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STUDENTS REINVENTING MICHIGAN:
CMU students win first, second place at competition » PAGE 3A
THE CENTRAL REVIEW: New issue, honors winners at reading » PAGE 7A
Monday, April 22, 2013
cm-life.com “CANCER DOESN’T CARE WHO YOU ARE.”
SOFTBALL
Relay for Life brings cancer survivors, community together » PAGE 3A
Softball struggles in extra-innings, loss against Toledo » PAGE 1B
University spends five times more on student-athletes By Ryan Zuke Staff Reporter
Central Michigan University spends about five times more per athlete than it spends on non-student-athletes. In 2010, university spending per athlete totaled around $51,000, not including debt service, while spending per student was $10,388, according to CollegeMeasures.org. The large difference is due to the unique needs of a college athlete such as travel, food and equipment. “A portion of those types of things might not be necessary for
a standard student experience,” CMU Director of Athletics Dave Heeke said. “But, those are required to be able to compete and to be part of an athletic program.” Dave Heeke Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services David Burdette said these unique needs can be compared to students in other programs who require more resources. “If you carve out a unit on cam-
pus, I’m sure you can find a science, technology or a different program that could have those similar highcost needs,” Burdette said. “From a finance officer’s perspective, I know that prudent approach is in almost every department. This is a fiscally conservative campus, and people watch their dollars, whether they are in biology or athletics.” However, Sonya Petrakovitz said she believes athletes receiving some resources at no expense is unfair to other students. “Art students have to pay for their own supplies,” the Cadillac
senior said. “They don’t get any benefit from the school because a sheet of paper is $10. And yet, that is what they love to do, so I don’t see a distinction there.” Nevertheless, CMU had the fourth-lowest subsidy in the MidAmerican Conference in 2011, which accounted for 70.7 percent of the athletic program’s revenue, according to USA Today’s athletics department finances database. The percentage ranked fifth in the MAC.
A ATHLETICS | 2A
SPENDING FOR STUDENT ATHLETES VS. STUDENTS YEAR
2010
SPENDING PER $51,000 STUDENT ATHLETE SPENDING PER STUDENT
$10,388
The difference in spending between student-athletes and students is $40, 612
Improvements underway for international CMU students By Ryan Fitzmaurice Senior Reporter
Several improvements have been made to make international students’ arrival to Central Michigan University next fall less troublesome than in the past. Last September, Central Michigan Life published an article detailing the challenges international students face upon arriving at CMU. These problems include a lack of access to bedding materials, which resulted in many students sleeping without bedding for their first weekend here. Many students who arrived after Friday, Aug. 17. were also were unable to access the Internet until the following Monday and were therefore unable to contact their families. Jake Mcpartlin, a Lincoln Park senior and a second-year peer adviser to international students last fall, estimated 15 to 20 of 31 international students in Herrig Hall slept without any bedding for at least their first night, and at least 15 of those 31 students were unable to attain an Internet connection that weekend. Herrig Hall residence hall director John Johnstin said Residence Life has made several changes to their orientation next fall to make students’ arrival on campus far less strenuous. Students will now have instant access to bedding as soon as they arrive, Johnstin said. “When Residence Life hears about a concern or a problem, we quickly move to address it,” Johnstin said. “Starting last semester, we had bedding available to all arriving students on request. This will continue next fall.” Tracy Nakajima, director of International Students and Scholar Services, said the bedding will come with a nominal fee, but it will only be large enough to cover the cost and is not designed to make a profit. Johnstin also said Residence Life has worked with the Office of Information Technology to make readily available guest passes to students who arrive too late to set up a global ID, which is necessary to access the Internet on campus. Guest passes were available last fall, but much of the residence hall staff was unaware of their availability. Nakajima said the Office of International Affairs has also made improvements. Student drivers who volunA INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS| 2A
CHUCK MILLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
MPI President and Manton senior Nick Viox, left, and Ada senior Shelby King, right, talk Saturday morning in a press conference about the events that occurred during last week’s bombing at the Boston Marathon. Viox and King, along with nine other students, were volunteers for the race and returned safely to Mount Pleasant following the event.
Banding together CMU students who volunteered at Boston Marathon: Boston a ‘strong,’ ‘welcoming’ city By Ryan Fitzmaurice | Senior Reporter
The Boston bombings have not done enough to stifle the spirit of Boston, students in the group Meeting Professionals International said at a press conference Friday.
