Clinton talks on economy, education Bishop boycotts graduation

Clinton talks on
economy, education
Bishop boycotts
graduation
College looks into
political policies
NEWS 2
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NEWS
PAGE 2
April 2, 2008
Hillary Clinton speaks at ’Hurst
By Casey Greene
Managing editor
Students had the chance to
write themselves into Mercyhurst College’s history books
this week.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) addressed over 3,000
members of the Erie community
Tuesday evening in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center (MAC).
The “Rocky” theme song played
as Clinton climbed onto the stage
to cheers and applause from the
crowd.
Her talk, “Solutions for the
Pennsylvania Economy,” lasted
no more than 45 minutes. During
her time on stage, she highlighted
her plans for education, the
economy, the environment and
the War in Iraq.
“It took a Clinton to clean up
after the first Bush and it’s going
to take a Clinton to clean up after
the second,” she said. “And I’m
excited about doing it.”
Clinton addressed the difficulties the average American
family faces in order to survive
in today’s economy.
She said she plans to bring jobs
back into the U.S. by eliminating
the benefits companies receive
when moving their business
outside of the States.
“First we are going to return
fairness in America...” she said.
“We need to use our money to
help create jobs right here in
the U.S.”
Clinton assured the crowd
that she was the person to make
the effective changes in the U.S.
economy.
“We need a president with a
plan,” she said. “A president who
will ask everyday, ‘What have we
done to create jobs in Erie or
Jamestown or wherever?’”
The presidential hopeful said
one way she will improve the
economy is by bringing home the
troops and cutting the funding for
the War in Iraq.
“It’s time to put an end to the
blank check that George Bush
has been given to fund this war,”
she said.
One way Clinton plans to
increase our national security is
by “ending our addiction to oil,”
she said.
Clinton plans to eliminate our
reliance on oil by finding clean,
renewable alternative energy
sources.
She specifically addressed the
ideas of utilizing solar energy,
increasing research for biofuels
and harnessing wind energy,
something she joked, “Should be
no problem for Erie.”
Two major issues of the Clinton
campaign are the affordability of
healthcare and higher education.
“How do you put a price on
good health,” she asked. “How
do you put a price on a good
education?”
Clinton addressed the increasing
number of uninsured Americans
as well as the increasing number
of insured Americans who are still
unable to pay medical bills.
Clinton said she wants to make
healthcare more affordable now
with the future goal of a universal
healthcare program.
Throughout her speech, the
cost of higher education was
continually addressed.
“If you want to come to a great
college, a college like Mercyhurst,
than I want to help you afford to
go to that college,” she said.
Clinton said she wants to
increase the number of pre-kindergarten programs in order to
produced better-prepared grade
school students.
“We need every child to be
prepared to start school so they
won’t be so far behind by third
grade that they’re ready to drop
out by sixth,” she said.
Addressing the young people
in the crowd, Clinton said, “For
me, this is not just about the next
election. This is about the next
Scoot Williams photo
Sen. Hillary Clinton spoke Tuesday evening to over 3,000 people in the Mercyhurst Athletic
Center, focusing on the Pennsylvania economy.
generation. I want you to have
the same opportunities that I had
and that your parents had in this
great nation.”
She told the audience, “This
is the story for America…We
are the people who are looking
to make tomorrow a better day”
– something she promises to do
if elected.
A long line
Some students waited in a
line that stretched as far as the
Audrey Hirt Academic building
for over seven hours to hear
Clinton talk.
“We were the first people to
get here, at 11 in the morning
and it was worth it,” said junior
Jon Tirk. “I wanted to be able to
meet her, shake her hand and get
an autograph.”
Sophomore Ian Michalski said
he wanted the best seat in the
house.
“I’ve not made a decision on
who I’m voting for,” he said.
“So, I hope this will help make
my decision.”
Sophomore Nadine Beres said
she felt the same way.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity,” said sophomore
Nadine Beres. “College students
need to be informed. We’re supposed to be educated and wellrounded students through a
liberal arts education, so we need
more opportunities like this.”
A grand welcome
After a series of introductions,
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and President of Mercyhurst
Young Democrats junior Tim
Knecht, joined Clinton on stage
to chants of “Hillary” from the
audience.
“If it’s change you are looking
for, look no further,” said Knecht.
“Sen. Clinton is a remarkable
woman who will make a remarkable president.”
’Hurst’s historic moment
“I think this is a historic moment
for the country and a great opportunity for the students,” said
Mercyhurst College President Dr.
Thomas Gamble.
Erie Press Secretary for Hillary Clinton Kamyl Bazbaz said
many sites were considered, but
Mercyhurst presented the best
atmosphere.
“Mercyhurst offered a venue
that is intimate but still can pack
a lot of people,” he said. “She
wants to be able to connect with
the audience but still get her mes-
sage out.”
Bazbaz said he is aware of the
controversy with Bishop Donald
Trautman, who is now refusing
to attend Mercyhurst’s graduation due to their acceptance of
Clinton’s invitation to speak.
“We respect the bishop’s view
and what he has said but we
understand that the college wants
to offer students an amazing
chance to take part in a historical
election,” he said.
“We really just want to give the
Erie community a chance to hear
first-hand what Sen. Clinton has
to say,” said Bazbaz. “What’s most
important, and our goal, is that
Sen. Clinton’s message is heard
loud and clear.”
Erie County Executive Mark
Divecchio said Clinton’s visit
demonstrates her dedication.
“Hillary coming to Erie, or
Mercyhurst, just shows her commitment to the campaign, the
working class people and the
small communities,” he said.
“It is a great way for her to energize the people in the Erie community and other small communities not just the big cities where
all the political focus tends to
be placed.”
NEWS
April 2, 2008
Bishop boycotts
2008 graduation
Erie Bishop will not attend graduation ceremony
in protest over Clinton’s pro-choice stance and
appearance on ’Hurst’s campus Tuesday evening
By Joshua Wilwohl
Editor-in-chief
Erie Catholic Bishop Donald
Trautman will not attend Mercyhurst College’s graduation
ceremony this year in protest
over Democratic presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton’s visit
to campus on April 1.
In a statement issued by Trautman, he says by allowing Clinton
to speak, the college is taking a
pro-choice position concerning
abortion.
“I am disappointed in Mercyhurst College for not reflecting the pro-life stance of the
Catholic Church regarding
abortion. As tangible expression of my disappointment,
I have notified (Mercyhurst
College President Dr. Thomas
Gamble) that I will not be
p r e s e n t f o r M e r c y h u r s t ’s
graduation,” he said in a statement issued Monday. “I am
open to meeting with Dr.
Gamble in the future to ascertain
how the Catholic identity of
Mercyhurst can be better clarified.”
Diocesan spokesman Msgr.
Tom McSweeney could not be
reached for comment.
Gamble said that while Trautman’s absence will be missed,
the college must act in a way that
will meet the educational needs
of the students.
“While we respect Bishop
Trautman’s decision, we are
saddened by it and will deeply
miss his presence at graduation,” he said Monday. “Our
mission counsels us to educate
our students in an environment where faith and reason
flourish together, and toward that
end provide opportunities for
our students to be well informed
politically and religiously.”
Students said they have mixed
opinions on the bishop’s absence
at graduation.
Senior Phyllis Roman said
she will not miss Trautman at
graduation.
“If he doesn’t want to come
to our graduation, it’s his loss,”
she said. “I don’t think many
people will be traumatized…I
mean, we’re supposed to be
learning and supporting voting
and civic duties.”
Junior Dan Racitano said he
did not support Clinton coming
to campus, and even more so
now that the bishop is not
attending graduation.
“I kind of feel with Hillary
(on) campus and this being a
conser vative campus…that
this is a negative side of her
coming,” he said. “I think…we
should have thought about
having Hillary come before
we went ahead and invited her
here…it goes against our Catholic ideals.”
Racitano said though it’s
beneficial to have a potential
presidential candidate come to
campus and speak, the college
should not shy away from its
Catholic faith.
“I’m against Hillary coming
here, and if he (Trautman) is
going not (to attend graduation)
out of protest, then I think
it’s a wrong move on the college.”
Kamyl Bazbaz, Clinton’s Erie
press secretary, said the campaign
recognizes the bishop’s view.
“We g reatly respect the
Bishop’s point of view on the
subject, and also appreciate(d)
the opportunity to speak to students and the Erie community
in this historic election,” he
said.
Gamble said the college will
keep with the Catholic tradition by planning to host a
forum before the general election about the “Responsible
Catholic and the 2008 Election.”
Father James Piszker, the college’s chaplain, said Trautman’s
protest raises concerns about a
pertinent subject.
“I think he’s expressing his
concern about a very important
issue to the Catholic church,
which is connected to the
Catholic identity of a college
like Mercyhurst,” he said.
Gamble said the college
does reflect its religious roots and
plans to meet with Trautman.
“We look forward to engaging
in conversations about the most
authentic way for Mercyhurst
to meet both its religious and
its educational obligations,”
he said.
PAGE 3
School looks at
political policies
By Ashley Pastor
Staff writer
Roughly a week after Mercyhurst College President Dr.
Thomas Gamble stated that he
will look into a policy regarding
the presence of political candidates on campus, the college
announced it would be the venue
for Sen. Hillary Clinton for her
“Solutions for the Pennsylvania
Economy” address Tuesday
evening.
Gamble, however, said the
college still has plans to develop
the political policies.
He announced the formation
of two committees that will look
into two separate policies.
The one, headed by Associate
Vice President of Advancement Dr. David Livingston, is
in charge of recommending
guidelines for the presence of
political candidates and related
activities on campus.
The other committee, chaired
by Vice President of Student
Life Dr. Gerry Tobin, plans
to recommend a policy that
will address the types of paid
advertisements, including political advertisements, the Merciad
should accept.
Since there is no specific policy
governing paid political advertising, Gamble said the college
is temporarily suspending the
placement of such advertisements until the committee makes
its recommendation.
The questions about the policy
were brought to light when the
Merciad ran a paid political
advertisement for Obama for
America.
According to the Erie Catholic
Diocese, political advertisements
are prohibited in any of its publications because, as a non-profit
entity, the Merciad would have to
accept advertisements from all
candidates, including those who
support abortion.
Tobin said that the college
considered Clinton’s visit as an
opportunity for Mercyhurst to
engage students in an educational
and political dialogue, and is in
no way similar to a paid political
advertisement.
Tobin says that the difference between the allowance of
advertisements and someone
speaking is that there is a question and answer session that gives
students the chancefor dialogue,
versus a paid printed political
advertisement that does not.
“It is by no means an endorsement of the candidate and their
views,” said Tobin.
He said the college sent all
political candidates an invitation
to use Mercyhurst as a venue
if they planned to make a stop
in Erie.
Clinton was the first to answer
the invitation, issued three weeks
prior to the Merciad’s running of
the Obama for America advertisement, said Tobin.
“Once the invitation was
extended, we weren’t inclined to
rescind the invitations,” he said.
Tobin said Clinton’s visit
should in no way affect the committees’ views on the separate
policies.
“It does not influence my
objective,” he said. “I hope we’re
all open minded enough to go
into the committee with a good,
clear thinking that will help guide
us now and into the future.”
Tobin said the committees
plan to meet by the end of this
week.
Gamble said he expects the
committees to make recommendations to him in the next
two weeks.
NEWS
PAGE 4
April 2, 2008
’Hurst students crack methamphetamine case
By Liz Maier
Staff writer
Two Mercyhurst College intelligence studies student interns
received praise from the Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom
Corbett after helping the Bureau
of Narcotics Investigation and
Drug Control dismantle a massive
methamphetamine case.
Juniors Samantha Shelnick and
Justin Zabiegala analyzed over
35,000 lines of data gathered
from various pharmacies across
Pennsylvania and Ohio.
They pinpointed 29 individuals who were involved in what
is being called the oldest-known
methamphetamine manufacturing operation in north-
west Pennsylvania.
Director of the investigation
and 1981 graduate from Mercyhurst, Dennis Tobin, credited
Shelnick and Zabiegala for discovering patterns and trends
indicating criminal behavior.
By analyzing data, Shelnick and
Zabiegala identified “red flags,” or
customers who bought multiple
boxes of pseudoephedrine in the
same day.
“The most difficult aspect of
the internship was how tedious
it was to input and analyze the
logs; but obviously that work is
very necessary and worth it in the
end,” Shelnick said.
Guiding Shelnick and Zabiegala through out the case, faculty
advisor David Grabelski said,
“The data lines that were exam-
ined were names of individuals
who bought pseudoephedrine
products.”
“The difficult part was analyzing the data to determine further
relationships that were useful,
such as who is shopping with
whom, the area where they’re
shopping and if they are shopping in more than one location
every day,” Zabiegala said.
Shelnick and Zabiegala’s
efforts led agents to connect the
accomplices or “pill shoppers”
to the operation leaders, Robert
and James Frey.
Attorney General Corbett
said investigators believe brothers Robert and James Frey from
Albion, Pa., were the organizers in
the operation for 14 years.
Investigators seized 9.6 pounds,
or $142,000 worth, of meth and
meth oil from the Frey brothers’
home.
The investigation, “Operation
Family Cook-Out,” began in
March 2007.
Three interns before Shelnick
and Zabiegala also helped and
contributed with the investigation.
“They (Shelnick and Zabiegala)
put the final touches on the investigation,” said Greblaski.
Shelnick and Zabiegala saved
the citizens of Pennsylvania a
significant amount of money by
dismantling the meth operation.
