AGORA

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

VOLUME 48 ISSUE 1 October 6, 2005M O N R O E C O U N T Y C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E

Frog Leg InnCurious about the changes in the cafete-ria? Check out the new managementand a new menu. (3)

Addicted to LiveJournal? My Space?Discover a couple reasons why youmay be dealing with the addiction. (2)

Upset with gas prices?The breakout author of “How to Kill a RockStar” and “God-Shaped Hole” sits down withone Agora reporter and talks about whatmakes her novels so popular. (6)

Bored between classes?See what other students do to keep busy duringtheir down time. (8)

Online community takeover

Jackie PachecoEditor-in-Chief

It wasn’t the largest hurri-cane the world had seen.

It didn’t move the fastest. Itdidn’t even draw a significantamount of attention before it hitthe United States. But when allwas said and done, HurricaneKatrina had packed its punches,delivered its blows and 80 per-cent of New Orleans was re-duced to a giant contaminatedswimming pool. This hurricanebecame the nation’s deadliestnatural disaster since the SanFrancisco earthquake of 1906.

August 25, 2005 marked thefirst time Hurricane Katrinamade its landfall as a Category1 hurricane; skimming overFlorida to start the death toll at11. But a mandatory evacua-tion of Louisiana wouldn’t bedeclared until August 28, one daybefore the final assault. As pre-dicted, Katrina reached Cat-egory 5 status with winds up to175 m.p.h. and gusts at 215m.p.h.

And the rest is history.

People of the United Statesparked themselves in front ofTV’s, eagerly tuned in to radios,scanned newspapers and fishedaround in their pockets for the$200 billion needed to rebuild thesouth. Millions of different do-nation stations were establishedacross the United States, bring-ing a new hope, new opportuni-ties, and a new sense of unity toAmerican citizens.

Members of Monroe CountyCommunity College’s (MCCC)staff have also started their owncontributions for the people ofNew Orleans.

Bonnie Boggs, director ofrespiratory therapy, challengedfaculty members and adminis-tration to donate to the RedCross. The staff responded,making a contribution of over$4,000.

“I just asked them to givewhatever they could. Every-body was happy to contributeand I’m very proud of the initia-tive they took. Some donated tothe Red Cross on their own aswell as contributing through theschool,” Boggs said.

Hurricane relief motivates campus,money raised for Katrina victims

Nothing was spared by Hurricane Katrina as the storm swept the Gulf Coast. Buildingswere leveled, trees were uprooted and New Orleans was left under 20 feet of water.

Agora photo courtesy of WWW.MSNBC.COM

Triple threat

The fall semester of 2006 hasbrought a lot of change toMonroe County CommunityCollege. Increased enrollment,a renovated Learning AssistanceLab/Writing Center, improvedsidewalks, a new parking lot, andsecurity cameras have greetedstudents. A record enrollmentof 4,293 was recorded for thefall 2006 semester.

“Last year was the highestenrollment we ever had, and thatwas several percentage pointshigher than the previous year.Our enrollment has been steadilyincreasing for the past four orfive years,” Paul Shcmidt,registrar, said.

universities increasing tuitionrates, and the ease with whichMCCC credits transfer weresome of them.

Increased enrollment alsomeant a need for more parkingspaces. The total cost for the

The school also startedimproving sidewalks aroundcampus. Difficulty keeping upby replacing one block at a timeand safety concerns were themajor influences.

“When you’ve replaced justone little block it makes the othertwo stress out. We said toourselves why not just replacesections? So we went out andlooked and tried to find the worstsections,” Timothy Bennett, vicepresident of business affairs.

This process is expected totake four to five years.Delventhal Company waschosen to replace the sidewalks.The project’s total cost was$65,000.

The Learning Assistance Laband Writing Center both received

a major overhaul during thesummer.

“Everything was removed,”said Cynthia S. Riedel,coordinator of the LAL. Shesaid the increase of studentpopulation and disabled studentsled to campus recognition ofstudent needs. The ultimate goalis to provide a center customizedfor all of these needs. Twotesting areas have been addedfor students with disabilities.

Students can also expectmore confidentiality.

“There is more privacy forstudents who may feel somekind of anxiety about being outin the open, especially whenthey’re reading papers out loud,”

Vicki LaValle, culinary artstechnician, came up with the ideato donate the proceeds from theMCCC Blue Jeans Fridays (typi-cally once a month). However,every Friday for the month ofSeptember became Blue JeanFridays and the contributions

Renovations enhance MCCC campus

were sent to the hurricane vic-tims.

“I just felt so bad. There hadto have been something wecould do. The college staff islike a family. When there issomebody in need, everybody iswilling to help out,” LaValle said.

Linda Kerste, wife of DeanKerste, assistant professor ofmechanical design technology,was one of three women fromMonroe that went to New Or-leans to volunteer help.

Linda WhitesideReporter

He also pointed out somefactors that influenceenrollment.

People training for a new jobor switching careers, four year

see “Katrina,” page 7

see “campus,” page 7

new lot-including construction,landscaping and architecture-came to $5 million. The moneycame from MCCC’smaintenance and repair budget.

H.K.P Architects designed theparking lot; and Joe Bryant andSons Asphalt Paving CompanyInc. did the construction. Theparking lot was started lastspring and took six months tocomplete.

”“We said to ourselves why not just replacesections? So we went out and looked andtried to find the worst sections.

