THE;STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MERCYHURST COLLEGE SINCE 1929

Vd®77 No.10 . 38th$t Erie Pa. 116546 December ¥7,20

T h e Merciad is also available at
merciad.mercyhurst.edu
Christmas on Campus New policy
NEWS:
Students awarded for may affect
living out the mission
ofMercyhurst spreads cheer to all someHubs
PAGE 3
L e f t : M i ke
Foglio and An-
nie DiBartolom-
on campus
eo take a break By Holly Bums
FEATURES: from a busy day
Contributing write r
putting smiles
The Hamady twins on children at The Mission committee of Mer-
Christmas on cyhurst College is hard at work, in an
are twice as nice. attempt to finalize a Controversial
Campus.
Issues Statement, regarding the pub
PAGE 5 Below: Christ- lication of controversial issues in cam-
mas on Campus pus publications.
Student Direc- The purpose of the Controversial
tor Anne Slegel Issues Statement is to affirm who
has two helpers Mercyhurst is and how we respect
to welcome the our Catholic/Mercy mission and tra-
OPINION: arrival of Santa dition, according to the draft docu-
Claus to the ment shown to The Merdadstaff.
Union last Sat- It also is meant to show how we
Does religion create treasure the creative tension which
urday.
a hive mentality? is a necessary part of the college en-
vironment"
PAGE 7
tographer The statement oncefinalized,will
be disseminated to all student dubs,
By: Jonelle Davis
organizations, faculty members,
Contributing writer
coaches, and administrators.
From there, it will be used to guide
It is Christmas time and once their activities and the products of
ARTS& again the spirit of giving is in the their efforts. All members of the
air. On Saturday Dec. 13 Mercy- college community will be called to
ENTERTAINMENT hurst College hosted Christmas on assess their activities using the stan
Campus for kidsfrom1-4 p.m. dards established in the Controver-
Christmas on Campus wel- sial Issues Statement according to th<
Check out Post comed underprivileged children draft policy..
Office's new album from neighborhood agencies to
come to Mercyhurst and celebrate If a club or organization has con-
4
JGfveJJpa4flr^ Christmas. ^^^** ^ cerns about a project dr restrictions
For most of these children, this | placed upon them, the draft policy
PAGE 8 event was the only Christmas they calls for them to be invited to bring
will have this year / * ,' their concerns to the Appeals Com-
According to Anne Slegel, Stu- mittee of the Student Communica-
dent Director of Christmas on Cam- tions Review Board. This is a sub-
pus, students decorated the Union committee of the Trustees' Studenl
in advance to prepare for the day, Life Committee.
SPORTS: turning the Union into a magical If, for any reason, the Appeals
world. Committee cannot resolve the issue
Men's basketball on After the preparation was fin- a full meeting of the Student Com-
fire with two more ished, many other students joined munications Review Board will be
wins.!: in to welcome the children to Mer- held to address the controversy and
cyhurst. determine a course of action, accord-
After the children arrived, the ing to the draft policy.
PAGE 12 rowing, football and lacrosse teams However, if a dub or organization
played games to kick off the day. does not seek the opinion of the Re-
After this, the children were each view Board and produces a publica-
assigned a student buddy.' Contributing pholograptter
tion that goes against the standards
The buddies took the children Pam Cichon, she participated as a cess, but the amount of work ft set by the Controversial Issues State
Upcoming Campus Events around the Union, doing every- buddy to help make a little kids took putting the program togeth- ment, the draft policy calls for that
thingfromcrafts to face painting. Christmas better. ? er was enormous. 1 action to be reviewed by the Appeals
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 17 - They were also given a chance to "I know that I always got excit- According to Anne Siegel, she] Committee.
shop for free gifts for their parents ed about Christmas and Santa when spent months preparing each as
at Santa's shop. Thefirstoffense would be a warn-
Blood Drive, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the I was little. I can't imagine what it pect of the event. ing. A second offense may result in
MSG Chambers, Student Union The day also included the ap- would be like to not get to cele- Still, she felt it Was worth the
pearance of Disney Character's brate Christmas with the gifts and work. This event was important the termination of the organization,
provided by Campus Ministry,.a games and crafts that I used to," because people often miss thej according to the draft policy.
Film: "Metropolis", 2 p.m.'and 8 reading of The Night Before Christ- said Cichon. most important aspect of Christ-
Cathy Anderson, Associate Vice
p.m. in the PAC mas, and of course a visit from She went on to say that it was mas, which is giving." President of Student Development
Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. and Mary Daly, Senior Assistant tc
really fun being a buddy. "My lit- $ Siegel also went on to say that]
Not only were the children hap- Itle girl was so excited about every- faculty advisors Cass Shimek an i the President for Board Relations and
THURSDAY, DEC.|18 - Special Events would not comment
py, but the students that helped thing She appreciated each craft Penny Hanes, along with Assistan
them also got satisfaction out of or game that we played. I It was Student Director Kelly Rose Dut-J at this time. I
Inter Varsity ( hristian Fellowship, 8 giving back to the community. great to watoh her face when she tine and a helpful committee of The trustees' Mission Committee
p.m. in the MSG Chambers, Student According to Mercyhurst student would win a prize." volunteers, played crucial rules In will meet Jan. 6 to discuss the policy
Union Every part of the event was a suc- organizing the event. and possible action.

FRIDAY, DEC. 1 9 -

Last day of classes for students,

Christmas vacation begins after
classes
Dress To Kill campus In February and also will
By Amanda Orendorf go back into the school," stated Rid-
TUESDAY, JAN. 6 - Contributing writer er, y
Dress to Kill raised about $1,000
The fashion merchandising de- for Mercyhurst College and alcohol
SAC General Meeting, 9 p.m. in the awareness.
partment at Mercyhurst College put
MSG Chambers, Student Union on its first fashion show Dec. 12 in The fashion show consisted of
the Walker Recital Hall. The fash- four sets that included formal, rock
Index Ion show's theme, "Dress to Kill,
Not Drink to Kill," was Intended to
and roll, contemporary, and T-
shirts., In between each set was a
News* .*,...,...*..&. ...1 help raise alcohol awareness on student speaker talking about their
News,*. »• * 2 campus. own personal experiences with al-
News* 5 <jj •• 3 "Drinking responsibly is a nation- cohol. The student speakers talked
Features •• «*• 4 al problem and a recent event that about alcoholism and their friend's
happened within the fashion de- death and Injuries that occurred as
Features »i» * a direct result of drinking. $
partment was the catalyst for this
Forum..... •-•* ° event," stated Lindsay Rider, Co- The models included some of the
Opinion • ' Chairman of the fashion show. fashion merchandising majors along
8 with some male athletes on cam-
A & £..... i «• The fashion show was funded by
pus. The athletes included Mike
A &M \-\ *•— 9 a grant given by President William
P. Garvey, the student government, Marshall, Mike Cahoon, Brian
Sports I «, "v p and also by student fundraising. Smith, Terrance Patrick, Jared Ad-
Anna Quorrtoro/ConlitbuUng photographer
Sports £ '! The money that we raised will go ams, Brian Bartlet, Joe Jerome, and
Junior Joe Jerome makes hit modeling debut for a good cause.
Sports ........12 to a day for alcohol awareness on PWWdPQNSJVS/jovv on page J J
PAGE 2 DECEMBER 17,2003
THEMERCIAD

National & International News 7b contartnewsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu

Capturing Enlistmentsjgrowing despite

Saddam Hussein was found in the
of* farmhouse and arrested slipping support for war
a shot being fired: | joined the year before, said Sgt paid by the service.
Tom Cromer. : In addition to that, some re-
Time: Saturday, Dec. 13, By Patrick S. Pemberton
Knight Ridder Newspapers County recruitment numbers cruits receive cash bonuses of
8 p.m. local time f were not available for the Navy, up to $20,000 (depending on
Air Force or Marines, and local factors like prior education and
cation Red i Lisa Fay doesn't agree with the recruiters from those branches assignment), and many will re-
Dawn": U.S. special war in Iraq, but she's joining the all deferred questions to out-of- ceive training that could make
forces moved into the area Armyanyway. area spokespersons. But nation- them more marketable in civil-
A4-year stint, the Oceano teen ally, none of the three branches ian life.
hours after Iraqi tipT said, will allow her to receive the,']appear to be impacted by slip- All that can be appealing, es-
training she needs to become a ping support lor the war. pecially when the economy is still
HWing place: "Spider hoie" mental health specialist, which Critics say the war in Iraq has recovering from a 2001 reces-
underground, about 2 m (6.6 ft.) could lead to a career in social been too costly, has resulted In sion that put two million people
deep, with ventilation pipe; hole i services. further instability in the Middle out of work.
When he enters the Army next East and—worst of all—has "Basically, the military is my
camouflaged with bricks, dirt spring, Jason Scaroni will already resulted in the deaths of more last resort in life," said Jamie
have a degree in computer sci- than 430 U.S. troops as this sto-Gooch, 25, of Atascadero.
Result Saddam offered no ence from Cal Poly. But he would ry goes to press.; Gooch, who has a wife and 3-
resistance, he is talkative and like the Army to pay off his stu- The possibility of encounter- year-old daughter, said he cant
dent bans. ing danger has sparked questions find stable work, he said, and he
*• # » ; •
F; two other people aHa The Army will pay up to from potential recruits and their cannot afford to go to school.
arrested; weapons and more than $65,000 in school loans. Scaroniparents, Cromer said. But the So he'll get training in aircraft
$750,000 cash confiscated | ^ _ _ _ _ _ ^ _ has around $30,000.!• p odds of getting killed in Iraq are repair in the Army.
"So that will take care of all slim, he said. H "Right now if8 so tight with
Soira:AFI» Aft CNN. NRT photo earvtoe OepNc: Jul* Schtfbt. Morton Lfhrm eSOOS
of my loan debt," said the San "It's concerning to a lot of ^ money—with all the bills and
Luis Obispo resident people, of course," Cromersaid. stuff — the Army is basically

Council wants Saddam Even though support for mili- "But I don't see a big impact as
tary involvement In I raq is wan- far as enlistm ents." The economy made significant
ing (the country is now evenly To help keep the military sup- gains in the third quarter of this
split, according to several polls plied with troops, the federal year, but economists say job

tried by Iraqi tribunal conducted last month), all government has increased ex- growth is still slow.
branches of the service are penses for recruiters as well as And many high school gradu-
meeting their enlistment quotas. boosted incentives to join. ates are weary of having to
P Things have been going very, The Army, which has targeted spend years paying off loan
It will definitely be televised." be satisfied," said the official, very well," said Douglas Smith, college students and college- debts. J&
By Maureen Fan Human rights groups have ex- who spoke on condition of a no- >ja spokesman for the Army Re- bound high schoolers, started According to the U.S. Depart-
Knight Ridd er Newspapers pressed concern that the Iraqis nymity. cruiting Command in Georgia. experimenting with 15-month ment of Edu cation, 64 percent
lack the technical abilitytopros- The official said the United "\AfeVe made our recruiting mis- terms of service to appeal to of students have to take out
ecute Saddam fairly on their States also reserved therightto sion for the year." those reluctant to commit to the loans for college. The average
BAGHDAD, Iraq—Contro- own. Legislation to create the prosecute Saddamforcrimes Last month, the Army's goal previous minimum commitment debt upon graduation is roughly
versy over how to prosecute war-crimes tribunal was ap- committed against Americans. | | was to recruit 6,400 new enlist- of two years. | s $17,000 n £
Saddam Hussein intensified proved last week by the Gov- Two of Iraq's neighbors de- ees nationwide. It signed up Meanwhile, the G.I. bill will pay While the Army will pay Sea -
Monday as President Bush said erning Council only after a pro- manded Monday that Saddam be 6,594. more money for schooling (up roni's loan debts, he also will re-
the United States would work vision was inserted allowing for tried for war crimes against their In San Luis Obispo County, to $50,000) once a soldier fin- ceive a $20,000 signing bonus
with Iraq to develop a way to international advisers, yet it was countries. Their chances of try- more than 100 people have en- ishes a stint And those who al- and training as a linguist
try him, while members of Iraq's ^unclear whether council mem~ ing him in an international ven- listed in the Army this year— ready have graduated from col- r He's hoping to learn Arabic.
Governing Council insisted that 4bersjntendfcd to bring feintergf tie arsslimrhowever,grver+that morethan twicethe numberthat lege can have up to $65,000 re-
the former dictator would be J national expf&ts. T ? 9 S J? ttfSU:Nrcourtsin The Hague,
tried in public by ah already-cre- "We will work with the Iraqis Netherlands, have no jurisdic-
no Vll

