The Immaculatan - Immaculata University

THE
IMMACULATAN
The Student Newspaper of Immaculata University Since 1934
MARCH 10, 2016 · VOL. LXXXII, NO. 6
Witty Comebacks Never Spoken in Ireland
Hanna Shatuck ‘18
Contributing Writer
“Hey girl, I like your
wellies!” was the last thing
I heard before most likely
leaving Ireland for the last
time. Normally I would be
flattered when someone
complimented my fashion
sense; however, the compliment had been given by an
old Irish man yelling out
of his window as he drove
past on quite possibly the
sunniest winter day in Irish
history. Needless to say, I
was mortified! The man’s
passing comment left me
with no time to formulate
a proper response. I could
have told him the truth,
which was that putting my
boots in my suitcase would
push it way over the weight
limit. Or, I could have formulated a clever response
about the weather in Ireland
always being perfect for rain
boots; but once again I was
left with no ability to formulate an intelligent comeback.
This was a common theme
throughout my entire time
in Ireland. Normally, my
inability to respond came
from the shock of realizing
that Irish stereotypes were
not only true, but comically
accurate. I began keeping a
mental log of all of the responses I wish I were witty
enough to come up with at
the time, but never got the
opportunity to use. Oftentimes individuals are berated for believing in stereotypes but I have found that
more often than not they
are derived from truth. Irish
people do drink, many do
have ginger qualities, and it
is grey and rainy more often
than it is sunny and dry.
Not only do Irish people
drink, but they have also
mastered the art of drinking
at all times of the day. Jenna, a fellow American study
abroad student at UCC, re-
Provided by http://gingertalk.com/
members her reaction to
learning that there were
pubs on UCC’s main campus as “This can’t be good
for the students. Aren’t students more likely to end
up getting wasted in a pub
instead of going to class? I
genuinely thought this was
crazy.” Like most American students coming from
damp campuses, Jenna and
I were shocked that having three pubs on campus
didn’t effect students’ attendance in class. Every time
we passed a pub on campus
I had the strongest urge to
yell slainte (cheers) just to
see how many students
CONTINUED
ON
PAGE 5: “Stereotypes
Make Life Interesting”
ALPFA: Homegrown Encouragement
Anne Marie DeCarolis ‘17
Staff Writer
Immaculata
University
has recently adopted a
new student organization,
the Association of Latino
Professionals for America
(ALPFA). This organization, as sponsored by the
Global Languages and Cultures Department as well
as by the Business and Accounting Department, is
excited to fill a special role
and niche on the Noble
Hill. The organization describes its mission as one
that “creates opportunities,
adds values, builds relationships for its members, the
community and its business partners while expanding Latino leadership in the
global workforce.” ALPFA
is recognized at both the
national and regional levels
as a nonprofit professional
organization. There are professional and student chap-
ters. The local and robust
Philadelphia professional
chapter will serve an active,
event planning and mentoring role in the IU student
chapter.
Stephanie Davalos-Mata
’16, with the assistance of
Dr. Pereyra, brought this
groundbreaking organization to campus. Stephanie
serves as the campus’ chapter President. She states
that her goal and hope for
ALPFA is “to be the leading
Latino professional association committed to creating
and providing the students
of Immaculata University
with networking opportunities and with distinguished
professionals from various
industries. We will make
every effort to help FirstGeneration
Immaculata
University Students to overcome the obstacle of limited resources, by providing
financial support, guidance,
and courage. We strive on
establishing an atmosphere
where our members can
actively participate in our
programs aimed to increase
personal growth and development. A place where our
members can learn to identify changing trends in the
workplace and understand
business related issues by
which they can readily apply once entering the workforce.” She first became acquainted with ALPFA when
Dr. Pereyra forwarded her
an invitation to the organization’s monthly networking event in Philadelphia.
Stephanie said, “The first
encounter with the organization was very eye-opening
and motivating. I knew this
was the kind of support I
was looking for my entire
college career. I want to
bring this to Immaculata
University, for any student
who is facing the same obstacles as I did. I want to assure them that they are not
Provided by Anne Marie
alone, and to have the complete courage to take on
the world.” Inspired by her
initial experience with this
fine organization, Stephanie
introduced ALPFA and its
mission to a few friends and
sought to establish a student
chapter at Immaculata.
During the process of
learning more about ALPFA, a few Mighty Macs at-
tended two of their networking events, which
Stephanie described as
“very informative and [ones
that] provided us with exposure to opportunities.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE
2: “Encouraging Diversity Among Immaculata
Students”
Page 2
March 10, 2016
ON THE HILL
The Immaculatan
The Countdown is On:
Immaculata Starts
Seniors Celebrate 100 Nights Odyssey Branch
Cassie McCullough ‘16
Contributing Writer
Jared Viz ‘19
Staff Writer
On February 5th, the senior class celebrated a bittersweet moment for many:
celebrating exactly 100
nights until graduation. The
night started off with hearing from IU’s President, Sr.
