the merciad, march 25, 2009

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Merciad photoeditor Scoot

Williams wonsecond placein thePennsylvaniaNewspaperPublishing

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Edition.Read more on

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Merciad

Vol.82, No.17/3.25.09/Free

Read more on Page 4

Four food service providers battle it out

for Mercyhurst’s contract.

WINNER!



NEWS March 25, 2009

MSG hosts‘Happy Hour’

When Mercyhurst Student Government hosts a Happy Hour they make sure

they have free food, “mocktails” and a visit from Mercyhurst College President Dr.

Gamble.

Happy Hour with MSG took place in the Herrmann Student Union Great Room on

Wednesday, March 18.

The hour-long event was a new take on the traditional student forum.

Students were able to mingle with Gamble and approach him with any questions or

concerns while enjoying Irish themed “mocktails” and free food.

The event allowed students to skip the usual steps it takes to talk to Gamble and go

right to the source.MSG public relations coordinator Mixa Jovanovic said students asked for this event.

“A lot of students would love to talk to the president but are intimidated to schedule

a meeting one-on-one, and he is a very busy man,” Jovanovic said.

Gamble hopes to make the Happy Hour an annual event and liked exchanging ideas

with students.

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to interact with students in this type of informal

setting,” he said. “[They] brought some good issues to my attention, and I think we

were able to make some progress on them.”

With over 50 students in attendance, MSG President Christina Coovert said it was a

success.

“This is the first event of this kind we have had,” Coovert said. “Since he has taught

classes before, interacting with students comes naturally to him; he is very honest and

genuine.”

Junior Julie Hranica agreed with Coovert and found Gamble very approachable and

easy to talk to.

“I was really happy with the event, because it was great to have a chance to meet

with Dr. Gamble and express my concerns,” Hranica said. “He seemed committed to

immediate resolution, which was refreshing.”

Junior Nadine Beres was also pleased with the event and said MSG needs to have

more like this.

“Because Dr. Gamble is so busy, this is a great way to talk to him and on a personallevel,” Beres said. “I’m glad MSG hosted this event.”

By Amanda Valauri

News editor

Controlled SubstanceWednesday, March 18

3939 Briggs Avenue

College discipline

Liquor Law Violations/Disorderly ConductTuesday, Feb. 24

4009 Briggs Avenue

College discipline/ Erie arrest

TheftTuesday, Feb. 24McAuley HallContinued investigation

Feb. 21 - March 18, 2009Mercyhurst

College

TheftThursday, March 5

TheftThursday, March 12

Intelligence Studies

Continued investigation

Egan Cafeteria

Closed

Mercyhurst College President Dr. Thomas Gamble enjoyed “mocktails” with MSG

President Christina Coovert and other students.

Tyler Stauffer photos



Dr. J. Pablo Chavajay, a devel-

opmental psychologist from

the University of New Hamp-

shire, spoke at Mercyhurst Col-

lege in Taylor Little Theatre on

Monday, March 23.

The presentation was titled,

“Cultural Arrangements of

Learning in a GuatemalanMayan Community.”

The goal of Chavajay’s

presentation was to discuss

his research on how par-

ents interact with their chil-

dren and how that in turn

influences children’s styles

of learning.

Chavajay is a native of Guate-

mala, and his research focused

on San Pedro La Laguna, a city in Guatemala.

His presentation focused on

life in San Pedro La Laguna

from 1940 to 2009. He used a

silent film to display what the

town and people looked like

during the 1940s and 1950s.

Chavajay pointed out that

during the 1940s, children

attended grades one through

three. However, in 2009,the children of San Pedro

La Laguna attend preschool

through grade 12.

He conducted studies to find

out how Mayan mothers and

fathers handled working with

children to solve a puzzle or a

problem. Chavajay focused on

how the parents’ educational

background affected how they

acted in this situation.Based on the results of his

study, Chavajay said, “School-

ing seems to have an impact

on traditional Mayan prac-

tices.”

Chavajay shared his

research on the differences in

grandmothers’ and mothers’

perspectives on generational

changes.

“It was very interesting andintriguing to learn about a dif-

ferent culture and how much

different it is from my own,”

freshman Samantha Colvin

said.

Chavajay’s presentation was

funded through the Diversity

Grant and was sponsored by

the Psychology Department.

Construction of Mercyhurst

College’s newest building is

on schedule to open in August

despite the bad winter, accord-ing to Assistant Vice President

of Student Life Laura Zirkle.

The $14 million project will

house over 300 freshmen. The

100,000 square foot building will

have a convenience store and a

fitness center. Each of the four

floors will have two wings of

dorms, a main common area

and several lounges and study rooms.

Zirkle compared walking into

the bedrooms to walking into a

hotel room. Just inside the door

of these two-person rooms is

an alcove with closets, shelves

for a mini-fridge and a door to

the private bathroom.

“I honestly think people are

going to be awed at the build-ing. It feels like a Mercyhurst

building. The architect made it

so it feels like it belongs here,”

Zirkle said. “Until you’re actu-

ally standing in there it’s hard

to imagine what kind of a place

it’s going to be.”

The new dorm rooms will

cost $300 more per term than

McCauley or Baldwin Halls,

but that didn’t seem to be adeterrent for many future stu-

dents at the March 13th Laker

Live-In.

“It would be worth it,

because they’re just so much

nicer. They’re brand new,”

incoming freshman Julie Stum-

baugh said.

Students will reserve a spot

in the new dorm on a first-

come, first-served basis.

The new dorm will allow for

more single rooms in Baldwin

and McCauley and open the

Mercy Suites for graduate hous-

ing or other uses.

The dorm will also decongest

upper-classmen housing, allow-

ing for three-person housing inmost Briggs and Lewis apart-

ments, according to Assistant

Director of Residence Life and

Student Conduct Dara Zirkle.

Freshman students request-

ing quads will most likely live in

Duvall Apartments.

“It’s good for the freshmen,

but it sucks for us. I don’t like

the idea of having to pay more

for triples,” freshman Scot Bly said.

Sophomore Brittany Wzontek

likes the idea of triples and is

excited for next year’s freshmen.

“It’s cool that they have their

own bathrooms. I wish we would

have had that,” Wzontek said.

Architect Shelane Buehler is

in the process of applying for

Leadership in Energy & Envi-

ronmental Design (LEED) cer-

tification of the new building,

the accepted standard for green

building design, construction

and operation.

“The building will have many

characteristics of a green build-

ing, from appliances and light-

ing to the use of environmen-tally friendly materials in the

interior,” Green Team Faculty

Chair Dr. Chris Magoc said. “We

will continue to aspire to even

greener buildings on campus,

but the efforts of Ken Stepher-

son and the builder to get this

building LEED-certified are

commendable and noteworthy.”

“Hopefully, it really will be

a huge draw for students. It so well represents Mercyhurst that

students who are excited bout

this building are going to excited

about the campus,” Laura Zirkle

said.

Residence Life hopes to have

several rooms open for tours

before the end of summer.

Watch coming issues of The

Merciad for photos of the new

building’s interior.

NEWS March 25, 2009

New freshman dorm on schedule for next yearBy JoEllen Marsh

Managing editor

Guatemalan psychologist visits ’Hurst

The new freshman dorm, planned for next year, is on schedule

and will be open in time to house incoming freshman this fall.

It will also house a convenience store and workout center.

Tyler Stauffer photo

By Kelly LuomaStaff writer

Vote Wednesday, March 25, and

Thursday, March 26, at the Her-

rmann Student Union from

10 a.m. - 6 p.m. or at

msg.mercyhurst.edu.

Vice President Candidates:

Santina Sgro and Michael Zinn

Treasurer Candidate:

Adam Kostik

Secretary Candidate:

Katlin Hess

Presidential Candidates:

Devin Ruic and Dinorah Sanchez

MSG Executive

Board Elections:



NEWS March 25, 2009

Scoot Williams photo

Every year, numerous student

photographers send their work

into the Pennsylvania Newspa-

per Publishing Association, Col-

legiate Edition, hoping to win an

award and receive recognition

for their shots.

Mercyhurst College juniorScoot Williams won second

place in this competition for his

photograph, “Diving Back In.”

The picture was of a soccer

goalie diving to make a save, and

Williams noted he did indeed

block the shot.

Williams said he heard about

the competition through a let-

ter from the Newspaper Asso-

ciation, asking if he would like to

submit anything. “I figured I had

a pretty good chance of placing,

but shooting sports is tough. It’s

not easy,” and he was pretty sure

his shots were a cut above the

rest.

Williams called his shot a

“good blessing…you get lucky

once in awhile. A little bit of skill

and luck came into play, and I

came out with a good photo.”

He gets to travel to Hershey,

Pa., on April 8, and attend the

Hershey Lodge America East

Conference to receive his award.

Williams stays modest though,

constantly referring to his shot

as “mostly luck and a little bit

of skill.”

By Alaina RydzewskiStaff writer

’Hurst student takes second place

Mercyhurst College junior Scoot Williams placed second for his photo “Diving Back In.”

Table for one?

Nine food service companies originally expressed

interest in Mercyhurst College’s food service contract.

Only four have made it to the food fight.

AVI Fresh, Chartwells, Parkhurst and Sodexo are thefinal four contenders for the college’s food service con-

tract, which expires next year. Mercyhurst’s Food Com-

mittee said it hopes to reach a final decision next week.

On March 16, the four finalists came to campus to

each give a presentation to the committee.

“It was an exquisitely thorough process,” Vice Presi-

dent of Student Life Dr. Gerard Tobin said.

The Food Committee is comprised of Assistant

Director of Residence Life and Student Conduct Joe

Howard, Tobin, Director of Administration Tom Bill-

ingsley, Vice President of Finance Jane Kelsey, StudentSenator Trey Zeluff and President of Mercyhurst Stu-

dent Government Christina Coovert, all represent-

ing the Erie campus. Mercyhurst North East Student

Government representative Brittany Fuller and Direc-

tor of Administration Jim Lanahan represented the

North East campus.

Howard said Mercyhurst’s dining services will

undergo many changes regardless of which company

wins the contract.

