the cabinet

October 29, 2010

inside

the CABINETSince 1878 - Geneva College - Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Vol. 134 - Issue 8

Philippians 2:13 - “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

see indonesia, page 2

Men’s soccer finishing strong

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Tornado Towel travels the world

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Beaver Falls Swing Club growing in size

indonesia struggles as tsunami, volcano tolls riseMENTAWAI ISLANDS, Indonesia (AP) — Helicopters with emergen-cy supplies finally landed Wednes-day on the remote Indonesian islands slammed by a tsunami that killed more than 300 people, while elsewhere in the archipelago the toll from a volca-nic eruption rose to 30, including the mountain’s spiritual caretaker.

Indonesia is prone to such disas-ters, and it installed a tsunami warn-ing system after a catastrophic wave killed hundreds of thousands of peo-ple in 2004. An official said Wednes-day, however, that the system stopped

working a month ago because of poor maintenance.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoy-ono cut short a state visit to Vietnam to deal with the dual disasters that struck Indonesia in one 24-hour pe-riod, straining the country’s ability to respond.

The first aerial surveys of the region hit by the 10-foot tsunami revealed huge swaths of land underwater and the crumbled rubble of homes torn apart by the wave. One house lay tilt-ed, resting on the edge of its red roof, with tires and slabs of concrete piled

up on the surrounding sand.

Two days after an undersea earth-quake spawned the killer wave, the casualty count was still rising as res-cuers landed for the first time on the Mentawai island chain, which was closest to the epicenter and the worst hit. Bad weather had kept them away previously.

The first cargo plane loaded with 16 tons of tents, medicine, food and clothes arrived Wednesday after-noon, said disaster official Ade Ed-

The Geneva drumline performs at Midnight Madness 2009 Photo credit: Leah Kiehl

Let the madness beginHannah Dittman/Staff Writer

All over the nation, people are going mad at the stroke of midnight. For the past couple weeks, colleges across the nation have been gearing up for the event of the season, and it is now Ge-neva’s time. The highly anticipated event that the masses have been wait-ing for is soon to commence.

Midnight Madness.

It is designed to usher in the upcoming men’s and women’s basketball season and it gives fans a chance to show their support and to get a little crazy.

“[It] is like a pep rally of sorts for the upcoming basketball season and just an all around good time,” says Mar-shal A. Miller, senior communications major and Executive of Student Activ-ities.

Those who attend are encouraged to wear costumes as they show their fan-dom. The night will include videos, performances by the drum line, danc-ers, contests, cheerleaders, trivia ques-tions about last season, games, prizes, and even pie throwing.

“Basically, people dress up and they come out to win prizes, support the basketball team, and get involved with them. People will be picked out of drawings to come down and play games with the basketball players. Overall, it’s just a fun night,” explains Melodie Michaelson, junior business

major, Student Activities Leader, and chief planner for Midnight Madness.

Though Midnight Madness will in-clude many of the previous years’ tra-ditions, there are some new ones be-ing added.

“The one that I am most excited about is a pickup game between Geneva’s faculty and the basketball team,” said Miller. “You would be surprised by which faculty members have game.”

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Midnight Mad-ness has been going on since the ear-

ly 1970s on college campuses across the country. The tradition started with Lefty Driesell, the head coach for the University of Maryland men’s basket-ball team, running around the court shortly after midnight on the first per-mitted day of practice with 3000 fans in attendance. After that, the tradition spread like wildfire throughout the country and was modified into various celebrations in mid-October to signal the start of basketball season.

see midnight, page 2

October 29 , 2010 - The Cabinet - Geneva College

in case you were wondering...Danny Massaro/Editor-in-Chief

2 editoRiaL

indonesia, from page 1

ward. Four helicopters also landed in Sikakap, a town on North Pagai island, which will be the center of relief op-erations.

The 7.7-magnitude quake struck late Monday just 13 miles beneath the ocean floor on the same fault line along Sumatra island’s coast that caused a 2004 quake and monster Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

The tsunami warning system installed after that disaster — which includes a series of buoys that detect sudden changes in water level and send alerts — began experiencing problems in 2009, said Fauzi, the head of the Mete-orology and Geophysic Agency.

As a result, he said, not a single siren sounded after Monday’s tsunami. It was unclear if a warning would have made a difference, since the islands worst affected were so close to the epi-center that the tsunami would have reached them within minutes.

About 800 miles to the east in cen-tral Java, meanwhile, disaster officials were scouring the slopes of Indone-sia’s most volatile volcano for survi-vors after it was rocked by an eruption Tuesday that killed at least 30 peo-ple, including an 83-year-old man who had refused to abandon his ceremoni-al post as caretaker of the mountain’s spirits.

Seventeen others have been hospital-ized, most with burns and respiratory problems.

Maridjan — entrusted by a highly re-spected late king to watch over the vol-cano — has for years led ceremonies in which rice and flowers were thrown into the crater to appease the moun-tain.

“We found his body,” said Suseno, a rescue worker, amid reports that he was kneeling face-down on the floor, a typical Islamic prayer position, when he died.

More than 36,000 people have been evacuated from the mountain, ac-cording to the Indonesian Red Cross. Authorities warned those who fled Merapi’s wrath not to return during Wednesday’s lull in volcanic activi-ty, but some villagers were desperate to check on crops and possessions left behind.

In several areas, everything — from the thinnest tree branches to chairs and tables inside homes — was caked with ash that looked like powdery snow.

Both the quake and the volcanic erup-tion happened along Indonesia’s por-tion of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a series of fault lines that are prone to earth-quakes and volcanic activity stretch-ing from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

Officials say hundreds of wooden and bamboo homes were washed away in more than 20 villages, displacing more than 20,000 people. Many were seek-ing shelter in makeshift emergency camps or with family and friends.

midnight, from page 1

While it is typical for most of these celebrations to begin at midnight, some colleges commence with sunrise practices. ESPNU even televised the top collegiate basketball teams around the country for Midnight Madness on October 15, 2010.

