This year, William Jewell College celebrates its 175th anniversary as an institution of higher learning, but that is not the only milestone achievement that ought to be recognized. 2024 marks the 130th anniversary of The Hilltop Monitor, the college’s official student newspaper. Since 1894, students have been consistently passing the torch and upholding this tradition, making ours among the oldest and longest running student publications in the country. 

The Hilltop Monitor as we know it today originated under a different name: The William Jewell Student. Before 1894, there had been a scattering of attempts to get a regular student publication off the ground. According to the memories from the earliest editions of the William Jewell Tatler, the first student publication was called The Jewell. It began in 1874-75 and lasted only around five years or so, publishing irregularly. The idea of a student paper lay dormant for the next few generations of Jewell students. It was reawakened in the summer of 1881 according to an article in the Kansas Weekly Herald, but it wasn’t until the 1894-95 school year when it was revived definitively as The William Jewell Student. 

Initially, the paper was co-managed by Jewell’s reigning literary societies: Excelsior and Philomathic. These were honors organizations that taught language and communication skills, and they were instrumental to building a campus community in Jewell’s earliest years. The Student’s staff was traditionally composed of four Philomathians and four Excelsiors, a tradition that continued until around 1917-1918 when the literary societies began to fall out of style in favor of the successful debating society and increasing participation in athletics. 

In the beginning, it was a monthly paper on literature, science, and occasionally some general news about the college. For much of its life as The Student, the campus paper reported on all the major and minor happenings relevant to the student body. It published faculty profiles and course updates alongside local advertisements and the personal statuses of classmates. A subscription cost 50¢ per year according to “Cardinal is Her Color,” Jewell’s most recent comprehensive history written for Jewell’s 150th anniversary. The 1912 Tatler reports that, in the 1911-1912 school year, the paper started publishing weekly in addition to the usual monthly literary edition featuring works of creative writing submitted by students. 

After it left the hands of the literary societies, there was a period when The Student fell under the purview of the student government who were then responsible for appointing new editors for both The Student and the Tatler. Upon the introduction of journalism classes to the English curriculum starting in the 20s, maintenance of the paper transferred again to be the charge of journalism students and volunteers under a faculty advisor. 

The Student charged on under the guidance of Dr. Georgia B. Bowman, a staple of the English and Communications departments from 1947 to her retirement in 1980 (although she maintained a presence on the Hill as a welcome professor emeritus for several years following). The role of faculty advisor was then taken on by Professor Lois Anne Harris who began teaching the courses on journalism when she joined the Jewell community in 1979. 

Professor Harris oversaw the 1985-1986 editorial staff’s decision to change the name of the newspaper. In a recent interview by The Monitor, the chief editor at the time, Paul Paulter ‘87, recalled that it was a group decision spurred by repeated confusion when talking about the paper: “You know, you answer the phone, you [say], ‘The Student,’ and they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m looking for the student newspaper.’ ‘Yeah, that’s it.’ ‘Well, what’s the name of it?’ ‘It’s The Student.’” After collaborating with the editors, Professor Harris, the journalism classes, and members of faculty, a new name was decided on. It was even run by the Student Senate for approval among student leaders. During the brainstorming sessions, Paulter remembers “that there were names like, you know, The Monitor or The Post or the whatever by themselves, but there was a thought that we wanted to have it [be] something uniquely Jewell-like. So, we worked in the Hilltop part. I remember that being a portion that we wanted to work in; something that seemed that was in the Jewell parlance.” And just like that, The William Jewell Student was rechristened as The Hilltop Monitor we know today. 

As is to be expected with any shift in tradition, there was indeed some pushback for a few months after the new name was made official. For 92 years, the paper had been known under the same title, and it ruffled some feathers among current and former cardinals to see it renamed. The 1987 Tatler described The Hilltop Monitor’s first year as beginning “in a heat of controversy,” which Paulter says the staff at the time had not anticipated. “There was a period of time,” Paulter said, “where there were a lot of letters to the editor” from students and “old alumni who had written in and expressed some displeasure.” Laughing, Paulter admitted his greatest regret is that he was a bit flippant in his responses to the letters. Like so many chief editors before (and after) him, the paper was a significant part of his Jewell career. “To be honest,” he said, “I look back with a lot of pride for the newspapers we put out for those couple of years. We did a good job and put forth some good papers.”

