· I' ' ..... ~_, ~:t· :' • "I j ..... , ...

Sean Sheehan

Staff Writer

The people of Wixom, MI may soon share a common bond with Flint, MI. Unfortunately the thread that could cross the 52-mile stretch between the two towns will most likely not be positive. Wixom, like Flint before it in 1987, is preparing for the socio-economic backlash from the potential closing of the town's main source of income: an auto-assembly plant. America's Number Two automobile compa­ny, Ford Motors, has announced the closure of several plants, resulting in a cut of between 25,000 and 30,000 auto-assembly jobs.

THE ,DOME Widener University's StUdent News and Entertainment

Volume 06, Is~ue 9 Friday, February 17, 2006

February Finally, I:Uts Chester

Photo by Sue GaJeone I An igloo constructed in the Freshman quads.

Bracing for the Worst 55,000 Workers Prepare for Life After Plant

of trucks, announced the need for a restructuring of the company called "The Way Forward" at the end of January 2006.

"The Way Forward" is the automobile giant's second restruc­turing in four years. The last plan resulted in the closing of five plants (35,000 jobs). However, the plant productivity has dropped 7% from 2004's closing numbers. Ford plans to close plants based on their age, products produced, and lack of flexibility. Experts speculate that the plants located in St. Louis, MO; St. Paul, MN; Atlanta, GA; and in Wixom, MI; are the most likely candidates for the chopping block.

Ford is not alone in its problems. General Motors, Ford's number one competitor, announced the need to cut 25,000 jobs in the United States over the course of the next two years in an attempt to save $2.5 bil­lion a year. As in the case with the Ford closings, communities are in a panic over the potential aftermath. GM's Oklahoma City plant employs 2,200 people and pumps $1 billion into the state's economy each year. The effect does not stop there-local busi­nesses that have sprouted around the Oklahoma City plant provide service to both the plant and its employees. If the plant is shut down, these businesses will face substantial, if not catastrophic,

drops in income. Unfortunately, the potential

rough roads ahead of the people in Oklahoma City and Wixom are not new to the American socio­economic climate. When General Motors closed down its operations in Flint, MI in 1987, the town became a morass of unemployed industrial laborers and economic decay. The aftermath was so dev­astating that Flint native Michael Moore chronicled the town's

hardships in his first documen­tary fllm, Roger and Me. It is not uncommon for an industrial town to not fully recover from the uprooting of industry. The City of Chester is another prime example. Once the home for two large shipbuilding yards and the largest Scott Paper plant in North America, the town now suffers from a 65% unemployment rate.

Neither Ford nor GM has announced which plants will be

In This Issue:

P. 2 - Miners

An analyzation of the recent rash of mining deaths in the United States.

Widener's victory over Albright brings revelry, prizes, and funny hats.

P. 7 - New World

Bob Stott rejoices in a true­to-life retelling of one of his favorite distorted Disney stories.

shut down and which will remain open. Until then, many of the states that are home to the plants will continue to do as they have since the announcements were made; offer the companies tax breaks in an effort to keep the plants open.

Sources: www.cnn.com. WWW.

abcnews.com, and www.oldches­terpa.com.

Ford's announcement comes on the heels of a disappoint­ing year, as the 103-year old company finished second to rival General Motors in automobile sales for the first time in 19 years. Further complicating the situa­tion are the rising oil prices, mak­ing Ford's signature Sport Utility Vehicles a considerably less enticing buy. To complicate the situation even more, the higher cost of parts needed to construct the vehicles as well as healthcare for the workers has put the com­pany in a deeper fmancial hole. Ford, which manufactures three models of SUVs as well as a fleet Photo by cityofwixom.com I Outside the Ford plant in Wuom, Ml.

"Covering all the Good Stuff" thedome@mail.widener.edu 610-499-4421

PAGE 2 Friday, February 17, 2~

Editor in Chief ScotlWare

News & Univ. Editor Brendan Sheehan

Lifestyle Editor Edward McNeill

Advisors Tim Scepansky Robert 1. Bonk

Layout Editor Susan Galeone

Copy Editors Ashlee Babcock Elisa Berman

Dan Cronin

BU"II11'" & Oflice Stafr

Business Manager Samantha Ptzybylowicz

Business AdVisor SeanRynn

Stall WrIters

Ashlee Babcock Edward McNeill

Elisa Berman Jack Rivers

Darrell Brock Brendan

Dan Cronin Sheehan

Laura Finley Sean Sbeeban

Bill Rieser Pat Shields

Bob Stott

( "1Ic"I'"I11IIIlC' \\ Illch

Mary Fernandez Mike Hays

('t lllt.lll

Mail: Widener University The Dome One University Place Chester, PA 190 13

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NEWS & UNIVERSITY The Dome Widener University - . -- - -

Kasunic Bill Would Improve Mine Rescues Charles Tocci

Press Release

Harrisburg, February 3, 2006 -- On the heels of intro­ducing the first re-write of the state's coal mine safety law in 45 years, State Sen. Richard A. Kasunic (D-Fayette/Somerset) today introduced legislation that would improve mine res­cue efforts.

