Photo

 
New parking lot on Ives Street
 
Amy McElmurray
Assistant News Editor
 
Property issues are again causing a stir in the Big Rapids community.
 
Residents of Mecosta County held a protest Thursday to defend the loss of historic space. Mecosta County, through the Board of Commissioners, recently purchased property at 124 Ives Street where a home, known as the Hanchett House, currently sits. The owners of the home plan to move the house out of town.
 
The county has plans to put a parking lot in the space, which is located across from the courthouse.
 
“More tax dollars will be lost,” Mary Ryan, president of the Good Neighbors Association, said. “That means less money for our library, our parks and our streets.”
 
The Mecosta County Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 in favor of purchasing the property for $150,000 at their March 21 meeting.
 
The Good Neighbors Association and the Big Rapids Historic Preservation Commission are concerned for many reasons.
 
A major concern is the loss of a historic home that helps tell of the architectural history of the city. The land, once turned into a parking lot, will not provide any revenue for the city or county, but will cost taxpayer dollars to maintain and plow it. The State Equalized Value for the land is $13,600, which makes the value of the land to be about $27,200, which means the county paid close to $120,000 as an incentive for the property owners to move their home, according to the two groups.
 
“This is money and historic property that we cannot afford to lose,” Ryan said. “Parking lots pave over existing businesses and houses, destroy green spaces and mature trees which clean the environment, create polluted run-off into the river, devalue remaining properties and take away tax base for the city. To make up the difference for tax-exempt properties, all other property owners pay more in increased tax assessments.”
 
Another concern for the association is that the city is losing too much land to asphalt. It believes that Big Rapids is losing the center of the city, the housing area, to support those who like to walk to the store and live close to their neighbors.
 
The home, built in 1925, is currently owned by Ferris professional golf management professor Matt Pinter and his wife, Bonnie. Pinter had no comment on this issue.
 
“The Pinters had been members of the Good Neighbors Association for the past eight years,” Ryan added. “We feel betrayed that they think so little of Big Rapids to want to move their house out of town.”
 
“It is high time that somebody stopped the destruction of our city,” Lynn Anderson, member of the Historical Preservation Commission, said. “What will we leave behind for our children?”
 
The Good Neighbors Association has been trying to work proactively with Ferris students to improve rental housing, as well as housing for all others in the community.
 
“Our sense of community comes from all of us working together to improve housing in the city,” Ryan said.
 
Members of the Mecosta County Board of Commissioners were not contacted.
 
 

 
Big Rapids goes global
 
By Afzal Memon
Ferris State Torch
 
The International Student Organization (ISO), one of the largest student organizations on Ferris State University’s campus, is ready to launch the International Festival of Cultures on April 14.
 
The International Festival is one of ISO’s most important events. Students from various countries introduce their cultures and customs to the attendants.
 
“We have 122 members representing 44 countries in our highly diverse organization,” Mazen Al-Sadat, president of ISO, said. “Every year we arrange this event with the support of International Affairs at FSU.”
 
“I have been impressed by the variety of the festival well attended by the students, faculties and the Big Rapids community,” Clarissa Garrett, international student advisor, said.
 
Five committees are formed in order to arrange various parts of the festival. Last year about 1,200 people attended the festival, and the majority of them were students. This year the organizers are expecting 1,500 or more attendants.
 
“Our aim is to provide means by which cultural and social enrichment experience can be provided for the members and surrounding community,” Al-Sadat said.
 
“We will have display tables, food samples, music and dances from around the globe.”
 
“Over 30 countries are participating in this year’s festival,” Mamadou Dolo, co-chair of the festival, said. “There will be at least 18 dishes from different countries around the world.”
 
“Also the entertainment, which is my favorite part of the festival, will be at the top this year,” Dolo said. “There will be a variety of entertainment to be enjoyed with different flavors.”
 
Students from Lebanon, Botswana and Latin America are going to present their dances.
 
One of the most talked about Brazilian item from last year’s event, Capoeira de Mandinga, is also included for the coming festival.
 
“We have students from France and Germany to share their music,” Al Sadat said. “Indian students are preparing for a skit to introduce Indian marriage ceremony to us.”
 
“International students from 30 different countries will put up a display table to introduce their culture,” Luzia Leme Tartari, chairman of the display committee, said. “The display tables usually have crafts, articles, posters and booklets from a particular country.”
 
“I liked the Moroccan display in the last year’s event. They had great dresses and art samples,” Garrett said. “Usually Japanese students put up great display tables.”
 
“Last year, the festival was mostly funded by the Student Activity Fund Allocation Committee (SAFAC) and the Office of International Affairs. SAFAC allocated $4,589, and the Office of International Affairs allocated $2,786 to fund last year’s festival,” Dolo said. “This year we were only able to get $1,000 from SAFAC because they did not have enough funds.”
 
“We approached the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and Residential Life for funding,” Dolo said. “And they were very generous to us. I thank them on behalf of the International Student Organization for their contribution.”
 
“I see the International Festival of Cultures as a great opportunity for all international students to express their cultural identity and open the window to all of us to the outside world,” Darya Kolesnyk, the chairman of the food committee, said.
 
“Students and the Big Rapids community get a unique chance to interact with the students from all over the globe,” Kolesnyk said.
 
“This is a great opportunity to make new friends, enjoy wonderful performances and delicious food,” he added.
 
“This extremely beneficial interaction will help to broaden our world outlook, step outside our life box and realize that all the bright spots on the map are authentic cultures with their own perception of life,” Kolesnyk said.
 
“If we’ll help to set aside at least one stereotype, the festival will be a success,” he added.
 
