Brian Bode was hired as the new controller at Park University. He brings over 21 years of experience in the army as a finance officer and 10 years of experience as vice president of finance at another university. As controller, his responsibilities include ensuring proper accounting of financial transactions and providing accurate financial reports to management. Bode is excited about his new role and aims to learn the university's systems, make some improvements, and help develop the skills of his staff over the short and long term during his time at Park University.

1. September 18, 2015 Page 3
Bode hired to new financial positionElizabeth Orosco
Features Editor
This school year, Park
welcomed Brian Bode as the
university’s new controller.
Bode brings years of
experience to the position
and hopes to make a lasting
impact during his time at
Park.
He grew up in Lyman,
Nebraskaandattended
the University of
Nebraska Kearney
for his undergraduate
degree in accounting.
He later attended Troy
State University in
Alabama for his masters.
Bode spent 21 years in
the army as finance officer,
responsible for accounting
and budget work. He has
been out of the army 15
years. Recently, he has spent
the last 10 years working
at Kansas City Kansas
Communty College as vice
president of finance and
administration, and has also
worked at the University of
Saint Mary as controller.
Bode says he is thrilled to
be at Park.
As controller, Bode says
his office is the principal
accounting office of the
college. His responsibilities
include ensuring the
transactions happening
in billing and student
finance offices are placed
in the proper accounts,
making sure the books of
the university are properly
managed in accordance
to generally accepted
accounting principles, and
the accountants provide
management of the
university with accurate and
complete reports so they can
make key decisions.
Even though he has
only been a part of the Park
family for three weeks,
Bode says he really enjoys
working at the university.
“I really like it here,
he said. “A lot of places
talk the talk. I couldn’t list
all of Park’s core values,
but I know the first one
is accountability, and it’s
really noticeable here, and I
like working at a place like
that. People do their jobs,
they’re held accountable
for it. The other half of
that is that management
understands that people are
doing their jobs and
they recognize it. If
you hold someone
accountable and
turn around and
respect that they
have done a good
job and let them know, it’s
a great place to work. The
people in the accounting
and finance office have been
welcoming and nice. I’m
thrilled everyday I drive on
campus. It’s how you want
your job to be.”
Bode says he has certain
short and long-term goals for
himself in this new position,
and hopes he can help make
minor improvements while
he is here.
“Short-term, I want
to learn as much as I can
because I’m replacing
a really talented lady,”
said Bode. “I need to be
up-to-speed on Park’s
methodology and the
accounting system. Mid-
term, there are some things
that I think can be tweaked
and made better, maybe
stream-lined a little bit.
Long-term, I would hope
that any individual tweaks
we do to the system make
it a much easier, more
automated process of
keeping track. Long-term
for me is to help the young
accountants in my office
develop better skills and
their career aspirations. My
career aspirations are just
about being met right now.
I need to motivate them
and help them get better
and have the opportunity to
expand their goals. That’s
one of my goals.”
His military experience
and various roles working
with people for many
years has given Bode an
opportunity to bring special
traits to his role as controller.
“I think I bring an
exuberance of newness,” he
said. “I think I bring a lot
of experience, and I hope a
little bit of talent. I’m good
with people and I’m good at
motivating people. I think
the military trains you to do
that and makes you a leader,
at least gives you the skill
set to be a leader. I think that
may be what I’m bringing
right now.”
Overall, Bode says he
is proud to be a part of the
Park family and to have
a chance to contribute to
Park’s vision.
“I think everyone should
be proud to be a part of
Park,” he said. “As an old
soldier, Park’s outreach to
the military and the bases
all over is one of the reasons
I’ve dreamed of working
here.
They give back to those
who serve, and it’s noticed
out there across the world.
It’s a great time to be here.”
‘Ithinkeveryoneshouldbeproud
tobeapartofPark.’
Brian Bode, Controller
New days of love, peace dawn in KC
Jason Holland
Staff Reporter
The wind sends wrinkles over
the surface of the Missouri river as
it glides under the Heart ofAmerica
Bridge and onward. The sky is an
electric shade of blue, clouds like
wads of cotton drift north over
Downtown Kansas City. It’s quiet,
but if you listen closely you can
hear sub bass pulsing softly like
a monstrous heartbeat. Thump,
thump, thump, thump.
