointment and frustration in the situation. Board member Mary Kelly explained, “Nothings in stone right now, so don’t assume we’ve made a decision.”

But the atmosphere quickly turned sour as many Monmouth and Roseville residents found themselves in disagreement over a proposal to close Willits and Roseville Elementary Schools. Roseville mother Lori Metcalf said, “Our kids are going to get lost. If that does happen we will pull our children out of the district and put them in a private school. We don’t want our kids falling through the cracks.”

Superintendent Paul Woehlke reassured the crowd that no foreclosures are definite until the amount of state aide cuts become available.

Deficit Reduction Committee Chairperson Tim Tibbetts, questioned the school board’s opinion on the possibility of pursuing consolidation with nearby United School District in the future. Half of the board said they would be willing to talk with United School District and believe consolidation is the right direction for surrounding communities.

Area resident Chris Fleming moved to the district six years ago from Indiana where he said many regional school districts have consolidated. “We came from a district that was a county wide school, very successful. Yes, there’s added busing, but the kids education was better.”

Added busing evoked more reaction from Roseville residents. Among the most outspoken was High School senior Kelsey Ault. “That’s all that we’ve got going for us. It was the only solid thing. Well, we’ve seen just about everything else go out of Roseville, we don’t want to see something else leave.”

Lincoln Elementary school counselor Ginger Murray tried to put the situation in perspective for both communities. “Our kids all come together in Junior High and High School. We all benefit from success from all the schools. When you live in a small rural district, you live in a bubble. You live in a very wonderful community, but I also know change is hard, but keep in mind everyone is invested in our kid’s future.”

Woehlke expressed his gratitude for public input and all perspectives will be rightfully considered, but ultimately the Board has to, “Act on the best information we have available.” Board member Lynn Shimmin strongly advised the community to contact local legislators. Another parent agreed, “You need to get a hold of legislators and let them know you’re not happy with the way our children are being funded.”

Loud cheers and applause followed after Shimmin said, “If they’re going to cut anything, let’s not let it be education.”

Woehlke will make his final recommendation to the school board at a meeting on Friday. Before the meeting concluded, every board member thanked the crowed for its participation. "I don't care what anybody says, we have a good district," said board member Brad Larson.

2010-03-03T07:32:00.000-08:00

FACING DEPRESSION HEAD ON
By: Cassie Hart

Twelve million people worldwide suffer from depression according to the World Health Organization. This is one of the reasons that depression, addiction, self injury and suicide are the topics that a group calling itself To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) addresses.

The group visited Monmouth College campus recently. This is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.

TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.
Jamie Tworkowsi, founder of TWLOHA, proclaims that, “this was an evening where we got to talk about things that people tend not to talk about. We get to touch depression, addiction, self injury and suicide.” TWLOHA began as a simple attempt to tell the story of a friend in need of treatment, and soon became an internet phenomenon and global movement. ”More than anything we try to point to hope, to help and to the need of community. So, I think that if we could say any one thing to people it is hope that they are not alone.” This is the idea that he is spreading around the world.

Tworkowski talked to MC students and members of the community telling his journey of where he is today, and what we can do as individuals to help. The biggest challenge that he gave to the audience was “the more we talk about these problems, the more people we can reach.”

This organization has helped over 150 thousand individuals in 100 different countries. One member of the audience, Cody Rodgers, MC sophomore declared that this was an important evening for herbecause he learned “if you truly want to help it’s not always about helping them face to face but it is about helping them in other ways.”

2010-03-03T05:14:00.000-08:00

TAX INCREASE PASSES WITH A WHISPER
By Ashley Lutz

(MONMOUTH) The City Council voted unanimously this week in favor of raising the sales tax by one percent without questions or debate.

The vote was actually on two ordinances combined into one. In addition to the sales tax, the Council voted to eliminate the vehicle sticker tax. City manager, Eric Hanson, told the Warren County Newswire that the bill will take affect in either July or January. Once this is finalized, residents will not have to buy vehicle stickers, including students at Monmouth College.

A majority of the public appeared to be in favor of the bill. There seemed to be little controversy surrounding the ordinance, and fewer than a half dozen people attended the city council meeting. According to an online poll conducted by the Review Atlas, sixty six percent approve of eliminating the city sticker. Matt Hutton Editor of the Atlas believes, “The majority of the public agree with the Council action. The school districts might be the only ones against it because the schools are likely to ask for a county wide sales increase.

