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March 2001 Editorial In defense of name change JOCELYN HASKE Managing Editor Not many students or even faculty seem to know what the word "p?lemic" means. After much contemplation, our staff decided a change was needed and we boldly splashed "Name this Paper" across the masthead oflast month's issue. Wanting ACC's input, we included a $50 cash prize for best submitted idea. It was unexpected and many were caught by surprise. Those who liked the Polemic name, mostly staff, were upset. It has been long standing, one that is recognizable. Students, for the most part, thought it was a good idea. They didn't like the ab- stractness of"Polemic". About 30 names were submitted. The name history of theACC newspaper began in the 60' s with the Timber Cruiser. It became the Polemic for several years in the ?O's, then the Campus Up- date, briefly the Lumberjack, and lastly returning and remaining the Polemic. Spring semester 2001 has been challenging for the Journal- ism program. With brand new equipment, staff writers, editors, and a advisor, we basically started from scratch. First thing on the agenda was a critique of previous semester editions. What improvements or changes needed to be made? #1) The name didn't match with the content. Polemic: 1. of or involv- ing dispute; controversial 2.agrumentative. The publi- cation may have at one time con- tained controversial articles, but it has since changed. It's more about what the college is accom- The Lumberjack greatly appreciates input. If you have an opinion about any student related topic, please submit them to us in editorial form. THE UMBERJACK CONTRIBUTORS EDITORS Managing Editor.'. Jocelyn Haske News Editor: Jennifer Webb F~ature Editor: Tina Williams Sports Editor: Tristram Coffin Photo Editor: Megan Fletcher STAFF WRITERS Sara Ashford Cheryl Behnke Eric Benac Joshua Brege Jennifer Cordes Melissa Cramer Erin Fleming Marc Gauze Angela Kirschner Leslie Klann Roxanne Lafleche Joann Landry Kerrie Miller Laura Moore Amy Navarra Stephanie Nehring Christoph~r Oposno Heather Pines Micheal Purgiel Ryan Ruby Robin Sauve Judith Skrine Ryan Spaulding Lance Spencer John Staniski Shawna Thompson Alicia Wells Wendy Williams Roxan Zann ADVISOR Shawn Sexton The Lumberiack is published on the first Tuesday of October, November, Decem- ber, February, March, April and May. As an independent student publication, opinions expressed are strictly those of the writer and not endorsed by Alpena Community College or the entire Lumber- jack staff. Signed contributions can be dropped off at the Lumberjack Office, BCT 106 or call us at 517-356-9021 ext. 264. Mail correspondence to: The Lumberjack, Alpena Community College, 666 Johnson Street, Alpena, Mi. 49707. Contact us via e-mail: polernic8@netscape.net plishing, what events are taking place, and what student interests are. The entertainment section is often easier to fill than the news. Another n~ason we felt the Polemic wasn't fitting was be- cause it didn't associate directly with the college. Unique, yes. But appropriate? Other commu- nity college publications include their mascot or abbreviation so that when readers pick up a copy, the title identifies with the college. Polemic does not re- late to ACC. The coi;itest was a way to let ACC share their ideas. Thank you for all those who took an in- terest and participated. We are confident the new name and masthead will persevere. Change is inevitable. It makes the his- tory of the paper all the more interesting. JENNIFER CORDES Staff Writer Kristine Rosinski from Alpena says, " Definitely, I work at a police department and when schools do not close down because of the weather there are a lot of accidents." Is there a Parking problem on campus? KERRIE L. MILLER Staff Writer Are you aware that as students of ACC you are not allowed to park near the entrance to your library? I have issues with this parking policy and wondered what I could do about it, so I bring it to you-fellow students. · When I brought this up to someone who could help make a difference in this policy, I was told that the lot in front of the library is not considered the library parking lot, never has been. I was stunned. This seems to be classic "in the box" thinking. The only thing I can deduce is this idea stems back to when the library was located upstairs at the NRC. Back then, I suppose, the NRC lot is where one would have parked when visiting the ACC library Things have changed a great deal from that time. The library is now located in front of a sprawling parking lot. When one walks out of the library entrance, one is starjng directly at a large area of parking. None of which is to be used by students . ACC students are not allowed to park in front of or near the entrance to their own library. Does this make sense to the rest of you? Maybe I am missing something. I have started asking