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July 1, 2010 Vol. 54, Issue 5 www.mcccagora.com

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Morgan HofbauerStaff

A new Michigan law intended to encourage school employees to retire is changing the face of MCCC.

The law, which was approved by the state legislature in an attempt to cut school district costs and open the job market, offers a pen-sion benefit multiplier for school employees who retire early.

Of the 50 MCCC employees eligible to retire with this plan, 17 accepted.

“The lawmakers expected a lot more,” MCCC President David Nixon said. “But the number that you’ll see here is about the same percentage as what we’re seeing across the state.”

The retirees had to announce their decisions by June 11, though the law was not passed by the leg-islature until May 14.

“It’s safe to say that many of the eligible retirees struggled with the decision with less than one month to decide,” Nixon said.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm pro-posed the law in February with the hope that it would save $680 million over the next year against the $1.5 billion deficit that the education budget now faces.

Though MCCC will be unable to calculate its economic sav-ings until replacements are hired, Nixon said he thinks the college will indeed save money from the retirements.

“When somebody retires after 30 years and they have a high salary, it’s likely that when they are replaced, the salaries will be lower. And that was the lawmak-ers’ intent,” Nixon said.

In addition to replacing experi-enced and costly employees with

those who are new and start with lower salaries, the law’s purpose also was to open the job field for thousands of new school employ-ees.

To persuade the early retire-ments, the law offered a 1.6 per-cent pension benefit multiplier for employees over 55 with at least 30 years of service, in com-parison to the 1.5 percent that is usually used to calculate school employee pensions.

Employees whose age and years of service add up to 80 or more would use a 1.55 percent multiplier.

Perhaps the most notable em-ployee retiring from MCCC is Tim Bennett, the vice president of Business Affairs.

According to President Nixon, though Bennett does not techni-cally retire until July 1, he has taken his unused vacation days and is no longer on campus.

Bennett’s position already has been reassigned. President Nixon announced this in an e-mail sent to all MCCC employees.

“Effective immediately, Sue Wetzel has been assigned to the position of Vice President of Ad-ministration. She will be respon-sible for all administrative duties previously held by Tim Bennett,” the e-mail stated. “Dan Schwab will be responsible for managing the financial/budget operation of

the College.”Wetzel previously held the po-

sition of director of Institutional Advancement and executive di-rector of the MCCC Foundation.

In addition to her new respon-sibilities, Wetzel temporarily is

continuing to lead both opera-tions.

Also attached with the e-mail was a notice of vacancy for the position of the Executive Assis-tant to the President and Board of Trustees, formerly held by Lynn

Goldsmith.“She’s retiring after 30 years.

Isn’t that something?” President Nixon said. “She started out here as a student, all those years ago.”

Goldsmith’s position has now been filled by Victoria McIntyre.

McIntyre has worked as an adjunct at MCCC as an English instructor since 2001. She was previously the executive assistant to the president of a Monroe bank and its board of directors.

Retirements transform MCCC

Agora photo by Marissa Beste

Jim Devries, one of the 17 retiring MCCC employees, lectures his Sociology class during the Spring semester.

New law leads to 17 MCCC employees retiring

Inside:•Profile of retiring prof Jim Devries — Pg. 3•Mandatory 3 percent wage deduction leads to lawsuit — Pg. 2

Morgan HofbauerStaff

MCCC’s 2010-2011 budget was approved by the Board of Trustees based on no salary increase for all employees.

The administration, support staff, adjunct faculty, and part-time support staff will retain the same sala-ries from the 2009-2010 and 2008-2009 years.

“The thing we’ve been working on, in light of lim-ited recourses, is that the administrators and support staff were very committed to what we described to them as our efforts to hold down expenses,” MCCC President David Nixon said.

Linda Lauer opposed the freeze on support staff salary during the meeting, and said she thinks that the support staff keeps absorbing the sacrifice.

“I just don’t think that that particular group of em-ployees deserves to absorb that, because they don’t make that much anyway,” Lauer said.

William Braunlich, vice chairman of the Board, responded that MCCC is the only public employer in the county that has not laid off employees.

“Our employees at Monroe County Community College are lucky we’ve been able to manage our finances and keep people in jobs as opposed to lay-offs,” Braunlich said.

Lauer then said that employee morale should be considered.

“How much will they continue to sacrifice?” she said. “Or will low morale affect their jobs?”

Board member Joseph Bellino brought up an ex-ample of another school district that gave high sala-ries to teachers while it was still financially stable and is now nearly broke, he said.

“I don’t want that to be on my watch. That’s the way I feel,” he said. “If you guys want to do it when I’m gone, go ahead, but I’ll vote against you.”

Lauer said the maintenance and beautification projects on campus may make employees not re-

ceiving raises feel bad.“Try to put yourself in their shoes,” she said.“I’m in their shoes,” Bellino quickly replied. “My

wife gets paid the same thing she made in 2002-03. Same exact dollars.”

The motion passed the board with only Linda Lauer opposing.

Treasurer Dan Schwab said that the only major changes in the budget have been the addition of a few new positions, revenue such as property taxes and state aid have gone down, and tuition revenue has gone up.

The maintenance employees’ contract was ratified during the board meeting.

“The maintenance contract was just approved to-night and I believe they have agreed to wage freeze,” Chairperson William Bacarella said. “We are in the middle of contract negotiations with faculty, so it’s premature to talk about that now.”

Schwab said that the budget anticipates no raises, but is always subject to change.

“Once we ratify the contract or settle the contract with the faculty, if we need to go back and make ad-justments, the administration will bring an amended budget to us,” Bacarella said.

Budget approved along with salary freezesNixon EvaluatedThe Board of Trustees evaluated

President David Nixon in a closed session.

Returning to open session, they congratulated Nixon on seven points: the completion of seven years as the president of MCCC; his leadership, relationships and representation of MCCC and the greater community of Monroe; his awareness of community needs and involvement; articulating the strategic vision of the overall college development; keeping the Board of Trustees well-informed about the college operations; creating a cul-ture emphasizing creative thinking; and his responsible financial lead-ership of the institution in a time of extreme economic challenge.

Maintenance recognizedThe maintenance staff was award-

ed a plaque, accepted by Jim Blum-berg, director of Physical Plant.

“At graduation, a number of peo-ple commented on how well this whole place looked. And it did,”

Chairmen of the Board, Bill Ba-carella said. “The groundskeeping, the landscaping, the cleanliness; we wanted to recognize the main-tenance staff for their hard work.”

Secretary Mary Kay Thay-er said she commends Jim Blumberg for his leadership. “It’s amazing,” she said. “I’ve been here 20 years and we owe you, Jim, a lot of credit I think.”

