CM Life

By Aaron McMannEditor-in-Chief

Renee Walker will receive more than $140,000 in sever-ance pay and benefits follow-ing her resignation last week as associate vice president of Central Michigan University’s office of communications.

According to the contract between Walker and CMU, ob-tained Wednesday by Central Michigan Life through a Free-dom of Information Act re-quest, she will receive a lump sum payment of one year’s salary, $122,570. CMU will

also pay 10 percent of her sal-ary equivalent to 18 months’ contribution, or $18,385.50, to a TIAA-CREF or Fidelity retire-ment fund in her name.

Both payments are to be paid no later than June 11, ac-cording to the agreement.

Additionally, the university will continue to cover Walker’s health, prescription drug, den-tal and vision insurance pre-miums for 18 months through its COBRA health plan.

The agreement was signed by both parties on May 23 fol-lowing a 21-day review period. Walker’s resignation was an-nounced by CMU on May 25. She remains an employee of the university through Friday.

Included in the contract

|LIFE

CENTRAL MICHIGAN

Central Michigan University Wednesday, June 6, 2012

[cm-life.com]

Fabiano Botanical Garden in the final phase of work, 3

By Mike NicholsManaging Editor

A year of bitter discord at Central Michigan University stemmed from a failure to com-municate, according to a strate-gic planning report written by a third-party source.

CMU’s strategic planning process, launched by University President George Ross in 2011, slowed after breakdowns be-tween the administration and faculty during contract negotia-

tions and the Academic Senate passing a “No Confidence” reso-lution against Ross and Provost Gary Shapiro.

According to the report, dated March 26, “dysfunctions in cam-pus constituent relationships” and “acriminous conditions” led Ross to ask John Moore, President of Penson Associates, Inc., to work as a facilitator in assessing campus relationships.

“I asked Dr. Moore, who has performed similar duties with a number of universities across

the country, to offer a profes-sional opinion based on his conversations and interactions with leadership and constitu-ents across campus,” Ross said Tuesday. “I didn’t ask him to come to campus to agree with me or disagree with me. I want-ed an honest, objective assess-ment. I believe he gave us that.”

Moore visited CMU from February 19 to 22, interviewing approximately 40 individuals representing multiple campus constituencies including deans,

department heads, faculty, ad-ministrators and members of the Student Government Asso-ciation. The report’s perceptions were included if they were men-tioned more than once by more than one person, Moore wrote.

“This facilitator acknowl-edges that his review was not an in-depth analysis of campus dynamics and that it was lim-ited by time and scope,” Moore wrote. “This report is intended to offer insights that might be helpful in facilitating the stra-

tegic planning process and the over-all effectiveness of campus relationships and leadership.”

Moore reported several contextual factors caused the “breakdown” in constituent relationships during the fall se-mester. A culture of nationally evolving educational standards and lack of economic funding created a context for conflict as CMU adjusted to the “new nor-mal,” he wrote.

How the campus community responds to such challenges

could either divide or unite, Moore wrote. In CMU’s case, it divided.

“Faced with the reality of di-minishing resources, internal constituencies often adopt ze-ro-sum mentalities and become particularly suspicious of the process by which resources are allocated to units that they per-ceive to be their competitors,” he wrote. “If a particular orga-nizational entity receives fund-

Report blames communications for university discord

By Sam EasterStaff Reporter

Anyone driving through downtown Mount Pleasant can already tell it’s race week.

The start/finish banner across Broadway Street is just the first step toward getting ready for the fourth annual Le Tour de Mount Pleasant, the latest installment in the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce’s local cycling event.

The main event is the pro cy-cling race series, which includes a solo time trial staged from the Student Activity Center on Friday, a circuit-style criterium through downtown on Satur-day and a 120-mile road race

through Isabella County on Sunday.

Winners of individual events are recognized, and a cumu-lative-point total of the three events, an omnium, will be scored.

Lisa Hadden, President and CEO of the MPACC, said the rid-ers likely to race the event are high-profile.

“We draw elite, pro riders,” she said. “The reason for that is we have the longest point-to-point race east of the Missis-sippi.”

This weekend’s racing will likely draw multiple profes-sional teams, she said, from the American Bisseau team to the French-Canadian Louis Gar-

neau, last year’s omnium cham-pions.

“It transports us to another world of high-end extreme sports,” Hadden said.

Not everyone who rides the races is a professional cyclist. Ben Rollenhagen, a physical education professor at Central Michigan University, is the win-ner of last year’s Category 3 Road Race and the 2010 Category 3 Criterium.