“They did the work load of one
police officer’s annual salary for
free,” said Greblaski.
Neither Shelnick nor Zabiegala
were paid while interning.
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“The most challenging part of
the internship was balancing the
different projects I was assigned,
specifically when we’re right in
the middle of a big case like the
Frey case,” Zabiegala said.
“In a given day, I might come
in to simply update our master
database, but then I might be
tasked to do work on a current
investigation,” said Zabiegala.
“And if we are close to making
arrests or executing search warrants I might be tasked to gather
information to facilitate that
process.”
Shelnick said the internship was
somewhat challenging, but that
his training from Mercyhurst’s
intelligence really gave him the
tools needed to be helpful in this
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NEWS
April 2, 2008
PAGE 5
Biochemist to speak
about generosity
By Julie Hranica
Staff writer
Contributed photo
Mercyhurst College class of 2008 students will soon thow their caps in the air to
symbolize the end of their undergraduate studies and the next step in their adult lives.
Life after graduation
By Emily Grabowski
Contributing writer
It is the home stretch of the
2007-2008 school year.
With about a month and a
half left in the spring term, it’s
a busy time for students and
employees.
Everyone is working hard
for finals, making their summer
plans and, for some, getting
ready for the Europe trip.
But for the seniors, they are
making the most important plans
of all: preparing themselves for
their graduation.
Preparation for the commencement ceremony is a yearround project, starting in August
when the potential graduates are
contacted.
In February, Sr. Pat Whalen
and the Registrar’s office go
through all the applications and
make sure each student has 120
credits, the minimum required
to graduate, and to make sure all
core classes have been taken and
to check if there are any incompletes or courses missing.
“This is a courtesy to the
seniors because we are making
sure they can graduate,” Whalen
said.
The time leading up to graduation is a very busy time.
Several special events are set
up for the seniors as they wrap
up their college journey.
Events include the senior
dinner dance, which will be held
on Friday, May 9 and the senior
outing to Splash Lagoon on
Thursday, May 15.
There is also the dedication
of the senior gift, and an alumni
reception on Friday, May 16.
The senior picnic, sports awards
banquet, academic awards dinner
and, for the first time ever, Mercyhurst will host its own ROTC
Commissioning Ceremony taking
place on Saturday, May 17.
Sunday, May 18 at 2:00 p.m. the
official commencement ceremony
begins, with a farewell reception
afterwards.
Tickets are not required for
friends and family to attend.
General seating is available.
With such a busy schedule
for the last remaining weeks of
school, what are the seniors doing
to prepare?
“Honestly, I’m not really doing
anything to prepare for graduation. I know where I am living
next year, and since I am taking a
year off before graduate school,
I have a lot of time to figure out
most of the details of my future,”
senior Tricia Dallas said.
“I’m just enjoying what time
I have left with all of my friends
and making sure I am making the
most of it.”
Senior and forensic science
major Kyle Scully said he wants
to go to graduate school, and is
waiting on responses from the
ones he applied to and is just
having fun.
Senior and Intel major Chad
Tilburg is spending his time
interviewing with government
and private agencies in hopes of
finding a job.
“I plan to move to Washington
D.C. and work in a national security-related profession,” Tilburg
said.
Although it may be a stressful
time of the year, seniors should
enjoy their last trimester at Mercyhurst College.
“Succeed in your coursework,
appreciate your final days in Mercyhurst’s education system and
enjoy yourself,” Whalen said.
Whalen also encouraged seniors
to periodically check WebAdvisor
and look under course evaluation
just to double check the number
of credits they have, if their core
has been met and if there are
any incompletes or courses not
taken.
Jeff Cagle, 2007 alumni, said,
“Don’t slack off. It’s really easy to
just kick back with friends, but the
last thing you want to do is have a
bad last term, grade wise.”
For students interested in giving to others then Dr. Stephen
Post is sure to intrigue them.
Post, a famous biochemist will
come to Mercyhurst College on
April 3.
Post will speak about his new
book, “Why Good Things Happen to Good People.”
The book and the topic of his
presentations will focus on the
idea of giving.
Post will talk about how it
is important to be generous
person and Post will also focus
on how giving is beneficial to a
person’s health.
Post has developed a scale for
measuring how a person gives
and how they can improve their
ability to give to others.
Post was contacted to speak
by religious studies professor
Dr. Daniel McFee, who said
Post was thrilled to have the
chance to come to Mercyhurst,
having been a teacher at a Mercy
university for years.
There will be two opportunities for students and the general
public to listen to Post’s presentation.
The first is a roundtable discussion in Mercy Heritage Hall
on April 3 at 4:15 p.m.
This roundtable discussion
will focus on “Altruism and the
Shaping of Our Lives” and will
have five students from McFee’s
Social Ethics class dialoguing
with Post about the topic.
McFee believes that students
can greatly benefit from this
opportunity.
He said that Post’s interdisciplinary work will interest students from all fields,
including psychology, religion,
ethics, gerontology and other
disciplines.
“Dr. Post’s interdisciplinary
approach allows readers to visualize the nexus between his ideas
and their own fields of interest,”
McFee said.
Sophomore Nadine Beres believes that this discussion will be
interesting and beneficial.
“I volunteer a lot and give
a lot back to the community,
so I think it will be interesting to see where he is coming
from. I also sometimes wonder
the same thing about why certain things happen to certain
people because I believe that
sometimes bad things can happen to good people as well,”
said Beres.
McFee also believes that students will leave these discussions feeling empowered.
“Post’s basic points focus on
generosity, giving, and how to
lead a good life. I find myself
empowered by his overwhelmingly positive approach,” he
said.
McFee believes that even students who disagree with Post’s
approach or arguments can still
feel moved in some way by his
presentation.
Sophomore Carly Rae Eisenhauer agrees that this approach
will probably strike a chord with
some people.
“I think that some people will
definitely change their viewpoint about giving to others after hearing a presentation about
this topic,” said Eisenhauer.
Junior Erik Penn believes that
his views may be challenged by
Post.
“I don’t necessarily believe
that good things always happen to good people, however I
do think that good people give
back. It will be interesting to
hear what Dr. Post has to say
about this idea,” said Penn.
Students and the general public will also be able to hear Post
speak on April 3 at 8:15 p.m. in
the Walker Recital Hall.
NEWS
PAGE 6
April 2, 2008
Beautify Erie: anti-graffiti project
By Tim Hucko
Staff writer
Mercyhurst College students
are taking a stand on the war
against graffiti.
The city of Erie’s anti-graffiti squad is now active and
helping to put an end on the
vandalism.
Headed by Erie’s third Ward
District Judge Tom Carney; the
group uses a multitude of different skills and techniques to
tactically remove and suppress
the graffiti.
Other members of the group
include Christopher D. Hitz,
president of Advanced Drying
and Restorations; Dennis
Braendel II, vice president of
Braendel Painting and Services;
John Tretter, business agent for
Laborers Local 603; downtown
businessman Tom “Tippy”
Dworzanski; Wally Brown, coordinator of the Little Italy Neighborhood Crime Watch Group;
David J. Grabelski, assistant
professor at the Institute for
Intelligence Studies and Maria
L. Garase, assistant professor
at Gannon University’s criminal
justice program.
Along with this team are
Mercyhurst students who play
a critical role in the intricate
process.
Their job is to map out
and record graffiti sites around
the city so the team can analyze the data and effectively
respond.
“Back in January of 2008
Mayor Joe Sinnott made an
announcement about the
task force and I wondered if
students could help,” Grabelski said, “Once I heard
this, I called Judge Carney and
o f f e r e d s t u d e n t i n vo l ve ment.”
After a meeting with
Carney discussing the potential
role students would play in
the force; the involvement
was approved by Mayor Sinnott.
“Graffiti is a hard problem
to deal with, but we’ve got to
start dealing with it and do the
best we can to stay out in front
of it and combat it” Sinnott
said.
With the force in place, it
was time to put the students
to work.
Taking into account the
amount of buildings vandalized, the square footage, specific
taggers and the community’s
perception of these crimes the
team can determine hotspots
around the city that would yield
the most positive results when
cleaned.
“We need good analysts to
help find solutions to this problem,” said Grabelski, “So far I
have had good help.”
Each term new students are
hired to intern with the team
and put their analytical skills
to work.
Grabelski said that this is a
long-term program he hopes to
see grow stronger.
“Cur rently we have two
undergraduate students and one
graduate student helping; there
may be more in the future,”
Grabelski said.
Junior Intelligence Studies
major Ryan Heise said that he
believes the program would
give students excellent field
experience and a feel for what
that type of work would consist of.
Also as a local resident,
Heise would like to see the
city cleaned up and put back in
better shape.
The first project was completed on March 20; removing graffiti on a wall near the
northeast corner of State Street
and the Bayfront Parkway.
“We have the equipment,
we have the knowledge and
we have the staff to be able to
Contributed photo
Graffiti can be seen all over the United States in both rural and urban areas. Mayor Joe
Sinnott wants to clean it up, starting with Erie.
Contributed photo
The city of Erie’s anti-graffiti squad is now active and helping to put an end on
vandalism found throughout the city.
take care of these problems to
be part of beautifying the city,”
task member Christopher Hitz
said. “We’re going to be doing
a lot more in the next couple
months.”
Several students outside of
the Intelligence Studies program feel that this is a great
opportunity to get involved and
make the community better as
a whole.
“When you walk across
campus and see graffiti on
benches and trash cans, you
wonder what is being done to
stop it,” said Sophomore Josh
Nordin. “Now Mercyhurst students are helping to clean up our
city and hopefully clean up our
campus next.”
“Nothing we do here is going
to stop graffiti; all you can do
is minimize it.” said Grabelski.
“This program is a win-win for
the city, state and college.”
With the experience and commitment from the Mercyhurst
community, major changes are
in our future.
NEWS
April 2, 2008
PAGE 7
Forensics ‘dead set’
on winning awards
By Sarah Gerard
Contributing writer
Contributed photo
The Career Services office, located in 201 Old Main, can help Mercyhurst College students
find a variety of different summer jobs.
Career Services helps
with summer jobs
By Javiera Cubillos
Staff writer
For incoming freshmen and
future sophomores, summer
will be a relaxing break from the
stress of college.
But for most juniors and
seniors, this is the time for
summer jobs and internships.
Elise Zigrossi, a junior majoring in Art Therapy, will be staying in Erie this summer.
She will be interning for
L’Arche, a community for mentally and physically handicapped
people, as a relief aid.
“I’m exited to finally be using
my school knowledge out in the
real world, I really feel like I’ll
make a difference in the Erie
community,” said Zigrossi.
Career service director, Bob
Hvezda, said that students usually do internships for college
credit but that it is also a great
learning experience.
“It looks great on a resume
and for them to market themselves to employers for full time
jobs as well as get one or several
letters of recommendation,”
said Hvezda.
Mercyhurst provides students
with a variety of ways to find
jobs and internships in different
majors as well as helping them
with their resumes.
Career Services has a bulletin
board outside of their office
in Main 201 where they post
summer jobs and several helpful
web pages.
There is also a binder in the
office that students can ask for
and review.
Mercyhurst also provides
students with the possibility to
be interns in the college.
There is usually an average
of 250 students from all majors
doing summer internships at
Mercyhurst.
“Over the last two years, Mercyhurst has had interns from 24
different states and five different
countries,” said Hvezda.
Some students rather intern
or work at home.
Junior Matt Campanelli, for
example, is going back home to
Elmira, NY for the summer.
He is a dual majoring in criminal justice and sociology and will
be working at the Elmira Water
Board. He will also be doing an
internship in the police depart-
ment of his town.
“I look forward to my internship this summer, it’ll be fun,”
said Campanelli.
International student Sebastian Thais will also be going
home this summer. He is a
junior majoring in Political Science and hopes to get a job in
his home country of Peru.
“I don’t have an internship
yet mainly because I am trying
to get one back home working
for a congressman, hopefully I’ll
get good news about that soon,”
said Thais.
Another possibility for
spending the summer is staying on-campus taking some
courses.
M e r c y h u r s t o f f e r s va r i ous summer sessions where
students can earn three credits
in three weeks or up to six
credits in six weeks.
This is a good option for students who are behind or want
to get ahead in their work in
order to alleviate the class load
of the school year.
Summer classes are demanding, but at the same time they
allow students to have free time
to enjoy the sun.
The applied forensic science
department has been receiving
recognition lately.
Dr. Steven Symes, an applied
forensic science professor, has
received the lifetime achievement
award and students have been
presenting papers at national
association meetings.
The undergraduate program
consists of four specialized concentrations which are forensic anthropology, criminalistics,
forensic wildlife investigation, and
forensic chemistry.
According to Dr. Dennis
Dirkmaat, department chair and
professor of applied forensic
sciences, there are 140 to 150
students in the undergraduate
program.
The program and curriculum
focus on presenting state-ofthe-art techniques in forensic
science and crime scene recovery
in the classroom while providing
a variety of practical, hands-on
opportunities both in the field
and in the laboratory.
A few advanced juniors and
seniors do have the opportunity
to work at actual crimes scenes
and all students gain experience
through classroom projects.
According to Dirkmaat, the
forensic and biological anthropology graduate program at
Mercyhurst College is the best in
the world. The graduate program
accepts about seven students in
the program each year.
Graduates will have the skills
needed to conduct search, documentation, and data recovery
exercises involving a variety of
outdoor, fire, and mass fatality
scenes as well as conduct preliminary analyses of human remains
recovered from a wide variety of
forensic scenes.
