September 18 2017

Face Lift

First phase of construction underway with repairs on L Building, creation of a student center.

Page 3

Memories of Mariya “I gave her a kiss goodbye, said I love you, and that was the last time I saw her alive.”

Page 8

Serving Monroe County since 1968

Sept. 18, 2017

Tips on success in college

Page 5 Blackboard out, D2L in Page 12 “It” is both scary, funny Page 16 Vol. 65, Issue 1

2 • Campus News

September 18, 2017

Agora/mcccagora.com

Community Forum raises awareness Cassidy Maier Agora Staff

Some of the biggest issues in Monroe County were addressed at a public forum at MCCC. A panel of three speakers gave presentations on public education, health care, and the opioid crisis on Saturday, Sept.

16.

Donald Spencer, who served as the superintendent of Monroe County Intermediate School District from 1999 to 2014, and as an educator in the county for 39 years, covered education.

“It’s driven by our culture, of which we are all a part and wherein lies our strengths and also our challenges,” he said.

He focused on the need for proper funding and stressed the need for education to begin early in life. He touched on the opportunities available in the county.

Ezinne Ndukwe, the senior health policy analyst at the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation, spoke about health care.

A focus of her presentation was the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, and some of its many parts. She noted the decrease in uninsured individuals in the United States since the ACA went into effect.

She talked about a few aspects of the ACA that work well and a few that don’t. She spoke about the uncertainty of the future of health care.

William Paul Nichols, Monroe County Prosecuting Attor-

Photo by Vanessa Ray

Ezinne Ndukwe, of the Center for Healthcare Research and Transfomation, spoke on health care.

ney, talked about the opioid crisis in the county. He gave statistics and facts to explain the depth of the issue.

“Interestingly, a thousand people a day are admitted to E.R.

departments, E.R. rooms for opioid overdose,” Nichols said.

He talked about where opioids come from and how they became such a problem. He spoke about the many organizations across the county and state that seek to aid in ending the crisis and helping those affected by it.

MCCC, Monroe County Positive Action Network (MCPAN) and Stronger Together, Monroe, sponsored the forum. Linda Lauer and Claire Renwick of the MCPAN Advocacy Committee and Sharon McNeil of Stronger Together served as co-chairs.

The audience included officials, community members, and organizers.

“I think it was a good turnout considering how many events are happening right now, today, at this time,” organizer Claire Renwick said. “And the questions really showed an appreciation for the topics, and I think the speakers answered them really well, so overall I think it went really well.”

Aleta Jackson, a member MCPAN, was also in attendance.

“I was impressed at the way they spoke. They had a conversation with us,” she said of the speakers. “It’s like they weren’t speaking to us or at us. They were actually having a conversation with us.

MCCC president Kojo Quartey moderated the event.

“I think it was an excellent forum. Our speakers were great,” Quartey said. “It was non-partisan in every way.

They expressed their opinions openly and candidly. The organizers did a great job.”

The Agora Editor: Vanessa Ray Web Editor: Leah Thomas

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Adviser: Dan Shaw Staff: Cheyanne Abel Taylor Dively Miranda Gardner Sawyer Jackson Cassidy Maier

COLLEGE NIGHT 2017

James Quick McKinley Striggow Don Thomas Erin Thomas

Editorial Policy The Agora is published by the students of Monroe County Community College, 1555 S. Raisinville Rd., Monroe, MI, 48161. The editorial office is located in Room 202 of the Life Sciences Building, (734) 384-4186, agora@monroeccc.edu.

Submissions: The Agora encourages submissions by anyone in the college community, including free-lance articles, opinion columns or letters to the editor. All submissions must include a name, address, and phone number for verification purposes. The Agora reserves the right to edit for clarity, accuracy, length, and libel.

The Agora is a student-managed newspaper that supports a free student press. It is a member of the Michigan Community College Press Association, the Michigan Press Association, College Media Association, Associated Collegiate Press and the Student Press Law Center.

Story suggestions are welcome. Let us know what you would like to see in The Agora - it’s your newspaper. Email submissions to agora@ monroeccc.edu.

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September 18, 2017

Campus News • 3

Construction continues on MCCC campus Leah Thomas Agora Staff

A construction project that will transform the MCCC campus has begun.

The heating and cooling system was completed over the summer, but the construction did not stop there.

The first phase of the $25 million renovation project approved by voters in 2016 is renovating the L Building.

Heating, cooling system running

the foundations.

Burns said a large crane removed the concrete panels from the L Building, and they installed the steel connectors for the lightgauge metal shade systems that will replace the concrete panels.

Burns said the concrete panels had created a structural flaw in the building.

The metal shades will fix the flaw and modernize the building.

The masons are on site building the new brick ribs between the sections of curtain wall on the south side of the building.

Burns said it will take several weeks to finish building the ribs.

Once they are done, the first stage of the shade system will be installed.

Burns said they are taking a three-pronged approach to planning the design of each phase of the millage projects.

The steering committee, town hall meetings, and user groups are the prongs that bring each piece of the project to fruition.

Burns said the steering committee oversees overall design.

The town hall meetings are brainstorming sessions that give anyone the opportunity to share ideas, and the user groups are composed of people who work regularly in the buildings due for renovation.

The college has created a website to keep the community up-to-date.

The Five-Year Maintenance and Improvement Millage Project Updates and Information website is on the MCCC home page in the news section.

People can also reach the site directly at http://www.monroeccc.edu/millageprojects/.

The website is frequently updated with photos, building reports, and latest news articles.

Despite recent rain delays, the addition on the northwest side of the L Building is still scheduled to be complete by the end of December.

The new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system’s ribbon cutting ceremony was Wednesday, Aug. 30, in the A Building.

It was the culmination of a two-year, $16.1 million project that will be paid back by the college over the next 20 years.

It transformed the heating and cooling of most buildings on main campus, while providing major cost and environmental benefits.

The Associated Press picked up a story about the college’s geothermal system, and it appeared in media across the country.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was open to the public. Attendees walked outside of the building to enter the boiler room for the formal ribbon cutting. A brief tour and Q-and-A session followed.

The ribbon cutting ceremony can be viewed at http://www.monroeccc.edu/media.htm.

Although the construction portion of the campus-wide geothermal HVAC system project is complete, Jack Burns, director of Campus Facilities, and his team will continue to troubleshoot and fine-tune the system for about a year.

“This next phase of the project is just as, if not more, important than the actual systems Photo by Vanessa Ray installation,” Burns wrote in an email to colWorkers lay the foundation for the new student study area in the L Buildiings. lege employees.

“We need your assistance during this crucial The new system has been running since All feedback should come from professors phase in order to have a successful final product.” the end of May in all the buildings except and faculty, he said. Students can voice their the L Building. concerns to professors, and the professors “For the most part it has worked fine mi- can pass it on at their discretion. nus some glitches, but we know that thermal comfort is not yet perfect throughout all of L Building launches millage project The first phase of the millage project is the spaces, and we need end-user input to the addition of a student space and external help us get there.”

Burns said they strive to keep the build- structural repairs to the L Building.

Burns is excited to give the L Building a ings somewhere in the ranges of 68°-72°F while in heating mode, and 72°-74°F during face-lift. cooling.

“I hope it creates excitement and momenTo fix problems efficiently, Burns needs to tum,” he said. know what the problem is and when it started.

Burns said the workers conducted all the “Please don’t feel that this is being a pest,” major demolition in the summer. Any noisy he said. “We will never be able to achieve construction gets done early in the morning the operational efficiencies that we need if we before classes start to minimize distraction don’t hear from the end-users in ‘real-time.’ in the classrooms.

Workers are excavating and forming the “It is extremely important that you do not wait days before reporting issues as doing so footings. The contractor poured a “mud mat” will only hinder us in our troubleshooting for the forms to sit on in the wet dirt.

Photo by James P. Quick efforts.”

Once the reinforcing steel cages are asPhoto by Vanessa Ray sembled and placed, they will start pouring Brick is laid to form ribs on the south side of A worker cuts into the brick on the east side of the L Building.

the L Building.

4 • Campus News

September 18, 2017

Agora/mcccagora.com

Study Abroad teaches memorable lessons Vanessa Ray Agora Editor

A group of MCCC students and professors set their sights last spring far beyond the four walls of a classroom.

