the merciad, march 30, 1989

8/6/2019 The Merciad, March 30, 1989

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VOL. 62 NO. 20 MERCYHURST COLLEGE. GLENWOOD HILLS, ERIE, PA 16546 THURSDAY, MARCH 30,1989

Gannon Villa merger affects the i HurstBy Michelle BushMerciad staff editor

The merger of Gannon University andVilla Maria College could I affect severalMercyhurst programs, including nursing,dietetics and possibly education, according toDirector of Admissions Andy Roth."In terms of numbers,*' Roth said, "thelargest possible negative impact may beeducation.9' An average of 20 Gannon stu-dents per term attended Mercyhurst in the1988and 1989academic year, andan averageof six students attended per term from Villa.I Mercyhurst President Dr. William P. Gar-vey also expects the merger to affectMercyhurst's education department *He saidfewer Gannon students will come to Mer-cyhurst for education classe s.'Mercyhurst] Education ChairpersonBrian McHugh met with Dr. Rob ot Wehrerfrom Gannon's education department Sun-day and discussed the integration. Gannondoesn't offer elementary education, and itsstudents can take it atMercyhurst, accordingto McHugh. Since Villa does havean elemen-tary education* course, however, Gannonstudents can attend V illa."Weare the only one with special educa^tion," McHugh added, so students fromGannon will still come here for that Al-though Gannon students now have theirchoice of colleges, McHugh said, the numberof its students at Mercyhurst won't signifi-cantly drop unless the nature of Gan non's andMercyhurst's agreements change in the fu-ture. ",|pOn Jan. 16 Gannon and Villa announcedthatthey will integrate with Gannon effectiveJuly 1,1989. The announcement was madeby B ishop Michael J. Murphy, chairman ofthe Gannon board of trustees; Gannon Presi-

iMiit^imtmrD IR EC TOR OF A D M IS S ION SA N D Y R O T H ?

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dentDr. M. Daniel Henry; Villa Maria Presi-dent Sister Leonie Shanley; and William Hill,chairman of the Villa board of trustees, v"The integration will be good for bothschools," Gannon's president told the Gan-non Knight, the college's student newspa-per. He added that Gannon will gain stronghealth scien ce, education, and adult learningprograms from V illa.When the Sisters of St Joseph originallymade the proposal for the merger, Mer-cyhurst also was considered in a plan for thethree schools to integrate, Garvey said.TheSisters of Mercy didn't want to mergewith Gannon University and Villa MariaCollege when one joint governing board wasproposed for the three colleges, according toGarvey.' 'Mercyhurst was doing so well theysaw no need to merge with Gannon,'' G arveysaid. iThe Sisters wanted to remain independentof Gannon, Garvey added. "Mercyhurst hasno interest in giving up its identity in a largerly," he explained. After consulting withthe Sisters, the board of trustees formallydecided not to merge. |Although Mercyhurst didn't merge withthe other two colleges, its programs still maysee some changes. ' 'It will reopen some ofour existing arrangements with Villa as far asnursing,'' Garvey said.Mercyhurst students enrolled in the nurs-ing program primarily take their courses atMercyhurst thefirst wo years, according toAssistant -Professor of Biology DianeDudzinski. They do take a foundations ofnursing course at Villa during their sopho-more year Dudzinski said.jg In their junior and senior years, however,almost all their clinical work is at Villa.Dud zinsk i| said that probably wou ldn'tchange because Mercyhurst students do wellon the current program. "Mercyhurst stu-dents have always done very well on the stateboards," she said.The admissions policy for Mercyhurstnurses may change according to Dudzinskibecause all three schools want to adopt thesamepolicy. "We will all be under the samecriteria for admissions,'' she said.Gannon will see the biggest change in itsadmissions policy for nurses, according toDudzinski, because it will have to meetVilla's higher standard j of admissions fornurses. IBesides the programs possibly affectedatMercyhurst, the merger may also bring otherchanges. Villa has about 50 0 adult students,according to Roth. * 'Villa and Gannon couldhurt the adult college,'' he said. I'i But Director of Adult Education Cather-ine Anderson doesn't foresee that as a prob-lem. "W e will continue to offer the sameservices that we always have," she said. Inthe past, people have often preferred Mer-cyhurst over Villa and Gannon, she added.Villa Maria was "irrelevant," accordingto Roth, because Mercyhurst didn't competewith it for students. In the last five years, Rothsaid that less than 3 percent of the studentsapplying to Mercyhurst applied to Villa.Despite possible changes, Garvey wasoptimistic about the merger of Gannon and

Villa. "We regard the new entity as an ally,"he said. |"The competitive nature might be en-hanced,' ' Garvey said. The competition initself isn't bad or unhealthy,but he said if thecolleges aren't careful, it could becom e thatway.Mercyhurst and Gannon have enough incommon to maintain a good relationship

despite their differences. "W e are bothCatholic, and we are both private," Garveysaid. "Gannon has adifferentdestiny than wedo. Mercyhurst sees itself more as classic."He explained that the'Hurst has a strongemphasis on the liberal arts and is more of aclassic-based j traditional college like Al-legheny College in Meadville or John CarrollUniversity in Cleveland.

T H E BEAUTIFUL SPRING weather on Monday prompted Veronica Sansom andRachele Aultto teach the inerpoints of soccer to young Lindsey Porter. Photo by Karen SampsonAdult apathy towardstudent activities commonBy Robi TaylorMerciad staff writer

The 346 adult students, who make upabout 19 percent of the student population,are restricted from election to MSG or SACpositions by a policy that says they do notpaythe annual $60 student government fee.| I**Adult students have the reputation ofshowing up, going to class, taking up a park-ing space, and going hom e," William Ken-nedy, director of student services, said aboutthe apathy show n by adult students towardsschool activities.;- The lack of involvement associated withadult students concerning college activitiescreated a nationwide policy of waiving stu-dent government fees called "bundling",Kennedy said. Mercyhurst student govern-ment also adopted a similar policy for thosestudents who start colleg e after the age of 21 .I i "Those policies make them (adult stu-dents) ineligible to run or vote for any posi-tion on either MSG or SAC. The only way anadult can run for office is if they voluntarilypay die fee*" he said. \However an adult student student canpresent ideas to the SAC without paying the$60. Larrv Koslowski JSAC staff advisor

said. "All they have to do is visit the SACoffice in the student union and ask to be puton the agenda to speak at the next meeting,"he said. | |MSG should be saved for the traditionalstudents, because the adult students seem tobe "out of contact" with the needs offtheyounger students, Jim Callahan, a 30-year-"The Adult College should berepresented in the SAC. We arepart of the College ]and shouldhave an interest in what's goingon. t -Jim Callahan

old accounting major said. "But the adultcollege should be represented in theSAC. Weare part of the college and should have aninterest in what's g oing o n at Mercyhurst,"he said. -J |"The adult students would be able tooffer useful insights to problems because ofSe e j)A d u l t ' pg. 5

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PAGE 2 The Merciad MARCH 30,1989

