Search Results

Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.

Program Board bringing in Story of the Year

(10/27/06 4:00am)

Alternative-rock band Story of the Year will make Mount Pleasant its final stop on the “Taste of Poison” tour. Program Board is bringing the five-member group from St. Louis, Mo., to Rose Arena at 8 p.m. on Nov. 18. “Program Board has been throwing the idea around of bringing a harder rock group to campus for some time,” said Kyle VanDeventer, Saginaw junior and Program Board vice president. “It's a tour package, so the opening bands have been with Story of the Year for some time.” Greeley Estates and Monty Are I will open for the band. Story of the Year started out in St. Louis in the late 1990s as Big Blue Monkey. The band played in-state shows until it received the attention of producer John Feldmann, who introduced the band to Maverick Records. In 2002, the band changed its name to Story of the Year and moved to southern California. It took part in the Vans Warped Tour  during the summer of 2003. “I saw them at Warped Tour, and they really got the crowd pumped and going,” said Bloomfield Hills freshman Kaitlin Chagnon. “They’re fun to watch, and I think it’s a really great concert.” Wellston sophomore Annette Castoro already has  seen the band live, but she plans on seeing it again when it comes to campus. “I want floor tickets because it’ll be more hard-core,” Castoro said. Students can purchase $10 tickets for the upper bowl and $15 tickets for the floor at the Bovee University Center Box Office. The general public can purchase $15 tickets for the upper bowl and $20 tickets for the lower bowl. “We are selling to the capacity of Rose Arena, which is near 6,000,” VanDeventer said.

https://www.cm-life.com/article/2006/10/programboardbringinginstoryoftheyear

Chapin family, Grogan highlight annual event

(10/23/06 4:00am)

Harry Chapin’s music stopped playing for many when he died in 1981. But Chapin has two brothers, several friends and relatives who have kept his legacy alive. Tom and Steve Chapin, Harry’s brothers, led the family-oriented tribute group to the Music Building’s Staples Family Concert Hall at 7 p.m. Friday as part of the fourth-annual Michigan Story Festival. “We’ve been singing Harry’s songs nearly forever, but doing this specific kind of event for six years,” Tom Chapin said. Tom Chapin said he continues to remember his brother’s legacy with every performance he gives, but this is his favorite type of venue because he gets to perform with his family. “My daughters live in Los Angeles, so I get to be with them and have my friends and my brother on stage with me — it’s great,” he said. The 2006 Michigan Story Festival came to campus through the help of Sue Ann Martin, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts. “This is the first year we’ve opened with a musical act,” Martin said. “It’s really opened up some doors for us, and we really hit on something this year.” The concert nearly sold out the 500-seat concert hall. Battle Creek freshman Caitlin Campbell invited her mother, Penny, to enjoy the concert with her. “I grew up with the (Harry Chapin’s) music — it’s something from my childhood,” Campbell said. The Chapin concert was not the only event on campus garnering a large crowd Friday. Grogan returns John Grogan, a New York Times best-selling author and CMU alumnus, spoke to about 300 people in the Family Concert Hall. Grogan, who received much acclaim for his book, “Marley and Me,” also came to campus as part of the 2006 Michigan Story Festival. Initially, Grogan recited several passages from his book, relating to his dog, Marley, and his behavior, but later gave inspirational advice to audience members. “Follow your heart and listen to that little voice inside you,” he said. He recalled an incident when his neighbor was stabbed by an assailant and Grogan and Marley went over to help when they heard her scream. While tending to his neighbor, Grogan said Marley was standing guard for him. “At that point, I knew if (the assailant) came back, he’d have to get through Marley to get to me,” Grogan said. However, not all of Grogan’s stories involved his dog. He talked about the process that went into publishing “Marley and Me.” “I went to 12 agents — 11 of them rejected me, and finally the 12th one gave me a shot,” Grogan said. “Some even went so far as to not only tell me no, but how bad of an idea this book was.” After his speech, Grogan had a book signing for “Marley and Me,” which has been printed in 25 languages and sold 2.5 million copies. The book also has been on the New York Times best-sellers list for the past 52 weeks, with 22 of them in the No. 1 spot for non-fiction.

https://www.cm-life.com/article/2006/10/chapinfamilygroganhighlightannualevent

Dance the night away

(10/20/06 4:00am)

