ATHE

Monroe County Community College

October 15, 2009 Vol. 53, Issue 3

GORA Cavanagh gives MCCC a good laugh

Heck of a Corn Maze

pg. 3

pg. 6

Editorial/ Jump.......2 Feature....................3Campus News.........4

Campus News.........5Feature....................6A & E..........................7Sports......................8

INSIDE: Fitness Center Hours:Mon - Thurs: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.Friday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Writing Center Hours:Monday: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.Tues - Thurs: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Visit our website at: www.monroeccc.edu

Bookstore Hours:Mon & Tues: 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.Wed - Fri: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Library Hours:Mon - Thurs: 8 a.m. - 9:30Friday: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.Saturday: 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Visit our website at: www.monroeccc.eduEnriching the students across Southeast Michigan

“The stimu-lus dollars are being used to balance the state’s check-book, not higher edu-cation.”

Continued on page 5

Dr. David NixonMCCC

President

Jennifer NiswenderEditor-in-Chief

Even though a bill was passed to elimi-nate funding for the Michigan Promise Scholarship, efforts continue to save at least a portion of the funding for the state’s main college scholarship pro-gram.

“I was going to use the money for books and a laptop, and next year’s tu-ition since I have a scholarship this year,” MCCC student Marissa Beste said about the scholarship.

The scholarship awards $4,000 to high school graduates who score above aver-age on the annual Michigan Merit Exam

during their junior year of high school. How well students score determines

whether they can receive the money up front, or whether they have to wait until they successfully complete two years of postsecondary education.

“It’s so unfair to all those people who can’t afford to go to school without the scholarship,” said MCCC student Kory Hogan.

“What are they supposed to do now? Also, they should have given us more of a warning instead of cutting it right be-fore school started.”

Lawmakers strive to keep ‘promise’

Brandy WernerStaff

You can now become an official “fan” of your school.

MCCC joined the millions of users utilizing the social-networking site Face-book, setting up its very own Facebook page.

The page boasts everything from cur-rent news releases to upcoming events. It contains pictures of the college’s Blues Brothers float from the 2009 Monroe County Fair Parade. It even aids in the search for new volleyball club members and helps seek out students to assist with MCCC’s accreditation process.

Joe Verkennes, MCCC’s director of marketing, is in charge of running the page.

“We chose Facebook because it’s the emerging social-networking site,” Verkennes said.

MCCC did a student survey about which types of media students use, and Facebook won, he said.

“Facebook is another resource in the toolbox of communication in the com-munity,” he said. “I use it to publicize events on campus and to communicate with students.”

Recently, Verkennes sent out a note about a story on MCCC’s record enroll-ment in the Toledo Blade. He was also able to advertise the upcoming Tim Ca-vanagh comedian show with a video clip—a feat impossible in print media.

MCCC fans are then able to “like” the post or comment on it.

“It’s an open site; we allow people to post photos and write comments,” Verkennes said.

Because it is such an open site, a lot of organizations are struggling with how to go about utilizing it.

“So far we have had no instances of in-appropriate posts,” he said.

He added, “But if someone did, I could remove it instantaneously.”

MCCC joins students in social-networking

Continued on page 2

Asia RapaiStaff

Community colleges appear to have escaped the state of Michigan’s budget ax.

The state missed its Oct. 1 due date to determine a final budget for 2010, and is working under a new deadline of Oct 31.

It seems to be certain, though, that community college funding will not be cut.

“The last proposal I saw had no change from our last appropriation. We haven’t had any cuts,” MCCC Controller Daniel Schwab said.

MCCC President Dr. David Nixon said this fits the trend of the last few years.

“The appropriation will be the same as

last year,” Nixon said. “It has been de-clining the past three years.”

There is one part of the budget that will

directly affect community college stu-dents — the Michigan Promise Schol-arship.

“The biggest change for students will be the decision made on the Mich-igan Promise Scholarship,” Schwab said.

A final decision regarding the schol-arship has not been made, but its rein-statement does not look promising.

“I feel bad for the MCCC students who will not get their Promise Schol-arships they earned by getting good grades in high school,” Nixon said.

He attended a meeting of commu-nity college presidents and trustees on Oct. 3.

Continued on page 2

State fails to reach deadline

H1N1 vaccinations on campus

Continued on page 2

Hillary DegnerStaff

Vaccinations for the H1N1 flu virus will take place at MCCC in November, and college students are one of the target groups.

MCCC has been working closely with the Monroe County Health Department to provide vaccinations for the H1N1 virus.

Public vaccinations are likely to be held on a Saturday in November, while the vaccine for staff and students will be

available on a school day Rebecca Head director of the Monroe County Health Department, said.

Head emphasizes that certain groups of people need the vaccine more than oth-ers. These groups are referred to as the target groups by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Head said the CDC has given local health agencies the criteria and rules for the target groups.

The target groups, according to the CDC, are, pregnant women, people who

live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old, and people ages 25-64 years of age who are at higher risk for H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

To determine who fits into the target groups, everyone will be screened and asked a series of questions before they are given the vaccine.

Senior citizens are less likely to become sick with H1N1 and only need the vac-

cine if they have pre-existing conditions. Seniors are more susceptible to being in-fected with the seasonal flu virus and are encouraged to receive that vaccine.

Head wants to stress that the seniors are not being left out, but the target groups are the priority.

“Respect the people that need it most,” Head said.

Almost half of the population in Mon-roe County will be eligible to receive the vaccine, but the Health Department is not sure how many people will want it.

Head said the vaccine does not come in all at once, it comes in waves.

“We are hopeful we will be able to cover everyone,” Head said.

Head could not give a definite answer on whether the vaccine will be available in time to prevent the first wave of H1N1 cases. However, she said the Health De-partment is doing its best to set up vac-cination dates.

Alyse Reaume I just have it because it was on my suggested friends list. I don’t ever check the page. If there is something going on in the college that I want to do, I’ll find a different way to find out about it.5 minutes ago · Comment · Like

Nicole Williams I didn’t know the college had a Facebook, but yeah I would add them. Why? Because I go here and I’m proud to go here. 11 minutes ago · Comment · Like

Brinna Dunn I have a Facebook because I want to connect with my friends, I’m relatively new at it and didn’t know MCCC had one.about a minute ago · Comment · Like

Corynn Evans I work and tutor at MCCC so I need to keep a professional look, so some stuff on my Facebook isn’t something I want my boss to see. And I think my mom should get off Facebook too. F.Y.I.4 minutes ago · Comment · Like

HighlightsCampus Groups that are “Online” The Writing FellowsThe Newman ClubMCCC Student Nurses AssociationThe LAN Club

Other Area Colleges Online:Number of Fans as of Oct. 2nd

Henry Ford Community College 33Owens Community College 460Siena Heights University 703Adrian College 899Eastern Michigan University 1,613Wayne State University 2,417Michigan State University 33,881University of Michigan 59,561

2 THE AGORA Editorial/Jump October 15 , 2009

Editor-in-ChiefJennifer NiswenderAssistant EditorAndrew HoppertPhotographerSymone ThomasDesignerMary Rose TakacsAdviserDan Shaw

The Agora Staff MembersCopy EditorsBrandy WernerAsia Rapai

StaffAlan McKeeSusan BanoskiMarcus AkersDanny ShawHillary DegnerDaniel FordNathan HaysAshley Hammer

The Agora Editorial PolicyThe Agora is published

by the students of Monroe County Community College, 1555 S. Raisinville Rd., Monroe, MI, 48161. The editorial office is located in Room 202 of the Life Sci-ences Bldg., (734) 384-4186, agora@monroeccc.edu.

Editorial policy: Unsigned editorials represent the major-ity opinion of The Agora staff. Signed columns represent the opinion of the writer. All letters to the editor must include a signature, address and phone number for verification purposes. The Agora reserves the right to edit for clarity, accuracy, length and libel.

The Agora is a student-man-aged newspaper that sup-ports a free student press and is a member of the Michigan Community College Press Association, the Michigan Col-legiate Press Association, the Michigan Press Association, College Media Advisers, As-sociated Collegiate Press and the Student Press Law Center.

Story suggestions are welcome. Let us know what you’d like to see in The Agora - it’s your newspaper.

Submissions of stories or photos also are welcome. E-mail them to agora@monroeccc.edu or bring them to our office.

Nicholas Wilson is a sophmore at MCCC majoring in Graphic Design/ Fine Arts.

Agora staff member Susan Banoski.