MPI President and Manton senior Nick Viox and Ada senior Shelby King represented the group, which had 11 students volunteering at the Boston Marathon last week. The group was about five miles from the bombs when they went off. Despite this, King described the group’s stay at Boston as one of the “best experiences of her life.” She said was is the kinship found within the Boston community that made her experiences there so valuable, and she said the media has ignored that in its reporting of the incident. “Everyone is focusing so much
on the tragedy,” King said. “No one is focusing so much on Boston and the volunteers. Everyone has seen that video where the man fell down after the bombing, and then the next thing you see is several people running toward him to help. I don’t know where else you see that. I might have run away myself.” Viox also emphasized the sense of community in Boston. “The people there are so sensational, so welcoming. They really welcome you into their family,” he said. “Once you’re there, you are the Boston family.” The MPI members didn’t see or hear the explosions and slowly
found out about the events that occurred from authorities at the race and people tweeting and texting about them from home. The bombings did much to unnerve the group, as they had volunteered at the finish line where the explosions occurred only the day before. Nancy Brehm, one of the Boston Marathon volunteers from Central Michigan University, talked about her heightened appreciation of Boston after the bombing. “I went on this trip to Boston not knowing what to expect when volunteering for the Boston MaraA BOSTON | 2A
Three CMU professors named to ‘Top-25 Women Professors in Michigan’ list CMU PROFESSORS NAMED TO ‘TOP-25 IN MICHIGAN LISTS’ w Maureen MacGillivary
Top-25 Female Professors
w Christine Phelps
Top-25 Female Professors
w Elina Erzikova
Top-25 Female Professors
w David Acevedo-Polakovich
Top-25 Psychology Professors
w Jim McDonald
Top-25 Education Professors
w Michael B. Gilbert
Top-25 Education Professors
By Samantha Smallish Staff Reporter
Three Central Michigan University professors have been named to the Online Schools of Michigan “Top-25 Women Professors in Michigan.” Mathematics professor Christine Phelps, journalism professor Elina Erzikova and Professor of Apparel Merchandising and Design Maureen MacGillivray were the three CMU professors who were recognized. MacGillivray, was first notified of being named to the list after being interviewed by Central Michigan Life. “I am humbled by it, and I’m curious. I wasn’t aware I was named to this list, but I’m also thankful to be recognized by it,” MacGillivray said. MacGillivray has devoted 30 years of teaching to CMU. She plans to
finish out her career at the university. In addition, MacGillivray devotes much of her time to work outside of the classroom, where she works for apparel manufacturing companies that are interested in using the body-scanning lab at CMU. MacGillivray also received the CMU Faculty Distinguished Service Award in 2012. Phelps was also honored upon being recognized. She said in an email: “I am honored to be recognized,” Phelps said. “It is always my goal to be the best instructor I can be for my students.” Phelps’ future plans include continuing to improve her teaching through research and application in the classroom. Phelps received the CMU College of Science and Technology Outstanding Teaching Award in 2012. Erzikova, who is an Association
of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Emerging Scholar and the 2012-13 recipient of the CMU Excellence in Teaching Award, was pleased to be named to the list. Upon being named, Erzikova said: “My initial reaction was a reaction of a typical PR person. I said to myself, ‘great. This is great visibility for CMU and the department of journalism,’” Erzikova said. Erzikova said she thinks the search took place independently; the organization responsible for selecting the professors didn’t contact the university beforehand. The organization looked at what awards were given to which professors and, from there, investigated without university aid. Erzikova said her future plans include winning more awards. She said she will use her successes to in-
spire her students in the classroom. “I will use (being named) as a teaching moment for my students,” Erzikova said “You have to compete constantly to win, and, after that, all your wins and awards will work for you. It’s like a snowball effect, and finally you’re on top.” In addition, psychology professor David Acevedo-Polakovich was named to the “Top-25 Psychology Professors in Michigan” list, and Professor of Educational Leadership Michael Gilbert and Professor of Teacher Education and Professional Development Jim McDonald were named to the “Top-25 Education Professors in Michigan” list. See “Psychology professor David Acevedo-Polakovic named one of 25 best in state” on page 7A. university@cm-life.com