definition of ‘survival of “ I decided to go out on the quad. I wanted
“ Mansouri’s
to see how many people actually show
the fittest’ is the most meat-headed
up, and I was kind of flabbergasted.
definition I have ever heard.
”
”
Andrew
Witthaus
Dylan Zukswert
Webster student
Webster audio student
Page 7
Page 5
The News Source For Webster University
THE JOURNAL
Volume 67 Issue 18
websterjournal.com
February 5 - February 11, 2014
University
falls short
$6-7
Million
By Megan Favignano
Editor-in-Chief
Webster University will
make more than $6 million in
mid-year budget adjustments
due to the university’s projected
shortfall. The adjustments could
reach $7 million. Webster Chief
Financial Officer Greg Gunderson said the university will
make short-term reductions to
align the budget for fiscal year
(FY) 2014 and approach the
budget process for FY15 differently than last year.
Webster’s fiscal year begins
June 1st.
Webster announced the
projected shortfall in an email
sent from the university administration on Jan. 31.
The email outlined the following areas as a focus for the
university as it works to realign
its budget to fit within enroll-
ment numbers:
—Continue to target investments to support our core
academic mission and create a
foundation for future revenue
growth.
—Forgo the potential mid-year
salary adjustment since this had
been dependent on enrollment
targets. The revenue shortfall is
projected to be larger than the
reserve set aside for a mid-year
salary adjustment.
—Marshall
resources
to
strengthen academic quality,
recruiting and retention efforts.
—Offer a balanced budget signifying that Webster remains
a financially solid institution
dedicated to long-term financial
sustainability.
—Examine long-held assumptions and policies in order to
create savings and efficiencies in
all colleges, schools and administrative units.
The university has yet to
decide where the budget reductions will occur within its FY14
budget.
“We are currently still assessing our options,” Gunderson
said.
Gunderson said the university will first seek faculty input
on where cuts should come
from.
Gunderson and Provost Julian Schuster were scheduled to
meet with faculty at the Faculty
Assembly Tuesday, Jan. 4. Due
to weather, the meeting was rescheduled to Thursday, Jan. 6.
“After that (discussion) we
will be able to set a timeline (for
when mid-year adjustments will
start). But I think it will be a
matter of weeks not a matter of
months.” Gunderson said.
After finishing adjustments
for FY14, the university will focus on budgeting for next year.
The budget planning process
for FY15 will, for the most part,
look like it did last year. But,
Gunderson said how the university projects enrollment for
next year’s budget will probably
look radically different than in
the past.
When forming a budget,
the university first sets tuition
rates, then it makes enrollment
projections. From those two elements, it forms a budget and allocates the funds.
For FY15, the university will
cap its enrollment projects at the
actual enrollment numbers for
FY14 for planning purposes.
“Clearly that budget (FY15)
will be a smaller budget than
this fiscal year’s budget because
we’re reassessing our enrollment
projections in light of national
enrollment trends for graduate
See Shortfall
Page 2
Webster University
begins search for
athletic director
By Tim Godfrey
Staff Writer
MEGAN FAVIGNANO / The Journal
Eden Theological Seminary Vice President of Institutional Advancement Bryce Krug and Webster University Chief Financial Officer Greg Gunderson listen
to speakers at the Feb. 3 City Plan Commission public hearing. Gunderson urged the commission to table the proposed changes to the city’s zoning.
University urges City to table zoning changes
By Kavahn Mansouri
News Editor
Webster University Chief
Financial Officer Greg Gunderson urged the Webster Groves
City Plan Commission to table
proposed changes to Webster
Groves’ zoning code at its meeting on Feb. 3. The changes would
categorize Webster University
and Eden Theological Seminary
into different educational zoning districts — a change that
could affect future university
expansion.
Webster Groves resident
Peggy McAuliffe compared
Webster University’s expansion
to an “infestation.” She said she
has watched the university buy
up neighborhoods in the past
few decades.
“Webster University has
infested residential neighborhoods; and I use that word not
to offend, but by its meaning
defined by: to inhabit or overrun, in numbers large enough
to be harmful or threatening,”
McAullife said. “I keep wondering: when is the growing going
to end?”
Webster Groves Director of Planning and Development Mara Perry presented a
revised zoning draft that would
establish three categories of ed-
“
Webster University has infested residential
neighborhoods; and I use that word not to
offend, but by its meaning defined by: to
inhabit or overrun. . .
Peggy McAuliffe
Webster Groves resident
cuational campus districts. The
proposal separates Webster University and Eden into two separate districts, each with different
regulations.
The Webster Groves City
Plan Commission voted Monday to keep the public hearing
open and postpone the vote
on an educational rezoning of
the city. The plan commission’s
vote will decide if the proposal
makes it before the city council. The board said it would
need more time to gather information and discuss possible
amendments to the proposed
zoning code.
Eden Vice President of
Institutional
Advancement
Bryce Krug presented a letter
written by Eden President David Greenhaw. In the letter he
wrote that rezoning would be
another setback in the road to
Eden’s mission.
