8/6/2019 The Merciad, Feb. 3, 2010

1/8

Page 6Page 5

College

community

raises relief

aid for Haiti

Student

choreographers

present Raw

Edges

News A&E

Page 3

Weekly Poll

Chivalry

proves best

Valentines

Day present

Opinion

Vol.83,No.13/2/3/10/Free

Hurst students to get Irish

welcome in Dungarvan

Read Page 2 for the details and Page 4

for the students perspective on this

new study abroad experience.

What do you think of Mercyhurst transitioning

to university status?

8/6/2019 The Merciad, Feb. 3, 2010

2/8

NEWSPage 2 February 3, 2010

Hurst to get Irish welcome

This spring, Mercyhurst Col-

lege will send students to liveand study Dungarvan, Ireland.

Eries sister city will host Mer-

cyhursts first 10-week faculty-led study abroad program.

A group from Dungarvan will

meet the students at the airport

and drive them to their newtown. Once in Dungarvan, the

locals will provide them with afull Irish breakfast. Accordingto Dr. Hosey, this incredibly

strange meal includes eggs,Irish bacon, baked tomatoesand blood pudding.

The people of Dungarvanwill give the students a big wel-come on March 6, where people

from the community will wel-come Mercyhursts group andgive them a bus tour around

Dungarvan and WaterfordCounty. Mercyhurst will leadDungarvans St. Patricks Day

parade.The 25 of us are going to be

like local celebrities for a while,

junior Caitlin Toner said.Representatives from local

clubs will be at the welcomefestival to invite students to par-ticipate in kite-surfing, soccer,surfing, rugby, ladies football,

fishing (or angling), equestrian,hill-walking and other activities.

Sophomore Jill Barrile is

excited for these opportunities.I cant wait to experience theIrish culture. I plan on partici-

pating in equestrian and possi-

bly surfing. Theyre two thingsI really wanted to do, and what

could be better than doing themin Ireland?

The 20 women and six men

participating will stay in three-bedroom, two-bath townhousesowned by the Park Hotel. Soph-

omore Ethan Johns will not beable to make the trip due tomedical reasons.

The first Mercyhurst classes

taught in Ireland will begin onMarch 8, three days after thegroup arrives. The core courses

offered will be tailored to Irishculture. Professors MichaelFederici, Keiko Miller, James

Snyder, Brian Reed and HeidiHosey volunteered to teachin Ireland. Joanne McGurk is

unable to travel to Ireland, butshe will supervise the literaturecourses through Blackboard.

Every Wednesday, the students will go to a seminar on Irish

culture and language taught bythree professors from Ireland.

Dungarvan has two class-rooms for Mercyhurst to use.

Students will be able to walkthrough the center of town toget to class in the art center, or

try on real suits of armor enroute to class on the upper floorof the historical museum.

Classes will only be heldMonday through Thursday,leaving the students ample time

to travel on the weekends. Fac-ulty will lead the entire group onweekend trips to Dublin and the

West Country and a five-day tripto Paris.

A Mercyhurst-run, long-term

study abroad program is idealfor many students who worry

about trimester vs. semesterconflicts and the cost of tradi-

tional programs. Toner, an archaeology major,

said, I know students who, in

order to study abroad, had tomiss two whole terms of classeshere. My course of study would

not have allowed me to do that. The FSAT program has

underwritten the airfare for the

trip, and the college has notforced the students to pay pen-alties for the room and board

revenue it will lose.Thats a real tribute to Dr.

Gamble and his extraordinarysupport, Hosey said.

The level of aid for possiblefuture trips is not set, but Hosey

said, my goal is to make this work for the college and workfor the students. If we can

charge 1/3 or 1/2 of the tradi-tional study abroad program...it will be entirely possible for

nearly every student to do it.

By JoEllen Marsh

Editor-in- chief

1) Continue to apply all the Critical Windows Updates that have been provided

by Microsoft since the beginning of December 2009.

