troubadour - Franciscan University of Steubenville

The
TROUBADOUR
VOLUME LXIII — No. 20
The student newspaper serving Franciscan University of Steubenville
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Franciscan’s Portiuncula
Chapel named a pilgrimage
site for plenary indulgence
Vatican decree has pro-life component
By PUBLIC RELATIONS
The tiny Portiuncula Chapel
at Franciscan University of
Steubenville has been designated by the Vatican as a place
where the faithful can receive a
plenary indulgence—an elimination of the temporal punishment due to sin.
The special designation
comes in the form of a decree
recently issued by the Vatican
office of the Apostolic Penitentiary.
Franciscan University president, the Rev. Terence Henry,
T.O.R., said, “This is an
extraordinarily gracious act by
the Holy See that will provide
an abundant outpouring of
God’s mercy on the thousands
of people who visit the Portiuncula Chapel every year.”
The decree holds special
significance because of its reference to the pro-life movement and because it is not limited to a single day in the year,
as is the case with many plenary indulgences.
According to the decree, the
indulgence may be obtained at
any of five times during the
year: August 2, the feast of Our
Lady of the Angels of the Portiuncula; October 4, the feast of
St. Francis of Assisi; January
22, the dedication of the Tomb
of the Unborn Child located
next to the Portiuncula; and on
any day during the year of a
person’s choosing, or while
completing a “holy pilgrimage” to the Portiuncula with a
group.
“The University is particularly honored that the Holy See
would designate the day on
which the Tomb of the Unborn
Child was established for a plenary indulgence,” said Fr.
Terry. “This is a clear affirmation of the sanctity of human
life and of the infinite dignity
of the human person from conception to natural death.”
January 22, the date of the
Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade
decision that legalized abortion
in the U.S., is also the date
when the first of seven aborted
infants was interred in the large
stone memorial near the Portiuncula in 1987. A continual
flame burns at the site, welcoming the many students and
visitors who go there to pray
for an end to abortion and for
all the victims of abortion.
The plenary indulgence
decree was issued by the Office
of the Apostolic Penitentiary,
which is under the direction of
James
Francis
Cardinal
Stafford, the former archbishop
of Denver. The request for the
decree came through the office
of Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of
Steubenville in recognition of
Irish Fest fails to
meet expectations
By JOSEPH CUNNINGHAM
Entertainment Columnist
The J.C. Williams Center
was set for Excite’s annual
Irish Fest, a celebration of St.
Patrick and the Irish on Thursday, March 12. Green streamers draped across the Atrium
and the Celtic band Full Kilt
stood on the stage, dressed in
plaid kilts and armed with
instruments and tunes. The
Gentile Gallery had been converted into a pub and tattoo
parlor, where beer and airbrushed tattoos were the order
of business.
Full Kilt, a local Celtic
band from the Altoona/Johnstown area that began in 2006,
played a mixture of popular
and Celtic rock songs throughout the evening, ranging from
“The Devil Went Down to
Georgia” to “The Fields of
Athenry.” Full Kilt claims the
influence of bands like Flogging Molly, Gaelic Storm,
Glengarry Boys and the Chieftains. The band also plays traditional Celtic tunes with original arrangements and a progressive rock flair.
Ronan Gannon, a fullblooded Irishman from Claremorris, Ireland, was disappointed by the band.
“I felt they had no stage
presence, and that they played
more popular tunes than Irish
This Week
in Sports
songs,” he said.
Gannon said he thought the
band was not for the Franciscan scene, but more for
crowds of inebriated college
students.
Gannon was especially
annoyed by Full Kilt’s rendition of the traditional Irish
song “Fields of Athenry” and
by the Irish Fest in general.
“It seemed like it was hastily put together,” he said.
Sophie Bellavance, a sophomore at Franciscan, enjoyed
the band’s music, but was
sorry to see the lack of enthusiasm of their audience.
“I thought the band was
pretty good,” she said. “I felt
bad that no one seemed excited about it. The dance floor
was pretty empty.”
Bellavance was glad when
Full Kilt played “The Boxer,”
a song by one of her favorite
bands, Carbon Leaf.
“I was pretty excited when
they played Carbon Leaf,” she
said. “That made me happy.”
Though the audience in the
Atrium was small and dwindled by the hour, the Gallery
maintained a steady number of
students
throughout
the
evening. In here the students
seemed more intent on relaxing and hanging out with
friends and beer than rocking
out with the band.
Peter Lee noted the differ-
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Editorial................Page 2
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Missions ..............Page 4
Missions...............Page 5
Sports....................Page 6
C
Y
Photo submitted by P U B L I C R E L A T I O N S
The Portiuncula Chapel provides students with the opportunity to pray before the exposed Blessed
Sacrament at any hour of the day.
faculty, staff, the thousands of
visitors who come here each
summer for retreats and conferences, our graduates who
return for alumni events, parents and prospective students,
and many others will take part
in the special graces now available to them here.”
Unlike a partial indulgence,
which reduces time in purgatory, the plenary indulgence
grants the complete remission
of the temporal punishment
due to sin, so that no further
expiation is required in purgatory.
According to the decree,
those who desire to gain the
plenary indulgence should
“devoutly” visit the Portiuncu-
ence in the energy he remembered from last year’s Irish
Fest.
“People seemed disinterested in the band,” he said. “I
think they got a better reaction
last year with a student band
than going out and hiring a
band. Last year [Irish Fest]
had a lot more energy.”
Lee remembered how the
previous year’s Irish Fest was
ignited by the student band
Kevin and the Brewskis.
“Last year you got your
drinks and ran out to rock with
Kevin’s band,” he said.
la Chapel, where they pray for
the intentions of the Holy
Father including the Our
Father and the Creed. In addition, it is necessary that the
Church’s ordinary conditions
for receiving a plenary indulgence be met: Individuals must
have the interior disposition of
complete detachment from sin;
have made a sacramental confession; and have received the
Holy Eucharist. These must be
completed within a week to 10
days before or after the visit to
the Portiuncula.
The plenary indulgence can
be obtained for the person
completing these requirements
or may be applied to the souls
of the faithful departed.
The Irish Fest began
around 8 p.m. and ended a little before midnight, with the
audience in the Atrium shrinking consistently and the students in the Gallery chilling
out with friends. While the
setting was festive, this year’s
Irish Fest lacked the party
energy remembered in past
years.
Kristen Henley, a sophomore student, summed up her
own feelings about the event.
“The decorations were really cool, but it lacked spirit,”
she said.
Lady Barons
softball
update
By MATTHEW MYERS
Staff Writer
At a short formal meeting
March 11, FUSA discussed the
funds for the weekly Theology of
the Body discussions, a post-abortion awareness rally and the possibility of a social after the Alumni
Mentoring Day at the end of
March.
The first order of business was
a discussion of the reallocation of
$136.41 to Andrew Schloss.
Schloss had been hosting weekly
Monday night gatherings to discuss the Theology of the Body,
where attendees view a DVD presentation by Christopher West.
Schloss was present to support the
bill, telling the Senators that the
event has been well-attended, hosting over 120 people at the beginning, and tapering off to about 80
during the start of midterms. It is
expected to regain normal attendance after Spring Break. The bill
was passed unanimously.
