Fun with CMU Trustees

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to attend the formal session of the CMU Board of Trustees. I had never been to a Trustees meeting before, but I was quite curious as to what goes on there. That, and I am considering joining one of the committees. More on that momentarily.

Make-up of the Board
The Board of Trustees consists of eight members whose terms expire on December 31 of an even-numbered year (i.e. each New Year's following an election). The Governor appoints trustees to the boards of each of Michigan's public universities (except U-M, MSU, and Wayne State, whose boards of control are elected by voters). Each trustee's term is eight years.

The current trustees, along with the year in which they were appointed and the year in which their terms expire, are:

• Jeff Caponigro, Chair, 2002-2008*
• John Kulhavi, Vice Chair, 2002-2008*
• Stephanie Comai, 2003-2010**
• Gail Torreano, 2003-2010**
• Marilyn Hubbard, 2005-2012
• Sam Kottamasu, 2005-2012
• Brian Fannon, 2007-2014
• Jacqueline Garrett, 2007-2014

*Caponigro and Kulhavi were each appointed after previous trustees resigned.
**Comai and Torreano were appointed in a controversial and unprecented move by Governor John Engler on January 1, 2003. Trustees' terms end right at the New Year, but the Governor's term ends at noon on New Year's Day. Many believed that Jennifer Granholm should have been the one to appoint the new trustees. (Of course if you know much about Engler, you wouldn't be surprised.)

As I touched on earlier, I have given some consideration to serving on the Trustees-Student Liaison Committee. This committee is comprised of three Trustees, the Student Body President, and three other students appointed by the Student Body President and confirmed by the SGA Senate. Traditionally, the President will appoint the President of the Residence Hall Assembly to the Committee, while this year President Mike Zeig appointed someone to deal specifically with diversity issues.

So, what happened?
In his report, President Michael Rao honored several students for their accomplishments, including football stars Dan LeFevour and Ike Brown. He also noted that a student's artwork was on display at the State Capitol.

An expert discussed the feasibility of building a medical school.

CMU Police Chief Stan Dinius gave a report on such items as emergency phones, emergency preparedness, and Night Rides.

So what did the Board actually do? Among other things, they:

• Approved a $20 million renovation of the Rose Center, where sporting events, concerts, and commencement are held. To my relief, this will be funded entirely by donations.
• Passed a resolution condemning the recent noose incident and recognizing the need for improving education on cultural and diversity issues.
• Gave President Rao a raise. His salary is roughly in the middle in terms of Mid-American Conference salaries, at $293,550.
• Granted emeritus rank to three outgoing faculty, including a dean.
• Created a visiting professorship in Native American studies.
• Named a room in the library for a longtime library employee.
• Elected its officers for 2008. Caponigro will stay on as Chair, with Kulhavi as Vice Chair And Torreano as co-vice chair.

A Future Trustee?
After the meeting, Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe congratulated me on making it through the entire 193-minute meeting without once leaving the meeting room. I told him about my curiosity, and the fact that I have been thinking about joining the Trustees-Student Liaison Committee.

But I'm not gonna lie, I left that room on Thursday with a new lifetime goal: Serve as a Trustee. Yep, in 15-20 years when a Democratic Governor is looking for two new faces to join the CMU Board, and I am not an elected official, said governor should pencil in my name.

I mean, come on, I'm sure CMU can trust me to do a good job.

Changing our civic dialogue through word banishment!

Each year around New Year's Day, Lake Superior State University in Michigan's Upper Peninsula releases a list of "Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness." The list is the subject of a considerable amount of attention when it is released - including a mention or two on Countdown with Keith Olbermann in the past. Submissions for the list are accepted year round.

The complete list of banished words includes some classics, such as 'Awesome,' 'Dawg,' 'Y2K,' 'And I Approved This Message,' and 'Whatever.' Unfortunately, the all-time list also includes 'Liberal,' 'Truthiness,' and 'Blog.' So I decided to take action.

Throughout the year I submitted my own nominations for the Banished Words List, some of which have a political bent, while others don't. What follows is a list of the words and phrasesI have submitted for banishment, along with the reasons why I nominated it.

Get real

Do you ever hear people telling you to "get fake" or "get unreal?" I know I haven't.

Phony soldiers

Regardless of your feelings regarding the war, there's nothing phony about these brave people who wear the uniform of our country.

War on Christmas

Does this mean we can expect Santa Claus to ride in on a Bradley fighting vehicle and deliver cluster bombs to all the little girls and boys?