Patricia Fadden and the class
of 2016’s president, Katie
Short. Both Sr. Patricia and
Katie’s speeches gave many
of the seniors chills as they
realized that their time at the
Noble Hill will soon be ending. Later on in the night,
emotions ran high as the seniors viewed their memories
throughout the past four
years in a twenty-minute
photo presentation. As dinner was served, the tables of
classmates and friends reminisced on all that they had
experienced.
After dinner was finished,
the seniors moved onto the
next phase of the night-the
party! Complete with dancing, a DJ, and flashing lights,
the class of 2016 danced the
rest of the night away. The
seniors seemed to forget
about their exams, papers,
jobs, and graduate school
applications for their one
night to celebrate their accomplishments
together.
100 Nights has been a tradition at Immaculata since the
Do you love to write? Do
you find yourself spending
tons of time on social media? If the answer is “YES,”
then this is a great opportunity for YOU! Immaculata
is starting its own branch
of Odyssey, which is an online platform where people
from all over the country
contribute articles about
topics that matter to them,
and share their articles via
social media to reach the
maximum number of people organically. The Immaculata branch is currently
looking for writers that are
willing to provide their time
and writing abilities to contribute articles to our community and the world.
Odyssey was created by
Evan Burns and Adrian
France, who both believed
that ordinary news content
was either “too generic” or
“highly politicized.” They
saw the media industry as
lacking diversity in its perspectives and ideas. Therefore, they began to find
ways that would incorporate
1) a more diverse perspective on the news, especially
from Millennials, 2) a better way for people to access
and experience the news,
and 3) the power of social
media. The combination of
these things resulted in the
creation of Odyssey, which
became available in its final
form in June 2014.
Provided by Cassie McCullough
university was an all-girls
college. The alumni committee has worked diligently
for all of the graduating
classes to give them a night
that they won’t forget. On
behalf of the class of 2016,
we thank everyone that was
involved in making 100
nights an amazing event. We
are looking forward to making more memories together in these last days we have
left. To my fellow upcoming
graduates: In the words of
Mr. Feeney from Boy Meets
World, “I love you all. Class
dismissed.”
Encouraging Diversity Among
Immaculata Students
CONTINUED
FROM
PAGE 1:
Having gained campus organization status, Marleth
Herrera ’16 is now serving as Vice President, Angela Alvarez ‘18 as Co-Vice
President, Ibet Ortiz ’16 as
Secretary and Nancy Esparza ’18 as Treasurer. Stephanie said that this dedicated
group of student leaders is
preparing to host an information session in the coming weeks. This event will
also include an introduction
to the basics of network-
ing.
Excited and looking
ahead, Stephanie shared,
“The establishment of an
ALPFA Student Chapter at
Immaculata University will
be a great opportunity for
faculty and ALL students to
achieve professional excellence. In alliance with IU’s
mission statement, globalization solidifies the crucial
fact for a modern student
to be versatile and display
the ability to interact with
persons of different backgrounds. ALPFA will en-
courage diversity among our
student and faculty body. In
addition, it is vital that they
are able to understand the
importance of community
service through relationship
building on a personal and
professional level. This will
help contribute to the formation of a genuinely educated individual at Immaculata University.” For more
information about ALPFA
or to become involved,
contact Stephanie DavalosMata - sdavalosmata@mail.
immaculata.edu.
As a writer for Immaculata’s branch of Odyssey, you
will be responsible for contributing at least one article
per week on any topic that
speaks to you or any topic
you feel the community
needs to know about. Once
your article has been edited,
you are to share your article
on social media in order
to promote discussion and
increase the organic distribution of your article. According to Odyssey’s website, 87% of the articles are
viewed because the viewer
knows the author of the article. In fact, Immaculata’s
own Sarah Pasternak wrote
an article titled “10 Things
You Definitely Experience As A Student Leader,”
which grossed a whopping
3,003 shares thus far!
You can find more articles written by your fellow
classmates on our branch’s
Facebook page, Odyssey
at Immaculata. Editor-inchief of the branch, Courtney James, says, “...so far
[we] have 12 members on
the writing team and [it’s]
growing by the hour.” She
further comments, “I’m super excited to get our team’s
work out there!” If you are
interested in applying to
become a writer, please go
to the Odyssey’s website
(theodysseyonline.com) and
visit the “Employment” tab
at the bottom of the page to
find the application.
Page 3
March 10, 2016
The Immaculatan
HUMAN INTEREST
The Oscars: Addressing More Than Race
Jared Viz ‘19
Staff Writer
On February 28, the 2016
Oscar Awards Show aired
on ABC. I previously covered the #OscarsSoWhite
controversy, so I was excited to see what the night had
in store for the issue. Chris
Rock’s hosting and addressing of the issue surely made
the night eventful; however,
other unexpected events
transpired, which expanded
the range of issues from
diversity to climate change
and beyond. This year’s
award show was not merely
a night of recognition in
the film industry, but also a
night of recognition for the
many social justice issues
that America faces today.
The night started off
with Chris Rock’s interesting opening monologue,
of which the message was
somewhat confusing. The
whole monologue was
used to address the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
Rock began strongly, and directly tackled the notion that
there is a lack of diversity
in the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences.
Rock joked, “I’m here at
the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White
People’s Choice Awards.”