“We really tried to focus on ways of providing more

flexibility and variety to students,” Howard said. “We

tried to really pay attention to the concerns of the stu-

dents.”

Through the help of Porter Chow Consulting firm

and MSG, students expressed their dissatisfaction

with the college’s current dining services, Tobin said.

Students mainly showed frustration with food quality,

but dining hours and the value of board equivalency

were other concerns. It was decided the school wouldrequest bids and programs from different food service

providers as well as Sodexo, the college’s current pro-

vider.

“We evaluated them on many different criteria,”

Tobin said. “We considered much more than just the

food.”

Before seeking proposals from providers, the com-

mittee set extensive requirements.

“We specified everything down to the number

of veggies in the salad bar, the variety of vegetarian

soup options, the number of proteins offered in eachcourse, the types of cold cereals offered and so much

more,” Howard said.

While quality of food was one of the main priorities

of the Food Committee, Howard said they took an

eco-friendly approach to the decision-making process.

“Along with the food and service quality of the

providers, we also evaluated the companies on their

sustainability,” Howard said. “We looked into their

environmental consciousness as well as things like use

of local farmers.”

By Casey Greene

Editor-in-Chief

Regardless of which company gets the food service

contract with Mercyhurst College, changes are planned

for the next academic year. One of the most significant

will be Egan Hall Cafeteria’s expanded hours.

“We are moving from an all-you-care-to-eat model to

an any-time-dining model,” Tobin said.

Egan will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. or similar

times, according to Coovert. “It will be much more ac-

cessible to students,” she said.

Tobin said he hopes the hours create a more com-

munal atmosphere. “We want it to be more like home,”

he said. “At home your kitchen doesn’t close at noon

and re-open at 4:30.”

Hours at Egan aren’t the only changes. Board equiva-

lency values will also undergo major alterations.

The Laker Grill will no longer accept board and in-

stead will be “a retail-only dining area,” Tobin said. This

means students will have to pay with campus credit

such as dining dollars.

A to-go option will be provided at Egan. The amount

will be limited, but carry-out boxes will be provided for

students on the go. The grab-and-go concept will reach

beyond Egan to the new dormitory building and the

Bookstore.

While the Food Committee has not decided which of

the four food service providers the school will be work-

ing with next year, Tobin said both changes are on their

way regardless.

“Big changes are coming to the dining services on

campus one way or another,” Tobin said.

Big changesfor dining services



NEWS March 25, 2009

Students looking for aunique way to enjoy the spring

weather and get some exerciseshould join the EquestrianClub at Mercyhurst College.

The Equestrian Club is forstudents who love horses, ac-

cording to freshman Megan White. White is the president of the

Equestrian Club and the cap-

tain of the Equestrian Team. White, who has been riding

horses for ten years, said, “I

have the most showing experi-

ence with horses.”

Members of the club par-take in activities such as going on trail rides, organizing sleigh

rides and volunteering at atherapeutic riding center.

This is the fourth year of

the Equestrian Team at Mer-cyhurst. The team consists of three members.

The team competes in the

Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. “We compete

against really big teams,” adviser of the club, Dr. Mary Ann Owoc said.

According to White, theteam does a lot of travel-ing for the competitions. She

enjoys howriding allows her

to get away from the collegecampus.

The team practices at Bren-

ric Stables in McKean, Pa.Owoc explained why she en-

joys horseback riding.

“It’s just really fun, really relaxing and excellent exer-cise,” Owoc said. “It’s like do-

ing yoga with a 1500 pound

partner.”Students who have an in-

terest in horses should check out the Mercyhurst EquestrianClub/Team group on Face-

book or contact Dr. Mary AnnOwoc for more information [email protected].

By Kelly LuomaStaff writer

Members ride, exercise in Equestrian Club

Green energy fundaccepts proposalsBy JoEllen Marsh

Managing Editor

Wondering what happens tothe $5 every Mercyhurst Collegestudent pays to the Green En-

ergy Fund each term? The purpose of the Green

Energy Fund is to increase the

college’s investment in renewableenergy technologies according toMercyhurst’s sustainability stud-

ies Web site.Since the Fund’s creation in

2005, it paid for increased use

of wind energy and three so-lar-powered blue light systems

and budgeted money to build agreen roof on the ceramics laband install water-efficient show-erheads.

“This is something you cando in four years or a year andsee results rather than having to

go through layers of red tape,”senior Zach Pekor, who submit-ted a few proposals, said. “It’s a

good venue for sustainability.” The Green Energy Fund Re-

view Board is currently accept-ing proposals for new uses of

the Fund. All Mercyhurst students can

submit proposals for investing

in green energy, as long as they have a project supervisor.

Proposals are evaluated basedon innovation, feasibility, extentof impact and appropriatenessof budget and schedule and are

expected to cost between $1,000and $25,000.

“Progressive student partici-

pation is the key to the program’ssuccess. Who knows who willcome up with a coherent and

practical idea for how to make

the world— or at least our littlesliver of it— a ‘better’ place,”

Green Energy Review Boardmember James Snyder said.

Similar programs at other

colleges fund programs like en-ergy-efficient lighting, recycling initiatives and alternative energy

generation.Proposal forms and more in-

formation can be found at sus-

tainability.mercyhurst.edu.

’Hurst TV PresentsErie Dance Consortium’s 5th biannual

ERIE FESTIVAL OF DANCEChannel 19

Wed., March 25, 8 and 10p.m. Thurs., March 26, 11a.m., 1 and 5 p.m.

Fri., March 27, 3, 7 and 11p.m.

The Equestrian Club enjoys riding horses even in the snowy

weather.

Contributed photo

Now that spring is here, Mer-cyhurst College students can

look forward to warm weather,the end of the school year andSpringfest.

This year’s annual Springfest will be a weekend long event,according to Student Activi-

ties Council (SAC) Chair Vicky Fleisner. It will take place onFriday, May 8, and Saturday,

May 9. The theme of the event is

Tropical Thunder.

The band, Third Eye Blind,

will perform on Friday night in

the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. Third Eye Blind has recordedthree bestselling albums.

Free tickets for the concert will become available to stu-dents one to two weeks prior to

Springfest. The tickets will be distributed

to 1500 students on a first-comefirst-serve basis.

Saturday’s outdoor events willinclude inflatables, a slip n’ slide,

cornhole, horseshoes, volleyballand a barbecue.

“More details about what

kind of inflatables and food willcome,” Fleisner said.

The activities are not final-

ized yet, because SAC and Mer-

cyhurst Student Government(MSG) are still working on thebudget and expenses for the

events.“SAC and MSG are really

excited, because we have been

getting excellent feedback aboutthe band selection,” Fleisner

said.“We are excited it’s going

to be a weekend event,” MSGEvents Coordinator Jax Brown

said. “Students will be able toenjoy the entire weekend.”

Finalized plans for this year’s

Tropical Thunder Spring-fest will be published in alater issue.

By Kelly Luoma

Staff writer

Springfest in the making



FEATURES March 25, 2009

Lunch $ 5

Dinner $ 5.50 11:30 a.m. -8 p.m.

Lunch $ 5

Dinner $ 5.50

Broccoli & Cheddar Bites

6” Sub $4 Combo $5

12” Sub $5.75 Combo $6.75

Make any sub a wrap for

no extra charge!

Wrap Combo- Veggie $5

Other Wraps $4

M

T

W

TH

F

S

Ceasar Salad

Steel City Sandwich-

Chicken Quesadilla

General Tso’s

Portabella & Red

BBQ Bacon Cheese-

M

T

W

TH

F

S

2 Slices of Pizza

Home Style Potato

Sizzle Salad

Piero

Buffalo Popcorn Chicken

Chicken Bacon Swiss

S Meat Ravioloi

Lunch $ 5

Dinner $ 5.50

Laker hockey fans show their enthusiasm

The Lakers won the CHA

Championship to advance to the NCAA

quarterfinals, hosted by Mercyhurst

College a mere week and a half ago.

The astonishing win against St.Lawrence University marked college

history as the first time the Lakers would

advance to the Frozen Four.

For the game, groups of Mercyhurst

fans took a trip to Boston to watch the

Women’s hockey team play in the NCAA

Frozen Four tournament.

Some drove eight hours and stuffed

seven people into a double occupancy

hotel room, while others opted to take

the bus provided by Mercyhurst College’s

Athletics Department and Laker Spirit

Club.

The Lakers entered Agganis Arena at

Boston University in the ’Hurst’s entire

blue and green splendor and waved their

flag high – they had nothing to lose.

On Friday, March 20, the Lakers took on Minnesota in a semi-final match.

’Hurst fans got lucky and found seats

behind the Lakers’ bench, giving them

the opportunity to scream and shout and

bang on the glass, showing the girls their

support.

They also had a band.

With students, parents, friends and

faculty members showing their support,

the team fought to defeat Minnesota 5-

4.

For the first time in NCAA history,

the Mercyhurst Lakers became the first

No. 3 seed to advance to the National

Championship, set to play top-seed

Wisconsin.

“We respect the fans for coming out

to every game – that’s dedication. Idon’t know what we would do without

the support and enthusiasm from the

crowd,” Johanna Malmstrom, a junior

on the team, said about the Mercyhurst

crowd.

“The fans are a huge part of the team’s

success – most people don’t realize how

much their spirit really motivates us to

play well and win.”

With an unfortunate loss to the

Badgers, the Lakers accepted the loss

and began the long journey back to

Erie.

But the fact that the hockey team

worked so hard all year was enough

to acknowledge that making it this far

was such a huge feat, and there is no

disappointment in that.Being there was amazing, one fan

said.

The Laker fans waved to the referees

and had their prime seats taken over by

Wisconsin fans.

They were told time and time again

to sit down and shut up by angry fans

who couldn’t stand to be out-spirited by

college kids.

By Alexandra Miniri

Staff writer

The blue and green take over Aggranis Arena at B.U.




Do you have a passion for living the

Gospel by helping people in another culture?

Win a free mission trip to

If you are between 18 and 35 years old, Maryknoll

Fathers and Brothers invite you to enter a contestfor your chance to experience a taste of

overseas mission with us!

