Monday, February 21, 2011 www.lanthorn.com THE STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER AT GRAND VALLEY Lanthorn GRAND VALLEY A A3 Opinion A4 News B1 Sports B4 Laker Life B5 Marketplace What’s Inside B lanthorn.com Inside this issue GVL / Nicole Lamson B1 Hockey wins central region Laker men seeded No. 1 as they head to ACHA National Championship Courtesy Photo / Eric Coulter A4 Gen Ed program changes WRT 305 eliminated from GV’s general education requirements View: Video of Men’s Basketball GV Lakers vs. Findlay Oilers PCs vs. Macs A&E: Paranormal tour to explore Grand Rapids ghosts Men’s basketball team beats University of Findlay before falling to Wayne State University. Findlay victory GVL / Eric Coulter Laker Life | B6 Not just a lecture Actors come together to portray former presidents in “Reagan’s Heroes,” the Hauenstein Center’s celebration of Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday. Grand Valley State University stu- dents will get a chance to learn about space and how it can help the envi- ronment from NASA scientist Les Johnson. Johnson, deputy manager for NASA’s Advanced Concepts Office, will hold a public talk, “How Space Development May Help Solve Our Energy and Environmental Problems on Earth,” at 7:30 p.m. next Monday at the Loosemore Auditorium. According to NASA’s website, the ACO “develops new and innova- tive concepts for subsystems, space- craft systems, payloads, transporta- tion systems, and mission and system architectures.” Brett Bolen, an assistant professor of physics who has known Johnson for many years, said Johnson will vis- it GVSU to reach out to the students. “Part of his job at NASA is to perform outreach to the general pub- lic, so he was very willing to come to NASA scientist to talk space, energy O n the cusp of midterms, demanding academic schedules for music stu- dents at Grand Valley State University have many voicing concerns over the lack of available practice space in the Performing Arts Center. “We have very few classrooms and spaces for class or rehearsal, and sometimes they aren’t sufficient facilities for our goals as a depart- ment,” said Adam Brennan, a soph- omore music education major. “And as more faculty are being recruited, practice rooms are being converted into offices, rooms for specific in- strumentalists, etc. This makes it very difficult to be able to reach practice requirements or goals on a weekly basis, as the times when rooms are available don’t necessarily match up with one’s availability to practice.” Danny Phipps, chair of the music department, said the conversion of practice spaces to faculty offices or other specialty rooms was not ideal, but still necessary. “Do I have any more plans to convert what we have in the PAC for more academic programs?” Phipps Concern surfaces over PAC practice room space Sustainability has become a com- mon word on the Grand Valley State University campuses. But despite the local and national recognition the uni- versity has received for sustainability efforts, many members of the GVSU community are still unaware of the people who do the work: the Sustain- able Community Development Initia- tive. The Sustainable Community Devel- opment Initiative (SCDI) was created in 2006 as part of the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies in an effort to provide university administration, faculty, staff and students, as well as the community, with the skills neces- sary to become better stewards of the environment and responsible global citizens in the work force, communi- ties and family life. “I think the SCDI team has done an excellent job at spreading aware- ness about the importance of sustain- able habits throughout campus,” said GVSU President Thomas J. Haas. “Norman Christopher and his team of talented and driven faculty, staff and students do an astounding job at creating awareness and educating the campus about being sustainable. It’s so critical that Grand Valley’s commu- nity understands why and how to be sustainable and the team at SCDI ac- complishes that by providing campus Sustainability initative active in all aspects of GV community GVL / Eric Coulter Space issues: Sophomore Steven Borg uses a practice room in the Performing Arts Center. The number of rooms are limited, sometimes making it difficult for students to practice. GVL / Eric Coulter Green team: The SCDI (pictured) began in 2006. Courtesy photo / Les Johnson Scientific inquiry: Les Johnson hold a piece of solar sail material. He will speak at GV Feb. 28. lack perfect harmony Music students, midterms and practice room space “...the times when rooms are available don’t necessarily match up with one’s availability to practice. ” -Adam Brennan Sophomore music education major By Anya Zentmeyer GVL News Editor Practice Rooms 17 9 in the PAC in Murray for 210 music majors See Practice rooms, A2 By Molly Waite GVL Assistant News Editor SCDI team works across disciplines See Sustainability, A2 Eric Higgins GVL Intern Chris Slattery’s column: See NASA, A2 Sports | B1 Courtesy Photo / Google Images Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Transcript
M onday, Februar y 21, 2011 w w w. l a n t h o r n . co m
THE STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER AT GRAND VALLEY
LanthornGrand Valley
A A3 OpinionA4 News
B1 SportsB4 Laker LifeB5 Marketplace
What’s Inside
B
lanthorn.com
Inside this issue
GVL / Nicole Lamson
B1
Hockey wins central region
Laker men seeded No. 1 as they head to ACHA National Championship
Courtesy Photo / Eric Coulter
A4
Gen Ed program changesWRT 305 eliminated from GV’s general education requirements
View: Video ofMen’s BasketballGV Lakers vs. Findlay Oilers
PCs vs. Macs
A&E: Paranormal tour to explore Grand Rapids ghosts
Men’s basketball team beats University of Findlay before falling to Wayne State University.
Findlay victory
GVL / Eric Coulter
Laker Life | B6
Not just a lectureActors come together to portray former presidents in “Reagan’s Heroes,” the Hauenstein Center’s celebration of Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday.
Grand Valley State University stu-dents will get a chance to learn about space and how it can help the envi-ronment from NASA scientist Les Johnson.
Johnson, deputy manager for NASA’s Advanced Concepts Office, will hold a public talk, “How Space Development May Help Solve Our Energy and Environmental Problems on Earth,” at 7:30 p.m. next Monday
at the Loosemore Auditorium.According to NASA’s website,
the ACO “develops new and innova-tive concepts for subsystems, space-craft systems, payloads, transporta-tion systems, and mission and system architectures.”
Brett Bolen, an assistant professor of physics who has known Johnson for many years, said Johnson will vis-it GVSU to reach out to the students.
“Part of his job at NASA is to perform outreach to the general pub-lic, so he was very willing to come to
NASA scientist to talk space, energy
On the cusp of midterms, demanding academic schedules for music stu-dents at Grand Valley
State University have many voicing concerns over the lack of available practice space in the Performing Arts Center.
“We have very few classrooms and spaces for class or rehearsal, and sometimes they aren’t sufficient facilities for our goals as a depart-
ment,” said Adam Brennan, a soph-omore music education major. “And as more faculty are being recruited, practice rooms are being converted into offices, rooms for specific in-strumentalists, etc. This makes it very difficult to be able to reach practice requirements or goals on a weekly basis, as the times when rooms are available don’t necessarily match up with one’s availability to practice.”
Danny Phipps, chair of the music department, said the conversion of practice spaces to faculty offices or other specialty rooms was not ideal, but still necessary.
“Do I have any more plans to convert what we have in the PAC for more academic programs?” Phipps
Concern surfaces over PAC practice room space
Sustainability has become a com-mon word on the Grand Valley State University campuses. But despite the local and national recognition the uni-versity has received for sustainability efforts, many members of the GVSU community are still unaware of the people who do the work: the Sustain-able Community Development Initia-tive.
The Sustainable Community Devel-opment Initiative (SCDI) was created in 2006 as part of the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies in an effort to provide university administration, faculty, staff and students, as well as the community, with the skills neces-sary to become better stewards of the environment and responsible global citizens in the work force, communi-ties and family life.
“I think the SCDI team has done an excellent job at spreading aware-ness about the importance of sustain-able habits throughout campus,” said GVSU President Thomas J. Haas. “Norman Christopher and his team of talented and driven faculty, staff and students do an astounding job at creating awareness and educating the campus about being sustainable. It’s so critical that Grand Valley’s commu-nity understands why and how to be sustainable and the team at SCDI ac-complishes that by providing campus
Sustainability initative active in all aspects of GV community
GVL / Eric CoulterSpace issues: Sophomore Steven Borg uses a practice room in the Performing Arts Center. The number of rooms are limited, sometimes making it difficult for students to practice.
GVL / Eric CoulterGreen team: The SCDI (pictured) began in 2006.
Courtesy photo / Les JohnsonScientific inquiry: Les Johnson hold a piece of solar sail material. He will speak at GV Feb. 28.
lack perfect harmonyMusic students, midterms and practice room space
“...the times when rooms are available
don’t necessarily match up with one’s
availability to practice.”
-Adam BrennanSophomore music
education major
By Anya Zentmeyer GVL News Editor
Practice Rooms
17 9in the PAC in Murray
for
210music majors
See Practice rooms, A2
By Molly Waite GVL Assistant News Editor
SCDI team works across disciplines
See Sustainability, A2
Eric Higgins GVL Intern
Chris Slattery’s column:
See NASA, A2
Sports | B1
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
NewsGRAND VALLeY
Grand Valley LanthornMonday, February 21, 2011A2
BRIEFS!GV to recognize National Eating Disorder Screening Day
The Counseling Center will be offering free and confidential eating disorder screenings Thursday in conjunction with National Eating Disorder Screening Day.
