Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Marie Beatty and Jessie Nielsen work idfA ' lher to remove the chipping, white paint. Beautifying Residences Using Student Help. an annual fall event. aided homoowners in need, phofn hv M hr Dvn Staining wood, Christine Rusco spends her time working on a home in Pickenng for Habitat for Humanity. I just do it to give back to the community and to make others feel good. Rusco said. photo by Adam Watson Students worl together to rejuvenate one of the homes chosen for Beautifying Residences Using Student Help. More than 100 students lent a helping hand during the two day event. photo by Mike Dye volunteer Student Life 25

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Acts Students donate time and energy to improve campus and community. of charity by Jessica Hartley A heartfelt smile from an elderly woman, the slobbery lick of an orphaned dog and a man ' s warm handshake for fixing up his home inspired students to reach out and volunteer. Tucked within the Student Affairs Office in the J.W. Jones Student Union, the Volunteer Service Learning Center sent needs assessment surveys throughout the community to find opportunities to serve. Society wouldn ' t exist if there were no volunteers, Volunteer Coordinator Meredith Naughton said. All the services that volunteering provides wouldn ' t be met. Students eager to participate stopped by and filled out a questionnaire, which helped to pinpoint what type of volunteering interested them. It is a way to build skills in a non-confrontational way, Naughton said. You can have an outlet foryour passions, you can explore different careers and meet new people with like interests. Many possibilities surfaced for students to get involved. By participating in Beautifying Residences Using Student Help, 135 students helped elderly and low-income families fLx up their homes. You get out and you scrape and you paint and you feel proud because you know the person ' s gonna be proud. And, when you see and meet that person, you feel that extra connection. That ' s a feeling that people should have more often, Naugthon said. Students gathered at four different Maryville homes to update the exterior for BRUSH Sept. 11-12. Coordinators split the days into four-hour shifts, but a few students labored the entire day. Just as I began feeling like I wasn ' t getting anything done, the older lady that owned the house came home and stood on her porch, introducing herself to all of us. Amanda Kiskersaid. Shewas so sweet andextremelygratefid. Seeing her gratitude and hearing her say that she would remember us for what we did made a day of climbing through scratchy bushes and scraping off old paint absolutely perfect. Other volunteers opted to start fresh by helping Habitat for Humanities construct an entire house for a selected family. That was so worth my time, Christine Rusco said. The family is now going to be able to live in this really nice house, and I had a part in that. To me, that is amazing and means a lot. Nathan Kwarta scrapes off old paint in order to repaint the entire exterior. Of the four homes selected, two of them were completely repainted, and the others were retrimmed. photo by Mike Dye If painting and construction were not appealing to some, students put one foot in front of the other. The annual Alzheimer ' s Memory Walk, held Oct. 9, encouraged participants to walk three and a half miles around Maryville to raise research funds. Students also worked with animals at the New Nodaway Humane Society, which provided shelter for homeless animals. Volunteers walked dogs, played with cats, cleaned cages and bathed animals. We have lots of animals that we don ' t have the time to do a lot of basic care for them, supervisor Rhonda Adanison said. It ' s what keeps this place running. Martin Luther King. Jr. Day took place on Feb. 17, and students observed the day through community service. His historical efforts influenced people ' s lives, including Melanie Bucy, who said his words kept her devoted to volunteering. Bucy abided by King ' s word. Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don ' t have to have a college degree to serve. You don ' t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. Bucy said she used the quote to humble herself and let herself know that anyone could make a difference. He gave up his life to help the lives of others, and I respect anyone who can do that, Bucy said. Alternative spring break encouraged college students to give up their class-free week to help others. Looking to possibly head to Florida, where hurricanes left families distraught, students combined to serve communities facing complexities. Nearly all organizations on campus volunteered, whether through blood-drives, fund-raisers, donating furniture to international students, using leftover Aladine money for food drives or encouraging students to vote. For Naughton, 2004 marked her first year with the Volunteer Service Learning Center. She made volunteering her life, she said, because she believed it was her civic responsibility. Most people find themselves in need at some point in their lives. Today, you may be the person v dth the ability to help, but tomorrow you, or someone you care about, may be the recipient of someone else ' s volunteer effort, she said. 24 volunteer DESIGNED BV | JESSICA HARTLEY

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costly .life struggles Racy performance causes conflicting audience views. by Megan Heuer Students and community members packed Mary Linn and watched two hours of song and sometimes suggestive motion as actors told the story of friends encountering poverty, satire, death and love. Encore Performances presented Broadway ' s touring musical Rent Oct. 20 at Mary Linn Performing Arts Center to audience members anxious to see such a big act close to home. I absolutely love it, Jaennie Schaffer said. It ' s better than I expected it to be. Schaffer said the bigger, the better when it came to bringing entertainment to campus. Schaffer said even though the show upset some of the older viewers because of the content, but it was an unbelievable show. I think it ' s going really well, Ashley Cunningham said. I ' m kind of worried about reactions because it ' s such a small conservative town. But, I think it ' s something they need to see, and so, in that way, it ' s a good thing. The story began in New York City where characters Roger and Mark were struggling to make rent payments to former roommate and current landlord Benny. Benny was attemptingto turn their building into a high-tech cyber-arts studio. As other friends pushed their way into the action, love unfolded between numerous characters through melodic passion and an occasional outburst of rock style expression. There were several scenes with sex as the obvious topic. Some audience members were caught off guard by the racey content and open sexuality of the show. I was really surprised, I felt like one of those 4-year-old kids that has some one whisper ' sex ' and I ' m like ' Oh my God, ' Nathan Smith said. After Mark and Roger ' s friend Maureen attempted a protest to rescue the building. Throughout, humor and audience participation never failed to keep everyone on the edge of their seats and lighten the seriousness of the situation. After intermission, Seasons of Love, the most notable song from Rent, brought audience members back to their seats for Act Two. Following was a moment no satire could lighten when Angel, Collins ' partner and friend to all, was lost to AIDS making the rest of the group realize the importance of love. The friends came together, after a year of trying to stay apart, to mend broken hearts, and the ending earned a standing ovation. Although most returned to their seats for the second act, some audience members left at intermission. To me it is not Broadway perfection at all. I ' m from the New York area, and 1 have seen a lot of shows, and I ' ve never walked out on one before, Missouri resident Ruth Gladstone said. Gladstone said the music and dance were not what she expected. Student Sarah Smith disagreed with those who left and said she believed it was time something like this made its way to campus. I ' m really glad it ' s here at Northwest. I ' m finally glad something came that has culture in it, Smith said. I think it ' s appropriate because it ' s on a college campus. I love it, I think it fits our age group and it fits what we do and how we act, and I love it. 26 rent DESIGNED BY I ASHLEE MeiA