September 22, 2010

[cm-life.com]

VIDEO GAMES | Consult our guide for hot fall titles, 1B

Mount Pleasant, Mich.Central Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan LifeWednesday, Sept. 22, 2010

LIVE CHAT

Keep up with what happens at the board of trustees meeting

Thursday morning

By Chelsea HohnStaff Reporter

Steve Lewis is under a lot of pressure these days.

The Allegan junior is pres-ident of Program Board, the organization responsible for bringing much of the enter-tainment featured at CMU.

His duties include book-ing events, ensuring all shows are confirmed, stay-ing in close contact with his adviser Damon Brown, coor-

dinator of student activities and going over contracts. But since On The Fly Pro-ductions was cut at the end of last semester, Program Board has been pushed far-ther into the spotlight.

“I met with (the president and vice president of On The Fly) and saw what they thought was good for the campus,” Lewis said.

Program Board is now pushed even harder to bring entertainment to CMU while staying within budget limits, Program Board vice presi-dent and Pinconning senior Crysta Heckman said.

“We don’t have On The Fly as co-sponsor anymore,

it makes it harder to do big-ger shows,” Heckman said. “We don’t have the funding to do shows as much as we used to, but it’s brought new members to our organiza-tion.”

TeamworkLewis doesn’t do it alone.

Heckman shares the same stresses and responsibili-ties.

“It can get really stressful balancing everything, but it’s always worth it just to see students having a good time,” Heckman said.

Balance is a large part of Program Board, Heckman said. Satisfying the masses

with various artists is an-other job Lewis has to ac-complish,

“We just try to get every-one’s opinions,” Heckman said.

Surveys and student in-put is the most accurate way to gauge what performers to bring, she said. In 2008, Heckman sent out a large amount of surveys asking students what comedian they would prefer.

Demetri Martin ended up triumphant in those surveys and Program Board brought him to Rose Arena after Bob Saget canceled.

victoria zegler/staff photographerAllegan junior Steve Lewis, president of Program Board, left, goes over an attendance sheet Tuesday night on the third floor of the Bovee University Center with Madison Heights sophomore Emily Panone, cultural events chairwoman, to reward those who participate in events.

Program Board president keeps busy this semesterLoss of On the Fly means more work for Steve Lewis

A Lewis | 2A

ashley Miller/staff photographerEvents Center construction is scheduled for completion in November before the start of basketball season. The expansion to date has amounted to $21.5 million and includes a main entrance, a practice gym and new Rose Arena seating.

By Joe BorlikStaff Reporter

Four cashiers from Mount Pleasant busi-nesses were cited for selling alcohol to mi-nors in a police sting Saturday.

Cashiers at Border’s Corner Store, 7024 E. Pickard St., Old Mission Party Store, 5030 S. Mission Road, the Cracker Barrel, 20 E. Remus Road and the 7-Eleven at 302 W. Broomfield St. were all issued citations.

The sting targeted 27 businesses, said Jeff Browne, Mount Pleasant Police public in-formation officer.

He said the results are about what he ex-pected.

“I would say (four) is the norm,” Browne said. “I’d like it best if nobody was cited.”

The 23 businesses that passed include Li-quor 1, 1707 S. Mission St., Empty Keg Party Store, 122 E. Pickard St. and Todbld’s Party Store, 104 E. May St.

Employees at Todbld’s will card anyone who looks under 60 years old, said Jason Bock, a cashier at Todbld’s.

“We stress that nobody slacks when it comes to alcohol and tobacco,” Bock said.

He said he was surprised four of the busi-nesses were issued citations, but in a college town some cashiers can forget.

The police conduct one or two stings a year, Brown said. The stings are conducted by the Youth Services Unit of Isabella Coun-ty.

Browne said an underage individual would go to each business attempting to buy alcohol. If it was purchased, a police officer would come in and issue a citation after the buyer left.

Browne said if a person is caught selling to a minor in a sting operation, it is a civil infraction. If it had not been during a sting, it would have been a misdemeanor.

The Liquor Control Commission also does alcohol stings, Browne said.

[email protected]

Four liquor stores busted in alcohol sting23 businesses pass police carding effort

unsung heroesRedshirt freshman running back Zirlon Tipton runs past Eastern Michigan defenders to score a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to record his first touchdown of the 2010 season at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti. “That’s my role this year,” he said. “I’m just out there to get the team a win.”

They know their roles.Armond Staten is just a backup linebacker. Mike Petrucci is

just a backup linebacker. And Zurlon Tipton, he’s just a “punk freshman.”

“That’s my role this year,” Tipton said. “I’m just out there to get the team a win. Wherever they need me, whenever they tell me to go in, I do what I can to get the job done.”

And it’s going to take whatever these three can give for the Chippewas to get the job done this season. The trio made their presence felt loud and clear in Saturday afternoon’s 52-14

victory against Eastern Michigan.

A footBaLL | 5A

Events Center needs $2.5 million more to finish expansion

By Anthony Fenech | Senior Reporter

By Carisa SeltzSenior Reporter

About $2.5 million will be added to funding for the Events Center project if ap-proved by the CMU Board of Trustees Thursday.

The board meets at 9:30 a.m. in the Presidential Con-ference Room of the Bovee

University Center.A total of $1.5 million will

focus on a proposal dealing with “unforeseen conditions, design errors and omissions associated with the proj-ect,” whereas $500,000 will focus on June 3 flooding is-sues and $500,000 will focus on rubberized floors taken from the Events Center as a result of flood damage.

Out of the $1.5 million, $750,000 is needed to cover the conditions, design er-rors and omissions. Another $100,000 is needed for inter-

nal signage enhancement and $650,000 is being re-quested for a 30-foot-by-10-foot video board and related video equipment.

The request said the “ad-dition of the video and graphics package will pro-vide expanded sponsorship opportunities and the cost will be repaid by athletics from future revenues.”

University reserves would finance $850,000 of the ad-ditional funds requested and future athletic revenue would finance the rest.

The total cost of the Events Center will rise to $22.5 million if the request is approved.

Athletic department of-ficials were unavailable for comment.

Flood damageThree requests totaling

$4 million pertain to flood damage caused by heavy rainfall that dumped water in the Events Center and other campus buildings.

Flooding, adjunct contract on board of trustees agenda

A BoaRD of TRustees | 2A

VIDEO

Check out the video from CMU’s football game

Saturday at EMU

cm-life.com

“The more guys that can play in games like that, the better off your football team is going to be,” said CMU head coach Dan Enos.

Against Hampton, Staten recov-ered a fumble. Against Temple, Petrucci filled in for an injured Nick Bellore. And against EMU, Tipton scored in his first game back in over a year, after an injury ended his season last year and a suspen-sion began his season this year.

They ran, they tackled, they scored and unfortunately for head coach Dan Enos, put together a nice little highlight tape of plays to show the rest of Central Michi-gan’s opponents that if and when the next Chippewas starter gets in-jured, there is an army of backups ready to step in and perform.

“For any position on your foot-ball team, the more guys that can play in games like that, the better

off your football team is going to be,” Enos said. “You need to have capable backups, and we’re very fortunate.”

And it didn’t take Enos very long to see just how fortunate the team was.

PeTrucci“It’s my job to stay consistent and

ready to back up,” said Petrucci, a junior linebacker that put a defen-

sive exclamation point on Satur-day’s win with a 43-yard fumble recovery touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter. “It’s been good to be able to contribute.”

On the play, Petrucci trailed sophomore linebacker Alex Smith on a strong side blitz. After Smith clobbered Eagles quarterback De-vontae Payne in the backfield, the

cm-life.com/category/news2A || Wednesday, sept. 22, 2010 || central Michigan life

3 Day Kicko� Event!Griffin Policy ForumPlachta Auditorium, Warriner Hall

ModeratorDr. Alex Himelfarb, Director, GlendonSchool of Public and International Affairs

PanelistsMark Gaffney, President, Michigan AFL-CIOFrederick W. Hoffman, Former Vice President of Government Relations, Chrysler, LLCGreg Main, President and CEO, Michigan Economic Development CorporationH.E. Marco Nobili, Consul General of Italy in DetroitDr. Roy B. Norton, Consul General of Canada in DetroitRich Studley, President and CEO, Michigan Chamber of Commerce

Central Michigan UniversityAs policy issues grow more complex, greater collaboration is required between policymakers and administrators at various levels and across national borders. This conference, which includes experts from Canada, Italy and the U.S., will provide public managers with strategies to address the challenges they face in the global economy.