Weekend thefts resultfrom unlocked doorsBy Robi TaylorMerciad staff writer

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Two first floor apartments at401 2 Briggs Ave. were burglarizedMarch 10 between 9:30 p.m. to11:30 p.m. while the building wascrowded with about 200 people at-tending parties in the upper apart-ments and die building next door.^ ^ The thieves entered the apart-ments through the front/doors,which were unlocked at the time,"Detective Washburn, Erie S PoliceDepartment, said.Residents of the building toldpolice that it is common to leavetheir doors unlocked if they thinkthey are going to stay in the generalarea of the building. "This is tomake it easy for the tenants and theirfriend s to use the facilities while a

ment," Dever said.Apartment resident Tim Timkosaid that the cash and discs takenfrom his apartment were very wellhidden. "Only my roommate and Iknew where the stuff was hidden,"he said, "The rooms weren't ran-sacked. Everything, includingclothes that we had folded in ourdrawers, w as just as we left it ""He must have been very re-laxed about the whole thing,"Timko said. "He even finishedoff anew bagof pretzels before he left.""Keep parties restrictedto people that you invite.This is an important stepin keeping your property

party is going on,he was told by residents.The school does not assume lia-bility forthe stolen property becausethe doors were left unlocked, whichis the student's responsibility, ac-cording to Merrill Dever, director ofcampus security.Taken in the burglaries wereproperty and cash valued at about$277.vThe stolenjitems include aNintendo game console, four com-pact discs, $83 in cash and two pre-recorded cassette tapes.* 'The thieves must have knowntheir way around the apartmentThey were very selective aboutwhatthey stole, leaving 31 CDs and theplayer'(behind in the one apart-

Washburnsaid from being stolen. Bud DeverBoth theErie Police and campussecurity said they have no leads.* 'Because of the number of people,including outsiders, wanderingaround thebuilding at the time of the

thefts, it will-be impossible to findthe person who did it,'' Washburnsaid.The times just before and aftervacations are when a majority ofbreak-ins take place, Dever said."Because students are gettingready to leave for break, it makes itvery easy to simply carry stolenitems home without fear of gettingRES ERV E OFFICERS' TRAINI NG CO RP S

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caught, he said. |He added that the end of springterm has got to be the worst time forthefts. * 'This is because of all theparties happening all over the cam-pus. Thieves can see what can beeasily stolen from an apartment byjust looking around during aparty," Dever said."That is most likely what hap-pened in this case /' Washburn said."Students and outsiders came to aparty at the building, saw what theywanted and came back later andtook i t" , I |Dever added that students haveto be careful about who comes totheir parties. "Keep parties re-stricted to people that you invite.Never open a party to the generalpublic,' * he said.' 'This is an impor-tant step in keeping your propertyfrom being stolen." f

T H E E M P I R E B R A S S Q U I N T E T (clockwisefrom upper left): J. SamuelPilafman, Jeffrey Curnow,Martin Hackleman, Scott A. Hartman, andRolfSmedvic. Photo by Christian S teiner

D'Angelo Series:Brass quintet performing in AprilBy Theresa KloeckerMerciad staff reporter

The D'Angelo School of Musicwill be presenting The EmpireBrass Quintet on April 2 at 2:30p.m. at Tech Memorial High SchoolAuditorium, 3325 Cherry S treet$The concert will be the finalconcert in the 1988/89 Concert/Recital Series, which is being spon-sored by the D'Angelo School ofMusic.The program for Sunday's con-ceit will [include works by Bach,Handel, Purcell, Gershwin, Co-pland and Bernstein.The Empire Brass was the f irstbrass ensemble to win the prestig-ious Naumburg Chamber MusicAward. They were also the recipi-ent of a Harvard Music Associationreward. Leading composers such asLeonard B ernstein, Peter Maxwell

Davies,and Stanley Silverman havebeencommissioned to create worksespecially for the Empire Brass.The ensemble en joys an interna-tional reputation as NorthAmerica'sfinestbrass quintet TheEmpire Brass has given a commandperformance for Queen ElizabethII, and performed at a PresidentialInaugural conce rt ':They also participated in theopening concerts of the newly-renovated Carnegie Hall, and havetoured extensively in NorthlandSouth America, Europe and theFarEastThe Empire Brass performsregularly in such cities as Berlin,Paris, Amsterdam, Oslo, (Zurich,Caracas, Tokyo, New York, Bos -ton, Chicago, and Washington,D.C. The ensemble has also per-formed with orchestras, includingthe Chicago {Symphony, Boston

Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony,and the M innesota Orchestra. Theyare also a popular attraction] atsummer music festivals in placessuch as Chautauqua, Saratoga andTanglewood.This season the Empire Brasswill perform over 100 concerts,including a debut with the SaintLouis and Detroit Symphonies anda return to Carnegie Hall. Touringhighlights will include visits to theSoviet Union and Venezuela.Since 1976, the Empire Brasshas recorded over 20 albums. Therecently released A Bach FestivalFor Brass and Organ withDouglas Major for Angel/EMI hasbeen praised for its *4 brilliant soundand breathtaking performances."

Tickets will be available at thedoor for $ 5, or reservations can bemade by calling 825-03 64.

Social consciousness purpose of campus playBy Theresa KloeckerMerciad staff reporter

Call CPT Jim Dalton*at 871-7673

* Four people were awarded rolesin the play Jacques Brel Is Alivean d Welland Living In Paris afterauditions were held on March 12.P f The play is to be performed inthe M ercy hurst Little Theater fromApril 21-22 andfromApril 28-30 .Half of the cast is made up of Mer-cyhurst juniors, Cathy O'Gara andKathy Baker. Both are from themusic department The other tworoles will be performed by twocommunity people, John Burtonand Paul Urbanowicz.The play is more of a review of25 songs, but the songs do follow acertain pattern or progression, ac-

cording to Director Igor Stalsky.Jacques Brel was areal person wh odiedof lung cancer about five or sixyears ago, Stalsky said.Brel was a song writer and apoet who was popular during the1960s. "All his songs deal withsome social consciousness, and his

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purpose in singing to us is to raiseawareness of why weare failinglization," Stalsky said.Jacques Brel Is Alive andWell and L iving in Paris is a 60 splay, but the problems are stillaround, according to Stalsky.! 'Jacques Brel was popular duringthe hippie times. Maybe during theReagan era it is no longer relevant,but if you listen to his songs andthink of Yuppies, it fits," Stalsky

said. |Stalsky has directed the playtwo times in the past 17 years. In1972 he directed it at the Mer-cyhurst Little Theater. In 1980 hedirected atthe Village Dinner Thea-ter in Erie, which no longer exists.

Jacques Brel Is Alive andWell and Living In Paris will beperformed from April 21-22 and28-29 with all performances at 8p.m. There will also be a matineeperformance on Sun., April 30, at2:30 p.m. All performances are atthe Little Theater!in Weber Hall.All Mercyhurst students with LD.'sare admittedfree.Adult admissionis $6. Admission fof!outside stu-dents and senior citizens is $4.


