Campus news
Creatively crude Kyle Groll Staff Writer If you want to express yourself and find out what others feel about your creativity no matter what the form, poems, short stories, or essays. You are more than welcome to come and visit and just to check out the Crude Arts club. Students that participate have gone on to promising careers in publications. The Crude Arts club also edits Mosaic, the literary magazine on campus that is published in the spring and the fall. This club has been around for twelve years and has been run by Dr. Elizabeth Kerlikowske for the past six years. Writers of all genres are encouraged to come
and read their work to receive constructive, thoughtful criticism and praise from other aspiring writers. Dr. Kerlikowske says “Make sure you bring at least six copies of what you want to share to pass to others attending the meeting”. The writers then take turns reading aloud from their work and then listen to feedback. Mosaic editor Tiffany Thatcher offers this advice, “If you are uncomfortable sharing at first, then just come and sit and listen to what others are working on. None of us are perfect, yet. We need the feedback from each other. After a meeting or two when you realize that we are all just writing for the enjoyment of it, maybe you will want to share too.” The club meets on Mondays at 2:30 in C-401 in the English faculty offices. Deadline to submit to Mosaic is October 21, 2013. Email submissions to kerlikowskee@kellogg.edu
PTK is off to Cedar Point Heidi Myers Staff Writer A trip to Cedar Point trip, sponsored by Student Life and the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, is taking place on October 19th. The trip is a chance for PTK members and guests to have a bit of fun before the stress of the fall semester sets in. The cost is $30 for KCC students and $35 for non-students. PTK is a national honor society
of two-year colleges. Their intent is to recognize and encourage scholarship among two-year college students. Those interested in joining PTK must have completed at least 12 hours of college credit and maintain a grade point average of 3.5. Students meeting these requirements receive an invitation to join from the local PTK chapter on campus. Those interested in participating in the Cedar Point trip or looking for more information about joining PTK can contact Holly Van Dam (269-965-3931, ext. 2633) or Tanisha Parker in Student Services (269-965-3931, ext. 2600).
Kelly Frost Librarian Library databases and library resources are amazing. If you’ve ever had me visit one of your classes you’ll know I’m a big cheerleader for these high-quality, sophisticated, and powerful resources. But the rest of the "free Internet"—the Internet you can get to through Google or Yahoo or Bing—is also amazing. No matter the topic, a website about it almost surely exists. Sometimes you don’t need a scholarly article or well-written book, you need an easy answer, a video demonstration, or a government statistical database—you need the free Internet. While library databases pull articles from published magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals, the free Internet pulls information from everyone and everywhere. High-quality academic websites exist alongside ranting from fringe political groups. This is why in The Pocket Prof on page 24 you’ll find a chart with questions to help evaluate a website. The free Internet is still a Wild West of sorts with no one sorting fact from fiction or preventing low quality sites from appearing.
When it comes to using the free Internet, it helps to understand the basics of how a search engine operates so you can use the best terms and get better results. Many times students will type in too many words, for example, “factors affecting child development.” This search bring up sites (many low quality) written specifically with students in mind. Sometimes these poorly written, low quality sites have gamed the search engine algorithms so they appear first in a search. Site owners hope students will choose this first site and see all the advertisements blanketing the pages. Putting better words into a search box, just “child development” in this case, will bring back better, higher quality sites. Choosing the right words takes time, knowledge, and many times persistence. Please join me on October 2nd at 2 pm on the main campus when we'll be talking about "all things Google." I’m also hoping to delve into some of the newer search engines like DuckDuckGo which promises to protect your privacy and not track searches the way other search engines do. I’ll be sharing some of my tips and tricks for making Google dance. If you can’t make the academic workshop I’ll be posting resources and more in the Google Like a Librarian Research Guide: http://guides.kellogg.edu/google
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Paralegal Student Association Donna Street Guest Writer My name is Donna Street. I am a third semester paralegal student, the Paralegal Student Association (PSA) president, the paralegal honor society Lambda Epsilon Chi (LEX) president, and the student assistant for the Paralegal Program Coordinator Susan McCabe. Although I may have many titles, they mean nothing if I do not try to make a difference while at KCC. This summer I spearheaded my first event as the PSA president. With the help of other paralegal students, we held a car wash fundraiser on July 27th. We presold “coupons”, and sold hot dogs, chips, and water on the day of the event. With pride, we donated 100% of our profits to Woman’s Co-Op of Battle Creek. Their heartfelt gratitude was worth more than any amount of money we could have put into our own student organization account. The paralegal students have also been working closely with Calhoun County Street Court. Street Court is made up of volunteers who not only donate their time but also their knowledge to help people who have gotten caught up in the court system and remain there because they are unable to pay off their fines and court costs. These individuals are given the help and resources to bet-
ter not only their own lives, but those of their families, to help them gain financial independence. These individuals have come into the courtroom, scared and unsure, but leave smiling and confident. Street Court meets at 3:00 p.m. the fourth Thursday of every month, in the Calhoun County District Courtroom of Judge John Holmes, on the third floor of the Calhoun County Justice Center, 161 East Michigan Avenue, Battle Creek. KCC paralegal students also work with Student Life to cosponsor events such as Constitution Day, which was held on September 17, 2013. We invited Barry County District Court Judge Michael Schipper to be the event’s speaker. We also conduct a regular clothing drive, in which we collect and then give away to the paralegal students new or gently used professional clothing to help them build their professional wardrobe. The next clothing drive will run from 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. on Monday, October 21 through Thursday, October 24. If you have men’s or woman’s professional clothing or accessories that you would like to donate, bring them to Susan McCabe’s office located in room OITC 202. Please leave your name and address with any donation so that we can send you a thank you card. Here’s hoping all of you have a great semester!
Writing the good fight Tiffany Thatcher Co-Editor
Re-evaluating resources
October 2013
The Veteran’s Writing Project is gearing up for another successful semester. The group, which began last spring, is a place for veteran students to connect while receiving constructive support for their writing abilities. Veteran students can receive help with editing their daily homework and are encouraged to express themselves through poems and essays. The work of several veterans was featured this past spring in the student literary magazine Mosaic and The Bruin. The intent of the group was to de-
Kellogg Community College Regional Manufacturing Technology Center
What you need is at the RMTC Come see what we have to offer October 15, 2013 Open House 3-7 pm 405 Hill Brady Road, Battle Creek
sign a place where veteran students could enhance their college experience by networking with those in similar situations. The goal is to eventually expand the group into additional creative outlets like art and music. They are hoping to create a collaborative art piece to celebrate Veteran’s day in November. This past spring the group created a collaborative piece of poetry that was performed at the Memorial Day Celebration on campus. The poem entitled, “A Dictionary for Memorial Day,” was read aloud by the writers with help from counselor TJ Mohl and English professor Elizabeth Kerlikowske. The poem can be read in its entirety on the KCC Daily blog under Student Writing. The group meets every Monday at 4 p.m. in Building C, Room 301.