Debt, declining numbers tiireaten Kirby living group

Th« Lafayett*
BOX 9470
Farinon Center
Easton. PA 18042
. •.'^•^s,-^.-
AJ^HEATHER
Friday:
Saturday:
nts ran in
ed terror
Rain/Snow
sterious
Partly Sunny
substances
from the
sky
Ky on^Wednesd.
on^weanesqggy
The
Inside:
Letters to the
editors
criticize
school
policies,
page 5
Lafayette-Lehigh
photo
spread
and recap,
page 8
Siskel & Ebert,
Lafayette
Style
page 3
S t u d e n t o p i n i o n s ruri
rartvpant a s t h e
college's administrj
performs inexorable
. wrongs w i t h i n t e r ^
Lafay€
afayeJ^^^r
December 12, 1997
Lafayette College
Vol. 124
Issue 12
A fond farewell to
beloved arts edit(
Shayne Leslie Figue
whom, though it
2:00 AM as I
and
ndjgN#% no.
yK^ ^nTbc Hill has a Voice
Debt, declining numbers
tiireaten Kirby living group
by Stephen Chigger
In the wake of the closing of
Sigma Chi fraternity and
amidst other difficulties for
fraternal organizations, the
Kirby Living Group is fighting
to maintain its existence at
Lafayette College.
In 1994, just three years ago,
the organization totaled in excess of 30 members. This year,
there are nine.
The
organization's current composition will leave only one
member next year.
Despite its non-Greek status, Kirby House is in a similar situation to Greek houses
because it also adheres to
Sophomore rush. Regarding
the recent decline in living
group's numbers. Resident
Proctor Stephen Kaprielian
said, "in the past, it [Kirby
House] was the only alternative to the Greek living system. Now there are about a
half-dozen others. That, in
combination with the sophomore rush, killed the membership."
Paralleling the enactment of
Sophomore rush three years
ago, the decline of Kirby's
numbers is an onninous signal
for. affected organizations.
Assistant Dean of Students
and Director of Fraternities
and Sororities Tracy Garnick
noted the correlation between
low Kirby numbers and
the institution of the
new rush, "We've also
seen a decrease in fraternity numbers," said
Garnick, "it is a problem
all the way around."
Low membership has
also spelled financial
difficulty for the Kirby
group. The organization has almost no
working capital. "We
don't have any money,"
said Kirby House President Terry Warman '98,
"Right now, what we
have in the bank is what we
pay dues with."
According to the Kirby
Group Treasurer
Mike
photo by Will Wermuth
The Kirby crest proclaims
"actions not words" . . .
neither have worked so far.
continued on p. 2
Is there Gay life at Lafayette?
by Kristin Sabol
One of your friends is probably gay. At least 3 to 4 percent of Lafayette students are
either gay, lesbian, or bisexual,
estimates Brian Want '00.
Want is the only openly gay
male on campus. "We might
not see it, but it does exist Just
because a male has a girlfriend, it doesn't mean that
that person hasn't or wouldn't
in the future have a relationship with another male."
The national percentage of
gay, lesbian, and bisexuals
ranges from 5 to
10 percent.
Lafayette
students who are
not out of the
closet tend to talk
to Want about
their situations.
His public image
gives him a surprising glimpse
into the reality of
sexuality
at
.Lafayette. "Just
•in the past few
months I have been approached by at least five
people who personally told
me that they were lesbian, gay,
or bisexual." He has even
been approached by people
who have concerns about a
friend's sexuality.
As the current co-president
of FLAGB, Brian feels like the
forced poster boy for those of
non-heterosexual orientation.
"At times 1 feel the pressure of
being the gay man in the display case at Lafayette, but 1 always let everyone know that
1 can oniy speak for myself
and not for the entire gay community." As obviously unique
as Want is, his spokesperson
status makes him have to fight
for his individuality from the
fictional gay stereotype.
One of Brian's most distinctive actions, at least on this
campus, was he was the first
openly gay man to join a fraternity. "The decision to join
any Greek organization
should be based on your comfort level with its members,
and 1 was always welcomed
and accepted. But I wouldn't
say that my decision to join
Theta Chi was based on the
fact that they were accepting
conlinued on p. 2
Lafayette graduate sentenced
to two to five years in prison
for sexual assault of student
by James Abels
Last October, Kurt Fischer,
an ex-Lafayette student, was
found guilty of deviant sexual
intercourse, aggravated assault, sexual assault, and indecent assault. The crimes were
commited against a 20-year
old female Lafayette student.
The events Fisher was convicted of occured on November 16, 1995. He was sentenced by Northampton
County Judge Jack Panella to
two to five years in the county
prison. Fisher was also ordered to pay a fine of $5,000
for the victim's counseling.
i
5
a
Students celebrate the culture-bridging tradition of ornament
making and tree decoration in the Farinon Center fireplace pit.
2
December 12, 1997
The Lafayette
Gay life at Lafayette, continued
of my sexuality, but rather
that I was friends with many
of the brothers."
Want w a s n ' t sure if he
wanted to receive a scholarship from Lafayette, for if he
received it he would probably accept t h e offer. It
w o u l d have been much
easier to go to a more "accepting" school. He was
nominated for a Marquis
Scholarship, and was accepted. His next question
was whether or not to come
out.
Having read in the The
Princeton Review that
Lafayette was one of the
most
homophobic schools in the
country, Brian knew he had
a tough road ahead of him.
"It was my initial intention
to come out at college, but 1
felt it would be wise to test
out t h e a t m o s p h e r e at
Lafayette first. After I developed a few good friendships
here, 1 was able to build a
s u p p o r t n e t w o r k which
made me feel more at ease.
After a long talk with my
Resident Advisor, 1 felt confident enough to take the
next step and come out to the
people 1 lived with at FYX."
After Brian came out to his
fellow housemates, he didn't
feel like of the friendships he
had a l r e a d y m a d e had
changed. As for his acquaintances, most were mature
enough to "respectfully dis-
agree" with his sexuality.
