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UMKC business student starts nonprofit tutoring

March 5th, 2013 | Add a Comment

While some students let time slip by, John Stamm has been proactive with his college years and tutors area high school students. Stamm, a senior majoring in business and philosophy, started Tutorious, a non-profit tutoring business, in January 2011. “It took about a year to actually begin tutoring because there are a lot of regulations surrounding the creation of a non-profit,” Stamm said. “It also took a while to convince school districts of our legitimacy as an organization.” Stamm used to work for a for-profit tutoring company. “I didn’t think it was fair that only a very small portion of households could afford tutoring,” he said. Where other tutoring companies charge upwards of $50 per hour, Tutorious offers services to high school students free of charge. Free services are offered to at risk students. Other … Read entire article »

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Rachael Coulter teaches area adults how to

March 4th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Undergraduate English Council publicity officer Rachael Coulter, a senior English major, has signed on  to create flyers for upcoming events, and plan Quidditch matches and spelling bees for Literature for Life week each spring semester. She will also attend bi-weekly meetings  a student group dedicated to English tutoring. Coulter has a  passion for  E.E. Cummings and modern poetry, but she works with a  22-year- old- student who has trouble reading a restaurant menu. Coulter volunteers at Literacy Kansas City, which pairs trained tutors with functionally illiterate adults.  The initial goal is to advance  the students from a first-grade level to at least a ninth-grade level to enable students to  achieve GED certification. “I think that people forget how crucial to everyday life is the ability to read,” Coulter said. “Many of the students’ … Read entire article »

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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 »

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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 »

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Nation’s Largest LGBT college conference is headed to KC

February 19th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Disclaimer: Roze Brooks and Caleb-Michael Files are U-News Staff members.Mal Hartigan and Kynslie Otte are former U-New staff members. The Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference (MBLGTACC) is the nation’s largest annual LGBTA college conference. Last week,  20 UMKC students and faculty traveled to Lansing, Mich. along with representatives from Mizzou and the Kansas City Art Institute, to attend MBLGTACC 2013. The conference will require a much shorter trip for UMKC students to attend next year. The 2,000-plus person conference will be hosted in Kansas City due to the successful hosting bid that UMKC students presented at 2012 MBLGTACC in Iowa. “This conference means a lot to UMKC for several reasons,” said Amanda Hinman, UMKC student and the conference’s 2014 Director of Programming. “Newsweek rated UMKC the 5th most gay-friendly campus in … Read entire article »

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Graduate engineering student receives distinguished award for research

February 12th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Darren Mullin, master student in mechanical engineering and Kansas City native, received the UMKC Distinguished Master’s Thesis award of 2012 for his research, titled “Effects of Deceptive Behavior on Biomechanical Measures of Standing Posture.” “I was very grateful to receive the award,” Mullin said. “I was definitely shocked to have been selected.” “Darren performed extraordinarily well,” said Dr. Gregory King, associate professor of mechanical engineering and Mullin’s advisor. “He was very thorough and thoughtful in all aspects of his work.” Within his award-winning thesis, Mullin focused on a new means of detecting deception, based on measures of fixed posture. In order to detect such deception, Mullin employed the use of force platforms to analyze center of pressure (COP) data. This approach may eventually become useful in airport screenings, credibility assessment and counter-terrorism. “This method … Read entire article »

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UMKC hosts regional robotics competition

February 12th, 2013 | Add a Comment

  The UMKC School of Computing and Engineering hosted the inaugural Greater Kansas City FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics competition in collaboration with the KC STEM Alliance on Sunday, Feb. 3. The event was held in the Swinney Recreation Center, and was free and open to the public. Both FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and the STEM  (Science Technology, Engineering, and/or Math – Alliance), prepare and encourage students to pursue careers in specialized engineering industries. Dean of UMKC School of Computing and Engineering and Board Chairman of the KC STEM Alliance, Dr. Kevin Truman, was pleased with the turnout. “I think it’s just great to see that many students involved in computer science, engineering, and information technology programs like FIRST Robotics,” Truman said. “You know, there are a lot of … Read entire article »

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Call for papers, interdisciplinary symposium

February 4th, 2013 | Add a Comment

The Undergraduate English Council and the English Graduate Student Association are hosting their second annual interdisciplinary symposium titled Articulating and Interrogating Identities.  Works accepted cover a broad range of topics that support the theme including gender, race, class, sexuality, politics and creative writing. Students from any discipline are urged to submit papers that will be reviewed by a hybrid committee of the two organizations. A 250-word abstract or general paper summary is due by March 1 at midnight.  Papers approved by the committee will be placed in panels of three-to-four students. Presenters should not prepare more than seven pages of material. Panels will be designated a faculty member to moderate questions and discussion about the works being presented. The symposium will be held on Saturday April 6 on the fourth floor of the Student … Read entire article »

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briefly mentioned: Mortar Board accepting applications

February 4th, 2013 | Add a Comment

Applications are currently available to join Mortar Board, a premier honor society in the nation promoting scholarship, leadership and service. Electronic copies of the application can be downloaded on Mortar Board’s Roo Groups pages listed under the documents tab. Those considered for induction into the society must reflect several requirements: Completion of at least 70 college credit hours as of Jan. 1, 2013. Cumulative GPA of 3.2 Exemplary scholarship, leadership and service records Commitment to involvement in Mortar Board activities during the 2013-2014 academic year. Applications are due by Friday, Feb. 15 at the Mortar Board office in the Student Organization Office Space on the second floor of the Student Union. For more information, contact Mortar Board President Frankie Banhart (fjb5yc@mail.umkc.edu) or Membership Chair Robert Robinson (rwrgzd@mail.umkc.edu). rbrooks@unews.com … Read entire article »

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House on the hill: Epperson House, rich in history, uncertain future

February 4th, 2013 | Add a Comment

The once lively and vibrant Epperson House mansion now sits empty on a hill at 52nd and Cherry Streets. The 1923 mansion, originally home to Kansas City businessman Uriah Spray Epperson, slowly deteriorates with minimal maintenance work being done to keep it from falling apart entirely. All 24,180 square feet of Epperson House will remain vacant for the foreseeable future. “There’s two main reasons,” said Robert Simmons, UMKC Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities.  “The biggest one is that the building is not ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990] accessible.”  The second concern is weather proofing the house. The ADA is a federal civil rights law, passed in the George H.W. Bush Administration, which entitles people with disabilities access to public buildings.  This requires buildings to have wheelchair ramps, elevators and bathrooms equipped with … Read entire article »

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