http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/November 16, 2009en-usFri, 20 Nov 2009 17:37:10 ESTMon, 16 Nov 2009 13:30:11 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2236Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:30:11 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2236http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2235
The presentation in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall gave tips on how to approach the job search. (In this instance, drunk dialing involves calling someone without knowing what you will say or even what you want.)

Presenters at the event, put on by Career Planning and Placement, emphasized that when trying to network, you should be able to articulate what you are looking for and how others may help you. The alternative is the equivalent to drunk dialing.

Of course, looking for a job is more than making phone calls. Mike Major, interim director of Career Planning and Placement, discussed what he called the three levels of contacts.

The first-level contacts are friends and families. When these contacts make referrals to other people, these people become the level-two contacts.

Level-two contacts are the key because oftentimes, it will be the direct connection to your field, Major said.

Major pointed out that when talking to level-two contacts you should ask for advice, request r sum reviews, tell them briefly about yourself and follow up with a brief thank-you note.

If meeting with level-two contacts goes well, they may refer you to another contact: level-three contacts. In the process, the amount of people quickly and creates a good-sized network.

One of the tips presented by Mark Potts, assistant dean for undergraduate programs, was knowing your personal pitch. He taught participants how to concisely present relevant details about themselves when networking.

After the presentation, participants took part in speed networking. Similar to speed dating, students rotated from person to person giving their personal pitch.

Jonathan Baldwin, an athletic training sophomore, admitted that he came to the presentation for the free refreshments, but said he still enjoyed the experience.

It is much easier to talk to people than I thought it would be, Baldwin said.

Exercise science sophomore Brianne Webly said she found the speed networking tips to be useful. You can learn quite a bit of information from somebody in a short amount of time.

But the biggest lesson, Webly said, is how that kind of interaction is universal. I will remember most that networking can start pretty much anywhere.
]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:26:05 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2235http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2234Frank Muddy Waters recognized for excellenceFrank Muddy Waters, Saginaw Valley s first football coach, was inducted in the ninth class of the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony took place at Horizon Conference Center on State St. in Saginaw Township on Nov. 8. Muddy s son Frank Murky Waters accepted the award in honor of his father, who died in 1983.

Muddy Waters was hired at Saginaw Valley
State University in 1974. At that time the University
was just a college with dorm rooms for
500 students.

Waters was late for his first interview at
SVSU. He walked in and apologized for being
late and told the board that when he stopped
and asked for directions he was sent to Delta
College. One of the board members stood up
and said, That is the problem: Nobody knows
where we are.

The idea for hiring Waters was so the University
would get some publicity about the
school and people would know where it was.

The college was looking for an identity and Waters
had an identity through sports, particularly
football, as he was known throughout the state,
as well as nationally.

When Waters took over as football coach
from Charlie Bockman at Hillsdale College, the
team lost its first game and then won the next
thirty-four.

At Hillsdale, Waters won games because
teams would come in and be intimidated by
Hillsdale.

By the time they figured out they could
play with Hillsdale, it was too late. Muddy
would win, said Frank Waters.

Waters first challenge at SVSU was overcoming
the lack of sports tradition. He had been
at Hillsdale College for 21 years, one year as an
assistant and twenty as the head coach. Because
of Waters reputation as a coach, other colleges
were trying to stay one step ahead of him.

Through a community effort led by Muddy
Waters, Ellis Ivy, who ran Saginaw Steering
Gear, and the United Auto Workers Union, Nautilus
equipment was purchased for the team.

Muddy was always innovative with different
things. If there was a way to help the team
he would find a way to make it happen, Waters
said.

When Saginaw Valley played its first football
game, the field and bleachers were just completed.

There was no press box and the reporters
and media had to sit on the top row of the
bleachers and take care of their paper work.

Waters Saginaw County Sports Hall of
Fame plaque will hang in SVSU s Ryder Center
where the rest of the hall of fame plaques hang
honoring the sports legacy of Saginaw County.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:21:44 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2234http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/223328 unanswered points doom Cardinals in opening round loss to LopersFor the fifth time this season, the Cardinals passed for more yards than they rushed for.

For the third time in those games, the Cardinals were defeated.

After advancing to the playoffs
for the first time since 2005, the
Cardinals allowed 21 points in the
fourth quarter to lose to Nebraska-
Kearney 35-20.

A turnover by Nebraska-Kearney
put SVSU in good position early, and
they took advantage of the good field
position when junior quarterback
Charles Dowdell connected with
red-shirt freshman tight end Zach
Cecich from 16 yards out, giving the
Cardinals a 6-0 lead after the extra
point attempt was no good. The
early momentum was just what the
Cardinals had wanted.

Our defense came out fired
up, senior offensive lineman Jerry
Wichman said. They caused a huge
turnover early on and the offense
was able to turn that into some early
points.

Early in the second quarter, the
Cardinals added on to their lead when
Dowdell hit senior tight end Galen
Stone for a three-yard touchdown.

The Cards went for the two-point
conversion and were successful,
giving them a 14-0 lead.

In a game that had limited
scoring early on, Nebraska-Kearney
scored a touchdown with 17 seconds
left in the half, giving them what
they thought would be a 14-7 game at
the half. The Cardinals had different
plans.

With no time left on the clock,
sophomore running back Brandon
Hayes scored a one- yard touchdown,
giving the Cardinals momentum, as
well as a 20-7 halftime lead.

We were excited to be in that
position at halftime, especially
after the last second touchdown,
Wichman said. We knew we had to
keep fighting though because they
[Nebraska-Kearney] weren t going to
lay down for us.

Both offenses were quiet in the
third quarter, although Nebraska-
Kearney was able to get back in the
game with an 11-yard run with 42
seconds to go in the third quarter.

Leading 20-14 going into the
fourth quarter, the Cardinals seemed
as if they were going to close the deal
and move on to the second round
of the playoffs, until the Nebraska-
Kearney offense came to life.

Three scoring drives, all of which
were at least 60 yards, quickly ended
any thoughts the Cardinals may have
had of advancing to the next round.

It was a tale of two halves for
the Cardinals, both offensively and
defensively.

As an offense, we didn t
execute the way we normally do in
the second half, Wichman said. We
had some great chances on their side
of the field but we just couldn t take
advantage of them. Things started
snowballing for us and we weren t
able to recover.

Throughout the season, the
Cardinals offense had been most
successful when it rushed the ball
effectively, taking pressure off
Dowdell and the defense, although
it attempted 41 passes compared to
only 38 rushes.

We had good success rushing
early but for some reason or another,
we got away from it as the game
progressed, Wichman said. Our
coaches saw a weakness that we were
trying to exploit. It just didn t work
out the way we had hoped.

For the game, the Cardinals
racked up 470 yards compared with
465 for Nebraska-Kearney, although
they were unable to take advantage of
their opportunities.

Although they didn t make it as
far as they had hoped, the Cardinals
finish the season 9-3 and will have
fond memories of what Wichman said
can be remembered as a tremendous
year that everyone should be proud
of.

Looking ahead to next season, the
Cardinals lose a number of key players
including senior linebackers John
Jacobs and Mike LeVand, although
Wichman believes the Cardinals have
what it takes to continue to compete
at a national level.

The cupboard is full and there
are a number of younger guys waiting
to step into a bigger role, Wichman
said. There are also a lot of leaders
returning next year. We had a great
season and I expect nothing less from
them next year.

