the merciad march 27, 2013

7/29/2019 The Merciad March 27, 2013

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2/8

Study Abroad Office

announces

J-Term destinations

Mercyhursts Study AbroadProgram recently announced thetrips for the 2013-14 academicyear.

New J-Term programs include

a Public Health course in Cam-bodia, a Service Learning trip toGuyana and a Celtic Mythologyclass in Ireland.

Mercyhurst will also be offer-ing its term-long spring trip toDungarvan, Ireland, as well as aFaculty-Led Study Abroad tripto Italy.

Applications for these tripscan be found on the MercyhurstPortal under Forms and Doc-

uments in the Study Abroadsection.

The enrollment fee for theclass is $200 and is only refund-able if the class is canceled orthe student is not approved toparticipate.

Applications and the $200deposit are due to the StudyAbroad Office, located in Egan

124, by Wednesday, April 10.

NEWSPage 2 March 27, 2013

PRSSA raises funds for cancer research

Worldwide, 175,000 children arediagnosed with cancer each year. In theU.S., more children die of childhoodcancer than any other diseasemorethan AIDS, asthma, cystic fibrosis,congenital anomalies and diabetescombined.

Mercyhursts Public Relations Stu-dent Society of America (PRSSA)coordinated with St. BaldricksFoundation to host a Bare It Allfor Childhood Cancer Research

head-shaving event on Saturday,March 23, from 1-4 p.m. at MollyBrannigans Irish Pub.

The St. Baldricks Foundation isa cancer charity dedicated to findinga cure for childhood cancer. It is theleading childhood cancer researchfoundation in America, contributingover $25 million in research grants lastyear.

One of the foundations primaryfundraising efforts is pledging moneyto shave a persons head.

This is the first time a St. Baldricks

event has been hosted in Erie. Theclub organized and promoted theevent, not only as a way to raise moneyfor the organization, but also as a wayto raise awareness of the organizationin the area.

The event hosted on Saturdayexceeded expectations.

Fourteen participants shaved theirheads to support the cause, includingseveral Mercyhurst students.

The club set a goal of raising $1,000for the charity, and exceeded that,reaching over $1,600.

The event could not have goneany better, and Im looking forwardto what next year will bring, PRSSApresident Lauren Taylor said.

The club plans on continuing thisevent next year.

Upon deciding on an event toorganize, PRSSA chose St. Baldricksbecause of its teaching abilities and

visual capabilities.PRSSA is dedicated to creating

learning opportunities for all of ourstudent members, but in learning to doso we are blessed to have the oppor-tunity to follow in our Mercy traditionand give back. The St. Baldricks Foun-dation provides numerous resources tohelp us host a successful event, senior

Joe Pudlick said.One of the clubs goals besides

raising money was to raise awarenessof what this organization does. Notonly was money raised, but the clubdid a wonderful job reaching out tothe major media outlets in Erie and

received an enormous amount ofnews coverage of the event, bringingthe message to the Erie community.

The event was filled with varyingemotions when each shavee had hisor her turn.

An especially touching moment forall in attendance was when Fran Morrissat down to have her shoulder-length,brown hair shaven.

My favorite part of the event

would absolutely have to be seeing thereactions of the shavees themselvesafter going through the head-shavingprocess, said PRSSA treasurer LaurenSmith. The most memorable one forme was Fran Morris, the mother of achildhood cancer survivor who wasshaving her head in honor of her son.

The emotions were definitely flyingaround that room.

Morris and her family have beenthrough an emotional ordeal the pasttwo years, when the family found outthat Matthew Morris, 15, was diag-

nosed with leukemia in 2011.Matthew is currently in remission

and doing well, but his mother wantedto participate in this event to helpother families from having to undergothe same emotional trauma.

The event also received media cov-

erage by local radio station Happi 92.7

morning radio show, hosted by ShariMcBride. The promise was made tolisteners that if the goal of money wasreached she would shave her head.

When she arrived at the event onSaturday, she kept her promise andshaved her head in support of child-hood cancer research.

The event was a success in allaspects. It was a learning opportu-nity for the students in PRSSA andmoney was raised for a worthwhilecause.

By Abigail RobinsonStaff writer

Mercyhurst West farm moves to North East

Over the course of the year, Mer-cyhurst University will be relocatingits farms operations from the Girardcampus to its North East campus.

The decision not only stems fromthe lack of academic growth on the

West campus, but also on the availabil-ity of resources in the area.

Along with the relocation of thefarm, the school has contemplated

the possibility of closing Girards aca-demic programs in May 2014.

Theres no real demand for growthin the area. The population of students

and demand for programs has some-what decreased, Gamble said aboutthe possible closing.

University President Tom Gamble,Ph.D., thinks the change will bring sig-nificant well-being to the North Eastcampus.