Many graduate students will be
presenting papers at the 77 annual
meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologist
in April and other students have
presented papers at the American
Association of Forensic Sciences
60 Anniversary Scientific Meeting
in February.
Krya Stull, graduate student in
the Masters of Science forensic
and biological anthropology
program. Stull said the best part
about the graduate program
at Mercyhurst is the hands on
experience.
The professors of the applied
forensic science department come
from a variety of backgrounds.
Dirkmaat received his doctorate in Anthropology at the
University of Pittsburgh and has
been a professor at Mercyhurst
since 1991 his specialization is
outdoor crime scenes.
He has worked on many plane
crash scenes in Pennsylvania and
elsewhere.
Symes has been a professor at
Mercyhurst since 2002.
He earned the prestigious
Thomas Dale Stewart Award for
lifetime achievement, the highest
honor offered by the Physical
Anthropology Section of the
American Academy of Forensic
Sciences (AAFS).
The award recognizes Symes’
enduring contributions to the
field of forensic anthropology
and a career marked by accurate,
detailed scholarship and remarkable productivity.
Symes is one of the country’s
leading experts on trauma to bone
and an authority on saw and knife
mark analysis.
Other professors in the department are Dr. Ousley and Luis
L. Cabo-Perez from Spain. Dr.
Ousley developed a computer
program that can determine
the sex and ancestry of skeletal
remains.
FEATURES
PAGE 8
April 2, 2008
THE LAKER
Spring Term
Galley Grill
Lunch:
M - Club Sandwich
T - Chicken Caesar
W - Chicken Quesadilla
Th - Breakfast for Lunch
F - Tuna Melt or Grilled
Portabella Sandwich
S - Sloppy Joe
Board Specials
Lunch $4.75
Dinner $5.50
Dinner:
S - Turkey Burger
M - General Tso’s Chicken over rice w/ broccoli
T - Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes and
veggies
W - Veal Parm over pasta
Th - Buffalo chicken sandwich
F - Fish Sandwich or Grilled Portabella
Sandwich
S - Pepperoni Pizza Sub
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-1:00 a.m.
Saturday
1:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
Sunday
5:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
Look for New Menu Items!
Mac & Cheese Bites
Black Bean Burger
New Salads:
Chicken BLT-Veggie(no cheese)-Spinach-Asian ChickenGreek-Caesar
Subconnection
6” Sub $3.75 Combo $4.75
12”Sub $5.75 Combo $6.75
Baja and Buffalo Chicken Subs:
6” Sub $4.00 Combo $5.25
12” Sub $6.00 Combo $ 7.00
Laker Express
Board Equivalency Available:
11:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Board Specials
Lunch $4.75
Dinner $5.50
Special Features
Wrap combo-Veggie $5.59
other wraps $5.79
‘Wrap It Yourself’- Veggie $3.99
other wraps $ 4.19
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Saturday
1:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sunday
5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Look for Laker Express
Minute Meals!
Hours of Operation:
Mon.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Friday
11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday Closed
pizzahut.ca/files/images/ChickenPomodoro
Pizza Hut is now offering pasta choices for delivery.
Pizza hut offers
pasta delivery
By Nicole McIntyre
Staff writer
In this fast-paced world, we
have seen time-saving adjustments taking place on a regular
basis.
Fast food chains and coffee
shops have implemented drivethru services, and many restaurants are now equipped with
curbside pick-up.
One can even have movies sent
to them via the United States
postal service.
All of these efforts have been
made to cater to the needs of the
average American with too much
to do during their day.
Recently Pizza Hut launched a
delivery service that goes above
and beyond pizza.
Many locations, including the
one on East 38th Street, have
altered their delivery services to
include new options.
Pizza Hut now offers pans
of pasta with bread sticks for
only $11.95 that are available
for delivery.
The pasta trays feed six people
and are available in marinara and
alfredo sauces.
This service will be helpful
for catering purposes as well as
effective in limiting gas use for
families who are trying to save
money.
Competitors say that they are
unimpressed with this idea, saying that Pizza Hut is trying to
convert into a restaurant rather
than a pizza shop. But others
have different opinions.
“Not only is this idea good for
when you are short on time,”
sophomore Conor McKenna
said, “it gives you a less greasy
alternative for a quick meal.”
A Pizza Hut representative
said that if the process is done
correctly, pasta could become 15
percent of the total sales.
FEATURES
April 2, 2008
PAGE 9
Celebs make presidential endorsements
By Carla Hart
Staff writer
Roll out the red carpet.
Hollywood has spoken and the
race to the White House is on.
With the 2008 presidential
election in the spotlight, celebrities are endorsing their favorite
political candidates.
While U.S. Senators Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama vie
for the Democratic nomination,
John McCain seems to hold the
ticket for the Republican Party.
Whether a celebrity’s support
will help or hinder a presidential
candidate remains to be seen.
Boston Red Sox picher Curt
Schilling’s endorsement for
McCain came early, as it did for
President George Bush in 2004.
Support from Barbara Streisand could help Clinton, while
Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement
may prove effective for Obama.
One never knows.
According to The Pew Research
Center for the People & the
Press, “69 percent of people
surveyed say political endorsements generally have little impact
on voter preferences.”
On the other hand, “nearly half
of the young people surveyed say
Oprah Winfrey’s opinion would
affect their vote choice.”
Mercyhurst College students
were asked if celebrity endorsements have the potential to sway
voter’s decision at the polls.
Senior Stacey Minchin said
there is a possibility for celebrity
impact.
“Seeing Oprah endorse Obama
could result in the ‘Oprah Effect,’
in which everything Winfrey is
involved in becomes a success
due to her popularity within the
public eye,” Minchin said. “It
is understandable for people to
consider all the factors including the celebrity endorsements
for each candidate, but when it
comes down to the polls, votes
should be cast based on what
you think of the candidates’
opinions in every issue, instead
of the money and stardom that
surrounds their campaign.”
As an aspiring journalist,
Minchen is accustomed to gathering all of the facts.
“Celebrity endorsements tend
to result in voting based on
popular opinion rather that on
research conducted,” she said.
Junior Ashley Brudy agreed
with Minchin.
“It is a good thing to get the
candidates noticed, but bad in
graphics8.nytimes.com
Oprah Winfrey is one of many celebrities who are endorsing their favorite candidates.
the fact that they are using Hollywood to get ahead in the game,”
said Brudy.
Brudy said she will not use
endorsements as a factor in her
decision for president.
“A celebrity could not gear my
decision a certain way, because
this is too much of an important
election for our country,” said
Brudy.
Mercyhurst College freshman
Justin Mando also agreed.
“People may go along with
their favorite star if they don’t
know enough about a candidate,”
said Mando.
Instead, Mando encourages
people to trust in themselves.
“A voter who is swayed may
not value or trust his or her own
opinions,” he explained.
Junior Linnea Larson said it is
important to focus on the real
issues and get all of the facts by
November.
“Not everybody chooses to go
along with celebrity opinion,”
said Larson. “My own personal
beliefs and morals will influence
my decision.”
It seems Mercyhurst students
will not be swayed despite celbrity involvement.
Along with research and reflection, they have education and
common sense to help them
choose the right candidate for
president in 2008.
Candidates and their celebrity support
Celebrity endorsements for
John McCain include:
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Sylvester Stallone
Tom Selleck
Burt Bacharach
John Ondrasik
Joe Eszterhas
Celebrity endorsements for
Barack Obama include:
Scarlett Johansson
Will Smith
Robert Deniro
Oprah Winfrey
Ben Affleck
Eddie Murphy
Maria Shriver
Hulk Hogan
Jennifer Aniston
Jackson Brown
Ben Stiller
Morgan Freeman
Tom Hanks
Tobey Maguire
George Clooney
Halle Berry
Leonardo DiCaprio
Matt Damon
Jamie Foxx
Stevie Wonder
Celebrity endorsements for
Hillary Clinton include:
Angelina Jolie
Danny De Vito
Hugh Hefner
Madonna
Eva Longoria
America Ferrara
Elton John
Jerry Springer
Martha Stewart
Barbara Streisand
Jack Nicholson
Rosie O’Donnell
Stephen Spielberg
hollywoodhiccups.blogspot.com
Arnold Schwarzenegger is backing John McCain.
FEATURES
PAGE 10
April 2, 2008
Clinton sticks to what works best
By Jen Gildea
Features editor
Contributed photo
Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits have been spoofed in the media.
As Sen. Hillary Clinton said
Tuesday night at her rally in the
Mercyhurst College Athletic
Center, “It took a Clinton to
clean up after the first Bush. It
will take another to clean up after
this one.”
Well, whether she gets the
presidential nomination or not,
Clinton sure does take “cleaning
up” seriously – in the fashion
sense, that is.
After being spoofed in the
media several times for continuously wearing pantsuits, Clinton’s
fashion sense has begun to
broaden, even if it’s just in the
use of color.
“The pantsuit is the definition
of leadership, experience, and
change,” said Kamyl Bazbaz,
Hillary Clinton’s Erie Press
Secretary. “Hillary is proud to
represent the pantsuit because it
challenges convention.”
At Tuesday night’s speech,
Clinton donned a familiar pantsuit, albeit a flattering one.
The bright pink color of the
single-breasted blazer highlighted her facial complexion,
leaving a glow that was only
more enhanced by her megawatt smile.
Instead of a dated look, Clinton appeared modern and contemporary.
The jacket was accentuated by
a slightly “popped” collar and a
nipped-in waist.
Paired with traditional black
dress slacks, the waist-length
blazer gave a very flattering and
lengthening silhouette.
By wearing straight-leg, but not
tapered, pants, Clinton created a
becoming shape and profile on a
woman who represents the average size of American women.
Simple, classic earrings and a
pink and black scarf topped off
the ensemble nicely.
The truth is, Hillary Clinton
is not a contestant in a beauty
pageant.
Perhaps what ought to be more
important than her day-to-day
outfits is for what her campaign
stands.
Bazbaz summed it up when it
comes to Clinton’s buzzed-about
wardrobe.
“I would hope that viewers
would vote based on policy, not
clothing,” he said.
Students create Earth Week projects from recycled materials
By Sandy Watro
Staff writer
The Green Team’s Earth Week,
which will be held April 14-18, is
titled Seeds, Soil and Soul.
Among other things, this year’s
Earth Week will be focused
on a reduce, reuse and recycle
theme.
In honor of the upcoming
Earth Week, students and staff
members of the Mercyhurst
community are creating clothing
and accessories out of recycled
materials.
Analida Braeger will head up
some of the activities of Earth
Week.
“The recycled and creative
nature of the items that will
be on display will illustrate the
theme,” she said. “Just as the soil
recycles itself year after year, so
do we as we recycle materials to
fashion them into new things.”
Sophomore fashion merchan-
dising major Marissa Stuart is
taking part in organizing and
contributing to the display case.
“I like the fact that I can take
something old and turn it into
something new,” Stuart said. “I
think the display will be really
interesting to visit and hopefully it will encourage others
to perhaps remake something
themselves.”
So far, contributions have been
fashioned out of items like old
T-shirts, fabric remnants from
the school’s sewing lab and even
newspapers.
Two surprising items found
in the exhibit include a paper
Mache bustier and a skirt made
out of old Merciad newspapers.
The display will also feature
a variety of recycled fashion
accessories.
Items already fashioned for the
display include a tote bag made
out of an old T-shirt and a LP
album-cover purse.
The accessory genre is one area
of fashion that has seen a major
increase in the area of recycled
materials.
Nike has created a basketball
shoe made almost completely of
Nike’s factory’s waste.
The shoe was created for Steve
Nash of the Phoenix Suns and is
called the Nike Trash Talk.
The outer portion of the shoe
is made from scraps of leather
found on the factory floor and
secured together by zig-zag
stitching.
The middle sole is comprised
of scrap-ground foam that once
was considered waste from the
production of other goods.
Accessories designer Eleanor
Salazar utilizes pool balls to
create one of kind rings and
bracelets.
Each ball she utilizes in her
designs was once used and each
piece of jewelry is hand crafted.
Due to this, it is not surprising
that her unique designs ring in at
a hefty price of $150.00 and up.
www.etsy.com
Eleanor Salazar creates rings from used pool balls.
All in all, one can deduct that
cultivating awareness on imperative issues like our environment
is necessary on a local level
and larger domestic or global
outreach.
On a grassroots level, Mer-
cyhurst students and staff are
positively contributing to raise
awareness on the crucial issue of
the health of our ecosystem.
Creations from the project will
be displayed in Zurn Hall April
10 to 16.
FEATURES
April 2, 2008
PAGE 11
Dancing vs. Idol: Who’s your favorite?
Features editor Jen Gildea introduces all the top contestants
The Top 9 contestants sing every Tuesday night on FOX.
Simon and Ryan are making nasty
jokes about each other, Paula is
rambling in an un-recognizable language and Randy is calling everyone
“dawg.”
Sounds like it’s Idol time again.
With the show’s cult-like following
among teens and adults alike, the contestants are catapulted into stardom
that some never expected.
But just who are these young people
with the talent to become tomorrow’s
newest superstar?
Brooke White, 24, is from Mesa,
Ariz., and has been dubbed “the next
Carly Simon” due to her raspy and
soulful voice.
San Diego resident Carly Smithson,
24, is native to Ireland. Her powerful
voice allows her to tackle songs from
artists like Mariah Carey and Whitney
Houston without missing a beat.