"My bill is aimed at giv­ing miners the best possible chance of surviving an emer­gency," Kasunic said. "It approaches the challenge by enhancing rescue response as well as enabling miners to survive longer."

Under the Kasunic bill (Senate Bill 1092), extra oxy­gen and safety equipment would be available and stra­tegically located in mines. In addition, miners would be equipped with wireless track­ing devices to help rescuers pinpoint their location.

"The recent tragedy at the Sago Mine in West Virginia clearly demonstrates how cru­cial the element of time can be in mine rescues," Kasunic said. "My bill empowers the state's Secretary of Environmental Protection to mandate greater safety strategies, equipment and resources for Pennsylvania mines.

age the use of new technolo­gies, such as 'safe chambers' in underground mines."

The Kasunic bill would also establish tough new criminal and civil penalties for mine operators who fail to com­ply with the law. The West Virginia legislature recently passed a similar bill calling for tracking technology and supplemental oxygen supplies in its deep mines.

"This would help encour- Last year, Kasunic intro­duced another bill (Senate Bill

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Choose from full- or part-time degree programs with day or evening classes. Certificates in health law, corporate law, trial advocacy, and law and government are also available. All programs are accredited by the American Bar Association.

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949) that would require greater safety precautions in advance of drilling, a more reliable mapping system, and tough new penalties for mining com­panies that fail to comply with state mine safety regulations. State Rep. Bob Bastian (R­Somerset) introduced a simi­lar bill in the state House of Representatives.

Both bills incorporate extensive findings from sev­eral commissions that stud­ied the 2002 Quecreek Mine

Photo by fex.eom I Coal miners on the job.

flood, representing the first major rewrite of the state's Bituminous Coal Mjne Act since 1961.

The state Senate Committee on Environmental Resources and Energy held a public hearing on Senate Bill 949 in Harrisburg earlier this week.

To contact Charles Tocci, email at ctocci@pasenate. com. Visit www.pasenate.coml kasunic for more information.

Poets and Prophets February Schedule

Free Open Reading

Darnell Brown

Tuesday, February 28 at 7 p. m. at Harvest Book Store

9 E. State St Media, Pa,

(In celebration of Black History Month)

$2 donation

Note: we will be starting our new Philly Series on Wednesday, March 16 at

Voices and Visions!!

Detals to follow 610-328-POET

www.poetsandprophets.com

NEWS & UNIVERSITY PAGE 3 The Dome Widener University Februarv 17, 2006

Drug Conviction Students Get Financial Aid Chester Students Prepare for Youth Summit Tom Angell

Students for Sensible Drug Policy Campaigns Director

WASHINGTON, DC -Today Congress scaled back the law that strips financial aid from college students with drug convictions. The change to the Higher Education Act allows some students with past offenses to receive aid, but those convicted while enrolled in college will still lose eligibility. The law has affected more than 175,000 students, and some of those left behind by the change are working with the ACLU to challenge the penalty's consti­tutionality in court.

"After years of political posturing and empty promises, Congress has fmally helped some students harmed by this misguided policy," said Kris Krane, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. "But this minor change is just a ploy to sweep the

Kevin Raport

Assistant Director, Campus Safety

Widener's Campus Safety Department provides a shuttle service to key campus locations. It operates during the evening hours, seven days per week, in the fall and spring semester. The on campus shuttle bus stops at the locations below every 20 minutes between the hours of 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturdays.

The Widener Campus Safety Department also provides an off-campus shuttle bus that departs from the University Center to Wawa and Wal-Mart on every hour and half hour.

To assist with your safe tran­sit to and from the Widener University Main Campus, the Campus Safety Department has attached a link to the Septa transportation website. There are two different Septa bus routes that run through campus.

The Route 109 bUfh transports from 69 Street Terminal to the Chester Transportation

penalty's problems under the rug. Tens of thousands of stu­dents will still be pulled out of school every year because politicians failed to listen to our concerns. The only option students have left is to take action in court."

The revision to the REA Drug Provision is included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which Congress previ­ously approved late last year. Today's House vote was a procedural one sending the measure to the President's desk.

The Drug Provision was originally enacted in 1998.

