14
firefighters try second jobs, 1b [cm-life.com] Mount Pleasant, Mich. Wednesday, April 28, 2010 NathaN KostegiaN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Detroit senior Camille Jeanay works on a dress she will submit to the Runway On Monroe Fashion Competition in Grand Rapids. The grand prize winner will attend a Project Runway live casting event for his or her chance to be on the show. By David Veselenak Online Editor and Ryan Taljonick Staff Reporter Another state university may not increase tuition for the fall. Grand Valley State Univer- sity President Thomas Haas testified to the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee on Tuesday and said if the state sets the mini- mum funding for GVSU at $3,775 per student, he will recommend tuition at the university be reduced 5 per- cent for next year. “When I was a graduate student at The University of Michigan, the state provided Grand Valley with 75 percent of its operating budget,” he said. “Today, that number is 20 percent.” Matt McLogan, vice presi- dent of University Relations for GVSU, said the school re- ceives about $2,900 per stu- dent. McLogan said the min- imum amount was set by the state, not the univer- sity. He at- tributed the decrease in funding to two sourc- es: decreas- es in state appropria- tions the last eight years and rapid enrollment. “We’re the least funded per student of the 15 state uni- versities,” he said. Last week, Eastern Michi- gan University Regents voted to not increase tuition or room and board, the first time since 1986 a Michigan public university has not Tuition decrease possibly in store for GVSU Recommended reduction of 5 percent A GVSU | 2A By Randi Shaffer Staff Reporter Central Michigan University’s Program Board plans to coun- teract the stress of approaching finals with the fun of Gentle Fri- day. The event takes place from noon to 5 p.m. Friday in Warri- ner Mall. Allegan junior Steve Lewis, vice president of Program Board, said students can expect free food, games, inflatables and per- formances from local artists. Gentle Friday has been cele- brated at Central Michigan Uni- versity every spring for 43 years. “Program Board has been involved for quite a few years,” Lewis said. Dave Breed, president of Pro- gram Board, said participants will enjoy the Gentle Friday ac- tivities. “(Students can) take some time to relax and have a little bit of fun before exam week,” the Muskegon senior said. Friday’s activities are similar to those of last year, with a few improvements. Lewis said students can expect to see four musicians perform- ing alternative and Christian music and an improv comedy group. Program Board also is offering “Bongo Ball Mania” during the event, a game similar to paint- ball, but with foam balls for am- munition. Caterers and local businesses will offer free food, including hot dogs, veggie dogs, popcorn and samples from area restaurants. Program Board also will host free movie screenings of the 2010 drama “Dear John” at 1 and 4 p.m. Friday in Pearce Hall 128 and the 2009 football film “The Blind Side” at 9 p.m. in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Lewis said Program Board spent $10,000 on this year’s Gen- tle Friday. [email protected] Gentle Friday a yearly de-stresser It took Jeanay about two days last September to construct the dress, which includes 50 broken mirror pieces. The “mirror dress” is one of the reasons she is a competitor in Michigan’s fashion design contest, “Runway on Monroe,” where Jeanay and 19 other de- signers will vie for a chance to be on the television show “Proj- ect Runway.” Jeanay will present four outfits at the competition’s main event May 15 in downtown Grand Rapids’ Rosa Parks Circle. The designers need online votes, which will determine who the top five contestants are. Voters can visit runwayon- monroe.com and click the de- signer’s picture to vote. After narrowing down the de- signers, the judges will then se- lect their top choice. “I am super excited to be in this competition,” Jeanay said. “The votes matter to put me in the top five. So regardless of how good I am, if I don’t get enough votes, I won’t make it.” The winner will be chosen May 15. Pushing for rewards Jeanay heard about the com- petition from a close friend who e-mailed her the information. She said the idea behind the “mirror dress” came from a Lady Gaga dress that was futuristic- looking. “I had to be creative with it. I don’t know why I put mirrors on it,” she said. Jeanay’s mother, Angela Jen- nings, said healthy competition is a good thing. “I’m very proud of what she has done and all that she will do,” the Detroit resident said. “I’m totally ecstatic about this competition. I feel that this competition is propelling her to go forward and pushing her to create even greater de- signs.” Jeanay’s fashion line is called “Camille Jeanay.” She created it in 2003 and it includes styles ranging from streetwear to prom dresses. Her life can be hectic as the CEO of the company, a full-time student double majoring in ap- parel design and biomedical science and also studying pre- pharmacy. “Right now, my clientele has gotten bigger so toward the If you go... w What: Gentle Friday w When: Noon to 5 p.m. Friday w Where: Warriner Mall w Movie Screenings: "Dear John": 1 and 4 p.m. Friday in Pearce Hall 128. "The Blind Side": 9 p.m. in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. dreams of the catwalk Student designer vying for spot on television hit ‘Project Runway’ By Sherri Keaton | Senior Reporter F ashion designer Camille Jeanay would do anything in the name of fashion. That includes crawling into a dump- ster to salvage a mirror to use as ma- terial for a dress. “I was climbing up like I am a spider monkey to grab this mirror,” said the Detroit senior, who is taking the se- mester off but plans to be back in the fall. “I dragged it home, grabbed my chemistry goggles and hammer and smashed the crap out of it.” A FASHION | 2A By Sherri Keaton Senior Reporter A recent proposal for health insurance has some international students up- set. Central Michigan Uni- versity recently proposed a new health insurance policy according to a mass e-mail sent to international stu- dents last week. This policy will begin in fall 2010, auto- matically enrolling students in the “CMU Student Injury and Sickness Insurance Plan” upon registration. The insurance charges will be sent to students’ universi- ty accounts and only limited exceptions will be approved. Trinidad and Tobago grad- uate student Annalyn Jacob said she thinks the policy is not balanced. “(It) is unfair to force the students to have insurance without offering them alter- natives,” Jacob said. “I think it was something that was rushed for one thing, be- cause students weren’t con- sulted on it and I don’t think everyone even knew about the policy.” Angela Smith, assistant director of business services for Health Services, sent a list of several requirements for the insurance policy. The policy must be in English, last a full year, have an an- nual deductible higher than $250, minimum of $1,000 of prescription coverage and cover labs and x-rays at a minimum of $1,500. The e-mail said the policy costs about $50 a month, depending upon the policy holder’s age. International students question health policy offered by CMU No alternative plans to choose from, they say A HEALTH | 2A on facebook on Video facebook.com/cmlife TALK WITH US: What are you doing for Gentle Friday? See what students are doing to prepare for finals next week. cm-life.com What’s on the Web baseball Offense rejuvenated in 14-9 win; Oakland up next, 8A eXaM schedUle 2A Thomas Haas INSIDE w CMU preparing different budget scenarios, 3A

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Page 1: April 28, 2010

firefighters try second jobs, 1b

[cm-life.com]

Mount Pleasant, Mich.Wednesday, April 28, 2010

NathaN KostegiaN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERDetroit senior Camille Jeanay works on a dress she will submit to the Runway On Monroe Fashion Competition in Grand Rapids. The grand prize winner will attend a Project Runway live casting event for his or her chance to be on the show.

By David VeselenakOnline Editorand Ryan TaljonickStaff Reporter

Another state university may not increase tuition for the fall.

Grand Valley State Univer-sity President Thomas Haas testified to the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee on Tuesday and said if the state sets the mini-mum funding for GVSU at $3,775 per student, he will recommend tuition at the university be reduced 5 per-cent for next year.

“When I was a graduate student at The University of Michigan, the state provided Grand Valley with 75 percent of its operating budget,” he said. “Today, that number is 20 percent.”

Matt McLogan, vice presi-dent of University Relations for GVSU, said the school re-ceives about $2,900 per stu-dent. McLogan said the min-imum amount was set by the state, not the univer-sity. He at-tributed the decrease in funding to two sourc-es: decreas-es in state appropria-tions the last eight years and rapid enrollment.

“We’re the least funded per student of the 15 state uni-versities,” he said.

Last week, Eastern Michi-gan University Regents voted to not increase tuition or room and board, the first time since 1986 a Michigan public university has not

Tuitiondecreasepossibly in storefor GVSURecommendedreduction of 5 percent

A gvsu | 2a

By Randi ShafferStaff Reporter

Central Michigan University’s Program Board plans to coun-teract the stress of approaching finals with the fun of Gentle Fri-day.

The event takes place from noon to 5 p.m. Friday in Warri-ner Mall.

Allegan junior Steve Lewis, vice president of Program Board, said students can expect free food, games, inflatables and per-formances from local artists.

Gentle Friday has been cele-brated at Central Michigan Uni-versity every spring for 43 years.

“Program Board has been involved for quite a few years,” Lewis said.

Dave Breed, president of Pro-gram Board, said participants

will enjoy the Gentle Friday ac-tivities.

“(Students can) take some time to relax and have a little bit of fun before exam week,” the Muskegon senior said.

Friday’s activities are similar to those of last year, with a few improvements.

Lewis said students can expect to see four musicians perform-

ing alternative and Christian music and an improv comedy group.

Program Board also is offering “Bongo Ball Mania” during the event, a game similar to paint-ball, but with foam balls for am-munition.

Caterers and local businesses will offer free food, including hot dogs, veggie dogs, popcorn and samples from area restaurants.

Program Board also will host free movie screenings of the 2010 drama “Dear John” at 1 and 4 p.m. Friday in Pearce Hall 128 and the 2009 football film “The Blind Side” at 9 p.m. in Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Lewis said Program Board spent $10,000 on this year’s Gen-tle Friday.

[email protected]

gentle Friday a yearly de-stresser

It took Jeanay about two days last September to construct the dress, which includes 50 broken mirror pieces.

The “mirror dress” is one of the reasons she is a competitor in Michigan’s fashion design contest, “Runway on Monroe,” where Jeanay and 19 other de-signers will vie for a chance to be on the television show “Proj-ect Runway.”

Jeanay will present four outfits at the competition’s main event May 15 in downtown Grand Rapids’ Rosa Parks Circle.

The designers need online votes, which will determine who the top five contestants are.

Voters can visit runwayon-monroe.com and click the de-signer’s picture to vote.

After narrowing down the de-signers, the judges will then se-

lect their top choice.“I am super excited to be in

this competition,” Jeanay said. “The votes matter to put me in the top five. So regardless of how good I am, if I don’t get enough votes, I won’t make it.”

The winner will be chosen May 15.

Pushing for rewardsJeanay heard about the com-

petition from a close friend who e-mailed her the information.

She said the idea behind the “mirror dress” came from a Lady Gaga dress that was futuristic-looking.

“I had to be creative with it. I don’t know why I put mirrors on it,” she said.

Jeanay’s mother, Angela Jen-nings, said healthy competition is a good thing.

“I’m very proud of what she has done and all that she will do,” the Detroit resident said. “I’m totally ecstatic about this competition. I feel that this competition is propelling her to go forward and pushing her to create even greater de-signs.”

Jeanay’s fashion line is called “Camille Jeanay.” She created it in 2003 and it includes styles ranging from streetwear to prom dresses.

Her life can be hectic as the CEO of the company, a full-time student double majoring in ap-parel design and biomedical science and also studying pre-pharmacy.

“Right now, my clientele has gotten bigger so toward the

If you go...w What: Gentle Fridayw When: Noon to 5 p.m. Fridayw Where: Warriner Mallw Movie Screenings: "Dear John": 1 and 4 p.m. Friday in Pearce Hall 128. "The Blind Side": 9 p.m. in Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

dreams of the catwalkStudent designer vying for spot on television hit ‘Project Runway’

By Sherri Keaton | Senior Reporter

Fashion designer Camille Jeanay would do anything in the name of fashion.

That includes crawling into a dump-ster to salvage a mirror to use as ma-terial for a dress.

“I was climbing up like I am a spider monkey to grab this mirror,” said the Detroit senior, who is taking the se-mester off but plans to be back in the fall. “I dragged it home, grabbed my chemistry goggles and hammer and smashed the crap out of it.” A Fashion | 2a

By Sherri KeatonSenior Reporter

A recent proposal for health insurance has some international students up-set.

Central Michigan Uni-versity recently proposed a new health insurance policy according to a mass e-mail sent to international stu-dents last week. This policy will begin in fall 2010, auto-

matically enrolling students in the “CMU Student Injury and Sickness Insurance Plan” upon registration.

The insurance charges will be sent to students’ universi-ty accounts and only limited exceptions will be approved.

Trinidad and Tobago grad-uate student Annalyn Jacob said she thinks the policy is not balanced.

“(It) is unfair to force the students to have insurance without offering them alter-natives,” Jacob said. “I think it was something that was rushed for one thing, be-cause students weren’t con-sulted on it and I don’t think

everyone even knew about the policy.”

Angela Smith, assistant director of business services for Health Services, sent a list of several requirements for the insurance policy. The policy must be in English, last a full year, have an an-nual deductible higher than $250, minimum of $1,000 of prescription coverage and cover labs and x-rays at a minimum of $1,500.

The e-mail said the policy costs about $50 a month, depending upon the policy holder’s age.

International students question health policy offered by CMUNo alternativeplans to choose from, they say

A health | 2a

onfacebook

onVideo

facebook.com/cmlife

TALK WITH US: What are you doing for Gentle Friday?