The youngest in the race for the top
is 17-year-old David Archuleta from
Murray, Utah. Picked as the winner by
Simon Cowell, David’s voice is so pure
and on pitch, even if he occasionally
forgets the lyrics.
David Cook, 25, from Blue Springs,
Mo., is the “rocker” of the group. His
americanidol.com
interesting and brave take on Michael
Jackson’s “Billie Jean” put him in the
race for the win.
Country crooner Kristy Lee Cook,
24, is from Selma, Ore. Although
being in the bottom three for several
weeks in a row, her chance to stay in
the competition relies on whether
or not she can diversify out of the
country music genre.
Twenty-year old Jason Castro, from
Rockwall, Texas, is the most mellow
contestant. From his dredlocked head
to his relaxed take on song choice, he
sails through every week.
Ramiele Malubay, 20, from Miramar,
Fla., may be playing shy when talking
in interviews. Her soft-spokeness is
completely forgotten when she belts
out her songs.
Michael Johns, 29, from Buckhead,
Ga., is the oldest contestant, but he’s
right in the running for the lead with
his bold song choice of Queen’s “We
are the Champions.”
Finally, 21-year-old Syesha Mercado,
from Sarasota, Fla., is among the
judges’ top picks. After battling bronchitis recently, she’s come back strong
to wow the judges and viewers.
abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars
Dancing with the Stars airs on Monday and Tuesdays on ABC.
Shaking booties and passionate
tangos comprise the other popular
reality show currently on TV.
Judged on creativity, personality and
actual talent, the celebs must continually push it to the max in an area where
most have little-to-no experience.
This season, contestants range from
young to old, tall to short and rhythmic
to clumsy.
Television and radio personality
Adam Carolla’s lack of dance expertise
has resulted in some harsh comments
from the judges, but his quick, witty
responses make viewers laugh.
Cristian de la Fuente is an international film star. Paired with two-time
winner Cheryl Burke, Cristian’s chance
of being a top contender is boosted.
“American Pie” alum Shannon
Elizabeth has shown decent talent this
season. Her physical physique gives
her flexibility and poise.
Steve Guttenberg is the oldest contestant on the show. After hitting it big
on TV and in the movies in the ‘80s,
he’s making a comeback as the most
cheerful, lovable contestant.
R&B singer Mario is a fan and judge
favorite due to his undeniable talent.
His youth, paired with smooth moves
get the crowd going each week.
Oscar winner Marlee Matlin brings
a whole new challenge to the dance
floor. As a deaf woman, she cannot
hear the music. Communicating
through sign language and with the
help of a translator, she’s still incredibly talented despite her disability.
Legend Priscilla Presley is stepping out of her usually quiet life as a
surprising contestant. The widow of
Elvis is honing in on her sultry side to
produce quite a tango.
Jason Taylor is NFL’s man of the
year, but on the dance floor, many
were worried about his height. Surprisingly, his moves aren’t too shabby
and fans swoon over his bald head.
Marissa Jaret Winokur is best known
for playing the lead role in Broadway’s
Hairspray. Despite being the only
plus-size contestant, her bubbly
personality and never-ending smile
outshine every performance.
Finally, Olympic champion figure
skater Kristi Yamaguchi is the leading
female among the judges and viewers.
Skating has given her a natural advantage to moving with the music.
FEATURES
PAGE 12
April 2, 2008
Food Fix
I
With Meg
ERI
Contributing photo
Wings and more are hits at Eli’s House of Wings.
‘Crunch’ on Eli’s House of Wings
By Shelley Turk
Staff writer
Chicken wing lovers unite at
Eli’s House of Wings located at
1002 West 26th Street.
This corner bar is home to 57
flavors of wings with attitude
and many more dinner items.
Owners Mighty Mike Maggio
and Randy Crawford have been
serving up huge chicken wings
with expert flavor.
Favorite flavors range from
Honey BBQ to Cajun Parmesan Jerk.
Cranch, another favorite,
mixes Cajun spices and ranch
sauces to create a fun, new
flavor.
Along with the original flavors, any wings can be made
extra special with dry seasonings sprinkled on top for an
extra kick and layer of taste.
There is a minimum order of
eight wings at a cost of $.50
per wing.
On Mondays, stop by for $.35
wings in-house only.
Crisp veggies and bleu cheese
or ranch can be ordered on the
side to accompany your order.
For those ladies that have a
boyfriend who can dominate
30 wings in one sitting, don’t
worry; wings aren’t the only
items on the menu.
Munch on appetizers like
deep-fried pickles or French
fries and waffle fries with your
choice of seasoning.
Chicken sandwiches and
several burger styles are also
available, ranging from $3.25
to $5.50.
A word to the wise if you’re
looking for a quick stop to get
wings: This is not the place for
ultra-quick service unless you
have called ahead your order.
Appetizers and fries will
come out before your order
of wings, which take about 30
minutes or more.
Stomachs may growl for a
few minutes, but believe me, it
is worth it.
Kitchen hours are Monday
through Saturday from 4:30
p.m. to 12 a.m., and the bar is
open until 2 a.m.
Get to know...
Zach Pekor
Name: Zach Pekor
Year: Junior
Major: Environmental Intelligence Studies
Hometown: Plum Borough, Pa.
Favorite thing about Mercyhurst: The really awesome
people and friends I have made
Least favorite thing: The endless amounts of snow and
rain
Campus activities: MSG, Tri-Beta, Ambassadors, RA,
Student-Run Musical, Green Energy Review Board
Anything else interesting about you: I am in Urban
Dictionary; look it up. I hope I become a household name.
There are a lot of restaurants
now that serve gourmet-style
sandwiches but they often cost
a lot, especially when you are on
a college student’s budget.
So I am offering you a recipe
for a fancy Panini-style sandwich that you can easily make
at home.
There are a lot of ways that
you could vary this recipe to fit
what you have around the house,
as well as to what will fit in your
budget.
My favorite additions to this
sandwich is cranberry jelly and
leftover stuffing; it tastes just
like Thanksgiving dinner on a
sandwich.
You can put anything in the
sandwich, including vegetables
for any vegetarians.
It is so quick and easy to make
and at much lower cost than going to a fancy sandwich place.
-Meghan Dolney
Turkey Panini
Ingredients
2 slices Italian bread
Shaved turkey (as desired)
2 slices tomato
Lettuce
2 slices cheddar cheese
Italian dressing
Butter
Directions
1.) Assemble as a normal sandwich,
and butter the outside of the bread.
2.) If you would like, add seasonings to the outside of the bread for
extra flavor.
3.) Grill the panini in a hot skillet
until the cheese is melted and the
sandwich is heated through.
4.) Serve with a hot bowl of soup or
a salad, or another favorite side dish.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
April 2, 2008
tHe
BuZz
MARCH 3. Dolly Parton. Benedum Center,
Pittsburgh.
MARCH 3-9. Dancing
Queen. Fallsview Casino
Resort, Niagara Falls,
Ont.
M A RC H 3 . D i o n n e
Warwick. Seneca Events
Center, Seneca Niagara
Casino, Niagara Falls,
N.Y.
MARCH 4. Down. Town
Ballroom, Buffalo.
MARCH 4. The Hush
Sound. Mr. Smalls Theatre, Millvale.
MARCH 5. Bon Jovi,
Daughtry. Mellon Arena,
Pittsburgh.
MARCH 5. Henry Rollins. Rex Theatre, Pittsburgh.
MARCH 7. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street
Band. HSBC Arena, Buffalo.
MARCH 7. Adrian Belew
Trio. Beachland Ballroom,
Cleveland.
MARCH 8. Bob Mould
Band. Grog Shop, Cleveland.
MARCH 8. Disney’s
“High School Musical:
The Ice Tour.” Mellon
Arena, Pittsburgh.
Courtesy of Goerie.com
PAGE 13
American classic ‘Streetcar’ to hit Taylor Little
By Mason Lorek
Staff writer
The curtain is about to go up
on a classic.
Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” is a Pulitzer
Prize-Winning play. It also won
the New York Drama Critic’s
Award for Best Play and is an
integral part of American literature.
The play takes place in New
Orleans and highlights the characters’ struggle for happiness
and sanity in an atmosphere of
aggressive love and violence.
Former Erie Playhouse director David Matthews is directing
this Mercyhurst College production of “Streetcat.”
Williams is Matthews’ favorite
playwright and has directed all of
his major works.
“I love this [play] the best. I
thought it would be a real challenge to the actors and the audi-
ence,” said Matthews.
While the play is a classic
Matthews feels the themes have
lasting relevance.
“Even though the play is
60- plus years old, it speaks to
today’s generation, I feel,” Matthews said.
Junior Megan Farber is eager
to see the play.
“I’m excited to see something
on campus that is a classic and a
little more relatable than Shakespeare,” Farber said.
Junior Randy Tucker agrees.“I
think it’s cool to see my peers
on stage and being familiar with
the play will make it that much
better,” Tucker said.
Senior Joe Zamora is playing the famous role of Stanley
Kowalski.
“I couldn’t have picked a
better play to be my last show at
Mercyhurst. I’m glad I got this
opportunity,” Zamora said.
Senior Jessica Hudack will portray the tragic character of the
Contributed photo
Junior Amanda Valauri and senior Joe Zamora with sophomore Jessica Hudack, right, in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire.’
troubled sister, Blanche Dubois.
“This show is definitely a challenging experience. There was so
much work to be done in such
a short time and it really flew,”
Hudack said.
Junior Amanda Valauri is also
excited for the show and will play
Stella Kwalski.
This has been my favorite play
since I read it in high school. I’m
thrilled that I got to actually be in
it,”Valauri said. “There is a lot of
action in the play which makes it
fun to perform.”
The play will come to life from
Thursday, April 3 to Sunday,
April 6 at 7:30 p.m. and the
Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. in
Taylor Little Theatre.
Tickets are for sale at the
door.
Panic at the Disco album: ‘Pretty Odd’ indeed
By Greg Summy
Staff writer
Apparently the fall of 2007
occurs in late March of 2008. At
least that is the impression Panic
at the Disco (PATD) has.
Their too long awaited sophomore record was slated for a
release date in the fall of last
year. Alternative Press took
that projection to the bank by
putting the new album on their
Most Anticipated Albums of
2007 list.
Well finally the Las Vegas boys
decided it was finally time to continue their stint in the music business and actually release a new
album. “Pretty. Odd.” hit store
shelves and online music databases on March 25, making the
gap between their debut album
“A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out”
and the overly anticipated new
album two-and-a-half years.
While fans were stuck singing along to the painfully radiofriendly hits off “Fever,” the
band was supposedly busy writing their new record. After a few
headlining tours and a brief visit
to Europe, the band seemed to
get their act together and wrote
the 15-track album.
The band also decided to
overhaul the sound so many
fell in love with in 2005. The
new record relies not on studio
production and massive amounts
of electronic effects, but on real
instruments and actual performance.
The songs still maintain
a dance-pop feel to them as
“Fever” made famous, but the
band takes their sound and
regresses to early influences of
The Beatles, ragtime and bigband jazz ensembles.
The first single off the new
album, “Nine in the Afternoon,”
was released on the band’s
MySpace page and iTunes on
Jan.28. PATD’s new musical
direction will no doubt change
the demographics of the listeners. With influences your parents
grew up on and still love, they
will probably take a liking to the
new Panic at the Disco.
Musically the album is astronomically better than “A Fever
You Can’t Sweat Out,” both in
arrangement and performance.
The band learned that electronic
simulations of instruments never
sound as good as the instruments
themselves, and enlisted the help
of studio musicians to play
everything from trumpets to
accordions.
The 20-something yearolds in the band chose Danny
Elfman to produce “Pretty.
Odd.” Elfman, a Grammy and
Emmy award winner, mixed
the album at the famous Abbey
Road Studios where bands like
The Beatles, Pink Floyd and U2
recorded some of their defining
records.
The record sounds as if it
is torn between two eras; the
modern era of experimental rock, and the classic era of
simple song structure and thin,
flat sounds.
Thanks to the help of Elfman,
Panic at the Disco managed to
seamlessly blend the two vastly
different eras into one solid
sound.
Considering “Pretty. Odd”
took over two years to write
and produce, the quality of the
album is very lack luster.
It feels as if the band forgot
about their contract and had to
quickly write a record in a few
months.
Overall the album is disappointingly mediocre.
PAGE 14
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
April 2, 2008
‘Control,’ biopic film on Ian Curtis to show at PAC
By Mason Lorek
Staff writer
This week’s film is one that
I’ve been looking forward to
since I learned that it was scheduled to be shown. It didn’t get
the attention that “Atonement”
and “No Country For Old Men”
did but, given the subject of the
movie, anonymity is fitting.
The film is called “Control”
and is a biopic on the life of Joy
Division singer Ian Curtis. Based
on the book “Touching From a
Distance,” written by Curtis’ wife
Deborah, shows the sad, introverted teenager that was, according to Bono, the best frontman in
rock until his suicide at 23.
Roger Ebert gives the following synopsis.
“The movie is quietly, superbly
photographed and acted. It is in
black and white and gray, of
course, and we sense Ian was a
man who dreamed in shadows,
not colors. He is played by Sam
Riley, who makes him seem
always alone.”
There is a lot of performance
footage, but Riley sees Ian not
so much performing as functioning.
His bandmates sometimes
look at him with that inward
expression people get when they
wonder if they have enough gas
to get to the next gas station.”