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MA RC H 30,1989 The Merciad PAGE 3

Newest Mercyhurst students little i birdbrainedBy Robi TaylorMerciad staff writer

Mercyhurst College has raisedthe admissions requirements inorder to attract the most academ i-cally m otivated studentsfromhighschoolsfrom across the country.Butrecently a new type of stu-dent that can only be called birdbrained has been caught enteringclasses through open windows onthe thirdfloorof Old Main.4 'One teacher cam e to our com-mittee to complain about pigeonssneaking into her classroom anddisrupting her class/9 Mike Falk,chairman of the administrativeoperations and policy5 committee,said. The birds are landing on thewindow sills and radiators, then

flying around the classroom anddefecating o n thedesk tops, he said.4 'Actually the birds are quitetame. A couple of them are bandedso they were probably pets at onetime,*' Judith Wieczorek, professorof sociology said.Wieczorek is one of four teach-ers that are having problems withthe intrusive students.;Students say that English compclasses with Dr. David Palmer arealso bothered by the invasion of thenew students. "Their roosting areaisjust outside the windows and theirmating noises are what is botheringthe classes,9* said Palmer, who hastwo pigeons regularly attending hisclasses. {' 'Most of the time there are onlytwo of them, but sometimes a third

one wanders in. You can tell by theirmarkings that they are the samebirds that keep coming around,9*Wieczorek said.She added that the birds are adistraction because they make dis-tracting noises and leave "messesall over the place.**She i s angry that students haveto be more concerned about what iscoming at themfromabove insteadof the lessons on theboard. "I likeanimals,'* Wieczorek said, "butthis is a little too much.**"If the pigeons continue to at-tend classes, theschool would haveto charge them for the credits,**secretary to safety Joan Cook said."But," she added, "the pigeonsmight face charges of illegal entryfor coming through the windows.'*

Toronto trip becomes religious experienceBy Theresa KloeckerMerciad staff reporter

Recently eight Mercyhurst stu-dents and G eorge Garrelts, assistantprofessor of theology, traveled toToronto to learn about and experi-ence different religions. iThe purpose was to get a broadlook at religions from variouspoints of view, Garrelts said.The students were rom variousmajors including En glish, religiousstudies and math. There were fourmale and four female students.Caryl Unseld, a sophomore,went on the trip which w as duringthe weekend of March 17. "I per-sonally think that it is important forpeople to understand andbe tolerantof other ^people's religions, so Ifound the trip very thought provok-ingand educational, but we had fun

too, Unseld said.The experiences varie d, fromthose in the Far Eastern tradition tothe Christian and Jewish tradition.The students went to a Taoist serv-ice, two Buddhist temples, a Chris-tian ecumenical service, a Hindutemple, and a Moslem mosque.* I On Friday evening the groupwent to the Taoist temple. A Tei Saigroup member from Malaysiademonstrated how martial, artsexercises were used for religiousmeditation. Taoism is based on theteaching of Mao Tse-tung, a Chi-nese leader who followed the teach-ings of Karl Marx.The first stop for the group onSaturday was a Chinese Buddhisttemple. "The Chan San Buddhisttemple, was full of worshipers onSaturday morning putting fruit infront of their favorite Buddhas,"Garrelts said.

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The group then went to the HarZion synagogue which was locatednear the Buddhist temple. They sawthe scrolls and the ark which play animportant part in Jewish services.They also met a minion, 12 Jewishmales who were w orshipping there,and shared lunch with them, Oar-relts said. ^ * M TThey then traveled to a KoreanBuddhist temple. "We satin medi-tation for about an hour, and thenhad # discussion with a Koreanmonk, who was in residence at thetemple,'' Garrelts said. The monkstressed that people should be mind-ful of the grace in every action,according to Garrelts.On Saturday evening the groupattended a Christian ecumenicalservice attheThomas Moore Centerat the University of Toronto. "Theecumenical service was in memoryof *Archbishop Oscar Romero, aformer archbishop of San Salvadorin El Salvador," Garrelts said. Theparticipants in the service includedRoman Catholics and Protestants.Sunday morning thegroup wentto the Vishnu Mandir, a Hindutemple. "W e sat on the floor withmany Hindu gods and goddesses infront of the sanctuary," Garreltssaid. Garrelts added that there was

a great deal of worship and partici-pation in this unusual setting.Thelast destination of the groupbefore returning to Erie was theSunni Moslem mosque. When thegroup arrived, the congregation wasalready at prayer on the floor, andwas being addressed by their imam,the prayer leader of the Moslems.He spoke in Urdu, an Indian dialectthat was interpreted by a youngadult male from the mosque for thechildren, according to Garrelts.Following the service the groupmet with five Moslems of thecom-munity and discussed theteachingsof their law, according to G arrelts."We found the Moslems very anx-ious to communicate their ideas,"Garrelts added. fThe trip was paid for by theAcademic Enrichment Fund, Gar-relts said, f m

The admissions office said thatthere is currently no policy set forpigeons \o be admitted to Mer-cyhurst as undergraduate students.It is also unknown which of thecollege* s three tuition schedules thebirds would have to follow if theywere admitted."They don't take up that muchroom, so we could just put percheson the windows and let them learnfrom there," one faculty membersaid. I"We know that most of thebirds are decent upstanding citizensbut we do exp ect some trouble fromthe street pigeons, you know theones that live around the docks. Forthose birds we have a counselingservice that may help," she said.I "However," sheadded, "if thepigeons com e to learn, that is fine.But if!they come to disturb theclasses then that is something thatnobody has to put up with. Letthemgo to down to Gannon where theycan join a fraternity so they can raiseall diehell they w ant' *"If they (the pigeons) are dis-rupting classes we would have nochoice but to do something about itThe birds would be caueht and

charged with criminal trespass,harassment, and defecating in theclassroom," according to MerrillDever, director of security.^A local law officer said that thebirds could face penalties that in-cludes fines of up to $250 and sixmonths in jail for each offense."But the case would probablynever get to trial There are no pi-geons on the jury call-up lists, so atrial before their peers would foeimpossible for any pigeon arrestedat the college," theofficer said.The problem could be solvedbyinstalling screens over the openwindows, Wieczorek said. Sheadded that as an adviser she wouldbe glad to help the pigeons worktowards their degrees, if they com-plete all the necessary classes. Shejust wants them to stop disruptingherclasses.Palmer agrees that the pigeo nsshould be allowedto continueclasses here at Mercyhurst as lon gas they fulfill the requirements ofthe classes. He adds thatany pigeonthat wants a degree should see itsadviser to "make sure that all themajor.

Europeaii| market joffessopportunities for allBy Robi TaylorMerciad staff reporter

Contrary to the beliefs ofAmerican businesses and govern-ment officials, the 1992 free tradeagreement between twelve Euro-pean countries will benefit coun-tries on both sides of the Atlantic,according to Gerd Brueggemann,economic correspondent for theWestGerman newspaper. Die Welt[The World]. :' :There willbe numerous benefitsfor U.S. businesses in dealing withthe twelve countries as one group,nowcalled the European EconomicCommunity [E.E.CJ.Instead of having to negotiatewith each government w ith differ-ent regulations, one group speaksfor the entire community. By mak-ing deals with a central office ex-ports from the U.S. would be avail-able to all the 320 million consum-ers! living within the Europeancommunity, he said. |Importing products from thecommunity will be easier for U.S.companies, Brueggemann said. Theagreement encourages outsidecompanies to make purchases fromnation

same trade benefits within the Euro-pean Community that companiesalready in theE.E.C. currentlyhave,Brueggemann said during hisspeech for the Academic Celebra-tion on Jan.31. "B ut," he added,"the companies from outside thecommunity would have to followthe same regulations that are im-posed on insider businesses. Muchthe same way foreign banks followU.S. regulations when they set upoffices in this country."One problem currently betweenthe U.S. and the European Commu-nity concerns the import of Am eri-can beef that has been treated withgrowth hormones. Since theEuro-peans banned the import ofhormone treated beef, ithe U.S.