Others on campus had some
passing comments, b u t
Brian felt they were just general, "undirected"."Many
Lafayette students grew up
in an environment where
they were sheltered from homosexuality, so feelings of
uneasiness are natural and
understandable."
So whether open or not,
there are a handful of students on this campus who
don't fit the heterosexual
mold. If Lafayette admissions aspires to recruit students with different opinions, ideals, and goals, those
s t u d e n t s will inevitably
bring with them different
sexual preferences.
"Our rush chair is also acting
as our social chair," adding, "a
lot of people have two chairs."
Dual roles are creating inefficient operations. "It's really
hard to do anything," said
Warman.
According to Garnick, the
college will help groups which
ask for assistance in rush by
rurming seminars for better recruiting techniques. Although
officers of Kirby House met
with Garnick to discuss their
problem at the semester's
start, no aid has been supplied
by the college.
Said Garnick about the lack
of coordination between
Lafayette and the living
group, "It was just one of those
mutual things where we
weren't able to connect and
work with each other."
Begun in the 1950's, the nonGreek group's mission statement reads about their
purpuose, "maintain a high
standard in academics, intramural athletics, and participa-
Top Ten best tihings
about the Fall 1997
S e m e s t e i r — by
10. IiOW
JOSH RUTHIZER
prlcea at the student store
9.
11/17/97-12/01/97
11/18/97 -
An eniployee reported that ah IBM computer
mouse is missing from room 218 Pardee Hall. It
was removed between 11/17 and 11/18/97.
11/19/97 -
Student reported that 6 bikes had tires slashed
that were stored in the entrance foyer to
McKeen Hall. This occurred sometime
between 11/15 and 11/16/97.
11/19/97 - Officers received information that there were
drugs present in a student's room at Gates HaU.
Upon investigation, various drugs and paraphernalia were found in the room. Referred to Dean
of Students and reported to the Easton Police
Dept.
11/22/97 - Officers received information that there were
drugs present in a student's room at Easton Hall
Upon investigation, no drugs were present.
However, officers confiscated alcoholic beverages
from an underage student. Also a BB gun (pos
session of which is against College policy)
11/23/97 - Officers responded to a loud noise complaint at
Sigma Alpha Epsilon and discovered an
underage students with alcoholic beverages.
Referred to Dean of Students.
Kirby house falling?
continued from p. I
Werkheiser '98, the living
group is in debt to Lafayette.
"We have this sort of revolving debt with the college,"
said Werkheiser.
The Kirby living group,
famed for its cafeteria and barroom, pays for their services
through the social dues collected per semester. According to the Office of Student
Residence, the college gives
the living group no financial
assistance.
Assistant Dean of Students
Kevin Worthen indicated that
if the group fails to recruit
members in the near future,
their status as an organization
will logically dissolve. Without dues from the living
group, Kirby's cafeteria and
barroom
risk
closure.
Werkheiser said, "we're probably not offering the meal plan
next semester."
Pointing towards the
groups difficulty in acquiring
new members, Warman said.
SECURITY LOG
tion in extracurricular activities, a diversity of goals which
is well suited to its co-ed membership." Men within the
group are housed in Kirby
House while women live in
Soles Hall.
Attempts to bring new students into the organization
have centered around the distribution of fliers to all nonGreek sophomores and hanging of posters around campus.
Despite the advertisements
Warman said, "we haven't
gotten one response."
11/23/97 -While responding to Sigma Alpha Epsilon during
above mentioned incident, officers were confronted
by a student who was disruptive and refused to
identify himself after numerous requests to do so.
Student was was cited for Disorderly Conduct and
referred to the Dean of Students Office.
11/23/97 -Officers received a report that unknown
individual(s) had broken one of
the windows at the P.T. Farinon House.
11/25/97 -An employee reported that a 7 foot free standing pro
jection screen was taken from the auditorium at
Kunkel Hall. Unknown when this occurred.
SCIEIVICEE
Your
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Bookstore
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8. Tha Ziaf»ymtt« Newspaper
7. The football team's success
6. The Top Ten Z<lst
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Phone: 610-740-0700 Web: http://www.sci-exp.com
5. The hua^ # of live 'bands
4. So few incidents of alcohol poisoning
3. Students were very informed about 4/4
2.
1.
2-month wait for a network card
that takes 5 minutes to install
All the new student government policies
that got passed
B r i n g In t h i s a d b e f o r e 1 / 1 / 9 8 f o r a n
a d d i t i o n a l 5 % off any trade books
December 12, 1997
The Lafayette
3
1
Big Screen Winter Review Blowout
Iwp Movies, Two Critics, Four reviews!
Critic #1: SEAN O'CONNOR
Critic #1: SEAN O ' C O N N O R
Boogie Nights is the story basically of the rise and fall of a
pseudo-family in the late seventies, but with a twist - they make
adult films. Wahlberg is the principle character here, as Dirk
Diggler, a y o u n g m a n reaching for stardom in the adult film
industry, aided by some natural talent, in a manner of speaking. H e is introduced to this industry by filmmaker Jack Homer,
played exceptionally by Burt Reynolds. With Moore as his partner and Macey directing, they soar to the heights of the adult
film industry in the late seventies. But as the eighties strike, so
does the d o o m knell for this family, and the second half of the
movie deals with the hardships they endure, trying to live a
normal life, make a n a m e outside the industry, or watching
the change of the industry dash one's dreams. And yet, somehow, they m a n a g e to get back together and back on track. This
movie m a y be about the porn industry, but it seems somehow
to rise above that and be a real family drama.
This fourth i n s t a l l m e n t of t h e Alien saga really m a k e s
a m e n d s for the nigh-worthless Alien 3. Ripley is b r o u g h t back
form the grave, cloned from her o w n tissue samples. But why?
Just like in the prequels, a greedy organization (this time, the
military and not the u n n a m e d c o m p a n y she worked for) wants
the alien for it's o w n ends. They successfully remove the Alien
Queen larvae from Ripley and start breeding aliens to experiment on. In order to supply fodder to g r o w the aliens on, the
military uses a team of mercenaries to bring them hapless civilians, preserved in coldsleep. A n d of course, the Aliens get
loose, all Hell breaking likewise.