Rollenhagen said the crite-rium, in particular, is a great experience, as opposed to other races where it’s tough to get a good view.

“This (race) is just surround-ed by accessibility,” he said. “You literally have fans standing on

every corner of the course.”Besides cycling, this weekend

offers a wide variety of events. The band The Verve Pipe will play at Island Park Thursday. Carnival rides and a flea market will also be downtown all week-end.

The event has grown in popu-larity over its three-year tenure, from 350 registrants to 590 to 755. Currently, the race has 344 entrants with nearly a full busi-ness week to go.

Hadden is optimistic about the event’s continual growth.

“We’re projecting probably 900 to 1000 registrations this year,” she said.

[email protected]

Fourth annual Le Tour de Mount Pleasant promises to be largest yet

GO FOR THE GOLDSpecial Olympics athletes enjoy summer state games

By Catey Traylor | Senior Reporter

By Catey TraylorSenior Reporter

Central Michigan Universi-ty will to receive a 2.2-percent funding increase under the state budget adopted Tuesday, less than what it expected to receive earlier this year.

University officials antici-pated a 3.8-percent increase in February after Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recommended a budget that included a three percent increase in fund-ing for higher education. The $146 billion bill, passed by the House on Friday and Senate on Tuesday, includes $1.4 bil-lion for public universities.

“The 3.8-percent estimate came from the governor’s budget recommendation,” said Kathy Wilber, Vice Presi-dent for Development and External Relations. “After that, both the House and Senate do their own review and make their own recommendations.”

The House number was a just over four percent, Wilbur said, while Senate was around 2.7 percent for CMU. In the end, they negotiated a com-

promise of 2.2 percent.Wilbur, however, said state

appropriations are not final-ized yet due to a tuition re-straint incentive that has been implemented, encouraging universities not to exceed a 4 percent increase in tuition rates at risk of losing funding.

“The numbers released will not be our final number, be-cause there is still $9 million that has been set aside for the tuition restraint incentive,” she said. “While CMU already announced our tuition in-crease, other schools are un-known. We will receive fund-ing from the $9 million, but that won’t be decided until all tuition rates are set.”

CMU announced a 1.96 percent undergraduate tuition increase in April. Although the amount of state funding to CMU is lower than the 8.2 percent projected for Sagi-naw Valley State University or 7.6 percent projected for the University of Michigan-Flint, Wilbur is supportive of the metrics-based system used.

CMU to receive 2.2% funding hike, perhaps more from state

Elizabeth Viele, 2011 Inspirational Athlete of the Year, ignited the Flame of Hope during Opening Ceremonies in Kelly/Shorts Stadium Thursday, starting the 2012 State Summer Games.

Honorary Chairman George Perles, former Michigan State University football coach, be-gan the weekend with a key-note speech.

“What’s important to re-

member is that a few minutes of competition gives you a lifetime of memories,” he said. “Get out there, try your best and go for the gold!”

Dave Blackmer, an Eaton

[ INS IDE]

w TRACK & FIELD: McCullough, Kulidzan ready for NCAA championships, 3

w SPECIAL OLYMPICS: Complete photo coverage from the weekend’s activities, 6

w NEWS: Marykaye Murphy remembered for friendly nature, dedication, 4

PHOTOs BY CHarlOTTe BOdak/staff photographer

Davison resident Devin Bloss, 10, yells out of excitement during the 2012 Special Olympics Summer Games bench press weightlifting competition Friday afternoon in the Student Activity Center.

AWALKER| 8

A FUNDING | 3

File PHOTO/Ken KadwellThe fourth-annual Le Tour de Mount Pleasant returns June 10 through 12.

County athlete, competed in the 25- and 50-yard breast-stroke competitions. He has competed in the Summer Games since 1987.

“The challenge keeps me coming back,” he said. “I used to compete in the softball throw and wheelchair races, but I like swimming because it works my entire body.”

Hundreds of volunteers were present throughout the entire weekend, including many members of the CMU football team, former NFL player T.J. Duckett and Miss Michigan pageant winner Eliz-abeth Wertenberger.

“My favorite thing was see-ing the connections made be-tween the volunteers and ath-letes who return every year,” Westland senior and SOMI volunteer Katie Kalajian said. “They really get to know each other, and look forward to re-uniting every summer. It’s a great experience.”

This was Kalajian’s first year as a volunteer, but she said she is coming back in the future.

“It was great to see all of the

athletes and volunteers work-ing together to have fun,” she said. “I definitely plan on help-ing out again next year and in-forming others about how they can get involved.”

