Dear Lou Anna,
In the excitement buzzing around campus with the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, I cannot wait to go home and spend time with my family. But, I got thinking…what happens to the students who cannot afford to, or simply do not want to, head home for the holidays?
I remember so long ago being a freshman athlete at Central Michigan University. I also remember how terrible it was to have to pack up my life to move in with someone over winter break because the dorms closed when most students went home. As an athlete whose sport required her to be on campus during the break, I found myself without a home for close to three weeks. The solution to this problem? Sleeping on the couch at an upperclassman’s apartment and living out of a few duffel bags. What a Merry Christmas that was.
I decided to do some investigating. Was Christmas at MSU as depressing as it was at Central? I thought optimistically that maybe MSU would give students a little more flexibility in holiday housing options. I heard that Butterfield Hall, in the Brody neighborhood, offers students who need or want to stay on campus during the holidays a place to stay through the grapevine. [rhi]
“I’m sorry. The Butterfield guest house is closed this year.” That was the first thing I was told when I called the Residence Life office. Apparently an 18-month renovation project is in the works for the guest house, but what I found odd was what came next.
“We’re not even sure if it will ever be opening again either.”
So why the renovations Lou Anna? Where do students turn when they face dilemmas similar to the one that I ran into as a freshman?
I think of how great MSU is and the endless options students face when they pick their classes, majors, roommates and even food choices at meal times. But what I don’t understand is why something so monumental, like a roof over someone’s head, isn’t considered when students need it the most.
I took my questions to the next obvious place, and a place I frequent: the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS). MSU has anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 International Students each semester. You cannot honestly tell me they all go home for four weeks in December.
So, I called. And I asked, “If I am a freshman student at MSU, living in the dorms, and I can’t afford to go home over Christmas, AND the Butterfield guest house is closed, AND I don’t feel like paying $60 a night to stay in the Kellogg Center, what are my options?”
[lights]You know what I got? A very honest, “You have no options.”
The student office secretary told me that students need to find their own housing over the break if they need to stay on campus. Most students usually set up house at the friend’s place off campus. The OISS even sends out a reminder e-mail to freshmen to let them know when they are being kicked out of their dorms – which they are paying dearly for, might I add – so students can prepare for alternative housing.
But why should students who pay quite a lot to live here be so inconvenienced and stressed out about who will take them in over Christmas, Lou Anna? Isn’t studying for finals, preparing for graduation in some cases, holding down a job or internship and having to spend the holidays without family enough on someone’s plate?
Next call: Brad Ledingham, the resident director at Butterfield Hall.
He had the same answers as the woman at residence life to whom I first spoke. “The guest house is being renovated, the house may not even open again, alternative housing is offered at the Kellogg Center,” yada yada yada.
Now, I was intrigued by the Kellogg Center option. I began to think there was hope for students wishing to have a Green and White Christmas. Ledingham explained that in lieu of the guest house being closed this season, students can go to the Kellogg Center, where sharing a room will run you $35.00 a night and a single can cost close to $60.00.
“Last year the guest house was full,” Ledingham said. “Even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day people stayed there. Either they couldn’t go home, or they had a job that required them to stay here; either way people used the guest house.” [brad]
If so many people depend on the services offered at the guest house, why would renovations for the place be scheduled during the holiday season, and why would the building be closed following the renovations? It just don’t add up for me.
I called my friend on the diving team, Danielle Williams. She is an international student herself, so I figured maybe she had run into the same problem I did as a freshman at CMU.
“Were you allowed to stay in the dorms over Christmas Break?” I asked.
She told me that the week prior to school starting in the spring semester was when she and her teammates were allowed back into the dorm rooms. But of course there was a catch.
“I think that athletics had to pay for us to move in early, and it was close to $200 per day,” Williams said.
What student on campus has $200 per day to fork over in exchange for access to their dorm? A week alone at this rate would be $1400. That is double the rent that I pay for my two-bedroom, off-campus apartment. Need to stay in the dorms for two weeks? Better have $2800 in the bank because that is how much it will cost you. Even aside from this cost to stay in the dorms, $60 a night at the Kellogg Center is a little outrageous as well. A week alone would cost $420.
Now Lou Anna, I understand that there are probably liability issues, and then there’s the question of where students will eat if they do stay in the dorms over the holiday, but aren’t these things that can be accounted for if someone put in enough time and effort to do so? A lot of people work and travel over Christmas break and even on Christmas day itself, so why should the dorms shut down business? If it is a matter of not having resident assistants available, why are they even necessary? Can’t 18-year-olds be trusted to live safely on their own in the dorms? They’re allowed to do so over Thanksgiving and Spring breaks. What other housing option could make you sign a 9-month contract minus a random month in the middle?
I have so many questions, and not enough answers. And I’m not even one of the many MSU students sticking around campus for a green and white Christmas. Your students are being put out of their homes, Lou Anna. Hope you can see that from Cowles House this holiday season.

Dear Lou Anna,

What is all this hype going around school about a proposal to lower the drinking age to 18? For many of us it would be nice to be able to go to a bar and order a drink, but a lot of teenagers are still naïve about drinking responsibly. When many of our parents were in school they could drink at 18, but times have changed and our generation is different. We have a lot more physical stimulants, which can cause us to feel the need to let loose in potentially harmful ways. We also have a lot less discipline.