“Again, Eden Seminary
is looking at a rezoning that
”
punishes us, harms our institutions, takes our property and
places irrational restrictions
on us,” Krug read. “Eden Seminary will take every means
available to it to stop a rezoning that hurts us and damages
our ability to accomplish our
mission. None of this is what
Eden wants.”
In September 2012, Greenhaw said he created Eden’s
2012 master plan to keep students on the campus. He said
Eden’s future vision was to sustain the institution after a drop
in enrollment over the past few
years.
Webster Groves resident
John Reed, father of Webster
University Professor Beckah
Reed, said the proposed rezoning would be the end of Eden.
“You’re going to put a dagger in the stomach of Eden,
and I don’t think they will be
able to make it under these circumstances,” Reed said during
To read The Journal’s past
coverage of the proposed
zoning and lawsuit, visit
websterjournal.com
the Feb. 3 public hearing.
Mayor Gerry Welsh said
any discussion with Webster
University and Eden regarding
the proposed zoning changes
is a step in the right direction. Webster University, Eden
and the city met on Dec. 23 to
discuss suggestions to the proposed educational zoning.
In the proposal, Webster
University’s district includes
educational facilities with more
than 500 students and dormitory-style housing.
In the draft presented, Eden
See Rezoning
Page 3
In the fall of 2013, Merry
Graf was named interim athletic director after Tom Hart,
Webster University’s former
athletic director, took a similar position at Berry College in
Georgia.
A semester later, the search
for a permanent athletic director has begun. A search committee has formed, and advertisements for the position have
been placed on three collegiate
websites.
Amy Bommarito, athletics
department coordinator, said
she placed the full description
of the opening on NCAA.org,
NACWAA.org (National Association of Collegiate Women
Athletics Administrators) and
Webster’s Human Resource
website.
Some of the expectations
listed in the job requirement of
the athletic director include:
—Being in charge of all department plans and finances as well
as supervising the employees
and facilities of the athletic department.
—Overseeing all employees,
including head coaches and the
athletic staff, and setting and
enforcing the policies and procedures of the athletic department.
—Cooperating and ensuring
relationships with the campus
offices, student affairs, academic affairs, admissions and
alumni.
Bommarito said she placed
the advertisements in early
January, around the time the
search committee formed.
Ralph Olliges, associate professor and chair on the
committee, said the group met
to outline how the committee
will function.
“We met to set up the logistics and (organize) what we are
going to do and how we are going to do it,” Olliges said.
Olliges said when Webster
receives résumés for the position, the documents will be sent
to an online dropbox for committee members to review individually. Members will compile
a list of around 10 candidates
they think are fit for the job.
In the next meeting, expected around mid-February,
members will discuss their
choices and determine which
candidates will be contacted for
I still have a lot to
“ accomplish
on the
volleyball court with
my team. There’s no
way you can tear me
away from them.
Mary Graf
”
Volleyball coach and interim
athletic director
phone interviews.
Olliges said he would be
unable to release the exact
number of people who have
applied for the position so far,
but said Webster “has many interested candidates.”
Olliges said that the coaches at Webster will also have
input in the process and be involved in the group interviews
with candidates.
Olliges said the coaches
wrote the committee a letter
listing the qualities they would
like to see in their next athletic
director. These qualities, Olliges said, are similar to those
the search committee is hunting for.
Ollgies said the selection
of a new athletic director will
hopefully take place at the end
of the spring semester. After
that, Graf ’s day-to-day will revolve more around the volleyball team.
Graf said she decided not
to apply for the full time athletic director position because
coaching volleyball is her true
passion.
“I still have a lot to accomplish on the volleyball
court with my team,” Graf said.
“There’s no way you can tear me
away from volleyball.”
Graf said that the next athletic director will be coming
into a “great situation” in Webster’s athletics department.
“The coaches and staff that
we have are phenomenal at
what they do. I think the position is just right to come in and
take (Webster athletics) to the
next level.”
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
NEWS
Page 2 Feb. 5-11, 2014
NEWS BRIEFS
websterjournal.com
SGA searches for Delegates’
Agenda items
The Student Government
Association (SGA) sent out a
survey via email to Webster
University students requesting topics for the spring Delegates’ Agenda. SGA will present the most voted for topics
at the Officers Summit this
Friday, Feb. 7.
Students will vote to select three issues on the survey,
including topics like ADP, financial aid and other issues
picked form a survey taken by
students. Students will vote for
the top five issues at the Officer’s Summit. These issues will
be presented by a group of students at the Delegate’s Agenda
on Feb. 20.
Administration will listen
to the presentations and have
a response in the weeks following.
Reporting by Livie Hall
SEA-PHAGE project provides
hands on research experience
An ongoing attempt to
change the way students learn
about science seems to be having positive effects for undergraduates, according to The
Chronicle of Higher Education.
