1. BG News Portfolio
Lindsey Meyer
Firelands campus celebrates anniversary
BGSU Firelands campus is celebrating its 50th anniversary this upcoming August. A lot
has been done to plan for honoring this anniversary and the school is highlighting its
accomplishments through the past five decades.
The Firelands campus is located in Huron, Ohio, next to the shores of Lake Erie. Dean
Schnurr, director of Marketing & Community Relations at the Firelands Campus, said the
anniversary date for Firelands is based on the day the University’s Board of Trustees approved
the request for a full time branch campus in Sandusky; this date is Nov. 19, 1965.
In June of 1968, students began attending classes; the first class held about 600
individuals, Schnurr said. Over the years the campus has received students from all around the
Sandusky area and it now has about 24,000 students.
According to the Firelands website, the campus will be hosting many events, activities
and promotional opportunities to recognize everything the campus has done in the past 50 years.
Schnurr said the three main events that will occur are an awards celebration to honor
those who are important to the Firelands campus and history, a ribbon cutting and grand opening
of the new Allied Health and Sciences’ Project Expansion and a community celebration which
will occur in April of 2016.
The awards celebration for the 50th anniversary is being hosted by the Anniversary
Award Committee. As said on the Firelands calendar website, the committee is currently looking
for nominations to honor 50 individuals. They’re seeking alumni, friends and family, founders,
organizations or businesses.
Anyone can submit nominations for someone that they feel made an impact on the
Firelands campus.
“We are also asking people to send in their fondest memories of Firelands, which we will
collect and use in a book collection,” Schnurr said.
These main events are not the only things expected to happen to celebrate this
anniversary, though.
Schnurr said celebrating the Firelands’ 50th anniversary is going to be a yearlong
activity. They are starting at the beginning of fall 2015 and it will run through spring semester.
There are going to be events and activities happening throughout the year to bring the
students and community together. One event that they have planned so far is an anniversary
basketball tournament and they are also creating a scholarship fund.
Schnurr said the community plays a very important role in celebrating Firelands’
anniversary. The Firelands campus was created through the actions of the community and they
were the ones to raise funds to help build the campus.
Celebrating Firelands’ 50th anniversary is about recognizing community members and founders
of the campus.
“We want a year long celebration for the community, not just the campus … both the
campus and community are intertwined,” Schnurr said.

2. College students' health linked with overall happiness
Since the end of the school year is slowly approaching, students that are graduating may
be experiencing a mixed flood of emotions at the time. Some may be feeling sentimental about
leaving the University and their friends, while others may be stressed to the max trying to get
everything completed in their courses.
One of the main things to do in times like this in order to keep stress levels to a low is to
be happy. It might sound simple enough, however, Simone Young, a doctoral intern for the
University’s counseling center, said one of the top reasons students come into counseling is
because they are unhappy and experiencing a lot of stress.
“I feel that so many different spheres in our lives are interconnected, and with each of
those spheres is one common thing: being content,” said Young.
Young also said that not every moment in your life will make you happy; however, if
you’re satisfied and keep an overall content mindset then this is all that matters. It can improve
not only your emotional life, but also your mental and physical lives.
“It’s all about your frame of mind; if you look at things positively it will have an effect
on your overall health,” said Deb Busdeker, director of the Falcon Health Center.
Many students may experience a lot of stress and may not know that it can affect their bodies in
more ways than they think, stress doesn’t only affect your mind.
Busdeker said there have been studies that show that stress can cause you to be more
susceptible to disease. The world is over-stressed right now and diseases are starting to rise.
“If a student is over-stressed it will affect all phases of their life. Students are becoming
adults and with this comes new responsibilities and taking on new goals they’ve never had,” said
Busdeker.
“When I’m not happy I can’t really focus on academics and depending on the severity of
it. I may even skip classes,” said University student Jon Rafferty.
It is very important to keep a happy and healthy mindset for your overall health,
especially when you are still young and experiencing stressful times. There are some habits that
students can do to remain this way.
Young said to maintain the basics; to have a regular sleeping schedule of seven to eight
hours a night, have a healthy diet, being active and getting outside — this will release endorphins
and make you happy.
Busdeker said to keep hydrated or else your body will become sluggish, and also to
meditate. This helps your body and mind to relax and become at ease.
Also, one main thing that people may not think has an effect on being happy and less stressed is
to keep up with their social life.
“Remain connected with family, friends and loved ones, develop your social life,” said Young.
Busdeker also said, “If you are around a negative person their energy could feed off on
you, you need to stay around them less.”
The University’s counseling center is also a place to go to if a student wants to speak
with someone about their stress and anything that is causing them to be unhappy.
“The counseling center helps to find activities to make students satisfied and get them to
a point where they can lessen their levels of stress … whether it is caused from their academics,
family life, relationships, anything at all,” said Young.
“Make sure you have a balance in your life … fill your life with meaningful activities and
you will be happy.”

