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Cancelled classes worry students, faculty

Hand-crafted elephants promote peace, humanityBy Melanie JacobsAgora Staff

A dozen elephants crafted with recyclable materials by area school-children were displayed in the MCCC cafeteria.

The elephants were brought to the college on Sept. 28 for “The Gathering.” The fourth annual fundraising event helped support the River Raisin Institute and its efforts.

Students and faculty got the opportunity to see the beautiful hand-crafted elephants before they were shipped to their final home.

The idea came from South Af-rican artist Andries Botha who created the first life-size elephant known as, Nomkhubulwane (Nom-koo-bul l-WAHnee) which in Zulu stands for Mother Earth.

“The elephant is a metaphor that awakens the yearning for forgotten conversations between humans, the Earth and all living things,” said Botha.

Much like humans feel love, pain and a strong sense of com-munity, the idea is well-fit for the elephant to be so symbolic.

It’s a way to bring us back to where we are from and remem-ber we have to take care of our earth, Botha said.

It’s also a reminder that we have to take care of each other as well.

“The elephant is a metaphor of the connection between hu-mans and a planet in crisis,” said Danielle Conroyd, project Man-ager for the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the River Raisin Insti-tute.

“Elephants are communal ani-mals; they have memories and create paths for humans to find their way,” she said.

The objective behind this proj-ect is to raise awareness about sustainability and bring our com-munities together to take a stance against environmental abuse, Conroyd said.

Photo by Tim Green

These colorful elephants, made from recycled material, were a spectacle while displayed for several weeks in the MCCC cafeteria.

By Melanie Jacobs Agora Staff

When a class is cancelled, especially last-minute, it can throw everything off balance for students and faculty.

MCCC student, Daniel Kowalczyk experi-enced the effects when his history class was cancelled just a few days before it was sup-posed to start.

“I had no time, really, to get another class,” Kowalczyk said. “So instead of doing a full four classes, like I intended, I’m only doing three.”

If he did get into another class, he would’ve had to rush to enroll in it, and that doesn’t in-clude preparing for it or purchasing the materi-als, he said.

Cancellations can pose a problem for faculty members as well.

“When classes are cancelled the person must then find a class to replace the cancelled class,” said Carrie Nartker, associate professor of English.

“The new class may or may not fit into the same slot as the cancelled class; most often it

does not.” Professors have to go through the list of

classes and pick one that’s taught by an adjunct faculty member and “take” the class, she said.

For an adjunct, sometimes it’s a roll of the dice whether a class they get has low enroll-ment and may have to be cancelled, said Grace Yackee, MCCC vice president of Instruction.

MCCC is contractually obligated to fill the full-time faculty members’ schedules; adjunct faculty get whatever they can get, she said.

Most people don’t understand the criteria that are involved “behind-the-scenes” when making the decision on whether to cancel a course, Yackee said.

It’s not as simple as going out and picking classes to cancel, she said.

“Keep in mind, class-cancellations is anec-dotal,” she said. “It’s like a puzzle.”

“After you load the full-time faculty with the maximum,” she said, “faculty can also teach extra-contractual.”

Extra-contractual is anything above and be-yond their mandated, contractual hours and salary, she added.

“It’s not required, it’s voluntary, and those vary,” Yackee said. “Faculty has first choice up to one.”

The college is only contractually obligated to offer one, but that also varies on whether ad-juncts are available and so on, she said.

“Once you get that taken care of, what the deans will typically do is they’ll go out to the adjunct faculty,” Yackee said.

“And same thing with full-time faculty; you may not know if you’ll have an extra-contrac-tual.”

The amount of preparation that’s often done for a class can be futile if it gets cancelled, Nartker said.

“We have likely read books and articles and put together a syllabus for the upcoming semester,” she explained. “It’s a lot of time wasted.”

Mark Bergmooser, Assistant Professor of Speech and Tae Kwon Do, said that when a class gets cancelled, it can create challenges for the instructor.Continued on page 2

Water sometimes murky, but safeBy Katie MullinAgora Staff

Monday mornings at MCCC bring on another week and murky water.

Some students and staff are greeted with an unpleasant sight when they turn on the faucet or use the toilet: Spigots spurt rusty-colored H20 and toilet bowls are tinged with yellow.

“I’m not scared of the water; it just looks gross,” said Aimee Westover, who works in Eastern Michigan University’s office in the L building.

Westover says the college’s water ranges from an orange to yellow appearance on Monday mornings before the pipes get flushed out by use.

“I normally bring water from home,” she said.

The problem is even worse after

a long break. “If we go away for a holiday,

you have to run the water for a good 15 minutes,” said Janice Hylinski, who works in the library and also brings her own water to work.

Barry LaRoy, director of Wa-ter & Wastewater Utilities for the City of Monroe, said the water is safe to drink. The cloudy appear-ance is very common in older buildings, he said.

When water moves through the old pipes, rust particles and other minerals can ride along in the stream, LaRoy said.

“If you have older pipes, sedi-ment can level out,” he said.

LaRoy said regular testing is conducted on MCCC’s water.

“We do routine samples each week,” he said.

At the request of The Agora, the Wastewater Utilities Department tested MCCC’s water in all eight college buildings.

“All the samples came back negative,” LaRoy said. “The ph looked within normal character-istics.”

LaRoy said all water samples except the Health building were

taken at the janitor closet. The Health building water was tested in a meter room sink.

The department’s weekly regi-men includes checking for al-kaline and acidity range (ph level) chlorine levels, turbidity (suspended particles), and coli-

form (bacteria), LaRoy said. The results averaged a 7 ph lev-

el in all buildings, which is within the normal range, according to the Environmental Protection Agen-cy. Also, no coliform has been de-tected in the last six months.

Despite the college’s clean bill

on the water tests, the murky wa-ter has been a longstanding issue for staff in the C and L buildings.

Tom Scheer, who works in the C building basement as an Infor-mation Systems technician, raised awareness of the problem years ago. His boss brought two jugs of cloudy water into a meeting of MCCC administrators.

“There were no plans to address any of it at the time,” Scheer said.

“Would you drink water that’s brown?” Network Administrator John Wyrabrakiewicz said from his work cubicle.

As a result of the meeting, Scheer said his department re-ceived a Culligan water machine – a unit that feeds filtered water from a spout. However, it saw its days come to an end when it re-quired too much maintenance. He and most of his co-workers now bring water from home.

The water comes in various

colors, flavors and even smells, according to some students and staff.

“It tastes like rust,” said Penny Dorcey-Naber, administrative as-sistant to the dean of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Wybrakiewicz said he would drink water from any college building, but that water from fountains appears to have an ‘oily’ taste.

“It tastes horrible,” said Spenser Loiscelle, an MCCC student.

Marino Gaggini, a second-year student, said the water smells like chlorine.

“At least it’s clean. It’s better than smelling like a sewer,” he said.

Jack Burns, director of Cam-pus Planning and Facilities, said most of the piping on campus is original, made from galvanized plumbing.

