Category: KCKCC

Volleyball showdown Wednesday: No. 4 JCCC at No. 5 KCKCC

by Alan Hoskins

A classic Jayhawk Conference volleyball showdown is set for the Kansas City Kansas Community College Field House Wednesday night when the No. 5 ranked Lady Blue Devils entertain No. 4 Johnson County at 6:30 p.m.

Both teams are unbeaten in Jayhawk play although both are also coming off losses, KCKCC falling 3-1 at Missouri State in West Plains Monday night while the Lady Cavaliers fell to No. 1 ranked Parkland 3-0 over the weekend. KCKCC is 15-3 overall, the second best mark in the Jayhawk behind Fort Scott (19-2), while JCCC is 12-4.

“We didn’t play well and really need a big bounce back effort against Johnson County Wednesday night,” said KCKCC coach Mary Bruno. The Blue Devils fell behind 25-15 and 25-13 at Missouri State before winning 25-23. Missouri State then closed out the win 25-22.

KCKCC launches ‘Blue Crew’ to support student sports

by Kelly Rogge

Kansas City Kansas Community College is offering students, faculty and staff a way to show their Blue Devil spirit while supporting student athletes at the same time.

The Blue Crew is a new group that is being started this year as a way to not only build community support for KCKCC athletics, but to also start the formation of a Student Section at sporting events. Andrica Wilcoxen, outreach and prevention coordinator at KCKCC, said it is a way for students and faculty to get involved with activities.

“The idea of the Blue Crew is to develop a Student Section at our games, where everyone wears the same shirt,” she said. “It’s really showing the school spirit we have here.”

There are a number of benefits to those who register for the Blue Crew. These include being eligible for free events before and after sporting events and being entered into free giveaways. While these will be available for everyone, there will be a fee associated with these activities that Blue Crew members will not have to pay.

“This is the first time that I know of that we have done anything like this,” Wilcoxen said of the Blue Crew. “We really want the Blue Crew to be an experience. We want these students to have such a good time that they will want to continue that level of involvement as they move onto another college experience.”

Wilcoxen said the Blue Crew is also an opportunity for students to promote positive attitudes during sporting events.
“Being a member of the Blue Crew helps promote responsibility among our students,” she said. “It gives them a positive experience here where they are able to be responsible for what they say and do.”

T-shirts for the Blue Crew are $5 for students and $10 for employees. For more information on how to purchase one, contact Wilcoxen at 913-288-7439 or by email at awilcoxen@kckcc.edu.

KCKCC celebrates International Day of Peace

by Kelly Rogge

Kansas City Kansas Community College remembered a long-time educator Friday during the inaugural U.N.-Henry Louis Center peace roundtable.

KCKCC faculty, staff and students attended the event as part of the International Day of Peace. The International Day of Peace is celebrated each year on Sept. 21 and is dedicated to observing world peace. First celebrated in 1982, the goal is to educate the community on world peace and to reduce conflict and war throughout the world.

During KCKCC’s round table, military officers from Fort Leavenworth shared their experiences in the United Nation’s peacekeeping effort. In addition, those who attended learned about how they can help maintain peace within their own community and what they can do as private citizens to promote peace. Following the presentation, those in the audience had the opportunity to ask questions and to learn more about keeping societies peaceful. The event was sponsored by the Henry M. Louis Center for Global Transitional Justice at KCKCC, the Ralph Bunche Society, Students for Global Peace, the KCKCC-Leavenworth Center and the Intercultural Center.

“We had a great program on peace-making and peacekeeping on campus,” said Karen Hernandez, former KCKCC Board of Trustees member. “Henry Louis’ legacy lives on in all of those who model his extraordinary gift of bringing people together to celebrate diversity and work toward peace.”

The Henry M. Louis Center was named after former KCKCC professor Henry Louis, who is described as being a “global extrovert” and had a philosophy and vision of transitional justice throughout the world. An award at KCKCC is also named in honor of the educator, the Henry M. Louis Outstanding faculty Award – the hallmark award for KCKCC faculty. From 1967 until 2005 Louis served the college as teacher, chairman of the Social Sciences Division and finally as Dean of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. He was a historian who loved to teach and was considered a lifelong student of diverse cultures and histories. Louis had a keen eye for shared values, always respectful of differences and he continuously revised his courses, searching for new ways to encourage in his students the love of learning that shaped his life.

“Friday’s program was one of superior intellectual quality. I was proud to be a part of the audience, and was pleased to stay through two stimulating sessions,” said Pamela Louis-Walden, Louis’s wife. “I thank all those involved in the activities, and I am thrilled that Henry’s name is used with such fine programming.”

For more information on the International Day of Peace or the Henry M. Louis Center for Transitional Justice, contact Ewa Unoke, KCKCC professor, at eunoke@kckcc.edu or by calling 913-288-7318.