Many athletes sported shirts with the official oath of the Special Olympics on the back: “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the at-tempt.”

“My mind works - it’s my physical body that’s injured,” Blackmer said. “I go for the gold every time I compete, and I enjoy every second of it. Peo-ple need to learn to do that.”

Although he gets nervous before each competition, Blackmer said he tries to keep his overall goal in mind.

“I get butterflies, but you’ll always have butterflies before something big happens,” he said. “It’s like before Tom Brady plays in another Superbowl, saying ‘Here we go again.’ But once you begin, it all goes away. You feel ready, and you keep swimming as hard as you can.”

[email protected]

Walker getting $140K in pay, benefits, health coverage for resigningRoss says he hopes to have spot filled by fall

Special Olympics coach Susan Moilannen talks to her trainee, Hartland resident Billy Schiltz, before competing in the men’s 50-yard backstroke in Rose Pool during the Special Olympics Summer Games Friday afternoon.

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Central Michigan Life || Wednesday, June 6, 2012 || 3

Fabiano Botanical Garden in the final phase of developmentBy sienna MonczunskiStaff Reporter

The Fabiano Botanical Gar-den west of Charles V. Park Library is in its last phases of landscape renovation.

Student and faculty volun-teers are currently working on Phase 5, the Plants and Society garden, which will include a children’s garden. The sixth and final phase of the garden will be called ‘Landscape Demonstra-tion’.

The Fabiano Botanical Gar-den is privately funded, and its continuation will depend on further private donations. The new pavilion, located near the pond, is the result of a donation by Isabella Bank.

“I’ve had people tell me it’s very park-like,” said Patti Travi-oli, manager of Fabiano Botani-cal Garden. “It’s a nice place to relax and get away from the stress of school and jobs.”

The idea for the Fabiano Bo-tanical Garden came when Jim Fabiano visited a similar garden at Michigan State University six years ago. He decided to help fund a garden for CMU’s cam-pus.

Travioli said she hopes the garden will be completed in at least two years, while the wait for more donations continues.

Most of the students who work on the garden are biology

and environmental majors, Ta-violi said. They do not receive any credit for their work, she said; they just do it for fun.

“I don’t know what I would do without the students, because the gardens don’t take care of themselves,” Travioli said.

Mio senior Matthew Garnett is a geology major who works for Travioli in CMU’s green-house and also volunteers with the garden. His interest with plants started at home in his family’s garden.

Garnett performs general maintenance on the garden plants, which includes picking out weeds and dead plants and pruning shrubs.

He said he enjoys working with the garden, because it al-lows him to get to know differ-ent plant types.

“It’s a unique spot where people can see a lot of differ-ent native plants in Michigan,” Garnett said. “As the plants ma-ture and spread out more, they look so much better.”

Armada senior Pasquale Mo-ceri enjoys sitting on a bench in perfect view of the garden while he reads.

“I’ve been here a couple of times, because it’s better than all of the other spots on cam-pus,” Moceri said. “It’s actually pretty sweet.”

[email protected]

By Mike NicholsManaging Editor

Marykaye Murphy, former Central Michigan University Board of Trustees assistant, passed away Saturday.

Murphy, 71, worked at CMU for 43 years, serv-ing for 40 of those years as Board of Trustees assistant. She retired in October 2011 following a battle with can-cer that made it too difficult for her to work.

A Mass of Christian Buri-al was held 9:30 a.m today. Wednesday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Condolences can be sent to charlesrlux.com.

“Especially in the last few years when her health was declining, she was the per-sonification of grace under p r e s s u r e , ” said Mary Jane Flana-gan, executive assistant to University President George Ross. “She was really an ex-ample to all of us.”

Flanagan worked for the last 10 years as Murphy’s supervisor and said she was well-liked by all. Since Mur-phy’s death, Flanagan has

received numerous sym-pathy emails from former board of trustee members who spoke highly of their experience working with Murphy.

“I figured out that (Mur-phy) worked with 50 indi-vidual board members and eight different presidents over her time at CMU,” Flanagan said. “When she retired, she took a lot of in-stitutional knowledge with her.”

In 2008, Murphy earned the Staff Excellence Award. Flanagan said Murphy was completely professional and taught her to always have

the ability to joke.Murphy’s experience of

working with so many dif-ferent styles of people made her flexible and friendly, Flanagan said.

“She had the ability to bend like a willow,” Flana-gan said.

Bob Rulong, former di-rector of external relations, worked with Murphy for 26 years. He said she had be-come a very good friend.

