Class partners with nonprofit to work with kids, 5A
Haunted castle | Attraction on Pickard open every day next week, 3A
BLACK & BRUISED | CMU loses fifth consecutive, any hope of bowl game, 1B
Monday, Oct. 25, 2010
Central Michigan Life
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
[cm-life.com]
$695,000 spent on Event Center renovation issues
S t ude n t g o v er n m e n t ass o cia t i o n
Off-campus recycling championed by leaders
Funds not included in board’s approved $750,000 allocation
Process requires collaboration with university, community
By Carisa Seltz Senior Reporter
An extra $695,000 was spent for Event Center renovation issues, design errors and omissions before the CMU Board of Trustees allocated $750,000. The original budget of $21.5 million included $695,000 in contingency funds, but the board approved an additional $750,000 for the project at its Sept. 23 meeting. Additional funds were needed because the design plans, provided by Smith Group Inc., allegedly included costly errors, said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of facilities management. “In this particular project, the number of these items and the cost to correct them exceeded our percent of (original) contingency dollars available,” Lawrence said. He said CMU will attempt to recoup money from the design firm. Smith Group was not available for comment. The mediation process will start if the two parties cannot come to an agreement, Lawrence said. Negotiations could be compromised if the list of design errors was published. He said negotiations will be tough, but Smith Group has been cooperative. “They’ve been putting in a (great) amount of time to make sure the project will meet its completion day,” he said. The exact amount of money CMU will look to recoup from Smith Group for the A event | 2A
[inside] NEWS w United Way approaches its fundraising goal, 2A w Just 43 residence hall rooms are housing five students, 5A
sports w Starting QB Ryan Radcliff benched in fourth quarter, 1B
CM-LIFE.com w Check out our slideshows with images from Saturday’s football game and a week in photos
weather, 2b w AM Showers High 70/ Low 55
By Heather Hillman Senior Reporter
photos by paige calamari/staff photographer
China freshman Wenjie Wei, left, Mount Pleasant senior Katina Mangus, center, and Remus senior Tyler Dunham, right, prepare for practice by dressing in kendo armor or bogu Tuesday night during Kendo Club at the Rose Arena.
slice of life Kendo Club teaches respect with Japanese martial art, group president says By Michael L. Hoffman | Staff Reporter
T
he “way of the sword” does not end when members of CMU’s Kendo Club remove their armor and leave the arena. The fencing-like sport teaches many things participants can apply to the rest of their lives, club president Tyler Dunham said. “Kendo is about a lot of things,” the Remus senior said. “It’s very ritualistic, it’s about respect and becoming a better person.” Dunham first got involved with the Kendo Club when he was a freshman. “I just happened to meet the old president and I already did martial arts,” he said. “Then eventually I took over.” Currently, the club has about six members, Dunham said. New to the art of Kendo, is Troy freshman Christina Cornell. Cornell said she first discovered the Kendo Club at MAINstage in August. “I had been mildly interested before,” she said, “But never had the chance to do it and I asked Tyler about it and it seemed cool.” She said she has really enjoyed her involvement in the club so far. China freshman Jiao Liang said he enjoys the environment and drive of Kendo.
Remus senior Tyler Dunham practices Tuesday night. Kendo, the “Way of the Sword,” is a sport derived from Japanese swordsmanship.
“I like to do some competition and fighting,” he said. “But I didn’t want to use my fists, that’s why I like it.” The club’s highest ranking member is Wenjie Wei, a China freshman. He joined the club this semester, but brought a fair amount of experience with him from home. “I have been doing it a long time,” Wei said. “It can be so addictive.” Dunham said there is a lot of time and devotion needed to be fully involved in Kendo. The sport is much more complex than it first appears, he said. Care must be taken to learn all of its associated rules and rituals. “Like any Japanese martial art,” Dunham said. “It takes a lot of work and dedication.” He said because the sport is relatively expensive, there are no dues to join. The sword, or shinai, is the main tool of Kendo practitioners, and also the least expensive, ranging from around $20 and up, Dunham said.