Just send us a short video that shows you engaged in community service

and you could be the winner of Explore My Mission in Brazil!

Learn more details at

www.exploremymission.org

On Friday, March 21, students

from Mercyhurst College’s

Campus Ministry set up their

cardboard boxes outside of

Zurn Hall and prepared for a

cold night.

This was part of an awareness

campaign called ‘CardboardCity ’ which was geared towards

raising awareness of the

homeless and poverty stricken

people of the world.

Chair of the event, sophomore

Joe Weidenboerner, started this

campaign, because he wanted

to draw attention to the cause

by living the experience and

hardship homeless people go

through first hand.He said he felt by doing

this, it would open the eyes of

Mercyhurst College Students

to the world of poverty.

Weidenboerner said, “It’s a very

sobering experience. Now that

the sun is setting it’s getting

colder and we are struggling to

keep a fire lit.”

Many professors stopped to

look at the site they had set up

and commented on how realistic

the site was.

Freshman Erin Luerstuik also

participated in the event.

“It’s amazing how hard it is

to live like this and how much

the homeless community goes

through on a daily basis,” she

said.

She said the main lesson she

learned was to have respect for

the homeless community.Luerstuik also said that not

many students asked questions;

most just looked curious as they

passed by and only a few asked

what they were doing.

Senior Claire Rowella observed

the demonstration and thought

it was a clever way to present the

issue of homelessness.

“I thought that actually having

the boxes was a creative way of showing how the homeless live,

because you really think about

how they survive the nights in

just a box,” Rowella said.

“It was a good way of getting

people to be aware of the

homeless people and what they

have to endure.”

Junior Kerry Skiver had

a different take on the

demonstration and did not find

it effective.

“Being from San Diego, there

are tons of homeless people.

I think the only way to realize

how they live is to see it for

yourself,” Skiver said.

“It is not very effective to just

have people pretending for the

day. People need to do things

like hand out food or serve at a

soup kitchen. I’ve helped out

homeless people many times.” The demonstrators spent 26

hours living in their cardboard

boxes and there were at least

four participants present at all

times.

In conjunction with Campus

Ministry, Amnesty International

and Human Services also helped

in planning the campaign.

The proceeds will be donated

to Invisible Children, whichaddresses the plight of child

soldiers in northern Uganda.

Weidenboerner is in theprocess of bringing a chapter of

Invisible Children to Mercyhurst

College within the next year.

By Jenna GoldenContributing writer

Cardboard city built inside Mercyhurst campus

Cardboard City was organized by sophomore Joe Weiden-

boerner with the help of Campus Ministry, Amnesty Interna-

tionaland and Human Services.

Jenna Golden photo

Students set up boxes to spend the night in despite the cold

to raise awareness of the homeless and poverty stricken.

Jenna Golden photo




Forming future ‘Amerileaders’ with AmeriCorps

Service Learning is a big

aspect of Mercyhurst College

and its mission.

One of the service programs

offered at Mercyhurst is

AmeriCorps.

This program offers a $1,200

scholarship opportunity in

exchange for 300 or 450 hours

of community service within

one calendar year.

Junior education majors Julie

Hranica and Nadine Beres are

two of Mercyhurst´s students

who started service through

the AmeriCorps EducationScholars program.

They are exceptional

models of campus leaders

involved in higher academics,

extracurricular activities and an

incredible amount of service.

Hranica and Beres work at

St. Luke School, down the road

from the Mercyhurst campus.

They often spend more time

than what they are paid for in

order to help out children and

teachers.

They’ve also had the

opportunities to take their

service across international

borders.

“My freshman year I went

on the Border Awareness Trip

to New Mexico and Mexico,”

Beres said.

“I learned a ton about

different issues going on along

the border. The trip definitely

opened my eyes to different

things going on down there.”Other service centers they

have volunteered at include the

Martin Luther King Center,

John F. Kennedy Center and

Neighborhood Art House in

Erie.

“We have also participated

in Alternative Break Trips,”

Hranica said.

“We both went to New

Orleans last year to help with

the hurricane relief and we also

went to Camden, N.J. for the

Urban Challenge as well,” she

added.

The girls said they enjoy

service, because they love

bringing joy to others.

Besides AmeriCorps, the girls

are involved in various other

on-campus clubs including the

Honors program, Ambassadors

Club, Kappa Delta Pi and

Circle K.

They are also ESO Co-Chairs

for the Council for ExceptionalChildren.

This year, applications for

the AmeriCorps program will

be accepted through May 8,

2009.

This program offers a great

opportunity for students

needing financial aid as well

as for those who want to get

involved with service.

Another benefit AmeriCorpsoffers is that students are able

to count off-campus work-

study as part of their service in

this program.

“Mercyhurst College offers

several off-campus work study

positions,” Service Learning

Director Sister Michele

Schroeck said.

“There’s work at nearby

schools, senior centers andother non-profits for students

who are interested in gaining

valuable work experience in the

filed.”

Students interested in service

learning should contact Sister

Michele Schroeck at extension

2471, or Amelia Diaz in the

Service Learning office.

By Alexandra Miniri

Staff writer

Two model students show model behavior for service

Julie Hranica works hard and plays hard while on her service

learning trips.

Contributed photo

Beres and other students participated in a highway cleanup.

Contributed photo

Juniors Nadine Beres and Julie Hranica pose alongside Mercy-

hurst’s Service Learning Director Sister Michele Schroek.

Contributed photo




Mercyhurst College’s newest

addition to the list of clubs andextracurricular activities offered

is the Fencing Club.Freshman Carolyn Carlins,

the club’s creator, said shecame up with the idea, because

she has never been a “go to thegym person.”

“I wanted to do something

more hard core than yoga sothat I could stay in shape,”Carlins said.

The club will be mostly

recreational; a way for friends

to stay in shape while having

fun together.“It’s sort of like Facebook

Super Poke, except with foils,”

Carlins said. As of now, the club has no

competitive intentions, but

Carlins said the Allegheny College’s fencing team hasoffered to help anyone who

wishes to become competitive. The club’s mascot is the

narwhal, a large whale with a

long pointy tooth, and the club was inspired by Inigo Montoya,Zorro and Enchanted’s Prince

Edward.Carlins said she has received

multiple e-mails of interest from

friends and acquaintances.

She said she hopes the club will go far and that participants will be able to “take a stab at

something new.” The club meets once a week

and will have their first official

meeting on Friday, March 27,from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in theexercise room of the MAC.

Members include VicePresident Emily Carlins, Treasurer Emily Alden,

Publicity Manager AnnaKateCornelius and Secretary LizEidner.

Interested students cancontact Carolyn Carlins at

[email protected].

By Alaina RydzewskiStaff writer

A stab at something new

Tom Hubert is not afraid to

get his hands dirty with clay.Hubert is an accomplished

ceramic artist and Associate

Professor of Art at MercyhurstCollege.

From April 5 through May

18, Hubert will feature a polka-dot porcelain teapot piece in the A. Houberbocken 20th Annual

Teapot Show in Chicago’sChiaroscuro Galleries.

To produce a wide range of

decorative effects, Hubert’steapot underwent multipleglazes and firings at different

temperature ranges.“My functional porcelain

pieces are wheel thrown withattention to details regarding utility,” Hubert said.

“The teapot forms examine

the subtle variations of thecombined parts of lid, spout,handle and body.”

Junior art education majorBetsy Morningstar said of

Hubert, “His work is definitely

very unique and incredibly meticulous.”

“There are hours of work

with layering of colors that gointo what he does.”

Colorful and contemporary,

Hubert’s teapot is one of many pieces he has entered into various galleries.

“This is the first time I have

entered this particular show, butI am entering pieces in shows all

of the time,” Hubert said.His professional awards

include a 2007 Jurors Award

and a 2008 Purchase Award inthe Annual Spring Shows at theErie Art Museum, an October

2008 Honorable Mention at the34th Annual Meadville Councilof the Arts and many others.

Hubert’s talent is a reflectionof his extensive education.

In 1977, Hubert received

his Bachelor of Arts in ArtEducation from Mercyhurstand has taught at the ‘Hurst

since 1980.“I like him a lot as a teacher.

He is always super calm and

relaxed,” Morningstar said.

“I think that must come fromall the throwing he does on thepotter’s wheel. It’s a very tranquil

thing.”Despite teaching Ceramics,

3-D Design, Sculpture, Wheel

Thrown Ceramics and CeramicSculpture at Mercyhurst, Hubertis still able to find time to sculpt

by participating in a research

contract.“The research contract

allowed me to have a reducedcourse load and thus more timeto focus on developing new

work,” Hubert said.Such work has been

photographed and published in

articles and books such as the2009 publication of “Working with Clay” by Susan Peterson.

He has also had soloexhibitions featuring his own work.

“I feel it would be hard to getinto those kinds of things [artshows] now with the economy

so bad, art is a luxury not many people are paying attention toright now,” Morningstar said.

By Liz MaierStaff writer

Professor ‘throws’ teapot into Chicago show

F e a t u r e w r i t e r s

n e e d e d !

Paid positions available

for talented writers

For more info.

contact the features

editor at

[email protected]

Mercyhurst’s art professor Tom Hubert won a spot in the A.

Houberbocken 20th Annual Teapot Show in Chicago’s Chiar-

oscuro Galleries.

Contributed photo



ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT March 25, 2009

Students star in ‘Sweet Charity’ musical

This past weekend the Mer-

cyhurst College Student-Run

Musical presented “Sweet Char-

ity,” which was met with gener-

ally good reviews from viewers

each night. Those involved in

the musical enjoyed themselves,

and the audience came away

entertained.

Many of the cast members

felt the shows went well.

“I was so pleased with how

the show turned out. We worked

hard and it showed the three

nights we performed,” fresh-

man Ernest Seldon, a member

of the chorus for “Sweet Char-

ity,” said.

Fellow chorus member fresh-man Christina Mihalic agreed,

saying, “I honestly have to say

that I think the show ran really

well. Even though the practices

were tough, especially since we

all have busy schedules, every-

one still put in a lot of effort. I

wasn’t in the audience, but even

from on stage I could tell that

our hard work paid off.”

