Volume 55, No. 9 February 27, 2014

Healthcare grant builds road to success

OpinonWhat Nelson Mandela taught mePAGE 3

matctimes360.comTHE MILWAUKEE AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE STUDENT BI-WEEKLY PUBLICATION

Final FocusWhodunnit?Murder and dinnerPAGE 12

SportsMen’s and Women’s basketball tearing it upPAGE 10

Kirsten Schmitt/TimesDuring their “Pink Out” benefit game, the Stormer women rocked out a win 84-65 against the Harper College Hawks. Benetta Jones (#24) shoots for two while Shonnice Vaughn (#20) gets into position for the rebound.

by Juan C. VasquezTimes Staff Reporter

College students work hard, and overwhelming workloads become part of the standard routine to succeed. Fortunately, MATC has a number of resources available to assist students in achieving their goals.

There are a variety of scholarships and grants one can apply for, and the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) is one way for students to get funding, training and stay connected with a reliable group to aid them in their success as a healthcare professional.

HPOG is a five-year grant established by the Affordable Care Act of 2010. HPOG provides training in multiple healthcare related fields including but not limited to: Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Phlebotomist, Pharmacy Technician certification, and Registered Nursing. HPOG has other healthcare related educational and training opportunities

available.The Young Women Christian

Association (YWCA) held a Recruitment Day last the Health Sciences building at the downtown campus in April. Former associate degree nursing student Kelly Daily attended that recruitment day and took advantage of an opportunity that continues to aid her through her education.

Daily makes the commute from the Franklin area to the downtown Milwaukee campus for classes. She believes she was born to help others and desires a career in healthcare. Daily wants to take her education a step further and become a supervisor in her field. She expects to graduate in May and continue with the MATC/UWM SWIFT program in pursuit of the arduous Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing.

Daily is currently employed with a local healthcare provider in the Milwaukee area.

Daily says, “The grant I received to further my education

has been a godsend.” She learned about HPOG from her advisor at UWM. “I’m a single mother raising a toddler completely on my own and this grant was exactly what I needed to continue my education.”

Combined with Daily’s drive, the aid from the HPOG grant and Krystal Robinson, Daily has increased her marketability and professional skills.

Robinson is highly skilled and effective in her role as Kelly’s career coach. Robinson is with Daily and other students from beginning to end; she guides them through the résumé process, helps navigate students through the employment system ,and most of all helps insure her students succeed by following up with them on a regular basis. Robinson continues to work with Milwaukee’s surrounding healthcare groups to stay on top of the latest job opportunities for HPOG recipients.

Daily is a fine example of a student striving to better her life and the lives of the ones who

depend on her. Thankfully, MATC has many grants and programs to aid students in their pursuits as well.

Lastly, technology and healthcare practices continue to prosper and promote a longer life, and having even more support from a great educational institution like MATC, will indeed propagate sharper minds to continue the trend.

by Monte DriscollTimes Staff Reporter

The MATC Stormer women’s basketball team held a “Pink Out” by wearing pink uniforms for two home games, Wednesday Feb. 12 and Saturday Feb. 15, to raise awareness and donations for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

The foundation is named after legendary North Carolina State University women’s team head coach Kay Yow, who passed away from breast cancer in 2009

after a 22-year fight. MATC sold t-shirts and lapel

pins at the games and also asked for direct donations to be made online. It’s a cause they took personally as breast cancer has impacted the team directly.

Head Coach Jeff Lorenz described how important it was for the team to play in the name of such an esteemed foundation. “It’s huge. My assistant coach, his sister-in-law passed away from breast cancer recently and our athletic director’s mom is

recovering from breast cancer, so it’s really important for us as a basketball community and as an athletic community at MATC to really put forth a good effort and hopefully we can develop a cure at some point of time for this disease,” Lorenz stated.

Stormer guard Niki Johnson felt the focus on the cause was for the betterment of the team’s performance, “Going out there, we had somebody to play for and I think that helped us win.”

The Kay Yow Cancer Fund

raises money for advanced research and for more people with breast cancer to access new forms of treatment.

Since its inception in 2007, it has raised over $8 million with 2 million of that coming from Play 4Kay games like MATC participated in.

The pink jerseys were especially popular among the team. “They wish they could play with them on every game,” Lorenz said. “I love them,” Johnson affirmed.

