October 23, 2002
 



 

Negotiations are still proceeding
The CTA and Ferris disagree on health care; the issues still need to be settled.

By Adam Wiese
Ferris State Torch

The contract negotiations between the Ferris Clerical Technical Association (CTA) and the Ferris State administration are still being discussed.

As a result of these circumstances, the clerical-technical employees (CTs), including secretaries, clinic clerks and electrical technicians, have been working without contracts since Sept. 30, the date on which the old CT contracts expired.

"Both sides have agreed to let us work under the same stipulations as the ones outlined in the old contracts," Patrick Tobin, president of the CTA, said.

"The University and the Clerical Technical Association met all day last Friday (Oct. 11) with a mediator present," Jim Thorp, spokesman for the Ferris administration, stated. "The two sides are scheduled to meet with the mediator to bargain again this Friday (Oct. 18) and the following Monday (Oct. 21)."

Now that the contracts have expired, members of the CTA and Ferris faculty have begun to start picketing outside of the Timme Center for Student Services, most recently on Oct. 11.

However, the picketing is not an event the CTA plans to repeat regularly.

"Our people (CTA members) really don't like the cold, and we have our jobs at Ferris to do," Tobin admitted. "The CTA only pickets when we'll be more in the University's and public's eyes."

During these negotiations, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) sent lawyers to Ferris to advise the members of the CTA as to what course of action they should take once their contracts expired.

"One of the best things that the lawyers did for us was to calm the membership down," Tobin stated.

"Despite still being in negotiations, we have settled around 24 to 26 of the 32 articles that we had proposed at the beginning of negotiations," Tobin said.

"Health care continues to be the primary issue of concern for both sides, and work continues to resolve this key issue," Thorp said for the University.

The main sticking point in the health care debate is that Ferris wants the CTs to accept the new Ferris Flex insurance, which all new employees are required to accept in order to be hired.

The controversy right now is that the CTs with more seniority years want to keep their MESSA health insurance, instead of transferring to Ferris Flex.

"We believe that it's worth spending more money to have good health insurance," Tobin asserted. "The problem is getting the University to share in spending the money with us."





Hispanic Heritage Celebration
Students can experience Latin cuisine and dancing.

By Jessica Wortley
Ferris State Torch

The Office of Minority Affairs and the OMA Student Advisory Committee is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a variety of activities taking place around campus during the next week.

All activities are free and open to anyone who wishes to attend.

"We are doing these activities as a way to learn more about the Hispanic culture," said Matt Chaney, assistant director of Minority Affairs. "It's an annual event."

Chaney explained that Hispanic Heritage month actually runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, but many colleges celebrate it in late October to avoid Homecoming celebrations and allow students enough time to plan the events.

The week's activities actually began last night with a panel discussion about Hispanic issues and a question and answer forum.

Serving on the panel were professor Ana Davila-Howard and several students.

Tomorrow night, Oct. 24, Latin dance lessons will begin at 6 p.m. in the lower lobby of Merrill/Travis. Professor Steven Symmes will be teaching the tango, and Davila-Howard, along with several students, will be teaching the merenga and salsa.

Immediately following the dance lessons will be a dance party from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 28, will be a Latin lunch at the Rock Café featuring Latin cuisine.

Featured foods will include Mexican cornbread, wet burritos and nachos, with charos and chocolate tacos for dessert.

This lunch is during regular lunch hours and is open to everyone with a meal plan or dining dollars.

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 6:30 p.m. in the Rankin Center lounge will be the Folkloric Mexican Dance Group "Grupo Tarasco."

They will perform traditional dances from Mexico and modern dance and will also include a Mariachi singer.

"This is a pretty interesting group," said Chaney. "It is comprised of middle and high school students from the Grand Rapids area."

"It's very important for students to get involved in events like this," said Raymond Gant, Minority Affairs director.

He stated that college is the ideal setting for students to get exposure to diversity and step out of their comfort zones.

"We want to make a difference in students' lives," Gant stated. "This gives them a chance to have direct interaction with many cultural perspectives."

Gant also wants to let students know that November is Native American Awareness Month and the student advisory committee is in the process of planning those events.

He says potential plans include a Native American flutist and a mini pow-wow.

For more information on any of these events, please contact the Minority Affairs office at 231-591-2617.






On a more positive note
Make a Difference Day and recent tragedies at FSU get students involved lending a helping hand.

By Amy McElmurray
Assistant News Editor

Campus has been rocked in the last two months by both tragedy and fear. Students have faced the death of a football player, an alleged rape, a double stabbing and a variety of criminal activity off campus.

But with all this in the past, students have been able to find good in the community.

Football Hero

During the Homecoming football game, the Athletic Department and cheerleading team worked together to sell raffle tickets to raise money in memory of Matt Sklom, a former freshman football player at FSU.

The Detroit Lions donated four tickets and pre-game sideline passes for their annual Thanksgiving day game, as well as an autographed jersey signed by kicker Jason Hanson.

Money raised from the raffle will go towards new equipment in the athletics weight room and a plaque to honor Sklom, who died of heart complications on Sept. 11 during practice.

A total of $1,050 was raised during the game, although the athletics department is still accepting donations.

The winners of the game tickets were Lisa Albright and Bob Horan, both of Big Rapids.

"His name will be in the weight room for awhile," Assistant Athletics Director Brian Kegler said.

Friends Lend a Hand

A group of students recently spent a day raising money for the two victims of a stabbing that occurred in a university apartment.

According to sophomore Brandi Gregory, a group of six friends collected $220 to give to the victims, one of whom is a Ferris student.

The women also collected clothes and canned food for Women's Information Service (WISE) of Big Rapids. Gregory stated that they had a box full of cans and three bags full of clothes to deliver.

Relay for Life

The FSU United Relay for Life Team recently announced that a grand total of over $12,000 was collected by university affiliated individuals for the American Cancer Society.

The 24-hour walk-a-thon occurred Sept. 21-22 in Big Rapids.

"Thank you for all of your help and support - from donations to walking, you helped make a difference," team captain Karen Ottobre stated in a campus-wide notice.

Co-chairs for the event were Peggy Graham, Linda Travis, Chris Vodry and Ottobre.

Make A Difference Day

Students have another chance to volunteer this Saturday. Nationally celebrated Make A Difference Day will be marked by a kid's carnival at the football game. Volunteers can sign up at the Volunteer Spot in Rankin Center for game day duties.

The area outisde of Top Taggart Field will be full of games, prizes and candy for children of all ages. There will be a mime and clown on-hand.

"I want to see people laugh," Event Coordinator Candice Fortman said.

Walking Laps

The ladies of Phi Sigma Sigma will also be active on Saturday, but they will be walking laps around the Quad to raise money for the National Kidney Foundation. The founders of the sorority choose this group for their national philanthropy in 1971, according to co-chair Amanda Schneider.

Donations will be accepted through today at the Rankin Center in mailbox 55, or by calling 796-3851 for further details.

