Senators voted to delete Section 11, which requires that courses have a “reasonable and realistic plan for using authentic assessment to monitor and report student learning objectives for the subgroup.”

Foreign languages and literatures professor James Jones said to do this type of evaluation for every UP class each semester is not realistic.

“This is not a realistic burden to place upon people teaching UP classes,” he said.

Associate physical education and sport professor Tracy Olrich said assessment is needed, but in a different way than described in Section 11.

“Assessment should happen at a different level than individual courses,” he said. “We should select courses based on what works well in the UP.”

Some senators said they had concerns about the implications of removing the section.

“I do believe our accrediting body will require an assessment of courses in the UP,” said Provost Julia Wallace. “So I think deleting the section entirely will create some difficulties.”

Bill Dailey, assistant professor of speech communication and dramatic arts, explained the logic behind Section 11.

“The overarching purpose is that people learn that they are responsible for the outcomes in the syllabus,” he said.

The amendment does not include limits on the number of courses in the University Program. Some of the main ideas of the document include selecting UP courses that “broadly represent their discipline,” “match the goals of a liberal education” and “expose students to the analytical methods and the world view of the discipline.”

The Hartshorne-Stecker Amendment is one piece of the revision of the whole general education program. The Senate is hosting a special meeting Dec. 9 to continue discussing general education. The discussion will begin with the writing intensive course component of the program.

Faculty concerns

English language and literature professor Maureen Eke said she had concerns about the number of vacant positions in her department.

“There are 10 vacant positions,” said Gary Shapiro, dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences. “We’re searching to fill six of them, so there are four vacant positions. The intent is to search for those other positions next year, but I can’t say for sure we’ll fill them all.”

Eke also had concerns about the conditions in Anspach Hall.

“In some rooms the ceiling is uncovered, there is water dripping – the students are worried about it,” she said.

Shapiro said all building concerns should be directed to the building coordinator. There is a plan to replace all water pipes in Anspach Hall.

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Staff Reporter

Jordan Belfort’s episodic autobiography, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” is an almost unbelievable tale of greed, addiction and non-stop action.

Advice to the audience – read the prologue. Knowing that Belfort was once a normal guy with a lot of humanity helps balance his actions during the book.

This is a biography that does not really feel like one.

The story begins in Manhattan in the early ’90s. Belfort is the founder and owner of an investment firm that employs young, ruthless stock brokers eager to follow their leader’s directions. Much of the millions of dollars made the firm are tied to stock manipulation and money laundering.

No aspect of Belfort’s life is devoid of insanity.

He is married to a woman he loves, yet sleeps with prostitutes on a weekly basis. He regularly consumes a drug cocktail of cocaine, Quaaludes, Xanax and Valium.

Belfort tells his story in a style that is exciting and honest and makes the book difficult to put down. Between his adventures on a yacht, the journey to open Swiss bank accounts and his love for his children, it’s hard not to find something to like in this story.

The reader becomes a part of Belfort’s life in a way that allows him or her to sometimes see the motivation behind his actions yet still want to scream at him.

Belfort is a very talented writer with an incredible story to share. However, his descriptions of things can be excessive at times.

Despite the in-depth details, readers without a knowledge of finance may not get a full understanding of the events in the book. It is clear that things done in the book are illegal, but not why they are illegal.

It still gives an intriguing look into a world many would otherwise never explored.

Anyone who thought the business world was boring is in for a surprise.

One other odd thing about the book is Belfort’s habit of explaining the words behind every non-verbal communication. It almost seems to be another symptom of the lifestyle he led.

Stories like “The Wolf of Wall Street” definitely have their purpose besides entertainment. Belfort’s memoir serves as a reminder of how easy it can be to go from an average guy looking to lead a comfortable life to a power-hungry drug addict who does not see anything wrong with having “midget-tossing” as an activity at a meeting.

Four stars out of five

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Wednesday’s game against Ball State University was my last home game as a student.