“Her colleagues often said she should have run for political office, because

no matter (who) the board members were, Marykaye always got along with ev-eryone,” he said. “Members of the board of trustees . . . thought the world of her.”

Murphy was one of the most dedicated employees at CMU, Rulong said, with a work ethic second to none. Even when cancer hindered her ability to work, she fought bravely, he said.

“She was a real treasure for CMU,” Rulong said. “She will be missed.”

Steve Smith, director of

public relations, praised Murphy’s work and commit-ment to CMU, even in the face of her own illness.

“It was always a priority to make sure stuff was done right, even when she was go-ing through such personal issues,” Smith said. “She was just a great lady.”

Murphy is survived by three children and 11 grand-children.

[email protected]

Marykaye Murphy remembered for friendly nature, dedication to CMU

Marykaye Murphy

Christiana Kurtz/Staff PhotograPherCMU math professor John Daniels sits in front of the Fabiano Botanical Garden. The garden is privately funded and dependent on new donations. The new pavilion, located near the pond, is the result of a donation from Isabella Bank.

“I think that’s a very un-biased and appropriate way to determine the allocation of state funds,” she said. “In terms of the metrics se-lected, each metric impacts each campus differently, but there are aspects such as a six-year graduation rate that apply equally to all universities.”

During the April Board of Trustees meeting, Univer-sity President George Ross said students should not

worry about tuition rates increasing due to the state appropriations being lower than expected.

“The state appropriation is only one-time funding,” Wilbur said. “It’s not in our base revenue, so we haven’t built programs based on additional dollars that we may or may not receive. The administration would consider how best to utilize one-time dollars, regardless what the percentage resto-

FUNDING|continued from 1

University %

Central Michigan 2.2

Eastern 2.6

Ferris 4.0

Grand Valley 4.6

Lake Superior 2.2

Michigan State 1.4

Michigan Tech 4.1

Northern 5.2

Oakland 2.1

Saginaw Valley 8.2

U-M Ann Arbor 1.6

U-M Dearborn 4.2

U-M Flint 7.6

Wayne State 0.7

Western 2.3

Source: Detroit Free Press

University funding increase

O B I T U A R Y

Corrections

© Central Michigan Life 2012Volume 93, Number 90

Central Michigan Life has a long-standing commitment to fair and accurate reporting. It is our policy to correct factual errors. Please e-mail [email protected].

ration is.”Until other schools deter-

mine tuition rates, the state budget is at a standstill.

“We’re in a waiting game at this point,” Wilbur said. “The budget isn’t over, and won’t be over for a few months.”

univers ity@cm-l ife.com

The crashing waves of this gale were braved by third-party, outsider John Moore, president of Penson Associates, Inc., who came to campus in February to serve as a facilitator to assess the “dysfunctions in campus con-stituent relationships.” In his strategic report, Moore writes that although many sides played a guilty role in the conflict, the main problem stemmed from an

unhealthy system of university communication.

In short, the grown-ups squab-ble at the communication matu-rity level of five-year-olds.

If one were to lay university communication breakdown at the foot of the person leading university communications, one would find themselves facing an empty office. The associate vice president of communications

just so happened to conveniently and swiftly resign with a fat sev-erance pay almost exactly two months after the report was pub-lished.

Renee Walker has vanished with a letter of recommenda-tion that makes positive but dry remarks and mysteriously men-tions not one nice thing about her as a co-worker or person.

Sherry Knight, founder of Sa-line-based communications firm Knight Writers, has stepped into Walker’s shoes as interim. The contrast between them as com-municators is striking. On Walk-er’s first day, she refused to talk to CM Life. On Knight’s first day, she came straight to the CM Life office as a friend.

Ahead of Knight is the rescue mission to pick up the shattered pieces left in Walker’s wake and

heal the wounds between ad-ministration and faculty. So far, Knight, fittingly true to her name, has done nothing but admirably dive headfirst into that journey.

Replacing Renee Walker with Sherry Knight is one of the best moves of leadership Ross has ever given CMU.

Although his decision is to be applauded, this is not over. Knight is not a magic pill that can be swallowed and make all CMU’s problems, pains and past disappear. What lies ahead is an intense, brick-by-brick, rebuild-ing process.

And for the first time in a long time, it seems that the academic leadership of CMU is ready to begin that journey with practical applications that can make a dif-ference. For the sake of the uni-versity, we hope it continues.

I’ve never been one to believe in the zombie apocalypse. You know, when cannibalistic savages of the rotted dead eat society to pieces? Oh yeah, and spread the zombie plague. I don’t think so.

