Index
Editorial
6
Thursday, April 7, 2005
www.trumanindex.com
OUR VIEW
Bill could jeopardize
Truman’s funding
Missouri Rep. Carl Beardenʼs HB 742
proclaims that the bill will distribute “any
made its public debut at a hearing Tuesday
funding beyond the amount [Missouri
amid talk of a new system of state higher
colleges] received in 2002, their high water
education funding.
mark, on a per-pupil basis.”
The bill would return funding for public
An article in the March 18 University
higher education institutions to the amount
of Missouri Legislative Newsletter boldly
received in 2002 budget and allot funds
proclaims the bill would return us to the
beyond that level in terms of compliance to
2002 water mark, but then says that it
a performance contract (see story Page 3).
would “establish a new funding mechanism
But it is obvious that Bearden, R-St.
that is based not on institution requests but
Charles, has a different definition of peron ʻper-studentʼ funding with differentiated
formance-based funding than we do here at
levels established for undergraduate, graduTruman. While we look at test scores and
ate and professional courses.”
graduate school acceptance rates, Beardenʼs
Obviously Bearden and the University
criteria lie in the
of Missouri author
realm of improvwere reading difBut it is obvious that
ing access to higher
ferent parts of the
Bearden has a different
education, improvbill, and that just is
ing the efficiency
one example of the
definition of performanceof operations and
murky wording.
based funding than we do
addressing the needs
Inevitably,
here at Truman.
of the state.
changes are comAnd we can see
ing for higher
the wolf hiding under the sheepʼs skin
education funding. This state legislature
as additional allotments also would be
has shown its youthful naiveté, lack of
equitably distributed based on the number
appreciation for keeping good students in
of students enrolled, a measure that could
Missouri and downright hostility to higher
severely handicap schools with enrollment
education. And Gov. Matt Blunt already has
caps like Truman.
marked higher education as a possible next
In addition to Beardenʼs attempt at
step for budget cuts.
deception, the bill lacks clarity and sense.
But we cannot be suckered by the funny
In fact, in the impact statement, the bill
wording in HB 742 or any funding bills to
proposes to bring state institutions to the
follow. We cannot let our state representa2002 level of funding, but a few sentences
tives be confused. We must let them know
later the bill appears to set state funding at
that the bill must be clarified or voted down
a per-pupil rate that differs depending on
because it carries implications for per-pupil
the studentʼs class status. This would set the funding that could be disastrous to Truman.
amount of state funding for each student as
Our only consolation for now is the imequal to the lowest tuition amount of any
possibility of an immediate impact because
public institution in the state. This amount
of the amount of time it will take the state
would hardly come close to the amount of
to return to the 2002 funding level. That
funding some institutions received in 2002.
climb, which could be years away, gives us
Two published reports about the bill also students plenty of time to stand up and let
show the ambiguity in the wording.
the state politicians know we are watching,
A press release from Bearden proudly
are interested and will be affected.
“
March 24 Results
as of midnight Tuesday
23% (7)
Yes. It’s my civic duty.
Web poll
10% (3)
No. I didn’t make it to the polls.
Did you vote in the
Kirksville City Council
election?
67% (20)
No. I’m not registered in Adair
County.
THIS WEEK’S QUESTION:
vote online at
www.trumanindex.com
Have you ever had significant credit problems?
Index
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Serving the University community since 1909
Photograph generates unwanted
attention, fails to give perspective
It isnʼt easy to build up an air of absolute
disinterest in the conversation of others as
I had successfully seemed to accomplish in
the first half of this semester. Unfortunately,
my hours spent wearing the blank stare of
arrogant disregard for the casual conversation of my classmates were reduced to
nothing but an exercise in futility – and all
thanks to one ignorantly printed picture in
the Index. I was surprised to have a friend
run up to me on my way to class to show
me my picture in last weekʼs issue, but
imagine my disgust when the very people
I spent the past nine weeks avoiding social
interaction with took the picture as an open
invitation to talk to me. Thanks a lot, Index.
Iʼve gone from being “that guy who acts
like my every breath is a waste of his time”
to a veritable receptacle for banal chitchat
and every other conceivable Idiot Wind.