While Geneva’s Midnight Madness won’t be on ESPNU, it is a popular campus event and many expect a good turn-out.

Brandon Sopko, senior engineer-

ing major, point guard and basket-ball team captain says, “I think it’s awesome that Geneva participates. It means a lot to the players to see their classmates come cheer them on. We’re expecting to have another successful season and having a large crowd fill the stands really motivates and pumps the team up. Things like that even help us win games.”

Midnight Madness kicks off at 11 p.m. on Friday, October 29 in the Metheny Fieldhouse.

...to running out of flex points half way through the semester.

...to people submitting thumbs to [email protected]!!

I went to a pretty small church grow-ing up. It was just like one big happy family. Everybody knew everybody. Downstairs in kids’ church, there were two other boys that were my age. Both of them were named Jake.

Something cool about Jake 1 and Jake 2 is that each had a dad named Carl. What are the chances? I figured that I had a better chance of solving pi in my lifetime than meeting two father-son combos named Carl and Jake.

Putting all Carls aside, I may have been around Jake 1 and Jake 2 for the better part of my childhood, but I wasn’t really friends with Jake 2. Jake 1 loved football, cartoons, and laugh-ing at flatulence. Jake 2 hated imma-turity and came across as the kind of kid who would be painting his nails black as soon as he hit junior high. But due to our placement in the same small church and age bracket, we were friends by default.

Jake 1 was super easygoing and like-able, while Jake 2 was, well…”that guy” (sorry, Roman). Jake 1 and I still remain close friends to this day, but Jake 2 actually told me that he hat-ed me at my sister’s graduation party. This was after about a three year hia-tus of never seeing each other.

I knew that Jake 2 and I would never work out, though. I think this epipha-ny hit me when as a little kid, the Jakes and I were talking about our costumes shortly after Halloween. Jake 1 was a ninja (coolest thing ever, now you see why we’re still friends), I was the blue Power Ranger, but Jake 2 didn’t say a word about his costume.

I still remember Linkin Park Jake say-ing something like, “I don’t celebrate Halloween because it’s the devil’s hol-iday. I can’t believe that your fami-lies let you do something like that. I thought you were Christians.”

I know that isn’t an exact quota-tion, but it was close and judgmental enough. Turns out, later in the conver-sation Jake 2 confessed that one time he actually did wear a Halloween cos-tume to school. He was Moses. I think that is when I hoped that he would tell

me he hated me later on in life.

It was when Jake 2 cast the first stone that I realized that I feel bad for Hal-loween. If Halloween were a person he would be the big kid that hurts every-body on accident. The fat kid doesn’t want to run kids into lockers, but he is just so big and sweaty and awkward that when he tries to play kickball he concusses the captain of the cheer-leading squad.

Just like Fat McFatstein, Halloween isn’t meant for pumpkin smashing or black cat torture. He just wants neigh-borhoods to become families and can-dy to be given out in mass quantities. He wants little girls to become prin-cesses and little boys to morph into cowboys for three hours. And may-be he doesn’t mind the tricks with the treats, but it’s all in good fun.

So what I am saying is that Halloween isn’t the devil. It is just a crying shame the Mr. Holier Than Thou is trying to make it just that.

In all honesty, Halloween may be my favorite holiday. I’m all about seeing kids take on a new persona one day a year in order to attain infinite cavities. It is innocence in its truest form.

I wish I could do what Ebenezer Scrooge did in “A Christmas Car-ol.” He was escorted by ghosts to see a glimpse of Christmas past, present, and future. I would want to see Hal-loween.

For Halloween past I would see my childhood. The ghost would show me my neighbor, Mrs. Matteo’s house with the lights turned off on Hallow-een night. He would say, “Mrs. Mat-teo didn’t give out candy because she hated kids.”

Then in the future, I would get a glimpse of the home of adult Jake 2 and family. Like Mrs. Matteo, the lights would be off.

The ghost would then look at me and say, “Here lives your old friend, Jake 2. He doesn’t pass out candy because his parents said it was sinful.”

But I’m pretty sure if Jesus were in the neighborhood, he’d be passing out the King size.

October 29, 2010 - The Cabinet - Geneva College

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3CamPUs neWsGoing deep: Tyler PottsHavilah Mohler/Staff Writer

For Tyler Potts going deep has become more than just a football term. It has become a life-long play.

Potts, a freshman at Geneva this year, has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and has been battling this for over a year now. His journey to Geneva is un-usual as he probably would have never considered Geneva College if he had not been diagnosed with leukemia. It may seem a little ridiculous to choose to come to a college based on physical health, but that is what happened.

Before Potts was diagnosed, he was already preparing to head off to col-lege with a football scholarship from whichever Division I school gave him the best offer. The summer prior to his senior year was filled with football camp after football camp making sure he stayed in tiptop form.

His future plans tumbled down with just another collision with a lineback-er during a camp at the University of Akron.

The hit landed Potts in the emergency room for five hours with a ripped pel-vis muscle. However, this would not be the end for Potts. Even before that hit, Potts had been feeling overly fa-tigued and easily winded. The ER vis-it was the first step in bringing to the surface the true cause of Potts’ health

problems.

After extensive blood work, he was diagnosed with leukemia and began treatment right away. Through all of this news, the first question he asked, and asked over and over again, was “Will I still be able to play sports?”

