AGORA

Inside:Opinion 2 Campus News 3 Feature 4-5 A&E 6

VOLUME 48 ISSUE 3 November 15, 2005M O N R O E C O U N T Y C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E

In for the long haulProfessor Randy Daniels worked hisway from the bottom up to becomeone of the most respected and dedi-cated men on campus. (3)

Is the U.S. prepared for adeadly epidemic? (2)

Feel like parachuting?Get the latest on your favorite2004 NBA champs in a mid-season overview by reporterGary Knox. (6)

Toledo Symphony

Bird flu

Amanda LundyCopy Editor

Required GEMA degree available at MCCC

Energy drinks

Detroit BasketballIf you are an unmarried woman inFlorida, it may be harder thanyou think. (4)

You may not be the only onedealing with the addiction of thepopular drinks. (5)

Spotlight 8

Check out pictures from the highly anticipatedperformance of the Toledo Symphony. (8)

A new automotive enginemanufacturing plant, recentlysettled in Dundee, MI, broughtnew jobs and the call for moreMonroe County CommunityCollege (MCCC) degrees.

Global EnginesManufacturing Alliance(GEMA) builds lightweightengines which can compete onthe highly competitive worldmarket.

“Our vision is to be the mostcompetitive engine builders inthe world,” Mark Dunning,Head of Human ResourceManagement for GEMA, said.

To do this, they requireemployees who are alsocompetitive, skilled, welleducated, and engaged in a teameffort. GEMA has alsointroduced a new requirementfor a manufacturing plant job;each employee needs to hold atleast an associate degree.

“We respond to community

needs,” Grace Yackee, dean ofinstruction, said. MCCC isproviding a path of study forGEMA employees. To createthe type of skilled workforceneeded, the General Technologydegree, already established inMCCC’s curriculum, can bealtered to fit GEMA’srequirements.

“Basically, it is a degree withclasses that can be specialized,”Yackee said.

“It’s much more customizedfor the individual.”

This does not mean thatMCCC has created astandardized degree just forGEMA. With the assistance ofa counselor, any degree can becustom fitted to the student whoseeks out this service.

However, Yackee said thatthe GEMA requirements will“conceptually find a way into ourcurriculum.”

To help MCCC meet thedemands for this technologicallybased degree, Dr. ParmeshwarCoomar, new dean of industrial

technology, was hired.“He was already on the

same page as us,” said Yackee.According to Yackee, it is

“easier to move a graveyardthan change a university’scurriculum.” Thus, the uniqueopportunity of a changeabledegree in the community collegesetting is often helpful tocorporations with specifictraining needs.

GEMA has unique work

Faculty members (l-r) Wayne Bezeau, Steve Mapes, Joe Verkennes andDave Nixon line up against students Katie Hammond and Seth Bursonduring the student vs. staff flag football match. The staff won thegame, which took place last Friday.

Agora photo by ALLISON FLESZAR

School closings for Monroe CountyCommunity College (MCCC) are rare.

Typically, there was only one optionin case of a Michigan snowstorm-cancellation. If heavy fog took the countyby surprise, students, faculty, and MCCCemployees would still brave theconditions and drive to campus. That willall change.

The college has implemented a latestart procedure effective now. Accordingto Procedure 2.39 (a) of the MCCCPolicies and Procedures handbook,adecision may be made to close the collegeprior to the start of a college day. Whenthis occurs, the decision may be to closethe College for the entire day, or for anyportion thereof.

“If, for example, we were on a latestart and the announcement was madethat the college will open at 10 a.m…that’s exactly what it means,” GraceYackee, vice president of instruction,said.

Dr. David Nixon, president of MCCC,first suggested the idea to the Board ofTrustees. The Board implemented theprocedure in February of 2005.

“We wanted to make it a little moreflexible, so we could do a late start that

see “weather,” page 7

Kelyn DillonReporter

Late startoption nowavailable

see “GEMA,” page 7

Beginning in the winter semester,Monroe County Community College(MCCC) will be implementing a “Returnto Learn” program that would encour-age adults to return to college to obtaina degree.

Jennifer Granholm, governor ofMichigan, hopes that this program willmake learning adults realize how impor-tant it is to continue studies after highschool.

“A college degree can be the ticketto a bigger paycheck for our citizens anda stronger economy for our state,”Granholm said.

According to a national survey by theDetroit Free Press, 24% of Americanshave a post secondary degree. In Michi-gan, that number drops to 22%. In Mon-roe County, only a mere 14% of citizenshave a post secondary degree. In addi-tion, another study showed that morethen 70% of adults in Monroe Countydo not have a college degree.

Dr. David Nixon, president of MCCC,believes the program is a great way tojump-start the community.

“This is a great way to increase thequality of living and strengthen theworkforce. It’s an initiative to encour-age Michiganders who may not have adegree,” Nixon said.

However, a common problem is thatsome adults just do not believe that acollege education would be useful. Thisattitude is carrying on to their children aswell, showing that some parents of highschool children just do not believe thatany sort of college education would bevaluable to their child later in life.

Another survey done by the Michi-gan Parents Culture of Education statesthat only 27% of parents believe a goodeducation is essential for getting aheadin life. Also, another survey showed that54% of parents believed their child’s high

school education would be enough tokeep them afloat in the modernworkforce.

Nixon feels that much of the respon-sibility of encouraging high school gradu-ates to further their education lies withthe parents.

“There are 90,000 jobs available inMichigan for which people are not quali-fied and 7% of the Michigan populationis unemployed. We want to convinceparents of the importance of secondary

see “learn,” page 7

Jackie PachecoEditor-in-Chief

Returnto learn

Down, set, hike!

at MCCC

The Agora Editorial PolicyThe Agora is published by the students of Monroe County Community College, 1555 South Raisinville Road,Monroe, Michigan, 48161. The editorial office is located in 202 of the Life Science Building, (734) 384-4186,agora@monroeccc.edu.