ated all-Iraqi war crimes tribu- to develop a way to try him and tion. • - £ J.
nal as early as March.
Saddam's capture will not mean more
that will stand up to intemation- In Kuwait the prime minister,; •)
While some council members al scrutiny," President Bush said tasked his nation's top lawyers to
want to see Saddam put to death,in Washington. The Iraqis need "go after" Saddam, said Waleed
forces available to find bin Laden
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi to be involved. They were the Abdul-Latif al Nusif, the editor ment raised complaints in Wash- hiding out in a country occupied
of the dally newspaper al Qa- By Juan O. Tamayo
Annan opposed any proceedings ones who were brutalized... M ington that President Bush was by more than 130,000 U.S.
They need to be very much in- bas. Saddam invaded Kuwait in Knight Ridder Newspapers
that had the death penalty as an easing {he pressures on bin Lad-troops and had little support, said
option. And Iraq's neighbors volved in the process." 1 1990, an act that precipitated the Saddam Hussein's capture is en. Stanley Bedlington, a former
damored for their own proceed- m Although the U.S.-backed coa-first U.S.-led Persian Gulf War. unlikely to prompt U.S. officials Many of the new arrivals in senior analyst In the CIA's Coun-
ings against the captured former lition authority has suspended the What court the Arab country to intensify their search for Osa- Iraq wound up in Task Force terterrorist Center.
dictator. 'i Z death penalty in Iraq, it could be; plans tofileits case in was un- ma bin Laden in Afghanistan, | 121, an eliteforceof CIA ana- This one was a more specifi-
"He has to be tried by the tri- brought back after sovereignty clear, although the charges prob- terror experts said Sunday. lysts and linguists, Army Green cally military operation because
bunal we set up a few days ago," is restored July 1, prompting ably would be criminal rather V The CIA and Pentagon are un-Beret, Delta Force and Navy it Involved regular Infantry along
said Mowaffak al Rubaie, a Brit- Annan to object.'1 than civil, Nusif said. likely to return to Afghanistan SEAL commandos and CIA with the CIA and (the Penta-
ish-trained physician who was The U.N. does not support a Iran also is pursuing a crimi- the scores of U.S. commandos paramilitary units created in gon's) Defense Intelligence
one of four Governing Council death penalty. In all the courts nal complaint against Saddam for and intelligence agents that had October to track down and cap- Agency," Bedlington said.
members who met Saddam for we have set up, (U.N. officials) his 1980-88 war against that been seeking bin Laden before ture or kill Saddam and resis- The hunt for bin Laden, on the
about 30 to 40 minutes early have not included a death pen- country, government spokesman they were shifted to Iraq to crack tance leaders. 3? other hand, is more of an intel-
Sunday morning. f alty," Annan said Monday at the Abdollah Ramazanzadeh said down on Iraqi rebels, f "Clearly, the resources devot- ligence operation because he is
The trial will be public and tele- United Nations. "And so as sec- during a weekly briefing in Te- That mission remains more ed to bin Laden were diluted, but widely believed to be hiding out
vised and Saddam could face theretary-general, and the U.N. as hran. Saddam used chemical important than turning up the I don't expect a switch back to In the mountains along the re-
death penalty, Rubaie said. an organization, I am not going weapons during that war, which heat on bin Laden, who they Afghanistan just because of the mote Afghan-Pakistani border,
They were big crimes he did, to now turn around and support: ,jended in a draw and claimed at believe to be all but isolated in a capture of Saddam, said Can- with help from Muslim radicals
from mass graves to killing cler- a death penalty." least 300,000 Iranian lives. remote comer of Afghanistan, nistraro. § and local tribal leaders."
ics to gassing the Kurds. There A senior State Department "We want the crimes of Iraq's the analysts said. He and other analysts argued "Moreover, Osama is neutral-
are enough crimes to hang him official said Monday that it was dictator to be examined in a com- Nearly half the U.S. intelli- that the manhuntsforSaddam ized, so there's no rush to get
many thousands of times," said "clearly for the Iraqis to decide" petent International court and for gence and commando agents and bin Laden are quite differ- him," Dunnigan added. "More
council member Mohsen Abdul if the death penalty should be him to be put on trial," Ramaza- who had been in Afghanistan ent and therefore require differ- urgent attention must be paid to
Hameed, the secretary general Imposed on Saddam. nzadeh said. The Foreign Min- and neighboring Pakistan were ent types of resources. bin Laden followers outside Af-
of the Iraqi Islamic Party. "But "He victimized their entire istry has taken some measures reassigned to Iraq starting last The search for Saddam required ghanistan and Pakistan who are
the court will be fair. We will give population, so whatever punish- on this Issue and has collected summer after the resistance be- more of a military than an intel- actively planning operations."
him lawyers and it will be public. ment they deem applies, we will the necessary documents." gan intensifying. The redeploy- ligence operation because he was

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Students: Don't Forget to CRAB Your "Lunch on the RunT I

DECEMBER 17,2003 THEMEROAD PAGE 3

To contact newsmerciad@ mercyhurst. edu NEWS

Mercvhurst students live the mission Police& Safety Daily Crime Log

By Jennifer Allen November 16, 2003 December 6, 2003

Contributing writer
Students from both Mercv-
hurst campuses were recognized
for living the mission of Mercy-
hurst College on Wednesday,
December 10, in connection with
the'founding of the Sisters of
Mercy Foundation on Dec. 12,
1831. There were one hundred-
sixty students were honored for
their efforts at a reception held
in the Mercy Heritage Room.
The mission of Mercvhurst
College that these students have
lived so well states, ". . .Inspired
by the Sisters of Mercy, the col-
lege holds in highest esteem the
qualities of excellence, compas-
sion, creativity, and service to
others."
In the third year for "Living
the Mission" Sister Kathleen
Marie Leap, Director of the
Mercy Institute, Sister Geraldi-
ne Rosinski, Director of Cam-
pus Ministry, and Sister Michele
Marie Schroeck, Director of
Service Learning, welcomed stu-
dents to the reception and pre-
sented them with certificates to
honor their work.
Sister Geraldine Rosinski said
of the faculty recognizing stu-
dents for their compassion, ser-
vice, and volunteer work, This
is a way for us to perpetuate the
mission of the Sisters of Mer-
cy." She felt that it was great for
these students to be recognized
for their achievements as well.
One student honored for liv-
ing the mission of the Sisters of
Mercy, was Nicole Craven, a
sophomore who was also nomi-
nated last year. She was nomi-
nated this year for her service
learning work at the Martin Luth-
er King Jr. Center in Erie.
"I loved going to the Martin
Living the Mission award winners enjoy the reception In their honor In the Mercy Heri-
tage Room. From left to right are Sr. Mlchele Schroeck, Greg Wllczynskl, Mike Miele
and Dan Stilson.
Luther King Jr. Center," Craven
said "I think the kids taught me
more than I taught them some-
tunes." | the many recipients of the award.
Craven loved her experience
working with the children at the
center and said, "It makes me
feel very good that people think
I am nice."
Amy Mason, also a sopho-
more, was recognized for her
work at the Martin Luther King
Jr. Center as well "It felt great
to be nominated," she said.
Mason said of the initial ex-
perience, "It wasn't really what
I expected, and it took a couple
weeks for the kids to start warm-
• A'
ingup.
She later added, "It was fun;
a learning experience that really
opened up my eyes to a group
of people and kids that I would
not have normally been exposed
to." i
Katie Walker was another of
She is a junior communications
major who was nominated by Dr.
Melissa Gibson Hancox, for all
of the work she has done within
the communications department
as well as for helping out with
Dr. Gibson's Freshman Year Ini-
tiative class.
Walker was very happy to be
chosen for the award. She said,
"I found being nominated a very
large honor, it was nice to be rec-
ognized by the faculty for all of
the hard work and other things
I have given to Mercyhurst."
Sister Kathleen Marie Leap,
who was in charge of the event,
said, "It was good to have many
members of the college commu-
Warde Townhouse* #1 3907 Lewis Ave,
Burglary: Gateway Laptop Criminal Mischief: Unknown
Computer stolen from table in pecson(s) damaged a tree and
apt. Investigated* branch located in die court-
yard, Investigated.
3829 Briggs Aye. December 7, 2003
Criminal Mischief: Door han- Baldwin Hall I %*
dle found to be broken, unable Theft: Theft of debit card
to secure or lock the door, In- from student's room, Investi-
vestigated gated.
Baldwin Hall December 8, 2003 ,
| Larceny /Theft: Wallet stolen 3923 Lewis Ave
from purse in apt. #236, Inves- College Violations: Student
tigated. had a pet dog in the apt,
Investigated.
November 17, 2003 December % 2003
3827/3829 Briggs Ave. 3925 Briggs Ave.
Larceny/Theft: One pair of Medical Emergency: III Stu
hockey pants stolen from laun- dent, Investigated.
Katw McAdamvPhoto ecWor
dry area,' Investigated.
November 18, 2003 December 11, 2003
nity stop by to congratulate the 3924 Lewis Ave. McAuleyHall |j
d students and to enjoy the re- Theft: Unknown person(s) Theft Theft of a chair, wal-
freshments." took a student's key, Investigat- let, money, and clothes from a
The students honored at the ed. student's room, Investigated.
reception received cards with a
quote from the Constitution of
the Sisters of Mercy of the November 20, 2003- December 12, 2003
Americas as well. This said, "We McAuley Hall East Duval
witness to MERCY when we Theft: Unknown person(s) Smoke Alarm: Student
reverence the dignity of each took jewelry, school books, and burned food while cooking,
person, create a spirit of hospi- CD's from a student's room, Investigated.
tality and pursue integrity of Investigated.
word and deed in our lives."
The certificate also congratu- November 23, 2003 December 15, 2003
lated the students on being 23 West Duval ft West Main Drive
named a Mercyhurst College stu- College Violations: Student Harassment: Unknown
dent of "Living the Mission" had a pet cat in the apt-, Inves- person(s) threw eggs at com-
and included the mission state- tigated. 5 plainant and yelled racial re-
ment that so many students at marks, Investigated.
Mercyhurst College live every
day.

Fashion shciw raises awareness B r C & t Q U f i J *tllC- I l l O l C l

Continued from Page L

According to junior Ashley

Breen, "I really enjoyed the show.
The message was gpod overall.
This event hit dose to home be-
cause my sister's dose friend was
killed by a drunk driver."
The night was a great success
with an outcome of more than
140 students. "We know that
drinking occurs. We just want to
promote responsible drinking.
We want people to look after
one another and take advantage
of the facilities on campus to be
safe when drinking," stated Rid-
er.
"The fashion show has been
a success because of all the fash-
ion majors, Dr. Garvey, Kathy
Anderson, Student Government,
and Manlynn Smith. Hopefully
this will be the first of an annual
event," said Rider.
Teacher evaluations often reflect
Winter breaks spent a variety of ways
By Becky Bellville
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Spring break is a time for col-
lege students to take off with
friends to exotic locales. And
summer vacations often find
them at full-time jobs or intern-
ships, or traveling overseas.
Winter breaks, however, do
not receive as much attention as
other vacations. Students use this
time for overseas travel, staying
at home and anything in be-
tween, and the length of winter
breaks varies from about two
weeks off to a luxurious five
weeks.
Anna Guernero/Contributing photographer
Many students spend this time,
TWo Mercyhurst students walk the runway for a good cause which usually starts about a week
last Friday. before Christmas and lasts into
January, with family and old
friends.
"I love my winter breaks. I get
to hang out with my friends near
home and my family after a long
Eric Flvnn, who is in his third
year at Drexel, has simple plans
for his winter break.
"Absolutely nothing," Flynn
said. "Just stay home and enjoy
»
it.
However, not everyone plans
to stay home. Philip Dobbyn, di-
rector of the Customer Contact
Center for the Internet travel
service Student-Universe, said
that while students tend to go
home for winter breaks, many
also go to warm places like Flor-
ida and Cancun, Mexico.
"We try to go somewhere ev-
ery winter break," said David
Ellis, another freshman at Amer-
ican, who plans to go on a Car-
ibbean cruise with his family. "My
sister is in graduate school" so
we both have time off.
Chris Allen, a freshman at
Michigan State University, said
he may go to California with his
family, but he also said that
spending a lot of time with his
Michigan student Yang, who is
from Massachusetts, went on a
ski trip to New Hampshire with
friends and plans to do it again.
American I niversitypopho-
more Izzy Bodian, whose par-
ents recendy bought a house in
Nicaragua, plans to visit people
at the Nicaraguan hotel where
she interned last summer, she
said.
Bodian said she usually spends
her breaks in "really weird plac-
es," like he i high school spring
break trip to Pans.
Dobbyn said students often
spend part of their winter breaks
in Europe, sometimes visiting
friends who are studying abroad.
"Students are spending time
seeing the sites and enjoying the
lifestyle of places like London,
Paris and Amsterdam," he said.
"They've probably done the
s
beers on the beach' before, and
want a little something different."
However, he said winter breaks

attractiveness, study finds drought of not seeing them,

which is a huge phis," said Frank
Yang, a sophomore at the Uni-
family was not necessarily posi-
tive.!
"I like to see them, but I love
still tend to be more low-key than
Other breaks. "With spring
breaks, the expectations are not
dents to look at photographs of] Web sites are devoted to evalu- versity of Michigan. college so much," Allen said. to go home, but to go crazy.
By Gwenn Miller 94 professors and rate their atingprofessors. Evan Ewers, a freshman at "They get on my nerves fast" "Summer trips are much long-
Knight Ridder Newspapers looks. They compared the rat- RateMyProfessor.com allows American University in Washing- Some students will use vaca- er and overseas. Winter break
ings with average student evalu- students to rate teaching effec- ton, D.C, is looking forward to tions to escape from their fami- has far fewer people traveling in
Question No. 1: On a scale of ation scores for the courses those tiveness and professor's looks his first trip home since August lies. University of Michigan soph- groups, versus summer and
one to 10, how effective was your professors taught. (depicted by a chili pepper it "I'm from California, so it's a omore Nathan Palstad plans to spring breaks where students
professor? | The researchers found that the they are deemed "hot")- 1 really long way,' Ewers said. "I'll •* f Til*
travel together."
go to the University of Illinois
Question No. 2: On a scale of professors who rated high in the Kimbedy Rodgers, Penn State have my car and I'll be able to
for a five-day conference orga-
Of course, there's always the
one to 10, how would you rate looks category also were rated assistant professor of finance, see my friends, (who) didn't get
nized by the group InterVarsity
old standby of using a break to
your professor's looks? \ bettei teachers than less-Attrac- was one professor whose name to go away to school, and my earn money. 1 wers, the Ameri-
Christian Fellowship.
Think the second question is tive professors, by almost a point. appeared on the site. She said family." J ^? "It is nice to go home and
can Universityfreshman,said he
outrageous? Well, it is. It would According to an October article reasonable people will reject In- At Drexel University in Phila- spend time with my family, but probably would do clerical work
never appear on a student eval in the Chronicle of Higher Ed- ternet-posted evaluations. w
for his mother's import-export
delphia, all breaks are about since I wouldn't be working, two
uation of a professor. ucation, that's a substantial dif- "The notion of correlating in- warehouse over his winter break
three weeks long. This is because weeks is a long time to spend con-
But that doesn't mean it's not ference. structor appearance with effec- Drexel's calendar operates year- stantly with your family," Palstad "It's really easy and they pay
a factor as Pennsylvania State Reviews of the study are tive teaching strikes me as non- round, in Quarters rather than said. me, so I don't complain," he said.
University students fill out Stu- mixed. sensical/' Rodgers said. the t radi (ion a I semesters. During his last winter break,
dent Rating of Teaching Effec- Robert Secor, vice provost for As superficial as die study (and
tiveness forms this week. academic affairs at Penn State, die Web site) might sound, stu-
In a recent stud) two research- said the university's own research dent evaluations can have seri- Information from Police and Safety
ers at the I Jniversiry of Texas at found that the biggest indicator ous implications for faculty Ten-
Austin concluded that more at- of student evaluations was how ure-track faculty at Penn State
tractive professors outscored much they learned from the are ultimately judged in three 1. Parking Lot #2, the underground parking ramp, the rules still apply even though
their more homely peers on course. categories to get tenure — re- students are on break because the faculty still need to park there.
teaching evaluations. "The more the students felt search, service and teaching. In
other words, student ratings
Daniel Hamermesh, professor they learned, the higher the 2. The parking lot behind the Student Union will be closed off because of a Christmas
scores," Secor said count
of economics, and one his stu- party on Dec. 19,2003. 1
It matters so much that entire
dents, Amy Parker, asked stu-
PAGE 4 THEMERCIAD DECEMBER 17, 2003

