After three enthusiastic campaigns and a democratic election, William Jewell College Student Senate election results were released April 18. The new cabinet is junior political science major Drew Novak as president, sophomore nursing and applied critical thought and inquiry major Luce-Virlynn Apollon as vice president, first-year mathematics, economics and physics major Jacob Dice as treasurer and first-year Oxbridge major Chris Choe as secretary.

This year’s voting differed from the last. In 2016, there was a primary election followed by a runoff. Voting in 2017 required ranking the three cabinets in a single vote. 555 students voted in the 2016 primary and 534 students voted in the 2016 runoff, but only 499 students voted in the 2017 election.

“Campaigning this time around was very different from last year,” said Apollon. She will be transitioning from being Senate’s treasurer to the vice president. In comparing the two election experiences, she determined that the 2017 election brought out more effort, interaction and competition than the last year’s.

“It’s probably the only public democratic process we have on campus,” said Apollon. “It was a fun change of pace.”

While Apollon and Novak have served on Senate and cabinet before, this cabinet will bring in new faces to Student Senate. The elected treasurer and secretary are excited to provide innovative ideas to this new experience.

“I’m most looking forward to representing my peers in the upcoming year” said Choe. “I hope to create efficient and positive communication between the students and faculty here at Jewell, and work to improve daily student life. I can’t wait to help move Jewell forward.”

Treasurer Dice is aiming for financial efficiency through innovation, which may affect campus economy as a whole.

“I believe taking inventory of our human capital and enabling our organizations to be more efficient is paramount to my position as treasurer,” said Dice. “Practically, this means I will be taking a look at our digital communications, and show how they play a role on our campus. Then, I will focus on using Senate as a tool for better serving our campus utilizing not only finances but utilizing all of our capital.”

Dice also wants to increase access and transparency within the Senate’s budget.

“Currently, [the budget] is not the most visible,” said Dice. “I hope to create an easy to find document that students can reference as a report of what Student Senate has funded.”

Promises of policy change were major campaign leverages during the recent election. However, these changes will not come about effortlessly since serving as the liaison between students and the administration is no easy task.

“I think there are a plethora of challenges that we are inheriting,” said Novak. “In particular, I think we’re going to have to confront how best to approach the conversations on the alcohol policy and the expression board.”

The new cabinet is confident in their ability to live up to their campaign platform and advocate for student voices as they declare progress will be made.

“Students will definitely see some sort of change to the alcohol policy,” said Apollon. “Our newly elected cabinet has the possibility to make long lasting change which will change not only the alcohol policy but the alcohol culture at Jewell.”

While the cabinet is excited about taking over for Senate, they have much appreciation for the hard work of the current cabinet.

“The current cabinet has achieved so much and put our cabinet in position to achieve much more,” said Novak.

The new cabinet will be sworn in May 1, and president Zak Carroll will step down.

“If I was to provide one piece of advice and guidance for this next cabinet and Senate, it would be to increase knowledge of what Senate does and to work with the Hilltop Monitor on having a weekly report of Senate’s actions” said Carroll. “I do not think that students are aware of the significant work Senate does, from working with Dr. MacLeod Walls, Dr. Dema and the Trustees, to leading the charge on greater awareness of Title IX rights and reporting procedures, such as in our campus wide poster campaign and increasing the degree to which this is known, and appreciated, by the student body will be crucial to continue the multi year revival of Senate’s importance.”

The Beard is a cabinet comprised of all independent, sophomore student-athletes running on a community-centric platform to make the voices and concerns of Jewell students heard. Ethan Weilant is a sophomore economics and business administration major running for president. Hannah Waine, a sophomore economics and math major, is the cabinet’s vice president with Justice Taylor, a sophomore physics major, running for treasurer and Sam Sullivan, a sophomore communications and interactive digital media major, running as secretary. The cabinet’s platform includes more student autonomy such as the choice of commuter food plans for Juniors, off campus housing for seniors with at least a 3.0 GPA and reform for the alcohol policy to focus more on student safety, rather than fear of punishment.

