$7,500government tax credit all owners

receive

$0.04average cost

per mile

15charging

ports that are powered by solar panels

12 millionelectric cars sold in 2010

College students are used to looking for that next jolt of ener-gy to help power them through the following hour of dull lec-tures, whether it comes via a venti cup of Starbucks coffee, a can of Rockstar energy drink or from a vial of Five Hour Energy.

Owners of electric automo-biles such as the Chevrolet Volt will soon be able to give their chariots a similar shot of power right here on campus.

Fifteen new electric car charging stations, located in the parking lot outside Miller Audi-torium’s parking structure,

are slated to open for public use

next month, said Anantha Sankey, direc-tor of mainte-

nance services. The chargers, which

were installed last winter, will join the four stations opened up on campus last March. What separates these stations from their older counterparts is the addition of 216 solar array pan-els, which creates a complete self-sustaining charging sys-tem. This completely elimi-nates emissions from all points in the energy process, from the fuel source to the vehicle using it.

“The two go together in an overall plan, and that overall plan is for the University to support students, faculty and staff to be purchasing better hybrid or electric vehicles,” said Harold Glasser, Executive Director of the Office of Sustain-

ability.WMU is

the first pub-lic university in Michigan

to have both electric car

charging stations and solar panels to power them, Glasser said.

With the electric vehicle in-dustry still very much in its in-fancy, WMU officials are hoping the installations will solve the proverbial “chicken and egg” problem when it comes to pur-chasing such automobiles.

“People didn’t go from horse drawn buggies to cars overnight, but if you look at where we are right today, it sort of seems like that was the case,” Glasser said. “The whole sort of scale and time of how transportation happened was much slower. So the crucial idea, in terms of planning, is that someone has to provide that in-frastructure before things hap-pen.”

In order to forward this idea, the University received a num-ber of grants to help cover the costs in purchasing, installing and maintaining these struc-tures. The first four were put in

place thanks to a grant known as Charge Point America, while those outside Miller were part of $700,000 given to the Office of Sustainability, Glasser said.

The school has also been faced with criticism from a por-tion of the student body, par-ticularly those from Students for Sustainable Earth, an Registered Student Organization devoted to conservation and renewable energy efforts at WMU. While members of the organization said they supported construction of solar panels at the school, they spoke out against nine trees that were cut down to install the pan-els. The leadership labeled the project as “green-washing”, with the University implementing sustainability initiatives without truly following its tenets.

Despite the earlier contro-versy, Glasser said that most stu-dents that he has spoken to have been positive about the charging stations.

“People have come by our of-fice to thank us,” Glasser said. “I haven’t had any specific students coming to [us] complaining that electrical charging stations are a bad idea.”

One problem that the instal-

lations still face doesn’t come from o u t r a g e d s t u d e n t s or con-s t r a i n e d f u n d i n g ,

b u t from Kalamazoo’s often volatile winter snow-storms. Glasser said that the school worked with the solar panels’ manufacturer, Enphase Energy, to position the panels at a near vertical angle to ensure that snow doesn’t accumulate on the surfaces.

Sankey, whose department is charge of maintaining the sta-tions, said that he is monitoring the effectiveness of this solution. According to his data, snow from last week’s storm slid off the pan-els within 24 hours, but remains cautious of the effectiveness of their current configuration.

“According to the manufac-turer, the panels are mainte-nance free,” he said. “Being in the maintenance business, I can tell you that nothing is mainte-nance free.”

This week, maintenance ser-vices will run a final set of tests on the charging stations, ensur-

ing that data from the individual c h a r g e r s and panels t r ans m it prop e r ly to their monitoring stations, lo-cated at the manufacturer’s office. Sankey said that collected usage data will displayed on a webpage set up by the Office of Sustainability after the system goes live, which will allow in-terested students to see how the power is being used.

“We want students, staff and faculty to be engaged in access-ing the site,” Sankey said. “We want questions, we want people to know this is how much [the system] is producing, this is how it’s using, and so forth.”

While electric vehicles haven’t exactly flown off local car lots yet, Glasser said his office is in-terested in pursuing additional charging stations and renewable energy sources, should demand be present for it.

“I think it’s a good step for-ward,” Sankey said. “I hope that [panel] pricing drops so we can

Serving WeStern Michigan UniverSity and KalaMazoo Since 1916

Monday, JanUary 23 , 2012 vol. 96 iSSUe 31

WESTERN HERALD.COM

After all the Christmas cook-ies and New Year’s celebrations, it is time to hit the gym and start the new year off right.

Western Michigan Univer-sity offers many opportunities for its students, faculty and staff to stay in shape and prepare to meet New Year’s resolutions.

“Typically, we have about 12,000-13,000 people attend the Recreation Center on a weekly basis during the fall semester. After New Year’s and before spring break, the attendance rate increases to about 16,000-17,000 every week. People want to meet their resolutions and

are trying to beat those winter blues,” said Christopher Voss, associate director of the Univer-sity Recreation Programs and Facilities.

Over break, the Recreation Center was able to make small changes. Rearranging the car-dio room and adding new flat screen televisions have elicited positive feedback from students. The new flat screens can pick up FM receivers from phones, iP-ods or cardio machines so peo-ple can tune in to their favorite show. A new water fountain al-lows students to fill their water bottles instead of using the same mouthpiece everyone uses. New paint touch ups have been made also.

“On average, our busiest days are Monday through Thurs-

day after 3 o’clock until closing time. People use different areas whether they’re in the weight room, on the basketball courts, racquetball courts, or using car-dio machines,” Voss said.

The Ecomill is a self powered machine in the weight room, with no electricity and an eco-friendly design. There is a learn-ing curve involved with using the machine, said staff members, but people generally like it.

The many different activities available to students and faculty include intramural sports, club teams, rock climbing, cardio and cycling classes, personal train-ing, weight lifting, treadmill or track running and aquatic exer-cise classes.

“Zumba is the ‘hot’ thing right now. We have a couple

classes a week and had to move people into the multipurpose room to allow at least 100-150 people to come and participate,” Voss said.

Cardio classes are very popu-lar among students and have a variety of choices available like Zumba, 30/30, Body Fitness, Yoga, Pilates, Amazing Abs, Kick and Tone and Step.

Personal Trainers start at a rate of $45 for students with two sessions. There are male and fe-male certified trainers who have different skills. Clients are able to match a trainer that best fits their preferences. The first ses-sion is going over personal goals that want to be accomplished.

On Jan. 24, the Student Rec-reation Center (SRC) is offering an Extreme Bronco 2012 Spring

Break Challenge for $65. It is a six-week training plan of per-sonal training with Curtis Fen-nell and Rebecca Walker. There are over 20 people signed up al-ready and this is the first spring session. In the past, students were offered fall and summer II sessions.

“You do a lot more than just getting on a cardio machine. They stretch you and do things you wouldn’t normally do,” Voss said.

Other options are also avail-able, such as the outdoor track or Read Fieldhouse indoor track arena. For more information on available events and activities, you can visit their website at wmich.edu/rec.

By Ted YoakumStaff Reporter

New year yields greater student Rec usage

By Catie dymondStaff Reporter

PollLast week’s

this week’sHow often do you

use the rec center?a) 1-2x per weekb) 3-5x per week

c) Every dayd) What’s the rec

center?