Much of the film focuses on
Curtis’ affair with Belgian journalist Annik Honore.
As in the book, this is shown
as an example of one of Ian’s
enablers and Ebert speculates
that love didn’t so much mean
what he felt for a woman, but
what she felt for him.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone
agrees with Ebert: “Shot with a
poet’s eye in a harshly stunning
black-and-white, who cuts to
the soul of Ian’s life and music.
You don’t watch this movie, you
live it.”
Control will be shown at
the PAC at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Wednesday, April 2. Tickets are
free for students with an ID.
PAC photo
‘Control’ is based on ‘Touching From a Distance.’
Mercyhurst Performing Arts Center to broadcast opera ‘La Boheme’
By Jordan Zangaro
Staff writer
Observe the beauty and
power of the Metropolitan
Opera at The Mary D’Angelo
Performing Arts Center continuing with one of the world’s
most famous operas, “La
Bohème.”
Told through the eyes of a
group of young bohemians,
La Bohème is often referred
to as the quintessential opera
of romance and tragedy. This
famed story of love, loss and
survival has gone on to inspire
many productions, including
Jonathon Larson’s modern-day
musical Rent.
Set in the slums of Paris,
painter and poet Marcello and
Rodolfo, roommates and best
friends, try to keep warm the
only way possible by burning
pages from Rodolfo’s latest
drama.
Their friends Colline, a young
philosopher, and Schaunard, a
musician, also struggle to survive. To all of their wonderful
surprise, Schaunard has landed
a job and brings food, fuel and
funds to add to the warmth and
help survive this bitter winter.
While trying to celebrate
their unexpected fortune, the
landlord, Benoit, arrives to
collect the rent, which they do
not have. Showing no respect
for Benoit they mock him, and
then throw him out.
The friends depart with
hope to continue their celebration at the nearby Café Momus.
Rodolfo stays behind but promises to join them soon.
There is another sudden
knock: their neighbor, Mimì,
says her candle has gone out on
the drafty stairs and she appears
faint and shivering.
Offering her wine, Rodolfo
relights her candle and helps
her to the door. Mimì realizes
she has dropped her key, and
as the two search for it, both
candles are blown out. In
the moonlight the poet takes
the girl’s shivering hand, telling
her his dreams. From there,
the romantic tragedy begins
to unfold.
Mercyhurst College joins
over 600 venues in 13 countries
across the world in broadcasting this iconic production.
The broadcast is made possible by a dozen of strategicallyplaced cameras offer brilliant
close-ups.
The close-ups reveal the
details of costumes and facial
gestures, and capture sweeping wide angles of dance and
panoramic spectacle.
“La Bohème” will broadcast
on Saturday, April 5 at 1:30 p.m.
Student tickets are $15.
Lake Erie Ballet Company presents 50th anniversary gala
By Sarah Mastrocola
Staff writer
Lake Erie Ballet (LEB), a
small professional ballet company composed of Mercyhurst
dancers, presents its 50th anniversary gala performance.
The performance consists of
several works that will be danced
by the LEB company members.
“Concerto for Two Violins,”
choreographed by LEB artistic-
director Lesley Bories-Scalise,
is a ballet in three movements
that somewhat mimics the Balanchine style.
Another piece, created by
Alethea Bodine, is a more contemporary ballet on pointe.
The creation process for this
piece also involved collaboration between the dancers and
Bodine, as the dancers offered
choreographic input.
Mercyhurst College dance
instructor Michael Gleason has
also choreographed a piece for
the gala, titled “Suite Romantique.” This work is a Romanticstyle ballet with opening and
finale, variations, duets, trios,
and pas de deux. SoMar, the
Erie-based modern dance company directed by Mercyhurst
professors Mark and Solveig
Santillano, will also present two
works at the LEB gala.
Mercyhurst student and LEB
company member Lauren Stenroos said, “The show should be
very diverse and exciting, featuring many different styles of
pointe work.”
“It will also be a nice experience for the Mercyhurst dancers,
who through this performance
will get the chance to perform in
the Erie community in a venue
outside the Mercyhurst Dance
Department.”
The 50th anniversary gala performance is on Saturday, April
5 at 7 p.m. at Villa Maria High
School, located on 2403 W. 8
Street.Prior to the performance,
there will also be an “Informance” reception at 6 p.m.,
during which portions of dance
works will be shown and the
public may talk to the dancers
and choreographers. Refreshments will also be served until
7 p.m.
Tickets for the LEB performance cost $15 for adults and
$10 for students and seniors
and may be purchased by calling
814-871-4356 ext. 101.
April 2, 2008
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
PAGE 15
Behrend hosts alternative rockers Third Eye Blind
By Kyle King
Contributing writer
I thought it was a pretty original decorative idea this fall when
I decided to forego the usual
purchasing of “Scarface” posters and sports heroes to line
the walls of the bedroom in my
apartment.
Instead I decided to cut up
most of the liner notes from my
CDs and paste them up around
my bed and desk.
I kept most of the sheets from
each band together: REM and
Ben Folds (with or without the
Five) around the dresser; Matchbox Twenty and Train alongside
my bed and Dave Matthews
(solo and with DMB) above my
computer.
However, that did leave one
privileged position remaining.
What would go on the door leading into the room?
My choice was Third Eye
Blind, the only band I saw live
in concert this summer.
They played a venue called
Newport Music Hall, adjacent
to the campus of The Ohio
State University in Columbus.
It’s also the first place U2 played
in the States.
It was a total of 10 hours
driving for me and three of my
friends from back home, but it
was well worth it.
The San Francisco alt rockers made it big in the late ‘90s
with a number of hits off their
eponymous first album, including “Losing a Whole Year,”
“Graduate,” “Jumper,” “How’s
It Going to Be,” and “SemiCharmed Life.”
Their next album, “Blue,” did
modestly well and includes a few
songs that still get some radio
play, “Never Let You Go” and
“Deep Inside of You.”
Their third album, “Out of the
Vein,” was a commercial flop ,as
Elektra Records crumbled and
the band received little PR.
However the album still had
quite a few worthwhile songs,
including “Faster,” “Blinded,”
“Crystal Baller” and the bonus
track, “Another Life.”
Recently they released “A
Collection” through Rhino
Records that includes all of
their hits and some other less
well-known tracks—“My Life in
Exile” (originally only a Japanese
release), “Tattoo of the Sun” (a
never-before released single) and
“Motorcycle Drive-By,” many
hardcore Third Eye Blind fans’
favorite song.
This is all important for only
two reasons: first, Third Eye Blind
is coming to Penn State Behrend
this Friday, April 4 at 8 p.m.
Doors open at 7p.m., and
there is also an opening act yet to
be announced. Tickets are $20
and can be obtained by following
this link: http://www.erie.psu.
edu/NewsCal/news2008/feb3eb.htm.
Secondly, the band is planning
on a new studio release sometime this summer named after a
C.S. Lewis novel, “The Hideous
Strength,” which means that the
show this weekend could be an
opportunity to hear some new
songs before they get released,
in addition to all their hits.
The band is really electric
on-stage. Stephen Jenkins, the
front-man, is wildly charismatic
and entertaining.
Leo Kremer has recently
become a full-time member of
the band, taking on the bassist
role due to the personal drugand-alcohol demons Arion Salazar has been going.
Tony Fredianelli also plays
drums and does some back-up
vocals, and drummer Brad Hargreaves really holds down the
beats admirably well. He can play
a mean solo, too.
3eb functioned really well
in the low-key, 1500-person
former-ballroom where I saw
them.
At one point they brought out
a couch and bongos in order to
convey to the crowd the process
by which some of their songs are
created, and kept the crowd into
it, allowing them to sing choruses
to some of their major hits.
They played an encore that
included “God of Wine” and
“Slow Motion,” a song released
only as a beautiful piano instrumental on “Blue” but with the
disquieting lyrics on “A Collection.”
It acts as a satire on the hiphop image creation from which
millions of inner-city lives are
lost while corporations and
individuals profit mercilessly,
and the crowd was chanting for
it between songs within six songs
into their set list.
Spiritually enriching African-American groups to electrify PAC
By Jordan Zangaro
Staff writer
Blues, folk and gospel collide
when Grammy nominee Eric
Bibb, The Campbell Brothers
and Erie’s own Martin Luther
King, Jr. Gospel Choir take the
stage for an electrifying evening at the Mary D’Angelo Arts
Center of Mercyhurst College
The godson of Paul Robeson, the nephew of John Lewis
and the son of Leon Bibb, Eric
Bibb grew up in the New York
City folk scene of the 1950s and
60s.
Given his first steel-string
guitar at age seven, Bibb was
born into what he calls “a magical world that he never left.”
Influenced by the sounds of his
father and family friends such
as Bob Dylan Odetta and Joan
Baez, Bibb recounts that “there
was nothing more alluring than
actually playing and singing”
and decided to turn his passion
into a career.
Nearly four decades later,
Bibb has performed in more
than 130 shows across three
continents and has recorded an
astonishing 15 albums.
Bibb’s live performances are
truly an enriching experience,
both musically and spiritually.
With his soulful and gospelinfused style, Bibb has brought
what the Dayton Daily News
calls “grace, elegance and gentleness” to the stages of such
legendary events as the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, Australia’s Port Fairy Folk Festival and
Canada’s Edmonton Folk Festival and to venues such as the BB
King Blues Club in New York
City.
Bibb and Company will take
the stage on Friday, April 4, at
8 p.m.
Bibb will also provide a
unique experience for English
majors in Dr. Brian Reed’s African-American Literature class
on Friday, April 4 at 11:30 p.m.
to discuss his experience as an
African American singer/song
writer.
Following Bibb is a soulful
group that get your heart beating and your hands clapping.
The Campbell Brothers
have performed for thousands
of fans in venues across the
world including the Kennedy
Center, the Hollywood Bowl
and at events such as the annual
Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn, which
represents the who’s who in the
music world.
The steel guitar-wielding
gospel group emerged from the
African-American
HolinessPentecostal Church, where they
have been an integral part of
worship for more than 60 years.
The Campbell Brothers have
brought the soul-stirring sounds
of what is known as the “Sacred
Steel” repertoire to concert halls
and festivals around the world.
Playing to these audiences has
allowed The Campbell Brothers
to share their music with both
the devoted and rocking.
Included in the group, which
has been playing together for
nearly two decades, are pedal
steel guitarist Chuck Campbell
and his lap steel guitar-playing
brother, Darick.
Noted as two of the finest in
this tradition, Chuck and Darick
Campbell have earned critical
acclaim, leading Andy Grigg of
Real Blues to praise Chuck as
“the Jimi Hendrix of the steel
guitar.”
Making up the high-energy
rhythm section of the group
are brother Phil Campbell on
electric guitar, his son Carlton
on drums and bassist Malcolm
Kirby.
To finish the evening, Bibb
will return to the stage to play
with The Campbell Brothers and Erie’s own 50-member
Martin Luther King, Jr. Gospel
Choir for a performance that is
sure to blow the roof off the
Mary D’Angelo Performing
Arts Center.
For information or tickets
about Friday night’s show, call
the Mary D’Angelo Performing
Arts Center box office at 8243000.
Tickets for Mercyhurst students are $10 with a Student
ID.
OPINION
PAGE 16
April 2, 2008
Bad religion: ‘Jesus Camp’ is extreme
By Ellen
Koenig
Staff writer
This past weekend I had the,
we’ll say the experience, of
watching the A & E documentary called “Jesus Camp.”
While slightly disturbed I was
also happy for people who have
found reasoning in religion.
The documentary centered on
a pentecostal camp, evangelical
in nature, for children in North
Dakota.
The video showed children
proclaiming themselves to God
and to Jesus Christ.
At one point, the youth are
bowling and the girl, Ruth, is
praying that she gets a strike as
she rolls the ball down the lane.
Praying, speaking or reflecting to
whatever higher power you may
claim, is a deeply spiritual and
personal ritual.
As I watched the film, I could
not help but think these kids are
making out wish lists for Jesus.
The basis of the mission is to
maintain America as a Christian
country.
The youth pastor that is a
character in the film goes on to
justify the targeting of Christian
children because she explained
that children of different faiths,
i.e. Islam, also target their youth
for extremism and dedication.
As such, any message that is
instilled in children before eight
years of age is likely to stay with
them for most of their lives.
This is true in our own culture.
Many people at this college
were raised Catholic or some
other Christian denomination.
In many of these churches,
children are not given the chance
to decide.
Through baptism, churches
are able to ensure their numbers
practically at birth.
With regard to the Catholic
Church, the Pope is supposed to
visit the U.S. for the first time at
the end of April.
Thus, there had been concern
over Catholic colleges hosting
Presidential candidates.
Mercyhurst was fortunate
enough to host Hillary yesterday
and overall serve the community
by allowing people to see a candidate face-to-face.
Colleges should be allowed to
make their own decisions regardless of what the Pope says.
Yes, we all believe in the same
doctrine, but students are trained
to be independent thinkers and
resolve their own political ideals.
By the time students arrive at
college, it is more than likely their
core values have already been
instilled since youth.
If Catholic-affiliated colleges
are not allowed to diversify their
guests and host people with different ideals, we can only hope to
further the Evangelists’ mission
of a polarized Christian state.
Marriage not necessarily key for successful women
By Michelle
LaSlavic
Staff writer
As I walked into my apartment
today, my roommate attacked
me with a sarcastic smirk and
some new information that sent
me on a slight vent session.