See what students are doing to prepare for finals next

week.

cm-life.com

What’s on the Web baseball Offense rejuvenated in 14-9 win; Oakland up next, 8A

eXaM schedUle 2A

Thomas Haas

InsIdew CMU preparing different budget scenarios, 3A

Page 2: April 28, 2010

ToDblD’sYou figure it out, you’re in college.

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IN TWO LOCATIONS!

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today

w the CMu chapter of the student Veterans of america meets at 6 p.m. in the Bovee University Center Chippewa Room.

w the department of speech Communication and dramatic arts hosts a public debate on whether CMU should ban tobacco products at 7 p.m. in Moore Hall 206.

w a university and Campus band concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Music Building’s Staples Family Concert Hall.

thursday

w wesley at CMu is showing the films "The Blues Brothers" and "Avatar" at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. at 1400 S. Washington St.

w a CMu surplus sale takes place from noon to 2 p.m. at the corner of Bellows and Douglas streets. Items for sale include office furniture and equipment.

w The Musical theatre Program hosts a benefit theatre event to help fight against AIDS from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Johns Episcopal Church, 206 W. Maple St.

Corrections

© Central Michigan Life 2010Volume 91, Number 83

Central Michigan Life has a long-standing commitment to fair and accurate reporting. It is our policy to correct factual errors. Please e-mail [email protected].

EVENTS CALENDAR

WEATHER FORECAST

0 percent chance of precipitation

20 percent chance of precipitation

20 percent chance of precipitation

today High 61/Low 34 Sunny

thursdayHigh 70/Low 52 Mostly Sunny

fridayHigh 75/Low 60Partly Cloudy

2A || Wednesday, April 28, 2010 || Central Michigan Life www.cm-life.com[NewS]

end of the school year it is hard to balance it,” she said. “I maybe sleep like five hours or less than that.”

Jeanay’s friend, Robre’na Davis, a CMU alumna, said she does not know anyone else who works as hard as

Camille.“Camille is only a student,

but she has an established company. Making money and running her business is very admirable,” Davis said. “She doesn’t even complain about it because that is what she loves. You can’t really fake what you are passion-ate about.”

Jeanay said she pushes herself because of the job’s

rewards. “The best thing I like is to

make people happy when-ever they see my pieces and smile and cheer for it, that is the best part of it,” she said. “I have been getting a lot of praise for my work recently and I love it, it feels good to get acknowledged for the work I am doing.”

[email protected]

By May 15, international student representatives have to choose four alterna-tive policies, according to Health Services.

The university requires students to pay $100 a month for the year-long $1,250 plan, according to the e-mail. CMU is offering an established insurance policy, Study USA, which meets all the requirements for the insurance policy.

“We understand the need for insurance but, at the same time, they have to al-low exceptions to fit stu-dents’ budgets,” Jacob said.

LaCk of affordabiLityOne of the main concerns

some international students voiced about the policy is its year-long coverage.

Nigeria graduate student Gabriel Emadamerho said the health insurance policy is a heavy burden for inter-national students to bear if they will not be in America the entire time.

“We pay a huge amount of tuition fees compared to what Americans are paying,” he said. “They put some bar-riers on it, and this makes it difficult for students who cannot afford this policy to cover all this.”

Emadamerho plans to go to Nigeria for the summer and still is not sure if he will be held responsible for pay-ing the unused insurance.

Korea graduate student Mihyang An said she hopes international students find

their own solutions and ne-gotiate with CMU.

“What I am concerned about with this health in-surance issue is that I have to buy a new (policy), be-cause I already have health insurance which I bought in my country, Korea, when I came here,” An said.

Nepal senior Pratik Chhe-tri said international stu-dents should be given as many options as American students in terms of insur-ance.

“College is already expen-sive, international students pay more than double what American students pay,” Chhetri said.

He said a compromise between administration and international students should happen soon.

“I am pretty sure we will come to a common point,” he said. “We have been al-ready asked for a couple al-ternatives to the university’s plan.

a new PLanSmith could not imme-

diately comment on the is-sue.

After an informal meeting last week, a group of inter-national students decided that, by today, any other in-ternational students should find one health insurance plan meeting CMU’s re-quirements and post the link on their Facebook group, according to another mass e-mail sent to many inter-national students by Nige-ria junior Evelyn Famutimi, president of African Student Association.

[email protected]

health|continued from 1a

raised tuition.Last week, David Burdette,

vice president of Finance and Administrative Services, told CM Life that EMU’s decision to freeze tuition would not affect CMU’s decision.

CMU’s Board of Trustees will decide undergraduate tuition rates at its July 15 meeting.

Lawrence Sych, associate pro-fessor of political science, said the decisions made by EMU and GVSU will not have much of an impact on the state budget for higher education.

“It makes no sense to restrain tuition unless the state increases its aid to higher education,” Sych said. “I can’t see them getting a balanced budget this year with-out them having to take some cuts on the higher education.”

Higher education is one of the few programs in the general budget that can be cut and still function, he said.

“The attitude is, ‘If we cut col-leges and universities, they can increase tuition,’” he said.

McLogan said the decision was not affected by EMU’s deci-sion last week.

Walter Kraft, vice president of Communications for EMU, said EMU had its students in mind when it planned a zero percent

tuition increase.EMU did not intentionally set

a precedent for other universi-ties to follow, he said.

“We are focused on EMU and what’s right for our students,” he said. “We can’t really speak as to what other institutions are doing and what their plans are.”

However, Kraft said he is pleased that GVSU is consider-ing cutting tuition.

“We know this is making a difference. We’re pleased to see the focus and attention on af-fordability and accessibility,” he said. “We think that goes a long way.”

[email protected]

gVsU|continued from 1a

continued from 1a

fashion|

Monday, May 3If your class begins:9 a.m. MWF - 8 to 9:50 a.m. exam time10 a.m. MWF - 10 to 11:50 a.m. exam timeNoon MWF - Noon to 1:50 p.m. exam time2 p.m. MWF - 2 to 3:50 p.m. exam time

tuesday, May 4If your class begins:8 a.m. TR - 8 to 9:50 a.m. exam time9 a.m. TR - 10 to 11:50 a.m. exam time2 p.m. TR - 2 to 3:50 p.m. exam time

wednesday, May 5If your class begins:8 a.m. MWF - 8 to 9:50 a.m. exam time11 a.m. MWF - 10 to 11:50 a.m. exam time1 p.m. MWF - Noon to 1:50 p.m. exam time 3 p.m. MWF - 2 to 3:50 p.m. exam time

thursday, May 6If your class begins:11 a.m. TR - 10 to 11:50 a.m. exam timeNoon TR - Noon to 1:50 p.m. exam time3 p.m. TR - 2 to 3:50 p.m. exam time

friday, May 7If your class begins:10 a.m. TR - 8 to 9:50 a.m. exam time1 p.m. TR - 10 to 11:50 a.m. exam time

eVening CLassesIf your class begins:M, MW, 4 to 6 p.m. Your exam is: Monday, May 3 during the regular time (110 min.)

M, MW, 6:30 or 7 p.m. Your exam is: Monday, May 3 from 7 to 8:50 p.m.

T, TR, 4 to 6 p.m. Your exam is: Tuesday, May 4 during the regular time (110 min.)

T, TR, 6:30 or 7 p.m. Your exam is: Tuesday, May 4 from 7 to 8:50 p.m.

W, 4 p.m. or After Your exam is: Wednesday, May 5 during the regular time (110 min.)

R, 4 p.m. or After Your exam is: Thursday, May 6 during the regular time (110 min.)

F, 4 p.m. or After Your exam is: Friday, May 7 during the regular time (110 min.)

SPRING 2010 EXAM SCHEDULE

Page 3: April 28, 2010

By Melissa TorokStaff Reporter

Some students will do just about any-thing for money.

Anya O’Brien had to draw a picture of Texas.

The Roscommon fresh-man won $45 in the bonus round of the Money Tree Game show Tuesday at the Bovee University Center.

“I kind of thought of how it looked, but I wasn’t sure,” O’Brien said. “It was pretty exciting - the guy was a lot of fun.”

About 26 students did var-ious activities for money like assemble a Rubik’s Cube, jump rope and list as many movies as they could with the word “war” in the title.

The Texas picture was O’Brien’s toughest task.

“Everyone wants the chance to win money,” said Allenpark junior Russell Pfafflin. “To me this is new. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Pfafflin is Program Board’s

special events chair and came up with the Money Tree Game Show idea. Program Board hosted the event.

Students were randomly selected to participate in three rounds with themes including intelligence, skill and athletics.

Four students competed in each round.

Winners of each round had 20 seconds to pull money off the ‘money tree.’

The money tree resem-bled a large white Christmas tree with $5 bills stuffed in-side. The tree had a total of $500, Minier said.

The money-grabbers were required to wear dark sunglasses, gloves and an apron, and had to grab the cash with one hand.

Sean Carlin hosted the show and tossed money to an excited crowd through-out the event.

Students eagerly jumped at the falling one dollar bills.

Carlin began the show by asking the crowd simple tasks. He gave money to

students with a new state quarter or with the biggest tattoo.

Carlin asked the audi-ence questions to earn ex-tra cash. Such questions in-cluded naming the capital of Nevada.

“It was a lot of fun,” Greg-ory senior Abby Gillingham

said of the competition. “I didn’t make any money, but it was fun.”

Gillingham made it to the end of round two. Every student eliminated received a free Money Tree Game Show T-shirt.

[email protected]

Spring ConcertCentral Harmony is hosting

a spring concert May 1 in Moore Hall’s Townsend Kival. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the con-cert will begin at 7 p.m. The cost is $5 at the door. Tickets may only be purchased at the door. The concert will feature Common Ground Dance Crew. For more information, check out the event “Central Har-mony Spring Concert,” on Fa-cebook.com.

Pancake Breakfast

Sigma Alpha Epsilon hosts a pancake breakfast from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday night at the Wesley Foundation, 1400 S. Washington St. All proceeds will go toward the Children’s Miracle Network. Students can get tickets from a member for $5 or purchase them at the door for $6. For more informa-tion, contact Cody Nihem at [email protected].

NBS film competition

The National Broadcasting Society will play the movies students produced for its 48-hour film competition from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium. Par-ticipants had 48 hours to create a short movie that included five specific elements. The winners will be announced and will re-ceive prizes. For more informa-tion, contact Colin Hennessy at [email protected].

Mobile scavenger hunt

On the Fly Productions hosts “Blitz for Buzz,” a mobile scav-enger hunt taking place across campus from 1 to 3 p.m. Thurs-day. Groups will meet in front of the Bovee University Cen-ter and must consist of four people. At least one person must be able to receive text messages through their cell phone. Prizes will be awarded. For more information, contact [email protected] or at 774-1189.

Moore Hall Television

MHTV is looking for a new TV host for a high adventure show in the fall. Students au-ditioning must be available in the summer and fall and must be willing to perform extreme sports activities. For more in-formation, contact Danielle Mann at [email protected] or call (586) 214-9711.

SHC Spring Fling

The Saxe/Herrig/Celani residence halls host the third annual SHC Spring Fling from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday in the Saxe Herrig Courtyard. The event features a dunk tank, tye - dying, volleyball, a rock wall, garage sale and sidewalk chalking contest. For more information e-mail [email protected].

Retention Matters

Human Resources will host an educational session en-titled Retention Matters from 2 to 3:30 p.m. today at the Education and Human Services Building 315. Within the hour-long session, students will learn what is happening in the world of retention. The session will be facilitated by Shawn Wilson and Amy McGinnis. For more information, contact Hu-man Resources Strategy and Organizational Development at [email protected] or at 774-6447.

If you have an interesting item for Life in Brief,

let us know by e-mailing [email protected]

Heidi Fenton, Managing Editor | [email protected] | 989.774.4343

inside life3AWednesday, April 28, 2010

Central Michigan life

[Life in brief]

By Thiago FernandesStaff Reporter

Commerce senior Justin Ry-dzewski expects the second an-nual Downtown for a Pint con-cert to be even better than the first.

The four-hour event features six bands and will raise money for the American Red Cross starting at 5 p.m. Thursday in downtown Mount Pleasant.

There will be stands selling T-shirts and other merchandise, and attendees can participate in games and raffles.

Rydzewski said it is an effort to re-energize downtown Mount Pleasant.

“City Hall spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to get the CMU population downtown,” said LeRoy sophomore Wayne Blanchard, who co-organized the event. “For the most part, CMU students don’t go there, but we want to draw students downtown.”

The inspiration to create a live concert in the middle of the city evolved from the idea of just having an after-hours hot dog stand.

“We just wanted to sell hot dogs to drunk college students,” Rydzewski said.

Once the idea was fleshed out, Blanchard and Rydzews-ki — both members of Alpha Kappa Psi co-ed professional business fraternity — obtained support from Mount Pleasant’s City Hall, the police department and a number of sponsors from downtown.

The stage was borrowed from

Concert set to energize the cityDowntown for a Pint seeks to raise $2,000

If you go...w What: Downtown for a Pint IIw When: 5 p.m. Thursdayw Where: Downtown Mount Pleasantw Cost: Free

By Melissa TorokStaff Reporter

Petting a dog can be an easy way to relieve stress.

And during exam week, most students will need to relieve as much stress as they can.

Dog Tales Founder and Co-ordinator Betty Lewis will bring her dogs to visit Larzelere, Calkins, Campbell, Beddow, Trout, Robinson, Wheeler and Kesseler halls Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

“It helps them unwind, so

they can go back to study,” Lewis said.

