Nov. 19, 2020

STORIES FORGOTTEN OF THE

Photojournalists capture lives of flood victims struggling to recover

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NO V. 19, 20

,M 20 || ANT M O U N T P L E AS

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YEAR IN REVIEW

Revisiting the triumphs and challenges of 2020

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BACK ON THE COURT

Women’s basketball team prepares for 2020-21 season

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE

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CM-LIFE.COM

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NOV. 19, 2020 |

STUDENTS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE MIDLAND-AREA FLOOD PROJECT:

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NEWS

6 NEWS

12 NEWS

13 Q&A

16 SPORTS

TO VIEW THE WHOLE STORY VISIT: cmugivesadamjrn422.wixsite.com/floodproject

Courtesy Photo | Alexandra Norton Five months after the Edenville Dam broke, vegetation has started to grow back on the now empty Wixom Lake.

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NOV. 19, 2020

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TAKING FLIGHT Aviation students welcome a new virtual reality flight simulator...

TIM BOUDREAU Journalism department chair fired for “crearing a hostile learning enviornment.”

CARE REPORTS Care Report submissions increased by 12 percent this year — increased by 120 percent in the last two years.

PRESIDENT BOB DAVIES Davies reflects on one of the most difficult year in CMU history, looks to the future.

CANCELED SEASON Athletes practice for spring season in lieu of competing this fall.

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE

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CM-LIFE.COM

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NOV. 19, 2020

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THE DAYS WE’RE ALMOST TO THE END OF THIS GRUELING SEMESTER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT ALONG THE WAY.

I remember attending my first few classes this semester in person. I listened as students and professors playfully placed bets on how long this semester would last.

Now, there’s less than one week left of this shortened semester. Everyone has shifted into low gear as we coast across the finish line.

We’ve met many challenges this semester – a global pandemic, resurfaced conversations about racial equity and a presidential election that has bitterly divided our country. These issues are still unresolved.

We’re all susceptible to the same overwhelming academic and societal pressures. Through our shared thoughts, we’ve formed a hive mind this semester. I’ve seen it as I mindlessly scroll through social media.

We’re frustrated and fatigued.

We’ve gone silent in online classes.

We’ve exhausted ourselves catching up on projects and assignments.

Nonetheless, we’ve done our job as a community. We’ve kept COVID-19 numbers low and been able to remain on campus.

That’s something that not every university can boast.

I’ll openly admit my struggle this semester.

I’ve had a difficult time staying motivated.

I’ve also had a time finding something to be

Isaac Ritchey Editor-in-Chief excited about.

This past weekend, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that the state would be heightening restrictions in response to the recent spike in cases across Michigan. For those of us that are actively wearing mask and keeping our distance, it is hard to understand that there’s those out there not taking this situation seriously.

It is becoming hard to remember the last time I didn’t have masks scattered across my apartment. For me.

Instead of returning home to be with my family when campus shutdown in March, I immediately went to work visually documenting the Mount Pleasant area. As a student journalist, I

understood that it was not an opportunity I’d ever have again.

The adrenaline of being in constant motion quickly wore off though. Once the spring semester ended, I had to come to terms with the cancellation of my summer internship.

During that time I couldn’t help but think about the trip to San Francisco I took just one week before the whole world shut down.

I also thought about the celebration Central Michigan Life had that brought alumni together to celebrate its 100th anniversary the end of February.

This semester has been tough for everyone, and that doesn’t exclude CM Life. This definitely isn’t how any of us pictured this first century of CM Life to end. We’ve had to

make hard decisions regarding our budget and how we operate.

As a staff, we rely heavily on socializing inside and outside of our office. That has not been possible this year. We’ve had to meet virtually and attempted to stay connected despite less than ideal circumstances.

I want our readers to know, on behalf of everyone at CM Life, that we appreciate you more than ever.

In a time where everyone is looking for motivation, you’ve inspired us to do our jobs.

We shared information and told stories with your readership in mind.

Whether or not students are able to return to Mount Pleasant in the spring, I promise you that Central Michigan Life will continue providing for the CMU and Mount Pleasant communities.

To the reporters, designers, photographers, advertising staff and leadership team at CM Life who contributed this semester, thank you.

I have felt your fatique, weariness and frustration. That makes me even more proud of the work we’ve committed to.

We were able to stay alive this semester. In the spring, I want us to innovate and look at our future like this university is attempting to do.

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE

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CM-LIFE.COM

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NOV. 19, 2020

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How the university tracks students who travel home to quarantine after receiving COVID-19 diagnosis

By Benjamin Jodway Staff Reporter news@cm-life.com

Each morning, Central Michigan University students awake to a text telling them to take a 30-second heath screening. If a student meets the criteria for COVID-19 concern, the student is told to isolate and quarantine.

When the university is notified that a student may have COVID-19, the student is encouraged to go to Wheeler Hall in the Towers Complex. However, if they want to leave Mount Pleasant and head home, they are directed toward the Central Michigan District Health Department.

At the health department, a student fills out a questionnaire about their case. They are also informed about the risks involved in returning home.

After giving the health department their address, a student can go home, said Sue Leeson, the personal health supervisor and communicable disease supervisor of Isabella County. The health department also asks who the student is staying with, whether they are able to quarantine and if it’s even OK to go home.

“Some parents don’t want their kids home if they’ve been exposed,” she said.

Leeson said she is unsure if students who went home have infected others in their hometown.

“I know we’ve had students that left who haven’t called us,” Leeson said. “It certainly helps us to track them if they get sick.

Then we know where they’ve been, where they’re at and who their contacts might be.”

University Communication Vice President and chief marketing officer John Veilleux said CMU is not aware of exactly how many students have quarantined at home this semester, only that they are off-campus.

When Tawas City senior Abriele Groff tested positive for COVID-19, she wanted to go home right away. She quickly figured out how to adjust her work schedule, informed her friends about her test results and let her parents know she was coming home. “(My parents) told me to come home right away,” Groff said.

“They said they would take care of me and whatever I needed.”

Groff heard mixed experiences from other students about quarantining in Wheeler Hall. As a result, she didn’t think that CMU would provide the kind of care she wanted.

“If I wanted hot soup, my mom would for sure give me that,” Groff said.

For faculty, staff or students who are tested within the CMDHD’s jurisdiction, CMU doesn’t usually get results right away. The university’s PCR testing takes 3-6 days to provide results, Veilleux said. Tests taken off campus can take as long or longer to offer results.

The delay in reporting can be even longer if people are tested outside of CMDHD’s population. That kind of case would be reported to the local health district in the person’s home county first, Veilleux said. CMDHD routinely sends inquiries to other health departments regarding cases that may have originated with a student at CMU, which eventually filters its way back to the university.

“If an individual is tested outside CMDHD’s jurisdiction, and they don’t report that case to us, this leads to the longest delay in reporting an official number,” Veilleux said. “What we

generally see in these cases is that a student went home because they didn’t feel well. The student gets tested in a different jurisdiction, gets their result and isolates at home.”

Veilleux said those students will usually self-report their positive case with CMU because they are missing class. The university is then able to work through CMDHD to track that outside case.

The quickest way to receive a COVID-19 case notice is if a student directly calls the university to inform them.

However, CMU does not wait for the CMDHD to report a positive case before it takes action to isolate and quarantine a positive or possible case.

The case is found through an identifier that the health department places.

Health department analysts look through cases and see if they’re tagged with CMU through contact tracing, then it’s sent to CMDHD.

Care Reports increased by 12 percent this semester

By Teresa Homsi Staff Reporter news@cm-life.com

Care Reports and counseling appointments have been steadily increasing over the past few years. The COVID-19 pandemic has “tipped the scales.”

In comparison to last fall, Care Report submissions have increased by 12 percent. Within the last two years, Care Reports have increased by 120 percent. “(COVID-19 is an) overhanging cloud that impacts everything from shopping, to (going to class) and the ability or inability to spend time with family,” said Care Team Coordinator Andrea Lobert. “People, who were previously successful at navigating and managing, (are struggling) because their coping skills are not enough anymore in this extended time of prolonged stress.”

Lobert said she’s seen more academic-related reports this semester, which are usually the first indicator of a larger issue students are facing.

Before the pandemic, Lobert would typically split the cases between herself and her assistant coordinator. Now, the influx of Care Reports has meant Residence Life Care Advocates are having to assist.

Moving forward, Lobert said the Care Team is looking to

“design” a more long-term, sustainable model for staff and students.

Melissa Hutchinson, Executive Director of Counseling Services, said it’s hard to gauge an increase in counseling appointments this semester due to funding reductions.

Because of their smaller staff, the Counseling Center has offered fewer available appointments than in the previous year, but the bookings have been “very full.”

Hutchinson said increasing appointments aren’t a new trend, but the pandemic — in addition to social injustices and the 2020 election — are amplifying student stressors.

So far into the semester, over 800 students have scheduled a counseling appointment. Hutchinson said the Counseling Center has managed to avoid a waitlist by changing its schedule to accommodate more students.

Accounting for the election, the Counseling Center recently introduced “Let’s Talk” appointments, which are only half an hour versus the typical hour-length session.

This minor adjustment has allowed more students to book appointments.

“We know that for students in college waiting is not an option,” Hutchinson said. “Homework continues to pile up, bills continue to come in and assignments continue to be due. We don’t want students to wait, get behind

and get into a position where (they’re) negatively impacted.”

COVID-19 has presented an undeniable amount of challenges at virtually every level.

According to Hutchinson, a big component of the stress is the uncertainty around when COVID-19 will end.

“This is a difficult time, but I believe we’ll get through it, and we’ll get through it together,” she said. “We’re just going to keep continuing to do what we can to support students, help them get through this time and keep their education moving forward.”

To learn about mental health resources or schedule an appointment with the Counseling Center, visit their website. To submit a Care Report, visit the Care website.

Although most appointments are virtual, Care Advocates and counselors will meet in-person as per request.

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE

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CM-LIFE.COM

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NOV. 19, 2020

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FLIGHT Flight Simulator creates unique opportunity for students

By McKenna Golat Staff Reporter news@cm-life.com

You climb inside a red sphere and are surrounded by complete darkness. A screen in front of you lights up with the image of an airport runway.

It is up to you to take off and pilot your way to a safe landing.

It took two semi trucks, custom built crates and many long weekends before the flight simulator lab at Central Michigan University could take off.

The Michigan Aviation Center for Simulations allows Central Michigan University students to work in the lab with Alex Redei, a computer science faculty member, to recreate and learn from aviation disasters.

When he started at CMU in the Fall 2019 semester, Redei opened a lab in the Technology and Engineering Building where he and his students began to build the flight simulators to give pilots a feeling of in-flight motion and turbulence.

“We are using our passions to create real-world solutions to flight disasters. That motivates me to work harder,” Mid-

land senior John Apo said.

In addition to aviation simulation, Redei and his team also created a space aeronautics game entitled “Paragalatic” in collaboration with the Fleischmann Planetarium in Reno, Nevada. As a three time University of Nevada, Reno graduate, Redei has ties to the Fleischmann Planetarium on its campus. The planetarium acts as an anchor for the “Paragalatic” project.

“Specifically, they know the science standards at each grade level and suggested we build something with an educational component for middle schoolers,” Redei said.

The process for the game began in 2017 in Reno and came to CMU in 2019. The game officially launched in July this year, but is in ongoing development. Redei and his team are hoping to release a virtual reality version of the game by next year.

Redei and his team describe the game as an “edu-tainment” space flight simulator. The educational part of “Paragalatic” conveys the difficulty of in space flight and shows chemical elements found in asteroids. The game is designed for middle school students and it is designed to meet state science standards for that grade level.

The game experience starts upon entering the Fleis-

Midland senior John Apo, left, closes the flight simulator as Chesterfield senior Collin Van B University, Oct. 29, 2020.

chmann Planetarium when players are given their ‘Astronaut ID cards.’ The ID cards give players a game profile for “Paragalatic.” It also places players on a leaderboard for the game.

According to the game’s website, the ID badges are compliant with social distancing guidelines. The barcode readers are touchless and are able to read QR codes from a distance.

COVID-19 has affected how the flight lab operates. The flight simulators are two seaters, but because of social distancing rules, the team cannot perform any two person flight simulations. The team currently does one person flight simulations and use a headset to communicate with each other.

Redei said that while it allows the team to communicate with the pilot, it does not emulate the real experience.

Midland senior Rachel Crowley is a new addition to Redei’s team. Crowley was introduced to the flight simulator in Fall 2019 when Redei talked about it at an Association of Information Technology Professionals-Association for Computing Machinery (AITP-ACM) club meeting.

“I thought it would be cool to work in a flight simulator lab, but at the time I was unable to because of a heavy classload,” Crowley said.

This semester, Crowely was able to join the lab. Dr. Redei

is her independent use the lab as her in has been very welco with them more. Th getting to know the in meetings.

“I’m excited to di Crowley said.

Crowley will wor lactic.” This means website for “Paraga the game is finished for “Paragalactic” a Collin Van Braba rolled in Dr. Redei in Fall 2019. The C in the flight simula he likes working w about the lab.

“I’m really thank said. “It’s been a lot Van Brabant is a lactic.” Since joinin

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ive in and start working next semester,”

rk primarily on the back end of “Paragas she will be focused on revamping the alatic” and creating a mobile app. When d, the app will allow people to get in line and check into the leaderboard system. ant first heard about the lab while eni’s CPS 140 (Software Engineering) class Chesterfield senior’s experience working ator lab has been a great one. He said with Dr. Redei because he is passionate

kful for this opportunity,” Van Brabant t of fun working on this project.” a graphic and game designer for “Paragang the flight simulator lab, he has designed

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CM-LIFE.COM

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NOV. 19, 2020

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Outlook on employment A guide to post-graduation during COVID-19

McKenna Golat | Staff Photographer Brabant, right, waits to pilot a simulated flight in the Michigan Aviation Center for Simulations, Central Michigan

studies advisor and he suggested Crowley ndependent study. Crowley said the team oming and she looks forward to working his semester has mostly seen Crowley e team, visiting the lab and participating

CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE

the trailer, banner and ID badges for “Paragalatic.” The ID badges designed by Van Brabant are connected to the game’s website.

“I’ve always wanted to develop videogame. This lab has given me the chance to do that,” Van Brabant said.

This the first semester John Apo, Midland senior, is working in the flight simulator lab. Apo has been working with Dr. Redei on projects since he started working at CMU in 2019. He also took Dr. Redei’s CPS 410 class where he led a team of fellow students in a self defense virtual reality project called “KickAssVR.” Apo continued the project in Redei’s computer science capstone course.

