The Current Online

The Current received the following awards  from the Missouri College Media Association (MCMA) for work in calendar year 2011. The Current competes in the two-year college division. The awards were presented in St. Joseph on Saturday, April 14.

• Editorial Writing: First, Timothy Long, “Enroll Now-Pay Now hurts students.”
• Sports Writing: HM, Mike Williams, “Lakers finding stride.”
• Column: Third, Lavette Wilder, “Dancing with Stars while America burns.”
• Column: HM, Callie V. Hanson, “Leaning Tower of Pisa falls down!”
• Sports Column: 2nd, Mike Williams, “Shawn Egge:  Longview legend in the making?“
• Sports Column: HM, Mike Williams, “Lakers poised for title run.”
• Entertainment Review: First, Timothy Long, “Limitless alters the mind.”
• Entertainment Review: 2nd, Alex Greenlee, “Battlefield 3 is magnificently fantastic.”
• News Photography: 3rd, Rayyan Umrani,”KC protests Egyptian government.”
• Page One Design: 2nd, The Current
• Editorial Page: 3rd, The Current
• Photo Page: First, The Current, ”KC protests Egyptian government.”
• Web Page: 3rd, Current Online
• Multimedia: 3rd,  Alex Greenlee, “Lakers Carmichael, Church and Phegley talk about nationals.“

by Hailey Cunningham

Timothy Long/The Current

The tornado in Joplin shocked the Midwest, and , MCC employees and students spent their Fourth of July holiday weekend giving back. MCC employee Terri Kelley said she originally went to Joplin to take photos, and came home with more than she had imagined.

“I just could not believe the devastation and felt so bad for these people. I could not imaging facing all that they are facing and will be facing for some time to come,” Kelley said.

Diane Mannion, Continuing Education Coordinator at the Longview campus, has done a lot of volunteer work over the years, so when her co-worker Terri Kelley shared the photographs with her, she jumped right in.

“I was so overwhelmed at the devastation and how much work needed to be done I just could not stop thinking about it,” Mannion said. After sending a mass email to all MCC contacts, Mannion and Kelly had 73 volunteers on the day they left Lee’s Summit and headed to Joplin.

The slabs of concrete and debris were quite the sight for MCC student Katie Rawert. “I felt blessed for all that I have. I’ve never seen that kind of devastation before,” Rawert said. Rawert decided to join the Joplin trip because she enjoys hard work and was excited to go with such a highly organized group.

Even through their misfortune, Joplin’s proud Americans celebrated the Fourth with flying colors.  “My team was a couple of blocks east of the hospital. Where I stood, I did a 360-degree turn, all I saw were snapped-off trees and flattened homes,” MCC student Kathleen Wall said. “There were American flags everywhere. The flags were even tied to gnarled tree limbs or tacked to condemned homes.”

Volunteers found the trip rewarding. “I have done a lot of volunteering over the years, but it certainly makes you re-evaluate your life and be thankful for what you have,” Mannion said. “I believe the greatest gift is giving. When you give to others, it makes you a better person and you feel on top of the world.”

by Timothy Long
Missouri College Media Award: First Place, Editorial

Enrollment at Metropolitan Community Colleges is at a standstill, and there is only one place for fingers of blame to point–MCC itself.

According to MCC, the Enroll Now Pay Now program is supposed to help students who are “serious” about taking classes, the opportunity to have their pick of classes without being limited because of less serious students holding on the classes without payment until the computer system drops them. [...]

Timothy Long/The Current

Students across MCC-Longview were given a taste of a different culture as many received Henna tattoos. Artists painted hands, arms and faces with an all-natural dye as part of Henna Day on April 27, sponsored by Campus Life and Leadership.

With the use of a Henna plant and acidic liquid, such as lemon juice, tattoos can grace the human skin temporarily. The plant is indigenous to Africa and Asia. The tattoos color the skin reddish brown, giving the effect of a real tattoo.

Click here to view photos.

~Timothy Long

by Timothy Long

Deafening quiet fills the classroom as final exams pass from desk to desk. Each student takes the heavy load with mixed feelings. With a clock speeding towards pencils down, tension sweeps across the room.

A student reaches in to his or her hoodie for a cell phone to text for answers. Another slightly moves his test up to read the notes covertly written on the desk the night before. Answers can be found scattered across the classroom, written on coke cans, pencils, hands and under the bill of ball caps. [...]