K E L L O G G C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E

www.kel logg.edu/bruin

Volume XVIII, Number 5 February 2013K E L L O G G C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E

Ann MichelsEditor -in-Chief

In the twenty-first century, it is remarkable for anyone to stay in a job for longer than five years, yet this year, three KCC faculty celebrated forty years of service to the Col-lege. Professors Gene Andrews, Ron Smith, and John Wooten have dedicated nearly two-thirds of their lives to teaching thousands of students over the years. KCC President Dennis Bona notes, “They are ex-ceptionally good at what they do, each with perhaps a different teaching style but all with great effectiveness. Their faculty colleagues, administration and staff have all appreciated their presence at the College, as they have engaged in strategic planning, curriculum development, countless improvement initiatives, served as mentors and led by example. They have both earned and enjoyed the respect of all of their colleagues.” Students appreciate their instruction and have indi-cated that to President Bona . In a community college setting, they teach in their areas of concentration some-times to entire families and friends. At the prime of their profession, retirement is just a word in the dictionary. Bona expresses his hope these dedicated professors con-tinue teaching at KCC for years to come.

Faculty turn forty

Clockwise from top left: Mr. Smith giving instruction. Photo from KCC Archives.

Top right: John Wooten, Gene Andrews and Ron Smith. Photo by Simon Thalmann.

Bottom right: Mr. Wooten back when chalkboards were in use. Photo from KCC Archives.

Far left: Gene Andrews. Photo from Chris Leatherman.

Ann MichelsEditor -in-Chief

A new year and a new semester bring constant growth and action to campus. Hundreds of new jobs are expect-ed to come to the Battle Creek area from auto suppliers Cosma International and Denso International. KCC most likely will be involved with training programs. In their latest list of Roses and Raspberries, The Bat-tle Creek Enquirer posted a rose to KCC President Dr. Dennis Bona and the KCC Board of Trustees for their re-cent vote to offer in-district tuition to all graduates who have lived in the taxing district for a least one year and have graduated from a local high school. The Writing Initiative “Better Writing by 2015” is in full swing. The goal is to improve everyone’s writing, faculty and students alike. If you haven’t been talked to about how to write professional emails, read further into this issue of the Bruin. A new scholarship for aspiring journalists has been created by KCC’s Director of Public Information and Marketing, Eric Greene, former managing editor of the Enquirer. While our winter break was long, the College has been very busy improving its services and getting us off on the right (write?) foot in 2013.

On the right path

Students in hallway on first day at KCC. photo by Simon Thalmann

Scholarship for aspiring journalist pg. 2

Tips for financial aid pg. 2

Grad Festpg. 3

Spring cleaning: closet addictionpg. 6

Super Bowl XLVII pg. 8

February 2013 CAMPUS NEWS2

Elizabeth KerlikowskeAdvisor

Bonnie Jo Campbell, novelist and finalist for the National Book Award, and Tom Springer, essayist, will be spending Mon-day, February 11th in the Davidson Audi-torium talking with interested students and community members about their craft. Discussions will kick off at 8:30 (free coffee), 10, 11:30, and 1 p.m. Springer will read from essays he has written for radio broadcast and from his book, “Looking for Hickories.” Campbell will discuss how she uses life experience in her fiction but transforms it. Both au-thors will have books on sale.

Press release

The Aspiring Journalist Fund at KCC will be awarded each semester to a sec-ond-year student who has at least a 2.0 GPA and an interest in pursuing a jour-nalism degree. Future journalists are invited to apply for a new scholarship at Kellogg Community College, which added the new fund this month to its already long list of scholarship opportunities for stu-dents. The Aspiring Journalist Fund at KCC will award a scholarship of at least $250 each semester, beginning in August 2013, to a second-year KCC student who has at least a 2.0 GPA and an interest in pursuing a journalism degree. KCC faculty will nominate poten-tial recipients each semester and a com-mittee at the KCC Foundation, which administers scholarships for the college, will make the final selections. Although KCC doesn’t offer a journalism degree, the scholarship would defray costs in a student’s second year as he or she pre-pares to transfer to another school. The Aspiring Journalist Fund was created by Eric Greene, who worked for 19 years as a reporter, photographer, columnist, blogger and editor at five

Scholarship for aspiring journalists

newspapers in Michigan and Montana. Greene left his job as managing editor of the Battle Creek Enquirer in 2012 to be-come director of the Public Information and Marketing Department at KCC. “Excellent journalism, because it is devoted to providing people with mean-ingful information and objective analysis of current events, is crucial to the future of this community and to our society,” Greene said. “After devoting most of my writing career to this worthy and neces-sary profession, I am delighted to set up a scholarship to help aspiring journalists pursue their goals.” To apply for a scholarship from the Aspiring Journalist Fund for the 2013-14 academic year, students must submit an application by March 1, 2013, which is the deadline for most scholarships of-fered through the KCC Foundation. The exceptions are the Gold Key Scholarship, which has a deadline of Jan. 25, 2013, and the Trustee Scholarship, which has a deadline of March 28, 2013. Application forms for all scholarships can be found at www.kellogg.edu/foundation. For more information or to contrib-ute to the Aspiring Journalist Fund, contact the KCC Foundation at 269-965-4161.