The second bill FUSA discussed concerned the allocation of
$1,263.80 to Students for Life for
an event that would host three
post-abortive speakers. These
three women would come and host
a talk for the student body on
March 29 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the
atrium of the J.C. Williams Center.
Two of the speakers would be
coming early to lead students in
prayer the night before the event,
and would also be available to
train Franciscan students in the
pro-life ministry. Travel expenses
for the three women would be covered by a student donor who wishes to remain anonymous, but very
much wants this event to take
place. The event would be sponsored by the Into the Desert Stu-
DID YOU KNOW...
Today is national "Make Up
Your Own Holiday Day"?
dent Organization.
Many of the senators were in
full support of this event.
Both Senator Boyek and Senator McBride expressed their enthusiasm for the bill, saying that it
would be something new that the
students at Franciscan had not
heard much about in the past.
“I am in full support of this
bill,” said Boyek. “(The postabortive view) is something that
has not received much attention
here at Franciscan.”
McBride said, “This is definitely something that the students need
to experience.”
Senator Wester also showed his
support, saying that it would be
good for Franciscan students to get
a feel for the various areas of prolife efforts, other than the annual
March for Life, saying that he
liked “the idea of getting different
views on the abortion issue.”
Present to support the bill was a
representative from Students for
Live, Veronica Sanchez. Sanchez
told the Senators that the event
could be moved to the Gentile
Gallery to accommodate a larger
number of people.
This bill was also passed with a
unanimous vote.
The final bill FUSA discussed
was a bill for the allocation of $500
to FUSA for a food and drink
social after the Alumni Mentoring
Day on March 30.
This bill was supported by Senator Chamberlain, who said that
this event would be a “great opportunity to network, meet people and
(for students) to get a feel for what
they want to do.” This final bill
was also passed unanimously.
The meeting adjourned quickly, with no advisor's comments.
Intramural
Frisbee
begins
Is Frisbee a
real sport?
"Spring shows what God can do
with a drab and dirty world."
Virgil A. Kraft
C
B
Check out
Missions of
Peace spring
break highlights on
pages 4 & 5
and online at
www.troub
online.com
FUSA to fund
post-abortive speakers
Photo by L I Z C O N T E
Thomas Bourgeois gets an airbrushed tattoo in the Gentile Gallery
during the Irish Fest on Thursday, March 12.
NFL profile:
Terrell
Owens
Found on Page 6
Inside
the Portiuncula’s history as a
beloved place of prayer and
Eucharistic adoration.
Completed in 1987, the Portiuncula, or “Port” as it is
called by students, is a replica
of one of the first churches near
Assisi that St. Francis repaired
after Jesus commissioned him
to “Go, rebuild my Church.”
During academic semesters,
many students go to the Portiuncula for Eucharistic adoration, which is offered 24 hours
a day, seven days a week.
The Vatican decree went
into effect on February 11,
2009, and will remain in effect
for seven years. Bishop Conlon will officially promulgate
the decree on Friday, April 24,
at 4 p.m. at the Portiuncula
Chapel. Attendees will include
Fr. Terry, the Rev. Christian
Oravec, T.O.R., minister
provincial for the Third Order
Regular
Sacred
Heart
Province, members of the
Franciscan University Board of
Trustees, and many other
guests.
The University welcomes
visitors from near and far to
come to the Portiuncula to seek
a plenary indulgence.
“We are excited that residents in the Ohio Valley can
receive this indulgence without
traveling far,” said Father
Henry. “We know our students,
Y
B
2
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The
The Troubadour
EDITORIAL
Not Funny
Troubadour
Dear various editors,
I'd just like to express the brief opinion
that your so-called “humor columnist”
Sterling White is not funny. He is, in fact,
so incredibly not-funny that I actually lost
my sense of humor for four hours straight
after reading his “column.” He's not even
not-funny in a funny way, like Paul Harvey. He's just plain not funny. Not even
slightly. I suggest you fire him and
replace him with a toaster or perhaps a
small rodent of some kind, which would
be significantly funnier. Thank you for
your consideration.
With all due respect,
Jacob Wiker
Kristi Moore, Editor-in-Chief
Katie Harris, Asst. Editor-in-Chief
Patrick Hidding, General Manager
Michelle Proffitt, Photo Editor
Megan Dial, Layout Editor
Melanie Ciarrone, Copy Editor
Ann Bernklau, Layout Editor
Jake Krempel, Sports Editor
Mylauna Swango & Emily Hidding, Advertising Managers
Andrea Scott, Distribution
Wayne Lewis, Supervisor
The Troubadour does not reflect the views of the university administration, but it does try to conform to Catholic values
and stay within the vision and mission statement of the university.
Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the majority
of the editorial board. Letters will not be published unless their
authorship can be verified by phone. Commentaries, opinion
articles, letters and editorial columns represent the views of
their authors. All submissions are subject to editing for length
and content at the discretion of the Troubadour staff.
The deadline for letters to the editor, opinion articles and
announcements each week is Saturday by 5 p.m. They can be
mailed, e-mailed or hand delivered to The Troubadour office.
1235 University Blvd., Box 1074
Steubenville, OH 43952
(740) 284-5014
[email protected]
Man
Question:
on
the
Street
Where are you going for
Spring Break?
“It gives me a time to
relax and not worry
about school work.”
Andrew Adams
Freshman
TV/Radio Major
“I think that smoking is dangerous
to your health
even though it
smells good.”
Mary Mullins
Freshman
Catechetics &
Theology Major
Obama’s health care plan does not respect life
Dear Editor,
In the last edition of The Troubadour,
liberal columnist Miles Woodfield
explained why the government should
manage our health care. Mind you, this is
the same government that has failed you
when it comes social security, education
(ever since the federal government took
over in 1979), and the welfare state; yet,
for some reason the democrats will have
you believe that this time they’ll do it
right.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) stated
about countries with government-managed
healthcare, in a 2006 report, that: “If current trends continue, governments will
need to raise taxes, cut spending in other
areas, or make people pay more out of
their own pockets in order to maintain
their existing health-care systems.”
As it’s bankrupting those nations, why
do the liberals think that it won’t do the
same to ours? As if President Obama is not
already bankrupting us as it is, he wants to
add an additional expense that we cannot
afford.
He goes on to criticize America as a
“purely capitalist country.” Since when?
Has he forgotten about Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal,” Lyndon Johnson’s
“Great Society,” and all these bailouts? We
are anything but a “purely capitalist country.”
Mr. Woodfield quotes the United
Nations, from its Declaration of Human
Rights, in his column. What kind of
authority are they, as they are a global supporter and financial backer of legalized
abortion around the world? How can we
take their Declaration of “Human Rights”
seriously, when they do not support the
most basic right of all, the right to life?
However, this does make sense when
looking at President Obama’s health care
plan. His plan that was touted during his
campaign included taxpayer-funded abortions and mandating Catholic hospitals to
provide these abortions, including chemical ones, as has already happened in Massachusetts. So how can Mr. Woodfield say
“Obama’s plan puts us on the road to real
equality and a decent standard of living for
every American”? Is this what the Democrats for Life believe? What about the
unborn?
Mr. Woodfield opens his article with
the statement: “There are 40 million people in America without health care.” This
could not be further from the truth. There
is not one single person in this country
without health care, not even illegal aliens.
