merciad

FEATURES
Facebook gets a
faceli�, page 5
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MERCYHURST COLLEGE SINCE 1929
A&E
Page 8
SPORTS
Art shows open
in Cummings
Gallery and
Old Main
Men’s soccer 4-1
in early season
Page 11
MERCIAD
Mercyhurst College 501 E. 38th St. Erie Pa. 16546
September 13, 2006
THE
Vol. 80 No. 1
College readies for
Gamble inauguration
By Jessica Kocent
News editor
Andy Finkel/Photo editor
Jim Coriale, Jeff Allen, and Jon Bonenberger stand in front of their
homes on East 38th Street.
Cops get tough on
off-campus rules
By Joshua Wilwohl
Editor-in-chief
Students moving off campus who
like to party hard may need to rethink
before signing a lease.
Existing city ordinances will now be
much more strictly enforced, said Captain D.J. Fuhrman of the Erie Police
Department.
The strictness, according to Fuhrman,
comes after years of neighbor complaints.
“You have neighbors that have been
there for years and now there are college students living around them; it’s a
change in their living style,” he said.
Fuhrman heads the Erie Police
Department’s Neighborhood Action
Team that is assigned to keep an eye on
crime throughout residential neighborhoods – including off campus, college
parties.
The ordinances currently in place
affecting off-campus students include:
underage drinking, noise and disorderly
house.
Underage drinking and noise are relatively self-explanatory, said Fuhrman.
“If you are at a party where drinking
is involved and you are not of age, you
will be cited,” said Fuhrman. “And, if
the music is excessively loud at any time
of day, you will also be cited.”
Disorderly house is another violation
many students may also face.
According to the ordinance, a disorderly house is one in which, “No
individual shall be knowingly present
and/or participating in an ill governed
or disorderly house or place wherein
gambling or drinking is occurring
when the same constitutes a common
nuisance or disturbance to the neigh-
borhood or orderly citizens.”
The consequences for the ordinances
vary, said Fuhrman. An underage citation can carry a fine of up to $300 and
jail time. A noise violation can result in
a $50 fine, plus court costs. Disorderly
house can reach fines of $300 and 90
days in jail.
Fuhrman, however, said the final decision lies in the hands of District Justice
Joseph Lefaiver.
Lefaiver says the result of a violation
will depend on the charge. “Fines can be
$100 for the first offense and up to $300
for the second,” said Lefaiver. “Jail time
as well can occur, but it will depend on
the seriousness of the case.”
In addition to county charges, students can face disciplinary action by
Mercyhurst College.
Lefaiver said he and Mercyhust College officials have met and set standards
for students.
Chief of Mercyhurst College Police
and Safety, Ken Sidun, said that if
students are cited off campus by Erie
police, the citation is sent to Mercyhurst
College Police and Safety and then
passed along to the Office of Residence
Life.
According to Sidun, seven citations
have been issued since the start of the
school year.
Vice President of Residence Life,
Laura Zirkle, says the fines for offcampus citations given by the Office
of Residence Life depend on the situation.
“Underage drinking off campus is the
same violation in the conduct code,”
said Zirkle. “Disorderly house would
probably be disruptive behavior in the
conduct code.”
It is considered a major milestone
in Mercyhurst College’s history, Dr.
Thomas Gamble will officially be
inaugurated as the 11th president of
Mercyhurst College.
Such an event has not taken place on
the Mercyhurst College campus in over
two decades.
The guest list includes over 1,200
people from learning institutions within
a 100 mile radius.
However, the priority goes to the
Mercyhurst community, including faculty, staff, administration, and the board
of trustees.
In addition, many local community
and political leaders have been invited.
Before coming to Mercyhurst, Gamble
served as the executive director of the
Erie County Office of Children and
Youth Services.
He is on the Board of Directors at
Mercyhurst Preparatory School and is a
member of the Erie Rotary Club.
The six-day, 30 event inauguration will
cost $75,000 in total. The event was
funded by college trustees and friends
of the college.
The trustees actually managed to raise
in excess of $100,000, and the remaining money not spent on the inaugura-
tion is going into a scholarship fund
for students.
Gamble’s official inauguration with
the theme Imagine kicked off with
poster presentations by the Hafenmaier
School of Education and Behavioral
Sciences on Sunday, Sept 10, and will
conclude with Gamble’s installation and
official address on Saturday, Sept 16.
The week is comprised of events,
lectures, discussions, exhibits and performances from the five undergraduate
schools.
According to Gamble, the administration wanted to both equally represent
each school and give choices as to
guests, as to which topics they were
interested in.
Sunday, as previously mentioned,
focused on the Hafenmaier School
or Education and Behavioral Sciences
and showcased research done by the
students of that school.
Later that evening, William DeCoteau,
Ph.D, a 1992 alumni, and an assistant
professor of psychology at St. Lawrence
University spoke about the complexities
of the human brain.
DeCoteau was a student of Gamble’s
during his time at Mercyhurst. He now
researches the biological basis of habit
learning and behavioral flexibility.
He has also done extensive research
on Parkinson’s disease, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and drug addiction.
Monday, Sept 11, showcased the
School of Social Sciences with a panel
discussion on “The Lessons of September 11.”
The panel included Dr. Randy Clemons, the Chairman of the Political
Science Department, Dr. Jim Breckenridge, the Chairman of the Intelligence
Studies Department and the Dean of
the Walker School of Business, Dr.
Michael Federici, professor in the
Political Science Department and Dr.
Chris Magoc, Chairman of the History
Department.
They spoke of the implications for
foreign policy, the implications for
United States Intelligence, the Constitution and Civil Liberties, and the implications for American Society and Culture,
all in a post-September 11 world.
The night concluded with a presentation on “Innovations in Juvenile Justice:
Imagining a Compassionate and Effective System” in Walker Recital Hall.
That panel included John Daley, of
the Edmund L. Thomas Adolescent
Center, Tom Aaron, of the Erie County
Court Administration, Kris Petulla, an
Erie County Behavioral Health Management Consultant, and Bob Blakely,
the Chief of the Erie County Juvenile
Probation Office.
Please see Gamble on page 3
New kiosk raises eyebrows
By Joshua Wilwohl
Editor-in-chief
Students no longer need to look for
flyers to know what’s going on around
campus.
The new electronic kiosk outside
of Zurn Hall flashes and scrolls all
Mercyhurst Student Government and
Student Activities Council news on two
sides of the four-sided booth.
The electronic sides also inform students of the temperature and time.
The other two sides of the kiosk
include digital maps of campus.
The installation of the kiosk came
after a 40 – 1 vote of the MSG representative body last February.
According to MSG President Dan
Schuler, the kiosk is a project the council wanted for years.
Please see Shutting it down on page 2
Please see Off-campus on page 2
Andy Finkel/Photo editor
The kiosk outside Zurn Hall has some students up in arms.
Mercyhurst West opens doors for first year
By Sarah Sheehan
Contributing writer
The Mercyhurst community just
welcomed the newest addition to the
family, Mercyhurst West in Girard. The
campus officially opened on Wednesday, August 30, with the start of fall
classes.
There are 18 students enrolled at
the campus. Most are adult students,
but there are two traditional-aged
students.
Heidi Hosey, executive vice president for Mercyhurst West, explained
the campus will be like Mercyhurst
North East and offer two-year associate degrees, as well as certificates. The
campus consists of just one building
with three state of the art classrooms.
The school is currently offering
afternoon and night classes four days
a week.
The campus started out at a temporary facility located in the former Faith
Lutheran Church in Girard just west of
the permanent campus.
The space has been renovated and
equipped with all the necessary learning
tools. The facility includes three classrooms, one equipped with computers,
as well as office space and a student
lounge area. It is the administration’s
goal to complete the master plan for
developing the West Campus throughout this year.
Hosey said, “The 400-acre property
is a magnificent piece of land, and we
owe it to Mercyhurst, the Divine Word
Fathers who worked on that land for
a century, and to the west county to
be responsible and deliberate in our
planning so that we do justice to the
natural beauty all around us on that
property.”
She further explained, “We will be
offering the entire core courses cur-
rently offered at the Main and North
East campuses. However, our focus
will be on land, building and properties
management.
We are hoping to build a niche around
facilities management, business administration and hotel management.
Our primary focus, however, will be
to build new and innovative programs
related to sustainable agriculture and
horticulture, renewable energy and
green technology.”
The goal of the West campus as
Hosey is, “We hope to make this a premier program that will draw students
from all over the country and be a major
resource for students and faculty on the
main campus.”
The campus is completely commuter
however. Hosey explained that as the
campus grows it would be necessary to
consider on-campus housing facilities.
Programs that the school will offer
include research farms and facilities
for the care and maintenance of land
and animals.
Hosey explained that it depends on
the students as to what programs and
extracurricular activities develop.
Please see Mercy on page 3
PAGE 2
NEWS
THE MERCIAD
To contact: [email protected]
World Briefs
Compiled by
Jessica Kocent
From BBC News
September 13, 2006
International news
Searching for
Mbeki’s lost son
South African authorities are
about to resume the search for
President Thabo Mbeki’s son,
who is assumed to have been
killed by apartheid agents.
Kwanda Mbeki went missing
in 1981 as he tried to join his
father in exile.
Last week, President Mbeki
wrote of the pain he still felt in
his newsletter to ANC members.
A National Prosecuting Authority spokesman said they had
new leads which they would be
“following very soon”.
Thabo Mbeki
Explosion destroys SE city in Turkey
A bomb attack has killed seven people and injured at least 17 in Diyarbakir, in Turkey’s mainly-Kurdish south-east, local officials say.
Authorities said the blast, which occurred at a park in the poor
Baglar area of the city, was probably detonated using a mobile phone
timer. At least five of the dead were reported to be children.
The blast came as a US envoy arrived in Turkey for talks on curbing a wave of bombs blamed on Kurdish separatists.
Bomb attacks in tourist resorts and other cities in recent weeks
have killed a total of 12 people and wounded dozens.
One separatist militant group, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
(Tac), has said it carried out those attacks. It also warned on its
website last week that it would turn “Turkey into hell”.
Stingray revenge
Dead stingrays with their tails
cut off have been found in Australia, sparking concern that fans
of naturalist Steve Irwin may be
avenging his death.
Mr Irwin, a TV personality known as the “Crocodile
Hunter”, was killed while diving
in Queensland when a stingray’s
barb stabbed him in the chest.
Since then, 10 sting rays
have been found mutilated on
Queensland beaches.
Government officials said they
were investigating the deaths.
Wayne Sumpton of the state
fisheries department said it was
not clear if the incidents were
connected to Irwin’s death.
More than 42 people have
been killed and dozens more
injured in a stampede at an
election campaign rally for the
Yemeni president, officials say.
Ali Abdullah Saleh was speaking at a stadium in the southern
province of Ibb, 170km (106
miles) south of Sanaa.
The stampede happened at the
end of the rally as people were
leaving the arena.
Some 300,000 supporters were
crowded into the stadium. Many
of the casualties were teenagers brought by bus from local
schools.
Overcrowding and a lack of
clearly marked exit signs contributed to the stampede, said
the Assocaited Press.
The body of a former Brazilian police commander, convicted then
acquitted for the deaths of 111 prisoners in 1992, has been found
in his Sao Paulo apartment.
Ubiratan Guimaraes was shot on Sunday after receiving repeated
death threats.
His 2001 conviction for using excessive force to quell a riot in
Carandiru jail was overturned earlier this year.
Correspondents say the 63 year-old was a deeply divisive figure
in Brazil where, as a local politician he gained support for attacking
organized crime. Police say Colonel Guimaraes had been shot once
in the chest, and there were no signs of a struggle.
A court in India’s western
Mumbai (Bombay) city has found
four people guilty for their roles
in the serial bomb blasts in the
city in 1993.
A total of 123 defendants
are accused of involvement in
the blasts in India’s financial
capital that killed 257 people and
wounded 713.
Judge PD Kode said the other
verdicts would be announced in
stages.
Elections are on their way at
Mercyhurst College, and students
who enter the Student Union on
Sept. 13 and 14, will discover the
Mercyhurst Student Government
voting booth will no longer be
there.
The big question is how will
students vote?
Online voting is a new trend
at many colleges and universities
that seems to be working rather
well.
While everyone was relaxing in
the sun and vacationing this past
summer, the MSG Executive
Board was working hard planning new ideas on their summer
retreat. One such idea was to
have online elections.
Ryan Palm, treasurer of MSG,
conducted research dealing with
price estimates, what companies
can offer and various levels of
security about online voting.
One company in particular
stood out, Votenet Solutions.
Votenet Solutions is a nationwide
company that provides online
voting services for Fortune 500
companies, large non-profit organizations such as the American
Medical Association and about a
dozen colleges and universities.
The Executive Board members
wanted to move forward with the
online election process and the
MSG body voted via-email to
approve it. By late August they
finalized everything.
Students can start voting on
Sept. 13 at 12:01 a.m. through
Sept. 14 at 11:59 p.m. International and transfer students can
By Brittany McCracken
Copy editor
Brazilian former police chief murdered
Four found guilty in
1993 Bombay blasts
By Amy Zielinski
Contributing writer
begin their elections on Sept. 20
and 21.
All students need is Internet
Explorer and if you do not have
access to the Internet, computers
will be available in the Student
Union on Sept. 13 and 14 from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Usernames and passwords will
be e-mailed to students.
“Our ultimate goal is to get
people to vote and see an increase,” Palm said.
The software features a very
high level of security and prohibits students from voting twice,
which will help keep votes as accurate as possible.
“Votenet Solutions seemed to
be the leader in online voting
solutions and they provided a terrific service and price with many
other features we were looking
for,” he added.
Elections are for MSG freshman representatives. Also during these two days, sophomores,
juniors and seniors will be voting for homecoming king and
queen.
Online voting will also be used
during the spring term for upperclassmen elections and executive
board members. Since voting
can be a hard decision, MSG
representatives will be talking
with students and send out flyers
and e-mails.
Votenet can also be used to
complete surveys, such as where
you would want your next Student Activities Committee trip
to be located.
For more information about
Votenet Solutions, go to the MSG
Web site, http://msg.mercyhurst.
edu.
Fall Fest 2006
goes Polynesian
Stampede at rally
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Online voting set for
MSG elections
The Mercyhurst Student Government and Student Activities
Council are hosting their annual
fall fest this year as part of the
inauguration festivities.
