http://unews.com The Independent Student News of UMKC Wed, 22 May 2013 13:47:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Copyright © The University News 2011 universitynewsonline@gmail.com (The University News) universitynewsonline@gmail.com (The University News) http://unews.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg http://unews.com 144 144 The Independent Student News of UMKC The University News The University News universitynewsonline@gmail.com no no http://unews.com/2012/03/12/lent-2012/ http://unews.com/2012/03/12/lent-2012/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:30:42 +0000 Ethan Parker http://unews.com/?p=6343 http://unews.com/2012/03/12/lent-2012/feed/ 0 http://unews.com/2012/03/12/zipcars/ http://unews.com/2012/03/12/zipcars/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:29:56 +0000 Ethan Parker http://unews.com/?p=6341 http://unews.com/2012/03/12/zipcars/feed/ 0 http://unews.com/2012/03/12/valentines-day-2012/ http://unews.com/2012/03/12/valentines-day-2012/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:29:02 +0000 Ethan Parker http://unews.com/?p=6339 http://unews.com/2012/03/12/valentines-day-2012/feed/ 0 http://unews.com/2012/03/12/superbowl-2012/ http://unews.com/2012/03/12/superbowl-2012/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:27:39 +0000 Ethan Parker http://unews.com/?p=6337 http://unews.com/2012/03/12/superbowl-2012/feed/ 0 http://unews.com/2012/03/12/halloween-2011-2/ http://unews.com/2012/03/12/halloween-2011-2/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:26:41 +0000 Ethan Parker http://unews.com/?p=6334 http://unews.com/2012/03/12/halloween-2011-2/feed/ 0 http://unews.com/2011/10/24/halloween-2011/ http://unews.com/2011/10/24/halloween-2011/#comments Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:52:57 +0000 Ethan Parker http://unews.com/?p=5177 http://unews.com/2011/10/24/halloween-2011/feed/ 0 http://unews.com/2011/02/21/the-year-of-the-kansas-city-king/ http://unews.com/2011/02/21/the-year-of-the-kansas-city-king/#comments Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:28:31 +0000 Sarah Ashlock http://unews.com/?p=3313 http://unews.com/2011/02/21/the-year-of-the-kansas-city-king/feed/ 0 0:05:43 Tech N9ne outside of Strange Music in Lee’s Summit, Mo. It’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m sitting across from local rapper Tech N9ne in “the house that rap built,” his and Travis O’Guin’s record label Strange Music, Inc. I’m captivated immediately by hi[...] Tech N9ne outside of Strange Music in Lee’s Summit, Mo. It’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m sitting across from local rapper Tech N9ne in “the house that rap built,” his and Travis O’Guin’s record label Strange Music, Inc. I’m captivated immediately by his charisma and charm. He is spending his holiday writing songs to meet the March deadline for his upcoming album. He is focused and friendly, and it quickly becomes apparent why he has been described as the Kansas City King. Tech N9ne grew up as Aaron Yates in Kansas City, Mo. He wrote his first rhyme in seventh grade in 1985 after being dared to rap and began rapping professionally five years later. He went to Southwest High School, which is currently in partnership with UMKC. He used education as a tool and always craved more. “My junior year and my senior year I really started to make music coincide with my [school] work. I wanted to be smarter in my music,” he said. “I actually started going to class and learning more; so I could be smarter in my lyrics. I hate my teachers to this day, because they never did give me foreign language. I would steal psychology books and everything, because they would rather give me home [economics].” Fortunately for listeners and fans, Tech’s talent was noticed. “It didn’t hit me ‘til my graduation day from high school. I won a contest months before to open at Kemper Arena, and it fell on my graduation day,” he said. “The day I was supposed to be walking with my diploma, I chose to be on stage. That’s when I knew what I was going to do for the rest of my life.” Tech N9ne’s 2009 album “K.O.D.” was the #1 independent album in its first week of release on the Billboard Chart. That same year, he won the “Left Field Woodie” at the MTVU Woodie Awards, an award show which awards the best music voted by college students. One of the most fascinating aspects of Tech N9ne is his commitment to Kansas City. “You’ve got Mr. Kansas City. That’s me,” he boasted. Tech N9ne at the merchandising warehouse at Strange Music The Midwest might seem like an unlikely venue for success, but he proves otherwise. Although he has a home in Los Angeles, Calif., his “comfort zone” is the 816. “All my love is here,” he said. He aptly explains the unlikelihood of success in this area. “Born and raised in Kansas City where there’s not a Sony Midwest or a Def Jam Midwest or a Universal Midwest,” he said. “You have to start your own label