Having been continually in print for 130 years now, The Monitor owes its longevity to the fact that it is exceptionally flexible, always adapting to the changing needs of its students. In the first issue of the 1912-1913 school year, a letter from the editors reads, “The Student is an enterprise in which the whole school is bound up. It will depend upon the whole school for success, and its success will largely depend on how the school responds to this dependence. […]

“The Student, if it is the paper it ought to be, is an assembling of a number of ideas. The more and varied these ideas, the better the paper. The staff, of course, intends to put the best brains it has into the publication, but the staff doesn’t think for a minute that alone, it can produce a periodical that will do justice to William Jewell College.

“Any newspaper, particularly a college newspaper, must progress, must change in order to be vital, to be interesting and of value, and to perform properly its function.”

While so much else has changed—the name, the staff, the frequency of publication, the subject matter, the method of delivery—this message continues to be true. Let us hope that for as long as Jewell stands atop her hill, The Hilltop Monitor will persist alongside her, informing the Jewell community and granting students the opportunity for their voices to be heard.

With over 20 lively performances in just this academic year, The Cardinal Sound has become an essential part of William Jewell College’s school spirit. Since its creation, the band has captivated audiences and energized campus events with its enthusiastic performances.

“I was hired in part to help launch the athletic band. We started it from absolutely nothing but an idea,” shared Dr. Dorothy Glick Maglione (Dr. GM), who has been working full-time at Jewell since 2019. She was central to the founding of the Cardinal Sound and has served as its faculty director from its beginning. Dr. Glick Maglione reflects on the athletic band’s journey, highlighting milestones such as the introduction of a color guard and invitations to perform at the 2024 Achievement Day dinner.

“While I’ve been teaching for almost two decades at this point, starting The Cardinal Sound has been an absolute privilege,” Dr. Glick Maglione recounted. “Selecting the uniforms, purchasing instruments, composing music and creating traditions were all aspects of this new venture. I am honored to have had students who bought in, and I have been blown away by their dedication. Throughout this process, I have really learned how precious moments are with people. Four years goes by quickly, and it is such a joy to get to see the students go from high schoolers to starting their careers.”

Along with Dr. Glick Maglione, the Monitor interviewed three graduating students who have been in The Cardinal Sound all four years: Brynesha Griffin-Bey, Alexis Harper and Jolia Bernal.

Brynesha Griffin-Bey, who plays clarinet and aspires to become a music educator, spoke about her love for music: “Band is a beautiful thing to me. Band has taught me to be disciplined and strong (through procedures, practicing, leading the ensemble in multiple ways and just being a member of something where my presence matters), but it has also created an environment where I can be my true authentic self in front of others, and I want to take all of those things with me into my career and future.

“My favorite memories revolve around the people in the ensemble!” Griffin-Bey reflected. “I have made so many friendships and close bonds through performing and practicing with these members over the years, and that is truly unforgettable to me and will be the things that I will look back on once I graduate from Jewell. Performing under the direction of Dr. Glick Maglione has also been the best! She had inspired me and mentored me so much over the years, and that will also stick with me.”

Alexis Harper, a graduating senior who plays flute and piccolo, reflected on the influence that The Cardinal Sound has had on the fans at Jewell sporting events. “It is special to watch and support the WJC athletes in a way that incorporates my passion for music,” Harper said. “I remember a stark lack of enthusiasm from the crowd during the first football game The Cardinal Sound ever performed at. Four years later, a full crowd pumped their fists as we played the William Jewell College fight song at our last performance of this season.”

Harper also shared about her recent new experiences in The Cardinal Sound. “The Shenanigans Concert on March 24 was a downright goofy display of the talented people in the William Jewell College Performing Arts Department that was constructed by WJC Choral Director Dr. Anthony Maglione and actor and comedian Dave (Gruber) Allen. The atmosphere both on and off stage was different from any other performance I have done, and it was great to be a part of it with The Cardinal Sound.”

Jolia Bernal, a graduating euphonium and trombone player, explained how The Cardinal Sound has impacted her life. “Playing at the college level has given me the opportunity to push myself in my playing abilities. My biggest takeaway from my experiences in Cardinal Sound would be that you can create a home away from home with common interests and the people that you surround yourself with.”

Bernal, while involved in The Cardinal Sound, has also been a founding member of The Crown Jewell color guard. “Winter guard is a sport of the arts that involves flags, sabres, rifles, dance and interpretive movement. Our show this year was titled “Let In The Light,” and it was about new beginnings and kind of represented the start of this new team and legacy at Jewell.” she explained. “I was very excited to help start this team as a part of Cardinal Sound, and we had a very successful season as well.”