Immediately after, Rock
took a hit at the fact that all
the nominees for Oscars in
acting (20 nominees in total)
were white for the second
year in a row. “You realize
if they nominated hosts, I
wouldn’t even get this job,”
Rock claimed.
After this point, Rock’s
monologue seemingly took
a shift in position. He suggested that the issue with
diversity “has happened
at least 71 times” with no
protest, and posed these
two questions: why are we
protesting and why this Oscars in particular? The answer that he put forth was
that black people had “real
things to protest,” referencing blacks being “raped”
and “lynched” in the 1960s.
In making this point, Rock
stripped away the seriousness of the controversy. I
concede that the treatment
towards blacks in the 60s
were much more severe
than today; however, in disproportionately comparing
the #OscarsSoWhite controversy to the 1960s Civil
Rights conflict, Rock makes
the prior seem like it is not a
“real issue.”
Next, Rock further weakens the seriousness of the
controversy in questioning
the motives of Jada Pinkett
Smith, who spearheaded the
movement with her Oscars
boycott. Rock argued that
Smith “wasn’t invited to the
Oscars” and that she only
protested because her husband, Will Smith, did not
get a nomination for his
performance in Concussion. With this, Rock suggests that the foundation
of the entire controversy is
based on petty discontent,
rather than a serious issue
of diversity. Finally, Rock
complained “if you want
black nominees every year,
you need to just have black
categories,” which further
undermines the whole point
of the movement - inclusion and recognition in the
film industry, not separation.
In the end, Chris Rock
brought his monologue
back around. He noted,
“Hollywood is sorority racist,” and, “We want black
actors to get the same opportunities as white actors.”
Though he comes back to
his original point, Rock’s
monologue is confusing,
which makes it hard to understand the point he wants
to convey. He says that he
wants black actors to have
the same opportunities as
white actors, but suggests
that if black actors want to
be nominated for Oscars,
categories for black actors
should be added to list.
Chris Rock is a comedian,
but it is difficult to distinguish the jokes from his
beliefs. Because of this, I
believe he failed to address
the controversy in an effective way. Instead, the task
was left to Cheryl Boone
Isaacs, the president of the
Academy.
Isaacs beautifully asserted, “Our audiences are
global and rich in diversity,
and every facet of our industry should be as well.”
She then emphasized that
it is the role of the Hollywood community to “make
the vital changes the industry needs [to] accurately reflect the world today” and
that “inclusion only serves
to make us all stronger.”
With this persuasive speech,
Isaacs brought back the
seriousness and strength
that Chris Rock took in his
monologue. She was truly
a voice for the movement
toward diversity, and as the
night went on, other movements and issues got a voice
as well.
One movement that received a voice was the
LGBT movement. Sam
Smith, an openly gay singersongwriter, won an Oscar in
the Best Original Song category for “Writings On The
Wall,” the theme for the
newest James Bond movie
Spectre. In his acceptance
speech, Smith dedicated the
award to the LGBT community and went on to state,
“I stand here as a proud gay
man, and I hope we can all
stand together as equals one
day.”
The biggest applause of
the night came when the
Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, came
out to introduce Lady Gaga,
who would perform her Oscar nominated song “Til It
Happens To You.” Before
he even said a word, Biden
was met with overwhelming
praise and a standing ovation
from nearly everyone in the
audience. Lady Gaga’s song
is about victims of sexual
abuse and how those victims are treated; Joe Biden’s
role was to set up the context of the performance.
Biden encouraged viewers
to “take the pledge, a pledge
that says, ‘I will intervene in
situations when consent has
not or cannot be given.’”
He closed by declaring, “We
must and we can change the
culture.” The combination
of Joe Biden’s powerful address and Lady Gaga’s mov-
Provided by etonline.com & usmagazine.com
ing performance created a
strong vehicle that brought
attention to the issue of
sexual abuse, but this was
not the only vehicle.
Spotlight, a film about
child molestation within
the Catholic Church, won
the Oscar for Best Picture.
The producer of the film,
Michael Sugar, indicated,
“This film gave a voice to
survivors and this Oscar
amplifies that voice...that
will resonate all the way to
the Vatican.” Sugar then
puts Pope Francis on the
spot, declaring that “it’s
time to protect the children and restore the faith.”
In scrutinizing a whole religion and its leader, Sugar
takes a bold stance that not
many would take, especially
in a setting like the Oscars.
Nevertheless, those victims
of sexual abuse got a voice,
which I thought was much
deserved.
Another film that won big
was Mad Max: Fury Road,
which is set in a postapocalyptic desert. The film
took home six Oscars, and
the one for Costume Design came with a message
about climate change. The
costume designer, Jenny
Beavan, proposed in her acceptance speech that Mad
Max could be “prophetic”
if people “do not stop polluting [the] atmosphere.”
Though most of this message was drowned out by
the walk-off music, Beavan
was able get her message
across.
One more message about
climate change was Leonardo DiCaprio’s, which was
delivered when he accepted
the Best Actor award for his
performance in The Revenant (yes, he won his first
Oscar). The film was about
“man’s relationship with the
natural world,” DiCaprio
explained. He then went
on to expound the fact the
climate change is “real” and
that it is the “most urgent
threat facing our entire species.” DiCaprio closed his
speech with these eloquent
words: “Let us not take this
planet for granted; I do not
take tonight for granted.”