Some people may not have coverage, but
every person who enters a hospital must
receive care. He goes on to say that “It’s
hard to think that there are children in this
country who are discharged from hospitals
because their parents can’t afford medicine
anymore.” It is hard to think this, because
it does not happen. I challenge Mr. Woodfield to please provide evidence of this
ever occurring. It is stated in every hospital in the country that no one can be discharged without care.
Regarding Mr. Woodfield’s quote from
Centesimus Annus, it does not even
address the issue at hand. Not once does it
even recommend that the government
should manage health care. It only refers
to the state’s duty to provide the opportunity for one’s “legitimate pursuit of personal goals.” As we have witnessed time
and time again, the more the government
gets involved, the more that opportunity
diminishes.
As the government grabs more control
over our health care, we will continue to
see the dignity of human life attacked.
President Obama has already shown this
with his lifting of the ban on funding
embryonic stem cell research, and as the
government rationalizes the health care we
will see more cases like Terri Schiavo, as
is happening across Europe, especially in
the Netherlands.
So the question boils down to: do you
trust a government that has no respect for
human life with your life?
If it isn’t broke, don’t “fix” it
Before spring break, I read the Liberal
Talk article on why “Government should
manage health care.” While I agree that
health care requires reform, this article
uses misinformation and omission to make
the case that health care in the United
States is a tragedy, a problem in need of
fixing. I would counter that overall our
health care is the best in the world, flaws
and all, and the supposed “solutions”
offered in Liberal Talk are the same ideas
that ruined the health care of nations such
as the United Kingdom and Canada.
First, I want to make a distinction
between the terms of “health care” and
“health insurance,” the first involving
actual care, the second the means of paying for it. I mention this distinction
because of the distorted opening statistic
of the Liberal Talk article last issue:
“There are 40 million people in America
without health care.” Problem is that this
statistic involves people in the United
States without “health insurance,” not
without “health care.”
Just because someone does not have
health insurance does not mean he cannot
afford that insurance or the appropriate
care. When factoring out those who can
afford it and choose not to, as well as those
who are not even citizens, estimates fall to
the range of 10 to 20 million who do not
have and cannot afford health insurance.
While this is still a large number, it is
only a fraction of the original statistic. Furthermore, since the United States recognizes the inalienable right to life, no hospital or medical personnel can deny any of
these 10 to 20 million emergency, or otherwise necessary, medical care. As such,
the real problem in this matter is not people denied health care, but people suffering the costs.
However, as it stands, our federal government already provides an adequate
safety net of health insurance for children,
elderly and poor alike. In fact, many abuse
and exploit that net, so that today, expanding it typically entails defining dependents
as children well into their twenties, or
penalizing retirees who purchase non-governmental insurance plans. Those who
“fall through the cracks” and receive poor,
little or no care are rare and shock us mainly because they are not the norm. As such,
our solution should not entail a complete
makeover, but a more targeted approach.
As mentioned above, nations such as
the United Kingdom and Canada have
already employed the “solutions” President Obama and the Democrat Congress
are currently touting. Unfortunately, while
government control technically results in
universal health care, the quality of that
care is abysmal. In fact, the exceptions to
our system, malpractice, wait-listing or
unsanitary conditions, are the rule in these
nations.
Ironic that democrats base the need for
government intervention in health care on
those rare cases that government intervention actually perpetuates and makes commonplace.
If we are to really solve the flaws in our
own system, we should pursue a course
other than one guaranteed to fail in both
logic and experience. I would be happy to
debate the merits of stricter oversight of
pharmaceutical companies, interstate competition with insurance plans or any other
novel ideas that have some rational basis.
Ultimately however, whatever course
we choose to take should recognize that
the markets are the forces responsible for
the health care that everyone seems to
want. I fail to see how dismantling or
oppressing those markets will improve
that care, or even maintain it. Let us learn
from Canada and the United Kingdom,
and avoid a system of less treatment and
lower quality.
-Grant Schertzing
“Development? Oh yeah, the people
that plan when our next buildings and
sidewalks are going to be built.”
When I was a student at Franciscan
University, that’s what I thought the development office did. Now, after working as a
development officer for a few months, I
can share with you that the development
department doesn’t oversee construction
work. That is in the capable hands of the
great folks in Physical Plant. (Lucky me, I
hardly know how to use a hammer.)
Rather, the development office here at
Franciscan University is one of the most
exciting and inspiring places on earth!
(Pardon the exaggeration, but I’m a little
biased.)
But seriously, we have the arduous but
gratifying task of working to help the university’s mission continue to grow in
effectiveness. We raise money from alumni (someday you!), parents and friends of
the university to help fund important university projects (yes, including campus
improvements and new buildings). Most
importantly of all, in my opinion, we raise
money to give you, the students, more
financial aid.
Asking friends and alumni to help the
university with financial gifts is never
easy. But at the same time the university
cannot continue as one of the greatest
institutions of Catholic higher learning
without it. Being both a graduate and former admissions counselor, I’ve lived with
the reality of how important giving is to
the betterment of students and school
alike. I can honestly write that many of our
donors are truly inspiring, and to hear
some of their stories is likewise meaningful.
Take for example a woman I talked to
recently. Her husband worked for a company that had a matching gift program. In
other words, for every contribution the
couple gives to Franciscan University, the
company would also give the same
amount. However, the employee had to
have at least one completed credit as a student if a donation was given to a college.
The husband and wife, not having actually
attended Franciscan University, decided to
sacrifice a month of their summer and
enroll for one class which would allow
their gift to the university to be matched by
their employer. They drove nine hours to
Steubenville and sat in on a class, officially receiving their completed credit. Over
the years their total giving has now
exceeded $100,000, and they still give
diligently to the university. It is this kind
of sacrifice that makes our donors such an
inspirational group.
Over time, we hope to keep the student
body up to speed with what we are doing
in the Development Department and the
exciting blessings the Lord continues to
bestow on our university.
As Mother Theresa has said, “God has
a lot of money; it’s just in other people’s
pockets.”
Federalized health care is not the answer
Insights from the development office
“It keeps me single
and I like the fights
I get into over it
with certain girls.”
Nate Mungo
Junior
Theology Major
“I think that
smoking is a
good pastime
and social connection”
Samantha Reddick
Junior
Theology Major
Photos by KATIE DILLENBURG
-Billy Summe
-Ken Baldwin, Class of 2005, MBA ‘08
Want to be Editor-in-Chief next semester?
The deadline for applications for Troub Editor-in-Chief has been
extended to Friday, April 3rd. Get one on the door of the Troubadour
office. All are welcome to apply.
