C.A.N. hosted comedian Roy Woods, Jr. on Nov. 16 in Caine Student Center. After a online contest, senior Joe Van Geison (above) won the opportunity to open for Woods. Junior Delaney Andrews took second place and acted as MC for the show. (Photo by Cheri Anderson)

On Nov. 16 at 8 p.m., Adrian’s Campus Activities Network hosted renowned comedian Roy Wood, Jr.

Wood has been seen on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Last Comic Standing,” “The Bob and Tom Comedy Tour,” “The Conan O’Brien Show” and he has appeared several times on Comedy Central.

The event started off with MC and junior Delaney Andrews who came in second place in C.A.N.’s comedian contest to be the opening act for Wood. Senior Joe Van Geison was the winner. He won by having the most ‘likes’ on his audition video that was posted on the C.A.N. comedian event contest page on Facebook.

Before the event started, audience members had a chance to go online and “attend” the event on Facebook, in order to be entered into a raffle for Wal-Mart gift cards of varying amounts.

Andrews and Van Geison both did a variety of jokes. Andrews included jokes about common pickup lines that don’t work on anyone, but can be heard at college parties all over the country.

Van Geison’s jokes included the awkward moment when you sneeze and everyone says “bless you.”

(Photo by Sarah Ramirez)

Andrews entertained the crowd with her jokes for roughly 10 minutes; Van Geison for 20. Both received prizes for coming in first and second place, respectively.

After the opening act and half of the raffle drawings, Roy Wood, Jr. took the stage.

Wood hails from Birmingham, Alabama and went to college at Florida A & M, where he studied journalism. He got his start in comedy by going to neighboring college Florida State’s comedy nights. After he graduated college, in 2001, he had a hard time getting into journalism, so he pursued comedy instead and he has had a very successful career since.

C.A.N. first approached Wood about the idea of performing at AC when they saw him at a college conference that showcased comedians.

“It was a very well put together show. It was one of the best that I’ve been to,” said Wood. “The crowd had a great energy. It’s nice that the college and student body are so supportive of new comics. It’s great to see a school that appreciates the art of comedy. If I had the chance, I would come back tomorrow.”

Everyone in the audience enjoyed Wood’s wide variety of jokes. His jokes were varied and included topics like getting ripped off at textbook buyback during college, Facebook, immigrants, Wal-mart and sports.

(Photo by Cheri Anderson)

“I thought he was really funny. Some of his jokes were a bit crude and racist, but other than that he was hilarious,” said junior Julianna Whiteman.

After the event, Wood stayed for a few minutes to sign autographs and to talk to fans, then he had to leave quickly to be back in Birmingham for a show the next day.

“The show went very well,” said senior and C.A.N. president Shelby Pushies. “Everyone responded well and it was a great event.”

For more information on C.A.N. or upcoming C.A.N. events, visit the Student Activities Office on the second floor of Caine.

C.A.N. meetings are held every Monday at 8:30 p.m. in Hickman Boardroom.

For more information on Roy Wood Jr. you can follow him on Twitter @roywoodjr or check his website at www.roywoodjr.com for upcoming tour dates and information.

The color yellow is the official color of the armor branch of the U.S. Army. The yellow ribbon first started as a symbol from an old song in 1917 by George A. Norton. A part of the song says “Around her hair she wore a yellow ribbon. She wore it in the springtime, in the merry month of May. And if you ask her why the heck she wore it, she wore it for her soldier who was far far away.”

In November of 1979, an organization was held in Kentucky to tie a yellow ribbon around public trees to support the U.S. hostages that were being held in Iran. The yellow ribbon again became popular in 1990 during the Gulf War. The ribbons were tied to public trees with the implied meaning of “Support Our Troops.”

Now, many years later, the yellow ribbon is used to support anyone who has served overseas or is currently serving. Senior Jamie Hollingshead teamed up with the president of the Student Veterans Organization, Kyle Loar, to organize the selling of the yellow ribbons and the ceremony that took place on Veteran’s Day. Hollingshead is friends with former AC student James Campbell, who is currently serving in Afghanistan where Loar previously served.

“Showing my support has been important to me since I met James a couple of years ago,” said Hollingshead. “I will continue to support it.”

At Friday’s ceremony, President Jeffrey Docking spoke; both Kristi Hottenstein, dean of students and Agnes Caldwell, vice president and dean of academic affairs, were in attendance among many other faculty members and students.

“I was really excited that we had a great turn out on Friday,” said Danielle Ward, disabilities specialist and advisor of the group. “It was a great opportunity for the veterans on campus and the college to come together as one.”

