THE STANDARD M I S S O U R I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
VOLUME 112, ISSUE 15 | THE-STANDARD.ORG The Standard/The Standard Sports
TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2019
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‘Bear POWER’
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Former MSU professor found unfit to stand trial SINJIN SANDERS Staff Reporter @SandersSinjin
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Students in the Bear POWER program talk with Bear POWER Ambassadors during a meeting as part of Student Orientation, Advisement and Registration on Jan. 11. Student ambassadors will work with the students in the program on socialization, academics and health and wellness.
Program welcomes first cohort of students to MSU REESE RADMACHER Staff Reporter @Reese_Radmacher This semester, eight students will begin their journey at Missouri State through a new program called Bear POWER: a two-and-a-half year inclusive program implemented for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities who wish to pursue a post-secondary education. “It’s important for us to continue creating new opportunities for students with IDD,” Rachel Heinz, director of the program, said. “Especially after high school, there’s not a lot of options for students that have IDD.” POWER stands for Promoting Opportunities for Work, Education and Resilience. There are four pillars within the program: academic, social, independent living and job readiness. Heinz said the pillars are the main areas of focus in terms of learning outcomes and goals for each student. Every spring, a new group of up to 10 students will join the program. Heinz said they plan to keep the number of incoming students small to provide a personalized experience. Throughout their time at MSU, Bear POWER students will participate in 12 credit hours of equivalent course- and internship-based experiences each semester and learn how to live independently through MSU Residence Life. Students will make a Person Centered Plan throughout their first two semesters to help pinpoint employment areas of interest. They will then aim their focus toward resumes and interviewing during their third semester.
As a way to help integrate students around campus, each student will have four Bear POWER Ambassadors to aid as a mentor in specific areas including social, academics and health and wellness. Hannah Peak, senior special education major and president of the ambassador program, joined Bear POWER following a semester spent working in a residence hall. During this time, she realized a lot had been done to make a more accessible learning environment for students with physical disabilities, but no changes were made for students with IDD. “Individuals with disabilities, especially young adults, deserve a chance to prove they are capable of the same things everyone can do, which includes attending college,” Peak said. “They have the same goals that every college student has: to get a job, raise a family and live independently.” According to Heinz, there are over 30 ambassadors who volunteered for the first semester. Heinz said the plan is to have training at least once a semester for any students who would like to get involved. To join the ambassador program, students must meet a GPA requirement, fill out an application and submit to a background check before the training process. Hannah Grills, senior speech language pathology major and vice president of the ambassador program, said that the students involved in the ambassador program work as a cohesive team. “With this being the first year this program is at MSU, we are still learning what it takes to lead this program effectively,” Grills said. “Each and every one of our volunteers are a
“They have the same goals that every college student has: to get a job, raise a family and live independently.”
u See POWER, page 2
The case against former Missouri State University professor Edward Gutting has been suspended after Gutting was deemed unfit to stand trial due to mental defect at a pretrial conference on Jan. 3. Gutting is charged with two counts of armed criminal action, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of second-degree assault, and one count of first-degree murder. On Aug. 17, 2016, Gutting, then a professor in the College of Humanities and Public Affairs at MSU, allegedly killed retired MSU emeritus professor Marc Cooper in his home and also allegedly injured Cooper’s wife. Gutting was found outside the Coopers’ home, according to search warrants. Gutting’s attorney Joseph Passanise entered in a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in June 2017. The mental evaluation, which was ordered on Sept. 30, 2016, and was subsequently filed with the courts on Dec. 21, 2018, found Gutting unfit to aid in his own defense and unfit to stand trial. “This is a very rare situation that the defendant is unable to assist in his own defense,” Passanise said. Passanise said that the mental evaluation determined that Gutting suffers from schizophrenia. The case against Gutting has been suspended. Gutting was ordered on Jan. 3, 2019, into the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health by Judge Thomas Mountjoy.
MSU adds new Bear Line route EMILY COLE News Editor @EMCole19
Over winter break, Missouri State University announced they would be adding a new shuttle route to Darr Agricultural Center, which houses the William H. Darr College of Agriculture. Darr Agricultural Center, on South Kansas Expressway, hasn’t been accessible from campus by the Bear Line until this semester. The new route, which will run on weekdays, began on Jan. 14. The bus will only have two stops — one at the Carrington Hall bus stop, and the other at Darr. The route will run on Mondays and Wednesdays, starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Carrington Hall stop and will make its last stop at 6:30 p.m. at the same stop. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the route will start at 10:30 a.m. at Carrington Hall and run until 6:30 p.m. On Fridays, the route will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. According to the schedule on the Missouri State University website, the bus will take around 30 minutes from Carrington Hall to the Darr stop. For any questions, contact the Parking Office at 417836-4835.
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