OPINION
Liberal Talk:
Republicans fail to
offer practical ideas
tion, however, is not about
the bonuses or the contract
law, but whether the anger
This week has seen and frustration so evident
remarkable events in Wash- after these bonuses will doom
ington centered on the bailout President Obama’s efforts to
money given to AIG, an inter- save the financial sector of
national corporation dealing our economy.
in insurance. The company
The
controversy
has
recently paid out almost $200 allowed the debate and the
million in bonuses, including argument over the correct
some payments to their deriv- steps to better the situation to
ative traders in the depart- be taken off course. While the
ment most responsible for nearly $200 million is an eyebringing the company to the popping amount to anyone
verge of collapse. As the fed- but the super-rich, it is simply
eral government has bailed
a fact that this
out and bought
amount of money
a
substantial
is only a small
portion of this
fraction of the
company, the
money we have
taxpayer ’s
invested in AIG
money given
and other corpoout in bonuses
rations in an effort
to
already
to save the econowealthy people
my of this counin a failing
try. Scrapping the
company has
plan and refusing
understandably
to take further
Jonathan Lucci is
outraged
the
steps to help ease
the president of
American pubDemocrats for Life
the credit crisis in
lic.
this
country
The questions here are because of some irresponsivery technical and complicat- ble bonuses would ignore the
ed, dealing with areas of con- looming danger of worldtract law that are far above wide economic depression.
the ability of a college student
The Republican Party has
to form an intelligent opinion used this crisis to make it
about. It has been argued that seem as if the democrats have
the bonuses were required handed money over to the
under already existing con- wealthiest Americans and in
tracts and that to not pay them so doing have abandoned the
would have resulted in a cost- middle class, despite years
ly legal battle. Another argu- now of republican economics
ment is that not paying the driving wealth upward and
bonuses would have resulted perpetuating a brutal cycle of
in an exodus of talent from a poverty
and
staggering
company trying to get back wages. The plan to bail out
on its feet. The larger ques- the banking industry and the
By JONATHAN LUCCI
Liberal Columnist
financial sector of our economy has nothing to do with
giving money directly to
wealthy people; it is about
doing what is necessary to
save this country from economic collapse. As has been
the pattern in the 20th century, in the midst of economic
crisis the Democratic Party
wishes to make bold efforts to
save our economy while the
republicans prefer to do nothing. The republicans decry
democratic efforts today in
the way they once fought bitterly to stop New Deal programs like Social Security.
When it comes to the economy, the Democratic Party has
been willing to make every
effort to make the lives of
average Americans better,
while the republicans continue to offer nothing but criticism.
Even in the midst of this
crisis while democrats have
obviously committed mistakes, the republicans seem
confused, leaderless and altogether lacking in ideas of how
to fix the situation. The
Republican House Minority
Whip and rising star, Eric
Cantor of Virginia, voted for
a 90 percent tax on the bonuses after his own majority
leader denounced the legislation as contrary to the party’s
principles. While President
Obama is taking steps to better our nation’s economy by
fixing the banking problem,
as well as addressing the
underlying problems of
health care costs, energy
costs, and education reform,
the Republican Party seems
only capable of crying that he
is “doing too much” and is
taking too many risks. History will be the judge, but I
believe it will reward the
president who wishes to
make bold moves to fix this
crisis and not the party that
has no clear ideas of its own.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Troubadour
Conservative talk: Obama
needs to prove himself
employees of companies who
have received $5 billion or
more in government funding
The mess on Capitol Hill will now be subject to a 90
turned into a circus last week percent tax on all “compensawith news that AIG, a recipi- tion payments” received, as
ent of billions of dollars of long as their income exceeds
taxpayer bailout funds, had $250,000, or $125,000 for
given out $165 million in married individuals filing
bonuses to top
separate
executives. Outreturns.
A
rage came from
compensation
both the left and
payment
is
right, with populist
anything in
rage
sweeping
excess of a
across the country.
periodic
It became clear
wage. What
that
somewhere
this means is
along the lines,
that
everysomeone screwed
thing
from
Steven Valentine is the
up, allowing AIG
performance
vice president of the
to hand out the
bonuses and
College Republicans
bonuses. Denials
retention
came from all
bonuses will be taxed. What
around, and it became clear incentive does this create for
that Sen. Christopher Dodd the honest workers who had
had lied about his involve- nothing to do with our ecoment in the mess in order to nomic problems? None whatcover for the White House.
soever.
Dodd had previously
The bill also faces numeradded an amendment to the ous constitutional problems
stimulus that explicitly that will surely be brought up
blocked the AIG bonuses. in the Senate debate. Several
Dodd explained that the senators have come to their
Obama Administration and senses, immune to populist
advisors inside the Treasury pressure, and have slowed the
instructed him to remove his progress of the bill. The
amendment. Though he White House has not given
would not admit who advised any word on whether Presihim to do so, Treasury Secre- dent Obama would sign the
tary Tim Geithner came out bill into law or not. The proband took responsibility. lem, however, is that PresiThough the Obama Adminis- dent Obama has done nothing
tration claimed to have been to slow the circus on Capitol
blindsided by the bonuses, it Hill. If anything, the presibecame clear that they knew dent propagated the problem
well ahead of time.
with a press conference
Congress got a sense of expressing his outrage over
the public anger, and could- the bonuses (surely read from
n’t control action. House a teleprompter).
members quickly put togethAmericans are hurting,
er a bill to get back at AIG, and need true leadership from
and to prevent other bailed- our Congress and our presiout companies from handing dent. The passage of such a
out bonuses. In typical draconian, poorly written,
bureaucratic fashion, the bill and poorly debated bill is not
turned out to cover more than going to help our country.
its intended purpose. With Leaders on both sides of the
the bill the House passed, aisle are guilty of succumbBy STEVEN VALENTINE
Conservative Columnist
Comedy column: Who celebrates these holidays?
By STERLING WHITE
Humor Columnist
With St. Patrick’s Day come
and gone, I turned my mind to
the concept of the holiday. Is it
a day arbitrarily assigned as
special to some person who
had way too much free time on
his or her hands? I mean we
can say St. Patrick’s Day is
about St. Patrick, but in all
modern reality, it’s a day about
mutant clovers, alcohol and
greedy little people not smart
enough to put their gold into
banks (invest my short friends,
invest!). But that made me
wonder, are there other holidays that are not so popular,
and have even less purpose? (I
also just wanted to mock someone’s celebration because,
well, that’s just how I roll.) So
here are the dumbest holidays I
could find (and discovering
there are websites donated
entirely to this subject tells me
there are people with hobbies
way more pathetic than my
own):
March 3 – If Pets Had
Thumbs Day. This is the kind
of holiday where your immediate reaction is that it’s a lie, and
then you assume like we all do,
it was created during a time of
heavy drinking. Either that or
PETA is using entirely new
strategies to get us to believe
animals are the same as people
(Which is not true. They taste
better.). And thinking about it,
so what? Opposable thumbs
are not the reason man got to
the top of the food chain. It was
the same mind that came up
with this holiday. Yes, I’m surprised our species is still alive.
This is the first holiday I’ve
ever heard of based entirely on
a
hypothetical
thought.
Seriously, what could be puts Mardi Gras to shame.
dumber?
October
3
–
Virus
December 6 – Put On Your Appreciation Day. Really?
Own Shoes Day. And there you Since when did viruses need
have it. This holiday makes me appreciation? If I ever saw
ask, do people normally not Ebola sitting on a sidewalk I’m
put on their own
not about to go liftshoes? So much
ing his spirits
so that it’s an
(more than likely
actual holiday to
I’d bathe him in
wear your own
Clorox). Is this
footwear? Do
why they make us
people spend the
sick? They just feel
other 364 days
underappreciated?
stealing shoes,
I’m sure if we just
or
forcing
gave them a few
younger siblings
nice words, they’d
to slip sandals
simply go away.
Sterling White is the
on their feet like
So the next time
Troubadour humor
the little buggers
you feel a cold
columnist
were slave labor
coming on, just tell
(Which in the family dynamic the little guy how thankful you
is true). And how do you cele- are that he’s ripping your cells
brate this day? By putting on open and spreading himself
your shoes? Whoa, what a throughout your body. I’m sure
vibrant and exciting event. It he’ll wander off feeling much
YOUTH FORMATION DIRECTOR
DENISON, TEXAS
St. Patrick Catholic Parish in Denison, TX is searching for a
Youth Formation Director. Denison is located one hour north of
the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.
