The Kirksville Socialite

Footage From the Chuck Berry Road Trip

Last week I made a Road Trip post about a free Chuck Berry show happening in CoMo on the eve of the first day of Fall Semester.  Like any responsible student I went to this show and got footage of the fantastic 83 year-old Mr. Berry (In a glittery shirt and sailor hat) playing "Johnny B. Goode" for an equally fantastic crowd.  1:46 is my favorite part; enjoy.

Cheers, and GO CHUCK GO!
Casey

The Fountain Gets Bubbled

Freshmen play in a bubbled-up fountain after the College Cup on Friday, August 28th.

Watch the game from home!

Can't make it to the football game? Here's how you can watch the game from home!  I'm out until after the game's done, hope to see you all there.

Cheers,
Casey

Saturday Shenanigans: Free Food, Football and "For 21 and Up"

Hey hey, Socialites!  What a beautiful day, huh?  We deserve one after the weird weather this week.

The first Saturday of the Fall Semester is upon us, and in usual fashion it presents a slew of shenanigans going down today to keep you occupied from the afternoon till the wee hours of Sunday morning.  What are these shenanigans?  So glad you asked...

First up we've got Dawgfest, that annual extravaganza on the Quad that kicks the school year off in exactly the right way.  Dawgfest is Truman's first major "here's what we got" exhibition of the year, with organizations and local businesses setting up tables and giving away LOTS of freebies.  The Student Affairs Department and the Center for Student Involvement put it on, and every year has been better than the one before it.  

One of the biggest reasons you (and particularly cost conscious college students) should go to Dawgfest is that there's free food, lots and lots of it. So much free food, in fact, that it's entirely possible to eat a multi-course lunch, and sometimes top it off with dessert.  The restaurants that are going to be representing (and many of these will come bearing yummy delights) are Domino's Pizza, Ruby Tuesday, Great Wall, Java Co, Il Spazio and La Fuente.

Playing at Dawgfest today will be a band called The Run that hails from Minnesota, and also representing will be a few Truman organizations: TSUnami Women's Ultimate, Jujitsu, Student Activities Board, Student Senate, the Women's Resource Center, the Office of Citizenship and Community Standards (woot?), the TSU Homecoming Committee, KTRM, and the TSU University Bookstore.  As far as local tables go, it looks like we'll have ones from Kum'n'Go (!), Jungle of Joys pet shop, RadioShack, Pages of Looks Hair Salon, Edna Campbell Bookstore, Hastings, the City of Kirksville and US Bank. 

Dawgfest starts at 2:00pm and lasts until 5:00pm.

Next up is the first football game of the year.  7:00pm at Stokes Stadium versus University of Minnesota-Mankato.  Free with a Truman ID.  (More about this game later...)

Finally, WrongDaddy's is having a Bulldog Postgame Celebration Party with $7 all-you-can-drink that's $6 if you wear Bulldog attire.  It starts at 10:00pm and lasts till 1:00am and is, of course, for those 21 and up.

Cheers to Truman,
Casey

TruTube: TSU has a YouTube Account!

Bulldogs, this is something to be proud of: our university has set up a YouTube account.  (Sniffle...my baby's all grown up and using social media!)

Not only that, they've uploaded a few videos already.  Looks like they're using it for outreach purposes right now; here's the first vid they've uploaded:

Cheers to our YouTubin' U, 
Casey

Blues Hog? Yes Please.

Wait, there's MORE live music in the 'Ville tonight?  To borrow a line from everybody's favorite republican vice-presidential candidate, you betcha!

And it's Blues Hog, too, so you're guaranteed a good show.  Playing with them are Eric Minturn as well as the Billington Street Boys Choir; the action begins at the Journal Printing Building at 9:00; it's an 18 and over show, and admission is $3.

Cheers to the Kirksville Live scene getting back into the swing of things!
Casey

KaiserCartel Plays the Downtown Square

KaiserCartel!  KaiserCartel!  KaiserCartel!

Now that I've dealt with my excitement accordingly, let's get down to business.  The fabulous Brooklyn-based indie group KaiserCartel is playing the downtown square tonight for the final (Already?  How time flies.) Summer on the Square Concert.  If you're new to the 'Ville, a new student, perhaps, you might not know about Summer on the Square.  Essentially it's a free series of musical performances that takes place--guess where?--on the downtown square.  This past summer they've had everything from patriotic music to a salsa-afro-jazz fusion group; it's a great way to spend a Friday night.

Tonight, sadly, is the end of the 2009 Summer on the Square series, but what a way to end!  KaiserCartel is comprised of Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel, a couple who have traveled a sort of musical love odyssey to get to where they are now.  You can read the whole story on their website (and I recommend that you do) but the gist of it is that their musical paths intersected several times before they decided that the most beautiful music they could make was with each other. (Insert "awwwwww" here.) 

Courtney is an elementary school music school teacher and Benjamin is an early childhood art teacher, but together they're the fabulous KaiserCartel, a fantastic musical duo playing some fantastic music for your listening pleasure tonight.  Their MySpace is here, and, as always, head on over to Kirksville Rocks! for more information about this group.  The show starts at 7:00.

Cheers,
Casey

p.s.  If it rains the show will be moved inside to the Kirksville Arts building, which is about a block south of the square on Franklin.

Jeff City Town Hall, Part Two: Liveblogging The Rumble

This is the second in a series of three posts about the August 26^th Town Hall Healthcare Meeting in Jefferson City.  Given the sheer amount of “stuff” I wrote down about this event I felt that it was the polite thing to do to break it into a three-part series of observations.  This part is the liveblog of the event itself, which encompasses the questions and responses asked and fielded by (alternately) both the crowd and Senator Claire McCaskill, who was holding the event. 

5:32 Finally, an escape from the hot weather outside: we’ve been let into the building.  The forum is being held in the cafeteria of Lewis and Clark Middle School; we’ve been told that somewhere between 300 and 400 people will be allowed in, and judging by both the size of the cafeteria and the size of the line outside there are going to be more than a few turned away.  I’ve broken off from the people I was sitting outside with; originally thought I'd sit in a seat in the front row but my blogger's instincts have guided me to a seat with an outlet less than a foot away.

5:34  Looks like I made a good decision: the woman with the two large anti-abortion posters from out front just plopped down next to the seat in the front row I was going to occupy, and her posters appear to be blocking the seats on either side.  Another note: the mood of people here has palpably shifted to “game on.” 

5:46  Most of the seats have been taken by now, and people are lined up against the outskirts of the seating area.  My first impression of the crowd is that they are overwhelmingly white and middle-aged: I see only two people who aren’t, and one of them is a staffer to McCaskill.  I guess I’m sitting in the “youth section” because I’ve got about 10 student-looking people around me, and together we comprise the majority of the people our age in the crowd.  The ones immediately to my right almost look like they’re high school seniors, however.  I can hear them talking about how “It’s a rite of passage to be called a ‘racist’ if you’re a republican.  When people hear you say ‘republican’ they think ‘racist.’” 

5:48  The woman with the “NO Obama” poster from the line outside is sitting all the way on the right by the media horde.  I’ve got to give it to her, it’s great positioning; the woman knows what she’s doing.

5:52  A McCaskill staffer is talking to a woman in a wheelchair directly to my left, saying, “I wish we had more supporters here; I’m seeing a lot of crazy signs.”  People are cramming a lot onto their signs, about one full Tweet's worth.

5:56  Speaking of signs, I'm noticing that there are yellow signs with red ink hanging on the wall above the cafeteria reading “Trustworthiness,” “Honesty,” “Accountability,” “Compassion,” and “Responsibility.”  I'm starting to get why they decided to hold this in this room.

6:02  The forum was scheduled to start 2 minutes ago.  Let's start the slow clap and see if it brings her out!  I won't be leading it, though, as I'm already getting a lot of stares from people: I think I’m the only person outside of the press area who has a computer.  It's weirding some people out, for some reason; maybe they think I'm a McCaskill agent embedded to document the rabble-rousers?  I’m also pretty certain that some people are trying to read what I’m writing.  I hope they read that sentence.  Yes, you.

6:06  The woman in the front with an abortion sign brings it around, showing it to people, prompting the woman standing behind me to my left to mutter, “Is it too late to give you an abortion?”  Her companion says, “Aw, that’s a little harsh.”  Sweet, American compassion.

6:10  Where's Dick Vitale when you need him?  This thing is starting.

6:11  Senator McCaskill takes the stage to a standing ovation and cheers.  I’ve been hearing that this has been happening for her at the past couple of healthcare forums; people might not like her one bit but they respect her for taking what's thrown at her time and again at these Town Halls.  Jefferson City Mayor John Landwehr introduces her and a reverend (maybe a minister), who delivers a political sermon.  It mentions the recently deceased Senator Ted Kennedy’s contribution to healthcare reform, the phrase “affordable, caring healthcare for all” and a call for peaceful and respectful dialog.  In response to this last point a man behind me snorts, and I saw a lot of people shaking their heads "no" at the Ted Kennedy mention. Apparently God needs to skip that part of the prayer.

6:14  A rousing round of applause for the reverend after he finishes and lots of murmured discussion, so much so that I can’t make out any individual conversation.  Mayor Landwehr introduces McCaskill again and gives her a Jeff City pin; when she puts it on she gets a second standing ovation.  Symbolism does things to people, doesn't it?  Two standing ovations before the meeting has even begun, not a bad way for the Senator to start off the night.

6:17  McCaskill begins by inviting the audience to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance.  I’m not sure whether this is SOP at all Town Halls, but it’s an incredibly savvy way to begin the forum regardless of whether she’s doing it to be politically savvy or not.   More rah-rah America stuff that the crowd loves In her introductory speech as she calls it the “grandest and most glorious democracy that has ever existed on the face of the planet."  I’m wondering how long this happy "We're All Americans" vibe is going to last; not long, probably, as she's already talking about how "Missourians have manners" (we'll see about this) and is saying, “it’s okay if you’re mad at me, I understand that.”

6:19  Game on, here we go.  McCaskill starts by asking anyone in the first couple of rows who is adamantly opposed to anything in the proposed reform to raise their hands.  I see lots and lots of hands, and not just in the first couple of rows.  She says that the system for asking and answering questions is going to be her drawing one of the question slips out of a basket, her asking the person if they’d like her to read it aloud or if they would like to read it themselves, and then her answering.

6:21  It figures this would be the first question: “If the proposed health care plan doesn’t go through will you support the proposed reconciliation policy that will strong arm the proposal through senate?  If so, hello socialism, Obama has the death board open to euthanize!”  There’s a lot of cheering going on, I feel like I'm at a semifinals qualifying game where the home team has just scored the first point.  McCaskill tackles the death panel part first by talking about her mother’s “end of life” plan, saying that all the bill says is that if you’re a doctor and take the time to sit down with a patient and explain their end of life decisions to them, you get reimbursed for taking the time to do that.  “That’s all it says, and anyone who says it says other things…is telling a whopper,” she says.  The cheers far outweigh the jeers on that answer.  Also, she states that she doesn’t think that the reconciliation plan is even an option.  

6:24  Holy screaming citizen, Batman!  We’ve officially got our first substantial “disturbance” of the night, and--is it?  Yes!  I think it actually might be the woman who approached me out font with the sign. (I knew it wasn't a good idea to engage her...)  To say that she has lost all sense of control and is screaming at the top of her lungs does not do this performance justice; it's like she's been wound up, just waiting to snap, yelling, “That is NOT true!  THAT IS NOT TRUE!”  Now the entire room is descending into mayhem, literal absolute, angry, violent screaming mayhem.  People are shouting random one word phrases above the fray like “Liberty,” “Constitution,” “Pension,” and “Pandora.” (The online music site?  I mean, I love it, too, but...)

6:25  Whoa, point McCaskill.  She just pointed out those signs I mentioned before that are hanging on the wall and essentially gave the woman an ultimatum: start living the values that the middle schoolers attending this school do and have some respect for the other people in the crowd who came here for a discussion, not to hear you scream.  Sounds like the mom in her is coming out. 

6:26  Next question: will it be mandatory for every member of the legislature who votes for the public option to use the public option they make Americans pay for?  McCaskill says she would support that, that Congress should not be allowed to use a different system than the one they pass for the rest of America: “I will use that option or another one that’s available to every other American.”

6:28  A woman has opted to read her own question aloud rather than have McCaskill do it, and I couldn’t hear what it was.  It must have had something to do with the rising cost of healthcare because that’s what the Senator is talking about now.  She says we’ll be paying $25,000 for healthcare per year if we keep going at our current rate.  Some guy in the back jokingly yells out, “All riiiiight!”  At least I think he’s joking; no one in here seemed to find it funny.  Here's hoping he makes it out of here alive. 

6:30  Next question: how are the mentally handicapped and the elderly going to be helped by this bill if decisions about funding cuts have to be made?  It’s signed "Mom of an autistic son."  McCaskill is talking about the sources of savings in the bill, and while she isn't mentioning any programs directed specifically towards either of those groups I think that what she’s trying to get at is that these are ways that should lower the cost of healthcare for everyone, including the mentally handicapped and the elderly cheaper.  I’m not 100% for certain on that, though.  

