Your independent CMU news source since 1919
STUDENT DEBT:
Loan interest rates set to double » PAGE 3A
CONCEALED CARRY: Empty holster protest last week opens doors for debate on campus » PAGE 3A
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
cm-life.com BASEBALL
MENSTRUAL MISHAPS
CMU shuts out Calvin College 10-0 » PAGE 7A
‘I wish I would have laughed about it at the time’ » PAGE 1B
BOMBINGS IN BOSTON
‘This blindsided the whole city’ CMU students, alumni undergo ‘emotional roller coaster’ By Ryan Fitzmaurice Senior Reporter
Several CMU students and alumni who attended the Boston Marathon Monday, where two explosions rocked the finish line, are safe, uninjured and accounted for, but some report to being emotionally shaken by the bombing. The student group, Meeting Professionals International, had 11 students volunteering at the Boston Marathon. The group was roughly five miles from the bombs when they went off. MPI President Nick Viox said his mind is still racing after the event. “It’s five hours later, and I still don’t know what to think,” the Manton senior said. “This blindsided the whole city. Boston was buzzing because of the event, and we were swept up in that excitement. Then this tragedy happened. It’s been an emotional roller coaster for everyone.” Bloomfield Hills senior Shelby King was another one of the 11 students volunterring. She said the group didn’t see or hear the explosions and slowly found out about the events that occurred by authorities at the race and people tweeting and texting them from back home. “A while into the race, some guy asked us, ‘Two explosions at the finish line?’ And two of the other girls and I thought he said, ‘How much further until the finish line?’ We kept just yelling and smiling. That was the first thing that sort of gave us any clue,” King said. “When we found out that it happened, everyone was just sort of numb and silent. The police came up to our water station captain and told us to stop the racers. So, some of us did that and then some people started to clean up. I don’t really think any of us believed it, because we didn’t hear anything and we were so close.” King said the group was initially in disarray because of the conflicting reports they heard. “At first, we were told that it was a gas line explosion in a restaurant,” King said. “And then there were bombs, and it was just so confusing
PHOTO COURTESY OF STUART CAHILL/BOSTON HERALD/MCT
Emergency personnel assist the victims at the scene of a bomb blast during the Boston Marathon on Monday in Boston, Mass.
CMU police chief: Mount Pleasant safe, but ‘we still need to be alert’ in future Security is invited to take a look at the athletic operations, especially at football games, because of the high volume of people in attendance. “We began looking at ourselves as a potential soft target and what we should do to help minimize any danger,” Yeagley said. “We have been working with (Homeland Security) and changing how we do things over the last three years. This isn’t new, but it does reaffirm how secure we are.” For Mioduszewski, the event made him think back to a bomb threat in Mount Pleasant on Dec. 28 at the Firstbank branch at 4699 E. Pickard Road. “We get bomb threats like pipe bombs that have been put in mailboxes, but nothing as significant as they had out in Boston,” Mioduszewski said. “We are always bringing experts in to see what we can do locally to be
By Tony Wittkowski Senior Reporter Nick Viox
Shelby King
Hannah Deacon
Nick Fisher
to us, because we honestly didn’t know what was going on.” Several hours after the event, King said Boston was collectively in shock, subsiding from an initial panic.
A STUDENTS| 2A
Police around Mount Pleasant learned of the Monday afternoon Boston Marathon bombings the way many others did. Central Michigan University Police Chief Bill Yeagley and Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski both discovered the event through a text message from a fellow officer. “I got a text from our captain about 20 minutes after the news broke on TV,” Yeagley said. “With two explosions that close together, my mind immediately raced to some type of man-made catastrophe.” Yeagley said he could see CMU as a potential soft target and took proper precautions for an attack when they meet annually with the athletic department. Homeland
ready for things, especially when it comes to emergencies we can be as prepared for.” The Los Angeles Times reported the Boston Marathon explosives were six-liter pressure cookers, which were placed in black duffel bags placed near the finish line. Mioduszewski said CMUPD deals a lot with the FBI and Secret Service when it comes to outside sources, but, when it is about bombings specifically, they have collaborated with the Michigan State Police bomb squads on several occasions. “We are always re-evaluating after every function (about) what went well, what didn’t go well and what we can improve,” Mioduszewski said. A POLICE| 2A
Shared governance pushes for standing committee for oversight By Kyle Kaminski Senior Reporter
FILE PHOTO BY JEFFREY SMITH
On Nov. 27, 2012 Jim McDonald speaks to members of the Academic Senate in Pearce Hall, room 128.
The Shared Governance and Communications Committee plans to create a standing committee, the first ever at Central Michigan University, charged with oversight of shared governance on campus. The SGCC formed a working definition of shared governance in February, calling it a “dynamic collection of the best practices for engaging, voicing, listening and discussing the interests of all groups when planning, making and implementing decisions for the university.” “There will be 12 people on the committee,” Academic Senate Chairman and Co-chair of SGCC Jim McDonald said during a pre-
sentation at last week’s Board of Trustees meeting. “Chairing the committee will be one member of administration and one faculty member to be selected by the ASenate.” McDonald said the committee will meet twice a year to discuss ideas for shared governance and report any suggestions they’ve received over the course of the year. “This committee will also prepare an annual report to share with the university community,” McDonald said. During the presentation, former co-chair of the SGCC Jim Hageman revealed four responsibilities University President George Ross charged the committee with. In forming another committee, Ross requested they review national conversations and past
work on shared governance, prepare a statement on what shared governance means to CMU and develop an action plan for improving and ensuring the future of shared governance. Over the past 20 years, there have been four separate shared governance committees, and each one has failed for one reason or another. According to the presentation last week, the failures of the previous committees were largely due to a “major breakdown in communication and climate” and “frequent turnover in leadership.” While a final shared governance report has not yet been approved by A-Senate, a working draft is available online. A SHARED GOVERNANCE| 2A
Saturday, april 20 • 10:30pm
SATURDAY NIGHT
Get In The Game For Only $10
This Ain’t Your Grandma’s Bingo! BASH
18 aNd OvER wElCOME.
E X P E R I E N C E M O R E.