I was disappointed with the loss, especially after believing there was still a chance when the interception was overturned. In my mind, though, it’s one more memory of a good time at a game.

I became a football fan my freshman year at Central Michigan University. During those first few games, I didn’t know the difference between a first down and field goal. After lots of questions and having people explain things to me, I now know enough to have intelligent conversations about football. Sometimes I even get to explain things to people.

It’s not just about the sport, though. College football is an experience.

Tailgating has been one my favorite college activities. Whenever I’m in the tailgating lot, I always run into an old friend or classmate I haven’t seen in a while. It’s an atmosphere where just about everyone seems to be happy and having fun, which might have something to do with the massive amounts of alcohol consumed.

There are a lot of non-alcohol related tailgating activities, too. I remember getting free pancakes and sausage before a game one year. Plus, I love any excuse to wear the CMU clothes and accessories I’ve collected in my four and a half years here. I’m not sure when I’ll ever need maroon and gold mardi gras beads again, but I’m not ready to get rid of them.

Sitting in the student section makes me feel like I am part of a common cause. We’re all standing and cheering together, hoping for the same thing. I think we’re pretty lucky too-we have a good football team, but students still get to go to games for free.

Football games have given me a lot of interesting memories. My friends and I ran most of the way to the stadium one Saturday to see other friends in the band play before the game. Last year I took the bus to Detroit to watch CMU beat Miami University in the Mid-American Conference championship game.

Even if you’re not a football fan, it’s worth checking out at least one game before you leave CMU.

This may have been my last home football game as a student, but I don’t think this will be my last CMU home game.

DeJong Amendment, which was approved at the Nov. 4 meeting.

Assistant engineering and technology professor Brian DeJong introduced an amendment to the Hartshorne/Stecker Plan to revise general education.

One of the main purposes of his amendment was to reinstate caps, which were eliminated in the Hartshorne/Stecker Amendment.

Political science professor Joyce Baugh said caps will force departments that teach global cultural courses to choose which ones to include in the University Program.

“I really feel that caps will do irreparable damage to what is currently 4B, which will become 4A,” she said. “We cannot have a program that restricts the areas of the world people are going to study.”

The current group 4B is Studies in Global Culture.

One of the main points of debate about general education is whether to reduce the number of courses included in the University Program. There are currently more than 200 courses included in the UP. Some senators have suggested reducing the number to 100.

Another concern is that courses not included in the UP will not be able to generate enough student enrollment.

Assistant history professor Solomon Getahun said one of the courses he teaches would likely fall into that category.

“Right now, I can tell you if the course I’m teaching, African history, is not part of the UP, no one will take it,” he said. “Students are not familiar and not comfortable with taking something strange and different.”

DeJong disagreed and said limiting the number of courses in the UP would not have a negative impact on students or the program.

“Caps do not restrict course offerings; they do restrict how many courses will be counted towards the UP,” DeJong said. “We are currently offering a full selection of courses, but students aren’t taking the full selection.”

The Senate will continue the general education debate at its next meeting, going back to the original Hartshorne/Stecker amendment.

Cultural competency

Senators also approved the Recognition of Cultural Competency program.

The program is a way for students to receive recognition on their degree as having met the standards for achieving cultural competency.

“This is not specifically a minor because we wanted it to be something that all of our students across multiple disciplines could take advantage of,” said Associate Vice President of Institutional Diversity Denise Green.

She said many students come from racially segregated neighborhoods.

“It really behooves us as a public institution to make sure our students begin to gain cultural competency and leave here beginning to tap these skills,” she said.

There was significant debate on the impact of one of the requirements on foreign language students and what courses they could take and count toward the program.

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Senators passed a proposal introduced by assistant engineering and technology professor Brian DeJong, which kept some of the language from the Hartshorne/Stecker amendment and changed other parts.

DeJong’s amendment reinstated the concept of limits on the number of courses allowed in the University Program.

