Quoth the Raven: ‘Nope’
Edgar Allen Poe. His name alone is enough to conjure up images of horrific death and darkness. If his name doesn’t sound familiar, his work should. Elements from his stories have been seen in hundreds of movies, books and television shows. So isn’t it about time for there to be murder-mystery movie about Poe? The short answer is no. “The Raven,” starring John Cusack as Poe, is a dark “what if” murder-mystery set in 1849; the year Poe died of unknown causes. Investigating a recent double murder, Detective Fields (played by Luke Evans) begins to notice eerie similarities between the case and one of Poe’s stories. Shortly after questioning Poe, there is another victim found slaughtered similar to another one of Poe stories. Poe was a brilliant writer, a heavy drinker and a deeply troubled man. The film generously portrays him as a great writer, underappreciated by uncultured philistines in the 1800s, and a man who takes a drink every 10 minutes. Yet the film inexplicably fails to show the dark side of Poe. Maybe it’s just me, but Cusack’s portrayal of Poe seemed too upbeat to be taken seriously. Granted, I doubt Poe was sad and dark every day of his life, but his sadness seemed to be missing during much of the movie. The movie however, does a great job of making the environment look and feel like it is taking place in the late 1800s, but that’s not too hard to accomplish. Remove all color, add some fog, punch out the sun, throw some scratchy clothes on the actors and you’ve got yourself a period piece. Poe is a classic American icon. Taking his life’s work and reducing it to a mediocre murder mystery seems cheap and sleazy. The only positive thing that might come out of this movie is maybe more people will go check out Poe’s work. GENRE MURDER MYSTERY RUN TIME 111 MINUTES RATING R
Throughout the Student Center renovation and the Spring and Summer semesters, Student Activities plans to continue business as usual, with the exception of the weekly events like Make it Take it Mondays, Trivia Tuesdays and Where’s Waldo Wednesdays. Student Activities is asking students to take a survey on the SDA Hub to determine what, if any, events students would like to see during the summer. If none of the weekly events go on during the summer, Student Activities still has plenty of events going on. The following have been scheduled for the summer. Capture the Flag May 17, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Cost: Free Student Activities plans to host a game of capture the flag in Community Park on May 17, but it will be called off if there is a lack of student interest. Students interested in playing are asked to sign up beforehand on a Google document through the SDA Hub. For any additional information on how to sign up or the game, contact Rachel Barsch in SC 112. Michigan Heart Walk May 19, 8:30–11:30 a.m. Cost: Free Come support the American Heart Association in Community Park. All donations go to fighting heart disease and stroke. Traverse the city in Traverse City June 8–10 Cost: $85 Student Activities is offering a weekend trip to Traverse City, located in northern Michigan, for $85. The ticket includes transportation to and from Traverse City, meals, lodging in Northwestern Michigan College dorms, a rafting trip down the Platte River and a dune walk at Sleeping Bear Dunes. Departure is at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, June 8, returning to campus at about 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 10. Tickets will be on sale soon. For more information, contact Rachel Barsch in SC 112. Blood drive June 12, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Cost: Free Give the gift of life. There will be a blood drive held in the Fitness center, June 12. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are preferred due to limited equipment and staff. Appointment can be scheduled at http://redcrossblood.org. Rolling Hills June 15, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Cost: $5 Come out for a day of food and fun. Student Activities is offering a day at Rolling Hills for $5. The $5 includes parking, lunch and admission to the water park. Tickets are available from the Cashiers Office in the SC building. Relay for Life June 23–24, 10 a.m.–10 a.m. Cost: $10 Come raise money for the American Cancer Society at the Relay for Life in Community Park. Participants take turns walking for 24 hours straight to raise money to fight cancer. For more information, contact Rachel Barsch in SC 112. River Trip June 28, 8 a.m.–10 p.m. Cost: $25 Enjoy a canoe trip down the Au Sable River in Roscommon. The trip includes a brief stop at the Civilian Conservation Corps Museum, a free lunch at Subway, roughly five hours on the water and transportation to the river. Student Activities urges students who are interested in going to purchase tickets soon as the trip may be canceled if not enough tickets are sold. Tickets can be purchased at the Cashiers Office in the SC building. For more information on Student Activities, visit http://sdahub.com or follow them on twitter: @wccsda
Enrollment for the 2012 Spring/Summer semester declined by double digits compared to last year According to a report from Washtenaw Community College, the total number of students enrolled for the Summer semester fell from 7,982 students last year to 6,918 attending this year, a 13.3 percent decline. Worse, the number of credit hours those students have enrolled for is down 18 percent. While there is no definitive reason why enrollment has declined, there are several possible reasons for the low enrollment numbers, according to Associate Vice President Student Services Linda Blakey . “One of the primary factors is the change in financial aid,” Blakey said in an e-mail. “For the last two summers, year-round Pell grants were available to students. This semester, year-round Pell is no longer available.” Another possibility is the elimination of the No Worker Left Behind funding or the lower unemployment rate in Washtenaw County, meaning more people are working. And it’s not just Washtenaw seeing those lower numbers. “Every community college in Michigan has experienced reductions in headcount and credit hours for the spring/summer semester,” Blakey said.
