1998-09-30; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Volume 81, Number 14
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
©1998 CM LIFE
79 years of serving the community
Wednesday
September 30, 1998
14 pages
City Commission addresses issue of unruly students
By Laura Michels
LIFE Staff Writer
The recurrence of alcohol-related incidents concerning CMU students and the
Mount Pleasant community has some city
commissioners worried.
Several commissioners expressed concern at Monday's City Commission meeting
over the rise in alcohol-related incidents in
connection with CMU students since last
year.
City
Commissioner   John   Scalise   said
there are times when he wishes for a rainy,
cold fall so there will be less partying near
his home on High Street
Scalise voiced concern over consistently
having to clean up vandalism and pick up
trash thrown in his yard by partiers
City Commissioner Cynthia Bradley said
during Homecoming weekend the rocks in
the yards outside of both her home on
South University Street, and her neighbor's home were vandalized.
Bradley said she is certain a CMLT stu
dent organization was responsible for the
incident, because the organization s initials
were painted on the rocks.
As a result, Bradley said she contacted
the president of that organization and complained. Some students from that organization then came and cleaned ofTthe rocks.
Mayor Sharon Tilmann also had an
unpleasant experience at CMU's
Homecoming parade. Tilmann said she and
See UNRULY Page 2	
City will meet with CMU
By Laura Michels
UFE Staff W» iter
Student housing,
Central/Western Weekend and
dealing with out-of-control student
partiers are some of the issues to be
discussed, when city commissioners
meet with CMU administrators
today.
SGA to
petition
about
cramped
rooms
By Amy Zevchak
LIFE Staff Writer
The Student Government
Association will be petitioning
CMUs administration about the
overcrowding in the residence
halls, according to the resolution
that was passed at Monday's
meeting.
The overcrowding situation is
one that SGA members want to
look into because they feel that
the quality of the student life at
CMU will not be as high, if the
college keeps accepting more students than it has room for.
The resolution was brought to
the floor by Battle Creek senior
Jeff Falcusan. Falcusan was
elected as the senate leader two
weeks ago.
•There are a lot of situations
that can arise where feelings are
hurt. There are a lot of people
who are unhappy and upset
(about the overcrowding),"
Falcusan said.
SGA plans to talk to the Office
of Residence Life about why students were not more informed
about the overcrowding problem.
They will also look into why
Admissions has accepted more
students than the college could
comfortably hold.
Another policy on the table will
be upperclassmen seniority. SGA
wants to look into why upperclassmen were put with five people to a room when there are
freshmen rooms down the hall
with only four.
Looking into the overcrowding
problem was something that was
brought about not only by students, but parents as well, SGA
members said.
"There has been a very reactionary response from parents. If
some students had known before
hand, they might not have picked
CMU," said SGA president Lacy
Gapczynski, Clinton Township
junior.
Gapczynski believes that the
motives behind CMU accepting
too many students were money
related.
"The more students CMU
brings in, the more money," she
said. "The university is committed to raising its enrollment numbers. They now include everyone
at the extended learning centers
and at branch campuses."
Falcusan said, "This is a resolution to encourage CMLT to keep up
See PETITION Page 2	
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; Classified
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| Crossword
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Et cetera
10-11 i
Sports
8-9
Voices
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To reach CM LIFE
Phone (517) 774-3493
E-Mail CMLIFEttcsnuvm.csv.cmich.edu
Fax number 1517) 774-7805
Central Michigan LIFE Online
Internet address
Kttp //www.cmliff t mich edu
rtAtt
BLOOCRS
CMU greenhouse employee KamTruhn, St. Joseph
sophomore, notices the buds of the night-blooming
Selenicereus Grandiflorus, more commonly known as
queen of the night, starting to bloom Friday afternoon.
The flower was in full bloom around 10:30 p.m. for the
only time this year. After blooming for a short time,
the flower will not bloom again until next year.
LIFE PHOTO BY TONY CEPAK AND RYAN WOOD
The Honolulu queen cactus,
Hylocereus Undatus, came into bloom
just after midnight Tuesday morning at
the greenhouse next to Brooks Hall,
said Betty Morgavan, greenhouse
manager. Part of the Christmas cacti
family, the flowers bloom only on rare
occasions due to their sensitivity to
sunlight, Morgavan said.
Another cactus is anticipated to
bloom sometime next week, whose
flower will be red in color, she said.
"Students don't know they are welcome (to visit), but they are. Not
enough students come out and enjoy
it," she said. Greenhouse hours are 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
LEI ZHENG • CM LIFE
The meeting will take place at 2
p.m. today at City Hall, 401 N.
Main St. The meeting will be open
to the public.
