This is the second year the group has raised awareness about the
disease in honor of Stephanie Goss, a former OBU member who died from
the disease in 2004.

“She really wanted everyone to understand what Lupus was,” said
Flint senior Shaunette Massey.

Massey, OBU’s Student Government Association representative, spoke
Wednesday night at the group’s Lupus Awareness program.

“Before doing research, I always thought that Lupus was for old
people,” she said. “I was very shocked.”

Lupus affects the immune system, turning the body against itself. It
strikes mostly African-American women of childbearing age.

“Since the immune system is designed to protect, it takes your own
body cells and recognizes them as a foreign agent,” Massey said.
“(Education is) very important because we’re at that level where we
could develop this disease at any time.”

OBU treasurer and Saginaw senior Dana Pruitt said the group hopes to
raise $100 to give to the Lupus Alliance, through donations and the
money charged at Thursday’s OBU’s potluck dinner and game night.

Farmington Hills freshman Christina Stallings said she enjoyed
attending the dinner.

“I wanted to share in this minority experience,” she said. “I just
like the fact that all of us are getting together, not in trouble, just
spending time with each other and getting to know one another.”

Belleville senior and OBU president Lakishia Smith said the group
plans to volunteer today at Tendercare Mount Pleasant, 1524 Portabella
Trail. OBU also is sponsoring Icebreaker 2006, what she called “the
first party of the semester.”

“It’s just a way to start the semester off right, listen to some
good music and dance,” Smith said.

Icebreaker 2006 starts at 11 p.m. Saturday at the Student Activity
Center. Admission is $5, with an inflation in price after midnight.
While OBU was initially formed for black unity, Smith said everyone is
invited.

“It has evolved into an organization that promotes unity amongst all
CMU students,” she said.

Many students are hitting the gym in an effort to maintain resolutions
to get fit or lose weight.

But for women who need an extra kick, Curves is offering a program
to intensify the workout plan it already provides.

“(Curves) came up with the Advanced Workout because people have been
with Curves for several years and they needed to take it up to the next
level,” Mount Pleasant Curves owner Connie Ross said.

Curves provides cardiovascular and strength training by alternating
hydraulics machines with recovery jogging pads. The Advanced Workout
strengthens the original program by personalizing it.

“It’s like having a personal trainer,” Ross said. “I do a
one-on-one. We count repetitions and then I do an individualized
workout.”

Ross takes members’ heart rate many times throughout the one-on-one,
which helps her determine how many repetitions should be done on each
machine. The members then workout to maintain an ideal heart rate.

“Heart rate is monitored throughout the workout and should be 80
percent. Normally it’s in the 60 to 70 range,” Curves employee Krista
Jacobson said.

Workout intensity will vary depending on each woman’s drive to work
harder.

“You know your body’s limits,” Jacobson said. “You can get your
heart rate up so easily. If you plateau, we add more reps. It’s your
decision.”

Curves International and researchers at Baylor University teamed up
for a five-year study to create the Advanced Workout.

It is free to Curves members who are in good health, highly
motivated and have been with Curves for at least three months.

Ross said 60 Curves members, including 12 CMU students, have started
the Advanced Workout since it was introduced in November, but she
expects more will begin within the next few weeks.

“Many wanted to wait until they got back from the holidays,” Ross
said. “It’s very exciting because a lot of members are really feeling
the difference. Everyone is really benefiting from this.”

Essexville graduate student Emily Markstrom enjoys the advantages of
the Advanced Workout, and has lost more than 50 pounds since starting
at Curves a year ago.

“I always thought I got a good workout, but when I did this workout
I realized that I wasn’t using the machines to their ability,”
Markstrom said. “I could truly feel I was getting a better workout. I
felt a difference. When I used to leave after my workouts I felt okay,
but now I can tell I’ve done something beneficial.”

Markstrom said she felt she needed a boost in her routine, and the
Advanced Workout helped.

“I had been a member here for a while and had done really well,” she
said. “I sort of plateaued, and I needed something to jump-start me
again. I would just like to continue to tone and firm and feel
comfortable with myself.”

The State Court of Appeals has until Jan. 20 to approve the
finalized language – proposed by State Elections Director Chris Thomas
– for the ballot.

The court has failed to certify petitions to place the ban on the
ballot on two other occasions, according to a Jan. 7 article
published in The Detroit News.

If the proposal goes through, voters will decide whether or not to
eradicate affirmative action in public institutions.

The ban would affect the racial, socioeconomic and gender climate at
CMU, said Affirmative Action Officer Phyllis Powell.

“With (the ban, we’ll see) a drastic reduction in the number of
minorities in the school systems,” she said.

Powell also said CMU currently needs to recruit minorities and women
in order to promote a globally diverse campus.

“We try to bring people of diverse backgrounds to campus so you’re
learning about as much as you can about others, their cultures, their
beliefs,” she said. “We want our students to be successful when they
leave us.”

Powell said an end to affirmative action also would lead to a
decline in faculty of color.

“There will be no opportunity for us to use affirmative action
diversity to provide models and mentors for students of color. The
simple process of posting will be disadvantageous to all people,” she
said.

In its current phrasing, the ban is likely to pass, said James Hill,
director of the Honors Program and political science professor.

However, Hill said the ban would be detrimental to Michigan.

“On the surface, it appears to be a reasonable proposal,” he said.
“It’s not clear that its logical outcome would be dismantling a lot of
affirmative action programs. I think we’d probably take a step backward
in our efforts to diversify the CMU campus.”

That’s not a comforting number considering the upcoming holidays.

The NHTSA study reveals nearly 45 percent of all fatal crashes
between Christmas and New Year’s Day occur when at least one driver is
impaired. Thirty percent of fatalities are alcohol-related throughout
the rest of the month.

