Charles Darwin mearly missed
Environmental tips for students
Movie reviews SEE B2
SEE B1
SEE A5
VOl. 27, No. 17
A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER
MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.washtenawvoice.com
The student publication of Washtenaw Community College
LILY MERRITT | WASHTENAW VOICE
Vice president of instruction, Kimberly Hurns.
SOQs can influence courses, but not always by danny villalobos
Staff Writer LILY MERRITT | WASHTENAW VOICE
en the mood and raise spirits. In one such piece, entitled “Nocturnes,” Michelle Lanuti moved gracefully to a live melody played by pianist Andres Bilbeche. “I wanted to do something really happy. I wanted to evoke pure happiness,” Lanuti said in response to a question from the audience. “I just wanted to make all of you happy.” Other dancers tried to cast a light on perceived injustices or societal challenges. Sammie Anderson Magiera found inspiration in recent words uttered by Michelle Obama promoting the place of women and girls in society.
As the deadline to fill out Student Opinion Questionnaires approaches, students may wonder how the evaluation system works. Previously, WCC had a flagging system for full-time faculty, but negotiations with the WCC Education Association got rid of it, according to vice president of instruction, Kimberly Hurns. “When it comes to the SOQs, for me, I ask ‘how can we make this more of a feedback loop?’ rather than something to be fearful of,” said Hurns. Now the question remains: do full-time professors find the SOQs useful? The answer depends on who you talk to. “They are a way of getting confidential feedback on what worked and didn’t work,” said Mary Mullalond, full-time English professor. Mullalond is one of many professors who uses the SOQs to adjust her approach to courses. “I’m always looking for comments that give me a way to improve how I teach and the assignments I hand out,” she said. Mullalond said sometimes she receives outlier comments, but they aren’t usually enough to shift her class unless more students feel that way.
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see soq, a6
The full cast wrapped up the evening with a live rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell.”
Performers animate stage Music and dance stirs emotion in student showcase by nicholas ketchum
Deputy Editor
Students from WCC’s advanced performance dance class performed original routines in front of a live audience at Morris Lawrence’s Towsley Auditorium on Tuesday, April 16. The event, entitled “Periodic Table of Movement: A Dance & Music Showcase,” drew roughly 50-70 attendees. Thirteen performers took part in a total of 11 acts during the evening. Ten acts took place live on stage; one act, entitled “Vy,” was pre-recorded as a video and projected onto a screen. Laurice Anderson, professional faculty of performing arts, helped to organize and host
the event. She said this event would be one of her last before she retires in July. After the event, some performers discussed the inspiration for the various routines. Alexis Lee, who performed a solo piece entitled “Sober,” said her routine was partly an expression of her personal struggles and frustrations, although not necessarily—for herself—with drugs or alcohol. “It was a nice way for me to express the frustration that goes along with all sorts of things— such as addiction and the process of recovery— it’s a long road and you have to keep up with it,” said Lee. “There’s a great quote: you can never get enough of what you don’t really want.” Some dancers said they just wanted to light-
$460k to start Detroit business bakes pie, fights capitalist norms new building by catherine engstrom-hadley
Staff Writer
by nicholas ketchum
Deputy Editor
At its last public meeting, the board of trustees approved a design contract for a proposed Advanced Transportation Center building, which will, according to meeting documents, “serve as an incubator of creative thought on transportation and mobility.” The contract stipulates expenditures with the contractor shall not exceed $460,000. A final design is expected by September 2019. The state, having already approved a preliminary design, will provide $2 million in funding, which is 50% of the original outlay submission provided by the college to the state. WCC will fund the remaining costs. Currently, the total project cost is projected at $5.7 million. The firm handling architecture and engineering work will be Southfield-based NeumannSmith Architects, according to the documents. Six firms originally received proposal requests from the college in December; all six responded. Eventually, two firms were finally considered before deciding on a winner. Christina M. H. Fleming, board of trustees chair, said the the board will ultimately approve the overall design recommendations drafted by Neumann-Smith. Fleming said the building is estimated to contain roughly 12,000 square feet. It will sit near the Occupational Education building and the bus loop leading to the Student Center.
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During a visit to campus hosted by the Bailey Library and the Entrepreneurship Center, Lisa Ludwinski, owner and founder of Sister Pie bakeshop in Detroit, discussed baking, running a community-focused business in Detroit, and her cookbook, “Sister Pie: The Recipes and Stories of a Big-Hearted Bakery in Detroit.” Getting ready to expand into a larger second location in 2020, Ludwinski reflected on how her business began. In 2012, Ludwinski started Sister Pie in her parents’ kitchen. “I spent a year cooking out of their kitchen and living in my childhood bedroom, developing my business plan,” said Ludwinski. Ludwinski received a Hatch grant of $50,000 in 2013 for Sister Pie, in addition to using other non-traditional loans and fundraising tactics, including participating in a 24 hour dance-a-thon to raise donations. In 2014, she opened her bakeshop in Detroit’s West Village. “We opened on April 24, 2014 and it’s been crazy ever since,” Ludwinski said. “Everything is a learning experience when you run a business”. Ludwinski discussed publishing her cookbook, and what that meant for her company and the future of Sister Pie. According to Ludwinski, “it’s been very cool to be able to put Sister Pie out into the world in a bigger way,” because Sister Pie has no intention of leaving Detroit or shipping pies any time soon. Ludwinski discussed her struggles with personal beliefs and running a business. “You are told: ‘this is how you do things, this is how you treat your employees’ and in those systems, it never creates conversations, it never creates change,” said Ludwinski. “I think a system like write-ups allows for
LILY MERRITT | WASHTENAW VOICE
Lisa Ludwinski, owner and founder of Sister Pie bakeshop in Detroit
less conversations between humans about improvement,” she added. In a recent Instagram post from Sister Pie, the company addressed an unknown person repeatedly taking down their #BlackLivesMatter sign. “It’s a message of inclusivity,” explained Ludwinski during her talk. “It’s an important message in a city that is changing a lot, changing rapidly and gentrifying. We want to make sure that Sister Pie remains as a place that is thoughtful.” “It’s a traditional thought that you don’t mix politics with anything else and I think that’s a way we prevent good conversation from happening,” Ludwinski said. She offered a free slice of pie and an open conversation to anyone who wishes to speak more on the topic, but has not been taken up on it yet. In the epilogue of her book, Ludwinski
writes: “As a business owner I am working to resist these capitalistic norms that often define our work, our culture and our world. I am surprised at how often the one I’m up against is me”. She elaborated on this idea during a question and answer session at the event. “Everything that we do in business is so directly affected by the systems in our country. It’s why women make less money, why there aren’t good opportunities for people,” said Ludwinski. “In a city that has a national spotlight and is constantly being seen as on the rise and doing really great, there are still lots of people suffering and not feeling seen or heard.” Sister Pie’s bottom line is based on people, planet and profit. Ludwinski works hard to make sure that above all, these three things are the pillars of her business.