SPORTS | Kylee Kubacki perseveres through house fire, father’s illness, 1B
Friday, Nov. 5, 2010
Student research could be used to bust meth labs, 3A
Central Michigan Life
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
[cm-life.com]
Alcoholic energy drinks banned in Michigan Products to be off shelves by Dec. 4
W e st e r n Weekend Residence Hall lock-up: All doors except for front will be locked from 8 p.m. Thursday until 7 a.m. Sunday Rivalry Run: Game ball arrives at Kelly/Shorts Stadium by about 10 a.m. Kickoff: 6 p.m. at Kelly/Shorts Stadium Gametime weather: 36 degrees F. Mostly Cloudy 20% Chance of Precipitation
By Rachel Dybicki Staff Reporter
Popular alcoholic energy drinks such as Four Loko, Sparks and Joose will soon be absent from Michigan liquor store shelves. The drinks, called a “blackout in a can” in a press release from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, will be banned starting Dec. 4. With a 12 percent alcohol content in 24 ounces,
it is equivalent to five or six beers, according to the release. “We were concerned about the popularity increasing with college kids and the increase of underage drinking through these beverages,” said MLCC spokeswoman Andrea Miller. “(The) Michigan Liquor Control Commission had to step in and make some changes.” Once the Food and Drug Administration decides its standing on the beverages, Miller said the commission has the power to revisit the option with any new findings and possibly bring the drinks back.
The FDA has no scientific evidence the beverages are safe and the commission is banning all alcohol energy drinks for health protection, Miller said. “Students all around Central’s campus will be freaking out,” said Lapeer junior Brittany Schaller. “You can drink one Four Loko and feel good for the rest of the night for only a couple of dollars. College students are struggling with money so of course they are going to choose the cheapest beverage with the greatest effect.” With 55 different varieties of drinks, the state cannot keep track of all
their reported effects, Miller said. Consumption of the various drinks are the number one substance abuse problem among youth, she said. A fair change? Michigan is not the only state prohibiting the beverages. Another 29 states have recently sent letters of concern to the FDA. Gary Singh, manager at Liquor 1, 1707 S. Mission St., doesn’t agree with the change. “If they stop the selling of alcoholic energy drinks then they will eventually have to get rid of drinks
like Jager and Red Bull,” Singh said. Schaller said if the FDA passed any of the drinks, at one point it must have met standards. “I don’t understand how they could have let it get so out of hand,” she said. The labeling of these beverages is a concern, Miller said, because they look as if they are an ordinary energy drink or even an Arizona Iced Tea. “We hope this necessary ban protects the safety, health and welfare of our Michigan residents,” Miller said. metro@cm-life.com
Colleges give about half of funds to other offices
‘My Ántonia’ opens tonight in Townsend Kiva Play highlights characters’ relationship, narrative
Deans satisfied with overall funding model
By Rachael Woods Staff Reporter
A story of love, friendship and regret between an intimate cast of students will premiere tonight. “My Ántonia” follows the relationship between Jim Burden, played by Wyoming junior Mike Nichols, and Ántonia Shimerda, an Eastern European immigrant played by Jackson sophomore Rebekah Trombley, as her family struggles to establish a farm on the Nebraska prairie. The theater adaptation of the 1918 novel is part of the Riecker Literary series and the fourth piece to If you go ... be featured since 2005. w What: ‘My Ántonia,’ Performances of a play “My Antonia” are at w When: 7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. today and tonight and Saturday, Saturday and at 2 2 p.m. Sunday p.m. Sunday in the w Where: Townsend Townsend Kiva in Kiva in Moore Hall Moore Hall. Tickets w How much: Tickets are free, but must be are free but must obtained in advance be reserved from the at the Central Box Central Box Office Office. “The focus is on the characters and telling the story rather than the big production,” said Elizabeth Richard, director and producer of the production. “It allows the imagination of the audience to be spurred in a different way and we hopefully can be less literal in some sense than film.” Eight actors, one cellist, a wheelbarrow and one old chest make up most everything on stage, which keeps attention on the narrative rather than the scenery, said Richard, a Communication and Dramatic Arts instructor and three-year affiliate of the Riecker series. “I love that it’s a close knit cast,” said Indiana junior Colin Russell, who plays the character
paige calamari/staff photographer
There is never enough money to fulfill an academic institution’s wishlist, but deans at CMU are satisfied with the overall funding model. On average, 54.5 percent of revenue generated by the six colleges at CMU is transferred out of their budgets to fund other entities on campus. David Burdette, vice president of Finance and Administrative Services, said how much each college allocates is determined by an assessment rate — an overhead for financing areas on campus that don’t generate revenue. “That’s the assessment out and on average it’s around 50 percent,” he said. Non-revenue generating entities on campus, such as the Office of the Registrar, Scholarships and Financial Aid, Admissions and Student Account Services, Burdette said, are sensitive to increased student enrollment and their concerns must be considered. Each college works with the Office of Institutional Research to determine its assessment rate based on factors such as enrollment and student credit hours, Burdette said. Next year, assessment rates will be re-evaluated, which he said happens every three years. The re-evaluation takes place to ensure fairness, Burdette said. “Our role on the administrative side of the house is to make sure (the non-revenue generating entities) get represented as well and that’s down to the finite decimal point
A play | 2A
New Lothrop freshman Joshua Schiefer rehearses the role of a train conductor during Wednesday night’s rehearsal of “My Antonia” in Moore Hall’s Townsend Kiva.
A in-depth | 2A
[inside] NEWS Computer error slows down county election results, 3A VOICES Our take the state’s ban on alcoholic energy drinks, 4A FRIDAY FEATURE A local couple runs nonprofit to build schools around the world, 8A SPORTS Soccer plays Miami in the MAC tournament semifinals today, 1B CM-LIFE.COM Join us for a live chat of the football game beginning at 5:45 p.m.
By Carisa Seltz Senior Reporter
Editor’s note: Every Friday, CM Life will publish an in-depth piece, examining different issues.
College of Medicine building at 35% completion End date still set for fall 2012 By Tony Wittkowski Staff Reporter
The College of Medicine building has had no hitch in the construction process and is still expected to be completed by its set date of occupation. Dr. Ernest Yoder, the college’s dean, said things are “a bit ahead of schedule and on target” for occupation by fall 2012. The completion rate for the school is now set at 35 percent, said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management. “The basement, under-
ground utilities and foundations are complete,” Lawrence said. “Structural steel is nearly completed.” Work on the second and third concrete floors are complete and metal stud work, Dens board sheeting and exterior metal stud wall framing are underway, he said. Lawrence said in the next two weeks additional work on the first floor wall framing and upper level courtyard window framing will be completed. The project is a $24 million, 60,000-square-foot addition to the Health Professions Building, and will be similar in appearance. “The exterior should be completed by December,” said Steve Smith, director
of public relations. Yoder said the college is important to CMU and its students. A large influx in students this semester came with an increase in pre-medicine students, he said. “This year, CMU had its largest freshman class,” he said. Yoder said the university is addressing the shortage of physicians in the state and creating new ways of training students. Construction began on the new facility in February 2009. So far, the College of Medicine has had no problems in construction, Lawrence said. university@cm-life.com
sara winkler/staff photographer
Construction continues on the new College of Medicine building along Preston Street on campus, with staircases being one of the newest additions to the building. According to project manager Stanley Mandziuk, construction has been running smoothly.