Stormer women Play 4Kay

by Samantha PalaciosTimes Staff Reporter

It has been eight weeks since the new computer-based GED tests have been up and running. Candidates have begun to run into a new set of challenges as well as previous ones. The price increase has emerged as a significant factor; going from $65 for five tests to $135 for four tests. Time constraints will continue to be a hurdle as well. The test is also now done strictly on the computer; presenting issues for individuals that are not technologically aware.

Westmore Holmes, district instructional chair of Pre-College Education acknowledges the push-back caused by the new prices, “The cost changes are dramatic, yes.” It is crucial to understand that Pearson Vue, the proprietors of the software for the new tests, has set the price, not the college.

“We (MATC) have nothing to do with the cost, it is (Pearson Vue) a for-profit entity and it determines that the market price will be as such,” said Holmes. “That is what happens when private industry becomes part of our educational system.”

Time requirements are not new to the tests, but when you take into account the prices it becomes disconcerting. “You only have that time to finish; at the end of that time wherever you are – you are stopped, period,” said Holmes. “Whatever you answered becomes your grade.” There is one exception, if you take all four tests at once, and fail just one, “you can re-test on the one in which you failed for free, if it is done within 60 days of completing it,” said Holmes. “You will get a free pass on just one.” If you fail more than one, or take the tests separately you will have to pay again.

As stated in our Dec. 12 edition, all GED testing sites in Wisconsin switched from paper to computer testing in January 2014. This means that any work done prior to that has been voided and must be started anew. This is another unfortunate consequence of the new changes and can be a setback for candidates looking to finish their GED testing.

GED tests bring new challenges

GED Page 2

Darin Dubinsky/Times Jenica Chekouras (petitioning for Occupational Therapy Assistant Program) (R) and Jenica Chekouras (Petitioning for Occupational Therapy Assistant Program)(L) study for their first Anatomy and Physiology exam in one of the A&P labs.

STUDENTLEGAL CLINIC

If looking to rent but don’t have money for the deposit, here is some helpDear Student Legal Clinic,I found an apartment to rent, but I only have enough money for rent and not the security deposit. Is there any place that helps with security deposits?Signed Harold

Dear Harold,Community Advocates has a program called the Security Deposit Guarantee Program. You must first find a landlord willing to work with the program and you can get a list of landlords from Community Advocates.The rent must be affordable based on your total income. Your rent cannot be more than 70% of your income. If you are eligible for the program, you will be able to spread the payments for the security deposit over the first few months.You must look at the property you want to rent and make sure that there are no problems with maintenance or insects or other problems. The landlord must agree to fix any problems in writing and sign the agreement.Once you have found an apartment, you need to go to Community Advocates and fill out an application and provide proof of income.To find out more about this program and other types of assistance available, call Community Advocates at 414-449-4777 or visit their offices at 728 N. James Lovell Street.

The Times Staff wants to thank Mary O’Leary for her contributions throughout the years. We wish her well on her retirement!

Calendar of eventsS-Building 2nd floor (MK)

Thursday, March 69 a.m. - 1 p.m., 4:30 -6:30 p.m.Transfer DaysMeet with representatives of four-year colleges/universities and learn more about continuing your education.Cafeteria (WA)

Thursday, March 610 a.m. - 1 p.m.Horticulture Job Fair Main Entrance Atrium (MQ)

Tuesday, March 49 a.m. - 1 p.m., 4:30 -6:30 p.m.Transfer DaysMeet with representatives of four-year colleges/universities and learn more about continuing your education.Lower Atrium (OC)

Wednesday, March 59 a.m. - 1 p.m., 4:30 -6:30 p.m.Transfer DaysMeet with representatives of four-year colleges/universities and learn more about continuing your education.

(MK) = Downtown Milwaukee Campus, (MQ) = Mequon Campus, (OC) = Oak Creek Campus, (WA) = West Allis Campus

Help offered for GED testingIn regards to the technological

issues that have surfaced because of these changes, Holmes said, “It does require our students to be digitally literate.” This is more of a difficulty for individuals who have been out of school for a long time, such as older generations. They may lack the skills needed for completing computer-based testing. Being aware of this problem is the first step in overcoming it. MATC does offer tutorials prior to the start of testing.

“Digital literacy is part of the

preparatory program so that should take care of that angst,” said Holmes, encouraging potential candidates to participate in the pre-GED courses. It is a good idea to consider these options even if you do not have technological concerns. The tests require that you are at or above an eighth or ninth grade level. This is something to keep in mind when you are thinking about taking the tests.