DeJong said he has heard arguments for and against caps and tried to address concerns on both sides.

The amendment states the number of courses in the UP will initially be restricted to 100, but up to two additional courses may be added each year as new courses emerge.

“One point of the Hartshorne/Stecker amendment was to eliminate caps,” said philosophy and religion professor Robert Stecker.

He said he wants to be able to offer a diverse choice of courses to students.

The Senate voted to strike Section 5 of the Hartshorne/Stecker from the document. Section 5 encouraged courses applying for UP status to try to “address applications to and implications for diverse populations when appropriate to the subject matter.”

Foreign Languages and Literatures Chairman and professor James Jones said he did not like the language of the section. The wording could encourage a course to include diversity in one class period of the semester rather than infusing it throughout the semester.

“I don’t think that is what we want in the way of trying to include diversity in courses,” he said. “The route to go is to do something that (Associate Vice President of Institutional Diversity) Denise Green is working on or something from MDEC, but this is vague.”

Section 6 was also stricken from the document. The section states courses with an interdisciplinary perspective or focus are encouraged as part of the UP.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea; we’ve already taken a big section of interdisciplinary programs out,” said psychology professor Gary Dunbar. “Some institutions are going to exclusively interdisciplinary programs because they cover so much general education.”

Stecker said he supported removing Section 6 because of the UP course limits.

“If people want to develop interdisciplinary courses, that’s fine, but I don’t think we should necessarily encourage it,” he said.

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He said he feels strongly that someone needs to take action and address the physician shortage in Michigan.

“I remain very driven that if the 65th largest public university in the United States doesn’t do something to address the health care needs from this area north, then I don’t know that anyone will,” Rao said.

Philosophy and religion professor Robert Stecker asked if there was an estimate of how much it would cost to educate one medical student for a year.

Rao said it would probably cost about $40,000 for a student to be fully educated and receive his or her degree from CMU.

Rao said there are currently 125 medical schools in the United States and 10 institutions are considering adding a program.

“Our studies have made clear that Central Michigan University is indeed quite well prepared for part of what would be involved in medical education,” Rao said.

The Board of Trustees unanimously approved a medical school at its Sept. 18 meeting.

Rao said a medical program at CMU would be a teaching-based program focused on education rather than research.

He also said during the meeting that discussion on the medical school and program can still take place.

“Are you saying that this is a done deal or that it isn’t?” said mathematics professor Donna Ericksen.

Rao said the decision made by the Board of Trustees was to allow the administration to continue planning.

“The decision to authorize me to continue planning to establish a medical school means that indeed we could have a medical school,” he said. “The fact of the matter is that the curriculum is not developed.”

Diversity presentation

Denise Green, associate vice president of institutional diversity, presented an overview of CMU’s Strategic Plan for Institutional Diversity.

“The reason why we have a strategic plan is to bring the entire campus community together to focus on the issues and make the climate comfortable and welcoming for everyone so that ultimately all of our students will learn, gain a degree, graduate and be culturally competent,” she said.

The plan has five priorities: creating a welcoming campus environment; recruiting, hiring and retaining a diverse workforce; recruiting and retaining students from diverse backgrounds; infusing diversity into curriculum; and creating supportive administrative and organizational structure.

Green encouraged the Senate to use its voice to reinforce the importance of diversity and achieving a welcoming campus climate.

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According to a survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, about half of campuses surveyed are in some stage of general education reform.

Undergraduate students at Eastern Michigan University began following the requirements of a new general education program in fall 2007.

“We were charged to make a general education program that was more student friendly,” said Chris Foreman, general education program director at EMU.

EMU’s new program involves required courses in effective communication, quantitative reasoning, diversity and a variety of specific disciplines. It also includes a section titled “Learning Beyond the Classroom,” in which students can use campus activities such as event attendance, campus leadership or career development to meet requirements.

