4-13-2010 - The Anchor by The Anchor

Vol. 82, Issue #25

The Anchor Rhode Island College

April 13, 2010

Anchor Photo/Jesus Mendoza

RIC campus springs into bloom thanks to April’s lovely weather.

SCG meets late into night By Frank Wellington Anchor SCG Bureau

For the first time in 2010, Student Parliament met past midnight in a meeting that began last Wednesday – but finished Thursday – in the Student Union. The meeting of March 24 featured a limited agenda, following an election meeting that featured the unanimous selection of Rep. Nicholas Bernardo to fill the remainder of ousted Student Community Government, Inc. Treasurer Christopher Kelly’s term earlier in the night. However, with time running short in the session, the meeting of April 7 became a mad rush of last-minute bills and policy changes. The most contentious issue

of last week’s meeting was a proposal, introduced by SCG President Joshua Laguerre, to add money to SCG’s Beverly L. McGinnis Scholarship. The item – which did not appear on the original agenda but was added at the start of the meeting – proposed to have Parliament endorse the addition of money to the scholarship’s weakened fiscal status. Last year, Parliament voted to allocate money for the scholarship’s two winners directly out of the General Fund, as interest generated on SCG’s endowed account was not sufficient to cover any of the scholarship’s costs due to the bad economy. While that motion passed with some debate last year, this year’s proposal by Laguerre – to add some

money to the limited interest gained and give out less than was given last year – was met with serious opposition. SCG Vice President Travis Escobar led the debate, introducing an amendment to raise the scholarship to last year’s levels. However, Rep. Kameron Spaulding, who is editor-in-chief of The Anchor, stated his opposition to this move, and questioned why SCG was involved in the business of handing out a scholarship at all. This sparked a two-hour debate, in which a plethora of parliamentary tactics were employed and representatives frequently interrupted others. The scholarship, named in honor of a long-time SCG See MIDNIGHT Page 6

RIC now home to a Green Team By Casey Gaul Managing Editor

Environmental issues are no small concern these days, and Rhode Island College is continuing to take the necessary steps towards green consciousness. Interim Director of Outreach Programs Jenifer Giroux approached President Carriuolo and Vice President of Academic Affairs Ronald Pitt about the formation of a RIC Green Team. Both recognized the inherent benefits, as well as the potential cost effectiveness, of such a team and gave the idea the green light. Giroux was joined by Interim Director of the Office

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for Continuing Education and Summer Sessions Dante Del Giudice on the initiative, and they jointly presented a webinar out of Del Giudice’s office on how to go about putting the team into play. The first of three informational sessions on the Green Team will be held on Tuesday, May 4 at noon in the South Dining Room of the Faculty Center. The session will be open to any faculty, staff or students interested in getting involved in the college’s green initiative. “Once we see the level of participation, then we’ll go from there,” Giroux said. See GREEN Page 4

What’s Inside

April 13 2010

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News

Lifestyles cont.

A&E cont.

SCG meets late into the night Something happened that you should know about

Never bored of the board Boardgames offer a refreshing alternative to video games

Victor Victoria Rental Raves: Edward Blake’s classic 1982 gender comedy

RIC green team Rhode Island College makes strides towards a greener campus

The east bay bike path: a great ride! 14.5 miles of free biking from Bristol to Providence

The icons of gaming: where are the girls? An account of some of the more classic game gals

RIC welcomes national NEA Big Read Literary promotion event kicks off celebrating Poe

A class act Weekly Warcraft: Rogues and Priests are classy too!

Enrollment rises, graduation rates don’t A recent report offers stats on higher education

Sonic tries to blow your mind Rob’s Game Shelf: Justifying a reviled Segaera Hedgehog game

A&E

WXIN Rock Hunt day 1 Local bands battle it out on the first of four days.

Judges guilty of loss as Anchormen cruise Men’s baseball defeats Brandeis 5-1

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Ted Leo in Paradise is Paradise.

Owls keep lacrosse winless in conference play Anchorwomen lacrosse team falls to Keene 20-6

VulGarrity rocks Club Hell A recap of the brothersister duo’s Hellish show

Gradfest 2010 Seniors intending to graduate receive caps, gowns and ceremony information

Throw us out the bomb Stark Raving Mad: Obama’s nuclear disarmament policy a baby-step in the right direction

Lifestyles 18

TV Tropes: more informative than Wikipedia A website that just might drain time the Facebook

This week the Political Science Club Presented a series of panels on ethics.

New to Nazarian Three exciting events coming to the Nazarian Center

Alternative options for education majors Panel highlights options outside the classroom

Opinions 13

Anchor Photo/Jesus Mendoza

Sports

MGMT’s Congratulations A psychedelic new album from MGMT

Softball splits double header with owls Anchorwomen winning streak comes to an end

Softball takes down Hawks 8-3 Anchorwomen defeat Roger Williams, continuing 4-win streak

Campus Climate Tuesday Mostly Sunny High 58 Low 39 Wednesday Sunny High 64 Low 40 Thursday Mostly Sunny High 64 Low 39 Friday Rainy High 53 Low 38

Dani Californiacation Get addicted watching David Duchovony’s addiction

Contact General Information 401.456.8280 info@anchorweb.org

Advertising 401.456.8544 ads@anchorweb.org

Editor-in-Chief 401.456.8790 editorinchief@anchorweb.org

Fax 401.456.8792

If you are a student organization and would like to have an event covered, please contact managing@anchorweb.org.

The Anchor is student-run and published weekly during the academic year. Editorial decisions for The Anchor are made by a majority vote of its student editorial board. No form of censorship will be imposed by the college. Any material found to be unsuitable or unacceptable in the board’s opinion will not be published. The views expressed in The Anchor, unless otherwise noted, are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Anchor or of Rhode Island College’s faculty, administration or student body.The first copy is free. Each additional copy is $2.25. Copyright © 2010 The Anchor. All rights reserved.