students on campus and of the 25 responses so far, twenty-one of them said yes, there is a problem. Several of them commented that they received tickets, don't have enough time between classes and wondered whom the lot is reserved for. Only four have said there wasn't a problem. One of the 'no' responders, too afraid to fill out their name, said "take a walk, it is not that t ' far;'. That's true, it isn't a huge campus, many other students walk much further, say at the University of Michigan ... however, there are other things to consider, like time. Many of the students atACC are non-traditional students. In order to keep up with their grades, jobs and families, they have to schedule every minute of their time. What good does it do to run to campus to work on a lunch-hour if half of that time is spent walking across campus to get to the library? The question was posed, "what if a student goes on their. lunch-hour, gets busy and it parked there all afternoon?" So what? So what if there are student's vehicles in the lot nearest their college library? Of course there will always be people who abuse the parking privileges, currently, we can't park there at all. Five or ten reserved student spaces would be better than the zero we have now. At least there would be a chance, however slim, of running to the library when you're low on time and not have to worry about paying a fine. A student having to pay a fine for parking close to their college library-not very study friendly. If the library is not for the students who is it for? The phrase "it boggles the mind" keeps going around in my head. The fact that students are not allowed to park in front of their own library seems ludicrous. Again, maybe I am just fussy ... I was told to see if there is a problem, if you believe it is a problem for students not being allowed to park in front of, near or in the lot closest to the library, e-me at polemic8@hotmail.com. You can also drop me a line, care-of the Polemic office via inter-school mail. Change should be a good thing. When the library was moved to its current location, it was for the better. Now we just need to move it's parking accommodationstoo. Sara Ashford from Harrisville says, 11 Definitely, the majority of people that attend here live in surrounding areas, and not on campus like other major colleges. The main roads may be fine, but other roads that are taken by students to get to A(C are terrible." From Hillman says, 11 Definitely yes, I travel 25 miles to come to ACC on a daily basis. When m: hometown school and functions as well as surrounding schools are closed I don't feel that I should risk my life a~ well as others to come to college in spite of the weather." ( Should the school take the fact that students live out of town into consideration when bad weather hits? Jack Johnston a parent of ari ACC student says, 11 Well of course I don't want my daughter as well'as many other college students out risking their lives to attend college. When my son stays home from high school because of the roads I definitely don't want my daughter out trying to risk it." Lisa Radzibon from Rogers City says, 11 Yes, Not all students that attend AC( are from Alpena. I have to come from Rogers City and being on the lake the weather can be a lot worse, it tends tc very a great amount from town to , town." Attendance policies undermine student freedom WENDY WILLIAMS Staff Writer Why do college students have attendance policies? Are we not old enough to decide if we could skip class or not? If we don't go, then that's our problem, right? It seems that students at ACC aren) capable of making their own decisions. Can't a student look at the syllabus and generally know what they might miss that particular day? I have personally had a couple of classes that the syllabus outlined the class in so much detail that I could've been absent half the semester and still passed. Of course that wouldn't be a class with a participation grade. Participation grade means that you can't participate unless you're there. There are those tough classes that don't have an attendance policy, but if you miss one day you are behind forever and it seems you will never catch u p Maybe we have attendance policies just for our own good, to keep from falling behind, but why is it mandatory? Certainly, when some ofus are told we must do something, we might not want to, just because we're told to. I can see the instructors getting sick of digging for last I - weeks handouts, homework, and notes. Putting together make-up tests and quizzes would be annoying too. If I could make up the perfect attendance policy, there wouldn't be one. lfwe missed class then we would take full responsibility for what we missed; make friends in the class and get copies of notes or handouts from them. What can we do about this? I suppose, for now, we can just choose our classes appropriately and hope for the best.