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(04/05/04 4:00am)
Senior Kristy Reed scored three goals for the field hockey team this weekend
as it posted a 1-3 record in spring league competition.
Central beat Miami 2-1 before falling to Ohio State 5-3 Saturday.
Reed and sophomore Erica Takach accounted for the goals against the RedHawks.
Reed, Takach and freshman Alicia Balanesi scored against OSU.
“Our offense played well this weekend and our defense improved with every game,” said coach Cristy Freese.
The Chippewas lost to Michigan State 5-3 and lost to Michigan 3-0. Reed,
sophomore Alisa Folk and junior Amy Kauffman scored for Central against MSU.
“MSU and Michigan are both NCAA tournament teams,” Freese said. “MSU has
a very good offense and Michigan is probably the strongest defensive team
we will play.”
Freshman goalkeeper Danielle Frank saw a lot of action in the goal this
weekend and played well against top competition, Freese said.
Freese was pleased with the team’s play, but said there is still much to improve.
“Our communication and spacing on defense is something we really need to work on,” she said.
(04/05/04 4:00am)
There should have been no shock last week when CMU administrators dismissed the Faculty Association’s contract proposal.
The FA wasn’t shocked. Phil Squattrito, membership officer of the association,
said he wasn’t surprised that university officials rejected it.
The problem with the proposal was evident from the onset. The FA proposed
to defer the faculty’s salary increase of 4 percent if the administration
agreed to give nothing less than 6 percent in the following two years. It
doesn’t take an economics professor who makes more than $100,000 a year to
realize this plan won’t really save the university money.
So why did the FA move ahead with the proposal anyway?
The association sees the budget problems of the state and university as
being short-term. “Everyone hopes the state economy will turn around and
the funding from state will increase rather than decrease,” Squattrito said.
But no economists are saying the state’s fiscal problems will end soon.
The road to economic recovery has been slow. As the often-quoted saying goes,
when the national economy catches a cold, Michigan catches pneumonia.
The association can hope all it wants for an economic turnaround in Michigan,
but even if state funding to CMU increases, the university still has big-money
issues to deal with in the future. Foremost among them is an $18.5 million
project to build the Satellite Energy Facility, which is needed before the
university can construct any new buildings on campus. And the university
could wind up spending at least $1.8 million on new turf in Kelly/Shorts
Stadium for football and a new facility for field hockey.
What does the failed proposal say about FA leaders and membership? For
one thing, it’s not going to help the association’s cause when bargaining
for a new contract begins.
The FA blew an opportunity to appear as if it really was interested in
helping to solve the university’s budget shortfall of more than $7 million
by offering up a substantial sacrifice. Instead, the association came across
as selfish and money-hungry. Right now, the FA should be talking about saving
faculty positions — not salary increases.
Perhaps the association was playing hardball with administrators, asking
for more money that it knows faculty members will receive in an attempt to
gain the upper hand during bargaining. But it won’t work. Administrators
already see through this tactic.
After the FA took political heat earlier this semester for its call for
increasing tuition by 30 percent and removing fees, one would think the association’s
leadership would become more cautious in its fiscal decision-making.
Do these two budget proposals really reflect the priorities of the majority of the FA’s membership?
(04/02/04 5:00am)
Coach Cristy Freese will have a chance to see what strides the field hockey team are making in the offseason.
Central plays Miami and Ohio State Saturday and Michigan and Michigan State Sunday in spring league competition.
“There is less pressure in the spring,” said freshman Cortney Blanchard.
“We focus more on playing as a team, but it is still a game and we have to
play hard.”
After practicing since February in the Indoor Athletic Complex, the team will get a chance to play outdoors.
“It allows us to see how certain individuals play at their positions,”
Freese said. “We have moved some people and we can see how the units are
playing together.”
Freshman Alicia Balanesi will start at center-midfielder and junior Michelle Fogle has moved to center back.
Central returns eight starters from last year’s team.
Freese said junior Stasia Burroughs is very talented at playing left back.
Freese said that playing in the spring league is important for her team.
“This is where the team will make the biggest strides,” Freese said.
“These are the players that we are going with, and they are the players that
are going to be out there when we start the regular season.”
Central, Miami, Ohio State, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio University participate in the spring league.
(04/02/04 5:00am)
Of course a brand new field hockey facility would be wonderful! But given
the university’s budget crisis, we should be more creative.
How about building just the playing surface itself first and use temporary
bleachers and whatever else is absolutely necessary to give the team a home
field to play on? The rest of the facility could be completed in stages during
the coming years, as funds become available. This would also allow time for
an extended fund raising effort.