Key Players Returning

QB-Charles Dowdell
RB-Brandon Hayes
RB-Xavier Walker
TE-Zach Cecich
DB-Carlton Downs
WR-Nick Gallina
DB-Ja Vae Ingraham

Key Players Leaving

OL-Jerry Wichman
LB-John Jacobs
LB-Mike LeVand
TE-Galen Stone
OL-Jordon DeRosia
DE-Toby Goetz
DL-Bryan Klobucar]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:18:56 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2233http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/223228 unanswered points doom Cardinals in opening round loss to LopersFor the fifth time this season, the Cardinals passed for more yards than they rushed for.

For the third time in those games, the Cardinals were defeated.

After advancing to the playoffs
for the first time since 2005, the
Cardinals allowed 21 points in the
fourth quarter to lose to Nebraska-
Kearney 35-20.

A turnover by Nebraska-Kearney
put SVSU in good position early, and
they took advantage of the good field
position when junior quarterback
Charles Dowdell connected with
red-shirt freshman tight end Zach
Cecich from 16 yards out, giving the
Cardinals a 6-0 lead after the extra
point attempt was no good. The
early momentum was just what the
Cardinals had wanted.

Our defense came out fired
up, senior offensive lineman Jerry
Wichman said. They caused a huge
turnover early on and the offense
was able to turn that into some early
points.

Early in the second quarter, the
Cardinals added on to their lead when
Dowdell hit senior tight end Galen
Stone for a three-yard touchdown.

The Cards went for the two-point
conversion and were successful,
giving them a 14-0 lead.

In a game that had limited
scoring early on, Nebraska-Kearney
scored a touchdown with 17 seconds
left in the half, giving them what
they thought would be a 14-7 game at
the half. The Cardinals had different
plans.

With no time left on the clock,
sophomore running back Brandon
Hayes scored a one- yard touchdown,
giving the Cardinals momentum, as
well as a 20-7 halftime lead.

We were excited to be in that
position at halftime, especially
after the last second touchdown,
Wichman said. We knew we had to
keep fighting though because they
[Nebraska-Kearney] weren t going to
lay down for us.

Both offenses were quiet in the
third quarter, although Nebraska-
Kearney was able to get back in the
game with an 11-yard run with 42
seconds to go in the third quarter.

Leading 20-14 going into the
fourth quarter, the Cardinals seemed
as if they were going to close the deal
and move on to the second round
of the playoffs, until the Nebraska-
Kearney offense came to life.

Three scoring drives, all of which
were at least 60 yards, quickly ended
any thoughts the Cardinals may have
had of advancing to the next round.

It was a tale of two halves for
the Cardinals, both offensively and
defensively.

As an offense, we didn t
execute the way we normally do in
the second half, Wichman said. We
had some great chances on their side
of the field but we just couldn t take
advantage of them. Things started
snowballing for us and we weren t
able to recover.

Throughout the season, the
Cardinals offense had been most
successful when it rushed the ball
effectively, taking pressure off
Dowdell and the defense, although
it attempted 41 passes compared to
only 38 rushes.

We had good success rushing
early but for some reason or another,
we got away from it as the game
progressed, Wichman said. Our
coaches saw a weakness that we were
trying to exploit. It just didn t work
out the way we had hoped.

For the game, the Cardinals
racked up 470 yards compared with
465 for Nebraska-Kearney, although
they were unable to take advantage of
their opportunities.

Although they didn t make it as
far as they had hoped, the Cardinals
finish the season 9-3 and will have
fond memories of what Wichman said
can be remembered as a tremendous
year that everyone should be proud
of.

Looking ahead to next season, the
Cardinals lose a number of key players
including senior linebackers John
Jacobs and Mike LeVand, although
Wichman believes the Cardinals have
what it takes to continue to compete
at a national level.

The cupboard is full and there
are a number of younger guys waiting
to step into a bigger role, Wichman
said. There are also a lot of leaders
returning next year. We had a great
season and I expect nothing less from
them next year. ]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:17:26 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2232http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2231VOLLEYBALL SV SU, SV SU, SV SU, chanted the crowd, whose feet were pounding on the bleachers in perfect rhythm in the Wednesday night girls volleyball victory over Michigan Tech. The game marked SVSU s win in the opening round of the GLIAC tournament.

Tensions were high when head coach Will Stanton called a time out in the first game after a series of blocking and attacking errors that left the Cardinals with a score of 19 and the Huskies with 23.

It took us awhile to get the team
into the game, Stanton said.

Though the Cardinals boosted
their defense in attempts to close the
gap, the final score left the Cardinals
behind 22 25.

With a new blocking strategy in
the second game, the Cardinals pulled
themselves together.

We tried to take away as much as
we could (blocking in the first game),
and it wasn t working, sophomore
middle hitter Katie Fitzpatrick said.
In the other games we just tried to
touch as many balls as we could.

With a tough back and forth scoring
pattern in the second game, the
Cardinals pulled ahead in the very
end of the game, winning 26 24.

We got off to a little bit of a slow
start, but we picked it up in the end,
senior setter Kait Harris said.

With the victory for the Cardinals
in the second game, the defense of
the Huskies seemed to fade away in
the third game. Initial tensions were
reversed when Michigan Tech head
coach Orlando Gonzalez called a time
out with a score of 16 11, in attempts
to bring his players together.

These attempts were not enough
to stop the Cardinals, who won the
match 25 14. The increased defense
around strong opposition players created
the base for the SVSU triumph.

We targeted key players from
Michigan Tech, Fitzgerald said.

The Cardinals broke the Huskies
defense once again in the fourth and
final match. With the last point that
concluded the game at 25 14, the
crowd applauded the Cardinals with
a standing ovation.

It was intense and we kicked
some tushie, sophomore and eternal
fan of the SVSU Girls Volleyball
Team, Josh Balabuch said.

The victory was the first game in
the GLIAC tournament, which will
send the Cardinals on to the next
round. Though it is still undecided
which team the Cardinals will meet
in the next round of play, both Stanton
and his players seem confident in
their abilities.

If we continue to play tough
with defense like that, we ll be in
good shape Stanton said.

We ve got a good feeling this
year, said Harris, hopefully we will
go all the way. ]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:13:34 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2231http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2230Team ends with winning record for sixth straight yearThe saying all good things must come to and end proved to be true for the women s soccer team.

SVSU traveled to Kentucky during the weekend for the first round of the Midwest Regional to take on No. 24-ranked Quincy University. The Cardinals dropped a 1-0 decision, ending their record-breaking season.

Quincy scored at the 14:11 mark
of the first half. The Cards offense,
which had the third highest scoring
average in the GLIAC, was unable
to score the equalizer. The shutout
marked only the third time this season
that the Cardinals were held without
a goal.

The Cardinals had a number of
chances late in the game, although
they couldn t get the ball behind
Quincy senior goalkeeper Toni Eye,
who recorded her 12th shutout of the
season for the Hawks. For the game,
the Cardinals were outshot 11-10.

While the season may be over, it
is one to be remembered, as the Cardinals
finished with a school-record 14
wins. They also advanced to the finals
of the GLIAC tournament, where they
lost to Grand Valley 2-1 in a shootout.

For the season, the Cardinals finished
10-1-2 in conference, good enough for
second place behind the Lakers.

The season marked the sixth
consecutive season the Cards have
finished with a winning record under
head coach Drago Dumbovic, although
he is quick to give credit to his
players.

I have been blessed with great
athletes throughout the years, Dumbovic
said.