Correction: A graphic in the Sept. 24 issue of The Agora incorrectly stated that “A City to Yourself” was a 5-minute ex-perimental film by Michal Langan. The film was produced by Nicole Macdonald and was a 24 1/2 -minute documentary.

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

In addition to posts from Verkennes, other organizations have used MCCC’s Facebook page to advertise by writing their event or other information on MCCC’s “wall,” the area where comments are displayed on Face-book.

The site requires some upkeep by Verkennes. He routinely checks for inappropriate postings, posts new press releases, and keeps the site’s calendar up-to-date.

As of Oct. 13, MCCC’s Face-book page had over 462 mem-bers.

“We get about 10 or 12 new fans a day,” Verkennes said.

Verkennes has access to a graph that shows the dates when MCCC gained the most fans. For the most part, he can correlate the peaks in popularity to something he did, for example, adding the Facebook bug on the college’s website.

MCCC’s fans include faculty and students alike.

“In the very beginning, when I launched the page, I emailed fac-ulty and invited them to become a fan—a lot of them are,” he said.

MCCC students have mixed opinions about the page.

“I believe that having a Face-book group dedicated to MCCC is a pointless cause. I know that when I am on Facebook, I am try-

ing to avoid thinking about school and homework,” Tara Adrian, MCCC student, said.

Other students think the page is a good idea.

“I would add the college on

Facebook,” said Nicole Williams, a first-year student at MCCC. “Why? Because I go to school here and I’m proud to go here.”

Individual student groups at MCCC are also taking advantage

of what the Facebook site has to offer. The MCCC Writing Fel-lows, for example, have their own Facebook group.

“Having a group student page on Facebook is good because

then I can meet fellow students, which is hard in college,” said Corynn Evans, an MCCC student and Writing Fellow.

Because a community college campus is a different atmosphere than a university, Facebook has al-lowed students to keep in touch.

“Facebook is nice because we don’t have a strong social net-work on campus, and it helps stu-dents find each other,” said Tracy Rayl, assistant professor of biol-ogy at MCCC.

With the growing popularity of the site expanding beyond young adults, questions have arisen regarding proper Facebook eti-quette. For example, can students and faculty become friends on Facebook? Should they?

“There are no policies that I know of that say faculty can’t have a Facebook,” Joe Verken-nes said. “I think the best way to handle it is for teachers to have a work one and a personal one and to review the Acceptable Use Pol-icy that comes up every time we turn on our computers.”

“If I had a college-related Face-book, I would definitely use it to keep up with students,” Dr. Jo-anna Sabo, professor of political science at MCCC, said.

“I have added former stu-dents—all of them were Writing Fellows,” Tim Dillon, associate professor of English and WAC

coordinator, said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea

for faculty and current students to use Facebook for communica-tion—that could blur the line be-tween faculty and student roles.”

Some faculty don’t have a Facebook at all.

“I don’t have a need for Face-book, really,” Vinnie Maltese, dean of science, math, humanties and social sciences, said. “I’ve gotten emails from students in-viting me to Facebook, but I’ve never used them.”

“It’s a time factor. It takes time to keep up with three different email addresses already,” said Khadija Ahmed, assistant profes-sor of mathematics.

MCCC students have their own thoughts about teachers and students being friends on such a site.

“I don’t want my calculus teacher to see my friends and I having a good time,” said Corynn Evans.

“I think it would be weird be-cause it sort of takes away from the teacher’s authority,” said Ash-ley Morris. “After the student graduates, it would be more ap-propriate.”

What cannot be ignored is Facebook’s power in social-net-working. People, and now even colleges, are finding new ways to utilize what the site has to offer.

“They didn’t give enough warn-ing. I didn’t have time to apply for financial aid or other scholar-ships,” Hogan said.

The House, which is controlled by Democrats, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm, are trying to restore some of the money.

Because Granholm supports the Promise, she intends to exercise her line item veto authority.

Granholm said Monday she will veto line items in budget bills to fund high priorities such as the Michigan Promise Scholarship, Medicaid, local police and fire-fighters.

Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon wouldn’t say how the House would cover the addi-tional $434.7 million in spending,

but that Democrats want to fund the scholarship.

About 96,000 students state-wide, and as many as 200 MCCC students, are due a portion of the $4,000 scholarship this academic year.

A supplemental bill, proposed by House Democrats, would re-store the scholarship, which was eliminated this summer. It would also cut revenue sharing pay-ments to local governments by 3.5 percent, rather than the 11 percent cut they’re set to see.

Some cities, townships, and counties use revenue-sharing payments to help cover the cost of police, firefighters, and other services.

But the $140 million dollar scholarship program might still be eliminated altogether as law-

makers try to erase a $2.8 billion shortfall in the fiscal year that started Oct. 1.

State Rep. Kathy Angerer, D-Dundee, said education is one of the areas where she will not support cuts. Rep. Angerer also mentioned she has received many concerned letters from students who disapprove of lawmakers cutting the Promise Scholarship.

“I’m hearing them. They’re telling me ‘a promise is a prom-ise,” Angerer said to The Monroe Evening News.

State Sen. Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, also mentioned ef-forts will be made to restore the scholarship.

The House may identify a way to fund the program but did not specify if it would be through a targeted tax increase.

Nixon said State Fiscal Agent Gary Olson informed the presi-dents that Gov. Jennifer Gran-holm’s strategy for saving the scholarship would no longer work. She had hoped to veto that part of the budget bill.

“Gary Olson says there is no legal way she can do that,” Nix-on said.

Schwab said that student finan-cial aid will be looked at, and af-ter the state aid cut is determined, the college will find solutions.

Other cuts made to the state’s budget include less funding for public libraries, which could af-fect MCCC students.

Gov. Granholm disbanded the Michigan libraries department at the state level. Two or three of the databases at the college li-brary may now be unavailable to students because of cost.

“The majority of MCCC’s databases were purchased with college funds, so adequate re-

source material should continue to be available,” MCCC Director of Learning Resources Barbara Mcnamee said.

As for MCCC’s budget, things seem to be going as planned.

Timothy Bennett explained MCCC’s budget at the Board of Trustees meeting held on Sept. 28.

He said that trends show gen-eral fund revenues will be 0.5 percent higher than expected and expenditures will be 0.5 percent lower than estimated.

“This is on track with the bud-get,” he said.

Bennett also said the con-version to contact hours has increased tuition revenue by $340,000.

Although MCCC’s budget seems to be stable this year, Pres-ident Nixon is concerned about the support for higher education in Michigan.

“Michigan has one of the lower education attainment rates in the

nation and the state government has done nothing to demonstrate that it values higher education,” Nixon said.

One of his concerns is that community colleges are not re-ceiving stimulus money from the state.

“The stimulus dollars are be-ing used to balance the state’s checkbook, not higher educa-tion,” Nixon said.

He said that money is being used for the worker-training pro-gram, No Worker Left Behind.

There were about 100 students from the program at MCCC this past academic year, but there were 560 students at Jackson Community College and 2500 at Macomb County Community College, Nixon said.

“Compared to the rest of the state, very few MCCC students are getting those training dollars.”

He added that his office is in-vestigating the reason for this difference in numbers.

MCCC joins students in social-networking

Agora photo by Brandy Werner

Joe Verkennes, Director of Marketing, runs the MCCC Facebook page. He routinely checks the page and uses it to advertise college events. As of Oct. 13, the MCCC Facebook page had 462 members.

State fails to reach deadline Lawmakers strive to keep ‘Promise’

Dear Suzi: Here is my question for you:I seem to be having some communication issues with my 1-year old cousin, Grace. She is always able to get my attention, yet I can’t seem to get hers. I’m not sure why it is this way, but what I do know is that she is not intimidated by me. I find this to be some-what unusual. What are your thoughts on this, and what can be done on my part?Frank

Dear Frank,I can tell you don’t know much about women, because as I see it, you already got her attention. That’s why she ignores you, because she’s very aware that it bothers you. Frank, if you’re trying to figure out women either 1 year old or 20, good luck. As a widow after 30 years of marriage, I can honestly say my husband could never fig-ure me out. So Frank , as her older cousin all you should be doing is being thankful you have a sweetheart like little Grace, and cherish her com-pany. Some people don’t have any family. Imagine that!!!!Suzi

‘Ask Suzi’ questions, answered!

