THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MERCYHURST COLLEGE SINCE 1929
A&E
Page 9
Vol. 80 No. 13
Students react to 4x1x4
By Joshua Wilwohl
Editor-in-chief
The possibility of switching academic
calendars from trimesters to 4x1x4
semesters has raised eyebrows with
many students.
Sophomore Steve Faber is an advo-
cate of the trimester calendar and began
a Facebook petition against the 4x1x4
semester system.
Faber says he sees many potential
problems in switching calendars.
“I don’t think it will be beneficial to
the college’s appearance as a whole,”
he said. “I think having it (the calen-
dar) switch will affect graduation that
year.”
Faber, who took two months off
battling cancer, is suppose to graduate
winter term 2009 if the school keeps
the trimester system.
If a switch to the 4x1x4 system
occurs, Faber says he will not graduate
until spring 2009.
Faber’s Facebook petition currently
has 558 members. On the petition’s
Web site, Faber stresses students let
their opinions be known.
“We feel that the decision to move
to any semester system, for reasons of
accommodation to other schools, is
absolutely PREPOSTEROUS,” states
the site’s description.
The petition’s site also gives Mer-
cyhurst College President Thomas
Students make their phone calls in the Tullio Room.
Phon-a-thon raises
$55,406 so far
By Kate Collins
Contributing writer
Each year, Mercyhurst College puts
on an annual phone-a-thon. This year
has been no different.
Started by Gary Bukowski in the fall
of 1980, Mercyhurst’s advancement
office has sponsored this yearly event.
The phon-a-thon kicked off on Jan.
21 and is expected to run, at the latest,
until Feb. 6.
So far, $55,406 has been raised.
The night begins with a 30-minute
training session led by Steve Zinram,
Director of the Annual Fund.
The training session includes a brief
background and history of what the
phon-a-thon really is, its purpose, its
goals and its past accomplishments.
It also includes a briefing on how to
Academy Award
nominations
announced
i.jubii.dk
Mercyhurst College 501 E. 38th St. Erie Pa. 16546
Gamble’s e-mail encouraging students
to contact him with their thoughts.
Gamble said he has not seen the site,
but knows a petition exists.
Gamble, however, voiced concern
that students do not understand that
the recommendation of switching
calendars is only the beginning of a
process.
“This is not the end,” he said. “The
next stage is to have the board do a plan
to implement (the new calendar).”
Student opinion on the topic, how-
ever, varies.
Junior Dan McNulty does not see the
reason for changing calendars.
“Personally, I don’t see why we
need to change the current trimester
system,” he said. “One of the reasons
I came to Mercyhurst was because of
trimesters.”
McNulty said he does not see a ben-
efit in switching to the 4x1x4 semester
system.
“I fail to see how the 4x1x4 gives us
more academics because everything is
the same,” he said. “The January term is
utterly ridiculous, and is the worst time
for people to be in class.”
Junior Chris Geer shares McNulty’s
opinion.
“I think that the change to the 4x1x4
system is something that is favored only
by faculty and a few select students,” he
said. “Any student I know is more than
happy with the trimester system.”
Junior Amanda Kaiser said she does
Andy Finkel Photo
“make a phone call.” These phone calls
are different.
They are geared toward obtaining a
donation for the school so they must
be conducted properly. Zinram stressed
that he does not script the calls. They
are written in a “cheesy” manner to get
a point across.
“If you were to call me and read this
word for word, I would not donate,”
he said. The script really just provides a
guideline for students to start a friendly,
conversational phone call that will put
the receiver at ease. That’s important.
You want to “talk to the caller” and
start a conversation.
The training session ends with a ses-
sion in how to fill out all the proper
forms and thank you letters that donors
will receive at the end of the process.
See Phon-a-thon on page 2
SPORTS
The Facebook petition against the 4x1x4 currently has 558 members.
not understand how the system would
work.
“It doesn’t make much sense at all,”
she said. “If they are going to change
it, they should just do semesters like
other schools.”
Junior Jessica McNurlen said she is
for the change.
“I think it would be a lot better and
MC takes next step in Strategic Plan
By Jessica Kocent
News editor
The Visioning Conference was held
on Jan. 28-29 at the Renaissance Quail
Hollow Resort in Painesville, Ohio.
This Visioning Conference was the
next step in the Strategic Planning pro-
cess, which began at the beginning of
the 2006-2007 academic year.
This site was chosen in order to give
the participants a chance to focus on the
tasks at hand, without being bothered
with their day-to-day affairs.
Thus far, the Strategic Planning
Committee has gathered 5,000 pieces
Campus news briefs
Compiled by editorial staff/from mercyhurst.edu
Intel faculty, students
attend conference on
‘ethics and intelligence’
Three faculty members and six
students from the Mercyhurst Col-
lege Intelligence Studies Department
recently traveled to the Washington,
D.C., area to participate in the Second
International Conference on The
Ethics of National Security Intelli-
gence. The conference was organized
by the International Intelligence
Ethics Association (IIEA).
Department chair Jim Breckenridge
presented “Teaching Ethics and Intel-
ligence,” assistant professor Stephen
Marrin presented “Ethics, Profession-
alism, and Codes in the Intelligence
Community,” and assistant professor
David Grabelski presented “Local
Policing and Intelligence Ethics.”
The students, who served as record-
ers for 30 different discussion sessions,
were Kyle Horvath, Heather Horst,
Cameron Ives, Cory Kutcher, Scott
Melligan, and Angela Merski. The trip
Lakers defeat
Knights
Page 12
facebook.com
more efficient to have classes for 14
weeks compared to 10. We wouldn’t
have to run through things as quickly,”
she said. “And we would have a longer
Christmas break.”
Junior Colleen Murray said she does
not understand the need for such a
change.
“I don’t really agree with it because
of information about Mercyhurst Col-
lege from a number of constituencies,
including faculty, staff, alumni, students
and community members.
The purpose of this conference was
to take all of this information and
decide what plans and strategies should
be implemented to better Mercyhurst
College and what resources will be nec-
essary to make these plans a reality.
“We hope to further the strategic dia-
logue and to move the college forward
toward the development of a concrete
Institutional Strategic Plan,” said Dr.
Heidi Hosey, Vice President of the
Strategic Plan.
Those present included, Dr. Thomas
was funded by a Mercyhurst College
Academic Enrichment Grant.
Murder mystery dinner
SAC will host a Murder Mystery
dinner on Friday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. in
the Egan Cafeteria.
Dance competition
SAC will host the Wade Robinson
Project dance contest on Saturday,
Feb. 3 at 9:30 p.m. in the Walker
Recital Hall.
‘Dancing stars’ from
Iroquois High waltz onto
campus
A sure-footed group of Iroquois
High School students will put two
months of ballroom dancing les-
sons, a seminar on etiquette and a
lesson on dressing dos and don’ts
to the ultimate test when they unveil
their own version of “Dancing with
the Stars” at Mercyhurst College on
Friday, Feb. 2.
ECODEMIA
See inside
January 31, 2007
the term system that we have now was
one of my reasons for coming to Mer-
cyhurst,” she said.
Freshman Libny Tobar said she sup-
ports the change to the 4x1x4 semester
system.
“With the change, I will have a better
opportunity to go home for the holi-
days,” she said. “And this will be similar
to other schools.”
Sophomore Maria Morocco said the
4x1x4 semester system is better for
Mercyhurst in the future.
“I think it’s good for Mercyhurst in
the long run to get off trimesters, but
I don’t want it to change my senior
year,” she said.
Senior Jeff Cagle said there is no need
for a calendar change.
“I think trimesters are working out
well,” he said.
Cagle noted that administration needs
to focus on more important issues.
“I feel, ultimately, the administration
and board are really just out of touch
with students and don’t really recognize
our needs,” he said.
Cagle also said that administration
should get the opinion of the college
community before making decisions.
“It would have been nice if the admin-
istration had asked as many students
as possible about this idea, along with
professors, staff, and even alumni to
get as many perspectives as possible,”
he said.
Please see Students on page 3
Gamble, President of Mercyhurst
College and Dr. Barbara Behan, Vice
President of Academic Affairs. All six
academic deans were also present, in
addition to Dr. Randy Clemons, Dr.
David Livingston, Dr. Mary Ann Owoc,
and Dr. Leanne Roberts, all faculty rep-
resentatives. Dan Schuler, Ryan Palm,
Elise Yablonsky and Christina Coovert
represented the student body.
There were also a number of rep-
resentatives from Mercyhurst North
East present.
Please see Conference on page 3
Spurred by the popularity of the
smash television hit, which pairs
professional dancers with celebrities
in a challenging dance competition,
the students will begin their eve-
ning with a seven-course supper in
Mercyhurst’s Grotto Dining Room at
5:30 p.m. and follow it with a grand
ball – An Evening at Lake Como – in
the Carolyn Herrmann Student Union
at 7:30 p.m.
‘Shadowing’ program set
for Groundhog Day
On Groundhog Day, Friday, Feb. 2,
Mercyhurst College will give a group
of Erie middle school students the
chance to predict something far more
important than the weather – their
own futures.
Nearly 25 seventh- and eighth-grade
students from Jefferson Elementary
School, who have researched careers
they might like to pursue, will shadow
Mercyhurst students on the same
career paths.
PAGE 2 THE MERCIAD January 31, 2007

NEWS To contact: newsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu

Police and Safety Log

World Briefs January 17 January 23
International news Disorderly Conduct
Parking Lot #7
Larceny/Theft
Hammermill Library
Compiled by Three dead in Israel Closed Closed
Jessica Kocent suicide bomb College Discipline
From BBC News January 26
A suicide bomber has killed January 18 Larceny/Theft
three people in the southern Is- Criminal Mischief Mercy Suites 300
raeli resort of Eilat - one of the 3909 Lewis Ave. Closed
country’s most popular tourist Closed
destinations. January 26
The explosion hit the Lehamim January 20 Criminal Mischief
bakery in a residential area at 9:40 College Violation/ 3937 Briggs Ave.
a.m., killing the owner and two Drug Paraphenalia Open
employees. 3908 Briggs Ave. Pending Investigation
Three Palestinian militant Closed
groups said they were behind College Discipline January 27
the attack, saying the bomber was Liquor Law Violation
from Gaza but had entered the January 20 3829 Lewis Ave.
area via neighboring Jordan. Andy Finkel Photo
Criminal Mischief Closed
It is the first suicide bombing Current Mercyhurst students call alumni for donations. Parking Lot #15 State Citation/
in Israel since April 2006. Closed College Discipline

Phon-a-thon has
Police said the bomber had
entered the shop carrying the January 21 January 28
explosives in a backpack. Wit- Harassment Liquor Law Violation

raised $55,406 4007 Briggs Ave. 3808 Briggs Ave.

Eilat is a resort town in nesses described a massive blast
Israel. which shook the area. Closed Closed
State Citation College Discipline
World’s oldest woman dies at age 114
Continued from page 1 which is quite a large feat. But January 21 January 28
The world’s oldest person, Emma Faust Tillman, has died in the also this year, Mercyhurst Stu- 3908 Briggs Ave. Liquor Law Violation
U.S. aged 114. Then calling sessions begin. dent Government took a night, Harassment Baldwin Hall
Tillman, the daughter of former slaves, died “peacefully” on Sunday Each calling session lasts for as well as the cheerleaders and Closed Closed
night, said an official at a nursing home in Hartford, Connecticut. two hours. the dance team. Many sports College Disciplne College Discipline
Tillman had never smoked or drank, her family and friends said. The goal of each session is teams in the past have also joined
She was born on Nov. 22, 1892, on a plantation in North Caro- to raise money for the school, in helping out with the event. January 23
lina. a lot of which will help with Some students also take the Harassment by
student scholarships such as the opportunity to fulfill volunteer Communication
Sudanese president Egan and Presidential scholar- hours although, according to 3907 Briggs Ave.
snubbed by AU ships. Students participating call Zinram, this was more popular in Closed
alumni, parents and parents of the past four or five years.
Sudan’s President Omar al- alumni for such donations. With the phon-a-thon under
Bashir has again been bypassed Zinram also incorporates a way, by this evening, all 11,383
in his bid to become chairman of contest, many of which are spon- people on the calling list will have
the African Union because of the sored by alumni, each night. The been called at least once. There
conflict in Darfur. contest focuses on who has the have been eight calling sessions
Bashir had been due to take on most donations by the end of the so far that have acquired 1,069
the role, but it has instead been night. pledges raising $55,406.
given to Ghana’s President John “This isn’t based on dollar “I always tell the kids, obviously
Kufuor. amount of course; that wouldn’t you’re raising funds that are help-
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has be fair,” Zinram said. “This is a ing the students directly but, this
held talks with Bashir on a pro- way for the students to have a is also the one time a year that
posed joint U.N.-A.U. peace- little fun while making two hours alumni gets to really talk to some-
keeping force in Darfur but Mr worth of phone calls.” one from Mercyhurst,” Zinram
Bashir remains opposed to U.N. The phon-a-thon is open to all said. “They’re always talkative
troops. students but the ambassador’s and polite and what I always tell
Bashir has previously agreed bring in the most students by far. alumni is that our students really
to the existing A.U. force being Each session, the ambassadors are a good investment and they
beefed up, but questions such as Bashir was not considered will send 10-12 representatives, prove it.”
the size of the force and who because of the situation in Andy Finkel Photo