New Health Dean IntroducedDr. Cynthia Roman, the new Dean

of health, was introduced to the Board of Trustees by Dr. Grace Yackee, vice president of Instruc-tion.

Kerste granted sabbaticalDean Kerste, associate professor

of Design Technology, was granted a sabbatical for the fall 2010 se-mester so he can complete a doc-torate degree.

The budget was not affected by this sabbatical, as his work time will temporarily be covered by adjunct faculty.

“I just don’t think that that particular group of employees deserves to absorb that, because they don’t make that much anyway.” Linda Lauer

Trustee

See RETIREMENT, Page 2

2 THE AGORA Campus News July 1, 2010

Goldsmith is not the only ad-ministrative assistant to be leav-ing the college this year.

Four other administrative as-sistants have chosen to retire, including Linda Spenoso of the Business Division, Chris Sims of Information Systems, Annie Ger-mani from Human Recourses, and Carol Eshelman of the Physi-cal Plant.

Eshelman had been planning to retire in March, but delayed her retirement to take advantage of the incentive plan and will now be retiring July 1.

“I think I’ll miss the people,” Eshelman said. “But I would like more time to spend with my fam-ily and my friends, and traveling, so I think it will be fine.”

Most employees would agree that the positions of the adminis-trative assistants will be difficult to fill due to the jobs’ responsibili-ties and the retiring employees’ experience and knowledge of the college.

“They know this place inside and out,” said Jack Woltmann, retiring respiratory therapy pro-fessor. “You don’t lose people like that without having a bit of a bump. It’s going to take effort, and work, and time that ordinarily wouldn’t have been there.”

Mark Bergmooser, president of the MCCC Faculty Association, said employees in those divisions who relied on the administrative assistants will be affected greatly by the change.

“My concern pertaining to that position is that if someone comes in and changes everything, it can make the system go awry for a while,” he said.

The two other support staff employees who are retiring are Wayne Bezeau, the maintenance foreman, and Jerry Morse, the colleges’ graphic designer.

Morse said without the incentive plan he would not be retiring.

“If the offer hadn’t been made, I wouldn’t have even been think-ing about it,” he said.

However, he said he discovered that it would be to his advantage to accept the state’s offer and will be retiring Sept. 1.

He said he hopes to get into some freelance and volunteer work when his 36-year service at MCCC ends.

Though the law played in Morse’s decision, others like Al-len Thom, assistant professor of Physical Education, said the law was a very small part of his deci-sion to retire.

Thom will be retiring July 1, along with faculty members John Miller, professor of Psychology and Bob Pettit, assistant professor of Biological Sciences.

Jim Devries, professor of Histo-ry, accepted the retirement plan as well, but will be retiring Sept. 1.

Pettit said he thinks his retire-ment is an appropriate time for change.

“I don’t want to be here in a wheelchair or shuffling down the hall, barely able to stand up at the podium,” he said. “It’s something I had planned to do so my mind was already set in retirement mode.”

To the students and remaining faculty, Pettit said he wishes that they enjoy the life they are pursu-ing, have fun in their endeavors, keep a sense of humor, and plan their financial future.

The last faculty employee to re-tire will be Jack Woltmann. Wolt-mann was granted an extension and will not be technically retir-ing until Sept. 2011.

“Woltmann announced his early retirement but was granted an extension because of what the district felt was an emergency,” President Nixon explained. “It’s very difficult to find respiratory therapy faculty.”

Woltmann began the respira-tory therapy program along with Bonnie Boggs in 1981.

“In our area, there have been two people that have taught this program for 30 years, so it has a very personal stamp on it,” Wolt-mann said.

He said he didn’t want to leave his co-worker so suddenly, so he applied for the extension in order to give the college more time to find a replacement.

Woltmann said some personal incentives of retirement for him are family, traveling, music, and his granddaughter, though he hopes to somehow continue in education.

“The journey is finite, and this has been a phase,” Woltmann

said. “For so long work has taken a lion’s share and now it will be a realignment, a shifting.”

Nixon estimated that the col-lege would begin advertising the position in January.

Three employees’ retirements had not been announced until the June Board of Trustees meeting.

These employees are Don-ald Hyatt, associate professor of Business and Management, Paul Schmidt, Registrar, and Cathy Schmeltzer, an adjunct faculty member.

The law, which took only four months to pass, stirred controver-sy with teachers’ unions.

Besides boosting monthly pen-sions for employees who retire by Sept. 1, the law also added a 3 percent wage deduction from all remaining school employees starting July 1 to go toward re-tiree health care.

It also put new teachers would enter a hybrid retirement plan.

The law created controversy as it was considered by the legisla-ture. The final votes were 21-14 in the Senate and 56-45 in the House.

While some House and Sen-ate members argued that the bill wasn’t fair to current and new education employees, others said the bill was needed to help with public school finances.

Gov. Granholm lobbied for the retirement law as it passed through the legislature and has proposed a similar bill for 7,000 state employees.

As for the future of MCCC, the rehiring process is currently un-der way, starting with the position of the executive assistant to the president.

The other administrative staff positions will be posted internal-

ly, Nixon said.“It makes sense because these

are individuals who have a lot of experience at the college already,” President Nixon said. “It’s fortu-nate to have qualified staff mem-bers that can be reassigned or will apply for the internally posted positions.”

Becky Leonhardt, the adminis-trative assistant to the dean of In-dustrial Technologies, has accept-ed a transfer into Linda Spenoso’s former job, starting Aug. 1.

The transfer was announced on June 22 in an e-mail sent out by Molly McCutchan, the director Human Recourses.

“Moving Becky from the IT to the Business Division will sup-port a smooth transition within the Instructional Area resulting

from recent retirements among support staff,” the e-mail stated.

The college will now be inter-nally rehiring for Leonhardt’s old position.

Three of the five assistants will be remaining at work until Sep-tember, which will help the tran-sition, Nixon said.

“The fact that they are retiring that first week of September will ease the burden because people like the executive assistant here in this office will be here this sum-mer in the event that any training needs to be done,” he said.

As with Sue Wetzel, the college hopes to combine positions and decide if any are unnecessary, Nixon said.

“The lawmakers’ intent was also for us to look at any positions

that we can eliminate, so we’re going to determine by Decem-ber if we’ve been able to operate without a position somewhere,” Nixon said.

In the case of new faculty hires, Dr. Grace Yackee, vice president of Instruction, and a team of academic deans will host search committees.

Mark Bergmooser said he thinks the short time frame will result in an increased number of part-time faculty.

“It’s already the middle of June,” he said. “In two months we’ll be back on campus. I’ve never seen anything happen that fast, in ten weeks.”

One opportunity offered by the state is that retirees can return to teach part-time without affect-ing their pension. However, there were mixed views on this concept around campus.

