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At some point in your life you’ve probably come into contact with someone who has attention deficit disorder. Maybe you know someone who has obsessive-compulsive disorder as well. But probably, the number of people you know or have met with these conditions is outweighed by those who like to talk about how they have them but don’t actually have them.
The phrases are common:
“I can’t pay attention because I’m so ADD.”
“OMG, I’m so OCD because I hate odd numbers (or like things to be straightly aligned or whatever else).”
And so on.
From an accuracy standpoint, phrases such as this have always bothered me.
But more importantly, they speak to three important, related issues: 1) our ignorance about … Read More…
Following their Eid dinner celebration on Oct. 19, SVSU’s Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) continued spreading information and awareness about Islam in front of the library Thursday.
The dinner celebrated Eid Al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, featuring traditional food and an interactive presentation about the holiday.
The event was open to students, faculty, community members and families, with an area in a wedge lounge with activities for the children.
The dinner is an annual event for MSA, but the group sets up a table in front of the library monthly.
Each time the group sets up tables as it did Thursday, the presentation is centered around a theme. Because this time was just after the holiday, the theme for the table … Read More…
A group of SVSU students gathered for food and tradition Friday on the Jewish day of rest, Shabbat.
This is SVSU Hillel’s first major event of the semester and its first Shabbat dinner, but this Jewish day of rest happens every week from sundown to sundown, Friday to Saturday.
Often, Jewish families celebrate the day with a dinner and light two candles while chanting prayers.
The SVSU dinner was based on the same tradition, complete with candle lighting and written prayers in English and Hebrew, with emphasis on student community and enjoying each other’s company.
The group hopes events such as this will increase awareness of Hillel and the Jewish faith.
“Our vision for this dinner is for everyone to … Read More…
Hispanic Heritage Month is every year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, so you probably missed it again this year. Maybe you don’t mind that you missed it, and maybe that reason is because you didn’t know or because we should always celebrate all cultures and heritages — not just for a month. Or maybe it’s for any number of other of reasons — many of them perfectly valid. (I’m very willing to admit I have mixed feelings about months such as Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month.)
But if the reason is that race doesn’t matter, that’s one argument I’d like to specifically address, even if it’s with the best of intentions — that idea that says: “I … Read More…
For students interested in attending church services on Sunday mornings but unsure where to go, the RSO Rhythms of Grace is providing opportunities to connect students with local ministries.
On Friday, a small group of students visited four local churches on the organization’s first “church tour.”
The students met on campus with Nicole Lee, a founding mentor for the organization, and spent the time between 10 a.m. and noon visiting four churches of a variety of sizes and denominations.
At each church, the students were able to see the facilities and get an overview of information, including service format and opportunities for students to get involved in things such as prayer meetings and Bible studies.
The goal for the tour, … Read More…
With an informal atmosphere, a pastor who studied comedy under Tina Fey and a new location at a local elementary school, Life Church is far from typical.
Life Church, which had its first official service in March at SVSU’s Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts, is built on breaking church stereotypes.
“We want to be a church for people who don’t like going to church,” said Jonathan Herron, founding pastor. “The whole idea is we want Sunday morning to be a place where, whether you go to church every week or you don’t go at all, we want you to feel comfortable.”
The church has been having weekly services for about six months, and Herron explained that average attendance is … Read More…
This semester marked the second year in a row of a drop in student enrollment (from 10,790 to 10,552 to 10,245), but the university’s Division of Enrollment Management is not concerned.
According to Nick Wagner, special assistant to the vice president for Enrollment Management, the numbers are still right on target.
“We expect numbers to stabilize right around (10,000 students),” Wagner said.
The drops in numbers are primarily in two places: the incoming freshmen classes (1,663 last year, 1,593 this year) and in the College of Education.
The drop in freshmen enrollment is largely the result of declining numbers of graduating high school seniors across Michigan. But while the state saw a 7 percent decline in numbers of high school … Read More…
Attempting to protect student information has been a prevalent concern in Michigan universities recently with the recent website blocking policy at SVSU and phishing attempts at Grand Valley State University and Ferris State University.
At Grand Valley, university email accounts have recently been the target of phishing scams. The scam emails were first targeted at staff and faculty and then to students, but there have not been any reported cases of anyone disclosing important information in response to these emails.
In response, GVSU’s IT department has been limiting access to the online email directory and blocking email accounts reported to be sending phishing emails.
Ferris State University has experienced a more serious problem.
A recent issue of “Torch,” Ferris State … Read More…
Perhaps the biggest victory of Tonight Alive’s sophomore release is one of identity.
Often compared to Paramore because of their female vocalist and pop-punk sound, Australian band Tonight Alive’s “The Other Side” feels a small step further from Williams and her compadres’ style when compared to the band’s first studio album, “What Are You So Scared Of?” (2011).
The album doesn’t only set the band apart from Paramore, either. Lyrically, the album’s approach to the subject material is atypical in that it lacks the spite, obsessive attachment, self-loathing and other tropes one might expect of the genre. Instead, the album is extremely positive and very focused on themes of self-actualization, moving forward and coming of age without being whiny and … Read More…
I’ll start this by saying I’m a creative writing major. And if you’re thinking about majoring in any of the arts (and most of ABS, really), or if you already are majoring in the arts, you should consider reconsidering.
I know this sounds hypocritical. Why would I discourage others from pursuing my own field and ones like it?
I’m not trying to say that no one should study the arts/humanities in college. I love the arts and think they’re absolutely essential. But that doesn’t mean people should flock to them as programs of study.
There are plenty of reasons why I feel so strongly about this: It’s often more difficult to find jobs in these fields and many graduates have … Read More…