The emphasis would be on a youth ministry program for High
School age youth with the responsibility of overseeing and assisting the lower grade level programs. We currently have the Life
Teen Program for High School, The Edge Program for middle
school and traditional and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
Programs for the lower grades.
A solid background or degree in theology/catechetics with practical experience in youth ministry is essential. Experience with
Steubenville Summer Conferences, Youth 2000, NET or Life
Teen would be great! Salary range 25K – up with benefits
(depending on experience/qualifications) annually.
Please contact Fr. John Dick at (903) 463-3275 or [email protected] if interested.
3
better about his less-than-single-cell existence while completely killing another creature.
And that’s what you want, you
self-assured micro killing
machine. The thought is certainly not lifting my spirits.
January 23 – Measure Your
Feet Day. OK, I give up. Why
on earth would this be a holiday? Did people think they
needed a special day to make
everyone else feel self-conscious for the rest of their
lives? How do you measure
them? You see most people
will jump to inches, but it just
says measure, not what type of
measurement. Do you know
the weight of your foot? Its
volume? Its girth? Well then, I
think you’ve found a holiday
worth celebrating for those of
you with foot naïveté. You grab
the chips, I’ll grab the scale,
let’s have a party.
ing to populist rage and
undermining the principles of
capitalism and our Constitution. It is time for President
Obama to provide the leadership we were promised. He
could start with finally making appointments to 17 of the
top 18 posts that he has yet to
fill at Treasury.
Instead of focusing on the
AIG bonuses, Congress
should spend its time reviewing Obama’s proposed budget. The budget has brought up
concerns on both sides of the
aisle, especially when the
Congressional Budget Office
found that the White House
had underestimated the cost
of the budget by over a trillion dollars. Sen. Judd Gregg,
who was nominated as
Obama’s Secretary of Commerce but later withdrew,
said that Obama’s budget
would bankrupt our country.
We should not take those
words lightly, considering the
massive expansion of government Obama is proposing.
Instead of making jokes
about the Special Olympics
on Jay Leno, or giggling
through an interview with 60
Minutes, Obama should take
time to engage with people
like Mark Sanford, governor
of South Carolina, who wanted to use the federal stimulus
funds his state received to
pay off state debt. Before
even receiving a response
from the White House, Sanford was slammed in ads by
the Democratic National
Committee for “playing politics.” How ironic. Democrats
have been trying to accuse
Republicans of being the
“party of no.” When a Republican offers a much better
solution, he is accused of
playing politics.
It is time for the president
to step up and convince
Americans that he is not
asleep at the wheel.
September 2 – National
Beheading Day. If we as a
nation can’t take at least one
day out of our year to focus on
decapitations, then I don’t want
to be a part of this country. I’m
not exactly sure what this day
is celebrating. The people who
got their heads cut off? The
executioners swinging the ax?
The ax itself? And this celebration leaves out what could be
implied in the title, that this is
the day for beheadings. Well
then, that causes another whole
mess of problems, mostly what
to do with all those extra heads.
I suggest we start some new
decorating trends. Grab your
guillotines people, it’s party
time.
So now you can start your
day, your own shoes on your
correctly measured feet, virus
free, and go out and behead a
mutant Fido. I know it sounds
like a bad B movie, but I’m
thinking with these holidays
added, your year just got a
heck of a lot more interesting.
4
MISSIONS
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Troubadour
THE BEATITUDES
photo by
LI Z CONTE
The male a cappella
group "The Beatitudes"
spent their spring
break singing at high
schools, nursing homes,
and churches to proclaim the word of the
Lord with their talents.
The Beatitudes started
their trip in Winsted,
CT then went to
Westerly, RI and ended
their tour in Boston,
MA. The members are:
Gregory Pine, Jake
Smith, Colin Pugh,
Chris Rodgers, Paul
Cygan, John Brodeur,
Sean Bartnick, Luke
Hlavin, Philip Wiese,
Steve Nowak, and managed by Liz Conte.
THE BRONX
photo submitted by E R I N W I N S T A N L E Y
Students take a break from service work to pose for a picture during the spring break mission trip to the
Bronx. Front Row: Kristi McClintock, Pete Bortz, Stefan Hlabse, Katie Harold, Sara Thimons, Sara
Black, Grace King. Middle Row: Jen Nunez, Fr. Juniper Sistare, Will Dodd, Erin Winstanley, Mary
McMahon, Zach Yonk, Amy Reed. Back Row: Marcus Narvaez, Marcus Fluty, Kelli CArpenter,
Christopher Haas, Constantine Kolitsos.
Homeless teach about God’s love
By ERIN WINSTANLEY
Guest Writer
Going to New York City
is no glamorous mission. We
don’t get to go to a foreign
country. We stay in our own
country, the slums, serving
the type of people that we
see on the streets everyday.
These people are materially
poor, yes. But the reality is
that we have something to
learn from the homeless in
our own country. At a Bible
study for the homeless people in Times Square, I
learned more about the trust
and love of God than I ever
thought possible in 45 minutes' time. Every Thursday,
LAMP missionaries go out
on the streets and invite
homeless people in for a
Bible study. These people
live by themselves on the
street, with little more than
the clothes on their back, and
if they are lucky, a backpack
or suitcase full of a few
belongings. They shared
with me and convicted me
by what they shared about
God’s Word, Psalm 103 and
John 11:45-54. What spoke
to them from these passages
was God’s mercy and that
they trusted blindly in Him
and His mercy and love.
These are people who have
nothing, and yet trust in the
Lord nonetheless. They are
rejected and forgotten by
their own countrymen, yet
they do not despair, but iden-
tify themselves with Jesus’
rejection. They have nothing, yet they have everything. They may be materially poor, yet almost because
of that, they are spiritually
rich. I am so blessed and yet
they are more grateful for the
nothing that they have than I
am for all that I have here. It
is easy to be materially rich
and believe that I am spiritually rich, but where would I
be with nothing but my
faith?
See more photos at troubonline.com and
share your own mission stories in the comments section!
You may submit additional mission photos to
[email protected] to be featured in the online edition.
photo by L I Z C O N T E
The Beatitudes men’s a cappella group poses around a plaque
listing the Beatitudes from the Gospels.
Students went on other missions which were not able to send in
photos or stories before the Troubadour print deadline:
Ecuador
This mission focuses on caring for the whole person by bringing
the sacraments and basic medical care to rural Ecuadorian communities.
Mexico
This mission focuses on ministering to the needs of the Mexican
people through the sacraments, sharing testimonies, praying
over the people and making home visits. Students also work on
various group service projects—including building and painting
homes.
New Mexico
This mission focuses on ministering to the Navajo and other
people in the area. Work is done at Gallup Catholic Grade
School and High School and St. Michael's Special Education.
Chicago mission gives new
perspectives to students
Student missionaries find God
in downtown Steubenville
Going to Chicago was a
completely different experience than I expected. When I
applied for the mission, I knew
that this mission was different.
I knew that the men at Emmaus
were searching and that going
to meet them would change my
life and my teammates’ lives—
I just didn’t know how.