Members from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) attended the event and a temporary yellow ribbon was tied around a tree between the administration building and Caine.

The Student Veterans Organization is looking into buying a more weather-resistant ribbon so it can be permanently tied to the tree.
“The placement of the ribbon is a constant reminder of the military involvement we are in now on campus. The main goal of the organization is to simply be a resource not only to each other [as veterans] but also to the community,” said Loar. “The organization is used as a safe zone for students to come and talk and also to make it easier to reacclimate themselves.”

The Student Veterans Organization was recently sanctioned by the nationally known Student Veterans of America, which gives the veterans on campus full resources to things like job placement and internships.

The organization meets twice a month on Mondays in the Adrian-Tobias Room at noon. The group’s next meeting is Nov. 21 and anyone can be involved. To be a member of the group, you must be a veteran on campus, but anyone can be involved and help out with their events.

The next event the Student Veterans Organization will be holding is a design contest for the Military Appreciation monument that is going to be placed on campus. The contest will be open to all AC students. The goal is to have something designed that is unique to campus specifically. After the success of Operation Yellow Ribbon this year, selling over 60 ribbons and bringing in over $420, the organization plans on making it an annual event.

For more information about the Student Veterans Organization, please contact president Kyle Loar at kloar@adrian.edu or advisor Danielle Ward at dward@adrian.edu.

“The issue of…return to play is something that athletic trainers are faced with on a daily basis. It is important to ethically look at the situation for the best interest of everyone involved,” said junior Holly Payne, one student who attended the presentation.

The presentation began with an example scenario of a player who complained of a headache during the championship game. Claiborne discussed the positives and negatives of both keeping the player out of the game and sending the player back in.

“The dilemma of how soon to return an athlete to play after an injury is a very common issue in sports medicine. With serious injuries, making the wrong decision could prove catastrophic,” said Claiborne.

Claiborne presented the audience with four main questions that apply to player injury situations:

- What’s the good thing to do?

- What’s the right thing to do?

- What’s the fair thing to do?

- Who do we have an obligation to?

Then, Claiborne showed a video about a man named Preston Plevretes, who was a freshman linebacker on LaSalle University’s football team.

One day during practice, Plevretes suffered a concussion in a helmet-to-helmet collision. During a game four days later, Plevretes complained of a headache. Following a nurse’s instructions, he sits out one game, then goes back to playing, still experiencing severe headaches.

Then, on Nov. 5, 2005, Plevretes’s head was injured again, when his previous concussion never healed fully.

Plevretes suffered second impact syndrome, which happens to those who are hit again in the head again when they have an unhealed brain injury. After this second hit during the game, Plevretes had two surgeries that ultimately saved his life.

Due to his injuries, Plevretes now struggles to eat, talk, and move normally.

This injury happened because La Salle University’s team trainer, Bill Gerzabek, did not evaluate Plevretes’s condition properly before letting him play.

Claiborne explained that this situation is one example of how important it is to carefully evaluate players before they are allowed to play, particularly after suffering an injury previously while playing. The questions listed above are important questions to ask in this situation, no matter what injury the player might have suffered.

One person who attended the presentation was Cindy Graves, a senior majoring in athletic training.

“If we show videos like [this one] to athletes participating in contact sports, then maybe it will help them to realize how serious this type of injury is,” said Graves.

Serious injuries on the field also involve serious applications of ethics.

“From an ethical standpoint…athletic trainers must walk the careful line of safely returning an athlete to play while working with coaches and athletes who may not understand the potential risks. The decisions that athletic trainers make in the field daily may seriously impact the life of someone’s child,” Claiborne said.

A number of photography students attended the "After 8" exhibit to see work from students at Brooks Institute. (Photo by Christina Cranmer)

Glenn Rand, chair for the Master of Fine Arts program in photography at Brooks Institute for Photography in Santa Barbara, Calif., brought a special art exhibition to Adrian College Tuesday.

The photography exhibit, called “After-8,” boasts work from eight photographers, whose only common bond is their Master of Fine Arts degree from Brooks.

A reception was held Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Valade Art Gallery in Shipman Library. Art and non-art students alike attended to view a collection of diverse work. Garin Horner, assistant professor of art and design, and Greg Jones, lecturer of art and design, were responsible for organizing the reception and exhibition.

“I selected things for this exhibition that were different,” Rand said during his introduction of the art. “It shows the diversity we have at Brooks. We don’t push one type of photography. What we have is an eclectic group of photographers…the only thing they have in common is they came through the MFA program at Brooks.”

Each artist’s exhibit illustrated different concepts and ideas, including abstraction, religious struggle, perception, and seeing what can’t be seen. Rand allowed students from the program to pick out the pieces they wanted to display, so some of the artwork was new to him.

