The Valley Vanguard (Vol. 45 No. 1)
12
Saginaw Valley State University’s student newspaper since 1967 Vol. 45 No. 1 valleyvanguardonline.com NEWS TIPS/PRESS RELEASES [email protected] NEWSROOM (989) 964-4482 ADVERTISING (989) 964-4248 visit us online at valleyvanguardonline.com Valley Vanguard Monday, August 27, 2012 the Inside this issue The Cardinals begin their quest for a second straight playoff berth with a matchup against perennial powerhouse Valdosta State this weekend. Flip to A8 for a complete season preview. No issue Due to Labor Day weekend, The Vanguard will not release an issue on Sept. 3. Our next issue will hit newsstands Monday, Sept. 10. Twitter Follow us on Twitter: /SVVanguardNews /VVSports For many students, there is no better comfort than being confident in your classes and in your ability to succeed. The Center for Academic Achievement plans on helping build that confidence one student at a time. The center, located on the second floor of Melvin J. Zahnow library, combines most tu- toring services into one coherent, help- ful and convenient location. Before, with the chemistry and biology students working by the chemistry faculty offices and the math and phys- ics placement no- where near, find- ing help often proved to be frustrat- ing for students. While the Writing Center will stay on the third floor, combining the rest of the subjects, including biology, chemistry, math, physics, psychology and more, creates a single stop for any type of help needed. Each subject has its own section of the center, with a spacious central area and tables. Ann Coburn-Collins, director of academic programs support, is at the head of the project. One of the points Collins wants to emphasize is that the center is a nonthreatening area for comfortable studying. “Once the students see that it’s a friendly place, they can come and don’t need to be afraid,” she said. Jennifer Dean, the head of collec- tion development and acquisitions at the library, wants the students to feel at ease when walking into the center. “I know that most people are like ‘I’m on my own, I wanna fig- ure this out’, and we want to help you figure it out,” she said. “We’re here to help you find your way.” Much of the new center’s suc- cess will depend on the optimism and support of the students and faculty who comprise the tutoring staff. Chemistry tutor Dan Weller shares this optimism and believes the consolidation of the center to be a step in the right direction with many benefits for students and tutors. “It allows the chem/bio to tie in with the math/physics center,” Weller said. “If I need to, I can just direct them to next door.” In a world of ever-changing tech- nology, paper resumes may be on the road to extinction. Unlike previ- ous generations where a hard-copy resume was supreme, there are now easier and faster ways to share ac- complishments with the click of a button. This summer, SVSU began a one- year pilot program of ReadMedia, a web-based platform that allows uni- versities to publish student achieve- ments on the web, social networks and using traditional media. The university emails a link to student achievements through ReadMedia, and students can then post these achievements to a personalized read- about.me profile. SVSU University Communica- tions, Web Communications, Admis- sions and Career Services contributed toward a subscription for the pro- gram. “The program is a one-year pi- lot project, and after the year we will evaluate and see how it worked,” said J.J. Boehm, director of Media and Community Relations. “If the pro- gram realizes the potential that we see, we will try to make this a more permanent part of SVSU’s communi- cation plan.” All incoming freshmen received information to create their readabout. me profiles. Returning students on the dean’s and president’s list have received an email invitation to be- gin creating their profile. University Communications plans to reach out through various campus offices and organizations so additional achieve- ments can be sent and more students can create profiles. “We expect readabout.me to be quite active during the fall semester and throughout the academic year,” Boehm said. “This is a good tool to promote what SVSU does well and showcase the extraordinary things that our students do.” Boehm said readabout.me Renovations made in Wickes Hall are proving to be beneficial to staff and stu- dents. During the summer the first floor of the building was transformed into the “Cam- pus Financial Service Center.” The student financial ser- vices, scholarships and finan- cial aid, and cashiers offices were combined. There is a row of help desks, and students wait in line for the next available staff member to assist them. Jim Muladore, executive vice president for administra- tion and business affairs, said the center makes it easier and faster to get students the help they need. “Essentially, now most basic services for students are all coordinated in this center,” Muladore said. Staff can perform tasks that were previously des- ignated to separate offices, which saves students time. For example, staff can distribute checks as well as answer financial aid questions to the same customer, which used to be two separate offices’ duties. Stephen Hocquard, as- sistant vice president for fa- cilities planning and construc- tion, said the previous setup wasn’t effective. “Over time you kind of outgrow spaces, so we made room for more,” he said. Student life is geared up to reach students in a new way. Kim Brandimore, former student life director, resigned at the tail end of winter semester. Her absence prompted some changes in the office. However, Merry Jo Brandi- more, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said the office was looking to make changes prior to Brandi- more’s resignation. She said students’ wants and needs are constantly grow- ing, and it’s essential for stu- dent life to accommodate that growth. “We looked at how to best organize the department,” Brandimore said. The student life team now consists of three associate direc- tors who each deal with differ- ent tasks. Eltaro Hooper concentrates on Greek life, commuter pro- grams, consumer corner and graphic imaging. Katrina Friedeberg is in charge of leadership, service projects and volunteer work such as Alternative Breaks. Jason Schoenmeyer is new to student life. His concentra- tions include Program Board, Valley Nights and posting around campus. Friedeberg said students are already beginning to em- brace the changes. “They’re falling in love with it,” she said. Friedeberg said it’s much easier for students to get ques- tions answered, as directors now have their areas of exper- tise. Hooper said the new posi- tions weren’t too challenging to get used to because the di- rectors recognize the value of teamwork. “We buckle down and help each other out and get the task done that needs to be done,” Hooper said. Although the directors have separate duties, they work together on more demanding projects such as Homecoming. Student employees’ tasks have also changed. Six students were designat- ed to work at the information desk, while the others were as- signed to assist one of the three directors. Brandimore said students are likely to benefit from this change. “The roles that they play are quite distinctive and great resume builders,” Brandimore said. Tony Thomson, assistant dean of student life, said the student workers’ new roles tie everything together. “All these positions are re- ally designed to support our RSOs,” Thomson said. “We re- ally feel like we’ve enriched our student staff to coordinate with our staff.” The staff have also been busy launching OrgSync, a web application on the student life website. Vanguard photo | Tyler Bradley Students test out the new Financial Services Center, which combines three offices: Financial Services, Scholarships and Financial Aid and Cashiers. “ Once the students see that it’s a friendly place, they can come and don’t need to be afraid, ” Ann Coburn-Collins, direCtor of ACAdemiC progrAms support Courtesy| ReadMedia Combined tutoring center makes reaching out easy University goes online with academic profiles Student Life revamped for new semester One-stop shopping By Andrea McBride Vanguard Campus Editor By Matt Ostrander Vanguard Staff Writer By Lauren Weitchy Vanguard Staff Writer By Andrea McBride Vanguard Campus Editor See STUDENT LIFE, A10 See READMEDIA, A10 See CENTER, A2 See FINANCIAL, A2 The new Campus Financial Services Center is lessening headaches and saving time.
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The Valley Vanguard newspaper
Transcript of The Valley Vanguard (Vol. 45 No. 1)
Saginaw Valley State University’s student newspaper since 1967Vol. 45 No. 1 valleyvanguardonline.com
news tips/press releases [email protected] newsroom (989) 964-4482 advertising (989) 964-4248 visit us online at valleyvanguardonline.com
The Valley Vanguard
Valley VanguardMonday, August 27, 2012
the
Inside this issue
The Cardinals begin their quest for a second straight playoff berth with a matchup against perennial powerhouse Valdosta State this weekend. Flip to A8 for a complete season preview.
No issueDue to Labor Day weekend, The Vanguard will not release an issue on Sept. 3. Our next issue will hit newsstands Monday, Sept. 10.
TwitterFollow us on Twitter:
/SVVanguardNews /VVSports
For many students, there is no better comfort than being confident in your classes and in your ability to succeed. The Center for Academic Achievement plans on helping build that confidence one student at a time.
The center, located on the second floor of Melvin J. Zahnow library, combines most tu-toring services into one coherent, help-ful and convenient location.
Before, with the chemistry and biology students working by the chemistry faculty offices and the math and phys-ics placement no-where near, find-ing help often proved to be frustrat-ing for students.
While the Writing Center will stay on the third floor, combining the rest of the subjects, including biology, chemistry, math, physics, psychology and more, creates a single stop for any type of help needed. Each subject has its own section of the center, with a spacious central area and tables.
Ann Coburn-Collins, director of academic programs support, is at the
head of the project. One of the points Collins wants to emphasize is that the center is a nonthreatening area for comfortable studying.
“Once the students see that it’s a friendly place, they can come and don’t need to be afraid,” she said.
Jennifer Dean, the head of collec-tion development and acquisitions at the library, wants the students to feel at ease when walking into the center.
“I know that most people are like ‘I’m on my own, I wanna fig-ure this out’, and we want to help you figure it out,” she said. “We’re here to help you find your way.”
Much of the new center’s suc-cess will depend on the optimism and support of the students and
faculty who comprise the tutoring staff. Chemistry tutor Dan Weller shares this optimism and believes the consolidation of the center to be a step in the right direction with many benefits for students and tutors.
“It allows the chem/bio to tie in with the math/physics center,” Weller said. “If I need to, I can just direct them to next door.”
In a world of ever-changing tech-nology, paper resumes may be on the road to extinction. Unlike previ-ous generations where a hard-copy resume was supreme, there are now easier and faster ways to share ac-complishments with the click of a button.
This summer, SVSU began a one-year pilot program of ReadMedia, a web-based platform that allows uni-versities to publish student achieve-ments on the web, social networks and using traditional media. The university emails a link to student achievements through ReadMedia, and students can then post these achievements to a personalized read-about.me profile.
SVSU University Communica-tions, Web Communications, Admis-sions and Career Services contributed toward a subscription for the pro-gram.
“The program is a one-year pi-
lot project, and after the year we will evaluate and see how it worked,” said J.J. Boehm, director of Media and Community Relations. “If the pro-gram realizes the potential that we see, we will try to make this a more permanent part of SVSU’s communi-cation plan.”
All incoming freshmen received information to create their readabout.me profiles. Returning students on the dean’s and president’s list have received an email invitation to be-gin creating their profile. University Communications plans to reach out through various campus offices and organizations so additional achieve-ments can be sent and more students can create profiles.
“We expect readabout.me to be quite active during the fall semester and throughout the academic year,” Boehm said. “This is a good tool to promote what SVSU does well and showcase the extraordinary things that our students do.”
Boehm said readabout.me
Renovations made in Wickes Hall are proving to be beneficial to staff and stu-dents.
During the summer the first floor of the building was
transformed into the “Cam-pus Financial Service Center.”
The student financial ser-vices, scholarships and finan-cial aid, and cashiers offices were combined.
There is a row of help desks, and students wait in line for the next available staff member to assist them.
Jim Muladore, executive vice president for administra-tion and business affairs, said the center makes it easier and faster to get students the help they need.
“Essentially, now most basic services for students are all coordinated in this center,” Muladore said.
Staff can perform tasks that were previously des-ignated to separate offices, which saves students time.
For example, staff can distribute checks as well as answer financial aid questions to the same customer, which used to be two separate offices’ duties.
Stephen Hocquard, as-sistant vice president for fa-cilities planning and construc-tion, said the previous setup wasn’t effective.
