1998-07-29; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Volume 79, Number 97
Mt. Pleasant,  MI 48859
©1998 CM LIFE
78 years of serving the community
Wednesday
July 29, 1998
8 pages
Tribe opens its door for new era in resorts
Hands-on experience
part of students' jobs
The Soaring Eagle Resort
officially opened its doors
to guests Monday. Guests
were treated to valet service, quick check-in at the
front desk and tours of
the new multi-million dollar hotel.
PHOTOS BY
LEI ZHENG
mmmxm
Other hotels have
reviews
owners   and    managers   have
ae/out the  extravagant  multi-
Soaring   Eagle   Casino   and
which   opened   to   the   public
By Heather VanDyke
LIFE Copy Editor
Local   hotel
mixed  feelings
million   dollar
Resort's   hotel,
Monday.
The hotel,  housing 512 guest rooms,  may
give area hotels a run for their money.
Hampton Inn Manager Mike Smith said
opening one hotel with 500 rooms is equivalent
to opening five, 100 room hotels in one area.
He said he expects they may take somewhat of
a hit.
"It has the potential to create demand to this
area. If they do a really good job out there it
will increase occupancy throughout the area.
Everyone may feel it because of the added supply," Smith said.
"If we take a hit, I would hope it would be
minor. We do a lot of business with CMU (and)
golfing, and I think we will lose some of that
occupancy. But I think we will still be running
well."
See HOTEL Page 8
By Liz Wishaw
LIFE Managing Editor
CMU students got their
first taste of what to expect in
coming months as employees
of the Soaring Eagle Resort as
they greeted, served and
helped guests at Monday's
opening of the hotel.
The Saginaw Chippewa
Indian Tribe's Resort was
open to the public for tours
Monday. Guests arrived in the
afternoon and had the chance
to view its state-of-the-art
kitchen, Water Lily restaurant and spa, and fitness center while soaking up the
Native American art and history.
CMU students Nate Moore
and Amanda Galvas were the
first to greet arriving guests
as valet operators.
Moore, Charlotte senior,
said their day had been busy
with guests arriving non-stop
on the hotel's opening day. he
said he had parked about 100
cars that afternoon.
"This is a great job. I hope it
stays this way," he said. "We
can sure use the tips also."
Moore, 22, said he's happy
to be employed by the tribe
and it has been really understanding about working his
class schedule around work.
"I knew the job would be an
excellent experience," he said.
"I can't say enough good
things about the staff and the
job."
Galvas, Mount Pleasant
junior, also enjoys her job,
even though she's still getting
used to driving manual transmission cars.
"The trial week with the
tribal members helped out.
We also spent time on the
casino side learning how to
valet," she said. "This is a
new experience for me."
Galvas, who has worked at
other customer service jobs in
Mount   Pleasant,   said   she's
still amazed at how quickly
the tribe was able to finish
the hotel.
"(The hotel) is just beautiful. It's state of the art," she
said. "They were able to get so
much finished in one weekend."
Now, Galvas hopes that people will come to the hotel and
her tips will be plentiful.
"I hope the money starts
rolling in, once we're up to
full capacity," Galvas said.
Other CMU students who
are hotel employees are learning new spa and relaxation
techniques.
Heather Pashenee, Mount
Pleasant senior, has a chance
to sample some of the different treatments that customers can receive.
"I got to tryout an age-defying facial," she said. "There
not just for older people."
Pashenee, 22, also tried a
shower treatment that uses
mud to detox the skin. She
was then wrapped in a solar
blanket and later washed off
under pressurized jets.
"It feels so good," she said.
"It felt pretty weird at first
but it's so relaxing."
She thinks that this job will
help her sports education
major. "It's a good step for me
towards it."
Brian Jackson, Detroit
junior, never thought the
hotel would be done in time
for Monday's opening. "They
really pulled together to get it
finished."
Jackson, 21, has been learning for the past month how to
serve food, cocktails, and dinners as part of hotel's banquet
staff.
"It was a lot more training
than I expected but its perfect
working here," Jackson said.
"Everything has been going
well so far. It should be a good
experience."
Student
charges
LIFE Staff Reports
A CMU student is facing
criminal charges after a late
April party where he allegedly assaulted a female student.
Chris C. Snider, 21,
Rochester sophomore, is
being charged with third
degree criminal sexual conduct. His preliminary exam
with Judge William R. Rush
im at 8:30 a.m. Thurselay in
the 76th Judicial Court of
Isabella County.
A third degree criminal
sexizsl conduct conviction
carries a maximum penalty
of 15 years in jail.
First of America's  student
accounts changing this fall
By Angie Fenton
LIFE News Editor and
Kelly Taylor
LIFE Staff Writer
Students low on cash may not
want to deplete their First of
America Campus First Accounts
for fear of being charged.
A merger between First of
America and National City
Corporation will      change
Campus First accounts, according to Tonya Hartupee, CMU
Campus Card representative for
First Of America.
