Did you throw a pie in your resident advisor’s face on Friday? If you did, odds are good that you attended Way More Madness at the Student Recreation center. The event, formerly known as Midnight Madness, is sponsored annually by the office of Student Leadership and Activities. This year United Way helped sponsor the event, and the proceeds went to charity.

United Way, founded in 1887, is a charity organization consisting of local chapters along with the national branch, United Way of America. According to United Way, local chapters commonly focus on helping children succeed, supporting families, promoting self-sufficiency, and building safe neighborhoods.

One recently popular United Way program is Alternative Spring Break. Founded in wake of Hurricane Katrina, Alternative Spring Break gives college students a chance to volunteer their time by helping rebuild and improve communities in need.

Midnight Madness was started in 2003 by the SCHOLAR program as a way to help students relax in a safe and fun environment after midterm tests. This year, proceeds are going to the United Way charity.

Way More Madness started at 8 p.m. and lasted right up until 12 a.m. Free entry and food for both students and community members helped to attract a diverse crowd. At beginning of the night, local parents brought children who were eager to try out the massive floats. The largest and most intimidating float pitted participants against each other in a race to the top, making them scale walls and crawl through tunnels along the way. Free Mancino’s pizza and pictures along with fun party music helped to keep the attendance up throughout the night.

One of the most popular events was Pie Your RA. For a one-dollar donation, students got to lob a pie in the face of a volunteering resident advisor. Hurdylyn Woods, one of the advisors covered in pie, said he was “…happy to do it because the money is going to a good cause.”

The kissing booth gave people a chance to win gift certificates to businesses and restaurants in Big Rapids. For a 25-cent donation players flipped over a Chocolate Kiss to hopefully reveal a yellow sticker. Raffles were held for free gas cards and a parking pass later on in the evening. Other prizes were given away throughout the night including certificates to local restaurants and businesses.

Midnight Madness is an annual event. If you didn’t make it to the SRC this year, more free fun and pizza is only about 365 days away.

The Big Rapids mayoral and city commission elections were held recently and resulted in a new mayor and a new commissioner.

Mark Warba is the new mayor and Lynn Anderson is the new commissioner. Terry Harper was able to keep her post as commissioner.

According to Big Rapids City Hall, Warba beat candidate Sue Glatz receiving 712 votes to her 292 votes. For the commission race, Harper received 562 votes and A n d e r s o n received 396 votes. Candidate Luanne Rothstein was third with 383 votes. Lorraine James received 309 votes while Ruth York received 188 votes.

In addition to those votes, Ordinance No. 570-07-06 was voted down 710-289. If passed, this would have repealed the rezoning of a part of Big Rapids from the R-3 residential zone to the R-P residentialprofessional zone.

“The RP vote basically said that the city had zoned a specific area and the response indicated that people wanted a mixed use. The vote indicated that [people of Big Rapids] wanted the area to include families, rental homes, offices and whatever else,” Commissioner Harper said.

When asked about what he plays to do in office, Mayor Warba said, “One of the things I want to push forward as mayor is the [Big Rapids] community library. I want to move forward on a plan to determine where the library will be. We need to implement a plan to promote business in the downtown area and industrial park as well.”

“Basically, I want to protect and promote neighborhoods and make sure Big Rapids is a comfortable place to live and work.”

“One of the things I’d like to do is look at televised meetings for the commission because that would be a way for people in the community to participate in the meetings and have an opportunity to see what is going on and be more aware of the issues,” Commissioner Harper said.

When asked about student plans, Commissioner Anderson said, “We want the rentals in the neighborhood to be as wellmaintained as possible for student safety. We want to provide a small town atmosphere that they can participate in. And we want students to be an active part in the community.”

“I feel that some of the preelection talk included scare tactics. [Big Rapids townspeople] welcome the students in the community and feel they are an integral part of the city,” Mayor Warba, an owner of a professional law firm specifying in personal injury cases, said.

The first meeting of the new commission took place Monday, Nov. 19. According to Commissioner Harper, Mayor Warba discussed the possibility of commission meetings on campus in order to get the student population more involved.

“We want to make sure the students are in a safe environment. Students need places to go and enjoy themselves and I’d like to see them look at the downtown. We’d like to entice Ferris students to remain and work here and maybe start a business,” Mayor Warba said.

Forty-nine people participated at two campus locations in Ferris State University’s first annual celebration of World Awareness Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday Nov. 15.

Exactly a week before Thanksgiving, the event was part of the festivities involving World Education Week Nov. 12-16 at Ferris State University.

One location set up for the event was FLITE’s Extended Hour Study Court. The other location was the lounge area in the Rankin Student Center.

Flags from around the world and balloons designed to look like world globes adorned the table in the library. Fortune cookies and candy were passed out to passersby whether they wanted to take the quiz or not. Posters and fliers were taped up around campus advertising the event and prizes.

People taking the quiz were given the chance to look up all the information online if they wanted to. The table set up in the FLITE building had two laptops with the BBC website opened for easy access. Both locations were also strategically placed close to additional computer resources, such as the computer lab in the Rankin Center.

Shana Beisiegel was sitting at the table in FLITE. Beisiegel, an administrative assistant in the International Advisor’s office, said “we got the answers this morning off of [the BBC website].”

Beisiegel said she would rate her own world knowledge a seven on a scale of 1-10. “We have to be aware because of the students,” said Beisiegel. “I have a tendency to look stuff up on MSNBC,” she said.

Three questions were being asked. They were printed on slips of paper and included a place for participants’ name, email, and student ID number. The three questions handed out were as follows:

A UN Envoy visited this Asian country due to the great protest against the government. The activism is not new, but has become strong recently. In fact the government has held one journalist, Win Tin, captive since 1989. What Asian country is it?