“In my experience, faculty has relished the opportunity to be able to come back and teach a few courses,” President Nixon said. “So we hope some of them can still do that.”

Mark Bergmooser said he would be surprised if any faculty came back to work part-time.

“I don’t think you’ll see it,” he said. “I know a number of people who just love their job, love this place, but once you leave, you leave.”

However, retiree Jack Wolt-mann said that he does hope to continue teaching at MCCC after his retirement.

“In all probability, I’ll continue teaching here,” he said. “I won’t be able to teach for the first se-mester after I retire, but after that I’ll be able to teach some courses and I would like to do that be-cause I enjoy it.”

Bergmooser said that he be-lieves the college has been, and will probably remain, abuzz over the retirements.

“I think some people are happy, some are disappointed; it just de-pends on your perspective,” he said.

The college will be honor-ing the retirees at an event to be held on Aug. 25 when the back to school breakfast was originally planned.

Though the Board of Trustees had their last meeting of this year in June, Nixon recommended an-other meeting on the day of the celebration.

“We’d like to recommend a special meeting of the board of trustees the morning that we have the retirement reception so that the board can formally act on res-olutions for each of the retirees,” Nixon said.

Retiring Professor Bob Pet-tit attended the meeting and was announced and acknowledged by the Board along with the 16 oth-ers retiring.

“My shoes are big,” Pettit said at the meeting, “and I hope they can be filled.”

Secretary Mary Kay Thayer said she thinks the college will be losing a lot of history and a lot of good people.

“I’m pleased that they are go-ing to be enjoying retirement, but they are going to be missed.”

“Well said,” added William Ba-carella, chairperson of the Board.

As for the next few semesters, retiree Carol Eshelman presented her opinion.

“I think there will be a lot of changes and it will take a while for things to get back to normal because they’re losing a lot of good people with a lot of years and a lot of knowledge.”

Jerry Morse summed up the im-pact of the law.

“A lot of experienced people are leaving,” he said, “and it’s going to mean that the folks that are left behind are going to have to figure out how to fill in the holes.”

The mandatory 3 percent wage contribu-tion for school employees already has led to a lawsuit.

The new retirement law also requires that all school employees in Michigan give 3 percent of their wages to the state to go to-ward future health care.

For example, a school employee with a $50,000 salary would be required to pay $1,500 a year. Over 20 years, that equates to $30,000.

If an employee is making under $18,000, the tax is lowered to 1.5 percent for the 2010-11 school year, then goes to 3 per-cent.

Michigan’s largest teachers’ union, the Michigan Education Association, lobbied against the bill as it passed through the leg-islature. MEA representatives argued that the bill would not result in as many retire-ments as the state hoped.

Mark Bergmooser, president of the MCCC Faculty Association, explained the mandatory wage deduction.

“It’s a pre-tax contribution,” he said. “Of course, it’s a forced contribution.”

What becomes troubling, he said, is that the state has offered no guarantee that the money will indeed go toward health care, or if it would be enough.

“This is 3 percent that’s being taken out to help fund health care for the future, but

with no guarantee that it will be there,” Bergmooser said. “It makes me think when someone tells you there’s no guarantee for it that it’s not coming.”

Bergmooser said that health care is im-portant enough that most school employ-ees would be willing to sacrifice some of their wages for a good health care plan, but without the guarantee, he said he can un-derstand why teachers’ unions have spoken against it.

“There is this attack on education,” he said. “You hear time and again that we need to im-prove, and better, and reform education.

“So you want to stimulate the economy through better educated people, but the

people who do the educating, you don’t want to pay,” he said.

New school employees hired in Michigan may have to give as much as 11.4 percent of their wages toward their retirement.

“If people are being hired for the very first time here at the college, they’re going to be paying a little more into their retire-ment,” President Nixon said.

All new hires will enter into a hybrid re-tirement plan where they will have to pay $510 a year, along with 6.4 percent of their salaries, as long as they are above $15,000.

Another 2 percent or more is funded into a 401(k) plan with an employer match.

“In the state of Michigan, they obviously feel that you earn too much money, because they want to take more money away from you,” Bergmooser said.

Also, new hires could not retire with full benefits until age 60.

Currently, five MEA school employees from various areas of Michigan have filed a class action lawsuit against the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement Sys-tem over the 3 percent pension tax.

“The unions are trying to stick up for peoples’ rights and to get their voices heard,” Bergmooser said. “Because, ulti-mately, it comes down to whatever power we can exercise, whether that be in a court of law or just a voice.”

Mandatory wage contributions lead to lawsuit

Retirement Continued from Page 1

“In my experience, faculty has relished the opportunity to be able to come back and teach a few courses. So we hope some of them can still do that.”

Dr. David NixonMCCC President

Agora photo by Morgan Hofbauer

Jack Woltmann, associate professor of respiratory therapy, is one of the college’s 17 retiring employees. He will not be retiring until September 2011 since it is difficult to find respiratory therapy faculty.

“The unions are trying to stick up for peoples’ rights and to get their voices heard, because, ul-timately, it comes down to whatever power we can exercise, whether that be in a court of law or just a voice.”

Mark BergmooserPresident of MCCC Faculty Association

EditorMarissa BesteDesigners

Morgan Hofbauer

Staff Susan Banoski

Jeff Papworth

AdviserDan Shaw

The AgoraStaff Members

The Agora Editorial PolicyThe Agora is published by the

students of Monroe County Com-munity College, 1555 S. Raisinville Rd., Monroe, MI, 48161. The edito-rial office is located in Room 202 of the Life Sciences Bldg., (734) 384-4186, agora@monroeccc.edu.

Editorial policy: Unsigned editori-als represent the majority opinion of The Agora staff. Signed columns represent the opinion of the writer. All letters to the editor must include a signature, address and phone number for verification purposes. The Agora reserves the right to edit for clarity, accuracy, length and libel.

The Agora is a student-managed newspaper that supports a free student press and is a member of the Michigan Community College Press Association, the Michigan Collegiate Press Association, the Michigan Press Association, College Media Advisers, Associated Collegiate Press and the Student Press Law Center.

Story suggestions are welcome. Let us know what you’d like to see in The Agora - it’s your newspaper.

Submissions of stories or pho-tos also are welcome. E-mail them to agora@monroeccc.edu or bring them to our office.

CorrectionsDr. Cynthia Roman, dean of

the Health Sciences Division, was director of nursing at Oak-land Community College. Her recent position was incorrectly reported in the May 18 Agora.

Math professor Jim Vallade will be assisting Vinnie Maltese, Dean of Math/Science and Hu-manities/Social Sciences Divi-sions. It was incorrectly reported in the May 18 Agora that he will be assistant dean.

4 THE AGORA Campus News July 1, 2010

Marissa BesteEditor

MCCC has upgraded from Blackboard 8.0 to 9.0.