Timothy Bennett, vice president of businessaffairs

Meet Tiffanie DeBartoloSome students and staff members aroundcampus have found ways to make travel-ing a little easier on the wallet. (4)

What are the chances of having yourmother and your daughter in a class? It’sa reality for student Pam Bezeau. (5)

Spotlight 8

OpinionAgora October 6, 20052

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

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

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

Mark Bergmooser, Adviser

Any student who attendedMonroe County CommunityCollege last semester wouldagree that parking spaces thenwere few and far between. Thissemester the college has at-tempted, and might have suc-ceeded by placing a new park-ing lot on campus. This parkinglot is located just as you pull intothe south entrance of the col-lege next to the CampbellLearning Resources Center.

I was quite skeptical on thelocation of the lot. Why couldn’ta new lot have been placed else-where tucked away instead ofdirectly in front of the campus?The positioning just didn’t pro-vide a very scenic entrance tothe college, but it did meet theneeds for extended parking.

Scenery killer or necessary change?

Here’s my dilema.I have been given a journal-

ism assignment, but I can notkeep myself away fromMyspace long enough to get itdone! My conclusion? I shall domy assignment via Myspace!Voila. I am doing my work, aswell as feeding my addiction.

Over the past few days, Ihave sent out an email to manyMonroe County Community Col-lege students who haveMyspace accounts, asking themto complete a short survey. Iasked these students why onlinecommunities such asLiveJournal, Facebook, andMyspace have so many peoplecaptivated.Communities like these havebecome our new pop culture.For some, they set the tone forwhat they wear, what music theylisten to, as well as what clubthey are going to do theirhardcore dancing at on Fridaynight.

What I gathered from my re-search was that people useMyspace for a lot of differentreasons. Mostly, Myspace is away for people to meet otherpeople with the same interests,

Facing addiction

MCCC students and staff making good use out of the new parking lot in front of theCampbell building.

Working at a video store, Iam able to see the good, bad andugly sides of the retail entertain-ment world. Not only am I avideo store employee, I am alsoyour columnist this semester atthe Agora. I will be sharing myopinions on films, fans, and thefuture.

Hopefully, those who are of-fended will immediately changetheir minds and join the dark side(cue heavy breathing). Here’s an idea: let’s take agreat film that has loyal fans, haslaunched successful careers andstands the test of time and re-

Amanda MenardReporter

Tonya HuffmanReporter

Queen of the ScreenSarah QueenCopy Editor

Also, the lot is quite convenientfor those students entering theCampbell building for classes.

After gathering a few statis-tics on the parking lot itself I hadmade up my mind. Scenery canbe altered, but desired locationsaren’t always easy to come by.

“I hated it,” said Tim Bennett,vice president of business andaffairs treasurer at the college,when asked about the locationof the parking lot. According toBennett, there wasn’t really awide variety of locations that en-compassed all of the issues athand, and the current locationhas proved promising so far.

Although the view is terrible,landscaping will soon camou-flage the lot and give it a morerelaxed feel. I have alreadyfound myself using the newparking lot, and not only likingthe convenience of its location,

but enjoying how quickly I couldpull in and locate a parking

space. I have come to realize,scenery does matter, yet some-

Madness of remakingmake it so that it appeals to theunsuspecting youth of today.What an interesting concept thisis.

This is the exact conversa-tion going on between Holly-wood executives at this very mo-ment. Sequels, prequels, and trilo-gies; none of these are as argu-ably frightening as: The Re-make. Over the past year, weas an audience, have been sub-jected to countless amounts ofrecycled ideas. Every genre has been af-fected by the remake invasion.Action movies such as “Assaulton Precinct 13,” “Flight of thePhoenix,” and “War of theWorlds” were blockbusters overthe past year.

Family favorites such as“Willy Wonka and the ChocolateFactory,” and “Herbie: the Love-bug” were remade with today’spopular celebrities and specialeffects. Horror films have alwaysbeen known for being repetitive,in some cases having up to tensequels. “House of Wax,” “TheAmityville Horror,” “TheToolbox Murders,” and the up-coming “The Fog” are bringing

the old movies to a new light withmore gore and of course, ParisHilton. Some remakes are favoredmore than their originals by cur-rent audiences, for mostly legiti-mate reasons: special effects andmake-up. People need to under-stand these films are only goodbecause their predecessors gavethem something to grow on. There are some rumorsswirling about remaking “TheBreakfast Club.” I cannot seeUsher playing John Bender. Itjust does not fit.

As we all sit and wait impa-tiently for the big screen versionof “Blossom” (woah) we shouldtake time to appreciate the filmsthat made the Hollywood of to-day seem original.

Agora photo by TONYA HUFFMAN

times you have to sacrifice alittle to gain a lot.

namely musical interests.If I visit a new person’s page,

and I like their music, I am moreapt to stick around and check itout, maybe even add them as afriend. In my opinion, Myspaceis just an online communitywhere I can interact with cool,new people and tell the world alittle bit about myself.

However, to some, it is life.People conduct relationships ofevery form over Myspace. In-stead of spending time doingthings, they sit in front of theircomputer all day waiting for thatcool new person to get online.

What ever happened to goodold fashioned one on one? Sincewhen did we all become robotswho could only communicatethrough computers? At whatpoint did someone say it wasalright for us stop beginning re-lationships the good old fash-ioned way, with a smile and ahandshake?

I do not know the answer toany of these questions, but I havegot to go. I must go see if Jimmycommented me back onwhether or not he wants to hangout this weekend. It was nice tomeet you.