About eight handlers and their dogs will visit, and students can spend as much time as they need with them.

Dog Tales is a nonprofit orga-nization that uses therapeutic dogs to help children read. Lewis founded the group in 2005 and each dog must undergo testing before certification.

“It’s like a basic obedience class,” Lewis said about the dogs’ training. “You have to be able to have them stay and then call them.”

Dogs learn basic commands such as sit, lay down and stay. Lewis said dogs can reduce stress and blood pressure by 50 percent.

All breeds can certify for thera-py. The dogs must have a friend-ly manner with all handlers and a ‘meet and greet’ activity tests the dog’s interaction with other handlers during training.

“We walk them around through a bunch of people,” Lewis said. “The dog can’t panic, it shows they will be alright with other people.”

She said temperament and obedience are important quali-ties in a therapy dog.

“If they are too frightened of the equipment, then they won’t give a good visit,” Lewis said.

She said the dogs must be comfortable around wheelchairs or walkers in nursing homes.

dog Tales making return appearance in residence hallsHall-to-hall visit allows for exam stress relief

sEan proctor/staff photographerWarren junior Amanda Shepard and Lowell junior Kenny Hayes talk with Judy Zeiss, of Midland, and play with Judy’s 4-year-old shetland sheepdog Laddie Sunday evening in Larzelere Hall.

A ConCerT | 7A

A dogs | 7A

By Jaimie CremeansStaff Reporter

David Burdette said Central Michigan University has a “con-servative model” for coming state appropriations cuts.

With Michigan’s Senate Ap-propriations Committee rec-ommending a 3.1 percent cut in appropriations to higher educa-tion, CMU administrators out-lined their plans for budget cuts Monday in the Bovee University

Center Auditorium.Burdette, vice president of Fi-

nancial and Administrative Ser-vices, presented budget models for the 2010-11 budget year based on anywhere from 5 to 20 percent cuts in state appro-priations. By the models shown, if the cuts remain at or below 5 percent, CMU could afford its predicted budget without rais-ing tuition.

“While we may get a 3 to 4 percent reduction in state ap-propriations, that would be great because we modeled for a 20 percent reduction,” he said. “We have built a very conserva-tive model.”

He also said officials plan to

freeze the amount of money al-located to utilities over the next three years.

Burdette also laid out models for next year’s budget based on a “modest” 2 percent increase in undergraduate tuition.

Provost Gary Shapiro said officials have not decided what the tuition increase will be.

“As challenging as the budget is, we are not alone,” said Uni-versity President George Ross. “There are 15 colleges in this state and we are all challenged.”

Ross said major plans for cuts include salary restraint, spend-ing out of the reserve account and cutting maintenance and utility costs.

There should be no layoffs of any current faculty or staff over the next year based on what they know, Ross said.

Kathy Wilbur, vice president of Government Relations and Public Affairs, said she does not blame the Senate for proposing the cut and said Michigan is fac-ing a $1.7 billion deficit.

Although the House of Repre-sentatives has not discussed the budget yet, they will probably consider a similar cut to appro-priations, she said.

“I think they were being very pragmatic,” Wilbur said. “I actu-ally think 3.1 percent is almost nothing compared with what I think they really could do.”

Shapiro said state appro-priations for 2010 is set at $80,064,200, about $400,000 less than it was in 2000. However, he said this amount means a lot less now as CMU has more students, and bills and expenses have increased greatly.

The funding the university receive from the state now is about $4,285 per student, com-pared with about $4,900 in 2000. Shapiro said this has led CMU to raise tuition over the years to make up for the difference.

“We cannot continue to raise tuition in a competitive sense,” Shapiro said.

[email protected]

Officials preparing 2010-11 budget scenariosSmall state cuts could mean little to no tuition raise

show me the money

photos by libby March/staff photographerRoscommon freshman Anya O’Brien laughs as Money Tree Game Show host Sean Carlin pokes fun at her rendering of the state of Texas, which she drew while competing to win money Tuesday in the Bovee University Center Rotunda.

Shelby Township freshman Ben Halliwill and Roscommon freshman Anya O’Brien listen to Money Tree Game Show host Sean Carlin direct them Tuesday in the Bovee University Center Rotunda. Halliwill and O’Brien were freehand-drawing the state of Texas in competition to win money.

Students win big at Bovee University Center game show

Page 4: April 28, 2010

www.cm-life.com[News]

Central Michigan Life || Wednesday, April 28, 2010 || 5A

By Ryan TaljonickStaff Reporter

Rebecca Koglin is an occa-

sional smoker excited for the state-wide smoking ban that takes effect Saturday.

The statute bans smoking at all places of work besides cigar bars and the gaming floors of Detroit’s casinos.

Several of Koglin’s friends light up cigarettes while they bowl at Chippewa Lanes, 1200 S. Mis-sion St.

“I think some people are go-ing to like it, and some people are going to get pissed,” the Port Hope senior said of the ban.

She is excited she does not have to worry about the scent of cigarettes filling public places.

“You won’t wake up smelling like smoke when you haven’t been smoking,” Koglin said.

Michigan will become the 38th state in the U.S. to ban smoking in public places after Gov. Jen-nifer Granholm signed the law in December.

Katie Lundwall, manager at O’Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grille, 2000 S. Mission St., said the bar

is prepared for the ban.“We made signs — we’re go-

ing to put them up everywhere,” Lundwall said. “We should have it under control.”

Lundwall does not anticipate losing much business.

“I think it will be just like any-where else,” she said. “(Smokers will) adjust to it. I mean, they have to.”

O’Kelly’s will be a healthier, cleaner environment, she said.

Matt Richardson, a student at Mid Michigan Community College, smokes frequently and said the ban will likely lead him to smoke less often.

“It might make a lot of people cut back on their habit,” Rich-ardson said. “I know when I’m at the bar, I smoke way more than I normally do. It goes hand in hand.”

However, he said the smoking ban will not keep him from go-ing outside to light up.

“It’s going to be a nuisance for me. They should have designat-ed areas to smoke,” Richardson said, noting his curiosity in how the ban will be enforced.

Richardson said he views the

first few months as a trial run when some people still attempt to edge past the law.

“I understand the ban, I know that it’s horrible for me,” he said of smoking. “It’s been in my life for this long, why are you taking it from me?”

Mount Pleasant resident Kari Nicholas cannot wait for the smoking ban.

“I love it,” she said. “I don’t want to have to smell like (smoke) if I don’t do it.”

While some residents are un-sure whether the flow of busi-ness will remain steady in the immediate days after the ban, many have confidence things will smooth over.

People will adjust to the ban, said Dan Bragg, a Chippewa Lanes employee. Bragg noted some people who have dropped out of bowling leagues due to smoke.

“It seems to have worked in other states, so we’ll see what happens,” he said. “Either way you go, you’ll make some people happy and some people mad.”

[email protected]

Smoking ban begins Saturday;restaurants prep for change

Jeff sMith/stAff photogrApherMount Pleasant resident Jerry Anger, right, and Mid Michigan Community College junior Kristin Keast smoke cigarettes while bowling with friends Monday at Chippewa Lanes, 1200 S. Mission St. The group bowls every Monday, but this was the last opportunity in a smok-ing environment. “It’s not a big deal, it would be better to smoke outside anyway,” Anger said. “It will make me smoke less.”

By Kelli AmelingStaff Reporter

Many students have in-ternships lined up and ready to go as summer appraoch-es.

But students with unpaid internships may not be as ready as they think.

“There are so many devi-ous ways, in the employer population, that prey on students to do labor to make income for themselves,” said Julia Sherlock, director of ca-reer services.

Sherlock said students should never accept an in-ternship they have to put money up front for.

“If it feels funny, it is,” she said. “If you feel like a slave, walk out. You don’t have to stay there.”

Students should read and re-read everything before signing a contract. Although some internships have mass payoffs at the end that work for some students, these op-portunities do not work for most.

“Never, ever have an in-ternship that is unpaid without realizing what the requirements are up front,” Sherlock said, explaining her belief a legitimate orga-nization would not offer an internship unpaid.

“I would be curious what the outcomes were,” she added.

Gary Gagnon, assistant professor of marketing and hospitality services, said the hospitality department only does paid internships.

“If they get one of our hospitality students who have studied this, and they only pay $9, they are going to get much, much more than $9 worth,” Gagnon said. “They are going to get a lot of value for what they

are paying.”Sherlock said some stu-

dents have brought intern-ships to Career Services’ at-tention in the past.

“We take an active role in investigating internships and have even banned some em-ployers from campus,” Sher-lock said.

Setting a StandardRecently, Career Services

banned College Pro Painters from campus because it was not a legitimate employer, she said. Students would walk away with debt after working.

Sherlock said before em-ployers are able to advertise through Central Michigan University, Career Services reviews the employer to make sure the person is a legiti-mate employer. If the place does not meet the criteria, it is denied.

“Our job is to maintain and make sure (the internship) is safe education and mentor-ing,” Sherlock said.

Gagnon said he has to ap-

prove all the internships his students find. He said he has been around a long time and has seen many of the same ones but, when a student finds a new one, he investi-gates it.

“They sign a contract about what the student is promised to do. If they don’t do these things, we contact them,” Gagnon said.

He said before students leave to go to their intern-ships, he gives them his con-tact information and tells the students to contact him right away if there are any prob-lems.

She said internship coordi-nators also are aware of who are legitimate employers.

“We exist to help students and encourage them to use the resources (they) are pay-ing for,” Sherlock said. “We look for the best interest for our students to help make the transition from student to professional.”

[email protected]

Career Services: Beware of unpaid internshipsOfficials verify which employers are ‘legitimate’

“We exist to help students and encourage them to use the

resources (they) are paying for.” Julia Sherlock, director of career services

Page 5: April 28, 2010

voices[cm-life.com/category/opinion]

6A

central Michigan Life

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Central Michigan University is possibly looking at a 2 percent tuition increase next year, which is small compared to previous years. But universities should not bow to the state by raising tuition rates to offset lower state appropriations — exactly what government officials consider appropriate in dire eco-nomic times.

A 2 percent increase in tuition is a failure on CMU’s part, especially when smaller schools such as Grand Valley State University and Eastern Michigan University are trying to freeze or reduce tuition. CMU isn’t

Michigan State or University of Michigan, and its tuition rates should reflect that.

EMU surprised students by an-nouncing that tuition, room and board will stay level during the next academic year. EMU also had the lowest tuition increase during the 2008-09 academic year.

GVSU is taking similar steps in reducing tuition by promising to cut its rate by 5 percent if the state gives it $3,775 per student, the minimum level of state funding. CMU receives $4,285 per student — much more than GVSU and the state minimum.

Coupled by the fact that both uni-versities have a comparable number of undergraduate students (17,851 students at CMU, 17,135 at GVSU), it is absurd CMU is even proposing to increase tuition.

So what’s stopping CMU from tak-ing the same steps in not raising tu-ition? Yes, lower appropriations from the state make it difficult to continue operation but, if other universities are capable of continuing without increasing tuition, CMU should be able to do the same.

GVSU receives the lowest fund-ing per student in the state and is proposing to cut tuition costs with lower per-student funding than CMU. EMU had the lowest increase in tuition last year and managed to keep the same rate.

Perhaps it’s the mentality that CMU is better than EMU and GVSU, and closer to the likes of MSU or U-M. But during struggling eco-

nomic times, why increase tuition when your direct competition — which already is cheaper to attend — is not?

Someone should tell administra-tors that this university can’t com-pete on the same level as the bigger colleges in academics. CMU isn’t a giant research facility. The football team does not generate a profit. En-rollment numbers are nowhere near either of those universities. CMU isn’t recognized nationally to be as nearly as scholarly.

Why? Because the university chooses to spend money on big projects, such as the medical col-lege, rather than on bolstering its ex-isting academic programs. And now those programs are suffering.

CMU needs to freeze tuition if it wishes to be competitive within the state of Michigan. Show students that giving the best possible educa-tion at a reasonable cost is the goal.

Funding for higher education in Michigan is drying up in the wake of a $1.7-billion state budget deficit.

EDITORIAL | CMU does not have an excuse to raise tuition 2 percent in 2009-10 school year

Staying affordable

E-mail | [email protected] | 436 Moore Hall

Mount Pleasant, MI 48859Fax | 989.774.7805

Central Michigan Life welcomes let-ters to the editor and commentary submissions. Only correspondence that includes a signature (e-mail excluded), address and phone number will be considered. Do not include attached documents via e-mail. Letters should be no longer than 300 words and commentary should not exceed 500 words. All submissions are subject to editing and may be published in print or on www.cm-life.com in the order they are received.

[letters to the editor]

Facing a deathDying should be

mourned, but also celebrated

NATE BEELER [CARTOON]

[our readers’ voice]

Healthy relationshipsFamily members, friends and

others are in unhealthy relation-ships more often than we realize.

People in healthy relationships are treated equally to one another. However, this does not always turn out to be the case.

One of the main reasons is due to a lack of healthy relationships to model after these days.

To pave the way for a better future within your relationship, it is best to practice creating forms of equality at the beginning of the relationship and to establish these methods from there on.