But since you took the liberty to print
my picture and name without any sort of
permission (or even notice), I figure that I
might as well explain the neglected message behind my photographed performance.
The only reason I even performed at that
karaoke night was to plug my band Voyage: a tribute. We are (to my knowledge)
Kirksvilleʼs first and only Journey tribute
band — and Iʼm just arrogant enough to
say that weʼre probably the greatest rock
outfit that this backwards, podunk, redneck
town has ever seen. Voyage has its finger
on the pulse of Kirksville, and that pulse is
pounding for hard rock and power ballads.
Book the band, come to the concerts. Rock
to the maximum with Journey.
Donʼt stop believinʼ.
Nick Toti
Junior
While it is true that the Student Government is sometimes obligated to perform
such mundane tasks as purchasing gavels
or T-shirts (although it should be mentioned that senators pay for the T-shirts
themselves), we feel it is important for the
Student Association to be aware of some
of the other “little things.” Senators have
been and are continuing to work on for the
students and the University.
Most senators spend several hours each
week sitting in on meetings of University
committees of every kind, ensuring the
student perspective is well represented.
Yes, we are working on putting together
a campus rides program, but in addition to
that, we have accomplished much more.
• Senators have written a Student Bill of
Rights and Responsibilities.
• The Student Government created a
new scholarship for an incoming freshman
who is a resident of Adair County.
• Senators established a reading program
in conjunction with the Residential College
Program that creates new opportunities for
students to fulfill their scholarship hours as
Summer Reading Fellows.
• A new position on the Student Government, called the legislative director, was
created to ensure better communication
with Jefferson City.
• Academic Affairs is putting the final
touches on plans for online Extended
Course Descriptions.
• The Technology Committee is working with ITS to provide anti-virus CDs for
all incoming freshman and to bring wireless
Internet to the rest of campus.
• The Campus Diversity Committee is
helping with Diversity Week, and the Campus Environment Committee is helping
with Earth Week.
This only begins to describe everything
Editorial policy
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Ne w Do r m
CHECKLIST
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Letters to the Editor
Student Senate does more for
student body than most realize
STAFF
Editor in Chief
Christina Collison
Maureen Ferry/cartoonist
)WONDERIFWE
CANHAWKTHESEGOLD
SHOVELSTOMAKEUPFOR
THEFUNDSTHESTATE
ISWITHHOLDING
”
Index
Opinions Editor
Penny Koester
Truville
we are and have been doing this year, but to
go on would take far too long.
But I can see how it might be difficult to
know what Senate is doing when the Index
refuses to cover us. The reporter assigned to
cover our meetings doesnʼt even show up
half the time, which forces that reporter to
guess (often incorrectly) what we are doing
and why. Most of the press releases we
provide the Index go ignored, and when we
invite the Index to cover our events, no one
shows up.
It is true that Senateʼs numbers have
been down this year, and we are most certainly looking for “a few good students” to
join us as long as they are prepared to work
as hard as we do in return for ignorant criticisms from those who do not even bother to
get all their facts first.
Students are welcome to contact us at
[email protected] or stop by our office
in the Student Union Building to ask questions. Thank you.
Senate President Senior Laura Keck
and the Student Government
FAC fails mission and students
The University Mission Statement
advocates “advancement of knowledge,
to freedom of thought and inquiry and to
the personal, social and intellectual growth
of its students.” It continues to stress “the
willingness and ability to exercise personal
and intellectual leadership … for oneself …
and the world.”
I have found that the statute of the Funds
Allotment Council not only violates this
mission but also inhibits student potential
as a whole.
The Funds Allotment Council is an
independent council of Student Senate
responsible for granting money to student
organizations. In looking at one semesterʼs
funding, $900 was allocated for building
two gaming computers, $4,000 created a
poorly distributed magazine. And another
$39,160 was allocated to bringing in several
special interest speakers. Sports teams alone
were granted $43,284.26 that semester – on
a requested budget of $16,781.
Other seemingly beneficial, wellplanned events were denied. These include
a banquet to speak toward fighting world
hunger, the promotion of literacy to Kirksvilleʼs youth, a presentation on vehicular
safety, translation services in health clinics,
a dance for all residence hall members and
an event to speak on the history and legacy
of African-American women. While these
events seemingly would benefit the whole
student body through open participation,
they were refused money.
