Hazing speaker draws crowd

By Rachel Cherry
Ferris State Torch

Attendance was high at the Wink Arena last Wednesday night as Rick Barnes, director of Special Projects in the Division of Student Affairs at Texas Christian University, spoke to a crowd of students about the dangers of hazing.

According to Barnes, a nationally known speaker, a loose definition of hazing is any action expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, or abuses that person, regardless of his or her willingness to participate.

One hazing activity is a “scavenger hunt,” an initiation ritual in which the prospective member must go to a bar, drink a certain shot of alcohol and get a clue to the next location from the bartender.

According to Barnes, fraternities, sororities and athletic groups participate in most of the hazing. While 98 percent of college students think hazing is wrong, Barnes said, 35 to 40 percent of fraternity and sorority members and 80 percent of college athletes consider themselves hazed.

Barnes went on to say that freshmen have the most power and control over hazing. He said that freshmen should not join a group that has a reputation for hazing. Without new members the group will eventually die out. Also, if someone joins a group and starts to feel hazed, that person can leave the group.

According to Barnes, if the group wants new members so badly, the hazing will stop in order to keep members from leaving.

All students can help stop hazing they see by calling the Hazing Hotline at 591-5300. Groups can avoid hazing by emphasizing the importance of the individual, according to Barnes. Groups can also let new members know that they are part of the organization, and that they have the same rights and the same status as old members.

“Maybe that’s part of what’s wrong,” Barnes said. “Everybody’s turning an eye to [hazing].”

According to Barnes, Michigan is one of eight states that have not yet passed laws against hazing.

Ken Schneider, a senior and an RA in Henderson Hall, had a general impression that Ferris has a problem with hazing, “... but I haven’t experienced anything firsthand,” he said.

Laura Smith, a freshman in Graphic Design, has had no problems so far. “I’ve found the upperclassmen to be friendly,” she said.

“Awareness and education are some of the best things [to prevent hazing],” Schneider said.

According to Michelle Burke, director of Student Leadership and Activities, stopping hazing is a matter of educating people. “Once we sit down and say why [something] is hazing, it stops,” Burke said.

Barnes also met with faculty to discuss hazing. Faculty members see students every day, and they can better see whether students have been hazed and are in a better position to report it, according to Burke.

Burke also mentioned that the smaller hazing problems can lead to bigger ones. “We’re trying to stop the smaller things,” she said.

According to Burke, informational brochures about hazing will be given to new students at the upcoming Bulldog Bonanza.

Area burglaries create array of feelings

By Laura Chene
News Editor

Owners remain cautious despite three arrests made on August 21 for charges relating to recent burglaries that occurred over a 12-day period.

According to police reports, six businesses reported incidents of breaking and entering, which resulted in damaged property and stolen money for some. On August 9 suspects smashed the front door of the Grunts Brothers Sport Center and Party Store. Suspects stole a total of $320 in bills and coins.

On August 19 suspects entered KFC and Little Caesar’s Pizza, although nothing was reported missing. Three more break-ins occurred at Dairy Queen, A&W Drive-In Restaurant and Big Rapids Roller Rink on August 20, according to police reports.

According to a news release, the Big Rapids Department of Public Safety (BRDPS) arrested and charged three men in connection with the above mentioned incidents. Christopher Andrew Foster, 17, of Big Rapids/Stanwood, and 17-year-old Matthew Paul Townsend, living in Big Rapids, were charged with “four felony counts of burglary of non-residence and one count of misdemeanor receiving and concealing stolen property. [They] were lodged at the Mecosta County Jail on these charges.”

Jarrod Dudley Voorheis, 18 and a Big Rapids resident, is “charged with one felony count of receiving and concealing stolen property. Voorheis is currently lodged at the Isabella County Jail on unrelated charges,” according to a news release. The men are awaiting arraignment for the charges listed.

“All [the suspects] were after was money,” Mike Page, owner of A&W Drive-In Restaurant, said. Page believed that the suspects’ main intentions were to steal money. “They were looking for money, and that was it.”

