What will become of our students?
Driving in a winter wonderland
Cost of a degree
The Hallmark holiday
Jazz for valentine's day
Movie review: A Ray of Sunshine
Movie review: "Indoctrinate U"
Groundhog Day
What will become of our students?
William Cook
Assistant Editor
At length I thought about “Indoctrinate U,” the documentary that demonstrates students losing freedom to voice opinion, the intolerance of students, university administrators, and faculty members; this stirred up gut wrenching feelings of nervousness and frustration inside me.
The fact that the film outlines instances when individual opinions are not tolerated and treated with respect is nothing less than aggravating. When thinking about college and higher education certain words and principles come to mind, words like critical thinking, exploring unknowns, and achievement. When an atmosphere of intolerance is prevalent in our universities these principles of education seem to be forgotten.
The type of speech code discrimination outlined in “Indoctrinate U” prevents important topics from being discussed, even in a constructive degree. And it is unfortunate that we see this in our nations top universities, in the places where our future leaders and pillars our educated. This will affect all of us in some negative way, directly or indirectly.
It is a sad day when students are no longer allowed to express their thoughts. The fact that many students are sanctioned because other students feel harassed or offended by opinions shows that many of our schools our reluctant to teach critical thinking, constructive criticism, and the idea of having an open dialog in our educational facilities.
Students’ feeling so harassed by opposing opinions is frightening. What will happen when the school is not around to defend these vulnerable young minds, to discriminate against controversial viewpoints? It seems apparent to me that many students are often radicalized in this context. And the end result is not conducive with the standards and foundations we expect from higher educational facilities; in most cases we expect our students to leave these institutions cultured, but the reverse is occurring.
We need to encourage an open dialog no matter how touchy the issue is; whether the topic is homosexuality, race issues or race relations, or issues of a political nature. We must not gag opinions or discredit them by discrediting the speaker. This is what we see in American politics now-a-days, republican pundits at democrat’s throat, or vice versa. This separates us, adds to the polarization of America, and causes more problems than it solves. Diverse groups not working together to understand or come to a common consensus, we see them bashing through, attempting to silence the opposition at any opportunity.
Last time I checked freedom of speech was not restricted to “you have the freedom to speak as long as the others agree with you” or “you have the freedom to speak, but sprinkle your statement with sugar and put a cherry on top.” But apparently many fellow Americans do not feel the same. At what point can we just say “that is your opinion, this is mine. Let us agree to disagree.” Or how about trying to understand and learn from others perspectives, and debating in a civil manner.
It seems many students are moving into a future of real intolerance. When words are just as dangerous as weapons.
Driving in a winter wonderland
Liz McCord
Editor-in-Chief
Winter is finally here, so it is time to start preparing your vehicle for winter. It is better to be safe than sorry, and I for one, would rather be over prepared than not.
First off, check out your vehicle. Make sure your battery and charging system are in good working order. Inspect all belts and hoses for signs of wear or cracking, replace any that do not look to be in good condition. If anything is going to go wrong, you can bet it will happen to you in the winter time.
It is also a good idea to change your motor oil to a lighter weight oil, which will make your engine a little easier to turn over during cold weather. If you need an oil change anyway, this is the best time to take care of this.
Make sure that you have four good snow tires on your car. It doesn’t matter if your car is front wheel drive or rear, put on four good tires.
Also check your antifreeze; they sell testers in automotive stores. It looks like a rather large eye dropper, you just remove a little of the coolant from your radiator using the tester. There are little balls inside the tester, which will float to different levels inside. This will tell you at what temperature your antifreeze will freeze. If need be, drain some of the coolant from your system and add more antifreeze.
Change your wiper blades to winter wiper blades: these are heavier and can push snow and ice easier. Also make sure that your washer reservoir is full, it is always a good idea to carry a spare gallon of washer fluid in your trunk. It will never fail that you will run out of washer fluid while traveling, not a home in your driveway.
Now it is time to start packing your car for winter driving. Make sure that your spare tire is in good condition and full of air. Also make sure that your jack is in good working order, and that all the parts are where they should be. Here is a list of items that you should be carrying in your trunk for winter emergencies. A small tool kit, with a pair of pliers, a phillips and straight screwdriver, a hammer, a pocket knife and some other small tools. A set of jumper cables, tire chains, a small bag of sand or cat litter (this can be used both for weight in a rear wheel drive car and to place on a slick roadway to give you more traction), a blanket, some extra clothes, a pair of boots, and some bottled water. Also carry a first aid kit, a flashlight with a set of extra batteries, matches, a small shovel or snow scraper, and something brightly colored that can be used for flagging. A small broom for snow removal and a heavy duty ice scraper should be carried in the front of the car where they will be easy to get at.
Also never let the gas tank in your vehicle fall below ½ for winter driving. Not only will a fuller tank of gas give your car more weight, it could also mean the matter of staying a little warmer or freezing to death, if you are caught in a snow storm.
