1996-10-25; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Volume 79, Number 27
Mt. Pleasant,   MI 48859
©1996 CM LIFE
77 years of serving the community
FRIDAY
October 25,1996
10 pages
Hopes for CMU women's swimming team sink
By Doug Fisher
LIFE Assistant Sports
Editor	
Initial costs and liability hazards
have put plans for a CMU women's
swimming team on ice, according to a
CMU official.
The Rose Center pool did not meet
Michigan Occupational Safety and
Health Association standards for collegiate competition because of shallow
water near the starting blocks, as well
as other liabilities in the diving well.
The swimming pool does meet NCAA
standards, however, just not Michigan
standards set by MOSHA, said
Athletics Director Herb Deromedi.
Originally, the athletics department
did not think it would have to make
changes to the pool because the pool
was built before the standards were laid
down, a provision known as the grandfather clause. However, since the program was just starting up again,
MOSHA recommended the changes to
be made.
The pool can continue to be used for
high school competition because those
meets do not use starting blocks,
Deromedi said. Mount Pleasant High
School currently uses the pool for its
competitions.
"We looked at all the possibilities in
more detail and it was the opinion of the
school lawyer that we should not use it,**
Deromedi said. "The liability would be
tremendous.**
The   diving  well   also  did   not   meet
MOSHA standards, Deromedi said. The
diving well was not physically large
enough to accommodate the 3-meter
diving board, and the board was also
not far enough away from the wall.
Thus, injuries could result.
"It would have to be an erroneous
dive; and if they were to catapult off it,
it was just not long enough to be safe,**
Deromedi said.
Also, at the Oct.   12 Mid-American
Conference meeting, the league began
looking into adding platform diving.
This move would have forced CMU to
raise the ceiling of its pool to accommodate additional safety standards,
Deromedi said.
"The initial cost was $400,000 and
that was not including the diving well
(changes)," Deromedi said. "The costs to
change the pool ... it got to the point
where it was better to replace it. At the
present time the cost was prohibitive
See SWIM Page 2
Journalism dept.
gets accredidation
recommendation
By Len Padilla
LIFE Staff Writer
The CMU journalism department may soon be in elite company.
Following a four-day visit,
representatives from the
Accrediting Council on
Education in Journalism and
Mass Communications gave a
positive recommendation for
accreditation of the department.
The journalism school at
Michigan State University is
currently the only journalism
school in the state to be accredited.
"We're long over due for
accreditation," said Jerome
Fitzhenry, interim chair of the
department. "We have done
excellent work for many years
and this is a testament to the
good work we do."
The AJMCE is a nationally
recognized council composed of
journalism and mass communications educators and industry
representatives from around the
country.
CMU is an accredited university by the North Central
Association of Colleges and
Schools. But specialized accreditations must be gained by each
individual department.
The department must now
pass through two final stages
before it can be accredited.
The baton is now handed to
the AJMCE Committee, which
will make its decision in March.
If approved by the committee,
the AJMCE Accrediting Council
will make the final decision in
"We're confident that
we will get (an accreditation)"
JEROME FITZHENRY
Interim chair of
Journalism Dept.
May on whether it will grant full
or provisional accreditation.
If provisional accreditation is
granted, the department would
have approximately a year to
work out specified problem
areas designated by the council.
"We're all excited about it,"
Fitzhenry said of the reaction by
the journalism staff. "We're
pleased the excellence of our
program is being recognized.
This will show that we are rec-
See RECOMMENDATION Page 2
Emergency electrical
interruption planned
According to a press release from Consumers Power Company a
brief emergency electric interruption today beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The five-minute interruption is necessary to repair critical equipment serving the area.
The interruption will affect 862 Mount Pleasant utility customers
in a geographic area roughly bounded by Mission Road on the west,
Leaton Road on the east, Broomfield Road on the north and
Deerfield Road on the south.
COSTUME
COLLECTION
LIFE Photo/Gabriel Guerrero
Jen Side bottom, Mio sophomore and Brad Knight, Port
Sanilac junior, look for costumes Tuesday at Sempliner's
Black-Tie Tuxedo and Costume Shop, 1019 S. Mission St.,
for the upcoming Halloween holiday.
Former student files lawsuit against university employees
By Emily Gerfcin
LIFE Staff Writer
Another civil suit was filed in Isabella
County Circuit Court against university
employees regarding the accident of a former CMU student.
Brian Sheridan is bringing suit against
Tom Jones, director of campus recreational services; Diana Hughes, professor of
communication disorders and faculty
advisor to the gymnastics club, and former athletic director Dave Keilitz for
gross negligence. The suit was filed Oct.
14.
On Nov. 7, 1993, Sheridan, then a Bay
City freshman, was using the equipment
in the gymnastics room, which was open
to student use through the gymnastics
club, when he attempted a back flip on a
Tumbl-Trak and broke his neck.