“I must have shown some promise in my virtual reality development skills since he asked me to work on incorporating aspects of my KickAssVR project into his flight simulator,” Apo said.

Apo works on, and is the main tester for, the VR capabilities for the flight simulator lab. He said working in the lab has blended his regular computer science course work with incredible hands on experience.

Redei is looking for more students, of any major, to join his flight lab team. He said anyone who is interested in this kind of work should email him at redei1a@cmich.edu.

Despite hope for a final semester of normalcy, students of the graduating class of December 2020 will have to face the job market while dealing with the extra barrier of COVID-19 on businesses.

According to Central Michigan University’s graduation statistics, 2,171 students had to face the economic devastation of COVID-19 when they graduated in May of 2020. While the pandemic was a challenge for everyone at CMU, the Career Development Center has been able to provide adaptable opportunities for graduating students.

There is some good news in 2020 for grads: There are jobs out there.

Julia Sherlock, director of Career Services, said that the job market continues to stay robust for entry-level professionals. She has not seen empty markets in any career, just a shift in the platforms they have demand for.

“There is every opportunity if students engage and are active participants during this creative time,” Sherlock said. “Flexibility, engagement, creativity in terms of thinking about things you have never thought about before and doing research. I think you will still have a good chance of getting an internship or full-time employment.”

Sherlock recommends every CMU student – especially those graduating – log in and familiarize themselves with Handshake, an app to help students discover jobs and internships.

Students have Handshake accounts through CMU and will continue to have access to this resource, even after they graduate.

Employers are screened and connected directly with CMU students through their Handshake account. Along with that, students are able to share and apply for job postings and attend career fairs at CMU, along with other universities and businesses. Sherlock said Handshake is comparable to LinkedIn, but allows employers looking for CMU students to connect with them directly.

The Career Development Center can also help students discover their major, set up one-on-one career counseling and hold mock interviews to prepare them for the workforce.

Alumna Katie Sergent graduated in December 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast and Cinematic Arts, before the country had a full understanding of how quickly COVID-19 would spread. After graduating, she began applying for jobs once a week. By March, Sergent said she saw job postings go down from 100 a day to fewer than 30.

Through August, Sergent said she worked different jobs, one of them being a Guest

Relations Specialist for Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort. She was laid off from that job in July due to COVID-19.

A job opportunity at 9&10 News came across her Indeed account and decided to take a chance on it. Sergent knew the hiring manager after meeting at two different career fairs and was hired on the spot.

“That is something very vital for students at CMU these days: Have a relationship with the companies you are applying for,” Sergent said.

“You will have better chances if you already know the people to get a job there, and that is what happened to me.”

The need for networking is not a unique experience, and during COVID-19 when it is difficult to meet in person and go to career fairs, many students found it vital to reach out to alumni. Kendall Reid graduated from CMU in May of 2020 with a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Integrative Public Relations and Communication and found LinkedIn to be her best resource. She used the app to reach out to other CMU Alumni to ask them questions and expand her own personal network. She had started her job hunt in May and began working in June.

Alumna Sara Strohschein, who also graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Arts in IPR, said she had a difficult time finding employment, applying for over 100 jobs before being offered a position. The hardest part for her was getting into the interview phase, after receiving tons of rejection letters.

“Having a strong resume and cover letter will help, get people to look over them for you and see if it looks good,” Strohschein said.

“What my employer liked was that I had a website on my resume that had articles I had written and classes that I took, so having an online portfolio really helps.”

All of these alumni agreed the process of applying is daunting and takes patience and a lot of time. They were able to adapt to the new circumstances under COVID-19 by using resources like LinkedIn, Handshake, reaching out to other alumni and networking through their time at CMU. “It’s okay to be angry at the situation you are in after working so hard,” Reid said.

“Take the time to perfect your resume, meet with your advisors and figure out your passions. Connect with CMU (alumni) any way you can. Set up informational interviews with them and pick their brain. Ask them what worked best for them and what advice they have for you. Every alum I reached out to ending up helping me.”

YEAR IN 8 |

CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE

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CM-LIFE.COM

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NOV. 19, 2020

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REVIE REVIE C

entral Michigan University welcomed 2020 like it was any other year – and hoped that it would be an improvement on 2019.

Basketball was in full swing. We celebrated MLK Week and Black History Month with a variety of events. Students were ready to tackle Spring Break and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Then a global pandemic struck down college life as students knew it.

As the COVID-19 pandemic infected Michigan while CMU students were on Spring Break, it forced classes into a sudden, virtual disarray. Many seniors lost the rest of their last semester of college before they even had time to process the impact of COVID-19.

But students leaving CMU did not slow

down activity in Mount Pleasant. Following the killing of unarmed Black man George Floyd, the summer was dominated by protests and dialogues against systemic racism. Protests continued into the fall semester.

The fall semester proved to be a test: what would COVID-19 cases look like on a university campus while running in person classes? While many students and faculty had their doubts that face-to-face instruction would last more than a few weeks, the number of COVID-19 cases remained relatively low throughout the semester.

As 2020 comes to an end, here’s a look back at some of the year’s biggest stories Central Michigan Life covered on campus and across the country.

JANUARY

• The Student Government Association be first meeting on Jan. 13. The organization h to celebrate.

• Former SGA president Ian Elliott pleade criminal sexual conduct following an agreem General’s Office. He withdrew a previous no criminal sexual conduct charge and vacated serving Aug. 2, 2019, in St. Louis Correction • Grace Hunt, 22, the mother of a toddler Michigan University’s campus in September of involuntary manslaughter and second-de was 14 months old. Later on June 3, she ple involuntary manslaughter and her sentencin • Isabella County Circuit Chief Judge Eric sentencing Hunt for one year. For that year, must complete 120 hours of community serv will be allowed to withdraw her prior plea o slaughter and replace it with a plea to fourth

FEBRUARY

• Faculty member Steven Lapeer debuted Power,” at several animation festivals. Many versity in Indiana worked on the project and Angeles Animation Festival.

• Former Texas Tech quarterback Jett Du CMU as a graduate transfer under coach Jim sity was aware Duffey had been arrested in 2 in a 2017 Title IX sexual assault investigatio ter the university became aware of a second • Former Assistant Attorney General Bria after it was found that he forged police repo case related to Ian Elliott. His resignation la tion by Attorney General Dana Nessel into K

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Here are the most important stories we covered in 2020.

EW EW

egan its centennial year with its held a virtual event in November

ed no contest to fourth-degree ment with the Michigan Attorney o-contest plea to a third-degree d the 366-day sentence he began nal Facility. r who drowned on Central r 2019, was arraigned on charges egree child abuse. The toddler eaded no contest to one count of ng scheduled for July 10. c R. Janes on July 14 delayed , Hunt will be on probation and vice. If she follows this, Hunt of no contest to involuntary manh-degree child abuse.

d his animation project, “Fire y students at Huntington Unid it won first place at the Los

uffey was planning to attend m McElwain. Though the univer2018 and was found responsible on, he was denied admission afd 2019 sexual assault complaint. an Kolodziej was forced to resign orts in the CMU sexual assault aunched an internal investigaKolodziej’s unethical behavior.

File Photo The Central Michigan Women’s Basketball Team returns to the floor after a timeout during a game against Toledo in the first round of the MAC Tournament March 11 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH. It was announced Tuesday that the game would not allow general admission into the stadium.

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He was accused of submitting “erroneous police reports” to the Isabella County court and the Michigan Department of Corrections. Its conclusions were sent on Nov. 26 to defense attorney Joe Barberi, who represented the defendant in the sexual assault case. Barberi said he received copies of 21 interviews conducted as part of Nessel’s investigation.

• Ian Elliott was resentenced Feb. 7. He withdrew his plea agreement after the Attorney General’s office found that Kolodziej acted inappropriately. Elliott agreed to serve one year in Isabella County Jail on a reduced charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. He received credit for the 189 days he already served in prison after he previously pled no contest to third-degree CSC in July.

• After thousands of students signed a petition and organized protests to demand a meal swipe donation program, Central Michigan University responded by quickly implementing a plan that allows students to help fight food insecurity. As the spring 2020 semester began, so did the Meal Swipe Bank and the $1 Meals initiative, which allowed students to purchase leftover food from the Down Under Food Court for $1.

• Farmington Hills freshman Octayvious Sanchez-Lewis was charged with three counts of assault with intent to murder and two counts of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent after a fight at Wayside Central on Feb. 22.

Sanchez-Lewis told police that three or four people “just

started punching him and he had to defend himself.” The 19-year-old complained of jaw pain, although police did not observe any visible injuries on him, according to the affidavit.

Wayside later responded by starting to use metal detectors.

• Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity was temporarily suspended from CMU and investigated by the Office of Student Conduct.

The fraternity was accused of hazing and alcohol violations.

Damon Brown, then director of student activities and involvement, said the university is investigating potential violations of the CMU Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

• Central Michigan Life was named College Media Company of the Year for the seventh-straight year by the College Media and Business Advertising Managers at the Associated Collegiate Press/CMBAM College Journalism Convention Feb. 27-29. The award came along with a total of 10 firstplace awards, nine second-place awards, four third-place awards and two honorable mentions. In total, CM Life collected 29 awards at the national convention.

MARCH

• Former Mount Pleasant swim coach, David Alsager, 66, was arraigned on a charge of criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Alsager, appeared on March 3 in Isabella County Trial Court where he was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a 12-year-old girl. He is the husband of Mount Pleasant city commissioner Mary Alsager. The court

case is ongoing.

• CMU cancelled all 2020 Spring Break study abroad trips on March 4 due to the coronavirus. All programs in South Korea, Italy, Iran and China were suspended. As study abroad programs were suspended, 17 CMU students studying abroad in Italy and China were forced to evacuate with short notices.

• On March 5, Central Michigan football player Kyron McKinnie-Harper waived his preliminary exam for six criminal charges – four felonies and two misdemeanors – involving computer crimes. He was charged with using student accounts to purchase iPhones.

• Nicole Sparling Barco was appointed director of the Honors Program on March 6 by Provost Mary Schutten. Barco replaced Phame Camarena as Honors Program Director on July 1. Her appointment will last until June 30, 2023. Barco has started working with Camarena to create a smoother transition before she begins.

• The Mid-American Conference Tournament announced on March 10 that all games would be played without fans due to COVID-19.They announced the tournament was to be played as scheduled, but only credentialed institutional personnel, student-athlete family members, credentialed media, television and radio crews and official team party members were allowed into the arena.

• Michigan’s first two COVID-19 cases were confirmed during a March 11 press conference. CMU announced all

File Photo

A student speaks with a faculty member March 20 at the Engineering and Technologies building.

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April 1 which was at the forefront of advising global leaders on the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Following a digital campaign and a four-day voting period, on April 6 press secretary Kaitlyn Prebelich and membership director Brett Houle were elected president and vice president of CMU’s Student Government Association for the 2020-21 school year.

• CMU freshman, Jasmine Smith, reflected on loss of father due to coronavirus in a CM Life story. Smith said in a April 10 interview that the loss was particularly difficult because ‘He had a heart of gold’ and was her best friend.

• With classes moving to an online format, services like the Writing Center, the Math Assistance Center and the Presentation Skills Center had to move online as well.

• Morgan Painter, Shepherd resident, balanced being a mother with making masks. In a story CM Life published on April 19, Painter said her day started at 6:30 a.m. to get a head start on her five hours of mask-making before her two kids, Hudzyn, 7, and Creedynce, 5, woke up to start their new daily routines. Painter said she returned to the workshop between the family’s living room and dining room in the evening to round out her nine hours of mask making.

• Former CMU student Raven Tre-Von Edelen was killed April 20 in a shooting that took place around 6 p.m. at 700 Edgewood Dr. Mount Pleasant Police officers arrested a suspect who was lodged in the Isabella County Jail awaiting arraignment.

• In 2010, Central Michigan University students initiated a small food recovery project, creating the first campus compost pile. As CM Life reported on April 29, over the last 10 years, that composting project has evolved into zero-waste kitchens, which divert approximately 330 tons of food scraps from landfills every year. These efforts are now being recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which recognized CMU as its 2019 WasteWise College/University Partner of the Year.

MAY

courses would be online right after Spring Break ended until March 20. As the university began to make more closures, the Women’s Basketball Team, which was already playing audience free games, fell just short in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

• As COVID-19 cases and concerns began to rise, the NCAA canceled March Madness and other competitions on March 12, as the MAC all athletic practices competitions, including their tournament, for the rest of the academic year.

• CM Life named the Michigan Press Association’s 2019 Division 1 College Newspaper of the Year on March 12 and won many other awards.

• On March 13, CMU extended online-only classes until April 6 in light of the rising number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Michigan.

• Students and professors had their first day of online-only courses on March 16 after all face-to-face classes were moved online amid coronavirus concern. Each professor handled the change to online learning differently, including attempting to have their classes sing, regardless of internet lagging.

• CMU announced March 19 that the rest of the academic year would be completed online only and postponed commencement ceremonies for the spring semester until further

notice due to coronavirus concerns.

• The Isabella County government announced March 21 that all county facilities were closed to the public due to coronavirus concerns.

• The first case of COVID-19 in Isabella County was confirmed March 23 by the Central Michigan District Health Department.

• Two CMU students tested positive for COVID-19 on March 26. One of the two cases was confirmed on CMU’s campus.

• The first death in Isabella County from the coronavirus was confirmed by the Central Michigan District Health Department March 29. According to a press release, the death occurred at McLaren Central Michigan hospital in Mount Pleasant. The patient was a man in his 80s. He was admitted to the hospital on March 21 and had underlying health conditions.

APRIL

• Since the National Model United Nations Conference was cancelled due to COVID-19, the Model United Nations class emulated World Health Organization during coronavirus pandemic. Instead of echoing the UN General Assembly, the students Zoomed in on the World Health Organization on

• The athletic department announced May 3 it was following the precedent set by other universities in the state by making individual pay cuts due to coronavirus. The department announced cuts to Athletic Director Michael Alford, football coach Jim McElwain, men’s basketball coach Keno Davis and women’s basketball coach Heather Oesterle.

• President Davies announced May 4 significant budget reductions at every level of the university due to challenges caused by the coronavirus in an email to faculty. All vice presidents, deans and some senior level professional and administrative staff have had their salaries reduced from two and eight percent.

• As reported on May 18, between March 1 and April 22, there have been 66 reports of domestic violence in Isabella County. During the same time frame in 2019, there were 54 domestic violence complaints. This shows a 22 percent increase from last year.