Page does not plan to implement a new security system unless future breaking and entering or related incidents become a pattern. “We’re not going to because number one, [BRDPS] got them,” Page said. “It could have been worse.” Also, a new security system would most likely exceed the amount of money kept inside the restaurant.

A&W had a small amount of money stolen., as well as a window broken out, stated in a police report.

Dairy Queen owner Joe Mendenhall has not ruled future break-ins as impossible. “Concern will do that,” Mendenhall said. As for preventing future incidents, Mendenhall said, “There are things I am doing that will help catch [intruders] as far as that.”

Bob Grunst, owner of Grunst Brothers, said, “I don’t think it was just kids looking for money.”

Grunst has taken action to prevent future incidents from occurring : he has already spent over $1,000 towards recovering damages left behind, including a door that was smashed out. “I don’t know if they’ve arrested all of the people.”

Little Caesars Pizza owner Brenda Warner has also taken certain measures as a result of the incidents. At the time of the incident, she already had certain security devices, including a video system. “I’m just putting in more security measures,” Warner said. “It’s always serious when someone breaks in your business.”

BACK TO THE TOP

Reward out for stolen computer

By Chris Miller
Editor in Chief

Stolen computer
A Flatron gray monitor, tower, keyboard, speakers and a gray Hewlett Packard printer were stolen from a Taggart Hall third floor room on Aug. 29. Police believe that between 8 a.m.-3 p.m., an unknown person(s) entered the resident’s room and removed the computer. The door was shut but not locked. Public Safety is offering a $200.00 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s).

Larceny from a vehicle
A student’s car was left unlocked in Lot 56 on Aug. 23 at approximately 7:45 a.m. After returning to the vehicle, the victim found that the parking sticker was stolen from the car. No suspects to the crime but investigation continues.

A license plate was stolen from a male student’s vehicle parked in Lot 4 on Aug. 29. The victim reported the stolen plate at 2:30 p.m. after he returned to the lot and found out the plate had been taken.

Larceny
Clothing in Travis Hall was taken from a laundry room on Aug. 24 at around 6:30 p.m. The student put clothes in the washing machine and, upon returning, realized that they were missing. There are no suspects and investigation continues.

Many items were stolen from a locked room in the SRC Building. Officers received the reported crime on Aug. 23. Several items were stolen from the room including a climbing rope and a water cooler, while investigation continues.

Stolen money
A Prakken Building associate reported that someone had stolen cash from her wallet on Aug. 24 at 11:10 a.m. Officers have a suspect and investigation continues. The amount of cash was not given out.

Cash was stolen from a purse on Aug. 2 between 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The crime was not reported until Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. Victim had a large sum of money stolen from her purse/work station in ASC.

Drunk and silly
Officers encountered an intoxicated suspect walking in Lot 4 on Aug. 26 at 2 a.m. The suspect was a minor and was issued an MIP.

No Fire
A fire alarm was pulled in Merrill Hall on Aug. 26 at 6 a.m.. No suspects, no fire and investigation continues.

Non-aggravated assault
Two roommates were arguing in Ward Hall on Aug. 25. Several threats were shouted towards each roommate, but no arrests were made.

Damage of property
A front door was reported damaged in Finch Court on Aug. 27. The door was damaged overnight and no suspects have been reported, but investigation continues.

Harassing phone call
On Aug. 28 at 4 p.m., a student complained about harassing phone calls. A number of phone calls were made and DPS has a suspect.

Hit and run
Lot 30 attracted police on Aug. 22 for a hit and run accident. A student parked in the lot, walked into the Birkam Health Center and returned to find out that the vehicle had been struck. There are no suspects at this time.

Win a palm tree or snag free books

By Laura Chene
News Editor

Students are encouraged to attend the annual Bulldog Bonanza next Wednesday at the Wink Arena, for free food, many giveaways and RSO introductions.

Sept. 12 marks the Bulldog Bonanza’s 11th year. Hawaiian Luau is the theme of this year’s event, which is free to students and held from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. “It is good, specifically for students,” Executive Director of the Mecosta County Area Chamber of Commerce Anja Wing said. Students can also use their meal cards for food that will be available.

