He said he began working as a student service officer, working with CMU Police on a regular basis. Now, he’s applying to be in charge of that agency.

“My love for law enforcement started here,” he said. “I want to be a part of that.”

Yeagley, the director of public safety for the Mount Pleasant Police Department, spoke to a crowd of about 30 people Thursday in the Bovee University Center’s Fireside Room. The discussion was part of Yeagley’s day interviewing for the position of CMU police chief.

Yeagley said working at a college is much different than policing in a city scene.

“There’s a more community of people that attend or work at CMU. It affects more,” he said. “That certainly is not a priority for other non-university police.”

Yeagley has spent his entire policing career in the mid-Michigan area. He has worked in Mount Pleasant from 1978-79, and since 1981. He spent two years as deputy sheriff in Clare County from 1980-81. He has been Mount Pleasant’s director of public safety since 1999.

While Yeagley has been familiar with CMU in past years, he said he is not clear on all the specifics of working with college students. One example, he said, was the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. FERPA, which deals with student’s academic privacy, is something Yeagley said he would ask for assistance for.

“I’m no expert,” he said. “I’m familiar with it.”

Several university members asked Yeagley about his views on diversity. Assistant Director of Minority Student Services Sean Novak asked Yeagley about how he would handle another situation like the nooses that were discovered in the IET Building in 2007.

Yeagley said his experience with working with the Mount Pleasant Area Diversity Group has helped him, and said situations such as that need to be handled with extreme care.

“It raises the level of discomfort in the community,” he said. “As a police chief, it’s part of my job to answer those questions.”

Student Government Association President Jason Nichol, who is also on the police chief search committee, said the finalists the committee selected all share one common vision.

“They’re all very committed to the community policing model,” the Mount Pleasant junior said.

The community policing model, Yeagley said, is understanding the community in which an officer is serving. He said he understands the difference and would work to adapt his current style.

“An important part is to be clear in the beginning,” he said. “Policing is different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.”

Check cm-life.com tomorrow for a story on the next police chief finalist.

He originally wanted to stay in Wexford County, where he lives and work his way up there.

“I was going to run for sheriff,” he said. “Things changed. I changed my mind.”

Harris, the second finalist for the CMU Police chief position, spoke to about 20 people at an open forum in the Bovee University Center Friday afternoon.

He talked about how when he was hired as captain three years ago, retiring Chief Stan Dinius said he would be retiring in a few years, and that someone would need to step up and take over for him.

“I think they found that person,” Harris said.

Previously to serving at CMU, Harris served as the Wexford County undersheriff from 1993 to 2006. In that role, he said, he got a lot of practice in public relations, often being the spokesman for the department to the media.

“I’ve had a lot of training,” he said. “I’ve always had a good rapport with the media.”

He said one of the big differences he sees in policing a university campus and a county is the level of involvement university police need to have in order to be successful.

While some duties of the job remain the same, university police need to be more visible.

“We have an obligation to hold ourselves out there,” he said. “We don’t want to be reactive, we want to be proactive.”

While he said city police officers may not have a duty to protect, university police need to, because of the number of students that come from across the state to attend school.

“That’s our obligation, we need to take that seriously,” Harris said. “We have an obligation to protect, so it is a little bit different.”

He also said because of technological upgrades that he can lead more efficiently if selected as chief. With digital cameras in each police car and a new 9-1-1 system currently being installed on campus, Harris said commanding the force would be more simplistic.

“I have a lot more opportunity to delegate,” he said.

While most departments are cutting positions, Harris said one item he would like to accomplish is the creation of another position in the department, even though he knows it would not be a popular request in the administration because of money being tight.

“One of our strategic goals is to get a lieutenant position,” he said. “That would allow us more time with . the external groups.”

The third and final candidate, University of Oregon senior campus security planner Kevin Williams, will have an open forum for questions at 3:45 p.m. Monday in the UC’s Maroon Room.

Check cm-life.com Monday for coverage from the final police chief candidate.

Dr. Robert Graham, medical director for the Central Michigan District Health Department, said since the case of swine flu had been detected in Isabella County, laboratory testing for the disease has decreased.

“We know that swine flu is here. We’re not going to recommend testing for everyone,” he said. “We probably have a lot more cases that the ones that have been confirmed.”

As of Tuesday, the World Health Organization confirmed more than 12,950 cases worldwide. The death toll from swine flu in Mexico is currently at 83, and 12 in the U.S.

Dr. Sarah Yonder, physician for University Health Services, said even before the case was confirmed last week, her office in Foust Hall had been taking the swine flu pandemic seriously. She said when the case in Isabella County was confirmed, she wasn’t alarmed.

“I think we were already in that mode before it hit the county,” Yonder said. “We were already in high alert.”