Sports, specifically football, were and still are a vital part of Potts’ life. Though he could not play on his se-nior year of high school, he went to all but one of their games. If he had a doctor’s appointment, he made sure he was done in plenty of time to catch the games. He would even make them reschedule blood transfusions for the

next day if they were running behind and it would make him late to a game. The one game that he did miss was out of concern for his health, since it was cold and rainy. Regardless of whether or not he was playing, he made foot-ball a priority and was dedicated to showing his support and love of the game.

At Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Potts met Geneva hero, Anthony D’Ambrosia. This is where Geneva began to play a role in Potts’ life. He and D’Ambrosia had their illness and love of football in common, and they quickly became friends.

Potts knew that no Division I schools would be recruiting him since he had been diagnosed. The illness result-ed in a major loss in weight, muscle strength, and the inability to prac-tice. Despite this, he had the drive to make it back onto the football field. He had the passion and determination. He only needed the chance to show it.

Working with the Golden Tornado football team, he has been given that chance. They are working with him in the hope of getting him out onto the field again.

The road has not been an easy one to travel for Potts, but he is encouraged by what the future holds. Through this experience he realized that God is leading him to minister to others in situations similar to his.

“I want to help kids like me,” said Potts. “Give them the hope that they can beat the disease and live a full life and be able to do anything. If they look at me, a person that beat [cancer] and is now playing sports again, then that may give them the strength to do it, too.”

“After everything, I found that God had a plan for me. The plan was to try to inspire people and give hope to them. I know now that I am going to do just that and do everything I can to give them something to believe in.”

Tyler Potts interviewed on ESPN radio before a Pittsburgh Penguins game


4 CamPUs neWsWestPACs : student internships Alyssa Spang/Features EditorEvery year, students from over fifty western Pennsylvanian colleges and universities compete for jobs after graduation. The secret to beating out the competition is usually simple – a good resume.

Rob Rostoni, Director of Career De-velopment, said, “Students should have a resume at all times. Summer jobs, part-time jobs or internships can pop up anytime, even on the plane ride to spring break. You don’t want to be caught without one.”

Rostoni also recommends that stu-dents update their resume every six months, “You can add in pertinent class projects, research, volunteering, co-curricular, related courses, etc.” said Rostoni. “Having a resume is like having your business card.”

Even freshmen can begin to explore their career options, and they can start by taking Career Development’s ca-

reer assessment and schedule a Ca-reer Advising session. Rostoni calls these steps a foundation on which stu-dents may build their college career. The sophomore through senior years are best spent honing in on the ca-reer options which are available with-in the student’s major. Rostoni also emphasizes the importance of getting involved on campus in order to help build a resume.

Resumes are not only essential for finding a job after graduation, but for finding an internship as well.

Geneva College will also contribute greatly to the WestPACS Job & In-ternship Fair at the Monroeville Con-vention Center on Monday, November 3. The Career Development Office of-fers this event to students once every fall and spring semester. Forty-four colleges and universities are involved with this event. The event features 100-200 employers and expects more than 1200 job seekers.

Rostoni said “It is a great place to ex-plore career options, network, and ap-ply for internships and jobs.”

Internships are essential to keep up with the competition after graduation. According to Rostoni, fifty to seventy percent of Geneva students participate in an internship prior to graduation.

“Employers need to know that you know how to work,” said Rostoni. “They need to see you apply your ed-ucation.”

Essentially, the WestPACS Job & In-ternship Fair not only gives students an opportunity to explore their intern-ship and job options, but it also allows students to network and form profes-sional acquaintances.

Again, the competition for a job post graduation is fierce.

Rostoni said, “Students with intern-ship experience tend to contribute more in the classroom. Employers in-vest in interns, so, employers look into

their intern pool first when a position becomes available. [Students should] know that your competition typical-ly has not one, but two, internships on their resume prior to graduation.”

There are still slots for students to sign up for the WesPACS Job & Internship Fair. Walk-ins are also welcome at the fair. More information can be found at www.westpacs .org.

Rostoni would encourage students to use the resource of Career Develop-ment.

“We encourage students to think about their professional development the day they arrive at Geneva,” he said. “The Career Development staff is waiting to help you every step of the way. Our programs, services and events are list-ed on the Career Development section of the Geneva website.”

There is also a small summer job and internship fair held every February, where students may find essential in-ternships and summer jobs.

GOP candidates waiting and hoping for 2012Liz SidotiI/Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans positioning for a possible presidential run are, to varying degrees, courting donors, testing messages and plotting strategies. They’re visiting early pri-mary states, wooing key activists and, all the while, stirring interest as they gauge whether to launch full-fledged campaigns.

“We can see 2012 from our house,” Sarah Palin quipped recently, set-ting off another round of will-she-or-won’t-she speculation.

But even though Nov. 3 is the unoffi-cial start of the 2012 campaign, don’t expect a surge of Republicans to de-clare their intentions anytime soon.

From Mitt Romney to Tim Pawlenty, few if any GOP aspirants plan to offi-cially get into the race — or formally bow out of it — before year’s end. And many, like Newt Gingrich and Hal-ey Barbour, are expected to wait even

longer — spring or beyond — to an-nounce whether they will launch can-didacies for the chance to challenge President Barack Obama in his likely re-election race.

There’s a general consensus in Wash-ington — and among Republicans close to the potential candidates — that the last White House race started too soon and cost too much.

Uncertainty is a huge factor, too, as Republicans make up their minds about whether the climate is right.

No one knows whether the tea party that wreaked havoc on GOP primaries will be a force beyond the Nov. 2 elec-tions. Or whether Obama’s popularity will stay mired under 50 percent. Or whether unemployment will still hov-er near 10 percent. Or, perhaps most importantly, how Republican leaders in Washington position in their first months in office should they win con-trol of the House or of the Senate.

For those reasons and more, Republi-cans considering running are, in the words of Barbour, “keeping their pow-der dry.”