“It is new, and anything new has challenges,” said Holmes. He is hopeful that with time the challenges will work themselves

out and that the benefits will far outweigh the negatives. “Are there some barriers, yes there are, but that does not mean they can’t be overcome,” said Holmes. “They (candidates) should be flooding our doors to take advantage of the preparatory programs that are at MATC because they are designed to get people over that hump.” As long as you are aware of potential obstacles when trying to obtain your GED and plan accordingly, you can reach your goal. For more information please visit www.gedtestingservice.com or consult your advisor.

GED From 1

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February 27, 2014Volume 55, Issue 9 Milwaukee Area Technical College

Times Online:www.matctimes360.com

by Robyn WiggillOpinions Editorrwiggill@matctimes360.com

Dec. 5, 2013; Mandela has passed away. The country of South Africa and most of the world is tossed into a state of mourning. A great man is lost…

I remember hearing the news that Mandela had passed away. While this was not completely unexpected news, it was still hard to handle. I was driving home from work, the “special news report” blared through my radio. I wanted to push the words back into the radio, make them false. But they weren’t.

Tears began to roll down my cheek, and with each one a memory seemed to follow. I thought about growing up in post-apartheid South Africa. I thought about the changes that Mandela had implemented in his short presidency. I thought about what he meant to me, how his presence changed my life.

It is easy to focus on your loss when losing someone special. Many of us revert to the “What about me?” mentality. You begin to think of all the what-if’s and the things that wouldn’t happen anymore.

This is not what Mandela would have wanted us to focus on. I suppose I should rewind for those that may not understand

the respect I have for this man. Rolihlahla Mandela was born July 18, 1918, in Umtata, South

Africa. His name means troublemaker, which is ironic since he is hailed as a great peacemaker in South Africa. Mandela was given the name Nelson by his first grade teacher as it was customary in those times to have a British name.

Mandela was referred to as Madiba, which is his Xhosa clan name. Many South Africans affectionately call him tata which means father. This is because he is the father of our rainbow nation. A nation which is made up of an assortment of people, with different histories, views and cultures but co-existing. But this was not always so.

While I am not going to go in depth into the nightmare of apartheid and oppression and the ugly scars it has left on each of our hearts; Madiba managed to turn a country around, with an immense amount of courage, conviction in his beliefs, and a little stubbornness. And, I like many, am in awe. You see Madiba’s strength was in his ability to understand the human psyche. He knew that violence would only bring more violence. He knew that the best way to defeat an enemy is to understand your enemy.

He spent time learning the language of his oppressors, an initiative he was criticized for by his own people. Mandela believed that “to know the strength and weakness of your opponent is one of the elementary rules in a fight.”

Forward to present day, and I am still in my car thinking about what a great man we have lost. It suddenly occurred to me, we may have lost his body and his physical presence but we have not lost his “Madiba Magic.” (A common phrase used in South Africa for the magical power that he seemed to possess.)

We (South Africa and the world) have not lost the lessons he taught or the freedom he fought for. Mandela was happy to fight for the things he felt were equitable and fair.

He once said, “During my lifetime I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realized. But, My Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” In order to keep those lessons alive it is important that we exhibit them in our lives.

LOSING A

“IT ALWAYS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL IT’S DONE.” - NELSON MANDELA

I am hoping to keep Mandela’s memory alive through the way I choose to live my life and treat people. My favorite Madiba lessons are:

Chuck Kennedy/MCT

1. He taught me the importance of a young heart and children. “It always gives me great pleasure to be surrounded by the beautiful children of our land. Whenever I am with the energetic young people ... I feel like a recharged battery, confident that our country can look forward to great things.” After his release Mandela spoke how he loved to be around children, a simple joy he had been denied for 27 years while in prison. He often spoke of the importance of children in society and how we would be judged by how we treat our children.

2. He taught me the importance of education. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Mandela was an educated man with a law degree.

3. He taught me about forgiveness. “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” Mandela not only preached the forgiveness of his oppressors, he met with them, had tea with them and he himself forgave them.

4. He taught me about perseverance. “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” Many times Mandela failed to get his message of peace and unity across. The difference is that every time he did, he would try again. People thought he was crazy and he was hoping for the impossible, but he believed in his work and persevered until the end.