would lead it have not yet been the Darfur region. New washers and dryers will be a nice improvement to
on-campus living.
Ex-Bush spokesman
at Libby trial Communications Res Life pushing
Ex-White House spokesman
Ari Fleischer has testified as a
prosecution witness at the trial
of former U.S. vice presidential
class carrying on for new dryers
aide Lewis Libby.
Fleischer said Libby had told
him over lunch that the wife of a
mission of service By Bjorn Alnaes
Contributing writer
option for us, because it makes it
much easier to repair, as well as
getting new parts if necessary,”
prominent Iraq war critic worked says Mixa.
at the CIA. crisis when 18 inches of flooding Mercyhurst will look to install Mixa also underlined that the
By Elyse Lagana
He told the court their con- and sewage filled the basement new washers and dryers over the installment of new equipment
Contributing writer
versation had happened on June of the building. The administra- summer. will better the laundry situation
7 2003 - before Libby says he tors feel the cost for the plumb- The new equipment is already for the students.
learned about the agent. Homelessness is here. That’s ing fix may send the organization guaranteed to be installed in “We are looking to improve
That discrepancy is at the heart the new campaign slogan for a down the drain. freshman housing, while ne- the laundry facilities by either
of the perjury and obstruction homeless shelter in Erie and it “I can say that as an agency we gotiations are still in effect for installing larger dryers, or several
trial of Libby - who denies the was Mercyhurst College students are contributing our very best upperclassman housing. smaller stackable dryers that we
charges. who developed it. effort to help meet the needs of The washers and dryers will be can put on top of each other in
If found guilty Lewis “Scooter” A communications class is put- those who are homeless in our ready for use at the beginning of order to decrease the lines in the
Libby - who was Vice President ting their education to practical community,” said Cancilla, “but fall term. laundry rooms.”
Fleischer testified on Dick Cheney’s chief of staff - use by helping a local homeless we were facing a very serious Many students have com- The smaller, stackable dryers
Libby’s behalf. could face up to 30 years in jail. shelter better its image in the deficit.” plained about the access to seem to be the preferred option
community. CSS hopes that these new washers and especially dryers. among students.
Ex-soldier admits to killing entire family The homeless shelter, Commu- changes will be successful and Senior Tiffany Gagne agrees that “The stackable dryers seem
nity Shelter Services (CSS), has make the organization more the laundry situation on campus like the best alternative because
A former soldier has admitted the manslaughter of four members provided temporary emergency known in the community and leaves much to be desired. it allows for more people to dry
of his family, who were found shot dead at the home they shared in shelter, meals and referrals to the increase donations. “There are not enough ma- their laundry at the same time,”
Newcastle. homeless of Erie since 1973. It has been a very rewarding chines for us students,” she said. Gagne said.
David Bradley, 41, was originally charged with the murders of his The students of the public yet emotional project for the “When some of the machines “Drying takes much longer
uncle Peter Purcell, aunt Josie, both 70, and their sons Keith, 44, relations techniques class, taught students in the class. are broken on top of that, it is than washing, and it is therefore
and Glen, 41. by Dr. Anne Zaphiris, met with “I’m really glad to be doing it almost impossible to get your essential that we have enough
But those charges were dropped when it was found he was men- the executive director of CSS, because they need a lot of help. laundry done.” working dryers when we do our
tally ill. Kathleen Cancilla, and the head I feel honored that they chose Mercyhurst currently leases the laundry.”
Bradley admitted the manslaughter charges on the grounds of di- of public relations, Denise Koli- Mercyhurst students to do that,” washers and dryers installed in Mixa agrees with Gagne and
minished responsibility after two psychiatrists agreed he was mentally vosky, to discuss the current con- said Jessica Shane. student housing, which is about believes that the stackable dryers
ill at the time of the killings. cerns of CSS and what changes The final product will be fin- to expire this summer. will be the way to go.
the students will make. ished at the end of the term in MSG Residence Life Commit- ‘The stackable dryers will prob-
Three killed in Some of these changes will February. The students hope it tee Chair Mihailo Jovanic Mixa ably be more efficient when it
include the organization’s name, will strengthen the Community says this is one of the main rea- comes to decreasing the lines in
Pakistan blast logo, website, their media ad- Shelter Services’ reputation. sons to install new ones. the laundry rooms,” he said. “By
At least three people have vertising and fundraising ideas, The students of Mercyhurst “The lease is about to expire, choosing the stackable ones we
been killed and seven injured in as well as possible partnerships. can help by attending their an- and we see this as an ideal time to can have more dryers in the laun-
a suicide bombing in north-west The students’ overall goal is to nual spaghetti cook off, Sunday install new ones,” he said. “The dry rooms and thereby decrease
Pakistan, police say. give CSS more direction and Feb. 18th from noon to 4 p.m. freshman housing will definitely the lines.”
Police say the bomber killed better credibility. at Sabellas. For tickets call 455- have new equipment by the start While a final decision has not
himself, a policeman and a civil- It is early in the planning pro- 4369. of fall term, and we are also been made, Mixa assures that
ian after he was stopped at a cess. A new name has been Homelessness does exist in working to install new ones in Residence Life will push for the
checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan, chosen, Erie Community Shel- Erie and the community needs upperclassmen housing.” stackable dryers.
a town near the Afghan border. ter, and a new logo has been to be aware of it. The students Leasing laundry equipment One thing is certain though;
The blast is Pakistan’s third designed. Students are working at Mercyhurst are taking action includes easy access to mechan- next year’s freshman will be met
since Friday and comes amid in groups to come up with print and living out the college’s mis- ics and repairs. The new wash- with brand new laundry facili-
tight security for Shia Muslim The town is located near material and public service an- sion of compassion and service ers and dryers will therefore be ties.
ceremonies this week. the Pakistan Afghanistan nouncements. to others. leased too.
border CSS recently experienced a “A leasing contract is the best
January 31, 2007
Adult Ed Dept. responds to 4x1x4 system
By Jessica Nulph
Contributing wrtier
In recent years the community
has seen much advertising for
Mercyhurst’s renowned Adult
College, whether it be on the
radio, TV, or the back of a pub-
lic bus.
With the introduction of the
proposed 4x1x4 semester system,
many adult students already at-
tending Mercyhurst say they are
feeling cheated.
Mercyhurst is popular among
adult students because of its
trimester system, which allows
them to take fewer classes each
term so they may work full-
time and spend time with their
families.
Academic Adviser for the
Adult College, Donelle Davey,
says the adult students have sev-
eral concerns with the proposed
schedule, most notably with the
amount of time it would take to
graduate.
“Adult students perceive they
can complete their degrees in
a shorter amount of time at
Mercyhurst, especially if they’re
taking classes on a part-time ba-
sis. They take only two classes
each term and one during the
summer, which gives them 21
credits a year.
The proposed system would
probably require adult students
to take at least three classes each
term as a part-time student.” said
Donelle Davey.
Full-time students would prob-
ably be required to take four or
Students voice opinions
Continued from page 1
“I also feel that the adminis-
tration, and more importantly
the board of trustees, should be
worried about other things rather
than this change.”
Mercyhurst Student Govern-
ment President Dan Schuler said
MSG is working on plans to get
student opinion.
“We are going to work in con-
junction with the administration
to setup town hall meetings with
freshmen where administrators
would meet with them,” he said.
“There is also likely to be one or
multiple town forums in the next
few months.”
According to Gamble, Pub-
lic Relations Director Megan
Corbin is developing a commu-
nication plan to reach the college
community about the possibility
Verizon donates to LD
By Amy Zielinski
Contributing writer
New technology will help stu-
dents who are in the Mercyhurst
College Learning Differences
Program, thanks to a $10,000
grant from the Verizon Founda-
tion.
Gary Bukowski, Vice President
for Institutional Advancement,
became interested in the involve-
ment of the LD program, when
he realized Verizon had money
to offer for technology.
The LD program offers tech-
nology like Kurzweil, a program
to help convert text to audio and
textbooks on tape. Although the
LD program currently has sta-
tions set up with the Kurzweil
program, it can now be expanded
with the grant money.
Dianne Rogers, director of
learning differences, thinks that
many students have improved
their reading skills because of
the Kurzweil program.
“Many students found they are
spending so much time reading
and they did not have time to
do the actual studying” said
Rogers.
Rogers would not only like to
use the money for additional
Kurzweil programs, but other
technology as well. High speed
scanners, laptop computers and
adaptive equipment are just a few
tools she feels would benefit the
students.
five classes each term.
Craig Smith, a second-year
adult student at Mercyhurst, is
completely against the proposed
system.
“Many adult students, like my-
self, are ex-military and came to
Mercyhurst for the intelligence
program.
“We were attracted by the tri-
mester system, which allows us to
work full-time. With the new sys-
tem, I won’t be able to graduate
on time. There’s no way I could
take five classes each term.”
Mecyhurst President Dr.
Thomas Gamble suggests the
system would provide many ben-
efits to the students, including the
ability to align the sports calendar
with other schools, an increase in
study abroad opportunities, and
more opportunity for on-site
internships and service learning.
Unfortunately, few of these ideas
benefit adult students.
Adult students, like traditional
students, would be provided
with the opportunity to explore
subjects in greater depth, but the
benefits end there; many adult
students say that is not enough.
Adult transfer student Kristen
McCauley says the current tri-
mester system works for her.
“I transferred from a school
based on the semester system.
At first it was hard to get used
to, but now I think it’s beneficial
because we are learning only the
important aspects of a concept
and have to deal with only three
or four finals as opposed to six
or seven. I don’t think I would
be able to work full-time as I
of a change.
He noted that there is a plan for
a forum in the spring when stu-
dents can voice their opinions.
“We owe it to the students to
have venues to ask questions,”
said Gamble. “We will be lis-
tening to all voices as the plan
continues.”
Students are still concerned
that such a change will greatly
affect enrollment and classes.
Gamble says he is taking the
“great things about Mercyhurst”
and improving them.
“My obligation is to act in the
best interest of the college, and
I believe the longer terms is the
best (calendar),” he said. “Eighty
to 85 percent of colleges have
terms longer than 10 weeks.”
According to Gamble, the
4x1x4 system will affect trans-
fers, but the school is still look-
Erin Petri, senior marriage and family major, uses the Kurz-
weil program in the Learning Differences classroom.
Rogers would also like to see
part of the money to be used for
training the LD staff in regards
to technology.
“Things we did not know
about are coming and there are
so many new changes” Rogers
said. “Because the technology
is so quickly emerging we do not
know how to utilize it to the best
of our ability.”
The LD program has helped
more than 250 students graduate
and currently provides support
THE MERCIAD
Caption
do now if I had to go back to a
semester system.” said Kristen
McCauley.
According to Davey, if Mercy-
hurst does switch to the 4x1x4
system, the Adult College will
respond by expanding evening
and weekend classes, as well as
including an additional acceler-
ated class during the week, prob-
ably on Tuesdays.
She hopes this would appeal to
the adult students who generally
take advantage of these classes
which tend to work around their
busy schedules.
Not all adult students have a
set, 9-5 job, however, and of-
ten have to work evenings and
weekends. McCauley notes that
ing into other possible affects
the new calendar will have on
enrollment.
“This system is easier to trans-
fer into Mercyhurst,” he said.
“But, we need to look at the ex-
perience of other schools to try
and determine what the affects
would be.”
Gamble also noted that the
number of courses in majors and
electives won’t be affected.
“Since the system is based on
three credit courses, the number
of classes will stay the same.”
Gamble emphasized that stu-
dents should not be so quick to
judge the new semester system.
Schuler agreed.
“There’s not a whole lot of
information out there right now,”
he said. “So, it’s hard for students
to render an opinion.”
Photo by Amy Zielinski
to 150 students on Mercyhurst’s
Erie and North East campuses.
Rogers would like to help more
students and is excited to see
improvement.
In the future, the LD program
would like to apply for more
grants. Many organizations are
realizing the impact technology
has on people with disabilities.
“There are so many things
computers can do to assist with
disabilities” Rogers said.
To contact: newsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
it’s not the times the classes will
be offered, but the amount of
classes she would have to take.
Details of the proposed system
continue to be worked out and a
decision on whether to switch to
the 4x1x4 system won’t be made
for some time. If selected, the
system may go into effect as early
as the 2008-2009 academic year.
Davey reminds students to, “try
to remain open-minded and try
to gather as much information