In 2008, the Science Education Alliance (SEA) launched
a two-semester program designed to allow university
students to participate in real
biological research. As early as
their freshman year, students
were offered the opportunity
to contribute to scientific literature and databases using the
results of their research. The
program was titled SEA Phage
Hunters Advancing Genomics
and
Evolutionary
Science
(SEA-PHAGES) was funded by
the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute.
After launching the program in 12 schools, SEAPHAGES spread to more than
70 colleges and universities,
according to the HHMI website. A study published in
mBio on Feb. 4 reported the
program has boosted grades
and retention within 20 universities.
While the course typically
attracts first or second-year
biology students, it has been
adapted by one team to cater
strongly to non-majors. The
three researchers who implemented this version of the
course found that it had simi-
lar effects on freshmen and
sophomores not going into the
sciences, according to Caruso
and colleagues, published in
the online journal PubMed
Central.
The goal of the SEAPHAGES project is to provide
hands-on research experience
to students interested in the
sciences. Instead of focussing heavily on content, SEAPHAGES focuses on teaching
students research methods,
according to The Chronicle.
The idea is to educate students
about how to do science rather
than to reinforce material they
are learning in lecture. This
opens the program up to students who do not have a strong
background in biology.
The analysis suggests that
giving students a platform for
making their own discoveries
provides unique benefits for
increasing their passion for
science.
Organizations that focus
on science education debate
about how important lab work
is to increasing scientific understanding. While working in
a laboratory may not be necessary for literacy in the sciences, SEA-PHAGES suggest
that it can be notably helpful
when implemented in particular ways.
Reporting by Hailey Kaufman
Deadline Approaches for
Employee Spotlight Award
Nominations
According to Webster Today, the Employee Spotlight
Award is accepting nominations through Feb. 21, for the
months of April, May, and June.
This award celebrates Webster
University employees who “go
above and beyond their normal
daily duties” in terms of their
contributions to students, other
faculty, or anyone else. Two staff
members are recognized each
month.
Anyone can nominate an
employee and should not be
based solely on employee expectations. The article said they
want “a great story of how this
employee went out of there way
(above and beyond) their position or duties to assist you, a coworker, student, or anyone else.”
Nominations must be submitted by the Feb. 21 deadline and
those turned in after that date
will be considered for the next
quarter.
Employees that receive the
award have a choice of taking a
day off with pay or a $100 Series
EE savings bond.
Shortfall
tion for all budget lines except for
salary and utilities.
—Limit new hires.
—Hold on travel and entertainment expenses.
—Cap on new classroom furniture expenses at $150,000.
—Cap on deferred maintenance spending at $140,000.
—Cap new site setup spending at $250,000.
Coordinator of Academic
Affairs Tamara Minley did not
know about the budget shortfall
until she received the email late
this afternoon. She said other staff
members found out in the same
way. Minley said her only concern at this time is “whether or
not staff will receive raises based
off of this communication.” Staff
members have not yet had an
opportunity to discuss what will
happen next.
Gunderson said next, Webster will hold a town hall meeting,
which will be open to the entire
university community.
“We intend to have town
halls that are open to students,
faculty and staff so that everyone
can have a better understanding
of what are the fundamentals issues that underlie the actions we
are taking and what’s the goals
and strategies we are taking in
addressing that and how we are
using this process to reposition
ourselves for FY15. but that starts
with faculty,” Gunderson said.
FROM PAGE 1
students and we want to be more
conservative,” Gunderson said.
In a fall 2012 interview with
The Journal, Paul Carney, the vice
president of enrollment management and student affairs at the
time, said the university’s budget
is based on a “conservative” estimate for expected enrollment.
The following January, the
university announced a projected
$12.2 million budget shortfall below its revenue goal for the year.
More than 90 percent of
Webster’s revenue comes from
tuition fees.
Webster’s incoming 20132014 freshmen class was the largest it has been in 14 years, President Elizabeth Stroble announced
at the Fall Convocation. Webster
enrolled 502 students in the fall.
However, undergraduate enrollment makes up a smaller proportion of Webster’s budget than
graduate enrollment.
“Its growth (the freshmen
class) in proportion to its share
doesn’t offset the reductions in
enrollment that we saw on the
graduate side,” Gunderson said.
Last year’s mid-year cuts
helped the university stay within
budget for the remainder of the
2012 - 2013 fiscal year. The university made budget reductions in
the following areas last year:
—Five percent budget reduc-
Reporting by Livie Hall
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
HANNAH ROLING/ The Journal
Webster University audio production major Paul Schneider works with his audio equipment. Schneider took a techinical ear class to further his skills as a
producer.
Listening courses offered to audio majors
By Holly Shanks
Staff Writer
A new course is teaching
something different to audio students ­­— how to use their ears.
Through perceptual coaching,
Webster Assistant Professor Tim
Ryan is working to produce “Masters of Sound.”
“The skills that audio engineers learn over a lifetime – we’ve
found a shortcut,” Ryan said. “We
have found a way to teach people
these skills in a very short period
of time, compared to a lifetime at
least.”