The event is planned for students to interact with the new
president, Dr. Thomas Gamble.
Kelly Cofransico, SAC Chair said,
“He’s going to formal events all
week, so this is an opportunity
for him to loosen up.”
The luau-themed fall fest is
planned for this Friday, Sept.
15 from 3-7 p.m. There are several activities planned including:
airbrush tattoos, corn-hole and
limbo.
“Everyone should remember
to wear their luau attire for a
chance to win a $50 cash prize,”
Cofranciso said.
There will be a BBQ in Garvey
Park from 4-6 p.m. that will include two pig roasts.
At 5 p.m. the Royal Polynesians
of Pittsburgh will give a hula
performance that is to include
audience participation.
To close out the night, a local
Erie band, Soul Clap, will perform. During the concert there
will also be a chocolate tiki bar
with fruit, cake and pretzels.
The event will take place in
Garvey Park and in front of the
student union. In case of rain,
the event will be in the athletic
center.
Off-campus worries
Continued from page 1
According to Zirkle, students
are already aware they can face
violations by the college when
they sign the off-campus contract
form.
“Students fill out all pertinent
information such as where they
live, who their roommates are and
we keep it all on file,” said Zirkle.
“We also provide each student
with off-campus living booklets
to help them along.”
Zirkle also noted the department is in the process of setting
up a rate a landlord booklet where
students would be able to see
what others say about landlords
in the area.
Off-campus students, however,
are not happy with the recent
enforcement.
Junior Chris Geer finds the
stronger restrictions pointless.
“I don’t feel like strongly enforcing the drinking policy will
do anything,” said Geer. “Mercyhurst College enforces the
underage drinking policy with
fines, community service, calls
home, and that doesn’t seem to
have stopped anyone I know
from partaking in a casual five,
10, 20 beverages whenever they
are feeling thirsty.”
Junior Caitlin Graci shares
Geer’s opinion. “I realize Erie
now wants to start enforcing laws,
but since this is a college town,
I see the fines as a little steep,”
she said. “The school should
also try to grasp the idea of what
happens off campus should stay
off campus.”
Junior Matthew Rose says the
school should keep to campus.
“Since they are a private institution,” he said. “They should stay
private and keep to their own
grounds.”
Zirkle emphasizes, however,
that the “…student conduct
code applies to students, not to
places.”
Fuhrman and Zirkle recommend that students get to know
thier neighbors.
“Introduce yourself and give
them your phone numbers so
they can call you first before they
call the police,” said Fuhrman.
Zirkle agrees. “We hope to see
our students helping neighbors
and building a community,”
she said. “Some of the calls to
my office from neighbors are
sometimes positive about our
students.”
Students have even made buttons to express thier dislike
for the new kiosk outside Zurn Hall.
Shutting it down
Continued from page 1
“MSG researched this idea,
but never fully went through the
process of obtaining the kiosk,”
he said. “Then, this past spring,
the MSG student representatives
voted to install the electronic
booth.”
The kiosk comes with a price
tag of about $35,000, said Schuler. MSG is responsible for $8,000
over a period of two years.
Schuler said MSG made the
move to install the project after
gathering student input.
“We tried to keep people informed about what was going
on and tried to gather student
input into the decision,” he
said. “Then, with the vote in the
spring, we went forward with the
project.”
Students, however, have mixed
opinions on the kiosk.
Freshman Kristen Finch said
she refers to the kiosk all the
time. “I always look at it for the
time, the temperature and other
activities around campus,” Finch
said.
Others, however, do not agree.
“It’s an eyesore and in a bad
location,” said senior Andrew
Lapiska. “If you’ve made it that
far onto campus, you don’t need
a map to tell you where to go
from there.”
Lapiska also noted the features
of the sign. “When I’m walking
across campus in the winter I
don’t need an overpriced, flashy
sign to remind me just how cold
it is outside,” he said.
“I don’t recall seeing any mention of the sign or the surrounding landscaping included in the
‘master plan’ that the school
commissioned.”
Senior Mike Allen shares
Lapiska’s opinion. “It’s a really
good idea,” said Allen. “But, it’s
not placed in the right spot on
campus, and it’s not very visually
appealing.”
Junior Megan Rulli is heading
a campaign to shut down the
kiosk.
“This kiosk is not really for
students,” said Rulli. “The kiosk
is ugly - it’s in the middle of campus and really does not reflect
student needs.”
Rulli also expressed that the
kiosk should include other ways
to give information.
“The maps take up two sides,”
she said. “Why not have a bulletin board that students are able
to hang information?”
Rulli is handing out “No Kiosk” pins around campus to
help her campaign and get her
point across.
“For $35,000, all we got was an
eye soar,” she said.
Police and Safety Log
Theft
REC
27 August
Unfounded
Case closed
Liquor Law Violation
3807 Briggs
28 August
College Discipline
Case closed
Liquor Law Violation
3828 Lewis
29 August
College Discipline
Case closed
Liquor Law Violation
Parking Lot #21
31 August
College Discipline
Case closed
Liquor Law Violation
3808 Briggs
31 August
College Discipline
Case closed
Liquor Law Violation
Parking Lot #21
2 September
Erie Police Department/
College Discipline
Case closed
Criminal Mischief
Munson Plaza
3 September
Case closed
Theft
Athletic Center
5 September
Pending Investigation
Theft
4000 Wayne
6 September
Pending Investigation
Theft
Grotto
7 September
Pending Investigation
Liquor Law Violation
3829 Briggs
9 September
College Discipline
Case closed
Disorderly Conduct
Parking Lot #2
9 September
College Discipline
Case closed
Theft
3829 Briggs
9 September
Case closed
Disorderly Conduct
Parking Lot #4
3 September
Pending Investigation
Criminal Mischief
736 E. 41st St.
10 September
Pending Investigation
Liquor Law Violation
Parking Lot #22
3 September
College Discipline
Case closed
Liquor Law Violation
Parking Lot #22
10 September
College Discipline
Case closed
Criminal Mischief
Parking Lot #21
3 September
Case closed
Criminal Mischief
Parking Lot #15
10 September
Case closed
September 13, 2006
THE MERCIAD
To contact: [email protected]
West
campus
carries on
Mercy
tradition
Continued from Page 1
“We really want to see the
students involved in all aspects
of managing and operating the
campus,” Hosey exclaimed.
The students enrolled this term
are taking courses in Computer
Applications, College Writing I,
Business Math, Public Speaking
and Introduction to Facilities
Management.
There are three adjunct faculty
members accompanying Missy
Lang and Heidi Hosey, the full
time administrators, who both
have teaching backgrounds that
can be utilized.
This can be considered a step
to expanding and enriching the
Mercyhurst Community.
Hosey explained, “West will
offer the same quality education
focused on excellent teaching;
it will feature the same balance
between a serious grounding in
the liberal arts and a commitment
to career preparation.”
Hosey explained that the school
will eventually reach all of its
goals but, “It will take a lot of
hard work and the serious commitment of both the college and
the community, but these kinds
of programs are an integral part
of the future.
Given the original Mission
inspired by the Sisters of Mercy,
our commitment to programs
invested in responsible stewardship of the environment is a
clear fit.”
News
Gamble has many new initiatives for campus
Continued from Page 1
All of the panelists have personally worked with Gamble
when he was working in the Erie
County Juvenile system.
All of the panelists praised
Gamble for initiating the dialogue in solving the problem
with overcrowding in the juvenile
holding facilities.
September 12 featured a department open house of both
faculty and student research
entitled, “Sustainability in Human-Earth Relations” in Zurn
Hall and featured a presentation
“Sustainability: Imagining the
Role of Science in Earth-Human
Engagement.”
The evening concluded with a
lecture by widely published author Dr. Brian Fagan, professor
emeritus of anthropology at the
University of California at Santa
Barbara.
He has published numerous
textbooks and three books for
the National Geographic Society,
including the bestselling Adventure of Archaeology.
He spoke on the “Human Interaction with the Environment:
A Deep-Time Perspective.” The
presentation featured a discussion on global warming.
Fagan questions the idea of
global warming from a historical
perspective and examined the
effect that fossil fuels may or
may not further complicate the
problem.
Wednesday will feature the
Walker School of Business. It
will present in special honor of
the inauguration, the Guelcher
Film Series: “World’s Fastest Indian.” Then at 8 p.m. Dr. Aubrey
Kent, the Director of the Sports
Management program at Florida
State University will discuss
“Imagining the Future of Business and Communication.”
Kent has done consulting for
the United States Tennis Association, Major League Soccer, and
the NCAA.
The Academic Symposium
will conclude with the School of
Arts and Humanities will begin
with an academic roundtable
in Walker Recital Hall entitled,
“Imagining Human Features in
Religion, Philosophy, and World
Cultures.”
It will also feature dual art
shows, “From the Past to the Future: Mercyhurst College Alumni
Art Show” and “Friends of the
College” art show.
They will be in the new Cummings Art Gallery and the first
floor of Old Main respectively
and will both feature receptions
and live entertainment.
Students are also involved in
the inauguration. Darcy Kemp,
director of the Mercyhurst Student Union, has 100 tickets
available for students to attend
the installation on a first come,
first serve basis.
The academic symposium
events of the week are centered
around the students and the
celebration of instructors and
diversity.
The inauguration will also include: Fall Fest, with a Caribbean
theme, a luau, a dance troupe,
and a performance from the
band, Soul Clap.
Among other topics in his address, Gamble will discuss his
plans for the future of Mercy-
hurst College.
He has already fulfilled his
goals in creating a new graduate
program for Secondary Education, particularly with math and
science concentrations, because
of the amazing faculty, resources,
and labs.
Gamble also plans to continue
to build the humanities department, specifically in the religious
studies department.
With Dr. James Breckinridge
as head of the Walker School
of Business and his connections
with the intelligence studies
program, both will continue to
flourish as they become more
closely related.
In the future, Gamble does
plan on many new building projects including a new dorm.
But, both planning and financing for such projects are still in
the beginning stages.
Gamble also has plans for a semester system, which would take
at least two years to start.
He sees both the positives and
negatives; however, he believes
that with a semester system
Mercyhurst will be in more in
conjunction with other schools
on semester systems, as far as
transferring credits and breaks.
Gamble’s most important goal,
however, is to form a strategic
planning community.
He wants to listen to everyone’s
suggestions and promotes an
open discussion policy.
Though ways to do that are still
in the early stages, it will include
emails and town meetings.
He wants the community to
weigh in on what Mercyhurst
College is really about.
Heidi Hosey, Director of Strategic Planning and the head of
the inauguration committee says
that this event signifies, “a coming together of the campus, and
a new beginning.”
She said it also signifies that
Gamble was, “a teacher first, and
this event really celebrates his
scholarly side.”
Gamble says that the inauguration is important to him
for obvious reasons, but “particularly important because it can
promote the good things about
the college,” and show what Mercyhurst is really all about.
Work study students get pay hike in January
By Katie Fink
Contributing writer
Work study students will be
working fewer hours come January 1, 2007, however receiving
the same amount of money.
Minimum wage in Pennsylvania
is changing, and the work study
program of Mercyhurst College
will be adjusting to it. Students
will be receiving $1.10 more an
hour taking minimum wage from
$5.15 an hour to $6.25 an hour.
Students who participate in
the work study program have on
campus employment in places
like the Egan Cafeteria and the
Student Union. Students work
on campus jobs for a certain
number of hours each week according to a specified amount of
money awarded.
Tyrone Moore, Associate Vice
President of Administration,
explained it like this, “a person at
$5.15 an hour was awarded $1500
they would currently be working
9.75 hours a week earning $50
per week. In January that same
student would be paid $6.25 an
hour and would work 7.75 hours
a week.”
Students work schedules will be
adjusted and they will start working the new hours after returning
from Christmas break.
Students are reacting favorably
to this change. Alyssa Anger, a
sophomore who works in Café
Diem, thinks it’s a great idea.
“I won’t have to work as much
on campus. With the extra time
I have I’m going to work off
campus because I will most likely
make more money, receive more
hours and hopefully they are
more flexible too.”
“I think that the change in
January concerning minimum
wage will be very helpful,” claims
junior Carly Kelton. “I am a
music major, so I have several
classes to fulfill, as well as extra
curricular activities through the
music department and rehearsals for different concerts and
campus events.”
Because this came after the
budget for this academic year
was already in place, awards cannot be increased. Tyrone Moore
plans to work with this change to
better accommodate the students
next year. “Next year, the Office of Student Employment’s
goal is to better the advantage
of the student body by increasing the dollar amount received
and adjusting hours and awards
from there.”
Minimum wage in Pennsylvania has remained at $5.15 an
hour since 1997 while the cost
of living has continued to rise.
Governor Edward G. Rendell
hopes that the change in will be
beneficial to Pennsylvanians and
also be working to the advantage
of businesses.
PAGE 4
CAMPUS
LIVING
September 13, 2006
THE MERCIAD
To contact: [email protected]
FYI students help Erie community better itself
By Lakyn Bianco
Contributing writer
As a part of new student orientation at Mercyhurst College
over 800 freshman, faculty and
orientation leaders devoted the
morning of Monday, Aug. 28, to
serving the Erie community.
The annual orientation service
project is a part of the Freshman
Year Initiative program that is
designed to help new students
adjust to college life. Because
community service is an important tradition at Mercyhurst,
students are introduced to this
concept from the beginning.
Students traveled to 24 different service sites including local
nonprofit organizations such as
Photos by Darcey Kemp
Presque Isle State Park, Gridley FYI students happily pick up trash to help better Erie.
The freshman orientation students made a large cheerful group.
Park, Mercy Center for Women
and the International Institute and its people. It’s a wonderful cheerful and ambitious. I am glad munity in which they live.
tal Biologist and Educator at the good-spirited about working
of Erie.
opportunity for our students to the college participates in such
“The service day is really an Tom Ridge Center Regional Sci- with dirt, spiders, and heavy bags.
Darcey Kemp, director of experience the impact that their community service projects. It important component in being ence Consortium said, “It was a Their efforts will enhance the
the Mercyhurst Student Union service has on the local commu- was deeply needed,” said Barbara a part of the Mercyhurst com- real joy to have members of the enjoyment of park visitors and
and coordinator of the service nity. The work is truly meaningful Weber, administrative manager munity,” said Kemp.