(03/31/04 5:00am)
White Lake sophomore Derrick Welsbacher skipped his political science class
to attend Monday’s budget forum in the Bovee University Center Auditorium.
(03/31/04 5:00am)
Advocates of diversity are fighting for its existence at CMU.
(03/31/04 5:00am)
So the Board of Trustees knew in February that the approval of the new
turf in Kelly/Shorts Stadium would displace the field hockey team.
This changes little and the problem remains. And there are still a few questions about the turf deal that we’d like to raise.
The dilemma CMU faces is not new. Athletics Director Herb Deromedi said
he knew back in 2002 that if the university planned to go with FieldTurf
for football, NCAA officials wouldn’t accept the field for field hockey.
Deromedi and the board had two years to devise a definite plan for field
hockey but decided to wait until now to explore options (including the asinine
suggestion of having the team on the road for 12 consecutive weeks). Does
anyone else see a problem with this?
Truth be told, the only viable option for the team now is a new field
hockey facility. However, last semester when Deromedi was pushing for his
one-time athletics fee for incoming freshmen and transfer students, the athletics
director did not make it a point to inform the public of the potential need
for a new field hockey facility. Isn’t this something people should have
heard about?
Then there’s the issue of the price tag for the facility — $800,000 or
more. Board chairman Jim Fabiano said trustees didn’t realize the cost would
be anywhere near that range. “We were all taken back by that,” he said. University
President Michael Rao said he was “in a bit of a state of shock” over the
field hockey problem.
One of the options trustees are considering to pay for the facility is
the campus improvement fee fund that would grow to more than $4 million by
June. In the meantime, members of the Student Government Association are
taking input from students on what to do with the fund.
We’re not convinced, however, that using the fund for a new field hockey
facility would be the best use of the money. While we believe the team should
have its own place to play on CMU’s campus, we don’t feel that the fund —
which all students have paid into for years — would serve the campus best
by subsidizing a narrowly defined interest such as field hockey. When the
board decides to spend the money, it should go toward something that would
benefit the greatest number of students.
Instead of placing an additional fee on students’ backs, the athletics
department officials should raise the money for the new field hockey facility
themselves. If donations to the university have increased by 15 percent in
the last five years, then the athletics department should have no problem
making its fund-raising pitch for field hockey. A new events center should
be put on hold. CMU has gone this long without it.
Before trustees iron out the best course of action to remedy the field-less
field hockey team’s troubles, we would like to see more public discussion
on the issue — not closed-door bargaining.
(03/29/04 5:00am)
Athletics Director Herb Deromedi will be inducted into the Michigan Sports
Hall of Fame following 37 years of dedication to Central Michigan University
and its athletic programs.
Deromedi will be inducted as a coach Tuesday during a ceremony at the Renaissance Center Marriott in Detroit.
“It’s just an incredible honor, and I’m humbled to be selected,” Deromedi said.
Deromedi will be amongst 10 others inductees, which include the likes
of Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson, Detroit Red Wings and Tigers owner
Mike Illitch and former Detroit Lions linebacker Chris Spielman.
It is the fact that Deromedi will go in as a coach and not an administrator that pleases him most.
“I took a great deal of pride in coaching, and I truly loved every moment of being a football coach,” he said.
In 1967, Deromedi came to CMU as a defensive assistant under head coach Roy Kramer.
“My initial intent was to have the opportunity to work with a coach who
I admired and wanted to learn from,” Deromedi said. “I wanted to spend time
learning and then move on.”
He was the defensive coordinator of CMU’s 1974 Division II National Championship team and became the head coach in 1978.
Deromedi compiled a record of 110-55-10 in 16 seasons and won three conference
championships. He is also the winningest coach in MAC history.
Although he was tempted with various offers, Deromedi could not leave.
“I had the opportunity as a head coach to work at schools that were larger
and that offered more money,” Deromedi said. “I felt that I had to stay because
there was more to accomplish. Each time I sat back and weighed what I wanted
to do, and I made the decision to stay at CMU, and I have never regretted
it.”
Deromedi was named athletics director after leaving the football program.
“Some of the things I wanted to accomplish, I felt I wouldn’t have the
chance to do as a football coach,” Deromedi said. “It was a tough decision
to make because I wasn’t really ready to get out of coaching.”
Field hockey coach Cristy Freese acknowledged Deromedi’s contribution to CMU.
“I worked with Herb as a colleague when I first got here, and I think
he has done a great job here,” Freese said. “He has taken this university
in a great direction in terms of our athletic programs.”
