VOL. 21, NO. 8 The student publication of Washtenaw Community College
A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER
MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2014 www.washtenawvoice.com
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN
COLLEGE TO ELIMINATE THERAPIST POSITIONS by HANNAH REAUME
licensed professionals. Currently, the college And NATALIE WRIGHT has two part-time therapists, Editor Audrey Hering, Ph.D., and Edwina Jarrett, MSW, LMSW, At the end of the fall se- who are available to students at mester, Washtenaw students no extra cost. Students are able will lose a resource they have to schedule a one-time session, had access to since 1985 – on- or a standing weekly appointcampus psychotherapy from ment, and can be directed to Contributor
outside resources if their needs extend the school’s provisions. For students like Ellison Matthews, a 26-year-old education major from Ypsilanti, the resource is invaluable. When Matthews’ father was murdered in February 2014, a WCC counselor referred him to Jarrett.
“If it wasn’t for Edwina, I wouldn’t have been as successful as I have been,” Matthews said. “I used to cut. I’ve had therapists and counselors. None of them worked before. She actually cares about us.” Matthews said that after the tragedy, he was able to build a bond with Jarrett that helped
him get through school. “She isn’t like a typical therapist. She keeps it real,” he said. “She allows me to express myself.” Although Jarrett will remain at the college as a parttime adviser, Hering is leaving.
COLUMN: WHERE WAS THE STUDENTS’ VOICE?
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See THERAPISTS, Page A5
WHAT’S INSIDE THIS ISSUE
ON THE SET
FROM THE STREETS OF FERGUSON – A3 IS THIS THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION? – A8 5 CHARITIES THAT DESERVE DONATIONS – B1
8 WAYS TO BE GREEN ON CAMPUS – B4 WCC’S ‘WOMAN ON FIRE’ – B6 THE ‘HUNGER GAMES’ LEGACY – B8
Rodney Sizemore, a 19-year-old WCC video production student from Belleville, working on the set of “I Declare War,” a show about racial tension and gang wars in Detroit that may be destined for Netflix. The director, Dennis Reed, 38, originally made “I Declare War” as a movie, and after seeing it, Rodney asked to work with him. Now, they are rebooting the concept as an 8-part series. NATALIE WRIGHT | WASHTENAW VOICE
‘There’s an elephant in the room’ The WCC board of trustees met with the three new trustee elects on Dec. 9 for a swearing-in ceremony, and a retreat in which they discussed finances, governance and how to get along. by NATALIE WRIGHT
Editor
The four-hour retreat began with a ceremony, each trustee elect raising their right hand and promising to honor their new office. Now they were official, and although David DeVarti, Christina Fleming and Ruth Hatcher will not take office until the first of the year, it was time to sit down with the current board members and get to work. For the first half of the retreat, Washtenaw Community College Chief Financial Officer Bill Johnson explained the financials of the college to the trustees and trustee elects, including an opportunity for the college to save $2 million by refinancing its bonds. After a dinner recess, the trustees reconvened for a conversation led by Narcissa Polonio, executive vice president of education, research and board leadership services at the Association of Community College Trustees, and a leading authority on community
college governance. Polonio spoke about the role a board plays in higher education, and about the responsibilities of the trustees. It can be difficult, she warned the new trustees, to become acclimated to “thinking with one head,” which is what the board must do. Individuals hold no power outside of the boardroom, Polonio explained. Trustees can only make decisions as a part of the whole. “What makes this even more complicated is that higher education has rituals and traditions,” she said. The trustee elects must learn the ropes fast, Polonio warned. Some people say that board members must spend a year listening and learning before they can truly understand the business of the board, she said, but with loss of funding and declining enrollment, community colleges need strong leadership, she said. “You can’t afford to wait and figure it out,” Polonio said. “It’s the students who are going to be hurt.”
WCC-drafted bill may allow community colleges to invest locally by PAULETTE PARKER
News Editor
ERIK MORRIS | WASHTENAW VOICE
Polonio asked each of the trustees and trustee elects to bring up any questions they wanted to discuss. “How can we get along as a board?” Trustee Diana McKnight-Morton asked. “The public has spoken. Their vote is as important as anyone else’s,” Polonio said of the trustee elects. “Don’t make assumptions about people.” There is nothing separating the new trustees from the remaining ones, DeVarti said. “To set it up the old board members and the new, I think that’s a false dichotomy.” And Hatcher agreed. “I know most of the board members better than the other elects,” she said. “There’s no sense of a coalition against the coalition.” How e v e r, Mc K n i g h t Morton still showed some trepidation. “I’ve been on the board for 20 years and I have not seen the territory we are going into.” DeVarti then spoke up about several questions he has about the inner workings of the
college, and suggested he might meet with administrators individually to find information he needed. Not a good idea, Polonio said, because administrators may feel intimidated if a trustee were to show up at their office. It’s better, she said, to bring questions to the board chair who will ask the president to ask those administrators to present at a board meeting. “Besides, other trustees might have the same questions you do,” Polonio explained, “So give them a chance to join you and learn too.” Then Hatcher spoke up. “There’s an elephant in the room,” she said. “I don’t know who to trust. I really, really don’t know who to trust on this board or this administration.” Hatcher alleged that she was recently lied to by an unnamed administrator. “I don’t often ask questions I don’t already know the answer to,” she said. Board Vice Chair Richard Landau was visibly upset by this.
“You do not call people liars, Ruth,” Landau yelled. “Be careful. When you start calling people liars, you had better be able to back it up and you had better be sure that it is not a difference of opinion.” Hatcher stood by her statement, but did not go into more detail about the exchange with the unnamed administrator. As Polonio wrapped up, she encouraged the trustees and trustee elects to find ways to build trust. And most of them agreed that this conversation was a good start. “I feel it was very productive,” Gill said. “ T h i s w a s g r e a t ,” McKnight-Morton said. “We had to bring this out and this was a good avenue for it because we had a facilitator.” “I think, you know, there’s going to be some learning who we are to each other, but I have a great deal See RETREAT, Page A5
Wa s h t e n a w ’s C h i e f Financial Officer Bill Johnson and Director of Government Relations Jason Morgan, appeared before the House Appropriations Committee last week to testify on behalf of a bill they helped write that would allow Washtenaw – and the 29 other community colleges in Michigan – to invest their money locally. “This bill came from a conversation that Bill Johnson and I had a while back about how other local units of government are allowed to invest locally in other units of government,” JASON MORGAN Morgan said. A restriction in the Community College Act prohibits local investments. “Today we can only invest in U.S. Treasuries and state of Michigan bonds,” Johnson said. Johnson researched the statute that governs the way community colleges are allowed to invest and found that a small change would need to be BILL JOHNSON made to the Community College Act, adding political subdivisions to the things they are allowed to invest in. “With this bill, community colleges will be allowed to invest in local governments, municipalities, school districts See INVEST, Page A5
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The Washtenaw Voice
December 15, 2014
SUPPORT
ONE OF OUR OWN WCC grad and Computer commons tutor Brian Myers needs your help. Brian has been diagnosed with emphysema and medical costs have left him facing eviction. As someone who has spent his life dedicated to the fight against AIDS and also to our own students at washtenaw, please consider providing for him in his time of need
To donate and learn more, visit: GoFundMe.com/BrianMyersFund Stress Free Day
Tuesday, December 9th, & Wednesday, December 10th 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. By Barnes & Noble, 1st Floor SC Feeling stressed over finals? Take a breather from studying to visit Student Activities’ table for FREE, delicious root beer floats and savory, hot soft pretzels!
Shopping Trip: Birch Run
“Wicked”
Piston’s Game
Friday, December 12th 9:30 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. Birch Run Outlets
Thursday, December 18th 7:30 p.m. Detroit Opera House
Friday, December 19th 5:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Palace of Auburn Hills
Get your Holiday shopping in while the deals last! Join Student Activities for this one day trip to the Birch Run Outlets! Tickets include: college van transportation, lunch at Uno Chicago Grill, and hours of shopping at the great outlets of Birch Run! Tickets: $12
Get your tickets to see Wicked! This classic tale of the untold story of the witches of Oz is nothing but spectacular! TICKETS SOLD OUT!
Get pumped! We’re on our way to the Piston’s Game! Buy your tickets and cheer on the Pistons as they rival the Toronto Raptors! Tickets include: transportation on the Fox Sports Fan Bus, amazing seats (behind the hoop), and a $9 concession stand food voucher! Tickets: $35
Transfer friendly. Employer desired. n Future-focused business curriculum n Courses offered evenings, weekends, online, and on campus n Credits for work/life experience and military training
WCC Sports
n Expert, industry-experienced faculty n Small class sizes
Join us for Intramural Sports! You must pre-register through the Sports office in SC 116 during the registration dates. Requirements: 2.0 cumulative GPA, be registered in at least three credits at WCC (some sports vary).
Apply Today!
Ice Hockey: Tryouts - Monday, December 1st & December 8th. Last tryout: Wednesday, January 7th, held at Buhr Park from 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm.
www.northwood.edu 800.622.9000
Men’s Basketball: Tryouts - Monday, January 12th & Wednesday, January 14th. Monday’s tryout: Health and Fitness Center, 9:30 pm - 11:00 pm. Wednesday’s tryout: One on One Athletic Club from 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm. Women’s Basketball: Tryouts - Monday, January 12th & Wednesday, January 14th: Health and Fitness Center across from campus from 9:30 pm - 11:00 pm. Competitive Dance: We are continuing to build our competitive dance program! Tryouts Tuesday, January 13th and Wednesday, January 14th: Morris Lawrence building, 8:00 pm 10:00 pm. Sign up in the office for room locations! Men’s & Women’s Soccer: Tryouts - TBD. Sign up in the office today to be on the list for more information! Men’s Volleyball: Tryouts - Tuesday, January 13th: Health and Fitness Center, 9:30 pm to 11:00 pm. Thursday’s tryout: January 15th, same time and location. Women’s Volleyball: Tryouts - Wednesday, January 14th: One on One Athletic Club from 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm. Thursday’s tryout: January 15th at the Health and Fitness Center, 9:30 pm - 11:00 pm.
Questions or concerns? Contact our office at (734) 973-3720 or mflucas@wccnet.edu
VISIT US ONLINE at WWW. WASHTENAWVOICE.COM
NEWS
The Washtenaw Voice
December 15, 2014
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Ferguson protesters: ‘The police WTMC enrollment make peaceful protests violent’ capacity increased by MYISHA KINBERG
Contributor
FERGUSON, Mo. – No matter how peacefully she’s protesting, Emily Riley, 28, feels that danger is always right around the corner – literally. “At most protests there is a white bus stationed just around the corner filled with armed cops and National Guard members,” Riley said, adding that even when she and fellow protesters are calm and peaceful, law enforcement proceeds to control groups with force. “At a recent protest the police herded us into a small restaurant,” she said. “When we tried to run out the back, armed police with tear gas blocked our exit. We were trapped.” After CBS’s “Special Report” message flashed across millions
of Americans’ TV screens on Nov. 24, announcing that police officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted for the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man, many of Ferguson, Missouri’s citizens erupted with anger. According to most news coverage buildings burned, gunshots rang out and riots exploded, but that was only part of the story. While the grand jury examined the case for three months, protesters around the country pleaded justice for Brown, and people in and around Ferguson formed protest communities. However, TV and computer screens broadcast scenes of violence to the millions of Americans whose eyes were all fixated on Ferguson. Now, with Wilson roaming free, many in the nation have
come together, and the desire for change continues to grow, sparking a nationwide conversation about race relations and police discrimination. At the heart of the movement are communities of young activists in and around Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis. Graie Barasch-Hagans, a 27-year-old black man originally from St. Louis, but currently living in Philadelphia made his way back to his hometown to protest because he feels a responsibility to protect black lives, he said. “Police have to stop killing us,” he said. “Every night someone isn’t going to bed, but I’m waking up every morning. It’s my duty to make a change.” Although force has been used by both rioters and the police trying to control them,
Police arrest people in the street outside the Ferguson Police Department in the wake of the grand jury decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the death of Ferguson teen Michael Brown. MCT CAMPUS | COURTESY PHOTO
many of the activists are encouraging non-violent protest, and blaming the police for outbreaks of violence. “I only protest peacefully,” said KB Frazier, a 37-year-old black activist from St. Louis. Frazier feels that protesting violently accomplishes nothing and risks lives being lost. He believes the police hold most of the responsibility for the violence that has broken out in Ferguson. “The police start out in riot gear – they’ve shot rubber bullets and hurtled tear gas and mace directly at me,” he said. “The police make peaceful protests violent.” For many, the police are no longer protectors; they are a threat. But 27-year-old protester Sarah Barasch-Hagans recognizes that the police also see her as a threat. “I can’t ask the police to keep me safe if I am protesting. It’s almost like they’re scared of me and the protest,” she said. “Honestly, if the police won’t keep me safe while I’m performing peaceful assembly, then I really don’t know what they are there for.” For the police it seems protecting citizens and enforcing the law do not go hand-in-hand, Riley said. “A police officer told me it is not his job to protect me, it is his job to enforce the law,” she said. “It’s clear to me that they have a system for who they are going to protect and who they are not going to protect,” Frazier said. “People of color don’t live to tell their side of the story. We need to feel each other’s pain so much that we are able to fight for a new system and stand for change.” The system isn’t “broken” Frazier said. It was meant to be this way.