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

The Agora is a student-managed newspaper that supports a free student press and is a member of the MichiganCommunity College Press Association, the Michigan Collegiate Press Association, the Michigan Press Association,the Community College Journalism Association, College Media Advisers, Associated Collegiate Press, and theStudent Press Law Center.

Mark Bergmooser, Adviser

OpinionAgora November 15, 20052

Don’t hate, renovate!

U.S. unprepared for bird fluMatthew Pruitt

Page Editor

Agora photo courtesy of WWW.CBSNEWS.COM

Many chickens in China are burned in large pits to fight off the bird flu.

Is the bird flu pandemic(H5N1 avian virus) capable ofhitting the shores of the UnitedStates? According to a pressstatement given by PresidentBush on Tuesday, yes it is.

“[I am] very concernedabout what an avian flu outbreakcould mean for the UnitedStates,” said the president at apress conference.

The bird flu has been a hugeproblem in the Eastern nations.The nations have slaughteredmillions upon millions of birds totry and prevent further out-

breaks, but the death toll con-tinues to rise as 64 people inAsia are now dead.

If infected with the flu, thedeath to survival rate is 50 per-cent.

The United Nations haswarned that the pandemic couldkill between 5 million and 150million people worldwide.

Upon receiving this informa-tion, the president put forth anew bird flu plan on Tuesdaythat costs $7 billion. Even withthis amount of money, only 20million would be able to get vac-cinated if infected.

“I am very scared about thebird flu and the potential lack of

vaccines,” Chad Chinavare,MCCC student, said.

The bird flu is very real andcould definitely make its way tothe United States. As it is now,we are very ill-equipped, and ifit happened to make its wayhere in the next few months, itcould mean complete devasta-tion. As of now, the only way tobe infected with the avian flu isto come in contact with a birdthat has it.

However, it’s only a matterof time before the flu mutatesand humans can pass it on toother humans. This is when thepossibility of an epidemic be-comes very, very realistic.

see “renovate,” page 7

I always hear it from my par-ents: “When I was young, Mon-roe was a cool place to hangout.”

Learning that from them onlyposes one question from me;what the heck happened?

Don’t get me wrong; grow-ing up in Monroe has been apleasant experience. For themost part, the people arefriendly. It’s a generally quiet,safe place to live. And I know,what more could one want thana Meijer open 24 hours a day?

But honestly, folks. Unlessyou’re a senior citizen with asmokin’ Wednesday night cardgame or a child whose energycan be drained out on MunsonPark’s Playscape, you’re prettymuch out of luck when it comesto entertainment in this town.

Sure, I like going to the cof-fee shop to grab a carmellocappuccino (which is deelish, bythe way) and it’s always greatto troll Wal-Mart for the rollbackprices. However, it gets a littleold after awhile.

Most of the time, I end up inToledo or Southgate on theweekends. That’s fine everynow and then, but with gasprices as high as they are, it’sdiscouraging to run down aquarter of a tank of fuel just tosee a five-dollar concert or walkaround a decent mall.

Monroe has the potential tobe completely happening. Itseems to me like there is spaceall over the county that could beutilized.

What has become of the oldFox club? Why not turn it into aconcert venue? Monroe CountyCommunity College (MCCC) isa huge school. I’m sure therewould be quite a few studentsinterested in going to shows lo-cally.

Or how about the merchantbuildings at the fair grounds? Ibet they would make somewicked places to dance at.

And for all those emptyspaces at the Horizon OutletMall… why not turn one of

Have you ever wonderedhow the movie industry charac-terizes the traditional college ageadult? Is the image of collegekids improved by movies or tar-nished? Hollywood’s portrayalof young adults can range fromsilly to violent.

“Animal House” is wellknown for the pranks and rebel-lious attitude of its college fra-ternity members. Does thisserve as a stereotype?

“It (Hollywood) stereotypesus as drinking and partying allthe time, having sex with asmany girls as possible. It’s likewe don’t think of anything else,”Ryan Close, MCCC student,said.

Yet movies like “Good WillHunting” show young adults ina more realistic light. The maincharacter is a man in his twen-ties who end up hurting thosearound him because of frustra-tion and guilt. His best friendand girlfriend are both in thenineteen to twenty-five year ageranges as well.

But there are also films thatshow young adults as extremely

Tinsel town collegeviolent. Leonardo DiCaprio’s“Romeo and Juliet” sought to fitShakespeare’s tale to modernsettings. Young men are por-trayed as killers and drug ad-dicts. While the story line re-quires violence, it also furtherentrenches the stereotypicalteen gang member. On theother hand, there are movies likeReese Witherspoon’s “LegallyBlonde” that focus exclusivelyon Harvard law students. Theprestigious college is far re-moved from gang warfare inL.A. But is focusing on richcollege kids accurate?

“Shows like O.C. show therich kids with button up shirts.In real life, not everyone can af-ford button up shirts…You don’tsee the kid struggling to buylunch or the kid who got kickedout because he wrecked hismom’s car,” said Ronnie Riggar,MCCC student. Stereotypingcan also extend to youth bands.

“People in bands are alwaysjoking about pot. I belong to aband. We don’t have long hairor do drugs. I don’t think itshould be a bunch of old guyswriting about being

see “tinsel,” page 7

Riots create loss of pride

Agora photo courtesy of J.D. POOLEY AP

Authorities step in when the riots spin out of control.

On October 15, 2005, myhometown of Toledo, Ohio did

what we do best and embar-rassed ourselves for the wholenation to point and laugh. Theneo-Nazi group, The National

Socialist Movement (NSM), hada march planned in a predomi-nately minority North Toledoarea. Their goal: to protest blackgang members who were ha-

rassing white residents. Themarch was cancelled due toheavy protesting from residents.The protestors then took advan-

tage of a tense situation andstarted a riot that lasted all dayand led to the destruction ofthousands of dollars worth ofproperty, including a fire at Jimand Lou’s Bar on Mulberry St.