By: www.myspace.com/amandaellen

some films are better off left alone

“ ”The important thing is to keep the tuitionaffordable for all students.Marge Kreps, Board of Trustees chairperson

Campus News AgoraOctober 6, 2005 3

One of the moneymaking ar-eas of the college is also a causefor financial grief among Mon-roe County Community(MCCC) students. Books at theMCCC bookstore can rangefrom $4 to $150.

Follett, the company respon-sible for book buy back, will pur-chase these books for 50 per-cent of the new price. Not allbooks will fetch this high of aprice however. After thebookstore’s needs for usedbooks are met, Follett maychoose to purchase additionaltexts at an even lower price.

“We try to buy back as manybooks as we can. It helps thestudents, and it helps us,” saidJean Ford, director of auxiliaryservices and purchasing.

There are alternatives to pur-chasing textbooks. Buying text-books through e-commerce sitesis one way. Another option canbe found on the announcementboards located in all campusbuildings. Many MCCC stu-dents are usually willing to selltheir used books at lower thanbookstore prices.

For example, the Longman’sWriter’s Companion, 3rd edition,is a textbook required for Com-position 151 at MCCC.

Due to the decreased fund-ing from the State of Michigan,community college students areforced to deal with another tu-ition increase.

“I am very disappointed in ourgovernor and legislature whorefuse to give the CommunityColleges parity with the Univer-sities of Michigan,” said Dr.David Nixon, president of Mon-roe County Community College(MCCC).

“The less funding the stateprovides for community colleges,the more the community colleges

are forced to increase tuition,”said Nixon.

With expenses being in-creased, MCCC is in the samepredicament as it was back in1992 with tuition costs. Instead

of funding increasing it seems tobe decreasing.

MCCC has been cuttingdown expenses and cutting somejobs in order to keep tuition af-fordable for its students.

The seven trustee membersof MCCC are proud to have setthe goal of keeping tuition afford-able. One way they accom-plished this was to decline aUniversal Student Fee (USF).

Jessica PerezPage Editor

Like most universities, the USFrequires their students to pay afee each semester for the Col-lege services.

“The important thing is tokeep the tuition affordable for all

students. With employment theway it is we were glad to still beable to keep tuition affordable,”Marge Kreps, chairperson forthe Board of Trustees, said.

“We are glad to see enroll-ment is up. That means that stu-dents are looking at MCCC tofurther their education.”

The tuition increase, however,was somewhat beneficial to thestudents of MCCC. The in-crease helped to maintain a qual-ity staff of professors and pro-vide new renovations like thenew parking lot and the reno-vated science labs.

Amanda LundyCopy Editor

Tuition increases at MCCC

Monroe County CommunityCollege (MCCC) went throughmany changes during the sum-mer, new food services included.

“When we ate here last fall,we knew that they neededhelp,” Catherine Cousino, ownerof the Frog Leg Inn, said.

The committee charged withfinding a new food service pro-vider requested proposals fromvarious services in the commu-nity.

“We were not happy withCanteen, our previous food ser-vice provider,” Jean Ford, direc-tor of auxiliary services and pur-chasing, said.

“We were having to subsidizetheir losses. Also, we wantedsomeone with better quality andnew ideas.”

After reviewing proposals,the committee unanimously

Amanda LundyCopy Editor

voted on Tad and CatherineCousino, owners of the Frog LegInn, a fine dining restaurant inErie, MI.

“Our kids will be going to col-lege soon, that’s our main rea-

son for wanting to work here.That, and we wanted to pro-vide more healthy food for stu-dents,” said Cousino.

Ideas for reform include re-decorating, a new menu, and an

There have been several newfaculty and administration staffchanges at Monroe CountyCommunity College (MCCC)this semester.

The administration and fac-ulty changes are: ParmeshwarCoomar, the newdean of industrialt e c h n o l o g y ;Randy Daniels,the new vicepresident for stu-dent and infor-mation services;Tina Greene, the new directorfor lifelong learning; ThomasHarrill, who has been hired asan assistant professor of elec-tronics; Sandy Kosmyna, thenew director of MCCC’sWhitman Center; David

Reiman, who is now a profes-sor of business; Scott Wang, whohas been hired as an assistantprofessor of accounting; and Dr.Bruce Way, the new dean of thehumanities and social sciencesdivision.

The new staff members arealready making an impact onMCCC.

“I’m trying to get Whitmanin every publication the collegereleases,” Kosmyna said.

In addition to trying to raiseawareness about the WhitmanCenter, Kosmyna has alsostarted tutoring programs, is try-

ing to set up limited counselingat the Whitman Center, and hasprovided services for disabledstudents.

“I want to be a really gooddean for the students, faculty,and my colleagues,” Way said.“[The department] wants towork to make the greatest num-ber of opportunities available.”

“We’re proudof the ser-vices we pro-vide studentsand we aregoing to con-tinue to do that

and hopefully improve,” RandyDaniels said.

Positions that remain vacantat the college include: dean ofScience/Mathematics, director

Jared HawkinsCopy Editor

Agora photo by HEATHER WILSON

Abby Wernimont, Jason Gautz, Andrew Ufford standin line as Claudia Close serves.

Frog Leg Inn jumps to campus

Though the final decision be-longs to the purchaser, these al-ternatives do come with a warn-ing.

“If a book is purchased on-line, CDs, pass codes, and otherspecial offers may not be viable.You think you’re getting a gooddeal,” said Ford, “but you’renot.”

- MCCC bookstore: $42

used, $56 new

- Ebay action: $15.87 used

- t e x t b o o k s N o w. c o m :

$33.75 used

-Abebooks.com: $35.63

used

-MCCC student: $45 used

Monroe County CommunityCollege (MCCC) has traded inthe Coca-Cola vending ma-chines to work exclusively withPepsi. This decision providesa better commission for the col-lege, and scholarships for stu-dents.