The 18-day Study Abroad Program to Italy and Greece introduced students to cultures, concepts, and ideas not typically accessible to the average MCCC student.

While their peers were trying to navigate the construction on campus, those in the Study Abroad Program were earning credits in subjects like Photojournalism and Global Business Marketplace in Mediterranean Europe – all while touring places like the ruins of Pompeii and the ancient Greek sanctuary of Delphi.

Sixty students participated in the program.

Half of the students were in a group with Political Science professor Joanna Sabo, Business professor Wendy Wysocki, and English professor William McCloskey.

The other half were in a group with History professor Edmund La Clair and Journalism professor Dan Shaw. Though most elected to take one, students were permitted to take up to three classes.

Samantha Bartley, who took Photojournalism, thinks traveling and learning go hand in hand.

“It’s great that education is the basis of the trip,” Bartley said. “It’s like an epic field trip with your class from MCCC!” Bartley also spoke about the convenience of traveling with an itinerary and a group.

“I think it gives students an opportunity to travel in a safe way without the hassle of having to find hotels, transportation, or creating a travel agenda in the process,” Bartley said. “It is nice to really only have to worry about yourself, not all the stressful parts that come with traveling.”

Seeing cities, buildings, and art in real life was a surreal experience.

“What stood out to me was all the artwork we had the opportunity to see,” Bartley said.

“We went to so many museums filled with paintings and sculptures by artists like Michelangelo and Raphael. Seeing artwork that

Samantha Bartley, left, and Amanda Roelant rest at the top of Santorini after an exhausting climb.“I didn’t realize until we got there that the city was up on the top of a mountain.”

Photos courtesy of Dan Shaw

Both groups from MCCC spent the day in Rome and took a group photo in front of the Fiumi Fountain.

up to that point I had only seen images of in textbooks or on TV was incredible.”

It’s not just the students who are doing the learning on these trips.

Sabo, one of the driving forces behind the Study Abroad program, received a crash course in Communism during the 2011 trip to Central and Eastern Europe.

“One of my favorite moments was having three young Poles teach us about Soviet Communism - with a touch of humor,” Sabo said.

Memories are an integral part of the study abroad experience.

Sabo, who has participated in every MCCC trip since 2006, has numerous favor-

ite memories.

“Sitting on a rooftop cafe with non-traditional students discussing the difference between Parliament and Congress, while having a spectacular view of Trafalgar Square in 2015,” Sabo said. “And everything, absolutely everything, about the Europe 2017 trip, especially Mykonos, Greece!”

Memories are not always happy. In Bartley’s case, some memories teach a lesson.

“The first thing that comes to mind was toward the end of the trip when we visited Santorini,” Bartley said. “I didn’t realize until we got there that the city was up on the top of a mountain.”

In an effort to save money, she decided to forego the cable cars and walk to the top.

“I regretted this decision almost instantly,” Bartley said.

She discovered she was ill-prepared to walk almost 600 painfully steep steps.

“One of the worst parts, though, was weaving through the dozens of donkeys that were occupying the steps as well,” Bartley said.

In the end, she made it to the top and was rewarded with a spectacular view and a feeling of accomplishment.

Although she was proud of herself, Bartley did learn a lesson.

“Next time, though, I’ll take the cable cars!” she said.

While there are numerous positives to participating in the Study Abroad Program, there are also obstacles.

The thought of learning about Venetian poets while walking the streets of Venice might be a dream come true for students, but money might deter them from ever considering the program.

Luckily, there are options for students who do not think they will be able to afford the trip.

“Students can see Valerie Culler in Financial Aid who can advise them about what is available,” Sabo said. “Student loans are available. There is also work/study programs, relatives, fundraising, and cloud funding. And sometimes, even scholarships are available.”

Students must pass a background check and have no alcohol or drug-related offenses on their records.

The next trip is scheduled for May 2019, visiting England, Ireland and Scotland. Anyone interested in learning more about the trip can attend the first informational meeting on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. in room Z257.

Bartley encourages everyone to study abroad.

“This is a way to see the world, experience new cultures, make new friends, and learn more about yourself in a safe, affordable way, that leaves you with an extensive amount of knowledge and appreciation about our world, and education in general,” Bartley said.

“It was an amazing experience for me, and I am already looking forward to the next trip!”

Agora/mcccagora.com

September 18, 2017

Campus News • 5

Crash course: Try these tips for success McKinley Striggow

“Students who get involved are more successful.”

Agora Staff

If the MCCC campus still seems like a confusing place, here are some tips that could help.

Tom Ryder, Events and Student Activities coordinator, said new students should consider getting to know other students on campus.

“Students who get involved are more successful,” he said.

Students can connect through a variety of clubs ranging from Student Government to Math and Science Society (MASS).

Student Government elections will be taking place September 26 at 12:30 p.m. in the Cellar, which is in the basement of the A Building.

Students can also succeed by taking advantage of the learning resources and assistance MCCC has to offer.

Counselor Jill Denko hopes students will become aware of the services available on campus and where to go to receive these services.

“Our goal in Student Services and as an institution is to help students reach their goals and to meet with success,” she said.

For example, there is a Learning Assistance Lab (LAL) on the second floor of the C Building where students can receive help on any subject.

The Writing Center is on the left side of the LAL. If students need help with any type of writing assignment they can make an appointment with a Writing Fellow.

To become a Writing Fellow, a student must first be nominated by a faculty member, go through an interview process and receive an A or B in an Advanced Composition class that teaches how to tutor and follow MLA format.

If math is more of a struggle, head down to the Math Den in the L Building.

For students who do not need any current help, the Math Den still offers a quiet place

Briefs

MCCC hosts flu clinic

A flu clinic will be held at MCCC between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday, Sept.

30.

The second year Respiratory Therapy Club is partnering with CVS Pharmacy to sponsor the clinic.

Shots will be administered by CVS pharmacists.

The event is open to all MCCC students, faculty, staff, and to the public.

Influenza is a serious condition that affects millions of Americans, causing mild

Tom Ryder Events and Student Activities coordinator

H: Nursing, Respiratory Therapy, gymnasium and Fitness Center.

T: Career Technology Center ­­— Classrooms for the Applied Science and Engineering Technology Division.

L: Classrooms for the Math/Science Division, two lecture halls, the student newspaper (The Agora), and a greenhouse. New student study area being added this semester.

Z: La-Z-Boy Center — The Meyer Theater (community and entertainment events), Lifelong Learning, Workforce Development.

C: Library, Learning Assistance Lab (LAL), Writing Center, and Humanities/Social Science and Business classrooms.

W: Regional Computer Technology Center (RCTC), student lounge and classrooms.

E: Computer and graphics classrooms, Middle College offices and classrooms, art studio.

A: Admissions, Counseling, Financial Aid, administrative offices, cafeteria, bookstore and The Cellar student lounge (in the basement). to work.

Another good place to work on homework is the computer labs either in the library or in the Regional Computer Technology Center to serious illness, Health Division dean Kim Lindquist said.

“Serious outcomes of flu inflection can result in hospitalization or death,” she said.

Lindquist said some populations including older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions are at higher risk.

“To protect these vulnerable populations (and ourselves), it’s important that we all get vaccinated,” she said.

For more information about influenza, people can visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/index.html.

(RCTC) in the West Tech Building.

The hours for the library for the Fall 2017 Semester are Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Saturday, 9

Fake news talk set

MCCC’s Constitution Day presents Fake News and the Constitution: The Role of Media and the First Amendment.

This presentation celebrates the 230th anniversary of the Constitution and is open to the public.

It will take place in the Meyer Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 20 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Attorney Robin Luce-Hermann, the current general counsel for the Michigan Press Association, is the keynote speaker.

For questions, call the Humanities/Social Sciences Office at 734-384-4153.

a.m. - 1 p.m., and closed on Sunday.

The hours for the RCTC computer lab are Monday - Thursday, 8 a.m. - 9 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., and closed Saturday and Sunday.

If students find themselves needing a break in between classes, the Cellar is located in the basement of the A Building.

To find the Cellar, go past the bookstore as if heading to Parking Lot 4 and turn right in between the double doors.

