Losing Sleep Over All-Nighters

The Geneva CabinetSeptember 28, 2012 • Volume 136 • Issue 5 • The Student Newspaper of Geneva College

Pendragon

Continued on page 5...

Page 4 Voter Registration Page 7 Mumford Album Page 9

Jocelyn Hartley looks on as Tanya Gillette sleeps in Skye lounge. (Geneva Cabinet/Lydia Chapman)

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Cash Mob at This ‘N That Friday (today) @ 10:15 a.m.—meet outside the Student Center

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When asked about his sleeping habits, junior chemistry major Ian Mackenzie made a simple confes-sion: “I do struggle with sleep depri-vation.”

Ian’s body often compensates for late night study hours by inconve-niently sleeping through one or two alarms, resulting in an early morn-ing dash to class. This routine is un-wanted, yet often repeated. Sadly, a great number of college students across America share Ian’s predic-

Josh CarbackStaff Writer ament.

In 2009, the Journal of Adoles-cent Health released a study of 1,125 students, which reported that the quantity of college students with unhealthy sleep-wake patterns is over 60 percent. An unhealthy jug-gling of stimulants like caffeine and late-night electronics, and depres-sants, like drugs and alcohol, are significant factors. Compounded by stress, these factors prevent a college student’s chance of catching some

The Geneva CabinetThe Student Newspaper of Geneva College since 1878

Joel Shannon Editor-In-Chief

David Daniels Sports Editor

Dr. Tom Copeland Faculty Advisor

Judith Campbell Assistant Editor

Lydia Chapman

Photo Editor

Joe Grondziowski Business Manager

Katherine Cosgrove Features Editor

Anna Harris Layout Editor

Jordan Watson

Featured Columnist

The purpose of The Geneva Cabi-

net, the official student news-

paper of Geneva College, shall be to keep

the members of the college community

informed about all events that concern

it, whether of international or campus-

wide significance; to provide for an open

forum for airing the views of all interested

groups on campus in order to promote un-

derstanding among all the groups; to help

create a climate of intelligent and mature

consideration of issues and events; to ex-

pose injustice on any front; and to develop

in the readers an appreciation of Christian

values by approaching all duties in the

spirit of love, justice and responsibility that

Christ showed in all his dealings on earth.

Honestly, Joel ShannonEditor-in-Chief

Page 2 • The Geneva Cabinet

Letters, Advertising, Thumbs, Suggestions and Compliments should be sent to cabinet.editor@gmail.com l Box #2616

The views expressed in The Geneva Cabinet are not necessarily the views of Geneva College.

Perspectives

Journalists are infamously negative people.

Personally, I feel right at home with them.

You can ask any of my friends —I’m not what you would call a “positive person.”

I may or may not have been n i c k n a m e d “grumpy grand-pa” by a 12-year old girl at my church. And by this year’s assis-tant editor.

I’d like to think of myself as a kind of happy cynic. I look at the glass and start laugh-ing: “Yup. Still half empty! Oh, in other news, water is still wet. I’m still short. And iPhones are still better than Androids.”

But the point is, that journal-ists have these kinds of tendencies across the board.

I’ve met a lot of journalists over the past year. None of them answer the question “how are you doing?” by saying “WONDERFUL!” with a big, happy smile.

On a good day they grunt.

And in many ways, The Geneva Cabinet has benefitted from this kind of mindset over the years. Because we’ve had many chronic cynics on staff, we’ve tackled some touchy topics with (mostly) pro-ductive results. I’d like to think that the campus is a better place because of the Cabinet.

But there’s a flipside to all this negativity: we often ignore the positive in the name of what is “newsworthy.”

Because, if you’re really honest with yourself, which story are you more likely to read: “Campus Food Basically Poison—Stu-dents Lead Armed Rebel-lion” or “Alex’s

Food: Super Yummy”?There’s a lot that Geneva does

right that never even gets printed in the Cabinet.

Sure, we wrote an article when the roof in John White Chapel needed repairs, but we never catalogue the memories that are created there every year when Dr. Mrs. Kilpatrick reads “The Run-away Bunny” to 300 homesick freshmen.

We’ll write scathing critiques of dance policies, never breathing

a word about the thrill of singing along to “Kings and Queens” at MGN on the final Friday of fresh-man year.