Pro-life

This is one of many code words politicians use to make themselves or policies they support look good. Most people who call themselves ‘pro-life’ aren't quite as ‘pro-life’ on some issues as they are on others.

Having your work cut out for you

On the surface, it sounds like someone’s done something nice for you: "Hey, I cut out your work just for you." Uh, not exactly.

Smart bomb

I didn’t know that some bombs could be more intelligent than others. Of course, nowadays it can seem as though some of our bombs are smarter than many of our politicians.

Gut feeling

Michael Chertoff must be good if he can predict a terrorist attack based on his gut. I wish I had such capabilities.

w00t

Color me surprised that this lousy excuse for a 'word' hasn't been banished yet.

Ginormous

One of the most pathetic compound words to pollute the English language. Why can't you just say 'enormous' or 'gigantic?'

Take Your Breath Away

So I will literally lack oxygen and possibly suffocate to death because of whatever it is you're trying to sell me? Hmm, somehow it doesn't seem all that appealing to me anymore.

And now, I have one more nomination which I have just submitted for the 2008 list:

Conservative

Once thought by many to be the silver-bullet cure to all of America's ills, conservatism just isn't what it's hyped to be. The conservative movement has run its course. I would almost feel insulted if I were called a conservative.

Do you have any words that you would like to see on the LSSU Banished Word List? If so, be sure to submit your suggestions soon - they will probably start compiling the list soon, if they haven't already!

Bits of Tid: December 5, 2007

8,000 Hours Away Edition

• As of today at 4PM EST, we will have exactly 8,000 hours until Election Day 2008. Polls will open in Michigan starting 8,000 hours from 11 PM.
• FWIW: If all Hillary can attack Obama for is an essay he wrote in kindergarten, then he must be good.
• I must say, I'll be more worried about the Dems' White House hopes in 2008 if Mike Huckabee got the nomination than I would be if anyone else got the Repub nod. People in Arkansas like him, and until tonight I hadn't heard much dirt on him. Until I read this.
• Got gift cards? Use them. You may think I'm telling you something obvious, but lots of them go unused.
• Is activism an aphrodisiac for you? This online petition will be sent to the Legislature asking for action on legislation that will protect our Great Lakes water. They're aiming for 5,000 signatures.
• You. Must. Check. Out. Progress Michigan.
• Sign seen on the door of a study lounge in CMU's Cobb Hall:

  This room is for studying books, not anatomy.

• I have one more nomination for Lake Superior State's Banished Words List, which I will reveal to you this weekend. Stay tuned!

Who's the only Republican worth cheating with?

Guess who's ticked off about Michigan losing its DNC delegates?

I'll start by quoting Daily Kos user Neon Vincent, who says it better than I could:

The only winners, at least in the short term, are the Michigan GOP, who enabled the quixotic efforts of Debbie Dingell and others who wanted an earlier primary, when a February 5th caucus would have been perfectly acceptable to the DNC, the candidates, and most of the Michigan Democrats whose opinions I've heard and read. Instead, I'm disenfranchised so that some of the state party leaders can make a point about what they perceive as the unfairness of the primary calendar.

In the long run, it's time to reform the primary system and rationalize the calendar. In the short run, it's time to deny the Republicans the fruits of their victory by monkey-wrenching their primary.

Let me add that the January 15 primary will NOT give Michigan any more influence than Iowa or New Hampshire, because both of their primaries have been scheduled before January 15.

Plus, by not having delegates at the convention, Michigan will not be able to have any seats on the Platform Committee, costing Michigan Dems what influence we would have by having a caucus.

I don't buy this argument that 'they'll end up seating the delegates.' Is it likely the DNC will seat our delegates? Perhaps; I'm not an insider. But why would the DNC strip Michigan of its delegates only to return them?

What I do know is that supporters of the primary owe the very fact that the primary is even occurring to four far-right conservative ideologues on the state Supreme Court.

And I also know that dozens of people on Michigan Liberal alone - and surely hundreds of other Democratic activists around the state - are very angry about this. It is to these activists that the Michigan Democratic Party owes its recent success at the ballot box. This only serves to de-motivate many of them, causing them to lessen their activist role or, worse off, causing them to not vote Democratic.

So instead of more influence, which was the original intent of moving the primary on January 15, we get a primary which has cost Michigan its Convention delegates; will only include four candidates; will not feature campaigning from the candidates; is seriously dividing the state Party; and which owes its very existence to four extreme conservatives on the Supreme Court.

Yep, I'm quite ticked.

