the merciad, march 16, 1989

8/6/2019 The Merciad, March 16, 1989

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VOL. 62 NO . 18 MERCYHURST COLLEGE, GLENWOOD HILLS, ERIE, PA 16546 THURSDAY, MARCH 16,1989

Moslem leader violates free speechBy Michelle BoshMerciad staff editor

By the threats on Salman Rushdie's life,author of The Satanic Verses, religiousleader Ayatollah Khomeini also threatensfreedom of speech, according toa MercyhurstEnglish professor who has read the book.Dr. Angela Elston, an author herself,explained thatsome writers said this is the realissue and they would defend freedom ofspeech to the death. "Freedom of speech,"Elston said,' * is as sacred to us as the Moslemreligion is to them."* *There can be no freedom without re-sponsibility," she added. "Freedom ofspeech may be an idea worth dying for, butwould I die to publish someone's child por-nography?"On Feb. 14 Khomeini called on Moslemsaround the world to execute Rushdie for hisnovel, which blasphemes the Islamic religion.Satanic Verses offends Moslems becauseit makes fun of a M ohammad-like characterand hasa group of prostitutes adopt the namesof Mohammad *s wives.To put t ina Christian context,Elston saidit was like reading about the Virgin Marygetting gang-raped while a crowd of bystand-ers cheered the rapists on.Religious Studies professor Mary Snydercompared Moslems to fundamentalist Chris-tians because "Their religion doesn't allowfor other view po ints.''Snyder said the controversy with someChristians over the film The Last Tem pta-tion of Christ is like the situation withRushdie. She added that thefilm'sproducersmadeno claims that thefilmwas an authenticinterpretation of Chr istBesides the threat on Rushdie's life,bookstores carrying Satanic Verses on theirshelves havebeen threatened with bom bings.Many IErie bookstores are still selling ithowever. ' We have always had it,*' a man-ager of Waldenbooks said.The Erie Bookstores also carry it And

MaryfSnyderone of their managers said that althoughemployees have some fears about thebomb-threats, they are still working. ' *We all feelthat it is a matter of principle," the managersaid. "W e believe in theright o read." ;ffj

Because Satan ic Verses is addressed tojust a highly literate international audience,Rushdie never expected his book to earn itselfa household name, according to Elston."You need two doctorates in order to readit,*' she said.Thebook isn't addressed to the commonreader, according to Elston, because plot andcharacter development aren't primary in thebook. ' There is no central vision in terms ofcontent' ' she added.The two main characters, GabreelFarishta and Saladin Chamcha, arein conten-tion with each other but nothing is ever re-solved, according to Elston.* And you neverknow what kind of reality you're in,'' sheadded. >"In terms of style it is self-indulgent'*

she said. Theauthor, according to her, usesmany clever tricks in the novel, but thesetechniques don't create an artistic unity theyshow how brilliant the author is. Although Elston didn't like SatanicVerses, \ she said that the prose style was"exuberant"Arjamand Shah, a Moslem Erie business-man from Pakistan, isn't happy withRushdie's book but doesn't find it a threat tohis religion. Shah told the Erie Daily TimesFeb. 26 that "Rushdie's book is not a realthreat It may be an insult but it is just oneperson's opinion which in no way under-mines Islamic value s." Many people disagree with Khomeini'shandling of Rushdie's novel. Snyder said thatWesternersmay not take the bookas seriouslyas Moslems because, "the problem we'redealing with is a difference in culture.'' Sheadded however, "His (Khomeini's)responseis extreme." | fElston said,''He should have ignored thewhole thing." * f :rAlthough Khomeini has gone too far,according to some people, Elston said thatMoslems anger over Satanic Verses is justi-fied because Rushdie doesn't understandIslam. ' If anyone is going to attack excessesit has the responsibility to understand thatreligion in greater depth," she explained.

Burning madER IE FIREFIGHTERS WEREagain called toMcAuley Sunday morning about 1 am.for thesecondfalse alarm in two weeks. The irston ewas reported to thefiredepartment onTuesday, March 7, an d the second one wasreported this passed Sunday, March 12. Al-though the iremendon't want Mercyhurst toburn down, their sternfaces show they don'tappreciate getting prank calif

Photo by Kevtn McHughMCCI program helps studentsleave unemployment linesBy Robi TaylorMerciad staff writer

The federal government is spending about$676,000 a year ona job training program atMercy hurst that has given some 1,400 stu-dents an opportunity to get off welfare andunemployment via a one-year degree.The certificate will not getyou a job as abank president, said SheilaRichter, associatedirector of admissions, but it will either helpget you a job or start you on the way to acollege degree. |About 1QO students attend MCCI classes

Just for fu nA GROUP OFMercyhurst men enjoyed the warm weather Monday by playing a game ofbasketball outside McAuley. i Photo by Kevin McHugh

ineight training neids ranging trom ousiness/office and accounting to HRIM and munici-pal police training. Most classes offer intern-ships for students to get a hands on feeling ofwhat the jobs are like.The one-year certificates are good forgetting your foot in the door, according toHRIM professor Michael Barnes. Whenpromotions come, the person witha four-yeardegree will get the job. Some of the largerchains, such as Hyatt or Regency, will notconsider a job applicant with less than a four-year degree, he said.HRIM major John Douglass said the train-ing he gets through MCCI teaches ] himenough to put him one step above the compe-tition in the ob market He also said he will notreturn to go for a four-year degree.Thepurpose of MCCI is to get people offwelfare and unemployment, according toLupe Billingsley, assistant director of the

MCCI program. M CCI currently hasa place-ment rate of 70-80 percent with 10-15 percentreturning to college to earn a higher degree,usually at MercyhurstI The tuition for the one-year, 30-creditprograms is currently $4,100 pear year. Thirtypeople pay their own way, but the majority ofthe students get federal funds and only havethe expense of their books to worry aboutThatexpense is covered by Pell grants thatcanbe as much as $1,800. MCCI students aregiven this to cover not only books but alsotransportation, day care, and other expensesconnected with their educations.One administration official said that thefederally funded MCCI students get rebatesof all their grant money to use at their discre-tion, except for the money used for books.Most students use the money for such neces-sities as food or clothing. But sometimes theirdiscretion extends to die extreme, like one1988 MCCI graduate who used her federalgrant rebate to go on a vacation over holidaybreak. *; Some students have mnixed jjfeelingsabout the programs, partly bescause theyperceive abuses. "I enjoyed the program atfirst," said Pamela Szymanowski, MCCImedical technology major, " bu t the attitudesof someof the federally funded people ruinedit for me."She said that about 30 percent of thefunded people brag in class about only beingthere to get the "free money "from the grants.See 'MCCT, pg. 2

INSIDE: STABBING. PG. 2 ST. PATRICK'SDAY, PG . 3 IRISH SPORTS, PG . 8


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PAGE 2 The Merciad MARCH 16,1989'

S e n i o r s t a b b e d o n J a m a i c a t r i pBy Karen SampsonMerciad staff editor

A Mercyhurst senior wasstabbed three times during a rob-bery of his hotel room March 1 inJamaica where he was vacationingon a MSG offered trip. |Tim Valento, an accountingmajor sustained wounds to the chestand his hand. H e was slashed by aknife twice in the chest and hasalmost a three inch cut on his leftroom with Valento; his sister, GinaValento; and Janet Holzhaeusser,she was alerted to the presence ofthe burglars when she heard papersshuffling in the " living area" oftheroom. Smith thought it was Ginahand held together by ten stitches.He received three stitches in hischest and was treated with antibiot-ics in a Jamaican hospital.