To submit an answer go to www.westernherald.com

How do you feel about winter?

a) I don’t like it but I put up with it

(38%)b) I enjoy the

change of the sea-sons (31%)

c) I need to get out of Michigan (25%)

d) I’ve been anx-iously awaiting

snow (6%)

Kallie Strazdas/Western HeraldSophomore nursing student Shane Mcauliffe goes for a dunk at the Rec.

Kallie Strazdas/Western Herald The weight room at the Rec provides a great work-out space for WMU students.

Kallie Strazdas/Western Herald Business law/criminal justice major Giovanni Romano, junior, stays fit by shooting hoops.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder praised Western Michigan University’s Foster Care Youth in Higher Education in his State of the State address on Jan. 18, according to WMU News.The program provides full-tuition scholarships, a year-round campus home, and personal and academic sup-port for 141 young adult and former foster care students. Participants in the program are named Seita Scholars after Dr. John Seita – a former foster care youth, three-time WMU alumnus and lead-ing advocate for foster care children, according to WMU News. -Andrew Cooper Copy Editor

in Brief

wm YOUVisiting writer teaches technique

Campus keeps it current

350estimated miles per charge by

2017

Graphic by Erin Lenczycki/Western Herald

Writer’s block is a for-eign word in T. Geronimo Johnson’s vocabulary. Rough d r a f t s s h o u l d flow fast, furious and free.

“ T hat’s when you d i s c o v e r a lot,” he said.

Johnson’s poems and short stories earned him a spot as the visiting writer and pro-fessor in the Department of English at Western Michigan University for spring 2012.

He teaches students to refine, define and polish their writing in the under-graduate and graduate writ-ing workshops he teaches. A workshop is a class where students peer review each other’s writing and learn how to give constructive feedback.

“In the workshop, you’re working under the hood,” said Johnson. “The work is alive. Workshop makes ev-erybody smarter.”

His first novel, “Hold it ‘til it Hurts” will be published in the fall.

He defines his work as “tessellated,” a pattern or mosaic with many threads.

-Erin GignacNews Editor

Johnson

As far back as Western Mich-igan University’s Public Safety Department Police Captain Carol Dedow can remember, the university has always received complaints concerning the lack of student parking on campus.

Campus is considered “pe-destrian-friendly,” according to WMU Admissions’ web page. Most parking lots are exterior to main campus, causing students to have to walk a short dis-tance to class from where they parked.

Dedow said she blames to-day’s society on its need for con-venience and unwillingness to walk, admitting that she often finds herself trying to get the closest parking spot at the mall.

“We have a lot of parking

spaces, we do, we just don’t have close parking spaces that people want,” Dedow said.

Dedow said a 15 minute walk takes you from one side of campus to the other.

Colleen O’Brien, a senior currently studying elementa-ry education at WMU, agrees with the idea of students be-ing just plain lazy.

“There are a lot of student lots that are empty a lot, like the ones over by Miller or the Gilmore Theatre Complex, but nobody wants to park there because it’s far from their classes,” O’Brien said.

Nick Young, a senior at WMU said student parking is a problem simply because of campus’s need for more park-ing spots.

“You literally have to follow

someone to their car in your car to get a parking spot,” Young said.

Young, who is currently studying sales and business marketing at WMU, has re-

ceived two parking violations on campus. He said that both tick-ets were issued for parking in faculty lots because he couldn’t find a student-designated park-ing spot.

“They have less spots than are available for parking,” Young said.

Having mainly all business classes, Young said that the Ha-worth College of Business park-ing lots seem to always be full and admitted he has parked in nearby apartments’ lots when he could not find a spot in the past.

Although the additions of several new buildings on cam-pus such as the Western View Apartments have recently elimi-nated some student-designated parking lots, Dedow said stu-dents are still able to find park-ing.

“On any given day, I can show anybody with any kind of permit a vacant spot where they can park,” said Dedow.

Monday, January 23, 20122

Kallie Strazdas/Western HeraldNursing student, Shane Mcauliffe(sophomore), and business law and criminal justice major, Giovanni Romano(junior), make sure they didn’t forget anything after parking at the Rec Center.

Gas prices continue to rise as the fight for control of the Middle East continues

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Tensions in the Middle East have been building for as long as many Western Michigan Univer-sity students can remember.

Between OPEC oil price ma-nipulations, Israeli rhetoric and counter rhetoric, Iraqi wars and most recently, the Arab Spring, the Middle East is in the news so often that Americans might not even be fazed anymore.

But with Iranian threats to block the Strait of Hormuz as a response to Western anti-nuclear sanctions, Iran is once again in the spotlight.

With dwindling fossil fuels, an upcoming election, and such radical regime changes through-out the region, knowing the facts is more important than ever.

Blocking the Strait of Hormuz may not seem important, but the strait is a crucial shipping lane for oil.

Connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman (and there-fore, the oceans of the world),

the Strait of Hormuz is the main shipping lane for the entire Ara-bic Peninsula.

In fact, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administra-tion, the Strait of Hormuz is “by far the most important choke-point with an oil flow of almost 17 million barrels per day in 2011”.

But an oil embargo by Iran would not have a direct effect on the US. Despite the 17 million barrels of oil that move through the Strait of Hormuz daily, 85 percent of that oil is moved to Asian countries.

While the direct effect of the embargo wouldn’t be a loss of oil, the increased competition from the growing Asian economies would drive up the price of fuel. Although gas would still be avail-able, the price would jump.

Nuclear sanctions are not a new concept for Iran. The West-ern world has been disapproving of Iran’s planned “peaceful” nu-clear program since the Ayatol-lah seized power in 1979.

While a deep look into

American history books shows American support for a peaceful Iranian nuclear program, more recently the Western world has opposed and accused Iran of de-veloping Nuclear weapons.

Adding fuel to the fire, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadine-jad repeatedly calls for the anni-hilation of Israel.

In order to truly understand the US-Iranian relations, history going back at least 60 years has to be studied (perhaps going as far back as to the days of the Persian Empire).

It is also important when looking back at the history to consider the source of the infor-mation, according to WMU Pro-fessor of Political Science Karl Glenn Hokenmaier.

“If you read their history books, their portrayal of us wouldn’t be so flattering,” said Hokenmaier.

Between the CIA’s overthrow of the government in 1953, the subsequent 1973 souring of US-Iranian relations as a result of the oil crisis and the 1979

revolution in Iran to overthrow the Shah, tensions between the United States and Iran have only heightened.

To truly grasp the situation though, it is important to look even deeper than the history or the economics. The geopolitical surroundings for Iran, as well as the religious influence in the re-

gion play a larger role than any-thing.

It is important to note that Iranians are Persian and not Ara-bic; their country is also the only country in the region with a ma-jority of Shia in the government.

The only country in the re-gion that comes close to Iran in terms of Shia population is Iraq,

which borders Iran to the west. To Iran’s east lies Afghanistan.

While Iran’s actions have far-reaching implications, it is impossible to predict what will happen next. Even with a knowl-edge of the history, geopolitics and economics in the region, the future remains clouded.