They’re carefully watching the presi-dent, as well as one another, as they try to map out plans in an unpredictable political climate. And, they’re keeping an eye out for any signs that indepen-dents like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will make a move.

The later the start of the 2012 cam-paign, the better for celebrity politi-cians like Palin, the ex-governor of Alaska and 2008 vice presidential nominee, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who have lucrative media and speaking contracts. They’d probably have to cut those ties should they enter the race. Demand for their time could well dry up if they say they’re not running.

Aspirants who are not nearly as well-known — like former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum or Indiana Rep. Mike Pence — could benefit from get-ting in sooner rather than later because of the free media attention.

UPCOMING SPOrTS EVENTS

Saturday October 30th

3: 00 p.m. Volleyball at Westminster

10:00 a.m. Cross Country at PAC Championships

1:00 p.m. Football at Thiel

5:00 p.m. Women’s Soccer vs. St. Vin-cent

7:00 p.m. Men’s Soccer vs. St. Vincent

...to Midnight Madness...be there!


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Ask Angelina

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Contact the CabinetHave a suggestion? Want to write an editorial? Contact

the Cabinet at:

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discerning discovery daysSkye Mumau/Staff Writer

Prospective students now have the opportunity to visit Geneva College more than just a couple times a semes-ter.

Discovery days are designed to inform prospective students and their parents or guardians about Geneva College, while also providing a tour, lunch at Alexander Hall, a financial aid meet-ing for the parents, and a class for the potential students and a meeting with a professor or a coach.

“We found that on certain days, sev-eral students were choosing to vis-it on the same day due to holidays or other college visit days,” said Anne Modro, Assistant Director of Admis-sions. “So we found it more efficient and effective to have them follow the same schedule and experience Gene-va together.”

Discovery days differ from the open houses that Geneva College offers. An open house is more general than a dis-

covery day and much larger. Students cannot go to a class of their choice or personally meet with a professor on an open house day. However, they get to experience a tour, a campus event, hear from a student panel, and hear from various leadership and depart-ments on campus on a discovery day. Parents also get to hear from various departments and people in leadership.

“While an open house is a great expe-rience, it is more of an overview of Ge-neva while a personal visit should fol-low so the student can find out more about how Geneva fits their personal interests,” Modro said.

Geneva has open houses during both the fall and spring semesters, but dis-covery days are held much more fre-quently throughout the year. Up-coming Discovery Days will be held November 12 and 19, as well as De-cember 1.

“We have seen an increase in discov-ery days over our personal visit days,” Modro said. “While both days offer

the same options, people like to know there is an official visit day. Since they are planned days, when we anticipate high attendance anyway, we have seen a big increase in attendance.”

Discovery days are beneficial to cur-rent Geneva students as well as to pro-spective students.

The Admissions Office employs and trains Geneva students to give tours to

the prospective students.

Hosting tours, a Geneva student will connect with the prospective students and their parents. The students and parents have the opportunity to ask the current students questions that they have about the campus. It also gives the prospective student a truer picture of Geneva College, from the testimony of a current student.

Prospective students and their parents spend a day at Geneva.

Photo courtesy of Public relations

Dear Angelina,My girlfriend wants me to dress up like a Care-Bear with her for Halloween, but my undeniably masculine physique prohibits me from such displays of excessive femininity. Worst of all, she wants me to be the purple one, and we all know that just wouldn’t suit my com-plexion. Please help!Potentially Purple

Dear Potentially,I know you may be surprised to hear this from a girl, but put your foot down for once! She’s probably testing you to see if you’re man enough to refuse the mauve murder she’s planning for your reputation as a man. Tell her that instead you’re going dressed as King Kong and that if she really loves you, she’ll go dressed as Ann Darrow, your ut-terly helpless counterpart; how-ever, if you can’t muster up the backbone to preserve your good name, at least try to cut back on the cuddliness factor with a few undeniable marks of masculini-ty. Try some bling or maybe a battle-axe.Sincerely,Angelina


6 LoCaL neWs

Seniors Laura Troup and Brian Wright dance the night away.

Photo credit: Lisa Lyon

We can dance if we want toDanny Massaro/Editor-in-ChiefGeneva College has a reputation of be-ing somewhat strict. Some of the con-troversial rules on campus are things such as limited open hours, no vacu-uming or doing laundry on Sundays, and no dancing.

According to the school handbook, the Dancing Policy is as follows: “Gene-va College does not allow dancing, ex-cept for square dancing, line dancing, and traditional folk dancing.”

In translation, Geneva College does not allow what most students consider to be enjoyable dancing. That is where the Beaver Falls Swing Club comes in to play. Where dancing constrictions are a problem, the Swing Dance Club is the answer.

The Swing Club meets on Friday nights in the basement of College Hill Presbyterian Church, directly across from Richardson House on Route 18. Doors open for lessons at 7:30 p.m. and then non-stop dancing persists from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Lessons are giv-en in east coast swing and during the open dancing, genres range from east

coast swing, lindy, and line dancing. There is a $1 cover at the door.

Senior biblical studies major and Swing Club president, Brian Wright said, “Basically, the club gives stu-dents a chance to get away from cam-pus on a Friday night. Admission is only a dollar, and the club uses its funds to thank the church for the space and to subsidize trips to places like Swing City, which is a swing club in Squirrel Hill that features live bands.”

Wright explained what east coast swing is; “We do mostly east coast swing which has nothing to do with worldview, calling, academic faith-fulness, or the integration of faith and learning, and has everything to do with dancing to fast, big-band music.”

The Swing Club averages anywhere from fifty to one hundred students per Friday and sometimes go be-yond and reach the church basement’s maximum capacity.

