This is the philosophy of Tamara Rosier, a candidate for director of the Faculty Center for Innovative Learning.

“I envision teaching as pulling levers, which turn gears,” Rosier said. “When you can pull these levers, that’s when learning can begin.”

Rosier presented her lecture, “Learning Levers: Applying Research Themes to Improve Learning,” during an open forum Wednesday at Bovee University Center.

Rosier, the final candidate for FaCIT director, currently holds a position as Assistant Director of Assessment at Grand Valley State University. Her role at CMU, should she get selected, would be to help professors evaluate themselves and advise them on how to best teach their students.

Rosier said her teaching philosophy is built around pulling four different levers. The first lever is the motivation to learn.

The second lever is metacognition, or thinking about thinking. Rosier said this consists of monitoring your progress and making changes or adapting as you learn.

“There’s many times that students don’t know that they know something,” Rosier said. “Students don’t get that learning is difficult. We have to teach this to our students. This isn’t an optional thing.”

Lever three is transfer learning, she said. The ability to extend learning from one context to another is key.

The final lever is memory, where prior knowledge is connected, patterns are recognized and the information becomes useful.

Some at the forum thought Rosier was attentive to get students to learn.

“She reminded me of the need in getting others to think of how they’re thinking about their own learning,” said Reo McBride, director for the Center for Instructional Design.

McBride is designing a course for faculty to teach them how to develop online courses. He said the presentation would affect how he designs his course.

Some attendees also felt Rosier’s philosophy is very important to understand.

“I think brain research is really important to know so faculty can know what is going on in their students’ heads, so they can structure their classes and enable learning,” said Ireta Ekstrom, instructional developer for FaCIT.

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Each ticket received two minutes to answer a set of questions in front of the 45-member audience. With University President Michael Rao leaving, one of the big questions was how the candidates would react to working with a new president.

“We’re going to welcome the new president with open arms,” said Stephanie Glidden, a vice presidential candidate and Kalamazoo freshman. “We can give him documentation on what SGA has done in the past. Students need to be on the top of his priority list.”

Other candidates are hoping to engage the new administration.

“There used to be open forums,” said Tim Popma, a presidential candidate and Kentwood senior. He would seek for the new administration to become more visible to students.

Presidential candidate and Mount Pleasant junior Jason Nichol hopes to engage the administration by allowing to students to voice disagreements.

“If someone disagrees, we want to bring that up,” Nichol said. “We want to do so in a functional manner.”

Candidates were also asked how their administration would be able to get students more involved.

“Technology is going to be the way this is going to happen,” Presidential candidate and Sandusky senior Brandon Lawson said. “The (online) events calender is completely underused.”

Vice presidential candidate and Allen Park junior Shane Farrell plans to use popular Web sites such as Facebook, blogs, and Twitter to get their word out if elected.

“If we can communicate more, students won’t feel their voice is lost in the flock,” Nichol said.

Part of his plan includes putting reasoning for decisions in legislation into Central Michigan Life.

One ticket is claiming they are already engaging students.

“We’ve walked around campus dressed up to get people’s attention,” VP candidate Victoria Kukla said.

Her running mate said they have already garnered student support.

“We have a petition (for the GA Bill) online,” said Allison White, a presidential candidate and Chelsea junior. “We’re getting people involved.”

Candidates answered a question on how to handle the budget.

“We should hold spending accountable,” Vice presidential candidate and Pittsford senior Bob Simmons said.

Old buildings also need to be retrofitted, Glidden said. In addition, candidates will look for other sources of revenue.

“We will focus on external sources for budgeting,” White said.

When asked about how SGA can improve, the candidates universally agreed that more student involvement is necessary.

Presidential candidate Lauren Elias wants students to know what SGA is doing.

“There’s a disconnect between the SGA and students,” Elias said. “We’re doing great things and people should know about it.”

Afterwards, students were able pose their own questions.

“They are good candidates,” Detroit senior Aesha Rashid said. “There are two or three tickets in the forefront.”

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On Wednesday, candidates for president and vice president of the Student Government Association held a press conference in the Lake St. Clair Room of the Bovee University Center.

Sarah Lechota and Stephanie Glidden

Sarah Lechota is part of the Student Environmental Alliance and Stephanie Glidden has had no previous SGA experience, but feels she can overcome that by representing the younger voice on campus.

“I will represent that younger voice,” Glidden said. “I don’t have the CMU Promise. I know where they’re coming from.”

The pair is looking to work on the continued fixing up of buildings, making campus safer for bikers, and increasing bike racks for students. Another goal is fixing Central Michigan University’s Web site.

“Our Web site is incredibly hard to navigate through,” Glidden said.

Brandyn Lawson and John Reineke

The pair plans to fight for implementation of the four-year plan for all students, instead of just Honors Program students.