Write all day, February 11 As part of KCC’s Writing Initiative, these authors will be stressing the impor-tance of place in writing. Hearing writers talk about their writing is a great way to show students and all readers and writers that their own lives are the most valuable resources. This event is funded by the Kellogg Community College Foundation Initia-tives in Education grant. It is free, and both writers are very entertaining. Says Professor Elizabeth Kerlikowske, who wrote the grant, “I wanted them both to come back because the students reacted so positively to them, and they are both taller than I am!” Work by both authors is available for dissemination on the Writing Initiative website at: www.kelloggedu/academics/writing

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BRUIN Staff

Editorial Policy The KCC Bruin is a free student publication produced monthly by Kellogg Community College students during the fall and spring semesters. The KCC Bruin welcomes letters to the editor from members of the College and the community. Letters must be signed and submitted with a current telephone number or email address. All letters become property of the Bruin and may be edited for clarity and length. By-lined opinion columns represent the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Bruin staff or the College. Letters may be submitted by mail to: KCC Bruin student newspaper, c/o Kellogg Community College, 450 North Ave., Battle Creek, Mich. 49017. Letters may also be submitted at all three KCC sites. At the Battle Creek site, letters may be dropped off in the English Department on the 4th floor of the C Building; the College Life Office in the Student Center; or the student newspaper office. At the Grahl and Fehsenfeld Centers, letters may be submitted at the information desks. The Bruin office is located in room 302 of the Roll Building. The staff can be reached at (269) 965-3931, Ext. 2630 or e-mail the Bruin editor at bruin@kellogg.edu

Editor-in-ChiefAnn Michels

Asst. EditorAshley EverettLacy Janousek

Managing AdvisorTaNisha Parker

Editorial AdvisorElizabeth Kerlikowske

Graphics AdvisorKathryn Jarvie

Layout DesignMichael BroadhurstLinda Helton

Staff Writers Dylan KonwayTiffany ThatcherDylan PattersonDakota RobertsMatt WrightTravis SwaffordKelsey BurryCade Carver

Nikki JewellGuest writer

For many financial aid is part of the col-lege experience. It is a process that re-quires students to be diligent, resource-ful, responsible, and informed. Here are some tips that will help new and return-ing students to be well-informed partici-pants in the process: Fill out the FAFSA form every year that students plan to attend. At KCC our academic year begins in the Fall semester and ends with the Summer semester. Meet deadlines—In order to receive ample time to for FAFSA review, the ap-plication must be received in the Finan-cial Aid office by August 1st for the Fall 2013 semester. Read and respond to emails— Financial Aid communicates by email. Check student KCC email at least once a week to see if we are requesting anything or providing important information about financial awards. Talk with an advisor—Meeting with an Academic Advisor to get an educa-tional plan will help minimize the time and money you spent on your education. Always check with Financial Aid when making any schedule adjust-ments—Understand that making chang-es after aid has been disbursed (and a possible refund has been issued) may have an impact on the amount respon-sible for paying. Go to class—Students are respon-sible for notifying the instructors in case of absence. In certain cases aid may be

Tips for financial aid

adjusted due to attendance and/or par-ticipation. Maintain Eligibility—In order to continue to receive aid, maintain Satis-factory Academic Progress (SAP). This is a policy that outlines the specific criteria that used for evaluation every year. The 3 components are completion of classes, GPA requirement, and total number of courses including transfer credits (hav-ing too many credits at an associate`s level). Know the resources—Informa-tion about your award is provided in the award notification email that we send to students. Financial Aid information may also be found in the Student Handbook, on the KCC website, or students may stop in, call or send us an email. Be pa-tient! Certain times of the year we are extremely busy caring for students. Also the Financial Aid website has a Reference Guide that has all the policies that apply to awards here at the College.

Money from financial aid. photo by Ann Michels

February 2013CAMPUS NEWS 3

Dylan KonwayStaff Writer

For most, Black History Month is a time of remembering just how far we’ve come as a society, while for many others, the significance of this month flies on by without notice or care. It was not too long ago that schools were segregated, buses had seating charts, and Alabama

If you are planning to graduate from Kellogg Community College May or August 2013, this event is for you! Grad Fest is designed to provide student infor-mation on:• Applying for graduation• Ordering caps/gowns• Career and Employment Services• Financial aid loan repayments/Exit

counseling• Kellogg Community College

Alumni and scholarship information• General commencement ceremony

information • Gifts/prizes

Each graduation applicant will re-ceive a gift bag and an entry in our grand prize drawing to win a mini IPod touch, (compliments of the KCC Alumni and Scholarship Office). Join us for fun, facts, and gifts, celebrating your success! If you have additional questions, please contact Yanira Flores, Staff Assis-tant to the Registrar at 269.965.3931 ext. 2543