3. Alumni featured on house hunters international
When University graduates John and Megan Bernard decided it was time to purchase a
new house, they never saw themselves ending up across the ocean in London.
John and Megan starred on HGTV’s House Hunters International this past December.
House Hunters is a television series that features people searching for new homes in their dream
location. Those featured on the show work with a realtor to find houses that match their specific
desires.
Some of these specifics are their ideal amounts of bedrooms and baths, yard space,
neighborhood location, distance from jobs, renovation requirements and more.
House Hunters International is a specialty version of the show, which airs couples
looking for homes outside the U.S.
John and Megan are college sweethearts who first met at the University in 2007 at a
Cross Country team picnic. Running with each other is what really brought them together, they
said.
“Running was always our thing,” Mr. Bernard said in an email. “It’s how we met. It’s
something we’ve always done together and enjoyed, and when we moved to London, it was
something we wanted to make sure we could continue to do.”
After graduating and getting married, John and Megan decided it was time to find a new
house to begin their new lives together. They never really expected to be living in a whole
different country.
“A different state, yes. A different country, no,” said the couple. When they saw the
opportunity to apply for HGTV House Hunters they thought it was worth a shot. However, they
were surprised when they didn’t hear back from HGTV until months later, after they had already
moved.
“We moved to England in September 2013 and never heard back from HGTV. Months
after we were settled in our flat, they came back to us and asked if we’d like to relive our
experience for a camera crew and be on the show,” said the couple. The Bernards are avid
viewers of the show, so to find out they don’t film the house hunting as it is happening was a
surprise, they said. Now when they watch the show they always try to pick up on how the
couples react to their current houses or apartments so they can try and figure out which one they
will end up picking.
“We didn’t have a script necessarily, but we knew loosely what we needed to cover in
each scene,” Mr. Bernard said. “Our story was already written for us, we just had to replay it for
the cameras.”
Being on a television show is something that many people dream of and would love to
experience. When working with the TV crew, John and Megan said they were terrific and it was
obvious that all of the producers and others involved in production had a lot of experience with
the show.
“They’d all done dozens of episodes and it was fun hearing stories about other couples on
episodes that we’d remembered watching,” said the couple.
Overall, being on HGTV’s House Hunters International was an amazing experience for
the two and they had a lot of fun during the filming, they said. “We had a plan going into each
property and tried to just play our characters — John being the budget conscious newlywed
husband, Megan taking on the role of the social foodie dietician,” the couple said. “We stuck to
our own wish lists and tried to play everything up a little for the cameras.”

