LIFE CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan University
| Monday, March 12, 2012
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[cm-life.com] K e l lY/ s H o r t s s t a d i u m
No progress made on proposed hotel By Catey Traylor Senior Reporter
Progress on the proposed hotel to be built near Kelly/ Shorts Stadium has come to a halt. The proposed national franchise hotel was originally expected to be completed in time for the September football game against Michigan State University. In July, the project was delayed because of expenses. Barrie Wilkes, university controller and associate vice president of financial services and reporting, told Central Michigan Life the proposed property tax rate on the project was too high. Derek van der Merwe, deputy director of athletics, said there isn’t a proposed cost for the project at this time. “That’s the part of the process that we’re still in. There is no estimate at this time. We’re trying to manage costs, and we’re doing that by assessing what our needs are,” he said. “We’re trying to build and design something that will fulfill both campus and community needs. Until we can assess those needs, we can’t determine a cost.” Van der Merwe said the
photos BY ChUCK MILLer/staff photographer
Brighton junior Matt Peplinski, grand Rapids senior Spencer grubbs and Muskegon junior Eric Coombs practice their juggling skills Feb. 24. in the multipurpose room in Rose Center during their Juggling and Circus Arts Club meeting.
clowning around
Student starts Juggling and Circus Arts Club A group of students can be regularly found twirling, spinning and catching props to techno music — but they aren’t circus performers. Brighton junior Matthew Peplinski and members of his newly created registered student organization, the Juggling and Circus Arts Club, were just a group of friends looking to improve their skills. Peplinski said the purpose of the RSO is for people to get together and practice juggling and different forms of circus arts. He said he also wanted members to have a permanent location for practices as opposed to trying to find an open spot to practice at the Student Activity Center. “I wanted to make a community of people who were interested in the same thing. Creating the RSO gives them a place to go where they can do what they love,” Peplinski said. “It’s one thing to try to learn on your own, but it’s 10 times easier to learn when someone is teaching and helping you through the process.”
Brighton junior Matthew Peplinski stands balancing juggling clubs Feb. 24 in the Events Center’s multipurpose room. Peplinski has been juggling for three years and is a member of the Juggling and Circus Arts Club.
The club meets twice a week: at 7 p.m. Tuesdays, they meet in the main gym of Finch Fieldhouse and at 7 p.m. Fridays in the multipurpose room in the Events Center. Practices usually end around 9 or 9:15 p.m., but Peplinski said if members have things to do or take care of, they are free to leave whenever they need to. Peplinski bought and cre-
by watching YouTube tutorials. “We were just a bunch of dudes with props who played around in the gym,” said Okemos freshman Noah Benallack. “We became an official RSO last month. Now mulling around and practicing is kind of what we do.” The RSO first began to gain attention at the Feb. 6 RSO Spotlight, and shortly after,
By Catey Traylor Senior Reporter
The number of departments on campus endorsing the December vote of no confidence against University President George Ross and Provost Gary Shapiro continues to rise. Despite current Board of Trustees Chairman Sam Kottamasu’s statement expressing confidence in Ross and Shapiro at a Feb. 16 meeting, a total of 17 units on campus have endorsed the vote. The Human Environmental Studies department supported the vote and included a motion “calling upon the Board of Trustees to take action to address the concerns expressed and begin to rebuild the cooperative and collaborative academic environment that will enable CMU to move forward,” department chairperson Megan Goodwin wrote in an email. Goodwin did not provide specifics on the number of faculty members to endorse the motion. Additionally, Psychology Department Chairman
more people began to take notice once posters were created and placed around campus. Grand Rapids senior Spencer Grubbs joined the club after Peplinski taught him to juggle. He said he knew Peplinski, because they were both members of the Pipe Smokers Club. A CLUB | 2A
Students welcome the Quidditch Team as new RSO By Paulina Lee Staff Reporter
Quidditch is more than just a fun time riding brooms. There are more than 500 registered teams in the United States alone; there’s an official rule book, and it just so happens to be the only tackle co-ed sport currently being played at an intercollegiate level. For those unfamiliar with J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, quidditch can be somewhat hard to describe. Dylan Clauson is the Operations Coordinator for The Quidditch Team at Central Michigan University. The Mason senior de-
scribed the sport as “similar to soccer in terms of the field movement and goals, but also like football because there’s tackling. With a little bit of basketball, because when you get down toward the hoops, you set-up and make plays like basketball.” The first ever real-life “muggle” quidditch game was at Middlebury College on Oct. 9, 2005. Since then, the sport has taken off with the creation of the International Quidditch Association and an annual world cup tournament, where top collegiate teams like Harvard, Princeton and Michigan State University compete for the coveted title, evidently thrilling Harry Potter fans in
A STADIUM | 2A
17 departments endorse A-Senate’s no confidence vote
By sienna Monczunski | Staff Reporter
ated many of the props on his own, and members are free to use whatever tools are available. Some of the skills they practice are juggling with various objects and spinning objects by practicing poi, a technique that originated with the Maori people of New Zealand. Peplinski and many of the other members taught themselves the various skills
project, to be built by Lodgco Hospitality LLC and include about 150 rooms and indoor and outdoor pools, is still in the conceptual stages of both design and budget. “We’re exploring all options. We’re open to anything, but we’re trying to see what financial revenues there are. Facilities to university events have assessed how the hotel would operate and what we’d need to do to get this up and running,” he said. “At this point, I would call all of our planning conceptual. There is absolutely nothing set in stone.” Keith Voeks, assistant director of University Events, said he was invited to a meeting in April regarding the proposed hotel and discussed how concessions would work with the new layout. “I was at one meeting with the athletic staff and the design firm, and they were asking questions about how we would need the space to be set up for a bar and concession service. Nothing has come from it since,” Voeks said. “I got no indication of a timeline when I was there. Nothing was clearly laid out.”
the process. But players want to do more than bring Rowling’s fantasy sport to life. Some are even advocating for quidditch to be recognized by the National College Athletic Association. All players on the oval pitch must carry a broom between their legs, thus leaving players with only one hand free. Players, called “chasers,” try to shoot the quaffle (a slightly deflated volleyball) through one of three hoops positioned at the opposite end of the field. The hoops are defended by a keeper and a line of defense, Beaters, who throw “bludgers”
brOOKe MayLe/staff photographer
A RSO| 2A
Mason senior Dylan Clauson and Battle Creek junior David Wilber begin start the game of quidditch on the field outside Finch fieldhouse.
Hajime Otani said the endorsement of the vote of no confidence was supported unanimously by 27 faculty members during a Feb. 10 meeting. Chemistry faculty member Phil Squattrito wrote in an email that his department voted to support the no confidence resolution during a Feb. 6 department meeting. Seven faculty members voted in support of the no confidence vote, six were not in support and two abstained, he said. Jim McDonald, chairperson of the Academic Senate, said the communication and dramatic arts, counseling and special education, recreation/park and leisure and English departments have all followed suit within the last month. Heads of each department could not be reached. When the university librarians met on Feb. 24, unanimous approval was also given to endorse the vote of no confidence by all 11 members in attendance.
A VOTE | 2A
[INSIDE] w Isabella County officials to look into absorbing financial, administrative road commission tasks, 5a w WMHW Modern Rock 91.5 to rebrand, change station name in fall, 6a
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