The move of the farm to NorthEast is going to be a benefit to stu-dents from both the Erie and theNorth East campuses. Students willhave more resources and easier accessto this valuable tool, he said.

Conditions in Girard made it dif-ficult to maintain the farm efficiently

on the West campus, due to the lackof access to water or medical care nearthe farm.

Our West campus lacks the den-

sity of student population, equipment,trucks and so on; it made sense that, if

we moved to North East, wed have allthese things, as well as more access toeverything, Gamble said.

With the move, the school plans todevelop programs in sustainable agri-culture, as well as enriching the culi-nary arts program it already offers.

People in the new sustainable agri-culture major can utilize the farm aspart of their educational experience,he said.

Although there are no immedi-ate plans, the farm would be able to

undergo expansion as time goes, withthe addition of vineyards to work withlocal wineries being in consideration.

By Juan MendezStaff writer

Happi 92.7 host Shari McBride

supports the cause and gets her

head shaved.

Contributed photo

Shavees pose with the St. Baldricks banner after taking the

plunge and shaving their heads for cancer research.

Contributed photo

Students volunteered their time to help plant crops at the farm at

the Girard location.

Contributed photo

News

Brief


3/8

Page 3March 27, 2013 NEWS

Monday, March 18

Theft

Audrey Hirt Academic Center

Referred for discipline

Tuesday, March 19

Liquor Law Violation, Harassment

Warde Hall

Res-Life Incident

Wednesday, March 20Harassment

Warde Hall


Mercyhurst

University

Police & SafetyPolice Log

Sunday, March 24

Public Intoxication

Lewis Ave.


Newspapers go missing

Under no circumstances do I seeit permissible to confiscate thosecopies of the newspaper, Vice Pres-ident of Student Life Gerry Tobin,Ph.D., said.

Tobin continued to explain thatThe Merciad should be abl e to a llowstudents to freely provide commen-tary and opinions on events occur-ring within the university community

without the fear of their papersbeing discarded.

Associate Vice President for Enroll-

ment Management Chris Coons saidhe held a staff meeting to make sureadmissions had nothing to do withthe disposal of the papers.

The Merciad works so hard on theweekly newspaper that I wou ld neverwant it to be thrown away, said Coons.I frequently encourage prospectivestudents to take a copy to read.

Coach Chris Ryan of the MensLacrosse team was unavailable forcommenting on this matter.

The Merciad advis er Bill Welchwas disapp ointed that the newspa-per was thrown away.

I am distressed to think thatanyone at the university would take itupon themselves to hide newspapers

with the apparen t intent of makingsure someone does not read a newsstory, he said.

Welch continued, explai ning thatThe Merciad staff works hard toturn out a publication and online edi-tion that will keep the college com-munity informed. It is even moredistressing to think someone wouldfear the news so much that they

would totall y disregard that e ffort.Tobin assured that the matter

would be dealt w ith if he found outwho was involved .

If we can get a handle on whois responsible, said Tobin, we willdeal with it appropriately.

Continued from page 1.

New Twitter accounts create campus buzz

Buzz stirred when MercyhurstCompliments swept Facebook, butrecently several Mercyhurst Twitteraccounts have popped up and are get-ting students and faculty talking.

Over the past couple of weeks,the following Twitter accounts havestreamed the social media feed:HurstMakeouts, HurstMistakes, Mer-cyhurstRumors, MercyhurstCrushes,

MU_Bucketlist and MUConfessions.The craze started with Hurst-

Makeouts, which took several daysto unleash a post. Soon after posts

were made on this account, the otheraccounts followed.

Twitter users send a Direct Mes-sage to the account they would like toleave their comment or confession onand the mystery account owner tweetstheir comment so it is anonymouslydisplayed.

Many of the comments are funnyand playful, but some take it too far

and become a bit risqu.Most students around campus

seem to enjoy the accounts, but someare skeptical about the filthy and

over-the-top comments.

Senior Danielle Vaccaro sharesthese student concerns.

I think the accounts were madewith no ill intent in mind, but I worryabout the repercussions that couldcome from it. Some of the tweetscould be misconstrued by thoseinvolved as very hurtful and lead totoo many unintended consequencesand hurt feelings, Vaccaro said.

President of Mercyhurst StudentGovernment (MSG) Richard Molloyhas his own opinion on the matter.

Although the majority of the tweets

are light hearted and somewhat enter-taining, there is a line that has beencrossed in terms of naming students andsome very personal information, saidMolloy. I have had students come to meabout how upset they feel that someoneis sharing private or degrading informa-tion with an anonymous person.

Vice President of MSG Brian Lom-bardo agrees.

On the one hand, they are very enter-taining. On the other, however, there isthe potential for the accounts and theircontent to hurt individuals, he said.