My first problem with thissituation is with the neo-Nazis.Aside from the obvious racialstigma that comes with being aNazi, Nazism has been a dyingfad since April 1945. Even be-fore that amongst party mem-bers who were more than will-ing to betray further when thechips were down. Secondly, thewhite residents who the NSMwas claiming to be marching

see “riots,” page 7

Jared HawkinsCopy Editor

Ashley BradenAssistant Editor

Linda WhitesideCopy Editor

is it really a reality?

That’s one way to attract women...

“ ”Randy Daniels, vice president of student andinformation services

This has really been a journey from whereI started to where I am now.

Campus News AgoraNovember 15, 2005 3

Monroe County CommunityCollege’s (MCCC) technologydepartment is answering the callof duty for students interestedin video game programming.Starting the winter semester of2006, MCCC will offer a CIS267, Intro. to Game Program-ming.

“It is going to be a coursewhere we program real videogames [using] the latest tools,”Chuck Kelly, associate profes-sor of computer information sys-tems, who is going to be teach-ing the course, said.

“The course will start assum-ing that the students know noth-ing and program 2-D games andby the end, we will be doing 3-D games for the final project.”

The course came about as asuggestion of students and fac-ulty, was weighed by an advi-sory committee headed by PaulKnollman, dean of the businessdivision, and ultimately met theapproval of Dr. Grace Yackee,vice president of instruction.

“I encouraged these coursesbecause they are a reflection ofthe current technology and thejob market,” Yackee said.

The job market has shown asurge in the availability of Soft-ware Engineers. The US De-partment of Labor shows thatabout 281,000 jobs in the fieldexist as of 2002 and that therewill be a 46 percent increase tototal 409,000 by 2012. Further-more they rank Software Engi-neers in the top quarter of earn-ings amongst the labor force.

“It is up to the students to de-cide what game they want toprogram,” Kelly said. “Wewon’t specifically teach Role-playing game or first-personshooter programming or anyparticular style.”

“I’d like to see the finalprojects demonstrated publicly,”Kelly said. “If [students] allow,I’d like to post them on the col-lege website.”

The college is also offeringIntro. to Computer Security(CIS 216,) starting winter se-mester 2006, taught by RonHong, instructor of computer in-formation systems. They will becovering the basics of computerand network security, encryp-tion, and computer viruses.

Every life has a story; espe-cially the life of a born and raisedMonroe man moving through col-lege dreams to campus VP.

“This has really been a jour-ney from where I started to whereI am now. And it’s been fun,” saidRandy Daniels, new vice presi-dent of student and informationservices.

During the early years of col-lege, Daniels intended to go intopolitical science, maybe even lawschool. But as he dove into thecoursework, specifically psychol-ogy, his journey took an unex-pected turn. To sum it up, “I fellin love with human behavior..”

Most college students need towork through school, Daniels in-cluded. As he earned his BA inpsychology from the University ofToledo, he worked as a highschool football and baseball coach.Then one day someone said, “Hey,

you’re really good with the kids.You should try teaching.”

With those words of adviceechoing in his mind, Danielschanged his path again by earninghis teaching certificate for K-9.

From there, he startedsubstitute teaching. Even-tually, he was hired as akindergarten teacher.

“As a teacher I alwaysenjoyed working with par-ents and kids,” Danielssaid. However, during hisfour years of kindergarteneducation, he felt thatyearning for psychologytake hold again. Heearned his masters atEastern Michigan Univer-sity and began his newwork as a high schoolguidance counselor, andpart time counselor forMCCC.

When the position forDirector of Admissions and Guid-ance became available, Daniels’journey made a permanent moveonto campus. For 10 years, hewas able to work closely with stu-dents and a staff.

When Lonnie Brunswick,former vice president of student

and information services, an-nounced his retirement, Danielsapplied for the job. Now, insteadof a staff of about 10 people, heworks with whole divisions.

“I’ve been getting to learn the

Gaming:not justfor funnow

Beginning winter semester2006, Monroe County Commu-nity College (MCCC) will startinstituting a new wait listing pro-gram.

The hope is to alleviate theburden caused by classes filledto capacity.

“Each semester we haveseveral hundred requests fromstudents to get into closedclasses,” said Paul Schmidt, Reg-istrar.

“The computer system had await list program before but itwas very cumbersome and dif-ficult for students to use and wedidn’t implement it because wethought it’d be pretty confusing.The recent improvement, though,that the company has mademakes it a very nice system.”

The college is spending aweek working out any bugs thatmay be in the system.

The software used for thewait list is called Colleague. Thecompany, who makes it, Datatel,provides administrative softwareto seven hundred colleges anduniversities in across the coun-try.

“We are among the first inMichigan to start using the waitlist software,” said Schmidt.Grace Yackee, vice president ofinstruction presented the waitlisting program at a divisionmeeting.

“It’s not easy for a facultyperson to say no, I can’t sign youinto a class. Or yes, I can signyou in because you need tograduate,” said Yackee. “Tosome degree it takes the pres-sure off of them to be the onewho has to make the decision.”The wait list program will alsomake it easier for teachers to fillvacant spots in classes.

“I don’t think the wait list willdirectly affect me, as an instruc-tor,” said Tracey Kling, MCCCprofessor. “I think it will helpstudents get into classes thattheir interested in taking. And itwill help insure that our sectionsare full and our classes are full.”

Students can put themselveson the waitlist through Web Pal.The college sends any noticesof vacant seats through e-mail.

Some of the classes most af-fected include developmentalcourses, general educationcourses and remedial courseslike Math 090.

Students inspire

Studentswait forclasses

Agora photo by HEATHER WILSON

Linda WhitesideCopy Editor

After attending a meeting, MCCC maintence and support staff taste tested various piesprovided by David Pillette of Mascari.

vice president

Jared HawkinsCopy Editor

Agora photo by KRISTINA POPE

Randy Daniels, vice president ofstudent and information services.

job, and my new responsibilities,”said Daniels. Finding a replace-ment for his old position is amongthe many tasks he takes on daily.

However, the journey from kin-dergarten teacher to vice presi-dent of student and informationservices has not stopped yet.