The Beard mentioned several times during the debate that they have been going to extra effort this past week and one half to ask students about their concerns and opinions. One of the unique initiatives of the Beard is to bring about more education and safer alternatives to drunk driving, which they see as an issue to be addressed on campus.

Their community-centric campaign wants to create incentives for student attendance at events. Among these four athletes, three sports are represented, and the Beard intends to invest serious effort into addressing the concerns of student athletes, which accounts for a significant portion of the student population. However, due to sporting commitments, Waine and Sullivan were unable to attend the debate. The livestreaming audience raised a question of time management for student athletes running student senate since half of their cabinet was unable to attend.

“I believe we will have plenty of time,” said Taylor “Running this cabinet is not always going to be a specific time sensitive thing.”

Taylor acknowledged that full presence may not always be guaranteed, but he is certain that their cabinet will definitively have time to get the job done.

Listen, Plan, Act (LPA) is a cabinet campaign led by first-year oxbridge major Jeremy Hofman as president. The cabinet includes junior physics and math major Macy Tush as vice president, junior Seki Anderson, a junior biochemistry and ACTI-In as treasurer, and first-year, chemistry and communications major Sofia Arthurs-Schoppe as secretary. Hofman is the only cabinet-member with experience as a student senator, however, their cabinet represents as wide range of student organizations, such as Greek life, Pryor Fellowship, feminist club, University Innovation Fellows, QUILTBAG, the “Hilltop Monitor” and multiple honor societies.

LPA is focused on senate communication, empowering student organizations, Title IX education and accountability, implementing an effective student mentorship program and reforming the alcohol policy. Their platform is action-oriented and they describe their promise of action as the distinguisher of this cabinet. LPA aims to increase student autonomy and make Jewell’s overall environment safer in order to make sure the students feel heard and trusted.

LPA brought a unique response to the question of sustainability on campus and Jewell’s environmental responsibility. All cabinets were adamant about continuing and encouraging recycling programs, but LPA mentioned the solar and wind energy usage on campus. Tush mentioned the potential for furthering those sustainable energy efforts and expanding their utilization at Jewell.

“By enacting change, empowering the student body and improving communication, we will change the way that senate does business,” said Hofman. “Which means we will not dodge accountability, [but rather] embrace accountability, and engage students in all that we do.”

Moving Jewell Forward is the campaign that includes presidential candidate Junior Political science major Drew Novak. The cabinet’s vice president, sophomore nursing and ACT-In major Luce-Virlynn Apollon, is serving as the current Student Senate Cabinet’s treasurer. The cabinet also includes first-years Chris Choe, an oxbridge major, as secretary and Jacob Dice, a physics, economics and math major, as treasurer. This cabinet is focused on innovative policies and effective student government, which they strongly feel is attainable with Novak and Apollon’s past senate experience combined with the creative ideas brought to the table by Choe ad Dice’s fresh perspectives. Moving Jewell Forward believes their senate experience and preexisting relations with the administration, such as Student Life and the Board of Trustees, will aid them in effective action as a cabinet. They plan to continue forward with the progress they’ve already made such as conversations regarding alcohol policy, Title IX awareness and chicken tender Thursday.

“Complacency with our accomplishments only leads to their disintegration,” said Novak. Multiple times this cabinet reiterated the significance of student senate, explaining the intricacies of diplomatic relations with administration, and the expertise needed to continue the progresses that the current senate has achieved.

“The next cabinet will hold in its hands the ability to make decisions that will fundamentally change this campus for the next decade,” said Novak “Our cabinet is the only cabinet that is prepared to meet these challenges and to deal with this. Our cabinet is the most experienced and has the most intellectual capability to achieve these.”

The full video of the student senate debate is available on the “Hilltop Monitor’s” Facebook page.