This award was Leonardo DiCaprio’s first Oscar
award, but instead of using
all of his time to thank the
people that helped him gain
this incredible achievement,
he used a large portion to
advocate for the issue of
climate change.
Going into the night of
the Oscars, only the issue
of diversity, or lack thereof,
had people closely watching
to see what the outcome
would be. In the end, many
other issues came into the
spotlight (no pun intended)
and were brought to the attention of the thousands of
viewers. There were many
winners, one of them being
social justice.
Page 4
March 10, 2016
The Immaculatan
Human Interest
Adult Coloring Books: Exploring Your Mind
Kristiana Wodzinski ‘18
Staff Writer
Chronic stress is a serious issue in today’s day and
age. People everywhere are
struggling to cope with
their day-to-day lives. Looking back at years past, life
seemed easier. Modern
technology was just beginning to develop, finding and
keeping a job was easier,
and over all, society was just
much different. Children,
adults, and the elderly are
all dealing with many different stressors. This includes
both positive and negative
stress. The problem is that
our bodies are not equipped
to handle this much stimulation, and there is almost
no way to avoid it. In fact,
because the world has developed so rapidly, there
has not been enough time
for our brains to catch up.
We are still working with
the same stress responses
as the earliest civilizations.
This response is commonly called “fight or flight.”
The only major source of
stress that these people had
to deal with was surviving
and keeping the population alive. Because there is
so much stress in today’s
world, it is important to
learn coping techniques.
A great way to cope with
stress is coloring. Today,
one of the most popular
stress relievers is coloring
in books that are specifically
designed for adults. In every bookstore, department
store, and craft store, there
seems to be a wide selection
of adult coloring books.
These coloring books range
from extremely complex to
quite simple. There are as
many designs as there are
fish in the sea. One of the
most popular designs is the
mandala. Many of these
mandalas are designed with
patterns in mind. The tradition stems from Buddhism
and Hinduism. In all actuality, there is a lot more to
mandalas than most people
realize.
Mandalas are a therapeutic practice used in Music
Therapy that stems from
Provided by Kristiana Wodzinski
Art Therapy. The individual begins with a blank
piece of paper with a circle
drawn on the center of the
page. The individual can
use any medium that he or
she chooses (acrylic, chalk,
oil pastel, colored pencils,
markers, etc.); my personal
favorite is watercolor. A lot
goes into the creation and
interpretation of mandalas
that people are trained in.
The circle and the inside
of the circle represent the
self, and the outside represents the outside world.
Inside the circle, the top
represents the conscious
and the bottom represents
the unconscious. Many believe that mandalas are very
structured and belong in
adult coloring books. In reality, the mandala can be as
free or as concise as the individual wants. There is no
right or wrong, beautiful or
ugly mandala. The mandala
is a direct representation of
what is going on inside an
individual’s mind.
Unlike adult coloring
books, this style of creating mandalas allows for
freedom of expression and
shows insight. Although,
coloring books are still very
useful tools for coping with
stress. It is important to
have a balance of creativity
and structure in the psyche.
Is Student Depression Uncommon?
Kayla Vickers ‘17
Contributing Writer
College is arguably one
of the best times and most
important milestones of an
individual’s life. There is a
sense of freedom from taking that first step towards
adulthood and gaining the
ability to finally make decisions; a terrifyingly exciting
opportunity. However, not
all incoming or returning
students share that same joy.
University of Pennsylvania
student, Madison Holleran,
seemed to be making the
best of her college experience. She was beautiful,
popular, talented, and a star
athlete on the track team.
No one would ever expect a
student like Madison to take
her own life. Sadly, in 2014
the young woman jumped
to her death from a parking
garage in Philadelphia. The
people in Madison’s life never expected her to be driven
to such an extreme act, despite her showing signs of
unhappiness soon after at-
should seek out assistance.
Perhaps if more people had
been aware and proactive
of the situation, Madison
would still have a bright future to look forward to.
Stories like Madison’s are
not uncommon, as many
college students suffer with
depression to some extent.
According to a study conducted in 2014, 9.5% of
students said that they felt
“frequently”
depressed,
which is a significant increase from previous years.
Everyone at some point experiences many of the typi
Provided by duke.edu cal symptoms of depression, such as feeling sad,
tending college. Most of- al behavior,” according to loss of energy, trouble concentrating, and loss of inten, suicide is not a sudden Oelschlager. This is a vital
terest. While showing these
or single event, but rather reason that attention should
“a series of events, feelings be paid to those showing CONTINUED ON PAGE
and thoughts that place an signs of depression, and 8: “Student Depression Is
individual at risk for suicid- also why those affected Not Uncommon”
Page 5
March 10, 2016
The Immaculatan
Opinion & Editorial
Trump’s Leading: The Joke’s Over
Kristin Lynch ‘17
Co-Editor-in-Chief
value; however, shouldn’t
the nation demand more
from a presidential candidate than the ability to entertain?
