The Ferris State Torch » Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief

Education First

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:00:48 +0000

By holding classes last week without a signed contract for the 2010-11 school year, FSU faculty members proved that teaching is not about the money.

The Ferris Faculty Association (FFA) and the Employer Negotiations Team (ENT), representing the FSU Administration, have yet to agree to terms of contract after more than 13 months of negotiating. The administration presented an offer with salary increases of 2, 2.25, and 2.5 percent over the next three years, but the FFA turned it down.

Multiple faculty members picketed outside of the Faculty Crisis Center on Aug. 25 and it looked as if classes may not be held the next week without a new contract. The Aug. 29 deadline came and went with no deal, but professors were still in class on Monday morning ready to teach.

By teaching instead of striking, they basically lost any leverage they had against the administration. The FFA could choose to strike later in the semester, but since they taught the entire first week it does not look like that is what they want. It will now be difficult to get the contract terms they are looking for without leverage.

I admire the professors’ willingness to instruct, even though the contract has not been signed. It’s not like they are teaching for nothing, because they are still getting paid based on the previous contract terms. By teaching last week, the faculty members proved that they care about the students of Ferris State and that money is not the only reason they teach.

As a student, it is reassuring to know that faculty members are not “out to get” students as some think. When a bad grade shows up on the transcript, students tend to blame it on the professor instead of their own effort, or lack thereof. For the most part, I think professors genuinely care about their students’ education. Instructors need pupils just as much as pupils need instructors. If there were no students, there would be no need for teachers.

Professors simply want to teach. If they did not enjoy it, they probably would not have chosen it as their profession. n

Education First is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

Campus Safety Upgrades

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:00:01 +0000

The Ferris campus received a safety upgrade over the summer as stop signs were added and crosswalks were changed.

Among the safety additions were countdown clocks for crossing State Street, advisory signs attached to existing street signs regarding caution-related warnings and new stop signs.

Director of the FSU Department of Public Safety (DPS), Marty Bledsoe, said crews worked this summer on changing the crosswalks to make them more visible from a distance. Bledsoe said the crosswalks follow a universal design that is used on campuses across the nation.

“We reduced the number of crosswalks on campus, but made them more strategic and more visible from farther distances,” said Bledsoe.

There are three new three-way stops on campus as workers installed new stop signs at multiple intersections. Two stop signs were added by the city of Big Rapids on South Street where it intersects Stadium Drive to create a three-way stop. The crosswalk across South Street was also shortened at that intersection to improve pedestrian safety.

Stop signs were added at the corner of North Campus Drive and Campus Drive in front of the Timme Center to create a three-way stop. This allows drivers to turn with greater ease onto Campus Drive because they no longer have to wait for cross traffic to cease. A new stop sign was also added at Rankin Circle.

Bledsoe said the changes on campus were not strictly implemented to improve pedestrian safety, but safety for drivers on campus as well.

“It’s really a misnomer,” said Bledsoe, “Pedestrians don’t always have the right of way.”

Students working for the DPS handed out green cards last week to raise awareness about the rules and laws for pedestrians and drivers. The card indicates that pedestrians and drivers can both be issued traffic tickets under pedestrian laws. It also discloses that pedestrians cannot enter a crosswalk if a vehicle is close enough as to where it would have to slow down or avoid the person crossing.

“You could be sued in civil court if you cause an accident,” said Bledsoe. n

Campus Safety Upgrades is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

Levin Pied in Big Rapids

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:05:29 +0000

Background Info

United States Senator Carl Levin had a pie shoved in his face during a discussion with members of the Big Rapids community at on Aug. 16.

Levin, a democratic senator from Michigan and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, was in Big Rapids to speak to members of the Mecosta County Democratic Party from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at Peppers Café. He opened the floor to questions and selected Big Rapids native and former Ferris State student Max Kantar.

Kantar proceeded to read from a prepared statement criticizing the senator for his stance on foreign policies regarding U.S. support of Israel. During Kantar’s statement, Ahlam Mohsen, a 22-year-old woman from Coldwater, put an apple pie in Levin’s face. Mohsen and Kantar immediately fled the scene.

Mohsen was apprehended shortly after the incident. She is facing felony charges for stalking and conspiracy to commit aggravated stalking following her arraignment on Aug. 17. Mohsen is being held at Mecosta County Jail where she must post $25,000 to be released. Her bond is set at $250,000 and her next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 30.