as possible as it becomes avail-
able.”
She believes the college will
continue to attract adult students
based on its ability to provide
a life-changing experience for
adult students through its excel-
MC Health Center
readies for flu season
By Nicole Cerilli
Contrinuting writer
This year’s flu season is off to
a late start, but the Mercyhurst
health center staff remains
active.
Flu season typically begins
in early January, but this year
it is not anticipated to start
until the end of the month.
The late start is a nationwide
trend that can be explained by
warmer-than-average weather
this winter.
In the fall, the health center
distributed 650 influenza vac-
cines, and so far they have not
seen anyone who was vacci-
nated return with the flu.
However, despite the flu de-
lay, other viruses are circulating
through the nation and affect-
ing Mercyhurst students.
Fevers and sinus infections
have been common nuisances
to students this winter. In ad-
dition, the “stomach flu” ac-
companied with dehydration
has plagued the community.
The health center wants stu-
dents to know that if they are
feeling sick, they should go to
the health center as soon as
possible.
Although the remedy for
some viruses is to wait them
CRIMINAL DEFENSE
including
UNDERAGE DRINKING AND DUI
Andrew H. Weinraub, Esquire
Bernard Stuczynski & Bonanti
234 West Sixth Street
Erie, PA 16507-1319
814-452-6232
1-800-999-0750
Fax: 814-454-7488
Email: andrew@BSBlegalhelp.com
VISIT US at www.BSBlegalhelp.com
CREDIT/Photo editor
lent faculty and great academic
reputation.
Smith finds it hard to keep an
open-mind when such a system is
going to interfere with his future
plans, though.
“I don’t think Mercyhurst and
Dr. Gamble have taken into
consideration the power the
students have in running this
school. I think if it’s approved,
there will be protest and a decline
in attendance. We are not Dr.
Gamble’s subordinates and his
decision not to consult us before
proposing this system shows his
arrogance.”
out, the health center can help
out with the symptoms. Eating
and drinking problems associ-
ated with illnesses are some-
thing that can be addressed.
In order to avoid illness, the
health center staff stresses the
importance of washing your
hands.
“We tell students to wash
their hands until they have sung
‘Happy Birthday’ twice,” said
Christine Dimperio, RN.
Viruses live on everything our
hands come in contact with.
Therefore, hand sanitizer can
come in handy. People should
also be mindful of covering
their mouth and nose when
they sneeze or cough to keep
their germs from spreading said
Dimperio.
Recently, the majority of the
health center’s patients have
been seniors, many of whom
are paying their first visit to the
health center in four years.
“This is not uncommon for
this time of year,” said Dim-
perio “It is a big crunch time
for seniors. The pressure is on,
they have a lot to do, and they
are very stressed.”
In addition to addressing
viruses and infections, the
health center staff has been
active in coordinating events
and programs for students and
PAGE 3
News
File Photo
Dr. Heidi Hosey
Conference
maps out
future
Continued from page 1
This panel discussed every-
thing from the improvement
of instructional technology, to
an improvement to student and
residence life, and financial sta-
bility and the expansion of the
Mercyhurst name.
While these goals have been a
part of the Mercyhurst commu-
nity for a while now, the Vision-
ing Conference will ensure that
the goals are pertinent and that
they receive the correct amount
of attention and funding.
Ryan Palm said, “The entire
group did a great job of map-
ping out in a broad sense where
Mercyhurst will go in the next
5-10 years.”
Palm continued, “It was excit-
ing to see such a wide gathering
of people. As a student, I valued
that there were so many groups
represented unlike other Strate-
gic Plans in the past.”
in choosing vaccine distribution
dates for the future.
The Women’s Fair will take
place campus wide on March
23. In conjunction with the
counseling center, the health
center will address issues con-
cerning diabetes and alcohol
during this event.
Blood sugar tests will be of-
fered at booths. Also, the event
will allow students to look at
nutrition and the diabetic pro-
cess. Counselors will present to
answers students’ questions.
Right now, the health center
staff is also working to educate
students about the new Human
Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine,
which came in out June.
They are helping students to
learn more about the virus and
the vaccine through bulletin
boards, hand-outs, and one-on-
one education.
Looking ahead to fall term
2007, the health center is plan-
ning a meningitis clinic to oc-
cur on Sept. 13 to educate the
incoming freshmen class.
It is important for Mercyhurst
students to know that all vac-
cines distributed by the health
center are free of charge.
Dimperio said that in the
future, the health center would
like to see more outreach on
campus.
HOUSE FOR RENT
available for summer,
fall and spring rental
1 block from Mercyhurst
on 146 E. 38th St.
Features:
- Central Air
- Dishwasher
- 4 Bedrooms
- Garbage disposal
- Washer & Dryer
For more information:
Call after 7 PM
Home: 452-0124
Cel: 434-5717
PAGE 4
CAMPUS
Living
Hangovers: one of college Art creates friendships
students’ archenemies
By Jen Gildea
Contributing writer
It’s no secret that the consump-
tion of alcohol affects the human
body. For some, alcohol causes
drowsiness; for others, giddiness.
Still for others, alcohol affects
the senses, reflexes and common
sense.
Turning 21 is something that all
college students look forward to.
Then, it’s finally “safe” to drink,
and even go out with friends.
Although the fun of drinking
and the luxury of being legal
seem exciting, the consequences
of drinking too much often pre-
vail over the benefits. In addition
to the dangers of binge drinking,
people risk a much more com-
mon side effect: the dreaded
hangover.
Hangovers are a mixture of
unpleasant reactions to the intake
of too much alcohol. Typically
the physical characteristics of
a hangover include headache,
nausea, lethargy, sensitivity to
light and noise and thirst.
Lasting on average from 12 to
36 hours, hangovers can range
from minor to major, often de-
pending on how much alcohol
was consumed. For this reason,
perhaps one of the most com-
mon times for young adults to
experience a major hangover is
after their 21st birthdays.
Junior Chrissie Wagner remem-
bers her 21st birthday this past
October.
“On my birthday, I discovered
that hangovers are worse when
you’re awake and they kick in,”
Wagner said. “But I took some
Advil and drank some water, and
then I felt a little better.”
Water seems to be the common
thread between many students
in the effort to curb a nasty
hangover.
Senior Rebecca Tudi notes that
drinking lots of water before go-
Dancing all over the world
By Angie Pascoe
Contributing writer
Sarah James, a senior dance
major and arts administration
minor, is working on auditioning
for professional dance companies
around the world.
For now, James dances with
Lake Erie Ballet, a small profes-
sional ballet company.
“I want to expand my career so
I’m auditioning with the [Lake
Erie Ballet] company and inter-
nationally,” said James.
At the end of February, James
will travel to Amsterdam to au-
dition for the Dutch National
Ballet and the Scapino Ballet
Rotterdam.
Some American companies
that she will audition for include
Festival Ballet, Miami City Ballet,
Ballet Florida and Washington
Peek ‘n’ Peak cures winter-time blues
By Kylie Winans
Contributing writer
This winter, when classes let
out for the day, everyone is head-
ing to the slopes for skiing and
snowboarding.
Skiing and snowboarding are
a great way to stay active during
the cold months, when there
isn’t much else you can be doing
To contact: featuremerciad@mercyhurst.edu
ing to bed is the key to waking up
without a hangover.
“Water helps to eliminate de-
hydration in the morning. I also
snack on some ‘munchies’ before
bed and that helps me to not feel
like a deadbeat the next day,”
said Tudi.
Junior Nick Giallourakis agrees
with Tudi.
“I keep a water bottle by my
bed to drink in the middle of the
night when I wake up with a dry
mouth and throat,” he says.
Doctors and scientists seem
to agree, as well, saying that the
ethanol in alcohol has a dehydrat-
ing effect, and that drinking water
after consumption can have an
alleviating effect on the body.
Many students responded that
popping a pain reliever, such as
Advil or Tylenol, before bed aid-
ed in warding off a headache.
“I usually take one at night,
then one in the morning, and eat
some toast. That helps with the
headache part of a hangover,”
said Wagner.
Another cause of hangovers
that Tudi mentioned was that she
prefers to drink red wine. Wine
has been known to cause a slight-
ly different type of hangover than
other forms of alcohol.
The “Red Wine Headache” that
many people are familiar with can
take effect within 15 minutes of
drinking a single glass. Accom-
panying this headache is often
flushing of the cheeks.
It is curious as to why certain
alcohols affect people in different
ways. Junior Danny O’Shurak
says that he only gets hangovers
when mixing liquor and beer;
beer alone does not give him a
hangover.
“One way that I’ve found that
helps to get rid of a hangover is
to go and have a drink of what-
ever it was that I was drinking
the night before,” O’Shurak said.
“If I was drinking beer the night
before, I’ll have another beer in
Photo by Richard Hardwick/Mercyhurst.edu
A grand pas de chat.
Ballet.
“I would like to audition with
more companies but right now I
have to sit down and figure out
my budget,” James said. “Every-
where I audition costs money to
travel there. I would love to do
them all!”
To prepare for her auditions,
she has put herself on a more
strict diet and workout routine
than what she usually follows.
She has completely cut out all
sweets and alcohol. Some of her
favorite meals include grilled
to Thursday can get student
passes for $19, you can also rent
equipment for less than $30 if
you don’t have your own.
Freshman David Leake says,
“The peak is gnarly!”
He and his friends spend most
of their time learning new tricks
to do on their boards.
“I love grinding rails, riding
boxes, and hitting rad jumps,”
said freshman David Giarizzo.
THE MERCIAD January 31, 2007
the morning.”
This therapy tactic seems curi-
ous; however, it has been specu-
lated that consuming even more
of the same alcohol than the
night before will overcome a
hangover. This is frequently
referred to as the “hair of the
dog” remedy, shortened from the
English expression, “the hair of
the dog that bit you.”
No matter the approach to
getting rid of a hangover, the
only true way to get sober is to
let the hangover ride its course.
The alcohol must pass through
the liver and out of the body
before the symptoms can truly
disappear.
While they’re there, however,
the hangover symptoms can be
burdensome.
“Hangovers suck!” says senior
Kate Collins. “They really take
away from the next day and I
personally lose a lot of motiva-
tion to do anything.”
To get rid of a hangover, Col-
lins says that she “sleeps mostly.
Sleep is the best cure for me.”
Other students noted that sleep
is very beneficial to getting rid of
a hangover.
“When all else fails, sometimes
you just have to sleep it off,” said
Giallourakis. Photos by Camille Nischal
Although it might be hard to The Art Education students have been teaching clay lessons in the Mercyhurst
avoid the symptoms once a hang- College art studios for Erie County students after school as part of the Mercyhurst
over is already in effect, the best College Americorps VISTA Service Learning diversity grant.
way to prevent them altogether
is simply to limit the amount of
alcohol consumed.
O’Shurak sums it up well, stat-
ing, “I don’t really think there
is any real way to try to prevent
hangovers; you just can’t drink
too much.”
While the effects of a hangover
are nowhere near pleasant, it
is important to remember that
drinking too much, or binge
drinking, can have serious con-
sequences and is dangerous for
people of any age.
chicken wraps, tuna, asparagus
and bran cereal.
James is shocked at how much
more energy she has now that she
has revamped her diet.
“I just feel so much healthier
without all that poison running
through my body,” she said.
After losing four pounds in
the last two weeks, James would
agree that her new regimen is
going successfully.
Along with eating healthier,
James has also been putting time
in at the Fitness Center.
She teaches a Pilates class four
days a week. After her class she
likes to stay and walk on the
treadmill for a mile everyday.
James also has rehearsal four
to six days a week, depending on
how close she is to a performance
or audition.
Obviously, life long memories
are made on the slopes when
you’re just having fun with your
friends.
If you can’t get out to Peek ‘n’
Peak or another resort, there is a
place to test out your skills and
have a good time without even
leaving campus.
!!! !!! !!!
In between the parking garage
and Briggs Avenue, there is a
small student made snowboard-
outside.
It could also be a great way to
meet new people, by joining the
ski or snowboard clubs here on
campus. For those who may be
too intimidated to get started,
can take a lesson at the closest ski
resort to campus, Peek ‘n’ Peak is
less than 30 minutes away.
“Peek ‘n’ Peak can be awesome
time.”
Giarrizzo said he remembers
good moments from the Peak.
“One of my favorite moments
was when my good friend Dave
attempted a back flip and yard-
saled,” says Giarrizzo.
For those who don’t know, a
ing park. Students can walk over
from their dorms or apartments
and test their skills on the jumps
and rails.
“The park offers radical jumps
and rails…and we also meet hot
chicks,” said freshman boarding
enthusiast Justin McInturff.
Skiing has always been a clas-
<_Wº<WXXQVO8QbbI[
)LLI4Q\MZNWZ!!‰
+IZZaW]\WZ,MTQ^MZaWVTa
-`XQZM[
One coupon per party per visit at participating units
owned and operated by subsidiaries of Pizza Hut,
Inc. Delivery charge may apply. Limited delivery
area. Not valid with any other offer. 1/20 cent cash
redemption value. ©2007 Pizza Hut Inc.
<_Wº<WXXQVO8QbbI[
)LLI4Q\MZNWZ!!‰
+IZZaW]\WZ,MTQ^MZaWVTa
-`XQZM[
One coupon per party per visit at participating units
owned and operated by subsidiaries of Pizza Hut,
Inc. Delivery charge may apply. Limited delivery
area. Not valid with any other offer. 1/20 cent cash
redemption value. ©2007 Pizza Hut Inc.
<_Wº<WXXQVO8QbbI[
)LLI4Q\MZNWZ!!‰
+IZZaW]\WZ,MTQ^MZaWVTa
-`XQZM[
One coupon per party per visit at participating units
owned and operated by subsidiaries of Pizza Hut,
Inc. Delivery charge may apply. Limited delivery
area. Not valid with any other offer. 1/20 cent cash
redemption value. ©2007 Pizza Hut Inc.