6:32  Now she’s talking about regulating big pharma using a story about what happened a few years back when the government tried to get those companies to lower direct prices.  Once upon a time the government gave these companies a bunch of money, agreed not to negotiate the price of buying drugs in bulk from them, and also didn't seem to care that these drugs were means tested.  The end.

6:33  Oh look, more angry shouting.  I guess they don't like that story.  Onto naptime?

6:34  New question; this time it’s written by the woman on my left.  “How will Missouri Healthnet be affected by reform?”  (Healthnet, FYI, is the state’s healthcare services for low income and vulnerable citizens.)  McCaskill says she’s not sure because there are currently 3 versions of the bill in the House and 2 in the Senate.  She encourages people to visit help.senate.gov to look at the bill for themselves and to view the recorded markup sessions. (All 52 hours of them!  I’d totally put off homework for that.)  She says that watching these will show that there was a bipartisan effort during the markup sessions.

6:36  One guess as to whether the anti-reformers in the crowd liked this question: how do we pay without bankrupting the country?  McCaskill says she can’t vote for a bill that’s not deficit neutral—apparently the wrong answer.  A fair amount of the people in the room are screaming at her, including a guy behind me to my left yelling “CRAP!  CRAAAAAAAAPPP!”  They don’t seem to believe her.  McCaskill notes that people can vote her out of office and hold her accountable for her decisions on this matter if the feel that way—apparently the right answer, a lot of people seem to like the thought of voting her out of office.

6:38  Another woman reads her own question, asking how the government can run healthcare when it can’t run anything else.  What do you know, the anti-reformers like this one, too!  A standing ovation for her.  When people sit back down McCaskill asks everyone to put their hand up if they have Medicare, and then asks those people to put their hands down if they want to give that government-run healthcare program up.  People drop their hands; they are SO angry that she just pulled that little number.  From the back I hear a guy shout, “That’s not a fair question!”  He doesn’t elaborate.

6:41  The crowd is still pretty rowdy, and McCaskill is trying to calm them down, saying, “All I’m asking, not for me, but for everyone else who took time out of their day to come here and want a good discussion with fair questions, to respect that.”  I’ve been noticing that people who don’t really know how to vocally disagree with things McCaskill says, but still want to disagree, seem to feel that the best way of doing so is to by holding up their signs.  Psychologically it's kind of a quirky.

6:42  Now a question about why there’s nothing about tort reform or portability in the bill.  Regarding portability McCaskill says it’s in the bill.  Regarding tort reform, she says that a bill was passed for it in Missouri but nobody’s really noticed costs going down because of it.  Furthermore, she says, medical malpractice cases are filed in state courts, not federal courts, and we need to respect states rights.  She says the federal government has no business telling state courts what they should be doing.  Nobody really seems to know how to argue against this point, and she actually gets a decent amount of positive feedback for her answer.

6:45  Once again, I can’t hear the question.  Something about waste in the system is McCaskill’s answer.  Apparently I’m not the only person who can’t hear what the questioner is saying: “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you; they’re shouting,” McCaskill says pointedly, which silences the shouters.  After the questioner repeats what she has said the Senator notes that she was one of a few democrats who voted against the omnibus bill, and says that she will not support a tax increase on anyone who makes $250,000 or less.  She further talks about putting a premium tax on insurance companies.  Someone shouts out, “No taxes!”  It’s unclear as to whether they’d prefer to barter with sheep.

6:48  Another event-goer opts to read her question: I haven’t had insurance for years; how will this reform help me?  The Senator says that the general idea of the reforms is to bring down the cost of healthcare by increasing competition in the system.  For example, McCaskill says, if the woman gets hit by a bus on her way out of here (It is now slightly awkward in the room, because everyone is envisioning this woman getting hit by a bus.) she’ll get taken to a hospital where she’ll get fixed even though she doesn’t have insurance.  The flipside of the guaranteed treatment is with each instance of it hospitals are going to call insurance companies and say it’s going to cost them extra for them to treat these people.  Essentially, McCaskill says, there’s a hidden tax increase in insurance premiums, and that will be reformed in this bill.

6:51  Next question: would the public option help lower costs on Medicare B as well as all the other Medicare “letters” in bringing down costs?  The answer is an emphatic "yes."  McCaskill: prevention, prevention prevention.  The US doesn’t do enough of it, and preventing people from getting sick in the first place will lower costs.   

6:52  I’m noticing that the Senator seems to be feeding off the energy of the crowd; her own version of a power hour, perhaps? 

6:53  Big, fat, controversial question alert: how will you vote if the finished bill includes elective abortion?  No hesitation from McCaskill's end: she says that she would vote “no” if it included it, to much applause.  Right now, she continues (and people don’t like that she’s continuing beyond just saying "no") there’s law that says the federal government won’t pay a dime for abortions to be performed in this country.  In the best “crowd participation” moment of the night a woman in the back shouts, “What about Viagra?  Keep that out of there too!”  Her husband is blushing.

6:54  Trucking right along to the next question: can we overhaul our current health system to make it more efficient with less government involvement?  Another crowd favorite.  McCaskill begins by saying, “Well I gotta tell you the truth,” which is something she’s repeated a few times tonight; it sounds kind of Sarah Palin-y.  She says that the private sector hasn’t done a very good job of making healthcare more affordable or less expensive in all the years they’ve been around.  She also says that she’s been watching people choose to get reelected instead of make the change they promised.  “In all good conscience,” she finishes with, “I can’t support doin’ nothin’.”

6:57  A definite pro-reform “leading question” has just been asked: “I support a strong public option.  What will happen when Swine Flu hits and all the uninsured need health care?”  (Gee, I think we'll throw a party, right?)  No surprises here with McCaskill's answer: they sick will get treated and the insured will pay for it, something she calls the “vicious cycle.”

6:58  A question about whether she’ll vote against the DHS bill if E-Verify isn’t included.  McCaskill says that she supports both the Sessions and Grassley amendments, which would incorporate E-Verify.

6:59  A woman wants to know how reform will help people who want to go into the medical field.  The Senator says she’s been hearing doctors talk about how much the insurance companies and situation is interfering with their practice.  Doctors say that they feel like they’re getting squeezed.  

7:02  A man asks if she supports a single-parent healthcare plan.  McCaskill says she does not.

7:04  Next question: if someone makes bad decisions with their body, why should I, the taxpayer, pay for their bad decisions?  McCaskills says that people who put themselves at more risk should pay more for their healthcare, but that she doesn’t like the idea of government determining who’s too fat, etc.  She gets applause for that answer, and continues, saying that there’s a provision in the bill that would incentivize people to adopt healthy habits, which would enable more private insurance companies to cover more people.

7:06  “I think you might be a doctor, I’m having a hard time reading what’s written on this question,” McCaskill quips as she scans the paper in front of her.  She reads the question: “It appears politicians are attempting to destroy this country through creation of a mass debt, getting a hold of auto industries, etc. (too many bad things politicians are doing for me to keep track of), and demonizing sectors of society.  What are you doing to stop illegals from reversing progress to help healthcare?”  Lots of applause from the audience for this one; looks like McCaskill’s going to tackle the illegal immigrant portion first.  She says that this situation is the reason that she supports E-Verify, but that it's more important to address the root of the problem—what's drawing them to illegally enter America in the first place.  Regarding the first part of the question she notes that she voted “no” on the extension of the Cash For Clunkers program.  This gets some jeers from the crowd.

7:08  As a response to the crowd response, the Senator is now saying that she’s here trying to do her job, to listen and make common sense decisions.  She notes that, in Missouri, she’s pretty much guaranteed that 50% of the state isn’t going to like any decision that she makes, and that she understands that there are consequences to her votes.  At the end of the day, she says, she’s going to try to make common sense decisions; she may make a mistake, and the people of Missouri have the prerogative to send her home from Washington.

7:11  I'm not sure how many more questions we’re going to have time for.  This is probably one of the last: how is government health care constitutional; isn’t this a government mandated forced change?  The guy who asked the question used the phrases “slippery slope” and “Pandora’s Box,” which means two things: I now have Town Hall Bingo (I was playing the Town Hall Bingo catchphrase game with myself.), and the guy who asked the question gets a standing ovation from the anti-reformers.  Is someone doing the Arsenio Hall cheer?  

7:12  McCaskill counters by asking the crowd the question, “Should it be constitutional for us to deny healthcare to people?”  Emphatic shouts of “YES!”  Looks like “Compassionate Conservatism” is officially passe.  McCaskill continues to counter the question by saying that Medicare and Social Security are not in the Constitution; something else people don’t like hearing, but don't seem to know how to counter.  Lots of signs waving.

7:13  Some guy just stood up and shouted something along the lines of, “Maybe I want to move to a mountain in Montana…”  Unfortunately people are cheering his thought of leaving MO for MT so loud that I can't discern whether or not he’s actually making a valid statement or just divulging his fantasy vacation.  McCaskill starts to respond, saying something about, “Unless we change who we are as a country, when someone shows up in the ER and is about to die-” which a man behind me responds to by barking (and it is a bark, trust me), “IDIOT!”  

7:15  The final question comes from a woman whose last name is Noriega, prompting people to mutter “Noriega?  Like the dictator?”  Yes, General Manuel Noriega's daughter is a middle-aged Midwestern-bred white woman who finds herself deeply concerned about American Veterans' healthcare benefits.  *Facepalm*  Moving on...McCaskill says there will be no change to Veterans benefits other than it bringing down care costs, because most people in the Veterans system like it the way it is.   

7:16  McCaskill’s concluding the event now, saying that she refuses to stop holding Town Halls simply because there are people who want to shout and disrupt.  She notes that there are some people in this room who simply won’t vote for her again because of her support for healthcare refor; as it has before the idea of not voting for her receives lots of applause.  In addition, I’m hearing shouts of “FUCK YOU!” and “You’re fired!”  McCaskill ends the event by noting that “the vast majority of you have been respectful,” and “God bless and good night.”

Cheers,
Casey

 

Jeff City Town Hall, Part One: "I Just Want To Listen"

This is the first of a series of three posts about the August 26^th Town Hall Healthcare Meeting in Jefferson City.  Given the sheer amount of “stuff” I wrote down about this event I felt that it was the polite thing to do to break it into a three-part series of observations.  This part centers on the action before the action, specifically the people and situations encountered while waiting in line for the event.  The second part is the liveblog of the event itself, which encompasses the questions and responses asked and fielded by (alternately) both the crowd and Senator Claire McCaskill, who was holding the event.  Finally, the series concludes with some observations about the experience.

“I’m 80 years old, and I’ve seen just about everything there is to see in my time.  Haven’t seen this, though.  I’m a republican, but that’s why I’m here, I just want to listen and learn.”

At 6:00pm on August 26^th, 2009, Lewis and Clark Middle School is playing host to a Town Hall Healthcare Reform Meeting held by Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill.  I’m one of the first twenty or thirty people to arrive at the brick-build school and am sitting on a bench alongside an elderly man in a plaid shirt.  It’s hot—steamy, really; my two-hour drive to Jefferson City was in a car without working air conditioning, and I along with the man on my right cannot wait to get inside.  A suit jacket that I had thrown over my t-shirt advertising for a hometown bar lay folded on my lap, its black color not exactly reflecting the heat.

I had come to Jefferson City first and foremost to understand what was happening at these Town Halls.  Along with millions of other Americans across the country I’d seen Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter get battered by his constituents on the topic of healthcare reform, which was a sharp contrast to the largely conciliatory Town Halls President Obama, the “face” (or culprit behind, depending on your viewpoint) of the healthcare reform plan.  In true Bellwether fashion Senator McCaskill’s Town Halls seemed to be a bit of both, with a smattering of everything in between to fill in the blanks.  By attending one of these, I imagined, I was going to be getting a unique look at something that will almost assuredly be mentioned in history books as-yet-unwritten.

During the drive down I tried to anticipate what I was going to encounter.  I imagined that I was going to be seeing more people at the Town Hall who were against the reform than for it, and for them to be louder and more visible as well.  Judging by the tone of the most recent anti-reform dialog I had read I also imagined that I was going to hear a lot of variations of the words “socialism” and “Communism” being thrown around, with an occasional variant of the word “Nazi” thrown in for good measure. 

The heat, however, was something I did not expect, as the weather for the past couple of days had been delightfully unseasonable.  Up to my left a handicapped man lay sprawled on his side on a bench, his scalp turning cherry red and his general condition prompting concern from more than a few people in the line, including the police.  Having arrived to the school at 4:20 I was somewhere between the twentieth and thirtieth person in that line, and I, too, was seated on a bench with no cover from the heat.

The temperature-induced discomfort experienced by just about everyone queued up for the event made for a good conversation starter with the gentlemen seated around me.  Sharing the bench were myself, the 80 year-old on my right and two middle-aged men, both republicans and both not wanting to get into a discussion about reform.  The one on my left identified himself as a liquor and beer distributor who serviced “all of Missouri except for the bootheel,” and the one on the far right kept mum about his occupation.  Neither said much about the reason we were all gathered, particularly after I identified myself as a blogger hailing from Truman State.

I had just gotten done telling the man to my immediate right what I was in school for when a brown-haired woman holding a sign mounted on a wooden stake came marching up to us.  She was holding a sign with “NO OBama” printed in red ink at the top, the quirky capitalization and turning his Kenyan surname Irish.  Internally I cringed as she approached: she looked like she was about ready to scream at us (For not holding signs, perhaps?) and the man next to me muttered, “Oh boy…” under his breath. 