Kantar turned himself in on Aug. 18 with help from attorney Jim Samuels and faces aggravated stalking and conspiracy to commit aggravated stalking charges, the same charges as Mohsen. Kantar’s bond was reduced from $250,000 to $10,000 during his arraignment Wednesday for his cooperation with authorities. Kantar will have to pay $1,000 to be released from Mecosta County Jail.

The charges against Kantar and Mohsen are stemmed from an incident in January 2009 in which they were both arrested after an anti-war protest at Levin’s office in Lansing. Levin was in Washington D.C. at the time and they did not speak with him directly. The case is still under investigation and the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety turned it over to the FBI.

Levin said in a statement that he was not harmed in the incident. The senator also said that the only thing hurt by the event was their (Kantar and Mohsen’s) cause. n

Levin Pied in Big Rapids is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

The Right to Choose

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:03:23 +0000

We all make choices in life that define who we are.

We choose between something as simple as whether to eat Lucky Charms or Cheerios for breakfast, to more complicated choices such as what type of vehicle to buy. Each choice we make has some impact on our lives; be it large or small. In many instances, our choices also have an effect on the people around us and can even affect people we do not know.

One choice that I made this summer sparked my interest about human connections and what some people are willing to do to benefit others. Some people travel to foreign countries and build homes in underprivileged nations. Others make financial contributions to feed the hungry. I made a choice that was even easier than those. I became an organ donor.

It was a decision that I had thought about for some time, but one that I felt was right thing to do. I thought about the improvements in technology in just the last 100 years and how doctors can perform an eye transplant and give a person the gift of sight. If I were in a position where I needed an organ transplant, I would want someone to have been an organ donor to save my life.

I am not suggesting that every single person should be an organ donor. However, I believe it something that everyone should at least consider and give serious thought to. I would not want to be the person who has to tell the mother of an 8-year-old girl that she could have had a liver transplant, but that nobody was willing to donate one.

According to Donate Life America, 18 people die each day due to the lack of available organs for transplant and more than 100,000 people are in need of life-saving transplants.

It is not every person’s job to be a hero and to save lives, but looking out for the safety and survival of our fellow human beings should at least be on the list somewhere.

Not everyone is in a position to make the decision about whether or not they want to live. For some, the choice is not theirs, but yours. Saving someone’s life is a choice that we can all make. n

The Right to Choose is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

Paying Money to Pay Money

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:02:24 +0000

A 2.75 percent convenience fee will now be charged on any credit card payment made toward a consolidated student account.

Business Operations Systems Manager, Erin Diehm, said the fee was approved by President Eisler and took effect on July 1. Ferris has contracted with Touchnet PayPath, a third-party company, to provide processing services for the consolidated student accounts. Diehm said Ferris could not continue to absorb processing costs due to budget constraints,

“There are large costs to process credit card fees,” said Diehm, “The university was looking at reducing costs and this was one that other schools used as well.”

A consolidated student account refers to a student’s tuition, room and board, parking and similar expenses. The account is billed to the student in the form of an ebill. The convenience fee will appear as a separate transaction on the credit card statement and will not appear on the E-bill or student account.

The processing fee is nonrefundable, even if the payment is cancelled, credited, or refunded. The fee is assessed no matter how large or small the payment is. Diehm said the 2.75 percent rate was set by Touchnet PayPath.

The convenience fee will be 2.75 percent of the payment amount. For example, a $1,000 payment will have a fee of $27.50. The minimum convenience fee allowed is $3. So if a payment of $60 is made, the convenience fee will be $3, even though 2.75 percent of $60 is $1.65.

According to the FSU Business Office web page, Ferris will accept MasterCard, Discover and American Express credit cards for payments on the consolidated student accounts. Visa will no longer be accepted as a form of payment because it uses a flat fee method and does not allow a pro-rata method, which is what the third-party company uses. A pro-rata method bases the processing fee on a percentage of the total payment amount, rather than a single, flat fee.

The FSU Business Office web page states explains that students can avoid the convenience fee by making payments online with an e-check, which is an electronic debit directly to a checking or savings account. The fee can also be avoided by paying with a check at the Timme Center.

Other Michigan schools that charge a convenience fee for credit card processing include Saginaw Valley State, Grand Valley State, Wayne State, Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan.

For additional information regarding this topic, visit www.ferris.edu/businessoperations/conv-fee.htm. n

Paying Money to Pay Money is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

It’s an Experience

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:02:16 +0000

The start of a new semester means a fresh start and a new adventure.

