For students in RPL 440: Special Event Administration, it is a chance to show the world that Central Michigan University is committed to education while being environmentally conscious.

The Education and Human Services Building’s Sept. 18 open house is being planned by the class and instructor Lorie Tuma.

“I am excited for the open house,” St. Ionia junior Cariann Buxton said. “We’ve been working with administration and they’ve been surprised with how creative we are and how we can think outside of the box.”

Students plan to show visitors how the EHS Building is self-sustaining and safe for the environment. Some proposed ideas for the open house include tours led by secondary education students, handing out information on donors and posting video tours of the building online.

The class met with Mid Michigan Community College President Carol Churchill Tuesday afternoon to brainstorm ideas. She urged the students to be original and passionate and to avoid cliches.

“Make it an event,” she said. “Enhance Central’s reputation as a number one educational school. Make the open house a personal story and show where CMU will be going in the future.”

Churchill gave the class advice on what a successful open house could accomplish. She spoke of everything from thanking everyone involved with the construction of the EHS Building to making sure that people see that students’ lives will be enriched.

“She was really well spoken and gave good advice,” said Macomb senior David Grabowski.

Of the class in general, Grabowski learned a lot more than he thought he would.

“It’s lots of fun, but some people got frustrated. But I learned how to deal with different things, and different problems,” he said.

Tuma thinks the open house will be a success and that donors will be impressed with the building.

Churchill told students that planning for this event is much like the real world and said they will need these skills for the rest of their lives.

news@cm-life.com

Interninmichigan.com is hoping to put a stop to that.

“It’s an effort to try and keep Michigan graduates in Michigan,” said Britany Affolter-Caine, coordinator of Intern In Michigan. “A lot of the talent this state needs leaves right after graduation. They’re unaware of the jobs that are available.”

Affolter-Caine said more than 400 employers have posted jobs on the Web site, and more than 3,000 students have used the Web site since its launch in April. More than 15 positions were filled.

Intern In Michigan is funded by a $2.4 million grant over five years from Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development and the New Economy Initiative, a fund from a number of different community foundations in southeast Michigan. Intern in Michigan’s goal is to place 25,000 college students into the Michigan workforce in the next five years.

The Web site was launched through partnerships with the Detroit Regional Chamber, the Michigan Department of Labor and Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan.

St. Clair Shores junior Erika Richter said she is not sure if she will remain in Michigan once she graduates because it depends on the job market, something she isn’t optimistic about.

“The Web site is something I would absolutely try,” she said. “I was born and raised here. Coming from metro-Detroit, I saw first-hand the ripple effects of job loss. People need to see more of Michigan, it’s a beautiful state.”

While students see the Web site as a good effort to keep graduates in Michigan, some can see how it would have a reverse affect.

“Graduates are worried about accepting unpaid internships,” Richter said. “It deters graduates from accepting jobs in Michigan. There’s just not enough information. The general idea is to graduate in Michigan and leave.”

For students who do want to stay, they see the Web site as an easier way to find a career in a tough job market.

“I’m going to be a teacher and it’s a pain to find districts that need teachers,” said Melissa Schebil, a Novi sophomore. “I haven’t really done anything with the Web site yet but I intend to. Why not? It makes finding a job much easier than scrounging from place to place.”

news@cm-life.com

“Ninety is a landmark year, it’s a good time to celebrate,” said Ron Olson, chief of the Parks and Recreation Division for the state of Michigan. “Libraries around the state are participating in the Park and Read program to encourage people both to read and come out to the parks.”

The Park and Read program offers library visitors a free pass to any state park whenever they check out a book. The Chippewa River District Library, 301 S. University, is involved with the program, allowing Mount Pleasant residents the opportunity for free passes.

Similar programs exist in Georgia and Massachusetts and have had success, Olson said.

“We provide hammocks for people to read in the parks,” Olson said. “Hopefully, it will inspire people to come out and be involved in our other activities throughout the summer.”

The Department of Natural Resources has specific celebrations this summer that include storytelling, archery and fishing tournaments.

There are 98 state parks in Michigan with 76 events, Olson said. At least 10,000 people are expected to visit the state parks this summer, and the DNR is hoping to attract at least 100,000 people.

“I think the Park and Read program is a good opportunity to get people who don’t usually camp to come out and try it,” said Steve Redder, a Mount Pleasant resident and camping enthusiast. “We have to develop a nurturing for the next generation to camp and visiting state parks is a good beginning.”

