A topless bar is pressing to set up shop in Stanwood just off of the expressway on Exit 131. The building they’ve chosen to use has been up for sale for several years, lying empty and unprofitable. With the economic crisis faced by many Americans, it’s good to see some entrepreneurial spirit coming to the area.

Nudity has been protected under the first amendment as freedom of speech numerous times. Other problems include an implication for the rise of crime and criminal activity such as solicitation and assault. It’s a fact that around any place that serves alcohol, not just a topless bar, less than savory activities will happen. Look at Halloween. Girls wander the streets scantily-clad, dressed up in outfits you’d normally see in a lingerie shop, and call it a costume.

I congratulate those girls who dressed risqué on Halloween. They felt pretty, empowered and sexy for one night. Feeling comfortable in your skin and with your sexuality is something many people have a hard time doing, but for some it’s a gift to be used. It is feminism, and it is empowering of the female body.

Someone has to do the ‘dirty jobs’ in life. We can’t all have safe and ordinary desk jobs and expect society to function. We all have to eke out a living somehow, and working at a place such as The Gentlemen 131 would provide considerably more cash flow than waiting tables at a regular bar or even working a fulltime job. Strippers can earn $500 for a day shift and $1,000 or more for a night shift.

I attended the commission meeting at the township hall in Rogers Heights where a room full of righteous hate-filled people blasted the commission members for over an hour. On the other hand, speaking with students and other members of the community at large, the consensus was “Who cares? If you don’t like it, don’t go.”

If this business had a competitive health care plan and 401k options, I would apply today. As far as topless bars go, I can imagine this is going to be one of the safest ones in the state because of its location and the community. This is a good area where good people live, and if those good people would like to go to a place where they can see a nice looking pair of ta-tas, don’t hold it against them.

Exotic entertainers are people too, with the same rights and privileges of any other American citizen. We should be happy that any business wants to provide jobs to an area struggling with unemployment.

Support the Ta-Tas is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

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

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You wear the school uniform: Uggs, leggings and a Northface if you’re a girl, camouflage if you’re a guy.

You have to dodge ice cream cones on the sidewalk leading to the Rock.

Hockey playoffs are the most important time of the year.

Everyone you meet seems to be in pre-optometry or pre-pharmacy.

The guys who get all the ladies are those with the biggest…trucks.

Your idea of a nice dinner out is going to Crankers.

You use the term “white-baggers.”

You have to drive an hour in any direction to find civilization.

Finding a parking spot is like searching for the Holy Grail.

You dress up to go to Shooters.

Camouflage is a fashion statement on both guys and girls.

People ask where FSU is and your response is “Big Rapids; no, not Grand Rapids.”

You have accepted the fact that there will be nowhere to sit at the Rock on Sundays due to all the townies.

You get three coupon books and never use any of them.

The only thing more annoying than the constant sound of bells is the constant sound of sirens.

Your favorite place to eat at 2 a.m. is Taco Bell.

You were planning on finishing out college and pursuing a lucrative career, but then you lost all your money due to parking tickets.

MyFSU is constantly blowing up your e-mail when it is working.

Cars don’t have colors; they’re brown from the mud they’re covered in.

Your class is in West/ Alumni/ Prakken and you can count on one hand the number of times you’ve actually showed up.

You think the city is scary.

Opening day of deer season is a holiday.

You get up at 7 a.m. to register for classes and the servers crash.

You Know You Go to Ferris When…. is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

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Have you ever had a bad summer job, and why would you say it was bad?

Hmm…I worked at Cold Stone. That was pretty bad. I had a terrible manager and it was always super busy. Cleaning after was also the worst. There was always soggy fruit everywhere and the wafflebowl maker was bad because the batter always refused to come off.

Why did you choose this job?

My best friend worked there at the time.

How long did you work there, and how old were you?

I only worked there a summer. I was 18 years old.

Jeremy Miller
Senior, television and digital media production

Have you ever had a bad summer job, and why would you say it was bad?

Yes, at one point I worked for a restaurant called Mr. Burger. I made less than minimum wage while hauling dishes to and from the kitchen all day. Also, I often had to pick up children’s spilled meals.

Why did you choose this job?

I applied there because my parents knew the owner of the restaurant, and so when they needed people for the job it was just a given that I’d get the job. Little did I know that they valued the trash on their floor more than their workers.

How long did you work there, and how old were you?

I worked there for two months, June until the end of July, at the age of 16.

Camille Brillinger,
First-year nursing student

Have you ever had a bad summer job, and why would you say it was bad?