2) Continue to update your Anti-Virus software with all updates provided by the

vendor of the program. This includes renewing out-of-date subscriptions so you

have the latest updates available for the program.

Call the HelpDesk at x3200 if you experience problems during this preparation.

Prepare your computer for spring term

Students and faculty will spend this spring studying abroad in

Dungarvan, Ireland.

Contributed photo

Laker Specials

February 3-5Wednesday:

Cantina De Laker: Fish tacos

East Street Deli: Cuban sandwich

Pepperazzi: Sausage and pepper

calzone

Sequoia Grill: Grilled chicken

sliders

Thursday:East Street Deli: Buffalo chicken

wrap

Cantina De Laker: Cheese

quesadilla

Pepperazzi: Stuffed chicken breast

with pasta side

Sequoia Grill: Double southwest

burger

Friday:East Street Deli: Chicken Caesar

flatbread

Cantina De Laker: 2 for 1 beef tacos

Pepperazzi: Mac n cheese

Sequoia Grill Cajun Fish Sandwich

8/6/2019 The Merciad, Feb. 3, 2010

3/8

NEWS Page 3February 3, 2010

College community raises relief aid for Haiti

Mercyhurst College is host-

ing Haiti Relief Week Monday,

Feb. 1, through Friday, Feb. 5,

to raise money for the country

devastated by an earthquake on

Jan. 12.

Everyone from administra-

tors to student clubs and ath-

letic teams will participate inthe campus-wide fundraising

effort, which will include all on-

campus events this week and

continue throughout the rest of

the term.

The whole disaster was

devastating and horrible,

sophomore Elizabeth Geist

said. Im really happy that

people in the United States are

getting together to do some-thing about it, especially at

Mercyhurst where everyone is

pulling together to make a dif-

ference.

The list of events is exten-

sive. Academic departments

will compete to collect the most

donations. UNICEF will host a

Chinese Auction at Egan Dining

Hall Monday through Friday

from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Green Team will sell

Haiti Relief T-shirts, and

red Relieve-Recover-Rebuild

Bracelets will be sold in various

locations on campus, including

Campus Ministry, for a mini-

mum donation of $2.

Special collections will be

taken at athletic, LCP, PAC and

SAC events.

Proceeds from the Rock

n Roll Chili Bowl Cook-off,

which will take place in the

Herrmann Student Union on

Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to

1:30 p.m., will go to the Haiti

Relief Fund.

Campus Ministry will also

host door-to-door collections

Thursday and Friday.The fundraising goal is to raise

$2,500 to donate to UNICEF

and Paul Farmers Partners in

Health, an established health

care charity in Haiti.

Campus Ministry Director

Gregory Baker said, We wanted

to consolidate relief efforts into

this week as much as possible,

but it is also worth noting that

future events will continue tobenefit Haiti, including collec-

tions at dance programs, a Soul

Food Dinner, a proposed spring

golf tournament and a Lenten

24-hour fast.

Mercyhurst Student Gov-

ernment will match student

club and organizations dona-

tions, and UNICEF offers a

national matching opportunity

for the money that Mercyhurst

collects.

One of the most exciting

things about the week is that the

money collected will be doubled

or quadrupled before being sent

to Haiti, Baker said.

I think its great how Mercy-

hurst is helping out the cause,

freshman Anne Valkosky said.

Baker said this fundraising

event demonstrates the colleges

commitment to its missionstatement and core values in

educating socially and globally

responsible adults.

As a Catholic and as some-

one who is passionate about

working for peace and justice,

I have been prayerfully and

actively concerned about the

people of Haiti for a long time,

Baker said. I am glad to see the

world community respondingto this tragedy. But I pray for a

world where people spend more

time asking the tough social jus-

tice questions about countries

like Haiti even when there are

no natural disasters to get peo-

ples hearts stirring.

