Your independent CMU news source since 1919
MOUNT PLEASANT:
Planning commission approves new Mission Mall » PAGE 3A
SGA:
cm-life.com
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013
BEST & WORST VALENTINE’S DAY
INSPIRATION ALIVE
Students share favorite moments, repressed memories » PAGE B1
Performers showcase Laurence Dunbar’s poetry » PAGE 3A
Spring freshman enrollment falls 15 percent On-campus enrollment down 3.6 percent from spring ‘12 By Catey Traylor University Editor and Justin Hicks Senior Reporter
Undergraduate on-campus enrollment continues to decline at Central Michigan University, despite continued efforts to attract
Pepper spray may soon be allowed on campus » PAGE 3A
students from a shrinking pool of high school students. According to spring on-campus enrollment numbers obtained Tuesday by Central Michigan Life, freshman enrollment declined 15 percent from spring 2012 and sophomore enrollment dropped almost 8.6 percent. Junior and
senior enrollment increased by 3.7 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. Total on-campus undergraduate enrollment has decreased to 17,119 from 17,759 last spring, which translates to a loss of 3.6 percent. A ENROLLMENT| 2A
ENROLLMENT NUMBERS SPRING 2012
SPRING 2013
Freshmen
3,654
3,105
Sophomores
3,959
3,619
Juniors
4,005
4,154
Seniors
6,141
6,241
*34 dual-enrolled students are included in these numbers
Obama: Higher ed. must keep costs down By Tony Wittkowski Senior Reporter
President Barack Obama made it clear that taking drastic cuts to higher education to prevent cuts in defense spending would be a mistake in his State of the Union Address Tuesday. Obama proposed working with states to hold colleges and universities accountable in keeping tuition rates down. “Colleges must do their part to keep costs down, and it’s our job to make sure they do,” Obama said. “Tonight, I ask Congress to change the Higher Education Act, so that affordability and value are included in determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid.” In addition, it was announced the Obama administration would release a new “College Scorecard” that parents and students can use to compare schools in order to get a better bang for their “educational buck.” He also made investment in preschool and elementary school a priority. “In states that make it a priority to educate our youngest children, studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade level, graduate high school, hold a job and form more stable families of their own,” Obama said. David Jesuit, a professor in Political Science at CMU, said any policy that pits science, technology, math and science against other areas of study is a bad one. “We need to invest more in education at all levels and in all disciplines,” Jesuit said. The president pointed to other countries’ focus on graduating their high school students with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of America’s community colleges. “Let’s also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on a path to a good job,” Obama said. Obama also proposed raising the federal minimum wage to $9 from $7.25.
CHARLOTTE BODAK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Director Of LGBTQ Services Shannon Jolliff-Dettore, left, and Lake Orion senior Lauren Kellogg pose for a portrait Tuesday morning in the Bovee University Center.
Creating change First full-time LGBTQ director makes voice heard outside of campus By Hailee Sattavara | Metro Editor
Tucked away behind closed doors in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Shannon JolliffDettore can be found shuffling through emails between meeting one-on-one with students. But that’s not all she’s doing as the first full-time director of the office of LGBTQ services. Before the Central Michigan University alum was hired, there was next to nothing offered to students through what was formally called the Office of Gay and Lesbian Programs, Jolliff-Dettore said. “When I came in five years ago, I just was laying the foundation,”
she said. “(The previous part-time director) had classroom panels, but there weren’t really any set programs.” Since then, Jolliff-Dettore has launched seven more programs, including Go There! Conversations, queer monologue performances, safe zone trainings, gender identity 101, a mentoring program, Coming Out Week and Pride Week.
“Program development is painful,” she laughed, leaning back in her chair. In her first year, JolliffDettore reported 937 students attending classroom panels or utilizing the LGBTQ office’s services, but last year, her fourth year in this position, she reported these numbers at more than 5,000. But Jolliff-Dettore said it’s difficult to quantify her complete campus impact through numbers, she said. Rather, an effective way to gauge her impact on CMU’s campus climate has been through classroom panels, she said. Five years ago, people were asking basic questions, inquiring
about the coming out process, but, now, questions have delved deeper, approaching policy and even spiritual concerns. “I think our campus is hungry for some deeper conversation,” Jolliff-Dettore said. The most rewarding part of her job is speaking with alums and seniors whom she has helped through the coming out process, she said. Recently, Jolliff-Dettore has also worked closely with other portions of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to create authentic spaces, aiming to make students who walk into the office feel comfortable. A LGBTQ| 2A
A SOTU| 2A
Academic Senate adopts compromise for 16-week academic calendar Now goes to administration, FA for bargaining By Brianna Owczarzak Staff Reporter
CHARLOTTE BODAK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Philosophy and religion professor David Smith speaks during the Academic Senate meeting Tuesday afternoon in Pearce 138. A-Senate voted to keep the academic calendar at 16 weeks.
A compromise to keep the academic calendar at 16 weeks with two modifications was adopted, with 60percent approval, by the Academic Senate during Tuesday’s meeting. The action will keep the academic calendar at 16 weeks and would move the Gentle Thursday/Friday days to coincide with the local school areas’ spring break calendar. The semester would also start no more than one week before Labor Day. A-Senate chairman Jim McDonald said it’s easier to move forward with the new motion instead of rehashing what happened with the
wording of the initial motion during the Jan. 29 meeting. “We are eager to move on to other things,” McDonald said. This motion was proposed by mathematics professor Donna Ericksen and physics professor Joe Finck. “It’s been a tough two weeks for me,” Finck said. “I read things from SGA that said, quite frankly, it would be unfair for this conversation to end due to a technicality within parliamentary procedure.” The “technicality” was the use of the word “rescind” in the language of the original proposal to change the calendar. The use of that word required a two-thirds majority vote from the Senate on a motion that would have rejected the original
! d d o T T E E W T Better
THURSDAY, February 14th Follow & Tweet tweet@levittlaw for a FREE CAB RIDE
calendar change. “If we go with the majority, it passed. If we go with the word ‘rescind’ added at the meeting, it needs two-thirds vote, which it didn’t get,” McDonald said. McDonald said the rules surrounding the word “rescind” are gray. “The word ‘rescind’ was the original idea that put the provost’s report in motion,” Finck said. The motion will now be sent to the Faculty Association and administration to be bargained. “We don’t change the calendar ... all we make is a recommendation,” Finck said. The major concern with the motion was some of the senators wanted time to talk to their departments about the motion before voting.
7pm - 3am
A CALENDAR| 2A