was honestly worried that he wouldn’t
“ Ilove
me anymore or look at me the
same way.
”Kayley Withers on telling her father
Former Webster student Alex
McGrath copes with mental
illness through music.
about her sexual preference.
Page 4
Page 9
The News Source For Webster University
THE JOURNAL
April 29, 2015
Volume 68 Issue 14
‘Eye opening’
University’s tax form
reveals bonuses, pay
websterjournal.com
Bust an international groove
By Tim Godfrey
News Editor
Newly released tax documents reveal Webster University President Elizabeth Stroble
received a $75,000 bonus during the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
Tax forms obtained by The Journal on April 16 show university
Provost Julian Schuster received
a $45,000 bonus. The tax documents, known as the 990 tax
forms, revealed the earnings of
the top 10 highest compensated
individuals among current and
former Webster employees.
Stroble earned $500,174 total, which included her salary,
bonus, reportable compensation, retirement and nontaxable
benefits. While her base salary
increased by $5,219, Stroble’s
bonus decreased by $10,000
from the previous fiscal year.
Schuster’s compensation totaled $357,177. His base salary
increased by $2,145 while his
bonus was consistent with the
previous fiscal year.
Susan Polgar, head coach
and grandmaster of the Susan
Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE), received a total
compensation of $280,626, including a $75,000 bonus.
Greg Gunderson, the university’s chief financial officer,
received a total compensation
of $221,448. While Gunderson
and Laura Rein, then the university’s secretary during the
2013-14 fiscal year, received bonuses during the previous fiscal
year, they did not receive bonuses this year. However, both
received higher base salaries.
Rein’s base increased by $3,403
while Gunderson’s increased by
$11,605.
According to the College
and University Professional Association for Human Resources,
the salaries of senior administrators of private institutions
rose nationally by 2.3 percent.
Webster’s tax documents report that Stroble’s base salary
increased by one percent while
Schuster’s increased by 0.8 percent.
The
only
administrator whose salary increase was
above the national average was
Gunderson’s at 6.6 percent.
The tax forms show Benjamin Akande, dean of the George
Walker School of Business and
Technology, received total compensation of $282,116, a slight
dip from the previous year. Neil
George, Webster’s former chancellor, received total compensation of $244,609.
Not all administrators received increases. Akande and
George both received smaller
base salaries. George’s salary
decreased by $59,077 (-22 percent) while Akande’s decreased
by $4,503 (around -2 percent).
Webster reactions
In a statement to The Journal, the university said the salaries of the administration were
validated by several studies
which included Mercer, Sibson
Consulting and C-Biz Consulting. The salaries, the university
wrote, are in line with the average salaries of executive administrators at other private, nonprofit universities of similar size
to Webster.
Despite studies validating
the salaries, international relations major Hannah Graf said
she was upset when she learned
of Webster administrators’ pay.
“I understand that they
work at the top level of the university, and it’s a private university. But it’s a non-profit university,” Graf said.
In the statement to The Journal, the university said the additional compensation received by
some administrators was based
See Bonuses
Page 2
BRIAN VERBARG/ The Journal
Kotchenga Dance Company performs a dance from Ivory Coast. They traveled 13 hours to perform for Webster students at the 14th annual
I-Fest. The multi-ethnic dance group has performed across the Caribbean and United States, teaching audiences how to dance the traditional dances of
their country. The theme of this year’s I-Fest was Rhythms of the World.
See page 7 for more photos.
Review exposes campus issues
$830,000 to bring Thailand campus ‘to an acceptable standard’
By Macy Salama
Editor-in-Chief
Gerard Tate went to Thailand hoping to relax after he
retired from the military as a
criminal investigator in 2013.
He imagined a place with white
sand and clear water would be
the best Webster campus for a
veteran. After eight weeks of
studying at the Webster Thailand campus, Tate left due to
campus conditions.
“The workout facility has
some of the worst conditions
I have ever seen… there is
one basketball net, the floor’s
all torn up, but (Webster) can
spend a lot of that money on
marketing and recruiting
more students,” Tate said.
On April 8, Webster’s international site review published a report on Thailand,
Bangkok and Cha-am campuses. A task force of 11 Webster faculty and administrators from the St. Louis campus
observed eight different factors of the Webster Thailand
(WUT) campuses: communication, student safety, student
housing, academics, financial
matters, campus facilities, student affairs and academic support in the Cha-am campus.
According to the review,
“Webster University would
need to invest in basic facilities work to bring Cha-am to
an acceptable standard,” which
would take an estimated
$830,000 to rebuild. To upgrade additional facilities to
achieve a condition “reflecting
an established Webster campus,” it would take an estimat-
ed $1.2 million.
On behalf of the administration, Director of Public Relations Patrick Giblin said the
university plans to improve
the campus.
“With these recommendations, we have a concrete
action plan that will help us
further improve the experience for our faculty, staff and
students in Thailand,” Giblin
said.
Collegetimes.co published
an article in March expressing
concerns about the Webster
Thailand campus. It claimed
administrative wrongdoing,
lack of student services, poor
Internet connection along with
a list of other claims. Webster University Provost Julian
Schuster sent a response to the
students concerning the collegetimes.co article. The letter
stated, “Please be assured that
several members of the university’s staff, faculty and administration have investigated
complaints of wrongdoing and
found them to be baseless.”
Tate said he was not surprised by the provost’s response to the collgetimes.co
article. Tate said the response
did not answer students’ concerns.
“Calling the claims baseless,” Tate said. “My question is
which one? They talked about
20 different things (in the
collegetimes.co article); how
many of them are baseless?”
Two weeks later, the administration released the
Thailand-Cha-am review to
faculty. The report stated a
number of claims similar to
those raised by the collegetimes.co article.
Kit Jenkins worked on
the task force in a sub-group
focusing on communication
throughout the Thailand campus. Jenkins was previously
the director at the Thailand
campus from 2003-2007 and
is currently a member of the
faculty in the School of Communications on the home
campus.
“I wasn’t going to tell you
I was completely surprised. A
lot of these issues are not new,
but the most important issues
that we saw was that commu-
“
staff and faculty as to how they
should bring up to the (Webster University Thailand) leadership,” the International Site
review stated. “There is a lack
of consistency in the manner
WUT non-academic matters
are communicated among administration, staff and students.”
Jenkins said communication is a skill that should be
practiced regardless of cultural differences. She said money
plays a role in what is done
on international campuses,
but the ability to convey ideas
should be achieved without
any excuse.
Money is money and budget is budget,
but communication— that’s not so
expensive. That is just will.
Kit Jennings
”
School of Communications faculty member and former
director of the Thailand campus
nication did not flow in either
direction. It was not clear or
transparent, and I am talking about communication between (the St. Louis campus)
to Thailand and from within
Thailand,” Jenkins said.
The review indicated clear
communication between advisors and students but showed
a lack of communication between the St. Louis and Thailand campuses, as well as from
Thailand administration to
their faculty and students.
“There is a lack of clarity for students, rank-and-file
“Money is money and budget is budget, but communication—that’s not so expensive.
That is just the will,” Jenkins
said. “I think some of the problems come from (cultural differences), but good communication where people know all
the rules and it is transparent,
that would go a long way,” Jenkins said.
The Thailand review mentioned a lack of Wi-Fi availability throughout the campus.
Jenkins related the issue to the
personal experience she had as
director of the Webster Thai-
land campus.
“Thailand is a tough place
to operate,” Jenkins said.
”When I first got there we
couldn’t get the Internet going, and we went into the field
and the fiber optic cables fell
to the ground, and an ant hill
had built itself on top of the
cables. People who have never
been to Thailand do not know
how difficult it is to operate in
a rural area.”
The review also mentioned
a lack of English-speaking employees who work in the financial offices, making it difficult
to have financial transparency
within student accounts. Jenkins compared the Thailand
Cha-am campus to rural parts
of Alabama and said it is difficult to attract qualified professors who live in a big city to
the Cha-am campus.
“To get qualified Englishspeaking employees is not as
easy as it would be if we were
in Bangkok,” Jenkins said.
The administration plans
to review all of the global
Webster campuses. The European campuses will be reviewed during Fall 2015.
Jenkins said the Webster
University global campuses
would benefit if faculty traveled between campuses. She
said students would get the
education they expect, and
campuses would have clearer
communication with other
Webster campuses.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
NEWS
Page 2 April 29, 2015
NEWS BRIEFS
Webster gains new alma mater song
The new Webster University alma mater was selected
and first performed on April
23. The song was composed by
Webster Music Composition
student Christopher Poetz and
named “Webster U, You Are
Our Home.”
“I am forever grateful for
everything that Webster University has done for me, and
so it is nice to be able to give
something back,” Poetz said.
The first alma mater, or
school song, was “Dear Webster” in 1928. The next was
“There is a College Called
Webster” in 1945. The new
alma mater is meant to represent the university’s “mission,
vision and values” in its second
century.
Webster opened a contest
this spring to compose the
new alma mater in celebration
of the university’s centennial.
The creator of the winning
submission was rewarded with
a prize of $2,500. The alma
mater will be performed during commencement at The
Muny on May 9.
Reporting by Emily Presnell
Partnership aims to help nursing grads
Webster University and
Lewis and Clark Community
College (L&C) have reached an
agreement that will help nursing
graduates who are continuing
their education and obtaining
their bachelor’s degrees.
According to Webster
Today, a report released by the
Institute of Medicine laid out
a blueprint on the future of
nursing. In the report, a major
recommendation was having
programs that promote seamless academic progression.
The report recommended
the percentage of registered
nurses with bachelor’s degrees
should be increased to 80
percent by the year 2020. Currently 51 percent of nurses hold
bachelor’s degrees.
Partnerships between community colleges and universities
are essential to achieve this, said
L&C Dean of Health Sciences
Donna Meyer. The agreement
will make it easier for students
to get their associate degrees at
L&C, and their bachelor degrees
at Webster.
It will also provide a dual
enrollment program, making
it possible for nursing students
to be enrolled at both L&C and
Webster. This will provide students with resources from both
institutions.
Students who participate in
the program will have their application fees at Webster waived,
maximized credit transfer from
L&C, and be able to begin
coursework at Webster while
still working on their associate’s
degree at L&C.
Reporting by Kevin Smith
Campus Blotter
April 21
Leaving scene of accident
Lot K
Closed
Bonuses
FROM PAGE 1
on individual performances
and the achievement of university goals. The statement
did not disclose the goals
administrators achieved to
receive additional compensation.
Graf said she thought the
money for a bonus should
only be granted if the university is doing well financially
and not experiencing financial struggles, like budget
shortfalls.
“If (Stroble) is here working for a non-for-profit university, it seems like some of
that money should be recycled
in until (the university) is actually making a profit, and
then she can get that bonus,”
Graf said.
Terri Reilly, a Webster
adjunct professor in the communications department, said
Webster is a teaching institution, and the university needs
to focus attention toward the
classroom.
April 22
Stealing under $500
University Center
Closed
“If we have money to pay
bonuses, to be opening campuses, then the university and
the administration needs to
look at priorities and refocus
them on the classroom and
how they’re benefitting the
students,” Reilly said.
Jenna Hopkins, a political
science major, said the information in the tax documents
is eye-opening and disheartening. She did not want to
say the individuals are not deserving.
“I’m sure they have a taxing job as well. But as students,
I’m paying a lot of money to
go to school here, and I want
to make sure that money is
being used (efficiently) and
that it is giving people a good
education and all the opportunities that I have been able
to have­—not dishing it back
out to administration,” Hopkins said.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
websterjournal.com
Adjuncts find problems with informational site
By Sierra Hancock
Contributing Writer
Webster University administration launched a website surrounding adjunct issues earlier this month. The
site provides updates about
the proposed unionization, a
rundown of faculty rights and
a forum for questions about
unionization in general.
Patrick Giblin, director of
public relations, said the site
was created by the administration to provide information for
adjuncts. He said the university previously maintained an
adjunct information site, but
the new one, located at WebsterAdjunctInfo.org, is more
user-friendly.
Steve Findley has been
an adjunct at Webster for 12
years. He said much of the
information displayed on the
university’s new site is incorrect or distorted.
“There’s some misrepresentation of how things work
at the union,” Findley said.
“(The website) is not informing, if that’s the point.”
One post on the website
states that “Service Employees
International Union (SEIU)
can, and often does, negotiate
a clause into Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA)
that requires all employees
covered by the CBA to pay
dues and fees to the union as
a condition of employment.”
However, Findley said this will
only happen if the dues are negotiated in the bargaining contract and the union members
vote in favor.
“Union dues are 2.5 percent of your gross pay when
there’s a union negotiation
contract,” Findley said. “And
if you don’t teach, there are no
dues.”