The group will walk rain or shine from noon to midnight in three-hour shifts.






Accessibility awareness
Ferris faculty lived with a disability for a day.

By Adam Wiese
Ferris State Torch

On Thursday, Oct. 17, the SCHOLAR program at Ferris State University presented Accessibility Awareness Day to the Ferris faculty.

During the course of the day, volunteer members of the faculty were given a handicap and they had to perform everyday student activities for the remainder of the program while having to be handicapped.

One of the faculty volunteers who participated on Accessibility Awareness Day was Dan Burcham, vice president of Student Affairs.

The particular disability that Burcham had to undergo was the effects of having ADD, a learning disorder.

"In order to simulate ADD, I had to wear headphones during the event in which loud, dissident background noise was constantly played," Burcham said. "With these headphones on, it was difficult for me to understand what people were saying to me, much like those who are afflicted with ADD."

Another faculty member who volunteered to undergo a handicap last Thursday was David Nicol, Dean of the College of Business. Nicol's assigned handicap was to undergo a visual impairment by wearing a pair of goggles.

"In my case, I could actually see light and colors," Nicol stated. "However, everything I saw was very blurry to the point where I couldn't recognize people's faces."

One of the activities that Burcham and Nicol had to perform during the course of the day was dropping a class on a computer.

"I had a hard time performing this activity," Nicol acknowledged. "I couldn't even read the letters on the computer monitor right in front of me."

The day's ultimate test was performed when all of the faculty volunteers had to attend a typical class and listen to a lecture and take notes.

"I had a hard time understanding the lecturer of the class," Burcham said. "I had to focus really hard in order to understand what the professor was saying."

The class took an interesting twist when a pop quiz was announced at the end of the class. The results of how the faculty performed on the quiz were varied.

"I did pretty well on the quiz especially considering that I had ADD," Burcham asserted.

As for Nicol, he didn't do as well.

"I flunked the quiz," Nicol admitted. "I believe that happened because I couldn't read some of the questions that were on the test, due to my visual handicap."

Once Accessibility Awareness Day was completed, both Burcham and Nicol gained some new outlooks about the handicapped community.

"I believe that this event was a good thing for the university to perform," Burcham stated. "It got us (faculty) to see how our university accommodates to the handicapped."

"Accessibilty Day offered me some new insight as to how students with handicaps have to carry out their lives at Ferris," Nicol said. "This event was also good in that we saw things that could use improvement for handicapped people."

"The main aspect of Accessibility Awareness Day that I found to be the most inspiring was the efforts of our handicapped students," Nicol admonished. "It was amazing to see how well students with handicaps have adapted to their physical impairments."






Colleges trying to improve recruitment, retention of Hispanics
While Ferris celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, Texas schools deal with recent issues..

By Patrick McGee
Knight Ridder Newspapers

FORT WORTH, Texas - Two years after a state agency identified Hispanic recruitment and retention in college as a problem, Texas universities are bolstering efforts with programs to attract and graduate more Latino students.

Texas Christian University in Fort Worth has taught its admission officers Spanish. The University of North Texas in Denton has started offering seminars in Spanish about the importance of higher education, geared toward families and Hispanic leaders.

The University of Texas at Arlington is studying ways to promote tutoring and other services to its Hispanic students. Other schools in the state have implemented similar programs.

Statistics show that the percentage of Hispanics who drop out of colleges and universities is higher than among other groups. Because Hispanics make up nearly a third of Texas' population and are the state's fastest growing group, officials say that helping more of them earn degrees is crucial to Texas' economic future.

Many Latinos come from families and neighborhoods in which people traditionally have not gone to college, so they have few role models to encourage them or to advise them how to succeed if they get there, experts say.

"Their parents do not know what resources there are for their kids. They do not know about financial aid, they do not know about interest-free loans," Jay Arekere, a research scientist with the Race and Ethnic Studies Institute at Texas A&M University in College Station, said. "Society has to step in and provide some of the social capital that is lacking in some of these communities."

The need to educate Latino parents about the importance and accessibility of higher education has emerged as one of the top issues among educators and Hispanic leaders.

"A lot of the parents don't see it as an investment, they see it as a waste of time," Alfredo Ventura, president of the Association of Mexican-American students at UT-Arlington, said. "A lot of them see they can get a job at a grocery store and make $10 an hour, and that's a fortune to them."

Many don't realize how much more they could earn. Over a 40-year period, a person with a bachelor's degree makes about $1.9 million more than someone who only has a high school diploma, according to the Washington-based Employment Policy Foundation.

Only 33.8 percent of Hispanics who enrolled in four-year state colleges in 1991 earned a degree six years later, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. African-Americans had the lowest graduation rate with 28.1 percent. Asians had the highest with 58.1 percent.

Last fall, Hispanics ranked lower than blacks and Anglos in returning to campus after their freshman year at UNT, UT-Arlington and the University of Texas at Austin.

"They don't complete a bachelor's degree, much less go for a master's or Ph.D.," Gloria Bahamon, UNT director of multicultural affairs, said.

Hispanics make up 32 percent of the state's population. Hispanics and blacks are expected to outnumber whites in Texas by 2010.

If Hispanics don't enroll in colleges at a higher rate, the percentage of Texans earning degrees will be even less than it is today, said David Gardner, assistant commissioner for planning and information services at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Texas ranks 27th in the nation in college education levels, with 23.2 percent of Texans 25 and older holding bachelor's degrees, according to the Texas State Data Center.

At the current rate, the state will only meet 75 percent of the Coordinating Board's goal of having 340,000 Hispanics enrolled by 2005, according to the board's figures.

Felix A. Zamora, past president of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education, said the goal is not high enough.

"We don't want to see that number as a ceiling. We want to see it as a floor and see that they exceed those expectations," Zamora said. "You can bump along the way we're going, and we're going to be a very poor state. You're not going to be able to compete in the global marketplace."

UNT's Bahamon said she and administrators from other universities such as UT-Arlington gathered this summer to form the North Texas Committee on Immigrants in Higher Education. The committee's mission is to tell immigrant families about a new law allowing them to send their children to state colleges and get reduced tuition and access to state financial aid as other Texas residents do.

Dana Dunn, vice president of academic affairs at UT-Arlington, said her staff has met twice recently to discuss Hispanic retention and has decided on a campaign to make more Hispanic students aware of tutoring and other services available on campus.

Dunn said she has heard from administrators that too few Hispanic students are taking advantage of tutoring and learning centers, where students independently study a particular subject and receive help if they have difficulty.

This year, TCU sent letters to all incoming minority freshman inviting them to participate in a new program that offers free tutoring and monthly meetings with a counselor.

Cyndi Walsh, student development services program coordinator at TCU, said many minority students have trouble adjusting to campus if they come from high schools where their ethnicity is in the majority. She said students may feel isolated on campus, where their ethnic group is suddenly vastly outnumbered. This year's undergraduate student body at TCU is 79 percent white.