This whole debate started after 130 college presidents – including those from Duke and Ohio State — launched a movement for discussion about the current drinking age, called the Amethyst Initiative. You were not one of them. I know this was unpopular with a lot of students, but your job is to look out for their safety, not be their friend.

The Amethyst Initiative started in June 2008 when founder John McCardell, President Emeritus of Vermont’s Middlebury College, contacted several presidents who were long-time friends to ask their opinions regarding the drinking age. The presidents discovered a common desire to revive the debate about the current drinking age, and support followed.
Since then I have talked to a lot of your constituents and they have had split opinions on the matter.

According to statements on www.amethystinitiative.org, supporters of this movement believe 21 is an outdated age for drinking. Adults under 21 are allowed to vote and join the military, but they are not allowed to have alcohol. They also believe that lowering the drinking age could reduce binge drinking, which is typically defined as four or more drinks on one occasion for women and five or more for men.

At a large campus like MSU, many minors are bound to let loose after a long week of classes. However, when caught drinking by officials, a minor in possession charge can turn into heavy fines and probation, not to mention a dent in someone’s record. For instance, during Welcome Week there were 134 “minor in possession” (MIP) citations given. Universities and employers often ask about criminal history, and a misdemeanor on your record can sometimes stint your chances of being accepted.
Sure, it is a valid point that college students are bound to drink and MIPs are tarnishing records. But there are some good statistics that show lowering the drinking age may produce more harm than good; it may actually increase binge drinking and auto related accidents.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, binge drinking is the highest among ages 18-20, which make up 51 percent of binge drinkers. It also leads to more than 4,600 youth deaths per year. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) says that in European nations with lower drinking ages, such as the United Kingdom, there are higher rates of binge drinking. These countries are considering increasing the drinking age to 21 because of its effectiveness in the United States. MADD’s statistics also show that since the early 1980s the number of teens killed annually in crashes, involving drunk drivers under 21, has been cut in half. More than 5,000 young people were killed in the early 1980s versus about 2,000 in 2005.

Sophomore resident mentor Jourdan Weiss is leery of lowering the drinking age. She envisions 18-year-old females going to a bar and being bought drinks by older men. This could set up a scene for date rape drugs to be slipped into drinks. “Girls might get taken advantage of; a lot of them have been around the same people for four years in high school. They’re naïve coming to college. They don’t realize that not everyone in college is trustworthy,” Weiss said.

Weiss, who oversees female students on Wilson Hall’s third floor, thinks that many 18-year-olds would drink even more for a period of time if a law like this was enacted. “People would go buck wild at first. Imagine turning 18. People would be doing 18 shots to celebrate and may be less aware of the consequences of their actions. They might end up drinking so much that they get alcohol poisoning,” Weiss said.

Sure, many people take 21 shots for their 21st birthday, which is not ideal either. But teenagers’ brains are still developing into their early 20s. Heavy drinking damages the pre-frontal cortex of the brain in teenagers, which leads to decreased long term memory and ability to learn complex tasks.

Many states are hesitant to lower drinking ages because the federal government has tied them to federal highway funding. The law enacted in 1984 threatened to withhold 10 percent of federal highway funding unless states rose the drinking age to 21.
Traditionally, active U.S. military members could consume alcohol at 18 on a military base. However, in the 1980s, Congress required the military to comply with the state’s drinking age. However, if a base is located within 50 miles of Mexico or Canada, that drinking age could be adopted. Current legislation has been introduced this year in Kentucky, Wisconsin and South Carolina to lower the drinking age for military personnel. A bill is in the works in South Dakota to allow 19- and 20-year-olds to buy low-alcohol beer.

Junior Allison Rice, 20, agrees that 18-year-olds are not mature enough, but suggested that 19 would be a better age. “People are going to drink anyways. At 18 years old some teenagers will still be in high school and will not have matured enough. Nineteen is a better suited age,” Rice said.

Senior Kimberly Bonk, 21, admits to drinking underage her first three years in college. Although she can legally drink now, she deems the current drinking age “stupid.” Bonk believes a lot of the appeal to underage drinking is because it is illegal. According to MADD statistics, 48 percent of all alcohol consumed on 4-year college campuses is by underage students. Bonk said the drinking age should be 18. “You can get married, serve in the military and live on your own before you are 21.”

However, Bonk said to compensate for a lowered drinking age, drunken driving penalties should be increased.

Homer Smith, executive director of MADD Michigan, said there is enough evidence in the number of lives saved and reduction of binge drinking that supports keeping the drinking at 21-years-old. According to MADD statistics from the pre-21 law, the current drinking age saves about 1,000 lives per year.

Smith was not surprised that college presidents signed on to the Amethyst Initiative. “I think what happened is leadership of the Amethyst Initiative misrepresented the data it showed to college presidents,” Smith said. “We [MADD] want to give praise to Lou Anna Simon for not signing the initiative,” Smith said.

So you see, Lou Anna, some people are glad that you have not followed in the footsteps of others. Sure, there are 18-year-olds who would be responsible with drinking, but there are many who would not be. We cannot risk their safety and the safety of everyone else just so they can hold a beer in their hands sooner.