Continued on page 2

Graphic by Reggie AllenEven before the semester begins, students and faculty fret over the fate of their courses. With enrollment declining, as well as various oth-er factors, many popular classes may be on the chopping block before they even begin. The courses listed above are among more than 50 that were cancelled this fall.

“I’m not scared of the water; it just looks gross.”

Aimee WestoverAdministrative Assistant

Photo by Reggie Allen

These two water samples were taken at the same time from the Life Sciences building. The clear sample was taken from a commonly used restroom. The rust-colored water beeker was taken from a rarely used laboratory sink.

“Would you drink water that’s brown?”John WyrabrakiewiczNetwork Administrator

www.mcccagora.com

THE

Aug. 26, 2010 Vol. 55, Issue 1

goraA October 17, 2013 Vol. 58, Issue 3

Runners splashed

with colorPage 3

October 17 , 2013 Campus News mcccagora.com • The Agora | 2

Reggie Allen Tim GreenMelanie JacobsWilliam MikoKatie MullinMatt Mullins Lauren Robinson Darryl White

The Agora Editorial PolicyThe Agora is published by the students of

Monroe County Community 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@mon-roeccc.edu.

Editorial policy: Unsigned editorials repre-sent 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 veri-fication purposes. The Agora reserves the right to edit for clarity, accuracy, length and libel.

The Agora is a student-managed newspa-per 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 Associa-tion, College Media Advisers, Associated Colle-giate 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. E-mail submissions: agora@mon-roeccc.edu .

EditorJulia Wells

Adviser:Dan Shaw

Staff

By Julia Wells Agora Staff

President Kojo Quartey believes every stu-dent should take a College Skills class.

“It’s been proven, by national statistics, that students who have taken a class like this are more likely to persist and graduate,” Quartey said.

He explained how it helps students under-stand time management, effective study hab-its, and proper note taking.

Currently, MCCC’s class is open to anyone and is required for students who are

under academic review. For this semester, the class meets one day every week for two hours.

Dr. William McCloskey teaches the class, but doesn’t necessarily think it’s for every-one.

“I think I have students in my other classes where I would say: Do you need this?” he said.

“Does everyone need it? No. Do I think a large group might benefit from it? Yes. “

McCloskey covers topics ranging from how to use a planner to joining clubs on cam-pus. He also gives extra-credit points to stu-

dents who attend club meetings or join them. “It’s an interesting class and I think it’s

helpful for a lot of people,” he said. “What I try to spend time on are parts of a

college student’s experiences that sometimes they just never learned how to do well. And as a result, they just don’t do well in school.”

“This is what successful people always do; they organize themselves,” he said.

“I let them find out what their style is.” The current class was first offered in the

2012-2013 school year as an experimental program.

Transportation causes issues for commuters

Class leads students to success

By William Miko Agora Staff

For students relying on public transporta-tion to and from MCCC, the bus routes are an issue.

The college’s new president, Kojo Quartey, has acknowledged this problem and consid-ers it to be a high priority.

Students depending on the bus to get to and from the college are unhappy with the amount of time the bus routes take.

According to Lake Erie Transit’s website, the number nine bus comes to the college ev-ery half hour from 7:16 a.m until 5:56 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Lisa Whiteside, a student at MCCC, says she takes the Lake Erie Transit bus back and forth to campus pretty much every Monday through Thursday.

She says it takes her forty minutes to get here from downtown Monroe, and another forty minutes to be picked up by the bus after class.

“It takes like an hour to get home, which sucks when all you want to do is get home and rest,” Whiteside said.

There were more complaints from students as well, with the main issue being the amount of time it takes to get to and from the college.

Accessibility to citizens of the county is one of MCCC’s core values.

“Every citizen in this county deserves ac-cess to higher learning,” Quartey said.

“If we are not doing this, then we are not fulfilling our mission.”

Quartey said he has had conversations with students, faculty, and individuals in the community about this. He said he

thinks the current bus routes need to be ad-dressed.

The new president stressed the importance of making higher education available to ev-eryone.

Quartey went on to offer a few potential solutions to the problem, including offering more online classes, or even creating more sites around the county to teach MCCC cur-riculum.

“If they can’t get here, lets take it to them,” he said.

He also said the school could have more conversations with Lake Erie Transit about extending hours or offering more or different routes to and from the col-lege.

The president went on to say that this would be the more costly potential solution.

Photo by Reggie AllenEnglish professor William McCloskey is one of the professors who teaches the College Skills class, which helps to ensure student success in their other courses.

Faculty left to deal with cancelled coursesContinued from page 1

“Faculty often prepare for their classes weeks or months in advance, so when a class is cancelled, it can be frustrating,” Bergmooser said.

The professor may have planned an assignment that occurs around a particular time of year or se-mester, so if a class is cancelled, that assignment may not be relevant the next semester, he said.

Sometimes classes are cancelled before the faculty is notified, Bergmooser said. As far as classes being cancelled too soon, he said he’s seen it work both ways.

“Back when we waited until a few days before the class began, I’ve had classes with low enrollment gain five to ten students overnight,” said Bergmoos-er. “But, I’ve also seen it work where no one adds to the class.”

He said that cancelling classes six to seven weeks before they begin seems a bit extreme.

“Faculty know how the system works and usually have an idea their class is in jeopardy and make alter-nate plans, so waiting to cancel a class doesn’t usu-ally put a teacher behind,” Bergmooser said.

As any new semester approaches, the college is faced with tough decisions. A full-time faculty mem-ber gets paid no matter what; an adjunct, on the other hand, is a different story.

“So, as you’re coming up on a semester and class-es are cancelling, we don’t look at it as, is this class taught by an adjunct or is it taught by and extra-con-tractual, Yackee said.

“There are multiple computations; if it’s an upper level, and they (students) need it for graduation, nine times out of ten it’ll run,” she said.

If a faculty member already has a full load of stu-dents - considered 125 to 150 - then it’s more likely another class with only eight students would be al-lowed, Yackee said.

Anything under ten falls under significant scrutiny, she said, but it isn’t the only factor.

“Our developmental reading and writing, even if it’s low enrolled, I run them,” Yackee said. “Because, students who may not be having a successful semes-ter, or may need to fall back into a developmental course, I’ll try to run it.”

Yackee said she also considers a number of other issues.

For example, are there four other sections students can choose from, compared to the only section? How far are we into the semester? Do students have any other options to find another class? Do students need it for graduation? Is it already part of a faculty load?

Is it taught by an adjunct faculty, etc., she said. “It’s important that people understand, there is a

lot of different scenarios that factor in before a class is cancelled or not,” Yackee said.

The state can flag the college for an audit if a class is run with fewer than ten students, she said.

“However, with budget the way it is, I’m looking at efficiency all the time,” Yackee said. “And I will certainly tell you that students are looked at first.”

With decreases in enrollment, adjuncts may get only offered, for example, two instead of three class-es as a way to offset the likelihood of having a class getting cancelled, she said.

“Although, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re

guaranteed not to have a class get cancelled,” said Yackee. “That is just a reality.”

As a former adjunct faculty professor for many years, Yackee understands this impact.