“The festival committees are still working hard to make sure that everything is ready to go by April 14th, which is the day of the festival.” Dolo said.
 
“It is an experience of Big Rapids becoming global,” Jackie Perrin, manager of International Affairs, said.
 
 

oto by Mike Termini, Photo Editor

Grand Rapids officer David Schnurstein (left) recently spoke to memebers of Phi Sigma Kappa about education towards drugs and alcohol.




Fraternity learns from officers
 
By Laura Chene
News Editor
 
Two Grand Rapids police officers spoke about the consequences of bad alcohol and drug-related decisions at a meeting of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity on Monday, March 25.
 
Ginger Perry, a patrol officer in Grand Rapids, and David Schnurstein, a narcotic SWAT officer, shared with the men what it is like to patrol the streets and talked about their encounters with drug addicts, among other stories. “So they talked a lot about their jobs,” Tom Graef, new member educator of his fraternity and risk management chair of the Interfraternity Council, said.
 
Graef arranged for the speakers to talk to the fraternity. Knowing that Perry has worked on the streets at night, Graef asked her to speak to the group. “I knew officer Perry,” Graef said. “She’s in my Army Reserve unit.” Perry agreed to the invitation and brought Schnurstein along with her.
 
Perry was able to give her perspective of what she has seen while working the night shifts. “She does a lot of DUI stops,” Graef said.
 
Schnustein was very knowledgeable of drugs, their street names, their effects on the body and the symptoms displayed by drug users. More specifically, he talked about crystalmeth, heroin and marijuana. “So he pretty much hit the drugs real good,” Graef said.
 
“Extremely intelligent officers,” Graef said. “We went into a long question-and-answer session where people were like, well, what if this, what if that. So they covered a ton of issues.”
 
The officers said that students can hurt their chances of obtaining jobs in the future if they receive a DUI. “Especially government jobs —they’re very strict about that even though it’s a little misdemeanor,” Graef said.
 
They also discussed the minor-in-possession charges and the proper legal procedures that follows after receiving one. “Usually a lot of people, they know that you’re not supposed to drink and drive and stuff, but they do it and maybe not fully realize the consequences and actually how strict in steps that they are and what can really happen to you,” Graef said.
 
Graef continued, “The officers pretty much said if you’re at a bar and you’ve had two beers, you really shouldn’t be driving home. I mean, it’s even to the point where it’s that low.”
 
Schnurstein and Perry said that they are able to accurately guess a person’s blood alcohol content level by looking in his or her eyes. “They are actually trained to pretty much actually guess if you’ve been drinking and driving,” Graef said.
 
“I guess the main purpose was to inform our new associate members and our active members of the fraternity about the dangers of all this,” Graef said. “By listening to these people [they] will hopefully take something from this presentation and gain something out of it.”
 
“It definitely worked out well,” Graef said. “It was well worth having them.”
 
In a press release, the Harvard School of Public Health released findings from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS).
 
One finding was in regards to the effectiveness of educational tactics used to inform students of alcohol consumption.
 
“This study suggests that prevention efforts must extend beyond these familiar approaches to those that change the alcohol environment around students,” Henry Wechsler, Ph.D., principal investigator of the study, said.
 
As stated in the press release, “According to the study, these interventions might include decreasing the availability of alcohol to underage drinkers, limiting the heavy marketing and promotion of alcohol beverages to college students, raising alcohol taxes and prices and limiting the availability of alcohol by hours of service and days of sale.”
 
According to the press release, students are increasingly supporting school policies targeted at lowering binge drinking. “The majority of all students backed each of these polices and even a majority of underage students backed cracking down on underage drinking.” College students may be well ahead of college administrators and community leaders in supporting tough measure to deal with this problem.
 
“[Risk management] is a topic you can never get enough education on,” Graef said. “Because, unfortunately, at Ferris we’ve had a lot of alcohol-related incidents.”
 
 

 
Courtesy Photo

Professor Randall Doyle (left) takes time out from traveling across the world to pose with friend Dr. Howard Zinn (right).

 
Tuition increases limiteds
 
By Amy McElmurray
Assistant News Editor
 
President Sederburg’s promise to keep tuition increases for next year to around five percent now has some backing.
 
Michigan Governor John Engler signed the fiscal year 2003 higher education budget bill last week, giving each of the 15 public universities the same funding as the previous year.
 
“Years ago, this would have been tragic,” Assistant to the President Dan Hurley said. “But we’re very fortunate to have a flat budget.”
 
Hurley says that because of the poor economic conditions the nation is currently facing, many states in the midwest are having problems funding higher education.
 
“We recognize the importance of higher education to our quality of life,” Governor Engler said in a press release. “It’s important to our economy. It’s important to our environment. And it’s important to our future.”
 
The bill ensures the public universities that if tuition increases for next year are kept to 8.5 percent, or $424 (whichever is greater), then full funding at the 2002 level will be issued.
 
“We are in good enough financial shape,” Hurley said regarding the non-increase in state funds. “Governor Engler could have issued an executive order stating a takeback in the budget.”
 
For Ferris, this is good news. According to Hurley, when the final list comes out stating all the universities’ tuition increases, Ferris should be near the lower end.
 
“We have been very public about limiting any tuition increase to around five percent,” Hurley said.
 
Students should know the exact increase in tuition after the May Board of Trustees meeting. The board makes all decisions regarding the budget at Ferris and will determine how the state funding will affect student tuition rates.
 
A key aspect of the bill signing by Governor Engler is that it occurred very early in the year. The bill is not typically signed till mid-summer, leaving universities little planning time.
 