4. New health and wellness challenge hits the university
Over the past seven weeks the University has been doing something called the Lucky 7
Wellness Challenge. Students, faculty and staff were all welcomed to join this challenge and it
seems to have had good success.
According to the Lucky 7 Wellness Challenge program overview, the challenge is a
seven week long wellness campaign that challenges individuals to partake in physical activity
and healthy behavior, such as maintaining a healthy diet and relieving stress.
There are approximately 200 participants engaging in this event. People can join
individually or as teams, throughout the challenge there has been 37 teams and the size of each
ranges from two to seven participants said Karyn Smith, who is coordinating this event.
Each week participants are given activities to complete, they range from taking a 10-
minute walk to eating a healthy snack. If they accomplish them they are rewarded with tokens.
You can also earn additional tokens by logging your exercise minutes for the week.
Some of the particular activities that were assigned week to week throughout this
challenge were to consume five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, do some type of
stress relaxation, take laps around the Eppler South Gym Track.
“By focusing on just a few activities each week, participants are able to make healthy
lifestyle changes without being overwhelmed by them,” said Amanda Long, a team captain.
The more tokens a participant or team earns the more prizes they can win.
“Some smaller prizes include workout gear and equipment and healthy eating giveaways
such as lunch boxes & salad shakers. Some larger prizes include massages, free healthy catered
lunch for you and your colleagues, and free personal training packages and Group Exercise
passes to the Student Recreation Center,” said Smith.
The Lucky 7 Wellness Challenge has the opportunity for being very beneficial for all
those who are involved in it. It brings the participants together and helps them meet new people
while participating in the weekly activities.
“With seven challenges each week, there was something for everyone. I am part of a
team of five ladies, all with varying backgrounds. Every single member of my team has
improved her lifestyle over the past 7 weeks,” said Long.
Each week participants have been pushing themselves more and more to maintain a
healthier lifestyle and stay active.
“The real emphasis of this program is on developing a habit of regular exercise and other
healthy behaviors, and utilizing social support and variety to promote adherence,” said Faith
Yingling.

5. Musical highlights negative aspects of war
Wednesday night the University hosted “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” at
Kobacker Hall. The musical included the University Choral Society, members of the BGSU
Wind Symphony and members from the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.
“The musical for tonight is a powerful and compelling account into the descent into and
the consequences of war,” said Jacob Hoverman, a sophomore and part of the University Choral
Society.
Before the show began, the theater began to fill up with more and more people. They
waited for the performers to get ready, some even waving to loved ones on stage.
“For this musical, I am expecting to see chorus with an orchestra compliment and visual
images on the screen,” said Melody Griffith, a senior.
The musical consisted of 13 pieces and each one had its own story. While the participants
were performing each piece, a large screen above projected video clips from past wars and war
related issues.
The video clips showed men and women marching in single file lines, images of military
bases, soldiers handling weapons, military trucks and more.
A few of the scenes could even be thought of as disturbing, since some included small
children in military stance and uniforms.
“I really enjoyed how there were recorded videos and images, it made the show even
more powerful than I expected it to be,” said Megan Schwartz, a junior.
Each piece that was performed had a lot of strong feelings linked with it, according to
Schwartz.
“While watching the show I could tell the performers had a lot of emotion in what they
were playing. The music was loud and powerful to get the meaning across, yet some pieces
became more subtle,” Scwartz said.
The video clips matched each piece that was being played. If there was a clip of a bomb
going off, then the drums would pound very hard, which connected back to what the musical was
all about: war.
“We have been preparing for this musical all semester. We rehearsed for two hours once
a week,” said Erin Lewis, a sophomore and member of the University Choral Society.
“With the film and the chorus, everything [came] together. There’s a lot of different
takeaways you can have so you should take some personal reflection to figure out what exactly it
means to you,” Lewis said.
Hoverman agreed with Lewis.
“I would like people to leave the musical with a mindset of peace and have an open mind
for peace around the world, even though it’s not really achievable in some aspects,” Hoverman
said. “We want to show the horrible aspects of war for them to think about.”