And while I always thought get-
ting into skiing or snowboarding
would be too expensive to do, it’s
actually fairly affordable. While
an all-day lift pass from Sunday
“yard-saled” means when you
lose both your skis, your gloves
and your hat.
“I helped him up, and he com-
pleted his back flip,” he added.
-:1-
sic sport among people of all
ages. And now that snowboard- - <0;<
ing has picked up in popularity,
winter has a chance to become
everyone’s favorite season.
 
AE3337 College ROP_merciad.indd 1 1/23/07 4:28:10 PM
January 31, 2007
Living
Soul-warming recipes
All the ingredients are most
likely around your house some-
where or very easy to get at the
grocery store for a fraction of
the price of a meal out.
Also this meal is very easy and
can feed a lot of people. I make
it on the weekend so that I have
enough for leftovers during the
week when I do not have time
to cook.
This meal is a great way to eat
Italian Chicken
Ingredients
2 Large chicken breasts (cubed)
1 Whole onion (diced)
1 Whole green pepper (diced)
1 Package precut mushrooms
1 Jar spaghetti sauce
Olive oil
Oregano
Basil
Directions
1. Coat the bottom of the skillet with olive oil and heat for a few minutes on medium heat. Then
add the cubed pieces of chicken and cook until they are done all the way through and are
browned.
2. In the large pot add a little bit of olive oil and all of the vegetables and cook until they are tender.
When they are done add the spaghetti sauce. Heat this, while stirring occasionally, until the
spaghetti sauce is hot.
3. While the sauce is getting hot and the chicken is being cooked boil water on the stove for your
pasta and follow the directions on the side of the box.
4. When the chicken is cooked all the way through add it to the sauce and vegetables and spice it
with the oregano and basil to your own taste.
5. Pour the chicken and veggies with the sauce over your pasta.
I
ERI
By Adam Hicks
Contributing writer
If you have ever been on 38th
Street looking for a restaurant
that offers nicely priced and
filling meals at a reasonable
price then look no more.
The solution to your culinary
quest is at Nunzi’s Place on
2330 E. 38th St.
The restaurant has been
owned and operated by the
same family since 1953.
In addition to a long tradi-
tion of supporting the com-
munity with great Italian food,
the family also has roots at
Mercyhurst, with junior Mike
Cilladi in the Intelligence Stud-
ies program.
Although Nunzi’s Place was
founded over 50 years ago by
Carmella and Michael, who
later passed it on to their
children, ownership of the
restaurant is now in its third
generation and still practices
the same traditions from its
early beginnings.
Nunzi’s offers a full menu of Italian specialties.
healthy and can be changed to
match any taste. The chicken is
healthy and not fried like you
would see at most restaurants.
Also the fresh vegetables are
a great way to get vitamins and
minerals and they add a lot to
the flavor of the sauce. If you
are really feeling adventurous
and extra-healthy serve it over
whole wheat pasta, which is a
great source of fiber and good
Equipment
Skillet
2 Large pots
Stove
Fine Italian
cuisine
at the best
price in town
is located on
38th St. at
Nunzi’s
Now owned by Betsy Cilladi,
she proudly states that, “the
same recipes are still used for
making all the dishes; nothing
is prepackaged here at Nunzi’s
Place.”
Everything from the breaded
zucchini to the meatballs and
ravioli is made with pride in
the restaurant.
Nunzi’s Place also makes 140
gallons of sauce a week from
top-grade tomatoes, which
they sell at $4.50 per quart and
$2.50 per pint.
The restaurant is open Mon-
day through Thursday from
11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday
and Saturday from 11 a.m. to
midnight, and Sunday from 11
a.m. to 9 p.m. and also offers a
banquet hall and bar.
The menu at Nunzi’s Place
comprises appetizers such as
breaded mushrooms and fan-
tastic fried zucchini.
The entrees are great too,
with, homemade lasagna for
$7.25, and according to wait-
ress and long-time employee
carbohydrates.
If you do not like some of
the vegetables that I have added
here you can substitute them for
something that you like. Also
what you want to add to your
sauce is up to you; the sky is
the limit.
You can add garlic, more of a
certain kind of vegetable or even
cheese to your Italian chicken.
This meal is great served with
Photos by Adam Hicks
Nunzi’s Place sign.
Jeralinn Roche, “the best meat
raviolis in town-very plump
and flavorful.”
The restaurant also has 12-
inch sub sandwiches ranging
from $3 to $8 and whole spe-
cialty pizzas, including Philly
cheese steak and a seafood
pizza, for $7 to $9.
On the weekends the food
at the restaurant gets a little
crazier, with unique sauces and
specials to entice customers to
try new and unique culinary
creations.
These more unique house
specials include the Shrimp
fra Diablo for $8.95, and the
stuffed pasta with red lobster
vodka sauce, also for $8.95.
When asked about the res-
taurant, senior Adriana Sim-
one said, “I’ve been coming
here since freshman year. I
am very spoiled when it comes
to Italian food, and this is the
best.”
Senior Gina Christoffersen
agreed with Adriana saying
that, “I started going here
because of her; I love Italian
food and family places. Nun-
zi’s Place has great food.”
If you are looking for great
Italian food at a reasonable
price, that comes complete
with a wonderful mom-and-
pop atmosphere, you should
check out Nunzi’s Place
THE MERCIAD
To contact: featuremerciad@mercyhurst.edu
With Meg
and Kyle
some garlic bread, which you
can make yourself, or buy a loaf
at the grocery store.
Soldiers like this 8th
Cavalry trooper will
benefit from the
lacrosse team’s
effort.
Lacrosse gives to US troops
By Lakyn Bianco
Contributing writer
The Mercyhurst men’s lacrosse
team is going to Iraq—in heart
and spirit anyway. Thanks to
head coach Chris Ryan, the
team has become involved in the
America Supporting Americans
(ASA) organization.
The players, parents and sup-
porters of the men’s lacrosse
team have donated personal
items to send to the soldiers of A
Company 3-8 Calvary of the U.S.
Army stationed at Ford Hood,
Texas and currently deployed
in Iraq.
The men’s lacrosse program
encourages all of the Mercy-
hurst community to participate
in this cause and donate items
for the team to include in care
packages.
“People have offered every-
thing from toothbrushes and
razors to old magazines and
money for postal to send to the
3-8,” Ryan said.
The lacrosse team, along with
an elementary class from El-
bridge, NY, has written letters
to the soldiers to be included in
the care packages.
Ryan emphasized that the
soldiers would especially appre-
ciate phone cards to call home
to the U.S.
The team also sends a Mercy-
hurst College flag and an auto-
graphed lacrosse helmet.
“We talk about how at Mer-
cyhurst we are experiencing a
liberal arts education, and how
this will take you places. Well,
I guess the Mercyhurst men’s
lacrosse team will be in Iraq
somehow,” Ryan said.
So far the college has been
supportive of the lacrosse team’s
involvement with the ASA.
“Responses have been a real
positive. It is nice to see,” he
said.
Anyone who would like to
donate items for the soldiers can
drop them off at the men’s la-
crosse office located in the lower
level of Baldwin Hall near the
communications department.
Ryan and the lacrosse program
will send the care packages to
Iraq on Feb. 2, but they will ac-
cept materials after that date to
send later.
The team first became inter-
ested in the ASA in December
when Ryan attended the Inter-
Collegiate Lacrosse Association
Conference in Baltimore.
“I saw a t-shirt that said ‘sup-
port our troops’ and my radar
went up,” Ryan said.
He found the booth for the
ASA, met with the head of the
organization, Linda Patterson,
and was immediately interested
in getting the Mercyhurst men’s
lacrosse team involved.
“Personally I’ve always wanted
to do something for our troops.
As a coach of 40, I thought, if
you have the ability to help it
is difficult not to do anything,”
he said.
Ryan found importance in
showing support for the men
and women in Iraq, especially
since many of the soldiers are
the same age as traditional col-
lege students.
“It is sobering to think about
what these men and women
are doing. We worry about our
macroeconomics test or whether
it’s going to snow tonight, and
bigger decisions are being made
in far way places. You have to
respect that fact. It’s hard to turn
PAGE 5
CAMPUS
Picture by 8th Cavalry Organization
a blind eye to that.” Ryan said.
Ryan has been communicating
with the 3-8 through e-mail.
“There is a sense of pride that
comes out of it, and it is conta-
gious. It make things come back
to center,” Ryan said.
The ASA Organization began
in 1967 with the goal of raising
troop morale in Vietnam. The
Adopt-A-Unit Program of the
ASA establishes a relationship
between civic and community
groups with specific military
units in order to establish a
strong, supportive connection.
The men’s lacrosse team has
been linked with the 3-8 this
way.
According the ASA’s Website,
the units deployed count on
care packages and letters from
their linked community group
to boost their morale and feel
connected with home.
Ryan hopes that the men’s
lacrosse program can continue
to support the troops in the
future.
“We don’t want to be one-hit-
wonders. I don’t want to send the
packages and forget about these
guys. As long as these men and
women are over there, we will
support them,” he said.
“We hope that people will join
in. It’s a great cause and a mes-
sage of support and recognition
for what people are doing for us.
We appreciate all the help, and
I’m sure the 3-8 appreciates the
thoughts, prayers and anything
we can offer them,” Ryan said.
The lacrosse team will soon
sell t-shirts commemorating the
3-8. They hope to raise enough
money to send a shirt to every
member of the unit.
PAGE 6
OPINION To contact: opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards is one of many candidates already hitting
the campaign trail.
Too soon for campaigning
By Chelsea Boothe
Campus Living editor
Candidates for presidential election are being
announced, but wait, it’s only January of 2007.
An article I read in the New York Times on Jan.
22, discussed the incredibly quick start of the next
presidential election. At first I did not understand
why this was newsworthy. I mean what can it hurt
to get the issues out there, to weed out the weak
candidates and to have a politically heightened
next few years?
Then, I read that the cost of running will now be
increased by the millions. And, even more upset-
ting, most of the candidates are in Congress. The
article said that running this early will be “distract-
ing them from legislative business and drawing
news coverage away from Congress and out onto
the campaign trail.”
Both of these issues are very upsetting. First of
all, campaigns are already too expensive; it creates
a financial debate as opposed to a debate about
real issues. Furthermore, starting this early might
exclude several excellent candidates who simply
won’t be able to afford to run. Instead of spend-
ing millions of dollars on running I would rather
see that money go to actually making a difference.
I mean we have an enormous deficit, public educa-
tion in this country is pathetic in many cities and my
generation will have absolutely no Social Security;
yet millions of dollars are spent on fund-raising.
And now even more will be directed there.
Secondly, this last congressional election pointed
out just how much Americans want to see a change
in government and, personally at least, how much
Make college affordable
By Yolanda Chavez Leyva
MCT newspapers
College affordability is big deal. Just ask my
students.
I teach at a university where 75 percent of the
students work to put themselves through school.
The majority of students are the first generation
in their families to attend college and, each day,
many of them juggle school, work and family
obligations.
They come to the university with the pro-
found hope that
higher education
will provide them
knowledge, stable
employment, fi-
nancial security
and a better life
the dreams of col-
lege students all
over the United
States.
In recent days,
the dreams and
hopes of Amer-
ica’s youth have
been the subject
of debate among
lawmakers.
The U.S. House
recently voted to
decrease the inter-
est rate on feder-
ally subsidized loans to college students from 6.8
percent to 3.4 gradually over the next five years.
Recently, both Democrats and Republicans
have proposed ways to make college accessible to
students, ranging from the cuts in interest rates to
increased financial aid. They have also called on
universities to lower their tuitions.
Between 1994 and 2004, the average price for
undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public
colleges increased by 30 percent, according to the
U.S. Department of Education.
The increase was even higher at private institu-
tions.
THE MERCIAD
Sportscenter for Women
Ladies, you know the drill. You and your room-
mates go to the bar on a Friday night. You wake up
the next morning and all your friends gather in one
room, the hostess usually still lying in bed, getting
up only to
check her
AIM mes-
sages. Each Jessica
of you takes
turns telling
Lamb
the play-by-
play of last
night’s events,
specifically
Contributing writer
those involv-
ing cute guys.
These conversations aren’t a mere recap of who
said what. The “…and then he said….and then I
MCT said…” simply won’t do here. Before you know
it, the five-minute conversation you had with a guy
turns into a 15 minute account with your friends;
you tell them not only what was said, but explain
his physical gestures and tone in his voice as well,
not to mention extraneous background noises.
Taking a step back from this weekly ritual, I real-
ized that women aren’t that different from men;
they would like to see a strong Congress as opposed we just apply the madness to different arenas.
to an imperial presidency. Frankly, it seems unac- For example, women analyze a single five-minute
ceptable. I want the congressmen and women to conversation with a guy they’re interested in just
do their current jobs and make a difference in the like men analyze a single play in a football game:
positions they have been elected to right now. I rehashing each move and intricately studying the
realize the presidential campaign is important, but body language of the opponent. It’s like Sportscen-
why wait two years to make a difference, when ter for women.
“
When did going out on a Friday night become a
sport? If you’re still not convinced, consider this:
I am Women even attend practice for the weekend. We
disappointed by
both the money Despite slur, let ‘Grey’s’ star keep his job
being wasted By Kenyon Farrow
MCT newspapers
and Congress
potentially losing “Grey’s Anatomy” star Isaiah Washington may
”
lose his job for using an anti-gay slur against a co-
its focus. star. But Washington has done enough apologizing
and should be allowed to keep his job.
Washington was foolish for using or possibly
repeating the slur at a recent Golden Globe press
your constituency elected you in November to start conference, especially after trying to deny that he
changing things now? used the term in the first place.
I am disappointed by both the money being But afterward, he publicly apologized to his
wasted and Congress potentially losing its focus. I castmates, the show’s fans and the lesbian and gay
would rather see news on changes being made cur- community “for using a word that is unacceptable
rently, because if we wait another two years, more in any context or circumstance.”
lives will be lost, more children will be forgotten Washington is now reportedly seeking counseling
and more mistakes will be made. after the controversy. And he recently met with
the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
(GLAAD) and with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN).
But this scandal is proof that there is still a double
standard when it comes to blacks who break certain
social mores.
Janet Jackson’s latest album suffered poor sales
presumably because of the wardrobe malfunction
three years ago, while her blouse-ripping cohort
Students considering higher education can face Justin Timberlake was given a clean slate and has
many obstacles. enjoyed strong sales.
Paying for college is often high on the list. Last A few years ago, white rapper Eminem was called
fall the Commission on the Future of Higher into question for his homophobic lyrics, but all he
Education issued a report that said that rising costs
discourage students from entering college.
The fear of high debt inhibits others from con-
sidering college. Organization: useful but not necassary
But a college degree is directly correlated with
higher earnings, and, in the past two decades, the Since January first, the day we began our New
difference has grown. Year’s resolutions, I’m sure many people have
In 1980, males with a college degree earned 19 backed out of what they promised.
percent more than males with a high school diplo- One common resolution is to get organized in
ma, according to the New Year; in fact The National Association of
the Department Professional Organizers has declared January as the
of Education. By National Get Organized Month.
2004, they earned While New Year’s resolutions may be dwindling
67 percent more. by the end of January, organization is a quality
While the earn- that is necessary and available on an individual
ings of those with basis. While visiting various professors, I notice the
college degrees various piles and stacks of papers that are kept on
have increased desks, chairs and shelves. Such messes make you
over time, the wonder how
earning of those they ever
with only a high get lessons
school diploma planned and Ellen
has dropped. classes pre-
pared. How-
Koenig
Making col-
lege accessible to ever it may
students is one explain why
of the best ways it takes so
long to get
Contributing writer
to invest in our
nation’s future. papers and
Entering the 21st exams back to students.
century, students’ It is true, however, that there is efficiency in clut-
access to an af- ter. Depending on the individual, it is possible to
fordable college education must be a national pri- find inspiration and methodology to madness of
ority. papers and clutter.
Democrats and Republicans must continue to Adults often lecture children about keeping their
work together to find creative solutions to the toys tidy and picked up, while the adults themselves
increasing cost of a college education. are not nearly as neat themselves. It seems the ten-
At the beginning of each semester, when I look dency to clutter follows individuals to college and
out at the faces looking back at me, I can’t help but on the desks of students. For some, the surface
think about the dreams they bring with them. may be neat and tidy; however, take a glimpse in
For our nation’s sake, let’s help make their dreams one of the drawers and the mess is soon revealed.
a reality. Weekly cleaning and organization is a chore when
there is time; when midterms and papers are due,
organization takes a less priority.
January 31, 2007
try on our outfits (complete with shoes, accessories
and coats), plan how we’re going to wear our hair,
rehearse potential conversations in our head and
plan which roommate is going to carry the apart-
ment key or who’s going to sleep where.
“
When did
going out on
”
Friday night
become a sport?
Isn’t this overkill? Why do we waste so much
energy on guys when there’s no guarantee of a
date, a phone number exchange or even a simple
conversation? Ladies, we’re better than this. It’s
one thing to want to look nice for our own self-
confidence; it’s another to do it to attract men (who
will probably end up being jerks to us anyway).
And here’s a news flash: they really don’t care about
our footwear.
Do guys know about our weekly ritual of practic-
ing for the big game and then analyzing its “plays”
afterward? I’m beginning to realize why they think
we’re so crazy…it’s because we are.
had to do was appear on stage with Elton John at
the Grammy’s and he was given a free pass.
Isaiah Washington is not perfect but he can be
forgiven. In 1996, he played a gay character dealing
with homophobia from other black men in Spike
Lee’s film “Get On the Bus.” When promoting that
film, Washington spoke frankly about the need for
the black community to embrace its gay brothers
and sisters.
I was in my early 20s then, and this was an im-
portant statement for me.
As a black gay man, I felt I was being affirmed
publicly by another black man.
This must not have been an easy thing for Wash-
ington to do 11 years ago, and things are not any
better now.
In an industry with so few roles for black actors,
black A-listers have passed up scripts featuring
black gay characters because many of them con-
sider taking the roles to be career suicide.
Now, more than a decade later, the gay commu-
nity is calling for Washington’s head.
There are several petitions floating across the
Internet asking for his ouster.
But is it better to make the actor accountable
for his actions and assist him in helping end his
homophobia, or do we get him fired and, at this
point, possibly blacklisted?
This could leave him even more isolated and
marginalized for something he has already admitted
was an error in judgment.
Overall, I think it is important to note that re-
gardless of your organizational skills, if you work
efficiently and complete a task then tidiness is not
always necessary.
Generally people work best in an environment in
which they are comfortable. If clutter makes you
feel at home, then leave it. However if you must
deal with a roommate, this may be a cause for con-
cern. Keep the stuff limited to small piles under
your bed, behind or on your desk and problems
should be avoided.
Messiness can be viewed as a means of expres-
sion and you can often tell how a person’s mind
functions by examining their work space. The more
clutter, the easier they can transfer from one task to
another, multi-tasking may be a forte or even the
adrenaline of being surrounded by unfinished tasks
may cause them to get through a task.
New Year’s resolutions may stick for a week,
a month and, for a few people, the entire year.
While millions of people may resolve to become
more organized and finally clean out that office or
closet hallway that has not been emptied in years,
the rest of us need to embrace the clutter and
piles of papers, mail and have-nots to function at
full capacity. Geniuses may lie within those piles,
holding inspiration for the newest invention of a
trendy idea.
During last week’s State of the Union Address,
I could not help but notice how organized and
neat the chambers appeared. If that is always how
government buildings and offices appeared I would
worry that nothing was happening. While President
Bush’s desk may appear spotless and photos of the
first family grace the background, I am sure if you
look at any of his aides’ offices it would be easy to
see who is doing the work to run this country.
January 31, 2007 THE MERCIAD PAGE 7