“We are very fortunate to have a governor who supports higher education,” Hurley commented.
 
 

 
Faculty ready to begin bargaining
 
By Laura Chene
News Editor
 
Members of the Ferris administration and the Ferris Faculty Association met for the first time at an introductory luncheon held Tues., March 5, where the FFA president spoke very briefly about respect.
 
“We didn’t talk about any particular issues,” FFA President Mike Ryan said. Ryan did, however, briefly state faculty concerns. “It was more than simply eating together.”
 
Ryan is particularly concerned with pay, which he expressed a few weeks after the meeting.
 
Ryan said he has spoken to faculty members employed for three years or more who have seen no pay increases in that time period. “They’re not happy, and they may leave.”
 
University spokesperson Jim Thorp said, “To date, the bargaining committees for the FFA and the administration have only had general discussions on issues of common interest. We fully expect wages and benefits to be two of the major issues to be discussed in the forthcoming negotiations.”
 
“As in the past, the university is firmly committed to providing a high quality and affordable education for our students,” thorp said. “To do this, we must of course continue to attract and maintain a highly qualified faculty and staff without overburdening our students and their families with added expense. Balancing these issues presents obvious challenges, but it is something we believe can be managed.”
 
Every employee at Ferris, whether it be janitor or a food server, should be treated equally, according to Ryan.
 
“They’re all important, as well as faculty,” Ryan said. “We are all workers here. That’s basically a unifying message . . . that we are on the same page.”
 
Ryan is concerned that the teaching quality may be affected due to faculty pay. “We’re not finding many applicants,” Ryan said. “Some of these positions are going to go clearly unfilled for this year, because we can’t find people to come here at Ferris . . . ”
 
Ryan said that unfilled positions could quite possibly mean “more part-time people and more one- year temporaries. We understand that the budgets are going to be tight and stuff.”
 
“Overall, the university continues to be competitive in the compensation of its faculty and staff. Similar to other universities, the rising cost of health care continues to consume a disproportionate share of the budget and limits the university’s ability to respond to other pressing needs,” Thorp said. “We have spent considerable time and effort over the past years working with various campus groups to contain these costs and will need to continues to do so in the future.”
 
Ryan wished the two teams could have met sooner. The two sides are expected to meet again on April 18. “That’d be our first formal bargaining session,” Ryan said.
 
 

 
Students better watch out for “Party Patrols”
 
By Chris Miller
Editor in Chief
 
Director of Big Rapids Department of Public Safety Kevin Courtney announced last Thursday that DPS was awarded a grant of $3,000 that will go towards “Party Patrols.”
 
“The students at Ferris State University have been behaving better now rather than 10 years ago. Students are realizing that they can still party, and it doesn’t have to get out of hand,” Courtney said.
 
According to Courtney, the $3,000 is for a new program called Underage Alcohol Response Team or “Party Patrols.” The money was awarded to Big Rapids DPS by the Office of Highway Safety Planning.
 
“Party Patrols” calls for officers to work overtime.
 
The officers will be assigned to patrol the Big Rapids area specifically looking for parties.
 
Some of the things they will be looking out for include house parties where a cover charge is being assessed, large crowd gatherings, disturbing neighborhood behavior by attendees and parties with alcohol involved.
 
“Students have knowledge now of the new Padlock Ordinance, and with this taking place, it will cut down more on the amount of large parties going on,” Courtney said. “If we don’t even have to bust a party using this new plan, it means that we are doing our jobs.”
 
The Padlock Ordinance was established last Aug. 29.
 
It allows three warnings to houses having nuisance parties before city officials padlock the property for up to a year.
 
Along with using this new plan, Big Rapids officers will also be enforcing the use of the “controlled dispersal” method to release party-goers. After extra officers are called in so that control is gained over the party, officers will release attendees one person at a time.
 
According to Courtney, this method is used to identify underage drinkers, people too intoxicated to get home safely and the people in charge of the party.
 
“It’s almost 80 percent of the time, the first-time offenders will not do the same thing over again knowing what will happen to them if they get caught,” Courtney said. “Not only are we starting this, but we are also maintaining the concept of making the community aware. It’s like when my patrol car sits somewhere. When drivers speed pass, they see the patrol car and slow down.”
 
Courtney feels that the goal is to prevent future problems from occurring by letting the community know about the consequences of selling alcohol without a license, providing alcohol to a minor or hosting a nuisance party.
 
“Both students and landlords are aware of the Padlock Ordinance, which has cut problems down a lot, Courtney said. “Having ‘Party Patrols’ just adds to the prevention of major problems.”
 
“It’s surprising that the majority of student complaints come from other students and not from town people,” Courtney added.
 
The $3,000 grant expires next September. According to Courtney, this grant is just a trial period.
 
“If it works, we will keep it on. If it doesn’t, we will sit down and come up with a better plan,” Courtney said.

Photo by Heather Johnson, Ferris State Torch
 
Dr. Barry Mehler has accomplished a lot during the course of his life. Currently, Mehler teaches history classes at Ferris State.


 
Experiences from a different view
 
By Heather Johnson
Ferris State Torch
 
Dr. Barry Mehler is not just interested in history, he is passionate about his subject. And if anyone doubts that, drop by his office and ask to see his one-man re-enactment of the Battle of Trenton.
 
“It’s performance art,” he admitted with a smile. “I have been developing this over the years. The idea is to get students into the lesson.”
 
Mehler has been a history professor at Ferris State University since 1988, and doesn’t mind being known as the “professor who wears the beanie.”
 
