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SAME -SEX COUPLE ‘Be who you are and be proud’: CMU alumna plans 2015 same-sex wedding
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014 | MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH. | ISSUE NO. 80 VOL. 95
LIFE IN BRIEF METRO
SOPHOMORE PLEADS GUILTY TO OCTOBER ASSAULTS IN MERRIL HALL Canton sophomore John Rubio pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from the assaults of three students in Merrill Hall in late October. The 18-year-old was charged with one count of first-degree home invasion, criminal sexual conduct-assault with intent of penetration, fourth-degree sexual misconduct and two counts of assault and battery. The incident occurred around 3 a.m. on Oct. 27. He was arraigned on Oct. 29. in the Isabella County Trial Courthouse. First degree home invasion is a 20-year felony, while CSC-assault with intent of penetration is a 10-year felony. Fourth-degree sexual misconduct is a two-year high court misdemeanor, and assault and battery is a 93-day misdemeanor. Rubio’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. on May 23 in Judge Mark Duthie’s courtroom. A jury trial scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled after Rubio entered his guilty plea on Friday.
Enrollment outlook positive for 2014-15 College still feeling residual effects from old enrollment challenges By Katherine Ranzenberger Senior Reporter
Because tuition accounts for almost half the revenue for Central Michigan University, decreased enrollment rates at CMU have had a direct impact on the university’s budget over the last four years.
Steven Johnson, vice president of enrollment and student services, said the number of “first time in a college” students has decreased as the number of high school graduates has dropped. “It has continued to drop and is expected to continue to drop at least through 2020 and shortly thereafter,” Johnson said during the budget priorities committee forum on Monday. “Historically, we have recruited and enrolled 2.9 to 3.2 percent of the available high school graduates each year to come to CMU. That has remained relatively consistent in the last decade on that range.” The decrease in first-time students
has led to a decline in enrollment across the state and Midwest, Johnson said. “This has a direct impact on our ability to meet our enrollment goals,” he said. “It’s more dramatic in the Midwest Steve Johnson states and particularly Michigan.” CMU has seen a decreased enrollment rate since the boom in 2010. However, Johnson said he is optimistic about the 2014-15 academic year’s enrollment.
“As of April 7, there are 3,564 paid admissions compared to 3,011 total paid admissions in 2013,” he said. “This is a very positive showing in regard to new freshmen. (Yet) we still have three months of activity to go.” Transfer students from community colleges also make up a fair amount of students on campus, Johnson said. The decreased number of first-time students have also affected community college enrollment. Johnson said CMU needs to focus on retention rates as well as attracting new students, as CMU’s freshw BUDGET | 2A
GREEK LIFE
-Adrian Hedden, metro editor
METRO
ACLU FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST STATE FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BENEFITS A lawsuit was filed by The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan against the state of Michigan on Monday to legally recognize the 300 same-sex marriages performed last month. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight of these couples. They were legally married after a federal judge ended Michigan’s 2004 ban on same-sex marriage. On March 21, Judge Bernard Friedman, the senior judge of the United States District Court for the eastern district of Michigan, ruled to effectively end the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. However, a few days later, Gov. Rick Snyder announced the state would not recognize the marriages even though they were legal at the time they occurred because the case was appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. This makes the couples ineligible for state benefits, although the federal government confirmed it would recognize the marriages. In its most recent lawsuit, the ACLU said once couples are legally married in Michigan, regardless of whether they are same-sex or not, they gain privileges and protections that cannot be retroactively stripped away. - Wyatt Bush, staff reporter
PREVIEW
Next week marks the one year anniversary of Delta Chi’s struggles as an RSO and its eventual fall from grace as a fraternity on campus. Many questions remain unanswered. Starting April 21, CM Life will offer answers to those questions.
Andrew Whitaker | Assistant Photo Editor Millington freshman Courtney Gavitt chases down St. Clair Shores sophomore Ryan Vorpagel after getting pied in the face at Alpha Chi Omega’s spaghetti dinner Tuesday at 916 S. Main Street. The event was a fundraiser for the Isabella County Women’s Aid Shelter.
Embracing AX Ω charity
Global love: Crowd-funding to reunite transgender couple By Wyatt Bush Staff Reporter
Long-distance relationships can be difficult. When the distance of the relationship spans the entire Pacific Ocean and more than 10,000 miles, it certainly does not make the situation any easier. For Royal Oak sophomore Kai Niezgoda, this and more than $2,000 in airfare are precisely what he must overcome in order to visit his boyfriend, Jax Denton, who lives in Australia. Denton and Niezgoda, who first met on an LGBTQ online forum about two and a half years ago, were able to embrace for the first time in July. Both identify themselves as neither men or women, but are receptive to male pronouns. “It was amazing, I don’t even know how to describe it, it was like being in a movie,” Niezgoda said. “I walked off the plane and he brought me flowers and it was the sweetest thing ever. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to replicate a feeling like that again.” Denton agreed the event was unprecedented. “It was pretty great, I had arrived at the airport two and a half hours
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early and his plane arrived an hour later, so it was almost three hours of waiting.” Denton said while laughing. “But, from the first instant we were together in person, it was natural and felt like I was talking to him just as before.” Since that beautiful summer day, the pair was only able to reconnect in person on one other occasion. College tuition, living expenses and various other financial constraints have made it impossible for the two to see one another more frequently. After months of separation, they spotted the crowd-funding site GoFundMe as an option to bring them together. “We both saw other long-distance couples in similar situations and crowd-funding online,” Niezgoda said. “Neither of us were completely really comfortable with the idea to start with, but it’s kind of a lastditch effort.” Denton, who is on temporary leave from the Adelaide-based University of South Australia, said the idea came about because of Niezgoda’s social media savvy. A month after its initial inception, the “Bring Jax and Kai Back Together” GoFundMe has raised $400 of its $1,800 goal.
Samantha Madar | Photo Editor Royal Oak sophomore Kai Niezgoda skypes his boyfriend, Jax Denton, who lives in Australia, Monday night in Larzelere Hall.
Various rewards for contributing to the campaign include participating in a Google Hangout/Skype chat with the couple, custom digital and print illustrations, Australian candy and a digital recipe book. “One of our favorite things is definitely baking; we’re both admirers of baked goods,” Denton said. “Both of us as children did a lot of it then, and continue to enjoy it now.”
Denton said his favorite recipes include cookies, muffins and an assortment of desserts and proper meals. “Kai has been complaining for months now that nothing in the world is as good as my curry and that he needs it,” Denton said jokingly. w LOVE | 5A
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