We’ll critique every administra-tive decision, but neglect to men-tion chilly October afternoons spent on BFCAT’s porch, talking about the meaning of life with Russ Warren and Dr. Haas.

If I’m really honest with myself, the reality is that Geneva has put some of the most influential peo-ple in my life—role models, study buddies, and friends. My time here at Geneva has included some

of the most formative, educational experiences of my life.

What I’m trying to say is, for as negative as I can seem sometime, I’m really grateful to be here.

Students wanted; part-time posi-

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STUDENT WANTED:

• “There’s a lot that Geneva

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Letters to the Editor

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Page 2 • The Geneva Cabinet September 28, 2012 • Page 3

Perspectives

In writing these columns, I’ve come to the sad realiza-tion that school is making me a better person…or at least mak-ing me write like I am. It’s the curse of having written so many academic papers in a Christian institution. Everything ends positively, lessons are always learned, growth achieved, differ-ent opinions always considered and respected.

This is the Cynic’s Corner. I shouldn’t automatically be look-ing to wrap everything up all neat and tidy with a bow and a motivating cookie of advice. There’s cutthroat stuff that goes on here – just ask Angelina.

To be fair, judgment and sar-casm are touchy things to try to get across on paper. But as I’ve learned, it doesn’t really matter how you’re sarcastic, because people won’t understand it, no matter what.

Often labeled “the most sar-castic person I know,” I either get a lot of blank stares during

The Cynic’s CornerHow many

hours of sleep do you get

per night on average?

6.5 hoursJason Brown

JuniorHuman Services

6 hours Leah Altimus

JuniorElementary Ed/Spec. Ed

Jordan WatsonFeatured Columnist

conversations, or people just go straight to offended sputtering scoffs because they thought I was being serious. Just a ques-tion: is sarcasm a new concept here? Maybe it’s just one of those weird west coast habits like wearing socks with sandals or having pot brownies for break-fast or recycling or something. Or maybe people are just too dang sensitive.

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you the last day that I didn’t confuse the pants off of someone because they didn’t catch on to my blatant sarcasm. Worse yet, I could tell you the last time I inadvertently offended someone because they didn’t understand sarcasm—it happened that recently.

I have come to believe that the reason people are so ready to ignore the droning tone of sar-casm is because they are so inse-cure and ready to be attacked. If you weren’t so concentrated on your insecurity, then you might be able to catch on to the fact that I was just kidding. It’s a joke. Take a minute to laugh. It’s good

for your abs.Not to mention, when people

don’t catch on to sarcasm, they end up thinking you’re the most asinine simp on the planet. Trust me. One friend of mine was thoroughly convinced that I didn’t know how to make toast. Another thought that I believed the light bulb in a microwave is what heated food. I often spend my time wondering what else people think of me.

So, in the spirit of an aca-demic paper, I’d like to conclude by saying that sarcasm is a man-ner of communicating that is of-ten not taken as intended—usu-ally because people refuse to nut up and to realize that not every sarcastic comment is a direct personal attack.

Understanding sarcasm may be a misunderstood art, but like any art, it takes prac-tice to master. With the proper commitment and application of common sense, sarcasm is a graspable concept to all of mankind and stands ready as an opportunity to create unity in culture and create a dimension-ally communicative community.

Letter to the EditorAndrew BraunIndependent major

Continued on page 5...

When Dr. Frey started one of his classes by stating, ‘There is no group in the world that gays would rather not encounter than Christians,” no one in the class seemed particularly shocked. Because it’s true. Christians are excessively uncomfortable around homosexuals, as if they had a virus and we might catch it. Thus we discriminate against them both actively and passively. That has got to change. God did not put us on this earth to be the persecutors of anyone, even sinners. You must not tolerate sin, but you must love

the sinner. That’s gotta be in Bible 113 somewhere.

I will neither argue with the Bible nor preach “toleration” (relative morality). I’m morally conservative but socially liberal—what homosexuals are doing is wrong, but it is not my place to force them to stop. I know some Christians will disagree with me, and say that we should go so far as to “redeem” others against their own will—limit the rights of gays; exclude them from our commu-nities until they shut up and stop being gay. With all due respect, those people are wrong. Negativ-ity, antagonism, and complaining

will not help our case, and it is not loving. The driving force behind this article is the need to include homosexuals in our own broad category of “human” rather than exclude them by categorizing them as “homosexual,” and love them on that level.