RegistrationAlthough the Griffin Policy Forum and following Academic Conference are free and open to the public, please register in advance by contacting CMU’s Political Science Department at 989-774-7415 or [email protected]. Please indicate whether you will attend the conference, forum or both.

Event SponsorsThe Griffin Policy Forum and Academic Conference are hosted by the Robert and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government, the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Department of Political Science at Central Michigan University. The conference is also supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Friday, September 24Public Administration ConferencePark Library Auditorium

Morning Session (9 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.)

Business, Labor and GovernmentFinancial Regulation after the Global Bubble Burst

Afternoon Session (2 – 6 p.m.)Public/Private Partnerships in Green Economies

in the Global Economy

Saturday, September 259:30 a.m. - Noon

Workshop: Fostering Global Awareness in Public Administration

Graduate Education, Strosacker Room, Park Library

September 23 - 25, 2010

Making Public Management Work in the

Global Economy:

chsbs.cmich.edu/gri�nCMU is an AA/EO institution (see cmich.edu/aaeo).

For ADA accommodations call 989-774-3442 at least one week in advance.

Today

w Big Brothers, Big Sisters will meet at 8:30 p.m. in Moore 101

w Ski and Snowboard club will meet at 8:30 p.m. at the Bovee University Center Down Under Food Court

w a Student workshop with alan Jacobs will be from noon to 5:30 p.m. at the Kaya Coffee & Tea Co., 1029 S. University Ave.

w Pi Sigma alpha Political Science Honors Fraternity will meet from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Down Under Food Court.

THurSday

w alan Jacobs will give a public lecture at 11 a.m. in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium.

w yoga moves is at 6 p.m. at the Faith Johnston Memo-rial Library in Rosebush, 4026 Michigan St.

w meet with the recruiter for majors or minors in accounting, Finance, management information Systems and computer related areas from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Bovee University Center Rotunda.

Corrections

© Central Michigan Life 2010Volume 91, Number 14

Central Michigan Life has a long-standing commitment to fair and accurate reporting. It is our policy to correct factual errors. Please e-mail [email protected].

EVENTS CALENDAR

PHOTO OF THE DAY

leah sefton/staff photographerWayland junior Spencer Winthrop Grubbs sits outside of Moore Hall smoking a corn cob pipe in the warm weather Tuesday afternoon. “A couple of friends found this for me,” Spencer said. “It’s good, and on great days like this, it’s necessary.”

Lewis is especially proud of other bookings, including the alternative rock band “We The Kings,” who are set to perform Oct. 10.

Other upcoming shows include stand-up come-dian Nick Swardson — best known for his appearance in the 2006 film “The Bench-warmers” — and actor Verne Troyer.

Stand-up comedy is a par-

ticular interest of Lewis’. “Every time I leave a comedy

show, everyone’s smiling and having a good time,” he said.

Lewis is doing well with his duties as Program Board president, said Rebecca Sarkozi, RSO member and Big Rapids sophomore.

“He’s doing a pretty good job this year,” she said. “(He’s) working with the e-board a lot to get general members a lot more excited about working with it.”

[email protected]

LEwIS |continued from 1A

By Emily PfundSenior Reporter

Eastbound Broomfield Road will be closed to through traffic between West Campus and East Cam-pus drives this weekend as work is carried out on un-derground sewer piping.

The road closure will be-gin 6 a.m. Friday and remain in effect until 7 p.m. Sun-day. Traffic will be rerouted through West Campus Drive along the southern athletic complex.

Westbound Broomfield will remain open, as well as Eastbound Broomfield to His House Church and park-ing lot 61 on the west side of

the Student Activity Center. Workers will be installing

large diameter storm wa-ter pipes in order to handle larger volumes of water, said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management.

“Due to the amount of ex-isting underground utilities in the area, it is necessary to cross Broomfield Road to connect to the proper storm water manholes located in the median,” Lawrence said in an e-mailed statement.

The project has an esti-mated $180,000 cost asso-ciated with it, he said, but could increase if unforseen conditions underground come about.

Work is being conducted on the piping systems in re-sponse to the Aug. 11 flood that damaged several cam-pus buildings.

“The Aug. 11 flood raised questions about the capac-ity of existing storm water sewers around the Events Center,” Lawrence said. “With completion of the re-design, installation needs to progress as soon as possible before normal fall rains be-gin.”

The SAC, Rose Arena and all other athletic facilities can be accessed via East Campus Drive.

[email protected]

Broomfield Road to be partially closed Friday through Sunday

Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management, said CMU will seek reimbursement from an insurance policy subject to the university’s $50,000 deductible to replenish the reserve account.

“We will be reimbursed by the insurance company,” he said. “That’s our expecta-tion.”

One proposal requests $500,000 to repair damage in the Events Center that oc-curred during a June 3 flood in which Mount Pleasant re-ceived 1.7 inches of rain.

The water that entered the lower level of the build-ing flooded four different locker rooms and six former racquetball courts now used to store athletic department equipment.

Another proposal requests $3 million to repair damage that occurred during the Aug. 11 flood in which the

city received four inches of rain in three hours.

Lawrence said that flood impacted 39 campus build-ings.

The final request per-taining to flood damage re-quests $500,000 to transfer disposed rubberized floor-ing taken from the Events Center originally transferred to the Brent Run Landfill in Montrose. If approved, it will be sent to the Environ-mental Quality Landfill in Rawsonville.

The flooring, which was removed after the June 3 flood, was determined to be hazardous waste and it must be relocated from Montrose.

The claims management process requires CMU pay contractors directly for their services or goods, before being reimbursed by the in-surance company for its ex-penses.

FaculTy conTracTThe board will also vote

whether to give University President George Ross au-thority to ratify and sign a collective bargaining agree-ment with members of the Union of Teaching Faculty.

Dan Kukuk, organizer for the American Federation of Teachers Michigan, said the bargaining process will be-gin by the end of fall.

Union members voted by a margin greater than 3 to 1 for union representation Aug. 20 after a year-long campaign.

“Non-tenured faculty did not have the opportunity to negotiate so we worked for over a year to have that election and we won over-whelmingly,” Kukuk said. “Now we are moving on in the bargaining process.”

Temporary faculty want to bargain terms of job secu-rity, health insurance, salary and several other conditions of employment with the uni-versity, he said.

bOArD Of TruSTEES |continued from 1A

WEATHER FORECAST

20 percent chance of precipitation

Today High 71/Low 57 PM Sun

THurSdayHigh 84/Low 66 Thunder Storms

Friday High 68/Low 45 Showers

SaTurdayHigh 62/Low 46 Partly Cloudy




Eric Dresden, Managing Editor | [email protected] | 989.774.4343

inside life3A

Central Michigan life

Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010

Michael L. HoffmanStaff Reporter

You wake up at 9:55 a.m. and have class in five min-utes on the far side of cam-pus.

Don’t panic, just grab your longboard — at least, that’s what Christian Mat-thews does. The Rochester sophomore often rides his longboard from his room in Barnes Hall to his classes.

He is one of many students who have begun to use bicy-cles, skateboards and roller skates to speed across the university.

“It’s a lot faster,” he said. “No matter where you are on campus, it only takes you five minutes to get any-where.”

Fellow longboarder Jordan Kantola said he also rides to save time getting from one place to another on cam-pus.

“It is so much quicker than walking. I can get anywhere I need to really fast,” said Kantola, a Ravenna junior.

He said it just makes trav-

eling campus easier in gen-eral.

But faster isn’t always bet-ter in Susan Cosby’s opin-ion.

The temporary faculty member of English lan-guage and literature prefers not only to walk between campus buildings, but also from her apartment, which is located relatively close to campus, she said.

“Walking also helps me to get my thoughts in order,” she said. “To get in the ‘zone’ if you will.”

Travel SafelyThe relationship between

pedestrian and higher speed travelers can be a strained one at best, Kantola said.