5. He taught me about my own potential. “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” “There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

6. He taught me about the importance fo my own attitude. “I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”

7. He taught me about giving back to those in need. Mandela believed it was most important to free yourself, free others and lastly to serve every day. He encouraged South Africans to give back to their country by volunteering 67 minutes a year to help someone else. The 67 minutes represents the 67 years he spent fighting social injustice. Every year South Africans all over the world celebrate Mandela Day on July 18, his birthday. This is an initiative that he hoped would spread, not because of him but because of the good work that would come from it.

by Michelle Ferrell Times Staff Reporter

This year is shaping up to be a promising year for television fans, who likely had their appetites whetted after January ushered in the new year with an intriguing array of series premieres. Among the return of old favorites was the unveiling of IFC’s latest miniseries, “The Spoils of Babylon” on Jan. 9, which has been highly, rated among critics.

Will Ferrell, one of the show’s producers, is also among the A-list cast which features Tobey Maguire (“Spiderman”), Kristin Wiig (“Date Night”), and Jessica Alba (“Good Luck Chuck”). The show’s quirky plot follows a wealthy oil family on the rise from humble beginnings through major wars, risqué love tangles, and family rivalries. Classified as a comedy, “The Spoils of Babylon” appears more like a melodramatic satire with blatant overtones reminiscent of the famous ‘80s soap-opera, “Dallas.”

February also holds an array of new premieres sure to impress viewers, as many homebound couples and Netflix fans affirmed after the Valentine’s Day release of season two of “House of Cards.” A suspenseful political drama laced with dark humor, “House of Cards” is a Netflix original series starring Kevin Spacey (“Pay it Forward”) and Robin Wright “Forrest Gump” as a string-pulling White House power couple. Spacey and Wright give sterling

performances in the roles that one almost hates to love. Critics were infatuated after the release of the first season, which entailed twisting plot devices and some surprising double-dealing. Season two proves no less enthralling, although with considerably more under-handed scheming and butchery.

Viewers not subscribed to Netflix can tune in on March 9 to ABC’s new fantasy drama series “Resurrection.”

The anticipated series stars Omar Epps (“House”), Frances Fisher (“The Lincoln Lawyer,”) and Kurtwood Smith (“That 70’s Show”) among others as inhabitants of a small town in which deceased loved ones have begun to return from the dead. The trailer for “Resurrection” found on ABC’s website shows the emotional reunion of a couple and their 8-year-old son who died 30 years prior. The premise for the show brings to mind “The 4400,” which previously aired on CBS and followed the lives of a selection of people impacted after their loved ones, some absent for decades, return to them as if no time has passed.

Whether their preference is funny, suspenseful or emotional, viewers are certain to have something to look forward to with a full year of entertainment ahead.

Television’s noteworthy new premieres air in 2014

MCTStuck inside? Watch something on Netflix, including the new season of the original series, “House of Cards.”

by Roger MooreLos Angeles Times (MCT)

These past few years, it’s been pretty hard to get Kevin Costner off his back porch. It’s in Aspen, so we kind of understand. He’s been raising three children under the age of 10, with his second wife, Christine. “Half my life is driving kids to practice,” he jokes. There were the business ventures – one of them Ocean Therapy

Solutions, an oil spill cleaning system – became famous thanks to the BP oil spill.

Another, ArmStar, is a non-lethal weapon he’s selling to the Pentagon that could allow the military and police to pacify violent situations without killing anybody.

“A lotta fascinating (stuff) happens on my back porch,” Costner says with a laugh. “And I’ve never been a guy who

makes movies back to back to back. I love movies, love acting, love directing. Hell, I even love rehearsing. But I have a more full life than that.” He still, at age 59, fits that description film scholar David Thomson gave him in 2002’s “Biographical Dictionary of Film”: “He is not like others – he has resolved not to be.” But 2012’s hit cable TV miniseries “Hatfields & McCoys” reminded us he’s out there. He gave heart to the special effects-burdened “Man of Steel,” and grizzled gravitas to Chris Pine in “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.”

April has the sports movie veteran in another sports movie – “Draft Day.” There’s “McFarland” and a film with his “Upside of “Anger” director, Mike Binder – “Black and White.” “I financed it, and it deals with racism,” he says. “You don’t do it just for the money, because God knows you don’t put your own money up for movies about racism.”