“Why aren’t more people listening to Glenn Beck?!” she cried by way of introduction. 

The woman followed this up with a jumbled sentence about death panels that I still can’t get quite right which incorporated something about Communism and criminal Obama advisors.  A tour de force in her mind, I’m sure, but the incoherent intertwining of her ideas left those of us on the bench without a clue how to proceed.  I decided to respond by trying to get her to repeat her original statement in a more coherent manner, but I had no success.  From that point forward I tried not to engage her: to be perfectly honest I didn’t know enough about the bill to justify taking one stance or another in a heated debate, and I was also half convinced that she would spike me through the heart if I said the wrong thing.  Thankfully a college student in jeans and a purple tie dye shirt came up and struck up a passionate but respectful debate with the woman’s husband, who was carrying a sign reading “Reform OK, Government Option NO. NO! NO! NO!”

They were part of a small number of people that I saw who had brought signs to the event.  The first person I saw with a sign was a woman parked near the entrance to the school holding posters of large pictures of bloody fetuses pasted above text encouraging Senator McCaskill to not support the inclusion of abortion incentives into the reform bill.  The Glenn Beck-touting woman’s signs were illegal to have at the meeting, however, but after she and her husband were done debating with the college student he helped them break the boards off so they could tote them in.

The doors were scheduled to open at 5:30, and at 5:29 the older gentleman next to me starts a countdown with 15 seconds to go.  They open at 5:31, and as we walk inside he quips, “Well, that’s the government for you, always a just minute late.”  

The last thing he says to me before we part ways is a reiteration of his purpose in attending: "I'm a republican, but I really just want to listen."

Today's Game Plan

Hey Socialites!

There's a good chance that this will be the only blog post of the day.  I'm heading over to Jefferson City this afternoon for Senator Claire McCaskill's Town Hall Healthcare Meeting at Lewis and Clark Middle School, where I'll be taking good notes (and, hopefully, video) of the event to blog about later.

In the meantime there are a few cool things I came across that I thought I'd mention.  First, the football team has rewritten the school's fight song (priginally penned in the 1970s) and may be performing it at tomorrow night's lipsync event in Baldwin Hall.  An O-line chorus, definitely something not to be missed.  Next, if you're a Truman student definitely check out ITS' new Just for Students site.  Our rockin' VPAA/Provost Troy Paino sent out an email about this yesterday, and I'm digging the site.

Alright, have a good afternoon, stay dry, and expect a few cool posts tomorrow.  Cheers.

Casey

Road Trip: Jeff City Town Hall Healthcare Meeting

Who: You

What: One of those infamous Town Hall Healthcare Meetings, this one hosted by Senator Claire McCaskill

Where: Jefferson City

When: 6:00pm (doors open earlier)

Why: Hello???  It's a Town Hall Healthcare Meeting, why not?!  You'll learn, you'll laugh, you'll cry, and you might even scream at people making nonsensical, poorly-researched arguments.  Most importantly, you'll get to brag to all of your friends (and, eventually, grandkids) that you lived history and went to "one of those things."  People protesting the people who are protesting, people--from both sides--being bussed in who couldn't tell you a damn thing about the town they're invading...the night promises to be chock full of sweet, First Amendment-enabled shenanigans.  It's free, it's pertinent and it really should be a lot of fun.  Register here.

Cheers,
Casey

ps.  Bring your camera!

U.S. News Says Truman's A Winner

Scanning through the Socialite's Twitterfeed this morning brought some happy, happy news via the Truman Alumni Twitter account: U.S. News still has some serious love for Truman.

The 2010 Edition of U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" was made available for public purchase yesterday (the rankings are published yearly in the magazine's September edition).  Within this edition lie several priority mentions for our lovely little university, so let's break the love down by the numbers, shall we? (Note: all of these rankings and explanations, and more, can be found on the About Truman "Truman News" page and on U.S. News' Best Colleges 2010 website.)

First up, we've garnered ourselves two--count 'em, two--number one rankings. For the thirteenth year in a row (and counting, I hope) we've been ranked as the number one Public University in the study's Midwest Region Master's Category.  Despite what the name seems to imply this study does not focus on masters programs; rather, it focuses on all regional public universities that offer undergraduate to masters-level degrees, with the primary focus being on the former.

We've also ranked number one in the Midwest Region in the "Strong Commitment to Teaching" category.  According to the About Truman page, this ranking is "based on surveys that identify schools where the faculty have an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching."  No argument here (barring two unfortunate experiences with professors).

We're the number four Midwest school on the list of 77 "Top Up-and-Coming Schools," and the only school in Missouri on this list.  Up-and-Coming schools are identified as those that are making "the most promising and innovative changes in academics, faculty, students, campus or facilities."  Perhaps this is due to the recent academic restructuring in the university, or the "Investing In Students" initiative spearheaded by Interim President Krueger in response to the financial crisis?  One additional possibility: U.S. News was just as thrilled with the knowledge that Dobson was finally being renovated as we were.  

Out of every single private and public college in the Midwest we've been ranked number eight.  Not too shabby.  We're also number thirteen on U.S. News' list of "Great Schools, Great Prices," which "relates a school's academic quality...to the 2008-2009 academic year net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid."

On a final, non-numerical note, it's been decided that our Undergraduate Research Program is the shizz-lizz: U.S. News highlighted it in its student success-generating "Programs to Look For" section.  Not that this comes as a surprise.

While our university is inarguably wonderful, U.S. News annually comes under fire for questionable methodological practices associated with each new fall rankings release.  So, for all of my fellow methodology geeks out, there check out this explanation of the methodology behind U.S. News' study (there are also a few links at the bottom you may want to visit) and feel free to contribute your thoughts on the study.

Cheers,
Casey

Road Trip! Free Chuck Berry Show in CoMo

Yep, that Chuck Berry.  The guy who Rolling Stone said "comes the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces [of rock and roll] together."  He's playing a free show at The Blue Note in Columbia, MO, this Wednesday night and you're invited.  Gates open at 6.  

For your viewing pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, Chuck Berry.  (Forget Johnny; go, Chuck, go!)

Cheers,
Casey

The Index Goes Bloggy

In case you haven't meandered over to The Index's website recently you might have missed the exciting news that they're adding a "From the editor's desk" blog to their repertoire.  (Insert "woot" here.)

The Index has links to 2 blogs posted up on their website.  The first is their Sports Blog, which has been operational since last year but hasn't been updated in a few months.  The second is their newest blog, "From the editor's desk," which will see weekly postings by Editor in Chief Blake Toppmeyer.  The topic of these postings, according to Toppmeyer's introductory entry:

This blog's purpose will be to take readers inside the decisions that I, along with the rest of the staff, make on a week-to-week basis in assembling our newspaper.  I think readers sometimes are uncertain about why newspapers do what they do, and readers genuinely would like to know the reasoning behind some decisions.

Cool, no?  In the post Toppmeyer also shares some news about the newest staff position, which should be producing some exciting products.  

Make a point of checking the FTED blog each week, it should be an interesting read.

Cheers,
Casey

Things New Students Might Not Know, But Should (Truman Edition)

Not that you new students haven't been blitzed with enough information in the past couple of days, but here's my take on things you really should know about campus.  Ideally I'd like this to be a groupsourced project, so add on in the comments section.  Only 36 things are on this list, I've got to be missing something.

1. Even if you're not from St. Louis odds are you'll become familiar with the Lou's high school system by sophomore year.  ("Where'd you go to school?" "Francis Howell North."  "Lame.  I went to Francis Howell--the original.  Viking pride, yo.")
2. Truman's size is one of its greatest assets.  It's small enough that you can easily establish yourself in whatever you get involved in or find the resources you need to create your own path, but it's big enough that whatever you decide to do can have an impact.  The possibilities literally are unlimited.
3. Truman's structure is another one of its best assets.  Never--never--underestimate the willingness of "the grown ups" to help you get stuff done, be they academic advisors, deans or the university president.
4. We have underground tunnels.
5. The wireless internet on campus can be a bit spotty, although they are working on improving it.  (Thanks for the money BOG!)  Outside of the dorms some of the best consistent on-campus access can be found in the lounge next to the SUB Down Under.
6. BOG stands for "Board of Governors."  They're appointed by the state to make decisions that affect students, faculty, staff, our finances and our reputation.  They meet a few times a year and you're always more than welcome to attend their meetings.
7. Continuing on the BOG kick there is a student who represents you on this body.  His name is Cody Sumter, and he would love for you to email him with any questions about the Board or decisions they make, the university, etc.  cody@truman.edu
8. Right now we have an Interim President.  His name is Dr. Darrell Krueger, and you've probably seen him meandering around campus already.  (He looks like this.)  Applications for the position of "president for real" are due at the end of October; ideally, we'll know who our new fearless leader is in Spring 2009.
9. If you want to reserve a room, table, or display case on campus (or any outside facilities) this is the site you go to.  All reservations are free.
10. There's a fabulous night during finals week called "Reading Day Eve."  Basically, the idea is that you're given Wednesday of Finals Week off to do anything but take finals, and you're supposed to use the night to...ahem..."prepare yourself" for this day.  
11. Get thee to the Train Bridge.  Stat.
12. MIPs happen.  Be responsible.
13. For roughly a week each spring and fall semester you'll probably see a group of people running around shooting nerf guns and throwing balled-up socks at people trying to tackle them.  This is a game called "Humans versus Zombies" and is a perfectly normal occurrance on this campus.  Do not be alarmed.
14. The Quad used to be a lake until they had to empty it to put out the old Baldwin Hall fire way back in 1924.
15. The wind never stops blowing here during the winter.  Never.  The virtue of adequate weather cannot be emphasized enough.
16. Campus lore holds that the first person you kiss in the sunken garden will be the person you marry.  If you are a commitophobe, take note.
17. That big open lounge area in the SUB is called the "Hub" and used to be a frightening place called "The Quiet Lounge."  Sometimes people inside would glare at you if you dared unzip your bookbag.
18. The bells in the clock tower don't actually ring; a recording of bells is played at quarter-hour increments.  Seriously, watch them the next time you hear them chime.
19. Randy, one of the janitors in Violette Hall, is probably one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.
20. The cleaning ladies on campus are awesome.
21. You can learn a lot about the university and the community just by talking to the women at Jazzman's/Freshens, the cleaning staff, and the people who work in the C-Stores.
22. West Campus is not the best place to meet people if you're new, just due to the fact that people living there technically don't have to leave their rooms for anything other than class or occasional food runs.
23. There is something evil on campus called "The Blackout Hour."  It happens in the SUB Mainstreet Market every weekday from 11:30-12:30 and means that, for that hour, students wanting to use meal plans and dining dollars at any MSM facility (general food, Freshens or Jazzman's) cannot.  Sorry.
24. Our campus radio station 88.7 The Edge, KTRM, is really, really awesome.
25. The campus newspaper, The Index, comes out every Thursday morning.  Grab a copy.
26. You can get free copies of the New York Times, STL Post-Dispatch and Washington Post every weekday via the Collegiate Readership program.
27. You really should go to at least one Student Senate meeting during your time here.  If you can't manage that, at least scan through the "Senate In Brief" section of the Index each week.  They're doing stuff, lots of interesting stuff, lots of interesting stuff that affects you.  (Their website is here.)
28. Do not ever be shy about going to the University Counseling Services.  They're a lean, not-at-all-mean, counseling machine and they are wonderful at what they do.
29. You really don't see DPS walking through campus too terribly often.  This, however, does not mean that they are never on campus.  Many times at night they'll park their cars on the walkways by the dorms.  They are also very good at ticketing.
30. You can appeal parking tickets, and it's entirely possible to win.  Here's how to appeal.
    
31. The squirrels on campus may throw something at you.  Don't take it personally.
32. On the second floor of Kirk Building is a gym that used to be the main one back in the day.  Check it out, it's super cool.
33. Yes, you can swim in the Pershing pool, and you can find open hours here.
34. You can get a personal trainer at the Rec.
35. Ophelia Parrish has a ton of cool gallery exhibits throughout the year.  (Tip: on opening nights there's lots of free food to be had.)
36. If you ever hear someone say that they talked to "T Pain" the other day, it's a good bet that they're referring to our awesome VPAA/Provost, Dr. Troy Paino.

Give me more, Socialites, what's missing from this list?

Cheers,
Casey

In the Interest of Full Disclosure

Hey Socialites, I wanted to draw your attention to something mine was drawn to today that I think is quite important and that you deserve full disclosure on.

This morning I received an email from a gentleman named John bringing my attention to two things that I hadn't--but should have--been aware of, pertaining to the recipe for Blueberry Gelato currently up in The Foodie Room.  Specifically, John mentioned that there was no media credit given to the source of the photo used to accompany the recipe and that that there was also no credit given to the source of the recipe, which is a fabulous food blog called Italialicious.

John was right on both accounts.  Regarding the recipe, there's really no other excuse for the nonexistant citation other than that the post was both written and edited in a hurry, and that I clearly did not do my part as a responsible blogger to check to make sure sources were cited before posting.  The fact that it was not an intentional omission is beside the point; hurry or not citations should have been in there.  Though the original post contained links to the Italialicious posting in the "Ingredients" and "Directions" headers I neglected to note the linkages as well; both situations have been amended accordingly, and I assure you this will not be happening again.