• Two female drum majors were announced to lead the Central Michigan Marching Band for the first time in history this fall during the Marching Chips’ 98th season. In a May 19 story, head drum major Gabrielle Bass, Lake Isabella senior, and assistant drum major Jordan Healey, Cadillac junior, discussed being chosen to be the first female duo to conduct the band and lead march-offs.

• On May 19, the athletics department announced men’s indoor and outdoor track and field at Central Michigan has been eliminated as part of university wide cuts due to the coronavirus pandemic.

• On May 26, Central Michigan University announced it received $14.3 million from the federal government through the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.

The $7.16 million earmarked for students was used for two initiatives, a CMU CARES Student Assistance Fund and an undergraduate need-based student grant program.

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• Students, faculty and community members marched peacefully in solidarity with people across the nation in support of Black Lives Matter on June 2. Two marches, both organized by CMU students, were held in Mount Pleasant following the death of George Floyd and many others from police brutality.

• Special Olympics Michigan announced June 4 that the 2020 State Summer Games would be held virtually for the first time in its history from July 19-25.

• On June 6, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the creation of the Michigan Workforce Development Board comprised of 20 leaders, including CMU’s very own President Davies, on May 29.

• On June 14, alumna Chelsea Ekowa released screenshots of text message conversations from July 2015 to Facebook and Twitter. The screenshots contained racist messages from other incoming freshman in 2015.

Many of the students, who had obtained leadership roles while at CMU, saw repercussions to their actions after the screenshots were posted.

• Central Michigan University’s Board of Trustees approved the proposed $428 million operating budget at its June 25 meeting. The budget was smaller than the previous year’s $461 million. That’s a $33 million decrease from the previous year, due to enrollment decline and affects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

JULY

• After alumna Skylar Mills posted a video on Instagram on July 7, Tim Boudreau, chair of Central Michigan University’s Journalism Department, was put on paid administrative leave. The video showed Boudreau saying a racial slur while quoting language used in a 1993 lawsuit a during a class lecture. In September, CMU fired Boudreau.

• Athletic director Michael Alford announced his resignation from CMU to become the CEO of Seminole Boosters at Florida State. Alford took over the position in 2017 and led the program through several coaching changes and financial sucess.

• President Davies announced on July 17 that Central Michigan University eliminated 80 vacant staff positions and 46 vacant tenure/tenure track faculty positions. The reductions were a response to the university’s dual financial struggles of low enrollment and COVID-19.

• After learning more about CMU history, Georgia senior Anthony Wilson wrote a petition to get two buildings renamed due to previous racist behavior by their name sakes. Wilson wrote to President Davies and presented at the June 20 Board of Trustees meeting, but the buildings have yet to be renamed.

• The Central Michigan University symptom monitoring application CMICH Healthscreen launched on July 27, for all students, faculty and staff to safely monitor their health and to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on campus.

AUGUST

• Incumbent Isabella County Commissioner Jim Moreno defeated his Democrat primary opponent William Dailey during the Aug. 4 primary election. Moreno will continue to serve as the District 5 Commissioner.

• The Mid-American Conference announced Aug. 8 there will be no sports for its member’s schools.The conference announced it elected to cancel its football, volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and field hockey seasons in the fall.

• CMU’s COVID-19 protocol was called into question after a video was shared of students reportedly leaving a hall used to quarantine and isolate to attend a party. On Aug. 11, junior Colm Klopcic tweeted his friend’s video taken from his room inside the residence hall the university dedicated to sheltering students exposed to COVID-19.

• Incoming students received a warm, but restricted, welcome during the 2020 CMU IMPACT program on Aug. 13 and 14. The university program introduced incoming multicultural freshmen and transfer students to CMU while meeting fellow incoming students.

• CMU’s Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer A.T. Miller resigned, effective Aug. 31.

• Due to campus guidelines for the Fall 2020 semester, the traditional five-day Leadership Safari was cut down to a one-day event, Expedition Safari, on Aug. 15. Students were social distanced and had to wear masks.

• After a spring and summer of social distancing, and an early move-in, some students were ready to celebrate being together during Welcome Weekend. President Davies went on a ride-along with the CMU Police Department to several off-campus houses and apartments. He said that at

Community members lay on the ground with their hands behind their back for nine minutes during the protest on May 31.

each gathering he encouraged students to wear masks and practice social distancing. Welcome Weekend violations continued a four-year decline as students returned.

• As students began classes two weeks earlier than traditionally scheduled, and before other competing universities, the university distributed guidelines Aug. 17 on different platforms. The Fired Up for Fall page, emails and social media provided information to students, staff, parents and visitors to campus. To offer some face-to-face instruction during classes, Central Michigan University switched to the Hyflex model, allowing students to attend face-to-face classes while following health precautions or through video conference apps such as Cisco Webex or Zoom.

• On Aug. 26, Central Michigan University and Mount Pleasant Police Departments declared they were ready to enforce health and safety guidelines after 54 coronavirus cases were confirmed among students earlier that week.

• A group of students formed a CMU tee that started in June during the nat Lives Matter and racism. The commit media on Aug. 26. Within the call for for the university to complete by the e • Junior Rondo Sanders filed compl after he made a racial comment to him employee later “retired” from the univ

SEPTEMBER

• CMU President Bob Davies announ drop in enrollment for Fall 2020 at the semester. He said enrollment at CMU d was expected considering enrollment de spread of COVID-19.

| • Ibram X. Kendi, the award-winning author of New York Times bestseller “How To Be An Antiracist,” virtually discussed the difference between being non racist and antiracist Sept. 2. The Boston University professor spoke to more than 350 Central Michigan University students via Cisco Webex.

According to Kendi’s definition, nonracist comes from the phrase “I am not racist,” which people typically say when they have done something racist to be in racist denial. By Kendi’s definition, an antiracist is in contrast to nonracist, which is to admit where one is being racist. “Antiracist policies lead to equity and justice,” Kendi said.

• The “Legalize Being Black: Our Lives Matter Too” rally was held on and throughout Mount Pleasant. The march drew a crowd of about 350 people.

• Detroit senior and organizer Darian Bird said the march was about creating a better world for his son by inspiring change on the local level. “This starts locally, this starts with our community,” Bird said. “I’m hoping this raises some awareness and people understand racism shouldn’t be prevalent, it shouldn’t be around especially in a town that is home to a diverse amount of people with Central Michigan University.”

• The Student Activity Center reopened to students on Sept. 14 after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order on Sept. 3 allowed gyms and pools to open. Plexiglas separated the front-desk workers from students, equipment in the Fitness Center and Weight Training Center were spaced to accommodate social distancing guidelines and face masks were required.

• “Leadership for Liberation March and Rally” was held on Sept. 18 where students, alumni and a faculty member called for the suspension of face-toface classes, protection of CMU employees and mandated anti-racism training, among other demands.

• U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released a 2,000 page document of changes to Title IX and required schools to have them in effect by Aug. 14.

As reported on Sept. 24, although CMU, has control over covering misconduct issues not detailed in Title IX, students formed a ‘Title IX’ taskforce and began to work with OCRIE. • Amy Folan is named Athletic Director. Folan came to CMU after spending 17 years working in the Texas athletic department and eight as the executive senior associate athletics director and overseeing the Longhorn Foundation, the department’s fundraising arm. “I am honored to be joining the CMU Chippewa family,” Folan said. “Central Michigan is a tradition-rich program with an incredible record of success.”

• After other college football conferences decide to reverse decisions and schedule fall games, the Mid-American Conference announced that a shortened football season was scheduled to begin on Nov. 4 and conclude on Dec. 18 with the conference championship game at Ford Field in Detroit. CMU will play six games.

• Provost Mary Schutten announced in an email that students will not receive a spring break during the Spring 2021 semester. Instead, there will be five “wellness days” of no classes throughout the semester. In addition, classes will be fully online for the first week of the semester, Jan. 11-15.

• CM Life published a story highlighting the repeated vandalization of the Multicultural Greek Rock outside the Park Library, a landmark for historically Black fraternities and sororities on campus. The rock has been vandalized with the words “Cop Killer,” swastikas and writings of Adolf Hitler.

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Kelly/Shorts Stadium. The stadium experienced a power outage during the game. “I haven’t had the lights go out in a game before,” coach Jim McElwain said. “I thought they handled it real well. We knew it was going to take time to get them back on.”

• A week following Halloween festivities, at least two people who attended O’Kelly’s Sports Bar & Grill on Halloween tested positive for COVID-19. According to a press release from the Central Michigan District Heath Department, the department’s case investigations determined that employees and other patrons may have been exposed to the virus.

• On Nov. 8, a group of more than 150 Trump supporters gathered at Mount Pleasant Speedway for two hours to protest the president-elect Joe Biden. The crowd brought their flags, lawn chairs and guns. Signs including the words “Pro-Life,” “Pro-God,” “Pro-Gun,” “Pro-Law” and “Pro-Trump” decorated trucks and fences surrounding the rally.

• Titus Davis, Chippewa football’s all-time leading receiver and Wheaton, Illinois native, died Nov. 11. Davis, 27, suffered from renal medullary carcinoma, a rare form of kidney cancer. RMC is fast-acting and difficult to treat, and most of those affected have the sickle-cell trait. While at CMU, from 2011-2014, Davis was a four-time All-Mid-American Conference selection and two-time Herb Deromedi team MVP. His 3,700 receiving yards are the most in school history, while his 37 receiving touchdowns rank fourth.

• During the week of Nov. 9-15, CMU reported 103 new COVID-19 cases shortly before the semester ended and many students would return home.

This was the largest spike in cases during the fall semester.

OCTOBER Courtney Pedersen | Associate Editor

U Racial Injustices Reform Committionwide conversation about Black tee released a call for action to social action, they developed a set of goals end of September. laint against a university employee m at Cheers Neighborhood Grill. The versity.

nced the university saw a significant first academic senate meeting of the dropped by 11 percent and the decrease eclines over the past 10 years and the

• On October 2, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer stripping the office of emergency powers, making executive orders null and void. CMU responded by continuing to honor the orders before as cases in the university began to slowly rise at the time.

• The Central Michigan Climate Solutions was held virtually on Oct. 11. This was the first joint collaborative effort between Central Michigan University and the greater Mount Pleasant community. The summit proposed initiatives and possible solutions to benefit both the community and the university.

NOVEMBER

• After transferring to CMU, Westlake, Ohio graduate student Abby Farabaugh started a new support group called More Than a Body was started on campus. She said the idea behind the group is based around freedom of expression and building self-esteem.

• After long stretches of waiting, the Nov. 3 election results were announced. Mount Pleasant • Mayor Will Joseph and Olivia Cyman won their Mount Pleasant city elections. Both state Rep. Roger Hauck and U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar retained their seats. Later on, Michigan Senator Gary Peters and President-Elect Joe Biden both won their races.

• CMU won its first football game against the Ohio Bobcats on Nov. 4. at

Rachel Yadlowsky | Photo Editor Family says goodbye Aug. 13 during Welcome Weekend.

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WAROFWORDS

By Michael Livingston Associate Editor news@cm-life.com

After more than two months of investigations, Central Michigan University’s Journalism Department Chairperson was fired for “creating a hostile learning environment” with his use of racial slurs during class time.

The university completed its investigation into Tim Boudreau and the incidents that led to his termination on Aug. 17.

“CMU’s faith in (Boudreau) is irrevocably shaken and its ability to faithfully trust future students to his care and mentoring is forever fractured,” the report states. “(Boudreau’s) behavior in creating a hostile learning environment for a Black student in his class is severe misconduct that CMU cannot allow in its academic environment.”

Rumor spread of Boudreau’s termination on Sept. 2 when an email from College of the Arts and Media Interim Dean Elizabeth Kirby to tenured journalism faculty stated that he was “no longer employed by the university.” At the time, however, neither Boudreau nor the journalism department staff were willing to comment.

Central Michigan Life obtained Boudreau’s personnel and employment records along with the reports from the investigation into the viral incident from Spring 2018 and the disciplinary action taken against Boudreau after the investigation by filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the university.

On June 22, alumna Skyler Mills, of Miami, posted an Instagram video of Boudreau delivering a lecture in his Spring 2017 media law class. In the nine-second video, Boudreau can be heard saying, “… so he said… ‘I don’t want you to be like n-----s in the classroom, but I want you to play like n-----s on the court’” during a discussion about the 1993 lawsuit between CMU and fired men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot. Boudreau was using Dambrot’s direct quotes stated in the lawsuit, not his own words.

Mills’ mother also took to social media to express support for her daughter in a June 22 Facebook post.

The video prompted a response from the university. On July 7, Dennis Armistead, executive director of CMU’s Faculty Personnel Services, informed Boudreau in a letter that he would be placed on paid administrative leave while his classroom conduct is investigated.

The investigation into the incident involved interviews from both sides of the dispute. On July 8, CMU interviewed Mills and her mother to gather more information.

Mills mentioned there was no verbal or written warning in Boudreau’s JRN 404 class syllabus about the use of controversial language. In fact, the syllabus included a paragraph that celebrates CMU’s commitment to be a diverse, multicultural community. “(Mills) expressed that she experienced significant personal turmoil after (Boudreau’s) use of the N-word. (Mills) contemplated withdrawing from CMU but decided that she was too close to graduation to make such a significant change,” the report stated. “(Mills) was one of two Black students in journalism 404 in Spring 2018. (Mills) witnessed white students using the N-word and laughing after (Boudreau’s) use of the racial slur.”

Later that month, CMU received Boudreau’s side of the story.

He said he taught JRN 404 since 2006 and was involved in drafting the master course syllabus. He believed it was being revised by the journalism department at the time.

Boudreau confirmed that he used the N-word and other derogatory terms while teaching the class, including homopho-

Investigation shows journalism department chair fired for creating ‘hostile learning environment’

Tim Boudreau served as chair of the journalism department from 2017 until Sept. 2020 when he was fired.

bic language during his teaching of material associated with the Westboro Baptist Church. “(Boudreau) noted that he believes it is important not to censor the facts of a case or situation because the field of journalism emphasizes truth in reporting, and he doesn’t think it is appropriate to ‘sugar coat’ language,” the report states. “Despite (Boudreau’s) belief in using uncensored language when he is teaching, he confirmed that he had censored himself on one occasion after a Black student requested that he not use the N-word.”

From there, the investigation worked to answer three imposed questions: 1. Is the conduct, as alleged, protected by the conventions of Academic Freedom?

