The Erie Square GazetteA public forum by and for the students of St. Clair County Community College since 1931

Volume 69.3 November 3, 2016

What’s Inside

2017-18 FAFSA Information, and what you can do to get ahead

Page 7

Aaron Swofford, who exposed him-self on campus arraigned Page 8

Local bus system aims to eventually let SC4 students ride free

Therese MajeskiCopy Editor Jim Wilson, general manager for Blue Water Area Transit, said his company hopes to eventually give free transportation to SC4 students. “We did…speak with your for-mer president about…trying to set up an arrangement where SC4 students would be able to ride for free with a student ID in exchange

for an annual stipend from the col-lege,” Wilson said. According to Wilson, negotia-tions for free student rides are not currently ongoing, but he hopes they will resume. “For some rea-son those discussions…ended up falling off when we were building our transfer center and now that it’s finished, I’m hoping I could perhaps renew those discussions with your [SC4’s] new president,”

Wilson stated. Current bus fares are 80 cents for riders 18 and older and 65 cents for those 17 and younger, with free transfers included in ticket prices, bwbus.com says. This pricing, even excluding Wilson’s proposal, makes the bus system an affordable transportation alter-native for college students with limited incomes. Story continued on page 6

Editor-in-ChiefMike Gallagher

Production Editor/DesignerMike Gallagher

Managing Editor

Business EditorTherese Majeski/Alex Bourbonais

Photo EditorStephanie Pedrotti

Copy EditorTherese Majeski

Sports EditorRobert Burack

WebmasterRobert Burack

Adviser John Lusk

ESG Contact Info:

Email: eriesquaregazette@gmail.com

Address: 323 Erie St

Port Huron MI 48060

Editor’s Note: All views expressed in editorials and

columns contained within the ESG are those of the writer and do not necessarily

reflect the views of the ESG or any of its advertisers.

We welcome feedback!

2 Volume 69.3

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LIGHTNING!

SC4 Foundation Red Carpet AffairSaturday, November 5th

SC4 College Center6:00 PM-11:00 PM

Concert: Scott Ainsline presents Delta Blues

Thursday, November 10thSC4 Fine Arts Theatre

12:00 PM-1:00 PMFree admission

SC4 Potters MarketThursday, November 10th

SC4 Welcome Center3:00 PM-7:00 PM

SC4 Board of Trustees meetingThursday, November 10th

Alumni Room, College Center4:30 PM-6:00 PM

SC4 Potters MarketFriday, November 11thSC4 Welcome Center12:00 PM-4:00 PM

The Spiral Gallery: Spiral Gallery in Review

Friday, November 11thSC4 Spiral Gallery at Studio 1219

11:00 AM-6:00 PM

Music: AutumSaturday, November 12th

SC4 Fine Arts Theatre7:00 PM-8:00 PM

Free admission

SC4 Potters MarketSaturday, November 12th

SC4 Welcome Center12:00 PM-4:00 PM

Financial Aid NightMonday, November 14th

Croswell-Lexington High School6:30 PM-8:30 PM

Rochester College VisitTuesday, November 15th

College Center

1:00 PM-3:00 PM

Oakland University VisitWednesday, November 16th

College Center Atrium10:30 AM-2:30 PM

November 3, 2016 3

Can NFL play defense to NBA and MLB?

Robert BurackSports Editorbburack16@gmail.com Some days of the week become known as more than just a weekday or part of the weekend. Most think of Monday as the start of the work week and see Friday as the last day of the work week. In the past 15 years, Sunday has been given a new name. It may indeed be known has a family day, a religious day, or even a day to sit back and relax. Its new name, however, is Football Sunday. How did this all happen? Well, let’s go back to the late 90s. If you grabbed the average sports junkie in 1997 and asked the question, “What is your favorite sport to watch” maybe they would say baseball, or maybe they would say basketball. What wouldn’t they say? The NFL. Between 1995 and 2005 three events took place. Fast forward to the present day and those three events are slowly becoming forgotten. Can the NFL hold off the two leagues they buried?