On Super Tuesday, Donald Trump won seven out
of the eleven states that
voted or held caucuses,
and even after six more
states held Democratic and
Republican Primaries on
March 5th and 6th, Donald
Trump remains the Republican frontrunner. Many of
Trump’s supporters claim
that they favor Trump over
the other presidential candidates because he “tells it like
it is,” but there is a fine line
between speaking frankly
and spewing racism, sexism,
and ableism.
Since launching his campaign, Trump has ridiculed
a disabled reporter, labeled
Mexican immigrants as
“criminals” and “rapists,”
and referred to a female reporter as a “bimbo;” these
are just a few of the seemingly countless offensive
and disrespectful remarks
(most of which are far too
distasteful to publish in a
Catholic university’s newspaper) made by a man who
aspires to be the leader of
the free world, and who,
based on his successes to
date, may very well accomplish his goal.
When Donald Trump announced his presidential
campaign eight months ago,
surely no one could have
anticipated the successes
that he has since stumbled
upon. A presidential campaign that was once laughable has snowballed out of
control down a hill of abusive remarks and offensive
beliefs. Donald Trump is
the Republican frontrunner - the joke is over. As
the presidential candidates
continue to campaign, it’s
important for every Ameri-
can citizen, regardless of
FROM Irish: You’re a Redhead!”
Ireland has the highest per
capita percentage of peowould respond with a rau- ples effected by the MC1R
cous slainte mhath (cheers gene. The MC1R gene is the
to your health). Not only genetic code that causes red
was the Irish stereotype of hair in about two percent of
drinking proved true, but it the world’s population.
The piece of this stereois such a part of daily life in
Ireland that we should be type that holds the most
embarrassed for fixating on truth, in my opinion, is
that Irish people tend to
it.
The stereotype of the lep- be short. Foreign women
rechaun is one that has fol- go into Ireland searching
lowed the Irish people since for a Gerry from the movie
their immigration to Amer- “P.S. I Love You” or a Deica. The leprechaun image clan from the movie “Leap
is characterized by red hair, Year,” both of which are
fair skin, and diminished played by actors who are
height. One of the ques- about six feet, two inches
tions I was asked most tall. Sadly, what we found
frequently since my return is that most of the Irishhome has been, “Were there men we met were shorter
a lot of gingers?” Accord- than my already modest five
ing to an ABC News article foot, four inches. In a pub
“You Got the Luck of the once an Irish man told me
that the “best things come
in small packages.” I was so
taken aback by the cliché
that I was not able to come
up with a response about
not looking for small packages. This is one trait we
were sad was true.
Eventually you get tired
of being told that the place
you are going to spend the
next five months living in is
the most rainy, cloudy, grey
place in the world. It is not
really conducive to supporting a feeling of excitement
and anticipation for what is
ahead. It wasn’t any news
to me that Ireland is place
where it rains a lot! The best
way to explain how Irish
people feel about the rain is
utter indifference.
We discovered this the
hard way when we set out on
a mission to find rain gear.
After spending our first
rainy day in Cork searching
for good quality rain gear,
we eventually wandered
into a small sporting goods
store where we found boots
and rain coats. Buichas le
Dia! (Thank God!) Ashlan
and I were so proud of ourselves that we had to wear
them to our class later on
that night. Ashlan remembers “…being so embarrassed!” We walked in looking like the old fisherman
on the Gorton’s Fish Sticks
packaging. Looking around
the only people wearing any
sort of rain gear were our
fellow American students.
The Irish students had on
a sweatshirt at most. It was
at this point that we realized
how ridiculously we viewed
the rain. Irish students were
so used to this weather that
they were barely even fazed
by it anymore.
Too often people are
told that stereotypes are
wrong, but that makes it
even harder for people to
formulate a response when
stereotypes are proven true
in many circumstances. The
images surrounding Ireland
exist because they are true!
Whenever I think of my
time abroad I am forced
to remember the running
monologue of comments
I was never able to make. I
hope to make the point that
stereotypes don’t have to
follow the pattern of having a negative connotation.
Sometimes they just help
make the world a little more
interesting!
When
the
Republican frontrunner, Donald
Trump, entered the presidential race in June 2015
with little to no prior political experience, his campaign
was greeted by a “great,
great wall” of skepticism.
One month later, in midJuly, The Huffington Post
banned Donald Trump
from its Politics section;
for eight months, the online news aggregator filed
all news related to Trump’s
campaign under the Entertainment section. In September, Saturday Night Live
featured Trump in its opening monologue; one month
later, in December, Trump
starred on Jimmy Kimmel
Live; and since announcing
his campaign eight months
ago, Trump has made multiple guest appearances on
The Tonight Show Starring
Jimmy Fallon. With Trump
making regular appearances
on late night comedy shows,
running rampant on social
media, and dominating the
24-hour news cycle, it’s hard
to contest his entertainment
IIlustrated by Kristin Lynch
party affiliation, to take the
time to educate him- or herself about each candidate’s
policies, history, beliefs, and
values. We cannot elect a
president whose policies
and beliefs stem from hatred and bigotry.