Universities are creating programs to battle the problem, such as the buddy system run by UNT's Student Ethnic Enrichment Center, which matches upperclassmen with freshman as mentors. Students of the same ethnicity are often matched.

Manuel Garcia y Griego, director of the Center for Mexican American Studies at UT-Arlington, said retention can be boosted by getting students to form a connection to their campus by joining a group or getting involved in classes.

"It's no accident that ROTC has the highest retention rates," Garcia y Griego said. "Those people have a sense of belonging, a sense of mission, and it's a fulfilling experience."

Leonardo Garcia, 19, an international business major at UT-Arlington, said he benefited from joining groups on campus. As the son of Mexican immigrants and the first in his family to attend college, Garcia said his involvement with the Mexican-American association, a fraternity and the finance society have helped him network and make up for the guidance his parents cannot give him.

"A lot of learning takes place through those groups, not just in the classroom," Garcia said.

The groups are teaching him how to succeed on campus, but it was his parents whose emphasis on education motivated him for college.

"They always said, 'You better go to college, it's for your own good.'"



 

Water color paintings fill the Rankin Center's Art Gallery

From Nov. 5-22, the Michigan Water Color Society hits Ferris.

By Karen Langolf
Ferris State Torch

Water color replacement
Next month, starting on Nov. 5, the Michigan Water
Color Society will take over the art gallery.
Photo By: Dan Gellasch
Photo Editor

Starting Nov. 5, the Rankin Center Art Gallery presents the Michigan Water Color Society Traveling Exhibition.

As part of its 55th Annual tour, the society has made its fourth stop on the exhibition to Ferris State University.

The exhibit is set to last until Nov. 22, showing approximately 30 pieces from the competition.

This annual event is actually a competition in which participants send in their work to be judged and later issued into the show. It has been called, "a unique expression of each artist" by The Holland Sentinel.

Warren Taylor of Midland, Texas, was the juror of this event.

"I look to see originality and a fresh spark of something unique and individual. I offer this right up front because I assume technique and general painting skills are secure and not in question," Taylor said.

There are many items in this exhibit, more than the 30 FSU will receive. Some of them are of varying landscapes, abstracts and single items such as a flower or an array of images.

Linda Mendelson, chairperson of Michigan Water Color Society, believes in the positive power of this type of creativity.

"The 55th Annual Michigan Water Color Society Exhibition is just what we all needed at this time to remind us of the positive energy that creative and innovate artists are contributing to our society. Their art reaches far beyond provincial thinking as they share their insights of humanity on a global level," Mendelson said.

This year's exhibition has been traveling Michigan since August and will finish its traveling in March 2003.

Over half a century ago, this competition started out as a group of ten people who came together to form the Michigan Water Color Society. Now it has more than 400 members.

The first exhibit was held in 1947 at the Alger House, a branch of the Detroit Institute of the Arts, and within 20 years had become a well-known organization.

There is much diversity in the members. However, the one common thread is their ability to work with watercolors.

Inside a booklet of the paintings received by Michigan Water Color Society is one from Ferris State's Robert Barnum, entitled "Go Long." It is not certain whether this painting will be on display in Rankin Center Art Gallery.

Besides the usual awards, there are a few extra awards given to participants. For instance, the Michigan Water Color Society Award went to Stanley Rosenthal for "Leigh with Two Ladders."

Mendelson also has a piece in this exhibition called "L.C. 911," which won the Richard Jerzy Memorial Award. There are a number of other awards listed each with monetary prizes from $200 to $750.

They also have a listing of how much each painting is worth, from $275 up to $7,800. There are some paintings, however, that are not for sale.

Rankin Center Art Gallery is open Mondays-Wednesdays & Fridays from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursdays 2-7 p.m and Saturdays 12-2 p.m.

For additional information contact Carrie Weis-Taylor, Gallery coordinator, at 591-2536.





Namco does it again
 Namco's cash-cow "Tekken" series releases its fifth installment.

By Matt Cherry
Opinions Editor

Way back in the day, when the Playstation came out, I wanted the system for one game in particular: "Tekken."

When I first played it, I was blown away. Eventually, "Tekken 2" came out, and then "Tekken 3." For the Playstation 2, "Tekken Tag Tournament" was released.

All of these games had one thing in common: they all just kept getting better.

Now that the latest installment of the series, "Tekken 4," has hit the shelves, I was drooling with anticipation to get my hands on it.

And I not was disappointed when I finally played it.

This series can easily be compared to a fine wine: it only gets better with time.

This installment looks beautiful, sounds beautiful and can kick some major butt.

Looking at this game visually, it's hard to remember that this is a Playstation 2 game. This system has consistently flawed pixels, jagged backgrounds and other problems, but "Tekken 4" has almost none of these and has all-around high quality graphics.

"Tekken 4" really gives the player the complete presentation package with some goodlooking and user-friendly menus, and an interface that is super easy to use and tweak.

The backgrounds are absolutely enormous, and interactive. If, say, the stage has a few structural columns, and you slam your opponent into them enough, they break. While this may not be as cool as, say, the Geo-Mod technology of the "Red Faction" games, it is still pretty darn cool.

For instance, in a couple of levels, take a look at the environment. For the "Jungle" level, you can actually see the moss covering the trees, and there's even a little stream with some very realistic-looking water.

Of course, if you splash around in the water, it doesn't look so lifelike.

And the characters are all highly fluent and very well done. It's really hard to tell that they're pixelated sometimes.

The animations are as smooth as silk, with wonderful features such as realistically moving hair and flowing clothing.

And speaking of characters, most of your favorites are here in some incarnation or another.

Whether you're like me and always loved to do it "Bruce Lee" style with Marshall Law, or if you prefer getting a little Devil in you with Jin Kazama or Kazuya Mishima, they're all here to be used or unlocked.

Another really cool effect is the crowd. For a couple of the levels, there are some bystanders watching you fight, and if you get too close to them, they run away. A small, but very cool, detail.

Think of levels, there are also some really cool ones. My personal favorite is the "Underground" level, which is basically just a street fight where the combatants are surrounded by people cheering them on.

As always, the moves for this game were motion-captured from masters of different styles of fighting.

Another wonderful aspect of this game is the different modes of play. You can play just a straight up arcade game, a timed game, story mode, survival, versus, team battle, practice, training and my personal favorite, Tekken Force.

First seen in "Tekken 3," Tekken Force goes back to the games of old ("Final Fight" or "Streets of Rage" anyone?) to kick some booty for a few levels.

The sound quality for this game is also great. While it's nothing new, it's still good.

I mean, after five games, I don't think they've been able to find too many new ways to say "oof" or "Ha." So that's forgivable.

The soundtrack is as kicking as it has been for the other installments, and the added voice acting in the game not only sounds great and is very well done, but it really adds another dimension to the gameplay.

While we're on the topic of gameplay, I was happy to see that "Tekken 4" is keeping the series standard alive. It's fluid enough to let any first-time player kick it, while still having enough openness to challenge any "Tekken" master.

