The Student Newspaper of Moraine Valley Community College www.mvccglacier.com May 13, 2011 Volume 43, Issue 16
Moraine brings in spring with fire By Amel Saleh Entertainment Editor Everyone has seen a prairie in his or her life. But few have seen a true, preserved prairie and luckily here at Moraine we have a parcel of what’s left of
the 0.1% that remains. Prairies are comprised of mostly grasses, sedges (grass-like plants), and other flowering plants called forbs. There are also a variety of prairies that exist too and prairies are known to have the richest soil on land. It is this
richness that attracted European farmers and altered the prairie landscape which led to the sad statistic of an estimated 0.1%. Illinois lies within an area called the “prairie peninsula” which is an eastward expansion of prairies that bor-
ders deciduous forests to the north, east, and south. This part of the tall grass prairie area, sometimes called the true prairie, has landscape dominated by grasses such as big bluestem and InBurn | Page 6
On Wednesday May 4, the Nature Study Area, as part of the ongoing Prairie Restoration Project, was part of a controlled burn. The burn was done in order to help maintain the area in the same way that a true grassland would burn through naturally occurring fires. [Zandro Zafra]
The science behind drug abuse Put a ‘Spring in Your Step’ By Liz Richardson Editor-in-Chief Do you know the story of substance abuse? Dr. Kevin Osten, a clinical psychologist at Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, gave a presentation to a packed audience in the Library about substance abuse and addiction. Osten detailed the scientific
basis of addiction as well as substance combination and the dangers of it all. Osten began by explaining the “high” so sought after in substance abuse. It’s simply a surge of chemicals in the brain, mostly dopamine (which controls the reward system) and serotonin (which creates feelings of well-being). NeuDrugs | Page 5
By Jazzica Johnson Staff Writer Jesus Vargas, an employee at Moraine Valley fitness center, set up this year’s Spring in Your Step 5K run. The participants were from the age 16-70 plus years. Some participants were nervous and others were pretty confident. Those from the community, the staff and those from crosscountry also participated in the 5K Run. It was an amazing experience to watch. Most participants ran and others walked around the campus on the path. At the end of the run they did a raffle and announced the winners of the 5K.
The Moraine Library hosted a presentation on the science behind drug abuse. Dr. Kevin Osten, from Chicago Lakeshore Hospital was the speaker. [Brian Vickers]
MVCC 5K | Page 2
IN THIS ISSUE Features MVCC Chamber Singer put on a Broadwaythemed show. F&E Page 4
Sports Men’s tennis is head off to the National Championship. Page 12
Features Animal Welfare League: recovery not euthanasia. F&E Page 4
Cross Country captain Dimitri Dimizas was one of the participants in the 5K. [Stacy Deluca]