Once we got there, we realized how deeply beautiful
these men are and how easy it
is to love them. The men we
had come to serve ended up
giving more to us than we
You don’t have to travel
across the world to make a difference. While many groups boarded a plane and traveled to far-off
destinations to do missionary
work, 11 other students and I
stayed in Steubenville over spring
break in order to help the residents of our familiar city. Led by
Kevin Fenter and Melissa
Knaggs, we painted, cleaned,
prayed and talked with the men
and women of Steubenville.
I was exhausted by the end of
spring break. When I came back
to campus, my hands were still
by MARY-ELISE ZELLMER
Guest Writer
could give back. Each man we
came in contact with made an
impact on each of our hearts.
Before we left for the mission, I had a hard time imagining what these men would be
like. What I found in Chicago
were men filled with strength
and courage and hope. These
men were looking to the future
and yearning for the God who
would remove them from their
pain. Looking into their eyes, it
was simple to see Christ looking back.
Sometimes I would just stop
what I was doing and watch
my teammates just be with the
men of Emmaus. I was incred-
ibly humbled. My teammates
had so much love and wisdom
to offer. It was a blessing to
work side by side with these
individuals.
Our team agreed that we
had found good friends in the
men we met. We quickly realized that titles like “the homeless guy” were not acceptable
because that same man we saw
outside was Joseph—our
friend who just happens to be
homeless.
At the end of the mission, as
we were driving back to
Steubenville, we agreed that
we were leaving our hearts in
Chicago.
by JANESSA BARRETTE
Guest Writer
yellow from painting downtown,
and I felt as if I could sleep a
whole day without waking up.
But I was happier than I had been
for a long time because of all our
team accomplished over those
eight days.
What did we accomplish? We
found God in a city that is usually seen from an outsider’s point
of view. As students of
Franciscan, we are residents of a
beautiful campus. Not many of us
look closely at the surrounding
city. Before this mission, I only
saw decrepit buildings when I left
campus. I didn’t really look at the
people.
Now, I can no longer look at
the faces here and automatically
be suspicious. There are so many
beautiful people here in
Steubenville who we judge based
off how they dress or talk.
Through prayer and simply talking with many of the residents
here, I saw God in the smiles of
people who have not lost hope,
despite the difficult situations in
which they live. My fellow group
members, whom I can now call
friends, and I saw God in the simple works of people who are willing to give their days in order to
cook, clean and clothe the poor
here in Steubenville. We were
truly blessed to have the chance
to help.
MISSIONS
NEW ORLEANS
photo submitted by L I S A O L S O N
Students volunteer with Habitat for Humanity during the spring break mission trip to New Orleans. Left to right:
Kristen Novak, Christian Strickland, John Paoletti, Aisling Maloney, Stephanie Rangel.
North Dakota mission team learns trust
while serving practically, spiritually
by ANN BERNKLAU
Guest Writer
This was my second time
going to North Dakota, and it
was a very different experience. For one thing, I was a
co-leader of the trip, so my
role was different. I think this
trip made me grow a little bit
more than last year.
We worked on an Indian
reservation called Turtle
Mountain. We stayed at St.
Ann’s Parish at the Queen of
Peace retreat center. The
native Americans are very
spiritual people and most of
them are Catholic, but even
the ones who aren’t have a
strong sense of the supernatural–God, sin, spiritual suffering, etc. During the six days
we stayed there, we basically
helped out the community in
whatever way we could.
St. Ann’s had a small
Catholic school, so a couple
people volunteered at the
school every day. The parish
had just acquired a new building for their youth room which
was a former thrift store, so
we helped renovate it, which
required knocking down a
wall, ripping up carpet, painting and more. We went doorto-door in the poorest parts of
the community, either inviting
the people to events at the
church or just talking/listening
to them and loving them. We
visited the jail and talked to
the inmates. We gave talks and
skits for a first Communion
retreat and chastity talks and
testimonies for a confirmation
group. We visited a nursing
home, a retirement home, and
a high school. We also helped
out with cleaning, cooking,
baking,
chopping/stacking
photo submitted by A N N B E R N K L A U
The North Dakota mission team helps rip up carpet from the floor of a former thrift
store. The building will eventually be converted into a meeting space for the youth of
St. Ann’s parish in Belcourt, North Dakota.
March 18, 2009
Today was our third day of
mission work in the Garifuna
villages. The village we visited today, Guadalupe, is smaller than the first two villages
but has a larger church. I
noticed that the smaller the
villages were said to be, the
larger the church. Once in the
village we asked around for
the town catechist and a girl
went off and came back with a
man named Sosa. He opened
the church for us and we asked
if we could have Mass for the
village tonight and if we could
walk around the village inviting people. He told us we
could invite people but that
the church had no power so it
would be dark. A church without power was not a problem;
we would be prepared with a
lot of flashlights and candles.
We split up into two groups
and walked around the town
inviting people to Mass.
Everyone always smiles and
nods and says “Thank you I’ll
be there.” Really they just tell
us what we want to hear and
probably do not want us hanging around their window.
We had lunch in the village
at a restaurant the catechist
told us about. After lunch we
ministered to the kids and
played Simon Says which they
had a hard time understanding
so we switched to Duck Duck
Goose, which they enjoyed
but still had trouble fully
understanding. We left the village
and
returned
to
Campameto for some time to
think, reflect and pray before
heading back to the village for
Mass. The short-term mountain team was also coming
down from the villages in the
mountains so we could have a
priest for Mass. After dinner
we went back to the village for
Mass. When we arrived at the
church there was no one there
but there was power. A few
people began to show up but
the church was still very
empty. I began to feel a little
discouraged because we had
talked to so many people and
there was no one at the
church.
Two of the most important
rules of missionary work are
to be flexible and no complaining so we just waited
there for people to come. I
learned that you have to trust
in God and know that He is
working through us. Mass was
supposed to begin at 7 but it
started more around 7:30. I
guess that is how time works
in Honduras; we say 7 and to
the people there it means
7:30ish.
The Garifuna people have
their own beautiful language
and pretty much take over
everything in the Mass, which
falls under the rule of being
flexible. They sang the gospel
acclamation and then when
Father proceeded to read the
Gospel one woman stopped
him and they started singing
again. We just stood back and
let the people praise because it
is all about them. The Our
Father in Garifuna is one of
BELIZE
5
The Troubadour
photo submitted by M I K E M C G U R N
Mike McGurn, a member of the Belize mission trip, poses
with local school kids.
wood and anything else that
needed to be done.
One of my favorite parts of
the trip was just listening to
the experiences of the people
on my team and how they
were growing in trust,
courage, and openness to
God’s grace. It was such a
blessed experience.
During the whole thing,
God was repeatedly teaching
us not to rely on ourselves, but
to trust in Him, and Him
alone. I think the theme of the
week for me was definitely
TRUST. Which is funny, since
that was the topic of a talk
given to us at Mission
Immersion Day. From the
beginning of the semester, I
was doubting my ability to
lead the team. God had
dragged me into it – not exactly kicking and screaming, but
somewhat reluctantly. I knew
in the back of my mind that
He wanted me to trust Him
more and to step outside of
myself and my insecurities.
The whole week went by pretty smoothly, but it was really
in the end that He opened my
eyes to the reason I should
trust in Him. And that is
because He loves me without
limit. And we are called to do
the same.
photo submitted by A N N B E R N K L A U
Steubenville missionaries pose with volunteers from the Society of Our Lady of the
Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) in Belcourt, North Dakota.