The screenings, which take less than 15 minutes to complete, will be available during drop-in hours across campus. Screenings on the Allendale Campus will be offered in Room 204 of the Student Services Building from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Kirkhof lobby from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in Kleiner Commons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, in Room 137 of North C from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and in the Campus Rec Center from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Pew Campus screenings are available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the DeVos Center Student Project Area and the Center for Health Sciences Canepa lobby.
Online screenings are also available year-round on the Counseling Center’s website, www.gvsu.edu/counsel.
GV NEWS
1
ACES Office launches alcohol and drug survey
Last week, the GVSU Campus Education and Services Office (ACES) selected 4,000 students at random to receive an e-mail invitation to participate in a campus-wide survey on drug and alcohol-related issues. The survey was created by the Core Institute at the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and is part of an outreach program by the Counseling & Career Development Center.
The CORE survey is anonymous and confidential in the hope that students will be honest and open about their experiences. This is also the first time in several years that the ACES Office has asked students to help examine the climate of alcohol and drug use on campus. The results will be used to plan future programs and services on campus, as well as address areas of health
2
Student organization recognition awards
The Office of Student Life is now accepting nominations for the 2011 Recognition Awards. The awards recognize student organizations, individuals, and programs for effort and making an impact on campus. Nominations will be accepted up until March 18 at 5 p.m. To nominate someone or an organization, go to www.gvsu.edu/studentlife/.
Winners will be honored at the April 21 Awards Banquette at 4 p.m. in the Grand River Room in Kirkhof Center. If you have any questions, please visit the Student Organization Center in 008 Kirkhof Center or www.gvsu.edu/studentlife/soc. You can also call or email at (616) 331-2360 and [email protected].
Writing Center now accepting applications
The Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors is now hiring writing consultants. Students of all majors are invited to apply to join the Writing Center staff for the 2011-2012 school year.
The Writing Center offers flexible scheduling, and on-campus employment that accepts work-study. Undergraduate writing consultants earn $8.60 per hour and graduate consultants earn $10.50 per hour.
Applications are due March 18 at 5 p.m. The application, along with frequently asked questions, is available online at www.gvsu.edu/wc. All applications must be accompanied by a faculty recommendation and two writing samples.
For questions or more information, visit the Writing Center in Lake Ontario Hall 120 or call 616-331-2922.
3
4
and safety for the campus community.
Once the survey is completed, students may enter a prize drawing for one of four Wiis or iPod Nanos. The survey will remain open until March 4 and the results will be released by late April. For further information or questions, contact Eric Klingensmith in the ACES Office at 616-331-2537 or [email protected].
Volume 45, Number 44
Grand Valley Lanthorn
The Grand Valley Lanthorn is published twice-weekly by Grand Valley State University students 62 times a year. One copy of this newspaper is available free of charge to any member of the Grand Valley Community. For additional copies, please contact our busi-ness offices.POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to Grand Valley Lanthorn, 0051 Kirkhof, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, 49401
CML materials will be consolidated above Steelcase Library at Pew Campus in the DeVos Center CML.
Coach John Bancheri and Carey Mankin’s names were misspelled in the rowing story of the Feb. 17 issue.
The Grand Valley Lanthorn is published under the
authorization of the GVSU Newspaper Advisory Board.
Corrections
ADVERTISING STAFFAdvertising Manager
KEVIN HAUSFELD Advertising RepsKIm VERELLEN
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SAmANTHA BUTCHER
News EditorANYA ZENTmEYER
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said. “No, but I didn’t in the first place. I would have never taken that space unless I had no other choice.”
Phipps said the growing con-cern is not unique to the student body – faculty in the music de-partment as well as the adminis-tration have all been advocating for the same goal, but a hierar-chy of construction needs and a lack of funding from Lansing has the issue of practice space at the PAC lower on the ladder than other building projects cur-rently in the works.
“There’s been some building that if you’re a student here, it doesn’t seem like you are being considered,” Phipps said. “But the building that has been go-ing on have been buildings with revenue, like dorms or places to eat.”
James Moyer, assistant vice president for Facilities Plan-ning, said GVSU always con-siders student concerns.
“The University takes stu-dent concerns very seriously, as students are our reasons for ex-isting,” he said.
With other building proj-ects like the new William H. Seidman building fueled with private funding, and little to no money coming in from Lansing for building construction, Moy-er said the university reviews current space conditions and notes the area of greatest need. He said the current Mary Ide-ma Pew Library construction projects caps the list of building concerns since replacing a cur-rent library designed for only 8,000 people has a wider impact on the student body.
With that said, Moyer said the PAC is certainly not on the bottom of the priority list.
“Providing and retaining student study space has been a priority in the Performing Arts Center and the university as a whole,” he said. “We will con-
tinue to work on solutions for the music practice space and continue to be extraordinarily proud of our student musicians’ accomplishment under what we know are less than ideal condi-tions.”
Although space under Mur-ray Living Center has been des-ignated for additional practice spaces, Brennan said the com-bination of cold weather and fragile instruments during the commute from the PAC to the practice rooms at Murray often leads to expensive damages.
However, Phipps said chal-lenges like Brennan’s are among ones that musicians face on a regular basis.
“We give a lot of concerts in Cook-DeWitt, and it’s less of a distance to walk to Cook-DeW-itt than it is to walk over to Mur-ray,” he said. “I’m not denigrat-ing what they are saying and I’m not demeaning it; it’s just that I can’t justify the universi-ty putting that ahead of some-thing that they don’t have at all. They can’t put a science lab in the basement of Murray, but it’s a nice space if they can let us practice there. And that’s what they’ve done.”
Currently, a first-come-first-serve scheduling system is in place for the practice rooms at the PAC in an effort to maintain as much efficient use as pos-sible. Phipps said in the mean time, students who have the most difficulties with the Mur-ray commute need to be mind-ful of the sign-ups to ensure a spot in the PAC.
“If that’s the case then you need to be sure you’re first in line to sign up,” he said. “We have a policy for sign-up and the designated date on the first week of each semester; there’s a time and it begins at 8 a.m., and kids start lining up early so they can be sure they’re in the PAC.”
With 92 percent of the mu-sic department contained in the PAC, Phipps said GVSU mea-sures up well against many oth-er universities that spread de-partments through more than just two buildings.
“So Grand Valley, they’re doing the best they can,” he said. “It’s not perfect; it’s not what we want to have in the end, but for now it is at least affording them a space that’s a nice space to practice in. All I can keep do-ing is advocating.”
Johnson, who has worked with NASA for 21 years, will give two talks at GVSU – one about solar sails for physics students and the other about space development and the environment for the general public.
Johnson said his discus-sion topics are important so people can know about what NASA is doing.
“I think it’s important for students to know what some of the cutting-edge tech-nologies are and how what they’re studying directly ap-plies to what were working on,” he said. “A big part of it is to basically go and inter-act with the students and let them know what were work-ing on and why it’s important
that what they’re doing will relate to how we do things in the future.”
Bolen said Johnson’s pub-lic talk at GVSU will be im-portant for students because he will discuss subjects that affect the entire planet.
“Energy and the environ-ment are two of the greatest problems facing the U.S. and the world today,” Bolen said. “It is unreasonable to think that conservation alone will solve these problems. Tech-nology will have to play a role if we are to seriously deal with these issues. NASA is attempting to propose some solutions to these seem-ingly intractable problems. I hope that Mr. Johnson’s talk will raise awareness in the GVSU community of both these problems and some interest in NASA’s proposed solutions.”
The SCDI team is com-prised of 15 members, nine of whom are students.
“I enjoy being part of a team where others share my commitment to sustainabil-ity and leading a sustainable lifestyle,” said Emily Martin, the SCDI graduate assistant. “It leads to great conversa-tions and idea-sharing as we all continue on our journey to an ever-greater commitment to sustainability.”
The team has been in-volved with almost every aspect of the GVSU com-munity, helping to establish many projects and programs to integrate sustainability into GVSU’s liberal educa-tion foundation.
“Sustainability can be ap-plied to so many programs and majors at Grand Valley, and the team at SCDI has done an excellent job at shap-ing courses to coincide with a vast array of programs,” Haas said.
Some of the SCDI’s pro-grams include the creation of a comprehensive campus recycling program, a com-mitment to LEED building design and construction, reg-ular university-wide campus sustainability reporting using
the triple bottom line perfor-mance indicators, and the de-velopment of a community garden and weekly farmer’s markets.
The project manager for the SCDI team, Bart Bar-tels, said that he is extremely pleased with the team.
“I am privileged to work with such dedicated individ-uals,” Bartels said. “Every day is a new adventure with interesting challenges, and I can count on the members of the team to give me insight from their unique perspec-tives.”
The biggest feather in GVSU’s cap for sustainabil-ity work is the considerable and wide-spread recognition that the SCDI team has re-ceived in the last few years.
