April 28, 2014

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Central Michigan University’s premier news source and student voice since 1919.

Life

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FISHER AND ADDAE two chippewas have taken very different paths to the nfL

cm-life.com

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mondaY, aPriL 28, 2014 | mount PLeaSant, micH. | iSSue no. 84 VoL. 95

LIFE IN BRIEF

POLITICS

Focusing on the issues

EARTH WEEK

U.S. Rep. Kildee talks loan reform, gay marriage, big money in politics

TAKE BACK THE TAP

Students continue to campaign for a campus-wide ban on bottled water.

By John Irwin Staff Reporter

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WOUNDED WARRIOR

RUNNING FOR RELIEF

Veterans, students and community members took on a 5K race on campus to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project to benefit injured service members.

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UNIVERSITY

Samantha Madar | Staff Photographer Alumna Carrie Coulombe holds her son Emmett Dover, 22-months, and daughter Valerie Dover, 10, on April 23, 2014 at their home in Johannesburg, Mich. Coulombe wakes up every morning at 5:30 a.m. to get her children and herself ready for school.

$upporting $tudents Helping through hardship, Student Emergency Fund gives students financial support By Mark Johnson Senior Reporter

CALL FOR CADAVERS

New state legislation would allow people to donate their bodies to specific institutions for scientific needs.

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BASEBALL

There was once a time in Carrie Coulombe’s career as a student at Central Michigan University when her future – and chances of graduating – were in doubt. At the end of the Fall 2012 semester, Coulombe was having trouble finishing her degree in secondary education. The single mother was paying her tuition out of pocket, all while supporting two children including the infant she had just given birth to. “I had my first daughter pretty young, before I started college, but I still wanted to go (to school),”

Coulombe said. “You see the success stories on TV of women going back to school, but doing it is extremely hard. It came to the point where I couldn’t afford to go to class and I began to think ‘Maybe I can’t do this. Maybe I can’t make it.’” Looking to her parents for financial assistance wasn’t an option. Her father was battling cancer. Between her maternity leave from work and daily commute from Houghton Lake, Coulombe’s bank account dwindled. Seeking help from the university to stay enrolled in classes, Coulombe visited the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid and learned about CMU’s Student Emergency Fund.

“I didn’t think I would qualify,” Coulombe said. “I felt that it was my own, bad situation. I had kids before I went to college, I maybe did it the way I shouldn’t have and I felt like the student emergency fund was for something more deserving. Maybe some of my bad fortunes weren’t as bad as other people’s.” Despite her reluctance, Coulombe applied anyway. The faith she put in her request paid off, as she was picked to receive a much needed boost in her funding. Coulombe received a $1,000 award that year. The funds helped her pay for school as well as other living expenses

Congressman Dan Kildee D-Flint says higher education is a focal point of his platform. Dan Kildee Fitting with his interest in Michigan universities, the Central Michigan University alumnus spoke to College Democrats last week about several issues facing students, including loan debt, affirmative action and same-sex marriage. Central Michigan Life caught up with Kildee while he was in town to ask the congressman several questions pertaining to his stance on these issues and any plans for reform. One of the top issues on the minds of younger Americans is student loan debt, which has skyrocketed in recent years. You co-sponsored a piece of legislation, the Pay It Forward bill, that would essentially make student loan repayment rates income-based after having the government pay for tuition. Why this approach? KILDEE: I think it’s one of many things we should be looking at. I, along with Congresswoman Susan Bonanmici of Oregon, proposed the Pay It Forward Act. Basically, it would allow states to pile at this idea that would have government pay tuition, rather than getting into the direct loan and repayment business. Basically, pay the tuition and have a student pay it back, or pay it forward, by just applying a portion of their earnings from the job they end up with.

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SlutWalk event shines light on on-campus rape culture By Arielle Hines Staff Reporter

SWEPT

Baseball loses on Sunday, swept at hands of Ball State.

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LIFE INSIDE cmu’s ‘friends’ in Lansing     »PAGE 6A traveling u.S. Holocaust memorial museum exhibit to visit cmu     »PAGE 7A

AD BE SMART & RE

Marching and chanting “However we dress, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no,” about 175 students marched in the SlutWalk on Saturday. The march marks the second annual installment of the national event, and takes aim against sexual assault victim blaming. SlutWalk also supports survivors of sexual assault. “Slut is one of the most powerful four letter words that I know of,” said St. Clair Shores senior Ashley Scheetz, president of the Organization of Women Leaders. “It has the ability to render incredible violence and it also has the ability to bring people together marching and chanting and feeling together like we do today.” OWLs, a Central Michigan University registered student organization, hosted the event. SlutWalk first originated in 2011 in Toronto as a response after a police officer said to a group of women that they should avoid dressing like sluts in order to avoid being raped. Those controversial statements helped inspire a movement, and there have since been many local SlutWalks hosted across the United States and in other countries, such

as India and Brazil. Stephanie Cumper, a Marlette senior and OWLs member, wearing a black dress and fishnets, was one of many students showcasing that ideal. “The idea that a person can be blamed for being raped based on what they are wearing is ridiculous,” Cumper said. “It doesn’t matter what I wear, (pieces of ) clothing are just items to express yourself.” While the march is part of a national event, the CMU edition had its own flavor and message it wanted to champion, including recent sexual assaults that have happened on-campus throughout the last year. “Every walk is a little different. Each group adds their own personal touch to it,” Scheetz said. “But one thing has always stayed consistent, and that is that blaming the victim is never okay.” Scheetz pointed to the multitude of alleged sexual assaults occurring on college campuses around the nation, including the subsequent backlash that survivors face in the wake of bringing complaints forward. She said these occurrences are proof enough that students are not fully aware of an oncampus rape cultures. “We want to recognize the strength of the survivors on our campus and community and to let them know they

Shannon Millard | Staff Photographer Members of the Organization of Women Leaders, Central Michigan University students and community members march in the 2014 Slut Walk on Saturday.

are not alone,” Scheetz said. The walk started in the University Center and proceeded through campus, ending finally back at the UC. As the participants marched, they hold up signs to such as “Jesus Loves Sluts,” “Rapists Cause Rape, Not Clothes” and “My Clothes are Not Consent.”

They repeated several chants including “Yes means (expletive) me. No means (expletive) you” and “Two, four, six, eight women are sexual and sluts are great.” Filmmaker, writer and speaker Andrea Bredbeck spoke as the keynote speaker for the event. As a survivor w SLUTWALK | 2A

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