Several other colleges and universi-ties have accounts much like those atMercyhurst. However, does the size ofthis university change the dynamic of

the accounts?While I know this is a big trend at

many other universities, with a schoolof Mercyhursts size I feel like this takeson a whole different angle. Everyoneknows everyone, Molloy said.

Despite some mixed feelings, thereis positive reaction from others in thestudent body.

I absolutely love the new Twitteraccounts, said junior Chris Gaertner.Theyre something new and excitingand I am obsessed with followingtheir tweets.

Senior Daksha Cordova agrees.They are super fun to follow, said

Cordova. Im sure everyone has alittle anxiety over whether their namesare going to show up in an anonymoustweet or not.

Since the accounts are merely on astudent-to-student connection, noth-ing will be done by the university tothe accounts. The amount of reachmay be monitored as anything marked

with the Mercyhurst name is, but theaccounts are nothing alarming to thePublic Relations department.

Social media gives people the free-

dom to express themselves whetherit is funny or inappropriate. Theresnot really any way to control it, WebCoordinator Chris Norris said.

Slim worries for bad press exist asthe accounts mostly exist throughoutcurrent students and should have nohindrance on incoming or prospectivestudents.

Still, this is something the universitywill not be promoting.

Mercyhurst does try to use socialmedia, however, to improve the uni-

versity. It follows the account Mercy-

hurst Problems and tries to addressproblems that students express.

It shows how active our socialmedia communication is even at asmaller school like this, said Norris.Its encouraging to know you can givea message (to students) with socialmedia.

The real question is, how long withthis craze last?

I really think they will just die out;just another fad to hit the MercyhurstUniversity community, Lombardo said.

Either way, the new Twitter accounts

have students buzzing of their crushesand confessions around campus.

By Stacy SkiavoNews editor

One of the most popular new Twitter accounts, MercyhurstCrushes

allows students to anonymously share their secret love interests.

Contributed photo

Sean Sickmund, aformer MercyhurstUniversitysopho-more, wascharged earlier this month in Buffalo, N.Y., on

federalcharges of attempting to convincea14-year-old

girl to send him pornographicpictures of herself overtheInternet.

Sickmund wasallegedlynottalking to a14-year-old girl,

butto U.S. Homeland SecurityAgent Edward J. Williamsposing on theInternetas the girl, according to federal

courtrecords.Accordingto thosecourt records,Sickmundhas been

accusedof askingforpornographicimagesandof discuss-

ingtravelingfromErietoJamestown,N.Y.,tohavesexwithher.

Additionally, he has been accused of asking the actual

14-year-old girl in 2012 for pornographic images of her-self. The Homeland Security agent later posed as this

girl.

&KDUJHVZHUH RIFLDOO\EURXJKW DJDLQVW6LFNPXQGRQFriday, March 8. If convicted, Sickmund facesaminimum

of 10 yearsin federalprison.

During theinvestigation, MercyhurstUniversityPolice& Safetyprovided the federalagency with Sickmunds

on-campusaddress in order for them to servethe war-

rant, Police& SafetyChief RobertKuhn said. Thefed-eralagentsarr ested Sickmund off-campus, when hewent

shopping, Kuhn said.

In acaselike this, itis Chief Kuhns job to establish

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explained to TheMerciad.Sickmund attended MercyhurstuntilMarch 11, univer-

VLW\RIFLDOVVDLG +HZDVD VRSKRPRUHEXVLQHVVPDMRU

and menslacrosse player, theysaid. Hewithdrew fromtheuniversityafter he wascharged with trying to obtain

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Thefederal investigation began Friday, March 1, after

the14-year-old girlapproached thefederalagent, accord-

ing to courtrecords.According to the records, the girl explained that

Sickmund had been asking her for self-produced por-

nographic images over a 12-month period. She was 13years old at that time.

According to AssociateVice Presidentof Student Life

LauraZirkle, Ph.D., thistypeof incidenthas notoccurredatMercyhurstbefore.

7KLVLVWKHUVWWLPH, DPDZDUHRIWKDWVRPHRQHZDV

arrested or charged for anymisuse of theInternet onMercyhurstscampus, Zirklesaid.

Thiscase isnot expected to affecttheuniversitysrep-

utation, however.Idontbelievethiswillhavemucheffectontheuniversity

gorio added, Iwouldntwant thisparticular incidenttomaranyof theotherwonderful eventsthathavecurrently

ByZachDorsch

Photoeditor

I wouldnt want this incident to mar

any of the other wonderful events that

have happened at Mercyhurst.

MarkGregorio

Ex-student faces federal charges

Sean Sickmund hasbeen charged with

trying toobtain child pornographyfrom a

14-year-old girl.

hurstathletics.com photo

Copies of the issue of the Merciad above were thrown away around

campus to hide the cover story from the public.