Black history monthwas proud of its own racism. Take a look at how far we’ve come. While old scars may be buried deep, there are no more wounds to heal in this day and age. While old bigots retire they are making way for a new generation that is free of hatred and injustice in favor of tolerance and fairness. This year at KCC we would like to remind you of the significance of the month, as well as providing fun activi-ties for students to take part in. KCC will be showing the film Lean on Me, starring Morgan Freeman (February 12 from

Grad Fest 2013 all about your success!Monday, February 18 & 19 Student Center (Hub) 11:00 am-1:00 pm

Monday-Thursday February 18-21 Student Center (Hub) 4:45-6:15 pm

Tuesday, February 19 Eastern Academic Center, Albion

4:30-6:00pm

Wednesday, February 20 Grahl Center, Coldwater 4:30-6:00 pm

Wednesday, February 20 RMTC, 11:00 am-1:00 pm

Thursday, February 21 Fehsenfeld Center 4:30-6:00 pm

Black History Month

Harriet Tubman

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Tickets will be on sale in Student Life beginning January 30. Non-refundable. Departure information will be given once tickets are purchased.

K E L L O G GCOMMUNITY COLLEGE

Black History Month

Thurgood Marshall

MOVIE

Lean On MeFebruary 12

11:30 am-3 pmDavidson Center, room 202

Free admission and snacks.

K E L L O G GCOMMUNITY COLLEGE

11:30 to 3 p.m. in Davidson 202). The film is a dramatized biography about Joe Louis Clark, an inner city high school principal whose school is at risk of being taken over by the state of New Jersey un-less he can improve student test scores. There will also be free snacks available during the movie. Along with the film, students will have the option of taking a trip to The National Underground Railroad Free-dom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Feb-ruary 23. Prices for the trip will be $15 for students and $25 for non-students.

The trip will focus on all the historical as-pects of what slaves had to endure when traversing their way to the North using the elaborate system of underground routes. Underground, of course, refers to the system as being covert rather than ac-tually underground. February is a month to take some time off of your busy schedule, sit down for five minutes, and just…remember.~ Dylan Scott Konway is a diligent delinquent out to discard the despairing values of the de-generating generation, ruled by higher class degenerates.

Graduation 2012. Valorie Shepherd, Ann Michels, and Jim Rice await their diplomas. photo by Haley Place

February 2013 FEATURE4

Kelly Frost

It’s happening again. Posters featuring books and the people who love to READ them are starting to appear in the library, and if you look closely, you will probably see someone you know. A number of faculty, staff, and student athletes chose their favorite book and posed for our lat-est round of the READ poster campaign, a collaborative project involving student photographers, graphic designers, and the library. For some, choosing only one book proved to be a difficult task. With so many possibilities, many decided to go with titles related to their area of exper-tise, like Ron Coller, User Support Ser-vices Manager who picked Office 2010 for Dummies. Other readers chose books that in-spired them or books they have loved forever. In a previous campaign one em-ployee neglected to bring a book. He ended up holding a textbook, in Spanish, upside down—luckily a good photog-rapher and some graphic design magic made him look quite scholarly. Originally launched as a public-ity campaign in 1980 for the American Library Association (ALA), the READ posters initially featured figures like Mickey Mouse and Miss Piggy as a li-brarian, but the program soon expanded to include celebrities, politicians, and athletes. ALA later offered libraries a

Ron Davis Writing Initiative Email quality could say more about you than you may realize. Writing an email is more than just satisfying your needs as the author. Writ-ing an email is more about communicat-ing accurately who YOU are to a person you respect and from whom you need an answer. To draft a successful email you should make sure the email is profession-al, neat and courteous. Due to the volume of emails KCC employees receive, readability and neat-ness of your email are very important el-ements to a successful email. If your goal is to receive a response and receive assis-tance, then a neat and respectful profes-sional email is a good way to begin. As for meeting your needs, an email received with nothing in the “Subject:” line, or with a brief “missing class” does not immediately state the purpose of the email and implies that you have nothing important to say or ask. Such an uninfor-mative “Subject:” line has a good chance of being overlooked and deleted without ever being read. In the content area of the email, the sender’s word choice is important. If the sender has chosen to not properly ad-dress the recipient (Professor Smith, or Dear Mr. Smith), then he implies that he does not respect the recipient. While he may respect the recipient, the word choice does not communicate this. Additionally, a neat and readable email communicates that the sender took the extra minute, or two, to make the email readable and friendly. The