Graduate student JessicaProvenzano, who appeared as

Nickie in the performance, has

been involved with the Student-

Run Musical since its inception.

“As a member of the original

production staff that started the

student produced musical six

years ago, I am so happy to see

how the shows just keep get-

ting better every year. When we

started we had no money, wehad limited rehearsal space and

our performances were held at

Mercyhurst Prep. I am so thrilled

that the program actually turned

into something and hopefully it

will continue to flourish in the

future,” Provenzano said.

Senior Kara Stadelman, who

acted as the show’s producer,

was also pleased with the per-

formance.

“My favorite performance

to watch was Saturday night,

because the audience responded

well to the funny lines and the

great talent. I’m very relieved

we had a good turnout and that

the general consensus was that

everyone did a wonderful job

with the production,” Stadel-

man said.

Many of the surveyed audi-

ence members enjoyed the

production and felt that it was

well done, though not always without reservations. More than

one viewer noted that the per-

formances ran rather long, and

others felt that the story was

hard to follow. One viewer also

thought the costuming in some

numbers was “chaotic” and the

musical overall was a bit “fren-

zied.”

“I felt that the musical was

great – the scenery was beauti-

fully constructed, the characters

were vibrant and engaging, and

the overall story was good. The

only setback to the musical, I

felt, was that the story seemed

to jump around a bit, making

the gauge of time elapsed dif-

ficult for the audience,” one

student viewer said.

Another said, “It was difficultto gauge the time period of the

musical – some of the props

and costumes felt old and some

felt current. That aside, the cos-

tumes and props were still g reat,

the scenery was excellent and

the actors and musicians were

wonderful.”

“Out of al l the annual musi-

cals I have seen at Mercyhurst,

this was not the best productionI have seen. Yes, the perform-

ers were good, but something

was lacking; a certain energy or

something wasn’t there. I did

enjoy the dancing and choreogra-

phy, and the performers were all

very good. There was definitely

room for more laughs on the

part of the audience members,

who did not seem that support-

ive or excited,” one Friday nightaudience member said.

Overall, the consensus from

cast and audience seemed to

be that ‘Sweet Charity’ was

another success for the Stu-

dent-Run Musical. Although the

show was described as unusual

and even “weird” and “confus-

ing” by several viewers, the cast

performed well and presented

another great show this year.

By Sarah MastrocolaStaff writer

Freshman Katie Wagner dances atop Vittorio Vidal’s

(freshman Andrew Kopcienski) bed as Charity Hope Valentine

in one of the opening scenes in ‘Sweet Charity.’ Wagner’s

character was buoyant and exuberant throughout the show.


Nickie (grad student Jessica Provenzano) and Helene (senior

Jessica Rudisill) lead a chorus of dance hall hostesses

through the provocative number “Hey Big Spender.”


The reviewsare in:

What students

liked and

didn’t like about

‘Sweet Charity’

last weekend

Sarah Hlusko:

“‘Sweet Charity’ was a fun

show, albeit sensual and

overly dramatic. It was

fun, flirty and very much a

‘Sex and the City’ musical

rendition without Dior. I

adored the dry, promiscu-

ous humor and aloof nature

of Charity. However, I was

confused with some of thescenes. The ‘Big Spender’

scene was fun, yet seemed

too chaotic.”

Christine Wilbur:

“The acting, singing, and

dancing was very good for

the most part. Even though

it was the first show, from

an audience’s perspec-

tive it seemed to go rather

smoothly. [However,] the

fairy on the scooter at the

very end perplexed me to

no end.”

Elizabeth

Clain-Stefanelli:

“The first Act was a little

slow at times, but that is

the story and script, can’t

help that. I thought Char-

ity did a good job, espe-

cially being a freshman and

having to hold the whole

show together. ‘Rhythm

of Life’ was definitely my

favorite piece. [Junior] Gar-

rett [Evans] did a fabulous

job and it really woke up the

show.”



ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT March 25, 2009

Rockers Third Eye Blind to play at Springfest

There aren’t many bands I would travel long distances to

see. Two summers ago, I made

a seven-hour, one-day trip

to Columbus and back withfriends from my hometown tosee one of my favorite bands.

So it comes as no surprisethat I am looking forward tohearing Third Eye Blind per-

form this year at Springfest,held May 8 and 9. The band will perform the night of

Friday, May 8.Most people will probably

recognize the San Fran-

cisco-based band for their

mainstream mid-’90s anthems,including “Semi-Charmed

Life,” “Jumper,” “How’s ItGoing to Be,” “Deep Insideof You” and “Never Let You

Go.”In addition to their most

recognizable material, lead

singer Stephan Jenkins, guitarist Tony Fredianelli and drummerBrad Hargreaves have a reli-

able set of songs they repriseas fan favorites in concert,including “Crystal Baller,”

“Faster,” “Blinded” and “Godof Wine.”

Furthermore, their 2006

greatest hits album “A Col-lection,” features a numberof songs that had not been

released on a previous album.“My Time in Exile” is a

brooding, melancholy musing about the club life, and “Slow Motion,” fast becoming a fanfavorite, is a satire of the hip-

hop culture.“Tattoo of the Sun,” along

with other band cult classics

like “Motorcycle Drive-By,” is asong reserved for dark summernights.

During their performance,

it is likely the band will delve

into new material, since they have an album, “Ursa Major,”coming out in June.

Previously titled “The Hid-eous Strength” and in the workssince 2005, the album will fea-

ture a variety of songs com-prising an album Jenkins called

“more political” in an interview with Tune Lab Music in 2007.

“Ursa Major” is scheduled tobe accompanied by a shorter

album of tracks that did notmake the cut for the finalalbum, tentatively titled “Ursa

Minor.” An EP, “Red Star,” was

recently released for those who

want to preview some of the

songs on the album.It includes three tracks:

“Non-Dairy Creamer,” “RedStar” and “Why Can’t You Be.” All three tracks are available for

full preview through the band’s Web site at 3eb.com/discogra-phy.

“Non-Dairy Creamer” isdescribed through the band’s Web site as being musically

“an ode to Meg White” in the

drums. The song’s lyrics alludeto what Jenkins perceives ascultural shortfalls (“You can

buy yourself some implants/ But you can’t buy a soul”)and supposed ironic paradoxes

(“young gay Republicans”) inorder to ask the serio-comic

question “Are you real to me,or are you non-dairy creamer?”

“Red Star” is a song witha tempo similar to other 3eb

tracks such as “My Hit andRun” and “Danger,” the lastsong Jenkins co-wrote with

former bassist Arion Salazar, who left the band with sub-stance abuse problems.

Jenkins’ lyrics describe a girl

fighting for her beliefs in whathe calls “Dick Cheney’s Amer-

ica, this kind of ‘Stazi-like’environment where oppositionis not only unpatriotic, but it

will get you in big trouble.” The lead-in for “Why Can’t

You Be” on the band’s Web is a

more risqué serio-comic paean, with Jenkins describing a fight with an ex-girlfriend who coun-

tered his argument with the

revelation that her first, purestlove was a shower head.

Despite the content, at

times admittedly coarse, thelyrics at time still dig for depthand meaning, as when Jen-

kins laments, “Why can’t yoube / Like an art house for-

eign movie? / Frank and sexy red balloons and ennui / Andaloof to me / Why can’t you bea little bit more of a mystery?”

Jenkins commented on thesite that he intended the lyricsto alternate between funny and

sad and remarked that his per-sona in this song is closer thanmost songs to his conception

of himself.

When I saw them two sum-mers ago, the band was an

excellent group of showman,particularly Jenkins, who oftendons a top hat and suit jacket,

and Hargreaves, who was givenmultiple opportunities to shine with drum solos.

Their performance shouldbe a worthy capstone toMercyhurst College’s annual

Springfest celebrations.

By Kyle KingA & E Editor

At left, Third Eye Blind lead singer and guitarist Stephan Jenkins plays

at a concert in his hometown of San Francisco. Above is a collage of

the band’s album artwork, culminating in their recent EP, ‘Red Star.’

Images from 3eb.com

Third Eye Blind

fan favorites

A guide to which

Third Eye Blind

songs concertgoers

should expect:

1. e classics - “Semi-Charmed Life ,” “DeepInside of You,” “Never Let You Go,” etc.2. “Faster ” openedthe Columbus show I saw two years ago,accompanied by a greatlights display.3. “ Motorcycle Drive-By ”is a classic ballad to whichevery hardcore fan knowsthe lyrics.4. “Slow Motion” is anunderground classic with acult following. Fans at theColumbus show chanted

for it after every song.



September 3, 2008ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT March 25, 2009

‘Milk’ replaces ‘Slumdog’ in Guelcher Film Series

Many fans of the Mary

D’Angelo Performing Arts Cen-

ter’s Guelcher Film Series were

excited at the prospect of seeing

“Slumdog Millionaire,” which

was scheduled to air Wednesday,

March 25, at 2:15 and 8 p.m.

After the film reeled in eight

Oscars last month, they rescinded

the school’s rights in order to

financially maximize renewed

interest in theatrical screenings.

Not to fear, however, as the

fast-thinking team in charge of

organizing events, led by Michael

Fuhrman and Michelle Ellia,

scrambled to come up with a

suitable replacement.

They found one in the

multiple-Oscar-winning biopic

“Milk,” starring Sean Penn

(“Mystic River,” “Fast Times at

Ridgemont High”) and directed

by Gus Van Sant (“Finding For-

rester,” “Good Will Hunting”).

The movie chronicles the rise

and election of Harvey Milk, the

first openly gay public official in

California. Milk begins as a gay

rights activist, but he realizes he

can serve his community more

as a politician. Milk was elected

to a San Francisco supervisor

seat in 1977.

In addition to footage shot

with Penn and co-stars Emile

Hirsch, Josh Brolin and JamesFranco, the movie relies on

archival footage and the use of

a statement Milk recorded later

in life.

The film is especially poignant

due to the recent passage of

California’s Proposition 8, which

restricted the definition of mar-

riage to opposite-sex couples

and restricted same-sex couples

from marrying, an overrule of

previous state Supreme Court

legislation.