Number 1: The retirement of Michael Jordan. If someone doesn’t know anything about sports, there is a good chance they will still know of one athlete: Michael Jordan. The NBA¬ was blessed with him for about 20 years. It all started in 1984, when the greatest rivalry in sports history to date began: Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird. One in the West and one in the East; a Laker and a Celtic. Here is the crazy thing: It got better because when a young kid from North Carolina broke into the league, it was known early on that he was better than both Johnson and Bird. Not only was Michael Jordan the greatest player to ever handle a bas-ketball, but he brought swagger to the game. Many call this the “Hip-Hop gene” and it involved long shorts, compared to what were wore before. The shoes, oh, the Jordan brand shoes. As Jordan said numer-ous times when refusing to speak on political issues, “Republicans buy shoes too.”

Story continued on page 6

4 Volume 69.3

Meet the ESG staff!

My name is Alexandreia Bour-bonais. I’m dual enrolled with my high school, Port Huron High, and this year I’m a senior. I currently have two tattoos and am excited to get more. I’ve wanted to be a journalist since my freshman year. This is me taking the first step into the real world of journalism and being an adult about it. So far I’m excited and nervous; I’m not sure which is worse, my excitement or my nervousness.

“What is the main reason you joined the ESG this year?”

I joined for experience in working with a newspaper and

others who are interested in journalism.

“This year, many changes oc-curred, as Sports Editor Robert Burack often promotes “A New Vibe” what it the biggest chal-lenge of starting new in an en-tity that has been around since

1931?”

I wouldn’t know.

“What is your biggest goal for the ESG?”

My biggest goal for the ESG is to see it grow into something

bigger and to actually have student input and involvement

in it; I don’t want the ESG to just state what is happening here

and there on campus or in the surrounding area. Also, I don’t want us to limit ourselves by

relating the paper to just SC4’s student body. We should also

include others who enjoy might reading our paper and learning

what we, as students, are saying about what is happening.

Alexandreia Bourbonais, Staff Writer, Business Editor

Alex Bourbonais Staff Writer

Changing leaves, hot chocolate, football, occasional snow and chilly weather with a chance of construction are all signs of fall in Port Huron. While the fall is normally a time for relaxing and watching some movies while cuddling up with your significant other, it seems that the construction season is still underway. Downtown, a new theatre called the Citadel Stage has been opened, SC4’s new field house was just unveiled, the transit center near the college had some en-trances and exits fixed, and McLar-en Hospital’s parking lot (which was just redone a few years ago) is now being torn out to make room for the new addition of a cancer treatment center.

So, even though it is autumn in Michigan, construction is still fully underway and continuing to make improvements in our ‘little’ city. There may be plenty to complain about in Port Huron, but the concern about whether there is anything to go out and do is slowly dwindling with the help of the our town’s construction workers. Maybe you can’t go out and run around in the cancer treatment center, but there is still the new Citadel Stage, the renovations that have been done in both Birchwood Cinemas and Krafft 8, the Dunkin’ Donuts that recently opened in the North End, and many more to come. So, even though it is no longer summer and we have yet to see snow in this part of Michigan, there are still some things to look forward to in the near future as we wait to whip out our sleds.

Port Huron in the Fall

November 3, 2016 5

Therese MajeskiCopy Editor

The FAFSA is a necessary step for any SC4 student hoping to transfer, apply for loans and scholarships, or do work study. Students have been able to fill out and submit the 2017-18 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) since Oct. 1. The FAFSA is essential to paying for college. “The start to almost any process that involves financing college is…the FAFSA,” said Jacqueline Moreno, who is managing director of college access initiatives with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, in an Oct. 10 NPR interview. SC4 students struggling to complete their FAFSAs can receive personal assistance from SC4’s Financial Aid Office.

“The SC4 Financial Aid Office is available to help students complete the FAFSA by appointment. Call 810-989-5530 for an appointment,” said Assistant Director of Financial Aid Marcie Orrell. The FAFSA is an important step for all students at SC4, regardless of financial background. According to Forbes magazine contributor Willard Dix, students and parents should not neglect the FAFSA out of concern that they will be disqualified by high income levels. “Never assume anything about your family’s eligibility,” Dix says, ex-plaining that the FAFSA can offer unexpected opportunities. The new Oct. 1 opening for submissions means that applicants can use already-filed tax information from 2015. Above all, multiple sources advocate promptness in submitting the FAFSA, as delaying may mean missed deadlines and lost financial op-portunities. The 2017-18 FAFSA is available now at fafsa.gov.