In the Cellar, students can kick back and relax or play ping pong and pool with fellow classmates.

Student Duncan Broadent said he liked meeting new people in the Cellar.

Student Izabell Whiting likes hanging out with friends down there.

Ryder said students need to pay attention to their MCCC student email and Blackboard for upcoming homework due dates.

To log in, use your college ID number.

This number will be a student’s key to all computers the school has to offer and to most of the available programs: email, Blackboard, MyMathLabs, and Webpal.

Students can call 734-384-4328 with email and Blackboard questions, and 734384-4333 with Webpal questions.

For more information, go to the school’s website at www.monroeccc.edu or check the posted information boards around main campus.

Kojo Quartey, president of MCCC, emphasizes that students who better their education better their future.

“The key to success is education,” Quartey said.

Dingell speaks at MCCC

Tomorrow’s Woman: Empowering Lives conference is on Saturday, September 22 at MCCC. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is the keynote speaker.

Sessions vary in topics like family legal issues, human trafficking, and yoga.

Dingell will give a legislative update on women’s issues.

The conference is sponsored by the American Association of University of Women Monroe Chapter, MCCC and multiple community organizations.

Registration is required and the cost is $20. Lunch and breakfast are included.

6 • Campus News

September 18, 2017

Agora/mcccagora.com

WELCOME BACK!

Photos by Miranda Gardner

A sense of togetherness permeated the barbecue, which spread across the lawn east of the La-Z-Boy Center.

Back-to-School Barbecue called a resounding success Cassidy Maier Agora Staff

Fritos and wings in hand, President Kojo Quartey makes his rounds.

Katy Frebes and Zac Schafer chat at the M.A.S.S. table.

The sun was a prominent guest at the 2017 Back-toSchool Barbecue.

The MCCC event was organized and hosted by Student Government and sponsored by multiple organizations, including Siena Heights University. It took place on the lawn east of the La-Z-Boy Center on Tuesday, September 5.

Both college and outside organizations set up tables for students to visit, including Monroe County Community Credit Union, the Math and Science Society, and Monroe Bank and Trust.

“It’s the largest we’ve had so far. Over 20 organizations on campus here, internal on-campus clubs and external companies. It’s a great event,” Kojo Quartey, president of the college, said.

Students listened to music from 92.5 Kiss FM, ate food provided by Buffalo Wild Wings and Kosch, the campus food service, and enjoyed the weather.

“I think it’s nice that it’s outside. Last year it was in the administrative building,” writing fellow Kayla Maddox said. “so it was very close, very intimate. This year it’s a nice use of space, it’s very welcoming. The

weather is beautiful.”

The weather wasn’t so nice to everyone.

Katy Frebes sat at the Math and Science Society booth, holding an umbrella over her head.

“It’s a little toasty,” she said. “They put me in the sun so I had to do that, and I’m kind of pale so I’ve got to make it work.”

The barbecue introduced students to some of the opportunities available to them on campus and the different clubs and organizations they can join.

“Some should think about signing up for golf and soccer,” Quartey said. “I’ll be coaching the soccer team.

“We’re starting with intermural to see how it goes.

I’m not sure there’s more we can do with divisional competitive sports.”

The barbecue has been an annual event for many years at the college and has gone through a few changes.

“When it first started, it was a lot smaller. It was just Student Government, Buffalo Wild Wings, and a few college organizations, like Phi Theta Kappa,” Phillip Borawski, a technical operations assistant, said.

“Over the years it’s gotten bigger. It used to be more college oriented. There weren’t as many outside organizations. It’s nice to watch it grow over time.”

Buffalo Wild Wings made its annual appearance at the barbecue.

Agora/mcccagora.com

Campus News • 7

September 18, 2017

Diversity on the rise, yet still lacking

What MCCC lacks in diversity, it makes up for in inclusiveness and passion James P. Quick Agora Staff

While MCCC has less diversity than other colleges, numbers are on the rise.

Since the election of Donald Trump, tensions in the country have been hurtling towards a breaking point. Aside from Trump’s inflammatory comments about Mexicans and women on the campaign trail, things have gotten worse.

The tragic events in Charlottesville are still fresh in the minds of many, to say nothing of the recent attempted lynching of an eightyear-old multiracial boy in New Hampshire.

But on the MCCC campus, things seem inclusive. It does not appear that many people have experienced racism or hatred here.

“I know I’m different, but I’ve never felt that I’ve been judged because of that,” says Nicole Wilson, a member of the GayStraight Alliance (GSA). “I’ve always felt really safe here. I feel like the professors take into account my intelligence and not the color of my skin, which I love.”

Wilson is biracial, with a white mother and black father.

“She’s a baby boomer,” Wilson says of her mother, “so whenever they saw biracial children, her mom would be like, ‘Oh, well, I always feel bad for the biracial kids because they’re always stuck in the in-between.’

“I think it’s really funny because now she has a bi-racial grandchild!”

The presence of biracial people like Wilson has dramatically increased in the last

“I’ve always felt really safe here. I feel like the professors take into account my intelligence and not the color of my skin, which I love.”

- Nicole Wilson Photo by James P. Quick

half decade. Before 2013, biracial people were not included on the college’s demographics report, the Student Profile. And even then, only four biracial students were in attendance. As of 2016, there are 22.

In general, ethno-racial diversity has been on the increase in the last year, following

the college’s emergence from an extended period of hemorrhaging numbers. The only number that decreased between 2015 and 2016 was the amount of Caucasian students.

That said, they still comprise the vast majority of the student body at 84 percent.

But diversity is not defined by race alone, as Psychology professor Melissa Grey explains.

“One of the ways we think about and estimate diversity is in terms of social characteristics like age, gender, religion, race,” she says. “So it depends on which aspect of diversity we might be thinking about.

“In terms of some of the most common forms of visible diversity, like race, we’re not very diverse. You compare us to other colleges and to other regions, our demographics are white and heterosexual, and so is the county.”

In terms of MCCC, Grey says, racial and ethnic diversity are comparatively better than the county, while age is comparatively worse.

Gender and sexuality may be our biggest forms of nonvisible diversity on-campus.

However, what they lack in obvious visibility, they make up for in involvement.

“Arguably the most active organization on campus is the Gay-Straight Alliance,” says Kojo Quartey, the president of the college.

The club is advised by Grey. It is notable for its bake sales and the Pride Prom it hosts annually, among numerous other activities.

“A lot of the LGBT community – we stick together,” says Basil Wampler, who prefers non-gendered they/them pronouns. “Even if you’re not LGBT, you kind of group. I feel like, from those small groups, we’re really diverse in that category at least.”

“It’s nice being in GSA because I feel like it fit in,” says Wilson, who is a straight ally. “I feel like it’s a family that have opened their arms to me and have said, ‘We’re here for you and we’re here if you want to talk about stuff.’”

“I believe the longer I’ve been here, the more diverse people have become,” says Hunter Wright. “When I was first here, it was kind of like ‘eh,’ but it’s gotten a lot better.”

So MCCC has an inclusive campus that allows for minorities such as the LGBTQIA community to have an active voice. However, are we diverse enough?

“The quick answer is… no,” says Quartey, who continues by frankly stating there is a lack of visible minorities.

“I think there’s been an improvement over the last few years. But not enough… I think that if we are to make progress in this county, we need to get to where the country is going.”

Photo by Miranda Gardner

GSA advisor Melissa Grey talks to member Basil Wampler.

He’s not alone in this viewpoint at all.

“Well, if you want to just get straight down to it,” says student Joe Costello, “I don’t see a huge diversity.

“I see some here and there. But a lot of people don’t know who they’re dealing with; they’re not sure what nationality people are.

They’re not sure because, if you look around, everybody pretty much looks the same.”

Costello is no stranger to mistaken identity. He mentions having been mistaken for both Hispanic and Arab, while actually being of Italian and French descent.

“I remember when I first came here two years ago, I was kind of shocked,” says Javed Peracha, Student Government treasurer for the 2016-2017 school year.

He is currently in the United States on a student visa. Originally hailing from Pakistan, he notes he’s typically one of the only people of color in his classes.

“I definitely think we could have more diversity. But thank God, so far I feel welcome,” he says.

With all this information, how do we then go about solving the problem and improve our diversity?