The meeting also had a representative from Ameren Illinois Utilities who informed the council that residents now are able to pick and choose what electric company provides their electricity. The quick overview of the service included looking at the different companies and comparing them. He encouraged everyone to find more information on the subject by visiting illinoispowerswitch.com.

WHAT ONE PERCENT MEANS TO YOU

2010-02-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

CALCULATING A SALES TAX INCREASE

By Samantha Latora

Since December the Monmouth City Council has been discussing a proposal to increase the sales tax by one percent from 7.25% to 8.25%. But what does that mean to the everyday consumer?

The increase for everyday items such as toothpaste, toilet paper, or razors is very small, but on larger items such as a television , a camera, or a coffee pot, the difference increases the total price of the item after tax substantially.

After visiting Monmouth’s own Shopko and County Market I have compiled a list of items and determined their price pretax, the price after tax if the tax remains the same as it is now at 7.25%, and finally what the price after tax would be if the proposed increase of one percent to 8.25% goes through.

Item	Price Pretax	Price after tax at 7.25%	Price after tax at 8.25%
1 lb of hamburger	$3.49	$3.74	$3.77
Gallon of milk	$3.39	$3.64	$3.67
Angel Soft toilet paper (12 pack)	$6.79	$7.28	$7.35
Tylenol Extra Strength (100 caplets)	$11.18	$11.99	$12.10
Northcrest bath towel	$10.99	$11.79	$11.90
30 gallon plastic bin	$19.99	$21.44	$21.64
Crest toothpaste	$4.49	$4.82	$4.86
Mr. Coffee coffee pot	$39.99	$42.89	$43.29
3 pack of Venus razors	$7.99	$8.57	$8.64
10 piece cookware set	$219.99	$235.94	$238.14
Vtech cordless phone	$79.99	$85.79	$86.59
Kodak digital camera	$99.99	$107.24	$108.24
Sony 32” LCD TV	$699.99	$750.74	$757.74

The difference after the one percent increase is surprisingly small, unless of course you are shopping for a 32” LCD television.

TOUGH CHOICES FOR SCHOOLS

2010-02-27T13:50:00.000-08:00

SCHOOL DISTRICTS APPEAR AT ODDS
By Ross Donnan

MONMOUTH, IL- After months of painstaking and tedious work, the Deficit Reductions Committee of the Monmouth-Roseville School District, presented its recommendations for reducing an expected budget deficit of over a million dollars.

Among the recommendations was instituting a 1% sales tax across Warren County that would directly fund the Monmouth-Roseville and United school districts. That proposal suffered a setback later in the week, however, when the Superintendent of the United School District said he may not support such a tax. According to a report in the Monmouth Review Atlas, Superintendent Jeff Whitsitt said that such a tax may not be in the district’s long term best interests. Whitsitt also put a damper on suggestions that the United School District might be consolidated with Monmouth/Roseville. He said there have been no discussions about consolidation and he doesn’t intend to pursue that possibility.

A second proposal was for a one year salary freeze for all district employees. That would have to be approved by the teachers union, which has not expressed an opinion one way or another on the possibility.

Some examples of other cut-backs recommended include the following:

-Dropping of certain programs (i.e. Life Skills courses), saving $90,000
-Elimination of Business and P.E. Class overloads, saving $24,000
-Raise Drivers Ed. Fee by $20, saving $1250
-Reduce teacher supplies, saving. = $25,000
-Ask Athletes/Boosters to cover Uniforms, saving $7,000-$10,000
-Cut one assistant coach from nearly every sport saving $35,936
- All proposed cuts would result in savings of $259,000

“We understand that some of these cuts will be affecting the students learning directly” said DRC chairperson Tim Tibbetts, who then turned to possible plans for closing three schools.

The first option was to close Willits and Harding Schools, and re-locate students to Lincoln, Central, and Roseville Elementary. This was the least likely option because the numbers were not significant enough to make a large enough difference in the deficit. None of the DRC council members supported this option.

The third and final option seemed to be the most preferred and most reasonable. That proposal was to close both Roseville and Willits Schools. Class levels would be split fairly evenly throughout Harding, Lincoln, Central, and the Junior High School. This does however create the ever present issue of increased amounts of transportation, (via school bus) and busing fees. Nine of the fifteen committee members supported this option.