sender of such an email implies that it is important how he is perceived, and that he wants to make or maintain a good im-pression with the recipient by allowing him to read the email quickly and easily.And as for typos, they happen. An occa-sional misspelled word happens. How-ever, an email riddled with spelling er-rors, typos or text-speak (omg or idk) is altogether inappropriate. Minimize, or completely eliminate, typos. So writing an email—a professional email—is more than just a matter of seeking a solution to your inquiry but is also a matter of demonstrating to the re-cipient that you are someone who is seri-ous and who will not waste the assistance the recipient of your email provides. In the example below, the student has stated clearly which class he at-tends and at what time. So it is clear to the professor who this student is. Excel-lent. Also excellent is the CONTENT of the email. He’s asked very specific and assignment-related questions. He’s obvi-ously engaged in the assignment. Yet, upon closer inspection, some noticeable problems with the finer points of the email emerge and can be easily pointed out. Where do YOU see areas for improvement in this email? If you point-ed out typos, capital letters missing at the beginning of sentences, abbreviations in-stead of full words (pg), and titles (“this I believe”) not properly capitalized, then you are right on track. Also, everything is crammed into one paragraph. SO, this student—while the content of the email is excellent—needs to improve the neat-ness and readability of this email, as dem-onstrated in the revised version below.

EMAIL: think before you send READ software package so that they could use their own photographs to celebrate local “celebrities.” In 2008, KCC’s library purchased one of these software packages from the ALA so that we could highlight and pro-mote our enthusiasm about literacy on campus. Our local READ poster pro-gram expanded in 2010 to include stu-dent athletes, whose posters are on dis-play in Miller gym as well as the library. Each athlete also autographs an addition-al poster, which is then sent to his or her high school. This year a local elementary school principal contacted Athletic Di-rector, Tom Shaw, and asked if she could have an additional poster of each athlete to grace her hallways. Shaw was very ex-cited about the opportunity to highlight our athletes and promote KCC within the community in such a positive way. Participation in the READ poster program gives our student photogra-phers and designers real world experi-ence working with clients and multiple models. For all of the posters, a student photographer takes the pictures in the Davidson studio against a plain white background. After the photos are taken, a design intern in the Media Design de-partment removes the white background and places the image of the individuals with their books into the ALA designed backgrounds. At times this proves chal-lenging when photographs don’t quite conform to backdrops, which makes the end results all the more impressive. To see the talents of several KCC students on display and find out what books our smiling faculty, staff, and ath-letes selected, drop by the library for a look or visit the library’s Facebook page: Kellogg Community College Library.

K E L L O G GCOMMUNITY COLLEGE

A CelebrAtion of You!Gifts! Prizes! Fun! and Graduation InformationGraduating students eligible for prize drawing!

Graduation Application DeadlinesFall Semester — November 1Spring Semester — March 1 Summer Semester If participating in commencement — March 1 Not participating in commencement — July 1

Grad FestBattle Creek Campus — Student Services HUBFebruary 18 - 19, 11 am - 1 pm

February 18 - 21, 4:45 - 6:15 pm

Eastern Academic CenterFebruary 19, 4:30 - 6 pm

Grahl CenterFebruary 20, 4:30 - 6 pm

RMTCFebruary 20, 11 am - 1 pm

Fehsenfeld CenterFebruary 21, 4:30 - 6 pm

February is Heart Health MonthHealthy Heart Awareness Basketball Games February 135:30 KCC Women’s Basketball vs. Glen Oaks CC 7:30 KCC Men’s Basketball vs. Glen Oaks CCFree admission, donations at the doorDoor prizes and $1 half-time free-throw shots

Hoops for Heart March 1, 12 pm KCC Women’s Basketball team vs. NBA (Noon-time Basketball Association) Free admission, donations at the doorFree popcorn and waterLunch available for purchase provided by Laura’s CateringDoor prizes and $1 half-time free-throw shots

All money collected will be donated to the Amercan Heart Association

REvISED

ORIGINAL

February 2013OPINION 5

You can finish your bachelor’s degree on the KCC Campus!Siena Heights University has a degree completion center right here on campus! Contact Siena today @ 800.203.1560 or stop by their new location in room 304 in the Lane Thomas Building.

Sienawww.sienaheights.edu/kcc

Dear Dr. D.On a scale of one to ten, how “hip” are you? Signed: Hipster

Dear Hip,I think the “hipper” you think you are, the less hip you really are, so I don’t think about it. True to Myself Dr. D.

Dear Dr. D.What are you thankful you’re not do-ing right now? Signed: Sloth

Dear Sloth,That list is long. I’m thankful I’m not working a job that requires me to do repetitive work while standing for hours. I’m thankful I’m not mourning. I’m thankful I have choices in what to do today. I’m thankful for a boatload of things large and small that make my life what it is.Dr. D. who does believe life is good.

Dear Dr. D.If Satan lived on Earth, what would his friends and enemies know him by? Signed: Mr. Hellman

Dear Mr. Hellman,A politicianA Skeptical, Disappointed Dr. D.