For students, the Blackboard system is used as a supplement to classes as a learning or communication tool, and is a place to take online courses.

Faculty use Blackboard as a way to easily communicate with students, as well as extend their learning beyond the classroom.

“Blackboard is an instructional tool for faculty, if they choose to use it or not,” said Jeff Peters, coordinator of e-Learn-ing and Instructional Support.

The college decided to make the switch because other colleges and universities had upgraded, and the new version had been out long enough for any bugs in the system to be worked out, Peters said.

Blackboard 9.0 became available for

students and faculty for the spring semes-ter. Trying out the new version during the summer will allow an easier transition because of fewer and smaller classes tak-ing place, Peters said.

The new version has a similar interface to the older version, but a few new tools have been added. Most of the changes will affect faculty more than students.

The new tools include journals and blogs that students and instructors can use.

“The idea behind it is you can extend your classroom,” Peters said.

“You can do things and not be confined to just that time period that you meet face to face, but can have discussions outside of class, can communicate with each other easier outside of class, and can ex-change documents more easily outside of class.”

Blackboard is used several ways in and out of the classroom. If faculty members

decide to use Blackboard, they can post grades and inform students of any class cancellations or if class will be held in a different room.

Blackboard also can be used for stu-

dents to turn in assignments. Peters said the discussion board is a

useful tool for students and faculty to post topics for discussion on their own time.

Recently, Blackboard 9.1 came out. The main difference between 9.0 and 9.1 is the addition of wikis, where each class can have their own wiki.

The college plans to upgrade to 9.1 for the Fall semester.

One of the main reasons that upgrading is beneficial is most support and bug fixes are aimed towards the newest versions of systems, so having the latest Blackboard system would ensure that help would be available if something went wrong, Pe-ters said.

The eLearning and Instructional Sup-port department would like to hear feed-back from students about their thoughts on Blackboard and what they like best about the system.

Students can send their comments to elearning@monroeccc.edu, or they can call the student support line at 734-384-4328. The faculty support line is 734-384-4129.

“The idea behind it is you can ex-tend your classroom. You can do things and not be confined to just that time period that you meet face to face, but can have discussions outside of class, can communicate with each other easier outside of class, and can exchange documents more easily outside of class.”

Jeff PetersCoordinator of e-Learning and Instructional Support

Blackboard system upgraded to version 9.0

Agora StaffThe MCCC Bookstore is reviewing its security

procedures following a March theft of more than $7,000 of merchandise.

All Bookstore employees and student assistants were interviewed by a former detective from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

The purpose of the interviews was to hear each person’s version of the incident to see if any addi-tional information could be discovered, and to give staff members an opportunity to alert the detective if they had any suspicions of internal connections to the theft, according to a college news release.

The detective concluded that there were no inter-nal connections to the incident, the release said.

The detective told bookstore employees to contact security in the future, even if they are just suspicious of someone in the bookstore.

To prevent further thefts, the bookstore has in-stalled additional cameras and a doorbell system, and moved the location of books.

The bookstore layout is being reviewed by Follett Books, the company that does MCCC’s book buy-backs, and the college is looking into installing elec-tric alarm posts in the bookstore.

The college originally announced that the stolen merchandise was valued at more than $8,000. After review, the retail value was changed to $7,020, with a cost to the college of $5, 158. After the $1,000 de-ductible, the college was reimbursed $4,158 by its insurance carrier.

Bookstore reviews securityMarissa BesteEditor

Penelope Dunn will be the new assistant pro-fessor of Criminal Justice at MCCC this fall.

Dunn spent 23 years with the Trenton Police Force, serving as a Patrol Officer, Deputy Chief, Detective Sergeant and Lieutenant.

For the last eight years, she has taught part-time at Henry Ford Community College, where she re-cently developed a Computer Forensics Force.

“She has tons of experience; exactly what we’re looking for, for this particular position,” Dr. Grace Yackee, vice president of Instruction, said at the

May 24 Board of Trustees meeting.The Board approved Dunn’s contract with the

college for the 2010-2011 academic year at the meeting.

Dunn holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Criminal Justice from Wayne State University.

“Just to put this in perspective, we had 117 ap-plicants for this position,” Yackee said.

Dunn will start at MCCC for the Fall 2010 se-mester. She replaces Tom Norstrom, professor of Political Science and Business Law, who retired at the end of fall semester.

Criminal justice prof hired

Morgan HofbauerStaff

MCCC is taking strides toward a more energy efficient campus, including re-placing the windows of the L building.

In early May, crews began replacing the 39-year-old, two-story curtain walls in the L building, due to costly damage resulting from leaking and also the po-tential of future hazards.

The project also goes along with other renovations being done to make the col-lege more energy efficient, according to Jim Blumberg, director of the Physical Plant.

Many people are unaware of the rea-sons for the window replacements, he said.

“Most people have been asking me if it’s just for aesthetics,” Blumberg said. “But we should have replaced the win-dows 10 years ago.”

Some of the problems caused by the water intrusion include damage to com-puters, desks, carpet, drywall, the sur-rounding wooden framework, and costly lab equipment.

Extended exposure to water damage also can lead to mold or rotting wall sys-tems, both wood and brick.

“Water can get into the walls, into the ceilings, places you don’t see, so then air quality becomes an issue,” Blumberg said. “We haven’t had any, thankfully, but you don’t want anything to develop.”

Blumberg said they have not kept track of the damage or energy costs caused by the windows.

“It was sort of anecdotal over time,” he said. “For instance, we’ve replaced the wood around the windows every two years because it rots.”

As for efficiency, the single-paned glass of the original windows does not help energy costs. Blumberg expects that the new windows alone will save 15 percent of the energy used by the L building.

Spring and summer semester sched-ules have been constructed for courses to be relocated while the work makes class-rooms unavailable.

“We have a schedule that we update every single day that shows every win-

dow area that we’ll be taking out, and what day we’ll be replacing it,” Blum-berg said.

Out of the approximate $1 million budget for maintenance, $450,000 is be-ing spent to replace the windows.

An additional project being worked on is the cleaning and repairing of all of the concrete fascia panels. Blumberg said this project also was mistaken for cos-metic purposes.

These panels are the large blocks of concrete that line the tops of the origi-nal buildings, mainly for decorative pur-poses.

Over the years, the concrete has be-come dirty and in need of cleaning, but the real need for repairs surfaced when it appeared that some of the blocks had moved, causing a potential safety haz-ard.

“One panel is about 5 feet long, 4 inches thick, and full of steel and rebar,” Blumberg said. “The last thing you want is for one of these things to fall on you.”

Every few years the college is required to have a facility inspection, overlooked by an architect, to determine the struc-tural integrity of each building.