Yonder said Health Services has gotten several inquiries about the swine flu virus. She said they mostly have been questions about symptoms and contact with family members who have traveled to infected regions, such as Mexico. She said people call and ask if contact with these people is acceptable.

Graham said the disease is currently responding to regular flu vaccines, and the patient confirmed with swine flu was doing well.

“It’s currently being treated with antivirals,” he said. “It’s been susceptible to the antivirals”

He also said the virus is being closely watched for any mutations that may occur. As of Friday, Graham said he was unaware of any mutations in the swine flu virus in Isabella County.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services authorized $1 billion to develop a vaccine for the swine flu. That vaccine is something, Graham said, the CMDHD would be interested in acquiring, even with it’s projected high cost.

“We haven’t had anyone ask for a vaccine,” he said. “There is quite an expense because of the safety procedures manufacturers go through to make the vaccine. It takes about six months for a vaccine (to be created).”

Darcie Suderman, public relations director for Central Michigan Community Hospital, said CMCH has been monitoring the flu cases closely.

“We’re working very closely with the Central Michigan District Health Department,” she said.

Yonder said students can prevent the disease by continuing to wash their hands frequently and to avoid large crowds if they are feeling ill with flu-like symptoms.

“I don’t think we should be fearful, just careful,” she said. “I don’t think they’ll be needing to do anything special.”

news@cm-life.com

The 24-year custodian spends her time preparing for visitors from the Special Olympics and summer sports camps after most students have moved home.

But that doesn’t keep her from enjoying her work.

“We make our own fun in the summer,” she said. “Nothing is really taken too seriously, besides our work of course.”

Garrett is one of several custodians on campus who spend the summer prepping for the numerous summer camps and conferences that take place.

Garrett cleans Emmons Hall and prepares it for the next batch of visitors when the summer begins. She said there is a noticeable difference in the type of work she and her colleagues usually complete once the residence halls empty for the summer.

“We have to sanitize everything in the room,” she said. “The bathrooms are the worst.”

She said the showers and sinks can take the longest to clean.

Custodians take over cleaning after the resident assistants finish their final inspections at the end of the year, which are overseen by the building’s residence hall directors.

“They have their own standards before the kids move out,” Garrett said. “He deals with the RA’s and makes sure (the rooms) are clean.”

While she will spend most of her time in Emmons, Garrett said every once in a while, she be called to go to another building on campus to clean.

“Depending on if we get done, we get pulled to the Towers,” she said.

The Towers contain most of the students on campus during the summer, Garrett said.

In between the work, though, the custodian said her and her coworkers do find some interesting things in the rooms that have been left behind. Last year, Garrett said, she found a dresser full of water balloons left by a resident.

“We’ve been known to have some water fights,” she said, laughing.

Garrett is not alone with her job. She works with Mount Pleasant sophomore and temporary building services staff member Brandi Norman. Norman has worked with Garrett for the last three summers, and has enjoyed the work she does with her.

“We all work together and do the same thing,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Norman said her and Garrett would rather spend time working in Emmons than the Towers.

“It’s crazier over there,” Norman said. “I like it better over here.”

Although there aren’t as many students on campus, Garrett said that doesn’t mean her workload lets up.

“It’s funny that students think we get a break,” she said. “It’s like, ‘what do you have to clean?’ (We have) more work.”

news@cm-life.com

Michigan is no exception. The Detroit News and Free Press made revolutionary changes that emphasized more digital delivery of news. The Ann Arbor News is closing altogether in July and being replaced by annarbor.com, a Web site that will put an emphasis on multimedia reporting. With the dawn of Twitter-a site that has taken the mass media by storm-the demand for faster news is increasing.

Central Michigan Life is no exception to the changes. We are doing whatever we can to change and prepare for the future after we all leave CMU. That’s why CM Life will see some changes this summer and fall in the way we deliver news to you, our readers.

The one biggest change will be our emphasis on publishing constantly online on our Web site, cm-life.com. The Web site has been a place for breaking news usually, but will now begin to cycle more content than ever.

With only publishing on Wednesdays, it can be difficult to put everything going on in the print edition. But with cm-life.com, we can publish more stories, and even provide another layer of coverage with our multimedia efforts, including photo slideshows and videos, something we are striving to bring to you. Be sure to check the Web site often, as content will be cycled and added throughout the week on the front page.

With these changes beginning this summer and going full force in the fall, we are trying to make CM Life and cm-life.com the best place for your local and university news. And to top it off, cm-life.com is planning to be completely redone in the fall, in order to make it more user-friendly.

In the end, we are striving to bring the news to the Central Michigan University and Mount Pleasant communities in the best way possible. If there is any way that you feel we can improve in delivering our news, feel free to e-mail editor@cm-life.com.