Oil tension rises

By Baxter GillStaff Reporter

WMU students question campus parking spotsBy Gabi CrowleyStaff Reporter

Top five daily suppliers of US crude oil

5 percent10.4 percent

4.9 percent

oil by th

e

barrel2.06 million

Cana

da

Unite

d St

ates

8.63 million

1.22 million

Mex

ico

1.08 million

Saud

i Ara

bia 1.02 million

Nige

ria

Source: Energy In-formation Adminis-tration, Department

of Energy*

Saudi Arabia12.1 percent Russia

11.6 percent

United States10.4 percent China

5 percentIran4.9

percent

Share of world oil production*

Do you like how good looking the is now? It’s about to get even better looking. Check out next Monday’s edition!

Western Herald.

The Western Herald sat down with Branden Lewis, candidate for the 27th season of The Real World.

Q: Tell us about your oppor-tunity for The Real World TV show? A: Well, pretty much around last September, when the 26th season started, was when I saw auditions for the 27th season. I quickly submitted an email to them telling them I wanted to be on the show and a little about myself. I got an email back say-ing they liked me and wanted me to audition in Columbus, Ohio. So around Halloween I

took a road trip there.

Q: Who in-spired you to want to begin a career in acting/model-ing? A: If any-one were to inspire me to get into such a career it would probably be Will Smith. Will is so successful in his career and because of that he is looked at as an icon and role model. He handles himself well in and out of public and doesn’t let his celebrity status get in the way of his family life.

Q: Tell us a little about the process of being chosen as a Real World candidate? A: When I got there it was packed, must have been hundreds of people at one bar. I signed up and filled a page application basically explaining brief info about myself. The first round of interviews was a group inter-view. The girl interviewing us asked everyone to state your name, age and a fun fact about myself. I talked about my crazy 21st birthday. As the interview almost ended she told every-

body that they were good to leave, but told me to stay. She took me back to this other room where I had to fill out basically a 20

page application and it took me two hours to do it. I handed it in later that night and I got a call stating that my second interview (quarter-final round) was going to take place at another loca-tion. At this point I felt like I was making progress. I went to the next interview and noticed it was a different set up. I had to sit in front of a camera, with a

blue screen in the background and a microphone planted in my shirt. This round basically was the detailed interview going through my 20 page application. It lasted about 45 minutes to an hour but I feel like I nailed it. After the interview was done the girl basically told me to expect a call. The good thing about audi-tions for things like this is that if you get the call you’re in. The casting process is about three months long and as of now I am still awaiting on the call.

Q: What other modeling and acting things have you done? A: I’ve only done one modeling gig so far, because of how busy

my schedule is with being a full time student here at Western Michigan University. But I am in the process of doing another event with what they call “ USA models.” Interviews with those will be coming up soon.

Q: If chosen for The Real World and you finish the season what’s next? A: Well I plan on finishing school at WMU then move somewhere warm. I want to try to become a part time model, but I can’t forget about my degrees I will eventually have. I want to become a Dietician and plan on being a personal trainer on the side.

Norman Finkelstein, author of six books and an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, will be coming to the Western Michigan University campus this month to share a possible way to stop the decades-long struggle, according to WMU News.

His presentation, “How to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, in the North Ballroom of the Bernhard Center. Finkelstein is one of the boldest Jewish voices on the is-sue, WMU News states.

Among the issues expected to be covered is “how to bring about a just solution in accor-dance to conflict in accordance with international law,” accord-ing to WMU News. Western Michigan University student organization West Michigan Justice in Palestine is sponsor-ing the event.

-Andrew CooperCopy Editor

Clean water is scarce. Bath-ing conditions are tough. Most people still live in tents. Amer-icans might associate these living conditions with home-lessness in the United States. However, this is the daily condition of people living in Haiti.

In Port Au Prince, thou-sands are still living in unac-ceptable conditions, President John Dunn said, but their re-

silient spirit was not lost in the rubble.

“I was taken by a sense of pride,” Dunn said. “To see some of the children and how well they had dressed, it was obvious that they had put on their best outfit to be a part of this program. It was very nice.”

The Dominican Republic’s President Leonel Fernandez invited Dunn and Juan Tava-res of Western Michigan Uni-versity’s Haenicke Institute for Global Education to represent

the international community in an inauguration ceremo-ny of the northern campus of Haiti State University last week. The project, which cost around $30 to $50 million, was donated entirely by the Do-minican Republic.

“This was a huge invest-ment,” Dunn said. “Fernan-dez, the president of the D.R., could’ve done a lot of things with that money, but he want-ed it invested in education. You could build another hos-pital, you could do more with

roads, you could do more with this, but if you really want to get to the core, the fabric of what moves a society, it’s edu-cation. He took an element of risk there.”

What does $30 to $50 mil-lion look like? Three build-ings with a quad in the middle, since the weather is usually warm, he said. Compare this to Sangren Hall, a $70 million dollar undertaking that will finalize in 24 months, Dunn said.

“This thing was built in a period of about 15 months, so it was a phenomenal under-taking,” he said.

The dedication, held on Jan. 12, marked the two-year anniversary of the earthquake that in-jured or killed over half a million people in the country and ruined their infra-structure.

“I think it had a little bit of the World Trade Center sort of backdrop,” Dunn said. “There was a lot going on that day. First you have the opening of a campus and you have an op-portunity to celebrate that. You also have a remembrance of all those tragic losses of life.”

Whether Fer-nandez is using the money correctly or fast enough is the controversy in ques-tion for some people in the D.R. All self-ishness aside, it was a generous acknowl-

edgement that out of all the needs in the world we chose this, Dunn said.

“We might get hung up about what our own needs are, but you don’t have to look very far to find that others are also very needy,” he said. “You can do that on a personal level. All you have to do is look around and you’re going to find anoth-er human being somewhere with situations and conditions that are far worse than what you’re experiencing. When we think about the conditions of the world and we think of very poor countries, we can get all hung up on that. We’re still talking about human beings, you know. Human beings still have parents and children and loved ones.”

Education is the fundamen-tal element needed to rebuild the infrastructure of Haiti, Dunn said. He is no stranger to educational relationships with the international com-munity. In January 2008, an agreement was signed between WMU and the Dominican Re-public, through the Domini-can Scholars Program, that brought an anticipated 200 D.R. students to WMU’s cam-pus, according to a press re-lease from WMU News. This spring, 100 undergraduates and graduate students will be walking across Miller’s stage to receive their diploma, he said.

While at WMU, the students are completely funded by their government. The only require-ments are that students must live on campus and return to the D.R. after graduation.

To promote your product or servicein this space, call (269) 387-2092 or

email advertising@westernherald.com

NewsWestern HeraldMonday, January 23, 2012 News EditorErin Gignac

newseditor@westernherald.com387-2088

3

Erin Gignac/Western HeraldPresident John Dunn gave remarks about his trip to the Dominican Republic and Haiti last Thursday.

in BriefIncentives now in effect for residents

Student seeks success in “Real World”

See HaitiPage 6

The meeting room of the Bernhard Center was bustling for the start of the Gwen Frostic Reading Series.

Sparkling cups of Chardon-nay, a stack of double chocolate brownies and a bowl of fruit sat neatly on a table or in the hands of the many people who have shown up for the event, chat-ting eagerly about the night’s performance and favorite titles. Well-dressed individuals and wind-tossed students sat to-gether in high backed chairs, reading through pamphlets or anxiously fidgeting. After a brief introduction concerning lots of talk about beards, a curi-ously clean shaven T. Geronimo Johnson, the night’s reader, ap-proached the podium, dressed in all black. He is a tall, broad shouldered man who wouldn’t seem to fit in his “cloffice”—the tiny closet he prefers to write in—and when he speaks it is in a low, confident lull, reassuring

rather than dull. It is the first time he has read from this piece in public, though one would never know it.