2. If not, is (Boudreau’s) behavior misconduct?

3. If so, what is the appropriate sanction for (Boudreau’s) misconduct?

The short answers, according to the report are; no, yes, and termination.

Investigators pointed to the 1940 American Association of University Professor’s statement on Academic Freedom, the landmark Brown v. Board of Education and other legal authorities along with CMU’s own policy on racial slurs and derogatory language to back up the claims.

Investigators also cited current events as a motivator to launching the investigation.

“In the wake of protests arising out of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, CMU began receiving expressions of concern related to experiences of racism from current and former students,” the report read.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is a non-profit group that focuses on defending free speech, legal equality and due process at American universities. Staff Attorney Greg Greubel said FIRE keeps track of cases like Boudreau’s.

“Faculty members have told us that they are concerned with this trend because they feel that it inhibits their ability to present academic material in the proper context,” Greubel said. “I think it is important for faculty to be conscious of their language in the classroom, but the university must be a place where individuals can feel free to express themselves and expose students to ‘controversial’ ideas and concepts.”

As a tenured professor since 2007 and CMU employee since 2001, Boudreau is a bargaining unit member of the Michigan Education Association — affiliated with the CMU Faculty Association. This means Boudreau had certain due process protections.

In the Aug. 17 letter, Armistead informed Boudreau that he could file a written rebuttal to the final investigatory report.

Boudreau’s response after the two-week period was the following: “I disagree with CMU’s findings and its decision to terminate my employment.” According to the final letter to Boudreau, investigators deliberated over the response but ultimately moved forward with termination.

“CMU feels that the only appropriate sanction for (Boudreau’s) misconduct is the termination of his employment,” the report concludes.

Armistead and Faculty Personnel Services would not offer further explanation as to why termination was the “only appropriate sanction” or how the widespread civil unrest played into the final decision.

Boudreau did not return CM Life’s call for comment on this story.

At the time of Mills’ post, her mother said she was unable to comment until the investigation was complete. Mills also did not reply to CM Life’s message via Instagram for comment on this story.

“The University, Dr. Boudreau and Dr. Boudreau’s labor union have mutually agreed to reserve all public comments on the matter while it works its way through the grievance and arbitration process in the CMU/CMUFA collective bargaining agreement,” Armistead said in an email.

Boudreau’s employment at CMU formally ended Sept. 1.

While he was under investigation, public relations faculty member Elina Erzikova served as interim department chair before William Dailey stepped into the role temporarily. The search to find a permanent replacement for Boudreau is still underway.

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Michael Livingston |Associate Editor The building on 200 E. Broadway Street sits vacant, Wednesday, Nov. 11.

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s construction steams ahead on Parcel B, Mount Pleasant city officials are looking up the street to the starch-white buildings on the corner of Broadway and University.

The city released a request for qualifications (RFQ) on Sept. 17. Sort of like a want-ad, the city is seeking developers to reimagine 200 E. Broadway St. and 111 S. University Ave. Both locations are owned by Isabella Bank. “(The buildings) have been another high priority when it comes to redevelopment in downtown.

We’re really excited about this,” City Planner Jacob Kain said.

By Michael Livingston Associate Editor news@cm-life.com

Kaine said the project serves a larger goal, giving new life to downtown Mount Pleasant.

The city received its certification for the Redevelopment Ready Communities program last year, which involved reviewing zoning and building ordinances to encourage redevelopment. Kain said one perk of certification is that the city used RRC’s redevelopment services team to research the property. Much of that research showed up in the RFQ. Overall, the document represents the type of development the city and Isabella Bank want to see. It includes an overview of the community, the criteria for selecting a developer but most importantly, the preferred development scenario.

After redevelopment, 200 E. Broadway St. would be restored to its original Italianate façade with tall windows and red brick design, according to the RFQ. The ground floor could have multiple shops and services under the same roof. The floors above could be used as residential or office spaces.

Next door, the city’s concept of 111 S. University Ave. includes

WANTED: developers 200 E. Bro and bring business

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Courtesy Photo | City of Mount Pleasant Concept art of the city’s preferred development scenario for 200 E. Broadway.

outdoor seating, a rooftop patio and increased foot traffic in the Cat’s Meow Alley.

All of this is what the city and Isabella Bank have brainstormed, but Downtown Development Director Michelle Sponseller said the chosen developer is likely to have their own ideas.

“Whether that lower space is a restaurant or retail, whatever it might be, it’s bringing more vitality to downtown for everybody,” Sponseller said. “All boats rise with the tide, so when good things are happening in one area downtown, it’s good for everybody.”

The buildings have occupied downtown Mount Pleasant for over a century. 200 E. Broadway St. was built in 1880 to house the Upton Opera House and various banks before becoming mostly vacant. 111 S. University Ave., built between 1900 and 1910, was the base for Enterprise newspaper print shop until 1948.

Isabella Bank used the space for decades until portions of the business began moving to 401 N. Main Street in the 80s. Vice President and Director of Marketing Jennifer Brick said Isabella Bank was excited at the opportunity.

“At this time, Isabella Bank is unsure how they will be connected to the final project. They will continue conversations with the City and consider any potential opportunities,” Brick said.

The aluminum and glass façade, built in 1973, is covering the orig-

inal building like a curtain. Kain said the design choice was trendy for the time period but has ultimately run its course.

“We’re finally recognizing the historical value of those original facades,” Kain said. “And that original facade is still there, it’s just hidden behind glass.”

The surrounding businesses are beginning to learn of the new project. Grant Perry of family-owned Pure Vitality Juice Bar & Spa expressed his support.

“Anytime you have a building that size that’s just sitting empty, it’s sort of a waste of space,” Perry said. “If you can put something there that adds value to people’s lives and give people a reason to come downtown then I’m all for it.”

The deadline to submit redevelopment proposals was Nov. 12.

Now the proposals will be vetted over the next two months by the city before any selection is made. Kain said finalizing the projects depends on finding the right development partner. He predicts construction could begin by “mid to late 2021” but could “certainly take longer.”

“We’re hopeful that this project ensures these buildings to be part of our downtown for another hundred years,” Kain said. “Six to twelve months of work to lay the foundation for that is not much in the grand scheme of things.”

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REIMAGINED

City seeks to revitalize oadway St. new life to s district

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s COVID-19 continues to plague the state of Michigan, President Davies said it is his job to set an example at Central Michigan University. That’s why you won’t see him without his maroon and gold mask.

Even if he’s in his office at Warriner Hall, Davies said he will often wear a mask in case someone passes by or stops in to say hello.

On May 11, Davies announced a detailed plan to reopen Central Michigan University’s campus for Fall 2020 classes. The university finalized the plan based on two imperatives to protect health and safety on campus and provide exceptional learning opportunities for students, both in and outside of the classroom. “(CMU) is focused on preserving its unique atmosphere and culture,” Davies said in his announcement. “We know many students choose CMU with hopes of participating in our many campus programs and activities, and we are excited to once again offer a robust on-campus living and learning experience.”

As of Nov. 18, CMU has reported a total of 571 COVID-19 cases this semester. This includes a recent spike of 112 cases last week.

The university is attributing the recent spike in cases on campus to the overall surge in Michigan. Davies said CMU’s leadership team is paying close attention to data to make any necessary changes to the spring semester.

“We made it,” Davies said. “Right now, our first inclination is to continue what we planned for the spring.”

Davies said the main focus going into next semester is keeping campus open and operational while also keeping students on their academic pathways.

“We aren’t going to hand students their diplomas. We want to give them every opportunity to earn it,” the president said. “I think this past semester, as a community, we’ve proven we can make that type of thing happen.”

For the last edition of 2020, Central Michigan Life asked Davies to reflect on the fall semester as it concludes and discuss challenges facing the university going into next semester.

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Recently, you described 2020 as the most difficult time you have spent while working in higher education. What are one or two of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to make this year?

When I look back at this semester, I would use the word challenging. Back in March when we got word that COVID-19 was coming to the United States, we had to decide whether to go remote or stay in-person. There was really nothing to follow.

As we brought students back (this semester), that was also tough and tight. But, I had faith in our faculty, students and the team that put together those protocols.

This was not easy. Anybody at any time could’ve waved the white flag, but the students kept on going. We are one of the few universities that accepted this challenge and made decisive decisions through good communication, grit and being nimble.

We made it. We made it because the community came together.

We’ve made it through this semester, but are there challenges that still keep the president of CMU up at night?

Absolutely. I am always thinking about what tomorrow is going to bring. Those first three or four weeks, I was sleeping a half hour a night if that. We had the team come together, though. We talked about ways to inspire students.

Now, we are seeing the recent spike across the state, that creeps into the CMU community that is important to note. Our cases have spiked at CMU. There’s no denying that, but it is because of what is going on in the (Mount Pleasant area) and in the state.

I’m very proud that there’s been very few cases that have been attributed specifically to our on-campus environment. We have created a safe environment here.

Looking back, how would you rate the university’s COVID-19 response on a scale of 1-10? What are some areas that need to be improved upon before next semester?

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I know (the university) has done a lot of things right. There’s no question about it. There’s many things I could point to in regard to the community’s response to COVID-19 that we knocked out of the park.

Now, would we do things differently, hindsight being 20/20?

Sure. When we made those decisions and plans in the moment, I think we covered all our bases. I think we’ve all learned that we need to be careful and diligent as students are coming back to campus. That’s why we are doing the first week of classes online in the spring.

One of the great decisions we made going into the fall semester was moving the start time forward by two weeks. When we looked at the schedule for the spring semester, we thought about moving it up. But, the numbers at that time didn’t give good credence to do so. Canceling Spring Break will also be essential to limit travel and prevent spread.

How concerned are you about student mental health moving forward?

The mental health of faculty, students and the community at large is something we need to be concerned about. We need to think, devise and provide opportunities for breaks. Right now, there is so much going on – COVID-19, a fiscal crisis, political divisiveness and much needed discussions on justice and racial inequality. You bring all those things into the cauldron and there’s a lot of meat there.

This is a time as a culture where we want to be absolutely perfect and we want to make the right decisions. We need to remember that we are in an imperfect environment, and you can’t have perfect in an imperfect environment. We must accept that.

“Wellness Days” are a new concept at this university. How would you suggest students use Wellness Days? Or, if you were a student, how would you use them?

If I was a student, I’d make sure all my homework assignments were done. I’d take that time to take a walk or go skiing depending on weather. I’d spend socially distanced time with friends. I’d take that time to take care of myself and relax.

Will I take some time to do homework? Maybe, a little bit, but

President B

It’s been a long year for everyone. D CMU’s top leader believes the universi the future of HyFlex teaching in higher Wellness Days and encourages you to

Isaac Ritchey ■

&A

Bob Davies

Despite the challenges he has faced, ity is stronger than ever. He discussed r education, how you should use your take this advice: Fire up and mask up!

■ Editor-in-Chief

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Then again, it is going to be a time where students aren’t going to the classroom. They’re not stressing out about assignments.

Everyone this semester has had a COVID-19 scare. Have you had one? What are you doing to stay healthy and safe?

I’ve been really diligent to set an example by wearing my mask, and social distance myself. I’ve been fortunate not to have any significant contact with anyone who tested positive. I know some of my very close friends have tested positive, but I keep my focus on the university and my family.

How difficult has it been for you to be on campus and have to distance yourself from students?

This semester has taken a toll on everybody. Especially an extrovert like myself, whose vibe is engaging with people, being personable and giving out high-fives. Now, I can only go “Fire up!” and give an elbow bump.

It has been very difficult. I’ll admit that. Having interaction with faculty, staff and students is the way I lead and gain information. That’s something that is very much a part of my personality.

I’ve had to pivot to engage differently. For example, the Friday letters and the feedback I receive is another way I’m communicating and gaining information.

The average day is broken up differently and is more intense, but you just find new ways to get through it.

We’ve been dealing with COVID-19 since March, whether it was the stay-at-home order or with heightened precautions. How are you energizing yourself? What are you doing in your free time?

What free time?

Early on, it dawned on me about a month into COVID-19 that it had been the first month that every day my family and I were able to have dinner together without interruption. We would play a board game afterward. My daughter would usually beat us. That is one of the latest, fondest memories I have. We’ve never had that before.

We’ve never even had a week of dinners together unless we were on a deserted island somewhere. I will cherish that memory.

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diversity, equity and inclusion in those processes.

A lot of things are going on. We need to make sure that we’re moving forward and bringing those things to fruition. Our students volunteered and took on a leadership role. That is great for CMU.

There is a lot facing this university right now.

Financial decisions had to be made regarding budget reductions, faculty reductions and loss of funding for programs. Looking forward five years, where do you see CMU? I see CMU continuing to be a shining star, and an example of leadership development among our students. I see us as a university that is progressive and innovative in the challenging times. We are going to take on difficult challenges and obstacles while being creative in how to overcome them.

I think you’re going to see a university that embraces the digital age to create more access points for students. I see us exploding in areas of health professions, engineering and the sciences – business and entrepreneurship as well.

You are going to see a university that fundamentally blends in creative thought, communication and has an essence of attainable skills that allows people to be successful.

We are going to be a university that understands differences.

I think that’s going to drive CMU. We will continue to put students (as) the premier focus of everything we do.

What would you say to students who would say they are not getting the CMU experience they paid for?

I think that students are going to be extremely well prepared.

I’ve had the opportunity to speak with business leaders from across the country. Almost every organization is not coming back face-to-face until July 1 at the earliest.

When we think of how organizations operate in the future, it is going to be through the mechanism that we have at CMU right now. It’s the whole idea of HyFlex. Now, is HyFlex – the way we are doing it at CMU – perfect? No, absolutely not, but it is good.

It requires people to adapt.

HyFlex will be in the world of higher education for years to come. We’ve established ourselves as a leader in that area. We need to continue to be more creative to make it better, more usable and more engaging. We need to make it cohort based.

HyFlex is a powerful tool. I see it as a brand-new way to propel CMU forward.

Early this summer, we saw much of the nation rally behind the death of George Floyd to demand justice and racial equity. Students have started a similar conversation on campus to demand change. Where is that conversation currently?

Families are starting to have a conversation with their high school seniors about a plan for next fall. Make the case to them that CMU is the best, and safest, state university to send their student to.

We are making a lot of progress toward change. I meet with a group of students every Friday. They are very blunt and have given me a lot of input from ways we look at our admission process to the way we don’t promote multicultural registered female organizations.

We need to continue to have those difficult discussions about policies and procedures around microaggressions. That is a real talking point right now. That and the hiring practices – who is on search committees and how they are selected. We want to know that we have a broad depth of race, gender identity and sexual orientation.