Wilson Park in Harrison is participating in the Park and Read program and is hosting other activities such as tree planting for the public June 20 and a pancake breakfast for campers June 27.

“We’re trying to get the public to come out and go green,” said Linda Warren, administrative assistant at Wilson Park. “The parks are a cost effective alternative for families to go to the beach and enjoy nature.”

Events are posted on the DNR Web site, michigan.gov/dnr, and will be updated throughout the summer.

“There is a tremendous legacy that started with Interlochen State Park,” Olson said. “We hope to sustain the parks for another 90 years. People should be aware of the resources at their disposal.”

lifeline@cm-life.com

The source came from a discarded cigarette, said Officer Rich Clark, Mount Pleasant Fire Department.

“The fire was on the landscaping and someone pulled the alarm inside,” Clark said. “The first unit to show up on the scene used a dry chemical solution to put out the small fire.”

Lieutenant Steve Martin happened to be near Grawn Hall when the fire alarm was pulled.

The fire was small, he said, and there was no trouble putting it out.

No one was injured during the fire, though students were evacuated from Grawn Hall while firefighters disabled the fire alarm.

Jacolby Hardiman, a Wisconsin junior, said he was in a class that had a window view to the fire.

“I smelled something smoking and so did the teacher,” Hardiman said. “I thought my computer was catching on fire. Someone pulled the fire alarm and everyone left the building.”

Despite the dry air and rising temperatures, fires like this are not common, said Sgt. Rick Beltinck.

“Fires like these really don’t happen often. But, mulch is dry and people need to be careful where the discard their ignition sources,” Beltinck said.

news@cm-life.com

This viral outbreak goes beyond humanitarian or political reasoning – it threatens the very survival of all Americans.

The swine flu is nothing to sneeze at. Mexico has been in a state of emergency since the first breakout last month, forcing the president to shut down all public schools until further notice.

According to an Associated Press article, more than one thousand people have contracted the disease and it has caused more than a hundred deaths.

Fear of a worldwide pandemic is growing daily as countries are gathering resources to combat the deadly virus. With the flu showing up in multiple areas of a vastly mobile world, it would be ignorant to lay the blame solely upon Mexico.

But Mexico is certainly facing the brunt of it, and there’s no denying its severity toward the U.S.

Even though the flu has arrived seemingly out of nowhere, it is another prime example of the American mentality of fixing problems when they arise rather than preventing them. Someone should have been there shortly after the first outbreak, helping to contain the problem.

I would never expect America to turn around Mexico – or any other county, for that matter. It is not our responsibility to do so. That said, it should not deter us from being aware of the health of foreign countries.

Disease and sickness know neither social class nor country boundaries. An outbreak of any kind is a reflection of our own ignorance about what’s happening beyond our borders.

I constantly hear people talking about how America needs to keep its nose out of other countries, especially when we’re facing so many problems of our own.

To a certain extent they’re right, as there are millions of Americans in need of help. But we cannot simply tighten security at our own borders and fold in on ourselves.

America is far too dependent on the global economy. Besides, hiding behind tall fences does not keep foreign problems out of our country.

President Barack Obama has assured Americans that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is ready for a nationwide outbreak. Maybe we are, maybe we’re not.

What I am assured of is that our state of thought on global health and how we interact with other countries needs to change. Hopefully, Obama’s recent flight around the world will be the first step in preventing the next outbreak.

The University of Michigan is one such school, contemplating making future students pay the difference that the state can no longer pay. The idea of working-class kids getting a world-renowned education is continuously fading away, and this is just another punch to the dream.

How much would privatizing the school affect things?

According to a Time article published yesterday, a student pays roughly $11 thousand to attend U-M versus paying $33 thousand or higher at private colleges such as Hope or Kalamazoo.

The price to get an education at a private school is the same price out-of-state students pay to attend U-M.

College is already too expensive. Everyday I hear from faculty members that they are far too underpaid.

Students play the guessing game every semester, wondering if the ridiculous number of loans they took out are enough for this semester’s tuition.

Recent graduates are having a hard time finding jobs and it doesn’t look like it will improve any time soon.

If college is so important, why does it seem like no one’s winning? And where is this mountain of money going that students keep borrowing?

The irony in all of this is that it’s the University of Michigan. Will it continue to be Michigan’s premier University if Michigan’s general population cannot afford to attend it?

