November 9, 2009 WWW.UNEWS.COM Vol. 77, Issue 12 Roos’ got Ballroom duo Jieyi Yi Xu. (Above) Erica Freiert performs with Broak Lamkins and talent Logan Terry. Kevin Bryce off their steps while a (Right) Terreil Photo Editor ballroom dance duo from Dixon recites tudents danced, sang and UMKC called Jieyi Yi poetry played their way to star- Xu displayed the mean- about a dom – ahem, Roodom – ing of chasse, a dance love lost. last Monday at the 15th an- step. nual UMKC Talent Show. One highlight of SHosted by the Activity and Program the night was a poem Council (APC), the night brought more by Terreil Dixon, which than 100 spectators to Pierson Audito- was both romantic and rium to enjoy original music, dance comedic. Dixon read in and poetry. rhyme about how he The evening kicked off would have proposed with Erica Freiert of UM- that night if the girl he KC’s track team. Freiert was dating had not recently dumped him. played one original song All-in-all, the night was a success, and one cover-song her evoking a lot of laughs and cheers from mother used to sing to her. the audience. Most importantly, it was Photos KEVIN BRYCE Dances from around the world just further proof that, clearly, UMKC’s (Above) Linnaia McKenie wowed the crowd with her were brought to the stage. got talent. vocal chops. Two hip hop dance troupes showed [email protected] (Left) Justin Devis on break dance 101. Senator addresses allegations against former president Alexia Stout-Lang dent Bridgett Johnson alleging misrepresen- demns the actions of Ms. Johnson in the capac- bility of the senate to vote on other students’ News Editor tation of University personnel by forgery of ity stated in the resolution above.” actions, that’s the job of Student Affairs,” she Kassie Wilson signature, and At the request of a student senator, Execu- said. “This is not the Student Ethics Commit- Staff Writer “WHEREAS through her alleged misuse of tive Vice President Tara Kloeppel explained tee, this is the student senate.” Responding to fellow students’ concerns, a her office and official capacity through theft the details to the senators who had not yet read In the end, the senate voted to table the dis- Student Government Association (SGA) sena- of Student Life letterhead Ms. Johnson caused the article. cussion until the Nov. 17 meeting at the recom- tor drafted a resolution “Concerning Ethics embarrassment to the student leadership of our SGA President Ashley Burress quickly mendation of Kloeppel. and Student Leadership.” university, and added, “It’s all speculation.” “Tara Kloeppel did it [tabled it],” Walsh Sarah Walsh, senator from the College of “WHEREAS Ms. Johnson allegedly com- College of Arts & Sciences Senator Chris said. “However, it looked like she was under Arts & Sciences, presented the resolution dur- mitted perjury through presenting false evi- Moncrief said the article reflected badly on the instruction of Angela Cottrell [SGA Ad- ing the SGA meeting last Tuesday. She said she dence and testimony in a Circuit Court of Jack- Johnson, the SGA and the university. visor and director of Student Life]. She kept drafted it after reading an article published in son County, Missouri, and “My understanding is getting up and talking to them [the Executive “WHEREAS numerous that U-News had been try- U-News last week [Nov. 2, Issue 11] related “This is not the Student Board]. Actually, one of the senators called her to the allegations that former SGA President testimonies from former ing to find out a lot about out on it and said, ‘I want to know what’s go- Bridgett Johnson committed forgery. student leaders attest to her Ethics Committee, this is the it for some time because ing on up there. Why can’t we all hear it?’ Tara “I drafted it mostly because I have a bunch actions, and they didn’t want to just said, ‘Oh, she’s our moderator.’” “WHEREAS Ms. John- student senate.” come out and start trash of students I study with and they were upset Walsh said she thought the resolution was when they read it,” Walsh said. “When I came son has not suffered any talking on people without consequences regarding TARA KLOEPPEL more foundation,” he said. well accepted in the senate. on campus on Monday morning, we were in Executive Vice President “I got a lot more support than I was expect- Royall Hall and we read it before class and they her abuse of her office, and “What bothered me when “WHEREAS the mem- I saw the article was that ing,” Walsh said. “It is good that it got tabled were upset about it. They were like, ‘Can you because we can put a lot more work into it.” do something about this?’” bers of the Student Senate are charged with this is automatically associated with us – with protecting the integrity of student leadership SGA – whether or not we had anything to do She said her goal is to separate last year’s With less than a day to draft and submit SGA from this year’s. She also wants the ad- the resolution, Walsh could not get it on the on our great campus and are a direct represen- with it, whether or not we knew Bridgett or had tation of our image as leaders of the student anything to do with SGA at the time.” ministration to acknowledge the situation. agenda. All agenda items must be submitted “If it wasn’t a privileged student involved, it two days prior to the meeting. Therefore, she body, therefore He went on to say the SGA probably should “BE IT RESOLVED that the Student Sen- note it is not OK with Johnson’s alleged ac- probably would have been different if it were a presented the resolution in open forum. minority student or someone no one knew,” she The resolution states: ate respectfully request a stronger response tions. from the Office of Student Affairs, and Kloeppel said she does not feel it is the sen- said. “We didn’t think it was equal, especially “WHEREAS on November 2, 2009, the because we are an ‘urban university.’” University News reported charges against for- “BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the ate’s job to get involved. Student Senate formally and officially con- “I don’t necessarily feel it is the responsi- [email protected] mer Student Government Association Presi- [email protected] INSIDE TREY SONGZ page 9 SCIENCE FAIR page 3 BOUNCING SOULS page 10 2 News November 9, 2009 www.unews.com GPS units targeted by thieves An increase in theft from vehicles has plagued the campus over the past several weeks. Alexia Stout-Lang remove them from the dash, the in the car. News Editor mounting bracket may provide in- “When you leave your vehicle, The UMKC Police Depart- centive to the thieves.” remove all items of value, includ- ment is combatting the thefts with Over the past three weeks, ing but not limited to: laptops, iP- crime prevention awareness. seven GPS units were stolen from ods, cash, GPS units, backpacks, The Crime Prevention office cars parked on campus. etc.,” she said. “When someone of the UMKC Police Department In many cases, the thieves is looking for a vehicle to break sent a campus-wide e-mail Oct. broke car windows to retrieve the into, they are looking for an easy 27, explaining the types of thefts devices. target. If they do not see items occurring and offering tips to The e-mail also noted that with of value easily accessible, they avoid becoming a victim. fewer hours of daylight during will likely move on to another “The thefts are sporadic and Central Standard Time and the vehicle.” typically occur during daylight holidays approaching, the nation- For more crime prevention tips hours,” the e-mail said. “GPS al trend is toward an increase in or to attend informational work- (Global Positioning System) units crime. shops, contact the Crime Preven- seem to be the most targeted items, Michele Taylor, UMKC Crime tion office at 816-392-5939 or visit and they are usually still mounted Prevention Officer, said the best www.umkc.edu/adminfinance/ Photo ALEXIA STOUT-LANG on the dash or window. way to avoid becoming a victim police. GPS (Global Positioning System) units are currently the items thieves on campus are However, even when owners is by not leaving valuable items [email protected] targeting the most. SGA considers bus pass fee Tyler Allen campus, two MAX lines.” Assistant News Editor The university currently provides a shuttle The Student Government Association bus between the Health Science and Volker (SGA) is considering a $1 per credit hour campuses. If approved, the Troost Avenue charge to fund a new student transportation MAX line would effectively replace the shut- program. tle. A contract between UMKC and the Kansas “The good news is it would be a quicker turn- City Area Transit Authority (KCATA) would around than the current shuttle,” Cesari said. allow students to ride the Metro bus system The shuttle would then be used as trans- free of charge. portation on Volker campus — what Cesari “Students will be able to ride any KCATA described as an “intercampus shuttle.” bus anytime, seven days a week, anywhere in UMKC and KCATA have already agreed the city,” said Dennis Cesari, assistant vice to a one-year contract. If approved and imple- chancellor of Business Services. “You would mented, the program would be reevaluated af- have access to that system hopefully by swip- ter the year. ing your valid ID card.” “If usage is down, we may discontinue it or Cesari presented the proposal to SGA on the cost could be less,” Cesari said.