Editors’ Note: This month economics professor Charles Ballard answers our questions about the economic fallout.

Are We in a Recession?
The official call of when a recession begins and ends is made by a committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a think tank headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The members of the committee pore over all sorts of economic data. They want to get it right, so they usually take a long time to call the beginning and ending dates of a recession. The current situation has not yet been officially labeled a recession. However, I (and many other economists) believe that the U.S. economy is indeed in a recession now.
How Did We Get Into This Mess?
Today’s financial crisis is the most serious since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The current crisis has its origins in the housing market and the mortgage market. Several years ago, many financial institutions relaxed their standards for issuing home mortgages. The result was an increase in “subprime” mortgages, which are mortgages issued to borrowers whose credit isn’t very strong. As more people bought homes, the prices of homes went up. In some areas of the country, home prices went up dramatically.
As home prices went up, more and more people began to think that home prices would always go up. Some people decided to buy a home, even if they couldn’t really afford it, because they expected the home price to rise. For a time, this kind of psychology can be self-reinforcing. Prices go up, so people decide to buy because they think prices will go up, so prices go up. This is called a “bubble”.
As long as the bubble was expanding, everything was OK. However, bubbles can’t go on expanding forever. Sooner or later, bubbles always burst. We started to see decreases in home prices a few years ago. When home prices stopped increasing, some borrowers found themselves in real trouble. In some cases, the only way for them to pay back the mortgage was to refinance on the basis of an increased home value. When the home values began to fall, some of these folks were unable to make their mortgage payments. In many cases, this has led people to give up on trying to make the mortgage payments, and the house has gone into foreclosure. In other words, the house is taken over by the bank or other institution that lent the money.
But financial institutions don’t want to hold onto these foreclosed properties. They want to sell them, in an effort to get at least some of their money back. But when foreclosed properties are dumped onto a market where housing prices are already decreasing, there is pressure for prices to fall even further.
On top of this, many of these mortgages were being packaged together, and resold in “mortgage-backed securities”. Many investors bought these new-fangled securities. In many cases, however, these new financial instruments are very complicated. It now appears that many people in the financial community did not fully understand how these securities would work, especially if housing prices ever were to fall.
Various government agencies are supposed to provide oversight of the financial system. These include the Federal Reserve System, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and others. It appears that these agencies did a poor job.
In the summer of 2007, we began to hear reports of financial institutions being under stress, as the value of their assets was decreasing. In March 2008, we saw the failure of Bear Stearns, a venerable Wall Street firm. As the months went by in 2008, more and more institutions were finding themselves in trouble. Indy Mac. Fannie Mae. Freddie Mac. AIG. The federal government reluctantly provided funds to help shore up these institutions, and the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates and tried to inject cash into the system.
On Sept. 15, another famous old Wall Street firm, Lehman Brothers, went down. This time, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would not go along with a bailout. Executives at Lehman Brothers had engaged in very risky strategies, and the firm would pay for those mistakes by being allowed to go under. On the same day, Merrill Lynch was sold at a bargain-basement price.
Confidence in the credit markets had already been weakened. The collapse of Lehman Brothers appears to have dealt another very serious blow to those markets. Banks and other financial institutions became more and more reluctant to lend. If Lehman Brothers isn’t safe, who is safe? The credit markets came very close to freezing up. Many borrowers couldn’t get credit at all, even though they had a good credit history. Those who could get credit saw huge increases in interest rates.
The tightness in credit markets has had effects all through the economy. Small businesses have had to put off plans to expand, because they could not get credit. State and local governments have had to delay investment projects, because of the increase in borrowing costs.
Many of the financial institutions that got into trouble were now desperately trying to shore up their balance sheets. The mortgage-backed securities were turning out not to be worth as much as had been thought, and so the firms had to sell stock to raise cash. But these sales of stock contributed to big declines in the stock market. Trillions of dollars of stock value were wiped out.
The Bailout
On Sept. 19, Secretary Paulson made a dramatic reversal. Only days after letting Lehman Brothers go down, he and other authorities now saw that the entire financial system was in danger of a meltdown. A $700 billion government rescue plan was announced.
Ten days later, however, the bailout plan failed in the House of Representatives. It was caught in a cross-fire between some Democrats, who did not want to be seen as bailing out Wall Street fat cats, and some Republicans, who were unwilling to support such a large government intervention in the private economy. But the Senate passed a modified version of the plan, and the House of Representatives ultimately went along.
However, the details of the bailout have been changing. The precise combination of policies is still evolving. Ultimately, the bailout will involve three main components.
1. Secretary Paulson’s original plan was for the Treasury to buy some of the toxic assets from financial institutions, so that those institutions could get the assets off their balance sheets. The problem with this is that it takes time to set up the auctions that are necessary to make the purchases.
2. In October, British and other European authorities began to inject funds directly into the troubled institutions, by taking a direct ownership stake in them. The United States soon followed suit.
3. At the root of the problem are the home mortgages and the foreclosures. Some portion of the bailout money will be used on providing relief to some borrowers, so that they may stay in their homes.
Will the Bailout Work?
I think it will, although it will take time. Some damage has already been done to the economy, and the economy will probably have several more very weak months, at least. We are in fairly uncharted waters, and so it is difficult to know exactly how long it will take for the economy to right itself. However, I am pretty certain that we will not have another Great Depression.
For one thing, the United States economy is tremendously stronger and larger than it was in the 1930s. From the peak of the economy in 1929, to its trough in 1933, per-capita income (adjusted for inflation) decreased by almost 30% in the United States. Even if we were to suffer a decline that large (and I don’t believe we will), we would still have inflation-adjusted per-capita incomes that are about five times as great as they were during those dark days of the Great Depression. In the 1930s, people didn’t have air conditioning, or cell phones, or microwave ovens, or televisions. Our economy is vastly more productive than it was in the 1930s.
Thus, even though this is the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression, we are very unlikely to witness the kinds of deprivation that we saw back then.
One reason why we should be able to avoid another Great Depression is that we have learned some lessons from the policy failures of the 1930s. Clearly, we have made plenty of mistakes. But we have avoided some of the mistakes that were made then. This time around, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve have acted boldly, in an attempt to take some steam out of the crisis. In the 1930s, too often the reaction of the authorities was to do nothing. That kind of inaction is what made the Great Depression great. That is why I supported the bailout, even though I did not believe that every detail of it was correct. In my view, it is far better to do something (even if imperfectly) than to do nothing.
What Does This Mean For the Job Market in the Next Year or So?
Clearly, this is not the greatest time to be approaching the job market for the first time. For many students who are earning a Bachelor’s degree this year, the job hunt will be more difficult than it otherwise would have been. However, it is important to remember a couple of things. First, the precise field in which you are looking for a job will make a difference. If your degree is in engineering or business or the natural sciences, your prospects will probably be better than those of some of your classmates in the arts and letters.
The second point is even more important: Regardless of your major, you will be in much better shape with a college degree in hand. Over the last 30 years, the labor-market earnings of college graduates have gone up dramatically, whereas the earnings of high-school graduates have stagnated, and the earnings of high-school dropouts have done very poorly.
What About the Longer-Term Future?
One of the lessons of this mess is that it is risky to take on too much debt. If you borrow heavily, things may go smoothly on the way up. However, on the way down, those who are up to their eyeballs in debt can have a very rough time of it.
Over the last 40 years or so, America has been on a debt-fueled spending binge. Since 1969, the federal government has only balanced its budget in four years. (Those four years came during Bill Clinton’s second term in the White House.) Private households have increased the percentage of income that is spent, and they have decreased the percentage of income that is saved. Thus, when the government issues its debt, private U.S. citizens often haven’t saved anything, and are thus unable to buy the government bonds. That means that much of this spending binge has been financed by other countries.
This pattern is unsustainable. I hope that the current financial crisis will convince people that the go-go days are over. It will be good if people return to some of the fundamentals of sounds financial management. You won’t die if you don’t buy. It really is possible to live a very good life, while still saving money. Saving can provide a cushion. Moreover, saving early in life can lead to a big payoff later. A dollar saved at age 25 will be worth far more at retirement than a dollar saved at age 45.
If you save, you will have to invest. In view of the recent poor performance of the stock market, some people may be tempted to stay away from stocks. That is probably a bad strategy. Stock prices do gyrate up and down, and the ups and downs can be difficult for some investors to take. Over the long haul, however, stocks have always been a good investment.
This does not mean that it is necessarily smart to put every single dollar into stocks. However, stocks should be an important part of the investment portfolio of any young person starting out. A stock market mutual fund is an especially good way to go. When you buy a share of a mutual fund, you are effectively buying a little bit of stock in each of a large number of companies. In this way, a mutual fund allows the investor to diversify his or her risk.