One character remarks in

a television interview during

the film, “If homosexuals are

allowed their civil rights, then so

would prostitutes or thieves or

anyone else,” and a fellow coun-

cilman quips, “I’m not going to

be forced out of San Francisco

by social deviants and incorri-

gibles,” with reference to homo-

sexuals. The stakes seem high for Milk

and his followers, whose jobs

and lives are threatened, and who

fear the introduction of anti-gay

laws in other states. Of particu-

lar concern is 1978 legislation

that seeks to ban homosexuals

from employment in the state’s

public schools.

In Milk’s victories, both social

and political, Penn, Van Sant and

company engender hope and

courage, the kind of uplifting

arousal that garnered Penn the

critical acclaim to bag his second

Oscar for Best Actor.

Tickets can be obtained at the

PAC box office.

Tickets are free for Mercy-

hurst students with student ID

(limit one per student).

By Kyle King

A & E editor

Josh Brolin (left, who recently portrayed George W. Bush in the

Oliver Stone biopic “W”) portrays Dan White, a conservative

antagonist with whom Milk (right, Sean Penn) is finally able to

make a connection by the movie’s conclusion.

pac.mercyhurst.edu

One of the only things I have ever

valued about the Erie climate is the

first warm, sunny day of spring.

The feet of alienating, depressing

and debilitating snow causes T-shirt

weather to create a frenzy fit for an icecream truck at a fat camp.

Speaking of fat camp, anyone else a

little nervous about the weather turn-

ing warm enough to invite bikini sun

bathing in full view of the public?

Perhaps the affectionate comfort of

a huge plate of spaghetti reared its deli-

cious head a few too many times this

winter. And, after all, for everyone not

living in the Mercy Suites or Baldwin,

the walk to the gym is a long and ardu-ous one.

Besides, is fitness worth the feeling

of putting hoodies and sweatpants

over sweaty shorts and T-shirts to walk

back, into the wind, through arctic

tundra…the perspiration on your brow

instantly turning into icicles? I’m just

not sure the treadmill is that fun.

But, relax. It’s Erie. The weather is

not going to turn to sunbathing condi-

tions in the next week; you have time to

get back in shape.

Plus, you’re talking to the expert. I

left Mercyhurst College my sophomore

year in size 16 jeans at 210 pounds. I’m

currently rocking size 6 jeans at 140

pounds. I am a weight loss expert.People love to look at me, exclaim

that they didn’t even recognize me,

then say “Oh my gosh! How did you

do it? What’s your secret?”

There is no secret to weight loss.

Eat less. Exercise more. Done.

Want to get in shape for summer?

Let the authority help you lose weight

without those Tae Bo videos your

mother sent you in your last care pack-

age after you begged her to buy youjeans in a bigger size. By the way, don’t

even act like just because you would

grab “Rolling Stone Magazine” instead

of “Fitness Today” that you can’t

improve your health. As I think we all

remember from New Years, I’m just as

pretentious as the rest of you (Did you

READ that response letter?) So, here

are my five ways to use Arts and Enter-

tainment to inspire your fitness.

1. The Playlist. This is one of

the most valuable tools in your work-

out. A good playlist can inspire you to

get moving and head out for a run. No

matter your genre: country, indie rock,

goth metal or European house music…

an epic playlist for running, biking orsetting your treadmill on a slight incline

and walking (great calorie burner, fyi) is

a weight-loss key.

2. Go Dancing. Not so much

of a gym kid? Don’t have the match-

ing spandex outfits? Going out with

your friends for an evening on the

dance floor can probably burn more

fat than an hour at the gym…mostly

because you’ll sweat more and push

yourself harder when you’re having that much fun. 21 and older? Check

out Cell Block and The Cornerstone

on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Underage? Peccadillo’s has college ID

night every Wednesday night!

3. Drink less. Don’t take my

previous tip as a license to imbibe

freely. Even light beer is loaded with

calories and sugars. If you’re out on

the town, asking for water with lemon

will keep you hydrated while keeping

your fat counts down.

4. Get off of Facebook. The

Internet is not a real social life. The

sooner you accept this, the better off

you’ll be. Get out of your room, and

out playing Frisbee, going for a walk,playing tennis, using the basketball

court in between Lewis and Briggs that

I only ever see neighborhood kids on.

It was built for students and our stu-

dents are chained to their fake-social-

interactions. Call a friend up and get

out into the world, do something active

to catch up on each other’s lives. Who

knows how many miles you can walk

around an art museum?

5. Just do you. Not all aboutthe gym or heading downtown late at

night? The Mercyhurst Dance depart-

ment offers open classes to people of

all skill levels every Saturday if you’re

looking for a more graceful exercise.

If you have a passion for food and

don’t think you can ever give up your

high calorie favorites, have a dinner

party with your friends and try a new

weight watcher recipe or anything from

hungrygirl.com.

Hazel Jennings offers A & E weight loss tips



OPINION March 25, 2009The views expressed in the opinion section of The Merciad do not necessarily reflect the v iews of Mercyhurst College, the staff of The Merciad

or the Catholic Church. Responses on any subject are always welcomed and can be e-mailed to [email protected].

Sunday afternoon, out of

boredom, my boyfriend and I

went to Presque Isle Downs

and Casino.

I won $100,000!

OK, that isn’t true, but I

would be lying if I said we didn’t

talk about the possibility of

it happening .

As we entered the casino, I

noticed the entryway smelled

like a hotel.

I wondered if it made anyone

else feel like they were on vaca-

tion. We walked around the col-

orful room and I was instantly

aware we were the youngest

gamblers there. Most of the

people perched in front of the

slot machines were closer to my

grandmother’s age, many were

smoking, and no one looked to

be having a great time.

I took my chances anyway and

sat down to play my first slot

machine costing 25 cents a bet.

Before I knew it I lost my first

$5, I wasn’t having any fun and

the vacation feeling was gone.

My eyes were beginning to

water and burn from all the

cigarette smoke. I kept putting

money in the machines and

pressing buttons although I had

no idea what they did.

The more I spent, the more I

lost. I realized few people were

socializing or even smiling, and

the whole scene felt depressing.

After an hour we lost around

$40 and realized we’d wasted

our time.

Maybe the regulars were

having fun and winning

more than their expressions

gave away.

I was sure gambling was not

for me. I just couldn’t help but

be disappointed, my $100,000

dreams were crushed and I

didn’t even have a few laughs or

learn how to play the games

I can see what makes people

want to play card games with a

group and gamble for fun, I still

can’t see what draws people to

the slot machines.

You should just throw your

money in a pothole, either way

it isn’t much fun and you will

never see it again.

By Hayley O’Hare

Staff writer

The 1st Amendment allows

college students to write about

abortion, rationalize racism and

condemn classmates.

Of course, restrictions exist:

obscenity is unlawful, inciting

violence is prohibited and truth-

fulness is a top priority. News-

papers are a primary source

of information. Whether a reporter is unearth-

ing Watergate or proposing

indecency within the Catholic

Church, journalists adhere to a

strict set of codes rooted in the

freedom of speech.

But, when it comes to col-

lege campuses are rights

hindered behind the word

‘private’? State-funded institu-

tions report topics of theirchoice without prior restraint,

because state aid reflects govern-

ment involvement based on the

Constitution.

Private institutions rely on

loophole legislation deem-

ing the freedom of the press

adhere to its owners’ views.

Private institution owners are

usually traditional thinking

board members.

This keeps two-sided contro-

versies at bay.

For these students, funding is linked to tuition and endow-

ments. It is apparent the same

liberties their peers at state

colleges have do not exist.

Mercyhurst College, doesn’t

use prior restraint regarding

issues such as abortion, political

preference and religious scru-

tiny. The newsroom’s last check

lies with the student, editor-in-

chief.But, reporters and editors fear

other back lashes as well. Could

the administration revoke schol-

arships, remove the offender

or find a way to take complete

control over publication to the

point of censorship?

Is this already censorship

by fear?

The controversy is clear.

Ideas are being proposedfrom every direction to

college students.

They are taking in an unbe-

lievable wealth of knowledge,

making assessments and coming

to educated conclusions.

Private institutions, so many

of them religiously affiliated,

are keeping a fundamental reli-

ance from their students, faith

to decide for themselves.

By Heather Donovan

Opinion Editor

The current turn of unfor-

tunate events between singers

Chris Brown and Rihanna Fenty

are not only shocking and hor-

rifying, it’s given me something

to reflect on.

The threats on her life, the

picture leaked after the attack

and now the comparison of Brown to O.J. Simpson are more

than just disturbing.

There have been various

interviews from different per-

formers and mutual friends of

the two and different opinions

are being expressed about them

getting back together.

This confuses me.

What does this show their

young fans? How do you justify getting beaten to the point of

becoming unconscious, as the

police report stated on E! News

and it’s love?

The Alabama Coalition

Against Domestic Violence

(ACADV) reported 40 percent

of girls between the ages 14 and

17 say they know someone their

age abused by their boyfriend.

I have witnessed an extremely

abusive and terrifying relation-

ship and have seen what it can

do to a person. There is no way of justifying

what happened.

The statistics also showed

one in three teens, and one in

five college females have experi-

enced violent relationships.

Not to mention, ACADV’s

survey of 500 women between

ages 15 to 24 found 60 per-

cent were currently involved

in an ongoing abusive rela-tionship and all participants

had experienced violence in a

dating relationship.

Do these statistics bother

anyone? I would hope so.

Most celebrities are saying

this extremelty sensitive situ-

ation is between Brown and

Rihanna is between them and

we, the watching public, don’t

know the entire story.

That is absolutely true but

what does it matter?

Under no circumstances

should anyone put their hands

on someone else.

One of the first rules I was

taught as a child was, “keep your

hands to yourself.” It is simple

and true.

This situation has opened my

eyes even more than before to

how prevalent abusive relation-

ships are in society.

I witnessed a girl crash andburn to the point where she

dropped out of school because

of an abusive relationship.

Remembering how she looked

when I went home to have

dinner with her still sends a ter-

rifying chill up my spine.

Girls and guys alike, there is

absolutely no way to justify an

abusive relationship...physical or

verbal. There is no one worth

the amount of physical pain

and psychological damage it

can cause.