Ryan said the technical ear
courses passed the curriculum
committee in last January. The
year-long training is now officially part of Webster’s audio program. Currently only four schools
in the United States offering technical ear training with the handson method Ryan uses.
The technical ear training
class has around 20 students.
Ryan breaks the class down into
sections of four students each,
and holds 50 minute sessions with
them. This allows for one-on-one
instruction and coaching.
Ryan explained the course
teaches audio students to use
modes of perception through
comparison and correction. It
can help students be more consistent, accurate and decisive when
it comes to sound. They learn to
differentiate between tone ranges
and low and high frequencies using their hearing. The ability to
adjust recording, broadcast and
sound equipment becomes automatic and swift once the different
sound spectrum regions can be
mentally distinguished with the
ear.
Senior Paul Schneider, an audio production major, decided to
take the technical ear classes. He
said the goal of audio production
is to release a solid quality product. The big thing about technical
ear training is it teaches equalization.
“You can use software or a
microphone or something, but
if you don’t understand how to
make it sound good you won’t
have as much of a good product,” Schneider said. “Anyone can
learn the tools, but it takes a certain practice to learn how to hear
things and make them sound
good.”
Schneider said he goes to
concerts and it is now a “natural
thing” to listen to what the sound
engineers are doing. He can hear
exactly what they are changing or
where the sound is off.
“It seems like it’s common
sense that we would (have ear
training) and learn how to actually hear before we use the tools to
make things sound good,” Schneider said. “For some reason there is
a lack of schools practicing it.”
Ryan uses his background in
live sound work as an example.
He has worked as a mix engineer for many music festivals and
large music venues. Usually, there
are only a few minutes between
bands on stage. A sound check to
ensure the audio equipment, such
as microphones, are working and
sounding correct begins when a
band starts playing. Ryan said the
first song can sound off in tone
until adjustments or the equalization process can be completed.
“It would take me about 20 to
30 minutes to get (the equipment)
up and running, and sounding
good,” Ryan said. “After two years
of (ear) training it would take me
less than five minutes.”
Ryan said he found spare
“bits and pieces” of equipment in
storage no one else wanted and
that was the start of getting the
training off the ground. Funding
for the project was a new pair of
speakers purchased through department budget. The $20 student
lab fee covers the Cloud server
space for the training software.
Jason Corey, chair and associate professor of the department
of performing arts technology
at University of Michigan, also
teaches technical ear training
and authored a book on the topic
in 2010. He said his classes are
taught in a lecture and class demonstration style with required lab
time.
“One of the critical things for
audio professionals is being able
to translate what they hear into
parameters that they can control
using audio hardware and software,” Corey said.
Corey said his students’ get
a “leg up” on other professionals
who are starting out, that have
not had technical ear training. It
sometimes takes several years to
accumulate the skills on the job
that ear training can give. He said
he thinks the concept of ear training is gaining more widespread
use in academics and sound industry.
Ryan said technical ear training has been around for at least
20 years. He learned the concept
at McGill University in Montreal,
Quebec, while studying for his
doctorate in Sound System Engineering. Ryan credits his former professor and mentor, Rene
Quesnel, as the person who invented the specialized training.
McGill started the program, but
kept it a tightly guarded secret.
Ryan said McGill only trained
six students yearly with the ear
training concept and roughly only
120 people have had this particular style of training in the last two
decades. When Quesnel retired
he gave the teaching methodology to Ryan and a few others.
Schneider said the best way
for him to market himself to potential employers is to have the
chance to show his skills.
“Talking the talk can only
take you so far in this industry.
As long as I have the opportunity
to show off my work,” Schneider
said. “Maybe stamp on there that
I found a certain type of training
and that I believe that I can give
you a better product.”
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
Project works to bring immigrants to STL
By Matt Duschene
Contributing Writer
Immigrants are more likely
to be highly skilled, have advanced degrees, be entrepreneurs and earn more than the
average American-born citizen,
said Betsy Cohen. As director
of the St. Louis Mosaic Project,
Cohen spoke on Jan. 29 in the
Emerson Library about the organization’s work to bring more
immigrants to St. Louis, and
the benefit of having more immigrants in the metropolitan
area.
With different programs
the Mosaic Project enacts, the
project’s backers hope for St.
Louis to have the fastest rate of
immigration among metropolitan areas in the United States by
2020. However, Cohen said that
numbers aren’t the only things
that needed to change. Mosaic
is also working to change attitudes towards immigrants in St.
Louis.
“Foreign-born people come
here and say ‘St. Louis people
are helpful, but not welcoming,’” Cohen said. “And the
welcoming part is key. People
are complacent here, and they
don’t always reach out.”
Cohen’s presentation was
the first of four scheduled forums for the spring semester,
as a part of the Holden Public
Policy Forum’s event, Pizza &
Politics. Former Missouri Gov.
Bob Holden moderates each forum, and said he was enthusiastic about The Mosaic Project’s
work.