The pieces were geared to help current AC art students gather new ideas. With most of the photographers being in their early 20s, Rand hopes the art will be more appealing to a young collegiate audience.

“For me being an art student, it’s inspiration because it’s different work,” senior Tim Schlemmer said. “It’s new and from a different area so it’s helpful.”

Rand taught an eight-week course at AC earlier this semester called perception of art. He is originally from Mason, Mich., but travels to Santa Barbara every weekend to teach the graduate program there.

“The students who come to see this come to realize there isn’t one way to see, there isn’t one way to do,” Rand said. “It gives people here the ability to see potentials. An academic exhibition should always try to help educate the student body in school.”

“Slipping Halos” – Robert Sky Bradshaw

This exhibit deals with religious turmoil and struggles with faith. It features a series of photos in an all-white sitting room. In the fourth frame a red stool emerges; more red objects appear in each picture. The final picture shows an entirely red room.

“The Second Sex” – Jayme Burrows

Inspired by the 1892 novel The Yellow Wallpaper, this series of pictures depicts men in yellow suits inherently ‘fading’ into the background of the same color. It suggests an upending of men’s traditional gender roles.

“Need” – Minmyo Kim

Kim’s exhibit illustrates her appreciation for life and the interrelatedness between all living beings. Her pictures show an arm with string and ribbons wrapped tightly around. The final frame displays nothing but a ribbon on a black background.

“[Mis]perceptions” – Ricardo Rodriguez

Puerto Rico has always struggled with its identity as a colony. Rodriguez plays with the concept of perception by using magnified pictures of cells and tissue to allow the viewer the opportunity to question reality.

“Urban Noise” – Sol Hill

Hill studied cameras to figure out how to photograph abstract images. His exhibit displays blurred pictures of city life to display the hustle and bustle of contemporary society, while also creating a sense of wonder.

“American Narcissism” – Amanda Quintenz-Fielder

Every situation in the artist’s eyes focuses on perfection and the importance of having the right skill set. Her display illustrates this by featuring a smiling red-haired woman with proper attire for every occasion.

“Confessions of a Stay At Home Mom” – Barbara Pickles

Along with “The Second Sex,” this exhibit suggests something about women’s roles in society. It features a woman – presumably a mother – in different poses at the dining room table. The pictures themselves are large, unframed, poster-like images.

“Unseen Light” – Kevin Osborn

A collection of infrared images, Osborn’s display is designed to create a sense of mysticism and beauty. He has a series of nature scenes including a waterfall, a collection of trees in the forest, and flowing water.

The Institute of Ethics Brown Bag speaker on Oct. 27 was Joanna Schultz, professor of communication arts and sciences. The presentation, held in Knight Auditorium, was open to all faculty and students. The topic of the event was the art of apology in contemporary public relations.
Schultz opened up her presentation with a story of an example apology. Following this example, Schultz explained several different aspects of apologizing, including defining the speech act, defining the speech for apologizing, cultural differences in apologizing, gender styles of apologizing, examples of bad apologies, and applying the theory to two apologies.
Schultz defined several common approaches to apologizing, such as the words themselves, explanation, acknowledgement of responsibility, the offer to fix the situation, and the promise to never do it again. She also explained that women tend to apologize more frequently than men; and the fact that women apologize even when an apology is not needed. Schultz said the apologies that women so often make are used as conversation smoothers.
“Using words like ‘terribly,’ ‘very,’ and ‘truly’ give a deeper meaning to an apology,” Schultz said.
She called these words “intensifiers” to the apology. Schultz also explained how an explanation could be an excuse for the apology.
The bad apologies Schultz shared, which came from well-known people in previous years, came from the book My Bad, written by Paul Slansky and Arleen Sorkin. Schultz took two apologies from this book and analyzed how to properly apply the theory of apologizing.
The first apology was from Amazon to the “Kindle community,” and the second  was from President Bill Clinton to the American people. What made these apologies illegitimate was that they were not really apologies; rather, these famous people nearly took back the apology as soon as they said it.
A question-and-answer session followed the presentation.
“I enjoy listening to Dr. Schultz. I have had her for three of my classes. [I] absolutely [liked the presentation]. I think apologies are something you never get away from in life,” said senior Anne Witkowski.
An evaluation form was distributed among the audience, which included three questions regarding the speech presentation. The audience discussed these questions regarding apologies. The audience not only came to hear a great presentation, but left with something to think about.