GVSU was named as the only Michigan school in the 2009 Kaplan Guide of cutting edge green colleges and universities, received the 2008 U.S. Green Build-ing Council’s Excellence in Green Building Curriculum Recognition Award and the 2008 National Sustainability Innovator Award from the Sustainable Endowments Institute and received the Energy Star designation by the U.S. Environmental Pro-tection Agency for the Mark A. Murray Living Center. [email protected]
Sustainability continued from page A1
NASAcontinued from page A1
Practice roomscontinued from page A1
Dear Editor,Thank you for your article on
Thursday, February 17 regarding di-etary restrictions and food allergies. As a graduate student, much of my time is spent on Pew Campus and having food allergies makes eating on campus is not only a challenge, but a risk as well. I have 14 different food allergies including wheat, soy, some nuts and a variety of differ-ent fruits and vegetables. At least a handful of these could kill me. In high school, I went into anaphylactic shock after taking a bite of pine-apple. It was terrifying. Mom was out of town, and Dad’s “Um, take an aspirin?” didn’t help the swell-ing of my tongue, throat and face or make the rash go away. It felt like I had a butcher knife in my lungs and was breathing through a coffee filter because I was going into respiratory arrest. A quick call to the neighbor, a nurse, identified my symptoms as anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction. She advised that I take an-tihistamine and go to the emergency room. I ended up drinking an entire bottle of children’s liquid allergy medicine and sleeping for about 14 hours instead.
I have since learned to strictly avoid the many foods I am allergic to, but it is not easy. I mostly try to avoid eating on campus because I honestly don’t trust the kitchens. I’ve seen workers cross-contaminate spoons and knives at different dining locations on campus, including the
smoothie shop in Kirkhof, and I can’t imagine what they are doing where I can’t see them. Whenever I have asked staff to check ingredients or if an allergen is in something, I generally get blank stares. When I explain I am allergic to whatever I am asking about, they either don’t take me seriously or are confused but try to find out. At this point, I’ve pretty much given up. I have worked in food service myself for over a decade and learned a lot over the years. It’s not a matter of laziness or not caring; it’s about education and proper food safety.
Last year, I wrote a letter and hand delivered it to a manager at Pew Campus Dining which ex-pressed my issue and asked that they please put labels on items, noting that food allergies and Celiac disease are serious and becoming more and more common. I got an email saying it was a matter they took seriously and would look into or something like that. Nothing was ever done. I’ve written comment cards, too, but at this point I don’t feel like anyone cares. I do not understand why on earth it would be so challenging to have labels on food items. Or how about a sign by the soups with an ingredient list—I’ve asked this of numerous staff and every time they react like they’ve never heard any-one ask that before.
What the faculty and staff at Campus Dining, as well as most of the world, don’t realize is that their
lack of food safety or inattention to detail in food preparation and labeling could literally kill people like me.
A friend in my program has Celiac disease and she is terrified of eating on campus most of the time. I’ve met other students with allergies or gluten intolerance that simply avoid buying food on campus. But being on campus for hours at a time makes bringing enough food for the day a challenge and let’s be honest, a side salad really doesn’t cut it for dinner before a three hour class. The campus dining representative quoted in the article made it sound like we never speak up—either the people we talk to don’t share our concerns with Campus Dining or those you interviewed are out of touch. Maybe there is a difference between the campuses? Don’t get me wrong, the staff at Pew do a great job in other areas; I love the chicken and rice soup and those sandwiches and wraps look tasty, even though I can’t eat them. I just wouldn’t trust them with my life.
For more information on Celiac Disease and food allergies, check out these websites: http://www.celiac.com/ and http://www.foodallergy.org/
Like established universities that have come before, Grand Valley State University has made a dedicated push for expan-sion in recent years.
The university has focused much of that expansion on large-scale projects, such as the Pew Campus, the Niemeyer building, the South Campus Apartments and GVSU’s latest endeavor, the Mary Idema Pew Library. These projects, some of which were privately funded, filled holes and impacted large numbers of students, but they also carry a hefty price tag.
After Gov. Rick Snyder announced a proposed 22-percent budget cut in Michigan for public education funding, it seems likely that the administration will hold off on lower-priority projects. It also seems likely that revenue-producing projects, such as dorm buildings, will take precedent.
The university has a responsibility to its students to pro-vide the services they need as well as the responsibility to solve problems when they arise. GVSU has done an excellent job of initiating projects with big, campus-wide impacts – new living centers have expanded on-campus housing op-tions for students, new Pew Campus buildings have expanded classroom availability and the new library will expand both library capacity and accessibility.
However, it’s easy for smaller, less profitable projects to get lost in the shuffle of budget crunches and cutbacks. Smaller-scale projects, such as the expansion of practice rooms for music majors in the Performing Arts Center or the establishment of a larger space available for the Language Learning Center, may not give the university a monetary pay-back, but they will make a noticeable difference in the uni-versity climate. Happier students and stronger programs will draw more people to GVSU, and isn’t that really the point?
With Snyder’s budget cut, we will all have to make sa-crafices in order to ensure that the university can continue to educate and prepare students for their future, and anyone unwilling to cope with such sacrifices ask too much of a uni-versity that has already done a great deal in order to cater to the financial needs of its students through willingly adopted pay freezes for faculty and staff and freezes on housing rates for the 2011-12 school year, a first at GVSU.
At the same time, GVSU has a responsibility to all of its students, not just those with the loudest voices. While the university’s large-scale projects have been and continue to be successful, it will be important to find a way to keep budget setbacks from cutting off improvements that keep students happy with the university.
As the university continues to extend throughout Allendale and Grand Rapids, students’ needs should remain the top priority in expansion efforts.
Well-balanced growth
GVL STUDENT OPINION
YOUR THOUGHTS
EDITORIAL CARTOONEDITORIAL
GVL OPINION POLICY
Valley VoteDoes Campus Dining have enough
healthy options?
Yes: 39% No: 61%
Should expansion be a priority for GVSU?
This week’s question: Vote online at Lanthorn.com
Editorial Page Board
Editor in Chief Business ManagerManaging EditorNews Editor
Emanuel JohnsonKim Sander
Samantha ButcherAnya Zentmeyer
The student-run newspaper of Grand Valley State University
The ultimate goal of the Grand Valley Lanthorn opinion page is to stimulate discussion and action on topics of interest to the Grand Valley Community.
Student opinions do not reflect those of the Grand Valley Lanthorn.
The Grand Valley Lanthorn welcomes reader viewpoints and offers three vehicles of expression for reader opinions: letters to the editor, guest columns and phone responses.
Letters must include the author’s name and be accompanied by current picture identification if dropped off in person. Letters will be checked by an employee of the Grand Valley Lanthorn.
Letters appear as space permits each
issue. The limit for letter length is one page, single spaced.
The editor reserves the right to edit and condense letters and columns for length restrictions and clarity.
All letters must be typed.The Grand Valley Lanthorn will not be
held responsible for errors that appear in print as a result of transcribing handwritten letters or e-mail typographic errors.
The name of the author may be withheld for compelling reasons.
The content, information and views expressed are not approved by nor necessarily represent those of the university, its Board of Trustees, officers, faculty and staff.
“A building dedicated to computer labs.”
Daina Salayon SeniorPublic RelationsFerndale, Mich.
“They should probably work on getting more housing”.
Claire Victory SeniorElementary EducationByron Center, Mich.
“Another food place, like a known restaurant”.
Alysa Gregory FreshmanPre-VetGrand Rapids, Mich.
“They need to expand the Rec Center. The Rec Center gets really packed between 4-7 when everyone has time to go”.
What should the university focus on in future expansion projects?
GVL / Jacob Bowen
Oh yeah! None of this is my fault!
Last Friday, I was in the middle of a very bad week. First my Republican memorabilia John Baehner pumpkin came in the mail all smushed. Then my dangerously obese cat, Simba-the-Hutt, escaped his cage and ate the neighbor’s puppy. But all my self-pity was eradicated when I heard about what’s been going on in the life of entertainer Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus.
Despite disadvantages stemming from a drastic case of chinless-ness, Miley has managed to make a notable career for herself in both television and music. But when photos of Miley smoking salvia from a bong exposed what she really meant when she sang “Party
in the U.S.A.”, Daddy Cyrus was obviously unhappy.
During an interview with GQ Magazine, Billy Ray said he “defi-nitely” thought his daughter’s antics were in part the result of an attack by none other than the infamous Satan.
That’s when I got to thinking – maybe Satan was also causing the problems in my life. After the landslide Republican victory during the last election, I’m sure Nancy Pelosi unleashed whatever hellish force she hides behind those cold, glassy eyes. And as for Simba-the-Hut? Everyone thought that cat was possessed by the devil in the first place. It just makes sense.
But then, to my horror, I read that Billy Ray’s theory about the devil’s conspirators. The atheists. He told GQ that every morning, on the way to the Hannah Montana set, he and Miley would pass an Adopt-a-High-way bllboard sponsored by Atheists United. He called it a “physical
sign” that could’ve said his family would be attacked by Satan.
I agree the Hannah Daddy! The only highway Atheists United wants you to adopt is the highway to hell! Although, I’ll admit - until Billy Ray mentioned it, I had no idea that the forces of evil posted “impend-ing doom” notifications through commercial advertisements. But now that I do know, I keep out a watchful eye for signs of potential omens – such as the Twilight poster I saw in the theater the other day. It’s an obviously sign that the devil will soon attempt to convert me to a lonely, malcontent soccer mom.