Along with the pop vendingchange, MCCC has made theswitch to CVC for snack vend-ing.

“We believe that this is inthe best interest of the stu-dents,” said Jean Ford, Direc-tor of Auxiliary Services andPurchasing.

According to Ford, thechanges have provided a fewproblems that are being ironedout. For instance, there is a 10second wait to receive changefrom the machines. In somecases, people have not receivedtheir change at all. Thesecases should be reported to theswitchboard in the administra-tion building for a refund.

atmosphere more inviting to stu-dents.

“We wanted to get rid of thecafeteria ambiance, get rid ofthat mind set. We also wantedto provide a more friendly ser-vice,” Catherine said.

MCCC students have noticedthe price that comes with thishigher quality.

see “frog,” page 7

see “staff,” page 7

Pepsi

New faculty signs on

Bestbookbuys

“ ”Dr. Grace Yackee, Vice President of Instruction

Many have been here since the first day.It’s an issue for community colleges na-tionwide.

Agora photo by KRISTINA POPE

see “tuition,” page 7

Amanda LundyCopy Editor

pops tohalls

FeatureAgora October 6, 20054

If you have visited the collegehomepage recently, you mighthave noticed a rectangularpicture, of a man seated on ahorse.

Below the photograph is anopen invitation that says, “Checkout the new Monroe in Historyweb project! Photographs &Civil War Letters.”

By clicking on the image, youcan enter a new website calledMonroe in History. The site hasheadings near the top of the pagewhich direct you to historicphotographs, Civil War letters,etc.

For the benefit of web users,the letters are broken down bynames and dates, and thephotographs are convenientlygrouped into such categories asAgriculture, Bridges, Churches,Clubs/teams, Commercialbuildings, Government Services,Industrial, Lake and River,

Military, Monuments,Newspaper specials, People,Residences, Schools, Streets, andTransportation.

Although this website is easyfor students and other people inMonroe County to access, theprocess of making the websitewas definitely more complex.

The idea came from Dr.James DeVries, historyprofessor at Monroe CountyCommunity College (MCCC),about eight years ago.

He was teaching a Civil Warclass, and to go along with thesubject matter he was teaching,he took his students to theMonroe Historical Museum, withthe specific purpose of allowinghis class to read Civil War lettersto and from the people ofMonroe County.

It was then that he thought itwould be a great study tool, if hisstudents could access a websitethat contained all of the letters,from the campus computers andhome computers as well.

He proposed his idea a fewyears later to Monroe’sHistorical Society, and themuseum’s director. At the time,neither were interested.

DeVries, not discouraged,went straight to David Nixon,MCCC president, and found thesupport he needed.

To continue developing thiswebsite, DeVries joined forceswith Lana Shyrock, a professorof Computer InformationSystems.

She suggested granting thehonor to one of her advancedstudents, Tim Chorzempa.DeVries liked the idea of lettinga college student design the site,and proposed the idea to theHistorical Society, withChorzempa in toe, for a secondtime. Chorzempa presentedsome sample design works ofhis, and received the permissionto make this dream a reality.

Chorzempa gathered slidesfrom DeVries and workedclosely with an archivist at the

museum, Chris Kull, to ensureproper dates and locations weregiven to each photograph.

She also helped Chorzempaprepare the Civil War letters foronline publishing and acquiredpermission from the historicalcommission to duplicate images.

Chorzempa said it took a totalof about 175 hours to completethe site, averaging about 35 for40 hours a week.Once the designing wascomplete, Beth Waldvogel,MCCC’s Coordinator of WebBased Services, put it on thecollege website for communityaccess.

There was one thing,however, that DeVries did notwant included in the website.

He refused the inclusion oftranscriptions.

He wanted students to viewthe site and see the letters in theiroriginal form, so they would beforced to struggle withmisspellings, and differenthandwritings.

He chose not to includetranscriptions because historianshad to look at these primarysources, and struggle with themas well.

“The creation of the Monroein History Website is a greatexample of the communitycollege links to the community,”Nixon said.

“It demonstrates the value ofhigher education in a communitywhen faculty and students workon a project that creates learningopportunities for students, thenpublicizes those learningoutcomes in a media that isaccessible to anyone in the worldwho has access to the Internet,”Nixon said when asked aboutwhy he supported the website.

In the future, DeVries mightlook into creating a websitesolely dedicated to the War of1812, since it is nearing its twohundred year anniversary.

Nixon said he would bewilling to support anotherwebsite.

Monroe Historical Museum:not just downtown anymore

Kristina PopePage Editor

When gas prices rose abovethree dollars in September,students and faculty at MonroeCounty Community Collegefound creative ways to savegas.

Some students made smalladjustments to their drivinghabits. Bethany Younglovestarted using cruise control andavoids quick starts. Manystudents combined trips.

Diane Fidler, a nursingstudent, and her three children,ages 14, 11, and 8, started ridingtheir bikes more.

“I live in a town where I canride my bike everywhere,” shesaid.

She also carpools with otherfamilies and stays around townas much as possible. Gas priceswill not stop her from driving toFlorida over spring break to visither parents, though.

Faculty members foundways to save gas as well.

Political science professorDr. Joanna Sabo (formerlyJoanna Briganti) plans to startswitching cars with her husband,

taking themore gasefficient carfor longerdistances. Shehas also cutspending inother areas tocover theadditional cost of gas. “We’re justspending less money onexpendables; on fun things,” shesaid.