starving artists Students who find their passion in poetry and music need to get creative to make a living
by KELLY ANDERSON
Contributor
“I packed rap in the blender of my mouth, / shredded confetti / for the day I was no longer scared / to be me / and I am sorry / and honesty does not absolve me …” wrote Mike Moriarty, a quiet and self-conscious guy who works at the Continuing Ed and Community Service Department at Washtenaw Community College. Most would never guess he is a slam poetry champion and a published poet. Moriarty knew after taking creative writing classes in high school poetry was the only thing that would make him happy. But the job outlook for artists in today’s economy isn’t pretty. Government and media outlets continually remind us of the unemployed and underemployed college graduates with degrees in the arts and humanities. Students in high school are pushed to choose a major in one of the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math) if they expect a job after graduation from college. But what happens to those whose passion is music or poetry? Moriarty decided on a practical approach. “When you’re a poet, you go in knowing you’ll never make a living in that art form in America. It forces you to think about what you want to do with it,” Moriarty said. “That says something about our cultural climate, but it also tells you that those who do it really love what they do.” Moriarty manages to pay his rent and tuition through his job at WCC. Although it is not a job in creative writing, he said it gives him the mental space he
needs to practice his art. He is not alone in his thinking. “We believe we must be one thing; it’s not a bad idea to be many things,” said Michael Naylor, a Performing Arts instructor at WCC. He doesn’t believe there is much ability to make a living solely in music or art. “If you want to make a living at art, you need to look at the widest possibilities. It’s not a copout to do something else you enjoy and keep your art autonomous.” Adam Wilkinson, a WCC student studying digital video production, knows this all too well. After a stint in New York City working in the music industry he realized he wasn’t going to make a living as a musician. “It’s important to remain humble and to have a backup plan. Arrogance is the biggest liability to your career. There are few artists making a living in their chosen field,” Wilkinson said. “That’s why I am coupling my art with an electrical engineering degree.” He hopes to transfer to a Bachelor of Science program at the music school at the University of Michigan. “My goal is to work for a first-class audio manufacturer. Working there will add to my quality of life so I can pursue the other things,” he said. Those other things include playing guitar in a thrash metal band and in an art noise band. “My audio engineering background helps me with my music.” Similarly, WCC student Troy Turbett merges his math and natural science studies with his music. He earns enough income as a math tutor at WCC to allow him to play guitar in two bands. Although it might seem like an unlikely
combination to some, Turbett sees a connection. “Math and music are both disciplines where you need the ability to interpret symbols on the page for a desired outcome,” he said. John Lawrence, a music instructor at WCC adds another dimension to this thinking. “If you look at your art as a business you will find every talent can be adapted to different sources of income.” Lawrence taught guitar for many years, but when he began creating written lesson plans he had an epiphany. He collected those lessons into a book on how to play guitar. Then he went on to publish video lessons and recordings. “Without learning anything new, I realized I could format my knowledge and publish books and recordings. It’s about marketing yourself,” Lawrence said. “At least try doing what you love before you settle on something you need to do to make money.” Lawrence teaches a class at WCC called “Self-Management for Working Artists” to help students realize the importance of running their art as a business. “Selling records is all young people shoot for. When that doesn’t happen, because they look at that as their only goal, they find themselves starving,” Lawrence said. “It doesn’t take long to realize you won’t make money on poetry. The poet W.H. Auden said that all poets should learn a trade. WCC is good for that,” said Tom Zimmerman, director of the WCC Writing Center and adviser of the Poetry Club. Simon Mermelstein is a tutor in the Writing Center and a poet. “I don’t do it for the money,”
Mermelstein said of his poetry. “I’ve earned maybe $200 selling chapbooks. I don’t count on poetry to support me. I do it because I just can’t not do it.” Finding your way as an artist is not all about money. It’s also about personal connections. “I tell my students to get involved,” Zimmerman said. “Get to know other writers, build community, attend open mic events, take literature classes, get involved in the WCC Poetry Club.” Naylor agreed that building a community is crucial. “Learn how to network. You need to build a team to sell your work. You need good networking skills and human contact face-to-face,” he said. Mike Moriarty takes this advice seriously. “It’s important to have other people in your life who have artistic passion and energy,” he said. “You build off the energy of others through readings and classes in a safe environment. Moriarty leads writing workshops at the Neutral Zone, where he advises his students to set realistic goals. “It doesn’t have to be lofty. Don’t start with the goal of being famous. Have a goal of making the kind of art that makes you excited,” he said. “If you are doing it for the right reasons, that’s the way you will have success. You will always do it even if you are broke and unemployed and desperate.” “I feel artistically fulfilled,” Moriarty said. “It is rewarding to know that anyone would care to buy and read my book after I give a reading. That impact will never wear off. So, do it because you love it and one day you will make money off it and it will be all the sweeter.”
by PAULETTE PARKER
News Editor
The Wa s h t e n a w Community College board of trustees voted unanimously to increase the enrollment capacity of Washtenaw Technical Middle College
to 578 students at the board meeting on Nov. 18. This increase will allow for mid-year departures. Fifth-year seniors will not be counted in the enrollment numbers. WTMC may admit up to 75 ninth-grade students beginning with the 20152016 academic year.
Trustees bypass rules to add protections for LGBTQ students by NATALIE WRIGHT
Editor
Washtenaw students are now protected against discrimination or harassment based on their gender identity or gender expression. The college’s board of trustees unanimously passed three policy changes – which were expedited by the board and the administration – only two weeks after it heard a plea from representatives of the Jim Toy Center to ensure equal rights for all WCC students. The board requested that the changes be expedited, due to the urgency of the matter, but the rushed process drew criticism from some trustees and faculty. Trustee Diana McKnightMorton was outspoken at the meeting, saying that without the traditional three readings, she was not confident in voting for the
changes. She proved to not understand the changes when she suggested that language be added to include protections for transgendered students – exactly what the new language did. After much discussion, the trustees decided to wait to vote on policy 2005 – an admissions policy which held other edits – but passed the other three policies including the Student Rights and Conduct Code, a prohibition of harassment and a policy on access for diverse people. History teacher and chief negotiator for the faculty union David Fitzpatrick said that although he agreed with the policy changes themselves, he did not feel comfortable with the way the board rushed the process. The board’s bylaws require three readings, he said. And although it can choose to suspend its bylaws, which board Chair Stephen Gill mentioned at the meeting, the board did not take an official vote to do so. “It undermines the entire system,” Fitzpatrick said.
Advanced Transportation Center advances by SOFIA LYNCH
Features Editor
The team of faculty and administrators working to bring the Advanced Transportation Center to Washtenaw Community College is working to ensure the quality of its prospective cutting-edge program. On Tuesday, Nov. 18, WCC welcomed key players in the local automotive industry to a roundtable discussion about the center. “What we take from today will drive how we enhance what we believe is an already good curriculum and make it a great curriculum,” Brandon Tucker, dean of Advanced Technologies and Public Service Careers said. “We just want to hear from you where the industry is at, what your needs are, so we can respond,” he added. Tucker and Automotive
Services Department chairs Michael Duff and Allen Day introduced the plans for the center, and allowed attendees to offer comments and feedback. “Part of the reason we wanted a lot of different people from different industries here is because we want to get information from people who are already working in the industry about what direction they think we should be going to serve our students, the members of the community, and the employers that are hiring our students,” Day said. The feedback they received was on par with the planned goals, and the response showed that WCC is on the right track, Tucker said. “We have the foundation,” Tucker said. “It’s about two things: enhancing what we already have and then adding in what we don’t. And a lot of the adding in is a lot of the feedback we heard today.”
Washtenaw partners with charities to raise millions by TAYLOR ROBINSON
Staff Writer
Washtenaw has partnered with local charities to support fundraising efforts that have raised more than $2 million in the past eight years, college officials said. “Part of our duties within student development is to support our community projects,” Peter Leshkevich, director of Student Development and Activities told the college board of trustees at its November meeting. The Community Support Committee has worked with a number of non-profits, and none are more grateful than the American Cancer Society, which raised more than $1 million through WCChosted events, ACS spokesman Alex Garnepudi said.
“What we do in this community wouldn’t be possible without the partnership here at Washtenaw Community College,” Garnepudi told the board. “You guys are truly the most generous partners that we have here in Washtenaw County.” The Alzheimer’s Association, American Diabetes and Heart Associations, American Red Cross and United Way a also hold fundraisers on campus. Rachel Barsch, WCC’s events coordinator for Student Development and Activities, told the board that because of the events, 15,585 community members have visited campus. Garnepudi closed with a photo of a woman holding a sign that read “Welcome Home,” at a campus event. “We truly feel like we are home when we are here,” he said. “So thank you.”
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December 15, 2014
editorial
A YEAR IN HEADLINES Washtenaw Community College is a dynamic place. The campus hosts countless events during the year, ranging from bat festivals to breast feeding workshops. It also houses thousands of students, faculty and staff, each with their own unique stories. For those who like to tell stories, it is a treasure trove. We regret that we will never be able to fit every story in our pages, but we’ve managed quite a few. We’d like to reflect on the stories we’ve paid witness to, along with our readers. So together, let’s remember 2014, in the stories we’ve told: FEBRUARY – Judith Hommel, beloved retired WCC staffer, loses battle with cancer – Biology instructor David Wooten presents Darwin: Books, Beetles and Blasphemy MARCH –WCC releases SOQs to The Voice – English instructor Maryam Barrie elected WCC Education Association president – Same-sex marriage legal in Michigan for less than a day – WCC holds first free college day APRIL – Obama visits Ann Arbor to speak to students – Trustees vote to increase tuition for Fall 2014 MAY – Faculty votes ‘no confidence’ in WCC President Rose Bellanca’s leadership – Three of five academic deans resign – State Rep. Adam Zemke, in partnership with WCC, proposes GED funding program – 1,626 student graduate from WCC JUNE – Faculty sends letter to Higher Learning Commission, challenging WCC’s accreditation – Five new programs approved for Fall 2014 – Mold discovered in LA building, clean up to cost $500,000 – Students take gold at SkillsUSA competition – Five digital video students win student Emmys JULY – Eight candidates file for board of trustees election, Trustees Patrick McLean and Anne Williams do not file for reelection AUGUST – Part-time English instructor Stephanie Gelderloos sues WCC for alleged gender discrimination in hiring process – WCC, UA sign 15-year contract – International soccer game at the Big House
VOICES
There is never such thing as ‘asking for it’
safety and security – despite the sensitivity of the subject. The campus police at the University of Wisconsin have recently been accused of not SOFIA LYNCH snlynch@wccnet.edu treading that sensitive line well, and victimblaming in the process. And it’s clear from the title of their safety tips alone, “Shedding the For my whole life, hearing the word rape Victim Persona,” that the accusations were sent has chills down my spine. It’s a dirty word warranted. and an even more disgusting act. But I’ve had Some of their suggested tips include, “A victo become accustomed to the word as the top- tim looks like a victim,” and “If you present youric has become unavoidable and an increasing self as easy prey, then expect to attract some problem on college campuses across the nation. wolves.” Around 20-25 percent of college women and For most victims, speaking about their expe15 percent of college men are victims of rape rience or hearing people talk about something during their time in college, according to the raw is difficult. So people should speak about National Sexual Violence Resource Center. And sexual violence carefully. For a campus-wide that alone makes me shiver. message to speak so bluntly and accusatory about With this horrendous crime happening so something so fragile, it’s good that the school often on campuses, universities have had to was under fire for it. attempt to act on the issue and offer support, Victim-blaming is the most horrible stigma
NOVEMBER – The Voice wins first place in ‘Best in Show’ contest at ACP/CMA College Media Convention – Hatcher, Fleming sweep trustee election, DeVarti beats incumbent Freeman by 57 votes – Trustees add protections for gender identity and gender expressions to student policies – Voice’s SOQ website goes live DECEMBER – WCC eliminates therapist position as semester ends
surrounding campus assaults. Taking advantage of someone is one of the most inhuman things a person could do, and there is no one to blame for that act but the perpetrator. One of the most common phrases in victimblaming is that the victim was “asking for it.” I wish I could paste this headline all over the media: There is no such thing as asking for something you don’t consent to. Rape by definition is sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person – without consent. There is nothing that excuses the acts of a rapist, especially not the actions of the victim. What you wear is not asking for it. Being drunk is not asking for it. Going to a frat party is not asking for it. Going to someone’s house is not asking for it. The only thing that can be considered asking for it, is, literally, asking for it. So don’t make an already horrific experience worse by asking a victim what she did wrong.
Where were the students’ voices when they took away our therapists? HANNAH RE AUME hreaume@wccnet.edu
After spending weeks sitting on an important and sad story – the elimination of the campus therapists – it is bittersweet to finally be able to share the information with the entirety of the student body, faculty and staff here at Washtenaw Community College. I am working my way to become a psychologist myself, to offer compassionate care to those in need. I also began using this service on campus for the first time this semester, and happily share my success from having taken advantage of this. When I first heard the news, I had to place myself in the shoes of the therapists, who are having to say goodbye to hundreds of students who rely on them for their success on campus. I can’t imagine looking someone in the eye – a student with bipolar disorder, or a student who has been suicidal, or a student whose father was murdered – and say, “I’m sorry, I won’t be here to help you anymore, and there won’t be anyone to fill my shoes.”
With this change in our Counseling department, I’m most fearful of what will happen in those dire circumstances. Where will the students be sent who get a call in the middle of class that their sister passed away? That their uncle lost his battle with cancer? I can’t fathom getting in my car and driving home, let alone anywhere after receiving such tragic news. There is a lot of confusion, anger and sadness that boils to the surface as I imagine how painful this decision is for so many. I only began using the resource this semester, and I was able to find relief that aided in my success this fall. I struggled with the reality of the career I have chosen to pursue. The self-doubt I faced began to subside within one short hour-long session – where I was reassured, through talking it out and being heard – that I was doing exactly what I wanted to do, and exactly what I needed to get there. I will always have moments of doubt, but had it not been for the ability to see a therapist while on campus full time, I was on my way to dropping my entire course load. Of course, one session alone often isn’t enough, but just one session can make a difference in the way students view life issues that have an incredibly huge impact on their education. I am a prime example.
In more dire circumstances, one session can save a life. For students who have been seeing one of the therapists for two or more semesters, I can only begin to calculate the amount of days they were able to feel relief, simply from sitting down to speak with of one of the licensed therapists. Offering us therapists gives us a safe space. Yes, a majority of us are legally defined as adults. We don’t need to be coddled, but we also do not need to be treated as though what we have to say lacks any significance to the future success of WCC. This college is here to serve the community, and we, the students, are the community. The therapy model offered here is successful. I’ve spoken with countless students, current and former, that have attested to its successfulness. Who determined that the current model, which WCC has been offering for decades, was unsuccessful? After speaking with fellow students, very few believe this service shouldn’t be offered – students who have never sought help from a therapist and those who have. Were the students asked if this service was beneficial to our college success? I must have missed that email.
PRACTICAL AND EDIBLE GIFTS
SEPTEMBER – University Center opens, allowing students to take Ferris State University courses at WCC – WTMC named seventh best high school in U.S. – CFO Bill Johnson reports $4.7 million surplus for 2013-14 academic year OCTOBER – Asbestos discovered in LA Building, increasing clean-up cost $290,000 – College announces $8 million raised in Campaign for Success – WCC announces plans for Advanced Transportation Center – Entrepreneurship Center grand opening – Radiography students win big at statewide competition – Culinary Arts teams up with CORE Garden to host sustainable dinner
The Washtenaw Voice
M . M . DONALDSON mmorrisdonaldson@wccnet.edu
In my world, Thanksgiving weekend has been my signal to get Christmas cards and make a gift list. One year, my friend informed me that her husband had been laid off, and because of that Christmas was cancelled at her house. It took me a little while to finally scratch out “scented candle” after her name and head to the grocery store for something she could use. Two bags containing ingredients for tuna casserole, spaghetti and sauce and bags of rice may not have been the most festive gift, but she was appreciative of the gesture that made her future a little less scary. For years she had been my crafting buddy (and drinking buddy on occasion), and in her moment of uncertainty, I realized gift-giving should mean something, be fun to do and should not be for the sole purpose to impress. As a recovering Martha Stewart addict, my gift giving wish list also includes: Something that will be used and appreciated, is inexpensive,
The Washtenaw Voice is produced fortnightly by students of Washtenaw Community College and the views expressed herein will not imply endorsement or approval by the faculty, administration or Board of Trustees of WCC. Student publications are important in establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of free and responsible discussion and in bringing matters of concern and importance to the attention of the campus community. Editorial responsibility for The Voice lies with the students, who will strive for balance, fairness and integrity in their coverage of issues and events while employing the best habits and practices of free inquiry and expression. The Washtenaw Voice does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the information or content in advertisements contained in the newspaper or its website, www. washtenawvoice.com, nor the quality of any products, information or other materials displayed or obtained as a result of an advertisement or any other information or offer in or in connection with the services or products advertised. The Voice welcomes letters to the editor from its readers and will make every effort to publish them. We reserve the right to edit letters for space considerations, and ask that writers limit their comments to no more than 400 words. All letters must include a name and contact information, such as an email address or phone number, so the letters can be verified before they are printed. The Voice is committed to correcting all errors that appear in the newspaper and on its website, just as it is committed to the kind of careful journalism that will minimize the number of errors printed. To report an error of fact that should be corrected, phone 734-677-5405 or email thewashtenawvoice@gmail.com. A copy of each edition of The Washtenaw Voice is free to everyone. Additional copies are available at The Voice newsroom, TI 106, for 25 cents each.