What typically ends up happening more frequently is the college will end up with fewer adjuncts with fuller loads.

“You don’t have as many adjuncts with little loads,” she said.

MCCC just placed second out of 60 community colleges in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana at ensuring student success, according to statistics from CNN Money.

But despite the award, enrollment is suffering and that affects class cancellations.

“Enrollment is down, mainly due to the economy,” said new MCCC president, Dr. Kojo Quartey. “The economy is getting better, so individuals are going back to work.”

Enrollment and retention of students has a lot to do with class-cancellations, Quartey said. He added that the college has big plans to do some things about the

enrollment decline. “We are going to turn around,” he said. “I’m not

saying we want to, I am saying we are.”People are wondering how we are going to do that

and the answer is called an enrollment management plan, he said.

“The college is going to take a very comprehensive look at recruitment, marketing, and retention, all the way through to completion for our students,” he said.

One way that MCCC is going to do that is by high-lighting the college’s points of pride, Quartey said.

Among the college’s points of pride, are a 96 percent passing rate for nursing; MCCC professor Charles Kelly has written a textbook that is used today at the University of Michigan; and MCCC is ranked second in the region for student success.

Quarty’s mantra is that everyone should be a re-cruiter for this institution.

“This story needs to be told,” Quartey said. “I’m going to stand on the highest mountain and yell it; I’m going to yell it to my friends, I’m going to yell it to my enemies.”

“I’m going to stand on the highest moutain and yell it; I’m going to yell it to my friends, I’m going to yell it to my enemies.”

Kojo QuarteyMCCC President

Division Section Name Credit Short TitleHSS ART-151-51 3 Art FundamentalsHSS ART-155-51 3 Art Appreciation SM BIOL-157-04 4 Anatomy & Physiology I SM BIOL-157-07 4 Anatomy & Physiology I SM BIOL-157-09 4 Anatomy & Physiology I BUS BMGT-201-51 3 Principles of Management BUS BSMTH-101-04 3 Business Mathematics HSS COLL-145-51 2 College Skills HSS COLL-145-52 2 College Skills IT CONM-110-01 3 Construction Blueprint ReadingIT CONM-120-01 3 Intro to AutoCAD for ArchtureIT CONM-242-01 3 Construction Documents and Law HSS CRJ-251-02 3 Criminal Law HSS CRJ-256-01 3 Police Operations IT ELEC-157-01 3 Intro to Solar Energy IT ELEC-158-01 3 Introduction to Wind Power HSS ENGL-151-24 3 English Composition I HSS ENGL-151-51 3 English Composition I HSS ENGL-152-28 3 English Composition II HSS ENGL-261-01 3 Intro to Creative Writing HSS ENGL-267-01 3 British Lit AngloSaxon-18th C HSS HIST-154-51 3 History of the U S 1607-1877 HSS HIST-255-01 3 History of East Asia HSS HLTSC-110-L5 2 Medical Terminology HS HLTSC-151-01 3 Princ of Nutr & Diet Therapy HS HLTSC-151-51 3 Princ of Nutr & Diet Therapy HS HPE-150-01 2 Personal Health HS HPE-150-51 2 Personal Health

HSS HUMAN-256-01 3 Film & Society:1920s to 1960s HSS HUMAN-296-01 4 Special Topics-Elem Russian I SM MATH-154-01 4 Mathematics Explorations IT MDTC-109-L1 2 Mechanical Blueprint Reading IT MECH-111-01 3 Introduction to Fluid Power IT METC-270-01 3 Advanced Parametric CAD HSS MUSIC-165-01 3 Music for Classroom Teachers HSS MUSIC-170-01 3 Introduction to Music Theory I HSS MUSIC-268-51 3 Popular Music in America HSS POLSC-151-B1 3 Intro to Political Science HSS POLSC-151-B3 3 Intro to Political Science HSS POLSC-151-B4 3 Intro to Political Science SM PSYCH-151-06 3 General Psychology SM PSYCH-153-01 3 Social Psychology SM PSYCH-251-51 3 Child Psychology SM PSYCH-254-51 3 Life Span Psychology IT QSTC-150-01 3 Introduction to Metrology IT QSTC-210-01 3 Advanced Metrology IT QSTC-220-01 3 Calibration and Gage R & R HSS RDG-090-51 3 Basic Reading Skills HSS SOC-153-01 3 Women in Society HSS SOCSC-296-01 3 Spec Topics-Animals & Society HSS SPCH-151-51 3 Communication Fundamentals HSS-Humanities and Social Scieance Division SM-Science/Mathematics Division BUS-Business Division IT-Applied Science & Engineering Technology Division HS-Health Sciences Division *Does not include one credit courses like physical fitness

Classes cancelled at beginning of Fall 2013

Maintenance staff works to keep water cleanContinued from page 1

The oldest pipe systems are in A, C and L buildings, East and West Tech-nology, and the powerhouse.

Most of the college’s piping is original and made from galvanized plumbing, Burns said. Leaks have been a problem in the past and a PVC spray has been used to coat the inside of some pipes.

“This procedure was done to re-solve leaky pipes and it has fixed that issue,” he said in an email.

Burns said the newer Laz-Z-Boy Center has copper piping, a better material.

The college is aware of the prob-lems and takes steps each week to minimize the issue.

Maintenance Foreman Jeff VanSlambrouck said members of his staff turn the faucets on in the restroom as well as the slop sinks in the custodial closets, and runs them while they’re working. These proce-dures are done on a weekly basis.

“It gets the water flowing,” he said. Burns said flushing the pipes

seems to work; the Maintenance Department has received no work orders related to water quality.

“We do this not only because it is a good maintenance practice, but also because it ensures that the drinking water supplied to campus meets ac-ceptable quality standards,” he said in an email.

VanSlambrouck said a filter is lo-cated above the hallway ceiling that

supplies the drinking fountains in the L building.

“That’s changed on a regular ba-sis,” he said.

VanSlambrouck explained why the murky water comes and goes – as illustrated in the photo.

He said each sink has its own sup-ply line and water will sit in the sup-ply line until it is used.

“If you would have taken that sample again from that same sink five minutes later, I guarantee you it wouldn’t have looked like it did in that picture,” he said.

In addition to the flushing prac-tices, Burns said he is looking into replacing and improving the drink-ing fountains in some buildings.

“We have to assess everything,” he said. “Our goal is to make sure everything is running properly.”

Despite the water’s bad rap, there are those who are okay with its ques-tionable appearance.

“I don’t think it’s dangerous,” Bi-ology professor Philip Wahr said.

Dorcey-Naber said the MCCC wa-ter isn’t her first choice.

“It’s a matter of preference. We get used to the way our water tastes at home,” she said.

Justin VanVolkenburg, an MCCC student and Iraqi War veteran, not-ed that it’s not dirt but bacteria and other pathogens that are dangerous in water.

“A little dirt won’t kill you,” he said.