Not everyone has been ableto cut back on driving, thought.

“Unfortunately, I had to startdriving even more when theprices went up because that’swhen school started.” saidfreshman Audrey Kutz.

Dr. William McCloskey, aprofessor of English said he maygrumble about gas prices, but hehas not changed his driving habitsmuch. He does not have muchchoice. He still has to drive boththe Whitman Center and maincampus for his classes.

Sandy Kosmyna, director ofthe Whitman Center said,students who live closer toToledo do not want to come tomain campus because of the costof gas.

Rebecca KennedyFreelance Writer

save money on gas

“I had quite a few come into change their schedules sothey wouldn’t have to come tomain campus,” she said.

She added, though, thatstudents have to come to maincampus for services like thelibrary and the LearningAssistance Lab.

Signing on to a new leaseagreement for an apartment canbe daunting.

With that in mind, two lawswere passed in Michigan in1972. The Truth in Renting Actexplains the proper proceduresfor a landlord and tenant agree-ment. Also, the Security De-posit Act covers what should bedone with a security deposit.

When looking for an apart-ment, there are some good signsthat a property is worthwhile.Dr. Joanna Sabo (formerlyJoanna Briganti), Political Sci-ence instructor, gave some sug-gestions for finding a goodrental property and landlord.

“Number one [good sign] isa landlord occupied property.Another [way] is if you can talkto previous tenants,” Sabo said.

A lot of tenants seem to fo-cus on the negative points of aproperty. But some future frus-trations may have surprisingroots.

“I think for sure you don’twant to have an off-site non-personal management com-pany.” Sabo said.

“Another red flag is [if] ithasn’t been rented in a long time.It begs the question why?”

It is best to be sure of one-self before signing a leaseagreement.

“They [the landlord] have toput the money in a separate ac-count,” Tom Nordstrom, politi-cal science professor, said.

“[The landlord] cannot keepthe security deposit without alease agreement,” Nordstromsaid.

“The security deposit canonly be 1 1/2 times the rent,”Jack Vitale, Monroe districtjudge, said.

On move-in day and beforemove-out day, the landlord mustprovide a damage checklist.

This checklist or notice al-lows the tenant to record anydamages that existed on move-in day. Also, at the end of oc-cupancy it allows the tenant andlandlord to agree on damagesthat existed before the tenantmoved in and what damageswere caused by the tenant.

After move-out day, thelandlord has 30 days to send adamages notice to the tenant.

“If the landlord fails to sendthe notice then the tenant is en-titled to double damages,”Judge Vitale said.

If filing suit is necessary, onedoes not need an attorney.Small claims court is for dam-ages under 3000 dollars.

Tenant laws made

Kelyn DillonPage Editor

PinchingPenny

students, faculty

Agora photo by HEATHER WILSON

clear for buyers

“ ”The family that studies together, signstogether!David Shanahan, sign language instructor

Feature AgoraOctober 6, 2005 5

Three family members take on one class

Student action needed to improve cellar

Halloween is approaching,and every year there is a cos-tume to be found or a party to beplanned.

Which costumes are hot thisyear? Where should one go tofind decorations, and party sup-plies? When should one startplanning? Look no further, Hal-loween U.S.A. opens their doorsfor this festive six-week seasonto help people with all of theirHalloween needs.

Halloween U.S.A. closely lo-cated in Monroe’s Outlet Mallhas this year’s most-wanted cos-tumes.

“This year, Star Wars cos-tumes are going to be huge. Mostlittle boys are going to be walk-

Classic costumes, scary movies, decorations

Sarah QueenCopy Editor

them all in the class,” DavidShanahan, instructor, said.

“I think it’s neat that whenone member of the family statesthey have an interest in some-

Linda WhitesideCopy Editor

Kelyn DillonPage Editor

Practicing thier sign language techniques are (l-r) Rosemarie,Alaina, and Pam Bezeau.

Pam Bezeau, her motherRosemarie, and her daughterAlaina all take classes at Mon-roe County Community College(MCCC).

In fact, they are all in thesame class.

All three of them enrolled inIntroduction to Sign Languagethrough the Lifelong Learningprogram here at MCCC.

Alaina is a student atBedford High School and Pam’s

husband, Wayne Bezeau, is partof the custodial staff here atMCCC.

“I’ve always wanted toknow sign language,” PamBezeau said.

Also, Pam’s great-niece isdeaf and a bit of inspiration for

this lively bunch. Rosemarie isfrom Toledo.

“I took this class to dosomething I wanted to do and[to] do it,” Rosemarie said.

Pam agrees.“This is actually a very fun

class,” Pam said.

Their instructor shares theirenthusiasm.

“They are fun! All my stu-dents are fun and all are willingto learn. It’s been a joy to have

thing, and then others chime inwith the same interests and theyall follow through together,”Shanahan said.

Professor Shanahan beganhis teaching career at the DeafResource center in Toledo, Ohio.He is currently enrolled at Ma-donna University in Livonia,Michigan and works as a con-tract interpreter.

“My goal for this session isto get a basic understanding ofthe language and culture thatDeaf Americans use. Also, I amhoping to foster in them a loveand respect of the language andencourage them to continue onwith the courses that may beoffered here, or elsewhere,”Shanahan said.

“The family that studies to-gether, signs together!”

In 2001, Monroe CountyCommunity College spent$100,000 to upgrade the Cellar.The Cellar is located in the Ad-ministration building. It offerstwo T.V.s two couches, twopool tables and a ping-pongtable.

