Letter to the Editor
By Andrew Werden
GRCC Student

I was reading the paper and stumbled across the article about the ATC lab not being open long enough (Nov. 12 issue, page 5, “ATC computer lab not ready for a faster society”).

I think this article was very poorly written and shows the open computer lab as a bad place to get work done, when in all reality it is the best lab on campus. I used to work in the lab for a couple years, and still hang out there to do homework.

There are other labs on campus with more restrictive hours. The ATC lab has the most flexible schedule than any other lab on campus.

I happen to work at a hospital on weekends on second shift. I still have plenty of time to get to the lab during its regular business hours. Besides, during the late hours and on weekends there are very few students in the lab, and most of them are on Facebook.

Also, a comparison was made between a community college with low tuition and a 4-year university that has dorms and full time security. To compare us with a major college or university is a bad analogy—you are comparing apples to oranges. Our campus police lock all doors at 10 and are completely gone by 11. Plus, it costs approximately $300 an hour for police to be here after hours.

Honestly, an interview with a lab employee would have been nice too. Please consider more than just one possible bad experience with our particular lab, and factor in all the labs on campus. It really doesn’t make a lot of sense to slam the most flexible lab on campus, when there are plenty that aren’t even open half as much.

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No room for intolerance at GRCC
Main Editorial

Intolerance has no place at GRCC. The bathroom graffiti reported on page 1 is a serious issue and needs to be addressed.

Swastikas, words against sexual orientation, and racial slurs are all against the GRCC Student Code of Conduct, and we cannot continue to let this blatant hatred thrive on our campus.

No individual or organization has the right to publically humiliate, threaten, or degrade any one for his or her differences, whether it be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. People will not agree on every lifestyle and choice. Disagreeing with another’s beliefs or stance on an issue does not make you intolerant.

However, that does not give someone the right to target them because they disagree or dislike who they are. This is a college campus, a public doman, and petty child vandalism is uncalled for. The idea that someone or some group is writing hateful speech and displaying this speech next to hate symbols is asinine.

Hate speech is a difficult topic to discuss because the line of what is and what isn’t protected by the First Amendment is not black and white. People have the right to their own opinions and can express them to a certain point.

The problem with hate speech is that people use the First Amendment as a shield for their intolerance. They abuse their Freedom of Speech and turn it into a weapon against others. The consequences of intolerance are evident throughout history, and in recent events, we have seen what intolerance can lead to.

In 1998, Mathew Sheppard was beaten and left for dead because he was gay. In 1999 at Columbine High School, two high school seniors, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, enacted out an all assault on the entire high school body during the middle of the school day.

In 2007, Seung-Hui Cho killed 33 people in his attack at Virginia Tech. These are examples where the expression of intolerance and hatred led to tragedy.

This may not always be the case; but hate, no mater in what form, always affects in one way or another. Not all hate speech and intolerance leads to violence, but we still don’t want to give it a chance. What is happening right now at GRCC is hateful and is singling out individuals and groups of people who do not deserve to be treated this way.

We all are diverse. America is not one culture, race or group. This country is comprised of a multitude of ethnicities, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. No matter how hard those extremist hate mongerers feel, America is still one country.

We will always have differences, but we need to accept them in order to understand them and to understand each other. We need to have compassion with each other, no matter what we feel and believe.

This country is not perfect, but that does not give anyone the excuse to express hatred the way it has been expressed in the bathrooms at GRCC. Those messages leave us all on campus with a disgusting taste in our mouths.

GRCC’s students, faculty and staff are better than this. The community is better than this. It is time that we are vigilant. We need to report to Campus Police those who are trying to make GRCC a place of hate.

We can come together and learn from one another. This is the time to make a stand and end this type of intolerance that has infested our community.

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Multiple choice tests are not for me
By Sarah Wiltenburg
Collegiate Staff Writer

Multiple-choice tests are everywhere.

They are the test format used in personality tests to apply for a job, in the ACT and SATs, and in most college courses.

I find in most of my classes here at GRCC, multiple-choice tests are always somehow involved, and man, do I suck at them. Multiple-choice tests are just an easy way for professors and teachers to grade students.

I have taken classes where the grade consists only of four multiple-choice tests throughout the semester. I have never gotten an A in any of these classes. After taking these tests, I always want to debate my answers because I find a lot of questions have two answers that could easily be explained as right.

This chance to explain is rarely given. Since the world can finally admit that people do learn differently, shouldn’t it also be said that we might all test differently?

