Challenges require balance at GRCC
Opinion by Collegiate Editorial Board

GRCC faces difficult challenges serving the West Michigan population.

With the large, diverse population of GRCC, the colleges’ goals and direction are limited with
the amount of money they have for programs.

The difficult dance of balancing to be everyone’s community college is a hard job for
leaders of this campus.

Diversity means more than ethnicity. It includes coming from different schools and
backgrounds. Suburban and urban students are different. They are dealing with different issues across the spectrum.

The issues common among all students include the price of tuition, grades, homework,
jobs, and balancing a social life. This is the reality of college. Differences begin with
the under-resourced inner city that affects urban students, compared to highly resourced
suburban school students.

This divide happens at GRCC with the focus of programs and limited resources. Does the school concentrate on the sub 100- level classes for job retraining and bringing students up to the next level? If so, what about the student who is coming to GRCC to transfer to a four-year institution?

How about a technical studies or medical programs? Are they being overlooked in this
concentration of resources?

This is a difficult challenge the administrators face at GRCC. The failed millages this
past summer made it even more difficult. The GRCC Board of Trustees had to raise tuition and parking fees, both affecting the whole community.

Everyone felt the increase.

Parking is affecting the commuter more than the local student.

There is no clear solution.

The college continues to grow in population. The balancing with resources continues.

The students are here for the education, no matter where they are from: Kent
County, out-of-county, or out of Michigan.

Every student is seeking a good education, and GRCC is the school they came to.
For whatever reason students attend GRCC, one thing is clear: the college is
more than a city’s community college.

Keep students safe no matter the age
Opinion by Rose Stoppels
Collegiate Staff Writer

While parents usually have a say in their children’s healthcare until the age of 18, in
some areas of the country birth control is being issued as early as elementary age.

I believe this new stance on birth control may actually prevent a lot of unwanted
pregnancies.

According to MSNBC News, 1,300 schools in the U.S. have medical professionals on duty
to distribute the contraception with or without parents’ approval. Although the article states
these schools only make up two percent, this fact is still alarming for some parents and
administrators.

I find it hard for parents and teachers to be so surprised, when they are allowing their
children to watch anything on television.

Another article, written on May 23, 2007, was about 20 schools in Springfield, Ill. that
are planning on introducing a new plan of prescribing birth control and condoms to
elementary students ages 11-12.

Although this may seem like too early of an age, children even younger than that
are experimenting with what they believe everyone is doing. I think this should take
effect in all schools throughout the nation.

Instead of denying what our children are now participating in, we should be providing
protection.

Although mixed feelings regarding this topic are understandable, society today has
made students of younger ages feel pressure to experience what they see on television and
read in certain magazines.

Parents and older siblings have a huge impact on setting the
environment for children and what they see or hear.

When administrators and parents state their concern about releasing contraception to elementary and middle school students, they need to realize the age we live in has changed the way children view sex.

Instead of focusing on just promoting abstinence, parents need to try to educate their children properly, which means encouraging safe protection despite the age of the individual.

Just because a parent did not participate in sexual activity at the time when they were growing up, does not mean that their child will follow suit.

Another reason protection is very important at any age is that children can be molested by adults with diseases.

This fact is unfortunate but true.

Just because a girl may be less likely to get pregnant at age 11, she can still get any sexually transmitted disease.

Today, with the ongoing negotiations regarding birth control for young students, administrators and parents should realize that by allowing their children to have access
to contraception, they may be preventing an unwanted pregnancy or, even worse, abortion.

Not only is there a lot going on during school, behind closed doors, and at a friend’s house, but also with parents and the way they may act around their child.

A parent needs to realize the choice for abstinence is there, however, a lot of their children will decide to become sexually active at as early as elementary age.

In order to prevent approximately 750,000 young women from becoming pregnant yearly,
parents and administrators need to take action.

This means allowing medical professionals to do their duty and keep students safe, educated, and protected.

Choosing to procrastinate
Opinion by Jeff Kranz
Collegiate Staff Writer

Students at GRCC are aware of the growing problem of procrastination.

According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, to procrastinate means to put off doing something until later. I am one of the many students here at GRCC who choose to practice the art of procrastination.

Mind Tools, a site that provides information on skills for careers, says if you’ve found
yourself putting off important tasks over and over again, you’re not alone. In fact, many people
procrastinate to some degree.