Student Activities Coordinator Cara Baker agreed, stating that students benefit from the event in many ways. In the past students have been especially receptive towards all of the free prizes. “There are so many freebies,” Baker said.
Prizes range from compact discs to coupons. As a complement to this year’s theme, a palm tree, containing a colored light in place of the stem, is given away. The Chamber of Commerce is also giving away four $100 book scholarships.

“One year a girl won a Coke machine,” Wing said. “I mean a big old Coke machine! There’s something for everyone.”

According to Baker, the fact that the event joins all student organizations in one place at one time makes Bulldog Bonanza unique. “The student organizations are right there,” Baker said. Students have the chance to obtain information from just about any organization at one stop.

As of April there were over 210 Registered Student Organizations on campus, according to the Office of Student Leadership and Activities.
Students are also introduced to a variety of services and businesses throughout Mecosta County. Examples include restaurants and retail stores in Big Rapids. “It’s just so students know there are [stores] downtown,” Wing said. This is helpful when it comes time to buy gifts for different occasions, according to Wing.

“A lot of times students think there is nothing to do,” Wing said. “There are a lot of opportunities to get involved in local [community activities]. Student life is not all about hanging in the bars.” Along with merchant vendors, service organizations, such as hospitals, will be present with booth displays at the event.

Wing expects the attendance to reach over 2,000 students. “It’s been well received by folks, vendors, as well as the students,” Wing said. The Chamber of Commerce began planning the event with Ferris representatives in May.

Photo by James Bednarick, Photo Editor

Bursting with flavor

By Shannon Vesper
Ferris State Torch

Students piling into Ferris State University can mean only one thing: thousands of meals to prepare daily. Whether or not students eat at Mascar, Westview, The Pug, The Rock or Center Ice, food is only a short walk away.

Eating on campus can be filling, but one may have a craving for something different. Peppers Café and Delicatessen is a unique place to have a bite to eat and hang out with fellow students.

Located on 121 N. Michigan, five blocks north of campus, Peppers is open daily Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and closed on all Sundays.

Last January, Peppers experienced a fire, which forced closure for three months and the rebuilding of their business. Since re-opening in April, business has still been strong.

"We think that the fire was due to electrical problems, but pretty much everything was damaged in the fire," Peppers Manager Jeff DeVries said.

"More people came back after the fire, even though we were closed for such a long time," Alicia Bowne, a junior in Education, said.

Peppers offers a variety of salads, daily soups, cakes, pies and over 30 different sandwiches. Deli meats range from ham to pastrami.

The sandwiches are made on several types of bread, often including a dressing such as mayonnaise, herb cream cheese or salad dressing. Cheese, lettuce and tomatoes are popular to add and each is served with chips, pickle and a pepperoni.

"It's awesome. The hours are great, and the food is really filling. It's really great," Tonya Schardt, a sophomore in Business, said.

When eating at Peppers, the average meal costs approximately $6.50. The restaurant seats approximately 50 people and customers are able to call in for take-out orders.

For more information on location and menu items contact Peppers Cafe and Deli at 796-0844.

Brady out of the picture

By Chris Miller
Editor in Chief

The Ferris State University Homecoming show featuring “Wayne Brady and Friends” has taken an unexpected turn when Brady’s management canceled his appearance at FSU.

After going through non-stop negotiations with Sinbad, the Homecoming Committee and Entertainment Unlimited (EU) found a clean act with Brady, signing a contract on June 25.

“We are disappointed in the whole situation, but we also feel that when you try to plan a show like this, there tend to be bumps in the road,” Homecoming Chairperson Sarah Johnson said.

The Wayne Brady show was supposed to be for Wednesday Oct. 18, during the Homecoming week festivities. Brady’s management canceled the show due to a two-week period when he will be filming episodes for “Whose Line is it Anyway.”

“Even though the experience didn’t go as planned, this wouldn’t stop us from inviting Brady back in the future,” Entertainment Unlimited President Jason Johnson said.

Brady also canceled on Central Michigan University, which booked him for Oct. 12, the week before. This was the second time that Brady’s management canceled at CMU.

