The late Lamar Hunt was recognized for all of his contributions, including bringing the Chiefs to Kansas City, along with forming the National Football League. Hunt also created the idea and framework for Worlds of Fun.

Hunt’s family has continued to make contributions to the community through donation and other efforts —  sponsoring charity events, helping with relief efforts for Joplin and other national disasters, along with hosting Operation Breakthrough events to raise food and resources. Clark Hunt, son of Lamar Hunt, and the rest of the immediate family, was rewarded with a piece of artwork by a local, nationally recognized artist.

Len Dawson, former NFL football player for the Chiefs and sports broadcaster, was one of those who spoke of his appreciation for Lamar Hunt and the Hunt Family with the ways they positively impacted his life.

“The Hunt Family is important to me because of my career. He started the NFL and he’s the main person who got me to play professional football,” Dawson said. “He changed the lives of so many people. When we look at the National Football League, he’s the one who named it that. Lamar loved games. He changed sports.”

“These events are exciting because they focus on the best of MCC. It helps to bring in the diversity, and is a good opportunity to support our mission,” said MCC-Longview President Fred Grogan. Grogan has attended every year, spreading word of the event to make it a tradition.

For many student ambassadors, it was a first-time experience. Penn Valley’s Paula Odu and Longview’s Nisha Sharma said they were excited to interact with all the guests and to meet Chancellor Mark James.

“The event helps raise funds for scholarships, and to raise money to help our scholars,” Grogan said.

The idea of donations at the event is promoted with opportunities surrounding with the ticket prices and even the centerpieces on the tables. Every table hosted a unique, hand -made centerpiece by the Fab Lab at MCC- Business and Technology. The pieces were themed around a 1960s style, as were the dinners to take all the guests back to the time when Lamar Hunt began changing Kansas City. The presentation helped bring to light all of the remarkable contributions which the family has made to impact the lives of countless individuals.

Designing and creating a mechanical device takes determination, skill and know-how. That is what the students of the Engineering Club at MCC-Longview have.

At the beginning of each semester, the Engineering Club meets to decide what kind of device they want to create. The club meets every Wednesday in the Science and Tech Building to plan, draw-out and create the device before the end of the semester. This semester, the Engineering Club put together the “Angry Birds Project”, which was shown at the Longview’s Kite Festival.

“Our goal in the Engineering Club is to allow engineering students to use their skills and practical use in a school project,” said Chris Matthews, club president.

Matthews has been the president of the club for a year. He has finished his Associate of Arts degree and plans to have a career in engineering.

“I want to make sure the club doesn’t fall apart and keep the steamroller effect going,” Matthews said. “I plan to have social events to obtain new members. The club fluctuates at about eight to nine members this year.”

“This year has been tough for the club,” said Bloss. “We weeded through many cool designs for the ‘Angry Birds Project’.”

“Several issues began to surface with the design we chose and… to make a long story short we had to scrap the idea (the cannon) instead for a basic sling shot,” said Bloss.

The original cannon was to be made out of four inch by six inch PVC. Surgical tubing was to be used to as “power” to throw the balls explained Bloss.

Bloss said he spent about 25-30 hours a week on campus working and helping out in the Engineering Club.

“The club planned the ‘Angry Bird’ cannon since the fall semester,” said Bloss. “We wanted the show case our club by displaying the cannon at the Kite Festival for the kids.”

Hung Nguyen, a first-year student at MCC-Longview, joined the Engineering Club to fuel his career in Computer Engineering.

“Last year we built a catapult as the club’s project. However we didn’t have enough time to finish it,” Nguyen said. “The Club is fun and interesting. You get to meet new people that have the same career focus.”

I’m not sure I’ve ever faced anything as difficult as the uncertainty of the future this past year. Looking forward to graduating this semester has been a surreal experience. It sneaked up on me while I was happily lost in the mundane routine of attending classes and studying. Once I realized I would graduate in one month, whether I liked it or not, I panicked. During this time I’ve considered everything, from a future in nursing, to marine biology, to being a ceramicist. Unfortunately, the choice is no simple thing. It is the future, and though I can decide to change it later, my decisions now will impact the rest of my life. This choice that is constantly punctuated by society’s worldview of a career, as well as the expectations resting on my shoulders, is not one I am taking lightly.