7b contact: featuremerciad@mercyhurst.edu FEATURES

Students learn much from Honduras trip
'They feel good when they give the little that they have'
* »

By Kyla Mclnchak
Contributing writer

A trip to a third world country

can be quite intimidating, but 12
seniors, Dr. Mary Snyder, and
Dr. Catherine Shiraek from Kfrstln Kalivoda was In Washington, O.C. working with
Mercyhurst threw their fears U.S Custom and Border Protection for six months.
aside and traveled to Honduras.
Why would anyone want to
• *

visit a third world country? "I

wanted to see how another part
of the world lives/* said Pamela
Wille. ' i & Contributing wnter
Another student, Danielle Fri-
er, said, *Tve always wanted to
go. Everyone should go to Hon-
duras before graduation."
The group lived off of simple
meals, consisting of rice, beans,
tortillas, and juice.
"They cooked the same things
over and over again, but they
didn't always taste the same way,"
said Wille.
"Our baths consisted of buck-
ets of water that we had to pour
on ourselves" said Frier.
When the group went outside,
they built homes, painted, and
played with the Honduran chil-
dren.
Oftentimes when they were
outside they saw kids throwing
garbage in the river or street
"They don't know any better,"
said Karen Dudziak.
Each person in the group had
to encounter bugs and hard
floors while they slept, but the
swarm of children waiting for
them in the morning helped
them to persevere.
Dudziak thought that the
l i t * I I 1 T 1
The group of students that traveled to Chamelecon over Thanksgiving break. They are
seen with the three boys they worked with and Sr. Kathleen.
the case. "They are good
hosts. They feel good when
they give the little that they have
to their guests," said Dudziak.
The group spent three out of
six days of their trip in Cha-
melecon Village. The village is
located outside of the city, said
Dudziak.
Betsy Dormer explained that
"the economic systems are
#
diverse. There's no running wa-
ter in the village, and they don't
have paved roads"
The Hondurans that live in the
live about 10 miles away from
the poor, said Donner.
She also said that they enjoy
paved streets, security systems,
and running water. "Therichget
richer, and the poor get poor-
er," said Dudziak.
A way to ensure that the poor
don't fight back is to limit their
education. "High school stu-
dents have to stand in a line to
get a packet for the upcoming
school year. On average only
250 out of 700 students that
stand in line actually get a
LJbbyZfegenhagenContnbuting photographer
Daniel Cabanillas set up the
trip two years ago, and students
that go usually come back with
a better perspective on life. "It
makes you appreciate what you
have, but in the same respect it
makes you disgusted. What we
have and what we think we need
to have to live is often distort-
ed," said • Wille.
Anyone can make a contribution
without actually visiting third
world countries such as Hondu-
ras.
What's important is "making
Kalivoda, Miller visit D.C.
By Kyla Mclnchak
The Vietnam Veterans' Me-
morial, the U.S. Holocaust
Museum, the Lincoln Memo-
rial and the National Zoo are
all attractions that lure people
to Washington D.C, but for
Kirstin Kalivoda, there's some-
thing even more exciting: the
U.S. Custom and Border Pro-
tection headquarters.
Kalivoda, a junior currently
enrolled in the R.I.A.P. pro-
gram, spent six months at the
agency.
Her job was to work in the
National Security. Anti-Terror-
ism division.
"I was given projects right
off the bat. I wasn't consid-
ered an intern, for instead I was
considered a part of the ream,"
said Kalivoda.
"I had to take sensitive infor-
mation and process it to deter-
mine its value," said Kalivoda.
She said that she had to make
the information available so
that agents in the field would
be able to act according to the
from home" shared Kalivoda,
an Erie native.
\filler and Kalivoda worked
in the same department and
also roomed together. They
didn't know one another until
the trip, but according to Kalivo-
da, "It was a new, fun, and ex-
citing experience. It worked
out very well, for I would have
been lonely if 1 had been by
myself." | j
Kalivoda said that she had al-
ways hoped to work in D.C,
and this dream is what led her
to Mercyhurst.
"I didn't want to go to col-
lege in Erie, but because of the
R.I.A.P. program and how
unique it was I decided to at-
tend Mercyhurst/* shared
Kalivoda.
She even turned down schools
in D.C. because they make their
studentsfindinternships on their
own, whereas Mercyhurst
brings agencies to the campus.
"Mercvhurst offered a bonus
that others schools did not," said
Kalivoda.
Kalivoda came back to Brie
with much more than she had
brought to D.C

group would live Like the Hon- city, on the other hand, live a life packet. This causes riots and Americans aware of what's hap- reports they received. She shared that she came
that middle class Americans sometimes arrests," said Dud- pening," said Donne r. Cairlyn Miller also went on back with knowledge that has
durans lived, in complete pov-
erty and hunger. This was not could relate to. Sadly, they only ziak. the trip. helped her both with issues in
"We worked 40 hours per school and in the world.
Stanley brings internship with TV station, double major full week, from 8:30 a.m. to 5
p.m. Then I worked overtime
"My study skills have im-
proved and now 1 know how
At her internship, Stanley had ley was exposed to a life in the which include being a resident as well," stated Kalivoda. to do better research*-1 know
By Brian Cellone
*\m»ny different? responsibilities^ me^Ua and lov$a $$%*$ mmut< assistant and an ambassador. How did the girls become so more about current events, and
ContributifigVn^r-W H i )
which included typical intern of it. The wide variety of jobs Stanley is also involved* ih the fortunate as ro gef an'tntcrn- 1 know a lot more about work-
1
"Attention everyone, we will be stuff, such as filing papers and and experiences - ? Liturgical Dance Ensemble. A ship in D.C? ing with a team, Kalivoda said.
on-air in 30 seconds. I need qui- getting things copied, as well as Stanley had at her internship new activity for her this year is According to Kalivoda, a "Lessons don't mean anything
et in the studio." not so typical jobs. had her realize that in die future the dance honors society, Nu majority of R.I.A.P. majors at until you apply them in the
For senior lessica Stanley, this These other jobs consisted of she would like to be a TV news Delta Alpha, which was just Mercyhurst do go to D.C work force," said Kalivoda.
became a routine part of sum- putting stories together and ed- anchor. started this vear. The agency, she said, came to Now Kalivoda feels more
*
mer due to her exciting new in- iting video clips for on air use. "This opportunity has given Wliile Stanley is extremely busy Mercyhurst during R.I.A.P. confident in herself and her
ternship with the Fox 40 TV sta- The TV station management me the hands-on experience with her double major and her Week and only picked two peo- abilities, and can hardly wait to
tion in Bingham ton, New York. had so much faith in her that needed in order to be successful many activities, she always finds ple for internships. Those two return to D.C in th summer, j
people just happened to be <l
During her internship, Stanley they even let her interview peo- in the journalism field," Stanley time for her friends who are very They offered me a full time
experienced the hectic atmo- ple. said. w
Kalivoda and Miller. job, so I'm going to work for
important to her.
sphere of a TV news station. Some interviews that stick out Besides enjoying journalism, Kalivoda and Miller only had them in the summer, come
No matter what degree Stan-
Stanley is a native of Bing- in Jessicas mind are going to a Stanley's other passion is dance. a 10 day notice before they had hack fur my last year of school
ley decides to utilize, she will be
ham ton, N. Y, and is currently a political event to interview Penn- Before pursuing a career in to leave for the internship, be- at Mercyhurst, and then return
doing something that she loves.
double major in dance and com- sylvania Senator Rick Santorum journalism, she would like to join cause they didn't know if their to them after I graduate/* she
Perhaps in the near future you
munication. and covering a murder trial that a dance company. Stanley's fa- clearances had went through said.
will find Stanley dancing on
She came to Mercyhurst be- took her to the court room daily vorite dance style is musical the- until the last minute. For Kalivoda, college was def-
Broadway or maybe in a couple
cause of the beautiful atmo- that resulted in her having to go atre and she hopes to perform
years you'll find her anchoring jfve wanted to go there since
CCf>.
initely worth the time: and ef-
sphere of the campus and to be to the federal prison to interview in that genre.
on a TV station near you. I was 5 years old. It was the fort, for now she's on the path-
part of the school's highly ac- the defendant. At Mercyhurst, she is involved first time that I've been away way she's always worked toward.
claimed dance program. Throughout die summer, Stan- in many different activities

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DECEMBER 17,2003
THEMERCIAD PAGE 5

FEATURES To contact featuremerciad@mercyhurst.edu

Twins are twice as nice Logsdon adds to admissions!

Former Mercyhurst student adds personal touch to admissions
a great Christmas present to
By Jen Helbig
find out that you are accept-
Contributing writer
I^M

Autumn and Brady Hamady enjoy having one another close. They provide one another
with advice, friendship, and a shoulder to lean on.
By Courtney Nicholas
Features editor
For Autumn and Brady Ha-
mady having a sibling on cam-
pus is nice, but having a twin on
campus is twice as nice.
The Hamady twins are from
Si dm an, Pa. and are juniors at
Mercyhurst College.
A. Hamady is a junior major-
ing in sports medicine major with
a concentration in athletic train-
ing and B. I lamady is biology
major with a pre-veterinary con-
centration.
* Both siblings selected Mercy-
hurst because of the campus, the
science department, and the pro-
fessors. B. Hamady thought it
very involved with the Sports
Medicine Department All ma-
jors must complete a thousand
hours of service by graduation.
She enjoys hanging out with
friends, working out, and is very
involved with the outside com-
munity.
<c
l enjoy doing community ser-
vice at the YMCA. I have
helped with the Christmas party
at the JFK Center too" she said.
j B. Hamady is involved with
the Mercyhurst Concert Choir,
Honors Council, plays the trum-
pet for the pep band, and is also
an Ambassador.
Both Hamad/s are close with
their parents.
"I talk to our parents every-
day, while B.rady only tallts to
them once a week. The relation-
Katie McAdams/Photo ectoof
rough patches growing up.
"One thing that is a disadvan-
tage is that we are compared to
one another. It takes away from
each of us being an individual,"
said B. Hamady
Both agreed that having the
other on campus is a bonus.
"I know that I always have
family very close by. We are to-
gether two-thirds of the time and
we have a close relationship,"
said A. Hamady.
The Hamad/s are not practi-
cal jokers, but they do like to joke
about having a psychic connec-
tion to one another.
"The stories about us having a
psychic connection are easily
believed by other people/' B.
Hamady said, ...
The Hamady's love having By Jen Helbig
Four years ago, Michelle
Logsdon submitted her appli-
cation to Alercyhurst's admis-
sions office in hopesforaccep-
tance into the class of 2003.
This past year she was again-
accepted into Mercyhurst, as
an employee.
As a double major in dance
arts administration and business
marketing, Logsdon said she
graduated without any con-
crete plans for her future.
She learned of a job open-
ing in the admissions staff
shordy before her graduation.
A month later, Logsdon be-
came an employee of Mercy-
hurst.
Logsdon became involved in
the Mercyhurst community as
a student, presiding as the
dance chib president for two
years, and as an ambassador
for all of her four years as a
student
I Logston said the best part of
being an ambassador was giv-
ing tours, and talking to stu-
dents and families.
Logsdon is a native of Pitts-
burgh, and she never traveled
much in the past. This fall, she
spent twelve weeks traveling on
the road. * From Thanksgiving to the
"I went to high schools where
I talked to kids and counselors
about Mercvhutst-"
Logsdon believes this has
been the most exciting part of
her job thus far, because she
traveled from Boston to Balti-
Internship provides unique experience
Barthole learns to think quick omherfeet
Kftt»Mc^4anrtt/Ptioto*flai
Michelle Logsdon provides
a fresh face to Mercyhurst
College Admissions.
more.
This trip serves a very impor-
tant purpose; the recruitment of
new students.
Logsdon emphasizes that high
school seniors need this personal
visit from an admissions coun-
selor.^
"It helps if we show interest
and the students get to meet with
us," Logston said. "People say
that they have never heard of
Mercyhurst"
When Logsdon returned to
Mercyhurst after a season of
traveling, she begins the next
task of reviewing the incoming
applications.
New Year, she spends most of
her days readingover next year's
prospective freshmen applica-
tions.
When asked why this seem-
ingly tedious aspect of her job
is interesting, she explained, "It's
Basie Theatre holds a variety of
ed"
Afterthe applications ate fin-
ished, she spends the rest of
the year working on financial
aid packages. She also helps
with the Laker Lxve-m, Major
Day, and Open House.
This fall, Logsdon organized
Mercyhurst's Open House.
These events are supposed to I
help the accepted freshmen feel
as comfortable as possible,
which is one goal that Logsdon
said she is dedicated to accom-
plishing
Her persistence in her career
stems partially from her time
spent at Mercyhurst
"My admissions counselor
was so patient, genuine, and
caring," Logsdon said, "I#elt
comfortable, and I would like
to pass that feeling on."
Just as the freshmen have to
adjust to the college, Logsdon
made the adjustment of play-
ing a different role in her new
job at Mercyhurst
"The hardesr aspect of my
job has been making die tran-
sition from being a student to
being a counselor,^Logston
said.
Logsdon said "Mercyhurst^
admission office is unique be-
cause it contains so many peo-
ple that have experienced Mer-
cyhurst for themselves/'
Logsdon commented that
she would like to use her expe-
rience as a student to make the
transition into Mercyhurst for
incoming freshmen as comfort-
able as hers was.
m