April 7, Father John Misty released his new album “Pure Comedy.” Singles precluded the release with early signs of the apocalyptic, sarcastic and existential themes in the album. The scope of this artwork is not limited to the music. This concept album is a total work of art, with its own film, a short story, music videos and unforgettable cover art. It’s a challenging album to interpret because the one common and consistent theme is human nature’s attempt to endow meaning on an overarchingly pointless existence.

The cover art is stark and sometimes shocking, like a demented caricature of a modern day Hieronymus Bosch piece. This iconoclastic collage is comprised of the analogies, symbols and characters in the album. Some sketches, like the bodybuilder white Jesus doing “cross-fit,” are comical while others verge on pornographic.

Another aspect of this master work is the short story. This is something of a lesson on the evolutionary psychology that has resulted in the human condition. Unfiltered, he writes, “[The species’] brains prove to be remarkably good at inventing meaning where there is none,” which is for the reconciliation of the existence’s monotony in comparison to the imagination of desires. Of the many concepts they invent, hierarchy and a Sky-Man seem to be among their favorites. The short story gets brilliantly deep with dark wit, but ultimately ends in a troll just to remind the reader that all of this, everything in existence, is just a sick joke.

The film is 25 minutes about the production of the album. The film is definitely worth watching, though I would recommend watching it after you’ve listened to the album. That is because “Pure Comedy” the album is composed of such a unique assortment of musical details, which surprise you upon first hearing each song’s musicality. The film will give away the unique assortments if you watch it first.

The film is also worth watching for interpretive reasons. There is such a density of sarcasm in FJM that a lot of his lyrics remain ambiguous. In my own experience, it wasn’t until I saw FJM perform live that I understood his lyrics better because he is so expressive with dances and little acting bits. “Pure Comedy” the film gives the impression of more sincerity during some parts than the lyrics would suggest. The film ends with footage of Earth from outer space, but instead of David Attenborough, the narration is done in a Siri voice. Siri reads part of FJM’s short story, which in this context of looking down on earth, starts to feel eerily like Alan Watts.

This album could easily stand alone, yet it is combined with all of these additional components to make it a truly great concept album. The conceptual effort is brilliant, which is evident by the lyrics of these thirteen songs. This album is by far FJM’s least listener-friendly on the larger scale, but that won’t stand true for all of his fans. If you’re looking for another “I Love You Honey Bear” or “True Affection,” then you’ll be unsatisfied. However, if you loved the dark truth of “Bored In the USA,” or deemed “Holy Shit” a top shelf anthropological history lesson or just enjoyed the sarcastic biographical nature of “Only Son of A Ladies’ Man,” then you may agree with me that FJM is reaching his amazing potential of brilliance and talent in “Pure Comedy.”

If you’re feeling ambivalent towards FJM, I suggest listening to “Leaving LA.” This song is not only the crux of the album, but also a filter for FJM fans. This biographical epic is Josh Tillman’s personal ballad about the story of his relationship with music. He explains his first childhood memory of music during a near-death experience. Now as a professional artist, self-described as “another white guy in 2017 who takes himself so goddamn seriously,” FJM is frustrated by the demographics of many of his fans. He describes his fan-base as a “merely minor fascination to manic virginal lust and college dudes.”

FJM gets a lot of criticism for being harsh, even yelling and trolling his owns fans, but I think a better understanding comes from verse six of “Leaving LA”:

“So why is it I’m so distraught

That what I’m selling is getting bought

At some point you just can’t control

What people use your fake name for.”

I’ve never personally seen someone with an FJM tattoo, but I would not be surprised considering the flower-crown crowd that’s been annoying him since Fleet Foxes. So what does the future hold for him and his fans – or at least those specific fans? Verse eight of the ten predicts their pending breakup:

“Some 10-verse chorus-less diatribe

Plays as they all jump ship,

‘I used to like this guy

This new shit kinda makes me wanna die.’”

“Leaving LA” is such a heavy saga and will hold a different meaning to each fan. While it is without a chorus, the string quartet accompaniment and FJM’s interlude melodies should leave you riveted for all 13 minutes and then stunned for at least another 4 minutes afterwards. If not, then this diatribe fulfilled its listener-filtration purpose.