Good news people! Billy Ray Cyrus has shown me the light. Now I know that not even the bad grades or the destruction of my Farmville farm were my fault. It was all the devil.
Unless this was all just a cheap way to avoid taking the blame. Man, that’d be a shame, wouldn’t it?
If the Michigan Film Fes-tival sounds familiar, it is only because Grand Valley State University senior Jen Pider cre-ated it.
Scheduled to graduate from GVSU in August of this year, Pider is pursuing a liberal stud-ies degree with an emphasis on international planning and social justice. Pider started the Michigan Film Festival in 2009. The festival finished its second successful year last November.
“The festival, as it stands today, is a collaborative effort between many individuals, though born from an idea which originated in me,” Pider said. “Because of my work with the
Waterfront Film Festival, I was attracted to the idea of having a film festival in downtown Grand Rapids. Waterfront gen-erally has a ‘Michigan Film House,’ a venue dedicated to showing Michigan-made films. Still, with the film incentives taking hold, the need for com-munity building amongst Mich-igan filmmakers was growing. By bringing together university professors, filmmakers, entre-preneurs and institution repre-sentatives to plan the event, we were able to fill that need.”
The mission of the Michigan Film Festival is to promote the Michigan perspective in film and the Michigan filmmaking community by sustaining an event that includes educational workshops, panel discussions and lectures, exhibition ven-
ues displaying recently crafted Michigan-made works, and partnerships between local enti-ties involved in supporting the Michigan film industry.
“I worked steadily toward the mission and relied heavily on those who believed in it,” Pider said. “Vision casting and asking for help definitely aided in assembling the right commit-tee members.”
Pider’s goal is to work toward producing international festivals for social justice issues.
“Even more than this, lately I’ve been considering ways to use the funds raised from these festivals,” Pider said. “I’ve been considering graduate work in sustainable territorial develop-ment. With this, I could use the festivals as a way to create awareness and raise funds for
refugees, using the money to develop sustainable practices in term of infrastructure, ag-riculture and economics. For me, a dream job would include the entertainment industry and creative people and working toward peace, justice and equal-ity.”
Pider is fulfilling her theme
requirement in a study abroad trip in Meknes, Morocco. This will be her third trip to Africa. In November of 2007 and 2008, she traveled to Algeria to visit the Saharawis, a refugee popu-lation of the Western Sahara (now occupied by Morocco).
“These visits to a Muslim people in desperation trans-
formed my ideas about global justice,” Pider said. “My role was to support American mu-sicians as they perform for and played with the Saharawi refu-gees. The experience taught me many cultural and logistical dif-ferences in our societies. Learn-ing to discern what aspects of my thoughts and daily routines are cultural from those that are universally human has proven to be a great skill which I will carry forward in my studies in Morocco.”
The American dream is to make money and be wealthy, but Pider’s priority is follow-ing her dream. While Pider at-tended Lake Michigan College, she changed majors from busi-ness to computer information technology, and then to general studies.
“It was difficult for me to follow my life’s vision of being an international festival planner when I was younger because there was a lot of pressure to make money, and my parents couldn’t see how I would do this in the entertainment indus-try, said Pider. “Still, I’m glad I learned more administrative skills during my younger years as I heavily rely upon them. Eventually, I switched majors to pursue the liberal studies pro-gram because of his advice to follow passions instead of the money.”
Michigan Film Festival founder hopes to combine entertainment, activism
As of fall of 2011, Grand Valley State University students will no longer be required to take the junior-level WRT 305 class, with the exception of stu-dents graduating in the spring/summer semester of this aca-demic year.
Chair of the general educa-tion committee Roger Gilles said with the change in the cur-riculum, the committee did not intend to devalue the role of writing in the general educa-tion program but to simplify the general education experience for students.
“I’m in the writing depart-ment and I believe strongly that we’re not doing that because we are going to, I believe, improve the instruction of writing within the general education program and make more rigorous the as-sessment of writing in the gen-eral education program,” Gilles said. “So we are eliminating a requirement but we’re building up the writing component of general education. And in the end, everyone agreed on that. “
Zach Conley, a Student Sen-ate representative for the gen-
eral education committee, said he is in full support of a change he believes reduced demands on students without sacrificing the quality of education.
“Essentially, the junior level writing requirement is no lon-ger a useful tool,” Conley said. “The path to graduation is diffi-cult enough without having un-necessary requirements placed upon students. So it has been discarded, the responsibility of evaluating student writing pro-ficiency instead couched com-fortably in the curriculum of each discipline.”
Gilles said the change has caused some ripples of frustra-tion among students who com-pleted the course or are current-ly completing the course.
“I’ve been thinking it’s kind of like having a tax cut go in place and your saying, ‘Well I wanted the tax cut last year. Why didn’t you reduce taxes from last year, give me a refund on the taxes I paid last year?’” he said. “But you know, you have to move forward, and we’re try-ing to deal with this requirement now and in the future.”
Although it will no longer be a general education require-ment, WRT 305 will still remain in the curriculum as an elective.
As a WRT 305 instructor, Gilles said he and the rest of the writ-ing faculty agree on the impor-tance of the class and hope that the new focus allows for WRT 305 to better mirror its original intentions – to work in tandem with the majors and try to help prepare students for the writing demands that they might face there.
“The WRT 305 course is seen as valuable by people who have taken it,” Gilles said. “It’s often not seen as valuable by people before they take it because they think of it as an external require-ment. But I’m hoping it has a new life as an elective.”
GV changes junior-level requirements for Fall 2011
Courtesy photo / gvsu.eduFestival founder: Senior Jen Pider started the Michigan Film Festival two years ago. The Grand Rapids-based festival aims to build a sense of community.
GVL / Eric CoulterClass cut: Junior Brittany Obetts works on a paper. Obetts and other Grand Valley State University students will no longer be required to take WRT 305 to graduate because of changes in the general education program at GVSU.
By Anya Zentmeyer GVL News Editor
WRT 305 dropped from general education curriculum in attempt to simplify graduation requirements for students
“The path to graduation is difficult enough without having unnecessaryrequirements placed upon students.”
-Zach ConleyStudent Senate representative
By Lauren Ringger GVL Staff Writer “For me, a dream
job would include the entertainment industry and creative people working toward peace, justice and equality.”
Track and FieldTune-up gives gvsu lasT meeT beFore gliac indoor championships
GLIAC Standings
The Grand Valley State University club gymnastics team kicked off its 2011 season last weekend with a first-place finish in the Flash Bash In-vitational at Kent State University.
The Lakers beat Kent State along with the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Buffalo in the team’s first meet since Dec. 11.
Freshman Amy Burke took first place in the vault with a score of 9.55 and was joined by junior Alexa Kit-son, whose 9.0 score was good for fourth place.
The Lakers dominated in the un-even bars at the tournament, where four Lakers finished in the top six. Ju-nior Alyssa Borgman won the event, Kitson finished third and underclass-men Bethany Ryder and Sarah Har-low finished fifth and sixth, respec-tively.
The Lakers will compete against nine other teams this weekend at the Clover Classic at the University of Notre Dame.
Women’s gymnasTics
earns FirsT-place Finish aT Flash bash
The Grand Valley State University men’s and women’s track teams hosted the Laker Tune-Up on Friday night, their last home indoor meet of the season. For the No. 8 men’s team, the distance medley relay team of Larry Julson, Chris Teitsma, Eric Phillips and Tyler Emmo-rey earned first place with a time of 9 minutes and 56.65 seconds. For the No. 1 women’s team, Lauren Buresh earned first place in the shot put and automati-cally qualified for nationals after a toss of 49-6 1/2. Both teams will travel to Saginaw, Mich., to compete in day one of the GLIAC Indoor Championships on Friday, starting at 3 p.m.
GVL Archive
Men’S BASkeTBALL:1. Ferris State (16-2, 20-5)2. Findlay (14-3, 21-3) 3. Hillsdale (14-3, 20-3)4. Wayne State (13-4, 18-6)5. GVSU (13-5, 18-7) 6. Michigan Tech (9-8, 14-10) 7. Lake Superior State (8-9, 14-10)8. Saginaw Valley (8-9, 12-12) 9. Northwood (7-10, 10-16)10. Ashland (6-11, 12-12) 11. Tiffin (5-12, 7-17)12. Northern Mich. (3-14, 8-16) 13. Lake Erie (2-15, 6-18)14. Ohio Dominican (2-15, 5-19)
WOMen’S BASkeTBALL1. Michigan Tech (16-1, 21-2)2. GVSU (13-5, 20-5)3. Lake Superior State (12-5, 15-8) 4. Findlay (11-6, 16-8) 5. Hillsdale (10-7, 16-7) 6. Ashland (10-7, 15-9)7. Northwood (10-7, 14-9)8. Tiffin (8-9, 14-10)9. Wayne State (7-10, 8-16) 10. Ferris State (7-11, 11-13) 11. Northern Mich. (6-11, 11-13)12. Saginaw Valley (4-13, 7-17)13. Ohio Dominican (4-13, 6-18)14. Lake Erie (2-15, 3-20)
Lakers seededNo.1
F or the fifth-straight season, the Grand Valley State University men’s hockey team is headed to nationals, with arguably its best shot ever to capture the
American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II National Championship.