Honestly, the worst is probably cleaning sewer drains with my dad. He’s a self-employed plumber. Any other work I do with him is fine. The sewers are just gross. Sometimes the sewer drains get clogged with roots and dirt (among other things), so we use a special machine that goes down the drain and cleans it out. Only we have to get it back out sometime, so I usually end up running it and getting it to coil up again, kind of like the roter rooter guys.

Why did you choose this job?

I got the job through my dad. Sometimes during the summer he needs help, so my brothers and I take turns working with him.

How long did you work there, and how old were you?

I was 14 when I started and still work there five years later.

Jordan White
Junior, facility management

Have you ever had a bad summer job, and why would you say it was bad?

Define “bad.” I’ve worked everything from shitty restaurants to gas stations to fast food. Basically any job you can picture a teenager having, I’ve been there. I mean, cherry shaking was about as bad as it got; 10 hours a day in the blistering, humid summer air, pulling around a tarp kind of sucked.

Why did you choose that job?

It was either that or prostitution to pay for my meth addiction. But on serious note, it was the only thing available to me at the time. I was sitting around doing nothing at home so I figured I might as well make some money when the opportunity was presented.

How long did you work there, and how old were you?

That only lasted a few weeks, and I think I was 15.

Gross, Soggy and Blistering is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

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“Recreation should be more important,” FSU Intramural and Club Sport Coordinator Fernando Labra said. “It should be right up there with the library with a college experience. We need time to be a kid every day. It’s a coping skill to get by. It’s vital to every college students’ experience.”

This summer, the University Recreation Center will be offering intramural games in softball, volleyball, soccer, basketball and flag football. The cost is $12 per player per sport. Members of the championship team receive the “coveted intramural champion t-shirt.” Players must be registered for any summer 2012 session or the fall 2012 semester.

Labra explained that summer intramurals are much more laid back than those during the school year.

“The regular [school] year has competitive frats that bring fans and energy,” Labra said. “Summer intramurals are more laid back, have less competitive drive and are more about having fun. It has that whole summertime atmosphere.”

Labra wants students to look into the sports offered this summer and to get involved. If a sport isn’t offered in which students are interested, then Labra encourages students to send a note to intramurals@ferris.edu or stop by his office in the Rec Center.

“Take a little time out of your day to play and escape from studying and your stresses,” Labra said. “I’ve talked to a couple students about quidditch, so we’re looking into that.”

For more information, visit Ferris.edu/urec to see information about this summer’s intramurals.

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

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Photos by Kate Dupon, Photo Editor

Jim Crow Museum Opening is a post from The Ferris State Torch. If images or multimedia are missing, please visit the original post at the web site.

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The program will no longer be named “Student Ambassadors;” it will be renamed “Student Recruiting Associates”.

“The heart and soul of the program will stay the same,” Nick Campau, coordinator of student life, said. “There are a handful of noticeable changes coming up. The first has been to eliminate the overnight visit program. This program, when compared to other admission events, was extremely small and consumed a large portion of our resources.”

Campau said that by eliminating the overnight visit program, they were also able to eliminate the residency requirement of the Student Recruiting Associates (SRAs), allowing them to recruit a more diverse pool of students to represent the university.

“As we moved forward, we discovered that our students were working less in an ambassador role and more in recruiter role, and we have named the program Student Recruiting Associate to reflect our changes,” Campau said.

Aminna McGee, president of Student Ambassadors, said the organization currently has 22 members and is split into full and part-time members. The full-time members participated in the overnight visits, which will no longer exist in the 2012–13 academic year.

“We are entirely responsible for the tours on campus,” McGee said. She also said they do tours for all ages, including fourth grade students, middle school students and high school juniors and seniors.

“We also do travel trips to places like Detroit and Grand Rapids to inform prospective students and their family members in those areas about Ferris and what we have to offer,” McGee said.

Student Recruiting Associates will work directly with prospective students and their family while leading and supporting different admission programs throughout the academic year. Many of the programs include leading the walking tour for visitors, working Dawg Day events and other enrollment services.

“The Student Recruiting Associate program’s ultimate goal is to increase the enrollment at Ferris State University by providing prospective students with a positive experience through designated programs,” Campau said.

Earlier in the year, the members of the current Student Ambassadors group put together a dunk tank fundraiser for the Big Rapids Red Cross Chapter.

“We raised over $200 that afternoon,” McGee said. “The current Student Ambassador members thought it would be fantastic to donate $200 to the Big Rapids Red Cross chapter to kick off the transition.

McGee said the application process for the 2012–13 process has ended, but interested individuals should keep their eyes open for the 2013–14 applications next spring.

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

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Thomas Post, creator of the paintings and professor of painting and fine arts at Kendall College, doesn’t want people to easily identify who’s who.