Stereotypes Make Life Interesting
CONTINUED
PAGE 1:
Page 6
March 10, 2016
The Immaculatan
Opinion & Editorial
“Yoga-To” Be Kidding Me
Justin Filiaggi
Graduate Student
Staff Writer
As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, our individual
self-care is crucial to whatever path we walk in life.
One prominent fixture in
my own self-care is yoga,
and it was a definite process to recognize it as such.
When I was younger, I
didn’t give yoga the time of
day. I just thought it looked
like a bizarre and disproportionate word. Most of
us growing up will have had
similar experiences, as the
need for body management
and a spiritual craving tend
to become more relevant as
we get older.
While I was in high
school, I was quite aware
of what yoga was, but it
seemed so one dimensional
to me, something soccer
moms did in their spare
time at the local YMCA. It
then developed into a literal
joke after I heard a Dane
Cook stand up act where
he mimicked the role of the
yoga instructor telling her
students in a sensual voice
to contort their bodies into
strange positions. It was
admittedly funny, because
though I had never been to
a yoga class before, that’s
what I imagined it would be
like.
Then came college, and
with all the new friends and
experiences came a serious
girlfriend, who along with
making crafts by hand and
babysitting, also practiced
yoga. You could probably
call her a yogi, a title given
to those who devote much
of their time and energy
into what to them is a way
of life. Still, with this girl
doing headstands in my
room I was no closer to understanding this strange art
form then I was back home
hearing that my mom had
just bought a new instructional video by Lu Lu Lemon. After a new yoga studio
opened up at school my
girlfriend suggested we go
and take advantage of a free
trial class. This wasn’t your
Provided by www.myyoganc.com
normal yoga class, however,
this was Bikram yoga.
For those of you who
don’t know what Bikram
is, it’s like a traditional yoga
class, but in a room where
the temperature is turned
up 100 degrees plus. For
anyone who chooses this as
their first yoga class like I
did, be aware it’s like jumping into the deep end of the
pool without taking swimming lessons. I took the
recommended child’s pose
(a resting position on your
knees utilized when you feel
like you’ve hit your limit)
more then anyone else in
that class. Still, although I
did walk out of that class
refreshed with my first practice under my belt, I still
wasn’t sold.
It wasn’t until I graduated, broke up with said girlfriend and ventured out to
my first music festival that
I discovered what kind of
community existed among
the yoga faithful. The fact
that normal, everyday people were gathering together
at these festivals as early as
8am proved to me the kind
of dedication and genuine
interest people invested in
this practice. Yoga became a
fundamental part of my life
for the next two years, up
until this very day. It makes
sense to me that initially I
was just attempting to hold
on to a piece of my ex-lover,
but after an extended hospital visit in late 2013 due to
an irritable bowel flare up,
yoga was the one thing that
helped me regain the physical, and more importantly,
the mental strength to reflect and re-balance my own
life. I went from rolling out
of bed and watching videos
on YouTube, to creating my
own practice and eventually
joining a local studio in my
home town.
There is much, much
literature on the practice
of yoga, and that has also
given me an invaluable perspective. Everything from
understanding
universal
morality, to cultivating perceptual awareness, to seeking a personal union with
the divine is all part of the
experience. True, many
places in American culture
have Westernized yoga to
the point of strictly becoming a “work out,” but those
who are well-versed on the
origins of yoga will tell you
that it is actually more of
a “work-in.” The goal is to
leave all competition, all
judgment, all self-doubt at
the door and to really per-
sonalize your own practice
with the guidance of others.
Everyone gets something
different out of the same
session, and you can go as
shallow, or as deep as you’d
like.
The main benefits I’ve
discovered are most tangibly the physical and mental strength you gain from
continued practice. I would
posit that yoga has the potential to work every single muscle in your body.
With hundreds of poses,
and styles like vinyasa flow
that incorporates constant
movement, and Zen yoga,
which is more focused on
holding postures, there is
always some variation for
what ails you. The core of
yoga is also centered on
mindfulness, or being fully
present in your practice.
That means training your
mind to stop its constant
chatter during practice, so
that when you leave you
can incorporate it into daily
life.
As I said earlier, I started
doing yoga consistently in
my bedroom first thing in
the morning, via a pre-recorded YouTube clip from
a lady in Russia. I also traveled to Spain this past summer and took a yoga class
led by a New Yorker at
Ciutadella Park in Barcelona. This far reaching accessibility is something that
makes it a universal practice
accepting of any age, religion, or ethnicity. Are there
predominantly more female
then male yoga practitioners? Of course.
For many men like myself,
yoga has become a somewhat re-discovered topic,
and I for one admit I felt my
gender being challenged for
the first few months while I
participated publicly. However, in an age where gender
stigmas are being broken
down and individuals are
doing more of what they
want and less of what society dictates, it is definitely
becoming more of a common practice for men and
women alike.
The question remains,
what are you looking to get
out of your practice? How
are you willing to grow?
What are you looking to
gain, or in some cases, lose?
These are all relevant questions pertaining not just to
yoga, but life in general.
Answering them is half the
fun. Living them is the other half.