“I’m an educator. That’s whatI do. I’m just a teacher at heart,”he said. With a dream for the fu-ture, Daniels is currently workingon his doctorate, hoping to one dayteach a psychology class atMCCC.

Though his new position mayremove him from daily interactionwith students, Daniels vows to“never loose contact with stu-dents. After all, that’s why we’rehere.”

Amanda LundyCopy Editor

FeatureAgora November 15, 20054

Laws of lawlessness lead to laughterPeople can be arrested for

almost anything these days,from disorderly conduct toreckless driving.

“My brother got arrestedonce for indecent exposure forpeeing on the side of a building,”Kim Harmsen, Monroe CountyCommunity College (MCCC)student, said.

Many people believe lawscan be a nuisance yet othersmay find laws can savesomeone’s life. There arehundreds of laws out there,many are commonly known, yetothers tend to be less discussed.

“Some friends and I, along

Tonya HuffmanPhotographer

Florida law: if an elephant is tied to aparking meter, it must be paid for.

Agora photo by TONYA HUFFMAN

with about 300 others werewatching illegal street racing, andwe all got loitering tickets, but Igot out of it,” Jason B. Polger,MCCC student, said.

A few laws in the legal realmtoday can cause a few thoughtprovoking moments. One suchlaw may entice laughter such as:It is illegal to get a fish drunk inthe state of Ohio. Something likethat makes one wonder, whatexactly was running through theminds of those who created thislaw and how does one get a fishdrunk exactly?

Ohio is not the only state thatmakes laws of considerablequestion. Michigan does not fallfar behind in the quest forstrange laws. A woman in the

state of Michigan must ask her husband’s permission if shewishes to cut her hair.

A couple of Michigan’slaws come across moreshocking than thoughtprovoking. It is legal, yeslegal, for a robber to file alaw suit, if he or she got hurtin your house. Also, anyperson over the age of 12may have a license for ahandgun as long as he or shehas not been convicted of afelony.

Other strange yetintriguing laws are asfollowed:

·California- Sunshine isguaranteed to the masses.

·Florida- A special lawprohibits unmarried women

It is approaching wintertimeand most college students admitthat they can occasionallybecome ‘cranky or ‘moody,’which for most, is likely causedby too much homework andstress.

Someone may even cravehis or her favorite sugary snackonce in a while. All this isrelatively normal behavior.

That being said, what if thisbehavior continued on a dailybasis for one, two, or threemonths straight?

What if someone had troublegetting out of bed in the morning,or had problems overeating atcertain times in the year on ayearly basis?

Seasonal Affective Disordermay be blame of wintertime blues

(SAD)John Burkardt

Web Page Editor

The answer may be morethan a case of the wintertimeblues. These are the symptomsof Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD)

So what is SAD? Accordingto the National Mental HealthAssociation, SAD is classified asa mood disorder associated withdepression episodes that areseasonal in nature.

The major differencebetween other forms of clinicaldepression and SAD is that mostforms of depression, if leftuntreated, can last for longperiods of time. This is not sowith SAD.

Most often SAD becomes aproblem in the fall and winter

when the days getshorter and theweather getscolder. In thespring ands u m m e rm o n t h s ,however, SADsubsides. Inthis regard,SAD depressioncan be linked toseasonal allergies.Women and teenagers are at ahigher risk for SAD.

SAD is believed to be linkedto the secretion of a sleeprelated hormone calledmelatonin in the brain’s pinealgland. Melatonin is secreted at

increased levels in thedark and may be the

cause of thesymptoms ofd e p r e s s i o nlinked withSAD.

Thus ,when the days

get shorter anddarker there is an

increased risk forSAD.

Another cause of SAD maybe the shift in the human‘biological clock’ due to thechanges in sunlight patterns.These shifts in circadian rhythmsmay cause people to be “out ofstep” with their daily routine.

There is help for SADsufferers, however. Treatmentsfor SAD include phototherapy orbright light therapy, where,according to mentalhealth.com,light boxes of lights visors shine‘natural’ light into the retina.

SAD sufferers seem torespond well to treatment in theshort term, but scientists haverelatively little idea of how lighttherapy affects people longterm.

Antidepressants are alsoavailable as another form oftreatment. Scientists are testingto see whether drugs and lighttherapy combined help inrelieving symptoms more thanthey would if used separately.

Smile a smidgen: students, staff share storiesAllison FleszarPhotographer

Have you ever heard thesaying “laughter is thebest medicine?”

Well, it really is. Infact, according to amedical study done by aUniversity in California,laughter does more thanhurt your stomach oralmost bring you totears.

Laughter reducesstress hormones, relaxesmuscles, enhancesimmune system, reducespain, and helps withblood pressure, respiration andother things.

Many students andprofessors at Monroe CountyCommunity College (MCCC)shared stories of what makesthem laugh to let others knowwhat makes them smile.

Agora photo courtesy of WWW.ASANA.NET

“It started when my friendsand I were heading home froma night of dancing and decidedto go through a Taco Bell drive

thru for dinner. Well we pulledup to the window and our friendBroc said ‘Hi, this order is togo,‘” said Shawn O’Neil, MCCCstudent.

Dr. Ken Mohney, assistantprofessor of Anthropology, saidsomething that really makes him

chuckle is the number of“deaths” in the family that occurwhen a test comes around.

William McCloskey,professor ofEnglish, agreedwith Dr.Mohney andsaid he alwayslaughs aroundthe time huntingseason startsand half of themale students inhis classes all“become ill.”There is an

article atwww.dbooth.net

called “248 ways to annoypeople.” The article includedthese top ten ways to irritatethose around you:1: Leave your turn signal on forfifty miles. 2. Reply toeverything someone says with“that’s what YOU think.” 3.

Decline to be seated at arestaurant, and simply eat theircomplimentary mints by the cashregister. 4. Deliberately humsongs that will remain lodged inco-workers brains, such as “FelizNavidad”, the Archie’s “Sugar”or the Mr. Rogers theme song.5. Sit in your front yard pointinga hair dryer at passing cars tosee if they slow down. 6. Askpeople what gender they are. 7.Inform others that they exist onlyin your imagination. 8. Buy alarge quantity of orange trafficcones and reroute whole streets.9. Change channels five minutesbefore the end of every show.And number ten: Finish all yoursentences with the words “inaccordance with the prophecy.”

