New Student Meeting

Alexis Kowaleski

Edited by : Trisha VanKoughnett, Noah Shephardson, Dan Schultz

Shepherd Schools is asking that parents of future Kindergarten students please attend the important meeting Wednesday, March 12 at 6:30 at the Shepherd High School Cafeteria.

It is important to note that parents are asked not to bring their children with them but they should bring their child’s shot records, social security card, birth certificate and proof of residency.

To qualify for the 2008-2009 Kindergarten year students must be 5 years old by December 1, 2008.

For any further questions about the Kindergarten Roundup parents are urged to call the Shepherd Elementary at 989-828-5998.

Broadcast professional offers words of wisdom

By Kelly Morse

Edited By Meredith Mayberry, Sarah Schuch, and Amanda Crabtree

Ned Waugaman advised an audience of about 300 people at the National Broadcasting Society’s annual convention to live their lives by the ABC’s.

Waugaman, vice president of customer service and training for Arbitron Company, said attitudes, behaviors and consequences make or break a person, not only in the broadcast industry but in life.

The convention, located at the Disneyland Park in Anaheim California started Tuesday, March 11 and commences Saturday evening.

Waugaman has given motivational speeches to more than 25,000 people over the past 10 years on goal setting and personal achievement.

“It really made sense when he talked about focusing on the future, and not dwelling on the past,” said Chester Krowll, a Ravenna junior and speakers and tours chair of Central Michigan University's National Broadcasting Society.

The speaker used the analogy of driving a car to emphasize one of his points about focusing on the future. Waugaman said to focus on the road ahead of and not in the rear view mirror.

“I kinda thought he was an average speaker,” said Justine Mooney, a Muskegon sophomore and public relations and community service chair of NBS. “I think he didn’t say anything that I didn’t know before.”

Midland School Board considers declining enrollment

By John Kennett
Journalism 312

Declining enrollment continues to be a major concern for the Midland Public School Board of Education.

Monday, Linda Cline, MPS director of finance, shared projected enrollment with the MPS School Board for the 2008-09 school year.

After consulting with Stanfred Consultants out of Lansing, Cline stated that MPS would base its 2008-09 budget on an anticipated enrollment of 9011 students. This represents a drop in enrollment of 144 students from the 2007-08 school year.

Each student represents $8,848 in state aid, meaning that MPS will have approximately $1.37 million less for the 2008-09 school year.

“There is not a lot of good news,” said Cline. “Our kindergartens are getting smaller.”

Stating statistics from the Michigan Department of Community Health regarding the number of live births since 1994, Cline mentioned that Midland County has a greater percentage decrease overall than the state of Michigan.

The time period of 1994-present has seen Michigan’s live births decline by 7.5 percent while the same rate in Midland County has decreased by 19.6 percent.

Since 2001, live births in Midland County have declined 14.1 percent while statewide there has been a 7.5 percent decrease.

In other items, the school board received a report from the Advisory Board on Instruction in Sex Education and Birth Control regarding sex education curriculum for use in the eighth grade Topics for Teens classes and high school Health and Wellness classes.

The advisory board has reviewed and approved the DVD, ‘Sex Still has a Price Tag’ (public school edition).

The school board will vote on the DVD at its next meeting March 24. Anyone desiring to preview these materials may do so by contacting Jeff Pennex, MPS coordinator of physical education and health, at 923-7945.

Colleen Horrocks addressed the board regarding her desire to see the book publishing industry implement a labeling/rating system similar to the system used in motion pictures, video games, television and movies.

“I am asking for guidance from (the MPS school Board) regarding this issue,” said Horrocks. “I also want awareness to be raised about this issue.”

This issue started when Horrocks’ seventh grade daughter brought home the book “Winds of Fate”, by Mercedes Lackey, from the Jefferson Middle School library containing sexually explicit material.

The school board also unanimously passed a proposal to discontinue membership in the North Central Association. Presently, MPS is receiving accreditation from both NCA and Ed Yes! Michigan.