We are also looking at all of our major policies like financial aid policies and how we determine need and merit. We also are changing the way we market our honors program to (include)

I’m going to point to some of the things we’ve done since March. We put students first. We made sure that students’ aspirations could be met in a way that was flexible and commits to leadership standards.

We never sacrificed academic rigor or quality. However, we put measures in place that provided the foundation for students to acknowledge that, if they need help, they could get help. We created those pathways.

Through our determination and grit, we took on these challenges. We are one of the few universities that is succeeding in this overwhelming environment. And, why is that? It is because our students, faculty and staff worked together. That, to me, is a university experience that will propel you through a career and do amazing things.

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learning in is COVID-19 has altered nearly everything about Central Michigan University, including the way it operates, communicates and even looks. Signs posted on every wall reminds students of an invisible 6-foot perimeter around us. Sanitizer stations remind us of the invisible virus infecting so many people.

Things are much lonelier: elevator rides, classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, sidewalks. A semester of learning in isolation has taught the world new, innovative ways to go about our lives.

This experience has simultaneously created a divide and fear of one another, among us all.

Aurora Abraham

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solation

Graduate student Eniola Ajayi sits alone on the iRide bus Nov. 11.

Sophomore McKenna Harrington walks out of Thorpe Hall Nov. 17.

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Broadcast and Cinematic Arts Professor Trey Stohlman exits an elevator Nov. 17 in Moore Hall.

Sophomore Lexi McCue studies at a table Nov. 17 in Dow Science Hall.

Graduate teaching assistant Emma Johnson asks her virtual ‘U.S. History Through Michigan Eyes’ class questions about government Nov. 17.

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‘ONE DAMN THI

After the flood waters receded, the struggles continue. CMU Photojournalism students documented the stories of the families left behind.

The backlog of flotsam that has accrued at the base of the Sanford dam includes entire uprooted trees, pontoon boats, docks, beds and so much more Oct. 14.

P HOTO BY DR

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ING AFTER ANOTHER’

R E W T R AV I S

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AFRAID. DEVASTATED. RECOVERING. Midland flood victims share their stories with photojournalism students

By Michael Livingston Associate Editor news@cm-life.com

Photojournalism professor Kent Miller watched as one-by-one his students connected to the Zoom call. What was intended to be a typical weekly class period, turned into a deeper discussion about the historic flooding that occurred this summer in the Great Lakes Bay region.

In a normal semester, JRN 422 is held on the fourth floor of Moore Hall where students can gather around tables to critique each other’s photo projects. On Sept.

30, from their living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms, 19 students unified around one goal — to share stories of the families who feel they are being neglected.

“It was the student’s desire to bring awareness to the suffering that was still happening. In a sense, (the students) thought (the residents) were forgotten.”

Miller said. “Our goal was to create a project that gets into the minds and the hearts of people.”

In the weeks following that class discussion, the student journalists spent hours documenting the lives of the people impacted by the flood in Edenville, Midland, Sanford, Beaverton and Hope. They also created a website where their work could be viewed by a larger audience than just the CMU community.

Alaska senior Keara Chaperon, who took a leadership role in the project, said the ultimate goal was to work together to show the long-term effect the floods had on Midland and Gladwin County residents.

“It was a class effort to bring this project together,” Chaperon said. “We had web designers, social media people, graphic designers ... it was everyone in the class that brought their heart into this project.”

Chaperon said the hardest part of the project was working through COVID-19

health and safety guidelines to get connected with sources. On top of that, the students had to travel back and forth from the Midland area for multiple days of shooting photos and videos.

Miller said he is proud of his students and that he believes their visual storytelling has the potential to make a difference.

“I think journalism is an amazing way of communicating things like this that can bring people together to help,” Miller said.

“I’d love to get this in front of a congressman, senators, any kind of officials that may be able to help as well.”

The entire project can be viewed at cmugivesadamjrn422.wixsite.com/floodproject.

The W.

WHAT HAPPENED IN MIDLAND The days prior to May 19 consisted of heavy rainfall in Michigan’s lower peninsula. That rain eventually pushed the Tittabawassee River beyond its limits.

Midland Daily News reporter Mitchell Kukulka was getting ready for bed at about 12:30 a.m. when a notification on his phone went off like an alarm – it was the first of many alerts from the Midland County Sheriff’s office. The message urged residents in Edenvile Township and those that lived near Sanford and Wixom lakes to leave their homes.

Kukulka didn’t sleep that night. He published the newspaper’s first update.

An hour later he was at the shelter set up in Meridian High School interviewing displaced residents.

Later that day, Kukulka received word he’d need to evacuate from his apartment.

He spent the next 72 hours at his editor’s house, working the phones almost non-stop.

“It was more nose to the grindstone.

Constantly reaching out to the county and JUMP TO | 24

P H O T O S B Y D R E W T R AV I S

The M30 bridge over the Tittabawassee river remains completely shorn away due to the flood on Sept. 24.

One of

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Saginaw road bridge over the Tittabawassee River teaming with construction crews to get it back in shape Oct. 2.

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Old porch steps are all that remains of this once-home on the corner in Sanford MI on Oct. 15.

the two dams that failed that fateful day, the Sanford dam now sits as a grave reminder of the hardships that this community still endures Oct. 15.

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MIDLAND FLOOD | CONTINUED FROM 22

the emergency teams that they set up. I was calling them pretty much every hour or two hours just to get updates,” Kukulka said.

By the end of that first day of flooding, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for the city of Midland and Midland County due to severe flooding — eventually expanding that designation to neighboring counties.

More than 100 soldiers from the National Guard stationed in the Bay region began restoration missions in the area.

Midland embarked on a long road to recovery. Work remains to be done to this day.

Damage assessments rolled out over the following weeks. Damage to some of Midland’s gems such as the Tridge, Dalia Hill and the Chippewa Nature Center was minor. However, sites like the historic county courthouse and homes near Sturgeon Creek suffered serious damage. The city of Sanford and much of South Gladwin County were devastated.

Support for the Midland area came quickly. Donations poured in from people and businesses across the country. In 10 days, United Way of Midland County’s Rise Together Fund raised about $2.2 million.

Before Midland even came out of the flood response stage, local and national media outlets were asking, “how could this happen?”

The Midland Daily News began publishing its “Troubled Waters” series on May 30. The stories examined the history of Boyce Hydro, the owner of the dams, along with the numerous lawsuits they faced in the weeks following the floods.

The Edenvile dam, built in 1924, had not received any substantial construction since it was built, Kukulka explained. The lack of upkeep was a concern for decades.

It prompted the Four Lakes Task Force to form in 2018 in conjunction with Midland and Gladwin counties. The goal of the group was to relinquish the private ownership of the dams before something catastrophic happened.

In June, Midland County officials assessed more than $175 million in damage from the floods.

While federal relief was deployed shortly after the floods, Kukulka said many homeowners didn’t qualify for the funds.

Landowners around Sanford Lake are now dealing with erosion which poses another potentially devastating threat to their property.

“I know there are still people living out of campers, oftentimes on their own property because they can’t get into their house,” Kukulka said. “Stuff like that is unfortunately still common in areas that were heavily damaged.”

This piece of wicker furniture, crusted with mussels and lichens, sits atop a mound of debris in the aftermath of the flood.

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Sean Murphy’s dock remains washed ashore following the flood that devastated thousands last May in Sanford.

The inside of Sean Murphy’s home is still left stripped down to the foundation on Nov. 5.

(Left to right) Steve Luptowski, Sean Murphy and Kim Twarozynksi disassemble a dock on Nov. 6.

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THE MURPHY FAMILY

Kim Twarozynski and Sean Murphy catch up in Murphy’s trailer while Murphy’s mother, Sara Borchard, right, watches the nightly news on Nov. 9.

Sanford Lake, MI

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ust nine years after a house fire caused Sean Murphy to move into his home in Sanford, a flood displaced him from it. Now living with his dog Layla in a camper outside the house, Murphy is slowly but surely rebuilding what he had before the flood that devastated thousands in the Mid Michigan area last May. The dam failure on Wixom and Sanford lakes displaced many whose homes were impacted by the flooding, including Murphy, who was given a glimpse of hope just a bit too soon.

“On the news they said it was fine, dams are safe, they won’t break … and then the alarms went off again and the fire trucks started coming and people started running through the yards telling us to get out,”

PHOTOS & STORY BY MAKENZIE SHUBNELL

Murphy said. “They said this whole place will be under water in 15 minutes.”

Luckily, the neighborhood had a bit more than 15 minutes to evacuate, but when they returned to their homes, the damage was immeasurable. The water in Murphy’s home came up to three feet and left the streets and driveways covered in a layer of slick mud. Murphy’s neighbor, Kim Twarozynski attested to the severity of the lake’s debris.

“We were covered in mud for months,” Twarozynski said. “We started giving ourselves monikers like ‘flood zombies.’”

The lack of media exposure has left flood victims like Murphy and Twarozynski feeling forgotten since the disaster nearly six months ago. Even directly after

the flood, Sanford was a town largely impacted, yet scarcely covered.

“I was surprised how much the news didn’t really cover too much,” Murphy said. “I don’t think people knew the scope of the damage. A lot of my friends that I don’t talk to that often would say ‘oh I didn’t realize it was that bad over there,’ but they don’t really realize … my home is gone.”

Since the Sanford Dam failure, Murphy has been slowly recovering, now in the process of moving from his camper into his detached garage for the winter. Soon, builders will begin working on his home’s renovation, with Murphy hopeful that it will be completed sometime in the next year.

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THE ELLIS FAMILY H

Heather Ellis is sanding down walls and getting rid of nails to make it easier to put up the drywall on Oct. 6 in Sanford MI.

Sanford, MI

eather Ellis and her father Mike Ellis lost almost everything in their Marathon Gas Station in Sanford, Michigan due to the flood that happened in May. The flood affected Sanford and Wixom lake communities as well as parts of Midland. The flood destroyed all their inventory including alcohol, Pepsi and Coke products and all food products.

They also lost their cash registers, counters and their fuel pumps for gas.

“Luckily the gas underground is good, but we have lost everything and

PHOTO & STORY BY KEARA CHAPERON

have to start from the beginning,” said Heather Ellis.

The family has been doing almost all the repairs by themselves because they cannot afford to pay someone else for the work. Most of the work has been done by Heather and her father.

They have stripped the walls and are sanding them down so they can nail wood up to help with the insulation.

The items that will have to pay someone for is insulation, new wiring and putting in a new furnace.

“We got no help from our insurance

company since what happened is technically not a flood, so we have to apply for some loans and hope we get those,” explained Ellis.

They do plan on reopening, but that will not be until next summer or fall depending on how fast they can put the insulation in and find ways to pay for new inventory. The gas station has been in the family for a couple of years and they plan on keeping that way.

It will take time, but they hope to get their gas station and party store back to what it was.

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THE BOGAN FAMILY Len Bogan embraces his wife, Carol, in the kitchen of their home. Len proposed to Carol after just one month of dating at the age of 14. They finished high school, went through college and got married at 21.

Midland, MI

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ove bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Engaged at the age of 14, Carol and Len Bogan have lived this philosophy since the 1970s.

“Do you know why we’re still married after all these years?” Carol asked.

“Jesus. And you’re great,” Len replied.

They exude love in their home, in their church and in their work. Len serves on the elder board at Midland Evangelical Free Church and also works for Midland’s Open Door. Carol is a peer mentor and transplant coach at the University of Michigan Hospital.

Open Door is an organization that aims to restore hope and transform lives. They desire to see the homeless, hungry and hurting experience the life-transforming power of the gospel of Christ.

PHOTO & STORY BY ALANNA HUNT

Carol is a Leukemia survivor, and she is working on a book titled “Cancer Camp: Thriving in the Wilderness of Cancer.”

“It’s going to be a book; it’s going to be a program at the hospital. Like when you have your knees or hips replaced, they take you to joint camp: they tell you where to go, what to expect, what to have ready at home — same thing for cancer,” Carol said.

They have moved from Illinois, to Pennsylvania, finally to Michigan to call the historic and unmistakable “igloo house” their home in 2012.

In the time they have lived in their home, it has flooded twice. Sturgeon Creek runs through their backyard, which connects directly to the Tittabawassee River. Heavy rains caused the Tittabawassee River to flood in 2017, damaging the Bogan home along with many others. Not long after they recovered from 2017, the dam failures

of May 2020 struck their home.

Carol was down in Missouri when she heard that the water was going to hit. “We called for help to move our stuff when we heard that water was coming. We expected three people, and 50 showed up,” Carol said.

The Bogan’s pour out love to their community daily, and when the flood was coming it was repaid back to them. With the help of all those people, the first floor of their home was cleared out and those belongings were saved from the flood waters.

“We were expecting water levels up to our ankles, not the entire first floor of our home submerged,” Carol said.

At the end of December is when the house’s worth gets discussed for tax purposes, and they can only hope that the flood damage and how long repairs took will be taken into account.

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Thomas Perrin makes his way through fallen debris Oct. 5 at his home in Sanford.

The Perrin’s home sits Oct. 15 in Sanford. The “Sanford Strong” sign was installed as a symbol of hope.

Thomas Perrin clears off old statements and magazines from a sofa table Oct. 5 at his previous home in Sanford.

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THE PERRIN FAMILY

Paige Fryzelka, left, reacts while playing a card game during dinner Oct. 5 at the Perrin’s makeshift home in Midland.

Sanford Lake, MI

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hen 9-foot floodwaters filled Thomas and Haley Perrin’s home in May, they spent three nights in a hotel before moving into Haley’s parents’ garage.

The couple will be living in the makeshift living space through the winter as they are expecting their daughter to be born the first week of December.

“We’ve made the space feel like more of an apartment than a garage at this point,” Haley said. “A lot of our habits have carried over to this place, and we are making it work.”

The Sanford Dam could be seen from the front porch of the Perrin’s house near the

PHOTOS & STORY BY ISAAC RITCHEY

Tittabawassee River.

The night before the dam broke, the Perrins and Haley’s sister Paige Fryzelka were told to evacuate the area. The couple expected the flooding to be minimal, so they only grabbed a few changes of clothes and their laptop which had all their wedding pictures.

Nearly everything the Perrins owned remains in the mud-covered house.

It wasn’t until the next day after seeing national news coverage that the Perrins decided to revisit their home to see the extent of the damage.

“We couldn’t get in, because there was still too much water around it,” Haley said.

“When we finally got in, it was pretty bad.

There was mud all over the walls and the kitchen was torn apart.”

