Maude V

Mizzou students can almost all agree that campus life here is very exciting with many opportunities for involvement.  Whether one wants to get involved in student life within the school with clubs, sports, or other various activities, or just go out with friends and have a good time; there is something for everyone.  Downtown is a popular hang out spot for many people here at Mizzou.  There are restaurants and shops of all kinds to suit all different personalities and interests.  On Broadway, there is a unique shop that can catch the eye of almost anyone walking past: Maude V.

With friendly staff and an exciting atmosphere, it really is a neat place to shop.  Maude V sells and buys vintage clothing and items from this season or last.  The shop is very fun with all of its color and trendy clothing.  Many items are very inexpensive, making it a key spot for college students on a budget.  Especially with the opportunity to have the clothes the no longer fit or you no longer wear purchased off your hands can make Maude V a very smart place to shop.

Maude V is a one of a kind store due in part to the costume rooms it contains.  These rooms are filled with any type of costume you can imagine, from a southern belle to a 1920s flapper girl.  For any girl that loved to play dress up as a kid, this is heaven.  They have so many costumes and different decades to choose from that this store really makes for a unique shopping experience.  Especially with Halloween right around the corner, Maude V should really be a place to go.  They allow you to rent a costume and any accessories needed for a week for only $20.  This store has style and a unique feel and should definitely be put on your next shopping list.

Former Secretarty of State speaks to MU students, public

Former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright held a town hall meeting in Jesse Wrench auditorium in MU’s Memorial Union on September 18. The auditorium was filled to capacity by MU students and the public alike.

The event was hosted by College Democrats and was coordinated by Missouri senior and President of Youth Vote, Kelley Robinson.

For those of you who were too preoccupied with All That! and the Rugrats during the second term of the Clinton administration, Madeline Albright was the first woman Secretary of State. Albright was born in the Czech Republic and emigrated to the United States in 1948. She attended Wellesley College and majored in Political Science. She later earned her Masters and a PhD in Public Law and Government from Columbia University.

But before becoming a permanent United States Representative to the United Nations and Secretary of State, Albright wrote for the social page of a Rolla, Missouri newspaper in 1959. This just goes to show you that one can accomplish incredible things coming from humble beginnings.

Albright is currently a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and is currently a Co-Chair of a prevention of genocide task force with former Secretary of Defense William Cohen.

Albright began the meeting by lauding Democratic Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) as “a remarkable leader and exactly what we need for the 21st century” and later describing Biden and Obama as “… a magical combination of judgment, confidence and wisdom.”

But Albright didn’t just use this time to campaign for Obama, she enlightened the crowd as to what foreign policy issues she found most pressing in our day and age, some of her experiences while serving as Secretary of State under the Clinton administration and a few organization she has been involved with since then.

Albright covered five “key umbrella issues” in the meeting, which included: fighting terrorism with out creating more terrorists, dealing with a broken nuclear proliferation regime, the war in Iraq, the negative aspects of globalization, and the environment and energy crisis. Of those five issues, Albright believes the environment and energy crisis to be the biggest issue we face today.
After providing a synopsis of each of her “umbrella issues,” Albright took questions from the crowd ranging from issues she dealt with during the Clinton administration to more current world affairs and the upcoming election.

At a press conference after the meeting, Albright said that she believes that students in a swing state such as Missouri will play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of this presidential election. What impressed me the most about Albright (besides giving an interview in perfect French and then seamlessly switching to back to English) was that she made everyone in the room feel at home, even a couple of brand-new news reporters out on their second assignment of the year.

Albright wasn’t the only notable democrat Columbia played host to during the month of September- Vice Presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) spoke at the Hearnes Center on the ninth and Democratic National Committee Chairman Governor Howard Dean’s “Register for Change” campaign came through on the sixth. Biden will be back in Missouri on October 2 to debate with his Republican counterpart , Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, at Washington University in St. Louis.

Mizzou Football

             I’ve never really been a huge Mizzou fan. Even though I’ve lived in Missouri for the past 15 years. My parents are from Texas and I’ve always been a fan of teams from Texas like UT, UTEP- University of Texas at El Paso and Baylor. Two of these teams are in the same conference as Mizzou and compete against them year in and year out.

            My brother graduated from Mizzou and in all three years that he was here not once did I come up to watch a football game. I’m pretty much the sports fanatic of my family, so it’s a little weird for me not to have attended a game. The past year and a half though I’ve become a huge Mizzou fan. I have so many Mizzou T-shirts that my friends from home would make fun of me for wearing a different one everyday for weeks on end.