With the closing of these two schools, there would be two empty school buildings to address. There was mention of a new Hospital Unit being built, but that seemed unlikely. The option that seemed most plausible to the board was “mothballing” the buildings and putting them up for sale, which could increase revenue, if they were purchased.

The recommended budget would bring the total revenue to 1.2 million dollars, which would successfully reduce the deficit facing the School District.

THE MOOSYLVANIA STRATEGY

2010-02-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

NEW MONMOUTH COLLEGE INITIATIVE
By Meghan Calvagna

(MONMOUTH) Monmouth College announced this week that it is taking a dynamic leap into the future of public relations strategy and technology. The college has hired an advertising consulting group that specializes in getting positive news about the college onto social networking sites. President Mauri Ditzler introduced the consulting group at this week’s town hall meeting. The consulting firm, Moosylvania Advertising of St. Louis,was hired by the Vice President for Strategic Planning Don Capener.

“Rather than just play defense, we want to play offense,” Don Capener said while talking about the main objective for hiring Moosylvania Advertising, “by creating a positive buzz for Monmouth College.”

Shelly Wolfe, who describes herself as the” head moose”, described Moosylvania’s work as a two-prong approach. The first step is to generate positive buzz around the campus. Secondly, the group would figure out the best way to highlight the good and get the word out on social networking sites.

Rachel Hamblin describes Moosylvania’s advertising skills as helping “put the tools in place to create a working system” the college can use to promote itself and “let Monmouth College tell its own story”.

“The competition for recruiting strong student candidates is more competitive than ever,” said Jeff Roegner, formerly of General Motors Public Relations: “This is a notable step in using the technological innovations that almost all prospective students have access to and turning it into a PR promotional tool showing all that Monmouth has to offer.” Roegner is now a Visiting Professor at Monmouth College.

BOY SCOUTS TURN ONE HUNDRED

2010-02-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

A CENTURY OF “BEING PREPARED" IN MONMOUTH

By Derek Keist

MONMOUTH - The year was 1909. Chicago publisher William D. Boyce was lost in the London fog. Boyce asked a boy for his help. The boy, after guiding him through the fog, turned down a tip. When Boyce asked why, the boy explained that he was a Scout and would never accept money for doing a Good Turn.

Boyce was so inspired by the boy's kindness that he researched the Scouts, which had been established in Britain in 1907, and brought the concept to the United States. As a result, the Boy Scouts of America was founded on Feb. 8, 1910.

Now 100 years later, the Boy Scouts can be seen all across the country teaching young men skills and values that carry on to shape their lives.

Daniel Reck, director of the leadership and involvement program of Monmouth College, said those in the lower ranks of Boy Scouts learn important skills needed to be a good scout, along with a good person — including creating and following a budget for 90 days.

"They go over everything from basic first-aid, how to cook, over a campfire or in your house, how to plan a menu," Reck said. "There is a lot of different personal development going on in Boy Scouts."

Gary Distin, a long-time Monmouth optometrist, first joined cub scouts when he was in third grade. He said Boy Scouts is an important program that teaches people important survival skills, such as life saving, swimming and first aid.

"There's a lot of those activities, and if you're going to be a leader, you have got to know them all," Distin said. "In the instance of a snow storm, (the scouts) teach you how to build shelters and you learn how to build different kinds of fires."

The Boy Scouts are designed to give young men a "well-rounded experience," Reck said.

"It's very intentional that you receive opportunities to learn and grow in lots of different parts of your life. It comes together to help you learn what you need to learn to be successful," he said.

Jon Sims, pastor of the First United Methodist Church, said those skills will most likely stick with them their entire lives.

"Be prepared. I think of that all the time," Sims said. "Whether it be getting in the car and driving in bad weather and thinking about 'OK, if I break down, what will I need.' Even when I go canoeing, I still use the same strokes that I learned in Boy Scouts."

In addition to vital survival skills, the scouts also teaches children the importance of staying active in the community as they grow older.

"One of the things that scouting does is it also teaches you to want to do community things, to do civic things. Even just be generous when you're donating to United Way and things like that," Distin said. "It teaches you how to be part of the community."

Scouts also teaches people how to work for the greater good.

"Learning to work with others is an important aspect of the scouts," Sims said. "You figure out very quickly that if you work together things go a whole lot better than if you're just trying to do it all on your own."

