1998-09-09; Central Michigan Life

              ENTRAL JVllCHIGAN Llr" Jli
Volume 81, Number 5
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
©1998 CM LIFE
79 years of serving the community
Wednesday
September 9, 1998
20 pages
Open house provides opportunity to tour new stadium
By David Bossick
LIFE Staff Writer
It's been long awaited and students,
faculty and staff can get a sneak peek
Thursday evening as CMU's Athletics
staff open its doors to show off the
newly renovated Kelly/Shorts
Stadium.
A free open house will take place
from 4:30-6 p.m. Thursday at the stadium, said Gary Friedman, associate
athletics director.
Open house events include a viewing of the end of a CMU football practice and a tour of most of the stadium
"It's an opportunity for students
and faculty to come out and view the
changes and upgrades.
**It is also a chance for students and
staff to get excited about the coming
home games and the home opener on
Saturday," Friedman said.
Football practice ends at 5 p.m. and
those who visit can view it from the
student section of Kelly/Shorts
Stadium, Friedman said.
In addition, there will be opportunities for the public to ask questions
about the renovations, Friedman
said.
"It'll operate like a true open house.
As the students and faculty wander
through, (Athletics) staff can answer
questions (about the stadium),"
Friedman said.
Kelly/Shorts    Stadium    has    been
under renovation since November.
Renovations included an additional
10,000 seats, new concession areas,
and new and expanded restrooms, he
said.
A new press box and stadium plaza
were also installed. The added seats
were placed on the stadium's west
side and the south end zone, in addition to one section of seats on the
northeast and northwest ends of the
stadium.
As for the concession area,
Friedman said new menus and higher
quality of food will be represented.
Stadium sound also will be
improved, he said. Spectators will be
able to hear the games better with the
installation of a new sound system.
There are also guest suites located
in the stadium's press box. Each
guest   suite   has    16   stadium   seats,
See OPEN HOUSE Page 7
Survey:
students
happy
overall
By Heather VanDyke
LIFE Assistant News Editor
Most students are generally
satisfied with CMU and its services, according to a May 1998
undergraduate survey.
The survey, which was conducted by the Center for Applied
Research and Rural Studies and
sponsored by the University
President's office, concluded very
positive responses and few negative feelings from undergraduates both on and off campus.
"It's aimed at a wide range of
issues,** said Jim Hill, director of
the Center of Applied Research
and Rural Studies.
"It was successful in the standpoint that we have a base, now.
The question now is, are the
freshmen going to have significant concerns, and are the sophomores that are becoming juniors
(going  to   have  concerns)?  (The
1998 survey)   doesn't   represent
1999 or the year 2000," Hill said.
The results were accumulated
through interviews administered
in the Computer-Assisted
Telephone Interviewing
Laboratory, located in Anspach
Hall. Calls were made to more
that 1,000 students and completed interviews were obtained from
401 students.
The survey was funded
through grants, and 70 to 80
undergraduates were hired to
help with the surveying, Hill
said.
Mary Senter, professor of sociology, anthropology and social
work, presented the study's finding at Tuesday's Academic
Senate meeting.
Senter said about the study's
results, "It's important for the
institution to learn more about
what students experience. Part
of it is trying to focus the institution on student learning."
There were six major conclu-
See SURVEY Page 20	
The CMU football team was
defeated by Iowa 38-0
Saturday. Sea page 10.
Classified
18
Crossword
18
Et cetera
14-16
Sports
10-13
Voices
4-5
To reach CM LIFE
Phone «17) 774-3493
E-Mail CMLIFE#cmuvin.c*v.ctnich.edu
Fax number IS17) 774-780S
Central Michigan LIFE Online
Internet address:
http://www.cmljfe.crnich.edu
Just hangin'
TONY CEPAK • CM LIFE
Jessicca Hembree, Mount Pleasant senior, shares some M&Mrs with her friend Larry Sommer, North Branch senior, as they wait
for their next class outside of Pearce Hall Tuesday afternoon.
Seminar to focus on date rape drug dangers
LIFE Staff Reports
The Michigan State Police, in conjunction
with the Michigan Women's Commission, will
be holding a seminar at CMU to inform students of the dangers of date rape drugs.
Executive Director of the Michigan Women's
Commission Kathy DeGrow said the seminar,
which will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the
Student Activity Center, will be directed by two
state police officers and will focus on the relatively new drug, gamma-hydroxybutyrate
(GHB)
DeGrow said college campuses are especially
dangerous for women, and the purpose of the
seminar is to let students know date rape drugs
are in use around the state of Michigan and on
CMtTs campus.
"Until they get your attention, don't we all
say *it won't happen to me?m DeGrow said.
Dan Breidenstein, owner of The Bird Bar and
Grill, 223 S. Main St., said after having two possible run-ins with "roofies" in his own bar in
April, he is happy students have the opportunity to become knowledgeable about the drugs
and hopefully learn how to prevent the attacks.
"I'm glad to see that they're doing it,"
Breidenstein said. "Every once in a while, you
need to see a reminder — date rape is real."
He has been outspoken in the fight against
date rape since the occurrences in his bar, and
T()  PREVENT DATE RAPE
—Avoid situations of vulnerability. Double date, stay in groups or public situations.
Don't accept a ride from or go home with a man you've just met.
—Stay sober: Alcohol and drugs decrease one's ability to make sound decisions, and to
assess and deal effectively with danger. Be aware that some men set women up for rape
by getting them drunk or high.
—Talk about your expectations: Know your sexual values and expectations.
Communicate them clearly and don't wait until a man has overstepped his bounds.
