1997-12-01; Central Michigan Life

              Central Michigan LIFE
Volume 80, Number 41
Mt. Pleasant,   MI 48859
©1997 CM LIFE
78 years of serving the community
MONDAY
December 1, 1997
Two sections, 28 pages
Changes made to affirmative action statement
By Julia Jones
LIFE Staff Writer
The Academic Senate approved the recommendations of an ad hoc committee for
changes to the affirmative action statement Tuesday.
About 20 people in addition to the senators attended the meeting to discuss
changing the current statement which
reads "CMU is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution which is strongly
and actively committed to increasing
diversity within its community."
An ad hoc committee met Nov. 21 to
form the recommendations from suggestions submitted by several student, faculty
and   staff  groups   and
individuals on campus.
The committee made
three  suggestions.   The
first   is   to   change   the
statement      to      read,
'"Central Michigan University (an AA/EO
institution) is strongly and actively committed to increasing diversity and providing equal opportunity and treatment.
"CMU does not discriminate against
persons based on religion, race, color,
national origin, citizenship, age, sex,
height, weight, marital status, disability,
veteran status or sexual orientation."
The second  suggestion was to have a
A-Senate approves recommendations
from ad hoc committee
shorter statement for use in places where
fewer words are necessary because of
space. The shorter statement reads,
"CMU's Affirmative Action equal opportunity policy also includes sexual orientation."
The final suggestion is to hold a study of
the shorter statement and how often it is
used.
Some in attendance had concerns about
the recommendations,
particularly
the issue of
listing all
affirmative
action designators.
Senator Carole Beere, dean of Graduate
Studies, said the recommended new statement is not a strong one.
"To me the statement emphasizes nondiscrimination and doesn't emphasize
increasing diversity," she said.
Beere said she felt the list of all affirmative action designators waters the statement down in effectiveness and questioned
using one statement to do everything.
"I don't think this particularly encourages a diverse applicant pool," she said.
Senator Stephen Holder, chair of
English, said, "This ad is odd in the sense
it doesn't look like anybody else's ads."
"It makes the institution look defensive,"
he said.
There were positive comments on the
committee's decisions as well. Senator Guy
Meiss, associate professor of journalism,
said the recommendations have covered
the four major issues of concerned parties.
He  said  the  suggested   statement has
See REVISIONS Paqe 2A
Facing disabilities at CMU
Student
overcomes
obstacles,
challenges
Editor's \:ote. In order to get a better account of a day in the life of a disabled student, t/its is -fenmfer Moore's
first-person account ot spending a dax
uith CML: sophomore Scott Riordan
By Jennifer Moore
L!rE  Staff Water
It is hard to comprehend what
it is like to be a student with a
disability until you spend a day
in his chair.
I had some ideas on how my
day with Scott Riordan would
turn out, but I didn't realize
what an eye-opening experience it would be.
Riordan. Sault Ste. Marie
sophomore, has a neuromuscular disease called Charcot
Marie Tooth. It is recognized by
the muscular dystrophy association.
Charcot Marie Tooth degenerates the myelin coating on
the nerves so they do not conduct electricity properly, which
prevents the messages from
the brain from being received.
Riordan said.
Dealing with a disability
Riordan loaned me his old
manual wheelchair for the day
so I could experience his daily
schedule. He has a power
wheelchair, so I slowed him
down right from the beginning.
As we prepared to leave his
Washington complex apartment for our first class, he
picked up his "typing stick" in
his mouth.
The stick resembles an
upside-down "L" with a plastic
mouthpiece on the short end
and a pointer with an eraser on
the long end.
With this stick he hit a button on what looked like a
garage door opener mounted on
his chair. The front doors to
both his apartment and the
apartment complex opened
slowly to allow us easy access
outside.
It took two months to get the
special doors for Riordan's use.
he said. There is a power opener on the outside of the door
which is activated when he hits
the button on the control.
With the typing stick.
Riordan can also type on the
computer, dial his phone, hit
elevator buttons, flip light
switches        and        accomplish
SABRINA BURTON •
Scott Riordan, Sault Ste. Marie sophomore, does not have much homework in his math
but he takes home quizzes and other homework and completes them on his computer.
Gala Malherbe helps Riordan when he needs her the most — when his head itches.
numerous other tasks. He
made his stick himself because
they cost around $50, he said.
Riordan's disability is genetic
and it is a gradual process. He
was able to walk when he was
young — without assistance —
until kindergarten. At that
time, he began using AFO
splints, which are clear plastic-
leg splints, he said.
Riordan got his first manual
wheelchair after having bone
surgery on his right foot in
sixth grade. In seventh grade,
he had the same surgery on his
left foot.
See RIORDAN Paqe 16A
CM LIFE
class.
Below,
Central
works to
improve
accessibility
■   In the meantime, students
cope with conditions
By Angie Fenton
LIFE Staff Writer
Most people on campus
don't think twice about
cutting across the
grass as a shortcut or
climbing stairs to reach a classroom, much less taking a
moment to consider how you will
open a door, simply to make it
through the entrance.