            I was dismayed when tickets for the Mizzou, Illinois game sold out before I could get tickets myself. I ended up being able to watch it at The Blue Note, which had an amazing screen and was a lot of fun. But I couldn’t wait to go and see the team play at Faurot.

            Our first home game was against SEMO. The college is located an hour and a half from my home town and I have a friend on the team. So, it felt a little odd watching SEMO and Mizzou play in my first football game at Faurot. But it was nice to see Mizzou win easily and make fun of my friends that attend SEMO.

            Walking into the stadium and seeing the lights and the crowd is an image I will never forget. The atmosphere at a football game is something I’ve never experienced before. I’ve been to a UTEP, Memphis football game and the atmosphere at that game doesn’t even come close to comparing to how crazy and loud a Mizzou game can be. Being able to sit, well we don’t actually sit, in the student section and scream and cheer for Mizzou is one the best experiences I’ve had at college so far.

The upcoming years I spend at Mizzou will allow me to experience many different things, but being at a college football game as a student only happens a handful of times. And I plan on taking full advantage of being there and cheering on Mizzou’s best ever football team.

           

             

Memorial Union

One of the stranger aspects of war is that most of the wisdom gleaned from any conflict throughout history is applicable to any other, no matter the place or time. Take the words of John Maxwell Edwards, inscribed on the Kohima Memorial, "When you go home, tell them of us and say, for their tomorrow, we gave out today." It's easy to imagine the men of Mizzou named on the walls of the Memorial Student Union saying something similar.

At first glance the Memorial Union looks like a castle in the middle of the MU campus. With its historic arch and majestic spires, there is no question that the Union is a product of another age. Completed in the 1920's and dedicated to the 117 students and alumni of the University of Missouri - Columbia that died in World War One, Memorial Student Union is a monolithic landmark possessed of an architectural beauty unmatched by any other building on campus. From the gruesome gargoyles that grin out from the four spires at the top of the clock tower to the graceful Gothic archways found almost everywhere on the structure to the small chapel attached to the north wing, Memorial Union lays claim to both grand visual displays and the inspiration of the sort of deep thoughts characteristic of a university. Interestingly, the clock and chimes of the Memorial Tower weren't added until a decade after the tower's completion. The clockworks in the tower are based on those of Big Ben in London, although BB is certainly not decorated with the raw style of the Union.

However, the purpose of the Union is not solely to cause students to meditate on the fragile nature of their lives; it has also been put to more than a few practical applications over its tenure on the Mizzou campus. A few items on the long list of things residing within the Memorial are meeting rooms that are almost corporate in their size and scope, restaurants that serve food the equal of any dining hall, lounges filled with the most comfortable leather furniture anywhere on campus, and, naturally, the omnipresent "technology center". The actual definition of the latter is the subject of no little academic debate, but it is certain the the Memorial, and likely many of the students, would cease to function without it.

In very few cases within academia are beauty and purpose meshed so successfully as they are in the Memorial Student Union. Though constructed as a reminder of the pain and sacrifice of military men, the Union has been admirably applied to the noble goal of educating and serving new generations.

Peace Park on Pagan Pride Day

It could be exam pressure or just a roommate’s lack of personal hygiene, or just a cyclical need to unwind, but there’s times when a person just needs to get away! For a large majority of Columbia’s student population, it isn’t easy to pack up and get out of here. A large number of students have left cards behind to lead the pedestrian or biker life. Luckily, there is a retreat within the limits of Columbia that is perfect for any kind of peace and quiet one could ask for. Tucked away in a cozy little niche and in close proximity to both the Mizzou Journalism Institue and Shakespeare’s Pizza is a quiet and beautiful place known today as Peace Park.

Formerly McAlester Park, it served as an anti-war rallying point during the Vietnam era.  After the infamous Kent State riots in 1970 protesting the bombing of Cambodia by the United States, McAlester Park was renamed Peace Park. It has become a promotional symbol of peace and tranquility in Columbia.  The park is also home to many community and school activities.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, one might find it home to the Pagan Pride Day Festival, resonating with chants, laughs, and rhythmic drumbeats.  As an extension of itself, Peace Park hosted Pagan Pride Day to promote religious tolerance, as well as raise food and donations for charities. The festival was populated by tarot readers, educational and religious groups, and street vendors selling homemade gifts – such as the aforementioned drums.

Several feet away, one may find teams wearing multi-colored shirts and competing in team activities such as the three-legged race. Where there aren’t people gathering for a common cause or activity, there are those who come to enjoy the park simply for its tranquility and beauty.  Sun sporadically breaks through the trees that abound in Peace Park, making it possible to tan or keep cool. Water streams downhill in a small, rocky creek toward the center of the park, and if you listen closely, you can hear the soothing sound. Many are found reading a book or having a picnic with friends or significant others, or even napping on the grass. All of these diverse people do share one thing, however: they are at peace.