Weaver does a fantastic acting job here, with very i n h u m a n
mannerisms combined with her familiar bug-blasting personality. Rider w a s not w h a t 1 expected, instead of being another
tough gal like Ripley she turns out to be overcompassionate
and somewhat whiny, although she is an essential character.
I'd have to say my favorite part w a s Ron Perlman as a hardass dirt-bag tough guy mercenary. H e watches Ripley have a
near mental breakdown a n d incinerate the lab w h e r e she w a s
constructed, then lean on Rider for s u p p o r t , and all he can d o
is shrug and grunt, "Must be a chick thing." Also a m u s i n g
was the character of Reese, a legless mechanic w h o makes
Forrest G u m p ' s Lt. Dan look like a sissy. In one scene, he's all
alone in a j^diieelchair, and a b u n c h of Aliens start attacking
from the ceiling. What does he do? Swears at them while building a shotgun from h i d d e n parts on his chair, then curses them
as he blows their bodies into acid-salsa.
Wahlberg's acting is average, but he does not ruin the
film, nor does the more than occasionally cheesy dialogue. The
real strength of this film is surprisingly given by Burt Reynolds.
He exudes a kind of paternal aura for the others around him
to take strength from, and is the anchor on which they all depend to get t h e m through the storms of their lives. Nights does
have a strong dramatic plot to it, and although it is a very long
movie, the 168 minutes seem to pass quickly. This one should
be u p for Best Picture, although knowing the Academy, it probably w o n ' t be.
The effects on this movie are incredible, m a k i n g the other
three look crude by comparison! Also, the Alien itself is much
more interesting in this one. It's m o r e of a character n o w than
just a threat or monster. In the other films of the series, the
aliens were always attacking from out of the dark, b u t in this
rendition the lighting is much more obvious and thus the alien
actually seems to hunt, stalk, and trap it's prey. This a d d s to
the film as well as to the series. This movie also makes me
look forward to Fox's next sci-fi actioner. Predator 3 (due out
in May, 1 heard). Now, if they can only get Aliens vs. Predator
together (after 7 years of planning)....
Critic #2: PATRICK HALLER
Jack Horner(Burt Reynolds), a director of porn flicks, spots
Eddie A d a m s (Mark Wahlberg) bussing dishes in a disco.
Noting E d d i e ' s vacant look and the bulge in his pants. Jack
takes an interest in m a k i n g Eddie into a porn superstar. In
the w h i r l w i n d of s u b s e q u e n t events, Eddie adopts the nom
de p l u m e of Dirk Diggler, and a s t o u n d s the porn industry
with his 13 inches of e n o r m o u s genitalia. Dirk's cool n a m e ,
good looks a n d long w a n g propel his meteoric rise to pornographic stardom.
As the Seventies come to a close, our star performer develops an ego to m a t c h his D. With the end of the Seventies
and the b e g i n n i n g of the Eighties, Dirk gently falls d o w n
the slippery slope of cocaine addiction and ultimately discovers that coke had ruined his e n d o w m e n t .
I like p o r n , and I like optimistic feelgood flicks. This
film w a s n ' t either of the two. All the sex in the film w a s
d o n e with u p p e r b o d y shots, except for a scene or t w o with
Nina Hartley, the only actual porn star in this film. Not relying on sex to carry the film, the story takes off tremendously, as Dirk D i g g e r ' s tumescence is only rivalled by our
v i c a r i o u s e x u l t a t i o n . This e x u l t a t i o n is a d o u b l e - e d g e d
sword deftly w i e l d e d by the d i r e c t o r / w r i t e r Paul Anderson. As you identify w i t h the hero during the rise, this same
identification w i t h the hero d u r i n g his fall leaves you feeling y o u r eviscerated g u t s pour out onto the floor.
Were y o u to leave this film w h e n the decades turn in the
film, you w o u l d be spared the 'long way d o w n ' that Dirk
takes, a n d could leave the theater primed. But if you stick it
out, the film slow roasts your mind on a rotisserie of substance a d d i c t i o n , s u b p l o t development, and misery
The
latter half of this film was devoted to making you feel bad,
and in this it succeeded m a r v e l o u s l y 1 have a hard time
watching repetitious d r u g abuse(didn't make it half an hour
t h r o u g h 'Bad Lieutenant'), but Paul Anderson's use of m u l tiple s u b p l o t s to intensify your crash while keeping your
m i n d in the film w o r k e d extremely well. But then again, all
this is good, only if you are into feeling the crash after a
coke high.
For the w o r r i e d or merely curious, Marky Mark's p r o s thesis is s h o w n once in the film, in the final shot; all other
indications of fhe m a g n i t u d e of his stage presence are d o n e
by v i e w i n g p e o p l e ' s reactions.
Critic #2: PATRICK HALLER
First and foremost. Alien Resurrection is not a serious horror or
sci-fi film. Alien Resurrection is an interesting film, but notbecause
of horror/sci-fi content.
The plot follows the same rough pattern as the first three Alien
films, in that poof! you suddenly have contact between humans
and aliens, the aliens breed and proceed to carve u p humans,
and then Ripley fights them. The major departure from this plot
line is that scientists have genetically combined an alien and Ripley
to create a neat role reversal twist, as the half-human, half-alien
Ellen gives birth to an alien queen, making Ellen the queen of
queen aliens. And then the alien queen breeds and starts carving
up humans. Unfortunately, the film trudges through its sequel
plot and there just isn't enough tension or blood and guts to carry
this horror/sci-fi flick.
On the other hand, the film is lots of fun to watch. Director
Jean-Pierre ]eunet(Delicalessen & The Lost City of Children) has
proved yet again, that he can make a visually interesting film.
Alien Resurrection lacks the plot/cinematography synergy that
The Cily of Lost Children has, and falls very short as a serious film.
But the operative word here is "serious", this is the first major
motion picture I've seen that opens as a serious film, and devolves into a self-mocking comedy. There are several truly hilarious scenes and one really well-done over-dramatization. But this
is what you can expect from talented people w h o are given a
really d u m b plot, and perhaps the only person taking the film
seriously is person funding it 'Alien Resurrection' is definitely
not a horror film.