News

RIC welcomes national Big Read By Hayden James Anchor Staff Writer

Hundreds of area middle and high school students filled Sapinsley Hall for the Big Read Kick-Off event last week. The Rhode Island College Big Read is focused on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, and is an initiative by the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Literary Services, to promote reading literature as a hobby. The Kick-Off was a celebration of Edgar Allen Poe with a performance by David Keltz, a Poe impersonator and actor. Keltz performed several Poe works, including “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” “Annabel Lee,” “Spectacle” and “the Black Cat.” Afterward, and still in character, Keltz answered questions from the audience about Poe, his life and his works. The initiative began when the NEA conducted studies that concluded that less than half of the adult population reads literature as a hobby, and that in the past decade there has been a 7 percent drop in the number of adults who read literature. In attendance were Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, President Carriuolo, Big Read Program Director Christine Taylor and Robin Kall, from “Reading with Robin,” a Providencebased radio show on WHJJ. Carriuolo and Roberts both emphasized the importance of reading. “One thing we all have in common as a college campus is that we all love to read,” said Carriuolo. She awarded Roberts and Kall with certificates of recognition. Roberts recounted a story of going to Westerly to visit a flood shelter recently where 60 people who had been left homeless by flood damage were staying. She said that

Courtesy of davidkeltz.com/Annie Smith

David Keltz, an Edgar Allen Poe impersonator, was the first guest for RIC’s Big read week. the one thing that caught her attention was that many of them were passing the time by reading. Taylor said that one in five working class people read literature and that poor writing costs corporate America nearly $3.1 billion a year. The Big Read began April 7 and will hold events through May 7, when it concludes. Some upcoming events include the films “The Premature Burial” on April 15, “Poe: The Last Days of the Raven” on April 19, “The Tomb of Ligeia” on April 22, “An Evening of

Edgar Allen Poe with Vincent Price” on April 26 and “The Masque of Red Death” May 3. All movies will be shown in the Reinhardt room in Adams Library at 5 p.m. 268 communities across the country are also hosting Big Read events like the one at RIC. Since 2006, the NEA has hosted over 800 events like the Big Read and has provided more than 200 grants to benefit literature. “Just read for the pure enjoyment of it; let it take you away,” said Kall.

April 13, 2010

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NEWS

Help inform the Rhode Island College community about the important decisions made by our administration and the politicians of our state.

Learn about: - Events on campus - Guest speakers - Activist demonstrations For more information contact Anchor News Editor Hayden James news@anchorweb.org

April 13 2010

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GREEN from page

The event will also include guest speaker Glenn Bachman, author of “The Green Business Guide,” as well as refreshments and discussion. Participants are encouraged to RSVP with either Giroux (jgiroux@ric.edu) or Del Giudice (ddelgiudice@ric.edu). Even before the formation of RIC’s Green Team, the college had made major strides towards sustainability. New Hall, which has remained without an official name since its doors opened to student living in September of 2007, is

perhaps the campus’s singlelargest green project. Not only did the residence hall receive the U.S. Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, but it was also the first residence hall and the largest building in the state to complete the certification process, according to RIC’s Web site. Other developments include energy-efficient lighting retrofits in several buildings, building atmosphere management systems that adjust levels based on room occupancy, recycling promotion and the use of green cleaning supplies, paper supplies, trash bags and cleaning equipment.

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Anchor File Photo

New Hall is the first residence hall on campus and the largest building in the state to achieve LEED certification.

Enrollment rises, graduation rates don’t By Ashley Marchand NSN

College enrollment continues to rise, and student aid along with it, but graduation rates have remained level, according to 2008 data released last week by the U.S. Education Department’s statistical arm. At Rhode Island College, enrollment has been steadily rising, and that trend will likely continue. As of the latest Admissions report on April 3, over 3,900 freshmen applications have been received. That is an increase of 10 percent from last year’s near-record class. About 57 percent of first-time, full-time students pursuing bachelor’s degrees at four-year institutions completed their degrees within six years at the colleges where they had begun their studies, the same rate as in the 2007 data, the National Center for Education Statistics reported in an analysis drawing on a series of surveys. The report, “Enrollment in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2008; Graduation Rates, 2002 and 2005 Cohorts; and Financial Statistics, Fiscal Year 2008,” also showed that about 52 percent of students graduated within five years, and about 36 percent graduated within four

years. The data, collected from the more than 6,600 institutions nationwide that are eligible for federal student aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, cover students who began seeking degrees in 2002 at four-year colleges and those who started at two-year institutions in 2005. Disparities in graduation rates existed among students who attended private non-profit institutions and those who attended public institutions. Private non-profit colleges had higher graduation rates, with about 65 percent of students graduating in six years, compared with public colleges, whose average rate was about 55 percent, and private forprofit colleges, whose rate was about 22 percent. Women were more likely than men to graduate within four, five or six years at all institution types except at private for-profit colleges. Seventeen percent of men at those institutions graduated in four years, compared with about 12 percent of women. About 20 percent of men graduated within five years and about 24 percent within six years from that institution type, in contrast to women, whose graduation rates there were about 15 percent and 21

percent in five and six years, respectively. College enrollment again grew across the board in 2008, with 19.6 million undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Title IV-eligible institutions. About 62 percent of those students were in four-year colleges, 36 percent in two-year colleges, and 2 percent in institutions with degree programs lasting less than two years. The department also reported that about 76 percent of first-time, full-time students received some form of financial aid for the 2007-2008 academic year, up from about 73 percent the previous year. The increase was spread fairly evenly across higher education, but the forprofit sector saw the biggest jump. So if more aid dollars are being distributed, and more students are going to college, why aren’t more students graduating from college? Some advocates for higher education blame for-profit institutions, saying that the schools are designed to take students’ money, including federal aid dollars, and give them very little resources to help them graduate. Last year, the for-profit University of Phoenix got $400