The armor, however, usually costs several hundred dollars. But the costs of the sport should not deter those interested, he said, as the lessons learned doing Kendo can be applied throughout life. It doesn’t end in the dojo, the place of learning, but reaches into everything you do. Among the values learned in Kendo, one rises above all others — respect. “(Kendo) makes you more respectful and that’s why we do it,” Dunham said. “It’s very ritualistic, you learn to be very respectful and maintain yourself and your equipment.” He said Kendo isn’t for everyone, however. It must be taken seriously. “You can be nice and respectful in the dojo and leave and be a (jerk), you’re not really getting it,” Dunham said. studentlife@cm-life.com
Ashley Hehl’s house on University Street is piled high with old bottles, egg cartoons and plastic bags. But the Coopersville senior isn’t too lazy to clean up — she is trying to save the environment. Hehl is just one of many CMU students who moved off campus to find there is no recycling option available to them. The Student Government Association is trying to change this inconvenience by making recycling accessible for all CMU students — on campus or off. “It would make it a lot easier, we would definitely recycle more,” Hehl said. “We don’t just throw (recyclables) in the trash to go to the curb, but it is a lot harder because we need to take it to a recycling bin ourselves.” Chair of Student Services Zac Kaczanowski is heading up the project for the SGA. He said the ultimate goal is to place a recycling bin next to every garbage bin. Kaczanowski, a Rochester Hills senior, is collecting 6,000 signatures from CMU students to show there is a demand for more bins around town. So far, 1,000 signatures have been obtained. “There is a need for students who do want to do recycling off campus,” Kaczanowski said. “I’ve never had someone tell me they don’t believe in this position. It’s been an ongoing thing, the gears have just started to grind.” Kaczanowski said the real problem lies with who is going to cover the costs of the endeavor. Though Kaczanowski has not gotten any estimates, he believes the project will be relatively cheap. Another challenge Kaczanowski said they will face is city regulations that limit the number of dumpsters you can have in some off-campus complexes. “City council will have to make new guidelines,” he said. “It has to be a collaborative thing.” Kaczanowski said he has spoken to one landlord and attended one city commission meeting about the issue. While Kaczanowski is hopeful A SGA | 2A
Chippettes get back to their roots Students engage by teaching young dancers By Hailee Sattavara Staff Reporter
Smiling faces filled a room at Off-Broadway Performing Arts Studio as the CMU Chippettes and their youthful dance students filtered in. A few parents hovered in the lobby, eager to see the graceful moves their children would learn.
Sixteen focused 6- to 11year-old girls moved their feet in unison and walked sassy under the dance team’s instruction at the studio, 118 S. Washington St. Teaching these classes allows the Chippettes to work closer as a team, Melissa Scheid said. “It allows us to work together in a way we wouldn’t normally be able to during practice,” the Grand Rapids junior said. Scheid and Mount Pleasant sophomore Morgan Baumann are leaders on the team and together choreo-
graphed 90 percent of Saturday’s routines. For most of the class, the girls and Chippettes split up into two groups learning a jazz routine in one room and hip-hop in the other. Toward the end of the first class, they were reunited to show the other group, as well as their parents. “It’s a nice way to say ‘thank you,’ and I work here so it’s a good way to give back to the community,” Baumann said. This is one of many community service activities the group takes part in, Scheid
said. They worked to be personable and encourage their students Saturday morning, paying attention to each child. Milford junior Emma Coffman, like many of the girls on the team, honed her skills when they were younger in classes like this, she said. “It’s fun to see how the dance community environment has changed since we were this age,” she said. “It helps to learn from different teachers.” metro@cm-life.com
kaitlin thoresen/staff photographer
Macomb freshman Samantha Tortomasi plays “Miss Sam Says” with girls at a dance workshop at the Off-Broadway Performing Arts Studio, 118 S. Washington St., Saturday morning. The CMU Chippettes taught the workshop for 6- to 11-year-olds.