According to Debbie Smith,Valento's girlfriend and a junior arteducation major, who stayed in theValento | returning from visitingfriends. * ife "We went to bed Wednesdaynight around 12:30, and around3:30 Gina got a phone call fromsome guys that she had met down-stairs to go down and party withthem,'' Smith said." So she left thedoor unlocked because she thoughtshe was coming right back up."! Smith then received a prankphone call from friends, so she wasawake when the burglars enteredthe suite." I heard a noise by thetable of people shuffling throughpapers. I thought it was Gina, so Ihollered 'Gina,' and no one an-swered." Smith became alarmedwhen there was no answer."S o I rolled over and sat up in

4MCCI from pg. 1One girl bragged that she wentfrom program to program in orderto get the grant money," Szyma-nowski said. This student didn't-_r _ admission to Mer-cyhurst "But we've never had oneturned down," Billingsley said. "Those who do not perform while atMCCI would mostjlikely have aharder time getting in down be-low." w

Part t imehe lp wantedOnly a couplehours en weekendssalesno collectionsC a l l 4 5 6 - 2 7 5 3

Weekdaysto4J

the bed and when I did that I saw twoguys leaving the apartment Theywere outside in the hallway and hadthe door cracked open,'' Smith said.She added that she heard whispersand later found out that the menwere looking through GinaValento's purse for money andvaluables. They stood out in the hallto use the light"They must have heardme coming because theyrushed in with itheirknives up."

-Tim ValentoShe then woke up Valento andsaid that shejust saw twomen leavethe suite, n He told her to stay whereshe was, but Smith followed him."He got up and I followedbehind him," Smith said. "He gotabout 10 to IS feet (from the bed)when they came back in." "Theymust have heard mecoming," Valento added, "becausethey rushed in with their knives up.That was the first thing I really saw,was a knife coming at me."Whether the assailants were return-ing the purse or were trying to findother items to steal is not known,

according to Smith."I just saw the knife coming atme and I went to grab the guy'swrist,'9 Valento said, "and that guygot me with the knife." Valentosaid he was unable to grab the knifein time because he was distracted bythe second burglar. Valento did,howeverknock the assailant into thewall as the man slashed Valento."Then Debbie started screaming,"Valento said.Smith did manage to turn on thelights and did see the faces of themen whom she described as Jamai-can. Holzhaeusser, who was also inthe room at the time did not se e theirfaces. The Jamaicans made off with$30 in U.S . currency from thepurse.According to Valento and Smith,hotel security consisted of two menwho they described as young,skinny, and "looked pretty de-fenseless." They also said that therepresentative from Student TravelService (STS), the company whichoffered the trip could not bereachedby phone. Valento said he did notreceive medical attention for almost2.5 hours since he was looking forthe STS representative who wassupposed to know of an Americadoctor. Valento was also delayedby the police who did nothing, hesaid. > They tried for several hours thatnight, according to Valento, toreach the STS representative to no

avail. However, Smith said, "Thenext day the STS guy hands Tm a$100 Jamaican bill, which is only$20 American and says, 'Here, Ihope this covers allsthe problemsyou have had.'""I identified the guysthe next day...But Ididn't push it. I justwanted to get out ofJamaica.

--Debbie SmithSmith and Valento feel that STSis partially to blame for what hap-pened because the company recom-mended that the students stay there.Smith was also angered because thehotel did so little to apprehend theassailants. "I identified the twoguys the next day," Smith saidwhen she saw them in die guest-only hotel dining room. "The hotelpeople didn't do anything about itBut wewere leaving in two hours soI didn't want to push it I just wanted

to get out of Jamaica."There were various specula-tions about the identity of the rob-bers,but because Valento and Smithfelt thatthe hotel was uncooperativethey suspected it was somehowinvolved.

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MARCH 16,1989 The Merciad PAGE 3

H i s t o r y o f S a i n t P a t r i c k i s r e v e a l e dBy Maria KellyMerciad staff reporter

It has always been a source ofamazement to the Irish in Irelandhow their holiday is celebrated else-where. ?Even though St Patrick's Day isan Irish national holiday, it is cele-brated in many other countries. TheUnited States, having over 40million Irish, celebrates St.Patrick's Day more so than in Ire-land. * gIn Ireland, St Patrick's Day isprimarily a religious holiday.People stay home from school andwork to attend church in honor ofSaint Patrick. Parents bring theiryoung children to see parades.If an American were to spend S tPatrick's Day in Ireland, he wouldbe surprised at the lack of green.Only those involved in the paradedress in green and the beer is cer-tainly not dyed green. | aPeople in Ireland tend to cele-brate the day differently. Forsomeit is a family occasion, but for manyit's into the pub after mass for theremainder of the day and night Bytheend of the night, these pubs canbe very noisy places with everyonelinking armsand singing Irish songsand ballads.In the United States, St.Patrick's Day is primarily a secular(non-religious) holiday. Peopledress up in green, decorate theirhouses in green, and dye their beergreen.Here, people go crazy, throwingparties and joining in on the pa-rades. For one day a year in Amer-

ica everyone is \Irish and has funbeing Irish. * iThe firstSt Patrick's Day cele-bration in theUnited States washeldin Boston in 1737. Today more than100 cities hold parades. But, sur-prisingly most people don't knowmuch about Saint Patrick,where hecame from or how he got to Ireland.Patrick was born in Britianaroundj: 389. His father!was awealthy alderman and a Christian.When Patrick was 16fyears old,pirates captured him during a raidand sold him as a slave in Ireland.He served as a shepherd of an Irishchieftain in Ulster. T

During his captivity Patrickdedicated himself to religion. Heescaped after six years of slaveryand returned to his home in Britian.As a result of his experiences inIreland, Patrick became driven bythe idea of converting the Irish toChristianity.To prepare himself for that task,he studied in the monastery ofLearns on an island off of the south-east coast of France. Patrick alsowent to Auxerre, France and studiedreligion under Saint Germanus, aFrench bishop. %p Partly because Patrick's earliereducation was inadequate, his reli-gious superiors were reluctant to lethim return to Ireland as a m ission-ary. But Palladius, the first Irishmissionary bishop , died in 431. Tofill the position, Pope Celestine Ithen sent Patrick to Ireland.*Patrick began his work in north-ern and western Ireland where noone had ever preached Christianity.He gained the trust and friendship of

Theatre professor hospitalizedPaul hidings, assistant professor of theater, was listed in seriouscondition Tuesday night in the Intensive Care Unit at Hamot Hospital.hidings is suffering from peritonitis, an infection of the abdominallining, according to Igor Stalsky, director of the theater department

hidings was admitted to the hospital on February 1, two days before theopening of Our Town which he was scheduled to direct, Stalsky said.