This statement can be
found on SEIU’s site WebsterAdjunctAction.org but the site
ran by the admnistration fails
to mention that members must
vote on the conditions of dues.
Giblin said the administration
is only stating what is found in
SEIU’s constitution.
“We stand by the accuracy of the information on
the website,” Giblin said. “The
information about union
dues comes directly from the
union’s own constitution.”
Another
misconception
found on the administration’s
site states that “all future faculty will be required to pay initiation fees when hired by the
university,” but SEIU’s site says
there is no initiation fee for the
union.
Webster alumnus and current SEIU Organizer Jacob
Walker refers to the administration’s site as Webster’s antiunion page.
Escorted off his alma mater
Walker has been working
full time for SEIU since April
2014, a month before receiving his undergraduate degree
from Webster University. Since
then he has been on campus to
speak with adjunct professors
about the union and its benefits. On March 24, Walker and
another union organizer were
escorted off campus after Public Safety received a call from
a professor in the Community
Music School (CMS).
Giblin said the Public Safety officer received a call from a
concerned professor.
“The professor told the officer there were two men who
didn’t look like they belonged
there (outside the CMS), and
she feared for her safety,” Giblin said.
Walker said he and the
other organizer were sitting on
a bench outside the CMS waiting for the class to end so they
could speak with the professor
about the union. He said they
had no intention to scare her.
“Harassing and threatening people is not what we do,”
Walker said. “We are simply
trying to get in contact with
everyone because it is a decision that will impact all adjuncts.”
Giblin said the Public Safety officer asked Walker to show
his ID, but Walker refused after stating he was an alumnus
and a part of Adjunct Action.
The officer then proceeded to
escort Walker and the other
organizer off campus as a part
of university policy, which requires doing so when someone
refuses to show identification.
Walker was escorted from
the CMS right across the same
crosswalk he helped create
during his final year at Webster. He started the Student
Community
Engagement
Committee, which coordinated with SGA to implement a
crosswalk on Garden Avenue
from the East Academic Building to the parking garage.
“It’s concerning to see how
Webster would treat an alumni,” Walker said. “There was no
discussion…I was just kicked
off campus.”
The Public Safety officer
informed Walker that if he
came back on campus in the
capacity of a union organizer,
he would be arrested for trespassing.
Webster’s priorities
Walker has not let the incident keep him from recruiting adjunct faculty to vote for
the union. He said it makes
sense for Webster’s adjuncts to
unionize to try to better their
situation.
“The administration is
not on board with that because they’re afraid of adjuncts
having a choice, and they are
trying to skew that choice,”
Walker said. “When 80 percent
of your workforce is living in
under-poverty wages, you’re in
a horrible position.”
Findley said during the 12
years he has been an adjunct at
Webster, those conditions have
been the same.
“They’ve had 12 years to
make proposals on how to do
things better for adjuncts, and
they never have,” Findley said.
“And if we file with the union,
they can’t make promises because it is illegal by federal
law.”
The administration sent
out an email to Webster adjunct faculty on April 28 stating adjuncts can make their
voices heard through membership on the Faculty Assembly
and Faculty Senate. Seven adjuncts currently serve on the
Faculty Assembly—half of the
10 percent allocated to adjuncts in the total Faculty Assembly.
Terri Reilly is the first adjunct at large to serve in the
Faculty Senate. The administration’s email states that members of the Faculty Senate can
propose changes to conditions
of employment, but Reilly said
there have been no changes
since she has been employed
by Webster.
“There’ve been raises before, but in terms of any sort of
changes to the overall working
conditions of adjuncts, there’s
been no coordinated effort,”
Reilly said.
Reilly said as an adjunct
she has greatly benefited from
the Faculty Development
Center, which serves as office
space for adjunct faculty, but
other than that adjunct issues
are “rarely seen as a priority”
to the administration.
“The university has got to
get its economic priorities in
order,” Reilly said. “We really
need to get back to what’s going on in the classroom.”
The voting begins
The ballots to vote for
unionization at Webster went
out on April 24. All adjuncts
are allowed but not required
to vote. Findley said he is going to work as hard as he can to
make sure adjuncts are voting.
“(The union) will force
Webster to refocus its priorities on the education of students and the instruction of
students,” Findley said. “I
think with building new campuses and doing all these other
things that we’ve done recently, we’ve kind of lost focus of
that.”
Walker said there is a gap
between the money that is going into the university and
what the professors are being paid. He said he loves the
community that is formed at
Webster but is afraid Webster
is heading in a for-profit direction that could negatively affect his future.
“When you graduate and
go out into the world, you are
going to have Webster University on your resume for potential job applications, for potential professional groups and
things like that,” Walker said.
“I don’t want that to be something that I have to apologize
for.”
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
New voice appointed to president of SVO
By Dan Carcione
Staff Writer
Tom Palozola sits on the opposite side of the booth at Weber’s
Front Row with a Whiskey Sour
in front of him. He sits with his
back straight and his arms down
by his side as he smiles casually.
He exudes a sense of quiet intimidation.
It is this man, a former Marine machine gunner in Iraq and
Afghanistan and business major
at Webster who will be the new
president of the Student Veteran’s
Organization (SVO) at Webster
University.
Palozola will be replacing
Charlie Mach as the president of
the SVO when Mach graduates in
May. He currently fills the role of
vice president. In an email Mach
spoke of his conviction behind
being replaced by Palozola.
“As this was my last semester,
Tom was a valuable asset to have
on the SVO team,” Mach said.
“His determination and impulse
to take the initiative exhibits the
kind of Marine that he was during
his time in the service. I am confident that Tom will do great things
for the SVO during his time as
president. Marines don’t know
how to fail.”
Initiatives
Palozola intends to hit the
ground running when he takes
over with multiple initiatives
aimed at helping veterans on
campus. He has already created a
13-page grant proposal intended
to secure a space in an empty
building on campus to renovate
into a veteran’s center.
“If we receive the ($10,000)
grant from Home Depot we will
be renovating two unused rooms
on campus and turning them into
a lounge and a study area,” Palozola said in an email. “Hopefully
this will help attract more veterans to our school, as about 90 percent of vets here are commuters.
It is also meant to try to cut down
on the statistic of 49 percent of
veterans who end up using their
education benefits who ultimately
drop out.”
Palozola believes the biggest
challenge facing veterans in college right now is feeling disconnected from the general populace.
He plans to work closely with other colleges in the St. Louis area to
bring veterans from every branch
together on multiple events in the
future.
“We are looking to get all the
different SVOs (in St. Louis) together either this summer or fall,”
Palozola said in the same email.
“We plan to have a kind of ‘SVO
summit’ to strengthen local ties
between schools and create a larger network for veterans.”
History
Palozola has been a leader
since his first day after enlisting in
the United States Marine Corps.
He was a squad leader in boot
camp, the second highest honor
awarded by Drill Instructors to
recruits who perform admirably.
During his time in the Marine
Corps. Palazola filled the role of
infantry squad leader, a position
that should be filled by someone
with six or more years experience.
“One of the reasons I got
combat meritoriously promoted
(to corporal) I was one of the
only guys to keep PT’ing (physical training) in country,” Palozola
said. “Nobody was making sure
their Marines were keeping in
shape, but my guys were always
on top of their game.”
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
NEWS
Page 3 April 29, 2015
Faculty will not receive raises
Webster University will not consider pay increase until September
By Emily Van de Reit
Staff Writer
By Jacob Claspille
Staff Writer
Webster University’s faculty will not get a raise in the
coming school year—unless
the University’s financial picture improves.
The announcement came
from a report from the Committee on Salary and Fringe
Benefits at the Faculty Assembly meeting on April 21.
Faculty were told the
school faces a $19 million
budget shortfall in the coming
year. That shortfall is up $7
million from what the University had originally projected
during the fall semester.
The 2015 fiscal year overview showed Webster University’s student enrollment decreased and that the university
would miss it’s planned revenue mark by 10 percent. The
University blamed declining
enrollment across Webster’s
metro and military campuses,
particularly in graduate programs.
Jim Brasfield, a professor in Webster’s management department, has been
at the university for 39 years.
Throughout that time, he said
the university has never lived
off of its endowment. Instead,
it is a 95 to 97 percent tuitiondependent university with a
small endowment.
“If there’s a drop in enrollment and tuition revenue, that
puts a strain on the budget,”
Brasfield said. “Almost every
dollar that we spend is from
tuition money. We spend most
of that money, but typically
there’s a little bit of a cushion.
But that cushion in next year’s
budget is pretty low relative to
the size of the budget.”
John Barnshaw, the senior
program officer and senior
higher education researcher
at American Association of
University Professors (AAUP),
said a zero-percent increase
in faculty salaries is very uncommon for institutions nationwide. However, since the
recession in 2008, a zero-percent increase is more common
than it had been in the 10 years
prior. According to the AAUP
survey, of 1,100 institutions
and 375,000 faculty, 1.4 percent of faculty did not receive
a raise this year.
“A zero-percent increase
shows that the institution is
probably right at the line for
where it can be in terms of its
current economic capacity,”
Barrow said. “It basically says
that it’s difficult to continue
business as usual where faculty
members aren’t receiving increase in salary.”
“
websterjournal.com
WU to increase tuition
problem.
“What tends to happen in
those situations is that some
of the best [faculty] leave, especially younger people who
feel that they have some other
career options,” Brasfield said.
“And that’s not good for a university because you often lose
your best young people.”
Brasfield said continuous
zero-percent increases affect
younger faculty members differently than those who are
closer to retirement.
If there’s a perception that this institution is stagnant and continues to have a
financial problem, it’s going to be hard to
recruit people.
Jim Brasfield
”
Webster University Professor
The AAUP survey also
found that the national average salary change for all institutions this year was a 2.2 percent increase in nominal terms
and a 1.4 percent increase in
inflation-adjusted terms. For
continuing faculty, it was a
3.7 percent increase in nominal terms and a 2.9 percent
increase in inflation-adjusted
terms.
Barnshaw said a zeropercent salary increase affects
cost of living.
“For example, if you made
$100,000 last year and inflation was at one percent, and
then you make $100,000 again
this year, you’ve essentially lost
one percent of your income.
Inflation caused you to not
have the same standard of living as you had before,” Barnshaw said. “So when you have
a zero-percent increase across
the board, that’s concerning
for faculty.”
Brasfield said it is discouraging to faculty who do not
get a salary increase. He said if
enrollment bounces back over
the course of the next year and
into the following year, and
salary increases are able to be
given, then this is a temporary
blip. But if faculty continued
to receive no increase in salary, it would turn into a larger
“You reach a certain age
and it gets harder to switch to
another place. On the other
hand, somebody that is 30 and
at the beginning of their academic career is likely to get a
job elsewhere,” Brasfield said.
“If there’s a perception that
this institution is stagnant and
continues to have a financial
problem, it’s going to be hard
to recruit people to come.”
Brasfield does not believe
that Webster is at risk for this
at this time. But faculty members leaving for other jobs
could be a long-term implication if salaries continue to stay
where they are.
“If we can’t do that, then
we aren’t doing the best we can
for students,” Brasfield said.
“In that sense, current and future students have a stake in
this as well.”
Brasfield said Webster
University saw a zero-percent
increase in faculty salaries for
a full year, five years ago. However, this stagnation was followed the next year with salary increases of more money.
The university has also been
relatively consistent with faculty salary increases compared
to inflation over the past five
years. Meaning, when the cost
of living was more expensive,
faculty received higher salaries
Graphic by Dan Carcione
Most Webster students will
see a three percent increase in tuition in the fall. Military students
will not have their tuitions raised.
Jim Brasfield, a professor at
Webster University, believes the
tuition increase will not affect student enrollment.
“Will that discourage people
from coming, I would think not,”
said Brasfield “three percent isn’t a
huge increase. It’s not like a 10 or
15 or 20 percent increase.”
This increase is included in
projected revenue of $208.7 million for the 2016 fiscal year, compared to $206.7 million in projected expenses.
Webster has made $8 million
in cuts for the 2016 fiscal year.
The university plans to save
$4.4 million through administra-
tion and staff reduction. It expects
to save $2.2 million by leaving
vacant positions open.
The university cut $1.7 million in travel, entertainment,
equipment and supplies. The university hopes to save $1.2 million
from class scheduling initiatives
by limiting the number of classes
that have enrollment under 10
students.
That number gives the university $2 million in an operating
‘reserve.’ This is the difference between revenue and expense.
In previous years, Webster
preferred to hold five percent—or
$10 million—in the operating reserve.
Anything less than five percent can affect an organization’s
bond rating, as well as the cost of
borrowing money.
