BULLDOG BONANZA IS BACK FOR ANOTHER YEAR AN EVENT DESIGNED TO SHOW STUDENTS THE VARIOUS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN THE GREATER BIG RAPIDS AREA.
By Josh Wyzgoski, Ferris State Torch
The Time of Year Students receive information about businesses and organizations around Ferris and the Big rapids community at the annual Bulldog Bonanza. Many of these businesses and organizations give away free items to students. Torch File Photo
The Bulldog Bonanza will be held in the Wink Arena from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12. This event will be free for everyone and is held to show students everything that the Big Rapids area has to offer.
"The Bulldog Bonanza is an event that is coordinated by the Office of Student Leadership & Activities in conjunction with the Big Rapids Chamber of Commerce," said Student Activities Assistant Teresa Fogel. Their aim is to reduce the number of students that drive back home every weekend and also to increase the amount of business the community sees from the university.
Vendors from all around town will have tables set up to show off their wares. Last year the tables included Papa John's, Chemical Bank, the Army's local recruiting station, and Chapman Housing. Little Caesar's was also there with free pizza for students to munch on while they strolled the aisles.
Also in attendance will be numerous Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), which gives students a unique opportunity to see what organizations are at Ferris.
"This is the perfect place to get some face time," Fogel said. Indeed, students can talk to members of RSOs and find out meeting times, goals, and the history of the group.
To go with the plethora of information, students often receive free items from businesses and organizations. From water bottles to coupons, every person that walks though that door has an opportunity to leave with a goody bag that is filled to the brim.
Other incentives will also be going on. In previous Bonanzas, the Bulldog Radio Mobile DJ Service was providing music for the event and various vendors may have raffles or giveaways to try and give students more items.
This year's theme will be "Bulldog Bonanza Boot Camp "Army Strong!" so expect a heavy influence by the armed forces at this year's event.
Whether you plan on going for the free food, the information, or learning about what Ferris and the Big Rapids communities have to offer, expect to walk away with more information, items, and little fridge magnets than you ever thought possible.
A HOST OF ENTERTAINMENT FROM THE ARTS AND LECTURES PERFORMING ARTS SERIES SPEAKERS AND MUSICAL GUESTS HOPE TO GIVE STUDENTS A TASTE OF SOMETHING NEW.
By Josh Wyzgoski, Ferris State Torch
Every year, artists and experts come to Ferris to provide students with specialized knowledge and off-the-beaten-track entertainment. The 2007-2008 Arts and Lectures Performing Artist Series has everything from a speaker on censorship in the media to a laser light show.
Dr. Peter Phillips will be the first speaker at Ferris in a seminar called "The New American Censorship." Dr. Phillips is the director of Project Censored, a group that compiles 25 news stories each year they believe have been covered less than necessary by the media. The presentation will take place Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Heavy Equipment Center room 202. Admission will be $3 for students and $5 for general admission.
Philip Hosford will be performing in Big Rapids this year as well. Hosford is a classical pianist and has been featured in performances spanning the globe. He has won many awards for his playing and competed in over 15 competitions. He is currently a member of the National Philharmonic Piano Trio but this recital will be part of the Tuba Bach Concert Series that will be taking place at the Big Rapids High School throughout October. Admission is free and the show will take place on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.
On Nov. 9, starting at 7 p.m., the Lazer Vaudeville show comes to the Williams Auditorium. This show has been hailed as "Cool& Dazzling in any light. A high-tech twist on the art of juggling" by the New York Times. The show will feature glow-in-the-dark juggling acts, a laser light show, magic tricks, and original music. Students will be admitted for $3 and general admission will be $5.
The Southpaw Isle Steelband will be appearing at the Big Rapids High School Auditorium on Oct 5 at 7 p.m. This steel drum band will be playing jazz, calypso, and classical scores with steel drums and a ten foot long type of xylophone called a Kisoga embaire. The group has played at the World Steelband Festival in Trinidad and was rated in the top eight. Admission will be $3 for students and $5 for general admission.
Chicago Sambo will be visiting the Rankin Center's Dome Room on April 12 at 7 p.m. The group is based in Chicago and will be playing authentic Brazilian dance music and popular song types including Samba, Bossa Nova, and Brazilian Jazz. This event will be followed by the International Festival on April 13. Tickets will be $3 for students and $5 for general admission.
On March 25 Tracey Bell will be performing her '8 Divas in 44 Minutes' routine in the Rankin Center's Dome Room at 7 p.m. Tracey Bell started doing impersonations of Tina Turner and has moved on to include 7 more divas in her amazing act. She has posed as photo doubles for numerous stars including Marilyn Monroe as well as Cher. "I love to make people feel comfortable and also show them that it's okay to be silly," Bell says about her routine. Admission will be $3 for students and $5 for general admission.
For anyone interested in season tickets to the G. Mennen Williams Auditorium and its shows, tickets must be bought no later than Sept. 27. The auditorium box office is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Students may buy season tickets for $10 and general for $15.
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH BRINGS A VARIETY OF EVENTS EVENTS WILL INCLUDE A HISPANIC FESTIVAL, A BOOK CLUB, A MUSIC FESTIVAL AND A LATIN NIGHT CLUB.