Walkers are typically un-aware of approaching cruis-ers and, though difficulties are rare, sometimes switch-ing to the bike lane on Wash-ington Street doesn’t help his chances.

“In the street you have to worry about more things, cars, bikes and other peo-ple,” he said.

He thinks the university could do more to help out non-traditional travelers — if the bike lanes in the

Victoria ZEglEr/staff photographerRochester Hills sophomore Ben Smith rides his longboard to class Thursday afternoon outside of Brooks Hall. “I have been longboarding for about three weeks, all day, every-day,” Smith said. “There’s a different rhythm with a longboard that allows you to easily flow with the ground when you’re cruising from place to place.”

speedsters get around campus on wheelsStudents use alternatives to cut travel time

A wheels | 6A

Howard began partici-pating in improvisational comedy two and a half years ago and wants to pursue stand-up comedy professionally. He said he likes coming to Coco Joe’s Beach House, 4855 E. Bluegrass Road, to “do his thing.”

“I’m not boxed in,” he

said. “It’s great to have five to 10 minutes each week to get things off my head.”

Coco Joe’s hosts the show at 9 p.m. Thursdays.

Professional comedi-ans such as Ken Evans of Florida, Martin Bulter of Detroit, Chris Hegedus of Cleveland and Tommy Thompson of Minnesota

have all generated laughs from the crowd.

“Comedy is an interest-ing beast,” Hegedus said. “It’s fun to be challenged (by the audience).”

Mount Pleasant senior Michelle Murray said the event with Hegedus and Thompson was funny, and she would definitely come again.

She said it is interesting how they bring in nation-ally famous comedians, though she did have one criticism.

“I hate how all these co-medians talk about is sex and drugs,” she said. “But for the most part, it was re-ally funny and lots of fun to see.”

The comedy nights were hosted at Soaring Eagle Ca-sino’s Boomers Nightclub,

until it moved to Coco Joe’s this year, Howard said.

He said Coco Joe’s gives a different experience for college students.

“If people want to look for something unique, you know, you have all these bars, pitcher nights and all

that, but Coco Joe’s is the only consistent comedy venue in town,” Howard said. “People like to laugh and enjoy themselves, Coco Joe’s gives them that opportunity.”

metro@cm-l ife.com

Photos by Victoria ZEglEr/staff photographerKen Evans, 50, of Florida performs his stand-up act, engaging the audience Thursday night at CoCo Joe’s, 4855 E. Blue Grass Rd. “My favorite thing of all is to speak my mind and make people laugh,” Evans said. “It heals them, it really does.”

Laughing It UpNational, local talent perform weekly at Coco Joe’s

Colin Howard rolls out the laughs every Thursday.

The Grand Rapids senior hosts and jokes in a weekly show — Coco Joe’s Comedy Night — featur-ing locally- and nationally-known stand-up comedians.

By Maria Amante | Staff Reporter

Michael L. HoffmanStaff Reporter

CMU has taken a big step in providing students with more bandwidth allowance than in years past.

Near the end of the 2010 spring semester the CMU

IT Department upgraded the bandwidth from seven gigabytes a week to 30 giga-bytes.

Help Desk Manager Jeffrey McDowell said the univer-sity decided to upgrade the amount of allotted band-width per week because of the evolution of how stu-dents are using the Internet.

“A lot of people were hit-ting the upload limit when we had it at five and seven gigs,” he said. “But when we upgraded to 30, the number dropped dramatically over

the year.”The 2010 spring semester

saw an average of 66 stu-dents hitting the bandwidth cap according to data from the Help Desk.

But so far this semester the average number of stu-dents reaching the limit has dropped to around 39 a week.

“We haven’t really adver-tised it,” McDowell said. “We just did it because we thought it was necessary.”

Kole Taylor, technical writer for the Office of In-

formation Technology, said the most common reasons people go over the limit are programs like iChat, Skype, peer-to-peer programs and streaming online videos.

“A lot people don’t real-ize it, but iChat uses a ton of bandwidth,” Taylor said. “Your computer is constantly uploading a new image so it’s a drain on the bandwidth.”

Bronson sophomore Ben-jamin Nolin said he has reached the limit several times and has been kicked off of the network.

“I was watching way too many TV shows,” he said. “But since I’ve lived off cam-pus, I haven’t had a prob-lem.”

Tyler Wykoff said he has had problems with the bandwidth as well.

“It has kicked me off a few times for using webcams,” the Commerce Township freshman said. “It sucks too because I chat with my brother in Puerto Rico and my girlfriend back home.”

The Help Desk does have what McDowell called “one

get out of jail free card.”“If a student goes over

they can call the Help Desk and we will reset the band-width for them,” McDowell said.

But he said students can only do that once and if they ever exceed it again they will be out of luck.

Students can check their current bandwidth usage on the Help Desk website at https://helpdesk.oit.cmich.edu/resnet/login.asp.

[email protected]

Bandwidth allocation increased; students still hit capNew limit of 30 gigabytes put in place spring semester

‘ c o m e d y i s a n i n t e r e s t i n g b e a s t ’

By Ryan CzachorskiSenior Reporter

The proposed Isabella County 2011 fiscal year budget is online today for review by citizens.

The budget went through its final review at Tuesday’s board of commissioners work session. The board also announced a public budget hearing at 7:05 p.m next Tuesday, Sept. 28 at the Isabella County Building for county residents to voice their concerns.

“We’ll have a public hearing for any final input,” said Chair-man David Ling. “It will be fol-lowed by a public vote to ap-prove the budget.”

The county’s expenses are not covered by their revenues. A combination of money from the fund balance, delinquent tax fund and the county’s con-tingency may cover the discrep-ancy.

A balanced budget must be adopted by Oct. 1.

The budget can be accessed through the county’s website, www.isabellacounty.org. Physi-cal copies of the budget are available in room 220 of the Isabella County Building, 200 N. Main St.

Requests for allocations of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s 2 percent fund were finalized at the work session. The county, along with other governmental agencies, receives 2 percent of all casino and resort profits.

Commissioners ranked po-tential programs based on their collective priorities. The group eliminated the Special Commu-nity Event Support Package and the Groundwater Protection Program from consideration.

Remaining programs will be forwarded to the tribe, but will not necessarily receive funding based on the board’s recom-mendations. Some of the pro-grams are sheriff vehicles, shires

Proposed budget available on webComissioner vote removes one-third of position from BAYANET

A County | 6A

i s a b e l l ac o u n t y

In the past two years, trustees have approved the College of Medicine and appointed Uni-versity President George Ross at meetings without announcing the intention to do so or listing these on the agenda prior to the meet-ings.

This behavior skirts on the edges of what is permitted by the Open Meetings Act and projects

an enmity and antagonism toward both the media and interested or involved members of the univer-sity and community.

The board needs to stop trying to “pull one over” on the people affected by its decisions and be open and honest with how they are steering the future of this pub-lic institution.

These major decisions were

made essentially without the op-portunity for public input or dis-sent, when the purpose of public bodies being required by law to meet in public is to allow for that kind of input. It takes power away from the students and the taxpay-ers that fund this university.

The search process for a uni-versity president is exempt from the Open Meetings Act, but they did not announce a new president would be selected until halfway through the Dec. 3, 2009 meet-ing at which Ross was appointed. Never was it announced a deci-sion was finalized or who the finalists in consideration were.

This is not the way a public in-stitution should handle milestone decisions.

The board needs to operate and make decisions openly to give the public the opportunity to offer input and it needs to start imme-diately, at tomorrow’s meeting.

The meeting agenda released online earlier this week does not include any major announce-ments, decisions or major addi-tions that could be likened to the College of Medicine.

If, for one reason or another, the contents of the meeting include a major decision not included on the agenda, the seeds of distrust may be sewn too deeply to be removed during the tenure of any of the current trustees.

voices[cm-life.com/category/opinion]

4A

central Michigan Life


The CMU Board of Trustees should put its best food forward with regard to students, the media and the public during its first meeting of the

academic year.