Usually with team success comes
individual awards, which was no different
for SVSU. Senior forward Jaclyn
Barrett, senior midfielder Renee
Privette, and freshman defender Abby
Bellamy were all named to the 2009
All-GLIAC Second Team. Dumbovic
was also named the GLIAC Coach of
the Year.

Along with Barrett and Privette,
the Cardinals also lose senior defenders
Kristen Kemmer and Emily Mattei,
who are all out of eligibility.

Losing only four seniors may not
seem like a huge number, although
when you consider how much Kemmer,
Barrett, Privette, and Mattei have
contributed, they leave the Cardinals
will gaping holes to fill in the upcoming
season.

Barrett was the only Cardinal to
start in every game this season, while
recording team-high 12 goals, including
two game-winning goals.

Privette made the most of her
three goals, with two of them being
game winners.

Kemmer and Mattei logged a lot
of minutes for a defense that allowed
the second fewest goals against per
game in the GLIAC. No matter how
you look at it, the Cardinals will need
players to step up to replace the four
seniors.

For the season, the Cardinals
finished with a 14-3-3 record and advanced
to the Division II playoffs for
the first time in school history.

Key Players Returning

GK-Anne Berschbach
D-Abby Bellamy
MF-Samantha Echols
F-Cassidy Lay

Key Players Leaving

F-Jaclyn Barrett
D-Emily Mattei
D-Kristen Kemmer
MF-Renee Privette]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:10:35 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2230http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2209
For anyone who wants to, help is on the way.

Nov. 19 is the American Cancer
Society s Great American Smokeout,
a national event in which participants
take the first step to quitting by
going tobacco-free for a day. At SVSU,
on-campus organizations have honored
this day for the last three years to encourage
students to break the habit.

The Peer Health Educators and the Student
Counseling Center will host a booth in the
Cardinal Cage on Thursday to promote awareness
on ways to stop smoking.

An SVSU organization called Students
Against Cancer will also have a booth in the Cage,
located near the Student Life Center. The group is
collecting signatures to petition for a smoke-free
work environment in the community.

At SVSU, anyone interested in quitting can
find information, resources and quit kits. The
quit kits include a piece of gum, rubber band,
Play-Doh and tips to stop smoking.

The kits supplies are meant to help distract
the mind when one feels the urge to smoke. The
tips include ideas for handling the desire to light
up and goals to achieve during the quitting process.

Any person willing to give up half a pack of
cigarettes will receive a turkey sandwich in honor
of quitting cold turkey.

It s great that SVSU is trying to help smokers
quit in a positive way, said Carah Schalow, a
nonsmoker and undecided sophomore.

Students such as Courtney Poffinbarger feel
that smoking during college is just a stress reliever.

I plan on quitting by the time I graduate,
Poffinearger said.

Angela Meyer, a biology and chemistry senior,
is working alongside Peeples to get the
awareness out.

If for one day a person can stop smoking, then
they have the power to quit long-term, she said.

The benefits of doing so go beyond health.
On average, a person who smokes a pack a day
spends $2,555 in one year.

To demonstrate this, Peer Health Education
is hanging money outside the Real Food on Campus
cafeteria. This way, students can see how
much goes into a cigarette habit.

I smoke less because of the cost, said Dustin
Holbin, an undecided freshman interested in visiting
the booth. I have tried quitting before, but
it has become a habit.

Erica Thomas, a psychology freshman, said
the decision is personal.

I will quit smoking when I am ready and
won t give into the pressures of people telling me
to quit, she said.

Peeples said she thinks the day is important
because people who want to stop can benefit
from hearing positive suggestions.

Research suggests that quitting smoking has
both short- and long-term results. According to
studies, 20 minutes after a cigarette, a smoker s
blood pressure and heart rate drops. Within five
years of quitting, a person s chances for a stroke
will have decreased.

Peeples said counselors are available to help
anyone considering how to quit.

For more information about the day, visit
the American Cancer Society s Web site at www.
cancer.org.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:10:05 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2209http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2229
LTU scored the first goal of the game at 16:00, but junior defenseman Kaleb Grapp answered with a goal at 12:20 with assists from freshman forward Eric Jackson and senior forward Doug Greene. Sophomore forward Ben Welch completed the period with a power play goal at 8:25 with an assist from sophomore defenseman Steve Pelky.

The Cardinals continued to build
their momentum in the second period
following a goal from junior forward
Chris Tibaudo at 12:46. Sophomore
defenseman Mike Lucchese scored
the first goal of his college career at
10:12 with assists from Tempich and
freshman forward Adam Leibinger.

SVSU tallied another goal at 4:47 from
Tempich. LTU ended the period with
its final goal of the game at 1:42.

SVSU dominated scoring-wise
in the third period beginning with
Tibaudo at 11:22 with an assist from
Leibinger. The final goals of the game,
both empty net, occurred with Welch
scoring at 1:46 and Grapp scoring the
final goal of the game at 1:25.

As the season has progressed, the
Cardinals have made great improvements,
which are paving the way for
another successful season. Senior defenseman
Patrick Miller, the captain,
said that the team s specialties have
allowed success in each individual
game and will hopefully lead to a successful
rest of the season.

Our specialties are definitely
our biggest strength, Miller said. The
steps we ve made with our penalty
killing and power plays are making
a big difference when the other team
goes down because we can capitalize
on their mistakes.

Lucchese said the team s strengths
help each individual player during
the game.

If I m in the penalty box, or if
anybody s in the penalty box, I know
that I can always count on the guys to
kill it off and keep our team going.

Miller thinks maintaining a positive
attitude will be the biggest determining
factor for success during the
season.

We still have to keep showing
up to the rink to play every night. We
can t win without being prepared,
Miller said.

Lucchese s beliefs about the
team s potential success are similar
and adds that the drive for another
championship is on everyone s
mind.

We definitely have to keep a
good attitude, because we all want
a repeat of a national championship.
It s in the back of our minds, especially
the rookies minds, even if we don t
always say it. We want to be as good
as we can be, and I really think we can
be as good as we were last year, if not
better.

The Cardinals will play their next
home game against Oakland University
on November 21.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:04:29 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2229http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2228
Sometime between classes, homework and college life, they re also drafting novels.

Mundt and Faber are just two of
thousands of writers across the country
working in honor of National Novel Writing
Month or, as fans call it, NaNoWriMo.

Participants start writing on Nov.
1, with the goal to write 50,000 words, or
about 175 pages, by Nov. 30.

Participants stick to their daily duty
and use a Web site called NaNoWriMo.org to update word counts and track the
progress of their friends.

NaNoWriMo also sends out weekly
e-mails of encouragement to keep participants
motivated.

Faber heard about the event from a
friend and brought it up in her editing
class with English professor Fenobia Dallas.

Mundt said contenders have to
write roughly 1,700 words a day to keep
up, but Dallas challenges them to write
2,000 words to stay on top of the game.

It doesn t sound like a lot, Faber
said, but it is, when you actually get
down to do it.

Faber and Mundt both said that their
biggest obstacle is trying to find time to
write every day.

Faber said she carries her story with
her at all times.

She works on it before and after class
and even during breaks. Her best time to
write, she said, is at night when she can
focus.

She said she likes to listen to the
score from The Last of the Mohicans.

It gets me psyched to write, Faber
said. It s like I m embarking on an adventure.

But inspiration can come in many
forms.

Mundt went to a Write-In at Bay
City s Brewtopia with other local NaNo-
WriMo writers. She said that every so
often they would do what they called
word wars : they would pick a certain
amount of time to write, and whoever
wrote the most words would win.