Mission team learns about love while
working with the people of Honduras
by VAL HAAS
Guest Writer
Thursday, March 26, 2009
the most beautiful things in
the world to me. Everyone on
the church knows it; even if
they do not know the rest of
the Mass they know the Our
Father. Everyone linked
pinkies and began swaying
and singing, I had no idea
what they were saying but I
just linked pinkies and moved
with them.
When I looked around I
was surprised to see the
church complexly full and a
lot of older boys and men in
back. It was a surprise
because I had been told that
men tend to not go to Mass
because religion is for women
photo submitted by S A R A H H O U D E
Clare Brockway speaks with Garifuna village children
during the spring break mission trip to Honduras.
and children, but there were
the men, standing in back
singing the Our Father. At
certain parts of the prayer the
people bow and then just hum
while one man, usually the
catechist, preaches. It is so
beautiful and we can’t understand a word of it. The
Garifuna people are so amazing and so beautiful; all we
did was bring them a priest to
have Mass and they took over
and made it into their own
celebration. At the sign of
peace people get up and sing
and walk around the church
and shake hands with anyone
and everyone. It was hard to
leave my row in the church. It
seemed uncomfortable but
our leaders have been telling
us mission work is hard and if
you are comfortable you do
not love enough. So to love
these people we had to step
outside of our comfort zones
to love these people and let
God love them because we are
instruments of God’s love. We
were only witnesses to the
love of God for these people.
After reflecting on the
events of tonight and the
whole trip I realize that these
people may look poor to us
but they are rich in so many
other ways. Life is simple and
beautiful to them, not complicated like we make it here in
the States. They see the beauty of life and are able to live
their faith in such an amazing
way, and they only receive
Mass once or twice a year. As
our leaders have been saying,
this mission trip is not just
about the people in Honduras
because we can learn so much
from them too.
photo submitted by S A R A H H O U D E
Sarah Houde plays with Honduran orphans during the
spring break mission trip to Honduras.
6
SPORTS
Baron
Becoming Terrell Owens:
Talking NFL free agency
By BRETT BECKER
Sports Writer
This NFL offseason has
been fairly interesting thus far.
Too bad there hasn’t been any
surprising free agent signings.
T.J.
Houshmanzadeh
a
Seahawk? That’s a nice
upgrade, but it was fairly
expected. Rex Ryan prying
Bart Scott from his former
Baltimore Ravens team?
Every football fan saw that
one coming from a mile away.
Luckily we have two drama
queens entertaining us with
this soap opera of an off season. Let’s talk some Terrell
Owens.
Can you believe Terrell
Owens is a Buffalo Bill? I, for
one, am definitely surprised.
Upon hearing that T.O. was
being released, I made my own
conclusions on where he could
sign. The team that I automatically assumed that would
throw the bank at T.O. was the ing. Why then, would T.O.
Raiders. With all the money sign there? A couple reasons
they spent on players such as stick out in my head: First, he
Javon Walker and DeAngelo signed a one year deal, this
Hall (nice pick up there, Mr. will only help his reputation.
Davis), I thought it would be With this one year deal, he is
given that Al Davis would going to try to convince the
spend money on
nation, and potena actual proven
tial clients, that he
playmaker that
is not that bad of a
can make his
teammate. In this
future bust of a
one year deal, T.O.
quarterback,
does not have
J a m a r c u s
enough time to
Russell, at least
blow up at his
look decent.
quarterback, and
he can patch up his
But
no!
bad
infamous
Terrell Owens
work ethic.
signed with the
Second, signBills. What a
Brett is the national
with the Bills
ing
strange destinasports critic for the
will
only help
tion. Buffalo is
Troubadour
T.O.’s reputation
one of the smallest markets in the NFL, they when it comes to quarterback
haven’t won consistently in controversy. This will be
years and to top it off they T.O.’s first team that doesn’t
have an unproven quarterback, have a pro-bowl quarterback.
that is ripe for a T.O. thrash- We all know T.O.’s reputation
Sports
on bashing his quarterbacks:
Jeff Garcia walks like a duck,
Donovon Mcnabb throws up,
Tony Romo loves Jason Witten
more than him. How can he
more effectively rejuvenate his
career than by making a nonproven Trent Edwards look
good? Mark my words, Trent
Edwards will be Mr. Owen’s
best this upcoming season, and
it’s only going to help Terrell
make more money in the next
free-agent pool.
T.O. will never change, this
will always be true. This year,
though, he is going to be much
different. In his first years in
San Francisco, Philadelphia,
and Dallas, T.O. was a great
teammate, and everybody
seemed to loved him and his
antics. He just seemed to wear
his welcome out, as time
passed by. This won’t happen
in Buffalo, and once the season is over some team is going
to be stupid enough to give
this guy another multi-year
contract. There is not a new
T.O. ahead of us After this
upcoming season, once he gets
his multiyear deal, Terrell
Owens will have the gall to
return to his true self.
Intramurals Recap
Spartans 11
Kremoski 5
by DYLAN EHLE
Sports Writer
The Spartans took on
Kremoski in a Men’s A Frisbee
match on Tuesday night. After a
competitive first half, the Spartans
were able to take control of the
game in the second en route to an
11-5 victory.
The Spartans got off to a fast
start, scoring 4 points in the first
five minutes to take a commanding early lead.
However,
Kremoski rallied back, slowly
chipping at the deficit until the
scoreboard read 4-3. The Spartans
scored three more touchdowns
before halftime, though, taking a
7-3 advantage into the break.
Kremoksi struggled to find
offensive momentum in the second half, and were outscored by
the Spartans, 4-2. This was due in
part to the fact that they only had
six players for the game, and were
unable to sub---their entire team
was forced to play all 30 minutes.
Brendan Percy, John Levri, and
Dylan Ehle were the top throwers
for the Spartans on the night, each
finishing with 3 assists. Ehle led
the Spartans with 6 touchdown
receptions, while Percy added 3
and Joe Maciag and John
McDevitt each had a touchdown
grab.
Eric Wood was the all-around
standout for Kremoskwi, finishing
the night with 2 assists and one
touchdown reception. Daniel
Ulishney had one assist and 2
touchdown receptions, and Jacob
Koether also contributed one assist
and 2 scores.
The Spartans (1-0) take on
Mama’s Boys II Saturday at noon,
while Kremowski (0-1) will face
the Guadalupe Troops Tuesday at
6:05 p.m.
Bad News Lions Gold (Lion
of Judah household) faced The
Muppet
Show
(Conquer
Through Love household) in
the season-opening Men’s A
intramural Frisbee competition
on Monday night. The Bad
News
Lions
dominated
throughout the contest, eventually winning by the secondary
mercy rule, 21-1.
Adam Librande and Sam
Titus were the top throwers for
Bad News Lions Gold, and
each finished with 5 assists on
the night. Michael Hickey had
four assists for the Lions, while
James MacDonald, Christian
Ohnimus, and Karl Horwath
each had 2. On the receiving
end, Sam Titus led the team
with 6 touchdowns. Daniel
Whitehouse and Jason Gast
were the other receiving standouts with 5 and 4 scores,
respectively.