Freese said Deromedi is always available to coaches.
“The thing about Herb is that he is a very active athletics director,”
she said. “He is a very hard worker, and most importantly, he is very accessible
for coaches to talk to.”
Freese also said that CMU has had a history of exceptional ADs.
“I think the really great thing about CMU is its history of great athletics
directors,” Freese said. “Herb had to step into big shoes, and the thing
about him that is really great is that he is very well-known across the country.”
The induction ceremony begins with a reception at 6 p.m. and a dinner
at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $150 for adults and $75 for people 16-years-old
and younger.
(03/29/04 5:00am)
The Board of Trustees knew when it voted to replace the turf in Kelly/Shorts
Stadium it would displace the women’s field hockey team, and it still doesn’t
have a definite plan to remedy the problem.
On Feb. 23, at the board’s subcommittee meeting for facilities, University
President Michael Rao, and trustees Gail Torreano, Melanie Reinhold Foster
and Roger Kesseler were informed by facilities and athletics officials that
a proposed field hockey facility west of Lyle Bennett track would cost $800,000.
“We didn’t realize that the cost would be anywhere near that,” Trustee
chairman Jim Fabiano said last Thursday. “We were all taken back by that.”
Despite their initial concerns, the board allocated $975,000 for the replacement
of the football field’s turf at their March 4 meeting.
According to Athletics Director Herb Deromedi, the bids for a new field hockey facility went out on Feb. 13.
A questions and clarification period was opened up to potential contractors
on Feb. 19. Officials were informed at that time that a new field could cost
upwards of $800,000, Deromedi said. Final bids were not received until Feb.
26.
The events surrounding the displacement of the field hockey team has led
Student Government Association Senator Rob Harrison to introduce two resolutions
on the floor — the Gender Athletic Equity Act and the Fair Play Act, which
will be voted upon in the Senate today.
The North Carolina senior demands that the board act on this matter as soon as possible.
“We don’t have time to (BS), we have a team that will be displaced,” Harrison said.
Deromedi said there are other less desirable options besides building a new field hockey complex by next semester.
The board suggested that the team could play its home games at Alma College
or Michigan State University or play on the turf bay in the Indoor Athletic
Complex, Deromedi said.
Utilizing the IAC, which was designed for practice purposes only, would
leave only a small amount of sideline space, which could be deemed unsafe,
Deromedi said.
The team could also play all games on the road, but that solution is still problematic, he said.
Rao has said that the university could not shoulder the price tag for
a new field hockey facility in the $7.6 million budget deficit.
Harrison has been lobbying the trustees to pay for the new field out of
the Campus Improvement Fee, which students have been paying $37.50 per semester
during the past four years. Officials estimate the fund will reach $4 million
by June.
It can only be utilized for campus improvements, said SGA President Sean T. Johnston.
The idea was discussed at a meeting last Thursday between Foster, Residence
Hall Association President Nick Marinello, Finance and Administrative Services
Vice President George Ross and Interim Associate Vice President for Facilities
Management Stephen Lawrence, said Johnston, who also attended the meeting.
Johnston said he and Marinello are taking student input on the issue and
Foster will present a report from the board’s facilities subcommittee at
the April 22 meeting.
Harrison said waiting until the next meeting is unacceptable and allows
the board and administration to talk behind closed doors — shunning the student
body from the debate.
“This is our money, not Jim Fabiano’s and the board of trustees,” Harrison said.
Trustees and administration officials said they’ve known all along that
if the university chose the FieldTurf brand of playing surfaces, it would
be incompatible with NCAA approved field hockey surfaces.
“The board understood that they were voting on a football turf only (field)
and that it would not be adaptable to field hockey,” said Mike Silverthorn,
executive director of news services.
(03/24/04 5:00am)
About 40 people raised their hands Tuesday when Bay City senior Dan Gaken
asked, “How many of you came out to support the Leadership Institute?”
The supporters made up half of the crowd that filled the Bovee University
Center Lake Huron room during an open forum hosted by University President
Michael Rao.
Leadership Institute advocates spoke at length about keeping the organization intact.
Rao said the student forum, which was the only one this semester, was easily the best-attended of the year.
He said he received the first round of budget-cut recommendations Tuesday
and fielded many questions about his views on the importance of the Institute,
Honors College and various academic programs.
“I’m not interested in seeing (the Leadership Institute) go away,” Rao
said. “I find our leadership scholars are among the most engaged and interested
students we have.”
Budget cuts and tuition were foremost on many minds. Rao addressed faculty
and class cuts, saying whatever was in the fall class schedule would stay
there and personnel cuts would possibly not be announced until early June.