 Hanaan Abouzahr, 17, donates to the Red Cross during a recent blood drive on campus. (Nathan Clark/The Washtenaw Voice) The Red Cross blood drive held at “Be a Life Saver” week earlier this month, failed to meet previous donation numbers by 31 pints. “We usually get about 80 to 90 pints when we have a blood drive,” said Rachel Barsch, Student Activities event coordinator. “This time we only got 49 pints donated.” The reason, in part, may have been the location—the Morris Lawrence building, which doesn’t see a lot of student traffic on a typical weekday. But the Red Cross said there might have been other factors, as well. Recently, the organization implemented a new computer program called BioArch to manage and control the blood donation process. “The system isn’t working as well as expected,” said Gerry Abejuro, a donor resource representative from the Red Cross, referring to the new paperless system donors must use to register to donate blood. “The system is only a few weeks old, so naturally there will be a few hiccups here and there. The process will improve in time.” By noon on the first day of “Be a Life Saver” week, nine scheduled donors and six walk-ins had given blood. By the end of the first day, only 21 pints of blood were collected when there were 37 donors scheduled to come. The blood drive had a large amount of donors who didn’t schedule an appointment. Students can’t show up to a blood drive and not expect to wait for a while, Barsch said. There was an unusual number of students being deferred from donating this year. Many students were unable to donate blood due to dehydration or low iron levels in their blood. “Women make up roughly 60 percent of our donors. Women also seem to have low iron levels more often,” Abejuro said. The Red Cross screens out donors who have low iron levels or are dehydrated, but no longer screens out donors with tattoos, Abrjuro said. Even with the new system causing some issues in the donation process, students still found their way to the ML building willing to donate. “I used to be scared of needles,” said Hanaan Abouzahr, a 17-year-old criminal psychology student from Ann Arbor. “I had a bad experience once with needles, but donating blood is a good cause.”
The Red Cross workers explain the entire process, Abouzahr said, adding that she would gladly donate blood again.
 Ashley Kissella (Nathan Clark/The Washtenaw Voice) While the blood donation part of the week may have had a few bumps, students and staff curious about organ donation had the opportunity to ask questions and sign up at the event.
“So many people need organs,” said Ashley Kissella, 26, nursing student from Willis. “It’s good to have prior consent. Without it, family members bear the burden of determining if you would be okay with donating your organs.” Even if you think your organs are not usable, like if you have hepatitis or other health problems, your organs could be useful to a patient who already has hepatitis, Kissella said.
Washtenaw Community College students and staff gathered recently at Colonial Lanes for a night of charitable bowling with President Rose Bellanca and her husband, Joe. Students and staffers paid $20 a ticket for two hours of bowling, pizza, beverages and a raffle ticket for a chance at winning a basketful of candy and other goodies. They helped raise $300 in a United Way fundraiser for families affected by the Dexter tornado. “The bowling was Mary’s idea,” said Joanne Bellfi, a United Way representative attending the event, referring to WCC United Way Chair Mary Faulkner. “Money raised tonight will be going towards cleaning up and replanting trees in Dexter.” Money donated to the United Way stays in the community, according to Bellfi. The donations go into a community fund used for homeless housing, senior assistance, early childhood education, hunger aid and school-aged youth in Washtenaw County. To date, the United Way has donated more than $16,000 to residents of Dexter. “I’ve been involved with the United Way campaign for over 20 years now,” said Faulkner, executive assistant to the college’s Board of Trustees. “We do something like this every year to help raise money. Last year, we raised $2,800 with charity brackets having every department compete to raise the most money.” Some students came to the bowling alley unaware that it was a fundraiser. “I was surprised. I didn’t know the president was going to be here,” said Tom Dochoda, an 18-year-old math and science major from Ann Arbor. “It has been a busy week. Two hours of bowling for $20 just sounded fun.” Dochoda’s attendance at the event won him one of the baskets from the raffle. Bellanca was unable to bowl due to a recent injury, but came to support the fundraiser and mingle with students and staff. “We have some of the best and most interesting students I have ever met,” Bellanca said as she shook hands with Samantha Mamarow, 19, an animal science major from Saline. Mamarow said her family owns a dairy farm in Saline, where they milk more than 100 cows a day. “Bowling seemed like a good time,” Mamarow said. “If some of the money raised here goes to help other people, we should do this more often.”
