The Valley Vanguard Vol. 55 No. 14 by The Valley Vanguard

Inside A2

Inside A3

Inside A4

A&E: Zahnow Library calendar

Review: “Avatar: The Way of Water” lives up to the hype

Sports: Women’s basketball takes two losses

Monday, Jan. 9, 2023

Vol. 55 No. 14

Saginaw Valley State University’s student newspaper

thevalleyvanguard.com

The expansion of the SVSU nursing program to Alpena Community College (ACC) will make it easier for students in rural areas to complete their degrees. Courtesy Photo | University Communications

SVSU nursing program expands to Alpena Community College Alyssa McMillan Vanguard Editor-in-Chief

aginaw Valley State University has collaborated with Alpena Community College (ACC) to help expand the nursing program to students in rural areas of Northern Michigan. ACC received a $2 million grant that allowed it to pick a school to collaborate with. ACC picked SVSU and now students who receive an associates in nursing at ACC can go on to get a bachelors of nursing through SVSU’s program. Marcia Ditmyer, dean of the College of Health and Human Services, explained how and why SVSU expanded its program: “SVSU received an RFI (Request for Information) regarding collaboration on an ADN (Associates Degree in Nursing) to BSN (Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing) Program,” she said. “This was in relationship to the Michigan Legislation Section 216b. Creation of Michigan ADN to BSN completion grant program.” Alpena was the next step in SVSU’s goal.

“Since I started at SVSU in August 2021, my goal has been to help build more community partnerships,” she said. “SVSU has had established programs such as this with Delta College and Kirtland College. Expanding to Alpena was the next logical step for us.” Ditmyer also explained how students will take the classes: “The goal is to teach courses on the ACC campus,” she said. “The RN to BSN program is taught online, therefore once they get their ADN degree and are enrolled, all courses are either on campus, hybrid or online. Any program experiential learning will be completed in their local area or at their employment agency.” She said it is important for SVSU to continue to grow its nursing program. “As we continue to grow our body of BSNs within our healthcare environment, we can continue to improve safe, high-quality healthcare services for future generations,” she said. Going on for a BSN opens more doors for nurses and allows them to provide more holistic care.

“Attainment of this advanced degree offers our registered nurses a comprehensive, holistic professional education focusing on best practice, community health, leadership and

quality,” Ditmyer said. “BSN registered nurses can also see greater career growth opportunities in roles such as nursing leadership, education, community health, and case manage-

ment etc. These additional role opportunities often lead to increased income and schedule flexibility.” The program is expected to begin in the fall of 2023.

The new ADN to BSN program is expected to begin at ACC in fall of 2023. Courtesy Photo | University Communications

Winter opener “Very Berry Dead” encourages diversity in theatre Alyssa McMillan Vanguard Editor-in-Chief

Saginaw Valley State University will kick off its winter theatre season with “Very Berry Dead” by Jose Perez. Perez will also be the director of the show as a guest at SVSU. The show follows the loss of multiple family members and how it brings a family back to the farm to bury the deceased in the ancestral cemetery. However, while there, the family finds out about how strict Vermont state laws are. They must now decide who gets

to be buried in the family plot and who will have to be left out. The head of the family is left to make the decision, along with two feuding adult children, a rancher, a pagan, a visitor and the town health officer. The health officer describes the family as a circus they were not prepared for. Junior creative writing major Zoey Schwab was cast in her first SVSU show. “My character’s name is Casey, and she has a difficult past with her family, making coming back to the farm hard,” she said. “She’s distant, and can come off as icy, but

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deep down, she’s a very emotional character, trying to figure out how to come back to a conflicting past.” She believes the play is important because of how it was written. “This show is incredible with diversity,” she said. “The show was written so that anyone can play any character regardless of gender or race, which is so important to see. It also tackles how hard family can be in all of its subsets.” The show consists of nine characters, all of which could be played by either ciswomen or cismen, making the show more versatile and diverse.