Volume 21, No. 8 4800 E. Huron River Dr. TI 106 Ann Arbor, MI 48105 (734) 677-5125 thewashtenawvoice@gmail.com
from the heart and unique. Food fits the bill in so many ways, but not another plate of sugar cookies. So much holiday food is a celebration of the holy trinity – fat, salt and sugar. There has to be another way to share and enjoy food, especially after the binge of holiday food has subsided. Which leads me to gifts in a jar. Starting with a utilitarian canning jar, they’re somewhat homey, but the intent behind them shows care. This is not a quest for perfection, but a reminder that your gift was assembled by familiar hands. It is also a great opportunity to involve smaller hands that are still perfecting fine-motor skills. Additionally, including kids in the activity provides them with a sense of accomplishment. But don’t limit yourself to gifts in a jar. Have you discovered a spice you would like to share? Is there a new recipe you love? Provide key ingredients that might ordinarily be a splurge like good quality olive oil or balsamic vinegar. Let “some assembly required” food gifts provide a chance to make memories with a friend or with family. Food is a gift that everyone can use.
gift in a jar: not your store-bought granola cups old fashion oatmeal 2 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey 2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil ½ cup raisins (or mixed raisins) 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract 1 tablespoon cinnamon ½ cup walnuts Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add oil and warm until it starts to shimmer. Add oats and immediately stir to coat. After a few minutes, add brown sugar and stir, making sure the bottom does not get over browned. After about five minutes, add chopped nuts and cinnamon. When adding the vanilla, use caution as the steam can cause burns. Continue stirring the mixture until the oats are a toasted brown color, approximately 10 minutes. Take off heat and mix in raisins. Allow granola to cool completely before placing in jars. Stores up to one month.
M. M. Donaldson is a staff writer with The Voice and a journalism student at WCC. She has a bachelor of science in family and community services from Michigan State University, and has several years’ experience with nutrition issues affecting infants through older adults. EDITOR
Natalie Wright
nkwright@wccnet.edu
MANAGING EDITOR NEWS EDITOR
EJ Stout
emjstout@gmail.com
Paulette Parker
pstanford@wccnet.edu
FEATURES EDITOR
Sofia Lynch
snlynch@wccnet.edu
ONLINE EDITOR
Christina Fleming
cfleming@wccnet.edu
STAFF WRITERS
M. M. Donaldson Erin Fedeson Taylor Robinson Vivian Zago
mmorrisdonaldson@wccnet.edu efedeson@wccnet.edu taelrobinson@wccnet.edu vpereira@wccnet.edu
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Erik Morris Ben Ellsworth
delocuro@gmail.com benjellsworth@gmail.com
CARTOONIST
Sanaa Naeem
sanaeem@wccnet.edu
COPY EDITOR
Nina Di Mauro
CONTRIBUTORS
Charlie Hackenbruch Myisha Kinberg Becky Lough Hannah Reaume Lydia Rudolph Allison Sherman Brandon Smith Lori Tackett
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Becky Alliston
ealliston@wccnet.edu
ADVISER
Keith Gave
kgave@wccnet.edu
VOICES
The Washtenaw Voice
December 15, 2014
A5
HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR GIVING mom: Your mother should usually be the simplest because moms will love practically anything SOFIA LYNCH snlynch@wccnet.edu you get them – especially if it’s personalized. You could get her a customized necklace with all People live the first 17-plus your siblings’ names or a nice years of their lives with their message. There are many reafamily members, and yet ev- sonably priced, unique options ery year around the holidays of these necklaces available on they are stumped by the idea Etsy.com. of shopping for them. If there is one specific thing However, there is no shame your mother loves, you can exin that – we’ve all been guilty. If pand on it to make a cute gift shopping for your loved ones basket. If your mother loves doesn’t come easy, here are scrapbooking, buy her a new some simple ways to show how book, some sticker packets and much you care this season. some stamps or various tools. One tip for anyone you’re Or show her you recogshopping for is know their nize how much she does for kryptonite. It’s easy to make you by giving her a relaxation a gift thoughtful by shopping package. You could buy her with the recipients “favorites” some small candles, some bubin mind – like a book by their ble bath, a massage (or manifavorite author or a few bags of cure), and a sentimental note coffee from their favorite store. telling her she deserves the rest.
dad: Unlike mothers, fathers are not that easy to shop for. Dads are usually practical, and the most touching gift is something they will use. When dads want something, they usually go out and get it themselves, so this won’t be easy! Find out who your dad’s favorite band was when he was young and buy a vintage band T-shirt with a CD to match. You could buy him a warm scarf and thick pair of gloves – things like winter wear translate to “I care about you” in dad-world. Buy a set of gift cards to set up a date for your parents – one to their favorite restaurant, a local movie theater, and an ice cream or coffee shop for afterwards. It’s thoughtful and gets your dad out of having to plan a date night. Or if none of those ideas fit your dad, just ask your mom
what he needs. There is prob- T-shirt from their favorite band ably something like white or good winter wear. T-shirts or socks he could never Guys don’t usually hold the get enough of. same sentiment to personalized or initialed gifts that moms brother: or sisters do, so the only way to Shopping for siblings de- make your gift personal is really pends on their age, but it still hone in on the things that your goes back to knowing what brother likes. Think about hobtheir favorite things are. For bies, general interests, collecan elementary school-er think tions if they have one, or even favorite toys, for a middle just music/TV/games they love, school-er think favorite vid- to find things specific for your eo games and DVDs, for high brother. school aged think gift cards… and still probably video games sister: and DVDs. Plus, the younger If your sister is between the the siblings, the more likely ages of 9-20, generally speakthey are to just bluntly tell you ing, there’s usually something what they want. in fashion that “every girl has” Boys don’t shop for them- and thus they want. Lokai selves, so for the most part bracelets have been widely popyou’re safe getting them any- ular for their positive mantra, thing. A lot of the gifts that and most girls would be thrilled are good for a dad are good to find one under the Christmas for brothers as well – like jer- tree. sey from their favorite team, a Although gift cards may not
letter to the editor
A “happy ending?” A continuing SOQ discussion needed As an adjunct instructor, I’ve had a 10-year history with the SOQ process. The airing of opinion and options for using student questionnaires to interrogate the quality of instruction has always been, and still is, of great interest and concern to all WCC faculty. Furthermore, Dave Horowitz’s February 2014 letter-to-the-editor, while tongue-in-cheek at times, did illuminate what really is at stake here: a quality education for students and employment prospects for instructors. Moving forward, it’s time to expand our SOQ dialogue. Natalie Wright’s recent Novemeber 2014 editorial (Grade Inflation and a Happy Ending) in defense of posting SOQ scores online was, overall, fair and balanced. I agree, the student/consumer has the right to make informed
for the opportunity to teach choices, based on reasonregular update meetings here. WCC provides some able criteria, before spending with department heads; of the highest level learning thousands on tuition. and a closer working relaresources for a college of its Factors not clearly artionship, overall, with our ticulated in Wright’s editorial size. Its technology departvarious departments – all ments and infrastructure are (factors not easy to quantify) of this and the SOQ. state-of-the-art. include physical classroom Additionally (for all the Teachers, while being environment and interperactivists), consider postunder constant quantitative sonal dynamics. Each semesing SOQ scores over a one observation (SOQs), are still ter, the changing, organic academic-year-average human – only human. Are classroom experience en(winter, summer and fall). teachers still needed in this countered by all instructors While not an expert in sta“braver” new world? Rhetoric may play some role in SOQ tistical analysis, I sincerely aside, let’s be honest. Can a fluctuations. One group of feel that student/consumcomputer really connect a students may be enthusiastic ers may get a more accurate student with human language, picture of who a particuand motivated – the physical or inspire a charcoal sketch, and interpersonal chemistry lar teacher is: psycholojust works. Another section of or explain why writers and gist, motivator, mentor and philosophers have important the very same class, using the more – a WCC instructor! things to tell us? same variables, may be the Really, aren’t we all enWell … maybe not – yet. complete opposite. titled to a tough semester My own somewhat modest now and then without the Personally, I feel more efproposal to foster the growth fective in a room with stuff threat of dismissal hanging on the walls and some kind of of WCC’s valued part-time over our heads? and adjunct educators would natural light. I believe many be to include more peer-tostudents feel this too. Don’t Scott Schuer peer instructor evaluation; misunderstand, I’m grateful WCC English instructor
THERAPISTS, From A1
that there are actually 19 licensed professional counselors (LPCs) at WCC, not only five. This is true, there are 19 LPCs at WCC, however only five of them work in counseling capacities. The rest work as staff in other areas of the college and do not provide counseling to students, English instructor Julie Kissel explained in a letter to the trustees which listed all 19 LPCs and their job titles. “As faculty, we are concerned about the level of support available to our students. From our view, we see cuts and gaps in services,” Kissel wrote. “I urge you to request a more in-depth analysis of the college’s movement away from providing much-needed counseling services to our students.” In addition to these changes, the Counseling department is merging with the Student Resource and Women’s Center. This move will enhance the student experience by providing a central place for counseling resources on campus, Vice President of Student Services Linda Blakey wrote in an email to faculty and staff. The college is also hiring a new international adviser, one who is not qualified for the role, Barrie said at a November board meeting. “The next international adviser will be available more days of the year, get paid substantially less than the last one, and will have much lower credentials for the position than her predecessors,” she said. “This adviser most definitely will not be an additional LPC available to work with our troubled students.” Juan Moncayo, a 22-yearold international student said
Neither of the women was able to speak with The Voice. John Rinke, Director of Support Services declined an interview as well. The therapist positions are being cut in the midst of many changes in the Counseling and Career Planning department. A year ago, the faculty asked President Rose Bellanca to replace three academic division counselors that the college had lost to retirement, Maryam Barrie, president of the WCC Education Association, said at a board of trustees meeting earlier this fall. Instead, the college moved three of five existing counselors from the Counseling and Career Planning department to the divisions. “At the time, the WCCEA urged the college to reconsider its policy of replacing fulltime licensed counselors with academic advisors,” Barrie said, and the faculty’s concerns only grew when they learned the school planned to eliminate the therapist positions. “Many question the wisdom of eliminating a service to some of our most at-risk students,” Barrie said. The college seems to be committed to “changing the face of counseling” to a place that deals with academic advising, rather than emotional support, Barrie said. “While advisors can be hired more inexpensively than counselors, our students face a great many obstacles – external and internal,” she said. Later in the board meeting, Bellanca addressed Barrie’s concerns, explaining to those in attendance and the trustees
that having an LPC available specifically for international students is crucial. “As an international student, I can’t go anywhere else. It’s a good resource, not just for me, but for more people like me,” Moncayo, a graphic design student who resides in Ypsilanti, said, explaining that international students aren’t able to work outside of the school while in the country on a student visa, making it difficult, if not impossible to afford outside counseling. The structure of counseling is changing because the current model wasn’t working, Blakey said, adding, “It’s important for us to serve our students.” David Matthews, a 20-yearold pre-physical therapy student from South Lyon, agrees with the decision and said that he doesn’t believe the school should be obligated to provide this service. “In college, students should be more mature to seek outside help,” he said. However, it is fairly common for colleges to house therapists on campus to help students at no extra cost. Both Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan employ therapists to offer short-term psychotherapy – the same model offered at WCC before the changes. At Washtenaw, counselors and advisers will still be available to help students with academic issues, but for more serious, emotional issues, they will direct students to resources in the community. The needs of students at WCC are diverse becuase they come from many different paths, said Lawrence Voight, a part-time psychology
teacher. “I do believe (not all), but a number of our students are vulnerable,” he said. “There’s a peace of mind knowing there’s competent accessible help.” For Melissa Smith, a 46-year-old social work student from Ypsilanti, the therapists have been instrumental in helping her to get through school. She has been seeing a therapist on campus for several semesters. “They’ve encouraged me to continue my education,” she said. “I never thought I’d have the grades or be able to pursue my education.” Sarina Anderson, a 19-year-old nursing student from Belleville said that she does not feel comfortable talking to a counselor or adviser for needs beyond course advising. “I would rather see someone trained in dealing with emotions and personal issues,” she said. And for Matthews, there is no replacing the woman who helped him cope with his father’s murder, and hearing that Jarrett’s position was being eliminated was frustrating. “It broke my heart when she told me the news. I felt like my campus mom – or aunt – was being taken away,” he said, adding that he wished the students who visit the therapists had been consulted on this decision. “We (students) are the campus. If it wasn’t for us, the staff wouldn’t have a job. If we don’t have a voice, why are we here?”
be personal, they’re as good as gold to girls. Nothing is better than an allotment of money set aside just to be spent splurging at their favorite store. But still pair the gift card with a smaller gift so you don’t seem careless. Little things like lotion sets or jewelry could do the trick. Everyone has something they can’t get enough of and gifts are best when they to play into that. Girls tend to be more obsessive toward the things they love, so look for phone cases, posters, stuffed animals, blankets, etc. related to her favorite singer/book series/TV show. One fun gift idea most girls would love is a Polaroid camera. The fun and ease of having photos print right after their shot is something girls (or anyone) would love. The camera also travels easily, so they can bring it anywhere.