A transformer caught fire at about 2 p.m. Friday in the basement of Grawn Hall, Facilities Management officials said.

“What we think it was (was the transformer) got water saturated,” said Jay Kahn, director of facilities operations. “What we think is that water ran down the side of the tunnel.”

The transformer, which is about two feet long and two feet wide, most likely had water infiltrate it and caused the transformer to begin smoking, said Mike LeMay, supervisor of electric and maintenance mechanics.

Central Michigan University Police and the Mount Pleasant Fire Department were called at about 2:05 p.m., said CMU Police Officer Jeff Prout.

Prout said Facilities Management isolated and disconnected the power.

Kahn said the transformer supplies power to the lights that shine on the flag at Warriner Mall. He said without the lights, the flag will not fly at night.

“We’re gonna take down that flag tonight,” he said.

Sgt. Rick Beltinck of the Mount Pleasant Fire Department said there were no injuries. He said the tunnel where the transformer is is filled with smoke and said the building would reopen when the smoke was cleared.

Port Huron senior Matt Schneider said some friends and his were in the Grawn computer lab when he heard the fire alarms go off.

“Everyone thought it was a fake,” he said.

Kahn said the transformer will most likely need to be replaced.

Check cm-life.com for more updates.

The meeting will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in room 438 of the Detroit Metro Airport Marriott, located at 30559 Flynn Road in Romulus. The meeting is open to the public.

The Board will present a “proposed leadership statement,” which has been created via feedback through open forums and through responses left on the presidential search Web site, said Steve Smith, director of media relations.

“It will be a foundation for (the search committee),” he said.

The next step for the search committee is identifying candidates, Smith said. Applications will be accepted until Oct. 1. The search firm, Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, LLC, will then review applications and present 16 to 20 to the screening committee. The screening committee will then narrow the list down to four to six candidates to present to the Board of Trustees, said Board Vice Chairwoman Stephanie Comai in a previous Central Michigan Life article.

The Michigan Department of Transportation will also be presenting a grant to Central Michigan University toward the renovation being done on West Campus Drive this summer. Smith said although he could not recall the exact amount, he expects it to be more than $300,000.

Check cm-life.com for more updates.

No matter what some may think about Central Michigan University’s spending habits right now, the EHS Building is one impressive feat that students should take the time to just walk through and admire.

The first time I walked through the building, I just remembered watching the building being constructed beginning in 2007.

I remembered having to walk very close to people’s windows when they moved the sidewalk close to the Washington Apartments. I remember the Christmas tree the steelworkers placed on the top of the steel work that stood for months. And after all of that, it’s practically a work of art.

The wooden ceilings are made of bamboo, according to a construction worker whom I spoke with the day it opened partially to the public. The auditorium has a very large screen and white boards for lectures.

There’s even a separate structure for children to put on puppet shows. And, the building is the greenest on CMU’s campus, and plans to apply for Platinum status through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design plan, the highest “green” rating possible.

It’s clear CMU has been waiting for this building for a long time. Founded originally as a teaching school, CMU still values educating future teachers, and Ronan Hall just wasn’t cutting it for a program such as that.

The first time I walked through Ronan, I remember thinking, “I bet they can’t wait to move into the new Education Building.” Sure enough, the morning I walked through the building, there was this sense of excitement around the building from the people moving in.

If you have the time, walk through the building on your way back from class. At a price tag of $50 million, it’s worth the self-tour.

The Student Government Association’s elections are being held this week to choose Central Michigan University’s next student body leader.

Students should take the time this week to visit vote.cmich.edu to cast their votes for SGA president and vice president.

Why?

Because the student body president and vice president can actually make a difference, contrary to what some people believe.

Oh yeah, and they’re being paid.

Both the SGA president and vice president receive the SGA Leadership Award from CMU, which allows them to take 12 credits in exchange for performing as the student body’s voice.

Most student body presidents around the state receive some sort of compensation for their service from the university. Some have received full tuition, while some schools offer only a simple parking pass.

We try hard to hold our administrators accountable, and students should do the same for their elected SGA leadership.

While voter turnout in SGA elections is typically low, students should take the time this week to spend a few minutes researching the candidates – cm-life.com has videos with five of the candidates talking about what they plan to do if elected – and take the time to vote.

Voting isn’t difficult. Just log onto vote.cmich.edu and select the candidate you would like to lead the student body. It’s just that simple.

Central Michigan Life has been doing everything it can to hold accountable CMU’s administrators and leaders, and that includes the SGA leaders. But we can only do so much, and that’s why the student voice is needed to select the leaders this university needs.