Anchor File Photo

Newly enrolled RIC students enjoy the back-to-school BBQ. million in Pell Grants. But the U.S. Department of Education has not made any statements about the best use of Pell Grant money. In fact, even

non-government voices have yet to chime in on the implications of the report. – With reports by Anchor staff

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April 13, 2010

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Alternative opportunities for education majors By George Bissell News Editor

Rhode Island College has established a reputation as the premier in-state destination for students seeking a career in education. The numbers reflect the institution’s ability to attract education majors – the most popular major on campus – comprising 22 percent of all declared majors at RIC, according to collegeboard.com. In these trying economic times, fewer teaching opportunities are available immediately following graduation, forcing education majors to look for new career opportunities outside the traditional classroom post graduation. With this in mind, the RIC Middle School Association (MSA) sponsored a panel discussion featuring prominent members from community-based organizations and non-profits called Options For Teachers Outside the Classroom on April 6 in Clark Science. The event, which is regularly held in the Student Union Ballroom, moved to its new location for the first time, and along with the event location change, the focus of the panel shifted towards showcasing local organizations that offer alternatives for education majors outside the classroom from after school education at the middle school level to adult education. MSA Vice President Amy Swanson said, “The goal of the event is to give students an idea of what other jobs are out there in this tough economic time.” The panel event kicked off with a presentation from Alex Molina representing Providence After School Alliance (PASA). In 2004, Providence established a private partnership, led by Mayor David Cicilline, to increase access to quality afterschool programming for the youth of the city, starting with middle school-age youth. As the first step of the initiative, Cicilline established an inter-

mediary organization known as PASA. Over the past four years, PASA has worked with over 100 public schools and private partners to create a sustainable after school system responsible for creating better programs for the youth of Providence. “We initiated PASA because a child’s time after school is just as precious as before. What used to be lost or dangerous time is now fun, safe and productive time available to all our children,” said Cicilline at the time of the project’s inception. The core initiative of PASA in recent years has been creating an “After Zone.” The After Zone sponsors games and activities for middle school students, and as Molina said, “Teachers are needed to lead these after-school activities, and they do it because it’s their passion, not curriculum.” Working in close conjunction with PASA is another local alternative for education majors at RIC, the Rhode Island After School Plus Alliance known as (RIASPA). Joseph Mora of RIASPA was on hand to discuss how the program operates, and how RIC graduates can get involved with the initiative. “RIASPA provides a bridge between practice and policy. We cannot stress enough the importance of after-school programs to state legislators,” Mora said. “RIASPA works closely with policy makers to push for funding for after-school programs, and the programs we fund support after-school programs related to the curriculum in classrooms.” RIASPA programs are currently running in three cities, Woonsocket, Central Falls and Providence, and the main goal of RIASPA is a policy called expanded learning time. “Expanded learning combines teachers with afterschool professionals to apply classroom curriculum to afterschool programs, for example using baseball averages to teach students math. The possibilities

Anchor Photo/George Bissell

Guest speakers help education majors choose an alternative path with their degree. are endless,” said Mora. The biggest successes for RIASPA so far have been their summer and credit recovery programs. “There are no degree-based programs for after-school programs, and we at RIASPA are committed to building a program to make after-school education a career and degree opportunity for higher education students in the near future,” said Mora. The field of afterschool programming is rapidly growing, and in this tough economy, it presents an opportunity for education majors outside of the classroom. Another intriguing alternative opportunity for education majors comes in the field of adult education. Karisa Tashjian, the Literary Program Coordinator for Rhode Island Family Literacy, spoke about the program’s mission, and how RIC students can get involved following graduation. With the program’s professional development director on campus at Rhode Island Col-

lege, the field of adult education is a great option for those who are more comfortable teaching adults. The main beneficiaries of adult education programs in Rhode Island are immigrants enrolled in English as a second language courses, and adults in basic education courses, which prepare adults for college, and job training. “150,000 adults are in need of these services, and now that the program is one of the 38 RIDE funded programs in the state (the largest of which are DORCAS and GENESIS), more full-time opportunities will become available for teachers in the field,” Tashjian said. “You aren’t doing it to make a big paycheck, you do it to give back to your community.” With the current economic instability, another option for RIC education majors is to sign up for a one-year commitment with AmeriCorps. Representatives for AmeriCorps were on hand at the event to explain the merits and benefits of signing up for the program. Each year, AmeriCorps supports over

75,000 opportunities for those looking to make a difference in their local community. AmeriCorps provides $11,800 a year to their members, who are involved in programs from tutoring and mentoring disadvantaged youth, managing or operating afterschool programs, fighting illiteracy, to even teaching computer skills. Another incentive for RIC students to consider AmeriCorps is its loan forgiveness program, which awards each of its members with an education award of $4,725 per each year of service. The downtrodden economy has cast a shadow over the field of education, but contrary to popular belief, there are growing opportunities for education majors in the areas of afterschool education, adult education and AmeriCorps programs. All of these initiatives aren’t paying the big bucks to their members, but they are accomplishing something of greater importance, by working for the greater good and making a difference in their local community.