Hank Gettinger was one of
the main sparks for Muppet
Show’s offense, and he assisted
on their sole score of the game.
Michael
Ruszala
caught
Muppet Show’s only touchdown, and Kevin Stalzer was
the defensive standout for the
team.
Bad News Lions Gold (1-0)
play their next game on
Monday against We Like
Sports We Don’t Care Who
Knows at 5:05 p.m., while The
Muppet Show (0-1) is set to
take on Old Skool on Tuesday
at 6 p.m.
exploded in the second inning
with seven runs. The catcher,
Dunlap, led the charge with a
triple and three RBI. After two
straight 1-2-3 innings the Lady
Barons were able to get on base
in the third inning, but were
unable to capitalize.
The Lady Barons were able
to hold the Cougars from scoring for the remainder of the
game, but the strong pitching of
Lloyd held the women from
scoring. With the Cougars leading the Lady Barons 8-0 at the
end of the fifth the game was
called on account of the mercy
rule.
The second game of the doubleheader had the Cougars start
off strong once again. Lloyd hit
an inside-the-park-homerun in
the first inning bringing in three.
The cougars then added two
more runs in the inning. The
Lady Barons were able to get on
the board in the bottom of the
first with a heads up play on a
wild pitch and an RBI single by
Katie Quitney.
However, Franciscan could
not withstand the firepower that
Chatham University wielded.
Lloyd, Wilson and Greenburg
each had four RBIs. But the
Lady Barons were able to put up
their highest total of runs to date
with seven runs. Katie Quitney
led with two RBIs and posted a
.500 average for the game.
In the end Chatham
University won by the score of
20-7, ending the game in the full
seven innings. The Lady Barons
play again on Saturday, March
28th at Frostburg University and
again on Sunday, March 29 versus University of PittsburgBradford, both of which are
conference games and doubleheaders.
Bad News Lions Gold 21
Muppet Show 1
by DYLAN EHLE
Sports Writer
Lady Barons softball goes 0-2 in
doubleheader against Chatham U.
by PAT WILMOT
Sports Writer
Over spring break the Lady
Barons traveled Florida for a
six-game set. The Lady Barons
went 0-6 in Florida but on
Tuesday, March 24th the Lady
Barons looked to pick up their
first win against the Cougars of
Chatham University in a doubleheader.
In the first game of the doubleheader the Chatham Cougars
got on the board first with the
help of two steals in the opening
inning. The Cougars then
photo submitted by F R A N C I S C A N A T H L E T I C D E P A R T M E N T
The Franciscan rugby team has gotten off to a fast start this spring. They won 41-13 at Fairmont State University
and 22-12 at home against Washington and Jefferson College. The next Baron home game is April 4 against Ohio U.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Frisbee steals
your sports soul
the man keeping you down” as
you listen to folk guitar, eat tofu,
and run around in your sandals.
Grab a bat, put on some classic
Dear Student Body,
rock, fire up the grill for hot
I’m writing to you with a dogs, and start playing a real
major concern that must be sport!
Spring is when the grass turns
addressed. I’m afraid your sports
soul have been stolen, that you green and your favorite college
don’t realize what real sports are team gets back out on the footanymore. The devil that is the ball field and starts spring pracwhirling disc has left your mind tice. You do remember football,
clouded, and that means I must don’t you, the sport with contact
open your eyes to the horror that and athleticism? Why aren’t you
Frisbee really is. Let me help planning are practicing for next
you see the light again. Help me intramural season, looking for
the next break out player, the
help you.
When March comes around replacement for your Allthree things happen at American quarterback? Spring is
Franciscan: the snow thaws, the a time of hope springing eternal
flu comes back, and unfortunate- for your intramural football
ly you all start playing Frisbee. team, where the slate is wiped
clean and you can
Those stupid little
see what type of
discs of fury startteam you really
ed flying around,
have left.
and suddenly I
So many other
realize the probsporting events
lem of the bubble
happen in the
that surrounds mespring. Why are
that hardly any
you turning to
Frannys underFrisbee? Instead
stand that spring
you could make
time is suppose to
thousands of mock
Spring
mean
drafts for the NFL
Training, March
Jake is the sports
draft in April, sit
Madness, and the
editor for the
and stare at your
great college tradiTroubadour
hundreds
of
tion of Spring football games. Instead I’m left with March Madness tourney brackintramural Frisbee, or as us ets, pick a soccer team to watch
sports purists call it, the intramu- in the MLS (kidding), or continue to enjoy the end of the NBA
ral off-season.
Truthfully I’m disappointed season and the greatness that is
in you Finnegan Faithful. Where the NBA finals.
Your poor souls are lost in
are the baseball gloves? The
football pads? Even a half sport Frisbee. It’s time for you to come
like soccer would suffice! back to the real sports world. Put
Instead you enjoy Frisbee golf down your little white disc, and
and ultimate Frisbee, two horri- walk over to the baseball, footble, boring, non-sports that are ball, or God forbid the soccer
only popular with hippies and field. Seriously, you’re playing a
hound dogs. Where is your sense game that I play with my dog.
Stop wagging your tail and realof sports snobbery?
Wouldn’t you prefer to toss ize you’re being duped by the
around the baseball, to enter into sports devil. Leave it to the dogs
the purity that is America’s pas- my friends. Regain your sports
time? Or is throwing overhand integrity.
too hard for you? You would you
Deeply Concerned,
rather toss around your Frisbee
Your Sports Editor
and talk about the injustice “of
By JAKE KREMPEL
Sports Editor
Lady Barons
struggle in spring
break games
by DYLAN EHLE
Sports Writer
The Franciscan University
of Steubenville Lady Barons
Softball team traveled to
Florida for a series of matches
over the course of spring break.
They played six in three days of
competition, but were unable to
find their first win of the season.
Lady Barons Head Coach
Amanda
Gutowski
was
impressed with her team’s performance on the whole, despite
the poor results on the scoreboard. “It was an outstanding
experience all-around,” she
remarked. “It was out first time
outside and technically one of
our first times playing together
as a team, because we have few
returning players. We played
well together and had many
double-plays, diving catches,
and clutch hits at the right time.
At the same time, there were
definitely some errors, but
we’re going to learn from
them.”
The Lady Barons struggled
in their first game of the season
against Keene State College of
New Hampshire, and only accumulated two hits on the game
by
Freshman
Sarah
Higinbotham
and
Junior
Bethany Fischer, losing 8-0.
The Lady Barons showed
more of an offensive spark in
the next game of the day, as
they managed to score three
runs in a 13-3 loss against
Morrisville State College of
New York. Katie Quitney led
Franciscan with 1 hit and 1 RBI.
On the second day of competition, the Lady Barons fell to
Philadelphia
Biblical
University, 16-1, and again to
Franklin Pierce University from
New Hampshire (Div. II), 8-0.
The final day of competition
was equally difficult for the
Lady Barons, as they lost to
Midland Lutheran College, 8-0,
and to Bethel University, 13-0.
Coach Gutowski felt that the
spring break competition in
Florida was an extremely positive experience for her team. “It
was a lot of fun, the girls had a
great time,” she said. “We were
playing against teams that were
massive and composed mainly
of upper-classmen, but our girls
held their own. Even though the
scores looked like we were
dominated, that was not the
case---the games were closer
than the scores would indicate.
We did have a lot of errors, but,
if you take out the errors, we
were right there with them.”