What Christmas means to us
Winner winner chicken dinner
Citing sources
What Christmas means to us
William Cook
Staff Writer
It is getting close to Christmas time, and as the carolers are caroling and the decorators are decorating, I am beginning to think more and more about what Christmas is like for me and my family.
Compared to other families, mine does not celebrate Christmas like others. The main reason is because my family is non-religious. Thankfully, that means no early morning Christmas church services and no extremely awkward moments of saying grace at the dinner table; not to say those are bad, they are just simply unnatural to me.
However, I do believe that families who partake in religious ceremonies for their Christmas celebrations have opportunities to experience things that I would like to experience.
Celebrating the holidays with large group of people and doing more for the community than I would normally do, like helping the poor or handing out presents to sick children, are two examples. I find myself oddly inspired to do special things for people around this time of year.
Even if my family and I celebrate Christmas differently than religious families, it does not mean that we have lost our way. Sure, we might not observe the day for the same reason Christians do, but I think all the general ideas and principles of this special holiday resonate within us.
During Christmas my family and I eat good food and reminisce over times we have spent together. We exchange gifts and are humble for what we have.
We take time out of our busy schedules and remind ourselves to be kind to all, because that’s really what this holiday is all about — being altruistic and kind to our fellow man, no matter what the next person’s religion is.
I think it is fair to say that many religious people feel the same. That Christmas is not just about religion itself but also about the kind of morals, ethics, and values that every decent man should extend to his neighbors.
It is about peace, joy, and love on earth. That is what we love about this holiday and that is what allows us to coexist with each other.
Winner winner chicken dinner
Paige Gordeneer
Staff Writer
The first thing people notice when they walk into Firekeepers Casino is the sounds and lights that reverberate through and illuminate the massive structure. They see the people at the slot machines and table games, they smell the cigarettes burning. They anticipate the opportunity to dine at the casino’s many restaurants.
What people don’t always realize is that beyond the casino’s 2,680 slot machines, and 78 table games is a whole crew of people working to make the guest’s experience enjoyable.
Many of Firekeepers Casino’s employees are students. In the Mijem Buffet close to 10 employees are students at Kellogg Community College.
Taylor Potter, a server in the buffet, has nothing but fondness for the restaurant. “I enjoy it a lot. There have been a couple of interesting things happen, but so far I enjoy it.” As far as “interesting things,” she said really the only thing that has caught her off guard was some of the employee’s terminations. Potter started training in mid-July. Her experience with the training process was much like everyone else’s. “It was long, confusing, and ever-changing.” But that is how it is with most new businesses, everyone is learning.
Now, Potter has had three months of experience in the casino and things have mostly ironed themselves out. “I’d say I have improved since training, since we know what we can and can’t do, and how we are supposed to do things.”
Potter was hired through a job fair held in Marshall in June and was offered a job on the spot, like many employees at the casino.
Among those hired was another KCC student, Brianna Garcia. Garcia also works in the Mijem Buffet after transferring from the casino’s high-end restaurant Nibi.
Garcia has certification in Cooking in Hospitality, which she said she believes was a huge help in her hiring process. “I got certified because I wanted to cook better,” she said jokingly. Garcia loves working for Firekeepers Casino just as Potter does. Being an employee has it’s perks.
Full-time employees at the casino get benefits, such as health and life insurance, 401Ks and paid time off. That is Garcia’s favorite part about working for Firekeepers Casino, besides the people of course. “Some of the people are great, some annoy me but you have that everywhere.”
Potter agrees, “The people are fun. We all get along very well. Some are very dramatic. For the most part we are a good mesh of people.”
So, next time you visit Firekeepers Casino, don’t forget what goes into your experience there. You never know, the employee you are interacting may be a classmate of yours.
Citing Sources
It’s 8:00 am and the paper is due at 10. You sit down at the library computer and pull up Microsoft Word and locate your paper. Almost done, you think. There’s plenty of time to pull together the Reference List and complete the in-text citing. Now where are those sources? What format is required? This EasyBib the professor told me about doesn’t seem so easy…..What do they mean by the volume and issue number? What about those in-text citations? How do they work?
For most students, the process of citing sources and formatting papers according a particular style is not the most appealing aspect of writing a paper. Whether a paper is being formatted according to APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association) or Chicago Style, the nitty gritty details can seem overwhelming, but they do matter. Providing citations serves both reader and writer. For the writer, it gives credibility to arguments, showing your ideas come from legitimate sources and are not simply opinion. It also acknowledges the author’s intellectual property. For the reader, citing and formatting provides consistency and give easy access to sources.
As another semester winds down and you find yourself finishing papers, here are some reminders for successfully using the various documentation styles:
- Know the style you are required to use. Is it APA, MLA or Chicago? Check your syllabus or ask your instructor.
- Gather the information you need for the Works Cited list as you go. Get all the information you need (author, title, publication information, date) as you work with a source. Don’t wait until you are writing the Works Cited list to gather your information. This leads to mistakes.
- Get help. There are many avenues for citation help. Here are just a few:
- Consult the style manual (available in the KCC Library) or information provided in your textbook.
- Utilize helps available on the web. Be careful here, however. The information provided on-line is only as good as the creators. Use only credible sites. One of the most widely recognized websites providing help with APA, MLA and Chicago Style is OWL (Online Writing Laboratory) developed by Purdue University, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ Not only does OWL help with citing sources, it also gives guidance on the entire process of writing a college level paper.
- Ask a Librarian. The KCC Librarians are trained to assist with citing sources and other research questions. Visit the KCC Library website, where you’ll find a Citation LibGuide, http://guides.kellogg.edu/citations, or stop by the Library Information Desk.