“They’ve been recommending for years things like the fascia panels be-cause of the pieces that are falling off,” Blumberg said.

With closer investigation, the main-tenance crew discovered that the issue merely appeared worse than it actually was and that the panels were indeed safe, Blumberg said.

Other maintenance being done in-cludes mechanical system upgrades, valve replacements, and changing to energy-efficient lighting, specifically the lights in the gymnasium and the outdoor walk lights.

The low wattage lamps have so far saved the college 70,000 watts and $5,000 on electricity. Over the last three years, the college has reduced its energy use by 12%.

“I’d like to get it down another 5% just with the lighting and the valve work that we’re doing,” Blumberg said. “And an-other 10% after that.”

Current renovations of the Life Science building will be concluding mid-July.

New lookMCCC replacing windows, repairing fascia panels on several campus buildings

Derek Miller, right, works on

windows on the L Building.

Below and below right,

Matt Cichelli paints the

concrete facia panels on the

West Tech Building.

Agora photos by Ashley LeTourneau

July 1, 2010 Campus News THE AGORA 3

Marissa BesteEditor

Dr. Roger Spalding has brought his lunch from home almost every day for the 31 years he has worked at MCCC.

A recently proposed Appliance Policy for MCCC could change that.

The policy would eliminate the use of coffee pots, refrigerators, microwaves, space heaters and fans in faculty offices.

Spalding and several other faculty members would be unhappy if the policy took away their personal appliances.

“If I don’t have a microwave or refrigerator, what do I do about lunch?” Spalding said.

Jim Blumberg, director of the Physical Plant at MCCC, drafted the appliance policy after issues involving incorrect circuits used for appliances in offices were noticed. As a result, appliances that generate heat could lead to fire, he said.

Since some buildings on campus were built in the 1960s, the circuitry does not accommo-date the needs of the electronic appliances used today, creating a possible fire hazard, Blumberg said.

In some cases, more than one office is shar-ing the same circuit breaker, and if too many appliances are being used at the same time, the circuit breaker could overheat.

“You could have a fire at the breaker or any-where along that line,” Blumberg said.

Blumberg said the worst safety problems are space heaters and cooking appliances. If space

heaters or coffee pots are left on too long, they could burn nearby objects and lead to fire.

“One fire, one death or injury, and the same people who are telling me I’m crazy would wonder why we didn’t have a policy in the first place,” Blumberg said.

The motivation for the policy is to get rid of extension cords and upgrade circuits to elimi-nate possible sources of ignition, Blumberg said.

With the varying schedules of faculty mem-bers, not having appliances in their offices would mean they might have to go without lunch or coffee because they do not have enough time to get to the cafeteria between classes.

“We all need access to a microwave, because a lot of us only have fifteen minutes between classes,” Mark Naber, associate professor of mathematics, said.

Kathy Shepherd, assistant professor of mathe-matics, also felt that she would not have enough time to eat lunch or grab a beverage if she did

not have her refrigerator.“Five minutes is not long enough to run over

to the cafeteria,” she said.Naber has a microwave in his office, and he

and Shepherd use each other’s appliances.Naber suggested regulating the temperature

in the college so the dangers of space heaters could be eliminated.

“Space heaters have got to go, but that would be cleared up if they handled the temperatures,” he said.

MCCC does not currently have any break rooms for faculty where they can keep their lunch or have a cup of coffee.

“I’d like to see them stay,” Spalding said about his appliances. “I’ve had them for a long time.”

Currently, the proposed policy is “on hiatus,” Blumberg said.

Once the Fall semester begins, everyone can take a look at the policy and changes can be dis-cussed.

Blumberg knows the end result will be differ-ent than the original document.

“If I’m running something and I’m trying to follow electric code and fire safety and am go-ing to write a policy, let’s start with the most stringent rules we can, and then debate and compromise,” Blumberg said. “If some things can be moved around, you do that.”

The policy draft will go back to the Health and Safety Committee at the end of September.

“I want to keep the lights on, and the power running to each office safely,” Blumberg said.

Danny ShawMCCC’s Study Abroad Pro-

gram sets its sights on Eastern Europe in 2011 and isn’t limited to just students this time around.

“We are expanding our program to all members of the commu-nity,” said Joanna Sabo, professor of political science and coordina-tor of the Study Abroad Program.

Community members have to pay the trip costs themselves, which is currently estimated at $3,681 per person and does not include trip insurance, daily lunches or baggage fees.

Sabo said the overseas trip can be life enriching and can help with getting noticed by potential employers.

“It shows an adventurous spirit and knowledge about countries outside the United States,” Sabo said.

“We’ve also responded to stu-

dent opinions from our last two trips to enhance this year’s study abroad.”

Sabo said students from previ-

ous trips talked about wanting to stay in one area a little longer to get a better grasp on the culture.

As a result, the group will ex-tend its visit, spending 10 days in

Prague in the Czech Republic.Study abroad members will

visit Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; Krakow and Aus-chwitz, Poland; and Wadowice,

Czech Republic along with the 10-day stop in Prague.

Sabo said community members who wish to travel must pass a background check, turn in two

recommendation letters and be enrolled by Oct. 1.

Any questions can be directed to Sabo through e-mail at jsabo@monroeccc.edu.

College considers ban of fridges, heaters

Study Abroad

expands

Agora Photo by Marissa Beste

Refrigerators and microwaves, such as these in Roger Spald-ing’s office, are some of the appliances that may be eliminated from faculty offices as a result of the proposed policy.

Agora photo courtesy of Joanna Sabo

Above: MCCC students Chelsae Lane and Kendra Perkins pose with a Muslim leader in Vietnam during the 2009 Study Abroad trip to Southeast Asia. Left: MCCC student Nick Capaul and Professor Joanna Sabo pose in front of a palace in Vietnam.

Program allows community members to participate

Jeff PapworthStaff

Jim Devries is closing out his 40-year career as a professor of history and sociology this sum-mer.

“We’re going to miss him a lot; he was almost like an institution here,” said one of Devries’ clos-est colleagues at MCCC, William McCloskey.

“There are a lot of students that he had that have gone on and con-tinued to help in the community and done things as far as history is concerned,” he said.

Devries said the government incentives only influenced him to retire three months earlier than he originally planned, but he did say the new law hurts the future of teaching.

“It’s going to be very difficult to attract new teachers,” Devries said. “Some teachers will leave early that are outstanding teach-ers.”

Devries was saddened when he talked about his early days as a professor at MCCC, saying the staff was much closer then. He said there is a divide because of the generational gap.

“There wasn’t this divide; that has grown with this last adminis-tration,” Devries said.

Devries said he doesn’t have a favorite student, but likes stu-dents who get excited about the subjects that he teaches.