If anything, the gameplay has actually improved from the other installments. This makes the game really user friendly, and a dream to play.

Unfortunately, "Tekken 4" doesn't include the tag feature of "Tekken Tag Tournament," as the "Team Battle" mode is the same as it was for "Tekken 3." However, I'll gladly overlook that small flaw in an otherwise great game.

As with the other "Tekken" games, "Tekken 4" includes so many fighters, levels and other things to unlock that it'll have you coming back for more. Plus, it's just as addicting as the others are.

Whether you're a first time player or a veteran of the other four games, "Tekken 4" is worth every penny of the cost. With graphics too good to be Playstation 2, and a solid cast of characters and features, "Tekken 4" will have you begging for more.

The sound effects do get boring after a while, and the age-old "Tekken" problem of having one character's leg cross through another's while performing a throw is still there.

However, that doesn't mean that this game doesn't kick total butt.

Out of the ten point system, "Tekken 4" rates in at 9.4.






Art store knows the tricks of the trade
Artworks offers a variety of classes that students can get involved in.

By Mary Gurnne
Ferris State Torch

Artworks
A variety of classes, including pottery classes, are offered at Artworks.
Photo By: Dan Gellasch
Photo Editor

In downtown Big Rapids, an art gallery has taken a different approach to bringing art to the community.

Artworks started as an average art gallery with an ongoing gift shop on Michigan Avenue. The shop sells work from jewelry to original paintings.

Soon after opening, director Jeanette Fleury and coordinator Carrie Weis helped to make the gallery into a place of learning for all ages.

Some fall classes at Artworks have already started; however, a person may sign up at anytime.

"If we have at least four people sign up for a class, then it will run," Sheila Geglio, the education coordinator, said.

The four- to six-week classes cost from $20 to $60. But if the class involves more materials such as clay, expect to pay a bit more.

Many different classes are offered. There are classes for several forms of drawing as well as painting. There is even a class for Gyotaky, which is Japanese fish printing.

There are also classes offered on how to make baskets and how to work with stained glass. In addition to these classes, there are classes on how to sculpt clay using a pottery wheel.

Currently, the most popular class is Watercolors. In this class, the student will learn different strokes and techniques for watercolors.

"This summer our mosaic class was most popular," Geglio said. "Our stained glass class filled quickly, also."

Each class is taught by actual artists who have some of their work in the gallery. Some of those artists are retired teachers.

Each artist and teacher must have his or her work juried for qualifications.

This way Artworks knows the ability of the artist and is able to make a good decision when deciding to take on the artist or teacher.

There are 140 artists involved with Artworks, and 30 of those artists teach classes.

"They are willing to teach if the funds are there," Geglio said.

Artworks applies for many grants to help with funding. One in particular is the Rural Arts Grant. "This grant is designed for the underserved public," Geglio said.

With this grant, Artworks is able to teach in areas that don't have art programs.

Artworks hopes to reach students who are home-schooled as well as the mentally and physically disabled members of the community.

For the holidays, Artworks is offering classes for kids. These will be workshops where a person can learn how to make wrapping paper, boxes, cards and more.

For the Christmas season, the artists are encouraged to create pieces of art that may be sold at a lower cost.

The gallery will move into its new home, down the street next to the old Stage store, by Oct. 30. By mid-November the gallery and classes will be in full swing.






Now that's really funny comedy
 Entertainment Unlimited scores a hit with Fall Comedy Series.

By Matthew Gatesy
Ferris State Torch

For the second year, Entertainment Unlimited (EU) is sponsoring a Fall Comedy Series, hopefully with the same success.

Last year, EU was able to bring in a number of great comedians, led by David Cross. Cross has appeared in "Comic Relief VIII," "The Drew Carey Show", "News Radio" and "Just Shoot Me." He is best known for writing and starring in the HBO series "Mr. Show."

Jason Chambers is in charge of promotion for the Fall Comedy Series. He hopes to take the success EU had with last year's event and turn it into something bigger.

"We want to make it more of a comedy club atmosphere," Chambers said. "We're using tables instead of just chairs lined up and have changed the name of the Dome Room to the Comedy Dome."

Chambers hopes these changes will give the series the feel of a comedy club and draw a large crowd.

"The most important thing for students to know about this event is that it is free. There is no charge to attend," he said.

In addition to some of the atmosphere changes made, EU has booked some great acts for this semester. The first performer was Tess Drake, who performed Oct. 17.

Drake has shared her insight at the 2001 UW Comedy Arts Festival, was on NBC's "Late Friday," "The Jamie Foxx Show," BET's "Comic View," the Def Jam Comedy Tour and on Brian McKnight's "Back at One" tour.

The next show will be Oct. 30, starring Bernie McGrenahan. McGrenahan spoke to Ferris students last year in Williams Auditorium, tackling the difficult topic of alcohol abuse.

"We're really excited about McGrenahan. He does comedy with a message," Chambers said.

Even students who do not drink should enjoy his brand of comedy.

The Los Angeles Daily news called McGrenahan "the most important comedian in the country today." After the comedy is over, McGrenahan's focus will be on high-risk and excessive drinking.

More information on Bernie McGrenahan is available on his website,www.happyhourcomedy.com/.

There is even a section on the website where you can send McGrenahan ideas on topics to discuss when he comes to Ferris. Hopefully, students will check out this section and provide McGrenahan with ideas to make his comedy more focused towards us.

The final act of the semester will take place on Nov. 20, featuring Mission Improvable (M.I.), an improvisation group.

All of the group's material is generated by the audience, which means no two shows are alike. Many of M.I.'s games get the audience as involved as possible.

This includes anything from shouting out ideas to getting on stage and becoming part of the comedy.

M.I. focuses on a number of different improvisation styles to entertain the audience.

The most well known type of improvisation is short-form improvisation. These scenes have rules or gimmicks added for enjoyment, and the style has been popularized by the TV show "Whose Line is it Anyway?"

Mission Improvable also utilizes long-form improvisation, which focuses more on group exploration and character relationships. Long-form improvisation is considered to have more artistic value, but is equally hilarious. The specialty of M.I. is The Trip, or "Zen improv." It has no rules, no boundaries and no form, hence true improvisation. The Trip was created and performed first by Mission Improvable.

M.I.'s website, www.missionimprovable.com, defines The Trip as "allowing an audience to participate in the emotional rollercoaster ride of group exploration and subconscious leadership."

The Mission Improvable website also claims that "seeing The Trip is being part of The Trip."

Cindy Greenwood, coordinator of Student Activities, said, "We want to make sure that students understand this is a free event. The event is sponsored so the students don't have to pay."

Each performance will take place in the Dome Room on a Wednesday night. The shows start at 7:30 p.m. for the dates listed.

EU is currently deciding which comedians will be brought in for the winter semester.

If students know of a comedian who they would like to see perform at Ferris for a reasonable price, they can call Jason Chambers of Entertainment Unlimited at 591-2610 with suggestions.





