Jewell’s history department hosted a career panel highlighting history major alums and their experiences after college on March 29 at 7 pm. Alums with graduation dates ranging from the 1970s to the 2010s gave input on how they got to where they are now and the impact their history degree has had on them.  Panelists included Kenneth Southwick, Rebecca Broadbent, Sarah Bader-King and Rayn Tupino. Education Department Chair and Professor Michael Stoll and History Department Chair and Professor Daniel Kotzin were also a part of the discussion.

A common theme discussed by the panelists was the vast array of variety and options available to those with a degree in History. “One thing that Jewell does is it teaches you to examine your life and what you want to do with your life,” Broadbent explained. After graduating from Jewell in 2014 with a bachelor’s in history, Broadbent now works as a historian and resource interpreter at Watkins Mill State Park.
After starting his journey in history nearly five decades ago, Southwick now works as the executive director for School Districts of Greater KC. Southwick explained the opportunity Jewell offered him as a student to examine his future options and to tailor his experiences in preparation for his desired occupation.  “Throughout my career, I think my degree that I got through William Jewell prepared me for every next step that I’ve ever taken, and I don’t say that lightly; I really mean that,” Southwick said. “There’s so much history throughout all of that coursework and all of my experience that I think you apply all the time, and, as the famous saying goes, you don’t know where you’re going if you know where you’re from.”

Kotzin is a new History professor at Jewell and compliments the College for the freedom to create an innovative curriculum and to hold students to high standards. He, among other panelists, explained that it is knowledge and experience from the past that are the foundation for this freedom and innovation within the Jewell community. Evaluations of past experiences, they described, provide wisdom to inform decisions, create strategies for success and create a better future.

Kotzin also values the ability to present complex topics in various courses in a way that people will understand. “What’s exciting for me about being a professor is not just the research and the teaching, but also thinking about how I can teach hard topics and teach them well so people understand them,” Kotzin said. It is this engaging and motivating presentation of complex subject matter that provides Jewell students and instructors rewarding experiences that will aid them throughout their careers.

Although planning one’s path is helpful, it is certainly not always necessary. Dr. Stoll began his career without the faintest idea of what he wanted to do. He even participated in architectural internships before he tried out teaching when a position was offered to him. He describes that despite the pressure to know what your plans are, many of the successful panelists did not have this plan that people often expect. “There are all these paths in front of you. People think that they have to know what the path is gonna be and that you have to know what the next step is gonna be… I think if you listen to everybody here, the next step just popped up and it sounded great and people ran with it,” Stoll said. He describes how sometimes a person just has to utilize the opportunity offered to them. Even if it does not end up being their final destination, it is still a great chance to network, learn new skills and gain impactful experiences.

Panelists also stressed the importance of their experiences at Jewell beyond the requirements for their history degree. Former editor of The Hilltop Monitor, Bader-King, believes her communications major and journalist extracurriculars are what led her to her current career as Curator and Director of Programs at the Wornall House Museum. “I discovered that all those skills that I developed in learning how to write for the newspaper were a direct translation [to] writing history for an audience because you have to be able to write things concisely in a way that people could understand- that anybody can understand,” Bader-King said. Bader-King’s Jewell background led her to see the importance of writing in an understandable way that is accessible to the general public and not just to historians who have already studied the complex topics which she writes about. 

In addition to making historical information accessible to everyone, Southwick explains that students who are entering the field have a duty to protect accuracy of history by teaching it accurately and truthfully. “Where we are today, there are people that want to change history, that want to slant history, that want to erase part of our history,” Southwick said. “I think it’s important for all of us to immerse ourselves in what the heck is going on today and apply it to what we know about what happened in the past so we can figure out where we really want to go and from that standpoint, the relevancy of this, every one of us plays a part in this.”

With the 2020 Election on the horizon, every eligible American must face the same crucial question: who do you trust to lead our country for the next four years? The 2020 election has dominated the political debate ever since President Trump won in 2016. 

College students are one of the most important demographics for voting. Besides making up a major demographic of eligible voters, they are our country’s future. The youth of today are the decision-makers of tomorrow. How are the students of William Jewell College voting in arguably the most contentious election in our nation’s history?

In an independent survey conducted by The Hilltop Monitor, the newspaper asked 55 random Jewell students three questions about the upcoming election. The questions are as follows: Are you going to vote in the upcoming election? What type of ballot are you going to use in the upcoming election? Who are you voting for in this election?

Voting is the most sacred tenant in our democracy. Voter turnout for college students historically in presidential elections is 51.4 percent of eligible students. This is one of the lowest participation percentages of any demographic group. According to this survey, 92.7 percent of Jewell students are planning on voting in this upcoming election. The sample size for this study was relatively small, but any number close to the sample size shows that William Jewell has astounding voter turnout compared to other colleges.

How people are going to vote has become a hot topic issue. With President Trump and the GOP raising concerns about voter fraud – however legitimate or not these concerns might be – the type of ballot being used has gotten a lot of attention. The three types of ballots being used are absentee, mail-in and in-person. William Jewell presents a unique situation as a sizable portion of students are out-of-state students. 