The partners and professionalstaff of KPMG Peat Marwickare pleased to welcomeDiane M. ErzenJohn W. Saxonwho have joined our firm asassistant accountants.KPM&Pea\ MarwickOne Mellon Bank C enterPittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219412-391-9710Accounting and A uditingTax Consulting and Com plianceManagement C onsultingServices

several tribal leaders and soon mademany converts. Patrick is said tohave founded more than 300churches and baptized more than120,000 people.Patrick brought clergymenfrom England and France for hisnew churches. He succeeded in his

mission in Ireland, even thoughmany British clergymen opposedhim and the way he organized hischurches. Patrick preached in Ire-land for the rest of his life. - *Many stories about Saint Pat-rick are based only on legend. Oneof the best known talcs tells how he

charmed the snakes of Ireland intothe sea!so they were drowned.According to another legend, Pat-rick used a three leaf shamrock toillustrate the idea of the Trinity.Many people believe the shamrockcame to be the traditional symbol ofIreland as a result of this legend.

COMMUNICATION TEXTSWANTED I Former Human Communica-tions students who want to sell orlease their Understanding HumanCommunication texts should drop anote with their name and phonenumber to Box 102. Second or thirdeditions are acceptable. riH $SCHOLARSHIPS ' AVAIL-ABLEApplications for the followingscholarships are available in theFinancial Aid office. The PresqueIsle Chapter of AmericanBusinesswomen's Association forwomen withfinancialneed. Dead-line for application: 3-31-89. TheJoseph G. Olszewski ScholarshipFund for residents of Erie county.Must possess good scholarship andcharacter and have financial need.Deadline for application: 5-15-89CHOIR AND STRING CON-C E R T !The Mercyhurst ChamberChoir and String Ensemble willpresent a joint concert on Sunday,March 19 at 2:30 p.m. in Christ theKing Chapel. The Chamber Choirwill be performing duets, trios, andchoruses by Handel, The TroisChansons' of Debussy, and TheMatra \ Pictures of Kodaly. TheString Ensemble will .present aString Quintet by Mozart, a StringTrio by Beethoven and a Vivaldiconcert Admission isfree,and allare welcome. I

IJCAMP ISTAFFSpend the summer inthe Catskill Mountains inNew York. Receive ameaningful and excitingsummer experiencewhile working in a resi-dential camp for per-sons with disabilities.Positions are availablefor Counselors, ProgramSpecialists, Nurses andCabin Leaders. All stu-dents majoring in alliedhealth fields are encour-aged to apply. Seasondates June 6 - August18.lGood salary, roomand board, and travelallowance. Call Kathy,(814) 226-3305. Or sendletter to CAMP JENED,P.O. Box 483, RockHill, NY 12775.EOE M/FI

SAC EVENTSi Fri. March 17, St.Patrick'sDayDance in Cafeteria, 9 p.m.Sun. March 19, H.B.O. Moviein the Union, 7 p.m.CAN COLLECTIONThe women's soccer team iscollecting aluminum cans in orderto buy new uniforms and defraytraveling costs. |If interested indonating, the team will even pick upthe cans at your home. Please con-tact Andy Roth at Ex L 240, or stopby the Admissions Office.BALLOONS ICampus Ministry is selling bal-loons forall occasions to raise fundsforcharity. There are two types ofballoons on sale, Latex for SO cents,Mylar for $2. The salewill continuethroughout he year; *

BULLE TIN BOARD .If you have ah announcementfor the Bulletin Board, submit it toBox 161, campus mail, or hand-deliver it to The Merciad office,81B, Baldwin Hall. Typewrittenmaterial is appreciated. Item s mu stbe received by noon on the Mon-day before publication. Any itemsafter that time will be given consid-eration only if space permits.RAPE PREVENTIONRape happens even amongfriends. A date rape preventionprogram will take place on Thurs-day, March 16,1989 at 7:30 p.m. inthe Baldwin Lobby.

SPAGHETTI DINNER jfAll-You-Can-Eat SpaghettiDinner to benefit Mercyhurst Foot-ball Sunday, March 19 from 2 p.m.to 6 p.m. in diecafeteria. Adults are$4 and students are$3. Students onthe meal plan get in with their mealcard. Children under 12 are free.RECRUITERS ON CAMPUSThe following recruiters Will beon campus to interview interestedstudents. Students interested ininterviewing with any of these re-cruiters should come to the CareerServices Office, Main 204 , to signup for an appointment3-16-89 Abraxas Foundationfor Counselors. Majors in Psych.,Sociology, Soc. Wk. Human Serv-ices, etc. j I y. ; 3*22:89 .Marriott Food V dBeverage - Division f for:.Wanage-ment Trainees (seniors) and Sum-mer Interns for CorporateInternship (juniors). I

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PAGE 4 The Merciad MARCH16,1989

( Satanic Verses controversy Kovski Kornerraises censorship dilemmaThe Ayatollah Khomeini's or-der of execution for author SalmanRushdie, is a direct threat to theUnited States freedom of sp eech.* If Khomeini can get away withbringingdown a death sentence onthis British author, whats to stophim from doing the same to anAmerican writer? | p |:\ Right now Khomeini has onlyfound something offensive withRush die's book, but little incidentsalways have a tendency to escalate.Hitler's plan to conquer one smallcountry to expand his empire soonincluded conquering all of Europe.Pretty soon Khomeini will findsomething wrong with anotherbook, then another, then another,then Stephen King's books w on'tmeet his standards of * 'proper lit-erature."Although Americans haven'tgone to such great lengths as theMoslem leader, many have re-stricted our freedom of expression.