For the most up-to-date list

of Haiti Relief Week events,

visit hurstathletics.com.

By Jennifer McCurdy

Staff writer

A Chinese Auction is set up in Egan Dining Hall during Haiti

Relief Week. Students can purchase Relieve-Recover-

Rebuild bracelets at the table as well.

Tyler Stauffer photo

This past week, Mercyhurst

College students experienced

problems with WebAdvisor

while registering for spring termclasses.

Mercyhurst IT has not yet

been able to resolve the issue.

The problem has not been

resolved primarily because its

an issue between the Datatel

system and IBM, Pat Benekos,

Executive Director of Learning,

Information and Technology

Services, said.

It is Datatels responsibil-

ity to resolve the problem, but

we are working with them to

resolve it, Benekos said.

According to Benekos,

WebAdvisor is not running

properly due to a time discrep-

ancy in the system.

There is an internal clockthat is five hours off, Benekos

said.

Now that the IT department

is aware of the problem, We

are at least able to cope better

with the problem and monitor it

more closely, Benekos said.

Due to the technical prob-

lems, some students were not

able to register for classes.

Sophomore Tyler Stauffer

could not log in to WebAdvisor

during his registration time.

I called my grandmother

via Skype and had her log in as

me and schedule my classes,

Stauffer said.

According to Registrar Pat

Whalen, there were very fewcomplaints about students not

being able to register.

The Registrars Office does a

study every day during registra-

tion to see if more students reg-

ister in the Registrars Office or

online. The studies showed the

vast majority registered online

successfully, Whalen said.

The Registrars Office helped

students who were not able to

register successfully and were

closed out of courses by find-

ing alternative classes they could

take.

I always find them a course,

Whalen said.

Whalen sent an e-mail to

students on Monday, Feb. 1,advising them to verify that they

are registered for spring term

classes.

According to Whalen, this

message was just an alert

encouraging students to make

sure they registered. Every

term, she noted, there are a

few students who thought they

registered, but their registra-

tions never went through the

system. Whalen said students

should verify their schedules

after they register every term,

and this e-mail was just a

reminder.

Freshman should not experi-

ence many problems when they

register on Thursday and Fridayof this week.

We should be able to head

off any issues and see if there

is anything that will impact reg-

istration significantly, Benekos

said. If you do have an issue,

try it again.

Students who continue to

experience registration prob-

lems should contact the Help-

Desk or the Registrars Office.

By Kelly LuomaNews editor

Problems with WebAdvisor create registration issues

8/6/2019 The Merciad, Feb. 3, 2010

4/8

FEATURES February 3, 2010

Students: Dungarvan, here we come!

As students prepare for their spring

term abroad in Dungarvan, Ireland,

many questions and concerns arise, rang-

ing from packing and communications

issues all the way to expectations of the

travel itself and the experience in gen-

eral.

Although these questions can be easilyremedied on a short trip like spending

a weekend in New York City for spring

break, they become increasingly more

difficult for students spending those 10

long weeks in Ireland.

What seems to be weighing most heav-

ily on students minds is keeping in touch

with those they care about.

Anticipating this need for communi-

cation, junior Lindsey Overdorff and

senior Megan Hull have taken many pre-cautions to stay in contact.

I have done the Skype thing, down-

loaded the texting application on my iPod

touch, have friended everyone on Face-

book, have gotten phone numbers, and I

will be getting everyones box number to

send post cards, Hull said.

Overdorff is doing the same. The big-

gest challenge will be keeping in contact

with everyone; I got my mom a webcamso we can Skype while Im there, she

said.

Packing and money is also something

students are already thinking about.

At this point, I am saving money for

traveling, food and shopping, making

lists of things I need to take and buy over

there and making sure I have all of my

traveling stuff together, like my passport

and suitcase and things like that, seniorErin Lewis said.

For most students, it is not just about

getting things packed, but making abso-

lutely sure they have the essentials.