Every single last drop of entertainment I got from this film
came from its comic content, and not from any horror or
sci-fi tension. DO NOT see this film to be scared, but rather see it
to be visually entertained and to see the 'so bad, it's good' ending.
iA
December 12, 1997
Metallica refuels with Reload
•••then blows up the gas station!
by PHIL WINGERT
A Mortal Mistake
by SEAN O ' C O N N O R
A follow u p to the pretty
g o o d Mortal Konibal , this
m o v i e is a p r i m e e x a m p l e of
g r e e d - d r i v e n s c h l o c k . The
plot is taken directly from
the video game Ultimate
Mortal Kombat 3, which is to
say it m a i n l y d o e s w i t h o u t
one. The world has six d a y s
until destruction unless the
c h a m p i o n s of Mortal Kombat
can stop Shoa Khan (Thompson) and drive him from the
Earth realm.
Whoopee.
I'm not sure
what bugs
me
most
about
this
movie: that
they killed
Johnny Cage
( o n e of t h e
better actors
from Mortal
K o m b a t ) in
the first five
m i n u t e s of
t h e film ,
t h a t the d i a l o g u e w a s p a thetic, that the special effects
were o v e r b l o w n g a r b a g e for
the m o s t part, or that they
t h r e w in a w h o l e series of
c h a r a c t e r s that w e r e in the
movie for such a short time
it w a s pointless. 1 left the the-
The
ater w i t h one t h o u g h t ringing t h r o u g h m y head: Well,
I'll never get those 100 minutes back." There w e r e only
two things that kept me from
just leaving the theater midmovie. The first w a s Sandra
Hess. She m a d e a better
"Sonya Blade" then did her
p r e d e c e s s o r : s h e acted o u t
the fight scenes better, leading me to believe she's actually s t u d i e d h a n d - t o - h a n d
combat and also m a d e a
m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g character,
rather than a pouty-faced
girl try-
i n f e r i o r to t h e
movie's, most of the battles
w e r e still f a s t - p a c e d a n d
t e c h n i q u e filled. H o w e v e r ,
even these failed to m o v e tha
(lack of a ) plot along. It w a s
lame, and unexciting overall.
Avoid this o n e like the
plague.
Lafayette
F o u n d e d in 1870
%J
" T h e O l d e s t College N e w s p a p e r
in P e n n s y l v a n i a "
The Lafayette is p u b l i s h e d weekly, except d u r i n g e x a m s ,
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E-mail: [email protected]
Editorial Board
KIMBERLY LEEDER
ROBERT V A U G H N
JAMES ABELS
WHAT, ME WORRY?
MOHITA M O H A N
WHAT OPINIONS?
JEREMY WINKLER
O L D FAITHFUL
SHAYNE FIGUEROA
SCOTTISH DESERTER
ASHLEY WHITE
STRESSED SENIOR
WILL W E R M U T H
FUNNY GUY
B u s i n e s s Staff
I N T E R N A T I O N A L GUY
ERIC L I N N
SAVIOR
C O L L E E N TUTELLA
SUCKERS
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
We welcome responses from our readers. Feel free to submit a letter
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preceding Monday.
Opinion Policy: Opinions stated in columns, carttx)ns, and Letters to
the Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff.
" G i m m e ' fuel, g i m m e ' fire,
g i m m e ' that which 1 desire,
O O H H ! " This is h o w James
Hetfield starts off Metallica's
latest h e a d b a n g e r ' s ball album. Reload—and as you may
have a l r e a d y heard, it gets
pretty loud, and yes, it
ROCKS.
W h a t else
would you expect, unless
you w e r e one of those
d o r k critics w h o said
their last a l b u m . Load,
imitated grunge rock too
much? Those guys don't
have ears, which goes to
say, they probably won't
even notice the thundering metal rhythm that reverberates
painfully
t h r o u g h o u t the entirety
of this seventy-six minute
slug-fest.
Metallica looks back to
p a s t metal memories to
infuse Reload with a new
fire for the dying ninefies. This
results in an album that eclipses
nearly every accomplishment
on Load, except for m a y b e
Hero of the Day" and the little
known classic, "The Outlaw
jTorn." Reload has x^aW: a soaring tribute to "Fade to Black"
in the first single, "The Memory
Remains," a "black heart scarr i n g " s e q u e l to the Black
a l b u m ' s "The Unforgiven,"
and slow, seething drum beats
that would make older metal
greats like ACDC and Judas
Priest proud. Listening to the
album makes you wonder why
these songs weren't released
before the songs or\Load, for all
the twenty-seven songs were
recorded over the same time
period. Reload is completely better than that good album; thus,
it's almost scary that in such a
crappy current metal scene,
someone can still show the kids
like Tool and Type O Negative
how to do it. You should definitely trade in your crummy
White Lion, Whitesnake and
Saigon Kick albums for this, the
real damn thing (OOHH!).
Hetfield and Ulrich show U2
a thing or two on the Irishesque epic ballad, "Low Man's
Lyric," in which Hetfield laments, "but I lie straight to the
mirror, the one I've broken to
m a t c h m y face." The s o n g
proves one thing: Hetfield's
vocal abilities have improved
like a miracle since the first alb u m . Kill 'Em All, w h e n
speaker-busting screeches were
the norm. Also, lead guitarist
Kirk Hammett has finally figured out how to resist his love
for s o u n d s in G-major and
make every single guitar
solo a grave, unbearable
guitar salvo, bringing back
a good name for the lost
art. If you incorrectly
thought that MaH:Serletic
from Matchbox 20 had
skills, just hear Hammett
do a little Stevie Ray in
"Devil's Dance" and quietly change your mind.
Jason Newsted was always there with his bass,
but on "Devil's Dance"
and "Bad Seed" his instrument truly becomes
an angry thunderbolt.