letter to the editor
Thank you The Washtenaw Community College office of Student Diversity and Inclusion would like to thank everyone who attended the Diversity Extravaganza on Friday, Nov. 21. A big thank you goes out to the community groups, University of Michigan students and the WCC International Students Club who performed in the show. And special thanks to Taste of
INVEST, From A1 and other qualified, local investments,” Morgan said. “It will help us keep tuition costs down by bringing more money to the college.” WCC in particular could see a yield of $200,000 to $300,000 more per year, he said. After approaching the office of Michigan State Sen. Darwin Booher, chairman of the community college appropriations committee, and garnering his support along with the support of Michigan’s 28 other community colleges, a bill was drafted and introduced to the Senate appropriations committee where it was unanimously approved. On Nov. 10, the bill was introduced in the House Appropriations Committee for Community Colleges, where Booher testified to its benefits alongside Johnson and Morgan, a rare occurrence. “It’s not all that common that Michigan state senators will actually testify on behalf of a bill,” Morgan said. “But that sort of showed how committed Senator Booher was to helping us on this issue.” The bill passed through the House Appropriations Committee with all but two
RETREAT, From A1
India Suvai, Ahmo’s, Conor O’Neill’s, Frita Batidos, Pilar’s Tamales, Biggies Taste of Soul, Hut-Ke Chaats Nutrilicious Indian Food, and Paesano’s restaurants for donating all the food. Lastly, thank you Anita Chaudhri for all your help planning and organizing the event. Arnett Chisholm Dean of Student Diversity & Inclusion
votes and will now move on to the full House of Representatives. If passed, by Nov. 18, it will then make its way to the governor to be signed into law. “I’m extremely optimistic considering how far it has come already and the very positive responses we’ve received from our Washtenaw County legislators, as well as other state representatives from across the state and some in leadership positions,” Morgan said. A process that started in September could be complete by Nov. 18. However, if the bill does not pass by then, Johnson and Morgan will have to start the process from the beginning in January or February. “I don’t think anybody ever thought this would be achievable or had done enough research to realize what the positive impact could be,” Morgan said. “This is really the result of Bill Johnson looking at what our current investment portfolio is and looking at all the alternative options to see how we can yield higher returns for our investments.” It’s finding a creative way to better utilize what the state is currently giving community colleges to benefit students, he said. future. “We’re going to have some contentious meetings, but it’s a good thing,” she said. “We’re going to show this campus that we are listening.” But Hatcher was unwilling to comment after the meeting, saying she was apparently “not allowed” to speak with Voice reporters. Instead, she directed them to Chair Gill, who has permission to speak, she said. But she could be overheard speaking to Fleming on her way out. “I just worry about keeping individuality.”
of trust in the motivations of the board members,” DeVarti said. “The whole board has to make decisions together as a group, but I’m certainly going to continue to put ideas on the table.” As long as they are open with each other, DeVarti said, it should be possible to build trust. “I want them to know who I am, what kinds of ideas I have, what some of my values are. I think that’s a way to build trust, is to put that out openly so people know,” DeVarti said. “I’m not hiding anything. I’m not holding back.” Additional reporting by Fleming said she expects News Editor Paulette Parker more meetings like this in the and staff writer Taylor Robinson.
A6
NEWS
December 15, 2014
Online classes- what won’t work? Or will it? by TAYLOR ROBINSON
Staff Writer
and VIVIAN ZAGO Staff Writer
With the growing popularity of online classes, the options are growing as well. But there is a fine line between what’s being offered and what works... and what doesn’t. John E. Lawrence, a long time music instructor at Washtenaw Community College, would like to create some online courses in the near future. Some students may show skepticism toward taking a music class online. However, Lawrence is confident it would work well, especially after talking to fellow music instructor Michael Naylor, who has already converted one of his courses to online – Music Appreciation. Lawrence envisions a class consisting of videos of him playing guitar and responses from students with their videos. After reviewing the student videos, he’ll be able to teach each student based on their current skill level, he said. “It wouldn’t be blanketed advice that I give to everybody, I could see where each student is and where they need help,” Lawrence said. He’d also want face-toface interaction using a program such as Skype, he said, stressing the importance of being able to see and hear the musician. Although music is newer to realm of online courses, instructors show positive feedback from interested individuals. Other courses, some say, just won’t work online. Michael Betzold, a WCC journalism instructor, doesn’t see
ELEARNING, From A8 Ellucian’s report emphasized. A leadership vacuum, a lack of organization, communication and strategic vision all make WCC’s process slow and cumbersome. “Time is money and WCC’s DL is wasting major quantities of time due to complex processes,” the report said. Courses weren’t filling student needs either. Decisions over what courses to put online were based on faculty interest, not student needs or market research. “There hasn’t been a lot of big thinking about programs,” said Kristin Brandemuehl, interim dean of Math and Natural Science. “So if a student wanted to get an associate degree, but couldn’t be on campus, there’s no real way to do that.” Some fear that this is turning students away. “If we continue with the current model, there are costs beyond financial,” said English instructor Lisa Veasey. “Students are not going to wait for us to develop each course, and they will shop elsewhere.” [NW1] So the college’s primary goal is to get full certificate and degree programs online, Abernethy said. Business programs will probably be some of the first to go up, he said, because they are in high demand. Courses that fulfill the Michigan Transfer Agreement are also a priority, Montague said. “What we hope to see in the future is more of a clear pathway for students who want to pursue a course of study online,” Montague said. But the first step is to find a way to get courses up faster without sacrificing quality, Abernethy said. Currently, it takes 9-12 months to get between six and eight courses online.
an Introduction to Journalism course being successful online. A class like this sparks spontaneous conversations, he said, which can be really instrumental in a journalism student’s education. “I think it would be difficult because the face-to-face discussion is crucial,” Betzold said. “The loss would be the feedback that only happens when people are together in the same room.” Lisa Manoukian, a WCC math instructor, acknowledged both the positives and negatives of online classes. Not all instructors are on board with distance learning, she said. “Does it work? Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn’t. The fact is that it’s here,” Manoukian said. Her priority is making sure students are getting what they need, whether the class is online or on campus. She explains that teaching an online class can be difficult because she can’t always tell where the students stand with the given assignments. When in the classroom, she can tell, by the looks on the students’ faces, who is understanding the information and who is not. Not only is teaching this class online difficult, so is taking it. “Taking an online class takes requires more motivation, independence and self-drive,” Manoukian commented. “They are working harder than faceto-face students.” But when it works, it works really well, said Kristin Brandemuehl, interim dean of Math and Science. “I think a good online student gets more out of a course than a good student face to face,” Brandemuehl said. “There’s no substitution for
self-instruction. But for a lot of people it’s just really hard to have that discipline.” But regardless of what students want, some classes may just never work online, said Mike Galea, director of Distance Learning at WCC. “There are some classes that you’re not going to be able to take online – for example, culinary arts,” Galea said. “For that you have to be able to come into the kitchen and cook.” Chef Derek Anders, a WCC culinary arts instructor, believes that some culinary classes can be taught online. However, there’s so much about the philosophy of the learning components that can only be taught in a classroom, Anders said. “There are some things that I believe could happen, but there’s no such thing like ‘smell-o-vision,’” he said. “Students pick up much more as far as what is being taught, when they have their hands on it, smelling, tasting, seeing and presenting things.” All those components are necessary for a good customer experience, but with the technology available on campus, pre-recording lectures could be available in order to flip the classroom, Anders said. Students would be able to do things on their own time, at their own pace, with their own vision, but it does require that they are motivated to achieve standards and class expectations, Anders said. But online classes definitely have benefits. “For instance, there a lots of ways to cut chicken. And a lot of students already asked me, with the camera on their cellphones, if they can record it,” Anders said. “Besides taking advantage of and adapting to technology, it’s a way they
can store it and watch later for further references.” Anders would consider teaching an online class, but he thinks students need hands-on experience with the food they are working with. And it can only happen in a face-to-face class. For some, blended classes offer a happy medium between online convenience and the inclass experience. Blended classes came out of a tension between wanting to put general education classes, like biology, online, but also having a need for students to spend time in a lab, WCC biology instructor David Wooten said. Are there classes that will never be taught online? Much depends on how technology advances over the next few years and decades, Galea said. WCC Vice President of Instruction Bill Abernethy thought online classes were a passing phase when they first began, but now, he said, it seems they’re here to stay. It’s clear there’s a demand for them, he said. So although some classes may not work with today’s technology, he’s not ruling anything out. “Are there classes that won’t work online? I think it’s a good question. I don’t know the answer to it,” he said. “There are arguments that are pretty convincing that there are certain things that require hands-on experience that cannot be done online. But I think, as time goes on, more and more of these types of classes, in fact, are done online. “It’s just a matter of figuring out how to do it.” Additional reporting by Editor Natalie Wright and News Editor Paulette Parker
A new Strategy and Policy Board, led by Galea, will work with the current Distance Learning-Blackboard committee, Ellucian and Abernethy to streamline the course development process. This will include a focus on speed, efficiency and quality engagement, Galea said. “We don’t want to sort of just rush out there, because a lot of these schools put out what we call shell courses and they’re not very quality courses,” Galea said. “We’re taking a real close look at how can we expedite the process, and we’re looking at things in terms of how do we get more instructor engagement. “We don’t have the answers right now. This whole process is not something that we’re going to determine in the next two or three months. It’s an evolutionary process that will evolve over the next couple of years,” Galea said. But some faculty are less than enthusiastic about the reconstruction of Distance Learning and the hiring of Ellucian. The previous system was great, many have said. “There’s a lot of us that are concerned about it,” said David Wooten, a biology teacher who has taught online courses for four years. “If it’s not working, why are we coming in and hiring consultants to come and tell us how to re-do our inhouse, home-grown Distance Learning department.” Part-time online International Cinema instructor Stuart Susnick discussed the Ellucian audit in an email with Barrie, which she shares when asked her opinion about the reconstruction, because Susnick put the issues “so eloquently,” she said. “It’s core finding is anathema to how I think WCC should do business,” Susnick wrote. “To this point, courses have gone online based on a combination of individual faculty asking and deans encouraging.
This seems to me an organic way of proceeding that fosters variety. And it turns out that this non-method method has worked pretty well as WCC’s online course portfolio is a wide one with, I’d guess, quite a diversity of approaches.” A big part of the problem, some faculty say, is that they have not been communicated with. It was frustrating, Barrie said, that she had to ask for months to see the Ellucian report before it was finally shared with the faculty in August. “We’re concerned because we don’t understand why it’s happening,” Wooten said, “and there hasn’t been a lot of inclusion with communication and collaboration on how this should be done.” This perceived lack of communication also led to fears that the DL-Bb committee would be dismantled, and that faculty would have no seat at the table for the reconstruction. This fear is “completely unfounded,” Galea said, and there was never a plan to exclude the DL-Bb committee. “Faculty will be entirely creating courses,” Abernethy reassured. “That’s not to say that the administration doesn’t want to prioritize classes, so that we can get programs online that are in high demand by our students. But there’s always going to be a place for individual courses that the faculty want to develop.” But many in the faculty support the changes. “It should have happened a long time ago,” said Cassandra George-Sturges, a psychology and education teacher. “I am completely, 100 percent behind the administration. I feel that they should have moved sooner.” It’s important for instructors to focus on what’s best for the students, said math instructor Lisa Manoukian, and that means increasing the number
of online courses. “If a product isn’t good, we have a hand in improving it,” Manoukian said. “It’s not about us. That’s why we get a check. We need to see that the students are getting what they need. Our job is to be professional advocates for them.” Education is constantly evolving, Galea said, and this is just the next phase in WCC’s evolution. Even for those who take face-to-face classes, work is often required online, today, especially in math courses. “A lot more you’re going to see students doing homework online,” Brandemuehl said. “It’s not static; it’s a lot more interactive. If you do a problem out of a book, you might have to wait for the morning for an answer. “I think it’s the future. I honestly think we’re going to see fewer and fewer textbooks.” “The biggest thing I’ve seen as far as evolution of online courses is the accessibility and the amount of resources available to the student,” Wooten said. “There are these massive amounts of resources that electronically, these students can go to remotely – even by phones – wherever they might be. They have tremendous resources available to them.” And the resources are only going to multiply, Galea said. “In the next 10 to 20 years, it’s hard to tell what technology is going to be able to do to create these sort of virtual environments where you can actually do some of this stuff online,” Galea said. “The way we’re going to be teaching is going to be completely different than it is today.” Additional reporting by Features Editor Sofia Lynch, Staff Writer Taylor Robinson and Contributors Lori Tackett, Brandon Smith, Allison Sherman, Lydia Rudolph
The Washtenaw Voice
5 ways to be a better online student 1. D ownload the Blackboard Mobile App
The app is free for all WCC students and will send notifications to your phone whenever a teacher makes a change, opens and assignment or sends a message in Blackboard.
2. Make a schedule
All online teachers agree: The students that are most successful in online classes practice excellent self-discipline. Just because a class is online does not mean students can do it at their own pace. Create a schedule for when you’ll get your work done and stick to it. And do things well ahead of the deadline, said Jared Slayton, a WCC Blackboard tech specialist, because not all instructors are forgiving if you experience technical difficulties.
3. Check Blackboard regularly
“There are availability dates that instructors can set for content,” Slayton said. “So if you don’t log in for a week, you might have missed a whole week of content that your instructor made available only for that week and turned off.”
4. Use the helpdesk
All of the helpdesk workers check the same email, blackboard@wccnet.edu, so that is the best contact if you’re having problems, Slayton said. Or students can call 734-477-8724 for assistance.
5. Don’t expect it to be easy “There are many misconceptions about online courses,” said Carrie Krantz, English department chair. “Some students take the online classes thinking they are easier than the traditional class. In reality, the classes are harder for the student, as well as for the instructor.”
- Natalie Wright and Taylor Robinson
5 ways to be a better online teacher 1. Tell students about the Blackboard Mobile App
The app makes it so much easier for students to stay engaged, Slayton said. “And hearing it from your instructor can have a lot of impact,” he said. “So as an instructor, I’d encourage them to tell their students about the free mobile app.”
2. Use Grade Center
One of the big benefits of online classes for students is being able to see their grades in real time, in fact, students often say this is their favorite part of Blackboard, Slayton said. “So if an instructor doesn’t use Grade Center, I would encourage them to start,” he said. “The students really appreciate it and we do have help available on how to set that up. It’s a complicated tool, but it’s also a very powerful tool.”
3. Go out of your way to engage
Online teachers need to compensate for missing out on face-to-face time, so it’s important for them to engage their students whenever possible. Even simple emails can be turned into a learning opportunity, said English instructor and Distance LearningBlackboard committee member Maryam Barrie. She tries to teach her students valuable communication skills in her email exchanges with them.
4. Get creative
Interactivity is crucial in online courses, many agree. Today there are a lot of tools including tutorial videos and game-like learning structures that help students retain information. “In today’s world, you can’t just have an online course with a book and some assignments … We need other tools that help us communicate, help us teach,” said Mike Galea, director of Distance Learning. “Basically, use technology to create a richer environment.”
5. Ask for help
The Blackboard helpdesk isn’t only for students. Instructors can call 734-477-8734 for help, or to schedule a training appointment. “We also offer training and guidance for the use of Blackboard on Fridays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.,” Slayton said. “We’ve actually blocked out that time so if anyone needs help they can get it without having to make an appointment.” - Natalie Wright and Taylor Robinson
NEWS
The Washtenaw Voice
Name: WALS-00013 Foot in the Door 11.5 x 10.75 Trim: 10.875 x 14.5 Bleed: 0 Live Margin: .75
December 15, 2014
With an active, engaged alumni network of more than 25,000, Walsh College offers students the connections and opportunities they need to succeed in both the classroom and the boardroom. Learn more at www.walshcollege.edu.