The one thing I absolutely have

to bring would probably be my digi-

tal camera. I plan on taking an obscene

amount of pictures of everything while

were over there, Overdorff said. Im

sure this is the same for pretty much

everybody.

When asked what is the one thing you

will not forget to pack, Hull responded:

One? Well, I guess my laptop. It will

be my main connection to home, and

of course everything I do there: write

papers, research, book flights and hotel

rooms in other countries I will visit on

the weekends, everything like that.Although the students are filled with

much excitement and enthusiasm for the

trip, there are a few things that they are

not anticipating with eagerness.

I am not excited for the flight, just

because it is hard to sit on an airplane...

for a long period of time, Lewis said.

However, with the excitement of get-

ting to stay and study in Ireland for an

entire term, the list of pros appears to be

greater than that of the cons.Overall, Im just so excited to be

involved in the first ever Mercyhurst-

in-Ireland trip, Overdorff said. The

opportunities were given are awesome,

and the city of Dungarvan sounds so

kind and welcoming. I just cant wait to

get over there.

By Jemma HomerContributing writer

Mercyhurst will now have a new campus in Dungarvan, Ireland. Erie campus

students will be first to have this experience abroad in the Spring term 10.

Richeal Forde photo

Graduate student marches for lifeBy Gretchen Beth Yori

Contributing writer

Yori poses with pro-life poster, friends.

Gretchen Beth Yori photo

On Jan. 22, 2010, I was blessed to have

been able to participate in the annual

March for Life in Washington, D.C.

I convinced eight students to attend

the event. We left Thursday night after a

brief prayer service. We took a bus withthe local People for Life organization.

It was a normal night of sleeping on a

bus, but when we arrived in D.C. the trip

was worth what awaited us.

I was dumbfounded by the energy of

the people attending the march. There

was live music and people carrying

signs, all for the purpose of stopping

abortion.

The march took a bit to start. As a

small group of nine, we found it almost

impossible to move at times, there were

so many people.

Everyone was there for this single

purpose. Groups were shouting chants,

singing and praying. People in yellow

raincoats waved pro-life signs of various

colors.

Once the March for Life started,

police cars led the crowd of women

who carried signs that read I regretmy abortion. Then we filed in behind

them.

The Mercyhurst College group

walked, a few of us with signs. Some

students took the surroundings step-by-

step.

I was overwhelmed again. I teared up

due to this emotion inside, a grace. I felt

we were doing the best we could to make

change, to prevent more lives from being

ended and trying to prevent women and

men from feeling the aftermath of abor-

tion.

We marched all the way up to the

Capitol. I will never forget how it felt

to be a part of something so large and

meaningful.

Online...

Merciad.

Mercyhurst.edu/

Features

Merciad.

ercyhurst.edu/

Features

Video Game of the Week:

Vampire Wars continues

the vampire trend

Outstanding intel

students win AFCEAscholarships

Mercyhurst aidsstudents withAspergers

An Erieite Appetite:

A taste of Thailand at

Khao Thai Restaurant

Page 4

8/6/2019 The Merciad, Feb. 3, 2010

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Page 5February 3, 2010

A&E online

merciad.mercyhurst.eduBrew & View pleases studentsThe PACs irst Brew & View pleased students and facultyalike, showing Animal House after the food and drink wasserved.

Nick Jonas surprises with solo effortCasey Harvilla begs listeners to give Nick Jonas and theAdministration a chance before swearing them off asanother boy band.

Students show raw talent

The Dance Departments 12th

annual performance of student

choreography, 35 Years: Raw

Edges, will occur this weekend,

Saturday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. and

7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 7, at 2

p.m. in the Mary DAngelo Per-

forming Arts Center (PAC). Although Raw Edges is

a long-held tradition, some

things have changed a bit for

this years performance, which

coincides with the Dance

Departments 35th anniversary

celebration.