October 17, 2013 Campus News mcccagora.com • The Agora | 3

Photos clockwise from top:Kate Hammar shows off her colors after the 5k color run.Participants celebrate the 5k Color Dash by splashing color in the air.A Color Dash participant is doused in blue powder.Barry Kinsey, director of Workforce Development, charges through a blue color station.Student Gov. members Heaven Wuest and Tawny Johnson splash oncoming runners with color.Kayla Shaw dashes through the pink color station.Tim Hattis covered in neon powder .

October 17, 2013 Feature mcccagora.com • The Agora | 4

By Katie MullinAgora Staff

She was having doubts about her boyfriend, Mi-chael Chohaney.

Samantha McNamara, a friend of mine, revealed a piece of her love life that was unbeknownst to me.

I assumed they always had a rosy relationship, but she proved me wrong. Their intense love for one an-other came into question.

“I really didn’t feel he was interested in me,” the former MCCC student said.

There was more to the story. In the midst of her inner turbulence, she drafted a

Dear John letter to end the relationship. “My tired heart will stop beating. Maybe it has al-

ready. It will take a powerful electric shock to revive me,” she said in the breakup note.

After a car wreck in Texas, her boyfriend arranged to arrive at her house upon his return with a bouquet of flowers. He sensed the impending end.

Then the magic happened. In the flurry of excite-ment at seeing him at her door, she forgot, in the mo-ment, about the break-up letter in her nightstand. She forgot long enough for Michael to whisk her away to his apartment down in Toledo.

That evening, as they laid in bed together, they found themselves transported into another dimen-sion.

Chohaney describes what happened in a Facebook message:

“I realize this and fall off the heart-to-heart ‘third space.’ And she knew it. She turns over and I look at her and plead with her to come back and say some-thing, but I know she is somewhere else; her ti bon age is floating above.”

McNamara explains that she and her boyfriend had out-of-body experiences (an OBE).

The Atlantic magazine describes OBEs as leaving your body and seeing your own self from a distance. People who have had OBEs describe themselves fly-ing in midair and can feel “blissful, terrifying or neu-

tral” in the experi-ence (The Atlantic).

Chohaney said during his “third space” adventure he was able to fly, visit an island and see rooms of light. As he and Samantha floated into different dimensions, he had a glimpse inside of his girlfriend’s heart.

“I will never forget that moment — we are on the ti bon age space. I can see her pain, it was so real, so sad, her mother

had raised her in fear, but she has done a tremendous job of finding love,” he wrote.

In Chohaney’s journey, his love for McNamara was raised to another level:

“Sam later confirmed seeing the exact same thing. Sam was waiting for me. She always waits for me. Her love is true, she is patient, and she is kind. She knew, she had infallible faith in me to find the light again and join her on the “next level,” he said in the message.

For McNamara, he had been the other half she was looking for.

“I had no doubts or reservations after that,” she said.

“To me that experience was like plugging into an-other person.”

McNamara, a student of psychodynamic therapy, transpersonal anthropology and social work, has studied altered states of consciousness and various fields in psychology.

Her encounters inspired her to compile a 411-page book, be a guest speaker, and forfeit law school.

Chohaney, a PhD student at The University of To-ledo, is a social scientist, geographer, and Romani studies aficionado. He has presented his notable work at the Association of American Pacific Geogra-phers 74th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, and he recently spoke at the Human Trafficking conference in Toledo this month.

So can OBEs be explained?Melissa Grey, an assistant professor of psychology

at the college, said psychologists use the scientific method to see if an out-of-body claim is verifiable.

Grey cited an out of body experiment where healthy subjects sat on chairs wearing head-mounted displays and connected with cameras behind their backs. The objective of the study was to show wheth-

er or not out-of-body experiences were illusionary. The experimenters probed a person’s real chest

and a false one on an “illusionary body” using plastic rods. The participants could only see the false chest, but in reality, the experimenters were sitting by them poking their real one.

An interesting observation surfaced throughout the experiment.

“I report a perceptual illusion in which individual’s experience that their center of awareness, or “self,” is located outside their physical bodies and that they-look at their bodies from the perspective of another-person, H. Henrik Ehrsson said in the study.

In other words, the studied individuals were able to perceive feelings as their own through another person.

“There’s no evidence that we go out-side of our bodies,” Grey said.

“But people can have sensations out of their body.”

At least two biological factors can cause out-of -body experiences, ac-cording to Grey: An endorphin rush and a lack of oxygen.

A pilot is more likely to have an OBE during a fast acceleration, she said.

Anotherphenomenon similar to OBEs is near-death experiences (NDEs).

“I think the circumstances are cer-tainly different,” Grey said about people experienc-ing OBEs and NDEs.

NDEs are defined by the Cambridge Dictionaries as “an experience described by some people who have been close to death, in which the person feels as if they have left their body and are watching them-selves from above.”

From children to adults, many books have been written on a person’s account of the afterlife.

“It’s an amazing phenomenon,” said John Piippo, an MCCC adjunct philosophy professor and pastor of Redeemer Fellowship Church.

Eben Alexander is a neuroscientist, who had an NDE while laying in a deep coma from a rare strain

of meningitis. Much of his brain shut down and his prospects of living were ominous. His bestselling book, Proof of Heaven, details his journey into a world unlike our own. He also explains the scientific impossibility for his brain to construct these complex experiences. The book has been on the New York Times bestsellers list for at least 49 weeks.

“The place I went was real. Real in a way that makes life we’re living here and now completely dreamlike in comparison,” Alexander said in the prologue of his book.

“My experience showed me that the death of the body and the brain are not the end of consciousness, that human experience exists beyond the grave.”

Piippo said Alexander’s encounters with God are possible examples of non-physical realities. Non-physical realities are anything that extends beyond the natural world (supernatural).

“If NDEs demonstrate non-phys-ical reality, this would refute philo-sophical naturalism,” he said.

“Philosophical naturalists be-lieve that all reality is only material. Philosophical atheists tend to be materialists. If atheism is true, then there are no non-material realities. If NDEs are what they claim to be, then their existence would provide evidence refuting atheism. The ar-gument would go like this:

If atheism is true, then reality is only material (physical).

NDEs provide evidence of non-physical realities.Therefore, atheism is false,” he said. “A lot of our perceptions are in our head,” Grey

said about how NDEs may be shaped by culture and religion.

“There’s no way to know from a psychological standpoint.”

“The question of whether there is an afterlife is not a scientific one – it cannot be answered by science,” Grey said.

Piippo says there are scientists who believe in

NDEs like Alexander. Ac-cording to Piippo, if a person is ‘scientific,’ believing in naturalism, seeing God in the afterlife, is impos-sible to believe.

“That’s a worldview, not science,” he said.“If there is no God, matter and molecules are all

there is,” he said. “If someone already has this worldview, then of

course they will interpret NDEs as purely physically induced. Since I could never be a philosophical ma-terialist I am open to the possibility of NDEs as real and descriptive of non-physical realities.”

Near death ex-perience are not only reduced to the Western world, but span across the globe.

“It seems there’s a little more vari-ability when you go to different cultures” Grey said.

Grey said Christians and Buddhists see more tun-nels in an NDE than Native American groups. .