Lars Ulrich continues
to be the most ferocious
d r u m m e r on the planet, as esp e c i a l l y h e a r d on " F u e l , "
"Prince C h a r m i n g , " and the
a m a z i n g " A t t i t u d e . " These
songs make me fail as a music
critic b e c a u s e they rock so
m u c h I can't describe them
properly to you. And so on;
hopefully, you know what to
d o w i t h y o u r m o n e y now.
Stop falling for those trendy
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prayer...a Metallica album.
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Top Gun: Sun. and Mon., Dec. 14 & 15
Cocl^taii: Tues. and Wed., Dec. 16 & 17
Rain M a n : Thur. and Fri., Dec. 18 & 19
Movies playing in the Limburg Theater at
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ALL MOVIES ARE FREE!!!!
Sponsored by LAF
December 12, 1997
The
5>
Lafayette
L€n€RS TO TH€ €DITORS
LafayetteLehigh:
Memoiies
in the
Making
forward to, and hear so much
about. Sure, it might be cold
and miserable out, but when
y o u ' r e a little s a u c e d , a n d
you've got a nice cold Beast in
y o u r h a n d , t h e cold a n d
dreariness seem to go away,
and the spirit and aura of the
day consume you as you consume. The actual game aside,
1 w o u l d j u s t like to t h a n k
w h o m e v e r p u t the d a y together this year, for deflating
the spirit and potential that
this one-time-a-year extravaganza could have been and
once was.
The
much
heralded
L a f a y e t t e - L e h i g h football
game is one day in the year
when s t u d e n t s traditionally
may indulge in a little drinking and get a little rowdy, all
in the spirit of the day. It's a
day that many students look
Let's start with the busing
o v e r to t h e g a m e from
Lafayette. 1 think w e might
have passed my house in New
York on the way to Lehigh.
If you don't like it, then w h y
don't you get your own bus?
You may ask. We tried, but the
school had provisions about
that as well. Go figure!
All right, enough about the
busing, let's talk about the tailgating. I hope you didn't blink
because if you did, you might
have missed it. Far and away,
that was the best fifteen minutes of tailgating 1 know I've
ever experienced. With security and the Lehigh police on
patrol, making sure nobody
w a s smiling or h a v i n g any
fun, 1 found tailgating at the
Lehigh- Lafayette g a m e an
experience that 1 plan to tell
my children about one day. 1
find it ironic that the police
stood Idly by while a brawl
was going on right in front of
t h e m , b u t felt compelled to
cart away my friend in cuffs
for not having any I.D. Tailg a t i n g came to a s t o r y b o o k
ending as w e were herded off
to the g a m e like a b u n c h of
sheep by security and police.
All in all, the best part of the
day w a s going home (1 didn't
take the bus). 1 think the day
can be accurately s u m m e d up
in military terms as a chariie
foxtrot. Thanks again fellas
for m a k i n g it a g r e a t day.
Looking forward to next year,
w h e n 1 get a letter in m y mailbox saying that w e have to
watch the game from cages.
Greg Friedman '99
"Moybe next yecir they'll hire a chaperone .
Students ignored;
tenure denied to
favorite professor
B e i n g a j u n i o r h e r e at
Lafayette, I have pretty much
grown
accustomed
to
Lafayette's disregard for the
students and their social/onc a m p u s life. We have seen
numerous measures to rid the
c a m p u s of f r a t e r n i t i e s , w e
paid for 20 meals a week as
freshman, w e have seen our
tuition expenses being spent
on a special security guard just
to ticket our cars so w e can
Since when does it take two
hours to get to a place that's
fifteen minutes away? It's not
like there was any traffic either. I'm assuming that the
strategy Lafayette had behind
the whole mess was to sober
people u p on the b u s ride.
However, keeping a bus load
of drunks cooped u p for two
hours, some of whom may or
may not have been a tad belligerent, isn't the best strategy
either. Maybe next year the
school will hire a chaperone
for us children, with a billy
club in hand. One aspect of
the trip that 1 especially enjoyed was when all the busses
pulled over for a while. 1
guess the lead bus was the
only one w h o knew the way.
give Lafayette more money,
but not till this year have the
administration's hidden agendas truly affected my academic life. Some people may
remember the decision last
year to deny professor Craft
tenure. Being a sophomore, 1
had never been taught by Dr.
Craft, but heard great things.
Students petitioned to keep
h i m h e r e b u t he is g o n e ,
a g a i n s t t h e s t u d e n t s ' well
wishings. However, 1 have
s e e n Dr. S c h n e i d e r teach
CHEM 101 for the last three
years. In talking to anyone
w h o has taken her class, I
h a v e n ' t found a n y o n e w h o
would be willing to sign petitions if she were denied tenure.
So n o w Dr. Craft is gone,
and w h o do we get to replace
him? K e n n e t h H a u g , w h o
was denied tenure at Lehigh,
and whose Physical Chemistry class is one of the worst for
the junior Chemical Engineering majors. Rumor has it he
was the cheapest choice. Surprise, Surprise! 1 d o n ' t remember what the "problem"
was with Dr. Craft, but 1 can
tell you this. Dr. H a u g is not
the solution. We have to ask
ourselves, why do w e even fill
out teacher evaluations when
a professor that students enjoy and learn from gets canned
and a professor such as Dr.
Schneider w h o gets ripped on
evaluations every semester
sticks around w a y too long?
So, if our worst professor in
chemical engineering this semester is Dr. Haug, at least w e
have what 1 and most others
seem to think is an excellent
professor: Dr. M i k k i l i n e n i ,
right? Wrong. She w a s denied
tenure a n d s p r i n g s e m e s t e r
will be her last. I d o n ' t know
why they are getting rid of her,
but these are the facts: it is not
due to her teaching ability, and
she w o n ' t be replaced. More
Thev l^cGp plugging the 'Lafayette experience';
the onlv experience I've hod is getting fucked
over From the minute
1998 Interim Session Employment
Opportunities
I got here''
TJFEGUARDS
Must have:
• R e d Cross Certification
•First Aid Training
•CPR
Apply in Person:
Ronald E. Robbins
Office ofthe Dean of Studies
1 Markle Hall
or call 250-5080 for information
tt
money in Lafayette's pocket.
