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Alcohol violations up from last year
| Friday, September 2, 2011
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| Mount Pleasant, Mich.
C M U W I N S o p ene r 2 1 - 6
Program started to increase safety
Liberal, applied arts graduates have less success
By Mike Nichols Senior Reporter
The number of alcohol violations in residence halls were above average during the 201011 school year at 503 total. The Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities recorded the number of alcohol policy violations, nine violations above the yearly average of 494. Ben Witt, student behavioral administrator, said he expected the numbers to rise slightly to meet the average, since the 2007 through 2009 numbers had been lower than average. The tally includes off-campus sites, but the main bulk of it comes from on campus, particularly residence halls, he said. “During the year, you’re going to have key weekends like tailgating, or when it was really nice out on St. Patrick’s Day,” Witt said. “Plus, I believe we had a record freshman class, so a lot of students (were) involved in it.” Taylor Bandemer of Walled Lake was one of those freshmen. His first violations were within a week of each other. One Friday he was caught drinking with 20 people in his room. The next Friday he was written up for the same violation, this time with 10 people. He paid $500 in fines. After his third violation for alcohol in the residence halls, he was put on academic probation for a year. “I can’t come back until this December,” Bandemer said. “But I don’t know if I need to anymore because I think I have a job lined up for six figures and I don’t need a four-year college degree.” Bandemer said he has no opinions against drinking in the residence halls, but advises students to be more careful. Everyone at CMU drinks, he said, but it should be done responsibly. Livonia sophomore Kyle Gortat said he also learned from alcohol violations. He received two from his Resident Assistant, and said it kept him from drinking in the residence halls again. “Not only will you have to pay a pretty large fine, but you are pretty much under radar for the rest of the year,” he said. “I felt very uncomfortable drinking in the dorms after that and learned my lesson.” According to the statistics, alcohol violations are higher than any other conduct code at CMU by hundreds. The number includes all violations listed under the Alcohol and Controlled Substance Policy. Witt attributes the number to a combination of factors. St. Johns graduate student Nicole Percival is trying to teach A alcohol | 2a
Business majors find best results following graduation By Logan Patmon Staff Reporter
perry fish/staff photographer
Wyandotte freshman Neil Marker screams during a break in the third quarter Thursday evening in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Marker was awarded “most school spirit” in high school. “I just love school spirit,” Marker said.
party’s started Both Main Street, Kelly/Shorts see smaller crowds By Jamie Favazza | Staff Reporter
“Tailgate today looked like an empty parking lot, exactly how it looks during the school day,” said Taylor senior Deanna Celsi while tailgating Thursday night. Celsi said she was surprised by how few people turned out to tailgate outside Kelly/Shorts Stadium before the Central Michigan University football team took on South Carolina State in the first home game of the season. “CMU used to be known for its tailgate and every group on campus was represented — now, there’s no one here,” Celsi said. “Even Main Street was dead today.” Tyler Wardle, Roseville sophomore and member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, was hanging out with friends outside his fraternity’s house at 906 S. Main St. Wardle and his friends were one of the few groups on Main Street. “Today’s the day I’ve been waiting for all summer,” he said. “We’re starting on Main Street and heading over to tailgate later to support the CMU community.” Wardle said he still has a good time at tailgate, despite the rule changes, and is excited for the season. Saginaw senior Matt Mielock said he was disappointed to see so few students tailgate for the first home game. “I don’t know if it’s still the tailgate rule changes, but students might be intimidated to come out because of them,” he said. Mielock said he usually goes to Main Street rather than the tailgate lot because it is more exciting.