any company in any memby lifting the restrictions in place inthe separate countries. The agree-ment gives the same benefits I tobusinesses wishing to invest moneyin European bu sinesses.Part of the. agreement underwhich the community will operatestates that the equal treatment ofoutside companies would allow the

government has been claiming thatit is being discriminated against bythe Europeans. "The truth," ac-cording to Brueggemann, "is thatthe ban is against all beef producingcountries who use hormones, notjust the U.S."] %kThis type of problem is all thatremain between the U.S. and theEuropean ; Community. " Talksbetween the two sides are workingtheproblems out," he said, "but* itis going to take a lot of time and a lotof effort on both sides.""The new European Marketwill be the largest in theworld,"Brueggemann said. "Itwillbe larger than the market of theU.S. and three times larger than themarket of Japan, establishing itself

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Chilean grape panic suggeststreatment of' other concernsTwo grapes. It's simply unte -lieveable that two grapes neverbefore even sneezed at in thescheme of things would cause theUnited States as well as other na-tions economic loss, outrage, andconsumer panic.For those who have been lockedin a closet for thepast few weeks ortoo zoned out from studying (yeah,right) three grapes from Chile wereinspected and found to have punc-

ture marks on their skins. Two ofthese grapes were found to havetraces of cyanide poison in them.According to Time magazine(March 27) the amount of cyanidefound in the grapes was not enough44to give a toddler a stomach ache.".Despite this, virtually an or-chard of fruit has been pulled offsupermarket shelves, returned toSteves, or thrown away . BannedChilean fruit not only includedgrapes, but also peaches, blueber-ries, blackberries, melons, greenapples, pears, and plums.

Panicky consumers have beenbesieging poison hotlines to ques-tion whether or not they have beenpoisoned by eating fruit (inciden-tally, cyanide is such a fast-actingpoison that it would killa person justone to two minutes after ing estion).People were getting so jumpyabout;the possibility of contami-

Oregon state police wenton a high speed chase toovertake a school buscarrying a -little girlwhose mother hadpacked! grapes in herlunch box.nated fruit that Oregon statepolice wen t on a high speed chase toovertake a school bus carrying alittle girl w hose mother had packed

ThetMerciadMercyhurst College's First-Class newspaperas rated by the Associated Collegiate PressVol. 62 No . 20 Match 30,1989Christopher J. KovsldMichelle BushKaren SampsonMatthew J. ClarkKevin McHughPatty ConeglioLiz Richards

EditorEditorial Board

Sports EditorAssistant Sports E ditor

Business Managerl*\

iAlexaPotterPatSteckmanKerry RimdziusSteve RushMara SweterlitschJohnKupetz

Photo EditorCirculation Manager

Photographer

Cartoonists

Faculty AdviserReporters

Amy Lynn AustinChris Cade-MeadeJill ChiccarinoMargaret CoffeyBill DarlingBrian D iPlacidoMary DuntonUna FieldingHolly Fulmer

BillHoganMaria KellyTheresa KloeckerSaraLinehanBrian MaidenJennifer MontaniAndy PenhollowRobi TaylorAndrea TiptonTh e Merciad it the student-produced newspaper of MercyhurstCollege, Bo x 161,501 E. 38th St , Erie, PA 16546. Phone: 825-0376. Material for publication must be submitted bv noon on theMonday before publication.The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed,but the writer's name can be withheld by request

grapes in her lunch box , accordingto Tim e. Just two little grapes.To add to the fruit fanaticismthere has recently been discussionover the use of certain pesticidesand growth regulators, notably Alar(the brand name for daminozide).These i drugs, primarily fused onapples, are controversial becausethey are possible carcinogens.Children are; the ones whoprimarily eat the apple productsincluding fresh fruit, applesauce,and apple juk e. These childrencould possibly be filled with car-cinogens and later in life developcancer.ActressMeryl Streep has starteda protest group against Alar treatedfruit adding to the fruit scare.School districts in New York City,Los Angeles, and Chicago have allbannedfruit rom heir cafeterias.The fruit scare will cause e co-nomic strain on states which pro-duce ruit,such as Washington andcountries such as Chile which relyon ruitexportation as a main sourceof revenue. Itis estimated that Chiledoes $600 million of ruitand vege-table sales per year, Time said.After the grape scare, $15 millionworth of fruit was stockpiled onChilean docks, while $4 millionworth was stopped en route to othercountries. According to Time,20,000 Chilean food workers havelost their jobs and 200,000 morejobs are in danger of being lo stIn order to salvage any remainsof the flagging ruiteconomy, Chil-ean President Augusto Pinochet ateafew grapes for television cameras.There were also demonstrations byChilean fruit workers and carssported signs saying "My familyeats Chilean fruit**

I find it incredulous thatsomuch havoc and actioncan be brought about bytwo grapes, fI find it so incredulous that somuch havoc and action can bebrought about by tw o grapes. Icringe to think of all the food thatwas wasted and all the hungrypie who could have benefitedfrom the fruitThere was, admittedly, a con-cern for safety and welfare of frui tconsumers, but the people of the

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United States have grossly overre-acted. The only good thing to comeout of this scare is it proves thatpeoplefrom vasdy different back-grounds, races, and classes can jointogether when necessary.Now all that is needed is this kindof response to a teal cause such asAIDS, or environmental concerns.Hopefully, two grapes will becomea symbol for action, concern forothers, and the plans for continu-ation (ormaybe even beginning) ofa safe and healthy world.

Kovskf KornerWeekend theftsteach lessonBy Christopher J. KovskiMerciad Editor

On F rt, M ar. 10, two apartmentswere burglarized at 4012 BriggsAvenue. It was an easy theft, becausethe residents had left their doors o pen.So someone walked into theirapartments, and walked out with over$277 in cash and merchandise, as theysay in the game shows.The items w ere apparendy hidden in the apartments, but there wasno sign of any ransacking. The person (or persons) was selective, onlytaking two C Ds, when they could have had 33 and a C D player.The doors to these apartments were open because the residents hadgone to parties, and wanted to be able to get in quickly if they or theirfriends wanted to use the fac ilities.For the convenience of easy access to a bathroom, these people lostsome of their possessions. Because the doors were open, the school hastaken no responsibility for the losses.Other students can learnfrom his misfortune. There are a numberof steps that can be taken to insure the safety of your valuables.

With nicer weather coming up, it is easy to parka car with the windows open if you plan to comeback to it soon. But if you leave anything in yourcar, it is easy for someone toreach n yourwindowand remove tems like cassettes or books.