The four-year plan would assist students in planing their college careers. This would make it easier to graduate on time, John Reineke said.

Reineke holds student government leadership positions and works between 30 to 40 hours a week as a manager in a residential restaurant on-campus.

They also would like to make textbook listings available earlier in the hope that they can buy books online to drive down prices for on-campus bookstores that would compete with online stores.

Unified use of Blackboard is another idea the two have.

“Those classes (that use Blackboard) are easier,” Reineke said. “I know Grand Valley has a mostly unified board. We can do that here.”

Tim Popma and Bob Simmons

The two seek to be a transparent pair, said Tim Popma. Their goals are to focus on sustainability and communication.

To work on sustainability, they would look at things such as how much food is wasted in the cafeteria and find ways to fix it, Simmons said.

Under Popma and Bob Simmons, they say communication would also be looked at.

“We want to look at aspects of better communication between registered organizations,” Simmons said.

Popma also mentioned that different areas of funding will be explored to work on their projects.

“It doesn’t need to come from new funding,” Popma said.

He said enough funding is being wasted now, and money could come from that.

Allison White and Victoria Kukla

The main issue this pair is campaigning under is the Graduate Assistant Bill.

The bills states if a Michigan resident pursues an undergraduate or master’s degree at any public university in the state and completes it within eight years, the state will buy back half the tuition costs during those years.

“Hopefully, we can take the SGA down to Lansing and get this GA bill passed,” said Allison White.

The two also hope to host coffee house chats where students can come talk with them about issues.

“We would do a lot of crazy, creative things,” said Victoria Kukla.

Lauren Elias and Shane Farrell

Lauren Elias served as representative for Robinson Hall Council, has lobbied in Washington D.C. and is involved with the Academic Senate.

She runs with Shane Farrell, who has spent two years in the SGA House where he is the president pro-tempore.

“SGA has been a passive voice in the past,” Farrell said. “We want to make it an active voice. We are going to act on student’s core beliefs.”

Elias also wants to focus on student retention.

“Students being involved is a key to retention,” Elias said. “Western has a four-year plan where you can get into classes. There’s no reason we can’t have better communication.”

Jason Nichol and Brittany Mouzourakis

The two are running on a platform of six key components.

The first component of their platform is to strengthen core academic programs.

“We can improve the quality of the work force,” Brittany Mouzourakis said.

The other platforms are increasing undergraduate retention, strengthening sustainability on campus, focusing on in-state recruitment, continuing lobbying for higher education funding, and keeping tuition affordable.

“When universities such as U-of-M get two-thirds more, there is an economic disparity,” Mouzourakis said of higher education funding.

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That’s the drumbeat in the publishing world these days and everyone from recent alumni to industry veterans are feeling the push to incorporate new technology in the news.

“There is an acceleration toward delivery of the news online,” said Mark W. Smith, former Central Michigan Life editor-in-chief and a current web editor at the Detroit Free Press.

“That’s where the focus is,” Smith said. “That’s where our future is.”

But adjusting to that shift is not easy for everyone, Smith said.

“It’s a challenge to get (traditional print journalists) to think web first,” he said. “However, the best reporters will always be the best reporters.”

The Detroit Free Press has also taken on the new media challenge by scaling back its print delivery. On March 30, they will begin delivering only on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, putting more resources into web reporting.

All this is in an effort to combat problems on the other side of the industry – ad sales.

“It is a direct result in the downfall of print advertising,” Smith said.

Meanwhile, photographers are also facing new challenges. Ken Stevens, who has worked at the Muskegon Chronicle for 22 years, said nothing is the same as when he arrived.

“Everything was in black and white,” Stevens said, noting that the shift to color did not take place for four or five years after his arrival.

This was the first major change, he said. Digital cameras sped up photo delivery to editors as pictures did not have to be sent out to be developed.

With the move to digital media, Stevens said photographers now use new technology such as video clips and audio for slideshows.

Concerns may arise from some journalists about developing new skills and finding the equipment to harness those skills, but Stevens has not had too many problems.

As the shift is being completed, the days of print media are numbered, Smith said.

Stevens expressed concerns about where the media are headed.

“The more and more we go online, ads won’t be able to pay our salaries,” he said. “We want to hold onto the print for as long as we can.”

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This is how FaCIT director candidate Robert Adams approaches learning.

Adams, the second of three candidates being interviewed for the Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching director position, emphasizes technology in his current position at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.

“This allows students to present their knowledge with both visual and textual information and makes it more complete,” Adams said.

Adams was the second candidate interviewed for the position. An open forum was held Monday in the Charles V. Park Library Strosacker Room.

“This presentation is a way to see how he interacts with the people who attend,” said Ireta Ekstrom, instructional developer for innovative teaching.