Staff photo

By Zach DorschPhoto editor


4/8

FEATURES March 27, 2013Page 4

Easter traditions vary among students

Easter is a major Christian festivalwhich marks the resurrection of Jesusafter the crucifixion, and is celebratedthroughout the world.

Mercyhurst students were askedhow they celebrate Easter. Many willbe going home to enjoy a four-day

weekend, and celebrate with theirfamilies. Some of the popular holi-day activities include attending EasterSunday Mass, and partaking in Easteregg dyeing and Easter egg hunts.

Mercyhurst will hold an Easter Massat 11 a.m. in Christ the King Chapelfor those students who are not able tomake it home for the holiday.

We also encourage students togo to St. Lukes for other celebra-tions that are part of this season(Holy Thursday and Good Friday).For those Christians from Protestantbackgrounds, we have many goodchurches within walking distance ofcampus, Campus Ministry DirectorGreg Baker said.

This year will be a significant Holy

Week for the Catholic Church becauseit will be the first Easter for newlyappointed Pope Francis.

The Pope started off Holy Weekwith a Palm Sunday service callingon the crowd to shun corruption andreach out to the humble, the poor,and the forgotten. This year PopeFrancis will be holding a Holy Thurs-day service at a youth prison, washing

and kissing the feet of prisoners.I particularly love the fact that this

year Pope Francis is breaking with tra-dition and celebrating Holy Thursdaythis way, said Baker. What a simpleand beautiful reminder that the Eastermessage is one of love, hope andredemption. Because of Jesuss resur-rection, there is tremendous reason tohope.

Easter is celebrated by millionsaround the world, and celebrated with

varying traditions based on cultureand religious affiliations. We askedstudents to share with us their Easterplans.

New York

Junior Angela Staszak is from NewYork and follows Polish traditions. Shelearned how to make platzec, a Polishdish, at a very young age and goes toan open air market with her family toget a chocolate cross, Polish sausageand a butter lamb.

The day before Easter Staszak andher father take a basket that has beenin their family for three generationsto get blessed. Staszak said that it is

becoming increasingly more difficultto find churches that still do bless-ings.

My family has always stuck to thesetraditions and I believe it is importantto continue to pass traditions downthrough each generation; it makes eachholiday more special and meaningful,Staszak said.

Pennsylvania

Senior Emma Rishel is from Penn-sylvania and is Presbyterian. She cele-brates Easter with her family by goingto church Sunday morning followed by

the whole family joining together fordinner.

To me, Easter means that springis here and it is the beginning of newthings and a reminder of what Godsacrificed for us said Rishel.

While many of us share similarEaster traditions how is Easter cele-brated around the world? We askedsome of our international studentshow they celebrate Easter at home,and what their Easter plans are this

year.

Ireland

Senior Rhona Boyle weighed in onhow Easter is celebrated in Ireland.

As a country strongly influenced byCatholicism, Easter is centered aroundchurch and time with the family.

During Lent, Irish children col-lect the item they have given up, likecookies or sweets, in a big jar and onEaster Sunday, they are allowed toopen it and have a feast, said Boyle.We also give and receive large Eastereggs, about the size of a melon. Choc-olate companies make many different

varieties and flavors and children askfor their favorite egg from the EasterBunny.

Boyle celebrates with her family byparticipating in a large-scale Easter egghunt in the countryside. This year, likethe past three years she has been atMercyhurst, she will celebrate Easterhere with friends.

Jamaica

Junior Cariel Lewis shared howEaster is celebrated in Jamaica.

The most common feature ofEaster in Jamaica is the eating of the

Easter Bun. This is spiced bread withcheese that families share on Easter.

Another Easter festivity is a carni-val that begins on Easter Sunday andinvolves music and dancing in color-ful costumes. They also participate ina similar activity to one in the UnitedStates, where young children in pre-paratory schools dress up and collecteggs.

I think its especially importantbecause we are reminded of the end-less sacrifices God has made for us,Lewis said.

Spain

Freshman Macarena Aguirre-Es-talella explained how Easter is cele-brated in Spain.

Over 73 percent of Spain is Catho-lic and the country has a strong Chris-tian tradition. Many people throughoutSpain celebrate every day of the Holy

Week leading up to Easter Sunday.Every day the people of Spain

celebrate with daily processions.The processions are accompani edby bands and music, and incense isburned.

Even non-Christians attend thesedaily processions, Aguirre said.

Another tradition that Aguirreshared was one native to her home-town of Valencia, Spain. Children aregiven cakes in fun shapes (cars, Disneycharacters, etc.) with a hard boiled eggthat has been dyed in the center. Oncethe children find the egg they are sup-posed to break the egg on a sibling orcousins forehead.

This time of year is especially sig-nificant because we are all together as a

family, Aguirre said.Aguirre and her family attend

Mass every day throughout HolyWeek. This year she will be attend-ing Mass on campus and attending adinner hosted by Mercyhurst Profes-sor Analida Braeger for internationalstudents.