Work Your Body, Work Your Mind WCC students can join The Health & Fitness Center with three options: PEA 115
Sign up when you register for classes and earn half a credit*
Semester Membership Take advantage of the new lower student rate of only $140
Student Monthly Membership Just $43 per month
The Health & Fitness Center at Washtenaw Community College has all the latest exercise equipment, group exercise rooms, two pools, luxurious locker rooms and is right across the street! Register now. For more information call the Student Connection at (734) 973-3543. 4833 East Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor
wccfitness.org
*Must also be enrolled in at least 3 credits for the fall semester.
A7
A8
NEWS
RE-LEARNING December 15, 2014
The Washtenaw Voice
WCC REEVALUATES ‘ARCHAIC’ ONLINE LEARNING Business Office Systems Psychology English Math Computer Science History Health Science Geology Communications Sociology Nursing Humanities Biology Accounting Political Science Philosophy Music Computer Networking Technology Computer Information Systems Child Care Professional Art Academic Career Skills
Business Management siness Office Systems Psychology English Math Computer Science History Health Science Geology Communications What you should know Sociology about theNursing Blackboard Mobile Learn App Humanities It’s free for all students # of students Biology Accounting 4000 Political Science It3000 makes itPhilosophy easier to connect Music 2000 etworking Technology r Information Systems 1000 It’s cross-platform Child Care Professional 0 Art Academic Career Skills -Natalie Wright
15
of students pass online classes
8
12 7
5
1
pass face-toface classes
3
8
2
5
1
You can activate push notifications in the app and it will send notifications of changes to your classes on Blackboard. No extra work by the teacher or student is necessary, Slayton said.
600
3
GAMIFICATION OF EDUCATION
400
2014
2013
2
2012
2011
200
BEN ELLSWORTH | WASHTENAW VOICE
0
And WCC is looking to take full advantage of the opportunities for interactivity as the college restructures its online course offerings. Some online instructors see great value in this type of learning. “I would like to use some of the bells and whistles that we
have available for our courses,” said Lisa Veasey, a WCC English instructor who teaches both online and in the classroom. “I wouldn’t want to offer a course that is nothing but a talking head. Business Management PSY 100 (3 credits) Business Office Systems That would be boring.” Psychology MTH 160 (4 credits) English -Natalie Wright Math Computer Science History Health Science Geology Communications Sociology Nursing Humanities Biology Accounting Political Science Philosophy Music Computer Networking Technology Computer Information Systems Learning is now called Child “We hadProfessional a pretty good sys- brought in Ellucian Consulting Care “ELearning.” Students no lon- tem for the time, Art but things Services to perform an audit of Academic Career Skills ger take online courses only be- have moved on and I think that the Distance Learning program, cause of distance, Galea said, so the model that we developed and the company found a lot of the term has become archaic. many years ago is not as effec- room for improvement. The college’s system for de- tive or as efficient as it might The system was inefficient, veloping online courses is ar- be,” he said. chaic, too, Abernethy said. In spring 2014, Washtenaw See ELEARNING, Page A6
In-District
2010
2009
2008
- Natalie Wright and Taylor Robinson
2007
2006
year
ELEARNING COST COMPARISON Cost ($)
The app works on iOS, Blackberry, Android and Windows, according to Slayton.
These activities reward students for being correct and correct them when they are wrong, and with online courses, the possibilities for this type of learning are even more vast, although, Galea said, he hesitates to call it “gaming.” “I just call it interactivity,” he Cost ($) said.
Online courses require more selfdiscipline on the part of the student, so some might think that success rates would be substantially lower for these courses, but that is not true according to Vice President of Instruction, Bill Abernethy, who estimated them to both fall into the 71-72 percent range, which, he noted is higher than most community colleges in both areas.
7
The app was recently licensed for the entire WCC community, according to Jared Slayton, a WCC Blackboard tech specialist. By entering your WCC user name and password, you can get the app for free.
Even before online classes were created, teachers looked for ways to “gamify” learning, said Mike Galea, a WCC computer information systems teacher. There were interesting experiments using things like classroom Jeopardy! to help students study, he said.
72% 71%
12
15
12
Distance learning
What has been called the Distance Learning department since it’s inception at Washtenaw, is going through an evolution, and the department’s name is not being left untouched. It’s will now be called “E-Learning.” “It really isn’t about the distance,” said Mike Galea, a computer information systems instructor who is heading up the changes in the department. The name signifies a rebranding, and a focus on students’ needs, which, for various reasons, might lead them to taking online courses
CLASSES OFFERED15PER DEPARTMENT Business Management
Out-District
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
WCC TAKES STUDENTS’ LEAD, FOCUSES ON ONLINE CLASSES 600
8
400
7
3
2
ELEARNING FALL ENROLLMENT # of students 4000 3000 2000 1000
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
0 year
Students take courses at a community college for myriad reasons, and as diverse as students are in their intentions, they are equally diverse in their station in life. Part-time and full-time jobs, sometimes multiple jobs, courses at other colleges, families, children and disabilities can all hinder students’ abilities to pursue an education. But with today’s technology, an education is more accessible than ever. Students seem to be torn when asked how they feel about online courses. “The convenience is nice. What I don’t like is there are more distractions,” said Brian Biermann, a 19-year-old
Distance learning
News Editor
Out-District
and PAULETTE PARKER
architectural engineering 0 stu- who was one of the founders of dent from Hartland. Distance Learning at WCC. “It’s nice because you can get Vice President of ahead faster, but I guess I don’t Instruction Bill Abernethy was like the lack of communication,” involved at the beginning, too, said Josh Hite, a 21-year-old but he wasn’t much of a fan of exercise science student from PSY DL100 then, he said. (3 credits) Canton. “I thought it was sort of go(4 acredits) Yet despite the drawbacks MTH ing160 to be flash in the pan, but many students cite, online en- it’s not,” Abernethy said. “It’s rollment continues to climb at grown. It’s clear students want WCC, even as overall enroll- it, so I think we’ve got to meet ment stagnates. All of higher that demand, give students education is seeing a shift from what they need.” traditional to non-traditional Washtenaw was a leader learning. in the field at that time, but in “It has become the preferred the nearly two decades since, method of delivery for many WCC has fallen behind other students,” said Associate Vice colleges in its online offerings, President of Enrollment and said Mike Galea, director of Recruitment Evan Montague. Distance Learning. “I think it responds to a widWith increasing student deer set of individuals and helps mand, it has become more and people see education can be more clear that this area needs possible.” a makeover. WCC began to develop Galea is now heading up an online courses in 1997, said overhaul of how the college Maryam Barrie, English teach- thinks about online courses. er and faculty union president, The first change – Distance In-District
by NATALIE WRIGHT
Editor
5
1
2014
200
Editor’s note: Enrollment is by course, not headcount
’Tis the charity season How to make the most out of your holiday donation dollars by M. M. DONALDSON
Staff Writer
FLIPSIDE Vol. 21, No. 8 — December 15, 2014
Food Gatherers In 1988, Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, founders of Zingerman’s Deli, started Food Gatherers as a food rescue program. During the past 26 years, Food Gatherers consolidated with Huron Harvest Food Bank, opened the Robert J. Delonis Center Community Kitchen, helped build a 30 unit lowincome housing, in addition to improving the access to healthy food for residents in Washtenaw County.
People donate millions of dollars each year to charities in Washtenaw County for specific needs, such as homelessness or emergency food. Whether thro ugh fundraising or anonymous donation, charitable contributions allow a variety of organizations to help give back directly to the community. Many of the local charities aim to provide a better quality of life for people and pets, with a bigger focus on making the community a better place to live. Nearly $250 million was given in Washtenaw County in 2012, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The dollar amount is based on charitable gifts itemized as deductions on tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service. For individuals who are interested making a charitable contribution, but are concerned
Humane Society of Huron Valley
The Humane Society of Huron Valley touts itself as “the only animal shelter in Washtenaw county that takes in all types of unwanted, injured, lost, stray, abandoned and abused animals,” according to the its website. While the HSHV may be considered the place for animals to find refuge and for humans to adopt a pet, it also microchips, spays and neuters, vaccinates, coordinates foster care for special needs animals, does cruelty investigations and provides animal compassion education.
how an organization will use the donation, a little research can provide reassurance. Charity Navigator rates non-profits by the ratio of funds that are put towards programing and what is used for overhead. Programing is the activity the charity commits to providing, such as St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Ann Arbor serving up to 150 free breakfasts to those in need every morning. Overhead costs, such as rent, salaries and advertising, are necessary but are heavily scrutinized as taking money away from programming. Deciding on what charity to give to is a personal decision, but there are a few things to consider before donating. The Federal Trade Commission cautions that anyone who solicits for donations and is aggressive in obtaining the money up-front should be considered a red flag for a scam. Additionally the FTC recommends to verify the exact name of the charity to keep from donating to a fraud
5.45
Partnering with other local charitable, religious and educational organizations, the Jewish Foundation of Greater Ann Arbor provides community enrichment events such as book reading and discussion, panel discussions, educational programing and social and professional networks. A portion of funds raised are used to support overseas programs to support the global Jewish community.
The United Way of Washtenaw County allocates funding and coordinates of services affecting children and youth, health and nutrition, housing and homelessness and seniors. The UW of Washtenaw County also provides funds for emergency and self-sustainability that affect Washtenaw County residents.
Since 1993, JFS has provided various services for families of Washtenaw County, including refugee resettlement, career services, counseling, English as a second Language program, and emergency food. Originally, the Soviet Jewry Absorption Committee of Washtenaw County was created in 1978 to help refugees from the Soviet Union who were relocated to the Ann Arbor area. The Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County assumed the resettlement work during the late 1980s to help with the huge influx of immigration.
76% $1.5
$4.7
million was distributed to
36
The JFS provided services to
different human service agencies serving Washtenaw County.
Source: Food Gatherers 2012-2013 Annual Report
Source: Humane Society of Huron Valley 2013 Annual Report
Source: JFGAA 2014 Annual Report
Source: UW 2013 financial report
Contributions
Contributions
Contributions
from July 2012 to June 2013.
Animals were adopted in 2013.
- Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County
million is put back into the local community.
million pounds of food
of households in the U.S. make charitable contributions.
United Way of Washtenaw County
of nearly
3,912
95.4%
Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor
More than
Food Gatherers distributed
and pay by check or credit card to ensure a paper trail. Complaints can be filed against possible fraudulent charities at https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov in the unfortunate circumstance of scam artists taking advantage of the seasonal generosity.
4,038 people last year Source: JFS 2013 Annual report
Contributions
Contributions
14.9%
84.6%
Expenses
2.8%
4.9%
Expenses 6.1%
94.7%
100%
88.9%
Expenses
6.1% 6%
Expenses
10.1% 6.5%
10.1% 6%
83.9%
Contributions, Gifts, and Grants Federated Campaigns Fundraising Events Government Grants
80.9%
99.1%
9.4%
84.1%
Program Administrative Fundraising
9.4%
6.2%
Expenses
8%
8% 6.2%
6.5%
KEY
95.9%
2.3%
18.9%
85.8%
ERIK MORRIS | WASHTENAW VOICE
On-campus food pantry assists WCC students by M. M. DONALDSON
throughout the year by the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, Food for Fines through the Bailey Library, students participating in service For the last 15 years, the Student Resource learning activities and staff and faculty. and Women’s Center has housed a food pantry Donations of shelf stable food are accepted, for Washtenaw Community College students. but the SRWC prefers no glass and nothing To qualify for emergency food, students can dented or expired. contact the SRWC for an initial appointment Nearly 80 WCC student families were to discuss their needs. Eligible students may served during the last school year, according receive up to two bags of food and one hygiene to Seipel. bag twice per semester. Male students may not realize they can Students receive nonperishable food, but the access SRWC services also, Seipel said. SRWC also made referrals to the CORE garden on Sometimes having “Women’s Center” in the campus for fresh produce during this past summer name confuses students. and fall season, interim assistant Emily Seipel said. Leading up to Thanksgiving, 20 students Besides food, hygiene products are some- received a turkey basket, SRWC manager times overlooked, despite being necessary and Elizabeth Orbits said, adding that the center costly, Seipel said. Hygiene products and items has been providing turkeys for the last 12 years. such as dish soap, paper towels, plastic storage “Our emergency food pantry is a creative bags and tinfoil are available. and wonderful addition to our WCC student The SRWC purchases food from Food Gatherers service division by helping to support student to stock the pantry, while donations are given families in meeting food insecurity,” Orbits said.
Staff Writer
This year, WCC ceramics instructor IB Remsen teamed up with faculty and students to create more than 150 bowls for the Empty Bowls fundraiser. SEE MORE ON PAGE B3. TAYLOR ROBINSON | WASHTENAW VOICE
B2
December 15, 2014
FLIPSIDE
The Washtenaw Voice
SANAA NAEEM | WASHTENAW VOICE
What are your favorite holiday traditions? interviews and photos by taylor robinson, staff writer The snow lightly falling on campus during a November afternoon reminds students that the holidays are right around the corner. The Voice wanted to know what they love most about the holidays and the traditions they share with their families. “Every Christmas, my family and I go to my grandma’s in the afternoon. Before Christmas, we always pick out a tree at my uncle’s nursery in South Lyon. We get a big tree and decorate it together. We have very general traditions. Later on, we eat a great ham dinner and way too many desserts. I’m vegetarian so I don’t eat the ham, but I do enjoy the mashed potatoes, stuffing, and everything else. We pass out gifts after we eat and just hang out for the rest of the night.” Becca Brown, 20, Brighton, nutrition
“We figure out who we’re getting Christmas presents for during Thanksgiving. We put everyone’s name in a hat and draw a name, and that’s who you get a gift for.” Dakota Monarch, 23, Fowlerville, nursing
“Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, my family and I go to the Fantasy of Lights Parade in downtown Howell. It involves an art show, Christmas Alley with Santa Claus and reindeer. Locals will sell homemade sweets and candles. “The 5K will have runners dressed in costumes, decorated with lights. There’s always someone dressed like a banana or gorilla, running down Grand River. “The parade will have different floats and there’s different prizes. There’s one for ‘the most holiday spirit,’ going back to the true meaning of Christmas. There’s another prize for the float with the most lights. Last year’s winner had over 2,000 lights. “The local elementary schools and high schools are there with bands and choirs. They march and play songs. It really brings the community out, too. The first year we went because my sister won a contest at school and got to ride on one of the floats. Ever since then, despite it being horrendously cold and rainy, we got hooked because we loved it so much. “We’ve gone every single year for the last 10 years. There was only one year that we missed it because we were sick. We do our Black Friday shopping in the morning and then go to the parade. “Every Christmas Eve, my family will come to our house. We do a dinner with baked ham and exchange presents. I will always read ‘‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.’ I’ve literally done that since I learned how to read. “New Year’s Eve, my family will cook prime rib and shrimp. We’ve done it for the last five or six years. That’s one thing I look forward to, New Year’s Eve dinner. We play games like trivia and Pictionary.” Briana Resinger, 18, Howell, journalism
“My family’s German, and we put a pickle on our tree. If you find the pickle then you get an extra present or open your present first. We have a family dinner and open presents together.” Andrew Stewart, 20, Fowlerville, computer science
“In the morning, after everyone wakes up, we open presents. We cook breakfast together, and always have bacon, eggs and biscuits. We hang out for the day and then make dinner together later.” Amani Flowers, 18, Ypsilanti, early childhood
MARC PARDO | WASHTENAW VOICE
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FLIPSIDE
The Washtenaw Voice
December 15, 2014
Why I donate WCC fills WCC instructor provides necessities for students in need JESSICA HALE jhale15@wccnet.edu
I donate because I want to support my students in tangible ways that help reduce the day-to-day barriers preventing them from concentrating on their education. Worrying about hygiene, meals, or basic self-care can be a major stressor for some of our students The Student Resource and Women’s Center pairs students in need with case workers who provide emotional support and physical resources to help get them through difficult and unexpected situations. I like that students don’ t have to feel as though they are begging to get the help they need. The SRWC sees the whole human
being and provides services that preserve a person’s dignity. Life is complex for many of our students. Each semester I hear the stories of students living in cars and homeless shelters because they do not have families or friends that are able or willing to support them in their studies. Students raising children below the poverty line may sacrifice their own meals to feed their families. Look around your classrooms … do you know of obstacles the person next to you has had to overcome to make it to class? I hear stories of my students’ dedication to obtaining a degree and I am inspired. People that are willing to work tirelessly towards their goals and dreams in the face of adversity deserve my support. For some students, one small hitch, like an unexpected
bill, a medical emergency, or car trouble can set their lives into a tailspin. I donate to help ease some of the burden of shuffling resources. I provide supplies like shampoo, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, razors, and food. These necessities can be the difference between whether or not a student is able to get a job, feel comfortable in class, or concentrate on his or her studies without worrying about their next meal. In some sense, I think the necessities pantry supplies hope – hope that a temporary setback won’t be the end of their dreams. The necessities pantry also gives me hope. Hope that students with the intelligence and desire to succeed will be able to do so.