A concern was raised regarding whether MPS graduates would be able to get into the university of their choice without NCA accreditation.

Several universities were contacted and stated that as long as the district schools have the state of Michigan endorsement, students would be OK in completing the application process.

Also Monday, Kathleen Ellison, MPS director of curriculum, presented a recommendation from the Staff/Curriculum Development Committee of 29 proposed curriculum changes. The proposed changes would cost $176,489, which Ellison stated is within the budgeted amount for these changes.

The board unanimously approved all 29 recommendations.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the MPS School Board will be March 24 at 7 p.m.

Edited by Ben Evers and Sheri Krotzer

Central students learn about studying abroad in forum

By: John Morelli

Edited by: Erin Hillard and Mariah Richards

Central Michigan University peer and study abroad advisors met in the Bovee University Center Wednesday with students to discuss options for studying abroad and student teaching in an open forum.

A dozen Central students were in attendance with questions and answers about the program and some of the benefits of teaching or studying abroad.

“It was very informative,” said Mike Mueller, a Warren junior. “The discussion provided me with a lot of insight into what I may be getting myself into.”

Many scholarships are provided for students who teach or study abroad. They can be anywhere from $2 thousand to $15 thousand.

The advisors discussed what may happen in a typical day and highlighted many of the things people should try to do and avoid while over seas.

“If you spend 5 hours looking on Facebook, you lost 5 hours you could have spent seeing the country,” said study abroad advisor Amber Schneider.

Schneider also warned that Americans stereotypically wear white tennis shoes and baseball caps and by doing these things you will stick out.

“You don’t need to hide who you are though,” Will Sartore said. The Grand Rapids junior studied for five months in South Africa last semester.

Sartore said there were many Americans studying there as well and they all stick out as soon as they begin to speak. Schneider agreed with this adding that something to try to control is the volume of your voice while overseas because Americans tend to speak louder than people of most other countries.

“There are many long-term benefits to studying abroad,” Sartore said. He plans on continuing to see the world and teach English in Vietnam in the future.

“You’ve never had pineapple or papaya until you’ve had it in Ghana or somewhere on the equator,” Schneider said. She commented many times that teaching and studying abroad were some of her favorite memories.

Carnegie classes teach local educators

By: Amanda Crabtree

Dale Carnegie designed a communication class so inspirational to Jon Morey, a local businessman, he decided to pay for local educators to attend the classes.

“He is doing such a service for the community by doing this,” said Natalie Merryman, pre-school teacher at Morey Public School Academy.

Merryman had nothing but praise for Wendy Groll, the “phenomenal” Carnegie trainer, and assistant Cindy, who worked with local educators and business people from Dow Chemical and at least five different schools, including Morey, Beal City and St. Joseph.

The Dale Carnegie class consisted of 12 weekly meetings where teachers from all levels, a superintendent, school counselors and even one kitchen staff person learned how to use familiar skills in a way to make a difference in children’s lives.

During the classes participants shared stories from their classrooms as well as extremely personal stories, including overcoming dyslexia and attending special education classes as children.

“Not only did it change all of our lives, but we grew so close I would do anything for any of them,” Merryman said of her fellow educators.

The Carnegie class takes skills people already know, such as listening to others and avoiding arguments, and making sure people actually apply them to real life. While most people see these actions as common sense, some do not often practice this proper communication with others.

Merryman said the classes were fun and face paced, and the participants were frequently put out of their comfort zones.

Participants voted to give their peers awards, “They meant so much coming from people you know,” Merryman said. The kitchen staff person won the “gold key,” the highest award given. Anyone in contact with children can make a difference in their lives, not just their teachers, Merryman said.