was an added bonus that his sis-
ter would be near by
"It's a comfort to know she is
here. There are only certain
things I can tell her," he said.
On campus A. Hamady is
Students look to Canada for education
By Patricia Alex
The Record
McGill University has been
called "the Harvard of the
North" and, indeed, the Mont-
real school has a reputation that
ranks with the American Ivies.
Except for the price tag. The
full freight at Harvard tuition,
room «and board is nearly
$38,000, compared with $12,000
(U.S.) for McGill.
American enrollment in Cana-
dian universities is up about 86
percent in the past four years to
more than 5,000 students, ac-
cording to the Canadian Embas-
s\ in Washington, D.C. V
I t*s not exacdy a groundswell;
the number pales compared with
the 23,000 Canadians who study
in the United States annually, but
the word is out that there are
gpod educational buys to be had
north of the border.
The increase in American stu-
dents attending college in Cana-
da is fueled, in part, by aggres-
sive recruiting campaigns by
ship we have with diem is equal,
neither of us is better then the
other," A. Hamady said
Being a fraternaal twin may
sound great, but both Hamad/s
agreed they have had some
schools such as McGill. And, in
fact, about a third of the Amer-
ican students in Canada are at
McGill. About 1,500 of the
30,000 students at McGill are
American.
The language is familiar, except
at some predominantly French
universities in Quebec, and stu
dent visa and entrance require-
ments generally aren't too bur-
densome. Course work and
scheduling are similar to univer-
sities in the United States, and
Canadian degrees are generally
respected and portable.
"An undergraduate degree
from our university is very com-
pebtive for admissions to grad-
uate schools in the U.S.," said Jo-
[jAnne Brady, registrar at Queens
University in Kingston, Ontario.
If anything, the large Canadi-
an universities get a rapforlarg-
er class sizes, but generally they
are academically rigorous and
American students find them-
selves competing with Canadian
counterparts who are often very
well-preparedforcollege. Unlike
American undergraduates, stu
each other on camspus. It pro- Contributing writer dance, comedy and theatrical
vides them both with added se- events.
curity and a shoulder to lean on p8According to Barthole, the the-
if needed. This summer, Mercyhurst se- ater was also usedformore than
Who says having a twin isn't nior Cynthia Barthole experi- performance.*
all fun and games? enced the world of dance in a "On occasion the theatre
new way. would be used to hold confer-
Barthole said her internship at ences," Barthole said.
the Count Basie Theatre in Red-
bank, N. J., gave her a first hand
This myriad of events provid-
ed Barthole with the perfect op-
dents at many large Canadian encounter with the backbone of portunity to demonstrate her
universities must declare majors the dance industry. merit to the director.
as freshmen At heart she has a passion for "I ser up five databases, and
To be sure, Canadian recruit- dance; however, she has consid- created lists. When a show was
Katie McAdarns/Photo wttor
ers are helped by the good aca- ered her future career by sup- coming up, we could search for
Senior Cythnla Barthole the target audience on the data-
demics that their publicly fund- porting her options with a mi- completed her Internship at base." i
ed universities enjoy. And the rel- nor in arts administration. f ¥ | I
Count Basle Theatre. She used her experience,
ative strength of die US dollar 'Aits administration is the mi-
J. j M
has worked in their favor when nor that comes closest to dance," rom a computer class at
gained frc
courting American families. Barthole said. tor over spring break last year. Mercyhurst to familiarize her-
"It's a great value," said Eve She thinks that next year she I asked her if she needed some- self with die necessary programs
one." T to create a database.
Jacobs of Verona, whose daugh- will go to New York University
ter Rachel is a McGill graduate. to finish with a master's degree The director told Barthole she Her )ob involved more than
"We have a kid now at Cornell, in arts administration or an had bad lu< k with lazy interns in organization.
and I can't compare it money- MBA in management the past, and she was skeptical "I went to the websites where
the theater advertised ;ind up-
wise. To aid this future goal, Bart- of Bart hole's commitment.
Michele Papavasiliou has also hole decided to try an internship . Barthole said she kept in con- dated the press list of contacts,"
turned northward in search of a at die Count Basie Theatre be- tact with the director, and her Barthole said.
Barthole said the internship
"good education for the dollar. cause of a prompt from her
• persistence eventually paid off.
She traveled a month ago to mom. Barthole spent the summer allowed her to experience the
check out universities in Cana- "My mom suggested the the- behind the scenes working with organizational structure behind
a performance-based career.
da with her son Jesse, a high atre," she said. "And I wrote an the director.
school junior. Jesse plans to ap e-mail to the Marketing Direc- She explained that the Count
ply to both McGill and Queens.
"He is looking for a foreign
experience," said the mom. "The
thing about Canada is, you can
be in a foreign country and still Save Lots of Money
take the bus home. To me, it's
the best of both worlds/
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PAGE 6 THEMERCIAD DECEMBER 17,2003

FORUM 7b contact opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu

HiejGood, the Bad and the Ugly:

What's hot and what's not at Mercyhurst
More on why the female mind is a frightening place
The Good... MadaM would never win anything on Jeop- eating disorders instead of poi-
ardy let alone the Nobel Prize soned apples and overabun-
The winter term is off to a successful start and what's even better is the fact that Christmas and you are therefore worthless. dance of housework.
break begins only three weeks after the start of the term. You have to love the trimester system fv'Be gone. OK, so back to square one.
sometimes. If die gids you're after are the We're supposed to be in a per-
president's cabinet daughters, petual state of quiet yearning for
The new Mercyhurst College bookstore opened in time for students to buy their books for you're out of luck. Hello? Have our princes (or in the lifetime
winter term. It's bigger. It's brighter. It has a Starbucks comer. Need we say more? Now, let's hope you ever seen "Rich Gids" on version: real estate agents) and
they make good use of the space die old bookstore took up in the student union. Sub shop TV? Do you even want that to when the time comes for them
anyone? -a Dear Madam Malarky, begin with? Let's hope not to rescue us, we should embrace
The majority of gprls on this cam- [ ;So, then we've got the crazy them passionately and kiss them
Christmas on Campus was another huge success this year. Many clubs participated in die event in the cheesiest manner possible.
pus art either stuck up or crasy^ and
and helped to make the day enjoyable for less fortunate children in the Erie area. Great job to v
the normal ones don'/ want anything j Do you know how easy it is to Then came Sex and the City-
everyone who was involved and don't forget to participate next year!
to do with anyone. What's up mth be crazy when you're a female? Just when we thought we had
that? I % Hell, it's easy to be crazy no our roles in die worid figured

The Bad... Please helps

Ho-less White Boy

Dear F lo-iess,
matter what gender you are, but out, we learned that we are not
let's look at it this way. As little supposed to be damsels.
gids we watched fairy tales where We are supposed to be whores.
women were always getting res- And we should like it And we
It's beginningtolook a lot like Christmas (and Erie). We received our first major snowfall of the Amazing! Not only do I have cued and taken away on horses should tell 43 of our closest
year this past weekend, so if everyone could remember to bundle up, walk carefully and drive a male writer, but a quite per- and kissed passionately and they friends all about our sexual es-
safely, Erie winters might become slightly more bearable. % f ceptive one at that - were constantly receiving ges- capades. I
Yes, Ho-less, you're right The tures of grand scale from knights We should include detailed
Students were caught vandalising benches outside of 3827 and 3829 Lewis Avenue. Nice. Ev- and rich guys with nice hair.
majority of the gids on this cam- analysis, comparisons, and dia-
eryone knows that destroying stuff makes you realty cool. Good luck with that. Why can't people
pus are stuck up, crazy, or against So, naturally we thought this grams.
do something productive when they are drunk and belligerent? & #
the rest of the human race.; I'll was the way the wodd worked. And somehow we won't con-
freely admit that I'm probably a Then, we got to grade school. tract any STDs or conceive any

... and the Ugly little bit of all three. | Here, we had nazi feminist children in the process.
See, what you have to under- and-leg-shaving mullet-bearing V Gotta love fiction.
stand is that women in this day teachers who taught us that ^ So really, that sums up the rea-
and age are a little bit confused women are no different than sons why gids are crazy.
Has anyone else noticed that the Laker Inn has taken on a distinctly chemical odor due to the Let's examine why. men and that we should all play jSjl'd be willing to bet that iVs also
construction going on in the old bookstore? Everyone appreciates the new additions to the 'Hurst, r
every sport there is, and we the reason why the ones who
but the taste of cheese sauce and caulk is less than appetizing. Yummy First, let's talk about the gids
should play them on the boys' aren't crazy don't want to have
that are stuck up. Honey, Mer-
teams, change in the boys' lock- #

Flu season has officially begun. The practical suggestion would be to go to the campus health cyhurst (despite the ridicule it anything to do with anybody.
er room, smell like boys, act like
center and get aflushot, but the health center has been out offlushots since Thanksgiving. Great, receives) is a good school. Good boys, and urinate standing up. Sensory ovedoad will do that
so the only solution left would seemingly be to cross yourfingersand pray really, realty hard. Yeah, schools are expensive. Gids that So, then we get on this big fem-
to a person.
that will work. go to expensive schools either So, in closure, all I really have
have $451 million in scholarship inine empowerment trip to the to say is that if you're looking to
money per trimester, or daddy point where we start telling our- find a nice normal gid who will
is a cabinet member for the pres-1 selves that gids are the sup e nor give you the time of day...you*re
The blind man's disease: ident sex, which completely defeats the screwed.
If the girls you're after are purpose of feminine equality,
scholarship gids, they're in their but I digress.
Sorry.

Participation (or lack thereof) at Mercyhurst Collegt rooms studying all day and all So, then we started watching Good luck with that
night so that they can maintain Oxygen and Lifetime where we Madam Malarky
deed. Why would you stop to buy a those scholarships. learned to be softies again. This
By Kate Horn ,:M !
*The problemi thftf exists con- ' c'6bkie when fo\i •' haVe a test in ' Therefbre, they are smart. is where we were expbsed to ^JSend your questions about Ion,
Con tributine Write r cerning studeftt run organizk- T6rt'Yriimites?'ThcJse prgtftous Therefore, they know every- damsels in distress a^airi,"al- Jmmak^M SMfii? of baticakes
tions needs to be addressed with minutes are quality cram time. thing. Therefore, you are an in- though this time it was in the to %*>

SQM.
Watch Outl the students themselves. Various The mathemaric equations that significant piece of dust who form of abusive husbands and Do it. Do it now.
An epidemic is spreading clubs across campus do not get have continually puzzled and
across campus. An overwhelm- enough support from die stu- mystified college students for
ing loss of eyesight and the abil- dents, whether the clubS ARE ages have treated you no differ-
ity to make eye contact is occur- associated with major or personal ently. So why not try to defeat
ring when faced with the sight interests. the fiend before you are tested
of club activities. Many people are guilty. on it?
.People are being struck blind I know you do exist; I swear. On the other hand, couldn't
at die mere sight of the tables in In fact, I, too, am afflicted with the cookie be seen as a treat for
the Zum lobby groaning from the dreaded blindman's disease. even attempting the dreaded
the weight of baked goods. I won't lie. math? I mean, how long can it
Pedophile or untouched tradition?
How can this be? However, I will defend my- really take to buy a cookie? The was thought to be an intellect, a school, the fat loser on work re-
Is die re an explanation behind self with the fact that when the clubs doing fundraisers are not
the madness? eyes finally see, the money fol- looking for stimulating conver- Write Truth prom king gay or a Goth a Chris- lease really was supporting his
tian? two younger sisters because his
Yes, there is. lows. sation They are lookingforyour Who really considers die pos- father was long gone and his
Rather than actively support- Fundraisers are not the end of money. You could throw the Michelle sibility that the valedictorian mother crippled and dying.
ing club functions, people avoid club support? Club activities money down, pick up the cook- could be from a broken home, There is a person behind ev-
them like die plague. I am here should also have the support of ie, and walk away. the teacher's pet could get preg- ery layer of make-up, behind
to warn you that it won't hurt to die student body. You may not Everyone involved will be hap* nant by the age of twenty, or that every A, behind every piercing
become involved.i know, but a lot of work goes into Py
You may even get some kind the planning and execution of a
' I / the college athletic star really had and tattoo, behind every attitude.
an eating disorder? There is a truth behind every
The people doing the fundrais-
of altruistic pleasure out of it. specific activity. Make an effort The bad ass is never soft, die facade and a lie in every first
er may be a bit insulted with your
Will a good deed really make to find out what's happening. manners, but that is another ar- Stevenson cheerleader never fat, the celeb- imp ression. a
you feel good? Get involved. You never know, ticle. Let's just say, become in- rity never real. People often fall victim to oth-
Unless the Grinch has caused you may have tun. volved even if it takes a little bit Has it ever occurred to any- Celebrities are just that, celeb- ers' perceptions and opinions.
your heart to shrink to the size If it is a choice between free of time out of your otherwise one that Santa at face value is rities. They're not seen as indi- 1 he average college student who
of a raisin, it probably will. pizza and the college student sta- busy schedule, v merely a pedophile? viduals with lives, they're seen as smokes, drinks, and swears at
1 f it doesn't, remind me to ple of soggy noodles, do you &Your fellow students will be It is my convicnon that with- die characters they pretend to be school is seen as just that, but
duck and cover, you may burst even have to think about it? grateful. out such an admirable historical and are portrayed as by the me- perceived as an angel at home.
from the unnatural feeling of It may be an issue of time, And a little grace goes a long legacy, Santa would be labeled dia and on the screen. Where is the real person in that
bliss that may follow your good money, or priorities. way. today in a sort of racially sound, Calista Flockhart has an eat- scenario, at school or at home?
Michael Jackson fashion, invit- ing disorder, Ellen Dcgeneres is The real person lies in the per-