But first, there’s this gonzo action comedy from the writer-producer of “The Transporter” movies, “3 Days to Kill.” Costner plays C.I.A. contract killer Ethan Renner, a “cleaner,” who learns he’s dying of cancer. His new control agent (Amber Heard) bribes him with a serum that might prolong his life, providing he carry out one last series of hits, in Paris, where his estranged wife (Connie Nielsen) and the teen daughter he barely knows (Hailee Steinfeld) live.

“I like Ethan’s directness in his job, and how discombobulated he becomes trying to deal with the women in his life,” Costner says. “We played those scenes fun, because he’s struggling.” He likes, he says, the fact that this character hasn’t a clue about women – especially teenage

ones. “Welcome to the human race,” Costner laughs. “If you know a lot about women, please write that book for the rest of us. Give us a hand.” Costner shows every wrinkle, every gray hair in “3 Days.” He may be “a national treasure,” as his director, McG (“Charlie’s Angels”), declares.

But he’s not shy about showing his age, in character and out of it. Costner wanted to play a man “wed to his job,” who has paid the price for that. He wanted to play a dying man who does what guys sometimes do in that situation. “He wants to earn a lot of money, doing these last few jobs, so he can leave his family something. If he can’t leave them memories, he’ll leave them money.”

Not that this explains Costner’s own suddenly full movie dance card. He’ll admit he’s in “the second half of my career,” but don’t go measuring him for a coffin just yet. And don’t write off “3 Days” as a morose thriller. No, it’s got laughs. Ethan Renner is so out of his depth with his daughter that he interrupts “enhanced interrogations” to question family men from the terrorist underworld for child-rearing advice.

“I try to get my hammer without winking,” Costner says. “I try to get the laugh with my physical movement, in those scenes with (the terrorists). By making it quiet, you make it work. And asking parenting questions of those guys? It’s already funny.” McG, who has a “Terminator” movie and the emotional sports film “We Are Marshall” in his credits, wanted “a partner” on this venture in writer-producer Luc Besson’s Paris, with Besson’s French crew, French stunt drivers and French sensibilities.

“Costner’s got an Oscar (for

directing ‘Dances With Wolves’), so he’s a pretty good director himself,” McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol) says. “So I wanted a collaborator, somebody I could listen to. We’re two American filmmakers, standing on Montmartre with an all French crew, trying to find our way in a French-style action film – two fish out of water making a fish-out-of-water story.” The director and his star rewrote some scenes, giving a more tolerant American sensibility to Besson’s bemused shots at French immigration policy (African squatters have taken over Ethan’s apartment, and French law and the French cops give them more rights than the property owner), turning would-be torture scenes into low comedy.

Again, these scenes don’t play out the way you expect. Costner’s love for the unconventional continues with his next film, a dramedy about a general manager trying to get through NFL “Draft Day.” “If somebody said, ‘Make a movie about a single day in the NFL draft,’ you’d laugh,” he says. “But it’s the same thing as saying ‘These guys are walking out of a cornfield and onto a diamond wanting to play baseball. And they’re dead. Make a movie about THAT.’”

In a career that has had as many near classics as misses, the man who will be remembered for “Field of Dreams” and “Bull Durham,” “No Way Out” and “The Untouchables” is not about to stop gambling. Nobody saw “Swing Vote”? Maybe you should have. Missed his earthy working-man turn in “The Company Men”? Netflix it. “Movies are supposed to make you glad you made them,” Costner says, “because they’re not what anybody expects.”

Kevin Costner is still determined to go his own way

Stephan Vaughan/MCT

Kevin Costner stars in “3 Days to Kill.”

Accounting program

Auto Body program

Medical Assistant program

Liberal Arts program

by Veronika GrecoMequon Campus Editorvgreco@matctimes360.com

February is Black History Month, and what better way to celebrate than to reflect on African- Americans who have had an impact on the world, our country, or specifically our individual lives.

A person doesn’t have to influence millions to have significance. When we think about Black History we immediately think of great leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., or Nelson Mandela, but what about those less known.

How about an instructor who makes you feel important, and is relentless in his/her encouragement for you to succeed when they see you struggle. Perhaps a friend that is always there for you, or a counselor that gives you needed resources and direction.

Every one of us knows an African-American who should be celebrated.

Professor Larry Vance, who taught me African-American History this summer, opened up my eyes to the world of the African-American man and his struggles. He taught me things that I had never heard of, including horrific facts about slavery; it was an emotional enlightenment that I will never forget, and continue to study.

Oak Creek campus students were asked, “Which African-American person (friend, instructor, famous person, etc.) has impacted, influenced or inspired your life?” Read on to see their responses and think about what your answer would be.