6. Large, small businesses required to apply for air pollution permit
Amidst concerns that small businesses do not need to get air pollution permits if they
don’t think they need one, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said that may not be the
case.
The Ohio EPA requires any business that produces emissions to get an air-pollution
permit, no matter if it’s a large or small business. Emissions would include any type of air
pollutants that could cause environmental hazards.
“Getting a permit or not is not a choice. If a business of any size has emissions or has
federal regulations that say they require a permit, the business must obtain appropriate
construction and/or operating permits,” said EPA Media Coordinator Dina Pierce.
When a business is started, the EPA works with it to inspect the business and speaks with
those in charge about whether or not their company will need a permit depending on the work
they do.
It is more common for larger businesses to have air-pollution permits. This is because
large businesses could include restaurants, auto shops, factories and others that produce large
amounts of emissions and pollution.
“Small businesses don’t always have a lot of pollution where a large factory is giving off
more pollutants into the air. This type of business would definitely need to obtain a permit,” said
a representative of the city of Bowling Green.
According to the Ohio EPA website, most of the businesses within the Bowling Green
area that have air-pollution permits are automotive industries, equipment factories, dry cleaners,
electronic repair shops, and other large factories.
The process to get an air-pollution permit could be confusing for a new business since
there is not just one type of permit to choose from. Pierce said the most common air-pollution
permits are permit-to-install and operate, Title V permits, general permits and permits-by-rule.
Since there is a lot that goes into obtaining one of these permits the Ohio EPA is there to
help any business.
“Ohio EPA provides free and confidential technical assistance to help companies comply
with environmental regulations. This includes helping a business decide if it needs a permit and
helping them through the permitting process,” Pierce said.
All the businesses in Bowing Green that have a permit went through the permitting
process and obtained the correct permit that fits their business, according to the EPA website.
It is important for all businesses, small and large, to work with the EPA and decide if
they need a permit or not.
Pierce said, “If Ohio EPA discovers a company that does not have the necessary permit,
we work with them to obtain a permit and can take enforcement action if necessary.”

7. Fact Line answers student questions
Something at the University has been getting buzz lately: the Campus Fact Line located
in the Union.
Anyone can call the Fact Line at (419) 372-2445 and ask any question that they need an
answer for.
University students run the desk everyday and are there to answer questions that come through.
Since the Fact Line has been brought to the surface lately, some may wonder if it’s new
or underused.
“The Campus Fact Line was established by President Jerome right after the Kent State
shooting,” said Steve Charter, University archivist.
After the shooting at Kent State, their university set up a phone number that students
could call regarding the buildings being closed or on lock down. The University heard about this
and then created a phone number that morphed into the Campus Fact Line.
“I can tell you from my own personal experience, I’ve been here from the early 80’s and
90’s and Fact Line was here then,” said Director of Operations at the Union Tony Fox.
Since the Fact Line has been around for decades, it’s more popular among the older
generation because at their time in college the Internet was just being created. The Fact Line was
a way for them to search for an answer to their questions.
“Fact Line was an analogue version of Google,” Fox said.
Campus Fact Line isn’t as advertised anymore since the Internet is now around. If
someone has a question they can grab their phones and use any search engine to quickly find the
answer.
“I’ve never heard of the Campus Fact Line …. I use Google a lot but if I had a random
question it would be nice to call and have someone answer it for me,” senior Alexandra Ordway
said.
The Fact Line does not get as many callers as they used to in the past. Fox said they get
an average of a dozen calls a day.
“All we do is get on Google or the BGSU website depending what the caller’s question
is,” Fox said.
Calling the Campus Fact Line could be a quick and simple way to ask a question when
you’re on the go, especially while driving. It would be much easier and safer to make a phone
call rather than typing on your phone and getting distracted. The Fact Line is not expected to go
away any time soon. It is there to help not only students, but anyone who needs a question
answered.

8. Jerome Library adds two new databases
The Jerome Library recently received two new databases and are running trials on them.
IBISWorld and Statista are the two databases that have been running as trials since
March. Each one focuses on aspects in business topics and provides students and faculty with
accurate information.
“IBISWorld is a global industry database. It supports programs in the College of Business
by providing data about global industries and focuses on the global market place,” said Amy Fry,
electronic resources coordinator at the library.
IBISWorld contains business reports for a wide variety of industries around the world,
such as educational services. Each report includes diagrams and graphs explaining the industry,
information regarding supply and demand, the main activities of the industry, even a list of
words commonly used within the industry and much more.
“I have used the IBISWorld and I find it helpful when helping students with a business
project. It has industry specific information that cant be found in any other database we have
here at the library,” said Linda Rich, Reference Coordinator.
The other trial database, Statista, is also used for any business topics.
“Statista is a broader resource, it’s a global statistics database. It takes any statistics
worldwide and puts them together,” Fry said.
According to the University Library catalog, Statista provides statistics and infographics
that have been gathered from market and opinion research institutions.
The information in this database is directed toward all business and marketing topics.
“I recently used Statista when doing a project in one of my business classes. It was the
most useful database I’ve used so far,” said sophomore David Fox.
As for deciding if the databases should be kept in the system or not, Fry said they are
seeing if students and faculty use the databases and finding them helpful.
A lot goes into choosing if a trial database should stay or go. Some may think if the
database gets a lot of use the library will keep it, however it is not that simple.
“We think of a lot of factors when deciding to keep a database. We look at the prices,
similar programs we already have and feedback from students and faculty,” said Fry.
Both Fry and Rich said they have not gotten much feedback yet.