In January 2005, the con­gressionally-created Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance recom­mended that the drug convic­tion question be completely removed from the financial aid application, calling it "irrel­evant" to aid eligibility. The committee also stated that the drug question's mere presence on the form deters countless eligible students from apply-

ing. Under today's change, aid applicants will still have to answer a drug conviction question.

Last week SSDP flled a separate lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education over a Freedom of Information Act inquiry into the num­ber of students in each state who have lost aid due to drug convictions. The government refused to grant SSDP a fee waiver, clarning the informa­tion could lead to drug legal­ization and that the nonprofit group may profit from it.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy, an organization with college and high school chapters, is part of a coalition supported by more than 250 education, addiction recovery, criminal justice, civil rights, and religious organizations seeking the full repeal of the REA Drug Provision. For a list, see http://www.ssdp.org/ campaignslhealStudentGover nmentOrgEndorsers. pdf.

For more information, visit www.DAREgeneration.com.

Elisa Berman

Staff Writer

A select group of Chester High School students are learning to be leaders through Wideners' after-school pro­gram. Members of the Widener Student Education Association (WSEA), along with Dr. Richard Thurlow (Graduate Professor of Psychology) and Dr. Michele Bums (President of the Education Alumni), are coordinating with the Chester Education Foundation direc­tor, Elaine Greene, to prepare high school students for the annual Youth Summit on May 13.

The students are bussed to campus for two hours on Mondays and Wednesdays where they go through les­sons relating to leadership to improve their skills. They complete exercises such as writing positive descriptive

words about their classmates and recording their dreams and goals.

These techniques are then put into effect in the second half of their session with the elementary school students. The high school students spend an hour reading to the younger children and answer­ing questions about their future years of school. Many of the older students become role models for the elemen­tary school children.

On the day of the Youth Summit, high school students will be able to listen to speak­ers from the surrounding communities and be apart of workshops.

The WSEA is welcoming all education majors who wish to participate in this activ­ity. For more information on becoming involved, please email either eaw0301@mail. widener.edu or ebberman@ mail. widener.edu.

Widener Provides a Shuttle Service Days, Times, and Locations

Center, with a stop at Springfield Mall along the way. This bus stop can be located at 22nd Street and Providence Road.

The Route 119 bus trans­ports from 1-95 Industrial Park to Market Street and New Street in West Chester, Pennsylvania with stops at the Chester Transportation Center and Ches~r Community Hospital at 9 Street and Highland Avenue along the way.

The Route 113 bus trans­ports from 69th Street Terminal to Market Street and Delaware Avenue in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania with stops at the MacDade Mall and Chester Transportation Center along the way.

Additional Septa bus routes can be located at www.septa. org.

The shuttle leaves from Campus Safety three times each hour:

-on the hour -twenty after the hour -twenty before the hour

1. Campus Safety Office- Old Main 2. 14th Street- stone steps in front of Old Main 3. University Center- front doors 4. 13th Street- by the Theta Chi House 5. Potter Street- Sigma Sigma Sigma and Lathem 6. Andorn Apartments- rear parking lot 7. 15th Street- New Hall South and Dixon South driveway 8. Library/KapelskilKirkbride- circular driveway 9. 14th Street- Castle driveway 10. Academy Street- Manor house driveway 11. Library /KapelskilKirkbride- circular driveway 12. 16th Street- Gold Street, across from Dixon North 13. 17th Street and Melrose Avenue

The off-campus shuttle bus runs: 14. Schwartz Center- from 7 p.m. until closing

. .

Monday-Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

5 p.m. to 1 a.m. 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. 12 p.m. to 1 a.m .

15. Campus Safety Office- Old Main

PAGE 4 NEWS & UNIVERSITY ,Friday, February 17, 2(!06 Widener Universi~ The Dome

Lend Your Voice to What Goes on the Wall of Metropolitan Hall

Metropolitan Hall, Widener University's newest residence hall, is set to open in fall 2006. It will be home to approximately 300 students.

One interior design element is painting quotations that relate to the university's mission and vision on the corridors of the new residence hall.

All members of the Widener community are invited to submit suggestions for quotes. A committee of students, faculty, and staff will review the submissions and recommend several to the President Harris.

To submit a quote, please send the following information to the Office of Residence Life, resilife@mail.widener.edu.: • The quotation itself and the source of the quotation as well as a little bit of information about the context in which

the quotation was used. • The name of the author and a description of who the author is or was. • A short explanation of how you think the quote refers to Widener's vision and/or mission. • All entries must include all of these elements to be considered. For more information, please contact the Office of

Residence Life. • The deadline for submission of quotations is February 20.