Not a single somber face is to be found in Peace Park. Everyone is completely happy with who and where he or she is, and that justifies the purpose of the park entirely. When people can finally be accepting of who they are and where they are in life, the world will know lasting peace.

Buck's!

Remember the freshman walk? We were all there... Waiting forever in a huddled mass, wearing our free t=shirts, and finally running through the columns towards Jesse, receiving Tiger Stripe Ice Cream. Those little tubs of vanilla ice cream with chocolate swirls are just the tip of a delicious iceberg known as Buck's Ice Cream.

I first ventured to Buck's with a friend from guard and the manager's daughter. We got a free scoop (connections, man, connections.) I chose Rocky Road, a wise choice, and tried Mocha Fudge as well. I promised to spread the word of Bucks, and heck, for free ice cream, who wouldn't?!

Lets see - The who, what, when, where, and why.

The Who: Founded by Wendell and Ruth Arbuckle (hence, Buck's) after they retired and wanted to to give back to MU. It was founded in 1989, after their 1987 drive to have ice cream research at Mizzou. (I know, cool, ice cream research!) The guy first in charge was Robert Marshall, who was dubbed an 'Arbuckle Professor for Ice Cream Research.'

The What: Ice cream, of course. They make all of their ice cream there, right behind where they serve it, and they always have their traditional 15 flavors: Black Walnut, Butter Pecan, Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, Mizzou Gold, Mocha Fudge, Peach Yogurt, Pumpkin Pie, Raspberry, Raspberry Sherbet, rocky Road, Strawberry, Strawberry-Banana Yogurt, Tiger Stripe and Vanilla. Besides those they have experimental flavors that pop up sometime, like praline. Although the hours of operation aren't the most accommodating, the prices are worth the trade. You get a dip for $1.25 (or if you are coupon savvy there is a $0.75 dip coupon in al the booklets) or 2 for $2.00, along with other packages like a $3.00 quart, $5.00 half-gallon, or massive $33.50 3-gallon tub.

The When: Times are somewhat inconvenient, for me at least (I enjoy random midnight adventures, and they don't accommodate for those) but they are open from noon until 5 pm Monday thru Friday.

The Where: Buck's is located over by College Avenue and Hatch, on the south side of Eckles Hall. Look for a big black and gold awning with a tiger and sign that says "Buck;s Ice Cream Place."

They Why: Probably the most important, the why. Well, it is amazing, that's why. It is a neat little shop that not everyone knows about, secluded on campus, a hidden treasure, one of those places that makes Columbia Columbia. And plus there isn't anywhere else can you get the famous tiger-stripe ice cream that tastes like tradition.

For more info, and where I got some of my facts, check out http://bucks.missouri.edu

El Rancho

The aroma of the classic chicken burrito fills the air and passer-bys can't help but explore the wonders of what lay behind those two glass doors.  The line is always long, but it's worth the wait.  El Rancho, located on East Broadway, offers delicious authentic Mexican food, and I guarantee both you and your wallet will leave the restaurant feeling full.  

On weekends, El Rancho is open until 3 A.M, which makes it the perfect pit stop after a night out.  It is home to many college students in need of good greasy food at a cheap price.  But late night party goers aren't the only crowd it draws.  People come from miles to experience the variety and authenticity this joint has to offer.  The menu has a variety of options so even the pickiest of eaters will be able to find something they like.  The food is just like what you would find in Mexico, and they even serve Tecate; how's that for some genuine Mexican dining?  The employees working behind the counter even speak Spanish, so if you're feeling adventurous you can practice your conjugations with them.  

There are plenty of tables to sit at, so even during the busiest times customers are still able to find a seat and enjoy their burritos and chimichangas.  The atmosphere is always lively; Mexican music flows through the speakers and makes the dining experience even more authentic.  The walls are covered in brightly colored painted murals, showing scenery of Columbia with a unique twist.  There is a mix of Mexican pueblos and landmarks of Columbia, Missouri that compromise the paintings on the walls.  The scenery on the walls brings a part of Mexico to Missouri, adding to the genuine Mexican atmosphere. 

The restaurant is open every day of the week with long hours, so it's very easy to find time in one's schedule to make a visit to El Rancho.  Next time you're in the mood for some Mexican food with a kick, or you're just trying to satisfy a late night craving, make sure you make El Rancho your destination.  Hasta luego!