The Perrins received $97,000 from their flood insurance to cover the foundation of the house. However, it is not enough to completely pay off their home and rebuild especially with new safety measures, Thomas said.

The Perrins only lived in their home in Sanford for a year and half. Haley said that was the “upside” of their situation.

“We didn’t have a lot invested in our home. We didn’t raise our kid there,” Haley said. “Other people had their whole lives demolished by flood waters.”

The Perrins still recognize the significance of the event as they recover day by day.

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NOV. 19, 2020

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THE WAGNER FAMILY M

Melissa and Harry Wagner laugh as they examine old fishing lures they find at the bottom of the lake on Nov. 7 in Wixom Lake in Hope.

Hope, MI

elissa and Harry Wagner’s house on Wixom Lake in Hope, Michigan was completely destroyed during the flood that occurred in May, 2020. Aside from the actual structure of the home being destroyed from water damage, and objects crashing into the house, they lost many valuables that could never be replaced. The Wagners have owned their home for over 11 years and planned on retiring there.

“We repaired the entire house ourselves since we’ve owned it, we’ve

PHOTO & STORY BY ALEXANDRA NORTON

done everything,” Melissa explained.

“We don’t have the energy to start from scratch and do it again. We’d be wasting the best years of our retirement doing that, but it’s sad knowing that we’re at a point we just need to sell it and move on.”

The Wagners explained that they have at least $100,000 in damages to their home, and they received no money from their insurance to help pay for the costs. They have only done minimal work to the house so far, such as ripping up all the flooring and walls that had too much

water damage. After this, they felt too discouraged to keep working.

“I’ve moved on from the fact that our house is gone. I’ve accepted that,” Melissa said. “The house can be rebuilt, but I’ll never get back all of the memories that I lost.”

They plan on doing minimal repairs to the house before putting it on the market and moving on. As sad as it was to lose it, Melissa and Harry just want to enjoy their retirement, and it’s too upsetting to keep going back to the place they used to love.

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THE WEAVER FAMILY

Jamie Weaver breaks up concrete with a sledge hammer in a caved in basement on Sept. 8.

Midland, MI

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etired couple Sherry and Bob Weaver were living in a Thornbrooke Condos unit in Midland, when the four dams in the Midland-Sanford areas broke and their home was filled with two feet of water. The residents of the complex, consisting of 47 units were given just a days’ notice before the dams would fail. The Weavers, along with many other residents moved items to the upstairs lofts in their units and left the items that they couldn’t take.

“Once the water went down, we were able to see what was ruined and what wasn’t,” Sherry said. “It was kind of funny,

Mason Weaver rips out old electrical wiring of a unit on Sept. 4.

PHOTOS & STORY BY RACHAEL YADLOWSKY

we lost a couple items from water, but we also found a lot of valuables that were taken by the water from other people’s houses and we’re repairing them.”

After the water went down, which took about a day, some residents returned to their units to assess the damage. Due to the power of the water, five condos basements were caved in with dirt and water, but most of the damage was basic, caused by two feet of water. After assessing damages, the city wanted to level the houses and saw them unfit for rebuilding.

Shortly after the flood, the Weaver’s son, Doug Loose bought all of the condos that the residents vacated and began

demolishing, in hopes that he could repair the damages and sell the condos. The family started renovating and tearing down old electrical wiring, cutting out moldy drywall and shoveling out ruined items from the houses and dirt and mud from the caved-in basements. After waiting since June for a building permit, Loose finally got one and has started rebuilding the units for sale.

“I’m relieved that I finally have the building permits,” Loose said. “We can finally start putting up new wiring and installing furnaces and getting things ready for sale.”

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NOV. 19, 2020

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Alyssa Smith looks out at the dense vegetation and sand that has taken the place of the water that once filled the area.

A stray wheelchair sits in weeds and the remaining stream of water on Wixom Lake on Sept. 14 in Beaverton.

Alyssa Smith pushes her daughter, Layla Smith, on the tire swing in their backyard.

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THE SMITH FAMILY Alyssa Smith (right) stands on her boat dock with her 6-year-old son, Ethan Smith (left), on Sept. 14 in Beaverton. Alyssa says that it is depressing to look out every day at what used to be their beautiful lake.

A

Beaverton, MI

lyssa Smith and her family sold everything to move to their waterfront home on Wixom Lake in 2018. Alyssa, her husband and three children spent every moment they could fishing, boating and swimming in the lake from their residence in Beaverton, Michigan. In May of 2020, the lives of the Smith family, as well as the lives of many other mid-Michigan families, changed drastically when heavy rains caused several dam failures in their area. These dam failures caused bodies of water such as Wixom Lake, Sanford Lake and the Tittabawassee River to flood, wiping out roads and bridges in the process.

Wixom Lake and Sanford Lake have since receded,

PHOTOS & STORY BY MALLORY FINI

leaving behind only sand, weeds and rubble.

Families within those communities lost so much.

Some lost their boats, docks and break walls while others lost their homes, livelihoods and trust in the powers that be. The Smith family feels as though no one outside the affected communities cares about, or even remembers, what happened to them in the Spring of 2020. Despite the many community-based task forces attempting to make change in the area, the Smiths feel that families and businesses within these mid-Michigan communities have not received the answers and outside support that they deserve in order to rebuild and restore their communities.

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BACK TO

BALL Chippewas hold high aspirations while preparing for unpredictable season S T O RY BY AUS T I N C H A S TA I N S P O RT S E D I T O R

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alking out of a nearly-empty Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, CMU’s women’s basketball team was disappointed after losing to Toledo in the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

But, the team knew they had a chance to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

After all, CMU had just put together one of its best regular seasons under first-year coach Heather Oesterle, who lead the Chippewas to a fourth straight MAC regular season title.

The Chippewas did not get the chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament. No one did.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH BROWNELL

KELLY#1

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While the sports world was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, Grand Rapids senior forward Kyra Bussell and her teammates returned to their hometowns and waited for what was going to happen next.

“It was such a weird time of uncertainty for everyone; we all pretty much got sent home for the rest of the semester,” Bussell said. “I packed up all of my stuff in a day, turned around and stayed in Grand Rapids for a while.”

Bussell said she enjoyed the time with her family but missed being with her teammates. With the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming season, Bussell looked at applying to graduate school.

“It was a super uncertain time, and I just ended up going with the flow and tried to figure out my own thing,” Bussell said. “It was nice to know that pretty much everyone was in the same boat.”

One of those people in the same boat, was teammate Detroit senior guard Micaela Kelly.

“At the end of the day, it was a blessing in disguise. I was able to go home and spend time that I’ve never spent with my family,” Kelly said. “There were times it got annoying, but I still got to know them more and they got to know me.”

Back to work After five months off, Oesterle and her coaching staff brought the players back to Mount Pleasant to start workouts.

While gyms and indoor facilities were closed until mid-September, Oesterle found a way to get her players working while keeping each other safe -- practice outside.

In August, four Gus Macker basketball hoops were placed on the South end of the Bennett Track Field. The Chippewas practiced there until indoor facilities were reopened on Sept.

14.

Bussell said when the Chippewas were able to move practice inside, it was business as usual — for the most part.

“It’s been an adjustment with masks on, dealing with preseason injuries and getting the kinks out” Bussell said. “It’s been tougher, because we’re doing the strength and conditioning aspect that would already be done in the summer.”

Oesterle said balancing conditioning with pre-season preparation has been tough for the team, especially with missed practices due to contact tracing.

KYRA BUSSELL

Isaac Ritchey | Editor-in-Chief

Central Michigan Women’s Basketball Team huddles against Toledo Jan. 25 at McGuirk Arena.

“We’ve been hit hard, but we’re preparing like normal,” Oesterle said. “It’s been a bit of a challenge with people in and out, but we’re excited. I’m hoping we can keep everybody healthy and have a great season.”

With people missing from practice, Kelly only has a handful of substitutes to give her a breather. She said she has “tunnel vision” when she’s on the floor in those circumstances.

Kelly is used to it though. She averaged more than 36 minutes a game last season on her way to becoming MAC Player of the Year. She knows she just has to keep pushing.

“I just have to tell myself to push through because, like this pandemic, it’ll all be over soon,” Kelly said.

“I keep fighting, I keep pushing. I’ve got more in me and just go hard each and every play.”

Oesterle said everyone in the program has done what they need to do in order to get out on the floor and play basketball.

“I’ve been really proud of our team, they’ve been really, really good,” Oesterle said. “They want to play, they’re willing to do whatever it takes.”

One of the sacrifices people within the program have made is limiting social interactions outside of practice.

Oesterle said she wants to help her players avoid negative mental health affects with the repetitive day-to-day life the players, coaches and staffers go through each day.

“We call it the ‘Groundhog Day.’ You go to practice, go to your dorm room or apartment and you’re there all day,” Oesterle said. “You’re not interacting with anybody. We’re doing it to be safe, but I worry about them mentally. It’s tough on everybody.”

‘It’s all up in the air’ The season is slated to start on Nov. 25, the date the NCAA allows competition to begin. The Chippewas are planning five nonconference games and a 20-game MAC slate.

While games are scheduled, whether fan attendance is allowed is still in question.

A three-week epidemic order issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services barred any attendance for any games, starting on Nov. 18.

“We don’t know — as players — who all is allowed to come to our games,” Bussell said. “There’s rumors that you only get tickets for your mom and dad.”

When workouts began, the players came up with goals they had for the season.

Winning a fifth-straight regular season conference title was on the list, of course. Winning the MAC Tournament was there, too. But what the players want to do beyond winning in the conference, is make noise nationally.

Oesterle thinks this year’s team can cause problems for teams in the NCAA Tournament — if given the opportunity — similar to the Sweet 16 appearance in 2018.

“I think this team could be really special,” Oesterle said.

“We have five starters back, we have Anika Weekes, who was injured all of last year, it’s set up to be a really good year.”

Players hold the same aspirations.

“In general, I have high expectations because I know everyone has come back a lot better,” Bussell said. “We’re going to get contributions from everyone on our team.”

Kelly said she is excited to watch her teammates grow with each game this season.

“I’m expecting to watch the progress,” Kelly said. “Each game is going to be different, each game will be a way we’ve gotten better. ... Each game will be a way to know what pieces we have, the weapons and things we have that I see now will be deadly.”

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NOV. 19, 2020

| Isaac Ritchey | Editor-in-Chief Defensive Coordinator Robb Akey speaks with Central Michigan’s defense after a Western Michigan touchdown Sept. 28 at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo.

ENERGIZING THE CHIPS Defensive coordinator Akey brings passion, creativity to Chippewa defense

By Christian Booher Staff Reporter sports@cm-life.com

When Saginaw senior Robi Stuart was asked for his favorite Robb Akey story, he had to take a second to think. Eventually, he settles on the first time he met his new defensive coordinator in Spring 2019.

Akey announced his presence with authority.

“Homeboys,” Stuart recalls Akey yelling in his baritone voice.

“What’s going on?”

Though the first impression was meaningful, there are plenty of options Stuart could’ve chosen when asked what his best memory with his defensive coordinator was.

His moment of pause speaks to the positive impact the second-year defensive coordinator is having on his players.

“Just the way he talks to us sometimes,” Stuart said. “Everything is very endearing. We all love it.”

Several other players reacted the same way when asked for their favorite Akey story, taking a second to think all the memories they’ve shared with him and weigh one above the rest.

Each and every day, Akey is the same person. He bounces around the playing field, slapping hands with every player during stretches. His energy is unparalleled, and as a result he’s leaving a stamp on the Chippewa program.

“He’s one of the biggest characters we’ve got,” Stuart says.

“He gives us a lot of motivation and it fires us all up.”

Four years before he was walking into the CMU locker room for the first time, Akey was interviewing for the defensive line coaching job with what is now known as the Washington

Football Team. Head coach Jay Gruden and his staff needed someone to fill the spot after Jacob Burney was let go.

Gruden’s defensive coordinator, Joe Barry, had worked with Akey at Northern Arizona for four years and thought his energy would be a good fit with the organization. Akey, who was working as the Minnesota Vikings’ assistant defensive line coach, was brought in to make his pitch for the job with Gruden and Barry.

His pitch was memorable, to say the least.

Speaking by phone five years later, Gruden recalls Akey moving around chairs in the meeting room, and even getting on the floor at one point, to demonstrate different drills and techniques.

Gruden and his staff were sold. Akey was hired.

“He was able to explain things man, he got on the ground and used chairs as props demonstrating drills and stuff for us,” Gruden said. “He came across in a positive way and an energetic way that we’re looking for to motivate our guys and teach our guys.”

While Akey and Gruden only worked together for two seasons, Gruden says he valued the energy Akey brought to each and every practice.

“I think it’s one thing to have (energy) occasionally but to bring it every day and be passionate about it and not be phony with it is very, very important,” Gruden said. “I think the players can see through phony energy. I think it’s hard to argue the fact that Robb had great passion for the game and that’s where the energy came from.”

Head coach Jim McElwain joked that he likes Akey because he’s easy on the equipment budget. Akey always wears shorts to practice, so there’s no need for McElwain and the program to spend the extra money ordering sweat pants for the defen-

sive coordinator.

There’s plenty more that CMU’s second-year coach appreciates about the defensive coordinator he brought with him.

“His passion and his energy for the players, not only what he does,” McElwain said. “It doesn’t matter what the day is, what the situation is, he’s gonna be there with energy.”

When the season was canceled, players were devastated.

Now that they have a chance to play, Akey makes sure to tell his players that nothing is guaranteed.

To do this, he cranks himself up each day in practice. The energy has rubbed off on his defensive unit, which is currently the top scoring defense in the Mid-American Conference.

“It’s contagious, and I mean the good kind of contagious,” Ypsilanti junior George Douglas said. “It’s fantastic. Coach Akey is, when it comes to just being hype in a sense, being energetic, just excited to do your job.”

Birmingham senior Troy Hairston has emerged as one of the MAC’s best pass rushers. He, too, feels an extra surge of motivation every time he sees Akey.

“He’s a very unpredictable dude,” Hairston said. “But he brings you along and he carries you along with him. The energy is something else. It’s not anything I’ve ever experienced with any other coach in my life and I’ve been playing football since I was six. He’s just a personable dude.”

That ability to be personable has helped his players buy in.

After last season’s surprising run to the MAC title game, there’s a certain standard set for his second season. The standard involves hoisting a trophy.

Regardless of the situation, Akey will be Akey, and every single one of his players are along for the ride.

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Where are 0ou living next 0ear Courtesy Photo | CMU Athletics The Central Michigan University volleyball team practices Sept. 28 at McGuirk Arena.