Have confidence and

make sure you know there is

never a situation where you

deserve abuse.

Hopefully the celebrity status

on the situation will shed some

light on a subject that needs to

be talked about.

I am just a bystander, and

I have been lucky enough to

never have experienced this ter-

rifying situation.

But I do hope, if it ever came

to that point, I would have

the sense to remember what I

deserve, seek the help I needed

and get away.

It is never OK.

By Jordan

ZangaroStaff writer

Discussing freedom ofspeech: public vs. private

Celebrity spotlight: What justifi es abuse?

Gambling away precious time and money

How the scandal can affect young fans



OPINION March 25, 2009

Flourishing through magical moments

The first note

of music sounds, adrenaline

circulates through my body and

races out of every finger and

toe.

Then, as the red velvet curtain

rises to reveal the audience and

the spot lights brighten, my

heart begins to beat wildly out

of control.

But as soon as I dance out of

the wings and onto the stage,

my nervous energy magically

transforms into a blissful

excitement words cannot

describe. Each and every timeI perform, this same surreal

sensation fills my insides.

When it happens, it is the

most wonderful feeling in the

world - one that stays inside of

me and inspires me for days, or

even weeks, afterward.

It awakens every part of me,

while reminding me how lucky I

am to have had the opportunity to do what I love most: dance.

Perhaps you feel this way when

you make a big accomplishment,

win a game or have an insightful,

stimulating conversation with a

close friend.

Maybe you are enthused

when a brilliant idea pops into

your head or when you are able

to make someone else’s day a

little bit brighter.I like to think each and every

one of us experiences several

magical moments like these

throughout life, and I believethey must not be ignored.

I believe we should recognize

how special they are and share

the joy they bring with others.

Whether we realize it or not, it

is these tiny moments that truly

enrich and color our lives.

If we let them, they have the

power to motivate us to reach

our goals, to

inspire us to

live out our

dreams and

to positively

transform us

into better

people who

are more

g e n e r o u s

t o w a r d s

others. They

should be

shared and

cherished, not

kept solely

for ourselves

and quietly

f o r g o t t e n .

Recently, I

have started

paying more attention to themagical feeling triumphing over

me when I dance or when I

make a difference in someone

else’s life.

I’ve noticed it is what gives

my life meaning and purpose

because it moves me to extend

my happiness to other people. It

also gives me a reason to smile

even when I’m having a bad day.

Most importantly, it reminds mehow wonderful it is to be alive.

It is a feeling I cannot and will

not ignore. That is why despite

whatever path life takes me on— whether I achieve my dream of

becoming a professional ballet

dancer or not— I will continue

dancing, teaching and sharing

my passion for dance with

others for the rest of my life.

Nicole Cerilli is a senior who is a dance major and communications

minor. Her career goals are to dance with a professional ballet company,write for a newspaper or magazine,

publish a book and become a teacher. Her favorite aspect about Mercyhurst:

“I love everything about Mercyhurst (aside from the snow), but the people

here are what have made the last four years so memorable and enjoyable.”

Mercyhurst College’s Ethical Reflection Committee has initiated this

series to encourage reflection within the entire college community on the values by which we live. We suggest that

faculty introduce appropriate essays into class discussion; we encourage students to bring these thoughts to

classes; we invite administrators and staff to explore these in department meetings.

The ERC alsorequests that you let us know how

you have used these thoughts in your life.

Contact Rev.Lyta Seddig,Chair: lseddig@

mercyhurst. edu.

This I Believe” is now linked to the

college Web site. Essays can be found at http://

www.mercyhurst.edu/ne/special- e v ent s/be l i e v e_

essays.

I like to think eachand every one ofus experiences severalmagical moments...

Nicole Cerilli”

“

Dedicated Merciad readers:

Refer to the opinion section weekly

for provocative issues.

@mercyhurst.edu

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The Merciad is the official student-produced newspaper of MercyhurstCollege. It is published throughout the school year, with the exception offinals weeks. Our office is in Hirt, Room 120B. Our telephone number is (814)

824-2376.

The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signedand names will be included with the letters. Although we will not edit the

letters for content, we reserve the right to trim letters to fit. Lettersare due Mondays. by noon and may not be more than 300 words. Submit

letters to box PH 485 or via e-mail at [email protected].

If you don’t want it printed . . . don’t let it happen.Editors

Casey Greene

JoEllen Marsh

Amanda Valauri

Javi Cubillos

Heather Donovan

Brad Moehringer Sam Sellinger

Kyle King

Scoot Williams

Tyler Stauffer

Caitlin Bly

Gretchen Yori

Ashley Pastor

Bill Welch

Brian Sheridan

Positions

Editor-in-Chief

Managing Editor

News Editor

Features Editor

Opinion Editor

Sports Editor Sports Editor

A&E

Photographer

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Advertising Manager

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General Assignment

Adviser

Adviser



OPINION March 25, 2009

Women’s ice hockey madeit to their first Frozen Fourcompetition in Boston thispast weekend and advancedto their first ever nationalchampionship game.

Third Eye Blind is per-forming at Spring Fest thisyear due to a dedicated Stu-dent Activities Committee.

Campus is looking moredisheveled than ever after abitter Erie winter. Damagedone to the wooden bridgein the Grotto is just anothereyesore waiting for repair.

The ‘card swiper’ onthe EMTA downtownbus route was aggressively pinned to the inside wallof the bus after disorderly

students boarded Satur-day night. Respecting theperson taking you safely toyour partying destination would be the first step tokeeping these privileges.

Please e-mail any suggestions to

[email protected].

The GB&U is a compilation of

student opinions.

There’s a parable on the Young Americans for Liberty

Web site, that goes as follows: Aprofessor in a large college hadexchange students in the class.

One day while the class wasin the lab, the professor noticedone young exchange student

who kept rubbing his back andstretching as if it hurt.

The professor asked the young

man what was the matter. Thestudent told him he had a bulletlodged in his back. He had been

shot while fighting communistsin his native country.

In his story he looked at the

professor and asked a strangequestion, “Do you know how tocatch wild pigs?”

The professor thought it wasa joke and asked for the punchline. The young man said this

was no joke.“You catch wild pigs by

finding a suitable place in the

woods and putting corn on theground. The pigs find it andbegin to come every day to eat

the free corn. When they areused to coming every day, youput a fence up on one side of

the area. When they get used to the

fence, they begin to eat the corn

again and you put up anotherside of the fence.

They feel comfortable and

start to eat again. You continue

until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in thelast side.

The pigs, which are used tothe free corn, start to comethrough the gate to eat; you

slam the gate on them and catchthe whole herd! Suddenly, the wild pigs have lost their free-

dom. They run around insidethe fence, but soon go back toeating the free corn.

They are so used to it; they have forgotten how to foragein the woods for themselves, so

they accept their captivity. The young man then told the

professor this is exactly what he

sees happening to America. The government keeps push-

ing us toward socialism and

keeps spreading the free cornout in the form of programssuch as supplemental income,

tax credit for unearned income,tobacco subsidies, dairy sub-sidies, payments not to plant

crops (CRP), housing, welfare,medicine, drugs, etc... While wecontinually lose our freedoms

just a little at a time.One should always remem-

ber: A politician will never beable to provide a service for youcheaper than you can provide itfor yourself.

As Thomas Jefferson said, “Agovernment big enough to giveyou everything you want is big

enough to take away everything you have.”

By Thomas KubicaContributing writer

Should Police and Safety

have guns? Although some people may

hastily make decisions based on

fear to assume Mercyhurst Col-lege’s cop squad is the best pro-tector and defender of individ-

ual student, faculty and admin-istration selves, I disagree.

Being propagated to think

Police and Safety should haveguns offends me.

And although I do not have

a right to not be offended, I dohave a right to defend myself and others from such senseless

propaganda. That is an individual right,

much like self-defense is a right

to defend my person and prop-erty against another personusing unjustified violent force

to cause me harm.If Police and Safety is granted

the right to carry guns then I

would also wish to exercise my right to carry a gun to defendmyself from Police and Safety.

I can sympathize with womenfeeling safer by having theoption of an external armed

protective force; perhaps feeling more threatened because of somany drunken males parading

around looking for Lord knows what.

However, the best means of

protection for a woman would

be to arm herself since she her-self is the first and best meansof direct self-protection. Per-

haps it would be second bestto allow her boyfriend a gun incase a direct violence situation

arises where another personbrandishes a weapon.

These options are not out of

hope to resist the violent forceif they themselves can matchthe force, instead of imagining

how help will soon arrive. Asgun rights and the 2nd Amend-ment continue to be eroded by

this type of fear-based decisionmaking that calls out for a pater-nal/nanny state to provide pro-

tection, we should instead stop whining and shape up.

Police and Safety should not

be expected nor called upon toprotect all the citizens in theirhouses along Wayne Street or

38th Street nor PNC Bank,CVS and other private establish-ments.

Perhaps students and others,unable to care for themselvesare currently and becoming, a

greater problem than anything dealing with Police and Safety.

Unarmed students at Virginia Tech were killed despite theircampus police being armed andthe unarmed students at Kent

State were killed by the NationalGuard.

Let us rid this paper of base-

less arguments and get back toreaders with reason and soul.

By JerrodMarkleStaff writer

Have you ever had to end

your workout early because theMercyhurst Athletic Centercloses at 10 p.m. on weeknights?

Or skip the gym because they

don’t open early enough? The

current MAC hours simply don’tserve the students well enough.

Everyone has busy schedules.

We all have classes, work-study,homework, practice, clubs andactivities, not to mention trying

to work out.Fitting gym time in is hard

enough and the gym hours don’t

make it any easier.

Many times I find myself wideawake at 11 p.m. and wishing Icould go to the gym to get my

excess energy out.Other times I want to go

in the morning and get it over

with, but there is not time beforeclass. My feelings on this subjectare not personal; many students

express their grievances with

the gym hours and it was openearlier and closed later. We’renot asking for much.

Colleges are supposed toaccommodate their studentsand cater to their need, and the

current gym hours merely don’tdo this. All we are asking for is alittle more flexibility so the gym

can be used to its fullest extent.

