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SUMMER WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012
ESTABLISHED 1920
Volume 91, Issue 99
A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community
www.bgnews.com
Local residents, businesses cope with construction By Alex Alusheff News Editor
Everyday for nearly a year, siblings J.J. and Liz Pearse have coexisted with the construction outside their house on the intersection of Main Street and Poe Road. The Pearse’s, who have lived in their house for about a year, said construction began a few weeks after they moved in. However, even with roughly 11 months of construction, they said living with the sounds and congestion of construction isn’t so bad. Liz said the workers have been pretty considerate. “We deal with weird noises in gen-
eral as musicians ... so it hasn’t really bothered us,” said J.J., who is pursuing a master’s in Orchestral Conducting, while his sister is working toward a doctorate in Contemporary Music. While construction can be bothersome, the project will benefit users. The purpose of the construction is to widen the roadway from Newton to Poe roads, add a turn lane and two thru lanes, said Theresa Pollick, District Two public information officer for the Ohio Department of Transportation. ODOT oversees the project because it is on a state route (Main St., Rt. 25), she said. This will add capacity and safety improvements while reducing congestion in the area, Pollick said.
“It’s unfortunate, but there’s no one to blame.” Rob Armstrong | Big Boy Spokesman “You had a lot of people making turns into businesses, backing [traffic] up and causing rear end crashes,” she said. The construction will mitigate that problem, she said. It is a two year project that started in July 2011 and is projected to end in August 2013. The project cost $7.4 million and is funded 80 percent by federal dollars and the city has to cover the remaining
20 percent, Pollick said. The city also has to pay for their own water lines and pumping stations. There have been no major set backs to delay the projected completion date, but there have been some utility issues dealing with the future installation of a storm sewer and current waterlines, Pollick said in the email. These issues will result in the closure of Poe Road in both directions from Main to Grove streets starting May 29 through July, she said in the email. The only other problem was the natural gas leak on May 15, when a contractor digging holes for utility poles struck a six-inch pipe around 2 p.m., spewing gas into the air and
causing the evactuation of surrounding homes and businesses. Liz remembers when she had to evacuate. She wasn’t scared, she just packed up, she said. “I’d rather be safe than dead,” Liz said. “If it blows up, it’s not my house, it can all be replaced.” Columbia Gas, the company the pipe belonged to, was quick to respond to ensure the area wasn’t in any danger. The company received a call at 2:11 p.m., a crew was on the scene at 2:25 p.m. and the situation was made safe at 5:22 p.m., said Chris Kozak,
See POE | Page 2
Student remembered for kindheartedness, love of music By Danae King
Kayleigh Chambers
Editor-in-Chief
Died April 26
ART around the clock
PHOTO PROVIDED
University class teaches students to paint murals, collaborate with other artists By Danae King Editor-in-Chief
For two weeks this past summer, a blank wall was Chelsea Snyder’s life. Snyder, along with about 14 other students, took a mural painting class and transformed a wall into a work of art. The class meets for two weeks in the summer and students spend them painting murals in the Old South End in Toledo. Students work around the clock — putting in days, nights and weekends to complete a mural, said Gordon Ricketts, the instructor of the class and Director of the Arts Village. “It was very intensive,” Snyder, a senior and fine art 2-D major, said. “It didn’t feel like work because we were doing something artistic.” This past summer was the first year the project was a class. Before that, it was on a volunteer basis. This year, the class picked up paint brushes once again when the session began Monday. The class is only offered in the summer and Ricketts said it’s a class where students learn through experience. Students learn about painting, scaffolding and themselves, he said.