“It’s a Kipah,” he said, pointing to his head. “It is a traditional garment ... I wear it because I want people on campus to know that I am Jewish.”
 
Born in 1947 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mehler has experienced firsthand many of he events that have helped shaped our country over the last fifty years.
 
“I was a child of the sixties. I also lived in New York at the time, which was the center of all of that ... I was a rabbinical student, I was very clean cut, I was not at all a hippie.”
 
Mehler cites the Vietnam War as his reason to become a secular professor instead of a rabbi.
 
“The rabbis were pro-Vietnam and conservative, and I was moving in that radical generation, and away and it kind of got me out of that sphere and then I decided that I wanted to understand more how the world works and not just theology.”
 
As a part of that philosophy, Mehler spent much of his time and education searching for understanding. In 1967, he spent a summer in Israel during the Six-Day War as a volunteer teaching Israeli students and gardening.
 
He described to me a bus trip through the Sinai where the group had come upon some burned-out Egyptian tanks.
 
Heedless, the young Mehler ran across the desert to have his picture taken on one of the tanks. It was later that he finally understood the bus driver yelling in Hebrew, warning him of land mines surrounding the area.
 
According to Dr. Mehler, becoming a professor was simply an extension of how he had grown up.
 
“I always liked learning, and I always liked school. Where I come from, teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin.”
 
As a student studying under the Jewish educational system, he learned under different circumstances.
 
“Learning was not something you did quietly on your own. Learning was something that you did with someone else.”
 
It was this experience that led him to help co-create with Dr. Judy Hooper the SLA (Structured Learning Assistance) program at Ferris State University in 1993.
 
“At the time, 50-60 percent of first year students were failing. We couldn’t lower the standards, so we instead came in and told students that they would have to attend these workshops. They came in kicking and screaming, and left with better grades.”
 
By winter 1997, there were 21 SLA courses operating, and the program had received over $300,000.00 in grants. More recently, the success of the program has earned recognition by other universities across the country, which have petitioned to operate their own SLA programs.
 
In addition, Mehler is also the founder and executive director of ISAR (Institute for the Study of Academic Racism).
 
The institute serves as a watchdog group that monitors racisms all over the world. Articles and papers are compiled and posted to the website (http://www.ferris.edu/isar) and are available to anyone for research.
 
This website has received the attention of people all over the world, including recognition from the White House and has been formally thanked by Congress.
 
“This (website) has reached the very highest levels of academia. And it wouldn’t be possible without Ferris students,” Mehler said.
 
When questioned about his dedication to activist issues and racism, Dr. Mehler replied, “I have never wanted to fit in to avoid problems that come from anti-Semitism.”
 
This was illustrated in 1994, when he appeared on ABC World News Tonight as an opponent to the recently published “The Bell Curve,” a book that argued the genetic superiority of white intelligence over Afro-Americans.
 
“I received death threats for weeks afterwards. I had to have police surveillance around the house,” he said.
 
And his reasons for getting involved, “I want to give students the sense that everything they do is important,” he says.
 
He cited the example of Henry David Thoreau, who had refused to join the military and fight in the Spanish-American war. Thoreau was jailed, and during that time wrote his famous essay, “Civil Disobedience.”
 
That essay fostered an ideology that was utilized much later by people like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.
 
“He (Thoreau) went to the grave not knowing the significance of what he did,” Mehler explained. “We never know how our actions are going to affect history.”
 
This summer, Mehler will be traveling to England to be a keynote speaker at Bradford, and will also be teaching two courses at Ferris, History of the Middle East and History of the Civil War.
 
 

 
Art gone wild!
 
By Brian VanSteenkiste
Opinions Editor
 
For any student who has ever visited the Card Wildlife Center and liked what they saw, the Rankin Center has something for you.
 
Starting yesterday, the Rankin Center’s Art Gallery is hosting a wildlife art exhibit featuring the work of three talented Michigan artists. Sharon Sommers, Rob Lawrence and Buddy Peters have contributed multiple pieces of sculpture, photography and painting to the current show.
 
“Hands down, wildlife is the oldest subject matter,” Art Gallery Coordinator Carrie Weis-Taylor commented. From cave-paintings featuring animal subject matter to renaissance works featuring animals all the way to the current show at Ferris, wildlife is an integral part of art.
 
“(Unfortunately) in the art world, no one gives (wildlife art) the recognition it deserves,” Weis-Taylor said. “We’re trying to give it that recognition.”
 
To do the subject matter justice, three very talented and well-established artists were invited to contribute examples of their work to Ferris’ gallery. Sommers, a sculptor with degrees in fine art from Central Michigan University, currently lives in Waterford, Mich., and brought multiple exquisitely detailed sculptures to the Rankin Gallery.
 
Sommers started her tenure as a professional sculptor in the late 1960’s. Her work has been exhibited all over the United States in venues such as New York City’s National Sculpture Society and in the North American Sculpture Exhibit in Golden, Colo., She is well-traveled and has visited both Africa and Australia to observe her subjects in their native environments.
 
Some of the animals she has portrayed in sculptor in this exhibit include domestic canines, an otter, a moose, a mountain goat, a wart hog, a lion and meerkats. Visitors may recognize Sommers’ meerkats from the ones she has displayed in Grand Rapids’ Frederik Meijer Gardens.
 
Lawrence is a U of M graduate who possesses a fine arts degree. A talented painter who specializes in wildlife art, Lawrence holds the distinction of being the only artist to have ever won nine Michigan stamp designs. He has also been Michigan Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year for 1981 and Michigan United Conservation Club’s Wildlife Artist of the Year for 1979.
 