If you would like to serve on the quotation review committee, please contact either: Catherine Feminella, director of Residence Life, cafeminella@mail.widener.edu; ext. 4392 or Tiffany Kator, in the Office of Student Organizations and Volunteer Services, takator@mail.widener.edu, The deadline for volunteering on the committee is February 13.

Submitted quotes will be publicized and members of the campus community will be invited to vote for the quotes they like the most. Results of the survey will be published as well. The committee will forward recommendations for quotations to the president.

Lou Anne Bulik Assistant Vice President for University Relations, Widener University One University Place Chester, PA 19013-5792 610-499-4458 Louise.A.B ulik@widener.edu

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NEWS & SPORTS PAGES

The Dome Widener

Clarkson Propels Victory over Albright Source

widener.edulathletics

2/8/06 - Senior Kris Clarkson (Philadelphia, PA) closed with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season in Widener's 67-54 Commonwealth Conference victory over Albright at Schwartz Center.

Clarkson scored nine points during Widener's 13-1 run early in the second half as the squad opened a46-34 lead with 15:10 to go. Albright hung tough thanks to a 10-2 run, moving them to 51-47 with 3:40 remaining.

But the Pioneers (18-3, 8-3 CC) went on a 7-1 spurt for a 58-48 cushion with 1 :49 left. Junior Essien Ford (Baltimore, MD) scored five points in that span, ending with a critical 3-pointer.

Clarkson shot 7-of-13 from the floor over just 28 minutes for Widener's third straight victory and sixth in eight outings. Ford poured in 15 points and junior Malcolm Thomas (Baltimore, MD) netted 12 for the Pioneers.

Boles and Taylor Steltz scored nine points apiece with Trevor Deeter adding eight and nine rebounds for the Lions (13-8, 6-5), who only shot 25 percent (7-of-28) in the second half. Albright shot just 36 percent (18-of-50) overall and was 4-of-16 from the 3-point range.

Widener remains in a first­place tie with Messiah atop the conference and both schools are two games ahead of third-place Albright.

Widener also visited Elizabethtown on Saturday, February 1 tip-off w at 4:00 pm.

Widener vs. Albright February 8, 2006

Fridav. February 17, 2006

Babiarz Helps Triumph over Albright

Source

widener.edu/athletics

2/8/06 - Senior Linette Babiarz (Bala Cynwyd, PA) nailed the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1 :28 left and freshman Megan Sipple (Boothwyn, PA) added the clinching layup as Widener rallied for a 64-60 Commonwealth Conference victory over Albright at Schwartz Center.

The Pioneers (14-8, 7-4 CC) ended the contest on a 13-1 run over the [mal 3:48 for their fifth victory in eight outings, strengthening their chances of advancing to the conference tournament.

Widener scored the first 11 points of the deciding spurt. Junior Shanais Hilliard (Brookhaven, PA) netted six of the first eight points on a trio of lay-ups, the last coming with 2:02 left for a 59-59 tie.

On the Pioneers' next possession, Babiarz received a pass on the left side from Sipple and drilled the go­ahead basket for the team's second 3-pointer of the game. After Ashley Howard hit l-of-

2 from the stripe for Albright with 41 seconds remaining, Sipple drove to the basket to ice the contest with 12 seconds to go.

Hilliard scored a season­best 16 points, senior Chelsea Luhta (Medford Lakes, NJ) had 14 points and nine rebounds, freshman Kelley Guarrera (Shamong, NJ) scored 14 points and sophomore Dominique Kidd (Upper Darby, PA) added nine for the Pioneers. Luhta bumped her career point total to 1,582, grabbing sole possession of second place in school history.

Annie McMahon scored 17 points, Meredith Berger netted 11 and J acquiline Hardwick had eight points and 11 rebounds for the Lady Lions (13-9, 4-7), who only shot 27 percent (7-of-26) from the field in the second half.

Widener visited Elizabethtown on Saturday needing a victory to assure the team a spot in the conference tournament. Tip-off was at 2:00 pm. Stats are not yet available.

Track and Field Notches Six Victories at

Widener Invitational Source

widener.edulathletics

2/4/06 - Widener posted six individual triumphs and seven second-place finishes in the Widener Invitational at the Schwartz Center Field House.

Senior Zach Stewart (Shippensburg, PA) captured the 200-meter dash in 24.76 seconds and sophomore Dave McGuire (Springfield, PA) took the 800-meter run in 2:04.71. Joe Kelly won the high jump with a leap of 5' 10" and sophomore Kevin Klick (Lansdowne, PA) took the pole vault by covering 13' 6".