With the new beginning comes the stress of moving in, buying books, printing schedules, finding buildings, and adjusting to life in a different place. It is not necessarily an easy adjustment to make and for some people it’s flat out terrible.

College is not for everyone and I can promise that your classes will be more difficult than they were in high school. You will actually have to study, unless you’re a genius, and your time-management skills will be challenged. There will be a few bumps in the road, but that is just life in general.

As much work as it is, college life is a blast and most adults will tell you they wish they were still young and in school again. You will have the opportunity to meet so many new people and do new things that you may never have done before. You can join a club sports team or other student group and interact with other people your age who share your interests. If Ferris does not have a single group that garners your attention, you can start your own group.

You can go to bed whenever you want and eat whatever you want. I am not advocating staying up until 3 a.m. and eating pizza every day, but it’s your choice. No one is going to hold your hand and coddle you anymore. This is adulthood and you are responsible for your own actions.

Life on the couch is a boring one. Get out there and experience everything that Ferris State and Big Rapids have to offer. Expand your comfort zone and you just may be surprised to find just how much there is to do around here. Go tubing down the Muskegon River or play a round of disk golf at Northend Riverside Park. I thought racquetball was a boring game played by old people, but it is actually fun and it is a great workout.

This experience will be what you make it to be. You won’t be in college forever, so take advantage of every minute and soak it all in. It may seem like the years will drag by, but four years disappears in the blink of an eye. Take each day as it comes and never pass up the opportunity to make a memory. n

It’s an Experience is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

Not Just a Dessert

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:55:19 +0000

Senator Carl Levin had a pie shoved in his face during a discussion with members of the Big Rapids community at Peppers Café on Monday.

Levin was in Big Rapids to speak to members of the Mecosta County Democratic Party from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Levin opened the floor to questions and selected Big Rapids native and former Ferris State student Max Kantar. Kantar proceeded to read from a prepared statement criticizing the senator for his stance on several foreign policies. During Kantar’s statement, Ahlam Mohsen, a 22-year-old woman from Coldwater, put a pie in Levin’s face and she and Kantar fled.Mohsen was apprehended shortly after the incident. She is facing felony charges for stalking and conspiracy to commit aggravated stalking after her arraignment on Tuesday. Mohsen is being held at Mecosta County Jail where she must post $25,000 to be released. Her bond is set at $250,000.

Kantar, with help from attorney Jim Samuels, turned himself in on Wednesday and faces aggravated stalking and conspiracy to commit aggravated stalking charges, the same charges as Mohsen. Kantar’s bond was reduced from $250,000 to $10,000 during his arraignment Wednesday for his cooperation with authorities. Kantar will have to pay $1,000 to be released from Mecosta County Jail.

The charges against Kantar and Mohsen are stemmed from an incident in January 2009 in which they were both arrested after an anti-war protest at Levin’s office in Lansing. The case is still under investigation and the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety will turn it over to the FBI.

Not Just a Dessert is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

Two Golfers, One Goal

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:50:48 +0000

Two members of the 2009–2010 Ferris State men’s golf team will compete in the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship in University Place, Wash.

Former Bulldog golfer Eric Lilleboe and Ferris senior Garrett Simons will compete in the 110th annual U.S. Amateur Championship beginning Aug. 23.

Garrett Simons, senior

Eric Lilleboe, FSU alum

Lilleboe qualified for the event by finishing tied for first place at the U.S. Amateur Qualifier on July 22 at Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs. Lilleboe was named as a PING First-Team All-American and the GLIAC Men’s Golf “Athlete of the Year” for the 2009–2010 season.

Simons took top honors at the U.S. Amateur Qualifying Tournament at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills on Aug. 2 to earn his spot in the championship.

Following the 2009–2010 season, Simons was a first-team all-conference selection in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Two Golfers, One Goal is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

Ferris AD Announces Retirement

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:57:16 +0000

Ferris State Athletics Director Tom Kirinovic announced his retirement at a press conference on June 2 after more than 10 years in the position.

Kirinovic, a Ferris graduate, has been the Athletics Director since November 1999 and served in the Ferris athletics department for 27 years. The retirement will be official as of June 30 and the university will conduct a nationwide search to find a successor.Prior to becoming the athletics director, Kirinovic served as Ferris’ associate athletics director for five years. Kirinovic also served as assistant athletics director, ice arena manager, fundraising manager and athletic business manager throughout his career.