Neither have I ever participated in the preparation for zombie survival: gathering items such as water, non-perishable food, medications, clothing, tools, important documents and First Aid supplies.

However, my thoughts on this sub-ject have changed.

If you have watched the news lately, you know why. There was an extremely disturbing attack in Miami in which a drug-induced cannibal ate another man’s face.

Take a deep breath, and let that sink in.

The spread of the story has no doubt brought the event of a zombie apoca-lypse to question.

When an officer asked the cannibal-istic man to step away from the victim, he turned, growled and continued eat-ing. Leaving no other option, the officer shot the attacker, but he kept chewing at the victim’s face.

OK, so the attacker was supposedly under the influence of a synthetic drug, but what if it is just a warning – a sign that those who have been preparing are not wasting precious time on an impos-sible scheme of the imagination?

After several more shots, the canni-bal was dead and the victim in critical condition. Critical? His face was eaten by another human. I don’t think “criti-cal” comes even close to describing his traumatic condition.

What does this event have to say about our culture? Either we have a very serious drug problem on our hands, or the zombie nerds have had it right all along.

Personally, I think both scenarios are terrifying, but there is only one that I can prepare for, right now.

The zombie apocalypse.My list of supplies, however, is going

to be a little different than the recom-mended necessities.

First of all, I will include a light saber. Next will come the Pinchers of Peril, Super Soaker CPS 2000, Zombie De-stroyer slingshot and a Virtue Bugout Solar Backpack. The collection will also include garlic, just in case Jason shows up too.

There might not be much time, la-dies and gentlemen. Let the prepara-tion begin.

Editor’s Note: Detroit senior Dar-nell Gardner, a journalism major, is currently interning at The China Daily in Beijing. He will compose an occasional column on his experienc-es and impressions.

“The Public Security Bureau needs to clean out the foreign trash … cut off the foreign snake heads.”

Those are the words of Yang Rui, an anchor for a state-run televi-sion broadcast in China. He was re-sponding to the Beijing municipal government launching a 100-day crackdown on “illegal” foreigners.

Similar calls for the ouster of “foreign devils” and “foreign trash” echoed across the Internet in China after a video surfaced showing a British man being beaten by a Chi-nese man for allegedly sexually as-saulting a Chinese woman.

Beijing’s municipal government announced the crackdown shortly after the video surfaced but refused to acknowledge any connection be-tween the two. Beijing’s expat com-munity responded with suspicion, chuckles and indifference.

This episode illustrates China’s conflicted, if not confused, ap-proach to the outside world as it strides toward superpowerdom.

More than three decades after Mao’s death, his distinct flavor of nationalism still seeps into the dia-logue between China and the West-ern world.

The wildly successful transforma-tion of the Chinese economy would not have been possible without the West. China has been reliant on ideas from Western minds and the buying power of Western consumers during its ascension.

China’s top communist cadres, while dismissing Western culture and values as shallow and unfit for China, clamor to send their kin to the best academic institutions the West has to offer.

The streets of China’s biggest cit-ies seem to prefer consumerism, a staple in the developed West, over nationalism. Western food, premi-um electronics and sharp clothing are increasingly ubiquitous here.

Trendy Chinese saunter the streets wearing Gucci and Louis Vuitton, enjoy Pizza Hut so much the chain sometimes insists patrons make res-ervations and form massive queues outside Apple Stores whenever the latest glossy gadget is set to launch.

China, it seems, has fallen prey to the soft-power allure of the nations it so frequently likes to set itself apart from.

Despite this reality, nationalist rhetoric that flirts with xenophobia still finds its way into the Chinese press and propaganda machine.

China, like any country, is rife with contradictions. This particular inconsistency is indicative of a fail-ing of the Chinese press and gov-ernment to accurately represent the ideals of those they serve.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to

assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” – The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

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VOICES|

4

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Central Michigan Life, the independent voice of Central Michigan University, is edited and published by students of Central Michigan University every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and every Wednesday during CMU’s summer ses-sions. The newspaper’s online edition, cm-life.com, contains all of the material published in print, and is updated on an as-needed basis.

Central Michigan Life serves the CMU and Mount Pleasant communities, and is under the jurisdiction of the independent Student Media Board of Directors. Neil C. Hopp serves as Director of Student Media at CMU and is the adviser to the newspaper. Articles and opinions do not necessarily reflect the position or opinions of Central Michigan University. Central

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A grand opportunity

Editorial Board: Aaron McMann, Editor-in-ChiEf | Mike Nichols, Managing Editor

Taking out the foreign

trash

Darnell GardnerColumnist

MIKE NICHOLS [ILLUSTRATION COGITATION]

Is the zombie

apocalypse coming?