I can understand the appeal to privatizing a school. But public universities, like U-M, are respected for being Ivy League-quality schools that someone could in theory pay for on their own. I’m sure the school will continue to provide scholarships to a lucky few, but why bother going when it will take the rest of your life to pay it back?

The biggest concern I have with major universities going private is the prospect that other universities will soon follow suit. It may be a stretch to think of Central Michigan University as a private school, but why not?

We’re facing financial issues of our own and privatizing education would help out immensely. And if anyone complained, we could just point to all the other universities who privatized before us.

U-M and any other public university will hopefully reconsider before going private. I plea for them to consider the future students who could have changed the world with such a prestigious education but lack the necessary funds.

But it simply seems the affordable college is becoming more and more elusive.

- George Orwell, “1984.”

One of the most prevalent things anyone ever said came from me complaining about having to read “1984.”

“But it’s boring,” I remember wailing.

“Yes, but don’t you realize that we’re living in ’1984′?”

Those words have yet to escape my mind, told to me right before social networks like Facebook and Myspace were established. Before the Internet began to feed non-existent egos, you had to build rapport with another human being in order to get on a deep emotional level with them. This has been replaced by a dialogue box that anyone can see and misinterpret.

The Internet, in the most ironic of ways, is destroying communication between human beings. How many times did you refuse to leave the sanctity of your apartment or residence hall room just because someone was online?

It happens too often to the point where we become socially awkward around other people. People we have never seen in person and perhaps never will are suddenly on our minds all the time while people in our lives become transparent and nearly nonexistent.

More alarming is the destruction of our own language. As the news industry become more “blogger-friendly,” attention is being paid to what everyone thinks of an article rather than the news itself. This would be fine if the general public could still spell and had at least a basic knowledge of English grammar.

Someone right now is reading this and literally thinking, “Srsly? LOL! Plz!” Apparently America is converting to acronyms before establishing the metric system.

I used to think “1984″ was terrifying because the government is potentially watching us on the other side of the screen, tapping into our phones and listening to our conversations. But as the Internet continues to flourish and become more individual, I’m beginning to realize the biggest threat is ourselves.

Each word in the English language represents not only an idea but a tone, an attitude, a viewpoint. The more varied your diction is, the more effective you become at communicating your ideas. What happens when we as a society refuse to use certain words and destroy our own grammar? Essentially, we destroy ideas. We therefore lack the ability to solve problems – or at the very least, make progress.

The worst part of all of this is that I’m a hypocrite and just as guilty as anyone else. I find myself glued to my computer constantly without any real reason. But hopefully, I can change all that. The weather’s starting to get nicer. People are getting out more. I implore all of you to become more involved with the people around you, too.

Oh wait. BRB. I gotta go update my Twitter. And wait. I haven’t checked my Facebook in the last 15 minutes. TTYL.

There were no superstars the announcers kept praising. The ridiculous showmanship after a 3-point shot was absent. Each team was surprisingly respectful of one another, despite the immense pressure to win.

Colleges, it would seem, have far more respect for sports than professional athletes do. It’s quite the juxtaposition – people who are notorious for constantly being drunk and having little respect for society are civil while older, overpaid adults continue to act like oversized brats.

In an age where sports have become more theater than competition, colleges have kept their athletes in check, making sure they act like professionals. There are no fat paychecks, just scholarships and the chance to earn a degree. In a sense, college is the final place where sports are more about competitiveness instead of a paycheck.

How many times have you read about Kobe Bryant outside of the sports section, accused of beating his wife or making a scene in a bar? Or that Barry Bonds cheated his way to reach the most home runs in a single career, pumping himself full of steroids?

Each of these respective athletes may have enormous talent, but who cares? A good athlete without character is like a politician who can’t articulate words – annoying and altogether something you don’t want to be associated with.

I quit watching my favorite teams by the time I reached high school because of how absurd each sport had become. By then Barry Sanders had left the NFL, taking humility in all of football with him. The NHL had a lockout that was driven more by money than sportsmanship. A bench warmer in any sport made a cool million dollars without ever having to play a single game in his career. Athletes seemed more like television stars with the amount of endorsements they had, bombarding people with advertisements.

It wasn’t until I came to CMU and started watching college sports that I realized that sportsmanship still does exist, despite how miniscule it is. Don’t believe me? Take a look around at our own college. I have yet to see any of our athletes act unprofessionally during a game. I haven’t seen Dan LeFevour break into a dance after winning a game and I doubt I ever will. Instead of going to local bars and starting fights, college athletes participate in activities like Jock Rock and do some good for the community.