The ACHA released its final regional rankings Friday, and for the first time in program history GVSU (19-10-1) fin-ished the season with a No. 1 ranking in the Central region.
After playing their way into nationals by winning the regional tournament last year, the Lakers get to skip regionals this year after receiving an automatic bid to the national championships in San Jose, Calif. on March 15. GVSU now gets three weeks off and will enter the tourna-ment with a No. 1 seed, which gives it an easier schedule than those of years past.
“Having that No. 1 seed for the first time ever in my career is something we have to take advantage of,” said fifth-year senior Grant Lyon. “When we go down there we have to be ready from the first drop of the puck and stay focused, and if we play how we know how to play and take care of our business, there’s not doubt in my mind we’ll come back with the National Championship.”
Though they had already clinched the No. 1 spot in the region, the Lakers still had two games to play this weekend. The team closed out the regular season with two drubbings of Northern Michigan University, winning Friday’s game 6-0 before a 12-0 onslaught on Saturday’s Senior Night.
Senior defenseman Jake Ochsner, who started playing with the team in 2007, said it was hard to believe he had played his last game at Georgetown Ice Arena.
“There was definitely a sense of nos-talgia; it kind of went by quick,” he said. “Seems like just yesterday that I was a freshman coming in here with a lot of these guys, and now it’s already over along with school, and it’s sad to see it go.”
The games were never close. The Lak-ers scored at least two goals in each of the weekend’s six periods, and senior goalies Josh Lavigne and Lyon recorded their first and second shutouts of the season, respectively.
Senior forward Jeff Anonick said when playing an inferior opponent, the team simply tries to make sure they avoid getting anyone injured or suspended.
“It’s almost not about getting better, it’s about not getting worse,” said Anon-ick, who had two goals and an assist on the weekend. “Trying not to make bad habits and instead playing our game. We just wanted to keep things going, make sure we stay healthy and not lose anyone to a team like that, because it’s just not worth it.”
With three weeks off before nationals, the Lakers will get plenty of practice time to work on several facets of their game, including the always-struggling power play which has been nonexistent for the majority of the season.
The team does not yet know who it will first face off against, but with years of national tournament experience for a majority of the players, the Lakers will know how to handle themselves when they travel to California in mid-March.
“We’re very confident and we’ve been playing well,” Ochsner said. “But at the same time you need to respect your op-ponents and come ready to play no mat-ter who you’re playing. We have to put our best games together, and every game on the ice, it’s a hard go. It’s 5 games in 5 days; it takes a toll, and we have to be ready for every team.”
GVSU will fly to San Jose on March 12, three days before the tournament starts. The Lakers’ first game will be on March 15, and the tournament will end with the National Championship round on March 19.
For a team that had won only three of its last six games, the Grand Valley State University men’s basketball team’s matchup with No. 3 University of Findlay represented a breaking point for the Lakers’ season - win and grab an NCAA Tournament berth, or lose and be on the proverbial tournament bubble.
The Lakers (18-6, 13-4 GLIAC) seized the for-mer and extended their home winning streak to 13 games by defeating the visiting Oilers (21-2, 14-2 GLIAC), 72-66.
Paced by junior guard James Thomas’ 18 points, GVSU fought punch-for-punch with the vaunted Oilers throughout the first half. After starting flat of-fensively in their last game against Lake Erie Col-lege, the Lakers pounded the glass and used crisp ball movement to find early momentum.
“I’ve been doing my role on the team, and that‘s just to shoot, score, rebound and play good defense,” said Thomas, who also had five rebounds. “With the injuries, I‘ve had to pick that up more, and I just knew in my mind that I was capable of doing that.”
Rebounding proved to be one of the biggest differences in the game for the Lakers as they out-boarded Findlay 38-26, including 16 boards from the GVSU guards.
As the first half came to a close, senior forward Justin Ringler missed a 3-pointer with the clock was winding down, but the shot was put back in by soph-omore guard Tony Peters and gave GVSU a 28-27 lead going into the half.
“Rebounding is a big thing for us, and we’ve been harping on that the last few weeks- we’ve got to rebound the best we can,” said Peters, who scored 11 points off the bench. “I just went in there and crashed on the last possession and it landed in my lap and put
it back in.”Coming out in the second half, the Lakers broke
the game wide open with a 15-2 scoring run that put the Oilers in a position they’ve been in only once this season- a 91-68 loss at Wayne State University on Jan. 8.
“It’s always a game of runs, and that was our run,” said GVSU head coach Ric Wesley. “But cer-tainly they showed character by fighting right down to the end.”
The Lakers’ run was fueled by hot shooting from their guards and defense from their big men. Ju-niors Wes Trammell (10 points) and Alvin Storrs (9 points) carried the bench scoring with Peters while the front-court duo of Asauhn Tatum and Nick Car-reri combined for seven blocks.
“I thought the combination of Asauhn (Tatum) and Nick Carreri did a great job of protecting our basket,” said Wesley, whose career record at home with GVSU is now 105-10. “It‘s hard to win without having a big guy to protect the basket.”
Despite the magnitude of the game, the Lakers kept their cool throughout the game and did their job defensively on Findlay’s starting guards.
Oiler senior Nathan Hyde scored 22 points while fellow guard junior Kyle Caiola added 18 points. At one point late in the second half, the duo almost sin-gle-handedly cut a 12-point GVSU lead to 1 point, but the combined effort of the entire Laker roster was enough to overcome Findlay’s two-man show.
Unfortunately for GVSU, the good times lasted only two days as the Lakers fell in a defensive strug-gle to Wayne State University (19-6, 14-4 GLIAC) on Saturday, 59-52. The game, which was senior night for starting forward Justin Ringler and walk-on guard Josh Roberson, was a low-scoring affair from the opening tip.
The Lakers began the game slow offensively, trailing by as many as seven early, but they rallied to
pull within three multiple times in the half.“I don‘t think we had a hangover from the Find-
lay game, but the way Wayne State plays, they’re going to muddle you up a bit,” said Ringler, who scored 16 points in his final regular season game at Fieldhouse Arena.
GVSU will look to shake off this loss in its regu-lar-season finale at Ferris State University Saturday.
GVL / Eric CoulterStriking oil: Junior James Thomas brings the ball up the court during Thursday’s match up against the Findlay Oilers.
By Brady FredericksenGVL Senior Reporter
Women’s soccer nabs 7 recruits B3
GVL / Nicole LamsonTop of the mountain: Freshman Dylan Dault shoots a pass during this weekend’s games against Northern Michigan University. The Lakers were victorious in both games.
see LANTHORN.COMto view an online slide show>>MEN’S HOCKEY
It was a night that Grand Valley State University senior guard Elizabeth Van Tiflin likely will not soon forget.
Before knowing that she would pull down the biggest offensive rebound of the con-test and then ice the game with two crisp free throws to give GVSU a 62-58 win - its 20th of the season - in overtime, it started the same as any other game for “Biz”.
Van Tiflin, the only gradu-ating senior on the 2010-11 Laker women’s basketball team, was honored before Saturday afternoon’s final home contest of the regular season against Wayne State University with a senior night
ceremony. But as the night wore on, it seemed like the Lakers (20-5, 13-5 GLIAC) wouldn’t be able to muster a win for their senior captain. GVSU trailed Wayne State by 11, down 41-30 with 7:34 re-maining in the second half.
However, something clicked during a late timeout as the Lakers rattled off a 15-5 run in six minutes be-hind several crucial baskets from junior guard Jasmine Padin, sophomore center Alex Stelfox and sophomore guard Briauna Taylor, who added two old fashioned 3-point plays within the span to ease the deficit to 46-45.
Down 48-45 with 10.2 ticks left on the clock, Padin was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds
left on the game clock.Padin, an 80.5-percent ca-
reer free throw shooter, cool-ly knocked all three down to send the Lakers into overtime tied at 48.
“It was a bunch of mixed feelings,” Padin said. “When the foul happened, it was a good thing. We were all ex-cited, and then I was like, ‘oh, snap, I’ve got to hit all three.’ My teammates had confi-dence in me though and when we were in the huddle they told me, you’ve got this Jaz, one step at a time.”
The beginning of overtime saw Stelfox score five of her career-high 26 points on the afternoon before Van Tiflin drained a 3-point shot with 2:53 remaining to make it 56-50 in favor of the hometown
Lakers.But the Warriors came
back and the Lakers found themselves up 60-58 with seven seconds remaining in the overtime period. A foul brought Padin to the line again, but a missed free throw could have been costly if Van Tiflin had not grabbed the rebound. After an immediate foul by Wayne State, the se-nior captain made both of her free throws to ice the game at 62-58 and give the Lakers their 20th victory of the sea-son, as well as their first home overtime win since 2006.
Despite knowing that it would be her last game on her home court and the vary-ing emotions of the pre-game festivities, down to the wire game and on-court elation af-ter the victory, Van Tiflin tried to keep it cool.