In an effort to curb the dangers of drunken driving, December is
designated National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month.

The CMU Police Department is trying to do the same, as it received a
state grant for extra patrols from Dec. 20 to Jan. 2.

“There is a concentrated effort for drunk driving enforcement, and
it’s state-wide,” said CMU Det. Sgt. Jeff Pickler. “Between all the
county agencies, we go out together and we concentrate our efforts.”

Pickler said CMU’s Police Department will share the grant with
Isabella County Police, Michigan State Police of Mount Pleasant and
Saginaw-Chippewa Tribal Police departments.

CMU Police’s last focus period was from Aug. 18 to Sept. 5, during
Labor Day and Welcome Weekend. In that time, 126 vehicles were stopped
and eight people were cited for drunken driving violations.

Michigan’s limit for blood alcohol content is .08. First-time
drunken drivers face up to 93 days in jail, $500 in fines, 360 hours of
community service or a combination of all three. Those convicted of
drunken driving also could get six points on their driver’s license and
get their license suspended for six months, according to the Michigan
Secretary of State.

Pickler said December holidays traditionally are the most dangerous
for driving because they provide many opportunities for people to be
under the influence of alcohol.

“I think traditionally there’s a large number of holiday
celebrations where alcohol is available, and people consume it,” he
said. “As police, we’ve been asked that if you consume alcoholic
beverages that you not drive a car, and also that you not let a friend
drive drunk.”

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is trying to diminish dangers on the
road during the holiday season by supplying red ribbons for its “Tie
One on for Safety” campaign. People can tie them onto their cars to
pledge they will not drink and drive, said Homer Smith, the executive
director for MADD of Michigan.

“You want (people) to arrive home safe, but there’s also the
innocent person on the roadway who hasn’t had anything to drink. We
don’t want them to become a victim either,” he said.

Smith also said MADD will host a news conference Tuesday at 11 a.m.
at the state capitol in Lansing to remind people not to drink and drive.

Safety is the number one priority of both organizations.

“We want people to enjoy the holidays, but we don’t want them
driving under the influence,” Pickler said. “Our main concern is
people. We want to make the roads safer.”

Smith said MADD is working to promote holiday safety on the road as
well, and is reminding people to protect themselves.

“The best defense against an impaired driver is wearing your

Gov. Jennifer Granholm has a 57 percent positive rating from
Michigan voters.

Republican Dick DeVos, Granholm’s likely challenger in the 2006
gubernatorial race, is trailing by 23 points, according to a poll
released Tuesday by Lansing-based marketing firm EPIC/MRA.

Polls are not always indicative of the public’s final vote, however.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick only had a 14 percent approval rating
when he was re-elected recently, The Detroit News reported.

Many students are concerned with the direction Michigan’s government
is headed in the next year. Anxiety over education funding is a top
priority, but state economics weigh on many students’ minds.

Temperance freshman Seth Tompkins is concerned about Michigan’s
budget.

“I think that’s the most important issue. Economic development is
important to me,” he said. “How are we going to change our economy over
to one that’s less dependent on industry? I think the economic future
of the state lies in a service-based economy.”

Columbus senior Jenna Adamson is worried about money for public
education.

“I hope Dick (DeVos) gets it because Jennifer Granholm cuts too much
funding from education,” she said.

Mendon sophomore Jarrett Cupp approves Granholm’s work in office,
but said funding for higher education should be a main concern.

“I think Granholm is doing a pretty good job with the mess that
Engler left,” he said. “I’m a college student and tuition is starting
to rise more and more each year, and I’m getting poorer and poorer each
year.”

Royal Oak sophomore Kim Wagner had personal contact with Granholm
while working at her estate on Mackinac Island over the summer.

Wagner was selected to serve in an elite group of Girl Scouts to be
on Granholm’s Honor Guard, which gave tours of the governor’s mansion
and performed other jobs around the island.

“(Granholm) did a good job relating with the scouts,” Wagner said.
“I don’t really follow politics, but she’s a good person.”

Wagner’s sentiments are common. Many students interviewed haven’t
followed the race for governor very closely.

“Ted Nugent’s not running?” Dimondale sophomore Kyle Demars said.
“I’d have voted for the Nuge.”

The Massachusetts sophomore won the fifth annual Miss Black and Gold
Scholarship Pageant hosted by the Alpha Sigma Alpha Fraternity.

Nine CMU students competed for the title. They were judged in academics, leadership, community service, beauty and talent.

“I’m very happy but shocked,” Davis said. “Everybody was very talented. Anybody could have taken it.”

The contestants also competed for first and second runner-up, Miss
Congeniality and Miss Talents. The pageant, comprised of a dance
routine, talent competition, question and answer and modeling of
business, casual, swim and formal wear.

Flint senior Isaiah Oliver, president of Alpha Sigma Alpha, said he
was pleased with the event, which took more than a month of planning.
About 250 attended the event in the Bovee University Center Auditorium.

“It was a success,” he said. “It gives us a chance to give back. All the contestant were really happy.”

Davis won a $100 scholarship and $100 to the charity of her choice.
She also takes another step closer to the national Miss Black and Gold
competition.

“Our winner here moves on to compete in districts in November and then to regionals and nationals,” Oliver said.

The pageant was an enjoyable event for all the participants.

“I feel very good,” said Chennele Simpkins, Detroit sophomore and
Miss Congeniality. “It was something different for me because I’ve
never done a pageant before. I did it for the experience and meeting
new people.”

Davis said she thought the event was a bonding experience.

“I got to know eight beautiful, positive black women,” she said.

Some attendees socialized during the event.

Mekeia McGuire, Detroit senior, attended the pageant for the second year in a row.

“It’s important because it’s an opportunity for everyone to get together,” she said. “It helps to meet your fellow students.”