WCC volunteers brighten the holidays at the VA by PAULETTE PARKER
News Editor
For more than 20 years, Debi Freeman, a childcare professional at Washtenaw C o m m u n i t y C o l l e g e ’s Children’s Center, along with WCC volunteers, have been making the holidays a little brighter for residents, their families and staff at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Community Living Center. Fr e e m a n provides Christmas Eve dinner, treats and gifts, to men and women who have served the country. What started as a small gesture has grown into a substantial collaborative effort. “My first time doing it was with Russell,” Freeman said. “My first encounter with a veteran who was in the nursing home and no one was going to visit.” She brought him Kentucky Fried Chicken and discovered others in need. “All the other guys were like, ‘How come he gets it and we don’t?’” Freeman said. “Then it just blossomed from there.”
The following year, when others heard about what she doing, they began donating money so she could provide dinner to more veterans. Currently, they serve approximately one hundred people each Christmas Eve. Organizations including: the Dexter Lion’s Club, Hiller’s Market, Edible Arrangements and KFC of Saline, volunteer their goods and services. “This year, Whole Foods is donating the bags for us to put the gifts in,” Freeman said. “There’s a lot of elementary schools that will send cards for the veterans, and we stuff those in there too.” While receiving a meal that isn’t hospital food is nice, having people willing to donate their time can mean more. Beverly Leneski, chief of voluntary service at the VA Community Living Center, has witnessed the positive effects firsthand. “It’s the opportunity for families to spend Christmas Eve together in a nice environment and have a nice dinner,” Leneski said. “But just the fact that the community and
Washtenaw Community College is thinking of the veterans on a holiday, it means a lot to them that they’re being honored by the community.” Toni Ellicott, administrative assistant for support services and student advocacy at WCC, has been working alongside Freeman in this effort since at least 2003, she said. She has been brought to tears over the joy she has brought to others. “Just a little bit of time or even effort, whether it’s money or going over there. What you get out of it is so much more,” Ellicott said. Her experiences have made a lasting impression. “Whenever I see a vet, I stop and shake their hand and thank them,” Ellicott said. Freeman has continued this tradition based on one value: “Freedom,” Freeman said. “I don’t take it for granted; it’s really near and dear to my heart and I want to thank the men and women who did it.”
B3
empty bowls by TAYLOR ROBINSON
The swirls of colors and different shapes and sizes enticed those unaware of the event. Jacob Liebowitz, 19-year-old WCC general education student from Ann Arbor, supported the cause by buying a bowl. He was glad to buy one, especially since the proceeds were going to local charities, he said. Not only was this an opportunity for the ceramics program to display beautiful work, it was also a time for Emily Thompson, life sciences instructor, to educate her students about the ongoing national and local hunger issues. Thompson said there are even students on campus who struggle with hunger on a daily basis, and this event might
Staff Writer
What started out as a onetime classroom project in Clarkston, Empty Bowls has gone global and also reached the campus of Washtenaw Community College, raising more than $2,000. John Hartom, founder of the event more than two decades ago, was an art instructor at a high school in Detroit. The idea behind Empty Bowls is to have students create ceramic bowls to remind them that millions go hungry every day in the United States and around the world. The students sell the ceramic bowls to raise funds for charities and offer a simple meal of soup and bread to those who donate to the selected charities. After WCC ceramics instructor IB Remsen took part in a couple Empty Bowls events in Hartland, he decided to bring the idea closer to home. Remsen, a few faculty members and a dozen students made at least 150 bowls in preparation for the event, which was held in the WCC Student Center outside of Garrett’s Restaurant shortly before Thanksgiving break. Remsen paired up with Garrett’s Chef Derek Anders Jr. and the culinary program, asking them to make soup for the fundraiser. “I thought it would be good to have an Empty Bowls event right before the holidays, because that’s when there is a great need,” Remsen said. Participants were charged $20 per bowl, which also included vegetarian soup and bread. According to Remsen, 72 tickets had been purchased in advance and a total of 113 bowls were sold. Faculty, staff, and students peered over the many bowls, searching for the perfect one. Passersby caught a glimpse exclaiming, “Oh! Look at those pottery bowls!”
benefit them as well. Thompson and her students searched for statistics that were displayed in packets around the Student Center. “This is a great place to work. Everybody here has a great job. Over time, we get this feeling that everything is okay,” Irving said. “But those of us who teach realize that there are a number of students who are struggling. Food is one of the things they struggle with. So I think this is a good thing to do.” This was the first Empty Bowls event held by WCC and Irving commented that he would like to do more in the future.
Jacob Liebowitz, 19, a WCC general education student from Ann Arbor, buys a bowl to support local charities. TAYLOR ROBINSON | WASHTENAW VOICE
Alan Vazquez, president of the International Student Association, presented a colorful fashion show during the WCC Diversity Extravaganza on Friday, Nov. 21 in Towsley Auditorium. EJ STOUT | WASHTENAW VOICE
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FLIPSIDE
December 15, 2014
The Washtenaw Voice
FLIPSIDE
The Washtenaw Voice
IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN Is it getting warm in here? Climate change deniers funded by those who stand to profit by TAYLOR ROBINSON
in world history: the oil companies,” Masters added. What I’ve learned from the Don’t be deceived by the interview is that these big comchilly December weather. panies would rather invest their Record high temperatures in wealth into making sure that the U.S. are increasing, Arctic nothing is solved when it comes sea ice and glacial cover are to climate change, rather than decreasing, sea levels are ris- lose out on millions in profit ing, as are the surface ground burning through the Earth’s altemperatures across the globe, ready fragile atmosphere. all according to the National Brothers David and Charles Aeronautics and Space Koch own the second largest Administration (NASA). private company in the U.S. The The scientific research be- Koch brothers control over ten hind climate change points to areas of major manufacturing, global warming yet some still including Flint Hills Resources, deny that it exists. Why? which produces and markets petIn an interview with rochemicals, ethanol, biodiesel Jeffrey Masters, director of and asphalt, according to its webmeteorology for the Weather site. The company also owns a Underground in the Detroit 50 percent interest in lubricants area, he reveals his answer. base oil facility in Louisiana. “The science of climate The pair also owns and opchange points to the need erates 4,000 miles of pipelines. to drastically reduce the These pipelines transfer a numamount of fossil fuels that we ber of chemicals, crude oils, peburn,” Masters said. “Which troleum products, ethanol, and would drastically affect the natural gas liquids. Not only do profits of the richest and the brothers and their compamost powerful corporations nies produce and market these Staff Writer
chemicals, they also control where they are sent. The Koch brothers have donated more than $67 million to groups denying climate change, according to Greenpeace, the world’s largest non-profit environmental organization. In 2008, however, the public donations ceased. According to a study released by Robert Brulle, professor of sociology and environmental science at Drexel University in Philadelphia, the Kochs aren’t alone. ExxonMobil has also pulled back public funding to countermovement organizations of climate change. However, Brulle said, a decline in public funding does not mean a decline in funding altogether. “Coinciding with the decline in traceable funding, the amount of funding given to countermovement organizations through third-party passthrough foundations like Donors Trust and Donors Capital, whose funders cannot be traced, has
risen dramatically,” he explained. Most of the climate change deniers have chosen to donate behind the scenes to avoid being put in the spotlight for reasons other than what they desire, Brulle said. The blame does not rest solely with those donating millions of dollars to these organizations though. Decisions made by humans in general are responsible for the onset of global warming and extreme adverse weather. Ninety-seven percent of climate experts agree that humans, including myself, are most likely the No. 1 contributor to such problems, according to NASA. However, they can also be the No. 1 solution. Although some may believe that the problem has already become too large to combat, there are numerous ways to help locally. Getting informed is the best start. Being aware of the problem and out of the dark is the beginning to reversing the hazardous effects of global warming.
Climate experts: It’s past time to take action WCC is doing its part to reduce its carbon footprint, and you can help “Human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history. Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems.” - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. by SOFIA LYNCH
Features Editor
Although some still turn a blind eye to climate change and claim that it does not exist, the IPCC has made it clear that the time to abandon that mindset is now – if not yesterday. U.S. President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping, of China, leaders of the highest-polluting countries, led by example by coming together to develop a successful global climate agreement and by announcing their countries’ respective post-2020 lowered emission targets. “The United States and China hope that by announcing these targets now, they can inject momentum into the
global climate negotiations and inspire other countries to join in coming forward with ambitious actions as soon as possible,” according to a White House press release. Washtenaw Community College’s Sustainability Council is trying to create similar momentum. The Climate Action and Sustainability Plan was created as a result of WCC President Rose Bellanca signing the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment and established a goal for WCC to be carbon neutral by 2060. To reach this goal, the Sustainability Council works to lower the college’s greenhouse gas emissions by two percent per year and wants to reach out to students, staff, and faculty to
help attain this goal. “That’s something an individual can think about,” said Dale Petty, a council member and industrial electronics professor. “How do I reduce my energy consumption on campus, and getting to campus, by two percent this year?” WCC has already instituted various precautions for avoiding waste and unnecessary emissions like motion-censored lights and a revolving door that keeps conditioned air in the Student Center. But the council’s efforts won’t meet their potential without students being mindful of them. Bill Ghrist, another council member and manager of Energy and Systems Integration, pointed out that energy and conditioned air goes to waste when people do things like prop doors
open or unnecessarily use the automatic handicap doors. “The students play a very important role in how the buildings use their energy,” Ghrist said. Doing little things like not running a car while parked or using a refillable water bottle as opposed to disposable ones everyday can add up to the two percent figure over time. Students, staff and faculty can also get involved on a more direct level by joining the sustainability council or one of its many work groups. “Any ideas that students may have are always welcome,” Damon Flowers, associate vice president of Facilities Development and Operations and sustainability council member said. Those interested in joining the council can call 734-677-5300.