Adams role as FaCIT director, should he be hired, would be to help professors evaluate themselves and advise them on how to best teach their students.

During the demonstration, he showed faculty how easy it is for students to use flip videos, one of the technologies he teaches with. Outside of video, features like pictures, music, visual effects and narration can be added.

In addition to students enhancing their learning experience, Adams said faculty at Loras also use the video technology for class.

Faculty post mini-lectures of about five or ten minutes long for students to view before going to class, he said.

“More can happen with engaging students in class (using videos) as opposed to just presenting information,” Adams said.

After the presentation, faculty who attended were given the chance to question Adams. During questioning, the ethical side of video recording was discussed.

Adams said CMU’s relationship with shooting video on campus could be a great opportunity to address issues with students and get them to ask themselves questions such as “what am I doing with this video?”

Adams also has found video to be a fairly inexpensive way of learning. Flip videos, he said, go for only around $100.

The final FaCIT director forum will be held for Eli Collins-Brown at 2 p.m. Friday in the Bovee University Center Lake Michigan Room.

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On Tuesday, the American Red Cross was on campus, trying to save as many lives as possible.

“We’re here to keep our hospitals supplied,” said Lindsey Mortier, donor recruitment representative for the Great Lakes region.

After the blood is collected, it is sent to Ohio to be processed. Everything collected at Central Michigan University, however, will eventually end up back in Michigan, supplying around 70 hospitals state-wide, Mortier said.

“It’s partnering with a life saving mission. What better thing to do than say you saved a life?” she said.

Of all the blood collected in the United States, Mortier said about 20 percent of it comes from college students, making visits to CMU very important.

“We really rely on our universities to pull through for us,” she said.

Students such as Chesaning freshman Brittney Henige are some of the people the Red Cross relies on.

“I’m healthy enough to donate blood,” said Henige, a second-time donor.

Henige, who is working on a speech about donating blood, finds it important to donate based on how few people actually do.

“Only four out of 100 people who can donate actually do it,” she said.

Elijah McIntosh is one of the phlebotomists who was present to help collect the blood.

“Something exciting I’ve found is that people give freely to help other people,” he said. “They aren’t here asking for money. That’s rewarding to me.”

McIntosh has been collecting blood for nine years and feels it is as important as always.

However, not all the students who wanted to donate blood were able to do it.

Brittany Williams, a Mount Pleasant sophomore, was attempting to donate for a second time. Having gotten a new tattoo just three months ago, however, she was not allowed to.

There are many reasons people may be denied when trying to give blood. A donor cannot have gotten a tattoo in the previous 12 months. Donors must weigh between 110 and 400 pounds, be at least 17 years old, cannot be taking antibiotics, cannot have cold symptoms and have to have not donated for at least 56 days.

The limited donor pool has caused Williams to want to donate when she is once again eligible.

“To be able to give something so important without any sort of stress or pain yourself is important,” she said.

The next blood drive will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday in the Sweeney Hall basement lobby.

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Because of the recent economic conditions in the state, CMU is determining if the state will call back any of the funds, said Steve Smith, director of media relations.

CMU received a 1 percent increase of $819,400 of the total of approximately $82.7 million in funding from the state for the 2009 fiscal year. CMU’s 1 percent increase in funding was allocated this summer after CMU lobbied for a 3 percent increase.

“We are taking a wait-and-see approach to see where the governor feels funds should be cut,” Smith said.

For now, CMU is holding the money, and it remains to be seen whether CMU will see every dollar it thought it had coming.

It is possible, however, that the state could ask for all of the increase back. CMU has seen funds called back in previous years.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm called back $1.4 million with mid-year budget cuts in 2005.

This time around, with the auto industry in peril, it remains possible that CMU could experience yet another trickle-down effect, government officials said.

“It is too early in the fiscal year (which started on Oct. 1) and there is too much uncertainty in the national economy and the auto industry to know for certain at this time how much will need to be cut and what areas of the budget will be cut,” Office of the State Budget Spokesperson Leslee Fritz said.

However, while it is not yet apparent how much and where cuts will be made, it does appear cuts will happen.

“The governor has indicated that she expects to make mid-year budget cuts before the end of this year,” Fritz said.

For now, all CMU can do is watch and wait.

“We are watching the state’s projected budget with a close eye,” Smith said.

Should the state take allocations away from CMU, it is not yet known what would happen.

“There isn’t a formal plan that has been developed,” said Barrie Wilkes, associate vice president for financial services and reporting. “Based on what I have read, with the state’s revenue shortcoming, they will need to make cuts somewhere.”

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ITC 383: Computer Game Design is now being offered as a permanent course.

Previously, it was taught as a special topics course for three semesters between 2006 and 2007, said Thomas Ahlswede, a computer science professor.