Disclaimer: For disclosure's sake, I should also note that (1) I support Barack Obama, one of the four who pulled out of the January 15 primary; and (2) I had been planning on seeking a spot as a Convention delegate.

The first big snowfall of the season

Warriner Hall

Wakelin McNeel Woodlot

Looking towards the Bovee University Center

Help stop coal power plants from being built in Michigan

From NoCoalRush.com:

Michigan's energy future is in the crosshairs. Our state is threatened with an onslaught of at least seven more dirty coal-fired power plants that will keep Michigan locked in the energy dark ages, dependent on imported fossil fuels and producing more dangerous global warming pollution. More outdated dirty coal plants will hamper the development of clean energy and the good paying jobs that come with it.

But the Legislature can stop this from happening NOW by passing a NO NEW COAL PLANT policy until Michigan has a strong Clean Energy Plan that would:

Enact a strong renewable energy standard that requires energy providers to generate 20 percent of their electric power from renewable sources by 2020.

Enact strong statewide utility funded energy efficiency programs that result in at least 1% energy savings per year.

Protect consumers from having to absorb the skyrocketing future costs of coal burning.

Implement a long term energy plan that guarantees energy efficiency and renewable power are used before any more outdated coal plants are built.

Develop new standards for controlling the emissions of CO2.

Governor Granholm has been working tirelessly bring renewable energy to the state, which will help improve the health of both our environment and our economy. Increasing coal production will hurt our environment without offering much promise for many more new jobs. So be sure to visit NoCoalRush.com and let your lawmakers know that you support our environment and our economy and oppose the building of coal-fired power plants in Michigan.

And while you're at it, visit SmallStepBigChange.com and take the pledge to do your part.

Now for something completely different - and funny!

(It gets hilarious about 35 seconds from the end as the ref announces the penalty.)

Here's a funny one starring Jeopardy! champ Ken Jennings:



And speaking of Jeopardy!, well of course, Sean Connery!

1,000 barrels of oil pumped PER SECOND - and other astounding stats

When's the last time you heard someone say, "Every ___ seconds someone is diagnosed with cancer," or "Every ___ seconds someone dies of ___ disease"?

The World Clock is an eye-opening website that estimates several vital statistics, including the earth's temperature, population, incidences of disease, and more. Open the website, and you will see constantly updated stats for many categories for this year. Clicking each of the buttons at the top will give you data pertaining to this month, this week, and today.

• The earth's temperature rises by one billionth of a degree every three seconds.


• One thousand barrels of oil are pumped every second.


• We lose a hectare of forest about every 2.5 seconds.


• More than fifty species have become extinct today alone.


• The world's population has grown by more than five million this week - nearly the population of Colorado.

Bits of Tid: November 23, 2007

• Well, here we are, the day after Thanksgiving, and we just lit our Christmas tree for the first time this season. We'll probably add some lights and ornaments before I go back to CMU this Sunday - and I may just post a few photos..........
  
• Let me repost here a comment that I first posted on this Daily Kos bit:
  
  

  If Dems want to win the center...
  ...then they need only appeal to the base. I think most people who consider themselves moderate or centrist would find a progressive platform quite attractive (for lack of better words).

  If a guy like me can become a progressive Democrat, then so can others.

• Two items of note for those concerned about the transgendered: First, Governor Granholm has added gender identity to a non-discrimination policy for state employees. Second, next week at CMU is Transgender Awareness Week.
  
• Congressional Democrats want to include a requirement in the war funding bill that most US troops leave Iraq by a little over a year from now. They are backed by one Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez (ret.), who himself was a commander in Iraq.
  
• Would an uptick in violence result if US troops left Iraq? Well, Basra has seen a 90% drop in attacks since British troops left the region, so decide for yourself.
  
• Shh, let's try to keep this on the 'down-low' from the Republicans (I like to surprise them): Indiana just might be a swing state next year. So what? you might ask. Well, not only does the Hoosier State have 11 electoral votes, but Lyndon Johnson was the last Democrat to carry Indiana. (If you didn't know, outside of the Southeast, LBJ won every state not named Arizona.)
  
• Just a few weeks remain until Lake Superior State University releases its 2008 Banished Words List! Here's my latest entry:

  War on Christmas - Does this mean we can expect Santa Claus to ride in on a Bradley fighting vehicle and deliver cluster bombs to all the little girls and boys?

• Just a reminder about Blogging for Michigan's Troop Care program - it ends Sunday!
  
• And don't forget Michigan Liberal's daily feature, Coffee Talk. Remember that I am in charge of Coffee Talk most Sundays.