Mary Snyder mentioned mat funda-mentalistChristians banned the filmThe Last Temptation of Christfrom movie theaters.Christians creating an uproarover the mov ie thought they had amoral obligation to remove suchgarbage from the screens. Baloney.If they don't like the movie theydon't have to watch it, but if otherswant to see it that is their right

When a person'sright oread is inhibited, it essen-tially is restricting thatperson*slight to think.Maybe the movie was in poortastebut as long as it isn' t endanger-ing anyon e's life, the producers arefree to present whatever views theywant 4. %Khomeini thinks he has a moral

lf#V - - - . * - Mler*ciad

Mercyhurst College's First-Class newspaperas rated by the Assoc iated C ollegiate Press

Vol. 62 No. 18 March 16,1989Christopher J. KovskiMichelle BushKaren SampsonMatthew J. ClarkKevin McHughPatty ConeglioLiz Richards

EditorEditorial Board

Alexa PotterPatSteckmanKerry RimdziusSteve RushMara Sweterlitsch

Sports EditorAssistant Sports Editor

Business ManagerPhoto Editor

Circulation ManagerPhotographer

CartoonistsJohn Kupetz Faculty Adviser

ReportersAmy Lynn AustinJill ChiccarinoMargaret Coffey IBill DarlingBrian DiPlacidoTina FieldingHolly FulmerBUlHogan

Maria KellyTheresa Kloecker\ Sara LinehanBrian MaidenJennifer MontaniAndy PenhollowRobi TaylorAndrea Tipton

The Merciad is the student-produced newspaper of MercyhurstCollege, Box 161,501 E. 38th St , Erie, PA 16546. Phone: 825-0376. Material for publication must be submitted bv noon on theMonday before publication.The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed,but the writer's name can be withheld by request

obligation to remove Rushdie fromtheface of the earth. His reaction toSatanic Verses is more extremethan those who opposed The LastTemptation of Christ, but there isactually little difference betweenthe two. %It is admirable that people canhold a belief so strongly, however,in a democracy people must havetheright o express their own opin-ions.I A similar situation involvingfreedom of speech concerns Ma-donna. Some Americans ?havebanned e her newj video j "Like aPrayer'' because they find it offen-sive.The video may be scandalousbut that isn't the issue. Freedomcarries with it the

Recent false alarms,Gannon acquisitionscall tax exempt statusinto questionft

&*&&&&

sponsibility tokeep the good along with the bad.By restricting some forms of the evilmedia, it sets up excellent works forrestriction also.Mostpeople consider pornogra-phy degrading and would like to seeit removed from bookshelves,movie theaters, etc. This is againadmirable,but it has often lead to thebanning of the classics.Americans who were zealousabout banning pornography, over-nightbecame soldiers marching toadifferent drum. They suddenlywanted Mark Twain's novel Huck-leberry Finn banned from book-shelves b ecause they didn't under-stand the useof its southern dialectOther censored literary .workswere the Grapes of W rath, 1984,Animal Farm, The Catcher andthe Rye, Sister Carrie, and NativeSun. WL M

By Christopher J. KovskiMerciad Editor !

In the past week or so, there weretwo false alarms in McAuley Hall.Last term, there was a false alarm inBaldwin Hall. : JEach time, Erie firefighters had tocome to the school and check on thealarm. Each time, Mercyhurst Col-^ ^ ^ lege was charged money.When Gannon University bought the old Carlisle's building, theErie newspaper had an editorial stating; that the school should startpaying money to the city, as this was a major building (and a majorpotential source of revenue) being taken off of the city's books . |gi So the nonprofit status of many institutions com es under questionagain. Who cares if the major goal of Gannon is to educate? They'rebuying buildings, so they should help with the city's revenueproblem.These same people would point to the recent alarms at Mercyhurstas a reason for the local colleges and universities giving money to thecity. If the school is going to use the city' s resources, such as the firedepartment, it shou ld pay a fair amount to the city.Residents of the City of E rie have to pay taxes based on the valueof their property. In light of recent acquisitions by Mercyhurst, such asthe apartments on the lower part of Briggs Avenue, it is obvious thatMercyhurst is getting a great deal of protection - - even more than theaverage person. Mercyhurst has more property, and should be kickingin more to the city. I \

People could point to therecentalarms at Mer-cyhurst as a reason for the local colleges anduniversities giving money to the city. If the schoolis going to use the city'sresources,such as the fireAmericans who were I department, it should pay a fair amount to the city.zealous about banningpo rnography, overnightbecame soldiers march-ing to a different drum.

Textbooks for schools weren'tinunune to censorshipeither. Texasschools banned books for teachingCharles Darwin's theories. Theyalso banned bodes for not teachingenough about religion.Even poetry w as censored whenWalt Whitman's verses werethought to have too many sexualconnotations. O ther poets like e. e.cummings and Allen Ginsberg alsofell victims to censorship..Khomeini's death sentence onRushdie, and the United States owncensorship policies, effect morethan Americans reedomof speechhowever. Like one bookstore man-ager said, it effects theright o read.Censorship's purpose is to keeppeople from reading, viewing orlistening to certain materials. Whena person's right to read is inhibited,it essentially is restricting his/herright to think.

I realize that Mercyhurst is an educational institution which isostensibly nonprofit. But in recent years, Mercyhurst's endowment hasincreased to over $5 m illion dollars.\ Add to this the amount of money that Mercyhurst is getting fromtuition,and the school is doing well - certainly well enough to contributeto the city.I realize that Mercyhurst provides cultural events for thecity, yet ifyou ask m ost people, I think they'd rather have some cash up frontSo what should Mercyhurst do? A proposal that would seem to makesense is for the Board of Trustees to look at the inancialsituation at theend of the year, and see how much can be given to help the city. Thiswouldn't even be giving until it hurts, just until the College can sleep alittle better. ;This amount could be determined by an analysis of the city servicesthat Mercyhurst uses.' Then the Board could make adonation to the City.Or an alternative could be whatHamot and Saint Vincent's did, andstill do . These hospitals give free medical care to needy members of thecommunity. ',Mercyhurst could give money to the poor, such as through any oneof a numbca- of charitable organizations . Or it could help out the UnitedWay of Brie County by giving an amount equitable to the amount ofservices the College receives.Through a number of ways, the College could compensate thecommunity for what it receives. These people pay for services, so whycan t the Colleg e, directly or indirectly? 1

ur Eky5?s p e e ? l l e s a n d concerts are nice, but they are not quite enough.With a financial contribution to the community, Mercyhurst couldimprove its unage in the community, as well as giv e a more Christianexample to the area.