Mundt said that she didn t get a lot
of work done, but the experience was still
interesting.

You learn that there are other people
that are crazy it s not just you, she
said.

Both Mundt and Faber said their ultimate
goal is to just finish.

I am hoping when I get done that,
with a lot of polish, it can potentially be
published, Faber said. But mostly I just
want to finish.

With everything going on in my
life, I would ve never thought I d get past
15,000 words, Mundt said, but I m going
to hit 24,000 tonight. It s so exciting.

To maintain daily momentum, Faber
had a little advice.

Just keep writing, she said. Even
if it s crap, keep writing.
]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:00:33 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2228http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2227
Ridl has written seven poetry collections and has published 300 poems in magazines over the course of his career.

A retired professor from Hope College, he has earned
awards for teaching, including a spot on the list of the
100 most influential sports educations in America by the
Institute for International Sport.

Before taking the stage at the Founders Hall on Monday
evening, he met with three creative writing classes
throughout the day for discussions with students.

Meeting with the creative writing classes, Ridl fielded
questions from students about his works, as well as the
writing process he goes through.

It was also nice to be able to talk with an author in a
small group setting where you could ask questions, said
Christine Janowiak, one student present at a classroom
session. Ridl was really interested in our work as well,
which was really nice. We were able to talk about the different
ways the students attending the event wrote along
with how Ridl himself wrote.

After meeting with students, Ridl spoke before a
small crowd at the Founders Hall. Between reading his
own works to the audience, Ridl spoke a great deal about
his family, sports and inspiration he drew from his life to
create his poetry.

I ve been acquainted with Jack Ridl for some years,
through meeting him at various readings around the
state. said Judith Kerman, the faculty member behind
most of the Voices in the Valley readings. I like his poetry,
and I also thought students would probably enjoy his
personality and the fact that he has a sports connection.

Despite a somewhat weak showing at the evening
reading, the classroom readings all nearly had full rooms
with Ridl.

He gave a very good reading, Kerman said. I wish
more students had attended. His visits to creative writing
classes were very successful, with lots of questions and
good discussion between him and the students.

He had a lot of interesting pieces that he read from,
said Janowiak, who also attended the evening reading.
And when he wasn t reading his work he was telling
stories and observations and making jokes, all of which
worked nicely with the pieces he read.

Kerman said she hopes that students walked away
enjoying Ridl s poems and a sense of how down-to-earth
a poet can be.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:57:37 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2227http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2226
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail carefully walks the line between fact and fiction, between biography and political propaganda for most of its length. The playwrights, Robert Lee and Jerome Lawrence, have a clear anti-war agenda; but by choosing Henry David Thoreau, the author of Civil Disobedience, as their subject, they found a man who perfectly embodied their message.

Daniel Foley stars as Thoreau,
the exuberant icon of Americana most
famous for his diary of two years
spent living in a cabin in the woods,
Walden. Foley s Thoreau is an optimistic
and idealistic youth at odds
with society and its conventions.

The play begins with Thoreau s
friend and sometime mentor, Ralph
Waldo Emerson, and his wife Lydia
reminiscing about Henry and his peculiar
ways.

It then leaps around to his time as
a schoolteacher, his days working for
Emerson, his tenure at Walden, his assistance
to a runaway slave, and other
events, always returning back to the
prison cell where he spends most of
the play.

The disjunctive structure makes
the story more interesting and coherent,
allowing events to be presented
through thematic links rather than
strict chronology. It also allows a wider
range of Thoreau s life to be portrayed
than the title implies.

The historical Thoreau did in fact
spend a night in jail when he was 29
for failing to pay his taxes. Thoreau,
who was released (against his wishes)
when his aunt paid his debt for him,
insisted that his actions were a moral
imperative.

Thoreau argued that since taxes
funded the Mexican-American War,
and that he believed the war was
unjust, he was obliged to refuse payment,
even if he was only one honest
man. His experience in jail led him
to draft his landmark treatise on the
individual and the state, Resistance to
Civil Government.

This theme of the individual
conscience s need to resist conformity
and oppression is the running
thread of Thoreau s writings, and of
Lee and Lawrence s play.

For the most part, the message
is deftly integrated into the text, revealed
through Thoreau s battles with
the domineering Deacon Ball (David
Milka), his mother (Erinn Holm) and
occasionally Emerson himself (Caleb
Knutson).

At the end of the play, however,
the message is hammered home too
forcefully through Thoreau s nightmare
vision of a battlefield.

Though the staging with
smoke machines, red fog lights, and
actors stalking the stage with pointed
rifles is spectacular, actors barking
Learn to kill! repeatedly, to a backdrop
of Vietnam War photographs,
makes the message too obvious.

Still, the play is thoroughly enjoyable
for its insight into Thoreau s life
somehow, I had never imagined
him as a young man before and for
its performances. Foley s Thoreau has
the wide-eyed optimism and endless
drive of early Jake Gyllenhall characters
like Homer Hickam in October
Sky. And Knutson s Emerson is a
particular treat, capturing the showy
tics, the humphs and harrumphs of
the Sage of Concord, who seems
to never be able to turn his podiumvoice
off.

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail is
showing at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday,
and 3 p.m. on Sunday.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:56:02 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2226http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2225
Art in the Heart of the City will take place at the Museum, 1126 N. Michigan, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Friday. The casual event, featuring pizza and drinks, includes silent and live auctions. Attendees can also observe 11 artists at work during the event, modeling their methods.

Paolo Pedini, a 2008 graduate,
and his wife Sarah Pedini are leading
the fund-raising charge. The Pedinis
are owners and operators of the fourmonth
old Court Street Gallery, a fine
art exhibition and studio space in Old
Town Saginaw.

Pedini said he was approached by a
member of the museum board to donate
a piece, but realized he could do more.

As a gallery owner, I saw I was
in a position to sponsor the event,
to round up a lot of local artists, he
said. I could find people outside the
norm.

Pedini used his connections to
solicit donations from younger and
sometimes edgier artists, those artists
he characterized as more modern than
the usual.

I want to expose new artists and
new audiences to this museum, he
said. These are not necessarily artists
who have ever even been inside the
museum before.

One of those artists is Dennis Rogers,
a graphic design senior who donated
one work of digital photography to
Pedini for the auction.

Rogers explained he used to frequent
the museum as a child with his
mother, but has not been there for some
time.

I didn t know about this event
until Paolo asked me for a donation,
Rogers said. I ve never had my work
at an event at the museum before.

As a supporter of the museum
and an independent artist, Rogers
said the benefit of this event is twofold
for him.

It s a great cause, and it s great
exposure for me, he said. I try to do
anything I can to help out the local art
scene.

Former Cardinal Kellie Schneider
also donated her work the auction. Two
prints of her dark and whimsical penand-
ink drawings will be up for bidding
Thursday night.

Like Rogers, Schneider said she
was glad to help the museum. But she
also expressed a more personal reason
she was excited for the event.

I m really looking forward to just
going to the museum, eating pizza and
having fun all night, Schneider said.
It s going to be a really nice chance to
relax. ]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:51:21 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2225http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2224
When you re short on cash:
Little Caesars Hot n Ready

You probably won t ever
marvel at the taste of the
crust, zest of the sauce, or
quality of the pepperonis.
Still, it s tough to beat a Hot
n Ready when you instantaneously
decide you want
pizza and must be eating it
within the next four minutes.
It s also ideal for the
average college student s
wallet, which usually contains
no more than a few
bucks and maxed out credit
cards. Just don t have any
expectations of dancing a jig
as you leave the restaurant
like all of those buffoons
from the commercials. It ll
do in a pinch, but I ve never
felt like performing any sort
of dance moves in unbridled
anticipation of eating a Hot
n Ready.