By Thomas Wilson, Opinions Editor
Next week Ferris will be putting on several events for Hispanic Heritage Month. These events include a book club on Tuesday, Sept. 18, on the book, "Across a Hundred Mountains;" a Hispanic festival on Fri., Sept. 21, in the campus quad; a movie festival on Tues., Sept 25; a Hispanic lunch and dinner on Thursday, Sept. 27 and Oct. 4; and a Latin night club also on Thursday, Sept. 27. The events also included a bus trip to the Hispanic festival in Grand Rapids on Saturday, Sept. 8.
The events will be kicked off with the book club meeting on Tuesday, Sept 18. Students can meet the author of the book, Reyna Grande in the Rankin Art Gallery at 6:30 p.m. There will be a presentation, book discussion, and book signing, according to the Office of Multicultural Student Services" flyer.
On Friday, Sept 21, Ferris will be holding its own Hispanic Festival. This will take place on the Campus Quad from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be food, dance, music, crafts, and a presentation from Grupo Tarasco, a traditional Mexican dance group. The presentation will take place at 2 p.m.
A movie festival and panel discussion will take place on Tues. Sept 25. The movie 'Bread and Roses,' will be presented and discussed with the participation of Professors Eduardo Sanchez, Tony Baker, Richard Griffin, and Ana Davila-Howard. The event will be held in IRC 120 at 6:30 p.m.
On Thursday Sept. 27, a Hispanic lunch and dinner will be provided at the Rock Café. The lunch and dinner will also be held the next Thursday, Oct. 4, at Westview. Thursday night there will be a Latin night club in Miller Hall from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. Students will be given the chance to learn Salsa, Merengue, and other Latin rhythms with professional instructor Nicolas Sanchez, according to the flyer. Snacks and mocktails will also be provided by students from the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality.
All of these events are part of the Hispanic Heritage month. The national recognition of Hispanic Heritage Week took place on Sept. 17, 1968. It was decided to recognize Hispanic heritage, through way of special events, during the week of Sept. 15 and 16. On Aug. 17, 1988 an entire month was designated as Hispanic Heritage Month. It is now annually held from Sept. 15 until Oct. 15.
Congressman Esteban Torres, congressional Hispanic caucus chairman, said this to encourage the creation of Hispanic Heritage Month, "We want to encourage the American people to learn of our heritage& We want people to remember that Hispanics make up a higher number of Congressional Medal of Honor winners of any ethnic group and have fought with valor in the Revolutionary War and every subsequent armed conflict involving the United States."
According to Education-World.com, Hispanic Heritage Month 'Honors the cultural diversity and unique contributions of the Hispanic community.'
For more information about Ferris' Hispanic Heritage Month events, or if special accommodations are needed to attend any of these events, please contact the Office of Multicultural Student Services at 591-2617.
THE BOY WHO SOLD MILLIONS HARRY POTTER MAY HAVE BILLIONS OF BOOKS SOLD, BUT HE ISN'T KEEPING KIDS IN THE BOOKS.
By Mo McNeil, Sports Editor
Amazon.com didn't see well known books about "Harry Potter" on its best selling list until 2001, when the fourth book of the series 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' topped the chart at number one.
The third book, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," came in at number three, while the second book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, came in at number six.
The first Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was published in 1998. Three years later, Harry Potter received credit for getting an entire generation to read.
According to Scholastic Inc., 51 percent of 500 children polled between the ages 5 to 17 didn't read books for fun before they started reading the Harry Potter series. Scholastic also found that a little more than three-quarters of them said they became interested in reading other books because of Harry Potter.
You can't go anywhere in the first month after a book is released without seeing several people reading "Harry Potter." Not only children are reading "Harry Potter" but many adults are reading them as well.
According to Ron Charles of the Washington Post, "the number of stand-alone book sections in major metropolitan newspapers has decreased by half -- silencing critical voices that once helped a wide variety of authors around the country get noticed."
Charles went on to comment about how the adults enjoying Harry Potter won't go on to read other books found on the New York Times best seller.
If adults are unable to move past Harry Potter and read other books, how are children supposed to move onto other books and genres when adults aren't?
According to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), even the most enthusiastic reader in elementary school isn't reading for pleasure by high school. It was even stated that more than half the students in an AP English class aren't reading the books, but reading the summaries online.
So what happened? Most children in AP English classes grew up with Harry Potter, isn't Potter credited for getting kids to read? Harry Potter's author, J.K Rowling, has received credit for getting Nintendo-addicted boys up and reading.
According to a study published by Stanford University in 2006, the number of children reading for pleasure is declining even with Potter mania. While J.K. Rowling has gotten children reading, she has them reading a series, not a genre, and not cross-genres.
Stanford's study shows that most 17-year-olds are reading less than 13-year-olds. It could be based on the schoolwork load that increases for high school students. Between reading for classes and homework for other classes, students don't have time to read for school and read for fun.
According to a study published by the NEA in 2005, the rate of children who read for fun almost daily decreased from 43 percent in the fourth grade to 19 percent in the eighth grade. Please note this is in the middle of Potter mania.
It's not the fact that fourth graders are reading less now than those who were fourth graders 10 years ago. Children are reading less as they continue up through their education. I don't think it's because of the internet or video games, but because the work load increases.
Yes, there are those that love Harry Potter, myself included, but Harry Potter isn't keeping children in books. Harry Potter hasn't encouraged children to read other series or genres.
Yes, Harry Potter has gotten children to read, but it hasn't been enough to keep children wanting to read well into high school and college for fun.