Page 7
March 10, 2016
Sports
The Immaculatan
Immaculata Spring Sports Review
Luke Keeler ‘16
Sports Editor
(2/12/16). Both meets resulted in no team scoring,
however, the men were able
As spring draws near and to finish with top individual
the grounds begin to thaw, finishes. At the DeSchriver
the IU winter and spring Invitational, senior Angel
sports teams look to make Chimal Rodriguez placed
a clean sweep in reaching third in the 3,000-meter
the Colonial States Athletic event with a time of 9 minConference (CSAC) Tour- utes and 6 seconds. Later,
nament and the NCAA Rodriguez placed tenth in
the one-mile event with a
Tournament.
time of 4 minutes and 35
seconds.
Men’s Basketball
Despite going 3-4 in their
At the Susquehanna Unilast month of the regular
season, the IU Men’s Bas- versity Invitational, freshketball Team was still able men Michael Wamsher
to clinch a spot in the CSAC set a new Immaculata inTournament. This year, the door school record in the
men came in as the #6 400-meter with a time of
seed and started their post- 54.84 seconds to place him
season run with the CSAC in thirty-first. Meanwhile,
Quarterfinals at Cabrini senior Will Martin recorded
College.
Unfortunately, his best time of the indoor
their run ended as quickly season by placing fortyas it started, as the Mighty ninth in the one-mile event
Macs fell to Cabrini, 70-90, with a time of 5 minutes
and were eliminated from and 14 seconds. The Mighty
Macs will now shift their fothe playoffs.
cus to the outdoor portion
of their season, which starts
Women’s Basketball
After finishing the last on Saturday, March 19th at
month of their season at the Elizabethtown Early
4-3, the Lady Macs found Bird Opener.
themselves short of a playoff spot in this year’s CSAC Women’s Track & Field
No team score was recordTournament. However, for
the second time this season, ed for the Women’s Track &
senior Reilly Larkin earned Field at the DeSchriver and
the CSAC Women’s Basket- Susquehanna Invitational.
ball Honor Roll on Monday, However, the women did
manage to record some top
February 15th.
individual finishes. At the
DeSchriver Invitational, seMen’s Track & Field
Men’s Track & Field nior Cayla Rimkis recorded
participated in their final a time of 20 minutes and
two indoor meets this past 18 seconds in the 5,000-memonth; the first was at the ter event to finish eighth.
DeSchriver
Invitational Meanwhile, junior Diana
(2/6/16) and the second Cusick placed eighth in the
was at the Susquehanna one-mile event with a time
University
Invitational of 5 minutes and 35 sec-
Provided by Immaculata University
Provided by Immaculata University
The girls began their 2016 season at the NTC Spring games in Clermont, FL, while their
conference season begins on Saturday, March 19th at Cabrini.
onds. Diana would later set
a school record in the next
one-mile event by placing
a time of 5 minutes and 30
seconds to finish in sixth
at the Susquehanna Invitational. Then, in the 4x800meter relay, Christine Bleil
(freshman), Emily Cardie
(freshman), Paula Barrett
(sophomore), and Rachel
Lamb (junior), all recorded
a time of 11 minutes and 16
seconds. The Mighty Macs
will move on to the outdoor
part of their season, which
begins Saturday, March 19th
at the Elizabethtown Early
Bird Opener.
Baseball
The IU Baseball Team
opened their season with a
doubleheader loss (0-1 &
5-10) to Arcadia University at the Maple Zone Institute in Aston, PA. After
the Mighty Macs finish their
Spring Break Tournament
in Fort Pierce, FL, they will
return home for their first
game held on Immaculata’s
campus with a three nonconference match against
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIOT) on Friday,
March 11th. According to
this year’s CSAC Preseason
Polls, this year’s IU Baseball
Team was selected to finish
second, right behind 7-time
defending champion Keystone College.
Softball
This year’s IU Softball
Team was picked to finish third in the CSAC Preseason Polls behind first
place Neumann and second
place Cabrini. The girls began their 2016 season at
the NTC Spring games in
Clermont, FL, while their
conference season begins
on Saturday, March 19th at
Cabrini.
MD on Thursday, February
25th.
Men’s Golf
The IU Men’s Golf Team
was selected to finish third
out of nine teams in the
CSAC Preseason Polls. The
Women’s Lacrosse
Mighty Macs will travel to
This year the IU Women’s their first tournament of
Lacrosse Team was picked the season on Saturday,
to finish 4th in the CSAC March 19th at the Ursinus
Preseason Polls. Meanwhile Invitational.
4-time defending champion, Cabrini College, was
Men’s Tennis
picked to finish first once
In the CSAC Preseason
again.
Polls the IU Men’s Tennis
Team was picked to finMen’s Lacrosse
ish fifth after finishing last
For the second straight season at 3-9 overall and
year, the Mighty Macs were 2-5 in the conference. The
selected to finish sixth in Mighty Macs kick-off their
the CSAC Preseason Polls. season with an away match
Meanwhile, 15-time defend- on March 15th at Lebanon
ing champion Cabrini was Valley College and begin
picked to finish first. The their conference schedule
Mighty Macs opened their on Wednesday, March 23rd
season with a 6-10 loss at at Cabrini.