When you re in a New York
state of mind:
Brooklyn Boys
(Midland St. in Bay City)

New York style pizza is something
of an acquired taste. Some
can t get past thinking it s little
more than some greasy cheese
atop a floppy cracker. Others
welcome the light texture of the
pizza and its ability to make
eating grease and cheese seem
like reasonable dining. If you re
one of the latter, you need not
hitch a ride to the Bronx to get
your NY-style pizza fix. Brooklyn
Boys boasts a menu full
of such favorites. Best yet, the
restaurant s interior makes you
feel like you re in an authentic
New York pizzeria. It s like eating
in Sal s Pizzeria from Do the
Right Thing, except with a far
lower possibility that Spike Lee
is going to chuck a trash can
through the window.

When you want to go deep:
Timbers
(State St. in Saginaw)

Timbers has a lot to offer its
patrons: a variety of dishes,
quality drink specials, and
the aura that you re eating
and drinking in a remote
lodge up north (assuming
that lodge seemingly has
182 big-screen TVs). The
restaurant also has a selection
of pizza that makes the
offerings from chain restaurants
wither with embarrassment.
This includes
the deep-dish pizza, which
will fill you up without
tacking on the guilt of eating
the pie-like pizza that
calls itself Chicago style.
And while most people enjoy
Chicago style pizza, it s
not something you want
to attempt to conquer in a
public setting.

When you want more crust
for your buck:
Jet s 8 Corner Pizza

When most of us were children,
the pizza crust was
practically a deal-breaker.
Only if it was stuffed with
cheese did it become at all appealing.
But as we aged, our
palettes changed. And that
meant a greater appreciation
for the arts, social issues, and
pizza crust. That is, assuming
it wasn t the flavorless
chunk of hardened dough
(I m looking at you, Little
Caesars). So it was a great
day for us suddenly refined
pizza-crust-loving individuals
when Jet s Pizza unveiled
its 8 Corner Pizza. Boasting
a flavorful deep-dish composition
of zesty sauce and
cheese, the 8 Corner Pizza
really shines in that every
piece is, you guessed it, a corner
piece. This is definitely a
pizza you want to share with
others, though, unless you re
a glutton for spending your
evenings on the ground in
stomach-clutching agony.

When you want pizza from your freezer:
California Pizza Kitchen

Pizza is one of those foods that shouldn t ever have to come from the freezer, since it s one
of the few edible things you can have delivered to your door. But if you don t feel like tipping
anyone, yet still can t shake a craving for something resembling pizza, California Pizza
Kitchen s line of frozen pizza is your best bet. Tombstone is the veteran of frozen pizza and
Digiorno has the all the cute advertisements. But California Pizza Kitchen delivers a large assortment
of choices, including a thin crust that isn t far from what you d find at all the pizza
establishments you avoided calling earlier in the night.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:53:58 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2224http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2223
As human beings, we have a
long and notorious record of trying
to pin the blame for our actions on
someone else. For years, we have
spent without thought as to the longterm
consequences of living beyond
our means. And until now, foreclosures
and repossessions were just
horror stories meant to scare high
school economics students. When
the economy soured, we decided
that the job losses and foreclosures
would still not touch us. After all,
that sort of thing only happened to
other people, and instead of reigning
in our spending habits and living
more modestly, we continued spending
hand over fist for our five-dollar
Starbucks coffee, hundred-dollar
jeans, and thousand-dollar super
laptops.

The government has hardly
been setting a shining example, with
hundreds of billions of dollars going
to spending projects in hopes that
people will spend more and jump
start the economy. The irony of this
is that as long as people get bailed
out after making poor decisions,
they never will learn how to take
proper care of their finances. The
very root of our problems continues
to go unaddressed, and until it is,
this cycle of overspending will go on
indefinitely.

While it may be tough to cut
back on our spending, it is crucial
that we do so. Especially as students,
the full weight of student loans has
not yet hit as we do not have to worry
about paying them off until after
we graduate. Likewise, for those of
us who are fortunate enough to have
garnered enough scholarships and
grants that we have to pay little to
nothing out of pocket, we have not
had to deal with the reality of literally
having no money to spend and
living paycheck to paycheck.

I m sure that many people will
criticize me for saying that we need
to restrain our spending during a
recession because spending is what
will strengthen our economy. While
this may be, if we downsize our
rampant consumption of goods, and
reign in our spending, we may very
well see a decrease in the price of
goods. It all relates to simple supply
and demand. If we demand less in
the way of high-priced luxury goods,
the prices of these goods will drop,
making them more affordable for
all. And I m sure no one will look
to spread the blame around when it
comes to more affordable goods.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:47:11 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2223http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2222
As more facts arrive, reporters and commentators question whether mental instability or Islamic extremism may have inspired Hasan s actions.

According to NPR, anonymous
sources at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center described Hasan s behavior as
disconnected, aloof, paranoid, belligerent,
and schizoid. Sources also
reported that he antagonized some
students and faculty by espousing
what they perceived to be extremist
Islamic views.

Despite the fact that approximately
3,500 Muslims honorably serve
in the U.S. military, some in the media
express concern that Hasan s apparent
extreme religious views may be used
for political fear mongering.

Newsweek s Evan Thomas, for example,
said recently, I cringe that he s
a Muslim. I mean, because it inflames
all the fears. I think he s probably a
nutcase. But with that label attached
to him, it will get the right wing going
and it just I mean these things are
tragic, but that makes it much worse.

I disagree with Thomas. I have a
higher opinion of the American people.
I don t believe Americans become fearful
of someone based on the simple fact
that that person happens to be a Muslim.
American culture s fundamental
values include the peaceful practice of
religion, and the majority of Americans
do so according to their faith.

However, if the threat is real, then
isn t a reasonable amount of fear a
healthy, if not life-preserving, reaction?
Fort Hood aside, events since the Cold
War prove Islamic extremists commit
acts of terrorism that kill Muslims and
non-Muslims around the world that
is a real threat.

The facts tell us that Islamic
extremism played a significant role in
Hasan s actions.

Media reports indicate Hasan had
contact with al-Qa eda cleric Anwar
al-Awlaki, whose sermons were also
attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers.

A slide from Hasan s 2007 Power
Point entitled The Koranic World
View As It Relates to Muslims in the
Military states, It s getting harder
and harder for Muslims in the service
to morally justify being in a military
that seems constantly engaged against
fellow Muslims. The same presentation
also states, We love death more
then you love life! Classmates claim
Hasan s presentation justified suicide
bombing.

Hasan reportedly told colleagues
at one time, I m a Muslim first and an
American second.

These sentiments seem to have
gained little attention as Hasan was
promoted to the rank of major in May.
In hindsight, the army would have
done well to question Hasan s expression
of divided loyalty and his ability
to perform his duties.

Hasan is not the only service
member to be engaged in a war against
other members of his faith. Other
people have done so without choosing
treason.

Thousands of Muslims currently
in the U.S. military peacefully observe
their faith while fighting in the war
against radical Islam. Their beliefs systems
are apparently compatible with
their defense of freedom as we know it.