“Over time you kind of outgrow spaces, so we made room for more,” he said.
Student life is geared up to reach students in a new way.
Kim Brandimore, former student life director, resigned at the tail end of winter semester.
Her absence prompted some changes in the office.
However, Merry Jo Brandi-more, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said the office was looking to make changes prior to Brandi-more’s resignation.
She said students’ wants and needs are constantly grow-ing, and it’s essential for stu-dent life to accommodate that growth.
“We looked at how to best organize the department,” Brandimore said.
The student life team now consists of three associate direc-tors who each deal with differ-ent tasks.
Eltaro Hooper concentrates on Greek life, commuter pro-grams, consumer corner and graphic imaging.
Katrina Friedeberg is in charge of leadership, service projects and volunteer work such as Alternative Breaks.
Jason Schoenmeyer is new to student life. His concentra-tions include Program Board, Valley Nights and posting around campus.
Friedeberg said students are already beginning to em-brace the changes.
“They’re falling in love with it,” she said.
Friedeberg said it’s much easier for students to get ques-tions answered, as directors now have their areas of exper-tise.
Hooper said the new posi-tions weren’t too challenging to get used to because the di-rectors recognize the value of teamwork.
“We buckle down and help each other out and get the task done that needs to be done,” Hooper said.
Although the directors have separate duties, they work together on more demanding projects such as Homecoming.
Student employees’ tasks have also changed.
Six students were designat-ed to work at the information desk, while the others were as-signed to assist one of the three directors.
Brandimore said students are likely to benefit from this change.
“The roles that they play are quite distinctive and great resume builders,” Brandimore said.
Tony Thomson, assistant dean of student life, said the student workers’ new roles tie everything together.
“All these positions are re-ally designed to support our RSOs,” Thomson said. “We re-ally feel like we’ve enriched our student staff to coordinate with our staff.”
The staff have also been busy launching OrgSync, a web application on the student life website.
Vanguard photo | Tyler BradleyStudents test out the new Financial Services Center, which combines three offices: Financial Services, Scholarships and Financial Aid and Cashiers.
“Once the students see that it’s a friendly place, they can come and don’t need to be afraid,”
Ann Coburn-Collins, direCtor of ACAdemiC progrAms support
Courtesy| ReadMedia
Combined tutoring center makes reaching out easy
University goes online with academic profiles
Student Life revamped for new semester
One-stop shopping
By Andrea McBrideVanguard Campus Editor
By Matt OstranderVanguard Staff Writer
By Lauren WeitchyVanguard Staff Writer
By Andrea McBrideVanguard Campus Editor
See STUDENT LIFE, A10
See READMEDIA, A10
See CENTEr, A2
See FINANCIAL, A2
The new Campus Financial Services Center is lessening headaches and saving time.
The Valley Vanguard125 Curtiss Hall campuseditorsBrandy Abraham and Andrea McBride e-mails [email protected] and [email protected] office (989) 964-4482
News coverage continued from page 1
Page A2| Monday, August 27, 2012 | valleyvanguardonline.com | The Valley Vanguard
svsu.edu/vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com
jumpthe
Besides the benefit of a nearer relocation, Weller believes that the new system will motivate him to become even better at his job.
“It will give me more drive to become a better tutor,” He said. “I love it. It’s great to relate to stu-dents, to acknowledge them, and it’s good practice for me to stay on the ball.”
Collins understands that there are certain qualities each tutor must have.
“They should be friendly, first of all, and opened minded,” she said. “Somebody that has good communication skills and knows how to study.”
Collins feels that their tutor-ing system is definitely useful for many different types of learners.
“Smart people get help,” she said. “We have students here who have B pluses who want to get an A. So it’s not necessarily people
who are at the lower end.” Jordan Boulier, a third year
occupational therapy major, fully believes the tutoring system does nothing but strengthen her knowl-edge in several fields.
“I’ve used tutors for multiple subjects just to get a bit of under-standing, and I think they’re super helpful,” she said.
The Center for Academic Achievement aims to be a resource for upperclassmen and incoming freshmen alike.
Tyler White, a first year busi-ness major, understood the use-fulness of the center even before starting classes.
“It’s a resource there to help you out,” he said. “You pay for college, you may as well get any advantage you can get.”
The main goal of the center appears to be to help in any shape or form. Collins firmly believes the newly designed system will be a success.
“If a student comes to that desk and needs help, they’re going to be helped.”
Muladore said 85 percent of the university’s undergraduates receive some type of financial aid. The campus financial services cen-ter is helping to accommodate the substantial amount of staff and stu-dent interaction.
A separate scholarships and financial aid office still exists to as-sist students when necessary.
Muladore said the new center has freed up time for financial aid counselors in the separate office.
“They’re available now to meet with students and to discuss more complicated issues,” he said.
Financial aid can be processed faster as well with that extra time.
Muladore said the staff’s co-operation made the changes work-able.
“This is all possible because our staff accepted this and were very supportive of this whole con-cept,” Muladore said.
Robert Lemuel, scholarships and financial aid director, is also pleased with the staff’s response.
“They are doing a great job, and I’m impressed with the knowl-edge they’ve gained to help our students,” Lemuel said.
Although the new setup is much more out in the open, Le-muel said he doesn’t believe stu-dents’ private information such as Social Security numbers are in jeopardy.
“We will address any issues that come up with that to ensure that student information is se-cure,” Lemuel said.
Several other construction projects took place as well.
College Drive and Collings Drive were re-asphalted, and Cov-enant Med-Express received a new driveway to make the public more aware of its availability.
Pierce Road underwent some significant changes with help from Kochville DDA and Saginaw County Road Commission.
A roundabout was constructed on Pierce Road at South Entrance Drive. The ditch was also taken out to make it safer, and landscap-ing is currently taking place.
Muladore said the goal was to make the road look more like part of campus.
Centercontinued from A1
FInAnCIALcontinued from A1
valleyvanguardonline.com
About usSince 1967, The Valley Vanguard haS proVided coVerage of campuS and communiTy happeningS To STudenTS, faculTy, STaff and communiTy reSidenTS. an online ediTion of The paper iS aVailable aT ValleyVanguardonline.com and iS updaTed weekly during The fall and winTer.
PublishingThe Vanguard iS publiShed by The STudenTS of Saginaw Valley STaTe uniVerSiTy weekly in The fall and winTer SemeSTerS, wiTh one iSSue publiShed in The Summer. our office iS locaTed in curTiSS 125 on The campuS of SVSu, aT 7400 bay road, uniVerSiTy cenTer, mi, 48710.
Advertisingall adVerTiSing inquirieS Should be direcTed To Shannon daViS aT [email protected] or (989) 964-4248.
ProfessionAl [email protected]
(989) 964-4248 KAtie ZlotecKi, buSineSS manager
shAnnon dAvis, adVerTiSing manager
The Valley Vanguard
editoriAl [email protected]
(989) 964-4482
Justin broucKAert, ediTor-in-chief
Josh hArtley, deSign ediTor
brAndy AbrAhAm, campuS ediTor
AndreA mcbride, campuS ediTor
noAh essenmAcher, copy ediTor
chris oliver, SporTS ediTor
tyler brAdley, a&e ediTor
seAn dudley, phoTo ediTor
chris oliver, web ediTor
corrections And Additionsif you See an error, pleaSe leT uS know aS Soon aS poSSible by conTacT-ing ediTor-in-chief JuSTin brouckaerT aT (989) 964-4482 or [email protected]. in addiTion To prinTing a correcTion in our prinT ediTion, The online VerSion of The STory will reflecT The correcTion.
policebriefs
Police briefs are written according to reports from University Police. These indicate preliminary descriptions of events and not necessarily actual incident
Larceny•At5p.m.Tuesday,June19,a20-year-
oldmalestudent’siPodwasstolenwhilehewasplayingbasketballinthefitnesscenter.
•BetweenThursday,July5andMonday,July9,fivelaptopswentmissingfromclassroomsoncampus.Videosurveil-lancecouldnotidentifythesubject,butthroughinvestigationcampuspoliceidentifiedapersonofinterest.Thesus-pectwassellinglaptopsonlinethrougheBay.Thiscaseisconnectedtoearliercasesofcomputerlarceny.
Indecent exposure•At12:50p.m.Sunday,June24,a
37-year-oldmalestudentwaswatch-ingpornwhileonacomputerintheCollegeofEducation.Afemalestudentreportedtheincidentanditwascaughtoncamera.Themalestudentwillbesubpoenaedtocourt.
Minor in Possession•At11:25p.m.Tuesday,July3,amale
non-studentreceivedaminorinpos-session.ThemalehadbeenlivingintheUniversityVillagewhilehewasaco-opstudent.Themalereceivedthecitationafterhegavepolicefalseidentificationandhadalcoholintheapartment.
•At2:59a.m.Sunday,July29,campuspolicewerecalledtothetownhomesbecauseofalargefight.Whenofficersarrived,30vehicleswereleaving.Officerstriedtomakecontactwithan18-year-oldmaleinvolvedinthefightwhoranaway.Anofficercaughthimandarrestedhimforresistingandforminorinpossession.Onehundredpeoplewereinvolvedinthefight.
•OnTuesday,August7,a14-year-old
femalewasattendingcampatSVSUandacampcounselorfoundmarijuanaonthefemalewhiledoingroomchecks.ThecasewasturnedovertoFentonHighSchool.
•At1:26a.m.Wednesday,August8,aresidentassistantcalledcampuspolicebecausethreefemalenon-studentsweredrinkingFourLokosinLivingCenterNorth.Thethreefemaleswerestayingwithan18-year-oldfemalestu-dentwhohadnotbeendrinking.Threeminorinpossessionswereissued.
Suspicious person•At6:02a.m.Friday,July20,a40-year-
oldintoxicatedmalewaslyingonthegroundoutsideofLivingCenterSouth.Whencampuspoliceapproachedthemaleheadmittedtodrinkingandhadnoideawherehewas.MMRtrans-portedhimtothehospital.
•At12:08a.m.Monday,July23,amalestudentwaswalkingaroundtheCollegeofEducation.Acampusemployeehadtoaskhimtoleave.Thestudentthoughthecouldbeinthebuilding.
Property damageAt2:30p.m.Monday,August13,acampusemployeereportedthathistireshadbeenslashedwhilehewasparkedinF-lot.
Disorderly conduct•OnTuesday,Aug.14,afootballplayer’s
grandpawasarrestedforthreateningthefootballcoachesandfordisorderlyconduct.Healsoreceivedanotres-passletter.
•At8:50a.m.Wednesday,Aug.15,a50-year-oldmalestudentbecameupsetwhenhisclassesweredroppedafterhedidnotmakepayment.Hecamebackwithacheckandwasabletore-registerforhisclasses.
Fraud•At7:28a.m.Monday,Aug.13,afemale
studentreportedthathercreditcardwasstolenanditwasusedatSpeedy-Q.Thecaseisunderinvestigation.