Inspiring African-Americans don’t have to be famous

“My neighbor Clark; he was a principal and worked until the age of 68, and he has inspired me to stay in school and keep going till I graduate.”

“My friend Ashley Jr. She recently got diagnosed with ovarian cancer and I guess it’s just inspiring to know that she is embracing life and how wonderful it still is, even though something bad has happened to her. Even after losing her hair from chemo, she’s so positive and loving.”

“Jay-Z because he’s an entrepreneur, and he made it big and that’s my goal; to build an empire just like him.”

“Malcolm X was pretty cool. He had some radical ideas that shook up the political landscape at the time; that really needed to happen.”

Renee Anderson

Donte’ McClendon

“My mother – she inspired me to go to college. She stayed on me to do the right thing. She’s my hero!”

Mark DelacruzHVAC program

Natalie Martinez

Merlinda Garcia Castro

Calvin Coleman

LPN program

“Mr. Holmes at the downtown campus and Mrs. Reed who played a big part in where I am right now as far as education. They helped me through the GED program and I just jumped right there to college.”

Music program is alive and wellby Keio HortonDowntown Campus Editor

Did you know that MATC has a music program? If you didn’t know, it’s true. MATC has a program called Music Occupations.

“There has been a music presence since the beginning at MATC,” said Robbi Heighway, music instructor/department chair of Music Occupations. The program has been at MATC for at least 40 years.

The location of Music Occupations is on the first floor of the C-Building in the downtown campus. This is where the program has most of the meetings and rehearsals.

The program also has rooms in the Main Building for classes involved in the program as well as an audio room in Room M170 in the Main Building.

You can also find them presenting concerts in the C-Auditorium, performing a wide variety of genres of music.

Heighway mentioned that the program focuses on a variety of music genres such as gospel and jazz. “We do all kinds of music, for instance, this semester we’re doing a choral version of “Bohemian Rhapsody”… we do very classic hits,” said Heighway.

Students can join the program by attending classes involved in the program, signing up online, or by calling one of the instructors. Students who don’t have a major could also join the

program. “If somebody has had choir in high school or sings in their church choir that’s a great way to get a little music,” said Heighway.

Heighway also pointed out that there are plenty of benefits from joining the Music Occupations program. “It’s great fun to be a part of music,” said Heighway. “It’s great fun to be a part of a choir and an ensemble.”

Finishing the program can help lead you to becoming a professional musician. Heighway said that one of the graduates of this very program was Hal Leonard, vice president of the world’s largest music publisher in Milwaukee.

She also noted that a student who graduated the program ended up becoming a blues musician and opens for B.B. King. “We have people all over doing stuff,” said Heighway. There are a lot of benefits for joining this program.

The Music Occupations program is a great program to be a part of. It is also one of the best kept secrets in the college. There is also an Audio Production program that ties in with the Music Occupations.

The program has future performances coming up mid- semester in the C-Auditorium. This program is ready to receive more recognition from the student body and faculty of the school. For more information, contact a music instructor or search for the program online.

Alex LaGroone/TimesEdgar Davis, Music Occupations program student, works on a new song in one of the practice rooms.

Anime club members are all about the gameby Darin DubinskyTimes Photo Editor

Members of the MATC Anime Club meet every Wednesday and Friday between 1 and 5 p.m. in Room M154 at the downtown Milwaukee campus. During the first hour of the Wednesday meetings they work on a collaborative manga, after the first hour, students come and go between their classes to watch anime, play video games, exchange information about their favorite anime series, or just enjoy each other’s company.

In addition to those activities, they also play card games, and on occasion the Anime Club President Adrian Trotter will give drawing tips to those that are interested.

Currently the club has 178 members, with about 40 to 50 members that make it to each meeting. On Feb. 14 - 16 approximately 20 members went to Anime Milwaukee as a group of friends just checking out the convention.

May 16 – 18 another group of 20 from the club will go to Anime Central in Chicago. Next year, Trotter hopes to organize a table for the group at Anime Milwaukee to give them

the opportunity to sell their artwork, or manga, and promote the group further.

Trotter says that, “The group is a good place to come to meet people, and is also a good place to get into anime.”

During the meetings there is usually a screening of anime on in the background with a different anime each meeting, but the group does try to watch a complete series together from beginning to end over the course

of each semester. For more information about

the Anime Club at MATC, you can email them at matcanimeclub@gmail.com or you can visit them in Room M154 on Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 – 5 p.m.