Christians have also dealt with
wars fought against members of
their own faith. In 1990, Clinton s
policy was to support the infiltrating
Kosovo Liberation Army, a terrorist
group comprised of ethnic Albanian
Muslim radicals. Christians serving
in NATO were ordered to bomb the
opposing Christian Serbs, people who
aided American service members during
World War II.

Unlike these other service members,
Hasan broke his oath by attacking
U.S. service members and citizens in
a time of war. He betrayed the trust
of his country. Hasan has become the
textbook definition of a traitor, and the
role radical Islam played cannot be
dismissed.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:45:00 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2222http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2221
The Veteran s Day parade
in my hometown is a good time.
The National Guard, Army, Marines,
Air Force, Coast Guard, etc.
march down Ashman Street accompanied
by spirited, up-lifting
music and an aura of honor. The
citizenry, with hot-cocoa and
walking-tacos, cheers gratefully
for the defenders of freedom. The
response is appropriate; I don t
think there was any semblance
of justice in the treatment of
Vietnam veterans, and perhaps
the only veterans in the history
of the U.S. that weren t horribly
mistreated were those from World
War II. I cannot imagine spitting
at a young man or woman who
has risked his or her life at least
partially in the defense of mine.
Maybe I didn t ask them to, but
somebody else did. If you really
feel the need to spit on somebody,
spit on the people who ask for
war, not the people who fight
it. It s important that the crowd
show gratitude, but there is something
missing in the parade.

In rural Pakistan and Afghanistan,
the processions to
honor their veterans are very different.
First, all the orphans created
by the war walk by, then all
the widows, then all the mutilated
and handicapped soldiers with
prosthetic limbs and scarred faces.
Not until the community has paid
homage to those people, those
who will bear the brunt of the
cost of war, do the healthy, snazzily
dressed troops pass by in the
synchronized stomp. At these parades,
war is at least given a more
accurate representation. A young
boy on his father s shoulders
won t only see the impressive
looking soldiers and be inspired
to run off to war. With the sad
faces of the orphans and widows
in his mind, he will think of his
mother, his sister, his future wife.
The soldiers march won t appear
so valiant next to the wounded
veterans limp.

Certainly, this alternative
structure of a parade is not free of
flaws. While American youth is
being indoctrinated with the glory
and prestige of war, the youth in
rural Pakistan is perhaps being
embittered, seeing the damage
done to their neighbors and loved
ones. When the portrayal of war
is valiant and neglects to include
the suffering inherent to war,
people are deceived. They are
quick to propose violence to solve
problems. When the violence and
atrocity of war is constantly witnessed
within civil society, natural
human capacity for vengeance
causes hatred to run rampant. So
how does a community prevent
an inclination for war from infiltrating
its people and culture?
As with many things, a simple
education would suffice. Make
ones citizens aware of the horrors
of war, but don t inundate
them with it. There is no need to
promote the glory of war and create
a sense of pride in becoming
a soldier. One will naturally feel
pride in defending the lives of
their loved ones when it is necessary.
The additional brainwashing
that works to glorify the role of a
soldier is manipulation.

We are not a peaceful people
not even the type of peaceful
one could use to characterize the
Ojibwa. From supersoakers, to
laser-tag, to video games, to the
militarization of sports, war is
a part of American culture. War
dominates our politics. We spend
over $560 billion each year on
our military, and are essentially
the paid bouncer for our allies, so
much so that Costa Rica doesn t
even need a military. Conceived
in war and in a perpetual state of
war since, the United States is not
peaceful because the culture of its
military is meshed with its civil
culture. There is a reason why the
Constitution demands that the
head of the military is a civilian.
The people must rule the military,
not the other way around. If the
two are not kept separate, the
military-industrial complex becomes
the military-cultural complex.
Veteran s Day is important
to remember not only the sacrifice
soldiers have made for us, but the
sacrifice we make every time we
send soldiers to war.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:40:49 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2221http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2220The Vanguard VisionGoing green is all the rage. This country applauds all that is energy efficient and eco-friendly. And it should research indicates that our carbon footprint would be a tight squeeze for Paul Bunyan, judging by our comparison with other nations. Thus, offsetting our contribution to global warming has become a priority for many. But there are different shades of green.

There are those who recycle when it s convenient. There are those who are plastic and paper sorting fiends. Moving toward an even richer shade of green, there are those who purchase second-hand clothes and household commodities. And at SVSU, we have some Cardinals who are perhaps as green as they get. These Cardinals forgo the convenience of driving to work and choose to ride the bus.

Finding a way to make public
transportation work in the Midwest can
be a challenge a challenge that some
accept and factor into their commuting
schedules. Traveling by bus requires
knowledge of routes and transfers and
some flexibility in one s schedule to allot
for travel time. The green Cardinals
who opt for this form of transportation
should be commended for their commitment
to shrinking their individual
carbon footprints.

We at the Vanguard realize that the
bus isn t everyone s first choice. Some
students don t have cars, while others
can t depend on the bus schedule to
get them to where they need to be on
time. The system isn t ideal, and it s
unlikely that the city has enough money
to provide quick and affordable mass
transportation to every desired destination
in Saginaw. So, no, riding the bus
doesn t work for everyone, but it could
work for more people, and it has more
advantages that just the green factor.

First, riding the bus is easy on the
wallet. Pocket change can get one from
point A to B in most cases. When gas
prices fluctuate in an unpredictable
fashion, one can usually count on bus
fares to remain stable.

Additionally, those who travel by
bus can do all of the things one is never
supposed to do behind the wheel of
a car but sometimes does anyway
make phone calls, send text messages,
eat, yell at one s offspring, listen to an
iPod or just completely zone out. Time
lost due to taking an indirect route with
stops can be time to cross off a number
of to-do list items.

Going back to money matters,
Michigan weather has been known to
do a number on our vehicles and the
roads on which we travel, which in turn
can do further damage to our vehicles.
The service engine soon light can be
the worst news a person can receive in
tough economic times. Riding the bus
more has the potential to decrease the
chances of having to make car repairs
for hundreds upon hundreds of dollars.

Looking at public transportation in
this positive light sure portrays a side of
bus riding that differs from the perception
many may have of waiting out in
the cold and adding valuable minutes
to a daily commute. Again, though, the
system isn t perfect. A lot of this has to
do with the geographical layout of our
city and residential neighborhoods. But
the die-hard public transportation aficionados
on our campus prove that it can
be done, and it isn t an awful experience.

It may be worth finding out if at
least one of your weekly commutes
could be made via bus. If there is a
greater demand for public transportation,
conversations on how to improve
the routes and schedules will hopefully
garner more attention from city officials.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:37:17 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2220http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2219
To answer that, SVSU is expanding the accommodations offered by Disability Services, an office students turn to when trying to overcome struggles in the classroom.

Cynthia Woiderski, director of
the department, says many students
feel more comfortable making use of
the services.

A lot of times, students are
afraid to come to us for help because
of problems they ve experienced in
the past, Woiderski said. But college
isn t high school. College students are
almost always more open to accept
diversity and that people are people,
and the same stigma isn t attached.

The range of accommodations offered
by Disability Services has grown
over the years, but the most frequent
one involves altering the test-taking
environment. This can include a different
color of paper on which the test
is printed, a longer amount of time to
take the test, a distraction-free room
or a computer that reads test questions
out loud.

Other common services offered
by the department include adjustable
tables for students with wheelchairs,
as well as sign language interpreters
and assisted listening devices for students
with hearing impairments.