here.” He did just that. One aspect of Tech N9ne’s skills is his ability to use his own talent to not only create a successful career for himself but also others. In 1999, he and Travis O’Guin founded Strange Music, Inc. currently located in Lee’s Summit, Mo. The name of the label comes from Tech’s love of The Doors and their 1967 song “People are Strange.” “It’s a blessing that we built this thing that we call Strange Music on music alone,” he said. “Ten years of excellence, here we are, a million records sold.” When I stepped into Strange Music, I was taken aback. This is in the Kansas City Metropolitan area? The Strange Music logo is a bat over a snake, inspired from Jim Morrison being known as “The Serpent King.” The logo is everywhere inside and out and is the diamond-encrusted necklace that Tech N9ne wears. Office rooms are occupied with hard-working Strange Music employees, and there’s an area dedicated to editing and another area focused on social networking. The most speechless moment, though, was walking into the merchandising warehouse. Korey Lloyd, the most welcoming of hosts and Publicity Coordinator for Strange Music mentioned when the artists go on tour, they take as many as 50,000 pieces of merchandise. Besides tickets, merchandise sales are what keep artists working. The beauty of Strange Music is they develop careers, not singles. “A lot of these artists just get their video put out and that song is big until it’s gone, and they’re gone,” Tech said. Strange Music is not looking for the next big song that will last for a short[...] Videos universitynewsonline@gmail.com no no http://unews.com/2011/02/14/buss-pass-vote-for-students/ http://unews.com/2011/02/14/buss-pass-vote-for-students/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:12:57 +0000 Kevin Bryce http://unews.com/?p=3235 http://unews.com/2011/02/14/buss-pass-vote-for-students/feed/ 0 0:04:02 The Max Green Line runs along Troost Avenue as part of the KCATA’s bus rapid transit system. This week students are asked to vote on a bus pass that would be included in their semester fees. The pass will cost $14 per semester and provide students[...] The Max Green Line runs along Troost Avenue as part of the KCATA’s bus rapid transit system. This week students are asked to vote on a bus pass that would be included in their semester fees. The pass will cost $14 per semester and provide students with an all-access pass to The Kansas City Metro bus system. This is the second time the vote has been proposed. The first vote was held in the spring of 2010. The vote had a low voter turnout and drew to a tie at 256 “yes” and “no” votes. This means the vote only received a total of 512 votes overall. “The first time the vote occurred, my sense was that it wasn’t very well publicized as a vote,” said Interim Vice Chancellor for Administration Bob Simmons. But it was seen as an important enough vote to give it a second go. “Students and senators saw that it was really important to push this vote again due to the large number of international students that we have on campus and the regular commuter students,” Student Government Association President Klassie Alcine said. And with the vote this year, much more is being done to make students aware. “We have a student referendum committee that actually is in charge of advertising for the event,” Alcine said. Throughout the week, that advertising team will be painting a mural in the Student Union to spread awareness for the vote. Andy Clarke, a forerunner in the student advertising team thinks the mural will be a visual aid for students. “The coolest thing we thought of was creating a mural so students can see how this is a collaborative effort,” Clarke said. “It doesn’t really matter what your major is or what you are studying. It’s an overall issue for everybody, even staff and faculty.” The artists of the mural are excited to paint while students are walking by and viewing the evolution of the piece. “We will be engaging the people around us, it is going to be a very communal experience,” studio art major Ruben Ruhl said. “We’re really brainstorming how we can cause that interaction with people who travel the bus lines.” “Connectivity is the general overall drive for this endeavor,” studio art major Scott Foulk said. With the Oak Street parking garage to be demolished in May, the Volker campus will lose more than 700 student parking spaces until the new garage is complete. The bus pass may alleviate some of the parking tension due to the new development. But not everyone is sold on the idea. “When the senate debated this issue, the biggest issue was that everyone had to buy into it,” Alcine said. “Students can’t pick and choose if they want to opt in or opt out.” With the recent increase of University of Missouri tuition, many are weary of adding yet another fee to what students already pay. “Everyone, [from] faculty, staff, and students are concerned about the cost of