Do with homosexuals what you would do with any other lost sin-ner: show them the love of Christ; care about them. It is not your place to condemn them, because here’s the hard truth: you have been as condemned as they. God loved you; he is just as ready to love

Page 4 • The Geneva Cabinet

CampusCampus

Pendragon tutor Emily Hunt helps a student with her paper in the Pendragon. (The Geneva Cabinet/Lydia Chapman)

In the depths of McCartney Library’s basement, next to tall stacks of old vinyl records, two majestic wooden doors guard a grand secret: the Pendragon.

Between Monday and Thurs-day, the Pendragon is open from three to nine p.m. During these hours, student-tutors sit ready to help Geneva students with their writing, whether it is a Humani-ties paper or an English 101 essay or even a long, monotonous re-search paper.

Tutors are equipped to help stu-dents with every stage of the writ-ing process, from brainstorming ideas to fine-tuning the final draft.

The tutors are all English ma-jors and have been trained by Dr. Megan Morton, a professor in the English department.

Emily Bestor, senior English education major and Pendragon

Dragon TrainingAdelaide GreenStaff Writer

coordinator, has been working at the center since last spring and described it as “a comfortable, safe environment to work with your peers.”

Professors often offer extra credit for students who visit the Pendragon for help on their writ-ing assignments. Many of those same students returned with later assignments, even though it was no longer mandatory.

After her first visit to Pendrag-on, Kristen Zimmovan, senior psychology major, commented, “I had never gone to Pendragon before today and I was surprised at how convenient and beneficial it was. It’s a shame I am a senior. I definitely could have gone more often.”

Students interested in tutoring at the Pendragon are required to have a certain number of English credits and to take a class called “Tutoring in Writing.”

Logo Design Contest

$50 Prize

Design the new visual identity for

Student Publications

Email Tom Copeland for more information:

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Page 4 • The Geneva Cabinet September 28, 2012 • Page 5

Campus

quality z’s. These patterns have been shown

to influence behavior, often caus-ing tension, such as moodiness, and even sadness.

“I am more exhausted during the day. That inevitably leads to more depression due to an inability to fo-cus,” said Mackenzie. “It actually leads to later nights because my pro-ductivity goes down.”

Studies seem to corroborate Mackenzie’s claim, demonstrat-ing conversely that when students get the recommended eight hours of sleep or more, their performance improves. One study conducted at Stanford even confirmed higher athletic performance occurs when athletes get as much as 10 hours of sleep.

The national trend for college stu-dents, however, is nowhere near that ten hour utopia. All-nighters, es-pecially before mid-terms and fi-nals, are nearly ceremonial in their standing as study norms. It’s an ugly gauntlet through which thousands of test takers dash, in a mistaken ef-fort to jam every last bit of informa-tion they can into their heads before class time.

As a result, students typically only get 6.5 hours of sleep per day;

SleepContinued from page 1

35 percent of students are up till three o’clock in the morning at least once a week.

“You can’t do your best work when you’re sleep deprived,” said Pamela Thacher, psychology pro-fessor at St. Laurence University in Canton, N.Y. “If you use all-night-ers, your GPA is slightly lower on average.”

But poor habits have caused some to take heed and readjust their schedule according to guide-lines outlined by the National Sleep Foundation to improve sleep quan-tity and quality.

Ethan Bryan, a junior economics major at Robert Morris University, swears by a 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. sleep block that nearly achieves the eight hour minimum requirement, while allowing for rise and shine and late night reading.

The National Sleep Foundation lists among their guidelines the fol-lowing suggestions:

1.) Establish a consistent sleep schedule to keep your body trained to wake up before class, not after.

2.) Exercise often to create tired-ness, and reduce stress before bed-time.

3.) Finish meals early to keep your digestive system from ruining your rest.

Other tips for developing pro-ductive sleep habits can be found at www.sleepfoundation.org.

