1998-09-02; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Volume 81, Number 3
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
©1998 CM LIFE
79 years of serving the community
Wednesday-
September 2, 1998
14 pages
Barnard, Tate demolition still called "a good decision
//
■ Overcrowding raises
questions about why these
halls were destroyed
By Heather VanDyke
LIFE Assistant News Editor
CMU administrators say they
don't regret their decision to demolish former residence halls Tate and
Barnard in 1996, although other
residence halls are overcrowded on
campus.
Shaun Holtgreive, associate director of Residence Life, said due to
several factors involved, the university does not regret its decision to
demolish   the   "old   structures"      in
1996.
"With Barnard, it was highly
unpopular with today's students
because of the community bathrooms. The old structure didn't
allow technology, it just wasn't functional," he said.
Holtgreive also said the halls,
which were located near Sloan Hall
and where Lot 8 currently is, did not
contain a dining hall and the walking distance for students "wasn't
desirable."
"There were no dining commons
associated with those halls. The students had to go to Robinson (Dining
Commons)."
Holtgreive  said  he  realizes   stu
dents and parents have questioned
the university's decision of demolishing the halls because of the current overcrowding.
"I know it looks like we're being
short sighted, but we're not. The
debt (for purchase of new residence
halls) is staggering," he said.
Even if they had been renovated
instead of being torn down,
Holtgreive said Barnard and Tate
would still have been of no use.
"We are 323 students over normal
capacity. Barnard and Tate combined had 600 beds. They would still
only be half full today. It wasn't fair
for us to have unused capacity."
Either Barnard or Tate would be
completely empty by the start of
spring semester, Holtgreive said.
That would leave CMU without a
need for the extra space, as other
buildings usually lighten up after
the first of the year, he said.
Aside from inconvenience, the
halls cost more money to stand than
they did to be demolished,
Holtgreive said, citing the masonry
structure problems.
"Tate had structural problems,"
Holtgreive said. "The stairwell and
bricks were giving way. We spent
$70,000 trying to repair that facility."
See BARNARD Page 2	
LIFE FILE PHOTO
Barnard and Tate halls — two former residence halls —
were demolished in 1996 due to undesirable conditions,
such as structural problems and lack of a dining commons.
BRANDON
Brandon
nominated
for U-M
board post
By Renee Lutz
LIFE Assistant News Editor
CMU Board of Trustees Chair David
Brandon may soon be donning maize and
blue instead of his traditional maroon and
gold.
Brandon's position at Central may likely be vacant if his recent nomination by
Republican delegates to
University of Michigan's
Board of Regents culminates into a win in the
Nov. 3 election.
On Saturday, Brandon
was named a Republican
nominee for the position
at U-M at the GOP convention in Grand Rapids.
Rep. Jessie Dalman of
Holland, who has served
eight years in the Michigan House, also
was named as a Republican nominee.
Brandon said he intends to begin campaigning right away for the position at U-
M.
"My plan is to do a campaign between
now and the general election, to run for
one of the new spots on the U-M Board of
Regents," Brandon said.
Despite his aspirations to join the board
at U-M, Brandon said he intends to
remain focused on his work at CMU.
"I'm gonna try to win, certainly, but I've
said all the way along that I was in a no
lose situation, because if I won, I'd have
an opportunity to serve on the U-M
board, he said. "It would be fun and
rewarding for me to serve on my alma
mater (U-M), but if I don't win, I get to
stay at CMU — a place Tve grown quite
attached to."
In May 1994, Brandon was appointed to
the CMU Board of Trustees by Gov. John
Engler; he is now in his second term as
board chair at CMU.
Brandon's term expires in 2004, but an
election to the U-M Board of Regents
would result in his resigning from CMU
effective by Jan. 1 of next year. His being
placed there would not allow him to serve
on the board of trustees for Central, due
to the university's constitution, he said.
Brandon has said before that he is moving to Ann Arbor — another factor that
would make the change worthwhile
because it would be more convenient, he
said.
Also if Brandon's position becomes
vacant, a new trustee would be appointed
by the governor and a new board chair
would be elected.
Aside from his position at CMU,
Brandon also serves as chairman of
Valassis Communications of Livonia.
I  N S  I
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Internet address  http://www.cmlife.cinich.edu
Students, students everywhere
RYAN WOOD ♦ CM LIFE
Parking problems have forced some students to find alternative methods of getting to class. Besides walking, biking and Rollerblading are also alternates. Bikes need to be locked up and Rollerblades removed at building doors.
Parking nightmare accompanies
extra students to CMII campus
By Mary Packard
LIFE Staff Writer
Increased enrollment and more
students living on-campus this
year have some students up in
arms over where to park.
The first day of classes saw students parking in whatever spot
they could fine, regardless of
whether it was legal or not.
Student commuters waited up to a
half-hour for parking spots in Lot
22 Monday and Tuesday.
"There are more students this
year than last year, which obviously means more cars. However, we
are committed to having spaces
available to all students," said
Bruce Roscoe, dean of Students.