The Cardinal Sound is made up of 24 students this year, and the program is expected to grow in the future. While Griffin-Bey, Harper and Bernal prepare for graduation, their legacy as founding members of The Cardinal Sound’s will be maintained by returning members and newcomers.

Third-year trumpet player Carson Krop described how his experiences in Cardinal Sound have influenced his interactions with teamwork and dedication: “It provides a lot of structure and companionship. College band has a set time to meet and you can count on your peers being present at rehearsal,” he explained. “There were countless rehearsals that we have had that were tedious, but that tedious and persistent work that we put in consistently showed during our performances. If it weren’t for those small details that we perfected in rehearsal, no matter how tedious, then we would not sound the way we do nor have the reputation/name recognition on campus and throughout the community.”

For second-year percussionist Ali Thatcher, the athletic band offers opportunities for exploration and growth. “There are higher expectations in collegiate level band, but I also get to try a ton of new stuff that I haven’t done before,” Thatcher shared. “You can usually try something new and experiment if you just ask! The worst [a director] can say is no.”

First-year guitarist and drummer Caden Powell shared his journey of adaptation within the ensemble: “Something I’ve learned would definitely be mixing sound with everyone, and having to change the sound I usually use to something that cuts through the mix a bit more. My favorite memory would have to be playing at the Achievement Day dinner, everyone locked in with each other and Dr. GM let me turn up a little and just let it rip. It was so much fun.”

With each member contributing their unique perspective and talents, The Cardinal Sound continues to evolve, embracing new challenges and opportunities.

Alongside Bernal, Avalon Autrey, a second-year at Jewell, also contributes her talents to The Crown Jewell color guard team. Collaborating with The Cardinal Sound band at athletic events, Autrey fondly recalled their favorite moments from their inaugural season. “My fav event so far has been homecoming! It’s also my favorite memory from how large the crowd was and the energy they brought, and winning the game made it even better!” Autrey reflected. “Dr. GM and my guard coaches have taught me that it is okay to be the last one to leave practice sometimes, especially if you’re the last one to get to practice in the first place!” 

After attending and winning their first Mid Continent Color Guard Association (MCCGA) State Championships at Willard High School on April 6, The Crown Jewell winter guard came home with five first place, and one second place, finishes in the six competitions in their inaugural season. With their first show “Let In The Light,” The Crown Jewell won the title of Independent Regional A Champions of 2024 against six other college independent color guards: Beautiful City Independent, Wildcat Winter Guard, Divine Light, Elegante Independent, Parkway South-West Winter Guard and Queen City Independent.

If you’d like to learn more about The Cardinal Sound or The Crown Jewell, you can reach out to Dr. Glick Maglione at maglioned@william.jewell.edu or follow @williamjewellbands and @thecrownjewellguard_wjc on Instagram.

Cardinal Sound 2023-24 Performances
9/2/2023 Jewell Football vs. Fort Lewis
9/9/2023 Jewell Football vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
9/30/2023 Jewell Football vs.Upper Iowa Homecoming
11/4/2023 Jewell Football vs. Southwest Baptist
11/14/2023 Jewell Women’s Basketball vs. Newman University
11/16/2023 Jewell Hoops vs. Washburn University
11/18/2023 Jewell Hoops vs. Newman
11/21/2023 Jewell Hoops vs. MO West
2/8/2024 Jewell Hoops vs. Southwest Baptist
2/10/2024 Jewell Women’s Basketball vs. Drury University
2/17/2024 Jewell Women’s Basketball vs. Rockhurst University
2/17/2024 Jewell Hoops vs. Rockhurst University
2/29/2024 Achievement Day Dinner
3/2/2024 Jewell Hoops vs. MO S&T
3/8/2024 Jewell Hoops vs. Truman State 2024 GLVC Tournament
3/24/2024 Shenanigans 3

The Crown Jewell Competitions & Scores
2/3/2024 Blue Springs South – First Place – 61.12/100
2/17/2024 MO State University – Second Place – 67.14/100
3/2/2024 Lee’s Summit West – First Place – 73.99/100
3/9/2024 Belton – First Place – 79.27/100
3/23/2024 Lee’s Summit North – First Place – 80.40/100
4/6/2024 Championships at Willard – First Place – 82.22/100

For women, going to the gym is often an uncomfortable experience. Around 56% of 1,107 women surveyed by Run Repeat in 2021 had first-hand experiences of unwanted attention, commentary or physical contact in the gym. The #gymcreep trend that garnered widespread attention and participation on TikTok is a testament to the prevalence of gender-based harassment in gyms. Women on TikTok documented and exposed men who followed women around gyms or inappropriately touched them.