The concert will feature

the works of the most experi-

enced student choreographers,

namely those taking the Cho-reography III and Senior Sem-

inar courses, unlike in the past

when Senior Seminar students

had their own showcase in

the spring and Choreography

II and III were combined for

Raw Edges.

In the words of Dance Chair

Tauna Hunter, Change is

always good, and we are shak-

ing things up a bit for our

35th.

Another new addition as part

of the anniversary celebration

will be the appearances of two

Mercyhurst dance alumni in the

concert. Meredith Lyons (2003)

and Noelle Lelakus (2008),

who both participated in RawEdges as dancers and choreog-

raphers when attending Mercy-

hurst, will each perform a solo

for the performance.

Raw Edges offers variety

with different dance genres,

music and thematic ideas being

put on stage. The choreogra-

phers this year are exploring

themes like living art, self dis-

covery, stress and its effect on

the human psyche, scorned

lovers and the 1742 Scottish

Act of Proscription, to name

a few.

Music used for the choreog-raphy includes Ceolbeg, Lucia

Micarelli, Safteysuit, Yann

Tiersen, Penguin Caf Orches-

tra and a score by Mercyhurst

senior Kirsten Rispin that was

commissioned especially for the

performance. Live music will be

used for two pieces in the per-

formance.

All Choreography III stu-

dents were required to includea collaboration with another

artist as part of their choreog-

raphy, which will add interest

to the pieces presented in Raw

Edges. Artistic collaborations

this year involve work by musi-

cians, a costumer and a visual

artist.

Choreographer and junior

dance major Brienna Hynish

spoke of Raw Edges and the

choreographic process: Actu-

ally getting to see my choreog-

raphy executed beautifully by

the dancers is the most amaz-

ing thing; Im close to tears

sometimes when I watch them

dance. I absolutely love seeingmy ideas set to music that

originally inspired me. It is so

rewarding!

Each performance will

include Take-a-Break, an

intermission chat moderated by

Senior Seminar professor Mark

Santillano, in which the chore-

ographers will speak about their

new works and answer ques-

tions from the audience.

I think choreographing is

the hardest and also the most

rewarding thing I do all year.

Taking the jumbled mess in my

head and having it make sense

on stage is no small task, fellow

choreographer and junior ClaireHinde said.

Tickets for 35 Years: Raw

Edges are $1 with a Mercy-

hurst student ID and can be

purchased at the PAC box office

in advance, at the door, or by

calling extension 3000.

By Sarah MastrocolaStaff writer

Still Walking centers around familys lost sonBy Kathleen Vogtle

Staff writer

This weeks addition to Mer-

cyhurst Colleges Guelcher Film

Series, Still Walking, presents

a story that almost anyone can

relate to, in which a family who

has experienced loss and dis-satisfaction among themselves

has gathered for a semi-annual

reunion. The familys oldest

son, Junpei, has been dead 15

years after rescuing a boy from

drowning. The youngest son,

Ryo (Hiroshi Abe), is married

to a widow (Yui Natsukawa)

with a 10-year-old son, Atsushi

(Shohei Tanaka).

A.O. Scott of the New York

Times describes Still Walk-

ing perfectly. He calls it both

transcendent and completely

absorbing, so sure of its own

scale and scope that while youre

watching it, the rest of the world

fades into irrelevance.

Perhaps the most memo-

rable characters, though, are

Ryos parents. Kyohei (YoshioHarada), the father, is a retired

doctor; he is an oppressive pres-

ence in the home. The mother,

Toshiko (Kirin Kiki), is a force to

be reckoned with in the kitchen,

not as open in her opinions as

her husband, but still obviously

frustrated with what life has

dealt her and her family.

The ghost of Junpei colors

the proceedings. He is a con-

tinuous presence in the minds

of those gathered, the ultimate

driving force behind their tem-

peraments, his spirit saturating

the house. He is the measuring

stick Kyohei uses against Ryo,

evaluating the life decisions of

his youngest against his dashed

hopes for his eldest.

