The sound systems will have to adhere to certain requirements pertaining to emergency situations, according to a joint statement released by the athletics department today.

University officials are working with a student ad-hoc committee formed by Student Government Association President Jason Nichol to ensure there is greater communication and understanding of tailgating expectations in Lot 63.

Nichol said the committee is looking at other possible amendments to the policies, but their primary focus at this time involves the ban on external sound systems.

“The students stood up,” said Nichol, a Mount Pleasant senior. “We hope (this change) will draw the majority of the fraternities and sororities back. It will also draw more people away from Main Street. One of the unique parts about CMU is that tailgating culture, (and Athletics) has been really receptive to the student input.”

SGA Vice President Brittany Mouzourakis, a Garden City senior, said such a committee is formed whenever there is a pressing issue on campus, in this case tailgating.

The statement was released today from Interfraternity Council President Brandyn Lawson, CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley, Athletics Director Dave Heeke and Nichol. It discusses the group’s intentions, as well as the lift on the external sound system ban.

Individuals with external sound systems can pre-purchase a parking pass for Lot 63 and will be required to set up sound systems three and a half hours before the start of the game.

“This is something the students are supportive of and will increase participation in the student lot,” Heeke said. “Quite frankly, students have the choice to tailgate, like any of our fans, wherever they want. But, the more students that come out, the better the atmosphere and overall experience becomes.”

A limited number of these parking passes will be available for sale at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Athletic Ticket Office for $6.

“All other tailgating expectations remain unchanged and will be reasonably enforced,” the statement read.

Senior Reporter Jake May contributed to this report.

Click here to see all other stories pertaining to tailgate.

In a unanimous decision, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that counties can now make stricter smoking laws than the state government. This will allow counties to continue deciding on smoking bans in local business establishments, with the exception of restaurants and bars, which are still left up to state lawmakers to decide.

County commissioners in the mid-Michigan area, including Isabella County, appear to be split down the middle on the issue.

“It’s been a topic of discussion,” said District 6 Commission Chairman David Ling. “Some are animatedly supporting it and some are animatedly against it.”

Debate among the Isabella Board of Commissioners regarding a possible smoking ban is still in its early developments. Ling said that he is not sure when a decision will be made, but predicted that discussions of the topic will likely heat up over the next few weeks.

Gratiot County already rejected a proposed ban by the Mid-Michigan District Health Department in 2007, but has now formed a committee with Clinton and Montcalm Counties to look into the subject further.

David Eldridge is one Gratiot County commissioner who strongly opposes a county wide ban, and even voted against the formation of the committee.

“It’s a useless waste of time, energy and finances to create and implement a ban,” he said. “The money and the resources should be spent to help people who want to quit…80 percent of all smokers want to quit.”

Eldridge said he does not see the logic in starting a public smoking ban, and that doing so would only help the county’s personal agenda, not the public. Businesses in Gratiot that allow smoking are already in the minority, and the overall public smoking situation in the county is unproblematic, he said.

“Businesses should be able to make their own decisions,” he said.

Currently, the Clare County Board of Commissioners has not brought up the subject at any of its meetings and has no plans to do so anytime soon.

“Right now, we’re a little more concerned with outlining the budget and cutting costs,” said Karen Lipovsky, Clare County District 6 commission chairwoman.

Ling said that the ruling by the state government appears to be a reasonable one.

“It can be argued that (the counties) should have that authority,” he said. “Historically, their power has been very limited.”

news@cm-life.com

Obama unveiled his plan in front of thousands at the Macomb Community College South Campus in Warren last week – a plan that would be comprised largely of competitive grants for community colleges across the nation.

With recent bankruptcy filings and an overall decline in the automotive industry, the Detroit area is beginning to experience vast economic changes, said Jim Jacobs, MCC president.

“This type of support is pivotal to helping greater numbers of our residents successfully transition to the jobs and economy of the 21st century,” he said. “The mere fact that the president of the United States is talking about plans to allow more people to complete a community college education is a very significant development.”

