LIFE CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Pair of friends open Salon 3 Twelve on Broomfield Road, 3A
Central Michigan University
| Friday, Nov. 18, 2011
Taylor Bradley stays positive, moves toward attaining dreams, 1B
[cm-life.com]
Redesign of CMU’s website to cost $550,000 By Annie Harrison Senior Reporter
Central Michigan University’s website redesign will revolutionize access to content, said Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Roger Rehm. Rehm said one of the main goals of the project is to establish a web structure where things are easily found. He said
people in the specific CMU community will be directed to a website different from the general public where they will sign in and have access to all of the goods and services in one place. “It’s like iCentral on steroids,” he said. Rehm said CMU decided to partner with Blue Chip Consulting Group in Ohio, for the website redesign primarily because there was more
work to be done than could be achieved through campus resources. He said Blue Chip was selected through a competitive request. The cost of the website redesign is $550,000 to be paid over six installments plus travel expenses, according to a document Central Michigan Life obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The web task force said these are onetime funds.
Mary Jane Flanagan, executive assistant to the president, said University President George Ross and Provost Gary Shapiro made the decision to redesign the website, and Shapiro appointed the web task force. She said CMU is where it should be in the middle of the development phase. The website was supposed to be up in August, but Rehm said in an email by mid-summer the number of web pages
to be migrated grew to more than 50,000. “The complexity of those pages, as well as the sheer number of them, resulted in the delay,” he said. The way the web structure is set up now, people have to know where information is already before they can find it, Rehm said. For example, information about program events
[INSIDE] w Children use art to express themselves in Art Reach class , 4A w Central Review reading today in Park Library’s Baber Room, 5A w Professors share writing Thursday, 5A
A CMICH | 2A
LCME discusses CMED with faculty members By Mike Nichols Senior Reporter
Faculty had a chance to express concerns about the College of Medicine during a meeting with the Liaison Committee on Medical Education survey team. Four faculty representatives met with the three LCME members of the accreditation team Tuesday afternoon in Rowe Hall. The faculty gave written concerns regarding CMED to the LCME members. Academic Senate Chairman and Teacher Education and Professional Development Professor Jim McDonald was responsible for arranging the meeting. He was one of the faculty members who met with LCME and was responsible for choosing the three others who attended: Political
PHOTOS BY MIKE MULHOLLAND/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
During Geography Professor Mark Francek’s fireside chat about biking across America, Francek, right, compares the wrinkles on his hand to Negaunee freshman, Emma Collins’ hand in Larzelere Hall on Thursday evening.
shifting gears By Ben Harris | Senior Reporter Mark Francek gives triathletes something to be jealous of. The Central Michigan University professor of geography led a biking trip around Beaver Island with honors students this summer, but that pales in comparison to his previous accomplishments. Francek has traveled across the country by bicycle twice. The first time, in 1978, was from Rochester, NY to San Francisco and the second, in 1982, was from Charleston, SC to Vancouver, British Columbia. His two trips totaled about 5,700 miles. “I would never recommend racing across the country,” he said. “You want to take in the culture and the natural beauty.” While riding, Francek said he is able to connect with nature on a level that is almost spiritual. “When you’re going 80 miles an hour in a car, you miss the flower on the side of the road. When you’re hiking you can cover 20 miles a day max, and oftentimes when you’re enclosed by a wall of trees, you don’t see as much or meet as many people,” he said. “With biking you can stop and see that flower. You can cover a fair amount of ground with biking and see a lot of people and interact with the landscape.” Francek said his group took tents but never had an opportunity to use them. “We sent them home after a while,” he said. The group came to count
on the generosity of strangers. Francek said his party stayed in garages, firehouses and jails. Often the first people they approached would take them in. Sometimes their hosts would let them shower, feed them and even give them money for the road. “We encountered people that often didn’t have a lot that gave not out of their surplus, but out of their everyday budget,” he said. At 7 p.m. Thursday night, Francek gave a presentation in “The Tomb,” a study room in the basement of Larzelere Hall, attended by about 40 people. The presentation was the first installment in
Grand Rapids freshman Trevor Dieffenbach, left, and Plainfield, Ill. freshman Jason Clements, right, listen to Geography Professor Mark Francek talk about biking across America during a fireside chat in Larzelere Hall on Thursday evening.
the revival of the “Fireside Chat” series, an Honors Program tradition in the `70s and `80s. “He was great,” said Freeland senior Kyle Terwillegar, who does public relations for the Honors Program. “We had a great turnout. When I walked in I was pleasantly surprised to see the room full. He had a lot of lessons to pass on that we can use not only as honors students, but as people moving forward with our lives.” Eaton Rapids freshman Krista Kerby said although she would not consider biking across the country, she found Francek’s presentation interesting.
“He opened my eyes and made me realize I need to go out and do things before I settle in,” she said. Francek and his group hoped to discover America in a unique way. He said they gained a rich taste of the diverse regions and inhabitants ranging from the bluegrass of the Appalachians to the agriculture of the high plains. “You can’t imagine how much you would appreciate a roof over your head or being able to sleep in a bed, because we usually just slept on the ground if we were indoors,” he said. “To have hot A BIKING | 2A
A LCME | 2A
Candlelight vigil raises homelessness, hunger awareness By Jalisa Cannon Staff Reporter
Professor shares stories of cross-country bike treks
Science Professor James Hill and Physician Assistant faculty members Ahmad Hakemi and John Lopes. “I thought it went fairly well,” Lopes said. “I think it was a very cordial meeting.” The LCME was on campus Sunday through Thursday of this week, deciding whether CMED can move further toward academic accreditation. Hill said each faculty member was chosen to help as an expert in a different area. Lopes and Hakemi both understand the medical world, he said. “We each took a role in the issues,” Hill said. “I’m an attorney so I understand legal issues. I’ve worn many hats at this university so I understand the institutional side to it.”
Judy Black knows the challenges of being homeless from a time when the inside of a van was her bed. “I lived in my minivan and everything I owned was either in it or in a shed,” she said. Black, a disabled senior citizen and volunteer at the Community Compassion Network of Mount Pleasant, told students about her eight-month homeless journey during a candlelight vigil Wednesday night. The vigil was part of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The vigil, organized by the Volunteer Center, was held outside Charles V. Park Library and featured several guest speakers who shared
their experiences. “I usually slept in wellpopulated areas such as the hospital parking lot,” Black said. She said changing clothes in a gas station restroom and scrounging for resources average people simply buy was hard, but being homeless taught her a lot. One of the main topics of the night was how homelessness affects people of all walks of life, including students. Mid Michigan Community College student Alyssa Basney spoke about how family issues forced her to move from house to house and even into a tent in a friend’s backyard. She said she learned how to live using survival skills.
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PERRY FISH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Oxford senior Stephanie Schmidt attempts to keep her candle lit while listening to people talk about their personal experiences with homelessness during a candlelight vigil for hunger and homelessness week, Wednesday evening across from the Charles V. Park Library.
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