MELVIN J. ZAHNOW LIBRARY www.svsu.edu/library
2012 Fall Hours Begin August 27th
Monday—Thursday…………………..……………………...8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Friday…………………………………..………....................8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday….…………………………..………………………...9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday ………………………………..………………………...1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
RESEARCH ASSISTANCE HOURS : 989-964-4242
Monday—Thursday…..8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday ………………..8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday ………………….9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday……………….1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Extended Hours for Finals:
Sunday, December 2……………………………………….1:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Monday, December 3……………………………………...8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Tuesday, December 4……………………………………..8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Sunday, December 9……………………………………...1:00 p.m. to ALL NIGHT
Monday, December 10…………………………………...Still Open to 1:00 a.m.
Tuesday, December 11…………………………………...8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Exceptions to Normal Hours:
Labor Day Recess: Sept 1—3………………………………………..CLOSED
Wednesday, November 21 ……………………….8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Thanksgiving Recess: Nov 22—24 ………………………………….CLOSED
Saturday & Sunday, Dec 15 & 16 …………………………………...CLOSED
Monday—Friday, Dec 17-21……………………….8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday, Dec 22-23………………………………………..CLOSED
Monday, Dec 24—Tuesday, Jan 1 Winter Recess……………….CLOSED
LIBRARY MAIN PHONE NUMBER: 989-964-4240
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News and events from on and around campus
The Valley Vanguard | valleyvanguardonline.com | Monday, August 27, 2012 | Page A3
courtyardthe
The Valley Vanguard125 Curtiss Hall campus editors Brandy Abraham and Andrea McBride e-mails [email protected] and [email protected] office (989) 964-4482
svsu.edu/vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com
Recent graduate accepted into internship in France
Free & fun green dorm decorating ideas
See CERTIFICATION, A10
See SIMMS, A10See SA, A10
Student Association is ready to begin the school year serving students’ interests and needs with some annual events, new efforts to go green and even a Mobile Secretary of State Branch.
“Student Association is dedi-cated to serving the student body. Whether you are an incoming freshman, or an outgoing senior, Student Association will do ev-erything in its power to represent the interests of the student,” said Ted Goodman, SA president.
SA begins its first event the week of the rivalry football game between SVSU and GVSU. The 10th Annual Battle of the Valleys takes place Nov. 4 to Nov. 10. The fundraiser is a competition between students at SVSU and GVSU. Each year, the universi-ties raise money for the week of the SVSU-GVSU football game to raise money for a charity.
“This year, Student Asso-ciation raises money for the Great Lakes Bay Miracle League, which is a non-profit organization dedi-cated to helping children with physical and mental disabilities to develop and achieve their full potential,” Goodman said.
The winner is announced at the football game during half-time. During nearly a decade, SA has raised more than $250,000 for local charities.
“We have a great group of hard working, responsible lead-
ers in our organization this com-ing year, and it will translate into measurable results,” Good-man said, “We hope to provide educational and social programs to the students throughout the school year.”
In collaboration with the College Republicans and Col-lege Democrats, SA will hold its Voter Registration Drive Sept. 10 to Sept. 14.
Goodman said the purpose of the drive is to not only register students to vote for the 2012 Presi-dent Election but also to educate students on issues.
“Watching the 24-hour news cycle will let you know what Mitt Romney was wearing on the cam-paign trail today, but often times the true issues and substance of
where candidates stand on specif-ic issues is lost in the fluff,” Good-man said.
SA plans to hold debate -watching parties and put out in-formational fliers for the students.
“It is just as important to in-form voters as it is to register vot-ers,” Goodman said.
Registration tables will be set up throughout campus at different locations such as out-side the library and outside of the Doan. SA’s goal for the Voter Registration Drive is to register 1,000 students.
Beginning Sept. 12, a Secre-tary of State Mobile Branch will open at SVSU for students to take care of their needs right on cam-pus. It will be located at the Presi-dent’s Courtyard.
“Many of you have experi-enced the long wait at SOS offices, and so this will be an opportunity to avoid the long waits,” Good-man explained.
An additional step to serve the interest of students on campus this year is SA’s efforts to go green. Teaming up with Dinning Services and the Green Cardinal Initiative on campus, SA is preparing activities for the fall semester to encourage environmentally friendly programs on campus and in the surrounding com-munity.
“We, as human beings, are responsible with protecting
A recent graduate starts the next chapter of her life in a country where she’s studied its language the past four years at SVSU: France.
Ariel Simms graduated this summer with a Bachelor of Arts degree, double majoring in psychology and French with a minor in criminal justice.
She was accepted into the Teaching Assistant Program in France, sponsored by the French Ministry of Education, the Cen-tre International d’Etudes Péda-gogiques and the Cultural Ser-vices Department of the French Embassy in Washington, D.C.
“The program accepts roughly 1,450 assistants per year and nearly 2,500 apply,” Simms said. She was the first student from SVSU to be ac-cepted into the program.
“This is quite an honor, but also a testament to Ariel’s strengths as a student and a person,” Julie Foss, French as-sistant professor of Modern For-eign Languages at SVSU, said of Ariel’s acceptance.
“Although she only began taking French a few years ago, she has worked exceptionally hard to develop a level of profi-ciency that will allow her to live and work in France.”
During her years at SVSU, Simms has participated in ex-tracurricular activities such as
La Société Française (SVSU’s French club) and Alpha Mu Gamma, the national foreign language honor society, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
Applying for the intern-ship in France, Simms said, was a “lengthy process.”
“Most of the application was fairly straightforward de-mographic information, includ-ing a resume and transcripts. It was interesting though to have to translate all of this informa-tion into French,” she said.
Simms and Foss faced another challenge during the application process, trying to translate “mental health coun-selor” and “forensic psycholo-gist” into French. However, the most difficult part of the appli-cation, Simms explained, was the essay because it had to be written entirely in French and also explain why she deserved the internship.
After a five-month wait, which Simms referred to as “excruciating,” she received an email stating she had been ac-cepted into the program.
“She is also a remarkably warm and positive person, qualities that will serve her well in developing relationships with French students, teachers, and peers. I couldn’t be more pleased that Ariel will be rep-resenting the United States and SVSU in France,” Foss said.
Forget the cost and waste of dorm decorating.
Students looking to deco-rate their dorm rooms and can’t afford to buy the newest, often plastic, decorations can use what would normally be thrown away instead. Instead of purchasing, students can opt into recycling.
Jeanne Storck, gaiam.com columnist, said decorating with an environmental design in mind means that we are making our space sustainable.
“It’s about bringing a little soul into the rooms we spend time in,” she said.
She said everyone needs to resist the throwaway items that end up in landfills.
According to The Green Book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen, packaging materials from entertainment goods make up nearly one-
third of landfill waste. Food scraps make up an-
other large part of landfill waste. They could be reused as com-posting for windowsill plants.
Everyone shops for gro-ceries during the school year,or brings bags of groceries back to school from a weekend of visit-ing parents. Plastic bags could be made into bag liners for trash cans.
The Green Book said, “The average cost of twenty kitchen trash bags is $5. When one ton of plastic bags is reused, the en-ergy equivalent of eleven bar-rels of oil is saved. When one ton of paper bags is reused, up to seventeen trees are spared.”
Students could pack a lunch instead of always eat-ing on campus. Empty chip dip containers can be reused as food containers for packed lunches during the school year, or they can be made into banks to save for summer or week-end vacations. Simply cut a rectangular hole in the middle
of the lid. If students are looking to
cover up that extra white wall space, they could use extra col-ored paper, or those chemistry notes from last semester, and make them into origami flow-ers or animals.
Large boxes used for move-in could be made into handy storage containers. Cut handles into one and use it as a laundry basket. The aver-age laundry basket, without wheels, from a convenience store could cost $12 or more.
According to Storck, the little things are what matter when it comes to decorating. To attract birds, a fun way to reuse nature is to make pea-nut-butter pinecone bird feed-ers. Find pinecones, dip them in peanut butter and roll them in birdseed to attract birds to your dorm windows or door-ways.
An experienced artist or crafter may be able to even make Christmas wreaths out of
plastic bags or weave baskets out of brown bag sacks. For how-to’s, visit: www.twopea-sinabucket.com.
Green Decorating Tips:
1. Use the packaging materials that you’ve accumu-lated from other previously bought items to make card-board frames for home-drawn pictures.
2. Windowsill plants — Students looking to decorate their window ledges could take recycled food preserva-tive cans such as the ones that contain tomato soup, and use them as vases.
3. The Favorite Shirt —The favorite shirt with the stain at the bottom that you couldn’t get rid of could be made into a pillowcase.
SA prepares for Voter Registration Drive & Green Cardinal programs
Vanguard Photo | Sean DudleyStudent Association President Ted Goodman talks to students at the Red Pride Picnic on Sunday.
Courtesy Photo | weupcycle.com
One idea is to make cork top coasters by lining each one into a circle and tying them together with twine.
By Brandy AbrahamVanguard Campus Editor
By Katelyn Davis Vanguard Staff Writer
By Katelyn Davis Vanguard Staff Writer
Does getting certified increase your chances of getting a job after graduation? Lisa Smith thought it did.
The goal of gaining certification is to get recog-nized by employers and earn the respect of peers. Microsoft Certification proves to companies that applicants can successfully use the Microsoft Office Suite to its full capacity and possibly direct others in its use.
“I felt as though being certified meant that I was one step above the competition,” Smith said. “I wanted a big-girl job where I could work at a com-puter, have my own desk and feel independent.”
Most desk jobs such as secretarial and office management require that applicants have at least a basic knowledge and proficiency of the Microsoft Office Suite and Internet navigation.
Morley Companies of Saginaw recently posted a job opening for “Market Interviews” on its web-site requesting that applicants have a certain level of web and typing proficiency: “Typing proficiency is a must (typing, computer and web navigation tests will be administered as part of the interview pro-cess, along with a phone skills assessment).”
“I was turned down twice for jobs that I thought I was qualified for because they were concerned I couldn’t create certain documents and tables using Word,” Smith said.
Keith Ward wrote in his article, “Top 10 Reasons to Get Tech Certified,” that “If you’re in a competi-
tion with others for a job, certification can give you that needed boost. An employer can see that you’re serious about your career, and willing to put in extra time and money to get certified.”
In a recent survey by Redmond magazine, people say that certification increases the chances that already employed individuals will receive a salary increase.
One option for people looking to get certified in a technical computer system is through Microsoft.
Microsoft has recently restructured its certifica-tion program to create customized paths that allow interested applicants the ability to develop skills ac-cording to their area of expertise.
One such path is MOS (Microsoft Office Suite) Word Expert Certification.
Receiving a MOS helps if applicants want to
later work toward receiving certification as a Micro-soft Office Specialist Master. Each individual certi-fication in the expertise path builds toward a final certification, such as the one listed above. Microsoft said, “A Microsoft Office Spe-cialist (MOS) certification helps validate proficiency in using Microsoft Office 2012. Candidates who pass a certification exam show that they can meet glob-ally recognized performance standards.”
Exams are mostly performance-based and con-ducted in a “live” or simulated setting often with large groups in a testing space. For listings of avail-able testing locations, visit www.microsoft.com.
Getting Word-certified could lead to a better, higher-paying jobBy Brandy AbrahamVanguard Campus Editor
The Valley Vanguard 125 Curtiss Hall [email protected]
editor-in-chiefJustin Brouckaert office (989) 964-4482 e-mail [email protected]
Page A4| Monday, August 27, 2012 | valleyvanguardonline.com | The Valley Vanguard
opinion
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Rashad Baiyasi is a physics and chemistry senior and the Vanguard’s cartoonist. Reach him at [email protected].