Katie Sulau:

I hated most things about middle school except for one cold, damp Saturday afternoon that confirmed my allegiance to writing. As part of Wyoming Middle School’s Power of the Pen writing team, I competed in a city-wide competition against countless other gawky twelve-year-olds who appreciated word choice, character development and story structure just as much as I did. At the end of the day I shook out my cramped right hand and took a seat in the auditorium for the awards ceremony. Minutes later I found myself on stage holding a third place trophy. The golden pen and paper sparkled so brightly under the stage lighting that I had to squint through my Coke bottle glasses to get a good look at my name engraved on the square plaque. Never had I found myself basking in such glory because of swimming or dancing, and certainly not because of soccer or a choir solo. I stood on stage, waving furiously to my parents somewhere in the crowd, thinking this whole writing thing, this was something I could do. There was no physical coordination or sense for musical rhythm required. It played to my strengths (and weaknesses) perfectly. Now, as a college senior, I hold steady with my commitment to writing and know that it is just a different type of coordination, timing, and gracefulness that good forms of it require.

Nicole Nguyen:

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, carrying small Moleskine notebooks around with me to record my random ideas. Throughout junior high and high school, I was primarily a fiction writer and eventually shifted into poetry and non-fiction, until I stumbled upon a flyer for my school newspaper. I spent time in every position on staff and I was hooked. Now as a creative writing senior, I still can’t resist participating in journalistic endeavors. I love the impact that journalism can have on a community, and as an editor, I love being able to watch and help writers grow into their voices to create into something powerful. The Big Green has been fantastic to me; we have so many wonderful, passionate writers and I am excited to be a part of this magazine for my senior year.