Out of the 55 students polled, 33 students said that they planned on voting in person, and 15 students said that they were going to use the mail-in option provided to them by their state of residence. Meanwhile, three students said that they had applied for and will vote with absentee ballots. Four students were either not voting or weren’t registered to vote in the first place.

Almost half of the people polled (26 students) said that they were voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, while 19 students said that they were planning on voting for Donald Trump and Mike Pence. The spread between the two primary candidates between Jewell students is larger than the difference in the national polls. On average, Biden is leading Trump by almost 10 percent nationally. The Jewell survey has Biden with approximately a 12 percent lead over Trump. 

Oddly enough, nearly 11 percent (6 students) said that they were going to vote third-party. This amount of support for a third-party candidate on a national scale would have a tremendous effect on the next President of the United States. If the Jewell results were magnified on a national scale, it would be very similar to what happened in 1992 when Ross Perot ran and received about 19 percent of the popular vote.

Voter turnout has always been a big issue across the United States. The highest voter turnout was in 2008 when 61.58 percent of eligible voters voted in the Presidential election. One of the worst demographics of eligible voters for voter turnout is college students. 

The goal should always be for complete participation in an election, but the plausibility of that for any college is essentially impossible. With William Jewell having such a small community, the College has the unique ability to reach out to each student and promote voting. This is something that you simply can’t find in a big state school, and it might engender a more sizeable turnout among Jewell students as compared to that of other colleges and universities.

Ingelstam stated that Senate will perform an integral and essential function in the community of William Jewell College.

“I think Senate should bridge the gap between the administration and the students and make the students’ voices heard,” she said. “I don’t think the senate is necessary in creating change, though I think it is a good way to do it. Also, Senate has access to a lot of resources, not just money, but we meet monthly with Dr. Dema and Dr. Macleod Walls and they express their concerns and we report what we’ve been doing on Jewell’s campus. Senate also helps to bring other on-campus organizations into contact so that they can work together. Rather than having an abundance of little pop-up events it…helps to organize bigger initiatives.”

“In terms of policy, we started working on a new alcohol policy. Senate also followed up on the condom proposal from last year” Ingelstam stated.

Ingelstam was referring to a proposal presented last year which called for condoms to be made available for free in all student dorms, distributed through dispensers. This proposal was led by QUILTBAG, the campus LGBTQ organization, in coordination with Senate members. Changes to the budget structure, specifically the restructuring of dorm life and the removal of hall committees, resulted in the proposal being altered in application. Instead of condoms being available in student dorms, there are now dispensers located in the health center in Ely Hall. Senate has been following up on this proposal in efforts to increase the accessibility of this resource for students.

Senate also held a number of events last semester and is planning to continue hosting and facilitating those, while also dedicating a large portion of their time and resources to changing and improving the current alcohol policy here at Jewell.

Currently, a completely new alcohol policy is being drafted and, as Ingelstam explains, it consists of four main parts: (a) reevaluating how students can drink in their rooms, particularly in regard to students who are under 21 and present while alcohol is being consumed; (b) expanding the tailgating policy on campus, in order to allow alcohol to be consumed at on-campus events; (c) altering the campus alcohol education policy in an effort to remove stigma around this subject, and; (d) [potentially] re-structuring the enforcement of the policy, whether or not the RAs (Resident Assistants) should be tasked with enforcing this policy or if it should be the responsibility of campus safety officers and RDs (Resident Directors).

Ingelstam stated that these proposals are being well-received by campus officials and estimates that the new policy will be presented for approval at the next trustee meeting this May.

“All of this is in discussion with Dr. Dema, and I think the biggest challenge will be getting this passed by the trustees, mostly due to liability concerns,” said Ingelstam. “We want to have this passed in the next trustee meeting, in May. But [beforehand] we are regularly bringing [the proposal] to the student life committee, who are on the board. We bring them different drafts and get their feedback. Hopefully [the new policy] will be in place by next Fall.”

Re-evaluating the alcohol policy is an uncommon occurrence at Jewell, and proposing this degree of policy change requires a great amount of time and the approval of multiple parties. However, as Ingelstam mentioned “this is important, as a lot of students are very unhappy about it and how it is being enforced. It causes a lack of trust.”

As well as re-structuring the alcohol policy, Senate, particularly Ben Shinogle, senior English and political science major, serving as vice president to the senate, are working on how to increase student attendance at events hosted by Jewell. Topics of discussion include whether it would be beneficial to have fewer but larger events, or whether it is possible to improve the way that campus events are communicated.

Initiatives led by senate to address this issue include a meeting, hosted by Shinogle, involving a number of on-campus student leaders, as well as the new initiative of the Jewell Town Hall which will become a monthly event. Jewell Town Hall is an event open to students and involving administration staff in order to facilitate communication between the student body and campus officials. The first of these events will be held Fri. March 24.

Additionally, the weekly email “Cardinal Chatter” has been replaced with the weekly “Senate Top 5” in an effort to increase student awareness of upcoming events. Ingelstam also emphasized that senate funding has become more available for other on campus groups to request.

Ingelstam also encouraged student to utilize the asset of Senate, and the resources available through this group. Senate meetings are held Tuesday evening in the Union and they are open to the entire student body. Minutes from these meetings, as well as funding request forms, can be found online at the official Jewell Senate website.

Photo by Chandler Eaton.