News

April 13 2010

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MIDNIGHT from page

employee who died of cancer in the early 2000s, has been given out annually to students, and has ranged anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to $1,000, depending on the interest accrued on SCG’s account. During the 2005-2006, current Speaker Nicholas Lima – then just a representative – led a successful-but-hotly debated campaign along with then-President Zdenko Juskuv to raise the scholarship’s principal balance to $50,000, requiring a large additional contribution from the General Fund. Since then, the award given out annually to two students has increased several times in size, though the economic crisis last year forced Parliament to give the award directly from the General Fund. In good economic times, the scholarship is supposed to be self-sustaining, but Parliament members on Wednesday disagreed whether SCG should step in and keep the award at a high level. As the debate passed the one-hour mark, Lima passed his gavel to Deputy Speaker Volcy so that he could speak in favor of Escobar’s amendment and make one of his own. Lima made a motion to add an additional $10,000 to the balance. “I don’t feel that we should add money every year, but it’s been five years since SCG has discussed the scholarship’s balance, and I believe that with our current surplus running close to $1 million we should take efforts to protect our long-term investments, this scholarship included,” Lima said after the meeting. Spaulding, however, disagreed, and proposed an amendment to add $150,000. “If we’re going to go down the road of granting scholarships with Student Activity Fee money, let’s actually bring the fund’s balance to a level where we can do that,” Spaulding said. But Parliament overwhelmingly voted that idea down, and after more debate, approved Lima’s motion by a narrow

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margin, 13-8. After still more debate on both Escobar’s original amendment and the proposal itself, Parliament did take a final vote to both add $10,000 to the balance and award two $1,000 scholarships this year. With close to $500 in interest in the account now, that will mean an expenditure of around $11,500 – if the proposals pass the Finance Commission. While Treasurer Bernardo went on record as being for the bill, some Finance members, including Rep. Nikhol Bentley, said they were opposed to it after former Treasurer Kelly spoke at the meeting. Kelly, who was removed from office in a no-confidence action started by Rep. Spaulding, was listening to the debate from the galley and was yielded the floor by Spaulding. In an unpredictable twist, Spaulding and Kelly both agreed on the issue, and were seen talking about it after the meeting. Other reasons the meeting went long… While the scholarship may have been the most contentious issue of the night, Parliament took on more issues last week than it had in the previous three meetings combined. The body tackled an online voting system process for the first time in its history – a debate which will continue this week – and chose to honor the late Vice President of Administration and Finance Ivy Locke with a $5,000 donation to the memorial fund set up in her name by the RIC Foundation. Some members, including Spaulding, questioned whether it was appropriate to contribute the money not knowing if it will go to a campus life-based project. The fund, established days after Locke died last March, will not have a purpose attached to it until a decision is made by Locke’s family and there is a general idea of how much money there is to work with. The resolution, however, did pass, and will also be sent to the Finance Commission. When student organizations receive funds to attend conferences, they are required

Anchor File Photo

SCG Parliament Members in session. to present a report to Parliament about what they did with the money allocated, and whether the conference is worth attending again. Last week, organizations made up for lost time – Harambee, The Anchor, WXIN, Intervarsity and the National Science Teachers Association all presented reports about conferences attended this year. Several included slideshow presentations, and The Anchor showed a video produced by Anchor TV General Manager Steven Rys covering the conference that received an on-side award at the conference – the first-ever such award the television organization has received. Parliament also considered two controversial constitutions. The first, for the RIC International Socialist Organization (ISO), has reportedly been on and off the Student Organizations Committee’s table since 2006. SCG Secretary Shawn Andrews said the organization had finally demonstrated the initiative to be recognized, though the constitution required a number of edits before it

passed unanimously. Omega Phi Beta, a national sorority that plans to reactive on the RIC campus, followed ISO. The organization’s representatives, including Rep. Frances Diaz, said that the national chapter’s constitution was a secret document, and Andrews made a motion to enter executive session. Spaulding, however, disagreed, and after Lima pointed out that any constitution on file with SCG is a public document, a lengthy debate ensued. Eventually, a decision was reached – with some dissension – that the sorority should submit a constitution that conforms with SCG’s Model Constitution, and simply adopt the national document as a private club policy thereafter, thus keeping it off the record. Escobar also submitted a revised Elections Commission policy guide for Parliament’s approval. After a number of changes were made to language and grammar by unanimous consent, the body did get stuck on one major point – whether or not there should be a timeframe for Parliament petitions to be

returned. In a debate that visibly splintered Parliament, the question was raised whether there should be a time limit at all on the documents that allow students to attain signatures and join. While no limit currently exists, the proposal called for a two-week limit before a petition becomes invalid, forcing prospective representatives to find students to sign quickly. However, some representatives thought that wasn’t enough time, considering many currently on Parliament took more than two weeks to return their petitions. Spaulding proposed an amendment to make it 30 days, which did pass, but not before an hour of debate. The meeting, which adjourned well after midnight, finished with a round of Parliament members speaking of their concern for SCG’s direction. Rep. Jennifer Albanese said she was worried that the Elections Commission Policies changes, particular the new 30-day rule – which takes effect next year – is not in keeping with SCG’s open, accessible mission. Others, including Escobar, Andrews and Bentley, expressed concern that the debates that took place were out of control, made SCG look bad and were generally not friendly. But Lima was the last to speak. He said that while the evening’s debates were long (Staff Rep. Mark Paolucci remarked several times that the Student Union closes at 12 a.m. and was reportedly upset with Parliament breaking that policy), Parliament accomplished more at the meeting than it had the majority of the semester. “This is politics. This is what you signed up for,” Lima said. “You’ll see meetings just like this one at all levels of government. Tonight, we did our jobs. Next time, just try to keep it more civil.” The meeting then adjourned at 12:34 a.m. The road ahead Parliament meets twice this week, albeit the meetings are scheduled back-to-back. At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the body

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will convene in committee of the whole with members of the Finance Commission for the annual Budget Meeting. Student organizations are not required to attend, as members will be passing Finance-approved budgets of clubs that were satisfied with their final budget allocations. While representatives can debate or amend these budgets, typically the meeting takes less than a half hour. Scheduled at 8 p.m. is a special meeting called by Laguerre in order to alleviate the typical end-of-the-semester rush that has bogged down the end of the year in each of the last several years. At the special meeting, agenda items will include a Traffic and Parking Committee Report and three old business items tabled from previous meetings – the Student Organization Policy, an electronic voting contract, and the Omega Phi Beta constitution. Additionally, Laguerre and Rep. Anike Akinbulumo, who chairs the Personnel Evaluation Committee, will

present the first changes to SCG’s Personnel Polices since the mid-1980s. Thirteen organizations turned in “not satisfied” letters, meaning they will have to present their case to Parliament at the second Budget Meeting, set for April 21. Organizations not satisfied with their budgets include, in the order they turned in their “not satisfied” letters and will appear on the agenda, The Anchor, RSA, WXIN, Amnesty International, Anchor TV, VISA, CVSA, Communications Club, English Club, L.I.F.E., LASO, Ultimate Frisbee and Out of Bounds. Six more organizations that were in non-compliance by not returning a letter at all will also be called that night, including Bachelor of Social Work, RIC Ice Hockey, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, History Club, Women of Color and Women’s Rugby. The latter three organizations never retrieved their packet at all. Any organization that has their budget amended on Wednesday will also be asked to come to the second