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MARCH 16,1989 T he Mer c i ad PAGE 5

St. Patrick>R e m i n i s c e n c e s o f I r e l a n d : T h e n i g h t b e f o r e l e a v i n gBy Kevin McHughMerciad staff writer

As I sat at the bar, my fingersloosely clutching one of manyglasses of mind-numbing vodka,dispensed by a liberal hand J feltmyhead begin to spin. Turning around,I gazed through the puffs of smokeand psychedelic lighting at thedizzy, whirling crowd. ?As I watched a group of myfriends as they tried their best movesto the "Hippy hippy sh ake," I feltas if I was already apart from them.I wouldn't seeany of them again forat least a year and a half. Tomorrownightlwould leave Ireland andheadfor The States.jThe incomprehensible babblethat emerged from their flushedfaces fought to overcom e the throb-bing, enduring music ithat blaredrelentlessly in my ears. Hie sightsand sounds magnified my distorted,disoriented state? of mind andpushed it beyond endurance. Allofa sudden I wanted tocry. I had togetoutAmerica isr hug e.People earning huge

wages and shopping* inhugemalls. Hugebasket-balliandifootball playersplaying inhuge stadiums.Huge crime rates in hugecities.I walked cautiously down thelitter-scattered, pot-holed street thatled to the windy beach. I heard thecrashing waves and felt the fresh,

salty air as it pounded sense into mynumbed brain. I reached a familiarbench that overlooked the dark,mysterious sea in its never-endingbid to reach the land. Thesea ragedits eternal war against the glossy-black, jagged rocks as if frustrate dby its failure.Must I exchange this wild beachfor the wilderness of concrete?Must I leave this rugged land for thelandof rugged individualists? M ustI make my mother cry?I left the bench and walked overto the edge of the embankmentEdging slowly down the slope, myfeet suddenly sped ahead of me.Landing with a thud, I was glad ofthe alcohol I had drunk. Asllayonthe beach, slightly a stunned, Ireached to pick a moonlight shiningsea shell from the moistened sand.Caressing its smooth surface I re-membered the night I offered suchashell to Liath to see her beautifulsmile and receive an affectionatekiss. What could I do with a shell inthe land of malls? ^A shell is small and so is Ireland.America is huge. People earninghuge wages and shopping in hugemalls. H uge basketball and footballplayers playing in huge stadiums.Huge crime rates in huge cities.I brushed the sand fromclothesand set oil to rejoin the boys andhead for home. I found them asexpected propped up against theTake-Away window, laden, withgreasy french fries . We waited forJim to kiss one of his girlfriendsgood night and then began the two-mile walk home.The boys never really talkedmuch about my leaving for Americaexcept to give their commiserations

on having to drink **piss-waterbeer" and to warn me not to returnif I ever picked up an Americanaccent \I hugged myself at thethought of leaving thisone-horse town and *allthose wasted afternoons.What joy to exchange theprospect ofadole card forthat of a pay check and to

leave the dampness andstagnation for sunnyskies and friendly smiles.As we reached the outskirts ofthe town we sat up on a white-washed wall as Frank routinely bentover to vomit Connor, who nevergot sick, stood laughing in his face.When finished, Frank reclaimed hisfries and with a moronic grin stuffeda greedy handful into his mouth.Before long we had meanderedour way to the top of thelane that ledto my house. As I left them theyshook my hand, something theynever did before. They were drunk

and this was good bye. II sat on my bed with my head inmy hands and looked around myroom, empty except for the packedsuitcases. Please letme stay, I don'twant to go. -With the sun came a new dayand 5with sobriety came reality. Ihugged myself at the [thought ofleaving this one-horse town and allthose wasted afternoons. What joyto exchange the prospect of a dolecard for that of a pay check and to

At W it End By\Steve Rush

leave the dampness and stagnation|for sunny skies andfriendlysmiles.How could I ever need to convincemyself that I should go? Whywould I ever wish to cling to thisseptic isle, this sinking ship?When I was in Ireland I neverthought that Ireland could offermuch and looking back thatmay betrue. Jim is doing a oneyear certifi-cate in engineering ashedidn't havethe points to do a degree course.With so many people unemployedwho have degrees he will find itvirtually impossible to get a ob. I'msure he still has lots of girlfriendsand maybe he's happy that way.$ Frank, who was an A student,did what was customary for A stu-dents and picked a course that re-quires the best points. After a gen-eral secondary o r high school edu-cation that included math, physics,history, English, French and chem-istry, he decided to enter a four-yeardegree course in Aeronautical Engi-neering. He hates it but cannotchange courses as it would mean theloss of his grant $All grants for degree courses inIreland are means tested and toqualify,! the applicants' parents,usually the father, have to have anannual income of around $10,000and have around eight children.In the old days the Irish had largefamilies in order to run the farm.

Now they have large families so thatthey can qualify for state grants.Connor is trying to make somecash by setting up a puncture repairshop at his house. He isn 't makingany money.Before long we hadmeandered ourway to thetop of the lane that led tomy house. As I left themthey shook my hand,something they neverdidbefore. They were drunkand this was good bye.When I was in Ireland I freelyreferred to Ireland asa septic islebutnot now that I'm in America. NowI think of Ireland as a place offrie nds , good times, beautiful coun-tryside and great beer. I'm notsurethatJim, Frank and Connor have thesame impressions. 1 suppose it's acaseofyoudon't know whatyou' vegot until it's gone.

Editor's Note: Kevin McHugh isth e ; Assistant Sports Editor forThe Merciad.' He is presently afreshman, and is here through theIrish American Partnership pro-gram. I

MiMtmtt mmmJSkSOME DAYS HER OFFICEDOUBLES AS A CLOTHING B AN KThat's because Mercy Center inAsburyPark is for many the last stopon the poverty express. In serving thepoor of this resort town, Carol AnnHenry has to feed the hungry with onehand and summon the richly endowed

with the other. fShe arrived here after teaching for12years, including several in an inner-city school, and after rinding yet an-otherwayofexpressing her concern forthe poor. fIn a community of contrasts -wealth and poverty, education andignorance - she and two other sistersopened a Center for the hopeless, for

the mother out of food stamps, or heschool kids without a change ofclothes, for the old man without amattress. For those who had fallenthrough the safety netand hit rock bot-tom.With donated foo d, clothing andfurniture, and the generosity of grantmonies she helps secure, Carol Annmakes the vow of mercy her dailyprayer. 3For more information on a life ofMercy, contact Teresa Okonsld, RSM,Sisters of Mercy of Erie, Pa., 814-825 -0516.

The Sisters of MercySERVING IN EDUCATION. HEALTH CAKE. PAR/SH MINISTRf AND SOCIAL WElfARF.