—Trust your feelings: If a man's behavior makes you feel threatened, intimidated or
afraid, get out of the situation. Think safety, not what others think of you. If he's controlling, easy to anger, jealous, possessive, treats you as less than his equal, or invades your
personal space, be especially alert and aware.
—Be assertive: If you don't like what a partner is doing, say so firmly and fairly. If he
ignores or pressures you, leave.
Source: Women's Resources and Services at Western Michigan University.
says he is worried for his female customers and
his four daughters.
"Most of the people are good, it's just five percent that you have to watch out for."
Breidenstein said he is enthusiastic about the
new laws making the punishment for possessing date rape drugs more severe.
"They ought to make it punishable by death
as far as Tm concerned," he said.
Gov. John Engler signed legislation in July
making it a felony to possess GHB. That made
Michigan one of six states to add the substance
to its list of Schedule I drugs, meaning more
serious penalties for offenders.
As a result, offenders caught distributing or
manufacturing the drug can get up to seven
years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Simple possession carries a two-year sentence, while people caught using the drug can get one year in
jail.
The drug is a central nervous system depressant that first was used as a possible anesthet-
See PATE RAPE Page 2	
Williams adjusting to new role in Diversity office
By Angie Fenton
LIFE Staff Writer
This year the Office of
Institutional Diversity's goal is
to assess existing programs and
activities — a goal which is well
underway.
According to David Williams,
assistant vice president for
Institutional Diversity,
"Everything is moving along
very well."
Williams, who began at CMU
on June 29, said one of the current issues his office is addressing is permanently filling the
positions that three staff members resigned from this summer.
Laura Gonzales resigned from
her position as director of
Minority Student Services;
Dannielle Sharp resigned from
her position as one of the assistant directors of Minority
Student   Services;   and   Martin
WILLIAMS
Reinhardt,
director of
Native
American
Programs,
resigned from
his position.
"Shortly  after
coming on
board. . . there
were three resignations in the
office of Minority Student
Services. We have been very successful filling those positions,
(but) all three individuals are
serving on an interim capacity,"
he said.
Ayayi Fubara is serving as
interim director of Minority
Student Services; Monique
Chism is serving as one of the
assistant directors of Minority
Student Services on an interim
basis;   and   Todd   Williamson   is
the interim director of Native
American Programs.
Williams said the university
has advertised for a director of
Minority Student Services and
appointed a search committee,
which is in the process of identifying four or five candidates to
begin interviewing for the position in October.
"We will have the director
starting hopefully in January,"
he said.
Within the next 30 days,
Williams said, CMU will advertise regionally for the position of
director of Native American
Programs.
That position will be filled by
January, he said.
Chism was appointed as interim assistant director for the
entire school year. The position
will be filled with a permanent
candidate    for    the    1999-2000
school year.
As assistant vice president of
Institutional Diversity, Williams
said his responsibility is "to
serve the university community
in promoting multiculturalism
and diversity with faculty, staff,
and students, and also within
the community."
Student Disability Services,
Women's Studies Program,
Multicultural Programming
Center, Native American
Programs, Office of Gay and
Lesbian Programs and Minority
Student Services all report to
Williams.
Although the structural organization of the office is complete,
Williams said he plans to continue working to develop a strategic
plan in terms of identifying and
refining    his    office's    mission
See WILLIAMS Page 7	
Parking
creates
usual
problems
By Angela S. Vandenberg
LIFE Assistant News Editor
Traffic and parking spaces.
These campus problems arise at
the beginning of each CMU semester. Although it may seem to those
fighting the crowds that the parking bureau has oversold tickets, in
reality, it is doing what is done
every year.
Capt. Ron Williams of CMU
Police said there are an estimated
9,200 spots on campus. Sharon
Shaw, office manager of the parking bureau, said there have been
10,387 permits given to faculty and
students at CMU.
"Every year we sell more permits
than there are spaces," Williams
said. "But if we didn't do that, we'd
have many spaces unused."
The reason for that is because
not all students are in class at the
same time or even on the same
days, Williams said.
"There are so many students trying to drive everywhere that it just
compounds things," he said.
Traffic from those driving recklessly on campus streets is another
issue the police are trying to curb.
"We do pull those kinds of drivers over and we do issue tickets,"
he said "Drivers should never
drive faster than the speed limit on
campus."
Unfortunately, Williams said
sometimes a pedestrian does get
hurt by someone who's driving negligently or just plain too fast.
Williams thinks the problem
could be reduced if more students
would not drive everywhere they
need to go on campus.
"Walking is usually faster
because by the time you walk to
your car, drive to your next class,
deal with the traffic and find a
parking spot, you've taken longer
than the time of a walk across
campus."
At any given time, CMU Police
has up to four patrol cars on the
streets. One function of those cars
is to issue parking tickets to students.
Shaw said it is not yet known
how many tickets have been given
out because the bureau hasn't calculated them.
Previously, CMU Police have
given students one week of grace
at the beginning of the semester
where students were not ticketed.
This has been eliminated because
students no longer have to purchase their permits solely through
the bureau. Instead, they can get
them at the Student Service Court
and through a new mail-in program established this year.
The new program allows students to be sent parking information prior to the start of classes.
Students can return the information to the parking bureau and get
their permits before classes even
start. Williams said he was taking
requests for permits as early as
April.
"Many took advantage of the
mailing program and a heck of a
lot of them did not," Williams said.
Also, freshmen were given parking information at orientation and
temporary parking bureau offices
were set up in the Towers. Permits
were sold in the Bovee University
Center and Student Service Court
also.
"The grace period was eliminated  because there's  no  reason  for
See PARKING Page 7	
llllllllllllllll