The FAFSA: not just a matter of form

6 Volume 69.3

Blue Water Area Transit’s recent-ly constructed transit center, lo-

cated at 720 McMorran Blvd. and across Erie Street from the Main Building, is easy walking distance

from the SC4 campus. Wilson explained that the transit

center provides patrons with an onsite café and convenience store. “We…have the Sail In Café, which has espresso drinks, sandwiches,

soft-serve ice cream, grocery items – I’d like to save people a separate trip to the store, so all of that was designed to serve bus riders and college students,” Wilson said.

Buses depart the transit center at regular 40-minute intervals,

states bwbus.com. Locations farther from Port

Huron such as St. Clair and Algo-nac have fewer regular routes, but

according to Wilson, Blue Water Area Transit serves areas includ-ing Burtchville, Port Huron, Fort

Gratiot, Marysville and Port Huron Township. “Anybody…anywhere in

St. Clair County that has a trans-portation need, call us and find out if we can help,” Wilson en-

couraged. Students with destinations and schedules that do not conform to inflexibly-timed routes may find

that the bus system does not suit their needs, but for busy college students, riding the bus may also mean that time normally spent driving can be used to study or

relax. Wilson recommended the bus

system to students saying “it’s very inexpensive, it’s convenient, it’s

safe. The average family can save almost $10,000 a year by using

public transit and getting by with one less vehicle. Just riding the

bus alone would more than cover your college education costs.”

Those interested in further infor-mation on the services Blue Water

Area Transit offers can call (810) 987-7373 or visit bwbus.com.

Transit Story Continued

Jordan’s six championships, his six finals MVPs, his zero losses in the finals, and his records were all what made the NBA the global force it is. The NFL could not compete with this, but when Jordan retired for real in 2003 the media and fans were in need of the “next Jordan.” They learned quickly that there wasn’t one. TV by the Numbers reports that Jordan’s last finals appearance averaged 29 million viewers. The year after, the NBA finals averaged 16 million. It took until last year for any finals to even average 20 million. As The NBA began to drop in popularity, it left sports fans in need of an alternative. Americans wanted a star, or stars.

Number 2: The MLB got busted. “Chicks dig the long ball.” Yes, and so do sports fans. Baseball is the oldest sport in the book. There is a long history of players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. How-ever, one player may have been a bigger draw than all of them: Barry Bonds. There also may have been a year that was a bigger draw than any others: The Summer of ’98. In 1998, “The Summer of Love,” baseball was hitting on all cylin-ders and hitting everything! As Mike Lupica stated so elo-quently, “when homers flew, re-cords fell, and baseball reclaimed America.” This was when baseball regained the unofficial title of “number 1 professional sports

league in America.” With Michael Jordan gone, the MLB was must-see TV when a home run race for the ages took place between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (McGwire won, 70 to 68). Three years later it got better when Barry Bonds broke the home run record with a jaw-dropping 73 long ones. This was the time when shopping at the mall could become, “Where is the nearest TV, Bonds is at the plate!” The biggest issue with all this was that, instead of this epic stretch becoming the MLB’s “Golden Age,” it became known as “The Steroid Era.” Much suspicion rose when former major leaguer, Jose Can-ceco, whom ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith refers to as “the godfather of the Steroid Era,” released a book entitled “Juiced.” Not only did he share his experi-ences with steroid use, but he also included former home run leader, Mark McGwire. These scandals continued when BALCO was said to have distrib-uted steroids to the new home run leader, Barry Bonds. Sure, this lead to players going to court, getting suspend, and losing endorse-ments, but the biggest impact was that the MLB had to strengthen its steroid policy with random drug tests. As many baseballs play-ers still used and got caught, an assumption can be made that it worked because home runs have been down drastically.

Continue to page 7

MLB/NBA story continued

November 3, 2016 7MLB/NBA story continued

Some will say this is better, as baseball is now cleaner. However, fans’ interest steadily de-clined. Let’s rewind: Basketball is without its biggest star and baseball is lacking its most exiting ele-ment.

Number 3: The NFL was in the right place at the right time.