Johnson’s reading on Jan. 19 was the first of the 2012 Gwen Frostic Reading Series lineup, a showcase of writers, storytell-ers and poets. His forthcoming novel, “Hold It Till It Hurts” is slated to be published by Coffee House Press and it was from this piece he read excerpts, wonder-fully descriptive and heartfelt, concerning several themes from the novel. “I believe in literature like religion,” Johnson stated. “I write for the ones that didn’t get away.”

“Hold it Till it Hurts” is the story of Achilles, an Iraq war vet in search of his adopted broth-er, who has set off to meet his biological father and separated himself from the family. The novel, from the bits that were read, is emotive and full of sen-sory detail, featuring rich char-acter description, the subtle use of humor, and, at times, almost lyrical wordplay bonds together

to create a deeply engrossing tale. The three sections selected showcased Johnson’s range—a questioning, evocative first piece concerning race, a tender, descriptive scene turned to con-fusion and question of place. A second scene details the slow creak of gurney wheels and starkness of a morgue.

His final piece was perhaps the most gripping--an insight-ful scene concerning casualties of war and a soldier’s utter fear and helplessness at his friend’s fatal injury. Johnson read his work in a slow, almost road weary voice, as if he had seen it all before, enabling listeners to draw their own conclusions, to feel the work as the charac-ters themselves experienced it. Fine observation and creative descriptions told a story while simultaneously painting a por-trait of the scene described. Johnson allowed ample time for his words to resonate with listeners, who were held captive by his depth and connection to his work. Before reading, John-

son helpfully gave the audience some background information regarding characters and plot, adding his own reflections on his work after each selection.

“Hold it Till it Hurts” is John-son’s first novel, remarkably de-veloped for someone making a departure from the usual. John-son’s former stint was poetry, though it was clearly something he did not very much enjoy.

“Poetry is something I should have stopped like video games in high school,” Johnson remarked. “Poetry is a mystery to me. I woke up and thought, ‘How much longer am I going to embarrass myself?’”

With writing fiction, Johnson may have found his niche.

“It liberated me in a way. I could be true to what I wanted to do,” he said in a Q & A ses-sion.

His raw, vivid descriptions of battle, casualties, and a sol-dier’s struggle to readjust to so-ciety would appear to be from experience, but Johnson was only a member of the National

Guard, and never on the front lines—however, judging by such honest prose, one would never guess. To research for the novel, Johnson read anything he was able to find, quickly fin-ishing titles such as “House to House” and the slightly more obscure “Afghani Beards and Hairstyles.”

“The writer’s flow was well balanced between metaphors and hyper realism, creating a captivating piece,” said Tyler Balaskovitz, WMU senior.

Literary buffs were not the only ones to enjoy the reading. A positive reaction seemed to be the norm as listeners crowd-ed together to praise the novel, many hurrying up to Johnson himself to thank him and com-pliment his work. At the end of the night, Johnson took out a small camera and asked to take a picture of the crowd, docu-menting his first public reading.

By Taylor LarsonStaff Reporter

Review: Frostic series hosts T. Johnson

Western Michigan Univer-sity students planning to return to the residence halls for the fall semester can start online regis-tration now, according to WMU News.

The university has added several incentives for students living in the residence halls dur-ing the 2012-2013 school year, WMU News states. The Resi-dence Hall and Dining Advan-tage guarantees that room and board rates remain the same for four successive years. The VIP Bronco program offers free intramural sports and fit-ness classes, and the Academic Achievement Incentive allows students with a GPA of 3.25 or higher who sign up for a single room receive the lower double rate and save up to $2,450, ac-cording to WMU News.

-Andrew CooperCopy Editor

Following the resignation of Dr. John Wheeler, Dr. Van E. Cooley will lead Western Michigan University’s College of Education and Human De-velopment for the next year as a national search takes place to find a new dean, according to WMU News.

Dr. John Wheeler resigned last fall to take on a new posi-tion at East Tennessee State University. Western Michigan University will also search in the coming weeks for an asso-ciate provost for the Haenicke Institute for Global Education to replace Dr. Donald McCloud, who is finishing his five-year ap-pointment, according to WMU News.

-Andrew CooperCopy Editor

Author addresses foreign conflict

National search for new dean begins

Dunn supports school in HaitiBy Erin GignacNews Editor

By Adam RobertsSports Editor

Lewis

As the semester progresses and students endure the remain-ing winter months it’s likely the weather will not warrant univer-sity closure.

“University officials begin monitoring weather conditions early in the event when a signifi-cant snowfall is predicted. Our grounds crews are out (often in the middle of the night) gaug-ing the snowfall and determining whether they will be able to keep campus roads, parking lots and sidewalks cleared,” said Cheryl Roland, executive director of Uni-versity Relations. “We’re also in touch with area public safety offi-cials and the State Police to assess the safety of road conditions,”

This is an incredible feat con-sidering the shear amount of

snow that Western Michigan Universities Landscape Services is responsible for removing.

“The crews must plow, shovel, scrape and de-ice more than 23 miles of roads, 100 acres of park-ing, 39 miles of walks, 200,000 square feet of steps and ramps and hundreds of doorways,” ac-cording to WMU News.

Extensive resources for snow removal are readily available at Western Michigan University. Officials rarely have to breach the stipulations and red tape set in place for campus closures.

However, on numerous occa-sions WMU has remained opera-tional even when severe weather has hindered the university. How does severe weather truly influ-ence university closures?

On Friday, Jan. 13 surround-ing institutions such as Kalama-zoo College and Kalamazoo Val-

ley College were not operational. Many have wondered why WMU was not declared closed?

“I feel like the University doesn’t always consider that a majority of their students com-mute and that should be a bigger factor in deciding school closings than whether or not the sidewalks get cleared between Miller and Rood,” said 21-year-old senior Erin Lenczycki. “Western is cen-tered on a hill and that fact alone makes it exceedingly difficult to make it to classes on time. “

Safety for all students and staff particularly those who commute to and from campus should take precedence over the pride that ac-companies keeping an institution open.

What horrific event must oc-

cur before the university relaxes their stance on campus closures? Will WMU’s criteria for cancela-tions only be amended if a stu-dent is hospitalized while com-muting in inclement weather? Who shoulders that burden?

Until such a tragedy occurs

the lack of timeliness remains the most inconvenient factor associ-ated with severe weather.

“Add a foot of snow and it makes getting to class on time at 9 a.m. a guessing game, even if I leave half an hour early,” said Len-cyzcki.

Rock the vote!

ViewpointWestern Herald

Monday, January 23, 2012 Editor-in-ChiefNora Strehl

editor@westernherald.com387-2097

4

Nora StrehlEditor-in-Chief

Editorial

WMU unhindered by inclement weather

Letter to the Editor PolicyAll letters must be less than 300 words

and are subject to editing.

No personal attacks or profanity will be tolerated.

Send letters to: The Western Herald, as a news entity, does not adopt or

necessarily endorse views presented in the viewpoint sec-tion. Readers are encouraged to submit their own re-

sponses, suggestions, or concerns to the Edit0r-In-Chief, Nora Strehl, at herald-editor@wmich.edu.

