1998-09-28; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Volume 81, Number 13
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
©1998 CM LIFE
79 years of serving the community
Monday
September 28, 1998
14 pages
Auditorium renovations hit snag; events rescheduled
By Renee Lutz
LIFE Assistant News Editor
Those who plan to attend
everything from comedy acts to
dance performances will not be
seeing them in Warriner
Auditorium anytime this
semester.
During renovations to the
auditorium, asbestos was found
by "workers under the existing
stage floor and above the floor's
sub-base,     said     Bob     Ebner,
director of University Events.
The stage floor was slated for
completion Wednesday, allowing University Events to continue being performed in
Warriner. However, replacement of the new floor was
delayed several weeks, forcing
all University Events scheduled for this semester to be
moved to other locations.
"Things kind of got hold up
on production," he said. "They
found some asbestos and will
have to bring in an abater to fix
(the flooring). It laid us back a
few weeks. It's not an ideal situation."
Ebner said some of the events
scheduled may take place in
Finch Fieldhouse or in the
music building, but locations
are not yet confirmed.
"We're working on other possibilities. We don't have a lot of
big space on campus (for performances and other events)," he
said.
Among the events that must
be moved are an Oct. 9 performance by the improvisational
theater troupe Chicago City
Limits, an Oct. 10 concert by
the Scottish band The
Tannahill Weavers and an Oct.
16 performance by the Mexican
dance group Ballet Folklorico
"Quetzalli," Ebner said.
"We're not canceling their
shows, so they're all right with
that .... The biggest problem
is if you're sitting on the floor
(in Finch), but the Chicago
improv group, if nothing else,
they'll probably use it as part of
their bit," Ebner said.
Ebner  said   he  anticipates  a
Alumni return to find changes all over campus
By Kelly Taylor
LIFE Staff Writer and
By Angie Fenton
LIFE Staff Wnter
They came from near and far for the food, the fun,
the game — and, of course — for the friends.
Many alumni viewed the stadium improvements
and changes around campus for the first time on
Saturday, and though feelings are mixed about other
changes, everyone agrees that they love the stadium.
Claudia Lomerson-Rhode, 1959 graduate, said the
stadium is much nicer now, and she believes more
alumni should come back to see the improvements.
"There shouldn't be an empty seat in the house, a
beautiful day, a wonderful game and a beautiful facility," Rhode said.
Attendance at Saturday's game was 21,984 — 8,103
short of the 30,087 the stadium could hold.
Rhode's husband and four daughters received
degrees from CMU.
"A lot of our heart is in Mount Pleasant. My husband and I would agree those were the best years of
our lives," she said.
Her only complaint is the change from
Homecoming queens and kings to ambassadors. She
doesn't understand why CMU -would change such a
long standing tradition.
"I don't know, maybe it's the competition. I just
enjoyed that part," she said.
Jim and Bev Tbtten remember the excitement on
campus when the stadium was first opened in 1972.
"When it was first built, it was quite a facility," said
Jim Tbtten, a 1986 graduate.
"They were quite proud of it at the time," said Bev
Tbtten, 1974 graduate.
The couple witnessed CMU's transition from a
small school to what it is today. When Bev Tbtten was
an underclassman, she -watched football games on the
old field before Kelly/Shorts stadium was built.
"The whole town was a lot smaller, not just the football stadium," Bev said.
Diana Reeve-Thomas, 1973 graduate, also remembers a time when Mount Pleasant was a much different community.
"I can't believe how much it's grown since I've been
here, but it's still a beautiful campus," Thomas said.
"They were small back then and they've come up so
high. They deserve something like this."
She and her son have season football tickets, and
See ALUMNI Page 14
Jim Cone, Laurium senior, and
Letrtia Costilla, Lansing senior,
were selected as the 1998
Homecoming Gold
Ambassadors Friday at the pep
assembly.
Nice weather kept the weekend festivities rolling with
about 22,000 attending
Saturday's football game.
Alumni and students were
able to watch the Chippewas
earn their second victory of
the season against Kent, 46-7.