Congress finally showing some
bi-partisan muscle on Iraq
If you tuned in to the State of the Union ad-
dress last week, which I hope you did, then you
heard President Bush practically begging the new
Democratic Congress to give his new Iraq strategy,
“a chance to work.”
Bush knows that he is on thin ice when it comes
to Iraq. The situation there is anything but stable,
in fact, some would assess that it is rapidly dete-
riorating.
A few weeks ago, Bush announced his new Iraq
strategy which mainly consists of a troop surge of
roughly 22,000
troops with the
hopes of re-
gaining control Allison
over the capital Moore
of Baghdad.
The problem
with this strat-
egy is that the Opinion editor
majority of the
American public is against it and is growing wary
of this seemingly unending conflict.
Realistically though, the president doesn’t need to
consider public opinion very much anymore, not
that he’s ever really let it bother him in the past. He
is not up for reelection and the midterm elections
are over (with unfavorable consequences for the
Republican Party, might I add).
However, while the president doesn’t have to
worry about damaging public opinion, he does
need to worry about the Democratic majority in
Congress and the growing number of Republicans
who are openly challenging the president’s deci-
sions and power.
Members of Congress from both parties still
have to face reelection and are forced to answer
to a growing number of unhappy constituents
back home.
By this time, it is no secret that most Democrats
are planning to go against Bush’s plans, but what
is interesting is how Republicans, prominent Re-
publicans, are standing up to the president, openly
defying him.
Take possible presidential hopeful Sen. Chuck
Hagel a Republican from Nebraska. Hagel is a
prominent member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee and spoke out passionately last week
against Bush’s plan and also admonished his col-
leagues for “playing politics,” telling them if they
wanted a safe job they should go “sell shoes.” He
challenged the administration to “show us the plan”
for Iraq, accusing the administration of playing a
“ping-pong game with American lives.”
Hagel is not the only Republican speaking out.
The numbers are growing as the debate continues
Sen. Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania added his
comments to a growing wave of dissent. “I would
suggest respectfully to the president that he is not
the sole decider. “The decider is a shared and joint
responsibility,” Specter said.
Specter’s comments allude to a deeper issue
causing tension within the halls of government:
constitutional power.
When the Framers crafted the Constitution,
they created three branches of government that
would check and balance each other. The legisla-
tive branch is an equal branch of government that
actually has the power to declare war. It wasn’t until
the bloody 20th century that power in American
government began to shift, to what is now coined
the “imperial presidency.”
Executive power has grown over the past 50
years, although Congress is basically to blame for
letting that happen. The president likes to invoke
his constitutional title of Commander-in-Chief to
validate his power over the affairs of war, and over
time, Congress began to accept the decision making
power of the president and took a back seat.
It wasn’t until the disaster of Vietnam that
Congress tried to reestablish its power by pass-
ing the War Powers Act, although not much has
changed.
Now we find ourselves in another unpopular war
where the president is claiming he has the author-
ity to make all of the decisions, even if Congress
doesn’t agree.
Congress isn’t powerless, however. They still have
control over the purse strings and could end the
war by cutting funding, but this would be a risky
political move as the administration would be quick
to label those who voted for such a measure as
unsupported of American troops.
While Congress may not have enough support
within its ranks to stop the president from vetoing
legislation, it is still reassuring to know that the leg-
islature is finally growing a backbone and standing
up to a president with little respect for a coequal
branch of government.
Our government was formed on the principles
of checks and balances to avoid tyrannical or au-
thoritarian rule.
For too long this president has overlooked and
disrespected this fundamental staple of the Ameri-
can republic, and it is high time Congress reassumes
its intended role.
To contact: opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
OPINION
The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
By Editorial Staff
The Good
The school musical Bye Bye Birdie was this past weekend in the PAC. The student run produc-
tion was a huge success with fantastic performances. Congratulations to all involved!
The Bad
It’s been about two weeks since the new 4x1x4 class system was revealed to the Mercyhurst
community, and it still hasn’t been warmly received. The majority of people on campus are still
unsupportive of the switch.
The Ugly
If you haven’t noticed, winter has arrived . . . in full force. It has been snowing basically every
day for over a week now and it shows no signs of stopping. To top it all off, it is ridiculously
cold and the wind is relentless as usual. The weather seems to pick the worst times to become
treacherous. For example, it seems the worst winter conditions flare up when it’s time to walk to
class. Funny how that works huh? Why did we go to school in Erie, Pa again?
Increases needed for Army and Marines
unrelated to the troop “surge” President Bush has
Kansas City Star editorial
ordered in Iraq. The surge is a short-term strategy;
MCT newspapers
increasing the active-duty force as a whole cannot
happen overnight.
The following editorial appeared in the Kansas City Star Pentagon officials plan to first make permanent
on Tuesday, Jan. 23: a 30,000-troop temporary increase in the Army
The Bush administration is beginning to talk that was approved earlier, while steadily adding
specifics about increasing the number of “boots the remainder through recruitment and retention
on the ground.” Defense Secretary Robert Gates over five years.
says he will press Congress to authorize 92,000 The Marine Corps’ strength would increase by
more troops for the active-duty Army and Marine making a 5,000 temporary increase permanent,
Corps. and using recruitment and retention to add the
This would be a wise move, long overdue. remainder within four years.
As recently as last year, the Pentagon’s long-term This would help spread the burden of frequent
blueprint called for cutting the Army from 491,000 combat deployments now shouldered by the
troops to 482,400 by 2011. That was patently un- existing force. Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton of
realistic, given the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Missouri, the chairman of the Armed Services
along with the continuing risk of crisis in trouble Committee, says, “Our soldiers particularly, I feel,
spots such as Korea and the Taiwan Strait. are worn out.”
The new plan calls for boosting the Army by Congress should act quickly on the administra-
65,000. The Marine Corps, now at 202,000, would tion’s request.
grow by 27,000.
The plans to increase the active-duty force are

Students weigh in on the 4x1x4 system

“I feel that we should
“I’m for it. I don’t go for a more standard “I like the trimesters
think trimesters gave semester system.” because it allows for
enough time for classes, more breaks.”
especially being a math Nicole Gambone ‘08
major.” Kelly Logan ‘08

Kyle Linehan ‘07

Are you for

or against the “I think that Dr. Gam-
ble’s job is to lead our
new 4x1x4 school and if this is the
direction he feels is right,
“I don’t really care be-
cause I’m graduating.”
“I think it would be
good for the school to
semester then I’ll stand behind
him.” Jon Bonenberger ‘07
make money and bad be-
cause we’d get out late.”

system? Michelle Ellia ‘07 Greg Boyan ‘07

The
Joshua Wilwohl
MERCIAD Editor-in-Chief editormerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Jessica Kocent News Editor newsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Chelsea Boothe Campus Life Editor featuremerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Allison Moore Opinion Editor opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Ryan Palm & Matt Jackson Sports Editors sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Melissa Brandt A&E Editor entertainmentmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Andrew Finkel Photographer photomerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Katie Diley Production Editor prodmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Melissa Brandt Advertising Manager admerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Noelle Lelakus Copy Editor copymerciad@mercyhurst.edu

The Merciad is the student-produced newspaper of Mercyhurst College. It is

published throughout the school year, with the exception of midterms week
and finals week. Our office is in the Old Main, Room 314. Our telephone
number is 824-2376.
The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and
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. Letters are due the
Thursday before publication and may not be longer than 300 words. Submit
MTC
letters to box PH 485.
PAGE 8 THE MERCIAD January 31, 2007

ARTS &
ENTERTAINMENT To contact: entertainmentmerciad@mercyhurst.edu

tHe
BuZz
FEB. 1. Dark Star Or-
chestra. House of Blues,
Cleveland.

FEB. 2. Comedy. Jerry

Seinfeld. State Theatre,
Cleveland.

FEB. 2. New Orleans

Perser vation Hall Jazz
Band. Bromeley Family
Theater, Pitt-Bradford,
Bradford. ON sale at (814)
362-2522, www.bcpac.
com.

FEB. 2. Patti LaBelle. Sen-

eca Events Center, Seneca
Niagara Casino, Niagara
Falls, N.Y.

FEB. 2. Legendary Rhythm

& Blues Revue with Tom-
my Castro, Magic Dick,
Deana Bogar, Ronnie Bak-
er Brooks. Rex Theatre,
Photo courtesy of the PAC
Pittsburgh. Check out Tim Robbins in “Catch a Fire,” a drama about terrorism in Apartheid-era South Africa, showing today at the Performing Arts Center.

‘Catch a Fire’ at the PAC

FEB. 2. Girl Talk. Grog
Shop, Cleveland.

FEB. 2, 3. Bjorn Again.

Avalon Ballroom, Fallsview
Casino Resort, Niagara
Falls, Ont. On sale at (888)
836-8118, www.ticketmas-
ter.ca.
FEB. 3. Justin Timber-
lake, Pink. Quicken Loans
Arena, Cleveland.
FEB. 3. Roots of Rock
and Roll with Duprees, Jive
Five, Vibrations, Jimmy
Charles, Kathy Young,
Pure Gold. Benedum Cen-
ter, Pittsburgh..
FEB. 3. Joe Bonamassa.
House of Blues, Cleve-
land.
By Mason Lorek
Contributing writer
With the escalation of force
in Iraq, continuing struggle be-
tween Israel and Palestine and
conflict in Sudan, it is shocking
to realize that other major world
events, like the apartheid in
South Africa, happened not even
two decades ago.
The film “Catch a Fire” brings
us back to a time where govern-
ment-sanctioned segregation,
and the mortification that went
with it, was a very real issue.
The story follows a black man
named Patrick Chamusso (Derek
Luke, “Antwone Fisher” and
“Friday Night Lights”) who is a
foreman at one of the largest oil
refineries in the world.
An uneducated black living
outside of Johannesburg with his
wife and two daughters, Patrick
lives an above average life. How-
ever, that life is soon shattered
when he is wrongfully accused
of sabotaging the refinery.
He comes under the interroga-
tion of Colonel Nic Vos (Tim
Robbins, “The Shawshank Re-
demption” and “Mystic River”),
a shrewd member of the Police
Security Branch who is dead set
on maintaining order in an in-
creasingly volatile South Africa.
Caught with a compromised
alibi, Patrick is unable to with-
stand the tactics of Vos and his
men and, as a result, is detained
with his wife where she is brutally
beaten.
Incensed by the sight of his
wife in this state, Patrick changes
completely his lax political stance
and actuallybecomes the terrorist
he is accused of being.
This change in character is dis-
played in the movie when Patrick
says “my family was punished for
nothing, so let it be for some-
thing now.”
The film has drawn fantastic re-
views since its release. Kenneth
Turan of the Los Angeles Times
says “The young American ac-
tor [Derek Luke] gives such an
intense, passionate performance
that he just about dares you to
not be involved with the tale he
is telling.”
Ruthe Stein of the San Fran-
cisco Chronicle says of the
directing, “Straightforward…
He reminds you of a South Af-
rica that most of the population
would just as soon forget.
The film has been nominated
for an Image Award as Outstand-
ing Motion Picture and Derek
Luke has received both Black
Reel and Satellite Award nomina-
tions for his lead role.
“Catch a Fire can be seen at the
PAC on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 2
and 8 p.m.
Tickets are free for Mercyhurst
students (one ticket per ID.

FEB. 3. The Rapture. Rex

Theatre, Cleveland.

F E B. 5 . B u c k w h e a t
Zydeco. Docksider, Erie.
$18 advance, available at
Docksider, Grasshopper,
Parker’s Gallery in Edinbor.
$20 day of show.

F E B. 6 - 1 1 . M u s i c a l .
“Stomp.” Benedum Center,
Pittsburgh.

FEB. 7. Moe. Town Ball-

room, Buffalo.

FEB. 7. Asylum Street

Spankers. Beachland Ball-
room, Cleveland.
Photo courtesy of http://www6.islandrecords.com/infinity.
FEB. 7. Rock and Roll
Mardis Gras with Cow- The brand new Fall Out Boy album ‘Infinity On High’ comes out Feb. 6. If you can’t wait, pre-order the album online at the band’s website.
boy Mouth, Ivan Neville’s
Dumpstaphunk. House of
Blues, Cleveland. Fall into ‘Infinity’ and Beyond MATH
AS A COLLEGE GRAD , 2007
FEB. 8. Kathy Griffin. Pal-

LAB
ace Theatre, Cleveland. cleverness but the song titles However, the song right af- For the simple fact
By Joe Fidago
have been thought out better. ter this travesty is “Thnks Fr that you were able to
Contributing writer
FEB. 9. Jamie Foxx. Wol- FJ Excluding the track on the Th Mmrs” (“Thanks For The hear their songs over and
stein Center, Cleveland.

FEB. 9. Mastodon, Con-

YOU MAY BE CRUISER new album “I’m Like A Lawyer Memories”) and it is sure to be a over and not get them stuck
Fall Out Boy’s newest release, With The Way I’m Always Try- favorite of many listeners.
“Infinity on High,” is definitely ing To Get You Off,” the track In total, the only songs that
in your head, I give you
OPEN:

verge. Rex Theater, Pitts-
burgh.
FEB. 10. Taylor Swift.
Agora Theater, Cleveland.
FEB. 10. Paul Fayrewether.
House of Blues, Cleveland.
On sale at Ticketmaster.
FEB. 10. Jim Gaffigan.
Lakewood Civic Audito-
rium, Lakewood, Ohio.
FEB. 10. Apples in Stereo.
Grog Shop, Cleveland.
FEB. 11. Everclear, Jonny
Lives! House of Blues,
Cleveland..
ELIGIBLE FOR
the most experimental effort on “Cork Tree” titled “A Little didn’t really hold my interest
they have recorded to date.
2007 Less Sixteen Candles, A Little were “Golden,” Sundays through
That being said, anyone who More Touch Me” has got to be a n d “ I ’ ve Thursdays
RAV4
nearly had a heart attack when my favorite title of any of their Got All
the news broke that FOB was songs. T h i s
recording with Jay-Z can resume Some of the tracks here that Ring-
their normal breathing pattern, don’t even have the best lyrics i n g “mad props”
as he just says a few words at the are still so catchy that you can’t as the album’s rap Library
beginning of “Thriller,” the first help going back and listening to 2007guest star would
304 A & B
track on the album. them again. CAMRY say.
There are no rap-rock cross- A notable exception to this is H o w e v e r, f o r
over tracks here, a la a more punk the song “Golden,” a two-and
HYBRID those of
Linkin Park/Jay-Z “Collision -a-half minute long disaster that In My you who
Course.” will leave you wondering what Ears and enjoy this CALL:
As far as the actual album the point of even putting it on None On
2007 band, defi- Ext: 2078
goes, the usual witty lyrics are the album was. My Finger.” YARIS nitely pick this one
For exact hours
here, but maybe not as much as It had to be a showcase for They could up when it comes out
in the past. Patrick’s vocal range, which is have closed the Feb. 6.
ANY NEW TOYOTA OF YOUR CHOICE
When “Take This To Your shown to be extremely solid, but album with the
Grave” was released back in the song is just out of place. stronger track right
* Aside from the two tracks
I mentionedWWW.WINAYARISONLINE.COM
above, the other
†

2003, it was musically pretty Rumor has it that Babyface before it, “You’re Crashing, But dozen tracks will be stuck in your
FEB. 14. Temptations, good, but not a masterpiece. produced three songs on the You’re No Wave,” which is one head for days. Tutorial help
Marvelettes. Center for the However, the lyrics were out- album and that has to be one of my favorites on the album. for all your
Arts, University of Buffalo, standing. of them, because it should defi- If you hated Fall Out Boy up to math needs!
Buffalo. Fast forward to 2005, when nitely be on one of his albums this point, this album isn’t going
*NOT ALL CUSTOMERS WILL QUALIFY. CUSTOMERS RECEIVE $400 FROM TOYOTA TOWARDS LEASING OR FINANCING THE PURCHASE OF NEW UNTITLED TOYOTA MODELS THROUGH PARTICIPATING TOYOTA
“From UnderDEALERSthe
ANDCork
TOYOTATree” instead. SEE DEALER OR VISIT WWW.TOYOTAFINANCIAL.COM/FINANCE
FINANCIAL SERVICES. to change your mind; FORYour pre-
DETAILS. COLLEGE GRADUATE PROGRAM IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR TERMINATION AT ANY TIME.
Courtesy of Goerie.com. was released,
† and the
NO PURCHASE lyrics are
IS NECESSARY. MAKING Creative
A PURCHASEgenius still
DOES NOT has some
INCREASE conceived
YOUR CHANCES notions
OF WINNING. VOIDare probably
WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. TO ENTER YOU MUST BE A LEGAL U.S. RESIDENT AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD
still around theANDsame levelHAVE
YOU MUST of A VALID
limits. tooTOYOTA
DRIVER’S LICENSE. VISIT YOUR PARTICIPATING set in DEALER
stone OR
byWINAYARISONLINE.COM
now. FOR COMPLETE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS AND SWEEPSTAKES RULES.
 January 31, 2007 THE MERCIAD PAGE 9

ARTS &
To contact: entertainmentmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
ENTERTAINMENT
Celebrating dance in Erie

Photo Courtesy of the Mercyhurst Dance Department

The Mercyhurst Dancers will perform at the 2007 Erie Festival of Dance to be held this Saturday, Feb. 3, at 2 and 7 p.m. in the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center.