CMU Alumni members also noticed the changes in the student tailgate atmosphere. “The changed tailgate rules seem to have had a big impact for students,” said Joe Bowen, Mount Pleasant resident and 2003 CMU alumnus. “Nothing’s changed on our side, though. You can drink beer on the student side or you can come eat a real meal like shrimp cocktail and bruschetta on our side.” Lloyd Sanders, Bay City resident and 1983 CMU alumnus, said he was wondering where all the students were. He said tailgate was a lot wilder when he A tailgate | 2a
perry fish/staff photographer
Bay City senior Nate Caister looks up into the air as a T-shirt is shot over his head during the first quarter of the first home game against South Carolina State Thursday evening in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Caister was upset someone else in the back row caught the shirt instead. “We are people too,” Caister said.
erica kearns/staff photographer
Walled Lake juniors Nick Doggett and Alicia Smolinski, Armada senior Robert Morris and Grand Rapids sophomore Marha Hentschel, laugh on the porch of Doggett’s 315 Bellows St. house Thursday before the first home football game of the season. “I’m pumped for football season this year, fall is always the best,” Doggett said.
A college degree, especially in the arts, does not come with a guarantee of future employment in students’ fields of study. Depending on his or her major, Central Michigan University students enter into very different job markets. A recent survey shows that students often end up working in areas outside of their specialization. The highest employment rate is for those majoring in business, which had 93 percent of students surveyed find employment in their field. The lowest rate is for students majoring in liberal and applied arts, where only 74 percent of students surveyed found employment in their field. CMU’s unemployment rate six months after graduation for students with bachelor’s degrees has increased approximately 8 percent in the past 10 years. The employment numbers for CMU graduates are not completely accurate, since only approximately 35 percent of graduates typically reply to the survey, said Julia Sherlock, director of career services. The actual percentages are probably lower. “Most of the students who do (reply) are those who are very excited to share the job they have gotten, or those who haven’t gotten anything,” Sherlock said. Students are sent email surveys six months after graduation, and if they do not reply , a paper copy is sent. In 2000-01, 93 percent of CMU grads with bachelor’s degrees found employment or went on to graduate school six months after graduation. In the 2009-10 school year only 85 percent of students who graduated found employment or continued to graduate school, according to a survey conducted by the office of Career Services. CMU’s unemployment has been mirroring the job climate in Michigan, which is currently ranked third highest in the nation, with a 10.9 percent unemployment rate in July of 2011 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. The national unemployment average for the same time period was 9.1 percent. While there has been a significant drop between the job placement rates in the decade between the 2000-01 and the 2009-10 graduating classes, the 2009-10 job placement rates are down less than two percent from the 2008-09 school year when 86 percent of graduates found employment or continued on to graduate school. Rudy Barron, 2011 graduate, was able to quickly find a job using his accounting degree.
A Jobs | 2a
CMU post office open in UC By Andrea Peck Staff Reporter
Students now have another option for their mailing needs with the opening of the Central Michigan University post office in the Bovee University Center. The post office opened on Aug. 22, and was built after being chosen as the number one priority found in a survey asking CMU students what they wanted to see as part of the new student center in the UC.
Thomas Trionfi, director of Contracting, Purchasing, and Health Services said the post office is mainly used by students, but teachers and other staff members can utilize it as well. Trionifi said business has been good so far because the location is more convenient than the other post office on campus called the “Central Mail Room,” located in the Combined Services Building. The UC post office has not yet taken away business from the post office located in the Student
Book Exchange, although it is possible, said General SBX Manager John Belco. “We’re mostly just concerned about the loss of traffic,” Belco said. Neither of the post offices are able to offer special deals or prices, as these are set at current postal rates. At the UC post office, delivery confirmation is available at no additional cost to anyone using the kiosk. The new post office is open 8
a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and offers full USPS services. “We have had a very positive impact from the students,” Central Mail Room Office Manager Linda Richter said. She said she also does not consider the SBX post office competition. “(The UC post office) is mainly designed to be a personal post office,” she said. university@cm-life.com
charlotte bodak/staff photographer
China junior, Chen Lin finishes writing the address for her package to New York at the personal postage service station in Bovee University Center.
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