“I firmly believe immigrants add so much value to
your community, not in terms
of dollars, but in terms of energetic entrepreneurism that
creates thriving communities,”
Holden said.
Although changing attitudes is a long process, The
Mosaic Project combats this
complacency by encouraging
professionals in St. Louis to
participate in their programs
that connect them with immigrants.
Another goal of The Mosaic
Project, accomplished through
outreach with university leaders, is to attract and retain
international students to St.
Louis. A few of the 20 audience members said universities
need to better educate young
Illustration/Graphic by Emily Ratkewicz
people about how immigrants ties such as Webster find better
can benefit a community. Jim- ways to participate in The Momy Halaz, a Webster University saic Project’s push for immigragraduate student and Mosaic tion growth.
Project intern, said it’s easier
“Oftentimes, likes go along
to accept and to meet people with likes, and people only hang
from different backgrounds at a out with those in their cluster
school like Webster.
of people. So the question is,
Learning about other com- ‘can you bridge out and share a
munities and supporting their coffee or tea with someone that
businesses, Cohen said, are two you normally wouldn’t?’” Cobig ways that students can un- hen said.
derstand the benefit of having
more immigrants in St. Louis.
Contact the writer:
However, she said she hopes to
have globally-minded universiwebsterjournal@gmail.com
news
Page 3 Feb. 5-11, 2014
websterjournal.com
Proposed educational zoning
MEGAN FAVIGNANO / The Journal
Webster residents Maggie Sowash and Frank Janoski listen to speakers at the City Plan Commission’s public hearing
on Feb. 3. Sowash and Janoski said
Rezoning “
FROM PAGE 1
would be placed in a district that
includes educational facilities
with less than and limited to 500
students. The district also allows “limited” student housing,
which could include housing for
families of students.
During a City Plan Commission public hearing in December, Gunderson voiced his
concerns with the proposal.
Gunderson said in December one regulation would limit
the number of beds on an educational campus to 1,250.
“That is an unusual and restrictive requirement that appears to limit the size of our
campus,” Gunderson said at the
December 2013 public hearing.
Webster University purchased three properties from
Eden in 2010. The city denied a
conditional use permit (CUP) in
August that would have allowed
the university to use two of the
buildings on Eden’s campus and
demolish the third.
Again, Eden Seminary is looking at rezoning that punishes us, harms our institution
and places irrational restricitons on us.
David Greenhaw
Eden Theological Seminary President
Changes to the zoning draft
were presented to the Webster
Groves Plan Commission on
Feb. 3, and were followed by a
public hearing where residents
as well as university and Eden
representatives voiced their
opinions on the proposed zoning changes.
Gunderson urged the Plan
Commission to table the proposed zoning changes so Webster University and Eden could
have further conversations with
the city about rezoning. He said
the proposed zoning would
create an “artificial boundary,”
making collaborations between
educational institutions and expansion impossible.
“If our desire is to use the
facilities all of these institutions
have efficiently, then we have to
share them. And we’re hopeful the city will see the value in
”
collaboration and shared use of
facilities, rather than create artificial boundaries,” Gunderson
said.
The draft presented on Feb.
3 still included the 1,250 bed restriction for EC-3 institutions.
In a letter received by the
city on Dec. 23, 2013, Eden
Greenhaw and Gunderson
asked several questions about
the proposed zoning changes.
The letter questioned whether
there would be rights to appeal
certain zonings, how properties in a certain zone could be
sold and several other amendments affecting the institutions.
The city’s response letter
stated the proposed zoning
code, as a whole, will provide
a method for the community
at large to have a voice in how
institutions expand with a ful-
Source: City of Webster Groves
Webster University fell into the EC-3 district, while Eden Theological Seminary fell into the EC-2 district. Chief Financial Officer Greg Gunderson said the proposed zoning would create an “artificial boundary” between institutions.
ly developed community. The
letter went on to say the proposed zoning code would balance the preservation of Webster Groves’ neighborhoods
and the desires of educational
institutions.
Dean of University Libraries Laura Rein read a letter
from Webster University President Elizabeth Stroble. If the
rezoning were to be beneficial
to the universities, Webster
University would be in support
of the proposed rezoning.
The City Plan Commission
will continue the public hearing at a Feb. 25 meeting.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
Resident urges university, Eden to drop suit against city
During the hearing on Feb.
3, Webster Groves resident Dave
Buck said Webster University
and Eden Theological Seminary should do the “courageous”
thing and drop their lawsuit
against the city.
The university and seminary filed suit against the City
of Webster Groves on Sept. 18.
The university and seminary are
seeking damages for what the
institutions allege to be the city’s
unlawful decision to deny the
university and Eden’s application to use buildings on Eden’s
campus.
Webster University Chief Fi-
nancial Officer Greg Gunderson
said if the city were to withdraw
their ruling on the denial, the
university would have no need
to proceed with their lawsuit.