In particular, Woiderski said she
is excited with two services that are
expanding.

The first major change is the increased
offering of study skill mentors.

And this service will be open to
everyone, not just students with disabilities,
she said.

Following a successful program
on improving study skills and habits,
Disability Services is increasing its
availability and training three more
mentors to help.

The second major change will be
an accessible computer station in the
office with assistive technology programs.

Any student will be able to make
an appointment to come in and use
the computer to learn the software,
she said. We ll also have students
available to work one-on-one with
those who want to use it.

Assistive technology software
has gained popularity among students.

These programs include screen
readers and text zooming for those
with vision impairments, as well as a
recording device that takes notes and
transfers them to a computer.

More changes are on the way.

Woiderski is planning a panel of
faculty members to develop a better
emergency evacuation system for
people with disabilities. Disability
Services also will host a speaker on
campus later this month who will discuss
autism and the best ways to help
students with it to succeed.

In addition, Disability Services is
constantly improving ways to raise
campus-wide awareness about help
offered to students.

Students who would like help
may contact the office to begin the
process of acquiring it.

Once we determine the types of
services a student needs, we ll generate
letters for them to distribute to the
faculty, she said. The students actually
get to choose which classes and
professors they want to use and take
advantage of this additional help,
which in turn gives them the personal
freedom of how they continue with
their education.

The process of obtaining these
accommodation letters is relatively
simple, Woiderski said, but the first
step often is the most difficult.

The first thing we need at the office
is official documentation from a
qualified evaluator, Woiderski said.
It s the most time-consuming step of
the process because students need to
make appointments with the appropriate
evaluator."

After obtaining the documentation,
the student has an intake interview
with the office. The staff there
then review the case and determine
the most beneficial services for the
student.

Woiderski said she is proud that
students have independence and control
in how they use the help.

We try very hard to make college
a positive experience for all students
who walk through our door. If we can
help these students become more independent,
then we ve succeeded in
our job.

Students can learn more about
Disability Services by visiting Curtiss
Hall 112 or the department s Web site
at www.svsu.edu/disabilityservices]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:28:23 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2219http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2218
The International Food Festival has become an annual event where students gather to sample their way across the globe, one dish at a time.

With almost 20 countries involved,
students could try many native foods,
from Japanese to Haitian to Saudi
Arabian to Ugandan.

Pat Shelley, adviser of the
International Student Club, said the
festival is one of their two big annual
events, along with the intercultural
talent show every winter.

Many students who helped
prepare the food were the members of
the club.

Their message here?
Diversity, according to Nadeer
Alabdulwahab.

This event is held to promote
culture through food, said
Alabdulwahab, a member of the ISC.

We try to involve all students
to promote their culture and in turn
help international students learn the
American culture as well.

Why food? Why a smorgasbord
of dishes to bring people together?

It educates overall it s a fun
event that takes a lot of teamwork
and camaraderie, said Matt Wilton,
director of Dining Services. The
real magic happens in the kitchen.
But the truly neat thing is that food
is a common denominator in a lot of
cultures: no matter where you are,
food is an important part of culture.

The ISC Food Festival was
considered a hit with students as
well.

Graphic design sophomore Holly
Morton said she was uncertain at
first; but by the end, she had been
converted. I love the rice pudding,
she said.

Fellow sophomore Laura Tanner,
a nursing major, said, The food is
OK. I like the idea, but I m hesitant to
try other foods.

Others took the plunge into
cultures unknown headfirst.

One student said he loved trying
new foods and that he looks forward
to this event every semester.

They should set up more of these
events, he said. Maybe once a month.

Meredith Coatoam, a sociology
senior, said, I think it s a great idea.
It s a good way to display the different
cultures here at SVSU. ]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:24:18 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2218http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2217
National statistics reveal that more than 70 percent of college students pursuing a bachelor degree now take five or more years to do so.

At SVSU, the numbers don t
vary much from national figures, according
to Robert Maurovich, vice
president of student services and
enrollment management. He added
that this change isn t a result of just
one thing.

Factors include a change in the
socioeconomic landscape of college
and in program requirements.

College has become a more
open-opportunity experience, he
said. Because of this, the socioeconomic
strata of college have
changed.

For many students to work
through their programs, they must
take on 31 credits each academic
year. With the broadening of social
and economic classes attending college,
not everyone can find such class
loads financially feasible.

It s become much more common
for a student to stop out for a
while and work to help pay for their
education, Maurovich said. Before,
it wasn t really socially acceptable to
not finish college in more than four
years.

Financially related or not, fewer
students are now taking enough
credits to complete their degree within
four years.

About 40 percent of undergraduates
this semester are taking 12 or
fewer credits. This makes spring and
summer courses a necessity to remain
on pace for a bachelor degree s
four-year completion.

Maurovich notes, however,
many are not likely to use the spring
and summer semesters to make up
ground since the majority of students
go home after the winter semester.

For example, more than 75 percent of
this year s freshmen class lives outside
the Saginaw area, eliminating
spring or summer courses as an option
for many.

For some students, a willingness
to take 31 credits during fall and
winter each year still isn t enough to
obtain a degree in four years.

A key reason for this is the maturation
of several programs at the
University. Requirements for areas
such as education, engineering and
occupational therapy have modified
the makeup of college curricula to include
at least an additional semester
for students.

While the phenomenon of a
four- or five-year college undergraduate
seems to be gaining more attention
in recent years, Maurovich said
it has existed for several decades. At
one point, national surveys that assessed
college graduation rates only
gave recognition to four-year graduates.

As time went on, Maurovich
said, they realized they needed to
start considering the five- and sixyear
graduation rates if they really
wanted to capture the reality. ]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:22:00 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2217http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2216
These are the joys SVSU students can have when attending faculty-led study abroad trips.

Now with 12 programs, five more than
last year, students have many courses and lifechanging
traveling experiences to choose from.

Instead of showing them a picture in
class, said Dr. Evelyn Ravuri, a leader of the
summer Costa Rica program, we get to actually
experience it.

On her trip, she and fellow professor
of geography Dr. Martin Arford guide the
students all around Costa Rica. They explore
the different environments, including the
tropical rainforest.

Students will break free from PowerPoint
lectures and dive into the very environment
they re studying. They take notes at such
locations as the base of a volcano, a spot near
colonial architecture or the sands of a Costa
Rican beach.

There are other trips that involve similar
experiences.

It is a great joy to open students eyes to
things, said Robert Braddock, history professor
and leader of an early summer London trip. The
England trip was designed for more than just
history students.

During Braddock s program, students
attend classes throughout the week and then
spend the weekends traveling on excursions to
places such as Dover, Oxford and France.

They attend events that show the wonders
of United Kingdom culture, including plays at
the Shakespearean Globe Theatre and a speech
from a Parliament member. Some even leave the
country to visit the Eiffel Tower.

It was incredible to see it actually there,
rather than in a book, said secondary education
senior Ryan Freehling about his trip with
Braddock to London this summer. My favorite
thing was getting to experience a different
culture.

Brian Thomas, assistant professor of
sociology, is planning his first trip as a study
abroad leader.

This is an opportunity for experiential
learning outside the classroom, said Thomas,
who will lead a group of students on a trip to
China in May.

Thomas designed his trip to be different
from other programs: on weekends, students
will travel in individual groups.

The excursions will supply groups with all
the materials a Chinese traveler needs, and the
learning experience will include a contest to
drive their travels.

