1-30-2012

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Late Night Catechism - Pg. 8

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Aug. 26,30,2010 55,Issue Issue January 2012 Vol. Vol. 56, 61

www.mcccagora.com www.mcccagora.com

Vineyard planted on campus Pg. 4

Students raise awareness for Ronald McDonald house Kaitlyn Durocher Agora Staff

MCCC’s Student Government has teamed up with a family that recently stayed in the Ronald McDonald house to bring about awareness for the house’s cause. Gabriel Jordan was born on May 11, 2011, with a heart condition known as Transposition of the Great Arteries. This heart defect means Gabriel’s aorta and pulmonary arteries were switched, preventing her heart from properly pumping blood to her lungs. Gabriel also had holes in both the upper and lower chambers of her heart. At 6 days old, Gabriel had surgery to fix these conditions.

If not for the Ann Arbor Ronald McDonald house, Gabriel’s mother, Kyleigh Jordan, would not have been able to be with her daughter as much as she was throughout the surgery. The Ronald McDonald house provides services to families with hospitalized children. Families who live far away from the hospital are given a place to stay in the house so they can be closer to their child during the hospitalization. “The house is incredible; it has an amazing atmosphere,” says Kyleigh Jordan. At only $10 a night, or whatever donation a family can afford, the house provides private rooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, home-cooked meals, and interaction with other people going through

the same ordeals. Gabriel and her family now want to give back to the house for the services it offered to them while Gabriel was undergoing surgery. The families’ goal is to raise 1 million pop tabs to turn into the Ronald McDonald house by May 17, the one year anniversary of Gabriel’s surgery. That many tabs equals about 637 pounds in weight, which determines how much the tabs are worth upon being recycled. The family also wants to collect 1 million tabs per year, with an ultimate goal of donating a total of 5 million tabs. To get involved, all you have to do is put tabs from any cans in collection jars found around campus. There are jars in

the cafeteria, Cellar, and library. If you wish to donate tabs off of campus you can contact Alyssa Davis, a member of student government, or Tom Ryder , Campus Community Events/Students Activities Coordinator. Also, be sure to like the page “1 Million Tabs for Gabriel” on Facebook to get further information. Today, Gabriel is a smart and gorgeous baby girl. She had an amazing outcome with her surgery and will be able to live a normal life and perform the same tasks as any other children. Gabriel’s success was helped made possible by the Ronald McDonald house. By collecting tabs for Gabriel, students can help others receive the same kind of Student Government is raising money in assistance. honor of Gabriel Jordan.

Community celebrates MLK Day Christina Cusumano Agora Staff

MCCC hosted Celebration VII, a free production in Meyer Theater to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the principles he stood for over forty years ago. The celebration brought together contemporary songs, gospel hymns, dance routines, poems, and spoken word to remind generations, young and old, of the progress King made in America towards civil rights, equality, and resisting oppression through peaceful protest. MCCC President David Nixon used the celebration as an opportunity to express the importance of students having dreams. “No one in my family went to college, so that became my dream,” Nixon said. “What dream do you have that drives you to go to those classes and write those papers?” Kelly Vining, director of the show, cast a variety of performers, including college students, church choirs, and interpretive dancers expressing what King means to them. Keeping faith through adversity, equality, justice, and King’s dream of a more compassionate world were at the forefront of the performances. Mary (Mimi) Epps opened the show with a lovely rendition of “God Bless America.” Following her was Myrna Allen Austin, a talented choir director who performed a soulful rendition of the “Black National Anthem,” originally a poem entitled “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson. India Smith, a transfer student to MCCC, performed the spiritual song,

Black History Month Student Government will be holding several events in honor of Black History of Month. Blues artist James Samuel will be performing in the cafeteria on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 11:30 a.m. The film Crossroads will air Thursday, Feb. 16, at 7 p.m. in C3, the Little Theater. Blues artist Keith Scott will be performing in the cafeteria at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 27. The annual Blues Series concert series will also take place in February. To learn more, see page 8. “He Wants it All” by Forever Jones. Next to perform was Christopher Holmes, vice president of student government on campus. Holmes read two pieces of spoken word entitled, “Sonnet VII” by Kathleen Delicato and “Diversity” by Gene Griessman. A slideshow of famous photographs of King was presented, set to the introspective song “Man in the Mirror,” by the late Michael Jackson. Richard Hoffskin read an original poem entitled “Still Dreaming” and Demarcus Smith performed an original rap song. Synia Boswell, 15, played the piano and sang “Misty” by Sarah Vaugh and “A Change is Gunna Come,” by Sam Cook. The youngest performers, a kids choir called the Carry Chapel Gospel Group, preformed “I Wanna go to Heaven.” by the band Mary Mary. Dereck Brown, Khadija London, and Destany Parker, members of the dance group God’s Chosen Few, performed a routine based on the importance of praying and individual self-expressions of faith.