All of these accolades are well-deserved, and visitors to the gallery will enjoy recognizing original art works complimenting the stamps that portray them. Working professionally since 1973, “the duck stamp guy” is an excellent addition to this exhibit.
 
Last but not least, wildlife photographer Peters hails from Battle Creek, Mich.

To capture his animal friends on emulsion, Peters has ventured to and through the Great Smokey Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, Canada and the wilderness areas near his home. Peters predominantly takes photographs of wildlife, but the studio he owns, All Things Wild Photography, also does scenics and landscapes.
 
An interesting photo taken by Peters at the only white prarie dog colony in North America (pictured below) is also on display.
 
The Rankin Art Gallery will host its current wildlife exhibit through April 26. Many of the attractive works of art featured in the show are available for purchase and are reasonably priced.

The final show of the year will run from May 1 through May 11 and will feature the best artists from local area high schools’.
 
The gallery will open again in September with another wildlife show. Next year’s first show will preview the three featured artists for a large wildlife art expo that is being scheduled for the summer of 2003.
 
The Gallery is open Monday through Friday from noon until 5 p.m. Admission is always free for the entire community and everyone has an open invitation to stop in and enjoy the art.
 
Editor’s Note: The Torch would like to extend its appreciation and thanks to Gallery Coordinator Carrie Weis-Taylor for generously providing the information contained in this article.

Photos by Brian VanSteenkiste, Opinons Editor
  

 
Biting into the neck of Ferris State
 
By Karen Langolf
Ferris State Torch
 
Since the time of the 1800s, one story has captivated the minds and souls of the public. This story is the beginning of the most famous legend of all time. The story of Dracula.
 
“It scares me,” Chris Lawrence, the “microphone man,” stated when asked about the story of Dracula. Although Michael McCarthy, the man holding the fangs, had another viewpoint about being the most legendary vampire of all time.
 
“I think it is fun…I get to seduce people, bend them to my will; and I even turn into fog. What’s there not to like?”
 
Actually, the Ferris State Theatre is performing the play this week in Williams Auditorium. In this Steven Dietz version of Bram Stoker’s classic novel, we find that it follows very closely the book.
 
Deitz pays tribute to Stoker in the very beginning of the play.
 
This is how we are introduced to one of the more amusing characters, the insane servant of Dracula, Renfield.
 
Another respect to the story is the original composition of music, which sets the moods throughout the story. It opens with the eerie feeling of the insane asylum and later changes to the sweet, playful nature of Mina and Lucy, two maidens.
 
Stoker wrote Dracula in 1987 based on the legend of Vlad Dracula, better known as Vlad Tepes - the Impaler - because he impaled hundreds of victims on stakes.
 
Although the story of Dracula has hardly any true resemblance to the history of Tepes, Stoker’s story marked the beginning of vampire legends.
 
In the beginning of the play, we see Renfield, performed by David Mirfin, as a lunatic in the asylum. Dr. John Seward, played by David Stout, runs this asylum. Dr. Seward is the fiancée of Lucy, played by Amber Lentz. It is Lucy who is first tormented and seduced by the legendary Dracula.
 
Throughout Lucy’s torment, Mina, played by Rikka Bos, comforts her. It is here that we learn of Jonathon Harker, Mina’s fiancé, who travels to meet Dracula. While in the presence of Dracula, Harker is tempted by the vixens of Dracula, Andrea Bucher and Christina Hoffman.
 
Back at the asylum, Dr. Seward calls in his old mentor Professor Von Helsing, FSU biochemistry professor Sunil Malapati. Together with Dr. Seward, they attempt to heal Lucy, who has now become a vampire.
 
Unfortunately, they are forced to hunt Lucy while she sleeps. Dracula has now sensed the presence of Mina and now desires to make her his bride.
 
For the end to this story, the production dates are April 11-14, with times as follows: April 11-13 at 8 p.m. and April 14 at 2:30 p.m.
 
Other members of the cast include Lucy’s maid, played by Jamie Dietzel; also Megan Welbourn, James Rhoden, David Pierce and Marcel Gooden as asylum workers.
 
“This cast has really pulled together when it needed to,” Lentz comments before starting technical rehearsal. “And we have a lot of fun, but we are serious when we need to be.”
 
FSU Theatre would like to thank three graduating seniors for two years of work: Craig Baumgartner, who serves as Assistant Stage Manager for Dracula, Dale Haske and Bernard Miller who have worked in the scene shop for the last two-three years.
 
“All three have done wonderful work for Ferris Theatre,” Gretchen Potter, assistant professor of theatre, commented. Potter is in charge of the technical aspects of theatre production: lights, sound and scenery.
 
“Craig really established the job of state manager and raised it in importance and respect. Dale and Bernie have worked tirelessly on scenery, as well organizing the scene shop. Bernie is great at keeping morale up and Dale’s construction work has been exquisite. They will all be missed.”
 
Directing this play is Katherine LaPietra, a Ferris State faculty member. LaPietra also designed the costumes for Dracula.
 
Posters around Ferris State have misquoted the pricing of the tickets. For students the price is $3 and for the general public, the price is $6.
 
For anyone who doesn’t mind a little blood, a little seduction and loves a great cast, Dracula is going to be a fangulous play.
 
 

Courtesy Photo
The harmony R&B group 112 will be the feature artist at this year’s Ferris Fest. 112 is best known for their hit song “Peaches N Cream.” 



112 headlining free festival at FSU
 
Rachel Theabo
A&E Editor
 
Ferris Fest, an all day long free outdoor festival, has become an annual tradition here at Ferris State University.
 