If you set the same rules and standards for both people in the relationship, you are taking the right steps toward equality. Ultimately, when both people in the relation-ship have a say and feel as though their thoughts and opinions are valued, neither person will feel superior to the another. Developing a sense of identity is significant to starting and maintaining a healthy relationship.

In a healthy relationship, you have the right to your own opinion, to talk to others about how you feel, to choose your own friends, to feel safe and to be treated with respect.

However, with your rights comes responsibilities. Being honest about your thoughts, listening and agree-ing to disagree will aid in making your relationship healthier.

People in relationships have the authority to make choices on how they will behave. At times, there will be cases of anger and arguments — these feelings are normal. How we act on these feelings will determine whether the relationship is consid-ered healthy or unhealthy.

Working to achieve a healthy rela-tionship requires time and patience. Proving that you have admiration and concern for the other person in the relationship takes practice and will involve getting feedback from your partner.

If you or a friend is involved an unhealthy relationship, there are many options for help. Resources available locally consist of our on-campus student organization SAPA (Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates) and Women’s Aid Service of Isabella County.

For more information on con-cerns regarding healthy relation-ships, visit womens-aid.org.

COM 353: Small Group Communication

GUEST COLUMN

central Michigan Life

“I think Dan LeFevour can

be a successful back-up QB.”Michael Buczek,

Freeland junior

C M Y O U |Do you think CMU players drafted into the NFL will do well?

paige calamari/staFF photographer

“Yes, I think they’ll do well.”Aundrea Stokes,

Detroit junior

“I think they are going to do good

because they had good stats in

college.”Erica Kearns,

south Lyon sophomore

“I think (Dan LeFevour) will do pretty good after

3 years.” Charles Eady,

Lansing junior

Brian Manzullo, Editor in ChiEf | Will Axford, VoiCEs Editor | Heidi Fenton, Managing Editor | Eric Dresden, UniVErsity Editor | Jackie Smith, MEtro Editor

EdiTORiAL Brian Manzullo, Editor in Chief Heidi Fenton, Managing Editorr

Joe Borlik, Student Life EditorJackie Smith, Metro Editor

Eric dresden, University EditorAndrew Stover, Sports Editor Ashley Miller, Photo EditorWill Axford, Voices Editor

david Veselenak, Online EditorChelsea Kleven, Lead Designer

AdVERTiSiNg

Lindsey Reed, Katie SidellAdvertising Managers

Carly Schafer, Shawn WrightMulti-Media Marketing Coordinators

PROFESSiONAL STAFF Rox Ann Petoskey,

Production Leader Kathy Simon,

Assistant Director of Student Media

Neil C. Hopp,Adviser to Central Michigan Life

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

– The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

I did not attend my first funeral until last December. I am nearly 24 years old.

It’s not an activity I’d like to be repeating anytime soon, but it’s looking like I will be.

A family friend has been in the hospital fighting for her life for the past few months. And boy, was she one tough old bird.

My Tante (Aunt) Else was the true embodiment of a third grandma.

And even though she had been in the hospital for the past few months, and even though I prepared myself for the dreaded phone call from my dad, hear-ing the news of someone’s death is never easy to hear, especially someone I have known all of my 23-plus years.

She was an old German woman and, when I say German, I mean really German. Her accent was thick and, when she got excited, it was hard to understand her. But that was one of the things that was so endearing.

She played the accordion and could never offer me enough food or beer, things I will miss.

But, in the end, it is better that she has passed away — she was an octogenarian with a bum hip and two bum knees. Her time had come.

In the past six months, I have dealt with more death in my life than ever before, learning to cope and that it’s okay to lean on some-one else’s shoulders.

Everyone deals with death dif-ferently. Some people retract and just stay inside themselves, others are overly emotional and there are some people like me that appear unaffected.

But don’t misread my lack of public display of emotion.

It isn’t that I am not sad. I am — very much so. But I refuse to let this ruin the rest of my day, week or month.

As Master Yoda said, “death is a natural part of life,” and the de-ceased’s life should be celebrated, not mourned.

Everyone has a story to tell and, when someone dies, that story should be told by family, friends and confidants. This is why the death of a family member or friend doesn’t affect me the way it does some other people.

My Tante Else came to the U.S. in 1953, with little more than a few dollars and a truckload of determi-nation.

She worked her way up in the world, eventually owning several storefronts and living in the cozy old-money neighborhood of Grosse Pointe.

But I will remember her for the little things she did: the undying ef-fort to make me eat more food than should be possible, or to drink more coke or beer than is ever necessary.

She was a beacon of generosity that outshined many people in my life. And though we didn’t always agree on some issues, she still fed me chocolate.

Like everyone else, she has a story to be told. And it is my job to tell that story.

Michael L. HoffmanColumnist

Mr. Stover,

I found the article comparing Tim Tebow and Dan LeFevour in Mon-day’s paper ridiculous.

The article starts out by talking about how Tebow wasn’t supposed to be drafted until the middle rounds; but if Stover had watched anything about the draft a few days before, both Mel Kiper and Todd McShay said Tebow would be going late first round. Stover goes on to say that Tebow and LeFevour are near clones?! Are you kidding me?

Tim Tebow has been invited to the Heisman Trophy presentation 3 times in his career winning one trophy. Tebow has been called one of the best college football players ever, while Dan is nothing more than one of the best college MAC quarterbacks players ever — big difference.

I compare Tebow to a utility tool and, for the last 4 years, he was us-ing the screw driver, but he still has the ability to use the knife, bottle

opener and scissors; believe me, his stay at Florida was just the begin-ning.

Even if drafting Tebow was a ‘gim-mick’ move as Mr. Stover indicates, and Tebow fails as a quarterback, it will not only increase ticket sales, but also Tebow merchandise will outsell LeFevour’s by an outland-ish amount. All in all, a pretty good gimmick I suppose.

I will agree that LeFevour dropped a little more than I expected, but he is nothing more than a system quarterback who had superior tal-ent (Antonio Brown) to the rest of the MAC, and could get away with throwing a screen to Brown and watching him take it the distance.

When I would watch CMU games, I rarely saw Dan throwing the ball downfield, and the same can be said for Tebow. But would you rather have someone who dominated the SEC for 3 years or one that domi-nated the MAC?

Stover was correct on one point in his article, when he said LeFevour

won’t succeed in the NFL; he might stick around as a backup or get a couple starts here and there, but he will never be a regular started in the NFL.

But he can’t convince me Tebow won’t succeed. If watching Tim over the last 4 years has taught me any-thing, it’s that he is going to ‘want’ it more than anybody else on the field.

Ever since he won the Heisman 3 years ago, everybody and their mother has been trying to find flaws in his game.

But saying he can’t do something, that his delivery is a little off, or that he wears his heart on his sleeve is only going to make him work harder.

Teams could use more players like Tebow, maybe we should stop trying to criticize him every chance we get and take him for face value; a person we wish we could all be a little more like.

Michael R. McDowellAda sophomore

Comparing Dan LeFevour to Tim Tebow absurd; Tebow far superior

Central Michigan Life is the independent voice of Central Michigan University and is ed-ited and published by students of Central Michigan University every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and every Wednesday during the summer. The online edition (www.cm-life.com) contains all of the material published in print.

Central Michigan Life is is under the jurisdiction of the independent Student Media Board of Directors. Articles and opinions do not necessarily reflect the position or opinions

of CMU or its employees.Central Michigan Life is a member of the Michigan Press Association, the Michigan

Collegiate Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press and the College Newspaper Business & Advertising Managers Association.

Central Michigan Life’s operations are totally funded from revenues through advertising sales. Editions are distributed free throughout the community and individuals are entitled

to one copy. Each copy has an implied value of 75 cents.Non-university subscriptions are $1 per mailed edition. Copies of photographs published

in Central Michigan Life or its online edition (www.cm-life.com) are available for purchase at http://reprints.cm-life.com

Central Michigan Life’s editorial and business offices are located at 436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, telephone 774-3493.

Page 6: April 28, 2010

cm-life.com/vibe[VIBE]

Central Michigan Life || Wednesday, April 28, 2010 || 7A

Former NBA star visits CMU

jeff sMith/stAff photogrApherFormer Detroit Piston and two-time NBA All Star Allan Houston speaks about being a father and a leader Tuesday in the Bovee Univer-sity Center Auditorium.

Houston talkscharacterdevelopment

City Hall, while a lot of the sound equipment came from the Dow Diamond baseball stadium in Midland.

Bigger and Better?Three bands are returning

from last year and three new-comers will perform.

Jetpack On! will open festiv-ities, along with event emcee Mike Breezy.

The Muggs, The Satin Peaches, Mick Bassett and the Marthas, Millions of Brazil-ians and Lightning Love also will perform.

Rydzewski said getting the

bands the first time around was a stroke of luck.

He went to the same high school as the lead singer of The Satin Peaches and, when he bumped into him at a bar, he mustered the courage to ask the band to perform at the first Downtown for a Pint last year.

“(The Satin Peaches) are a huge deal in my hometown,” Rydzewski said. “They ended up hooking all of our bands and we got five bands to-gether. It’s mostly local De-troit talent — up and coming bands.”

During last year’s event, 600 people attended and $1,000 was raised for the American Red Cross.

Blanchard and Rydzewski

said this year the event will be much bigger, better and brighter.

“There’s a lot of different organizations pitching in,” Blanchard said. “Alpha Kappa Psi has done a lot of the work. We collaborated with Modern Rock 91.5 as well.”

After the event, at 11:15 p.m., the Brass Cafe, 128 S. Main St., one of the event’s sponsors, will host a meet-

and-greet with the bands.Rydzewski said he expects

around 2,000 people to at-tend and donations to exceed $2,000 for the American Red Cross.

“Bring your friends, bring a camera and just expect to have a really good time,” he said. “You will make some memo-ries you will never forget.”

[email protected]

ConCert |continued from 3A

An examiner pets the dog’s ears, eyes, nose and back. Lewis evaluates dogs for Therapy Dogs International. Dog Tales visited Merrill Hall during last semester’s finals.

Commerce Township freshman Mckenzie McDou-gall participated last year and said her favorite dog

was a chocolate labrador. “It was definitely a good

break from finals,” McDou-gall said.

Several students look for-ward to spending more time with the dogs.

“They were really cute,” said Warren freshman Dana Deboer. “They were friendly and loving with everyone.”

The group also works with Special Olympics, in class-rooms and with the day care

in the Education and Hu-man Services Building.

Lewis said bringing the dogs to campus is an easier job than the other places they visit, especially the day care.

“Children make fast quick movements,” Lewis said. “Students are gentle and caring and treat them really well, so they really enjoy it.”

[email protected]

Dog Tales schedule

w 4 to 5 p.m. Sunday in Calkins Hallw 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday in Campbell Hallw 7 to 8 p.m. Sunday in Beddows Hallw 8 to 9 p.m. Sunday in Trout Hallw 7 to 8 p.m. Monday in Robinson Hallw 8 to 9 p.m. Monday in Wheeler Hallw 8 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in Kessler Hall

dogs |continued from 3A

By Ryan TaljonickStaff reporter

Tim Roberts enjoyed lis-tening to two-time NBA All Star Allan Houston speak about the importance of spirituality, family relation-ships and leadership skills.

He was one of about 250 attendants in the Bovee Uni-versity Center Auditorium Tuesday night.

“It meant a lot to me,” the Adrian junior said. “It was all about understanding your role that God has given you, and your gifts.”

Houston played for the Detroit Pistons from 1993 to 1996 and the New York Knicks from 1996 to 2005. He was also an Olympic gold medalist in 2000.

He has since retired and works for the New York Knicks as the assistant to the president for basketball operations.

Houston wanted to use his leadership skills outside of the sport to make a posi-tive impact on the world, he said.

He stressed the impor-tance of spirituality and family relationships in char-acter development.

“I think God really hits people in their hearts at a certain stage of their lives,” Houston said. “I started to question, ‘why, why did I get this gift?’”

Houston has created sev-eral organizations that focus on character development.

He started the Allan Hous-ton’s “Father Knows Best” Basketball Retreat, which aims to strengthen father-son and mentor-mentee re-lationships.

“If we address the family, we address a lot of society’s issues,” Houston said. “(The retreat) provides an atmo-sphere where they can enjoy and enhance their relation-ships.”

It is statistically proven that youth who grow up without a father figure are susceptible to committing crime and social injustices, Houston said.

“Forty-three percent of U.S. children are without fa-thers,” he said. “Eighty per-cent of rapists are from fa-therless homes. Eighty-five percent of youth in prison lack a father in the home.”

He also created the “Allan

Houston’s Business Edu-cation and Development Program,” which aims to provide economic empow-erment through training and education to young entrepreneurs in Harlem and New Orleans.

Houston stressed the importance of being in-volved in sports. The ca-maraderie, he said, is a crucial part of character development.

“The best teams that I’ve seen had a strong identity,” Houston said. “You have to be able to effectively communicate and hold your group ac-countable.”

Leadership skills learned in sports can be used to better the world, he said.

“Sports increases our capacity to live a more ef-fective life,” Houston said.

Jalin Thomas, a forward for CMU’s basketball team, really enjoyed listening to Houston’s presentation.

“I thought it impacted a lot of people in there,” he said. “It impacted my life.”

The Ohio junior said he was pleased that Houston incorporated family and re-ligion into his speech.

“A lot of what he said ran

along with what I felt and what I believe in,” he said. “A lot of kids are growing up without parents. It’s impor-tant that they learn about life through their parents.”