Mercyhurst Class of 2010 help employees alike.”
project said, “Not only do the to everyone involved.”
of the International Institute
Each student worked for about with weeding at the Tom Ridge
A total of about 2000 hours
agencies benefit from the work
Students boarded buses at 9:30 of Erie.
two hours performing tasks such Environmental Center for a ser- of community service were perthat is performed, but our stu- a.m., traveling to service locaThe orientation service project as cleaning, sorting, weeding and vice project.
formed that day.
dents are able to feel a deep tions throughout Erie County.
is important in connecting Mer- visiting with senior citizens.
“They were very gracious
connection with the community
“The volunteers were all so cyhurst students with the comPatricia Downey, Environmen- about doing ‘hard labor,’ and
Green team makes their own applesauce
By Cathy Pedler
Contributing writer
This past Sunday seven brave
souls piled into a Mercyhurst van
to travel back in time, a time that
Wal-Mart (and most of us) have
forgotten.
Ben and Amanda Stuller, Emily Poland, Megan Rulli, Sandy
Sickert and Cathy Pedler went
to “Fresh from the Vines” Farm
in Crawford County to pick and
put-up apples.
The outing is part of a campaign to “Eat Local.” Poland,
Rulli, Sickert and Pedler, who are
members of the Whole Foods
Cooperative Association (located
at 1341 W. 26, www.wholefoodscoop.org) began the campaign
to encourage local residents to
consume products that have
been produced close to home.
“Eating locally preserves the
environment, builds local economies, and increases the physical
health of the human community,” explains a Mercyhurst
Student Green Team leader.
Most of the food (fresh and
processed) purchased from chain
retail stores has traveled at least
1500 miles before it reaches a
grocery bag.
The Mercyhurst apple-picking
adventure was a great success.
By 3 p.m. the team canned 28
quarts of applesauce and was
ready to tour the farm’s greenhouses, Yurt, and the wild areas
on the banks of the Cussewago
Creek.
Rebecca Vines, the hostess and
teacher for the day, is the General
Manager of the Whole Foods
Cooperative Association. Upon
hearing about the campaign she
invited the group to her farm for
the applesauce making event.
If people are to “Eat Local,”
they will need to do much of the
work themselves (i.e., growing
and preserving food).
The global market has encour-
aged an unsustainable life-style
which demands massive amounts
of energy to ship resources
and products around the earth.
This system exploits the under
privileged and destroys the earth
through uncontrolled resource
extraction and habitat destruction.
Consuming locally is a personal
choice and practice that can make
a huge impact in preserving
people, the community, and the
planet.
For more information see
http://100milediet.org/ and
http://www.sustainabletable.
org/home/.
By Chelsea Boothe
Campus Living editor
Above: Students enjoy making applesauce with Cathy
Pedler.
Below: Emily Poland takes out hot sauce while Megan
Rulli watches.
Supporting a fire-free campus
By Collen Lanigan
Contributing writer
No candles. No Christmas
lights. No real Christmas trees.
No grills.
Sounds like a real downer doesn’t
it? Not when it comes to fire
safety.
The month of September has
been recognized as College Campus Fire Safety Month. Since the
year 2000, 75 students across the
country have died due to fires
or fire related injuries on college
campuses.
The majority of these fires
have been caused by a lack of a
fire sprinkler system, missing or
disabled smoke alarms, poorly
disposed cigarette butts and careless cooking due to alcohol consumption.
Mercyhurst has designated specific fire safety weeks throughout
September.
The first week is focused on
cooking safety.
Some helpful pointers from the
Mercyhurst College Fire Safety
include: never cook while impaired
or tired, watch loose clothing
around the stove, pay attention to
your use of the microwave, and
never leave cooking food unat-
Tobin, Zirkle take on key
administration jobs
tended.
Week two has been designated
electrical safety week.
Some tips for this week are to
routinely check electrical appliance cords for damage, do not
overload electrical outlets, and
use appliances in accordance with
the manufacturers’ recommendations.
The third week has been designated open flame safety awareness.
That week will focus on candle
safety and other open flames.
The fourth week will focus on
fire prevention in general.
A couple of suggestions for
this particular week are to keep
up maintenance with the smoke
detectors in your apartments, do
not cover them with decorations,
and notify your RA if you need a
new battery or if it is damaged in
any way.
Fire safety is about taking preventative measures to ensure the
safety of others.
While it is frustrating to not to
light candles and have free range
on decorating your dorms and
apartments these rules and restrictions are here to help keep the
campus from burning up.
Be safe and be careful.
Last May, Dr. Thomas Gamble
asked Dr. Gerald Tobin and Ms.
Laura Zirkle, who have played
significant roles at Mercyhurst
for several years, to take on new
and exciting positions.
Tobin was previously the director of the Counseling Center and
a professor of psychology, and
Zirkle was (and will continue
to be) the Director of Resident
Life.
Part of Gamble’s plan was to
create a position to help better
organize the different facets and
organizations for the students.
Thus he appointed Tobin as the
vice president of student life
and Zirkle as the assistant vice
president.
The hope is to synergize, several different groups on campus:
Residence Life, the Health Center, Counseling Center, Student
Union, Student Activities, Diversity and Campus Ministry.
In combining all these programs under one head, they are
hoping to, “help create an even
better living, learning community,” said Tobin.
“We are here to build on, not
deconstruct” said Zirkle. The
goal is for the new positions to
create a student life team, by unifying the different organizations
already in place.
They are hoping to assess
where each program is at, and
where they see themselves in
the future.
A vice president in charge of
this entire area will help the goals
of each organization come into
a reality.
One of Tobin’s and Zirkle’s
first initiatives is to create a Student Advisory Board that would
meet periodically to provide a
sense of how students perceive
the different organizations and
what suggestions students have.
Tobin hopes to “meet the
needs of the students.” They
want to offer as many opportunities as possible to help students
have the best possibilities for
becoming well-rounded.
On a final note, Tobin encourages all student input, both negative and positive, and promises to
consider all ideas. In a way Tobin
and Zirkle hope to be able to help
the students become the people
they see in themselves.
PAGE 5
THE MERCIAD
September 13, 2006
To contact: [email protected]
CAMPUS
LIVING
Fashion club experiences Paris as the city of style
This past spring, the fashion
club got a glimpse of its “mother
ship.”
Just after finals wrapped up in
May, 15 girls, along with professors and parents, traveled to Paris
for a seven-day stay in the heart
of fashion’s birthplace.
In addition to visiting the common tourist attractions, such as
the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame
Cathedral, Palace of Versailles,
the Louvre, and Sacre Coeur,
the club was lucky enough to
experience many fashion-related
events, as well.
One of the most amazing
things we did was visiting a
famous designer’s old flagship
Photo by Jen Gildea
store.
YSL, Yves St. Laurent, is a Fashion club in Paris viewing the sites and learning about the beginning of fashion.
French-born designer who originally apprenticed under Christian
YSL, which later became owned to the public.
and archive collections.
Dior. After creating his own cou- by Gucci, closed its doors to the
We were so incredibly fortunate
Preserved in temperature conture house in 1962, YSL created fashion house years ago; how- enough to be granted access to trolled areas with enormous rollmany famous looks including ever, the label is still producing YSL’s old mansion.
ing closets, the racks and racks
his tuxedo suit for women, “Le and the house is now transferred
Inside, we were guided through of garments were unbelievably
Smoking suit.”
into a small museum, not open rooms of the designer’s original ornate and stunning.
Facebook faces demise
By Jeffery Cagle
Contributing writer
Angry is not a big enough word
to describe the feelings of Generation Y last week as the online
social network Facebook turned
their worlds upside down with
the addition of two new controversial features: News Feed and
Mini-Feed.
Ruchi Sanghvi, the product
manager for Feed, stated in a
Sept. 5 press release that “News
Feed highlights what’s happening
in your social circles on Facebook…now whenever you log
in, you’ll get the latest headlines Facebook.com now includes a news feed.
generated by the activity of your
only hours after the new feeds little thing about her friends.”
friends and social groups.
On September 8, Zuckerberg
“Mini-Feed is similar, except were updated, Facebook creator
Mark
Zuckerberg
sent
out
a
press
issued
another press release
that it centers around one perrelease
entitled
“Calm
down.
entitled
“An Open Letter from
son.”
Breathe.
We
Hear
You.”
Mark
Zuckerberg.”
Although Sanghvi and the FaceIn addition to this activity, the
In this statement, Zuckerberg
book staff may have thought the
controversy
also
drew
the
atadmits
that “We really messed
users of the site would embrace
tention
of
many
national
news
this
one
up” and pointed out that
these two new features, the members of the Facebook Generation organizations who began running “we didn’t build in the proper
stories about these develop- privacy controls right away” for
reacted much differently.
News Feed and Mini-Feed.
Almost immediately, users of ments.
The big question is what do stuZuckerberg announced the
Facebook protested the new
additions declaring them to be a dents at Mercyhurst think about implementation of new and
these new additions?
better privacy controls that “will
pointless breach of privacy.
When asked for his opinions on allow you to choose which types
Groups began to form protesting “The Two Feeds.” One the matter, Jon Lyons, a senior, of stories go into your Mini-Feed
such group, Students Against described that he thought “The and your friend’s News Feeds.”
Many other Facebook users all
Facebook News Feed, created by Feeds” were “a little much” and
Northwestern University student that “you don’t need to know all across the country, are anxiously
waiting to see how the new priBen Parr, became the official information that people list.”
Junior Abby Wayman agreed vacy controls work out.
voice for students who disagreed
with Lyons, stating that “Too
Only time will tell if these
with the new features.
To date, Parr’s group includes much information about what controls work, putting this crisis
people are doing” was being to an end.
744,928 members.
Furthermore, it will also tell if
Parr and his fellow creators also given out by the News Feed and
this is simply a one-time uproar
added an online petition for stu- Mini-Feed features.
Jenna Phelps, a sophomore, also for Generation Y or if this is the
dents to show their support for
better privacy regulations dealing does not like the new features. beginning of our own generaShe pointed out that she really tional ascendancy to greatness.
with “The Feeds.”
As a result of this uproar, does not need to “know every
YSL prided himself on achieving the highest standards of
classic cut and tailoring, as well
as an essence of fantasy in his
eveningwear.
As if seeing his vintage collections wasn’t enough, we were also
privileged to examine binders full
of YSL’s original sketches from
decades ago.
“
YSL created
many famous
looks including
“
By Jen Gildea
Contributing writer
his tuxedo suit for
women.
All of them were so delicate that
they were handled solely by our
tour guide who wore white gloves
to protect the artwork.
A few days later, the club
had another amazing visit to a
fashion exhibit of Balenciaga,
a Spanish designer famous the
world over.
There were rooms full of
displays of Balenciaga, and his
protégé Givenchy’s, gowns,
ready-to-wear, and even wedding apparel.
Cristόbal Balenciaga was considered a master haute couturier
in the 1950s and 60s.
He was dressing prominent
women like Mona Bismarck and
Jackie Kennedy.
All of us girls walked around
simply in awe at the magnificence
of the clothing we were seeing
up close.
It was yet another incredible
experience that I’m sure none of
us will ever forget.
Our trip to Paris was extraordinary, and our experiences
unforgettable.
For me, it was a chance to see
Europe’s view of fashion and
compare it to the United States.
Fashion is always changing and
evolving; however, the classics
will forever remain epic in the
colthing world.
Now, a few students from Mercyhurst will be able to emulate
those fashion gods’ impeccable
designs.
Religious department
adds two faculty members
By Jen Helbig
Contributing writer
This fall, Mercyhurst welcomes
two new professors, Dr. Mary
Ellen O’Donnell, B.A., M.A., and
Professor Robert von Thaden,
B.A., M.A. to the religion department. Both come from different
backgrounds and have a variety
of knowledge to share with their
students.
O’Donnell finished her Ph.D.
in Religious Studies from the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, and then utilized her
Spanish undergraduate degree at
a job in Mexico.
“I moved to Mexico for an
academic year to teach English
at the Instituto Tecnológico de
Monterrey at the Campus Colima,” O’Donnell explained. “I
then moved to Charlotte where
I was a Director of Education
at Sylvan Learning Center. Then
I moved to Durham, North
Carolina, where I worked for
Child Care Services Association
where I helped Spanish-speaking
families find child care.”
O’Donnell eventually found
her way to Mercyhurst where she
will teach the core class Religious
Person and Tradition as well as
a course called Catholic Symbols
and Sacraments.
She explained that she was
drawn to Mercyhurst for its spirit
of community and the College’s
commitment to educating the
whole person.
“There seems to be a widely
held understanding that our task
(as a college) involves not only
intellectual development, which
occurs in classrooms on most
campuses, but also, Mercyhurst
students learn a sense of their
own potential to do good things
in the world,” O’Donnell said.
“I hope my classes will spark the
curiosity and imagination that I
have enjoyed in my own studies
of religion.”
O’Donnell explained where
her passion from teaching stems
from.
She said, “I think one of our
jobs as human beings on this
planet is to try to understand one
another. It can be very difficult.
I find that studying religion provides opportunities for attempting this tricky task. It celebrates
the diversity within humanity.
And then within all this diversity, sometimes I come across
something that resonates with so
much of my own life, and a kind
of connection is made.”
Rober t von Thaden also
worked language into his undergraduate degree. He earned
his B.A. in Religion and German at Muhlenberg College in
Allentown, Pa. He went on for
his master’s degree in Religious
Studies, and will be defending his
dissertation this fall and graduate
in May with a Ph.D. from the
Graduate Division of Religion
at Emory University in Atlanta,
Georgia.
Von Thaden worked as a high
school religion teacher at a Catholic college preparatory school
for women and then was both
a religion and Greek instructor
at Emory College. He eventually was drawn to Mercyhurst
because of its environment.
“Mercyhurst seems to me to be
the quintessential small, liberal
arts college,” he said. “Having
pursued my own undergraduate degree at a small college in
Pennsylvania, Mercyhurst feels
like coming home.”
Von Thaden said that he has
a passion for biblical texts and
ancient Christianity.
He already has experience
teaching biblical Greek at a previous college, and showed enthusiasm for the topic. “To help the
students to learn a language that
they had difficulty believing they
could ever master was a joy.”
Von Thaden plans to bring the
same enthusiasm to Mercyhurst’s
classrooms. He explained, “I
hope to bring a respect for ancient texts, the languages that
they were written in, and the cultures out of which they emerged
to my classroom.”