“It’s not his fault and CMU had already sold a number of tickets for their show,” EU’s Johnson said. “Tickets didn’t go on sale yet at Ferris.”

“The show might be moved to a different date, but that depends on who we end up booking,” Johnson added.

Last Thursday, the committee met to discuss possible acts for replacing Brady. Over the past few years, Ferris has brought in comedy acts to the campus.

Some of the people discussed to fill the spot were D.L. Hughley, former Saturday Night Live comics Jim Breuer and Jay Mohr and Kathy Griffin (also seen on “Suddenly Susan”).

“These acts were some of the top ones that have the time off during our Homecoming week,” EU’s Johnson said. “We are pushing for Hughley, but it is still up for grabs.”

The Homecoming Committee is hoping that they can still hold the show in Williams Auditorium, but according to Johnson, the auditorium is packed with events throughout the week.

“Our biggest conflict is scheduling the show according to the new act’s schedule. Between Wink Arena and Williams, it is hard to set up a tentative date for this show,” EU’s Johnson said.

“The only day that the show can take place in Williams Auditorium is on the Thursday during homecoming week,” committee member Jessica Wortley said.

Ferris was allowed approximately $35,000 for any act they bring in. Money for the event was allocated by the Student Affairs Programming Committee (SAPC).

“It’s tough to find someone with a clean act that we can afford, especially as we get closer to the actual show,” EU’s Johnson said.

Four years ago, Ferris tried to book comedian Chris Rock for the Homecoming show. Rock bailed out of the contract, and FSU filled it with another comedian, Jamie Foxx.

“No matter who comes to Ferris, we still expect a sellout crowd. It will still be a top notch act,” Johnson added. “Even though we didn’t get Chris Rock, Foxx was a blast to have at Ferris.”

Profile: Dr. John Randall Groves

By Matt Cherry
Assistant A&E Editor

As you enter the spacious office of Dr. John Randall Groves at Ferris State University, a sense of coolness fills the air.

Groves’ office is covered with books, posters, musical selections and movies. Among his collection were posters for Japanese anime, science-fiction movies and many historical books. Groves was sitting at his desk, looking calm and in control.

Groves, a native of the north side of Flint, grew up with his parents, brother and two sisters. After attending and graduating from Kearsley High School, Groves then attended college at University of Michigan-Flint.

As we discussed his college years more, Groves nonchalantly grasped a guitar that was within arm's reach and began to strum a few chords, playing a jazz tune.

Groves didn't stay at U of M for long, only about a year and a half, before transferring to Central Michigan University. After about two and a half years at Central, it was time for graduation. It wasn't long before graduate school began after that. He went to the University of California-San Diego from 1981 until 1988, where he received a master's degree in both philosophy and history.

It was after achieving these degrees that he made a big decision in his life: it was time to find a real job.

Ferris was one of only two job offers that Groves had; the other was in Wisconsin. After thought, he accepted the position offered from Ferris, approximately ten years ago.

Here at Ferris, Groves has held a few different, but important, positions. One obvious position is that of professor. However, he also served as the head of the Arts and Lectures committee. And he now serves as an advisor for the Japanese anime club, Oni No Anime.

As for his tenure here at Ferris as a teacher, Groves has taught many interesting classes for the Humanities department. Some of the classes Groves has taught are Introduction to Logic, Classical and Medieval Periods and Introduction to Ethics.
When asked about a personal favorite class to teach, Groves said he had no real favorite class, since they’re all fun. “I’m not too fond of Logic,” he said, adding further that it “just gets old” to teach.

Evidently, he is planning to study civilizations and the philosophy of history, and paying primary attention to the Chinese Sung and Western Renaissance styles of painting.

One of Grove’s favorite things to do is perform jazz music, and he plays guitar professionally. He also enjoys science fiction movies, which would explain not only his enjoyment of anime, but also the layout and decorations of his office.

As far as books were concerned, he could name no favorite, as befits a true book lover. He did mention that he admires the works of Octavia Butler though.

Once one combines all of Groves' accomplishments, and his personal charisma and plain old likeable personality, it is easy to see why he won the distinction of being a “Teacher of the Year” for last school year.