Berkley Riverfront Park has
seen its fair share of concerts in
the past, but nothing quite like
Dancefestopia, the two-day EDM
festival that brings thousands
together for one magnificent
reason: to feel free.
The idea of electronic dance
music is lost on most who grew
up with the musical doctrine that
music itself must come from real
instruments—AKA your parents if
you’re under 30. The idea of a lone
man standing behind an electronic
pulpit of DJ equipment pushing
buttons does not look like a
musical concert to a lot of people.
EDM is criticized a lot: it’s
fake; not real music; talentless;
it all sounds the same. They
call festivals like Dancefestopia
ridiculous, nothing but mindless,
drug-infested raves.
In fact, musical legend Tom
Petty criticized this cultural
phenomenon back in 2014 in an
interview with Radio.com.
“Watch people play records?
That’s stupid. You couldn’t pay
me to go. I’m not oversimplifying
it. That’s what’s going on. I don’t
think it would be any fun without
the drugs. It’s a drug party.”
Ouch, Mr. Petty. Harsh words
for a movement that spreads the
idea of love and free expression
more than any other musical
movement since Woodstock. But
despite the criticism from previous
generations of popular music, the
bass is still dropping harder than
ever. You could even say it’s free
falling.
It’s Friday afternoon at
Berkley Riverfront Park, and
Dancefestopia is beginning its
two-day musical extravaganza. A
slim helicopter is gliding over the
river and campgrounds, whipping
tents, blankets and hair into a
frenzy.
Construction vehicles are
carrying massive amplifiers like
worker ants to a stage somewhere
in the distance. Behind the main
stage, a woman in a long paisley
dress sets up a massage bed and
hangs blankets down from her
booth.
The largest has a sapphire wolf
rearing its head back, howling
at the moon. By the time the sun
goes down tonight, thousands will
be raising their arms and their
voices with religious enthusiasm,
losing themselves to a force that
is beyond understanding yet fully
embraced.
The grass parking lot is
filled with cars, license plates
indicate just how big of a deal
this is: Texas, Colorado, Kansas,
Oklahoma, Minnesota, Michigan,
Arkansas, California … the list
goes on. Several teen kids are
kicking a hacky sack back and
forth, smoking, laughing and
blasting Skrillex’s “Bangarang”
from an impressive stereo system.
The fractured vocal sampling and
erratic beat soars like an airstrike
over the parking lot.
Rick, a veteran of EDM,
traveled from Denver to attend
Dancefestopia. Sporting the
manliest beard possible and a
tattoo of a smiley face on his neck,
Rick is grinning ear to ear as he
discusses his love of all this.
“I travel all over for these
things, man,” he says as he yanks
a cigarette from behind a gauged
ear. “I’m going to EDC in Vegas
here soon, too.”
Why does this mean so much to
him?
Rick just laughs and says with
his cig dangling from the corner
of his mouth, “It’s music, good
people, and chaos. Like one big,
(blank)ed-up family.”
This idea of kinfolk is not just
Rick’s, but many others.
Jacob, a student from UMKC,
is passionate about these events.
“There’s a way higher
concentration of good vibes here
than anywhere else I’ve been,” he
says. “There are too many assholes
in the world, so people that aren’t
into that noise come here. It’s
about love and music. Brothers
and sisters. Tons of us get together
under this unseen banner of music.
It’s beautiful, man. Good vibes is
why I come.”
These festivals are more
than drug-fueled raves packed
with idiots dancing to bleeps
and bloops and wuuuub
wuuuuub vwaaaaaaam’s.
They’re a communion of sorts,
a congregation of avid fans who
want to dance and truly feel free.
“There are a lot of friendly
people here,” says Hannah as she
pulls her sleeping bag and rainbow
Hula Hoop out of her trunk. This is
her second time at Dancefestopia.
“I don’t need drugs. I came sober
last year…dude it changed my
life.” This year she’s coming with
her boyfriend in an effort to spread
the EDM gospel to those closest
to her. Her parents didn’t want to
come.
The idea of good vibes Jacob
mentioned is not just among
the dancers. It’s an inclusive
atmosphere, and those vibes even
rub off on security. Michael Mark,
head of security, is prepping for
the two earplug-wearing days
ahead of him.
“I’ve done this the past two
years it’s happened. I never have
any problems at all,” he says.