Recent controversy about CMU’s treatment of American Indians also was
brought up. Rao said CMU may not be honoring the Chippewa nickname as well
as it could be.
“I’m not going to tell you that I think the university is in a great position
to defend that it’s doing as much as it should be doing to try and honor,
not only the nickname, but all of its people,” he said. “We have some work
to do and there’s no question about it.”
Rao also said there is insufficient recruitment of American Indian students
and is aware of concerns with CMU’s handling of the Michigan Indian Tuition
Waiver.
“I’ve gotten several reports that there are problems with the way in which
these tuition waivers are being handled,” he said. “Right now, we’re obviously
waiting to hear from folks who are involved in that to hear from their side
of the situation.”
Rao fielded a question concerning tuition increases.
“Although students don’t think so, I think we are paying dearly for not
keeping our tuition at the state average,” he said. “I know nobody will like
the cuts, but if everyone cries out we’ll have to get rid of people and I’m
not in any hurry to do that.”
Rao spoke briefly on the importance of diversity among campus leaders and the general student populace.
“I’m interested in seeing opportunities expand for ethnic minorities as
well as women leaders and international students,” he said.
North Carolina senior Rob Harrison had two issues on his mind — tuition
waivers for military students and a new women’s field hockey playing surface.
Rao said a surface was among the university’s top priorities but had no immediate solutions to offer.
“I care about the lives of everyone on campus and how they will be affected,
but, I need more time to think through this,” Rao said.
Harrison said the university needs to have a field for its players.
“It’s feasible to say we need a new football field, but we also need a
field hockey field for the 19 to 20 scholarship athletes,” Harrison said.
He also said it was unfair that some are awarded scholarships based on
race but military personnel get “laughed at” when they approach CMU about
the same issue.
“It’s tough for minorities, but impossible for soldiers who put their lives on the line for this country,” he said.
(03/24/04 5:00am)
The issue of turf for the field hockey team is not one the university had to face.
It’s a problem Athletics Director Herb Deromedi and the athletics department have known about for a while.
Months ago, athletics department officials saw the Kelly/Shorts Stadium’s
turf as being not playable. After receiving an allocation of almost $1 million
from the Board of Trustees on March 4 for the project, the athletics department
sent out bids for a new synthetic turf that is similar to grass.
But the turf products slated for consideration are unacceptable for NCAA
field hockey standards, leaving the field hockey team without a place to
play.
University President Michael Rao said he’s in a bit of a state of shock.
“We have known about this need for more than a year and a half. In comparison,
I have known about this particular problem for less than a month,” he said.
The situation smacks of short-sightedness and unpreparedness. Why didn’t anyone identify this problem sooner?
Deromedi deserves some of the blame. But trustees do, too. They approved
$975,000 to bring the stadium up to the standards of modern Division 1-A
football surfaces.
Board members can’t say they didn’t think about the problem. If trustees
didn’t know much about the issue of turf, why didn’t they have the insight
to ask about how the change would affect sports other than football? After
all, they are the stewards of the university.
We raise these questions because the issue of the turf is an equality
issue. If CMU is committed to meeting Title IX requirements, then the field
hockey team must have a place to play.
All the suggestions that the team should play all away games or use another
university’s field for home games should stop. Not only would it hurt recruitment
for the team (which won a Mid-American Conference championship last year),
being on the road for 12 consecutive weeks would hurt the players’ grades.
This would be a big mistake considering the team’s academic record, placing
11 of its student-athletes on the National Field Hockey Coaches Association
Division I National Academic Squad.
Another answer being tossed around is the possibility of a new field hockey
facility that would cost the university about $800,000 or possibly more.
However, as Rao said, CMU just doesn’t have that kind of money right now.
Administrators have to cut more than $7 million from the university’s budget
by August.
Whatever the solution is, the board and Deromedi need to correct the problem.
We suggest that before trustees and the athletics director make any decision
about the turf, they should figure out how to keep the playing field level
for the field hockey team.
(03/22/04 5:00am)
In Friday’s edition of Central Michigan Life, an article titled “New turf
leaves field hockey without home,” a paraphrase said that University President
Michael Rao “found out about the field hockey situation at a board facilities
subcommittee meeting Feb. 23.”
In fact, Rao knew about the field hockey team’s need for a new complex
for several months, but was alarmed about the amount of money ($800,000)
needed for the new complex. That was the “situation” he became aware of at
the meeting.