Nicaragua

Junior Camila Polinori shared Eastertraditions in Nicaragua.

Catholicism is the strongest reli-gion throughout Central America, andEaster is celebrated as one of the most

commemorative events of the year.Polinori said Easter is very much a

religious holiday in Central Americaand the commercialized aspects arenot celebrated.

Easter baskets and the EasterBunny have been so globalized, thatyou can find them in stores in Nicara-gua, but they are far from a commonEaster tradition, Polinori said.

She spends Easter with her familyand friends at the beaches in Nicara-gua.

Every day throughout the Holy

Week, processions through the streetsof the city are held and inspired by Bib-lical passages. Holy Week is a momentof interesting, massive processions,as well as a period of vacation during

which diversion and relaxation formthe main priorities.

Polinori will be staying on campusthis Easter and celebrating with herfellow international students at a mealhosted by one of the Mercyhurst pro-fessors.

Honduras

Junior Daniela Funes explainedHoly Week traditions in Honduras.

Honduras also has strong roots inChristianity, and many Honduransare Roman Catholics. Every day ofHoly Week, processions throughoutthe cities are held to depict the eventsaccording to the Bible.

Funes and her family go to thebeach for Easter and attend Mass onSunday.

One Honduran tradition Funesshared was decorative carpets, madefrom layers of colored sawdust, andshaped into religious scenes, which arepresented on Good Friday.

Funes will be staying on campusand attend Mass on Sunday followedby a dinner for the international stu-dents.

So whether you are from the U.S.or an international country, Easter isa special religious holiday that is cele-brated in varying ways.

By Abigail Robinson

Staff writer

Junior Angela Staszak and her family decorate their dining room

table for Easter.

Contributed photo


5/8

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Page 5March 27, 2013

Museum accepts

new works of art

Erie features a wide variety ofcreative experiences and artistic cre-ations.

The Erie Art Museum is hostingits 90th Annual Spring Show openingin April.

This is a regional juried exhibit

held in the main gallery of the artmuseum and is sponsored in part byEdinboro University.

Artists located within a 250-mileradius of Erie had the opportunityto enter up to three works that havenever been previously exhibited inthe Erie community.

Types of works include: pho togra-phy, painting, graphics, sculpture andceramics.

Well-known artist Alex is Rockmanis coming to Erie as the Juror ofSelection and Awards for the annual

showcase.Rockmans works have been dis-

played all over the world, includingmuseums such as: the Smithsonian

American Art Museum, The Carne-gie Museum of Art, the Institute ofContemporary Art and the BrooklynMuseum of Art.

Most works depict the naturalworld and exp lore areas of environ-mental issues, climate change andevolutionary biological factors.

Although the galler y receivesnearly 600 submissions of work for

this event, from a wide array of art-ists, Rockman will compile anywhere

between 70-90 pieces for the show.The artists have the opportun ity

to win cash awards, as well as pur-chase awards selected by Rockman ormembers that visit the exhibit.

The Erie Art Museum has part-nered with the Art Department ofEdinboro University to make it pos-sible to bring Alexis Rockman to jurythis showcase and perform a lecturefor the public to hear on Thursday,

March 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the Edin-boro University campus.The Erie Art Museum, located in

downtown Erie, is home to a widevariety of cultural experiences and isopen for the community to explore.

The museum regularly holds acollection of over 6,000 pieces ofartwork in various media such as:ceramics, paintings, baskets andmany other series-specific categories.

The galler y prides itself on show-casing works that are switched outannually, and that embrace a wide

variety of subject matters.This event is a great way to view

what artists throughout the regionhave the ability of producing.

The museum also works to pro-vide a showcase of multiple perfor-mances throughout the year in orderto reach out to members of the com-munity.

The public opening of the 90thAnnual Spring Show exhibit will beSunday, April 21, from 1-3 p.m. Theexhibit is open through July 7.

Contact erieartmuseum.org or call(814) 459-5477 for any questions

associated with this event.

By Garrett Erwin

Staff writer

Pine Barons:

their debut album

Recently the A&E editor was con-tacted by a band wondering if I wouldbe willing to do a review of theirdebut album.

Always ready to listen to new music,I accepted the challenge.

Pine Barons are four guys hailingfrom southern New Jersey that havea unique folk-rock/psychedelic feel tothem.

For an indie debut album, I amthoroughly impressed by how skilledthese guys are.

This album has a very maturesound that feels like it should come

from a band that has a few albumsunder its belt.

Every song has its own unique

feel. One track has a heavy yacht rockinfluence and the next track is moreexperimental, full of perfectly harmo-nized vocals.

This is daring, but Pine Baronsmanage to pull it off almost flawlessly.More about that later; for now, letstalk music.