The picture situation is an entirely different matter however, and one I'm a little frustrated about at the moment.

Since moving from a Wordpress Blog (where captions for source citation or other purposes could be added underneath the picture) to a TypePad Blog (which does not allow for below-image captioning) my SOP with external image citations has shifted to the following:

1. Enabling a caption to pop up over the photo when it was scrolled over with a mouse; and
2. Enabling users who clicked on the image to be taken directly to the source site

While image captions and click-transfer are working for me in my Dashboard (usually the only way I access the site) they don't appear to be working on the published blog and on a few pages.  At the moment, honestly, I have no idea why; until I get tech support's help on this I've disabled all the affected media and likely won't be posting any more media from external party sources until I know how to prevent more situations like this from occurring.  

I'm incredibly grateful that John sent me that email.  Whether it's bloggers knowingly neglecting to cite sources or just not even knowing that it's something they should bother to do--neither of which is acceptable--citations aren't always SOP for the blogosphere, and that's not a trait I'm particularly eager to further.  

A new page will be appearing on the site on Monday entitled "Source Citations" that will explicity detail The Kirksville Socialite's citation policies and procedures.  It will also detail how to make a complaint about material seen as being inadequately cited; I'd like to invite all of you to utilize the contacting information on that page should you ever have a question adequate citation.

Until I figure out the issue with the media expect posts to be visually sparse--apologies, I know that images help things along, but I have exactly zero (negative, if that's even theoretically possible) interest in the site being known for copyright infringement.

Big cheers to John for emailing me today,
Casey

Meet The Class of 2013 (The Blue Jell-O Generation?)

So who are these one thousand something-hundred high school grads joining the ranks of thousands of Bulldogs this year?  Beloit College thinks it can provide some answers.

Each year Beloit College puts out their "Mindset List," a list of facts about cultural influences that that year's incoming American college students were potentially uniquely affected by growing up.  A few days ago they released their Class of 2013 Mindset List, and I thought more than a few of the items on it were worth mentioning.  (For the full list click on the "Class of 2013" link, which will take you to Beloit College's Mindset page; there you can search by year to see what cultural factors might have played a part in shaping you and others who graduated from American colleges and universities in the same year you did.)

It should be noted that the Mindset List assumes 18 years of age upon entrance into college; happily more people are seeking higher education at any age (cheers to that) so for that reason, and many others, it shouldn't be read as an indicator of all those who will graduate from their undergraduate institutions in 2009.  Ahem, without further ado, a few nuggets from the Mindset List...

For members of the Class of 2013 this is the second time most of them have begun a new chapter of their lives while America is engaging in and debating the merits of an Iraq-based war, the first time being the year they were born.  

These students have never known life without many amenities: their edible experience of life has always included cookie dough ice cream and blue Jell-O, and for as long as they have existed so have flat screen televisions, Super Nintendo (or better) game systems, and video copies of Disney's Fantasia.  For them the European Union has always existed in some form or another, and NATO has never known quite what to do with itself (what with the Cold War having ended the year of their birth).  They have never experienced an era with an intact Soviet Union but have always known two Koreas in the United Nations.

Socio-politically the Class of 2013 has always known an American health care system on the verge of keeling over.  For their entire lives (up until very recently) more than half of the Supreme Court stayed the same, smokers haven't ever been held up as an economic force that deserves respect, and gays in the military have always been a hot discussion topic.

Their television has always consisted of Cartoon Network, Comedy Central as we now know it, condom advertisements and real-time coverage of wars.  It has also shown them Phil Jackson coaching championship basketball every year he has been head coach since, the least of which was certainly not the Chicago Bulls winning streaks which began the year they were born.ap has always been mainstream, Ozzy Osbourne has always been "coming back," and Britney Spears has always been in some form of the public eye. 

Finally, the Class of 2013 has also gone without: sadly, they have never known a world in which either Dr. Seuss or Miles Davis was alive.

Cheers,
Casey

Live Music This Weekend

The week is over, the new kids are coming to town tomorrow, and the weather...eh, rainy.  But put all of those things together and that means that it's time to party.  What better way than with some live music?

Tonight Wrong Daddy's is playing host to the fabulous Blues DeVille; the show was originally scheduled to be played on the Kirksville Downtown Square but rain prompted the move.  It's still free, however, and still starts at 7:00pm.  

Tomorrow Mulanix Street Orchestra is playing a show at Il Spazio with Manhattan.  It's free and they're great, so there's really no reason not to attend.

Cheers,
Casey

ps.  Seen who's on tap for next Friday's Summer on the Square concert series?  Kaiser Cartel.  Oh yeah.  Check out Kirksville Rocks! for the goods on these guys.

Where In The World Are Socialite Readers?

The site host is back up!  (Insert woot.)

As I was dilly-dallying yesterday during the 6+ hours my blog host was having massive technical difficulties I peeked into the Socialite Google Analytics report.  For those of you who have never heard of or don't use Google Analytics think of it as a massive statistics generator for all things interwebby.  GA lets me see all sorts of fun (and practical) data: how many visitors I'm getting, geographical regions I'm getting readers from, the average amount of time they spend on my site, what websites I get most of my traffic from, and daily, weekly and monthly trends for site hits.  It is, essentially, the shizz-lizz.

Last night the geographical data report caught my fancy.  I hadn't really looked at it since I first installed GA for the site and in no way did I expect it to tell me what it did.  Thought I'd share, it's pretty interesting.  

The blog is (or has been) read in 8 countries: America, Canada, South Korea, the UK, Japan, Morocco, Denmark and Ireland.

Within the US most of the readers are located in Missouri (surprise), with Illinois, Kansas and Arizona representing the next largest reader-generating locales (respectively).

32 out of the 50 states have readers located within them.  The 18 that don't are in white below (click on the image to bring up a larger version):

It appears that I have some work to do in the Northern Midwest and upper New England, though at the moment I can't envision how to tie in bison and Nor'easters into the Kirksville scene (though some of our winters can be pretty nasty).  It's also a little disappointing that no one in Vegas is interested in KVegas (yet).

Even though the reader in Morocco threw me for a loop--though I think I can explain it now--the most unexpected reader location probably comes from Kotzebue, Alaska, a town of roughly 3,000 located 33 miles north of the Arctic Circle.  If, like me, your curiosity is piqued by this you can visit the Kotzebue website to learn more about this lovely little Alaskan hamlet, taking special care to check out the pictures of the town in winter (terrifying) and of the one time the Goo Goo Dolls visited.  You can also check out their Facebook group. 

Cheers to international blogging,
Casey

TruTube: Hitler Misses Truman Week (And Shotguns Beer?)

Editor's Note: Both the name of the video's creator and the comment they made in response to this post have been removed at the editor's discretion.  Any questions regarding the removal should be directed towards the editor of the site.

If you've been living under a rock for the past year chances are that you've missed the "Hitler Meme," the trend of spoofing a specific three minute portion from the 2004 German film "Downfall" that depicts the last days of Adolf Hitler.  The three minute clip is one of the most intense parts of the movie: Hitler's top adivsors inform him that his regime is essentially ruined and the Fuhrer responds violently, shouting at and blaming those around him for the defeat.  

Parodies of the clip first surfaced on the internet a few years ago.  They're made by inserting subtitles into the film that seemingly change the topic of Hitler's rant from the fall of the Nazis to...well...something completely different.  So far, parodies have been made that show Hitler raving about everything from getting banned from playing Xbox Live, to finding out that Michael Jackson has died and can't perform at his birthday party to Sarah Palin resigning, to name a few.

A new, Truman State University version has been making the rounds through the Truman Facebook/email network the past couple of days.  The concept of the video is that Hitler (who, the video implies, is in a fraternity) freaks out after being informed that partytastic Truman Week has been scrapped in favor of Summer Orientation sessions.  The creator of the video sent an email to the Socialite inbox a few days ago with a link to it and the invitation to post about it.

I've gotten a pretty wide variety of feedback on the video from a number of people over the past couple of days, and I think reactions can be broken down into four groups:

1. Those who think the entire video is hysterical;
   
2. Those who take think some parts of the video are funny, but who didn't find the jokes about roofies or rape or the portrayals of two on-campus sororities funny;
3. Those who think the entire video could have been funny, but was ruined by the aforementioned; and
4. Those who don't or have never attended Truman, and understand none of it

Here's my take (and please feel free to disagree with this as you will). There's a lot about this parody that I enjoyed, particularly the first minute; because of it I honestly don't believe that I'm going to be able to watch this scene in "Downfall" now without thinking of Hitler hissing the phrase "shotgunned a beer."  I also appreciated the creator working in a substantial portion of references only members of the Truman community would get, such as the comparisons made between former University Presidents Jack Magruder ("ol' Captain Jack") and Barbara Dixon that ran rampant when the latter ascended to the presidency.  They managed to skillfully parody the excessively vitriolic perception of Dixon, especially that of her being anti-Greek. ("She brainwashed everyone into thinking that college was actually about learning!") 

There are a few things about the video I did not enjoy, prominent among these being a line about rape at 2:50 and the less-than-glowing portrayals of two sororities on campus.  Regarding the former: I know more than a few people who've been raped and what it's done to them, so I don't think I'll ever be able to find humor in the subject. Regarding the latter: I'm not sure why these are in there, frankly.  I don't know if the references were supposed to be representing some supposedly "commonly held" ideas about those particular sororities--which I've never heard before and don't share--but I felt they distracted from the rest of the video.

Like I said, though, I think that there are some genuinely funny parts in this parody (the final line is just fantastic) and I respect the fact that the creator put a product out there for anyone and everyone to comment on probably knowing full well that there were going to be a few people who would take offense to it.  So, if you find yourself so inclined, check it out and share your thoughts.

Cheers,
Casey

5K-tastic

Hey Socialites, wanted to follow up with some happy news about something I posted about earlier.  I recently got a message from Tad Dallas, the organizer of the TD 5K held this past weekend, letting me know how the event turned out; apparently there were 18 people who participated in the race, which not only allowed him to break even with the money he had personally invested in the event but to raise an additional $100 for the Parkinson's Research Foundation.  Top that off with the fact that the post-5K barbecue held afterwards was, in his words, "delicious," and I think it's safe to say the event was a success.

He also informed me of a fabulous opportunity to expand your wardrobe: t-shirts from last year's race are available for purchase at a cost of $10, so if you'd like a unique tee (that you didn't even have to run for!) and a chance to help out an absolutely great cause give Tad a holler at tad348@gmail.com.

Tad gave me permission to post the fininsh line pictures from this, so--because everyone loves a good victory--here are the pictures of race participants crossing the finish line.  Click on each picture to pull up a larger image.  Kudos to the guy who ran in the shorty-short American flag shorts, by the way; that's pure patriotism.

Cheers,
Casey

p.s.  Apparently a participant had so much fun they puked in the lawn of a school.  They shall remain anonymous, but man, you know it's a good race when that happens.

     

The BOG and the Amnesty Clause

Why did the Board of Governors reject the Sexual Assault Amnesty Clause?

Hint: it’s not because they’re pro-rape, and it’s not because they’re out to squelch student initiatives.

It’s not because the Board is apathetic towards students assaulted while attending Truman, and it’s not because they felt that Truman students shouldn’t be allowed to affect changes within the Code of Policies.  Nor was it for lack of effort on behalf of the Truman students who came up with the initiative, or the University administrators who worked with them to shape it.

The Amnesty Clause was rejected at the June 19^th/20^th two day summer meeting on the basis of its adoption being something of a legal nightmare.  To understand why it’s necessary to look closely at a two subjects: first, the nature of the proposed Amnesty Clause, and second, the “legal nightmares,” both in terms of passing the clause and post-passage implications.

On the election ballot this past spring the Student Government presented students with the opportunity to vote for or against proposed changes to Chapter 8 of the Code of Policies, otherwise known as the Student Conduct Code.  Within the eleven sections of the Conduct Code lie "standards of student conduct, and the procedures for the enforcement of such standards" that are, ideally, "fair and reasonable." 

The Sexual Assault Amnesty Clause would have modified Section 8.05.03, exempting individuals reporting a sexual assault in violation of another portion of the Code when the assault took place from the legal ramifications of the violation of the Code.  For example: reporting an assault while under the influence—of alcohol, perhaps—would result in the reporting individual being exempted from the charges of being under the influence because they reported it.  Over 1,000 students eventually voted to support changing the policy, and the Student Government took its proposal for change to the Board with their backing.

Though the proposal had widespread support from the student body—there was certainly substantially greater support for this ballot issue than for any other in recent memory—it did not pass.  Why?  What could possibly be the problem with wanting to adopt a policy that would encourage victims of sexual assault, or individuals who know of a sexual assault, to come forward without fear of getting in trouble for doing so?  

If the only effect from changing Chapter 8 was that it would have provided a greater incentive for the assaulted or individuals who know about a sexual assault to report it the Board would have changed it.  Guaranteed.  But there are more issues involved in changing this policy than simply changing the policy. 

Consider the Supremacy Clause, for example, otherwise known as Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution.  It states:

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."

The question, then, is if federal law—or even state law, for that matter—dictates that an offense is an offense should seven individuals at a publicly-funded institution have the power to supersede that law?    