I find it hard to believe that so many professional athletes got to where they are today from playing college sports. If their coaches could see them now, I doubt they would be impressed that they trained the kid who has his face on eight different kinds of Gatorade.

We have some undeniably talented athletes at CMU who have the ability to become professionals. Hopefully, they will hold onto the humility they’ve had all through college.

I might actually be able to stomach watching professional sports once again.

The first rule: firing former GM chief executive Rick Wagoner. The second rule: the United Auto Workers take drastic cuts to wages and health benefits.So far, GM seems to be playing along.

And, while I applaud our president for taking drastic and necessary steps, I wonder if it’s enough to save GM. What he’s doing with GM is something he should have done with AIG: firing the management that ran the company into the ground instead of supplying them with an unseen amount of money.

It was disgusting to watch Wagoner beg for a bailout at Capitol Hill when he was the No. 1 suspect for GM’s financial problems.

But will restructuring the company be enough? Will GM ever become that colossal economic force that it once was?

In Wagoner’s place is Fritz Henderson, a man who was been working with GM for the last 25 years.

Although it’s been less than a week since Henderson has been given the big boy’s chair, he’s already talking about major shifts and risks to keep the company afloat. He seems eager and vigorously believes that GM will be on top again one day.

The question still pesters on – is it enough? Will the shifting from one corporate leader to another change the company completely? Will forcing workers to take cuts that should have been made years ago dig GM out of this ever-growing pitfall? The future for GM honestly doesn’t look much brighter than its current status.

Despite the aggressive actions of the president and his administration, GM still might have to announce bankruptcy.

More plants may have to be closed so that profits can be turned over. There is no clear answer for escaping this mess.

I don’t always agree with all of Obama’s actions, but I have to admire him for trying to change things.

For too long, corporate leaders haven’t been taking responsibility for their failures, expecting the government to give them a handout.

For too long, the UAW has been making outrageous demands with little to stand upon.

What amazes me most about Obama’s dealing with GM is that he’s not treating the auto industry like Wall Street.

He’s seen the mess that the Wall Street bailout has become and isn’t willing to make that mistake twice. And although it seems like Washington was never going to come around, officials are finally coming through with full force. This is the last chance that GM has before fading away into American history.

I’m still not sure whether this is enough or whether GM will ever recover.

But I do see that appropriate actions are happening and breathe a little easier knowing that money isn’t the only solution that the government has this time.

Turn on the television, click away on the Internet or open up a newspaper, and you’ll be bombarded with prospects of the new apocalypse. Another Wall Street giant goes belly up and the next depression is looming over us. A new war in the Middle East breaks out, paving the way for World War III. Unemployment is soaring while houses are constantly being foreclosed.

Really? The state of the world is that bad? At a time when information flows so readily and there are smart, ambitious young people determined to make a difference? Apparently the end has already come and gone but I was too ignorant to acknowledge it.

Looking through one of my roommate’s textbooks, I came across a poll that listed professionals that the public trusted the least. Journalists were second on the list, beaten only by lawyers. I started to think of how absurd the statistics were: that no one trusts those who are trained to gather information and tell the rest of the world.

Then I turned on the television and was reminded why the current mindset toward journalism and the media exists. There’s hardly anything positive. I’m sick of hearing about Wall Street executives and how their downfall will destroy my life. Or about the holy wars in the Middle East that no one seems to have a solution for. Or that car companies are begging Congress for money after years of shipping jobs overseas.

While all these problems are certainly worth our attention, I doubt that any of them are a direct threat to our survival. These problems are so blown out of proportion, having the tag line, “This is it! This is the downfall of planet Earth!” Please.

But when the media portrays each new story as if it may be the last, it shakes the morale of the citizens and has them believing in the absurd. Suddenly, everyone is expecting the end now instead of living their lives.

The media needs to start reporting on the people who deserve to be praised and recognized. It needs to be diversified and rebuild its reputation as something positive, not as the bearer of bad news. Instead of the latest pop star destroying his or her life with drugs, people doing volunteer work and trying to make the world a better place should be dominating the front page.

I know the news isn’t supposed to be pretty. Everyone wants to know about awful things and rightly so. But information needs to be presented in a more objective way, in a more fair and just way. The media should be presenting itself in a more journalistic way, like it used to do.

Of course, I could be all wrong and tomorrow really could be the end for us all. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?