Kim Ellertson, CMlTs vice president of Business and Finance and
treasurer for the Board of Trustees,
See CITY/CMU Page 2	
Open
meetings
inquiry
closing
Hot classrooms stifle many across campus
By Kelly Taylor
LIFE Staff Writer
Students are falling asleep in classes.
Sweat drips off professors' brows while lecturing. With 80 plus degree classrooms in
Anspach Hall, students are finding the conditions not so conducive to learning.
Susan Conner, assistant dean of the
College of Humanities and Social and
Behavioral Sciences, said the heating and
cooling in Anspach has always been a problem.
Her office receives an average of four for
mal complaints a week throughout the year
because students and faculty are either too
hot or too cold, she said.
"Historically, nothing ever seems right in
this building at the change of the seasons,"
Conner said.
She said there have been discussions about
upgrading the heating and cooling systems in
the building, but she doesn't know where
Facilities Management is at with those plans.
She said the heating problem is so bad
right now, that one professor canceled his
class Tuesday evening.
Rod Kirk, professor of sociology, anthropology and social work, canceled a class in
Anspach 251, a computer lab, because the
room was too hot to stand.
"It was just too hideous to ask the students
to endure an hour in there," Kirk said. Tm
sure it was over 90. The temperature gauges
were off the scales."
Sherry MacGregor, Bay City senior, said
her already overcrowded class in Anspach is
too hot to be productive.
See HOT Page 13  ___
By Liz Wishaw
LIFE Editor
An investigation into whether
or not members of CMU's Board
of Trustees violated the Open
Meetings Act by having private
meetings with the university
president may be coming to a
close in a few days.
Several board members met
with University President
Leonard Plachta in an April
closed meeting after Trustee
William T. Johnson resigned,
suggesting & quorum was present and violating the meetings
act.
Isabella County Prosecutor
Larry Burdick, who is investigating the case, said the investigation is progressing and he
should come to a conclusion
within days.
He said he could not comment
on whether or not there had
been a violation of the act. "I
need to first notify the interested parties. . . then I'll notify the
media after the complainants
have been made aware," he
said.
Trustee members have said
that private meetings with
Plachta this semester have
been non-existent.
Trustee Sid Smith said he
hasn't met with Plachta this
semester yet, but would meet
with him one-on-one if he had
issues to discuss. "Have I discussed issues? Well, I get letters about students, how they
don't have enough parking. I
may talk to him about that,"
Smith said.
"Leonard is always looking
for input from the board on
matters when they have had
people talk to them."
He said he didn't know if
other board members had met
with Plachta.
"I was gone until Sept. 10. I
was out of country (so I haven't
had the chance)," Smith said.
Trustee Roger Kesseler said
he's talked to Plachta at the
football games.
See MEETINGS Page 2	
CMU opens Intramural Complex
By Curtis Carpenter
LIFE Sports Writer
CMU intramural sports has a new home in its
new $1 million Intramural Complex on West
Broomfield Road.
The new complex, which features four softball
fields and five soccer fields, opened two weeks
ago as part of the CMU athletics expansion. A
formal opening ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday, will be
held at the complex, which is located on West
Broomfield Road behind the Kewadin
Apartments
Stan Shingles, associate director of programs
for campus recreation, said the new complex lets
CMU have all its intramural teams in one place,
instead of in the past, when the teams were scattered all over.
<*The complex allows us to bring all of our outdoor intramural activities to one location and it
really enhances the qualities of CMU intramural
programs," Shingles said.
"Everything is coming together."
The new complex, which took about a year to
complete, features lighted fields so that teams
can play at night and hopefully it works around
student schedules.
Damon Brown, graduate assistant for intramural, said all the intramural events should be
over by 11 p.m. for those concerned about the
lights who live in the area. All activities run from
Sunday through Thursday.
With the increase in fields and because all the
fields are now in one area, Shingles said CMU
should be able to get more teams to compete in
the intramural activities.
Brown said they have 98 teams for softball, 40
for soccer and hope to have over 10O for flag football
The increased size of the complex, 19.5 acres,
should also allow CMU to offer more intramural
leagues, Shingles said.
"This should help increase participation,"
Shingles said.
lb accommodate the new complex, there is a
100 space parking lot ofT of Broomfield Road,
Brown said. Another parking lot, which should
have about 50 spaces, will be in between the soft-
ball and soccer fields.
At Friday's ceremony, there will be speeches by
representatives of the administration, the Office
of Student Life and former director of campus
recreation, Tom Jones. A ribbon cutting and tours
of the new facility are also part of the ceremony.
Following the grand opening ceremony, there
will be a reception with refreshments which will
have a ballpark theme.
The CMU
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