[email protected]

“Bring your friends, bring a camera and just expect to have a really good time. You will make some memories

you will never forget.”Justin Rydezwski, Commerce senior

Page 7: April 28, 2010

Andrew Stover, Sports Editor | [email protected] | 989.774.3169

sports8AWednesday, April 28, 2010

Central Michigan Life

JUCO transfer Paramore signs letter of intent with CMU

offensive rebuttal

[cm-life.com/category/sports]

photos by matthEw StEphEnS/senior photographerSophomore first baseman Nate Theunissen (9) is congratulated after hitting his team-leading sixth home run of the season during the third inning of the CMU baseball team’s 14-9 win against Wayne State on Tuesday at Theunissen Stadium. Theunissen went 4-for-4 with one home run and five runs batted in.

Central MiChigan 14, Wayne State 9 Baseball plays oU;tweaks rotationDodridge to start today; Enns takes mound Saturday

By Daniel MonsonSenior Reporter

The sixth member of the CMU men’s basketball team’s 2010 recruiting class is no stranger to success.

Paris Paramore, a 6-foot point guard who led Triton College (Ill.) to a 55-7 record during his two seasons, signed a National Letter of Intent to play at CMU on Monday.

“He’s a winner,” said CMU coach Ernie Zeigler. “He’s a guy who had really good

leadership skills throughout high school and college. He’s played in situations where he’s helped his teams win.”

Paramore’s 14.8 points and 4.7 assists per game led Tri-ton, which finished 26-3 last season. He also added 5.1 rebounds per game. In 2008-09, Triton went 29-4 and did not lose a game in the North Central Community College Conference.

“I try to pick players up when they’re down and make sure they’re working hard,” Paramore said. “For the big men, if they’re running the floor, I like to reward them. It’s not all about scoring — I rebound a lot as well.”

Triton coach Steven Chris-

tiansen said Paramore is an unselfish contributor.

“Paris is just a really smart, solid player,” said Triton coach Steve Christiansen. “He does a lot of things on the floor that increases his team’s chances of winning. He’s just kind of always in the right spot making the play that needs to be made.”

Said CMU assistant coach Darren Kohne: “I think he’s very versatile — he’s a good shooter who shot 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from (3-point range) last season.

“He’s not a great athlete — very average athleticism. But he just has a desire and pas-sion to win, which I think, in Coach Zeigler’s program, is ultimately the most impor-tant characteristic you can have.”

HigH scHoolAs a prep player at Chica-

go’s George Washington High School, Paramore helped lead his team to back-to-back city championship games. His team lost both times against Simeon Career Academy, which was led by Derrick Rose, who now is a member of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.

“The Chicago Public Schools are real tough,” Par-

amore said. “I think that played a good role in getting me to this point.”

Paramore’s George Wash-ington teams also featured DeAndre Liggins, a guard at Kentucky and Kansas guard Mario Little.

Christiansen said Paramore chose the Chippewas over Eastern Michigan and Loyola.

“It’s going to be a real hon-or to represent the ‘C’ and be part of one of the top recruit-ing classes in Central history,” Paramore said.

‘great deptH’Paramore likely will com-

pete with senior Amir Rashid next season for the starting position at point guard.

The Chippewas lose their starting backcourt and two leading scorers — Jordan Bitzer and Robbie Harman. Incoming freshman Trey Zei-gler is expected to start at shooting guard or small for-ward, but Ernie Zeigler said he expects practices to in-crease in intensity.

“(Paramore) allows us to have great depth in our back-court, and he brings a com-petitiveness to the position as well,” Zeigler said. “We’re go-ing to have the opportunity to have some very spirited and competitive practices that are going to help this team develop.”

[email protected]

6-foot point guardled Triton College in points and assists

Paris Paramore

1. Billy Anderson (CF) 0-for-0

Tyler Kipke (PH/CF) 1-for-4,2R,2RBI

2. Matt Faiman (P/DH) 2-for-5,2R,2RBI

3. James Teas (3B) 0-for-2,1R,1RBI

4. Nate Theunissen (1B) 4-for-4,3R,1HR, 5RBI

5. Scott Phillion (LF) 2-for-4,1RBI

6. Jordan Adams (C) 1-for-5,1R,2RBI

7. Sam Russell (LF/RF) 1-for-3,2R

8. Ricky Clark (2B) 1-for-3,2R,1RBI

Jordan Dean (PH/2B) 0-for-1(BB)

9. Robbie Harman (SS) 1-for-4,1R

Lineup

M e n ’ S b a S k e t b a l l

.380

366

The CMU baseball team scored 14 consecutive runs Tuesday afternoon at Theunissen Stadium en route to a 14-9 win against Wayne State.

It improved its home record to 11-2 after los-ing its last two to Ball State in Mount Pleasant.

The Warriors got off to a 5-0 lead in the second inning, but CMU responded in the bottom of the second, scoring seven runs.

Coach Steve Jaksa said the way his team re-sponded sparked the entire afternoon.

“They got a couple of hits there and put up a five-spot, but we were able to come back,” Jaksa said. “It’s a new day and it’s a new game, and we have to get our guys playing well and feeling good about themselves.”

The Chippewas’ 14 runs all came between the second and sixth inning, and all were un-answered. Sophomore Nate Theunissen went 4-for-4 with two walks and a three-run home run that sailed over the right-center scoreboard. He finished the day with five runs batted in and leads the team with six home runs and 36 RBIs.

By John Evans | Staff Reporter

Junior Bryce Morrow came in for long relief duty and got his second win of the season Tuesday against Wayne State at Theunissen Stadium.

Junior Bryce Morrow (2-2) picked up his second win of the season after re-lieving starter Matt Faiman in the second inning.

Morrow pitched 4 and 1/3 innings and struck out the first batter he faced to end the five-run second inning for Wayne State.

But the offense was what won the game.

“It was patience at the plate, for sure,” Theunis-sen said. “When you see it real well, you have more patience, and I was just looking for a good pitch to hit.”

After Theunissen’s homer in the third inning, CMU added two more in the fourth and one in the fifth and sixth innings to take a

14-5 lead.Faiman stayed in the

game to be a designated hitter after being relieved by Morrow and finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Theunissen said there is resiliency throughout CMU’s lineup, and it was on full display in the win.

“Everybody one-through-

nine, and guys coming off of the bench, want their shot to produce for the team,” Theunissen said. “Nobody wants to let any-body down.”

The win ends a two-game losing streak where CMU scored just four runs com-bined in the losses to Ball State.

The team is tied for first

place in the Mid-American Conference with an 11-4 record. However, CMU has one more non-conference game before it starts a week-end series against Northern Illinois.

It plays at 3 p.m. Thurs-day at Oakland University in Rochester.

[email protected]

Team ends skid; Theunissen goes 4-for-4 from plate

By John EvansStaff Reporter

The CMU baseball team stays out of conference at 3 p.m. today as it plays Oak-land University on the road in Rochester.

Sophomore left-hander Rick Dodridge gets the start for the Chippewas.

“We have got a game against Oakland and we are going to focus on that,” said sopho-more Nate Theunissen, who went 4-for-4 with a home run and five runs batted in during Tuesday’s game against Wayne State. “And then we will focus on the weekend (vs. Northern Illinois) to make sure we are prepared for that.”

Theunissen leads the way with a .380 batting average, and he hit his sixth home run of the season in the 14-9 win against Wayne State on Tuesday.

Oakland is 9-24 this season, but is 6-5 at home.

Junior Tommy Jablonski leads Oakland with a .367 bat-ting average and 15 runs batted in this season. In comparison, Theunissen leads CMU with 36 RBIs.

Junior Bryce Morrow has been CMU’s starter of choice during most Wednesday games. But he had to come in long relief for junior Matt Faiman on Tuesday.

tuesday pitcHingJunior Matt

Faiman usu-ally plays outfield and has provided some consis-tency with his bat through-out the lineup this season. But Faiman

also is a pitcher, and he was CMU’s starter against Wayne State on Tuesday.

Faiman got his third start of the season, but it was not his best outing.

He pitched 1 and 2/3 in-nings before being relieved by Morrow. He allowed four hits and five runs before being pulled. Only one of his runs were earned and he recorded four strikeouts along the way, including strikeouts against the first two batters he faced.

“We were going on a pitch count with both Matt and Bryce,” said coach Steve Jaksa. “We changed Bryce’s role a little bit to have him come out of the bullpen for this weekend — each of his last four outings have been very good, and that is good for him going into the

Matt Faiman

A today | 10A

theuniSSen file

Battingaverage

Homeruns

Runsbattedin

SophomoreNateTheunissenleadstheteaminruns,homerunsandRBIs

Page 8: April 28, 2010

By Matthew ValinskiStaff Reporter

The left side of the field on the CMU softball team’s de-fense is becoming known as a place where bloop singles and foul balls become casu-alties.

Left fielder Ashley Gilson and third baseman Amanda Patrick have been the two who have felt the force of the ground when they dive on a regular basis.

“I just want to get a good jump on the ball,” Gilson said. “If I have to dive for it, I just go all out for it.”

On April 22 against Michi-gan State, it was a Gilson diving catch that ended the game and sealed a 5-1 vic-tory.

The weekend before against Ohio and Akron, it seemed like every other inning, ei-ther Patrick or Gilson was in mid-air going for a catch.

Gilson said while making the catch is great, the feel of the ground is not friendly, especially when getting to full speed after running 60 feet just to get to the ball.

“It hurts most dives be-cause, half the time, I can’t dive right,” she said, joking-ly. “It hurts, but I just mostly flop when I try to dive.”

At times, Patrick is within 30 feet of a batter swinging full force on a fastball, but she said she has to be ready for every ball.

“You just have to relax and know what you are going to do once the ball comes to you,” she said. “You have to be ready for every ball to come at you.”

Patrick and freshman Summer Knoop also have been making plays at third on fast grounders hit just down the line.

“As a third baseman, you have to steal every single ball,” Patrick said. “You have to think every ball is yours

because you have a better angle than most of the other players, so you have a better chance of getting the run-ner.”

First baseman Jill Schulz has been helping Patrick and Knoop out as well, scooping up just about everything

thrown to her with a .995 fielding percentage.

She has just one error on the season with 205 put-outs.

Patrick said CMU’s big de-fensive plays deflate oppos-ing batters and shift the mo-mentum back to CMU.

“I think it is the most frus-trating thing ever for a bat-ter,” she said. “It just shuts the other team down.”

Gilson said making the diving catch just gets her team the emotion it wants every time it comes in from the field, and it tries to turn that catch into big hits.

“I feel like it pumps every-one up,” she said. “Not just if I do it, but if anyone else does it. It is a big momen-tum change when we can get that diving play or great defensive play going into our offense.”

The team plays a double-header against Buffalo start-ing at 1 p.m. Friday in Buffa-lo, N.Y. before playing Kent State on the road Saturday and Sunday.

[email protected]

cm-life.com/category/sports[SportS]

Central michigan Life || Wednesday, april 28, 2010 || 9A

By John ManzoStaff Reporter

Sarah Squires did not begin her track and field season in the fashion she wanted to — but she is not letting the obstacles she has faced ruin it.

During a workout last spring, the senior tore her planter fascia, the thick tissue band that c o n n e c t s the heel to the toes, in her left foot. Trainers did

not believe a tear had oc-curred, so she continued to compete — or at least try to compete — until an MRI confirmed it.

Squires also encountered two stress fractures in the same foot. She cooperated with assistant coach Matt Kaczor and the rest of the staff, which recommend-ed cross-training — non-weight bearing activities that help build strength rather than put pressure on the injury.

The two injuries com-bined put her on crutches for nine weeks. She was unable to run for 12. Along with crutches, she wore a protective boot on that left foot, which enhanced the healing process.

“For me, it was easy to sell her on cross-training,” Kaczor said. “We babied that thing because we wanted her to come back and be 100 percent.”

With cooperation from Squires and other medical factors, doctors said she could surpass surgery and continue to let it heal on

its own. It came as a sigh of relief to the runner.

“Surgery would have knocked me out for my en-tire senior season,” Squires said.

She continued to reha-bilitate her left foot with the cross-training and kept herself mentally focused throughout duration of the injury. Along with cross-training and proper work-outs, Squires now uses spe-cial foot orthopedics in her shoes for extra support. She wears them all the time for precautionary measures.

Although her running abilities are most likely dampened for life, Squires is able to compete in her fi-nal season at CMU.

“Sarah’s a great team lead-er for these young ladies,” said coach Willie Randolph. “She’s been very positive and very driven at the same time.”

Squires competed in her first event since the injury during the outdoor season and said it is scary to go out and try to run after go-ing through a major injury, especially a foot injury in a runner’s circumstance.

“I was very nervous step-ping to the line for the first time thinking something would tear again,” she said.

FutureSquires’ status for the Jes-

sie Owens Classic in Colum-bus, Ohio, this weekend is unknown after tweaking the injury this week. Randolph said she may be rested in order to put a healthy team out for Mid-American Con-ference Championships.

“We are always focused on MAC Championships, but we have to be smart and not run her too early,” Ran-dolph said. “We are being very cautious.”

[email protected]

Distance runner tears planter fascia,works to get back

squires overcomes injury to foot in senior season

Sara Squires

2009:Rancareer-besttimeof4minutes,33.94sec-ondsinthe1,500-meterrun.

