March 12, 2012 Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Michigan washtenawvoice.com Picking up your crap: Battle of the Beatles: Platform Tennis: WCC’s Autorama: Wave of thefts prompts Meet the team that The remaining members’ Officials question cost College gearheads show off push for more awareness does it for you. B3 new so-so solo albums. B4 for ‘high-brow’ sport. B5 hot rides and big muscle. C1 Adrian Hedden textbook unattended in the Features Editor Bailey Library, and later was out $250. Campus Security hopes Jones blames his own to embolden students at negligence. Washtenaw Community “I was doing homework and College to take the defense of went to the bathroom,” Jones their valuables into their own said. “I asked around, checked Honk if you’ve stepped in it hands after a streak of thefts the lost and found and nothing began dominating the crime turned up. I guess I shouldn’t log in early February. have left it. It’s on me.” Jacques Desrosiers, the di- Cindi Stearns, 61, while rector of Campus Safety and studying childcare has no- Security has posted flyers this ticed a heightened sense of semester as part of increased urgency to safeguard belong- efforts to discourage thieves. ings around the classroom. Desrosiers is pushing for The Ypsilanti resident has students to keep one eye on observed her instructors pay- their possessions at all times ing more attention to student and increase their personal awareness; wary of the recent awareness. wave of pilfers. “We are encouraging peo- “They’re taking more pre- ple to watch their own stuff,” cautions lately,” Stearns said. Desrosiers said. “People need “They’ve been making sure to to be empowered to watch lock doors and remind us to their belongings. If someone watch our stuff, since there leaves a laptop in the comput- have been more thefts.” er commons, comes back and Sally Adler, a childcare pro- it’s gone, shame on them.” fessional instructor at WCC, Students assert that the substantiates claims to in- majority of responsibility creased efforts. Often teach- to address the problem falls ing classes until well after dark, upon themselves and faculty. Adler has seen the crimes af- Anthony Jones, 25, a tech- fecting her students, but is nology services major from Highland Park recently left a THEFT ON CAMPUS Why are they here, what do they want… CONTINUED A3 and how do I get this s*&# off my shoe? JARED ANGLE THE WASHTENAW VOICE Several geese cross lot 6, blocking a van as it drives through campus last week. Ben Solis Community College, and the geese seen around Ann Arbor are our local breeding birds,” Managing Editor sight of foot-trampled feces are Canadian, Branta canaden- Payne said. almost paints the walkways sis, giant geese that migrate to The question remains on Car and foot traffic and en- green. southern Michigan and stay why these geese stay year trances to the college are often They aren’t roving gang year-round when the winters round with Michigan’s vola- blocked, not by barriers, but members, of course. They’re are mild and cause little snow tile and unpredictable winter. by a group of rogue, feathered migrant geese that have been coverage. According to Payne, their year- thugs that have taken over cam- here all winter, and have “They are local breed- round presence is an illusion pus. Stroll along any of the con- caused serious headaches for ing birds, and they come to created by the bird’s uncanny crete paths around Washtenaw the Grounds and Maintenance Michigan during this time to ability to know when snow- Department. Cleaning up af- find seed or other low plant life,” melts occur. ter the geese has become a Payne said. “They also come “Most every year when part of their regularly sched- here to breed.” there is a deep snow cover, ADRIAN HEDDEN THE WASHTENAW VOICE uled programming, accord- Their presence is not a new Canada geese disappear, but The incident log in the Campus Safety office chronicles crimes reported. ing to Damon Flowers, associ- problem, as Canadensis breed- reappear during the midwin- ate vice president of Facilities ing throughout Michigan has ter thaws,” he said. “We don’t Operations and Development. dated back some 40 years. The know how they know there is a “Of course they’ve caused first noted mass-breeding of local snowmelt when they are problems,” Flowers said. “Their Canadian geese was document- not here.” Crumbling SC staircase waste is all over the paved areas, ed in Berrien County in 1982. Payne suggests that answer they pick at grass seed and they Since then, the birds have ex- could be caused by drastic don’t seem to be inhibited by tended their breeding habits changes in climate over the may be