the merciad, march 30, 2011

8/6/2019 The Merciad, March 30, 2011

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Tuitionincreases tokeep college

operating

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C A R P E B R E W EM?

Pair of ‘Hurststudents box inGolden Gloves

matches

Page 8

‘Complexions’presents

dichotomy of dance

Page 5

Jazz FM offersunique

work-studyopportunity

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V o l . 8 4 , N o.

2 0/0 3 / 3 0 / 1 1 , F R E E T h e Me r c

i a d

Biology student to beginbrewing beer in fall

MORE INSIDE AND ONLINE

Read the storyon page 2.



NEWS March 30, 2011

David Whyte shares poetry, wisdom

The first of three events forMercyhurst’s ninth annual Literary Festival took place Sunday, whenpoet David Whyte not only recitedpoetry but also spoke words of

wisdom to the audience. Whyte described his childhood

and how he became a poet. Hebegan writing poetry at age seven.

“I was searching for a way of trying to be equal to the world. I

would stare at the stars until I got aheadache,” Whyte said.

For 10 years, he studied marinelife and spent two of those yearsdoing research in the GalapagosIslands.

“When I got there, none of theanimals had read any of my biol-ogy books,” Whyte said. “When

an animal would do something thatit was not supposed to, I foundmyself turning away.”

After spending time in the Gala-pagos Islands, Whyte had a desireto describe the things that he hadseen, but “scientific language wasnot precise enough to describethe world” he had experienced, hesaid.

Freshman Tye Schreiber wasimpressed with the transition Whytemade.

“It was pretty cool how he wentfrom a marine zoologist to poet,”

Schreiber said. At the event, Whyte recited

his own works as well as worksof other poets such as Dante andShakespeare.

Freshman Aaron Gomes enjoyedthe variety of poems Whyterecited.

“He was very good, and he had alot to offer,” Gomes said.

Whyte’s writings were on varioustopics, but the poems he recitedstressed the self. He discussed

undergoing hard times in life andgave advice about dealing withthese tough times.

“I could hear echoes of great writers in his work,” chair of theEnglish department Jeffrey Roess-ner, Ph.D., said. “He had a ter-rific emphasis on delivering linesof poetry so that the audiencecaught every word. He intently focused on connecting with theaudience.”

Whyte defined what being apoet means to him. He said a poetis someone who can see reality for

how it truly is.“One of the difficult arts of both

life and writing is meeting reality,” Whyte said. “The way we learn is by going through periods of visitationand absence… Knowing and notknowing.”

At the end of the event, Whyteleft his audience with a question.

“Will you turn your face back to the next great step in life?” heasked.

The next Literary Festival event

takes place Thursday, April 7, whenpoet Gary Myers will read his worksin Taylor Little Theatre at 8 p.m.

By Christopher JamesContributing writer

Poet David Whyte spoke at Mercyhurst College on Sunday,March 27, as part of the annual Literary Festival.

Jill Barrile photo

Sophomore biology major Drew Spacht will begin brewing beer aspart of an independent study in thefall.

This project, which involvesgrowing barley and hops on theMercyhurst College west campus,serves as a learning experience that

could potentially involve the entirecampus.

“The idea is to eventually, hope-fully, sell it here on campus,” Spachtsaid.

Spacht first heard of the ideaof brewing beer on campus whenbiology professor Michael Camp-bell, Ph.D., mentioned the idea inSpacht’s freshman interdisciplinary course. Spacht then expressed inter-est to Campbell during the middleof winter term this year.

Campbell is assisting Spacht inexperimenting with the ingredi-ents involved in beer making, andCampbell noted there is much tolearn about brewing beer.

Despite his idea to brew beeras part of a learning experience,

Campbell said he does not endorseselling beer on campus.

“The idea of selling alcohol is a whole other can of worms,” Camp-

bell said. “We can’t just distributealcoholic beverages on campus

without having a state license.”Campbell has not discussed

the idea with college administra-tion because they are years away from being able to sell or marketa beer on the Mercyhurst campus,he said.