Coleman Show Isn’t Enough
By Nick Wasmiller
Sports Editor

Despite 15 catches and over 200 receiving yards from Harlon Hill candidate Clarence Coleman, Ferris State dropped their season opener to South Dakota State 34-24.

Ferris opened the game with a nine-play, 60-yard drive that resulted in a field goal by Tom Perez. Senior quarterback Kyle Park looked exclusively for Coleman on the drive, and completed all three passes to the senior wideout from Miami for 57 yards.

With Ferris leading 3-0, the Jackrabbits of South Dakota came back with a touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. The drive mainly was on the ground, with SDSU rushing for over 75 yards on the drive.

Although a fumble by FSU running back Derek Fudge two plays into the ensuing drive gave the ball right back to South Dakota, the Bulldog defense kept SDSU from scoring.

Ferris then opened the second quarter with a aerial score from Park to Lamar Patterson to move the Bulldogs back in front 10-7. Park opened the drive with a 38-yard strike to Coleman.

Once again, SDSU came right back with a counter punch, to take the lead 13-7. The Bulldogs stopped South Dakota on a third and ten, but SDSU decided against a field goal attempt on fourth down and gained the first down on a run by John Ranek.

SDSU scored again five minutes later, moving the score to 20-10. The scoring drive went nine plays and 52 yards.

Opening on offense in the second half, the Bulldogs took the ball across mid-field before Matt Peterson of SDSU forced a fumbled from Coleman.

On the next possession, Coleman made up for his mistake by making two catches, including a 29-yard touchdown catch from Park. The score moved the Bulldogs within three points, but once again the Jackrabbits came right back with a score on the next possession moving the score back to a ten-point advantage, 27-17.

SDSU then put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter, moving the score to 34-17. The six-play drive covered 49 yards.

On a drive later in the fourth, Park completed three more passes to Coleman, including a seven-yard strike for Coleman’s second TD reception of the game.

Park finished the game with 344 passing yards on 26 completion and three touchdown passes. Fudge led the rushing attack with 45 yards on ten carries, including a 20-yard burst in the first quarter.

The game showcased two very different offenses. While the Bulldogs gained over 340 yards in passing and only 46 on the ground, the Jackrabbits of South Dakota rushed for 293 yards, compared to only 86 passing yards.

Coleman finished the game with 303 all-purpose yards, including 212 passing yards, 65 yards on kickoff returns, and 26 yards on punt returns.

The Bulldogs host Findlay in the season opener at Top Taggart Field this Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be preceded by the Wheeler Pavilion Dedication at 4 p.m and the Pigskin Cookout at 5:30 p.m. Students can use their meal plans to purchase food at the cookout. A fireworks display will follow the game.

Photo by James Bednarick, Photo Editor

Still Looking

By Nick Wasmiller
Sports Editor

The 2001 Ferris State University Women's Soccer team completed its first weekend of action with a 0-1-1 mark during a trip to Rensselaer, Ind.

On Aug 24, the Bulldogs and St. Joseph's (Ind.) struggled to a 2-2 tie. The game was held scoreless until the 28 minute mark when Lindsay Bridwell put St. Joe’s on top 1-0. Just over three minutes later, sophomore standout Emily Rogers scored for the Bulldogs, tieing the game back at 1.

The game then went scoreless for another 22 minutes, until Rogers scored again for FSU, putting Ferris State ahead 2-1. Senior Christy White assisted on the goal. Ferris held the lead for the next ten minutes until St. Joe’s struck again. With the score tied at two, each team had shots to win the game down the streach, but neither were able to capitilize on their scoring chances.

Ferris State recorded 20 shots for the contest, with ten shots on goal. Goalie Connie Bigott registed seven saves against nine chances from St. Joe’s. The Bulldogs and St. Joe’s committed a great deal of penalities during the game, with FSU registering 17 and St. Joe’s recording 18.

Freshman Jen Gaylor led the Bulldogs with five shots on goal and ten total shots during the game, while Rogers fired four of six shots on goal. Sophomore Kerry Wolfe and White also recorded shots on goal against St. Joes.