She informed me of some
good luck that had just been
bestowed on one of my exes
in the job department. She
informed me how I could have
had all of my dreams come true
and would never have had to
work again had I made different
decisions in my life.
To that comment, I responded
with “Why do I need a guy with
a good job to get everything
I’ve ever wanted?” Is our society really still that backward that
we, deep down, still think that
women need men to be financially secure?
I am not trying to sound like
a feminist who puts down guys
or knocks down dreams of
being a professional housewife,
but seriously, I just spent close
to four years of my life working my butt off so that when
I graduate I could have a good
job and be successful.
I’m pretty sure my parents
didn’t send me to school and
pay thousands of dollars each
year for me just to find a husband.
I mean, I don’t think that they
would mind that either, but it is
not the only reason I am here.
In this day and age, I thought
we were growing away from the
idea that women can’t support
themselves. To be honest, and
I know how it goes, “to each
their own,” but I can’t stand
the idea of women going to
college, dreaming of having a
career and being successful just
to blow it off and throw it all
away because they want to get
married.
Don’t get me wrong, I would
love to get married eventually,
but not for one second do I ever
think that I need to in order to
get the things that I want in life.
And, with all of the opportunities out there today, I don’t
think any girl ever should.
Demand that student newspaper play ‘vital role’
It is the considered view of
the Philosophy department that
paid political advertisements
appearing in the Merciad ought
to be permitted.
Any policy on this issue must
take into account the college’s
core values.
Among these values are
global responsibility, intellectual
creativity and reflective awareness. These values are promoted
by political advertisements,
which motivate our students to
become more involved in the
duties of citizenship and more
interested and informed regarding the issues of the day.
Our College’s fundamental commitment to promoting
intellectual inquiry and critical
reflection demands that our student newspaper be allowed to
play a vital role in that project.
We understand the need for
the Merciad to exercise a mea-
sure of editorial control and
judgment about advertising and
its content.
To that end, the editors of the
Merciad might consider the creation of a review board which
could advise them on potentially
inappropriate advertising.
But we feel that a blanket
policy prohibiting ads of a
political nature has the effect of
both suppressing political content and of depriving our com-
munity, whose primary purpose
is education, from the pedagogic opportunity of critically
examining candidate positions
on today’s vital issues.
Dr. Ludlow Brown, professor of philosophy
Dr. Thomas Donahue, associate professor of philosophy
Dr. James Snyder, associate
professor of philosophy
Dr. Kevin Sullivan, associate
professor of philosophy
The Good,
the Bad &
the Ugly
The Good
March is going out like
a lion, which means April
should come in like a lamb:
Hello spring!
Hillary Clinton’s rally
has drawn support of the
local community as well as
national news coverage.
March Madness may be
almost over, but opening day of baseball has
passed, leaving sports fans
satisfied.
The Bad
The REC, among many
other facilities, were inaccessible for an entire day
due to Hillary Clinton’s
visit.
We have to wait until
next week for the nice
weather to kick in, unfortunately.
The Ugly
Seniors, if you want a
“big kid” job but are still
without one, you officially
have less than 50 days to
secure one.
One of the gates near
Egan Hall that blocks off
the semi-circle drive, seems
to have been the victim of
a hit-and-run because it is
all smashed up.
Please e-mail any suggetions to
opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu.
The GB&U is a compilation of
student opinions.
OPINION
April 2, 2008
PAGE 17
Hillary has arrived to impress Erie but not Democratic Party
By Bill
Swafford
Staff writer
The Pennsylvania Democratic
primaries are in full swing as the
Mercyhurst College community
hosts New York Senator Hillary
Clinton.
As this interesting campaign
unfolds, it is coming down to the
wire for the Democratic nomination.
Clinton initially set out to
prove to the world that she had
the ability to be the first female
president.
However, quickly after she
announced her intention to run
for office, the first black man
with the ability to win the presidential nomination announced
his intent to run.
The heated race began and
with time, turned into a twocamp race for the nomination
between Sen. Barack Obama and
Clinton.
With time, the Clinton camp
saw the retreat of large endorsements and even the turn of close
Bill Clinton supporters to the
Obama camp.
So why is a highly educated,
hard-working woman failing to
gain the votes needed to receive
the nomination?
One might say it could be
her failed healthcare programs,
inability to focus externally on
the issues that plague America’s
security or the failure to follow in
the steps of her once-successful
husband.
Her failure to stand by her
decision to invade Iraq and yielding support of the troops, equipment and benefits they require
adds to her list of downfalls.
I can only think as to what
Hillary Clinton would do if
she was faced with being a uniformed member of the Armed
Services.
Clinton has failed to gain what
are traditionally Democrats’
stomping grounds, the young
vote, the black vote, the blue
collar vote and even those who
oppose the War in Iraq.
She has also failed to keep her
platform in one piece. Obama is
now dominating the female vote,
has picked up the labor unions
and still clings onto the AfricanAmerican vote.
Maybe Americans are mature
enough to refuse to vote solely
on the principle of gender or
race and are haunted by Sen.
Clinton’s past track record in
Washington.
As a registered Republican, I
can sit in humor as I watch the
Democrats destroy their almost
guaranteed slot to the White
House due to eight years of
GOP control.
Clinton might have had a
chance against John Edwards,
but the gender card only carries
so far above the actual ability
to run a country that is at war,
has a failing housing market and
immanent recession.
Clinton might also have the
ability to show up to Mercyhurst
College and impress Erie voters
and possibly win the state, but
her ability to win the Democratic
nomination is a presumed failure.
Her speeches are false and
are based solely on aspiration to
become the next U.S. president.
Her fake compassion and
inability to describe changes
that are attainable can make the
American public run further
Hillary lies: Wal-Mart stock crucial income
By Jerrod
Markle
Staff writer
It was hard for me to stand
in line for three hours Tuesday
with hope that I would get to
ask Senator Hillary Clinton a
question.
It became even harder to hold
back from directly addressing her during her speech, as
people cheered and hung on
her every word.
It is disappointing that our
college can fill support for Hillary when she is obviously a
hypocrite.
She spoke a lot about jobs
and bringing jobs to the poor,
when she represents topics
such as Wal-Mart, Rupert Murdoch and the Council of Foreign Relations.
Hillary sat on the board of
Wal-Mart in 1986, when she
was First Lady of Arkansas. In
May 1992, as Bill’s presidential campaign heated up, she
resigned from the board of
Wal-Mart.
According to reports in the
early ‘90s, before Bill and Hillary moved to D.C., neither
was raking in the big bucks,
but prominent in their income
were her holdings of between
$50,000 and $100,000 worth of
Wal-Mart stock.
It’s hard for me to believe
anything she says, especially with the fact that she is
extremely wealthy but claims to
represent and help the poor.
Hillary also did not mention Peter Paul, who threw a
fundraising Hollywood gala for
the Clintons on Aug. 12, 2000.
The Clintons then denied their
friendship with Paul, who personally contributed 1.2 million
dollars to Hillary’s Senate campaign.
Hillary did not document
this donation nor did she
acknowledge that she knew
about his contributions, even
though there is video footage
and phone call contradicting
her denial.
These actions, my friends, are
indeed fraud and she should be
held accountable, not cheered
and applauded by our students,
who apparently were unaware
of these facts.
My support for Hillary dwindles even more when you find
out that she is supported by
Fox News head Rupert Murdoch.
More connected to the globalist society than all these
sign-wavers care to know, she
gave a congratulatory speech to
Walter Cronkite on behalf of
the World Federalist Association.
In this speech she thanked
Cronkite for his dedication and
service toward World Government.
This is the very man that is
quoted as saying, “Our task
is not to tell the truth; we are
opinion molders.”
Maybe knowing these types
of facts about her past make
me biased in regards to her blatantly hypocritical rallying calls
of revolution as she has been
serving selfish, greedy, powerhungry and globalist motives
since she had the opportunity.
I guess it works better for her
campaign when she can dictate
policy to her following sheep
from her state of inflated selfworth and dementia.
This way she will never have
to answer questions from an
aware, concerned public that
would potentially degrade her
campaign that so much money
has gone to instead of it going
to the people she claims to represent.
away from her camp.
Clinton’s speech last night at
Mercyhurst can only make the
mind wonder how hard it can
be to change a town name in the
midst of her public address.
She speaks for most politicians who seek to relate with the
common person in which she
has never seen.
However, I am now sure that if
she was faced with a major crisis,
she would do as she did with
her husband’s infidelity, remain
speechless in times of crisis.
Thanks to Senator Clinton
today, I was faced with seeing
hippies in front of my beloved
college, no parking and was not
able to work out.
I hope soon the nomination
will be secured so America can
push forward with the true question as to who will lead the U.S.
toward success in 2009.
Take a Facebook
break.
Catch up on
news that isn’t
featured on your
Mini-Feed.
See photos that
say more than
“I’m with stupid.”
Avoid unsolicited
application
invitations.
merciad.
mercyhurst.edu
OPINION
PAGE 18
April 2, 2008
Students left by the wayside at Clinton rally
By Kyle Scully
Contributing writer
Tuesday, April 1, 2008, Mercyhurst College hosted Senator Hillary Clinton, presidential
hopeful.
However, there is more controversy surrounding the visit
than the potential for our school
to be seen as a Clinton supporting institution. Poor planning
and religious controversy also
plagued this event.
In poor planning and without
consideration of the students,
Mercyhurst College neglected
to create a student section in
the Mercyhurst Athletic Center
where Clinton spoke. Instead,
students were expected to stand
in line for an event sponsored by
their college, even if that meant
skipping class or other obligations.
Where do the school’s priorities lie? I understand by offering
the opportunity to the community to attend Sen. Clinton’s
speech we are providing them
with a service but what about the
students?
Mercyhurst’s first responsibility should be to provide this
opportunity to its students. Historically, other universities and
colleges who hosted presidential
events, like debates and speeches,
have provided more than adequate student-reserved seating.
This allows students to
attend classes and other obligations without jeopardizing
their opportunity to listen to a
candidate speak. Mercyhurst’s
failure to provide students with
such seating leads me to believe
that this event was not for the
academic enrichment of its students, but rather for the community and the PR; Mercyhurst
students were just a well-articulated afterthought.
In response to the Clinton
event, Erie Catholic Bishop
Donald W. Trautman voiced his
“disappointment” with Mercyhurst. He claims that the school
is drifting away from its Catholic
identity by allowing a candidate
who supports pro-choice policy
to speak.
Yes, Mercyhurst College is
a school founded on Catholic
Christian morals, but it is a liberal arts college.
Furthermore, the school is
not recognized by the Diocese
of Erie. The Mercyhurst community has historically looked
to the Sisters of Mercy as our
Catholic moral keystone and
should continue to do so.
In the past it was common
practice of the college to bring
presidential candidates to speak.
As a gesture of his displeasure
with Mercyhurst’s choice to
host Sen. Clinton, the Bishop
has stated he will not attend
graduation on May 18.
As a graduating senior I must
say, this gesture demeans the
graduating senior class. The
presence of one man does not
make my graduation. The four
years of hard work, the friendships, the good times and bad
will make my graduation. To
think otherwise belittles everything the graduating class has
done here. I applaud Mercyhurst for standing in the face of
this offensive gesture and welcoming Sen. Clinton.
It is my hope that in the future
Mercyhurst College will continue to welcome all presidential
candidates to speak to both students and the Erie community.
By doing this Mercyhurst will
continue to foster a community
of informed individuals who
can think for themselves about
the issues and better decide who
they believe should lead this
country.
However, in the future, student seating is essential. The
school’s commitment must first
be to its students, then to the
community.
Without the students, there is
no Mercyhurst College.
See footage of the Clinton rally
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published throughout the school year, with the exception of finals week. Our
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SPORTS
April 2, 2008
PAGE 19
Cottreau shows success in AHL
By Kenny Hunt
Contributing writer
This past week Mercyhurst
men’s hockey captain Ben
Cottreau signed his first
professional contract.
The Carolina Hurricane’s
minor league affiliate, the
Albany River Rats, signed
Cottreau to a standard AHL
contract for the remainder of
the 07-08 season.
Cottreau’s jump to the
professional hockey level was
no surprise for assistant men’s
hockey coach Bob Ferraris.
“He has always had pro
interests; people always ask
about him.” Ferraris said.
“This started at the beginning
of the year, a lot of teams saw
Ben, a lot of teams liked Ben.”
This season Cottreau notched
13 goals and 23 assists for 36
points in 34 games played.
In his four-year collegiate
career at Mercyhurst, Cottreau
tallied 65 goals and 95 assists
for 156 points in 132 games.
The Albany River Rats
contacted Cottreau last week,
according to Ferraris
“He got a call on Wednesday
of last week, signed a contract
that night and got on a plane,”
he said.
The River Rats, who are
currently in third place in the
east division of the AHL and
hunting for a playoff spot,
were set to play the WilkesBarre/Scranton
Penguins
on Friday of last week when
Cottreau was set to start in his
first professional game.
The Albany River Rats’
website recapped Cottreau’s
night.
“Early in the second period,
Cottreau collected a rebound
in the low slot and fired a wrist
shot into the open net at 2:03
for first career AHL and pro
goal, assisted by Chris Blight
and Mike Angelidis. But the
dream start for the rookie
was not done; two minutes
later Cottreau found another
rebound in his reach and
this time he fired a scorching
wrist shot into the top corner
at 4:08.
“Angelidis again assisted on
the goal, Cottreau’s second
Sports Information photo
Ben Cottreau has had a strong start to his professional career in the AHL with the Albany
River Rats scoring two goals in his first three games.
goal of the game and his
career, giving the River Rats a
3-0 lead.”