Despite needing to researchLiquor Control Board laws beforebeing able to sell alcohol oncampus, Spacht discussed why he isinterested in brewing beer and theprospect of selling it.

“Beer has pretty much alwaysbeen a part of my life in a positive

way,” Spacht said.His grandfather owned Grape

City Beer, and his father, who hasdone home brewing, refers to him-self as a “beer snob.”

“I came to love and appreciatedifferent beer types and complexi-ties of beer,” Spacht said.

He said homemade beer tastesbetter than beer purchased from adistributor.

“When you actually make some-thing, it’s really good,” Spacht said.

Gerard Tobin, Ph.D., vice presi-dent of student life, said the col-lege would not be opposed to themarketing and distribution of any college-branded product, including alcoholic beverages.

The administration would,however, have to examine thelegal and mission-related con-cerns involved.

“It’s not unheard of for religiousorganizations to have distilleries,”said Tobin, citing groups like the

Abbey Beverage Co. run by Bene-dictine monks in New Mexico. “We

would just need to closely consider,‘Is this something in line with thecollege’s mission?’

“We could sell tires if we wantedto, but would that be consistent

with the mission?”Spacht’s goal of making a sus-

tainable beer would fit in with partof the college’s mission.

“We want it to be a sustainable,organic beer, if at all possible,

which so far, it looks pretty good,”Spacht said.

The barley seeds are organic, andboth the hops and barley will begrown organically, he said. The beer

will be produced locally. As of now, there are no name

ideas for a beer produced at Mer-cyhurst, but the creators do have aslogan idea.

“Carpe Brewem,” Spacht said.“Seize the beer.”

By Kelly LuomaManaging editor

Biology student to begin brewing beer

Sophomore Drew Spacht will be brewing beer as part of anindependent study in the fall.

Jill Barrile photo



March 30, 2011 NEWS

Correction The March 23 issue of The Merciad contained incorrect information about Mercyhurst’s

Equestrian Club. While the Equestrian Team currently competes regionally against 16 schools with

two members, the Equestrian Club has a 2010-11 membership of 17 students. Additionally, Chad

Redmond, Ph.D., founded the club in 2004 with the help of students at the time. Current club adviser

Mary Ann Owoc, Ph.D., succeeded him in 2005.

As it does every year, Mercyhurst College’s tuition will increase for the 2011-12 academic year.

According to the minutes from the Jan. 27 meeting,the Board of Trustees “approved an overall increaseof 5.17 percent (blended rate), representing a $1,839

additional cost for a resident student to attend Mercy-hurst College Erie campus during academic year 2011-2012.”

The board minutes broke down this percentage into what each additional expense will be.

This overall increase in tuition brings “tuition basedon flat-rate billing to $25,860 (a 4.92 percent increase);mandatory fees to $1,782 (a 4.96 percent increase);room and board to $9,738 (a 5.91 percent increase); fora total cost of $37,380 for a full-time resident studentto attend Mercyhurst College in Erie during academicyear 2011-2012.”

Mercyhurst Vice President for Finance and Trea-

surer Jane Kelsey said the total cost for a full-timeresident student who attends Mercyhurst next year is$35,541.

This cost, though, is only the standard cost, which

varies with housing and meal plan selections, shesaid.

As large an increase as this may seem, “compared tolast year’s total cost increase of 5.48 percent, this year’sincrease is 5.17 percent. The increase is lower comparedto last year,” Kelsey said. “Tuition only was increasedby 4.92 percent compared to an increase of 5.00 per-cent last year, and an increase as high as 7.61 percentin 2007-2008.”

Kelsey compared this increase to tuition increases in

the past.“The total cost increase is an average of 6 percent

over the past 21 years, so we are under our historicalaverage with a total cost increase of 5.17 percent fornext year,” Kelsey said. “The administration workedhard to keep it below the historical average due to theeconomy and financial struggles of our students andtheir families.”

Tuition increases every year because it “costs money to run the college, and a lot of it goes towards studentscholarships,” she said.