The women's squad had two first-place finishes. Lauren Lucci (Springfield, PA) won the shot put with a toss of 40.1 feet and fellow sophomore Kimmi Hill (Sharon Hill, PA) took the long jump by covering 14.3

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feet. Among the men's second­

place finishers, freshman Matt Bell (Mohnoton, PA) ran 25.26 seconds in the 200-meter dash, sophomore Chris Slabek (Philadelphia, PA) sprinting 54.75 seconds in the 400-meter dash and senior John Boyle (Tamaqua, PA) covering 2:04.93 in the 800-meter run. Jack Protesto (Media, PA) leaped 13' 6" in the pole vault, losing on a judge's decision, and fellow freshman John DiSabatino (Newark, DE) had a toss of 46.1 feet in ·the weight throw.

Sophomore Amber Bennick (Jim Thorpe, PA) ran 11 :21.50 in the 3,OOO-meter run and junior Jillian Robinson (Langhorne, PA) leaped 13.5 feet in the long jump.

Widener competed Friday and Saturday at the Valentine Invitational in Boston, MA. Stats are not yet available.

Camp Counselors Main Line, co-ed, summer day camp now hiring for summer of 2006. In need of male and female group counselors and specialists. Excellent opportunity to work with children and outdoors. 8 week season (6/23 = 8/17 closed 7/4- 39 days total). Must have car. (610)644-1435 www. arrowheaddaycamp.com

PAGE 6 Friday,

~.~.~ ....• ~

17,2006

Rants & Raves

LIFESTYLES Wide!1~r University

~ ... ~.- (j .. ..•• \V

What Should Have Been Nominated for Album of the Year

Sean Sheehan

Staff Writer

Granted, U2 is one of rock music's greatest bands and yes, they do deserve all 20 Grammy Awards they have acquired over the course of their career. However, 2005's How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is merely a shadow of what the band is capable of doing. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to present to you, my faithful readers, a pair of albums that I think should have been nominated.

Ben Folds - Songs For Silverman

With his second full-length album since the amicable split of the Ben Folds Five, Ben Folds finally hits a home run. His solo debut, 2001's Rocking The Suburbs, had been hit or miss; the record's title track was dwarfed in quality by some stronger songs like "Zak and Sarah" and "The Luckiest." After all, it was his fIrst record with 1 00% cre­ative control over everything. In fact, Folds played the role of a multi-instrumentalist on the record.

After a series of shorter EP's, Songs for Silverman is a glorious homecoming of sorts, as Folds finds himself return­ing to a trio format (piano, bass, and drums). Over time, his lyrics have matured thank­fully without losing his scath­ing edge. Topically, the album covers every thing from poli­tics, society, and endings to family, friendship, and loss. The record's standout track, the solemn "Late," is a musi­cal eulogy to Folds' contem­porary and acquaintance, Elliot Smith.

Folds keeps to the facts, singing about how Smith's music helped him through some tough times and touch­ing on the few personal quirks

Photo by nickelcreek.com I Nickel Creek's new album cover.

he knew about him, particu­larly his fondness for throw­ing elbows while playing basketball. Anything more, as Folds put it in an interview, "just wouldn't be cool."

Nickel Creek - Why Should the Fire Die?

Just in case you were won­dering, bluegrass music is far from dead. Nickel Creek is at the forefront of the cur­rent wave of what has been dubbed as ''New Grass." The California trio of mandolin­ist/singer/songwriter Chris Thile, guitarist/vocalist Sean Watkins, and his sister Sara on violin and vocals, show skill and feel for bluegrass that simply defIes their age (all three members are aged 25 or younger).

The beauty of Why Should the Fire Die is its strictly busi­ness approach. No string over­dubs, minimal effects process­ing, and the simple orches­tration of mandolin, guitar, violin, and double bass allow no room for poor songwriting to hide.

Needless to say, the musi­cal atmosphere of the record sets the stage for provoca­tive and thoughtful songwrit­ing. Thile's ability to break

his sunny and cute persona in his songwriting and sing­ing enhances the power of the record. In the bleak and delightfully evil "Helena," Thile takes on the role of a man having an affair and turns it around on the woman he has a public relationship with as well as the women whom he has been seeing secretly. By the end of the song, his voice, thin and devilishly wrapping around every syllable, cuts through the pulse of the song.

Had these two albums been included in the nominees for Album of the Year, would U2 still walk away with the prize? Probably. The thing is, the Gramroy's are no differ­ent than the People's Choice Awards. How can any band, regardless of how strong the songwriting, arranging, or whatever it is on their record, hold a candle up to the civic­minded power pop/rock mon­ster that is U2? Had I been on whatever council votes on who takes the Grammy, I probably would've cast mine with Mr. Folds, but then again, that would be one vote against countless others smitten by slick black hair and a pair of sunglasses.