His interest in the simultaneous studies of religion, history,
and culture are sure to benefit
Mercyhurst’s classrooms. “I love
digging deep into biblical and
early Christian texts and trying
to figure out what meanings they
can generate. The cultures that
produced these texts are, to our
eyes, strange and wild and delving into those environments is
always exciting.
“What got me into this line of
work in the first place was recognizing that these texts, while
on some level so familiar, were
sometimes just plain weird when
you read them closely.
“My colleagues are exceptionally wonderful human beings and
my students are open to learning
new things,” he said.
Understanding the pain that creates a suicidal mind
By Chelsea Boothe
Campus Living editor
Suicide is the second leading
cause of death among men and
women in college aged 18 and
24.
College is a time of great
change: new people, new surroundings, new expectations,
along with a loss of the familiar
and comfortable.
“According to a recent UCLA
study, more than 30 percent of
college freshmen reported feeling overwhelmed a great deal of
the time during the beginning
of college,” the National Mental
Health Association reported.
At times, being overwhelmed
by the many changes can cause
college age people to become
stressed.
Psychologist Dr. Gerald Tobin,
the former director of the Mercy-
hurst College Counseling Center,
said that depression begins with
a problem that seems impossible
and the more overwhelming the
problem(s) becomes the closer it
seems to get to a person’s face.
And, if a person does not seek
help, the problem(s) gets so close
it feels suffocating. You can’t see
around it, and it becomes monumental and unbearable.
Once people reach this stage
of depression, they are in a great
deal of pain. It is an “intense
pain with a loss of hope and no
way out,” said Tobin. The act of
suicide then becomes an “act of
hopelessness.”
Other ways out of the problem
exist, but depressed people can’t
imagine an end. Because people
who commit suicide are in unbearable pain, they see it as the
way to relieve their pain.
It is important to keep in mind
that those who commit suicide
are not doing it to punish themselves or other people. They
are not trying to cause pain to
anyone; they are trying to relieve
their own pain, because they have
reached a point that they feel like
they cannot go on any further.
With that in mind, Tobin suggests that our response to hearing
that someone has committed suicide should be one of compassion, because to reach the point
of taking one’s own life shows
the very intense degree of pain
he or she must have been in.
Tobin complies that we all will
suffer in our lives, but depression is different; it is “a really
low mood that lasts for a couple
of weeks.”
Tobin explained the difference between “being down” and
depression: “The blues are to a
major depression what a windy
day is to a tornado.” Depression
is so intense and so dramatic that
it won’t be confused with having
the blues.
Tobin also stressed that when
people threaten suicide, or begin
to talk about suicide it should not
be ignored or dismissed.
Even if you don’t think the
person would actually go through
with it, the fact they are talking
about it means they are extremely
unhappy and need professional
help.
Tobin also gave some of the
leading or most prominent signs
that a person is severely depressed to watch for: dramatic
change in appetite, either eating
more or less than normal; change
in sleeping habits, either they are
not able to sleep, or not able to
get out of bed.
Things that brought great joy
no longer make them happy, and
they never want to go out and be
with their friends. Often these
things can make people feel like
their friends are blowing them
off or ignoring them, but sometimes it might mean they are in
serious pain.
Seeking help is not a sign of
weakness, and thinking about suicide at this age is not uncommon.
In fact one out of four people
in college will have thoughts of
suicide. What is important is
not to ignore them. When overwhelmed or lost, when problems
start closing in on people, they
need to seek help.
Mercyhurst offers excellent and
well qualified counselors in the
Health Center.
Whether you are a freshman
and your heart has been severely
broken or a junior on a sports
team who has developed knee
problems and can’t participate
anymore, there is a way out. Pain,
no matter what the cause, does
not have to be dealt with alone.
NAMI, National Alliance of
Mental Illness, of Erie County is
hosting their first annual walk for
suicide prevention this coming
Sunday, Sept. 17, at Mercyhurst.
The fee to walk is $10 and participants can register on the day
of the walk, but those who want
a t-shirt need to register early.
All proceeds go to provide free
services to families and friends
who suffer with a serious mental
illness.
The walk starts at 2 p.m. The
keynote speaker will be Beverly
Cobain, who was cousins with
Kurt Cobain the front man for
Nirvana, before he committed
suicide in 1994. His unfortunate
death is the spark that started
Beverly Cobain’s passion for
education about depression and
suicide. For further information please contact NAMI at
456-1773, or Barb Stachura at
extension 3777.
Page 6
OPINION
THE MERCIAD
September 13, 2006
To contact: [email protected]
Hold on to the memories
By Ellen Koenig
Contributing writer
My Crest Spin Brush died and somewhere on
the train between Chicago and St. Louis I realized
nothing lasts. All one is left with is the power of
memory.
Many factors of life eventually end: relationships, summers at the beach, presidential terms
and trendy Ugg boots.
Unfortunately some, unlike the batteries, cannot
be immediately replaced. And unlike fashion statements, memories are much easier to revive.
In several recent conversations such memories
have revolved around the question, “Where were
you when the towers fell?”
Recalling such events brings back the memories
and emotions of that day from five years ago,
along with the events that followed, including the
many memorial services and patriotism that was
sparked immediately after. It was my generation’s
“where were you” event.
Compared to the previous generation, the baby
boomers, it seems as if they have many more to
recall, for example, when JFK was shot or when
the Berlin Wall fell. It seems as if my generation
has fewer and fewer significant tragedies or world
altering occurrences.
While memorials and pictures are wonderful to
commemorate events and remembrance it is really
the personal memories and nostalgia of a certain
occurrence that makes the most impact. Time
MCT newspapers
The past five years have changed the landscape of downtown Manhattan. Construction
is now starting on a new building and a permanent memorial.
Remembering 9/11
As I turned on MSNBC early Monday morning,
I was confronted with the all-too familiar image of
smoke pouring out of the World Trade Center.
I quickly realized that the station was replaying
the actual Today Show from that fateful morning
five years ago.
Immediately, I was transported back to my desk
junior year in second period physics. I could hear
the announcement over the
loudspeaker,
Allison
“Excuse the
Moore
interruption,
but there is
a situation
in New York
Opinion editor
City, teachers
please turn on
your televi- sions.” As the image appeared
on the small screen, we watched in horror as
footage of a second plane hitting the other tower
confirmed that what we were witnessing was not
an accident.
I remember wandering the halls after the bell
rang, seeing the confused look on my fellow classmates’ faces. The rest of the day, I was glued to
the television in disbelief as news of an attack on
the Pentagon surfaced and was shocked to learn
of a fourth plane going down just 80 miles from
where I was sitting.
September 11, 2001, changed the lives of millions
of Americans.
For me personally, it emphasized the fact that
America was not infallible and that what happened
thousands of miles away in remote countries did in
fact matter. My feelings after the attack were like
most others: anger and devastation. Everything I
thought I knew no longer held true. The world was
literally turned upside down that day.
As days turned into weeks after the attacks, I
watched thousands of American flags fly outside
of homes across the country. I witnessed a unity
I had never before seen in a society plagued by
individualism. Surprisingly, such a reaction, though
encouraging, saddened me. It depressed me that it
took a tragedy of massive proportions to revive a
spirit of unity. It took nearly 3,000 civilian deaths
for America to wake-up. Despite this, I remember
being proud of America’s reaction but also skeptical
of how long it would last.
Five years later, it is clear to me that America’s
unity was in fact short-lived. Since that horrible
day in 2001, America has reverted back to partisan
bickering . . . a lot of shouting and not a lot of
listening.
The support of the international community,
which, mind you, included the French, after the
attacks was squandered over the unfounded invasion of Iraq. The admiration and support of
America and its ideals has been diminished through
questionable foreign policy actions including the
promotion of democracy through force and accusations of torture.
Five years later the majority of Americans have
reverted back to their pop-culture driven, individualistic lives. Only on the anniversary of the tragedy
and on days where the color-coded alert system tells
us to be extra cautious are most citizens reminded
of that Tuesday in September.
Today, our government continues to politicize
one of the most tragic days in American history.
We are constantly bombarded with the politics of
fear . . . especially around election time. Funny how
that works isn’t it?
The memories of September 11 have been immortalized in film with several movies already
released depicting a director and producer’s perception of that day.
Along with the silver screen, 9/11 has been
analyzed by documentaries and, most recently, the
highly contested docudrama. “The Path to 9/11”
aired this past weekend despite heavy scrutiny from
the left. The mini-series was accused of being
politically charged and factually inaccurate. ABC
defended its production saying that a disclaimer
told viewers that the mini-series was a drama and
modified for entertainment purposes.
Forgive me for being crass, but I don’t think it
is ethically correct to invent scenarios for peoples’
viewing pleasure.
September 11 was a defining moment for our
time. Only the facts should be presented to the
public . . . we deserve nothing less. Additionally,
I cannot understand why the most dramatic event
in American history needs any further dramatization.
With five years behind us, the nation has had time
to absorb and interpret the events of that terrible
day. So what have we learned from 9/11?
Examining the past five years, many would argue
we are in fact safer. I choose to see it a little differently. As a free and open society, we are at considerable risk. Short of changing our way of life, which
is what the terrorists would consider nothing short
of a victory, we will never truly be safe.
Instead, I like to think of America as more
aware.
We now know that there are people in the world
who want to do us harm, and we are more alert.
However, I feel it is safe to assume that the majority
of Americans, and sadly even some of our policy
makers, fail to understand the different cultures
of the world.
Believe it or not, the American way of doing
things isn’t the standard for the entire world. Educating Americans on different ways of life and crafting policies sensitive to culture is something that I
believe is essential in a post-9/11 world.
One can even make a bolder assumption by saying that if America had done so in the first place,
September 11, 2001, might have been just a normal
day on the calendar.
As we all stop to remember those innocent civilians and heroic first responders who lost their lives
that September morning, we must also look inside
ourselves to find a deeper meaning out of the
tragedy . . . to apply the lessons learned.
It is not enough for Americans to pay their respects. Americans must honor those who perished
by becoming more engaged in the world around
us.
We must do more than wave a flag and shed a
few tears.
We must exercise our civic duties and live up to
the ideals that truly make this country great.
We must learn from our mistakes and move the
nation in a positive direction through unity and
solidarity.
We owe the victims of 9/11 that much.
will move forward, separating us further from the
actual event, but the memories will continue to
impact and shape our lives. Memories, dramatic
like those from 9/11 or smaller and on a more
personal level, can leave lasting impressions on
our lives.
I do not know where time goes but it is always
moving, and I have realized that while taking
pictures captures the moment, it is much better to concentrate on living in that moment and
making the memories, for while a picture might
bring you back, it is the memories that make the
true impact.
Fall term is always one of my favorites, new faces
on campus along with old friends reunited after
three months of separation, long work days and
too many sunburns.
There are old memories to recall and many new
memories to be made.
Essentially the point is that it does not matter
what you wear or look like on a Saturday night, it
is more your presence at a party, living in the moment, that matters.
Despite what some may propose, memories
are the only objects that we are entitled to. They
are our creations and the interpretation is solely
up to the creator. It is important to recall the old
with the new and keep those from our past alive
in our present.
No one really knows what lies ahead for the upcoming school year, but instead of pondering and
hoping, I’m content with the here and now.
Take the preventive war
option off the table
By William W. Keller
and Gordon R. Mitchell
MCT Newspapers
The Sept. 11 attacks five years ago had many
terrible consequences, most of them seared into
our minds by that day’s unforgettable images of
destruction.
But the attacks also had a long-term consequence
for national policy: arguably even more destructive
they lit a fuse in Washington that led to the Bush
administration’s incendiary doctrine of preventive
warfare.
Preventive warfare is the doctrine that affirmed
and encouraged the United States to strike first in
Iraq, before any move by Iraq to strike us.
It allowed our leaders to act on their imagination
of what Iraq might be planning for us. And we
know now how that imagination was fanciful.
After the obvious misfire in Iraq, one might
have expected the White House to go back to the
drawing board and revisit its commitment to firststrike force as a key weapon in its war on terror.
No such luck.
The 2006 National Security Strategy explicitly
reaffirms the U.S. approach of “acting pre-emptively” against emergent security threats.
The fuse is still live. Another major terrorist attack on American soil could ignite it and trigger
a sequel to the ill-fated Operation Iraqi Freedom,
perhaps in the form of a preventive U.S. assault
against Iran or North Korea.
Before this is allowed to happen, we should
review the track record of preventive warfare and
think carefully about whether first-strike force is a
sound security strategy for addressing the dangers
posed by the proliferation of nuclear, biological
and chemical weapons.
Most of the preventive attacks of this type on
record since World War II have been ineffective
or worse. Limited strikes (by Israel, Iran, Iraq,
Norway, Britain and the United States) have largely
failed to eliminate targeted weapons stocks. Fullscale regime-change operations (by the United
States and its allies) have enjoyed more success
in rooting out unconventional arsenals, but led to
huge and unanticipated post-war costs.
A 1998 U.S. strike against the al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant in the Sudan did nothing to counter
al-Qaeda’s biological weapons program.
The full-scale preventive invasion of Iraq in
2003, intended to stem the production of unconventional weapons and topple an adversarial
government, failed to uncover the weapons, while
post-war civil strife continues to tie down U.S.
forces, complicating and undermining the initial
military victory.
Two key factors accounting for this poor track
record are faulty intelligence and misuse of intelligence analysis by political leaders.
To predict an attack by an enemy before such
an attack is evident requires intelligence bordering
on clairvoyance.
No intelligence is that reliable, even in a system
exquisitely organized and not corrupted by politicians.
Yet ironically, a preventive war doctrine itself
further degrades the quality of intelligence, steering analysts and their political masters to introduce
false positives into the threat matrix by distorting
the warning function of intelligence tradecraft.
Despite these shortcomings, some argue that the
preventive force option is still useful as a threat
that can leverage coercive diplomacy. But raising
the stakes with a weak hand is risky business.
MCT newspapers
President Bush’s war in Iraq is a sharp
shift in American foreign policy condoning
preventive war.
If adversaries decline to fold under pressure,
Washington faces a Hobson’s choice of either
admitting that the threat of force was a bluff, thus
severely damaging U.S. credibility, or alternately
exercising a flawed military option that was never
intended for actual use.
Unfortunately, the need for broad public discussion of these issues is obscured by the Bush
administration’s catch phrase “all options are on
the table.”