It really does just seem like a few weeks ago that I was ending my job as sports editor and making the jump to editor-in-chief.
The decision wasn’t an easy one. I knew how much work this was going to be, how much of my metaphorical (and possibly literal) blood, sweat and tears would end up going into this job.
If I can promise you one thing about this year, it’s that it will be a year of change for the Vanguard. I’ll go easy on the details and just say this: I haven’t been completely pleased with everything I’ve seen in the Vanguard these past few years.
It’s too easy to be complacent. If the system works, at least in a general sense, then why change it? I’m probably crazy for taking on as much as I am when I could just be sitting back and watching this thing tick, making some extra cash to pay for school and padding my CV.
But I’m not in it for a paycheck. I’m not in it for any power or status or to see my name in print. I’m not in it to grab all the best stories or to fight my way into a journalism career.
I’m in it because you, our readers, deserve better. The role that a student newspaper plays on a college campus is not a small one. If we are not keeping you informed, if we are not writing and reporting well, if we are not being accurate and treating our work professionally, then we are failing. There is no gray area here.
This year, I’m pulling out all of our old awards and hanging them in the office – not to give our staffers something to reach for, but to remind them that greatness is something they should expect of themselves. If we don’t want to put out a great newspaper, then there’s no reason to be here. And if you don’t like what you read, there’s no reason for you to read it.
So with that, is this. This issue. This is where it starts – and I think it’s a good start. Most of our editors are new, but they’re picking things up quickly, and we’ve got some strong writers returning
to ease that transition.I like this issue. I like it because it’s a
product of all the great work our staff put in. They’re talent, they’re dedicated, they’re excited – it’s a dangerous combination in the best of ways.
Without boring you even more than I probably already have, I can tell you this: This year, we will be more accurate. We will be more professional. We will be accountable for the product we put out every week.
We’ve made some technical and administrative changes that you might not see directly, but that doesn’t make them any less important.
Our application process is now completely online. Our mentoring program for new writers has been completely revamped. You can expect our website to be tweaked as the year goes on. We are expanding our online presence by launching two new Twitter accounts, as well as posting and interacting with readers more than ever on Facebook.
You may have seen some design changes when you picked up the paper today. I like the new look. It’s sleek – the new flag finds the middle ground between our old logo and the flag of a professional newspaper. I think it suits us well.
There is now a set spot for teasers, art and announcements just below the flag – this gives us more order, more predictability, but still with some freedom, some room to shift things around depending on what we think is most important for you to see.
What else? You may have noticed that this page looks a bit different. We want to emphasize what’s most important. Our editorial board information is important, sure, but we’d rather you get to know us by reading our editorials and seeing what our columnists have to say. And oh yeah, our columnists. You’ll be reading articles from two columnists this year, Matt Ostrander and Gerhardt Schuette, in order to give you a more diverse range of column topics. Matt will mainly be writing about college life and SVSU-specific issues, while Gerhardt will focus on big-picture subjects, the local and national news that often extends beyond our newspaper’s reach but affects SVSU students nonetheless.
And that’s about it – for now. There will be more changes as the year goes on, and when those come, I want to hear what you think of them. I want to hear what you love and what you hate. What you want more and less of. Because without your feedback, we’re just talking to ourselves.
A letter from the editor
The thought of quitting my education at SVSU has crossed my mind on several occasions. There
are points where I wonder if I’m trying to become something I wasn’t intended to be. There is legitimacy in accusations that my English degree is less practical in a real world setting. There is no shame in working at my home-town’s Subway; I’ve applied for a cashier job there multiple times. So why am I choosing to devote possibly more than five years to education instead of throwing myself out into the working world? Why is college the right choice for me?
It comes down to two aspects of our own self-perception: what we expect to happen and what we think we think deserves to happen. We all have expectations for our futures. I confidently expect to be teaching some fine young souls to appreciate Shake-speare or Edgar Allen Poe. But do I deserve to be responsible for hundreds of kids’ educational experiences? Will I actually be the most qualified out of every English teacher looking for a job?
It would be a fair assumption to state that most students are expected to transition from high school to college immediately upon graduating. The difference between wanting to head off for up to four more years of school-ing and being expected to do so is vast. But most of us head off to college whether we have that
burning desire to or not -- mostly because we are in fact expected to do so, and that doesn’t have to be a negative thing. The reason we are expected to stick to a college and a major of interest is because that’s the best-found solution to unemployment. Busi-nesses and any other job will be looking for that professional-looking degree, and without it, well, good luck.
The flip side is a little grayer. We expect careers once we exit college. We expect to be success-ful if we were successful behind these campus walls. That’s not always the case once we are thrown into the crazy waves and tides known as real life. More and more graduates are having serious trouble finding quality work, even with degrees firmly and confidently gripped in hand. It’s hard to turn on the news during this last year and not hear about how unemployment is rising. The only viable solution we as students can comprehend is just putting our heads down and continuing with our majors, hoping they have a need for young, suitable employees. Most of us still expect to obtain jobs as quickly as possible, and that is perfectly okay. Expectation could be another word for hope, and there is never enough hope to go around.
Maybe the most bewildering reason why I feel most students continue through the physi-cally and emotionally draining experience of college is because they feel they deserve more. This concept of ‘deserving’ is pretty abstract, and yet we still feel as if it is an unalienable right. But is it truly? How much do we really innately deserve?
Do I deserve the success I des-perately dream of when I’m lying in bed at night? Have I worked hard enough? Is it possibly a morality issue when calculating your own deservedness? Do I even deserve to determine how
much I deserve? It gets tricky.I think you decide yourself on
what exactly you deserve and don’t deserve. Of course some people will feel they deserve more than others, but maybe it’s only because they believed it. College students feel as if they do indeed deserve that reward-ing career after their studies are over.
Personally, I’ve always battled against the idea of deserving so much with so little exerted because I feel like we should be accomplishing much more before we expect so much. How hard did we work compared to the hundreds of other students vying for that same position? I know for a fact that I cut corners sometimes and speed up pro-cesses that should be handled patiently. So when I achieve that success that I dream about, do I deny that success because I feel unworthy?
These questions couple themselves with countless more, and most of them are factually unanswerable. It comes down to what fulfills both categories, and I could only come up with one answer: happiness. We are all currently at school because we are trying to be happy,and it might be as simple as that. We expect and feel we deserve happiness. Happiness could be graduating from college with a rewarding degree or it could be straying from the educational process and working straight out of high school. We decide what we expect out of life and we decide what we deserve.
We wouldn’t be studying our youthful lives away if we didn’t believe it led to that dream of contentment. When you think of it that way, it almost seems worth it.
Matt Ostrander is a creative writ-ing senior. Reach him at [email protected].
Campus BeatSelf-perception: Where expectations and entitlement collide
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By Justin BrouckaertVanguard Editor-in-Chief
The Valley Vanguard 125 Curtiss Hall editor-in-chiefJustin Brouckaert office (989) 964-4482 e-mail [email protected]
The Valley Vanguard | valleyvanguardonline.com | Monday, August 27, 2012 | Page A5
opinion
When my girlfriend took her U.S. citizenship oath she said she was most excited about two things: having
an American passport and voting in a presidential election.
Before she became eligible to vote, she followed the 2008 campaign, watched the debates and found a candidate she favored. We watched most of the speeches and saw the election results roll in.
Now with November fast approaching, I see she is once again strong in her political convictions and now ready to take them to the ballot box. Her enthusiasm for participating in the political process is amazing, refreshing even.
I imagine the experience is similar for any number of other Americans—natural born or naturalized—who will vote for the first time this fall. This includes many college students from around the country.
Their hope and excitement stands in very stark contrast the more jaded, cynical views of other American voters. Given the nature of the political culture, it’s no wonder once engaged voters can become pessimistic.
Rather than being enthusiastic about a candidate, some voters consider which choice represents “the lesser of two evils,” as the cliché goes. They consider which person they believe will damage the country the least in following four years while they hope for the perfect candidate to reverse the course in the future.
Many voters express frustrations over candidates they feel don’t genuinely share their priorities such as jobs and the economy or social policies. They feel their voices are heard during elections
when they help get out the vote, but their interests are not represented after an election.
If they hope at all, it seems to be for a better option in the next go around. If they look forward to the country’s future, it is only as far as the next election.
Candidates don’t help matters with questionable ads, horrible gaffs, relentless pandering and inconsistent values. Mudslinging, distortion and broken promises are nothing new in politics, but some voters are more disenchanted with American politics than they’ve ever been.
The most cynical voters among us may disengage from the national political dialogue or give up casting ballots altogether. They no longer believe their votes matter.
New voters, on the other hand, believe strongly that they do. The people I saw taking the oath that day in July expressed pride to be able to participate, to be part of the decision-making processes of their new country.
In conversation with a few people assembled at the courthouse, I met Americans who looked forward to visiting the Secretary of State office to get a voter registration card. Others said they couldn’t wait to be called for jury duty.
For them, the idea of staying home during an election or not knowing the candidates would not even be considerations. Their enthusiasm for living as citizens and taking part in a political process is reassuring to me, and I want to see them retain that energy.
If anyone can bring change to the political culture that has created so many pessimistic, cynical voters, it will be Americans such as these. They may be the ones to start holding politicians and political parties to higher standards and greater accountability.
Noah Essenmacher is an English literature and chemistry senior. Reach him at [email protected].
Ah, summer, why must you be so short?
I had one goal this summer, and it’s going to make me sound like a nerdy homebody: I wanted to watch close to 1,000 videos on the VlogBrothers channel.
Who are the VlogBrothers? Two brothers, go figure, who you may or may not know: Hank and John Green. If you’re curious, yes, that is the John Green who wrote “Paper Towns,” “Looking for Alaska,” and “The Fault in Our Stars.”
And why would I want to watch that many videos on the Internet? If my math is correct, watching 991, not including the videos they will post each week (one on Tuesday and one on Friday), would waste almost 4,000 hours of my life. The answer is simple: I just love watching these two talk.
This summer was also the first time I picked up a John Green novel. The first was “Paper Towns,” and holy crap, is it a wonderful piece of literature. Read this book. In fact, go read all of his books. Which leads me to the second book, “The Fault in Our Stars.” This is another wonderful piece that needs to be read. To
whoever gets to read this for your English 204 class (I saw it in the bookstore), you don’t know how lucky you are.
Instead of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” a useless excuse for literature, read a John Green
book instead. It will change your life.
The second book, TFiOS for short, is the book I want
to talk about the most. It’s also the most recent book out there by John Green. It’s the story of Hazel Grace, a teenage girl who has a shrinking tumor, who meets Augustus Waters at the Cancer Kid Support Center. If you want to read something that will change your life and possibly make you cry for an hour, this is it. You need this book in your life.
I read this book in one day. That’s how good it was.
“Paper Towns” took me about 24 hours to read. I didn’t want to put it down for a second, but I do have to eat and move around, so I couldn’t actually sit for 24 hours straight.
As for his other books, I haven’t been able to read them yet, but they will be coming into my hands very soon. Hopefully.