Dr. Destiny

Dear Dr. D.If you created a new flavor of ice cream, what would it be? Signed: Tropical Explosion

Dear Tropical Explosion,Chocolate, coconut, dark chocolate chip sounds about right, although I am sure someone has already done that, or I could just freeze a Mounds bar.Dr. D.

Dear Dr. D.What is life’s greatest mystery? Signed: Thoughtful

Dear Thoughtful,What comes next.Dr. D.

Dear Dr. D.Should I feel bad that I’m in Transi-tional Studies? Is it like not quite col-lege or what? Signed: Confused

Dear Confused,A transitional class may end up be-ing the most important class you wil take to insure your ultimate success in college. You may have been placed in this COLLEGE class because you have been out of school for a while or because you were not taught the ba-sics you need or because you were not ready to learn. Whatever the reason, know that the basics are necessary for you to succeed now that you have chosen to do whatever is necessary for you to achieve your goals. Do what you need to do and be proud that you are taking advantage of the resources available. Dr. D.

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February 2013 OPINION6

Dylan KonwayStaff writer

WE’RE STILL HERE!...And not much has changed, or has it? December 21st, 2012 marked the end of the twenty-six thousand year long cycle of the Mayan calendar. The date, for all intents and purposes, was prophesied to bring forth great change for the entire planet by a lot of people. The whole Doomsday, Arma-geddon, apocalyptic hullabaloo was first started around 2008 when scientists be-gan noticing certain changes in our solar system as well as drastic changes here on Earth. With the recent financial collapse everyone seemed to be sure that “THE END” was nearing. What a massive ma-jority of the population didn’t and still does not see are the connections our time is history has with all of the other major turning points in planet Earth’s life cycle and how the Mayan calendar pre-dicted such events. Many modern day scientists who have studied the Mayan calendar will tell you that the Mayan calendar, in fact, has no end but is made of cyclical periods in which the Earth experiences transitions. They were charting past cycles into their own calendars so they could remain ac-curate down to the very day when a tran-sition would occur. The overall theme of the last cycle was water, and this hap-pened around the time of the historical “great flood,” and the specific element Earth is allegedly passing into is “ether” (believed to be the element of thought it-self). During this specific transition, the Mayan elders believed that the human

What didn’t happen on December 21, 2012

race would evolve into beings capable of creating matter from thought alone. What’s even more intriguing than being able to create matter from your thoughts? Well, how about the fact that the Mayans calculated when Earth would next be passing through the ga-lactic plane and experiencing a galactic alignment with the Sun and the center of the galaxy? That’s correct, accord-ing to miscellaneous researchers who’ve have studied astronomy in conjunction with the Mayan prophecies. The Earth is heading into an alignment that will take us through a very significant photon belt, photons that come from the center of the galaxy. Or, maybe nothing will ever hap-pen, EvER, and we’re all just living for the minute and the present time of “right now” is all that really matters and noth-ing will ever change our society except for the society itself. Believe what you want now because chances are that soon-er or later something will come along to shatter those beliefs and try to establish something you know to be false, yet ev-eryone else seems to agree with.~Dylan Scott Konway is a diligent delinquent out to discard the despairing values of the de-generating generation, ruled by higher class degenerates.

Kelsey BurryStaff writer

Love is in the air, or in this case, cyber-space. valentine’s Day brings about all sorts of different emotions and reac-tions to your current relationship status. Whether the reactions and emotions are positive ones, lonely ones, or spite-ful ones, many people start to lose their minds this time of year. valentine’s Day is regarded as one of the “Hallmark Holidays” and is either greatly valued by many or completely ignored. Recently I joined an online dating service that many people are familiar with, Match.com. Seeing the advertise-ments that the company runs makes me now realize, more than ever, that there are a lot of tricks that the site uses for us to sign up and spend money. The commer-cials that are aired on television or the advertisements that are on the internet are always filled with extremely attrac-tive people with hope-filled stories about how they met the loves of their lives. For those that are lonely during valentine’s Day, this seems rather appealing. I have always suspected that these people were paid actors but thought maybe there was some hope for the site. I was wrong. Match.com claims that one in five relationships start in online dating and more start in match.com. This statement is very general. It could be any type of relationship, such as a boyfriend or girl-friend, friendship or even a stalker. Those are all relationships you could develop af-ter joining one of these sites. I have heard horror stories, and I have seen reviews about scammers and fakes. People that, for example, upload a photo of them-selves and are not even the person they say they are. Despite all the bad news I had heard, I figured I would give it a try. I really wish I hadn’t. Match.com hooks you in by telling you it is free to sign up, which it really is! Then after you fill out your profile infor-

mation, they inform you that someone emailed you or viewed your profile and to see who that person is, you must join as a member. This is not free. There are a few types of memberships that are of-fered to the client, three and six month ‘money back guarantee’ (with stipula-tions) and three and six month normal memberships. After the time commit-ment you signed up for, the site will con-tinue to charge your account unless you cancel the membership ahead of your expiration date with a significant amount of notice. After choosing the membership that I thought would be best for me, I have seen that there really are not many men that I could actually be interested in dat-ing. I have even put myself out there and emailed various different men and have received responses from not even a quar-ter of them. All of the emails and winks I have received have been from men that seem socially awkward or strange or are just too old for me! So far I am unim-pressed with the outcome of this site. I will not be renewing my membership after the time is up. While the sting of a lonely valentine’s Day is in the future for me, it does not get me down. I would rather be alone and join my spiteful peo-ple in boycotting v-Day. ~Kelsey Burry will not be signing up again. Ever.

