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ANIMAL FARM
Students own unique animals to fill the void of missed childhood pets »PAGE 3B
cm-life.com
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 23, 2013 | MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH. | ISSUE NO. 26 VOL. 95
Enrollment plan sparks interest in nursing degree
LIFE IN BRIEF BASKETBALL
By Ben Solis Staff Reporter
CHRIS FOWLER Sophomore guard Chris Fowler became the leader of the men’s basketball team his freshman year. He’s looking to lead the team further in 2013-14. w 6B
STUDENT LIFE
Photos by Taylor Ballek | Photo Editor Retired CMU professor Doug Berry stands with his son Patrick Berry and watches the 6:30 p.m. train come through the Dearborn Amtrak Train Station Saturday. Berry and Patrick watch the trains come through about 100 times a year to help.
Fearless Father Former CMU professor Doug Berry saw something wrong, jumped to action to prevent a disaster By Adrian Hedden Senior Reporter
HUNTING SEASON For many student hunters, hunting season comes at a cost: Skip class or skip their favorite time of the year? Read what some avid student hunters have to say. w 2B
UNIVERSITY
WORKING RELATIONSHIP Saturday’s drum blessing marks continually improving relations between the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and Central Michigan University. w 5A
UNIVERSITY
O
ut for a typical evening watching
trains with his son, Doug Berry noticed something strange. From his location at the Dearborn Amtrak Station, Berry observed a man in his 50s circling the parking lot of a nearby police station. The man left the lot twice, returning both times without incident. Berry tried to ignore the situation, but became suspicious and kept his eye on the man. “I was trying to look like I didn’t care,” Berry said. “I thought they should know that someone was sort of creeping around the station.” When the man began peering through the fence, Berry called 911 and witnessed no immediate response.
Retired CMU professor Doug Berry was awarded a plaque for his heroic behavior of stopping a gunman while watching the trains with his son Patrick at the Dearborn Amtrak Train Station on Sept. 7.
Then the man crawled under the fence and ducked beneath a police car, producing a large bag that contained a hunting rifle. Berry called again, and waited. Sixty seconds later, all hell broke loose.
While College of Medicine Founding Dean Ernest Yoder addressed the Academic Senate on Tuesday, some senators expressed deep concerns as CMED continues to develop. Senator Steve Thompson was worried CMED is incurring costs that are too high during a period of campus-wide cutbacks. He cited the 88 instructors hired by CMED, saying they create too high of an instructor-student ratio when factoring in the 400 students it plans to enroll across all four classes by 2017.
Two SGA senators resign »PAGE 3A
A Letter for Better delivers smiles across the nation »PAGE 6A
CM Life Staff Reporter Nathan Clark guides you through the preparation of healthy, easy and quick meals.
»PAGE 4B
w NURSING | 2A
Thompson said his department is required to have 15 students per class. CMED totals 4.5 students per instructor. “It seems like every summer, while we’re all away, (CMED) is costing more and more,” Thompson said. “While we can’t even afford to buy pencils, it seems a little strange. As a faculty member, and as a student, you’re seeing that we’re cutting back more and more.” Although he said he initially supported the creation of CMED, Thompson has found it harder to support in recent years. w CMED | 2A
A-SENATE NOTEBOOK
Six English, TAI concentrations axed, add Public Health degree added By Ben Solis Staff Reporter
Life inside
w BERRY | 7A
A-Senate concerned about costs, safety at CMED Adrian Hedden Senior Reporter
VIEW FROM THE BENCH Controversial former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Elizabeth Weaver came to campus Monday to discuss judicial relations and her new book “Judicial Deceit: Tyranny and Unnecessary Secrecy at the Michigan Supreme Court.” Check out what she had to say to students. w 3A
“He was there to kill cops,” Berry said of the assailant. “They subdued him before he got a shot off. There’d be dead cops right now.”
Central Michigan University officials might be doubling down on healthcare instruction with a potential nursing program. Discussions on the subject are still in the early stages and no formal proposal has been established, but the potential for a nursing program at CMU is being evaluated by university officials as a key component to Vice President of Enrollment and Student Services Steven Johnson’s enrollment management plan. Micheal Gealt In his plan, Johnson detailed the need for new high-demand programs with lucrative career prospects that are attractive to prospective students. If the discussions do move forward into a proposal, a CMU program could include training for registered nursing certification, and a four-year baccalaureate nursing degree. In addition, a CMU nursing program might also include a Bachelor’s of Science completion pathway for registered nurses with associate’s degrees. Provost Michael Gealt, who took questions about a nursing program during the Oct. 8 Academic Senate meeting, already has some background in nursing administration education — in his last position, Gealt was heavily involved with getting a similar RN-to-BSN program off the ground at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The prospect of a nursing program has been brought up by the College of Health Professional Services over the past decade during former Provost Gary Shapiro’s term. However, calls for such a program were seemingly dismissed, according to Orlando Perez, a political science faculty member and Academic senator.
Academic Senators voted to ax six English and Theatre and Interpretation major concentrations during Tuesday’s A-Senate meeting. According to minutes from A-Senate’s Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, concentrations in children’s/young adult literature, creative writing and world literature were deleted due to low rankings in the university’s Academic Prioritization process. The three English concentration changes will go into effect in Fall 2014, resulting in a reduction to degree emphases offered to students as specialized certificates presented in student transcripts. In TAI, concentration changes for design
technology, generalist and interpretation will go into effect in Fall 2014 as well. The programs were deleted in the hope that students could design their own majors based on their interests. Not included in the six concentration cuts was the deletion of a minor in American Ethnic Studies. A planned replacement for the minor is an interdisciplinary Cultural and Global Studies major and minor. In addition, a new graduate degree in Public Health was added for the School of Health and Sciences in the College of Health Professions. Arin Bisaro | Staff Photographer The graduate program is slated to go into CMED Founding Dean Ernest Yoder speaks about the development effect Fall 2014. of CMED buildings and programs Tuesday afternoon in Pearce 138.
university@cm-life.com
W O M E N ’ S I N I T I AT I V E S P E A K E R S E R I E S : Keynote speaKer:
Melanie Bergeron
Wednesday,
november 6th 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Comfort Inn Conference Center Mount Pleasant SEE OUR AD ON PAGE 5B FOR MORE DETAILS