CON V ERGING CA MPUS & COMMU NIT Y
NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2024
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
NWMISSOURINEWS.COM
VOL. 113, NO. 6
@THEMISSOURIAN
FIGHT OFF THE FIELD
Residence halls keep treats with no tricks
TJEERDSMA TALKS CANCER DIAGNOSIS, COMMUNITY
ZOEY SMITH Missourian Reporter | @TheMissourian
Trick-or-Treat in the Halls is an event for children and families of Maryville and neighboring areas to walk around campus and visit each residence hall to collect candy from participating students. This took place from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 29. A tradition that typically takes place around the same time as trick-or-treating is the haunted house usually put on in one of the residence halls. For students, the lack of the attraction this year was evident. Rose Viau, assistant vice president of student affairs, said although she could not be sure, she believes the reason the haunted house could not happen this year was because of issues with student availability. “The haunted house takes a lot of work from students,” Viau said. “My guess is that’s one reason why they weren’t able to do it this year.” Viau believes the haunted house will return in the next few years, though she is unsure of when. Northwest’s fine arts fraternities and sororities still celebrated Halloween despite this. Sigma Alpha Iota hosted a haunted house of its own in the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building Oct. 31. Even with the lack of the regular annual haunted house event, families still managed to make the most of the night. Community member Kyleigh Aksamit said her favorite part of the night was the memories she could share with her family. “Honestly, getting to see how people decorate the outside of their dorms and then seeing how people dress up, I think it’s super cool to see everybody just participate,” Aksamit said. “I love Halloween and I think it makes it really fun for the kids.” Aksamit said she brought her son and boyfriend to the event for some fun Halloween activities. “Considering it’s put on by Northwest, I know it’s going to be a safe environment for my little guy here,” Aksamit said. “I think it’s very big for the people who live here to be able to trickor-treat and things like that.”
DAKOTA OSWALT News Editor | @doswalt_NWMSRN
TOP PHOTO SUBMITTED BOTTOM PHOTO FILE
Former 17-year Northwest Football Coach, Director of Athletics and current Board of Regents Chair of the Board Mel Tjeerdsma has been diagnosed with leukemia.
SEE HALLOWEEN | A4
Over the course of its existence, a multitude of people have crow crowded into the stands at Bearcat Stadium, whe where the field bears the prominent name of Mel Tjeerdsma, Northwest’s legendary former football coach and athletic director. Recently, he was diagnosed with leukemia, a type of blood cancer. Mel Tjeerdsma first came to the University in 1994 as head football coach, a position which he maintained for 17 years. His time as coach was littered with success, racking up accolades for the Bearcats. Being named American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year following Northwest football’s 1998 and 1999 back-to-back national championships was just one of his many accomplishments. Mel Tjeerdsma retired from coaching after the 2010 football season, but came back to serve as the director of athletics for Northwest from 2013-2018. During this period, the University went on to add another four national titles to its record in football and men’s basketball. Mel Tjeerdsma has served on the Northwest Board of Regents since 2019. For Mel Tjeerdsma and his wife Carol Tjeerdsma, who taught at the University from 1995-2011, the leukemia diagnosis was unexpected. “I think my background, first of all, we both have a really strong faith, so from that standpoint, we know we’re not in control,” l ” Mel Tjeerdsma said. “And then the second d thing was — from my coaching, my whole career, I coached football for 44 years — I know that things happen that you can’t control, that you have to make the best of. That’s kind of the way I approached it.”
SEE COACH | A4
Maryville Parks and Recreation plans projects for upcoming year ANNA BAILEY Asst. News Editor | @AmBailey1
SUBMITTED
Sunrise Bark Park, a dog park for Maryville, has been planned by Maryville Parks and Recreation as an addition to the existing Sunrise Park.
TRIGGER WARNING:
The photo on A2 contains graphic content that may be sensitive to some readers. Viewers discretion is advised.
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1914.
As 2024 draws to a close, Maryville Parks and Recreation has plans in the works for three large projects. These projects will increase the versatility of Maryville parks, as well as make them safer. Within the upcoming year, Maryville Parks and Recreation has plans to restore bridges at Judah Park, add Sunrise Bark Park — a dog park — into Sunrise Park and replace the tennis courts at Beal Park which are in need of repair with new pickleball courts. Director of Parks and Recreation Jeff Stubblefield said the bridges at Ju-
dah Park have needed to be fixed, but it has not yet been done. This is because it first had to communicate with the Army Corps of Engineers in the Department of Natural Resources. “The bridges at Judah Park are in desperate, desperate, desperate need of repair,” Stubblefield said. “Because Peach Creek runs through there, we have to get variances from the Army Corps of Engineers in the Department of Natural Resources…that’s why it’s taken so long to do those bridges. But we got the plans now, and (we’ll) hopefully go out to bid here the next couple weeks for the bridges.”
SEE PARKS | A4 IN NEWS
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