9. Music fraternity sponsors Greek Idol event
The Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity hosted a Greek Idol contest this past Wednesday
night. Anyone was able to enter to win and the event was to raise money for the fraternity’s
philanthropies.
There were two categories participants could enter to perform in, The Best and The
Funniest.
Five participants were in The Best category, while only one was in The Funniest.
Paramore, Amy Winehouse, Jimmy Buffet and Carrie Underwood were among some of
the artists that participants chose to sing songs from.
“ I liked the variety that there was,” junior Melanie Isenogle. “I liked the different
categories they had and everyone was very talented.”
Each participant chose something completely different to sing and there was a wide range
of talent.
“The participant in the funny category was one of my favorites, it changed things up a
bit,” Isenogle said.
Judges critiqued each performance, and at the end tallied up who the winners would be.
The winners were Alex Taylor for Funniest and Audrey Lee in Best. They each won a
microphone trophy and a $15 gift card to Collegiate Connection.
“This was the first official event for our Adopt a School program. We started an after
school program to work with school districts to help raise money for their music programs,” said
Eric Juzkiw, coordinator of the event.
10 percent of proceeds are also going to Heifer International, a philanthropy based on
teaching sustainable survival for underprivileged families in other countries.
“It was really good to see the community come together to support the chapters and also
all of the philanthropies they are donating proceeds to,” said senior Kyle Hourigan.
This was the first Greek Idol that Phi Mu Alpha has put together, Juzkiw said.
“This event helps promote what Greek life is about and what they do, [and] because we
are a music fraternity this really demonstrates what we are all about,” said Juzkiw.
At the end of the event everyone was cheering loudly and seemed to be enjoying
themselves.
“I would recommend Phi Mu Alpha hosting Greek Idol again. It is a great philanthropy
for them to have and this event was very fitting for them,” said Isenogle.

10. Senior rewarded for service work in time at the University
Maddi Georgoff was one of 201 students across the country to win of the 2015 Campus
Compact Newman Civic Fellows Award.
This award recognizes student’s involvement within their university and civic
engagement that will create a lasting effect for both the university and community.
Those considered for the award have committed their time to campus events,
community service, leadership roles at their university and engaging students and the
community together.
“I have been a Civic Action Leader with the Office of Service Learning for three years
now. With this, I plan and implement service events on campus ... I connect the community to
the University,” said Georgoff.
Georgoff is also the founder and president of the BG Alternative Breaks Program.
BGAB is a program with the Office of Service Learning that gives students the
opportunity to travel and work with other communities and provide service to them.
“The program sends students on service trips during fall and spring breaks. It is a great
learning experience and you get to see other communities around the country,” said Georgoff.
Georgoff said she has been on five alternative breaks throughout her time at the
University and that through this program she was able to meet people from all around the US.
According to the BGAB reporting document there has been a total of seven trips since the
program has been created. During the years of 2014 and 2015, students participating in BGAB
have served a total of 2,510 hours to the other communities they
have visited.
“Maddi finds it upon herself to take that extra step and involve as many people on
campus as she can,” said Assistant Director of Co-Curricular Programs, Maggie Nowicki.
Nowicki said how Georgoff has taken on a lot of leadership roles to help others realize
the impact one person can have on a single
community.
“The Office of Service Learning also received the Carnegie Community Engagement
Classification this year,” said Georgoff. “The classification says that the University is physically
engaged and involved with service learning.”
Through all of Georgoff’s accomplishments and service she has done here at the
University she is now connected to all of the other students who won the 2015 Campus Compact
Newman Civic
Fellows Award.
“It is a networking opportunity with other reward fellows ... we are all connecting now
through a Facebook group and other networks,” said Georgoff.
“Winning this award was a big accomplishment and I’m very thankful for it,” she added.