News

April 13, 2010

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GradFest 2010 By Alex Tirrell Anchor Editor

Students graduating this May were provided with an easy way to get everything they need for Commencement. GradFest ’10 provided a one-stop shop for all Commencement related events and activities for undergraduate and graduate students at Rhode Island College. The event occurred on April 7 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. The main purchase for many students attending GradFest was a cap, gown, hood and tassel – which are the required dress for Cap and Gown and Commencement events. Staff members from multiple departments on campus were on hand to assist in answering students’ questions and to talk to students about alumni privileges, including the Records Office, Bursar’s Office, the Alumni Association, Career Services, Campus Card

Think Summer.

Anchor Photo/Alex Tirelll

Alicia Kristen and Keyla Hamilton pick up their graduation gowns at GradFest. and Adams Library. A professional photographer was also there to take complimentary photos in regalia or business attire for a portfolio. Vendors were present for students to order graduation announcements, diploma frames

and class rings. For more information on GradFest, Commencement, Cap and Gown and preparing for graduation, visit www. ric.edu/gradfest or call Commencement Coordinator Patricia Nolan at 456-9854.

Think RIC.

Two 6-week summer sessions: Summer Session I: May 24 - July 2 Summer Sessions II: July 6 – August 13 For a complete list of summer course offerings and detailed information on how to register for summer classes, go to www.ric.edu and click on the Summer Sessions 2010 icon >

April 13 2010

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National Student News

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Idaho students form statewide tuition lobby By Kim King NSN

Courtesy of Brad Iverson-long

Idaho State students protest at the state capitol.

Following the lead of student protesters in California, the newly founded Idaho Students Organization held a sit-in at the state capitol in response to the State Board of Education’s (SBOE) anticipated increase in fees and tuition at five state universities. Although only 15 students took part in the protest on Monday, Jason Denizac, the co-founder of the Idaho Student Organization and Boise State University (BSU) senior, said in an interview with the student newspaper the Arbiter that the sit-in was an important first step in increasing student activism in the state and preparing to fight bills that could harm student interests in the following

legislative session. “My yearly fees have gone up $710 since I was a freshman in 2006. This is a dangerous trend. No wonder so few Idaho high schoolers go on to college. It hurts my generation’s job prospects,” Denizac said. He said that he was motivated to start the group after observing the student protests in California. Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU) senator Chase Johnson and co-founder of the the Idaho Students Organization, said the group will have more influence next year once it begins to hold monthly meetings and works more closely with student governments. Already, the group has board members from all of Idaho’s state universities. Boise State Vice President

for Finance and Administration Stacy Pearson said that even if the SBOE approves fee and tuition increases for next year, the Idaho university system will still experience a budget deficit. “The state budget reductions have been hard to absorb financially. Our goal is to serve students. The key is for them to get their degree, not just to attend,” said Pearson. BSU students had previously criticized the proposed increase in fees and tuition by the State Board of Education because the SBOE had planned to increase tuition for full-time students by 8.9 percent, while decreasing tuition for part-time students by 7.9 percent. The SBOE will not make their decision until they review all the information submitted by the universities in the system.

Berkeley students face crackdown By Emma Anderson NSN

The Office of Student Conduct at the University of California at Berkeley sent letters to more than 100 student protesters offering them a choice between seven-month suspensions and formal hearings that could result in more severe disciplinary measures. Administrators describe the code of conduct as an educational tool, but student critics say that, unlike legal proceedings, it allows for vague charges, delayed hearings, and the use of insufficient evidence to prove guilt. The protesters under notice of suspension were involved in the Nov. 20 Wheeler Hall occupation and protests during the Nov. 18-20 meeting of the UC Board of Regents and an “Open University” fiveday sit-in in a school building staged at the end of the last semester. According to the code

of conduct, students accused of violations should receive notification of their charges within 30 days of knowledge of the alleged violation and notice of a hearing must be sent within 45 days thereafter. “The university has decided—unilaterally, without public notice, and without following the proper procedure—to abolish for 2009-10 the timeline that ensures students a speedy resolution to allegations of wrongdoing,” said Thomas Frampton, a student at Boalt Hall School of Law who is advising some of those now facing conduct charges. “As a result, students’ degrees may be withheld this spring, simply because the university doesn’t feel that students’ right to a reasonably speedy hearing matters.” Susan Trageser, director of the Office of Student Conduct said that the normal deadline for notifying students of code violations was broken after the policy was suspended over

Courtesy of Brian Armstrong

University of California at Berkely protesting tuition hikes in California. the summer due to the university-wide employee furlough program. “We still use the timeline as a guideline, but there are instances where we can’t follow it exactly,” she said. “Calendars can get pretty full, and we only

have three staff. We try to get everybody in.” Doctoral student Callie Maidhof, who also faces a seven-month suspension, said the student conduct process is deliberately outside the public legal system.

“There’s a reason that none of us are facing [criminal] charges; so it’s essentially double jeopardy,” she said. “We already do not have charges in the legal system because they don’t have enough on us.”