Cottreau is the ninth
Mercyhurst alum to play
professional hockey following
players such as: Jamie Hunt, who
signed a contract in 2006 with
the Washington Capitals and is
currently playing for their AHL
affiliate; T.J. Kemp, who signed
with the Edmonton Oilers
in 2005, and Conrad Martin,
who recently signed with the
Montreal Canadians and is in
their system in Hamilton.
Cottreau and the River Rats
are starting a seven-game road
trip to make one final push
toward geting in the playoffs
with only 10 games remaining.
The River Rats’ next game is
Friday in Syracuse against the
Syracuse Crunch.
Women’s golf struggles during opening invitational
By Kyle Craig
Staff writer
The Mercyhurst College
women’s golf team kicked off
its season in Northern Kentucky
this past weekend in a 21-team
tournament. The Lakers finished
20th out of 21 teams in the
Northern Kentucky Spring
Invitational at Perry Park Golf
Course.
Junior Caitlin Cummings led
Mercyhurst just one shot ahead
of junior Kaitlin Brody with
rounds of 91 and 92.
All five of the Lakers
competing at the invitation
finished within merely 12 strokes
of each other throughout the
two-day tournament.
The Lakers opened the
tournament with a 381 and
followed the next day with 366,
giving them a grand total of
747. Mercyhurst finished 126
strokes back of the invitational
champion Grand Valley State
and just 40 strokes back of 19thplace Gannon University.
Furthermore, all five women
competing for Mercyhurst at
the invitational improved their
rounds on the second day with
freshman Arielle Chong making
the biggest, gaining nine strokes.
The Lakers will look to
continue to improve as they head
into the Ashland Invitational this
weekend.
Cummings, who led the
Lakers this weekend, will look to
continue to carry the team each
week.
Last season Cummings posted
an average round of 88.7. She
enters this spring season with one
year of Division I experience, as
she played one year at St. Louis
University.
She finished with medalist
honors at the West Liberty
Invitational as well as placing
10th at the Vulcan Invitational.
Brody will also look to
improve this spring season, as
she finished with a 98.9 average
just one season ago.
Like
Cummings,
Brody
finished strong at West Liberty
State, placing third overall at
the invitational with an 83.
In addition, she led her team
with a 183 at the Ashland State
Invitational just one year ago.
Freshman Arielle Chong
enters the spring season with
high expectations, having won
the East Bay Athletic League
Championship in 2003. She
has also participated in several
major tournaments throughout
her high school career including
the California State Golf
Championship in 2004.
Junior
Alanna
Kirwan
finished her 2006-2007 season
strong with a 275 at the GLIAC
Championships to lead the
Lakers. Kirwan averages a 93.97
and has participated in 30 rounds
in her college career.
Finally junior Mattye Laurer
will look to make a big impact on
the team this year with a career
average of 97.36. Laurer’s best
finish in 2007 came at the Mount
Union Invitational, as she placed
19 out of 59 golfers.
SPORTS
PAGE 20
Rowing’s opening
race still a question
By Anne Sabol
Staff writer
Warmer weather swept into
Erie’s corner of the Great Lakes
this weekend, a welcome change
for the men’s and women’s
varsity rowing teams.
Temperatures forecasted in
the high 40s for the rest of the
week give hope that the kick-off
race on Findley Lake in New
York will go as planned.
Every year the teams struggle
with Mother Nature at the start
of the season, and last year’s
home regatta was hosted despite
the over six inches of snow
blanketing the ground.
A little crazy? Perhaps, but
it makes life more interesting.
It is best for them to take
advantage of every opportunity
for water time they get, because
southern schools such as Barry
and FIT have easily been on the
water since the beginning of
February.
Head coach Adrian Spracklen
offered some insight into what
we can expect of the teams this
season.
Both teams enter the spring
season with high expectations
after solid winter training and
spring break.
On the women’s side,
Spracklen said, “We have a good
mix of experience and I think
that will translate into good
team chemistry.”
Women’s
team
captain
senior Melanie Peters is the
last remaining athlete who
competed in the 2005 NCAA
championship, when the team
came out with an honorable
silver award.
Anne Dinshah, assistant
coach, referred to Peters as a
“model of consistency and hard
work.”
Her positive attitude and
commitment challenges her
teammates every day to raise
the bar. This year she will be
assisted by Michele Handzel, a
junior coxswain.
Handzel is ultimately in
charge of keeping the boat
on course and motivating the
athletes both in the erg room
and on the water.
As always, the women have
their sights set on another
NCAA bid to extend their short
season.
The lightweight men’s crew
will be led this year by junior
Kurt Boyd with hopes of leading
his teammates to a first-place
finish at the competitive Dad
Vail regatta in Philadelphia.
Last year the lightweights
achieved first-place honors
throughout the season until they
finished third at Dad Vail.
After losing some key
members, they hope to step up
to the challenge of continuing
what the team began last year.
This is a similar goal of the
heavyweight men, headed by
senior Tony Dorchak.
After pushing themselves
through the rigorous off-season,
Dorchak said, “It’s easy to be
excited about the spring when
the guys worked so hard in the
winter.”
Miles Schwartz is the assistant
captain for the heavyweights
and feels that mental toughness
will be their key to success.
“It has been a critical element
of our training this year and
is something a rower cannot
function without.”
The status of Findley Lake,
both in ice coverage and water
level, will determine whether
the regatta will indeed occur this
Saturday, April 5, but it could be
moved to Presque Isle.
Check
the
Mercyhurst
Athletic Web site later this week
for the final decision.
April 2, 2008
Tennis drops a pair
By Christine Mersch
Staff writer
After a two-week break, the
men’s tennis team was back
in action this past weekend
in Michigan for two GLIAC
matchups against Northwood
University and Wayne State
University.
On Friday, Mercyhurst faced
Northwood and was defeated
8-1. Northwood (6-2, 4-0
GLIAC) is currently ranked No.
19 in Division II. Mercyhurst’s
only victory came at second
doubles. Sophomore Mijo Cotic
and freshman Adam Marnik
defeated Bertrand Vigouroux
and Matt Tansil 8-4.
“Mijo and I have been playing
doubles together since the
fall,” Marnik said. “We’ve been
building our communication
and are more experienced now
as a team. We also build off each
others’ energy well. They are
ranked top 20 in the nation so
to be able to get a win off them
(at No. 2 doubles is great).”
The third doubles team of
sophomores Ronald Heurich
and Kyle King almost upended
Alex Minicozzi and Carlos
Canudas at No. 3 doubles, but
eventually fell 8-6.
During singles play several
Laker players had close matches.
Marnik, playing No. 4, won the
opening set of his match but
lost the next two sets against
his opponent in a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
loss. Freshman Tim Hansson
held strong against Peter
Kazianschuetz at No. 1, but his
opponent took the match 7-5,
6-4.
Sophomore Mateusz Przybysz
also played competitively at No.
2 singles but lost 6-4, 6-3.
Next up for the Lakers was
Wayne State on Saturday. Wayne
State (6-3, 4-0 GLIAC) took the
match 6-3 despite strong play
from the Mercyhurst squad.
Heurich won both his singles
and doubles matches. He teamed
up with King to pick up a 8-6
win at No. 3 doubles.
His singles match went three
sets with three tiebreakers before
he defeated his opponent 7-6, 67, 7-6.
“I just concentrated on
keeping the ball in play and
being consistent with my shots,”
Heurich said. “I knew if I kept
to that game plan, I would pull
out the win.”
Also victorious in the
matchup was Hansson, who
won his No. 1 singles match 7-5,
7-5. Hansson is currently 3-1 in
conference play and 6-3 overall
at No. 1 singles.
This weekend the Lakers (5-6,
1-3 GLIAC) travel to the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan for
matches against Michigan Tech
and Lake Superior State.
Men’s golf ready to begin season
By Kirk Campbell
Staff writer
The Mercyhurst College
men’s golf team starts its spring
season this weekend as they
compete in the Denison Invite
in Granville, Ohio.
The Lakers return much
of their core from last season
including their top performers,
Steven Barr, Tyler Bidwell
and Kyle Waddell. Mercyhurst
added junior Matt Lundin and
sophomore Kevin Oresick to
the team to provide solid depth
to the line-up.
In the fall season, the
Lakers struggled against their
opponents except in the season
finale at the Gannon Invitational
in which they defeated a tough
Gannon University squad to
claim first place.
When asked how the team
is expected to improve from
the fall season junior Derek
Fisher said, “We expect lower
team scores in order to be
more competitive and possibly
win some tournaments this
spring. The easiest way to do this
is to improve our short game.
“Everybody can hit the ball
well on our squad, but we all
can improve our chipping and
putting,” he said. “The greens
are where we can make our
move.”
Mercyhurst will look to its five
seniors to help have a successful
spring season.
Darragh Agnew, Barr, Ben
Deets, Ryan McNulty and
Waddell look to provide senior
leadership for the Lakers.
The Lakers are led by second
year coach John Marchetti.
Marchetti is a graduate from
Providence College and was
recently inducted into their Hall
of Fame.
He coached the women’s
hockey program from 1980 to
1994 and had a record of 26269-15.
Heading into the season,
Fisher knows all of this year’s
tournaments will be challenging
but said, “Findlay, if I had to
pick one, will be the toughest
because of lack of course
experience.”
Mercyhurst’s only home
match of the year takes place on
April 27 at Harbor Creek in the
Mercyhurst invitational.
The next day the Lakers
concluded their season against
cross-town rival Gannon in the
Gannon Invitational.
SPORTS
April 2, 2008
PAGE 21
Volleyball
picks up first
conference win
By Samantha Sellinger
Staff writer
The Mercyhurst College
men’s volleyball team won
its first conference game of
the season last week against
Quincy.
The next night they lost to
Quincy, but overall it was a
successful weekend. The Lakers’
record was raised to 5-16.
“The combined results of
the two matches virtually assure
us that we will finish ahead of
them in the standings which…
made it a good series for us,”
coach Ryan Patton said.
The victory allowed the team
to move up to sixth place in the
MIVA with a 1-9 conference
record.
At Wednesday’s match,
Mercyhurst beat Quincy 3-2
with scores: 24-30, 30-26, 2931, 30-24 and 15-9.
After the Lakers had lost two
of the first three games, and
were struggling in the fourth, it
looked like Quincy would take
the win.
Mercyhurst was able to get
it together halfway through the
fourth game.
“We became assertive and
were able to come back [in
game four] and then win the
fifth. [Juniors] Dave Newman
and Dave Hatten got on a
hot blocking streak, and then
we stopped being passive and
became the aggressive team,”
Patton said.
In game four, tied at 24-24,
Mercyhurst won the final six
points sending the match to a
fifth game.
In the last game, the Lakers
scored nine of the final 12
points to break open a 6-6 tie
and win the match.
Thursday’s game went just
the opposite, and Mercyhurst
was defeated 3-5.
The Lakers won two of the
first three games but eventually
lost: 22-30, 30-24, 22-30, 33-31
and 15-11.
The Lakers cruised to early
wins in the first and third
games, but simply weren’t the
better team in the last two.
“We didn’t cause enough
passing issues for them (with
our serve) and their best guy got
hot and willed them into being
the more aggressive team,” said
Patton.
In game four, the teams
exchanged points until the
score was tied at 31-31. Two
kills from Quincy’s Peter Coley
won them the game.
In game five Mercyhurst
led briefly, but Quincy scored
three straight to take a 10-6
lead before the Lakers called a
timeout to regroup.
Junior Jeff Hartman got the
next point, which tightened the
gap to three, but Mercyhurst
was unable to get any closer
before Coley’s 25th kill of the
match finished the contest.
While the team lost, some
individual players had great
games. Freshman Jon Gurr
had a career-high 22 kills, and
the team’s setter, Hatten, ended
with a career high 61 assists,
crushing his previous best of
49.
Newman, who ranks in the
top 15 in the country in attack
percentage, hit .565.
Scoot Williams photo
Sophomore goalie Maeve McGoff looks to make a save during a game earlier this year. The
Lakers have won five straight games.
Lax women rolling
By Samantha Sellinger
Staff writer
Women’s lacrosse had a
victorious week, picking up three
more wins. No. 8 Mercyhurst
College defeated IUP, Pfeiffer
and Belmont Abbey, advancing
its record to 8-2.
“Even though the games
weren’t the prettiest games of
lacrosse we’ve ever played, the
heart and determination that all
the girls showed was incredible
and led to our great wins this
past weekend,” sophomore
attacker Kate Smith said.
With Sunday’s victory over
Belmont Abbey, the Lakers
passed their win total from last
season.
At home, against IUP, the
Lakers thrashed their opponent
20-4, and 14 players made at
least one goal.
Mercyhurst started a scoring
streak just 47 seconds into the
game when junior Breanna
Haggerty scored the first goal.
Over the next 22 minutes
of play nine other players had
scored as well, which gave the
Lakers a decisive lead 13-0 over
the Hawks. By the end of the
first half, IUP had only one
point on the board, making the
score 13-1.
In the second half, Mercyhurst
slowed down the ball, but still
scored seven goals, to IUP’s
three. Haggerty led the team
with three goals and a career
high seven assists.
On the road against No. 10
Pfeiffer, the Lakers defeated the
Falcons 17-12.
In the first half, after junior
Alicia Guzzo won the first goal
57 seconds into play, Mercyhurst
struggled to hold the lead but
did so with a score of 8-6 at the
half.