The excess money gathered from the tuition increasegoes toward “increased utility costs, a very modest

salary increase for faculty and staff and other operating costs,” Kelsey said. “Running a campus of this size isalmost like running a city.”

By Mike Gallagher

Staff writer

Tuition increases to keep

Mercyhurst operating

Students met with employers,handed out their resumes and dis-cussed career and internship oppor-tunities at last week’s annual Careerand Job Fair.

From a total of 518 students whoattended the event, 402 of them arefrom the Mercyhurst main campus,according to Executive Director of Experiential Learning Kyle Foust,Ph.D.

This is an 11 percent increaseover the number of students fromMercyhurst who attended last year’scareer fair.

“We are very pleased with that,”Foust said.

Many students who attended

the fair found it to be a helpful andpositive experience.

“I think it’s going great,” gradu-ate student Jimmy Strand said. “Ithink they have a great selection of companies, they certainly tried tocover all their majors, and I think the school has done a good job of letting the students know about thefair.”

Senior Kelton Macke went to thefair looking for a local internship.

“It’s been very helpful actually,”

she said.

Out of the 74 companies that were present, senior accounting andfinance major Tyler Rowley said hecouldn’t find any that appealed tohim.

“No one has anything to offer inmy major,” he said.

In order to cater to students whoare undeclared, Academic Supportfrom Mercyhurst was present at the

fair. Retention Specialist from theStudent Academic Support Office

Justin Ross said the office was therebecause the fair was a great oppor-tunity for undeclared students.

He said the career fair was help-ful for students to connect employ-ers with skills they would need forthe future. This could then helpthem decide on a major.

Ross said he was pleased withthe number of undeclared students

who attended the fair.

“We had a great turnout,” Rosssaid. “I wish all of them wouldshow up.”

The employers at the event toldFoust the students were qualifiedand presented themselves well. Theemployers’ comments show thatMercyhurst has properly preparedits students, Foust said.

Foust is working on survey-ing the representatives who cameto the fair as well as students whoattended in order to get feedback

about the Career Fair.

By Kelly Luoma

Managing editor

Career Fair showsMercyhurst studentsare qualifi ed, prepared

News Briefs A female student was threatened with a knife on Sunday,

March 27, at approximately 4 a.m. when she was walking

toward Warde Hall. A dark green car approached her, and a

white male asked if she had a cigarette. The male then showed

the student a large kitchen knife and ordered her into the vehi-

cle. The student ran into her residence hall, and the man drove

away. This incident is similar to a report earlier this school year

when a female student was threatened by a male with a kitchen

knife. This incident occurred in the CVS parking lot.

Student threatened with knife

Students interested in summer employment at Mercyhurst

College can pick up applications at the HR Office in Weber

Hall. Applications must be returned by Friday, April 15, to be

considered for the first round of job assignments. Students

who work at least 180 hours during the summer qualify for a

50 percent reduction in their summer housing.

Summer employment available for students



FEATURES March 30, 2011

What are youlooking

forward tothis term?

“I am looking forward

to the warm weather

and day-long ‘study’

sessions at the beach.”

-Amanda Crago,

freshman

“The fact that this is

my last term before my

senior year-this term is

one of the last speed-

bumps before

graduation.”

-Tim McAndrew,

junior

’Hurst to host second Relay for Life

Mercyhurst College offers plenty of options for students to have their

voices heard by the college and theErie community.

Through shows produced in thetelevision studio to stories in TheMerciad, students can add theircontributions and learn new skillsthat will help prepare them for lifeafter college.

At WMCE, Mercyhurst’s jazzstation, students are finding moreopportunities for their voices to beheard while honing important skills.

“The students help with every-thing from public service announce-ments to CD categorizing,” said MikeLeal, Jazz FM director of broad-casting. Students are also given theopportunity to work on “Top Jazz”and “Jazz at the Hurst,” the station’stwo shows, that air each week.

“Jazz at the Hurst” plays each Wednesday at 3 p.m., and currently has three students take turns creat-ing the show each week. “We try torotate hosts because students don’tnormally have the time to do itevery week,” Leal said.

