The Valley Vanguard (Vol. 45 No. 13)

Saginaw Valley State University’s student newspaper since 1967Vol. 45 No. 13 valleyvanguardonline.com

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VALLEYTHEVValley VanguardMonday, December 3, 2012

Inside A3

Since August, more than 1,700 students have swiped in to use tutoring services offered by the Center for Academic Achievement.

Inside A7

Fine arts major Erin Case has had her artwork published in Cardinal Sins as well as other online publications and galleries.

Final Issue

The final Vanguard issue of the Fall semester will hit newsstands Tuesday, Dec. 11.

Commuters’ parking concerns may soon be answered.

University President Eric Gilbertson announced a plan to add 200 parking spaces between lot J-1 and College Drive. These new spaces are to make parking more available when guests visit for uni-versity events.

“Parking is an issue I have worked hard on since being elected (Student Association) president in the spring of 2011,” Ted Goodman said.

The majority of SVSU students live off campus, and parking often is dis-cussed as an issue of importance to stu-dents at the weekly President’s Forum.

Goodman said he discussed park-ing with administrators, including Gilb-ertson and Executive Vice President for Administration and Business Affairs Jim Muladore.

“It is always great to see the admin-istration address student concerns, and obviously parking has been one of those concerns,” Goodman said.

The Board of Control meets Friday,

More than 60 students at SVSU will spend part of their holiday break volunteering their time to help needy families as part of the university’s Al-ternative Breaks program.

Alternative Breaks is a drug and alcohol-free student-run and student-led program accompanied by the Stu-dent Life Center. It offers students the opportunity to be a part of serving so-cial issues and traveling the country, and possibly the world.

“Alternative Breaks is an impor-tant aspect (of) our campus because it allows students to become involved and learn about social issues,” said social work junior Kelsey Boyce, board member and trip coordinator of Alternative Breaks. “It gives them the opportunity to take an important role in our society and become leaders on campus.”

Four teams will travel nation-ally Dec. 16 to 22 to locations such as Washington, D.C., and New Hamp-shire. Together, the teams make up 44 students, eight of which are co-site leaders.

Rural Reconstruction in Elizabeth Town, Ky., is led by criminal justice major Alexander Fey and biology ma-jor Logan Schuiteman. Participants partner with C. Hardin Country Habi-tat for Humanity Help to build new homes and make repairs for needy families.

The Damaged by Disaster trip to Joplin, Mo. is led by social work

major Samantha Domagala and nurs-ing major Taylor Huebler-Davis. The students will help rebuild a commu-nity that was destroyed by tornadoes. Thousands of families have yet to return home since being hit by a tor-nado.

“Our goal while on the trip is to assist the organization as best as pos-sible and do anything they need help with,” Boyce said.

Secondary education major Katie Hausbeck and elementary education major Megan Coltman will co-lead the trip to Washington, D.C.: Feeding the Hungry. Students will team with Youth Service Opportunity Project to serve food to hungry citizens.

Educating the Next Generation in Greenfield, N.H., is led by exer-cise science major Scarlett Simancek and health science major Shannon Smith. Through the Crotched Moun-tain Foundation, students will plan activities in a school for medically-ill children.

“When the students return from their break, they take the knowledge that they learned and apply it to our community here in Saginaw,” said ac-counting junior Ashley Schiefer, trip coordinator of Alternative Breaks. “It’s a way to give back and make a difference in our region while making long-lasting friendships.”

In the past, Alternative Breaks has participated in office work, paint-ing, and general tasks that organiza-tions may need volunteers for.

Alternative Breaks is also a

The men’s soccer team made a habit of coming through in the clutch on its improbable postseason run.

The Cardinals needed pen-

alty kicks to decide their post-season opener with Quincy, an overtime goal to beat Rockhurst in the Round of 16 and a double overtime finisher against North-eastern State to launch them into the Final Four in Evans, Ga.

And on Saturday, they came

close to pulling off the biggest upset of them all.

The Cardinals fell just short against Lynn University in the NCAA Division II National Championship game when two late goals and a flurry of offen-sive attacks was not enough to

overcome an early 3-0 deficit.“We conceded goals that

were really unexpected,” said GLIAC Coach of the Year Cale Wassermann. “I think the early scoring left our guys a bit de-flated, but we didn’t give in. Our guys still fought and really

showed character in the way we fought back.”

The team finishes with the best record in school history at 18-3-4, including an unbeaten streak that spanned 14 games

Model U.N. has given SVSU students the chance to show off their skills in diplomacy and ne-gotiation.

Teams from SVSU repre-sented Iraq and Jamaica at this year’s American Model U.N. Conference in Chicago. Two of the teams representing Iraq won awards for best delegation.

Dylan Hellus, a political science senior and president of Model U.N., won the award for best delegation in the Social and Economic Council category along with international studies major Kayla Langmaid.

Hellus said he enjoys par-ticipating because it gives him a platform to express his views.

“There’s something I re-ally like about just getting up in front of a room full of 100, 150 people and just giving a speech about how I feel about some-thing,” he said.

Model U.N. breaks stu-dents up into teams that repre-sent countries. The teams then work in committees to forward the interests of their respective countries.

SVSU’s Model U.N. pro-gram has been successful since its inception in 2007. Last year, SVSU was named best overall delegation and saw three teams take top honors at the 2011 American Model U.N. competi-tion

Keven Washburn, an eco-nomics junior who was part of one of the winning teams along with communication major Jared Quist, said there is much variety to what the committees discuss.

“Each committee has its own specific topic that it’s fo-cused on,” he said. “Some are economic, some are social.”

Washburn was part of the General Assembly’s third com-mittee.

“We were concerned about education in the literacy de-cade, and then we were also concerned with human rights, specifically dealing with rac-ism,” Washburn said.

Both Hellus and Washburn have participated in Model U.N. for three years, but said each year is a very different ex-perience.

“Third time around, it’s like a been-there, done-that feel-ing,” Hellus said. “(But) you get in there and it’s a new commit-tee with new people, and you realize that everything you’ve ever done before this is not comparable to what you’re hav-ing to do right now.”

Washburn agreed.“This time around, a lot of

us were experienced, we had done this before, we knew what goals we had to accomplish and how to accomplish them,” he said. “But everything had changed from years before, so there were still new challenges and new things to work on.”

Representing Iraq provided unique challenges of its own.

“You’re holding views that really aren’t your own,” Wash-burn said. “As Iraq, you have to take positions that women don’t have rights, suppressing minor-

Vanguard photo | Tyler BradleyPresident Eric Gilbertson (left) greets men’s head soccer coach Cale Wassermann and his team with a group of students Sunday afternoon.

Vanguard photo | Taylor LaPlacePresident Eric Gilbertson addressed student concerns at the President’s Forum, discussing issues including parking, cell phone reception & class

Gilbertson announces plan for more parking

Alternative Breaks gives holidays a deeper meaning

Model U.N. teams triumph with best delegation awards at conference

A champion’s welcome

By Chris Oliver Vanguard Sports Editor

By Katelyn Davis Vanguard Staff Writer

By Noah Essenmacher Vanguard Copy Editor

By Rachel StockiVanguard Campus Editor

See FORUM, A2

See MODEL U.N., A2See BREAKS, A2

See SOCCER, A8

Men’s soccer team ends historic postseason run with narrow loss in National Championship

The Valley Vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com125 Curtiss Hall [email protected]

campus editors Brandy Abraham e-mail [email protected] Rachel Stocki e-mail [email protected]

News coverage continued from page 1

Page A2| Monday, December 3, 2012 | valleyvanguardonline.com | The Valley Vanguard

jumpthe

Police briefs are written according to reports from University Police. These indicate preliminary descriptions of events and not necessarily actual incident

Property damage• At 11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, a 19-year-old

male student kicked a cabinet door in the First Year Suites so he has to pay for the damages.

• At 8 p.m. a 29-year-old male student found whipped cream and frosting on his driver’s side door while parked in Curtiss Circle Drive.

Suspicious situation• At 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, an 18-year-

old female student from First Year Suites reported that people were at her dorm looking for her. She called campus police because she was scared since she was a witness to another case. The suspects were gone when campus police arrived.

Drunk driving• At 1:25 a.m. Friday, Nov. 16, central

dispatch called campus police because there was an accident on Bay and Pierce Road. When the officer arrived, the 19-year-old female student had hit a telephone pole and was arrested for drunken driving.

Fight• At 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, Saginaw

County sheriff’s deputies were at the Townhomes due to a possible fight. About 150 people were at the party. However, when officers arrived, no one had started to fight, but they were get-ting ready.

Larceny• On Friday, Nov. 16, a 19-year-old male

student reported that since the begin-ning of the semester, his prescription pills have gradually disappeared. He especially noticed it between Thursday, Nov. 1, and Friday, Nov. 16. The case is under investigation.