Dale Carnegie training is represented in all 50 states, as well as 75 other countries. Founded in 1912, the training is based on Carnegie’s belief in the power of self-improvement, according to dalecarnegie.com

Edited by Meredith Mayberry and Kelly Morse

Visa no longer an option for students

By Meredith Mayberry
Edited by Sarah Schuch and Kelly Morse

Beginning July 1, Central Michigan University will no longer accept Visa for tuition payments.

Paying with a credit card requires an extra payment for processing the transaction, said David Burdette, vice president for Finance and Administrative Services.

Burdette said Visa was different than other credit card companies in one important way.

“Visa charges a flat rate, so if a student makes a $20 payment, it would be exurbanite,” Burdette said.

The Vice President said companies such as MasterCard and Discover Card charge percentages rather than fixed rates.

Visa is not the only affected payment plan, however. All credit card payments will require an additional charge of 2.75 percent of the payment.

“That number is the rate that’s charged by the third party, which handles the payment,” Burdette said.

Third party carriers are middlemen in the payment process of credit cards and charge for their services, he said.

“They only give us the net amount of what the bill is,” Burdette said of the University.

Thomas Anthony, a faculty member in the department of Finance and Law, said the convenience fee, or handling fee, is relative to a percentage based on account activity.

Anthony said the fee would decrease with increased activity.

“If I made $1 million, the fee would be considerably less than if I made $100,” Anthony said.

Visa, however, does not operate based on percentages. Their fixed rate creates a problem for students who use credit cards to pay for tuition and books for convenience’ sake.

“For a lot of students, it’s just an easy way to pay,” Anthony said.

Burdette said there is a staggering amount of students who will be affected by this new policy.

“I don’t know of the exact number,” he said, “but the percent of students who pay with credit cards is higher than I thought it was.”

Health care for all might not be the best system

By Sarah Schuch

Edited by Amanda Crabtree, Kelly Morse and Meredith Mayberry

Government run health care will become a hot topic of discussion next week at Central Michigan University. Is it right for the United States?

20/20 investigative reporter John Stossel will be visiting CMU March 19 to give a speech “Socialized Medicine Stinks” in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium.

Isaac Morehouse, director for Students for a Free Economy, said socialized medicine refers to any health care system that is completely run by the government. The application of the system meant a lot of government regulations and restrictions.

“There are a lot of problems with health care in the U.S.,” Morehouse said. “The answer is not more government but less government.”

Chase Canning, Herrig sophomore and Campus Conservatives member, socialized health care has the benefit of everyone having health care. But it can be deceiving, he said.

“I think if you tell anyone they get something for free they want it,” Morehouse said.

However, there is a cost. The cost is the quality, Morehouse said.

Canning said it costs taxpayers so much and eliminates the private health care industry. It would take away the incentive for people to become doctors because they wouldn’t be making as much working for the government.

“It would cost America so much more than it would help,” he said.

Dennis Lennox, Topinabee junior, said some prefer socialized medicine because it favors a system of institution where the responsibility doesn't fall on the consumer but the state.

Governments with socialized medicine give patients a list of doctors they can see, Lennox said.

"I think each person should look out for themselves," Lennox said. "I don't want (my health care) to be decided on the whim of the government."

Morehouse said there are solutions which Stossel will address that are beneficial to the U.S. but move away from socialized medicine. One positive solution would be to get rid of a lot of government mandates on insurance companies.

Another draw back of “free” health care for all is that with so many people getting health care eventually the government has to start rationing what people can and cannot get. The cost is quality, Morehouse said.

In Canada where there is socialized health care individuals can be put on a waiting list for several months for something like a MRI, CAT scan or surgery, Morehouse said.

“People actually die on waiting lists,” he said.

In the “20/20” special “Sick in America: Whose Body Is It, anyway?” hosted by Stossel, he looks at the insurance industries, the need for competition to create better care and experiments aimed at combining lower costs with better medicine.

Morehouse encourages everyone to attend Stossel’s speech even if they don’t agree with what he has to say.

“(Stossel’s) good at digging up facts,” he said. “They might learn something new.”