“If the city wants to change
its position and withdraw their
ruling, there wouldn’t be a need
for a lawsuit. So, the university
is pursuing the only opportunity
that is available to us to address
a ruling we don’t believe treats a
vacant property in the best interest of the community or the institution,” Gunderson said. “The
ball is in the city’s court.”
71430
A hearing is scheduled
for
the suit on Feb. 21.
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Opinions
Feb. 5-11, 2014
Letters
&
Commentaries
The Journal welcomes letters to the
editors and guest commentaries. Letters to the editor must be fewer than
200 words. Guest commentaries must
be no more than 750 words, and guest
writers must have their photograph
taken to run with their commentaries. The Journal will edit all submitted
pieces for grammar, style and clarity. If
there are any substantial revisions, the
writer will be notified and allowed to
edit his or her own writing.
Mind
Over
Media
Nerd out with reference culture
Cait Lore
is the
Opinions
Editor of
The Journal.
Submit all letters to the editor
and guest commentaries to
websterjournal@gmail.com by 2 p.m.
on Monday.
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The Publications Board acts as the
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2013
Page 5
When someone comes
over to my house for the first
time, there is always a look
of shock on their face when
they enter my room. It might
be the “Batman: Mask of the
Phantasm” poster, or maybe
my “Neon Genesis Evangelion” action figures. There’s always an internal debate I have
about hiding my “Dragonball
Z” tapes.
I can feel my guests’ eyes
roll as they notice the “Battlestar Galactica” fan art that
hangs above my television.
Point being— I am a nerd. I
know what I love, and when
I love something I get deeply
immersed in it.
Not too long ago, I found
myself channel surfing in a hotel room. I stumbled upon a
show I had never seen before:
“The Big Bang Theory.” If you
have never seen the sitcom,
it is about a group of socially
awkward nerds and an aspiring actress, named Penny, who
lives across the hall. Penny is
often used as a “normal” character for the nerdy boys’ idiosyncrasies to bounce off of.
After watching the show, I
couldn’t help but feel exploited.
I didn’t find myself connecting
with the characters or the conversations. They all seemed to
have high functioning autism
or were super-geniuses. It is as
if I’m not supposed to relate to
them.
One scene opens up with
a slow pan across the group of
nerds on their computers with
headsets on. The laugh track
plays before a word is muttered. Thus, the joke is that
there is a group of nerds playing an online game in their liv-
ing room.
The humor is written in a
way that plays on the microculture shock someone experiences when peering into the
culture. It’s a stereotypical reference to the subculture. The
audience is supposed to laugh
at the outsider idea of nerds.
This is a good example of
something I call reference culture. Reference culture comes
out of a society of information
overload. We live in a postinternet society, one where all
different types of media and
subcultures are only a Google
search away.
Nicholas
Negroponte,
founder of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, explains in an issue
of Wired Magazine, “All things
digital get bigger and smaller
at the same time.”
Chuck Lorre, creator of
“The Big Bang Theory,” has
perfectly captured this contradiction with his show. As a
result, a subculture like ‘nerd’
gets more visibility in the
mainstream media, but in a superficial light. If the show was
more authentic to “nerd culture,” it would alienate viewers who aren’t immersed in the
subculture.
Because of the Internet,
culture has gained a depth
and vastness larger than ever
before. This makes it harder
to create television shows that
have wide-spread appeal.
In order to accommodate
an expanding pop culture, the
depth we ascribe to these topics diminishes. This is essentially killing pop culture, or at
least causing it to cave in on
itself.
This is evident in referential comedies like “Big Bang
Theory,” but also when you
look at blockbuster films. The
most successful films, such as
superhero films, reboots of
past franchises and genre studies, are referential in nature.
Neil Postman, a popular media critic, argues that
people don’t necessarily want
knowledge; they want simplicity. He cites an example of
this being the way televised
news programs evolved into
talking hairdos and superficial exports of world events.
It’s shocking
that Neil
Postman made these statements in 1985, seeing as how
well his theory fits in with
the way culture has been
affected by the Internet.
We have access to unlimited
information at our fingertips,
and yet our media is being
dumbed down by it.
I always thought of the Internet as the democratization
of media, but perhaps it just
brought us opportunity for
more commercialization.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
Speak English please
Clarification
In issue 17 of The Journal, a story on
ADP originally stated that 330 employees did not recieve a pay check in
mid January due to a glitch in ADP’s
system. This information was given to
The Journal in a fact sheet during an
interview with Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Kenneth Freeman and Director of
Public Relations Patrick Giblin. The
day after publication, Giblin alerted
The Journal that the information Webster originally provided was incorrect.
The error was actually discovered 48
hours prior to payday and everyone
received their checks on time.
The
journal
The News Source
for Webster University
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Illustration and Concept by Victoria Courtney
Letter to the editor
Speaking on behalf of the hippos, in response to Kavahn Mansouri vs. the World
Dylan Zukswert
is majoring in
Religious Studies.