“I didn’t want to lay it out there; I just give little clues—just a sound bite in the title to make it more intriguing,” Post said. “People ask me all the time who are in my paintings. When you’re given the answer all the time, it’s easy to pass through. I want people to see the layers.”

Post has been a professor at Kendall for three years. He first became interested in art in elementary school. His passion for fine arts continued through high school and into college. He creates his artwork at a studio at Kendall where students can stop in and chat with him while he’s creating masterpieces. Paintings exhibition took anywhere from two and a half weeks to a month. His favorite medium to work with is oil.

“I like the versatility of it [oil],” Post said. “It can be very strong and opaque or subtle and transparent. The surfaces are very lush, deep and beautiful. You can control the depth and layering. People understand there’s multiple layers and spatial relationships.”

The inspiration for these paintings came from one of Post’s previous series of paintings featuring normal objects painted in Andy Warhol colors. This evolved into painting celebrities as “almost objects.” Post wanted to play on the idea of the way people objectify their heroes.

“The heroic aspect of paintings is personal to me. Those featured in my artwork have personal references to me and my work,” Post said.

One of Post’s favorite paintings is entitled “There” and depicts Sonic Youth’s singer and guitarist Thurston Moore. Post shed some light on the meaning behind the title.

“In one of his solo recordings, Moore made a homemade recording of himself at the age of 13. In it, he recorded different sounds he made with various objects, such as snipping scissors or tapping pencils,” Post said. “At the end of each sound episode, Moore would say ‘there.’ It acted as a punctuation mark between noises.”

The rest of Post’s titles and paintings viewers will have to piece together on their own.

The Rankin Art Gallery is featuring Post’s work until April 28.

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

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Tyler Marengo: The Torch sports staff will select a Bulldog student-athlete each week based on athletic performance. Nominations may be sent to torch@ferris.edu. Photo Courtesy by Ferris State Photo Services

FSU Men’s Tennis

Junior

Port Huron/Northern

Bulldog junior tennis player Tyler Marengo was selected as this issue’s “Athlete of the Week” after helping the FSU men’s tennis team upset 13th-ranked Northwood University 5–4 Sunday afternoon to win the 2012 Great Lake Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament crown. It was the men’s tennis program’s first conference championship of any kind since 1999.

Marengo was a straight-set winner at number six singles. He also posted a victory with his partner senior Jack Swan at number three singles. This season Marengo is 8–2 overall in singles play and 10–3 overall in doubles play. As a singles player, he is currently on a five-match win streak, and as a doubles player, he is currently on a six-match win streak.

FSU concluded regular-season play 13–6 overall and 8–1 in league play. Their only conference loss was to Northwood. Next up for the Bulldogs is the NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis Championship Tournament. The field will be announced April 24 at 8 p.m. (prior to press time).

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

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Sophomore FSU pitcher and designated hitter Amy Dunleavy has been given the chance to effect both the offense and defense this year.

Before Dunleavy arrived at Ferris, she batted and pitched regularly for Canton High school in Canton, Mich. Though during her freshman year at Ferris, Dunleavy took a year off from hitting to focus on her pitching and make adjustments.

This year Dunleavy feels more confident in her pitching and is glad to be batting for the Bulldogs.

“I didn’t expect to hit this year but I knew it was something I really wanted to do,” Dunleavy said. “I worked really hard all year and just tried to prove I could hit, as well as pitch.”

Since the switch, Dunleavy has compiled a squad-best 32 RBI’s and a team-best .351 batting average this season. Dunleavy is boasting a team-best .437 on base percentage thanks to the opportunity she was given this year.

“I think it’s easier to hit and pitch because I’m in the game entirely,” Dunleavy said. “When I’m in the lineup, I’m just as responsible for the outcome of a game as the person next to me. I’m a lot harder on myself this year than I was last year because I have an affect on the score even more than just shutting them down.”

Playing against conference opponents has helped Dunleavy bring her averages up this year. So far in conference play, Dunleavy has hit three homeruns for the Bulldogs. Her batting average in conference is .362 and her on base percentage increased to .463.

“Her bat has been a great part of our lineup and her pitching has come a long way,” FSU junior pitcher Dana Bowler said. “It’s good that she could master both of them this year and help us out.”

Dunleavy enjoys batting because normally the designated player position in the batting order is meant for someone to come in and replace the pitcher in the order. Instead, Dunleavy is able to do that for the Bulldogs.

“My pitching is a lot stronger this year than it was last. I wouldn’t say it’s because of my hitting but it’s definitely a lot easier to be more into the game. It picks up my intensity level instead of just sitting on the bench, putting my jacket on, and keeping my arm warm sitting there watching.”

During games Dunleavy pitches, she also comes into the batting lineup and hits for the Bulldogs. Dunleavy is 9–8 on the mound this year.

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

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