Screams of terror
If students look carefully, the Halloween spirit surrounds Ferris and Michigan.

By Mary Gurnee
Ferris State Torch

Once again, it's that time of year when some people go out looking for a scare.

Helen Ferris Hall is having a haunted house on Halloween starting at 6 p.m.

All Ferris students, staff, faculty and members of the Big Rapids community are encouraged to attend.

"It's for a lot of people to get out and have fun," Krystin Bowersox, a junior in public relations, said. There are a few other haunted houses that were found in Michigan that have an outstanding rating or in decent driving range.

If a person can find Livonia, he/she may have a chance at winning $500 cash. That's right, the Fright Nights Haunted Attraction in Livonia Mall is the only haunted place where a person can win cash. The address of the Mall is 29598 7 Mile Rd.

The next haunted house includes two houses for the price of one. Not only that, this house was rated with five skulls, which means it is not recommended for children under the age of 14 and pregnant women.

To add to this rating, last year there were over a dozen hyper ventilations, 26 known pants wettings, seven faintings and four ambulance calls.

This house is located at the Lenawee Co. Fairgrounds, 602 N. Dean St. Adrian, Mich. For more information on The Haunting, check out www.myhaunting.com.

Here are a couple haunted houses that are closer to Big Rapids.

In Grand Rapids, there is a haunting in the Centerpointe Mall. The mall is located at 3655 28 St. SE, Grand Rapids.

There is also a Haunted Mill in Greenville. This mill is located at 623 N. Lafayette.

This next haunted house, The Haunt, has been very popular and known for taking great care in detail. The Haunt opened this year on Sept. 27 and is running through Nov. 2. It runs every night except Sundays and Mondays.

Tuesday through Thursday admission is $10. On Fridays and Saturdays, it is $12 to enter. If a person feels special, they may purchase a V.I.P. pass for $15. This pass allows a person to come any day and bypass the general admission line.

The Grand Rapids Youth Commonwealth is in partnership with The Haunt. Through The Haunt, funds have been raised to help the Youth Commonwealth.

Last year J.M. Burns Productions, Inc, creators of The Haunt, helped raise $5,000 for the organization.

For those who want to scream in terror this year, most haunted houses run about $10 per person.

Another common piece of information is that most haunted houses run on the weekends starting at 7 p.m.

The haunted houses are out there. Most may take some driving to get to, but when Halloween comes around the corner, so do the haunted houses and people looking for a scare.






The Torch presents a look at the last rehearsals before the show starts.

By Chris Miller
Editor in Chief

Group Dance
Choreographer Emma Shansky(red top) works with the Hot Box
Dancers during a practice run.
Photo By: Alicia LaFrance
Assistant Photo Editor

The Ferris State theater program opens with its first production of the year "Guys and Dolls" on Oct. 31 in Williams Auditorium. The show starts at 8 p.m.

After the opening performance, "Guys and Dolls" will be back in Williams from Nov. 1-3. On Nov. 1-2, the show starts again at 8 p.m. The final show starts on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m.

This performance of "Guys and Dolls" is based on the story and characters of Damon Runyon. The music and lyrics was written by Fran Loesser, while Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows wrote the book.

Theater professor Katherine LaPietra is the director for this production. Gretchen Potter, FSU theater professor, is this musical's technical director.

Tickets for "Guys and Dolls" are are $4 for students and $8 for general public. For more information contact Williams Auditorium at 591-5600.

The Torch will return in two weeks, on Nov. 6, with a look back at the production of "Guys and Dolls."



 

Volleyball restarts a winning streak
Bulldogs move on with only one loss in GLIAC play.

By Matt Lauckner
Ferris State Torch

Old serves it up
Alaina Olds totaled 44 kills and 20 digs against
Hillsdale and Wayne St. last weekend.
Photo By: Alicia LaFrance
Assistant Photo Editor

The Bulldogs didn't feel too discouraged after losing to Mercyhurst last weekend, and it showed in their performance this weekend.

The Ferris State volleyball team began another winning streak with two victories over Hillsdale and Wayne State.

On Friday the team traveled to Hillsdale for its first match-up of the season, with Ferris leaving victorious.

Ferris won the first two games 30-24, with the team producing 36 kills on 79 attacks. The team only produced four errors in the match.

The third game went to Hillsdale, by the score of 30-25. Ferris allowed five errors, and created only 14 kills.

The final game went to Ferris with the score of 30-22. Leading the Bulldogs was Alaina Olds, with an attack average through the series of .676 from 26 kills on 37 attacks, with only one error.

Other notable Bulldogs were Karla Fairbanks with 18 kills and Stephanie Speed with nine attacks and nine digs. Brittany Godlewski led the team with 10 digs over the four games.

This past Saturday, Ferris traveled to Wayne State to take on the Warriors. Ferris was able to take the first two games, with the score reflecting 31-29 and 30-28 victories.

Wayne State was able to sneak in a 30-20 win in its third game, but Ferris flexed its muscle with a fourth-game 30-25 victory to win the match.

Alaina Olds and Karla Fairbanks each totaled 18 kills to pace the Bulldogs on offense. Olds had 12 digs, one behind team-leader Godlewski's 13.

Speed notched 13 kills and eight digs in the match.

The two victories last weekend improved Ferris' record to 20-3 overall, with an 11-1 GLIAC record.

Currently, Ferris is ranked 22nd in the nation and tied for first in the North Division of the GLIAC.

So does the fact that Ferris is ranked lower than Northwood nationally bother them?

"We'd rather be lower ranked this early for the fact that the higher you go, the only direction for change is down," Olds explained.

Northwood is currently ranked 19th in the nation and Grand Valley is sixth.

Ferris shut Northwood out in three games earlier this season and beat Grand Valley in five games. Despite being ranked lower than Grand Valley, the Bulldogs have proven that they have what it takes to be a top seeded team.

"(Despite the victories) we didn't play very well this past weekend," Fairbanks said. "We simply played to win rather than to play our best."

"We really weren't at the top of our game this weekend," Olds explained. "This week we will be practicing a lot harder in order to play better this weekend."

This weekend the team will face Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan.

Northern gave Ferris a run for its money when they last met in September. Ferris was able to produce a victory in five games.

The matches start at 7 p.m. on Friday, 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. All games will be played at Wink arena, and admission is free to students.






Bulldogs win another OT game
FSU's record improves to 2-3 in conference play with victory at Mercyhurst.

By Shannon Vesper
Assistant Sports Editor

The Bulldogs added another win in overtime by defeating Mercyhurst last Saturday in Erie, Pa.

In the first quarter, FSU trailed behind after MC was successful on a 34-yard pass.

The Lakers' lead was spoiled early with a 68-yard interception return by DeRen Ellis at 6:05 for a Bulldog touchdown. Tom Perez nailed the extra point to tie the game 7-7.

"Our defense played very well for us and made things happen for us, creating a scoring situation with DeRen Ellis picking off a pass for a touchdown. We needed that spark at that time," head coach Jeff Pierce said.