Senior Lisa MacDonald andfreshman Ashley Ayers are two of the hosts. Their work with WMCEhas taught them skills that will helpboth in the future.

MacDonald is a biology major

who has been working at the radiostation since her freshman year.

Since last winter, MacDonald hasdone about 20 shows of “Jazz atthe Hurst.” Though MacDonalddoes not intend to pursue a careerin radio, she recognizes the advan-tages it has given her.

“I’ve become comfortable withthe sound of my voice, and I com-municate better,” MacDonald said.

Ayers, a communication major, is

also seeing the benefits of working atthe radio station.

“I love working here. Mike’s sucha nice guy, and it’s nice to get familiar

with the equipment,” Ayers said.She, too, feels more comfortable

and confident with her voice.Theradio station can be heard throughoutthe Erie area, but Ayers thinks moreMercyhurst students should tune intothe station.

“I wish that more students would

listen, because a lot of people puthard work into this,” Ayers said.

Leal plans to get a fourth host for“Jazz at the Hurst” next year, and“the door is always open for students

who would like to be here as a work study or volunteer to help continue

with the jazz format,” Leal said. “We would really be struggling without thehelp of our work-study students.”

Any students interested in work-ing at the radio station can contact

Leal. For everyone else, don’t forgetto tune into 88.5 Jazz FM.

By Christopher JamesContributing writer

Jazz FM provides entertainment, opportunity

The second Relay for Life at Mer-cyhurst College will take place out-side the Hermann Student Unionfrom 1 p.m. Saturday, April 30 to 1a.m. Sunday, May 1.

Students will walk in teams forthe American Cancer Society for12 hours, raising money for cancerawareness and research.

In 2010, Relay for Life was the

largest student-run philanthropy event at Mercyhurst. Junior Ethan Johns plays an important role as co-chair of the event along with juniorKatie Pieh.

Pieh is planning events that rep-resent Relay for Life and its new

affiliation, Colleges Against Cancer. Johns became involved in Relay

for Life after he was diagnosed with

cancer.“I was invited to Relay in the

spring as a survivor and realizedit was a great way to recognizeall that the Mercyhurst and Eriecommunities do to support those

with cancer, aim to prevent cancer,and ultimately fight for a cure,” hesaid.

There is hope that Relay for Life will become an annual event for theMercyhurst College community.

As a graduate of Mercyhurst Prep, Johns would like to see more par-ticipation from the high school andalso from the Sisters of Mercy.

Sophomore Kaleigh Hubert isanother student participating in

Relay for Life as a member and cap-tain of the Honors Program team.

“I participate in Relay for Life

because I want to make a differ-ence, and I find it to be a very funand rewarding event,” Hubert said.“There are a number of studentsinterested in walking and helping out, and because Relay for Life hitshome for a lot of people, I truly expect that we will gain a great dealof support from our program.”

Hubert participates because hergrandmother is fighting liver cancer,and her grandfather overcame pros-

tate cancer a few years ago.“I walk for the two of them and

for everyone else who is and wasaffected by this awful disease in thehopes that someday, a cure will befound. I have been participating in

Relay for Life for the past few years,including last year when Mercy-hurst hosted its first Relay for Life

on campus,” Hubert said. This year, Johns and the com-

mittee, which in addition to Piehalso includes Lorraine Frownfelter,system/domain administrator andtheir American Cancer Society rep-resentative, are planning to raise atleast $25,000 in order to beat lastyear’s amount.

Johns said they also want toincrease the number of teams andparticipants. There were 32 teams in

2010, and there are 32 teams signedup for this year’s Relay for Life withhope for more.

For more information or to signup for this year’s Relay for Life, goto relay.mercyhurst.edu.

By Alicia CagleStaff writer

“The thing I’m lookingforward to this yearis �inishing and �inallyshowing this year’sCommuniaction movie,

“Diary of Sarah Lucas.”We have all worked sohard on it and I’m reallyexcited to �inally shareit with everyone on May8 in Taylor little Theatreat 8 p.m. It’s going to bea blast.”

