1998-04-20; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Volume 79, Number 81
Mt. Pleasant,  MI 48859
©1998 CM LIFE
78 x/cnrs of serving tlie community
Monday
April 20, 1998
14 pages
Man who jumped
off fourth floor
library stairs dies
By Angela Vandenberg
and Angle Cook-Reid
LIFE Assistant News Editors
John Feighner died at about
2:20 p.m. Friday at Sparrow
Hospital of a pulmonary
aneurysm, his mother said.
He was on the road to recovery
at the hospital after an apparent
suicide attempt March 26, when
he jumped from the inside stairwell off the fourth floor of Park
Library.
According to a CMU Police
report obtained under the
Michigan Freedom of
Information Act, officers deemed
the fall a suicide attempt after
an investigation.
Sparrow Hospital officials in
Lansing, would not release the
details of the death; however,
Edna Feighner, John's mother,
said in a phone ——mm_____
conversation
Sunday, her
son's death was
"unexpected."
She said he
was recovering
well and
expected  to go
home soon.
"We   thought   ————~——
we'd have him home in a week,"
she said.
Edna said she did not have the
results of the autopsy, but doctors told her John died of a pulmonary aneurysm.
She said John, a St. Johns
freshman, was in physical therapy at Sparrow and his "spirits
were up and he was on the road
to recovery, both physically and
emotionally."
"He told us he did want to
live," she said.
Edna said John had two surgeries, one on his foot and the
other on his back, where metal
rods were implanted.
"After that surgery, he
improved," she said.
Edna said her son was in the
rehabilitation unit and he was
being taken out of bed to exercise Friday afternoon. She said
getting John out of bed was a
lengthy process, lasting almost
"This past year since
August was the best
time of his life/'
EDNA FEIGHNER
Mother of John Feighner
"He    loved
Jeremy,   Chris
an hour because he had to have
a brace put on before leaving the
bed.
She said after the fall, John
was in bed for a week before he
could get out.
Edna said when John was
placed on the exercising table,
he started to seizure and
stopped breathing.
"They worked on him for 45
minutes to try and get him
back," she said.
Roommate Jeremy Yettaw,
Battle Creek freshman, said
John enjoyed making up quotes
to share with people and said he
believed in what he wrote.
"Life is a precious gift only a
fool would waste," is just one of
the many still pasted on their
Larzelere Hall dorm room door.
"I think  that is  the way he
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmammm   would   want   to
be  remembered
right now,"
Yettaw said.
Edna said her
son was an
honor student
majoring in
accounting   and
he "loved
CMU."
his roommates
and Alan," she
said. "This past year since
August was the best time of his
life."
Yettaw said John was involved
in hall council and dedicated a
lot of his time to Larzelere Hall.
He also said he was an all-
around great guy to be around
and he enjoyed spending time
with him.
Yettaw also spoke of John's
dedication to his classes. He said
John would often have assignments done weeks in advance.
"He was inspiring," he said.
Yettaw said John was "one of
the nicest people I know."
Edna described her son as a
"gentle person" who would
"never hurt a fly."
Rae Goldsmith, associate vice
president   of Public   Relations
See FEIGHNER Page 2	
Take back the night
AUTUMN FLUTUR • CM LIFE
Protesters gathered Sunday evening to "Take Back the Night" and support individuals who have been sexually
assaulted and abused. The group marched around the block to May Street and back to Warriner Mall.
Rally, march part of Crime Victims'
Rights Week; bring community support
By Aiesha D. Little
LIFE Staff Writer
About 100 people attended the 20th annual
Mount Pleasant "Take Back The Night"
march and rally Sunday night.
The rally, which was an educational protest
against violence in the community as a part of
Crime Victims' Rights Week, was sponsored
by Women Initiating Social Inequality
(W.I.S.E.), Listening Ear, OSIRIS, Rosanne
Kepler, the Mount Pleasant chapter of the
National Organization for Women, Friends of
Women's Studies, Isabella Bank and Trust
and Women's Aid Services.
, "I think it's wonderful that the students are
backing such an important issue," said Carrie
Giese, Novi senior. They are motivated and
organized to create empathy on our campus."
The event included speeches from Men
Against Rape's Blaine Stevenson, Isabella
County Prosecutor Larry Burdick and Mount
Pleasant Mayor Sharon Tilmann.
Student Alicia Castillo said her favorite
part of the rally was the open mic portion of
the program in which participants shared
their feelings on issues such as domestic violence.
"I had a nice time," said Castillo, Port
Huron junior. "It was interesting and heartfelt because it showed that people on this
campus care about issues facing young
women today."
At one point during the rally, several
unidentified males began shouting obscenities at the marchers.
"It shows you the immaturity level of some
people on this campus," said Lisa Robel, East
Lansing junior. "I feel that in order for these
people to change their minds, they need to be
educated and realize how much they affect a
survivor."
Despite the actions of the protesters of the
march, there were about 20 male students
participating in it, Robel said.