“If our goal is to create diverse, enriching, interesting experiences, it’s probably too simplistic to just grab people for diversity’s sake,” says Grey.

“We don’t want to bring people in just because ‘oh, we don’t have enough people from your group.’ We want to be a place where everybody wants to come. We want to have a college where, regardless of your background, you want to be here.”

“Diversity has become this bizarre buzzword in many ways,” says Edmund La Clair,

professor of History. “It really should be about trying to understand the variety of experiences between people on the campus.

“I think we do make strong efforts to do that, but at a community college it’s difficult to build that kind of institutional longevity that might be useful for emphasizing these different viewpoints and experiences.”

What is institutional longevity, anyway?

Simply put, it is the length of time the college maintains its students. As La Clair notes, students spend an average of three years at MCCC before graduating or transferring. It’s a short window in which to get involved in the college’s clubs and form new ones.

La Clair isn’t the only one with concerns.

“For example,” says Quartey, “we don’t have a Black Student Union on campus.

How do we then recruit more black students to come here? At some larger campuses, you have organizations like that who go and recruit individuals of similar backgrounds.”

The college does have committees for this, both La Clair and Quartey note – the Countywide Diversity and Campus Diversity Committees. But are they enough?

Quartey proposes the notion of developing a comprehensive diversity plan for MCCC. In the long run, it seems that diversity could stand to improve. And it’s not just an administrative project. Students can help out as well.

“Diversity comes in all forms. There needs to be a deliberate effort on all our parts,” Quartey says.

“If you know of any students of diverse backgrounds, for example, who are interested in going to the college, they should be encouraged to come here. This is a place where we are sort of a family. We make people feel at home.”

8 • Feature

September 18, 2017

Feature • 9

Agora/mcccagora.com

MCCC mourns the loss of nursing student Mariya Heinzerling

By Miranda Gardner Agora staff

Mariya Heinzerling’s shoes wait by the door, but her boyfriend knows she won’t need them anymore.

Joe Salloum’s living room is dim, lit by a single lamp, but Mariya’s presence can still be seen in the dark.

“Got a pair of flip flops by the front door,” he said. “I just don’t know what to do with them.”

Mariya was a nursing student at MCCC, on the road to success before a fatal accident took her life on July 27.

“Two months is right around the corner,” he said. “I can’t believe it’s been seven weeks.”

Mariya’s death affected the entire Health Sciences Division at MCCC. Kim Lindquist, the dean of Health Sciences, said the nature of the nursing program brings the students close together, and they become a family.

“The students develop lifelong friendships and bonds,” she said. “Whether it’s the challenges or rigors, but when they’re missing one of their own, the program feels it.”

Nicole Garner, assistant professor of Nursing, teaches Fundamentals of Mental Health.

“In nursing, we’re so much of a family,” she said. “Fundamentals is a nine-credit-hour course, I see these students four times a week, so you spend a lot of time with each other.”

Mariya met two of her closest friends, Angelena Harnisch and Cheyenne Schmidt, and her boyfriend, Joe, in the nursing program.

The intersection at South Otter Creek and Dixie Highway is a road her friends no longer take.

“I refuse to go down that road,” Cheyenne said. “I’ll go down North Otter Creek, but I won’t go down South.”

“I have no doubt that she would’ve graduated with us, moved on, and been successful at whatever she put her mind to. She just had that drive, and not a lot of people have the drive she did.”

Angelena Harnisch “I’ve been very cautious driving since,” Angelena said. “I look three times every time I come to an intersection.”

Life for everyone who loved Mariya unexpectedly turned upside down, but it should have been just a normal day.

“I gave her a kiss goodbye, said I love you, and that was the last time I saw her alive,” Joe said, holding back tears.

Mariya’s mom, Tammy Heinzerling, was like her best friend, Joe said. Before the accident, Mariya was going to spend the day with

her mom.

Tammy was following her daughter to lunch before the collision.

“She got caught up at Telegraph, so when she got up there she saw there was an accident, and she called Mariya, but Mariya didn’t answer,” Joe said.

“She pulled over to see the vehicle and people started to run over,” he said. “She asked what kind of car it was, and when they told her, she knew it was Mariya.”

Mariya wanted to be an organ donor, but her organs could not be donated because of damage from the collision.

Her skull was fractured in several places, her neck was broken, her femur broken, her clavical, and more.

“I think she was killed on impact,” Joe said.

“There was so much damage that I’m sure.”

Tammy and Mariya’s father, Ken Heinzerlinger, are fighting for a change at the intersection that claimed their daughter’s life. They have a GoFundMe page raising money for a traffic light to be installed there.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through,” Joe said, choking up. “I think it’s pretty rare to lose someone you love in that way.”

Lindquist sympathized with Mariya’s friends.

“I don’t think you can really make sense of these things,” she said. “It’s rough.”

The community responded to Mariya’s death by showing their love and support in amazing numbers.

“Many faculty members attended the funeral,” Lindquist said.

Joe, Angelena, and Cheyenne said that almost everyone who knew Mariya attended the funeral, from MCCC President Kojo Quartey to classmates, clinical instructors, Middle College staff, and even her principals from Triumph Academy and Meadow Montessori.

“I’m very proud, after seeing how the college represented their student and handled the whole situation, to say that I’m a student here,” Angelena said.

“I’m really proud to be a part of MCCC because of the support from the staff and the students,” Joe said.

The trio said they were impressed that Quartey cared enough to visit nursing classes on the first day of the semester. The whole class and the staff acknowledged that it was rough, but that Mariya would have wanted them to move on.

“She would want us to keep going strong, finish the program, and all graduate this semester without sweeping it under the rug,” Cheyenne said.

Mariya would have graduated from MCCCs nursing program this winter, but her memory is left behind instead.

“She wouldn’t want people to be sad for too long,” Cheyenne said. “She would want her memory kept alive, but in a way that’s going

Photos courtesy of Tammy Heinzerling

MCCC Nursing student Mariya Heinzerling’s life was filled with family, friends, and pets. This photo collage was created by her mother for Mariya’s funeral.

to make progress or do something for good.”

The Student Nurses Association scholarship was changed to the Mariya Heinzerling Memorial scholarship on Aug 29.

“We’re also raising money for the scholarship,” Cheyenne said.

The nursing program will be holding bake sales around campus, she said.

Nursing skills lab instructor Monica Rancatore was wearing a Mariya Heinzerling memorial ribbon on her scrubs.

She said Cheyenne’s mom made the ribbons and the whole clinical group wears them to memorialize Mariya.

“So everyone in clinical can wear them, and

Mariya can still be with us,” Rancatore said.

Assistant nursing professor Michelle Schwartz comforted Rancatore as she cried.

“I’ll always remember her for her smile and laughter,” Rancatore said. “She was always a good student and it was such a pleasure having her.”

Mariya’s professors and instructors praised her for her grit and her lightheartedness through it all.

“I think persistence is her middle name,” Rancatore said. “She really worked hard at what she wanted to do, she stayed in the lab a lot, and she pushed herself, but she tried to make learning fun.”

“She had a good sense of humor,” Schwartz

said. “She was always a hard worker and extremely friendly.”

Joe said Mariya was passionate about helping others.

“She raised money for suicide awareness,” Angelena said. “And we were planning on doing the Alzheimer’s walk coming up in September.”

Mariya’s devotion to others was not exclusive to people.

“Her cats were rescue cats,” Angelena said.

“The one she found starving.”

“She took in three strays all at once,” Cheyenne said. “They were all siblings and she had slowly started passing them onto families during nursing school.”

Mariya’s cats, Zeus and Titan, and her dogs, Ares and Thor, all have found homes since her death.

Her friends said Mariya was feisty, sassy, and headstrong, but she cared deeply for others.

“If you needed something, it didn’t matter who you were or how well she knew you, she was gonna help you,” Cheyenne said.

“She was always there and picked up the phone when you needed to vent or when you were mad or sad,” Angelena said.

It’s a cliché, they said, but Mariya would give someone the shirt off her back.

“People say that all the time, but that’s genuinely how she was,” Joe said.

At the beginning of her life, Mariya had a lot of medical issues, which inspired her pursuit of a nurse practitioner career.