Accompanying the passage of any amnesty clause is the matter of declaring certain offenses non-prosecutable under certain circumstances.  No doubt at least one of the four lawyers on the Board was considering something similar to the following while reviewing the proposed change to the code:

Party A is sexually assaulted by Party B while both are underage and under the influence of alcohol.  Party A reports the assault and Party B admits guilt.  During the ensuing investigation both Parties freely admit to being under the influence of alcohol.  Only Party B faces University repercussions for this offense (in addition to facing University repercussions for sexual assault), however, and Party B sues the University for unequal application of the law.

Would Party B have a case?  Of course.  Though the passage of the Sexual Assault Amnesty Clause would empower victims to (quite rightfully) get the justice they deserve, it would also create a situation where the University, by passing it, agrees that there are certain cases in which the law should not be applied equally.

Making the decision to pass or reject the Sexual Assault Amnesty Clause was more complex than passage = pro-victim, rejection = anti-victim. (Not that its complexity is different than that found in most other legislative changes.)  By no means should the Board be considered anti-student or pro-rape because of their decision in this particular matter; legal eagle to the wazoo, sure, but that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.  The Truman Board, like every university Board, is explicitly charged with acting in the best interests of the university; this means they try to protect the entirety of Truman’s assets with each decision they make, even if one group under their purvey (students, faculty, or staff) feels they should go about it a different way.  

If you're interested in an example of a university that has included a sexual assault amnesty provision into its student conduct code you can look at the University of Portland, where a recent high-profile assault incident resulted in the adoption of one such measure. 

Cheers,
Casey

Kirksville Socialite On YouTube?

1)  Yes.

2)  2 videos are up on the new YouTube account now, both from this past Monday's concert at the Dukum Upp, featuring great performances by the Mulanix Street Orchestra and John Nolan.

3)  Be gentle.  Though I think the quality of these videos isn't too shabby for having been taken with a camera I feel the need to point out that a) this is a new camera that I am still getting used to, and b) I am not Spike Jonze. (I wish.)  There are a few brief instances of blurrage I've noted in both videos, and hopefully with a little time and practice I'll be able to get a firmer grasp on the ins and outs of shooting vids with my camera.

4)  Enjoy!  More will hopefully come soon.

Cheers to expanding into other realms of media,
Casey

New Library Website

Mmhmm, check it out now y'all (one hop this time!).  I kid, unless you happen to be in the mood for the Cha Cha Slide on this dreary Sunday.  Seriously, though, check out the new Pickler Memorial Library website.  I'm not entirely sure when it launched but it's definitely a step up from the old one: it's got a cleaner format that's much more user-friendly, but retains all of that fabulous academic search prowress you're used to.  

Speaking of the library, they were gearing up for the arrival of the new Truman freshman the last time I was in there:

Quite true, and today would be the perfect day to browse their shelves for a good book to settle down with in one of their exceptionally comfy chairs (I prefer the lower, boxier-looking ones myself).  Unfortunately, August Interim hours dictate that their doors remain closed today, so you'll have to settle down with one in your own abode.

Cheers,
Casey

ps.  "Class of 2013"?  Holy non-mutual decade graduates, Batman.

Liveblogging the BOG

Who wants to sit through several hours of reports?  This blog.  Live, from Kirksville, it's the August 2009 BOG Meeting!  (To see the most recent entries in the liveblog hit the page refresh button; they will appear at the bottom.)

1:00pm:  And we're off!  Chair Cozette calls the meeting to order.  In attendence are John Siscel (Secretary), Cheryl Cozette (Chair), President Darrell Krueger, Cody Sumter (Student Rep), Karen Haber, Ken Read, John Hilton, Mark Wasinger, and. Mike Greenwell.  Matt Potter (Vice Chair) is here via conference call and Peter Ewell is absent. 

1:05pm: President Krueger is giving the President's report.  Jean Carnahan will be the December Commencement speaker.  Also, Governor Matt Potter appears to be having minor difficulties with the conference call system.  Periodically we're hearing him announce his presence in the conference call as he re-logs in; quite amusing.

1:10pm: President Krueger says that it looks like University funding is going to be stable over the next couple of years.  We have a little over $5 million of sustainability funds for this year, which he says we should look at as "bridge money."  He also says revenues are down about 7.5% from last year, but that the bridge money is helping us from feeling it.

1:15pm: President Krueger's speaking softly (per usual), making it difficult to hear some of the things he's saying clearly.  Right now he's talking about ensuring that university scholarships are well looked over during this period of financial turmoil.

1:17pm: Chair Cozette realizes she forgot to greet the individuals who've gathered to hear the meeting and does so.  Nice touch.  Now we're onto a discussion of retaining legislative consultants to protect our $50 some million in capital bonds.  President Krueger recommends that we add a consultant who can work with the leadership in the state House and Senate.  He's contacted 3 people, but his favorite is an '82 grad of Truman named Sherry Doctorian (can't be sure of this; I'm fact-checking now) he calls her an outstanding young woman.  Matt Potter weighs in on his choice, saying that it's a good move to get a Republican to help us out in Jeff City.

1:22pm:  President Krueger is getting several questions from the Board about the matter of selecting a consultant.  

1:24pm: There's a lot of concern on the Board with regard to whether we'll retain our 2 current lobbying contacts, who lean Democratic.  Governor Hilton is worried about the appearances of adding another lobbyist in this economic climate.

1:26pm: There's a lot of talk about "alienating" our lobbying contacts if we choose to not retain them in favor of hiring a full time lobbying consultant.

1:28pm: There's a motion to form a committee to consider re-appointing the current consultants and to appoint a committee to select a new full-time consultant.  Chair Cozette thinks it best if the committee is formed with a Republican, Democrat and an Independent.  Governors Potter, Read, and Haber are selected for the committee.

1:32pm: We're moving on to the Academic Affairs report.  VPAA/Provost Troy Paino and the Director of the new Truman Institute (and associate Comm. professor) Dr. Kevin Minch talk about the progress of the T.I.

1:33pm: Dr. Minch takes the floor.  FYI the Truman Institute is "a new venture aimed at developing, implementing and directing initiatives and partnerships that will generate revenue, increase enrollment, and sustain the on-going operations of the university."  

1:35pm: Repeated loud "wooing" is heard from the ResLife SA training next door.  Someone remarks that it appears they agree with the ideas for the institute Dr. Minch is proposing.

1:38pm: Dr. Minch says the effects of the Institute will be "tangible and intangible."  Increased online courses, building better relationships with alumni and prospectives through outreach, and grant acquisition are a few subjects that come up repeatedly.  They're very much into "ideas" by the sounds of things.  Initial observations are that the Truman Institute has a ton of potential to positively affect this university in any number of ways.

1:42pm: Provost Troy Paino (a.k.a. "T Pain") takes the floor, introducing a smattering of Deans in attendance in the gallery.

1:43pm: We're discussing changes to faculty tenure and promotion (Chapter 6 of the BOG Code of Policies) that were brought up during the last BOG meeting.  A few changes have been made since this was last proposed, namely to archaic language involving faculty payment policies that just updates the section to reflect what's actually happening and to post-promotion review policies.  A motion is made, seconded and carried to accept the changes the Provost brought forth.

1:47pm: Dean of Student Affairs Lou Ann Gilchrist and Student Body President JoEllen Flanagan are presenting their report on the campus response to the Art and Science Report that came out a few years ago.

1:49pm: Wish I could scan in these slide handouts they've passed out.  President Flanagan and Dean Gilchrist are whipping through this thing.

1:50pm: So what fun and spirited things have been happening on campus since this report's release, according to the dynamic duo presenting the report?  Activities embedded in athletic events (designated seating for students in Stokes stadium, Greek and ResLife spirit game, distributing Truman shirts with IDs to freshmen at the beginning of the year.)...

1:52pm: Dean Gilchrist is talking about the success of cookouts they've held.  Apparently over 4,000 hotdogs were distributed by Student Affairs last year.  Governor Wasinger makes some crack about us roasting squirrels at Squirrelfest; pretty sure that's never going to happen.

1:55pm: Other fun things that have happened on campus, according to Student Affairs, are Oktoberfest, Halloween, the Super Bowl Watch Party, March Madness watch parties, and Career Center Spring Training event.  Dean Gilchrist also mentions that events geared towards "special interest groups," (like the Ferris Bueller's Day Off event, the trip to La Traviata, the trip to go see Hairspray) were quite successful.

1:57pm: President Flanagan is talking about her experience with the "Lights Camera Runway" fashion show that happened in the SUB this year.  CSI Director Laura Bates turns around and asks me if I remembered whether or not that was the event that Flanagan had to practice walking for up until the last minute.  The answer is y-e-s YES...but she pulled it off.

1:59pm: Going over all these events is reminding me that Truman actually did a damn good job this year with trying to make this school a little bit more fun.   

2:01pm: Fun academic-y things like the Marathon Class and the Winery Trip are being mentioned.  I could use a glass of wine right now, I think my fingers are cramping up.

2:03pm: Dean Gilchrist is closing the presentation with a very heartfelt statement: "fun and academics aren't exclusive, they're interdependent."  President Flanagan says something I've been waiting to hear one of these two presenters say for the past 20 minutes: these events are helping create "campus traditions."

2:05pm: Hells yeah!  Dean Gilchrist says she expects that "Oktoberfest will probably happen again."  By far my favorite event of last school year.  Rock on, Dean G, you da man...ahem, woman.

2:07pm: Alright kiddos, fun time's over.  Mark Gambiana, the Vice President for Advancement, is now speaking about getting money for the university.

2:09pm: Had to double check this, but I think I've got it right.  Jean Carnahan will be the December commencement speaker.    

2:12pm: A bag of schwag filled with Student Senate promos that Student Body President Flanagan brought to the meeting is making the rounds.  Roughly 3/4 of the people in the room are now either wearing bright purple Senate rubber bracelets, holding bright purple rubber Senate keychains, or are sucking on cherry or grape Senate suckers. 

2:15pm: Speaking of awesome promotions, Gambiana says someone's going to skydive onto midfield to present a check for the university during Homecoming.  Wicked, I vote President Krueger does it.  (Gambiana says Krueger hasn't offered yet.) 

2:16pm: Jerry Wollmering, the TSU Athletics Director, is giving the Athletics Report now.

2:18pm: Heyo!  Wollmering's talking about Athletics promoting via Facebook and Twitter.  It's like he's trying to make me happy...

2:19pm: Wollmering says we have a "strong female administrative presence in the Athletics Department."

2:21pm: Breaking down athletics scholarships now.  He says rarely do students get a full ride on athletics scholarships, that they're broken down between several hundred students. (326, I believe he said.)

2:22pm: Interesting.  There are significantly more men playing on teams at Truman without scholarships than there are women.

2:23pm: Last year all athletic teams maintained a G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher.  Also, Truman Athletic's Academic Success Rate (percentage of student athletes who graduate) is 95%.  Higher than the university average.

2:25pm: Talking about the Student Athletic Fee now.  It's the third year since it was implemented and it's been helping.  Wollmering expresses his appreciation for President Flanagan's support for the fee and for the student body's support of it.

2:28pm: The decision is made to talk about General Revenue Requests for Fiscal Year 2011 to accomodate the phone-based Governor Potter.

2:32pm: We're expecting the same level of funding as we received this year and we're also asking for a 4.2% increase, which we don't expect to recieve.  Doesn't hurt to ask though.

2:33pm: Governor Potter (chair of the Budget and Capital projects committee) is presenting his case to approve increased funding for improved wireless internet facilities for the dorms.  I like.

2:35pm: Time to report on construction projects.  Renovations to Ryle Hall are on par and on target, but there is a "Pershing Situation."  That's always fun to hear.

2:37pm: Dave Rector (Director of Institutional Budgets and Research) says that we're going to try to re-bid the Pershing renovation process.  We're also looking into ways to decrease costs for roofing repairs.

2:39pm: No new massive construction projects.  Dobson Hall is almost completed.  Renovations for CHall are expected to begin in 2011.

2:41pm: We're discussing the Local Capital Budgets for Fiscal Year 2010.  These are budgets that are reviewed and approved annually to set priorities regarding major building and renovation projects for the campus.

2:43pm: Governor Potter absconds his conference call presence to attend a wedding beginning at 3:00.  Now we're going to talk about the University Financial Report.  Appropriately, the sun has stopped shining outside.

2:44pm: Amendment: we're actually going to be talking about the results of the independent audit of the university.  Now the wind's picking up outside.

2:46pm: Governor Wasinger is talking about the problems with "historic value," scholarships and endowment.  He gave a very brief overview, but here's a good article that summarizes why this is a problem.

2:50pm: Alright Socialites, all non-Board members are getting kicked out of the room so the Board can go into closed session.  In closed session they'll be talking about personnel action, the report of the general counsel and real estate acquisitions. 

3:00pm: Out in the hallway now, where other non-privy people are mingling.  The Board is probably inside discussing their University timeshare in Florida. (Note: just so I don't get sued, this does not actually exist.)

Alright, my fingers are cramping, the action's over and I am starving.  I'll be following up on a few items during the next couple of days, and so will, I imagine, The Index.  Saw their Editor in Chief (Blake Toppmeyer) at the meeting so you know there's going to be some good coverage of it coming soon.