Alaina Rydzewski

Staff writer

Gym hours limit proactive students

Taking a closer look atcommunism in America

Thoughts on Police andSafety carrying guns



Men’s Hockey......................................................Mar. 20, W 5-4 RIT

Mar, 21, L 2-0 Air Force

Women’s Hockey .....................................Mar. 20, W 5-4 Minnesota

Mar. 22, L 5-0 Wisconsin

Baseball....................................................Mar. 21, L 1-0, W 13-2 IUP

Mar. 22, W 6-2, L 6-3 IUP

Softball.........................Mar. 20, W 2-0 Seton Hill, L 2-0 CharlestonMar. 21, W 23-0 Salem International, L 10-7 Shepard

Mar. 22, W 2-1 West Virgina Wesleyan

Men’s Lacrosse.................................................Mar. 17, W 14-3 Pace

Mar. 21, W 17-10 Adelphi

Women’s Lacrosse ...........................Mar. 18, W 19-3 Slippery Rock

Mar. 21, W 16-5 Shippensburg

Mar. 23, W 10-6 IUP

Women’s Water Polo......Mar.21, W 18-8 Washington & Jefferson

Haggerty named to Tewaarton Watch ListMercyhurst College’s senior Breanna Haggerty was named to the Tewaarton Award Watch List for 2009. The Tewaarton Award is

given to the top women’s and men’s lacrosse players in the United

States. Haggerty, a two-time All-American, has a team-leading 268

points in 44 career games and last year posted a third-best single-

season goal average posting 5.00 scores per contest.

Five Lakers earn AHA honorsMercyhurst Colleges men’s hockey team earned five Atlantic

HockeyAssociation honors. The Lakers were headlined by second

team all conference honors going to senior Matt Pierce, sopho-more Steve Cameron and sophomore Ryan Zapolski. Sophomore

Scott Pitt earned third team all conference honors and freshman

Phil Ginand was selected to the All-Rookie Team.

Michael Sciulli-Men’s LacrosseMercyhurst College’s junior attackman Michael Sciulli was namedEast Coast Conference Player of the Week. Sciulli scored seven

goals in victories over Pace University and Adelphi University.

Amanda Norman-SoftballMercyhurst College’s sophomore pitcher Amanda Norman went

2-0 this weekend with a complete game two-hit shutout in a win

over Seton Hill University. She allowed one run on six hits in

seven innings in a 2-1 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan Col-

lege.

Women come up short in Boston

“So where exactly is

Mercyhurst?”

That was the question asked

by many in Boston, Mass., this

past weekend as the Mercyhurst

College women’s hockey team

arrived to participate in the

NCAA Women’s Hockey

Frozen Four.

Up against the Goliathsof women’s college hockey,

Mercyhurst looked to make a

name for itself in the national

spotlight, and the Lakers did not

disappoint.

Friday night the Lakers took

on the Golden Gophers of The

University of Minnesota in the

second semi-final game.

The University of Wisconsin

Badgers dismembered theBulldogs of the University of

Minnesota Duluth in the first

semi-final game 5-1 to advance

to the Championship game on

Sunday.

Despite falling behind 1-

0 early in the first period the

Lakers rebounded quickly and

responded with five unanswered

goals to open a 5-1 lead going

into the third period.Senior Valerie Chouinard

got the scoring started off a

pass from fellow senior Hayley

McMeekin to tie the game at

one. Goals from freshmen

Bailey Bram and Meghan

Corbett, as well as two goals

from junior captain Meghan

Agosta rounded out the rest of

the Laker scoring.

The Lakers held off a late

Minnesota rally making the game

close, but the Lakers were led by

another solid performance by

freshman Hillary Pattenden in

net as she made 33 saves to pick up her 24th win of the year.

With the 5-4 win, the Lakers

advanced to their first ever

National Championship game

on Sunday against the Badgers.

Unfortunately, the Laker’s

impressive run came up just

short as their bid for history

would be stonewalled by senior

goaltender and 2009 Patty

Kazmair Award winner Jesse Vetter of Wisconsin.

Vetter made 37 saves and

finished with 14 shutouts on

the season with her dominate

performance.

The teams were tied at zero

after one period, but Wisconsin

would erupt for five goals in

the next two periods and take

home their third National

Championship in four years

defeating the Lakers 5-0.

Despite the loss, the Lakers

put themselves on the map of

women’s college hockey and

did so with plenty of supportfrom students and faculty alike

in Boston.

Mercyhurst finished with a

final record of 31-6; its first

30 win season ever and plenty

to be proud of. Junior captain

Meghan Agosta had this to say

about the season:

“We made history and I

personally am so proud to be a

Mercyhurst Laker. The schooland the community have done

so much to help support us and

we would like to thank them for

that,” said Agosta.

“The Frozen Four was a

great experience in itself. We

definitely deserved to be there

with the season we had. To

play in Boston and have all

those fans made it that much

more special,” Agosta said.

By Brad MoehringerSports editor

Senior Valerie Chouinard puts a shot past the Golden Gopher’s

goaltender to tie up the game 1-1 in the first period.

Sports Information photo



SPORTS March 25, 2009

Men’s hockey championship run thwarted by Falcons

Baseball’s ‘Big Three’ power Laker offenseSantora, Denman, Stoll lead Mercyhurst to weekend series split

The Mercyhurst College

baseball team went into the

weekend looking to continue its

success coming off its previous

four-game weekend sweep.

The Lakers had been riding a

high-powered offense to a 12-7

record.

The Lakers have a perfectrecord when they scored five or

more runs, but have not won a

single game when they scored

under five.

They have been led offensively

by freshman Ethan Santora who

is batting .440, ten home runs,

31 RBIs and an incredible .920

slugging percentage.

The offensive surges of senior

Jeff Stoll and sophomore Craig

Denman have been leading the

Lakers.Over the past eight games,

Stoll batted .346 with four

homeruns and 14 RBIs; and

Denman, over the same span, is

batting .392 with one homerun

and 10 RBIs.

When these two can add

their support to Santora, the

Lakers are nearly unstoppable.

“The way the senior leadership

push the younger guys toperform at our highest and the

chemistry on and off the field

we are given that extra push we

need to perform,” Santora said

of the team.

The Lakers started their

weekend off being shut out in

an eight inning pitcher’s duel.

Junior Laker ace Steve

Grife was given the start

against Indiana University of

Pennsylvania, Saturday.

Grife had a nine strikeoutno-hitter going into the seventh

inning until IUP junior Roland

Thiele singled to bring an end to

Grife’s no-hitter.

Grife made quick work of the

last two IUP batters, finishing

the seventh without giving up

a run.

IUP’s junior Cody Betz was

just too much for the Lakers as

he held the Lakers to three hitsand holding, more importantly,

the Lakers offensive big three

Stoll, Santora and Denman, to

just one hit by Stoll.

IUP won the game when

IUP’s junior T.J. Nichols drove

in a run on his game-winning

single off of senior Ryan

Schrieber handing Schrieber his

only loss of the season.

In the second game, the Laker

offense came back to life in a

seventh inning 10-run explosionleading the Lakers to 13-2 beat

down of IUP.

Not surprisingly, the Lakers

offense was led by Santora, Stoll

and Denman who combined for

six hits and ten RBIs.

Stoll and Santora showed

off their power by adding

homeruns.

The Lakers opened up their

home part of the series with a6-2 win over IUP.

Again, the big three of the

Lakers offense came up big

with Stoll and Denman batting

in four of the team’s six runs.

The Lakers’ senior Jamie

Walczak also added a home run

to the Laker’s performance.

Senior John Mang earned a

victory for the Lakers.

The Lakers, however, fell in

the second game 6-3.

The low light of the game wasthe four unearned runs given up

by the Lakers on three errors.

The Lakers offense was again

stymied by a Betz by IUP, but

this time it was Corey Betz,

Colby’s twin who pitched a three

run complete game.

The Lakers are currently in

a tie with California University

of Pennsylvania with a 6-2

record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West and

have a record of 14-9.

The Lakers will have a

home-and-home series with

Lock Haven University of

Pennslyvannia this weekend.

The Lakers will be at Lock

Haven on March 27 at 1 p.m.

and at then return home to the

Mercyhurst College March 28

at 1 p.m.

By Nick Glasier

Staff writer

Mercyhurst College’s men’s

hockey capped off their 2008-

2009 season with an appearance

at the Atlantic Hockey Associa-

tion (AHA) conference tourna-

ment at the Blue Cross Arena

in Rochester, N.Y. This was the

Lakers’ third conference tour-

nament appearance in their six

years of membership in the AHA.

The Lakers, ranked third in

the AHA, defeated Rochester

Institute of Technology (RIT),

ranked second, on RIT’s home

turf on Friday, March 20. Junior

Chris Risi scored the game win-

ning goal with just over two

minutes into overtime, making

the final 5-4. Risi’s goal sent the

Lakers to the AHA Champion-

ship game for the second year in

a row against Air Force.

However, Saturday night’s

game would be a bitter ending

to the Lakers’ run at the champi-

onship. In a 2-0 loss, the Lakers

suffered a defeat for the second

year in a row at the hands of

the Falcons of Air Force in the

championship game.

The Lakers were awarded

with the runner-up trophy for

the tournament and concluded

the season with 22 wins. Mercy-

hurst was also to tally 117 goals

in 28 games this season, push-

ing past Air Force to the top

of their conference for scoring offense. The men also swept the

58th Annual Rensselaer Holiday

Tournament, beating number

seven Princeton University in the

championship game in Novem-

ber. From record breaking point

totals and unbelievable defense

in the net, the Mercyhurst men’s

hockey deserves recognition for

a successful season.

The team will make one

final appearance this Satur-

day, March 28, to participate in

the Gliding Stars event as the

“Swan Lakers,” where the play-

ers are able to strut their stuff

for a good cause.

By Ashley Pastor

Staff writer

Freshman Phil Ginand (22) attempts to score during the Lakers’ 5-4 OT win over RIT on Friday,

March 20, at Blue Cross arena in Rochester.