Dear Suzi:You are an inspiration to me. I have been using drugs and alcohol for years. A lot of people that have my disease are dead. So my question to you is does the feeling of wanting to use ever go away? I love you. Kendal

Dear Kendal:First, thank you for your heartwarming question! Yes Kendal, it does go away and its replaced with joy unspeak-able. So the faster you start working on your spiritual side and stop feeding the flesh, you will see miracles that you never thought were pos-sible. I can promise you this. And guess what, Kendal? It looks like you’re well on your way. Persevere through every storm life throws at you and never, ever give up. With each storm you make it through you will get stronger. Remember, nothing good comes easy. It all starts with you, the choices you make. Suzi

Dear Suzi: Please help! I have recently been insulted by two different instructors and I don’t know how to handle it. On one oc-casion, an instructor asked me in front of the whole class, “are you stupid?” I was speech-less. I could not believe that someone who is supposed to be a professional would say something like that. On another occasion, an instruc-tor made a horribly insensi-tive comment about me being ‘home-schooled’. Suzi, please give me any advice you can on the best way to handle this situation. This is so frustrating since I am a new student! Thank you for any advice you can share! Emotionally Hurt

Dear Emotionally Hurt:Don’t let this move you! I was told one time to pray for people who hurt me. At the time it sounded crazy and I wouldn’t do it. This kept happening to me, and I found that hanging on to anger, hurt and resent-ment was taking a toll on my life and taking too much of my time at school. So I decided to pray for this person no matter how they hurt me. After about the third prayer for this person, I saw how miserable she was inside and I let go of my resent-ment. She can no longer take up any space in my head. This professor sounds like he is hurting, and hurting people hurt people. Now, forgive and forget his opinion of you. I for one think home-schooled people are very special, compassion-ate and smart. So forgive this professor because he is only human. Time is too precious; stop letting this professor rent space in your head. Suzi

You can direct your ques-tions anonymously, or by using any first name you wish. Please feel free to ask any ques-tion you have, and I will do my best to help find answers to life’s most difficult questions. E-mail your questions to “Ask Suzi” at sbanoski@my.monroeccc.edu.

Send your ques-tions to ‘Ask Suzi’

Mary Rose TakacsStaff

Cuisine 1300 opens its doors Oct.16 at MCCC for eight weeks during the autumn season.

The restaurant is put on by the Culinary students and staff at MCCC.

There are 31 students total, 16 first-year students and 15 second-year students.

The first-year students will be preparing the food and making the pastries for the restaurant.

The second-year students will be rotating stations each day. This means they will be assigned to cook the food, serve the food, bus the tables, and wash the dishes.

“We are stressing a quicker service, lighter fair, and budget friendly pricing,” Vicki LaValle, MCCC’s culinary technician, said.

The style of food this semester is American Bis-tro.

“The concept is to do upscale food in a more re-laxed atmosphere,” LaValle said.

The students will wear bistro style work attire in-stead of the traditional black-tie attire.

The entrees will be prepared gourmet style.

,“Table-side pasta alfredo, with your choice of sired scallops, grilled marinated portobello mush-rooms, jumbo shrimp or grilled marinated chicken,” LaValle said.

Table-side is having the food cooked right in front of you on a gueridon, or rolling cart.

A meatless dish option is the Harvest Trio. It has three different gourmet samples: a pumpkin gnoc-chi, a Piroshki (Russian or Polish turnover) and a

mini portobello mushroom burger.A Bailey’s Irish-cream cheese cake will be one of

the desert options. Grilled Panini’s, salads and soups will also be

on the menu, along with other foods and specialty drinks to choose from.

“We are excited; we are anticipating getting in there and everyone showing their stuff,” LaValle said of the students.

The restaurant is located in the A-building at main campus, across from the Frog Leg Inn Bistro.

The restaurant will be open Monday through Fri-day with seating times of 11:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. Reservations are recommended.

They can be made through Debbie Baker at the Cashier’s office in the A-building.

Andrew HoppertAssistant Editor

He wants to fry up an eagle, just to see what it’s like.

Tim Cavanagh, a regular on the popular radio program The Bob and Tom Show, served up many of his famous “One Min-ute Songs” and other hilarities as he in-vaded the Meyer Theater on Oct. 3.

Entering the limelight, Cavanagh imme-diately lit the stage with a warm, friendly air, while keeping simple humor flying, entertaining the crowd, which filled about three-quarters of the theatre.

Short, simple songs which describe ev-

eryday moments, to views on conserva-tionism, to his collection of sports memo-rabilia kept the evening moving quickly with laughs at every turn.

David Knott, a Monroe resident, said, “I listen to him on Bob and Tom and he’s even funnier live.”

Cavanagh included the crowd for most of his act, whether it was bringing a mem-ber or two of the audience up on stage, or jumping off of the stage to play Alex Trebek for “Jeopardy for Dummies” with random show-goers, including Monroe mayor Mark Worrell.

Worrell’s presence, as well as other ran-dom facts about the city, made Monroe one of the centerpieces for Cavanagh’s act, showing his prowess at changing to adapt to a situation and making the show special every time.

“I see why they call it the Floral City, seeing all of the...um…flowers as I drove in,” said Cavanagh when the city’s nick-name came up in discussion with one of

his contestants. The most important part, it seemed, to

Cavanagh’s stage presence was the sense of personality, without losing the comedy.

The audience seemed enthused and welcomed, but Cavanagh was still able to criticize the lackluster Red Wings fan or the Hyundai drivers without losing his command of the audience.

After the show, Cavanagh sat in the lobby of the La-Z-Boy Center and signed copies of his three albums, which were on sale in the concessions booth.

MCCC student Jacob McLaughlin sat next to Cavanagh and aided those who came up.

“A lot of people lined up to buy his CD and get his autograph because they really liked his show. People were able to talk to him because he was so personable, unlike many other comedians where you can’t get within 10 feet of them,” McLaughlin said.

Cavanagh storms MCCC

Cuisine 1300 to open at MCCC

Upcoming Events at the Meyer Theater

Left: Comedian Tim Cavanagh has a con-

versation with Carl Smith, a member of

the audience who, despite his attire,

isn’t a huge fan of the Red Wings. Cavanagh

invited members of the audience on

stage to participate in skits in order to win prizes which ranged from a can of Spam

to a package of green army men.

Right: With his guitar ready to go, Cava-

nagh is amazed by the “exotic” front row

man who drives a 1997 Taurus.

Agora photos by Andrew Hoppert

First and second-year culinary students to run campus restaurant

Musical Group Rare EarthSaturday, November 14 - 7:30 p.m.Tickets - $17VIP Seating - $27

Harry Potter Meets the Toledo Symphony OrchestraFriday, October 30 - 7:30 p.m.$20 - Adults$10 - Children under 12$30 - VIP Balcony Seating

Mary Rose Takacs Staff

The Frog Leg Inn Bistro at the Whitman Center has closed.It was intended as a possible opportunity for the Bistro to serve a grab &

go to the students and staff at Whitman Center.“It was a trial program and unfortunately the demand wasn’t there,” Tad

Cousino, owner of the Frog Leg Inn Bistro, said.Tad enjoyed serving the students at Whitman Center, during his four

weeks.“It’s a nice peaceful environment. I’ll miss the people I have served and I

will definitely miss the view,” Cousino said.

Sandy Kosmyna, Director of the Whitman Center, appreciated having the Bistro.

“We enjoyed the opportunity to have the Frog Leg Inn Grab & Go at the Whitman Center,” Kosmyna said.

Frog Leg Inn Bistro at main campus is continuing strong, according to Catherine Cousino, owner of the Bistro. Every Monday a Panini special will begin for the week. It is $5.25 for a combo meal.

Starting today at the Frog Leg Inn Bistro, the first-year culinary students will be cooking an entree made from scratch, each day. It will cost the nor-mal price of an entree at the Bistro.

Bistro closes at Whitman Center due to lack of demand

Radio regular sings, jokes with audience at Meyer Theater

Monroe County Community College Whitman CenterOctober is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

EXHIBIT PRESENTATION

The Silent Witness Display Talking About Intimate Partner Violence

Life-sized silhouettes tell chilling information about 17

women and the circumstances and story around their abuse.

Learn how changing our fo-cus of domestic violence prevention can create a culture of non-violence.

On dISPlAy UnTIl OCTOBER 30 THURSdAy, OCTOBER 22 - 12:30-1:30 P.M.ROOM 7

JOIN THE MCCC BROADCASTING CLUB!