Darin Dubinsky/TimesAnime Club members socialize and play video games during the Feb. 19 Anime Club meeting.

Darin Dubinsky/TimesSteven Bauman (Computer Simulation and Gaming program) plays video games and watches anime during an Anime Club meeting on Feb. 19. Two of his favorite anime series are “Fairy Tail” and “Kill La Kill.”

Darin Dubinsky/TimesMembers of the Anime Club hang out in room M154 on Feb. 19 to discuss their favorite anime shows and play video games.

Bucks try to fill seats despite poor record

Women dominate Harper, continue win streak

by Monte DriscollTimes Staff Reporter

Due to this season’s on-court struggles, the Milwaukee Bucks have had to resort to some very creative tactics to put fans in the seats. From aggressively priced ticket plans to a renewed focus on scoreboard entertainment features, the team seems to be pulling out all the stops to make certain that people attend their remaining home games this year.

Only 11,016 people, according to the announced attendance, decided to take in Monday, Feb. 10’s game against the visiting Boston Celtics. That number represents the smallest amount of fans at one game since the Bucks began playing at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in 1988.

Even offering free tickets to kids wasn’t enough to boost attendance beyond the record low. This was one of the seven games throughout January and February that the Bucks decided to give kids age 14 and under a chance to come for no cost, calling it “Kids Cheer Free.”

The Ramirez family of South Milwaukee had three children at the game but did not take advantage of the Kids Cheer Free program because they didn’t need to. All of their tickets were free, a gift from another family who had purchased them earlier in the year but decided not to attend. Carmen Ramirez, father of the three children, said the family would be unlikely to attend another game this year, citing the lack of an exciting enough atmosphere. “My kids were bored,” Ramirez stated.

Boredom is an issue the team

Men get revenge behind Spears’ highlightsby Monte DriscollTimes Staff Reporter

Stormers’ guard Troy Spears thought his late fourth quarter tomahawk dunk to put the Feb. 15 game out of reach for the Harper College Hawks was more important than the three-pointer he drained just a few plays before that gave the Stormers the lead for good in a contest that saw it change 10 times. MATC won by a final score of 89-78.

“I’d say it was the dunk. The three? It kinda got us going but overall it was the dunk that sealed it and got us the win,” Spears said afterwards.

Guard Alex Oldenburg disagreed. Oldenburg, who scored nine points on only six shots, thought the jumper with a man in Spears’ face was the bigger of the plays. “The three. We were down and he hit the three and that was huge in us turning it around,” Oldenburg stated, but not without paying credit to the emphatic slam that followed. “The dunk was huge too. It really sealed the deal.”

Both plays capped an impressive effort against a Harper team that had emerged victorious in a double overtime slobberknocker against the Stormers in January. The Stormers were happy to avenge the loss. “It’s always good to get one back after, you know, we lost a tough basketball game. It’s hard to have any team lose in the game that was played at their place because both teams battled hard. Two overtimes. It’s hard to have any team lose that game,” Head Coach Randy Casey shared.

Guard Jermaine Brisco kept the Stormers in the game throughout, leading them with 25 points and

five assists. “He changes pace for us. Our whole team, if we play the game we want to play, we can be pretty good. Lately we’ve been doing that but he’s definitely a key to our success,” Casey said.

Harper held the lead at 77-76 with three minutes to go before Spears’ defiant sniper blast from deep. “I had to take my chances. I thought I could make it and I made it,” Spears said coming out of the locker room.

Forward/Center Steve Stovall Jr. scored 14 and grabbed 10 boards for the Stormers. Forward Terrell Hayes added 14 on six/nine shooting.

by Monte DriscollTimes Staff Reporter

Even in pink uniforms, it was business as usual for the eighth ranked Stormer women. They clipped the wings of the Harper College Hawks for their sixth straight win on Saturday, Feb. 15 with a 84-65 victory.

Guard Benetta Jones lead the way with 26 points, barreling her way to the basket time after time after time. “She can score inside. She can score outside. And her energy level is just contagious. On the offensive end she knows where to be and she uses her body so well. The kid is so strong physically in the post,” Head Coach Jeff Lorenz said after the game.

Jones credits her success in the game to preparation. “Practice. Training. The coaches,” Jones responded as to why she was so effective.