Ice Cream Concoctions Ice Cream Sandwiches

-Wedge a small scoop of ice cream between two cookies.Dessert Waffles

-Scoop some ice cream onto a hot waffle and top with syrup, chocolate sauce, or fruit.Banana Splits

-Slice a banana into a bowl and top with your fa-vorite ice cream, caramel, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream.Jazz up your ice cream with these unusual toppings:- Fruit loops (or any cereal)- Fritos- Peanut butter (try microwaving it)- Honey- Pretzels

Eaten at Alex’s

This week’s recipe courtesy of Mary Kingswood.

Letter to the EditorContinued from page 3

Ice Cream Sandwiches (Personal photo/Mary Kingswood)

them, and so should you be. God’s grace works either because of you or in spite of you, and I don’t be-lieve I must tell you which one it should be.

Dr Frey also mentioned a group of LGBT people who travel around to two different places in the U.S.: military academies and Christian colleges. They want to share some peaceful dialogue and interact with you on the level of common humanity. Christians of all people should appreciate common hu-manity. They want to not be dis-criminated against and persecuted

by these two groups so famous for their discrimination against homosexuals. They want to live in peace, enjoying their legal rights and an equal social status. You an-swer this time: is it our job to deny them those things?

Ministering to someone who al-ready feels judged by and defensive towards your religion is not a time for judgment, but a time to share both your common human spirit and the answer to the flaws of hu-manity. Come on. Be lights to the world. Don’t add to the darkness.

tecopela@geneva.edu

Page 6 • The Geneva Cabinet

Campus

Dining hall employee Melissa Johnson serves food in Alexander’s Dining Hall. (The Geneva Cabinet/Joel Shannon)

All resident Geneva students are required to have a meal plan, ac-cording to the student handbook.

Current room and board for 2012-2013 is either $4,490 or $4,310 for each semester. Room and board had been $4,280 per semester for 2011-2012.

The food costs, considered ex-travagant by some, are driven by a “variety of factors,” according to Clayton Cappellanti, Director of Food Service.

Students often have meal swipes left over, which lowers food costs, but they also occasionally take food from the dining hall, which drives costs up.

“I’m working in the framework of a budget,” says Cappellanti. His responsibilities also include listen-ing to the “input of the food com-mittee” and “student suggestions.”

The number of unused meals per semester per student “varies widely by semester,” says Cappellanti. He added that there were “fewer” un-used meals left over from the Spring 2012 semester than in previous se-mesters.

Food service is concerned with smart budgeting, claims Cappel-lanti. According to him, food costs are essentially “about maximiz-ing what I can give students within the budgetary limits.” Due to rising prices of corn and proteins, Cappel-lanti expects a few cost-saving poli-cies to be more strictly enforced in upcoming months and semesters.

Food service has several pol-icies which are not always en-forced, says Cappellanti. For ex-ample, even though students are expected to present their ID to en-ter the dining hall, some allowanc-es have been made in the past. Stu-

The Cost of Eating

Hannah MartinStaff Writer

dents have asked to have their ID numbers “punched in,” says Cap-pellanti, which technically goes against dining hall policy. This pol-icy is is meant to prevent students from having their ID numbers sto-len during punch-in.

Additionally, students occasion-ally take food out of the dining hall, which can contribute to high-er food costs. Although the dining hall technically has a policy against this, Cappellanti says it is not “vigi-lantly enforced.” He added that this may have to become a more focused policy in future, if costs increase.

As a contract service vendor, Cappellanti says he has “no say” over Geneva’s institutional policies which require all resident students to purchase a meal plan.

Cappellanti stressed that the din-ing service values constructive feed-back left by students in the sugges-tion box in Alex’s. These comments better enable the food service to “meet specific needs” and foster communication between staff and students, according to Cappellanti. “Don’t just tell me something’s bad,” he explained, “give me specifics.”

Dining services also endeavors to “make allowances” for students with dietary constraints, says Cap-pellanti. These range from students with food allergies to those with vegetarian preferences.

According to Geneva’s online

guidelines, Pioneer Food Service is the school’s “exclusive food service provider. No other outside group or caterer is permitted to use the kitch-en of the College.”

(Geneva College Math Club/Alex Redcay)

September 28, 2012 • Page 7

Campus

So it’s the start of a new school year: new people, new adven-tures and the promise of an exciting journey. This how I would like to believe most people look at the semester. On personal levels we all strive to do better than we did the year before: better grades, better health choices and possibly better relationships.