“Cross-cultural variability supports that NDEs are influenced by our life experiences – if NDEs repre-sented one afterlife, we would expect NDEs to be essentially the same for everyone, and they’re not. They are associated with our culture,” she said.

Whether you believe in an afterlife or not, many who have entered through its gates remain trans-formed.

“But now that I have been privileged to understand that our life does not end in death of the body or the brain, I see it as my duty, my calling, to tell people about what I saw beyond the body and beyond this earth,” Alexander said.

Out of body, near-death

Bryan Rourke wins Enriching Lives award

She turns over and I look at her and plead with her to come back and say something, but I know she is somewhere else; her ti bon age is floating above.”

Michael ChohaneyDescribing an

out-of-body experience

“There’s no evi-dence that we go outside of our bod-ies... But people can have sensations out of their body.”

Melissa GreyMCCC psychology

professor

By Darryl WhiteAgora staff

Bryan Rourke has won MCCC’s Enrich-ing Lives Performance Award.

“I was surprised, I didn’t know anything about it,” said Rourke, who is a mainte-nance worker at MCCC.

He found out about the award after his email inbox was flooded with messages of congratulations.

“I was humbly encouraged - I had no idea it was coming,” he said.

Rourke has served on numerous task forces and committees, such as the Gover-

nance Evaluation Committee, the Diversity Committee, the Insurance Task Force, and the Presidental Search Advisory Commit-tee to select a new MCCC president.

He said he was glad to be a part of the process.

“The committee had a large, well round-ed base. It was students, employees, and community members,” Rourke said.

“It was a nice open process where every-one was on a level playing field. It was em-ployee empowerment.”

Suzanne Wetzel, vice president of Ad-ministration, said she was pleased to learn of Rourke’s selection for the award.

“In addition to his outstanding work on our grounds crew, he has taken a leadership role on many college committees and task forces, including playing a major role in the development of the college’s new gover-nance structure,” Wetzel said.

“He is concerned about his co-workers and our students, and demonstrates the true meaning of a team player.”

In addition to all of the extracurricular work he does, his foreman, Jeff VanSlam-brouck also praised his maintenance abili-ties.

“Bryan is a valuable part of our mainte-nance team… All you have to do is look

around at the campus grounds and you can tell that no matter what he does, he gives one hundred percent. He certainly deserves this award,” VanSlambrouch said in an email.

“In the last year, he has obtained his pes-ticide licenses, which means we no longer have to hire a contractor to fertilize the lawn or treat the trees. He also has an un-derground storage tank certification, which covers our gasoline tank.”

Rourke said he appreciates the award.“I would like to thank the committee,” he

said. “I’m happy to be here to serve the stu-dents and the staff.”

Bryan Rourke

“The place I went was real. Real in a way that makes life we’re living here and now com-pletely dreamlike in comparison.”

Eben AlexanderNeuroscientist describ-ing a near-death experi-

ence

“If atheism is true, then there are no non-material re-alities. If NDEs are what they claim to be, then their existence would provide evidence refuting atheism.”

John PiippoPastor and MCCC

Philosophy professor

Illustration by Darryl White

Former MCCC student describes out-of-body experience; others claim near-death

October 17, 2013 mcccagora.com • The Agora | 5 Features

Middle College expands student horizonsWilliam MikoAgora Staff

Have you ever walked around campus and asked yourself: “That kid looks like he is still in high school?”

Well, you are probably right.MCCC is in the midst of its fifth year as

host to the Monroe County Middle Col-lege program.

Monroe County Intermediate School District is partners with MCCC to pro-vide high school students with a college experience.

There are currently 232 students from all over Monroe County enrolled in the Middle College.

“They are noticeable because they do move around as a group,” Dean of Stu-dents Sarah Richardville said.

The Middle College is a five-year pro-gram that allows high school students to take college credit courses on a college campus.

According to Middle College Principal Robert Kreuger, these high school stu-dents can receive their diploma, and at the same time have the opportunity to earn up to 60 transferable college credit hours, or an associate degree, free of tuition.

Richardville believes that the students in the middle college program get to ex-perience what it is like to take college level courses.

“This makes the transition to college that much easier,” she said.

The middle college on MCCC campus is preparing to have its first ever graduat-ing class this year.

“This is our first year having graduates; most of our students will be graduating with anywhere between 40 to 60 college credits,” Kreuger said.

Kreuger went on to say that the major-ity of Middle College students are pre-pared to move on to universities upon completion of the program.

Cameron Dziama is in his second year of the middle college program. He said the college has been a great experience and he is aiming to have his associate degree by the time he receives his high school diploma.

“It helps us get a head start, for sure,” he said.

The students in the middle college pro-gram have become a partof the culture of the college.

They are involved in clubs, lab as-sistants, writing fellows, study abroad programs, and even student govern-ment.

Kruger said 92 percent of the middle college students who are dual enrolled pass their college courses with a C or higher.

“We hold them to an exceptionally high standard,” Kreuger said.

One middle college student who has met those standards is Celina Dusseau, who is in her fifth year of the middle col-lege program and is set to graduate in the spring.

Celina said that she will actually be re-ceiving her Associate of Science degree a month before she gets her high school diploma.

Celina has been in the middle college since the program started, and is involved in numerous extracurricular activities with MCCC as well.

“Some students in the middle college

program take advantage of the freedoms, and take advantage of what the college has to offer,” Celina said.

She is a co-chair of MCCC’s Psychol-ogy Interest Group, where she runs their meetings and coordinates events for the club.

She is also involved in Student Gov-ernment and tutors college students as a Writing Fellow

Taking advantage of what the middle college and MCCC had to offer has opened many doors for the aspiring pre-med major.

Due to her advanced standing, she was eligible for summer programs of-fered through the University of Michi-gan.

She attended the “Summer Science Academy” and “Michigan Math and Sci-ence Scholars” programs in Ann Arbor this past summer.

According to Celina, both are tailored to students interested in pre-med.

“The middle college and MCCC have opened up doors to a lot of great opportu-nities,” Celina said.

Agora photo by Reggie Allen

Middle College teacher Jennifer Riegle teaches an Anatomy and Physiology class to students.

MCCC department earns communication awards

MCCC won seven District 3 Medallion Awards from the National Council for Market-ing and Public Relations, MCCC Director of Marketing Joe Verkennes announced recently.

The Medallion Awards recognize outstand-ing achievement in communications, and the competition honors excellence among market-ing and PR professionals at two-year colleges.

MCCC finished in the top three for the fol-lowing entries; Lifelong Learning Catalog, Annual Report to the Community, MCCC Alumni Newsletter, Viewbook, Commence-ment Program, Seasons Events Poster and Tech Update.

District 3 consists of Michigan, Ohio, Indi-ana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada.

ContrAction auditions setOpen auditions for the play ContrAction will

be held Tuesday – Thursday, October 22-24. Auditions will be held in room C-3 (The Little Theatre) from 7-9 p.m.

For more information contact Scott McClos-key at smccloskey@monroeccc.edu.