Letter to the Editor: Spreading innovation on campus

Fun&GamesCrossword

Stock Photo

By Paul VanHevelCopy Editor

Dear Editor,In 2010 WMU’s

student body voted to put in place what would soon be a monumental achieve-ment, the $8 student sustainability fee. The extreme foresight in understanding the importance and need for providing the funding of campus sustainability im-provement should be commended. Now the issue lies solely in the hands of the students. We now must initiate research projects that will not only improve sustainability but also the awareness of sustainable issues on campus.

What is my issue? WMU maintains over 3 million square feet of conventional roof space with an approximate 15 year lifespan. This space is generally unattractive, underutilized and ob-viously impermeable to storm-water. Be-cause of this increase in storm-water out-put from structures, WMU is forced to al-locate millions of dol-lars to the construc-tion of storm-water retention systems. Have you ever won-dered, “What’s with that rock pond by the chemistry building?” It was built solely to retain storm-water.

Also, conventional roofs are generally dark and heat absorb-ing therefore contrib-uting to increased lo-calized temperatures or “heat island effect.”

In true hippy fash-ion I have pointed out the problems but what’s the solution? The solution lies in “green” or vegetated roofs. Green roofs vary in size and com-plexity but what you need to know is that a portion of WMU’s roofs use a river-rock ballast to anchor down the roof materi-als that weigh approx-imately 10 pounds per square foot. This is the same weight of

certain green roof sys-tems. The difference is that green roofs last twice as long, mitigate storm-water runoff and look cool. Oh, did I mention that Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University and Michigan all have green roofs and our first has not even been installed yet? Talk to our administrators, ask why we don’t have green roofs, and write a sustainability grant. We have the money, let’s beat Central.

-Andrew C. JohnsonJunior

Historic East Campus photo of the week

Students play football near Vandercook Hall, the male residence hall on East Campus.Written by: Tara Bell, President of Students for East Campus

Photo courtesy of WMU Archives

As we progress into the new year, and get back into the school groove, we need to start thinking about how important it is to make sure that our voices are heard this primary season!

The 2012 primary is right around the corner and the deadline to register to vote is quickly approaching. It’s our

time, so let’s go!Just so you

know, you have until Mon-day, Jan. 30 to register to vote in the Feb. 28 presidential primary elec-tions. The polls will be open on

election day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To register, you must be at least 18 years old by elec-tion day and be a U.S. citizen. You have to also be a resident of the city of Kalamazoo in order to vote here.

In my opinion, it is our right and our duty to vote - if we are educated enough to know what we’re voting for. It’s our job to make sure that the people elected to office are rightfully put there. We have the freedoms and ability to make a difference, but it takes motivation and empow-erment to do it. You can stay cynical and look to the stars, but I choose to live by what the founding fathers envi-sioned for us, and will con-tinue to fight for those rights by the only methods I know - share my beliefs publicly and vote.

Young Americans have a history of active involvement in the democratic process and in shaping the future of the nation. Let’s keep the tradi-tion going and get involved with this years election in some way. Join College Dem-ocrats or College Republicans on Western Michigan Uni-versity’s campus. Do some research and find out how you can participate in a spe-cific campaign. It is a really rewarding experience to be a part of such a huge move-ment, especially when it only happens every four years.

Get up and be proactive! You can register by mail, at the Kalamazoo clerk’s office or by going to the Secretary of State.

Send me some feedback on how you will make a differ-ence this election season.

Monday, January 23, 2012 5

Late snow leaves ski resorts wanting more

Serving part-time in the Air National Guard, you’ll have an entire team of like-minded individuals who want to help you get ahead. You can choose from nearly 200 career specialties, and develop the high-tech skills you need to compete in today’s world. You also train close to home, all while receiving a steady paycheck, benefits and tuition assistance. Talk to a recruiter today, and see how the Michigan Air National Guard can help you succeed.

AND AN ENTIRE TEAM TO HELP YOU

CAREER TRAINING. MONEY FOR COLLEGE.

SUCCEED.

GVL WH 1/23

Few students can claim that they are financially stable, and with the influx of the Michigan “college tax,” their resources might become even more scarce, according to Bridge Magazine.

Currently, Western Michigan University holds the eighth highest college tax rate of any public university in Michigan.

In recent years, Michigan’s higher education policy has lacked funding, and according to WMU’s Financial Aid department, tuition fees have increased.

“The state has cut us and cut us and cut us in terms of funding,” said Greg Rosine, the Vice President for Government Affairs at WMU.

To measure the impact of university price hikes, Bridge Magazine split Michigan’s state universities into groups of academically similar institutions across the country and calculated the true price (tuition, fees and on-campus housing minus scholarships and grants) of a year in college.

“Students at 12 out of the 15 public universities in Michigan are paying a ‘college tax.’ The state has slashed funding to Michigan’s

public universities over and over again in the past couple of decades,” confirmed Bridge Magazine.

According to the article, lost appropriations are the catalyst for tuition increases in recent years.

For example, the University of Michigan has lost $174 million in inflation-adjusted dollars in the past decade, a trend that University of Michigan Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Phil Hanlon, calls “unsustainable.”

“All of Michigan needs to take an economics class,” said U of M undergraduate student Barbara Twist.

Twist said she will graduate with $28,000 in student debt after paying $16,888 for tuition and fees each semester.

In contrast, her cousin, Caroline Robinson, who attends the University of North Carolina, pays $8,423 for semester fees and tuition and will graduate debt-free.

According to Bridge Magazine, this is far from an isolated incident.

“Three years at U of M costs as much as four years at many other high-caliber research universities,” the article says.

Comparatively, WMU students pay approximately $11,384 in “college tax,” said the

magazine.However, the term “tax” has

garnered some controversy. Both Rosine and Julie

Carroll in WMU’s Investment and Endowment Management Department, said that the word “tax” is a misnomer.

“It’s a misappropriation of the word,” said Rosine.

“Ten years ago, the state was responsible for 70 percent of the university funding and students were responsible for thirty percent [of funding]. Now, the opposite is true. There’s a shift of responsibility from state taxpayer to student fees and tuition, but no ‘tax,’” Rosine said.

Carroll said Bridge Magazine is referring to the term used to describe the difference in amounts contributed by the states to their public universities. The less money given by the state, the more a student has to pay in tuition.

“It’’s acommon misconception,” said Rosine. “I’ve been asked about the alleged ‘college tax’ several times. I think Bridge Magazine is great, but I also think the article confused some people. Students are paying more tuition and fees, but while they might have to worry about increasing tuition rates, they don’t have to worry about an additional tax.”

Hidden college costs creep up on WMU studentsBy Katy TerBergStaff Reporter

An important factor in the success of many local business-es made a very late arrival this year. Snow and all of Michigan’s unpredictable winter weather impacts all kinds of people and businesses, especially ski resorts and winter sports parks.

“We didn’t open until January

4 this year—the latest opening I can remember,” said Joan Bailey, marketing director at Timber Ridge Ski Area in Gobles.

Bailey has been with Timber Ridge for 29 years.

Echo Valley Winter Sports Park in Kalamazoo keeps track of the date they open each year.

“We opened after New Year’s, first year in 14 years,” said Mel-ody Weaver, a manager at Echo Valley.

Weaver said the revenue made in upcoming weeks would not make up for the lost sales from opening so late.

Bailey said the time before and after Christmas makes up 25 percent of Timber Ridge’s rev-enue.