At its core, Still Walking isa movie about family. It is about

the pain and frustration every

family faces at one point or

another, but it is also about the

bonds of undiminishing love

that hold them together. Writer-

director Hirokazu Koreeda

does a masterful job at showing

this dynamic without making

it melodramatic. The result is

a warm-hearted, multi-faceted

presentation that is equally

likely to make you smile as it is

to make you cry.

Still Walking is presented in

Japanese with English subtitles.

It will be shown today in

the DAngelo Performing Arts

Center at 2:15 and 7:15 p.m.

Tickets are $6 for adults, $5

for students and seniors and

free for Mercyhurst students

with IDs.

Still Walking, showing at the PAC today at 2:15 and 7:15

p.m., focuses on a family that has experienced great loss.

pac.mercyhurst.edu photo

Raw Edges will be

performed this weekend.

pac.mercyhurst.edu photo

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September 3, 2008OPINIONPage 6 February 3, 2010

@mercyhurst.edu

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

finals weeks. Our office is in Hirt, Room 120B. Our telephone number is(814) 824-2376.

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

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

letters to box PH 485 or via e-mail at opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu.

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

JoEllen Marsh

Kelly Luoma

Javi Cubillos

Jordan Zangaro

Nick GlasierAlaina Rydzewski

Sam Williams

Tyler Stauffer

Ethan Magoc

Ethan Johns

Gaby Meza

Kyle King

Bill Welch

Brian Sheridan

Positions

Editor-in-Chief

News Editor

Features Editor

Opinion Editor

Sports EditorA&E

Graphics

Photographer

Multimedia Editor

Web Editor

Advertising Manager

Copy Editor

Adviser

Adviser

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

Online Opinion Articles...

merciad.mercyhurst.edu

Confidence is a tricky thing,

but when you have it you have

everything. How far should you

go to solidify your confidence?

Heidi Montag Pratt, fromthe TV show The Hills, thinks

the answer to that question

is by any means necessary.

After being accused of being

addicted to plastic surgery,

she confirmed that she had 10

procedures done to her face

and a breast augmentation. As

Pratt sat there looking like a

fem-bot, she looked disgusting

and alien-like.

I am troubled when thinking

about what this message is

bringing to young, vulnerable

girls.

In an environment where

celebrities rule and models have

the ideal body structure, what

does a completely manipulated,

barely human face gawking

about how the excessive amount

of plastic surgery makes her feelbetter show the world? What are

we run by and to whom do we

listen?

I strongly agree with making

changes to make you confident

and happy. I am even a believer

in plastic surgery. I just cant

imagine what young girls

struggling to fulfill a ridiculous

and, for the most part,

unreachable goal of being a size

zero are thinking when the rich,

famous people are spending

their money manipulating

their faces and bodies to fit an

unrealistic mold.

Its a tough world, and

sometimes you can be your own

worst critic. Whether you are

making a goal, going on a diet or

striving to stick with your New

Years resolution, ignore whatidiots like Heidi Montag Pratt

say about how to make yourself

feel happy.

Instead of longingly looking

at Pratt, The Girls Next Door

and the models of the Victorias

Secret Fashion show, embrace

your beauty. Be confident in

yourself. Strive to become a

better version of yourself, not

a fem-bot.

By Jordan

Zangaro

Opinion Editor

Disgusted by plastic surgery addiction

Chivalry and romanticism

need not be dead. It always

amuses me when yet another

woman describes her boyfriend

as crude or chauvinistic, and

then claims that chivalry is deadacross the board.

The incompetence of your

boyfriend does not prove

anything other than individual

incompetence.

Its a simple thing to do,

guys: Hold a door open for

a girl walking toward you.

Unfortunately, there are a myriad

of less simple responses to such

an action. My favorite tends to

be surprise, because apparently

there are so few individuals on

this campus willing to do so that

it actually warrants surprise.