By Noelle Lelakus
Copy Editor
Although it has been 2007 for
a little over a month, what looks
to be one of the year’s best
dance performances in Erie will
take place this weekend.
On Saturday, Feb. 3, the Erie
Dance Consortium will host the
fourth annual Erie Festival of
Dance in the Mary D’Angelo
Performing Arts Center, with
performances at 2 and 7 p.m.
Founded in the spring of
2000, The Erie Dance Con-
sortium began as a group of
dance enthusiasts from the
Erie community along with the
determined support from the
Erie Art Museum.
The primary focus of the
Consortium is to keep the art
of dance alive and growing
in the Erie region by creating
performing and educational
opportunities for dancers and
choreographers and offering the
public a first rate performance.
According to Festival chair,
dance department faculty mem-
ber Mark Santillano, the Erie
Festival of Dance is the only
one of its kind held in Erie,
which brings together 20 local
dance organizations for two
distinct performances.
“An all-volunteer team of Erie
dance enthusiasts have worked
over the past year to make this
event and its supporting educa-
tion components possible,” said
Santillano.
“This year’s multi-dance event
is full of diversity. Whether
you’re a fan of swing, ballet,
ballroom, modern, tap, jazz or
cultural dance, the Erie Fes-
tival of Dance is a wonderful
production to see local dancers
showcase their works.”
In addition to local partici-
pants, principal dancers Julia
Erickson and Christopher Ren-
dell-Jackson from Pittsburgh
Ballet Theatre will be showcased
in both the matinee and evening
performances and will reveal
their virtuosity in the famous
“Black Swan Pas de Deux” from
“Swan Lake.”
“Bringing to Erie the principal
dancers from the nationally ac-
claimed Pittsburgh Ballet The-
atre in our production makes the
event even more exciting,” said
Santillano.
The Festival benefits the Erie
community beyond the two
performances on Saturday, as
Consortium members from
Mercyhurst College Dance De-
partment, North Coast Dance,
Erie Dance Conservatory and
SoMar Dance Works will pres-
ent lecture demonstrations at
area schools to involve students
in both dance awareness and
participation.
“This year it is our goal that
the 2007 Festival target third
and fourth graders and their
families,” said Tauna Hunter,
Consortium president and Mer-
cyhurst College dance chair.
“In an effort to ensure that
dance is still represented in
the government mandate ‘No
Child Left Behind,’ the affiliate
members of the EDC will be
conducting a series of dance
workshops in Erie schools as
part of education outreach con-
nected with the festival.”
Also supplementing the Fes-
tival will be a pre-performance
demonstration by the Acholi
African Traditional Dancers
and a sculpture exhibit of Brian
Pardini’s “Movement in Drift-
wood,” both to be featured in
the Cummings Art Gallery on
Feb. 3 only.
Tickets for the Erie Festival
of Dance are $10.00 general
admission and available at the
D’Angelo Box Office, 824-
3000.
The Erie Festival of Dance is
sponsored in part by the Arts
Council of Erie, Capezio/Bal-
let Makers Foundation, Erie
Times News, GE Federal Credit
Union, Mercyhurst College,
Northwest Savings Bank and
Vicary Insurance Agency.