The dreaded question about what I plan on doing after school haunts me with every new person I come across. The question is like a disease, a form of word vomit that seems to come up in every conversation. Students are some of the most interesting people you might ever come across, because the world is laid out at our feet in college. But the idea that we can do anything, be anything, become anyone, is too much to bear and I find myself cringing when I hear people tell me that I’m young and can do whatever I set my mind on.

I simply don’t believe it.

I came across various pieces of information in school that I know I would never have known had I not been here. Biology: don’t ever eat polar bear liver — the amount of vitamin A in it will kill you. Anthropology: the term “eskimo” is actually a derogatory term.

I have been stuck in a variety of classes according to my basic Associate of Arts degree in the hopes that I will find something that interests me to the point of passion, and I’ve discovered this: I enjoy learning, I really do. The next step is obviously to learn more, to have a “well-rounded” education. Once I receive this coveted piece of paper that shows my future employers that I have critical thinking skills, as well as the stamina to get through 16 years of schooling, I will be set. Apparently.

Forgive me for being skeptical, but I do not think it will be that easy. Today many jobs require a bachelor’s degree for an entry level position, and if you don’t have any idea of what you want to do as a career for the future, you have no idea what will be the requirement. If all I cared about was making money, the choice might be easy. The stigma attached to taking time off from school, dropping out, or simply not going, is a powerful one. I’m in the type of resting period in which it would be acceptable for me to end my schooling career at an associate’s degree, or I could continue on for a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate.

I will miss Longview. I miss the people I’ve met here already, because I’m consciously aware that I only have one week left with them. I will miss the stability of the knowledge that I am working on a certain degree and I have an allotted amount of time until I receive it. Now that I’m about to be thrown out into the world with an indecisive mind about what is next, I envy people who are sure, who merely have a path and are following it. Let me tell you this: I will not be rushed into my future. I will choose it and succeed. In the meantime, I will explore the infinite number of options laid out before me, because maybe I do have the ability to be whatever I choose — or maybe my future will choose me.

Amidst the carefree flying of kites on April 20, there was a serious undertone to one of the booths marked “Bone Marrow Drive.”.This booth, run by MCC Allied Health Club members, was set up to register visitors to be bone marrow donors. In honor of the Murry brothers, who all need bone marrow transplants, booths have been set up throughout the Midwest to increase awareness about bone marrow and find donors. The booth registered 82 people on Wed. and 152 people on Sat. vice-president for the Allied Health Club, Amanda Sandor said.

The Allied Health Club members were also spreading information about how bone marrow can be donated.

“Many people think that they have to get a spinal tap or something, which is not the case. Bone marrow has a very negative connotation, so we are out here trying to remedy that,” Sandor said.

Bone marrow can be donated in two different ways, a peripheral blood stem cell donation, which is just like giving blood, or a bone marrow donation, in which marrow cells are collected from the pelvic bone. To donate, the registered individual must be willing to do either procedure, and the method is determined by the patient’s doctor.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time the method to donate is just like giving blood, so it’s not as scary to some people,” said Sandor.

“I would rather do the surgery simply because I’m told getting marrow taken is pretty painful, so I’d rather be knocked out and for them to take it that way. It sounds more like me and just the better route to go,” MCC sophomore Lindsey Brumbaugh said.

Having heard of the drive, MCC student Aleta Lucero expressed her regret in not being able to contribute. “I would love to donate bone marrow and potentially be a match for someone in need, but since I spent my summer volunteering in Ecuador. I contracted dormant TB and am unable to donate marrow for 12 months. I was disappointed I could not donate but I understand the need for precautions,” said Lucero.