Bailey said she is optimistic that they will be able to make up the lost sales.

“Once the snow arrived, peo-ple arrived in droves. We were at capacity and since then there’s been perfect conditions,” Bailey

said.Bailey said Martin Luther

King Jr. Day and the weekend preceding it have been their bus-iest days so far this year.

One way winter sports busi-nesses try to cope with the un-predictable weather is by making their own snow.

“It’s the only way to be in business in Michigan,” said Bai-ley. “Everyone makes it!”

Timber Ridge and Echo Val-ley both make their own snow. However, it is expensive and the conditions have to be right. Weaver said it has to be 19 de-grees or below before they can use any of Echo Valley’s five snow machines.

“We make snow as much as we can. We need low tempera-ture and low humidity to make it,” said Bailey.

Timber Ridge pumps millions of gallons of water from their ponds to make snow “the natural way,” she said.

Despite the lack of snow until New Year’s Day, Timber Ridge and Echo Valley were more than prepared when winter arrived and anticipated the huge crowds that showed up.

“We were ready, willing and able,” said Bailey.

Timber Ridge offers skiing, snowboarding and tubing and also has a special deal for col-lege students every night. With a college ID, students get reduced rates for lift tickets and ski rent-als. College night is Monday through Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m.

Echo Valley is open on the weekends and offers ice-skating, tobogganing and tubing at “rea-sonable prices that haven’t been raised in seven years,” according to Weaver.

Weather hinders local businesses

By Liz VandenHeedeStaff Reporter

70.6 inches

of snowfall in Kalamazoo last

winter

15 2/3

incheslargest snow-

flake ever recorded

19degrees to make snow

25 percentof revenue comes from

Christmas week

Kalamazoo has transformed into a winter wonderland. Over the past week, lake-effect snow has blanketed the southwest region of Michigan, leading to the annual road plows and salt trucks moving across campus and the city.

Western Michigan Univer-sity uses snow melt systems at the entrances to most of the buildings on campus. These systems circulate glycol (a de-icing chemical agent) under low pressure through closed-loop piping embedded in the side-walks. Snow melt systems are controlled through the Building Automation System, or BAS.

The BAS checks that the out-door air temperature is below freezing and that there is snow on the ground before activating the snow removal system. These on-campus snow melt systems reduce the amount of salt re-quired to thaw walkways, mini-mize snow buildup near build-

ing entrances and reduce the number of accidents that occur during the winter months.

Nicolas Schirripa, Southwest Regions Communications Rep-resentative for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said city and county road com-missions have their own plows and operators.

“The Kalamazoo County Road Commission plows all roads not in cities and each city has their own staff or contracts in place for plowing service. As snow begins to accumulate on our roadways, our plow op-erators begin to plow assigned routes until the roads are free of ice and snow,” Schirripa said. “As long as the snow is falling or re-mains on state roads, our plows are active.”

“MDOT has dedicated, cre-ative, experienced operators who take seriously the job of keeping state roadways safe for everyone,” he said.

Geomelt is a derivative of the sugar beet after the sugar is re-moved and is another method of

de-icing campus. It is complete-ly organic and water soluble, according to WMU Ground & Landscaping. Because it comes from a plant, Geomelt is entirely environmentally friendly.

The resulting syrup concoc-tion is nature’s ice melter. Un-like traditional salt, which loses its effectiveness at around 15 degrees, a load treated with the beet juice works until 30 degrees below freezing. It stays in the grooves and cracks of the asphalt or concrete, thus requiring less application. The use of Geomelt on campus helps to minimize salt use during the winter and in turn, helps to control salt contamination in the snow melt runoff.

Residents with concerns about plowing frequency or ad-equacy should contact the local snow removal agency.

“Feedback helps us fine-tune our operations and ensures we’re serving each community to the best of our ability,” said Schir-ripa.

Monday, January 23, 20126

Hao Zhang/Western Herald

Brian Kalt lectures on the Ninth Amendment and the Constitution

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The Humanities Center in Knauss Hall welcomed Brian

Kalt, associate professor of law at Michigan State University, for an ethics lecture on the Ninth Amendment on Friday, Jan. 20.

As stated in the Constitution,

the Ninth Amendment declares that “the enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the

people.” Kalt began his lecture by explaining this amendment, as well as the several amend-ments that are listed before this one. He also explained how Constitutional rights work.

“Think of the Constitution as higher law. It’s the federal Con-stitution – if there’s a law in the Constitution saying that you can or can’t do something, that law trumps all other laws,” Kalt said. “While the eight amendments of the Constitution list out your exact rights, I don’t think the list is long enough. Not all of our rights are included in the Con-stitution.”

Kalt explained that the rights that we have as people and citi-zens of the United States may not be laid out entirely in the Constitution, but we still have those rights. However, the big question is, “what are these rights?” and “how do we define them?”

Kalt introduced the idea of the Ninth Amendment being defined as the “et cetera” to all of the other rights that the people of the United States are provid-ed in the Bill of Rights. How-ever, he believes that the court ignores the Ninth Amendment of the Constitution because it is

too open-ended. “The courts are saying that

by definition, you have certain rights, but we [the courts] are not going to tell you what they are,” Kalt said.

Since the Constitution is a document formed by the gov-ernment in the beginning, Kalt believes that the government, courts, and the President should follow the Constitution just as the people of the United States do. He wishes the government and more specifically, the courts would take rights seriously, es-pecially those not listed in the Bill of Rights.

“There are other rights out-side of the Constitution. We [the people] just need a vision of what Congress thinks that these other rights should be, then we could vote on them,” Kalt said, stressing that Congress should focus on what it is that the peo-ple want.

“Congress can act on provid-ing the people with their rights. Congress doesn’t have to be held down by the courts, Congress and the courts should debate about the rights that we need to be more thoroughly defined in our Constitution. If Congress doesn’t do this, they won’t be

good at it in the future,” Kalt said.

Kalt also brought up the question, “What is the difference between a ‘right’ and something that’s just a ‘good idea?’”

“I think we can all agree that a right is something that stops you from doing something that is not approved by the govern-ment or the Constitution,” Kalt said. “If the government calls it a right and makes it a right, the people will most definitely take that right seriously.”

Kalt said rights matter, even those not listed in the Constitu-tion. Kalt said we come up with those rights and debate about them and get Congress to con-sider them and take them seri-ously.

As a professor of law, Kalt is confident in his ideas and argu-ments about the Ninth Amend-ment. He made it clear that in the future he would like to see this amendment taken as seri-ously as all of the other amend-ments that are listed in the Unit-ed States Bill of Rights.

For a list of more events that are put on by the University Center for the Humanities, visit http://www.wmich.edu/human-ities/.

MSU professor gives lecture on rights

Campus copes with snow

By Kassie CharnleyStaff Reporter

By Kelly MasonStaff Reporter

Some students may have re-jections to the returning part. They want to obtain an intern-ship or work for a company before they return. He said it’s necessary for D.R.’s graduates to provide and help their country in academic study.

It happens to all students. Students like being away, but eventually they will return to where theylive, he said.

“The students that we met with particularly in July that got called back, they’re doing very well,” he said. “They have jobs and they’re doing good things. They have families and loved ones there.”

Students from the D.R. can now attend Haiti State Universi-ty, but it will not take away from the amount of students attend-ing WMU.