I believe that the administration has the same aspirations. They strive for higher retention rates, for more occupied stu-dents, and--lest I forget--for a more Christian-impacted world-view. The Multicultural Students Service Office is reflecting the administration’s vision by trying to build stronger relationships within the college community as we start the semester.

This semester, the MSS Office is trying to outdo itself by get-ting more and more students involved in the discussion on di-versity on campus and how it affects them. The office kicked off the semester with a dinner for incoming freshman. As if that wasn’t enough, the Downs hosted a delicious barbeque a week later where students got a little taste of home-cooked heaven.

The office also started its Taboo Tuesday series by addressing the issue of cohabitation. In addition to this we hope to not only reach the campus this year, but continue to reach out to the com-munity. Both our planned events of honoring the memory of Dr. King by hosting “A Night of the Arts” in January and a diversity conference in February, will be open to the Beaver County com-munity. We hope to go beyond just hosting events to actually engaging students so that we can grow as a college and encour-age one another--the ultimate goal of community.

John ChiaMulticultural Student Services

From the Desk of MSS

Ask AngelinaDear Angelina,I’m not a depressed person, but lately I feel like I

hate everyone. My friends are superficial and don’t care about me, or if they do it’s only for what I can do for them. And everyone else is basically an idiot. One big Idiot. I don’t understand why I feel this way.

~Hatin’ Ya’ll

Dear Hater,We all have those days. People are often pretty ter-

rible. Sure, they’re awesome sometimes too, but that’s no comfort when there are crowds of people trying to talk to you but not offering anything better than small talk about their next class, the amount of homework they have, their head cold, sports, or their pet weevil Scud. And judging from your comment about how superficial your friends are, you’re the sort who looks for a deeper connection than that.

The good news is that there are a lot of folks in your demographic here at college, and plenty of clubs and events to meet them. The bad news? You’re still not going to get along with most of them. You need to find a few friends that you enjoy being around, and the only way to track them down is to sift through everyone. It’s like finding the prize in a box of Cracker Jack, if you think of social interaction as covering your hands in tiny specks of caramel and popcorn. You probably do, so there you go.

A few suggestions: Use a healthy dose of cynicism and sarcasm when meeting new people. You’ll attract those who appreciate darker humor, and they’ll have to in order to be your friend. Also, once you find someone cool, try doing them a favor or two. If you want anyone to appreciate you for the nice consider-ate person you are, you have to be one.

~Angelina

Cast Your VoteJason StoffelStaff Writer

Election day is right around the corner. To be eligible to vote, one must be over 18 years old, have registered to vote, and have a valid photo ID such as a driver’s license or college ID.

College students can register to vote from their home address or school address.

To vote from one’s school ad-dress, one can register by filling

out a Voter Registration Applica-tion and mailing it to the Voter County Registration Office. The application and location of the of-fice can be found online at votespa.com.

The voter registration card should arrive 2-3 weeks after ap-plying. There is no need to worry if the registration card is lost, be-cause it is not actually needed to vote. The deadline to register in

Pennsylvania is October 9, 2012.Once registered in Beaver

County, one can show up at the polls on November 6, 2012 and cast your vote. The polling place for Geneva College is just up the road at the College Hill United Methodist Church. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In order to vote from one’s home address, one must be registered to vote in your home county and submit an absentee ballot applica-tion for your state. Applications

can be found online at longdis-tancevoter.org. An absentee ballot will be mailed to the address one provided, and it can be returned to the County Election Office.

Deadlines for registration and absentee ballots vary, so check online for your state at longdis-tancevoter.org. In Pennsylvania, the absentee ballot application must be received by October 30, 2012, and the absentee ballot must be received by 5 p.m. on November 2, 2012.

Page 8 • The Geneva Cabinet

World & Local

World News(image by donkeyhotey@flickr.com)--News summaries by Chris Strangfeld, Staff Writer

News in BriefTaliban insurgents attacked a U.S. base in Afganistan

on Friday, September 14. All Taliban attackers were killed but one, who is being held as a prisoner. On Monday, September 24, a Taliban leader who was behind the attack was arrested. U.S. base was short on numbers but still pulled through with great sacrifice.