Brasfield claims a smaller op-
erating reserve in the projected
budget is due to conservative
budget planning.
“The projections were fairly
conservative. They took last year’s
enrollment and did 98 percent of
that.
Budgeting a 2 percent enrollment decline is pretty conservative,” Brasfield said. “If they come
up with exactly what it was last
year, then they’ll be some million
dollars to the better.”
Brasfield believes just because
the operating reserve is lower
than it has been, doesn’t mean the
school can’t make more than what
they projected.
and vice versa.
A few steps must be taken
in order to prevent future zero-percent faculty salary increases in the future, Brasfield
said. To him, the most important thing is to take necessary
actions to ensure that enrollment does not keep slipping.
If that is not possible, then the
university must look at what
costs it can cut back.
“Webster needs to find
a way going forward that it
can pay salary increases, deal
with various expenses and so
on and still have enough of a
cushion each year so that if
we do have a slight downturn
in enrollment, it’s not going to
cause a crisis,” Brasfield said.
For the future, administration stated that if enrollments
met targets, they would re-
evaluate the potential of a twopercent faculty salary increase.
If enrollment targets are not
met, it is probable faculty will
not receive a raise for the rest
of the school year. This reevaluation will be discussed in
September.
By Jacob Claspille
Staff Writer
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
The May Gallery
is on the second floor,
west wing.
of the Sverdrup Building
8300 Big Bend,
Webster Groves MO
webster.edu/maygallery
Complimentary drinks
and hors d’oeuvres
are offered
at the reception
NEWS
Page 4 April 29, 2015
websterjournal.com
Diverse Issues at Webster
Student living with mental illness after sister’s death
By Kevin Smith
Staff Writer
Alex Magrath was at his
girlfriend’s house on the night of
Feb. 25, 2008. Seven years later,
he continues to relive that night.
His parents and two rabbis
arrived unannounced. They told
Magrath that his sister Dora
Magrath had committed suicide. She was 22 and had been
battling mental illnesses for
years.
“In some ways in my sister’s
death … she kind of saved my
life. I saw, and felt, and knew
what it does to people,” Magrath
said.
Magrath said his sister
wrote in her suicide note she
didn’t want to be a burden on
people. He said if she could have
seen nearly a thousand people
at her funeral, she would have
thought differently.
Magrath was facing his own
mental health demons.
“I was still a mess and still
in denial (about mental health
diagnoses) and that coupled
with losing my sister was really tough,” Magrath said. “And
tough is an understatement.
Now it’s tough, and I think tough
is still an understatement.”
Magrath recognizes staying
alive hasn’t been easy though.
Magrath, a junior at Webster
University, is working toward
graduating from college – 10
years after his graduation from
University City High School. He
has faced his own struggles with
mental illness. His diagnosis is
bipolar disorder. The disease has
put him into the hospital more
times than he can count.
Despite that, Magrath continues doing what he loves to do.
He writes and plays his music.
But his life hasn’t always
been a struggle for him.
At University City High, he
was a high-achieving student
and one of the top tennis players in Missouri. He played No. 1
singles for the Lions. In doubles,
Magrath finished fourth in the
state in both his junior and senior years.
“At the time I was thinking
about the possibility of going
pro, or at least playing in college,” he said.
Therapy in Music
Not only was Magrath successful athletically, he expressed
creativity through music and
poetry. Writing and poetry first
became something of serious
value to Magrath in his Honors
AP Literature class junior year.
His passion for music increased
at the same time.
“I tried out for the choir that
year. In my first year of choir I
ended up getting a ‘one’ at districts and a ‘one’ at state, which
is the highest you can get,”
Magrath said. “That was when
I realized, at least vocally, that
there was something there.”
Magrath’s mother and long
time Webster communications
professor, Linda Holtzman, always had an idea that music
could be something in Magrath’s
future. Music played a key role
in their family.
“Music has always been
important (to him),” Holtzman
said. “While we were cleaning
the house, we would listen to
Marvin Gaye. While traveling,
we would listen to music, so
from an early point in Alex’s life,
it was something important.”
Alex Magrath plays guitar at
local music store Music Folk.
Magrath learned how to
play the guitar the summer after
his senior year. It has been an essential part of his life ever since.
But it has evolved over time.
It plays a much different role
now. He uses music as a type of
therapy to help with his mental
illness. Writing lyrics and songs
helps him “get things out, and
feel good about them.”
He has recorded two albums, titled “Fly Away” and
“Tao of the Blues,” and is working on a third entitled “Enigmatic Soul.”
“My niche has been soul,
folk, blues, but I’m trying to
break out of that a little bit,”
Magrath said.
Magrath has his sister’s
name in Hebrew tattooed on his
left forearm. It is clearly visible
when he plays guitar.
The Original Diagnosis
Magrath graduated as one
of the top 20 students of his high
school class and left for Bard
College in New York with a fullride scholarship. Magrath was
able to achieve a 3.0 GPA his
first semester at Bard, despite
the troubles he began to face.
“Everything seemed good,
but at the time I was having delusions of grandeur,” Magrath
said. Magrath only lasted one
semester at Bard, before withdrawing from school with a
medical leave of absence. It was
at Bard where a counselor first
KEVIN SMITH/ The Journal
Alex Magrath practices his original song, “Fly Away”, at Music Folk music store. Magrath writes his own songs about his sister, his mental illness and social justice.
told him that he should probably be medicated for mental
illness issues he was facing. He
was originally diagnosed with
schizoaffective disorder, a disorder that causes delusions and
depression. Magrath didn’t really take the news well.
“I was like, ‘What the (expletive) are you talking about,”
Magrath said.
Magrath decided to transfer
back to a school he knew very
well, Webster, where his mother
had been a professor for nearly
20 years. She retired in 2013 after 26 years at Webster.
Starting at Webster
Magrath was able to play
tennis again, and continued his
success on the court. He was
named the 2006 Saint Louis
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) newcomer of the
year, and finished third in the
conference in No. 1 singles. But
coming home has not made it
any easier for Magrath. He was
diagnosed with bipolar disorder,
and was first hospitalized with
symptoms of it in 2007. The new
diagnoses has been a bit of a
weight off his mind, but it didn’t
make his life any simpler.
“I would say that in a lot of
ways now there’s relief,” Magrath
said. “I know what’s going on
with me, but the ups and downs
take a lot of energy out of me.”
Holtzman echoed the same
sentiment.
“It has been a 10-year process to finally find the right
diagnoses and the right team
of people to help him out,”
Holtzman said. “But there was
some relief to know that there
were people in Saint Louis that
would care for Alex’s well-being
as a person.”
Discrimination
Magrath doesn’t shy away
from talking about his sister,
or his diagnoses of bipolar disorder. He finds it necessary for
people to be educated on an issue that is so widespread across
college campuses. According to
the National Alliance on Mental
Illness, “more than 25 percent of
college students have been diagnosed or treated by a professional for a mental health condition” in the year 2012.
Magrath faces discrimination because of his mental illness. He said a lot of the times
it is because of a lack of knowledge about the issue.
“The stigma is difficult to
deal with. It’s something we
need to talk about,” Magrath
said. “It’s interesting. When people have cancer, they don’t say, ‘I
am cancer.’ But people do say, ‘I
am bipolar.’”
Holtzman believes that discrimination towards those with
mental illnesses is very much
real, but sometimes the discrimination might not be on
purpose.
“In a lot of cases students
with mental illnesses need more
attention from the professor, but
they [the professor] either aren’t
aware of the situation or they
don’t know how to handle it,”
Holtzman said.
Holtzman believes coming
up with a way to properly handle and accommodate students
is difficult for any university.
She saw first-hand because of
her children’s mental illnesses,
and having students in the past
with disabilities.
“It’s difficult to have a general plan because there are so
many different mental illnesses
and they might affect each person differently,” Holtzman said.
Fly Away
Now, attending Webster
again, Magrath is working towards graduation. He rekindled
his passion for tennis once
again, and joined the Webster
team. He was 2-0 in doubles
play this season. But Magrath
had to make a tough decision
in late March. He quit the tennis team.
“Sometimes on my ‘highs’
I put too much on my plate,
and I kind of lost sight of my
health somewhere this semester,” Magrath said. “It was really,
really tough. It was hard especially since I probably won’t play
again.”
It has been almost 10 years
since Magrath’s diagnosis. And
it has been seven since his sister’s death. But time has not had
it any easier.
“It’s been a long process. It’s
been hard, and it’s still hard,”
Magrath said. “I’m just grateful
that overall I’m doing a lot better. I couldn’t have done this five
years ago. There’s no way. No
way.”
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
Breaking through barriers Diversity coming to WU faculty
By Emily Presnell
Staff Writer
Trinity Hamilton dresses
up in cosplay with a decorative
fan. She has Asperger’s Syndrome.
Zach Kromer is penpals
with astronauts. He has Asperger’s Syndrome.
Nick Kromer hopes to
work for NASA one day. He
has Asperger’s Syndrome.
Trinity Hamilton
Asperger’s is defined by
Mayo Clinic as a developmental disorder affecting the ability to adequately socialize and
communicate. It is seen in one
of every 500 people in America, and its prevalence is rising,
according to the Asperger’s/
Autism Network (AANE).
“Just because we have
these ‘illnesses’ doesn’t mean
we don’t grow and develop like
a normal person. We’re just
slower in other places than
most kids,” Hamilton, a Webster freshman said.
Hamilton says mental disabilities run in her family. Her
great-grandmother
showed
classic signs of Asperger’s,
and her aunt was officially diagnosed with it. Her mother
has dyslexia and dyscalculia,
a condition that severely limits one’s ability to understand
numbers.
“I have Asperger’s Syndrome,
ADHD,
dyslexia,
dyscalculia and I think that’s
everything,” Hamilton said.
Bullied and abused
The Kromer family’s house
has been vandalized on multiple occasions, causing thou-
“
The problem with
school is you basically go to school
with the same people
your entire life. I’ve
always hated that.
Old habits stick.
Zach Kromer
”
Webster Student
sands of dollars in damages.
The home has been egged, and
rocks and a brick have been
thrown through their windows.
“People don’t understand
the disability—which isn’t really a disability—so they fear
it, and it can really get ugly
sometimes,” Dawn Kromer,
the mother of the twins, said.
Zach and Nick Kromer
attended Rockwood Summit
High School, a school where
Zach Kromer was called names
while simply walking down
the hallway.
“The problem with school
is you basically go to school
with the same people your entire life. I’ve always hated that.
Old habits stick. Old impressions stick,” Zach Kromer said.
Hamilton said her mother
actively stood up for her at
her school, demanding she be
treated fairly. Other children
with Asperger’s are not always
so lucky.
An Autism Speaks study
concluded children with mental disabilities are twice as
likely to be abused as other
students. A 10-year-old with
autism was discovered to be
caged in his school to control
his behavior in 2015.
“Autistic students are treated as sick, diseased, retarded,
brain-damaged, psycho, crazy,
mentally ill, aggressive, violent, lacking empathy or void
of feelings, thoughts and emotions,” Emily Malabey, founder
and executive board member
of the Council for Autism and
Neurodiversity (CAN), said.
Academic Challenges
People with Asperger’s
tend to have other psychiatric
disorders at a rate of 65 percent, according to Comorbidity of Asperger’s Syndrome: a
preliminary report.
Hamilton has to work hard
due to her multiple disorders.
“I had some teachers who
pretended I wasn’t there when
I raised my hand because they
didn’t want to deal with me,”
Hamilton said.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
By Jacob Claspille
Staff Writer
Warren Ferguson, Vice
President of the Association
for African American Collegians (AAAC) at Webster
University, said a more diverse
faculty can help create better
connections in the classroom
between professors and students.
“It’s a big connection issue,” Ferguson said. “When I
see another black male in the
media, they show that black
males, all they do is go shoot
people, go to jail, sell drugs.
Seeing an educated man that
you can connect to because
you know he’s had that same
type of struggle. To see a male
of color teaching me something is just more of an attraction, more of a, ‘I know where
you are coming from, and I
understand.”
A 2011 report from the
National Center for Education
Statistics showed that nationally, the majority of full-time
faculty in secondary education
are white. Out of 1.5 million
full-time faculty members:
• 79 percent are Caucasian
(approximately 1.185 million)
• Nine percent are Asian
• Six percent are African
American
• Four percent are Hispanic
Thirty percent of undergraduate students in the U.S.
are minorities according to
Diverse, an organization that
covers issues in diversity of
higher education.
With almost 80 percent of
faculty being white, a majority
of minority students are not
being taught by other minorities.
Nicole Roach, Associate
Vice President of Diversity
and Inclusion at Webster University, said the numbers are a
bit off in comparison to Webster.