Amanda Peterka:

To say I’ve always been interested in writing is something of an understatement. But all throughout high school I was convinced I wanted to be an environmental scientist, even while writing short stories on my computer and being editor-in-chief of my school’s yearbook for two years. Somewhere during senior year of high school I decided that I would rather write about the world instead of research it, and somewhere during study abroad in Australia I decided that I wanted to specifically write about the environment. I’ve never looked back since. There’s something about knowing that you give people the information to make change, and in doing so have the power to make change yourself. Journalists are supposed to be objective, I know, but I also know that there are important issues such as the environment that need to be out in the open, and it’s up to us to do that. And The Big Green is a wonderful place to really creatively explore not only global issues in depth, but also the ones that affect us day to day.

Jordan Barnes:

I knew I wanted to be a journalist from a young age when I used to record myself doing radio shows with neighbors pretending I was Danny Bonnaduce on his morning talk show. In high school, my broadcasting and newspaper teachers cemented my love for journalism. It wasn’t until I got to college though that realized I wanted to write for magazines. The Big Green has given me more experience in doing that than I could have hoped for. This year, as Sex & Health editor, I plan to put the “sex” back in this “section” — something it has been lacking for a few years. In May, I’ll graduate from MSU’s School of Journalism and head out into the real world trying to freelance, travel around the world and eventually break into the world of fashion journalism.

Brigid Kilcoin:

I have been writing for my whole life, but my first experience with formal journalism was as a member of my high school newspaper staff, where I edited the Opinions section and spent umpteen hours wrestling with InDesign. After attending MIPA camp here at MSU when I was a sophomore in high school, I became interested in writing in college. My favorite thing about writing is getting to learn about topics that otherwise would have been a mystery to me. When I put together an article, I’m educating both my readers and myself in the process. I love that I get to experience a little of others’ lives by editing the stories in my section. Cultures other than my own and politics are two of my main interests, which is why the Global View section is a good match for me.

Emily Lawler:

I never really had a “defining moment”- one instance in my life during which I decided that I wanted to be a journalist. I didn’t lose my breath and my heart didn’t flutter, but I’m not sure true career-path love is all about that. Even without the butterflies, this is the most sure I’ve ever been about wanting anything.
I turn to good reporting for justice (Kwame?), entertainment, information, and fun. I’m addicted to at least four online news sources, and check them on a daily basis. When my Newsweek arrives (on Tuesdays) I put down everything I’m doing and kick back with columnists who seem like old friends, and features that feel like home.
In any case, The Big Green is one of those publications that has unwittingly captured my heart and mind. Its articles are in depth and entertaining, and I genuinely believe that some of the best writers on campus are right here at TBG. I’m happy to be working with them!

Alec Marsy:

I read Fahrenheit 451 and it scared the bajeezes out of me. I was so terrified of the idea that someone could lie to me that easily. I decided I wanted to be the one telling the truth. Then one day my dad found his .35 mm camera in the basement. It was this cheap Yashika from 1975 that my dad had bought before he was stationed in Germany. It was beat completely to hell, but the camera took fantastic photographs. So, I’ve spent my life since wanting to be like the guys who work for National Geographic. If I get what I want, I’ll be dodging bullets in the Gaza Strip, but as long as I’m helping, I’m happy.

Laura Martin:

Dressed in a smiley face t-shirt and black velvet pants my ten-year-old self surveyed the room of people at my parents’ dinner party. Noticing that my Uncle Bruce was standing alone I marched up to his side, pulled out my pink Lisa Frank notebook, and got down to business. “Uncle Bruce?”, I asked flashing him a sweet smile hoping to convince him to oblige to my game, “Are you ready for your interview?”
Most kids played video games, hide and seek, or capture the flag. I however spent much of the 90′s filling up my notebook with the answers to interview questions like “if you could go back in time what year would you go to?” and “describe your perfect meal.” While a lot has changed since the days of my so called “interviews,” one thing has not.
Today as a journalism senior and Arts and Culture editor of the best online magazine on campus, I am still pretty much the same as my ten-year-old self. Though my questions have improved, one of my favorite activities still involves me with my notebook in hand excitingly anticipating the answers to my questions.
Except this time my notebook’s a lot less sparkly.

Hello TBG readers,
We’re back and we’re happy you are too! A monumental year for The Big Green has already begun. Our staff of writers, photographers and designers is topping out at record numbers and my editorial team is already proving to be tireless, innovative and a constant source of entertainment. We are committed to working hard to bring you compelling issues stocked with quality stories on the first of every month.
Remember last year’s exciting news that The Big Green had been accepted to the Campus Progress network and granted $2,000? Well after a re-application process this summer, I received word in August that Campus Progress has welcomed us back to their network and is upping the ante with a $2,400 grant for our projects this year! Their monetary support gives us a strong backing for our ambitious list of initiatives. Expanding our advertising efforts, redesigning the website, enhancing our use of photography and bringing notable speakers to campus are just a few of the projects we have our sights on for now. And after two successful print issues, The Big Green’s year will culminate in a third that will come off the press and into your hands in late April.
Our Campus Progress sponsorship also makes us part of their nationwide network of alternative media publications on college campuses. Check out the Campus Progress website keep up on what other publications like ours are talking about.
Last year we watched our readership grow substantially, and knowing that our pack of avid supporters continues to increase keeps The Big Green growing and changing. If you have feedback for any of our stories or have an issue you’d like to sound off on yourself, please send us a letter. We would love to hear from you and include your voice in an issue of the The Big Green.
Thanks for adding a little green to your news diet.
Yours,
Katie Sulau
Editor-in-Chief