But the Scouts provide more than just merit badges — they provide memories.

"We climbed a mountain called Mt. Phillips and camped on top of that thing and had a snowball fight in July," Sims said.

Distin recalled a canoeing trip in Canada.

"We woke up one morning and there was a huge moose right in the middle of our camp," Distin said. "They're huge. I couldn't believe how tall that thing was."

Boy Scouts also can shape the future of people's lives. Upon earning the rank of an Eagle Scout, Sims was given the opportunity to shadow a professional for a day, and he chose his pastor.

"There were four fellows who got eagle the same time I did," Sims said. "One went and worked for a dentist, and he is now a dentist. One worked for an engineer and he is now an engineer. One worked for a professor in history, and he's a historian. And then myself picking my pastor, and now I'm a pastor."

As he reflected on the Boy Scouts legacy, Reck was also high on the organization's future.

"This is a great opportunity for young men to learn to be great men," Reck said. "And (Boyce) brought that concept back to the United States after that fateful encounter in the London fog. Now 100 years later, it's still going strong. That says something about the institution."

THE HIGH TECH CORNER

2010-02-18T07:41:00.000-08:00

MIXED REVIEWS ON THE iPAD

By Derek Keist

MONMOUTH — The coming release of the iPad will change the way people perform their everyday activities. That was the prediction of Bryn Lawrence, Monmouth College's Coordinator of Web Services.
Lawrence said tablet computers have been around for a while with little success. However, he believes the iPad will change all that.

“This could be a water shed moment for tabloids because it brings together good hardware, solid battery life, a much better touch screen, an operating system which is designed for a tabloid and software that is also designed to run by touch,” Lawrence said. “There is also the 3G component makes it usable anywhere."

However, there are still some who worry about the iPad's limitations. Marta Tucker, a Monmouth College professor and the department chair of mathematics and computer science, said her concern is the lack of a USB drive and the inability to support multi-tasking.

“I think most of us have gotten used to computing environments where we have lots of different programs running simultaneously and I think to go back to running one program at a time would be a real step backwards,” Tucker said.

That is also a concern among some who have grown up using computers.

"It's [the iPad] got all this processing power, all this battery power, and you can't do more than one thing at one time," said Andy Drea, a sophomore at Monmouth College. "You either can work on a word processor or you can update your twitter. There's no multi-tasking."

Others are hesitant about the decision to create a sole touch screen computer.

James Mayfield, an assistant computer science professor at Monmouth College, said he owns a tablet, which features touch technology, but also has a keyboard.

"What’s nice about this [tabloid] is that it’s a Swiss army knife,” Mayfield said. “If I need the screwdriver — a keyboard — I can use my keyboard. If I need the pen, I can use the pen. If I need the touch, I can use the touch. Apple says no, it’s all touch based.”

Tucker, who owns an iPod Touch, said she loved the interface and the number of activities she could perform on it.

“It’s great for accessing e-mail quickly, for looking something up on the Internet, and for having basically mobile access to the Internet,” Tucker said. “It’s a really nice device.”

While the iPad might lack certain capabilities, it could become a major part of people's everyday lives.

“They [Apple] are able to influence people well,” Mayfield said. “They will probably sell like hotcakes and people will claim them to be absolutely wonderful, because people already do that with Apple products, whether or not they’re any better or worse than other products."
Tucker said she believes the iPad will filter out into the community, starting with high school students.

Lawrence said the iPad, much like the iPhone, will bring the technology to the attention of the general public.

“The iPhone’s launch was an interesting time because the smart phone market really took off after that was introduced,” Lawrence said. “Apple does a good job of making a big show when they launch a device, and I think it will make people more aware that there are devices out there like this. They don’t only do a good job of marketing stuff for themselves, but it gets the word out that there is technology out there like this and makes it more mainstream.”

Locally, however, the iPad might not make a large mark, at least early on. Alpha Omega, a Monmouth computer store, said they do not deal with Apple and will not carry the iPad. Monmouth College will probably not be placing a large order for the new Apple product either.

“Most schools are really looking at things like pen-based technology, which we [Monmouth College] are already starting to use here,” Mayfield said. “Using our hands is pretty fundamental. The mouse is an obvious precursor to that. Pens are a little nicer and just being able to touch some stuff and interact with it in a way is good. It makes a lot of sense that that’s the way things will be going.”