But the VlogBrother videos are something more to me and to the other cult-following Nerdfighters. It’s almost a triumph to be able to say, “I watched every single video from that channel, from January 1st, 2007, to (insert date here).”
I will not be able to say this just yet, but hopefully soon. It
didn’t help that my Dell laptop didn’t have Internet connection for most of the summer and that Dell didn’t actually solve my problem until just three weeks ago. Long story short, I will never buy anything from Dell again after this.
Maybe the reason I feel like I need a new source of distraction in my life is because of what happened last Thursday, August 16. See, my family had to have my cat of 17 years put down. While devastated by this (horribly, horribly devastated), I’m trying to find outlets for my sadness by distraction. Hello, YouTube!
And what I like about the VlogBrother videos is that they’re about nothing, but at the same time, they’re about about everything. Nothing is barred from them. In one episode, John blenderizes a McDonalds Happy Meal, drink and all, and drinks it. In another, John waxes his chin and discovers that doing so is actually very harmful for you.
If you haven’t discovered these videos yet, I suggest that you either do or don’t. Because once you stop, you can’t really stop.
And whatever you do, DFTBA. If you don’t know what it means, it’s a code for Don’t Forget To Be Awesome.
Hannah Meyer is a history sophomore. Reach her at [email protected].
Vanguard Staff Writer | Opinion
All citizens can learn lessonsfrom new voters’ enthusiasm
VlogBrother videos more than a distraction; Hank and John Green offer intelligent fun
Vanguard Staff Writer | Opinion
“KTE’s rush week, all the newbs and the positive atmosphere of fall.”
What are you most excited about for school this fall?
“To be a Club Red Ambassador. It’s my first year being a tour guide. I’m also excited to get out of freshman housing and into University Village.”Jacqueline WoodNursing sophomore
“Meeting new people and my Psych 100 class.”Taquan WilliamsPsychology Freshman
“OBU (Organization of Black Unity) and the new programs and what they can do for campus.”Rekia SmileyPublic administration senior
“New experiences and being on my own, getting away.”Rob Thomas, Jr.Agricultural sciences freshman
“Getting involved and finding a fraternity to join.”
Colleen JonesSpecial education senior
Justin McElweeBusiness freshman
{}
By Noah EssenmacherVanguard Copy Editor
By Hannah MeyerVanguard Staff Writer
The Valley Vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com125 Curtiss Hall [email protected]
A&EEditor Tyler Bradley officE(989) 964-4482 E-mAil [email protected]
Page A6 | Monday, August 27, 2012 | valleyvanguardonline.com | The Valley Vanguard
a e&
For Hartland’s own Lexee Longwell, the Livingston Sensa-tion singing competition is not about winning, but about grow-ing and learning.
The SVSU theater sopho-more placed second out of 12 finalists from her hometown in Livingston County.
For the 19-year-old, singing comes naturally. Her first solo debut was when she was just 8 years old.
“Both of my parents are singers,” Longwell explained. “Singing is very much a part of both my life and my sister’s.”
The singing competition takes place every year during the Melon Festival. It has an “American Idol” feel, with four winners: first, second, and third as well as a People’s Choice Winner that is chosen by the crowd. People’s Choice Winner can also win any of the other three places.
Longwell is not a stranger to this competition.
She has done numerous theater performances before and has competed in the Sensa-tion three times. The first time, three years ago, she received third place. Last year, she re-ceived second.
The Livingston Sensation competition was held in Howell after preliminaries in two cities: Howell and Brighton. With six singers from each location, the semi-finalists chosen competed in the amphitheater outside the historical Livingston County courthouse in the downtown area.
From there, six were chosen to continue. Longwell was one.
“The competition this year for me was a spur of the mo-ment idea,” she said. “I was set on not doing it, but on the day of the competition, I just decided to go for it.”
While driving to Howell and thinking of what song to sing, she couldn’t get LeAnn Rimes’ “On the Side of Angels” out her mind.
Taking it as a sign, she felt comfortable on stage singing it in front of others. She admitted that she often gets a bit nervous on stage, but didn’t notice it as she belted out the words.
For the finals, she was stumped on which song to choose. While searching through some of her family’s CDs, her father suggested “Roll-ing in the Deep” by Adele.
“I knew that was a song that I could have the most fun with,” Longwell said. “And I really had a blast singing it be-
cause I could really get into it.”She said she’s fine with sec-
ond place because she does it for the love of being on the stage and being a part of her commu-nity.
For the three years she has taken part in the competition, Longwell has placed in the top three each year. She is grateful for the experiences and oppor-tunities.
After watching her per-formances from her first and second years, she realized how much she has grown. Longwell said she was excited by this ac-complishment.
“I get nervous when I sing solo, but I’ve grown so much through the Livingston Sensa-tion competition. I’m getting stronger when it comes to per-forming in front of a crowd.”
When asked if she would compete next year, she replied with a no. She has been blessed with being able to compete and to learn so much that she doesn’t want to overdo it.
“I’m extremely thankful for being a part of the Livingston Sensation singing competition, but I’ve grown enough through it,” she said.
“That’s what it was about: growing and learning how to be a little more confident in front of others.”
Not only do art professors teach art, but they make it, too.
Works that university professor Mat-thew Zivich made during his sabbatical last year will be displayed at the Univer-sity Art Gallery starting Monday, Aug. 27.
The exhibition, titled “War and Peace,” will feature works from the ideas he started ten years ago. After teaching at the university since the fall of 1976, Zivich took last year off to prepare for the show.
“It’s the usual protocol for people to have an exhibit after their sabbatical,” Zivich said.
He said the idea started with creat-ing historical portrayals of war, and it
evolved slowly.The professor originally planned to
create works focused on American histo-ry, but as the idea developed it grew into a more universal idea.
With 15 works of the war series on display, most were partially created be-fore his sabbatical but finished within the past year.
In all pieces, Zivich said he’s more interested in the creative aspects of the story telling.
He used imagery online from un-known illustrators and copied them to a larger scale, changing compositions and color schemes.
To him, it’s not about recreating spe-cific events.
“It doesn’t make sense to repeat im-
agery, so I try to put it in an entirely differ-ent format,” he said.
The pieces, created with acrylic paints, celtic pens and other media have been on display in other exhibitions pre-viously.
The University Art Gallery show-cased two of his works including “Helter Skelter” in the university faculty exhibit last year. Zivich said that piece has re-ceived many positive remarks.
Other pieces have been on display at the University of Michigan’s spon-sored alumni show at the off-campus gallery Work De-troit.
On average,
Zivich said his paintings take four to five years to complete.
“They might sit there for a year, and then I’d completely revise them,” he said.
Zivich said he would have difficul-ties selecting a favorite piece in the exhi-bition.
He worked on each project until he was satisfied, only including works of equal value.
“If I felt one was lesser in any way, I’d work on it until it was up to the same
caliber or I wouldn’t display it at all,” he siad.
A reception will follow the opening of the exhibition from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13. The exhibition runs through Thursday, Sept. 27.
The gallery is free for the public to view during the gallery’s operating hours.
For hours and other upcoming exhi-bitions of the University Art Gallery, go to www.svsu.edu/artgallery.
Rejection and revision leads to studies in Spain
Courtesy I Jessica LangeWith dreams of becoming a conceptual artist, Jessica Lange said she is influenced by the natural human body, especially the way Leonardo DaVinci portrays it.
Vanguard photo | Tyler BradleyLexee Longwell promoted her theater organization at the Red Pride Picnic on Sunday, where she sang a snippet of her performance of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” from the competition.
After being denied once, a restructured senior’s thesis project for the Honors Program allowed her to study abroad in Spain for six weeks.
While abroad, theater major Mara Berton made a cultural comparison of theatrical prac-tices in Spain and the United States.
She knew how she would write her thesis after being introduced to the Student Re-search and Creativity Institute (SRCI) during her freshman year by a now-retired theater department faculty member, Ja-net Rubin.
“We were talking about pos-sibilities for my senior project and she mentioned the grant and the opportunities it could provide for me. After look-ing into the requirements and guidelines, we tried to hone my project around the goals of the SRCI program and the ideas grew from there,” Berton said.
She applied last fall, but was denied.
“I didn’t let that stop me. I revisited my proposal, made some edits and tried again,” Berton said.
Applicants who are denied are offered the opportunity to meet with reviewers to get feedback to apply again.
Berton started rewriting her proposal during the winter se-mester. She spent hours with Writing Center director Diane Boehm. Because Berton had never written a grant proposal before, Boehm helped her.
“When I look back at my first proposal and my final one, it’s incredible how far I’ve come. I couldn’t have done it without her help,” she said.
Berton also worked with Andrew Swihart, professor of psychology and Roberts Fel-lowship Program.
“Andy was able to show me the concrete ideas and planning that the board would be look-ing for,” she said. “Sometimes you need that extra eye to re-direct you and help you take it further. I was really grateful for his feedback,” she said.
After revising her grant pro-posal and working with faculty, Berton resubmitted her appli-cation for the SRCI grant and was approved.
“It took a lot of work, plan-ning and persistence,” she said. “I had to be open to feedback and eager to learn and improve since grant writing is a very unique skil. I also had a lot of passion for my project, and I was determined to get funding one way or another.”
With her acceptance, Berton was on her way to Spain. She spent six weeks in Barcelona at a homestay with a widowed 60-year-old woman. Berton worked as an intern through the Center for International Studies where she organized street markets that featured art, handicrafts and secondhand items.
“I visited various markets around Barcelona and spoke with the vendors to collect contact information for possi-ble participants, find out about upcoming markets and gather ideas for the market at my ven-ue,” Berton said.
She also helped with the marketing campaign for the market, event set-up and bar-tending, saying the experience was “extremely varied and well-rounded.”
Berton conducted inter-views with technical directors,
artistic directors and stage managers in Barcelona for her senior project in theater.
“I had about four interviews per week for the last few weeks of my time in Barcelona,” Ber-ton said. “I think the interviews were my favorite parts of my trip.”
With a minor in Spanish, Berton was able to use and practice the language during her interviews and time abroad.
“I met some incredibly cool, talented people working in my field,” she said. “They had great stories and a lot of views and perspectives that I could use in my research. I wish I could have stayed longer and talked with more people.”
“I will look at the ways cul-ture affects theater and how it is manifested in its everyday jobs,” Berton said. “As it be-comes more global, I believe that it is important for stage managers’ employees to under-stand how culture comes in to play and how it can affect their work relationships abroad.”
Berton is set to present her thesis for the Honors Program at the end of the semester, and her completed paper will be submitted to the SRCI review board to close out her project.
As for her senior project, Berton says she plans to adapt her paper into a workshop and presentation so she can take it to conferences.
After Berton graduates in May, she plans to work as a professional stage manager. Her ultimate dream, since she was a young teenager, has been to work for Cirque du Soleil.
Wherever her career takes her, Berton said she’d be happy in any theater.
“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
N o p e a c e i n p r o f e s s o r ’s s a b b a t i c a l
Longwell’s singing steals secondBy Hannah MeyerVanguard Staff Writer
By Katelyn DavisVanguard Staff Writer
By Tyler BradleyVanguard A&E Editor
The Valley Vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com125 Curtiss Hall [email protected]
The Valley Vanguard | valleyvanguardonline.com | Monday, August 27, 2012 | Page A7
a e&
A&EEditor Tyler Bradley officE(989) 964-4482 E-mAil [email protected]
Spoiler alert: For those who haven’t seen the film yet, the fol-lowing article makes reference to numerous plot points in “The Dark Knight Rises.”