2008:TookfifthinthemilerunintheMACChampionshipsduringtheindoorseason.Alsofinishedrunner-upinthemilerunattheChippewaOpenandJackSkoogOpen.

Career bests:2:16.4in800;4:33.94in1,500.

Squires file

file photo by matthEw StEphEnSJunior third baseman Amanda Patrick has a .976 fielding percentage, third-best of all regulars. She has 55 assists and two errors.

Defensive success has gone unnoticed

S o f t b a l l

CMU’s left sidehas knack for ‘highlight’ plays

Player %

JillSchulz .995

SummerKnoop .977

AmandaPatrick .976

BroganDarwin .976

KatieGreenman .964

BrittiniMerchant .940

ChristinaNovak .927

AshleyGilson .927

MollyColdren .901

Top fielders(starters)

“it hurts most dives because, half the time, i can’t dive right. it hurts, but i just mostly flop

when i try to dive.”Ashley Gilson, junior left fielder

Ashley Gilson

Page 9: April 28, 2010

weekend.”Morrow relieved Faiman

in the second inning and pitched 4 and 1/3 innings while only allowing two hits and no runs. He also had three strikeouts, his first com-ing against the first batter he faced, to get the Chippewas out of a five-run second in-ning for Wayne State.

CMU came back in the bottom of the second inning and scored 14 unanswered runs through the sixth in-ning. Morrow (2-2) got his second win of the season and has had a strong comeback since having surgery on his arm last year.

The bullpen has been a consistent positive for the Chippewas with sophomore Trent Howard moving into the closer role and freshman Dietrich Enns sporting a 1.14 earned runs average.

Enns is 4-0 and has provid-ed long relief innings when a starter has gotten into trou-

ble. Enns will replace Do-dridge as Saturday’s starter this weekend, as Dodridge starts tomorrow.

“Deitrich has put himself in a good position,” Jaksa said. “We really liked the role he was in, but we wanted to change it up just to change the pace a little bit. Rick (Do-dridge) knows what we are doing and he understands and he is happy.”

[email protected]

10A || Wednesday, april 28, 2010 || Central michigan Life cm-life.com/category/sports[SportS]

today | continued from 8a

By Nick ConklinStaff Reporter

Willie Randolph feverishly punched away at the keys on his cell phone while sitting in his office inside the Indoor Athletic Complex.

The coach of the men’s and women’s track and field and cross country program is in constant communication with many of his athletes and staff as he leads the combined program through the duration of the outdoor season.

He has set forth goals in the 11 months since taking the reins of the program. He has made clear that his goal is to move the team forward to the top of the Mid-American Con-ference.

“I don’t like being anything less than (number) one so, for me, until we get to that point, I am not going rest until the conference level is locked up,” Randolph said.

randolpH’s trackRandolph spent four sea-

sons as an assistant at the University of Louisville, where he played a major role in the recruitment of athletes. This season, he took his team there — the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational on April 16, where the team finished third behind the host Cardinals.

His return to his former home caused some mixed emotions, he said, as many of the athletes he helped recruit were competing as seniors.

“A lot of the kids I recruited are there, so it is my first fresh-man class that are now seniors, so it’s a very weird feeling,” he said. “You want to support them, but you really can’t.”

His greatest accomplish-ments on the track to date have been while serving as an assistant coach at Louisville. Working with the sprinters and hurdlers, he was part of the coaching staff that com-bined the men’s and women’s programs, a system which he implements at CMU.

In 2007, he was a part of what was named the Big East coaching staff of the year, fol-lowing an Outdoor National Championship on the men’s side, as well as a national run-ner-up on the women’s side.

cMuNow Randolph is trying to

replicate his success at Louis-ville — he also had success as a coach at Belmont University, Vanderbilt and the University of New Orleans — at CMU.

Almost a year into his role on top of the program, he said he has a firm grasp of where the program is at.

“We have some holes in the program we are trying to fill; at the same time, we have some solid athletes,” he said.

Randolph has established a talented coaching staff, in-cluding the retention of dis-tance coach Matt Kaczor, while adding newcomers John Ridgway, Glenn Smith, Kristen Paulsen and two-time Olympian Dionne Henley (Ja-maica).

His focus as the outdoor session winds down is on the placement of his athletes in postseason competition. As athletes are dispersed to dif-ferent events to gain scores and personal bests, Randolph said he is already thinking to-ward the future.

“Were just building right now; our recruiting is going really well,” he said, “We have some gaps were going to fill for next year.”

[email protected]

Randolph sees progress as first year nears endt r a C k a n d f i e l d

Coach has firmgrasp of how teamhas progressed

Tuesday vs. Wayne State: MattFaiman

Wednesday vs. Oakland:RickDodridge

NIU series:

Friday: JesseHernandez

Saturday: DietrichEnns

Sunday: JakeSabol

Starters:

Page 10: April 28, 2010

[cm-life.com/category/news/metro]Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Central Michigan Life

CoMMunityB

Jake may/staff photographerPart-time firefighter Bill Cook looks on as a fire hose is laid out and carried during a training exercise in April at the former Soaring Eagle Inn and Conference Center. Cook is also the owner of Bob’s Barbershop on E. Michigan Street.

Bill Cook, owner of Bob’s Barber Shop downtown, cuts the hair of long-time customer, Tim Murphy, Friday. Cook, a lifelong Mount Pleasant resident, is also a part-time firefighter.

Photos by sean Proctor/staff photographerBill Cook, owner of Bob’s Barber Shop on East Michigan Street, sits with fellow barber, Nate Darrow, Friday.

Living A Double

lifeMount Pleasant firefighters work in various other trades

‘ANOTHER SIDE OF WORK I’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE’

By Jaimie Cremeans and Heather HillmanStaff Reporters

Oil ran thick through the veins of mid-Michigan decades ago.

Some might say much has not changed despite that fewer drills are cropping up over the region’s many fields. Jack West-brook, author of “A History of Michigan Oil and Gas Exploration and Production,” said 64 of the 68 counties in Michigan’s lower peninsula have had oil drills headquartered in Mount Pleasant.

“Though later years have seen the inten-sity of field activity shift elsewhere in the state,” he said, “Mount Pleasant remains a viable center of petroleum industry activity with 98 business entities with Mount Pleas-ant addresses.”

Westbrook said a lot of people do not re-alize Mount Pleasant is still referred to as the oil capital of Michigan.

The Oil & Gas Journal reported in January that 2009 was a “roller coaster drilling year,” with the number of rigs in the U.S. down 42 percent from 2008.

In 2006, the number of wells in the na-tion was estimated to be 38,238 by this year, according to the American Petroleum In-stitute. That is down by about 55 percent from 1981, when the number of wells was counted at 84,983.

Far From deadSteve Bigard, president of Bigard & Hug-

gard Drilling Inc., is one of only two drilling contractors still based in Mount Pleasant. This number, he said, was about 25 in the 1980s.

The industry, however, is far from dead. Bigard’s company, 5580 Venture Way, re-

cently activated two oil wells just north of the Isabella County Fairgrounds in Decem-ber and January of this year.

“We’ve felt the cycles depending on oil pricing — 2007 and 2008 were strong years, while 2009 was a little weaker,” Bigard said. “We’re optimistic for the future in 2010.”

Scott Bellinger, managing editor of Mich-igan Oil and Gas News, said companies are active in the community and have applied for new drilling permits.

Because of this, he believes there will continue to be more activity for at least this year and possibly next.

“On a broader scale, Mount Pleasant has been considered the oil capital of Michigan because of the activity and many compa-nies based here based on this central loca-tion,” Bellinger said. “It’s geographically motivated.”

Westbrook said the ups and downs in the industry are mostly because of companies’ worry over new regulations proposed by the national government.

President Barack Obama’s support for the Cap and Trade bill, which would steadily decline the limits on the amount of carbon dioxide a company is allowed to emit, has many players in the industry apprehensive about beginning new rigs until they know how the legislation will affect them.

“Right now, there a temporary lag in ex-ploration because of uncertainty in regula-tion aspects,” Westbrook said. “We’re in a valley but, if you look at a long-term graph of the oil industry, every time we hit a valley, we come back and hit a peak higher than

MountPleasantstill the‘oil city’

A oiL | 2B

Drillers excited for what’s in store in 2010despite decline in rigs

By Ryan CzachorskiSenior Reporter

Changing the way candi-dates for some state positions are nominated is one of many items that could change fol-lowing November’s election.

The proposal, spurred by state Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, calls for candidates to be nominated through a primary election in

August as opposed to being named through party conven-tions. It applies to positions such as Michigan’s secretary of state and attorney general.

State Rep. Bill Caul, R-Mount Pleasant, said the vot-ers of the state will need to make their feelings on the subject known.

“I’m certainly open to it if the voters of the state want it,” Caul said. “If they want it to go through the voting process, they can certainly push for it.”

The party conventions’ nominations come from del-egates, which are supposed to represent their districts over

any personal interests, Caul said.

The proposal would put the power in the hands of the vot-ers, which Meadows said is a plus.

“It’s just my view that with more people involved, the better the result will be,” Meadows said. “I’d rather have them chosen from an election than from the back room of a convention hall.”

Meadows said the issue should be brought up soon to state legislators, but no date has been set yet.Potential costs

Caul said he was not worried

about the extra cost of holding more primary elections, as elections are already held in August and adding a few more items to it would only result in a marginal difference in cost.

But making the change from party nomination to elected nominee would re-quire a change to the state constitution, which requires two-thirds of the House and Senate before being put to a general election.

The proposal could find its way onto the constitu-tion without all the hurdles if state voters elect to redraft the constitution this November.

A measure to redraft the con-stitution is on the ballot every sixteen years.

College Democrats Presi-dent Brad O’Donnell said he is unsure where he stands on re-drafting the constitution, but he thinks the measure faces an uphill battle.

“If you look at our state government, it’s in shambles, so that might be enough to get people to vote in favor of a constitutional convention,” the Clinton Township junior said.

Caul said he thinks the state has more pressing concerns at the present time than holding

a costly constitutional con-vention.

“I just think given the cost of that right now, we have oth-er priorities in Michigan, like balancing the budget,” Caul said. “My preference would be no.”

He noted that the state con-stitution may have its flaws, but works fine for now.

other Possible changesIf voters decide to change

the constitution, Meadows said a number of hot-button issues will be looked at again.

m i c h i g a n p o l i t i c s

new proposal looks to change nomination processIdea is among many issues to require constitution redraft

A proposaL | 2B

Cook is just one of several Mount Pleasant Fire Depart-ment firefighters that work an-other job. Some of the other jobs members of the MPFD work include an elementary school teacher and hazardous materials technician.

Cook has worked in the bar-bershop business since 1983. He worked for his father until he took over Bob’s Barber Shop, 211 E. Michigan St., 15 years ago.

“My dad started (cutting hair) at the university back in 1955 until 1960. Back then, he didn’t have a lot of money. He couldn’t afford to go to a trade school,” he said. “He worked the shop by himself, and he asked me if I wanted to do it.”

another side oF workJeff Pickler, a code enforce-

ment officer for Mount Pleasant and former detective sergeant

for the Central Michigan Uni-versity Police of 35 years, has worked as a firefighter for 25 years, 13 for Mount Pleasant and 12 for Fremont and Deer-field townships.

“It’s another side of work I’ve never seen before,” said Pickler. “We come to the table from all different walks of life and bring a lot of different knowledge to it.”

Cook said he became inter-

ested in firefighting when sev-eral members of the MPFD came into the barbershop and got haircuts.

Working for himself, Cook said, allows him to be more le-nient with firefighting. If he gets a call and does not have a line of customers needing haircuts, he can run out on the call.

“If you work at a state job or a

By David Veselenak | Online Editor

Bill Cook almost died working his part-time job as a firefighter nearly 20 years ago.

The Union Township resident arrived at the scene of a fire at the former downtown business, Lee’s Bridal Shop, and went in. There were mo-ments it seemed he would never come out.

“I was 30 seconds away from the roof col-lapsing,” he said. “We got to the bottom of the stairway and the whole thing collapsed in.”

Cook’s first love, however, wasn’t fighting fires.

He went into something a little less danger-ous — cutting hair.

“I decided to go to school for one year to be a barber,” he said. “You make a decent living. You won’t be rich, but you’ll make a decent living. That’s why I do other things.”

A FireFighter | 4B

Page 11: April 28, 2010

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2B || Wednesday, april 28, 2010 || central michigan Life cm-life.com/category/news/metro[Community]

By Hilary FarrellStaff Reporter

A number of Mount Pleasant streets are getting facelifts this summer.

Traffic projects include the completion of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s US-127 redesign from last year and the addition of a mini circle on Arnold Street, as well as reno-vations of Bellows Street.

Isabella County and Mount Pleasant will reconstruct and resurface roads, including por-tions of Isabella Road, Michigan and Broomfield streets.

city

Asphalt overlays and sewer relining dominate city road con-struction projects this summer, with little disruption to traf-fic, said Public Works Director Duane Ellis. These projects al-ready began, Ellis said, and take one work day to complete.

“These are major (for the city), but not a big travel impact,” Ellis said.

The city will reconstruct

Michigan Street from Fancher to Mission, focusing on narrowing lanes and adding bike lanes.