-Leah Hubbard, senior

Freshman Ashley Ayers above, and senior Lisa MacDonald are

two of the students who work at Mercyhurst’s Jazz FM.

Ethan Magoc photos



ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT March 30, 2011

‘Complexions’ presents the dichotomy of dance

The Complexions Contempo-rary Ballet performance on Sunday in the Performing Arts Centercan really only be described as a

visual fiesta of beauty and ath-leticism that left the audience very impressed.

The dancers moved with sinu-ous grace and utter control whilealso incorporating raw ferocity and

a degree of ruggedness in many of the pieces.

Freshman Emily McAveney described the performances as“the perfect combination of pureathleticism and exceptional art-istry.”

The performance featured thechoreography of Dwight Rhoden,a lauded dance figure and co-direc-tor of the company along with Des-mond Richardson.

The evening began with “Moon

Over Jupiter,” a piece memorablefor its lighting as well as the danc-ing.

The hazy lights created an atmo-sphere in which it seemed almost

like the dancers were dancing on amoon.

The choreography for this piece, with its many duets and solos inter-twined with group dancing, success-fully showcased the many talents of both the men and women of thecompany.

Next came “Spill,” a pas de deux(dance for two) performed in tancostumes that made the dancerslook almost nude.

This shorter piece incorporated

continuous motion that kept theeye busy to the very last second.

Though less memorable thansome of the other pieces on theprogram, “Spill” displayed theimpressive partnering skills of thetwo who danced it.

“On Holiday” gave some variety to the concert as it featured morejazzy movement elements and

women in ballroom heels ratherthan pointe shoes.

The piece included a series of

pas de deuxs which ended with anespecially raw, heated duet.

Music included jazz pieces like

“Come Rain or Come Shine” and

“My Man.” Another portion of Act II,

“Moody Booty Blues,” began with

a riveting trio of males jumping

with great vigor that melded into vivacious dancing with two femalemembers of the company.

This piece also had a bluesy, jazzinfluence.

Finally, the performance ended with “Rise,” a high-energy andintensely riveting piece set to musicby U2.

The combination of rock con-cert-like lighting, red costuming,and the dynamic performance by the dancers ended the evening witha definite bang.

One of the most visually appeal-ing aspects of the whole perfor-mance was the way in which thechoreography and lighting accentu-

ated the exceptionally well sculptedbodies of the dancers in the com-pany.

“They utilized dynamics toemphasize their extreme lines andarticulate bodies,” said freshmanEliza Davidson.

All in all, the Complexions per-formance left many impressed andexcited by the energy of the eve-ning.

“Their attack is so amazing but they still have perfect con-

trol over their movements,” saidfreshman Emily Reed. “They arefierce.”

By Sarah Mastrocola

Staff writer

Singers perform poetry in ‘Matchbook’

This past Friday, the Erie com-munity gathered for a collaborativeperformance of original poetry andclassical music compositions.

“Matchbook: An Evening of Poetry, Music, and Song” began at8 p.m. in a well attended WalkerRecital Hall to an eager audience.

Sponsored by the Poet LaureateInitiative of Erie County, the con-cert featured the poetic work of Beth Gylys set to the musical com-

positions of Dan Welcher.Gylys, an award-winning author

and English teacher at GeorgiaState University, formerly served onthe faculty of the English Depart-ment at Mercyhurst.

The concert began with a wel-come and introduction of Gylys by her husband, Thomas ForsthoefelPh.D., a Mercyhurst professor of religious studies and the 2010-11Poet Laureate of Erie County.

Gylys read a selection of her

additional poetic work prior to the

actual “Matchbook” performancecommenced.

The poetry in her chapbook “Matchbook” became the inspira-tion for Friday’s song sequence.

Gylys says she “had always hada fascination for the concept of personal ads in which people wouldsummarize themselves and whatthey were all about in a few, shortsentences.”

When making her “Matchbook,”Gylys thought of every individu-al’s personal ad as a character and

wanted to bring that character tolife in their poem or in this case,their poetic song.