• At 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21, a staff mem-ber left a laptop in the Conference Room in the Ryder Center. When he returned 30 minutes later, it was gone. The suspect was observed on surveillance and is believed not to be a student.

• At 11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 26, a 21-year-old male student left his wallet in a Science East classroom. When he returned the wallet was gone, but it was found later in E-lot without anything missing.

• At 10 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, a 19-year-old male student reported that when he parked his bike in the University Village and came out 10 minutes later, it was gone.

Harassment• At 2:07 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, an 18-year-old

student reported that two weeks ago she went home for the weekend and when she came back her clothes were thrown all over her room. Her roommate has been threatening her in texts and through Facebook. Housing is handling the case.

• Between Thursday, Nov. 15, and Wednes-day, Nov. 21, an 18-year-female student reported that she has been harassed by an 18-year-old male student. They had lunch together and during lunch she had used profanity. He didn’t like it so he has been harassing her through texts. Officers have made contact and told both to stop.

• At 1 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, an 18-year-old female student from the First Year Suites called her resident assistant because her roommate was being loud. The resident assistant told her to be quiet. Afterwards the roommate closed her door and threatened the female who asked her to be quiet. Campus police came back and had the victim sleep in another room. The case will be handled by Housing.

Disorderly conduct• On Wednesday, Nov. 28, a 48-year-old

female employee reported a 19-year-old male student became upset when he could not buy a plate from Papa John’s. Officers made contact and told him to stop.

Keeping active minds healthy

Parking citation increase results from metered parking spot use

Active Minds is changing the conversation about men-tal health.

As the liaisons to the Student Counseling Center, mem-bers of Active Minds are motivated and prepared to edu-cate the masses about mental health and ways to cope with stressful situations. Representatives take on a variety of roles, including educator, advocate, referral agent and role model.

One of their most important goals is to eliminate the stig-ma that reaching out for help is unneeded or not respected. Active Minds wants students to realize that everyone needs help with life issues, and that there is a point in most people’s lives where depression is a possibility. Those realizations are especially important since suicide is the second leading cause of death in college students.

Jenny Stephens, assistant director of the counseling center and faculty advisor for Active Minds, thinks that stu-dents’ expectations of Active Minds are probably wrong.

“People hear info on counseling and they automati-cally think you have to be crazy to go there,” Stephens said. “There’s nothing wrong with needing somebody to talk to. This is an important time to educate them about mental health.”

Active Minds just acquired its third member, which is significant because three members are necessary to register the organization on SVSU’s Orgsync. More representatives are needed, and anyone interested in joining should contact Stephens or Hillary Cole, who also works at the counseling office while participating in Active Minds.

“Anybody who’s got an interest in mental health should sign up for Active Minds,” Stephens said. “It’s not a support group or counseling. They just help provide information. These students who work through Active Minds are strong assets who can refer others to us.”

Cole has been a part of Active Minds since its recent revival. She feels as if the information about mental health issues is essential for dealing with the tough emotional prob-lems college students can go through.

“It’s important to be educated because this is a prob-lem,” Cole said. “The more I’ve been working here the more I’ve realized mental health issues are a bigger problem than I thought. It’s beneficial to learn good ways to cope.”

Cole, along with the rest of the Active Minds members, is in the process of creating events for the upcoming semes-ter that could help inform students. One of the programs is called “Send Silence Packing,” where an enormous amount of backpacks are displayed around campus. The backpacks are meant to symbolize the people struggling with mental illnesses and to show how common it is.

chapter of the national nonprofit organization Break Away, an educational philosophy which asks participants to examine root causes for a so-cial problem and their personal part in disseminat-ing it.

“All SVSU students have the opportunity to go on an Alternative Breaks trip,” Boyce said.

Students must first fill out an application, choose what social issues they are most passionate about, and go through an interview process. Ap-plications are available in January. There will be four spring break trips and one summer break trip.

For students interested in becoming involved in Alternative Breaks, there will be an Informa-tion Night at 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5 in the Thompson Student Activities Room.

For more information about SVSU’s Alterna-tive Breaks program, contact the Student Life Cen-ter at 989-964-4170.

ities and things.”Hellus said winning his first award at the conference

was a great experience. “It was just a lot of fun to figure out who is the power players in this room, how do I have to talk to them, and how it’s different every time,” he said. Washburn said he enjoys participating because represent-ing countries allows many different views to be heard, and the structure of the conference is also exciting.

“The ebb and flow of it changes so often, sometimes it’ll be slow and then it picks up really fast,” Washburn said. “You’re writing a resolution and then it gets destroyed and you have a crushing defeat, but then you come back and make a great speech and you’re back on top again. It’s a fun experience and it’s very unique.”

policebriefs

By Matt OstranderVanguard Columnist

By Marie NesbitVanguard Staff Writer

valleyvanguardonline.com

The Valley Vanguard

editorial [email protected](989) 964-4482

Justin Brouckaert, editor-in-chiefJosh hartley, design editorBrandy aBraham, campus editorrachel stocki, campus editornoah essenmacher, copy editorchris oliver, sports editortyler Bradley, A&E editorsean dudley, photo editorchris oliver, web editor

professional [email protected](989) 964-4248

katie Zlotecki, business managershannon davis, Advertising Manager

CorreCtions and additionsIf you see an error, please let us know as soon as possible by contacting 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 cor-rection.

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.

BREAKScontinued from A1

MODEL U.N.continued from A1

FORUMcontinued from A1

Dec. 14, to vote on the construction of the new spaces.

At the forum, Gilbertson addressed a stu-dent’s request that more course sections be offered and that more instructors be hired to teach those courses.

Gilbertson said the university offers about 1,700 sections each semester while trying to anticipate shifts in students’ demand for cer-tain academic programs.

“At the end of the day, most students get what they want,” Gilbertson said, when they visit the academic advising office and register when they are supposed to.

“We’re trying not to offer sections that aren’t going to be filled because unfilled sec-tions cost you money,” Gilbertson said. “It’s in your interest to have us be efficient. You pay for it.”

Gilbertson also heard students’ requests for a water bottle refill station in each build-ing on campus. Students making the request said they prefer refill stations like those in the Ryder Center addition.

“Water is good for you,” Gilbertson said, and explained he would consider the cost.

Students also requested disinfectant wipes for keyboards in the library and all computer labs – another good idea, Gilbertson said.

Gilbertson also heard concerns about poor cellular phone reception and wireless Internet connectivity in some areas of campus.

Associate Vice President for Administra-tion and Business Affairs Ron Portwine said the university continues to seek a “cost-effec-tive solution” for cellular reception issues.

Campus housing areas are a priority for wireless connectivity, and Portwine said stu-dents should notify their resident assistants when problems occur. This information then can be communicated to administrators ad-dressing the issue.

“SVSU is really parking friendly,” says Joyce Payne, parking and student employee service coordi-nator. “Essentially, no one really has to get a ticket.”

However, parking services has issued 3,764 park-ing citations during the fall 2012 semester. And that doesn’t even account for the number of warnings and tickets that were voided.

Despite these numbers, Payne believes parking on campus has been good overall.

“This is the first year in quite a while we haven’t seen many problems,” said Payne.

Payne has noticed, however, more students are starting to utilize the free parking around campus, es-pecially in lot G-3 and the Education building parking lots. She has also noticed an increase in the number of residential vehicles on campus.

Payne notes that lots D and K, by the Zahnow Li-brary and Science East entrances, are the most popular during the week, with the least amount of available spaces during peak times, usually around 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., according to Payne. There are, however, several other available free parking lots for students to utilize. It just might not be as close to the building as students would hope for.

This is where Payne is seeing the parking prob-lems: students who park where they shouldn’t in order to avoid long walks to buildings from their car. She advises students not to use the metered spots when going to class or expect to have a quick visit with a professor. She sees many fines given to those who didn’t anticipate how long they were going to be and leave their car in an expired metered space.

Parking fines range from $15-$20, but can increase depending on how many times a vehicle has been found in violation. Many of the fines that go unpaid can be forwarded to Saginaw County District Court, where the fines are more expensive and the punish-ment more severe.

If a person has at least three unpaid tickets and the jurisdiction has been forwarded on to district court, they can be put on an impound list until those fines are dealt with.

Payne notes that parking services has impounded at least three vehicles this semester.


News and events from on and around campus

The Valley Vanguard | valleyvanguardonline.com | Monday, December 3, 2012 | Page A3

courtyardthe

campus editors Brandy Abraham e-mail [email protected] Rachel Stocki e-mail [email protected]

It’s catching: Flu & cold season arrives with end of semester stress

Coming to terms: Panel breaks down gender sterotypes

With an impending finals week, tutors and stu-dents alike need to be prepared to use the resources available to their advantage.

The Center for Academic Achievement has been open for almost one semester and Ann Coburn-Col-lins, director of Academic Programs, thinks the Center has been successful so far.

According to Coburn-Collins, the need for math tutors has steadily risen and the science division has been running as smooth as ever.