A first down late in the second resulted in FSU making a 22-yard field goal attempt by Perez, to break the tie and take the lead 10-7. Seconds later, the Lakers nailed a 27-yard field goal to tie the game again 10-10. One last play by Ferris resulted in a 33-yard field goal by Perez to take the lead 13-10 with the clock reading all zeroes.

The Bulldogs had control to start the second half of play, but lost control when the ball was recovered by Mercyhurst. With possession, MC was able to connect on a field goal from 30 yards out to tie the game 13-13 with 7:16 remaining.

Ferris started the drive, but was unable to get a first down. Tim Gill kicked a 37-yard punt for the Bulldogs to the Mercyhurst 27 yard line, giving them control of the ball until a second interception by Bulldog cornerback DeRen Ellis pointed the possession arrow back Ferris' way.

The drive stalled when a fumble by quarterback Tom Marsan was recovered by tight end Austin Malloy, causing a Tim Gill punt for 44 yards, which was downed.

Ending the third quarter, Rob Mida was able to stop the Lakers and prevent them from converting on the play.

Mida and Whitney Bell each had six solo tackles and two assisted in the game. Moving into the fourth quarter, Mercyhurst attempted to steal the game at 12:18 with a field goal, but the attempt from 42 yards out missed and FSU got the ball back.

Bell, a defensive tackle, and defensive end Bo Moore each had one sack apiece in the game, while Jason Feasel, another defensive tackle, had a fumble recovery that he returned for 16 yards.

At the 6:19 mark, Ferris tried its attempt to take the game with a field goal from the 34-yard line, but it missed.

As the clock wound down, the Bulldogs tried to take the game with 21 seconds left. Their field goal attempt from the 38 yard line was blocked, sending the game into overtime.

"In overtime we knew we were going to win," offensive coordinator Matt McCarthy said. "The last two weeks we knew we were going to win."

Mercyhurst took possession of the ball first and was unable to complete a play on the first three downs, forcing a field goal attempt from the 48 yard line that missed.

With possession of the ball for Ferris, Derek Fudge was successful on a 12-yard rush to win the game 19-13.

"We had a couple of opportunities to go for the win and that didn't capitalize, and I think that carried over to the overtime period. We were very dominant. The defense was very dominant. We took a shot on the end zone on the first play (of OT), but we were called on a penalty. We moved just a head and popped one to Fudge for the touchdown," Pierce said.

Marsan finished the game 20-36 for 148 yards. Fudge ended the game as the leading rusher with 65 yards on 21 attempts.

Brandis Bowie led the Bulldog receiving corps with seven receptions for 54 yards, while Fudge had four catches for 19 yards. Dennis Cartwright had three receptions for 33 yards, Carlton Brewster had three for 23 and Andy Thwaites had three for 19 yards.

The Bulldogs will host Saginaw Valley State University, previously ranked third in the nation, on Saturday at Top Taggart Field at 1:30 p.m.





For love of the game
The men's rugby club brings back the true spirit of athleticism.

By Matt Lauckner
Ferris State Torch

Rugby rampage
Ryan Gardner runs past a couple of Michigan State players in a rugby
match a couple of weeks. The Ferris Rugby club faces larger teams
like the Spartans and Central Michigan University
Photo By: Alicia LaFrance
Assistant Photo Editor

When Saturday afternoons in the fall come to mind, many think about college football.

However, there is a group of men and women at the intramural fields who are putting out the same amount of sweat and effort for the same cause: a victory.

Ferris' men's rugby club has put out considerable amounts of effort to regain the true meaning of the game.

The game of rugby originally came from England in 1835, and the popularity has spread globally ever since.

Although there are similarities to soccer and American football, the game itself is very original.

The game first came to Ferris State in 1992 when three men established a team. Those three men were Ferrill Clark, Todd King and Brad King.

"The team has been up and down for the past five or six years," coach Brad King said. "For a while, the team lost the athletic end of the game. When I stepped in as active coach of the team, my first priority was to get them back into the spirit of the game."

For instance, one way that the team has come together to build their legitimacy is through community service. The team has been one of the leading Registered Student Organizations for community service involvement on campus.

One local organization that the team has been known to work with is Metron, an assisted living facility in Big Rapids.

"We're simply trying to show that we too are athletes and care about the community," Kevin Ward, also known as "Pugsley," stated.

One benefit of the team is the lasting friendships that can be made. "The guys on the team are great friends. But we also get to know other guys from other schools and socialize with them," Ward continued.

The schools that the team participates with and competes against include Michigan State, the University of Michigan, Bowling Green State and other Division I and II schools.

The team has seen its share of successes this fall. For instance, the team won the traveling trophy against Central for the first time in nine years.

"We gave Central a good spanking and it felt good," King explained. "It will be a memorable victory."

The team's current record this fall is 3-2-1. The team found victories against Central, Northern Michigan and Bowling Green.

Despite losing to Michigan State and Grand Valley, the team was able to pick up a tie against Michigan.

"The rugby team is a club sport that competes on a varsity level, and continues to be played after college," King added.

Many players find that after graduation they want to continue their passion for the game with teams across the state.

Often, large cities in Michigan as well as across the United States offer men's teams that compete on a traveling basis. For instance, in Michigan, Detroit has two teams, while Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Flint also have teams.

The rugby club in itself is much like a brotherhood, which doesn't just constitute the athletes at Ferris.

Rugby, as a unionized sport, emphasizes the idea that it is a game to be enjoyed by friends, and that no hard feelings are kept on or off the field.

The team has received some assistance from a national equipment manufacturer, Balls Out.

Alumni who participated with the team also give some financial support as well.

The men's and women's teams have received allocations from SAFAC, but, much of their equipment and funding comes right out of their own pockets.

Just like a fraternity or sorority, members of the rugby teams also pay dues to support their organization.

For more information on either of the club rugby teams, check out their website at www.geocities.com/fsfsumensrugby/.







Bulldog tennis is represented at National Tournament in Texas
Talian and Cole recently battled for national supremcy.

By Adam Gasper
Ferris State Torch

While the women's team had a week off to prepare for the upcoming GLIAC Championships, and most of the men's team is still anxiously awaiting the beginning of their regular season, Jan Talian and Jason Cole took a trip to Corpus Christi, Texas, to play in the 2002 Omni Hotels/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Small College National Championships.

The doubles team earned the right to play in the national championship after winning the Great Lakes Regional Championships three weeks ago.

Talian also grabbed the singles championship in the regional tournament.

Talian and Cole, who now claim a 9-1 record on the season, likely assured themselves the number two national ranking in the next ITA poll by reaching the finals of the doubles draw.

They had to defeat the top seed and defending national champions, Jan Krejci and Peter Madarassy of Brigham Young-Hawaii, in the semi-finals to advance.

They did so in dominant fashion on their way to an 8-3 victory.

"We played our best tennis," Cole, a sophomore who has found immediate success in college tennis and feels his game is steadily improving, said.