Christians in Syria (allegedly 10% of the population) are concerned that radical Islamist rebels in their country are rising in number. Violent attacks on Christians have occurred recently. Interviews show that the Syrian president loves his people, earning him popular support.

Chief Nazi-hunter, Efraim Zuroff, claims that age does not diminish Nazi crimes, and that they should still be prosecuted. Nazi’s are being caught and put on trial because of their actions years ago. Zuroff be-lieves every victim deserves justice.

The U.S. released a trailer for an controversial movie mocking the Prophet Mohammed of the Muslim faith. This month, Iran announced it is considering blocking internet sites Youtube and Google if the trailer is not removed from public viewing. Protests against the video have remained mostly peaceful,.

2,000 people were involved in a riot in a Foxconn factory in central China. Foxconn supplies parts to Apple, Intel, and Cisco. The riot began as a personal dispute between two employees that quickly esca-lated. 40 individuals were hospitalized; some arrests were made.

Consider ContextFaith LambertStaff Writer

As humans, we are home-bodies; we are proud of where we are born and raised and would prefer that place over others. We are prone to support our country’s actions despite reservations.

Keep that in mind when you think of 87-year-old Johann “Hans” Breyer.

Breyer, a retired toolmaker, is fighting to stay in his home in Philadelphia after being accused of working in the Auschwitz death camps as a Secret Service (SS) guard during the Nazi regime in Germany in the 1940’s. So far, the U.S. Justice Department’s at-tempts to deport Breyer and strip him of his American citizenship

have been unsuccessful. Breyer admits to being a guard,

but only of the perimeters of the camp. Breyer told the Associated Press (AP) that he knew what was going on inside the camp but did not witness it himself: “We could only see the outside, the gates.”

Breyer has denied working at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the specific camp where the majority of mur-ders took place. Though Breyer’s background check does not match up with his testimony, the fact that he refused to get an SS tattoo has earned him favor in the judge’s eyes.

"I didn't kill anybody, I didn't rape anybody – and I don't even have a traffic ticket here," Breyer told the AP. "I didn't do anything

wrong." Thomas Walther, a former pros-

ecutor, is representing, pro bono, a woman who lost two siblings in Auschwitz while Breyer was alleg-edly working there. The woman will join any prosecution as a co-plaintiff against Breyer, as al-lowed under German law. “Time is swiftly running out to bring Nazi criminals to justice,” Walther said, as quoted by the AP. “I hope that prosecutors in Weiden will act soon on this case.”

The prosecutors, however, should take into account the se-verity of the situation that Breyer was in.

I would love to say I would have stood up to the SS guards and the Nazis, as a sort of modern Shadrach. However, it is easy to say you would have no problem con-fronting friends, local communi-ties, and maybe even the state, but if you were looking into the eyes of

the government that has the power and precedent to kill on the spot, your decision would probably be severely compromised.

It’s true that Breyer could be lying about his involvement, it’s true that people lost loved ones in the death camps, and it’s true that society wants justice for those prisoners. However, Breyer will get his ultimate judgment from God when his time comes.

We shouldn’t let people who commit crimes walk away without prosecution, but this situation is unique. Conditions during World War II were harsh, and making a moral decision is difficult when you’re in the thick of the pressures of war. Breyer has no criminal record in the U.S., nor is he still connected to the Nazi regime. Complete forgiveness seems, to me, to be the only option.

A Critique of the Case Against Breyer

September 28, 2012 • Page 9

Entertainment

Mumford and Sons’ latest album cover (Island Records/mumfordandsons.com)

Mumford MusingsJoel ShannonEditor-in-Chief

For many of those in the flannel-clad world of indie music, Mumford and Sons is the little, angry band that could. For that original fan base, the coffeehouse music lovers, expectations for the band’s sophomore album, “Babel,” are high.

Too high to be met.In some ways, fans of Mum-

ford’s double-platinum debut—“Sigh No More”—will be satisfied. “Babel” is still Mumford and Sons, complete with Marcus Mumford’s mournful, growling wails and the band’s bass drum and banjo-driven folk/rock.

But something’s missing. “Ba-bel” misses what was the key to “Sigh No More”’s succes—frank, introspective lyrics that depicted a man struggling to believe in god.

There may be minor changes in the musical style, but the quality of the lyrics—the real draw of Mum-ford for many—has decreased significantly.

