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Central Michigan Life
Monday, Sept. 13, 2010
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
[cm-life.com]
‘ i r e a l ly w a n t t o m a k e a d i f f e r e n c e o n c a m p u s ’
Ticketing for wrong parking on Bellows St. begins today Signs now up, violation is $25 By Ryan Czachorski Senior Reporter
presidential prowess SGA head reminisces about Greek upbringing, coming to CMU By Heather Hillman | Senior Reporter
I
t takes a lot to lead the Student Government Association — dedication, timeliness, diplomacy — and in Brittany Mouzourakis’ case, a pair of black stiletto “power heels.” Mouzourakis, a Garden City senior, is serving as SGA president this academic year. Although she is majoring in international business, Mouzourakis said she was naturally drawn to politics.
“When I came to Central Michigan University, I knew I wanted to continue getting involved in student government,” Mouzourakis said. “I like politics and helping people. I really want to make a difference on campus.” Dave Breed, Muskegon senior and vice president of SGA, said the plan to run for office began when the pair met their freshman year. Breed said Mouzourakis’ drive and ambition makes her the perfect person for the presidency — that and the energy boost she receives from her love of coffee. “She’s completely obsessed with coffee, she’ll literally drink six to seven cups a day,” Breed said. “Ever since I’ve known her,
she’s been drinking coffee.” Both of Mouzourakis’s parents are Greek immigrants, making her and her two older sisters first generation American. Growing up in a house where the main language was Greek, Mouzourakis said her upbringing was very similar to the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” In addition to Greek, Mouzourakis has studied Japanese for seven years. She has travelled to Japan twice-once at age 16 and again when she studied abroad during the summer of 2008. And while Mouzourakis has made the most of her CMU experience, she said she almost never even came.
‘What you see is what you get’ Mouzourakis had always planned to go to the University of Michigan and had in fact been accepted, but once she received the Leader Advancement Scholarship from CMU, her career choice became solidified. “The opportunities that you have at CMU are much greater than at a big institution,” she said. “I feel like I’ve taken advantage of all the opportunities, and maybe I wouldn’t have at a bigger, more overwhelming school.” It was through LAS that Mouzourakis met her roommate of three years, Alecia A SGA | 2A
Voter registration deadline approaches Absentee ballots must be requested by Saturday before elections By Maria Amante Staff Reporter
Students who have not yet registered to vote can still have their voice heard this fall. The voter registration deadline for the November
elections is Oct. 4. Applications are available at local clerk offices, state agencies, Secretary of State offices, voter registration drives and on the Secretary of State website, www.michigan.gov/sos. Michigan applicants must be U.S. citizens, have resided in a Michigan city or township for over 30 days and be over age 18 by election day, according to the Secretary of State. Both of CMU’s student political clubs, College
Democrats and Republicans, hold voter registration drives. College Democrats have already registered 761 students and hope to register 5000 by the registration deadline. “We’re focusing on apartment complexes and residential halls,” said Brad O’Donnell, president of College Democrats and Clinton Township senior. “There are a plethora of things we’re doing to get students registered.” College Republicans
didn’t give specific details on their voter registration drives, but Travis Faber, first vice chair of the organization, said they will hold some voter registration events. “We are going to encourage all of the students to register to vote,” the Battle Creek senior said. Registering is only the first step for students who may be unable to get back to their registered area. To register for an absentee ballot, voters should
submit an application to their local city or township clerk. The application must be received by 2 p.m. the Saturday preceding the election and may be obtained from the Secretary of State’s website. A person who registers to vote by mail must be present in person for the first election in which they participate.
Cars pulling in to the new back-in parking spots on Bellows Street could find a ticket on their windshield starting today. The 27 new spots, which are west of the intersection Bellows and East Campus Drive, were always intended to be back-in spots, but it was not made as clear as CMU Police wanted. “When it was first completed, the signs had not arrived yet,” said Police Chief Bill Yeagley. “Last week, the signs were put in.” Police did not start enforcing immediately after the signs arrived to give drivers time to notice. Yeagley said he thought people would still assume it was pull-in parking. The penalty for improperly parking in the back-in spots is a $25 ticket. They are also metered, which has its own penalty if expired. There are two signs informing drivers of the back-in protocol, with one on each side of the lot. East Jordan senior Sierra Roberts said she parks in the new spots three days a week for her class at the Health Professions Building. “I’ve never even seen that sign,” she said. “I totally would have gotten a ticket every time.” The lot’s design causes problems for her when she drives westbound on Bellows and can’t back in from that side of the street, Roberts said. She is prepared to circle the block to park there. The lot is just to the west of the Carlin Alumni House. It was built over the summer, along with the new mini-circle on Bellows. Rochester Hills senior Stephen Martin said he thinks the lot is inefficient, regardless of the directions cars are accessing it. “How are people going to park there when there’s a high amount of traffic?” Martin said. “There’s a car behind you. I think the whole lot’s misplanned.” The grace period ends today and Yeagley said he hopes drivers back into the spots as intended. “My hope is they do that,” Yeagley said, “and life is good.”
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Five girls, two names, one room 130 rooms on campus are still in expanded occupancy By Heather Hillman Senior Reporter
As the residents of Larzelere 105 moved into their room, they heard students pass by gawking at the names posted on their door: Samantha Floen, Samantha Miller, Samantha Legere, Sarah Meyerink and Sarah Donetti have more in common than their names — they are all roommates.
Miller, an Illinois freshman, said while amongst each other the names don’t pose a problem, when people come looking for one of them things get tricky. “It’s really weird when people call and are like ‘Hey, can I talk to Sam?’” said Legere, an Oscoda freshman. “That’s when things get confusing.” The girls are just one case of many new students living in expanded occupancy rooms. They said one of the major drawbacks of a fifth roommate was the extra desk, dresser and bed. While many living in residence halls can use the center room as a sort of living room,
often complete with a futon and television, all five of their desks remain in the center room, which makes Floen, a Royal Oak freshman, feel like she’s in a computer lab. Still, the girls agreed living with five has gone better than they anticipated. “I imagine if you had a fourperson room then moved to this it would be hard, but we had nothing to base it on,” Legere said. Shaun Holtgreive, associate director of Residence Life, said about 130 rooms across campus are still in expanded occupancy. The office will continue to offer students the option to move out to freed up rooms until that number
is zero. Students are given the option to move out based on the time of their application — the sooner they applied the sooner they will be given the chance to move. Holtgreive said the resident with the latest application date is the one that moves out. However, if another resident would rather take the spot and both parties agree, that is left open as an option. Interesting shift Residents may also choose to stay in an expanded occupancy room as long as all of the people living there agree.
victoria zegler/staff photographer
Left to right: Freshmen Sarah Meyerink of Otsego, Sarah Donetti of Lake Orion, Sam Legere of Oscoda, Samantha Miller of Illinois and Sam Floen of Royal Oak talk about funny experiences living together during their first few nights in the residence halls Wednesday night in Larzelere Hall. “It’s really not as difficult as most people think,” Miller said.
A five | 2A
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