Forone, lock your doors when you are out of your room. Even ifyou areonly going to be across die hall, it is better to be safe.The convenience of having quick access to a bathroom isn't worththe hassle of having to file a police report It may slow you down by aminute, but a police report can slow you dow n for hours.Also, security on campus can provide marking of valuables toprevent loss. The marking is with a pen that doesn't show unlessexposed to a special light Contact the security office for more details.Don't forget to mark your valuables yourself, if you don't wantsecurity to do i t An engraver is an inexpensive investment,and can determany thefts.When you are getting ready for breaks, make sureyour possessionsare secure. If youare not going to be taking your valuables with you,either make sure they are well hidden or that you leave them with a friendthat will b e on campus during the break.To be sure that your valuables are safe during break, however, takethem home w ith YOU.The convenience of having quick access to$abathroom isn't worth die hassle of having tofileapolice report. It may slow you down by a minute,but a police report can slow you down for hours.In addition, when getting ready to g o home for a weekend or for abreak, keep your door locked when m oving stuff around. If you arecarrying items for any distance, definitely lock the door, as someonecould easily abscond with your possessions.^

"jAnother way to protect your valuables is to make sure that peopledon'tknow you have them. Ifyou musthavepeople in to yourapartmentor room for a party, make sure that your valuables are put away in a placethat is locked. | jjAlso, keep your car locked (if you have one). As evidenced by therecent thefts from cars, they are an easy target, especially when m ostpeople are in classes.With nicer weather coming up, it is easy to park a car with thewindows open if you plan to come back to it soon. But if you leaveanything in your car, it is easy for someone to reach in your window andremove items like cassettes or books.Work with the security department It Is in place to help. BudDever,Will Sydow, and the rest of the staff are more than willing to offer you>tect yourself and your possessions.


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MARCH 30,1989 The Merciad PAGES

i Adult' cont.from pg. 1 1992' cont.from pg. 3the practical experience of theadults that may help with studentsactivities/' Callahan said.Most adults students thoughdon't really want to get involved.They just want something to com-plain about when something goeswrong, he said -"The biggest causefor he lackof nvolvement by the adult studentsistime,"Cathie Anderson, directorof the adult college, said. Timelimitations caused by work, family,children and school work are som eof the things that keep adult studentsfrom being m ore active, she said.

Most adults stick to the major-related activities such as the Busi-ness Club for business majors andC-Rock for communication I stu-dents, Anderson said. "A few at-tend the college's sports and cu l-tural events, but most just don'thave the time, Anderson said."All student activities are ad-vertised and are open to the adultstudents. The dances, movies, andcontests sponsored by jj the SACusually have good turnouts," JanetHolzhaeusser, SAC chairperson,said, "but adults usually do not

attend."Student activities are lacking forall? students, n ot just adults, Cal-lahan said. He blames the lack ofcommunication between organiza-tions for all the problems, includingthe generally bad attendance of allstudents - not just adults - at mostschool activities. $

as the third economic power next tothe U.S. and Japan." f P IThe estimate of annual exportsfrom the E.E.C. is about $400 bil-lion with a trade deficit of $18.5billion per year.European companies are onlycompetitive in this country if theirprices are what the consumers arewilling to pay, Brueggemann saidafter the speech, for American

companies, it's the other wayaround. The Europeans hope thatthe removal of some of the red tapewill cause price reductions and giveEuropeans a stronger place in theworld market, i"The European Community o f1992 will have open doors and notbarricades. To shut themselves offfrom the rest of the world would

isolate them from possible markets,such as the I United States,"Brueggemann said to thecrowd ofabout ISO students, faculty, and cityresidents. "For the sake of it's owninterests, the Community will notshut itself off." | | |% "W e are each others'best cus-tomers," he said, "What unites us isgreater than what divides us."

Film Series offers cultural opportunitiesBy Theresa KloeckerMerciad staff reporter

Mercyhurst College offersmany unique cultural opportunitiesto the Mercyhurst and Erie commu-nities, and one of these is theFilmsFor Discussion series, which is setto begin on April 5.g The series includes interna-1tional films from Africa, the Philipi- films are available for $5.

nes, Germany, and even theUnitedStates. It is presented by the Depart-ment of Philosophy and ReligiousStudies under the direction of Dr.George Garrelts. IThe irst ilm, Place ofWeeping,will be shown on April 5 at 8 p.m. inthe Zum Auditorium. Admissionfor the Mercyhurst community isfree and adult i admission is $2.Season tickets for the series of four

Place of Weeping is an anti-apartheid story set outside the largecities in the South African country-side. The film was made and di-rected by South Africans and is inEnglish. David Nordquest of thepolitical science! department willintroduce the film at 7:50 p.m.The film series will be heldevery Wednesday in April: SugarBaby, April 12; Perfumed Night-mare, April 26 ; Born A gain, April

26 . All showings are at 8 p.m. withan introduction by experts in thefield at 7:50 pan.The series of international film sbrings the social, political, and cul-tural experience of peoplefromallover the world to the Zurn Audito-rium, The series also gives people achance to keep up culturally withother world cultures, Garrelts said."We have to keep up so w e don'tbecome culturally]isolated," Gar-relts said.

Campus Ministry is acceptingministers work-study applica-tions for the 1989- 90 academic yearduring March, April and May.

fw - * ? r * > & - - m # * .$&

SUMMER JOBS |Five summer jobs are availableinfreshmanstudies for the PACE

HARVARD MEETINGAll students that have signed upto work Harvard Graduation onMay 31 thru June 9 must attend aninformational meeting on Tues.April 11 at2:30p.m. in Egan 2. Yo umust attend this meeting to secureyour position. f

program running June 25 thru July21 . Two resident advisors (onemale and one female) and threetutors are needed. Pick up an appli-cation in Egan 10. Theapplicationdeadline is April 1. 1

CANCER DRIVEThe American Cancer Societywill have its annual fund raisingdrive Sunday, April 9 thru Satur-day, April 22 . The college is invitedto volunteer one hour of time to thiscause. To sign up contact Sr. Eliza-beth, Roger Clark or Father Steve atCampus Ministry, ext 429.

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SCHOLARSHIPS AVAIL-ABLE | I ,Applications for the followingscholarships t are available in theFinancial Aid office. ThePresqueIsle Chapter of AmericanBusinesswomen's Association forwomen with inancialneed. Dead-line for application: 3-31-8 9. TheJoseph G. Olszewski ScholarshipFund for residents of Erie county.Must possess g ood scholarship andcharacter and h avefinancialneed.Deadline for application: 5-15-89.The AlphalotaChapter (Erie) of theDelta Kappa Gamma Society Inter-national, an honor society forwomen educators, hasa scholarshipfor women with financial need.Deadline foriapplication: 4- 24-8 9.

CAN COLLECTION| I The w omen 's! soccer team iscollecting aluminum cans in orderto buy new uniforms and defraytraveling costs. If interested indonating, theteam will even pick upthe cans at your home. Please con-tact Andy Roth at Ext 240, or stopbv the Adm issions Office.

BOWLING TOURNAMENTStudents challenge faculty andstaff n a bow ling tournament spon-sored by the HRIM department o nFriday, April 21 at6:30p.m. The$5charge per person includes threegames and shoes at Eastland Bowl.Sign up a team of five with Kay inEcan 24 or call ext 333.

GRAFFITI DANCEStudents are holding a graffitidance in honor of Mary Beth Bier-bauer April 8from9 p.m. to 1 a.m.in the cafeteria. Bring markers andwear white. Tickets are on sale for$1 in the cafeteria andCove duringdoor will be

Clipperssis at the

AUDUBON ACTIVITIES ?See some f"Early Spring Migrants** at Land of Lakes, Cambridge Springs on April 1. For moreinformation call Joan Howlett a734-1765J i

BULLETIN BOARDIf you have an announcementfor the Bulletin Board, submit it toBox 161, campus mail, or hand-deliver it to The Merciad office,81B , Baldwin Hall. Typewrittenmaterial is appreciated. Items mustbe received by noon on the Mondaybefore publication.* Any items afterthattime will be givenconsiderationonly if space permits.