MCCC student Zac Thomassaid that his friend Josh alwaysmakes him laugh with storiesabout getting his license, andhigh school.

Many Professors said that

their children and grandchildrenare the source of their laughter.

“My three year old son’sknock, knock jokes always makeme laugh” commented Lori JoCouch, assistant professor ofEnglish.

Cheryl Johnston, assistantprofessor of reading and Englishsaid that her grandchildren’sgiggle alone makes her smile.

There are so many thingsthat cause people to laugh. Withthe winter coming soon andseasonal depression setting in, itis important to take time to laughabout things and enjoy everyday.

If laughter seems to bescarce, look up a joke, call up afriend and tell it to them. Askthem to do the same for you.

Spend at least eight minutesof each hour laughing aboutsomething. Laughing shouldhelp make each day a little moreenjoyable. .

from parachuting on Sunday orshe shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jailing.

·Indiana- It is illegal for aliquor store to sell cold softdrinks.

·New York- The penalty forjumping off a building is death.

·Texas- It is illegal to drivewithout windshield wipers. Youdon’t need a windshield, but youmust have the wipers.

The list of these eccentriclaws could go forever and everjust to boggle the minds of thosewho read them. It seems asthough our founding fathers andthose who succeeded them didnot only contribute laws toarrest; they added a bit ofhumor to keep laughter in life.

Feature AgoraNovember 15, 2005 5

Black Friday: holiday madnessSarah QueenCopy Editor

A few weeks ago, ABCNews broadcasted a specialreport on the rising rate ofinfections in U.S. hospitals thatlead to thousands of deathsevery year. There have beenpatients at hospitals who wereadmitted for minor injuries andlight surgery who died from aninfection they received whileunder hospital care.

This seems hard to believebecause so many hospitals havehand sanitizer dispensers inpatient rooms, and health careworkers commonly use gloves.

The problem stems fromsomething we do several timesa day. Wash our hands.

Upon discovering thisinformation, we may jump to theconclusion that this is the faultof the select few people in theworld who consider hand-washing a waste of their time.

That is a false notion.Sure those who refrain from

washing their hands add to theproblem, but the root comesfrom those who do wash theirhands.

It is shocking to learn that thepeople who consider soap andwater their friends, and even usethem often, still spread germs

Kristina PopePage Editor

To wash or not to wash

see “laziness” page 7

and harmful bacteria.The problem is how we wash

our hands. One common mistakemany people make whenwashing hands is excludingfriction. In order for the bacteriato be removed, we have toscrub both hands together withsoap and water.

Also, most of us do not washour hands for a long enough time.To thoroughly clean our hands,we should combine soap, water,and friction for a duration of 30seconds or more. If we do not,the purpose is basically defeated.

A final step, we should allfollow, stems from wastingwater. Thankfully, not much

Agora photo courtesy of WWW.GRANDSTANDEVENTS.CO.UK

The day after Thanksgiving, also known as “Black Friday” is the busiest shopping day of theyear.

Addicted to bullAllison Fleszar

Reporter

“Red Bull; The energy drinkthat gives you wings!”

It is true that a can of RedBull will boost your energyand give you a rush, butwhat else does Red Bulldo? According to healthstudies, Red Bull does a lotmore than you may think.

Although Red Bull is theonly energy drink approvedby the Food and Drug Ad-ministration (FDA), there aremany health risks that comealong with this addictive canof get-up-and-go. In fact,countries like Norway, Den-mark and France are so con-cerned about the can’s con-tents, they have banned the saleof Red Bull all together. Canadajust recently joined the buzz, andhas already had problems withkids drinking too much RedBull. According to CBC News,a high school student who drank

four cans of Red Bull before hisbasketball game collapsed onthe gym floor and died.

The fact is, there is so muchcaffeine in Red Bull that it de-hydrates your body and does not

replenish what is lostafter physical work-outs, which putsstrain on the heart.Information fromHealth USA statesthat tests done onthe ingredients ofRed Bull exhibitedanxiety, irritability,a high sensitivity tonoise, suddenjumps and selfmutilations.

Another issue with RedBull is mixing it with alcohol.Alcohol and Red Bull can be adeadly mixture, yet, jager-bombs are one of the numberone selling drinks at night-clubsacross the nation.

see “Red Bull” page 7

Many activities are comingup in the near future here at Mon-roe County Community College(MCCC). These things includeevents for the college student, aswell as events for everyone withinthe community.

Here’s a look at some of theupcoming events:

On Thursday, Nov. 17, singer,songwriter and author TomTreece will give a presentation.Admission will be free to anyoneas he celebrates the release of hisnew book Return to Vietnam onthe Wings of D.O.V.E. An ac-count of one veteran’s healing.Treece will have copies of thebook on hand. A portion of all pro-

ceeds from the sale of the bookwill be donated to the D.O.V.Efund, to help rebuild Vietnam.

Two nights later, on SaturdayNov. 19, comedian Richard Jeniwill give a performance, also inthe Meyer Theatre. Jeni has beenreferred to as ‘one of the bestcomics who ever lived,’ and wasvoted as one of the 100 greateststand-up comedians of all time byComedy Central. Tickets to thisapperance are on sale for $35 eachat the Meyer Theatre box office.

Then on December 9-11,Santa’s Winter Wonderland

Cozy winter eventsDave Herndon

Page Editor

comes to MCCC. Current andprevious students alike have cre-ated a north pole-like atmo-sphere, complete with SantaClaus that provides fun for theentire family. Admission to thewinter wonderland is only threedollars a person and includes re-freshments. This will be openfrom 5-8 p.m. each night.

These and many other eventsare coming soon to MCCC. Formore information on these andother events check out the col-lege website atwww.monroeccc.edu.

water.Question 1: What is the first

thing you typically touch afterusing the bathroom?