“When the God of Love Returns There’ll Be Hell to Pay” is arguably the second best track on the album. Often, the idea of Jesus returning makes people think of how upset God will be with the state of the world. Instead, this song comes across as a real conversation between FJM and God, where FJM explains that our species has tried our hardest and God is in no place to judge us for the shit show he created. My favorite line is when FJM asks God if he really has the gall to submit humans to a judgement day:

“You must not know the first thing about human beings,

We’re the earth’s most soulful predator,

Try something less ambitious the next time you get bored.”

Have you ever asked your parents how much thought they put into your existence? I mean beyond just having a baby, did they consider the depression, existential crisis, and solipsistic human condition you might have to face one day? I thought asking my parents would be a good idea until I realized they never asked for any of this either, because no one asked to exist. That is why I love this song, because FJM went to the source. He goes to the one who got the cycle rolling, the first one of anyone to create something out of nothing, to find meaning where there is none. Ultimately, meaning-endowment is human nature, which is logical since God created human nature and either God created meaning in us from nothing  or we created meaning in God.

I read a review that claimed this was the most sarcastic FJM tune yet, however, this is where the film becomes such an interesting tool for interpretation. FJM looks like he’s having a sincere conversation during this song. From the raw and pained lyrics to the gothic gospel musicality, I think FJM approached this song as if he were sharing a sincere conversation with God.

Other highlights of the album include the song “Pure Comedy”, which serves as a synopsis of the album, touching on Christian nationalism, etc. The brilliantly random music video includes everything from Trump’s inauguration to closing the image of the Blue Marble as FJM sings, “I hate to say it, but each other’s all we got.”

“Total Entertainment Forever” uses a horns ensemble brilliantly to make the listener feel like they truly are a star, pulling up in limo, being washed in fame. This fame however is the self-created by addiction to mass media. I think this song should be renamed “Ode to the Masses and Mainstream.” FJM describes this bourgeois life fulfillment best as “bedding Taylor Swift every night inside the Oculus Rift.”

This album will either leave you annoyed and done with FJM or even more enthralled than ever before, though somewhat desensitized by the meaninglessness of everything, especially some self-righteous indie folk album and it’s accoutrements.

This is a well known narrative on William Jewell College’s campus. The animosity between White Science and Marston Hall has been around since the science building was still brunette and the Marston’s bricks were still drying. However, the recent geopolitical tension has been over a seemingly shitty issue – bathrooms.

Marston Hall stands disendowed with plumbing, leaving the faculty, staff and students seeking restroom refuge in the facilities of White Science. Why would an architect ever design a building without porcelain capacity, knowing full well the mass amounts of caffeine that would be consumed on the premises? Well, as George Orwell’s dear friend Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “All buildings were designed equally, but some are more equal than others.”

The scientists have taken their stand, and they want a wall. No more Harriman Jewell Series staff at their water fountains and no more POL250 students hyperventilating in their stalls.

“We’re gonna build it! Believe me,” said a frantic sophomore chemistry major, requesting to be unnamed. “Don’t even worry about the funds, we’ll make the nursing department pay for it.”

Many are of the belief that the wall will never be built. Bureaucratic lab reports tend to keep the scientists too busy for real action as evidenced by the year-old “terrarium coming soon” sign.

“The scientists think their shit don’t stank,” said a senior nursing major. “And if there’s two things I can’t stand, it’s departmental intolerance and physicists.”

If the wall is indeed built, Marston will be forced to adopt alternative methods such as the chamber pot technique. However the splash zone causes another geopolitical conflict for a minority group – the students who sneak behind Marston to smoke their organic American Spirits. Keep in mind, this angsty crowd tends to be pissed enough as it is.

The philosophy department remains underwhelmed, releasing a statement to the press on Friday saying, “Verbal excrement will perpetuate unabatedly.”