“They’ll be more aware of themselves by learning about a different culture,” he said. During the class, the students get to learn about different cultures as the area is multi-racial. The class works primarily with the Chicano community, Ricketts said. “We’re looking for ways to get students engaged with another culture, with a diverse population,” he said. The community members often stop by to help the students out, as do local artists. “Just us painting, it stops everyone in their tracks,” said Mario Torero, an artist from San Diego who visits to help students paint and learn. “Everybody gets excited because nobody has seen anything like it.” The project is community-oriented, Snyder said. “As an artist, you’re usually by yourself, I love the idea of interacting and other artists helping you out to do something bigger,” Snyder said. A few weeks is not long for a class, but students learn a lot and are involved in the decision making process, Ricketts said. “I definitely learned about the
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process of everything it takes to make something as big as a mural happen,” Snyder said. In a few weeks, the students and artists work to beautify the area, Ricketts said. “[We wanted to] bring the area back alive again,” Torero said about the Old South End. “We thought art was a way to do that.” Ricketts said he planned to use two weeks each summer until the whole area is saturated with art work. Ricketts and Torero have been hosting the project for three years and Snyder has taken part for the past two. Snyder volunteered the first year and enrolled in the class this past summer. This year she plans to go out and help. While it may not be what students think when they think summer, Snyder said she has enjoyed the experience each year. “It was just such a fun time,” Snyder said. “It’s a really cool experience to be able to have such a hands-on and out of the classroom class, especially
SPORTS
See MURALS | Page 2
Kayleigh Chambers loved music and she heard a beat that was all her own. “She marched to the beat of her own band, not just a drummer,” said Ellen Chambers, Kayleigh’s mother. Kayleigh, 20, passed away April 26. Kayleigh expressed her individuality through not only her music, but her behavior. “She dressed the way she wanted, she was strong-willed, opinionated, she could be a pain in the butt, but that’s what made her who she was,” Ellen said. “She had a way of making people smile even if they didn’t know who she was. She was not a normal teenager, she was her own person.” Kayleigh didn’t care what people thought of her, Ellen said. She was a kindhearted, sweet girl who lit up the room when she walked in, said Michelle Birdsell, a friend of the family and president of Elvis Presley’s Sweet Sweet Spirit Fan Club, which Kayleigh and Ellen were members of. “When people met her they would
gravitate to her, she was real, she was down to earth,” Birdsell said. “She was just a fun loving person.” Kayleigh was interested in a variety of different activities, she liked to sing, dance, play instruments, write, act, hunt and fish, Ellen said. “I always said – try anything you want, anything you want to be,” Ellen said. “We always encouraged them to at least try something, because then at least you’ve had that chance to try it out.” Kayleigh loved to sing, write songs and play different instruments. “It didn’t matter what mood she was in, she could put a CD in and it would transform her,” said Ellen. “She was in plays from the time she was in kindergarten and singing from the time she could talk.” Her mother said she remembered
See CHAMBERS | Page 2
Workout option offered on campus Zumba provides students opportunity to reduce stress, improve health through exercise, dance By Emily Gordon Reporter
Students looking for an enjoyable way to workout this summer need look no further. Zumba is a dance-fitness program that has exploded in popularity throughout the country, said Karyn Dutridge, Zumba instructor. The program is offered in two convenient University locations — the Eppler South gym and the Student Recreation Center. “The motto of Zumba is ‘ditch the workout, join the party,’” Dutridge
FORUM
Softball success
Summer challenges
Hannah Fulk led the falcon softball team with a record high slugging percentage and made the all MAC tournament team | PAGE 7
Columnist Alissa Widman explains why she took this summer to get ahead in her career and discover herself | PAGE 4
said. “You’re having so much fun doing it that you don’t have the feeling of dread that comes with having to work out.” Dutridge took a Zumba class a few years ago, had a great time and befriended her instructor, she said. Dutridge wondered if she could teach it herself, so she took a Zumba training course and was certified. Two and a half years later, she teaches Zumba every Thursday in Eppler South and also at the YMCA
See ZUMBA | Page 2
What would you paint a mural of? What male cheerleaders really do.
GORDON RANKIN Senior, Adolescent Young Adult Math