“I didn’t let the emotions get me,” she said. “It’s senior day but it’s also just a game of fun, to celebrate my four years here and my teammates and coaches were encourag-ing me, saying, this day’s for you, you’ve earned it. It’s just
a lot of fun to go out there and play one last time on your home floor.”
The ramifications of the win, which put the Lakers into the 20-win category for the second time during head coach Janel Burgess’ four-year tenure at GVSU, were significant.
“You just look at (Van Ti-flin) and she’s such a great kid,” Burgess said. “She’s ev-erything you can ask for in a kid; she’s the hardest worker, she’s a driven kid, she’s the most coachable in the sense that she’s had to play a vari-ety of roles since she’s been
here and she’s played them to a tee. She’s the only senior and she’s taken that role ex-tremely well and we’re very proud of her.”
The Lakers issued a 58-41 drumming to the University of Findlay on Thursday night, in which sophomores Stelfox and Briauna Taylor both had double-doubles in points and rebounds. GVSU will close out their regular season with a trip to Big Rapids, Mich., to visit rival Ferris State Univer-sity on Saturday.
Senior night delightVan Tiflin, Lakers nab 20th win of the season in OT thriller
By Derek WolffAssistant Sports Editor
GVL / Eric CoulterSenior stud: GVSU forward Elizabeth Van Tifflin battles a Findlay defender during Tursday’s game. She had five points and six rebounds in the win.
SportSGrAND VALLEY
Grand Valley LanthornMonday, February 21, 2011B2
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S TENNIS
On the first of their two-day trip to Illinois last week-end, the Grand Valley State University men’s tennis team battled it out with Southern Indiana University, falling victim to the team by a score of 8-1.
In the second half of the weekend Saturday, the team lost 5-4 against Lewis Uni-versity.
“I don’t think we played bad,” said GVSU head coach
John Black. “They’re a very experienced team. Their entire team is juniors and seniors, and it definitely showed. We played pretty solid but we couldn’t quite take them.”
Black attributed the loss against Southern Indiana to a crushing defeat in the three doubles matches that were played that evening. Two of the doubles teams lost by a score of 8-2 , the first com-prised of Marc Roesslein and Bryan Hodges, the second comprised of Josh Kazdan and Ben Delgado-Rochas. A third doubles team, Philipp Claus and Andrew Darrel, lost 8-3.
“Our team is very young,” Black said. “The doubles are a work in progress. We’ve been improving but we’ve got a lot of work to go. Most of the college players back in high school only played singles, with limited exposure to dou-bles. In high school the best players on the team played singles. To be a good doubles player, it almost takes instinct – you have to play with your partner a lot. It’s so quick that you don’t have time to think of what to do. You just need to play with your partner a lot and you need to play a lot of doubles to get it. “
Senior player Phillip Claus agreed with Black, explaining that doubles as a craft took more time and effort to hone.
“The first two years I was on the team, I actually didn’t
play doubles,” Claus said. “It took me probably a whole season to get used to doubles. I hope as we play a little more and go into the next season, they’ll be a little more well adjusted.”
The singles matches were a slightly different story. Kazdan managed to pull off the only victory of the eve-ning with scores of 6-3 and 7-5. Both Kazdan and Black called the match one of the best of his career.
While there were no other victories, none of the defeats were as drastic as in the dou-bles. One of the most notable matches was the neck-and-neck competition between Claus and Southern Indiana’s Juan Quiraz, who won 3-6, 6-2 and 10-7.
“I thought we played pretty well, we just ran into an expe-rienced stronger team,” Black said. “Now we’ve just got to take what we learned and put it into play throughout the season and keep improving a little bit at a time.”
Men fall in weekend matchesBy Kevin VanAntwerpenGVL Staff Writer
GVL Archive / Andrew MillsDefeated doubles: Junior Josh Kazdan warms up during practice. Kazdan walked away with the only singles victory of the weekend after he and his doubles partner Ben Delgado-Rochas lost to Southern Indiana University.
“To be a good doubles player, it almost takes instinct.”
-John BlackGVSU head coach
“It’s senior day but it’s also just a game of fun, to celebrate my four years here...”-Elizabeth Van Tiflin
GVSU senior guard
SportSGrAND VALLEY
Grand Valley LanthornMonday, February 21, 2011 B3
GVL Archive Rookie recruits: GVSU head coach Dave DiIanni instructs his team. Seven new players will join the team ranks.
WRESTLING
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Just as in any other sport, wrestlers are sup-posed to have short memories.
Getting too high after a win or too low af-ter a loss can disrupt an entire season, and se-nior heavyweight wrestler Corey Melinn has learned to exercise this philosophy in his time as an athlete.
“Right after I win, I move on and think about the next match,” he said. “After a loss, I have to have a short-term memory just like any athlete. You don’t want to dwell on a bad golf shot or a bad shot in a basketball game. You just want to move on and forget about it.”
After graduating in 2007 from Coopers-ville High School, Melinn did not earn much recognition from any college for his talents as a wrestler. He chose to attend GVSU, and on Campus Life Night, something caught his at-tention.
“My freshman year I walked around the dif-ferent booths and I saw wrestling,” he said. “It was what I wanted to do so I signed up. I got beaten up a lot my freshman year because the guys were bigger and stronger than me.”
He spent countless hours in the weight room his freshman year looking to improve, and when the first-string heavyweight got injured, Melinn’s opportunity came - and he hasn’t looked back.
“One weekend we went to Ohio State Uni-versity, and I beat a kid who was pretty good,” said Melinn. “On the way home, [GVSU head coach] Rick Bolhuis said if I keep it up I was going to give some people a hard time at na-tionals. That he thought I could make it gave me the push for the rest of the year.”
At the National Collegiate Wrestling Asso-ciation’s nationals in his freshman year, Melinn won his first three matches to reach the semi-finals, earning him All-American recognition. He lost two of his final three matches, but still earned fifth place.
Since then, the National Championships have become a natural setting for Melinn.
“The preparation in practice leading up to nationals is harder and harder because you want to hit your peak at the right point,” Me-linn said. “Mentally, I try to prepare myself the same. In terms of preparation for the national meet, I pretty much do everything the same as in any other meet.”
Melinn’s sophomore year saw him improve two spots to third place. However, his junior
year took a downward spiral following a match Melinn lost against a heavyweight from South-ern Illinois University at Edwardsville at the national qualifying tournament.
“It placed a seed of doubt in my mind,” Me-linn said. “I let all the talk and hype that people were saying get to me subconsciously. I let my-self think that I was better than I really was; and it all really got to me after a while, and I didn’t notice it until it was too late.”
Former teammate junior TJ Sobeck always felt that Melinn’s passion for wrestling was evident at all times, even during the tough patches.
“He was a leader in how he carried himself and how he performed on the mat,” Sobeck said. “He was always a very motivated person
and he never got mad at anyone about things. Last year he went to the American Airlines Challenge in Texas and he was the only one on the team to go. That just shows that he is one of the hardest workers on the team.”
Like all great athletes, Melinn moved on from his disappointing junior year. He learned from his mistakes and took nothing for granted heading into his senior season.
“This year I have focused on one match at a time and try not to think too far into the future,” Melinn said. “I think about training harder than other guys. I am just focusing right ahead of me instead of thinking down the road.”
Sophomore wrestler and Melinn’s workout partner, Frank Bastien, who wrestles in the 197-pound weight class, has witnessed Melinn progress as a leader and noticed his desire for a title.
“He is a natural leader,” Bastien said. “He has been wrestling for four years, which is something not all people do with their sched-ules. He is constantly improving and he always puts the time in to get better.”
Once again, nationals are where Melinn has set his sights, only this time he hopes he’ll be taking home a national championship.
“You get to see all the work you put in and if it was equal or greater than the work they put in,” Melinn said. “It’s going to take a lot of work to win. I’m going to have to have a good month of practice and stay healthy.”
GVL / Eric CoulterEyes on the prize: Senior Corey Melinn, 21-3, hopes to win the heavyweight National Championship, held March 10-12.
After stumbling upon the GVSU wrestling team at Student Life Night as a freshman, Corey Melinn has evolved into an elite heavyweight in the NCWA
By Zach SepanikGVL Staff Writer
Just one match at a time“Right after a win, I move on and think about the next match. After a loss, I have to have a short term memory just like any other athlete.”-Corey MelinnGVSU senior heavyweight wrestler
Back-to-back national champions land five athletes from Michigan, two more from Canada
“Grand Valley was always my first choice.”
-Charlie SociaGVSU soccer recruit
It is said that defense wins championships, but for the Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team, signing another top-notch recruiting classes certainly can’t hurt.
After winning back-to-back NCAA Division II National Championships, the soccer team is adding seven recruits to its roster. Of the seven, five are from Michigan and two hail from Canada. GVSU head coach Dave DiIanni said this is one of the bigger recruit-ing classes from the past few years, which will help allevi-ate depth issues the team has faced due to injuries in previ-ous seasons.
One unique aspect of this year’s group of recruits is that they all come from schools that have provided GVSU with tal-ent in the past.