Tolearn.net has a page on how some people think with their right side of the brain, while others use their left. Doug Anderson, a creator of the page and professor at Medaille College in Buffalo, New York, comments, “I teach to your right brain to try to balance the huge prejudice that education has toward your left brain. It means less true-false, multiple-choice.”

I know I rarely do well on a multiple-choice test, and I find that when I get it handed back, I just receive the scantron sheet without the questions. Professors reason that they don’t want other students, who haven’t taken the test yet, to see the answers.

Also, some teachers use the same exact tests year after year. So how is this going to help prepare me for the next tests, if I don’t know what was asked before and what I didn’t know?

I think multiple-choice tests shouldn’t be used as much. I find short answer essays let me explain my answer and if given right, they are better for showing your actual knowledge.

Let’s stop taking the easy way out and start using other forms of testing.

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Blackboard goes unnoticed by staff
By Kyle A. Kiekintveld
Collegiate Staff Writer

It is sitting and hiding behind the GRCC front web page like a ghost. It is easy to forget about because some professors do not even use it.

It can be a huge blessing if a professor goes out of their way and posts resources on it. It can be a hassle if it’s a requirement. It can be a curse if grades are never posted on it.

Yes, I am talking about Blackboard. If you take online classes, then you have to use Blackboard, but if you take traditional classes, then you have a mixed bag.

Some professors see it as a powerful resource, happily posting everything from PowerPoint presentations to links to informative Web sites. Some merely post grades, and yet others don’t use it at all.

Blackboard can be used as a discussion board. It can be used to check your grades and if your professors graded your last assignment. It can be used to link you with other resources you might not have known about. Now is the time to start the discussion with the faculty, staff and the administration about Blackboard.

Do you feel like it is a good program and awesome resource? Then tell someone. Ask your professors to put information on Blackboard. Do you hate it? Then tell someone. Professors make no extra money to post information on Blackboard; they merely are doing more work for your benefit.

If you appreciate it, I am sure they would love it if you let them know. If you feel like professors should make more money for extra work, then tell someone. If you think you are too busy to check Blackboard, or that it is a waste of time, then tell someone. If you can post specific suggestions, then do so.

Blackboard is not going to be what you want it to be if your voice is missing from the discussion. I am struck by the idea that the college, for the most part is here for us. All the professors in your class, they work for you. Sure they get paid by the school, but without such a huge student body, they would not be needed.

Your opinion does matter. I personally would like to see professors encouraged to be more active on Blackboard and online in general. I know professors are people; they are often just as busy as the students.

Office hours where you could send your professor an instant message would be greatly helpful for me. A text message or email program that contacts you when your professors call in would save me a lot of money on gas and parking.

I do not speak for all students. These might be really bad ideas, or utterly impossible to implement but these are only some of the ideas that students may want. But without discussion and input, Blackboard will never be as powerful as it could be.

The GRCC Blackboard site has recently added the Blackboard Suggestion tool on the tool bar. This is a call for your input. Use it. Though, I encourage everyone to provide that feedback to your professors as well.

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Save water by giving up your bottle
By Jacqueline Prins
Web Design Editor

Growing up only minutes away from Lake Michigan, the idea that Michigan residents may one day need to conserve water seemed inconceivable.

I always knew the lake was a thing to be cherished, but I never realized how fragile its water supply really was. While reading Peter Annin’s “The Great Lakes Water Wars,” I finally felt the weight of the problem before us.

Many methods of water conservation will not only help reduce your carbon footprint, but they will also enhance your bank account. Take a look at bottled water for example.

Bottled water costs anywhere from $1.25 for a 20 fluid ounce Dasani from GRCC vending machines, to the cheapest I found, a 16.9 ounce bottle of Spring Water from Walgreens on sale for 34 cents.

According to nutrition.suite101.com, healthy men 19-70 years old need 3.7 liters of water per day. Healthy women in the same age group need 2.7 liters of water per day.

The site goes on to break down how much of this can be from other beverages, and how much should be from water alone. Figuring a liter equals approximately 33.8 fluid ounces, it would cost about $6.25 per day for a woman to drink enough Dasani bottled water to get her daily intake, or $43.75 for a week’s worth.

This number will vary depending how much a person spends on each bottle of water. The cheaper way to get your weekly water intake is to buy a water pitcher with filter.

The cheapest I’ve found is Walgreen’s brand for $9.99, which comes with one filter. Every month or two, you will have to buy additional filters for about $14.99 for a four-month supply.