This year, Ferris Fest will be held on April 20 in the campus quad from 10 a.m. until approximately 6 p.m.
 
The biggest aspect of Ferris Fest is the actual concert.
 
This year, Ferris Fest will have four bands playing on the main stage as well as two other local bands playing on a secondary stage.
 
The concert on the main stage will start at 12:30 p.m. with country act the Wilkinsons playing.

This is the first year that a country act has been brought in to play Ferris Fest.
 
“Having a big name country act this year took a lot of work but I believe it will all pay off in the end,” Eva Cook, Ferris Fest coordinator, said.
 
The Wilkinsons, a father, son and daughter group, have had a lot of success in the short time they’ve been putting together music.
 
In 1999 alone, they were nominated for over 20 different music awards, including Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Best Vocal Group/Duo of the Year. 


Courtesy Photo
The Wilkinsons, a top country group, will be the first country group to appear at Ferris Fest on April 20.


The second band to perform at Ferris Fest will be the modern-rock band Oval Opus at 2:15 p.m.
 
Oval Opus has toured with bands such as Vertical Horizon and Sister Hazel.

With the combination of the bands powerful vocals and superior musicianship, they promise to be a live act, students will not soon forget.
 
The third band to take to the stage is Knee Deep Shag, a funk band.
 
Knee Deep Shag won the award for best band at the Independent Music Awards. 




Courtesy of kneedeepshag.com
Knee Deep Shag adds a punk flavor to the diverse music of this year’s Ferris Fest lineup.



The fourth and final band taking the stage will be multi-platinum selling R&B group 112.
 
112 consist of four men who have been friends and singing together since high school.
 
The group is signed to Sean “Puffy” Comb’s label, Bad Boy Records and is considered one of the first groups to have made it big off of that label.
 
One of the most memorable songs by the group is their hit single “Peaches N Cream.”
 
The men that make up 112 are proud of the fact that their music very tasteful and spiritual.
 
Along with the bands on the main stage, there will also be Master of Ceremonies Craig Robinson.
 
Robinson is a comedian with a brand of comedy all his own.
 
Even when the bands stop, everyone who attends Ferris Fest can expect to be singing along with Robinson and his keyboard.
 
Although there will be four big name acts on the main stage, between bands and stage set up there will also be a second stage located by the Music Center sponsored by WFSU, FSU’s radio station.
 
Crown Entertainment and local favorite Exit 139 will be featured on the second stage.
 
In addition to all of the music, there will also be many other activities to keep festivalgoers busy.
 
There will be a total of 13 games, entertainers, rides and other novelties to keep everyone happy. “Pucker Powder” is new this year.
 
This event involves participants making their own multi-flavored pixie sticks.
 
There will also be several inflatable games and toys such as “Speed Pitch,” the “Wave of Fire Slide,” an obstacle course called “Swamper Stomper,” uphill battle tug-of-war and “Dixie Whirly Bird.”
 
Balloon Man will also be making his encore appearance at Ferris.
 
The Balloon Man visited Ferris last semester.
 
Spin art Frisbees, airbrush artists, carnival photos, wax hands and henna tattoos will also be available for participants.
 
After all of the fun and games festivalgoers are sure to be hungry.
 
To save everyone a trip an all-you-can-eat barbecue lunch will be available free to everyone with a meal plan.
 
Those hungry who don’t have a meal plan can get food for only $5. This year’s Ferris Fest involves numerous people and organizations from throughout the community.
 
“Without our co-sponsors support this event wouldn’t have been possible,” Cook said.
 
Significant contributing groups this year include Entertainment Unlimited (EU), the Office of Student Leadership and Activities, the President’s Office, SAFAC, SAPC, Music Industry Management Association and nearly a dozen other student organizations.
 
“This years Ferris Fest is an event unlike any other, with a variety of novelties, food and a diverse lineup of music genres. Ferris Fest is guaranteed to be a success,” President of EU Jason Johnson said.
 

Courtesy Photo
Ovul Opus will also be playing FSU’s Ferris Fest. Ovul Opus has played with other major bands like Vertical Horizon.


 


Audiences in for one “Wilder” ride
 
By Brian Vansteenkiste
Opinons Editor
 
You’ve undoubtedly seen the commercials by now - Van Wilder is all over the programming breaks in television.
 
Maybe one or two of the movie’s commercials have actually caught your eye and made you think that the movie might be entertaining. Well, you know what, it is.
 
Van Wilder is a really funny movie.
 
I didn’t know what to expect, but what I saw was a movie that had good comedic bits throughout the entire flick and a production that actually contained some comedic genius.
 
There are a lot of movies (like Scary Movie for instance) that only have a couple memorable moments; Van Wilder isn’t one of them.
 
It’s one of those college genre humor movies, so you can compare it to Animal House, the American Pie movies and the Revenge of the Nerds.
 
I can’t say it’s better than any of these, but it definitely deserves to be in the same company.
 
If the previews for this movie could show you some of the gross humor scenes that make it a gem, you’d run out and see the movie tomorrow.
 
By the time this issue hits the stands, Van Wilder will have been out for six days; I had to go to the sneak preview to write this review.
 
Standing in line paying $7.75 for a movie that’s about an hour and forty-five minutes long, I thought I was being ripped off, stadium seating or no stadium seating.
 
I wasn’t all that into seeing it either; I was kind of going along with a friend.
 
I expected the movie to be funny, but man, it was really funny. Maybe it’s just because I’m in college.
 
Watching Van Wilder, I felt a little saddened by my coming graduation.
 
Then I had to remember that no one’s college experience could ever live up to what goes on in this movie. I hope high school kids coming to college don’t see this movie and get their hopes up.
 