Tyler Jodon, a junior elementary edu-cation major, has rave reviews regard-ing the Beaver Falls Swing Club after just one visit. “I really went [to Swing

Club] just to meet some people, but when I was there, I really did enjoy it. I never knew swing dancing could be so fun. Actually, I didn’t know it was fun at all,” Jodon said with a laugh. “It was a lot better than playing Call of Duty all night and I got to work out my calf muscles.”

Tonight will be the Swing Club’s year-ly Costume Swing. This is where dancers are encouraged to wear their best Halloween costumes. For each participant who arrives in disguise, the $1 cover will be waved. Turnout is expected to exceed the average at-tendance so students are encouraged to arrive early to assure a spot on the dance floor.

“I’m always down to do a little danc-ing,” said Rob Gillern, junior psychol-ogy major. “It took me a minute to pick it up at first, but the lessons helped me out. I’m excited for this week. I don’t know what costume I am going to break out quite yet, but there is one thing I know I’m wearing for sure.”

“I’ll be wearing my dancing shoes.” ...to getting to wear a Halloween costume when you’re 21.

The world’s worst role modelMarshal A. Miller/Guest WriterIn 1990, the year in which I was born, Congress passed a bill limiting the number of commercials during chil-dren’s shows aired on TV. Children were already becoming glued to TV, and we didn’t need the media to in-fluence them too much. The conver-sations of TV causing ADD became popular. People were scared of the ef-fects that television was going to have on their children. Twenty years later, I am here to look at the result, specifi-cally myself and the effect TV has had on me.

I have been a guinea pig for various ex-periments in my life. When I was five, I became a test subject for the chicken pox vaccine. When I was nine I took the PSSA. When I was twelve I took the Pepsi Challenge. But the real ex-periment I was born to test was that of pop culture’s effect on a person’s de-velopment.

Every home movie I have I am doing one of two things: eating or watching TV. I was the poster child for televi-sion. I would come home from school and watch TV until bed time. I would wake up early to catch a cartoon be-fore the school bus arrived. I ate every meal in front of the TV. I’m convinced that I’m a distant relative of Mike TV from “Willy Wonka.”

You would think that this would have a horrible effect on a child. Steven Johnson recently published a book en-titled, “Everything Bad, Is Good for You”. In his book, Johnson argues that despite popular belief, popular culture might actually be making us smarter, and he addresses many of the things that make me a unique individual.

People argue that TV causes a rise in ADD in children. Johnson would ar-gue, and I would agree, that the fact that TV can force someone to concen-trate on a single thing for an extend-

ed period of time actually contradicts that statement. I would be more con-cerned about the children who can’t sit down and watch TV.

Another common complaint is that people who watch too much TV go brain-dead. Depending on the show, watching TV can, in fact, make your brain process information faster. While reading a book you have the luxury of setting your own pace. TV only takes breaks for commercials and forces you to keep up with the pace of the show.

The ability to recall information quickly can also be a welcome side effect of watching TV. Think about the people you know that can think of any episode of “Lost” and tell you the entire plot line in detail. That is 121 hour-long stories that they have in their head. That is pretty impres-sive. And most of them can tell you in-depth stories about each charac-

ter and recall even the smallest detail about every character.

Even the discussion generated from a single episode of a show is nothing less than impressive. The depth of dis-cussion that takes place on some mes-sage boards about an episode of “Lost” makes you think that it has become an area of study for philosophical schol-ars and doctoral candidates.

These elements sum up how TV has made me the person I am today. I can sit down and listen to any story be-cause I have so many hours of prac-tice watching TV. I can catalog infor-mation and recall it whenever I want. My ability to graduate from Geneva in just three years while maintaining a job as Executive of Student Activi-ties and still finding time to catch all

see tV, page 7


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Family Weekend is coming!!November 12 & 13, 2010

Students, siblings and family members: Join us for the Broadway Revue, Family Feud, “Toy Story 3”, Golden

Tornadoes vs. the Westminster Titans and more.

Be sure to check www.geneva.edu for registration and complete information.

Oh, the places it goes: The Traveling Tornado Towel

Justin Hostutler/Staff Writer

Beth Ann Mine proudly displays the Traveling Tornado Towel in Nagasaki, Japan

Photo courtesy of [email protected]

The Geneva Traveling Tornado Towel has seen it all, or at the very least, an awful lot. What exactly is the Travel-ing Tornado Towel? It is a small tow-el containing the Geneva College logo that Geneva students and alumni take with them as they travel the world. If they take a picture with the towel, that picture can be added to the many pre-vious photographs of students, alum-ni, and staff who have taken the towel around the globe.

“It’s a way to show how people are go-ing into the world and taking Geneva with them,” says Dr. Kerry McMahon, professor of Chemistry and ardent Traveling Tornado Towel supporter.

When asked how the Traveling Tor-nado Towel was started, Dr. McMa-hon jokingly states “I’m not sure but I think Marco Polo was the first to take the Traveling Towel to the ori-ent. I think Marco Polo was a Geneva Alumnus wasn’t he (or was that John Calvin)?”

The Traveling Tornado Towel pro-gram started a few years ago as a way to show people all the places Gene-

tralia and Antarctica. So if students and alumni are ever in either of these places, make sure to take a picture and send it in.

“I want students to know that the Trav-eling Towel is a lot of fun,” says Dr. McMahon. “There have been sever-al students who have studied abroad in Australia; it would be great to have some pictures with the towel in Aus-tralia. The towel is also on the website so prospective students can see where Geneva students and alumni are go-ing. It can be a great recruiting tool.”

Students and alumni can go on Gene-va’s website to view pictures of other students and alumni with the towel at http://www.geneva.edu/object/torna-do_towel. They can also request their own free towel. Students and alumni can submit their photos with them and towel by e-mailing [email protected] or by mailing them to the Office of Alumni Relations.