Academy nominations
ducers. Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss
By Melissa Brandt
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Sunshine.”
A & E Editor
Searchlight). Jennifer Hudson in “Dream-
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé girls.”
The Academy of Motion and Granada) Andy Harries, Rinko Kikuchi in “Babel.”
Picture Arts and Scienc- Christine Langan and Tracey Achievement in directing:
es President Sid Ganis Seaward, producers. “Babel,” Alejandro González
and past Oscar nomi- Best animated feature film Iñárritu.
nee Salma Hayek an- of the year: “The Departed,” Martin
nounced the nominations “Cars” (Buena Vista) John Scorsese.
for 10 of the 24 Academy Lasseter. “Letters from Iwo Jima,” Clint
Award catagories “Happy Feet” (Warner Bros.) Eastwood.
last week. George Miller. “ T h e Q u e e n ,” S t e p h e n
Academy “Monster House” (Sony Pic- Frears.
Awards for tures Releasing) Gil Kenan. “United 93,” Paul Greengrass.
outstanding Performance by an actor in Adapted screenplay:
film achieve- a leading role: “Borat Cultural Learnings
ments of 2006 Leonardo DiCaprio in “Blood of America for Make Benefit
will be present- Diamond.” Glorious Nation of Kazakh-
ed on Sunday, Ryan Gosling in “Half Nel- stan,” screenplay by Sacha Baron
Feb. 25, 2007, at son.” Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter
the Kodak The- Peter O’Toole in “Venus.” Baynham and Dan Mazer.
atre, televised live Will Smith in “The Pursuit of “Children of Men,” screenplay
by the ABC Televi- Happyness.” by Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J.
sion Network at 8 Forest Whitaker in “The Sexton, David Arata Mark Fergus
p.m. The complete L a s t K i n g o f S c o t l a n d .” and Hawk Ostby.
list of nominations Performance by an actor in a “The Departed,” screenplay by
for the 79th Annual supporting role: William Monahan.
Academy Awards can Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sun- “Little Children,” screenplay by
be accessed at www. shine” (Fox Searchlight). Todd Field and Tom Perrotta.
oscar.com. Jackie Earle Haley in “Little “ N o t e s o n a S c a n d a l ,”
Best motion pic- Children” (New Line). screenplay by Patrick Marber.
ture of the year: Djimon Hounsou in “Blood Original screenplay:
“Babel” (Para- Diamond” (Warner Bros.). “Babel,” written by Guillermo
mount and Paramount Eddie Murphy in “Dreamgirls” Arriaga.
Vantage) Alejandro (DreamWorks and Paramount). “Letters from Iwo Jima,”
González Iñárritu, Jon Mark Wahlberg in “The De- screenplay by Iris Yamashita, and
Kilik and Steve Golin, parted” (Warner Bros.). story by Iris Yamashita andPaul
producers. Performance by an actress Haggis.
“The Departed” (War- in a leading role: “Little Miss Sunshine,” written
ner Bros.). Penélope Cruz in “Volver” by Michael Arndt.
“Letters from Iwo (Sony Pictures Classics). “Pan’s Labyrinth,” written by
Jima” (War- Judi Dench in “Notes on a Guillermo del Toro.
ner Bros.) Scandal” (Fox Searchlight). “The Queen,” Written by Peter
C l i n t Helen Mirren in “The Queen” Morgan.
Eas t- (Miramax, Pathé and Granada). Best foreign language film
wood, Meryl Streep in “The Devil of the year:
Steven Wears Prada” (20th Century “After the Wedding” from
Spiel- Fox). Denmark.
berg and Kate Winslet in “Little Chil- “Days of Glory (Indigènes)”
Rober t dren” (New Line). from Algeria.
Lorenz, Performance by an actress “The Lives of Others” from
pro- in a supporting role: Germany.
Adriana Barraza in “Babel.” “Pan’s Labyrinth” from Mex-
Cate Blanchett in “Notes on a ico.
Scandal.” “Water” from Canada.
 PAGE 10
LAKER
SPORTS
More than just a ring
Wayne wants to win Super Bowl for deceased brother
By Mike Phillips
MCT
At the RCA Dome, under a
din of noise, hidden beneath
the swirl and electricity of the
AFC Championship Game,
Wayne took a quiet moment to
himself.
He was talking to his brother,
Rashad.
They were close as kids, Reggie
tagging along with Rashad, who
was everything Reggie wanted
to be.
That’s the way it is with older
brothers. You revere them and
envy them. You copy them, and
hope and wait for words of ap-
proval that mean so much more
from them.
You dream of being like them
but most of all, you love them.
Rashad, 32, was killed in a traf-
fic accident Sept. 24.
“There’s not much time that
goes by that I don’t think about
him. A lot of my success came
through him,” said Wayne, who
had the best season of his life
on the field and his worst off it.
He’s a big reason the Colts have
reached the Super Bowl, and he’ll
be coming back to Miami, where
he was a star receiver with the
Hurricanes.
He will bring the memory of
Rashad with him.
He made the Pro Bowl for
the first time, and reached the
dream of getting to the Super
Bowl in a season full of grief
and anguish.
“Bitter but sweet,” he said.
“That’s the only way I can de-
scribe this season. It was a tough
situation. Losing my brother was
so hard on me. But I know he
would want me to play, and that’s
why I came back and played be-
cause that’s what he would want
me to do. I am trying to enjoy it,
because I know there is no guar-
antee I will be here next year.”
This season was for Rashad.
Schafer gets 100th win
as Lakers beat Ashland
By Matt Jackson
Sports co-editor
Senior Zack Schafer can add a
milestone in wins to his list of
accomplishments as a four-year
starter in the Mercyhurst wres-
tling lineup.
Schafer picked up win No. 100
with a 16-5 major decision over
Justin Ferguson in the No. 13
Lakers’ 19-17 win over No. 12
ranked Ashland Saturday.
It isn’t a short list for Schafer,
who is shooting for his fourth
national tournament appearance
this year.
He finished second in the na-
tion last year and is a two-time
All-American.
Schafer also holds numero-
ous single-season team records,
including pins (14), team points
(175.5) and wins (31).
He is currently ranked No. 2
in the nation behind Nebraska-
Omaha’s J.D. Naig and has the
ability to turn any match in to
a win with his numerous pin
maneuvers.
Results and accolades like
Schafer’s have the potential to
overshadow the rest of the talent
the Lakers possess.
Case in point: Trevor Gallo’s
heroics in the win over Ashland
Saturday.
The Lakers held a 16-11 lead
over the Eagles with two weight
classes to go in front of their
opponent’s crowd.
Gallo, a sophomore, stepped
on to the mat with Ashland
freshman David Crowley with
the chance to ice the match for
the Lakers.
Gallo came through in the
clutch with a 3-1 win in over-
To contact: sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
Reggie Wayne dedicated his accomplishments this season to his older brother who died
this past September in a car accident. Now, Wayne hopes to add a Super Bowl win.
“I wanted to do some big
things this year for my brother,”
Wayne said. “We always talked
about me going to the Pro Bowl
and I am able to go to the Pro
Bowl this year. We talked about
the Super Bowl and I was able to
go to the Super Bowl. In some
form or fashion, I feel like he has
helped pave this way for me, and
this team. He was probably the
biggest Colts fan out there, so I
dedicate all this to him.”
And he prays to him. That’s
what Wayne was doing at half-
time when the Colts were losing
to New England 21-6 last week,
their season 30 minutes from
ending.
“I pray to him all the time, ev-
ery morning, every time before
I go to bed.” Wayne said. “At
halftime, I talk to him. You might
time despite the fact that he has
wrestled at a lower weight (184
pounds) at times this season.
The Lakers forfeited the heavy-
weight bout to complete the
scoring.
The win was probably no sur-
prise to coach Tony Cipollone.
In December Cipollone ex-
pressed his thoughts that Gallo
was getting to where they wanted
him to be.
It would be hard to argue as
of late. Since dropping three
matches at the NWCA Duals,
Gallo has won five of his last six
matches, with the lone loss com-
ing via a 6-4 loss at 194.
A few other notes and happen-
ings to look forward to for the
rest of the season:
Hudson Harrison is always
capable of pulling off a big win
for the Lakers.
The junior out of General
McLane High School steps it up
in “big match” situations. Also,
a quick note to Mercyhurst fans;
he also seems to feed off the
sound of a quality home crowd
behind him.
Laker fans will have two more
chances to see their team com-
pete in the Mercyhurst Athletic
Center this season, including a
contest with No. 19 Findlay.
Findlay has nationally ranked
wrestlers at 133 (No. 2 Andy Uhl)
and 157 (No. 3 Tony Guerra).
Senior J.J. Zanetta, who leads
the team in wins with 22, knocked
off his second nationally ranked
opponent this month with a 5-2
win over Tony Iovine.
The Lakers’ Leonard Calhoun
defeated Iovine last year by a
major decision 10-1.
The most recent national rank-
ings came out Jan. 24 and one
THE MERCIAD
think it’s weird, but I can actually
hear him answer back. That’s why
I say he had help pave this way.
“In the New England game
I just felt like at halftime that
he set all that up just to make
it interesting, because I said be-
fore the game I need your help,
but make it interesting. I guess
that was his way of keeping it
interesting. That was my prayer
before the game. I talk to him
all the time.”
After Rashad’s death, Wayne
didn’t want to go back on the
field.
“Mentally I really wasn’t all
there,” he said. “It was a tough
time for me. I prayed and felt
like he would want me to play,
and my family thought the same
thing, too.”
Wayne said he was fortunate to
File Photo
Sophomore Trevor Gallo
thing holding Zanetta back from
cracking the top-8 is a first period
fall to West Liberty State’s Doug
Surra.
Not that the rankings are truly
significant.
Ranked or not ranked, these
are the types of wins Zanetta
will need to advance deep into
the national tournament.
The other home meet on the
Lakers’ schedule is against East
Region rival and No. 5 ranked
University of Pitt-Johnstown to
close out the regular season on
Feb. 16.
Pitt-Johnstown has a daunting
37-0 win over West Liberty, a
team the Lakers have fallen to
twice this season.
Sandwiched in between the
final two home matches for the
Lakers are matches at Shippens-
burg and Millersville.
Don Cummings is ranked fifth
nationally at 149 pounds.
All but one Laker starter carries
a record .500 for the above sea-
son and depth hasn’t seemed to
be an issue as reserves Calhoun
(13-4), Brian Pogel (8-5) and
Mike Sullivan (10-9) are above
.500.
Matt Kryger/MCT photo
have Tony Dungy as his coach.
Dungy, a religious man whose
18-year-old son committed sui-
cide 13 months ago, was there for
Wayne, talking to him every day
on the phone and working hard
to make sure the Colts could get
to the funeral.
“The thing I told Reggie is you
have to enjoy the memories of
the time you had and to know
they would want you to continue
on with excellence,” Dungy said.
“Reggie has been a great player
for a long time, but he has been
under the radar, and he had such
a great year for us and the way he
handled everything was special,
because you knew he was playing
for something more.”
Wayne said Dungy brought
him solace.
“Obviously, he experienced a
Laker Winter Term I n n
Galley Grill
New weekly specials:
1/8 - 1/12
Chicken Alfredo Pizza
Bottle of soda
1/15 - 1/19
Cuban-style burger combo
1/22 - 1/26
Turkey-Cranberry club wrap
combo
Laker Express
Look for Laker Express
Minute Meals!
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.- 8 p.m.
Board Equivalency Available: Friday
11:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Subconnection
6” Sub $3.50
12” Sub $5.50
January 31, 2007
lot that I experienced. You are
at a situation in your life where How can I
you are at your lowest point. Just
to hear from somebody who has root against
actually been through it helps
you out a lot. Coach Dungy is Manning?
a strong man, strong soul. He
knows exactly what’s going on. By Matt Jackson
Just him giving me some advice Sports co-editor
was huge for me.”
So were his former Hurri-
I’ll be honest and say I’ve
cane teammates, who embraced
never exactly been a huge fan
Wayne.
of Peyton Manning.
“I heard from everybody _
I can’t offer much of an ex-
from old coaches, from players
planation as to why I have a had
I hadn’t heard from in a while,”
a slight dislike of him.
Wayne said. “It doesn’t sur-
Maybe it’s because I can’t
prise me because there is such a
stand watching him change
brotherhood down there at UM.
the play three times at the line
They all lent a hand. A lot of
of scrimmage while the play
guys showed up for the funeral.
clock winds down to just a few
Whenever you see that, it kind of
seconds on almost every single
lifts you up. Whenever you play
play – even more unbearable
this game of football, it’s more
in the Madden video game by
than just friends. It’s more than
the way.
just being teammates. It’s like
His main options are Marvin
family, and it was great seeing the
Harrison, Reggie Wayne and a
rest of my family.”
solid rookie in Joseph Addai,
Wayne spoke in a soft and
which is like having the choice
steady voice this week as he
of the Playmates from “The
shared his grief with the media,
Girls Next Door.”
and at times he looked as if the
I promise, Peyton, if you’re
tears welled in his eyes.
looking to score, any of those
His voice all but cracked when
options is a good choice.
he talked about the only picture
With that said, I will cheer
hanging in his locker it’s a photo
Manning on this Sunday against
of Rashad standing by his car.
the Bears.
It’s the first picture Wayne
While most NFL superstars
grabbed when he began to clean
double as A-list celebrities
up Rashad’s apartment, and that’s
– see Brady, Tom and Leinart,
why it’s in his locker.
Matt- Manning more and more
“I have a whole little shrine of
comes across as the everyday
pictures and things of his at my
anti-prima donna guy in the
house,” Wayne said.
NFL.
“He made me tough. There are
His commercials portray him
so many little things he did for
in this manner and he becomes
me. I have two older brothers,
even more human each year he
and he is in the middle. My two
tap dances in the pocket in a
brothers were way more talented
playoff loss..
than I was. I watched them. They
This is the year that may
put me through the ins and outs.
end.
They made me who I am today,
Peyton is one game away
along with my parents.”
from getting the ring and the
“I think about him all the time.
praise which only leaves one
I just wish he could be here and
challenge ... staying humble.
share everything with me.”
1/29 - 2/2
Smoke House Pulled-Pork combo
2/5 - 2/9
Honey Mustard Chicken BLT
combo
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday 8 a.m. -1 a.m.
Saturday 1 p.m. -1 a.m.
Sunday 5 p.m. -1 a.m.
Wraps
Buffalo Chicken
Barbeque Chicken
Veggie and humus
Bacon, Lettuce and
Tomato
11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
FEATURES:
This Week: Buffalo Chicken
Meatball Sub
Italian Sub
Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Saturday 1 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Sunday 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.
January 31, 2007
Women’s hockey wins two on road
By Ryan Palm
Sports editor
It may be said that no athlete
in the history of Mercyhurst Col-
lege has received as much hype as
freshman Meghan Agosta from
the women’s hockey team.
The Canadian came to Mer-
cyhurst with a Olympic gold
medal around her neck, and has
been referred to by some hockey
experts as the Sydney Crosby of
women’s hockey.
The “hype” that has been gen-
erated on this campus has been
significant, and certainly well
deserved.
Agosta has been phenomenal
all season long, and this past
weekend the show got even
sweeter.
“She is a great player and has
really played great in big games
for us, sometimes scoring the
goals and sometimes playing
other roles on the ice,” said
Coach Michael Sisti.
Against Yale on Friday night,
Agosta took matters into her
own hands, scoring four goals
and adding an assist in the con-
test, the first time in six years that
a Laker lit the lamp four times.
Against the Bulldogs, Mer-
cyhurst got off to a slow start,
trailing 3-2 by the end of the
first period.
Men’s volleyball drops pair in MIVA Women’s basketball
By Wes Craig
Contributing writer
The men’s volleyball team is off
to a rocky start, but the future
looks extremely bright for the
Lakers.
Led by sophomore Tim Wagner
and freshman Dave Newman,
men’s volleyball at Mercyhurst
seems to be in the midst of good
things to come.
Last Friday, the Lakers opened
up MIVA play with a match
against Lewis, followed by a
match against No. 13 Loyola Uni-
versity of Chicago on Saturday.
T he Lakers’ match with
D’Youville on Thursday was can-
celled due to inclement weather.
This weekend had the Lakers
facing off against Rutgers New-
ark on Saturday, followed by a
match with the No. 1 team in
Division 3, Juniata, on Sunday.
The Lakers opened up MIVA
play at Lewis University last
Men’s hockey alumni active in pro ranks
By Chris Van Horn
Contributing writer
Coach Rick Gotkin has built
a reputation around the Mercy-
hurst hockey program - a repu-
tation for producing not only
fine hockey players but excellent
student athletes.
Most of his players go on to
graduate with degrees in their
various fields of study; however,
some of his players possess the
skills that enable them to con-
tinue their careers in professional
hockey.
“We want to make sure that
our student athletes have a great
experience at Mercyhurst. First
and foremost, academically, but
also athletically and socially,”
Gotkin said.
Despite having a down season
this year in Atlantic Hockey, the
Lakers have compiled a 3.2 GPA
as a team which says a lot about
that “experience” that Gotkin
speaks about.
“Our goal is to develop these
players for future endeavors,
whether that means playing
professional hockey or not. A
lot of the players will go on to
be in business, work as doctors,
lawyers and public officials,” says
Gotkin.
Defenseman Jamie Hunt had
an outstanding junior season for
Agosta started the scoring for
the Lakers at 12:59 of the first
period, and Stephanie Jones tied
the game at 2-2 three minutes
later.
The two teams traded goals
back and forth for the rest of
the contest, but when the final
buzzer sounded it was Agosta’s
power-play score at 7:59 of the
third that made the difference.
Mercyhurst edged Yale 5-4 to
pick up the non-conference
win.
Junior Laura Hosier had a
rough night between the pipes,
allowing four goals while making
11 saves to pick up the win.
On Saturday, Mercyhurst held
the honor of helping to open
a $52 million TD Banknorth
Sports Center at Quinnipiac
University.
The game was highly-touted
on their campus, and even gar-
nered an appearance from NHL
legend Gordie Howe to drop the
ceremonial first puck.
“It was nice that he came to the
lockerroom before the game and
gave a speech and shook hands,
and we were able to give him
a Mercyhurst puck, which was game-winner at 4:05 of the sec-
pretty exciting,” said Sisti.
Mercyhurst was out to play the
role of spoiler, however, and suc- added
ceeded in doing just that.
Agosta again started the scor-
ing with what would be the
weekend.
The Lakers lost the first game
30-28 and be outscored in the
final two games 60-36.
The undefeated Lewis team
showed the Lakers why it was
undefeated and easily won three
games to one. Tim Wagner led
the way for the Lakers recording
13 kills.
Saturday brought the same luck
for the Lakers when they headed
over to Loyola University to face
the No. 13 team in the country.
The Ramblers were adamant
against the Lakers and easily won
with scores of 30-13, 30-22, 30-
21, to win the match three games
to none.
Jeff Hartman and Wagner led
the Lakers; Hartman had 4 kills
and three blocks, Wagner with 3
kills two blocks.
Rutgers Newark came into Erie
with a 1-3 record and got off to
a good start against the Lakers,
winning games one and two out-
scoring the home team 60-41, but
the Lakers, scoring 12 goals and
recording 33 assists for 45 points.
The group of Hunt, Dave Bor-
relli, Ben Cottreau and Scott
Champagne were the three main
reasons why the Lakers were the
highest-scoring team in Division
I last season.
Hunt was touted by several
NHL teams. Last March he
decided to forego his senior
season to sign a two-year deal
with the Washington Capitals of
the NHL.
The decision for Jamie to
forego his senior season for the
NHL was a tough one.
“Obviously coach would have
like me back for my senior year,
and I’m close to finishing my
degree, but coach told me he was
behind me 100 percent no matter
what my decision,” Hunt said.
“I told Jamie that the Capitals
were interested in him because
of who he is, and he didn’t need
to change for them. Jamie is a
good kid and is developing into
a legitimate NHL prospect. I told
him to just go and play his game,”
Gotkin said.
Although he was signed by the
Capitals, he has spent much of
this season playing for their AHL
affiliate, the Hershey Bears.
On Dec. 29, he became the first
former Laker to play in the NHL,
making his debut in a loss to the
New Jersey Devils.
Freshman Meghan Agosta (shown
ond period.
Sophomore Valerie Chouinard
an insurance goal at 8:27