“It’s the first class that we’ve had multiple student athletes coming from high schools or clubs that we’ve had success with recruiting in the past,” DiIanni said. “I think that that bodes for why some of them signed with Grand Valley because maybe their teammates in the past that are in the program currently are having a good experience.”
An example is Portage Central High School forward Charlie Socia, who follows in the footsteps of several former classmates, including GVSU freshman midfielder Shelby Humphries and senior defend-er and recent Division II player of the year Jenna Wenglinski. Socia said she is excited to get the opportunity to play with
Humphries for another three years, and there was no com-petition with GVSU when she made her college decision.
“Grand Valley was always my first choice,” said Socia. “I knew I wanted to come here since the beginning of high school, but when I was asked to play I was really excited.”
Though Socia was the lead-ing goal scorer in Division I high school women’s soccer in both of her last two seasons, playing college soccer was not necessarily something she expected to do early on in her high school career.
“I didn’t really think I was able to play college soccer,” she said. “I really wanted to, but I didn’t really think I was like at that level. But I knew either way I wanted to come to Grand Valley.”
Lake Orion High School defender Alyssa Wesley said she also had no problems fig-uring out where she wanted to go to college. Wesley has a family connection to GVSU with her uncle, GVSU head men’s basketball coach Ric Wesley.
“Knowing the girls is one thing on a personal level, but being able to play with them, their talent is so high it’s some-thing else,” she said. “Some-thing I’ve never experienced.”
DiIanni said it is a competi-tive situation for athletes to be chosen to play for the team but described the process of re-cruiting as a two way street.
“In recruiting it’s about building relationships and finding the right fit for each student athlete,” said DiIanni. “So as much as it is the coach or the institution looking for
the right player that fits their program based on personality and skill level, it’s also about the student athlete finding the right fit in the university.”
Women today are bombarded with media images of beauty ideals and what it means to be
a woman. While not a new phenome-non, body issues, particularly women’s body issues, have become a central topic among advocacy groups.
The Women’s Center, in coordina-tion with several departments on cam-pus, is sponsoring Conversations on Loving Your Body, a series of events to bring attention to the issues of a woman’s beauty in the world today.
Ashley Nickels, assistant director of the Women’s Center and coordina-tor of the event, said while issues such as eating disorders and self-esteem are important, Conversations on Loving Your Body goes beyond.
“We recognize that for us, the con-versation is bigger,” she said.
Nickels added the event will not only have discussions on women’s issues but also provide resources for dealing with them.
“Historically, a woman’s way to achieve success was with her looks,” said Kathleen Underwood, director of women and gender studies at Grand Valley State University. “Body image issues are not new.”
The series will feature several events aimed at “raising awareness of body image issues, how to address them, and how to feel empowered through recognizing personal beauty,” accordin to the Women’s Center web-site. Events include information on eating disorders, documentary films about body image issues today and a keynote address from Stacy Nadeau, a model for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty.
Dove, one of the most prominent beauty product manufacturers in the country, began the Real Beauty cam-paign with the goal of creating a world where confidence and self-esteem were not hindered by issues of con-ventional beauty. The Dove website contains tools for women of all ages to focus on remaining healthy and happy with their bodies instead of developing destructive behaviors for the sake of self-image.
“It’s important to realize that while the Dove campaign should be lauded for their actions, it is still a marketing
campaign,” said Julia Mason, assis-tant professor of Women and Gender Studies at GVSU. “The key is media literacy and recognizing that it is still marketing, no matter how the cam-paign appears.”
Mason praised Dove and other companies who have embraced the idea of changing the ideals of beauty from a restrictive culture to one that of-fers more options for women.
“Studies have shown that the econ-omy shifts the ‘ideal body type,’” she said. “When times are good, like in the 1950s, you get a curvy ideal like Mari-lyn Monroe or Jayne Mansfield. When the economy is bad, a slimmer body becomes the higher ideal.”
Underwood said she wants the Con-versations to spark discussions.
“We want to expand the ideas of the possible, to critique popular culture
and help women claim an identity that isn’t so determined,” she added.
Women in the U.S. spent $7 billion on beauty products in 2008, according to a study by the YWCA.
“We’ve seen it in history,” Under-wood said. “With the advent of ad-vertising in the 1920s, the men’s ads were, ‘Go to college.’ The women’s ads were, ‘How will you look when he brings you to meet his mother?’”
Underwood added while women’s body issues are more publicized, men have just as many negative ideals, including problems in their diet and over-exercising to achieve the ideal of “manhood.”
According to Mason, Hollywood has not played a helpful role in estab-lishing identities for young women. Characters like the Disney princesses have given young girls ideas that re-volve around things like love at first sight and a male-dominant society.
“I try to make sure my four-year-old sees that there are good things about the princesses that don’t involve being pretty,” she said.
The Women’s Center will host events throughout the month in con-junction with National Eating Disor-ders Awareness Week. Students are encouraged to attend the events to both learn about the dangers of a nega-tive body image and learn to deal with body issues in a constructive way. For more information about this and other events sponsored by the Women’s Cen-ter, visit www.gvsu.edu/women_cen/.
The Winter Careerfest and Health Career Day will take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday in the DeVos Place Convention Center, lo-cated at 303 Monroe Ave. NW.
The fair has more than 140 employers already registered, includ-ing 40 health care employers, and each employer usually brings at least two representatives. Career Services expects about 1,200 stu-dents to attend.
“This is really biggest event we have throughout the year. It allows students to connect with many, many employers,” said assistant direc-tor of Career Services Megan Riksen. “There are a lot of great local companies as well as companies throughout Michigan.”
She added this event is not just for health careers students, it is for students of all majors.
Rachel Becklin, assistant director of Career Services and intern-ship specialist, told students at the Feb. 16 prep day what to wear, what to bring and how to network with employers.
Becklin said the career fair is a networking event with an empha-sis on recruitment. Networking she defined as “purposeful chit-chat,” and said around 80 percent of jobs are filled through networking. Stu-dents should prepare to both ask and answer questions.
A mini-interview with an employer should proceed with a hand-shake and self-introduction. Students should give their names, majors, years, interests and career goals. They should tell employers about their interest in the organization and engage in conversation.
A map will lay out the location of the employers at the fair, and Becklin suggests students plan their attack ahead of time.
“If you have the option to get there at the beginning of the event, try and do that,” Becklin said. “That’s when you’re going to get em-ployers at their freshest. That’s when they’re going to be the most anx-ious to talk with people and meet with people.”
Becklin suggests students make three lists of employers: A-list or I-have-to-see, B-list or I’d-really-like-to-see, and C-list or it’d-be-
cool-if-I-could-see.She said students should start with the B-list employers until they
are comfortable with marketing themselves.To prepare for the fair, students should research on the employers
ahead of time. Refer to the information box for a list of some informa-tion to know.
After the conversation, which can last two or three minutes, the student should collect information from the employer, a name or busi-ness card, to follow up after the business fair.
However, Becklin said to avoid “trick or treating” at the tables.“Each table is going to have a lot of stuff on it,” she said. “Some of
the stuff is pretty cool. They may have water bottles, they may have some candy and all sorts of stuff on their table. But you’re there to talk with them about internship and job opportunities not necessarily to take the goodies off the tables.”
Becklin said students should bring copies of their resume to leave with employers and a pen and paper to take notes.
“The best thing about a career fair is that you’re getting your face in front of employers,” Becklin said. “Just remember that now you have a face to go along with that application you submit online, and they might still be able to take your resume.”
Senior Julie Maag, a health professions major, wants to find an internship through the career fair to get more experience in a specific area and narrow her range of options for professional employment.
“My major is so I can go into Occupational Therapy and get my Master’s, and I want an internship following them around and making sure that’s exactly what I want to do because Master’s is a big invest-ment,” Maag said.
Although students might only have time to drop by the fair be-tween classes, they should still make an effort to dress to impress, Becklin said.
“Even if you’re there real quick between classes – maybe you don’t have a suit – I still wouldn’t recommend wearing jeans or a sweatshirt – things like that,” Becklin said.
She suggests students wear dark colors, and if they want to stand out, use shirt or a tie to add a dash of color.
Career experts prepare students for Winter CareerfestBy Susie SkowronekGVL Laker Life Editor
GVL / Rane MartinFirst impressions: GVSU senior Ellen Rhein and alumni Sarah Bontinen practice their introductions at the Careerfest Prep Session last week.
THURSDAY4 – 5:30 p.m. in the Grand River Room of Kirkhof CenterEmbracing Real Beauty: Stacy NadeauStacy Nadeau, a 2005 Dove Campaign for Real Beauty model, will give her keynote speech on embracing real beauty. She will speak about how to change people’s perceptions of beauty.
Campus to explore real beauty with Conversations on Loving Your BodyTUESDAY3 - 4:45 p.m. in the Grand River Room of Kirkhof CenterDrunkorexiaIndividuals will skip meals to save the calories they spend on binge drinking. An interactive discussion will explore the risks and the influence of the media.
WEDNESDAYNoon - 4 p.m. in the Women’s Center in Kirkhof CenterLove Your Body Jean SwapExchange an old for a new-to-you pair of jeans and earn a chance to win prizes.