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April 13, 2010

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Green fee on the ballot at Western Michigan By Fritz Klung NSN

A new fee at Western Michigan University would give undergraduates a direct role in funding campus sustainability projects and making more student projects affordable, depending on how students vote on a Sustainability Fund Initiative referendum this week. If passed, students with a plan for a green renovation project could request money from the fund to finance the idea. The money would come straight from a new fee from those on the main campus and any student could potentially use it, said graduate student Matt Hollander. “We are currently on the radar for sustainability

nationwide,” said Hollander, who works for the President’s University-wide Sustainability Committee. “This could get us close to the top.” Green fees are increasingly popular amongst student bodies that want to become leaders in sustainability. WMU would join the ranks of both public and private colleges and universities whose students are successfully using pooled money to renovate buildings, distribute efficient light bulbs, and offer community education on sustainable living practices. The fund at WMU, which is expected to raise up to $500,000 per year, would be generated by an $8 fee each semester. During the summer, the price would be cut in half to $4 for each summer session.

Money from the fund would be split to pay for different sectors within the initiative, with 65 percent going toward student projects, 20 percent going toward setting up a new Office of Sustainability and 15 percent to pay for 10 part-time student jobs. Though individual projects have no funding limit, twothirds of the committee will have to approve a budget if the cost is over 15 percent of the funding available for that semester. Therefore the fund may not be able to cover more expensive projects like large solar panels or wind turbines. Even if the fee does not pass referendum, administrators would like to use about $200,000 to create the new Office of Sustainability.

Full Freedom of expression.. in 140 characters or less @anchornews

Courtesy of John A. Lacko

Western Michigan University students ride their bicycles in support of the proposed Green Fee.

Comics

April 13 2010

Page 10 Okay, welcome to couple counseling. It’s important that we go over a few things before we move forward.

But, it’s important that we open these doors for constructive dialogue.

For one thing, you should understand that this is entirely normal. I see your situation all the time.

So, are there any questions before we get started?

graphics@anchorweb.org

First of all there’s the class difference. The man feels the need to overcompensate for his low-income standing...

Why-ah the hell am I ah-here!

This of course leads to a hero complex. The man’s overprotective nature leaves the woman feeling weak and insecure.

Because the passion is gone, you shroom-addicted prick!

Yes-ah!

Big Ideas by Zachary Serowik

“Counseling: Part 1”

big ideas I can’t believe we squeezed into such a tight space...

That’s what she said?

by zachary serowik

graphics@anchorweb.org

Comics

April 13, 2010

Page 11

Write for the Anchor!

Do you like to draw cartoons? Are you an art student or at least an artist?

DRAW COMICS Action! Comedy! Drama! Draw it all and send it in!

make submissions of your work to graphics@anchorweb.org

Event Calender

April 13 2010

Page 12

The Anchor Editor-in-Chief Kameron Spaulding editorinchief@anchorweb.org

TUES

Art: Abstraction in Providence

WED

Job and Internship Fair

THURS

Art: Abstraction in Providence

FRI

Art: Abstraction in Providence

Noon - 8 p.m.

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Noon - 8 p.m.

Bannister Gallery

Faculty Dining Center

Bannister Gallery

Open to: All

Sponsored by RIC Programming

Managing Editors Katie Carroll Casey Gaul managing@anchorweb.org

Business Manager Thomas Lima business@anchorweb.org

News Editor George Bissell news@anchorweb.org

Lifestyles Editor Adam D. Bram lifestyles@anchorweb.org

A&E Editor Justin Wilder arts@anchorweb.org

Sports Editor Andrew Augustus

layout@anchorweb.org

Photography Editor Mandy Wray Dion photography@anchorweb.org

Graphics Editor Zach Serowik graphics@anchorweb.org

Copy Editor Nicholas J. Lima copy@anchorweb.org

Technology Director Alex Tirrell technology@anchorweb.org

Advertising Manager Thomas Terry ads@anchorweb.org

Circulation Manager Adam Chapasko distribution@anchorweb.org

Faculty Advisor Lloyd Matsumoto lmatsumoto@ric.edu

Professional Advisors Doug Hadden Rudy Cheeks

Staff Steven Barthelemy, Kelly Beshara-Flynn, Nate Chorney, Rob Duguay, Hayden James, Julie Kessler, Bethany L’Etoile, Rob Lefebvre, Jesus Mendoza, Devin Noll, David Okon, Edward Taylor

Opinions

lifestyles@anchorweb.org

April 13, 2010

Page 13

Throw us out the bomb By Adam D. Bram Stark Raving Mad

To answer your first question, yes. The title is a “Zero Wing” “All Your Base” reference. To answer your second question, yes. This is going to be an anti-nuke article. I applaud President Obama’s recent initiative to start taking baby steps towards nuclear

disarmament. Nuclear weapon technology is too much power for our species to control. I’m not against defending ourselves when the situation calls for it, but these things are scary. I wouldn’t trust the human race with that kind of mass-destruction capability in the same way I wouldn’t trust a chimpanzee with an Uzi. Even the best of intentions can have the worst of effects. Now, I call them baby steps not because I think the president is moving too slow. I call it

baby steps because it truly is, and it’s what we need right now. Nobody is going to give them all up at once, so a phasing is the best way to go. Especially with extremist countries who don’t exactly get the message, proving once more why this sort of technology should never have been invented. The sad truth is that the threat is real. There are unhinged people out there who want to destroy us. I won’t lie to you and say we’re innocent, that we’ve never given them reasons

to dislike us. Our handling of the situation has never been the best, and it went completely in the toilet after the September 11 attacks. Still, there are threats from outside and within, and at the end of the day few people if any really deserve to die. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, so I don’t know if our holding on to nuclear weapons scares them into cautiousness as much as it enrages them into action. It’s very difficult to tell. However, while the numbers are still be-

ing crunched, I’ll allow the possibility and not condemn the slow removal, even if I don’t necessarily condone it. Will people always be fighting? Will there always be disagreements where one or more sides are willing to kill for their goals? Sadly, that is human nature. But with nukes in the air, nothing and no one wins. The planet will always recover, but we definitely won’t. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to be around a little bit longer.