People submitting should make sure to provide the date and location, identify those pictured, and include their name, e-mail address, and telephone number.

va affiliated people are going and all the things that Geneva people are do-ing. It was also established for the fun of seeing different parts of the world that students and alumni might not be able to visit. It is also a way in which to get the Geneva College name out to the world.

The Traveling Tornado Towel has seen many places. Students and alum-ni have taken the towel, and submit-ted pictures, to South America, Eu-rope, Africa, and Asia. For all of the adventure seekers out there, the tow-el has not been photographed in Aus-

my TV shows is a testament to that. And as far as taking this “addiction” to pop culture to a scholarly level, I do plan on going to get my masters in me-dia studies after I graduate.

In retrospect, having more friends as a kid would have been nice, but the amount of TV I watched developed me into the person I am today and gave me a career path I don’t mind taking. I am not insinuating that watching hours of “Jersey Shore” will make you smart-er, but I would argue that it is not evil and can even be beneficial. If you dis-agree, just get to know me.

see tV, page 7

tV, from page 6

... to Mr. Borger, who couldn’t pronounce Zerubbabel. Unless it was his attempt at hu-mor. Then it would be a thumbs up. Zerubabble...


8 time WasteRsd

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...to PDA couples in chapel...that’s what the Brig’s for.


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What was your favorite Halloween costume?

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When I was three, I was a parrot and my dad was a pirate. I rode around on his shoul-der all night.

Photo credit: Matt Cesare

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I dressed up like Freddy Krueger because I LOVE the “Nightmare on Elm St.” series. It scared me so much as a kid that I love it now. Ironic...

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When I was young-er, I had a 49ers foot-ball costume. I gave it to my little cousins and they just gave it back this past year.

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One year I dressed up as a garbage bag...eas-iest costume ever.


10 oPinionThe Cabinet Staff

Editor-in-Chief:

Danny Massaro

Assistant Editor:

Brandon Kauffman

Features Editor:

Alyssa Spang

Sports Editor:

Seth Kuhns

Photo Editor:

Matt Cesare

Layout Editor:

Lisa Lyon

Business Manager:

AJ Delmonico

Advisor: Dr. Tom Copeland

Staff Writers:Christine Carugati

rachel CrisciHannah Dittman

AJ DelmonicoGloria Horton

Justin HostutlerJamie Kensinger

Leah KiehlLauren LondinoHavilah Mohler

Skye Mumau

Julia Santilli

The purpose of The Cabinet, the of-ficial student newspaper of Geneva College, shall be to keep the mem-bers of the College community in-formed about all events that concern it, whether they be of internation-al or campus-wide significance; to provide for an open forum for airing the views of all interested groups on campus in order to promote under-standing among all the groups; to help create a climate of intelligent and mature consideration of issues and events; to help expose injustice on any front; to develop in the read-ers an appreciation of Christian val-ues by approaching all duties in the spirit of love, justice, and responsi-bility that Christ showed in all His dealings on earth.

small Acts of Kindness: Fun at Fall FestJamie Kensinger/Staff Writer

When I looked out my window on Sat-urday morning, it was wonderful to see people gathered around preparing for Fall Fest. There were pumpkins being unloaded from a box truck, ta-bles being set up, and hay bails placed around the apartment’s parking lot.

Fall is my favorite season, right when you can feel the air getting brisk, see the leaves change color, and you can even smell the difference in the sea-son. I have always loved the outdoors, and autumn is my favorite time to go on hikes and just be outside in general.

When I saw the campus community coming together for a fun-filled day of celebration for the season and for building unity, I was thrilled.

People were painting and carving pumpkins, getting their faces paint-ed, listening to music, drinking was-sail, eating pumpkin pie and caramel apples, and partaking in pie and donut

eating contests.

Megan Seigfried, junior elementary and special education major said, “Fall Fest was an amazing event! It was a great time to forget about my work and have fun with my roommates!”

Junior human services major, Elise Johnson, also enjoyed the day and said, “Because it was at the apart-ments, I feel that there were a lot of people there. It was nice seeing ev-eryone out and around on the week-end. Usually people go home or stay in their rooms and study.”

This is very true. Students often com-plain that there is nothing to do on the weekends, and this event proved that students are excited to partake in cam-pus events.

The unity that I saw take place with-in the transformed parking lot was great. It was fun to talk to friends that I have not seen all semester, see pro-fessors and their families, and bond with people from the community. My

roommates and I were able to get some “roomie pictures,” and carve a pump-kin. We saw it as a great time to con-nect as a room.

The Residence Directors (RDs) and Residence Assistants (RAs) were a huge asset to the day. RDs were out talking and hanging out with stu-dents that live in their buildings and RAs were taking part in playing corn hole, talking to individuals other than those on their floor. These were the in-dividuals that set up the entertainment and activities and they deserve many thanks.

Fall Fest was nothing less than a suc-cess when it comes down to unity. Ev-eryone came together to have fun and hang out. My room now has a picture of a scarecrow on our door, one carved pumpkin in addition to two painted pumpkins, thanks to the fun event. Now that we have had some “fall fun,” we can look forward to the first snow. Bring on the snowflakes.

Obama plays voters’ psychiatrist-in-chief on trailErica Werner/Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — According to President Barack Obama, Americans are angry, frustrated, scared, anxious, uncertain, nervous, discouraged and shaken up.

Heading into critical midterm elec-tions, Obama has been freely shar-ing this gloomy diagnosis on the cam-paign trail, at times sounding more like a psychiatrist than a politician. He usually couples it with a reminder that the country’s been through tough times before and is resilient enough to bounce back, and an appeal to voters to “choose hope over fear.”

