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CAMPUS NEWS
November 2013
Plant the promise Tiffany Thatcher Co-Editor Substance abuse affects college students across the country every day, causing death or debilitating addictions. The Healthy Choices Leadership Organization is trying to bring an awareness of these issues with a Celebrate Recovery Month in October. HCLO Group members took pledges from students stating that they would abstain or use moderation with substances for the month of October. They also sold paper tulips for one dollar, with the proceeds going towards the Seeds of Success Scholarship.
The scholarship is available for KCC students that have been affected by substance abuse, domestic abuse, or human trafficking. On October 9th, HCLO leadership gathered on the steps of KCC with guest speakers Joe Kuchenbach (Psychologist at Psychological Consultants and adjunct instructor in HUSE) and Suzanna Warren from Drug Court (KCC alumnus). Their words of celebration for the lives that have been changed by sobriety were inspired. Over the past 5 years, HCLO has worked to make a positive impact in support of the recovery community at KCC. Joining the annual planting of tulips were Danyelle Maitland from Substance Abuse Council and KCC graduate, KCC students and HCLO members. The HCLO planted live tulips in
Members of Healthy Choices Leadership Organization.
the flower beds in front of the reflecting pools on the main campus to symbolize that there is life after recovery. Those interested in joining the HCLO can attend the meetings which are held every
Bruins Give Back in Battle Creek
Friday at 11 in the Support Services Conference room. For more information about the Seeds of Success scholarship contact TJ Mohl at mohlt@kellogg.edu
Handy for the handicapped? continued from page 1
Johnathan Hogan Staff Writer On Friday, September 25th, Kellogg Community College students and staff teamed up with the Service Learning office to volunteer for several local charities and community partners as part of the school’s Bruins Give Back Program. Bruins Give Back is a volunteer program coordinated by Student Life, Service Learning, and Hands On Battle Creek devoted to providing volunteer opportunities for KCC students three times a semester. The volunteers spent the day helping out for the Kingman Museum, Habitat for Humanity, and Community Action, all institutions devoted to providing aid and services to both the people of Battle Creek and other cities throughout Michigan. Kate DeGraaf, the Manager of Service Learning, emphasized the important opportunities Bruins Give Back provides for students, allowing them to build relationships with the many nonprofits in the local community. “It’s important for students and staff to come together to help the local community, and also to understand the needs of the non-profits and how we can support each other. It also provides a taste-test of sorts for students who work with the various non-profits. The Kingman Museum, located on the grounds of the Leila Arboretum, works to promote an understanding and appreciation for the natural world, providing tours to local schools and other private groups. KCC volunteers, including students in the school’s Physical Therapist Assistance Program, arrived to help with ground maintenance by clearing fallen branches near the entrance and painting worn out handrails. Julie Roberts, the coordina-
Brandon Smith at Bruins Give Back.
Kate DeGraaf Manager of Service-Learning. photos by Simon Thalmann
tor for the PTA program, felt it was important that the students help out in the community, both for its own sake, and to help the students get to know each other. “This is something we try to do every year. It’s an opportunity to build our team and just get to know each other while giving back to the community.” Meanwhile, KCC students were also providing aid for the local Habitat for H u m a n i t y, including the ReStore. The ReStore sells l ow- p r i ced furniture, tools, and other hous-Julie Roberts ing materials and appliances to homeowners seeking to achieve independence. The volunteers at the Restore, including OIT instructor Shari Deevers and Service Learning Assistant Sarah Bronson, were sorting supplies left by donators for Habitat of Humanity. Both felt it was important to help Habitat for Humanity, and to volunteer in general. Kara Werner, the Administrative and Volunteer Services Manager for Habitat for Humanity, emphasized the impor-
tunity "It’s an oppotream to build our o know and just get t hile each other w o the giving back t community."
tance of the ReStore to Habitat for Humanity, saying that it helps pay the overhead costs of maintaining the charity. “Because our ReStore funds our overhead, we’re able to use our donations for home owners programs.” The volunteerism continued with Community Action, where students were preparing food supplies for the non-profit’s Emergency Food Assistance Program, which provides food for needy families in seven Michigan counties. Angela Winght, Community Action’s intake specialist and KCC alumna, worked with the volunteers to prepare the food, which would be going to aid families in Hillsdale. Winght also felt the volunteer opportunities were important for students. “It helps them to do work for our communities. It’s a real great thing to help our community.” The next Bruins Give Back event will occur Friday, November 15th. Students interested in participating can head to the Service Learning website at http://www. kellogg.edu/socialscience/servicelearning/ or contact Service Learning Manager Kate DeGraaf at degraafk@kellogg. edu or at 269-965-3931 ext. 2211.
(NOTE: This issue of the bruin went to print before the October 25th, the date of the second Bruins Give Back event, and thus has no information pertaining to that event.)
photo by Eric Yeo
smiled. “That’s what we are trying to do here.” Renovations were also done to the elevators, making them safer and easier to maneuver a wheelchair through the doorways. “We have to have these things within code to be approved,” O’Connell said. “But as the user can it be more practical? I think that’s why this has been so helpful for Bob.” As Chief Information Officer, Reynolds took the practicality issues into consideration when putting new, and fixing old, technology in classrooms around campus. “It makes me a lot more conscious as we work on things around campus,” Reynolds said. Projectors and computers must be a certain distance from classroom entrances, but Reynolds pondered whether that distance complied with state requirements and was as friendly as possible for students and faculty. “The Davidson is a good example of the old,” O’Connell said. “The restrooms aren’t compliant as they should be. It’s not that you can’t get through the building, but we can do it better.” The college is working to sell bonds to continue the needed updating. Next on the list of renovation projects is the Binda Theater. They will dramatically increase enjoyment during shows at Binda when before restrooms were nearly impossible for handicap theater enthusiasts to use. Restrooms will be shared with the new student center and will have plenty of room to maneuver wheelchairs through during crowded intermissions, O’Connell said. “Binda has to have an area where those in wheelchairs can sit and see the performance,” O’Connell said. The area will also be used by those who can’t easily get up and down theater stairways. When Binda is completed, Davidson and the Miller gymnasium will see changes as well. The process will take time but KCC faculty and contractors are working to make the campus friendly for all who attend. “We recognize there are still obstacles,” O’Connell said. “We will continue to make improvements.”