According to the 2014
school faculty reports, Webster University’s staff consisted
of:
• 81 percent Caucasian
• Seven-and-a-half
percent
Asian American
• Five percent African American
• Zero percent Hispanic
• Zero percent Native American
Roach said from 2013 to
2014, Webster increased its
full-time faculty by 11 new
members. Two were Asian
Americans,
four
African
Americans and 11 Caucasian.
Webster also lost its only three
Hispanic faculty members in
2013.
Roach said racial diversity
among faculty does not satisfy
her.
“It is not at a level I am
happy with... (Webster University leadership) was behind the
start of meeting the need. We
needed someone in the (AVP
of Diversity and Inclusion)
role to make sure that we are
managing and showing that
we are committed to Diversity
and Inclusion at this Institution.”
Benefits of a Diverse Faculty
According to the University Business website, a more diverse faculty improved factors
such as social development,
stronger creative thinking and
the experience of multiple cultural perspectives.
“I think having a diverse
faculty is increasingly important today. It’s more important now to have faculty with
a variety of experiences to engage students,” Ann Springer,
Associate Counsel, American
Association of University Professors in Washington D.C.
said in an interview with University Business, “You need (to
hire) people who are in touch
with different segments of our
population and have innovative and provocative resumes.”
Roach says there is change
coming.
“There are some initiatives coming. Lots and lots of
research has been done behind
the scenes over the past year
and a half. It just takes time,”
Roach said.
“Diversity is not about the
color of your skin. It’s about
a frame of mind,” Webster
University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion said. “It’s
about the ability to connect
and communicate with people
from all backgrounds, no matter their color, race, sex, age,
sexual orientation, abilities or
socioeconomic background.”
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
Opinions
April 29, 2015
Page 5
‘We should all be proud of Bruce Jenner’
Matt
Duchesne
is the
Digital Editor
for
The Journal
Bruce Jenner became one of
the highest-profile transgender
celebrities in the world on Friday when he revealed details of
his transition in a “20/20” special edition with ABC Reporter
Diane Sawyer. The interview
delved into Jenner’s past and
detailed his journey to present
day.
“Are you a woman?” Sawyer
asked in the interview.
“Yes,” Jenner responded.
“For all intents and purposes, I
am a woman.”
Over the past few months,
Jenner became a hot topic on
gossip websites and tabloid
magazines for growing his hair
out, wearing makeup, manicuring his nails and apparently
shaving down his Adam’s apple.
To clarify, yes, I am saying
he; for the time being, Jenner
wishes to go by Bruce and prefers male pronouns.
His interview with Sawyer
was the first time Jenner openly
commented on the speculation
surrounding his gender.
I struggle with calling Jenner’s journey a good thing,
because it was clear from his
interview special that he has
been at the lowest of lows due
to issues with his gender identity—but it is a good thing.
He has opened so many
doors for transgender people
and has offered all of us a teachable moment about their lives,
which is something so few of us
struggle to grasp or respect.
The Williams Institute at
UCLA estimated in 2011 that
nearly 700,000 individuals in
the U.S. identified as transgender. Violence against transgender individuals is among
the highest against any group
in the country, and the suicide
rate of transgender teens are
over twice the national average.
A lot of these facts and figures
come from a broad misunderstanding of trans people.
Misunderstanding
about
transgender individuals is a historical issue. In the past, people
have been jailed or even killed
for wearing clothes which were
classified as belonging to the
opposite gender (whether they
identified as the opposite sex or
were just crossdressing). And
those who are transgender have
been misdiagnosed as having
mental illnesses.
But even today, there is a
stereotype that being transgender is just a “phase,” especially
when young children show
signs of gender dysphoria, a biological and mental disassociation with the sex a person was
assigned at birth.
Bruce Jenner has shown the
world so many things we need
to know about trans lives: that
each individual has his or her
own journey; that the term
“transgender” is not some blanket term; that we must respect
trans individuals’ wishes to be
called by their preferred pronouns; that struggling with gender identity is never a desperate
plea for fame or attention; that
we shouldn’t ever focus on the
physical aspects of transitioning and, most importantly, that
we should embrace people like
Jenner for how brave they are
in their journeys.
Day by day, the world becomes more accepting of LGBT
individuals, but I feel as though
the average LGBT ally often
forgets about the T, because it is
the farthest removed from society’s realm of understanding.
Jenner’s journey should have
given us a wake up call, that we
need to take more steps to support transgender individuals—
and I think it did.
The response to Jenner’s
transition was so positive and
uplifting—it was almost unexpectedly optimistic. Sure, we
could focus on the negative attention from tabloids, or D-list
gossip reporters like Wendy
Williams, who have brought
negative attention to Jenner
with transphobic comments.
But the more we focus on those
negatives, the more the negatives will win.
For now, let’s just focus on
the positive, and call this story
a win for LGBT individuals
and their allies everywhere. We
should all be proud of Bruce.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
Trophy hunting not winning humanity any medals
Illustration by Emily Ratkewicz
Hailey
Kaufman
is the
Copy Editor
for
The Journal
Recently, a photo of biggame hunter Rebecca Francis
went viral, thanks to a disapproving tweet of the image by
Ricky Gervais. The photo is
a full-body shot of a smiling
Francis, lying on her back next
to a downed giraffe.
“What must’ve happened to
you in your life to make you
want to kill a beautiful animal
and then lie next to it smiling?”
Gervais wrote.
This isn’t the first time a
photo of a blonde camouflaged woman posing with
dead animals has gone viral.
It happened last summer with
Kendall Jones, a cheerleader at
Texas Tech whose lifestyle also
involves big -game hunting.
Such photos are often met
by two camps of people: those
who despise these young women for their hobby, and those
who place them on a pedestal.
This is a multi-layered issue with so much to consider.
Because I think it’s worth more
than an afterthought, let’s first
look at the gender implications
underneath these public responses.
It’s pretty clear to me why
photos like this go viral: because girl. It’s an unusual juxtaposition, right? Photos of male
hunters posing next to big game
kills are by no means novel or
hard to find. But a skinny girl
in a full face of make-up holding an entire leopard? That’s a
spectacle! So precious, that little lady, taking down that giant
predator. That’s the kind of girl
I want to come home to.
But then there’s the backlash —the crowd of people
who direct their rage not at the
practice of big-game hunting,
but directly at the women in
question. Again, while comparable photos of men are generally either upvoted, ignored
or looked down upon, women
who kill endangered animals
are under fire and receive a
litany of death threats. Why?
Should women know better?
Do we expect them to stay out
of such nasty business? Do we
defer to male judgment on this
issue but expect women to be
wantonly killing precious animals without reason?
I think it’s important to focus not on the individuals involved in this practice, but on
the issue about which people
contend to be so passionate:
the legal hunting of endangered
animals.
There’s a common and predictable backlash to the backlash. When animal rights ad-
vocates show dismay for this
practice, a swarm of defenders
come armed with one resounding response: big-game hunting
actually aids conservation efforts, so you hippies should be
thanking these sportswomen
for their brave service.
Thankfully, there’s enough
truth to this argument that it
warrants critical thought and
research. Unfortunately, the
issue is not as simple as these
toward others of their species.
The supposed benefit of big
-game hunting—at least in Africa—is the funding that comes
in the form of enormous fees
landowners can charge to allow
hunting on their property. All
kinds of groups, from huntingpositive organizations to animal conservation efforts, maintain this money goes directly to
local economies, assists in the
maintenance of natural areas
When laws are put in place without the means to
enforce them, corruption can make a big difference in
the effect that legislation has. This is a big deal when
it comes to the lives of animals that have already become endangered due to sport hunting.
people may like to believe.
Trophy hunting is subject
to strict regulation (in most
circumstances), so that only a
certain number of animals can
legally be killed within certain
regions. As a result, landowners and parks can charge huge
prices for hunting permits. Animals subject to legal hunting
are often older males who are
past mating age and have been
ousted from social groups. Trophy hunters —including Francis—tend to paint these as mercy killings, saying these males
would otherwise suffer alone
until death or act aggressively
and funds anti-poaching initiatives.
Some contend that the killing of particular animals also
helps the locals by providing
them with food, supplies for
manufacturing, and safety from
problematic animals that have
been known to terrorize communities.
The recent increase in southern white rhino populations
is often cited as an example of
the success of trophy hunting.
But correlation does not equal
causation, and even if big game
hunting is to thank for this
trend, one should not conclude
that the practice works in all
contexts. In many ways it depends on the species and the
region in question.
For instance, lion populations have been decreasing in
Tanzania, where trophy hunting opportunities sell for big
dividends. This is true in many
parts of the country, where lion
hunting is either legal or illegal. A study in
2008 suggested about 92 percent of this drop is due to trophy hunting having unintended
consequences.
Such consequences include
the muddling of legal hunters
with poachers, who hunt big
game for their black market
value. In regions where regulations are not heavily enforced,
or where policing hunters is
difficult or impossible, legal
trophy hunting opens a narrow but significant loophole for
poachers. Authorities are often
bribed to turn a blind eye to illegal activity. Some private trophy hunting organizations fund
smugglers of elephant tusk and
rhino horn.
When laws are put in place
without the means to enforce
them, corruption can make a
big difference in the effect that
legislation has. This is a big deal
when it comes to the lives of
animals that have already become endangered due to sport
hunting.
The strongest argument I
have heard in support of trophy
hunting is that the financial
rewards reaped by landowners
are a powerful force in encouraging them to protect natural
areas in Africa. Without this incentive, it is said, locals would
opt to farm their land and destroy natural areas in the process. This is compelling only if
this funding actually reaches
and affects the lives of the locals, and even this is still subject to scrutiny. Studies suggest
that in some countries, landowners actually receive very
little as a result of opening their
land to hunters. In some situations, they are owed a small
percentage of the revenue and
usually end up receiving less
than promised.
It’s complicated, and it’s
frustrating. I wish we lived in a
world in which tourism dollars
didn’t come from what amounts
to animal death porn, but from
more earnest efforts to respect
the lives of exotic animals. I encourage readers to research this
issue further, and to seek ways
to support the preservation of
natural areas without supporting hunting. It is possible, but
it will take a lot of work, and a
few paradigm shifts along the
way.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
April 29, 2015
Letters
&
Commentaries
The Journal welcomes letters to the editors and guest commentaries. Letters
to the editor must be fewer than 450
words. Guest commentaries must be
between 450 and 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.
Submit all letters to the editor
and guest commentaries to
websterjournal@gmail.com by 2 p.m.
on Monday.
The
Publication
Board
The Publications Board acts as the
publisher of The Journal, a designated
public forum for students, faculty, staff
and administrators at Webster University. The Board is chaired by Murray
Farish, and composed of two students,
two members of the Faculty Assembly
and the dean of students as an administrative representative. The Publication Board holds monthly meetings,
open to the public. Please bring us
your comments and concerns.
Next meeting:
May 1, Sver 210 at noon
Our Vision
To consistently provide the Webster
University and Webster Groves communities with the most current and
contextual information using both
print and multimedia, while serving as
a learning platform for our staff and a
forum for our readers.
Editorials
Page 6
The Journal’s awards throughout the past year
The Journal was named best
all-around non-daily newspaper of Region 7 by the Society of Professional Journalists
(SPJ) last month—just one of
the many awards our staff took
home during the course 2014.
SPJ Conference
On March 30, The Journal
competed against other collegestudent media at the SPJ conference in Omaha. The paper won
in four categories in Region 7, a
division comprised of Missouri,
Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa universities.
Photo Editor Natalie Martinez’s photo “Homework in the
Streets,” which depicted a tense
moment between a Webster
student and a police officer during a protest on campus, won
in Breaking News Photography.
Martinez was named a finalist in the same category for her
“Children of Ferguson” photo of
a two-year-old girl holding her
hands up next to her mother
following a Ferguson protest on
I-70.
Former Senior Editor Dan
Bauman won In-Depth Reporting in the large school division for “On Campus Grenade
Launchers, M-16’s and Armored
Vehicles,” a story written during
his internship with The Chronicle of Higher Education. He was
named a finalist for “The Costs
and Benefits of an Elite College
Chess Team” in the same category, as well as in General News
Reporting for “Thanks to Outreach, US Colleges Enjoy Jump
in Gifts from Abroad.”
Contributing Writer Sam
Masterson won Online Sports
Reporting for “Science of soccer: Webster soccer player
finds an advantage through flip
throw” with Graphics Editors
Victoria Courtney and Emily
Ratkewicz.