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Tom Hanks shinesThe i Burbs sheds new lighton view of odd neighborsBy Robi TaylorMerciad staff writer

T h e ' Burbs is the kind of moviethat really defies description. Is itfunny? Yes , but it's not really thekind of moviemost people think ofas a comedy. ^Is it scary? Y es, in a funny sortof way some people might considerit scary. Actually, I guess itcould becalled Ia psycho-drama-comedy,with about equal doses of laughterandfright o make it fun to watch.Of course, there is just a touch ofsuspense to keep you on the edge ofyour seat I 3

The 'Burbs offerseverything that anyonecould want from a nightout with a date laughs,suspense and a reason topuddle in the back row.The neighborhood where themovietakes place is pretty much theway an average American comm u-nity lives the kind with an ex-military man living on the cornerand a little furry dog that lives up theblock who leaves gifts on everylawn but his own. And every neigh-borhood has to have a run-downhouse in the middle of the blockwhere people live but they are neverseen. Noone comes or goes, butyouknow that somebody lives there.v An old creepy looking housewith almost human occupants,

nosey semi-adult neighbors withproblems of their own, and somebones and strange power outageslead the men in the neighborhood ona kind of witch hunt that gets theminto some hilarious trouble. But it isthe kind of stuff that most of us areguilty of. IThat makes it easier to laugh at,because we are laughing gat our-selves. This m akes up pretty muchthe plot of The 'Burbs.Tom Hanks and Bruce Dern starin this movie as the ring leaders ofeverything that goes o n. Both starsshowed what they were made of,including doing their own stunts.After the success of Bigand Punch"line in 1988, Hanks showed that histalent is almost unlimited byplacinga third jewel in his crown with Th e' Burbs. It is not very often that onestar will put out three hit movies inone year, but it couldn * t happen toamore deserving actor.Bruce Dern plays his usual typeof charactera kind of ringe una-tic who is not quite nuts, but notquite sane either. H e added a kind ofcraziness that countered the normal-ity that Hanks tried to bring to thefilm. iJoe Dante directed The * Burbsthe nway; that all good comedyshould be done. Considering thathewas also making a suspensefilm atthe same time the result was, to saythe least, admirable. The story wasnot boring or too complicated andthe action was almost con stantHe took some major stars andmade them equal on the screen.Nobody upstaged anybody else,everybody worked hard to make a

S T Y L E S b y L I N D A KAMPPI1 0 0 8 E as t 3 8 th S t .825-2737 iWelcomes PAT ALDERTONformerly of Morningstar Creations

i

Pa t specializes in pivo t point andpunk cutsOpen Tuesday thro ug h Friday9 anie to 9 p.m*|Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

good movie...and it showed. Eventhe women in the movie, althoughthey showed an unnecessaryAfter the success ofBig and Punchline in1988, Tom Hanksshowed that his talent isalmost unlimited by plac-ing a third jewel in hiscrown with The 'Burb s.

amount of, cleavage, were notshoved into the background. Thecharacters they played were made tobe just asjjimportant as the maleleads. tAll in all The 'Burbs is a veryenjoyable movie to watch. It offerseverything that anyone could wantfrom a night out with a date laughs, suspense and a reason tocuddle in the back row. M ore thanthat though, you will neyer thinkabout that freaky old cat lady that nooneever sees who lives in the houseacross the street in the same wayagain. .I know that I see my neighbor ina whole new light After all whoknows where she is getting the meatthat she feeds all those wild cats.My Rating 89/100Some language, implied gore

Record Review

MARCH 16,1989r

The Merciad \e> having an Oscar contestEnter your guesses for the followingcategories, and you may*win alarepftwo-item pizzafrom5arbatosand two movie passes fromIthe Plaza Theater.

5est PictureBest ActorBest Actress IBest DirectorBest ScreenplayOnly one entry pe r person, please.Submit your on the entry format the bottom of this box by 3/24.

Best PictureBest ActorBest Actress Best'Director *-!Best ScreenplayYour Name:Phone Number:

Campus Address:Submit your guesses to The Merciad, Box 161

XTC makes the break to the U.Swhile Anmiction breaks its moldBy Bill Hogan JMerciad record reviewer

Hey, gang, how was your break? Mine wasfantastic; I'm ready for Spring. So this week we'11look at XTC and Animotion.XTC is one of the longest-playing Englishbands to comeoutof the new music era. Theirtruerock form is whathas carried them on as one of thebest bands in the U.K. Their songs have a lot tosay about life and the lyrics arefreshand brightTheir last LP,"Sk ylarking," won critical ac-claim, and the video of their hit single "NearGod " won best video of theyear. Now the bandis ready, after all this time, to break through inAmerica.You probably have already seen their firstvideo and hit single, "Mayor of S impleton," onMTV. Now FM radio everywhere will be playingXTC. %

This two album set is a greatproduction. Ithasa lotof popappeal,but it is not just a mindless popproject Listeners are affected by th e lyrics, andcan sort of visualize what they are saying.At times they will remind you of the Beatles,really. XTC is a band worth listening to, andbelieve me, they will be a household name. So g oout and buy Oranges and Lemons.Animotion, the dance-pop band of the early80's, is back with a different sound and twodifferent lead singers, Cynthia Rhodes and PaulErgemann.The group moves a littlebit away from the totaldance theme to a more general pop theme, butthealbum still moves.4 Send it Over' * and * * Room to Move'' are thefirst two high-paced tracks to listen for. Also lookfor "Best Mistake," which was produced byRhodes' husband, Richard Marx. fThis album is the best Animotion record yetTry it - you'll like it See ya next week.


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MARCH 16,1989 The Merciad PAGE 7

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Jordano brings young, talentedsquad to the diamond in 1989

J O E JORDANOMercyhurst Head BaseballCoach Joe Jordano will continue hissecond season at the helm when theLakers take to the diamond thisSpring. IJordano'syouthful troops, whocompleted the Fall portion of theschedule with an 11-8 record, openthe 1989 campaign with a nine-game road trip to Florida.The sophomore head coach hasinjected the Laker program withplenty of young talent Twenty ofthe players on the 23-man Mer-cyhurst roster - including i nine

transfers - have been with the 'Hurstfor less than two years. *fThe influx of talented players isnot a surprise to Jordano.I The way we have approachedbaseball *here att Mercyhurst in-creases the interest of good student-athletes,'' Jordano explains. "W ehave good J facilities, a solid pro-gram, a strong commitment: fromthe college." f 1 - SDespite the fact that 14 players,including five of the top seven hit-ters, from last year's 27-22 squadare gone, Jordano feels that Mer-cyhurst willbe solid in all aspects ofthe game. * Last year we thought pitchingwas going to be our weakest linkand actually our defense i was,"Jordano says. "This year, if we puteverythingtogether, we will beverycompetitive."However, if one area of theteam is lax, we'll have to make someimmediate adjustments because weare not simply going to be able toroll over opposing teams."I The pitching staff that was anearly question mark last year, re-

turns virtually intact Senior JohnRitzand sophomoresS teve HallandBill Jones accounted for IS Springvictories last year. iThe trio will be joined by fivenewcomers, including a pair ofimpressive transfers. Tim Kirstjoins the 'Hurst from St Bonaven-ture and Tom Morawski comes hereafter playing his freshman year atHilbert Junior College. ?Hall finished last Spring with a6-3 mark and a 3.14 ERA in 58innings and one save. Jones was 8-2 last year with a3.24ERA, strikingout 66 banjo's in 62 2/3 innings. Healso recorded one save.Offense is the largest unknownentering the season. Only two of thetop hitters return. However, astrong contingent [of newcomerswill have a major impactJunior outfielder Mark Wil-liams and junior infielder KeithParry will provide the veteranpunch. Williams batted .333 in 36games last year. ' *He had nine doubles and tied

see 'B aseba l l , ' ipg. 8

Cafeteria Menu .March 1 7 - MarchFit March 17Lunch ICalifornia TortaHungarian Casserole