(03/22/04 5:00am)
I am an undergraduate student with a serious concern. As an advocate for
women and female student activities on this campus, I have come across an
important issue I am hoping this board has accidentally overlooked (“New
turf leaves field hockey without home,” Friday).
The Board of Trustees of CMU has done a fantastic job of addressing issues
of paramount concern of its constituency since I started attending this institution
in spring 2002. During a time of financial crisis and disparate trimming
of the fat, programs needed to maintain our diversity and stature in the
state have been gratefully saved and tuition challenges have been met. For
this, I commend this board and those who have worked with them. As a student,
I understand the delicate line that has to be run so as to not run
a ship under water financially.
Recently our Student Government Association passed a resolution giving
you (the Board of Trustees) our full support in adding an athletics fee increase
to incoming freshmen and transfer students. This was accomplished through
an understanding that this would allow the athletics department to gain the
finances necessary make necessary improvements to our football field that
is no longer safe to play on. This fee support was given also to assist our
university in better providing for female athletes on this campus. Such a
fee could be used to add another female sport, such as golf, which would
add potentially 12 to 16 female scholarship-ed athletes.
At present this campus has an undergraduate student body population comprised
of 58.2 percent women and 41.8 percent men, according to our Registrar’s
Office. We also, at present, have scholarship-ed athletes at 312 males or
58.4 percent and 222 females or 41.6 percent. This to some would not seem
strange, yet our institution has 90 men on scholarship over the women when
the campus is dominated by women. OK, so now we have greater than a football
team advantage toward men.
Yet, in this time of disparity, we have approved a major solution for
our facility problems facing the football program without equally addressing
the inadequacies we have for our women’s field hockey team. We do not in
any way wish for this to be perceived as an anti-football issue. I attended
the Board of Trustees meeting personally this past month and heard that our
input on spending money was needed.
The Board of Trustees is seeking student input on how to spend more than
$4 million that will be in the campus improvement fund in June, according
to CM Life. I and many others (approximately all of the female students)
wish for the funds that presently exist to address this serious situation.
The ladies who represent our institution of higher learning deserving our
support and this field is the least we can do.
I have been told that the athletic department was told to find solutions.
The solution sits before us all. It can only be satisfied fairly by having
an on-campus field built for the field hockey team. Their sport requires
a specific field turf that is not what our football team requires. The two
sports require different sizes and different turf textures. Nor is it feasible
to ask them to travel 100 percent of the time and make all games away. It
is also not feasible to ask them to consider another school’s field home.
I ask, “Would we ask our football team to play on Alma College’s field?”
I know we would not.
This specific turf can be used for other purposes. Band practices are
one. Another use for the field is the multitude of camps for band and
football that occur during our summer. Still yet, our intramural programs,
soccer, field-hockey and even lacrosse would have a field that is not filled
with dips, uneven playing fields, occasional rocks and mud during the rainy
days.
We do not have time to play with this issue. Herb Deromedi, our fine athletics
director, will vouch for the fact that this field must break ground soon
for them to be able to play next year. Show this student body you support
equal opportunity by doing this quickly and I assure you that the impression
that many women on this campus possess (that they are second-class citizens)
will change.
(03/19/04 5:00am)
The Board of Trustees’ allocation of nearly $1 million for turf replacement
on Kelly/Shorts Stadium has created a problem for coach Cristy Freese and
the field hockey team.
They have no place to play.
The stadium’s current artificial turf has been deemed unplayable by the
athletics department and bids are being accepted for a new synthetic turf
that is similar to grass.
Products like FieldTurf are being considered, but the length of the grass-like
fibers are unacceptable for NCAA field hockey standards for practical reasons.
“It would be like a golfer putting from the rough,” Freese said.
On March 4, the board approved $975,000 for the project, which would bring
the stadium up to the standards of modern Division 1-A football surfaces.
The field hockey team was also bracing for an upgrade of facilities. Initial
bids from construction companies project that a new field hockey facility
west of Lyle Bennett track would cost the university approximately $800,000.
“The university just doesn’t have that kind of money right now,” University President Michael Rao said.
The multi-fold controversy entails gender issues for the simple fact that
a men’s team’s problems are being addressed at the expense of a women’s team.
“I’m just concerned that we don’t finalize plans for the football field
without addressing the needs of the field hockey team,” Freese said.
Freese meets with Athletics Director Herb Deromedi “almost daily” to discuss viable options for this fall’s season.
At the board meeting, the trustees made several suggestions of alternatives
for the field hockey team’s 2004 season, including playing in the turf bay
of the Indoor Athletic Complex.
However, that surface is too small and creates an unsafe environment for the team, Freese said.