Cheers,
Casey

BOG Meets Today

Good morning, everyone!  What another gorgeous day, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the TSU Board Of Governors is in town for their August meeting.  There are a few meetings today that the BOG is holding today that the interested students, teachers, staff members or local citizens are welcomed to drop in on: the Presidential Search Committee and the General BOG Meeting.  (You can click on each link to find an agenda for each meeting, if you're so inclined.)

If you're finding yourself feeling the urge to learn about what's going on at the University the Presidential Search Committee meeting starts in just about a half hour (11:00) and the general meeting is at 1:00 this afternoon; both will be held in the SUB Conference Room. To get there, Enter the SUB on the side eof the fountain and it's the first room on the top floor on your right. 

Quasi-professional obligations dictate that I'm going to be unable to attend the Presidential Search Committee meeting (a source tells me that the fun won't really start happening until October, anyways).  I will, however, be attending the general BOG meeting and liveblogging from it, so if you find yourself interested but unable to be there in person know that you can always hop on over to the site to see what's happening.

Cheers,
Casey

Noah Earle Plays the Downtown Square Tonight

God the weather is just gorgeous today.  Clear skies, not too hot...a clear sign that you should make it a top priority to get outdoors.  And what better time for that than this evening, when Noah Earle plays a set downtown for the most recent installment of the fabu Summer on the Square Concert Series?

Earle's a singer-songwriter in the folk/blues vein who's won a slew of awards for his solo blues and folk performances.  I'm no math major (if she looks at her records Professor Bailey in the Math Department at Truman can attest to this) but I'm reasonably certain that laid back guitar music + incredibly emotive voice + setting sun = a win-win situation all around.  Hot damn.  Do be sure to check out Kirksville Rocks! for a great mini-bio about this phenomenal performer gracing our streets this evening.

I was bumping around his MySpace earlier on this afternoon while trying to finish up that long, long post about the Confederate memorial service I went to last Sunday and found myself repeatedly jamming out to "Head In The Sand."  I defy you to listen to that song and not start bopping some part of your body. 

Anyways, it's the usual drill regarding time and place for Summer on the Square: 7pm, Courthouse Lawn, abso-frickin'-lutely free.  Until then, if you're in the mood for a teaser or simply a good song to help the afternoon pass by, here's a video (with excellent audio quality, if I do say so myself) of him performing "Cornflower Blue" at the KC Turner House Series.  Pay attention to two things: his incredible voice and how fast his fingers move.  Both are phenomenal.

Cheers,

Casey

Of the Confederacy, War, and Missouri

"Some people say Missouri fought more with the South than with the Confederacy."

It's 3:00 on a sunny and muggy Sunday afternoon, and behind Neil Block Confederate flags curl above a large stone marker from the light breeze reaching this part of the cemetary.  Today is August 9th, two days after the Anniversary of the Battle of Kirksville, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans are holding their annual memorial service for fallen Confederate soldiers at Forrest Llewellyn Cemetary.  There, in its southeastern corner, lies a mass grave containing the bodies of over two-dozen Confederates killed that sits within a short walking distance of where the Battle took place 142 years ago.

I had learned about the memorial service by chance.  While researching for a post about the Battle of Kirksville I had clicked on an obscure-sounding Google search result that took me to a Civil War message board where Block had posted a brief, few-sentence advertisement for the event.  The dates were recent and the invitation to attend was extended to both "gents" and "ladies," so I grabbed my friend Jes and prepared for what I thought was going to be a "The South Shall Rise Again"-style event.

Jes meets me at Forrest Llewellyn a few minutes before the service was due to start.  I was running late and worried that we weren't going to find the location in time to make a polite entrance: a brief prior excursion to the cemetary to locate the marker had been fruitless, and I had no idea where the group was supposed to meet.  Not to worry, however: as I drove into the cemetary I noticed two Confederate flags mounted prominently aside a marker along with a small group of people standing nearby beside a SUV.

Only six people have gathered for the service: myself, Jes, Block and 3 others.  Dave Yound, who is there with his wife Sharon, says that attendance at the memorial service waxes and wanes, though this is the smallest he's seen it.  

The Shelbina-based SCV Captain William T. Anderson Camp (#2205) has been holding the service for eight years, beginning in 2001 when the camp erected a large stone marker to better mark the site, which Block stands beside as he talks.  The new monument is located just east of the original marker that was put in place by Kirksville locals.  27 names are inscribed on the newer stone's western face, E.M. Violette's historical records having helped to provide the means to identify the bodies in the grave.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans are an extension of the first Confederate veterans group, the United Confederate Veterans, formed in 1889 New Orleans out of a movement trying to preserve important Confederate battle sites.  It was reworked into the SCV in Richmond, VA, in 1896 with a more defined purpose of preserving the Confederate memory of the war.  On the back of Block's SCV business card is a charge delivered by General Stephen D. Lee (the nephew of General Robert E. Lee) to the group in 1906, which has since become one of the group's organizing principles:

"To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we will submit the vindication of the cause for which we fought.  To your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, and the perpetuation of those principles he loved.  Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations."

Lee's words are echoed on the SCV's website, where passages state that the history of the Confederacy is "being consciously distorted by some in an attempt to alter [it]," and that "the citizen-soldiers who fought for the Confederacy personified the best qualities of America."  

There is no mention of slavery on the group's "What Is The SCV?" page, and it's no stretch of the imagination to infer that the view of the Civil War (the "War of Northern Aggression," as it's occasionally referred to during the service) as a slavery-driven conflict is one such perceived distortion.  At the service Block makes no bones about his contention that the institution was wrong, but he also states his belief that the vast majority of people who fought for the Confederacy did so over the political and economic issues of the time as opposed to the moral issue that later came to define it.

"The soldiers who died that day were defending their rights and their freedoms.  They were defending their right to say, 'No, I don't agree with that.'  They didn't have a lot of the freedoms at that time that we have; at that time you couldn't disagree with the government," he says.

As he speaks Block is standing in front of the eastern face of the monument, on the side inscribed with the names of 17 soldiers executed on August 7th shortly after the Battle subsided.  Addressing the group under the sun encroaching upon the spotty shade we stand in, wiping sweat from his brow, he says these 17 soldiers were executed as oath-violators, though there exists little proof that some of them had, in fact, taken the oath the Union says they did.  Their being identified as members of General Joseph Porter's brigade was reason enough for them to be killed; "a clear-cut case of murder," as he describes it.

"The were right in resisting what they did.  We resist politically; their sacrifice was with blood.  They fought with blood to make sure we would never fight this conflict with blood again."

Block speaks about the conflict in past tense.  Even so I notice that parallels are drawn, consciously or otherwise, throughout the service between the "War of Northern Aggression" and current topics.  Block ties the two seemingly separate American eras together with observations on a diverse array of subjects, from terrorism ("The Union government, every government has used terror.  The act of war is the systematic use of terror."), slavery ("Cheap labor still exists today, why don't they do something about cheap labor now?"), and property ("The Union government was seizing property.  Look at eminent domain today.").  

At least two of the attendees at today's ceremoney are veterans and they bring up the general subject of war with relative frequency.  This is particularly the case when the discussion turns to perception of the Missouri guerrillas, a group of brutal Confederate fighters who were aligned with the Confederate cause but whom many modern Confederate societies don't acknowledge due to their fighting tactics.  "Ain't no place freer than a war zone," states one man on my left bluntly, himself a veteran of Vietnam.  

He also quotes Nathan Bedford Forrest, saying, "'War means fighting, and fighting means killing.'  No other way around it.  Beautiful thing would be if there could be no more wars."  Jes shoots me a glance when Forrest's name is mentioned: Nathan Bedfort Forrest was both a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army and a leading figure in the founding of the Ku Klux Klan.  The sentence is not an endorsement of the Klan but it's interesting that the source of the quote has also been the source of one of the most persistent thorns in SCV's side: the struggle to separate Confederate heritage from becoming synonymous with groups like the KKK.

Confederate heritage groups have struggled since the 1950s to separate themselves from being identified with racist, violent, white-supremacist organizations that frequently use the Confederate flag as one of their symbols.  A quick search of the internet reveals numerous condemnations of KKK and like-minded organization by both the national SCV and individual camps.  With recent leadership elections in the organization putting its resources (of the tens of thousands of members and several million dollars variety) into the hands of radical ultra-conservatives the struggle of SCV members to promote their group as a non-racist organization has once again been thrust into the forefront.  More than a few members of the organization have left in protest of what they see as an unforgivable hijacking of the group's true purpose.

Though the subject of seceding from the national organization may be on the minds of some members of the SCV around the nation, back in the cemetary we're discussing a different secession issue: that of the right of states to withdraw from the Union.  The muggy afternoon heat seems to have crescendoed to this topic, and Block even takes off his hat as he poses questions like, "Does a state have a right to voluntarily withdraw?" "Didn't we withdraw from Great Britain?" and "Why shouldn't states retain the right to voluntarily withdraw, like Texas?"

Mercifully, the heat begins to abate just as the service begins to wind down, and discussion tapers to talk about Missouri during the Civil War.  It was 1861 when the state found itself in the awkward position of being recognized by both the Union and the Confederate States of America as being a member of their  "side" in an odd twist of events.  A majority of the Missouri legislature at the time had concurred that the state should secede from the Union, however a standing constitutional convention had already declared that legislature (and governor) void after Union troops had taken the capitol.  Block reminds the group that the state saw its fair share of families torn apart by the war, what with most people's strong familial ties to the south but geographical proximity to the north.

The discussion of states' rights was, in my opinion, the most passionate one of the afternoon, something I wasn't expecting.  To be perfectly frank I'm not entirely sure what I expected going into this: never having been to any Confederate anything in my life I think I was half-bracing for choruses of "The South Shall Rise Again," or for a Gen. Robert E. Lee lookalike to come riding over the western hill on a steed.  But there was no chanting--and definitely no reenactor on a horse--just a genial gathering of people talking about history and ideas, even at one point taking an aside from the conversation to encourage me to not take their word on what they were saying but to "make up my own mind about these things."  

At the very end of the service I'm offered the opportunity to aim a vintage Civil War-era rifle that is permanently loaded with 3 or 4 rounds.  I take it (the rifle is surprisingly heavy) and am given an impromptu lecture on the complex loading, aiming and firing process that a soldier would have encountered during the Battle.  The afternoon ends with Block handing me his business card and the Younds extending me a standing invitation to drop by their house which is, they inform me, the only one around their way flying a Confederate flag year round.

Cheers,
Casey

Another theatre opportunity

Hey Socialites, here's another opportunity to get involved in local theatre.  Heather over at Kirksville Parks and Rec sent this flyer my way: KPR is holding auditions for "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown: The Broadway Musical" on Saturday, August 29th, from 4:00pm to 6:00pm in the Rotary Park Ampitheatre.  I had no idea that there was a Charlie Brown Broadway Musical, but one does exist and will be performed in Kirksville in early October, so if you're looking for a way to get involved locally (be it performing or helping out backstage) check out the flyer and head on over to auditions.

Cheers,
Casey

eCard Contest, Round 1

Howdy Socialites, the first crop of eCards have shown up in the ol' inbox.  And what a crop...

The Subject Header on this one reads: "How Aryan Are You?"

Very impressive, ladies and gents.  Keep sending them my way, I'm diggin' this.

Cheers to Todd, Mike B., Claire, Thom, and Bea for an incredibly entertaining morning,
Casey

Truman has eCards? Exxxxxcellent...

Recently I received a thoughtful birthday message from my boss in the form of a Truman State University eCard.  Did you know that TSU had eCards?  Somehow, I had remained completely oblivious to this campus service gem for four years.

It's incredibly cute that TSU has these.  I love school pride and I love people who find creative ways of fostering it, but what I love most about these things is that you can caption them any way you want to--the possibilities for mischief are endless.  I've been gleefully sending them to undergrad friends and recent grads all afternoon. (The captioning of these cards shall remain unknown but to the receiving parties.)

Practically speaking, there's a TSU eCard for every special event in your life: birthdays, graduation...they've even got 2 DNA testing ones for those awkward paternity situations that pop up every now and then.  Now how thoughtful is that?  Hallmark doesn't even do that.  Some of them even give you a snapshot of the past, like the card with the picture of the old SUB Quiet Lounge and a few in the athletics section.

Now that you know they exist, send an eCard to someone you care about at Truman today.  Better yet, send one to the Socialite (kirksvillesocialite@gmail.com) for the inaugural "Truman eCard Contest."  I'll post the best caption/photo combinations up on the site as they roll in, so unfetter your wit and let your devious muses guide you.  Bonus points to whomever can use my favorite card (This image is from the Truman eCard website):

 

Cheers,
Casey

TD 5K This Weekend

Don't forget that the TD 5K is this weekend!  See the earlier post about it for details on how to sign up and why you should sign up to participate, especially if you've never done a 5K before.  It should be a fantastic race.

Cheers,
Casey

A Correction

Several readers have pointed out to me that yesterday's post about the new downtown deli was more than a little...ahem...confusing.  This is due to the fact that there are 2 delis opening up downtown; the one mentioned in the KTVO story is not the one being opened up by the Manhattan owners, although the Manhattan owners ARE opening up one called Upper East Side.  Steve Taylor (who's not affiliated with Manhattan) is opening up Steve's Garden Deli.