Legislation for the initiative is still in its early development and Congress is determining appropriate regulations for the bill, said Michael Hansen, president of the Michigan Community College Association.

Community colleges are at record enrollment, but using the money to improve graduation rates should not be their primary goal, he said.

“There are more and more people showing up at our doorstep looking to develop the skills for future jobs,” Hansen said. “Some people go with the full intent of transferring, so it’s not always fair to put (the graduation rate) as the measure of success.”

One example is Mid Michigan Community College, where Hansen said a substantial amount of students end up transferring to Central Michigan University.

MMCC welcomes the additional funds and believes it will help program development, but believes it could be offset.

Although MMCC welcomes the additional funds and program development, MMCC Executive Director of College Advancement Matt Miller is aware that the development could be offset if the state government cuts funds to community colleges and said that time will tell if the $12 billion is well spent.

“Like most organizations who rely on state funding, we have significant funding issues to work through,” he said. “It’s hard to predict any specific impact until we know how the funds would move to the college and what restrictions were attached.”

In order to receive the grants, colleges must first reorganize their curriculums so they correspond with current employment needs.

Oakland Community College – the largest in the state – is hoping to obtain funding for its health program, which is one of few fields that is currently experiencing growth in the United States.

“These health programs are extremely expensive to teach and we are hoping to receive funding because of that,” said George Cartsonis, director of communications at OCC.

Even though the economic outlook is murky, Cartsonis is certain about one thing when it comes to the future of community colleges.

“Clearly the emphasis is going to be on increasing the range of options for students,” he said.

news@cm-life.com

The Humane Society of the United States, along with several other groups, recently filed a lawsuit in court seeking the restoration of federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves. Such protections would make the killing of the animal illegal, even if it poses a predatory threat to livestock or pets.

All lethal control means previously allowed will no longer apply, except in the unique case of a wolf posing significant danger to human life.

The controversy over wolves has been common in other regions of the country as well. This case marks the sixth time in five years that the federal government has taken wolves off the list, only to soon replace them because of legal pressure.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determines whether or not a species should be considered endangered.

“(The wolves) have reached recovery goals,” said Georgia Parham, spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service. “Those criteria have been met, but the process requires that public comment and review be provided.”

Pending court approval, opportunities for additional public comment will be offered under the Administrative Procedures Act.

Taking gray wolves off the endangered species list would be a premature act, said Howard Goldman, senior state director for the Humane Society in Minnesota.

Michigan’s gray wolf population in particular has seen improvements over the past 30 years, but at a slow rate.

“There were no wolves there in the early ’70s,” Goldman said. “There are 580 or so now.”

Goldman added that the illegal killing of wolves is another reason animal-interest groups are against the delisting of wolves.

“There have been 36 cases of wolves being killed illegally in the past five years,” he said.

Organizations have also argued that removing wolves from the list would open up the possibility of future hunting seasons, further hindering the animal’s survival.

“The ongoing poaching problem is a serious threat,” said Michael Robinson, conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

Robinson said that gray wolves are moving towards recovery, but that the population still needs to increase considerably before a move to take them off the endangered species list permanently can be considered.

However, he added that the Center for Biological Diversity is not currently looking at an absolute number.

news@cm-life.com

Now at the age of 41, the Central Michigan University alumnus has done the animating for movies like “Mulan,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and one of this summer’s most highly anticipated movies, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

Sintay has had superior artistic abilities since his childhood, but it actually wasn’t until he moved into Merrill Hall that he considered it as a career option.

“I could draw better than most of the kids in first grade and second grade – it was just a natural thing for me, but I thought that everybody could do it,” he said. “I wasn’t great by my standards now, but I could draw, and growing up I took it for granted and didn’t pursue it.”