The Dome

Upcoming Events Saturday, Feb. 18 Heritage Month:

Reading & 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 Booksigning by p.mMenand Herbert Kohl Women's Thursday, Feb. 23 Basketball: Home VS Messiah

Celebrating African Monday, Feb. 20 American Heritage

Month: Brownbag 1 :00 p.m. - 2:00 Book Club "The p.m. Philadelphia Piano Lesson" Speaker Series on campus: David Friday, Feb. 24 McCullough

6:00 p.m. - 10:00 'fuesday, Feb. 21 p.m. The African

3:00 p.m. - 4:30 American Alumni Scholarship Dinner

p.m. Celebrating Dance African American Heritage Month: Film & Discussion Monday, Feb. 27 led by Dr. Richard Cooper 5:00 p.m. - 6:00

p.m. Lecture Wednesday, Feb. 22 Presentation by

Jolene Smith, 12:00 p.m. - 1 :30 "Women, Children, p.m. Celebrating and Modem Day African American Slavery"

JOIII I'HE DOIfS

CO .... AC ... SCO.".·WARE ,.HEDOME@MAIL.,rIDEMER.EDU

X442 I

Gatta Have a Gimmick Eddie McNeill

Lifestyles Editor

Music based on gimmicks has gone too far. When a ring tone can be stretched into an entire album, there is something seriously wrong with the world, even more so with the nation that made the album number one. Crazy Frog's disturbing and inex­plicable popularity originated in Britain, which is surprising considering they gave us the Beatles.

This annoying gimmick of an anatomically correct frog with a high-pitched voice that sings club songs started out as a downloadable ring tone from those heinous Jamster commercials. It quickly grew into its own full-length album that, unfortunately, was a hit; to give any kind of reward to a blatant novelty gimmick such

as this is an affront to all that music fans hold dear.

I would be able to for­give the UK for this short­lived sensation in light of the wealth of fantastic music they have birthed over the decades, but they have already found a new gimmick to pester me to no end. His name is "The Streets." Born Mike Skinner, The Streets is a white rap­per that makes Eminem seem hard. When I fIrst listened to The Streets, I thought the whole thing was a joke. The fact that NME (New Musical Experience) placed both his albums on their "Top 100 British Albums" list is an alarming testament to the fact that people in England genuinely enjoy The Streets. Skinner should be ridiculed for his paltry attempt at hip­hop that he is perpetrating, yet he is not. Instead, he is listed with names such as

David Bowie, The Smiths, and The Beatles.

It ' d be easy to point the finger entirely at England and say they encouraged Skinner and that's why he is still mak­ing records, and, to an extent, I do. Yet, some of the blame must be shouldered by his American following of hipsters who want to say they like rap but don't want to buy music made by an actual rapper. So they praise this schmuck for his ''wit'' and lyricism. These people are also of that special kind of wit where tying one's shoes is just too taxing.

White rappers are no longer considered a gimmick since the aforementioned dilettante Eminem became widely cel­ebrated in the hip-hop com­munity. A new gimmick was needed to fIll the gap, thus Matisyahu was born. The underground sensation has a gimmick that seems to be

taken right from a bar joke: he is a man dressed in orthodox Hebrew cloth­ing with an untrimmed beard and yar­mulke rapping over a dancehall reggae beat. To tell the truth, I'm somewhat mystifIed by Matisyahu. He is a gimmick that does know what he 's doing, and he 's not bad Photo by hudical .tripod.com I Crazy Frog is the new craze.

at it. This tends to make me hold a bit more contempt for him because I cannot properly pan his music as being crap; it's not.

Gimmick music is as old as time, or at least the music industry. Sometimes these

musicians get lucky and make actual music. Oftentimes, however, it's just plain bad music. This theory can be, and has been, applied to pop music on the whole-much to my chagrin.

Bob Ston

StaffWriter

It is a little discouraging that I have to remind myself from time to time that so much of the movie-going audience believes everything within a Disney film about the founding of the first English colony as historically correct and takes said film as historical fact. It's Disney's goal to show us the past, true, but it is a past they fluff into a happy end­ing so that the children don't get upset when Pocahontas' people are burnt out of their village or winter kills half of the English colony. Naturally, it's reality and we don't expect that from Disney.

What writer/director Terrence Malik has recently brought to theaters in The New World is not simply historical fact, either. Instead, it is an actual experience of the times, with the audience not just see­ing characters but experienc­ing the sensory world beyond

Jake Rogers

Contributing Writer

The premise of When a Stranger Calls is so deeply rooted in the minds of the American public, it's a bit hard to believe that the first film to capitalize on the urban legend came out a mere 26 years ago. The familiar premise (a baby­sitter who receives ominous phone calls from a deranged lunatic only to reveal that the calls are coming from within the house) is a chilling prem­ise for a film. When it was first presented in the 1979 film (also entitled When a Stranger Calls), it took up only a small portion of the film. Rather than remake the entire film from start to finish, the new When a Stranger Calls remakes only the fIrSt act. In other words, the new film isn't so much a remake as it is a retelling of the first 20 minutes.