Dinner*Breaded Turkey CutletsZiti & Meat SauceFrench Toast & SausageTues. March 21

Dinner;;Corned Beef & CabbageBatter Fried HaddockPolish Sausage SandwichLunchGrilled Cheese SandwichChili Fritos

Sat. March 1 8LunchHamburgersCook's Choice C asserole

DinnerGrilled Pork Chops 1Sweedish Meatballs1/4 pound HamburgersWed.sMarch 22

DinnerNew York Strip SteakBreaded Shrimp 'Stuffed Chicken BreastLunchBar-B-Q Pork SandwichBeef Noodle Casserole

Sun. March 19BrunchScrambled EggsSausage PattiesButtermilk Pancakes

DinnerSouthern Fried ChickenChopped Steak w/on ionsMonte Cristo SandwichThurs. March 23

Dinner IRoast Fresh HamBeef PorcupinesNacho Cheese Dogs

LunchMeatloaf SandwichMacaroni & Cheese

Mon. March20DinnerHam & Broccoli Rolls

Lunch %Sloppy Joe SandwichTamale Pie

Turkey Tetrazzini *Beef & Bean Bu rritos|all menus subject to change

Shortstop: 1Ruppel has 'no regrets' about season

By Matthew J. ClarkMerciad Sports EditorNo Regrets'' reads the sign onLuke Ruppel's office wall. Thewomen's head basketball coach sayshe has no regrets about his team's 21-8 record and appearance in the ECACchampionship game.In just three years, Ruppel hastransformed the Lady Lakers frompretenders to contenders. It's hard toimagine that just last year the Lakers finished a dismal 7-16.' Probably the highlight of the year was getting a bid to the ECACtournament,"Ruppel says. "On e of the goals I set when I came toMercyhurst was to get us into post-season play andwe* vedone it in threeyears."No regrets. |Although theLady Lakers area talented ball club, their inexperiencecoming into post-season play was notable. After all, this was the firstMercyhurst women's basketball team to win more than IS games, letalone play in a postseason championship tournamentThe Lakers wobbled by Kutztown 58-54 last Saturday before takingon host Keene St in the final on Sunday. JE|i J4 When we got into that championship game I told our kids to justgo out and let it fly," hesays. "KeeneState is the best team we'veplayedall year and weplayed nose-to-nose with them all day ."Lisa Maxson scored 28 points, Chris Kindlin had a good nightrebounding while Cheryl Tomczak and Nancy DiLallo burned up thenets from three-pointrange. Despite their great performance, the LadyLakers could not get past Keene St I I*According to Ruppel, Keene's depth enabled them to defeat theLady Lakers, 75-64. The Eagles scored the last six points of the gameat the foul line. ;2T Lii?tL

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i Keene's bench, more experienced than Mercyhurst's, features fourplayers who can come in and shoot as well as the starters. The nightbefore, the Lakers had to play their starters most of the game while KeeneSt. had a relatively easy time with their opponent and were able to playtheir bench a lot more.The Lakers played great defense both nights, particularly Saturdaynight, holding Kutztown 5 All-American Shari Szczuka to just eightpoints, nine below her season average. ."Kelly Sullivan and Ruth Henderson did a great job defending(Szczuka),hesays. "Hendersonplayedthebestgamerveeverseenherplay.Despiteplaying great basketball, the Lakers weren't able to win thechampionship - but to be one of ust36 teams remaining at season's endis quite an accomplishment J"I f someone would have come to me at the beginning of the seasonand told me I could have a 21-8 season and an ECAC bid, I would havetaken it and ran," Ruppel says smiling. I.No regrets. ;fThemost notable aspect of the 'Hurst's success is that itcomes froma relatively young team. There are no seniors on the team and two majorcontributors are Ruth Henderson and Cheryl Tomczak - a sophomoreand freshman respectively."Wehave some areas that we'll have to get deeperat," Ruppel says,and some things we need to improve on. i"We need to get another perimeter shooter in the program andanother big player and then the best available athlete after that We'dlike to bring in three players.After next season, Mercyhurst will be losingfiveplayers - Kindlin,Maxson, DiLallo, Sullivan and Peggy Hogue. Ruppel feels that it'sespecially important to make the right recruitment decisions now toavoid scrambling to fill the void after next season. '#1 But with everybody back,we'll have a realgood nucleus for nextyear," Ruppel says. Indeed, one can't help but be excited about theteam's prospects. If there are no major injuries to impact players likeMaxson and DiLallo, there's a very good chance of the women gettinganother post-season bid. | | \But fornow, Ruppel sayshe doesn'twant to think of next season ustyet He's going to take a week off and just reflect on the great seasonthat he and his players have put together, f |44 We were nationally ranked on offense and defense," hesays. "W ehad Maxson, DiLallo and Tomczak ranked nationally for individualperformance. It's just been a great year. 1 >4 You don't have season's like this all the time. That's why you'vereally got to enjoy them when you can.'' -MRuppel notes that this team didn 't get where it did by luck. Theyaccomplished what they did through hard work and determination.Despite the hard work, Ruppel knows it was all worth it."I t was fun," he reflects. "W e really had a ball this year."No regrets.

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PAGE 8 The Merciad MARCH 16,1989

title gameLakers fall to Keene, 75-64By Matthew J . ClarkMerciad Sports Editor

The Mercyhurst Lady Lakerscame just on e game short of anECAC championship, fallingpowerful Keene St, 75-64 SundThe blue and green completedtheir season at2 1 -8, making the firstpostseason appearance in the his-tory of women's basketball at the'Hu rst Lisa Maxson led all scorerswith 28? points while CherylTomczak added IS points on fivethree-pointers.The 22-9 Eagles broke open aclose game with an 18-8 spurt mid-way through the second half. Th eLakers used three-point shots to getback into the game, cutting themargin to five at 69-64 with 1:12remaining, but Keene scored the lastsix points to seal the victory.Keene and Mercyhurst, the no.1and no.2 teams in the nation inthree-point shooting respectively,both hit 7 of 21 three-pointers.Keene outrebounded Mercyhurst47-46. f>Laker head coach Luke Ruppelwas pleased with hi s team's per-formance despite the lossVJ IIPart one of a series:!