“She was on the opposite end, so she knew what it was like being a sick child in the hospital,” Angelena said.

“She had a lot of empathy for her patients because of that,” Rancatore said.

“But she felt 100 percent blessed that she was given the life that she was given,” Angelena said.

As Mariya began attending clinicals in the nursing program, she began to gravitate toward pediatrics. Those around her could tell she had found her focus.

“She had a love for kids,” Joe said.

“I have no doubt that she would’ve graduated with us, moved on, and been successful at whatever she put her mind to,” Angelena said.

“She just had that drive, and not a lot of people have the drive she did.”

Mariya was remembered for her energetic and outgoing personality, but also her big smile, Garner said.

“Every time I think about her, I get a smile on my face,” she said.

Mariya’s drive and ambition shined when it came to school.

“She would study non-stop,” Joe said. “I’d be over there and she’d be studying, yelling at me because I’m not studying.”

“She was smart,” he said. “School was very important to her.”

On the other hand, Mariya did know how to have fun.

“She would plan little fun trips for all of us to get a break,” Cheyenne said.

“We went to the casino one day, all day,” Angelena said. “And then we did that whole trip together with the Nurses March, which was very fun.”

Everyone agreed that Mariya loved being outside, whether laying in the sun, swimming, hiking, or running.

“She was getting ready to go on vacation with her mom,” Joe said. “They were going to Myrtle Beach; she loved the ocean.”

Mariya and Joe had spent a long weekend together in northern Michigan’s Upper Peninsula a couple weeks before the accident.

“We went to Pictured Rocks, it’s a national park off the lakeshore,” he said. “We kayaked the whole thing and hiked while we were up there.”

Mariya liked listening to Blake Shelton’s music. If she heard a song and fell in love, she would play it several times—sometimes on repeat, Joe said.

“If she heard a new song, she would send it, and I’d go over there and she’d be listening to it in the shower,” he said.

Mariya was known by her friends as a clean freak, Angelena said.

“We’d be sitting at the table studying and then 10 minutes later she was like, ‘Oh my god, I gotta steam clean the floor,’ ” Angelena said, laughing.

“And if the cat had just gone to the litterbox, she’d be like, ‘There’s litter everywhere, I have to clean it right now,’” Cheyenne seconded.

“She showered about 10 times a day,” Joe joked. “At least 3-4 showers a day, and that’s not exaggerating.”

Mariya loved candles; she always had them burning, and Joe estimated hundreds of soaps in her shower.

She was indecisive about which pair of black pants to wear, and curled only half her hair — needing to call Cheyenne to finish the other half.

“She’d be like, ‘You have to come over and help me figure out what I need to wear,’” An-

“She wouldn’t want people to be sad for too long.

She would want her memory kept alive, but in a way that’s going to make progress or do something for good.”

Cheyenne Schmidt gelena said, smiling. “You’d get there, you’d pick, and then she’d be like, ‘Nope, I’m gonna wear this.’ ” “I’d come over and curl half of her hair,” Cheyenne said laughing. “Like, a lot, last semester.”

Mariya was considered a “loose vegetarian” by her friends, and her favorites were cheese pizza from Jets, and shakes from Nutrition Explosion.

“She didn’t eat chicken, beef, or pork,” Joe said. “But she’d eat sushi and salmon.”

Mariya had been catching up on Game of Thrones because the new season was coming out, and she was almost ready for the newest season premiere.

“My favorite episode is Battle of the Bastards, and the last episode she watched was the one before it,” Joe said. “That was what we did the night before.”

“I’m just thankful we had a good night,” he said.

Joe wears Mariya’s ashes around his neck with her fingerprint on one side and “Love you, Joe” written on the other side.

“I wear her ashes every day,” he said.

Skydiving was something that Mariya had always wanted to do, Joe said.

“I bought her a gift certificate for her birthday to go, and we were supposed to this summer before school started.”

Joe reminisced about a talk with Mariya around a bonfire. He said they discussed bucket list goals, and what they would do if they could not finish the list.

“She told me, ‘Keep some of my ashes, and you gotta go skydiving if I don’t,’ ” Joe said.

10 • Campus News

September 18, 2017

Agora/mcccagora.com

One Book, One Community Returns

“Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” tells of Japanese internment and warns to heed history.

Vanessa Ray Agora Editor

One Book, One Community (OBOC) has enjoyed countywide support for the past 12 years.

The mystery behind the next book is part of the excitement. On Sept. 13, those wondering what the 2018 choice would be got their answer.

“Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,” the debut novel by Jamie Ford, has been selected as the 2018 OBOC novel.

OBOC coordinator Cheryl Johnston, who showed retirement from MCCC last spring does not mean she’s slowing down, spoke of how the selection committee made its choice.

“Our philosophy is to choose a book we think will provoke lively discussion,” Johnston said. “We hope it will enhance our community awareness of particular issues so that we can grow as a community.”

Held on a balmy evening at the Monroe County Library Ellis Branch, the event featured a personal message from Ford – through a video he recorded just for Monroe’s OBOC. Ford laughed about the consequences of his book being read by so many students.

“I’ve become homework,” Ford said.

“Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” is Ford’s debut novel.

Photo by Vanessa Ray

Community Librarian Suzanne Krueger unveils this year’s book.

He then joked about how, due to the fact there is not a Cliff’s Notes for his book, students often contact him.

“I get these wonderful letters saying ‘Mr. Ford, I totally loved your book. The Hotel on the Corner of Sweet and Sour is my all-time favorite. You think you could answer these 12 questions for me?’” Ford said.

Ford’s humorous optimism presented a stark contrast to the heavy subject matter of his novel.

With part of the story taking place in WWII-era Seattle, “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,” is a historical fiction that follows the star-crossed relationship between a Chinese-American boy named Henry Lee and a Japanese-American girl named Keiko Okabe.

A large part of why “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” was chosen is its examination of the internment of Japanese American’s during WWII. Johnston thinks the racism and xenophobia in the U.S. during WWII should serve as a reminder of societies needs to examine the way immigrants are currently treated.

“The story addresses many of the same topics we are discussing as a nation,” Johnston said.

The committee members are currently planning the events that coincide with the book.

Chart by James P. Quick

If you would like to get involved or learn more about One Book, One Community, including more information about the book and the author, you can view archived webpages, other media, and much more at https://www.monroeccc.edu/onebook.

Photo by Vanessa Ray

Author Jamie Ford in a pre-recorded message for the attendees.

Agora/mcccagora.com

September 18, 2017

Campus News • 11

Faculty, staff get ‘active-shooter’ training Erin Thomas Agora Staff

This summer, MCCC partnered with the Michigan State Police to train full-time faculty and staff on what to do if there is a shooter on campus.

The Alert Lockdown Inform Counter and Evacuate (ALICE) training provided classroom education as well as real life scenarios to equip MCCC faculty and staff for a school shooting.

Randy Daniels, vice president of Student and Information Systems, said MCCC trained about 160 employees and plans to continue training part-timers.

The training was an intense three-hour session that began with a classroom lecture.

For two hours, Sgt. Rodney Goss of the Michigan State Police taught MCCC employees how to assess a shooter situation and decide whether to run, fight, or barricade.

Then for an hour they participated in two rounds of staged shooting scenarios.

In the first round, participants could only barricade themselves in the room. The second time around, members could run, fight or barricade.

Daniels said he was happy with the outcome of the training.

“I thought the ALICE training went very well. I think it was well received by the fulltime faculty and staff. The feedback I heard was very positive,” he said.

Wendy Wysocki, a professor of Business and Economics, said the training was a great opportunity to practice and see what it would be like.

Wysocki said it was a start, but no one can really be prepared for a situation like a school shooting.

This is not the last training that will take

This image from the ALICE Training Institute website highlights its training programs for higher education.

place at MCCC. Daniels said he would eventually like to see a live drill take place.

He wants the entire county and community involved in the drill.

It would take time to organize the police, EMS, faculty and students, but he said he wants to move in that direction.

Daniels said the college has been working to improve safety for several years and will always be focused on campus security.

Some of the safety improvements could be in effect rather quickly, he said.

Wysocki mentioned the safety precautions that need to be implemented in the classrooms.

“I think we need to do some work on the door locks. In the training there was some other options like barricading the door. The officer talked about exit and entries through windows,” she said.