So teachers are frightened, and
apparently need to get p u b lished to get tenure. 1 can't get
my labs graded because my
teacher is w o r k i n g so d a m n
hard trying to get published.
Screw the students.
This letter is not about junior chemical engineers. It is
about Lafayette's attitude.
They keep p l u g g i n g the
"Lafayette Experience"; the
only experience I've had is
getting fucked over from the
minute I got here and wasn't
allowed to enter a fraternity
for a m o n t h , to last w e e k ' s
Lehigh-Lafayette game, when
tailgating w a s limited to 45
minutes. So go Pards, keep it
up, and I along with other stud e n t s will hit you the only
place you can feel it: the wallet. Save yourself a s t a m p
w h e n s e n d i n g out donation
requests, because you can pencil mine in for $0.00.
Paul Bartkowski '99
Righteous criticism of
Lafayette's break policy
T h i s c r i t i c i s m is o n e
s p a w n e d of frustration and
p a r a l y s i s i m p o s e d by the
backward officials of this ohso-highly acclaimed institution of higher learning. Ifany
do not wish to read an article
critical of our beloved educator, then I would warn against
reading any further.
My disgruntied point is: the
decision of officials at this
instituion to completely halt
all scholastic engines available
to s t u d e n t s d u r i n g o u r last
Thanksgiving Break.
First of all, 1 am not sure as
to w h o m this article should be
directed. 1 have attended
Lafayette Colleg for two and
a half years , and still d o n ' t
know w h o decides which services will remain open and
which shall be out of service.
Whoever you are, you made a
completely reckless decision
this time! Thanks to your actions, m y c u r r e n t academic
standing is now in jeopardy
(continued on p. 6)
n
December 12, 1997
The Lafayette
[ Opinions }
What are your plans for winter break?
"I'm going to Isreal."
"Sex, Drugs, and Rock
*n' Roll."
Martina Jones '00
"Making money for
Spring Break."
"Remodel Campus; and
I need creative students
to help me out."
Jenn Kolodgie '98
Erin Grath '98
Amy Boutillier '98
Lambros
our papers?
This is an institute of higher
learning. H o w am I supposed
to learn if the campus information centers are closed almost
the entire time? Skillman Library was closed between five
o'clock on W e d n e s d a y and
five o'clock on Sunday. This
is very impractical considering how critical this time period is, Final exams were to
begin in less than two weeks
and most of us had massive
papers, theses etc. to complete
in this time. The break was the
worst time to shut down valuable computing resources.
I ' m n o t g o i n g to w h i n e
without offering some alternate and more practical solutions. Considering the importance of this holiday, the labs
should have been closed all
day Thursday, m a y b e even
Friday (although 1 believe that
is stretching it a bit). If Americans are too indolent to work
during the break, get foreign
students and those interested
in completing their work to
r u n the s e r v i c e s . F u r t h e r ,
don't leave only the Marquis
Hall computer lab open (and
thatonly partof the time). All
the c o m p u t e r s there are ar-
"Im going to the
Caribben to soak up
some sun."
Dave Kramer '98
letter to the €ds,
continued from p. 5
d u e to the fact that N O T A
SINGLE
WORTHWHILE
COMPUTING CENTER WAS
OPEN T H R O U G H O U T OUR
ENTIRE
BREAK!!!
I a m a w a r e that Thanksgiving is an extremely important
holiday for about 90-95 % of
our campus. Regardless, not
all of us celebrate the holidays,
as m a n y s t u d e n t s are not
American in origin or are sim-
ply too busy. Therefore, many
of us stayed on campus. Even
if this was only five percent of
the student body, this means
at least a h u n d r e d p e o p l e .
Further, many students, especially those of international
b a c k g r o u n d s , d o not h a v e
computers. It is too difficult
to ship a computer from overseas or to buy one in addition
to the over inflated tuition fees
they are usually forced to pay.
On what, then, are we to write
"by Will Wermuth
chaic and need to be replaced.
Get h o p p i n g , a d m i n i s t r a tion, as it is not you that suffers from such carelessness,
but I! If you think m y professors will give me a break for
not having completed m y assignments thanks to your inefficiency, think again. The
academic paralysis I suffered
was uncomfortable and I am
certain I w a s not the only student limited in such ajnanner.
Kill Bureaucracy.
Jeremy Parker; aka Blauth,
the Pseuso-Intellectual
STUDY LANGUAGE THIS SUMMER!
6 credits / 6-7 weeks
Travel with Lehigh Valley Professors
Earn Credit with Grades at Your LVAIC Institution
Contact 1998 Program Directors for Details:
Germany
Prof. Margarete Lamb-Faffelberger, Lafayette College
Phone (610) 250-5255 or 250-5252 / Fax 250-4056
E-mail: lambfafmCs)lafayette.edu
Bonn, May 24 - July 7
Mexico
Cuernavaca, May 22 - July 3
Spain
Prof. Linda Lefkowitz. Lehigh University
(610) 758-3092 / Fax 758-6198
E-mail: [email protected]
Seville, June 3 - July 27
Lehigh Valley Association
of Independent
Prof. Patricia DeBellis, Muhlenberg College
(610) 821-3346 / Fax 821-3536
E-Mail: [email protected]
Colleges
• Allentown College • Lehigh University • Cedar Crest College
• Moravian College • Lafayette College • Muhlenberg College • Albright College
December 12, 1997
Men's basketball continues to excel, fans show pard pride
Cole assist. A minute later, Ehlers
stole a Comell pass, raced the
length of the court, and finished
After opening with a 23-point with a one-handed slam. Said
loss to St. John's, the men's bas- Ciosid of his and Ehlers' dunks,
keftjall team has turned ;the first ^ "I thought they gave us a boost
three weeks of its season into a of confidence... a little spark."
personal grudge match against That spark propelled the Leopthe Ivy League and improved to ards to a 10-point halftime lead.
They never hailed again, and
5-3.