The film starts with Jill being forced to baby-sit on a Friday night as punishment for going over her minutes on her cell phone. Once there, she spends approximately half the film answering the phone and wandering around the house in between calls.

LIFESTLYES PAGE 7

Widener Universitv "'ndav. Fehruarv 17, 2006

The New World: A Surreal Journey into the Past them.

In the year 1607, three travel-worn ships coast into a

small inlet on the coast of Virginia, the first of which holds a shack­led solider­of-fortune, Captain John Smith, await­ing execution for mutinous comments made dur­ing the voy­age. Arriving in this "new world," Smith's execution is postponed as the crew will require every available man

to fortify themselves, and men of Smith's wartime experience will be needed if the "naturals" become hostile. When one of the ships returns to England to bring more supplies and manpower, Smith is put in charge of the budding fort, which is being ever watched and inspected by the "natu­rals" with whom the colonists have strained relations. With the food supplies running out, Smith leads a small group up the river to petition a native king for aid and possibly trade for supplies. While en route to his destination, he is attacked and captured by the "naturals" who believe him to be some sort of demon with his strange metal armor, swords, and gun­powder.

In the camp of the native king, Smith is about to be executed as the harbinger of destruction, but the favorite daughter of the king inter­cedes on his behalf, asking his life be spared. His life consequently belongs to her, and Smith is bound to this

free-spirited girl, soaking in everything that Smith might show her. An inseparable bond forms between the two, reach­ing beyond romance or friend­ship, despite the two clashing societies that will swiftly tear them apart.

From the start, The New World is unlike any epic I have seen in recent years. There are no rousing musical scores accompanying the opening credits, only the sight of trick­ling water as the actor credits meekly appear and fade from the screen. Instead of focus­ing on the human elements, nature itself becomes the focal character of the movie; it is the approach to nature that

fixes each group's place in the film. The Native Americans, smooth, muscular, and graceful in their depiction, have formed a bond with this land, know its intricacies, and therefore how learned to coexist with life here; their stealthy movements and camouflaged dwellings

are barely noticeable among the wilderness. The colonists, on the other hand, are rigid and driven to dominate the landscape through brute force (with axe, musket, and sword) thus they are often displayed as unkempt, clumsy and inept as they quickly turn their sec­tion of the "new world" into a muddy and barren wasteland.

The two central charac­ters of the film are Smith and Pocahontas, but the relation­ship they share says more about the radical changes occurring in the world around them than solely about them­selves. Each character is dis­covering hislher own "new world." Smith, a man who has

When a Stranger Calls Eventually, the phone calls go from weird to threatening, and she then spends the rest of the film running around the house. In between, a group of blink-and-you'll-miss-them supporting actors come and go to break up the monotony. We learn that the person making the threatening phone calls is actually inside the house and a showdown between the killer and Jill ensues.

Since the only thing people remember about the original film is the beginning, it would make sense to have that be the focal point of the remake. However, the obvious flaw with this is that there's only 20 minutes of material with which to work. Often, the film mean­ders aimlessly in an attempt to pad the material out to feature length. In between shots of Jill lounging on a couch and wandering the many hallways of the house, ominous music fills the soundtrack to remind people that it is, in fact, a hor­ror film.

As far as horror films go, the tediousness of the plot could be forgiven if there were at least some scares thrown in to keep people entertained. Simply put, this film is not scary. The few attempts at scares are of the play-a-Ioud-

noise variety; not only is this not scary, it's cheap and manipulative.

When a Stranger Calls also seems oblivious to the post­modernism that Scream and its brethren brought about-this film is filled to the brim with horror movie cliches. For example, Jill spends most of the climax running through the house when she should be running for the door. Also true to horror movie logic is that the police are reluctant to help

her despite it being obvious that her life is in danger.

When the film fmally does reach the climax, it's done so clumsily that one can hardly believe that it's the climax at all. The film's ending choos­es ambiguity. A smart film would do this to allow the audience to draw their own conclusions about what hap­pens to the characters; When a Stranger Calls does this to leave it open for a sequel.

Good horror films tran-

never known peace and has defined his life by battle and conquest, finds peace amidst hostile natives while interact­ing with this young girl who often emanates an otherworld­ly aura of gentleness and safe­ty. Pocahontas, a young girl who wields immense political and spiritual influence, dis­covers a world of hardship and pain that she had never known in her carefree existence and is drawn in by the tragedy and torment by which these rugged colonists defme themselves.