The bands third track, Alpha-Ig-loo-Bet, was really the first of manysongs that really caught my attention.

The guitar parts during the verse,reminded me of the yacht rock noo-dling of a Mac DeMarco song.

Those guitars then blend into thewispy, dream-like vocals.

The next track that is worth check-ing out is Since Ive Been Away.

This track starts out sounding a lotlike Johnny Cash and then ends with abig rock sound.

This song discusses a man that cantbe tied down. The lyrics, Since I beenaway I wrote a novel in my head andI will never keep you waiting, causeright now I need to go away again.

My only problem with this albumwas the placement of the song

Chamber Choir.Chamber Choir is a low-fi songthat was placed in the middle of thealbum.

Since this song is so different com-pared to the rest, it really breaks upthe natural flow the album.

It would be better off as a bonustrack at the end of the album.

Despite that minor song placementissue, I see this album as a solid debutalbum for an indie label band.

Do yourself a favor and look up thePine Barons on Band Camp.

By Zach Dorsch

Photo editor

ocalLventsE

Friday, March 29

8 p.m.

Good Friday All-Star

Comedy Jam

Warner Theatre

Tuesday, April 2

7 p.m.

Harlem Globetrotters

Erie Insurance Arena

Wednesday, April 3

7:30 p.m.

Ninety Miles -

Jazz Ensemble

Performing Arts Center

Friday, April 57 p.m.

Erie Bayhawks vs.

Maine


Saturday, April 6

2-4 p.m.

Forever Endeavor -

Senior ThesisCummings Art Gallery

8 p.m.

Colour My World: Pop

Series

Warner Theatre

Sunday, April 7

2 p.m.Erie Explosion vs.

Kentucky Xtreme


Monday, April 8

8 p.m.

The 5 Browns

Performing Arts Center

Pine Barons from southern New Jersey release their debut indie

album with folk-rock influence.

Contributed photo


6/8

OPINION March 27, 2013Page 6The views expressed in the opinion section of The Merciad do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercyhurst University, the staff of The Merciad or

the Catholic Church. Responses on any subject are always welcomed and can be emailed to [email protected].

Editors

Alicia Cagle

Stacy SkiavoKayla Kelly

Joe Chiodo

Mat Anderson

Chelsea Schermerhorn

Samantha Link

Zach Dorsch

Ethan Johns

Will DeFeo

Bill Welch

Positions

Editor-in-Chief

News EditorFeatures Editor

Sports Editor

A&E Editor

Copy Editor

Graphics

Photo Editor

Web Editor

Ad Manager

Adviser

@mercyhurst.edu

editormerciad

newsmerciadfeaturemerciad

sportsmerciad

entertainmentmerciad

copymerciad

photomerciad

photomerciad

ejohns89

admerciad

wwelch

The Merciad is the official student-produced newspaper of MercyhurstUniversity. It is published throughout the school year, with the exceptionof finals 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 theletters for content, we reserve the right to trim letters to fit. Lettersare due Mondays by noon and may not be more than 300 words. Submitletters to box PH 485 or via email at [email protected].

If you dont want it printed . . . dont let it happen.

Many students on Facebookare showing their support formarriage equality while the coun-try waits to hear the SupremeCourt ruling on Proposition 8.

It is good to see studentsfrom various disciplines comingtogether to agree on an import-ant issue.

With last weeks Merciad camemuch controversy.

Many students were unaware ofthe federal case until it was coveredin The Merciad.

Too bad most of the news-papers have now disappeared orended up in the trash.

Unfortunately, covering up thenews seems to be a reoccuringtrend at Mercyhurst.

Students are finding that theanonymous Twitter accounts,Mercyhurst Mistakes, MercyhurstCrushes and Mercyhurst Confes-sions, are getting out of hand.

While many tweets are light-hearted and entertaining, someare becoming more and morehurtful.

Tweets are being posted thatinsult students directly and revealpersonal information aboutothers.

With such a small campus, it isnot hard to figure out who eachtweet is talking about. Maybesome of these accounts shouldbe left for larger institutions orthe gutter.

The Person & The Parakeetby Brady Greenawalt

An original comic about struggles in a modern world.

Newspapers, federal case hidden

I have never been as disappointedand outraged with the Mercyhurstcommunity as I am now.

On the cover of last weeks issue of

The Merciad was the story about SeanSickmund, ex-Mercyhurst student whohas been charged by federal authorities

with online enticement and requestingchild pornography. This was a storymany at Mercyhurst overlooked in theErie Times-News, but our staff was

able to make the Mercyhurst commu-nity aware of this situation.

The release of this story appears tohave been an inconvenience amongsome people the university, though.

It appears that some folks around

Mercyhurst did not want current stu-dents, visiting prospective students ortheir families to become aware of what

is obviously disturbing news about aformer student.