‘Match.not’

Matt WrightStaff writer

There comes a point in the year when we all get fed up with everything being the same every day. Work and school, same car, same routine, same clothes; if any-one out there is like me, it can absolutely drive you insane. Usually during the win-ter months, after the joy and excitement of Christmas and New Years is long gone, and we are back to work and studying our lives away, that Seasonal Affective Disor-der (SAD) hits us like a ton of bricks. Something has got to be done to pull us out of the rut we are in. Some-thing new needs to be introduced into our lives; something to get excited about or something to distract us from the rep-etition of daily life. And that moment is when a little thought enters the mind:

Spring cleaning: closet addictionPure hatred of everything in your house, room and in your life. So what can a per-son do about it? Spring Clean. This is a big tradition in my house-hold/ bedroom. Every spring my dresser, closet, book case, and beneath my bed are all fair game. Every item in my room is out and visible, and I spend the major-ity of a long weekend getting rid of the junk I can’t stand to look at one more minute. As hard as it is for me to do, the area most affected by my rampage is my closet. Clothes that I was completely ob-sessed with only a year before are now in the “Get Rid Of ” pile. And that is where this article gets its inspiration. It is very easy to look at someone’s wardrobe and get rid of many items they never wear. So why are people still hold-ing onto them? Look in your closet. Take down that pair of jeans that no longer fit, or that shirt you no longer like and put them to a better use. Hand-me-downs are a family tradition that will probably

never go away. See if a younger sibling or cousin can wear your old clothes. Garage sales or consignment shops are a great way to get rid of some of the things you no longer want or need and make a lit-tle bit of money one the side. Goodwill opens their doors to accept clean dona-tions. That way your clothes can be resold to another family that really needs them. For the creative people in the world, older clothes can always be repurposed and made into other things. Pants into shorts, shirts or dresses altered/ tailored or fabrics made into quilts. For those people who have a sort of emotional at-tachment to certain items of clothing, prom or wedding dresses, something you wore and had a great time and made great memories in, it is perfectly ok to keep. Just make sure they are stored away in a safe place and not cluttering up your life. There are so many good things that can be done with your old clothes. Next time you get that feeling of pure hatred of everything you are wearing, be sure

to donate or re-purpose your clothing so it is not wasted. When your closet is down to the bare essentials you can go shopping and get the clothes you want to wear.

THE KCC DAILYKellogg Community College's news blog www.kellogg.edu/daily

Clean, organized closet. photo by Ann Michels

Calender and we are still here. photo by Ann Michells

Checkout

Brokenhearted. photo by Ann Michels

February 2013OPINION 7

PEOPLE COME HERE BECAUSE THEY’RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING. It’s all about discovery. What they

fi nd is a challenge—something unexpected—that opens up new frontiers. Those discoveries will be

explored with new friends and by looking at things in new ways. Go West. Discover. Explore. This is one

of America’s great universities. A lot of people who have become successful—skilled, happy, wealthy and

powerful—started by heading West.

Western Michigan University. It’s your turn to GRAB THE REINS.

A new life is out there.GO WEST.

wmich.edu/GoWest

A new life is out there.A new life is out there.A new life is out there.

Tiffany ThatcherStaff writer

There are a lot of things that come with getting older. Graying hair, loss of figure, limited eyesight, and other health issues to name a few. These things I did not nec-essarily look forward to, but I expected them. What I was not expecting was to start dating again in my mid-thirties. I had married in my mid-twenties and expected to stay that way. My husband’s death when I was 32 kind of derailed that plan. My husband and I had met through a friend and never went on an official one-on-one first date. I had no clue how to act on a first date or how to get a first date. But, I reached a point where I was sick of being alone; talking to my cats just wasn’t cutting it. I wanted to discuss my day with someone who didn’t listen while licking themselves. Dating in your thirties is compli-cated. There are kids, exes, and property involved. There isn’t as much stress over

meeting the parents; instead there is the stress of meeting the children. A bad first impression with your significant other’s children can ruin a relationship. Parents will not consider the opinions of their children on a potential mate lightly. If you start dating someone with teenagers, you might as well start praying now. There is no crueler judge than the eyes of a teen-age girl who doesn’t want a new woman in her dad’s life. Teenagers will not hesi-tate to sabotage your relationship with their dad if they don’t like you. My only advice is to tread lightly and be yourself. Don’t try talking in slang or replying LOL or OMG to everything they say. Teenag-ers can smell a fake a mile away and will call you out, and besides people that talk in initials are d-bags. Don’t get me started about meeting the exes. Whether she is the ex-wife, ex-girlfriend or even just the baby mama, the situation is ripe for drama. Mothers are very protective of their children and are rightfully cautious of any new women that come into their lives. Then there is always the residual feelings for their ex. If they had children with a man, then they had feelings for him at one time, even if it was only for one night. They will not want a new woman stepping into the vacated spot in their ex’s life. It doesn’t matter if their relationship with their ex ended months or years before; it’s still a mine field to navigate.