EDITORIAL | cMU Board of Trustees must not make any more major decisions unannounced

Trustee trustworthinessGOP

sabotage

Editorial Board: Jackie Smith Editor in ChiEf | Brad Canze, VoiCEs Editor | Eric Dresden, Managing Editor |

Jake Bolitho UniVErsity Editor | Maryellen Tighe, MEtro Editor | Aaron McMann, sports Editor

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

– The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Nathan InksColumnist

KIM PATISHNOCK [CENTRAL SQUARE]

central Michigan Life

“I think it would be a really good

idea. It would make life a lot easier for peo-

ple.”Ryan Aneed, Livonia senior

C M Y O u What do you think of the possibilty of government-provided nationwide Wi-Fi Internet?

jeff smith/staff photographer

“I think that would be sweet.

It would save people a lot of money and be

really nice.”Cecilia Martinez,

Detroit senior

EdITORIAL Jackie Smith, Editor in Chief

Eric dresden, Managing Editor

Connor Sheridan, Student Life EditorMaryellen Tighe, Metro Editor

Jake Bolitho, University EditorChelsea Kleven, Lead Designer Aaron McMann, Sports Editor

Jake May, Photo EditorSean Proctor, Assistant Photo Editor

Adam Kaminski, Video Editor

AdvERTISINg Shawn Wright, Paige Winans,

Carly SchaferAdvertising Managers

PROfESSIONAL STAff Rox Ann Petoskey,

Production Leader Kathy Simon,

Assistant Director of Student Media

Neil C. Hopp,Adviser to Central Michigan Life

E-mail | [email protected] | 436 Moore Hall

Mount Pleasant, MI 48859Fax | 989.774.7805

Central Michigan Life welcomes let-ters to the editor and commentary submissions. Only correspondence that includes a signature (e-mail excluded), address and phone number will be considered. Do not include attached documents via e-mail. Letters should be no longer than 300 words and commentary should not exceed 500 words. All submissions are subject to editing and may be published in print or on www.cm-life.com in the order they are received.

Gubernatorial debates versus town halls

Central Michigan Life is the independent voice of Cen-tral Michigan University and is edited and published by students of CMU every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and on Wednesday during the summer term. The online edition (www.cm-life.com) contains all of the material published in print.

Central Michigan Life is under the jurisdiction of the independent Student Media Board of Directors. Articles and opinions do not necessarily reflect the position or opinions of CMU or its employees.

Central Michigan Life is a member of the Michigan Press Association, the Michigan Collegiate Press Asso-

ciation, the Associated Collegiate Press, and the College Newspaper Business & Advertising Managers Associa-tion.

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Individuals are entitled to one copy. Each copy has an implied value of 75 cents.

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Central Michigan Life’s editorial and business offices are located at 436 Moore Hall, Central Michigan Univer-sity, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, telephone 774-3493.

[LEttErs]

Kyle goodallColumnist

Hold on to your butts

Comments on the story Sept. 20 story “Debates in gubernatorial race unnecessary”:

Chips said:1:01 p.m. on Sept. 21

“Obviously you aren’t a student at CMU who went to the library auditorium while he was here. I’m pretty sure all of those people weren’t ‘invited guests’ who were ‘identified republican voters’.”

Timothy Weiler said:12:12 p.m. on Sept. 21

“I truly enjoy the honestly and

the direct answers given at Rick’s town halls.

He listens to the voting public and gives straight forward an-swers, letting us know his thought process.

I wish Virg would be as open to talk to all of the voters in the state as Rick does.

Rick has not forgotten about Northern Michigan and the UP.”

Major said:8:18 p.m. on Sept. 20

“Well that is what Rick Snyder town halls are, Great Forums and the questions are not prescreened.

if Virg wants to be heard he should hold his own. Also if the media did more reporting on the issues vs bickering we would not have this issue would we”

Timbankful said:9:36 on Sept. 20

“I disagree. It is important for the electorate to see how the candidates perform under intense pressure. Although I do not be-lieve what is said or not said dur-ing a debate should be though of as the primary reason in making a candidate selection for governor.”

“I think that would be very good for college students.”

Alyce garcia, holt senior

“I think it’s a cool idea, but I bet

someone is going to find something that’s wrong with

it.”Jack distel,

Canton junior

Walking back to the Towers, I passed a trash receptacle and spotted an empty cigarette pack carelessly left on the ground.

It was not an unusual sight to see, but what shocked me is that I picked up five more empty packs before I could even make it to the train tracks. From then on, with every other step that I took to the Towers I spotted two new ciga-rette butts on either side of me.

I was not surprised to read that one of the nation’s leading community action organizations, Keep America Beautiful, Inc., found that only 10 percent of ciga-rette butts are properly put away in ash receptacles.

I asked 13 smokers outside different Towers’ entrances to get their perspective.

Eleven said it is an issue of laziness. 3 admittedly laughed about their lazy habit, saying that it’s easier to toss cigarettes on the ground than worry about where they end up.

There seems to be a smoker’s myth that cigarette butts will disappear if they’re tossed on the ground.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s research show that most cigarette filters are made with cellulose acetate, a form of plastic that does not rap-idly biodegrade.

This poses long-lasting envi-ronmental problems when they’re tossed on the ground. Evidence from both of the above sources in-dicates that cigarette butts present a biohazard to our water supply.

However, I found most of the ash receptacles were still filled to the rim with butts.

I applaud CMU’s facilities management and beautification for keeping campus clean, but perhaps the ash receptacles could be emptied more frequently, or more of them could be placed around campus.

The littering issue comes down to personal responsibility. There are cigarette sandboxes on almost every outdoor trash receptacle on campus.

Nov. 2 will be a good day for Republicans — there is no doubt about that.

But leave it to the GOP to take what should be a phe-nomenal year electorally and start ruining races one by one.

Specifically, in the past week, Republicans have jeopardized what should have been two strong Republican victories: The Senate races in Delaware and Alaska.

The Senate race in Alaska was not so much the party’s fault as much as the fault of sore primary loser Senator Lisa Murkowski, a moderate who lost her primary race to conservative Tea Party candi-date Joe Miller.

Murkowski announced that she would run as a write-in candidate, putting Miller in jeopardy of holding the Re-publican seat. For the good of the party, Murkowski should drop out and endorse Miller.

In Delaware, conservative Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell beat Congressman and former Governor Mike Castle for the GOP nomination to challenge Chris Coons. Cas-tle, who had been labelled one of the most liberal Republi-cans in the House of Represen-tatives lead Coons by at least 10 percent according to recent polls, whereas O’Donnell trails by more than 10 percent according to all recent polls, including one poll conducted after the primary.

Here, the conservative wing of the party, which was com-prised of less than 5 percent of the total number of registered voters in the state, voted on principle while sacrificing electability.

If O’Donnell could win in November, I would have whole-heartedly backed her in the primary, but voting for the conservative does the GOP no good if that candidate does not end up getting seated in the Senate. A moderate Repub-lican who, according to the American Conservative Union, votes conservative 52.49 percent of the time is better than a hardcore liberal such as Coons.

If the Republicans are going to make political gains in the future, they will have to realize that there are certain areas of the country, such as the North-east, where moderates need to be nominated if the GOP is going to take those seats.

Luckily, it does not appear that Republicans were going to take control of the Senate any-way, but if the Delaware race does end up costing them the majority, those who backed O’Donnell in the primary “on principle” will be responsible for allowing the Democrats to stay in control.

Voting on principle is honor-able, but in America’s two-party system, it can prove to be impractical at times, and electability of candidates must be taken into account.

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cm-life.com/category/sports Central Michigan Life || Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010 || 5A

[SportS]

By Nick ConklinStaff Reporter

With a 6-6 finish to their non-conference schedule, the Central Michigan wom-en’s volleyball team looks to get over the hump at 7 p.m. Thursday when it takes on Eastern Michigan in Ypsi-lanti.

Coming off a tough non-conference slate that saw the Chippewas compete against Wisconsin, Purdue and Northern Iowa — all losses — CMU head coach Erik Ol-son said he was pleased with how his team handled their non-league matchups.

Olson said he knows with the Mid-A m e r i c a n Co n f e re n c e schedule at hand, his team should be more than prepared to face their first opponent.

“We’ve played a tough schedule with never a fully healthy roster,” he said. “With that said, we have to get it going in the MAC.”

The first test will be against the Eagles, who are riding an impressive 11-3 record, with big wins against Michigan State and Davidson.