When uttered by White House officials, this
statement works as an ideological code that appeals to common sense but packs heavy baggage.
Through repetition of the code, Washington
obliquely re-asserts its commitment to preventive warfare. But since the commitment is not
explicit, it can be advanced without explanation
or justification.
The resulting vacuum of public discussion enables a thoroughly discredited military option of
preventive war to remain on the books as a key
pillar of U.S. national security strategy.
On those infrequent occasions when they are
pressed to justify preventive warfare, advocates
of the Bush national security strategy give ground,
pointing out that first-strike force is just one tool
in their shed, along with nonviolent options such
as rigorous inspections, treaties, law enforcement
and economic leverage.
Unfortunately, insistence on keeping the preventive war option on the table degrades intelligence,
diverts resources and diminishes allied support
necessary for effective implementation of these
nonviolent prevention strategies that offer more
promise in countering nascent security dangers.
As a country and as individuals, we have learned
much about ourselves since September 11.
One lesson that has clearly not yet been learned is
that preventive warfare striking first militarily simply does not work as a tool to counter proliferation
of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Like spoiled food, the preventive war option
should not be kept on the table.
Its removal would clear space for the more palatable and effective foreign policy instruments that
are better suited for dealing with this new century’s
emerging security challenges.
September 13, 2006
THE MERCIAD
PAGE 7
OPINION
To contact: [email protected]
What’s in a name anyway?
I feel as though I am one of the few males on
the planet who can honestly say I am named after
my mother…and no my mother’s first name isn’t
Mister, nor is mine.
We are both named Marian, although in an attempt to masculinize my name she changed the second A to an O
as is common
in the rarely
used spelling
Jeff
of the male
Allen
name Marion
s u ch a s i n
Marion John
Wayne and a
host of NFL
lineman who intermittently find themselves in jail.
Sweet trick Marian Sr.…now everyone will know
I’m not a tranny.
Although my mother never even calls me Marion,
because even she realizes the ridiculousness of her
actions in 1985; since I have become a legal adult
there are now many instances where I must use
the name Marion to get anything done. I even got
arrested once because my ID said Jeff on it instead
of Marion. My name didn’t change the fact that I
was doing 88 in a 65, and I swear that girl said she
was 18 but that’s neither here nor there.
Surprisingly, only once before coming to college
did someone even call me Marion. I remember that
seventh grade gym class like it was yesterday and
haven’t lived it down since, although the thought
of a girl in the locker room did spike my friend’s
interest.
Since I arrived at Mercyhurst, being called Marion
occurs on almost a daily basis, and I have come to
accept the name I once refused to respond to.
However, just last week as I was becoming used
to the title I once loathed I experienced a great
setback in my mental development as a male with
a female’s name.
A professor, while taking attendance, asked for
Miss Marion Allen. I immediately corrected him
but was brought suddenly back to seventh grade as
I watched an entire classroom of my peers literally
turn, point and laugh.
We live in a world full of gender neutral names
such as Kelly, Dana, Casey…the list goes on. When
referring to the departure from traditional male
names George Carlin put it best when he said
something to the effect of “Nicky, Timmy and Billy
will beat up Tucker, Todd and Kyle any day of the
week.” I absolutely agree with him for the most
part; however, if Nicky, Timmy and Billy were to
encounter me and my buddies Dana and Kelly out
on the street I think they should probably turn and
walk the other way. We’re in a completely different
ambiguous ballpark.
A letter to the student body:
How do you feel about smoking in public places?
This fall, the Pennsylvania Health and Human
Services Committee will continue debating a ban
on indoor smoking.
House Bill 1489, drafted by Rep. Susan Cornell
(R., Montgomery), in effect would ban smoking
in workplaces – including bars, restaurants, and
Pennsylvania’s new slot-machine parlors – and
public facilities.
Currently, only 11 states are 100 percent smokefree in all workplaces: Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey (except for casinos),
New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
and Washington.
In June, the committee voted 14-14 on the bill, in
effect keeping it locked up in committee while Rep.
Cornell and her supporters go back to the drawing
board in search of more support.
For my Penn State MBA marketing research
project this fall, I am conducting an online survey
to measure the public’s attitude toward smoking in
public places. The survey is running until Friday,
October 27, and I plan to share my findings with
the committee based upon your feedback.
The survey’s Web site address is http://www.
questionpro.com/akira/takesurvey?id=506751 and
participants must be at least 18. I encourage all of
you to take five minutes and let your representatives
know how you feel about this important public
health issue. Everyone’s opinion counts!
The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
The Good
The inauguration of Mercyhurst’s 11th president, Dr.. Thomas Gamble, will take place this coming Saturday. This week, a variety of events are being held in honor of the inauguration, focusing
on the broad and optimistic theme, “Imagine.” This is indeed an exciting time for Mercyhurst as
the college is beginning its journey into the Gamble era.
MSG has introduced online voting for future elections. The new system is not only convenient,
but will undoubtedly engage more members of the student body in the electoral process.
The addition to the PAC is very nice and was completed on time. The lobby provides much
more space, and the art gallery is much improved. Although some parking was sacrificed, the new
addition makes the PAC even more inviting for students and members of the community.
The artwork displayed in the hall of Old Main is a wonderful showcase of talent. Many of the
pieces were created by college students and some were donated to the college.
10 cent drafts and free pizza at the Cornerstone Wednesdays. For a poor, hungry and thirsty
college student, this is indeed good news. Please enjoy responsibly.
The Bad
With classes starting just two days before the extended Labor Day weekend this year, it is no
surprise that students, of the legal drinking age of course, consumed several alcoholic beverages.
This is expected with a long weekend and virtually no homework. However, the downside to this
rosy scenario is the absence of our beloved “drunk bus.” If Mercyhurst wants to start classes at a
ridiculous time fine, but realize that students will be drinking on a three-day weekend and they have
to get downtown somehow. Surely some were responsible, designating a driver or calling a cab,
but it is almost guaranteed that certain people were behind the wheel while under the influence.
There were five reported thefts on campus in the past week . . . including the theft of the candles
from the Grotto. The Grotto of all places! Don’t the Ten Commandments specifically say “Thou
shall not steal?” One would think this is especially true for when stealing from a religious shrine.
Someone out there needs to say a few Hail Marys.
The Ugly
The new eyesore, aka the kiosk, on campus is hideous. Plain and simple. For a college that
prides itself on appearances, one has to wonder what the “powers that be” were thinking. First
of all, it stands out like a sore thumb, not blending in at all with the natural landscape. Second,
Mercyhurst is not Ohio State. There is no need for a map when your campus literally consists of
six major buildings. Even freshmen are able to find their way around campus without incident.
Was this really necessary?
Dave Swiderski
University Park, PA
How do you feel about the new kiosk?
Samantha Sellinger 2010
Six students on
campus were
asked their
opinions on the
new kiosk located
in front of the Hirt
Center on campus.
“It’s a hideous addition
to the campus. The
time was off and the
events from last week
are still scrolling. We
can use the money for
something a lot better
for campus.”
“I don’t really refer to
the kiosk that often. It
is not really for students
who know their way
around; it seems like a
waste of money.”
“The time is usually wrong.
I do not really look at the
map and the scroll is never
updated.”
Marie Blum 2008
Tom Eighmey 2009
“I look at it for
temperature and time.”
“I’m glad it’s there
– it’s informative. I
actually look at it for
information.”
Amanda Serafini 2010
“I think it’s ugly. It takes
a lot away from campus,
making campus a lot
less harmonious.”
David Karr 2007
Amy Butler 2008
MERCIAD
The
Joshua Wilwohl
Jessica Kocent
Chelsea Boothe
Allison Moore
Ryan Palm & Matt Jackson
Melissa Brandt
Andrew Finkel
Katie Diley
Melissa Brandt
Brittany McCracken
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
News Editor
[email protected]
Campus Life Editor
[email protected]
Opinion Editor
[email protected]
Sports Editor
[email protected]
A&E Editor
[email protected]
Photo Editor
[email protected]
Production Editor
[email protected]
Advertising Manager
[email protected]
Copy Editor
[email protected]
The Merciad is the student-produced newspaper of Mercyhurst College.
It is published throughout the school year, with the exception of midterms
week and finals week. Our office is in the Old Main, room 314 Our telephone
number is 824-2376.
MTC newspapers
The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and
names will be included with the letters. Although we will not edit the letters
for content, we reserve the right to trim letters to fit. Letters are due the
Thursday before publication and may not be longer than 300 words. Submit
letters to box PH 485.
PAGE 8
THE MERCIAD
ARTS &
ENTERTAINMENT
tHe
BuZz
SEPT. 15. Little Steven’s
Underground Garage Rock
show with the Zombies,
Mooney Suzuki, Gore
Gore Girls, Woggles, Vacancies. Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland.
SEPT. 15. Asia (with all
four original members).
House of Blues, Cleveland.
SEPT. 16. Friends of Bob
and Tom Show with Drew
Hastings, Bob Zany, Tim
Bedore, John Evans, Todd
Yohn, Donnie Baker. Warner Theatre, Erie. $32.50.
SEPT. 16. Yellowcard, Anberlin. House of Blues,
Cleveland.
SEPT. 16. Hatebreed,
Black Dahlia Murder, Napalm Death, more. Agora
Theatre, Cleveland.
SEPT. 16. Little Steven’s
Underground Garage Rock
show with the Zombies,
Mooney Suzuki, Gore
Gore Girls, Woggles. Town
Ballroom, Buffalo.
SEPT. 17. Styx, Foreigner.
Chevrolet Amphitheater,
Pittsburgh.
SEPT. 18. STSP. House of
Blues, Cleveland.
SEPT. 18. 10,000 Maniacs
25th anniversary concert
with guest John Sebastian,
Artie Traum.
SEPT. 18. Philip Glass.
Mainstage Theatre, Center
for the Arts, University of
Buffalo, Buffalo.
SEPT. 19. Lostprophets,
Kill Hannah. House of
Blues, Cleveland.
SEPT. 19. Talk. Author
Frank McCourt. Allen Theatre, Cleveland.
SEPT. 19. Los Lonely Boys.
Town Ballroom, Buffalo.
SEPT. 19. Lecture. Dalai
Lama. University of Buffalo Stadium, Buffalo.
SEPT. 19. Celtic Frost. Rex
Theatre, Pittsburgh.
SEPT. 21. Heavy Trash
(with Jon Spencer). Sadies
Beachland Tavern, Cleveland.
SEPT. 21. Trachtenburg
Family Slideshow Players.
Rex Theatre, Pittsburgh.
SEPT. 21. Johnny Winter.
House of Blues, Cleveland.
SEPT. 21. Ari Hest. House
of Blues (Cambridg e
Room), Cleveland.
SEPT. 22. The Pendragons.
Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
SEPT. 22. Richie Havens.
Big Green Screen Theatre,
Tom Ridge Environmental
Center, Erie. $40.
SEPT. 22. Dave Alvin and
the Guilty Mean. Beachland
Ballroom, Cleveland.
SEPT. 23. Dave Alvin and
the Guiltymen. Rex Theatre, Pittsburgh.
SEPT. 23. Phil Vassar. Warner Theatre, Erie.
SEPT. 23. Elevation. House
of Blues, Cleveland.
SEPT. 23. Be Your Own
Pet, Black Lips. Beachland
Tavern, Cleveland.
Courtesy of Goerie.com
September 13, 2006
To contact: [email protected]
New art for the new year
By Melissa Brandt
A & E Editor
Paintings, sculpture, photography, ceramics and more are
covering the walls of Mercyhurst
this week.
Dr. Thomas Gamble’s inauguration has set off a new appreciation for art at Mercyhurst, largely
because of Mrs. Mary Gamble’s
plans to create Mercyhurst’s first
permanent collection.
“As we prepare to inaugurate
a new president, an appreciation
for the beauty of Old Main and
the talent of so many people
who have become a part of the
Mercyhurst community is utmost
in our minds,” she said.
“It is therefore only fitting that
we should showcase some of
this talent during the inaugural
period.”
Peggy Brace, director of the
newly remodeled Cummings Art
Gallery says that a lot of the art
around campus is from alumni,
“who are teachers and working
artists.”
With a gallery full of new
pieces and the recent makeover
of Old Main, it’s clear there is a
lot of talent in the halls of the
‘Hurst.
The first show, entitled, “From
the Past to the Future – Alumni
Art Teachers” includes the work
of 17 Mercyhurst graduates who
are career educators and also actively produce their own art.
The collection represents a
large portion of graduate submissions from all around the
nation.
“The art is really diverse. It is
representative of the accomplishments of Mercyhurst graduates.
They have gone on to be very
successful in art and teaching.
Some pieces are from Pittsburgh,
and Slippery Rock, but others
are from as far as Florida and
Indiana,” said Brace.
Also represented in the show
are ‘Hurst art faculty members
Daniel Burke, Jodi Staniunas
Hopper, and Cummings Gallery
Director, Peggy Murrell Brace.
The showcase in Old Main,
entitled, “The Friends of Mercyhurst College Art Show” features
the work of more than 20 artists
who are in some way “friends”
of the college, be they faculty,
students, or longstanding supporters.
All of the art was accumulated
by donation. One art piece, a
drawing, took six months to
finish, and will be showcased in
Old Main by request of the artist,
Shelley Barron.
Fortunetly for the ‘Hurst, a
lot of the alumni were equally
Melissa Brandt/A&E Editor
A preview of the art that will be on display Thursday in the Cummings Art Gallery.
generous.
“They were very excited to be
part of the celebration,” said
Brace. “The works will change;
there will be other shows, as
even more people have given
their work.”
While others have donated
art, some will donate their time.
Two of ‘Hurst’s campus favorite
people will be helping with the
gallery celebration.
“Ricardo and Jesse,” the two
commuting adult students who
dress alike and ride a tandem
bicycle, “will act as good will
ambassadors at the gallery opening,” said Brace, “they will hand
out buttons, etc. It’s going to be a
wonderful celebration occasion.
“We are really grateful for
the new gallery, and are happy
to have the opening show to
celebrate Dr. Gamble’s inaugu-
ration.”
Catch the new enthusiasm for
art at the ‘Hurst and check out
the gallery opening Thursday,
Sept. 14, as part of the Inaugural
Week festivities.