Letters to the Editor

April 13 2010

Page 14

editorinchief@anchorweb.org

Why move our nursing program Downtown? I think that by now, most people in Rhode Island who keep up with current events have heard that the Nursing programs at RIC and URI are going to be teaming up at a new “state of the art” facility that the state is going to be building in downtown Providence. For many of us Nursing students at RIC, the plan only came to our attention a short while ago. I and most of the other Nursing students that I have spoken with about this think that it isn’t a good idea at all. The Providence Journal mentioned that there will be a variety of benefits to having a Nursing facility in downtown Providence according to some people like the board of governors of higher ed. or something. The article that I read had mentioned that the new facility will save the tax payers millions of dollars. The new facility will be closer to the hospitals where we have our clinicals. The new facility will bring both RIC and URI closer together. But, it isn’t all such a bowl full of cherries and I’ll explain why. The first thing that I want to address is what The Anchor had mentioned in last week’s paper about Rhode Island College acting fiscally responsible up until this decision. That’s flat out WRONG. Rhode Island College is just as fiscally responsible as the State of RI – not at all. An example of how RIC wastes money is the new Eastside Café on campus that nobody really goes to. We really didn’t need it and we didn’t need to spend however much money we did on it. Another example of wasting money is all of the money that goes into the student union so student clubs can make their t-shirts, eat their ice-cream, have their carnivals or whatever. I think we can go without that too. There are plenty of other examples. Rhode Island decision makers say that this plan will save the tax payers millions

Photo Courtesy of ww.dot.state.ri.us

Exit 20 of the I-way project which has still not been completed. of dollars. Here’s an idea for the state saving millions of dollars – don’t spend millions on a brand new traffic tribunal complex in Cranston when we already had one in Providence. Don’t spend millions of dollars on the sides of 95 in Cranston into Warwick. Ever drive down 95 south and see all of the brand new blocks of stone and all of the new shrubbery? Each stone costs about $4.00 and there are like 8 stone per foot which continues for miles. Why spend millions of dollars trying to beautify a highway? It’s waste. I don’t understand how Rhode Island can be hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and still continue to waste our money on stupid things. Pay your bills first then spend and then if you have the SURPLUS to spend, do it intelligently! Somehow, State/college decision makers think it’s a good idea to build the new facility closer to the hospitals in Providence. HELLO – RIC is already in Providence. The hospitals are 5 minutes away. Trust me I know – I work at one of them. RI is a small state. Do you really think we need to be closer? I sure as hell don’t! Ever see the surrounding areas around the hospitals in Providence? It doesn’t give me a warm tingly feeling knowing

that the hospitals are in walking distance from the new facility. The neighborhoods near the hospitals are scary! Also, why make the URI Nursing students drive 40 minutes to Providence when they already have their “College of Nursing?” With the proposed area of the new facility being where it is, parking is going to be impossible and it is only going to be extra stress for some already stressed Nursing students. I mean really – Brown University and RISD are already there and if you are familiar with the area, you know that it is already near impossible to find parking on the streets especially during the academic year. That area already houses two major colleges. It’s a stupid idea. Even at the hospitals, parking is difficult because of all of the employees, medical students and nursing students, etc. We aren’t going to have anywhere to park. Now let’s discuss an idea that does make sense like my idea for a new Nursing facility. Since decision makers want to build something for Nursing, they can build it for RIC students at RIC and they can build one for URI students at URI if they want to. Since the Fogarty building like most of the other buildings at RIC are decaying, we can give all of Fogarty to

the Biology department and let them have the entire building. Next, the field right next to the Fogarty parking lot is already flat and cleared for building. Why not use that area? The people that live in the nearby neighborhood let their dogs use the area to defecate. Why can’t we use it for something? If it’s good enough for the dogs to go poop, it’s good enough for us Nursing students. Next, let’s build a “state of the art facility” on that piece of the college. Seeing as how RIC is basically known Nursing and Education, maybe we should be promoting more of those areas instead of building the Murray center. We already have one gym – why do we need two? Next, the library is always roasting because they don’t have functional air conditioning and they don’t have Nursing programs on their computers and you have to pay to print and there is a card process and it’s a big pain in the butt. The computer lab at Horace Mann is always too noisy to try and get things done in there even though it’s an “academic computer lab.” The new facility should have a Nursing student computer lab that we can use to do our nursing homework. We don’t have one of those but it would be nice. We should also

have a Nursing library. The last thing that I think would be good to mention is that this new facility should have more graduate programs for Nursing. URI has a couple and so do we but the school that has a large variety is Northeastern University in Boston. I’d like to see some of those programs in this state. One program that none of the colleges in Rhode Island offer is a Nurse Anesthetist program even though students from Northeastern use Rhode Island hospitals to train in. Does that make sense? Let’s get more graduate programs to RI. I am a guy and I can’t really see myself enrolling someday into URI’s Nurse midwife program. These are just a few ideas. I think that the decision makers of the state and colleges should talk to the Nursing students and ask us what we would like. The new facility isn’t going to begin being built until 2012. Hopefully, I will have graduated by then but I and the other students still care what happens and want to see Nursing at RIC continue to go strong in the future. Brian Hawkins Nursing Student

editorinchief@anchorweb.org

Letters to the Editor

April 13, 2010

Page 15

Where is our governor? Well in times of need our beloved governor is never to be found. In a recent Providence Journal blurb about Governor Carcieri it reads “Governor Carcieri is monitoring Rhode Island’s flood cleanup efforts from afar.” Yes cleaning up from a far. Just the same way he was doing when the state has hit by the terrible snow storm, that left young kids stuck in their school bus on the interstate 95 for hours. I guess you would expect the same behavior by the President of the country. Leave just as a natural disaster happens

and manage the “clean up from afar.” (A smart move is clean from afar. Try a home. Clean the bathroom while sitting on the living room.) So you wonder where your governor is? (You in Warwick, Coventry and Cranston) Well as reported by the [Providence Journal] he has been in Florida since Saturday “celebrating Easter.” Yes, days after the floods the governor is at the Sun Shine state celebrating Easter. The same holidays celebrating by those that not only do not have two houses but have no house at all.