So.  Manhattan : Upper East Side :: Steve Taylor : Steve's Garden Deli.

My apologies for the confusion--still not quite sure how I managed to mangle this one--and my thanks to those of you who pointed out my error. 

Cheers,
Casey

Ready for a downtown deli?

I was actually planning a post on this for tomorrow but KTVO3 beat me to the punch (It's like they knew...*Twilight Zone music*) so I'll go ahead and send you on over to their story on this.  Long story short, the guys who operate Manhattan Cafe and Bakery downtown are opening up a New York Style deli this fall.  When I was last in Manhattan I was told that its name was going to be Upper East Side, but it sounds like they're going to be calling it "Steve's Garden Deli" now instead (after Steve Taylor, one of the guys who runs Manhattan).  During that same visit my friends and I were given samples of a new breakfast item they were going to be selling at the deli: kolaches, which are Czech pastries that resemble pillowy puffs of dough filled with...well, anything you want.  Strawberry cream, blueberry cream, blackberry cream, smoked sausage and egg, and poppyseed were the named options for the addictive (and cheap, apparently) breakfast pastries.

Cheers to some great restauranteers,
Casey

Mondays aren't all bad: John Nolan playing at Dukum tonight

Guten morgen, mein Socialites.  Monday morning blues getting the better of you?Well turn that frown upside down--John Nolan's playing a show at the Dukum tonight!  

Nolan is the current lead singer and guitarist for Straylight Run, a phenomenal alt/experimental rock band he formed in 2003 with former Taking Back Sunday co-member Shaun Cooper after both left the group.  Straylight Run has five releases, including the very, very critically acclaimed (and just plain awesome) Prepare to Be Wrong EP, The Needles The Space, Un Mas Dos EP and their latest and newly released album, About Time.  Tonight, Nolan's in town on a mission to promote the release of his upcoming solo album, Height, songs from which I've been listening to (and digging) all morning.

A few paragraphs from his MySpace that sum up the solo project:

Between recent Straylight Run tours of the U.S. and Australia, John began directing his musical ideas and stockpiled personal recordings toward an emerging solo project. Recorded over a six-month period at his home in Lawrence, Kansas, John's solo songs reveal a strong dedication to the songwriting craft [Editor's note: I very much agree.], showcasing the same musical instincts that led to the success of Taking Back Sunday and Straylight Run. 

 The intricate arrangements and engaging melodies perfectly complement John's contemplative lyrics, which cut through subjects as diverse as new beginnings (Here I Am), loss of faith (I Won't Ever Be There) and Midwestern malaise (Screaming Into The Wind). 

In the meantime, John is looking forward to touring in support of his solo project and experimenting with creative ways of interpreting his songs for the live setting. His wife, Camille, who accompanies him on guitar and piano, joins John on stage. He also plans to incorporate his fellow touring musicians and even audience members into a constantly evolving live show. Whatever shape the live performances take on...

It's hard to not get excited when a musician like John Nolan tackles a solo project. The guy's produced some incredible music over the years with the other artists and projects he's involved himself in, but with an artist as blatantly gifted and creative as Nolan there's always that irresistable, irrepressible impulse to wonder what they'd produce on their own.  That question doesn't always get answered, but fortunately for us it does with Nolan.

Local group of awesomeness The Mulanix Street Orchestra will be playing tonight at the Dukum as well; they're embarking on their first tour of the Midwest after this show, by the way, so it should be a good send-off.  A note: if you've never heard lead singer Erica Fitzgerald's vocals before listen to their song "Transcendence."  The girl's voice is simply incredible.

The fabulous St. Louis guitarist Amanda Kofron will also be playing the show tonight.  She's in the folk/soul/acoustic vein and an incredibly talented musician who makes music that is just gorgeous in absolutely every aspect.

The show starts at 9:30 tonight and costs $7 to get in (plus $2 if you're a minor, per usual).  Do yourself a serious favor: kick off your week the right way at the Dukum tonight.

Cheers,
Casey

Oh Yeah, SUB Pictures.

I had tweeted a while ago (as in over a month ago) that I was going to post pictures of the new additions made to the SUB over the summer.  Shortly thereafter, unfortunately, my camera began making wookie-like noises and died, but a new camera has arrived in the form of a birthday gift from my parents.  So, pictures of the additions to the SUB:

A look inside the cafeteria with the new furniture and flat screens.

Those controversial chairs.  Opinions on the color combos ranged widely, though the bronze seemed to be judged the least offensive.

The SUB now has arcade games you can play fo' free.  It does cost $1 to change the currently-playable game to a different one, however.  This is one of the game consoles; the other one, which has DDR hooked up to it and constantly plays music, is literally right next to the Student Senate Office Window.  I'm betting that will probably get very old very quickly.

Cheers,
Casey

DREAM, Health-Care, and Rifles: Back from the weekend.

Hey Socialites, back in Kirksville from a wedding weekend and trying to get caught up on what's been happening around the 'Ville.  Here are a few links to some reads of interest:

More Swine Flu confirmed in Adair County.  (Editor's note: dang it.)

The Kirksville Downtown Improvement Committee discussed the DREAM survey results which were released earlier this year.

Speaking of things downtown, Ryan's Bar and Grill closed.  For an article as short as this one (not even 75 words) there's a surprising amount of back-and-forth going on in the comments section, including someone's hatefest on TSU students that literally made me laugh out loud. Silly commenter thinking that TSU students show up in large numbers to vote on local issues...

It's topical and he makes some good points: check out Jason Hunsicker's Healthcare Reform editorial over at the KD Express.

If you're going to read that editorial, you'll probably also want to read New York Magazine's "The Idiot's Guide to Health-Care Reform."  It's brief, less than a week old and very, very easy to follow.

This afternoon I went to a memorial service hosted by a local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for the Confederate soldiers killed during the Battle of Kirksville.  I expected a brief ceremony with historical overtones; what I got was a very personal two-hour conversation about the Civil War (or Northern War of Agression, depending on your viewpoint), general war, and a wide array of sociopolitical issues--and an opportunity to aim a loaded (but out of service) rifle made in the 1840s.  Look for a post about that experience coming soon.

Cheers,
Casey

Airport news: the Feds Dislike It; Councilmembers Dislike Alcohol.

The KD Express posted this blurb online today.  Aparently the Federal Aviation Administration paid Kirksville Regional Airport a visit and didn't like what they saw, citing nearly a dozen items that needed to be fixed--and pronto.  A snippet from Vincent Brennan's article:

Airport Director David Hall told the Airport and Transportation Commission Tuesday that FAA Inspector Mike Mullen visited the local airport July 21 and found a number of problems.

“Most of the problems are pavement related. Our ramp pavement goes back to the 1970s and it has deteriorated, and there’s no doubt there’s room for improvement,” Hall said. “Concrete on the runway [is also a problem]. We did a major rehabilitation program two years ago and had all new paint and markings down for the new ILS system, and [Mullen] stated that those needed to be replaced.

Our lovely little airport (which, promisingly, has the FAA identifier "IRK") had been doing somewhat good for itself recently, too.  KTVO's Ashley Smith reported that it had seen a "large increase in riders each month this year," decreasing the cost of tickets to $50 to garner more businesses.  The FAA gave KRA one month to make all of the necessary changes, which Hall says isn't a realistic time frame to make the FAA-recommended changes, including replacing all of the concrete at the airport.

There's also mention of City Council reconsidering putting in a beer garden for the airport's regional air show's dinner and dance.  The motion to allow alcohol at the venue was shot down on Monday by councilmembers Carolyn Chrisman and Aaron Rodgerson.

Cheer--oops, ahem--Salutations with a non-alcoholic beverage,
Casey

The Battle of Kirksville: 147 years later.

Today, Socialites, marks the 147th anniversary of the Battle of Kirksville.  Fought during the Civil War in 1862, the Battle saw the forces of Union Colonel John McNeil clash with those of Confederate Colonel Joseph C. Porter in a (relatively) short skirmish that lasted about 3 hours and resulted in the deaths of 88 Union soldiers and 368 Confederates. The National Park Service has this brief description of the Battle posted on their website:

Col. John McNeil and his troops, numbering about 1,000, had been pursuing Col. Joseph C. Porter and his Confederate Missouri Brigade of 2,500 men for more than a week. Before noon on August 6, McNeil attacked Porter in the town of Kirksville, where his men had hidden themselves in homes and stores and among the crops in the nearby fields. After almost three hours of fighting, the Yankees secured the town, captured numerous prisoners, and chased the others away. Three days later, another Union force met and finished the work begun at Kirksville, destroying Porter’s command. Kirksville helped consolidate Union dominance in northeastern Missouri.

Concise and to the point.  However, should you find yourself in the mood for a longer account of the Battle I would suggest you check out Jennifer Noyes' excellent account of the skirmish which contains, among other things, some insight as to why this minor Battle is still significant in studies of the Civil War:

"Although the Battle of Kirksville was not a major battle (in fact it was only a skirmish), it was significant in two ways. 

First, it showed the splitting of families that was found in Missouri during this time.  Mrs Mabel Willbanks said, in reference to her grandfather, “He (Enoch Rinehart) was in the Battle of Kirksville and fought on the Northern side, and his two brothers fought on the other side.”  There was also a man by the mane of Lycurgus Bozarth from Adair County who was killed in the Battle of Kirksville.  He had fought on the Southern side while his family were Union sympathizers.

Second, the Battle of Kirksville marked the end of Confederate recruiting efforts in Northeast Missouri.  The skirmishes connected with the pursuit and overthrow of Colonel Porter were the most important of the encounters between the state militia and the Confederate Guerillas."

Cheers,
Casey

About this weirdness...

Hey Socialites.  I've noticed that there's been a few instances where the site will publish either an older draft of a post or do some fanciful combination of the post meant to show up and an older draft, most recently with the Luetkemeyer post I put up a few minutes ago.  I'm not sure why this is happening, but I do apologize for any grammatical unpleasantries that have resulted.  I'm working on it, so please bear with me as I navigate through the intricacies of the interwebs.

Cheers,

Casey

The DCCC Targets Luetkemeyer.

Jake Wagman over at the STL Post-Dispatch's Political Fix posted something this afternoon that caught my eye.  Apparently our very own U.S. Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer has, in a very short amount of time, successfully managed to maneuver his way onto a very elite list: the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Top 26 Naughty House Republicans Against Healthcare Reform" list, to be precise.

Of course, that's not the monkier the DCCC has given it, but it captures the spirit of the list quite nicely.  It's part of the second phase of the DCCC's "Health Care ER (Emergency Reform)" advertising offensive which, according to the DCCC's press release, aims to target "Republicans who are trying to block healthcare reform."  Today saw the DCCC release a batch of robocalls which circulated through 11 districts, including ours. The offensive will eventually end up targeting the districts of the 26 select House Republicans in a variety of ways.  (See the press release for the entire list.)

What can Kirksville residents expect to start hearing?  The text of the robocalls, as reported by Wagman: 

"This is the DCCC with an important message.  Insurance companies are posting record profits while health bills skyrocket.  Now they are lining up to stop health care reforms and protect profits.  Congressman Blaine Leutkemeyer [sic] took almost fifty thousand dollars from the insurance industry and now he's trying to block reform...like reducing costs by forcing insurance companies to compete and preventing them from denying you coverage. Call Congressman Leutkemeyer [sic] today.  Ask him to stop standing up for insurance companies and start standing up for us."

The DCCC (who inexplicably blanked on mentioning Luetkemeyer's history as an insurance agent and owner of the Luetkemeyer Insurance Agency) has its claws out and is ready to pounce, which begs the question: what has the freshman Representative from the 9th District of Missouri, who hasn't been in office for even a year yet, done to deserve this kind of attention?  

For starters, he hasn't been very accomodating of anything Obama.  He voted against the Cash for Clunkers program (twice); called for a reconsidering of H.R. 2454, the "American Clean Energy and Security Act"; and has established himself as an overtly unapologetically vocal opponent of the Democrats' health care plan.  Luetkemeyer has said that liberals "absolutely, positively don't want a private option" and that the urgency with which the President is trying to get reform passed stems from a fear that people will actually read the bill.  In a July 21st Republican "One Minute" session of Congress, where every Republican member of the House spoke for one minute to criticize the Democratic party on unemployment and the economy, he delivered this taunting and slightly odd little ditty:

"Get real quiet and rung down the rhetoric, we can hear the voices of our constituents back home, they're asking this question: where are the jobs?  Where are the jobs, Mr. President?  What's the solution, second stimulus is being talked about. ...oh, there are those voices again.  They're louder this time.  Where are the jobs?"

Also fueling the DCCC's targeting of the Representative is the fact that his reelection isn't exactly what  you'd call guaranteed.  Out of 322,000 votes cast for the seat in the 2008 election he beat Democrat Judy Baker by 8,075, and watched a solid 47% of the district he won vote Democrat.  

Luetkemeyer hasn't forgotten this, and neither has the Republican Party: since going to Washington he's been making a point of visiting the District on a fairly regular basis, has already started intense fundraising (which he very much needs, both from political and personal financial standpoints), and is getting foreign policy experience in Israel this week on a trip funded by a charitable organization affiliated with AIPAC, one of the most influential lobbying firms in American history.