Student commuters are not the
only ones inconvenienced by the
shortage of parking spaces.
For freshmen, early parking
sticker application was required to
secure a space in a main parking
lot. Extra    freshmen have to park
in Lot 63 near Kelly/Shorts
Stadium, which is regarded by
students to be even more unsafe
than they are inconvenient.
"I received 35 parking tickets as
a freshman," said Shannon Lyon,
sophomore Brighton. "There is no
clear lighted walkway from the far
parking lot where I was assigned,
so I had to park repeatedly in one
of the main parking lots to ensure
See PARKING Page 2	
Major gifts
'The freshman experience': a new
Editor's note: The following is the
first article in a year-long series
examining the lives of 10 freshmen
— five women, five men — and their
experiences and struggles at CMU.
It's the "Real World Experience"
CMU-style.
By Angie Fenton
LIFE Staff Writer
They all came to CMU for different reason yet they share at least
two things in common: they're
freshmen and they're excited to be
here.
The men
Jeff Washington and Brandon
Walker, both of Detroit; Jason
LaFontaine, of Tipton and Josh
Vervoort, of Prescott are all roommates   in   Troutman   Hall   in   the
Towers.
When they first got here, Jeff
said, "Everybody was real cool.
They welcomed me -with open
arms."
"That's before we knew he talked
too much," Josh said, laughing.
Monday evening the four men
began to open up about their first
impressions of CMU and one
another.
"We were real insecure about
Jason when he first got here
because he wanted to take all his s-
— home with him," Josh said, referring to Jason's desire to take the
television and stereo he brought to
the dorm home with him last week-
See FRESHMEN Rage 14	
position
open again
By Liz Wishaw
LIFE Ed.tor
University Advancement is again
without a major gifts officer after the
position was rescinded from its
appointee.
Christina Alwood was chosen for the
position of major gifts officer in early
August after serving as stewardship
coordinator for the past year in the
University Advancement office. - She
served about two days in the new position before the appointment was rescinded and she returned to her former position, said Maxine Tubbs, director of Staff
Personnel Services.
"It was a timing issue and lack of communication. It -was an appointment that
went through that shouldn't have gone
through," Tubbs said.
The appointment was made before
Michael Leto, vice president of
University Advancement, started at
CMU. Leto was told when hired that he
could reorganize the staff and have
input into who filled vacancies in the
Advancement office.
Tubbs said Alwood's position was
rescinded before Leto got here.
Leto did not return phone calls made
to his office Tuesday.
"There was apparently some confusion
(over the appointment), it got processed
and the appointment went through,"
Tubbs said. "We caught it when we realized that, 'Gee, this shouldn't have happened.'"
See GIFTS Page 2 	
at CMU
RYAN WOOD • CM
LIFE
Left to right,
Brandon Walker,
Ayanna Harrow,
Kelli Bolton,
Josh Vervoort,
Jeff Washington,
Jason
LaFontaine,
Angel Gemboa,
Brian Wright,
and Kellie Drake
share their
freshman experiences with CM
LIFE for the next
year Missing is
Kim Rogers.
New section of U.S.-27 eases travel to Lansing area
By Angela S. Vandenberg
LIFE Assistant News Editor and
Associated Press
Improvements made to a section
of U.S. Highway 27 has made
many CMU professors commuting
from areas around East Lansing
very happy.
On Monday, Gov. John Engler
and two state transportation officials carried away three orange-
and-white barrels that had
blocked off the northbound lanes of
U.S. 27 near DeWitt, just north of
Lansing. The southbound lanes
were opened later in the day
"I drove this route year after
year after year, and I wondered
when   this   would   be   done,"  said
Engler, referring to travel to his
homes in Beal City and Mount
Pleasant.
"It's barrel-rolling today. I see a
lot of smiles."
James Stephens, journalism faculty member, takes the route several times a week to teach at CMU.
"It took them long enough to
open it," he said. "They've been
building on that thing since I've
been here."
The improvement to the highway takes 20 to 25 minutes off
Stephens' commute.
"It's a straight shot now down to
St. Johns," he said. "It's a nice little drive — I don't have to worry
about any traffic until I come into
St. Johns."
The speed limit is reduced from
70 miles per hour to 55 in St.
Johns. U.S. 27 is the main corridor
serving the center of the Lower
Peninsula.
Construction to rid the freeway
of its bumpiness anc slow traveling speed has been going on for
nearly three years. The old U.S. 27
highway also went through St.
Johns, and traffic often slowed to a
standstill. About 35,000 vehicles
travel on the highway each day
St. John's police predicted the
new highway would cut the number of accidents by 80 to 100 a year.
See US-27 Page 2      ____
The new section of
US-27 connects the
junction of 1-69 and
U.S.-127 to the U.S.-27
highway already open
around St. Johns.
Drivers traveling north
from Lansing formerly
had to travel through
the congestion and
stoplights of DeWitt
and cut across to the
completed highway
on Price Road. The
new highway will
eliminate this detour
and allow motorists to
drive at 70 mph
instead of 55-