I saw “The Dark Knight Rises” for the first time about a week ago. I know that makes me a little behind the times, but whatever.
My expectations were high: All my friends had given it glowing reviews, Rotten To-matoes verified its freshness; it seemed not a single negative word had been used in review-ing it. So I was more than will-ing to pony up the cash for a ticket to the conclusion of Chris-topher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
One blue raspberry slushie, a small box of popcorn, no bath-room break, and two hours and forty-five minutes later, it was over. I was underwhelmed.
Still reeling from the unsat-isfying final installment of what had been my favorite big screen adaptation of a comic book su-perhero since the trend began, I attempted to articulate the rea-sons for my dissatisfaction, but all I could come up with was “Why didn’t he die? Why didn’t they kill the Batman?”
Now, just a week later, my explanation for why I felt this should happen is clearer. From the beginning, Bruce Wayne’s mission to protect Gotham from crime and corruption has been a pipe dream. No individual — with minimal assistance — could provide absolute or even extensive protection to an entire city the size of Gotham, regard-less of his personal wealth and access to resources. However, in spite of its impossibility, Wayne, driven by memories of loved ones lost, made the attempt.
In the films, the viewer witnesses many forms of pun-ishment he endures under the guise of Batman in his undertak-ing of this Herculean task. That is until it seems that Wayne has been called on by his role as Go-tham’s protector.
In “The Dark Knight Ris-es,” Wayne returns to his role as Batman for one final bout and, in doing so, accomplishes the impossible. With one minute left before detonation, Batman manages to transport the nucle-ar weapon at the center of the film’s plot more than six miles away and survives because, lo and behold, he bailed out well
before that and let the autopilot do the bulk of the work.
And on top of that, one of the final scenes suggests Bruce Wayne goes on to have what ap-pears to be a pretty normal life, even though the Bruce Wayne characterized in the rest of the series is defined primarily by his role as Batman.
Let’s say I let all that slide because anything’s possible in an alternate comic book uni-verse and everybody loves a happy ending. There are still a few other points that need to be discussed.
First of all, Commissioner Gordon, who is holed up inside the back end of the truck carry-ing the nuclear weapon, escapes without a scratch when it crash-es through a concrete barrier and falls to the road below.
And then there’s the matter of how Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham after escaping the Pit — the narrative just completely glosses over that explanation.
And there’s the unneces-sary plot twist that reveals Mi-randa Tate is actually Talia al Guhl and assigns the once in-timidating Bane to the role of loyal family pet just in time for him to be killed like a dog.
I wanted to see Bruce Wayne die protecting Gotham in service of what Batman stood for. Instead, he saves the day and lives happily ever after, a plainly unrealistic ending.
I know I’m among a vocal minority when I say this, but with “The Dark Knight Rises-Nolan gave the viewer the cul-minating film he thought they deserved, not the film they needed, and I resent him for that.
artbriefs
Fit Into College• At 10p.m. Monday, Aug. 27, Fit Into College will hold an information night in Ryder Center 255, a free program designed for freshmen to learn the value of healthy lifestyles.
RHA’s Favorite Things• At 10p.m., Tuesday Aug. 28, in the Thompson Student Activities Room, Residence Housing Association will hold RHA’s Favorite Things, where residents can learn about RHA and win prizes.
Virginia Woolf Auditions• At 7p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, and 4p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, audi-tions will be held for the theater production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” at Malcolm Field Performing Arts Theatre.
Music Performance• At 10p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, at the Hamilton St. Pub, Martyr Me, Woodbridge and Midwest will perform. 18 and older. $6 for under 21. $3 for over 21.
Courtesy | IMDb.com
Tim Windy is a creative writing senior and Vanguard reviewer. Reach him at [email protected].
A few laughs will lead to leadership.
That’s what assistant dean of Student Life and Leadership Programs Tony Thomson believes.
Three acts engaged freshmen and upperclass-men alike in a night of com-edy, music and improv in the Thompson Student Ac-tivities Room and the Mal-colm Field Theatre Saturday night.
“We need to engage students,” Thomson said. “Acting on something leads to success, it allows them to network. Then they learn about leadership.”
The acts included Mis-sion IMPROVable, an impro-visational duo who busted out a performance similar to the “Whose Line Is It Any-way?” set-up.
Following Mission IM-PROVable, was the musical improvisational group Baby Wants Candy, which came up with an hourlong origi-nal musical straight from audience suggestions.
The group turned one student’s day of activities into a short musical that involved portrayals of Emi-nem and Adam Levine.
Drawing from a cup of audience-suggested musical titles, the group then pre-sented the main portion of the act, “Justin Bieber En-rolls at SVSU: and is Acci-dentally Roomed with Three Girls.”
The musical turned into a love story between Bieber and an obsessed fan, as well as a one between amateur rapper Trish L. and the uni-versity’s dean, Vanilla Ice.
The Norman Magic Experience presented last, featuring magician Norman Ng’s comedic varieties of brain-teasing magic.
The magic act included timed trick where Ng made a dollar transform into a treasure map, which led to a chest in the audience con-taining the disappearing dollar.
The programming of the night ended with an after glow party featuring techno music with glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark shirts, face
paints and temporary tat-toos.
Thomson believes that this year’s event was as co-ordinated as ever.
“There’s better collabo-ration,” he said. “We de-cided to go a little bigger, to promote one evening.”
Offices and organiza-tions such as Student Life, Program Board, Valley Nights, Residence Housing Association and Student As-sociation helped contribute to bringing the entertainers to campus.
Thomson believes fresh-men aren’t too shy to come out to the shows and that many of them do attend.
“A good percentage (of freshman) do get involved,” he said. “We definitely had more freshmen/sophomores than upperclassmen.”
Biology freshman Cody Croff said he enjoyed the hu-morous antics.
“Now I want to try Mac and Cheese Jell-O,” he said after witnessing a game of charades with audience sug-gestions in the first act that created the Kraft specialty.
Along with the improv groups, Ng brought in num-bers of students.
“I wanted to see some-thing I didn’t know about, something I haven’t seen before,” fine arts freshman Farrand Schneider said.
Schneider said she en-joyed all three events with her friends.
“I just want to have a good time. The coolest part is not knowing what to ex-pect,” Schneider said.
While a large portion of the audience was fresh-men, that doesn’t mean up-perclassmen were avoiding these events either.
Education senior Brad Mazure was laughing along-side everyone else.
“If they put on qual-ity events like this, I’d come back every time,” Mazure said.
Mazure caught on to the comedic atmosphere of the night when commenting on the magician’s act.
“I wish he would have made my student loans dis-appear,” he said.
Vanguard photo | Sean DudleyMembers of Baby Wants Candy, a musical improvisational g roup, improv a musical performance revolving around Justin Bieber and a student who is obsessed with him.
Cardinal comedy causes leadership
Dark Knightneeds a brighter
storyline
The dark knighT rises
sTarring: ChrisTian Bale, anne haThawaydireCTor: ChrisTopher nolanreleased: July 20, 2012lengTh: 165 Minutes
By Matt OstranderVanguard Staff Writer
The Valley Vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com125 Curtiss Hall [email protected] editor Chris Oliver office (989) 964-2629 e-mail [email protected]
Page A8| Monday, August 27, 2012 | valleyvanguardonline.com | The Valley Vanguard
sports
Veteran team, high expectationsFootball
After a superior pitching season, Mike Saun-ders found himself making the transition to pro-fessional baseball.
The former Cardinal was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 24th round of the Major League Baseball draft. He is currently playing with the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer League in high rookie ball. After pitching more than 30 innings of work mostly out of the bullpen but with a couple of starts and posting a 3-0 record with a 1.47 earned run average, Saunders was promoted from the Arizona Fall League.
The move to professional ball is a tough one, but Saunders says that the adjustments have been made easier thanks in part to his new base-ball family.
“It has been pretty smooth. They’re here to help you for the transition because you’re not used to it,” he said. “They’ve been here before and they’re here to help you out. Every thing is laid out for you so you can ask any questions you need and they’ll help you out as much as pos-sible.”
Part of the transition is the competition. In the Pioneer League Saunders will be facing com-petition of all ages from former collegiate stars like himself along with players who have just come from playing for their high school teams. The competition he faces now is similar to what he had been facing at the college level, but he tries not to think about who they are.
“For the most part it seems to be pretty com-parable,” he said. “In rookie ball there are still some younger high school guys but you can tell
that it’s more advanced. “But for the most part you try not to think
about how good these guys are. You try to do your best no matter how old they are or where they’re from.”
What Saunders expected from the shift to professional baseball may have been something more exciting, but instead the lengthy right hander describes the transition as a lot more re-laxed.
“I did expect it to be a little more upbeat, but I really didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I don’t have any close friends that have been draft-ed, but it definitely feels pretty new coming in and living in hotels and traveling place to place.”
Although still relaxed, Saunders says even things as simple as the clubhouse are extremely different than what he is used to.
“It’s definitely a lot more laid back,” he said. “In Arizona everything is in one building and ev-erything is next to each other and just the amount of time you have is different than in college.”
So far Saunders has just one outing with his new team (three innings pitches, two hits al-lowed along with two strikeouts), but he is still looking to improve on his success in the Arizona Fall League. He says the key to continuing the success will come down to being consistent.
“It’s just going out there whenever called upon and trying to have your best stuff every time,” he said. “It’s hard to do and no one’s per-fect, and the chance to be perfect is not something that’s going to happen every time, but it’s about being able to work around your stuff.
“It’s about trying to be really consistent and doing what I need to do and listening to the coaches whenever they have something to say.”
Former ace climbing through minor leagues
Football• Saturday vs. Valdosta St., 7p.m., University Center• Saturday, Sept. 8 @ Malone,
1p.m., Canton, Ohio
Men’s Soccer•Thursday vs. Lewis, 4p.m., University Center•Sunday vs. St. Joseph’s, Noon, University Center• Friday, Sept. 7, vs. Marygrove,
4:30p.m., University Center
Women’s Soccer•Thursday @ Lewis, 7p.m., Romeoville, Illinois•Saturday @ Wis.-Parkside, 2:30p.m., Kenosha, Wisconsin • Friday, Sept. 7, vs. Northwood, 2p.m., University Center
Men’s Cross Country•Friday @ Central Michigan Invite, TBA, Mount Pleasant
Women’s Cross Country•Friday @ Central Michigan Invite, TBA, Mount Pleasant
Women’s Volleyball•Friday vs. Lewis, PBAY Hyatt Sunshine Classic, 3p.m., University Center•Saturday vs. Washburn, PBAY Hyatt Sunshine Classic, 10a.m., University Center• Saturday vs. Northwest Mo. St., PBAY Hyatt Sunshine Classic, 2p.m., University Center• Friday, Sept. 7, vs. Winona St., St. Joseph’s College Invitational, 12p.m., University Center• Friday, Sept. 7, vs. Bellarmine, St. Joseph’s College Invitational, 2p.m., University Center• Friday, Sept. 7, vs. St. Joseph’s (Ind.) , St. Joseph’s College Invitational, 6p.m., University Center• Saturday, Sept. 8, vs. Edinboro , St. Joseph’s College Invitational, 11p.m., University Center
Women’s Tennis• Friday, Sept. 7, vs. Walsh, 2p.m., University Center• Saturday, Sept. 8, vs. Malone, 10a.m., University Center
Golf• Saturday, Sep. 8, Northern Michigan University Invite, TBA, Marquette
sportsbriefs
With a sophomore quarter-back and wide receiver lead-ing the way last season, youth and talent were key for the Cardinals.