Michigan Street will have bump-out parking by next school year, Ellis said.

The city will bid the Michigan Street project May 7, he said.

Bellows Street will be recon-structed from Mission Street to Lansing Street, Ellis said, and the city will add a mini-circle at Arnold Street.

“We’re bidding this as a sepa-rate project (from the down-town-to-campus connector),” Ellis said. “This has a fair impact on university operations, the city and students.”

county

Isabella County’s focus this summer is on reconstruction, said Managing Director Tony Casali.

Mission Road from Milllbrook to Deerfield roads in Union Township will receive a new overlay, he said.

“There are a couple of bad spots we have to work out in there,” Casali said.

An additional left-turn lane will be added at the intersec-tion of Pickard Street and Isa-bella Road, he said, as well as

shoulder widening on Isabella Road.

The county receives requests from 16 townships, Casali said.

“We still will have other proj-ects as they trickle in,” he said.

mdotSeveral projects occur this

summer through MDOT’s Mount Pleasant Transportation Service Center, said Manager Terry Palmer.

Along with the completion of last year’s US-127 venture, the branch will tackle a sec-tion of the highway from North of Mount Pleasant to Clare, he said.

A section of M-20 in Midland County also is being resurfaced that began Monday according to MDOT’s website.

The Mount Pleasant TSC cov-ers work in Isabella, Midland, Clare, Gladwin and Gratiot counties.

Further projects will take place this summer as well, Palmer said.

“It’s a good average (of work) for five county areas,” he said. “It’s probably $30 mil-lion worth of work this year.”

Warm weather = orange barrels

By maryellen tigheSenior Reporter

There are 1,500 reports of

suspected child abuse and nearly 100 children enter foster care annually in Isa-bella County.

It is issues such as these that the Child and Family Enrichment Council, 3333 S. Lincoln Road, exists to handle, a task many might be unaware of in the area.

Director Dee Obrecht said the counseling work the organization performs is what helps keep so many children with their parents.

“It tears apart families because over 90 percent of assaults on kids happen by someone they know,” she said. “If the family is willing to work with us and learn from the services the kids can be returned home.”

But more recently, the group provided job expe-rience for several Central Michigan University stu-dents.

Farmington Hills senior Karen Armstrong is one of them and, now, family counseling is a regular part of life for her.

“We sit in on parent meetings and we help out parents who cannot really read or understand what the teacher is saying,” Arm-strong said. “I’ve learned that empathy is a lot more important, and goes a lot further, than sympathy.”

Parenting classes are one of many services of-fered by CAFE, said trea-surer Lise Mitchell. They consist of group meetings and one-on-one meet-ings with counselors, she said.

Group meetings give a feeling of camaraderie and peer support to the parents in the program, Mitchell said, while the small meetings allow the parents to check up on their individual progress.

“You can know that you are not alone in your

feelings. You go through all this parent education and there are all these break-throughs,” she said. “Ev-eryone thinks that their way is the best way to par-ent, (but) if you didn’t have good parenting yourself then why should you be a good parent?”

reunions and rewardsThe family counseling

program is open to anyone in Isabella County, but it is one of many state programs feeling the budget crunch, Mitchell said.

The programs are only effective with a 10- to 12-person group, so families can stay on the waiting list for weeks waiting for an opening that fits into their schedule.

Seeing the parent and child reunion can be the most rewarding part of the job, said Kendall Thelen, another student intern.

“(I enjoy) just seeing the

change in some of our cli-ents, how far some of them have come,” the Westphalia senior said. “Recently, one of our clients was reunited with her son and that was really exciting for me.”

The program focuses around awareness of risk factors and taking steps to protect their children, Obrecht said. CAFE works to collaborate with other groups that might be help-ing their clients, including substance abuse and anger management groups.

Obrecht said she has improved her relationship with her children as a result of working at CAFE.

“I now realize that I’m not the only one who goes through the problems I have,” she said. “There has been a positive change be-tween my children and my-self.”

[email protected]

empathy goes further than sympathy for child counselors

the one before. The oil industry should overcome it.”

a long historyThe first oil field was struck on

Feb. 27, 1928, in Mount Pleasant.Westbrook said this oil strike

by the Pure Oil Company ended up being the fourth largest in Michigan history.

He considers it a rich history for Mount Pleasant. In the early 1900s, many oil companies came to Michigan to explore the land in search of the black gold. Between 1900 and 1925, 80 wells had been drilled in the state, but they had little success and many of people began to think the idea of the state being a big producer was wrong.

Faith was restored in Michi-gan’s oil potential in 1925, when oil was struck in Sag-inaw. After Pure Oil Company found the Mount Pleasant Oil Field in 1928, Westbrook said

the city was booming with production almost overnight. He said the field ended up pro-ducing 29 million barrels of oil altogether.

“The Mount Pleasant Field is credited with essentially shield-ing the town of Mount Pleasant from the Great Depression,” he said.

Between 1929 and 1941, the brunt of the Depression, Michigan produced 160 million barrels of crude oil, producing $166,592,000 for the Michigan economy.

But the industry’s growth still held consequences — seven people were killed in July 1931, when an oil well exploded over a crowd of 2,000 people.

In February 2002, a Mount Pleasant man was killed in a drill-related accident. Ac-cording to previous Central Michigan Life reports, Earl Wilson III, 31, was killed when a spinning power shaft attached to a drill caught his clothing.

A companion of Wilson’s told CM Life he loved the

oil industry.

[email protected] |continued from 1B

He identified controversial measures from the past few elections, such as the ban-ning of affirmative action and same-sex marriages in Michi-gan.

But any consequences are unknown because it would put every current part of the constitution up for reexami-nation.

“I think that there is other damage that could be done to the constitution that we can’t predict right now,” Meadows said. “It’ll be a battle royale.”

State Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, said that he thinks the tax and Medicaid systems should be reworked if the constitution is redrafted in his February speech at Central Michigan University.

George is not the only one who feels the tax system needs restructuring. Mount Pleasant City Commission-er Kathy Ling told Central Michigan Life in January 2009 she thought the tax system could only be fixed through a constitutional convention, a feeling she still holds.

“My feeling was and is that there are a few pretty signifi-cant issues that aren’t going to

get fixed without a constitu-tional convention,” Ling said. “The tax system is a mess.”

[email protected]

proposal |continued from 1B

The Projects

w 1. Reconstruction of Michigan Street from Fancher to Mission

w 2. Reconstruction of Bellows from Mission Street to Lansing Street

w 3. New overlay of Mission Road from Millbrook Road to Deerfield Road

w 4. New left-turn lane at the intersection of Pickard Street and Isabella Road

w 5. Construction on US-127 North of Mount Pleasant to Clare

Road work takingplace this summer

Fa m i ly F o c u s

“We sit in on parent meetings and we help out parents who cannot

really read or understand what the teacher is saying.”

Karen Armstrong, farmington hills senior

Page 12: April 28, 2010

By maryellen tigheSenior Reporter

A restaurant to complement a

body shop might seem strange to some people.

But it is working for Kathy and Jim Stovak.

Jim owns and operates C & S Sports Center, 4741 E. Pick-ard Road. His customers often wanted a place to go for food while he was working on their bike, and he would send them down the street to the Green Spot Pub.

“They would drop their bike off in service and say, ‘Where can I go to get a beer and a burger?’” Jim Stovak said.

Their questions were an-swered with a more convenient location when the Low Rider Café opened next door, 4749 E. Pickard St., about two and a half years ago.

“It was a Thai restaurant. We just decided to turn it into a bik-er-themed restaurant,” Kathy said. “I grew up riding motor-cycles. When I got my drivers license I got my motorcycle license, too, and I’ve always enjoyed cooking, so it just goes hand in hand.”

When the restaurant was first getting started, it was nice be-cause there was always some-one next door to call on for re-inforcements if things got busy, Kathy said.

Her specialty is home cook-ing, which she perfected in her previous restaurant, Kathy’s Kitchen.

bucking the stereotyPeLow Rider Café does not fit the

motorcycle stereotype, Kathy Stovak said — a stereotype that, she thinks, is unearned.

When the restaurant first opened, an old lady came in and was confused by the restaurant, Kathy said. The lady heard the restaurant was smoky and full of unruly bikers.

“I said, ‘We have bikers come in here, but they’re not bad people,’” Kathy said. “And we’ve never allowed smoking.”

Smokers still come to the res-taurant. There are a few brave enough to sit on the deck, piled high with blankets on cold days, to eat their breakfast omelettes, Kathy said.

Two regulars are Mount Pleas-ant residents and brothers Sam

and Ross Hart, who have been coming since the restaurant opened.

“We each own Harleys, so we’re next door. When the other restaurant closed and this one opened, we both decided to come in and try it,” Ross said.

The café is one of many Mount Pleasant businesses par-ticipating in “Bike Night,” Kathy said. This year, they will host the July 15 and Sept. 16 nights.

“The first one was just like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ we were over-whelmed. It’s just unreal. The deck is full, it’s standing room only,” Kathy said. “The people want to get a bike night estab-lished in Mount Pleasant. The camaraderie of the bikes and the bikers is a good thing.”

[email protected]

cm-life.com/category/news/metro [Community] central michigan Life || Wednesday, april 28, 2010 || 3B

By Jaimie Cremeans Staff Reporter

Michigan’s economy is like-ly to turn around in 2011 after years of decline, according to economists at the University of Michigan.

George Fulton, director of UM’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, said he has been forecasting eco-nomic trends since 1952.

Fulton said Michigan will experience job growth for the first time in 10 years when he made his predictions ear-lier this month. He said the state should add about 20,400 jobs altogether next year.

“Forecasting is hardly an exact science, so there is always risk that we can miss the mark by some degree,” he said. “Our fore-cast record is fairly good, though.”

Brian Anderson, presi-dent of the Middle Michi-gan Development Corpora-tion, said he was very happy to hear Fulton’s predictions and he hopes they turn out to be true. He said his or-ganization does not make economic predictions, but he knows Fulton’s group has a good reputation.

“I really hope this signals that we’ve finally hit the bottom,” he said. “A grow-ing job base means it will be easier for investors to choose Michigan because we will no longer be viewed as a ‘sinking ship.’”

Fulton said predictions for Michigan is consistent with, and probably a prod-uct of, a positive outlook on the U.S. economy. He said it will be a factor of an in-creasing automobile mar-ket and less trouble in the housing market.

The main job growth, he said, will come from about 26,000 jobs added in health care, business and profes-sional services, and private education in 2011. He also

said manufacturing will begin to stabilize, as he predicts a loss of 9,000 jobs in 2010 and then a gain of 9,000 in 2011.

“The turnaround in busi-ness services reflects an im-proving commercial environ-ment,” he said, “including a more favorable scenario for a temporary help industry that struggled until late 2009.”

still Far awayFulton does, however, pre-

dict a loss of jobs in the public sector for next year.

He said between 2010 and 2011 the public sector should lose about 17,000 jobs, in-cluding those in local units of government and public schools.

Anderson said even with

a positive projection for the near future, Michigan is still “far from where we need to be.” He said the state’s citi-zens still have a lot of work to do to get back to a stable eco-nomic level.

Fulton also said it will be a while before Michigan is back to the economic level the state was at a decade ago, before the long streak of job losses.

“We don’t forecast out (past next year),” he said. “I can say with some confidence, though, that we will not re-turn to the job levels we saw in Michigan in 2000 until at least some year in the decade of the 2020s.”

[email protected]

experts predict state job growthEconomists say Michigan should employ 20,400

Photos by Paige caLamari/xstaff photographerMount Pleasant residents Allan Tucker (left), Larry McDevitt (center), and David Moore (right) discuss an upcoming golfing trip Tuesday morning at the Low Rider Cafe, 4749 E. Pickard St. The men, who meet nearly every morning for coffee or breakfast, began coming to the Low Rider Cafe after another local restaurant closed.

Mount Pleasant resident Howard Pohl (center) laughs with friends as they discuss an upcoming golfing trip Tuesday morning at the Low Rider Cafe, 4749 E. Pickard St. The men, who meet nearly every morning for coffee or breakfast, began coming to the Low Rider Cafe after another local restaurant closed.

Restaurant complements bike shopLow Rider Café doesn’t fit motorcycle stereotype

By maryellen tigheSenior Reporter

Area census workers are hit-ting the streets at the end of this week.

Now that the deadline for submitting the 2010 U.S. Cen-sus forms has passed, workers will travel door-to-door to visit people who have not respond-ed, said Lydia Este, local census office manager.

They will focus on the area with the lowest response rate in Isabella County, which includes the student housing of Central Michigan University’s campus.

This section had a 66 percent return rate and runs from east and south campus to east of 127. The next lowest section, with a 73 percent return rate, contains north campus and the towers student housing, and goes west to Whiteville Road.

“If you compare our re-turn rates to other universities around the state, we’re actu-ally doing pretty well,” said Julie Swidwinski, community infor-mation coordinator for the city of Mount Pleasant.

Ferris State University in Big Rapids had a 54 percent return rate, according to the Take 10 Map of U.S. Census Bureau. Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo had return rates ranging from 65 to 72 percent.

The Mount Pleasant area had a 77 percent response rate as of Tuesday. The paper response rate in 2000 was 66 percent, Swidwinski said.

“The 77 percent is basically the U.S. Census Bureau’s way of tracking the number of forms they have sent out that have been returned,” she said. “We’re just happy to see at this point that our response rate has in-creased since 2000.”