With Monday night's 81-44 Comell got no closer than seven
win over Haverford, the Leop- in the second half.
ards vaulted to their best start in
The canary-clad Zoo Crew
eight years. Brian Ehlers has led was a special highlight from
the charge, scoring at least 18 within the crowd, taunting the
points in six of eight games. Four opposition all evening in a sucof the team'sfivewins have come cessful debut performance. "I
at the expense of the Ivy League, thought they were tremendous,"
beginning with the home opener Coach Fran O'Hanlon comNovember 17 against Comell. mented on the Crew and the adLafayette defeated the Big Red ditional large crowd in atten69-53 before an especially dance, "It was great to see that
kind of atmosphere, and I hope
enthuiastic crowd of 1,709.
The offense sputtered for the to see it a lot more." Two nights
first ten minutes before Ciosid later, the squad improved to 2-1
sent the crowd into a frenzy with by beating host Columbia 60-55.
a hard game-tying dunk offa Ted Brian Ehlere tallied 16 of his 20
by STEVE DORSCH
to nine with 4:06remaining,but
Ross Harms stepped up with a
big three to ice the victory.
Dartmouth coach Dave Faucher
said of the Leopards, "They controlled the game offensively and
The Leopards made their next defensively... we never felt comIvy victim Dartmouth, overpow- fortable."
ering the visiting Big Green 63A 74-57 defeat of Brown last
51 in a very physical battle. Dave Sunday in the consolation game
Klaus, starting for a flu-stricken of Florida
International
Ciosid, grabbed 13reboundsand University's Golden Panther
scored 13. Though they trailed Thanksgiving Toumament gave
from the outset, Dartmouth kept the Leopards their fourth straight
within ten points for the entire Ivy win. Mike Homer broke out
first half. Mike Homer's three- of a shooting slump with four
pointer with :09 left in the half three-pointers and 16 points
denied the Big Green's most se- overall.
rious threat and gave Lafayette a
Ehlers, coming off a 19-point
four-point lead.
performance in a 78-63 loss to
The Leopards came out on fire host FIU, scored 21 points to eam
in the second half, outscoring the a spot on the all-tournament
visitors 22-3 over the next ten team. Perhaps the most imporminutes. Ehlers blew up in the tant development of the Miami
second half for the second toumament was the retum of the
straight game, scoring 17 after the shooting game, which hit for less
break. Dartmouth cut the lead than 40% efficiency over the first
points in the second half as the
Leopards grabbedtfielead in the
first minute after halftime and
never gave it back. Ciosici and
Whitfield combined for 25 points,
five games. After struggling
against the Golden Panthers, the
Leopards blistered the Brown defense, shooting 50%ftomthe field
and hitting 10 of 16 from behind
the arc.
The offense quieted - as does
everyone's - Saturday night at
#20 Princeton, where the Tigers
handed Lafayette their third loss,
73-48. Stefan Ciosici scored 14
points to become the first player
this season to reach that figure
against a defense that has led the
nation eight straight years.
Whitfield added 11 points in a 4for-5 performance.
The Leopards closed out the
semester at home against
Swarthmore Wednesday night.
They visit Pittsburgh December
22 before partidpating in the Wisconsin-Green Bay Classic December 29-30. They retum home
January 7 to open Patriot League
play against Lehigh.
Women dribble through season
by JEREMY WINKLER
It's not the WNBA ~ it's our
version of it. The teams playing this time are the college
women. Lafayette is one of
these teams and they have begun their season on a good
note. The women played on
Monday November 24
against Morgan State. The
game was even in almost every way except when it came
to the final score. The Leopards survived Morgan State
58-54.
In the words of Pat Fisher,
Lafayette's head coach, "We
have one word to say about
the game. We were lucky. I
don't think we played well at
all." However, the Leopards
did go that extra mile to win
the game. Lafayette trailed 4133 and rallied. Ali Berlin led
the comeback with 3 straight
points while playing with 3
fouls. After Christel Rocha re-
bounded a Morgan State shot,
she passed the ball to Berlin
who fed the ball to freshman
Elise Palac for 2 points. Morgan State shot itself in the foot
after missing a pair of free
throws on the front of oneand-ones. Palac scored on another layup get to within 4140.
Berlin then made the next
shot count and the Leopards
gained a 41-40 lead. Entering
the final minute Lafayette was
up 53-50. This despite missing
5 free throws but it did not affect the game. Tiffany Bedics
who led the team with 14
points, missed 3 of the free
throws. She commented on
her string of misses, "1 wasn't
trying to make it more exciting. I don't know what was
wrong. I've been good with
my free throws this year. I
think I was thinking about it
too much." Keri Hollister and
Berlin each supported Bedics
with 11 points each.
Each team had 21 field
goals none of them threepointers. The margin of victory came at the foul line. "A
win is a win. We'll take it, but
I thought it was a very sloppy
game," said coach Fisher of
the game as a whole. "This
game really was very even,"
stated Darcel Estep, Morgan
State's head coach. "It comes
down to who wants it the
most."
classifieds:
Textbooks
for Spa 101
and Spa 111
for sale.
Call
S Rob @
559-7964
4'THE GRADUATES'
CHRISTMAS
VESPERS
'V4
-•'i^
Saturday, D e c e m b e r 2 0 at
2:30 & 7:30 P.M.
P r e s e n t e d at Colton Cliapel o n
fJ^JUlUtiE: t h e Lafayette Collegre c a m p u s
•'.^
i n E a s t o n . PA.
t^HY:
^^
A program of varied Christmas
music by t h e A h i m n i Chorus of
Lafa3^tte CoUege.