1 – 2 p.m. in Room 2270 of Kirkhof CenterHow to Approach Someone You Think May Have an Eating DisorderDr. Shari Bartz, athletic training program director and assistant professor of Movement Science, will give a presentation for students who have roommates or friends with possible eating disorders or for faculty who may want to approach students regarding health concerns.
7 p.m. in Room 119 of the Cook-DeVos Center for Health SciencesAmerica the Beautiful, film screening and discussionA documentary will look at America’s unrealistic and unhealthy images of beauty, which can lead to low self-esteem and eating disorders. A panel will answer questions about eating disorders, beauty and the film following the screening.
EVENTS
Some information to research about employers before Career Fair:
Size of an organization in an industryPotential growthProduct line or servicesCompetitionBackground information on top managementGeographical locationsLocation of corporate headquartersGeneral number of plants, stores, and outletsType of training programPromotional pathMarketing and Promotional MaterialTypical career path in your fieldHistory of organization
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
BEFORE YOU GO
GVL Photo Illustration / Kate KaurichImage issues: A Grand Valley student examines her reflection. Conversations on Loving Your Body event will focus on the body image issues that plague many students, faculty, and staff.
Having the one-on-one“Historically, a woman’s way to achieve success was with her looks. Body image issues are not new.”-Kathleen Underwood
WGS director
By Marc MaycroftGVL Staff Writer
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MARKETPLACE Grand Valley LanthornB5Monday, February 21, 2011
By Samantha Weaver
• It was English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley who made the following sage observation: “There is no greater mistake than the hasty conclusion that opinions are worthless because they are badly argued.”
• In 1955, a woman in Italy gave birth to a baby who weighed 22 pounds, 8 ounces.
• Two United State first ladies ran away to get married: Florence Harding, future wife of President Warren G. Harding, eloped with her first husband when she was 19, and Anna Harrison eloped with the future ninth U.S. President William Henry Harrison (also known as “Old Tippecanoe”) when she
was 20 and he was 22.• The substance now known
as cat litter was originally designed to be used as nesting material for chickens.
• Early in the history of the Christian church, tea was considered to be a dangerous intoxicant.
• Louis Diat, chef at the New York City Ritz-Carlton in the early 20th century, is usually credited with first creating the soup known as vichyssoise. He based the recipe on one his mother and grandmother used to make, but he had to change the name to something a bit more fancy; it seems that “Mama’s Potato-Leek Puree” didn’t fit in with the other menu items.
• The blood of the icefish has no color.
• Have you ever noticed that there’s a pale crescent of flesh at the base of each of your fingernails? If you want to be technical, the word to describe it is “lunula.”
***Thought for the Day:
“Animals have these advantages over man: They never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills.” -- Voltaire
(c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.
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Strange but true
Laker LifeYour life at Grand Valley
Grand Valley LanthornMonday, February 21, 2011
B6
Laughter is expected to fill the room this weekend as the final five compete in Last Laker Standing.
Spotlight Productions, a student-run pro-gramming board for campus entertainment, is sponsoring the fifth-annual Grand Valley State University Last Laker Standing com-edy competition. The finals will take place at 9 p.m. Friday in the Grand River Room of Kirkhof Center. Doors will open at 8:30 p.m.
“Every year we get a bigger response with
more and more students and faculty compet-ing,” said senior Alyson Greenwell, comedy and speaker chair of Spotlight Productions. “It’s really going to be a great show—it’s un-like any other show at GVSU.”
Pete Dominick, warm up comedian for Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report,” will host the show. Dominick also hosts XM Satellite Radio’s “Stand Up with Pete Dominick.”
The five finalists, chosen by the audience and judges, will compete for the top three places and prizes. The first prize is worth $500, second prize is $300 and third prize is $150.
“This competition gives (the students) a lot of exposure and lots of good prizes for the top three,” Greenwell said. “It’s just going to be awesome. This year, especially, the semi-finals were amazing.”
Comedians Jason Flannery, Greg Kort, Ryan McKernan, Greg Monahan and Laura Wizniuk have made it to the final stage of Last Laker Standing, and the finalists highly recommend the event.
“Students should come out to the Last Laker Standing because all of the cool kids will be there,” Kort said.
Greenwell added students might find some humor from unexpected characters.
“It’s really great – not only do students come together and support each other, but you laugh a ton,” Greenwell said. “You don’t expect a person in your class to be that fun-ny.”
Auditions were held in mid-January. For more information on auditions and future competitions, e-mail [email protected].
This is not your average history lecture.The Hauenstein Center produced an original
historical play for the celebration of former U.S. President Reagan’s 100th birthday at the Gerald R. Ford Museum on Tuesday. Four lazy boy-style chairs set the stage and left space for a fifth re-cliner. With the auditorium lights low, Hauenstein Center Director Gleaves Whitney narrated the stories of the four American presidents who most influenced Reagan.
Thomas Jefferson, played by Bill Barker, was the first American president to take the stage. From his black, tight-fitted trousers to his long coat, from his broad ship-shaped hat to his curled white wig, Barker looked the part.
Barker transported the audience back to the times of the 1700s with perfect Virginian dialect. He spoke of the invention of the steam engine, a precursor to a more important invention: democ-racy.
“Never forget the invention of the principles that created this nation,” Jefferson said. “We found a nation of democracy, in the midst of a diversity of opinions, where men can freely express opin-ions. These principles brought together thirteen individual nations, who put aside their differences for the common good of all.”
Jefferson took the first seat onstage, then en-tered Calvin Coolidge, Jr., the 30th president, por-trayed by Jim Cooke. Cooke said Coolidge, a man of small stature, became president after the sudden death of Warren G. Harding.
Reagan admired the man of few words because of his economic and tax reform policies.
Franklin Roosevelt, played by John Hamant, came onto the stage in a wheel-chair. The 32nd president, paralyzed from the waist down due to polio, influenced Reagan because of optimism and leadership during wartime.
Hamant spoke about the challenges Roosevelt overcame – unemployment, farmers losing their farms and people beginning to doubt the merits of democracy.
“We all love America,” Roosevelt said. “It doesn’t matter party affiliation. We must be able to combat these crises by joining hands and work-ing together. That’s the secret of America: joining hands together to do the work. Future generations will look back and not repeat the same mistakes.”
Roosevelt joined Jefferson and Coolidge Jr. on
the stage as actor Brian Hilton stepped up to por-tray John F. Kennedy. The youthful, dark-haired and charismatic impersonator focused his address to the youth. Kennedy wanted to inspire youth to enter public leadership, so he created the Peace Corps.
“Leadership is needed from a chief executive, not salesmanship,” Roosevelt said.
Although a democrat, Kennedy’s tax cuts and tough stance against communism influenced Rea-gan.
Finally, Ronald Reagan, played by Paddy Mor-rissey, moved the crowd in tears with his Reagan-like voice and humorous sound-bites.
“I stumbled upon doing Ronald Reagan,” Morrisey said. “I was watching him on the TV im-mediately after he was elected, and a mirror was directly behind the TV. I looked up and saw myself mimicking his facial movements. I then bought a ladies’ wig from the Salvation Army, cut it and sprayed it thoroughly with hair spray and went on stage that night and started doing him. That was in 1981 – 30 years now of doing Reagan.”
Morrisey’s character elaborated on Reagan’s philosophy – he wanted the government off the backs of the people and get them working again.
“Some people think that government is the solution, but they are the problem,” Reagan said. “The things you most admire, you work the hard-est for.”
Audience member Ryan Richert of Spring Lake, Mich., enjoyed the historical accuracy of the costumes and characters.
“I know that Reagan was one of the best presi-dents but didn’t know he wasn’t a Republican till age 51,” Richert said.
Although Richert was one of the very few young people at the event, he posed an adult ques-tion concerning leadership, the core subject of the production.
“Does man have the ability to govern him-self?” Richert asked.
During the Q&A session at the conclusion of the event President Thomas Haas’ question to the interpreters helped bring Richert’s doubt to con-temporary light.
“What advice would you have for President Obama?” Hass asked.
“To be successful you must never do in private, which you would never do in public,” President Jefferson said. “The true art in government is sim-ply being honest.”
GVL / Eric CoulterStand-up talent: (From left to right) GVSU students Laura Wizniuk, Jason Flannery, Ryan McKernan, Greg Monahan and Greg Kort pose for a picture after being named finalists in the Last Laker Standing competition. The finals will be held Friday.
GVL / Nicole LamsonReagan: Paddy Morrissey performs as former President Ronald Reagan in Tuesday’s “Reagan’s Heroes” event.
GVL / Nicole LamsonRoosevelt: John Hamant discusses politics as President Franklin D. Roosevelt Tuesday night during “Reagan’s Heroes.”
History in actionBy Marcus J. Reynolds GVL Staff Writer
By Samantha Arnold GVL Staff Writer
GV’s funniest to compete for last laugh Friday
KORT
“Hey dude, you wanna come over and jam? What do you play? Guitar, a little keyboard? Bell tower. You would win every Battle of the Bands you were in if you had a bell tower player in your band.”
