11 FEATURES

Jeremy Kohn Staff Writer Buried deep in the depths of the TLC building, a place resides where LCC students can come together to share their mutual respect for music. It is here where LCCs hard-working radio jockeys work their magic to bring LCC Radio WLNZ 89.7 across the airwaves. WLNZ has been on the air since the early 1970s, according to broadcast manager Daedalion Lowry. The station started out primarily as an educational tool, and it wasnt until Feb. 11, 1994, that WLNZ signed on to become a legitimate radio station. WLNZs core focus is the adult alternative album genre of music, Lowry said. We play artists like Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers, but we also go back a little further to the originators, artists like Paul Simon, Neil Young and Bob Dylan and mix it all together. The radio station also devotes airtime to other genres of music including big band, blues, and jazz, as well as Americana/roots music. Karen Hopper, a student em-

Oct. 14-27, 2013 www.lcc.edu/lookout

LCC Radio WLNZ rocks the airwaves

ployee, is responsible for handling WLNZ social media duties. I missed radio from when I was in college, so I decided to apply (to WLNZ) and I was hired, Hopper said. Besides music, WLNZ also keeps its students up to date on whats happening with Associated Press news presented every hour and a Lansing news show the station airs every Monday. WLNZ is funded primarily by LCC. However, the station also raises money through pledge drives and concerts featuring local Lansing acts. The next concert fundraiser is on Friday, Nov. 1, as part of a partnership with Tent on a Fiddle. There will be four acoustic acts performing at The Avenue Caf on Michigan Avenue in Lansing: Crane Wives, Spring Tales, Who Hit Jon and the Tiamani Project Band. Local Fusion , a radio program that airs on WLNZ, helps expose listeners to the crop of musical talent that the Lansing music scene has to offer. Every Friday, WLNZ hosts a concert at Sir Pizza in Lansing Old Town, where they showcase the latest signed and unsigned talent fea-

Photo by Suzanna Powers

LCC Broadcast Manager Daedalion Lowry works on-air at WLNZs radio station by getting the music ready for students and community members to listen to Oct. 8.

tured in the Lansing area. Lowry said he is interested in partnering with LCCs newspaper The Lookout on future projects. He described how a combined effort would benefit both parties involved. I would like to create a show involving The Lookout that would

gain The Lookout some radio exposure, and also as a forum for those involved in The Lookout where they can do some sort of news radio show, Lowry said. These are just some of the ideas Lowry and his crew have In their heads to keep WLNZ an ever-evolving media outlet.

Improve skills with Sign Language Club

Amber Glomb Freelancer The term wing it no longer has any place among the board members of LCCs Sign Language Club. Along with the new school year, came new ideas, policies, positions and board members. New to the Sign Language Club board are two deaf members as well as chairperson positions. Sarah Beth Cohen, the secretary and mentorship coordinator, explained these new features. Basically, whats happening is the officers (last years board members) are mentoring the chairs, Cohen said. We are here to help guide them so once we are gone, they are good to go. They wont have as many issues. At times, Cohen said, both the lack of experience and guidance yielded problems. For example, if games were being played, someone would forget to bring a main component. This hindered the clubs activities. We didnt have training, Cohen said. We were put into the spots and then you kind of wing it and just went from there. Interpreter in Training (ITP) student Victoria Ellis is now the merchandising chairperson and she said feels like she is able to give something back to the aspiring sign language students. Its already nice to be able to have that extra responsibility knowing that what we are doing is helping the first year students get acclimated to the program, Ellis said. I know how it feels being a first year student; being nervous or afraid to do things and not knowing whats going on. Its nice to be on the other side of that and help out by creating events for first year students and Interpreter in Training students. One of the club members goals this year is to involve more members from the deaf community and students who are new to the sign language program. This year, they (the board members) are trying to change things to make it more fluid for everybody and less intimidating, Cohen said. They are trying to get more first year students involved and actually going to events. This year is Ellis first year on the board, but she has a vision for the future of the Sign Language Club. (I envision) giving everyone a place to go where its a safe environment, where they can practice their skills, meet people and not feel like there is any pressure; just a safe place to come and sign, Ellis said. For more information about LCCs Sign Language Club, visit www.lccsignlanguageclub.com

Part-time student shows full-time success in Old Town

Sarah Spohn A&E Editor Young Shill-Roberts describes herself as a parttime student who has been studying fine arts at LCC for the last 10 years. Shill-Roberts, 59, said getting a degree is not an immediate goal. Im not really in a hurry to get it over with because I still need to get more, get my skills polished, Shill-Roberts said. Her first-ever gallery exhibit brought the highest grossing sales of any opening at Old Towns Absolute Gallery. The gallery owner told me that my show was the best show that she ever had over at the gallery, Shill-Roberts said. And so it was very successful and Im very happy with that. The 47-piece collection was on display at Absolute Gallery from Sept. 8 to 30, and Shill-Roberts was featured as the artist of the month. The old saying goes, Practice makes perfect, and this artist is the perfect example of that. Since Shill-Roberts has been a student at LCC she is no stranger to the fine arts curriculum. Often taking the same art classes twice, ShillRoberts continues to finetune her craft, experimenting with different mediums. I just dont do one kind, so I had watercolor mainly, and then I had oil painting and some prints and then I do portraits, landscape, still life, Shill-Roberts said. I try to do as many different types of a subject. Her works include watercolor, etchings and oils, as well as abstracts. LCC Professor Jim Ferguson, who is currently mentoring Shill-Roberts, described what makes her so successful. She seeks deeper understanding of theoretical and conceptual issues in art and has learned how to direct her own investigations in art, while at the same time benefiting from criticism and interaction with other artists, Ferguson said. What sets her apart, Ferguson said, is the time she spends learning the business side of art, something many students do not expose themselves to. And if her first gallery exhibit sales are any indication of what is to come with this emerging artist, business is booming. A few of Shill-Roberts original exhibit pieces can still be seen on display at Absolute Gallery, located at 307 E. Grand River. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. 7 p.m. and on the weekends from 11 a.m. 5 p.m.

Photo by Suzanna Powers

LCC student Young Shill-Roberts shows off her art display at Old Towns Absolute Gallery Oct. 8.