CMU is in a period of transition. University President Michael Rao is leaving, a large medical school is in the works, tuition has more than doubled in the last decade and many administrative positions will be or already are empty.

Now more than ever, students’ concerns and wishes need to be communicated to the adminstration.

CMU needs the next SGA president and vice president to truly be the voice of the students. The only way for that to happen is for every student to vote on his or her representation to the administration. The first step is carefully examining each set of candidates and selecting the best one.

Take the time to examine the candidates. Whether your issue is tuition, student involvement or CMU’s next president, make your voice heard.

Your money is counting on it.

University Editor David Veselenak sat down with Xing Zhigang, the deputy China news editor for the China Daily.

Zhigang is a visiting scholar through CMU’s journalism department. He spoke about the nation’s only national English-language newspaper and his time traveling to nations like Iran and North Korea.

David Veselenak: When did you decide to come over to the United States?

Xing Zhigang: Late December. The editor in chief for the China Daily told me I had the chance to come to the university, so I thought it was a really good opportunity to come (learn) more about the United States and what you people think about China.

DV: You picked CMU because of their relationship with the China Daily?

XZ: Yes, because of the CMU-China Daily exchange program. Your students can have some interesting opportunities with the China Daily.

DV: Besides sitting in on classes, what else are you doing in the United States?

XZ: I want to know more about the latest developments in the U.S. media industry … and when I go back to China, I can improve the quality of our newspaper. I’m also attending some courses – such as the management of human resources and organizations.

DV: What exactly is your role with the China Daily?

XZ: I now work as a deputy national news editor, and our department is in charge of providing other important political and social news stories for (the) front page. (The China Daily) is the only national English-language newspaper, circulating about 300,000 in 150 countries and regions.

We are going to launch our American edition by the end of this month. We opened up a U.S. Bureau in Washington last month. I want to extend an invitation to all CMU students, if you want to go to (the) China Daily and work with us. You could work with us as our correspondent in the United States for (the) China Daily.

We have an ambitious program to expand our overseas presence. We are trying to launch our European edition, an Asian edition, as well as an American edition, so we are trying to recruit more foreign journalists to work with us. So far, we have hired more than 30 foreign journalists as our reporters, copy editors and columnists and page editors. They are from the United States, Britain, India, Singapore and Paris.

DV: Have you worked with the China Daily your entire career?

XZ: Yes, since 1996, after graduating from the China School of Journalism. I worked in Beijing for one year, and then moved to Hong Kong to start the Hong Kong edition.

DV: What things stick out in your mind as landmarks in your career?

XZ: A fantastic experience was my visit to North Korea. Also, before my visit to North Korea, I visited Iran in Sept. 2005.

Both of the nations are deemed mysterious to the outside world. But, as I visited these two countries, as a journalist, you can do a lot in promoting new (standings) between different countries.

The two countries don’t allow journalists to visit their country. After I visited the two countries, I (felt) I had a duty to tell the outside world what really happens there. That’s the reason I decided to go.

DV: How did you get access to these two countries?

XZ: I visited Iran at the invitation of their foreign minister. As for my visit to North Korea, our president was planning to visit their country, so I applied to go to North Korea to report. Finally, they agreed.

DV: Were there any restrictions on you?

XZ: No. They don’t allow Western journalists to visit their nations. Actually, I felt their government is hoping to lighten up the world to their country, their people.

After I returned to Beijing, after my visit to North Korea, I wrote an article in Chinese to tell what I saw in North Korea. My article became the most popular article on the Internet for a long time. Even the Chinese people know little about North Korea.

DV: What other countries have you visited?

XZ: I have been to India, Turkey, Algeria, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Hong Kong.

DV: What is your impression of American media, in terms of content? How does it compare to what the China Daily is doing?

XZ: I read a lot of the Washington Post and New York Times, and I think the U.S. media (is) very open. More Internet. The New York Times has a lot of pages dedicated to international news, and that’s very good. It can provide … the U.S. people with what is going on beyond the United States.

DV: What is your presentation for the journalism department going to be on?

XZ: A little bit about the development of Chinese media. Over the past decade, the Chinese media has seen (growth) very fast.

DV: In terms of openness, how accessible is information to the China Daily? What’s the freedom of information flow like in China?

XZ: Actually, both the Chinese government and Chinese media have become more and more open. Actually … our newspaper is one of the most open and internationalized newspapers in China.

DV: What advice do you have for students looking to go into journalism, both internationally and domestic?

XZ: International learning and international experience are becoming one of the most important qualifications for most jobs and professions.

Most CMU students can have more opportunities to study abroad or work abroad … it will help them stay competitive in looking for a job.

I’m thinking, someday you can expand a program between CMU and China Daily, to let more students have opportunities to work abroad.

news@cm-life.com