Hood College in Fredrick,
It’s On Us
This year, Immaculata student-athletes are pledging
to take a stand against the threat of sexual harassment,
which plagues nearly a thousand innocent Americans
every year, especially women and children. So do not
be afraid, take the pledge now. Do what you believe
is right and be a responsible person that everyone can
respect.
Men & Women’s Soccer to
Host “Alumni Games”
On April Fool’s Day weekend, the IU Men and Women’s Soccer teams will host a doubleheader at Draper
Walsh Stadium that will place Immaculata’s current
soccer squads against a team of alumni’s in multiple
contests. The Women’s Alumni game is schedule for
12:30pm and the Men’s alumni game will get underway
at 3pm.
Page 8
March 10, 2016
Student Depression
Is Not Uncommon
CONTINUED
PAGE 1:
FROM
signs is not a sure indicator
of depression, it should still
be monitored particularly in
regards to regularity.
Feeling down or anxious
to any degree does not
make a person worthless
or deserving of judgment.
No student should ever
have to feel like he or she
is alone to face his or her
problems. Many colleges
have health and counseling services that are available to students for the sole
purpose of assisting them.
The organization Aevidum
is a special national club
whose purpose is to “create
positive mental health environments where all students
feel accepted, appreciated,
acknowledged, and cared
for.” Organizations like this
are extremely beneficial to
students feeling the weight
of depression. Jessica Gilpert, Immaculata University’s
Aevidum advisor and assistant director of counseling
services gave tips on QPR, a
suicide prevention method
that focuses on questioning, persuading, and referring a potential victim. She
stated that the information
is used in presentations on
campus to keep students
informed about the dangers of depression. Too
many students ignore their
symptoms for varying reasons, such as not knowing
where to go or being embarrassed to confront their
problem. As a friend of
someone who is suffering,
they should be supportive
and proactive in seeking out
help for their friend. Waiting is a mistake. Like any
problem, the sooner it is approached, the easier it is to
resolve.
Director of Career and
Professional Development,
Kathleen McCauley, answered some questions regarding student depression,
and also offered some of
her own personal insight.
When asked what the first
steps would be if a student
came in suffering with depression, she gave details
The Immaculatan
THE IMMACULATAN
March 10, 2016 · Vol. LXXXII, No. 6
Co-Editors-in-Chief:
Allison Wentzell ‘16
Kristin Lynch ‘17
Copy Editor:
Annie McDermott ‘16
Sports Editor:
Luke Keeler ‘16
Staff Writers:
Anne Marie DeCarolis ‘17
Jared Viz ‘19
Kristiana Wodzinski ‘18
Justin Filiaggi, Graduate Student
Hanna Shatuck ‘18
Contributing Writers:
Cassie McCullough ‘16
Kayla Vickers ‘17
Provided by theodysseyonline.com
on the steps needing to be
performed. First, immediate risks would need to be
assessed, such as what level
the student was at. Safety
is a primary concern, so
one should check for obvious harm to the student
or to others. Especially in
cases of self-harm, urgent
action would need to happen to prevent the students
from further injuring themselves. Finally, what are the
student’s self-care methods?
Are they resorting to any
elements, such as alcohol
or drugs? McCauley stated that addiction could be
stemmed from depression,
and could be even more of
an issue amongst students
than depression itself.
I personally experienced
how depression can affect
an individual’s academic career and was lucky enough
to overcome it. I attended
four different colleges and
suffered a severe breakdown during my first transfer. Instead of seeking out
help, I let the issues build up
until I was forced to drop
out of the school and take
time off from college until
I transferred to an entirely
new school. This occurrence was a learning experience, as I now understand
how serious of a problem
depression can be and the
effects it can have. Even
now, while I do not feel
the drastic ramifications of
mental illness, my past depression still shadows me.
Despite overcoming a stage
of depression, symptoms
still remain and the fear of a
recurring incident haunt the
victim. There is not necessarily a cure-all for depression; rather, an individual
has to learn how to cope.
This is best accomplished
when surrounded by resources and support, not
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Sean Flannery
The Immaculatan is open to reader submissions and
welcomes new staff members. Contact the newspaper at
immaculatan@mail.immaculata.edu if you are interested in
submitting an article, joining our staff, or have a suggestion of what you would like to see in an upcoming edition.
If you are interested in placing an advertisement, either as a
local business or as a club or organization on campus, feel
free to email us and we send you additional information.
Articles featured in past editions of the The Immaculatan, as
well as those in this issue, are available for you to view
on our website, www. immaculata.edu/immacualtan.
The Immaculatan staff thanks you for reading the paper.
apprehension or judgment.
College should be a time
of personal growth, opportunity, and good times.
Stress and anxiety are expected, as every student
Are you interested in joining the
Immaculatan staff this year?
goes through hard times
during their lives, especially
in college. However, these
feelings should not be left
to spiral out of control and
affect the individual’s college experience. Suffering
with depression and poor
mental health can leave a
student feeling “less satisfied with college and [they]
struggle to develop a sense
of belonging on campus,”
according to Eagan. No one
deserves to go through that
experience. As students, we
should work together to notice and approach depression before those we care
about become victims.
Contact us through email or
message us on Facebook!