How is this possible? In my recent
conversation with FAC, I realized that it is
because of a statute that employs narrow,
unrealistic expectations – one of which
specifies events must occur on campus. In
looking at the FAC allotments, readily
available on its Web site, it is easy to see
many organizations take advantage of this.
Some bring in valuable speakers while
others comply with all FAC regulations and
sponsor narrow events that do little for the
student body as a whole. Events that would
be more far reaching – including community benefit events, work with local senior
citizens and volunteer projects – are denied
funding. With no other on-campus source
for student organizations, this is simply
unacceptable. If our University is to indeed
pursue the “personal, social and intellectual
growth of its students,” then the Senate
and the FAC need to think outside the box
and expand the formula. Our students are
diverse, complex and dedicated. Perhaps
your provisions should coincide?
Jonathan Terry
Senior
Column omits steroid dangers
Mr. Gantʼs column in the March 27
issue of the Index on the congressional
committee on steroids was, to my mind, not
very well thought out or very responsible.
Furthermore, his sarcasm regarding the
danger of steroids is alarming. His support
for Mark McGwire is biased and lacks any
evidence whatsoever.
Mr. Gant admits that steroids do give
an advantage to players who use them,
commenting that using steroids or not is
probably “the difference between one of
[McGwireʼs] 500-foot blasts and one of
his lesser 400-foot shots.” But if McGwire
was on steroids, how many of his “400-foot
shots” would instead have been 300-or
350-foot doubles or more than likely popfly outs. Remember that McGwireʼs career
batting average was measly .263.
Let us consider the 1998 season in
which McGwire hit a then-record-breaking 70 home runs. Forty of McGwireʼs 70
home runs are made immediately invalid
because they measured less than 430 feet. If
we subtract 100 feet from all of these, they
are all less than 330 feet. This leaves McGwire with 30 home runs. And the majority
of these are only if McGwire pulls the ball
or hits to the opposite field. If McGwire
hits it to left center or right center he loses
15 more home runs. And if he hits them to
center field he loses 10 more. McGwireʼs
five home runs farther than 500 feet are
really the only safe ones, if in fact McGwire
loses 100 feet on his hits when he is not on
steroids. So do steroids make a difference?
I would say that steroids can make quite a
difference if this is the case.
Mr. Gant says that he feels “cheated”
regarding the 1985 World Series, and that
“sports are a lot more enjoyable to watch if
youʼre witnessing extraordinary athletic aptitude instead of chemically created ability.”
Wouldnʼt Mr. Gant feel cheated if McGwire
had used steroids? This also goes along
with another comment Mr. Gant made,
saying “the way some people look down on
athletes who use chemicals isnʼt fair.” Yes,
it is fair the way people look down on them.
They cheated. It is the same way people
look down on former The New York Times
journalist Jayson Blair because he made
up quotes and attributed them to people
in his articles. It is the same way people
would look down on someone who got
caught cheating on the ACT or plagiarizing
an essay. These people are trying to skirt
the system and give themselves an unfair
advantage.
Whether MLB should ban steroids or
not is obvious to me. Mr. Gant says, “using
steroids sends a bad message to young
athletes. Thatʼs what they say in Congress,
anyway.” Is Mr. Gant encouraging steroid
use among young athletes? Does Mr. Gant
doubt the danger of using steroids? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics,
side effects of steroid use include baldness,
sleep problems, high blood pressure, heart
disease, liver damage, cancer, stroke and
blood clots. Male side effects include low
sperm count, impotence, increase in breast
and nipple size and enlarged prostate.
Female side effects include reduced breast
size, enlarged clitoris, increased facial and
body hair, deepened voice and menstrual
problems. These do not include emotional
and psychological side effects such as
“ʼroid rage,” hallucinations and paranoia.
Even worse, young people who take
steroids are at a very high risk of stopping
their growth altogether. Does anyone still
doubt that steroids are dangerous? Does
anyone still doubt that steroids should be
banned in baseball?
Nick Cipponeri
Freshman
Index corrections
l
An article on Page 1 of the March 24 issue of the Index incorrectly identified the retitled position of associate vice president of
enrollment management.
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