She noted that MCCC classrooms do not really provide professors and students the equipment to take these precautions.

Wysocki also talked about the college’s lack of communication throughout the campus.

MCCC Club accepting donations for victims of Harvey and Irma Miranda Gardner Agora Staff

The MCCC Community Service Club is jumping into action as hurricanes rip through the south.

The club is helping collect donations or dollar vouchers for the Thirty-One Gifts zipper pouch relief fundraiser.

Club adviser Allison Gallardo said the club is helping a student fill bags for the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston.

Student Kayla Obert is a Thirty-One Gifts party consultant in her third semester studying for an associate’s degree in Nursing, Gallardo said.

“She’s filling pouches with toilet-

“People can donate toiletry items, whatever they want to donate.”

Allison Gallardo Community Service Club adviser ry items,” Gallardo said. “If anyone wanted to donate toiletries, they can.”

The club is taking donations through Sep 15, and donations should be delivered to the club advisors, Gallardo, a Financial Aid assistant, and Barry Kinsey, of the Workforce Development Department.

“Larger items needed are socks and feminine products,” Gallardo said.

“Students can donate money, doesn’t even have to be $20 — if they wanna donate — they can.”

“If students want to put a note inside the pouch, they can as well,” she said.

Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston, Texas, area, then was followed by Hurricane Irma in Florida and the Caribbean.

“I have a student in the Community Service Club thinking about doing another fundraiser for Irma,” Gallardo said.

Instead of a food drive, the club is considering a toiletry drive and setting out boxes.

“People can donate toiletry items, whatever they want to donate, and put them in the box to be delivered to the Red Cross,” she said.

She suggested implementing some form of communication throughout the campus, such as an alarm system or phones in the classrooms.

Student Alexander Simone said the college is a very open campus which is inviting to a shooter who is looking for a target.

He thought that MCCC should have more security officers around the campus to watch for suspicious activity in the area.

Daniels said MCCC has taken some steps to train students.

“A few years back, after the Virginia Tech incident, we bought a DVD called “Shots Fired,” which is very similar to what the ALICE training is,” he said.

He said the MCCC website has a section on safety and security, which has links to the “Shots Fired” video and other resources.

Daniels said it is nearly impossible to provide the ALICE training to the 3,000-plus students who attend MCCC. He said the college’s annual security report, posters in classrooms, and the website are all ways the college is providing students with the information they need to stay safe.

Student Chelsea Belair said she had no idea about any online sites MCCC is using to equip students for school shootings.

“I think everyone should know about that and have a plan,” she said.

She said MCCC should raise awareness and educate everyone in preparation for a shooting. She admitted that many students, including herself, would not take the time to watch a series of videos on school shootings because they do not think it will happen at MCCC. Simone thought MCCC should have drills that take the time to walk students through the best way to handle shootings on the campus.

12 • Campus News

September 18, 2017

Agora/mcccagora.com

Goodbye Blackboard, hello D2L Donald Thomas Agora Staff

Blackboard will be replaced over the next year with a more user-friendly program.

MCCC’s “learning management system,” which students use to access assignments and grades, has been part of the college’s environment for more than a decade.

Jeff Peters is MCCC’s coordinator of e-Learning and Instructional Support. He manages the Blackboard system and provide help to users.

He also is chair of MCCC’s Instructional Technology Committee, which is comprised of faculty, staff, and administrators.

Over the past year, the committee has evaluated Blackboard and decided to replace it with a more user-friendly system, D2L, by Brightspace.

The committee conducted surveys and collected feedback from faculty before making the decision.

The committee brought D2L, which is short for “Desire to Learn,” to campus along with two other learning management systems. Faculty and staff were able to experiment with each of the systems.

“Overall, you’ll find it to be very similar to Blackboard in terms of tools and features, but much more user-friendly,” Peters said.

The user-friendliness of the program will prove to make the transition between it and Blackboard very smooth and seamless, Peters said.

He said D2L, Blackboard, and most other learning management systems have similar tools, navigation, and features.

D2L looks a lot like the “My Institution” page that can be found in Blackboard, but is cleaner, less cluttered, and easier to navigate, Peters said.

The transition will take place at the beginning of Spring Semester 2018, but training will start in Winter Semester.

Photo by Vanessa Ray

“Overall, you’ll find it to be very similar to Blackboard in terms of tools and features, but much more user-friendly.” Jeff Peters, MCCC’s coordinator of e-Learning and Instructional Support The announcement email and communications will be coming at the end of this semester, with details about dates for workshops and training opportunities.

“We’ve still got a lot of time, and information will be forthcoming,” Peters said. “There will be ample opportunities to get training and

get acquainted with the Brightspace system.”

“There will be more communication at the end of the Fall 2017 Semester regarding the switch to Brightspace, as well as Brightspace training and support opportunities.”

Training will be starting in January of 2018 to prepare students, staff, and faculty.

The Regional Computer Training Center in the W Building, which is currently supporting Blackboard, will transition to being the support center for the new system.

“If you need support, you can go to the RCTC, which will become the Brightspace Help Desk,” Peters said.

Pell grants available Spring, Summer Cassidy Maier Agora Staff

MCCC students can now receive Pell Grants for the Spring and Summer Semesters.

Under the newly revised financial aid system, students may qualify for Spring and Summer semesters financial aid on top of what they received during the Fall and Winter Semesters.

“I think that’s pretty cool, because I’m a student that borrows money,” student Brandon Chick said. “So that is really helpful, because now I don’t have to borrow as much money. It makes it more attractive to go to school in the Spring and Summer.”

Students enrolled full-time for Fall and Winter must be enrolled for at least six credit hours in the Spring and Summer Semesters.

If they choose to enroll part-time for Fall and Winter, they will still be eligible for financial aid at a prorated amount in the Spring and Summer.

“It had the biggest impact on students who attend full-time in the Fall and Winter,” Valerie Culler, director of Financial Aid, said.

“The reason for that is, now that they will have Pell Grant money available for Spring and Summer, it’s more likely they’ll be able to attend classes in Spring and Summer and they’ll earn their degree faster.”

Under the old system, students were given financial aid to cover one academic

year. That was normally almost used up by the Spring Semester if the student attended classes full-time in the Fall and Winter.

Now, instead of receiving 100 percent of financial aid and using it before the Spring Semester, students can get 150 percent to be used throughout the year.

“I think it’s great that that’s something they can do,” Samantha Bartley said. “It gives the students who can’t afford it the opportunity to complete school quicker.”

The amount of money students may get for the 2017-2018 school year can range from $606 to $5,920. This is an increase from last year’s range of $598 to $5,815.

This award amount is based on how much money the student’s family can contribute,

which is called the ‘Expected Family Contribution’ or EFC. The EFC is calculated by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. Students can find the link to the FAFSA website, additional information on Pell Grants, and other types of financial aid under the Financial Aid section of the MCCC website.

Under this section, students can also find a Pell Grant schedule that estimates the amount of money they may be eligible for, which is based on their EFC and enrollment plans.

The change comes after a Congressional decision impacting all schools eligible for Federal Title IV financial aid, Culler said.

Agora/mcccagora.com

Campus News • 13

September 18, 2017

New Science/Math dean looks to the skies Kevin Cooper talks climate change and his past, future as a meteorologist Donald Thomas Agora Staff

Climate change is happening, and we now have an expert at MCCC who can document it – Kevin Cooper, new dean of the Science and Mathematics Division.

“All I do is document the facts and chart the progress that the data shows along with documenting the craziness of the weather and then present those facts,” Cooper said.

Cooper, who took over as dean of the Science/Math Division over the summer, was trained as a meteorologist before moving to higher education administration.

He said the weather is clearly changing.

More extreme jet stream flows are building up, with more blocking patterns in them.

For example, there are deeper troughs, which are affecting the weather severity.

With climate change, we will continue to get more ridges and more troughs in the winter, he said.

“It’s a shame that people make climate change a political issue or a controversial issue since the science supports its reality,” Cooper said.

When you hear about climate change or global warming, some think that means warmer winters, but that isn’t always the case, he said.