Obama’s dreary assessment appears to be an attempt to empathize with voters in a time of acute economic anxiety. It also can serve as an explanation about why voters haven’t embraced his agen-da — and why they look poised to de-liver a drubbing to Democrats Nov. 2.

Americans would be more supportive of his policies, the president suggests,

if they weren’t fettered by anxiety he accuses the GOP of stoking. And the descriptions of angst from a president criticized as overly cerebral and aloof also allow him to attempt to show he feels voters’ pain — even if he can’t cure it.

“People out there are still hurting very badly, and they are still scared,” Obama said recently at a Boston fun-draiser. “And so part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argu-ment does not seem to be winning the day all the time, is because we’re hard-wired not to always think clearly when we’re scared.”

The White House says that by show-ing voters he understands what they’re feeling, Obama positions himself to lay out his main argument for the elec-tion: that it’s a choice between — as he puts it — the policies that caused the current economic mess, and the poli-cies that are starting to fix it.

Associated Press-GfK polling con-firms the voter anger and frustration Obama talks about, but also suggests that the president’s message of empa-thy may not always get through. The month Obama took office 81 percent said he understood the problems of or-dinary Americans very well or some-what well; by September of this year that figure had fallen to 54 percent.

(President Obama has) drawn scorn from some in the GOP, who accuse the president of talking down to voters who simply don’t like his policies. One conservative columnist, Charles Krau-thammer of The Washington Post, de-risively accused the president of di-agnosing the populace with “Obama Underappreciation Syndrome.”

And there’s a problem for the presi-dent, given the grim outlook for Dem-ocrats: As much as he’s sought to ac-knowledge and allay voters’ concerns, the results on Nov. 2 may just prove his gloomiest diagnoses right.


11sPoRtsPlayoffs off for senior athletesChristine Carugati/Staff Writer

Student-athletes see a lot in their days on the field. Things like injuries, game-winning shots, goals and touch-downs, tie-breakers, and nail-biters. But there is one thing that the senior student-athletes at Geneva College will not get to see—the playoffs.

Because of the change from NAIA to NCAA in 2007, Geneva College and its athletes (those who graduated from high school in 2007) have remained provisional members in the NCAA Di-vision III. Because the NAIA can give athletic scholarships and NCAA Divi-sion III cannot, most athletes were un-der the impression that they would be eligible to compete in the playoffs as of the 2009-2010 school year, their ju-nior year. This was the year that all scholarship athletes would have had graduated. But, because of an untime-ly athletic director change, they have remained ineligible.

This means that every student-athlete in the senior class has never, and pro-vided that they’re graduating in four years, will never see a playoff game. Teams with records above .500, how-ever, are eligible to compete in the Na-tional Christian College Athletic As-sociation (NCCAA) tournament.

So, why would student-athletes opt to come to Geneva? Did the change to NCAA affect their decisions at all? Did they even know they would be in-

eligible all four years?

Most reactions from athletes have been similar.

“I actually thought by our senior year we’d be able to go, but since we got a new AD, I think that made it longer,” said senior softball player and com-munication disorders major Leanne Abate. “It’s unfortunate, especially for our class in softball, because we have come so close every year to making it to nationals and always fall one game short. But I wouldn’t change where

I am. I really liked the entire atmo-sphere of the school and the team, and it’s close to home for me which was a big part of my decision.”

Senior football player and business major, Gerard Muschette, said he didn’t know he would never make it to playoffs but that he has enjoyed his four years here and doesn’t regret his decision.

One soccer player said he was lied to by the former coach Todd Beal as a freshman and told that he would in-

deed have the opportunity to go to playoffs during his time at Geneva.

“I’m here because I could study engi-neering through a reputable program and play varsity basketball,” said se-nior basketball player and engineering major Brandon Sopko. “I was told we would be eligible for the NCAA once all of our scholarship athletes grad-uated which would have been my ju-nior year. When I found out that this wasn’t true, and that we wouldn’t be eligible my senior year either, it was a huge let down. It’s especially disap-pointing when it comes time for March Madness. You see on TV the excite-ment and thrill of schools making the tournament, and I know I’ll never be able to be a part of that playoff atmo-sphere.”

Joel Gatti, a senior baseball player and business major expressed the same disappointment as Sopko.

“I was under the impression that we would be eligible my junior year,” he said, “and now that I can’t go to play-offs, unless I use my redshirt year, [it] kind of sucks. I don’t understand why there was so much confusion with the coaching staff as to when we would be eligible.”

But there is always hope. Student-ath-letes at Geneva are but a redshirt and a few flunked classes away from stay-ing an extra year and finally seeing the playoffs.

Senior soccer player, Amanda Munsch, and her other classmates will never par-ticipate in the playoffs. Photo credit: Lisa Lyon

soCCeR, from page 12They were hoping to get a big test against nationally ranked Messiah College on October 27, but a resched-uled conference game for Messiah forced them to cancel the game.

“The match with Messiah is one you look forward to and train for because they are a perennial top-tier team in the NCAA,” McCracken said. “We could have matched Messiah’s level of play if we played to our standard.”

Teddy Krzywiecki had been setting the pace for the Golden Tornadoes for much of the early season, but Mc-Cracken recently passed Krzywiecki as the leading scorer for the team. The offense has been solid, but the defense has to take much of the credit for Ge-neva’s run through the PAC.

Defenders Chris Morschl, Matt Weav-er, and Jon Mathoslah have put in huge performances and logged high num-bers of minutes throughout the season. They have done a superb job of assist-ing goalie Evan Biedenbach, who has moved into the top-five PAC goalies in goals-against average.