The Bulldogs then travel to play Indianapolis on Aug 26, dropping the contest 2-1. Once again Ferris State dropped behind in the early going, giving up a goal to Indy just five minutes into the game. Twelve minutes later, Sophomore Julia Hitchingham tied the game for the Bulldogs. White assisted on the goal, her second assist of the young season.

The game then turned into a defensive battle, with no team having much in the way of scoring chances for the next sixty minutes. Despite the steller defensive effort of Ferris goalie Connie Bigott, Indianapolis scored an unassisted goal with just over five minutes remaining to take a 2-1 lead and eventually the win.

Ferris finished the game against Indy with only two shots on goal, while Indianapolis registed ten total shots sophomore goalie Connie Bigott. The Bulldogs also had trouble keeping out of penality trouble in their second game of the season, committing 24 fouls compared to just six for Indianapolis. FSU also only recorded six total shots for the game, while Indy placed 19 shots during the match.

Rogers also recorded one of two shots on goal.

The Bulldogs will look to improve upon their record Friday as they travel to play Missouri-St. Louis at 7 p.m. Ferris will then return to the midwest to play at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at noon on Sunday. Ferris State’s first home game of the season is on Sept. 12 against Aquinas at 4 p.m.

Digesting the computing fee

By Brian Van Steenkiste
Opinions Editor

They say the only things you can count on in life are death and taxes. If you choose to become a college student you can add tuition increases and fees to that list.

Every undergraduate, whether they’ve realized it or not, has paid a $15 per credit, with a maximum of $200, computing fee this semester. To help fund the Ferris Digital Initiative, last year freshman and sophomores were charged $115 per semester. This year, in part because the FLITE is open, a computing fee has been applied to every level of undergraduate student.

The fee was instituted to cover budgeting pool needs to support current, planned and anticipated technology and computing costs. Recent computer and technology cost increases, estimated at around 3.3 million dollars, warranted the fee increase. The fee is expected to generate three million dollars.

So what exactly is the fee spent on? Surprisingly, a lot of the money isn’t going towards buying computers at all. About half of the money goes to FLITE, and the other half goes towards paying our internet service provider, upgrading our digital infrastructure, buying hardware, paying technicians, etc.

The fee money that goes to the FLITE isn’t being used to pay for its construction. All the computers in the FLITE were purchased by a separate fifty million dollar fund also used to pay for its construction. The current fee is used to help pay some of the new staff the FLITE has hired and to address direct and indirect costs associated with the Library.

The FLITE, which houses two and a half million cubic feet under its roof, is three times the size of the old Timme Library. It also costs three times the amount to heat, cool and light the new facility. For two years of subscriptions to electronic databases and for investments in additional books FLITE has committed $450,000.

The FLITE is a nice facility, but it doesn’t come cheap. The new fund is helping keep its doors open.

Ferris is a technologically orientated institution. To remain a leader in this field, we need to keep our competitive edge. This takes money, actually, a lot of money. Technology and computing fees are also going to be higher because in addition to the improvements, we have existing technology that needs to be sustained.

Bandwidth is not cheap. We have a T3 link, but we pay for it. Merit, who provides Ferris and other universities with their internet service, raised our bill $120,000 this year. On top of this year’s 70% increase, Ferris is projecting an additional jump in price next year up to $100,000. Ouch.

As a fifth year senior, I’m not used to paying these computing fees. This is the first year I had to and I wasn’t that happy about it. Once I did my research and found out why I was paying, it was a little easier to digest, if not swallow. Just like everyone else, I have to pay, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Everyone makes investments in the school through their tuition they won’t see immediate benefits from. Students who recently graduated were funding the FLITE for years, but they didn’t get much out of the deal. Freshmen enjoy the FLITE without having funded it all that much, but they’ll support coming projects for future classes (such as the HVACR building).

One of the things the University did to let students see something substantial come from their paying the fee is offer them free network interface cards and software. Think of it as a bribe.