Samantha HegemanStaff Reporter

Central Michigan LifeEDITORIAL

Aaron McMann, Editor-in-Chief

Mike Nichols, Managing Editor

Mariah Prowoznik, Lead Designer

Chuck Miller, Photo Editor

ADvERTISING

Becca Baiers

Advertising Manager

PROfESSIONAL STAff

Rox Ann Petoskey,

Production Leader

Kathy Simon,

Assistant Director of Student Media

Neil C. Hopp,

Adviser to Central Michigan Life

Online comments in response to “Renee Walker to receive more than $140K in pay and benefits, 18 months of health coverage for exit”:

The Truth, Thursday“It is against university policy

for officials to publicly discuss an employee’s departure.”

How about publicly discussing the expenditure of OUR money? I’m so tired of this condescend-ing crap. Most plebeians would be lucky to make $140K in four years of working. That’s because the people who aren’t fed on the public dime are in a recession. You know, a recession? The eco-nomic climate where people don’t get $140K for walking off their job?

Hold on to your elitist illu-sions, and keep shirking ac-countability while you still can. It will catch up to you one way or another.

This right after they send a million dollars to Ohio for a web site. CM Life should find out what kind of cronyism went into that, because I’m sure there’s several Michigan companies that Michigan taxpayers would be happier funneling their mon-ey to. Hey, the taxes on that transaction could have paid Ms. Walker’s severance!

Finally, if the interim is get-ting paid $1500 a day, I hope she’s coughing up gold dust or something. This is the PEOPLE’S money and nobody is ENTITLED to it.”

GE, Thursday“That seems like quite a gold-

en parachute, but unfortunately, it’s par for the course in these situations. I remember Renee being incredibly hostile to stu-dent journalist inquiries when I was at CM Life. Telling that Ross did not praise her for “external” communications.”

CP426, Friday“I suppose a severance pack-

age is par for the course, but it’s still unfortunate. If high-level managers aren’t “at-will” em-ployees, maybe they should be. And the president had to write a positive letter of recommenda-tion? Wow.”

“I’m leaving you with that, and I’m taking this. It’s totally a fair trade.”

[commEnts]

From kicking off the first day of the academic year with a faculty strike, to fact-finding fights, a no-confidence resolution against President George Ross and Provost Gary Shapiro coming from an Academic Senate that

unconstitutionally kept student senators in the dark, the $10 million lie about the Events Center, exaggerated football attendance statistics and finally topping the year off with the ridiculously costly and overwhelmingly unpopular new website, it was quite the perfect storm.

By Seth NewmanStaff Reporter

Two athletes will represent Central Michigan University Wednesday at the Track and Field National Champion-ships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Senior Ryan McCullough will represent the men in the ham-mer throw, and freshman Mil-ica Kulidzan will represent the women in the javelin throw.

As a senior, McCullough is ex-cited for his career to conclude at the national championship level.

“It’s everything I could really ask for,” McCullough said. “This is the way I saw myself going out at the end of my career. It’s at the highest level, and I’m extremely excited.”

A week prior to the Mid-American Conference cham-pionships, McCullough begins the processing of trying to get into peak performance.

“You really try and peak for the three biggest meets of the season,” McCullough said. “You’re trying to be mentally and physically rested. You’re doing more explosive, shorter workouts.”

McCullough, ranked 16 out of 23 throwers in the field, is the seventh member of CMU’s men’s throwing team since 2009 to compete in one of the national championships. He is hoping to become the fourth member to earn All-American honors and the first to earn it in the hammer throw.

“It would mean a lot,” Mc-Cullough said. “I’d like to keep adding to the legacy. We’ve had a strong throwing culture here the past five years I’ve been here.”

Kulidzan is the first female athlete for CMU to compete at the outdoor championships since 2007.

She said she has dreamed about this moment.

“It’s always been a dream ever since I came here,” Kulidzan said. “It means my hard work has paid off, and, hopefully, I keep going in the right direction.”

Kulidzan competed at the Ca-nadian Championships in her

youth. This meet will be more nerve-wracking, she said, but she will be ready for the champi-onship atmosphere.

“I want to get a personal best again,” Kulidzan said. “I want to go out and do my best. I need to stay calm, relaxed and represent CMU.”

Willie Randolph, director of track and field, said his athletes have just as much of a chance as

anyone else.“We are looking for improve-

ments from both athletes,” Randolph said. “Considering at a national championship any-thing can happen, everyone is pretty much equal now. They’re ready for it.”