D'ANGELO CONCERTTheD* Angelo School of Musicpresents The Empire Brass Quintetas the final concert of itsJ1988/89Concert/Recital Series. Theconcertis Sunday, April 2 at 2:30 p.m. atTech Memorial High School Audi-torium, 3325 Cherry S tBALLOONSCampus Ministry is selling bal-loons forall occasions to raise fundsfor charity. There are two typesofballoons on sale, Latex for SO cents,Mylar for $2 . The sale will continuethroughout the year.

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6/8


!Chances Are*comes uplosing betin theaterBy Robi TaylorMerciad staff writer

There were a couple of goodthings that happened to mewhen Iwent to see Chances A re last week.First, I got 50 cents off the cost ofmypopcorn and Coke. Second, I got at chance to win a trip to Hollywood,j Unfortunately, seeing the movieisn't listed among the more pleasantevents of the day.This movie has the least originalstory put out this year. It is a directsteal of the Warren Beatty filmHeaven Can W ait. The same plothas been used a n umber of times, buty never this badly.Robert Downing Jr. plays news-paper reporter Alex Firch, the rein-carnation of-Louis Jefferies whowas killed after being run over by acar in 1965.His performance was good forthe story that he was given. He hasdone better and he will get betterscripts if the producers can overlookChances Are and just look at thei other work that he hasdone lately. It*would be a shame to lose a youngtalent because of onebad film.Cybil Sheppard plays ConineJefferies, wife of L ouis and motherof Alex's new girlfriend.This is Sheppard's first movierole since Moonlighting and itcouldn't have made her look worse.She has done some good acting, likein the cult film The Last PictureShow back in the early 70's .It'stoo bad that most people willremember this movie and Moon-lighting as being the extent of hercareer. Her other work is so muchbetter, but itwill probably be forgot-ten, fIt's hard to tell' what RyanO'Nealdid in this film. Hisrole wasto be Louis' best friend'who has.developed a one-sided love affairwith Conine , confiding his feelingsto Alex/Louis who is still in lovewith her himself. This is gettingrather confusing isn't it?If you can think of anything elseto do - do it, and save yourself theheartache of having $4,50 shot tohell, unless ofcourse you can get thetrip to Ho llywood. That may makeChances Are worth the ticket price.

J I M B A R B E R and his dummy, Seville, w ill beperforming in Zurn Recital Hall on Fri., March 31 at 8 p.m. Barber and Seville, which ismanaged by the Kramer AgencyfromMichigan, has come to Mercyhurst for aboutfiveyears. SAC Chairperson Janet Holzhaeusser said theiract hasbeep, very successful at the 'Hurst in the past. Fo r those interested in getting a sneak preview.Barber and Seville will be in the cafeteriaoft Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Chevy Chase inherits property in new movieBy Robi TaylorMerciad staff writer

It is not very of ten thata sequelis as good as theoriginal, butF1 etch Lives is notonly as goodbutmuch better than the originalFletch. i "'.- 3 I

My rating: OS/100

Chevy Chase and CleavonLittle star in this attack of the new-old south racists. Their main victim,though, is the television ministersthat we all know and love to watchon our 45 inch console televisions.Fletch is a big city reporter whowrites exposes under the name ofJane Doe. The character and thejokes areof a lot like the ones thatheused in thefirstmovie. They wereevent desperate enough to bringback the ex-wife's lawyer in an-other vain attempt to collect backalimony payments.When his aunt dies, he inherits arun-down plantation that sits be-

Summer JobsWe can keep you busy with a variety of officeI and industrial work assignments. Excellentopportunity to earn as you gain valuable workexperience. Talented Temporaries, 904|PeachSt., Erie, PA 16501 Jphone 454-5889

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tween a toxic waste dump and aChristian amusement park thatkindof reminds youof the one owned byJim and Tammy Bakker, 'includinghaving pictures of the minister plas-tered all over every building on theplace. -:Cleavon Little plays a black manwho comes with die property. Thisrole is very stereotypical of thenegroes of the 1920's. It was animportant character in thefilm andwas quite well done. It's just toobadthat die part had to be written thisway. The last black man to act thisway was Steppenfetchit back in the40's. I thought that we had grownbeyond that kind of thinking...but Iwas wrong. Other than that, Littledid an excellent job in the role.Chase, on the other hand, onlyshowed how many characters heknew how to impersonate. Unfor-tunately, none of them were funny.' [The problemwith Chase is thathe forgot what he learned when hewas with Saturday Night Live andCaddyshack; that is, how to befunny without being silly.| All the others from SNL knowto team up with other comics to geta movie to work. He never learnedthis, so mostof the time he works asthe lone comic with a mess ofstraight men to back him up. That iswhy most of his films miss a littlesomething.Fletch Lives is the kind ofmovie that can be entertainingif youjust want a night out, although it i s

really not worth the price that the-atres charge at night If you want togo see this movie, wait until youhave an afternoon free and go to thebargain matinee. It's a lot moreenjoyable at three bucks than it is at$4.50.' I I I I| Whatever you do, don't letyour

expectations run too high just be-cause fit stars Chevy Chase...Youwill be disappointed.My rating-55/100Some language, adult situations,racial slurs

M r. Jord anJulian Lennon singslivelier than in pastBy Bill Hogan |Merciad record reviewer

Hey gang. How about thisweather. I thought spring wouldneverget here. Now it's time to lookat some rock-n-roll. This week wewill look at Julian Lennon's new-sounding hitrecord.Julian Lennon is back with histhird solo project and to tell you thetruth, I have mixed emotions aboutit The album entitled Mr. Jordanis a lot harsher and livelier than thelast two.Lennon almost sounds likeDavid Bowie inhis vocals. "IWant

getting air-play. It hasa great guitarfeel and fast beat, as much of thealbum does. At times, however, thissong also has the tender vocals youknow and love. k *Lennon's voice is so differentyou probably wo n't recognize himon the radio. This is abold approachfor Lennon and this whole album isabold chance. He really steps outofhis shell. |People expect the Julian Lennonof old, but they get a new Lennon.This is a good album if yougive itachance. Listen for * 'Now You're inHeaven" and \to Know" is hisfirstsingle and is

[I Get Up," beforeyou decide you don't like it becauseit's different 1


7/8

MARCH 30,1989 The Merciad PAGE 7

Clark 5 1989 baseball picksBy Matthew J. ClarkMerciad Sports EditorIt's time once again for thesportswriters of the world to offertheir insight (whether real or imag-ined) into the respective pennantraces in Major League Baseball.Last season, I got swamped.But I'm willing to risk the embar-rassment again. I had one pick forfirst that came to pass last year andthat was the Oakland A's. I pickedtheRed Sox to finish sixth and theywon the division. I picked Cincin-nati and they fell just short once

again. And* perhaps my i mostembarrassing pick of 1988 was thePhiladelphia Phillies forfirst n theNLEast, ;This year, many changes haveoccurred during the off season. Forsometeams, they didn't accomplishwhat they wanted to or what theythought they would.The NY Mets didn't surpriseanyone!when they began springtraining with a scuffle betweenKeith Hernandez and teammateDarryl Strawberry. The two havesince made up and the Mets arestrong onceagain. Look forthem tomake a serious bid for the NL Eastcrown. *The St Louis Cardinals haveacquired a few important hitters inPedro Guerrero and Tom Brunan-sky and have a healthy TerryPendleton once again. Cardinalpitching should be strong, despitethe loss ofDanny Cox. Look for theCards to fly high in '89. The Pitts-burgh Pirates will be in contentionaswel l They are one of the steadi-