More than 1,700 individual students have visited the center since visiting the center since August, with more than 8,000 total swipe-ins.

Coburn-Collins noted that few students have been complaining about the new system. In fact, stu-dents have been coming in for tutoring for subjects, such as accounting, which is not offered as a tutoring lesson at the center.

“We’ve had students come in for philosophy,

English (and) for help reading their textbooks,” Co-burn-Collins said. “We’re taking care of a huge group of students that represent courses we don’t even have listed as available for tutoring.”

Statistics is one subject that the center is looking to incorporate into its tutoring system. Coburn-Collins commented that mathematics, political science and business deals with statistics differently, so having a separate section would be beneficial.

Because of the increased need for math resources and the possible addition of more subjects, the center is growing. More tables and chairs have been ordered for next semester.

Even with limited space, Coburn-Collins and the tutors are working hard to help students.

“We are very collaborative in that space,” she said. “We’ve hired excellent tutors, as well. They have training once a month, and it helps the tutors become more professional and motivational.”

Sue Gennrich, chemistry supervisor for the cen-ter, feels just as confident in her tutors.

She also wants students who come in to send in comments on how to improve the center.

“We always leave things open, write comments,” Gennrich said. “Especially if they want more or less of something. We want to adapt to what the students need.”

If students are not doing as well as they hope in classes, one of the biggest steps is to just visit the cen-ter.

“Students don’t always understand that they’re failing,” Coburn-Collins said. “They think that if they simply go to class and don’t worry about the quality of the work that they will pass. That is not the case. They are not entitled to a pass, but they are entitled to a tutoring center to help them become successful.”

Coburn-Collins said that 20 percent more female students come into the center than male. This could be on account that the female-male ratio at SVSU is close to 60-40, but the center wants to emphasize that male students need just as much help.

“That’s our main goal, to support students, mak-ing sure they have as much opportunities for success as possible,” she said.

Last week, peer health educators helped educate students about “the perfect storm.”

“The perfect storm,” according to Sara Martinez, assistant director of the student counseling center, is that time of year when students are not getting enough sleep, win-ter weather has arrived and semester finals are right around the corner.

During this time, students are more susceptible to catching the flu virus be-cause their immune system is lowered due to stress, lack of sleep and poor nutrition.

PHE wanted to get students more aware of how easily the flu can be transmit-ted person to person, especially in a college setting.

“We are all very close,” Martinez said, “It goes around very quickly.”

The group got the idea from a past PHE adviser, who brought it to their atten-tion a few years ago. At a young age, be-tween kindergarten and second-grade, glit-ter is used to show little kids how to wash their hands properly.

Martinez thought that it would be great to do this with college students.

“I think it is universal,” Martinez said. “I think that everyone likes glitter, well at least for the most part.”

Last week, PHE members ran a Glitter Flu table from Monday-Wednesday. Some members from the student groups in PHE walked across campus high-fiving students with glitter on their hands. At the table, the group gave out cold and flu handouts and tissues with tips about how to avoid the cold and flu.

Martinez said that any student already sick should visit the University Health Center.

The University Health Center is a MedExpress that offers the flu shot for $15 with a student ID. It is open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun-day. The flu shot can be obtained for the discounted price during regularly sched-uled hours.

Their goal was to provide students with some resources of how to stay healthy during one of the busiest times of the se-mester.

“I think that our students are just real-ly busy,” she said. “And sometimes health is not a priority when they have so many things going on. They have work, classes, extracurricular activities, and I think that the last thing they are thinking about is their health.”

Right now is the time of year when students are getting run down, according to Martinez.

“If you are stressed or not eating right, not taking care of yourself emotionally or physically, you lower your immune system and are more likely to get sick,” she said.

She said that the best way to avoid the cold and flu is for students to wash their hands and make sure they are taking care of themselves.

“But if they are getting sick to make sure they are getting that rest time in there too,” Martienz said.

She said that it is so hard to tell a col-lege student “to take a nap” and relax, be-cause they have so much on their plate.

“If they want to make the most out of getting better, then they need to take some time for themselves,” she said.

The goal is to “recoup” according to Martinez, and that doesn’t mean just over Christmas break.

Gender stereotypes and misconceptions were called into question at a recent genderqueer and trans-gender speaker panel.

This panel was presented by Program Board, Resident Assistant for Inclusion Tyler Bradley and Student Life LGBT Resources Chair Amanda Helton.

The panel gave students in attendance a chance to ask students who either identify as genderqueer or transgender a variety of questions ranging from daily routines to sexual orientation.

“Honestly, I thought that it was two different words for the same thing,” said international business

sophomore Mecca Hughey. “But after learning the dif-ferences, I can see how people can confuse the two. It’s important for people to educate themselves so they can at least try to understand.”

Genderqueer is most commonly used to describe a person who feels that his or her gender identity does not fit into the socially constructed norms associated with his or her biological sex. Genderqueer is an iden-tity that falls anywhere between man/boy/male and woman/girl/female on the spectrum of gender identi-ties.

A transgender is someone whose psychological self, or gender identity, is the opposite of his or her sex. Their psychological self differs from the social expecta-tions associated with the physical sex that they were born with.

When Arik Gottleber, an art senior, was asked when he realized what his gender identity was, he re-sponded by saying, “We tend to use masculine, male, and man interchangeably. I am biologically male but I am not a man.”

Gottleber identifies as genderqueer. He also explained how he tends to receive more

positive reactions from others on “butch” days, or days he tends to dress more masculine, than on days where he dresses more feminine.

Fine arts sophomore Sam Boswell, a biological fe-male who also identifies as genderqueer, has the same reactions from people but in the opposite manner.

Political science junior Anthony Kirk was the only one on the panel who identified as transgender. Many students wanted to know how his family reacted to his lifestyle as living and dressing as a man despite his physical sex.

“We didn’t talk for two months,” Kirk said, refer-ring to his mother.

However, the loss of the bond he once had with his brother is what affects him most of all.

“Coming to terms with that is the hardest part,” he said, “but if we don’t talk any more then that’s the way it has to be.”

When the panel was asked to state one thing they would like the audience to know before the night was over, it was Gottleber’s statement that brought the au-dience back to the theme of the speaker series.

“There’s a difference between gender and iden-tity,” Gottleber said.

Growing tutoring center builds success

By Gerhardt Schuette Vanguard Columnist

By Molly YoungVanguard Staff Writer


By Brandy AbrahamVanguard Campus Editor

Vanguard photo | Alyssa Ellis From left, Matt Koepke, electrical engineering freshman, and AJ Aliwirah, Center for Academic Achievement tutor and English Language Program (ELP ) student.

Vanguard photo | Alyssa Ellis At last week’s genderqueer and transgender speaker panel, students answered questions about their sexual orientation, how their families reacted to the change and the sterotypes they face.

Courtesy | Ed MeiselThe new greenhouse, set to be attached to the Herbert Dow Doan Science Building, opens up more “green” possibilities. Completion is anticipated in spring 2013.

A new greenhouse is sprouting off of the south side of the Herbert Dow Doan Science Building.

Currently, there are two semi-permanent, dome-shaped green-houses about a mile northeast of campus on Michigan Ave. Ed Meisel, greenhouse director and chemistry professor, and his students built the structures about seven years ago.

“Because we’ve been so success-

ful with some of the things we’ve done,” Meisel said, “we’ve helped secure some of the funding … to build a brand new greenhouse.”

It’ll be nice to have something located right on the main campus, he said.

At approimately 120 feet long and 18 feet wide, the new, perma-nent structure will more than double the size of current facilities.

However, Meisel hopes to bring the same innovation used in the con-struction and everyday operation of the current greenhouses to the new.

As an example, the current structures operate off the electri-cal grid. They are fully powered by solar and wind energy. And they were designed with sustainability in mind.

Each structure features double-layered plastic walls, which offer

insulation at an R factor of 18. The chemistry department also devel-oped a spray for plastic that does not allow heat to pass. In the winter, the plastic with the spray is turned inward, trapping heat in. In the sum-mer, the plastic is flipped, reflecting heat energy outward. The spray was purchased and patented by a com-pany and the product is now on the market.

The new greenhouse will fea-ture four separate areas: a research laboratory, a botany section, a “head room,” and a section for the Green Cardinal Initiative.

Anticipated completion of the greenhouse is spring 2013. Anyone, not just science students, is welcome to participate in greenhouse happen-ings.

New campus greenhouse to support research and student interests

editor-in-chief Justin Brouckaert office (989) 964-4482 e-mail [email protected]


opinion


Editorial Cartoon

Rashad Baiyasi is a physics and chemistry senior and the Vanguard’s cartoonist. Reach him at [email protected].

Thanksgiving has come and gone, leaving us in its mashed potato and gravy-fueled waste.

We’re all in a thankful mood and agree that the mid-November break was desperately needed to help us survive the grueling process that is final exams. These finals mean more than just the end of the fall semester, though. They signal the arrival of one of the happiest times of the year: Christmas! But for some reason that joy that’s supposed to spark up in my soul once Dec. 25 is mentioned isn’t present. No pun intended.