The low response rate for the areas around CMU’s campus has translated into the lowest re-sponse rates in Isabella County for Union Township and Mount

Pleasant — 70 percent. The rest of Isabella County had return rates from 75 to 85 percent.

Jeff Gray, the city’s director of planning and community de-velopment, said Mount Pleas-ant is taking steps to increase the student response rate.

“What we were trying to do is get a complete and accurate count and having this kind of re-sponse rate really ensures we’re going to get that,” he said. “We saw some real significant re-sponses this year over the 2000 response rate.”

Union Township is hoping the investment the city made will

encourage township residents to turn in their census as well, said township Supervisor John Barker. The township expected traditional residents to respond before students.

“We have spoken with the census people and confirmed that they need to do the house visits in late April/early May because of when the semes-ter ends,” Barker said. “We will not know how good the census will do this year until they’re done with the door-to-door survey.”

[email protected]

Census workers go door to doorReturn Rates

How does CMU stack up?w Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti : 45-56%w Ferris State University, Big Rapids: 54%w University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: 62-73%w Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo: 65-72%w Central Michigan University: 66-73%w Northern Michigan University, Marquette: 81%w Grand Valley State University, Allendale: 73-85%

Page 13: April 28, 2010

4B || Wednesday, april 28, 2010 || central michigan Life cm-life.com/category/news/metro[Community]

By David VeselenakOnline Editor

Mount Pleasant officials are not ready to move for-ward just yet with the cre-ation of a tax abatement dis-trict along Pickard Street.

The district would be a place where taxes to busi-ness owners are reduced for a specific period of time, presumably to encourage business.

City Commissioners held a public hearing at their Monday meeting, where Brian Anderson from P&A Development spoke in sup-port of establishing the tax abatement district between 560 and 614 Pickard St.

Several commissioners were skeptical of the idea.

“Recent studies have indi-cated we’ve read too much into them,” said Commis-sioner Kathy Ling.

The commission voted 5-0 to postpone a decision. May-or Jim Holton excused him-self from the vote, since his business, the Mount Pleas-ant Brewing Company, is within the proposed district. Vice Mayor Bruce Kilmer was not in attendance.

P&A Development pro-posed the properties along Pickard Street would be-come a 12-year, 50 percent

tax abatement district.Commissioner Sharon

Tilmann said she supports the general idea of the dis-tricts, but was not sure one would be the best idea lo-cally right now.

“I’m at the point where I’ve always supported them ... but some of the reports ... state that some of these abatements are becoming a thing of the past,” she said. “I do think we owe it to our constituents that we hold ourselves accountable for what we do up here.”

other businessThe commission approved

a one-year lease with Airport Road Real Estate for proper-ty currently used by Pohlcat, 6595 E. Airport Road. The leased land, which contains holes 1 and 2 of the golf course, is owned by the city, but usually is leased in 10-year increments. The cur-

rent lease ends Sunday.Tilmann had concerns re-

garding the location of the property, which she said could be within close range of the Chippewa River, which changes the way the city leases property.

“There will be individuals out there that will say it’s a cause for concern,” she said. “They are going to ask, ‘what about the 100 feet of the riv-er?’”

Duane Ellis, director of public works, said there are no issues with the property and the river.

“It’s away from the river,” he said. “It’s not adjacent to that property.”

The commission also postponed approving a loan to Total Eclipse Design, 110 E. Broadway St., through the revolving loan program.

[email protected]

City Commission postpones making tax abatement districtCommissioners unsure if it’s the best idea right now By Edward Schutter

Staff Reporter

Becoming a member of Isa-bella County’s Human Rights Committee was a chance for Maureen Eke to be another voice for Central Michigan University.

Eke, an English professor, was recently added to the HRC after applying earlier this semester and being accepted by the County Board of Com-missioners.

She said diversity has always been an area of interest for her and looks forward to helping solve issues.

“It is important to have voic-es from the university, and I am acting as a liaison between the HRC and CMU,” Eke said. “Hopefully, I can bring the Hu-man Rights Committee the is-sues from CMU.”

Eke is a Nigeria native who serves as president of the Afri-can Literature Association.

She said many people view CMU and the Mount Pleas-ant community as separate things. Eke would like to see a closer relationship between the two.

“The reality is that CMU is part of the community,” she said. “I would like to see a more cohesive relationship between CMU and Mount Pleasant.”

One issue Eke hopes to fig-ure out is why students decide to come to CMU based on community factors.

“It is important for us to un-derstand how the community affects students’ decisions to come here,” she said.

HRC Vice Chairperson Car-ole Richardson said Eke brings experience and a great knowl-edge of CMU issues.

“Dr. Eke has been a faculty member at CMU for over 15 years and, therefore, brings a deep understanding of the university to the HRC,” Rich-ardson said.

Richardson said Eke brings a vast knowledge of African

culture and understanding which is important to the committee.

“Dr. Eke’s understanding of issues surrounding gender, particularly within the African Diaspora, will help ensure the HRC is sensitive to and un-derstands challenges in this area,” she said. “Also, because she has demonstrated strong commitment to human rights and equity, we look forward to her making valuable con-tributions to the work of the HRC.”

Eke said diversity is an im-portant element in any com-munity whether it be a univer-sity or town.

“Diversity shows commu-nity,” she said. “We want to establish a linkage between CMU and the community.”

The HRC is still going through some early stages of development.

Richardson said the com-

mittee is always trying to lis-ten to issues of not only CMU, but the whole community to establish a beneficiary envi-ronment.

“We look forward to working with CMU on is-sues that jointly benefit the citizens of the greater Isa-bella County area and the members of the university community who live, work and study within its bound-aries,” she said.

Jeannie Jackson, director in the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity at CMU and member of the HRC, said her goals for HRC are focused on the community.

“My HRC goals for the com-munity are different than those for CMU,” she said. “I’m not acting, necessarily, as a CMU representative, but as a community person.”

[email protected]

By Hilary FarrellStaff Reporter

Academy Award-winning actress and mental health advocate Patty Duke will speak next month to a sold-out Plachta Auditorium.

Twelve hundred peo-ple are coming to Central Michigan University’s cam-pus at 7 p.m. May 7 for the free event, “Have You Met Anna? An Evening with Patty Duke.”

“She is very popular,” said Community Event Assistant Lori Apple. “We are glad we chose her.”

Duke will discuss her struggle with bipolar de-pression, according to a news release.

This event is brought to Mount Pleasant by Commu-nity Mental Health for Cen-tral Michigan, and is made possible by a grant received by the CMHCM, Apple said.

“This is part of a local ef-

fort to help n o r m a l i z e and increase a w a r e n e s s (of mental illness,)” said C u s t o m e r Service Rep-r e s e n t a -tive Julie Rookard.

Duke’s reputation caused the free event to “sell out” of tickets two weeks ago, Apple said. Duke is known in the acting world for per-formances in “The Miracle Worker,” “The Patty Duke Show,” “Me, Natalie,” “My Sweet Charlie” and “Cap-tains and the Kings.”

She received a total of 12 awards for her numerous roles, including an Oscar, and an additional 14 nomi-nations.

In 1987, Duke opened up to the world about her strug-gle with bipolar disorder in her autobiography, “Call Me Anna.” The book was made into a film in 1990, and Duke acted as herself in the pic-ture.

Later in 1992, Duke pub-lished “A Brilliant Madness:

Living with Manic Depres-sive Illness,” specifically de-tailing her life with bipolar disorder.

Duke continues an acting career today and speaks at forums to educate others.

Apple said a mission of the CMHCM is to erase negative thoughts in the community about mental disorders.

“There is a stigma at-tached to mental illness,” she said.

The CMHCM oversees activities in six counties, Apple said, and looks to cre-ate a documentary to show to classrooms and various community meetings.

“We’re trying to do as much as we can,” she said.

Approximately one in five people suffer from a mental disease, Apple said.

“If we can all just do our part to help in recovery, that’s really the ultimate goal,” she said.

“An Evening with Patty Duke” will feature oppor-tunities for questions and book signing for attendees.

[email protected]

Maureen Eke looks to link CMU to community

english professor seeks to impact county’s human rights Committee

Patty Duke plansto discuss bipolar struggles

award-winning actress sellsout May CMu appearance

Patty Duke

job where you cannot leave your job, you’re only avail-able for 12, 14 hours a day,” he said. “Most of us are available 24/7.”’

Part-time firefighters are required to go on 30 percent of runs, and part-time cap-tains are required to go on 50 percent.

Pickler, a part-time cap-tain, said working for the city as a code enforcement officer allows him to go more freely to fire scenes, as opposed to the CMU Police, where he said would take time off to go on runs.

Fire Chief Greg Walter-house said the wide range of talent adds to the depart-ment. If one is a plumber, he said, they usually help out with the station repairs.

“All of them bring a dif-ferent experience and ex-pertise,” he said. “And you can draw on that expertise. If you need a small repair at the station, they’ll do that for you.”

Pickler said he once had to set the record straight about working two different jobs. His son’s teacher asked him what his father did for a living, and told her a police officer and a firefighter.

“The teacher said he could only be one or the other,” he said. “So I met

with the teacher the next day and gave her a little bit of education.”

metro@cm-l ife.com

FireFighter |continued from 1B

“I’m at the point where I’ve always supported them ... but some of the reports ... state that some of these abatements are becoming a thing of the past. I do think we owe it to our constituents that we hold our-selves accountable for what we do

up here.”Sharon Tilmann, city commissioner

Page 14: April 28, 2010

6B || Wednesday, April 28, 2010 || Central Michigan Life cm-life.com/category/vibe[VIBE]

TOP FIVES NEW STUFFDVDs:

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Doctor Parnassus”3. “Tombstone (Blu-ray)”

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2. “The Age of Miracles”Mary-Chapin Carpenter

3. “Nobody’s Daughter”Hole

VIDeo gAMes:1. “super street Fighter IV”

(Playstation 3)

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Box oFFICe:1. “How to Train Your

Dragon”$15.4 million

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sINgLes:1. “Nothin’ on You”B.o.B ft. Bruno Mars

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ALBuMs:1. “My World 2.0”

Justin Bieber

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5. “Year of The Black Rainbow”

Coheed And Cambria

RYAN’S RANT

l o c a l b a n d s p o t l i g h t

Blacktop Musical cycles members, but still rocking

Ryan TaljonickStaff Reporter

By Michael L. HoffmanStaff Reporter

Blacktop Musical is a band

unlike many others.It primarily includes gui-

tarist and vocalist Chris Be-langer and guitarist, mando-lin player Jake Neher. Over the past few years, a “revolv-ing door” policy has been in place for members.

“The original conception of Blacktop Musical wasn’t really supposed to be a band, at least not in the traditional sense,” Belanger said. “I’d like to think of it as a bunch of friends getting together and contributing whatever they can to each other’s music.”

The Riverview senior said Blacktop Musical would not be the same without musical

input from friends.“We are lucky enough to

have very close friends that are talented musicians in Mount Pleasant, and they have great music of their own that we try to contribute to as well,” he said.

Kris Harrison, a friend of the band and member of the rock group Brewheist, joined Belanger and Neher on stage at the band’s last show.

It was his first time playing with Blacktop Musical and he said it was fun, though chal-lenging.

“It’s always a risk but, if both parties go in with the right attitude, it usually works out,” the Macomb junior said. “Everyone said we sounded good, so I suppose it worked out this time.”

Belanger agreed. “To have those guys hop on stage with us and jam to songs they had never even heard before was a blast. Performance art of any kind, particularly music, is shared communication and shared experience. It’s a privilege to be able to play this music for people with some of our best friends,” he said.

‘A CRoWN FoR eVeRY ReFugee’

Neher and Belanger said they are working on a new album — “A Crown for Every Refugee” — that they plan to release in either late May or early June.

Belanger expects it to be much different from their self-titled debut.

“It’s quite different from our last album in the sense that it incorporates more di-verse instrumentation as well as a more traditional folk ap-proach to song-writing,” he said.

Neher agreed, saying that the album was grown out of organic jam sessions in his apartment with Belanger.

“We would just get up, start playing whatever guitar or mandolin parts we had ly-ing around, or we would just come up with something on the spot,” the Bloomfield Township senior said. “It was as collaborative as song writ-ing could possibly get, which is what really made the songs on this record special for us.”

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BRo’s AND PoPPeD CoLLARs

As I walked into a restaurant my friends and I frequent, I was greeted by a waiter sport-ing a popped collar and two shiny earrings. Already questioning his integrity as a human being, he said something that left me trembling in rage: "Yo brah, what can I get ya?" I looked at him with a mix of pity and contempt, doing everything within my power to avoid a fit of anger that would

surely lead to spontaneous combustion. Unfortunately, I was addressed as "bro" or "brah" throughout the entirety of my stay. This is not an episode of "Jer-sey Shore." I am not interested

in participating in a bromantic evening of chest-bumping, fist-pumping and high-fiving while listening to Nickelback and drink-ing ‘Natty Ice.’ When did collar-popping become awesome? Since when is it publicly acceptable to acknowledge your friends, and even people you don’t know, by all sorts of "bro-nouns"? There is a time and place for everything, except for collar-popping and bro-culture. The next time you start to let your inner "bro" take over, do us all a favor: don’t.