“They have some universi-ties, but they also know they

do not have the infrastructure needed to accommodate all of their talented young people,” he said. “They’re relying heavily on exporting students here.”

The Dominican Scholars Pro-gram also pairs with Utah State, Rochester Institute of Technol-ogy and universities in Spain and Italy.

All signs point to the pro-gram staying at WMU. How-ever, Fernandez is ending his second term as president. Dunn said he hopes to someday have Fernandez on campus, president or not.

“This program is too good and has been too successful not to sustain,” he said. “They will be soon announcing another schol-arship program and a wave of students from the D.R. for West-ern Michigan University.”

Future endeavors include getting D.R. students involved in the aviation program and other global issues.

“We continue to look for re-search opportunities as well,” Dunn said. “They are very in-terested in questions related to sustainability and energy con-servation.”

At the inauguration ceremo-ny, the mayor of the city became overwhelmed with what the op-portunity of this campus meant to his community. With this monumental of a dedication, Dunn said that he couldn’t help but get emotional.

“The takeaway from Haiti was the resilience of people. Anytime you see that, in my life, it has inspired me how people can, somehow, dig deep to over-come challenging times and to never lose sight that there is a tomorrow and a future. If not for them, at least for those who are going to follow them. I was very impressed by that.”

From Page 3

in Brief

To promote your product or servicein this space, call (269) 387-2092 or

email advertising@westernherald.com

SportsWestern HeraldMonday January 23, 2012 Sports EditorAdam Roberts

sportseditor@westernherald.com387-2088

7

After a tough overtime loss in Ypsilanti earlier in the week to Eastern Michigan, the Western Michigan University Broncos returned home to face their ri-vals, the Central Michigan Chip-pewas, who came in having lost their last two games.

In what Coach Steve Hawk-ins called, “another typical Cen-tral [vs.] Western game,” CMU started off by making the first two baskets of the game before Junior forward Nate Hutcheson, who led all scorers at the half with 12 points, knocked home a 3-pointer, making the game 4-3 early on.

In the middle of the period, the Broncos held Central Michi-gan without a point for almost 5 minutes, and pushed their lead to 8 points with 5:59 remain-

ing in the first half. Then, Cen-tral Michigan sophomore Trey Zeigler, a former McDonald’s All-American scored a couple of baskets around the 4 minute, bringing the score back to a tie. The last couple of minutes in the high intensity first half were punctuated on dunks by West-ern Michigan’s Shayne Whit-tington, bringing the crowd to its feet and Central Michigan’s Andre Coimbra, which came with only 10 seconds remaining in the half.

Central Michigan left the half with a 33-32 lead, in which they were led in scoring by Coimbra, with 11 and Trey Zeigler, who had 9. Western out rebounded their rivals 21-14, receiving impressive performances from Hutcheson and Matt Stainbrook, who each pulled down 5 boards. Western Michigan left the first half shooting 44 percent from

the floor and holding Central Michigan near 40 percent, but Central took advantage of nine first-half Bronco turnovers.

In the second half, Western Michigan stormed out of the gate, going on a 14-1 run, stretch-ing their lead to a game high 12 points with 15:03 remaining in the game. In that 15 minutes, Central Michigan chipped away at the lead the Broncos built. While the Chippewas succeeded in getting the lead down, it held up behind plays like Flenard Whitfield’s block on a Central Michigan lay-up, and then his hustle down the floor to draw a foul and knock down both free throws, and a big 3-pointer from Demetrius Ward, to keep the Bronco lead in double digits.

Western Michigan was able to keep their rivals out of strik-ing distance until the Chippe-was got back-to-back 3-pointers

from freshman Austin Keel and Zeigler, cutting the Bronco lead to 4, where the score stood at 63-59 with 3:06 remaining. After Zeigler scored a lay-up with 2:17 to go, making it a one possession game, the Broncos ate up the clock and played solid defense. In particular, on the final pos-session, in which Zeigler, who is Central’s leading scorer at nearly 16 points per game, was forced into a contested 3-pointer which he missed, and Western won the rivalry game, the second time this season in which they have trailed at half time and gone on to win.

The Broncos had solid con-tributions from their entire front line. Nate Hutcheson led the team with 17 points and 8 re-bounds, Matt Stainbrook had 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Fle-nard Whitfield added 12 points and 7 rebounds. For Central,

Trey Zeigler led the way with 19 points and 3 assists, Derek Jackson scored 14 points and Andre Coimbra had 11 points and 8 rebounds while battling foul trouble. The Broncos held a solid edge on the boards, 42-27, but while the Broncos turned the ball over 20 times, they played well enough to come up with a victory. Senior point guard Mike Douglas, who finished the game with 13 points and 4 as-sists, moved into second place on Western Michigan’s all-time assist list, passing Brian Snider, he now has 407 in his career. He now trails only Billy Stanback who finished his career with 427 assists.

The Broncos play their next game Wednesday, Jan. 25 on the road in Athens, Ohio where they play Ohio at 7 p.m., and return home to play Miami of Ohio at 4 p.m. Saturday, January 28.

With the Detroit Tigers’ 2012 promotional caravan stopping at WMU, President, CEO and General Manager Dave Dom-browski came back to where it all began.

Dombrowski, along with All-Star catcher Alex Avila, third baseman Brandon Inge, starting pitcher Rick Porcello, outfielder Delmon Young, and a handful of other young Tigers were at the Bernhard Center on Friday for a luncheon sponsored by the WMU baseball team and the WMU Family Expirience Office.

“I graduated from here in ‘78 and of course it hasn’t changed a bit. It looks exactly the same. But some of my fondest memo-ries in life are associated with being here at Western Michigan University,” Dombrowski said.

After spending his freshman year playing football at Cor-nell, Dombrowski transferred to WMU where he planned on playing football when he was again eligible after having to sit out a year. Dombrowski tried out for the WMU baseball team also where he credits the former WMU baseball coach.

“Dombrowski, you’re not good enough,” former WMU

baseball coach Frank Decker told him.

After Dombrowski’s speech, Tigers broadcaster Dan Dicker-son introduced the Tiger players in attendance who fielded ques-tions filled out by the crowd at-tending the luncheon. Catcher Alex Avila confirmed that there were no odd rituals in the locker room.

Before the luncheon, Dom-browski and the Tigers met with the WMU baseball team, as well as the press, where they could talk about the upcoming season.

After winning their first American League Central cham-pionship in 24 years, the Tigers

are expecting a lot out of them-selves and Brandon Inge said this is still the case even with the recent news of catcher and des-ignated hitter Victor Martinez being out for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear.

“Our whole team is going to have to step up and produce and for us this is a pretty good moti-vating factor,” said Inge.

Despite the loss of Martinez, Dombrowski is not worried about trying to replace player who batted .330 and had 12 home runs with 103 RBI’s.

“There are a lot of designated hitters out there and I’m confi-

dent that today we could sign a guy today that could hit .260 with 15 home runs and knock in 65 to 70 runs,” said Dombrowski.

“We’re waiting to see what comes together because once you sign a player he’s with you and we gotta make sure if that’s what were going to do, that it is the right move.”

Following spring training, the Tigers open the season at Comerica Park when they open up against the Boston Red Sox. American League Cy Young Award Winner and league MVP Justin Verlander will be the opening day pitcher for the Ti-gers.