While living in Merrill during the 1980s, he stumbled across the mascot artwork that a fellow resident had sketched to represent the terrace floor. The mascot, known as the “terrace rat,” was not especially well drawn, so the rest of the floor asked Sintay to make improvements.

The resulting image was put on T-shirts for each of the residents and sparked the beginning of an animating career. He went on to design flyers and shirts for fraternities and sororities, and did illustrating work for Central Michigan Life.

The experience eventually landed him a competitive 16-week internship with Disney MGM Studios in Orlando after first being rejected numerous times. Disney would receive about 2,000 portfolios every three months from across the world, he said.

Only 10 to 15 people were selected each period, but Sintay kept getting feedback and worked to improve his technique after each rejection.

“The amount of competition was obviously very huge and it was very daunting,” Sintay said. “I just kept teaching myself anatomy, technique and proportion, and just worked my way toward becoming a really skilled artist.”

The internship wasn’t easy after he landed it, but it was well worth the effort when he was offered a full-time animating job with Disney in Los Angeles. He now lives in California with his wife, Connie, whom he met at CMU one day while returning artwork to the CM Life office.

Sintay said that it has been the opportunity of a lifetime, having worked on a large number of feature films since starting with “Pocahontas” in 1995.

Recently, he has also designed CGI animations for live-action movies like “I Am Legend” and the new “Transformer” movie, which began showing in theatres today.

“Transformers” was a particularly special film for Sintay, who worked under the direction of Michael Bay.

“Michael Bay is a character in himself,” he said. “He really knows what he wants, and he’ll make sure he gets it – even if it means throwing some four-letter words out there.”

studentlife@cm-life.com

Bill Ballenger, former Griffin Endowed Chair, believes John Cherry appears to be the frontrunner for the Democratic ticket. At the same time, there will be several GOP candidates vying for the governor’s spot next year and they are already talking about their respective platforms.

Tax reform is necessary if any improvements are going to be made to the current economy, said Oakland County Sheriff and Republican candidate Mike Bouchard.

“We have to create a tax system that encourages business growth and doesn’t prevent it,” he said. “In addition to the tax structure, we have to change the spending in Lansing.”

Even with those changes in mind, Bouchard believes the current economic forecast will remain gloomy until around 2015, when property values start to increase.

Education is also a much-discussed topic in the candidates’ respective campaigns. Central Michigan University is just one of several Michigan universities where costs have skyrocketed.

In-state tuition at CMU has increased from $108.15 per credit hour in 2001 to $324 in 2008.

According to U.S. Representative Pete Hoekstra, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, the government must play a vital role in higher education investment.

“It’s a competitive advantage that we have, plus we need a skilled and educated workforce,” he said. “I’ll work aggressively with colleges and universities to control tuition increases and develop additional ways for students to finance higher education.”

Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is another major name that has popped up in the election discussions.

In February, she set up an exploratory committee as a precursor to what will likely be a campaign for governor. She is not likely to make an official announcement of her candidacy until possibly later this summer, said Land spokesman Matt Golden.

The committee is traveling to different areas of the state looking to hear from people about the key issues that will be addressed in the upcoming election, most notably the economy and unemployment, which has risen from 3.2 percent at the beginning of the decade to 12.9 percent as of April.

“We want to get input from business leaders and people in the auto industry,” Golden said.

He added that Granholm’s replacement will have to create as many jobs as possible in order to be considered successful.

Ballenger agreed that the most talked about issue across the state and nation will be the one that candidates must focus on the most.

“It makes no difference who the candidate is,” he said. “It’s going to come down to the economy.”

news@cm-life.com

The new form of I.D. was released in April to make travel across the border more convenient.

As of June 1, all U.S. and Canadian residents traveling across the border by land or water are now required to present proper documents in compliance with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The same regulations are applied for Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

To pass through the border an individual needs one of the following: a regular passport, passport card, traveler’s card, or an EDL.

In the first month since beginning the program, Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land reported 13,000 total requests for the license.