This year, it’s all about ex-perience.
“The good news about this year’s team is that we’ve got a lot of players back from last year’s team,” said head coach Jim Collins. “That’s going to go a long way.”
Collins and the Cardinals are looking to improve on a successful 7-4 season that in-cluded a new playing field, a switch to night games, a na-tionally televised thumping of Ashland at home and a trip to the NCAA Division II play-offs, where the Cardinals suf-fered a 30-27 overtime loss to Minnesota-Duluth.
Last year’s playoff berth was SVSU’s first since 2009. The Cardinals staged a late comeback against the defend-ing national champions, but lost the game after a contro-versial offensive pass inter-ference call set them back in overtime.
“We had a couple of chanc-es to win it, but we just didn’t follow through,” said junior quarterback Jonathon Jen-
nings, who threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns in the loss. “It leaves a bad taste in our mouths.”
Senior running back Ron-nie Lark is ready to turn that bad taste into something more positive.
“It’s nothing but motiva-tion,” Lark said. “We just have to finish games and not leave the game up to overtime or up to the referee. That’s the big-gest thing we’re emphasizing this season.”
Finishing games may prove to be tougher in the GLIAC North division this season af-ter newcomers Malone, Notre Dame (OH) and Walsh were added to the South division, pushing Hillsdale, last year’s GLIAC champs, and national runners up Wayne State into the North.
The Cardinals will play both teams this season, host-ing Wayne State for another nationally televised game Oct. 11.
But they won’t have to wait that long to be tested.
SVSU opens up its sched-ule next Saturday against pe-rennial powerhouse Valdosta State (Ga.), national champi-ons in 2004 and 2007.
It will be the first meeting between the two teams.
“One of the unknowns about playing a team you’ve
never played before is that you really don’t know how you match up,” Collins said. “They’ve played a lot of teams down the stretch that play similar offenses to us, quar-terbacks in the shotgun and spreading the field, so we had a chance to watch how they matched up to those teams, and I thought they matched up well.
“They’ve got speed and ath-leticism on defense, and we’ve got speed and athleticism on offense. The interesting thing is going to see how our speed matches up with their speed.”
With Jennings running the offense last season, the Car-dinals matched up well with most teams. The Second Team All-GLIAC selection passed for nearly 3,000 yards, throw-ing 29 touchdowns to only nine interceptions and rank-
ing in the top ten in the coun-try in pass efficiency (third; 172.6 rating) and total offense per game (eighth; 303.6 yards per game.)
Jennings will be without Nick Gallina, one of his most reliable receivers last season, but junior wide receiver Jeff Janis will return as Jennings’ big play threat, looking to build off the 902 yards and 13 touchdowns he had in last year’s breakout campaign.
Lark will return in the back-field alongside fellow senior Tim Hogue. The pair, dubbed “Thunder and Lightning” for their different running styles, are both healthy after suffer-ing through injuries all of last season.
“Me being the speed and power back and him being the flashy fast guy, it kind of gets the defense off guard, and
that’s what we look for,” Lark said.
Hogue, who led the team in rushing and tallied 1,488 all-purpose yards last season, said that the two enjoy split-ting time in the backfield.
“Ronnie and I have an agreement, and we get along well,” he said. “We just want to win. Whatever I have to do to make plays and help my team win, that’s what I’m go-ing to do.”
The Cardinals lose First Team All-GLIAC offensive lineman Frank Taormina and fellow lineman Nick DiPalma, but return both starting tight ends, Zach Cecich and Nathan Hoyle.
Last year, SVSU ranked tenth in the GLIAC in scoring defense, allowing 27.8 points
By Justin BrouckaertVanguard Editor-In-Chief
By Joey OliverVanguard Staff Writer
Vanguard Photo | Sean Dudley
Junior quarterback Jonathan Jennings ineracts with Cardinal fans at the Cardinal Kickoff Event Sunday evening. Jennings passed for nearly 3,000 yards last year.
Vanguard Photo | Sean Dudley
The 2012 Cardinals feature a number of returning starters on both sides of the ball. In 2011, the Cards went 7-4 and made the playoffs before losing to former national champion Minnesota-Duluth. Experience, talent and chemistry are expected to pave the way to another impressive season.
See FOOTBAll, A10
The Valley Vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com125 Curtiss Hall [email protected]
sports editor Chris Oliver office (989) 964-2629 e-mail [email protected]
The Valley Vanguard | valleyvanguardonline.com | Monday, August 27, 2012 | Page A9
spOrtsCards looking for another shot at the playoffs
It’s been nearly ten months since the Cardinals’ 1-0 playoff loss to Rockhurst, but senior goalie Ja-son Wise has replayed that goal in his head many times since then.
“They had a nice, quick start, we weren’t ready and they caught everybody off guard,” Wise said of the game-winner, an eight-yard strike scored in the first 10 minutes of the second half. “Still, it’s just knowing what you could have done to prevent it, maybe more communication or being in a better position.
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot, trying to prevent that situation from happening again.”
Luckily for Wise, he and 18 other returning teammates will be back for another shot at the playoffs this season.
The Cardinals lost only one senior from a team that posted the best record in school history last season when they finished 12-5-3, winning their first GLIAC title and making their inaugural trip to the NCAA Division 2 playoffs.
After the season ended last year, head coach Cale Wassermann told the Vanguard that he would have graded the team a “B” overall — a statement that speaks volumes about his expecta-tions for the Cardinals this season.
“Long term, we’ve got some lofty goals, but we just take everything one day at a time,” he said. “Our biggest expectation is that everyone comes and works hard every day and tries to get better every day. If we do that, by the time it’s the playoffs, we’ll be at a level to compete for a national cham-pionship.”
In two years, Wassermann has taken the team from a 5-11-3 record in 2009 to a GLIAC championship in 2011. This season, he will coach a team loaded with upperclassmen with playoff experience — a luxury he hasn’t had in past years.
“This is our first year where we’re starting a bunch of juniors and seniors,” he said. “The last couple of years, it’s been just freshmen and sophomores. Those guys had to go through some hard times to get where they’re at, but at the same time, it’s kind of molded them into who they are today. Going through the trials and tribulations of playing as a freshman and sophomore toughens you up for this conference as a junior and senior.”
One of those seniors is Wise, who started all 20 games for the Cardinals last season. Wise finished the year with a save per-centage of .798, the 31st best percentage in the country, but still found areas to improve.
“There were a few games where I feel like I didn’t play to my potential, and that’s just being mentally focused, which I worked on this summer,” he said. “There’s always room for im-provement, and I tried to find those areas and work on them.”
Wise did agility drills over the summer to prepare for the sea-son in addition to playing in four different leagues, manning the net four or five games per week. He said that as the starting goalie and a senior, he is taking it upon himself to be a leader this season.
“A lot of people say that being a goalie is a lot like being the quarterback because you’re communicating to your team. You see the whole field, and you need someone back there who can tell the defense there’s a runner coming down the backside that they can’t see,” he said. “I trust them, they trust me. I need to know they’re going to make that 60-yard run back, and they need to know that I need them to make that run.”
Another important returner for the Cardinals is Zach Myers, who won the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year award as a junior. With Myers controlling the back line, the Cardinals re-
corded eight shutouts last season.“It’s definitely a team effort, but we did
take pride in that,” he said. “That’s one of our main goals going into every game, to get the shutout.”
Junior midfielder Lachlan Savage was selected to the All-GLIAC Second Team last season and returns to lead an experi-enced midfield alongside seniors Robert Short and Bryan Winnega and sophomore Zach Vasold.
Savage emphasized that his own per-sonal goals for the season are really goals for the team.
“A personal goal is definitely to repeat again with a GLIAC championship,” he said. “Obviously you have some individ-ual goals, but that’s set aside for the team.”
Offensively, the Cardinals will be led by junior Zach Walega, who tied with Sav-age for the team lead in goals scored last season with seven, and sophomore Tyler Channel, who netted six.
With experienced returners at all posi-tions, Wasserman said that balance is the key for another successful season.
“We don’t rely on one guy for anything,” he said. “We get a couple of individual awards from the conference, which is great, but we know that we have a 26-man team, and we’re only as good as our weak-est link.
“We try to build everyone up and devel-op everyone so we can count on everyone when they get the chance.”
The Cardinals will open their season this Thursday by hosting Lewis, a team that took them to overtime in last year’s season-opening win. The game begins at 4 p.m.
Students expecting Lions to only improve in 2012
Last year, the Detroit Lions shattered expectations. In 2012, the bar has been raised.
Following their first win-ning season since 2000, SVSU students believe that up is the only direction the team can go. In 2011, the Lions posted a 10-6 record, starting 5-0 for the first time since 1956 and making the NFL playoffs as a wildcard for the first time since 1999.
“I expect another ten- or eleven-win season from De-troit this year,” said junior Spanish major Mike Garanta-kos.
With quarterback Matthew Stafford and arguably the best receiver in the game, Calvin
Johnson, coming back to-
gether for 2012, it is under-standable how students have high expectations. In 2011, Stafford threw for more than 5,000 yards and Johnson led the league in receiving yards and came in second with 16 receiving touchdowns.
“I expect Stafford and Johnson to have great sea-sons again,” Garontakos said. “Maybe not as great as last season was for them, but still solid.”
Making the playoffs as a wildcard is not out of the question for the Lions in 2012. They return many of the of-fensive weapons that allowed Stafford to put up the num-bers he did, yet they still are considered the second or third best team in the division ac-cording to some.
“The Lions are definitely a better team than they were a few years ago,” said criminal
justice junior, Mar-cus Hill. “But with
Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay
and Jay Cut-ler with the
Bears, it is going
to be
tougher for Detroit this year.”The Green Bay Packers won
the NFC North in 2011, sport-ing one of the best offenses in the league and beating the Lions both at Ford Field and at Lambeau Field. Green Bay also managed to put up the best overall record in the regu-lar season last year, going 15-1.
Along with the returning NFC North champions, the Li-ons will have to contend with a tougher unit in the Chicago Bears. Led by quarterback Jay Cutler, the Bears finished behind the Lions in the wild-card race, but have already im-proved in the off-season. The 2012 Chicago Bears are look-ing to challenge Detroit for the second spot in the division, signing star wide receiver Brandon Marshall in the off-season.
“With Jay Cutler having all sorts of new weapons in Chi-cago, the Lions defense will have to be key in securing the wildcard spot,” said Hill.
Yet with these new chal-lenges and teams stepping up within the division, Garonta-kos still has high hopes for the Lions.
“They are definitely a team on the rise,” said Garontakos. “They’ve improved a lot over the last few years with the draft and free agent signings.