They reached the semi-finals by defeating Hicham Fathi and Jeremy Blandin of Drury (Mo.), 8-5, in the first round.

In Friday's final, the pair faced Andras Bori and Mark Eori of Southwest Baptist. Bori and Eori earned their first championship by defeating Talian and Cole, 8-2.

"We didn't play our best tennis and I think they played better than usual," Talian, who has returned to the team after taking much of last season off due to a wrist injury, said.

The two teamed up together for the first time this season. Last year Cole posted a 19-5 doubles record while teaming up with his brother, Matt Cole.

"Jan is a great doubles player," Cole said. He also says that the change in partners hasn't been a factor for him.

Although Talian doesn't feel he's completely recovered from the injury, he feels his game coming along very well.

"Every time I step on the court I feel I am playing better and better," Talian said. "There is always room to improve."

Talian also says he is gradually playing smarter tennis.

Talian now boasts a 67-18 career record that includes 39 wins at the top singles spot.

The former All-American, who hails from the Czech Republic, has high praises from his new head coach, Kevin Brandalik. "He works hard, he cares a lot, and he is a good person as well as a good coach," Talian said.

His doubles partner feels the same way. "He's a great addition to the program," said Cole, who has made vast improvements in his game since Brandalik's arrival.

Brandalik recently joined the program after nearly 15 years of working with high level players in the Southeast. It is his first NCAA head coaching position.

He replaced Paul Marcum, who, in his four-year stay, led the team to three consecutive National Tournament appearances and a share of the 1999 GLIAC Championship.

Friday's match marked the second time Talian had reached the final of this tournament, deemed the "Super Bowl" of small college tennis. Talian teamed up with former Bulldog Martin Krbec to take the title in 1999, his freshman year.

Cole was playing in his first national championship.

As if this trip to the doubles final wasn't exciting enough, Talian also competed in the singles tournament.

Southwestern Baptist's top player, Bori, sent Talian to the consolation bracket by defeating him in a three-set thriller in the first round. Talian fell, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6.

He also lost his second singles match in three sets, a consolation semi-final against Jaco Kruger of Lees-McRae.

Kruger shut out Talian in each of the last two sets after handing over the first set, 5-7.

Talian redeemed himself on Saturday by finishing seventh overall with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Sean Kenney of Assumption.






Soccer team splits weekend matches
FSU's first conference victory comes against Northern Michigan.

By Mike Potter
Sports Editor

Jen Gaylor
Sophomore forward Jen Gaylor scored her first
goal of the season against NMU on Sunday.
Photo By: Dan Gellasch
Photo Editor

The Ferris State women's soccer team won its first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Sunday, with a 5-1 victory over Northern Michigan University, but the Bulldogs also suffered a loss against Madonna University.

Friday's game against the Madonna Crusaders was wet and cold. Freshman Lindsay Pawloski, in her first career game with the Bulldogs, opened the scoring at the 27-minute mark with an assist from junior Emily Rogers.

The Crusaders scored their first goal four minutes into the beginning of the second half, and added the eventual game-winning goal at the 66-minute mark as a result of a corner kick.

Alana Dombrowski set a new single-game record with 22 saves in the contest, breaking her old record by eight saves.

On another cold and blustery day at the FSU Soccer Field, Rogers started the scoring with her fifth goal of the season coming at 16:12 of the first half off a pass from Andrea Moma.

Lisa O'Brian continued the scoring with her fourth of the season, coming at the 23:01 mark, assisted by Rogers.

After an unassisted Wildcat goal near the end of the first half, Rogers struck again at the 74:48 mark of the game. It was her sixth of the season and came off of a crossing pass from Diana Jacobson.

Jen Gaylor notched her first goal of the season less than two minutes later, assisted by Pawloski, while just minutes after that Ashley Brawley scored her first career goal with a pass from Britta Dahlberg.

"It is always good to be able to get everyone on the field, not only to help the reserve players feel good, but to give them more experience and help our team," head coach Pete Watkins said.

"It is also important to maintain the same level of play, and our team did that, regardless of who is on the field. Ashley's goal was a strong shot from outside the box, which is definitely her strength."

Laura Myszka saw her first action of the season between the pipes and made 12 saves in her 80 minutes of play.

Erin Jackson also received some playing time, the first of her career, and made one save in the contest. Dombrowski sat out the game with flu-like symptoms.

"It was very tough to pick between Myska and Jackson; originally we were going to give each keeper a half, but Myszka was doing so well, we had to wait a bit more to put in Erin," Watkins said. "The team was very proud of both of them; they were given a big challenge and responded very well."

A weekend of matches awaits the team as they travel to Erie, Pa., to take on the Gannon Knights on Saturday at 1 p.m. and then the Mercyhurst Lakers on Sunday 12 p.m.






Mardi Gras?
The Saints are partying in New Orleans this season.

By Aaron Carriere
Copy Editor

Detroit at Buffalo - I still haven't been able to figure the Lions out. I pick them to win, and they lose. I pick them to lose, and they win. Hopefully this theory will hold true for Lions fans.

Buffalo 23, Detroit 20

Tennessee at Cincinnati - The Titans have a prime opportunity to turn around their season against Cincinnati. The Bengals need help.

Tennessee 27, Cincinnati 20

Seattle at Dallas - Seattle is 1-5, with its only victory of the season against the Vikings. Quincy Carter likes to throw passes to the other team.

Dallas 13, Seattle 10

Oakland at Kansas City - Two weeks after I deemed Oakland the best team in the NFL, the Raiders have dropped two straight. Kansas City had Denver at its breaking point last weekend, but Shannon Sharpe put up monster numbers against the Chiefs. I still have faith in the Raiders.

Oakland 31, Kansas City 27

Chicago at Minnesota - Chicago has dropped four straight after starting the season well. Minnesota is just a mess. Who cares?

Chicago 13, Minnesota 10

Atlanta at New Orleans - Michael Vick ran wild in Sunday's victory over the Panthers, giving Atlanta its first shutout since 1993. New Orleans passed the 49ers test and is sitting high in first place.

New Orleans 31, Atlanta 24

Cleveland at N.Y. Jets - The Browns snapped a three-game losing streak against the Texans last week. The Jets got Chad Pennington back and took advantage of the Vikings. Pennington continues to perform.

N.Y. Jets 17, Cleveland 14

Tampa Bay at Carolina - Tampa Bay upset me last week with their effort against the Eagles. Carolina is in trouble until Rodney Peete returns. Chris Weinke is in trouble.

Tampa Bay 20, Carolina 3

Pittsburgh at Baltimore - The Steelers need to start a winning streak if they want to be in the playoffs. Baltimore has been playing well the last two weeks without Ray Lewis. Lewis returns on Sunday.

Baltimore 16, Pittsburgh 13

Arizona at San Francisco - I've overlooked the Cardinals all year long. They now sit on top of the NFC West with San Francisco. The 49ers let one slip away against the Saints last week. San Francisco has the edge.