“They have been in very high demand,” said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for Land. “They are very handy and easy to use, and are offered for half the price of a passport.”

The enhanced license is $45 compared to $100 for a regular passport, and can be received several weeks earlier after applying.

A total of 16 Secretary of State branches across the state are offering the new license. Chesney said it is not being offered at the Mount Pleasant branch, so Central Michigan University students and surrounding residents would have to apply at the Lansing office, 5827 W. Saginaw Hwy., or the Bay County Plus office, 1007 Euclid Ave.

Applicants must present a valid Social Security number and U.S. citizenship in addition to their current driver’s license or state I.D. card.

Travelers have been anticipating the new EDL for a while, said Ronald Smith, chief of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the public affairs liaison for the Michigan area.

“A lot of people knew that the EDL was in the works and postponed applying for passports or the new pass card,” he said. “It appears that it has been a simple case of people deciding which of the available documents would work best for them.”

The EDL is installed with a Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID). CBP has been using the same technology for its trusted traveler programs for over five years. With the new chip installed in the card, border officers can obtain the traveler’s information before they even pull up to the booth.

“They will be able to address you by name right away,” Smith said. “Since the officer does not have to handle the traveler’s documents, it saves time during the inspection process.”

No personal information will be transmitted to border officials during the process, he added, and CBP is not anticipating a noticeable increase in people crossing into Canada due to the new EDL.

Michigan is one of four states to offer the license, along with Washington, New York and Vermont.

According to a press release from the Michigan Secretary of State EDLs are offered for voluntary purchase and are not required. Residents may continue to receive standard driver’s licenses and state identification cards if they choose.

news@cm-life.com

It is programs like philosophy and religion, creative writing and anthropology that are paths less traveled compared on a campus dominated by students who study subjects like business and health fitness.

But even the general knowledge gained from these programs still makes students marketable post graduation, said Guy Newland.

“Half of the employers who come to CMU want students with specific majors,” the chairman of philosophy and religion said. “The other half want people with good, broad skills – for those people, religion is just as good as anything else.”

Newland said the religion major provides marketable skills in thinking, reading and writing, and that studying it provides students with a better global perspective.

He added that there are several sensitivities about teaching religion in public schools, but that no one is taking it for granted at the university level.

“Religion is something that is extremely important all over the world,” he said. “It is a cultural phenomenon.”

The career outlooks for those who study anthropology is similar.

“A lot of our majors have the idea that (anthropology) will put them in a more competitive position for jobs that have similar skills,” said Charles Hastings, a temporary faculty member in anthropology. “We do have some that get a strong foundation of anthropology from CMU and use it in preparation for grad school or other jobs.”

Job possibilities specifically related to the field include museum careers, archaeology and forensic specialists, he said.

Other majors are very common, but also very competitive.

Tens of thousands of students graduate annually across the country with BFAs and MFAs in art, but many also will find difficulty in getting a job that relates specifically to their field.

“It’s highly competitive, so you’d better be ready for it,” said David Stairs, professor and art department chairman.

Students who do land a job in art may go into design, advertising, digital art, museums or teaching.

The department has graduated several successful artists, Stairs said.

Heather Domine is a CMU alumnus and currently a director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, and alumnus Mike Kaczmerick is an award-winning animator.

Despite its competiveness, Stairs sees art as a worthwhile degree to pursue.

“Every aspect of our lives is touched by it in some manner,” he said.

features@cm-life.com

Design work will continue being carried out for the Events Center, renovations to the Bovee University Center and a 50,000-square-foot addition to the Health Professions building. The renovating of Rose Arena will begin later in the summer, said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management.

A new glass-walled entrance, practice facility and bowl-shaped seating in Rose Arena are included for the proposed Events Center.

“Right now, there isn’t really a main entrance to the arena,” Lawrence said. “The new one will be much more noticeable.”

The new Events Center has a $21.5 million budget. The UC renovations has an estimated budget of $5 million, and the Health Professions building expansion is estimated to cost $15 million.