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This show has been performed at the University of Pittsburgh, but SVSU will see its first full length run. Schwab auditioned because she heard about the atmosphere of the SVSU drama department. “I auditioned because I love theatre and wanted to be a part of a group here on SVSU,” she said. “I heard the people involved with the theatre department were incredibly kind and welcoming, so I auditioned.” Perez has written other shows in the past, including “Or Forever Hold Your Peace,” “Fighter,” and

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“The Battle of Taco Hill.” As well as being a director, Perez is a fight choreographer, teacher, and actor. He likes to make exciting, new work. Something he prides himself on is creating a safe and healthy space for rehearsals. His work has been seen in places like the Times Square Arts Center, Galapagos Arts Space, HERE Arts Center, Joe’s Pub, The Ohio Theatre, and the Theatre for the New City. SVSU’s performance will be held Feb. 15-19. Times and tickets can be found online on SVSU’s website.

A&E

Page A2 | Monday, Jan. 9, 2022 | thevalleyvanguard.com | The Valley Vanguard

MELVIN J. ZAHNOW LIBRARY

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Opinion

The Valley Vanguard | thevalleyvanguard.com | Monday, Jan. 9 2023| Page A3

Review: ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ lives up to the hype Alyssa McMillan Editor-in-Chief

anmcmill@svsu.edu

fter waiting 13 years, the highly anticipated sequel to Avatar was finally released at the end of

2022. The first movie left the second one, “Avatar: The Way of Water”, a lot to live up to. I was only nine when the first movie came out but I still remember how mesmerizing the movie was. The graphics were so much more advanced than any other movie at the time. The plot of the first one was also very intriguing. It took themes that we’ve all seen in movies before but did in such a different way for our time. It was the classic forbidden lovers’ story. Two people from two very

different worlds trying to beat the odds to be together. Expect this one dealt with deeper things like racism, militarism, patriotism, corporate greed, religion, imperialism, and property rights. It’s not just a love story, it’s a story that serves as a warning almost, it shows what humans are capable of and in a way, it’s scary because it’s something completely possible. The second movie had to live up to all of that and more. Fans had been waiting 13 years for this movie. They couldn’t just throw something together, this movie had to be great. I think the biggest challenge came in with the effects. The first movie was groundbreaking in their CGI but now movies that look like that are pretty standard. Technology had changed a lot in the past decade, meaning they would have to find a way to still be top notch. I think they definitely lived up to that. Despite movies looking a lot better on

average now, the effects of this movie still blew me away. This movie mostly takes place in the ocean, where the last one took place in the jungle. Viewers were able to see some really cool things that weren’t in the first one because of that. I saw the movie in 3D and would recommend everyone does. The way James Cameron meant for it to be seen was in IMAX 3D. This took the experience to the next level. Not only did this mythical world look real, in 3D it made it seem like you were in it. Like you could reach out and touch the water. As for the plot, without giving anything away, this one lived up to the first. There was some spots where the movie was a bit slow, especially towards the middle. However, the movie is over three hours so it’s to be expected. This movie still dealt with some heavy themes, just different ones from the first which I like. This movie took place quite

a few years after the first one. Jake and Neytiri have gotten married and had kids who are mostly grown up at this point. This movie does still show the greed of humans, racism, and other things, but it also deals with family and the struggles parent’s face to protect their children. This movie showed a huge change in Jake as he navigates going from being not only human before but a warrior as well to now being a dad. When the humans, or as they refer to them the sky people, come back, he has to figure out how to be all of those things so he can keep his family safe. I’ve always liked the first Avatar movie but I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan of it. I think I’ve seen it twice since it originally came out. However, the second movie exceeded any expectations I could have had about it. It was worth seeing and I recommend that everyone

Too many people don’t commit to Christmas puppies Alyssa McMillan Editor-in-Chief

anmcmill@svsu.edu

One thing I’ve never understood in my life is how the numbers of animals, especially puppies, in the shelter sky rockets after Christmas. I’ve never understood how someone can adopt a dog, bring it home, keep it for a few weeks, and then just give it up. Adopting a puppy isn’t a small decision and shouldn’t be taken lightly. You’re agreeing to care for this dog for the rest of it’s life. It isn’t something you get because it sounds like fun without actually considering the responsibility. Owning any dog, but especially a puppy, is really hard. It takes a lot of