Don’t get me wrong, the Van Wilder character is a gross caricature who could never really exist, but that’s what we go to the movies for. A seventh-year senior, Van Wilder is the “big man on campus,” and his exploits are what the film centers around.
 
I can’t say that much without giving away the movie (not that it isn’t a little predictable), but the general plot starts when Van Wilder’s father cuts off his tuition funds, and Van has to find a way to finance his professional collegiate lifestyle.
 
Starting with topless tutors (a brilliant idea), Van eventually moves on to becoming a “party liaison.”
 
Canadian Ryan Reynolds plays Van Wilder, and does a good job of it.
 
His facial expressions and mannerisms enhance the character and remind me of Jason Lee’s (Mallrats, Chasing Amy).
 
Tara Reid plays Gwen, a newspaper reporter assigned to do a story on Van.
 
Of course a courtship develops between them, but Gwen’s frat-boy boyfriend gets in the middle, and that’s where the movie takes off.
 
One of the funniest character’s in the movie is Van’s well-hung pet bulldog (which should make Ferris students love the film that much more) who really gets into the “action.”
 
Overall, this movie is definitely worth seeing.
 
It’s probably better to see in the theaters because you’ll have a movie crowd howling and laughing with you; but, if it doesn’t come to the BR cinema, you’ll have to weigh whether or not a trip to GR is worth it or not for yourself.
 
If you’re still curious or if you’ve seen the movie and can’t get enough, nationallampoon.com has a link to the Van Wilder site.
 
There you can find a copy of Van’s college application, a topless tutor Shockwave game, a virtual drinking buddy (“so you’ll never have to drink alone”) and other movie-related features.

This town needs re-arrangement
  
By Chris Miller
Editor in Chief
 
This town has too much of certain things. Big Rapids is a not that bad of a town to live in, but there are several things that don’t make sense.
 
Take the current supermarket situation. Now that Meijer (a million reasons in a single store) has moved into town, many other places are doing some changing. Wal-mart (always rolling back those prices) has added a grocery store to its array of stuff. It has basically turned into a mini-Meijer.
 
At one point, rumors about a possible Target moving in near Meijer were spreading around amongst the natives, but there is no valid truth to this.
 
Along with the two large stores, K-Mart (home of the blue-light special) still exists, Carter’s Food Center (Home of the Freshables) is a well-oiled chain and Denny’s (now known as the Village Market located in downtown Big Rapids) have all shown that they can look over the “Meijer Phenomenon.”
 
This type of thing, having too many supermarkets, also occurs with restaurants. Take the pizza industry for example. Ferris State students have nine different choices to purchase their favorite food. That’s right, nine!
 
Let’s count them together to make sure that we don’t forget any. Students can buy from Pizza Hut, Little Caesar’s, Dominos Pizza, Papa John’s, Campus Pizza, the MASCAR Grille, Center Ice, Pizza King and also Mancino’s Pizza.
 
If you can think of anymore, please feel free to write us, informing us how crazy this world can be sometimes.
 
I think that Big Rapids should try to incorporate at least a couple more pizza places. Where is Hungry Howies, huh?
 
What am I trying to point out? We don’t need any more pizza!
 
This town also has a craving for another type of food: Chinese.
 
I love Chinese food, but do we really need three restaurants? Currently, Big Rapids boasts New China Restaurant, Golden Chopsticks and the China Palace Restaurant.
 
The old Casey McNabbs/Hideaway Bar might be turned into a Chinese restaurant. Supposedly, China Palace might be re-located to that spot right next to McDonald’s.
 
If this is the case, students might toss a fit. Casey’s was one of the only places that students could walk to and enjoy a night of just hanging out with close friends. There was no crazy dance music. It was basically good friends, tasty beverages and a few drunken mishaps. However, it was all good times.
 
I am not about to take my best friends to a Chinese restaurant to enjoy the same features.
 
What should be in the place of a legend like Casey’s? I wouldn’t mind seeing an Olive Garden or a Ruggeros (if you are familiar with the Flint are, this is a really nice Italian restaurant there).
 
Not being a big fan of fast food, I wouldn’t mind eating at a Fazzoli’s. They have really good Italian food for little price.
 
Hopefully, someone will hear out this cry for help.
 
Please don’t turn our former hangout into a Chinese Restaurant. Do something that students will actually look forward to.
 
  
 

 
Bush doing the right thing
 
Mike Domerese
Ferris State Torch
 
Have you ever thought about how lucky you are to be a citizen in this country?
 
I know we all whine and complain about taxes, the police and many other things.
 
The amazing thing is that these are all trivial complaints compared to everything else that goes on around the world on a daily basis.
 
The fact that you can walk down the street, go to a movie or even do something as simple as going to the grocery store and not have to fear for your life are just some of the advantages of living in a country like the United States.
 
I’m sure many of you have been following what has been going on around the world, particularly in the Middle East.
 
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know about the constant clashes that continue to go on between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
 
There have been several attempts at cease-fires, but they seem to constantly either go unnoticed or last only a few short hours.
 
These are not military personnel who are clashing with each other, but terrorist groups and organizations that are killing mostly innocent civilians. All of this is for the sake of territory and who controls the most.
 
I could go into a lot more detail, but I do not have the space or the time to explain it all.
 
The prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have not spoken in quite some time.
 
As little as a month ago, peace talks were continuing, but both sides were not able to reach any kind of agreement.
 
The bloodshed has got to stop. The holy town of Bethlehem is the latest city to fall under the terror of the merciless killing that is going on, which is just sickening.
 