Letter to the editor: ing 111 tic children to sit on his lap a lesbian, Michael Jordan is a fa- ception of the beholder, and in
and whispering in their ears, buy- thering machine, and Bill din- all honesty, the perception of the
ing presents to win their affec- ton is oral sex.
tion and deeming them "naugh-
beholder really doesn't matter. To
Due simply to reputation it is a child you may be tall, but to a
Generalizations are not the whole picture ty or nice." shocking that Reese Witherspoon professional basketball player,
The beard and the reputation, went to an ivy League college. you are short
Reading an article that bash- prised at their answers. of why I decided to wait. however, make it all a part of Everyone in his or her own way The challenge is not to fall into
es virgins wasn't on top of my It may be true that some gids My integrity and self worth magical tradition that'even is simply a celebrity, judged by such veneer.
"To do" list J | are scared of having sex. are the major reasons why I mothers promote. society, empty by default. Look beyond the stereotypes
The choice that I made to Weren't you scared before you made my decision. Does that Santa aside, who really cares The facts are that the straight of others and above all else don't
stay a virgin Is a decision that had sexforthefirsttime? surprise you, Ms. Stevenson? about the character, the spirit A student's parents just might buy into others' stereotypes of
I hold very close to my heart. It is a big deal. Not to say that young men and the soul of a person? really be in jail and addicted to you.
1 will never (egret the deci- A lot of thought, trust, and love and woman that have sex are Without such a historical lega- drugs.
See a person in other people,
sion to stay a virgin until I get must come in a relationship. bad. There is nothing wrong cy,; magical quality within the The brutal truth is that the tra- not just a stereotype and refute
married. | There are many girls that have with that, 1 just don't like the human individual is lost Society ditionally perfect family may not
to accept the labels of those who
This decision is a choice that never had a serious boyfriend fact that someone jumps to is a snow globe of labels, judg- be so perfect; the husband's long
don't really look.
I have persoanlly made. I think and guess what...that is the rea- conclusions about why I or ments, and empty faces. business trips to God knows Challenge the human tenden-
it might be, perhaps, the best son they are virgins. other women don't. Differ- Societal perception: a geek is a where and the mother's secret
cy for limited perception. Every-
choke I have made in my 21 They may be 19, 20 or even ent people know when they are geek and nothing more. When stash of alcohol do exist.
one has a legacy like SantaV
years of life. 21 years old and have never had ready, and frankly I am not. was the last time a drug addict It just so happens that in high Believe it.
The fact that Ms. Stevenson a boyfriend. So T feel that I have taken
poses the argument that vir- Yet other girls chose to stay your challenge, Ms. Stevenson. The Merciad accepts all letters to the editor
gins are virgins because they pure until they are married. By choosing not to have sex I
are scared of the act of sex is It is important to them because am redefining it and challeng-
va false statement, a generali- of their religion, family history, ing society.
Please submit your letters to:
zation and a stereotype. or other reasons. Consider your work done for opinionmerriarl^niprryji!^^^^^
She should find virgins and Granted, fear plays into my now.
ask them why they are waiting waiting to have sex until 1 am Courtney Nicholas The Merciad reserves the right to edit for length. Please keep all
to have sex. She may be sur- married but it is just a small part Features Editor submissions to 300 words or less
DECEMBER 17,2003
THEMEROAD PAGE 7

To contact opinionmerciad@mercyhvrst.edu OPINION

Winter term danger:
A tradition of missing classes
By Ashley DuBosej
I Contributing Water
Now that the first real snow
of the year has hit Erie upside
its head, it is about time for
what is perhaps my favorite
winter sport, rationalization.
It starts innocently enough;
a nasty blizzard blows in just
before you head out to your
nigjit class, and you think to
yourself, "I won't be able to see
a foot in front of me getting
there, and the professor prob-
ably won't even show up. Why
bother?" fj
Or, you wake up early for an
8:00 a.m., but it is below zero
outside and the sidewalks
haven't been salted yet.
So instead of risking life and
limb on a slippery walkway, you
crawl back into your warm bed
for an hour.
The next thing you know,
you've got your nose pressed
against the window, straining to
see the tiny snowflakes that are
floating in the air before call-!
• First, get organized
ing your professor with a "sore
throat" while wearing fuzzy
slippers and watching a muted
soap opera.
It's been called many things:
winter blues, Seasonal Affecta-
tion Disorder, laziness.
No matter its name, it presents
a real danger to the unwary.
S If we let ourselves give in to
the temptation to be warm and
happy during the winter, well
soon find ourselves left out in
the cold (pun both stretched for
and intended).
As much as I hate to admit it,
the school has a good point in
limiting the number of classes
we are allowed to miss.
After all, how can you pass a
1
test in Human Biology if you
miss die lectures on the endo-
crine system?
In the end, die choice is up to
you: Do you want to pass or fail
this term? s Not just any religion, mind you,
jf>;lf your answer is to pass, and
T certainly hope it is because oth-
erwise you are wasting a whole
lot of money, then all you have
0 w
to do is put in a little effort.
As always, I have some advice
that might help you.$
• This is the worst time of year
for procrastination, so don't leave
all of your work for the last
minute^^There is a plug com-
ing up.)
Remember, Christmas break
} The\dangersof a closed mind
is this weekend, but all our pa-
pers and tests will be waiting
for us to get back. (Here it
comes!) If you need help with
your papers, the Writing Cen-
ter is mere to help (Ta da!).
Second, invest in some
gloves, a scarf, and a hat
You are going to have to go
out in some bad weather, so
you might as well be prepared
for it.
Third, if you miss a class, and
you probably will, try to get
your timing right. All you
freshmen and transfer stu-
dents may not realize this yet,
but Erie winters can he vicious.
Don't miss class because of
a little snow; you'll probably
end up trudging in the middle
of a sleet storm the next day.
I guess the last piece of ad-
vice I have is just bundle up,
hold your head down, brace
yourself and wait for spring.
Oh, and as for you last hold-
outs still wearing shorts and
skirts, please put some pants
on!
j\I get cold just looking at you.
But I Could Be Wrong
Jaime
Rinne
For the next installment in the
series of articles that I am writ-
ing in the desperate hope that
someone- anyone- out there will
write in and disagree with me, I
have decided to tackle the
touchy subject of religion.
but your religion.
Thar s right buddy, I have a
problem with your religion.
Is everyone listening now? Oh,
good
Now that I have your atten-
tion, allow me to ask a question.
When did "Because my religion
tells me to" become the answer?
Suddenly, this is not only the an-
swertolife's every day little prob-
lems, but it has also become a
text here) says so/'
Excuse me, could you elabo-
rate a bit on that please? Back
that statement up with some tex-
tual evidence?
Something I can verify for
myself? I'm bit of a research
dork. I will gladly look-up any-
thing you tell me to.
You got to give me something
here, people because, frankly, it
sounds like you have stopped
thinking for yourselves.
This is not good.
How can 1 put this simply?
When you stop thinking for
yourself, very bad things happen.
How does that sound? Nothing
good has ever come from* a
group think. You've heard of the
crusades? The holocaust? Reali-
ty television? Do 1 need to go
on here? + jii I agree. That's a very frighten-
"Religion is the opiate 6f the
masses." We've all heard this
statement?
I suppose I should qualify my
first statement, which was most-
ly an attempt to get the reader's
attention I don't have a prob-
lem with religion, per te. I have a
problem with the hive mentality
to learn anything because they
are using their religion as a
crutch. Because they are using
their faith as a way of keeping
their mind dosed.
Honesdy, I think it's because
they are afraid, but that's just me.
How many times have we been
told that college was meant to
expand our horizons? I didn't
think you could read a college
brochure without hearing that
phrase at least once.
So don't be foolish.
Perhaps it's the fear that keeps
you from listening: The fear that
you will hear something that will
contradict the faith that you have
had all of your life and you will
have no way of de fending your-
self/Then what would be the
point of all those years?
ing thought However, isn't it
more frightening to think about
gqing through the rest of your
life as a static individual, never
changing, permanently chained
to one idea?
However, have you considered
the idea that \*ou might hear
something that might lend new

Accidents
How they are the 'phantasms ofthernind'
By William Elliott
Managing Editor
Accidents, quirks of fate, sur-
prises. We convince ourselves
that we encounter them every-
day. In truth, though we can nev-
er experience these "phantasms
of the mind." They are the dem-
onstrauons ^IMM^^^
logic and or revjty It J p tfrese
moments that we are able to rec-
ognize the boundaries we have
entwined about ourselves, the lies
we perpetuate in our lives,
"What does this have to do
with anything?" You probably
find yourself asking this very
question. I find myself asking
this very question too. You see I
started this editorial two weeks
ago with a set plan to show peo
pie that the wodd is not a ma-
chine or organism that has a set
plan for itself and for those ob-
jects inhabiting it.
It all made sense to me when I
started this editorial; I had
thoughts and ideas swirling in my
head. Heck, I had a central
theme to work off of.
Yet, I was not able tofinishthis
editorial or even make it past the
introduction. 1 think I have fig-
ured out why though: I do not
want to admit to myself that
there is no purpose to this wodd.
It is scary to try to think about
what this statement means. Now,
I know this sounds stupid but I
think a lot of us are this way.
We hide our fears behind igno-
rance and stupidity alltosave our
precious self-image. What good
does it do us to save our self-
image if we sacrifice the wodd
to do it? So on that note I will go
forward with this editorial.
Chaos is a result of free will.
If free will does not exist then
chaos cannot exist. It is in the
inclusion of thought that one
finds chaos. It is because of this
condition that the wodd must be
chaotic. This idea is an evolution
of the thought that even if there
was a plan or set goal of the
wodd, with the introduction of
free will this plan can be corrupt-
ed at any time.
The world is, therefore, cha-
otic and as such there is no set
plan for events. Without a set
plan, there could be no accidents
due to the idea that an accident
is a violation of a set result. In-
stead, there are just actions that
occur and we provide the inter-
pretation of them.
fherefore, in truth accidents
are just a figment or phantasm
of the mind. They are the result
of the violation of our mind's
logical processing of the wodd.
They are the occurrence of one's
forcing the intentionality of their
thoughts upon the physical wodd,
or more simply, they occur when
a person approaches a situation
with a set idea of what will oc-
cur.
I know this is largely superfi-
cial when we are interacting the
wodd on a practical level but it
introduces an interesting aspect
to the meaning of our life or, i I
you will, our spiritual life. By
transforming the wodd from an
overwhelming juggernaut that
controls our destiny into a wodd
of chances, we have gained an
immeasurable insight into our
life. £ . ; ,^;u£j
Before we were content,tp sit
back and assume that life had a
role for us one in which we were
not able to escape. We would lie
to ourselves about what role we
had in the actions of the wodd
and our reactions to these events.
We would make claims that some
things were "out of our control."
[;o Yet now we have the knowl-
edge that this is not the way it
actually works. Instead we have
unlimited opportunities and re-
sponsibility for ourselves. We
have been freed from the lies
and deceit we have wrapped
about ourselves. In doing this
though, we are forced to accept
we
the concept that even though
have greater control over our
life, it is only in our reactions to
it M his original pledge to stay in Iraq
We are still bound by the cha-
otic condition of the wodd, so
we cannot influence the events
of the wodd. Only how we in-
terpret them and how we re-
spond to them. Ii is m this as-
pect that we must be strong We
cannot fall into the habit of look-
ing to other factors as an expla-
nation for events of the wodd.
satisfactory answer in an aca-
demic setting, as well.
Abortion is wrong "because [in-
sert deity here] says so." Eutha-
nasia is wrong "because (insert
religion here] says so" The war
in Iraq is wrong (or right, de-
pending) "because [insert sacred
A boost for Bush and Dean'srivals,too
By Richard Schwartz
Knight-Ridder Newspaper
"Don't gloat" was surely; the
i#dyice President Bush got after
Saddam Hussein's sensational
capture.
So, in his best just-the-facts-
ma'am demeanor, the leader of
the Free Wodd announced Sun-
day that die disheveled, deposed
dictator of Iraq "will face the
justice he denied to millions."
If ever there was an instance
of patience paying off, this was
it Just listen to some of the pres-
ident's would-be critics, such as
retired general and former Bill
Clinton official Barry McCaf-
»
frey, who said the president dem-
onstrated "tremendous political
and moral courage" throughout
the Iraq ordeal.
Of Saddam's capture and the
continuing success in the war on
terror, Sen, Joseph Biden, D-
Del., said, "If that means the
overwhelming re-election of
George Bush, so be it. I say,
fine." :; t
Today's GOP tip sheet will no
doubt note that taking down Sad-
dam and his entire regime took
less than nine months from start
tofinish_ light-years better than
what any Democrat had predict-
that religion sometimes creates.
P We've all come to college to
learn and if you've come to
Mercyhurst to do so, you're pay-
ing a lot of money to learn.
However, if makes me sad
when I sit in class and watch my
fellow students outright refuse
ed. Especially Democrat Howard
Dean, who bet his presidential
hopes on a Bush failure in Iraq.
Now, Saddam is in U.S. custody,
and Dean's politicalfortunesare
flapping in thf freeze. At least
for the moment.*'* vj-..
But this weekend's break
through could leave Bush with
just a temporary boomlet if he
doesn't quickly bring the Iraqi
insurrection to a complete end.
His will look like a somewhat
Pyrrhic victory if Baghdad is still
belching bombs and body bags
come Election Day.
Bush could also easily misplay
what is now a strong hand by
drawing down U.S. troop levels
too quickly or turning power
over to an Iraqi government in-
capable of maintaining order.
The president has been pushed
constantly to get on with his exit
strategy. This is not the moment
to get hasty. He must stick to
as long as it takes to do the job
and not a day longer.
Today, Democrats will make
the case that Saddam's arrest
means Bush can now focus on
broadening the allied coalition in
Iraq. Dean and Sen. Hillary Gin-
ton both will make foreign af-
fairs speeches today that likely
will pose such a challenge.
dimensions to what you believe?
There might be history, people
or tenets to your faith that you
had never known before.
You might even learn some-
thing that (shocking as it may be)
could actually reaffrim your faith.
Imagine.
They will also surely note that
Osama bin Laden remains at
large, planning more mayhem
for America.
In their efforts to diminish
Bush's adiieveM^Vthfey^scfho
doubt wilf "rfrnmd'us 'that bin
Laden is the one who attacked
us on Sept. 11, not Saddam.
True enough, but the psycho-
logical impact of putting the
bloodiest tyrant of our time be-
hind bars cannot be overstated.
Bush's command of die global
stage is now greatei than ever,
as are his odds of re-election.
Saddam's capture may boost
the fortunes of the three legisla-
tors cum presidential candidates
who voted for Bush's war reso-
lution last year. Sens. John Ker-
ry and Joe Lieberman and Rep.
Dick Gephardt have been play-
ing catchup with Dean, who op-
posed the war from Day One.
Now having supported the war
isn't such bad politics after all.
Their poll numbers should im-
prove as Dean's decline.
One other political loser in all
this is Al Gore, who stiffed
former running mate Lieberman
last week to endorse Dean and
thus became a major sharehold-
er in the anti-war wing of the
Democratic Party. He tried to
time the market, and he lost