“A couple years ago, thegoal was to increase traffic andlet students know the Cellar isfor them,” said Randy Daniels,vice president of student af-fairs.

Despite these efforts, theCellar still receives little atten-tion. When asked why shenever used the Cellar, Becky

Stoch, MCCC student said,“Because no one’s ever downthere.” This statement reflectsthe Cellar’s lack of use andobscurity on campus.

Hangingout between classes in the Cellar are (l-r) RonMurray, Jessica Vance, Mark Lee, and Zac Morgan.

“I don’t even know whereit is or what it is,” VictoriaHey, MCCC student, said.

Students have also ex-pressed concerns to Profes-

sor Telfer.“They don’t find a place to

sit and study. Even if they wantto get together and talk itdoesn’t work that way either,”said Professor Telfer.

Computers came across asanother service that would beuseful to students.

“People say they’d like aplace where there are comput-ers they could use. That wouldbe part of their ideal studentgathering place,” Telfer said.

“We want to look into mak-ing the Cellar wireless,” RandyDaniels, vice president of stu-dent affairs, said.

The student government isalso working towards puttingthe Cellar to use.

“We were considering hav-ing an open mike night. Iwould like to see maybe Eu-chre tournaments. I’m think-ing of, once we get going asgovernment, have available asuggestion box of some kind,”said Shirley Watt.

President David Nixonagreed.

“The best ideas wouldcome from students,” Nixonsaid.

If anything is going to bedone to improve the Cellar, itwill have to involve student ac-tion. Students must utilize theirstudent government.

“We are the go-between.We are the place to start,”said Wyatt.

ing around as Darth Vader,” saidMelanie, manager, HalloweenU.S.A.

Newer costumes such asUma Thurman’s character fromKill Bill, and characters fromTim Burton’s Corpse Bride areavailable this year for the firsttime. The old favorite’s are stillpredicted to sell.

“Every year the mass mur-derers are very popular, Freddy,Jason, Michael, but this year

Leatherface is the most popu-lar because of the new movie,”said Melanie.

Most college students windup passing out candy to the kidsin their neighborhood, but whatcould be a fun alternative? Set-ting up a Haunted House?Decorating the front yard?Horror Movie Marathon?What about going to a hauntedhouse or corn maze?

All of these are viable op-

tions for a fantastic holidayevening. Halloween U.S.A. hasall the supplies one would needto build a scary haunted housefor kids or adults. Front yarddecorating can become intense,especially if the neighborhoodgets competitive.

Pick up some classic horrordvds for the occasion. Hallow-een, A Nightmare on Elm Street,or The Amityville Horror shouldall suffice for a creepy night on

Agora photo by HEATHER WILSON

Agora photo by KRISTINA POPE

the couch.Picking up a copy of your lo-

cal Fear Finder newspaper isnever a bad idea. These haveall the listings of haunted housesand activities for the area.

Halloween does not have tobe limited to pumpkin carvingand passing out treats. Start cel-ebrating on the first week ofOctober and take the rest of themonth to enjoy the ghoulishthings in life.

old favorites highlight new Halloween season

A & EAgora October 6, 20056

Looking for a new place togo in Monroe? Try spending anevening at the La-Z-BoyCenter’s Meyer Theatre thenewest attraction at MonroeCounty Community College.

“It was always our vision tohave a theatre close by in Mon-

roe,” said Tom Ryder, directorof campus and communityevents at the college.

“We had great architects, butit all started with Shirley Meyerwho contributed $1 million dol-lars to the project,”Ryder said.

The Meyer Theatre, whichopened last year, has attractedfamous musicians and comedi-ans, but also boasts an abun-dance of local talent as well. Thecollege’s Symphony Band andAgora Chorale routinely performat Meyer. One of the strengthsof the theatre is its premiumacoustical quality.

“I was talking to MarkFelder (the director of the band)after one of his performancesand he said ‘I could hear all thenotes my band was playing,’”Ryder said.

This fall, audiences will alsohave the chance to see the Com-munity Players, Monroe’s localtheatre group, perform at theMeyer Theatre. They are mov-ing from the River Raisin Cen-tre for the Arts where they havetraditionally performed plays andmusicals, throughout the years.

John BurkardtWeb Page Editor

Players play

She said writing is the onlymeans of self-expression thatworks for her.

And work, it does.Hailing from Youngstown,

Ohio, 35-year-old TiffanieDeBartolo is the novelist oftoday’s generation.

Her fresh writing style andtrue-to-life themes make it easyfor anyone to connect with herbooks.

“I get a lot of ideas from myquirky friends and the experi-ences that they have beenthrough,” DeBartolo said.

Her first novel, “God-ShapedHole,” seems so real that it isalmost literally painful.

Love stories with ironic twistsAshley BradenAssistant Editor

Dracula — a characterwe’ve all grown up with andheard tales of. The black satincloak, the fangs, and the blood-drained face all come to mindat the mention of the fiend.With fall weather settling in,leaves turning, and harvests be-ginning, Halloween is soon tofollow.

What inexpensive, fun wayis there to enjoy and celebratethis holiday?

Monroe County CommunityCollege (MCCC) is offering away for students and families.On October 21st in the Meyertheatre, MCCC will host BramStoker’s “Dracula,” performedlive by the National Playerstouring company.

The National Players, whoperformed “Romeo and Juliet”last year for the college, holds57 years in performance excel-lence.

Tom Ryder, campus andcommunity events coordinator,expressed excitement aboutthis year’s performance andbelieves students will truly en-joy the play due to Dracula’s“deep roots in our culture.” Hefeels that the “fear of the un-known” is the key element ofthe story.