Katie Sulau:
[sulau3]I hated most things about middle school except for one cold, damp Saturday afternoon that confirmed my allegiance to writing. As part of Wyoming Middle School’s Power of the Pen writing team, I competed in a city-wide competition against countless other gawky twelve-year-olds who appreciated word choice, character development and story structure just as much as I did. At the end of the day I shook out my cramped right hand and took a seat in the auditorium for the awards ceremony. Minutes later I found myself on stage holding a third place trophy. The golden pen and paper sparkled so brightly under the stage lighting that I had to squint through my Coke bottle glasses to get a good look at my name engraved on the square plaque. Never had I found myself basking in such glory because of swimming or dancing, and certainly not because of soccer or a choir solo. I stood on stage, waving furiously to my parents somewhere in the crowd, thinking this whole writing thing, this was something I could do. There was no physical coordination or sense for musical rhythm required. It played to my strengths (and weaknesses) perfectly. Now, as a college senior, I hold steady with my commitment to writing and know that it is just a different type of coordination, timing, and gracefulness that good forms of it require.

Nicole Nguyen:
[nguyen]I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, carrying small Moleskine notebooks around with me to record my random ideas. Throughout junior high and high school, I was primarily a fiction writer and eventually shifted into poetry and non-fiction, until I stumbled upon a flyer for my school newspaper. I spent time in every position on staff and I was hooked. Now as a creative writing senior, I still can’t resist participating in journalistic endeavors. I love the impact that journalism can have on a community, and as an editor, I love being able to watch and help writers grow into their voices to create into something powerful. The Big Green has been fantastic to me; we have so many wonderful, passionate writers and I am excited to be a part of this magazine for my senior year.

Amanda Peterka:
[peterka2]To say I’ve always been interested in writing is something of an understatement. But all throughout high school I was convinced I wanted to be an environmental scientist, even while writing short stories on my computer and being editor-in-chief of my school’s yearbook for two years. Somewhere during senior year of high school I decided that I would rather write about the world instead of research it, and somewhere during study abroad in Australia I decided that I wanted to specifically write about the environment. I’ve never looked back since. There’s something about knowing that you give people the information to make change, and in doing so have the power to make change yourself. Journalists are supposed to be objective, I know, but I also know that there are important issues such as the environment that need to be out in the open, and it’s up to us to do that. And The Big Green is a wonderful place to really creatively explore not only global issues in depth, but also the ones that affect us day to day.

Jordan Barnes:
[barnes1]I knew I wanted to be a journalist from a young age when I used to record myself doing radio shows with neighbors pretending I was Danny Bonnaduce on his morning talk show. In high school, my broadcasting and newspaper teachers cemented my love for journalism. It wasn’t until I got to college though that realized I wanted to write for magazines. The Big Green has given me more experience in doing that than I could have hoped for. This year, as Sex & Health editor, I plan to put the “sex” back in this “section” — something it has been lacking for a few years. In May, I’ll graduate from MSU’s School of Journalism and head out into the real world trying to freelance, travel around the world and eventually break into the world of fashion journalism.

Brigid Kilcoin:
[kilcoin2]I have been writing for my whole life, but my first experience with formal journalism was as a member of my high school newspaper staff, where I edited the Opinions section and spent umpteen hours wrestling with InDesign. After attending MIPA camp here at MSU when I was a sophomore in high school, I became interested in writing in college. My favorite thing about writing is getting to learn about topics that otherwise would have been a mystery to me. When I put together an article, I’m educating both my readers and myself in the process. I love that I get to experience a little of others’ lives by editing the stories in my section. Cultures other than my own and politics are two of my main interests, which is why the Global View section is a good match for me.

Emily Lawler:
[lawler2]I never really had a “defining moment”- one instance in my life during which I decided that I wanted to be a journalist. I didn’t lose my breath and my heart didn’t flutter, but I’m not sure true career-path love is all about that. Even without the butterflies, this is the most sure I’ve ever been about wanting anything.
I turn to good reporting for justice (Kwame?), entertainment, information, and fun. I’m addicted to at least four online news sources, and check them on a daily basis. When my Newsweek arrives (on Tuesdays) I put down everything I’m doing and kick back with columnists who seem like old friends, and features that feel like home.
In any case, The Big Green is one of those publications that has unwittingly captured my heart and mind. Its articles are in depth and entertaining, and I genuinely believe that some of the best writers on campus are right here at TBG. I’m happy to be working with them!

Alec Marsy:
[marsy]I read Fahrenheit 451 and it scared the bajeezes out of me. I was so terrified of the idea that someone could lie to me that easily. I decided I wanted to be the one telling the truth. Then one day my dad found his .35 mm camera in the basement. It was this cheap Yashika from 1975 that my dad had bought before he was stationed in Germany. It was beat completely to hell, but the camera took fantastic photographs. So, I’ve spent my life since wanting to be like the guys who work for National Geographic. If I get what I want, I’ll be dodging bullets in the Gaza Strip, but as long as I’m helping, I’m happy.

