WESTERN HERALD S ERVING W ESTERN M ICHIGAN U NIVERSITY
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M ONDAY , O CTOBER 17, 2011 V OL . 96 I SSUE 12
YOU Student brings wm
memories to life
As Barbara “Barbie” Buehler turns each subsequent page to recite the next paragraph of prose, the 99-year-old blind woman she reads to begins to remember every line. Buehler, a junior at Western Michigan University, reads to a 99-year-old blind woman Buehler at Friendship Village, a retirement community in Kalamazoo. What’s more remarkable is that Buehler recites the memoirs for the blind woman, who wrote the books. “All of the things that we learn about in history, she pretty much lived,” said Buehler. “It’s amazing to see that someone that has gone through so much can still be quiet and can listen to you when they have so much to say and so much to tell you.” She also happens to be turning 100 years old next month. Naturally, Buehler will be there with a book. Suggest people to be featured in our WMYou feature at newseditor@westernherald.com. -Erin Gignac News Editor
CRIME BLOTTER Via the WMU Department of Public Safety t" NFO T CMVF 4DIXJOO bicycle was stolen from the Bernhard Center bike rack on Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. t" DPNQVUFS BOE UFMFWJTJPO were stolen from a room in LeFevre Hall at 9:53 p.m. on Oct. 8. Suspect broke window to gain access. t" DPVQMF XBT BSSFTUFE GPS having sex on the lawn of East Hall at 8:44 a.m. on Oct. 9. t7BMVBCMFT XFSF TUPMFO PVU of a locker at the Student Rec Center on Oct. 9 at 5:14 p.m. t" TVCKFDU XBT BSSFTUFE BU UIF KCMS building for possession of stolen property at roughly 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 11. Anyone with information on these or other crimes should contact the Department of Public Safety at (269) 387-5555 or online by emailing crime@ wmich.edu. -Joe Stando Staff Reporter
Poll
LAST
WEEK’S
Where will you go to study for midterms? a) Home (61%) b)library (22%) c) Bernhard (11%) d) Outside (6%) THIS WEEK’S
What is your Favorite Halloween candy? a) Kit Kat b) Reeses c) Twix d) Snickers
Copper Beech mayhem
By Joe Stando Staff Reporter
Oct. 7 began as a normal Friday night for Western Michigan University student Savannah Hill. She and her roommates were relaxing in their apartment at Copper Beech Townhomes just outside of Kalamazoo. “We heard some fighting from outside, but we didn’t really think about it,” said Hill. “There was a knock at the door so my roommate went to check who it was.” Suddenly, a man pushed his way into their apartment and stumbled into their bathroom, leaving a trail of blood. “He was bleeding from his face,” said Hill. “I guess he had been involved in a fight at another apartment in the complex and he wanted to clean himself up.” “We were all kind of standing in shock,” continued Hill. “We were afraid someone was going to come in after him or something. We didn’t know what to do.” Eventually Hill and her roommates managed to push the man out of their apartment, despite his protests. They held the door shut against his attempts to reenter until he left and then called the
police. “The cops arrived pretty quickly after that,” recounted Hill. “We were out on the front steps explaining what had happened to us when a gunshot rang out about 30 yards away.” The shot was the sound of a 19-year-old man being shot in the head. According to police, the man was a friend of the man who had entered Hill’s apartment. Both had been involved in a large fight at the complex. The man’s injuries were not life threatening. According to Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Pali Matyas, the apartment complex has been the subject of a disproportionate number of calls to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff ’s Office. Many of these calls involve parties, fights Trevor Ritsema/Western Herald and other serious issues. Copper Beech apartment, located on KL ave, Oct. 13, 2011 Representatives for Copper Beech said that safety is always a parking lot.” she had been informed of the depriority at the complex. The statement also said that tails by police, and decided to set According to a statement apartment security had attempted up a meeting with the complex’s issued by the complex, “The resito break up the fight, but had staff. dents claim that uninvited guests called the police after being physi“I’d love to move somewhere ‘crashed’ the party. If the police cally threatened. else, but I’d have to find a subleashad been called at this point, the Hill had a different experience. er,” said Hill. “And no one wants situation could have been resolved She said she called Copper Beech’s to move here after what happened. before a fight began. Instead, by security multiple times that night My roommates and I all want to the time police arrived a fight had with no answer. After the fight, leave. It sucks.” started and spilled out into the
Bernhard Center receives new sign By Kassie Charnley Staff Reporter
Within the next month, Western Michigan University students will see a new change outside the Bernhard Center. The sign at the bottom of the hill by the driveway leading up to the Bernhard Center, which now says Bronco Mall, will be torn down within the next couple of weeks and will be replaced with a brand new sign. Sean Nicholl, the chief of operations for the Western Student Association, brought attention to the sign this past summer and obtained leadership in making sure this project was taken seriously. Nicholl, a junior majoring in finance, first noticed the issue of the Bernhard Center sign over the summer. “During orientation this past summer, I noticed that a lot of incoming freshman and their parents were having a hard time finding the Bernhard Center and I think it’s because the building is not properly identified from the road,” Nicholl said, referring to the fact that the sign outside of the Bernhard Center says Bronco