"I felt a strong sense of unity," said Nathan
Waldo, Rochester Hills sophomore, who
attended the march for the first time.
"I was very honored to partake in an event
and show my support of those individuals
who have been victimized."
AUTUMN FLUTUR • CM LIFE
Allegra Peace Platte, a three-
year-old Mount Pleasant resident, showed her support by
participating in the "Take  Back
the Night" protest Sunday
evening.
Survey indicates overwhelming PBS support at CMU
1 vote to
drop PBS
Broakdown of survey respondents
Students
Faculty
Staff
Alumni
102
40
34
19
Other
Local Residents
Administration
Total Surveys
14
10
1
220
2>
LIFE Staff Reports
Last week, CM LIFE asked readers
to respond to an informal survey
about CMU's Public Broadcasting.
The survey asked the public "Do
you think CMU should keep CMU
Public Broadcasting?" and "Why?"
When the polls closed at 5 p.m.
Friday, there were 220 ballots
returned to the LIFE office. Every
poll returned except one said CMU
should keep Public Broadcasting.
CM LIFE broke down respondents
into seven demographic categories —
student, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, local resident and other.
Students returned the most votes
with 102. Faculty was second with 40
votes. Staff returned 34 votes and
alumni returned 19. Fourteen votes
were returned in the other category,
10 votes were returned by local residents and one vote was returned by
an administrator.
Most of those that responded voiced
many of the same reasons why CMU
should keep PBS. Two of the responses dominating the returned polls were
the quality of programming PBS provides and the public relations service
PBS provides for the university.
Some of the more interesting
responses from students were:
•"It serves as one of the only true
repositories of culture that (we) have
in Mount Pleasant."
•"Some things are more important
than money," said another.
•"Don't let the children live without
Big Bird and Elmo," was one
response.
•"If we can invest money for a stadium for a losing team, why not for
PBS, a *winning team?*"
The faculty polls had the only negative response.
•"It has too many employees and
costs too much to operate. The pro
gramming is one-sided."
Yes responses to the poll included
other comments like:
•"Public Broadcasting is our pride
and shows we value intelligent programming which positively influences
our mind, spirit and self-worth."
•"CMU Public Broadcasting plays a
pivotal role in meeting the mission of
CMU at a very modest cost."
•"PBS is an oasis in the midst of a
cultural desert."
•One faculty member said in a poll
of a 100-level class, 73 percent said
Public Broadcasting was the first contact they had with CMU. "Clearly it is
the best advertising we have."
Staff responses were all positive:
•"CMU is in the business of educating. PBS educates many people daily,
especially our children."
•"I thought our mission statement
See PBS Page 2	
Pill found in drink at The Bird Thursday
By Heather VanDyke
LIFE Staff Writer
An unidentified pill, possibly
the date rape drug known as
rohypnol, was found at the bottom of a glass at about 8:30 p.m.
Thursday night at The Bird Bar
& Grill
Although the type of pill has
not yet been confirmed, Dan
Breidenstein, owner of The Bird
Bar and Grill, 223 S. Main
Street, said the announcement
was made as a precaution.
"I'd hate to see anyone getting
hurt," he said. "If we stopped
anybody from getting hurt and
going home with someone, then
we did something."
Breidenstein said he is going
to   take   the    pill    to   Central
Local bar owner concerned it
was date rape pill
Michigan Community Hospital
to get it tested. More information
will be known when the pill has
been tested.
He said if the substance is
rohypnol, he will call the police.
It is possible the pill could
have been an aspirin or other
substance, but Breidenstein said
he wasn't taking any chances
this time.
On April 2, a woman was
apparently drugged and sexually
assaulted after leaving his establishment.
"We don't want to take a
chance," he said.
Breidenstein said he has been
urging people to look out for
themselves and take all necessary precautions.
"People have come up with
drink condoms, a fine screen you
place over your drink, and we
offered covers for drinks, but
nobody seemed to want them,"
he said.
Both he and his staff have
warned people to get their own
drinks from the bar. They have
also set up table flyers with a
bold warning to customers that
date rape drugs have been found
in the area.
"The more people that are
aware, the better," he said.
Breidenstein said perhaps
someone knows of the possible
offender.
"Maybe there is some guy in
town registered as a sex offender
and he comes in here," he said.
Breidenstein said he hoped the
announcement he made
Thursday will put a scare into
whoever is using the drug to try
to assault women.
"Hopefully, we made a big
enough stink about it and maybe
(the culprit) is afraid now," he
said.
Ljjj^^^K
Classified
Crossword
Et cetera
Sports
Voices
12-13
12
8-9
6-7
4-5
The CMU softball team
took over first place with
four victories this weekend.
See page 6 for the full story.
To reach CM LIFE
Phone: 774-34*3
E-Mail CMLIFEecmuvm.csv.cmich.edu
Fax number < 517)774-7805
Central Michigan LIFE Online
Internet address
http-7/www.cmt ifrcmich.edu