Lorenz thought the Stormers’ impressive long range shooting helped as well. “It really increases Benetta Jones and the girls inside. It allows everything to open up. Now everybody’s got to step out and respect us at the three-point line,” Lorenz said.

can only do so much about on the court right now. Off court entertainment during breaks in the game came from pre-taped scoreboard videos to activities like a baked bean eating contest. Game Day Live, a spoof of the “Saturday Night Live” cast intro theme, played on the scoreboard before the game. Nick Memmel, MATC Speech student and member of Sector 7, the Bucks’ dedicated fan cheering section, was critical of the video. “Game Day Live sucks. That’s gotta go,” Memmel said.

The losing ways of the Bucks, who have only won five home games in 25 tries after this contest, have created opportunities for fans that weren’t there a few years ago when the team was more competitive. Asked what brought him to the game, Max Kowalski of Milwaukee asked back, “Besides the cheap tickets?” A big basketball fan, Kowalski would prefer the team was winning but admitted the losing did benefit him personally. “I wouldn’t have been able to get tickets two years ago,” Kowalski mused.

The game was close in score in the early goings but Milwaukee lost 102-86 when Boston pulled away in the fourth quarter. A strong contingent of fans headed for the exits well before the final buzzer. Josh Holmes of Muskego appreciated the low cost of attending the game with his daughter after her cheerleading competition at the BMO Harris Bradley Center that day. “I liked that the tickets were only $10 but I’d rather the team was winning. Then we wouldn’t be leaving early,” Holmes shared.

Point guard Niki Johnson dazzled by nailing five high arcing three-pointers in only eight attempts, tallying 15 points for the game. She thinks preparation was key as well. “I warmed up in the beginning of the game. They (Harper) were late so we had more time to warm up,” Johnson shared.

Defensive intensity was a major factor too. The Stormers forced 17 turnovers in the first half alone, including three steals by defensive fiend Shonnice Vaughn. “The girls came and set the tone early on. We had the ability to jump down into our bench and work on some things we haven’t had the chance to. Defensively we came out and set the tone,” Lorenz determined.

Harper, with only five eligible players in the gym, was unable to otherwise support the massive contribution from their center Monica Hinderer. Hinderer finished with a game-high 34 points and 20 rebounds. The Stormers have won both contests against Harper this year, the first coming on Jan. 22.

Guard Sakeenah Rashada added 10 points and seven assists for the Stormers. Guard Laterrica Fleming scored 13.

Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/MCTMilwaukee Bucks head coach Larry Drew, left, talks to guard Nate Wolters (6) during action against the Orlando Magic on Jan. 31.

Kristen Schmitt/Times

During a competitive win (89-78) against the Harper College Hawks Arthell Rosquist (#23) goes for a difficult lay up and tries to finesse the ball past the defender.

Kristen Schmitt/TimesWomens’ Head Coach Jeff Lorenz strategizes with his team during a time out.

Murder

Mystery DinnerMURDERJoAhne PenneyWest Allis Campus Editor

The scene was the annual billionaire’s club meeting and the opulent room was alive with costumed attendees who were totally unaware that by meeting’s end one of the 130 members in attendance would be dead. Hor d’ oeuvres were served in the grand lobby while roaring fireplaces and wing-backed chairs invited members to mingle with the murder mystery cast. A century old building, the Renaissance Place contributed to the ambiance. The fifth annual event is a project of the Student Government and Student Life departments, and is held to give students an affordable, fun night out where they can mix and mingle and just have a great time.

Once the deadly dinner got under way in the Grand Ballroom, various “billionaire attendees” were assigned roles in the cast and given their back-story so they could assume their identities. As the delicious dinner of baked salmon, prime rib, chicken picata, Waldorf salad, and vegetables were being devoured, the club members were just getting into the meeting when the club president, after smoking a cigar, keeled over and dropped dead! Well, as you can imagine, quite a buzz swept through the ballroom, speculating on “who did it?” The billionaires were in quite an uproar over the demise of their president, and the daunting job of discovering the culprit ensued. After great sleuthing and postulating, the crime was solved. Prizes were awarded to the best costumes, and a photo booth was on site to capture the memories as all had a good time.

Student Life plans events to give the student body activities to enhance their overall college experience. The next event will be the Grand Ball, where a king and queen will be crowned, and prize money will be awarded. All students are eligible to run for king or queen of the ball, but must be sponsored by a club. Candidates must attend the candidates dinner and give a speech.

Photos by Mike Hiller