Cooper presented a “Cooper-Cast” TV meteorology show at his previous colleges, and he is considering something similar at MCCC. The only major issue with setting up a forecast for the week is that forecasts are only good for about five days, he said.

There are too many factors involved for it to be accurate past that time frame.

He said the public demand is for an accurate forecast that is stretched far out into the future.

Originally from Toledo, Cooper has followed his career path across the United States.

“Becoming a teacher wasn’t my original goal, but it was meant to be,” Cooper said.

After finishing his bachelor’s degree at Northland College of Ashland, Wisconsin, he started his teaching career at Owens Community College in Toledo, where he was hired for a one-year lab teaching position.

He completed his master’s degree at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and was hired as a full-time faculty member at the National American University in Rapid City, South Dakota, where he stayed 10 years.

Cooper never planned to go into higher education.

Growing up, he wanted to work for the National Weather Service as a meteorologist.

He had gone through school primarily focused on that, and it had never crossed his mind to do college work.

Instead, his passion focused on reporting the weather; he still performs his own forecasts to this day.

When he started teaching, he loved it right away and knew it was his future.

“Would have never crossed my mind at the time to be a Dean to a college,” Cooper said. “Started being a teacher only as a side gig, but found that I loved being in the classroom.”

From there, he went on to an administrative position with Mountain College, Colorado, as Assistant Dean/Instruction-

Kevin Cooper, new dean of the Science/Math Division, settles into his new digs.

al Chair of the Math, Science, and Social Studies Division.

Though he loved his time there and enjoyed the connectivity that he had with his colleagues, he longed for home.

An opportunity presented itself to Cooper to return to the familiarity of his home town of Toledo and grow his career at his current position as Science/Math dean.

His position also has provided him more opportunity to be hands-on and in the classroom.

“To me, students are number one, they are the reason we are here, and making sure that they succeed and achieving their goals is why we do what we do,” Cooper said.

His new position has provided a change of pace and room to grow while working alongside another amazing staff, he said.

He joined the staff July 5, and now feels more settled in and better adjusted to the new surroundings.

Cooper said he has come to love the added responsibility

“It’s a shame that people make climate change a political issue or a controversial issue since the science supports its reality.”

Kevin Cooper

Photo by Vanessa Ray

and feels that he can make an impact here, along with tackling bigger challenges and opportunities.

His original goal of being a meteorologist has provided him with the drive and the desire to add a meteorology course to the MCCC curriculum. He would teach the course, which could be up and running by Winter Semester.

He passed the defense for his doctoral degree in March.

Shortly after that, he presented his findings at a conference in Cambridge, England, and is looking forward to submitting journal articles based on his Ph.D. work.

With all the demands on his schedule, Cooper has specific advice in regard to juggling everything.

He suggested you keep life balanced by finding a way to take some time to yourself and relax.

Cooper relaxes by taking long walks and hikes.

Beyond that, he finds time to step away from his educational goals and instead focus on some lifelong learning, such as circuit training or joining a bowling league.

More extravagant ways to relax for Cooper include tropical locations, as he loves nature and spends as much time as he can out in it.

“You have to be willing to step away from things for a while to come back the next day or week to be refreshed to avoid the burnout,” Cooper said.

It’s a lesson that he stresses everyone needs to learn and practice daily.

14 • Sports

September 18, 2017

Agora/mcccagora.com

Volleyball club welcomes new members

Taylor Dively

“The goal is to have two courts with competitive players on one and the other court for more recreational players. We want more structure to the club. We want to establish a consistent club membership.”

Agora Staff

The Volleyball Club gathered for the first time this semester on Sept. 11 with new goals and plenty of new faces.

A total of 15 students were in attendance and there’s always the possibility that more could show up for future practices.

“We’ve only got six returners,” said Sarah Hoffman, a student who joined the club last fall. “There’s a lot of new faces.”

Lisa Schendel, administrative assistant in the Business Division, took over the advising of the club last winter. She has a few objectives that she hopes to meet with the help of students.

“The goal is to have two courts with competitive players on one and the other court for more recreational players,” Schendel said. “We want more structure to the club.

We want to establish a consistent club membership.”

The long-term objective is to actually have a competitive team that will play other colleges or groups in the area while still maintaining a recreational league on campus for any students that may not feel comfortable at the higher level or who might just want to have some fun.

Lisa Schendel Volleyball Club adviser

Photo by Taylor Dively

Members of MCCC’s new volleybal club participate in their first practice.

“We want to open the sport to all players,” Schendel said. “We want to have an open door and it to be fun.”

The first practice was just the beginning of what looks to be that fun atmosphere. With almost double the amount of students as last

year, the group was able to split up into two separate groups and scrimmage for most of the night.

“Last year, we had about four people on each side, which made it hard,” Schendel said.

Both teams were evenly matched and kept the games close. The once awkward silence at the beginning of the gym time quickly turned into laughs, shouts of encouragement, and a bit of friendly banter.

The Volleyball Club is currently meeting every Monday and Wednesday from 7:309:30 p.m. in the gym, located in the H building.

Any students interested in participating are always welcome, and if any student has questions they should contact Lisa Schendel by email at lschendel@minroeccc.edu.

Little Caesars Arena sends prices skyrocketing Taylor Dively Agora Staff

Students hoping for price drops in Red Wings tickets might have to hug their piggy banks a bit tighter when shopping for tickets this year.

Student Rush tickets are not available for this season and prices have jumped upward due to the excitement around the opening of the team’s new home, Little Caesar’s Arena.

Student Rush is a program that almost every NHL team has incorporated into their ticket sales. This program allowed teams to sell out games and made sure that they made at least some revenue on tickets that would have otherwise gone unsold.

College and high school students were able to sign up for text message alerts that alerted them when tickets were available at a discounted price of $40.

There was never a guarantee of where the student would be seated; they could end up being in the front row or find themselves at the very top of the upper bowl.

A school ID had to be shown to pick up the tickets, but the program allowed students a cheaper

“Students looking to attend a Wing’s game this year can expect to spend about triple the cost of Student Rush tickets if they want lower bowl seating and about double for the upper bowl.” night out. These tickets were on a first-come, first-serve basis and were only available a few hours before game time.

Students looking to attend a Wing’s game this year can expect to spend about triple the cost of Student Rush tickets if they want lower bowl seating and about double for the upper bowl.

A different and cheaper alternative is to attend a preseason game. Resale tickets for these games are anywhere from $30 and up. This is also a great way to get a first glance at the Wings prospects and the future of the organization.

The move by the Red Wings and Pistons to Little Caesars arena at the edge of downtown Detroit has been accompanied by excitement - and higher ticket prices.

Typically, hockey tickets do start high across the board for every team in the league. Hopefully this is just an initial cost and will drop as the season progresses.

With the Wings making the move to Little Caesar’s Arena this year, ticket prices could stay

higher for a bit longer than normal.

Students should also remember that the cost of the ticket is not the only thing that they are paying for when they attend an event. Buying from ticket sites such as Ticketmaster and Stubhub all charge fees

that are added onto the price of the ticket.

Parking, food, drinks, and souvenirs should also all be taken into account. To save even more money, week night games are generally cheaper than the primetime weekend events.

Agora/mcccagora.com

September 18, 2017

Arts & Entertainment • 15

Variety spice of new Meyer season

Paula Cole kicks off 2017-2018 lineup

By James Quick Agora Staff

“If you don’t know who she is, go out and go to YouTube, click on some of her current stuff. I think our students will be really impressed with what they hear.”

Ryder said he always tries to

The 2017-2018 season at the Meyer Theater features a Grammy winner, tribute bands, comedians and more.

Award-winning singer-songwriter Paula Cole will be the first act of the season at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13.

Tom Ryder, Director of Campus and Community Events and Student Activities, is clearly pleased to have Cole on the roster.

“I was actually a big fan of hers back in the ‘80s,” Ryder said.

“And her biggest hit is, ‘Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?’ So if there are any older students out there, they may remember that song.”

He describes her cur- Singer-songwriter Paula Cole performs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13. rent music as having a “jazzy blues feel.” plan a variety of events to keep the “She really is a great performer,” season diverse. he said. “The problem with that is “I try to find a little bit of somethat many people don’t recognize thing for everybody,” he said. “One her name. So, name recognition thing that’s always done really, rewith this one is a big thing we’re ally well for us is tribute bands.” pushing in our advertising and proPrevious tributes to such famous motions. acts as the Eagles, the Bee Gees,

and Jimmy Buffett have done quite well.

