1996-03-13; Central Michigan Life

              *•—•■»%
fTEBBS>v
Central I  ICC
Michigan LITE
WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 13,
1996
VOLUME 78, NUMBER 67
MOUNT PLEASANT, MICHIGAN 48859
©1 996 CM LIFE
(517)774-3493
20 PAGES
New mainframe
running twice as
fast as old system
By Jeff Haywood
UFE Staff Writer
The 10,000 plus users of
CMU's mainframe computer
will find a faster system with
the new million dollar mainframe, which went on-line
March 9.
Keith Nelson, associate director of computer services, said
the new mainframe has three
processors that work together,
making it twice as fast as the
old mainframe.
"Everything seems to be running super,9 Nelson said.
''Super9 also is also how
Stacey Querbach, Benton
Harbor senior, described the
speed of the new mainframe.
Querbach said she used to
wait up to 10 minutes for the
See MAINFRAME Page 18
CMU may guarantee 4-year degree
By Lenny Padilla
LIFE Staff Writer
Next year's incoming freshmen
who worry about not graduating
in four years may get a helping
hand from the university.
CMU Provost Richard
Davenport said Monday that
CMU is working on a program
that would guarantee students a
four-year degree.
"We want to set up a schedule
that would encourage students
to take a full load of classes and
complete their degree in a timely
fashion," Davenport said.
Specifics of the program are
still in the works, but,
Davenport said, students -will
have to have keep an "appropri
ate" grade point average, must
make "steady progress" and will
have to carry around 15 to 16
credit hours per semester.
"If a student follows all the
guidelines and does not get
through the program in four
years, we would pay the tuition
for the remainder of his classes,"
Davenport said.
For example, because some
classes are offered spring only or
fall only or on demand, if CMU
requires a certain class for a
degree and the class is then not
offered, the university would be
responsible to pay for that class.
But if students change their
majors in the course of the program, it is also possible it could
be a breach of the program and
students could possibly lose the
guarantee.
According to Davenport, the
program, which would be the
first of its kind in Michigan, was
initiated at the request of
President Leonard Plachta.
"The president initiated the
program because of his concern
because the length of a 4-year
degree has expanded," he said.
"Forty percent of incoming freshmen don't know what they want
to major in."
He also said the national average for students to earn a degree
is 4.8 years.
Davenport said the program,
which   has   not   been   officially
released, would focus on incoming freshmen who already know
what they want to major in
before enrolling for classes.
Since the program is still in
the early stages of development,
Davenport said he does not yet
have a release date.
"We hope to announce something soon," he said. "We don't
really have a time line, but we're
pushing hard on it."
Davenport said there is a possibility the program could take
effect for the 1996-97 school year
if everything goes well.
"I think we can accomplish it,
but it will require much coordi-
See DEGREE Page 8
SPORTS
Baseball team fairs well
on spring break trip
CMU came back to chilly
Michigan with a 6-4
record. The Chippewas do
not have a home game
until March 26.
PAGE IO
LIFESTYLES
Stressed Out?
Chill-out,   kick
relax   with
today's     stress
methods.
back   and
some   of
relieving
PAGE 14
Detroit company picked for
Barnard, Tate demolition
By Kristi Groner
LIFE Staff Writer
Diamond Dismantling will
swing the wrecking ball that
demolishes Barnard and Tate
halls.
Facilities Management signed
a contract with the Detroit based
company Feb. 26, said Jim TVyon,
senior project manager for
Facilities Management.
Diamond Dismantling had the
lowest bid of $357,221, which
includes the alternative of taking
out the footings and basements of
the halls, Tryon said.
Facilities Management accepted bids Feb. 21. The highest bid
was $643,000, Tryon said.
This is the first time CMU has
used Diamond Dismantling,
TVyon said. However, they have
done work for the city of Detroit
and various other cities.
"They're a reputable company,''
he said.
Barnard and Tate halls will not
be torn down until the beginning
of June. Utilities in both buildings
need to be rerouted and salvageable items need to be recovered
before the halls can be demolished, TVyon said.
Barnard and Tate were closed
in 1993 because the buildings
could no longer be operated economically as residence halls and
both were in need of significant
repair and renovation.
The Board of Trustees approved
the demolition of Barnard and
Tate at its December meeting.