Guidelines issued for painting MCCC spirit rock

Do you want to paint the spirit rock? You can, but before you grab the spray paint,

there are a few guidlines to follow. Student Activities Coordinator, Tom Ryder,

said students must supply their own paint, be

done in good taste, and remember that your artwork reflects on you and the college.

Students should also use latex or spray paint, pick up all supplies when finished, and lastly, be done during day-light.

Suggested paintings on the Spirit Rock can include event announcements, words of sup-port and congratulations, welcome notes or creative endeavors, Ryder said.

Poetry night offered by MCCC Writing Center

MCCC’s Writing Center staff is sponsoring Poetry and storytelling night on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Little Theater.

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to par-ticipate, or come as a spectator. You can read an original poem or story, or read from a favor-ite author’s work.

Students can win a $25 dollar gift card from the MCCC book store by reciting/reading and submitting a copy of an original poem or story.

With Halloween coming two days after, there will also be a “student costume contest.”

Writing Fellows will judge the best cos-tume and the winner will receive a $20 MCCC Bookstore Gift Card.

Agora Chorale schedules concert for Oct. 21

The first Symphony Band and Agora Cho-rale will be hosting a free concert on Monday, Oct. 21.

The concert is scheduled to be held in the La-Z-Boy Center, Meyer Theater.

Doors will open at 7:00 p.m., and the concert begins at 7:30 .

Matt MullinsAgora Staff

The Southeast Michigan and Northwest Ohio Solidworks User Group held its first meeting at MCCC on Oct. 15.

Solidworks is a program used by CAD students to create solid models.

“There are 210 of these user groups world-wide,” Dean Ker-ste, Professor of Mechanical De-sign Technology and user group leader, said. “We are going to have a very good turn out.”

Kerste plans to have two of these user groups a year with the next one approximately six months from now.

“One of the goals of this is to create more job opportunities for students,” Kerste said. “This will let employers know that we have a mechanical design program.”

Local companies that resell Solidworks and 3-D printers gave presentations on their prod-ucts.

One company in particular is DASI solutions, based out of Pontiac.

“3-D design has hit a point where it is used in all facets of design,” James Walsh, Additive Manufacturing Specialist for DASI, said. “Aerospace and au-tomotive industries are the larg-est users.”

But this isn’t only about pre-sentations and lectures; attendees are fed dinner and also have the chance to win prizes.

“We are giving away about $1,500 in prizes, one of which is a 3-D mouse,” Kerste said.

These functions are intended, to help students build connec-tions for future jobs.

“This is a networking event,” Kerste said. “This could open up avenues and doors for students.”

To learn more about the South-east Michigan and Northwest Ohio Solidworks User Group, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/solidwork-susergroup.

Solidworks group holds first meeting

Briefly:

Photo by Reggie Allen

Dean Kerste, professor of Mechanical Design Technology and program leader, talks to Jordan Cohen, a solutions representative at the Solidworks User Group event.

MCCC Student Government installed the Spirit Rock in October 2012. Students were remindedof of the rules for painting the rock in a recent email from Tom Ryder, Student Activities coordinator.

October 17, 2013 Campus News mcccagora.com • The Agora | 6

Bookstore gives students their day

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Apply now for spring semester at utoledo.edu/admission/transfer

By Lauren Robinson Agora staff

Students crowded into the A-building lobby for Nation-al Student Day on Oct. 3.

Sponsored by the MCCC Bookstore, the event was de-signed to show that the col-lege cares about students and their hard work, said Kelli Plumb the event coordinator.

Plumb is an administrative assistant to the director of Auxiliary Services.

“I think the turnout was very good,” Plumb said.

She said the day is intended to help students become more socially responsible and to provide resources for college success.

This year, the bookstore showed its appreciation to students by providing food and a band for entertainment.

The college received a $1,200 enhancement grant from The Foundation at MCCC to help pay for the

event. About a dozen booths were

spread throughout the build-ing’s lobby, sponsored by various student clubs and business organizations.

Vendors included Habi-tat for Humanity, Ballroom Dancing, Drama, the Interna-tional Studies Club, the LAL (Learning Assistant Lab), and Education Plus Credit Union.

For next year, the bookstore wants to include more booths and more entertainment, Plumb said.

She said more involvement will be sought from clubs on campus and outside commu-nity organizations.

National Student Day was started by the National As-sociation of College Stores and is designed to promote student volunteerism and so-cial responsibility through a variety of events, according to the college press release that announced the enhance-ment grant.

“This day gives the MCCC bookstore a chance to foster a more positive relationship with students,” according to the press release.

Above, mem-bers of the Math and Sci-ence Society (MASS) talk to students; left, members of the Interna-tional Studies Club work their booth; and far left, the band performs in the cafeteria.

Photos by Lauren Robinson

National Student Day offers booths, food and music

Tim GreenAgora Staff

Next month, the New York band Polar Bear Club is releasing its fourth studio al-bum entitled, “Death Chorus.”

The post-hardcore band debuted a streaming version of its first single, “Blood Balloon.”

If the song is any revelation of the rest of the album, fans of previous albums such as “Some Things Just Disappear” or “Clash Battle Guilt Pride” might be dis-appointed to learn that lead singer Jimmy Stadt’s range has changed dramatically. Gone are the rough tones that were once belted out in such songs as “Heart Attack at Thirty” or “Kneel on Nails,” replaced with a clean and soft range which almost makes the band sound as if they are in a whole new genre, such as pop punk.

The band still maintains their instru-mental riffs, but Stadt’s new vocals really change the tone of the band.

It’s almost confusing why the band chose to name the album “Death Cho-rus,” unless the intention was to imply that they were moving away from their post-hardcore roots.

While one song is not the whole album, it gives you insight to the band’s direc-tion with the new album. Many fans have expressed their dislike for the song on the band’s Facebook page.

Polar Bear Club has a headlining fall tour to promote the new album with bands of the same genre, Taking Back Sunday, Citizen, and Diamond Youth. They will be playing in Detroit at The Magic Stick on Nov. 13. ‘Death Chorus’ will release

On Nov. 19.San Francisco Bay Area’s band Heart-

sounds, released its third studio album ‘Internal Eyes’ on Oct. 15.

Following up the 2011 release of its album “Drifter,” Heartsounds continues with the same formula that set them apart from other punk rock bands.

Prevalent are the melodic dual vocals from Laura Nichol and Ben Murry and the guitar foundations that they’ve built during their time spent in the hardcore metal band Light the City. The great riffs and fast tempos remain and yet it still sounds new and fresh.

Nichol and Murry have found a formu-la that works well for the duo and it seems as if there are no plans of changing what works for them anytime soon. “Internal Eyes” lyrics are once again ripped from the headlines of Nichol and Murry’s life.

They sing about their pain and trials that they have overcome and how it af-fected them. In the song “Afterthought,” Murry sings of how it’s been two years and while he has moved on from the heartache, it still comes to mind, which leads to him losing sleep from time to

time. It’s very heartfelt and relatable. Heartsounds will be promoting “Inter-

nal Eyes” this fall with its East Coast tour kicking off on Oct. 24 in Allston, Mass., co-lining with the Japanese punk band Cleave.