He was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in
Saginaw where he underwent a neurological operation.
The accident resulted in serious and
permanent injury to Sheridan's cervical
spine. Now 21-years-old, he has been
diagnosed as a quadriplegic and his medical treatment is on-going.
Sheridan originally filed suit against
the university in early 1994 but according
to CMU's defense attorney Michael
Hackett, the case was dismissed by
Circuit Court Judge Paul Chamberlain.
Hughes, Jones and Keilitz are being
alleged with gross negligence by being
aware of the hazards inherent in the use
of trampolines, the injuries that could be
resulted from the use of the Tumbl-Trak,
demonstrating substantial lack of concern for whether injuries resulted and
allowing students with no training to use
the device.
In addition, Hughes is alleged with negligence because she was present and
responsible for the gymnastics club activities on the date Sheridan was injured.
Hughes declined to comment.
Jones is alleged with negligence
because of his responsibility for the
Student Activity Center, including the
management and supervision of the gymnastics room.
Keilitz's is alleged with negligence
because of his responsibility as the former
Athletic Director for CMU and the acquisition of equipment for use in athletic programs, including the gymnastics room.
Both Jones and Keilitz were out of town
and could not be reached for comment.
Sheridan filed a second suit Dec. 8,
1994, against VTL, Inc., the manufacturer and/or distributor of TVimbl-Trak; Jerry
Reighard, CMU Gymnastics Coach, was
later added as another defendant.
Attorney Philip Green of Ann Arbor is
representing Sheridan in both cases.
Green currently has a motion before the
court to combine the defendants of both
cases.
"Basically we are asking the court to
consolidate the defendants of both suits,7*
See SUIT Page 2
Plachta
pushes
for new
health
building
By Kristi L.G. Wyman
LIFE Staff Writer	
University President Leonard
Plachta announced in his annual address Oct. 17 that the next
priority in new buildings will be
for health education programs.
Due to CMU's future plans to
increase health programs,
Plachta said a new building
should be constructed to house
new health related fields.
According to Plachta, CMU
will need additional space for
the development of the health
education program.
Herman Triezenberg, associate professor chairperson of
health promotion and rehabilitation and director of physical
therapy, said two graduate programs have recently grown. The
physicians assistant program
was added this year and accepted 32 students this year. The
physical therapy program
accepts 48 students each year.
"Both are large and generate
a lot of research and will require
space in the future,"
Triezenberg said.
Anne Draher, Harbor Beach
senior and president of Eta
Sigma Gamma said, "CMU is
known nationwide for it's public
health education program
through Eta Sigma Gamma and
for Dr. Loren Bens ley's contributions to the field."
Draher said Bensley retired
from CMU last year.
Programs like health fitness,
gerontology, sports medicine
and other health fields are
growing at CMU, Draher said.
"There is a need for a bigger
and better facility,'' she said.
"It would be excellent to have
more room and modernized
equipment," said Amy Work,
Wayne senior and president of
Eta Alpha Epsilon.
Currently, the health related
programs are scattered
throughout various academic
buildings, Triezenberg said.
A new building would collaborate the programs all under one
roof allowing students and faculty members to interact more,
he said.
Rae Goldsmith, associate vice
president for Public Relations
and Marketing, said the process
of building a new facility will
take 10 years or more.
A  committee   has   not  been
See BUILDING Page 2
Final preparation urtderway for affirmative action selection
By Julia Jones
Life Staff Writer
The affirmative action officer
search committee met
Wednesday and Thursday to
evaluate the three candidates for
the affirmative action officer position.
According to Martha Logsdon,
interim affirmative action officer,
member of the search committee
and professor of political science,
written    comments    are    being
taken from the committee members and the comments are currently being written up in the
final evaluation.
Each of the three candidates
have presented themselves to the
campus at open forums in the
past two weeks.
The candidates are ErVin J.
Gross, special assistant to the
president for Equality and
Campus Diversity at Buffalo
State College in New York since
1995;.Phylis Fitzgerald Powell,
executive director of affirmative
action/assistant to the president
at the University of Houston
since 1994; and Laurel Diane
Allen, affirmative action specialist at the University of California
- Berkeley since 1987.
According to Shaun Holtgreive,
chair of the search committee and
associate director of Student Life,
students who attended the
forums, and the Minority Student
Organization Council have had a
chance to meet with the candidates and provide feedback to the
search committee.
Holtgreive said the final evaluation from the committee will be
forwarded to University Counsel
Eileen Jennings. Jennings will
review the evaluation, contact
additional references for each of
the candidates, and make a recommendation to Kim Ellertson,
vice  president  of Business  and
m
Finance.
According to Jennings,
Ellertson will confirm the
appointment. Ellertson and
Jennings will work out details
and negotiate terms.
The new affirmative action officer will begin work by January,
Jennings said. It is possible the
officer could be in place by
December, but she said the officer
will more than likely start at the
beginning of next semester.
mm