The poetic song came to lifethrough the dynamic performancesof singers from the D’AngeloDepartment of Music under thedirection of Louisa Jonason.

The student performers included Andrea Baker, Sara Maitland, Brit-tany Barko, Katie Wagner andNathan Stern.

After seeing her peers perform,freshman Kathleen Reveille said“it was nice to see my friends per-form the songs of a well establishedpoet.”

Although the performance was adelightful experience for the audi-ence and performers alike, juniorKatie Wagner, who sang “LusciousLatina” in a fun, feisty characteriza-tion, said, “the songs were difficultto learn, but we all (the perform-ers) managed to have fun with ourcharacters once we got the musicdown.”

The concert was an enjoyableblend of original, witty personalads such as “Filthy Rich, In Searchof a French Maid,” “You Smell of Money,” and “In Search of Under-taker’s Daughter” and upbeat, clev-erly composed music.

The singers were able to bring Gylys’ characters to life throughindividual performances thatbrought smiles and laughter tothose who attended.

Sophomore Sara Maitland per-formed a piece titled “Reuben-esque.”

“It was a wonderfully refreshing opportunity to sing a such a modernoriginal work like this,” she said.“It was difficult on a certain levelbecause I wanted to give justice tothe true essence of the poem.”

By Natalie PertzStaff writer

Dancers from Complexions Contemporary Ballet dance a pas

de deux titled “Spill.”

Tyler Stauffer photo

Sophomore Sara Maitland performed“Reubenesque.”




September 3, 2008OPINION March 30, 2011

@mercyhurst.edu

editormerciad

newsmerciad

featuremerciad

opinionmerciad sportsmerciad

entertainmentmerciad

photomerciad

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ejohns89

admerciad

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bsheridan

The Merciad is the official student-produced newspaper of MercyhurstCollege. It is published throughout the school year, with the exception of

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 the

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

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

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

Editors

Ethan Magoc

Kelly Luoma

Alaina Rydzewski

Victoria Gricks Spencer Hunt

Alex Stacey

Kaitlin Badger

Tyler Stauffer

Ethan Johns

Daniela Carcamo

Bill Welch

Brian Sheridan

Positions

Editor-in-Chief

News Editor

Features Editor

Opinion Editor Sports Editor

A&E Editor

Graphics

Photo Editor

Web Editor

Ad Manager

Adviser

Adviser

The views expressed in the opinion section of The Merciad do not necessarily reflect the v iews of Mercyhurst College, the staff of The Merciador the Catholic Church. Responses on any subject are always welcomed and can be e-mailed to [email protected].

Uncovering the X-Files

This week, I’m going to take a

break from politics and social issues

and talk about something fun.

I was recently on my favorite fan

site for the “X-Files,” a show fromthe mid-1990s about a team of FBI

special agents who investigated

paranormal crimes and phenom-

ena. The show revolved around two

agents named Mulder and Scully.

Mulder believed that the paranor-

mal was real but Scully was a skep-

tic. By the time the show ended in

2002, it had a large and dedicated

fan base.

In the “X-Files,” the govern-

ment was always covering up muchof the work Mulder was doing in

order to prevent the truth about the

paranormal from getting out to the

public. Besides the flying saucers

and little green men, the “X-Files”

was a humorous yet dark show that

turned out to be one of the best sci-

fi shows ever.

What if I told you there really

were “X-Files” in the FBI’s proces-

sion?

In reality, there is no special teamdedicated to investigating the para-

normal. The FBI occasionally does,

and has in the past, investigated

paranormal phenomena. You, too,

can view these case files. In 1998,

the FBI declassified many of these

files and has them available on its

website courtesy of the Freedom

of Information Act.

There is a larger collection

of files dealing with conspiracy

topics such as UFOs, cattle muti-

lation, aliens, Roswell and Project

Blue Book. While almost all the

investigations were ruled to be

inconclusive, it’s exciting to know

there were a few lucky agents who

delved into the world of conspir-

acy theories and paranormal phe-

nomenon.

