cM Life

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LIFE

3A - DEFEAT: Football team falters in second half, loses 27-13

Central Michigan University

| Monday, Sept. 12, 2011

CENTRAL MICHIGAN

6A - HUMAN POWER: Event promotes

cm-life.com

biking as an alternative to driving

Tuition remission focus of FA, CMU fact-finding Retirement issue addressed during second-day session By Annie Harrison Senior Reporter

Benefits were a big issue during Friday’s fact-finding session between Central Michigan University and the Faculty Association. Jacqueline Pridgeon, interim director of benefits and wellness, said CMU tuition remission is comparable to other Michigan universities on the employee side, and provides a better benefit on the dependent side. The current remission system allows faculty members and other full-time employees at CMU up to 24 free credit hours each academic year. These employees can use the credits for themselves, their spouse or their dependent children. CMU also allows tuition remission to be applied to another institution if the course or degree program is not offered at CMU, Pridgeon said. Comparable universities in Michigan vary on tuition

Photos by Perry Fish/staff photographer

Julia Butterman flips her hair Wednesday evening while sitting in her Mount Pleasant apartment. Julia, a YouTube character created by CMU student Peter Butterman, recently made her debut in the video “SORRY BOUT IT- Julia Butterman: Sorority Girl.” “We constantly act awkward in public,” Butterman said.

Odd Jobs

Students offset college costs through unique employment By Odille Parker | Staff Reporter

He receives revenue through the ads on the videos. For every click on an ad, a certain monetary amount set by the provider goes to the channel’s owner. While it is not much, it all adds up as a video’s popularity increases. By performing stunts such as “coning” (grabbing a drivethrough ice cream cone by the ice cream, and other related frozen dairy pranks) or running though a grocery store covered in peanut butter,

On

Video CMU-Kentucky game Highlights from Saturday’s Chippewas vs. Wildcats game online at cm-life.com.

[inside] Soccer Team beats Pittsburgh 2-0, defeating second consecutive Big East opponent 3A Poet’s Collective Group offers workshop for students, 6A

cm-life.com View week in photos under multimedia

• A breakdown of what other Michigan universities are paying in tuition remission compared to CMU • Continuing coverage of FA, CMU administration fact-finding session

remission. Pridgeon said Western Michigan University provides 75 percent of the support for spouses and independent children, while eight other universities provide 50 percent tuition remission. The FA proposes to increase the number of tuition remission credit hours from 24 to 30 to support faculty members who may have more than one student in college. Phil Squattrito, chemistry professor and FA bargaining team member,

A fa | 2a

Students create campus-wide zombie apocalypse game

W

hile many students depend on scholarships or summer jobs to pay for college, some Central Michigan University students find unconventional ways to cover the cost. One Rockford senior is turning his interest in entertainment into money by using YouTube. He has created the alias “Peter Butterman,” which is also the name of his YouTube channel, to make comical videos inspired by comedians like Ed Bassmaster. “I do stuff like this anyways, so might as well do it for some money,” Butterman said.

What we’re working on

By Odille Parker Staff Reporter

Disguised zombies are searching for more victims to increase their numbers around Central Michigan University’s campus. The growing apocalypse began at 1 p.m. on Thursday at the signal of creator Isaac Bannasch, and will conclude on Sept. 18. The Highland senior and his roommate created the event after playing a campus-wide “Mafia game” and discovered it was too complex. Bannasch said the zombie game has simpler rules so anyone interested could participate. A person must indicate they are playing by wearing a red cloth on the left arm and a blue cloth on the right arm. You become a zombie 28 hours after a converted zombie puts the designated clothes pin on you. Howell senior Alex Flanagan said he has been excited for the event since he first heard about it. He is positive the slow-starting event will pick up speed

Macomb Senior Andrea Delagarza smudges eyeshadow on CMU student Peter Butterman’s eyelids Wednesday evening at his Mount Pleasant apartment as he transforms into YouTube character Julia Butterman.

Butterman hopes he will become a YouTube hit and pay off students loans by the end of the academic year. “My biggest hit has been ‘Ugly Face Contest,’ but it’s a growing process,” Butterman said. “Everybody waits for that one big hit that just takes off, and I’m not going to stop (making videos).” Like Butterman, many students are concerned about being able to pay off loans in a reasonable amount of time.

Amy, a sophomore, who asked to remain anonymous, deposits the money she earns as an exotic dancer into a savings account she plans to use after graduation. While Amy knows her employment choices are often frowned upon, she said it is only temporary and provides just what she needs for school. “I know it’s unorthodox, but I’ve been a competitive dancer all my life and it’s just a way to be on stage,” Amy said.

“I don’t think about the audience, just about the goal.” Amy said the place is wellmanaged and her employer helps her determine exactly how much she needs to work to meet her budget. A more popular way of students making money is to donate plasma at BioLife, 4279 E. Blue Grass Road. Donors are able to go a maximum of twice a week, A Jobs | 6a

and said he cannot wait to see more red and blue bands. “The amount of people who are participating is great,” Flanagan said. “Now I’m just waiting to see the campus over-run by zombie students.” To participate, a person must be “attending” the Facebook event page, Campus Apocalypse. It is how participants communicate and where the game rules are posted. Flanagan is also excited to use Nerf guns around campus. The Nerf guns are the only defense against zombies, though the game forbids them from being used in classrooms. If a person shoots a zombie, the zombie cannot attack for 24 hours. Eastpointe sophomore Jacob Comfort has never participated in a game of this magnitude and hopes more people try it out. “I thoroughly enjoy playing the zombie maps on ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ and though many people may view Nerf

A Zombie | 5A

New Grawn renovations set for January completion date By Ben Harris and David Oltean Senior Reporters

Some students are upset about the closing of Grawn Hall’s computer lab but a state- of-the-art classroom is on schedule to be completed. The new area will include subsections of breakout rooms for smaller teamwork sessions and should be completed by the start of second semester. “There’s never enough state money to do exactly what you want, but we’ve received a very generous $500,000 gift from the Isabella Bank, which launched

the whole thing,” said College of Business Administration Dean Charles Crespy. Crespy said the new technology will bring a level of sophistication currently unavailable elsewhere in the college. “Right now, for example, say you’re in a negotiating class. It’s hard to negotiate in a classroom against a team that’s 15 feet away from you,” Crespy said, “and with the construction, we’re creating spaces more consistent with what we’re trying to do.” There are 10 breakout rooms planned for the new space and each will be named for individual donors.

“By doing that, we create reserve funds for keeping the technology updated,” Crespy said, “because it’s not enough to buy new technology and not update it; times change quicker than technology does.” Stan Pope, director of technology at the CBA, said the idea of computer labs was losing favor, and the new virtual lab technology being developed will be better. “One of the best things about the virtual desktop, from a technological standpoint, is with a virtual desktop I can have someone come to me with a piece of software and if it’s an emer-

Artist rendition of Grawn renovation.

gency, we can get it on the virtual machines in a day,” Pope said, “and with the regular desktops it could take a week or a weekend.” Pope said the new Grawn room will have some of the newest technology on campus. “The breakout rooms will have a big screen television with a computer hanging behind it so you can display

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things in a group setting,” Pope said. One of the breakout rooms will be able to be divided with a wall with a big screen for the students to hold teleconferences with one another, Pope said. “It will really mirror what happens in the real business world,” Pope said.

A Grawn | 6A


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