The booth itself does not do the procedure — they simply make sure that those wanting to donate meet the age and body mass index requirements, as well as collect the necessary information in order to get them registered. One 15-second cheek swab is also needed to determine whether the individual registering is a match to any patients on the list for a donation.

“Midwest Walgreens are participating in the program now as well, so if you missed the registration at Longview you can always go to a local Walgreens and they are able to register you,” said Sandor.

Stephanie Weissman/The Current

by Liz Harmon

Students are required to take two science classes to complete their associate’s degree and geology is an option. Not all students who sign up for the class are interested in becoming geologists, but MCC-Longview geology instructor Carl Priesendorf says he hopes to teach students that geology is more than just rocks and dirt, it’s a way of life.

Priesendorf sets his classroom agenda as both educational and promising for the future of our earth and the environment we live in. Longview geology student Iris Mansfield said she’s discovering that the class is offering her more education than she thought.

“I took geology because I needed another science with a lab. I had to choose from chemistry, physics, or geology so I definitely went with geology. I thought it was going to be pretty easy just learning about rocks and the earth, but now that we have gotten further into it I realize there is so much more to it,” Mansfield said.

Although Longview students are diverse in age and culture, Priesendorf understands the diversity and makes his classroom agenda appeal to all of his students.

“You must be willing to adapt because every class is different and every class has their own group chemistry. What works for one class wont work for all of them. I don’t water it down, but instead use a different technique,” he said.

Priesendorf teaches the textbook but also shows students how geology can be applied to our daily lives.

“(Geology) is so potentially applicable to what we do. Water quality, people need to know that there are places that you shouldn’t build houses. Mineral extractions have unintended consequences and natural resources are non-renewable. We need to take care of the world. People begin to care when they are informed….The first thing is to acknowledge the problem exists and then solve it or see it doesn’t happen again,” Priesendorf said.

“I’m worried because we have a human population of seven billion plus,” Priesendorf said. “The world is being negatively impacted by human activity and if we don’t do something soon it will be too late, not just for us, but also for so many other forms of life. The ones who don’t see the problem make it worse. I’m just trying to inform the public but many people reject it for personal as well as political reasons.”

Starting for the summer 2013 semester, students can now buy books online and pick them up at MCC-Longview’s Bookstore window. No more waiting in long lines — as long as buyers bring their confirmation number, students will have a much quicker trip.

It is also very important for students to make note that book buy-backs are Thursday, May 9 from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and May 10 through 16 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, do not forget to return rental books by May 16. If rentals are not returned by this day, all will be required to pay full cost of text book. The bookstore has begun photo ID’s, as well starting at 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Fridays.

Also new at the bookstore, new clothes and great deals on hoodies, t-shirts, hats and other cool merchandise that has been drastically reduced. Look for the five-dollar wall.

Manta ray kite (Emily Ellsworth/The Current)

Enormous rainbow manta rays, parachutes, spinning circles, ground bouncing colorful caterpillars, huge green alligators, one giant ghostly white squid with angry red eyes, a teddy bear, and small sharks and angel fish zipped through the sky. The wind whipped in from the east, over the buildings and through the sprawling front lawn, bouncing the colorful nylon kites along the breeze as if playing tag. Children with red cheeks ran forward, their heads turned back to watch their kites fly. This was the scene at MCC-Longview for the seventh annual kite festival on Saturday, April 20.

Visitors had the option to watch the kite shows or try flying their own kites as well as participating in activities such as face painting, kite-making, and even registering to be a bone marrow donor. Professional kite flyers from the Kansas City Kite Club performed for the event with phenomenal displays of kites anywhere from 20 to 150 feet long.

Kansas City Kite Club members Don and Betty Murphy have had a passion for kite flying for 30 years. All the way from Omaha, Neb., the Murphys traveled to the event to fly their caterpillar kite.

“The caterpillar is a ground-bouncer. It doesn’t ever really get up in the air–it just bounces along the ground where people can see it really well,” said Betty Murphy. The Kite Club members made it a point to keep the kites closer to the ground due to the fickleness of the wind, as well as so the crowd could see them better.