Other conference finalists included Sports Editor Dane Watkins in Sports Writing for “Webster Quidditch Player Copes
with Marfan Syndrome, Stops
Playing,” Lifestyle Editor Matt
Duchesne in Feature Writing for
“Kelley and Kelly Get Married”
and Contributing Writer Alex
Wilking in General Column
Writing for “Navigating the City
of Fog.”
MCMA Awards
On April 11, The Journal went on to take home 19
more awards and four honorable mentions at the Missouri
College Media Association
(MCMA) awards ceremony at
Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville for Division
II, which included competitors
from Truman State, Northwest
Missouri State, Missouri Western, Missouri Southern, Drury
and Maryville.
The Journal placed second
in Division II for “Best Overall
Newspaper” and took home the
Sweepstakes Award for accumulating the most points based
on the number of first, second,
third and honorable mention
awards won in the competition.
Websterjournal.com placed
second in Website Homepage,
thanks to the efforts of Webmaster Brian Pratt, Editor-in-Chief
Macy Salama, and Duchesne.
Martinez won Photojournalist of the Year and took third in
News Photography for her photo “Protest.”
Brian Verbarg earned an
honorable mention in the same
category for “Gateway Campus
expected in 2016.”
Bauman placed first in Investigative Reporting for his coverage of the Webster chess team.
Former Opinions Editor Cait
Lore’s op-ed “Mind Over Media:
Data by Design” won first place
in the column category, with
Watkins’s “To be or not to be an
English major” placing third.
Student Media General Manager Megan Washausen took
first place in News Writing for
“‘Papa’ gives his final lecture.”
In the Photo Page catagory,
Washausen and Mackenzie
Wilder took first for “Meaning
Behind Mask,” and Washausen
and Hannah Roling took second for “Fifth grade WiseWriters visit The Rep, write show.”
Washausen and Mary Masurat
also earned an honorable mention in the same category for
“Students help recreate Beatles
rooftop concert.” Wilder went
on to earn an honorable mention in Feature Photography for
“Meaning Behind Mask.”
Duchesne’s feature “Kelley
and Kelly get married” took another award, placing second in
Feature Writing. In Information
Graphic, Duchesne took second for his timeline, “Change at
Webster University.”
Courtney took second place
in Political/Editorial Cartoon
for “Donate to the Webster University,” which satirized Webster’s third annual budget shortfall, and third for “Snowden in
Russia.” She also earned an hon-
orable mention in Story Illustration for her cartoon accompanying the column “Kavahn
Mansouri vs. The World.”
Masterson placed second in
Multimedia Element for “Science of soccer: Webster soccer player finds an advantage
through the flip throw” and
third for “Student performs for
one year with U.S. Air Force.”
Former
Editor-in-Chief
Gabe Burns and former News
Editor Kavahn Mansouri took
third in In-Depth News Reporting for “City Council Educational Zoning Coverage.”
The Journal staff also took
third in Special Section or
Supplement for the centennialthemed spread, “99 years and
counting Webster history.”
This editorial is the view of
the editorial board, which is
comprised of 9 editors. their
names are posted on the left.
Three Webster elite snag a cumulative $195,000 in bonuses
Produced by The Journal
Editorial Board and Business
office, Summer 2014
THE
JOURNAL
The News Source
for Webster University
Macy Salama Editor-in-Chief
Sam Clancy Managing Editor
Editorial Office
(314) 246-7088
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Don Corrigan Newspaper Adviser
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Contributing Writers
Dan Carcione
Jacob Claspille
Rodney Humphries
Bill Loellke
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Kevin Smith
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Photographers
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Journal and may not be reproduced
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contact the business office, located in
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Illustration by Victoria Courtney
Letters to the Editor
From the other side of the screen:
An online student’s Webster experience
I always thought college
would be an exciting mixture of
life-changing events with a bit
of “Animal House” thrown in.
If you were to talk to my teenage self, she would have told you
college is meant to bring you
lifelong friends, wild parties and
memories that last a lifetime.
When I started my Webster
education, I quickly realized my
college experiences were going
to be nothing like I once imagined. Due to working full time
during the day, I was left with
the option of night and online
classes as my only path to a degree. I didn’t have time for joining college clubs, attending parties or commuting over an hour
each way to campus multiple
times a week. The traditional
college experience wasn’t in the
cards. I would be completing my
degree as an online student.
When the topic of college
comes up in conversation, my
usual response is, “I go to Webster University BUT I’m an online student.” The “but” seems
to be an automatic response to
explain my status as a student.
Of course, I’m technically
just as much of a student as
those who live on campus, attend full-time and participate
in Webster events. Like any
student, I have daunting financial aid, homework deadlines
that always sneak up on me and
goals of actually learning something useful—but as an online
student, it just isn’t the same as
being on campus. I never felt
like a true Webster student.
In fact, it felt like I was almost
posing as a part of the Webster
community.
I can’t name any of my classmates, rarely remember my
former professors and the most
involved I’ve been with campus
spirit has consisted of purchasing a Webster University T-shirt.
The major difference between being an online student
and being on campus are the
relationships developed in the
classroom. There is something
special about being able to put a
face and voice to a name, which
is something online learn-
ing doesn’t always accomplish.
Some teachers try to be interactive and use video and audio lessons to teach, which is nice, but
it isn’t the same as in person. It
would be wonderful to say I feel
connected with my classmates
and teachers, but it wouldn’t be
the truth.
I wish I could get to know
certain classmates or teachers
better, but it’s easy to forget to
make an extra effort in developing a good rapport with someone when you never see that
person face to face.
I’ve also noticed that most of
the online students I know work
full time or have families. There
simply isn’t always time or energy to get more in-depth with
those in the course. By the time
you start to get to know your
fellow online learners, it’s time
for a new semester with a whole
new set of faceless classmates.
In my experience, online learning resembles the
less-than-sophisticated
saying, “Wham, bam, thank you
ma’am.” The student logs on
to their course, does the work,
learns what they can and then
moves on. Friendships, connections and special memories
don’t translate well into life after
the course ends.
I don’t have any crazy college
stories to tell, and I will admit
that my last college party actually happened while I was in high
school. I also doubt I’ll gain any
lifelong friends from my experiences at Webster.
While relationships are rare,
I have learned some valuable life
lessons from Webster that will
serve as part of my college experience.
Anyone who has taken an
online class knows that you and
you alone are responsible for accessing the material. There isn’t
a teacher breathing down your
neck or glaring at you from
across the room to remind you
to put your phone away.
The student has to want to
learn and put the effort into not
only reading the material but
essentially teaching it to themselves. I’ve learned self-disci-
pline and how to manage my
time appropriately, which is a
skill I likely wouldn’t have mastered as quickly without online
learning.
Online students may not be
typical Webster scholars, but
our college experiences are just
as important as those on campus. There is value in online education, and if administration,
including teachers, can move
toward bridging gaps in the lack
of commodity and intimacy of
online learning, we can further
enhance the college experiences
of those who are online learners.
Online
students
aren’t
just people behind computer
screens—they are a valid part
of the Webster University community. I hope future students
will see the distinction between
campus and online students
fade, with both parties being
known only as Webster students.
Kaylan Schardan
is a journalism major
April 29, 2015
Lifestyle
Page 7
Students move to the rhythms of the world
Photography By
Brian Verbarg
Staff Photographer
Students celebrated international culture and diversity
at Webster University’s I-Fest
on Friday, April 13 in the
Grant Gymnasium.
The event, hosted by the
Multicultural Center and
International Student Affairs
(MCISA), brought together
food, culture and fun for its attendees to enjoy.
Students were invited on stage to learn a traditional dance from Ivory Coast.
While last year’s I-Fest,
themed “Colors of the
World,” featured arts and
crafts, this year’s “Rhythms of
the World” theme showcased
dancing and music from
across the globe, as well as activities like limbo competitions.
Dancing techniques and
styles from Spain, India,
Thailand, China, Mexico and
Southeast Asia were performed, and the Kotchenga
Dance Company performed
traditional dances from Ivory
Coast.
Reporting by Matt Duchesne
For video coverage and more
photos of this year’s I-Fest, head
to websterjournal.com.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
BRIAN VERBARG / The Journal
BRIAN VERBARG / The Journal
Olivia Perez, pictured doing the limbo, was one of the last students competing in the limbo contest at I-Fest.
A dancer from the Kotchenga Dance Company breaks it down on stage at I-Fest.
BRIAN VERBARG / The Journal
BRIAN VERBARG / The Journal
An I-Fest volunteer serves cultural cuisine to Webster University student Niki Harris.
BRIAN VERBARG / The Journal
Vado Diomande, a founder of the Kotchenga Dance Company, explains the dances the company performed at I-Fest.
LIFESTYLE
Page 8 April 29, 2015
websterjournal.com
retires
After 34 years of teaching Chamberlain
Music professor reflects
Media literacy professor Art Silverblatt retires, on 42 years at Webster
celebrates his contributions to Webster community
By Emily Van de Riet
Contributing Writer
By Matt Duchesne
Digital Editor
Media Literacy Professor
Art Silverblatt has been teaching at Webster University for
34 years and learning for even
longer. In fact, one of his favorite things about being in the
classroom is being able to learn
from those he teaches.
When he arrived at Webster, he was the director of the
media studies program—before
the School of Communications
(SoC) was the school it is today.
He said at the time, the program was in a state of growth,
and only 77 students were in it.
When the SoC became its own
department, Silverblatt stepped
up as department chairperson,
before eventually becoming a
teacher of Media Literacy and
various media theory classes.
Silverblatt recently announced his plans to retire after the 2014-15 school year. He
ended his time at Webster by
celebrating with friends and
colleagues on April 27 in Emerson Library’s Faculty Development Center.
“My best memories (of
Webster) are associated with
the people,” Silverblatt said. “I
have fond memories of the students, wonderful students who
were so fun to teach, as well as
faculty members.”
SoC Dean Eric Rothenbuhler and SoC Department
Chair and Public Relations
Program
Facilitator
Gary
Ford spoke at the event on
Silverblatt’s contributions to
the school, and many professors and friends shared stories
about his time at Webster.
“There’s one person after
another in our faculty that was
hired by Art, recruited by Art,
taught by Art and mentored,
partnered with or coached at
one point or another in their
career by Art,” Rothenbuhler
said in a speech to the room.
“You see the results of his
teaching all over the place.”
Silverblatt said his biggest
strength as an administrator
was finding talent, and many
professors Webster students
know today were hired by him.
Among them are Van McElwee,
Kathy Corley, Barry Hufker and
Aaron AuBuchon and many
others.
“Everybody I hired, I wanted to be better than me,” he
said.
A greater contribution
Silverblatt’s contributions
to education extend beyond
Webster. He has penned five
books on media literacy during
his time at Webster.
He said when he first got to
CHLOE HALL / The Journal
Art Silverblatt’s retirement party, which took place on April 27 in Emerson Library’s Faculty Development Center
filled the room with friends, colleagues and administrators who shared stories about his time at Webster University.
Webster and was approached
about writing a book, he felt as
though he did not have much
to say.
“I started writing when I
started to develop an interest
and more expertise in the field,”
Silverblatt said. “You can look
at articles and see things that
are really cluttering up the field,
and these are junior professors
who are either going to publish
or perish. Webster is a place
where you publish when you
have something to say.”
He sees Webster not only as
a place where professors publish when they have something
to say, but as a place that encourages its professors to make
a contribution to their field.
Some of those contributions
have come from the ideas and
concepts students have brought
up in class, which keeps Silverblatt thinking. He said he
doesn’t just spend his time in
the classroom teaching, but
learning too.
“I still really enjoy teaching;
and a lot of it really is that (the
teaching part), but it also keeps
you learning, keeps you think-
ing. And what’s more fun than
talking about ideas?” Silverblatt
said.
Deborah Denson, an adjunct professor at Lindenwood
University and former student
at Webster, also spoke at Silverblatt’s retirement party. She said
after working as his research
assistant and getting to know
him, she saw Silverblatt as the
one professor who believed in
her ability and potential.
“As much as to my mother,
I owe Art a debt of gratitude for
believing in me,” Denson said.
Today, Denson frequently
invites Silverblatt to speak to
her undergraduate and graduate students on the topic of media literacy.
Keeping busy
Despite going into retirement, Silverblatt still feels as
though he has a lot to do.
“One of the reasons I’m
excited about it is because I’m
healthy, and I’m looking forward to activities,” Silverblatt
said.
He frequently walks his dog
in Forest Park—his house is lo-
cated across the street. Denson
said she frequently joins him
for dog walks in the park. He
has also gotten into cell phone
photography and has been taking pictures while out for walks.
He wants to go back and listen
to audiobooks of the classic
novels he studied while pursuing his Ph.D. in English.