8 WAYS YOU CAN HELP SHRINK WCC’S CARBON FOOTPRINT
1. DRESS SMART Layer your clothing and dress appropriately and in layers. The school is working to have optimal temperatures throughout different parts of the campus and different parts of the year. 2. TURN OFF YOUR CAR Don’t run your parked car. Stop your car as soon as you reach WCC. Sitting in your car and letting it run is an unnecessary, high-energy waste. 3. DON’T PRESS THE BUTTON The ADA (handicap) doors take a lot of energy to operate. Inappropriate use of the doors not only wastes energy but also lets a lot of conditioned air out. 4. TAKE THE STAIRS Choosing the stairs over the elevator is a small way to cut your portion of the school’s carbon footprint daily. 5. TRAVEL SMART Carpool, ride a bike or use public transportation. 41 percent of WCC’s greenhouse gas emission is from cars. 6. GET A REFILLABLE WATER BOTTLE You can reduce waste by cutting out plastic water bottles, and there are several water-bottle filling stations throughout campus. 7. PACK YOUR LUNCH Using and insulated lunch pail, packing your own lunch – preferably made from locally sourced food – and minimizing vending machine use can help cut down on energy usage. 8. CUT DOWN ON BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING Reuse old school supplies rather than throwing them away each year. - Sofia Lynch
by SOFIA LYNCH
Features Editor
When English instructor Maryam Barrie was still a stayat-home mom, she used to take her daughters to story times at the Ann Arbor Public Library that were always accompanied by live music. “Before I met Dale Petty, I knew him, because he was often the guy with the beard and the guitar who would sing the stories to the kids.” Years later, Barrie would ask Dale Petty, an industrial electronics instructor and renowned environmentalist on Washtenaw’s campus, to give the faculty speech at the college’s 2014 commencement ceremony. But he didn’t become comfortable with the idea of stepping into the spotlight until Barrie told him that he was, in fact, allowed to sing, she said. Barrie missed the ceremony and Petty’s performance to go her daughter’s wedding – the same daughter Petty had sang to when she was a child. Petty plays guitar, mountain dulcimer, the penny whistle, and he sings vocals. He has had a love for music since he was young, thanks to his mother, a church organist. However, he got his love for the topics he teaches today from his father and was inspired to go into engineering by his first electric train he received from his parents the day before he turned 3, he said. “So I’ve got the technical side and the musical side,” he said. “Sometimes it feels a little schizophrenic, but it’s actually a nice balance.” Petty received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his master’s in biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University. He always loved teaching and has spent his life doing it in one way or another, starting with swimming lessons in high school. He even continued teaching during the years he worked as a biomedical engineer in hospitals. “I was teaching X-ray techs and nurses and doctors,” he said. “At some point that job got to be mostly paperwork, and I got bored with it so I came here and started teaching.” Petty began teaching fulltime at WCC in 1994, but
teaching isn’t the only thing he’s known for. When the name Dale Petty is mentioned around campus, one word is sure to follow: environmentalist. Petty is active with various different groups on campus including the Environmental Committee, the Climate Action Task Force, the Sustainability Literacy Task Force, and he started on the Sustainability Council this year. “Dale is the head of the group in a sense,” Barry Wilkins, recycling operations manager, said about working on the Sustainability Council with Petty. “He’s the person we kind of look towards to keep us going and keep us on target with the goals we’ve set.” However, Petty’s work on campus is not limited to the work of committees. He is the go-to man for the whole campus for anything involving the environment. “The commitment is unparalleled,” said Bill Ghrist, energy and systems integration manager. “He is one of those guys that really lives, eats, and breathes for the school.” Petty is currently working with Kim Groce, divisional counselor in Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, to acquire solar paneling for the Core Garden hoop house on campus, which he helped build. Groce said he has helped with the garden since the beginning and his involvement has been absolutely “instrumental.” Emily Thompson, biology teacher and a Sustainability Literacy Task Force member, reflected on Petty welcoming people to the notion of sustainability at a WCC Welcome Day with a bicycle that would twirl a blender making milkshakes. “He’s interested in all the ways that might make people interested in the environment.” Thompson said. Despite his prominence on campus, Petty doesn’t seek the accolades he receives from his colleagues. Instead, he’s usually eager to push the spotlight on someone else. “It’s not about humility. It’s about making sure others get recognized for all their hard work.” Petty said. Petty’s work with the committees reduces WCC’s carbon footprint, and he works daily to
reduce his own personal carbon footprint. Petty is known for his commitment to his means of transportation: his bike. He cycles to and from school all year long, only stopping for inclement weather and heavy snowfalls. He even accidentally came to adopt a section of the borderto-border trail that he takes to WCC daily. He had been removing thorny lotus trees along the path for some time before someone from the border-toborder group noticed and asked him to adopt the section. At his home, Petty and his wife, Jeannine Palms, have endless ways of making their lives more green. They have solar paneling on their house that produces all of their energy and also grow most of their own fruits and vegetables in their garden. “We try to minimize our consumption of new things,” Petty said. We reuse and repair things when possible, and recycle everything possible.” He and his wife are involved with many local and statewide environmental organizations, including their stewardship for Little Traverse Conservancy properties in the Upper Peninsula. They go up three times a year to walk the
WCC instructor David Wooten, front right, and his Field Biology class cluster around a section of trail as they examine turtle nests, which were unearthed and eaten by raccoons. DAVID WOOTEN | COURTESY PHOTO
Three Wa s h t e n a w Community College instructors concocted a plan to recover what was lost when the parking structure and its access road were completed three years ago, and students will soon see the results. The area where the structure stands used to be home to hundreds of trees, where biology instructor David Wooten took his Field Biology class for an assignment called “Pine Woods Walk.” Losing this location for instructional purposes served as the catalyst for Wooten to set plans in motion to make an official nature trail in the woods surrounding WCC. The trail will be a mulched pathway with 10 signs to mark points of interest, including habitats around the ponds, fields and the deciduous and coniferous forests. “The trail is for anyone who wants to go outside,” explained
Wooten, who worked at the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland for over 10 years as an interpretive guide teaching outdoor, environmental education classes. Wooten wasn’t the only instructor that taught his students on a walk through the woods. Since the parking structure’s construction, environmental science instructor Emily Thompson created an assignment based on the Parker Mill Park’s trail signs. Several biology instructors now take their students to the park, although it’s not ideal, they said. “We want to be back on campus,” Ross Strayer, a biology instructor, said. Strayer has a personal connection to the nature trail project. The planned nature trail is one of the many elaborate trails around campus he had helped his father, James Strayer, maintain. His father was a WCC biology instructor who started
maintaining the trails in the 1960s, in the earliest days of the campus. He wanted to have the trails there for the students, Strayer explained. Strayer started to help his father in the late ’70s while he worked at WCC as a biology lab tech and a student teacher. They encountered problems of vandalism of their unofficial trail markers. People chipped at the paint marks on trees and smashed bike reflectors. Strayer and his father attempted to make a steep section of trail accessible first by a rope rail and then by a chain rail. Both disappeared. While he expressed concern about vandalism on the signs, Strayer believed the trail would help preserve the area. The three instructors had walked the trail where Wooten pointed out the different areas where there would possibly be signs.
Wooten presented his plan to a group of faculty and administrators to gather support, involvement and funding for the nature trail. “He’s the champion of the project,” Damon Flowers, vice-president of Facilities Development and Operations, explained. WCC President Rose Bellanca provided the funds to install the signs, Flowers added, and there are plans to involve students in creating them. The facilities department will contribute by installing the signs and maintaining the trail. Flowers feels having the woods around WCC’s 291 acres is a great tool that other community colleges do not have. He described the upcoming nature trail as a “living laboratory.” The project should be completed by mid to late May, Flowers said.
properties and check for damage. Petty’s environmental passion has been lifelong, starting with all the time he spent outdoors as a child either hiking on vacations or visiting his grandparents’ farms. He’s always just been a generally passionate person, he said. When he was “young and brash,” he actively protested the Vietnam War and was prosecuted in 1974 for refusing to enter the draft. Petty’s devotion for the college is evidence of that strong passion. He’s known for liking to take on bigger environmental problems than just focusing on the daily nuances of being green. “What he told me was he wanted more direct influence on changing the culture,” Thompson said, “that bringing events to campus wasn’t the same thing as sitting on committees.” But Petty isn’t just fueled by his own fire, he also noted that being as active as he’s been is a lot easier with support. “I think when you’re an activist it’s easier to get discouraged, so it’s really important to have people around you to support you,” he said. “I’ve just been blessed by being surrounded by wonderful people.”
16 WAYS DALE PETTY STAYS GREEN 1. Minimizing driving by biking, sharing rides and riding the bus for most in-town trips
10. Replacing old 70 percent gas furnace in rental home with a new 95-plus percent efficient one
2. Turning the thermostat down to 60 degrees during the day and 50 degrees during the night 11. Replacing gas hot water heater in home in the winter with a 10-gallon electric unit 3. Using fans instead of air conditioning in the summer
12. Replacing gas hot water heater in rental home with a tankless type.
4. Minimizing consumption of new things; reuse and repair things when possible; recycle everything possible
13. Reducing meat consumption and eating mostly vegan.
5. Minimizing shower times (he only has a 10-gallon hot-water heater) 6. Washing laundry in cold water 7. Turning lights off whenever they are not in use 8. Switching all light bulbs that are used regularly to CFL or LED 9. Producing all of his own electricity with 12 solar panels on his roof
14. Growing fruits and vegetables at home, or buying them from a local farmer’s market 15. Educating himself and teaching others 16. Participating in local and statewide environmental organizations including Buhr Park Children’s Wet Meadow Project, Cobblestone Farm Market, People’s Food Co-op, Ypsi Food Co-op, Growing Hope, Huron River Watershed Council, Ecology Center, local Sierra Club, Little Traverse Conservancy, Michigan Nature Association.
Nature 101: A morning in the forest
Instructors team up to rebuild lost nature trail for students by ERIN FEDESON
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THE MAN WITH THE BEARD AND THE GUITAR AND THE BICYCLE
‘Living laboratory’
Staff Writer
December 15, 2014
ERIN FEDESON efedeson@wccnet.edu
The early winter wind steals my body’s warmth while I powerwalk from my car in Washtenaw’s parking lot to my destination: the Fossiliferous Limestone boulder. Half of me worries while the other half of me sighs in relief to not find the professor I arranged to meet with waiting impatiently for me at the boulder. My iPhone reads 9:34 a.m., four minutes later than the prearranged time. Tension mounts as I fumble for my notebook in my satchel, flick through my article notes to find the professor’s number. “Hello,” Ross Strayer’s voice greets me just as I am typing his office number into my phone. He approaches me in a worn brown beret-like hat, worn blue jeans, thick black gloves, a black coat and hiking
boots, appropriate gear for the early winter weather morning. An apology for being a little late is on my lips before Professor Strayer tells me he had some trouble with traffic. I laugh from relief and nerves. We walk through the parking lot, which is relatively empty for Thanksgiving break. The gray sky hangs above our heads as the wind constantly reminds us of winter’s presence. Hard pavement turns to grass, slightly mushy with its proximity to the first drainage pond. Geese float on the pond’s surface, squawking at each other – or perhaps at us. Twittering and fluttering birds greet our entrance to the future nature trail. They dive between mostly barren branches or drop to the leaf-covered floor. We laugh about the birds being confused about the fickle weather. Our conversation ebbs and flows between an interview and a series of mini-biology lessons. Occasionally, my words are interrupted by an “oomph!” as my feet trip over branches and roots littering the trail’s path. All the while, decaying brown leaves
rustle beneath our feet as we kept moving on the nature trail. The walk is breathless but energizing by the pure air, which seems to erase traces of civilization. It is difficult to remember the professional nature of the walk when surrounded by natural beauty, which tends to intensify when someone like Strayer explains our surroundings. Somehow, the knowledge glorifies what might appear mundane to the casual walker. Bittersweet vines with their red and perhaps orange berries serve as decoration, but are invasive to the area. A pine tree’s age is determined by the layering of branches and adding 15 years to the number found. Only the raspberry bush has bloomed, indicated by the white waxy substance that wipes off the thorny stem when it is touched. An oak tree can start as one trunk, with two separate trunks growing from it, but a split occurs when it is young. Two kinds of black cherries grow in the area - one with a burnt potato chip-like bark, the
other with holes, called lentios, in its bark to allow oxygen into the tree. The maple tree has smooth bark with its branches growing opposite of each other. Spellbound. There is no other word to describe walking the trail. It shifts from ponds to fields, fields to forest of hickory, black cherry, oak, black locas and occasional pine. Beyond the road that defines the campus boundaries, another forest exists: White pine trees planted and used for paper. Bittersweet vine, poison ivy, wild grape vine, and Virginia creeper either choke, hook on or wind their way up as the trees grow. The spell ends as the woods dwindle toward civilization again. It is fascinating, and it’s right in our backyard. If only once as a student, faculty staff or a visitor to WCC, go walk on the nature trail.
FLIPSIDE
December 15, 2014
The Washtenaw Voice
‘Woman on fire’ lives on the ice by M. M. DONALDSON
Staff Writer
The puck slid across the ice, and a player from the opposing team raised his arm, catching No. 15’s helmet with his forearm, knocking her to the ice. No whistle was blown. Referees apparently were following the puck – and missed the obvious roughing penalty. “Did you see that?” a young girl watching from the stands asked another. “He pulled her hair.” But Washtenaw Community College hockey team’s only female player, Lauren Chapman, 19, from Adrian, was back on her feet nearly as fast as she had fallen. She was focused on the puck, too. With her helmet off, her blond hair flows down her back nearly to her waist. Her smile is big and inviting, contrasting with her eyes, honed with determination when she is on the ice. Chapman has recently taken on the persona of “Woman on Fire,” ironic considering she has been at home in a chilly ice rink since the age of 7. She found hockey shortly after her initial visit to an ice rink, and that is when the health problems started. Only in the last year has she been given a name to describe the pain she lives with. Chapman’s grandparents, Pat and Mike Morast, from Tecumseh, sit on a fleece blanket in the chilly stands, shouting her name with encouraging words as she zips by during a game at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea, 15 miles west of Ann Arbor. Playing
right wing for the WCC hockey team, her long blond ponytail helps her mother, Rebekah Shepherd, keep track of her on the ice. Her grandparents take turns providing details on how it all began. It was during long weekends, while her mother was at the University of Toledo working on her master’s degree, that they started taking her to the Chelsea rink to skate. Chapman saw the boys playing hockey, and she wanted to play, too. For Christmas in 2006, Chapman’s mother spent $33.38 on a hockey equipment package from eBay. Shepherd’s smile, another gift from her daughter, can’t be contained as she recalls the 10-year-old running around the house crying with excitement donning her pads, jerseys, skates, helmet, gloves and stick. The family, who then lived in Adrian, nearly an hour southwest of Ann Arbor, saw Chapman’s love of hockey become more serious. Through 2007-2010 she played on the Ann Arbor Girls House team and the Ann Arbor Cougars travel team. Her mother moved the family to Ann Arbor to allow Chapman to play on the Ann Arbor Pioneer girls’ hockey team. During her last two years of high school she also played with the Michigan High School Selects team. But the pain was getting worse. Her feet and hands and other parts of her body felt like they were on fire. Chapman’s pain was coming from the inside and on her outside, she couldn’t even feel
a hot curling iron against her skin. Doctor visits gave diagnoses that didn’t make sense. Shepherd speaks with disbelief when she relates how one doctor recommended Chapman see a counselor. Doctors at the University of Michigan eventually provided a diagnosis of erythromelalgia. The burning sensations were not in her head but caused by the neurovascular disease. During her senior year in high school, Chapman had the foresight to make a video of her visit to the Mayo Clinic and document her story so others would know the difficulties she faces daily and to encourage and support others with the disease also known as “Man of Fire.” Nearly a dozen people have found the video inspiring and have posted their comments with it. Even at the rink, she is thinking about how she can help others – striving to be a role model for younger girls to see her playing hockey. “We need more girls to get out and try things,” Chapman said. She recalls when she first started playing hockey, her mom signed her up for the USA Women’s hockey camp at U-M in 2007. “I was the worst one there,” Chapman said. But during that time the campers got one-on-one skating time with the women hockey Olympians who shared their inspiring stories. Chapman said she really connected with the four-time Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero. When Ruggiero
Wolfpack hockey scores ACHA status WCC players leave rec league opponents behind to face off against other college teams by M.M. DONALDSON
Staff Writer
during the second period with both teams taking a goal, while nearly 20 fans cheered with frosty breath. WCC evened the score in the third period, leaving the game a tie. WCC right wing Nolan Lefebvre, 18, from Pinkney, scored the winning goal less than a minute into overtime. “It’s a good way to see other schools and how other teams work,” Stroud said. WCC criminal justice student Nick Burton, 19, from South Lyon enjoys traveling to the games. “It offers a very good level of competition, a lot of variety of teams to play,” Burton said. Playing defense for the Wolfpack, he plans on transferring to Eastern Michigan University or Wayne State University and playing hockey. Stroud said he encourages students to transfer to a four-year college. Being in the ACHA, even with non-conference status, allows the WCC hockey team players to experience organized collegiate athletics in their opponents. With several opportunities for WCC students to try out for the hockey team in December and continuing in January, Stroud said some potential players are scared away because hockey is an expensive sport to play. They don’t realize it is free to play on the WCC hockey team, other than supplying their own equipment and travel for games. Ice time for practice and play is paid for by the college. WCC has worked very hard to give students opportunities to participate in hockey and other sports, Stroud said. “As a team, we all get along, which makes it a better hockey experience,” Burton said. “There’s a big talent pool at WCC,” Tamer said. “We’ve just gotta tap into it.”