We could pick up at any time in the early 2000s, but to make things simple, let’s pick 2006. If anyone says the NFL has not been the biggest sports league the past 10 years, they are either crazy or cannot read. The question, however, is why the NFL has been so big. Let’s rewind again. Basketball became vulnerable post-Jordan and baseball became vulnerable as home runs declined. This left the door to the top position open and the NFL entered, slamming it hard. The biggest reason for this was that on Sept. 30, 2001, a rivalry was born: Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. Sorry Bird, sorry Magic, this rivalry topped even yours. From 2001 till 2016, these quarterbacks were not only in competition to be the best, but also in competition to be the biggest draw for fans. The NFL even made a rule that they must play every year once in the regular season. Not their teams, them. This was proved when Manning left Indianapolis and joined Denver. In this time period, the two combined for nine Super Bowl appearances, six Super bowl wins, and seven MVP awards. Not only did the NFL take over with stardom, but at a time when the internet was becom-ing a vital part of sports fan’s daily life, a new entity was also born: fantasy football. Yes, most fantasy football fans are traditional football fans, but much like March Madness brackets, fantasy football also draws in non-sports fans. Even that sister who complains

all Sunday about football being on is now secretly up in her room watching to see if her fantasy player can get just a few more yards. All of sudden, that die-hard Cowboys fan is now watching the rival team, the Eagles, to see if their fantasy kicker will make that 50 yarder. Sports Media Watch reported that in 2015 nine out of the ten most watched sport-ing events were NFL games; the highest rated NBA game was ranked number 40. The MLB didn’t even have one game in the top 50, while the NFL had 43 of them. The big question now is not who is number one is, as it is still the NFL by far. However, many of those crucial factors that contrib-uted to the rise of pro football are no longer as prevalent. There has been a big media outcry this year as NFL ratings dip; that, however, is not the big issue as most of this drop is due to the election. The issues start with Peyton Manning being retired. Tom Brady is now almost 40. Millen-nials have shorter attention spans than past generations and some football games are just too long for them. The internet helped build the empire known as the NFL, but recently monitoring of how many plays the team accounts tweet out has begun. Last year the league exploded due to the recognition of Draft Kings and Fan Duel. With states stiffening their laws on sports gambling, those two site are not the force they were a year ago. As many NFL fans know, offensive line play is down, leading to star QBs getting hurt ¬– not the start they need post-Manning. Baseball’s World Series just recently beat the NFL’s biggest draw, the Cowboys in a crucial overtime game against the Eagles, by over five million viewers. As for home runs, The Wash-ington Post reported that the MLB saw its biggest home run surge since “The Steroid Era” with just under 5,000.

Michael Jordan may not be in the NBA, but LeBron, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Rus-sel Westbrook are. They may not be Jordan, but there is little debate as to where the star power in pro-sports is today. This is not a prediction that the NFL will lose its position of kingship, but the gap is closing.

8 Volume 69.3

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Aaron Swofford

Swofford arraigned, banned from SC4 campusMike GallagherEditor-In-Chiefmgallagher@student.sc4.edu On Monday, October 17th, 34-year-old Port Huron man Aaron Swofford was arrested on the cam-pus of SC4 after allegedly exposing himself to a woman in the North Building. That afternoon Swofford alleg-edly was sitting next to the wom-an, when he unzipped his pants, exposing his genitals to her. Port Huron Police were contact-ed shortly after, and when con-fronted about the incident, Swof-ford admited to the offense. While Swofford was not cur-rently a student at SC4, he was

in the past, and in a blog post in the Detroit Metro Times in 2013, Swofford said that what made him happy was “The day I was accept-ed to St. Clair County Community College,” adding that he was the first person in his family to go to college. SC4 officials took quick action, banning Swofford from the cam-pus, and on October 18th, he was arraigned on aggravated Indecent exposure, a felony in the state of Michigan. Aggravated indecent exposure involves fondling one’s genitals, whereas standard indecent ex-posure is merely displaying your privates, Michigan law states.

Aggravated indecent exposure is punishable by up to two years of jail time, up to a $2,000 fine, or both. In 2013, Swofford was charged with indecent exposure in St. Clair County, and has numerous charg-es in his former residence, Wayne County. “This is an odd case,” said Mar-tha Pennington, director of mar-keting at SC4. “This is something that hasn’t happened here before. Campus patrol, and the Port Huron Police Department, handled this situation swiftly, and correct-ly,” she added. Swofford had his probable cause hearing on November 1st.