The next meeting of the Broadcasting Club is:

Thursday, November 12 - 7:30 p.m.Subway at Telegraph and M-50

October 15, 2009 Feature THE AGORA 3

Mary Rose TakacsStaff

A team of experts is recommending MCCC be granted accreditation for 10 more years.

The team from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) made the recom-mendation at the end of its three-day visit last month.

The four-member HLC team also rec-ommended that MCCC receive a “fo-cused visit” in three years to cover three areas of concern.

Grace Yackee, vice president of instruc-tion, described the three areas needing improvement in an e-mail to the faculty.

“The team is also recommending a fo-cused visit be scheduled in three years to allow the HLC to visit campus and follow up on concerns identified during this week’s visit, namely shared gover-nance/communications, evaluation of in-stitutional effectiveness, and assessment of student learning/general education,” Yackee, said.

When a “focused visit” is issued by the HLC, in three years a team usually con-sisting of two members will visit to look at the specific areas mentioned.

They will examine progress MCCC has

made on fixing the problems and whether the college is operating more effectively.

“This is the first time in the 45-year his-tory of the institution that a focused visit has been recommended,” Patrick Nedry, professor of business, said.

The team’s recommendations will go to the HLC Commission, which will make the final decision on whether the college will have a focused visit in 2012.

Yackee’s e-mail also listed some of the strengths the HLC team found at MCCC, including “community support, student-centeredness, quality instruction, campus grounds and facilities, financial stability, external grant development, and an ac-tive foundation.”

The HLC team’s report followed sev-eral meetings during a three day visit Sept. 28-30.

During the meetings, the HLC team gathered information and listened to comments made by MCCC students and staff on what they felt the positive or neg-ative aspects of the college are.

One of the first meetings the HLC team conducted was with MCCC students.

The HLC members told the students they were here to question the students about how well the college does in edu-

cating them and preparing them for ca-reers.

“I thought the questions were relevant to the school and how the students per-form,” Katelyn Carravino, MCCC stu-dent, said.

The HLC members also gathered in-formation on the different tools the col-lege gives students to contact professors, attain a syllabus and view grades.

The students mentioned Blackboard, college e-mail and other means pro-fessors use to communicate with stu-dents.

Most of the students said they thought these tools are helpful and understand-able.

The HLC team asked whether the stu-dents felt the Learning Assistance Lab, the Fitness Center and activities spon-sored by the college are adequate to meet their needs.

Most of the students said these pro-grams were set up well and helpful. Overall, the students felt the meeting was positive.

“I felt it was really good. It gave enough time to communicate the positive and negative,” Kathryn Strobe, MCCC student, said.

One of the HLC members commented on the college and its strengths after the meeting.

“There are a lot of good activities here at this college, and everyone works to-gether to make it a better place and that’s a good thing,” Diana Doyle, HLC team member, said.

The faculty meeting provided the HLC team with a chance to ask questions and allowed for open discussion on anything the faculty felt needed to be brought up.

“The faculty got to express their view-point, openly and honestly,” Jim Devries,

professor of History, said.The contents of the faculty meeting

have not been disclosed by the faculty. However, what was discussed, the HLC team seemed to hear and give them some response.

“I think for the most part the members of the HLC were receptive. It is difficult for the reviewers to understand faculty comments within our institutional con-text, given their brief time here. But I be-lieve they offered some interesting feed-back regarding assessment of student learning,” Dr. Joanna Sabo, professor of Political Science, said.

From the feedback and findings of these meetings and others, the HLC team examined how the college is run and if the methods of teaching are adequate to student learning.

In four to six weeks, MCCC will re-ceive a draft report from the HLC team.

The college can correct any factual er-rors in the draft report, which will then go through a review process at the HLC.

The HLC is expected to make a final de-cision on granting accreditation in April.

A meeting was held for all faculty on Tuesday morning to further discuss the HLC accreditation visit.

4 THE AGORA Campus News October 15, 2009

Nathan HayesStaff

The MCCC LAN Club is off to a fresh start with new members in charge for the year.

The club is full of computer students seeking to improve the experience of the students at MCCC while helping the community.

Dale Risden was recently elected the club’s president.

“I believe in the club and what it is try-ing to accomplish,” Risden said.

Many people think the name stands for local area network, but it actually is Lambda Alpha Nu.

“I want to make sure that it didn’t fall by the wayside and that it did get moved forward and grew in strength,” Risden said. “I have a background in manage-ment and I felt that some of my skills could be used in helping the group grow

and get a better foundation.”“I believe that it’s a good club to be a

part of. The fact that they are trying to stretch peoples’ boundaries and get them to know that they need to socialize and not only just do their job but they need to have skills of socialization,” Risden said.

The LAN Club also is a good place for making friends and connections, he said.

One of the good things about the LAN Club is that the members come from a variety of places.

“I like the fact that it gives us an op-portunity to get to meet more people,” Risden said.

The LAN Club is currently looking for new members, and all students are wel-come to join.

“The club is open to all students. We just have to get past the fact that people think that because it’s a computer club,

that’s the only students we are looking for,” he said.

“If we can draw people in that aren’t

necessarily techies, then that will give a base for providing a comfort level for the people that are tech savvy and don’t have the social skills. It gives them the opportunity to mingle and gain a knowl-edge of both sides and a comfort level of both sides.”

Phil Borawski is the co-president of the LAN Club.

“I joined the LAN Club because I like their tag line. The tag line is, ‘Geeks who like to socialize,’” Borawski said.

Phil has been a member of the LAN Club for about a year. He is loyal to the club.

“To me, LAN Club is too important to just sit back and let somebody else make decisions to effect how it could be run,” he said.

The LAN Club is a good place for passing on computer knowledge, or

for people looking to learn, Barowski said.

“It’s geek heaven,” he said.Kristina Kuhman is the LAN Club’s

secretary.“I like the club because it is very laid

back,” she said.The LAN club is good for people who

don’t have a club on campus already, she said.

It’s also a good place to draw knowl-edge from, Kuhman said.

“There are a lot of people with a lot of knowledge I can draw from,” she said.

The club is good for anybody who wants to learn about computers, from gaming, graphics or even just basic help, she said.

“There’s a lot of friends that can be made in this group.”

“To me, LAN Club is too im-

portant to just sit back and let some-one else

make decisions to effect

how it could be run.”

Phil BarowskiLAN Club

Co-President

“The faculty got to

express their

viewpoint, openly

and honestly.”

Dr. James Devries

Professor of History

MCCC receives ten-year accreditation

ISD, others grow flourishing horticulure group

LAN Club offers camaraderie to computer students

MEETS

Harry Potter Meets the Toledo Symphony Orchestra!

OCTOBER 30 - 7:30 pm$20 - Adults$10 - Children Under Twelve$30 - VIP Balconey Seating

Meyer Theatre - La-Z-Boy Center

MCCC encourages you to dress As your favorite character from the beloved j.k. rowling

series

Alan McKeeStaff

A group of students is applying skills they have learned to improve the appear-ance of MCCC’s campus.

The Monroe County Intermediate School District, North Monroe Green-house and MSU Extension Office have combined efforts with MCCC to provide a curriculum for students with special needs.

This is the second year in which stu-dents from the Monroe County Transi-tion Center attend classes to hone skills involving horticulture.

MCCC’s greenhouse provides the classroom setting for lectures and hands-on experience.

Through the combined efforts of MCCC adjunct professor Melody Car-michael, Special Education Teacher Sha-ron Diefenthaler and Tammy Hemdal, a teacher’s aide, lectures and hands-on experience are provided to special needs students age 18 to 26.

Students attend class three days a week on campus. Two days of the week are set aside to incorporate a business type set-ting, where the students can apply their newly obtained skills at North Monroe Greenhouse. The students not only re-ceive an education, but are also gaining valuable work skills that will assist in their future goals.

“The ultimate goal is to get a job…they’re (the students) learning how to be-come young adults and have employable skills.” Diefenthaler said.

“Horticulture isn’t just about a green-house.”

The program focuses on the entire spec-trum of growing a plant, from the seed to supplying a product to customers.

For example, North Monroe Green-house is a retail outlet, and Matthis Greenhouse provides wholesale experi-ence for students

Students learned that insects play a vi-

tal role in nature’s plant life. “We learned what an insect is…and we

set bug traps,” Carmichael said. “There are four units to the Master

Gardening curriculum: plant classifica-tion, water, soil and insects…we do a lot of experiments,” she said.

Diefenthaler said the experiments are an important part of the program.