Mall, but nothing about the Bernhard Center. “I then took the complaints of the students and began discussing the issue of the sign with Bernhard Center staff,” said Nicholl. “I then worked to make a committee in order to get this project under way. The project idea was presented to President Dunn and a senior advisory board, who then approved the idea.” Nicholl said that he and other students in WSA worked together to gain the approval of the senior advisory board. “We had to present several different designs from different companies in the area to the board, who then chose the one that they felt looked and would work the best.” Nicholl said that $7,000 has been donated for this project from WSA’s Special Projects Fund, which is a fund that helps the student body and helps to improve campus. Since the new sign costs approximately $47,000, Paul Terzino, director of the Bernhard Center, said that approximately $40,000 is coming from the division of
student affairs, which is partnering with WSA in this project. Terzino said that the new sign is an LED video display panel that is 8.5 feet by 3 feet. “The new sign will not only say Bernhard Center, but it will also have the capabilities of providing advertisements and specials of the stores within the Bernhard Center. Student organizations on WMU’s campus will also have the ability to display the events that they have going on within the Bernhard Center,” said Terzino. Both Nicholl and Terzino agree that the new sign will be advantageous for display reasons, but for identification purposes as well. “The new sign shows a commitment to support what’s going on on-campus, as well as what’s going on in the building,” said Terzino. “The sign will also be much more appealing visually, and it even fits in with the architecture of the campus.” Terzino said that the old sign will be demolished and removed within the next couple of weeks. “We should see the new sign by early to mid-November. The foundation just has to be formed
for the new sign, which will be located in the same area as the current sign, but slightly angled.” Terzino also said that there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony to introduce the new sign to campus after it has been installed. Terzino said he is excited for this project to get under way. “This is the next step in enhancing the Bernhard Center. We’re working to make the building more student friendly, what with the first floor renovation and now the new sign,” said Terzino. Terzino said he hopes that more projects for improvements to the Bernhard Center will be discussed and made over the next several years. “The project involving the new sign shows how we continue to meet the needs of the students as well as those who visit WMU’s campus,” said Terzino. As far as whether or not WSA has any other student-led initiatives going on right now, Nicholl said that there are a few under way, but he could not mention what they were in order to maintain confidentiality with the organization and its future projects.
Keggers getting costly in Kalamazoo By Katey Stapleton Staff Reporter Keg stands, $5 cups, and raging house parties may be few and far between when a new law cracking down on underage drinking takes effect Nov. 1. Customers at liquor stores will be asked to provide handwritten information from their state-issued I.D. when purchasing kegs of beer. In the space provided on the bottom of the receipt, there will also be a “tag” number, which will be duplicated on the keg itself. Deputy Chief of the Western Michigan University police, Blaine Kalafut, said this will make it much easier to hold someone responsible for hosting underage keg parties. Kalafut said Michigan is join-
ing 30 states that already tag beer kegs “because of all the parties that occur and the injuries. For instance, the girl that fell off the balcony last year. I think the goal is that the people buying the kegs will now be tracked and the person that bought that keg will be held responsible more than likely civilly, but maybe even criminally.” These new keg tags will be unique to the store the alcohol was purchased from and are free for the liquor stores in Michigan to obtain. This will make it simple for law enforcers to determine who purchased the keg and what the proper consequences should be if underage drinkers are partaking. “Obviously, there can be M.I.P. s and/or civil and criminal ramifications. If there are witness-
es that someone [underage] was drinking all night long, the person who bought the keg is responsible for it,” said Kalafut. “We will probably get negative responses from our customers because it will be a more drawn out process than it already is. They have to buy the tap, keg, deposits, and now we have to get their address and information,” said Clint Coffelt, a staff member at Drake s Party Store. “If [customers] make us take it out to a car, we might make the rest of the people in the car be on the ticket too.” This keg law has been lobbying to be passed in Michigan for years, so what makes lawmakers think it will thrive this time around? “I think it will be successful,” said Kalafut. “I think the message is that if you buy a keg and you
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have a party and there is underage drinking there and the party gets busted by the police, someone has to be held responsible.” However, Coffelt said the exact opposite might result. “I don’t think it is going to cut down on the partying. I think kids will just come in and buy a ton of cases. They just won’t do keggers anymore,” said Coffelt. Potential consequences for those who supply a keg for underage drinkers include a misdemeanor with up to 93 days in jail, and/or a $500 fine. Regardless of whether or not this law lessens underage drinking throughout the state, it will definitely be a change that will take some adjusting to for consumers, police and retailers alike.
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