These two men need to continue ongoing talks and negotiations to get this thing settled so that these two groups can finally have peace once and for all. I know this is merely a pipe dream for me, but it has to stop somewhere.
 
There have been all types of stories in the news as of late about how the United States should do more. Personally, I think we have done a lot already in trying to get these two sides to come together.
 
We already have an envoy there in Mr. Anthony Zinni, who according to CNN was suppose to meet with Prime Minister Sharon on Thursday to try to come up with plans for a cease-fire and to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
 
The leader of the Palestinians has yet to condone the latest acts of murder and/or terrorism by extremist groups over the last few days. This obviously isn’t helping things much, but if he would at least speak out against them, it may help to ease the ongoing tensions.
 
President Bush announced the other day that Secretary of State Colin Powell will head back to the Middle East to try and resume talks between the two sides. Bush has done an extremely good job given the very delicate situation.
 
He continues to talk with Sharon and will do so as long as it takes. I don’t know how much more people expect us to do. Some of the Arab countries near the fighting want the Unites States to step up and do more.
 
The sad thing is, this should be a collective undertaking to continue the pursuit of peace. Once again, the world is looking to the Unites States to play the mediator or police officer here to try and solve someone else’s problems.
 
Hats off to President Bush and the effort he continues to make at obtaining peace.
 

 

The “Scottish Queen”, the Last Queen Empress
 
Mircea-Ioan Cotosman
Ferris State Torch
 
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother died on March 30, 2002 at the age of 101. She died peacefully in her sleep, with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II at her side.
 
I like to reflect upon lessons of the past. Well, here you have it! One of the two greatest stories that Europe had from WWII has passed into eternity. “Queen Mum,” as her people in Britain called her with genuine affection, was one of the two heads of state who were still alive to tell the story of WWII.
 
Indeed, in the entire world, just two of the key figures of that horrible time were still alive in this new millennium: HRH the Queen Mother and HRH King Michael I of Romania (forced to exile abroad by the communists in 1949).
 
The irony of history made it that HRH King Michael I is still alive while the communists are no longer in Romania.
 
There is, however, an immense lesson of duty to be learned from the Queen Mother. More importantly, this can turn out to be of significance even to countries that are Republics, led by Presidents.
 
Born in London on August 4, 1900, the ninth of the 10 children of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and his Cavendish-Bentinck wife, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon spent much of her childhood at Glamis, Scotland. Glamis is the family seat where, nine centuries earlier, King Duncan had spent a disturbed night as the guest of the Macbeths.
 
As it appeared, she was never meant to be Queen. She married Prince Albert, Duke of York in 1923. The abdication of her husband’s brother, King Edward VIII, in 1936 completely changed the life of her family.
 
She despised Edward, now Duke of Windsor, because he failed to fulfill his duty as a King and selfishly abdicated in order to pursue a divorced woman from America.
 
Moreover, she despised the two as they completely had changed not only the life of her husband, now King George VI, but they radically changed the life of her first born daughter, Elizabeth, now heir to the throne.
 
As if in a trial to revenge Edward’s lack of responsibility, she brought a constant sense of duty to the royal family. She had a genuine love for her people, and she reinvented the role of the royal family.
 
Many think of her as the Princess Diana of her time, as one of the many changes she brought included the now famous “walkabout,” where the royal family actually goes towards the crowds and meets the people.
 
She became a national figure symbol of resistance during the WWII, when the Germans were bombarding London (the Blitz). She refused to leave Buckingham Palace. She did not want to send her beloved girls overseas to a safe haven.
 
Her words have now passed into history. “The children won’t leave without me,” she explained. “I won’t leave without the King, and the King will never leave.”
 
This “poor little bride” as Prime Minister Asquith saw her in 1923 at her wedding, had now become a true Queen. She taught her daughters to speak to their people every night in a radio address. Elizabeth and Margaret, during the Blitz, encouraged children their age to be strong and resist against the invasion, and then wished all the children in the kingdom to have a “good night.”
 
The Queen had an unusual reaction when the bombs hit the Buckingham Palace. “I’m glad we’ve been bombed. It makes me feel I can look the East End in the face,” she said. She was refering to the neighborhoods in Eastern London bombarded by the Germans.
 
Again and again she accompanied her husband the King into the East Side, after each bombardment, to meet her people and comfort them. She would always put on the best of her clothes because she said her people put on their best when they came to see her.
 
In the midst of the ever-present danger of unexploded devices beneath the rubble, the visits helped to raise peoples’ spirits. This “unexpected Queen” even learned how to use a revolver in case someone tried to kidnap her, but always rejected any offers to evacuate to Canada.
 
Remembering those terrifying times, eastender Lilly Lunn said, “She was wonderful, we went through a lot round here during the war, but whenever we saw royalty it uplifted us. She never ran away.”
 
After the war was over, whether she was 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100 years old, she never missed the ceremonies that remembered those who died in WWII. The Queen Mother refused to give in to her frail body and attended all that was required by her duty.
 
After her husband’s death, she served for 50 years of public work for her people, in support of her daughter, the Queen. She became an exemplary grandmother and great- grandmother. She was much loved by Princes Charles, William and Harry.
 
As the British people mourn this symbol of courage and in saying farewell to Queen Mum close yet another chapter of their history, we the commoners must learn our lesson.
 
Our leaders need to follow her example during these troubled times. All of us must adopt a sense of duty in everything we do: as students or faculty, children or parents, no matter what our job is, a sense of duty needs to guide us forever.
 
Farewell Queen Mother! The United Kingdom has lost her last Queen Empress!