In the second half, the Lakers
focused on the offense and
pulled out to a 15-7 lead by the
middle of the period.
The Falcons battled back but
Mercyhurst got the win. Junior
Page Christensen and freshman
Kim Masterton led the team
with four goals each.
This game marked the second
time the Lakers beat Pfeiffer
in four years and the second
time this season that the team
defeated another ranked team.
After a day’s rest, the Lakers
traveled to Maryland to battle
Belmont Abbey, where they
won 12-11.
In the first period, both teams
struggled to find an opening
for great offensive play, but
Haggerty was able to weave
through and score three goals in
the first half.
Mercyhurst managed six
more goals by the end of the
half, leading 9-4.
In the second half of play,
the Crusaders stepped up their
game and began to close the
gap. At five minutes left in the
game, they were tied 10-10.
Senior Courtney Olenvik
and Haggerty each put another
point on the board before two
minutes were left.
With the score 12-10 and 48
seconds left in play, Belmont
scored the final goal of the game
but did not have time to tie it up,
giving the Lakers the win.
Haggerty led the team with
four goals.
With this game, she has
scored at least three goals in a
consecutive 17 games and has
scored in 37 of her 39 career
games.
Hoping to add to its fivegame winning streak, the team
will rest for two weeks before
hosting St. Andrews.
SPORTS
PAGE 22
April 2, 2008
Laker Sports ‘Quick Hits’
Softball goes 1-5 in GLIAC competition
Last week’s results...
By Rhonda Marable
Staff writer
Baseball……………………......…………...........................Mar. 29, L 1-0, Wayne State
Mar. 29, L 6-0,Wayne State
Mar. 30, L 3-2, Wayne State
Mar. 30, L 5-2, Wayen State
Softball………………………………………...............Mar. 29, L 9-0, Grand Valley State
Mar. 29, L 4-0, Grand Valley State
Mar 30, L 5-0, Ferris State
Mar. 30, L 10-0, Ferris State
Men’s lacrosse............................................................Mar. 29, W 9-3, Dominican
Women’s lacrosse................................................................ Mar. 27, W 20-4, IUP
Mar 28, W 17-12, Pfeiffer
Mar. 30, W 12-11, Belmont Abbey
Men’s tennis.................................................................Mar. 28, L 8-1, Northwood
Mar. 29, L 6-3, Wayne State
Women’s water polo...........................................................Mar. 29 L 20-13, Iona
Mar. 29, W 12-5, Villanova
Mar. 30, W 12-5, Utica
Newman/Griepsma athletes of the week
Junior Dave Newman of men’s volleyball led Mercyhurst to its first conference win in two years, as the Lakers defeated Quincy in five games this week.
Newman had 19 kills and 10 blocks, posting a stellar .571 attack percentage
in the win. Freshman Rachel Griepsma scored a career-high eight goals as
the Lakers defeated Villanova 12-5 on Saturday. She also added seven goals
earlier in the day in a 20-13 loss to Iona. Griepsma now has 51 goals in 13
games this season.
Women’s lacrosse named team of the week
Womens lacrosse earned team of the week honors after picking up three
victories this week, including one over a ranked opponent, as Mercyhurst
passed their 2007 win total of seven. The Lakers extended their winning
streak to five games and improving to 8-2 on the season in defeating Indiana
(Pa.) 20-4, No. 10 Pfeiffer 17-12 and Belmont Abbey 12-11.
Men’s lacrosse jumps back into the top 10
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Team
LeMoyne
NYIT
Limestone
C.W. Post
Dowling
Merrimack
Bryant
Adelphi
Wingate
Mercyhurst
Record
5-0
7-0
7-0
7-2
7-1
4-1
5-3
5-2
7-2
3-3
Points
89 (8)
82 (1)
69
68
54
39
36
27
21
5
Previous week
1
2
4
3
5
6
7
9
8
NR
Women’s water polo moves up to No. 8 in CWPA poll
Rank
School Name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
University of Michigan
Hartwick College
Indiana University
Bucknell University
Princeton University
University of Maryland
Brown University
Mercyhurst College
Previous poll
1
3
2
4
5
6
7
8
Points
100
95
90
84
80
76
70
65
Four men’s polo players named to CWPA All-Academic Team
Four members of the men’s water polo team were named to the CWPA AllAcademic Team. These members receiving outstanding honors included
were freshman Alex Moggridge and graduate student Ryan Holt. Junior
Andrew Schonhoff received a Superior honor, and freshman Andy Sekulski
earned an Excellent honor.
After splitting a non-conference double header against
Gannon on Wednesday, the
Mercyhurst women’s softball
team suffered four sweeps in
Michigan.
The Lakers went 9-0 and 4-0
against Grand Valley State on
Saturday afternoon and couldn’t
manage to score runs against
Ferris State on Sunday, dropping
two games, 5-0 and 10-0.
With the losses, the team is
now 11-13 on the season and 4-0
in the GLIAC.
The Lakers’ only win of the
week came in game two against
the Gannon Golden Knights on
Wednesday afternoon. After a
hitless 7-0 loss in the opener the
women came back to win 6-5.
Freshman Kara Gorgos gave
the Lakers their first run with an
RBI triple scoring Schmitz at the
bottom of the second.
The Lakers extended the lead
in the third. With bases loaded
sophomore Amber Rapose
walked to score senior Erin
Ratajczak. To end the inning,
junior Danielle Zubek singled
for an RBI scoring sophomore
Megan Houston to make it 3-0.
Gannon worked for a comeback in the fourth and fifth
innings taking a 4-3 lead but
Rapose answered back with her
second homerun of the season
to tie the game.
The lead changed again as
Gannon scored another run
from an RBI by Chastity Guerrero but the bottom of the sixth
sealed the Knights’ fate.
Rapose and Schmitz singled
during their at bats to score
Maier and Ratajczak, respectively, to win the game 6-5.The
win was preceded by a 7-0 loss to
Gannon earlier that day.
Despite the win, the Lakers
couldn’t use the momentum as
they went into the weekend.
Starting off the Lakers managed just four hits in two games
getting swept by GVSU 9-0 in
just five innings. As the Lakers
dropped the second game they
held GVSU to just four runs.
The efforts of sophomore
pitcher Carrina Crow kept Grand
Valley off the scoreboard for
five innings during the second
game. Crow had an early streak,
striking out four consecutive batters, including three in a row in
the second, finishing with eight
strikeouts.
Senior
captain
Jessica
McNurlen led the Lakers going
2-3 in game two.
The following day the Ferris
State Bulldogs blanked the Lakers
twice, 5-0 in game one and 10-0
in five innings of game two.
With just one win during the
week, the Lakers are still optimistic about upcoming games.
“Even though these two teams
were close to the top of our
conference they were still disappointing losses,” says Zubek. “I
think our team can recuperate
from that and come back this
weekend with several wins under
our belts.”
Baseball gets swept by GLIAC rival Wayne State
By Brittany Jackett
Sports editor
Offense wins games, but
defense wins championships.
The Mercyhurst College baseball
team can only hope that this old
saying is true.
Over the past two weeks of
play the team has played superb
defense and has seen quality
performances from nearly all of
the pitchers who have taken the
mound.
However, also during the past
two weeks the team has struggled
to make contact at the plate and
capitalize for runs.
As a result, the Lakers suffered a four-game sweep this
past weekend to GLIAC rival
Wayne State.
Despite a season plagued with
injuries, six of the eight opening
day position players are injured,
the younger members of the
team have jumped head first into
positions on the field, as well as
in the lineup to which they are
unaccustomed, and have shown
promise for the future.
Head coach Joe Spano is confident that the underclassmen
will be able to find success at the
plate as the season progresses.
“The more experience the
younger guys get, the better
they’ll become. Hopefully it just
won’t come too late,” he said.
“We still will make a run for the
playoffs.”
On the mound Mercyhurst
has thrived, with key appearances coming from senior Eric
Drobotij in game two on Saturday, and senior Wes Craig in
game one on Sunday. Drobotij
(1-1), according to Spano, had
one of the best games of his
career at Mercyhurst, allowing
only four hits and one run over
seven complete innings, but with
the offense struggling to make
contact suffered the loss.
During Sunday’s 3-2 loss,
Craig (2-2) made another strong
start, fanning seven over six solid
innings.
Also having continued success
is the Lakers’ bullpen.
Senior co-captains John Morris
and James Ludwig, who leads
the GLIAC with 13 appearances,
along with junior Ryan Schreiber
have consistently been tough in
the late innings.
Schreiber, who came in to
relieve junior John Mang in Saturday’s loss, pitched two innings
and only gave up two hits.
The Lakers look to get back
in the win column on Wednesday as they take on Division I
Cansius at 3:30 p.m.
SPORTS
April 2, 2008
PAGE 23
Polo goes 2-1
on trip to ’Nova
By Andrew Schronoff
Staff writer
Don Eighmey photo
Mercyhurst stepped up its defense as junior Jason Lashomb made five saves to help the
men’s lacrosse team earn a 9-3 road victory over Dominican College Saturday Mar. 29. The
Lakers look to advance their record during their home opener on Saturday at Tullio field.
Men’s lax ends three-game
losing streak to Dominican
By Chris Davis
Sports editor
The Mercyhurst College men’s
lacrosse team picked up its first
East Coast Conference win
defeating Dominican College in
a 9-3 road victory on Saturday.
The Lakers are now back
to the .500 mark on the
season, as they stand at 3-3.
Mercyhurst held Dominican
to one goal during the final
53 minutes of the game.
“Our defense really came
up big for us, and the offense
showed some durability in
having to battle back from an
early [2-0] deficit,” said senior
captain Scott Sullivan, who
scored the Lakers’ first goal to
cut the deficit in half, 2-1, with
1:27 remaining in the first period.
“It was good to get back in
the win column,” he said. “We
will continue to keep working
hard to build off of this.”
Mercyhurst junior Mike
Bartlett tied up the game at 2-2
with 12:39 remaining in the second
period with an unassisted goal.
The Lakers would not
hold the lead for long, as
Alex Jones gave Dominican
a 3-2 lead three minutes later.
That was the final goal
Dominican would score, as
Mercyhurst rattled off the
final seven goals of the game.
The Lakers tied the game
3-3 with an unassisted goal
from junior Mike Thon with
8:41 left in the second period
Mercyhurst sophomore Trevor
Rice gave the Lakers the lead for
good about two minutes later.
Junior
Aaron
Manzer
would give the Lakers a
5-3 lead heading into halftime.
“It was good to see our offense
come through with some goals,”
said senior defender Karl Heinz.
“It was a complete team effort.”
Sullivan provided the only
scoring in the third period,
as Mercyhurst entered the
final period leading 6-3.
The Lakers sealed the win by
scoring three fourth period goals.
The Mercyhurst College women’s water polo team extended
its record-setting season over
the weekend, going 2-1 on its
trip to Villanova.
Earlier in the week, the Collegiate Water Polo Association
Top 10 polls ranked Mercyhurst
at No. 8, which is the best ranking in the program’s history.
Senior Rhonda Marable says
the team’s successes this year is
due to unity.
“We had great chemistry early
in the season and with all of
our conditioning we came out
strong early in the season and
set a good pace for ourselves,”
she said.
The team started off the
weekend against the Gaels of
Iona. During the game, the
Gaels came out strong, outscoring the Lakers 5-3 in the first
quarter, and continued to hold
them off with an 8-5 lead at the
half.
The Lakers attempted to
battle back, but the Gaels held
them off and finished the game
20-13.
In the game, freshman Rachel
Griepsma led the team with
seven goals.
Senior Christie Haibach,
junior Chrissy Genian and
senior Christine Somera also
contributed to the Mercyhurst
offense. Senior Gina Mieras
totaled nine saves in goal.
Later that day, women’s
water polo looked to counter
the morning’s loss against Villanova.
The Lakers had a strong start,
and held Villanova by several
goals the entire first half before
blowing them away in the
second. The game ended with a
12-5 victory.
Leading the team’s offense
again was Griepsma, putting in
a career-high eight goals and
making four steals.
Somera also had an impressive
game, as she made her presence
known in all aspects. Somera
totaled three goals, three assists,
four drawn ejections and five
steals. Haibach also notched
another goal against Villanova.
On Sunday, Mercyhurst faced
Utica. The Lakers continued
their habit of a dominant first
half, putting in 10 goals before
halftime. Utica tried to battle
back, but the Lakers won by a
score of 12-7.
Somera led with three goals,
while Carrie Willison, Griepsma,
and Rachel Becks also put in two
each. Cathi Korenich started in
goal and made seven saves.
Griepsma has continued to
have an impressive rookie year,
as she totaled 17 goals in just
three games this weekend.
She currently is the team’s
leading scorer with 51 goals,
which averages to just fewer
than four goals a game.
The team’s total record is now
9-4 as they return to conference
play this weekend.
Marable also added, “We
hope we stay strong and pick
up momentum as we finish with
important conference games
over very beatable teams. It’d be
amazing if we had a chance to
go to Easterns this year.”
The Lakers travel to Slippery
Rock on Friday night to play for
the second time this season. In
their last meeting, the Lakers
pulled away with a 9-7 victory.
On Saturday it’s back
to North East to take
on Indiana at noon and
Gannon at 7 p.m.
PAGE 24
SPORTS
April 2, 2008
Laker sports
Baseball drops weekend series to Wayne State
>> Page 22
Scoot Williams photo