CON V ERGING CA MPUS & COMMU NIT Y
NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2024
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
NWMISSOURINEWS.COM
VOL. 113, NO. 3
@THEMISSOURIAN
CAN I KISS YOU?
ALLI DUARTE COPY EDITOR
Bri Fitzpatrick delivers her “Sex Rules” presentation to the freshman class Aug. 19, 2023. The “Sex Rules” was switched out this year for “Can I Kiss You?” held by Mike Domitrz 12:40 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Lamkin Activity Center.
Annual consent lecture date pushed back BROOKLYN FARNAN Missourian Reporter | @TheMissourian
T
he annual freshman-mandatory consent-centered event was moved to the middle of September instead of being held during Northwest’s Advantage weekend for first-year students. The presentation titled “Can I Kiss You?” is an event that promotes consent and teaches students how to have and maintain healthy relationships in college. This year, “Can I Kiss You?” is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 in Lamkin Activity Center. “Can I Kiss You?” now takes place in the middle of what the American Psychological Association calls the Red Zone. The Red Zone is the beginning period of a new school year, mid-August to November, where there is a direct correlation between increased frequency of social gatherings and increased rates of sexual assault. Research has found that 50% of college sexual assaults occur during the Red Zone, especially with students who are
new to campus according to the American Psychological Association. Changing the timing of “Can I Kiss You?” has raised concerns across campus. Chief of University Police Amanda Cullin said she sees the pros and cons. “The pro of moving the event is new students have so much new information thrown at them, and this is an extremely serious topic, so moving it gives them time to process the first few weeks of school and be able to be more aware of the presentation,” Cullin said. “The con however, is new students are not getting this serious topic until later in the year.” During their freshman year, students will now attend the event with their University Seminar classes, whereas in the past their residence hall resident assistants have taken them. Leslie Abarr-Cuenca, the director of student academic success and retention, said the scheduling change was due to prior commitments of Speaker Mike Domitrz. “Basically, the reason we changed it is due to speaker scheduling,” Abarr-Cuenca said in an email to the Missourian. “He is a great speaker and in high demand, so in working
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Sexual assault is a problem we see on campus, however, we don’t see the reports to back up the statistics. We want people to know we as a department are here 24/7 for anyone who needs us.”
AMANDA CULLIN UNIVERSITY POLICE CHIEF
with his schedule, that’s simply what worked.” Throughout the presentation, Domitrz talks about the importance of consent in all aspects of a relationship, not just sexual ones. Domitrz tells his personal story with someone close to him being sexually assaulted. He also highlights the importance of being a supporter when someone you care about has been assaulted.
SEE LECTURE | A4
Social media personality gives All-academic meeting lecture focused on education overviews enrollment, academic restructure
ASTRE SCHLAISS News Reporter | @AstreWords
Longtime close friend of University President Lance Tatum, Gerry Brooks, came to speak Sept. 22 at the Ron Houston Center of Performing Arts. Brooks creates online teacher-related content and currently works as a principal at an elementary school in Lexington, Kentucky. Brooks said he’s known he wanted to be an educator since childhood. He dedicated himself to his collegiate studies at Troy University and his students in the classroom. He believes his position as an educator was his calling, but his career as a speaker was coincidental. “I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, and then this happened by accident,” Brooks said. “I put a video up about snow days, and it went viral, and I just continued to put videos up.” Online, he makes YouTube videos about topics teachers may find relatable. Brooks said he tries to find the humor in subjects that are hard to talk about. He hopes this makes it so people are more likely to listen. He wants to ease tension so people are open to his ideas.
DAKOTA OSWALT News Editor | @doswalt_NWMSRN
perspective (on) this job,” Tatum said. “The President’s job is a 24-hour a day, seven day a week job at times. What I’ve taken to heart is this idea of turning the light switch off on occasion just to be able to rest.”
Enrollment numbers and an academic restructuring policy were topics of discussion at the University’s Fall 2024 Academic Affairs meeting Aug. 21. Faculty and staff from varying departments around campus were in attendance. Last year, the fall census showed a record number of students enrolled at Northwest. The University’s enrollment recently hit over 10,000 for the first time in Northwest history, and that headcount was expected once again this semester. Allison Hoffman, the associate provost of enrollment management and student success, explained to faculty and staff how the census is taken. “We talk a lot about census, and the census is the twentieth day of class,” Hoffman said at the meeting. “And so those are when our (numbers) are locked in, they become official, and our Institutional Research and Effectiveness team sends out that information on the twentieth day.” Last year’s first-time freshman enrollment was 1,035 for the fall semester. Hoffman said preliminary freshman enrollment was about 1,030 by Aug. 21, 2024. She said international student enrollment, especially in graduate programs, has been high the past few years due to post-COVID-19 effects like VISA deferrals and similar impacts. While numbers are still expected to be strong, Hoffman said international student enrollment numbers will probably decrease this year. “We still have very strong connections, very strong relationships in international enrollment, (we) just won’t see the record high numbers that we’ve seen the last couple of years,” Hoffman said.
SEE SPEAKER | A4
SEE RESTRUCTURE | A4
AARON HARE PHOTO EDITOR
Speaker Gerry Brooks discusses his work as a media influencer during a lecture for people working in the education field Sept. 22.
Before being known by educators around the world, Brooks was the college roommate of Tatum. Tatum said his commitment to learning how to teach was inspiring. He said the advice Brooks gives on and offstage can be useful for everybody. “If nothing else, he gave me
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