San Francisco 35, Arizona 28

Denver at New England - Shannon Sharpe and his 214 receiving yards took out the Chiefs last week in OT. New England has been on a slide lately. If there is a must-win game this early in the season, this is it for New England.

New England 27, Denver 17

Houston at Jacksonville - I can't bring myself to pick the Texans to win any more games. I know they will probably win a couple more, but Jacksonville probably won't be one of the Texans' victims.

Jacksonville 28, Houston 13

Indianapolis at Washington - Sunday night football returns to ESPN after its absence last week due to the World Series. Shane Matthews takes the helm as the third quarterback for the Redskins this season.

Indianapolis 45, Washington 24

N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia - The Giants could gain some momentum with a big Monday night victory. Philadelphia wants to widen the lead in the NFC East.

Philadelphia 24, N.Y. Giants 14

Record last week: 7-6 (54 percent - not including Monday night)

Season record: 43-25 (63 percent)

Editor's Note: ESPN.com was used for standings and statistics in this article.

FSU sweeps Bowling Green
The Bulldogs stand at 3-1 in the CCHA.

By Shannon Vesper
Assistant Sports Editor

The Bulldogs were successful at home, beating Bowling Green State University 10-1 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday this past weekend.

On Friday, the Bulldogs didn't hold back, scoring the first goal 24 seconds into the game by Derek Nesbitt. Minutes later at 6:07, Jeremy Scherlinck notched his first goal of the season. Both goals were assisted by Chris Kunitz.

Bowling Green put a goal on the board at 7:30, closing the gap to 2-1. FSU pulled ahead 3-1 with a goal by Kunitz, assisted by Nesbitt and Skip Renauld.

"When we scored our third goal, that is what helped us. It was an important goal for us," head coach Bob Daniels said.

Ferris led the way throughout the second period. Jeff Legue, Carter Thomson and Phil Lewandowski contributed the next three goals. Assisting were Kunitz, Steve Later and Greg Rallo.

"I'm very proud of the players. They didn't let up," Daniels said.

The Falcons were scoreless and the Bulldogs led 6-1 going into the third period.

"Mike Brown deserves a lot of credit. They had a lot of good chances, Brown came up very big and if he didn't make those saves we would've had a different kind of hockey game," Daniels said.

In the third period, the Bulldogs defense kept BGSU from getting any more goals. At 7:55, Kunitz scored his second goal of the night, assisted by Renauld and Legue.

Later added his second point of the night by scoring the Bulldogs' eighth goal of the game at 9:25. Later's goal was assisted by Kevin Caudill and Brett Smith.

Legue added to the scoring streak with a power play goal at 12:13, with help from Nesbitt and Kunitz. Topping off the Falcons, Phil Meyer put in the 10th goal of the game at 16:32 with assists by Rallo and Lewandowski to take the game 10-1.

Mike Brown allowed only one goal on 33 shots, recording his second win of the season.

On Saturday night, the Bulldogs started their scoring spree at the 9:42 mark with a goal scored by Kunitz, assisted by Legue and Nesbitt.

"I think Bowling Green played with great intensity level in this game. They really fought hard; they were right in the game," Daniels said.

At 17:42, FSU added another good by Kunitz, his fifth of the season, helped out by Troy Milam and Scherlinck.

The Bulldogs had 23 shots on net, while BGSU had seven at the end of the first.

The Falcons kept their pace through the second period, but were unsuccessful getting on the board. Tim Vokey scored his first goal of the season at 14:08, with help from Simon Mangos and Renauld to lead 3-1.

Early into the third, the puck slid by Brown and BGSU was on the board 3-1.

After the goal, the Bulldogs found themselves shorthanded by two men, when Rallo was called on slashing and Kunitz had a roughing call. Brown was able to keep the Falcons from scoring, as the Bulldogs cleared the puck and the penalties expired.

"We didn't kill it textbook, but we got it done. The kids worked hard, but I don't know if we executed it as well on that penalty kill as we could have. It was a huge kill," Daniels said.

"It was a difficult part of the game. I let a goal in that I wish I could've got back. A five-on-three after that got us back on our heels and the guys came through and we were able to pull it off," Brown said.

Shortly after, FSU took control and Kinnie had two power play goals at 11:22 and 16:31. Assisting the play were McIver, Scherlinck and Lewandowski.

"The fourth goal, for all intents and purposes, was the end of the game," Daniels said.

The Bulldogs ended the game 5-1. Brown faced a total of 27 shots, while FSU fired 53 on BGSU.

"It's really good. It's a big confidence booster for next weekend going into Notre Dame," Brown said.

The Bulldogs will start their road trip in a three-way tie for first place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association rankings. They will travel to Notre Dame and the following weekend to Alaska Fairbanks.






Lewandowski takes aim
Senior left wing Phil Lewandowski shoots a puck through a crowd of
defenders as Derrick Mclver tries to clear a path.
Photo By: Alicia LaFrance
Assistant Photo Editor


 

Leaping through civilization
Developing countries miss on a lot by getting to "the good stuff" without experiencing the discovery process.

By Mircea-Ioan Cotosman
Ferris State Torch

Let's pretend for a moment that we can travel in time, and that we are allowed to reveal ourselves to the people who live in whatever time we go to.

We'll start about 100,000 years ago, when we as a human race were just starting to be a little different than animals.

We still did not know what we were and what we were doing there; at that time we were living under the guidance of our instincts - not unlike the animals.

Let's say we, humans from the present, meet some other humans from that past who had not yet discovered fire. We happen to have a box of matches on us, and we give that to them and then move along. I think we altered history right there.

We move right along and skipping a few millennia, and end up in the Americas right around the beginning of the 15th century, before Columbus had discovered "India".

We run into native tribes. We give them vaccines against the diseases that the Europeans are going to bring to them, and we tell them not to blindly trust the future visitors. And for kicks, let's say that we help them build a cannon.

I'd say we have drastically altered history once again.

One last radical example: say we travel to Hitler's Germany and show him how to build an A-bomb, and he uses it before the U.S. uses its bombs.

That would alter history forever, and it would certainly not be for the better.

It may not involve time travel, but this same alteration is happening with many developing countries that for decades were under some kind of totalitarian regime and did not have a chance to develop their civilizations at the same pace as the "Western" world.

In Romania, for example, in 1989, in the beginning of December, there was one TV station in the entire country, for 22 million people.

It ran from 7 p.m. or so until 10 p.m.

It mostly had news about the success of the communist government and about our "beloved" Father, the Dictator.

The Romanian Revolution took place during the second half of that month. Within a few months, we had 24 hours of television programming.

Within a year or so, we had access to cable TV that brought us non-stop programs from Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

In the next two to three years, five different TV stations were founded. Now, all major cities have their own local TV stations.

In 1989, most of the population was watching black and white TV sets. In only a few years, almost everyone had color TV.

There was one major newspaper, a couple of magazines and one local newspaper for the major cities.

Now there are thousands of newspapers and magazines at the national level and tens of thousands of them at the local level.

And a