CHELSEA, Mich. – The Washtenaw Community College hockey team is now 4-6-1 for its first season with the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The team lost its Dec. 13 game to Ball State 8-5. The Dec. 5 and 6 games at Akron University left the WCC hockey team defeated both evenings, with Friday’s score 5-3 and Saturday’s score 8-6. Despite the challenge, WCC hockey coach Jon Stroud said the team played hard and with sportsmanship. The WCC hockey team is now playing all college teams, such as Xavier University, University of Toledo and Ball State University with skills “immensely higher,” Stroud said Washtenaw is an independent member of the ACHA, whose opponents treat games against WCC like exhibition matches. “If other teams are in a league, what we do against them would not count in terms of league rankings,” WCC Sports director Matt Lucas explained via email. “But for overall rankings, we get ranked just like the rest of the teams.” In previous years in club hockey, the WCC team played local competition that was made up of a lot of older players who weren’t necessarily students, but played on in recreational leagues. Four-year schools do not have the turnover in players like two-year schools such as WCC, whose players may be with the team for two years or less, Stroud said. In a recent game at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea, WCC sent Eastern Kentucky University home defeated, despite limitations. “The other team scored only when we were short-handed,” said Wolfpack defenseman and WCC engineering student Andrew Tamer, 25, of Brighton. Editor’s note: The team played Ball State EKU scored the first goal in the first period again on Dec. 14, after the publication of this during the Nov. 22 game. The game warmed up paper.
put her gold medal around Chapman’s neck, she knew that’s what she wanted to do, play hockey for Team USA in the Olympics. Another hockey role model for Chapman has been the Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug. Chapman said she grew up going to hockey camps at Adrian College put on by Krug, who played for Michigan State University before signing with the Bruins. On the WCC hockey team, Chapman is a role model in her own right. The team is in its first season with the American Colligate Hockey Association. Chapman is one of only two women registered in the Division III, North Region, according to ACHA Division III commissioner Rick Kaminski. After playing with both men and women, Chapman said she prefers playing men’s hockey because of its fast pace. She’s noticed that her skills have improved and feels that she is an equal on the ice and they treat her as “one of the boys.” “They’re awesome to play with,” Chapman said of her teammates. “At first I was worried they’d treat me like a girl, but now they’re not afraid to check me.” She plans to transfer from WCC after this year and continue studying marketing, but it is very important to her to be able to play on a men’s hockey team. Chapman has suffered concussions from playing hockey, and she still faces uncertainties with her disease. But the “Woman on Fire’s” biggest fear is someone skating on her hair.
WCC hockey team’s only female player, Lauren Chapman, guards the goal during team practice at Buhr Park on Monday, Dec. 1. Chapman, 19, from Adrian, has played for many teams in the area, but says she prefers playing on men’s teams. BECKY LOUGH | WASHTENAW VOICE
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The Washtenaw Voice
December 15, 2014
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GOD SAVE US ALL!
THANKS FOR INVITING ME OVER FOR HANUKKAH, PIXEL, I DON’T REALLY THINK CHRISTMAS IS FOR ME.
NOBODY COMES DOWN MY CHIMNEY ON CHRISTMAS!
BUT WHY?
SUDOKUCOLLECTION.COM
MCTCAMPUS.COM
ACROSS
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FIND PUZZLE SOLUTIONS at WWW. WASHTENAWVOICE.COM
CLASSIFIEDS Send ads to thewashtenawvoice@gmail.com Note: Deadline for the Jan. 12 issue is Tuesday, Jan. 6, at 5 p.m.
S E R V I CE S VOLUNTEER TUTORS: Washtenaw Literacy needs volunteers to tutor adults in basic reading, writing, math and English as a Second Language. Help change lives – one word at a time! Contact info@washtenawliteracy.org or call 734-879-1320. NEED HEALTH CARE? Are you between the ages of 12–22? Contact the Corner Health Center at 734-4843600 or visit online at: www.cornerhealth.org.
H E L P WA NTE D WAIT STAFF: Michigan Catering is looking for student wait staff who are able to interact with guests, work as a team, and manage time efficiently – all with a positive attitude. Shifts in can be anytime between the hours of 5 a.m. and 3 a.m., depending on your availability. The starting pay is $3.40 per hour plus tips. Tips are automatically paid by the event sponsor and average $6-$7 per hour, making the typical rate about $9.40-$10.40 per hour. Apply online at http://jobs.studentlife.umich.
edu/; send an email to: workforus@umich. edu; or at 734-615-6759. DINING STAFF: Michigan Dining is looking for students who enjoy working with people and want to be a part of a team. Flexible schedule, promotional opportunities, and a fun social environment. Starting wage: $9 per hour with a free meal with a three-hour shift. To apply, visit http://jobs.studentlife.umich.edu/; send an email to: workforus@umich.edu; or call 734-615-6759. SNOW REMOVAL: Help wanted with our sidewalk crews using snow blowers available in Ann Arbor starting at $15- $18 per hour. Driver’s license required. Phone 734- 663-3343 between 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. or fax resume to 734- 663-4509. DIRECT SUPPORT STAFF: Seeking caring compassionate individuals for all shifts to provide services for adults with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses in their own homes in the Ann Arbor/Dexter area. Services include, but are not limited to, passing medications, providing personal care, socializing, transporting, cooking, and cleaning. Must be available to work weekends and holidays,
STUDENTS and WCC EMPLOYEES Classified ads in The Voice are free. LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS Looking for help? Post your free help wanted ads in The Voice.
have a valid Michigan driver’s license, reliable transportation and pass a criminal history check. No experience required. This is an excellent opportunity to learn new skills and make a major difference in someone’s life. Phone Lindsay at 734485-1722 weekdays from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., or FAX resume to 734-485-4230. Below is a sample of recent employment want ads which have been posted with WCC Career Services. Students are invited to read these ads and to contact Career Services to find out how to apply for the openings. Career Services is located in ML 104. For more information, phone 734677-5155, email careers@wccnet.edu, or visit www.wccnet.edu/careerconnection/. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE: Support accounts payable. Receive invoices and ensure proper approvals for reimbursement. Process invoices for timely, accurate disbursement to vendors. AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN/ MECHANIC: Assist technician mechanics in performing technical activities. Diagnoses and repairs to specifications – brake and hydraulic, exhaust, primary and/ or advanced fuel ignition and electrical,
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1 Royals and Giants, e.g. 6 Tehran native 11 More, in Mexico 14 Top-drawer celeb group 15 “Say no __”: peace slogan 16 Do something 17 Beer named for an American patriot 19 Attempt 20 Summer in Paris 21 Pass along 22 Kismet 24 Girl who found a wolf in her grandmother’s clothing 27 Movie lioness 28 Temper tantrum during a flight 31 Toy soldier 34 Clock radio letters 35 PC memory unit, briefly 36 Responsibility 37 Barely beats 39 Hawaiian coffee region 40 Bus depot: Abbr. 41 Narrow cut 42 Worked in a shaft 43 Big shots 45 Birth announcement subject, about half the time 47 Monaco ruler married to Grace Kelly 52 Fabled Himalayan creature 53 Makes the first bet 54 Abbr. for a person with only one given name 55 In favor of 56 Pacific Northwest range, three of whose peaks end 17-, 24 - and 47-Across 59 Big flap 60 Continental coins 61 Skirt named for a letter 62 Darken at the beach 63 Iowa or Ohio, e.g. 64 Calls for
suspension. AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM SUPERVISOR: Supervise children after school with a focus on keeping them safe while encouraging healthy risk-taking. Act as a role model for young people. HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANT, PART-TIME: Opportunity for an experienced administration assistant reporting to the Human Resources manager. Seeking a person with administrative, communication and strong organizational skills who thrives in a fast-paced environment. DIRECT CARE: Non-profit organization is seeking experienced and devoted in-home direct-care workers to assist people with disabilities and seniors in Washtenaw County. AUTO BODY TECHNICIANS/ AUTOMOTIVE PAINTERS: Surfacing and painting prototype automotive components and vehicles. Working with a variety of materials to meet customer needs. Paying close attention to details and procedures to maintain high quality standards for painted parts. FACILITY MAINTENANCE TECH:
1 Shocking weapon 2 Bring great joy 3 Zeroed in 4 The Spartans of the Big Ten: Abbr. 5 Like operating rooms 6 Roma’s country 7 Flying movie monster 8 Sports contest, to the visitors 9 ‘60s-’70s war zone, for short 10 1040, for one 11 Will Hunting portrayer 12 Farm measure 13 Pig’s pad 18 Watch readouts, briefly 23 “__ b?”: “Choose one” 25 Vintage autos 26 Swiveled joints 29 Trait transmitter 30 “Golly!” 31 “Gee!” 32 Gung-ho about 33 “Evita” role 34 FBI employee 37 SpaceX founder __ Musk 38 Period of strobe lights and the hustle 39 Brickmaker’s oven 41 Certain Muslims 42 Med. diagnostic test 44 Old PC monitor 45 Rock ‘n’ roll musical 46 Writers McEwan and Fleming 48 Spaceship Earth site 49 Low-budget film, often 50 Improve, as text 51 Goes up 52 “Star Wars” sage 55 Chew the __: gab 57 Crude home 58 Bass in a glass
Troubleshoots minor maintenance problems involving electrical, structural, plumbing and equipment repair or replacement. Performs preventive building maintenance duties, routine plumbing repairs and electrical repairs. Purchases supplies, equipment and materials necessary to complete projects. DRIVER SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE: Responsible for phone calls focused on getting drivers from pickup to delivery, and helping with every problem in-between. Industry and system training program. Looking for fulltime and part-time employees for 24/7 operation. Full-time is 40 hours a week, and part-time is 25 hours a week. PATIENT ACCESS REP I, PARTTIME: Receive calls from both patients and physician office to schedule and preregister patients for future services. PATIENT SERVICE REP: Determine need for and obtains authorization for treatment/procedures, and assignment of benefits required. Provides information to patients concerning regulatory requirements. LEAD COOK: With the chef, other cooks and kitchen employees prepare or direct meal preparation. Responsible for provision of high quality meal service, compliance with menus, policies, procedures, and regulations in safe handling practices. Provides positive leadership for all culinary staff on shift. SALES SPECIALIST, PLUMBING:
Responsible for the overall sales and merchandise of the assigned department. Maximizes sales of department merchandise and related products. APPLICATION PROGRAMMER: Inviting new programmers to join us, programmers who have a passion for creating inviting, next-level user interfaces for our core intelligence. Work in Delphi and Python, write the core algorithms in C, and PHP and Python to build Web interfaces. Work on embedded solutions, develop the hardware, firmware and software in-house. MEDICAL ASSISTANT: In a private medical office. Individuals must have a genuine interest in the medical field. Applicants must be able to communicate well and effectively, follow directions and protocols, and must be caring to the needs of others. ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT: Job will entail accounts receivable, accounts payable, customer reports and entries. DATA ENTRY/RECEPTIONIST: Update patient accounts with insurance benefits. Input all pertinent demographic information. Answer multi-line telephone system and triage calls. RESIDENT SERVICES ASSISTANT: Provide care to the residents of the assisted living center in accordance with their individual written plans of care. Assist the residents as needed in all activities of daily living.
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FLIPSIDE
BULLSEYE December 15, 2014
Hollywood puts a fresh face on an ancient art by PAULETTE PARKER
News Editor
Katniss Everdeen has enthralled audiences with her bravery, heroin-ism, iconic style and signature side-braid since her debut in “The Hunger Games” in 2012. That same year, Disney set out to capture the hearts of young girls with the fiery-haired and equally fieryhearted Princess Merida in “Brave.” These characters have inspired viewers, not only with their courage and strength, but have sparked new passions with their weapon of choice: the bow and arrow. Archery instructors have seen a spike in new archers, male and female, young and old, since these films have reintroduced this ancient art to the modern masses. Renee Paczkowski, a 33-year-old teacher from Troy, cites “The Hunger Games” franchise, as well as, “The Lord of the Rings,” and video game, “Legends of Zelda,” as her inspiration for beginning archery ten months ago. She has faced challenges as well as personal successes. “One of the challenges I’ve had is that I tend to get caught up on things,” Paczkowski said. “If I get too focused, my head kind of gets in the way of what I can actually do.” Practicing every week has not only led to her finding a sport she is good at, but it takes her to her “happy place.” “I can go there and it’s just me, my bow and arrows and the target at the end of the lane,” Paczkowski said. “I don’t have to worry about work; I don’t have to worry about anything else.” Paczkowski is hoping to compete in her first competition this winter, and recently took a coach’s course to become
a certified archery instructor. “What that actually ended up doing was giving me more confidence in my abilities in the classroom,” Paczkowski said. “Archery has given me confidence in a way that I didn’t expect.” WCC writing major, Lori Tackett, 50, of Hartland, is a USA-certified level-three archery coach and the owner of Ore Creek Archery. She has been coaching archery for eight years and instructs students as young as four and into their sixties. “I don’t necessarily set an age limit,” Tackett said. “It’s more of a maturity level.” A challenge she faces with younger students is helping them understand they don’t know it all. “The younger students, if they ever shot before, they think they know what they’re supposed to do,” Tackett said. She reinforces the values that students are not always going to win, and aren’t always going to be the best, but encourages them to simply put forth their best effort. She has seen a spike in all age groups of new students since the introduction of recent movies, she said. She has also seen a gender shift. “In the past, it was more heavily male,” Tackett said. “But with ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Brave’, and all the attention that’s been given to archery, there has been a huge influx of females.” Paczkowski, a student of Tackett, praises her coaching style. “I liked that they were very encouraging of setting goals; not score-based goals, but life goals,” Paczkowski said. She was encouraged to make a goal sheet and says she displayed it on the home screen on her phone to remind her of
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what she was working towards. “It’s really enjoyable,” Paczkowski said. “And when you find a coach that you really mesh well with, it’s just so much fun.” Glen Bennett, Michigan State University archery program coordinator, has been coaching archery at MSU for six years. In addition to college-level coaching, he instructs Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) students, ranging from 6-20 years old, every Saturday from 9:30-11 a.m. “We will take kids as young as six years old,” Bennett said. “At that age our primary emphasis is on safety, making sure they are safe.” The average age of his archers is 12-14 years old. The JOAD program is a progressive- After each round, archers tally up their scores at the targets. EJ STOUT | WASHTENAW VOICE level program. Archers meet goals set by USA Archery, and earn pins to progress through the levels. Some students have Olympic aspirations. “We’re developing athletes,” Bennett said. Under his guidance, students have achieved local and national recognition. However, for him archery is much more than shooting arrows. “I pride myself on positive mental-management,” Bennett said. “To me it’s about develop- Carson Middaugh, 11, aims his bow during the 2014 Michigan State Fall Classic on Sunday, Sept. 14. ing really good kids and mak- EJ STOUT | WASHTENAW VOICE ing sure they become good citizens.” He has been pleased with the spike in popularity due to the movies. “The really cool thing about archery is that, you know, not every kid is going to be a football player, and a 250-pound linebacker and run like the wind,” Bennett said. “Archery kind of levels the playing field for a lot of kids.” With “Mockingjay Part II,” slated for next year, there are more potential archers to be Adult archers line up at the 2014 Michigan State Fall Classic. EJ STOUT | WASHTENAW VOICE made.
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