Purdue University has
asked him to write a chapter in
a book about information literacy, which he is planning to
do soon. But Silverblatt will not
be leaving Webster’s campus for
good. He will continue teaching at Webster as an emeritus
professor, an honorary position that continues his affiliation with the school. He plans
to teach a class on Film Noir in
the 2015 Fall 2 term. At his retirement party, he even promised he would come back every
Tuesday.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
Focusing on the future
Prospective Webster student raises money toward
attending college, would be first generation student
By Bill Loellke
Staff Writer
Monica Montejano wants to
make films. Her goal is to become
a film director, and she is looking
to Webster University to make that
goal a reality. She began to write
stories when she moved to the St.
Louis area.
“I always wished for people
to see these stories, not just read
them,” Montejano said.
The road to St. Louis, however,
was a bumpy one.
Montejano, 17, grew up in
Tulare, California as the daughter
of a Mexican immigrant father.
She has two sisters and one brother. Her father was a low-income
farm worker.
In 2007, when Montejano was
nine years old, her mother passed
away. She had been in the hospital for a while before her passing.
Montejano’s father was the first to
learn the news after receiving a
phone call from the hospital.
Montejano said the memory
of her mother she holds most dear
was her love for animals. She remembers how open her mother
was to taking in any stray dog.
“I developed a love of animals
because of her,” she said.
Her mother passed away after Montejano completed fourth
grade. After her mother’s passing,
Montejano’s family could no longer afford the house.
They went on to move around
and live with other people. Montejano attended three different
schools in her fifth and sixth grade
years. Her father eventually remarried, and when Montejano was
in the seventh grade, her family
moved in with his newlywed wife.
Deported to Mexico
In the summer of 2012,
Montejano’s father and uncle,
along with a few other farm
workers, were pulled over on
their way to work.
“It wasn’t right,” Montejano said.
At the time, Montejano was
visiting her godparents. It was
from them that she learned her
father was going to be deported
back to Mexico. She has not seen
her father since. They have made
contact around five times in the
past two years.
“It was especially sad because he was such a tough worker,” she said.
Montejano said her father
never backs down from an opportunity to go out and do something.
His strength and perseverance is
what she admires most about him.
“He would do anything for
even the smallest reward,” she said.
Looking to the Future
After losing her dad, Montejano went to live with her god-
father David Noble and his family, who live in the St. Louis area.
Noble was who Montejano was
visiting when she learned her father was being deported.
“Her stepmother called and
said she (Montejano) should not
come back home,” Noble said.
Montejano has earned
scholarships from Webster to
help pay for school. However,
Noble and his wife, who have
two daughters of their own,
cannot provide her with the finances she needs to go forward.
She turned to GoFundMe,
an online crowd-funding program. Montejano launched the
page titled “Future Film Director”
on April 4, 2015. She is hoping to
raise $10,600 in order to attend
Webster in the fall of 2015. As of
April 23, she has raised $1,000.
She said if she does not reach
her goal by the time she needs to
pay her tuition, she will use what
she earned and other future aid to
pay for the next year.
Montejano knows people
have gone through similar painful experiences. However, she
believes she’s different from many
kids her age who haven’t fallen
into the pitfalls of growing up
with a rocky familial past such as
drug or alcohol abuse. She is also
the first in her family to attend
college.
Montejano faced another
Music professor Bob Chamberlain has seen Webster University’s campus grow from six buildings
to over 30. He opened the London
campus at Regent’s American College, held administrative positions
for nearly 15 years and taught music classes the entire time. After 42
years at the university, he is retiring.
Chamberlain’s first job out of
graduate school was at Webster. At
that time, the university had mostly
fine arts—there was no school of
communications and no school of
business. Since then, the music faculty alone has doubled in size.
“The growth is really overwhelming when I really think
about it,” Chamberlain said. “Most
people aren’t lucky enough to graduate from college, get a job and stay
there for 40 years. I feel pretty darn
lucky for that.”
Chamberlain started out
teaching music theory. Along the
way, he became dean of students
for six months. He then moved to
London for 15 months, opened the
Webster campus there and served
as the first director of that campus.
When he moved back to St. Louis,
he became the director of academic
advising, where he stayed for more
than 10 years. He continued teaching the whole time so he wouldn’t
lose his teaching status.
“I’ve always loved teaching,
and that hasn’t changed. How I’ve
done it has become more refined,”
Chamberlain said. “You learn your
craft better and you become more
proficient at it. I think I’ve kept a
pretty open attitude.”
During his time in London,
Chamberlain’s job was to open
the campus, hire the first faculty
and recruit the first student body.
He said it was exhausting for him.
The hours were long—seven days
a week—and there was very little
time for a break. His family was
young; his daughter was two years
old and his son was born in London.
“I wish I had back some of the
family time that I missed,” Chamberlain said. “I don’t regret doing it,
but I didn’t realize what I was in for
when I moved to London.”
Chamberlain credits a lot of
his experiences to the flexibility
of the university. He said there are
many chances for entrepreneurialism that he may not have had at
other universities.
“Here, if you have an idea and
you want to promote it, you can,”
Chamberlain said. “A lot of schools
don’t allow that. And I took those
chances.”
Duane Bridges is a former student of Chamberlain. He is now
an adjunct professor of music at
Webster, where he directs the New
Music Ensemble. He also teaches
in the music department at Nerinx Hall High School. He first met
Chamberlain about 15 years ago
when he transferred to Webster as
a music student. Bridges had regular classes with Chamberlain, but
the two also studied independently
together for Bridges’ composition
degree.
“(Chamberlain) taught so
much to me. He was more of
a mentor than a strict teacher,”
Bridges said. “He was always open
to my ideas. I wanted to take in all
I could, and he certainly paved the
way for me to do that.”
During Bridges’ time at the
university, Chamberlain wrote a
recommendation letter for him
to receive a study-abroad scholarship. Bridges was shocked when
he was chosen for the scholarship,
and that was his first trip to Europe.
Now, through his career at Nerinx
Hall, he travels to Europe quite frequently. Bridges then went on to
become a graduate student at Webster, where he said his relationship
with Chamberlain started becoming more of a friendship.
“I honor all the stuff he’s taught
me. I’m happy to see him when I do
see him. I’ve got nothing but praise
for him,” Bridges said. “There’s no
question that he’s well-loved and
will be missed.”
Chamberlain’s specialty is music theory and composition. Most
of the classes he taught were theory,
composition, private lessons and
other specialized courses. His favorite class is music theory because
he said it’s what makes music tick.
“Theory is the heart and soul
of what music is, and seeing lightbulbs go off inside students is great,”
Chamberlain said. “Private lessons
are fun, too. It’s always a surprise to
see what students bring in.”
Chamberlain said the most
rewarding part of his long career at
Webster comes at graduation. He
loves to see students walk across
the stage and receive a diploma,
especially students who struggled
during the early stages of college.
“The real reward is to see the
look on their faces,” Chamberlain
said.
Throughout his career, Chamberlain has learned not to lose confidence in himself. He said his time
at the university has been great.
“I learned to say yes whenever you can,” Chamberlain said. “I
learned to trust myself and to take
risks more than before.”
For the future, Chamberlain
plans on using his new freedom to
write more music. He said he has
no other major plans after retirement.
“I love writing music, and I anticipate writing more,” Chamberlain said. “If there’s any big plans for
me now, it’s to write.”
More than anything, Chamberlain said he will miss the interaction with faculty and students
after he retires. He said the music
program is pretty tight-knit and
has evolved as a family.
“I’m walking away from that
family. I’ll miss that the most,”
Chamberlain said.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
Springfest 2015
struggle in addition to her father
being deported across border lines
and her mother passing away: Her
sister dealt with a drug addiction.
This is what motivated her to start
thinking about the prospect of college.
“I saw the effects of what she
(the sister) was doing,” Montejano
said. “That pushed me because I
didn’t want that.”
Montejano said she learned
to get through the tough times
by keeping her eye on the
prize: college.
“I want to go to college,” Montejano said. “I want to achieve my
dreams, and I want to make something of myself.”
Noble said Montejano has
gotten through her rough past
because she continues to focus on
what she wishes to accomplish and
to not go at it alone.
“She’s learned how to ask for
help when she needs it, and that is
a process for everybody, including
me,” Noble said. “She’s extremely
resilient. She’s a survivor.”
Montejano’s college fund can be
found at gofundme.com/axp9nc
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com
CHLOE HALL / The Journal
Chad Vaccarino of A Great Big World solos on the trumpet during
Springfest 2015.
LIFESTYLE
Page 9 April 29, 2015
websterjournal.com
Adopted students overcome cultural prejudice
By Emily Van de Riet
Contributing Writer
Webster University freshman Maureen Gage has not
found her biological mother.
She doesn’t even know if her
mother is alive.
“I keep her picture on my
bulletin board at home, so I
can always look up and see her,”
Gage said.
Gage’s best friend, freshman Anna Mei Bromley, has not
found her own birth mother,
and she said she suspects she
never will, since she was likely
abandoned at birth.
“I will probably never be that
miracle story,” Bromley said.
Bromley and Gage were adopted from other countries at a
young age. Gage was adopted
from Guatemala by white parents, and Bromley was adopted
from China by a single white
mother. The two have faced issues with race and adoption, but
through those struggles they
have stayed positive and a found
sense of belonging.
Challenges and prejudices
Both women have had a
series of challenges to overcome during their adolescence as a result of being adopted. Bromley said her race
was a big issue for her growing up.
“When you are in Missouri (as an Asian person),
there’s not many people who
look like you. Sometimes that
was hard when I was younger.
God knows there’s a reason
why I was obsessed with Mulan for most of my life,” Bromley said.
Bromley also said she
faced difficulty accepting her
appearance in elementary
school.
“When you’re in a secondgrade classroom and everyone
else has blonde or brunette,
long, pretty hair and has a
mom, dad and siblings, you’re
just this awkward Asian kid
with weird bangs. Sometimes
it was hard just trying to blend
in,” Bromley said.
Bromley’s struggles with
racial differences continued
“
I’m probably not going to find her, I’ll
never find my birth parents. And as sad as
that is, it gets me really interested in those
people who do find their birth parents.
Anna Mei Bromley
”
Webster University freshman
into her high school years.
She said she did not face issues with being adopted; it
was more about her being Asian.
“We had Chinese classes in
high school, and this one guy
would ask me what I was doing.
I would say, ‘This is my Chinese
homework,’ and he would say,
‘Oh I just assumed you were fluent in Chinese.’ And that was really annoying,” she said.
Other issues arose when
strangers asked questions about
Bromley’s background. Even
her mother was asked questions
about whether she had married
a Chinese man, or whether her
daughter spoke Chinese—questions Bromley thought were
crossing the line.
“Sometimes people would
ask things that were just on the
line of being kind of racist. Yes,
I know a lot about China, but
I’m not that different from you,”
she said.
As she has gotten older, a
personal challenge Bromley
faces is not knowing her past.
She said this is something that
saddens her, and that it is frustrating not knowing who her
biological parents are.
“I don’t have that connection with anybody that I can
say, ‘I got this feature from this
person,’ or, ‘I have a history of
this in my family.’ Sometimes
it’s hard because you want to
know,” Bromley said. “I’m not
completely Chinese; I’m not
completely American; I’m not
Chinese-American … it’s just
hard to deal with. I’m just me.”
Like Bromley, Gage felt prejudices against her because of her
ethnicity. Many people assume
she is Mexican rather than Guatemalan. She said she has had
issues with belonging, especially
because of her appearance. Her
darker skin and hair stood apart
from others in high school, and
she was the only Hispanic in her
class until fourth grade.
“But I don’t think other
people focused as much on my
skin and hair. They focused on
my height,” Gage said. “Guatemalans tend to be on the shorter
side. I’m 4 feet 9 inches tall, and
it was easy for people to pick on
me because of that.”
Birthplace and background
Gage was born in Guatemala’s capital, Guatemala City.
Her mother was poor, as were
most people in the country. She
had children, but then her first
husband left her. After marrying a second time, she became
pregnant with Gage. Her new
husband wanted her to have an
abortion because having another child would have been
expensive. She refused to have
an abortion, so her second husband left her.
“Her family supported her
and found another solution:
adoption. And I’m really grateful for her and that she made the
right decision,” Gage said.
Immediately after Gage was
born, she was sent to live with a
foster mom. She stayed there for
four months until her adoptive
parents came for her. She was
adopted by a family who already
had two biological sons.
“My dad taught himself
Spanish so that when he came
and got me he could understand
what the people were saying,”
Gage said. “Then I came here
to St. Louis. I live in Kirkwood,
and that’s where I grew up. I’m
very close to my parents; they
were the only parents I ever really knew.”