If you absolutely do need to go out in a storm, try not to go alone, take someone else with you. Two people can usually get a car unstuck, when one person can’t. Dress warmly, in several layers. Even though it will be warm in the car while you are traveling, if you do end up stuck somewhere, it may get cold very quickly. If you do get stuck, tie the flagging to your car and open the hood. Try to only run the car for 10 minutes per hour, run the heater only when the car is running, to save the battery. Also, if it is dark, use the dome light only when the car is running. Before starting the car, get out and check and make sure the tailpipe is clear. Also be sure to crack your window a bit when the car is idling. You must be very careful of carbon monoxide poisoning.
If it is snowing hard, stay with your car! You may get confused in the storm and not be able to get back to your car. Keep moving around, exercise a bit if need be, this will help you stay warm. Get the extra clothes and the blankets from your trunk, if there is more than one person in the car, huddle together to stay warm. Or even cover yourselves with road maps, newspapers or even the car floor mats.
Of course many people now have cell phones and can make a call if they have problems. But don’t forget, cell phones don’t always have signals. Or if you can’t get in touch with someone to help, it still could take several hours, particularly if the roads are practically impassible.
Remember, taking good care of your vehicle before winter and packing the right supplies could be a matter of live and death. And drive carefully and slowly!
Cost of a degree
Liz McCord
Editor-in-Chief
As the price of a college degree continues to rise, there’s growing evidence that the cash payoff isn’t quite as big as often advertised. The best estimate now is that a college degree is worth about $300,000 in today’s dollars, nowhere near the $1 million figure that is often quoted.
College graduates earn, on average, about $20,000 a year more than those who finished their educations at high school. Add that up over a 40-year working life and the total differential is about $800,000. But since much of that bonus is earned over a period of many years, subtracting out the impact of inflation means that $800,000 in future dollars is worth only about $450,000 in today’s dollars.
Then, if you subtract out the cost of a college degree — about $30,000 in tuition and books for students who get no aid and attend public in-state universities, and the money a student could have earned at a job instead of attending school---the real net value in today’s dollars is about $300,000.
Even so, a college degree is one of the most lucrative investments a person can make.
Better yet, college graduates can go on to earn advanced degrees, which return even bigger payoffs. The average holder of a bachelor’s degree earns about $51,000 a year, but those who’ve gone on to earn MBAs, law degrees, or other professional degrees earn about $100,000 a year.
The college experience can be a trying and expensive experience for some, but the benefits of higher education pay off in spades throughout the rest of your life. The rewards go beyond the financial. Graduates can expect a drastic improvement in demeanor, self worth and financial stability. The introduction of diverse cultural backgrounds, the potential future networking relationships formed and the opportunity to discover knowledge from intellectuals in your field of choice, all have an upside that is far outweighed by the cost and time that higher learning requires.
The Hallmark holiday
Paige Gordeneer
Staff Writer
When most people think of Valentine’s Day they think candy, chocolate, hearts, flowers, etc. Gag me.
Valentine’s Day has become one of the world’s biggest holiday scams ever, an even a bigger one than Christmas. People think there has to be a day set aside to spend money on flowers and candy, when in actuality, you should be able to spend money on your significant other whenever you feel the need to.
There shouldn’t be one day of the year dedicated to making your significant other feel special. They should get to feel like they are the world to you every day of their life with you. Why can you only love your special someone on one day of the year?
What’s most irritating about this particular “holiday” is the fact that everyone has forgotten what it is actually about.
Valentine’s Day exists to celebrate St. Valentine, a man who was martyred for believing in his religion and refusing to change his mind. He was persecuted and interrogated on Feb.14. How do you get flowers and romance from that?
Feb.14 was meant to be a day to celebrate St. Valentine through feasting and festivals. The flowery romance and candies didn’t come around until Geoffrey Chaucer came into play. Chaucer ruined the celebration with his tales of love and romance.
Not that I have anything against Chaucer. I think he is a brilliant writer and I love “The Canterbury Tales” but he destroyed the actual meaning of Valentine’s Day. Chaucer invented his tales of romance and linked them to the same date as the martyrdom of St. Valentine.
Today, Valentine’s Day is a silly holiday perpetuated by society to get people to spend massive amounts of money in a few days on that special someone. It isn’t a real holiday. It’s a hoax.
Jazz for valentine’s day
Zachary Bush
Staff Writer
Kellogg Community College’s Jazz Ensemble and Olivet College’s Jazz Ensemble presented a cabaret-style concert, called “Jazz for Valentine’s Day,” on Feb. 5 in the Student Center.
Jazz lovers had the opportunity to listen to classic tunes by Count Basie, Glen Miller, Les Brown, and more while sitting comfortably at clothed tables with refreshments. In addition, there was space available for dancing while both bands treated guests to a variety of jazz pieces. “We wanted to create an atmosphere where people could enjoy listening or get up and spin around the dance floor,” said KCC’s Instrumental Music Instructor, Dan Alt.