Weatherby met Myers his first year of teaching at the college when Myers was a senior working in the library.
“He hasn’t changed a bit,” Myers said about Weatherby. “He is a very caring, enthusiastic human being and that is completely reflected in his teaching.”
Myers said she felt excited and grateful to be presented with the teaching award.
“I felt happy that teaching was getting recognized period,” she said. “There’s so much change at an institution… when we get a moment to remember what we’re here for in the first place it’s a good thing.”
Meyers said she is thankful to the United Methodist Church for the award and hopes they continue to present it in the future.
“[It] build[s] a tradition of valuing the relationship between teachers and students,” she said.

Assistant professor of modern languages, Bryan Bott, receives the honor of Bullldog of the Week for his constant support and involvement with the Japanese program and his dedication to teaching. (Photo by Derek Owen)

Bryan Bott, assistant professor of modern languages, has become synonymous with Japanese culture at Adrian College.  Throughout his 13 years at AC, he has shown a tremendous love for both the Japanese and English studies, as well as a great amount of compassion toward his students.

“Dr. Bott is one of the friendliest professors on campus,” senior Thomas Frisby said.

Frisby is currently enrolled in Bott’s session on the survey of british literature.

“He [Bott] is always willing to meet with you outside of class and listen to not only your academic struggles, but personal problems as well,” Frisby said.  “Whenever I have a problem, I know I can turn to Bott for support.”

Before coming to teach at AC, Bott received his undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University in Hawaii, and then went on to receive his masters degree at North Carolina State University. He received his PhD at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

After receiving his bachelors degree, Bott and his wife Robin, prior to their marriage, worked in Japan, teaching English.

It was during their time working in Japan that the couple decided to get married.

“On the day we got married, we had to get married three times,” said Bott.

Bott explains that, because the couple married in Japan, they had to receive a marriage certificate from both the Japanese Government Office and the United States Embassy, so the marriage would be considered legal in both countries. Then they also decided to have a church wedding.

“One of the rules [in Japan] is that if you get married in the church as well as legally, you have to do them on the same day,” he said.

After their marriage the Botts taught in Japan for another year, before going back to finish their schooling in the United States.

Their route across the country eventually led Bott to Adrian. Robin was offered a job teaching an English seminar class that focused on Shakespeare at AC.

Bryan began teaching here as well, primarily in the English department.

It wasn’t long until Bott began teaching  and building the Japanese program into the strong major it is today. The courses, which he started to teach in 2002, were not very popular or well developed.

“I think the thing I am proudest of here at Adrian College is the Japanese program because we took something that was basically nothing and turned it into a full-fledged major,” Bott said.

Bott also credits Terry Jackson,  associate professor of history, Michael McGrath, professor of history, and Fritz Detweiler, professor of philosophy and religion, for helping with the program’s success.

He also credits the students, who often have little to no experience with Japanese language or culture, before studying it at AC, for being able to develop their skills very quickly.

“They [the students] go from nothing to a very high level of proficiency very quickly,” he said.

Currently, Bott teaches in both the modern languages department and the English department.

Bott has also had great achievement outside of his work at the college.

Three years ago, he was named a Fellow at the East West Center in Hawaii. He participated in a six-week study with the National for Humanities (NEH) during which he studied China.

According to Bott, the NEH is a large nationwide competition, involving a “giant application,” which explains why he should be selected for the fellowship, and who will benefit from his selection, as well as a letter of recommendation from the dean of academic affairs and other colleagues.

During the same summer that he served the NEH, Robin also served for the same organization in England. Through their time apart, Bott made tremendous efforts to keep in constant contact while she was in Europe and he was in Hawaii, noting that it was very difficult.

“I’d skype her first thing in the morning, while she was getting ready for bed,” he said. “And then she’d skype me first thing in the morning, while I was getting ready for bed.”

Bott is not only involved in the classroom, but also provides support for his students by assisting with extracurricular activities. He is the faculty advisor for Theta Chi fraternity, as well as the organizer for the Study Abroad May Tours and the advisor for the Society of the Red Sun, which is the formal name for AC’s Japanese club.

Even when he is outside of the classroom, Bott stays close to his work. He lives in Adrian with Robin and their two daughters, Carys, 13 and Maura, 10.

“We live about a mile away from campus,” said Bott.

As far as a future beyond AC is concerned, Bott is unsure of what will unfold for him.

“It would be hard to leave,” he said.

Bothering Bott

Fav. Movie: Ratatouille, Star Wars, the Color Purple,         Singing in the Rain
Fav. Author: Japanese – Mishima Yukio,
English – Thomas Hardy
Fav. Musician: Maura and Carys Bott
Fav. Candy Bar: Lindt Wafer
Fav. Drink: Water
Fav. Color: Green
Fav. Month: May
One Word:ちょっと

“It is essential for higher education institutions to work with our officials on a local, state and national level in order to see continued growth in academic programming and funding,” said Katie Frye Hammond, AC director of government and foundation relations, in an email.