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JAMESTOWN contest to be entered to win a Fall athletes discuss cancellation, spring preparationsfollowand roadblocks APARTMENTS

By Katherine Schultz Staff Reporter sports@cm-life.com

After a week of practicing on and off, volleyball senior outside hitter and Powell, Wyoming native Kalina Smith braced for the decision they know was coming.

Smith and five of her teammates sat in their shared living room, waiting for the announcement that would determine their season’s fate.

Sam Glapinski, a Hartland, Wisconsin senior forward/midfielder for the field hockey team, was at the mall when it happened.

She recalled her phone being buried in her purse as calls and texts flooded in from her coaches and teammates contacting her with the news.

When the Mid-American Conference canceled its entire fall schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the two seniors were struck by waves of emotions.

“It definitely was difficult for all of us,” Smith said. “At that point, we had no idea if we were even going to get a spring, so my mind was going a million miles an hour.”

Glapinski was heartbroken; she was hoping for a fall season, as she has a commitment in the spring to fulfill before graduation.

She remembered calling head coach Catherine Ostoich after finding out the season was off, wondering if there was a hope for a chance to still play in the fall. They both remained hopeful but knew it was not going to happen.

As plans for all MAC sports remained up in the air, CMU soon cleared its athletes to return to practice, given they follow COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing masks and maintaining contact lists. Both volleyball and field hockey wasted no time returning to business as usual.

Even though they did not have a season, they had lots of work to do.

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“We took it upon ourselves to make sure that we implemented structure for the incoming freshmen, even though our season was unknown,” Glapinski said. “We still had to implement some type of culture and be able to be there for these girls to keep their spirits high, and know that even moving forward that there may or may not be a season at all this year. The work still needs to be put in but we can all be there for each other while doing it.”

Smith also was grateful to be back in the gym with her team.

She was especially happy to have more time to build a rhythm and connections with freshmen players. However, she noted that COVID-19 was unpredictable and posed challenges for practice attendance.

In order to keep practicing, teams have to be very disciplined.

There is no such thing as being too careful.

If players or coaching staff were feeling even mildly unwell — sore throat, stuffy nose — they could not go to practice. This left practices to often take place without a full team. Sometimes athletes were without coaches.

CMU’s decision to allow their athletes to continue practicing paid off in September when the MAC announced volleyball, field hockey and men’s and women’s soccer would play a carefully-crafted spring season.

Volleyball’s head coach, Mike Gawlik, is not one to cancel practice when lots of people aren’t able to make it. Instead, he teaches his players to make do with what they have. Smith believes her team has adapted very well to this, and it could provide them — and all teams — with a serious benefit for games.

During a typical season, student athletes know the odds are that they could be called up to take the place of a starter at any given situation. COVID-19 has raised those odds, immensely.

“This fall has given us the opportunity to understand that everyone’s role extremely important this spring. You never know when your name is going to get called,” Smith said. “It’s given people the opportunity to step up and learn how to compete in

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those situations. I feel like other teams have not been as lucky as we have been with that.”

The NCAA also granted an extra season of eligibility for fall and winter athletes at the Division I level. Despite the excitement, these announcements posed some very stressful decisions for Glapinski, Smith and many more athletes who are nearing graduation.

Smith, who is graduating this spring, planned the rest of her classes last fall — when CMU introduced multi-semester registration — prior to the pandemic. She must complete her student-teaching requirement this spring. She will play this season and is grateful for the opportunity to play, but also decided that she would not take the extra eligibility.

Unfortunately for Glapinski, she found herself in the same situation, but will not play field hockey in the spring in order to finish her degree requirements. She also waived the eligibility and will be starting the nurse practitioner program at Marquette University in May. Despite not being able to play for the spring season, Glapinski is excited for her teammates. She has continued to practice with them throughout the fall.

“It put an end goal to all of the work we were doing in terms of practicing,” Glapinski said. “It all wasn’t just for nothing. I know that it’s definitely going to be a change of scenery — none of us have ever played in that type of weather before — but everyone’s very excited. I think, overall, we’re just really blessed and fortunate that we’ll be able to play.”

Both Glapinski and Smith expect the extra practice to pay off once the season begins. Volleyball’s schedule is still in the works, but field hockey is expected to face off in March against Bellarmine in the season opener.

“I think that the fact that we took advantage of the opportunities that Central provided for us definitely has made a difference,” Smith said. “I think that will show in the spring.”

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MICHIGAN LIFE CM-LIFE.COM NOV. 19, 2020 42 CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | | CM-LIFE.COM| | NOV. 19, 2020| | 44 | | CENTRAL

A PIECE OF HISTORY Isaac Ritchey | Editor-in-Chief Defensive Coordinator Robb Akey speaks with Central Michigan’s defense after a Western Michigan touchdown Sept. 28 at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo.

Family reflects on legacy of Emma Norman Todd, the first Black Central Michigan student

as hardships, Allen said.

“I was lucky enough to be able to news@cm-life.com visit with Aunt Em on a regular baAbout 19 miles west of Mount Pleas- sis, because I lived in the Nostrant School,” Allen said. “I thank Aunt ant sits a small town of about 3,000 people called Remus.

Em for my introduction to our famThe town is a puzzle filled with piec- ily history, her wonderful stories es of history, one of them being Emma and taking time to talk and listen.”

Norman Todd.

George Crawford, who was Todd was many things: a farmer, a Todd’s great-nephew, said Todd mother of six children and an active knew what was appropriate and member of the Wheatland Church of what was not. She always wanted to Christ. She was also the first known do the right thing.

African American student at the “She wanted all her students to Central Michigan Normal School, the former name of Central Michigan succeed,” Crawford said. “These University. qualities were expressed at home.”

Todd went to CMNS to become a Todd did not only help her family teacher. The school was known to and students; she also helped her train teachers because of the numerneighbors. Todd was known as one ous amounts of one-room schoolhousof the leaders of her community. As es in the area around the school.

By CMU Christian Booher Team. Head coach Jay Gruden and his staff needed a teacher and a farmer,Football Todd made Museum Director Jay Martin to fill the spot after Jacob Burney was let go.

Staff more money than mostsomeone people did said Reporter Todd became a teacher at NosGruden’s sports@cm-life.com trant School, a one-room schoolhouse in Remus. Instead of spending all defensive coordinator, Joe Barry, had worked with Akey Northern Arizona for four years and thought his energy in Remus, after graduating from of her money on herself, sheat used When Saginaw for his favorite would be a good fit with the organization. Akey, who was workNormal School. senior Robi Stuart was asked itthink. to help out her familying and Robb Akey story, he had to take a second Eventually, asher the Minnesota Vikings’ assistant defensive line coach, was Diana and Deonna Todd Green are tocommunity. he settles on the first time he met his new defensive coordinabrought in to make his pitch for the job with Gruden and Barry. granddaughters of Todd. The sisters When Todd was alive, the tor intheir Spring 2019.

Hisbanks pitch was memorable, to say the least. said grandmother taught her in Remus did not allow African Akey announced his presence withher authority.

Speaking by phone five years later, Gruden recalls Akey movkids, nieces and nephews and even “Homeboys,” Stuart recalls yelling in his baritone voice.out loans. ing around chairs in the meeting room, and even getting on the Americans to take husband William Todd, who Akey was able “What’s going on?”because of her. floor at the one point, to demonstrate different drills and techniques.

Because of this, Todd became to read and write Though firstTodd’s impression was meaningful, there plenty Dorothythe Allen, great-niece, “bank” of are Remus for theseGruden people.and his staff were sold. Akey was hired. of options Stuart could’ve what his best “He was able to explain things man, he got on the ground said her aunt would take chosen a horsewhen and asked The Green sisters said she had a memory his defensive coordinator was. and used chairs as props demonstrating drills and stuff for buggy towith school.

Todd would carry suitcase in her house full ofGruden money said. “He came across in a positive way and an Hisand moment speaks to the positive impact the secus,” hay water,of sopause the horse could that she would loan to her neighond-year defensive coordinator having on his players. energetic way that we’re looking for to motivate our guys and reenergize before the ride backishome. bors when wasour al- guys.” ushorse sometimes,” Stuart said. needed.

“Every- Todd teach If “Just it wasthe tooway coldhetotalks taketothe ways asking people how they were thing is veryTodd endearing. allon love While Akey and Gruden only worked together for two seaand buggy, wouldWe stay theit.”

Several other players reacted the same way when asked for sons, Gruden says he valued the energy Akey brought to each and offering to help.

Chippewa Indian Reservation with the their favoritefamily, Akey story, taking a second all the andknown every practice.

“People in memRemus were Thompson who lived close to to think ories they’ve shared with him and weigh onefor above the rest. think the school. stepping in and taking“Icare of it’s one thing to have (energy) occasionally but to Each Akey the same He bounces bring it every day and be passionate about it and not be phony Allenand saidevery that day, it was not is normal for person. things,” Martin said. “Todd was one around the playing field, slapping hands with every player with it is very, very important,” Gruden said. “I think the playan African American woman to attend ofand those people.” during stretches.

His energy is unparalleled, as a result he’s ers can see through phony energy. I think it’s hard to argue the school and graduate with a teaching Emma Norman Toddfact died at Robb the had great passion for the game and that’s where leaving that degree.a stamp on the Chippewa program. age of 86 in 1973, but her “He’s one of the characters thelegacy energy came from.”

“It was over thebiggest top in 1907 for a we’ve got,” Stuart says.

“He usgirl a lottoofgomotivation it fires us alllives up.”on as her familyHead coach Jim McElwain joked that he likes Akey because still rememlittlegives Black to school,”and Allen Four years before he was walking into thebers CMU locker room he’s easyshe on the equipment budget. Akey always wears shorts her — what she did, what said. forTodd’s the firstlife time, Akey was interviewing for the defensive to practice, so there’s no need for McElwain and the program accomplished, what she taught and was not easy, but she line coaching with what is obstacles now known asthe thelives Washington she touched. to spend the extra money ordering sweat pants for the defennever used tojob talk about her

By Addy Wachter Staff Reporter

ENERGIZING THE CHIPS Defensive coordinator Akey brings passion, creativity to Chippewa defense

sive coordinator.

There’s plenty more that CMU’s second-year coach appreciates about the defensive coordinator he brought with him.

“His passion and his energy for the players, not only what he does,” McElwain said. “It doesn’t matter what the day is, what the situation is, he’s gonna be there with energy.”

When the season was canceled, players were devastated.

Now that they have a chance to play, Akey makes sure to tell his players that nothing is guaranteed.

To do this, he cranks himself up each day in practice. The energy has rubbed off on his defensive unit, which is currently the top scoring defense in the Mid-American Conference.

“It’s contagious, and I mean the good kind of contagious,” Ypsilanti junior George Douglas said. “It’s fantastic. Coach Akey is, when it comes to just being hype in a sense, being energetic, just excited to do your job.”

Birmingham senior Troy Hairston has emerged as one of the MAC’s best pass rushers. He, too, feels an extra surge of motivation every time he sees Akey.

“He’s a very unpredictable dude,” Hairston said. “But he brings you along and he carries you along with him. The energy is something else. It’s not anything I’ve ever experienced with any other coach in my life and I’ve been playing football since I was six. He’s just a personable dude.”

That ability to be personable has helped his players buy in.

After last season’s surprising run to the MAC title game, there’s a certain standard set for his second season. The standard involves hoisting a trophy.

Regardless of the situation, Akey will be Akey, and every single one of his players are along for the ride.

Emma Norman Todd

CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE | CM-LIFE.COM | NOV. 19, 2020 | 43 MICHIGAN 19, 2020 MICHIGAN LIFELIFE| CM-LIFE.COM 19, 2020 || CENTRAL | CM-LIFE.COM| NOV. | NOV. | 45 | CENTRAL | 45

Courtesy Photo | CMU Athletics The Central Michigan University volleyball team practices Sept. 28 at McGuirk Arena.

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By Katherine Schultz Staff Reporter sports@cm-life.com

After a week of practicing on and off, volleyball senior outside hitter and Powell, Wyoming native Kalina Smith braced for the decision they know was coming.

Smith and five of her teammates sat in their shared living room, waiting for the announcement that would determine their season’s fate.

Sam Glapinski, a Hartland, Wisconsin senior forward/midfielder for the field hockey team, was at the mall when it happened.

She recalled her phone being buried in her purse as calls and texts flooded in from her coaches and teammates contacting her with the news.

When the Mid-American Conference canceled its entire fall schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the two seniors were struck by waves of emotions.

“It definitely was difficult for all of us,” Smith said. “At that point, we had no idea if we were even going to get a spring, so my mind was going a million miles an hour.”

Glapinski was heartbroken; she was hoping for a fall season, as she has a commitment in the spring to fulfill before graduation.

She remembered calling head coach Catherine Ostoich after finding out the season was off, wondering if there was a hope for a chance to still play in the fall. They both remained hopeful but knew it was not going to happen.

As plans for all MAC sports remained up in the air, CMU soon cleared its athletes to return to practice, given they follow COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing masks and maintaining contact lists. Both volleyball and field hockey wasted no time returning to business as usual.

Even though they did not have a season, they had lots of work to do.

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“We took it upon ourselves to make sure that we implemented structure for the incoming freshmen, even though our season was unknown,” Glapinski said. “We still had to implement some type of culture and be able to be there for these girls to keep their spirits high, and know that even moving forward that there may or may not be a season at all this year. The work still needs to be put in but we can all be there for each other while doing it.”

Smith also was grateful to be back in the gym with her team.

She was especially happy to have more time to build a rhythm and connections with freshmen players. However, she noted that COVID-19 was unpredictable and posed challenges for practice attendance.

In order to keep practicing, teams have to be very disciplined.

There is no such thing as being too careful.

If players or coaching staff were feeling even mildly unwell — sore throat, stuffy nose — they could not go to practice. This left practices to often take place without a full team. Sometimes athletes were without coaches.

CMU’s decision to allow their athletes to continue practicing paid off in September when the MAC announced volleyball, field hockey and men’s and women’s soccer would play a carefully-crafted spring season.

Volleyball’s head coach, Mike Gawlik, is not one to cancel practice when lots of people aren’t able to make it. Instead, he teaches his players to make do with what they have. Smith believes her team has adapted very well to this, and it could provide them — and all teams — with a serious benefit for games.

During a typical season, student athletes know the odds are that they could be called up to take the place of a starter at any given situation. COVID-19 has raised those odds, immensely.