Freshman Paige Roback looks to lead EMU following her third double digit perfor-mance in kills and digs. Also on the radar for the Chip-pewas is sophomore outside hitter Rachel Iaquaniello. She notched 20 kills on her way to a .200 hitting per-centage in the Eagle’s 3-2 win against Michigan State.

Although EMU brings some strong athletes into the match, Olson said it re-mains to been seen exactly what they will bring into

CMU begins MAC play Thursday at EMUvo l l ey ba l l

league play.“They have a freshman

on the right side that looks pretty good, and they’re a little better and more con-fident than last year,” Olson said.

Injury bugCMU’s health has raised

some flags in the recent week as it was forced to compete with only five hitters during last weekend’s tournament. The last minute call forced Olson, and the team, to make some adjustments to their system.

Olson was pleased with the way that his team made adjustments and feels that can be seen as a positive as they work into their MAC schedule.

“We were in a tough situ-ation last weekend,” he said. “We found out within an hour and half of prac-tice that we were going into that weekend with five hit-ters. The tough part on us is as we get a little healthier, we’re going to be tweaking our system.”

The team will look to se-niors Lauren Krupsky and Lisa Johnson, both of which had a strong weekend in the College of Charleston Invi-tational. Behind her 29 kill weekend, Krupsky finished the weekend as the new-

Chippewas shake off injuries for 11-3 Eagles

Erik Olson

est member of the 1,000 kill club, marking the 13th CMU player to accumulate 1,000 kills in a career. Johnson helped the Chippewas to victory against North Flori-da with behind 18 digs and a total of 35 on the weekend.

The team has a short turn around following Thurs-day night’s game, returning home to face Ohio Univer-sity at 7 p.m. Saturday in its home opener at Finch Field-house.

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West:

1. N. Illinois 13-02. E. Michigan 11-33. Ball State 10-24. W. Michigan 9-45. Central Michigan 6-66. Toledo 5-6

East:

1. Buffalo 11-42. Akron 8-43. Ohio 8-54. Kent State 7-85. Miami 5-86. Bowling Green 5-97. Kent State 7-8

MAC Volleyball Standings

continued from 1A

FooTball|

File photo Katie thoresen/StaFF photographerJunior linebacker Mike Petrucci runs the ball into the end zone on a 43-yard touch-down in the fourth quarter of CMU’s 52-14 win against Eastern Michigan on Saturday at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti.

ball fell into Petrucci’s hands.And then, in front of his

mom, dad, brother Pat and a couple of his friends, he ran.

“I was just going as fast as I could,” he said. “To be honest, I thought I was going to get run down and caught.”

He didn’t, and the Chip-pewas defense had their first touchdown of the year.

“We knew that if he was giv-en the opportunity he would step up to the plate,” Enos said. “He’s played very well the past two weeks, is very capable and works very hard.”

One of the first to greet Petrucci on the sidelines was fellow junior linebacker Ar-mond Staten, who recorded a team-high and career-high 13 tackles in CMU’s win Saturday, playing most of the game as he continues to work to secure his spot as starting linebacker.

Staten“I didn’t even know about it

until the reporters told me af-terword,” he said of the mile-stone. “I was just doing my job.”

After seeing limited time in his first two years, Staten came into camp with a starting job this fall before injuries derailed him.

“He was up-and-down in the fall and nicked up,” Enos said. “He ended up losing his job but to his credit, Armond didn’t pout or anything. He just kept working. He’s a team guy and a hard worker.”

And as of Tuesday night, he’s listed atop the team’s depth chart at strong side linebacker.

“Compared to when I first got here,” he said, “I’m a com-pletely different person and player.”

tIptonJust like Zurlon Tipton.Tipton, a redshirt freshman

from Detroit, was injured on a kickoff return in CMU’s game against Alcorn State last sea-son. He was granted a medi-cal redshirt by the NCAA, and worked last season to rehab his injured left wrist, which at one time saw a bone popping

out of his arm, and another time, had pins screwed into that bone.

“I feel good now,” he said. “Especially coming back to play football. Sitting around wasn’t going to help any-thing, so I just got in the weight room everyday and got stronger.”

It’s shown. He busted two runs for 10 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown, the first of his career, in the fourth quarter.

“It felt real good,” he said of getting back on the field. “When you’re out for a year, you step out there and it feels real good. That touchdown was just a plus.”

Enos, who had to suspend Tipton for a violation of team policy earlier this season, sees the running back getting better each day.

“The sky’s the limit for him potentially,” Enos said. “The more he plays, the more he’ll get better and we think he’ll be a very, very good back by the end of the season.”

So whether it’s Armond Staten, Mike Petrucci, Zurlon Tipton or any of the second-and-third string cast of char-acters that make up the infra-structure of a college football team, the backups should be ready.

“Like I tell the guys,” Enos said. “You’re going to be given an opportunity at some point and you just want to make sure you continue to prepare yourself, so when you get that opportunity you are success-ful.”

Until then, these guys know their roles

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AT FINCH FIELDHOUSE

Doors at 6pmShowtime at 7pm

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for more information

October 102010Sunday

By Ben HarrisStaff Reporter

The audience in Plachta Au-ditorium was full of questions for West Cosgrove the moment he finished his speech Monday night.

About 90 people attended the national immigration analyst’s presentation entitled “Immi-grants and National Values,” em-phasizing immigration reform.

Cosgrove has worked in El Paso, Texas, for 15 years serv-ing as the assistant director for Project Puente, which aims to educate the public about issues concerning the border.

“I think if we can inject knowl-edge and understanding to the situation, we can do a good thing,” Cosgrove said.

His presentation explained the history of immigration and

immigration law. He showed statistics involving increased border security costs, along with the tax contributions of undoc-umented workers.

The kick-off Hispanic Heri-tage Month event was hosted by Minority Student Services. Cosgrove was selected as a speaker not only because of his relevance to students and to the community, but because im-migration is a critical national issue, said Keisha Janney, assis-tant director of MSS.

“I really thought he brought some of the facts about immi-gration to the audience,” Janney said.

Many of the questions asked afterward concerned Cosgrove’s opinion on the speed and scope of new laws passed for immigra-tion reform.

“I am in favor of incremental change,” Cosgrove said.

Midland sophomore Keegan Swihart said he was impressed with the ideas and opinions Cos-grove had to offer to the audience. “He was great, I spent the sum-mer with him and loved it,” Swihart said. “I really want to

encourage students to go down to the border and help out with these kinds of things.”

Cosgrove also gave suggested solutions to border problems and held a question-and-answer session following his speech. One solution he offered was supporting companies who promise to pay their workers liv-able wages, even if the workers are undocumented.

Another proposed solution was allowing companies to hire as many migrant workers as they need, but only after the company tries and fails to hire American citizens.

But no matter what action is taken, Cosgrove said, change is vital.

“Both sides of the argument agree that the system is broken,” Cosgrove said.

He also stressed the impor-tance of understanding the is-sue and delivered the stories of several migrant workers and their working conditions. “We don’t have to be ‘us versus them’,” he said.

[email protected]

victoria zegler/staff photographerWest Cosgrove, the director of Project Puente, a non-profit promoting border immersion programs, shows students ‘Immigrants and National Values,’ a presentation relating to Hispanic Heritage month Monday night at Plachta Auditorium. “We can solve the immigra-tion issue by giving something new a chance,” Cosgrove said. “We can do it by treating others with dignity and respect.”

Immigration reform in Americaa must in near future, speaker saysWest Cosgrove delivers Hispanic Heritage Month keynote address

streets were kept free of de-bris it would be easier to get around.

“I’ve wiped out pretty hard-core,” Kantola said. “(The Uni-versity) should keep the streets clear. Especially at night be-cause there’s gravel and sticks.”

Petoskey freshman Brandon

Furgeson usually skateboards around campus, but he also thinks biking is a quicker alter-native to walking.

Furgeson said people usu-ally watch out when he’s on his bike or skateboard, but he “slows down for people be-cause (he) doesn’t want to be cut off.”

“It’s so much faster,” Furgeson said.

Matthews had a suggestion for pedestrians on campus to increase everyone’s safety: let

the speedsters steer around you, when people try to move is when accidents happen.

Cosby agreed, saying cruis-ers need to be wary of pedes-trians and avoid them as best as they can — instead of rely-ing on dangerous last second dodges.