Laura Martin:
[martin]Dressed in a smiley face t-shirt and black velvet pants my ten-year-old self surveyed the room of people at my parents’ dinner party. Noticing that my Uncle Bruce was standing alone I marched up to his side, pulled out my pink Lisa Frank notebook, and got down to business. “Uncle Bruce?”, I asked flashing him a sweet smile hoping to convince him to oblige to my game, “Are you ready for your interview?”
Most kids played video games, hide and seek, or capture the flag. I however spent much of the 90′s filling up my notebook with the answers to interview questions like “if you could go back in time what year would you go to?” and “describe your perfect meal.” While a lot has changed since the days of my so called “interviews,” one thing has not.
Today as a journalism senior and Arts and Culture editor of the best online magazine on campus, I am still pretty much the same as my ten-year-old self. Though my questions have improved, one of my favorite activities still involves me with my notebook in hand excitingly anticipating the answers to my questions.
Except this time my notebook’s a lot less sparkly.

Hello TBG readers,
We’re back and we’re happy you are too! A monumental year for The Big Green has already begun. Our staff of writers, photographers and designers is topping out at record numbers and my editorial team is already proving to be tireless, innovative and a constant source of entertainment. We are committed to working hard to bring you compelling issues stocked with quality stories on the first of every month.
Remember last year’s exciting news that The Big Green had been accepted to the Campus Progress network and granted $2,000? Well after a re-application process this summer, I received word in August that Campus Progress has welcomed us back to their network and is upping the ante with a $2,400 grant for our projects this year! Their monetary support gives us a strong backing for our ambitious list of initiatives. Expanding our advertising efforts, redesigning the website, enhancing our use of photography and bringing notable speakers to campus are just a few of the projects we have our sights on for now. And after two successful print issues, The Big Green’s year will culminate in a third that will come off the press and into your hands in late April.
Our Campus Progress sponsorship also makes us part of their nationwide network of alternative media publications on college campuses. Check out the Campus Progress website keep up on what other publications like ours are talking about.
Last year we watched our readership grow substantially, and knowing that our pack of avid supporters continues to increase keeps The Big Green growing and changing. If you have feedback for any of our stories or have an issue you’d like to sound off on yourself, please send us a letter. We would love to hear from you and include your voice in an issue of the The Big Green.
Thanks for adding a little green to your news diet.
Yours,
Katie Sulau
Editor-in-Chief

Jessica Sipperley, Editor-in-Chief: I’m having trouble thinking of myself as a TBG alumna, much less one of the university. But despite this internal resistance, my graduation day has come. I will miss being part of the alternative media realm on campus, as I’ve seen TBG expand from a budding weekly magazine to a solid monthly publication. The release of our second print issue is a key mark on my TBG career, as I finally saw the physical evidence that we are indeed becoming a true magazine. The editorial board for next year is capable and creative, and I know I’ll keep reading as a faithful former staff member.
Cara Binder, Associate Editor: When I was a sophomore, I remember walking to the Union for my first TBG meeting. The staff was small and very warm, and I felt at home immediately as I took my seat in the Arts & Culture section. As an A&C staff writer, I fell in love with the section. That year, A&C did a burrito crawl, held a potluck and had a sublime time at Sunday meetings. I knew from that year on that I wanted to continue to be a part of such a talented and completely delightful staff. As Jessica, Kim and I pass off the torch, I know there will be plenty more wide-eyed and eager writers that will find their home at TBG. Have a rockin’ time, and take care of this lovely publication.
Kim Bale, Associate Editor: How do you say goodbye to something you feel like you’re just really getting to know? Three years should be long enough to really become familiar with something, I mean, to the point you could predict its next move; three years just isn’t enough. TBG continues to surprise and excite me with its capabilities and wealth of knowledge, and in turn, so do its contributors. This magazine has been such a great friend to me; it makes me laugh, incites arguments and continues to teach me more than I ever expected to learn. I’m so proud to be a TBG alumna, and cannot wait to stalk the magazine and its wonderful writers and editors for years to come. I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, As long as I’m living, my favorite college publication you’ll be.
Trisha Poling, State Side Section Editor: I remember the first story I wrote for TBG during my junior year vividly. It was an article about travel and could have come straight out of a newspaper – I am the first to admit it wasn’t all that good. Since then, I have written countless other stories, edited nine issues, been involved in two print issues and attended two launch parties. But what I have gained from TBG is a lot more than the ability to rattle off some statistics. TBG has been an outlet for me to express myself, meet new and interesting people and explore issues on campus and around the world. But most importantly, TBG has given me the courage to find my voice as a writer, a reporter and an editor.
Katie Sulau, Global View Section Editor: My experience with TBG this year has made me appreciate the first of the month even more. Before I knew TBG, the first was a nice change of pace. Now, it means a brand new issue holding a long list of rich stories and colors and graphics that keep me drawn to the computer screen. The newness and excitement certainly fades as the month goes on, but the angles and themes of the stories do not. Sure enough, the first of a new month rolls around and leaves me logging on, double-clicking my heart out. I love TBG for what it has done for my first of the months and the reading material it leaves me with for every day after that. After a summer hiatus, I know I’ll be itching for Sept. 1.
Nicole Nguyen, Arts & Culture Section Editor: When I joined TBG two years ago, I never imagined I would get to work with such wonderful people. The magazine was described to me as simply “online” – but it’s really so much more than that. With TBG, I have learned so much about writing and editing. The experience is so different from anything I could ever learn in a classroom, and I am grateful I have been able to be a part of this staff. This year, working with the many (so many!) Arts and Culture writers and getting to know each person’s interests and strengths has a been a highlight in my TBG career, along with the launch of our second print issue. I am extremely excited about next year and what this staff will do.
Lexi Biasell, Sex & Health Section Editor: I have done a lot with The Big Green. Obviously, it has helped me fine-tune my writing and coaxed my style through its evolution. My eyes are more sensitive to tiny grammatical errors and my brain is trained to find holes where there should be none. But there is definitely more than that. I learned about the history of executions and how the Irish feel about our country borrowing their holiday. TBG also helped me sort through the painful feelings surrounding my father’s cancer diagnosis and treatment and kept me up-to-date with the upcoming election. The magazine is there for me, like a friend, and I know it will continue to evolve without me here. We’ll be in a long-distance relationship, but I assure you, TBG, I’ll visit you to celebrate our anniversary on the first of every month.
Megan Sistachs, Photo Editor: As the school year comes to an end, so does another amazing year with The Big Green. It is so exciting to see the magazine grow and improve as the years go on. As the magazine grows, the articles become diverse and the photography also starts to evolve into more than just regular photography. I’m so impressed at a what a wonderful job our staff did this year and especially with the end of the year print issue. It’s sad having to say goodbye to such a wonderful year, but I am excited to return next year and to continue to watch The Big Green grow with new and old staff members.