Now take into consideration the cost of tap water. According to Shirley Pasco at Plainfield Charter Township Water Distribution Center, it costs roughly $2.74 per thousand gallons. Keeping in mind one U.S. ounce is equal to less than a tenth of a U.S. gallon, for 4.62 gallons of tap water, roughly a week’s supply for a woman, it costs a little over a penny.

When all the expenses are added up, during a five- month period, approximately 21 weeks, one Culligan’s filtered water pitcher from Walgreens, a five-month supply of water filters, and a 21- week supply of tap water for a woman, costs about $25.40 depending on the exact amount you are able to buy your supplies for.This is the number it costs me, based on the supplies listed above.

A five-month supply, approximately 21 weeks, for a woman, of Dasani bottled water, based on the vending machine price of $1.25 and an 84.5 oz water intake per day, costs roughly $918.75. By the same method, the 16.9 oz bottle of Spring Water, on sale for 34 cents a bottle, will cost $249.90.

These numbers are subject to change, but when you break it down, no matter what bottled water brand you find, it is hard to beat $2.74 for a thousand gallons. I know some days I don’t even drink as much liquid as I should. However that does not stop me from trying to change the water habits I was raised with into those that are more eco-friendly, especially when my bank account reaps the benefits.

So I urge you; change your bottle!

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The difference an interested teacher makes
By Yirssi Bergman
Managing Editor

The difference an interested teacher makes By Yirssi Bergman Managing Editor

Teachers can have a lot of influence in how a subject is not only perceived, but also how well it is absorbed by a student.

A couple of semesters back, I sat in a classroom three days in a row, for three months straight, where the teacher showed PowerPoint presentation after PowerPoint presentation. And that’s it.

His teaching style consisted of reading, word for word, the PowerPoint presentations that he had created, and that he gave to his students as handouts. Worse than that, he didn’t seem interested in answering questions.

The teaching style was lazy and disengaging. The content of the class was extremely interesting to me. It was about civilizations long gone—their art, religion, writings, and way of living. But sitting through the class was extremely dull and monotonous.

During my junior year in high school, I took an Algebra class. Math and I have been sworn enemies ever since I can remember, yet sitting in this class was the most fun I’ve ever had in a classroom. The teacher was full of life. She kept the rhythm of the class going by asking questions, being eager when answering questions, and being witty and fun.

Last semester I had a science class that made me want to gouge my eyes out. The content was hard and completely uninteresting for me. Yet the teacher was so quirky and different, that I didn’t dread going to class. He kept it fun, even if the subject had no real interest for me.

I’m sure that every student has had both types of teachers in their academic career. It’s inevitable, and as much as it is questionable, some teachers just don’t seem interested in teaching. Some teachers don’t seem like they even like teaching.

As students, it is our responsibility to get through a class regardless of the way the teacher is. It is our responsibility to do the work that is assigned and to get a good grade. But teachers also need to understand that they have a responsibility to engage us, to know their subjects, and to help us wade through it if it’s hard for us, or to take as much as possible from it if we do like the subject.

For the teachers that care and that try, thank you. Academically speaking, almost nothing compares to learning about a subject you like and care about, where the teacher also cares. .

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Donate your lids to help a good cause
By: Sarah Wiltenburg
Collegiate Staff Writer

I am the daughter, granddaughter, and niece of three very brave breast cancer survivors, so the Susan G. Komen Foundation For the Cure is very close to my heart.

I was very excited to hear that GRCC had decided to collaborate with the Yoplait Lids program to raise money for this foundation starting in Oct., which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This program runs until Dec. 31 in the Raider Grill, so let’s start ripping off some lids.

Suzi Duimstra, the kitchen manager for the Raider Grill, said, “The Raider Grill is not matching donations this year but is looking to doing a match for next year. Since it is our first year, we are still working out some kinks. During the year, however, we allow our staff to wear jeans on Fridays for a $2 donation, which we are going to give to the American Cancer Society.”

For now, Yoplait donates 10 cents per lid, up to $1.5 million to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. And, according to yoplaitusa.com, the company guarantees a donation of at least $500,000. Student Life has set up their own donation envelope to save lids for the cause as well.

Look at it this way: you’re not only helping yourself by eating healthy, but you’re helping others battling cancer get healthy too.

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Student Shoutout Online results

Do you think employers should use Facebook and Myspace when hiring new employees?
Yes 29%
No 50%
Unsure 21%
(14 total votes)

Click here to vote in our current poll asking if you want to be informed of threats made against campus by campus police.

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