The launch of the iPad is a step forward in touch technology, but some still contend there will always be a place for desktops or laptops.

“There are still certain kinds of work that require a different kind of interface than the touch, Tucker said. “For example, I would rather not write a 10-page paper on an iTouch. I need to sit down at my desk and interface with the computer in a different way than if I’m reading a book or browsing the Internet.”

Mayfield also noted that while mobile phones and other touch technology will take on a bigger effect on our everyday lives, there will still most likely be a place for desktops.

“There’s no silver bullet with technology," he said. "There’s always going to be a place for desktop and desktop-like computers.”

MONMOUTH EXHIBIT SCORES BIG

2010-02-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

A MEMORABLE JOURNEY FOR WARREN COUNTY

By Maureen Soso

Where are you from? How did you get here? Why did you come here? These are just a few questions the Buchanan Center for the Arts is trying to help the community answer through its newest exhibit "Journey Stories." The traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institute features several journey stories of those coming to America and what they did upon arrival.

However, the most exciting part of the exhibit comes from those in the Warren County area. The Buchanan Center put together its own collection of local history and - thanks to generous citizens - historical artifacts dating back to early Native American times. Susan Twomey, the Director of the Buchanan Arts Center says the exhibit is helping break some classic Hollywood portrayals of different ethnic groups throughout time. The exhibit is not only trying to explain the communities within Warren County, but also why some us are here.

The local stories include photography and memorabilia showing the 1920s arrival of hundreds of Hispanic families that worked on the railroad, lived in "boxcar camps, and helped build the cities and towns that make up Warren County."This is about making connections, especially for the Hispanic community. It makes them a part of the community instead of "them" over "there." Twomey hopes to give credit to the different groups of people who really helped develop Warren County. "I chose to tell stories, not just spark interest, but spark discussion and pride...I want to remind people to take care of their heritage."

Early indications are that Twomey has succeeded in sparking interest within the community. The exhibit is getting 50 to 100 visitors a day, which is unusual for a local exhibit. If you have not gotten a chance to visit "Journey Stories" it will be available until March 14, 2010.

The Buchanan Center for the Arts is located at 64 Public Square. Open Tuesday through Friday 9am-5pm and Saturday 10-2.

LATE SPORTS NEWS

2010-02-12T07:25:00.000-08:00

February 16 Games

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Monmouth 101
Lake Forest 96

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Lake Forest 72
Monmouth 50

SCHOOL RECORDS FALL AT MONMOUTH INVITATIONAL

MONMOUTH, Ill. – No team scores were kept at last Saturday’s Fighting Scot Invitational, but that didn’t keep the Monmouth College women from recording their share of school records, personal bests and provisional marks.

The Fighting Scots made the biggest splash in the throws where Gloria Lehr and Amanda Streeter turned in provisional qualifying marks. Lehr took first in the shot put and improved her provisional effort with a throw of 43’0-1/4. Streeter placed sixth at 38’7-1/2 and Allison Devor took seventh with a mark of 38’4-1/4. Lehr and Streeter then threw provisional distances in the weight throw. Lehr was second with a mark of 52’4-3/4, Streeter was fourth at 51’5-3/4 and Devor’s personal best throw of 46-3-1/4 placed her sixth.

A personal best for Morgan Leffel placed her first in the long jump with a leap of 16’9-1/4, edging teammate Mackinsey Marquith who finished second at 16’7-3/4. Mikayla Vail was eighth at 14’10. That trio also did well in the triple jump where Leffel took fourth at 35’1-3/4, Marquith turned in a personal best 34’7 for fifth and Vail was eighth at 32’6-1/4.

A school record fell in the mile where Mary Kate Beyer finished seventh with a time of 5:14.15 to break the old mark by three seconds. Rachel Bowden ran a personal best 5:19.25 to place ninth. Bowden also clocked a PR in the 3,000-meter run where she ran a 10:48.11 to place fourth. Beyer won the event in 10:28.78. Tori Beaty took eighth in the 5,000 with a time of 21:29.35.

Jae Moore posted a first place finish in the 200 dash. She broke the tape in 26.95 and Leffel placed fifth in 27.70. Moore also placed third in the 55 dash with a time of 7.57 and Leffel was sixth in the 400 with a time of 1:01.61.