Why am I not as excited as when I was a kid? I remember waking up at 4 a.m, literally shaking with anticipation of the glorious electronic gifts and carefree atmosphere of family gatherings.

I remember jumping out of bed and rushing downstairs to be met by the smell of cinnamon rolls and holiday candles. Seeing the colorfully wrapped boxes and the Christmas lights draped around the living room put me in a euphoric mood that couldn’t be broken until the next day. I re-member having the entire family, even though with mine that only meant like eight people coming over to my house and just enjoy-ing each other’s company while playing euchre or random, silly games that my grandma forced us to participate in.

But for some odd reason I just

can’t get excited anymore about Saint Nicholas falling down my cramped chimney and leaving soot all over my living room floor. I can’t seem to get excited for the opportunity to receive presents from people who would normally never buy me any-thing worth more than a couple of dollars. I feel like I should be overjoyed for this occasion, mostly because it only comes once a year.

There are a couple of pos-sible justifications as to why the Christmas spirit just hasn’t hit me as strongly as years past. I’m living on my own now more than ever. I’m no longer being kicked out of my dorm because of winter break; instead I have my own apartment to come and go as I please. Living on your own definitely changes your perspec-tive on how to go through day-to-day adventures. Independence is a contagious bug that attaches itself to your mind and never lets up. It becomes harder to head back to my hometown every time I start south.

I’m not as focused on mate-rial objects as we all are in our youth. When Christmas rolled around in middle school, just the thought of all of the video games my parents bought for me would send me into intense hyperventi-lation. In my third year at SVSU, when my mother asks me what I would like for Christmas, it takes me weeks to come up with a single idea. I’m concerned with more important things than a new DVD or another thriller that I won’t be able to read until the summer anyway.

The fantastical element of Christmas has withered away, as well, but that’s been a process that started long before I even considered college. I can’t even remember a time when I believed that Santa Claus was a real en-tity. I do remember the moment when I caught my mother in the famous lie. I picked one of the

video games I had supposedly gotten from Santa Claus, went up to my mother and asked her how much that game cost. She immediately answered with a very specific price, and my belief was snapped with almost no clever effort.

The whole Santa thing always got to me for multiple reasons. Sure, I understand that it’s a playful fib to tell a younger child who isn’t aware of the concept of the monetary system and its con-straints. But I might want to go about Christmas differently with my potential children. I might even skip the whole Santa ideal in general, not so much because I don’t like the story but because I feel like it’s a silly thing to put kids through.

The only reason why parents tell their children about Santa is to watch them squirm over a fictional idolized God, and it also means that they have to spend more money and buy additional presents. It frightens me a little to place that fallacy in my chil-dren’s mind.

Overall, I wish I felt the same about Christmas as I did in my school days, living for the holi-day cheer and the commodities that accompanied that delight. I wish I could share another plate of fattening Christmas cook-ies or jello with family that’s either moved on with their lives or passed away. I wish I could redeem this sluggish year with an excitement worthy of the almighty 25th of December. But something tells me that once I get back home on Christmas Eve and have the people who will never leave me surrounding me, some of that happiness will come sliding back.

Campus BeatChristmas then and now: Finding holiday spirit without Santa


Matt Ostrander is a secondary English education junior. Reach him at [email protected].

At last week’s President Forum, President Gilbertson confirmed to students the likelihood of around 200 new parking spots

being added between lot J-1 and College Drive, pending approval from the Board of Control at a Dec. 14 meeting.

This is welcome news to SVSU students, who have voiced concerns about parking through outlets such as the SVSU I’M BOSS Facebook group and the President’s Forum, where the topic has become a staple of conversation.

The university has responded to these requests previously by claiming that there are enough parking spots to support students on any given day, even students may not get an ideal spot unless they’re on campus with plenty of time to spare before work or classes. While this may be true, the additional influx of traffic due to events such as last month’s visit from Gov. Rick Snyder can complicate things, even if the university gives students advanced notice, as it did with Snyder’s visit. That’s where this new lot comes in.

It’s a small victory for commuters and frustrated parking lot circlers, but we should get used to these small victories, because it may be all we get -- at least as far as parking is concerned.

Administration has been courteous in listening to students’ requests for more parking, but if the university’s strategic plans and past Board of Control meetings are any indication, it is likely that the university will prioritize renovation before expansion. With the exception of this lot and a new greenhouse being constructed on Science West (see A3), the next big projects look to be the renovation and upkeep of Wickes Hall and then the Ryder Center, built in 1969 and 1985, respectively.

While the university may expand

physically, that expansion is not likely to take place within the next few years. Further, President Gilbertson has opposed the construction of parking garages on campus, which may cause both structural and safety concerns.

No one will deny that finding a decent parking spot can be frustrating at times, and will likely continue to be frustrating if and when this new lot is added, but it’s important to remember that we don’t have it so bad.

We’re lucky enough to where our idea of a bad parking spot causes only a 10-15 minute walk to class, at worst – students at other Michigan schools are lucky if their walk from the dorms is that short. And of course, as much as we complain about parking, it’s much harder to do so when you take a look at how much campus residents at other schools pay, tuition aside, just for keeping their cars on campus.

But we’re not other schools, so what can we do? While it’s nice to see the university stepping in to help with this issue, we can also help ourselves. We can keep things and context and look at our “long” walks from distant parking lots as a small price to pay for free parking and a way to grab some extra exercise. Students who live in Pine Grove, Campus Village and even the Cardinal Townhomes can take advantage of SVSU’s compact campus and walk to class, cutting down on traffic congestion and parking lot frustrations for commuters. We can continue our fight to roll out of bed 10, 20 minutes early so we’re not pounding on our steering wheels with frustration when it takes a few circles around D-Lot to find a decent spot.

It’s important to keep these things in mind, because the addition of 150-200 parking spots in one area of campus won’t solve everyone’s parking woes. But along with a slightly different mindset, it can definitely help.

Vanguard VisionProposed lot not the final answer to parking concerns

EditorialColumn

PoliciesLetters may be edited for content, grammar and length. Letters containing abusive content will not be published. Letters should be sent to The Valley Vanguard and no other publication.

Letters for publication must be no longer than 350 words. Students writing letters must include their major and class standing. All others must provide a title or job description.

We do not publish open letters, news releases, public postings or notices of any kind.

Justin Brouckaert, editor-in-chiefBrian Hlavaty, adviserBrandy Abraham, Campus EditorTyler Bradley, A&E EditorChris Oliver, Sports editorNoah Essenmacher, Copy editor

Editorial Board, December 2012

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RELIGIOUS COUNSELINGChristian counseling/Life coaching - Relationships, stress, addiction, more. Call Larry Hoard B.A. 989-842-3982. christianlifecoaching.net.

RELIGIOUS COUNSELINGChristian counseling/Life coaching - Relationships, stress, addiction, more. Call Larry Hoard B.A. 989-842-3982. christianlifecoaching.net.

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editor-in-chief Justin Brouckaert office (989) 964-4482 e-mail [email protected] The Valley Vanguard valleyvanguardonline.com125 Curtiss Hall [email protected]

With the end of the year approaching, Christmas around the corner and Thanksgiving at our backs,

I’ve taken a good amount of time to assess where I’m at in life compared to where I was when I first came to college, and where I was a year ago.

I can’t help but notice the new faces I regularly surround myself with these days. There are numerous lessons I’ve learned in 2012, and I’m surprised with how I’ve changed as an individual. College is supposed to change us, open our minds and allow us to grow beyond the people we are when we come into the university setting. My time so far at SVSU has definitely done that.

A year ago this time, I was a much different individual. I was far from being independent. Yet life has a tendency to throw obstacles in our paths that challenge us at every level and force us to grow and adapt. Over the summer, my life changed significantly, with many of the people I loved and trusted the most all but disappearing from my life.

Events like this force us to look in the mirror and improve ourselves. They force us into making hard decisions and taking away lessons to better ourselves going forward.

The most important lesson I learned coming out of the summer is that you can’t put a price on the importance of independence. We must be our own people and do what makes us happy in the end. Life is far too short to be unhappy and we must do things for ourselves. It is too short to let things get to us.

I was lucky that when life got tough,

I had people around who cared and made things easier. This past summer also opened doors to reconnecting with people I hadn’t engaged with since high school. The friends I have now are some of the best people I know. I met a lot of them within the last year and they have helped me move forward and keep my chin up.

I’ve also found that going out of my way to do the right thing or be decent also attributes to overall happiness. My friends today are decent, caring and generally good individuals. I can only hope to keep a smile on my face and hope to take after some of them.

With that being said, we must learn to be able to fend for ourselves. We cannot rely on others to hold us up all of the time. There were many times over the summer where the only person who could help me on the days where depression and anger got the best of me was, in fact, me.