Classified 13
Crossword 13
Et cetera 10-11
Sports 6-8
Voices
To reach CM LIFE
Phone: (517) 774-3493
E-Mail
CMLIFEttc7nuvm.csv.cmich.edu
Fax number (517) 774-7805
Central Michigan LIFE Online
Internet address:
http://www.cinlife.cmich.edu
Red Wings trainer attributes success to Central
By Liz Wishaw
LIFE Editor
In the 12 years since he graduated from
CMU, John Wharton's life has been on the
fast track and doesn't look like it is slowing
down anytime soon.
Wharton, Detroit Red Wings head athletic
trainer, has seen the pace of his everyday
life pick up in the last two years in his work
and family life. He has reveled in the Wings'
back-to-back Stanley Cup Championship as
the team's trainer for eight years, started a
physical therapy clinic, The Training Room,
in Troy and added a daughter to his family.
"It's almost time to slow down," said
Wharton, who was CMU's Homecoming
Grand Marshal this year. Til be 35 soon . . .
I have a contract this year and two more
years alter that. It may be, I predict, my last
contract with the Wings.
That will be three more years and I could
walk away from it, knowing I enjoyed the
success of the game," he said Friday after
CMU's Homecoming pep assembly.
With two young children at home, Brooke,
2, and Luke, who turns 5 in November.
Wharton   said   the   most   important   thing
right now for him is his family. His wife,
Jeanne Wharton, also a CMU graduate,
works as an audiologist at Henry Ford
Hospital.
He said the accident in May 1997 that
injured defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov
and   team   masseuse   Sergei   Mnatsakanov
BILL SCHUMAN •
CM LIFE
CMU grads John
Wharton and his
wife, Jeanne, preside over
Saturday's
Homecoming
parade. Wharton,
who has been the
Detroit Red
Wings athletic
trainer for nine
years, was selected as this year's
Homecoming
Grand Marshal.
put into perspective how short life is.
"It's hard to describe the words I felt when
(the accident) happened. But it's helped put
into perspective that we have to live each
day to the fullest," he said. *T don't want that
See WHARTON Page 2	
large crowd for Chicago City
Limits and wants to accommodate the crowd as well as the
performers.
He said a stage will be set up
in Finch Fieldhouse or another
location to accommodate certain performers, but the atmosphere of Warriner Auditorium
cannot be replaced.
See AUDITORIUM Page 2
college
debts still
climbing
By Angela Teubert
LIFE Staff Writer
Scot Stier plans on moving
back in with his parents after
graduation to repay financial
aid loans.
Stier, Macomb sophomore,
said he uses mostly financial
aid to pay rent and other bills.
With amounts piling up on top
of tuition and other expenses,
Stier has chosen to move home
to try and reduce his debt
before it grows much larger.
Tm pretty sure the career
I'm choosing will be a pretty
well paying job," Stier said,
who is a computer science
major. "But I want to pay as
much as possible, before I rack
up any more interest."
Stier estimates his debt could
reach  $45,000 by the  time he
See LOANS Page 14
Football
player
faces drug
By Angle Fenton
LIFE Staff Wnter
A CMU football player is on his
way to trial on two counts culminating from a felony charge and a
misdemeanor.
Split end Reiko J. Hurd is
charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and
operating with expired license
plates on a State of Michigan highway, according to Isabella County
court records.
Hurd, a Flint junior with sophomore eligibility, was arraigned for
trial on the felony and misdemeanor charges Thursday.
According to those records, Hurd
was stopped for
driving with
expired plates
Wednesday
evening. While
stopped, the
police spotted
several bags of
marijuana in the
vehicle.
If convicted of
the marijuana
charge, Hurd, 20, faces up to four
years in jail and/or a $20,000 fine.
If convicted of the expired plates
charge, Hurd faces up to 90 days
and/or a $100 fine.
Head football coach Dick Flynn
said Hurd was suspended indefinitely pending investigation of the
facts.
During the 1997 season, Hurd
caught two passes for 12 yards for
the Chippewas.
Hurd earned three varsity letters at Flint Central High School
in basketball, football and track.
He also ranked 31st in the Detroit
Free Press Fab 50 high school
rankings and 41st in the Detroit
News Blue Chip rankings during
his senior year of high school.
Hurd was released from the
Isabella County Jail Friday after
posting 10 percent of a $30,000
bond.
The preliminary exam by
Isabella County Judge William R
Rush is 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.
HURD