He tries to do that by engaging students in the topic and making the topic relevant to them.

“He really makes you think,” Cynthia McKinley said. “The class is more of a conversation style than a teacher lecture.”

Jennifer Perion, who graduated from MCCC in 1989, said Devr-ies inspired her to adjust her col-lege goals.

“I cite his class as the point I decided to change my major, and owe my history major to his influ-ence,” she said.

Devries said he is very thankful that he had the opportunity to be a sociology and history professor at MCCC.

“I couldn’t ask for a better life,”

he said. “You know, this is a ca-reer I had a passion for. I mean, who else could work for 40 years at something that they love?”

Devries likes Monroe County because of his love for history, which had been instilled in him as a child.

“The museum is outstanding with primary sources, the library is also outstanding, and there’s a lot of fun things that can be done here in terms of research.”

Along with his love of history, Devries says he has a passion for reading and collecting books. He looks for books at various loca-tions, such as garage sales.

“It’s an extensive compassion with me,” he said.

McCloskey said Devries’ home library is large.

“He has the largest library of anybody, any individual I know,” McCloskey said.

Devries not only reads and collects books, but he has writ-ten one as well. He wrote a book about racism in Monroe County, which was published in 1984.

“It was something I was pas-sionate about,” Devries said.

“In researching this, I began to understand how we develop rac-ism in America.”

Devries is looking forward to

doing many things after he re-tires. He plans on writing an arti-cle about the Monroe Marsh club

and continuing to work with the museum and the Monroe labor history museum.

“I’m giving up an identity and moving to something else, that’s okay,” Devries said.

Professor Devries ends 40-year career

Agora photo by Marissa Beste

Professor Jim Devries is one of the 17 MCCC employees taking advantage of a new state law that provided an incentive to retire this summer.

“He really makes you think; the class is more of a conver-sation style than a teacher lecture.”

Cynthia KinleyStudent

“One fire, one death or inju-ry, and the same people who are telling me I’m crazy would wonder why we didn’t have a policy in the first place.”

Jim BlumbergPhysical Plant director

July 1, 2010 Feature THE AGORA 5

Marissa BesteEditor

Jeff Corwin entertained Monroe while delivering an important message.

Corwin, a wildlife, ecology and con-servation expert and a new science and environmental correspondent for NBC, presented his message on saving endan-gered species in the Meyer Theater June 25.

“Thank you all for giving up your Fri-day night to be with me,” he joked.

The presentation began with a short video introducing Corwin and the mes-sage he intended to spread. The audience laughed as humorous clips from Animal Planet’s “The Jeff Corwin Experience” appeared on the screen.

Corwin had attended the River Raisin Heritage Trail’s ribbon cutting ceremony Friday afternoon, and expressed his hap-piness at being present for the event.

“It was really wonderful to be able to tour this incredible resource that is in your backyard, that you get to be stew-ards of,” he said.

“I thought just how lucky you are to have that, and of course luck had noth-ing to do with it. It took a tremendous amount of resources and will, rehabilita-tion and restoration.”

Corwin said the greenways trail al-lowed various habitats to connect, and allowed species to reproduce.

His message took on a more serious tone as he told the audience of his recent experiences in the Gulf of Mexico, where the BP oil spill occurred.

“For the last six weeks I’ve been im-bedded in the Gulf of Mexico,” he said.

Corwin recounted his work experienc-es on Queen Bess Island, home to 3,000 Brown Pelicans as well as several other birds that were affected by the oil. The island is one of the many hundreds of barrier islands that wrap around the Gulf coastline, Corwin said.

The Brown Pelicans living on the is-land, which are Louisiana’s state bird, were restored from near extinction caused by DDT, and today there are 50,000 of the species. Today, because of the oil spill, they are being harmed once again.

“It could quite literally be the greasy straw that breaks the plumage that makes up these incredible birds,” Corwin said.

“We go to this island that we know is so important, and you see how devastated it has been by the oil, and you see the birds literally consumed by oil. You think the

bird is dead, then you see its beak open up and it’s gasping for life, and you think, ‘That’s the end. This is it for this bird.’”

Corwin still believes there is hope for all the species affected.

“Like you have proven in Monroe, na-ture is resilient,” he said.

Corwin spoke of his efforts to help the oil-covered pelicans. Workers wearing chemical suits in the 100 degree weather marinate the birds in a solution, and then it continues down a wash line until it looks like a pelican again, Corwin said.

“It’s a battle to save one of our coun-try’s most precious and important envi-ronments,” Corwin said.

The pelicans are then flown to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, where they are freed.

“I always think everything I do with animals is like an alien abduction,” he joked, stating how he thought the ani-mals he saved felt.

Corwin then spoke to the audience about habitat loss as a result of climate change, pollution, and species exploita-tion—all fueled by humans.

He used the example of the Island of Sumatra in Indonesia, which holds a vast rainforest. While only 5 percent of the planet is made up of rainforests, 60 per-cent of all life resides in rainforests, and humans harvest 40 percent of our medi-cines from rainforests, Corwin said.

The problem is that rainforests are cut down at an alarming rate. Globally, about 3,000 acres of rainforest are lost every hour, Corwin said.

“That’s a mass of trees, plants, and ani-mals the size of the United Kingdom,” he said.

Rainforests being cut down contribute to climate change because 70 billion tons of the planet’s carbon is locked up in the rainforest, and it is lifted into the atmo-sphere when they are cut down. Green-house gases in the air hold ambient heat in, which radiates down to our planet, Corwin said.

As a result, seas raise, icebergs melt, and temperatures change at a much faster rate than predicted, Corwin said. He also mentioned that wildlife is exposed and habitats are lost when rainforests are cut down.

“We now know that we are about nine and a half years from all forests being gone in Sumatra,” he said.

An example of how we are all a part of the issue is our usage of palm oil, which

is used in everything from lipstick to ice cream.

Corwin then told the audience the story of how he got where he is today, and why the issues he spoke about were so impor-tant to him.

Corwin believes the day he became a naturalist, an interpreter of the natural world, was when he had his first dis-covery of a snake as a 6-year-old in his grandparent’s backyard.

“That snake really set me on my jour-ney,” he said.

When he was about 8 years old, he discovered a snake was split in half by a concerned neighbor who was afraid of it harming Corwin.

“I realized that good people make bad

decisions out of ignorance, out of not having knowledge,” he said. “Maybe good people make bad decisions when they drill into the bottom of the ocean without having a backup plan.”

“I realized people needed informa-tion,” he said. “That’s when I became a conservationist.”

Corwin recounted some fond and scary stories of his experiences with elephants, which he says is an animal that has been with him throughout his life. He is re-minded of his experiences with young elephants today by his experiences with his children.