Ultimately, I believe the biggest thing I’ve learned over the last year is that the best way to live is to improve daily. Every day I want to go out and make the most out of it. I want to succeed in my work as a student and as a writer while never taking anything for granted. It’s awesome ending the day by looking in the mirror, smiling and giving two thumbs up.

At the end of the day, the individual lives we lead are relatively insignificant. Billions of people have come before us and billions will come after we are gone. The universe is vast and everything we know is on a small rock rotating the sun. That notion is comforting as well as frightening.

Just remember that we only get one shot on this planet, so we might as well make the most of it. Spend time with those who matter and disregard the things that make you unhappy.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is preparing the turkey with my dad. We’ve

tried all sorts of techniques, but for the past couple of years we’ve stuck with the injection method. If you’ve never prepared a turkey this way, all it entails is mixing together some tasty liquid things and using a big needle to inoculate the bird with the flavorsome juice. This year we injected it with butter, beer, soy sauce, and good old-fashioned American freedom. To ensure a legendary turkey, we listened to musical icons Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams while injecting it.

The bird turned out all right (it needed a little more Waylon Jennings), and I had a nice time with my family, but it was hard not to think of the Christmas season and the inevitability of finals coming up. I’ve always thought of Thanksgiving as a sort of Christmas preview, a teaser for what December has in store.

I can’t honestly say that my school years have been free of grumbles; sometimes, school can just get you down especially around this time of year. I love the Christmas season, so when I’m faced with a 10-page paper, it’s hard to know what’s most important. How am I supposed to finish that paper when Charlie Brown Christmas is on?

In my last year at SVSU, I am finding it particularly difficult to tie up all other lose ends before I can carol on home in my festive Christmas digs.

The other day, I sat at my kitchen table eating breakfast next to our Christmas tree and made a mental list of who I needed to send a Christmas card to. I had NPR on, but was hardly paying attention. It was some story about purple potatoes or the history of pies, something you would only hear on NPR. Then as I completed my mental list and finished my breakfast, the story switched. It was a follow-up story on Malala Yousufzai, a 15-year-old Pakistani girl who survived an assassination attempt by Taliban on Oct. 9. She is a well-known activist in her hometown for education and women’s rights. I was in the middle of loading my dishes into the dishwasher when the story was on, so I didn’t hear much of it. The gist was she was still recovering in the U.K., and doctors were hopeful for a full recovery.

I went on with my day, not thinking much about the story. I set out for SVSU and I headed up to the fourth floor of the library to begin reading research papers. After making it through the abstract of the first paper, my mind began to wonder. I thought about Malala and how I could not even begin to fathom what she has already been through at such a young age just to get the educational rights I’ve taken for granted the past 17 years of my life.

When I got on the school bus back in the day, never once did I have to worry about someone trying to assassinate me. When I come to SVSU every day, I

don’t have to worry about being excluded from educational opportunities because of my gender. I am able to seek the highest level of schooling I desire without fear of death or rejection.

It’s easy to complain about school because, one, it is something we have been doing for so long, and two, because it is something we feel we are forced in to. For all of us, though, college was a choice. We made the decision to seek higher education and have spent money and a large portion of our time committing to that decision. In the working world, we often hear that if you’re unhappy in your job, you get a new one. If you are committing any amount of time or money to be a college student, college is your job. If you don’t like it, get a new one. Spend that money you are now spending on tuition on something you really want. A boat, perhaps, or a new pair of shoes, or maybe you could even use that money to help someone through college that would really value it.

We are often told to appreciate our education, but it never really settles in. I challenge all of you complainers and mopers to power through these last weeks with a positive attitude and really evaluate why you are here. Remember that no matter how the semester ends, on December 14, you will be heading home and Malala will still be in the hospital.

Staff Opinion

Personal growth starts with friends’ support, discovering independence

Drawing lessons from Malala Yousufzai: Students should value chance at education

Staff Opinion

By Chris OliverVanguard Sports Editor

Chris Oliver is a history junior. Reach him at [email protected].

Alyssa Tarrant is a biology senior. Reach her at [email protected].

By Alyssa TarrantVanguard Staff Writer

{}

As part of a new weekly feature, members of the SVSU College Democrats and Republicans will write op-eds for the Vanguard debating important politi-cal issues leading up to the Nov. 6 presidential election.

“I usually watch TV and play a lot of video games. Basically the opposite of what I should be doing.”

How do you plan to prepare for final exams?

“I take my time when studying and try not to procrastinate.”Paige GayfordNursing sophomore

Mimi MarcusCriminal justice sophomore

“I try to get to bed early and get a good night’s sleep before, and work little by little so I don’t stress.”Tyler MesclierBiology freshman

“Time management is important. I balance my studying with work and fun to help relieve stress.”Cameron SydesBusiness sophomore

“I give time for relaxation as well as studying when working on finals.”

“I try and work hard during the beginning of the year so finals aren’t as stressful.”

Caleb WoodOccupational therapy sophomore

Markel HaralsonGraphic design junior


A&E Editor Tyler Bradley officE (989) 964-4482 E-mAil [email protected]

Page A6 | Monday, December 3, 2012 | valleyvanguardonline.com | The Valley Vanguard

a e&

Christmas came a little bit early this year.

Last week’s performances from the theater department’s annual holiday radio production welcomed students and faculty with Christmas spirit. It was the third consecutive year the depart-ment put on a 1940s Christmas radio program.

This year, the program was entitled “Christmas by the Fire-side,” a collection of three differ-ent classic Christmas stories, old style commercials and a message from the president.

Co-directed by theater pro-fessors Ric Roberts and David Rzeszutek, the idea for this pro-duction was originally thought up by the pair in 2010 to provide the campus with something for families around the holidays.

“Ric and I both liked the idea of doing a holiday show,” Rzeszutek said. “There wasn’t really anything as a theatrical family event that was happening annually, so we thought it’d be good for them to do it.”

While some of the scripts were bought from companies to use for the show, Roberts and Rz-eszutek actually took the time to write some of the material for the production themselves. Though the two worked on the material as a pair, they often were on the same page with the direction they wanted to take.

“Before even going in to-gether, we knew what they were going to be,” Rzeszutek said. “However, we were working off our conflicting schedule, not to mention I was out of the country over the summer.”

Though the script was pre-pared months in advance, re-hearsals for the cast of theater scholarship students and faculty were held days before the actual performances.

Roberts and Rzeszutek would go through the list of stu-dents who’d be performing and assign them roles that would work well for their specific tal-ents.

“It’s a fun tradition we have,” Rzeszutek said. “Sure, there’s a huge chance of crash-ing and burning, but it forces us

to make quick decisions and trust that those decisions will work.”

The show held two perfor-mances, which is fewer than the department’s usual number of shows.

“Even though there’s very little time to do it, there is also very little to do compared to most shows,” theater sophomore Kristen Carter said. “There is no blocking or lines to memorize, which makes it a completely new and unique experience.”

Carter acted as a Foley art-ist for the show, who takes part in adding in sound effects for the stories. Some of these effects included doors shutting, thunder clashing and boots clomping.

Theater junior Blake Mazur, who also acted as a Foley artist said, “The freedom (of choos-ing the sounds) was very excit-ing, as well as the freedom to do anything we want on stage as characters we choose. Because of this, there was virtually no stress because no memorization was re-quired.”

5. Daytrader – Twelve Years – RiseThe placing of “Twelve Years” on this list will

act as an addendum of sorts to the Op-Ed I wrote last week about the early demise of Daytrader, one of my personal favorite up-and-coming acts in the alternative scene. Though I only got to see the group once before they called it quits, I never got to see the group play any material off their first and only full-length “Twelve Years,” a truly stun-ning piece of music, especially for being an initial release. Songs such as “Deadfriends” and “Heard It In a Song” are some of the finest examples of recent emo/punk.

4. Every Time I Die – Ex Lives – EpitaphAfter 11 years, six albums, multiple line-up

shifts and hundreds of thousands of fans, it’s safe to say that members of Every Time I Die know what they’re doing. The hardcore quintet has done a great thing with “Ex Lives.” They’ve successful-ly combined elements of metal, punk, grunge and even a little bit of folk for good measure to give fans a listen they won’t soon forget. Songs such as “Revival Mode” and “Partying is Such Sweet Sor-row” equally show the fun that’s had in their mu-sic, as well as the well-documented fact that they will not be forgotten anytime soon.

3. Title Fight – Floral Green – SideOneDummyKingston, Pennsylvania’s own Title Fight, one

of the biggest up-and-comers of the emo/hardcore genre, has crafted an even larger improvement over the group’s already impressive discography. At a median age of about 22, the group’s third stu-dio album, “Floral Green” shows the band’s early signs as maturity as artists. “Floral Green” could go down as the 21st century aggressive version of Weezer’s “Pinkerton,” as tracks such as “Secret Society,” “Sympathy” and “Head in a Ceiling Fan” show how far the group has come in such a short amount of time. Color me impressed, boys.