However, Camille Burden,
Southfield senior, thinks about
those very things every day.
Diagnosed with juvenile
rheumatoid arthritis when she
was nineteen months old,
Burden uses a motorized wheelchair for distance.
"I'm limited, but not wheelchair bound. I've been real independent because my parents
encouraged that," she said.
Burden said she did not have
to use a wheelchair until high
school, when her classes were in
three separate buildings.
"Now (at CMU) I need it.
Though last year I didn't use my
wheelchair as much, this past
summer I had a flare up with
my hips. Since I've had
(rheumatoid arthritis) for so
long it's really wearing and tearing on my joints. I used to be
able to walk to the cafeteria and
do other stuff, but now I'm not
walking as much," she said.
According to Burden, most
buildings on campus are accessible for people with disabilities;
because of construction, one was
not. Construction in front of
Sweeney Hall, where Burden
lives, lasted three weeks.
"The only handicap accessible
door in Sweeney is in the front,"
Burden said.
To get out of the residence
hall, Burden said she had to go
to one of the side doors — which
are not handicap accessible —
and ask someone for help. If no
one was around, Burden said
she had to go from room to room
until she found someone to
assist her.
In addition to getting out of
Sweeney,   Burden   said  it was  a
See BURDEN Paae 13A
Parking at the SAC this weekend may be crowded
By Rachel Sprovtsoff
LIFE Staff Writer
Finding a parking spot at the
Student Activity Center may
be a little harder than usual
this weekend
CMU will be hosting the
Michigan High School Athletic-
Association girl's basketball
state tournament starting
Thursday and lasting until
Saturday.
Jay Lanctot, associate director of Athletics, said he wanted
to get the word out to students
before all the participants and
spectators arrived.
"We want to make sure people are very informed," he said.
Lanctot encouraged students
who have class or who want to
use the SAC' to either carpool
or walk.
"We want to allow more visitors to have parking spots," he
said.
If people must drive, there is
no    charge    to    park,    Lanctot
In addition, students will not
have to pay a parking fee that
will be charged to those attending the games.
"As long as they show their
student ID or their campus ID,
they won't have to pay," he
said.
Lanctot said there are 16
teams coming to participate in
the tournament, which could
make for a lot of traffic in the
See PARKING Paqe 2A	
PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
STATE SEMI-FINALS
Class A 1 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. Thursday
Class D 6 p.m. and 7:50 p.m Thursday
Class B 1 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. Friday
Class C 6 p.m. and 7:50 p.m. Friday
STATE FINALS -(ALL PLAYED
SATURDAY)
Class D 12pm.
Class A 2 p.m.
Class C 6 p.m.
Class B 8 p m
• TIME: noon to 1
p.m.. 3 to 4 p.m.
and 6 to 7 p.m.
• DATE: Tuesday
• PLACE: Moore
Hall KIVA room
Education
concerns
can be
addressed
at forum
By Jeremy H. Dickman
LIFE Staff Writer
Teacher education students will
have an opportunity to voice their
concerns at an open forum
Tuesday.
Leroy Kemp, interim director of
teacher education, said there were
some concerns raised at the recent
National
OPENFORUM
Council for
Accreditation
of Teacher
Education
that some students were
not clear
about such
issues as
admissions, academic advising and
course availability.
To help assure NCATE that student perceptions have been taken
into account, a teacher education
forum will be held for the first
time.
The forum is set for the Moore
Hall KTVA room. To better accommodate students the forum will
have three different times, from
noon to 1 p.m., 3 to 4 p.m. and 6 to
7 p.m.
"We feel as though there is a
need for the students to have
access to the college dean, the
director of teacher education,
department chairs and key faculty
directly and a person who is in our
teacher education admission and
certification office," Kemp said.
"Those have really been some of
the various area that students
have been concerned about."
Present at the forum will be:
Kemp; William Merrill, chair of
Teacher Education and
Professional Development; Kelvie
Comer, dean of Education and
Human Services; Lynne Snyder.
associate director for Teacher
Education Student Services;
Marguerite Terrill, associate director for Clinical and Field
Experiences; and Suzanne
Shellady, Special Education
Coordinator.
Kemp said the plan is to have a
meeting like this every semester.
that way students can see exactly
how their issues have been
addressed.
"We won't get every student at
that time, but if we do this every
semester, we will be able to get
input from students in terms of
what are their concerns and then
See FORUM Paqe 2A
O
See section B for holiday
stories and photos.
IDE
Classified
15A-16A
Crossword
16A
Et cetera
10A-11A
Sports
8A-9A
Voices
4A-5A
To reach CMI II r
n-HMie   •774-.V»<>3
h-M.nl  CMLirr«cmuvm
' .i» numhff <">17>774-7S0-.
sv.crrmh <-<lu
Central Michigan
Intt-rnet jJJri-->   hllpy/wv
I in  Online
vw cmlifc.cmich edu