“We can read all we want about how a plant grows, but no two plants grow alike and the weather’s not the same every day, so we never know what we’re going to get.”

Students become knowledgeable about what is good for specific plant life, and the problems that may cause interrup-tions in healthy, productive plants.

“We’re learning how to plant different kinds of plants, how they grow, replant-

ing, and how to cut and to take care of them,” said Christopher, one of 14 stu-dents participating in this year’s course.

“This is our second year, and I have 10 of my students who have returned this year,” Diefenthaler said.

“Last year, the students came certified as a Junior Michigan Gardener through the Michigan State extension office,” she said.

“They receive lifelong credit hours.” Becoming employable in the commu-

nity is a goal this year by building upon skills learned last year.

“I have four students who started in the Summer Youth Employment program, with some stimulus money coming from the government,” Diefenthaler said.

While most students are practicing their skills at North Monroe Greenhouse,

one student has the opportunity to help at Birds ‘N Butterflies of Ida.

Student Justin Warren is working three days each week for Birds ‘N Butterflies, which specializes in bird and butterfly re-leases for special occasions.

“We work with different plants that the butterflies lay their eggs on…it’s pretty cool,” he said.

Justin travels with the owner to fairs and exhibits, and for $2 customers can view the butterflies.

“I get to touch the butterflies and feed them on a Q-tip with Gatorade” he said.

He has also learned how to package and ship butterflies.

Student Patrick Doherty came to the class with a natural artistic talent, which may have never been discovered had he not enrolled in this course. He has a

knack for making floral arrangements. “He started out making green baskets

at home,” Diefenthaler said.Patrick now makes small basket ar-

rangements for special occasions.Another student, Joe Woody, has used

skills learned in the class to plant veg-etables at his home.

“I’m in this program because I want to become a farmer,” he said.

Joe has sold his plants to businesses in the area, becoming an entrepreneur with the knowledge gained from the program.

“We seeded out cucumbers such as Pickling, Market Sure and Burpees, (dif-ferent varieties of cucumbers)” he said. “After the plants started growing in the pots, I put them in the garden outside.”

Here on campus, the students are com-bining their efforts in beautifying the Life Science building.

A perennial garden requiring low main-tenance is nearly completed on the west side of the L-building.

“We’re going to make it a three-season garden,” Carmichael said.

“We’ve got bulbs planted now that will come up in the spring and we’re going to add a fall flower that will bloom in Sep-tember. The hospices stay green and the irises come up in the summer.”

The group received approval to add a second garden just south of the first one.

There is much more to creating a gar-den than just planting, Diefenthaler not-ed.

The students get a bonus education in landscaping, she said. Measuring and centering, for example, are important when properly planting an attractive dis-play that will last a long time.

“I am really proud of this whole group…they’ve really stepped up to the challenge,” Diefenthaler said.

“It’s something brand new through the school and the college. It’s a win-win situation.”

Agora photo by Alan McKee

The students involved in the MCISD greenhouse project use the facility located in L-building to learn about horticulture.

“We really appreci-ate being able to partner with the college on this.”

Rebecca HeadDirector of the Health

Department

“We really appreciate being able to partner with the college on this,” Head said.

Questions have been raised about whether the H1N1 vaccine is safe or not.

“There are a lot of false rumors going around that this may be harmful,” Head said.

She also said that it is just like any other flu vaccine, and will be available next year with the regu-lar flu vaccine.

The vaccine will be free, but there may be an administrative fee.

Besides holding vaccinations at MCCC, Head said the Health Department is looking into hold-ing them at the YMCA, the MBT Expo Center at the fairgrounds and some high schools.

When the H1N1 vaccine was first being developed it was re-ported that two doses would be needed, but it has been confirmed that one dose is effective.

“We are thrilled with that,” Head said.

The only people recommended by the CDC to get two doses of the vaccine are children under 10 years old.

Head said the Health Depart-ment is trying to build immunity against all flu viruses by protect-ing people now. Therefore, the

seasonal flu vaccine was adminis-tered early this year.

The college had scheduled seasonal flu shots at MCCC on Monday, Oct. 19, but that session was cancelled because enough vaccine wasn’t available. It will be rescheduled in November. The cost of the shots was to be $25.

In addition to the flu vaccina-tions, MCCC has released a Pan-demic Preparedness Plan in an email to employees and students.

The U.S. Department of Edu-cation directed that colleges and universities create a response plan for dealing with H1N1.

The plan states the members of the Emergency Management Team and their responsibilities if normal college activities are af-fected by the H1N1 virus.

The plan also includes the spec-ifications of Stage 1 and 2 and how the college will recover from a pandemic.

Continued from page 1

H1N1 vaccinations planned MCCC restricts faculty travel Dan FordStaff

An out-of-state travel ban is in effect for all of MCCC’s in-structors.

The travel ban applies to any out of state travel paid with col-lege money.

Timothy Bennett, vice presi-dent of Business Affairs and Treasurer, said the ban was of-fered as a suggestion by MCCC staff.

“Last year, when we were developing our budget recom-mendation for the current fis-cal year (July 1 – June 30), we asked all staff for suggestions as to how we could help control costs,” Bennett said.

“It was suggested that we eliminate all out of state travel next year.”

The ban does not affect out of state travel that is paid for by grants or outside funding.

“Out of state travel could be requested if the individual was able to obtain a grant or some other external source to pay for his/her travel, or if the per-son agreed to pay for the travel with his/her own money,” said Bennett.

The new policy has not been received well by some.

Associate Professor of Eng-lish & WAC Coordinator Tim Dillon is skeptical.

“I think this type of policy is always shortsighted,” Dillon said.

“I was informed that the ban was put in place to encourage Michigan money to stay in Mich-igan. This type of isolationism is not effective when in fact so much of what goes on academically is part of regional and even national organizations.”

“If colleges and universities in all five states in the ECWCA (East Central Writing Centers Associa-tion) adopted this plan, it would in effect eliminate the ECWCA organization,” Dillon said.

Professor of English Bill Mc-Closkey explains another issue the policy creates.

“Under the present policy, I can go to Detroit, but I cannot go across the state line without find-ing alternative funding sources. Perhaps instead of a ‘state line’ restriction, they could use a ‘mile radius’ restriction,” said McClos-key.

“Just think-if a person does not have access to Foundation funds or other outside monies, he or she could not go to a conference in Toledo, yet they could go to Tra-verse City or the UP. Are we re-ally saving money?” McCloskey said.

Although out of state travel has been banned, some fees will still be paid for by the college.

“A clarification has been made that the college will pay for regis-tration fees, but no transportation, lodging, or meal costs. And, as with many items, exceptions can be made by the president,” Ben-nett said.

Ashley HammerStaff

Finally a cure? Excitement rose at the announcement exclaiming there was going to be a vaccine for HIV, the once terrible disease that caused harm and sadness to many lives.

With tests showing about 30 percent accuracy for the new vac-cine, students still remain hesitant in believing this is going to be the real deal.

HIV stands for human immu-nodeficiency virus and is the vi-rus that causes AIDS. This was, at one time, a likely death sentence.

Today, with new discoveries, doctors are able to keep the infec-tion under control and one is most likely able to live a normal, happy life.

With all the continued research and lingering hope, research-ers have recently made a break-through, discovering a new vac-

cine.The long running research has

finally paid off. “I am glad there is going to be

something to help people avoid getting this disease,” MCCC stu-dent Tyler Benson said. “Hope-fully, they will find a cure soon.”

The newfound vaccine was tested on more than 16,000 vol-unteers in Thailand. The vaccine proved successful on one out of three people.

The study has become a prior-ity, as scientists are now doing everything they can to improve the vaccine to eventually make it flawless.

The antigen, the medication inserted in one’s body, is a proto-type vaccine which successfully produces antibodies that will fight against and prevent the HIV infection.

The vaccine was formed from a part of the HIV infection found

in those whose infection had not turned into AIDS.

The new information is a huge leap forward. Doctors are finally a step ahead of the long fight against the disease that once was killing many.

This discovery also helped re-searchers to come up with ways to prevent the disease.

It will be a great help in devel-oping new therapeutic treatments

to those already diagnosed.Eventually, with the compiling

information and continued hard work, researchers hope a cure for the disease should arise.

Another MCCC student, Eric Frazer, is skeptical about the new vaccine solving the worldwide problem of AIDS.

“The vaccine should work if it is distributed and used intelligent-ly,” Frazer said.