This year Queen Nation will be performing on Nov. 17, in another 7:30 p.m. Friday show.

“It’s actually our best seller so far,” Ryder says, “leading the pack with around 200 tickets sold already. The VIP section is already sold out. So if students are interested in something like that, they need to get their tickets sooner rather than later. I do anticipate a sellout for that one.”

Classic Albums Live makes a welcome return with a tribute to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.”

“They’re not a true tribute group,” Ryder says. “They don’t try to look like the performers.

What they try to do is match them note-for-note, sound-forsound. They want to sound just like it.”

Ryder notes that the show is slightly behind Queen Nation in ticket sales, with about 150 to 160 tickets already sold.

Get tickets while you can. The show will be Saturday, Jan. 20, once again at 7:30 p.m.

Additionally, Michigan-based acts such as the Grand Rapids indie rock group The Crane Wives and Kalamazoo traditional Gaelic folk band Blarney Castle will be performing on Saturday, Feb. 3, and Saturday, March 17, respectively.

Two different comedy shows

Triple Time Comedy will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3.

Queen Nation takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17.

will also grace the stage this season.

Triple Time Comedy, featuring Norm Stultz, Jeff Nease, and Steve Lind, will perform on Friday, Nov. 3.

Louie Anderson, also an author and star of the FX comedy series, “Baskets,” will appear on Saturday March 10.

Children’s shows also are featured once again, with The Cat in the Hat coming on Friday, Oct. 27.

The show lasts for an hour starting at 7 p.m. and is geared toward children in kindergarten to fourth grade.

Louie Anderson, author and star of the FX comedy series, “Baskets,” will appear at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday March 10.

Dragons Love Tacos will be said, “if you buy tickets at our caperformed on Wednesday, Feb. shier window and you have your 21, again at 7 p.m. It is another college ID, they’ll give you $2 off hour-long show, but this time fifth any ticket. graders are encouraged to partake “So it’s cheaper for students; as well. we’re trying to help them out a lit“I would be remiss if I didn’t tle bit in cost.” mention our own band and choir!”

He also has good news for those Ryder said, referring to the Ago- who cannot buy tickets ahead of ra Chorale and Symphony Band concerts.

“I think our band is Monroe’s best-kept secret,” he said.

“If people truly knew how good our band was, we would be overrun, and oftentimes we already are!

“It’s often The Grand Rapids-based indie act, The Crane Wives, standing room will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3. only for our band. We have over 100 mem- time, or know they’ll forget until bers… so if you haven’t been to a the day of the event. band concert, I would highly rec“If we’re not sold out the night ommend it.” of the show,” he said, “30 minutes The Agora Chorale concert is on before performance time we’ll Tuesday, April 24, while the Sym- give students tickets half-price. phony Band concert follows on Up to two tickets with your student ID.” Monday, April 30.

Further information, including Ryder said students get a break ticket costs, can be found on the on prices.

“Up to the day of the show,” he college website.

Blarney Castle, a traditional Gaelic folk band, will perform at 7:30 p.m.Saturday, March 17, respectively.

16 • Arts & Entertainment

September 18, 2017

No Losers Here

Agora/mcccagora.com

‘It’ is a masterpiece about the horrors of growing up in a cruel world

Sawyer Jackson Agora Staff

Growing up isn’t easy.

At some point in your life, you come to realize that your parents and other adult figures aren’t always going to be able to protect you from the world.

When you’re on the cusp of adulthood, you find that society has already let you down. There seem to be bullies at every turn, adults appear to be ambivalent towards your struggles, and if you live in a small town, it threatens to crush your individuality.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to suffer through these trials alone, and that’s what lies at the heart of Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King’s coming-of-age classic novel.

There’s a haunting, sinister force that seeks to destroy our main characters, but they choose to unify and face the danger nobody else will. “It” works wonderfully as an energetic spook-a-blast, and even as a comedy, but it truly excels as childhood tale about the loss of innocence, love, grief, and friendship.

It’s 1989. The town of Derry, Maine, feels like any other small town.

Except it has dark, violent history that seems to keep repeating itself. In this town are seven youngsters: the stuttering Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), bookish new kid Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), impoverished Bev (Sophia Lillis), foul-mouthed Richie (Finn Wolfhard), pragmatic germaphobe Stan (Wyatt Oleff), home-schooled Mike (Chosen Jacobs), and hypochondriac Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer).

These children are all very different and not all of them are friends when the story begins. But they have one thing in common: They’ve all had encounters with an otherworldly being in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgard), who is connected to not just Derry’s horrific past, but also the disappearances of several of the town’s residents, including Bill’s little brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott).

Banding together to form the Losers’ Club, the kids must uncover the mystery behind Pennywise and stop It once and for all.

It’s cliché to say that the setting feels like a supporting character in a film, but this is especially true of Derry. Superficially, it feels like a typical quaint, little town thriving with small businesses and inhabited mostly by nuclear families.

Underneath that, however, Derry is oppressive, soul-crushing, and indifferent to

any kind of suffering. Just the way flyers for missing children are casually pinned atop one another conveys the town’s insensitivity is enough to feel like all hope is lost for our protagonists.

Riddled with bullies, pedophiles, neglectful or abusive parents, and cowardly bystanders, Derry is an evil entity in its own right. Like Pennywise, it threatens to tear down these characters and eat them alive.

Pennywise himself proves to be a nightmarish villain. Skarsgard’s performance is reminiscent of Freddy Krueger from “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” one that will go on to haunt generations of young moviegoers.

When Pennywise first appears in a sewer drain, the shadows obscure half his face, with only his piercing yellow eyes that each veer off into different directions standing out as he entices the ill-fated Georgie.

Whether or not you’re afraid of clowns, Pennywise’s inhuman inflections are startlingly creepy enough to provoke immense unease in anyone.

Aside from that incredibly intense opening scene, “It” prefers to embrace the creepiness of the premise rather than heart-pounding horror. The most surprising element of this film is the humor.

“It” is very funny. Not just in the interactions between the characters, but in the scary scenes, as well. One scene in particular between a crying Eddie cornered by a screaming Pennywise will have you torn between feeling amused and afraid.

Muschietti’s willingness to juggle both horror and comedy recall that of Sam Raimi and his “Evil Dead” films (This movie is the most fun I’ve had watching a horror film in theaters since the aforementioned director’s “Drag Me to Hell”).

Where “It” really shines is when the focus is on the Losers’ Club. No matter what scene they’re in, you are engaged with these characters.

They’re such a relatable, lovable group of youngsters, and the actors inhabiting these roles are more than up to the task.

Casting good child actors is hard. Yet, there is not a weak link among the cast, with the standouts being Sophia Lillis as Bev and “Stranger Things” breakout Finn Wolfhard as Richie.

Both are responsible for some of the film’s most touching (one of Bev’s last lines will tug on your heartstrings) and funniest moments (one of Richie’s jokes had my audience laughing so hard, nobody could hear what other characters were saying).

It was while watching these characters

play off each other, I found myself being taken back to moments from my childhood.

Moments where my friends and I rode our bikes around the neighborhood, walked through the woods, and cursed like sailors.

Moments from a time where things seemed simpler. Before the harsh realities of growing up hit us. It’s rare that a horror film resonates on such a deep, personal level.

Whether it’s Bill accepting the loss of his brother or Bev overcoming abuse or Eddie standing up to his mother, anybody can relate to what these characters endure.

Though the film ends hinting at a sequel (only the first half of King’s novel is adapted), I’m curious to see how it handles a radical direction the story takes that I won’t spoil here. Whatever the case, I’m excited to see where things go from here and the next chapter in the Losers’ journey.

Their experiences are a reminder that sometimes the world will make you feel like it’s out to get you. People who you count on may turn their backs on you. Forces outside your control will try to control and oppress you through fear.

The best we can do then is find others with kindred spirits, open our hearts, and brave the turmoil of life together. That’s why the Losers’ Club are the real winners here.

The plot in “It” revolves around the “Loser’s Club,” a group of seven children, each with their own challenges.