of the second, and Jones added
a third midway through the final proved
period.
the Lakers bounced back in game
three winning it 30-25.
Game four started great for the
Lakers as they jumped out to a
commanding lead but they were
finally ousted 30-26 losing the
match three games to one.
Freshman Dave Newman led
the way for Mercyhurst, record-
ing 15 kills.
Sunday brought a tough Juniata
team into town for a showdown
with the Lakers and a chance for
Coach Ryan Patton to beat his
alma mater.
Juniata jumped out early to
a quick two-game lead 30-19,
30-26.
But for the second day in a
row however game three went to
the Lakers, this time in exciting
fashion.
With the game going back and
forth, it eventually boiled down
to a 29-29 tie with Mercyhurst
serving.
The young men showed their
poise under pressure and took
“My first game when I was
warming up it was great to look
across the rink and see guys like
Patrick Elias and Brian Gionta
and realize that I was there,”
said Hunt.
“I was shocked that he was
called up so quickly. It says a lot
about how far he has come as a
player,” said Gotkin.
Dave Borrelli, who led the
country in points per game last
season, has bounced around
the ECHL this season and is
currently playing for the Fresno
Falcons.
Another former Laker play-
ing in the professional ranks
this season is T. J. Kemp, who
is enjoying a successful season
with the Manchester Monarchs
of the AHL.
Kemp has tallied 23 points
including a team-leading 20 as-
sists this season. He is the top
scoring rookie defenseman in the
AHL and was recently named as
an AHL All-Star.
“Like Jamie (Hunt), he is a
legitimate NHL prospect. It is
great to see his success at the
next level. The whole team got
a chance to see him play when
we were up in Maine and he
has made great strides,” Gotkin
says.
Net-minder Andy Franck is
in his second season with the
Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL
THE MERCIAD
To contact: sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu
earlier in the season against Dartmouth)
Hosier played much better in wins and keep improving each of which are conference games.
goal, stopping all 13 shots she week. We had a couple play- First up is Niagara on Feb. 2-3,
faced to tally her seventh shut- ers step up in Jackie Jarrell and with face offs at 7 pm and 2
out of the year. Danielle Ayearst that helped us p.m. respectively. Mercyhurst
With the pair of wins she im- get the wins,” said Sisti.
her record to 19-1-1.
“We were glad to get the two straight weekends
the game 31-29.
Game four would prove to
be too much for Mercyhurst
and it fell to the Division III
powerhouse 30-26, and lost the
match 3-1.
Newman was impressive for
the Lakers for the second day in
a row as he bettered his kill total
from Saturday to record 22 kills
on Sunday.
Patton, despite the rocky start
only had good things to say about
his team.
“It’s hard with a team that is so
young not to look ahead to what
we should be able to accomplish
in the future,” he said.
With a tough MIVA road ahead
for the Lakers, it’s going to be
tough to end the season with a
record better than .500, but ev-
ery team makes the playoffs.
“Were working towards April
18th, so that we an put up a fight
in the playoffs,” Patton said.
where he has seen action in 35
games and has posted a record
of 16-17-1-1 with a 3.55 goals
against average.
Other former Lakers playing at
the Pro level include Erik John-
son, Scott Reynolds and Conrad
Martin who are all teammates on
the Cincinnati Cyclones of the
ECHL. David Wrigley is playing
for the Victoria Salmon Kings of
the ECHL.
Preston Briggs (Oklahoma
City Blazers) and Rich Hansen
(Amarillo Gorillas) have found a
home in the CHL.
Having former players that
are playing professional hockey
is now becoming an excellent
recruiting tool for Gotkin and
the Laker program.
“Now when I recruit kids I can
say that this is a program that
produces NHL prospects, and
that is important to kids with
potential,” Gotkin said.
“Mercyhurst did so much for
my development as a hockey
player, as well as my education.
I know that I got three years of
top-quality education,” Hunt
said.
“I am proud of all our players,
not just the ones that are play-
ing at the next level. We try to
produce not only great hockey
players, but great professionals
as well,” Gotkin says.
scored four goals against Yale on Friday.
Up next for Mercyhurst is three
at home, all
falls to rival Gannon
in hard-fought game
By Chris Davis
Contributing writer
The Gannon and Mercyhurst
women’s basketball rivalry met
for the 66th time on Saturday
with the Golden Knights edging
the Lakers by a score of 81-74 at
the Mercyhurst Athletic Center
(MAC).
The near sell-out crowd of
1,552 saw another hard-fought,
exciting basketball game be-
tween the two rivals. With Gan-
non’s victory, the Knights have
improved their record to 15-4
overall and lead the Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Confer-
ence (GLIAC) South with a 9-1
conference mark, while the Lak-
ers fall to 6-14 overall and 2-8 in
the division.
A series of runs that proved
fatal for Mercyhurst. Gannon
started out on fire to build an
18-point lead, 32-14, in front
of a shocked Lakers crowd with
8:58 to play in the first half.
Seniors Katlyn Petit and Julie
Anderson began the Lakers’
comeback with back-to-back 3-
pointers and Mercyhurst finally
cut the deficit to single digits
on another Anderson 3-pointer
with 4:47 to play to make it
37-28.
Anderson then converted on
a 3-point play, but Gannon re-
bounded with four consecutive
points to make it 41-31 contests
with just 2:49 to play in the
opening half.
Over the final 1:36, Mercy-
hurst scored nine straight points,
which brought life to the team
and to the home student section
inside the MAC.
The final Mercyhurst points
came off of a steal and lay-up by
Stephanie Prischak with six sec-
onds to play that tied the score at
44 heading into the break.
Mercyhurst took its first lead
of the game at 46-44 on a Petit
jumper about 32 seconds into
the second half, but that lead was
short-lived. Gannon then went
on a 10-0 run and would never
trail again.
Mercyhurst got to within four
points at 54-50 with 15:16 to
play as Prischak hit a pair of
jumpers. Gannon continued
to keep Mercyhurst just out of
reach of the lead for the rest of
Page 11
LAKER
SPORTS
File Photo
will seek to extend its unbeaten
streak to 16 games with a pair
of wins.
the game. Mercyhurst ended the
game with five players in double-
figure points for the first time
this season.
Anderson’s 22 points led the
Lakers in scoring. Petit and Pri-
schak each ended with 12 points
apiece and freshman Mara Drei-
ser scored a career-high 11
points, all of which came in
the first half. Paris Pugliese also
came off the bench to add a
career-high 11 as well.
Gannon pulled down 19 of-
fensive boards, which resulted
in 20 second-chance points. The
Knights also turned 29 Mercy-
hurst turnovers into 37 points.
Gannon’s senior All-GLIAC
forward Christina Jackson and
senior shooting guard Casey
England took over the final 20
minutes in outscoring the Lakers
37-30 during the second half.
England now has three straight
20-plus point games against
Mercyhurst.
With Gannon’s win, they now
lead the all-time series 42-24.
Earlier this week, Erie native
Prischak spoke about what this
basketball rivalry is really like.
“Ever since I was young, I
would always attend the Mer-
cyhurst-Gannon basketball
games,” she said. “I knew ever
since I was little that I always
wanted to be a [Mercyhurst]
Laker.”
“This rivalry means so much
more because you are competing
against another team within the
same city as you,” Prischak said.
“I know last year I did not have
the opportunity to play against
our cross-town rival because of
a knee injury, which was a major
disappointment for me.”
“It’s just like any other game,
but the atmosphere is great
because of the huge crowd that
comes to watch and support the
two teams,” Anderson said.
Anderson’s greatest memory
at Mercyhurst occurred dur-
ing her freshman year when
they defeated Gannon. “Even
though we only won one game
my freshman year, that season
beating Gannon in front of a
large crowd has been my greatest
memory.”
Mercyhurst looks to rebound
on the road when they play
Northern Michigan this Thurs-
day at 5:30 p.m.
 S AKER
PORTS
Laker Sports “Quick Hits”
Lakers beat Gannon
This weeks results...
Men’s basketball defeats cross-town rival 64-53
Women’s hockey.................................................Jan 26, W 5-4, Yale
Jan. 27, W 3-0, Quinnipiac By Finella Annand
Women’s basketball.................................Jan. 27, L 81-74, Gannon Contributing writer
Men’s basketball.....................................Jan. 27, W 64-53, Gannon
Wrestling..................................................Jan. 27, W 19-17, Ashland There is always something
Men’s volleyball...............................Jan. 27, L 3-1, Rutgers-Newark a little extra at stake when the
Jan. 28, L 3-1, Juniata Knights of Gannon come to play
the Lakers of Mercyhurst.
The cross-town rivalry ignites
a certain passion among both
In the news... players and fans that is difficult
to match in any other game.
Athletes of the Week The Knights came to the Mer-
cyhurst Athletic Center (MAC)
The Athletic Department honored wrestling’s Zach Schafer and full of expectations. They left
Meghan Agosta from women’s hockey as the Male and Female the court to the sounds of Laker
Athletes of the Week on Monday. fans celebrating Mercyhurst’s
64-53 win.
Schafer had a big weekend on the road against Ashland. With “Mercyhurst-Gannon games
his 16-5 decision over Justin Ferguson, Schafer picked up his are always exciting,” said Mercy-
100th career victory. Schafer, a senior, is ranked No. 2 in the hurst fan Kim Griffin. “I love
country in his weight class of 174 lbs. The team also had a watching the rivalry and I think
good weekend, upending No. 12 Ashland by a narrow margin of it brings out a lot of school spirit
19-17. amongst the fans.”
There was barely a seat to be
Agosta had yet another stellar weekend, scoring five goals and
found in the MAC on Saturday
adding an assist in a pair of non-conference games this past
night as fans from both sides
weekend. Against Yale on Friday, the freshman had a five-point
of Erie came to cheer on their
night with four goals and an assist.
basketball team of choice.
That performance was the first time a Laker had four goals in Mercyhurst drew first blood
one game since 1999. Against Quinnipiac on Saturday, Agosta and posted four points in the
opened the scoring in the second period with what proved to be opening 34 seconds.
the game winner in the Lakers’ 3-0 victory. However for the next four
minutes there was little to cheer
about as both teams missed
countless opportunities to get
Online Voting for Skills Challenge points on the board.
After a slow opening, the game
The Mercyhurst Community is invited to visit www.ncaasports. picked up in pace and carried a
com from now until Feb. 12 to vote for the NCAA Division I good momentum through the
hockey Skills Challenge participants. There are three players first half.
from Mercyhurst on the 89-member nomination list including Fans were kept on the edge of
Scott Champagne from the men’s team and Stephanie their seat as the two teams battled
Bourbeau and Julia Colizza from the women’s team. it out for a lead. Mercyhurst just
edged Gannon at the half with a
There will be 16 males and 16 females to compete in the lead of 32-29.
challenge on April 6 in St. Louis, Missouri. Mercyhurst led for the majority
of the second half. Gannon went
ahead once 37-36 with 14:31 to
Women’s hockey still at top go, but it was short-lived for the
Knights.
Although their lead shrunk for the second time in as many Just 25 seconds later, senior Avi
weeks, Mercyhurst retained their No. 1 ranking in the USCHO. Fogel converted a pair of free
com poll released Jan. 29. Second place Wisconsin moved to throws and Mercyhurst never
within one point of Mercyhurst, gaining seven first place votes to trailed again.
the Lakers’ eight. The free throws started a 17-4
run that put Mercyhurst ahead
Mercyhurst has been at the top since late November, taking 53-41 with 8:58 remaining and
the top spot from the Badgers. The Lakers have eight regular included six points each from
season games left, all within their conference. Up next on the
schedule is Niagara who will be at the Ice Center Friday and
Saturday.
Baseball ranked in preseason poll
Men’s hockey wins two against Bentley
By Andy Tait
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association chose the
Contributing writer
Mercyhurst baseball team eighth in its Preseason Poll for the
North Central Region. The Lakers are one of four GLIAC schools
ranked in the poll, along with Ashland and Grand Valley, ranked The Mercyhurst men’s hockey
No. 1 and No. 2, and Saginaw Valley, who is No. 7. program has gone from strength
to strength during the course
The Lakers open play in late February when they travel south to of Coach Rick Gotkin’s 19-year
Florida for a week-long tournament at Lynn University. tenure. The Lakers have become
a force to be reckoned with in
Atlantic Hockey (AH).
Gotkin’s record with the Lakers
Basketball also regionally ranked is phenomenal and is evidenced
by the fact that he ranks ninth
The men’s basketball team landed in the first rankings among Division I coaches in all-
released by the NCAA basketball committee published Jan. 25. time winning percentage (.623).
Mercyhurst is ranked No. 6 in the Great Lakes Region, trailing The Lakers have a seven-year
GLIAC foes Findlay and Grand Valley State. Division I record of 151-88-18,
which includes three NCAA
Mercyhurst is 13-6 on the year, including a 10-1 record when playoffs appearance and three
playing at home. Next up for the team is a road trip to Michigan regular conference titles, among
to square off against Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech. a number of other accolades.
With only seven regular season
games remaining the Lakers find
Women’s water polo ranked themselves in an unfamiliar pre-
dicament.
The women’s water polo team was ranked No. 10 in the poll Lying in eighth place in AH, the
recently released by the Collegiate Water Polo Association team has 15 points to date, boast-
(CWPA). The Lakers are set to kick off their season Feb. 10 ing a record of 6-16-5 overall and
when they travel to Slippery Rock University for the Hunkler 6-12-3 in conference.
Shootout. Despite the teams disappoint-
ing record, Gotkin and the team
The team finished last season with a school-record 15 wins, are upbeat and positive about the
finishing the season ranked No. 10 in the polls. Mercyhurst was remainder of the season.
the lone Division II program in the top-10, finishing just behind “We are far better than our
large Division I schools such as George Washington and Harvard record suggests and I believe
Universities. during the season we have im-
proved,” said Gotkin.
The team returns to action
Quick hits are compiled by sports editor Ryan Palm. Any- this coming weekend against Air
thing worthy of being a “quick hit” should be emailed to Force in Colorado. The Falcons
sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.edu. are 10 points ahead of the Lakers
Page 12
Senior guard Avi Fogel tallied 12 points and five assists against Gannon on Saturday.
Fogel and junior Terry Smith.
Gannon closed the lead to just
five, 58-53, with 2:35 left, but Fo-
gel hit a jumper with 1:30 left to
put the Lakers ahead by seven.
Richard Field and T.J. Mathis
each sank a pair of free throws
in the final minute to seal the
game.
“We are really grateful for
the win against Gannon. They
battled hard and it’s always go-
ing to be a hard fought game.
We played hard and made some
good plays down the stretch,”
said Mercyhurst senior guard
Darren Angell.
The crowed erupted into rap-
turous applause as the final
whistle sounded. They further
showed their appreciation by
rushing onto the court to con-
gratulate the victorious Lakers.
The burgundy of Gannon
slinked out of the crowd and
made their back across to the
other side of town.
Smith came off the bench to
score an impressive, game-high
17 points. Mathis hit 6-of-11
field goals for 14 points and
added three steals.
Fogel scored a dozen, handed
out five assists and picked up
four steals. Field led the Lakers
The return of junior Ben Cottreau (shown earlier this sea-
son) was a welcome addition to the strugging Lakers.
in AH, which makes this series
crucial to Mercyhurst’s hope of
claiming the fourth seed in the
playoffs. The top four seeds are
able to host the first game of the
playoffs. That fourth spot is cur-
rently occupied by the Falcons.
The two teams met three weeks
ago at the Mercyhurst Ice Center
and it was Air Force that domi-
nated the series, sweeping the
Lakers 5-3 and 3-1.
“Air Force will be a tough trip,
but there are no easy games in
Atlantic Hockey,” said Gotkin.
The Lakers enjoyed a few days
off this past weekend as they had
a break from action. Gotkin gave
his players some much needed
time off, which is something of
a rarity during season.
Mercyhurst will travel to Colo-
rado full of confidence after the
team claimed five points from
January 31, 2007
with eight rebounds.
The win was the third in a row
for the Mercyhurst men’s basket-
ball team.
They responded to back-to-
back defeats on the road two
weekends ago with three con-
secutive home wins; the third of
which was against Gannon.
The men preceded the Gannon
victory with two wins the previ-
ous week against Ferris State
and Lake Superior State. They
defeated Ferris State 70-65 and
Lake Superior 66-62.
The win against Ferris State
saw four Mercyhurst players
venture into double points.
Shelby Chaney finished with a
team-high 17 points. Smith came
off the bench, as he would the
following week against Gannon,
to score 16 points, including 6-
of-6 on free throws.
In addition to his career-high
in rebounds, Mathis scored 13
points. Field added a dozen.
The Lakers carried the momen-
tum of the Thursday night win
over into Saturday and battled
hard to defeat Lake Superior
State.
Fogel recorded his 1000th ca-
reer point with his first field goal
of the game.
File photo
a possible six on offer a week
ago.
The Lakers then halted their 10
game winless streak by sweeping
Bentley at home, 7-4 and 5-2, on
Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Mercyhurst hadn’t recorded a win
since they cruised past American
International on the road, 8-3 on
Dec. 2.
This was only the second time
this year that the Lakers have
been able to record back-to-back
victories this season. The last
time they were able to do this was
against Holy Cross and UConn
back in late October.
The return of two key players
from injury in junior forward
Ben Cottreau and senior forward
Scott Champagne appeared to
be a key factor in the Lakers’
performances.
Cottreau had been out for
Andy Finkel photo
Fogel went on to score a game-
high 22 points. Chaney had a
massive second half pouring
in 15 points and grabbing 11
rebounds.
Smith again scored in double
figures, coming off the bench to
record 10 points.
The three wins take Mercyhurst
a step closer to their major goal,
making the NCAA tournament.
However, they continue to focus
on one game at a time.
“We are focusing on playing
hard so we can put ourselves in a
position where we can make the
conference tournament and have
a shot at the NCAA tournament
which has been our major goal
since I have been here. Right
now we are in a dog fight and
we just have to go out and play
hard and smart every night.” said
Angell.
Mercyhurst will look to play
hard and smart when they travel
to Northern Michigan for a 7:30
tip off on Feb. 1st.
The men will return home to
face Wayne State on Feb. 8th.
Support your Lakers at the MAC
and enjoy a variety of refresh-
ments served by the Mercyhurst
women’s softball team.
seven consecutive games but
returned in spectacular fashion
registering two goals and four
assists.
His superb play during the se-
ries led to him being named AH
player of the week.
The influential Champagne had
been missing for five games prior
to the Bentley series. However,
like Cottreau,
Champagne returned with a
bang and chipped in with four
assists during the two games.
“Scott and Ben are both very
dynamic players for us and I
think their return gave other guys
confidence,” said Gotkin.
Coming into series with Bent-
ley, the Lakers were on a seven-
game power play drought. How-
ever they exploded offensively
scoring on four out of seven
attempts on Friday and two of
five on Saturday.
There are numerous positives
for the Lakers’ coaching staff to
take from the series with Bentley,
such as the solid goaltending
from Wakefield, seven differ-
ent players scoring over the two
games, excellent execution with
the man advantage plus the re-
turn to action of key players.
Mercyhurst’s return to form
against Bentley will have a few
teams above them looking over
their shoulders in the remaining
weeks of the regular season, in
what is set to be an interesting
finish to conference play.