“Now students have the opportunity to use these experiences without having to tack on extra credit hours,” Foreman said. “We’ve seen an amazing increase in all different areas of activity and attendance in performances.”

Andrew Hickman said he likes the idea of counting campus involvement toward requirements.

“I’d probably be getting a nice little boost – I’m already pretty involved,” the Flat Rock junior said. “It’s a shame more students don’t get involved.”

Western Michigan University’s general education program has components similar to CMU’s current program. Students at WMU must complete four proficiencies, involving math, writing and communication skills and select courses from eight distribution areas.

General education programs vary greatly by school. Ross Miller, senior director of assessment for learning at the AACU, said some schools have programs with only 30 credits, while some military institutions have as many as 90 credit hours of general education.

“Good general education creates opportunities for students on campus to talk about the common things they’re learning,” he said.

Hickman said he does not think Group IV of the University Program, Integrative and Area Studies, should be required.

“A lot of people don’t care about it,” he said. “Foreign language is important in the business world, but not necessary in general education requirements.”

One main area of debate in CMU’s reform process is how many courses to include in the UP; more than 200 are currently included.

“Actually, 200 is small compared to some campuses. Some schools have as many as 600 courses on the books, although they may not all be taught regularly,” Miller said.

The number of courses in each distribution area in WMU’s program is comparable to the number of courses in each subgroup of the UP. Undergraduates at Michigan State University take core courses in English and math and choose classes from three areas of integrative studies. At Wayne State University, students follow different general education requirements based on their major.

“The AACU likes the idea of having a few core courses in a general education program; that’s where you can have the assurance of the learning outcomes,” Miller said. “It’s not a real common model, however.”

Hickman said he was able to double-count UP classes toward his major when he was a finance major, but not much after he switched to broadcast and cinematic arts.

“The only thing I’d like to see different is more majors represented in the UP,” Hickman said.

Miller said reforming a general education program can be complicated.

“You have to investigate the school’s mission and purpose,” he said. “One of the hardest things is to connect general education to a major.”

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James Jones said he thought the way the item was added to the agenda was inappropriate. The medical school was not on the Board’s formal agenda, but it was discussed during “Other/New Business” at the end of the meeting Thursday.

“Since you play a role in representing us, why do you think it was appropriate to put that decision on the agenda at the last minute so that no one could speak to that motion who wasn’t already in the board room?” said the foreign languages and literatures professor.

Executive Vice President and Provost Julia Wallace said she thought the way the agenda was handled was legitimate.

“I believe conversations between the Board members and the (university) president that occurred privately at the time were considered to be the equivalent of ‘other business,’” she said.

University President Michael Rao was not at the A-Senate meeting Tuesday.

One aspect of the rationale for the medical school was to address the shortage of primary care physicians and to keep doctors in northern Michigan.

Biology professor Phil Hertzler said he does not understand how a medical program at CMU would help solve those problems.

“How are they assured to go into primary care once they get out of school, and how do they stay in Michigan?” he said.

Wallace said the intent is to have admission criteria that are geared toward these objectives and hope to attract students interested in family medicine and rural health.

“It is our hope that CMU will draw Michigan students, and we do know that retention rates for individuals who go to medical school in Michigan and have their residencies in Michigan are more apt to stay in Michigan,” Wallace said. “You are absolutely right. There is no way that we can convince students to stay in family medicine when they know they can make twice as much money in anesthesiology.”

Some faculty felt it was ill-advised to approve a medical school in the midst of the faculty contract negotiations.

“The long-term trend indicates that enrollment is going up and the number of faculty is going down,” said Mark Freed, associate professor of English. “In light of these clear and dramatic trends and the recent approval of a medical school, I think it draws an important question which I am going to direct to you. What assurances and what support are you willing to existing faculty right now?”

Wallace responded by saying the school of medicine will be treated just as any other college.