He's a "good base Republican," he barely won the first time around, and he's good at taunting Democrats.  If you're the DCCC, he's an irresistible target. 

Cheers to a feisty campaign season,
Casey

Whoa...awesome scholarship job alert.

Brian Krylowicz, the Director of University Counseling Services, was cool enough to post a comment in response to yesterday's "Setting Truman A-Twitter" blog where he noted UCS' experience with utilizing social networking.  First, definitely check out what he wrote, it's a great example of how to go techie in a university setting in all the right ways.  Next, I wanted to make sure to get a post up about something he mentioned in his comment, not only because UCS is one of the best on-campus resources (and it is) but also because this little tidbit is...well...awesome. 

UCS is looking for a student in need of scholarship hours to serve as their podcast/social networking coordinator.  Let that sink in a little.  A pocast/social networking coordinator.  As in you can get your scholarship hours doing something most of you already do quite well.  Here's the listing for it on the TruPositions page:

Duties and Responsibilities: Creating and maintaining the electronic outreach efforts for University counseling Services (UCS). Specifically this position will be responsible for 1) organizing and creating weekly Podcasts with various UCS staff members and 2) maintaining and updating our social networking sites (Facebook and Twitter). These are done to help expand UCS's outreach efforts to help reduce the stigma of counseling and to get information about mental health to the students of Truman.

Qualifications: Interested in mental health issues and the education of campus on these issues. Must be very comfortable in interviewing and good at expressing themselves both orally and in writing. A very good knowledge base on social networking sites (especially Facebook and Twitter) and a curiosity about expanding their knowledge on these sites. Able to work independently and a comfort in working with professionals from UCS.

Granted, you're going to have to do slightly more than just hop onto the ol' UCS Facebook account and confirm pending friend requests, but tackling a position like this is something every student, particularly those in the Psychology, Health/Exercise Science, Communications, Business and Marketing majors, should take into serious consideration.  "Developed and implemented marketing/awareness/promotional campaign via multiple online social networking platforms" just screams resume-builder.  Your future employers will love you.

Podcasts, for those of you who haven't yet stumbled upon these little nuggets of joy (and I'm betting that there are a few of you who haven't) are talk programs that people put together in a downloadable mp3 format.  UCS is so cool that they've got their podcasts on iTunes (for free, on top of that); they go by Truman's University Counseling Service, and Brian is listed as the artist.  They're also on Twitter and Facebook (click on the words to get taken to their sites) if you'd like to follow or friend them.

Cheers to UCS,
Casey

Setting Truman A-Twitter

Think for a moment about all the different ways you use the internet.  

You've got an email account (maybe more than one) that helps you stay on top of work responsibilities and personal correspondence.  Odds are that most of you reading this post also have a Facebook account that helps you check in with and add spice to the lives of your friends and family.  You read blogs--some of you may even blog yourselves--and get the majority of your news from online sources.  A rapidly growing percentage of you are even becoming drivers of news and topical memes, tweeting and being tweeted-to by information sources of your choosing.

This is the 21st Century, where tweeting links to blog posts from Blackberries is as commonplace as turning odd-sounding nouns into even odder-sounding verbs like "tweeted," "blogged," "YouTubed" and "Facebooked."  An average day in your life is infused with a heaping helping of social media, be it the discussion you had with friends or colleagues about that thing someone posted to their Facebook wall or your habit of checking those couple of sites you like at the end of the day to see what happened and who is saying what about it.  On average, you spend more time Facebooking than you do emailing, and more time scrolling for blogs than for porn.  Social media, in other words, is "in."

Trendy though these things may be, YouTubing, blogging, Facebooking and, most recently, tweeting are more than trends: like it or not they're tangible shifts in the way people communicate and view communications.  

While the old structure was controlled, impersonal, and predictable the new paradigm is messy, unstable, quite personal and frequently surprising.  The old, monologue-heavy model of communicating has given way to an intensely dialogue-driven paradigm: no longer does party A simply say something in a medium and manner exclusive to them.  Instead, party A's musings are commented upon and critiqued, linked to and posted across the internet, ad infinitum.  As Brian Solis stated in The Social Media Manifesto, "Content is the new democracy and we the people are ensuring that our voices get heard."

The shift towards social media isn't about to reverse directions anytime soon.  In fact, with more people participating in Social Networking Sites (SNS) each year the shift is only going to become more pronounced.  

This is particularly noticeable with Twitter.  Take last year, for example: from the February 2008 through the February 2009 period, according to a Nielsen Wire Report, new visitors to Twitter increased at a rate of 1,382%.  At the time of this posting news was breaking that Twitter had reached 44.5 million people in June of this year alone.  People dig (and, in some cases, Digg) Twitter and have found all sorts of interesting ways to use its communicative possibilities.  Among other things they're sending out breaking news bulletins faster than any of the "news" networks, letting customers know about daily lunch specials, and are launching underground political insurgencies.  What's striking, however, is the number of institutions that could be benefitting from Twitter's capabilities that aren't.  Universities, unfortunately, are up near the top of this list, and Truman State University is no exception.

Why Twitter?  

To answer the question of why Truman, or any university, should tweet, a look needs to be taken at Twitter's strongest traits: 

1. It informs.  Twitter, like any Social Networking Site, is driven by peoples' desire to simply hear about and react to what's going on in the world in which they live. Think 140 characters isn't enough to say something more insightful than "I just ate a bagel and it was delicious"?  It is; in fact, the first sentence after "It informs" is exactly 140 characters.  It provides a large amount of concise, targeted information that ultimately serves to start and contribute to the broader conversation.
2. It targets. Facebook is automatically reciprocal, meaning that you receive notice every time someone you are "friends" with completes a quiz or changes their status.  Twitter, on the other hand, is deliberately self-interested.  It allows people to follow your updates if they're interested in what you have to say, but will only give you the updates of those people, organizations or businesses that you choose to follow, providing you with a stream of information that is more relevant to your life and interests.
3. It enhances.  Perhaps the most important thing to understand about Twitter is that it's not replacing, but rather augmenting, the structures it comes into contact with.  Like most things internet-y Twitter is meant to be used with things, not instead of things.  A testament to this is the sheer amount of users tweeting links to articles, posts and everything else.  It is literally astounding how many thoughts, opinions and viewpoints are thrust across the Twittersphere on a daily basis.  In terms of spreading information Twitter is second to none.

Why Universities?

What is it, then about universities that makes them so well-suited for tweeting?

1. They have a lot to tweet about.  Universities are communities within communities within states within nations: they're like miniature societies, with a constituency that is both limited and unique in that they are hand-picked by the institution to be a part.  Codes of conduct are created, fees are charged, policies are made and responsibility for governing is delegated, including the act of bringing new constituents into the fold.  In the midst of all this is a vibrant and highly-segmented special interest sector, wherein departments, organizations, societies and athletics each try to further a separate agenda.  Not only is there a lot going on but most people in the fold are interested in knowing what it is, whether it's generally-appealing information from the Administration or more specific information from clubs.
2. They need interest.  The success of universities depends in part on their ability to market an interest-driven commodity: themselves.  Though they have the final say in who may attend, they need people to want to attend and to retain interest in the university in order to be financially successful.  Just because someone is still in high school or has already graduated from the university doesn't mean they're uninterested in what happens there.  Their interest has the potential to generate profit.
3. They're idea-centric.  What's that thing you always hear about universities?  That they're open-minded places where ideas are exchanged and discussions flourish?  Nobody said that was limited to a classroom setting.  In fact, it's better if it isn't.  People learning and talking about their community builds community.  

It's not as though Truman is completely devoid of communication devices.  There's Pipeline, emails, the Calendar, TruView tabs, the Truman Today and good old-fashioned meetings.  (And let's not forget chalking and posters!) Only one of those is dialogue-based, however, and the others tend to get absorbed into the clutter, limiting their efficacy.

That having been said, how can Truman use Twitter as a tool to cut through the clutter, rather than simply add to it? Diosa Communications has some great recommendations, the most important of which I think is their admonishment to have many Twitter accounts: "One for News, Athletics, Admissions, Alumni, Student Life, etc., and then one Twitter account for your college or university that serves as a central hub for your Twitter presence." A little bit of separation goes a long way.  

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: Specific Ideas, Please.

Keep in mind the goal of using it is to engage people in an informal manner and give them something to talk about.  That having been said, a few suggestions on how different areas within the university can use Twitter:

• "The Official Account."  Like Diosa Communications said, it should be the central hub for the university's Twitter presence.  These can be tweets about anything "Truman": the search for the new president, a nifty campus event that is happening or has happened, Twitpics of the campus on any given day, RT's (retweets) of other campus tweeters, links to articles about higher education, etc.  
• Admissions.  Twitter has only recently begun to be used by university admissions offices as a tool for recruitment, so this is somewhat virgin territory.  Tweets could be about Truman factoids, things happening on campus and, yes, those fabulous Princeton Review stats we tend to get.  For prospectives, nothing will ever replace the campus visit but giving them a taste of Truman can't hurt.  (Edit: Check out Drexel U's Admissions Twitter at @DrexelAdmission.  They're actually engaging prospectives by providing answers to Admissions dilemmas, as well as tweeting about fun, attractive aspects of their campus and community.)
• Alumni.  Guess what?  They're already on Twitter.  So far they seem to be sticking to the "we're doing/have done this alumni event" method of tweeting.  It'd be nice to see them become more personal and do some general Kirksville/school updates every now and then as well as engage alumni with questions.  (And maybe even a fundraising campaign?)  Check them out at @TrumanAlumni.  
• Athletics.  Tweets about upcoming athletic events (from all sports, not just football, please) and results of those events, athlete performance, the competition, and linking to articles about Truman athletics or higher ed sports in general are all fair game.  (Edit: Truman Athletics is on Twitter, and you can follow them at @TrumanAthletics.)
• Majors and Departments.  Linking to an interesting article that Bio majors, for example, would find interesting, tweeting about changes to next semester's course schedule, general opportunities within the major or even launching a Twitter-based debate about a topic within the field are all, also, fair game.
• Organizations.  Organizations can use Twitter as a way to send out quick notices without cluttering the inbox or to build community.  Cancellation or relocation of service projects, news about recruitment, live-tweeting elections, fun tweets such as "Mike's birthday is today" or "Check out this awesome pic from last night's event" and links to articles talking about an issue pertaining to the organization are all thoughts to consider.  A general search of the Twittersphere showed only one Truman on-campus org using Twitter: @TrumanZombies.  (Side note: while it'd be great if every on-campus org gave Twitter a whirl, there are a few that really--really--should make the extra effort to tweet and tweet right, Student Senate being at the very top of that list.)
• On-campus Facilities.  For a killer example of university tweeting done right, check out our very own Career Center: @TSUCareerCenter.  Not only are they promoting their own events but they're interacting with the community and also RTing links to online career tidbits that students might find interesting.  They're newcomers and they've stopped tweeting for the summer, but they "get it."  The CSI, UCS, and maybe even the Rec should take note.

Universities will not implode if they abstain from Tweeting, but they will miss out on an opportunity to experiment with community building.  Twitter is free, easy to sign up for and even easier to use once you get a feel for it, and if it turns out that the tweeting thing just isn't really working for you you're just a click away from your old life. 

Cheers to the Twitterversity,
Casey (Or, in the spirit of the article, @cmillburg)

Truman-rooted Group Pulls A Trent Reznor, Releases EP For Free Downloading

Morning, Socialites.  Woke up to some cheery news on Facebook today.  A band with roots in Truman State that goes by the name of hereafterthis had recently signed a record deal with New York-based Stitched Up Records.  After finishing the EP earlier this year they embarked upon a summer tour of the US of A, and all signs pointed to our next contact with them being a show they're playing at TSU on August 25th.  Early this morning, however, they borrowed a number from Trent Reznor's playbook: hereafterthis sent out a chipper Facebook message containing a link to a downloadable version of their album, encouraging recipients to "take it, for pete's sake, and give it to someone else."

The link is here, for anyone who is interested in checking them out.  hereafterthis self-identifies as an alternative/rock/progressive group in the vein of Death Cab, A Fine Frenzy, and Journey, among others.  I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and listen to it yet, but if any of you do and have a thought or two about the album feel free to post them in a comment to this blog entry or send them to me an email for future posting. 

Music Monday, man, gotta love it.

Cheers,
Casey

Blogging, Broadway, Blueberry Gelato...

Hey there Socialites.  This blogger's out of town for an extended early birthday weekend with the family, which is why posting yesterday was nonexistent.  I'm working on a longer, more in-depth piece which should get posted on Monday; I think you'll find it interesting, and I sincerely hope that you'll offer your thoughts and opinions on the ideas in it once it's up.

In the meantime, I've posted a great recipe for Blueberry Gelato in the Edible Delectables' Foodie Room section that you should definitely check out.  It's a great one to make (and eat) with friends or family as it's incredibly simple and incredibly delicious, and c'mon--fresh gelato in summer?  Always a good thing.  

So here's an idea for the night: whip up a batch of Blueberry Gelato (pints of blueberries were on sale this week for 89 cents at Aldi's), check out Broadway in the Park tonight (free) while it's freezing and then come back to dish about the show over some frozen deliciousness.

Cheers,
Casey