1978-09-15; Central Michigan Life

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Volume 60 No. 8
Mount Pleasant, Michigan 48859
Friday, Sept, 15,1978
CMU details frosh
test-out procedures
-CM LIFE PHOTOS BY DAVID C. FRITZ
Puddles and umbrellas are familiar sights in Mount Pleasant and across the state as th6
region has been swamped with nearly continuous rain since Wednesday. Meteorologists
are predicting clearing conditions today with a high in the upper 60s.
byPETEENGARDIO
LIFE Ass't. News Editor
Starting today, freshmen can
sign up for written English and
mathematics competency tests,
as the University officially
announced competency
procedures Wednesday.
The first math test has been
slated for Sept. 23, with a
Wednesday registration
deadline. xThe test-out
procedures for speech and oral
English have not yet been
determined.
If the tests are passed,
students will not have to take
ENG 101 and MTH 105 through
module G, required of all
students for graduation
beginning this fall.
Although it had been with
holding announcement of the
two test-out procedures until
the speech competency component had been finalized by
Academic Senate, the
University decided to set the
machinery in motion anyway.
"We made the decision
primarily because we had to get
this information to students on
this program before advanced
registration," Senate Chairperson Eunice Way said. "Also,
the actions of Senate were fairly
definitive in this matter. There
had been no difference of
opinion concerning the math and
English tests."
The test for math will cost
Students work in friend's memory
Dedication set for ballfield
by GRETCHEN FECHTER
LIFE Sports Writer
What was once a scrappy
baseball field on which pickup
games were' played now serves
as a memorial for an outstanding
former CMU student.
Ceremonies take place at 1
p.m. Sunday for the official
dedication of Brian Crabb
Memorial Field, whose
namesake died last year as the
result of an automobile accident
on his way to Central.
The field is located behind the
Towers, where Crabb, a junior
from Birmingham, was a
resident. Restoration of the field
began last spring, at first just to
repair the diamond. But then the
idea of the memorial occurred to
the Towers Quad Council,
"Last'spring we worked on it
(the field) for the festival," said
Mark Ke ner, Grand Rapids
senior, speaking of the Towers'
annual Spring Festival. Kenner,
a Cobb Hall resident and
Crabb's former roommate, along
with Troutman resident Mike
Conlin, Howell junior, have
guided the construction of the
memorial.
"We had enough money to put
up the backstop, then it got
more elaborate," Keener said.
About $560 has been used from
Crabb's memorial fund for the
construction.
The elaboration started with
the rotortilling of the earth
around the basepaths. The field
inside
I—Petitions ready for
SA fall elections,
page 3
—Art show features
profs' photographs,
pageS
— Central faces
Miami, page 7
"It means quite a bit to me. People have a
visual reminder of him because the field is
used a lot Brian would have loved it "—Mike
Conlin, Towers resident
was then raked and dug up
numerous times; and much of
this work was done by Conlin.
He estimated he has spent "at
least a good 100 hours" working
on the field.
"I wanted to do something for
him that his parents could see
and be proud of," Conlin said of
his work on the field.
"The University helped us a
lot," Conlin continued, "by
getting us the tractor and sand
for the field."
Sunday's dedication
ceremonies will have Keener
heading the program. Crabb's
parents, brother and sister have
been invited to the observance,
courtesy of the Quad Council,
which has put an estimated $700
into the construction of the field.
"They (Crabb's family) are
here as our guests mainly to see
what we've done. They've
already told me how much they
appreciate what we're doing,"
Keener said.  '
Money also has been spent in
purchasing a plaque to be placed
behind the backstop. It will be
placed in cement and officially
unveiled at the ceremonies.
Besides the dedication, the
field will be officially "broken
in" by a softball game involving
residents of the Towers. Crabb's
former floor, third Cobb, will
take   on   a   "Towers   All-Star
team," said Keener.
The field has come a long way,
but both Conlin and Keener see
room for more improvement.
"We're thinking of putting in
dugouts, and we'd like to get
some permanent bleachers,"
Conlin said.
A 6-foot outfield fence has
been ordered in time for Sunday's game. "We could easily
spend another $500 to have a
first-class field," Keener
'remarked.
The field obviously means a
great deal to Conlin and Keener,
as well as Towers residents.
"I wanted to do something to
make the Towers look good and
be the best dorm on campus,"
Conlin said.
Keener also said, "It means
quite a bit to me. People have a
visual reminder of him because
the field is used a lot. Brian
would have loved it."