A moment to think:
It's OK to have a bad day...really
• " " M E R C I A D

have a bad dav makes me walk getting a bad grade on a mid- Adam DuShole Editor-in-Chief editormerciad@mercyhurst.edu
By Courtney Nicholas on eggshells from the time 1 start term or final (and T have had Billy Elliott Managing Editor prodmerclad@mercyhurst.edu
Features Editor work to the time I get into bed. my share of bad grades). Kelly Rose Duttine News Editor newsmerciad© mercyhurst. edu
It makes me feel uneasy when I don't know what makes Courtney Nicholas Features Editor featuremerciad @ mercyhurst. edu
Have you ever had one of talking and interacting with oth- them worse, but 1 know the Jaime Rinne Opinion Editor oplnlonmerclad @mercyhurst. edu
those days? ers. | feeling is worse then any bad Patrick Martino Sports Editor sportsmerclad@ mercyhurst. edu
I am sure that you have; you 'Hie worst part of a bad day is grade that I have gotten. I Emily Crofoot A&E Editor entertainmentmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
that everything takes a toll on have had my share of bad days Katie McAdams Photo Editor photomerdad@mercyhurst.edu
know the;kind of day that I
you^The day seems to get worse because of bad grades the Jess Tobln Copy Editor ttobln75@mercyhurst.edu
am talking about. /The type of
and you don't want to do anoth- combination should be illegal.
day when nothing goes nghr,
the type of day when the lit- er task because you are scared My question is: once you are Piotr Wollnskl Assistant Managing Editor
tlest dung can set you off? that the outcome will be tragic. having a bad day, how do you
I have had one of those days. When I have a bad day, even get away from it?
checking my e-mail is a challenge. This is a truly important
I always know my day is go- The Merciad Is the student-produced newspaper of Mercyhurst College. It Is
I think that every message I will question. If people knew that
ing to be bad by the way my published throughout the school year, with the exception of midterms week
get is someone saying they can't answer, 'the Mondays' would
hair looks in the morning.
Oh yes, 1 know (hat my day do something or they ai • • asking be gone and no one would get and finals week. Our office Is In the Hlrt Center, room LL114. Our telephone
a question that 1 don't have the up on the wrong side of the number Is 824*2376. f p
is going to be bad when I have
answer to. | | I f bed.: | :
a bad hair day.
I don't feel like cooking din- If human beings knew how
f I even listened to "The Rem- ner or doing homeworl after to avoid having a bad day, peo-
The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and
edy" by Jason Mraz while get-1 having a bad day. T don't even ple would only have good days, names will be Included with the letters. Although we will not edit the letters for
ting ready, which always puts feel like going out and having a right? content, we reserve therightto trim letters to fit Letters are due the Thursday
me in a better mood, and my good time with friend* |JF Or could a person have an before publication and may not be longer than 300 words. Submit letters to
day still ended on a bad note. t;
Having a bad day is worse then OK day or a mediocre day? box PH 485. * i T *
Knowing that 1 am about to
PAGE 8
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master outlets, by phone at
452-4857 or 456-7070,
online at
www.ticketmaste rxom.
JAN. 15. I I bard of Death Cab for Cube.
Anti-Flag, Rise Against,
Against Me, more. Agora
[Theater, Cleveland.
JAN. 19. •
The Machine. Club Laga/jj
Pittsburgh.
JAN. 24. £
"A Prairie Home Compan-
ion" live with host Garrison
Keillor. Warner Theatre,
Erie. $50, $40, $30. On sale
at Tullio. Arena box office,
Ticketmaster outlets, by
phone at 452-4857 or 456-
7070, online at
/www. ticketmaster.com.
JAN. 28. %
John Leguizamo. Palace
Theater, Greensburg.
JAN. 28.
Fred Eaglesmith. Rosebud,
Pittsburgh*.
FEB. 10.
Sarah Brigjitman. Gund
Arena, Qeveland.
FEB. 11. |
Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer.
University of Buffalo
Main stage Theater, Buffalo.
FEB. 15. I energetic tap dancing numbers
Josh Groban. State Theater,
Cleveland SOLD OUT.
FEB. 21.
Alabama. HSBC Arena,
Buffalo. On sale at Top
Friendly Markets, by phone
at (888) 223-6000. '(
FEB. 23. .* %Jj
Musical. "Saturday Night
Fever." An Erie Broadway
Series event. Warner
Theatre, Erie. $47.75,
$35.75, $2575. On sale at
Tullio Arena box office,
Ticketmaster outlets, by
phone at 452-4857 or 456-
7070, online at
www.ncketmaster.com.
FEB. 27.
Hot Tuna. Rosebud,
Pittsburgh.
FEB* 2 8 / I \
Colm Wilkinson. University
of Buffalo Mains tage
Theater, Buffalo. On sale at
Ticketmaster.
MARCH 23-25.
Musical. "Grease" starring
Franki c Avalon. An Erie
Broadway Series event.
»
Warner Theatre, Brie.
$49.75, $35.75, $25.75. On
sale at Tullio Arena box
office, Ticketmaster outlets,
by phone at 452-4857 or
456-7070, online at
www.ticketniaster.com.
DECEMBER 17,2003
THEMERCIAD
To contact entertainmentmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
9
Tamborello and Gibbardbroduce 'Give Up
listens to get used to, because it
By Julie Segner didn't compare to die sheer bnl-
Contributing writer hancefof "Evan and Chan."
What I mean to say is that it has
Holy crap Batman, this has to some ready-for-radio sounds
be one of the best CD's of the that I'm not used to but what hit
year 2003. ; ; me the most was walking into
Erie Best Buy and hearing the
Regardless that some of my
favorite bands have recently re- track and single "Such Great
leased great albums, the Postal Heights" playing in the store.
Service was an endeavor that To be honest, it's awful hard
completely took me by surprise to describe the sound of the
and made me hesitant to heed Postal Service in words; it's real-
the success of such collabora-
ly an experience.
tion. One of the best parts, maybe
I mean it would be hard to because I'm partial to Death Cab
follow the success of one single for Cube, are the lyncs of Gib-
track that turned into the pro- bard,
duction of a single and again He manages to use rhyme to
morphed into a full-length al- create lyrics that are not uidy-
bum. snobbish and only understood by
I even denied myself of get- those who get the 'inside joke."
ting an early copy of "Give Up" They are simple and I really
via the Internet, because I felt appreciate his tendency to wear
like it would be listening to a se- his heart on his sleeve without
cret that I wasn't meant to hear, sounding p re ten nous.
[v Let me give you a little back- Overall, I give this album a
ground on this quasi-concept al- solid eight "Give Up" has a def-
bum produced "through the inite dance-ability of at least
mail" by Washington D.C.-based • Photo courtesyof www sifcpop.com. three, meaning that most of the
Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel and Jimmy Tamorello and Ben Gibbard, otherwise known as the band Post Office, produce time your head is bopping but
Seattle's "heartthrob" Ben Gib- the 2003 hit album, 'Give Up/ you haven't quite made it out of
seat-dance mode.
The two had joined to make a Dream of Evan and Chan" cally, they decided to record the Tamborello filled with beatsy The Indy-level of "Give Up"
song (in an hour no less!) for sparked a fusion between one album separated by well over electronic music, which he ma- is three also, because the single
Dntel's most recent full-length amazing vocalist and indy-pop 2,000 miles relying on the US. nipulated in his computer before Great Heights was on MTV2
release in October of 2001, guitar player (Gibbard) and a Postal Service (get the name?) writing melodies and lyrics and and Best Buy's repertoire, but at
"Life is Full of Possibilities," creative mainstay of IDM (In- and e-mail to transfer material recording vocals," said Mark the same time, those who hear it
which featured other appearanc- telligent Dance Music) known back and forth to each other. Hawthorne of Sub Pop. and recognize the. Dntel and
es from members of Tamborel- as Dntel since 1994 (Tamborel- The product is an amazingly For the most part, Gibbard had Death Cab for Cutie combina-
lo's former band Stricdy Ball- lo). .; ; ^ | j r ^ catchy and '80s pop influenced free reign over the meat of these tion would definitely be wearing
room. After rotating the "Life is Full blend of Gibbard's melodic voice songs, only needing to run by at least one article of thrift-shop-1
What they produced was a hit of Possibilities" LP, Sub Pop and Tamborello's signature major changes with Tamborello, wear (preferably a plaid button
that everyone who owns "Life is Record could not deny picking "glitch-beats" and strange nois- again reinforcing the effortless down shirt])*
Full of Possibilities" couldn't up and distributing what could es. collaboration of "Evan and Similar artists: Nanang Tatang,
take off repeat The song I am only be a success. Since neither "In December 2001, Gibbard Chan." , Dntel, Figurine, The Pulsars
speaking of, "(This is) The was near each other geographi- started receiving CD-Rs from Like any CD, it took me a few
Kutcher pulls plug on 'Punk'd' 'Anything Goes' at the 'Hurst
opened up the tryouts to the
I By Alana Lisiecki Alercyhurst community and the
Contributing water cast was announced this past
week.
fAnything Goes" is an excit- "I was pretty surprised be-
ing and highly entertaining cause I'm just a RIAP/Russian
show about the passengers major, not a dance or music
aboard the S.S. American luxu- major... I actually didn't even
ry liner heading for England. think I was going to make it at
There is a plethora of diverse all," exclaimed sophomore Ash-
characters that will have you ley Masi who was cast as Reno
laughing out loud such as Reno Sweeney, one of the lead fe-
Sweeney, a nightclub entertain- male roles.
er, Billy Crocker, an unlisted The cast and crew really seem
passenger, and A loon face Mar- thrilled to be a part of the pro-
tin, public enemy No. 13. duction. "Everyone « should
The show also includes many mark their calendars to come
and see it," said Masi.
along with a few well known The performance will be held
songs such as "I Get a Kick March 25-28. The location of
Out of Ybu/*f\ bu're the Top," the show is still undetermined,
and "You'd Be So Easy to however, Gority hopes the
Love." J show will be held in the Tavlor
"Tryouts were excellent^ We little Theater.
were really happy that almost Those who are interested in
40 people showed up for this. participating in the show to help
* 1 tis really a new concept to behind the scenes, which in-
Mercyhurst, we needed the cludes makeup, lights, and
support of the students and it sound, contact Blake Goaty.
was there," said director $ Also, men are still needed to
Blake Gority concerning the be sailors and passengers in the
upcoming Mercyhurst mus- boat. If you are interested in
ical. helping with the set designs,
Photo courtesy of WWWJmdb.com. [Tie show will be the first stu- contact Stacy Pastva.
Ashton Kutcher's last episode of Punk'd aired on Sunday, Dec. 14. Beyonce Knowles dent-produced and directed It is wonderful to see active
was Kutcher's last 'punkee.' musical at Mercyhurst College. students workingft?provide op-
Students Blake Gority* len portunities for other students
Coffman, and Richard Rock- and helping them get involved
resentatives said, "it's not a trick, episodes was probably the one
By Lindsay Kezlarian age decided that, "as future ed- at Mercyhurst College.
but anything the prankster in which Justin Timbedake was
Con til m ting writer ucators we were aware that it Gority emphasized that, "it is
Kutcher says must be taken with punk'd. Timbedake was told that
was often the music teacher important we make this an en-
a bit of skepticism-" all of his belongings had been
who took charge of the musi- tire school event and make it
Ashton Kutcher announced on According to The Hollywood detained because he owed cal. something that Mercyhurst can
Friday, Dec. 12, that his show Reporter, "Sources within MTV] $900,000 in back taxes. Therefore, we decided to start
be proud of." ')
"Punk'd" (in which he stars and suggested that Kutcher pulled j Timbedake was horrified and this student-run musical so we
co-produces), will no longer be the plug because Punk'd" was upset as well as confused. Be- , Congratulations to Jen, Blake,
could gam this exper- and Richard. You all deserve a
on television. becoming a victim of its own suc- fore he could panic anymore,
ience while in college," said standing ovation and good luck
|" Everyone is shocked because cess: the exposure the series re- Kutcher ran out with the Gority. to the cast, and crew of "Any-
the network had ordered a third ceived was making it more diffi- "Punk'd" crew and laughed along These outstanding students thing Goes!" #
season of "Punk'd to begin in cult to fool its celebrity subjects. with Timbedake at his very sue-
March. The network is unlikely to conȣ ccssful prank.
After two very successful sea- tinue "Punk'd" without his in- On the day that Kutcher's an-
sons, Kutcher said, "We have had volvement
an incredible time doing the show
nouncement was made, Lois
For those of you who arc not Curren, an MTV executive in +*ACTNQW4»
and have decided to stick with aware of what i he show Punk'd .charge of series development,
the old adage of leave 'em want- is about, it is described as, "a ver-1 said, "Today is a sad day for
th
ing more' and that's how we feel sion of the old 'Candid Camera' MTV, but probably a happy day
with the show."/ that preys on young celebrities." for Hollywood, Celebrities can
Book 11 people, get 12 trip f pec
Some people think that it is Komc of Kutcher's pranks I rest a little easier knowing that Group discounts for 6
very possible that his announce- were played on celebrities such the Punkmgs have ceased."
ment may be just another as Justin Timbedake, Hillary The last episode aired on Sun- i^MLSpi^breflkdisW
"Punk'd" scam in order to fool Duff, Nick Lachey, and Kelly day, Dec. 14. Kutcher's last prank
his next prank vi< tims on his Osborne, along with many more. was played on singer Beyonce
shows, however Kutcher's rep- One of the most memorable Knowles.
DECEMBER 17, 2003
THEMERCIAD PAGE 9