Come for the slaughter, stay for the laughter
College students being violently slaughtered while on vacation is a concept that has been seen far too many times. The latest horror flick to hit theaters, “The Cabin in the Woods,” destroys all preconceptions of naive college students spending the weekend in a creepy cabin with new plot twists and morbid humor. Similar to other horror movies, this one follows five friends off to spend a weekend in an isolated cabin to get away from it all. But unlike the typical horror movie, the friends are unaware that they are being watched by an unknown group of people observing and manipulating everything in and around the cabin. From the unknown group’s control room, they direct every aspect of the environment, slowly leading each student to their demise. Even though “The Cabin in the Woods” is a horror film, moviegoers can’t help but laugh during much of the movie. Hearing a character explain that there’s a difference between zombies and pain-loving redneck zombies is just one bit of dialogue in the movie that makes the theater burst into laughter. Visually, the film has a perfect mix of computer-generated effects, makeup and scenery that makes everything look very realistic. “The Cabin in the Woods” looks how “Evil Dead” would if Sam Raimi decided to do a remake. Although the movie is littered with hilarious moments and clever dialogue, by no means would I recommend letting impressionable children see it. The movie has graphic scenes of people being killed in horrible ways by nightmarish creatures while other people watch the violence apathetically. Granted, the scenes look amazing, but I wouldn’t want my kid seeing it until he or she is old enough to have a part-time job. With a creative plot, believable visuals and its mix of bloodshed and laughter, the movie satisfies every moviegoer’s cravings, making this film well worth seeing. Genre Horror Rated R Runtime 105 min ⅘ stars
‘Resident Evil’ finally lets you shoot while moving. Coming soon: aiming
If you’ve never played a “Resident Evil” game, you are not allowed to call yourself a gamer. The popular survival horror franchise hit consoles this month with “Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City,” offering a whole new play style and features that fans have been demanding for years. Set during the events of the zombie outbreak in Raccoon City from the game “Resident Evil 2,” you play as a member of the elite Umbrella Security Service tasked with destroying any evidence that implicates the Umbrella Corporation’s involvement in the viral outbreak. Unlike the original “Resident Evil” games, “Operation Raccoon City” doesn’t force the player to solve puzzles, hunt for random items, search for a typewriter to save your game or stand still to shoot a weapon. “Operation Raccoon City” is pure, third-person, run-and-gun action. Players earn experience points for killing enemies and completing objectives. They spend those points purchasing new weapons and upgrades that can be used in either single or multiplayer. The experience points and equipment bought in single-player can be used in multiplayer and vice versa, making someone who would normally never bother playing online evenly matched with those who only enjoy multiplayer death matches. Multiplayer has all the regular play modes like team death match and a version of capture the flag called “Biohazard.” It also has some original modes such as “Heroes,” in which you have to kill the enemy team’s leader while protecting your own, and “Survivor,” where two opposing teams have to fight their way to a rescue helicopter that only has enough room for one team. Regardless of the play mode, each team has to deal with an endless horde of computer controlled zombies and monsters who attack anyone and everyone indiscriminately. The graphics in “Operation Raccoon City” are decent but not impressive. What the game lacks in graphic detail, it makes up for in environmental design. There’s enough chaos and destruction littered throughout the city to make you feel like you are truly in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. While both the multiplayer and campaign games are fun to play, the game does have a few technical problems. The aiming controls are terrible, which can be quite frustrating at times when you know you have to shoot a specific spot on an enemy to defeat them. The game has a button-less cover system that sounds great until your character won’t stop taking cover behind a cardboard box for no reason. If you don’t have any friends to play the solo campaign with, the game provides you with an oblivious computer controlled team that loves to block doorways and move in front of you while you’re shooting. By far, “Operation Raccoon City” isn’t the worst “Resident Evil” game featuring multiplayer. “Resident Evil: Outbreak” holds that title. “Operation Raccoon City” isn’t the best action game we’ve seen all year, either, but it’s still pretty fun to play – and it belongs in every “Resident Evil” fan’s library. GENRE THIRD-PERSON SHOOTER DEVELOPER CAPCOM RATING M for MATURE PLATFORM XBOX 360, PS3, PC 3.5 stars
Bullying will continue until something changes
Anti-bullying campaign There are two sides to this troubling issue