Students can
bend his ear
when hassled
The main concern of this
year's Student Association
Ombudsman, Tom Pierson, is
to help students solve
campus-oriented problems, he
says.
Pierson, Cedar Springs
junior, said he plans tov
achieve this through personal
contact with the Administration and students,
and through utilization of the
new Ombudsman Council.
Complaints received by the
Ombudsman, a position
created - last year, usually
concern difficulties of
registering for classes, unfair
grading procedures by
professors, and problems
with the Department of
Public Safety.
Before coming to the
Ombudsman with a complaint,
Pierson said, "Students
should explore all other
(problem solving) choices
first."
If the student cannot solve
the problem alone, then "he
students $5 for administering
expenses, while the English test,
which is the College Level
Examination Program test for
English, costs $20, the normal
CLEF exam rate.
Students may register for the
tests at the Mathematics
Department, Pearce 214; the
English Department, Anspach
216; the Academic Information
Center, Warriner 157; and the
Office of Planning, Instruction
and Research, Warriner 254,
Sample tests of the math
exam also are available at these
places for students to study and
practice on.
"Generally speaking, if
students have no problem with
the sample test, they should be
able to pass the competency
exam," Edward Whitmore,
Mathematics Department
chairperson, said.
"We really are urging
students with a good high school
algebra background to take this
test, rather than enrolling in
MTH 105," Whitmore added.
Eighty-five percent of the 93
questions on-the math test must
be answered correctly, Also, the
test has seven subgroups,
ranging from simple
multiplication to geometry.
Students must score at least 70
percent in each of these
subgroups.
The English CLEP test, if
successfully completed, also may
be applied for three hours of
credit.
Tacky chairsT
vie for stage
If your overstuffed, tacky living room chair has show
business aspirations, this may be its lucky chance.
• Program Board is looking for Mount Pleasant's tackiest
living room chair to be used as a stage prop in the Sept. 23
Martin Mull concerts.
Stage mothers or fathers may enter a photograph of their
tacky candidate to the PB Office in the lower level of the
University Center, Monday through Wednesday from noon to
5 p.m. No entries will be accepted after 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Bill Gundry, Program Board spokesperson, defines a "tacky
chair" as one that is "at least 30 years old and showing signs of
obvious misuse. A few stains never hurt anybody."
First-prize winners will receive two reserved tickets for the
7:30 p.m;. Mull concert. Second prize is a Hawaiian shirt, at
least as tacky as the entered chair, and third prize is a Mull
poster.
Winners will be announced Sept. 22, in CM LIFE and on
WMHW-FM 91, a co-sponsor of the contest.
Contestants are limited to one entry. All chairs must be
available for inspection Thursday.
The winning chair will not necessarily appear on stage since
Mull and his manager have the final choice on all stage props,
Gundry, Royal Oak junior, said.
Reserved tickets for $6 and general admission tickets for
$4.50 still are available for the 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Mull shows.
Tickets are sold in the University Center Ticket Office,
Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
I        As of Thursday, 1,000 tickets were sold, a Program Board
V spokesperson said. Additional seats remain. . J
Alexander cancels;
tickets refunded
Ticket refunds for the canceled Shana Alexander appearance are available at the
University Center Ticket Office
until 5 p.m. Monday, according
to Jim Lombard, University
Events coordinator.
Alexander, journalist, author
and television commentator,
was scheduled to appear at CMU
Thursday. Her talk, however,
was canceled when "her doctor
advised her not to travel
because of a complicated eye
infection," Lombard said.
The speech was sponsored by
Program Board and no efforts
will be made to reschedule it, a
Program Board spokesperson
said Thursday.
should feel free to come to my
office" Pierson added.
Other duties of the Ombudsman include coordinating
the Ombudsman council,
which is made up of volunteer
representatives from CMU's
19  dormitoi ft      mpu
$4
Tom Pierson
apartments, on campus
apartments, houses, and
commuters.
These representatives will
go to students, and through
personal contact with them,
find out what major problems
they have concerning the
University.
This information will be
brought to the Ombudsman at
bi-weekly meetings and
Pierson will decide which
problems warrant action.
Pierson was appointed to
his position this past summer
by last year's Ombudsman,
Jim Marshall, who currently
is student body president.
Even though the Ombudsman is part of the SA,
Pierson emphasized that
students should feel free to
come to him if they have any
problems or concerns with
the SA.
The Ombudsman's office is
in room 1 in the lower level of
the University Center, and he
can be reached at 774-3136.
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