photo by Michelle Dangler

Synia Boswell (above) performed two songs at Celebration VII. The two songs were “A Change is Gonna Come” and “Misty.”

“God’s Chosen Few is through our church,” London said. “It’s nice to be here because our group has been separated for a while, but now we get to reunite for Martin Luther King Day.” Epps performed another song, “Crossroads” by Beyonce.

The Monroe Gospel Church Choir performed two hymns, directed by Myrna Allen Austin. “It was our first time performing for MLK day,” Samantha Brody, member of the choir said. “But I think it went really well.”

Victor McCadd, master of ceremonies, felt that the show did well although there were several changes to the program. “I liked the message of the show,” Kim Daniels, a member of the audience, said. “I liked that the whole show was faithbased.”

DJ Zarza cultivates musical talents at MCCC Mandi Davis Agora Staff

photo by Mandi Davis

DJ Zarza has performed at several MCCC events.

Inside:

Campus News......................2-4 Opinion...............................5 Features..............................6, 7 A&E......................................8,9 Sports....................................10

DJ Zarza could go on to become the next Skrillex, but for now he is just a student who enjoys spinning for his fellow classmates. DJ Zarza, known by the first name of Josh, has been attending MCCC since his sophomore year. He is majoring in computer science and even thinking of picking up a secondary major with math when he transfers to the University of Michigan. Zarza found his musical talent at the young age of 13. The first time he showed his talent was when a friend asked him to compile a playlist for an upcoming party. “A few more parties like that happened, and then I decided rather than making a playlist, I could be like my uncle and start to mix,” Zarza said Mentoring and teaching Zarza all the skills to become a disc jockey was his uncle, Brent Zarza, who has been a DJ himself for 20 years.

“I’d say the music is what led Josh to start deejaying. His own desire to be a better musician compels him to learn new things, anywhere he can,” Brent said. Being a DJ does require a good amount of musical knowledge, background, and definitely requires the skills of carrying rhythm. According to Zarza, having good taste in music is also something that is highly beneficial, but not essential. “Music doesn’t matter. If the DJ is having a blast, everyone is having fun,” he said. Zarza cultivated his musical talent by joining Airport’s high school band in his sophomore year. He played the saxophone, grabbing first chair in the section. “I loved being in band. We played awesome songs that were from wellknown bands like Metallica, My Chemical Romance, and so many other huge band names,” he said. Knowing to play an instrument may

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only be a small benefit to the spinning. The huge benefit to being in band is the conducting; spinning beats is similar to what a band director does. “A conductor has to be aware of the sound of the whole orchestra the way a DJ has to be aware of all the sounds in his ‘composition’ – a mix,” Zarza said. He loved band so much in high school that it gave him the guts to try out for the college symphony band. “While I can play my sax, I can’t compete with the men and women in the MCCC band who have master’s degrees in their given instrument,” he said. Zarza moved on and found a different group that really works with his talent. This group happens to be Michigan Electronic Dance Music Association (MEDMA). MEDMA was founded at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2005. Members of the group range from music lovers, producers, DJs, and even those who just love to get down and

dance; however, it is only open to students and potential students of University of Michigan. “Finding the group was an accident in disguise. I more than likely am going to transfer to the University of Michigan, so making it in the symphony band was not such a big deal,” Zarza said. According to Zarza, all the disc jockey’s in the group take turns spinning for the events. Events draw crowds of more than 500 people. He typically plays for a wide variety of events ranging from weddings, birthdays, school events, to even spinning for MEDMA. According to Zarza, starting off as a DJ can be quite expensive with all the equipment one must have. Getting started at the age that he did, he had to seek alternative routes of finding the funds.

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