What happened is that the hundredsof last weeks copies of The Merciad

were thrown in the trash.Several editors found stacks of The

Merciad in the trash and put them back

in the newspaper stands. Later, thesame editors saw that the newspapers

were missing again, but this time theywere nowhere to be found.

Did these people really think thiswas the best solution?

The last time newspapers wentmissing on campus was October 2004,

when nearly all the copies of the Erie

Times-News were removed fromcampus newspaper boxes so students

would not see a report about the col-lege president at that time.

But what happened last week didnot involve just an Erie Times-Newsarticle. It involved The Merciad, a pub-

lication that many Mercyhurst studentsdedicate a great amount of time andeffort into producing.

From what I can tell, this made nodifference to those who participated inthrowing away copies of The Merciad.

Perhaps it would make a difference

if I asked for a reimbursement fromthose involved.

The Merciad uses ad revenue topay the printing costs each week. Last

week, we had four advertisers whoexpected their ads to be available for

viewing for a total of seven days. Thatsapproximately $500 in ad revenue.

As a communication major, I under-stand the need to maintain the univer-sitys reputation, but the news wasalready released.

Sickmunds story was already

reported online, on the air and in print

from local news sources.This past weekend, those involved

were restricting many people fromaccess to pertinent information.

Several people within administra-tion stated for The Merciad newsaccount that the Sickmund case would

not affect the universitys reputationand its students. Apparently not every-one viewed it this way.

Someone tried last weekend tosweep Sickmunds case under the rugas if it didnt happen.

So Im disappointed, not only bythe disrespect towards a hardworkinggroup of students, but also for somepeoples inability to handle bad news inan appropriate way.

By Alicia Cagle

Editor-in-chief

Editor disappointed in offensive behavior

Read more online at

merciad.mercyhurst.edu/opinion


7/8

September 3, 2008SPORTSMarch 27, 2013 Page 7

Womens hockey ousted in Frozen Four

After a stupendous 2012-2013season, the Lakers have ended theirseason in a 4-1 loss against BostonUniversity in the NCAA WomensFrozen Four semifinals on Saturday,

March 23.The Lakers conclude the season

with an overall record of 29-7-1, and17-3-0 in the College Hockey Ameri-can Conference.

The loss puts the womens hockey

record in NCAA playoff competitionto 4-9 in team history. Minnesota wenton to claim the championship title overBoston University on Sunday, March24.

Despite the loss to Boston, theLakers can look back on an abso-lutely incredible season, and one thatreflects the perfect combination of

united teammates and dedicated staff.The Lakers claimed the number

five spot on the final United States

College Hockey Online (USCHO)Division I womens hockey poll.

Senior goaltender Stephanie Ciampawent into the game against BostonUniversity as the third-ranked goalten-der in the nation, but her focus was notdeterred by such recognition.

I dont really think about (beingranked third in the nation), becauseat that point in the season, stats andawards dont matter, said Ciampa.Anything can happen in these games,and a win means a whole lot more thannumbers.

Ciampa enjoyed her time at theFrozen Four and knows the Lakersstand behind their performance andthe season as a whole.

It was great for our team to be apart of the Frozen Four and to com-pete in that environment, she said.The game did not go the way we

wanted it to, but we are proud of allthat we accomplished this year.

In the week preceding the Frozen

Four tournament, freshman forwardJenna Dingeldein was named CollegeHockey America (CHA) Player of the

Week, alongside Ciampa and juniorforward Christine Bestland.

Being named CHA Player of theWeek is very exciting. There are manyplayers deserving of CHA Player ofthe Week, and being honored with therecognition is amazing, Dingeldeinsaid.

Dingeldein made her first appear-

ance in the Frozen Four over theweekend and found the Laker s stucktogether not only in the semifi-

nals, but also throughout the entireseason.

This weekend was an amazingexperience, and one the team will notforget. As a team this year we haveaccomplished things many people said

we couldnt. We knew if we workedhard and played together, that we

could make it far into the tournament,Dingeldien said.

Despite the loss, Dingeldein canclearly find the positives of the spec-

tacular season that she was part ofwith the Lakers.

Although the outcome was notwhat we wanted when we went intothe Frozen Four, it is somethingthat our team must be proud of, justmaking that far. Our team is the closestteam I have ever been on, and seeing

it come to an end is sad, said Ding-eldein. However, knowing we accom-plished so much is something that thisgroup of girls can always say we didtogether.

Coach Michael Sisti is no stranger tothe NCAA Frozen Four tournament,as he coached the Lakers to the com-petition in both the 2008-2009 and2009-2010 seasons. In fact, Sisti hascarried the Lakers to NCAA Division

I play for the last nine years.Nonetheless, Sisti is very proud of

his team, and applauds them on theirhard work and determination thisseason.