Lindsey Waggoner, aMCCC junior, finds Stoker’shorror tale intriguing.

“It’s an interesting story. Ilike the setting and the charac-ters of the novel,” Waggonersaid.

In this adaptation, the storycenters on the mysterious bitesthat appear on the neck of theprotagonist John Harker ’sfiancée, Lucy. Mysteriouscharacters from insane asy-lums and lordly castles creepon the edge of the plot, thick-ening the conflict between eviland good.

Directed by Alan Wade, aprofessional actor, professor oftheatre and a Helen HayesAward nominee, this showguarantees delight.

For a mere $15.00, a ticketfor this spellbinding perfor-mance can be purchased at thecashier’s office, located in theAdministration building, adja-cent to the bookstore.

Dracula requests your pres-ence, and leaves you the fol-lowing sinuous greeting —“Welcome to my house. Comefreely. Go safely; and leavesomething of the happiness youbring!”

La-Z-Boy Center

Ashley JohnsonFreelance Writer

Dracula

MCCCvisits Novelist Tiffanie DeBartolo finds ways to keep readers captivated

The heartrendingstory follows BeatriceJordan (also known asTrixie) through the ex-treme ups-and-downsof life and love.

With irony, humor,and raw emotion,DeBartolo turns whatcould potentially be arun-of-the-mill ro-mance into a compel-ling love story that’simpossible to putdown.

While the book ap-pears to reflect per-sonal experience,DeBartolo said it wasactually inspired by the life anddeath of renowned musician JeffBuckley.

“He gave me so muchthrough his music and this bookwas my way of giving back tohim. Really, ‘God-Shaped Hole’is my tribute to him,” she said.

In fact, DeBartolo attributesa lot of her literary inspiration tothe music she has been listeningto all of her life.

Her second and latest novel,“How to Kill a Rock Star,” iswhat DeBartolo calls her “loveletter to music.”

Taking four times as long towrite as “God-Shaped Hole,”“How to Kill a Rock Star”weaves morality and love into anedgy novel that oozes honesty

and passion between each line.It gives readers an inside lookinto the harsh realities of the mu-sic industry while at the sametime displaying how moving mu-sic can truly be to the humansoul.

Evoking every emotionknown to man and tossing in aplot twist capable of causing astroke, “How to Kill a RockStar” promises to keep thereader hooked until the very lastword.

DeBartolo said writing is theonly means of self-expressionthat works for her.

Well, with two incrediblymoving novels and another inmaking, it works out for every-one else, too.

Reality showstaking over?

The Real World, Wife Swap,Supernanny, The Apprentice,and Meet Mister Mom. Thoseare just a few of the realityshows that plaster televisionsets around the world.Are reality showstaking over televi-sion as we know it,or is there still roomfor sitcoms to make acomeback?

A recent CNN/Timepoll asked just that. Thepoll asked the simple question,“Do you like to watch reality-based television programs, ordon’t you?” 43% of the adultpolling audience said yes, 53%said no, and 4% were not sure.However, a follow-up questionasked if reality shows were adisturbing trend for society,where 59% said that they werenot.

The polls show that mostpeople do not like reality shows,

Matthew PruittPage Editor

Agora photo courtesy of WWW.COLISEUMBOOKS.COM

Novelist Tiffanie DeBartolo.

but really don’t care if they’reon TV or not.

“I really don’t care for theshows, because they’re not real– it’s scripted reality,” Jon Th-

ompson, student, said.That issue has beenbrought up countlesstimes and although itis scripted, peoplecontinue to watchthe shows and ifthat is happen-ing, the majornetworks do not

care what isscripted and what is not.

“I like reality shows, like La-guna Beach, a lot,” SarahRotoms, student, said.

Reality television definitelyhas a target audience, which areteenage girls. Move oversitcoms, until the teenage girlsdecide they no longer want towatch reality television, it willsucceed and bring in huge num-bers making the networks happy– and that is all that matters inthe entertainment business.

According to Linda Roberts,head of the Monroe CommunityPlayers, the Meyer Theatre hasintrigue when compared to theRCAA.

“All of the actors are veryexcited about performing atMeyer. It has more advancedtechnology than the RCAA andhas a nicer appearanceoverall…the RCCA was dank

and moldy and thegreenroom was inthe basement,whereas Meyer isbrand new andhas a nice green-room asw e l l , ” R o b e r t ssaid.

The Playerswill present fourshows in their sea-son the first ofwhich is“Escanaba in DaMoonlight,” which

can be described as an out- of-this-world nature adventure. Ac-cording to Alan Fyfe, the direc-tor of the play, the plot centersaround five men and one womanwho find themselves at DeerCamp in the U.P. One of themen is a forty-five year old manwho has never ‘bagged a deer’in his life which has resulted inembarrassment for him amonghis siblings and other malefriends. To remedy the problem,his Indian wife makes a potion,which he and the other mendrink to ensure success for thehunt. During one of the nights,the DNR, who is very reliable,spots a UFO in the sky and theforty-five year old, says he seesit too. It is a Sci-Fi meets natureplay.

Fyfe said that manipulatingthe stage is the biggest challengein the new theatre because “[theplayers] have not dealt with any-thing this big before.”

However, he continued say-ing that a big stage allows forbetter entries and exits which are

Agora photo by Heather Wilson

Members of the Community Players (l-r) GaryJenkins, Norb Nowak, David P. Wahr, andRobert Yoman.

see “players,” page 7

What wasthe

wierdestjob you’veever had?