Before I receive an unusual amount of hate mail for this column, I should make one thing perfectly clear; I am not advocating that bullying is an allowable practice. Bullying has been around for a long time. Until humanity learns to love one another equally, bullying isn’t going away any time soon. I was bullied in school; my parents experienced bullying when they were in school, my grandparents too, and so on and so on. I was in high school when the Columbine school shooting occurred. Columbine was a horrific event that affected every school in the U.S. in 1999. Security was beefed up, parents paid more attention to their kids and society looked for an easy scapegoat to blame the shootings on. When I returned to school the following year, everything was back the way it used to be. Security was still beefed up, but all the bullies went back to business as usual, without repercussions. It would be nice if there were a law established to punish bullies, but how would you define bullying in the law? Slapping someone around is bullying; but hitting someone is called assault and it’s already a crime. Stealing lunch money is bullying, but stealing is also already against the law. So all we have left is a law banning hurtful words. Has everyone forgotten the old expression “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?” Social interaction and life experiences make us who we are; that’s the way it has always been and it’s probably not changing anytime soon. Bullying doesn’t stop when you get out of school; it’s a part of life. If you don’t stand up for yourself and be happy about who you are, bullies will push you around forever.
Nathan, this is going to sound a bit hypocritical, but I feel the need to kick your ass. But as a supporter of the anti-bullying campaign, I choose to use my words instead of my fists. Saying that the anti-bullying campaign is a bad idea because it softens children is just plain stupid. Kids need to learn at a young age that pushing people around is not right, and there is no reason to accept bullying. Sending a message to children to not only not bully, but to stop others from bullying is something we can all learn from. I’m not naive enough to think that bullying will ever stop. In all walks of life there are people that try to push others around. But we need to teach kids from a young age how to deal with bullies and why it’s not okay to act that way towards others. You say that the campaign makes kids soft and they don’t take criticism well. Nathan you are missing the point. It’s not about what is being said, but more the intent behind it. There is a huge difference between someone telling you that a shirt doesn’t look good and having someone threaten you and call you “a faggot” because of the clothes you wear. If your boss tells you that your latest PowerPoint was ineffective, that is a lot different than him calling you a moron. And just because you are an adult, doesn’t mean you have to tolerate a bully. If co-workers or bosses don’t treat you properly, there are plenty of ways to combat that behavior. But there is also a difference between how kids bully and how adults bully. When children are physical with each other, the law is not usually involved and can leave the victim feel like justice has not been served even if the assailant is caught. Bullying is a sad fact of life; there is no doubt about that. But to try to ignore nipping it in the bud is just as ignorant as the people who bully in the first place.
Students planning to buy a bite to eat in the Student Center were surprised last week when they saw that every food vendor was closed for business due to the upcoming first-floor renovations. Offices and business located there have either shut down, moved or have had their main entrance relocated. Subway, Edibles, Garrett’s and Bakuzios have completely shut down, forcing hungry students and employees to go to the LA building for a sandwich or look elsewhere for sustenance.
In front of LA 152, Famous Foods, Inc. set up a sandwich shop that currently only accepts cash. “Business is pretty good right now, but we need a credit card reader,” said Larry Jenks, Event Coordinator for Famous Food. “We also want to sell coffee, but if we plug one more thing into our outlet, we’ll probably blow a fuse.” An electrician was hired to install a dedicated power line for the shop before the shop was opened, Jenks said. Food vendors are not the only offices in the SC building being affected by the upcoming renovations. The copy center is being moved to the TI building and students wanting to go to the book store or the Student Activities office now have to enter through side entrance near the Occupational Education building. The copy center promises to continue business as usual until April 10, but it could be shut down sooner if access to the SC building is cut off earlier. “We’re scheduled to move the shop from the 10th to the 11th (of April),” said Veronica Faulkner, an employee at the copy center. “It will be a small hit on the shop, but we should be up and running again in TI 236 by the 14th.” The campus book store will remain relatively unchanged by the renovations, with exception of online deliveries. “Our online pick-up office will be shut down, so students will have to come into the bookstore to pick up orders,” said Tina Perkins, assistant manager. “Other than that, the only other thing changing is our main entrance being on the side of the building.” Those needing to use the elevator to reach the second floor of the SC building will have to use the walkway from the LA or OE building as access to the elevator in the SC building will be cut off. “Getting to the second floor will be a minor inconvenience,” said Damon Flowers, associate vice president of Facility Management. “The elevator in the Student Center will still be in operation, it just won’t have access to the first floor.” As the first floor of the SC building is being prepared for the renovation, business and offices close up shop or alter their normal routine to deal with the limited access to the first floor. “We’re not letting the construction stop us from our usual activities,” said Rachel Barsch, events coordinator for Student Activities. “We will still be having most of our usual activities going on, but in new locations. We will be having our Monday ‘make it take it’ in the lobby of the TI building instead of the SC building. So the only thing that has really changed is the location of events.”