I think the team bought in to whatwe were trying to accomplish. Theyall respect each other and supportedone another. They developed mentaltoughness and a winning attitude thathelped them though the tough times,said Coach Sisti.

In the game against Boston Univer-sity on Saturday, Boston scored a goaljust 13 seconds into the match, and

were outshot in the first period by a

margin of 12 to six.The quick goal may have rattled

a few of our players and changedmomentum at the start of the game.

They [Boston] were able to get a fewtimely goals that helped them play

with good energy, and we just missed

on a few chances that may havehelped us gain control of the game,said Sisti. We fought hard and played

with pride until the final buzzer, so

overall we are very proud of the girls.Boston University is a very good team

with some extremely talented playersand they played a great game againstus.

Overall, Sisti is incredibly pleasedwith the progress and outcome of theseason.

We once again proved that indom-itable will could lead to amazingaccomplishments. Our young teamimproved throughout the season andmatured on and off the ice, said Sisti.They represented our school withgreat tenacity and pride. I am veryproud of my staff and players foranother great season.

By Joe Chiodo

Sports editor

The Lakers fought hard in their loss to Boston University on Saturday, March 23.Ed Millard photo

Lakers win streak concludes after eightThe Mercyhurst baseball team was

on a season high eight-game winningstreak.

The beginning of the winning streakbegan with a win against Queens Col-lege in Florida on Friday, March 1.

During the streak the Lakers beatQueens twice, Salem International

three times, West Liberty, Grand ValleyState twice and finished the streak with

a win over Penn State Greater Allegh-eny.

The Lakers pitching staff domi-nated.

Senior pitcher Ben Rawding kept hiscurrent victory streak going, currentlyat 18. The pitching staff left oppo-nents average runs to only 1.75 pergame during the streak.

The Lakers were scoring an average

of 6.4 runs a game, outscoring theiropponents by an average of five runs a

game, which helped mens baseball wina lot of games.

Senior shortstop Zak Blair creditsthe teams previous streak to the play-ers combined efforts on the diamond.

We were confident as a team, and

we were getting timely hits and work-ing together as a team, Blair said.

The Lakers win streak came to an

end in the PSAC opener on Friday,

March 22, against California University.The Lakers dropped their first

meeting with California University,13-4, but bounced back in the secondmatch, recording a 3-1 victory. Rawd-ing recorded his 18th consecutive winin game two.

The Lakers traveled back home toface the California University Vulcansfor two matches on Sunday, March 24,in the Lakers home opener. It was not

a solid two games for the Lakers, as

they dropped game one, 5-1, and gametwo, 3-1.

We just need to stay together andkeep working hard as a team. We needto believe in ourselves and believe inour teammates, Blair said.

The Lakers will be back in actionat home against Indiana University ofPennsylvania for a doubleheader onFriday, March 29. Opening pitch forthe first game is set for 1 p.m. with

game two to follow.

By R.J. Niedzwiecki

Staff writer


8/8

September 3, 2008SPORTSPage 8 March 27, 2013

Mens hockey falls in AHA championship

The Mercyhurst mens hockey teamlost to Canisius, 7-2, in the AtlanticHockey Association (AHA) Confer-ence finals.

The game was held at Blue CrossArena in Rochester, N.Y. In additionto an AHA Championship Title, theLakers would have also gotten an auto-matic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The team made it to the AHA Finalsafter defeating University of Connecti-

cut 4-1 in the semifinals. The Lakersfinished the season with a 19-17-5

overall record.Most of the scoring came in the

second period. Mercyhurst was out-shot 10-6 in the opening period, andthe team could not regroup. Mercy-hurst outshot Canisius 14-9 in thethird period and held a 36-26 advan-tage in shots during the contest.

Junior defenseman Nick Jones wasa First Team honoree, and sophomore

Ryan Misiak earned a second teamhonor.

The Lakers will say farewell to fourseniors, Max Strang, Grant Blakey,Charlie Carkin and Paul Chiasson.

Senior goaltender Max Strang attri-butes redshirting to his success in thenet.

Being a redshirt senior gave meanother year to develop with our coach-ing staff and it allowed me to completemy double major, said Strang. It alsoshowed me how to be a good leader,having that experience helped meunderstand what it takes to be a good

teammate day in and day out.Strang credited staying focused and

being detail-oriented as reasons formaking it to the AHA Final.

Our success this year has comefrom hard work and paying attentionto detail, said Strang. Furthermore,

we always tried to use our skill level toplay at a high rate of speed.

The Lakers look to return a strongline-up for the 2013-2014 campaign.

By Lindsey Burke

Staff writer

Matthew Zay recieved the AHA Scoring Champion Trophy on Thursday, March 22.

Ed Maillard photo

the merciad march 27, 2013

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