Students will be given note cards with
simple Chinese phrases to bargain with a kiosk
owner in the streets of Beijing. Prizes will be
given to the winners of each activity.

Thomas will give lectures throughout the
trip. These will reflect the culture around them,
he said, and show students the differences
between U.S. and Chinese cultures.

The whole group will also explore a village
to see its natives way of life and how it differs
from the Chinese city lifestyle.

To finish the trip, the students will pack
sleeping bags and spend the night on the Great
Wall of China, waking up to see the sun rise
over an ancient landscape.

Along with all the experiences students have
while studying abroad, the faculty-led programs
are also designed to not break the bank. With
prices ranging from $2,500 to $5,400.

In addition, many scholarships are
available.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:19:38 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2216http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2215
The proposal will detail Michigan college students priorities for next years higher education budget.

A 25 percent cut for appropriations across
the board is what many expect for Michigan
in upcoming year s, said Julie Boon, SVSU s
Student Association Parliamentarian.

We want to make sure higher education
doesn t see that cut, she said.

Conference participants included representatives
from Grand Valley State University,
Oakland, Western Michigan, Eastern
Michigan and U of M Ann Arbor, Flint, and
Dearborn among others.

The rally is dubbed the Lansing Blitz.

We re thinking of different ways to hold
legislators accountable, create a 5-year plan
with SAM and get our voice solidified in
Lansing to make sure they take what we say
seriously, Boon said.

The representatives also identified campaign
issues to tackle collectively.

SA got the ball rolling this semester
through its Know Your Rights campaign
that educated and gauged students interest
on issues including the Medical Amnesty bill,
which SA passed a resolution in support of.

The bill, if passed through the state Senate
to become a law, would wave minor in
posession charges for those who call 911 in
emergencies involving the overconsumption
of alcohol.

SA also has its sights on the Student Aid
and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) a
national campaign with a goal of making college
more affordable and accessible.

Boon said her committee is thinking of
more ways to reach out to students.

[Setting up tables] works, but it s hard
because lots of students are running to class
and we can t have a conversation with them,
she said.

SAM representatives plan to reconvene in
January before classes begin again to track
their progress.

Scholarship Committee Education Talk
Series Presents:

A Call to Teaching: What does Arne
Duncan s Speech mean for the Future of
Teaching and Teacher Education
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Regional Education Center (ES 202)
4:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m.

Saginaw Valley State University will hold
an information session for the College of
Education on Thursday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m.
at its Regional Education Center-Macomb,
located at 30330 Hickey Road in Chesterfield
Township.

OBU Study Hall, 6-9 p.m., Wedge
Lounge 1

Living Proud meeetings, 8 p.m., Science
East 126

Biology Club meetings, 4 p.m., Pioneer
243]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:16:36 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2215http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2214
Two males were arrested and taken to jail Sunday, Nov. 8, after they tried running from police officers.

University Police received a phone
call at 3 a.m. saying a fight was taking
place at a point between Living
Centers South and Southwest. When
the officers arrived, two male students
immediately ran away. After the
suspects were caught, the police found
out they hadn t been fighting. They
were arrested for fleeing and resisting
arrest.

Suspicious behavior

Two males have reported being
approached by a male in a men s
restroom in Brown Hall and asked to
do inappropriate things. One incident
occurred on Monday, Nov. 9, and the
other on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Police
have only a generic description of
the male, and the case is still under
investigation.

A female student reported being
harassed through Facebook by her
former roommates Monday, Nov. 9.

Campus police told both parties not to
leave more messages.

Larceny, missing items

A female student from Living
Center Southwest reported her debit
card stolen Tuesday, Nov. 10. Someone
tried to use it at the ATM on campus
many times, but no money has been
withdrawn. The machine ate the card.

A ring was reported stolen from
Living Center Southwest on Wednesday,
Nov. 11. A student last week had
something stolen from a room, so another
roommate checked their rooms
for all their items. He then noticed his
ring missing.

Students from First Year Suites
reported their rooms being broken
into. The students had left for home
Friday, Nov. 6 and when they returned
on Nov. 9, they could not get into their
room. They found a bobby pin lodged
in the lock.

Even though the room had no
damage, belongings had been moved
around and sports drinks had been
stolen. Police said they suspect it was a
prank. The case remains open.

Property Damage

A car was keyed in J-3 lot on Nov.
11. There are no suspects.

Two parked vehicles were victims
of hit-and-run incidents this week:
one in D-Lot and the other in J-1. Both
received damage to the driver s side.

Minor in possession

Twelve minor in possession
citations were issued in two separate
incidents Friday, Nov. 13.

In one, resident assistants were
making their rounds when they heard
people talking about how drunk they
were. The RAs called University Police,
who upon arrival found a room full of
alcohol. Breathalyzer tests were given;
three students and five nonstudents
received citations.

In the other incident, student dispatchers
heard loud music and called
resident assistants. When the RAs
entered the room, they found alcohol.

Three students and one nonstudent
received citations.]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:14:40 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2214http://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2213
That might seem an unlikely destination for an American student, given the common U.S. news reports of violence in certain areas.

But Maroni chose Dubai, the United
Arab Emirates, and said she has
felt safe there. She takes classes at the
American University.

Her only hair-raising story came
when she went into the nearby country
of Oman with fellow students during
a break in September.

While there, Maroni recalled,
we went up a mountain and got out
to take pictures, which resulted in a
run-in with very wealthy and very angry
camel herders.

Fortunately, apart from being
shaken, no one was harmed.

Apart from religious distinctions,
the culture has not been very different,
she said.

Many students have a strong
sense of American culture already,
adding that you can find many of the
same stores and foods there that you
could in the U.S.

But the road to Dubai didn t come
without its hitches.

The first program I was looking
at was the American University in Beirut
(Lebanon). But she couldn t go
because of ongoing military tensions
with Israel.

Her next choice? The Middle Eastern
Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.

But more political tension halted
this plan as well.

Just as I was working on my application,
the Democrats in the U.S. began
voting legislation to recognize the
Armenian genocide ... This sparked
mass anti-American demonstrations
. . . specifically in Ankara.

Turkey denies Armenian claims
that it massacred up to 1.5 million
from 1915 to 1918.

Disappointed, discouraged, Maroni continued
searching for places abroad when she
finally caught a break courtesy of a
rather unexpected person.

I stumbled upon a scholarship
through the William Jefferson Clinton
Foundation, she said. Maroni
was later chosen as one of 10 students
from across the U.S. to be sponsored
to immerse themselves in Arabic culture.

The scholarship, which covers full
tuition and housing, allowed Maroni to
look at Dubai, which she had not considered
due to its high cost of living.

Now, Maroni is taking classes on
international business and Middle
Eastern cultures. The university itself is
a microcosm: students there come from
some 90 countries around the world.

Despite everything she is learning,
she says she still misses SVSU.

Unlike the first time I left SVSU
in my sophomore year, leaving during
my senior year has a whole different
connotation, especially as I have
gotten much more involved in campus,
she said. Studying abroad at
this point in my college career meant
leaving my fellow staff members at
the Writing Center, my fellow student
government representatives, my fellow
west coast swing dancers.

But the trip abroad has had its big
moments.

Maroni had a chance to meet former
President Clinton at a reception
Nov. 4, along with the other scholarship
recipients studying at the American
University.

I didn t realize when I got a
Clinton Scholarship I d get the chance
to thank him in person, she said. A
handshake always seems so much
better than a card. ]]>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:10:03 ESThttp://www.svsu.edu/vanguard/stories/2213