2. Fun. – Some Nights – Fueled by Ramen

To say that Fun exploded in 2012 would be a horrific understatement. With members com-ing together from The Format, Steel Train and Anathallo, the band’s ability to channel rock gi-ants such as Queen and concentrating that focus into creating some of the year’s biggest radio hits, is nothing short of incredible. Look no further than singles “Some Nights” and “Carry On” for proof, which prove to be equally anthemic as they are ef-fective. In a year as bleak as 2012, Lord knows we could all use a little Fun in our lives.

1. The Chariot – One Wing – Good Fight En-tertainment

And now on to the main event. In a year with so many fantastic heavier releases, The Chariot , hailing from Douglasville, Ga. really stepped up to the plate and delivered not only the group’s fin-est release to date, but also the best album to come out in 2012. Tracks such as “First” and “Love” re-ally stand out and show the group’s always im-proving versatility and creativity as artists, while closer “Cheek” is a manic, perfectly arranged demonstration of the band’s ingenuity in creating some of the best hardcore in today’s always evolv-ing alternative scene.

Christmas production spotlights department

Countdown: The best five albums released in 2012

By Landon DefeverVanguard Staff Writer

Vanguard photo | Taylor LaPlaceFrom left, theater students Tillie Dorgan, Randy Robinson and Lexee Longwell perform part of the theater department’s holiday 1940s radio program, “Christmas by the Fireside.”

Vanguard photo | Taylor LaPlaceFrom left, Karli Jenkins and Blake Mazur perform a scene from last week’s performances.

My one reason?

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In addition to meeting the donation criteria, you must provide a valid photo I.D., proof of your current address and your Social Security or immigration card to donate. Must be 18 years of age or older to donate.

As a new donor, you can earn up to $100 this week.

Talecris Plasma Resources, 3740 Dixie Highway, Saginaw, (989) 746-9447

Landon Defever is a marketing sophomore and Vanguard staff writer. Reach him at [email protected].

Courtesy | rockmusicforever.com

Courtesy | thesoundalarm.com

Courtesy | aquarian.com

Courtesy | aquarian.com

Courtesy | idobe.com



a e&

A&E Editor Tyler Bradley officE (989) 964-4482 E-mAil [email protected]

November 21 marked the release of the eponymous 3D film adapta-tion of Yann Martel’s award-winning novel “The Life of Pi” to the general acclaim of film critics and audiences alike.

The tale is one I was already fa-miliar with, seeing as I had read the book prior. It was a couple of years ago, but still, I knew the gist.

And in being one of those privi-leged literary snobs who are able to compare the movie’s source material to the movie itself and conclude “Oh my god, the book was, like, so much better,” I was preparing to write this review in red ink, the kind with glit-

ter in it.Expecting to lambast the film

for writing in numerous departures from the original plot in an attempt to make a more lively story that centers around a young man’s attempts to survive aboard a lifeboat he’s forced to share with a Bengal tiger, I was disappointed in not being able to find any.

It came as a surprise then that the film was able to stick to the original story and succeed in not being tire-some visually.

How many times could the film cut to wide shot of a lifeboat holding only a tiger and young man rocking gently on the ocean before it grew te-dious?

Some of the credit for making such a potentially arduous trip so vi-sually captivating goes to the film’s director Ang Lee who also directed “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Brokeback Mountain.”

Scenes in which the ocean seems fused with the sky, a kaleidoscopic se-quence mixing marine life with galac-tic imagery, and the nearly seamless usage of a photorealistic CGI tiger are just some of the movie’s visual achievements.

Though I wasn’t fortunate enough to view the film in 3D, I suspect such a viewing experience would have likely incited a stronger response from me regarding some of the film’s themes.

“Life of Pi” is a frame narrative told by an adult Piscine Molitor Pa-tel (Pi for short), the goal of which is twofold.

The first is to offer material for a struggling Canadian novelist whose

latest project didn’t didn’t pan out to take on as his own and interpret ar-tistically.

The second is to inspire this nov-elist through the telling to believe in God.

As a boy, Pi is introduced to Hin-duism and through a series of fortu-itous events fueled by his own curi-osity also comes to adopt Christianity and Islam.

Pi’s adolescence stands as a living example of religious pluralism that is first challenged at the family dinner table when his father addresses him, saying, “If you believe in everything, then you believe in nothing.”

In spite of the existing contra-dictions in doctrine between the reli-gions Pi follows, the purpose of Pi’s subsequent survival story is not to make sense of these differences.

It seems the intent of Pi’s allego-ry is to indicate that the existence of God, some kind of Absolute Truth, ul-timate reality, or something like them lies at the heart of all religion.

What exactly it is becomes rather convoluted as soon as the specifics of established religions are involved, which may be what make Pi’s isola-tion so apt in conveying this sup-posed truth: He is stripped down to pure belief in something, and he calls that something God.

Regardless of whether or not you’re interested in a cinematic proof of God, “The Life of Pi” is a compel-ling and visually stunning story wor-thy of moviegoers’ attention.

artbriefs

Concert Choir Performance• At 7:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 3, in the

Rhea Miller Recital Hall, the depart-

ment of music will present the concert

choir performance. Free.

Cardinal Sins Release Party• At 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 5, in the

Zahnow Library Roberta Allen Read-

ing Room, Cardinal Sins will host its

publication event and release its fall

2012 issue.

CPSA Photo Exhibition• From 5 p.m. through 8 p.m., Thursday,

Dec. 6, at the Golden Gallery in Bay

City, the Cardinal Photography Student

Association will host its first annual

photography exhibit, featuring works

of CPSA members and student photog-

raphers. Free.

Relaxation Night• At 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 7, in the Student

Life Center, Rotunda, Thompson

Student Activities Room and Student

Center Lounges, organizations and

offices will host a relaxation night. Free

massages, yoga, zumba and more.

Courtesy | IMDb.com

Tim Windy is an English literature and creative writing senior and Vanguard reviewer. Reach him at [email protected].

Sword fights melded into pillow fights flowing flawlessly into a cho-ral rendition of “We Are Young,” by Fun last Friday night at Encore’s Fall-Apalooza concert.

Encore is a registered student organi-zation formed with influence from shows such as “American Idol” and “Glee.”

A colorful display of carefully cho-

reographed dance and practiced vocal harmony met an appreciative crowd of fellow students and family members.

“I thought Leonard Cohen’s ‘Halle-lujah’ was great,” graphic design senior Wes Smith said. “Kim Tollafield defi-nitely drove the song.”

Performer Cara Mazzoline played a star role in the show, lending her voice to several of the songs and executing two flawless vocal solos.

Encore member Nathan Degner said, “It was the best show we’ve put on so far.”

According to Encore President Marissa Geyer, a concert like this takes planning and organization, practice, dedication and a good attitude.

“We started planning in the sum-mer, making song lists, booking rooms and organizing auditions for the fall,” Geyer said.

To make the show a reality, Encore members held weekly practices, some-times falling on a student’s cherished day of rest, Saturday.

Members more experienced in

singing and dance volunteered this year to act as vocal and dance coaches for those less sure of themselves and were happy to do so.

Rene Gonzalez, a soloist and per-former, said that his favorite part of be-ing in Encore was helping new recruits find their place and their voice within the group.

“It’s really important to have a good attitude in this group – we’ve had some selfish people in the past,” Geyer explained. “It’s one of the main attri-butes we look for when looking for new recruits. In the past, some members were cut for being too focused on them-selves, but this is rare as Encore is a very inclusive and accepting group.”

Being college students pursuing de-grees, many members don’t plan to pur-sue a career in singing or dancing.

“We do it because it’s what we want to do to have fun,” Gonzalez explained. “You don’t have to be a pro to join.”

With several members leaving this semester, Encore will be opening up auditions in the winter. An official date hasn’t been set.

Potential members auditioning for a spot will have to learn and execute a small amount of choreography, sing a vocal solo, and show up with a group-oriented attitude.

Audition dates will be posted on the group’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/Encoreatsvsu, potty postings and on bulletin boards throughout campus.

Encore will be performing again from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 7, at a Christmas in Kochville event at Krossroads Park. Encore will carol throughout with the event ending in a fireworks display.

Although she still is an undergradu-ate, fine arts major Erin Case has already established herself as a prolific artist.

Case’s work can be seen in two is-sues of Cardinal Sins, and she will be published again in the fall 2012 issue set to come out Wednesday, Dec. 5.

Aside from her Cardinal Sins publi-cations, she has been published in mul-tiple online magazines. Most recently, Red Lightbulbs, a Chicago-based literary magazine, has published her and Andrew Tamlyn’s collaborative series “Haircut.”

One piece from the series won the Color Artwork Award.

When the most recent issue of Car-dinal Sins comes out, Case will have had more than 14 of her pieces pub-lished in the journal. These publica-tions include both individual and col-laborative projects.

She focuses on collage work, which she started by making fliers for events.