est teams in baseball.The Chicago Cubs area shoo-infor last place. They could be, per-haps the worst team in the NationalLeague. ^ I 1In the NLWest, the LA Dodgerswill not repeat The darkhorse of1989 could be the San DiegoPadres. Jack Clark has been addedtothe roster and for all his faults, heseems to bring success to develop-ing ballclubs. v| f ff MThe Cincinnati Reds couldthreaten for thecrown, but don't beton it San Francisco has the abilityto win this division and could dojust that if the right things happen.In the AL East, look for theDetroit Tigers to win it all. SparkyAnderson will take what he's gotand make winners out of them.They're not blessed with themulti-tude of talent they had in 1984 whenthey went 35-5 and eventually wonthe division in a laugher, clinchingthe division title with better than amonth left in the season.The N.Y. Yankees won't eventhreaten for the title and DallasGreen won't be able to get alongwith George Steinbrenner. Nowthere'll be two hard-nosers at Yan-kee Stadium and that won't go oververy well.

Cleveland is much-improved,but don't look for any miracles.Boston could surprise, like theydidlast year.Inthe AL W est, the Oakland A 'shave the most powerful team inbaseball - bar none. They shouldeasily repeat as champions of theWest Minnesota could challengefor first, but I think they'll place

second again.The California Angels could bea sleeper, so watch for them. TheKansas City Royals have lost themagic and it could be some timebefore they find it again.And before this article loses itsmagic (which it may already have)here are my picks for the majorleagues in 1989.NLEast1. St Louis*2 . NY Mets3. Pittsburgh4. Philadelphia5. Montreal6. ChicagoNLWest1. San Diego2. Los Angeles3. San Francisco4. CincinnatiS.Houston6. AtlantaALEast1. Detroit2. Boston3. NY Yankees4. Milwaukee5. Toronto6. Cleveland7. BaltimoreALWest1. Oakland2. Minnesota3. California4. Texas5. Kansas City6. Seattle7. Chicago

Fri. March 31 Mon. A April 6LunchChili DogsEgg Foo Yong

LunchHamburgersSpinach Cheese CasseroleLunch IEscalloped Apples & Sausage]Pepperoni Pizza f

DinnerVegi Stuffed CabbageBattered HaddockBlueberry PancakesDinnerBaked Meadoaf w/ TomatoSauceFresh Polish SausageWestern Sandwich

DinnerOven Fried ChickenHungarian GoulashBaked Potato BarSaL April 1 all menus subject to changeADril4LunchGrilled Cheese SandwichCook's Choice Casserole LunchWieners & SauerkrautDinner New York Strip SteakBreaded Shrimp1/2 pound BurgersSun, April 21

DinnerTurkey Pot PieLinguini w / Red Clam SauceGround Cheddar BeefFoot Long Dogs

CafemenuBrunchScrambled EggsSausage PattiesHash Brown Potatoes

LunchChili Con CarneGrilled Sandwicht h eweek

DinnerBaked Taverne HamPasta & Meat SauceDinnerSea Shells & Tomato SauceCubed Savory Pork Steak1/4 pound Burgers

Leisering leaves ADfollowing successful tenureBy Matthew J. ClarkMerciad Sports Editor

jLast week, Mercy hurst's athleticdirector John Leisering surprisedeveryone by announcing his resigna-tion effective June 30.Leisering leaves the department inbetter shape than ever and this isperhaps the biggest reason for thesurprise. Leisering's tenure as A.D.boasts many proud moments.The men's and women's basketball programs are no longer inde-pendent, but part of a conference - which makes the prospect of a post-season bid more likely. The women's soccer team is strong, going tothe NCAA Div. IIfinalfour last Fall. The tennis team's, both men's andwomen's, are stronger than ever. Mercy hurst's young hockey programis getting praise from other programs across the region. \,Ashe closes out the inal hree month's of his career here, Leiseringremembers some of those proud moments, f4 'In Oct, 1986, atour irstMCC get-together at the ECAC conven-tion, Tom B illingsley and I made our case to become a member of thethe conference (MCC)," he says. "And I remember waiting anxiously,for several hours, while the other athletic directors were meeting behindclosed doors deciding whether it would be yes or no."I remember (Gannon athletic director) Bud Elwell coming outabout six o'clock that same day and saying, 'you're in.'""I felt very happy for the college and the sports teams that would be

affectedby it- the men'sand women's basketball teams, the MCC men'sand women's tennis championships, cross-country championships,"KThat's Leisering. In perhaps his proudest moment as AiD., hethought of the athletes who would benefit from his accomplishmentLeisering's genuine concern for the people of the athletic programis a quality which Mercyhurst is unfortunate to lose. Perhaps Leisering'sconcern for individuals is what has enabled him to pilot the programthrough some of its toughest moments. Atone time, there were threecoaching positions that needed to be filled simultaneously, and Leis-ering handled the duties calmly and effectively."Just learning from and working with all the different peopleover the three years in the athletic dept itself and people of the faculty,staff and administration has been rewarding," he says.u Ofcourse, there are other rewarding moments which Leisering looksback upon.4 'Watching Mercyhurst play Villanova in football when there were11300 people in Philadelphia to se that game on a Saturday afternoon;the women's soccer team going to the inal our, the women's basketballteam making theECAC tournament this year; the startup of ice hockeyand seeing the (hockey) team get into the ECAC West this year, they'reall proud moments, he says." . A| Leisering first came to Mercyhurst in 1978 to finish his collegestudies, and eventually earned a degree in business administration in1981. f t ^"I had kept in touch with the college and, when I lost my job atWLKK/WLVU in 1985, due to a change in ownership, I touched basewith Dr.Garvey just to let him know that if something came up to pleasekeep me in mind," he explains.t About a yearlater, he landed thejob as AD with a part-time teachingposition in the communications deptLeisering admits that not everything he set out to do has come to pass."One of the things I'm a little disappointed in is fan attendance,"he says. "You always dream of being able to get more people to watchyour games. To be honest, I don't think the attendance ever got to thetttpoint where I could say 'Gee, that was greatLeisering recalls the inalgameof the 1988 men's basketball season- "Noise & Banner Night" - and the intensity the fans brought to thatgame.