When I first read Kavahn
Mansouri’s “Making the Case
for Carnivores,” I couldn’t help
but think of the hippo. The
hippo is one of the most dangerous wild animals — yet has
a herbivorous diet.
I began weight-lifting
at the age of 13. I ran crosscountry all four years of high
school, and joined my local
fire department at 17. I am
now employed as a recycler on
campus, every morning lifting
hundreds of pounds of recycling.
My life of heavy physical
labor requires lots of strength
and endurance. One would
expect me to have a meatfilled, protein rich diet to be
able to do all this. Yet, surprisingly, I’ve been a vegetarian
since I was seven. That was 14
years ago.
I weigh 121 pounds and
have never weighed more than
130 pounds. I rarely get sick—
maybe once every other year.
So why was making a change
in diet the worst one of my life,
when it hasn’t once negatively
affected me?
I’m not one to push my diet
on other people. My parents
tried to push eating meat on
me, so I know firsthand how
annoying that can be. However, I do encourage people
to cut back on the amount of
Illustration by Victoria Courtney
meat they consume.
Our primitive ancestors
didn’t consume as much meat
as one would guess. Humans
have few natural offenses in
the world. I dare you go out
into the woods, find an animal and kill it with your bare
hands. It’s hard. Our ancestors were most likely scavengers, eating the bodies that
they found.
Even that was risky since
there were probably other
animals there already. Meat
was rare in their diet and this
“meat with every meal” diet we
seem to have is not natural for
us. We don’t need that much
meat in our life.
Mansouri’s definition of
“survival of the fittest” is the
most meat-headed definition
I have ever heard. Herbert
Spencer coined that term, and
it has very little to do with
competition between species.
Being ‘fit’ in this context
means you have the phenotypic traits to improve chances
of surviving and reproducing. Measuring the survival
of a species and its ‘fitness’
is in reference to one’s ability
to reproduce and to pass on
good genes to the next generation. The way Mansouri uses
the phrase just doesn’t make
sense.
And Mansouri can only
think of one notable vegetarian, Adolf Hitler. How about
Mohandas Gandhi, Paul Mccartney, Jane Goodall, Leo
Tolstoy or Leonardo da Vinci?
Are none of these people notable?
I can think of hundreds of
meat-eaters like Joseph Stalin,
Mao Zedong, Jeffry Dahmer,
Charles Manson, Hermann
Goering and Ilse Koch to
name a few.
And if we bring religion into
this, it is best that Mansouri side
with Greek mythology. Vegetarianism is the diet choice of
Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The Abrahamic faiths of
Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have connections to the
Biblical ideal of the Garden of
Eden, which references a vegetarian diet.
While only sects of these
To read the original debate
and to listen to the Kavahn
Mansouri versus the World
podcast visit websterjournal.
com.
religions enforce it, the references are still there. Judaism
and Islam also forbid the eating
of pork products.
So don’t tell me that being
a vegetarian is the worst choice
in world. There are plenty
of worse choices. And if you
think vegetarians are harmless creatures, I highly encourage you to search YouTube for
“hippopotamus attack” to see
what that vegetarian species
can do.
Also, I can’t say that meat
tastes gross because I don’t remember what it tastes like, but
it certainty smells gross.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
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Page 6 Feb. 5-11, 2014
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Life & Sports
Page 7 Feb. 5-11, 2014
websterjournal.com
Student describes Thailand with three words
MACY SAlama:
Taking on
THailand,
a place of
unexpected
character
Contributed by Macy Salama
A monkey perches on Macy Salama’s
shoulder. Food sold by a local encourages the monkeys to get close.
After the first week of living
in Thailand, I now hardly react
when I see a mother holding her
five-month baby on the back of
a motorcycle. Thailand is best
described by three words. Fearless is the first word I would use
to describe life in Thailand. Not
only do people jump on the back
of truck beds going 70 mph, but
the dogs, cats and monkeys
roam the streets independently.
Whether it be the courageous
citizens or the lively flowers,
“
Thailand is filled with character.
I decided to study abroad in
Thailand because I knew it was
so different from my culture. I
wasn’t disappointed with this
expectation. It didn’t take long
for me to realize the lifestyle in
Thailand is different. I quickly
knew I was not in St. Louis anymore. Maybe it’s because it’s normal to see four people crammed
on one motorcycle here, or that
the scenery is absolutely breathtaking.
The second word is vibrant.
I realized, within the first few
days of studying abroad, that
living in St. Louis my whole life
has prevented me from seeing
nature’s beauty and diversity. In
Thailand one would not come
across oak trees and streets of
similar houses with freshly cut
grass and flowers planted in
rows. In Thailand, it is common
to see different flowers with every step; the plants are wild, not
placed and planted in a certain
spot. Looking to the right you
may see the beach, and looking
to the left you will find the sun
setting behind the silhouetted
mountains.