ARTS&
To contact entertainmentmerciad@mercyhurst.edu ENTERTAINMENT

Choir gives Christmas concert: The Nutcracker

A
Mercy hurst students givefabulous show timeless holiday tradition
By Meghan Sullivan
Contributing writer
On Sunday, Dec. 14, the
Mercyhurst Concert Choir
gave a fabulous performance
of the Christmas portion of
1
Handel's "Messiah" and Fran-1
cis Poulenc's "Gloria."
This Christmas conceit is
performed traditionally every
other year.
The music selection was quite
a task, for the choir to handle
on top of their already strenu-
ous work load they had been
trying to tackle; but they per-
severed and put on an excel-
lent performance.
Accompanied by the Mercy-
hurst Chamber Orchestra the
concert was about two hours
of moving choral music.
Almost all of the audience
found it extremely enjoyable.
The choir set a great Christ-
mas atmosphere to start off
the conceit when they had the
0
Carpe Diem Chorale singing
some Christmas classics from
the balcony as the multitudes
of people purchased rickets
and enter me Performing Arts
Center.
I The pre-performance was very
heart warming and got the con-
cert public in the Yule tide mood.
The comments from the audi-
ence after the conceit were very
positive.
Sophomore Mercyhurst stu-
dent Brenda Stcib commented,
"I thought they were very pre-
pared. You can truly see how
much they worked for it, and it
truly put you in the Chnstmas
spirit."
In a way, the choir did receive
a standing ovation. It is tradition-
al to stand during the famous
"Hallelujah" chorus J |
This custom gets its origin
from the first performance of
this piece for King George II of
England. When he heard it he
stood on his feet. Since he was
royalty, no one was allowed to
sit as he was standing.
The reason why the King stood
in die first place is argued.
One good theory is because not
even an earthly monarch will
remain sitting for the "King of
Kings" which is part of the text
So, during the Mercyhurst
Concert Choir's performance of
this piece, the audience quickly
rose to their feet and remained
there after giving the choir a
hearty and well-deserved ap-
plause.
The great work of music was
just as ful tillingforthe students
to perform, as it was* for the
audience to listen to.
Hie very enthusiastic Concert
Choi ri Con due tor Rebecca
Ryan commented, "It was so
hard to do and we did a great
job. I think the choir was as
excited as the audience* The
soloists were exceptional. Diane
Kalinowski was extraordinary
with that extremely difficult
soprano solo* The orchestra
was also wonderful/'
Also Mark Donlm, a sopho-
more bass in die Mercyhurst
Conceit Choir stated a few of
his thoughts on the concert. "1
thought it was a really moving
experience, Mrs. Ryan is such
an inspiring conductor to
watch.
The Concert Choir's nextper-
formance will be for die facul-
ty Christmas on Friday, Dec.
19 before Christmas break.
The choir hopes for as much
success with this conceit as the
previous one*

n^r*^9r^t

^ j) i Flephoto

Put on by Lake Erie Ballet, The Nutcracker performance will be held at the Warner
Theatre on Dec. 20-21, f < * * V

selmeier, danced by Mercyhurst If the story itself has not in-

By Jennifer C am ode c a
Contributing writer
Every year, along with misde-
toe and candy canes, the tradi-
tional Christmas ballet "The
Nutcracker" is performed
coundess times by ballet compa-
nies across the nation.
This year is no different as it
th
marks die Lake Erie Ballet's 45
anniversary of this timeless hol-
I and her prince fly off to the
\ iday classic.
The performances will be es-
pecially exciting this year as the
newly renovated Warner Theatre
will once again be the home of
m ra*.
Photo courtesy of www.tmdb com this ballet.
9
In the Christmas comedy "Elf/ Will Ferrell plays Buddy,a child who ended up at the As with any good ballet, the
North Pole, and was raised by Santa's elves. story must be interesting and
keep the audience's attention.
vpFbr those of you who have
faculty member Mark San til I ano,
is a magician and a toymaker
who bongs Clara a Nutcracker
as a present*
Litde does she know that a
spell has been cast upon her be-
loved toy and soon it comes to
life and must defeat the evil
mouse king in order to become
a Nutcracker prince.
Good triumphs over evil and
the mouse king is defeated. Clara
Kingdom of Sweets were they
are greeted by the Sugar Plum
Fairy.
Clara is the heroine as she
helped defeat the mouse king by
throwing her slipper; therefore,
all the Sweets perform dances
for Clara and the Nutcracker
Prince.
trigued you enough to attend this
classic, another wonderful aspect
of the ballet is the music by Pe-
ter Tchaikovsky, which will be
performed live by the Lake Erie
Ballet Orchestra, under the di-
rection of Bruce Morton Wright
Dr. D'Angelo himself will be
assisting with the production and
will be conducting the overture
of the ballet.
Mercyhurst dancers will also
0
perform including Jolene Chase,
Sarah James, Fara D'Aguiar, Ja-
net Strukely, Scali Riggs, Katie
Finger, Lindsay Bonafanti, Pam
Swaney, and Andrea Hashim to
name a few.
Returning professionals Mat-
thew Carter and Beth Anne
Domino will be performing as

Elf works magic

i never attended a ballet, The Nut-
By Marc Toth
Contributing water
When I first heard that Will
Ferrell was given the lead role in
a film I was skeptical-
W hen I saw the commercial,
which featured him wearing a
ridiculous elf costume, I thought
that no good could come of it. I
am happy to admit, that I was
wrong.
The story of "Elf" boils down
to this: An orphaned baby, Bud-
dy (Ferrell), crawls into Santa's
bag one Christmas, and ends up
in the North Pole.
Here, he is raised by elves un-
til the day someone lets it slip
that he is human. When Buddy
realizes iliis is the truth, he de-
cides he wants to find his bio-
logical father, who lives in New
York ( ity, and turns out to be a
children's book publisher.
Upon hearing Buddy's story,
his rather not only doesn't be-
lieve that Buddy was raised in
the North Pole, but throws him
out of his office.
He spends the rest of the film
trying to convince his father, and
everyone around him, that he is
telling the truth. Even then, just
in case that isn't enough, there
are a few sub-plots going on that
allow "Elf" to have a bit more
weight story-wise.
As strange as it is, it seems as
though the only reason that this
film works at all, on a level that
is pleasing to anyone who is
above the age of 8, is Will Fer-
rell. If you're unfamiliar with
Ferrell. he is best known for his
2
time on SNL, and his characters
generally seem like nine-year-olds
who have had too many pixi
sticks.
This is one of the reasons I
was initially hesitant about this
film. While giving Will Ferrell a
lead role could be a perfectly
pood idea, giving him free reign
to prance about like a ninny in
an elf costume, might not be as
good. c renting on video.
This logic initially seemed sen-
sible, however it has a flaw. If
there was going to be a movie in
which a full grown man must
run around Manhattan in an elf
costume, there could be no bet-
ter choice than Will Ferrell,
whose energy actually makes
die Sugar Plum Fairy and her
cracker will be a great first time
Spanish Chocolate, Chinese Cavalier.
Tea, Marzipan, BonBons, Ara- A surprise guest from die Erie
experience as the ballet is easy bian Coffee, and Russian Trepak community will magically appear,
to follow and die special effects are a few of the Sweets that per- so keep watching
will keep you in awe J form dances for Clara to ^The performances are Satur-
you believe that he was raised The story is based on E.P. watch day, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. and Sun-
by elves and never really grew Hoffmann's fairy tale and begins -. As with all sweet dreams, this day, Dec. 21, at 2:30 p.m. Tick-
U in the 1850*8 with Clara, per- dream must come to an end and ets will be sold prior to the per-
P- * S i $
At times the jokes can get te- formed by Krystal Nowosiclski, Clara soon wakes up to realize formance or call the 1tieCivic
dious (sight gags a plenty in die and her family throwing a gran- that she is at home again with Center at (814)-452-4857 for
North Pole), but on the whole diose Chnstmas party. her beloved Nutcracker, but she reservations £
the movie does exactly what it Many extravagant guests at- will always have the memory of Ticket prices range from
promises to do: make you laugh. tend, including her beloved un- this Chnstmas and Dtosselmei- $24.00 to $12.00 and student and
Sure, the humor may not be in- cle, Here Drosselmeier. Dros- ert wonderful gift. group rates are available.
tellectual, but it is still funny
The acting is good as well, Fer-
rell exceeds expectations, but
there really weren't any poor
actors.
Bob Newhart, for example, MERCYHURST STUDENTS (+18)
plays the Elf that raised Ferrell,
and delivers the opening in a way
reminiscent of old stop-motion We have Immediate openings in
( hristmas specials.
If you don't like FerrelTs style
of comedy, or are put off by
our customer sales/service dept.
grown men acting like children,
you may wish to pass this up, but
on the whole it is at least worth
| $12.50 base/appt. }
If you want something with a
Fun flex. Hrs. around class.
sensible plot, something with
more action, or something intel-
Work witty other students!
lectual you should also skip this.
If you like Ferrell, or have just
had a rough week and want to
laugh, you may want to give this
movie a chance. 4/5 stars.
PAGE 10
JLAKER
SPORTS
Women basketball! drops to o-io
By Liz Williams
Contributing writer
The Mercyhurst women's bas-
ketball ream entered the home
game this Sunday on Dec. 14
with a record of 0-9.t
TTiis was a tough game for die
Lakers.
Doth teams often went for 3-
point shots, but only few were
successful.
Sophomore guard Cassie Seth
lead the Lakers and scored elev-
en points.
Conversely, Kristin Bonner of
Slippery Rock University totaled
15 points during die game.
At the end of the first period.
Slippery Rock was still ahead of
Mercyhutst by 6 points.
The Lakers trailed during the
whole second half
As for foul shots, rarely did a
player from either team make
both of their free-throw shots
from the line.
Mercyhurst attempted to rally
towards the end of the game, but
they were defeated 48-60.
Mercyhurst was slighdy out-
sized and it showed in the num-
ber of rebounds.
Slippery Rock had a rebound
advantage of 49 while the Lak-
ers tallied in at 33.
The Lakers squad is still wait-
ing for theirfirstwin.
Men's hockey struggles
with; St. Lawrence
By Ryan Palm
Contributing writer
The Mercyhurst men's hock-
ey team was defeated in a non-
conference match-up by the
Saints from St. Lawrence Uni~ |
versity by die score of 5-2.
The game was played on
Dec. 13 in front of 1,970 in
Canton, N.Y
What started off as a slow
game through thefirsttwo pe-
riods ended with a lot of ex-
citement, as four goals were
scored between the two teams
in thefinalperiod of play*
St- Lawrence drew first
blood, scoring just four min-
utes into the game when fresh-
man Drew Bagnall put one past
Mercyhurst sophomore goalt-
ender Andv Franck.
| ^Bagnall's goal would stand
until sophomore teammate T.J.
Trevelayan scored with eight
minutes into the second peri-
od on freshman goal tender
Jordan Wakefield, who had
replaced Franck.
Things were not looking good
for die Hurst, until junior left
wing David Wrigley scored his
fifth goal of the season on a
power play just one tenth of a
second before the end of the
second period.
Wrigje/s goal was assisted by
sophomores Preston Briggs
and Dave Boreili, giving the
Lakers new hope.
Just three minutes into the
third period Mercyhurst jun-
ior Rich Hansen fed senior Pe-
ter Rynshoven who put the
puck in the net past the St.
Lawrence goaltender.
The goal tied the game at two, day, Dec. 28 when they travel
and would remain that way for
Join Amerka'$#l Student Tour Operator1994 as the director of market-
Sc« THpt, Earn Curt,
G* free! Now Hiring
toll f or group dttcounts
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THEMERCIAD DECEMBER 17,2003
To contact sportsmerdad@mercyhurst.edu
The Oilers moved to 5-3.
The Lakers shot 100 percent
from the foul line and 75 pet-
cent from behind the arc.
At the end of the second half,
Mercyhurst was led 37-33.
Findlay played a whole differ-
ent game in the second period
and took the lead against the
Lakers.
Again, Julie Anderson led the
game by scoring 18 points and
having six rebounds.
Cassie Seth contributed a total
of 15 points.
The game stats were lowered
tremendously for the Lakers in
the second half against Findlay.
Mercyhurst shot 80 percent
from the floor in the first half,
but after half-time the percent-
age dropped to an uncharacter-
istic 12 percent.
A key point in the last two
games for the Lakers is that they
have not had the luxury of a lead
in either game.
The women's basketball team
struggles in gaining any momen-
tum and hitting key shots in their
games.
The next game for the Lakers
Kate McAdamsPtKto Edrtor is on Dec. 29 against Bellarm-
Sophomore forward Mary dare Harlan prepares a two-point attempt with an opponent closing In.
ine.
^Previously the team played forward Erin Solada of Mercy- Anderson was a strength on the jtajThe Lakers also played the The Lakers are now 0-10 this
Ashland, on Thursday, Dec. 11. hurst had seven rebounds. court and led the game by hav- Findlay Oilers on Saturday Dec. season under Coach Bo Kuntz.
Ashland had a win, 92-56, over Also, freshman Julie Anderson ing 20 points, and was the only 13. §| t Kuntz hat has struggled at
Mercyhurst. added seven rebounds and three Laker to gain double digits sta- The game ended with a win by Mercyhurst with an overall
During die game sophomore assists. tus. Findlay, 74-54, over Mercyhurst. record of 12-41.
Winter X games to be shown live
By Cammy Clark
die next seven minutes. Miami Herald writer
St. Lawrence junior wing Sta-
ce Page scored just his second
For die first time, the thrills,
goal of the season, putting die
skills and even spills of 250 ath-
Saints up 3-2.
letes competing in four sports—
Tt would prove to be the
Moto X, Ski, Snowboard and
game winner, although St.
Snowmobile — will be televised
Lawrence would get two insur-
as it happens.
ance goals in a span of two
"We felt that now was the time
minutes.
to take the Winter X games to
Sophomore John Zeiler tal-
that level and make them even
lied his seventh goal of the
grander," said Chris Stiepock,
season at 17:11, and was fol-
general manager of the games,
lowed just two minutes later by
which will be held at Buttermilk,
fellow sophomore Kyle Rank,
an Aspen/Snowmass area
who scored his second goal of
mountain in Colorado, from Jan.
the season.
24-27. |
The Lakers were out shot 46-1
"There was some thought that
24, including 15-10 in the im-
these action sports are better off
portant third period.
with the telecast delayed so you
Mercyhurst were 1-4 with
can edit out some of the falls
the man advantage! They
and edit out of some of the
managed to hold the Saints 1-
mistakes and enhance it with
6 on their powerplay advantag-
graphics and audio," Stiepock
es. said. "I tend to feel ESPN view-
Franck was in the goal for
ers would really relish live pro-
13:44 and allowed one goal
gramming in winter action sports.
while making 12 saves.
When you see a guy fall live, it
Wakefield played the rest of
affects the whole nature of the
the game, allowing three goals
competition. It's a different tack
and making 29 saves.
for us to take."
The final St. Lawrence goal
The timing to go live now also
was scored on an empty tictM
is the result of the influx of
1
"We played well and had a
magazines, videos and Internet
lot of chances, it was a back
information available about the
3
and forth game/ remarked
athletes.
Wrigley when asked about the
'The viewers have told us they PitPttoto
game, "They had two late goals Tricks and stunts continue to get more and mora technical every year.
don't want all the up close and
in the third period that possi- dent of ESPN Original Enter-
personals," Stiepock said. "They ing the broadcasts, ESPN exec- meet style" over four days. The
bly shouldn't have gone iiti> We tainment, said in a statement that
don't want to see that some ath- utives decided a better brand SuperPipe is being moved clos-
had a few chances that we
lete is good at horseback riding these telecasts would "further er to the base of the mountain
name was needed.
didn't finish and bounces did
They want to see that athlete on reinforce that these athletes and to allow athletes and spectators
Although ESPN chose "X" to
not go our way."
a snowboard doing tricks. replace "Extreme," there still isn't sports are on the same level as to move from event to event
With the loss the team now ••#
a definitive word to categorize traditional major sports athletes easier.
"With the huge barrage of
drops to 6-6-1, and will get the sports. "Alternative$ was con- and events " "If you don't go live and pack-
media available to kids, they can
quite a bit of time off for the sidered, but the industry prima- The dates for the Winter X age it, you do miss some of the
holidays. get the background information
elsewhere. Tliey want to see the rily goes by "Action Sports " Games XIII were moved back real drama," Stiepock said. "You
They resume action on Sun- L Whatever die name, die sports by two days to accommodate the
competition, because TV does get a sense that the telecast is a
arc growing by leaps and bounds. live telecasts. ABC will lack off little more scripted. We want to
that best."
to Troy, N.Y to tangle with RPL
If you prefer to see the action "Back in 1995, ESPN had a the coverage Jan. 24, and ESPN let the games unfold and give our
live — in person — the Winter conscious choice on how to will provide the rest of the 15 viewers more of sense of what
X Games are a good value. All present the action sports — as a hours or original programming. an athlete needs to do to get a
events are free. collection of lifestyles thai were SportsCenter will report live medal. We want to put viewers
PL Stiepock began with ESPN in rebel in nature or as true sports " from the games. more in their shoes, at the start
Stiepock said. "ESPN chose the
latter, and that helped lead to the
IThe games will be held "track- gate."
ing and communicationsforthe
CAHOIN then Extreme Games. But the legitimacy over the years." Intramural Update
Aoumto
name was soon changed to X It took awhile for several of
the athletes to embrace that.;
JAMAKA Games.
"Wc took our cue from ath- "Certainly, there was a resis-
Three-on-three intramural basket-
BAHAMAS
letes after year one," he said.
FLORIDA "The athletes said what we do
tance to the big-time corporate ball tournament will be held after
feel -—- athletes in general allied
isn't any more extreme than away from that" Stiepock said.
u
break. Sign-up sheets and rosters
what a NASCAR driver does But over the years, they've
come to live with it and embrace
ore still being accepted for basket-
MiNT
J j)
every Sunday. They said it was
just the wrong label for us." it. Because with the exposure and ball. Co-ed volleyball will be held the
TttAVML "Extreme" also did not trans- sponsors, they are able to do what
SERVICES ate well in some languages. With they love for a living.**- first week back from Christmas
more than 180 countries receiv- | -Kan Semiao, senior vice presi- break.
 •