8/8


Leisering resigns postBy Kevin McHughMerciad Asst Sports Editor

John Leisering announced hisresignation a s Mercyhurst's direc-tor of athletics on March 23 , citingpersonal reasons for hi s decision."I had been wrestling with thisforacoupleo f months and I decidedthat now is the time not only frommy standpoint but also from thestandpoint o f the good health of theathletic department," he said at apress conference at Mercyhurst onMarch 24 .Leisering said that he wants tospend more time with his family andfeels that the athletic department isin*'very good shape and there is noreason why it can't continue in thatsame vain for years to com e.""The responsibilities of thisposition really make it difficult tohave a lot of time with your fam-ily/* he said. Leisering and hiswifeKaty have three children, MaryEllen, 5, David,, 9, and stepsonDoug, 21.Leisering gave his resignationto Mercyhurst President Dr. Wil-liam P. Garvey and Director of

Administration Tom Billingsley."They understood my decision andI'd like to think that they are disap-pointed but I'm sure they'll find avery competent successor," Leis-ering said.I Garvey j,and Billingsley. saidthey were disappointed | atLeisering's decision. "His integ-rity, loyalty and professional workethic earned him great respectwithin the college community. Headvanced the Mercyhurst athleticprogram significantly. I regretJohn's decision both professionallyand personally but I understand. Iwish.him the best," Billingsleysaid. I P | fTwo of the athletic department'smain achievements underLeisering's three-year administra-tion were theMercyhurst women'ssoccer team's advance to the Na-tional Collegiate Athletic Associa-tion final four championships thisyear and the women's basketballteam's advance to the Eastern Col-lege Athletic Conference, also thisyear. |The college will advertise theposition through the NCAA New sand will choose candidates for nter-

Parry likes competitionat college levelBy Chris CadeMerciad sports writer

J OHN LEIS ER IN G will step downasAthletic Director June 30 .view from the applications, accord-ing to Leisering. "Hopefully wewill have someone for the positionby the end of thefiscalyear (June30), " he added.Leisering would notsay whatheintends to do after he leaves Mer-cyhurst but said that he has a "fewirons in the fire." "I hope it willhave something to do with athlet-ics,' ' he added. His resignation willtake effect on June 30.

Odhiambo thinks Americansshould knowimore\ about\Africa

Keith Parry, of 3924 Briggs,Apt 4 is this week's sports studentpersonality.Keith is a twenty-year-old jun-ior, from Cheswick, Pa. which?*islocated around thePittsburgh area.He attended Springdale HighSchool and decided to attend Mer-cyhurst after he was recruited toplay baseball here.Keith was originally an educa-tion major but decided to switch toHRIM after he "lost interest" in theeducation field. So far he has beenhappy with his decision to change.He hopes to either work for ahotel or open his own night clubafter graduation. Because of hisdecision to change majors, he willprobably have to go an extra term atMercyhurst which will have himgraduating in the fall of 1 990.When I asked Keith if he likedMercyhurst, he replied that he"loved it," mainly because of diefaculty and the students. One of hisfavorite things about Mercyhurst isthat the people are "fun and easy toget along with."Although Keith loves Mer-cyhurst he is not so sure about Erieitself. He said that he feels that"there's not a lot to do aroundhere.'' He doesn'tplanon staying in

By Kevin McHughMerciad Asst Sports EditorPatrick Odhiambo, a LakerBasketball player, came to Americafrom Kenya, Africa at the age of 18and has lived here without a singlevisit home.Odhiambo, now 22 says that it istoo expensive for him to go homefor a visit A plane ticket would costhim $2000. "I have met many new

friends and always have so much todo that it is mainly during vacationsthat I miss home and my family,'' hesays.Despite the difficulties, Odhi-ambo has learned to play basketballat college level afteronly four years.It was hard t o learn but he workedhard andhe enjoys playing, he says.The six feet eight inch centergrew up in Kisii, a small town in theRift Valley of Western Kenya,which is about half the size of Erie,he says. The Rift Valley has lots oftrees and vegetation and is perfectfor growing coffee and bananas.The main languages spoken inKenya are Swahili and English.Odhiambo lived in the suburbs ofKisii with his parents, six sisters andtwo brothers." It is a pity that so many peoplehere know so little about Africa,"he says. Odhiambo lived in a mod-ern bungalow, not a mud hut andhisfather, who is a district commis-L drives a Puegot and not adonkey and cartHe decided to come to America

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primarily to get an education. Thefour universities in Kenya have

such high entrance levels that theprospect of getting an educationthere were ruled out, he says. " Tobe accepted by oneof those collegeswould be like being accepted byYale or H arvard."A friend of the basketball coachof Portale University in N ew M ex-ico met Odhiambo in Kenya andencouraged him to take up basket-ball Odhiambo was then offered ascholarship to learn to play at Por-tale, which attended for a year."The main differences I havefound between America and Kenyais that American kids are given a lotmore freedom and are less

disciplined than those in Kenya,"he says. "There is a lot more alco-hol and drug abuse here and lots ofgirls getting pregnantAfter a year at Portale, Odhi-ambo was recruited by NorthwestCommunity College in Powell,Wyo. where he played on the bas-ketball team and earned a two yearassociate degree in liberal arts.Odhiambo, a junior intendstoreturn to Kenya to work in admin-istrative criminal justice and so wasattracted to Mercyhurst when ap-proached by Laker coach, Dr. BarryCopeland. He was offered scholar-ships by other colleges but says thatthey had poor or no degree pro-grams in criminal justice."I enjoy criminal justice be-cause it deals with crime and author-ity and it will give m e a chance todeal with people," he says.Odhiambo, ran long distance andplayed soccer for his high school

P A T R I C K O D H I A M B O leads the Laker men 's basketball team at th eCenter position. Odh iambo, a native of Africa, has been playing basketballfor onlyfour years.

intends to take classes during thesummer and practice his basketballskills. Soccer and running areKenya's main sports, he says.Odhiambo was ineligible formostof the season because of academicdifficulties, mainly with English,| which he began to learn at gradei school, but returned to the court forthe last three games of the seasonafter improving academically."I have a little difficulty learningEnglish butI think I naveadjusted to

Photo by Kevin McHugh.Iollege life quite well he says,agree with Coach Copeland thateducation co mes before basketballand am glad of the help I was givento improve my academics.''He said he realized that he wasunder a lot of pressure to halt theLakers loosing streak but said that itwas tough trying to fit in after miss-ing so much. He was however theLaker's top scorer in their last regu-lar season game against Buffaloscoring 12 points.

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K E I T H P A R R YErie after graduation, he says he 'llgo "wherever die jobs take him ."As far as baseball goes, Keithlikes every aspect of his favoritesport The position he plays atMercyhurst is infielder. H e playedboth little league and high schoolbaseball He feels that one of thedifferences between high schooland college baseball is the competi-tion.In high school the coach onlyhas to choose nine or so playersfrom the school for the team, but thecollege recuiters have the best stu-dents in the country to pick from.This way they end up with some topnotch players. He likes the competi-tion because it helps the team playharder.The Mercyhurst lakers have afifty-five game schedule with acurrent record of 4-4. Keith feelsthat the team will finish with a 32-17 record and a bid for theNCAAplay-offs. Keith is very happy withthe team this year because they area very close knit group of players, jTbething that he feels is impor-tant to the team is the aspect of teamunity and keeping a winning atti-tude. He feels that it is also impor-tant for all team members to helpeach other out when one of them isnot doing well and to stay on an"emotional high."Keith started playing baseball ata young age with the encourage-ment of-his three brothers [twoolder, one younger]and their father,who coached little league. When hewas younger he played "a littlebasketball," but baseball remainedhis primary sp ortNo t surprisingly, beingfrom hePittsburgh area, the?; Pirates areKeith's favorite team. He doesn'treally have a second choice but heenjoys watching players who show"determination and the will towin. ,In his free time Keith enjoysplaying golf and going out withfriends in general, doinganything...except reading.This summer he plans on work-ing at the Fox Chapel Golf C ourse,and playing baseball (of course).The M erciad would like to wishKeith much luck in his HRIMcareerand with his baseball With hiswinning attitude and talenthe's sureto be a success.

the merciad, march 30, 1989

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