Answer 1: The faucet.Question 2: What is the last

thing you touch after washingyour hands?

Answer 2: The faucet!To avoid recapturing the

harmful bacteria you justwashed off, do not grab thefaucet with your freshly cleanedhand. Let the water run, and turnit off with the paper towel youuse to dry your hands. However,there is a setback to this method.Not all bathrooms have papertowels;

some only include hand dryers!Kathleen Masters, a nursing

professor, believes students inher class should already knowproper handwashingtechniques.

“Our Freshmen nursingstudents are taught proper handwashing early in the nursingprogram. I don’t specificallyteach them because I don’t

After Halloween, the holidayshopping season is in full swing.November brings us Thanksgiv-ing and the biggest day of theyear, for bargain hunters any-way. The day after Thanksgiv-ing has become the biggest shop-ping day of the year. It is oftenreferred to as “Black Friday” inthe retail world.

“The origin of Black Fridaycomes from the shift to profit-ability during the holiday season.Black Friday was when retailerswent from being unprofitable, or“in the red,” to being profitable,or “in the black”, at a time whenaccounting records were kept byhand and red indicated loss andblack profit,” according towww.retailindustry.com.

Thousands of holiday shop-pers get up early after their tur-key dinners to hit the stores forthe best buys they can find.

“ It all depends on who I’mwith for Thanksgiving, some-times I can find the energy butI’m usually too impatient,” KellyLajiness, dance teacher atMCCC, said.

Monroe County is full ofstores that will be catering to theearly morning crowds. Wal-Mart, Target, Elder Beerman,and Old Navy are a few storesthat will be flooded with gift-seekers.

“The mall is opening at 6 a.m.and I guarantee there will bepeople waiting to get in, this ismy first year here and I’m sureit’s going to be overwhelming,”Jamie Fultz, Target employee,said.

Local news stations coverthe shopping line-ups every year,and Wal-Mart is always on thelist of locations.

“Outside the store kind of re-minds me of a ticket master line,it’s craziness,” Michelle (lastname unavailable) Wal-Martemployee, said.

Will MCCC students be upat the crack of dawn in order tobuy the latest gifts for the cheap-est prices?

“I usually go out shoppingthat morning with my mom, ifyou get up early enough you canfind some awesome deals,” saidCassie Cohen, MCCC student.

“I do all of my shopping onthat day, it saves me a lot ofmoney and that way it gets doneearly,” Melissa Smith, MCCCstudent, said.

Fighting the Christmascrowds has become a holidaytradition, and stores will continueto welcome the insanity.

A & EAgora November 15, 2005

ISOL rocks southeast MichiganHeather Wilson

Photo Editor

Comingsoon

Queen of the ScreenSarah QueenCopy Editor

Coming soon to a theaternear you...

Shhhh… the previews arestarting.

“Beneath heaven lies hell,beneath hell lies... the cave.”

What?How many times have we

all went to the theater and beenremarkably surprised by the ab-surdity of the taglines and trail-ers for upcoming movies?

I pride myself on being ableto pick the good films from thebad simply by watching thetrailer. Here are some quickrules of the art of trailer judg-ing:

1.) If the star of the movieis a reality television star, youwould be better off staring inthe mirror and reciting dialoguethan sitting through this sure-fire train wreck.

2.) If the movie seems tobe completely filmed in onecolor (like “Sahara,” in whichso much tan was filmed I feltas though I had fallen into asand dune), you may as well goto the beach.

3.) If the trailer revolvesaround the repetition of themain characters’ name and oc-cupation, “ I am Domino, I ama bounty hunter” you maywant to ask yourself, “Is thisthe only information that I amgoing to get out of this film?”

And the answer: yes.4.) Finally, if the movie is:

a) based on a video game(“Alone in the Dark”), b) com-pletely about wine (“Side-ways”), or c) stars Hilary Duffas an outcast (“The PerfectMan”), you need to run. Getout while you can.

On the other hand:1.) If the movie is directed

by Clint Eastwood or starsHillary Swank, Oscar will becalling, so you may want to giveit a chance.

2.) If the trailer has anamazing soundtrack such as“Elizabethtown,” apparentlythe director took the time to

The Illegitimate Sons of Lib-erty (ISOL) is one of the new,up-and-coming bands in Mon-roe County. ISOL is made upof four members; Dr. Petepat(Guitar and Vocals), CharlieReed (Drums), Jason Daker(Bass and Vocals), and ColinEverett (Guitar and Lead Vo-cals).

All of the members aregraduates of Monroe HighSchool. Everett is a formerMonroe County CommunityCollege student and now at-tends Eastern Michigan Uni-versity. Reed is a film studentand also has a job as a carpen-ter. Daker is a chef, but is cur-rently unemployed, and Petepatis a server at La Fiesta restau-rant in Monroe.

The band has been togethersince September 2003 under thename of Subpar. Just this pastAugust, the band changed theirname to ISOL. The guys meteach other because Everett andPetepat were playing togetherin a band, and Reed and Dakerwere playing together in a band.Eventually the two separatebands played together.

“It’s just fun,” Daker said,when asked about why the bandwas put together.

Their musical influencescome from different places. Theband’s main influences are TheDead Kennedys and the MC5.When it comes to thecomaraderie in the group, thereare some tensions just like in allbands.

“It sometimes happens in theprocess of when we are tuning.Every time when it comes time

for Daker to tune, Reed will juststart playing away not even pay-ing attention,” Everett said.

“We never get violent, we justcuss, scream, and yell at eachother,” Daker added.

With all the different types ofshows that they have played, onememory stuck out for them.

“There was this concertwhere they were throwing pret-zels at us. Then there was a guyin the audience that was heck-ling us. People outside were com-

They are yet to do a “badthing.”

Chicago-based band,Spitalfield, has actually beencranking out the good things forquite awhile now.