“I’m still hoping to expand the program,” Ahlswede said.

Fifteen students are signed up for the coming spring semester. The class can hold up to 25, Ahlswede said.

The course is being offered as part of two degree tracks. It is under the information technology major as part of the multimedia track and is an elective for the media design, production and technology track.

Students enrolled in the course learn many things about game design.

“There is quite a sizeable gaming industry using Flash,” he said.

Those wishing to learn how simulation is done will be in luck as well, Ahlswede said.

Students also will be instructed in areas such as game worlds, scrollable backgrounds, scripting motion, sound, storytelling, puzzles and animation in 2D and 3D.

“I like the flexibility of the game design,” said Travis White, a Shepherd senior who is double-majoring in information technology and computer science. “It’s helped me learn a lot about coding structure.”

For now, Ahlswede remains the only professor teaching the course.

“I’m hoping other people will be willing to teach the course in the future,” he said.

In addition to expanding the computer game design class, Ahlswede also is hoping to expand the computer science department in other areas.

He said he hopes to implement a 3D game programming course in the future. However, talk of such a course is in its early stages.

“There are no promises. It has not gone past the talk stage yet,” he said.

Students wanting to enroll in the course must first fulfill two prerequisites by taking an intro to Flash and programming class. To some students, it is well worth the effort.

“It’s useful since I’m going into video game design,” said Michelle Wrighton, a Lake Orion senior. “It’s taught me the process for game design.”

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In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, Fleming, a ghost hunter, who lectured a packed house Tuesday in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium on ghosts, explained what they are and why they are still here.

Fleming thinks of himself as a “sensitive.” This means that he can sense things that a regular person might not be able to.

“We don’t see it with our eyes. We don’t hear it, but we feel it,” Fleming said.

Fleming claims 35 years of paranormal experience and said he has investigated more than 500 different cases.

His experiences started as a child, and peak activity was between the ages of 4 and 13. Fleming shared photos he drew as a child of what appeared to him to be “shadow people.”

“These things would come out of the corners of the rooms and pull the covers off the bed,” he said.

Despite his father pleading with him to ignore the ghosts, Fleming persisted.

Fleming could no longer ignore his father’s demand to ignore the spirits, so he started investigating them.

The crowd was treated to two hours of stories, pictures, and electronic voice phenomenon from the investigations.

“We can only see 10 percent of our physical environment. The equipment we use allows us to see the inferred spectrum,” he said.

The crowd gasped when it heard some of the electronic voice phenomenons that Fleming had recorded, especially when he played a recording from Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco.

“I’ll face ya,” the voice said.

Fleming claims that right before the voice appeared on the recording, he had been antagonizing the spirits to come forward to him.

Some students said they were impressed with Fleming.

“When I was little, I saw a soldier that I thought was a re-enactment and then it was gone,” said Natalie Fowler, an East China sophomore. “It amazes me the correlation between his theory and what I saw.”

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A merger would mean major job cuts because of duplicated operations, said Kevin Willis, sales manager for Heritage Automall, a Chrysler dealership at at 4650 E. Pickard St.

“I think it would hurt the economy more than help anyone else,” Willis said. “Lots of jobs would be lost.”

The workforce at GM has already been cut by 19,000 jobs since February 2007, according to the Detroit Free Press. Chrysler has announced the termination of about 28,000 jobs in the same timeframe.

A Free Press article Sunday stated talks of a merger for the major auto companies were occurring.

Both companies declined to comment on the issue.

This year has already been rough on both companies, with Chrysler sales down 25 percent and GM down 17.8 percent.

“The only merger I could see would be between the financial arms,” Willis said.

Even that appears unlikely, he said.

Financially, the only way to benefit each company would be to consolidate manufacturing, engineering and administration, said Chris Pratt, general sales manager of Shaheen Buick Pontiac GMC Truck Cadillac, 116 N. Mission St.

“(Consolidation) would be basically the whole company,” he said. “Thousands and thousands of people would lose their jobs.”

While a consolidation could possibly help the companies, which have lost billions of dollars, the economics in Michigan would be impacted in a negative way, Pratt said.

Talks between GM and Chrysler started after similar discussions with GM and Ford failed to yield any results.

“I don’t see it being a reality,” Willis said. “GM and Ford have been talking about (a merger) forever, and even that’s a farce.”

If the merger actually took place, business from a local standpoint would be impossible to project, Pratt said. However, he theorized that the local GM dealers would continue selling only GM products and Chrysler dealers would sell only its brand of vehicles. However, he would prefer things to stay as they are now.

“I’d prefer that there wasn’t (a merger),” Pratt said. “Taking on Chrysler, who’s been struggling for years and years, wouldn’t benefit General Motors.”

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