“If it is unacceptable for a car (to run people down),” Cosby said. “It should be for other speed enhancers as well.”

[email protected]

wheels |continued from 3A

and adult drug treatment court.

The tribe will review the requests of public school sys-tems, CMU and the city of Mount Pleasant, among oth-ers.

“They have their own com-mittee at the Tribal Council,” said Commissioner Roger Trudell. “They decide what they want to fund.”

Other businessThe Bay Area Narcotics En-

forcement Team will lose one-third of a full-time position, after the board decided to not put any general fund money toward the remaining posi-tion, said County Administra-tor Tim Dolehanty.

Dolehanty said it will save the county approximately $30,000 and BAYANET can supplement the remaining one-third of a position if they wish. The money will not nec-essarily go to another pro-gram.

“We still have an issue where

our expenses are more than our revenues,” Dolehanty said.

The board also renewed their contract with ACS Gov-ernment Services, Inc. to pro-vide hardware and software support for the next five years, starting Oct. 1, 2010.

If the county had looked elsewhere, the cost of running both systems simultaneously and re-training employees was estimated at $175,000.

“This system is the nerve system of the county,” Dole-hanty said.

[email protected]

county |continued from 3A

cm-life.com/category/news[News]

6a || Wednesday, sept. 22, 2010 || Central Michigan Life

w PS3, X360w Action-adventurew Single player, competitive

multiplayerw M for maturew Releases Nov. 16

Desmond Miles makes his return in “Asassin’s Creed: Brotherhood,” using his newly acquired fighting techniques to bring the hurt to those nefarious modern-day Knights Tem-plar. Players will also return to Rome through the eyes of Ezio Auditore us-ing the Animus 2.0, continuing right where “Assassin’s Creed II” left off.

The game’s combat system has been revamped to allow for faster-paced fighting with several offensive abilities, making combat less reliant on counterattacks.

Players will also be tasked with obtaining money and rebuilding the city of Rome, similar to the village of Monteriggioni in its predecessor. Legions of assassins can be recruited and trained to assist Ezio in his tasks.

Multiplayer will be available as a series first, allowing players to engage in a cat-and-mouse-style manhunt online.

w PS3w Racingw Competitive multiplayerw Rating pendingw Releases Nov. 2

After more than five years of devel-opment, PlayStation’s most popular racing simulator series will finally hit the streets once again. “Gran Turismo 5” comes packed with more than 1,000 licensed cars and more than 70 different tracks.

A number of new features have been added to the game, including a detailed damage model, weather ef-fects, a course creator and, for the first time ever in the series, a competitive online racing mode that supports up to 16 players.

Following the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” GT5 will stick to the features that made the franchise a classic, such as its realistic driving simulation and vehicle handling mechanics and its tendency to push the PlayStation’s graphic capabilities to its limits.

campus vibe[cm-life.com/category/vibe]


Breathe owl Breathe | Is the Michigan band’s new album worth a listen? 2Bcentral michigan Life

B

Gaming season heats up

w PC, X360, PS3w First-person shooterw Competitive/cooperative multiplayerw Rating pendingw Releases Nov. 9

If you can’t get enough Call of Duty action, rest assured: the developers at Treyarch have promised to deliver. “Call of Duty: Black Ops” purports to offer a much grittier environment and a more

story-oriented campaign than previous installments.

The multiplayer formula has been re-worked: new weapons, equipment and upgrades are purchased with in-game currency instead of being unlocked through a point-based advancement system. New online modes are available, including wager matches that allow play-ers to put their money where their mouth is by wagering their in-game currency on match performances. Now you can

not only be verbally threatened by foul-mouthed 11-year-olds online but have them take your lunch money, too.

As for the return of the zombie mode made popular by “Call of Duty: World at War,” rumors are circulating that such a mode will only be included in the pres-tige and hardened editions of “Black Ops,” though nothing has been set in stone at this point. It’s possible any zom-bie modes will be released as download-able content.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

w PCw Massively multiplayer online

role-playing gamew Competitive / cooperative

multiplayerw T for teenw Releases: TBA 2010

If you have any friends who play “WoW,” expect not to see them for a few months following the latest expansion’s release.

Online giant “World of Warcraft” will see the release of its latest ex-pansion, “Cataclysm,” some time this year. With the fall of the Lich King, a new evil has arisen in the world of Azeroth, threatening its very existence.

“Cataclysm” will feature an entirely rebuilt Azeroth, hundreds of new quests, weap-ons and items. Two new races, the Goblins for the horde and the Worgen for the alli-ance, will be introduced in addition to a variety of new class/race combinations and an increased level cap to 85.

Additionally, flying mounts are no longer limited to the Outlands and Northrend and new aquatic mounts will be available for underwater zones. Character stats, pro-fessions and talents will also receive a complete overhaul, and archeology, a new sec-ondary profession, will join the host of productive pursuits.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

w Wiiw Platformerw Single playerw Rating pendingw Releases Oct. 17

Everyone’s favorite cute and cud-dly enemy-ingester is back after a several-year vacation from home gaming consoles. “Kirby’s Epic Yarn” features Kirby in a new world made entirely of yarn, which play-ers must use to solve puzzles and defeat opponents.

Kirby’s traditional ability to in-hale enemies and copy their abili-ties has been removed from this installment of the Kirby franchise, requiring players to instead use a whip-like yarn attack. The environment itself is based on an animated world of cloth and textiles, making for a genuinely unique “Kir-by” experience.

If you’re a classic gaming fan, “Kirby’s Epic Yarn” will likely be a shoe-in for your game collection.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Gran Turismo 5

By Ryan Taljonick Senior Reporter

The holiday season is still the focal point of video gam-ing’s year despite the medium’s maturation from child’s play to serious entertainment

contender.So why fight it? Instead, consider this list of

looming releases as the gaming season ramps up for wrapping-paper-tearing Armageddon.

CheCk out more game Previews, 2B

insidew Check out a review of ‘Halo: Reach’, 3B

By Ben WeissenbornStaff Review

Michigan-based trio Breathe Owl Breathe return with a signature deep-forest sound in their fourth album, the de-lightful “Magic Central.”

Written and recorded in the band’s log cabin, located deep within the northern Michigan woods, “Magic Central” finds the band further tightening and maturing their sound, re-sulting in their most solid and focused album to date.

For those uninitiated, Breathe Owl Breathe plays, for the most part, quiet, reflective folk music, managing some-how to distill much of their home state’s charm and beau-ty into song form. Their play-ful and innocent approach to songwriting has always lent the band a lot of charm, mak-ing them quite accessible.

“Magic Central” finds the band with just as much charm as ever, but also a newfound maturity adding a lot of depth to many of the songs. “Breathe In,” the band’s second record,

was a wistful and playful col-lection of quiet folk songs.

“Magic Central” has plenty of these types of songs, but also features songs that deal with love, loss and insecu-rity, resulting in an interesting contrast.

One of the album’s high-lights, “Dragon,” exemplifies this contrast quite well. On its surface, “Dragon” is a silly fable about a dragon and a princess who are pen pals. What the fable thinly veils is the story of a relationship, one plagued by insecurity and ad-versity from outside forces.

The song’s chorus, which simply repeats, “How do you stop/Loving someone?” seems almost out of place on first listen, considering the con-text the song establishes in its opening monologue. However, once the listener realizes that it isn’t actually a story about a dragon and a princess, the chorus really begins to pack a heavy emotional punch.

“Magic Central” isn’t all heartbreak and loss, though. “Dogwalkers of the New Age,”

another one of the album’s highlights, is mostly about what the song suggests: a nighttime walk around a city that’s “alive.”

Musically, the song is a per-fect soundtrack for nocturnal wandering. A driving, shuffling beat, a lonely acoustic guitar riff, perfectly placed cello lines and some delightful vocal inter-play between Micah Middaugh and Andréa Moreno-Beals set the mood for a late-night walk with a loved one.

Established Breathe Owl Breathe fans (and anyone who’s seen the band live in the past year) will be pleased with the record and the uninitiated couldn’t pick a better time to join in.