Dating dilemmas

The older student If you manage to make it past these first two obstacles with your limbs intact, then comes the real issue; your future life together. Do you take the plunge and get married? Most single thirty year olds have been married before and are gun shy about walking down the aisle again. There is the question do you get married or do you just live together? It’s really a personal and/or a religious preference. Do you get married or just decide to shack up? Then comes the question of where do you live? By the time you reach your mid-thirties, you’ve probably ac-quired a home and your significant other more than likely has a home as well. Who makes the sacrifice and sells their house? You could always sell both homes and find a new place together, but that is a lot of packing and moving. Plus the housing market is not the greatest and the odds of selling both homes at a profit are slim. See how stressful this is getting? Are you biting your nails yet? Dating is hard, and dating in your thirties is a nightmare, but there are bright spots. I am happy to admit that af-ter an exhausting search, I found a great man. And yes, he is the father of teenage girls. His daughters are sweet, funny, and have not tried to kill me. I consider that a win. Now if we can just figure out what to do with our two houses, we will be all set.~Tiffany Thatcher is still a crazy cat lady, but she has a boyfriend, so it’s ok.

KCC students who are planning on transferring to a four-year college—sign up for a college transfer visit. Students will receive a tour of the campus and lunch.

Please sign up in Academic Advising, or call 269 965-4124.

College Transfer Visits

WMU

Friday, March 8

Friday, March 1

Friday, February 22CMU

GVSU

Ferris

Friday, March 15

&Volunteer Civic Engagement Fair

Connecting students to service learning and volunteering opportunities

February 27, 11am-2:30 pmin the hallway near the Security DeskKCC FACULTY BIENNIAL ART EXHIBITION opening reception

february 14, 4-6 pm

february 11-march 22, 2013— eleanor r. & robert a. devries gallerydavidson visual & performing arts center— kellogg community college

February 2013 SPORTS8

Dakota RobertsStaff writer

Super Bowl XvLII is here yet again. On Feb. 3 Americans will celebrate a version of the perfect

holiday. Friends, family, food, and foot-ball all in the same day! What more can one ask for? If there is an argument refuting the idea that Super Bowl Sunday is not a holiday, maybe they should consider the statistics. On Super Bowl Sunday, 8 million pounds of guacamole will be consumed. Twelve hundred additional calories of snack food is projected to be inhaled. Chips totaling 14,500 tons will be dipped in those eight million pounds of guacamole. Super Bowl Sunday trails only Thanksgiving on the amount of food consumed on one day. An average number of 111,010,000 viewers watch the Super Bowl worldwide. Impressively, only five percent of all Americans watch the Super Bowl alone. It may be the only holiday where you can avoid the in-laws! The Super Bowl is a big source of revenue as well, with the most expen-sive Super Bowl ad airing during Super Bowl XLvI. The cost to run that ad was a whopping 3.5 million dollars. From 2002-11 Anheuser-Busch has spent 239.1 million dollars on Super Bowl ads, more than any other company. Once the friends are all together and the guacamole starts to settle, it’s time to turn the attention to the game itself. With an average of over 100 million viewers, sometimes the pressure can get to a team. From 1991-94 the Buffalo Bills felt that pressure in route to losing four straight Super Bowls (XXv, XXvI, XX-vII, XXvIII). The Minnesota vikings and Denver Broncos have also lost four Super Bowls and have tied for the most. It takes more than ice water running through your veins in order to strike Su-per Bowl gold; it obviously takes some amount of steel. The Pittsburgh Steel-ers have won a record six Super Bowls