The New World is a film of sparse dialogue with all major events being shown through motion and setting rather than said or explained through the characters. The dialogue that does occur within the film is usually used to express ideas that could not be fully fleshed out by scenes alone, while the rest of dialogue is predomi­nantly internal monologue of individual characters. Much of the bond that forms between Smith and Pocahontas is based on wordless communication, a hand gesture, a glance, a sim­ple touch between them, and yet it is one of the most com­pelling and powerful relation­ships I have seen portrayed on­screen in many years. Using only natural lighting to shoot the scenes, Terrence Malik has created a window into an older time, recalling a tale that has shaped the very identity of this country: the clashing of two cultures, religion and supersti­tion, change and persecution, the one unspoken bond that has altered the very face of the continent.

Photo by IGN.com I The call is from inside!

scend the genre; they can be more than just entertainment, but art. It is because of this that When a Stranger Calls seems so crass and exploi­tive. One has to wonder if the reason this film was made had nothing to do with any sort of artistic ambition and everything to do with the PG-13 horror craze. This is not a film; it's a product.

PAGES NEWS & UNIVERSITY Friday, February 17, 2006 Widener University

Men's Swimming Rolls Past Elizabethtown while Women Suffer Defeat

Source

widener.edu/athletics

1131106 - Matt Snyder (Ashley, PA) and Ricky Mamenko (Folsom, PA) each posted two victories for Widener's men's team in a 149-34 triumph, and the women just fell short in a 101-97 setback, both at Middle Atlantic Conference foe Elizabethtown.

Snyder captured the 100-yard butterfly in 56.27 sec­onds and the 100-yard breast­stroke in 1:01.49. Mamenko won the 200-yard freestyle in 1 :52.37 and the 500-yard freestyle in 5:11.68.

Andy Negley (Carlisle, PA) won the 1,000-yard free-

style in 10:59.12, Frank Vineis (Pompton Plains, NJ) took the 50-yard freestyle in 23.18 seconds and Kevin Carson (Saint Peters, PA) grabbed the 200-yard 1M in 2:06.08. Jeff Malone (Lutherville, MD) won the 100-yard free­style in 50.93 seconds and Chris Miller (Jonestown, PA) grabbed the 100-yard back­stroke in 54.84 seconds.

The men captured the 200-yard medley relay in 1:41.43 with a squad consisting of Miller, Snyder, Carson, and Malone. The men also won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:37.60 with a group made up of Miller, Mamenko, Negley, and Dave Curran (plymouth Meeting, PA).

On the women's side, senior

Laura McVey (Pottstown, PA) won the 100-yard freestyle in 58.12 seconds and the 200-yard freestyle in 2:05.78. Senior Stephanie Olson (Wilmington, DE) took the 50-yard freestyle in 26.60 seconds and the 100-yard backstroke in 1 :04.38.

Kim Conway (Yardley, PA) won the 1,000-yard freestyle in 11:45.32 and Jessica Peek (Emmaus, PA) took the 500-yard freestyle in 5:43.85. The women also won the 200-yard freestyle with a group made up of McVey, Peek, Conway and Olson.

Widener will compete at the MAC Championships from February 10-12 in Wilkes­Barre, PA.

Football Banquet Awards Source

widener.edulathletics

The following awards were presented at the annual ban­quet at Barnaby's Heritage Ball Room in Holmes, PA. .. Offensive Backs MVP: James Fagnani; Receivers MVP: Jeff Chick; Offensive Line MVP: Michael Fagnani; Linebackers MVP: Matt Yost; Defensive Back MVP: Todd Fairlie; Defensive Line MVP: Adam Parcell; Special Teams MVP: Doug Schlack; Rookie of the

Year: Khalee Prothro; Team MVP: Todd Fairlie.

The Pioneers (8-3, 6-3 MAC) notched eight victo­ries for the fIfth time in eight seasons and posted their fIrst undefeated campaign at home (5-0) since recording the same mark in 2002. Widener defeat­ed Montclair State, 27-18, in the ECAC South Atlantic Bowl on November 19 for the school's fIrst postseason title since its second national championship in 1981.

Other individual accom­plishments included Fairlie

being named fIrst team All­American and East Region Defensive Back of the Year by Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette. Schlack, owner of a 3.944 GPA and a 4.0 mark each of the last six semesters, became the school's 40th frrst team Academic All-American.

Chick was tabbed fIrst team all-conference with Fairlie, Michael Fagnani and Prothro earning second-team honors. Prothro also was named the Middle Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Year.

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