A Ray of Sunshine
Paige Gordeneer
Staff Writer
The movie “Sunshine Cleaning” flew way under the radar for most people.
Directed by Christine Jeffs, Meagan Holley’s story of the Lorkowski family and their trials and tribulations is a charming and quirky film with its fair share of ups and downs and funny moments.
“Sunshine Cleaning” tells the story of Rose Lorkowski, played by Amy Adams, and her sister Norah, played by Emily Blunt. Rose is in the cleaning business when her cop boyfriend suggests starting a biohazard cleaning business to clean up crime scenes.
Rose discovers the amount of money she can make doing this and realizes how much she actually needs it. Her son has recently been kicked out of public school so she must send him to a private school.
Rose asks her unemployed sister Norah to join her and their strange journey begins. They learn the rules of the business together and start to earn a name for themselves.
The Lorkowski sisters get a new start and build their relationship together and slowly discover who they really are and what matters most.
Just when things are looking great, Norah does something to push Rose away, and ruin their lives one more time, like she always does.
Eventually Rose and Norah discover that it isn’t about what you do or how it turns out, but that it matters who you do it with.
The DVD features a writer’s commentary and an interview with two women who really are in the biohazard cleaning business, “Sunshine Cleaning: a fresh look at a dirty business,” which happens to be almost as entertaining as the film itself. The interview covers their horror stories and what these two women had to go through to become biohazard cleaners.
Overall “Sunshine Cleaning” was a very rent-worthy movie. Everyone should at least see it once.
"Indoctrinate U"
Zachary Bush
Assistant Editor
This movie is a hard-hitting documentary about contemporary American higher-education establishments or facilities restricting and manipulating our freedom of speech amendment rights. This film takes you into the contemporary American university and demonstrates the practice of discriminating intellectual freedom. The documentary was directed by Evan Coyne Maloney. Who has since made appearances on television pundit programs such as Lou Dobbs. The documentary also aired several times on the Documentary Channel.
“Indoctrinate U” addresses the rise of polarization in America, and uncovers the ways that it damages our dialog in contemporary universities. The documentary covers a broad array of injustices from students being sanctioned for expressing themselves in an opinionated but civil manner to professors being canned for political partisanship. The film also covers the practice of speech codes in university policy, and how these speech codes are used in a way to benefit the social norms and/or political preferences of the university rather than encouraging higher learning and open dialog in all issues. Over the length of this film it is made abundantly clear that these speech codes our always open to interpretation by the university, drawing no lines and always subject to change.
This film was very fun in a rebel sort of way. Maloney travels to some of the most well known universities in the country, such as: Columbia, Vanderbilt, and Berkeley. Oh, and yes even our very own Michigan State University and University of Michigan. Throughout the film Maloney goes to the offices of college bigwigs to ask the tough questions, at which point they usually ask him to leave. And when Maloney does leave he usually finds the campus police waiting for him.
Although this documentary seems to have an agenda, it still raises points which seem to be overlooked in the world of academia. I would definitely recommend this film.
Groundhog Day
Kenny Clevenger
Staff Writer
Once a year people don’t look to their local weatherman for their predictions but instead listen to a small woodland creature. The day is February second and the animal is Phil Punxsutawney the groundhog. The legend states that it is on this day when the groundhog comes out of his hole after hibernating all winter to look for his shadow. If he sees his shadow, we expect another six more weeks of winter and if he does not, winter is over and spring has begun.
This method of prediction of the weather owes its origin to early Christian Europeans who celebrated Candlemas. On Candlemas Day clergy bless candles and distribute them to people, commemorating the Purification of the Virgin Mary. They would determine if winter was over depending on the weather of Candlemas.
This tradition supposedly was brought to Germany by the Roman legions. The Germans adapted this holiday and concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, a hedgehog would cast a shadow, predicting six more weeks of bad weather.
The tradition was first practiced in the United States in Pennsylvania during the late 1800s. The first settlers in Pennsylvania were Germans who found groundhogs in abundance and thought they resembled the European hedgehogs. They thought groundhogs were the most reasonable and intelligent animal and decided that every February second, the animal would appear from his hole to determine the coming seasonal change.
In 1887, Punxsutawney developed the “Punxsutawney Groundhog Club” and Punxsutawney was declared the weather capital of the world.
Since then, the tradition has become much more popular and gained public attention. Phil has done everything from staring in a movie “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray to meeting President Ronald Reagan to appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show.
Phil’s yearly Groundhog Day predictions are even entered into the Congressional Record.
The early observances of Punxsutawney Phil took place in private in wooded areas that are near the town, but now tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world come to watch Phil’s debut, as he has become a recognizable celebrity throughout the country.
Let’s all cross our fingers and hope that Phil concludes that this winter is over!