Other options include playing all away games or designating another field,
such as Michigan State University, as CMU’s home field for the year.
“That would mean we would be traveling for 12 consecutive weeks,” said
Freese, adding that the players would be fatigued and forced to miss even
more class time. “The academic issue is the most important.”
Freese met with Rao Thursday for what the president called a “positive” meeting.
“She is definitely a team player,” Rao said. “I have a lot of respect for how she is handling this.”
Freese said the issue is bothering her, but is not blaming the football program for the conflict.
“I have woke up in the middle of the night thinking about this,” she said,
adding, “this is not a field hockey versus football issue at all.”
Rao found out about the field hockey situation at a board facilities subcommittee meeting Feb. 23.
“I’m still in a bit of a state of shock,” Rao said. “We have known about
this need for more than a year and a half. In comparison, I have known about
this particular problem for less than a month.”
Rao said that Deromedi, as a Division 1-A athletics director, must be
responsible and explore as many options as possible to make the correct decisions.
“I told him that we are counting on his leadership at this time,” Rao said.
(03/17/04 5:00am)
Many Academic Senate members feel the solution to the upcoming budget crisis is simple: focus on academics instead of athletics.
Several projects on campus have been discussed in recent weeks,
including a new events center, a major renovation of Ronan Hall, a
400-bed addition to Woldt Hall and a new satellite energy facility.
However, CMU is facing a $7.3 million budget shortfall in 2004-05.
The Senior Staff Budget Advisory Group will present their budget
recommendations to University President Michael Rao early next week,
said Provost and Executive Vice President Tom Storch at Tuesday’s
A-Senate meeting.
The events center was a major topic of discussion among many senators who felt its extravagance was unnecessary.
“Why would I add a pool to my house if I could not afford to eat?”
said Angela Haddad, sociology, anthropology and social work assistant
professor.
A-Senate Chairman Bob Lee, human environmental studies professor,
presented a booklet of information about the events center which
outlined the uses and need for it as well as finished designs from all
angles.
“I just wonder where our priorities are,” Lee said.
The booklet came as a shock to many senators. Even Rao admitted he
had not seen such detailed plans yet and commented on Athletics
Director Herb Deromedi going “full steam ahead” with the project.
“He’s already raised a couple hundred thousand dollars,” Rao said. “But right now we have other priorities.”
Rao said despite the loss of funding, renovating Ronan Hall remains
a priority. He said as soon as the state provides 75 percent of the
funding, construction will begin.
“It’s a priority because of its limited capacity and deplorable conditions,” Rao said.
Some have argued no more buildings can be built until the energy
crisis is resolved. The energy plant is running at between 93 and 98
percent capacity, according to the latest estimates.
Rao said renovating Ronan would not use more energy, but the issue
of an $18.5 million satellite energy plant will be looked at soon,
hopefully before summer begins.
“The Ronan upgrades will include putting in insulation and
double-pane windows and fixing places where energy is being wasted,” he
said. “But we must address this energy issue before anything else.”
The additions to Woldt Hall were first introduced at the March 4
Board of Trustees meeting. Rao said these are not a drain on the budget
because residence halls bring in money.
The project, if approved by the board, would be completed by Fall
2006 and would be built in the space just west of Woldt Hall. The Woldt
Residential Restaurant would be renovated as well.
“With scholarship students having to stay on campus for two years
and other freshmen having to stay until they’ve reached 30 credit
hours, we don’t have enough room for them,” Rao said.
The board also approved installation of new turf for the football
field. The issue of the field hockey team not being able to play on the
new surface was brought up at the A-Senate meeting.
The new, synthetic turfs use a longer grass, making it impossible
for the field hockey team to use it since its sport requires very short
grass, Rao said.
He mentioned Deromedi’s request for a new field hockey field, which was met with laughter from some A-Senate members.
“I told Herb we don’t have the money for it,” Rao said.
(03/05/04 5:00am)
The Board of Trustees approved an allocation of $975,000 Thursday to replace the surface of Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The repairs will be done as a part of CMU’s deferred maintenance projects.
“I am real pleased with having the turf replaced because we needed it,”
said Athletics Director Herb Deromedi. “If doing it through deferred maintenance
is the best way to do it, so be it.”
The field will likely be a rubber and sand based surface, similar to that at Ford Field and Michigan Stadium.
Officials said the $975,000 will cover the removal of the old turf, excavation of the field and laying the new turf.
ProGrass, Sprinturf, General Sports Turf and FieldTurf have all sent bids to CMU Purchasing Services.