At it’s best, “Babel” hits around the spiritual themes of the first al-bum. Songs like “Broken Crown” capture the same spirit—graphi-cally and powerfully depicting a man struggling with guilt and sin, angry at himself, all set to music that can only be described as a hoedown from hades.

providing any nugget of truth to its audience. “I Will Wait” may be catchy, but it’s about as profound as a stop-sign.

“Sigh No More” might have become annoyingly cliche for some, but there was a reason for its success, especially in the Chris-tian community—Mumford was able to express Christian ideas of depravity and redemption better than most Christian artists are able to.

And while music lovers will no doubt still enjoy the wild dynamic swings—from roaring anger to a soft, finger-plucked ballad, often all within the same track—those looking for the clarity of Mumford’s first album will be disappointed.

But the earnestness of the few songs like “Broken Crown” only serve to highlight the lack of focus in the remaining tracks.

“When I lose my head, I lose my spine,” Mumford sings in the “Hopeless Wanderer” track. And that seems to be exactly what has happened in “Babel.”

“Sigh No More” had the courage to be direct and focused. The lyrics were metaphorical without being abstract.

But “Babel” backs down. Several songs like “Hopeless Wanderer” are a mess of mixed metaphors, focusing more on ideas rather than emotions—the emotions that drove powerful folk ballads like “Little Lion Man” and “The Cave”.

Worse, some tracks seem to entirely give up on the idea of

(Featured comic/xkcd.com)

Napson Couches

Poor Life Decisions

Members of last year’s Geneva’s Men’s Rugby team scrimmage. (File Photo/Joel Shannon)

Page 10 • The Geneva Cabinet

Sports

Josiah EverettStaff Writer

Men’s Rugby

On the Rise“[The rugby team] has come a

long way since I started playing,” said Ty Fulton.

Geneva’s Men’s Rugby Club is undefeated and boasts a record of 2-0-1. Just two years ago, that level of success did not seem attainable. According to Fulton, a senior mem-ber of the Rugby Club, 25 to 30 play-ers now attend five practices a week compared to the eight that showed up to three times a week his soph-omore year (they need 15 to field a team).

Recruitment has played a cru-

cial role in the club’s recent turn-around. Not many players will be lost to graduation this semester and 12 freshmen joined the club this fall.

“The young guys have a lot of po-tential,” said Fulton.

Potential is the key word because, while backgrounds of football and wrestling are common among the players, rugby is not offered at most high schools. Fulton claimed the mechanics of the game are be-ing picked up more rapidly than in past years. But rugby is no walk in the park. It is one of, if not the, most physical sports on the planet. And the rules vary from other collision

sports like that of football. Hab-its learned on the gridiron must be broken to accommodate the rules and game-play of rugby.

Learning rugby is easier said than done. But this season, the transition has not been an issue. “Everyone has a good understanding of the game,” said team captain Ian Stear. “It used to take two weeks to get people to understand, but this year it only takes about two practices.”

Stear, according to Fulton, is the major reason the squad’s young guns’ understanding of the game has progressed so seamlessly. He said, “People are picking it up so

well because of a good mix of Ian’s leadership and people’s observa-tion.”

The next game for the Rugby Club is at Penn State Behrend on September 29. The following week, Washington & Jefferson comes to Geneva on Saturday, October 6. Ful-ton said, “We’re really pushing for people to come to the W&J game, because our only other home game is against Pitt Johnstown and that’s over fall break.” Last time the men played W&J, they won 52-15.

Outdated Brightsigns in Student

Center

The New iPhone

David DanielsSports Editor

If you searched, “replacement refs die” on Twitter following the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Seat-tle Seahawks on Monday night, you found countless NFL fans wishing death upon the officials that blew the game’s final call.

That’s the heat these referees, who not long ago were calling con-tests with the amount of attendance as Geneva’s, are feeling. It’s easy to insult the intelligence of seemingly incompetent human beings whose football intellect is obviously inferi-or to yours. But—brace yourself for cliché—put yourself in their shoes.

I’ve never worn a collared shirt with vertical black and white stripes and a whistle around my neck, but I’d imagine a football referee’s dream job is to officiate in the NFL. Well, thanks to a lockout, these so-called replacement refs have been promoted from officiating DIII and high school games directly into that dream.