"Currently the account
requires no minimum balance,
no monthly fee. (However),
beginning Nov. 2, accounts will
be charged a $2 fee per month
(unless they hold a $200 maintenance)," she said.
If an account holder maintains
a $200 balance, then the fee is
waived and account holders will
be given 15 free checks or with
drawals, said Penny Leathley,
coordinator of the campus Chip
Card ID office.
The cost is $.50 per check or
withdrawal after 15 checks or
withdrawals have been transacted.
But, according to Tony
Thompson, senior vice president
of public and media relations for
First of America, other than an
ongoing merger with National
City Corp., which will be complete on Oct. 31., "There may or
may not be changes."
"When you have two companies as big as (National City
Corporation and First of
America) are, you are left with a
lot of what iFs.
"Quite frankly I think it's a little early to speculate (about
what changes will occur). Some
products will change, there will
be more products to offer, but the
service at the branches will be
the same," Thompson said.
When asked about changes in
minimum balances and transaction fees, Thompson would neither confirm nor deny whether or
not there would be changes.
One major change occurring is
a conversion of First Of
America's computer system to
National City Corp.
"(The computer conversion) is
the only change I'm aware of
occurring in the branches (right
now)," Thompson said.
Thompson said account holders will be notified of any
changes in August.
Students who use their Chip
ID Card for bank transactions
may or may not face changes
with the use of their card.
"There are no changes in the
Chip Card. There are bank
changes certainly but that's
tough to comment on," Leathley
said. "We're using the same card.
Former
trustee
vanishes
(Disappearance
of former Trustee
William T. Johnson
stalls prosecutor's
investigation
By Liz Wishaw
LIFE Managing Editor
An investigation into a
closed-door session between
four of CMU's Board of
Trustees and University
President Leonard Plachta has
stalled because of the disappearance of a former trustee.
Isabella County Prosecutor
Larry Burdick said the investigation is still on-going and no
new information is available.
Burdick hoped to have the
investigation wrapped up by
now but the disappearance of
former trustee William
Johnson has delayed the investigation.
Johnson sent Gov. John
Engler a letter April 6 resigning from the board. He then
left the state.
Detective Dave Tuma of
Mount Pleasant Public Safety
has been helping look for
Johnson but his whereabouts
are unknown.
"His location is a mystery to
us," he said. "Last we heard is
that he's in Alaska."
At issue is whether Johnson
was a member of the board
when President Leonard
Plachta and four trustees met
in private April 7.
The board of trustees has
eight members. If Johnson's
resignation was official the
previous day, the board would
have had only seven members
and the four trustees attending
the meeting would have included a majority of the board —
violating the Open Meetings
Act, which requires boards to
act in public.
See JOHNSON Page 2	
TONY CEPAK   •  CM
LIFE
First of America
is undergoing a
merger with
National City
Corp., which will
be completed on
Oct. 31. Student
accounts may
see different service fees after
the merger.
Chip business is the same, meal
plans, etc.," she said.
Joel Oosting, Hudsonviile
junior, said he is pretty happy
with First of America right now,
but major changes might cause
him to find another bank.
"I chose the (Campus First
Account) because it had no minimum balance and unlimited
withdrawals. As a student it's
hard   to  keep  that  much   more
money (in an account)," Oosting
said.
Bill Trachsel, Livonia senior,
said he would possibly change
banks if there are major changes
at First of America, especially if
he isn't informed of the changes
ahead of time.
"But," he said, "I like the convenience of First uf America.
They have a lot of different ATMs
around campus," Trachsel said.
Engler tips hat to Brandon for
U of M Board of Regents spot
By Angela Cook-Reid
LIFE Editor
While Gov. John Engler announced Sen. Dick
Posthumus as his running mate, he also slid in the
name of CMU Board of Trustee Chair David
Brandon as his pick for another Michigan university's governing board.
During a press conference on July 21, Engler
announced Brandon as his candidate for the
Republican nomination for the University of
Michigan Board of Regents.
However, Brandon's official nomination will be
announced Aug. 28 during the Republican State
Convention, said Maureen McNulty, spokeswoman
for Engler's re-election campaign for governor.
McNulty said Brandon is a clear choice for the
nomination since he is a U of M alumnus and
strong Republican supporter. Also, he is former
CEO and president of Livonia-based Valassis
Communications, a fact the governor also took into
consideration when making his choice.
"The governor is very impressed with his credentials," she said.
The Democratic party have yet to name their
candidate and will probably do so at the
Democratic convention in August, McNulty said.
Minority Services
receives $36,388
By Angle Fenton
LIFE News Editor
A grant to the Minority
Student Services office will
enable all minority students to
have a mentor in the hope of
making them feel a little more
connected to CMU.
The Minority Student Services
office received $36,388 in matching funds from State of Michigan
Department of Education, Office
of Equity. The grant was funded
from   Select   Student   Support
Services Programs.
Ayayi Fubara, assistant director of Minority Student Services
said a portion of the grant will go
towards the peer mentor program.
"We lose some of our minority
students not because they can't
handle it academically, but
because they don't fit in," she
said.
See MINORITY Page 2