The meet begins Wednesday and runs through Saturday.

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Central Michigan life || wednesday, June 6, 2012 || 5

By Caitlin CheeversStaff Reporter

A dark twist to the classic tale of Snow White will leave audience members wanting more.

“Snow White and the Hunts-man,” which came out in the-aters Friday, tells the story of a young girl whose father is killed by an evil witch (Charl-ize Theron), who then takes over the kingdom. Snow White (Kristen Stewart) is locked in a tower for several years until her escape.

The Queen hires a drunkard huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to hunt down the girl, whose heart can make the queen im-mortal.

While Theron and Hems-worth greatly outshine Stew-art, her performance improved slightly from the lackluster act-ing in “Twilight.”

For example, there were mo-ments when Stewart showed a small smirk when an average person would have been grin-

ning ear-to-ear. This is an im-provement from the constant grimace the actress has on her face.

In addition, a casting error seemed to have been made. Throughout the movie, the mirror tells the Queen that Snow White is “the fairest of them all.” However, anyone with two eyes can see that Theron is much more attrac-tive than Stewart.

Despite the distraction of Stewart’s poor acting, the other stars and special effects were impressive.

Soldiers shattered into dark obsidian-style crystal shards. A stag turned into a swarm of butterflies. Mushroom-in-duced hallucinations seemed life-like. And none of it looked tacky.

However, the story was ex-tremely slow-paced and mod-erately dull. There was a lot of potential, but very little of it was utilized.

For example, some insight is given into the history of the

Queen’s fascination with beau-ty, but it ends up being more confusing than enlightening.

This leant to the most frus-trating part of the movie: countless questions were left unanswered. Moviegoers will be left hanging at the end, but not in an intelligent “Incep-tion” style. Rather, audience members will leave wonder-ing what happened to a large majority of the characters. I was even left wondering who seemingly important charac-ters actually were.

Emotions will be torn when the credits start rolling. Glad the movie is over, but sad that more information was left un-covered.

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“Snow White & Huntsman” leaves too many questions unanswered

sWaTHFaNsiTe.BlOGsPOT.COMThe Queen (Chris Hemsworth) and Snow White (Kristen Stewart).

‘SNow white’

HHHHH

w Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

By Sarah DonettiStaff Reporter

Having sold 22 million singles and 14 million albums world-wide, Carrie Underwood can justifiably be called one of the biggest names in country music.

Her fourth studio album, “Blown Away”, has the same lifeblood that made her previ-ous three albums hits, making it teeter a thin line between be-ing an enjoyable, tried-and-true formula and starting to feel just a bit stale.

One can’t deny how Under-wood manages to remain as catchy as ever on songs like the album’s lead single and first track, “Good Girl.” The song’s chorus showcases her vocal prowess, and will likely stay in many a country lover’s head for the start of the summer. It’s hard to deny, however, it’s lyrically and stylistically a rehash of Un-derwood’s 2009 single “Cowboy Casanova.”

An attachment to more up-beat tempos becomes a plague to songs with good writing that

would stand out with less re-petitive stylistic choices. “Blown Away” and “Two Black Cadil-lacs,” for example, would have been better matched with dark-er, slower and more moody pro-duction.

This isn’t to say all of the up-beat tracks on “Blown Away” are bad or even feel reused. “Cu-pid’s Got A Shotgun” is fun and engaging with the addition of Brad Paisley’s guitar instrumen-tals. “One Way Ticket” stands out with its bright “Calypso” influence. “Do You Think About Me” has a sweet, nostalgic feel as it reflects on an old flame.

All of the album’s ballads showcase Underwood’s vocal strength, though, as with the up-tempo songs, many feel like they’re what listeners have heard from Underwood and other country singers many times before. While listeners get a song like “Wine After Whis-key,” which manages to hit just the right level of bittersweet, they also get cuts like the album closer “Who Are You,” a pale imitation of Underwood’s previ-

ous “Jesus, Take the Wheel” that sounds unsure if it’s referring to God or a boyfriend.

“Blown Away” isn’t a ter-rible album, but, in so many places, it showcases missed op-portunities where songs that are merely decent or OK could have become something much greater. The album as a whole will probably be a good listen for country fans in the warm weather, but it doesn’t seem likely to stand out as one of the crowning achievements of Underwood’s career or current country music.

Underwood has the vo-cal chops to pull off legendary country music; hopefully, she will come closer to it with future efforts.