“This wind is a teasing one. It’s the kind that gets you outside to try to get something up, but doesn’t cooperate in keeping it up,” said Don Murphy.

The challenge to keep the kite flying in the inconsistent wind seemed to be as much fun as getting it up in the first place. Teri Hamilton, who attended the event with her 2-year-old daughter and 10-year-old niece, enjoyed shouting out instructions to her family as they ran about on how best to keep their colorful kite in the air.

“It is just so great that the college can put on events like this for the community. My daughter loves to watch the kites, because she’s just not quite old enough to get it in the air. This is my first year coming, but I definitely plan on making it a tradition” said Hamilton. Overall, the day was a successful one for those attending as well as the people who made the event possible.

The fickle wind was not a discouragement to the many kite-flyers, though. According to  MCC Special Projects Coordinator Amy Richardson, 20,000 people attended the event.  Richardson said the number is estimated based on electronic car-counters at the entrances to the college and estimates of the number of visitor cars parked nearby.

The project was conceived by retiring President Fred Grogan and debuted at Longview in 2007.

Video by Caleb Scott

The MCC-Maple Woods Veterinary Technician Program is gearing up to put all of their cats and dogs up for adoption at the end of the semester.  The cats and dogs are patients in the program, and will be spayed or neutered, micro-chipped, fully vaccinated, have full dental cleanings, and are socialized before going to their forever homes.

“All of the procedures are done by vet tech students under instructor supervision,” says Natalie Short, the lab instructor in the program. “It gives the students the real-life experience that they will use in a veterinary clinic.”

Each student is paired with a dog or cat and acts as the animal’s advocate to ensure that they are adopted, but Short says that’s rarely problem.

At the beginning of each semester, dogs and cats from local shelters are taken into the program.  The only requirements are that they are not yet spayed, neutered, or micro-chipped; not too large or small; and not too young.  The program must also follow local laws that require an animal to be in the shelter long enough for their owners to claim them.

There are no fees to adopt a vet tech animal, which are available to adopt on a first-come first-served basis.  Adoptions will begin near the end of the semester.  For information, call (816)604-3235.

Go to Longview, knock out the gen eds, figure out a major, focus on that field, get an associate’s degree, continue on to a four- year university, graduate, get a job, be successful…and so on. That is the plan.

Every person has their reasons for the route they will take. MCC- Longview student Sally Rodas wants a leg up on the competition in the work force. The four-year route is the way for her, she says.

“I want a decent job,” Rodas said. “With a four-year (degree) I have a better chance to get a job over someone with an associate’s.”

MCC-Longview student Jacob Mattingly says that after an A.A., his plans are unlike the majority of community college students. While fully aware of the advantages of more education, Mattingly says, it is what’s best for your career.

“I plan on getting a job,” Mattingly said. “I want to be writing a little bit while I figure out a direction. I’m pretty sure I’m going to become a writer. So I’ll get a job, adjust to the real world, and then try to get a writing career. I’m not sure if I need a degree or not….If it turns out I do, I will go back (to school),” he said.

It is certain that Mattingly is not floating in this boat alone and says when he realized he didn’t have to continue on to a four- year, it was quite a load-off.

“I use to think you had to (move on to a four-year) or that it was necessary,” Mattingly said, “and it stressed me out to no end.”

Now without the pressure of a heavy decision, Mattingly says, “… do what you want to do with your life.”

Some might like the idea of finishing school in two years, but Longview student Mindy Blanchon also says the four-year plan is the way to go.

“I have to go to a four-year because of the job I want,” she said.

Sure, reality may tell one person to hurry and find a job, but then again, reality may slap another in the face and say that an A.A. is not enough. Longview student Elisabeth Beardall said she’s planning to move on to George Washington University in St. Louis.

“I think it’s better to move on to a four-year rather than go to the workforce after getting an associate’s degree because with this economy, you need as much education as possible to be successful and keep your head above water,” Beardall said. “A bachelor’s degree won’t even cut it these days.”