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MONday, APRIL 7, 2014 | MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH. | ISSUE NO. 76 VOL. 95
editor’s note
CMU did not deny FOIA request from Central Michigan Life reporter Central Michigan Life reported factual errors in the front page story, “FOIA for LaBelle, CMU lawsuit settlement denied by university officials,” published in the April 4 edition. In the story, it was reported that CM Life was denied a copy of a lawsuit settlement between the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees and LaBelle Limited Partners after a Freedom of Information Act request. Sherry Knight, vice president of University Communications, sent an email with the settlement document attached on Dec. 5 to University Editor Ben Solis. The email sent to Solis was flagged as spam and was not found that day. The email was sent Dec. 5 when CMU held its regularly scheduled board of trustees meeting. During this meeting, trustees approved a $175,000, 30-year land lease for the construction of an on-campus hotel. A lawsuit was filed over a previous attempt to plan and construct the hotel, which was dismissed, appealed and then settled out of court. CM Life requested a copy of the settlement in a press conference after the meeting. Initially, the reporter was instructed by university officials to make a formal FOIA request for the document. While the reporter set about requesting the document, Knight, along with CMU’s General Counsel Manuel Rupe, made sure CM Life received the settlement in a timely and expedited manner. Within an hour of the verbal request, the reporter was sent the document. The reporter was not aware that the document had been delivered until University Communications and the Office of General Council contacted the CM Life office on Friday after the story was published. A reporter sent a written FOIA request to Rupe’s office on Jan. 26 asking for additional documents and the settlement. The response indicated that additional documents were not available through FOIA and the settlement agreement had been sent to the reporter on Dec. 5. The reporter should have followed up with the office for clarification on what had previously been sent before publishing Friday’s story. We would like to apologize to Knight, Rupe, Director of Public Relations Steve Smith and Assistant General Counsel Mary Roy for the errors made in the article and errors of judgment made by the reporter. We would like to thank them for their understanding and continued support of the CM Life staff. An article about the settlement will be published later this week. - Justin Hicks, editor-in-chief
LIFE INSIDE Pi Sigma Epsilon heads to Florida to defend title »PAGE 2A Tackling hunger with pizza »PAGE 3A Editorial: A commitment to accuracy and transparency »PAGE 4A Third place gymnastics to send three to nationals »PAGE 1B
Shannon Millard | Staff Photographer Central Michigan University students take a video of juniors, Mick Preston and Tyler McCrorey singing in the Disney Prince/Princess competition at Relay for Life in the Indoor Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
A community united Relay for Life raises more than $75,000, spirits, hope for the future
Shannon Millard
| Staff
Photographer
Central Michigan University students do Zumba at Relay for Life in the Indoor Athletic Complex on Saturday for the 24-hour fundraising event that raises money for the American Cancer Society.
By Katherine Ranzenberger Senior Reporter
Dedication, drive and determination – three words used to describe the students and community members who participated in this year’s Relay for Life at Central Michigan University. This year’s event, held in the Indoor Athletic Complex, raised $75,904. Lacey Johnson, the co-chair of Colleges Against Cancer, said they were still counting all the change they had as well. “We had to carry the change out on a rolling cart,” the Goodrich senior said. “That will probably add a couple hundred dollars to the number. We surpassed our goal, which is awesome.” More than 1,000 people participated in this year’s event, compared to the 800 last year. Fifty survivors came to the IAC and 20 more joined in virtually. Johnson said she was impressed with how many people came to participate by walking, jog-
Shannon Millard
| Staff
Photographer Burton resident, Luisa Radzin has been coming to Relay for Life every year since 2008 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Six years later, Radzin is cancer free. Relay for Life is a 24-hour fundraising event that raises money for the American Cancer Society. This year’s theme at the Indoor Athletic Complex on Saturday was Disney.
w RELAY | 5A
Mahone, Urueta win SGA presidential race By Nathan Clark Student Life Editor
Charles Mahone was speechless when he was told he would be representing the students of Central Michigan University next fall as president of the Student Government Association. Mahone and running mate Mariah Urueta were elected SGA president and vice president with 75 percent of the total vote in the 2014 SGA elections, which ended Friday at midnight. “I feel so blessed and grateful that so many voted for us,” Mahone said. “We were not expecting such a high percentage of the vote.” Students voted for SGA president, treasurer and senators on OrgSync from March 31 to April 4. A total of 1,704 students voted in the election, or roughly 8.7 percent of the 19,634 students enrolled on campus as of the fall of 2013. This was nearly double the amount of votes from the 2013 election when the student population garnered 903. This year’s total still fell short from the 2012 election, when 2,046 votes were registered. When Mahone and Urueta received the news shortly before midnight on Friday, they were
writing thank you cards to supporters. “When I found out that we won the election, and by how many votes, I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the support we’ve gotten from our peers, friends, staff members and people who trust us,” Urueta said. Mahone is hoping for a smooth transition as he and Urueta begin their new roles in SGA. Mahone is still in the process of deciding who to appoint to his executive board. The opposing candidates, SGA President Marie Reimers and running mate Margaret Blackmer, were also told the results of the election Saturday. “We’ve had a good year and I’m proud of what we’ve gotten accomplished,” Reimers said. “Good luck and congratulations to Chuck and Mariah.”
25%
Reimers & BLACKMER
75%
Mahone & Urueta
4.4%
8.7%
students voted
students voted
The rest of the field
Although the positions of president and treasurer were filled without issues, the same cannot be said for the Senate race. Of the 24 seats available, only 18 were officially filled. The number of senate seats a college has is determined by the enrollment numbers for the college. w SGA | 2A
91.3%
95.6%
students did not vote
students DID NOT VOTE
2014
2013