One minute, the refs are root-ing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, rocking their Troy Polamalu jer-sey and drafting Ben Roethlisberg-er on their fantasy teams. The next, they’re being asked to call penalties on those same franchises and play-ers—their idols. Yeah, because I’m sure you would be infallibly profes-sional too.

The culture shock doesn’t end there, though. When Reeves Field ranked seventh in the nation among DIII football teams in attendance in 2010, an average of approximate-ly 5,200 fans showed up to cheer there each Saturday. Imagine leav-ing that atmosphere and walking onto Heinz Field in front of the seat-ed 60,000 with millions more on television.

The prestige and exposure an NFL stage provides is indeed a dream op-portunity. But it has quickly turned into a nightmare.

A rise in prestige and exposure correlates with a rise in responsi-bility and pressure. Throw in the fact that the speed of DIII and high school football players pale in com-parison to that of the NFL’s, and the replacement refs jobs become that much harder because their brains are forced to process plays that much faster.

And on that note, insert your-self onto Seattle’s CenturyLink Field Monday night in a collared shirt with vertical black and white stripes and a whistle around your neck. The previous two weeks, your fellow re-placement refs have embarrassed themselves and attracted unyield-ing scrutiny—even to the point that your presence is arguably tarnish-ing the integrity of the game you love.

Fourth and 10 on Green Bay’s

Replacement Refs Are People Too

September 28, 2012 • Page 11

Sports24-yard line with eight seconds left, down five, Seattle’s Russell Wilson threw up a prayer. A Packer, M.D. Jennings, and a Seahawk, Golden Tate, both got their hands on the football and held on for dear life.

Your one call will decide the out-come of an entire game—a nation-ally televised game. That’s the stakes and here’s the context: you’re in the corner of the end zone on the Se-ahawks’ sideline, in front of a fan base known as the 12th man for its passion and you value your life. Tell me, do you really expect an in-experienced, unprepared official to make the correct call under the giv-en circumstances?

Sure, the referees that night had access to instant replay. They

watched the same replays you did. But they didn’t necessarily process the replays the same way you did; 68,218 fans screaming in your ear makes you see things differently.

Did the replacement refs blow it? Without a doubt. That was Jen-nings’ ball.

But should you curse their grave for it? Give me (and them) a break. If you riot over anyone, it should be the person behind the lock-out, Commissioner Roger Goodell, who’s running a billion-dollar busi-ness and yet refuses to pay capable officials—which would without a doubt skyrocket the credibility of his product—what they deserve.

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Awkward PDA in Brig

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Page 12 • The Geneva Cabinet

Tornado Wrap-UpPage 12 • The Geneva Cabinet

Messiah

SoccerMEN

Women’s Cross Country• Sarah-Noel Meek finished first at Saint Vincent

with a time of 19:09. Alayna Merkle and Emily Hoobler also put on top-ten performances.

GENEVA 0 0 0 4GENEVA 0 1 0 3

Women

Women’s Volleyball

•At the Saint Vincent College Invitational, Nick Eding-er’s time of 26:27 was fast enough for first place.

Pitt-Johnstown

More8 1GENEVA

TennisGENEVA Bethany0 1 0 3

• Just hours before he took the field for a Sunday night showdown with the New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith learned his brother died following a motorcycle accident. Smith played for his brother and produced catching six balls for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

• The Texas Rangers’ MVP outfielder Josh Hamilton overcame alcohol and drugs abuse, but he lost his fight with caffeine. He recently returned to the team’s lineup after missing five games due to blurred vision and balance issues caused by drinking too many energy drinks.

Sports in Brief

•TheGoldenTornadoesmanagedtokeeptheNo.3-rankedFalconsscorelessforthefirst38minutesofthematchbeforetheflood-gatesopened.

•MeganHiersandKarmynCulbertsoneachrecordedtwogoalsandanassistintheGOldenTornados’domi-nationofPS-Beaver

Saturday

Bethany6 3GENEVAMonday

Men’s Cross Country

GENEVA Thiel0 1 0 3•ChristineBullockandAlisonBeattiearestillundefeat-edinsingle’splayontheseasonat6-0

GENEVA 0 9 0 1Penn State-

Beaver