Gage said she misunderstood the reason she was given
up for adoption when she was
younger because she did not
Photo contributed by Anna Mei Bromley
Martha Bromley (left) adopted Anna Mei Bromley (right) from an orphanage in China when she was a baby. Today,
Anna Mei still does not know who her birth parents are.
know the full story of her mother’s background. But her adoptive parents kept a box of baby
information about Gage. Her
father translated everything in
the box about her birth mother
into English. Once Gage looked
at the box, her perception about
her birth mother changed.
“Now having known her
reason for giving me up, I understand more. And I’m not angry at her anymore,” Gage said.
“There were times I was sad and
angry at her because I thought
that she didn’t want me, when in
fact it was the opposite.”
Bromley was adopted
from China in 1996 by a single
mother. She lived in an orphanage until she was adopted
at seven months old. Then she
came to live in St. Louis with
her new family. She is still an
only child, and her mother
never married.
“The reason probably why
I was given up (for adoption)
was because there was a onechild policy in China. Also
there were a lot of old traditional values, like preferring
having boys over girls,” Bromley said.
Although Bromley knows
the village and orphanage she
came from in China, she does
not know who her biological
parents are. She said the reason
she will never find them is because it was probably illegal to
abandon a child after birth.
“I’m probably not going to
find her. I’ll never find my birth
parents,” she said. “As sad as that
is, it gets me really interested in
those people who do find their
birth parents. Those miracle stories really interest me.”
Pushing past the prejudgments
Aside from the challenges
and stereotypes they have faced,
both girls look past their problems and have found a positive
light about their adoptions.
Bromley said although she had
issues with belonging at times,
she realized people should always be proud of who they are.
“If you were adopted and
have issues with a feeling of
abandonment, just remember
you may not know the whole
story. Don’t automatically think
a negative thing,” Bromley said.
“There was someone thousands
of miles away that wanted you.
Just remember that. You have a
family that loves you, and that’s
what should matter.”
Gage agrees. She said she focuses on the family she has now.
She also had advice for anyone
who feels abandoned.
“You are wanted, because
you are here and you are alive,”
she said.
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WU students embrace their bisexuality
By Bill Loellke
Staff Writer
Kayley Withers, Ellie Duff,
Erin Coleman and Scott Lunte
were growing up in different environments when they identified
as bisexual. One’s first same-sex
crush was on a Disney character.
Erin Coleman had a crush on
the villain in Sleeping Beauty.
Kayley Withers wanted to kiss
her best friend Katherine Young.
Ellie Duff started crushing on
a lesbian senior in high school.
Scott Lunte discovered around
middle school that he wasn’t what
others called “normal.”
These Webster University
students began to question their
sexuality in these moments. They
identified as bisexual. Some still
do today. It’s a term that brought
them some discrimination.
Webster professor of anthropology and sociology Andrea
Miller said discrimination against
bisexuals does not always come
from heterosexuals. As a sociology professor, and being bisexual
herself, Miller has studied bisexuality for years.
Miller said there is a difference between homophobia and
“biphobia.” Homophobia usually originates from those who
identify as heterosexual. She said
those who are homophobic want
to keep homosexuals and heterosexuals from associating with
each other. Miller said biphobia
mostly comes from the gay and
lesbian community.
“Biphobia is usually when gay
and lesbian people tell bisexuals
to pick a team,” Miller said. “They
(homosexuals) say you can either
be gay or straight.”
These people would disagree and say they didn’t come
to identify themselves by choice.
They have attractions to both
men and women.
Kayley and her best friend
Media Communications
major Kayley Withers always
thought she was straight. She
had not even questioned her
sexual orientation until she
became friends with Katherine Young.
Soon she started to feel
something for Young.
HAYDEN ANDREWS / The Journal
Ellie Duff laughs with boyfriend Drew Anderson in their Webster Groves apartment.
“I realized that that feeling
might mean that maybe I wasn’t
straight,” Withers said.
Withers kept those feelings
hidden for a few months. She
wrestled with the idea that she
wasn’t heterosexual.
“I had truly believed I was
(straight) for so long,” Withers said.
One night in June 2014,
Withers had accepted that she
was in love with her best friend
and began to label herself as bisexual. Withers and Young have
been in a relationship ever since.
The first person she came
out to was her father.
“His opinion is one of the
most important ones in my life
since we are close and I admire
him so much,” Withers said. “I
was terrified of what he would
think, and I was honestly worried
that he wouldn’t love me anymore
or look at me the same way.”
Before she was able to get
the words out, Withers started
to cry. Her father, a conserva-
tive republican, knew she was
struggling and stopped her.
“He told me he already knew
and that no matter what, he would
love and support me as long as I
was happy in my relationship,”
Withers said.
Withers said that since coming out, her father, while still
retaining some of his personal
beliefs, supports the LGBT community and has welcomed her
girlfriend into the family.
Withers’ father told her mother and her older sister that she was
bisexual. She said her mother had
different views from her father.
Her sister was the same way.
Withers said there are days
when people really support her
relationship with Katherine.
“There are other days where
it feels like people have nothing
better to do than to judge us,”
Withers said. “I don’t exactly fit in
because many people stereotype,
and based on stereotypes, people
assume I’m straight.”
Ellie and her high school crush
Ellie Duff discovered her
sexuality during her sophomore
year of high school. She attended Booker T. Washington High
School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She
said while Oklahomans were not
very accepting of homosexuals,
Tulsa itself was different.
Duff’s parents were part of the
United Church of Christ, where
she said it was common to see homosexuals in attendance. She described the church as an open and
accepting environment.
Duff developed a crush on
one of her close friends, a lesbian
senior, during her freshman year
of high school. Around her sophomore year, Duff identified as bisexual when she fell in love with
another girl.
“We dated for about a year
on and off,” Duff said. “I haven’t
had a serious relationship with a
girl since.”
Duff is currently in a relationship with a Webster student
named Drew Anderson.
Duff was raised in an accepting environment. The idea of homosexuality was never hidden
from her when she was younger.
Her father, who died five
years ago, was the first to find
out. She described her relationship with her father as a close one.
Duff said her father picked up on
all the hints.
“I would say that a friend
was coming over and is going
to stay the night,” Duff said. “He
said, ‘Okay, dear, just a friend,
sure, sure.’”
Duff said her father was always supportive of her sexuality.
“He told me we could go and
check out girls together,” Duff said.
Duff said her brother would
often make fun of her for being a
tomboy, joking at school about her
being “gay.”
“I told him, ‘Well, maybe I
am gay,’” Duff said. “That took
him by surprise.”
Meanwhile, Duff said her
mother was slower to accept her
sexuality. She said her mother
wanted grandkids. But Duff said
her mother eventually came
around to it.
Erin and identity
Erin Coleman’s first crush on
someone of the same-sex was not
a real person, but a cartoon character. She was attracted to Maleficent, the villain from the film
“Sleeping Beauty.”
“I didn’t think that it was a
queer awakening, but it totally
was,” Coleman said.
Her first female, human crush
was a teaching assistant in fourth
grade, but Coleman was still attracted to men.
“My mom has gay and lesbian
friends, but I didn’t think it was an
option to be both,” Coleman said.
At first, Coleman did identify
herself as bisexual. Now, she said
she does not have a sexual orientation. She said she is not attracted
to a person based on gender alone,
but believes attraction is arbitrary.
“I am pretty much 100 percent sexually fluid,” Coleman said.
Scott and the role reversal
Student Government Association Senator Scott Lunte believes
common public perception is that
the mother is more accepting of
sexuality than the father.
He says that’s not the case
for him.
“I had expected my dad to
be the one who was upset about
this seeing his son was no longer
a man and that my mom would be
the one to tell me it was all okay,”
Lunte said. “It was actually the opposite effect.”
Lunte, who is currently in a
relationship with a man, said since
telling his parents about his sexuality, his father is closer to him
than he ever was before.
“He wants me to know that
they’re (his parents) are still there
for me,” Lunte said.
His mother, however, has
grown more distant from Lunte.
He said there was a three-month
period where their relationship
wasn’t as strong as it used to be.
That seems to be changing.
“In recent weeks, we’ve been
getting toward where it used to
be,” Lunte said.
Lunte said whether or not
his mother will fully embrace his
sexuality is still a mystery to him.
“I think she still has that hope
in the back of her mind that I’ll go
back to being with women and
that I will decide that this was just
a phase,” Lunte said.
The “B” in LGBT
Miller learned from interviews with bisexuals that many
feel uncomfortable going to LGBT-related events. She said she
has faced the same discrimination
that deters other bisexuals from
joining the community.
“I’ve been to these events, and
people have asked me what I was
doing there,” Miller said.
Miller believes people don’t
have a clear understanding of the
term “bisexuality.” She said it is a
term people are uncomfortable
talking about because they believe
one person cannot be attracted to
both genders.
Her goal is to make the discussion more comfortable.
“I’m concerned about the
invisibility of bisexuality,” Miller
said. “I don’t think, as a society,
we know how to talk about it well.
That’s what I want to change.”
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websterjournal@gmail.com
LIFESTYLE
Page 10 April 29, 2015
websterjournal.com
Students have a ‘Nice’ time abroad
Students study
culture and cuisine
in Nice, France
A group of Webster students traveled to Nice, France
during Spring Break this
March as part of a hybrid
online class (ILC2000: Nice,
France: Regional Identities).
Nice is the largest city in
Côte d’Azur, also known as
the Riviera. Côte d’Azur is the
Mediterranean coastline of the
southeast corner of France.
Nice is an example of
French regionalism, with its
strong Italian influence and
its beautiful setting. It is located by the Mediterranean
with the Alps as a backdrop.
The goal of the trip was to
explore regional differences
in France (accents, cultural
history and geography) with
a particular focus on the culture of food.
The online class was six
weeks long prior to the trip.
Students stayed with French
host families in Nice.
These families provided
exposure to the French language, which was a central
purpose of the course.
This course will be offered
again in Spring 2016.
Reporting by Bill Loellke
Photo contributed by Dominique Tronché-Macaire
Webster students (from left to right: Rachael Ainsworth, Lindsey McDaniels, Rachel Harvey, Sarah Boudreau, Kira Webster, Morgan Gray, Nicolette Gremaud) enjoy last dinner in Old Nice.
Students shop for market goods at the Antibes Farmer’s Market.
Photo contributed by Dominique Tronché-Macaire
Photo contributed by Dominique Tronché-Macaire
Students watch a 19th-Century creole fashion show in front of an old train station.
Photo contributed by Dominique Tronché-Macaire
Students gather around instructor Tamara for a Nice cuisine cooking class.
Photo contributed by Dominique Tronché-Macaire
Place Masséna Ferris Wheel in downtown Nice lights the evening sky.
Sports
April 29, 2015
Newcomer of the Year:
Monica Behrle
Uhrich
FROM PAGE 12
fielding percentage of .981%
with only six errors.
“I always caught or pitched
growing up,” Uhrich said.
“When coach wanted me to
Page 11
play first base, it was tough,
but if that’s what I have to do
to play, then that’s fine.”
First base is not the only
position Uhrich is going to
be playing during his time at
Webster. After this 2015 season, key pieces in the starting
rotation and bullpen will be
graduating, including Issac
Behme, Chris Jansen, Dylan
Dean Smith and Zach Sneider.
Coach Kurich expects to see
Uhrich on the mound more in
years to come.
Contact the writer:
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Game of the Year: Webster
topples Wartburg
By Scott Lunte
Contributing Writer
JORDAN PALMER / The Journal
Freshman Monica Behrle recorded 15 wins in doubles play this season and added 20 wins in singles play.
Freshman helps team win SLIAC title
By Rodney Humphries
Contributing Writer
Freshman Monica Behrle
has contributed significant wins
to the Webster University tennis team this season. Further,
she helped the team win the St.
Louis Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (SLIAC) Tournament. The team will advance to
the NCAA tournament for the
third time in its history. Behrle
played her part in both singles
and doubles matches. For her
efforts she was named first-team
all conference.
In doubles, her chemistry
with her teammates was on display as she won her last ten doubles matches, and finished with
an overall record of 15-5.
She also proved she could
hold her own in singles. Behrle won all of her first sets in
singles and only lost one match
throughout the season. Her 20
wins is the most in a single-season in for a Webster player.
Behrle said the enjoyment
and bond she developed her
teammates, gave her the confidence and inspiration to go out
and play well.
“I think I have always enjoyed being on a team and
getting the support from my
friends,” Behrle said. “Working
with the team helps lift your
spirits, and it makes you want to
do better, because when you’re
out there playing you don’t just
affect yourself — you affect everybody else.”