“I became a conservationist because I loved and was fascinated by animals, and had concern about their future of life on this planet,” he said. “I now realize that I

was a conservationist because of the fear and the terror that I felt about the world my children would inherit.”

Corwin has witnessed extinction, and although we lose a species every 20 min-utes, he knows there is hope for the fu-ture.

“The question is, is there hope? There is hope. Look to Monroe. Look to your backyard,” he said. “Until this is fixed, we are entering into some very dark days.”

After the presentation, Corwin took 10 questions from the audience. A meet-and-greet after the show had to be cancelled because Corwin had to catch a 9:40 p.m. flight back home.

“To the airport!” A Corwin fan yelled.

Jeff Corwin warns about extinctionAnimal Planet star also helps launch the River Raisin trail

Jeff Corwin, Animal Planet star and new science and environment correspon-dent for NBC, spoke at the Meyer Theater June 25.

Susan BanoskiStaff

Thousands crowded the streets of downtown Monroe on June 3-5 to view the unveiling of General George Arm-strong Custer’s statue.

The 14-foot statue was designed by sculpture Edward Potter of Connecticut and placed in Monroe 100 years ago.

The statue represents Monroe’s own Gen. Custer, who was honored for his heroism in the Civil War during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Among the crowd were people from other states who came to Monroe to watch the celebration, including John Martin of Texas, a former resident of Monroe.

“I was always excited about this part of Monroe’s heritage and Gen. Custer,” he said. “I seem to have a deep respect for Monroe’s history.

“I live in Texas now, however I will always revisit Monroe to bring back my childhood memories,” he said.

Lynn Wagner, a resident of Monroe for 70 years, also attended the unveiling.

“Custer was a brave and decorated warrior,” he said.

Potter’s statue, called “Sighting the Enemy,” depicts Custer on Rommel’s Field at Gettysburg. It was first dedicat-ed in 1910 in Loranger Square by Presi-dent William Howard Taft and Custer’s widow, Elizabeth Bacon Custer.

Then in 1923, the statue was moved to Soldiers and Sailors Park on the south bank of the River Raisin in Monroe.

In 1955, the Custer Monument was moved to its current location in St. Mary’s Park on the north bank of the

River Raisin at the corner of North Monroe Street, where it stands today.

The Custer Statue was placed on the State Register of Historic Sites in 1992 and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

On June 4, the bronze sculpture with its granite base was viewed by over 25,000 people, who also came to re-member the sacrifice by Michigan’s veterans in the Civil War.

Dr. Dennis Montagne, director of the monument research and preservation program for the National Park Service,

along with Andrzej Dajnowski, director of the Conservation of Sculpture & Ob-jects Studio in Forest Park, Ill., were se-lected to recondition the statue, which has been aging in the outdoor environ-ment for the last 100 years.

To view Dr. Montagne’s presenta-tion on sculptor Edward Clark Pot-ter, creator of the Custer Monument, visit http://www.knowledgestream.org/kstream/index.asp?item_id=6863.

You can find more on Custer at the Monroe County Historic Museum at 126 South Monroe Street.

Unveiling of Custer statue attracts thousands

Susan Banoski Staff

MCCC’s growing welding program is looking into a new home.

The program, which was awarded a $1.7 million grant from the Department of Labor last year, now is considering whether to accept the gift of a building at 1004 Hurd Road in Frenchtown Township.

The college is reviewing whether the building and five acres, donated by Pump Engineering LLC, would be ap-propriate for its new welding technology program.

The review includes environmental scans, surveying and appraisals.

“With an expected shortage of skilled welders, our en-rollment and job placement should rise as we expand our facilty,” Justin Schmidt assistant professor of welding, said about the new building.

MCCC was among 68 of the 274 submitting organiza-tions to be awarded Community-Based Job Training Grants from the U.S Department of Labor. It was the only commu-nity college in Michigan to win the award.

The grant will pay to renovate the new building and ex-pand the welding program beyond what MCCC is now of-fering on the Main Campus, Schmidt said.

The approximate cost of the renovation is $444,000 and includes architectural fees, electrical and mechanical engi-neering, construction of welding stations, air handling sys-tems for welding stations and a welding gas system.

There are two types of classes that would be taught in the new welding center, beginning and advanced.

The beginners program is an accelerated class, similar to a traditional welding program. It helps the students in taking the QC-10 American Welding Society Certification Examination.

The advanced track prepares the student for the QC-11 American Welding Society Advanced Welder Certification Examination.

Both are being offered through the welding program at MCCC.

The certificates qualify students for entry into advanced-level employment, self-employment and local welding la-bor unions.

Agora photo by Susan Banoski

Stephen Kodysh, 18, practices welding in the West Tech welding laboratory.

Welding program considers new home

Agora photo by Marissa Beste

6 THE AGORA A&E July 1, 2010

Xbox 360 redesigned and available nowMicrosoft’s console slims downDanny Shaw

At this year’s Electronic Enter-tainment Expo (E3), Microsoft had several new game announce-ments, but the remodeled Xbox 360 stole the buzz of the confer-ence.

Dubbed the Xbox 360 Slim, the new redesigned system sports several new features including a new, sleek outer casing.

MCCC student, Tim Green, a former GameStop employee, said he thinks the new system should be considered quite the upgrade.

“It just looks like how a next-gen system should look like,” he said.

Other than the new look, the updated system includes a 250GB hard drive, built-in wireless net-work adapter and touch-sensitive face buttons. The outer casing has additional cooling vents on both sides, adding a new visual flair.

A dedicated port for Microsoft’s Kinect, a motion-sensing camera set for a holiday release, has been

added to the rear of the console as well.

Green thinks the $299 price tag is perfect for newcomers to the Xbox 360, as well as people look-ing to upgrade older consoles.

“Granted it’s about time for most of the new features, I over-all think it’s a worthwhile price,” he said.

“Here today, ready for tomor-row,” touts Microsoft’s new mar-keting campaign for the Slim, which is available in stores now at a suggested retail price of $299.99.

TOP FIVE E3 2010 NEWS1. Microsoft unveils the Xbox 360 Slim and makes it

available within days2. Sony announces long-awaited sequel to the popular

“Twisted Metal” series, exclusive for Playstation 33. Nintendo shows off 3DS, a new handheld system with

glasses-less 3D capabilities4. Nintendo announces remake of 1997’s hit shooter,

“GoldenEye: 007” for Wii5. “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword,” the newest

entry in the long standing series, is announced for this holiday season for the Nintendo Wii

Agora photo by Ashley LeTourneau

The upgraded model now has touch sensitive buttons and a glossy outer casing.

Agora photo by Danny Shaw

MCCC student Tim Green inspects the upgraded Xbox 360. The system is available in stores for $299.99.

