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U.S. budget cuts could create obstacle for students and job-seeking graduates

March 5th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Extensive U.S. budget cuts –to the tune of $85 billion for 2013– took effect on Friday unless Congress acts to prevent sequestration. These cuts are the result of the Budget Control Act, a 2011 piece of legislation stipulating if a bill to reduce the national deficit is not produced, across-the-board cuts will kick in. While the cuts don’t apply to the majority of the money spent by the U.S. government, including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, the sequester’s effects will be substantial, especially on more vulnerable populations such as women and children. In terms of education, the White House estimates that almost every state would receive at least $1 million in cuts to funding for primary and secondary schooling, with some states including Georgia, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas and California each … Read entire article »

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment

Album review: STRFKR has seven tracks too many

March 4th, 2013 | Add a Comment

The second that STRFKR’s second full-length record, “Reptilians,” dropped in 2011, I already had a pretty good idea of what to expect from the band’s third. STRFKR – formerly Pyramid, formerly Pyramiddd – hasn’t budged from the palatable electronica territory since its 2008 debut, cranking out polished Electronic Dance Music with hints of synthpop over and over. For a band that changes its name as frequently as it changes its look, the music stays pretty static. The expectation for “Miracle Mile” isn’t what new direction the sound has taken, rather, whether the band has taken a new one at all. “Miracle Mile” offers 50 minutes of new dance material, but it’s nothing we don’t already know. Superfluity is a hallmark of dance music, synth pop, and club hits. To a group like … Read entire article »

Filed under: Arts & Entertainment

Why students should care about the Violence Against Women Act

March 4th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Protections for Native Americans and members of the LGBTQ community were removed from the proposed bill last week. Congress could make campuses safer by reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act or VAWA. Since it was first passed in 1994, VAWA has been one of the most critical, effective and life-saving tools in the fight to end sexual assault and dating violence. It has always received vast bipartisan support, as it did when it was passed in the Senate last year with 68 Senators supporting it. But somehow, despite intense negotiations in December, the 112th Congress was not able to pass a final VAWA before the Congressional session ended on January 1st. This is unacceptable. Every day that the 113th Congress fails to pass a VAWA that protects all victims, more … Read entire article »

Filed under: Opinion

Q& A with Brent Husher, Coordinator of the Virtual Library

February 19th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Hometown: Farmington,MO Do you have a sidekick?:  My students What career would you choose in an alternate reality? Planting trees everywhere What was the last restaurant you patronized?  Kokoro Maki House. Favorite Charity? Kansas City Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Do you do any community work with the Kansas City Gay and Lesbian Film Festival?  Yes, I serve on the board. What is your favorite thing about UMKC?  Our students and campus. Finish this sentence: “UMKC got it right when …”  They built the Student Union. UMKC needs . . .Domestic partner benefits and other benefits for the LGBTQIA community. Last book you read: “Race Matters” by Cornell West Describe a recent triumph: I recently stayed up until 2 a.m., and traveled on a bus 13 hours to Lansing, Michigan with 20 UMKC folks, 12 from Mizzou and four from the … Read entire article »

Filed under: Student Life

Do the Harlem Shake: UMKC to participate in national craze

February 19th, 2013 | Add a Comment

A year ago a DJ in New York called Bauer released an electronic dance track called ‘Harlem Shake.’ One year later, this track is likely to make it into the top five singles chart this week, powered by an Internet dance craze. According to YouTube, 4,000 videos are uploaded every day of people doing the Harlem Shake. As of production there have been 12,000 versions of the popular Internet meme uploaded to, the popular video sharing service, YouTube. The Los Angeles Times cited a number of reasons why it felt the meme was nearing its peak, including what it described as an “extravagant” departure from the meme’s humble origins, adoption by a very broad demographic including the elderly, choreographed corporate versions by ad agencies and marketing departments, apparent boredom of video participants, and … Read entire article »

Filed under: Student Life

Mr. President, you’re wrong

February 19th, 2013 | Add a Comment

In the recent State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a series of bold proposals that will increase access to high-quality education. Among them were initiatives to make quality early education accessible to every child, to tame the spiraling cost of college, and redesign the country’s high schools to meet the needs of the real world. The President called for a new College Scorecard to show parents and students “where you can get the most bang for your educational buck.” These proposals complemented other efforts to strengthen the middle class, including calls to raise the minimum wage and reform immigration. Education was one of the major themes of the President’s annual speech delivered to Congress and the country. The President said, “Tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool … Read entire article »

Filed under: Opinion

Let’s establish a state sexual position…

February 4th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Ok, I’m sure that anyone reading this who knows me understands that I want everyone to take an active role in government at all levels. From going to Friday morning coffees with State Senator Jolie Justus every week to lobbying in Jefferson City for bills affecting students or nondiscrimination all the way to flying to Washington, D.C., and sitting in Senator Claire McCaskill’s office after you have been denied a meeting, you should be involved. But, some things are not necessary… Take House Bill (HB) 258 for example. It was introduced this session by Representative Pat Conway (R-St. Joseph). Last year it received House approval with bipartisan support but wasn’t heard in the Senate. H.B. 258 would establish Jumping Jacks as a state exercise in Missouri. Only Maryland has a state exercise … Read entire article »

Filed under: Opinion

Intelligence, the torch of wisdom

January 28th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Founded at Howard University by 22 African American undergraduates on Jan. 13, 1913, the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has grown to over 200,000 members. Notable Deltas have included civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune, singer Aretha Franklin and politician Shirley Chisholm. Delta women have marched for women’s suffrage, participated in public policy in the nation’s capital and hosted mentorship and service programs – all in an effort to create change within their communities. Past President, Cynthia M.A. Butler-McIntyre, noted at the fiftieth national convention two years ago that, “Delta Sigma Theta is not a monument but a movement.” In Kansas City, a citywide chapter of Delta Sigma Theta provides membership to students at UMKC, William Jewell, Rockhurst University, Avila University, and Park University. The Lambda Epsilon City-Wide Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta … Read entire article »

Filed under: Uncategorized

Gender-neutral housing is more than just a housing issue

January 28th, 2013 | Add a Comment

In the upcoming weeks, UMKC has a chance to further contribute to this generation’s civil rights movement. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans still are denied basic, fundamental rights because of an innate, uncontrollable, harmless facet of their identity. In what many call the greatest nation in the world, society is actively marginalizing your fellow citizens. We cannot allow this to continue any longer. LGBT citizens are told day in and day out that they are different, immoral and disgusting. That we are causing the downfall of this nation and the unraveling of families. It still is socially acceptable in many circles to express hateful, discriminatory, even violent sentiments about us in polite conversation. In fact, we live in a state where regular citizens feel comfortable spouting toxic hostility and contempt for LGBT people … Read entire article »

Filed under: Opinion

Increase funding for mental health services: Tragedy sparks flood of proposed legislation

January 28th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Over 200 Americans are shot every day, 47 of them children and teens. Every day, 87 people die from gun violence, 33 of them murdered. Every day, eight children and teens die from gun violence. Every day, 183 people are shot, but survive their injuries. Last week President Obama told the nation, “In the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were violently taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary, more than 900 of our fellow Americans have reportedly died at the end of a gun – 900 in the past month. And every day we wait, the number will keep growing.” The attention of several lawmakers has once again turned toward gun control. Historically, gun-control legislation comes to national prominence after a high-profile shooting. Many pro-gun-control organizations believe the … Read entire article »

Filed under: Opinion

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