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M o V i e R e V i e w

Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” enjoyable, fun but needs more

M u S i c R e V i e w

‘BlowN away’

HHHHH

w Genre: Country

McCullough, Kulidzan ready for NCAA championships in Iowa

S P o R t S

PHOTO BY CHuCk Miller/photo editorCMU freshman Milica Kulidzan is set to represent CMU track and field Wednesday at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

6 || Wednesday, June 6, 2012 || Central Michigan Life cm-life.com/category/news[News]

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

A Special Olympics participant competes in the 50-yard backstroke Friday afternoon at Rose Pool.

Photos by CharLotte bodaK/Staff PhotograPher

Flushing resident Austin Lindstrom, 10, smiles as he runs through a tunnel of hands made by Special Olympic volunteers after receiving his medals from various competitions in the Student Activity Center.

Davison resident Devin Bloss, 10, shows off his third-place medal after competing in the bench press weightlifting competition in the Student Activity Center Friday afternoon.

Photos from last weekend’s Summer Games in Mount Pleasant

Bay City resident and Special Olympics athlete Matt Waibel shows off his first-place medal from competing in the 50-yard backstroke.Niles resident and Special Olympics athlete William Lock watches the referee, waiting for the signal to serve the ball during the Special Olympics volleyball game at the SAC.

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8 || wednesday, June 6, 2012 || Central Michigan life cm-life.com/category/news[NEwS]

were clauses allowing Walker to consult with an attorney prior to signing the contract and an agreement that neither party “criticize or impugn the repu-tation or character of either … based on any event or circum-stances arising out of or related to employment with the Uni-versity.”

It is against university policy for officials to publicly discuss an employee’s departure.

The contract also called for University President George Ross to issue Walker a positive letter of recommendation. In it, Ross touts Walker’s work to up-grade CMU’s branding, licensing and internal communications.

“She’s a highly strategic prac-titioner who inherently under-stood the need for University alignment,” he wrote. “Our ‘go-to-market’ look, feel and mes-saging was enhanced greatly during her tenure and as a re-sult of her leadership.”

CMU will pay $10,000 in attorney fees to the law firm representing Walker, Sue Ellen Eisenberg & Associates, P.C., of Bloomfield Hills, after June 8.

Ross appointed Sherry Knight, founder of Saline-based communications firm Knight Writers, interim asso-ciate vice president of com-munications on May 29. She is contracted to work about three days per week over the next six months for $1,500 per day.

“I’ve always taken the posi-tion that when you hire an in-terim, you need someone who

can come in and function as if they were the permanent person,” Ross said Tuesday. “Interims shouldn’t be people who come in and sit, and noth-ing moves forward. I want, and continue to want, our com-munications function to move forward.”

Ross cited several marketing initiatives among the univer-sity’s seven academic colleges and undergraduate admis-sions as projects Knight and the communications staff will be heavily involved in imme-diately.

A committee will be formed in the fall to name a perma-nent person for the job. Ross said he hopes to have some-one in place within the first few months of the fall semester.

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walKeR|CONTINUED FROM 1

ing, it is often perceived to be at some other unit’s expense. For example, at CMU, the establish-ment of the College of Medicine is perceived as a strong compet-itor for scarce resources by some academic departments.”

The fighting between the administration and the faculty during collective bargaining was “the most significant casual factor to deteriorating campus relations.”

Moore stressed the escalat-ing problem lays in how com-munication between all parties occurred. The Board of Trustees, Academic Senate, administra-tion and faculty were all per-ceived as being unprofessional,

untransparent and ineffective with each other.

“(Effective communication) is fundamentally about building credible and trusting relation-ships within the academic com-munity. In this sense, effective communication is everyone’s responsibility,” he wrote. “Of course, the administration has a responsibility for fostering an ef-fective communications culture at CMU, but all constituencies must commit communicating credibly with one another.”

One of the perceptions found, although Moore said may not be accurate, is that Central Michigan Life was being un-objective or unfair in reporting on internal university matters and might have been inappro-priately influenced by faculty members.

“The President should hold

monthly meetings with the editorial staff and adviser of the student newspaper in order to enhance communications, re-lationships and support the ef-forts of the student newspaper,” he wrote.

Moore ended the report offer-ing suggestions for the Board of Trustees, Ross, academic gover-nance and constituent relation-ships. The majority of his advice involved fostering better com-munications, most of which was directed at Ross.

“There were observations that weren’t real flattering to the administration, and weren’t real flattering to a lot of folks, and things that were positive,” Ross said. “But that’s what he was told by the constituents he talked to.”

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PlaNNiNG|CONTINUED FROM 1

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