A $3.6 million set of renovations to Ronan Hall, resurfacing of the Moore Hall’s Bush Theatre stage and completion of landscaping around the new Education and Human Services Building are also planned for this summer. The four Washington Apartments on the west side of campus will be demolished for the construction of a new parking lot as well.

CMU has also contracted with a nationally-known expert to help make campus more pedestrian-friendly.

Dan Burden is the director of Walkable Communities and a nationally recognized authority with Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Inc., a community and environmental planning firm.

“Dan and his colleagues have extensive experience and expertise in establishing walkable communities,” said Linda Slater, director of plant engineering and planning.

Burden and one of his colleagues spent a day in Mount Pleasant in January, and Facilities Management personnel gave them a tour of campus and discussed possible improvements to make it more suitable for pedestrians.

They discussed the flow of traffic on city streets and how to redistribute it more efficiently. Other issues of concern included the numerous yield signs placed around campus.

“The motorists might see those signs but have no inclination to yield,” Burden said. “Oftentimes, they speed right past them.”

Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin, Inc. has been in existence for several decades, with the intent of creating and maintaining sustainable communities.

“We help towns become more of a place for people,” Burden said.

The University’s Master Plan includes the addition of bike lanes to West Campus Drive after it is repaved this summer.

The plan also supports improvements to pedestrian crossings at Ottawa and Ojibway courts off Washington Street and the installation of additional bike racks and benches around campus, Slater said.

Facilities Management has been in close contact with the city of Mount Pleasant and the Michigan Department of Transportation regarding non-motorized transportation.

Burden said his primary goal is to promote more affordable, healthy transportation and minimize travel by automobiles.

“If you build massive amounts of parking, people are more likely to drive,” he said. “When people choose to walk, they can develop an improved lifestyle.”

university@cm-life.com

Central Michigan University apartments will increase their rates by 2 percent.

An anticipated decline in on-campus residents is cited as a reason behind the increase.

The number of CMU students living in the residence halls is expected to go down from 6,077 at the beginning of the fall 2009 semester to an estimated 5,900 next year.

CMU plans to reorganize the residence halls’ cost structure next year in order to reduce spending.

“We’re going to apply some cost-cutting measures,” said David Burdette, vice president of finance and administrative services.

Among Michigan’s 13 public college and universities, CMU has the fourth highest room and board rates.

University President Michael Rao said the university has ensured that the residence halls are well-run and that it must continue to do so – even if rates must increase.

“There are a lot of people who want to ensure that our students are successful in our residence halls, and we have made an effort to continue increasing our staff to accommodate students on campus,” he said.

Trustee Stephanie Comai said students and their families face unprecedented pressures at the beginning of college, and it is imperative that CMU provide them with high-quality living space. Newer, premium rooms tend to be in high demand, while some rooms in older residence halls are left unfilled.

“We have some premium rooms, and those are charged premium rates, but we do have a range of choices for students,” she said. “If the student would prefer a premium room but is not able to afford it, we still have a place for them and we can assure it is high quality.”

For students admitted in fall 2008, room and board rates for a standard residence hall with 14 meals per week are $3,618 per semester. For premium halls, it is $4,161. For students admitted last fall, the rates are $3.834 and $4,409, respectively. The 3 percent increase will bring those rates up to $3,949 and $4,541.

In addition, tuition will increase for Prof Ed classes.

The cost of taking off-campus undergraduate classes will increase from $325 to $338 per credit hour. Graduate tuition rates will increase from $425 to $446. Merodie Hancock, vice president of Prof Ed, said CMU off-campus completion rates are high, and the rates are still comparable.

“(The University of) Phoenix is out there as everybody’s competition,” she said. “They have much higher tuition than we do.”

Other universities with higher off-campus tuition rates than CMU include Wayne State University and Davenport University. However, CMU still has higher rates than some institutions, such as Baker College, Hancock said.

university@cm-life.com