work and patience. Puppies require a lot of training because they just don’t know any better. You have to actually be willing to put in the work. Dogs that end up in shelters often end up with different problems. My shelter dog, who is predisposed to anxiety issues from her breed, now has terrible separation anxiety. We had to go through training and eventually get medication just for her to be okay to be home alone. Sadly, this is something that can be very common in shelter dogs. Dogs in shelters can also become depressed. While most shelters do everything they can to take good care of the dogs, the shelter isn’t the same as a home. The dogs have to spend their time in cages, often away from people for long periods of time. On top of this, many shelters face

overcrowding, which means dogs get even less one-on-one time with people. After a while, dogs can develop depression or other health issues. The depression and stress can cause heart disease, hormone imbalances, and more. It can also lead to the dog not eating or wanting to be active. Foster homes help with this but there isn’t enough fosters for every shelter dog. Dogs also get depressed when they’re abandoned by their families. Dogs are living things with emotions, just like us. When their family leaves them and doesn’t come back, they can become extremely depressed. On the other hand, you have people who try to give away their dogs on Facebook or some other online market. We have another dog who got from a family on Facebook. She was a rescue

from the shelter and they didn’t want to keep her. Luckily, we took her in but it could have been anyone. Dog fighters often look on Facebook for dogs being given away for free or really cheap. Most people who give their dogs away online don’t do much screening either to make sure the animal is going to a good home. A dog isn’t a Christmas gift. A dog is a living creature that you are deciding to bring into the family. You are claiming responsibility for this animal the second you adopt it. You can’t back out or give it away because it’s more work than you expected. The decision to get a dog shouldn’t be made lightly. It’s one that you should really think over and decide if you have the time and energy to dedicate to an animal for the 10-15 years. If not, don’t get a dog.

Why New-Years resolutions fail and how to fix them Trinity Sullivan A&E Editor

tdsulliv@svsu.edu

Every year I feel like I see more and more people talking down about New-Years resolutions, and I understand why, they tend not to last and can cause someone a lot of unnecessary guilt when they face a set-back in their goals. Here’s the thing, though, I think that resolutions are a great thing, I just think we look at them in a really counterproductive way. Firstly, I think we set our expectations too high. How many times do you see someone say “This year, I’m going to learn a new language” or “I’m going to the gym every day”? These are really admirable long term goals, but they’re not realistic in the slightest. One of my nephews is three and a half years old, and, despite daily practice and immersion in English, he’s still not very good at it. Going to the gym and pushing yourself is a great thing to do, but if you don’t take a rest every now and again, you’re going to give yourself a hernia. Change takes time, and that time is probably longer than you think, so plan for it. Instead of setting a goal to go to the gym every day, set a goal of going to the gym four days a week, instead of planning to

master classical Latin, maybe make your benchmark a short conversation in it by next December. By being more realistic with your goals, you’re less likely to achieve them without getting overwhelmed. Secondly, we need to be more okay with working towards a goal. Let’s say you wanted to read a new book every week as your New-Years resolution. Your schedule for the past year hasn’t been built around that, so it won’t just magically fit with no trouble. I see a lot of people (myself included) give up on their resolutions because they fell short of their goals for a week and they feel like they’ve failed, and thats not how goals work. If you only read half a book per month in 2022 and want to read one every week in 2023, you can’t expect to make that jump overnight. You have to be patient with yourself and give yourself grace as you grow. Finishing a book in a month isn’t the one per week you may be shooting for, but it’s a whole lot closer than where you may have started. Celebrate your successes, your progress, and even your setbacks. You deserve to grow into the person you want to be, and you deserve to be able to take the time to do that in a way which makes sense for you. Goals aren’t all or nothing, they’re about progress and not perfection. Thirdly, we guilt ourselves with our resolutions. I think the worst part about resolutions is the guilt people put on themselves