Formed in 1998, the band hassince recorded four albums(“Faster Crashes Harder” in2001, “Cloak & Dagger ClubEP” in 2003, “Remember RightNow” in 2003, and “Stop DoingBad Things” in 2005), toured inseven countries, undergone anumber of line-up changes, andsigned with major label, VictoryRecords, to get to where theyare today.

Original member andSpitalfield frontman, Mark Rose,claims the band’s music is prettystraightforward.

“We’re just an upbeat, driv-ing rock band,” he said.

Spitalfield is not the mundane,MTV-overplayed-pop-punk,however. Their relatable lyricsand buoyant melodies have got-ten them recognition fromAbsolutepunk.net and Alterna-tive Press magazine, and theyhave also had over 590,000 mu-sic plays on Purevolume.com.

“Our songs are just about ev-eryday life experiences. Living

Ashley BradenAssistant Editor

Pistons gear upfor NBA season

Gary KnoxReporter

The Detroit Pistons con-cluded last season’s playoff runwith a disappointing game 7 lossto the San Antonio Spurs in theNBA Finals. To erase these badmemories, team president andgeneral manager Joe Dumarswas given the task of using ashort off season to tweak thePistons into a stronger champi-onship contending team.

The first order of business?“Relieve” Hall of Fame coachLarry Brown of his coaching du-ties. Brown became a major dis-traction due to hislingering healthproblems and ru-mored flirtationswith other NBAteams. Both the Pis-tons and Brown gotwhat they wantedout of their separa-tion. The Pistons ridthemselves of awandering-eyedcoach, and Brownwas able to pursuehis dream of coach-ing the New YorkKnicks. Dumarswasted no time andhired a more offen-sive minded coach,Flip Saunders, to open up thePiston offense.

With their coach in place, itwas time to dip into the NBAdraft and free agent market. Ondraft night the Pistons selectedforward Jason Maxiel as their26th pick. Maxiel, an undersizedbut aggressive and long armedplayer, will be lost amidst the al-

ready talented front line playerson the Piston roster. However,he has a good chance to con-tribute in the future. The Pistons’other draft picks, point guardAlex Acker and forward AmirJohnson, have a chance to makethe team but will see limited play-ing time — if any at all. Johnson,selected right of high school,looks to be headed to the Pis-tons developmental league teamin hopes of adjusting his skills tothe NBA level.

A dire need for the Pistonswas to strengthen their benchproduction. Insert free agentsignings Maurice Evans and

Dale Davis. Evans was signedto add a scoring punch andshooting touch backing up start-ing forward Tayshawn Prince.Veteran power forward DaleDavis will be used more often inthe playoffs. His mission? Playtough defense against premiere

see “coming,” page 7 see “Pistons,” page 7

6

ing inside just to yell at the guyto say he sucked,” Reed said.

At one of ISOL’s shows youcan see an array of differentthings. A couple of the things tolook out for are Petepat’s firebreathing and the band’s ten-dency to break things. You cancheck out the ISOL’s MySpace( w w w . m y s p a c e . c o m /theillegitimatesonsoflibe). Atthat website, you can also checkout their up-and -coming showlist.

Agora photo courtesy of DETROITPISTONS.COM

Pistons player Chauncey Billups goes upfor a shot against Steve Nash of thePhoenix Suns.

Agora photo courtesy of ISOL

Members of the Illegitimate Sons of Liberty are (l-r) JasonDaker, Dr. Petepat, Charlie Reed and Colin Everett.

each day in a different city hasreally inspired a lot of our mu-sic,” Rose said.

The band just recently re-turned from touring Europe withlabelmates Silverstein,Hawthorne Heights, andBayside. They take off on theirco-headlining tour with PlainWhite T’s on November 25.

“Expect a lot of Chicago loveon that tour,” Rose said.“There’s going to be a lot of en-ergy.”

Spitalfield, Plain White T’s,The Audition, and DroppingDaylight will be hitting up the To-ledo, Ohio venue, Headliner’s,on November 29.

“Anyone who is into musicon any level would have a goodtime at these shows. There arefour bands that are all slightlydifferent and bring somethingnew to the table,” Rose said.“There’s something for every-one.”

Tickets for the Toledo showare available in advance throughTicketmaster for $10, or on theday of the show at the door for$12.

For more information onSpitalfield, including tourdates, news, and photos, visittheir website atwww.spitalfield.net.

Windy city rock:Spitalfield brings love,energy, power tunes

Do you findenergydrinks

addicting?

In the Mix AgoraNovember 15, 2005 7

Reader’sVoice

“Nope.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Amy Vore

“I only drink them tostay awake.”

Chance Larkins

from “GEMA,” page 1 from “weather,” page 1

from “learn,” page 1

“I don’t do energydrinks, but I enjoy

coffee. Bread maybe the staff of life,but coffee is life

itself.”

Bob Pettit

There were a fewerrors in theprevious issue ofthe Agora. To seethe correct issue,you can visit ourwebsite at http://www.monroeccc.edu/agora/index.html.We apologize forthe inconvenience.

CORRECTIONS

shifts. Employees have a fourday workweek which allows fora five day weekend about 17times a year. With thisnontraditional workweek,employees’ schedules changefrequently.

“This has been one of theproblems for providing training,”John Joy, Dean of Corporateand Community Services, said.

“Often, employees can’t signup for a class that meets, forexample, every Tuesday,because they would end upmissing half the classes.”

According to Joy, to workwith GEMA’s different conceptof operation, MCCC hasattempted to make the degreeas flexible as possible, and hasencouraged on-line classes.

MCCC has been involvedwith GEMA since the conceptwas launched about two yearsago.

“David Nixon and John Joy

are truly visionaries of the future.When they came to us, theyalready understood theimportance of developing ahighly educated, engaged, andcompetitive workforce,”Dunning said.

At the time, they did not evenhave a plant yet. “When GEMAcame to town, we provided ourfacilities for interviews. We alsoprovided the facilities for theirbasic training for group leaders,”Joy said.

“We do that with virtuallyanyone in the county, both hereand on-site. We use full-time,adjunct, or venders if we don’thave the capabilities of teachingwhat they need.”