“I don’t necessarily predict a Superbowl trophy coming to Detroit, but they’ll contend for the number two spot in the division behind Green Bay for sure.”
One key element for the Li-ons to improve in will be the running game. While Stafford posted impressive numbers through the air, most of the passing came out of necessity. Injuries to running backs Jah-vid Best and Mikel LeShoure hampered the ability for the team to run.
According to statistics site Football Outsiders, Matthew Stafford ran the ball a league-
low 33.8 percent. They also ran plays out of the shotgun formation 68 percent of the time, a number that led the NFL.
In order to repeat their 2011 performance or surpass it, the Lions will be forced to find more balance and improve the defense that allowed 45 points in their playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints.
“I see the Lions getting sec-
ond in the division again and making the wild card spot,” said Hill. “But in order to move on beyond that point, they need to step it up on de-fense because Green Bay isn’t going anywhere and Chicago is only getting better.”
Vanguard Photo | Justin Brouckaert
Former GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year Zach Myers scores the opening goal in Thursday’s scrimmage against Madonna. Myers and senior goalie Jason Wise helped lead the Cardinals to eight shutouts last season, and return to build off that success this year.
By Justin BrouckaertVanguard Editor-In-Chief
WELCOME BACK TO THE WILD SIDE.
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BWJ_0802_2012_13_College_Newspaper_Ad_VALLEYVANGUARD_WelcomeBack_5.5x5.75_BW_fnl.indd 1 8/21/12 3:51 PM
By Chris OliverVanguard Sports Editor
Vanguard Photo | Justin Brouckaert
Senior goalie Jason Wise was a key piece in a dominating 2011 defense.
Courtesy | zsidelinechatter
Men’s soccer
The Valley Vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com125 Curtiss Hall [email protected] Justin Brouckaert offiCE (989) 964-2629 E-mail [email protected]
Page A10 Monday, August 27, 2012 | valleyvanguardonline.com | The Valley Vanguard
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our planet. Earth is not only home to all of us, but also to millions of other living spe-cies,” Goodman said.
With more experience under his belt, Goodman is hopeful of a good year and is ready to serve students at SVSU.
“Coming into my sec-
ond term as president, I have a year’s worth of firsthand experience when it comes to serving the student body,” Goodman said. “On behalf of the entire association, we welcome everyone back to SVSU as we begin a new school year.”
Students interested in SA events or additional infor-mation can visit the office at Doan 103.
per game, but Collins said that he likes the looks of this year’s squad.
“What I’ve seen out of our defense so far is that we’ve got a lot of speed and athleti-cism,” he said.
Key losses include safety Darius Middlebrooks, de-fensive tackle Paul Webb and defensive end Brandon Williams, who was a Second Team All-GLIAC selection last season.
Anchoring the defense will be senior Grant Caserta, another Beyond Sports Net-work Preseason All-Ameri-can who led the defense in tackles last season en route to being named First Team All-GLIAC.
Caserta said that in the offseason, he benefited from strength and conditioning coach Anthony Delli-Pizzi, who was hired last fall.
“The biggest thing was just staying here this summer, working with coach Delli-Pizzi and his summer work-
outs,” he said. “His summer workouts were the biggest thing, just staying here and working out with my team-mates.”
He expects that with eight returning starters, the de-fense will gel this year.
“We have eight guys back, so there are a lot of familiar faces, Caserta said. “Some of the other guys that are fill-ing in for those seniors that left have experience playing too. We feel good about those guys.”
Kickoff for the season opener is 7 p.m. on Saturday. Collins said that he expects good crowd support after seeing record-breaking atten-dance numbers last season.
“There’s a reason we have a great student section here, and it’s because we have a great following,” he said. “Last year was better than any time since I’ve been here, and I think that night games had a lot to do with it.
“We’ve got to keep encour-aging students to get out here and make noise, but also to do it with class.”
SAcontinued from A3
footbAllcontinued from A8
A typical exam takes up to 90 minutes. There are also classes available for interested individuals to pretest for the certification exam. For college students, earning Microsoft certification could mean earning college credit.
Microsoft said that the American Council on Educa-
tion (ACE) has recommended college credit, up to six semes-ter hours, for some Microsoft Certification programs. Students graduating and look-ing for employment at com-panies that require Microsoft computer system proficiency can consider certification to boast their resumes and get the interview.
CERtIfICAtIoNcontinued from A3
By September 20 all RSOs must register on OrgSync and then Student Life will concen-trate on spreading the word to
the campus community.Students and faculty will
be able to log in and stay con-nected with RSOs, volunteer opportunities and campus happenings.
Brandimore said days are hectic now, but once students are settled and the semester commences, the changes will
click.She said the directors are
more than ready to serve stu-dents as best as they can.
“These are student-affil-iated professionals that are committed to students,” Bran-dimore said. “These folks care about students.”
Amid the changes, the
office is also working on re-placing former administrative secretary Trish Gohm, who recently resigned.
StUDENt lIfEcontinued from A1
During Simms’ paid in-ternship, she is set to work 12 hours per week teaching Eng-lish as a second language to French high school students in the Versailles school district in the city of Eaubonne, which is located 10 miles north of Paris. Her duties as a teaching assis-tant will depend on her school. She may teach the entire course or help out with class exercises and other language-related ac-tivities such as conversation tables.
Simms’ work contract ap-plies from October 2012 to April 2013. She plans to fly to France early in September to get settled in. Simms intends to stay with a friend who lives outside of Paris until she finds housing closer to her school in Eaubonne.
“I can’t wait to gain these new experiences, in addition to improving my language skills. I am also looking forward to immersing myself in the cul-ture that I’ve learned so much about from all my classes,” she said.
“If it wasn’t for Julie, I would not even have heard about this opportunity. She’s a professor and a friend, who
always goes out of her way to help students. Julie goes above and beyond the classroom.”
She also notes her parents have been a big support. To help cover the costs of mov-ing to France, they held a ga-rage sale, and even made and sold silverware wind chimes to raise extra funds.
Simms said she would like to enroll in graduate school in the fall of 2013. She’s apply-ing to many programs in areas such as forensic psychology, neuropsychology, and French/English translation.
“Eventually, I would like to work as a professional psy-chological consultant for law enforcement agencies or con-
duct research on criminal be-havior and sociopathy,” Simms said. She also hopes to use her French skills and possibly be-come a part-time translator.
If you would like to follow Ariel’s adventures in France, you can check out her travel blog at:
http://www.blogabond.com/ratfan49.
Are you interested in the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF)? You can find more information and appli-cation instructions at: www.frenchculture.org
Or search for “Teaching Assistant Program in France – USA” on Facebook.
SIMMScontinued from A3
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Phone: (989) 964 4248e-mAil: [email protected]: 125 Curtiss Hall
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Classified
profiles are broken down into two com-ponents.
“The first component is university-recognized achievements such as mak-ing the dean’s list, having an internship or being named to an honor society,” he said. “The second portion is where students can personalize their profile by populating information they would like to see included.”
Boehm said upon completing a readabout.me profile, students will have a unique link that they can forward to potential employers as a positive public profile.
“We see adopting ReadMedia as a significant benefit to both SVSU and to our students,” said Boehm. “For the uni-versity, its another way to promote all of the exceptional things our students are doing, and for our students, it gives them an online resource to promote themselves professionally.”
Readabout.me differs from other pro-fessional networking profiles like Linke-dIn in that the university must initiate the creation of a student profile.
“LinkedIn is great for career develop-ment and networking, but it’s not built to showcase many of the successes students have in their college career,” said Alan Dore, university communications spe-cialist. “Readabout.me fills that gap, and offers students a chance to demonstrate their achievements and their drive.”
Readabout.me also gives students the opportunity to post accomplishments to their personal Facebook, Twitter or Linke-dIn page.
“With the click of a button, it’s easy to let your friends know about the play you’re performing in, or the internship you just accepted,” said Dore. “It’s a great way to build a sense of community, and a feeling of shared accomplishment.”
Marketing and management senior Monica Ginop created her readabout.me profile this summer.
“I received an email regarding this new website because of making the dean’s list for the winter 2012 semester,” said Ginop. “I had never heard about it
before so I thought I would check out the site and sign up. Students need to expose themselves professionally as much as they can while they are still in college. The more professional websites you are on, the more you will be available for businesses to search for.”
Many students have already realized the benefits of creating a readabout.me profile.
“Readabout.me allows me to show the highlights of my college career, such as my high academic standings and club involvement,” said secondary English education senior Alex Faley. “If employ-ers are going to search online for informa-tion about me, I want to be prepared to show them all the great things I’ve ac-complished.”
Boehm reinforced that although students receive lots of electronic com-munication, the university encourages students to take the time to review this program and embrace it.
“When students realize the potential benefits of readabout.me, we think it will prove to be a very helpful tool when they are in a job search,” Boehm said.
READMEDIAcontinued from A1
Religious CounselingChristian counseling/Life coaching - Relationships, stress, addiction, more. Call Larry Hoard B.A. 989-842-3982. christianlifecoaching.net.
Housing
2 Bedroom Upper Apartment for rent. 2 miles from SVSU in a quiet country setting. Laundry, electric, heat, water, cable, internet all included. $600 Call Scott at 989-792-0807
The Valley Vanguard is looking for
Staff Writers
If you are interested in becoming a staff writer, please email [email protected]
The Valley Vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com125 Curtiss Hall [email protected]
Editor-in-ChiEf Justin Brouckaert offiCE (989) 964-2629 E-mail [email protected]
The Valley Vanguard | valleyvanguardonline.com | Monday, August 27, 2012 | Page A11
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study abroad fall fair Wednesday September 26th 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm Thompson Student Activity Room
At Big Brothers Big Sisters, we help young people reach their potential through positive, fun and caring relationships. This is your opportunity to START SOMETHING and change a child’s life for the better.
Program Opportunities After School Mentoring - Teaming Up with YOUth Allows a volunteer to mentor a child one-on-one within a group setting at a local school. The volunteer meets with the same child once a week during the school year. A Big Brothers Big Sisters supervisor will be on site to assist.
Middle School Mentoring - Moving On Is a school based mentoring program where volunteers are matched one-to-one with a child at a local middle school. Mentors help their Little build developmental assets and confidence while participating in fun activities within a group setting.
One to One - Traditional Big Brothers Big Sisters Program A Big and Little participate in everyday activities together on an average of two or three times per month for one year or more. The schedule can be flexible to meet the needs of volunteers and the Little’s family.
Visit our website www.bbbsgreatlakesbay.org and click on the
volunteer button to find out more. Or call our office at 989-631-5360 to get started today!
VOLUNTEER! Make a difference in the life of a child.
Vanguard photos | Sean DudleyAbove: A roundabout was constructed on Pierce Road this summer to alleviate traffic issues.
Right: Areas for bus unloading were included near the Ryder Center along with a road repavement project that took place on campus during the second half of summer.
Below: A new sign was installed near the Ryder Center in order to keep students informed on the different events and announcements concerning the Ryder Center.
The Valley Vanguard125 Curtiss Hall
advertisingmanagerShannon Davis office (989) 964-4248 e-mail [email protected] [email protected]
Page A12| Monday, August 27, 2012 | valleyvanguardonline.com | The Valley Vanguard
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