Experiencing harassment negatively affects gym usage: 14% of the women surveyed who experienced harassment firsthand stopped going to the gym, 20% changed their gym routines to avoid certain areas and 20% changed their clothes or appearance.

These facts should raise concerns because exercise is important for physical and mental well-being. When gyms are uncomfortable places for women, women are left without welcoming spaces to exercise. Women need comfortable, harassment-free gym spaces. This is especially true for undergraduate women. Low levels of physical activity are associated with increased anxiety. Stressed-out undergraduate women need spaces to workout to maintain their mental and physical health.

It is time for William Jewell College to consider how it can better accommodate women seeking spaces to exercise. Currently, the school has one 24-hour gym that is open to all students. Many women, myself included, avoid the gym out of fear of harassment. For myself, this is not due to any experiences of harassment on campus but an aversion I have developed from interactions with men in gyms off-campus.

One popular solution to the problems faced by women in gyms has been to create women-only gym spaces. Designing separate spaces for women in gyms is intended to protect them from the predominant perpetrators of harassment: men. In women-only spaces, women can exercise without fear of uncomfortable staring, inappropriate touching and unwelcome recommendations or compliments. Instead, women get to enjoy the company of other women, which may also provide opportunities for camaraderie and new friendships.

Women-only gym spaces have a few flaws. First, these spaces often limit women to a certain set of training equipment or training classes designed for women. Many find these limitations frustrating and exclusive. Second, women-only gym spaces sometimes limit access to only cisgendered women. As a result, these spaces fail to accommodate non-cisgender people, who are also common victims of harassment.

Despite these flaws, a solution like women-only gym spaces would prove beneficial at William Jewell College. The college could designate a few hours on two or three days a week for woman-identifying and non-cisgendered students. This solution would grant both women and non-cisgendered people on campus exclusive access to all available gym equipment, free from the risk of harassment. Although some may argue these would merely be gym hours that exclude cisgendered men, the fact that women and non-cisgendered people are the common targets of harassment by cisgendered men makes the exclusionary period acceptable. 

Enforcement may raise additional concerns. How would the College enforce this policy given the complicated politics surrounding gender identities? Enforcement, however, may not be necessary. By simply designating certain hours as “women and non-cisgendered only,” women and non-cisgendered people would know of specific times when other women and non-cisgendered people would also be in the gym. There is comfort in numbers, and such comfort may help to encourage students with these identities to utilize the gym. Furthermore, cisgendered men may respect the policy and avoid using the gym during these hours without enforcement.

Another solution to the problems faced by women in gyms would be the creation of a supportive fitness organization for women and non-cisgendered people. For example, CHAARG is an up-and-coming national organization that has established health and wellness communities for undergraduate women at numerous United States colleges. The organization provides weekly fitness classes and connects members with small groups to help women grow confident in their fitness journey. This organization, or organizations like it, would provide women with training and support systems to help them feel more comfortable in gyms.

CHAARG has its own flaws. The organization requires interested students to pay $35 to $155 per semester, quarter or year (depending on the university) to become a member. The organization does provide accessibility support for students in need, which may help those who cannot afford such fees. Additionally, the organization does not portray itself as expressly inclusive of non-cisgendered people. According to CHAARG’s terms and conditions, the organization “does not categorically deny membership to an individual, based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, veteran’s status, or the presence of a disability.” Importantly, gender identity is excluded from this list.

A fitness organization like this would benefit the College by providing students new to fitness with training and support. Instead of CHAARG, students could create a more accessible and inclusive organization. The organization could utilize fitness expertise within the student body by offering student-led fitness classes. Also, opening the organization up to all students would extend training and support to any fitness training newbie on campus. The organization would help to prevent the embarrassment many feel when using gyms without prior training or experience.

William Jewell College could encourage better health on campus by designating specific hours in the gym for women-identifying and non-cisgendered students. The college would also benefit from a student-led fitness organization. Both solutions address the harassment and embarrassment that continue to deter students from the gym. If adopted, the College would take significant steps towards recognizing and responding to the challenges faced by women, cisgendered people and those who lack fitness training on campus.

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.”