Brad Stambaugh, senior buyer for CMU Purchasing Services, said the university
sent out seven proposals and received responses from four companies so far.
“Synthetic grass is the type of turf that has become the turf of choice,”
Deromedi said. “It is one that would best resemble grass.”
Stambaugh said the university wants to choose a bid soon. However, the
new surface would not allow field hockey to share the venue, creating a need
for an alternate site.
“We are trying to announce who won the bid by next Friday,” Stambaugh
said. “We did ask some vendors to provide preliminary pricing in order to
complete a new field hockey field.”
Deromedi said he would like to have the field ready soon.
“We really expect the construction to begin sometime in April,” Deromedi
said. “We want to have access to the field for summer camps.”
Football coach Brian Kelly was ecstatic when he heard the news.
“It was clear the turf at Kelly/Shorts Stadium had worn out its welcome,”
he said. “I believe it really affected the team last season with injuries.
We had four players go down with season-ending injuries and that will be
prevented.”
He also said the turf replacement sends a message.
“It shows the school’s commitment to athletics,” Kelly said. “I wouldn’t have come here if they didn’t show that commitment.”
Kelly said opposing coaches used the old turf against CMU in recruiting prospective athletes.
“This is one of the things we needed to become a championship program,”
Kelly said. “This was used as a negative recruiting tool. Coaches would tell
players that if they come here, they could tear a knee or something. They
would say, ‘Why not come to X-school, where you can come play on a beautiful
playing surface.’”
Life Sports Editor Jeremy Speer contributed to this article.
(02/27/04 5:00am)
It doesn’t make any sense to me why all I hear around here is negative thoughts.
I have never heard so many disheartening things than what I have heard in
the last six months. Recently, I finally decided to start participating on
campus, trying to get involved, but all I got was the same old story: “Nobody
cares around here.” “You won’t find five people that care about this campus.”
“No one goes to university events.” Good grief, Charlie Brown!
I care about this school, and I care about the people who go here. I have
taken a lot of lumps on the head since I stepped on campus for the first
time, but here I am, speaking to you, asking for your help. I want to work
with you to make a difference.
We can start by building on some of the positive hopes for our future
we already have. We have a brand new football coach who has won two straight
national championships. Write him an e-mail and tell him that you will attend
football games and cheer on the team. Wish him the best of luck. Tell your
cross country team, gymnastics team, volleyball team, wrestling team, track
team, soccer team, field hockey team and every other CMU team, no matter
who they are, that you support them and will attend their games to from now
on. Let’s tell them we care and that we have pride in them.
Attend one of the many events that On The Fly, Program Board and University
Events put on. There are so many great plays, speakers and just plain entertaining
acts that are offering you an alternative to the partying. It is OK to attend
cultural events.
We have great teachers that need our help so we can work with one another
to develop great relationships that make everyone feel like they are achieving
something. We have a brand new Health Professions Building, which is absolutely
beautiful. Take the time out to tour it and see how nice it is. We have great
programs such as teaching and physical therapy, which are some of the best
in the state. We have great foundations for our future in business programs,
music programs, engineering programs and countless others which are too many
to name.
We have great student organizations around here that need your help to
get stronger so they can build momentum to make a difference. If half of
our students joined at least one club or attended one event on a regular
basis, then we would be booming in terms of participation. I encourage you
to find something that you like to do. If there isn’t anything already that
you like to do, have the motivation to start your own club or group on campus.
Anyone can do it. It is that simple.
Start getting angry about what you don’t like at our school. Take an extra
15 minutes out of your week to write an e-mail to the administration about
something that you think stinks. Take 15 minutes out of your week to e-mail
CM Life and tell them what kind of stories YOU want to read about. Take 15
minutes out of your week to visit your teacher’s office hours and get to
know them a little better than you would in the classroom. If even half of
our 19,000 students take 15 minutes out of their week to make a difference,
that is 141 and a half hours a week we can spend on helping change things
for the better. I challenge you to make a difference.
(02/11/04 5:00am)
The club hockey team must now play the waiting game having done its
part with a key 6-3 victory against Michigan State last Friday.
It was a must-win game for CMU. Led by three goals from the
defensive minded Chad Pipken, Craig Lipar, Chuck Vaughn line, and a
pair from top scorer Chris LaPan, the team handed its fate to the
rankings voters.
CMU held MSU’s high-octane power play to only one goal and stifled its top line all night.
Team captain Rob Innis said the game was the team’s best this season, and credited teamwork and an added desire to win.
“The team has finally come together and the motivation to go to nationals were huge keys for us,” he said.