about them. When you set your resolution, you were planning for your life in that moment, not for every second of the upcoming year. You might have all the time in the world on January first, but have your schedule packed full on the fifth, and you shouldn’t hold yourself and your newfound desire to make a new whole-grain sourdough creation to the same standard on both of those days. Your life is dynamic, and thats okay. If a last minute assignment pops up during the time you wanted to pursue your new hobby, or is you pull a muscle and really don’t want to go for a daily jog, you shouldn’t make yourself feel like you’re less than because of it. You are a human being, and life is messy. Let’s say that by the end of the year, you still aren’t up to one book a week, but you’ve hit two a month. That isn’t failure, thats a huge success. You’ve still made a big, positive change in your life. Lastly, I think the thing I think sets newyears resolutions up for failure is that they only happen once a year. Goals don’t need a set number of days to be valid, and people love to procrastinate, so why wouldn’t you break up your resolution into smaller goals? Instead of just saying “I’m going to eat healthier this year” and then promptly forgetting and eating an entire bag of spicy sweet chili Doritos in one sitting (speaking from personal experience,) why not set the goal of “Each week/month, I want to make a healthier change” so you can A) celebrate your successes easier,

and B) set goals that work for you in the time you’re doing them. I think that goals work best when they’re broken down into small manageable pieces, so why treat New-Years resolutions any differently? At the end of the day, we need to start being flexible with ourselves and our personal goals. A resolution shouldn’t make you miserable, and it shouldn’t be something you’re afraid of setting. You deserve to achieve your goals, celebrate yourself, and be the person that you want to be, so you should set yourself up for success. Maybe that means your resolution is to keep one plant alive for a year instead of having a small, indoor rain-forest. Maybe that means that instead of being completely zero-waste, you do a better job sorting your recycling and ditch the paper-towels. Thats okay. Realistic resolutions are part of having healthy boundaries with yourself and your life, and building those boundaries could be a great resolution on it’s own. A positive change is positive. There is no change, resolution, or goal that is any more or less valuable than any other, you can’t quantify personal growth. I am proud of you. Really and truly from the bottom of my heart I am proud of you. I want to see you succeed and I know that you can. So, this year, whether you set a big resolution or not, please remember to set yourself up for success and give yourself time, grace, and forgiveness in wherever the year takes you.

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The Valley Vanguard is published by the students of Saginaw Valley State University weekly in the fall and winter semesters, with one issue published in the summer. Our office is located in Curtiss 110a on the campus of SVSU, at 7400 Bay Road, University Center, MI, 48710.

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Sports

Page A4 | Monday, Jan. 9, 2022 | thevalleyvanguard.com | The Valley Vanguard

Women’s basketball loses both games Alyssa McMillan

Vanguard Editor-in-Chief

n Jan. 5, the SVSU women’s basketball team gave their all but fell hard to Michigan Tech with a 69-53 score. Sophomore Tori DePerry came in hard with the most scores of the game. She made a career high of 31 points. She also led the team on rebounds with eight. Freshman Lydia Meredith followed with 10 points, which was also a career high. Senior Jessica Massey had four assists and two steals throughout the game. Tech came in strong with two threepoint jumpers in the very start of the game.

DePerry did manage to hti her own two-point jumper. The Cardinals came out with an 8-7 lead in the first. However, Tech managed to turn it around and end the quarter with a 20-9 lead. In the second half, Perry managed to score 12 of her 31 points. Despite this, Tech held strong with a 4225 lead. The Cardinals made an impressive start to the second half with an 8-0 run which cut the lead to 12. The deficit stayed at 12. DePerry came through in the fourth and brought the score to 58-50 with 6:09 left in the game. Tech was able to bring the deficit back to 15 and secure their win.

Alyssa McMillan Vanguard Editor-in-Chief

On Jan. 7, the SVSU women’s basketball team continued its losing streak and fell against Northern Michigan 56-52. The game was home inside the O’Neill Arena. Once again, sophomore Tori DePerry led the team with the most scores. She finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. She was closely followed by senior Kaitlyn Zarycki with 10 points. The team had started strong with a 3-0 lead that quickly went downhill. NMU scored four points in a row, pushing them into the lead. They achieved this with just 4:45 remaining in the first. Zarycki was able to get a layup that pushed the team into another lead with 19-9.

NMU came back and ended the half in the lead. In the second half, DePerry started the third strong by making five points. NMU quickly responded by pulling 11 in the first two minutes. This gave NMU their first lead since the first quarter. The lead continued to be tossed around during the fourth until the buzzer hit at 46-41. SVSU and NMU stayed neck and neck up until the very end of the game. The teams tied at 52 with just 2:56 left in the game. NMU came back strong and scored the final four points in the game, putting them in the lead and giving them the win. SVSU will play again on Jan. 12 against Davenport.