Page 20Freshman Hillary Pattenden

makes a save against Minnesota

on March 20

SPORTSP 18




Steelers or Packers: Which is the best franchise?

Recently, I was asked what the

best football franchise is, andthough my instincts told me to

yell “da Picksburgh Stillers n’at!”

in my thickest Pittsburghese

accent, I figured I would think

this through.

Most football fans can tell you

about the NFL since the Super

Bowl was created.

The Green Bay Packers

dominated the 1960s, the

Pittsburgh Steelers dominated

the ’70s, the San Francisco 49ers

the ’80s, the Dallas Cowboys

the ’90s, and the New England

Patriots the 2000s.

That gives you no clear

answer, though my Steelers are

still in contention.Many people forget the

Steelers were the “Lovable

Losers” from 1933-1970,

though, and the “One for the

Thumb in ’81” campaign was a

few decades too early.

As I give the Steelers-haters

fuel, I digress.

You could pick a best team

out of there, as the Millennium

Bowl did, where the ’70s

Steelers beat the ’90s Cowboys

using computer simulations and

cleverly edited vintage footage.

To answer the question

ahead of time, the best single

team is by far the completely

dominating and Hall-of-Famer-filled ’70s Steelers, though any

game to decide it would be

mismatched.

If the ’70s Steelers played the

’00s Patriots by the current rules,

the Steelers would be penalized

into oblivion, but by the ’70s

rules, the Patriots would run out

of players due to injuries, and

Tom Brady would be out after

one head slap.

However, that isn’t the

question here, the question is

about franchise.

To answer the question as

prompted, I must go back before

the Super Bowl era and see

which franchises that still exist were good way back when.

The Acme and later Green

Bay Packers ruled the early

NFL through the ’30s and ’40s,

winning nine championships

prior to the Super Bowl.

Though they struggled

through the ’70s and ’80s,

they made at least one playoff

appearance in each decade, and

became a consistent playoff

contender throughout the

15 years of the Brett Favre

era, winning a Super Bowl in

1996.

Though currently rebuilding,

the Packers have always been

a consistently winning team with multiple decades of

unquestioned rule.

Therefore, based upon this

evidence, I must say the Green

Bay Packers, the only franchise

owned by every landowner in

their home city, the team selling

out every game despite the

smallest home population, is

the best NFL franchise of all

time.

By John

Baranowski

Sports columnist

Softball proves talented

The Mercyhurst College

women’s softball team continued

to prepare for their Pennsylvania

State Athletic Conference West

debut over the weekend at the

Salem International Tournament

in Virginia.

The Lakers came away from

the weekend with three winsand two losses, boosting their

win percentage over .500.

“We started strong both

Friday and Saturday, defeating

Seton Hill (2-0) and Salem

International (23-0),” Glomb

said. “We played a tough game

against Shepherd University,

going into extra innings, but

were unable to answer back in

the final ninth inning.”

On Saturday, March 21,

Mercyhurst shocked the host

team, Salem International

University. In a previous

meeting between the two teams

in West Virginia on March 13,

the Lakers suffered a 4-5 loss.

Mercyhurst showed up to play

Saturday, crushing Salem 23-0 in

five innings. Junior Katherine Thompkins,

sophomore Amber Rapose

and junior Megan Houston

each cranked out a home run

against Salem International,

while sophomore Erica Beidler,

sophomore Kara Gorgos and

junior Anna Glomb registered

one double apiece.

Freshman Kristi Janoski

pitched two scoreless innings, while sophomore Kari Amboyer

pitched three scoreless innings.

Mercyhurst held Salem

International to two hits, while

the Lakers had 19.

Glomb felt good about the

weekend games and looks

forward to PSAC play beginning

this week.

“Going into Sunday’s game

the team showed a lot of heart

and were relentless against West

Virginia Wesleyan, a strong

opponent (they had just mercied

Gannon 9-1),” Glomb said.

“Emily Redig came through

with a home run pushing Erica

Beidler over for a 2-1 lead.

“We had outstanding pitching

and outfield performance, but

all together the whole teamplayed a solid game.

“The wins were critical for us.

It proved that when we come out

ready to play we are unbeatable.

If we play our game there is no

doubt in my mind that we can

come out with two wins to start

our conference season,” Glomb

said.

Mercyhurst is hoping to

take away their hard-working mentality and apply it to their

upcoming PSAC Western

Conference games.

The first half of the season

was a good warm-up and test of

their ability for conference play.

They have proved they can

hang with the best and are

willing to work hard.

The Lakers hope to continue

to play strong and have a good

showing in the PSAC in order to

receive a bid in the conference

playoffs which will take place in

late April.

The Lakers are back in

action this Saturday, March 28,

at Lock Haven University of

Pennsylvania at 1 p.m.

By Sarah Powell

Staff writer

Men’s lax wins two

The Mercyhurst College men’s

lacrosse team continued their

winning ways this past week as

they moved to 4-1 on the season

with wins over Pace University

and Adelphi University.

The Lakers took on Pace on

St. Patrick’s Day sporting green

uniforms in honor of the holi-day, and there was no doubt

who was the better team on that

day.

The final score was a 14-3 vic-

tory and the Lakers took control

early and often in the game as

nine different players found the

back of the net in the home

opener.

In the first half alone, the

Lakers outshot their opponent

33-3 and when the game was

over that mark was 53-19, still

in Mercyhurst favor.

Other notable stats from the

game were the 33-16 advantage

in ground balls and a perfect 24

for 24 in clears.

This victory extended the

Lakers home winning streak to

12 games.Next up for the Lakers was

No. 9 Panthers of Adelphi. The

game was fairly even until the

Lakers ramped up the scoring

in the second half, outscoring

Adelphi 11-3.

At the end of the game, the

Lakers beat the Panthers by a

score of 17-10.

Jason LaShomb added six

saves in the victory to pick uphis fourth win of the year.

The two wins this week

earned another Laker an award

for his efforts.

Junior attackman Michael Sci-

ulli was named the East Coast

Conference Player of the Week.

He is currently leading the

Lakers with 13 goals and 16

points, seven of those goals

coming in the Pace and Adelphi

games.

The No. 4 ranked Lakers now

move on to play Wheeling Jesuit

University Wednesday, March

25 and then return home this

Sunday, March 29, to play Dowl-

ing College in hopes of extend-

ing their home winning streak.

By Gary Coad

Staff writer

SPORTS




HOUSES FOR RENT

Johnson & JohnsonProperties

Starting June 1, 2009

814-860-8817

The winter has come to an

end, and most students are

focused on enjoying the sunny

spring days.

Although most of us

are basking in the beautiful

weather spring has brought, 30

sporty women are working extra

hard.Upon entering Tulio Field at

Mercyhurst College, there will

not be any football, soccer or

field hockey players preparing

and training for next year, you

will only see the most dedicated,

hard-working and energetic

athletes on campus – the

women’s lacrosse team.

Since the beginning of the

spring season, the women’s

lacrosse team has been working

hard together to train and

prepare for the upcoming

battles they will face this

season in the new Pennsylvania

State Athletic Conferenceconference.

With new challenges and

unknown competition, the team

is working hard to play together

as one united to beat the best of

the best in Division II.

“We are playing well as a unit ,”

senior Alisha Guzzo stated.

“The team is looking good

together, and we are putting

things together well both atpractice and during games.”

With large goals on the

horizon, the team is looking

to take one win at a time to

work their way to the Division

II national tournament this

season.

Newly ranked No. 6 in

the Intercollegiate Women’s

Lacrosse Coaches Association

Polls, the Mercyhurst women’s

team is looking to keep moving

up the ranks as they pull out

more victories as the season,

progresses.

Now 4-0, the women have

posted four victories this seasontwo of them PSAC opponents.

The past week the ladies

took on PSAC rival, Slippery

Rock University, as well as

Shippensburg University.

The 19-3 victory over the

rock gave the Lakers a boost

of confidence and excitement

as the true PSAC competition

begins.

Along with the victory overSlippery Rock came a great

battle against Shippensburg

University where the Lakers

scored 16 goals.

With the 16-5 win, the Lakers

are playing well together and

putting the ball into the back of

the net.

As the Lakers move into

the heart of the season, they

look to face Indiana University

of Pennsylvania, Lock Haven

University of Pennsylvania, and

West Chester University this

week.

By Katie Waldin

Staff writer

Women’s lax starting strong

Senior Breanna Haggerty (14) passes the ball at the women’s lacrosse game against Slippery

Rock on Wednesday, March 18, at Tullio Field. The Lakers took the victory, 19-3.

Scoot Williams photo

Waterpolo pulls it together

After four invitationals and

14 games so far this season,

the women’s water polo team

has had their fair share of

struggles.

“Our season has been a good,

yet a tough one so far since we’ve

been playing a lot of Division

I teams with a lot of talent;however, we’ve gotten better

from our tough competitors,”

senior Chrissy Genian said.

Being forced to face big

schools such as Princeton

University and Bucknell

University has provided the

team with excellent experiences,

but has hurt their overall record

of 2-13.

Although the team has only

six games left before the Western

Division Championships, they

are pulling together and working

harder than ever.

Despite their record, Genian

continues to stay confident

about the season and the team.

Out of 15 girls on the team,

only four are upperclassmen.

The water polo team is very inexperienced.

Even if they don’t make it as

far as they would have hoped,this year is great team building

because many of the players

have at least two more years.

“Eight new players (transfers

and freshman) joined the team

this year and have been able to

contribute a great deal of talent

to our team.” Genian said.

Genian also expressed

her excitement for their last

regular season game againstGannon.

“Of course both teams want

to win every time we play each

other, but I think we’ll be able

to take the win for the third year

in a row,” Genian said.

Mercyhurst College is

coming off a big 18-8 victory

over Washington & Jefferson

University this past weekend.

They are hoping to use this

win as a boost to push through

the last few games.

The Lakers are back in action

this Saturday, March 28, at

Grove City College at 10 a.m.

This is the Lakers’ last away

game before they finish off

the regular season with four

games at home, as they look to

finish off the season strong andgain confidence for next year.

By Sarah Powell

Staff writer

L k S




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