“I really enjoyed the feel of an exacto (knife) in my hand and the hunt for fitting

images,” she said. “It felt crafty, though, making fliers, and I thought how much I might like to take a stab at making some-thing expressive through collage. Once I did, I was kind of hooked.”

Of all her work to be published in Cardinal Sins, she is most proud of “Rub It In.”

“(It’s) not because it is my favorite collage, but because it was the first art I had ever submitted to any sort of publica-tion and the first collage I had ever really shared with people,” Case said. “To have won a best artwork award for it gave me a much-needed confidence boost and made me feel I could and should share what I was doing.”

Case is not shy about sharing her work these days. With the Cardinal Sins and online magazine publications under her belt, she is looking for new means to share her work.

“I’d like to set up some exhibi-tions relatively soon,” she said.

Rebecca Wilson, the director of Saa-tchi Gallery London, recently commis-sioned Case to do an exclusive piece for its holiday collection.

The resulting piece is now available

on the Saatchi website at www.saatchion-line.com/collaged.

Most of Case’s inspiration comes her experiences and her feelings to-ward them.

“The human condition, our ten-dencies, ability to make mistakes, to forgive, to love, to loathe, it all fasci-nates, uplifts, destroys and ultimate-ly inspires me,” Case said.

Case’s artistic goal is to successfully communicate her ideas and message through her work. She said this is prob-ably true for most artists.

Though ideally she would like to be able to support herself solely through her art, Case is seeking higher education to establish a more solid financial plan for the future.

“Aside from the learning experience in college, (I want) a practical backup ca-reer option,” Case said.

After getting her bachelor’s degree, she plans to join the express teacher certi-fication program and work as an art edu-cator for youth.

More of Case’s work not shown in Cardinal Sins can be seen at erin-case.weebly.com.

Fall-Apalooza notes its best show

Collage artist cuts into art scene

LIFE OF PI

DIRECTOR: ANG LEESTARRING: SURAJ SHARMARELEASED: NOV. 21, 2012DURATION: 127 MINUTES

By Will WoodVanguard Staff Writer

By Alyssa TarrantVanguard Staff Writer

Courtesy | Erin Case and Andrew TamlynErin Case poses in a piece in the Pete’s Corner series published in the Fall 2012 issue of Cardinal Sins, to be released this Wednesday.

Pi pushes religious pluralism

ARTIST PROFILE

Vanguard photo| Amelia BrownMembers of Encore sing and dance to a lineup of songs in last week’s show. Songs included Fun’s “We are Young.” Encore will perform again at 6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 7 at Krossroads Park with carols and fireworks.

sports editor Chris Oliver office (989) 964-2629 e-mail [email protected]


sports


In your stomach sits a ball of nerves. You feel jittery, but you feel ready to go. The gun goes off and everything changes, but once you start, you know what you need to do.

The men’s track team is back and looking to break some re-cords. With the first meet clos-ing in, the men’s team is step-ping up to the starting line to begin its season on the right foot. That foot just happens to be on the indoor track.

“This season we are going to come back and rebound,” said

senior multi-event athlete Ty-ler Grob. “There’s not even a comparison to how much we have improved.

“A lot of us were injured last season and weren’t healthy at all.”

Grob runs the heptathlon, which includes seven track events, and the decathlon, which includes ten. The exer-cise science major is hoping to become National Champion at the NCAA Division II Nation-al Championships that will take place March 8 and 9.

“I took 12th at nationals my freshman year, and my sopho-more year, I red-shirted,” said junior sprinter James Walker.

“I’m looking to make it to the GLIAC meet and score.”

The criminal justice major runs the 4-by-400 meter relay as well as the open 400 dur-ing indoor season and the 400 meter hurdles during outdoor. Walker is also hoping that the sprinters can hold up their end and score more points in the meet.

“Tyler (Grob) and I weren’t healthy for our indoor season last year, which really hurt us. As long as everyone stays healthy, we should be fine.”

For the middle distance run-ners, the goal is to continue to be the main contributors of points like they did last sea-

son.“We’ve got a lot of talented

kids coming in this year,” said

sophomore Drew Meylan. “With them, we would have

to make an effort to do badly.”A sophomore, Meylan’s goal

is to have the mid-distance group make it to nationals. The exercise science major runs the 800 meter and the 1500 meter as well as a few 3K races, and hopes to podium at the GLIAC meet.

“The distance medley relay is going to go pretty far,” Tra-vis Toye said. “I think we can make it to nationals in that and the 800.”

Toye believes that the dis-tance medley relay can go as high as top three at the GLIAC meet and qualify for nationals. The sophomore runs the 800 meter as well as the 4-by-400,

and the distance medley relay as well as the 1600 meter, or the mile.

“Overall, we’re much bet-ter,” Toye said. “Last year, we had about three good guys on our team. Now we’ve got eight or nine guys who can push each other.”

You can come out and sup-port your track team as both the men and women take to our own track this Friday, Dec. 7, for the SVSU Holiday Classic. The next three indoor meets, when students return in January, are in the Ryder Center.

and lasted from the beginning of October until Saturday. To head coach Wassermann, fin-ishing up the season losing in the national title game is not a bad ending point.

“Right now, everyone is really focused in on the loss, but we made a lot of history out there this year. We went from being one of the bottom-dwellers in the conference to runner-up in the country, so I’d say that’s quite an accom-plishment for us.”

The team went from 5-11-3 to 9-6-3 in Wassermann’s first year in 2010. They fol-lowed that with the team’s first playoff berth in 2011 and the first trip to the NCAA Di-vision II Final Four this sea-son. Senior forward Zach My-ers was also named the first Cardinal All-American this season.

“Obviously we’re not happy with the outcome of this game, but looking at the season as a whole, we did some incredible things,” Was-sermann said. “eighteen wins is unbelievable at any level, and we shattered our old win record by six games.

“There’s just so much to be proud of, and it’s all be-cause of the guys we have here, from the freshmen class coming in to the seniors look-ing to graduate.”

To Wassermann, the post-season run and just making it to the title game is an impres-sive feat.

“We did something that almost 200 other teams didn’t get to, and I just could not be prouder of these guys.”

The scoring began early in the championship game, with Lynn University finding the back of the net two min-utes in and taking a quick 1-0 lead. Shortly before half-time, Yannick Braeuer scored the second goal of the game, putting Lynn ahead 2-0 going into the break.

Where Lynn dominated ball possession for most of the first half, the Cardinals came out strong in the second as momentum began to shift. Lynn still tacked on another goal in the middle of the half when Anthony Desperito slid

the ball into the net despite senior goalkeeper Jason Wise getting a hand on it.

“The ways Lynn man-aged to score was a bit unex-pected, I think,” Wassermann said. “They didn’t come in and score directly off the at-tack but off deflections or slid-ing a ball in past Jason.”

In the second half, junior forward Zach Walega man-aged to chip in the first goal for the Cardinals in the 77th minute. Five minutes later, junior midfielder Lachlan Savage scored, bringing the score to 3-2.

The final 10 minutes was filled with scoring opportuni-ties for SVSU, but it couldn’t find the net again.

SVSU was outshot 12-8 with all but one Cardinal shot coming in the second half. Lynn controlled the pace and tempo of the game for much of the first half, putting pres-sure on the SVSU defense ear-ly and often.

“I’m happy with the way our guys played on defense,” Wassermann said. “We gave up three goals, but Lynn came out aggressive and our guys made some great plays early

and then later came up and helped on offense when we needed them.”

Going forward, Wasser-mann said the work his play-ers have done goes beyond the score and production on the field.

“I can’t understate the importance of what we’ve done,” he said. “I’m just proud of these guys and the effort they’ve put in this sea-son.

“We’re building a pro-gram that goes beyond this season, and it’s because of the work these guys have put in.”By the

numbers• The Cardinals finished at 18-3-4, a school record for men’s soccer.

• Before the loss to Lynn University in the championship game, the men’s team had ripped off 14-straight games without a loss. The streak lasted from October until December and included three overtime playoff victories.

MEN’S SOCCER

Racing toward the Holiday Classic with experience and talent

Men’s Basketball• Saturday, Dec. 8, vs. Ashland

University, 1 p.m., University Center• Saturday, Dec. 15, @ Malone

University, 1 p.m., Canton, OH• Monday, Dec. 17, @ Walsh University, 5

p.m., North Canton, OH

Women’s Basketball• Saturday, Dec. 8, vs. Ashland, 3 p.m.,

University Center• Saturday, Dec. 15, @ Malone

University, 3 p.m., Canton, OH• Monday, Dec. 17, @ Walsh University, 7

p.m., North Canton, OH

Men’s Track• Friday, Dec. 7, SVSU Holiday Classic,

University Center

Women’s Track• Friday, Dec. 7, SVSU Holiday Classic,

University Center

sportsbriefs

MEN’S TRACK

By Hannah MeyerVanguard Staff Writer

Vanguard Photo | Tyler Bradley

Sunday afternoon students gathered outside the Ryder Center to welcome home the men’s soccer team after their playoff run. In the postseason, the Cardinals traveled to both Tahlequah, Okla. and Evans, Ga. to take on teams from around the country in regionals and the Final Four.