Marcus AkersStaff

With the tough love currently being shoveled upon the smok-ing-minority of college attendees, the clean air everyone is enjoying has brought about a new host of problems.

Anyone with a mind for coffee and a working nose might have noticed an elusive, yet lurking stench in the hallway connecting the La-Z-Boy center’s vending alcove and its northeastern thor-oughfare.

An insider in the maintenance department spoke to the Agora on the condition of anonymity.

“We have received complaints and investigated. The problem was the creamer in the coffee ma-chine, so we called the vending service and they fixed the prob-lem.”

With the formerly befouled campus air supply clear, there no longer are billowing clouds of to-bacco smoke to mask foul odors that may crop up from time to time.

Anyone with a hot lead on a funny smell, leaking whatnot or dangling roof tile, can flag down one of the college’s friendly main-tenance workers.

Campus odor complaints

October 15, 2009 Campus News THE AGORA 5

Student Goverment Corner

Congratulations New Student Officers!

Agora photo by Jennifer Niswender

From left to right, top row: Holly Self, Treasurer, Tara Hubbard, Secretary, Jacob McLaughlin, President, Luke Bourbina, Vice Presi-dent, Katie Barath, Co-Historian.

Bottom row: Katelyn Carribino, Co-Historian, Mary Grace Cuccia, Liason

Next Meeting: Tuesday, October 20Time: 12:30 p.m.Location: Back of the Cellar in the Administration Bldg.

All meetings open to the public and all students are more than welcome to join!

Bed Race to Aid ChildrenWhen: Sunday, October 18Time: 1:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.Location: Loranger Square, Downtown MonroeAll proceeds go to buy children in need of beds.

Agora photo by Symone Thomas

Evelyn Durocher recieves her flu vaccination at the Monroe County Health Deptartment.

Researchers continue studies on HIV prevention

MCCC’s annual Cars, Coins, and Collectables Show was held on September 27. Win-ners in the auto show were:President’s Choice: Harold Thoma, Newport; 1929 Ford Model A RoadsterTrustee’s Choice:Mike Brady, Hell, 1915 Ford Model T Speedster.Foundation’s ChoiceDick Kollar, Riverview, 1959 Chevy CorvetteAlumni ChoiceDave Harvey, Wayne, 1959 Ford Galaxy Skyliner.Faculty ChoiceBill & Janet McClure, Berkey, Ohio, 1953 Chevy Pick-upStudent ChoiceFred Preston, Toledo, Ohio; 1966 Chevy Nova

October 15, 2009 Feature THE AGORA 6

Asia RapaiStaff

An MCCC student and his fam-ily opened a new corn maze this fall.

Annette Heck and her three children, Chris, Ethan, and Emma, have worked for a year to get their “Heck of a Corn Maze ” and country store ready for peo-ple to enjoy.

Ethan is a student at MCCC who is interested in studying ac-counting and possibly agricul-ture. He helped his older brother, Chris plant and grow the corn. The brothers also helped in cut-ting the maze.

After the maze is closed, Chris and Ethan will harvest the corn used in the maze.

Ethan did most of the weeding to get it ready.

“I did quite a bit of work over the summer,” Ethan said.

He didn’t have a job in the summer, so his focus was helping with the farm.

Ethan’s older brother, Chris, is a student at Michigan State Uni-versity who wants to study crop and soil science.

Their younger sister, Emma, goes to Monroe High School and is interested in agriculture and working with animals.

Annette and her children de-cided to open a corn maze to earn money and keep their family in-volved in agriculture after their family was struck with tragedy.

“It started because my husband had cancer and died, and I had to find a way to support my family,” she said.

“I said to my girlfriend, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do.’ She said you’re going to have to rein-vent yourself.”

At that point Annette started researching niche-farming prac-tices.

The Hecks own 35 acres of land and decided they have a good lo-cation for a corn maze.

“We did a lot of research and I have received a lot of advice,” Annette said.

Running a corn maze became their niche.

“With all the kids interested in agriculture, this is a way for them to follow in their dad’s footsteps,” she said.

Her family utilized the time they could to work at their fall at-traction.

Annette had to plan it around her part-time job. She drives a school bus for Monroe Public Schools, but she was concerned about having less of an income because some of her hours were getting cut.

The hours she does not spend driving a school bus allow her to have enough time to run the farm.

“Time was something I was concerned about,” Annette said. “On Fridays I get up at 5 a.m. and get done out here at about mid-

night.” She also learned more ways

to support her family by taking classes at MCCC. The classes were each seven or eight weeks long.

“Taking a series of business classes at the college helped me a lot. It was very helpful in giving me an overview of the different aspects of running a business,” Annette said.

Her family understands the im-portance of being able to make money, she said.

“There are so many people without jobs. We are in a reces-sion if not a depression,” Annette said.

However, Annette found there is a lot of work that goes into cre-ating a corn maze.

To get their maze started, the Hecks had to decide who would design it and how they could cut it out.

The maze was designed locally by Ron George, of Ron George and Consultants and Rob Tieffer.

To cut the maze out of the corn, the Hecks used a GPS system. They had the help of a friend who used a tractor and a six-foot wide Rota tiller to cut out the

maze, while the corn was at knee height.

“It is a lot more work than anyone could imagine,” Annette said.

The maze was designed, cut, and weeded. It ended up being 8.5 acres long.

It takes most people about 1.5 hours to get through.

Ethan got a chance to see the corn maze and their 35 acres of land from above. He went up in Mark Metz’s plane and admired the design of the maze.

“It was extremely accurate,”

Ethan said. “It looked basically exact.”

Ethan is enrolled in 10 credit hours at MCCC and has managed schoolwork and taking care of the farm.

“It’s been somewhat difficult. The time issue is the biggest thing,” he said. “I make sure I stay ahead with my homework.”

Ethan gave one perspective on how much effort his family has put into the corn maze and coun-try store.

“I have to make sure that I’m always doing something instead of just staying inside and sitting around,” he said.

Despite all of the extra work, the Hecks enjoy making other people happy by providing entertainment for them and their families.

“The people you meet who re-ally enjoy going through it makes it fun,” Ethan said.

The Hecks have met many peo-ple through their fall attraction.

“The people are my favorite part of the corn maze,” Annette said.

She added that she especially enjoys the idea of letting children see the farm.

Since her noon time run as a bus driver was cut, Annette said she has more time during the day. Because of this extra time, she is offering a chance for elementary school students to go on field trips to her corn maze.

“I want to give kids an oppor-tunity to experience coming to a farm and I also want to leave a legacy for my own kids,” she said.

The Hecks are planning for the future and looking forward to how their corn maze and country store could grow.

“I’m also a spinner and weav-er. I would like to set up an area where I can do demonstrations,” Annette said.

“We are looking at ways to im-prove. What else can we offer? How can we utilize the space that we have here?”

She explained that they would continue to work year-round even though the season for their corn maze is only seven weeks long.

On Halloween, the last day of the season, the corn maze will offer more scares than just the possibility of getting lost in corn stalks. Annette said that it would be considered more of a haunted corn maze that Saturday night. When asked what that could mean, she laughed a menacing cackle and said:

“You’ll have to come and see!”She added that the corn maze

will be haunted for two or three other Saturday nights this month, but that she was not certain of the exact dates yet. When the dates are decided, they will be posted on the corn maze Web site, heck-ofacornmaze.com.

One happy customer, Chris Sowa, and her family enjoyed their afternoon at the farm.

“It was great,” she said. Chris, her husband, and their

two young children enjoyed col-lecting colorful popsicle sticks at each of the 10 checkpoints within the maze.

Collecting all 10 meant they could enter a raffle for a gift card from Super Wal-Mart.

“I thought the popsicle sticks were a great idea,” Chris said. “It really kept the kids interested.”

So far the Hecks have received many positive reviews on their corn maze.

“Kids and maze connoisseurs said it was a very good maze,” Annette said.

Annette and her family appreci-ate all of the help that others have offered them.

“I could not have done it with-out the help of lots of people, many people in the community,” she said.

Annette is proud of how well her family has worked together and how much they have accom-plished.

“We really couldn’t have done it without it being a whole family effort,” she said.