Some are so chronically affected by procrastination that it stops them from achieving things
they’re normally capable of and disrupts their careers.

Procrastination is a complex psychological behavior that affects everyone to some degree
or another. For some, it can be a minor problem. For others, it is a source of considerable stress and anxiety.

Procrastination is only remotely related to time-management since procrastinators often know
exactly what they should be doing, even if they cannot do it.

I can think of several excuses as to why I wait so long to get assignments done. I spend a
lot of time online on sites like MySpace, or I just simply browse the internet. I’m not alone.

Walk into the library, and you will see people wasting time online by going to sites like MySpace, Facebook, or even playing video games online. Some people are
actually doing class work on the computers, but the majority of them use the computers for
wasting time.

Mind Tools reports that procrastinators work as many hours in the day as other people,
and often work longer hours, but they invest their time in the wrong tasks. Sometimes this is simply because they don’t understand the difference between urgent tasks and important tasks. They jump straight into handling“urgent” tasks that aren’t actually important.

Working is a common excuse used by many people, including myself, as to why they are not
able to get their assignments done. The real truth is when people have the day off from
work, the last thing they want to do is class assignments or homework. Instead, they decide
to call their friends and find out where the party is going to be; then they go out and have fun.

Oftentimes I find myself getting home from work, firing up the computer and wasting time online instead of studying.

I’m a procrastinator, and the bottom line is I have chosen to be this way. In the future I might
decide to change, but for now I’m fine with who I am. I have found when I procrastinate, I end up being more focused on the given task, like class assignments, and can get them done.

I will continue to turn on my computer and waste time online because being online provides me with a quick and easy escape from the chaos of my life.

Front runners lack; look to back of pack
Opinion by Rebekah Young
Opinion Editor

Even with the presidential primaries months away, the race to the White House is already
jam-packed. Unfortunately, frontrunners are proving to be lackluster, and voters may have to
turn their sights toward the lowertiered candidates to find a real leader.

Party lines on both sides are overflowing with first-tier and second-tier candidates, as
well as potential candidates.

But even with so many options available to voters, the so-called“frontrunners” aren’t offering up the goods. No one of true promise is in the lead. It seems all they can
do is provide big names and big pockets.

In this long and winding race, one must look towards the back of the pack for some sign of hope.

Or at least, someone who affiliates with a party, votes with that party, and has more to offer than money and a name.

My bet is on the slow but steady Mike Huckabee.

Running as a conservative Republican, Huckabee’s opinions on the issues are straightforward.

Bonus: they fit the audience of voters he should be targeting, the moral majority.
Huckabee, who is also an ordained minister, is pro-life and supports the passage of an
amendment to protect the right to life.

He maintains that marriage should be defined as a union between a man and a woman, and
he agrees with lowering taxes and controlling spending.

Even though a record like that might send liberals into a craze, The New York Times cited
Huckabee as a “collaborative conservative.” While serving as Governor of Arkansas, he had
to work with a legislature that was 90 percent Democratic.

This hurdle didn’t stop him from being productive, and he was named one of the nation’s top five governors by Time magazine.

With his religious background, some voters might be skeptical of having Huckabee in office. He’s aware of the cynicism but doesn’t let it hold back his true views on the issues.

During Republican debates, he was asked about his disbelief of evolution. He didn’t waver in
response, and he chose to speak openly rather than give a safe yet bleak answer.

“It’s interesting that that question would even be asked of somebody running for president,”
he said. “I’m not planning on writing the curriculum for an eighth grade science book…but
you’ve raised the question. To me it’s pretty simple. I believe there is a God…who was active in the creation process. Now how did He do it? When did He do it? And how long did He take? I don’t honestly know. And I don’t think knowing that would make me a better or a
worse president.”

At one point it looked as if the Republican Party might split, handing the election over to
Clinton and crew, who are likely to nab the Democratic nomination.

While that still is a looming possibility, conservatives need to open their eyes and take a look at this underdog.

Splitting the party or sitting at home pouting are the worst things Republican voters could do
in the upcoming election. They’re already at a disadvantage, having weaker candidates than the Dems.

With Huckabee on the rise, value voters might actually have someone to stand behind for the
primaries. And with any luck, he could be their man on the ballots in ‘08.

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