mindfulness page a4
MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2017
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN
www.washtenawvoice.com
student open mic
| washtenaw voice
The student publication of Washtenaw Community College
A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER
carmen cheng
VOL. 24, NO. 7
see page a6
(From left to right) Andy Galicki, Sarah Khan, Danielle Howard, Jason Nguyen and Alex Zoltowski are singing Hareruya as a tradition of ISA’s party ending song on the Open-Mic event. Open-Mic is organized by ESL and ISA, held at the SPOT café.
Brittany Dekorte
Deputy Editor
The month of April has been marked as ‘Alcohol Awareness Month’ since 1987. Founded by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD), the month is meant to bring attention to those who struggle with alcoholism. Given the name ‘Alcohol Use Disorder’ by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, alcoholism is defined by drinking more than one intends, feeling cravings for alcohol, and the act of drinking affecting one’s daily life. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism elaborates on this definition, identifying a threshold limit for high risk drinking: no more than three or four drinks in one day, and no more than seven to 14
drinks a week. A drink in this case is defined as 12 fl oz of beer, 8 fl oz of malt liquor, 5 fl oz of table wine, or 1.5 fl oz of 80 proof spirits. Above this limit, the institute says, you are at a high risk of developing a dependency on alcohol. Drinking alcohol is common for people of college age and on college campuses. Studies by the group Monitoring the Future found a correlation between students who drink and their grades, with students who drank less than four drinks a week staying within the A range, while students who drink nine or more drinks a week often fall into the D and F range for grades. The WCC Counseling Center has put out an information table in the first floor of the WCC library. The table is full of free pamphlets, more statistics, and contact information for people struggling or friends of people struggling with alcoholism.
grades /drinks per week correlation:
4.21 = a
6.03 = b
7.76 = c
9.97 = d/f
if you or someone you know needs support, you can call: • wcc’s counseling for free personal counseling: (734) 677-5102 • washtenaw community mental health: (734) 544-3050 • alcoholics anonymous: (212) 870-3400
graphic: dorothy gacioch
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| washtenaw voice | information source: monitoring the future
april is alcohol awareness month
success through 300 men of color An event being held May 10, encourages participants to join them for one hour in the Morris Lawrence building. The goal of the upcoming photo event is to collect 300 men of color to participate in photos that will be hung around schools and organizations in Washtenaw County. After May 10, students will be able to see photos depicting male role models of color who have been successful in the county. The idea first took place at Jackson Community College, where Anthony Williams, from Parkridge Community Center, decided to bring the idea to Washtenaw Community College. It is important to the men
who organized this event that young males of color see that they can be something in their future. The purpose of these photos is to show young males of color that their success can be beyond what they see in the streets. There are many negative influences but there are more positive ones. Young males just need to be shown that the average person a student comes across could be a very successful person. The event organizers want kids to see that they can be doctors, government officials, teachers, CEOs and even the president of the United States. There are multiple careers that the photographs hope to show that kids that dream about this can make it happen. “What we want to do is something we call ‘see the
vision, be the vision,’” said Arnett Chisholm, a counselor and former dean of diversity and inclusion at WCC. “It is going to be a poster with any African American male that has completed any degree or trade school.” Chisholm explained that he wants to see more people come to school and finish. Growing up, kids are influenced by the things they see and what their surroundings are. Derrick Jackson, director of community engagement for Washtenaw County, experienced seeing success take place in negative ways. “It was the only thing that I had seen,” said Jackson. He realized that the world had more opportunities than what he believed as a young male. Kier McLemore, co-owner of Bottles-n-Backpacks
Child Development Center in Ypsilanti, had a similar experience growing up in Detroit. Drugs and gang activity was in his environment, but he looked passed that with the help of mentors, later becoming one himself. “Instead of contributing to the problem, be a part of the solution,” said McLemore. As soon as the event is finished, the organizers plan to post these pictures in schools, recreation centers and nonprofit organizations that students attend. “They can see an image that looks exactly like their own. The images will be burned into their minds,” said McLemore. “We just want people to see that there are people out there in the types of jobs that they aspire to do and hopefully make a positive change in the
community,” said Chisholm. There are currently 115 of the desired 300 men of color confirmed as attending the event. Anyone is welcome to come and participate and it will last from 1-2 p.m. on May 10 at the Morris Lawrence Building.
| washtenaw voice
Chanel Stitt
Staff Writer
maia morgan
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