i
! 1
VWPf
PAGE 12
-LAKER
SPORTS
Men's basketball goes 2-0 o n
By Ryan Palm
Contributing Writer
The Meicyhurst men's basket-
ball team has been onfireas of
late, picking up two more wins
this week, both of which were
conference games.
The Lakers hosted visiting Ash-
land University on Thursday,
Dec 11, trying to keep their con-
ference record unblemished
They did just that, and did it
with style, defeating the Eagles
76-49. \
The 49 points scored by Ash-
land was their lowest ever in a
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Ath-
letic Conference game.
Mercyhurst featured four
scorers in double figures, and
played outstanding team defense,
forcing Ashland to shoot just
over 32 percentfromthe field.
Senior forward Josh Helm led
the Lakers in scoring, with 22
points, andrebounds,with nine.
Senior guardJustin Shouse had
18 points and dished out eight
assists.
In hisfirstcareer start, fresh-
man guard Mitch Brennan con-
tributed 15 points and five re-
bounds, playing well enough to
earn himself a start in the next
contest
Both Shouse and Brennan shot
the ball well from three-point
territory, with Shouse going 4-8
and Brennan 3-4.
Just two days the later the Lak-
ers entertained the Findlay Oil-
ers, who coming into the game
were ranked No. 9 in all of Di-
Women's hockey ties No. 2 Dartmouth
By Liz Williams
Contributing Writer
The women of the Mercy-
hurst Hockey team have much
to be proud of after last week-
end. They are currently ranked
No.8/9 in the nation with two
consecutive wins over Niagara.
On Dec 6, the record for Nia-
gara dropped to 2-9-2, after the
final scores ended with a 3-1 win
for Mercyhurst.
Mercyhurst scored their three
goals within the first three min-
utes of each period.
Junior Sara McDonald scored
the second goal of the game,
making it her fifth goal of the
season.
The Lakers offense totaled 16
shots on the goal during the sec-
ond period, while Niagara totaled
18 shots for the entire game.
The next day, Mercyhurst
played a conference game against
Niagara.
Forward Samantha Shirley's
first goal gave Mercyhurst the
lead 1-0. ;-
During the second period,
both Mercyhurst and Niagara
earned a point.
In the last period, the Lakers
scored two goals out of a total
ofseven shots, leaving them with
another win 4-1 over Niagara.
For Dec. 8, College Hockey
America named weekly player
awards to Mercyhurst sopho-
mores: Samantha Shirley and
Danielle Lansing.
Mercyhurst club hockey fights to No.2
By Matt Jackson
Contributing Writer
The Mercyhurst Club Hoc k-
ey team continued it's winning
streak in dominant fashion this
weekend with victories over
Binghamton 12-1 and Niagara'
University 7-2.
The wins lengthen the Lakers
win streak to seven games and
gives the team a record of 9-8,
thefirsttime all season they have
been above the .500 mark.
Micky Girardi led the scoring
outburst for the weekend by
THE MERCIA D DECEMBER 17,2003
To contact: sportsmerciad@mencyhurst.edu
w e e k e n d
game to overtime.
Mercyhurst dominated the
overtime, outscoring Findlay 17-
9. | I [.
The Lakers hit all of their shots
from the field, going 3-3 on field
goals and 2-2 from downtown.
They also contributed nine
free-throws, which were clutch
in preserving the win.
I Helm again led everyone, this
time getting a double-double with
22 points and 10 hard fought
rebounds.
Shouse had another great game
scoring 16 points, including nine
in the overtime period.
He also gave out eight assists
and pulled down four rebounds.
Junior guardJawad All pitched
in eleven points, possibly none
more important than the three-
pointer he hit early in overtime
to give the momentum to the
Lakers.
The two wins push the Laker's
record to 6-3, and an outstand-
ing 3-0 in the GUAC to lead the
conference, being the only un-
beaten team in the South Divi-
sion.
The Lakers are back in action
this Tuesday when they host
KabeMcAd. U f
Oto Editor Bellarmine in a non-conference
Tony Mitchell works his way up court against two Ashland defenders. Mitchell earned 11 points on the day. matchup.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
vision fi*. Mercyhurst headed to the percent they needed in the Mercyhurst Athletic Cen-
The Laker defense forced locker room at halftime very , The Lakers still led by 11 on I Following an Oiler free-throw ter. §
Findlay to shoot the ball very happy, leading the Oilers 29-20. three different occasions in the and a Mercyhurst turnover, two Following that, Mercyhurst will
poorly in thefirsthalf, holding Not surprisingly a different second period, and held a seven lay-ups and a thunderous dunk try to avenge their loss earlier in
them to just 33 percent from the team came out of the visitor point lead with just over three tied the game at 52-52. the season when they travel to
field I locker room, as Findlay played minutes to play. The Lakers got the ball back Edinboro on this coming Satur-
The offense fed off of the a much improved second half. Sj However, the Lakers would go with 14 seconds to play, but were day to take on the Fighting Scots.
defense, and shot the ball well at They shot the ball remarkably scoreless for the rest of the unable to score as Shouse missed The action will begin at 7:30
a 48 percent clip. better, making 11-20 to shoot 55 game, giving Findlay the chance a three at the buzzer, sending the pin.
Wrestling pulls out 2-1
record in Mercyhurst Duals
McAvinew sits atNo. 4 m nation
By Matt Jackson
Contributing Writer
Sophomore 133-pound wres-
tler Ryan Finn recorded a pin
and two decisions Sunday to
lead the Mercyhurst Laker team
to a 2-1 record in the Mercy-
hurst Duals.
Finn, ranked No. 2 in the East
Region, started his day strong
with a pin in 2:12 overJoe Wor-
noff of Cleveland State and
then had a decisive 7-1 decision Fit Photo
over Rich Gebauer of Frank- Ben McAvinew
lin & Marshall
The biggest of Finn's three when Mercyhurst began their
victories would come in his last match with SRU. ;-,
match of the day when he Randazzo and Finn opened
Jody Mello/ConlribuUng Photographer squared off against Chris Lape the match for the Lakers with
Experience from players such as Jessica Dillabough help this year's squad. of Slippery Rock University. a major decision and a decision
Shirley is from Mississauga, December 14 at [hompson Are- At this point Sarah Clark was Already splitting a pair of respectively to give their squad
Ontario. na. 1 inside the circle. matches with the SRU fresh- an early 7-0 advantage.
Her offensive strategies earned The score was tied at 0-0, leav- She went for the goal but hit man earlier in the season, Finn SRU would be victorious in
her the title of Rookie of the ing Dartmouth with a record of the post, leaving the score still at turned in a 4-1 victory in this the nextfivebouts that inciud-
Year last season. 9-1-1, and Mercyhurst with 13- 0 - 0 . f •:• t ' contest to hike his overall ed a pin and two major deci-
Shirley leads the league with 15 2-2. Late in the third period, there record 16-3 on the year and 2- sions to give the Rock a de-
points. Both goalies made a tremen- were few other chances for 1 against Lape. manding 20-7 lead.
Danielle Lansing is from Red dous effort to keep the score Dartmoutl i to score. Finn and fellow teammate, h That set the stage for return-
Deer, Alberta. board at zero. Consequently, Dartmouth 125-pound wrestler Ricky Ran- ing All-Americans Ben McAv-
On the defense, she limited Goalie Desi Clark of the Lak- could not get anything past goal- dazzo together expressed their inew and Justin Mautz to flex
Niagara to just 34 shots. Lansing ers had 26 saves during the ie Desi Clark. confidence in their ability to their muscles under the spot-
had six goal shots of her own in game. The game ended with a tie for help the Laker team get off to light for the Lakers.
the two game set against Niaga- In addition, Dartmouth's Kate the two teams. a quick start McAvinew began the come-
ra. Lane stopped 27 shots. The 0-0 overtime is the sec- "We are the 1-2 punch that fiom-behind effort with a quick
Most recently, Mercyhurst During the second period, ond time in history for the Lak- the team needs to get off to a deck job of Dan Scott in 1:03>
played against No. 2 Dartmouth Dartmouth had a chance to ers since Nov. 3,2000 at Find- good start, and it seems to be Mautz would follow knowing
in Hanover, N.H., on Sunday, score. by. working," said Finn, speaking he needed a victory for the
for the two. -_• Laker team to be victorious.
Randazzo was 2-1 on the day He didn't give the Laker fans
to improve his overall record
on the year to 12-4.
As a team, the Lakers turned
any time to doubt he turned in
a dominating performance
over Shawn Adams, scoring
in an impressive perfbmianee, three takedowns before pin-
scoring four goals in each game Freshmen Tim Falkner, Whit- Niagara is the leader in the as well, considering the fact that ning the freshman in 2:02.
and is starting to look like the ney Gibbs, and sophomore Ryan EC HL but the victory by the all three teams they competed Angelo Caponi would accept
player that was named Second Bessey were all sent to the lock- Lakers gives the team a solid against in the quadrangular a forfeit to complete the scor-
Team Ail-American last season. er room early when they showed chance to repeat as conference were Division I, with Mercy- ing, giving the Lakers a 25-20
The second game of the week- they would not bade down to die champs. This win puts the Lak- hurst being the only Division II victory. ,..;.
end proved to be a real crowd Niagara players. ers 4 points behind Niagara with representative. McAvinew is now 13-3 an the
pleaser due to the high intensity Looking past the three fights, one game in-hand, The week- The No. 12 Lakers started the year and ranked fourth In the
between the two teams. the Laker performance was once end also puts the team in sole day off on the wrong foot with nation while Mautz is 13-1 and
Niagara defeated Mercyhurst again dominant for the second possession of second place for a 25-14 loss to the hands of is third in the nation. Both were
earlier in the year by a score of night in a row. the time being. Cleveland State before bounc- 3-0 on the day.
7-4 and there was definitely no Freshman goalie Dan La Rue The Lakers now have a long ing back in their second match The Lakers exited the com-
love lost between the teams. was impressive behind the net in break before they next compete with a 24-16 victory over Fran- petition with a 3-2 season
It showed in this weekend both games, but tile second game against Kent State on Jan. 7. klin & Marshall. record
contest as three Mercyhurst was where he got to show his Kent State won the battle be- The match with die mexst. dra- B They will next compete Dec.
players were ejected after the ability as the Niagara players tween the two teams eai lier in ma was appropriately the last 17 in a home meet against
intensity became too high and were able to get their fair share the year 7-3. It was the Laker's of the day in the quadrangular Ashland
fights broke out on the ice. of shots on goal. first game of the season.