(IX, X, XII, XIv, XL, XLIII). Hot on the Steelers heels are the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys with five vince Lombardi trophies a piece. This year’s Super Bowl will be held at the Louisiana Superdome for a record setting 10th time. However, it’s the first time since the infamous Hurricane Ka-trina pounded on the city of New Or-leans. Super Bowl XXXvI (February 3rd) was the last time the Super Bowl magic was played on Louisiana turf. This Super Bowl was one of the most exciting games in recent history, decided on a last sec-ond kick by Adam vinatieri. Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl as the Patriots defeated at the time “the greatest show on turf ” the St. Louis Rams (20-17). The Super Bowl is the only football game which can make legends in a span of a few hours. In recent years we’ve watched Eli Manning be victorious in clutch situations. Tom Brady has Super Bowl rings on three fingers; Joe Montana also led his 49ers to gold four times, in-cluding one exciting final drive in Super Bowl XXIII which still brings tears of joy to 49er fans everywhere. Unfortunately, our great state of Michigan hasn’t had a major role in very many Super Bowls. The in-state Detroit Lions are the only NFC team that has yet ever made it to the Super Bowl. The Li-ons fell one game short in the 1992 NFC Championship game, a game in which they were assassinated by the nation’s capital team the Washington Redskins. Michigan has played host to the Super Bowl twice. Super XvI was held in the Pontiac Silverdome on Jan. 24, 1982, and Super Bowl XL was played in Ford Field on February 5, 2006. No matter who you are, no matter where you are, everyone feels the excite-ment from Super Bowl Sunday. It’s safe to say that February 4 will be known as “Manic Monday” this year, as we will be trying to shake off the excitement and guacamole from the day before.~Dakota Roberts is praying one day the Lions will be in the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLVII

2 KCC Women’s Basketball vs Lake Michigan MillerGymnasium•1:00pm 2 KCC Men’s Basketball vs Lake Michigan MillerGymnasium•3:00pm 4 2013 Diversity Art Contest Awards Ceremony DeVriesGallery,DavidsonCenter•12:00pm 4 Transfer Student Information Table: WMU College of Education NorthWalkway•1–4pm 5 Transfer Student Information Table: Davenport University NorthWalkway •11am–1pm 5 Fehsenfeld Center Welcome Event Hastings•4:30–6:00pm 6 Eastern Academic Center Welcome Event Albion•4:30–6:00pm 6 Grahl Center Welcome Event Coldwater•4:30–6:00pm 7 Regional Manufacturing Center Welcome Event HillBradyRoad,B.C.•11:00am-1:00pm 11 Academic Workshop – Resume O01•2-3pmFeb. 11-Mar. 22 KCC Faculty Biennial Art Exhibit - FREE DeVriesGallery,DavidsonCenter•8am–4:30pm 11 Transfer Student Information Table: Albion College NorthWalkway•10am–2pm 12 Black History Month Movie: “Lean On Me” Davidson202•11:30am–2:30pm 13 Academic Workshop – Student Success LRCSpringLakeRoom•1-2pm 13 KCC Women’s Basketball vs Glen Oaks CC MillerGymnasium•5:30pm 13 KCC Men’s Basketball vs Glen Oaks CC MillerGymnasium•7:30pm 14 Opening Reception: KCC Faculty Biennial Art Exhibit DeVriesGallery,DavidsonCenter•4–6pm 14 Phi Theta Kappa: Valentine’s Day Fundraiser HUBLobby•11am–1pm 14 Kampus Activities Board: Valentine’s Fundraiser HUBLobby•11am–1pm 14 Transfer Student Information Table: WMU Haworth College of Business NorthWalkway•10am–12pm 15 Bruins Give Back TBD•1–4pm 18-19 Grad Fest – Main Campus HUBLobby•11am–1pm,5–6:30pm 19 Academic Workshop – Google Like A Librarian O09•12:05–1:00pm 19 Eastern Academic Center Grad Fest Albion•4:30–6pm 19 Transfer Student Information Table: WMU College of Education NorthWalkway•9am–12pm 20 KCC Women’s Basketball vs Ancilla College MillerGymnasium•5:30pm 20 KCC Men’s Basketball vs Ancilla College MillerGymnasium•7:30pm 20-21 Grad Fest – Main Campus HUBLobby•5:00am-6:30pm 20 Regional Manufacturing Center Grad Fest HillBradyRoad,B.C.•11am–1pm 20 Grahl Center Grad Fest Coldwater•4:30-6:00pm 21 Academic Workshop – Preventing Procrastination LRCSpringLakeRoom•1–2pm 21 Fehsenfeld Center Grad Fest Hastings,MI•4:30–6:00pm 21 Transfer Student Information Table: Davenport University NorthWalkway •11am–1pm 22 Transfer Visit: Central Michigan University MountPleasant•DepartKCCat9:00am 23 Black History Month Field Trip: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Cincinnati,OH•7am 25 Transfer Student Information Table: WMU Haworth College of Education NorthWalkway•4–6pm 27 Volunteer & Civic Engagement Fair TBD•11am–2:30pm 27 KCC Women’s Basketball vs Lansing CC MillerGymnasium•5:30pm 27 KCC Men’s Basketball vs Lansing CC MillerGymnasium•7:30pm 27 Academic Workshop – EASyBIB LRCSpringLakeRoom•12pm–1pm 28 Transfer Student Information Table: WMU Admissions NorthWalkway•10am–1pm 28 Academic Workshop – Job Interviewing LRCSpringLakeRoom•2–3pm

Bruin BeatFebruary