We played very well," hesaid. " Keen e is the best team we'v eplayed all year."On Saturday, the Lakers suppedpast Kutztown, S8-S4 to advance tothe championship J game. LisaMaxson led the Lakers with-23points, but as a team, they were icecold from the floor, converting just23 of 72 FG attempts. Nancy Di-Lallo was the only other Laker indouble figures with 10 points.Tomczak, suffering through a poorshooting night, had just six points.But three of hem came on a criticalthree-pointer with 2:08 left, givingMercyhurst a six-point lead, i Chris Kindlin led all rebounderswith 10, while Maxson added eigh tPrior to the tournament, the Lak-ers were afforded some honors.Headfnamed; MECC "Coach of -theYea r'' and Lisa Maxson was namedto the 1st team - All Conference.Nancy DiLallo was named \ 2ndteam - All Conference and DiLalloand Cheryl Tomczak both made the"all-rookie team."Look for a profile on the LadyLakers in next week's Merciad*

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&*fi?MLlSA MAXSON (45) hauls down another rebound in the Laker's win overGannon at the Campus Center. Maxson and the Lady Lakers celebratedmany irsts his year. They defeated Gannon twice in the same season, won20 or more games o r the irst ime and made their irstappearance in post-season play. Photo by K evin McHugh

differences between U.S., IrelandBy Kevin McHugh>Merciad Asst Sports EditorI So what do you think of Amer-ica? A question that no doubt all ofthe Irish students in Mercyhursthave been asked many times byAmericans. A pretty tough questionto which I often respond b y askingthem what they think of America.However one of the aspects I havenoticed most about America is itsalmost fanatical emphasis on s por tSo why is sport such a big deal inAmerica? $'Sport here is a big deal no doubtbecause there is so much moneyinvolved. Players have the incentiveof earning millions if they make itbig. Television stations have th eincentive of high viewing rates ifthey can televise the big sportingevents. Fans have the incentive of

watching top class sporting enter-tainment in relative comfort whenthey attend big sporting events. Allof these aspects of the sportingbusiness require big bucks.In Îreland the most popularsports don 't have those big bucks.The players in the All-IrelandGaelic Football Final, Ireland'sversion of the Superbowl, are notpaid. The gam e is televised but mostof the games leading up to the Finalare not The facilities for fans at theFinal, which is held every year inCroke Park in Dublin are quite goodbut in general the football fieldsaround the country have poor facili-tiesforboth fans and players. IGaelic football is played by twoteams of fifteen aside and may bydescribed as a cross betweenAmerican Football and soccer. Th eball is round and players are permit-

ted to knock opposing players offthe ball with their shoulders. Th egoal posts are H-shaped. If the ballis kicked under the cross bar andbetween the posts three points arescored and if the ball is kicked overthe cross bar and between the postsone point is scored.It is a game that requires greatskill as the only way to advance theball is either by simply kicking itforward or by toeing t he ball fromtoe to hands w hile running forward.Taking more than four steps with-out toeing the ball is a travelingviolation.Ireland is divided into 32 coun-ties and each county enters one teamin the All-Ireland Football Compe-tition. All the players ar e almostinvariably living and working in thecounty for which they play and havelived there all their lives.

" "One way to improve the stan-dard of football, to improve theconditions for both fans and playersand to reward the players for thetime and effort they put into thesport is to allow sponsorshipmoney to be used to pay players andimprove facilities.Sponsorship and a greater em-phasis on money however may setGaelic athletics in the direction thatathletics in America ha s taken inwhich winning at all costs is themain priority. The high degree ofprofessionalism in America has ledto the widespread use of steroidsand has created a tendency to pushchildren a t an early age into serioustraining. | Î shall deal with these contro-versial issues as well as givingfurther information about sportin Ireland in next week's issue.

Rough season endsfor Laker men,new head coachBy Kevin McHugh \Merciad Asst Sports Editor

The men's Laker Basketballteam ended its season with a 92-69defeat at the hands of the GannonKnights on March 4. ^ ' |The Lakers played well in thefirst half of the game but as withtheir last two confrontations withthe Knights they failed to execute inthe second half.The team's overall record forthe 1988-1989 season is 8-20 com-pared with last year's record of 11 -17. Their record in the MideastCollegiate Conference for this yearwas 2-11 which is also a drop fromlast f year' s record of 3-8.Patrick Odhiambo and Phalon Bassreturned to the Laker line-up for theteam's last three games after miss-ing, almost the entire season du e toacademic difficulties but failed toend the Laker's losing streak.The Lakers lost to Westminsteron Feb.22 (89-51), to Buffalo onFeb. 25 (61-50) and inally o Gan-non and so not having Bass andOdhiambo on the court may nolonger explain th e Laker's poorperformances this year.I Freshman, Dave Constantinoled the Laker's scoring against theKnights with 22 points, which in-cluded four three pointers and wasfollowed by Bass with 18 points.Eric Franos and Chris Mindach,top scorers for the Lakers, weresuccessfully shut outof the game byGannon both failing to make asingle field goal.44I wa s concentrating; on mydefense," said Mindach, "W eneeded three pointers so I neverlooked for the shots myself," saidMindach."They wouldn't let me get theball and I just couldn't get into theflow of the game,'' Franos said.

| Top scorer for the Lakers againstWestminster was Bass with d\while the top scorers in the Buffalogame were Odhiambo with 12 andBass with 10.

SCOREBOARD

Men Is pasketball (8-20)L-Westminstei|89-51L-Buffalo 61-50E-Gannon 92-69

Wom en's Basketball (21-8)I W-Kutztown 58-54|L-Keene 75-64

Baseball starts Spring season >,.7

Congratulations to Coach Ruppeland the Lady\Lakers on a great season!

for the team lead with five homeruns. Parry led the team initotalbases while finishing the seasonwith a .294 batting average. |tfie led the team "with threetriples while tying for the team highin doubles with ten.Among the most potent new-comers ar e Kurt Altman, ToddMcTighe and Jeff Crosta."Obviously ou r three juniorcollege additions and our other keytransfers are going to strengthen theteam, but three to five guys do notmake up the team," Jordano em-phasizes.44We have a 54 -game scheduleand it will take contributions fromthe entire squad for us to be success-

ful. We significantly upgraded ourschedule in an effort to obtain a postseason berth.4'We want each player to be-come the best player)that he canbecome while obtaining a qualityeducation, j*Other than that, ou r

internally, this will equate to victo- *tnes.

4This year, if we put eve-rything together, we willbe very competitive.*goals are simple. We want to im-prove upon last year's record (27-22). However, if we accomplish thegoals and objectives we have se t

An 11-7 Fall campaign enabledthe Lakers to take a step in the rightdirection. Last year the4 Hurst was4-5 during the Fall slate. J 14 "With 14 new players the Fallseason was crucial in allowing ouryounger players to receive playingtime,'' Jordano says. JWhat we were able to see thenimencouraging. We are headinginto the Spring season cautiously,- - Jo e Jo rd an o optimistically. We look forward to the challenge." 5I Coach Jordano and his squadwill make its 1989 Erie debut onApril 8 when the Lakers host Gan-non on the Laker Park at KantyVillage.

the merciad, march 16, 1989

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