Beautiful. That is the third
word I use to describe Thailand. Thailand is filled with
color; every bush has brightly
colored flowers blooming in the
sun. Shades of purples, pinks,
reds and oranges cannot escape
one’s sight. The scenery is striking, but I have found another
type of beauty in Thailand: the
mentality of the people. Though
it has only been a few weeks, I
have realized the amount of
judgment in Thailand is limited
compared to what I am familiar
with. Acceptance of one another is common, smiles are seen
more often and people mind
Thailand is a place of fearless action,
vibrant surroundings and inescapable
beauty.
Macy Salama
Webster University Study Abroad Student
”
Macy Salama visited Khao Takiab mountain, which is famous for the macaque monkeys that have made a home at its summit.
their own business rather than
pry into the lives of others. Although I feel like a tourist and
out of my comfort zone, I have
only received friendly reactions
from locals. They are happy to
help and smile when I say with
an American accident, “Khaup
khun ka,” which means “thank
you” in Thai. The people here
are welcoming.
Thailand is a place of fear- has only been three weeks, and
less action, vibrant surround- studying abroad has already satings and inescapable beauty. A isfied my expectations. Fearless,
few times a week I find myself vibrant and beautiful — my first
in shock that my experiences impression of Thailand.
are real. Studying abroad in
Thailand has been more than
I could have imagined. I’ve
Contact the writer:
swam in a waterfall, visited multiple beaches, fed monkeys and websterjournal@gmail.com
learned a few words in Thai. It
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Salama is one of three
Webster University study
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MACY SALAMA / The Journal
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Feb. 5-11, 2014
Life & Sports
Page 8
Students help recreate Beatles rooftop concert
MARY Masurat / The Journal
Jack Miller and Doug Carson of tribute band Abbey Road Warriors play on the 4th floor patio of the Emerson Library on Thursday, Jan. 30
MARY Masurat / The Journal
Mike Ehrhard plays Beatles’ classics like “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
Beatles tribute band plays classics on the library’s rooftop patio
Livie Hall
Calendar Editor
Webster University audio student Andrew Witthaus
checked the sound levels on the
fourth floor of Emerson Library
while a Beatles tribute band set
up its instruments on the library’s
rooftop patio.
Witthaus, Student Chair of
the Audio Engineering Society
(AES), was one of about 10 students who ran the audio for the
concert.
Abbey Road Warriors, a local tribute band, performed on
the library’s roof on Thursday,
Jan. 30.
The band played to commemorate the 45th anniversary
of the Beatles’ rooftop concert,
but Chair of Audio Production
Barry Hufker said this event was
really to celebrate the skills of his
students.
Witthaus was in charge of
audio during the concert. He
said that he
and a few others had worked
Wednesday night testing equipment in preparation. During the
concert, Witthaus said that things
ran smoothly, and he was happy
with everyone’s contribution.
“I decided to go out on the
quad,” Witthaus said. “I wanted
to see how many people actually showed up, and I was kind of
flabbergasted.”
Hufker said he is a Beatles
fan and knew that Jan. 30 was an
iconic day for fellow Beatlemaniacs. When planning began back
in November, every email Hufker
sent out was titled “I hope you’re
a Beatles fan.” Hufker said people
were immediately on board.
Hufker picked the Abbey
Road Warriors because he felt
they played well like the Beatles.
The band is made up of four local music educators. Band creator
Steve Hoover said they play the
Beatles out of love for the music,
and that was payment enough for
Abbey Road Warriors. The concert was free, and the band did
not receive any payment for
its performance.
The weather was
cold, cloudy and
windy, just as it was
on Jan. 30, 1969,
when the Beatles performed.
Both performances were at noon
and were not advertised beforehand. About 50 people showed
up on the quad at the peak of
the performance, and teachers in
Sverdrup opened their windows
to watch.
Freshman Kelly Otto said
she could hear the music in front
of West Hall. Beatles fans in the
crowd sang along to the same set
the Beatles played 45 years ago, as
well as the classics like “I Want to
Hold Your Hand.”
Hufker was almost tearful
when the performance ended.
“It was great to see the plan
that I had conceived in November come to such a great fruition,”
Hufker said.
Witthaus and Hufker said
there were no problems during
the concert, and Hufker said he
was proud of his students’ professionalism. Witthaus said they
were good to work with.
“You have no idea how happy
everybody was upstairs,” Witthaus said in reference to his audio crew.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
MARY Masurat / The Journal
Steve Hoover and Mike Ehrhard of the Abbey Road Warriors play for a crowd of about 50 people during the Beatles
tribute concert on Jan. 30. The concert commemorated the 45th anniversary of the Beatles’ rooftop concert. The
concert was run entirely by students and planned by Chair of Audio Production Barry Hufker.
Visit websterjournal.com later this week
to view rooftop footage from the concert.
MARY Masurat / The Journal
Tribute band Abbey Road Warriors play to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Beatles rooftop concert. Like the Jan. 30, 1969, concert, the weather was cold, cloudy and windy. Both performances were at noon and were not advertised beforehand. The concert was free, and the band did not receive any payment for its performance.