“This fall has given us the opportunity to understand that everyone’s role extremely important this spring. You never know when your name is going to get called,” Smith said. “It’s given people the opportunity to step up and learn how to compete in

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those situations. I feel like other teams have not been as lucky as we have been with that.”

The NCAA also granted an extra season of eligibility for fall and winter athletes at the Division I level. Despite the excitement, these announcements posed some very stressful decisions for Glapinski, Smith and many more athletes who are nearing graduation.

Smith, who is graduating this spring, planned the rest of her classes last fall — when CMU introduced multi-semester registration — prior to the pandemic. She must complete her student-teaching requirement this spring. She will play this season and is grateful for the opportunity to play, but also decided that she would not take the extra eligibility.

Unfortunately for Glapinski, she found herself in the same situation, but will not play field hockey in the spring in order to finish her degree requirements. She also waived the eligibility and will be starting the nurse practitioner program at Marquette University in May. Despite not being able to play for the spring season, Glapinski is excited for her teammates. She has continued to practice with them throughout the fall.

“It put an end goal to all of the work we were doing in terms of practicing,” Glapinski said. “It all wasn’t just for nothing. I know that it’s definitely going to be a change of scenery — none of us have ever played in that type of weather before — but everyone’s very excited. I think, overall, we’re just really blessed and fortunate that we’ll be able to play.”

Both Glapinski and Smith expect the extra practice to pay off once the season begins. Volleyball’s schedule is still in the works, but field hockey is expected to face off in March against Bellarmine in the season opener.

“I think that the fact that we took advantage of the opportunities that Central provided for us definitely has made a difference,” Smith said. “I think that will show in the spring.”

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I learned from being too comfortable amid COVID-19 pandemic Choosing to live with five other girls was highrisk behavior. Possibly more fights, drama, stealing and, in 2020, more exposure to COVID-19.

On Sept. 28, I received a text from my roommate that put my life on hold for almost a month. “hi sooo i have covid,” the text read.

Three of us had gone back to our hometown, visiting parents, young siblings and grandparents.

I went home the previous Sunday night for family dinner and learned from that text the next day that I possibly exposed four people without knowing it.

I had exposed my two sisters, one of whom was supposed to be a bridesmaid in her life-long best friend’s wedding the following weekend; my step-mom, who takes care of a newborn grandchild and runs a company with several employees with families; perhaps, the worst of all – my dad.

The 55-year old man was raised by smokers and spends 12 hours of his day removing asbestos, a lung-cancer causing chemical, for the past 20 years.

Feeling the guilt of possibly serving my dad his death sentence was something I tried to

Jamie Rewerts Staff Reporter avoid by convincing myself I didn’t have it. However, it overtook me as I sulked and quarantined in my childhood room.

Every cough or sniffle I produced the next few days reminded me of the fact I was trying to avoid.

I could have COVID-19.

One day after the first roommate tested positive, a second roommate tested positive. My possibility of having it doubled and so did the guilt. I questioned every decision I had made over the past few days.

I got too comfortable. Getting exposed shifted me back to the reality of this pandemic: it is real and still growing. Cases spiked at Central Michigan University during the week everything happened, I shouldn’t have gone home without

getting tested. I should’ve been smarter, and I still regret it.

I didn’t want to get tested. When tests started rolling out, I was terrified. I heard horror stories about the nasal swabs. The pain, the nosebleeds and possible brain damage. As my doctor came into the room in a full-blown hazmat suit, I thought my worst nightmares were coming true.

To my surprise, the rumors weren’t true. The test wasn’t painful, no nosebleeds and my brain is still intact. I was told I would get my results in three to four days.

Waiting was the worst part. No one could be around me, and no one wanted to. Only my dog seemed excited to see me, which honestly was enough for me.

My life felt like a flashback to March. Zoom calls with friends, working from home and completely remote learning. Not only did I get comfortable within a pandemic, the whole world did. As we try to resume normal life with COVID-19, I can’t help but think this is the way things should’ve been all along, staying home and staying safe.

Unable to sleep, I kept refreshing the website where I would get my results every hour. Eventually, a notification popped up. My test came

back negative. I let out a sigh of relief and rolled over to sleep for the first time in days.

Almost a month later, I still don’t understand how I didn’t contract COVID-19. My roommates and I share clothes, food, drinks and a whole living space with several shared areas for the virus to spread like the kitchen or bathrooms.

I don’t know why this virus was selective in our household. I’m just thankful I didn’t get it. Not for myself, but for the people I could’ve exposed. My roommates suffered from muscle aches, sore throat, fever, tiredness and other awful symptoms I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

After three weeks stuck in my bedroom, I was able to go back to my now COVID-19 free off-campus house.

Fellow students, I encourage you to get tested before going back home, especially before winter break. The feeling of knowing you’re going back home safely and protecting your family from a potentially deadly virus is always worth it.

Wash your hands, sanitize, wear a mask and get tested. In 2020, you never know where COVID-19 is lurking and who it will come after next. Learn from me, don’t get comfortable and keep your loved ones in mind when traveling back home.

Reacting to covering my first MAGA rally, dispelling falsehoods After a nerve-wracking few days of little sleep, monitoring the constant news stream and all the hope in the world, the 2020 election seemed to be over. Media sources projected Vice President Joe Biden to be the winner.

The president-elect made history with the first female vice president among several other accolades. If there is one thing I have learned since Saturday, it’s that this election won’t end without a fight. Donald Trump refuses to concede and so do his supporters.

On the day following Biden’s win, I found myself at the very last place I thought I would be.

I pulled onto the dirt road that led to the Mount Pleasant Speedway. As I got closer, Trump signs and flags decorating the parking lot were revealed to me.

I sat in my car for a second to prepare myself for what I was about to observe.

As I exited the car and walked toward the group of more than 100 people, I clung to my camera and tightened the mask on my face. I was one of less than five people taking proper COVID-19 precautions. The CM Life press pass hanging around my neck seemed more like a target than a notice of media presence.

“It’s all bullshit,” I overheard a man with a giant American flag say to another man who stood with a Vector 9mm semi-automatic weapon attached. They shared the same opinion that the coronavirus is a hoax.

Why? That was the word I routinely found myself contemplating throughout my time at the MAGA Trump Rally. Why? Why do you need so much firepower while surrounded by like-minded people? Why do you negate science? Why do you

Aurora Abraham Staff Reporter think the coronavirus is not real?

“Sign the sheet,” the organizer, Bree Moeggenberg yelled, encouraging supporters to sign a petition to recall Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-50. The order created COVID-19 dedicated units within long-term care facilities to offer those who need it intensive medical care if infected with the virus. I approached one of two tables set up to gather support for the petition and was offered information by a man gathering signatures.

Why? Why are they garnering support for an executive order that was made to better treat those afflicted with COVID-19?

An answer came when a lady informed me of her reason for signing: Murder.

She told me the governor murdered people.

She ranted on about Gov. Whitmer purposefully endangering the elderly by placing infected patients with healthy ones.

Coronavirus deaths were inevitable; it is demoralizing that Americans would believe Gov. Whitmer took a step to not only undermine the severity of the situation but to intentionally cause death to people to “up her numbers,” according to the woman.

The order, signed on April 17, did not contrib-

ute infected patients to facilities. It isolated those people who showed symptoms or tested positive and even transported them to other locations.

The order ensured facilities had proper PPE supplies deemed by the state health department and aimed to increase the health and safety of both the employees and residents.

The misinformation does not end there.

As I wandered around a crowd of exclusively white people, I thought about the very message in and of that. I didn’t see a single person of color; what does that say about the people who support Trump and the man himself?

Speaker after speaker took the stage and preached about the need to save America. And that could only be done with a second term for Trump. After four long years, over 230,000 deaths due to COVID-19, over 4,000 Black Lives Matter protests, how could the answer to a better America possibly be more Donald Trump?

Another common and false theme was that the election is not yet over. This is incomprehensible in my mind. Donald Trump lost. Joe Biden won. That is not going to change no matter how many more votes are counted in Arizona OR Georgia. That is not going to change no matter how many lawsuits he files against states claiming voter fraud with zero evidence. That is not going to change no matter how much of a problem Trump and his supporters have with it.

As I stood there, listening to the falsities that people genuinely believe in, I was taken aback by the idiocy sweeping through the crowd.

A woman took the microphone and began her message. She said it’s impossible to believe the media. Everyone agreed and clapped along.

“The media has warped into really being an

illusion,” she said. I felt alienated; like anyone I then spoke to was going to agree with her, that I was only there to create malicious lies rather than simply communicate the truth. However, this was not the case with the few individuals I spoke to. I asked one woman why she was in attendance and she answered politely – that Trump won.

I think people who believe in something as radical as the media being false tend to hide behind groupthink. I believe even though they chose to cheer on a speaker delegitimizing media, they may not necessarily believe all those things first hand. I was humbled by the cordial attitude others had toward my presence; I did not receive any personal attacks or accusations of ‘fake news.’

I don’t think I will ever understand the beliefs of Trump supporters or the opinions they share.

I understand the inability to determine the truth from the embellishments. News stations – for example CNN and Fox – spew opinions and offer biased information from the way they speak about political figures to their association with certain political affiliations. That’s why my job, as a journalist, as a truth teller, is valuable.

That is important to not only me, but the world around me. We all deserve the truth.

However, denying the truth is a different story. I don’t understand the ability to nullify proof of the egregious statements and acts of Trump.

We all have different opinion and we will always have different opinion. My hope and aspiration in writing this is that an honest conversation will arise. One that will bring us as Americans closer together, because unity and truth is what we need most of all.

EDITORIAL

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE

BREAK After a difficult semester we encourage students to take time to heal and recover

dents have adapted to remote learning, worn masks and restricted large gatherings.

Students were looking for answers heading into break. Now, we can look forward to three weeks of walking on glass. One misstep, and people of Michigan could be sent into a downward spiral of shutdowns.

Students looked forward to a long-awaited, deserved break where we could spend holidays with family and friends. Some students haven’t seen their families more than once or twice since school began. Many out-of-state

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EDITORIAL STAFF

WE DESERVE A

Well, we made it to the end of the semester, but it doesn’t feel like there’s a cause for celebration.

This past weekend, on Nov. 15, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addressed residents of Michigan. She announced the state would once again heighten restrictions to weaken the effects of COVID-19 over the next three weeks – maybe more.

Almost everyone expected the news after a spike in numbers across the state, but now, it is hard not to catch a sense of déjà vu.

In the spring, students left for break expecting to get a someone intact spring semester. We are all expecting to return in January, but are we getting too far ahead of ourselves?

The end of the semester was supposed to be relief to students, who for the better half of four months have safeguarded the health and safety of the Mount Pleasant area.

We’ve done everything asked of us. Stu-

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students haven’t seen their families at all.

We are being strongly encouraged to stay put over Thanksgiving and Winter Break.

However, students are tired of attempting to make the best of a horrible situation. The mental health of students is at an all-time low. We are exhausted. Students should be allowed to do what is best for them and their families. A “break” should be just that.

If you are going home to our families or visiting friends, you must minimize the risk of exposure and infection. Don’t travel if you’re sick. Reduce the number of close contacts over the next week. Get tested before going home or self-quarantine yourself until the end of the semester to ensure you are not putting anyone in danger.

We’ve done all we can to protect ourselves from COVID-19. Now, do what it takes from Nov. 26 through Jan. 10 to heal.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF...................................Isaac Ritchey ASSOCIATE EDITORS .................Michael Livingston Andrew Mullin Courtney Pedersen SPORTS EDITOR................................Austin Chastain PHOTO EDITOR...........................Rachael Yadlowsky ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR.........Aurora Abraham MULTIMEDIA EDITORS............................ Ben Ackley ENGAGEMENT EDITOR .................... Jamie Rewerts Isabel Karnes COPY EDITOR ....................................Amalia Kalergis PRESENTATION EDITOR...................Sarah Brownell DESIGNERS............................................Madison Skop Jon Hearth REPORTERS ...........................................Teresa Homsi Ben Jodway Brendan Weisner Makayla Coffee Christian Booher Katherine Schultz Stephanie Kennert Noelle Gray Barbara Garcia McKaela Chapman Noah Wulbrecht Malina Wojtylo

ADVERTISING STAFF AD MANAGERS ..........................................Connor Turpin Lauren Frailey ACCOUNT MANAGERS............................... Autumn Reis Ian Gapp Russell Vollick Samantha Sweeting Julia Springer Ainsley Young ______________________________________________ All letters to the editor or guest columns must include a name, address, affiliation (if any) and phone number for verification. Anonymous letters will not be printed, except under extraordinary circumstances. CM Life reserves the right to edit all letters and columns for style, length, libel, redundancy, clarity, civility and accuracy. Letters should be no more than 450 words in length. Longer guest columns may be submitted but must remain under 750 words. Published versions may be shorter than the original submission. CM Life reserves the right to print any original content as a letter or guest column.

Please allow up to five days for a staff response, which will include an expected date of publication. Submission does not guarantee publication.

______________________________________________

Central Michigan Life, the independent voice of Central Michigan University, is edited and published by students of Central Michigan University every Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. The newspaper’s online edition, cm-life.com, contains all of the material published in print, and is updated on an as-needed basis.

Central Michigan Life serves the CMU and Mount Pleasant communities, and is under the jurisdiction of the independent Student Media Board of Directors. Dave Clark serves as Director of Student Media at CMU and is the adviser to the newspaper. Articles and opinions do not necessarily reflect the position or opinions of Central Michigan University. Central Michigan Life is a member of the Associated Press, the Michigan Press Association, the Michigan Collegiate Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press, College Newspaper Business & Advertising Managers Association, the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce, Central Michigan Home Builders Association, Mount Pleasant Housing Association and the Mount Pleasant Downtown Business Association. The newspaper’s online provider is SN Works.

Central Michigan Life is distributed throughout the campus and at numerous locations throughout Mount Pleasant. Non-university subscriptions are $75 per academic year. Back copies are available at 50 cents per copy, or $1 if mailed. Photocopies of stories are 25 cents each. Digital copies of photographs published in Central Michigan Life are available upon request at specified costs.

Central Michigan Life’s editorial and business offices are located at 436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, telephone (989) 774-3493 or 774-LIFE.

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CENTRAL MICHIGAN LIFE

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TO OUR SUPER TEAMMATES,

Congrats, grads!

C O N N O R T U R P IN

RACHAEL YADLOW

SKY

L A U R E N F R A IL E Y

EVAN PETZOLD

WE ARE GOING TO MISS YOU! #CMLife4Life

ALANNA (SPARKS) HUNT

SARAH BROWNELL

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