In the Mix AgoraOctober 6, 2005 7

Timothy Dillon, coordinator ofthe Writing Fellow program atMCCC, said.

In addition carpeting andsoundproof walls have beenadded. Perhaps the most im-portant benefit is the separationbetween the Writing Center andthe LAL.

“It was difficult to knowwhere the Writing Center andLAL was,” Riedel said.

crucial in any play.“The rotating lights and

acoustics will enhance perfor-mances in the future,” he said.

Escanaba is set to play fromOctober 7-9 and tickets are $15.Currently the college is on ayearly contract with the Players.

If all goes well, the expecta-tion is that there will be moreshows next season at MeyerTheater.

from “Katrina,” page 1

from “campus,” page 1

“[Linda] has been downthere for about two weeks of herrequired three week stay,”Kerste said of his wife.

“She was helping out at ashelter with 2,500 people in it.Then when Rita hit, she and theother 200 Red Cross helpersonly had about 15 minutes toevacuate. They were bussed

from “players,” page 6

Several partitions provided bya corporation called ISCG havehelped define and separate thetwo areas.

“Students walk in and they’llknow exactly where the writingcenter is,” Dillon said.

New renovations also tookplace on labs for the scienceclasses.

“The new labs are a solidimprovement from the disco-eratechnology of the old ones. Thenew labs are spacious, modern

and more aesthetically pleasing,”student Alex DeSmet said.

Changes included replacingolder physics equipment, threemore workstations, centralpower equipment, new printers,and a handicapped workstation.

“The biggest improvement isthat we can lecture in there.Sometimes we can’t do labs. Itenhances our instruction, whichis a big plus,” Dr. Spalding said.

Security has also been im-proved. Beginning last spring

ADT installed security camerasin the parking lots.

“I look at it as a security too.It’ll help you identify who wasthere, what was happening. It’slike anything else. You couldlook at something. I could lookat something and we’re going tosee two different things. Butthat recording… no matter whatyou say took place. It’ll eithersupport you or not support you,”William O. Myers, director ofsecurity, said.

MCCC prides itself on al-ways being lower than the stateaverage. As of 2005, MCCC’saverage is 3.3% while the Stateaverage is 4.49%. Out of the 28Community Colleges in Michi-gan, MCCC is the fifth lowestin tuition costs.

halfway up the state and arestaying at a campground now.All the people down there havebeen really friendly but they’rejust being moved from shelter toshelter. It’s tough for all ofthem,” Kerste said.

If you are interested in help-ing out the victims of HurricaneKatrina, you can contact the RedCross at (734) 289-1481 or (734)289-1603.

from “tuition,” page 3

Reader’sVoice

“I work at a nursing homeand there are a lot of olderpeople that aren’t all theway there. You’d be sur-prised at the things I seeon a daily basis.”

Shawn O’Neil

Kevin Gish

“I worked at Calder ’sdairy, I had to make icecream, butter and sourcream, not to mention takecare of farm animals. Itwas definitely a strangejob.”

“I installed pools for awhile, I had to do a lot ofweird things that I didn’tthink came along with thejob like going out of townand stuff like that.”

of admissions, director of mar-keting, and a manufacturing in-structor. “There are interim people in[the position] for most of the [va-

from “staff,” page 3 However, most studentsseem satisfied with the diner.

“It’s cheaper than last year.They’re offering a new variety,which I like. I also think thereis an improved quality,” AngelEllison, MCCC student, said.

from “frog,” page 3

Danielle Baker

cant] positions,” MollyMcCutchan, director of humanresources, said. “[Vacancies are] somethingyou will see a lot more of be-cause our faculty is aging. Manyhave been here since the first day

the college opened. It’s an is-sue for all community collegesnationwide,” Grace Yakee, vicepresident of instruction atMCCC, said.

MCCC’s annual fitness day, Health Odyssey 2005, will feature speakers, health screenings including FREEpulmonary function, blood pressure, height/weight, chiropractic screening & information, diabetes information,

asthma screenings, blood tests, nutritional information and cancer information.

At

Monroe County Community CollegeWelch Health Education Building

1555 S. Raisinville Road - Monroe, Michigan 48161 - (734) 242-7300

There will be a charge for the blood tests. 4 hour fast is REQUIRED.

9:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.Health Screenings will be done from 9:00 a.m. - Noon

Get a FREE Massage by a Massage Therapist

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

SpotlightAgora October 6, 2005

Top left: Cory Fortner skateboarding.Top right: Rebecca Vagt studying outside the La-Z-Boy center.Second row, far left: Dave Greca, Davey Shafer and Derek Bezeau playingbasketball in the Welch Health Education building.Second row, middle left: Reynaldo Montoya works on his biceps.Second row, middle right: Josh Reese working in a computer lab.Second row, far right: Valerie Jubian studying in the library.Third row left: Danny Florence, Amanda Badder and Ishmael Elabed.Third row right: Mariah Fryer and Danielle Romanoski talking in thecourtyard after class.Bottom left: Jake Glad and Shaun Knee-Waley lounging in the library.Bottom right: Adam Smith doing crunches in the weight room.

8

What’s happeningWhat’s happeningWhat’s happeningWhat’s happeningWhat’s happeningon campuson campuson campuson campuson campus

Downtime between classes is spent inmany ways. While some students head for

home, others stick around campus. Those that stayfill their time studying, skateboarding, working outor doing just about anything else. There are alwaysstudents hanging out somewhere with friends or

playing games on the internet on oneof the campuscomputer labs.MCCC studentsare no differentthan students atany four yearcollege when itcomes to life oncampus.