“The only thing I can really speak to is that the school of medicine being proposed at the present time and the use of that school of medicine, as with any other college on campus, would be with its own faculty, its own budget and its own governing body,” Wallace said.

Freed said Wallace’s response did not constitute a statement of support.

General Education

New University Program requirements also were discussed.

Both psychology professor Tim Hartshorne and philosophy and religion professor Robert Stecker withdrew their previous amendments to the general education proposal. Hartshorne proposed a new amendment, which the Senate voted to postpone until the next meeting.

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Daniel Radatz said he dreams of becoming a night club disc jockey and
is hoping the MTV show “Made” can help him.

The Swartz Creek freshman currently is a professional mobile DJ, but
he said he wants to take his career a step further.

“It’s been a dream of mine since seventh grade,” Radatz said. “I
think my chances are pretty good because I have a nice story about how
I’ve spent my savings trying to become a DJ.”

The MTV makeover show fielded auditions in the Bovee University
Center Thursday to find students who are trying to achieve a spring
break-related goal.

“Any goal is good; it depends how much they want it,” said ‘Made’
producer Aris Pinedo.

Pinedo said filming will take four to six weeks, but students won’t
have to miss school.

The casting crew is visiting at least six or seven college campuses
before choosing the best candidate.

“Made” hopefuls had to fill out an application explaining their
goals and undergo a three to five minute interview with Pinedo.

The applicants’ specific goals had to be those that can be
accomplished with the help of “Made” experts and the applicants
themselves had to have the appearance of someone between 15 and 21
years old.

Lansing senior Charles Terry was nervous for the interview.

“I’m a really big fan of ‘Made,’ (and) how they make people feel
better,” he said. “I had to give it a shot.”

Terry said he wanted to be made into an “extremely attractive
person.”

“Made” producers contacted Program Board to arrange the event.

“We’ve done things with MTV before,” said Redford senior and Program
Board president John Schuett. “It was similar to the National Lampoon
event; they were doing a casting call and contacted us.”

Program Board found out about the auditions only a week before break
and was not able to publicize “Made” as much as it had hoped.

Joining the military can seem like a great economic opportunity to
young people from small towns with few jobs available.

Military recruits in Michigan are more likely to come from small
rural communities than urban areas, according to a Nov. 27 article in
The Detroit News.

More than 44 percent of U.S. military recruits come from rural
areas, the Washington Post reported Nov. 4.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Kevin McCann, who works for an Army recruitment
office in Pontiac, said he disagrees with those figures.

“They (urban and rural campuses) are recruited equally as far as the
attention we show,” he said. “We look for highly educated people and
Wayne State University has an excellent medical program, so we recruit
there.”

McCann said a densely populated metro area – like Wayne State
University’s location – may have more recruiting offices than a less
populated and rural area.

“It’s really based on population,” he said.

CMU has an on-campus military recruitment office as well as the ROTC
program. Military recruitment officers were unavailable for comment.

McCann said students from one area are not more likely to enlist
than students from others, and recruitment is more a matter of an
interested individual enlisting.

Mount Pleasant freshman Marty Paudrups said he agrees.

“In a rural setting, people might join the military to get out of
town, but in an urban setting, people might live in poverty and join to
get money,” he said.

Paudrups said no matter where someone grows up, it has little impact
on one’s decision to join the military.

However, nationally, military recruits are disproportionately from
low and middle income households, but the trend is not true in
Michigan, according to The Detroit News article.

Other studies have shown conflicting data.

A study by the Heritage Foundation found young people from the
country’s wealthiest areas make a larger part of the recruits than they
did prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The U.S. military will spend almost $251 million on recruitment this
year, according to the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, a
non-profit organization promoting resistance to war and education about
military recruitment.

That money funds a variety of advertising and recruitment
efforts, from phone calls and e-mails, to advertisements on TV.

“The Army puts a lot of money into recruitment ads, it’s a good way
to get the message across,” McCann said.