Now, theres an equal and

opposite response and this is

a possible reason for his lack of

chivalry. This response is disgust

or anger. It doesnt happen

often, but when it does it can be

quite a shock to the system for a

guy trying to be polite.

So, girls, maybe your

boyfriend is more inclined to lie

on his couch with a beer and an

Xbox controller this Valentines

day rather than preparing youa (ResLife approved, battery-

operated-faux) candlelit dinner

because hes frightened that

you might yell at him, claiming

disrespect for some reason

he has trouble understanding.

Heres a better bet though:

Youre dating a guy too lazy to

care or attempt anything other

than whats laid out in front of

him by you. Anecdote time, ladies and

gents: A friend of mine from high

school is the specific inspiration

for this article, because last year

she had just been dumped and

was essentially having a case of

the yips.

She was so discouraged by

her past couple relationships

that she became convinced

she somehow didnt deserve

a high-quality, respectful guy.

So, because she saw her past

boyfriends as slumming, she

figured all she deserved was to

slum.

Seems crazy, but think of

this: How many of your friendsclaim to be the happy couple

in public, but then complain

about their significant others

personality or actions on a

regular basis? It seems like too

many people are willing to settle

for what theyve got on hand,

rather than make an attempt to

better their situation.

So instead of simply dealing

with one another this ValentinesDay, why not actually enjoy

one anothers presence by

actually playing along with the

pleasantries of a relationship?

Read the unadbridged version at

merciad.mercyhurst.edu.

By Devin Ruic

Staff writer

Chivalry lives: Go out and get it

Bathroom bonding: letting it all outVictoria Gricks shares why she thinks it is

important to make a habit of talking to

your friends about what is going on with

your life-no matter where or when.

This I Believe: God, free will and GoldenRetrievers Through life with pets, Dr. Buyce has found an

interesting way to connect free will to his everyday life.

Find out what his dog has taught him.

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Sports Page 7February 3, 2010

Today, Mercyhurst College hosts

cross-town rival Gannon University in

both mens and womens basketball. The

women kick off the action at 5:30 p.m.,

to be followed by the men at 7:30 p.m. The Knights have dominated the

Lakers in basketball throughout recent

memory. The womens basketball team

has not defeated the Knights since 2003,

and the men havent beaten Gannon

since 2007. Things are likely to change,

however, for at least one of these teams.

Gannons womens basketball team is a

dynamo this year at 22-0, ranked No. 3

in the nation. They have outscored their

opponents by an embarrassing 23-pointmargin per game.

They are led by senior guard Kristina

Freeman, who is averaging nearly 15

points per game and leads her team in

assists, steals and blocks. The Knights

are a fine-tuned, veteran, high-octane

basketball machine.

Mercyhursts womens basketball team

is currently 12-6. They are a rather inex-

perienced club that has experienced its

fair share of growing pains. The Lakers

are led by junior Amy Achesinski, who is

averaging 14 points per game along with

eight rebounds per game.

The match-up on paper is not a very

attractive one for the Lakers. They are

clearly outsized, have a definite lack of

experience and are frankly outclassed by

their opponent.

If they are to have any shot at pullingoff one of the biggest upsets in Mercy-

hurst sports history, which a victory in

this sort of mismatch would surely be,

the Lakers must slow down the pace of

play and hope for early foul trouble from

Freeman.

They will need to jump out to a quick

lead and feed off the energy brought

forth by the home crowd. Achesinski will

really have to dominate against a large

front line put out by Gannon. This will be the Lakers only chance

against the Knights. Victory is very

unlikely. More likely, this game will get

ugly and get ugly fast as the Lakers dont

have the size or superior three-point

shooting to make up for a lack of expe-

rience and skill in comparison to the

Knights.

For the rest of this article, go to

merciad.mercyhurst.edu and click

the sports tab.