On campus students can have a NIC installed in either a laptop or a desktop computer. Off campus students can only get a NIC installed if they have a laptop; Ferris won’t pay for a NIC in an off-campus student’s desktop computer. Maybe the logic behind this move has something to do with the ease a laptop can be brought to campus and connected to the network.

RNS is purchasing the NICs and doing the installations. They bill the university $125 for each desktop and $150 for each laptop. Each student can only have one or the other.

In addition to the helping students get wired for the campus network, the university is also offering students some software. A suite of Microsoft Office software is available for students “free of charge.”

So, does any of this make you feel any better about paying $400 a year? Hopefully it helps a little. Not much can be said to an off campus senior without a laptop who doesn’t need/want any Microsoft software. I guess that’s just the way it goes sometimes.

Two representatives from student government were on the fees committee, so if you’re still all hot about the fee you should contact your academic senator and express your concerns.

Basic information on the fee is available on the Ferris website @ www.ferris.edu/htmls/admision/QAfee.htm.

Informational support for this article was graciously provided by the dean of FLITE, the director of budgeting, the director of business operations, the head of RNS and the BTC manager.

E Kabo, mwaiseni, konnichiha, welcome

By Oshotayo Adedeji
Ferris State Torch

Why are international students worried about where to stay since Bond was converted back to a regular hall? It might be cost, staff to work those hours, or the number of students that will stay during the breaks; all of these affected the decision that was made by Housing to make Bond Hall a regular hall. From my point of view, a lot of international students are really complaining about why Housing had stop the year-round residence hall. Some said that they moved off campus because they didn’t have a place to stay during the short breaks.

There was a student that came from Zambia in last two weeks. She had to pay $30 to $40 per night for six days. Paying $180 to $240 seem like a lot of money for someone coming from a foreign country. There was another girl that came from Indonesia in the spring of 2001. She had to pay $110 for two nights at the Super 8 Motel because she couldn’t get into the dorms.

I was once a Resident Assistant, so I understand that telling some RAs or front desk workers to stay might be difficult. They need a break too. It’s really costly to open the hall in the summer, but a lot of international students will not want to live on campus if they spend some money living in the hotel.

I used to attend Illinois State University down in Bloomington, IL. Down there, I was a night manager in charge of the residence halls. Most of the halls I worked had a lot of international students.

Well, they had one residence hall that was opened for all international students every day of the year. The housing department at Illinois State has been really successful in keeping the hall open because a lot of international students attend the university and have shown higher interest in staying on campus during the short breaks.

A friend of mine from Nigeria couldn’t afford to pay $1,500 to go home, so he decided to stay in the dorms during the Christmas break. If there was no hall for him to stay, he would have had some difficulties finding a place to live. When I was told to work during the break, I did because I liked the job. Plus, somebody has to do it.

A lot of you will be wandering why I was writing about my experience from my old school when I should be talking about the situation at Ferris. I figured that if I show how they do it over there, it will make sense for Housing to re-open Bond Hall as a year-round hall for international students.

Some of the international students that are placed with host families don’t really feel comfortable living with someone else; some might dislike smoking in the house, pets running around or staying up late at night. Don’t get me wrong about host families, they are really helpful to international students, but some just felt strange living in other people’s houses.

The way I see it, there are some advantages and disadvantages of opening a hall every single day of the year. The advantage is that the university will earn some money and provide jobs for people if the international student stay on campus during the short breaks. But the disadvantage is that if 100 people signed up for the break and only 20-30 people show up, the university will incur more costs than revenues.

I am just going to put it this way, the international students must be willing to stay in the dorm during the breaks if they want the housing to re-open Bond Hall as a year-round hall. Director of Housing, Jana Hurley, said that if there are enough students signing up for the breaks, they might re-consider opening Bond Hall as a year-round hall.

According to a survey I conducted, about 80% of the international students told me that Housing should open Bond Hall just like they did in 1999/2000 academic year. About 5% were not sure of what to say; and 15% said that Housing should provide accommodation if they don’t have a chance to stay on campus during the short breaks.

I understand where the people in Housing are coming from about their decision, but there are so many international students on campus who might need a place to stay during the breaks. They might go to other institutions if they have problems staying on campus here.