Another crucial factor was the play of starting goaltender Mike Jakubik, as he allowed three goals.
Innis spoke highly of Jakubik’s play.
“He played well,” Innis said. “He made some big stops for us when we needed them.”
The Pipken, Lipar and Vaughn line went on the offensive with Pipken scoring twice and Lipar once.
The line’s contribution is indicative of how the team has played of late.
With the ability to run four lines at will, CMU consistently keeps offensive pressure on opponents.
Pipken credited the team’s success to disciplined position hockey and some luck.
“We just got some breaks with the puck,” he said. “They weren’t
pretty goals but we managed to somehow play well on offense, and
defense.”
The final Division II rankings will be posted Friday. The victory
combined with a pair of Michigan losses last weekend should put CMU in
the 16-team field.
Pipken likes the team’s odds.
“I think we could be a pretty good upset team,” he said. “We’re one
of the hottest teams in the country and we’re starting to pull it all
together.”
(02/06/04 5:00am)
Club hockey team captain Rob Innis said he wanted to win nationals before this season’s first game.
Now, five months later, he and his teammates have to win Friday at No. 3 Michigan State (9-9-4) to get that opportunity.
Four teams from each region make up the sixteen-team field for the
national tournament. With the top three spots in the Central Region
locked down by Davenport, Oakland and Michigan State, the final spot
has come down to CMU (15-11-1) and Michigan (10-10-3).
No. 4 Michigan has the edge based on its strength of schedule. Even
though CMU split with Michigan this season and has the better record,
the team will have to defeat Michigan State to jump Michigan in the
ratings.
Innis said Friday’s game is all or nothing.
“Being here as long as I have been, I don’t think that any season is
a success unless we make it to nationals,” he said. “The MSU game will
definitely define our season as a success or failure.”
State is unbeaten in its last seven games, including a win and a tie
against the Central Region’s top two teams—Oakland and Davenport.
The first game between the two teams ended at 3-3.
Michigan State scored all three goals on the power play.
Drawing the defensive assignment against MSU’s top line will be Chad
Pipken, Chuck Vaughn and Craig Lipar’s checking line. This unit has
been CMU’s best defensive line all season.
Alternate captain Bob Kelly said CMU must also stick with what has been working.
“We really don’t want to get off the page we’ve been on because we’ve been putting this together for a few months now,” he said.
Goaltender Troy Reuter said that Friday’s 10 p.m. game is crucial.
“It’s do or die time I guess,” he said. “We have to win or our season is over.”
(12/05/03 5:00am)
Western Michigan University will eliminate four varsity sports after the 2003-04 school year to cope with a struggling budget.
Men’s cross country, men’s indoor track and men’s outdoor track will be cut along with synchronized skating.
“We have known for two months that this was a possibility,” said
Daniel Jankowski, WMU director of media relations. “It doesn’t come as
a surprise.”
The elimination of these four sports will bring an annual savings of more than $535,000 to the university.
In the 88-year history of the men’s cross country and track
programs, they have won 32 Mid-American Conference championships and
two NCAA cross country team championships.
Synchronized skating was made a varsity sport in 1998 and in 1999 it
became one of only two varsity collegiate teams in the nation.
All synchronized skating athletes are walk-ons and no scholarships are given to the sport.
One hundred athletes and three coaches will be affected by the cuts.
Scholarship commitments to athletes will still be honored for each
academic year they decide to attend Western after this year.
WMU President Judith Bailey will take her formal recommendation to the board of trustees Dec. 12.
“This was an incredibly painful decision,” Bailey said. “We know
that eliminating any sport diminishes our ability to offer a
well-rounded college experience.”
WMU is now down to the NCAA Division I-A minimum of 16 sports.
“There will not be any other sports being cut because we can’t fall below the 16 sport requirement,” Jankowski said.
The Broncos will still have MAC and Central Collegiate Hockey
Association memberships and keep their Title IX compliance — which
forces schools to have equal athletic opportunities for men and women.
Central head track and field coach Jim Knapp said he feels bad for the athletes affected by the cuts.
“Cross country and track is one of the traditional programs,” Knapp said. “I think there are other ways to save money.”
Marcy Weston, senior associate athletics director at CMU, said
budget problems facing WMU have resulted in decisions best for the
academic success of students.
“Difficult budget situations often result in difficult decisions,”
Weston said. “Removing opportunities for athletes is a very difficult
decision.”
Central cannot cut any more sports without dropping out of Division
I-A. The university is already at the NCAA minimum of 16 sports.
“We are on very solid footing with the administration,” Knapp said.