 Medical assistant Lisa Lapoint and medical receptionist Julie Bogi take a blood sample from Rachel Barsch at the Dundee Urgent Care Clinic. (Nathan Clark/The Washtenaw Voice) WCC staffer donates bone marrow so a stranger might live
Resting comfortably on a hospital bed last Wednesday, Rachel Barsch stared down at the multiple tubes pumping blood out of the catheter in her neck into a machine that gives the blood back without the marrow and wondered why anyone wouldn’t be thrilled with the life-saving opportunity medical science had made possible for her. Barsch, events coordinator for Student Activities, signed up for the bone marrow registry during last year’s “Be a Lifesaver Week,” – an event she orchestrated – never expecting a call from the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) just nine months later, telling her she’s a potential match for a 51-year-old man in Italy, a man she’s never met before. “It’s nice to know that I have a genetic doppelganger out there that I can save,” said Barsch, proclaiming her excitement after her notification. So began her part in a medical miracle. Barsch was asked to go to a clinic in Livonia for a few blood tests to confirm the match. Three week later, she was informed that she was a perfect match and was mailed a box filled with all the supplies and paperwork she needed in order to donate. Donating a part of your body to save the life of someone you’ve never met, and probably never will meet, seems to discourage many people from signing up with the NMDP, said Barsch, who is committed to changing that mindset. “There’s over 13 million people worldwide registered to donate. But even with that number, finding a suitable donor for a patient is still a challenge,” said Stacey Prieur, a bone marrow transplant coordinator at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. Donors and recipients need to have matching degree of human leukocyte antigen (HLA), immune system genes located on the sixth chromosome. With so many different variations in genes, perfect matches are hard to come by, said Prieur. After a brief physical, Barsch was told that she would be donating her bone marrow through a non-surgical peripheral blood stem cell donation (PBSC). Unlike the surgical donation, where the marrow is harvested directly from the donor’s pelvic bone, a PBSC donation uses a machine similar to a dialysis machine to pull blood out of the donor through a catheter, separate the blood cells from the stem cells, return the blood to the donor and pump the stem cells into a collection bag. Besides the few occasions where she had to travel somewhere, Barsch describes her process for donating marrow as quick and easy, saying moments after the procedure that the only thing that concerned her were possible side effects to the injections she needed to have every day for five days before the donation. “I’ve been doing these injections for over 20 years and I have never seen anyone have a reaction to them,” said Denise Movro, a nurse contracted by the NMDP to visit Barsch, checkup on her and administer the shot. Barsch took a deep breath as she received the injection of Filgrastim, the medicine used to stimulate the growth of stem cells in the bones and release them into the blood stream for the donation. “It burns a little bit, but it’s not that bad,” said Barsch, rolling her sleeve down. The night before the donation, Barsch stayed in a hotel paid for by the NMDP close to the hospital to shorten travel time. Barsch’s donation began at 10:15 a.m. As the machine worked its magic, Barsch watched patients walk lap after lap in the hallway; each patient dragging an IV with them as they pass by the door. With boredom and idleness being her only discomfort, Barsch taps away at her iPad occasionally glancing at the donation bag to see how full it is. By 3:10 p.m. Barsch’s donation is finished. A woman carrying a small cooler entered the room, signed a sheet of paper to collect Barsch’s donation, placed the bag inside the cooler and left, marking the start of the donation’s voyage to Italy. Before leaving the hospital feeling the same way she did when she arrived, a nurse hands Barsch a shirt and a thank-you card from cancer patients at the hospital. The nurse then tells Barsch that the patients she saw walking past the doorway are patients who are receiving bone marrow donations. “It bugs me that I might not ever speak to the man who’s receiving my bone marrow,” said Barsch. “But knowing that my marrow could save some one’s life makes me happy.” Anyone interested in signing up for the bone marrow registry can do so by attending the “Be a life saver Week” in the Morris Lawrence building this week, April 9-13, or you can sign up online at http://bethematch.org.
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