Overall, MCCC has beensuccessful in catering to theneeds of corporations, students,and the community as a whole.

“They have been the bestpartner we could have hoped forin providing the best ideas tohelp continue teaching,” Dunningsaid.

education,” Nixon said.Theoretically, if parents or

learning adults could beconvinced to return to collegeand further their own educations,it would persuade their childrento do the same.

Granholm believes that foradults, the benefits of returningto school will outweigh thefinancial burden.

“If only a few coursesor a couple of semesters standbetween you and a degree, itmakes perfect sense to returnto learning,” Granholm said.

would give us an opportunity toannounce it even as early as thenight before,” Yackee said.

The individual in charge ofmaking the decision to use latestart or cancel classes is RandyDaniels, vice president of studentand information services.

“During those times when theweather conditions are less thandesirable, the Vice President ofStudent Information servicestakes into account weatherreports, driving conditions, roadconditions (primary andsecondary), projected snowfallthroughout the day and makesthe decision on whether or notto close the college,” Daniels,said.

To make sure the rightdecision is made, Daniels willseek guidance from a fewcolleagues.

“I’ll be talking to maintenanceto see what’s happening outthere. I’ll be watching the

weather, and I’ll be driving theroads,” Daniels said.

According to both Danielsand Nixon, the late startprocedure applies to heavy fog.Also, students have severalmeans for finding out if classesare cancelled, including localtelevision news channels, localradio channels, the snow line(384-4223), or long distancesnow line (877-yes-mccc ext.4223).

“I’ve had to use the internet,”Sheryl Trujillo, MCCC student,said.

If a heavy storm misses thecampus but affects other areas,according to Nixon, the studentsare responsible for making thedecision on behalf of their ownsafety.

Those in charge of theprocedure are optimistic; it willbe an advantage to the collegecommunity.

“Time is of the essence… I’mgoing to do my best,” RandyDaniels said.

those into an indoor mini-golf orlaser tag?

C’mon Monroe. You’re thehome of General George Custer.You’re the home of La-Z-Boy.Can’t you be the home of good

from “renovate,” page 2 weekend fun, too?Think about it and get back

to me. I’ll be the girl stuck athome listening to her grandmareminisce about the good olddays… right before she headsoff to Wednesday night Bingowith the girls.

from “Red Bull,” page 5

When you mix alcohol withthe Red Bull you become overlydehydrated which speeds updehydration, causing you to passout with a larger chance of notwaking up. It clearly says on thecan: Not recommended forchildren, pregnant or breast-feeding women, caffeine

sensitive persons or to be mixedwith alcohol. Do not consumemore than 500 ml per day.

So why do we ignore thesehealth risks?

Because Red Bull gives youwings! That’s why! Theaddiction is growing, but take asecond to think about your healthbefore you crack open anothercan of Red Bull.

teach the Freshman levelcourses.”

Julie Fields, MCCC student,works part time at Bob Evans.

“Were not required to washour hands before our shiftstarts,” Fields said.

However, the case isdifferent for Lynn Ptaszynski,

from “laziness,” page 5 Taco Bell employee.“We have hand sanitizers

available, we’re required to washour hands, and we wear gloves,”Ptaszynski said.

It would be unfair to focusall the attention on the medicaland foodservice field. Everyonehas to be more mindful ofhygiene for this problem to bealleviated.

from “tinsel,” page 2

seventeen and eighteen. Itshould seventeen and eighteenyear olds writing,” Riggar said.

So what’s my conclusion?Maybe Hollywood should take amore balanced approach to thetraditional college kid charactersinstead of concentrating on vio-lence, sex and drugs.

“I would portray them thesame way as adults, more roundand less one-sided,” Alex Adams,MCCC student, said.

big men Shaquille O’Neal andTim Duncan. The Pistons hopeto receive additional help fromtheir under utilized 2nd over allpick in 2003, Darko Millicic.

This season, ignore the talkof the Miami Heat, a team whomade the unfortunate mistake ofsigning Antoine “I never saw ashot I didn’t like” Walker, makingit to the NBA finals. The DetroitPistons will be there in Juneready to reclaim their NBA Title.Buy your tickets now!

from “Pistons,” page 6

from “coming,” page 6

for did not want the march totake place. This means that allthe Nazis accomplished or couldhave hoped to accomplish is fir-ing up a few tempers.

My second problem is withthe residents who apparently ei-ther don’t realize that the Nazisdidn’t own what was being de-stroyed or could have caredless. It seems that most of thesepeople just wanted an excuse toget a free TV and maybe flip a

from “riots,” page 2 few cars.All that was accomplished by

these brilliant individuals was thecreation of ammunition for theNazi cause and a bad reputationfor an area which already had abad reputation in a city thatseemingly now and forever willhave a bad reputation.

So in essence, all that was ac-complished by this entire situa-tion was the angering and dis-honor of everyone who is in anyway connected with it as wellas all of Toledo.

plan an audio as well as a visualreaction.

3.) If the movie is a sequel to agood movie, you know you’regoing to watch it. Even thoughwe probably shouldn’t.

4.)Finally, IF the trailer sparksa direct emotion, the film will mostlikely do the same. Trust your gut.

I am utterly disgusted when areally funny Geico commercial isthe highlight of pre-showentertainment. At least now, if youfollow my guidelines, you can saveyourself the agony of deciding ifnow is the time to go get popcorn.

Give theWritingCenter aring!

734-384-4167

Writing notyour thing?

Make an appointment:

SpotlightAgora November 15, 20058

Agora photos by HEATHER WILSONAND KRISTINA POPE

What’s Happening @ MC3 ?

The Toledo Symphony Orchestradelivered an encore performance inthe Meyer Theatre at Monroe CountyCommunity College on November 4.

The orchestra was under thedirection of Chelsea Tipton II, and theyperformed music that ranged fromcountry all the way to pop. They alsoincluded a Bernstein overture andvarious other medleys.

The black tie-optional affair was afollow up to a performance given lastyear by the orchestra.