This South American country was severely affected by a 7.7 magnitude earth quake recently. The center of the quake was at Quillahua village. This President has extended his rule in Pakistan under emergency legislation. He claims that he wants to make sure that elections in January are fair and that Pakistan continues on its path to democracy. What is the name of this President?

Beisiegel also admitted that the questions might be a little difficult. “But they have to be a challenge,” she said, in order to point out the importance of what is going on in the world.

A few key words from the questions however, such as names and places, typed into the search section of the BBC website or search engine, and articles featuring the answers to the questions were very likely to surface.

Musharraf was the answer to the third question. A picture of Gen Pervez Musharraf was featured on the BBC website’s homepage as part of a feature news story, as he has been on and in the news many times over the last few weeks.

The answers to the first two questions were Burma and Chile.

What Beisiegel said agreed with what the Coordinator for International Recruiting Luzia Tartari said, that the quiz was meant “to bring awareness to students about world events.”

Tartari, who went to high school in Big Rapids as a Brazilian exchange student, said she desired above all a lot of student participation.

“International Education Week…is celebrated by most international programs in colleges and universities,” said Tartari. She expressed her desire that this event at Ferris will “bring awareness to campus about international matters.”

An MP3 player, the book “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman, and a jacket were among the prizes awarded to the six participants who both answered the questions right and won the drawing.

Altered Parking Decal
On Nov. 7 at 9 a.m., officers located an altered parking decal in lot 5. The owner was contacted and ticketed.

Disorderly Student
On Nov. 7 at 2 p.m., officers assisted a faculty member at the Alumni building concerning a disorderly student. The student was refereed to the office of student conduct.

Parking Meter
On Nov. 8 at 10 a.m., a vehicle backed into a parking meter at Bond Circle.

Stolen Chair
On Nov. 8 at 3:40 p.m., a chair was stolen from the laundry room on the 1st floor of Travis Hall. The chair was found back in the laundry room on the 9th undamaged.

Headlight Stolen
On Nov. 8 at 5:45 p.m., there was a report of a headlight stolen from a vehicle in lot 47. The theft had occurred sometime in the last 24 hours.

Damaged Property
On Nov. 9 at 2:25 a.m., there was damaged property found by Carlisle Hall. What was found was a cement ashtray and a trash can near the N. W. entrance.

Handled Internally
On Nov. 9 at 2:30 a.m., officers assisted hall staff at Clark Hall with a disorderly subject. The hall staff handled the issue internally.

Hit and Run
On Nov. 9 at 2:50 p.m., there was a hit and run accident in lot 37. The accident occurred between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. There was damage to the headlight lens and the front bumper of the vehicle.

Intoxicated Minors
On Nov. 9 at 10:30 p.m., officers assisted hall staff at Taggart Hall with intoxicated minors. One subject was ticketed with an MIP and two were referred to the office of student conduct.

Car Accident.
On Nov. 10 at 10:30 a.m., there was a two car accident in lot 35. A vehicle backed out of a parking space and struck another vehicle passing through.

Jail Time
On Nov. 11 at 3:20 a.m., officers stopped a vehicle on State St. for erratic driving. The driver was lodged in jail for being intoxicated.

Being Suspicious
On Nov. 11 at 3:50 p.m., officers assisted the employees at the Holiday Inn with suspicious persons. The suspicious persons were located and one subject was sent back to his or her room at the Holiday Inn and another was sent off of the property.

Vehicle Damage
On Nov. 11 at 1:50 p.m., there was a report of a damaged vehicle in lot 1. The damage occurred sometime between 8 to 11 a.m.

Purse Theft
On Nov. 12 at 12 a.m., there was a report of stolen purse from Cramer Hall. The purse was taken from a room on the 7th floor. Investigation continues.

Altered Decal
On Nov. 13 at 10:35 a.m., an altered parking decal was located in lot 37. The vehicle was immobilized until the owner was contacted and ticketed.

Ticket Totals
From Nov. 14 to Nov. 20 public safety identified 428 violators. Each violator was ticketed for a total of $7400. Amount depends on whether the ticket was paid, voided, or reduced.

Voter Registration
Today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and again tomorrow the National Leadership Honor Society will be holding a voter registration drive. Registration will be held at the Rankin Center Atrium. For more information contact Anthony Coy at 591-8563.

Nominations
On Thursday, Nov. 29, Image Award nominations can be made outside the Rankin Center Dome Room from 6 to 9 p.m. For more information contact Kia Hunter at 591-2400.

Next Top Diva
The sorority of Delta Sigma Theta will be hosting the Next Top Diva from 8 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 29 at the Rankin Center Dome Room. For more information contact Callie Thomas at 591-6453.

Management Perspective of Marketing
On Thursday Nov. 29 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., an FSU alumnus will be speaking on the perspective of marketing. The event will be held at the IRC room 120. For more information contact Larua Dix at 591-2795.

Party Time
On Friday, Nov. 30 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will be hosting a Hollywood theme party. Admission is $10. For more information contact Callie Thomas at 591-6453.

Donate Blankets
On Saturday, Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. students can come and help make blankets for Project Linus. The event is being held by the Miller/Ward Staff. For more information contact Rebecca Wardach at 591-0652.

Peppermint Twist
On Saturday, Dec. 1 from 7 to 11 p.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will be honoring students and organizations for their hard work and dedication as well as providing four monetary scholarships. This event is free and will be held at Artworks. For more information contact Kia Hunter at 591-2400.

Workshop
Create your own holiday baskets, centerpieces, trees etc. The First Methodist Church is hosting an holiday Greens workshop on Monday, Dec. 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. The cost is $15 per project and trees are $18. For more information, or to make a reservation call Margie Darnell at 796-8952.