October 19, 2009 WWW.UNEWS.COM Vol. 77, Issue 9 Radio dreams could be reality Photo illustration by NATHAN LANG The University of Kansas has KJHK 90.1 FM. The University of Missouri has KCOU 88.1 FM. Putting a grade UMKC may soon have KROO. on higher learning Tyler Allen more ideas and her stance on the exactly where it’s going because Alexia Stout-Lang personal interest in the process. Assistant News Editor student-run radio station,” Greer everybody on campus is trying News Editor “It has some very significant im- “ y goal is said. “She offered quite a bit of to get into the new Student Union Each year, thousands of tests are plications for those who are going to have the help.” and there’s only so much space.” administered by the university. This here,” he said. “It is also a way that student-run He also toured KJHK 90.1 to Greer plans to talk with Stu- year, it’s the university’s turn to un- the North Central Association of the radio station see what a long-standing student dent Life and the Student Gov- dergo evaluation. Higher Learning Commission [shows within the radio station was like. ernment Association about fund- Officials from the Higher Learn- it] is very concerned about the quality nextM year,” said Derek Greer, “They gave me a lot of valu- ing the station. ing Commission (HLC) of the North of learning you receive.” construction liaison for the new able information on exactly what He also plans to start the sta- Central Association, an accrediting He added the HLC understands Student Union and UMKC se- is needed and how to keep a radio tion online instead of on FM air- agency, spent last week at UMKC to students have a lot on their plates, nior. station going because theirs has waves to cut costs. determine if the university is eligible which is why the accreditation pro- Though nothing is finalized, been going for like 75 years,” he “It’s a lot cheaper and it’s eas- for reaccreditation. cess is important. Greer has been working hard said. ier to start with internet broad- Jim Larson, a representative from “It is also an indication the train- since last semester to create a casting and step up to airwave the HLC, said the accreditation pro- ing you receive here will enable you student radio station on campus. “My goal is to have the broadcasting,” he said. “It’s just a cess is important for everyone con- to develop your skills so that you can The idea was formed last year student-run radio station lot cheaper overall starting from nected to the university. go forth in a comprehensive way, al- with a group of students in a ra- within the next year.” scratch doing internet broadcast- “We have a charge that is quite though most of you are just saying, ‘I dio class taught by the director ing.” comprehensive in the sense that it just want a job,’” Larson said. and manager of KCUR, Patty Greer would also like to in- DEREK GREER looks at all the ingredients that go Students were given about an hour Cahill. tegrate the radio station into the into whether the University of Mis- to express concerns about the univer- “A team of students wrote up Construction liaison for the new Communications department’s Student Union and UMKC senior souri – Kansas City can deliver the sity as well as things done right. a report and this is the report that curriculum. programs for learning to you that it They praised the Bloch School I’ve been using for the project,” “It can be worked into the says it will deliver,” Larson said. of Business and Administration, the Greer said. “I’ve discussed it Communications department Universities go through the re- Conservatory of Music and Dance, further with Patty Cahill and it’s The two hurdles Greer has so students can work with radio gional accreditation process every 10 Roo Camp, dorm life and some pro- actually something that could be left to clear are the location and broadcasting and hopefully open years if they receive full accredita- fessors. done and utilized.” funding for the radio station. some doors for UMKC students,” tion. Only in cases where the accred- Concerns included parking, the Using the report as a back- The original idea was to put he said. iting agency has some concerns about advising departments, the Finan- bone for the project, Greer the station in the new Student Greer envisions the station as an educational institution, short-term cial Aid office and the number of tapped into additional resources Union, but that has not been fi- student run and hopes it can be- accreditation is granted. professors who are only available to to further research the project. nalized. come a staple of campus life. Last week, officials from the HLC students during class, among other To begin, he talked to faculty “I’m not sure how feasible “It’s something that should toured campus and met with adminis- issues. and numerous student organiza- that is at the moment because, become permanent, not some- trators, faculty and students. Larson said he would record all of tions to get an idea of how they from discussions and stuff going thing that dies off after a few In one of two meetings held ex- the students’ comments and include might help. on in the meetings, they wanted years,” Greer said. “I think it clusively with students, Larson ex- “From there, I took a tour of to do more retail in (the new Stu- should become part of UMKC’s plained why students should take a See ACCREDITATION page 16 the KCUR radio station where dent Union),” Greer said. “So it’s daily life.” I Patty Cahill gave me a couple still up in the air at the moment of [email protected] INSIDE BASKETBALL page 12 GUN DEBATE page 4 KATRINA page 5 2 News October 19, 2009 www.unews.com International talent convenes in Pierson Photo KEVIN BRYCE Performers in the Culture Night talent show wait for the winner to be announced. Kevin Bryce the Culture Night,” Brenne said. performance by Yihong Huang, Photo Editor The event began with students who sang a pop song from China. More than 300 international getting the chance to enjoy foods The winner of the talent show students gathered Saturday night from several countries. was Huanxian Liu who played a in Pierson Auditorium for talent, After students had their share of Chinese Koto, a traditional Chi- fashion and food. food, the talent show started. nese stringed instrument. The 10th annual Culture Night Performers were from a num- “I’ve been playing since I was represents a long-standing tradi- ber of countries including dancers 10,” Lui said, “and now I’m 25.” tion of celebrating cultures from from Mexico and Saudi Arabia, and Throughout the night, a raffle around the world at UMKC. singers and musicians from China, was held and the revenues were do- This is the second year the In- India and Taiwan. nated to the United Nations’ Chil- ternational Student Council (ISC) Then a fashion show was held, dren’s Fund. has hosted the event. letting students show off tradition- Many students said they look Student Coordinator Gina al garb from their home countries. forward to Culture Night each year Brenne said the ISC worked to Highlights from the night in- because it is a good way to bring make the event something for all cluded a dance by Mexico’s Veron- the various cultures on campus to- students. ica and Amalia Pizano, who danced gether for fun and entertainment. “We’re really looking to revive in traditional dresses, and also a [email protected] Photo KEVIN BRYCE Huanxian Lui, talent show winner, plays the Koto. Make clean energy work for Missouri Kelley Kates are available. Savings Store, discussed how pho- ergy usage. lion per year. The state depends on that Staff Writer For example, Kansas City Power tovoltaic solar power can be a great Therefore, it is Renew Missouri’s coal for 83 percent of its electricity. A clean energy forum co-spon- & Light offers a number of incen- alternative energy. mission to educate people about re- Unfortunately, the excessive use sored by several non-profits under tives including the Cool Homes Brown explained how solar pow- newable and efficient energy poli- of coal harms air quality, the envi- Clean Energy Works for Missouri Residential Rebate, which offers an er can be used to heat air and water cies. ronment and climate and can cause set up shop last Tuesday evening at incentive to those who replace inef- and make electricity. Wilson already feels that Missou- mercury contamination, Wilson the Discovery Center. ficient furnaces and air conditioning Brown also said Missouri is a rians have taken an interest in clean said. The purpose of the forum was to units. good region for solar power since the and renewable energy by passing Renew Missouri is pushing for spread the word about different ways State and federal incentives were state receives, on average, five sun Proposition C in 2008, which requires a statewide energy code which re- Missouri can become less dependent discussed as well. hours per day. utility companies to receive 15 percent quires new construction to meet a on oil and focus more on the usage of Ken Riead, a certified energy Solar power can replace approxi- of their electricity from clean energy minimum of energy efficiency. alternative methods for energy.