From the founding of this country, the news media has been heralded as a means to disseminate information to a multitude of readers. But one newspaper did not do the job for long. Competing publications sprang up as the American borders expanded, both to one-up those other publications and to fulfill the public’s desire for more than one source of news. In the same way, our campus, with its thousands of students and hundreds of faculty members, contains a great variety of opinions and perspectives. One publication, attempting to present news coverage relevant to all of the members of this campus community, would never suffice. This is the niche of alternative media, and this is where The Big Green establishes itself in a frenzied college atmosphere.
The idea for TBG began in early 2002 with the thoughts and dedication of journalism student Beth Desy. From there, TBG emerged in 2003 as a magazine accessible through allmsu.com, that familiar Web site used by students to praise and bash professors, warn others against taking certain courses and sell spare athletic tickets. It is difficult to imagine how TBG could have existed without its own site, and it is likely our increased exposure is directly correlated to our Internet move. Our magazine earned a personal URL in the fall of 2004, and soon transitioned from a weekly publication to a monthly magazine.
Our goals as a publication are extensive, but our first priority lies with our audience. The readers are what make TBG go ’round, and the readers are why we exist. As a staff, we try to put together feature stories that matter, about topics and subjects that might not get the glory from mainstream media coverage. Everybody knows who Drew Neitzel is, but what’s the story behind the intramural facilities on campus? Without top-of-the-line weight rooms and committed trainers, the major athletic teams could not prepare as well for competition. Most students hear about major protests on campus, fueled by strict political views or brimming controversy, but who are the people behind these protests? How does a protest come to fruition? Why do these people burn so passionately about an issue? TBG aims to go behind surface topics and answer questions about deeper issues. An unlimited Internet platform and an editing structure allowing for time and story cultivation enable this to happen.
Now, it is understood every issue of TBG is not going to be ground-breaking. We’re not going to uncover some major campus scandal or unearth a media gem in every issue. But we’re striving to create a credible, multi-faceted magazine, containing feature articles that are compelling, well-written and interesting. The reporters gather the information and work closely with editors; the editors reorganize, stylize and grammar-ize each story. The upper editorial staff polishes the pieces, clarifying and organizing, and then they edit the pieces again. The design staff tops off the pieces with photos and graphics, making each piece visually appealing and attention-catching. Our readership is increasing, and we’re gaining credibility within the campus arena as a legitimate publication with talented writers and motivated editors. But this progress isn’t causing us to plateau…we’re just getting started.

At The Big Green, we strive to put together comprehensive, well-written feature stories that spark interest, create debate or just make our readers stop and think about a topic in a slightly different manner and perspective. Our readers are the major vehicle of our magazine’s existence, and the editors want to hear your thoughts. If you need a clarification, have an objection or just find something that tickles your fancy, we want to hear about it. Here are the contact addresses for the 2007-2008 editorial staff…e-mail away!
Jessica Sipperley, Editor in Chief
sipperl1@msu.edu
Cara Binder, Managing Editor
State Side, Arts & Culture
binderca@msu.edu
Kim Bale, Managing Editor
Global View, Sex & Health
balekimb@msu.edu
Trisha Poling, State Side Section Editor
polingtr@msu.edu
Katie Sulau, Global View Section Editor
sulaukat@msu.edu
Nicole Nguyen, Arts & Culture Section Editor
nguyenni@msu.edu
Lexi Biasell, Sex & Health Section Editor
biasella@msu.edu
Megan Sistachs, Photo Editor
sistachs@msu.edu