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"·.·· volume 5/_lssue 3 Alpena~Com1n~1ty College December 10, 2002 Lewiston CoupleDeliversRando ActofKindness toAl~naChildren Holiday Season Ideal Time to· Lend Helping Hand to Others JOHNROE Staff Writer had lost his mother, wife, and kids in a car accident. He eventually succumbed to alcoholism, lost everything he owned, and ended up on the street. Nobody asks to be homeless, but it happens. Simply handing the man some money would have been an act of kindness. "Random acts of senseless Having the compassion tq violence" is a phrase that take the time to listen and has become all too common in our society. Perhaps less well known is the idea of performing "random acts of senseless kindness." The meaning is evident and may include a huge variety of good deeds. Many years ago, a friend of mine, Carl Pierce, was approached by a homeless person who asked him for money. Instead of merely giving him money and moving on, he chose to take the man out to breakfast. He learned that the man And the Survey Says .. . ACC Students Give Feedback, Admit Poor Study Habits learn something from him in the process goes beyond what many consider to be the right thing to do. In lieu of the upcoming holiday season, you may find it in your heart to do something of this caliber! So~ething big or something small; whatever you choos~ to do will help someone have a brighter holiday. Ran~om acts of kindness do not need to be huge events to make a big difference. It is the little things that often matter the Among other things, the survey questioned the usage of student services. ACC provides free use of computer labs, library services, tutors, and the opportunity to meet with1 academic advisors. Scores were based on a scale from 1-4 (l=never, 2=sometimes, 3=often, 4=very often). MACKENZIE HOULE Even with everything that Staff Writer is provided on campus, students were still Survey says ... ACC consistently ranked lower students give helpful than all of the comparison feedback! During the colleges. spring of 2002, a sample For instance, when asked of the student body was how often students met with surveyed on a variety of advisors, ACC scored 1.69. topics. This failed in comparison to The survey given was students at other small called the Community institutions. Another College Survey of example of low turnouts Student Engagement. for student services is the The results from this use of our computer labs. survey were compared to Other community nearly 50 other collegesaveragedascoreof community colleges, 2.07 whenaskedif students including 15 small used their lab facilities, ins ti tu tion s that are while ACC students scored comparable in size to · a 1.89. ACC. A third instance of poor most It could be something as simple as helping a sibling with their homework, sharing a lunch, or stopping in to visit someone that's alone in this world. For some, this could potentially mean more than a large donation of money to a charity. Linda Suneson, an instructor here at ACC, received flowers from an anonymous friend recently. When she announced this in class. her happiness and delight made even my day a little brighter. Albert Einstein once said, "We cannot solve the problems of the world by using the same level of thinking that created them." So, keep this idea in the back of your mind, and when the opportunity presents itself, just take some time out of your day to act upon it. Photo by Jessica Thiem Random Act of Kindness: William and Kathryn Davis share the many stuffed animals they have collected from claw machines all over the United States. William enjoys play- ing claw machines and has become extremely good at it over the years. This is their first 1e donating toys to the Volunteer Center here at ACC. student habits lS 1.40 · students score when asked if they apply for free student tu toring. C Students Find Different orld at Universities Some instructors even offer extra credit if you use tutors or spend time in the, Learning Center here at ACC What more of an incentive do ACC students need? What 's worse is the number of students that attend class without having their work complete. With a total of 2.12, ACC students admitted their lack of readiness. On a more positive note, 97% of the students surveyed said they would recommend ACC to a friend. Most responses reflected a positive attitude toward ACC. What you put into your education is what you will receive. The more effort given, the more it pays off. Even if results are not immediate, there are definite long-term benefits. DANIELLE DOMRASE STACIE PERKINS Huron Shores Students leaving a commu- nity college and going to a university often feel excited and afraid. Transferring may also bring many ques- tions to mind. For instance, how will my classes at the university be different from my community college classes? Or, what does the university community offer students outside of classes? A few advantages of at- tending a community col- lege, such as ACC, are the small class sizes and the personal attention you get from instructors. The typi- cal class size at ACC ranges from 10 to 30 stu- dents, while at a university, lectures may contain_more than 300 students. The small class sizes at ACC al- Index News ...................................................... page 2 & 3 Feature .................................................. page 4& 5 Photo Story ................ ........................... page 6 Sports .................................................... page 7 & 8 Point of View ......................................... page 9 Entertainment. ........ - ............................ page 10 & 11 Showcase Artist .................................... page 12 I . low for more interaction between instructors and students. This results in more personal attention and the opportunity to get to know your instructors as individuals instead of as just teachers. Attendance is much more important at ACC than at an university be- cause ACC classes have fewer students. In a small college like ACC, atten- dance and interaction of students is necessary for participation. At a univer- sity, attendance is less im- portant because class sizes are bigger, which means less time for indi- vidual students to partici- pate. This means that stu- dents have less incentive t.o show up for class at a uni- versity. "Teachers regulate you more at ACC. At SVSU, some teachers take attendance by using sign-up sheets or in-class writings, but others don't take attendance at all," said Kelley Ellis, ACC gradu- ate and current Saginaw Valley State University stu- dent. Due to the larger class sizes at a university there is also less opportunity for students to ask questions, make comments, or voice opinions. This is usually saved until the end of lec- ture, if time permits, or is handled during discussion sessions. Discussion ses- sions are classes of 20 to 30 students from the larger lecture that meet once or twice a week with a graduate student who guides discussions about topics covered in lecture, answers questions, and leads workshops or projects. Continued on page 2 ... I