Saves the Day formed in 1994 under the original name Selfer. Since then they have completed eight studio albums, with the most recent being the self-titled and self-produced, “Saves the Day.”

Interestingly, this album was crowd funded through PledgeMusic, which means fans could pledge any amount of

money to help the band out. It was re-leased though the Equal Vision Records imprint label, Rory Records.

While the only member who remains from the original band is front man Chris Conley, the band’s overall sound has not changed. Conley has maintained the pop punk tones that hooked fans over the years.

Refreshingly, Conley has evolved in his lyrical writing from the moody and anxiety of past albums. “Saves the day” is a very upbeat, it’s a fun album, yet from beginning to end it sounds the same.

While it would be easy to criticize Con-ley for not taking risks with the album and doing something more experimental, it’s nice that the band did more of a fan service.

The first song on the album “Remem-ber” feels like homage to the song “See You” from the band’s “Stay What You Are” album. It’s really nice to listen to something that was tailored for past and present fans.

‘Saves the Day’ was released on Sept. 17 and is available for purchase thought the Equal Vision records websites.

Fall Preview: Polar Bear Club, Saves the Day, and more

Ray BellAgora Staff

I have gotten a lot of questions from students asking what the best course is and what they should do when registering for classes.

Normally, I would say consult one of the college’s counselors, mainly because they will help you out with the details.

But I will let you in on a little secret.

That secret is, take care of your prerequisites first before going for your degree.

Most students will burn out faster if they go right into their de-gree courses, at least from what I have seen.

Students are better off it they take their time and go through classes like English Composition, Political Science, or any of the starter Math classes.

Those prerequisite classes are listed before all of the degree pro-grams in MCCC’s college catalog, which is offered to all students both online through the college’s website and offline from the Ad-mission’s Office in the A Building. Another class I would take is College Skills. This class will help students become more in-clined to become the proper col-lege student, while prepping them

for the years ahead. It is a one- credit class and will help you on your journey.

I know you are probably won-dering, why should I do this? Can’t I do what I want?

Absolutely. You are your own person and have the freedom to do what you want.

But in my experience, taking those early classes will help you in the long run and will help you if you decide to transfer to another college.

The MACRAO (Michigan As-sociation of Collegiate Registrars

& Admissions Officers) Agree-ment means you need a certain amount of English, science, math, social science, and humanities credits in order to qualify for transfer.

Information on this agreement is located on: http://www.macrao.org/publications/MACRAOag-

reement.asp.So take these classes before set-

ting out on your degree-getting journey. You are well off doing these classes beforehand or risk burning yourself out with over-load of things you do not know. “Live on and Prosper.” – Leon-ard Nimoy.

Ray Bell advice column No. 2: Freshman know-how

October 17 2013 Editorial/A&E mcccagora.com • The Agora | 7

Matt MullinsAgora Staff

There is something inherently evil about telling students that their major is worthless, or that the degree that they have been working toward for three years is pointless.

If you are like me and frequent sites detailing the “best and worst col-lege majors,” then you have probably had to rethink your life once or twice. These articles often attempt to depict degrees like theater, journalism, and teaching to be the worst things a college student could choose to pursue.

Instead, they make the reader feel as if they are some type of creature on the lower end of the intelligence-food group and that they need to be put down. What is with the hostility toward liberal arts majors? There is an importance to art, writing and theater majors.

Yes, I can see the economy isn’t ex-actly accepting of certain college majors, but that is only because those people haven’t been appropriately trained on how to market their degree.

I am a firm believer that colleges need to implement a core class that outlines how to market any degree to any em-ployer.

To be an engineer you might need a degree in engineering; but to be in the business world, do you need a degree in business?

Of course not!Someone with a degree in theater

could potentially do a better job in busi-ness than their business major friend.

When you have a degree in theater, you have to see your potential to get into the business world. Treat every interview as an audition and show off your skills. In these programs, you learn how to organize an entire group of people to create one large, well-oiled machine.

This is the same idea as a business model and in both professions, acting is encouraged.

This would mean that you could give captivating business presenta-tions to potential clients; much bet-ter than the boring business major. I don’t want to come off as anti-busi-ness, or for that matter anti-(insert ma-jor here) but I want to show that some of the so called “worthless” majors can actually serve multiple purposes. I think the biggest problem is the people who assume the liberal arts majors are sliding through college. I can see where some of those people are right. Most English majors are not taking senior level math and physics courses, but they are taking some writing intensive courses that would be certain to make you cringe.

Imagine surfing your mind for hundreds of pages of dialogue or research; it’s not always easy. I guess the real question is: Are there any “useless” majors?

Most people attribute philosophy, theater, and English to be not as ben-eficial. Yet, most people don’t dig deeper than the first statistic they see. Philosophy majors are consistently among the highest scored LSAT takers. The LSAT is the entrance exam to law schools, so, it’s not completely useless.

The analytical and critical thinking skills learned as a philosophy major can be used in government think tanks, schools, and business to name a few.

English majors are also very useful. Most businesses cite their biggest prob-lem with employees is the lack of com-munication skills. English majors are obviously keen on things of that nature; they spent four years crafting their skills. It is definitely more important to know how to put together a proper sentence rather than knowing the basics of Py-thagorean theory.

These blog writers spend more time

with their nose in a thesaurus trying to find the next cool way to insult some-body’s life plan instead of doing a little thinking of their own.

In no way am I saying that you are better off a theater major over having a degree in engineering. I am only saying that the students pursuing the liberal arts side of things don’t deserve the bashing they have been getting.

A note to all the people pursuing ma-jors simply because of some article they read or because it makes more money — good luck but don’t expect much.

I would venture to say that if you do what makes you happy, then you are go-ing to be just fine.

If you decide to major in journalism and you get a job making $50,000 a year instead of the Petroleum Engineering student making twice that, are you the one who screwed up?

Does that person that who for a petrol company really have their dream job? If you enjoy your work, that is much more fulfilling than trying to hold a mask of sanity over your face while making a ton of money.

Liberal arts majors discouraged, still have hope

Tim GreenAgora Staff

The world of Pokemon has been transformed once again with the introduction of Pokemon X and Y.

In the latest installment, game developer Gamef-reak has gamers exploring the region of Kalos, a star shape land mass that had been modeled after France.

Along with the new region, Gamefreak has created new Pokemon: the X version’s exclusive Xerneas and Y version’s exclusive, Yveltal.

Like the games before, many Pokemon are only obtained though trading with other versions.

For the first time since the Gold and Silver ver-sions, a new Pokemon type has been conceived: Fairy.

The 18th type has reconditioned several fan favor-ites such as Jiggly Puff and Marill to this new type. With the new type, Gamefreak has assigned special and physical to individual moves.

Players will be happy to know they are now able to customize their character. Players can choose from a variety of clothing pieces that were not available in previous versions.

To spice things up, Gamefreak has introduced the concept of mega evolutions. Specific Pokemon who have reached max evolution now during battle can transform into a mega-evolution, buffing special at-tacks and sometimes even changing the Pokemon type.