The event featured local candidates seeking judicial and legislative seats in the Nov. 4  election.  Michigan House of Representative candidates for the 57th district Nancy Jenkins (R) and Harvey Schmidt (D); state senate candidates for the 16th district Bruce Caswell (R) and Douglas Spade (D); and judicial candidates for the Lenawee County 2nd District Court John Glaser and Laura Schaedler were on Friday’s program.

Candidates were given five minutes for an opening statement, time for answers to three submitted questions and five minutes for closing comments. Questions were selected from those given to the office of government and public relations by AC students, faculty and community members. Students are encouraged to participate in the election Nov. 4.

Nancy Jenkins (R), candidate for the 57th district. (Photo courtesy of Janet Creque)

NANCY JENKINS

Jenkins has previously served as a district representative for Lenawee County under Sen. Cameron Brown in the 16th district.

“By far, the top concern is jobs,” she said.  “We need to make the state business-friendly. We (also) need to find some kind of tax structure that’s consistent.”

In addition to reduced business taxes, Jenkins is concerned about agriculture, Michigan’s second-highest source of income. As for her stance on other public issues, she is an advocate for the pro-life movement and would not be opposed to building a freeway in Lenawee County.

“I want to use this experience to be a voice for the people of Michigan,” Jenkins said.

HARVEY SCHMIDT

Harvey Schmidt (D), candidate for the 57th district. (Photo courtesy of Janet Creque)

Schmidt, a pharmacist, currently serves as the mayor of Tecumseh. He owns three pharmacies in Tecumseh, Blissfield and Clinton, respectively.

“I understand the challenges of our residents and our businesses,” he said. “I believe the government needs to get out of the way of small business.”

Schmidt said the political structure in Lansing should be reconfigured and tax dollars spent should be posted online. He also is committed to creating more small businesses in Lenawee County and making education affordable for all residents.

“I’m the voice you need to get things done,” Schmidt said. “We deserve a better government and we deserve it now.”

Bruce Caswell (R), candidate for the 16th district. (Photo courtesy of Janet Creque)

BRUCE CASWELL

Caswell, a graduate of Michigan State University, has served as supervisor for Adams Township in Hillsdale County for 20 years.

“We have to get people working again in this state,” he said. “We have to make things much more efficient. We have to go back to free enterprise.”

In addition to jobs, Caswell believes students at risk are a top priority in education. He also advocates for building a superior infrastructure, thinks unnecessary government funding should be slashed and supports programs for citizens who are mentally challenged.

“I want solutions to problems,” Caswell said. “[But] no matter how things work out, we’re American first.”

DOUGLAS SPADE

Douglas Space (D), candidate for the 16th district. (Photo courtesy of Janet Creque)

Spade, an AC alumnus, served as a state representative for the 57th district from 1999-2004 and is a partner in four local businesses.

“We are at a very challenging time at our local, state and federal level,” he said. “We need to get this economy turned around and we to get jobs [in the state].”

Spade believes needless government policies should be eliminated and legislative pay should be lowered to save money. He is also concerned with educating Lenawee County youth.

“I’m not running for this position to make money,” Spade said. “I’m running because I want to serve the 16th district.”

Laura Schaedler, candidate for the Lenawee County District Court. (Photo courtesy of Janet Creque)

LAURA SCHAEDLER

Schaedler is a Lenawee County resident with 30 years of experience in trying domestic cases and who has also worked as a county prosecutor.

“I do believe there are some things [in the district court] that can improve,” she said. “We could improve on the way we handle drunk driving in our county.”

In addition to minor adjustments to the district court system, Schaedler believes the Constitution should be preserved for its worth, but interpreted for modern technology and troubled youth should be given flexibility in the judiciary rule.

“The zest for volunteerism was handed down by my parents,”  said Schaedler, who grew up in Blissfield and has been active in a variety of local philanthropy and community service groups.

JOHN GLASER

John Glaser, candidate for the Lenawee County District Court. (Photo courtesy of Jante Creque)

Glaser has served Lenawee County as assistant prosecuting attorney and currently co-owns a private practice in Adrian.

“I think our district court and our whole court system runs well,” he said.

Glaser is focused on preserving the groundwork laid by other judges for the Lenawee County District Court system. He believes offices should have the right to enter a home without acknowledgement as long as they have a proper search warrant and is opposed to the idea of “victimless crime.”

“I think I could be an excellent judge,” Glaser said.