gone next year human activity.” and numbers state-wide. years. Ben Solis thawing, and icing.” Just who are these ungrate- “The number of Canada While the sight of geese re- Managing Editor The constantly chang- ful ganders? geese around Geddes Pond turning may be glorious for ing climate during the harsh Robert Payne, a University in the Huron River, where we avian watchers, it still doesn’t Due to cracking and rusting Michigan winter causes heav- JARED ANGLE THE WASHTENAW VOICE of Michigan zoology profes- often walk, has been between rectify the problems the geese of the internal and external ing, which ultimately causes A goose waddles past smeared feces on the sidewalk and into a parking sor and a resident expert on 50 and 200 most every week, structure, the massive exterior the breakage of the stone pav- lot on campus. Michigan birds, said that the and I suspect many of these GEESE CONTINUED A3 Student Center stair case that ers, or blocks, that are walked has adorned the façade of the upon. The college has even had building for more than 30 years to deal with chunks of concrete may no longer exist come Fall. busting out from the water get- As seen by the orange cones ting in between the blocks. Vendors, activities keen on Student Center renovation placed upon the elevated land- The issue of the staircase has ing, the staircase may pose a been brought up in multiple Ben Solis safety problem if not addressed meetings of the college’s trust- Managing Editor Study Pub soon, according to Damon ees. Their suggested options and Barnes & Flowers, associate vice presi- to resolve the problem range The $1.7 million partial reno- Noble’s book dent of Facilities Development from building a glass struc- vation of the decrepit Student pick-up will and Operations. ture around the stairs to deter Center’s first floor is on sched- now be a “It’s an accident that is going climate, installing an exterior ule to begin in April after a year game room. to happen,” he sad. “Certainly elevator, or to simply tear the delay. from a safety standpoint it is structure down. The current arrangement of a priority.” The first two options are too the floor plan includes multiple 1 While the staircase is a expensive, Flowers said. vendors and student-driven or- cornerstone of the buildings’ “We’re talking about some- ganizations, such as Sweet Spot, appeal and architecture, the where near $1 million dollars Garrett’s and Orchard Radio. structure has posed mainte- just to build a bubble around With the renovation’s “dust” and nance problems since before it,” he said. “To demolish the a subsequently brand new floor Flowers’ tenure with the col- structure would be much less plan, some vendors will get new lege. The current issues are the expensive. Somewhere around homes – with one being ousted same as those discovered 20 $100,000.” completely. Bakuzios’s years ago. An elevator is also out of the First, the new floor plan de- will be “The problem with elevat- question, because of the mas- tails an expansion of campus cof- expanded for ed concrete is that it really ac- sive tunnel system that runs fee shop Bakuzio’s, which will more seating. celerates deterioration in this underneath the college, leav- take over much of the space now Club Sports climate,” Flowers said. “When ing no room for a required el- occupied by Club Sports. This is will move you elevate concrete and steel evator pit. to allow more seating and a more right, you’ve got condensation from taking over Orchard Radio will be moved to TI231. copasetic environment, accord- warm air below it, freezing, STAIRS CONTINUED A3 Sweet Spot will take over. ing to Damon Flowers, associ- Sweet Spot. 2 3 ate vice president of Facilities DAMON FLOWERS COURTESY PHOTO Operations and Development. Club Sports will move over remain largely untouched dur- The only complications visible section of the Student right into the adjacent Sweet ing the renovation. Leshkevich foresees is the Center, and has moved all op- Spot, which will ultimately move Barnes and Noble’s will amount of students seeking ac- erations to TI 231. “across the street” into the space also remain untouched, along tivities because of the non-exis- The station was moved for occupied by Orchard Radio. This with Gallery One and Student tent foot traffic throughout the practical reasons, Flowers said. move was to make the baking ca- Activities. SC building. “I understand that it looks pabilities and sale of the pastry Student Activities, unlike Also, the Study Pub and the nice to have the radio station and desert items more efficient, the others, will remain open on-line pickup for Barnes and there, in the middle of an area Flowers said.