Bulldog softball head coach Keri Becker will serve as the Interim Athletics Director. Becker, who serves as the Senior Women’s Administrator, has served as the softball coach for 13 seasons and led the Bulldogs to a GLIAC Championship in 2000.

Ferris AD Announces Retirement is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

Ferris Coaches Close to Home

Benjamin Thayer, Editor In Chief — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 04:01:58 +0000

Coach Dorow: Basketball head coach Tracey Dorow looks on as her team tries to make her proud. The 2009–2010 women’s basketball team finished the season with an 8–19 record. Torch File Photo

Of the 10 coaches in the varsity sports at Ferris State, nine of them are from Michigan.

The lineage of Ferris coaches has always had local ties and the current group is no exception. Three of the nine coaches from Michigan even attended Ferris for their secondary education. They are from all different parts of the state, from Sault Ste. Marie to Ypsilanti.

Mike Mignano, head coach of the men and women’s golf teams, received his master’s degree in Business Administration this year after going through the Professional Golf Management program at Ferris a four years before.
Conference ties

Some of the Bulldog head coaches served as assistants at other universities in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference before becoming head coaches at Ferris. Men’s basketball head coach Bill Sall served as an assistant coach at Hillsdale for four seasons, while head softball coach Keri Becker assisted at Saginaw Valley State for two years.

Coach Brandel-Wilhelm: Volleyball head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhhelm motivating and encouraging her team during a huddle. The volleyball team ended the 2009 season with a record of 19–12. Torch File Photo

Many of Ferris’ head coaches competed at GLIAC schools including Bulldog head football coach Jeff Pierce, head track and cross country coach Steve Picucci, head women’s basketball coach Tracey Dorow, Becker and Mignano. Their past experience with schools within the conference helped prepare them for the competition they would face.

“I think that familiarity with the GLIAC is always a plus in hiring a coach,” said Becker

Knowing a particular area in a state or country is especially important in the ranks of recruiting. The more a coach knows about a certain area, the better he or she will be able to contact local high school coaches and develop relationships with numerous people. Sall said recruiting has become more about the relationships with high school and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) coaches.
“That’s where knowing people and having the network set up already helps a ton and I think being here in Michigan makes a big, big difference,” said Sall.

Becker said the GLIAC is among the strongest conferences in the nation for Division II athletics.

“The league really helps us as an institution in terms of finding good quality coaches,” said Becker.

Bob Daniels, head coach of the Bulldog hockey team, also played within the conference in which he now coaches, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, at Michigan State.
Michigan is home

After graduating college, many people find themselves wanting to leave of Michigan. Many people simply go wherever there is a job available. For Mignano and Becker, however, the old adage “there’s no place like home” rings true.

Mignano moved to California after graduating from Ferris for internship at Torrey Pines Golf Course. After six months, Mignano said he was home sick and a graduate assistant position opened up in the Ferris golf program. He wanted to pursue a master’s degree and ultimately wanted to get into coaching or teaching.

“Ferris has always been my home,” said Mignano, “It kind of worked out perfectly.”

Becker she said her family is in Michigan and she never considered moving out of state. Since graduating high school Pierce, Sall, Picucci, and Becker have always lived in Michigan.

All about opportunity

In order to get a job regardless of the position, an opportunity has to present itself. Picucci was looking for employment in the automotive industry when he was offered a job as an assistant coach. He said he was looking everywhere and just had not found a job at the time.

“To get the coaching job, I was just in the right place at the right time,” said Picucci.

Becker was in a similar situation. After graduating from Saginaw Valley, Becker was in the process of becoming a state police officer when former Ferris women’s basketball coach Dana Monk contacted her about the open position as a softball coach. Becker said she applied jus to see what would happen and planned on coaching for a few years until she figured out what she wanted to do.

“I think it’s about opportunity,” said Becker. “I think sometimes things choose you before you choose them.”

Prior to coming to Ferris Sall, Becker, Dorow and Daniels had not been head coaches at the collegiate level. Each of them has now been at Ferris for eight years or longer and seen success. Picucci said smaller schools are more likely to hire coaches with less experience.

“The smaller schools are more apt I think to take a chance on a coach, rather than going by just pure what the resume says,” said Picucci.

The opportunity has paid off as Pierce, Daniels, Becker and volleyball head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm are the winningest coaches in Bulldog history in their respective sports.

Ferris Coaches Close to Home is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.