Both exhibits open from 5:30
-7p.m. with receptions and live
entertainment provided by Marty
O’Connor and Friends at Cummings Gallery, and the Jim Madden Trio in Old Main.
Anthony Hopkins ‘on the fast track’
By Christina Ferranti
Contributing writer
“The World’s Fastest Indian,”
as reviewed by Neil Smith, can be
described as: “Proof that obsession can be contagious.
“‘The World’s Fastest Indian,’
an affectionate portrait of a
real-life Kiwi record breaker
that took director Roger Donaldson 30 years to bring to the
screen. Its subject is Herbert J.
‘Burt’ Munro, a plucky pensioner
who repeatedly broke the world
land-speed record in the ‘60s
on his modified Indian Scout
motorbike.”
Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) is the typical crazy neighbor
that mows his lawn by setting
fire to it, begins each morning
by peeing on his lemon tree and
occasionally gets up at three
o’clock in the morning to rev
up his 40-year-old motorcycle
and race it.
Burt’s goal is to earn enough
money to travel to the United
States and race his motorcycle in
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah.
This film is not the typical
racing movie everyone would
expect.
It is an eccentric narrative
capturing the life of an old man
from Invercargill, New Zealand,
Burt Munro who refuses to
give up his lifelong passion of
racing despite a serious heart
condition.
If this is not exciting enough
for the audience, then let’s add
that Burt only races a specific
type of motorcycle, a 1920 V-10
Indian Scout motorcycle.
It not only has no braking
chute or brakes but a brandy
cork on his gas tank and no
tread on his tires. If that is not
convincingly curious imagery,
picture this: a kitchen hinge
used as a mechanical part and
a low, streamlined machine that
requires the person riding to be
flat on his or her stomach.
In 1967, Burt pursues his need
for speed thrill, with the help of
his neighbors, by traveling to the
Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to
participate in the annual Speed
Week.
At the inception of his trip, he
lands in Sunset Strip, California
where a transvestite hotel clerk
clues Burt in to the American
way of life.
On his way to Utah, he encounters a true American Indian,
as well as a few other characters
that all impact how Burt accomplishes such a magnificent feat.
Upon his arrival in Utah, the
officials register him despite the
missed deadline and no entrance
fee and proceed with a routine
inspection of his motorcycle.
Much to their disbelief, this
motorcycle poses a blatantly
huge safety threat to both Burt
and his opponents, but Burt insists that his motorcycle would
never harm him.
In Ebert’s review he poses the
question: “Why do they allow
this man to risk his life in defiance of every safety standard at
Bonneville? I think it is because
Burt loves his motorcycle, and
cannot believe she would harm
him; the steadfastness of his
trust seduces them.”
Burt, though an old retiree
does not allow for his life to be
trampled by those around him;
he lives in the moment.
He believes that no one should
waste any ounce of life when it
could all be over the next day.
This amazing story relays the
message that life is about fulfilling one’s dreams and not letting
anything slip by without at least
attempting it.
Burt went on, even in his late
seventies, to race in nine different
Bonneville races.
This film is playing at the Mary
D’Angelo Performing Arts Center on Sept. 13 at 2 pm and again
at 8 pm.
Don’t miss the first of many
great movies in the Guelcher
Series this year.
Ticket prices include: Adult: $5;
Senior/Student: $4; Mercyhurst
Student with ID: Free (one ticket
per ID).
September 13, 2006
THE MERCIAD
PAGE 9
ARTS &
To contact: [email protected]
ENTERTAINMENT
Gang corruption receives a new life in ‘Tsotsi’
By Christina Ferranti
Contributing writer
Roger Ebert emphasizes in his
review that “Tsotsi,” noted for
winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Film is “a film of deep emotional power, it considers a young
killer whose cold eyes show no
emotion, who kills unthinkingly,
and who is transformed by the
helplessness of a baby.
“He didn’t mean to kidnap
the baby, but now that he has
it, it looks at him with trust and
need, and he is powerless before
eyes more demanding than his
own.”
The film takes place in South
Africa, in a small town called
Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg.
This place is impoverished
and struggling to survive as the
government has attempted to
build neat little houses amidst
the shacks and shanties.
In terms of survival, the children have the toughest struggle,
but education is the key to living
a successful life and escaping
FILM PREVIEW
from the world of corruption
and despair.
Tsotsi is a young man who
heads a gang of men who rough
people up, pillage, deal drugs,
and murder without a second
thought.
Tsotsi is not this man’s real
name, which the audience does
not learn until the end of the
film; it is a name which literally
means “thug.”
The significance in this is the
film’s preface of whether or not
the “thug” in Tsotsi ever really
disappears.
The film begins with the gang
eyeing up a potential job to steal
from a helpless gentleman.
Once this unsuspecting man
steps onto the subway, his life
is not controlled by destiny, but
rather by the four men scouting
his money.
This startling beginning thrusts
the audience into a world that is
devoid of emotion and decency,
revealing that these men do not
know what else to live for.
After the violent death of a
subway man, Tsotsi enters a
moral debate with another gang
member, Boston, about the
loss of all decency. Was it really
necessary to murder the man on
the subway?
Boston plays the devil’s advocate in the form of a conscience,
realizing what they are doing and
humanizing the results for the
rest of the group.
Ultimately, this scuffle leads
to Tsotsi beating the pulp out of
Boston and running off in loneliness. This particular theme is
reoccurring throughout the film,
stemming from a barrage of
cruelty during Tsotsi’s childhood,
which the audience glimpses in
flashbacks.
Apart from his gang, Tsotsi
stumbles aimlessly through a
gated middle class suburb where
he finds a woman buzzing for
her husband to open the protective gates and let her in.
On impulse, Tsotsi shoots this
woman and steals her car. Tsotsi
is about to dump the car, but
much to his surprise, there is an
infant in a car seat.
Tsotsi finally examines his
conscience and realizes that he
cannot murder this innocent
child.
He makes the decision to take
the baby and care for it the best
way he can, despite his lack of
knowledge in infant care.
His methods still remain
harsh—carrying the baby in a
shopping bag, holding a woman
at gunpoint to feed the baby,
etc.—but overall he gains a sense
of humanity back from this
experience.
In the end, people still fear him
and his troubling ways, but the
focus of the film allows for the
audience to see that the endeavor
of the film is for Tsotsi to redeem himself by finally assuming
responsibility for another’s life.
Though he does not drastically
change his ways; he gains a small
sense of what his life would be
like without the horror and corruption instilled in his mind from
so long ago.
This film is playing at the Mary
D’Angelo Performing Arts Center on Sept. 20 at 2 and 8 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of the PAC
Morality and a South African gangster in the film, Tsotsi.
In case you missed it ... the best albums of the summer
By Joe Fidago
Contributing writer
AFI – December undergound
A headlining band on this
year’s Warped Tour, AFI had this
smash disc to tour behind.
Not as rock as “Sing the Sorrow,” and not as punk as “Answer
That” and “Stay Fashionable”
or “Very Proud of Ya,” this disc
does seem to really have something for all the AFI fans out
there, whether they be longtime
fans or fans who were attracted
to the band by “Girl’s Not Grey”
or one of the other singles off
Sorrow.
The Casanovas – All Night
Long
If AC/DC, Jet, and The Ramones got together and had a
musical offspring, it would turn
out to be The Casanovas. “All
Night Long” will grab you by
the throat from the first riffs of
“Born to Run” and hold a firm
grip for the next 37 minutes.
Imagine a faster and louder Jet
and you’ll have a good idea what
you are in for.
Ice Cube – Laugh Now, Cry
Later
With Ice Cube’s first album of
all-new material in six years, he
shows that kiddie movies like
“Are We There Yet?” haven’t
softened him up.
Photo Courtesy of www.theillusionist.com
Giamotti, Norton and Biel battle bad seeds and a bad script.
‘Illusionist’ disenchanting
By Melissa Brandt
A&E Editor
With the tagline of “nothing
is what it seems,” you might
expect “The Illustionist’s” plot
to turn into the seemingly obvious ruse.
However, the desire to know if
your hypothesis is right will keep
you intrigued for the rest of the
movie, if even to say “That was
predictable,” at the end.
Set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, the film centers on the love
of a young peasant boy (to be
magician Edward Norton) and a
young duchess (Jessica Biel).
The effects of classist society
are tested against the strength
of love, and if you can forgive
the script for that delve into the
contrived, the rest of the movie
has innovative merit.
For one, the film is not your
average magician’s tale. Artful deception is taken to a new level.
Special effects are less obviously computer generated as a
result of the film’s artful presentation.
The illusions do cause trouble
for the characters of the film,
as Norton’s tricks arouse the
curiousity of a corrupt noble
(imagine that) and further action brings on the investigation
of Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul
Giamotti).
Giamotti is charged with removing the illusion from Norton’s act, and revealing the truths
behind magic and murder.
At this point it seems like a fair
flick, but rising action to falling
reveals annoying plot holes that
ask too much, even for an art
form that banks on the suspension of disbelief (for more information visit www.imdb.com).
However, if you like paying
for small variations on templatemovie-scripts, you might enjoy
“The Illusionist.”
If nothing else, it does showcase some very pleasing prestidigitations, but I would have
saved my money for the dollar
theater.
The Best Part: absolutely
amazing scenery.
T he Wor st Par ts: mismatched accents paired with
an overdone plot.
While his newer movies might
be something that your little siblings can watch, this shouldn’t be
the accompanying soundtrack.
If you like what Cube does
then you know what to expect
here, and if you liked his singles
“Chrome & Paint”, “Go To
Church,” or “Why We Thugs,”
then check it out as well.
Lostprophets – Liberation
Transmission
The Welsh rockers return for
their third album, after 2004’s
breakthrough smash, “Start
Something.”
The first single, “Rooftops,” is
one of the weaker tracks here, as
they stick to the same sound that
brought them their success.
Fortunately, they don’t adhere
to the 3 Doors Down “make
every song on every album sound
exactly the same” formula, so
they can get away with it.
Obie Trice – Second Round’s
On Me
When Obie Trice released his
first album, 2003’s “Cheers,” I
remember trying to convince
someone not to waste their time
listening to it.
“Got Some Teeth” just seemed
too goofy to qualify Obie as a
bona fide rapper who was going
anywhere.
Upon further listening, Obie
Trice definitely does have the
talent needed to stand out from
others in the rap industry, he’s
just underrated and overshadowed on a label chock-full of
huge names already. “Cry Now”
is a song that will definitely grow
on you, if it hasn’t already.
Rise Against – The Sufferer
and The Witness
Probably my favorite release
this summer. Just try to listen to
this album and sit still…not happening. “After Siren Song of the
Counter Culture” in 2004, some
fans were horrified that Rise
Against had become glossed over
and were turning into another
pop-punk act.
This new album puts those
fears to rest, as the Chicago
hardcore heroes tear through
13 songs of politically-charged
anthems.
Don’t let them being labeled as
‘hardcore’ scare you away – the
vocals are clean, not guttural
screams.
If you’ve never heard the band
before, some of the songs will
remind you of Rage Against
the Machine with an emphasis
more towards punk than metal,
and minus Tom Morello’s crazy
distortion effects.
If you’ve never heard Rage
either…then I just feel bad for
you.
If you like this, make sure to
get Revolutions Per Minute as
well, unanimously decided to
be one of the best punk rock
records of the past decade.
PAGE 10
THE MERCIAD
September 13, 2006
LAKER
SPORTS
To contact: [email protected]
Women’s volleyball
struggles in GLIAC
play with 1-3 record
By Matt Jackson
Co-Sports editor
Hines Ward and the Steelers are ready to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
MCT photo
Defending Super Bowl
champs are more than
just a lucky team
By Matt Jackson
Co-Sports editor
COMMENTARY
Let’s look at a breakdown of
ESPN.com’s Super Bowl picks
from their panel of 12 football
experts.
Seven picked the Colts. The
Seahawks and Panthers received
two picks apiece and the final
pick went to the Bengals.
Taking a look at the picks from
a different view, seven experts
picked Peyton Manning to win
at least three meaningful games
which is about three more than
his career total.
Two experts took a team riding
on the backs of their star running
back Shaun Alexander which is
fine except for the fact that he
lost his best offensive lineman
in free agency.
Two experts picked a team with
a very suspect running game,
although the Panthers do have
one of the best receiving duos
in the league.
And one very brave expert
selected a team that hasn’t won a
playoff game since 1990 and has
a quarterback coming off major
knee surgery.
Absent from that list is the
Pittsburgh Steelers
Not often does a returning
Super Bowl champion with the
majority of its important pieces
still intact fall from the list of
the favorites heading into the
next season.
None of the experts even
picked the Steelers to make the
Super Bowl let alone win it and
two even predicted the champs
would miss the playoffs.
All the Steelers did last season
was defy the odds, make history,
and prove all of the so-called
football experts wrong by winning three straight playoff games
on the road and the Super Bowl
behind a second-year quarterback and a first year-starter at
running back.
The only significant loss from
the championship team was
free safety Chris Hope who
departed to the Titans via free
agency. That hole was quickly
filled with the signing of Ryan
Clark, a former Washington
Redskin, and what appears to
be a solid backup/future starter
in rookie Anthony Smith out of
Syracuse.
The only other notable, but
by no means significant, losses
were Jerome Bettis and Antwaan
Randle El.
Bettis will be missed most
for his leadership abilities and
possibly his goal line presence,
although with the recent signing
of Najeh Davenport the latter
may no longer be an issue.
Randle El was a highly overrated receiver last season who
only caught the eyes of the media and other teams, such as his
new team the Redskins, because
of his touchdown passes, not
catches. In fact, Randle El caught
just 35 passes and only one for
a touchdown in the 2005 regular
season, hardly worth the $31
million contract the Redskins
threw at him.
Despite all of this, there still
seems to be no love for the Steelers as contenders this year.
Instead, Steeler bashing seems
to be the thing to do this football
season.
Pittsburgh seems to be known
as a lucky team rather than a
quality football team.
Apparently Ben Roethlisberger’s 22-3 record as a regular
season starter is luck.
Actually, the most common argument against Roethlisberger’s
success is that he isn’t really that
good, he benefits from a good
team and rarely is forced to pass
the ball.
Big Ben does have more than
200 less attempts than Eli Manning in one more game started
but that hasn’t stopped him from
matching Manning’s yard total.
Both have just a shade over 5,000
total yards passing.
