soccer | hosts two mac opponents this weekend, 4B woldt i.t. | ‘Shaun 2.0’ fixes computers, shares experiences, 4A
Friday, Oct. 9, 2009
| football CMU looks to avoid third consecutive loss to Eastern, 1B
Central Michigan Life
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
[cm-life.com]
float, sink, swim
Homecoming attendance down from the ’80s Game impact, economy reason for fan fluctuation By Jake May Senior Reporter
Once the reason thousands of alumni come back to Central Michigan University, the Homecoming football game now plays second fiddle to rivalry games. University officials said the reason is not simple and cannot be pared down to one item. Instead, they say fewer students and alumni attend homecoming games because they want a game with more impact and a larger atmosphere, said Athletics Director Dave Heeke. “The additional 10,000 to 12,000 we normally get to the Homecoming games are alumni,” Heeke said. “That’s been true through the years, and it was a signature event. They would come for the atmosphere, for the school. A HOMECOMING | 5A
Weekend Schedule TODAY w 6 a.m.: Alumni takeover begins at Modern Rock 91.5 w 8 p.m.: Chippewa Rock Rally in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium
SATURDAY w 8 a.m.: 5K run and Miles for Medals run/walk starting at Finch Fieldhouse w 8 a.m.: Alumni continental breakfast outside Powers Hall w 8:30 a.m.: Lot 63 opens for tailgating for students with external sound systems w 9 a.m.: Homecoming parade begins in Lot 22 to downtown Mount Pleasant w 9 a.m.: Alumni Village near Rose Ponds w 10 a.m.: Cardboard boat race at Rose Ponds w Noon: Football kickoff against Eastern Michigan at Kelly/Shorts Stadium w 8 p.m.: African American Social in UC’s Maroon, Gold and Chippewa rooms.
Longer liquor hours could raise state funds paige calamari/staff photographer
Lake Orion freshman Adam Bryce prepares his team’s cardboard boat, The Rum Runner, Tuesday evening in the Engineering and Technology Building.
Students build cardboard boats for Saturday’s race south Rose Pond and paddle down around the statue, all while competing against several other teams in the water and for the best time overall. “There are usually 100 kids plus, (and) trials of five or six teams at a time,” said Livonia senior Steve Roell, four-year member of the CMU chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
By Connor Sheridan Staff Reporter
Many students are prepping for the football game this Homecoming weekend against Eastern Michigan University. Others are encasing themselves in cardboard. The 12th Annual Cardboard Boat Race, sponsored by Central Michigan University’s Engineering and Technology Department, will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Rose Ponds next to the Student Activity Center. These corrugated corsairs will not be racing for doubloons but, for some, to get full credit in their EGR 120: Introduction to Engineering course. Participants must sit three to four in a boat, paddle along the north Rose Pond, carry the boat over the land bridge, then drop it in the
[inside] NEWS w Facebook group pledging to return to tailgate, 3A w Medical school names philanthropy chair, 4A
sports w Women’s volleyball to play Northern Illinois, Western, 5B
CM-LIFE.com w Check for another update on the Medallion hunt.
weather w Showers High 49/ Low 32
For the giggles While the competition is required for EGR 120 students, many of the members of ASME are competing for the thrill of it. “We’re entering two boats, mainly against the other student groups. It’s just another fun project for us to do,” said Battle Creek senior and president of ASME Jeremy Worthington. A race | 2A
Some downtown bars don’t see necessity By Randi Shaffer Staff Reporter
Bar patrons in the Mount Pleasant area and all over Michigan might be able to hold off on that last call for two more hours. A bill moved to the state House would allow any establishment with a liquor license to extend the current last call to 4 a.m. for a $1,500 fee. For another $1,500, establishments could begin serving alcohol at 7 a.m. Sundays. President of the Michigan Food and Beverage Association Edward Deeb said there have not been any votes taken on the bill by the House or the Senate, though action is expected to take place soon. “It’s coming up for discussion sometime later this week,” he said. “As to whether or not it’s passed sometime currently or sometime
the following week — we’re not sure.” Under Michigan law, licensed establishments are only allowed to sell liquor between 7 a.m. and 2 a.m. every day but Sunday. On Sunday, the current liquor law allows bars and restaurants to sell alcohol between the hours of noon and 2 a.m. Monday. Deeb said the goal of the new licenses is to make money for the state treasury. “This is part of the movement by (Gov. Jennifer Granholm) to attract more funding to help deal with the deficit budgets,” he said.
Local bars: No thanks Deeb said it was hard to say how many Michigan bars and liquor retailers would take advantage of the new licenses. But he expected those located in busy metro areas to purchase the new permits. Don Bissell, co-owner of the Blackstone Bar at 212 W. Michigan St., said while he believed the new
A liquor hours | 2A
RHD has seen decades of change Students look up to Van Loon as a mother figure By Lonnie Allen Staff Reporter
Linda Van Loon can remember waking up in the morning with a cup of coffee in hand and looking out her apartment window at a different Broomfield Road. “Broomfield was a twolane road then and to the south of it was a cornfield,” said Van Loon, the Beddow
residence hall director. “I remember watching deer and pheasant run between the corn rows.” That was Oct. 5, 1972, a much different Central Michigan University when Van Loon started. She has now been the RHD for Beddow Hall for 37 years. Today, the cornfield is the Student Activity Center, Kelly/Shorts Stadium and Rose Arena, Van Loon said. “This university was roughly less than twice the size it is today,” Van Loon said. “The ideal size of growth was projected to be 11,000 stu-
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dents.” A time of unity Today, with enrollment double it was then, Van Loon said she can remember a time of more personal interaction from students in her hall. Students have new technology everywhere, Van Loon said. Only a few students had a television in their rooms in 1972. When they wanted to watch TV, they would gather in the recreation area, she said. “It was a time to gather
nathan kostegian/staff photographer
A rhd | 2a
Linda Van Loon, right, takes notes during a council meeting Tuesday for Beddow Hall. Linda has served as the residence hall director for 37 years.
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