Geneva’s regular season will end on Saturday with a home match against St. Vincent College. The Bearcats have won just three games all season, including just one conference victo-ry over Waynesburg. Regardless, the Golden Tornadoes won’t be taking them lightly.

“It’s important for us to finish the reg-ular season continuing to improve as a team as well as remaining undefeated at home for the year,” said McCracken.


Fielder’s Choice

Sports Quick Hits

see soCCeR, page 11

12 sPoRts- Senior AdriAne BlAke and freshman deAnnA Bri-ody were named to the NC-CAA All-region First Team in volleyball, while junior Bri-AnnA Mixter made Honor-able Mention.

- Sophomore dAvid Ger-lAch knocked in the open-ing goal for men’s soccer in a 2-1 victory over Waynes-burg on October 25.

- Sophomore MAurA Allen ended women’s soccer’s four-match scoreless streak with a goal 50 seconds into a 9-0 win over Chatham on Oc-tober 23.

- Senior nick diPietro kicked three field goals and an extra point (accounting for more than half of Gene-va’s points) for the football team in a 22-16 loss to Wash-ington & Jefferson on Octo-ber 23.

GTs anticipate nCCAA regionalsSeth Kuhns/Sports Editor

With just one game to go in their reg-ular season, the men’s soccer team has proven itself as a threat to take over the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in the future.

Geneva, who remains a provisional NCAA Division III member, has gone 5-1-1 against PAC opponents this sea-son, including a 1-0 win over Wash-ington & Jefferson. The Presidents are 6-0 in official PAC play and are the fa-vorites to win the conference tourna-ment.

After Saturday, the Golden Torna-does will wait it out until the NCCAA Regional Tournament dates are an-nounced. They hope to eliminate that waiting period next season when they are eligible for the PAC tournament.

Junior midfielder Jake McCracken, who posted what proved to be the de-ciding goal in a 2-1 win over Waynes-burg on October 25, feels that the team’s relative dominance of the con-ference bodes well for them in the fu-ture.

“I think our conference record shows

that we are going to make an immediate impact at the top of the PAC next year,” said McCracken, a business major who lives in Beaver Falls. “We ex-pect to compete for the conference champion-ship on a yearly basis.”

The team faced a lot of questions heading into their first year under head coach Gary Dun-da. Dunda made chang-es that took some getting used to, but the play-ers have adjusted well throughout the season.

“The key to success this season has been every-one on the team buying into the style of play and system that Coach Dunda has imple-mented,” said McCracken. “Our scor-ing attack shows that we are able to beat other teams in more ways than one.”

Dunda has used his bench players to his advantage, and it has turned up late-

game heroics on several occasions for the Golden Tornadoes. They have also caused some nail-biting moments for fans. Six of the team’s 13 victories this season have been by one goal. Their lone loss to a PAC team was a 1-0 match against Grove City.

McCracken charges the net

Seth Kuhns/Sports Editor

A smiling Roger Goodell has the plot picked and his shovel out, ready to put the idea of a true NFL dynasty to rest. I won’t be attending that funeral, but if I did, I’d picket that thing like Fred Phelps.

As thrilling as it is to watch David Bowens pick off a Drew Brees pass (twice) and return it for a touchdown (twice), something just isn’t right about the “anybody can beat anybody” NFL. The league needs a team like the Patriots or Steelers to run away from the pack in order for anyone to care.

Take Super Bowl XLII, for example: The Pats were running away with their undefeated season, and nearly every person outside of Massachusetts was pulling for the Giants to knock the smug off Tom Brady’s face. FOX’s broadcast of the game pulled in a then-record 97.5 million viewers. People watched it.

The most recent Super Bowl was al-

most the exact opposite. Unless you’re still an irrationally bitter Bears fan, you don’t hate the Colts. And unless you’re an irrational fan of hurricanes, you don’t hate New Orleans. If it wasn’t for the fact that both teams ac-tually played well, it would have been just as forgettable as Peyton Man-ning’s first Super Bowl run.

Much of the office at 280 Park Ave-nue should have been breathing a sigh of relief when rules forced the officials in Sunday’s Steelers-Dolphins game to award a fumbled ball to Pittsburgh. The play wasn’t rigged, but it kept the Steelers from falling to 4-2, the same record as the historically hapless Kan-sas City Chiefs.

The Cowboys aren’t helping either, choking away any chance at a Super Bowl run, and everyone at the NFL headquarters should be cringing. When the team that most of the coun-try loves to hate is out of the race al-most before it begins, people lose in-terest.

As bad as the Cowboys have looked, they were Tony Romo’s once-intact clavicle away from pushing the Gi-ants to a 4-3 record. That would have forced a three-way tie at the top of the NFC East.

Most of the teams in the NFC that were predicted to do well have started off slower than 1967 New York Mets. The 49ers, once a favorite to win the NFC West, sit at 1-6 and are at the bot-tom of their division. The two teams that are tied for first in the NFC North are 4-3.

Nobody has stepped up in the NFC, and it’s not like the AFC is faring much better. If the Jacksonville Jag-uars had shown up against the Tennes-see Titans a few weeks ago, the four teams in the AFC South would have had four wins apiece.

The AFC West looks like a bizarre version of itself, where the teams that have been the best in recent years are now the worst. Even the Patriots, who are 5-1, have snuck past teams in re-

cent weeks, winning three games by one possession each.

It’s America. We love to hate teams. That’s why the Yankees are such a big draw, after all. It’s the same rea-son that millions of people will watch LeBron “Not My King” James return to Cleveland. It’s fun to hate winners.

Get on it, Goodell. Parity stinks.

Running foR the RecoRd

1. Melvin cobbs (1997-99) - 3,809 yards

2. Willie Murray (1994-96) - 3,622 yards

3. geRaRd Muschette (2007-10) - 3,399 yards

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