The new feature Pokemon-Amie strengthens bonds and gives players some battle advantages, such as preventing their Pokemon from fainting.

While Pokemon has never been a traditional on-line multi-player game, the connectivity update to the player search system, which allows players to keep track of other players, brings an almost MMO feel to the series.

There has also been an update to the Global Trad-ing System, the system which allows players to trade

all over the world. The update includes a new search feature allowing any Pokemon to be searched for. Players can trade or battle with friends and strangers, with a tap on the touch screen of the Nintendo 3DS.

They can also use the new “O-Powers” feature. This allows players to provide enhancements for other players, such as healing Pokemon or helping to catch them.

Backwards compatibility is not currently available between older versions of the game.

Gamefreak has assured players that the cloud- based service Pokebank, which stores Pokemon within the game, will be available on Dec. 27 and will cost only $5 a year.

Fans are sure to enjoy the new improvements of this version.

The new player search system brings the game to life, as players can battle their friends who are in the same Wi-Fi area or with an internet connection.

The new type, Fairy, provides a new challenge to battling and the introduction of mega-evolutions gives flair to old characters. Pokemon X and Y were released worldwide on October 12 for the 3DS for $39.99.

Pokemon X,Y improves battles, adds new advantages

To be an engineer you might need a degree in engineering; but to be in the business world, do you need a degree in business? Of course not!

I will let you in on a little secret. That se-cret is, take care of your prerequisites first before going for your degree.

Photo Courtesy of Gamefreak

To spice things up, Gamefreak has introduced the concept of mega evolutions. Specific Poke-mon who have reached max evolution now during battle can transform into a mega-evolu-tion, buffing special attacks and sometimes even changing the Pokemon type.

Did you know…You can finish your bachelor’s degree on the MCCC Campus! Siena Heights University has a degree completion center right here on campus! Undergraduate classes available in: •Accounting •BachelorofAppliedScience •BusinessAdministration •MultidisciplinaryStudies •ProfessionalCommunications •Psychology

Graduate classes available in Leadership. Contact Siena today at (734) 384-4133 or stop by our office in L-221.

Siena

October 17, 2013 Sports mcccagora.com • The Agora | 8

Tigers claw their way into ALCS playoffsBy William MikoAgora Staff

The Detroit Tigers are roaring their way through the playoffs, with hopes of a World Series appear-ance.

The Tigers found a way to get it done in the divi-sion series against the favored Oakland Athletics.

Detroit rallied behind two familiar names to get the win in a do-or-die game in Oakland. Justin Verland-er, and Miguel Cabrera were the two who stepped up in this pivotal game five situation.

Miguel Cabrera came into the game hitting 4-17 in the series, he found his power early in the game, hit-ting a two run homerun in the fourth inning.

Cabrera’s two run homer ended up being enough to get the win, and gave more than enough run sup-port for Justin Verlander.

Verlander was not himself this season, struggling to put up mediocre numbers. His 13-12 record along with a 3.46 earned run average, equaled his worse statistical season in recent years.

He seemed to find his stuff at the right time dur-ing the most crucial game of the season. Verlander pitched eight shutout innings, with 10 strikeouts, and only put three runners on base in game five against the Oakland A’s.

“I’m pitching the way I’m supposed to. I worked my butt off all year to try to get consistent and get myself where I needed to be, I feel like it finally paid off at the end of the year,” said Verlander in a quote from ESPN.

With their game five road victory against Oakland, the Tigers advanced to the American League Cham-pionship Series against the Boston Red Sox.

Detroit is the only team to reach the American League Championship Series (ALCS) three years in a row since the New York Yankees did it from 1998-2001.

The Red Sox came into the playoffs ranked num-ber one in the American League. Boston finished the regular season tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in baseball.

This past weekend the Tigers traveled to Boston for the first two games of the ALCS, with the winner moving on to the World Series.

Detroit regained home field advantage by winning the first game in Boston, by a score of 1-0. Backed behind Anibal Sanchez, and the Tigers bullpen who together combined for a total 17 strikeouts against the Red Sox.

Johnny Peralta, who was suspended 50 games this season for alleged use of performance enhancing drugs, provided the only run of the game.

Game two of the series was just as dramatic, but unfortunately the Tigers fell short. Max Scherzer pitched seven innings of great baseball, allowing just one run, and 13 strikeouts.

Scherzer left the game with a 5-1 lead, and it looked like the Tigers were going to have a huge ad-vantage by winning the first two games of the series on the road in Boston.

That all changed when Boston’s all-star, and fu-ture hall of famer, David Ortiz, better known as Big Papi, hit a game tying grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning.

By one swing of the bat, the turnout of the game completely changed, the crowd was on their feet for the rest of the night, and Boston won in the bottom of the ninth.

Traditionally, Boston is one of the hardest places to win during playoff games. The grand slam not only saved the game, but potentially could turn the whole series around.

On the bright side, Detroit did manage to do what every road playoff team aspires to do, and that is stealing a win on the road, to gain home field ad-vantage.

With the series tied at one game each, the Tigers looked to capitalize on their home field advantage.

Game three, like the previous two was determined by outstanding pitching from both teams.

Verlander went eight innings again with 10 strike-outs, and only let up one run. But it wasn’t enough to get the win, with the final score 1-0 Boston.

Boston is now leading the best of 7 series 2-1.

Wolverines fall to Penn State, lose Big Ten Lead By William Miko Agora Staff

With this past weekend’s loss to unranked Penn State, University of Michigan dropped from 18, to out of the AP top 25.

Michigan came into the Penn State game with a 5-0 record, and first place in the Big Ten Confer-ence. After this loss, the Wolverines dropped from first place to third in the Big Ten standings.

With wins over Central Mich., Notre Dame, Ak-ron, Connecticut, and Minnesota, this game would have been their most recognizable win of the sea-son.

The Wolverines were one of the only remaining undefeated teams in Division 1-A college football, until this Saturday’s loss.

It took four over time periods to determine a win-ner, in a thrilling game that embodied what college football is all about. The final score was 40-43 Penn State.

The two teams combined for 779 total yards and

83 points. Penn State running back Bill Belton had a huge fourth and one first down, which led to the game winning touchdown.

U of M’s new quarterback Devin Gardner, who has not lived up to the hype so far, played well. Gardner threw for 240 yards, and three touch-downs, but also had two crucial interceptions.

Gardner also managed to rush for 121 yards, for a total of 341 all purpose yards.

Gardner is filling the shoes of U of M’s Denard Robinson who was drafted by the Jacksonville Jag-uars. Robinson left U of M with NCAA’s record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback.

College football experts had Devin Gardner as a pre-season pick for the Heisman Trophy Award this year, but he has not met those expectations. Gard-ner has thrown for 1,276 yards and 11 touchdowns, but also has thrown 10 costly interceptions.

Gardner and the rest of the Wolverines are look-ing to get back on track next Saturday when they host unranked Indiana.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Photo courtesy of WikipediaJustin Verlander came through at a crucial moment in game 5 against the