Nina Bommarito sometimes has drunk people attempt to dance with her at sporting events. But none of them are ever able to keep up. The Shelby Township senior has been dancing since she was 3 years old and has been a Chippette since she was a sophomore at CMU. “Being in that environment is what it is all about,” Bommarito said. “I am so happy being surrounded by people so happy to be there because it’s their choice to be there.” The Chippettes are the university’s official dance team. They perform at every home football game, men’s and women’s basketball games and many community events. The season generally lasts from late summer until March, but Bommarito said basketball season is the toughest time during the year. “When basketball season comes, we have three games a week, plus our two practices so that becomes pretty hectic,” she said. “No one complains, but it’s a lot of time.” Bommarito, a marketing major and member of CMU’s American Marketing Association, is taking 18 credit hours as well as organizing campus events. “When I wake up, I’m busy,” she said. “I don’t stay home. I always just go — I have so much to do.” Rachel Hawraney, Canton senior and captain of the dance team, also is involved in the marketing organization. Hawraney described her friend as a hard worker with a permanent burst of energy. “She’s so dedicated,” Hawraney said. “She is the only one on the team that is always doing it to the fullest and best of her abilities.” Amy Decker, Chippettes’ coach and intercollegiate athletics director, said Bommarito single-handedly came up with all of the choreography for a competition the team placed well at. “It was pretty much because of Nina — and she wasn’t even a captain or a senior,” Decker said. The team practices twice a week from 8 to 10:30 p.m. in Rose Arena. At least once a week, the dancers learn new routines and choreography. This week, The Chippettes focused on preparing for Thursday’s football game against Bowling Green University and for a dance clinic the team is hosting from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday in the Indoor Activity Center. The clinic, which is expected to draw between 50 and 200 girls, is designed to give high school and middle school teams original choreography to utilize. The Chippettes have been learning six different dances, choreographed especially for the clinic, since the middle of the summer. Despite her busy schedule, Bommarito said the dance team is her “stress relief.” “It’s a good place to go if you had a hard week. You just forget about everything else and you just get to dance with your friends,” Bommarito said. “I have made a lot of friends that I know will be friends for life. We’re like our own little sorority.”

https://www.cm-life.com/article/2006/10/dancethenightaway-2

Parade entertains community members with time traveling theme

(10/16/06 4:00am)

Katherine Soave wasn’t too thrilled to participate in Saturday morning’s Homecoming parade. But that was nothing a little Taco Bell couldn’t solve. The Farmington Hills freshman, with the help of some friends bribing her with Taco Bell, was one of many students and community members who took part in the annual parade. “I like being involved, but my friends bribed me to come,” Soave said. “Now I’m having a blast.” The parade began in parking lot 22 and continued down Washington Street and through the downtown area, ending at Sacred Heart Church. Soave rode on Larzelere Hall’s float, the “Larzelodeon,” and in the end, she said she had fun. “I have spirit,” she said. “And I want to share my spirit with the community.” Allison Stoddard was another early riser Saturday morning. The St. John’s junior lined Washington to watch as the Homecoming parade made its way through the city. “It seemed like fun, and I’ve never done it before, so it seemed interesting,” Stoddard said. Each residence hall built a float for the parade, which followed the Homecoming theme, “Portal to the Past.” Jess Farley, Saginaw senior and First Parade Chair, said the Homecoming committee had been preparing for the parade since June. “Everything went really well — we even started 10 minutes early,” Farley said. Organizations, including VOX, Voices for Planned Parenthood, and the Red Cross participated in the parade. The parade’s grand marshal, Rep. Craig DeRoche, R-Novi, CMU alumnus and Michigan Speaker of the House, said he was proud to be back at his alma mater. “It’s a great day to be out here and to support the Chips this afternoon,” he said.

https://www.cm-life.com/article/2006/10/paradeentertainscommunitymemberswithtimetravelingtheme

Rock Rally attracts a full crowd Friday

(10/16/06 4:00am)

Students sported their maroon and gold and could be heard chanting “CMU” and “Fire Up Chips” on Friday night. And the performances hadn’t even began for the fourth-annual Chippewa Rock Rally, which packed Warriner Hall’s 1,200-seat Plachta Auditorium. The 25 residents comprising the Trout Hall team took first place in the competition with their recreation of scenes from “Singing in the Rain,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Napoleon Dynamite.” Madison Heights sophomore Christina Allen and Kalamazoo sophomore Laura Kragt planned and choreographed the routine. “Laura and I have been planning for Homecoming since the beginning of the school year,” Allen said. “We wanted to make this a year to remember.” Trout’s team had been practicing three hours a day since Oct. 8, said Allen, who attributed the groups’ win to several factors. “We worked really hard, we had a big group and we had a lot of freshmen that were into it,” she said. Houghton Lake freshman Michelle Fitzgerald said the practices were sometimes tiring, but definitely worth it. “We put a lot of effort in,” Fitzgerald said. “But it didn’t feel like work at all.” Although Trout resident and Davison junior Nick Varner did not participate, he said he jumped out of his seat when his residence hall was proclaimed the winner. Members of On The Fly Productions, who finished in second place, said they weren’t disappointed by their second place finish, just excited to perform. “The best part was staying up until the wee hours of the morning to practice,” said OTF member and Brighton freshman Ashley Kwasniuk. Mount Pleasant Mayor Cynthia Bradley Kilmer served as one of the judges for the mock rock. Kilmer attributed Trout’s win to creativity, choreography and spirit. “There were some really talented acts,” Kilmer said. “It was lots of fun.”

https://www.cm-life.com/article/2006/10/rockrallyattractsafullcrowdfriday

Photo of the day

(10/13/06 4:00am)

Comstock Park graduate student Laura Bantle and Dewitt graduate student Jackie Pingel of CMU Sexual Aggression Services attend a candle light vigil for victims of domestic violence Thursday night at Moore Outdoor Amphitheater. Originally planned as “The Labyrinth of Light,” the event was changed to the vigil because of inclement weather.

https://www.cm-life.com/article/2006/10/photooftheday-109