[email protected]

2B || Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010 || Central Michigan Life cm-life.com/category/vibe

Medal of Honorw PC, PS3, X360w First-person shooterw Competitive multiplayerw M for maturew Releases Oct. 12

After a three-year hiatus, Electronic Arts’ “Medal of Honor” series is no longer MIA.

“Medal of Honor” reboots the classic World War II se-ries by putting players in the midst of the war in Afghani-stan in its single player cam-paign and offers a competi-tive multiplayer component similar to those found in its first-person shooter breth-ren.

Plenty of weapons, attach-ments and customization options are available as play-ers gain experience points for winning matches and fragging opponents, but the question remains whether or not “Medal of Honor” can distinguish itself from some of the recent “Call of Duty” games.

fallout: new Vegas”w PC, PS3, X360w Role-playing gamew Single playerw M for maturew Releases Oct. 19

The next game in the “Fallout” saga takes place three years after the events of “Fallout 3” and will surely consume countless hours of anyone who enjoyed the pre-

quel. Set in post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, “Fallout: New Ve-gas” promises a gritty envi-ronment, plenty of character customization and a chance to create the ultimate Vegas bachelor pad.

In addition to a whole new world to explore, new weapons, items and modi-fications have been added to the game. A reputation system has also been built in, allowing players to bud-dy-up with some factions and declare war on others. For those itching for an ex-treme challenge, a hardcore mode will also be available, requiring players to balance survival with advancement.

It’s time to kick some V.A.T.S. and take names — or just blow everything to pieces.

rock Band 3w PS3, X360, Wiiw Music gamew Multiplayerw T for teenw Releases Oct. 26

Music simulation games like Rockband have given air guitarists and drummers a chance to become the real thing, at least until they quit playing. “Rockband 3” brings 83 new songs to the mix in ad-dition to a keyboard controller and a vocal harmony feature, allowing bands to expand their repertoire and become masters of musical mayhem.

Offering a diverse set list with bands like Smash Mouth, Beach Boys and The Smiths, as well as musicians like Ozzy Osbourne and Bob Marley, “Rockband 3” prom-ises players a shot at the rock star lifestyle.

It’s time to put down the karaoke microphone and instead sing “Crazy Train” in the comfort of your own home.

faBle IIIw X360w Action RPGw Single player, coopera-

tivew T for Teenw Releases Oct. 26

Fable fans will once again set foot in the world of Al-bion this fall in Lionhead Studio’s “Fable III.” As with its predecessors, the third iteration of the series al-lows players to be a valiant hero or a treacherous vil-lain, helping those in need or fulfilling selfish desires. Character development is based on play style and the choices you make will affect the entire virtual world.

A slew of changes and ad-ditions are being made to “Fable III,” including the possibility to become king or queen of Albion, ruling over its citizens. Taxes can be imposed on your loyal citizenry, and those who op-pose you can be dealt with however you see fit.

Instead of having a huge variety of weapons to choose from, players can customize base models of weapons, which will evolve as you in-crease your proficiency with each weapon type — play-ers will even have a chance to trade or sell customized weapons and equipment online, making “Fable III” the most personalized in-stallment to date.

[email protected]

TOP FIVES

NEW STUFF

HoMe tHeatre1. “Iron Man 2”2. “robin Hood”

3. “spartacus: Blood and sand: season 1”

cds1. “Hands all over”

Maroon 5

2. “You get what You give” Zac Brown Band

3. “wake up!” John Legend & the Roots

VIdeo gaMes1. “final fantasy XIV” (PC)2. “f1: 2010” (PS3, X360)3. “new carnival games”

(Wii)

BoX offIce:1. “the town” $23.8 million

2. “easy a” $17.7 million

3. “devil” $12.3 million

4. “resident evil: afterlife” $10 million

5. “alpha and omega” $9.1 million

sIngles:1. “teenage dream”

Katy Perry

2. “love the way You lie” Eminem feat. Rihanna

3. “Just the way You are” Bruno Mars

4. “dynamite” Taio Cruz

5. “I like It” Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull

alBuMs:1. “kaleidoscope Heart”

Sara Bareilles

2. “recovery” Eminem

3. “now 35” Various Artists

4. “teenage dream” Katy Perry

5. “asylum” Disturbed

Video games:

Civilization V“Civilization V” once again

allows players to nurture a civilization from its gen-esis into the distant future. Players must use a variety of mechanics like diplomacy, government and military conquest to ensure their survival. Bringing tons of new features to the “Sid Meier’s Civilization” series, “Civiliza-tion V” streamlines some of the franchise’s compo-nents, allowing players more freedom and customization than ever before. The game also features modding and multiplayer elements.

-Ryan Taljonick

music:

North by Darkstar

The forthcoming debut album from British electronic group Darkstar is a beautiful and aching record, establish-ing the group as not just one of the most interesting in the electronic scene, but one of the most interesting groups in any scene. Melancholy without being depressing, heartfelt without being maud-lin, “North” is a delightful and deep record that rewards repeat listens. Be on the look-out for the album on store shelves next month.

-Ben Weissenborn

BEAT WRITER PICKS

TweeTs of The week

Follow @CMLIFE on Twitter.com

Games |continued from 1B

RYAN’S RANT

ThIS WEEK’S TOPIC: SUBWAY CUSTOMERS

ryan taljonickSenior Reporter

While I was waiting in line at Subway the other day, I noticed an upsetting trend among the general clientele.

As I stood there, ponder-ing which delicious sand-wich I would have crafted for my consumption, I watched a young woman engage in a heinous and deplorable act.

When asked which top-pings she would like on her sub, she pointed at each in-gredient, one by one, wait-ing until each topping was placed on her sandwich before requesting the next

one.My thought process could

only be described as an in-ternal Blitzkrieg, in which my desire to cartwheel back to my apartment out of sheer frustration played the part of Poland.

Subway employees are not stupid people; they can han-dle an up-front list of ingre-dients without you pointing at the toppings you want.

In fact, it’s probable that Subway employees have memorized the location of nearly all the ingredients of-fered by the establishment.

The next time you go to Subway, or any other sand-wich shop, remember that it is not normal or acceptable to list your ingredients one at a time as they are placed on your sub.

‘Magic Central’ a fun, matured album‘Magic Central’ by Breathe Owl

Breathe

HHHH

By Michael L. HoffmanStaff Reporter

Every Thursday, Jeremy Sullivan sits down for a night of gaming.

But instead of an elabo-rate controller, he guides his heroes with dice and cards.

Sullivan is a member of the Mount Pleasant Gam-ing Association, a regis-tered student organization focused on bringing people together to play different types of non-electronic games.

Mount Pleasant resident Allen Shock said he helped found the club in 1986.

“(MPGA) allows all kinds of games, role playing games, board games, card games,” Shock said. “But we prefer games that don’t re-quire batteries.”

He said the club offers an alternative option to stu-dents who don’t like going to the bar.

Sullivan, a Grant sopho-more, said he has been at-tending the weekly gather-ing since last year after his girlfriend and club presi-dent Hannah Jenkins intro-duced him to the club.

“Last year, I played ‘Axis and Allies,’ ‘Command and Conquer’ and other games like that,” Sullivan said. “But this year, I am play-ing role playing games like ‘Marvel Superheroes’.”

He said the weekly get-to-gether is always full of “good times and good people.”

That is the atmosphere Shock said he has tried to cultivate throughout the two-and-a-half decades of weekly gaming arranged by the group.

MPGA’s faculty advisor Larry Brunner said he likes the group of people who come every week.

“We have a really good mix of people,” the associ-ate professor of economics said. “There are students,

people within the town and a few who commute every week.”

One of those commuters is Grace Daines, who has made the trek from Midland every week with her hus-band Joe since January.

She said after her three children went off to school, they were looking for more people to play games with.

“We stumbled upon the club while looking for peo-

ple to play with,” she said, “and we have been coming back every week.”

Former CMU student Ben Wolpoff said he started attending the club when he was a student and still makes the commute every week from his hometown of Chelsea.

“My entire social group is still up here,” he said. “So I come up every Thursday and stay for the weekend.”

One of the reasons the RSO is so unique, Wolpoff said, is many students con-tinue coming even after leaving CMU.

Shock said they are always looking to expand too.

