2006 - 01 (Jan)

              [IMAGE (PHOTOGRAPH) A crowd of people sitting; renovation work; a toy] Western Courier SPORTS Westerwinds basketball won all eight of its contests during Winter Break. Back Page Volume 106, Issue 45 Wednesday, January 18, 2006 http://www.westerncourier.com NEWS Black universities in New Orleans struggle to accommodate students after Katrina. Page 4 OP/ED Don�t blame police for shooting the boy who brought a fake gun to school. Page 6 SPORTS Freshmen diver breaks 15-year-old record against St. Louis University. Back Page WEATHER 41 33 Forecast page 2 ELLIOTT VAN FLEET/PHOTO EDITOR The Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center hosted an event for the community to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Western Illinois University students volunteered to educate children of the McDonough County children about MLK Jr. Not just another day off Western Illinois University students celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday By Nicole Harris and Joe Lemanski courier staff The Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center enjoyed its largest group of participants and volunteers for its fourth annual Day of Service Monday, which answered Coretta Scott King's call ""to commemorate this holiday by making your personal commitment to serve humanity with the vibrant spirit of unconditional love that was"" Martin Luther King Jr., her late, husband's, ""greatest strength, and which empowered all of the great victories of his leadership."" The Day of Service offered free events to first through sixth grade students and drew students as far as Colchester. Participants and volunteers enjoyed a pizza party, games and an educational session about Martin Luther King Jr. Students also enjoyed crafts coordinated by the Macomb Park District and a skate party at Skateland. The GBCC, along with graduate student Nickara Pratt, planned the successful event. Because the event happened on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, many Western Illinois University students returned early to Macomb to help with the event. Belinda Carr, GBCC director, said fliers were sent to many different student organizations advertising the event and volunteer opportunity as signing up began as early as November. Eighty volunteers lent a hand for students and King's legacy. ""Western Illinois University promotes service learning and volunteering with its students,"" Carr said. ""We've never had a problem getting Western student volunteers. We are especially pleased with the number that came back to school to participate."" Along with many volunteers, 20 fraternities, sororities, Macomb businesses and other organizations sponsored the event. ""We're real pleased with the turnout and we hope the community will continue to support this; we know there's lots of university students who love to give back to Macomb, so for them this is second nature,"" Carr added. Although intended for elementary students, Carr said several teenagers, ninth through twelfth grade, see King page 2 Western will see changes in 2006 By Julie Lord assistant news editor When the clock struck midnight on Jan. 1, 2006, a year of' changes and challenges for Western Illinois University and the Macomb community began. New buildings, renovations and programs as well as some new restaurants in Macomb are just a few of the changes students at Western can expect in 2006. The look of Western's campus will undergo major changes as several construction projects will be completed and more will be beginning. The renovation of the Alfred D. Boyer baseball stadium is scheduled to be completed before the home baseball season starts in late March. The new stadium will include more permanent seating, a new press box with a media area and a new scoreboard donated by Coca-Cola. Hanson Field also will start to see changes this year as renovations begin to increase the seating in the student section. The outdated- wooden bleachers will be replaced with aluminum seating and new restrooms and concession stands will be built in a closer proximity to the student section. This renovation will begin in March and is projected to be completed in Fall of 2007 or Spring of 2008. Though the renovation will update the decades old construction of the stadium, not all students said they feel the project is necessary. ""(Student seating) doesn't seem to be a problem whenever I go to the football games,"" said Meredith Strueber, freshman sociology major. ""I don't think it's worth the university's money and time."" Also scheduled to begin in March is the extensive renovation of Memorial Hall. The remodeling, which is not scheduled to be completed until August 2009, will begin with construction of a temporary relocation building where offices and classrooms currently in Memorial can be housed. Western's campus is not the only part of Macomb experiencing change. Quizno's Subs recently opened on Jackson Street and is already doing good business. ""Business has been good since we see Changes page 2 COURTESY PHOTO The renovation of Alfred D. Boyer baseball stadium is just one of several construction projects at Western in 2006. New laws in Illinois for 2006 By Chelsea McDougall news editor Beginning Jan. 1, 2006, several new laws came into effect in the state of Illinois. Laws ranging from guns and drugs to driving and government protection have been changed. Many of the laws may seem trivial or do not effect some, but there are a few that college students may find pertinent. Tattoos are always popular among college students. A new law in Illinois lowers the age requirement of 21 years old to 18. Mike Hayes, Tattoo Blue manager in Macomb, said he feels it was about time Illinois lowered the legal age limit. ""It's amazing that it always hasn't been 18,"" he said. ""When you're 18 you can vote and go to war and die for your country, there is no reason why you can't get tattooed."" Hayes also added although there has- only been a slight change in business since the new law, he feels business will improve by opening a new group of clientele. As a result of the growing amount of meth production, buying over the counter drugs will be harder because of a new law passed in Illinois. The law requires cold medicines used to make meth to be kept behind the counter and sold only to people who show an ID and sign a log. Tasha Perkins, senior graphic communication major, said she thinks there are more important things to be worried about rather than cold medicine. ""I don't know much about meth but I think (the law) is stupid. It's a waste of time,"" Perkins said. Another law that may seem silly to some is quite dangerous for children. The state of Illinois put a ban or ""yo-yo waterball toys."" According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on www.cpsc.gov, the toy see Laws page 2 WWW.DANGERSOFWATERYOYOS.COM The yo yo waterball, a toy that carries a risk of strangulation for children, is now banned in the state of Illinois.