Heck of a Corn Maze features:

•On average, the 8.5-acre maze takes 1.5 hours to get through.•You can rent or buy flashlights from the Hecks to go through the maze at night.•A map of the maze costs $2 and comes in an enve-lope. If you don’t use the map, you get your $2 back.•Climb the approximately 12-foot high observa-tion deck to see how far the maze stretches out.•Ten checkpoints within the maze – If you grab a popsicle stick from every checkpoint, you can en-ter a drawing for a Super Wal-Mart gift card.•Maze will be haunted on Oct. 31 (check website for other specific dates of haunted maze Saturdays). •There are several exit paths in the maze if emergency exit is needed.•Last day is Oct 31•For more information call 734 243-1790 or go to heckofacornmaze.com•4309 W. Albain Rd. Monroe, MI 48161 (just west of S. Telegraph Rd.)Source: Annette Heck

Agora photo by Brandy Werner

Annette and Ema Heck, owners of “Heck of a Corn Maze,” stand in front of their farm.

Tragic loss brings reinvention

To the far left: Kortney Bomia and newphews Ajay and Mason Moreli can be seen in the maze from the 12 foot observation deck. To the left: The Heck family corn maze sign lists the atractions of their farm: U-pick pumkins, Ex-perience a workin g farm, and a family farm zoo, to name a few.

Agora photos by Brandy Werner

What the countrystore offersPumpkinsApplesGourdsIndian cornCorn stalksMumsCraft itemsCandyPop

Heck of a Corn Maze

$1.00 Off

Coupon

Hours Friday: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

$8.00 AdmissionGroup discounts

Children 14 years of age and under must be accompanied by an adult. Groups must have at least one adult for every five children.

October 15, 2009 A&E THE AGORA 7BRRAAAIINNNNSSSS... Zombie movies invade during Halloween

THESE MOVIES HAVE COME BACK FROM THE GRAVE!Zombies are awesome; so are zombie movies. Zombies are so awesome even the worst zombie movies are worth seeing, just for

a laugh. Here are some great zombie flicks to feast your appetite for the living dead-- and remember, always aim for the head.

Danny ShawStaff

Before Zack Snyder was bring-ing graphic novels like “300” and “Watchmen” to theaters, he made his big screen directorial debut with the remake of George A. Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead.”

Following a band of survivors who take refuge in a large mall, viewers are exposed to sprinting and snarling zombies (not the slow waddling Romero origi-nals). The survivors are threat-ened by not only the zombies, but by each other, eventually leading to several scenes where they kill one of their own.

Featuring some exceptional gore, fair acting and Ving Rhames

(yeah, he’s a badass), Dawn’s re-make falls in the top tier of zom-bie films.

‘Dawn of the Dead’ - (2004)Danny ShawStaff

As an obvious parody of “Dawn of the Dead,” the movie stars Shaun, played by Simon Pegg, a lowly TV salesman who gets dumped on the eve of the zombie apocalypse (or zomboca-lypse as I like to call it).

Shaun and his best pal, Ed, played by Nick Frost, must res-cue their friends, help Shaun get his girlfriend back, and reach the Winchester pub to “hold up ‘till this whole thing will blow over”— while having a pint or two.

“Shaun of the Dead” hits co-medic heights with its dark Brit-ish humor and unique directing by Edgar Wright (who directed

“Hot Fuzz” and BBC sit-com “Spaced,” which both starred Pegg and Frost). Shaun is truly a

‘Shaun of the Dead’ - (2004)

Nathan HayesStaff

Only so many movies stand the test of time, but Return of the Living Dead keeps coming back for more brains.

Return is the movie that started the notion of zombies eating brains, with the dead constantly craving the brains of the living, often making it vocal by growling “braaaains”.

Return also broke the rules that most zombie movies follow, by allowing zombies to talk, run and even use basic objects, such as a para-medics radio.

Return of the Living Dead has a punk-rock soundtrack, which matches the characters atti-tudes and dress in the movie. Most of the char-acters in the movie fit the generic 80’s punk-rock look, with one of them even claiming it is a lifestyle.

Return of takes a different direction from Night of the Living Dead than Dawn of the Dead took. While Return is considered a se-quel to Night, it is in a seperate universe than Dawn.

The movie takes place after Night of the Liv-ing Dead, explaining that the events of Night took place due to 2-4-5 Trioxin, a fictional drug that reanimates the dead.

Early on in the movie you learn that corpses infected with Trioxin are being stored in drums in the basement of the medical supplies facility that Freddy works at.

Of course, starting the infection was a leak from the drums storing Trioxin. The drums, built by US Army engineers, don’t hold up and begin leaking gas, infecting Freddy and his boss Frank.

Freddy ends up playing a vital role in the movie, showing the zombification process of 2-4-5 Trioxin from infection to complete loss of control over the hunger for human brains.

From there, all hell breaks loose. You see the effects of 2-4-5 Trioxin on the deceased imme-diately, as medical cadavers, preserved animals and more reanimate back to life.

The messy part is unlike Night of the Living Dead, the zombies don’t die nicely from a shot to the head or dismemberment, leading to the great start of spoofs in the movie on the Night

of the Living Dead movie, with references to the movie itself by name, the zombies near-invincibility and even paramedics sent to help being devoured while a zombie uses their radio to have them send more paramedics.

At that point the movie turns into a wonder-ful horror-comedy mash-up, parodying Night of the Living Dead often, while feeling like a classic horror film in every sense.

Most of the movie takes place at a morgue in the middle of a cemetery, possibly the worst place to be trapped at during a zombie apoca-lypse.

Return offers cheap thrills from wonder-ful campy effects. It follows the classic hor-ror rules, with a large body count, characters tossed in for the sake of nudity and the ability to churn out sequels.

So this Halloween, don’t waste your money seeing a generic sequel to a series that gets pumped out every year, watch a classic. Return of the Living Dead has withstood the test of time, and is a great horror movie that is easy to access and full of laughs while still being frightening.

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD“They’re Back From the Grave and They’re Ready to Party!”

ZOMBIELAND“Nut Up or Shut Up”

Danny ShawStaff

From slow shuffles and monotone moaning to rav-enous running and snarling screams, zombies have captivated audience’s attention for over 70 years on the silver screen. The newest entry into zombie flicks, “Zombieland,” offers plenty of laughs for the audience to sink their teeth into (pun intended).

We follow the story through the narration of a sur-vivor of the zombie apocalypse (or zombocalypse as I like to call it), who is alive not because of his brawn but his brains. We know him only by his hometown-- Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg.

He is the quintessential scrawny college geek who is bad with confrontation and even worse with the ladies. Columbus explains he is alive because he

follows a list of strict, but simple rules. Rules like “check the backseat” and “double-tap,” where you always make sure to shoot twice, preferably in the head.

He is eventually paired up with Tallahassee, played by Woody Harrelson, who is a loudmouthed redneck with a knack for zombie killing. Tallahassee’s ul-timate goal, other than survival, is to have one last Twinkie because “someday, life’s little Twinkie gauge is gonna go empty.”

Harrelson is the leading comedic role in the film, having several hilarious scenes, including one with a celebrity cameo which I will not spoil for those who have yet to see the film—Harrelson is the saving grace to the majority of the comedic value.

The overarching storyline becomes apparent when

two sisters hijack the guys’ ride and weapons. Co-lumbus predictably falls in love with the older of the two sisters, and the movie becomes one of those “looser guy loves hot girl” fiascos-- but with zom-bies. This would have been annoying, but the clever and funny dialog and situational comedy balance out the cheesy love story.

My main complaint with the story was the idea these characters are, as the movie suggests, the only survivors of the zombocalypse. Zombie aficionados could complain for days about the chances of sur-vival of some of the group’s decisions, but hopefully they keep the mindset of it being a comedy-- a very funny one at that.

Through the laughs and gore, “Zombieland” does indeed deliver a great movie experience, and earns 7.5 out of 10.

Danny ShawStaff

Set in a 1950’s styled town, the zombocalypse has been defeated and a company called Zomcom has turned the remaining zom-bies into household servants, and in some cases, pets and best friends.

When the Robinson’s family zombie becomes a friend with their son, Timmy, trouble begins to ensue. Timmy names his zom-bie Fido, played by Billy Connol-ly, and removes the safety collar developed by Zomcom, to allow him to roam and have fun — only a zombie’s fun begins with eating the old lady next door.

Combining a retro fifties style, hilarious situational comedy, a

unique storyline and a great cast, “Fido” is anything but an animat-ed corpse among zombie movies. Please see this movie!

Come as the MCCC/Community Symphony Band and

Agora Chorale begin their musical concert season!

Meyer Theater - La-Z-Boy Center

Monday, October 19 - 7:30 p.m.

Admission is free!