Behrle has enjoyed success
on the court and has a good
rapport with her teammates
off of it. Jesse Steffens-Willis is
Behrle’s doubles partner on the
team. She said she has great admiration for Behrle as a tennis
player, from a talent standpoint
and as an overall teammate.
“I think (Behrle) has always
been pretty naturally talented at
tennis, and she’s gotten so much
better because she’s worked so
hard at it since she was little,”
Steffens-Willis said. “Also as a
teammate, I think she’s gotten
a lot better at being supportive
and making everyone feel important regardless of their skill
level.”
Behrle said another factor
that influences her success is
the way she can adjust her game
plan and strategies from gameto-game. She based her tactics
on her opponent’s tendencies.
“With Principia (College) I
felt like if she (her opponent) hit
the ball hard I would be able to
chip it, which basically means
hit it softer,” she said. “As a result
of that she wasn’t able to focus,
so therefore I was able to play
better and get my shots. I make
sure that I pay attention to that
type of stuff, because it’s different with every player.”
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When soccer recruits visit
Webster University, Men’s Soccer Head Coach Michael Siener
brings them to the monitor in
the University Center. It displays
year-round highlights of Gorlok
sports. Often, it shows senior forward Mike Wells heading in the
game-winning, double-overtime
goal against 11th-ranked Wartburg College at the beginning of
last season. Moments after the
goal, Wells’s teammates mobbed
him in the corner in celebration
in what was one of the greatest non-conference victories in
Webster men’s soccer history.
“That moment, everyone
forgets about playing time and
who’s playing where and how
much they are playing. Everybody is excited for each other,”
Siener said.
On a Saturday evening in
September 2014 at Soccer Park,
the Gorloks entered the match
1-1 on the season. In the 34th
minute, Knights senior midfielder Tyler Salzwedel was handed a
red card, disqualifying him and
giving the Gorloks a man advantage for the remaining part of the
match. Salzwedel’s red was one of
six cards issued within a 19-minute span. The Gorloks outshot
Wartburg 5-4 in the first half but
trailed 1-0 at halftime. Siener
said during the practice sessions
leading up to the match, that the
Gorloks needed to keep it a onegoal game to give themselves a
chance.
At the 70-minute mark,
Webster scored the first of a
pair of goals from forwards Alex
Whalen and Dzani Delic and
took a 2-1 lead. Minutes later,
Wartburg tied the match 2-2
to send the game to overtime.
Siener admitted the match was
one of the most nerve-wracking
matches he has been a part of as
a player or a coach.
“Any time you get into the
Dye
FROM PAGE 12
“No, usually freshman year is
about getting used to it, and I figured it was going to be a transition, but no,” Dye said.
Scire said Dye’s first start was
due, in part, to injuries which
forced her into the lineup. But
once she was there, she proved
herself to be one of the best on the
Gorloks’ SLIAC championship
team. Statistically, she had her
best game in Webster’s 11-0 drubbing of Eureka College, as she
notched her first college hat trick.
Her success early in her col-
The Journal Archives
Mike Wells scored the winning goal in Webster’s 3-2 win over Wartburg.
game like that, you feel the
nerves a little bit,” Siener said.
Wartburg would eventually
rebound from the loss and advance to the NCAA Division-III
quarterfinal. The two schools are
scheduled to have a rematch at
Wartburg in 2015. When recruits
see the video, Siener said the win
gives them something to reflect
on when they decide on a college.
“When they see us running
over to the sideline, I hope they
get excited,” Siener said.
lege career may have surprised
her, but not necessarily her teammates. Junior Allison Ferguson
said it became clear that Dye
would be a major player on the
team, and it didn’t take long for
the two to develop a rapport on
and off the field.
“On the field, her and I—I
don’t know what it was. We just
could always find each other,”
Ferguson said. “We had a little telepathy communication out there.
I mean, I loved it. When the two
of us were on the field together,
we just worked so well together.”
Ferguson assisted Dye on
her first goal against Calvin. Dye
said she and Ferguson share an
understanding of the game, and
she looks forward to playing with
her for the next few years. Dye is
especially excited for next season,
because she wants to live up to her
first year and take the next step in
the NCAA tournament. In 2014,
Webster lost in the first round to
the University of Chicago 1-0, a
game Dye still thinks about.
“I want to pass the first round
of the NCAA tournament,” Dye
said. “I want to get to that second
round because I know we can do
it.”
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Sports
April 29, 2015
For the fifth year in a row, The Journal continues its
tradition of extending the End of the Year Athletic Awards to
athletes who have excelled this year in their respective sports.
The recipients were selected by members of The Journal and
Galaxy staff, after much debate and discussion.
Page 12
Tell us what you think of our selections this year. Visit websterjournal.com and leave a comment, or e-mail us at websterjournal@gmail.com with your opinion.
Male Athlete Female Athlete of the Year:
Kayla Dye
of the Year:
Kyle Uhrich
By Taylor Overstreet
Contributing Writer
While at Maryville University, Kyle Uhrich spent most
of his time on the mound. The
coaching staff there planned to
use him almost exclusively as a
pitcher. But after transferring
to Webster University, Uhrich
is now one of the best hitters in
all of division-III baseball.
Uhrich arrived at Webster University in January. He
decided to transfer because
Webster offered computer science, the major he wanted to
pursue. He also wanted to show
he could play a bigger role
than the one placed on him at
Maryville.
“I barely played,” Uhrich
said. “The coaching staff only
saw me as a pitcher, but I wanted to bat.”
As a freshman at Maryville,
Uhrich was mainly used as
a pitcher — both as a starter
and a reliever. He appeared six
times on the mound, posting a
1-2 record and a 2.38 earned
run average. Uhrich batted
.245 but only had 52 plate appearances. Uhrich recorded 13
hits and 7 RBIs from the 2014
season.
At Webster, Uhrich is hitting .369 and leads the St. Louis
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) in slugging
percentage (.766%), RBIs (52),
home runs (15) and total bases
(110).
“It’s great to know you have
been recognized for your hard
work,” Uhrich said. “I’m just
trying to do whatever I can to
help the team win.”
The Webster University
baseball team is 27-10 on the
season and 16-3 in conference
play. Webster is sitting in first
place in the SLIAC Western Division.
Uhrich found exactly what
he was looking for to be successful at Webster. Head Baseball Coach Bill Kurich knew
exactly what he was getting
when Uhrich came onto the
team.
“He’s been great for us so
far,” Kurich said. “We knew
(Uhrich) was a physically gifted kid coming into the season.
We knew he was going to be
strong.”
Uhrich has hit 15 home
runs, the most in DivisionIII baseball this season. With
three regular season games left,
Uhrich is currently second on
Webster’s all-time single season
home run list.
“He hits good pitching,
and he hits bad pitching,” Kurich said. “You watch (Uhrich)
bat two or three times, and it’s
pretty obvious he’s a very powerful young man.”
Uhrich agrees more at-bats
this year have helped his confidence at the plate.
“I got more at-bats here,
and I just got on a roll and kept
going,” Uhrich said.
With 52 RBIs on the season, Uhrich has moved into
fifth place on Webster’s singleseason RBI list. With runners
on base, Uhrich has had 90 atbats and is hitting .367.
“(Uhrich) has provided
a very fearful middle of the
lineup,” Kurich said. “He comes
up big for us, and that’s exactly
what we needed from him.”
That fearful middle of the
lineup includes senior third
baseman Jeff Kammer and junior outfielder Blake Thomas.
Kammer is hitting .391 with
nine home runs and 39 RBIs,
while Thomas is hitting .366
with two home runs and 32
RBIs.
For pitchers, facing the
middle of the Gorloks’ lineup
is a scary thing, Kammer said.
“When facing the heart of
the order like they have, they
just do their very best to pitch
around the strike zone,” Kammer said. “They want to follow
a pattern and keep it low so we
don’t hit it a country mile.”
While he has played as
the first baseman and relief
pitcher at Webster, Uhrich won
the conference player of the
year his senior year at Webster Groves High School as a
catcher.
Uhrich had never played
first base before college. He admitted it has taken some time
to adjust to the new position,
but he feels comfortable now.
After 34 games, he has a
Uhrich Page 11
JULIA PESCHEL/ The Journal
Freshman Kayla Dye rounds an opponent in Webster’s conference semi-final victory over Westminster. Dye scored ten goals and notched nine assists last year.
Freshman striker leads team in points
By Dane Watkins
Sports Editor
Kayla Dye’s first goal for Webster University came as a substitute in the Gorloks’ first game of
the season against Calvin College.
At the time, Calvin was ranked
24th in the nation, and the Gorloks trailed 2-1. The goal was a
meaningful one.
Dye came on at halftime and
felt exhausted from the adrenaline rush of her first game.
“I was so nervous,” Dye said.
“And so tired. I was about to put
my hand up for a sub, but then I
scored.”
Dye made a habit of giantkilling during her freshman campaign. Three weeks later she made
her first start and scored against
Washington University (St. Louis), the No. 1 ranked team in the
country.
On the year Dye scored ten
goals and contributed nine assists. Though she only started 16
games, she led the team in points
(goals plus assists) and earned
the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s third-team
All-Central Region honors. She
was also named to the St. Louis
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) First Team.
Head Coach Luigi Scire said
he believes Dye can become even
better in her next three seasons
and compared her to some former greats on the women’s soccer
team.
“She’s just now scratching
the surface,” Scire said. “I think
in the next three years you’re going to see Kayla develop into one
of the most prolific goal-scorers
we’ve ever had. She’s going to be
up there with the likes of Christy
Capkovic, Megan Niederschulte
and Niki Martinez. She can be
that type of player.”
Dye scored the most goals
as a freshman since Lauren Pratt
scored ten in 2012. Scire said he
was impressed with Dye’s drive
and determination on the field.
He said he has observed these
qualities in her ever since he first
saw her play for her high school,
Windsor in Imperial Missouri,
when she was a sophomore. Dye’s
team trailed, but Scire was struck
by Dye’s resolve.
“She pretty much imposed
her will,” Scire said. “And did what
any true forward would do—find
a way to win that game.”
Dye scored the tying goal in
the final minutes.
“I was like, I just know I want
to win,” Dye said. “And I don’t
know what it’s going to take, but
I have this much time left, and it’s
gonna happen.”
Despite the success she enjoyed this season, Dye did not
believe she would see the field as
much as she did, at least initially.
When her friends asked her if she
had been starting on the team, she
joked she’d start—on the bench.
Dye Page 11
Coach of the Yea­r­: Women’s Soccer, Luigi Scire
By Sam Clancy
Managing Editor
AMIE BOGGEMAN/ The Journal
Women’s Soccer Head Coach Luigi Scire in his office.
Coaching comes down to one
thing for Women’s Soccer Head
Coach Luigi Scire: preparation.
“We (the coaching staff) try
to give them (the players) all the
tools necessary to walk out on
that field and become successful,”
Scire said.
With the group of graduating
seniors on his 2014 team, that job
was easy.
October 23, 2012 was the
last time the Webster University
women’s soccer team lost in the
St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (SLIAC). October 24
was the first day Scire knew the
seniors of the 2014 Gorloks were
a special group.
In 2012, the Gorloks were
on pace to go undefeated in the
conference and to shut out every
SLIAC opponent they faced. But
in overtime of their game against
Fontbonne University, they allowed their first conference goal
and suffered their only conference loss of 2012.
The next day, at practice, the
team ran for 45 minutes straight.
Scire said it was not a punishment; it was a cleansing process.
Since then, they have not lost
in conference, including conference tournaments.
In 2014, as seniors, the seven
core players led Webster to their
second straight undefeated conference season and their third
consecutive trip to the NCAA
tournament.
Despite losing in the first
round of the NCAA tournament
in each of the team’s last three
appearances, Scire said they are
not far from being a championship-caliber team. He said games
against top competition often
come down to who makes the
fewest mistakes, and Webster has
just been unlucky at times.
Although they never managed to make it out of the first
round of the NCAA tournament,
the graduating seniors leave a
legacy that will be carried on by
many of the underclassmen on
the team.
Kayla Dye, Rachael Ainsworth and Elena Bloma were all
freshmen this year. Dye was the
leading point-earner, Ainsworth
started in goal for part of the
season and Bloma was a defensive starter for all but one of the
games. With these players getting
substantial playing time, Scire
is excited about the future of the
program.
Even with all the success on
the field, Scire said academics
come first. The team was awarded
the Team Academic Award from
the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the 15th
consecutive year.
The team has held a GPA of
3.0 or better, the requirement for
the team award, every year since
the conception of Webster’s Soccer program in 1999. Scire has
been the head coach for all 15
years, and this year’s team has a
GPA of 3.36.
Contact the writer:
websterjournal@gmail.com