Detroit Tigers field campus luncheon event

Broncos stomp Central at home

The No. 8 Western Michi-gan University hockey team was swept in a series for the first time since March 5, 2010 this week-end against No. 20 Miami Uni-versity at Steve Cady Arena in Oxford, Ohio.

On Friday, the Broncos fell 3-1 after Miami junior forward, Reilly Smith’s hat trick.

Junior defenseman Luke Wit-kowski netted the lone goal for the Broncos and freshman goal-tender Frank Slubowski tallied 28 saves in the loss.

Smith scored his first goal at

the 4:16 mark of the first period with assists from freshman for-wards Austin Czarnik and Jim-my Mullin.

Witkowski put the Broncos on the board with a power play goal at the 8:34 mark of the first period with assists from fresh-man forward Justin Kovacs and senior forward Greg Squires.

Smith scored again at the 12:57 mark of the second quar-ter on a short handed goal with an assist from Czarnik. Smith completed the hat trick at the 10:22 mark of the third period, again getting assists from Mullin and Czarnik.

The Broncos were outshot

31-27 with the Red Hawks notching at least ten shots in each period. The Broncos were 1-of-4 on the power play with eight shot attempts and the Red Hawks were 0-of-1 with two shots.

On Saturday, the Broncos were shutout 4-0. Slubowski (8-6-3) made nine saves in his second straight loss.

Smith continued his hot streak by scoring at the 12:13 mark of the first period with an assist from Czarnik. The Red Hawks did not score again until the 4:33 mark of the third peri-od. This time it was Mullin with assists from freshman defense-

man Ben Paulides and senior goalkeeper Connor Knapp.

Senior forward Alden Hirschfield scored at the 12:16 mark with assists from fresh-man forward Cody Murphy and freshman forward Blake Cole-man. Freshman forward Tyler Biggs scored the final goal at the 12:40 mark with assists from se-nior forward Trent Vogelhuber and junior forward Curtis McK-enzie.

The Broncos actually outshot the Red Hawks 22-19. WMU was 0-of-5 on the power play with three shot attempts while Miami was 0-of-3 with two shots.

The Broncos fall to 12-9-5

overall with a 9-6-3-3 record in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. The Broncos are now tied with the Red Hawks for second in the conference (33 Pts.) with Miami holding the tiebreaker. Both teams are two points behind Ohio State Uni-versity for first place.

The Broncos face Bowl-ing Green State University this weekend in a home and home series. The teams will play at Lawson Ice Arena Friday and in Bowling Green on Saturday with both matches beginning at 7:05 p.m.

Western hockey swept in weekend seriesBy Patrick Littleton Staff Reporter

By Tyler PeaseStaff Reporter

By Bryan PaasStaff Reporter

Hao Zhang/Western HeraldPoint guard Mike Douglas attempts to manuever around Central Chippewas.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Western Michigan Uni-versity men’s tennis team fell 7-0 to the 29th-ranked Indi-ana Hoosiers at the IU Indoor Tennis Center in Blooming-ton, according to WMU Broncos.

In singles play, Ross VanderPloeg posted the best chance of taking a point from Indiana, WMU Broncos states. VanderPloeg rallied in the No. 4 singles match, tak-ing the second set against Dimitrije Trasic 6-2, tying the match at one set apiece. A tiebreaker followed, in which Trasic took the set 12-10.

The Broncos return home to West Hills Athletic Club on Friday, Jan. 27, where they will host Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne and Wisconsin —Green Bay, WMU Broncos states.

-Andrew Cooper Copy Editor

The Western Michigan University women’s tennis team faces a 7-0 loss follow-ing a Sunday game against the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. The Broncos are now 0-1 this season, according to WMU Broncos.

The Broncos made their 2011-2012 season debut against the Michigan Wolver-ines, who are considered to be a national championship contender. WMU faced three nationally-ranked singles players and one nationally-ranked doubles player, but gave it their all before the loss, WMU Broncos states.

-Andrew Cooper Copy Editor

Western Michigan Univer-sity track and field player Iris Campbell won the 400 meter dash and ended the Notre Dame Invitaitonal on a good note Saturday afternoon, ac-cording to WMU Broncos.

Campbell, a junior from Emmett, Mich., was the sole Bronco to capture a title dur-ing the meet. Her time in the dash was 55.14 seconds, out-scoring Notre Dame’s Natalie Geiger by 1.78 seconds and leaving the competition in the dust. WMU returns to Indi-ana next Friday for the Indi-ana Relays in Bloomington, according to WMU Broncos.

-Andrew Cooper Copy Editor

Broncos shutout by Indiana Hoosiers

Broncos fall to Wolverines

Bronco captures title in invitational

Correction

Men’sTennis

WoMen’sTennis

Track and Field

In our Nov. 7, 2011 issue, the Western Herald made several mistakes in “Family sees fourth generation WMU graduate.” We are deeply sorry for these errors. Douglas Thomas has nine grandchildren and their daughter’s name is Tamara. Their granddaughter, Rebecca, is a senior at WMU. His moth-er’s maiden name was Daniels. Their great granddaughter, Addison is seven months old.

The competition’s getting harder, the focus is increasing, and the goals are becoming clos-er for one team here at Western. The WMU Synchronized Skat-ing teams are nearing the end of their competitive season, having already competed in three com-petitions and skating at multiple home hockey games thus far. It may seem like the girls are al-most done, but there are still big goals in the near future.

Both Western Michigan Skat-ing teams, senior and collegiate level, have one more competi-tion in the regular season where they can both qualify to skate at a National competition in Mas-sachusetts.

“So far I think that the sea-son has gone really well for both teams. Collegiate has walked away with two medals so far, one being a gold! The senior team has also been doing very well, considering senior is the highest level in synchronized skating, the competition is ex-tremely competitive. Our goal at

the senior level was just to im-prove our scores from previous competitions and so far we have done so,” said Jori Erlander, a skater on both the senior and collegiate teams and a junior at WMU.

The girls must continue to make improvements over the next week before this next com-petition, which will be held, at Compuware Arena in Plym-outh. This upcoming competi-tion, the Midwestern & Pacific Coast Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships, is the one competition out of the

season that is qualifying for the National Competition in Mas-sachusetts so it is considered the most important competition of the girl’s synchronized skating season.

“I think that we have worked extremely hard throughout the season so I am excited to see it pay off. If we continue to imple-ment the changes and advice our coach has given us, I’m sure that we will see a great final outcome with the last and most important competitions in our season,” said Carley Mitchell, a freshman skater on the colle-

giate level team.Both teams plan on placing

high at mids and earning the privilege to skate in Massachu-setts for the National competi-tion.

“Last year our collegiate team earned a Nationals medal and we want the same thing to hap-pen this year. I believe that if we keep working as hard as we are now, we can take home another National medal. For the senior division, if we place in the top 6 at nationals, we earn a spot on Team USA. This means that the following year our senior team

can represent the USA interna-tionally. Although the competi-tion is very hard at this level, I think that we could be top 6 this year at Nationals and earn that Team USA title back. Being able to compete against all of the best teams in the nation, and know-ing that you are one of those great teams is a real privilege. This will be my 10th Synchro-nized Skating nationals and I am just as thrilled and honored as the first time I went,” said Er-lander.

Monday, January 23, 20128

Katrina Murphy/Western HeraldMembers of Western Michigan University’s synchronized skating team performs.

Broncos prepare to skate in nationals

By katie Krausman Staff Reporter