N O RT H W E S T
MISSOURIAN
THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
NWMISSOURINEWS.COM
VOL. 110, NO. 17
@THEMISSOURIAN
COUNSELING TEMPORARILY MOVES ONLINE SIDNEY LOWRY News Editor | @sidney_lowry
C
ounseling through Northwest Wellness Services has switched to online telehealth appointments to reduce the risk of its employees contracting COVID-19. Nearly all appointments for counseling services were moved online Jan. 12 and temporarily will only offer online sessions. Moving to an online service rather than an inperson meeting is at no extra cost to students or the University, and moving to telehealth is in effort to continue to see as many students as possible with a minimized risk of contracting COVID-19. Due to rising COVID-19 cases in the county over the past few weeks, Northwest has been looking at data to determine what its next step will be when it comes to COVID-19 mitigation. Assistant Vice President of Health and Well-Being Chris Dawe said the Wellness Center assessed what it could do to reduce risk for students and the Wellness Center and decided telehealth was a viable option. “We believe that we can help to have less students coming in and out of the Wellness Center,” Dawe said. “We have students spending significant amounts of time in enclosed space with a counselor, and then, you know, in comes the next student.” Though counseling has been moved to online only for the time being, all services are still available and free to all students. “In many cases, you know, preferences are for those kinds of conversations to be in person. But the ability to manage risk for all of our students that we’re serving, and, and as well as our counselors and other staff, we felt like this was the best step right now,” Dawe said.
SEE COUNSELING | A4
ILLUSTRATION BY MAKAYLA POLAK DESIGN EDITOR
Parson proposes pay raise for state workers SIDNEY LOWRY News Editor | @sidney_lowry KENDRICK CALFEE Editor-in-Chief | @calfee_kc
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has proposed a 5.5% pay raise increase for cost of living adjustments and a Missouri minimum wage of $15 an hour for all state employees. Missouri state employees are some of the lowest paid workers nationally, making $11.15 an hour, and are experiencing high turnover rates and many empty spots, according to the Associated Press. Some state positions are facing turnover rates anywhere from 10% to 100% and vacancy rates from 30% to 100%, according to the Governor’s website. At the beginning of the year, a 2% increase was already given for cost of living adjustments, but the proposed 5.5% increase would be on top of the original increase. Northwest acknowledged this proposal in an email from President Jasinski summarizing the Jan. 7 all-employee meeting.
He said Northwest is expecting to receive increased funding from the state. “Further, we’re going to do what we can to ensure all of our employees are receiving a minimum wage of at least $15 an hour as Gov. Mike Parson has suggested for all state employees,” Jasinski said in the email. Assistant Vice President of Finance Mary Collins said in an email to the Northwest Missourian that at this time, no decisions have been made about who this wage increase is going to be affecting, where the funding for it will come from, or how many people this increase is going to affect. It is unclear at this time whether the proposed change would affect student employees at Northwest. The Missouri House of Representatives Budget Committee heard from the Parson administration’s budget director, Dan Haug, Jan. 11.
SEE A8
NORTHWEST MEN’S BASKETBALL
JON WALKER | NW MISSOURIAN
Northwest men’s basketball junior guard Trevor Hudgins stares down Washburn senior guard Tyler Geiman during the No. 2 Bearcats’ 71-63 win over the Ichabods Jan. 17 at Lee Arena in Topeka, Kansas.
SEE WAGES | A4
Hendrixes awarded for Diversity, Inclusion excellence KENDRICK CALFEE Editor-in-Chief | @calfee_kc
SUBMITTED
In this submitted photo, Assistant Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Justin Mallett awards Mark and Ashlee Hendrix for their efforts in promoting diversity and inclusion at Northwest.
Northwest’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion honored two University employees Monday for their efforts to promote inclusivity on campus. Mark Hendrix, University scheduling coordinator in Auxiliary Services, and Ashlee Hendrix, digital content manager in the Office of University Marketing and Communication, were presented with Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion Awards Jan. 17. Both employees were honored Monday at the conclusion of Northwest’s annual Peace Lunch as part of the University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities. Justin Mallett, assistant vice president of Diversity and Inclusion at Northwest, said Mark Hendrix is always will-
ing to help ensure students and their programs are successful. “It doesn’t matter if it’s three days in advance. It doesn’t matter if it’s an hour before it’s supposed to happen; (Mark Hendrix) always takes the necessary steps to make sure that students have what they need to pull off the program,” Mallett said in a University media release. Mallett said Ashlee Hendrix has helped to build a more inclusive community through her work in the Marketing and Communication Office and through the relationships she fosters with people of diverse backgrounds. Ashlee Hendrix is an active member of the Ally Affinity Group, which looks to create safe spaces to share and process experiences.
SEE AWARDS | A4
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