MCCC WritinG Fellow’S

Poetry NightTuesday, Oct. 27

7:30 p.m.

MCCC Little Theatre(Downstairs C-Building)

‘Fido’ - (2006)

8 THE AGORA Sports October 15, 2009

Casey CheapFreelance Writer

The Detroit Red Wings had a homecoming of sorts to mark the be-ginning of the regular season.

Because Detroit has eight Swedish-born superstars such as Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg, they were selected to play two games against their division rival St. Louis Blues at Ericsson Globe, in Stock-holm, Sweden, Oct. 2 and 3.

The trip was seen as a wasted opportunity by some.“It’s real bad,” said Tomas Holmstrom when asked by NHL.com.

“We’re really disappointed with the way we played.”The Wings came out and initially blanked the Blues in the first period

of both games, only to ease up and eventually surrender the lead by giv-ing up goals on an array of Blues’ power plays.

Going back to Head Coach Mike Babcock’s comments from last sea-son, the Wings need to find a way to be the “hardest working team in the NHL.” That means easing up will not be an option for the 2009-10 Red Wings.

“We need to play better over 60 minutes of hockey,” said Niklas Kro-nwall, when asked about the games in Sweden.

One continuing issue for the Red Wings would be the woes of Chris Osgood.

In game one, the veteran goaltender managed to blow a 3-1 lead, eventually losing, 4-3. He looked like the Osgood of yesteryear—the Ozzy who had a mental breakdown during the regular season, not the Ozzy we saw during the playoffs, where he was relatively solid.

Rookie goaltender Jimmy Howard didn’t fare any better in game two, giving up five goals in a 5-3 loss. If Howard is the future of the

franchise, the Wings may as well start looking for free agents now. He stopped just 27 of 32 shots in game two. His save percentage is .844 with a 5.17 goals against average.

After losing back-up goal tender Ty Conklin over the summer, who started a third of the games in place of Osgood, the Wings are expecting Osgood to take on more starts this season. The expectation for Howard is to start 25-30 games this season.

Much like last season, the Wings also had a hard time with their pen-alty kill (ranked 25th last year), allowing the Blues to go 4-for-9 on the power play in the Sweden series. St. Louis managed to score nine goals on just 55 shots in both games.

Detroit is missing the huge contributions of Marian Hossa, Jiri Hudler and Mikael Samuelsson, all of whom left the franchise during the off-season, and combined for 82 goals during last year’s regular season.

Worse yet, Johan Franzen, who scored the winning goal for Detroit in their home opener against the Chicago Blackhawks, will be out for at least three months with a torn ACL. Franzen contributed 34 goals last season, and was generally seen as Detroit’s leading goal scorer after Hossa split for Chicago.

The Red Wings managed to win at home against Alexander Ovech-kin and the Washington Capitals in a 3-2 bout. They started their sea-son just 2-2, tied for last place in the Central Division of the Western Conference with the St. Louis Blues.

With so much of their high-powered offense decimated to almost nothing, the Wings will have to focus on their defensive end more and (surprise, surprise) goaltending will be a key component.

The Wings play the Los Angeles Kings at home tonight, 7:30 p.m. on FSD.

History of foreign NHL gamesThe Red Wings’ series with the Blues isn’t the first time the NHL has had games outside of North America. Here are some other series played overseas. Info found at www.nhl.com/ice/newsprint.

1938 V.2 games in Paris, France

1959 V.

10 games in England, France, Switzerland, Aus-tria, and Belguim

* 4 games in Tokyo and Sapporo, Japan 1976 V.

1998 V.2 games in Tokyo Japan

* logo of the Kansas City Scouts, which are now the New Jersey Devils

Teams play in Stockholm, Sweden, home to many NHL players

Frank VajcnerFreelance Writer

For the first time in 42 years, the Michigan State Spartans won back-to-back games against their arch-rival Michigan Wolverines.

But the Spartans had to hold off a furious come-back led by Michigan freshman quarterback Tate Forcier, and needed a big play from their defense to pull out a 26-20 victory in overtime.

At MCCC, where Wolverine fans appear to out-number Spartan fans, the maize and blue crowd had plenty to rant about.

“Michigan played their worst game of the year and almost won,” MCCC student Craig Scheich, a Michigan fan, said.

Another Michigan fan, Ryan McCleery, was even more displeased.

“Michigan’s defense played the worst game of the season. They couldn’t cover the receivers and couldn’t make good tackles. Forcier made an amaz-ing comeback for nothing,” McCleery said.

The green--and-white crowd was pretty happy af-ter the Spartans won two in a row against the Wol-verines for the first time since 1965-67 when they won three straight.

“I was nervous near the end.” MCCC student and Spartan fan Amanda MacIver said. “The defense was letting Michigan drive down the field (in the fourth quarter). I was happy that they won.”

MCCC student Darbi Miller thinks that the rivalry may be bigger with two straight Spartan victories.

“It’s a lot more intense than it has been in the last 10-15 years.”

Despite the loss, Michigan fans remain optimistic for their team.

“Tate (Forcier) showed some signs of a possible Heisman Trophy candidate within the next couple of years,” MCCC student Jeremy Hickey said.

MCCC student Jacob McLaughlin thinks that

while the loss may lower expectations, the Wolver-ines are a long way from where they were last sea-son.

“Michigan is still rebuilding,” McLaughlin said. “They’ll probably lose a couple more games, but they’ll win the games that they should win, and Forcier will lead them to a winning record and a bowl game.”

The Spartan fans believe their team is now back on track after a 1-3 start.

“MSU is headed in the right direction after a tough start. This win was a huge confidence booster” said MCCC student Joe Hoffman.

“Hopefully they can win out the rest of the way.” MacIver added.

Heading into the game, the Wolverines were 4-0 and ranked in both the AP Poll and USA Today Coaches’ Poll and appeared to be on track for a big season after going 3-9 last year. The Spartans had limped to a 1-3 record through the first four games, with all three losses decided by a combined total of 13 points.

On an overcast day in East Lansing, a raucous crowd of 78,629 would witness another classic showdown between the two in-state rivals.

Michigan got on the scoreboard first with a 36-

yard field goal by Jason Olesnavage, despite getting excellent field position after intercepting MSU quar-terback Kirk Cousins on the third play of the game.

On the ensuing drive, the Spartans drove 80 yards in 17 plays, capping off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Larry Ca-per, making the score 7-3.

The only scores the rest of the first half for both teams were a 42-yard field goal by Olesnavage, and a 26-yard field goal by Brett Swenson, which gave the Spartans a 10-6 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, The Wolverines tried a fake punt on 4th-down-and-inches at their own 16, but punter Zoltan Mesko was tackled for a 3-yard loss.

The Spartans were forced to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Swenson, giving them a 13-6 lead. They would score again on a 15-yard touchdown run by Glenn Winston in the fourth quarter, putting the score at 20-6.

It wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter when the Wolverines’ offense appeared to come to life, when Forcier found Darryl Stonum for a 60-yard touch-down pass with 4:03 to go in the fourth quarter, making the score 20-13.

The Spartans were forced to punt on their next possession, giving the Wolverines one last chance to tie the game with 2:58 to go and no timeouts. Forcier went to work immediately, driving the Wolverines 92 yards in 12 plays as he capped it off with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Roy Roundtree with two seconds left, tying the game at 20-20.

In overtime, Michigan got the ball first and drove to the MSU 8-yard line, but on a 3rd-down-and-5, Forcier’s pass for Martavius Odoms was broken up by Danny Fortener and intercepted in the end zone by Chris L. Rucker. When the Spartans took over, it only took three plays to win the game as Caper would score on a 23-yard touchdown run.

Michigan was held to 251 yards of offense, and only 28 yards rushing after averaging over 240 yards per game through the first four games. MSU rang up 198 yards on the ground, despite ranking 10th in the Big Ten in rushing. Spartan quarterback Kirk Cousins, not known as a threat to run, led his team in rushing with 75 yards.

MCCC reacts to instate rivalrySpartans win in overtime thriller against Michigan

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

Coach: Mark Dantonio

Coach: Rich Rodriguez

MICHIGAN LEADS THE SERIES OVERALL (67-30-5).

EACH YEAR THE TEAMS VIE FOR THE PAUL BUNYAN TROPHY

Current Record: (3-3, 2-1)

Current Record: (4-2, 1-2)

EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN

Red Wings drop series with St. Louis

Last Week: Lost @ Iowa 28-30

Last Week: Win @ Illinois 24-14