“We could definitely use more people, especially to run games,” Shock said. “Plus it’s free to join, there are no dues.”

studentl ife@cm-l ife.com

Gaming not always constrained to televisions

leah sefton/staff photographerNovi junior Nick Bowman takes his turn while playing the City of Thieves board game during Thursday night’s Mount Pleasant Gaming Association meeting held in the Bovee University Center’s Isabella Room. The group meets weekly at 6 p.m. on Thursdays and new members are always welcome.

Student group focuses on playing on top tables

By Ryan TaljonickSenior Reporter

It’s finally time to finish the series that put Xbox on the map with a trip to the game’s long-storied but never-experienced origins.

Making more than $200 mil-lion on the day it launched, “Halo: Reach,” Bungie Studio’s fifth and final contribution to the franchise, is quite possibly the best Halo experience yet.

Reach’s single player cam-paign is a prequel to 2001’s “Halo: Combat Evolved,” which follows Noble Team, an elite group of futuristic warriors known as Spartans, tasked with defending the human race on its extraterrestrial colonies.

Improvements“Reach” improves greatly

upon the series’ storytelling, shedding traditionally repeti-tive landscapes and unclear plot progressions.

In addition to gameplay im-provements, several new weap-ons and vehicles have been added to the mix. “Reach” sports a total of 25 weapons, adding several new weapons to the ar-senal found in “Halo 3” while removing and revamping oth-ers. The battle rifle, for example,

now fires in single-round shots instead of three-round bursts, while the pistol received a major damage increase, making it a vi-able weapon.

Aside from questionable friendly AI, “Reach” offers an intense, fight-to-the-end cam-paign.

multIplayerHowever, “Reach” would not

be a proper Halo game if it didn’t have an awesome multiplayer component (I’m looking at you, “ODST”).

“Reach” includes all the tradi-tional multiplayer features that have made the series so popular, as well as some new game types and modes. It is the ultimate multiplayer package, sporting incredibly refined menus mak-ing it easier than ever to join up with your friends online, wheth-er it be to tackle the campaign in a co-op mode, or play ranked matches.

Other new multiplayer modes have also been included, such as invasion: A mix of the team slayer, capture the flag and ter-ritories competitive modes.

To breathe new life into the Halo multiplayer experience, a new feature known as “load-outs” has been added to the game, allowing players to cus-

tomize their play style.Loadouts provide players

with different armor styles, such as a sprint ability, a jet pack or a holographic decoy, which can draw fire from your enemies.

CustomIzatIonAs with “Halo 3,” players can

customize the colors and visu-alization of their armor sets and emblems. In “Reach,” credits are obtained by completing chal-lenges, achievements, cam-paign and multiplayer matches, and can be used to purchase new armor pieces and effects.

Unfortunately, four of the 13 multiplayer maps are remakes from past Halo games, but the revamped Forge component of the game allows for more cus-tomization than ever. Players have the power to alter existing maps in hundreds of different ways and share their creations with friends through Xbox LIVE.

“Halo: Reach” is a great game in almost every facet. It has the most gripping and genuinely epic single player campaign in the series and is bursting with so many multiplayer modes and features that gamers will be playing it for a long, long time.

Get ready to begin the end.

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‘Halo: Reach’ a satisfying prequel to the Halo saga

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Central Michigan life || Wednesday, sept. 22, 2010 || 3B

v i d e o g a m e r e v i e w

By Ryan TaljonickSenior Reporter

So you bought “Halo: Reach,” “Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty,” “Mass Effect 2,” and every Hello Kitty game in existence (for your sister of course). Staying caught up with Triple-A titles is easy, providing you have the cash flow and time to satiate your gaming habits.

If you don’t mind looking in the bargain bin, here is a brief list of games worth checking out that may have slipped by you.

‘lost odyssey’ (X360)A throwback to PlaySta-

tion-era role-playing games, “Lost Odyssey” offers mem-orable, dynamic characters and a unique and powerful plot.

With common RPG ele-ments such as the tradi-tional leveling system and a turn-based battle system, “Lost Odyssey” really shines through its writing and touching story.

It is a refreshing RPG ex-perience that will not only entertain but interest you until the very end. It is the best Japanese RPG of this console generation.

‘valkyrIa ChronICles’ (ps3)

Set in a fictional world based on World War II-era Europe, “Valkyria Chroni-

cles” offers players a unique take on the tactical RPG genre in a beautifully ani-mated world.

The game manages to bring a sense of freedom to its players, removing the traditional grid map associ-ated with previous tactical RPGs. Players select which units to utilize in an over-head view, and once a unit is selected, the view shifts to a third-person angle. A unit can move and perform various actions, but each command depletes that unit’s action gauge.

The game moves at an ex-citing pace and has a solid plot to boot. There’s a lot to love about this title, which can be found for less than $20.

kIllIng Floor (pC)If you think you’ve got

what it takes to survive a mutant apocalypse, Trip-wire Interactive’s “Killing Floor” will test your mettle and your shooter prowess.

You must team up with other players online and survive against waves of monsters determined to eat your face off — which they frequently will.

Teams of up to six play-ers must survive through 10 waves of mutants, with each wave containing hun-dreds of monsters. By kill-ing monsters and surviving, players accumulate money

which can be used to pur-chase weapons, grenades, ammo and body armor be-tween each round.

“Killing Floor” doesn’t have the best graphics around and it doesn’t offer a single player campaign, but it’s an easy bet for its $20 price tag.

Brütal legend (ps3, X360)

What do you get when you take the razor edged wit of Tim Schafer, one of the masterminds of “Mon-key Island” and creator of “Grim Fandango,” several different play styles, a ri-diculously packed vocal tal-ent cast and a soundtrack full of more than a hun-dred metal masterpieces? You get “Brütal Legend,” a game seemingly brought to life from golden-era metal album art with swinging axes, studded armlets, hid-eous demons and ferocious Amazons, just to name a few.

Though the game turned off some players with an unexpected real-time strat-egy mechanic added to its climactic battles, if you go into the metal mayhem with an open mind and a willingness to thrust your lighter in the air you’ll be hard pressed to not have a good time.

studentl ife@cm-l ife.com

Games you may have missedm o v i e r e v i e w

By Rachael WoodsStaff Reporter

The only sure thing about a sure-fire plan in a crime drama such as “The Town” is some-thing is sure to go wrong.

Ben Affleck directs and stars along Jeremy Renner in this provocative, high-budget crime drama as Doug MacRay and James Coughlin, two boys from Charlestown whose desti-nies intertwine with “the bank robbery capital of America.”

As the movie opens, Doug and his crew don their Skele-tor masks and hold up a local bank.

Things seem to be going well until they realize the silent alarm has been tripped and James takes a bank employee named Claire (Rebecca Hall) hostage and they make their escape.

After her harmless release, Doug volunteers to keep tabs on Claire, but before long, he can’t resist the temptation and the two strike up a relation-ship.

Of course, she doesn’t know his true identity and he isn’t in any rush to fill her in on the finer details of his “career.”

By this time, the FBI and its head, Special Agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm), are clos-ing in and Doug has to make

the tough choice between his loyalty to his friends and what’s best for his future.

From here on out, it is unfor-tunately all too easy to foresee what’s to come next.

Props are deserved for Af-fleck, though, as his direction is impressive given the lack-luster predictability of the plot and the supporting cast act as strong cornerstones to the cen-tral roles.

A large downside to “The Town” is the striking similari-ties to Michael Mann’s Los An-geles crime saga “Heat.”

You’ve got Affleck in the Rob-ert De Niro role, Renner in the Val Kilmer role, Jon Hamm in the Al Pacino role, and Rebec-ca Hall with Blake Lively in a combination of the Amy Bren-neman and Ashley Judd roles.

To be fair, being mentioned

in the same company with a great movie like “Heat” might be a compliment, but there were too many comparisons which left the movie with a “been there done that” type feel.

On the upside, a great de-fense of the film was that it felt authentic. The locations, the car chases and the practical ef-fects mixed with some genuine performances helped to create a world for these characters in which the viewer can immerse themselves for just a little while.

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‘The Town’ just another cops, robbers thriller

“The Town” w Rated: R

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4B || Wednesday, sept. 22, 2010 || Central Michigan life cm-life.com/category/vibe[VIBE]

September 22, 2010

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