Vanguard Photo | Tyler Bradley

In the Cardinals’ historic season, they won three overtime games, one decided by penalty kick, and continued an unbeaten streak that began in October and ended on Saturday in the 3-2 championship loss to Lynn University.

“As long as everyone stays healthy, we should be fine.

James WalkerJunior men’s Track runner

SOCCERcontinued from A1

sports editor Chris Oliver office (989) 964-2629 e-mail [email protected]


sports


Toughest test yet looms ahead Learning to win tight games in tough loss at Tiffin University

Cardinal Stats by Game vs. Ohio Dominican vs. Tiffin

Field Goal % 35.1 36.1

3pt Field Goal % 29.4 34.5

Free Throw % 70 64.3

Rebounds 43 33

Assists 16 16

Bench Points 21 17

The SVSU men’s hockey club swept Detroit Mercy in two games this weekend, winning 8-3 at home on Saturday and 4-1 on the road on Friday night.

The sweep puts the Cardinals in a solid position going into the last weekend before conference rankings will be released over Christmas break. According to team president Scott Walter, the performance is a sign of things to come for his club.

“We knew coming into this year things would be tough with so many rookies playing,” Walter said. “We had a lot of guys with very little experience, and scoring goals would be tough.”

The Cardinals currently have a record of 9-9 with one more pair of games next weekend against University of Michigan-Flint. Walter credited the numerous players who have improved and stepped up during the season.

“This year we’ve been working harder than ever before,” Wal-ter said. “And as the season has gone on, the rookies who were inexperienced coming in have re-ally grown up with 18 games un-der their belts.

“Our rookies aren’t really rook-ies anymore.”

Coming into the weekend, Wal-ter said his team was confident having strung a series of wins in the last few weeks, including a 12-3 blowout of Kettering Uni-versity in mid-November. The Cardinals also competed in Great Lakes Collegiate College Tourna-ment, where they lost to Univer-

sity of Michigan-Dearborn 8-6, and Toledo 3-1 before beating Wayne State 5-3.

Detroit Mercy has struggled this season, but according to Wal-ter, had some confidence taking on the Cardinals.

“They were starting to get some things going,” Walter said. “They had won three games straight and were coming in off a couple big wins (before) we stopped them Friday and beat them up pretty good on Saturday.”

In Friday’s game, senior goalie Joey Kirkland stepped up and played a big role in the win, ac-cording to Walter.

“Joey (Kirkland) really played

great Friday night down in De-troit,” Walter said. “He made some huge saves for us and kept us in the game when it was still close.”

Walter said he’s expecting progress as the team goes for-ward, but the path won’t be easy.

“I think overall we’ve im-proved in every aspect of the game,” Walter said. “The work we’ve put in has really paid off after starting out with a one and three record.”

Going into the weekend against University of Michigan-Flint, Walter said it will be one of the biggest pair of games of the season.

“They’re ranked third in the north division of our conference,” Walter said. “We’re hoping to keep things rolling, and beating them would be great for us.

“Going into Christmas with a record of 11-9 with two big wins against a good team is the goal.”

The Cardinals are back in ac-tion Friday, Dec. 7 at University of Michigan-Flint at 9 p.m. Sat-urday, Dec. 8, SVSU will host University of Michigan-Flint at 8 p.m. in the Saginaw Bay Ice Arena.

The Lady Cardinals lost a close game Saturday at Tiffin University, 62-67. With the loss, the team’s record falls to 2-3 with a 1-1 mark in conference.

Leading the team in scoring with 19 points was freshman forward Emily Wendling. Junior guard Kristen Greene added 13 points and six rebounds. Coming off the bench was Aysha Boston who scored 12 and was two for three from the three-point line.

Sophomore forward Samantha Zirzow led the team with seven rebounds and added 11 points.

Coach Jamie Pewinski credited the two for their efforts.

“Emily and Sam were really good for us today and I liked the energy that Aysha played with to-day,” she said. “Alex (Greene) continues to give us good minutes defensively.”

Pewinski said that the team’s loss was not due to a lack of effort, but inconsistency.

“We played a good game today and really had excellent effort from everyone who got on the floor,” she said. “We just didn’t execute well enough in stretches on both ends to be able to pull out a vic-tory.”

The inconsistencies are a result of a team that features five freshmen. Freshmen combined for 93 total minutes in the game.

Close games such as Saturday’s will help young players gain experience, according to Pewinski.

“Our entire team is learning how to play in close games and we need to be in close games in order to know how to win them,” she said. “The biggest thing we need to learn is that a close game usually doesn’t have to be close if you take care of business in the first half or throughout the 40 minutes.

“This will come as we continue to get more comfortable on the floor and get a consistent play-ing rotation.”

Pewinski said the key to growing from a loss like this comes from being able to move on and im-prove as a team.

“Our youth will be a strength after a loss like this, because we are resilient and have short term memories,” she said. “We know we can’t dwell on this and that we have to continue to get better every day.”

Thursday, the team defeated Old Dominion in Columbus, Ohio. Wendling led the team with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Greene added 16 points, four rebounds and three steals.

The Lady Cardinals will be back in action Satur-day, Dec. 8 when they will host Ashland University.

Pewinski said that playing against the top team in the country will be a challenge, but it will help show how good the team is.

“Ashland will challenge us in every way possi-ble. They are No. 1 in the country for a reason,” she said. “We are looking forward to competing against a team like that and seeing how we stack up against them.

“It will be important to compete and play solid for an entire 50 minutes and to have our best re-bounding game of the year.”

By Chris OliverVanguard Sports Editor

By Joey OliverVanguard Staff Writer

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Saturday evening, the men’s basketball team fell 84-63 against Tiffin University. The game was the second conference game of the season for the men, who opened GLIAC play last week with a two-game road trip.

Leading the team in scoring both Saturday and Thursday was senior guard Chris Webb, who put up 20 points in a losing effort Saturday night. Senior forward Rob Clark contributed with 10 re-bounds on the day, and freshman guard Stone Beckwith came off the bench to add six points and nine rebounds.

According to head coach Ran-dy Baruth, Saturday’s score isn’t an indicator of the way his team competed on the floor.

“The margin of the score really doesn’t show the effort our guys

put forth out there on Saturday,” Baruth said. “It was eight-to-nine point game for most of the game until the end.”

The problem for the Cardinals came in transition and attempting to put more pressure on towards the end leading to turnovers, ac-cording to Baruth.

“We gave up 28 points in tran-sition,” he said. “Our half-court game was solid, but when we tried to speed things up it just kind of got out of control.

“Tiffin is a solid team and I knew from the first minute it was going to be a battle and a tough game.”

Last Thursday, the Cardinals opened up their GLIAC schedule on the road in Columbus, Ohio, defeating Ohio Dominican, 59-50, in what Baruth described as an ugly game.

“It wasn’t a pretty win for us, that’s for sure,” he said. “Any time you plan Ohio Dominican it’s going to be tough because

they change up their defenses and rotate the way they play throughout the game.”

Baruth credits his team for bending but not breaking going down the stretch against Ohio Dominican, along with key con-tributions from players coming off the bench.

“We had guys like Matt Bur-gess come off the bench and make plays,” Baruth said. “He came off and gave us ten points and seven rebounds, which is just a great contribution.”

In a game that turned into a grind, Baruth said he was espe-cially happy with the way his team played on defense.

“It was impressive watching Chris (Webb) making big shots and making plays or a guy mak-ing a tough rebound,” Baruth said. “They made quite a few runs at us but our guys never gave up the lead.”

In the GLIAC opener, Webb scored 19 points and snatched up

eight rebounds. According to Ba-ruth, the senior guard does much more than score points.

“Chris does so many things for us on and off the court,” Baruth said. “He goes out there and is usually guarding the best player, he makes plays and he’s just a leader.”

Coming into the system, Ba-ruth said he was hopeful that his team would buy into the new system he wanted to put in place. Webb’s leadership has helped in the transition.

“From day one, Chris bought into what we wanted to do, and other guys followed suit,” Baruth said. “He’s just been playing his heart out since the beginning of the season.”

With Saturday’s loss, the Cardi-nals split their conference season opener. Their overall record sits at 3-2 with a GLIAC record of 1-1.

The Cardinals will be back in action Saturday, Dec. 8 when they host Ashland University at 1 p.m.

Road split to open conference playBy Chris OliverVanguard Sports Editor

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Vanguard Photo | Alyssa Ellis

Senior goalie Joey Kirkland positions himself to make a save against Detroit Mercy. In Friday’s game, he allowed only one goal. Kirkland has been a key senior leader for the 2012 team.

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The Valley Vanguard (Vol. 45 No. 13)

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