education,” Simmons said. But both Simmons and Alcine agree the positives outweigh the costs of the bus pass for students. “This allows students to perhaps not bring a car to campus and look at what you would save for parking?” Simmons said. “And this is a way to lower our carbon print and make the environment a cleaner place,” Alcine said, “So it really comes down to affordability, convenience, and sustainability.” The convenience for the bus has been made easier with the KCATA adding a new Max line on Troost Avenue this past January. “We’re oriented between the two bus transit lines the two Max lines,” Simmons said. “We’ve had the Main Street, Brookside line for several years on the west edge, and then as it opened January 1 we have the Troost line which actually uses the green hybrid buses.” So with all the positives, Clarke is hopeful that the vote will pass. “Now the time has come to get the vote through,” Clarke said, “We are already to connected but we don’t have a ticket to get on. And it’s so expensive right now, $50 a month as a apposed to $14 a semester is huge savings.” Voting will open 8 a.m. Feb. 15 and will close Feb. 17. Students can vote at www.u[...] News, Videos universitynewsonline@gmail.com no no http://unews.com/2011/01/31/nelson-atkins-celebrates-chinese-new-year/ http://unews.com/2011/01/31/nelson-atkins-celebrates-chinese-new-year/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:58:51 +0000 Matt Davis http://unews.com/?p=2998 http://unews.com/2011/01/31/nelson-atkins-celebrates-chinese-new-year/feed/ 0 0:02:13 Yo-yo performer at the Nelson-Atkin Museum of Art’s annual Chinese New Year celebration. The Year of the Rabbit occurs once every 12 years according to the Chinese lunar calendar, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was there to celebrate its dawn w[...] Yo-yo performer at the Nelson-Atkin Museum of Art’s annual Chinese New Year celebration. The Year of the Rabbit occurs once every 12 years according to the Chinese lunar calendar, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was there to celebrate its dawn with the Rabbits this past Friday, Jan. 28. The annual Chinese New Year celebration brought forth hundreds of people from the community, including observers of traditional Chinese culture and curious spectators alike. The ceilings of the halls in the gallery were adorned with red Chinese lanterns and banners with pictures of rabbits. Food from Bo Ling’s was available and guides were on hand to assist people through the Chinese art galleries. The array of events offered was impressive. As Jason Chen, an Avila University student, said early into the event, “So far, so good.” Students from The Chinese School of Greater Kansas City gave a performance featuring Chinese yo-yos in the museum lobby. Chinese yo-yos are barbell shaped objects that are kept spinning on a string tied to two sticks. The students performed many tricks with their yo-yos in a routine set to the song “Animal” by Neon Trees. Although their performance lacked polish, the audience seemed dubiously awed and gave them much-needed applause. The true yo-yo master, however, seemed to be their coach who has been dubbed the “Yo-Yo Prince.” He dazzled the audience by swirling multiple light-up yo-yos around his head with a high level of velocity. Yet his performance had technical errors as well: at one point a yo-yo was sent flying into the audience, causing a mild panic. Overall, the students from the school seemed satisfied and helped teach some yo-yo tricks to interested attendees after their performance was over. A teacher from the school, UMKC Psychology professor Chia-Chih Wang, gave his input on how the Chinese School helps the students achieve success. “All of those cultural activities [they learn] help them to gain a new skill,” Wang said. “Once they master that skill it increases their confidence.” At the event , there were also musicians from the Kansas City Chinese Ensemble, who played a medley of traditional songs using instruments such as the dulcimer and the Zheng, or table harp. The audience seemed so captivated by their performance, they took videos using their cell phones. Kevin Chin, a bassist for the ensemble, described the significance of music in the celebration of the Chinese New Year, “The tunes we play are all folk music…Especially during the traditional Chinese festivals we play that kind of music, and everybody really enjoys it.” The Chinese New Year is a time of good fortune and joy, and those in attendance seemed to appreciate its cultural significance. “The Chinese New Year is like what Thanksgiving is for the American people. It’s a family reunion,” said Hui Chen, a Kansas City resident who came with her husband and children. “We don’t have family here… so it’s very meaningful [to] us.” If you’re interested in experiencing this event, check out www.unews.com to see a video of the event. mdavis@unews.com Videos universitynewsonline@gmail.com no no