“They’re all the ‘peace, love, it’s
all good brooooo’ types,” He says
this holding up a peace sign and
laughing to himself.
“Like any other concert, people
smoke lots of weed. Duh,” he
says. “There’s not much we can
do about that. But we stop any
hard drugs: ecstasy, molly, crap
like that. Honestly though, if
someone gets out of control, the
crowd stops and gets us. Never
seen that anywhere else. It’s one
out of thousand people that try to
ruin it for everyone else. No one
attending wants to see that kind
of behavior any more than the
security does.”
Comparisons to Woodstock
may seem over-ambitious, but
when examined, they’re not
inaccurate at all.
A counter-culture coming
together for the sake of good
music, positive atmosphere, and
free expression. Sounds that may
just be ahead of their time, so
people criticize them. Say it’s
for hippies or stoners. Say it’s
mindless, pointless, or whatever
other labels people stamp on
things they don’t understand. Say
what you will.
They won’t mind…they’ll drop
the bass so they can’t hear you
and vibe out with the rest of their
family. Send that negative energy
elsewhere, bro.
Brian Bode, Park’s new controller, discusses his responsibilities as
controller as well as his vision and goals for the new position.
PHOTO/Elizabeth Orosco
This month, Park University will release its first history
book.
Titled “Fides ET Labor: 140 Years of Pioneering
Education, The Story of Park University,” this 160-page
hardbound book will enable readers to discover more about
Park’s past, dating back to the beginning of Park University’s
existence.
Park’s history book is now available to order at park.edu/
historybook for $44.95; availability is limited.
A few out of the fifty the people who contributed to the
production of this book are Timothy Westcott, associate
professor of history; Carolyn M. Elwess, Park archivist;
Jennifer Ehrlich, regional director; and Ann Schultis,
interim director of
library services and
reference librarian.
An excerpt of
Chapter One, which
is available on Park’s
Website, provides
information about
Park University and
how it originated.
“This was its
own Universe,” said
Schultis, describing
the earlier days of
Park.
From the excerpt
you get a sense of the
origins. Imagine the
classrooms you sit in
infested with rodents,
rotten horse manure,
endless debris, and
fallenceilings:thatwas
the sight Dr. McAfee,
one of the University’s
founders, and the
“Original Seventeen”
students observed in
April of 1875, prior to
restoration. A month
later, May 12, 1875,
a date traditionally
referred to as Park’s
‘Founders Day,’classes
began.
Schultis was one of many people responsible for the book
and spoke highly of the effort, just as the other contributors
did.
“It has been a wonderful project,” Schultis said.
“People will look at it and be surprised at the level of
depth and how much they’ll learn and appreciate Park over
140 years and what it took for us to get here,” she said.
Schultis considers the History, “A story of survival,” due
to the multitude of obstacles early students and teachers had
to overcome – many of which can be found within the 160
pages of the book.
“The collecting and editing of material renewed the
excitement of old stories,” Westcott said.
Elwess, who is also a graduate of Park University’s class
of 1971, played a major role in the making of the book.
“My working on this book has been a very serious
task,” she said, “in that I, and others, strove to highlight the
endurance and courage it has taken to guide this institution
through calamitous times.”
Elwess admitted compiling the book presented some
challenges.
“The most difficult aspect of our year-and-a-half of
research, was figuring out how to condense 140 years of
history into 160 pages,” she said. “Just think about that…”
The book contains a many photographs.
“We sought to make it interesting by using many
photos from our wonderful collection and by adding some
interesting facts and school trivia,” Elwess said.
Those involved in the production of Park’s history book
recommend students purchase the book.
“I truly hope that students, staff, alumni and faculty take
some time to browse or even purchase the book to fully
appreciate our stories,” Westcott said.
Elwess said she thinks readers will enjoy and learn from
the book.
“My philosophy is, it is important to know why Park is
here,” Elwess said, “and we can learn that only by learning
about the people who built this place for us and also by
understanding the events that shaped their decisions. It is a
tale of endurance and of the faith and labor it took to get us
where we are today.”
Derrius Ivy
Staff Reporter
In its 140 year history, Park has seen a great amount of new and exciting things. Many people have col-
laborated to create Park University’s first history book,“Fides ET Labor: 140Years of Pioneering Educa-
tion,The Story of Park University.”
Park University releases first history book
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY/Debbie Johnston