Admission i s FREE, offerings
are accepted and appreciated.
more information contact:
N a n c y R. C o r n i s l i
711 W. G o o p p S t r e e t
B e t h l e h e m , PA 1 8 0 1 8
(610) 8 6 7 - 2 8 9 3
Sports from the Outside World
Women's soccer
NCAA championship
North Carolina 2
UCONN 0
Men's soccer
NCAA tournament
UCLA vs. Indiana
Virginia vs. St. Louis
World Cup Draws
Group A
Brazil (1)
Scotland (3)
Group C
France (1)
S. Africa (3)
Group E
Holland (1)
Korea (3)
Group G
Romania (1)
England (3)
Group B
Chile (2)
Italy (1)
Austria (4)
Cameroon (3)
Group P
Saudi Arabia (2) Spain (1) Nigeria (2)
Denmark (4)
Paraguay (3)
Bulgaria (4)
Groypl
USA (2)
Germany (1)
Belgium (2)
Yugoslavia (4)
Iran (3)
Mexico (4)
Group H
Japan (2)
Argentina (1)
Colombia (2)
Croatia (4)
Jamaica (3)
Tunisia (4)
Morocco (2)
Norway (4)
Football Bowl games
Orange Bowl
#2 Nebraska vs. #3 Tennessee
Rose Bowl
#1 Michigan vs. #8 Washington State
Sugar Bowl
#4 Florida State vs. #9 Ohio Sta
Fiesta Bowl
#10 Kansas State vs. #14
Citrus Bowl
#6 Florida vs. #11 Penn
Alamo Bowl
#17 Purdue vs. #24 Oklahoma
Carquest Bowl
West Virginia vs. Georgia
Copper Bowl
Arizona vs. New Mexico
Las Vegas Bowl
#23 Air Force vs. Oregon
Humanitariar\ BoAy)
Utah State vs. Cincinr\ati
Cotton Bowl
#5 UCLA vs. #20 Texas A&M
Gator Bowl
#7 UNC vs. Virginia Tech
Outback Bowl
#12 Georgia vs. Wisconsin
Peach Bowl
3 Aubum vs. Clemson
Bowl
'6 Arizona State vs. Iowa
oliday Bowl
#19 Missouri vs. #18 Colorado State
Independence Bowl
otre Dame vs. #15 LSU
otor City Bowl
Ole Miss vs. Marshall
Aloha Bowl
Michigan State vs. #21 Washington
Liberty Bowl
#22 Southem Miss vs. Pittsburgh
4i
The
December 12, 1997
Lafayette
Lafayette-Lehigh
Leopards lose initial lead to
Mountain Hawk
offensive power.
by JEREMY WINKLER
An optmistic beginning.«.
Lafayette fans do an admirable job rooting for their beloved 'pards. Watchir\g thisyear's
Lafayette-Lehigh, though, it became increasingly harder throughout the game to hold onto
that enthusiasm, as the Leopards blew a twenty-one point lead to lose 43-31.
Lafayette looked like a scoring juggernaut early by going 21 points ahead but Lehigh
crawled its way back to within seven points at halftime. Leading the way for Lafayette
was Todd Stahlnecker who scored two touchdowns.
At the beginning of the second half Lafayette scored early to go up by another fourteen points but Lehigh continued to drive, and inched back into the game.
By the fourth it was all Lehigh. Lehigh scored another 22 points and left Lafayette
fans to wonder what had happened to a seemlingy leopard dominated game. Lafayette
and its running attack had gained 229 yards, but it was not enough..
The Hawks rfght back . .
The damage was done by a passing attack that Lafayette could not stop. The Leopards'
defense did manage to block Rabih Abdullah's run, the Lehigh equivalent of Erik Marsh.
Lehigh's quarterback Phil Stambaugh, however, made up for that with his throwing arm,
earning 4 touchdowns and 323 yards.
"It is hard to say what we could have done better," explained Lafayette linebacker Dan
Bengele, "We made the necessary adjustments and they had the answers for them. Lehigh has
a potent offense. They just kept coming at us." Bengele, who was recently named 1997 Defensive Player of the Year, had eight tackles and half a sack.
*^
''"^
'^
A Three-year tradition
of bad luck . . .
This is the third year in a row that Lehigh has erased a
Lafayette lead to win the game. Two years ago it was 16
points, last year 19 and this year 21. The Engineers scored
on their last four possessions of the game. Lafayette could
manage only one sack despite leading the league in sacks
overall.
"We just have to be a better football team from top to bottom and finish the show," proclaimed Coach Bill Russo.
Indoor track &fieldteam starts strong
by KATE DETTERLINE
It will be tough to top last
year's indoor season, but with
a strong returning class and
impressive recruits it may be
possible. Junior Sean Callahan
will be helping to pace the
sprints and jumps. Senior
Mike Morin will be the top
Lafayette pole vaulter. Bill
Yinger '99 and Gerry Terry '01
will be competing in the pen-
tathlon which includes
throws, jumps, hurdles and a
middle distance event. The
throws will need particular
attention this season, as the
team's only
dedicated
thrower will be Brian Anderson with the Javelin. Rodney
Bronson '98 will lead the
middle distance events in the
500 meter and 400 meter
events. Nitesh Kadakia, Dan
Eagleson,and Brent Roberts
will be major factors in the 800
meter and mile. The longer distance eventswill be controlled
by senior David Robinson and
junior Jeff Rios.
After shattering four school
records during the indoor season, the Leopards are hoping to
improve on their fourth place
Patriot League finish of a year
ago. The squad will look to a
dominant senior class that numbers 10 strong to lead the way
in 1997-98. The Leopard throwing events will be led by Hope
McCorkle and Jaime Houston, each school lecord holders. Freshmen Kim Lavelly
and Rhonda Snyder will be
looking to challenge for top
honors. In the jumps, Susan
Waters '98 holds the high
jump school records will
lead an impressive corps of
juniors which includes Kelly
Barrett, Jody Walsh, Denise
Clarke, and Carrie Strong.
The sprints and hurdling
events will be taken over by
Medinah Salaam '99, Jill Corey
'00, Jodi Bruder '00, Kenda
Roberts'Ol and
Kereen
Codner '01. Seeking the top
spots in the middle distance
events will again be seniors
Kate Detterline and Michelle
Pomarico and sophomores
Colleen Gleeson, Lauren
Gemberling, and Nicole Reilly.
The distance events will belong to Beth Richey Other
contributors to the distance
events will be Laurel Clemens
'99, Kellie Goncalves '00, and
Jerilyn Frattalone '00.