Toy Story 3Danny Shawfor the Agora

Pixar has again proved it is Hollywood’s most reliable film studio by giving theatergoers an-other pitch-perfect film.

“Toy Story 3” might be the most epic, heartening and fun movie this summer. Combin-ing that classic Pixar charm, topnotch animation, and all the characters we’ve grown to love, “Toy Story 3” masterfully takes us away from reality and back to Andy’s room.

The story is simple, at first. Andy has grown up and on his way to college while Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the rest of the gang face the dilemma of being useless rel-ics of Andy’s boyhood. These are characters we all have been watching for 15 years, and for most college students are nostal-gic of our own childhood.

The complexities of the story begin when the toys are acciden-tally thrown out and end up at Sunny Side daycare, which is es-sentially a prison, or concentra-tion camp at times, for toys. The story takes us to more locales with more new and interesting characters than in the first two installments and it is exciting and keeps you wanting more.

More than once, my eyes had traces of tears and my stomach ached from laughter. Never have I felt such an attachment to char-acters on-screen – and they’re animated toys. Keep in mind, nothing in this movie exists in

real life. These are actor’s voices being animated by digital imag-ery. I was 7-years-old when the original “Toy Story” released, so I grew up with these characters. I feel a bit like a real life Andy, and now it’s time to say goodbye to my old toys. A brilliant 10 out of 10.

3D worth extra costThe 3D is refined and well

done adding depth perception to help immerse you into the adventure on screen, similar to that in James Cameron’s “Ava-tar.” It’s well worth the extra bucks to get in.

NOTE: Danny Shaw saw “Toy Story 3” at MJR Cinema 20 in

Morgan HofbauerStaff

Though you can inevitably witness the cast’s fun on the set of Grown Ups, the humor failed to reach through the screen.

Partially written by Adam Sandler and produced by Happy Madison, most viewers were expecting some good-natured comedy and, of course, the oc-casional juvenile humor. But their latest attempt fell short of any of the famous films both the producing company and the writer had done before.

Five childhood friends and former teammates, played by Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and Da-vid Spade, reunite 30 years after their championship-win-ning game to commemorate the death of their old coach. The funeral becomes a weekend get-away at a lake house where the five characters reminisce about

old times and get back in touch with their childish antics.

While the plot was clear and genuine, it was instead like watching a stranger’s family re-union. As the five friends throw constant quips at eachother throughout the film you may chuckle and find it humorous, but at the end of the day all you did was watch someone else’s fun.

You will probably laugh dur-ing the film, but an hour after it ends try to remember what was so funny.

It had moments that were meant to be sentimental, but since the audience never fully got pulled into the emotion of each family, they just appeared awkward and poorly done.

In other Happy Madison films the occasional serious mo-ments were usually heartfelt and served a purpose, like in Happy Gilmore or Click. They should have worked harder on the emo-tion or left it out completely.

It seems that with all of the

money and experience that Sandler has gathered over his years of comedic acting, he would be able to pull off some-thing better than this.

Die-hard fans of Sandler and the rest of the Happy Madison cast may feel connected to the actors enough to get something out of the movie, but someone on the outside looking in will not be as easily amused. 4/10

Grown Ups

Jeff PapworthStaff

On one of the last days of group play in the FIFA World Cup, the U.S. beat Alge-ria in thrilling fashion to advance to the round of 16.

Literally running on borrowed time in the 91st minute, Landon Donovan scored the winning goal on a goalie deflection.

The United States is used to coming back in games. They were down 2 goals against Slovenia and tied it, to keep their hopes of advancing alive. In the qualify-ing process they scored nine goals, which is more than double any other team in the World Cup.

Area residents who watched the game at a local bar knew the U.S. needed to im-prove to continue in World Cup play.

“Altidore has to get it in the net, How-ards got to play, he’s still a goalie, you can ride a goalie in soccer,” Eric Westra said.

It was the first time the U.S. has won the third game in group play since 1930. The team was very emotional after the game. When ESPN interviewed Dono-van, he was wiping tears from his eyes.

“I think they’ve played pretty good so far, they’ve been able to play forward and make a lot of shots that were fairly decent,” Michael Abourbina Jr. said.

If the U.S. had not scored in the final minutes of the game, there would have been controversy over a disallowed goal, that was similar to the goal that was not allowed in the Slovenia game.

Abourbina thought that the referees

have done a good job, except those two important plays. Westra said he thought there should be more refs on the field.

There have been many surprises in the FIFA World Cup. On June 20th, Italy tied New Zealand, in what some called one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Italy is a football powerhouse and New Zealand had never tied or beaten anyone in World Cup history, until they tied Slo-vakia on June 15.

Another surprise in the World Cup was England and France not having as much success as most expected. England barely advanced to the second round by beating Slovenia by one goal. France completely fell apart. After losing in the World Cup finals in 2006, they failed to even make it to the round of 16.

There also has been some controversy in the audience. Fans are making noise with the South African Horn called Vu-vuzela. The tradition originated in South Africa around the beginning of the 20th Century.

Some television stations have asked for it to be banned because of it irritating viewers, while others disagree with tak-ing away the horns because it is taking away an important South African tradi-tion.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal, I think it’s part of the culture,” Westra said.

The goalies also have struggled throughout the tournament. England’s goalie, Robert Green, let a shot go right through his hands to allow a crucial goal at the beginning of the tournament against the United States.

The teams that most people think will succeed in the round of 16 are Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands.

Brazil has easily made it through group play. It is an attack-based team, which makes it one of the more entertaining

teams to watch and a favorite to win it. Abourbine Jr. said he always goes with

Brazil when it comes to the FIFA World Cup.

Spain has not been dominating through group play. It lost one game against Swit-zerland, but if it plays up to its standards, Spain should contend for the World Cup. It has plenty of stars who can step up and win games.

Portugal started off slow with a tie against the Ivory Coast, but followed that

up by beating dominating North Korea 7-0. It has one of the best players in the World Cup in Christiano Ronaldo.

But Westra thought Portugal’s chances of making it were shaky.

The Netherlands has a solid group of players. It has cruised through group play and is considred a dark horse among the group of teams I have mentioned.

As the round of 16 begins, there are a lot teams that could steal a game and send a powerhouse out the door early.

U.S. advances to round 16 of World Cup Dramatic goal wins game in extra minutes

USA’s early exitThe U.S. lost its first game in the

round of 16 in extra time to Ghana.Ghana scored in the first 10 minutes

of the game. The U.S. came back with a penalty kick by Landon Donovan, but Ghana scored a couple minutes into ex-tra time.

The U.S needed to rally from behind once again, but could not pull it togeth-er like they had so many times before.

Agora photo by Jeff Papworth

Soccer fans watch the IFA World Cup at Buffalo Wild Wings on June 23.