By Nick GlasierSports editor

Mercyhurst College junior Heiden Ratner looks to lead the mens basketball

team over Gannon University for the first time since 2007.

Etthan Magoc photo

Lakers eyeing Knights

Interested in writing

sports articles?Prior sports writing

experience or proficient

writing skills preferred.

If interested, e-mail:sportsmerciad@mercyhurst.

edu

8/6/2019 The Merciad, Feb. 3, 2010

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Mercyhurst College junior Ashley Cockell lays out for the puck. Unfortunately, despite this

effort the Lakers fell to Niagara University, 2-1.

Ethan Magoc photo

Lakers fall from grace

The Mercyhurst College

womens hockey team hasfallen from grace as it suffereda 2-1 loss to Niagara University

and lost its No. 1 ranking in theUSCHO.com poll.

This is the first week since

the beginning of the seasonthat the Lakers have not sat atthe top of the USCHO.com

poll. The Lakers did keep their

top ranking in the USA Today

Womens Hockey/USA HockeyMagazine Division I poll. Thisis the 15th straight week the

Lakers have sat atop that poll.

The loss was the Lakers firstsince Oct. 31, 2009. They arenow at 20-2-3 for the season

and 7-1-1 in College HockeyAmerica play.

The Lakers found Saturdays

loss hard to swallow as they felt

the play favored them through-out the game.

I give a lot of credit to Niag-ara for playing us very toughlike they always do. Theyre one

of the hardest working teams weve played this season. Sat-urday we outplayed them, out

shot them, but couldnt find theback of the net. Thats hockeyfor you, junior Captain Vicki

Bendus said.

While this past weekend was

slow for the Mercyhurst Lakers,it wasnt too bad for Bendus.She scored both goals in Fri-

days game against the NiagaraPurple Eagles in a 2-0 victory.

Bendus currently has 20

goals and a total of 46 points.

This gives her the number onerank on the team and in the

country.Despite this achievement on

Friday, the Lakers fell to the

Purple Eagles the next after-noon by a score of 2-1.

Mercyhurst s womens hockey

team plays against RobertMorris University this comingweekend.

For the rest of this article,

By Courtney ClairContributing writer

Laker SportsVisit merciad.mercyhurst.edu February 3, 2010

While Laker Spirit Club understands Mr. Baranowskis ques-

tion about the origin of the Blackout at the womens hockey gameagainst No. 4 Clarkson University on Jan. 15, and agrees that blackis not one of the school colors, we would like to address what

seems to be his larger issue, that of student involvement at athleticevents.

His piece presents the idea that LSC is not doing its job to getstudents involved in the games; however, what he failed to notewas that attendance at our Blackout game was the highest so farthis season by more than 200 people.

In fact, this was the only game this season that has topped the1,000 mark in attendance, with the official number listed at 1,211.While some might point out that this was due to the No. 4 ranked

opponent, during two games with rival and No. 5 ranked Minne-sota-Duluth, attendance only averaged 658.

However, we also understand that the goal should be to have

this type of attendance and support at all of the events, not just

those with special promotions, which brings us back to the article.Mr. Baranowski fills the article with suggestions, yet he failed to

present them constructively.Mercyhurst Student Government, of which LSC is a branch, has

weekly meetings that are open to all students where they can pres-

ent their ideas, which would have been a much more productiveand constructive forum for his suggestions to be presented.

In essence, by merely lashing out in the newspaper instead of

taking action, Mr. Baranowski was being hypocritical.He fell victim to the same problem of inaction that he accuses

LSC of by not doing his part as a member of Mercyhurst College

to make our sporting events the best that they could be.

By Michelle Tatavosian

Contributing writer

merciad.mercyhurst.edu/sportsOnline sports articles......................

Womens basketball coach confident

in team

Head coach Deanna Richard is impressed withthe unity of the womens basketball team.

LSC respondsto Baranowski

column