Mt. Pleasant City Commission
adopts ban on public nudity
By Lenny Padilla
LIFE Staff Writer
The Mount Pleasant City
Commission voted unanimously
to adopt a ban on public nudity
Monday night after receiving no
argument from local residents at
a public hearing.
Commissioner Kenneth Bovee,
who voted for the ban, said the
ordinance is in the best interest
of the community.
"I don't believe (public nudity)
is in the wishes of the larger
community,'' Bovee said. "And it
is my job to reflect the wishes of
my constituents.
"Personally I don't think it is a
good thing for this community. It
is not a good influence and it
should not be promoted," he
said.
City Manger Paul Preston
drafted the ordinance, which
was presented to the commission at the Feb. 26 meeting.
The ordinance requires that
certain portions of the male and
female anatomy are covered.
The new ordinance backs a
previous ordinance regulating
where an establishment promoting public nudity can locate.
With the adoption of the new
ordinance, it makes it extremely
difficult for such an establishment to locate in the area.
"We eliminated the geographic
areas (with the previous ordinance) for these places and isolated them further with this
ordinance," Bovee said.
Bovee said the idea of a public
establishment taking root in the
area didn't sit well with area
residents.
"I heard a lot from residents,"
Bovee said. "I got at least two or
three calls a week for the last
few months expressing their
concerns that we do something.
There was a lot of interest in
this issue, probably more than
on any other issue so far."
Albert Kaufmann, city commissioner,   also   received   many
calls and letters.
"... I think the consensus was
that it wasn't something they
wanted their children to see.
"I don't think it is necessary
for us to have this type of entertainment in our community," he
said.
According to the ordinance,
violators will be slapped with a
misdemeanor, fined $500 or
imprisoned for up to 90 days for
each offense.
The ordinance takes effect
March 26.
In other business:
•Approved a resolution to
authorize the Finance Director
to issue payroll and warrants in
the event that less than four
members are on the commission
as a result of the March 19 recall
election. If the commission is left
with less than four members, it
could take no official action,
could not approve any ordinances and could not make any
purchases.
t
LIFE Photo/Gabriel Guerrero
CPRIMP **°k Morse, Lake resident, inspects and
wl^HllilVB        cleans the railroad crossing  lights    on
CLEANING    Broadway Road across from Nelson Park
Tuesday afternoon.
Tribal members get preview of new bingo hall
By Doug Fisher
LlPE Staff Wnter	
The Saginaw Chippewa
Indian Tribe opened the doors to
the new 50,000 square foot bingo
hall Monday night for a quick
peek.
Tribal members and their families got a sneak preview of the
world-class facility Monday,
while employees of the tribe and
Soaring Eagle Casino got in on
the festivities TViesday. Turnout
during the two-day event was
between 850-900, said Rich
Bailey, the manager in charge of
bingo operations.
"We thought we would experiment with it to see what problems we'll have to face before it
opens to the public," he said.
Bonnie Quigno, assistant general manager for Soaring Eagle
Casino, 7070 E. Broadway Road,
said work still needs to be done
before the facility officially
opens April 1.
"The concession stand needs
some more equipment and the
computerized system that gives
us reports and does the tracking
needs to be installed," she said.
Shortly into the first bingo
game Tuesday night, the lights
went out, much to the dismay of
the crowd. But Quigno restored
the power after a short delay.
"The reason we're running
these mock sessions is to work
out the bugs," said Tribal Sub-
Chief Gary Quigno. "The lights
is just one of the problems and
there's also one board (with
problems.)"
The "board" Gary Quigno was
referring to was one of the two
large boards with the bingo
numbers and letters on it. There
were six other smaller boards
lining the walls of the hall, as
well as 10 television monitors
showing the last number which
came up. The decor of the building focused on a woodland style.
The facility seats 2,500 people
for bingo, but can accommodate
about 3,500 for other forms of
entertainment. Gary Quigno
said the tribe is looking at bringing boxing, concerts and other
shows to the hall.
"Boxing is still in the talking
See BINGO Page 8	
LIFE Photo/ Katharine Gawlowski
Tribal members and employees of the Soaring Eagle Casino were offered a night of free bingo
Tuesday evening  in an effort to work out bugs in the new system. The new bingo hall will be open
to the public on April 1st.