The FBI also maintains inter-

esting historical sections on an

assortment of criminals such as AlCapone as well as various directors

and agents such as J. Edgar Hoover.

They even have a good section of

frequently asked questions that

exposes the truth about the FBI’s

investigations into the paranormal.

On a more serious note, why

was taxpayers’ money used for this

stuff?

If you want to view any of these

files for yourself, visit the bureau’s

website.

By Mike Lado

Staff writer

Water crisis remains

Our planet is faced with various

crises, many of which are far-reach-ing or long-lasting. It often feels as

though new situations are springing

up daily.

Wars are waging; people are

starving or have nowhere to live; the

AIDS virus thrives in Africa; social

injustices and prejudices affect the

way we see the world.

These challenges, among others,

are what most people tend to think

of when evaluating society’s situa-

tion. They are very bold, in one’sface and immediate.

But the sheer weight they carry

often causes a shift in focus away

from other problems which might

present equal, if not greater, issues

in the future. One of these is the

water crisis.

Water has been of great impor-

tance since before biblical times. It

has been the basis of migrations

and allowed for the building of

civilizations. Crops are planted and

harvested based on aquatic rhythms. Water is the world’s greatest creator

and also one of its greatest destruc-

tive forces.

The World Water Council reports

that one billion people live without

clean drinking water and many lack

adequate sanitation. Nearly 4,000

children die every day from water-

borne diseases.

The daily per capita use of water

in residential areas is 350 liters in

North America and Japan and200 liters in Europe, compared

to 10 to 20 liters in sub-Saharan

Africa. Additionally, more than

260 river basins are shared by two

or more countries, mostly with-

out adequate legal or institutional

arrangements.

If allowed to continue

unchecked, many scientists and

historians believe that it could trig-

ger a third world war. The obvious

hope is that the issue can be ade-quately addressed before this point

is reached.

The question ultimately comes

down to who has access to fresh

water, who controls it, and how it

is distributed.

As one of the primary hold-

ers and consumers of fresh water,

it falls on this nation to begin the

movement of raising awareness

of the water crisis and propel the

attempts to rectify it. With World Water Day having

just passed on March 22, we are

presented with the perfect oppor-

tunity to begin this mission before

By Kathleen Vogtle

Staff writer

Mercyhurst men: Find Your MannersLindsey Crosby reveals the lack of

chivalry that exists on campus.

More Online...

Battle over unionsFor opinions on unions, read Thomas

Snippert and Caitlin Handerhan’s columns.

Both writers shed light on the current battle

waging in the political realm.

Why the situation should be addressed

An online look at the FBI’s cover-ups

The Good...Penn State Behrend will be hosting the

region’s second career fair. All Mercyhurst

students are welcome to attend.For Bad and Ugly, go online.



March 30 2011



Sports March 30, 2011

Mercyhurst students step into Golden Gloves ring

Two Mercyhurst students com-

peted in their first Golden Gloves

boxing matches Sunday at an Erie

east side church social hall.

Doug Kaluhiokalani, a wel-

terweight (141 pounds), won his

match against Keegan Lupori of

South Park. He advanced to a fight

in two weeks in Pittsburgh.

Andrew Barninger, a light mid-

dleweight (152 pounds), was not

as fortunate, as Bobby Osterrieder

of Butler defeated him in the third

round on an RSC (Referee Stopped

Contest).

Barninger competed and

perservered but it was not quite

enough in his first bout.

“I felt like I won the first round

because I had longer reach than he

did—kept him away. I just kept jab-

bing and jabbing,” said Barninger,

who then fell behind to Osterrie-

der’s second and third-round whirl-

wind attacks. “I just wasn’t ready for

that. It’s hard to deal with.”

Kaluhiokalani’s victory at Holy

Trinity Catholic Church’s social hall,

2220 Reed St., was a storybook,

come-from-behind win. Lupori

took control of the first round,

firing lightning-quick punches and

jabs left and right.

In the second round, Kaluhioka-

lani became angry.

“I was nervous, but when he

started punching me, I was like this

(guy) is going down,” Kaluhiokalani

said. “Technique won that fight.”