Men’s basketball improves record against Wayne State Alyssa McMillan

Alyssa McMillan

Vanguard Editor-in-Chief

On Jan. 5, SVSU pulled through to pull off a late game win against Michigan Tech with a score 69-58. The team was able to hold its own for the last 37 minutes of the game, giving them a lead during that time. Junior Tre Garrett led the team with 17 points and a 6-12 shoot from the floor. Sophomore Freddie McIntosh followed closely behind with a total of 15 points for the team Junior Maurice Barnett and junior Jiovanni Miles both scored nine points each. Barnett also came in with nine rebounds throughout the game. Garrett came into the game strong with two free throws in the last, which led a five straight point play for SVSU. With 16:04 left in the game, this gave SVSU the lead. Tech tried to hold their own and cut the deficit to three points. SVSU came back

and was able to score five more, bringing the deficit up to eight. SVSU continued to stay in the lead but only barely with the deficit remaining in the single digits for most of the game. McIntosh managed to score with only five seconds left of the half. This brought SVSU to a 37-27 lead before the break. Tech came into the second half strong and cut the deficit from 10 to nine in only the first seven minutes. Sophomore Steven Post hit a layup which started another 5-0 streak for SVSU. This brought the deficit back to 14 with just 12 minutes on the clock. Tech came back with a few scores, leaving the two teams only four points away from tying. Miles scored a layup which brought on a 7-0 run for SVSU. The margin was now at 12 but did go back down to five before the game was over. SVSU was able to secure its win with free throws.

SVSU went into the second game of the week against Northern Michigan University (NMU) but wasn’t able to pull off the win. SVSU fell to the Wildcats with a 71-68 score. Sophomore Freddie McIntosh carried the team with a total of 16 points throughout the game. He also made six rebounds and four assists. Junior Maurice Barnett was close behind with 12 points. Freshman Chansey Willis Jr. scored 11 points but came in strong with six rebounds, and six assists. NMU started off the game with a 19-3 stretch in the first 6:30 of the game. They managed to grow their lead to 20 by the time the end of the first half rolled around. By the time of the break, NMU had an impressive 46-26 lead. In the second half, SVSU caused the deficit to range. Half of it was at 10 with

the other half sitting at six. The team came in with a 10-0 run that lasted three minutes of the game. This brought the score up to 62-57 with just five minutes left in the game. Willis Jr. came in and hit back-to-back scores which brought the deficit down to six. He also made two free throws, bringing the score to 69-65 with just two minutes in the game. McIntosh brought an impressive three pointer which brought SVSU within one point of NMU. The Wildcats were able to come back and hit two free throws, giving them the win of the game. Despite making more scores than NMU in the second half, the team still saw its defeat. SVSU brought in 41 rebounds while NMU saw 43. The Cardinals had 11 assists and seven turnovers. They also saw 11 points off of those turnovers. The next game will be on Jan. 12 against Davenport. The game will start at 7:30 p.m.

Women’s basketball scores and statistics at a glance Jan. 5 against Michigan Tech Score: 69-53 for Michigan Tech Points: Tori DePerry, 31 Rebounds: Tori DePerry, 8 Assists: Jessica Massey, 4 Totals: Rebounds: 28 Assists: 8 Turnovers: 10

Jan. 7 against Northern Michigan Score: 56-52 for Northern Michigan Points: Tori DePerry, 18 Rebounds: Tori DePerry, 14 Assists: Lydia Meredith, 3 Totals: Rebounds: 39 Assists: 6 Turnovers: 19

Men’s basketball: scores and statistics for both games Jan. 5 against Michigan Tech Score: 69-58 for SVSU Points: Tre Garrett, 17 Rebounds: Maurice Barnett, 9 Assists: Freddie McIntosh, 4 Totals: Rebounds: 30 Assists: 15 Turnovers: 19

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Jan. 7 against Northern Michigan Score: 71-68 for the Wildcats Points: Freddie McIntosh, 16 Rebounds: 3 players (#1, #2, #12), 6 Assists: Chansey Willis Jr. 6 Totals: Rebounds: 41 Assists: 11 Turnovers: 7

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