Willie Parker’s 4.23 speed that
often leads to breakaway runs
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similar to the one he showcased
against the Seahawks’ defense
in the Super Bowl is surely luck
as well.
Luck is obviously the word
to describe Hines Ward’s game.
His leadership ability, which will
most likely reach a higher level
this season with the absence of
Bettis, and his hard-nosed style
of play could be described with
no other word than luck. Pure
determination, dedication, and
athletic ability most certainly
don’t describe his game.
The defensive unit as a whole
is probably the luckiest of them
all as in they are lucky enough
to have one of the top two
defensive backs in the league,
Troy Polamalu. Lucky to have an
intimidating linebacker who is always moving at top speed in Joey
Porter. Lucky to have a dominating nose tackle that creates space
need for the Blitzburgh defense
in Casey Hampton.
The Steelers’ only real weakness at the moment is their lack
of a deep threat for Roethlisberger to throw to.
That problem may have been
answered in the first game,
however, when Nate Washington
emerged showing he has the ability to go up and catch the ball at
its highest point.
No, the Steelers are not just a
lucky team.
What they really have is a great
organization that starts from the
top and works its way down.
They draft well, coach well, and
play extraordinary.
Coach Cowher has the uncanny
ability to get his team ready and
prepared to play especially when
facing any type of adversity.
This was evident Thursday in
the win over the Dolphins.
Without the services of Roethlisberger, the Steelers won
against a supposed playoff contender behind backup Charlie
Batch and a hurt Hines Ward at
receiver.
Winning games by any means
neccessary is not luck. It comes
from a winning tradition.
Contact
Frank Bolte
Licensed Insurance Agent
The Mercyhurst women’s volleyball team started the 2006
season similar to their 2005
season.
The Lakers once again opened
the season strong in non-conference play but have struggled so
far in conference play to a tune
of a 1-3 GLIAC record.
Last season the Lakers won
10 of their first 11 matches, all
non-conference, before losing
nine of the next 10 matches to
conference foes.
This season Mercyhurst’s nonconference schedule was shortened and the Lakers finished 5-3
in the eight-game span.
Two of those losses, however, were against GLIAC opponents in Lake Superior State
and Saginaw Valley State, but
were considered non-conference
contests.
It is no coincidence that the
Lakers play better in non-conference play. The strength of the
File Photo
File Photo
Junior Kristin Peterson
Sophomore Jenna Matson
GLIAC is shown in the national
rankings.
Four GLIAC teams are represented in the American Volleyball
Coaches Association (AVCA)
national rankings, including No.
2 Grand Valley State.
Gannon was the first team to
put a tally in the Mercyhurst loss
column with a 3-0 victory on
Sept. 5.
The Lakers bounced back
quickly with a 3-1 win over Lake
Superior State three days later.
Junior Kristin Peterson recorded
a game-high 21 kills and sophomore Jenna Matson finished
with 19. Peterson and Matson
are also ranked No. 1 and No. 2
on the team respectively in kills
this season.
The Lakers also dropped GLIAC matches to No. 24 and undefeated Northern Michigan and
Michigan Tech.
The Lakers will compete next
in two away matches at Wayne
State and at Hillsdale Friday and
Saturday.
Shouse leads Green Team to win
in men’s basketball alumni game
Justin Shouse scored a gamehigh 25 points to lead the Green
Team to a 76-73 win over the
White Team in the Mercyhurst
men’s basketball alumni game.
Shouse scored 11 of his points
in the fourth quarter to lead a
Green Team comeback of nine
points in the quarter.
Also reaching double-digits
for the Green Team were Gerry
Battle with 14 points and Jeff
Daisley with 11 points.
Laker
The White team was led by
Moe Profit with 19 points.
Brent Swain and Rahsaah Roland each scored 13 points while
Matt Thielker and Craig Young
chipped in with 12 points and 11
points respectively.
The event was organized by
Swain and all proceeds from the
event benefited the Alzheimer’s
Association.
Other players participating
were Keith Nies, Dave Lanahan,
Fall Term
Galley Grill
Lunch:
M-Southwest Burger
T- Portabella Mushroom
Sandwich
Wednesday Wraps!
Th- Taco Salad
F-Chicken Patty
S- Cheeseburger
Laker Express
Look for Laker Express
Minute Meals!
Jason Ioppolo, and Jody Crymes
for the Green Team and Jim Roe,
Brian Lanahan, and Mike Carr
for the White team.
Former stars Jeff Woleben and
Dion Brown were also invited
to the event but were unable to
attend.
~Information gathered from the
Mercyhurst Sports Information Web
site.
Inn
Dinner:
S- Turkey Burger
M- Sloppy Joe
T- Philly Cheesesteak
W- Laker Burger
Th- Barbeque Chicken
F- Sizzlin’ Salad
S - Sausage
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday 8:00am-1:00 a.m.
Saturday
1:00pm-1:00 a.m.
Sunday
5:00pm-1:00 a.m.
Wraps
Buffalo Chicken
Barbeque Chicken
Veggie and humus
Bacon, Lettuce and
Tomato
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Thursday 11:30-8:00 p.m.
Board Equivalency Available:
Friday
11:30-3:30 p.m.
11:30-8:00pm
Saturday & Sunday Closed
For No-Obligation Information
Build a plan to fit your budget
800-866-6273
[email protected]
www.naseweb.com/frankbolte
Association membership is required. Underwritten by The MEGA Life
and Health Insurance Company. Administrative office: N. Richland Hills,
TX. Exclusions and limitations apply. Plan availability varies by state. (#
25875, 25876, 25877, 25147 or state variation) M/000081 exp.6/07
Subconnection
6” Sub
$3.50
12”Sub $5.50
FEATURES:
Baja Chicken Sub
Meatball Sub
Italian Sub
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday 11:30-9:00 p.m.
Saturday
1:00pm-9:00 p.m.
Sunday
5:00pm-9:00 p.m.
September 13, 2006
THE MERCIAD
Page 11
LAKER
To contact: [email protected]
SPORTS
Football loses pair to open season
Team seeks first win of the year on the road next week at Wayne State
By Ryan Palm
Sports editor
The opening weeks for the
Mercyhurst football team were
not very pleasant to say the least.
In home games against Northwood and Ferris State, both
conference games, the Lakers
were outscored 61-21.
The Lakers started their season
winless through the first two
games for the second time in as
many years, not getting their first
win until week eight in 2005.
In a disappointing season
opener, Mercyhurst fell 33-14
against No. 25 Northwood.
The game was not a pretty
sight, as torrential rain made for
less than ideal playing conditions.
The Lakers turned the ball over
four times in the game, and failed
to make the big plays to get the
ball into the endzone.
A bright spot on the rainy afternoon was the running game of
junior Dave Stallard, who ran for
103 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Mitch Phillis was 16-30 for 148 yards,
hooking up with seven different
receivers on the afternoon.
The following game against
Ferris State was dominated by the
defensive line of the Bulldogs,
who sacked Phillis 10 times.
Phillis was under pressure on
nearly every snap, yet still managed to throw for 252 yards and
Andy Finkel/Photo editor
Laker quarterback Mitch Phillis spent a lot of time on the ground Saturday, being sacked 10 times on the day.
one score.
Senior receiver Jeff Nowling
had a career high of 140 yards in
the game, most of which came in
the second half.
After a Ferris State touchdown
put the Bulldogs ahead 14-0 late
in the second period, the Lakers
got a 31-yard return by sophomore Aaron Haynes from a short
FSU kickoff to set the Lakers up
with good field position.
With a first down near the Bulldog red zone, Phillis attempted to
throw a lob into the corner of the
end zone but was picked off by
FSU’s Jim Skodak.
This was the key scoring attempt for the Lakers in the first
half, but they were unable to
convert and stop the Bulldog
momentum.
Mercyhurst finally got on the
board early in the fourth quarter
when Phillis connected with senior receiver Mark Watson for a
seven-yard score.
That would be the end of the
scoring for Mercyhurst, falling by
a final of 28-7.
Stallard struggled against the
powerful FSU line, running only
five times for 16 yards.
Junior Richard Stokes led Mercyhurst with 22 yards rushing on
13 carries.
Because of the 10 sacks, the
Lakers finished with -33 yards
rushing on the day.
Mercyhurst actually held the
ball 10 minutes longer than did
the Bulldogs on total possession;
however, the Lakers were unable
to put together any lengthy scor-
ing drives.
The team will travel to Detroit,
Mich. to take on the Wayne State
Warriors on Sept. 16.
The two teams have not played
each other in the last two seasons,
so it will be a fresh look for the
Lakers.
Going back to the 2003 campaign the Lakers defeated Wayne
State 17-10 in early November.
The Warriors finished last season with a 3-7 record, and were
picked by the conference coaches
to finish ninth in 2006.
The team has split a pair of
games thus far, defeating conference rival Michigan Tech in week
one, and falling to non-conference foe Saint Joseph’s College.
The Lakers are among five
other teams winless on the season through two weeks, and will
seek to leave the cellar with a win
against the Warriors.
Mercyhurst will return home
on Sept. 23, when they host
cross-town rival Gannon University for the homecoming game.
Returning students will note
that the game has been moved
from early in the season to the
homecoming weekend, which
should equate to an even larger
crowd for the big game.
Gannon hosts Indianapolis
this weekend, and if they fall the
homecoming game could determine which of the two teams
emerges with their first victory
of the season.
Field hockey at .500
Men’s soccer perfect
in early conference play four games into season
By Finella Annand
Contributing writer
The Mercyhurst men’s soccer
team has made an impressive
start to the 2006 season.
They have won four of their
first five games and are unbeaten
in the GLIAC.
The team’s only defeat so far
came at the hands of Truman
State in the second game of the
season.
The loss, while disappointing,
appears to have propelled the
team forward.
The team bounced back from
the defeat with three straight
shut-out wins.
Senior midfielder Zach Hiltner
is happy with the way the season
has started.
“The Truman game went both
ways. We had our chances and
they had theirs. The rain just
wasn’t falling for us that day.
However we have bounced and
I think it has been a very good
start for us,” Hiltner said.
The men’s most impressive
result so far was a 3-0 drubbing
of defending GLIAC Champions Ashland University.
The Lakers managed to dominate Ashland throughout the
contest, while still not playing
to their full potential.
The consensus is that the men
are capable of further raising the
level of their game as the season
progresses.
The men’s successful start is
especially impressive when you
compare it to the dire record
they held at the beginning of
last season.
The men lost six of their first
eight games in 2005, stumbling
into a disappointing 1-6-1 record
as the half way point of the
season approached.
However, they showed great
character and determination
to conclude the season with an
overall record of 8-8-4.
It is with that same character
that the men have begun the
2006 campaign.
An experienced Laker’s team
sees the return of key international and American players,
including senior captains Jason
Pedra and Andy Tait.
Both players were named to
the NCAA Great Lakes All-Region team last year.
Pedra has had an impressive
Mercyhurst career thus far, recording 22 goals and 12 assists
in his first three seasons with
the Lakers.
Tait returns for his fourth consecutive year at sweeper, looking
to lead from the back and direct
the Lakers towards victory.
Tait, a native of Halifax, England, is satisfied with the way the
team is playing so far.
“I think the team is performing well. We are taking it a game
at a time. We have a lot of experience this year and the new lads
have also settled in well which
has helped us,” Tait said.
Along with Pedra and Tait, the
2006 season also sees the return
of Kyle Jackson, Danny Mudd,
and Zach Hiltner. All five players were named to the All-Great
Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference (GLIAC) teams last
year in voting conducted by the
conference coaches.
Cammidge has recruited a
promising group of freshmen
to replace last year’s graduating class of Sean Cordova,
Josh Long and Zac Brien. Kurt
Young is the current standout
scoring four goals in the Lakers
opening five games.
By Andrew Kavulich
Contributing writer
For a team that is full of potential and with 13 of its 26 players
being freshmen, a 2-2 record is
Mercyhurst field hockey is “right
where we want to be,” said Coach
Stacey Gaudette.
On Friday, Sept. 8, the Lakers
picked up their first win of the
season.
Laker goalie Julie Smith shut
out Bellarmine to give the Lakers
their first shutout of the year, as
well as their first victory ever over
Bellarmine.
The team began their threeweek long road trip Sunday with
a loss to Bloomsburg.
The Lakers were shut out in
the match, being outshot handily 43-8. Smith made 16 saves in
the contest.
The Laker defense showed
signs of promise in the second
half, allowing only one goal
after surrendering six first-half
scores.
The team will travel to Brockville, N.Y., to take on C.W. Post
on Saturday, Sept. 16.
The very next day they are back
Sports shorts from the week...
By Ryan Palm
Sports editor
Golf finishes second of
eight at BW Invitational...
After a rough first day, the
men’s golf team came back in the
second round to finish second of
eight teams in the Baldwin-Wallace Invitational.
The Lakers struggled in the
opening round, but were led by
sophomore Steven Barr’s second
round of 73.
Barr finished eighth overall in
the tournament.
The Lakers were led overall by
Kyle Waddell who shot a twoday of total of 160 and senior
Brendan Flood who tied Barr
with 161.
The team is playing in the
Malone College Individual on
Sept. 15-16 in Alliance, Ohio.
Women’s golf picks up a win
at West Liberty Invite...
The women’s golf team opened
its season in a winning fashion
Sept. 5, finishing first of four
teams at the West Liberty State
College Invitational.
The team finished with a total
score of 339, 21 shots ahead of
second place Wheeling Jesuit.
Leading the Lakers was sophomore Caitlin Cummings who
shot 80, followed by Alex Spoerndle who shot 81.
The team is very young, featuring no seniors and only two
juniors.
Coming up on the schedule is
the Penn State Invitational on
Sept. 21 and the Lakers then
play host on Sept. 23-24 for the
Mercyhurst Invitational.
Cross country fares well at
California (Pa.) Invitational
The men’s and women’s cross
country teams fared well this past
weekend while competing at the
California (Pa.) Invitational.
The competition was the first
of the season for the teams,
which compete both in the spring
and fall seasons.
The men’s team came first of
four teams while the women
came in second of five teams.
For the men’s team junior
Kenneth Foster led the Lakers,
finishing second overall with a
time of 24:38.
Senior captain Matt Deragon
finished second for the Lakers,
fourth overall, at 25:38.
For the women’s team junior
Katie Jarocki was the individual champion with the time of
20:40.