He patiently waited for the right

time to throw his punch and finally

connected with a murderous right

hook which threw Lupori off his

focus. In the third round, Kaluhio-

kalani’s victory became apparent, as

he connected with quick punches

until the official stopped the fight

and named Kaluhiokalani the

victor.

Nola Hessom, assistant direc-

tor of Mercyhurst’s mixed martialarts program, enjoyed watching

Kaluhiokalani’s first bout.

“Doug did really well. He was

very tactical and structured. We

teach a tactical defensive technique

called ‘Crazy Monkey,’ and he had

his head in the fight and waited for

the perfect time to strike,” she said.

The two Mercyhurst fighters

had been training hard for this

event and will continue to hit

the gym for fights in the future.Barninger has aspirations of fight-

ing again and Kaluhiokalani has

qualified for the Pittsburgh tour-

nament. He will compete for the

Western Pennsylvania Sub-Novice

Championship.

“They learned they have some

things to still work on in the gym,

but neither one embarrassed them-

selves,” said John Bruno, director

of the college’s MMA program.

“There aren’t too many people onthe planet who know what it’s like

to step through those ropes.

“But I told these guys, ‘If you

want to do it, do it. You’re still

young. You don’t have to become a

boxer, but you’ll know what it feels

like.’”

By Matt Cirell

Staff writer

Doug Kalukiokalani, left, and Andrew Barninger, right, competed in the Pennsylvania State

Golden Gloves Competition Sunday in Erie.

Ethan Magoc photos

Women’s water polo continues strong season

Water polo is somewhat of a for-

gotten sport at Mercyhurst. With no

pool on campus, it fits the definition

of out of sight, out of mind.

If fans want to see the Lakers

play, they have to travel to Gannon

University, Mercyhurst North East

or Penn State Behrend, to name a

few recent sites of men’s and wom-

en’s water polo home games.

This is the first challenge Mercy-

hurst water polo seeks to overcome

each year.

The next challenge is the division

Mercyhurst plays in. The Lakers

are in the Western Division of the

Collegiate Water Polo Association,

which is unlike the PSAC where

most Mercyhurst teams call home.

The PSAC is comprised of only

Division II schools and features

schools of relatively similar size like

Edinboro and Slippery Rock. In the

Western Division, there are both

Division I and Division II schools.

Mercyhurst will have to face rival

Gannon as usual, but also Division

I powerhouse Michigan. In the divi-

sion, three teams are ranked nation-

ally.

In order to prepare for this level

of competition, smart scheduling is

key. Robinette does his best to mix

the Division I powers with other

Division II schools for non-confer-

ence games.

“We start at a disadvantage in the

division, so we need to skew ourexpectations a little bit,” Robinette

said.

Despite the challenges facing the

Lakers, they have still competed

well in the division this year.

The men’s team posted a pro-

gram-best 18 wins in the fall, while

the women’s team holds a 9-7 over-

all record just past the halfway mark

in the schedule.

Since the team practices and has

its home games at Gannon, the

Lakers have one advantage after all.

This pool at Gannon is smaller than

those at the larger schools, and with

a smaller pool, teams cannot space

out like they traditionally would.

The Lakers can use that to their

advantage.

“Our practices mimic game situ-

ations to help prepare the mental

side of the game,” Robinette

explained.

Rachel Griepsma is one of 10upperclassmen on a team of 18.

This type of experience is a major

contributor to the team’s success.

“You can’t teach maturity and

experience,” Robinette said.

The Lakers hope the experience

and leadership from Griepsma and

other upperclassmen pays off.

Penn State Behrend is next up

for Mercyhurst— this Saturday at

10:30 a.m. at Gannon.

By Spencer HuntSports editor

Senior Rachel Griepsma

leads an experienced Mercy-

hurst team this year.


Check out stories

online at:

merciad.mercyhurst.edu

Featured this week:

Junior Ally Keirnand the women’s

lacrosse team are

rolling through the

first half of the

season.

the merciad, march 30, 2011

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