Three Lakers finished in the
top-ten for the event, Jarocki,
Victoria Caruso, and Samantha
Colvin.
Both teams travel to South
Bend, Ind. for the National
Catholic Championships on
Sept. 15.
File Photo
File Photo
Senior Lauren Cohick
Senior Megan Smaling
on the road against East Stroudsburg before getting a week off
from competition.
When asked about some of the
goals this season for the Lakers,
Coach Gaudette said “that they
want to get better every game.”
She added that even though
they are young, the intensity of
the team will help overcome
inconsistency, and get the team
performing at a constant level.
The team finished 9-11 last season, and graduated their top two
goal scorers who accounted for
over half of the team’s scoring.
Some players that have helped
keep the team focused on win-
ning are two senior captain’s Lauren Cohick and Megan Smaling.
When asked what are some roles
of being a captain, Lauren said,
“We lead by example on and off
the field. When the team is down
to always stay positive and keep
everyone’s head in the game.”
Another stand out player is
defender and freshman Kristen
Fogle who the coach applauds
as being consistent and showing
great defense.
The Lakers next home game
will be Oct. 19 against Seton Hill
at 6 pm., make sure to come out
and show your support.
PAGE 12
THE MERCIAD
September 13, 2006
LAKER
SPORTS
To contact: [email protected]
Laker Sports “Quick Hits”
Hot start for women’s soccer
This Week’s Results...
Team bounces back from early loss to post 5-1 record
Field Hockey...................................................Sept. 3, L 3-2 Bentley
Sept. 8, W 2-0 Bellarmine
Sept. 10, L 7-0 Bloomsburg
Women’s tennis....................................Sept. 3, L 6-3 West Liberty
Sept. 8, L 6-3 Northwood
Sept. 9, W 7-2 Saginaw
Women’s soccer......................................Sept. 3, W 2-0 Rockhurst
Sept. 8, W 2-0 Missouri Rolla
Sept. 12, W 2-1 IUP
Men’s soccer............................................Sept. 3, W 2-0 Rockhurst
Sept. 6, W 3-0 Ashland
Sept. 10, W 4-0 Findlay
Men’s water polo......................................Sept. 3, L 10-7 Fordham
Sept. 3, W 11-10 Queens
Sept. 9, L 11-4 Princeton
Sept. 9, W 10-7 Iona
Sept. 9, W 15-6 Queens
Sept. 9, W 6-3 Fordham
Women’s volleyball.......................................Sept. 5, L 3-0 Gannon
Sept. 8, W 3-1 Lake Superior St.
Sept. 9, L 3-0 Northern Michigan
Sept. 10, L 3-0 Michigan Tech
Men’s tennis...................................................Sept. 9, W 7-2 Hobart
Sept. 10, W 7-2 Ithaca
Men’s cross country.........................Sept. 9, 1 of 4, Cal (Pa) Invite
Women’s cross country...................Sept. 9, 2 of 5, Cal (Pa) Invite
In the news...
Emerick named GLIAC Player of Week
Sophomore soccer forward Tyler Emerick was named the
GLIAC Player of the Week on Monday, Sept. 11. In two crucial
conference match-ups against GLIAC foes Ashland and Findlay,
Emerick scored three goals combined to lead the Lakers to 3-0
and 4-0 wins respectively. He tallied the game-winning goal in
both contests.
Athletes of the Week
The Mercyhurst College Athletic Department announced
Andrew Schonhoff and Katie Jarocki as its Athletes of the
Week on Sept. 11. Schonhoff, a sophomore on the water
polo team, led the Lakers to an unbeaten performance at the
Princeton Invitational Sept. 9-10. Schonhoff scored 12 goals
on the weekend, including six against Queens.
Jarocki had a stellar individual performance at the California
(Pa.) Invitation on Sept. 9. She turned in a time of 20:40 to
edge out the rest of the field. The Lakers finished second
overall as a team of the five entrants.
Former puck stars still at it
Several players who graduated from the Mercyhurst hockey
program in the last few years are continuing their careers on
the professional level. Class of 2005 graduates T.J. Kemp and
David Wrigley are currently playing in the East Coast Hockey
League, where Kemp plays for the Reading Royals and Wrigley
for the Victoria’s Salmon Kings.
Additionally, Rich Hansen was recently re-signed by the
Amarillo Gorillas from the Central Hockey League (CHL).
Hansen was also a 2005 graduate from Mercyhurst, and
played in both the CHL and the United Hockey League last
season.
Finally, Conrad Martin recently laced up for the Montreal
Canadiens Rookie Camp during the weekend of Sept. 8-12.
The camp featured 25 invitees, of which included 16 draft
picks from the NHL team.
Shirley signs professional contract
Former women’s hockey forward Samantha Shirley recently
signed a deal with the EV Zug Ladies to become a professional
hockey player. Shirley is slated to play for one of the best
teams in the league, a team which finished second last season
and first in 2004-05.
She scored 11 goals and added 15 assists last year, and was
also named the Female Student Athlete of the Year at the
Senior Sports Banquet.
Pair to be inducted into HOF
The Athletic Department announced last week that former
rower Ian Hessel and former women’s soccer player Theresa
Roach will be inducted into the department’s Hall of Fame
during Homecoming festivities.
Hessel rowed from 1986-1989 for Mercyhurst, and was a
busy man at Mercyhurst. During his time in Erie, Hessel
rowed, swam on the varsity team, and had a double-major in
accounting and computer science. He was the team captain in
both 1988 and 1989.
By Andy Tait
Contributing writer
In 2005, the Mercyhurst women’s soccer team fell just short of
earning a playoff berth.
Even so, despite the disappointment of not progressing
into the post-season, the team’s
15-5-0 record served as evidence
of the success they achieved last
year.
The team lost just two players
from last year, which was a good
season in light of its relative inexperience.
With 13 players returning, including prolific goal scorer Lisa
Casement, Coach Dale White has
recruited eight talented young
girls with the hope that this year’s
team can go one step further.
The team’s home record was
almost perfect in 2005, winning
10 out of 11 contests on home
soil.
On the road the team struggled
to show the same form, suffering
four defeats.
In conference, the team finished an even .500, and it is here
and on the road that the Lakers
are looking to make up the difference.
The team began the 2006 season with a doubleheader weekend in Findlay, Ohio.
Unfortunately for the Lakers,
their away form returned to haunt
them as Quincy established a two
goal lead, and did just enough to
hold on to win, 2-1.
Sophomore forward Sarah
Powell scored the Lakers only
goal with 15 minutes remaining,
but it proved too little too late.
The Lakers bounced back in
superb fashion the next day,
winning 3-0 against a strong
team from Wheeling Jesuit University.
Mercyhurst quickly took the
game by the scruff of the neck
with two goals inside the opening
10 minutes.
Junior midfielder Adrienne
Sluga opened her account for
the season off an assist from Lisa
Casement.
Powell then added to the lead
finishing off a pass from Christine Rehnert.
The Lakers held a 25-7 advantage in shots but failed to add
to their lead until the 87th min-
Katie McAdams/Photo editor
Sophomore Hailee Maiorano seeks to move the ball upfield against Missouri Rolla.
ute when Jessie Roberts found
Casement, who showed great
composure in front of goal to
seal a deserved 3-0 win.
Mercyhurst showed great character to respond in the manner it
did against Wheeling.
The team also knew they would
have to show plenty more of it if
they were to beat GLIAC rivals
Northern Michigan, especially
after a grueling 14-hour trip.
The Lakers’ quickly put any
thoughts of another away defeat
behind them as they recorded
an emphatic 5-1 win over a big
conference rival.
Northern Michigan could not
handle the Lakers livewire forwards, as Sarah Powell and Lisa
Casement combined for the
team’s first four goals, each scoring and assisting twice.
Senior midfielder Maria Amicone notched her first collegiate
goal of her career to complete
the scoring.
Following back-to-back wins
on the road the team returned
home to begin a stretch of nine
home games in the hope that
they can really establish themselves as the region’s number
one team.
The Lakers were faced with the
fact they had to play three games
in seven days but this proved not
to be a cause for concern as the
Lakers registered impressive wins
over Davis and Elkins, Rockhurst
and Missouri-Rolla.
The most pleasing aspect of
these wins for Coach White came
in the knowledge that his team
has not conceded a goal in 279
minutes of play.
Mercyhurst struggled to hit
top-gear against a stubborn Davis and Elkins team before freshman midfielder, Jessie Roberts
finally broke the deadlock for the
Lakers in the 77th minute.
Powell scored her fifth goal of
the season to make it 2-0.
Finally, Christine Rehnert put
the icing on the cake, putting the
Lakers ahead by three.
Two days later, the Hawks
of Rockhurst University were
the visitors but they could not
prevent the Lakers from scoring
their fourth successive victory.
Adrienne Sluga scored the
game-winner early in the first
half before Powell continued
her rich vein of scoring which
recorded her sixth of the season
and sealing a 2-0 win.
Sluga and Powell provided the
goals again, this time in a 2-0 victory over Missouri-Rolla.
Sluga provided what proved to
be the game-winner in the 66th
minute.
The Lakers added to their lead
just 10 minutes later as Powell
kept her scoring streak alive,
making it eight consecutive
games in which she has registered
a goal.
Senior captain Finella Annand
has been the defensive general
for the team this year, filling in
where former captain Jesse Lamb
left off.
Most recently in the MissouriRolla game she was moved in to
midfield helping to provide the
spark in the Lakers 2-0 win.
“Our team this year looks really
good, the freshmen are making
big contributions to the team
and as a result things are very
competitive,” said Annand.
With eight new faces in the
ranks this year, the team still has
a lot of youthful exuberance,
which helps keep this group of
players tightly knit.
Annand sees the playoffs as
a must for the team this year.
“Anything less than that would
be a major disappointment,”
she said.
Junior midfielder Jacque Sluga
has been around the program
long enough to know what to
expect.
“The seniors have shown a lot
of character and set high standards for the rest of the team,”
Sluga said.
“In previous years we have
lost games we should have won
because we didn’t play to our
potential,” said Annand.
With the Lakers record currently 5-1, opposing teams had
better beware as the Lakers may
hit top gear sometime soon.
The Lakers resumed their
home stretch on Tuesday with
the visit of Indiana University.
Concord University’s visit is
scheduled for Sept. 15 at 4 p.m.
Water polo finishes busy weekend 3-1
By Steven Barr
Contributing writer
Avenging previous losses was
on the minds of the men’s water polo team as they breezed
through the Princeton Invitational with a 3-0 record.
In two of its three wins in New
Jersey this past weekend, the Lakers squad defeated teams who
had already beaten them earlier
in the season.
In their first match of the
tournament, they had a comefrom-behind win against the Iona
Gaels, 10-7.
Sophomore Andrew Schonoff
scored four goals and helped
the Lakers overcome a 4-3 Iona
halftime lead to prevail.
The win was especially sweet
for Coach Curtis Robinette and
the Lakers because they were
already 0-1 against the Gaels on
the season.
The week before, at the Navy
Open in Annapolis, Maryland,
the Lakers lost a heartbreaker to
Iona 12-10.
In their second game in Princeton, the Lakers easily handled
Queens, N.Y., 15-6.
Schonoff played well again for
the Lakers, scoring six times and
adding an assist and a steal.
Other notable performances in
this game were three goals and
an assist from sophomore Jorge
Montero and a goal, an assist,
and three steals from freshman
Kane Ashton.
In the net for the Lakers was
senior Kyle Bogucki, who made
10 saves.
The final game of the Princeton Invitational pitted the Lakers against another team who
had already edged them earlier
in the year.
The Lakers took on the Fordham Rams and defeated them 6-3
to level the season series at 1-1.
Defense was the key in this
battle, as Mercyhurst shut out
Fordham in the first half and
held on for the win.
Bogucki’s 11 saves helped keep
the Fordham offense at bay, and
two goals apiece from Schonoff
and fellow sophomore Oscar
Calderon were enough to wrap
up a perfect 3-0 tournament for
Mercyhurst.
The successful weekend was
important to the Lakers, who
have now won four straight
games after dropping the first
three.
The 4-3 record is a promising
start for a Lakers team that has
struggled to stay above .500 in
recent years.
The future looks bright for the
water polo team, as they will be
graduating only two seniors in
the spring and their offensive
output has been fueled primarily
by underclassmen.
Mercyhurst will play its first
home game of the season on
Saturday in an exhibition contest
against Slippery Rock. Following
that, they will play at Penn State
Behrend on September 20.
Hockey coaches get contract extensions until 2010
By Ryan Palm
Sports editor
Mercyhurst College Director
of Athletics Pete Russo announced this summer that both
the men’s and women’s hockey
coaches have agreed to contract
Roach played soccer at Mercyhurst from 1997-2000, leading
extensions, keeping both at Merthe team in scoring in each of those campaigns. For her
cyhurst until 2010.
career Roach tallied 184 points, and earned several individual
Men’s hockey coach Rick Gotaccolades from the GLIAC during her stay.
kin will enter his 19th season on
Quick hits are compiled by sports editor Ryan Palm. Any- the hill this fall, having coached
thing worthy of being a “quick hit” should be emailed to the Mercyhurst team to well over
300 wins during that span.
[email protected].
Gotkin’s teams have made
seven NCAA Tournament appearances, numerous conference
playoff appearances, and have
won 20-or-more games seven
times.
Gotkin is very involved in
collegiate hockey outside of
Mercyhurst, with involvement in
USA Hockey, the Hobey Baker
Award committee, the American
Hockey Coaches Assoication,
and more.
Women’s coach Mike Sisti has
been at Mercyhurst since 1993.
He was an assistant on Gotkin’s
staff until 1999 when Sisti took
on the challenge of building the
women’s program.
Since that time he has created
a highly competitive program
that has made two consecutive
NCAA Appearances.
Sisti’s teams have won the
conference championship for the
last three years in College Hockey
America (CHA).
Sisti was named the Division
I women’s coach of the year for
the 2004-2005 season following
the first appearance in the NCAA
Tournament for the Mercyhurst
women’s team.
This past recruiting season is
likely to be the best for Sisti’s
program, bringing in a handful
of high-profile freshmen.
At the top of that class is
Meghan Agosta, who was a
member of the Canadian Olympic team that won the gold medal
in the last Olympic games.
Also in the class is Katariina
Soikkanen from the Finnish National Team and Angelic Lorsell
and Johanna Malmstrom from
the Swedish National Team.