What is Easter like in the cities mention above, you wonder? Well, let me tell you. It is a nightmare. One with little monsters called FEMA, roads destroyed and no bunny at the mall. (Well they all drowned in the water) Is a scene of damage houses been looted, failure business been push into loads programs rather than grants, and slow receding poison waterways. But not to worry, our Governor is on the job. Monitor each situation by daily briefs. One can only image those “several times a day” briefs: Governor another house on the

Olneyville area is just looted again, another business around the river is pushed into loans programs, oh by the day Jimmy just got sick from drinking [bad] water. Nevertheless, not all is lost. The Governor spokeswoman, Amy Kempe, said that “if necessary, he is ‘ready and able’ to return sooner.” But I guess the worst natural disaster to hit Rhode Island in the last 200 years is very not the important. Maybe it was the worst catastrophe in the last 400 years, maybe then we could consider a return.

Well, our Governor has return to the half to the half of the dry state on Thursday. Just in time for a lovely weekend. I hope the weather is nice enough for a cookout. p.s. Did you know that “the governor had planned to go to Florida sooner but delayed his plans because of the flooding.” I tell you that flood screwed everyone plan. I couldn’t go to my date because of the stupid rain.

Ailton Barbosa Political Science Student

Mississippi: where bigotry roams All Constance McMillen wanted to do was bring her female date to the prom. It seems like such an innocent thing but apparently not in Mississippi. Only in Mississippi can you have the local high school say that if you are gay you cannot bring your partner to the prom. Then when the ACLU makes you, you decide to cancel the prom. When they force you to have the prom, then you have it, but then invite everyone but

the original couple and seven other people to a secret prom, according to the Associated Press. I really wish I was joking about that last part, but sadly the proud state of Mississippi has shown us that “southern hospitality” only extends to straight people. I mean I can almost understand the school’s original decision to deny the couple, even if I do not agree with it. Obviously from the behavior

of the parents of the school in hosting the secret prom, we are dealing with a very bigoted bunch. By denying the couple, the school could have been trying to save themselves some flak (but in truth, they were probably just as bigoted as the parents). I can even understand them wanting to cancel the prom. After all, their decision had become such a grievance, cancelling the prom would have been easier.

However, once they held the fake prom and then had everyone else go to a secret prom, well that is just downright immature. I mean this is the behavior I expect from a fucking teenager when they do not want the loser child showing up at their party, not full grown college educated adults. Thankfully, the joke is on them as several celebrities, including Green Day and Lance Bass, are holding a real prom

for the two and anyone else who wants to show up, according to the Associated Press. Their prom is for anyone of any sexuality who wants to come and be apart, and isn’t that the message we should be sending these kids?

Letters to the Editor policy: The Anchor welcomes letters of up to 250 words. The editor reserves the right to reject letters or edit for clarity, brevity, good taste and accuracy, and to prevent libel. No poetry, attacks on private individuals, or letter-writing campaigns, please. Due to the volume of letters, writers are asked to limit submissions to one per week. Include a phone number where you can be reached during the day. Email letters to:

editorinchief@anchorweb.org

Questions?

Call 401-456-8870.

Andrew Massey Communications Student

Anchor TV Lineup Sunday

7:00AM

Monday

Tuesday

8:00AM 8:30AM 9:30AM

Best of Kickin’ Out the Jams

10:30AM RIC Idol

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Tech Talk Live

Game Design

Coastal Gardens

Oven Luv’n

30 Odd Minutes

Kickin’ Out the Jams

Kerrin’s News & Views Live

Tech Talk Replay

Anchor Insider Replay

10:00AM 11:00AM

Wednesday Kerrin’s News & Views

Game Design

7:30AM

9:00AM

Channel 3 / Anchortv.org Schedule subject to change without notice.

RIC Idol

11:30AM 12:00PM 12:30PM

Otaku Anime Theatre

1:00PM

State of the College

Car-Tunes @ Noon

Otaku Anime Theatre

Game Design

Unchained Replay SCG Replay

1:30PM 2:00PM 2:30PM

Golden Mic Anchor Insider Replay Coastal Gardens

3:00PM

Oven Luv’n

3:30PM 4:00PM

Road to Recovery Oven Luv’n SCG Meeting April 7

RIC Idol

4:30PM 5:00PM

6:30PM

Goose Scoop OKR Fashion Show 2010

9:30PM 10:30PM

Coastal Gardens Road to Recovery

Anchor Insider Live

Student Showcase

NASA 360

Goose Scoop

Kerrin’s News & Views

OKR Fashion Show 2010

NASA 360 Night Train

Best of Kickin’ Out the Jams

CMA 2010

SCG Meeting Live

8:00PM

10:00PM

Ivy Locke Memorial

Unchained Replay

7:30PM

9:00PM

NASA 360

WXIN Rock Hunt Night 1

7:00PM

8:30PM

Oven Luv’n

30 Odd Minutes

Anchor Insider Replay

5:30PM 6:00PM

WXIN Rock Hunt Night 1

OKR Fashion Show 2010

11:00PM

OKR Fashion Show 2010 National Lampoon’s

11:30PM 12:00AM

News

WXIN

Entertainment

SCG Live

Sports

photography@anchorweb.org

Photo of the Week

April 13, 2010

Page 17

This week’s winner:

Kelly Beshara-Flynn It’s springtime on campus and the flowers are blooming. The weather is nice and the sun is shining. It’s this time of year when the natural beauty of this campus really shines through.

Submit photos to photography@anchorweb.org

What would you like to see the RIC Green Team accomplish on campus?

Steve Rys Communications 2011 Look into using renewable energy like solar and wind generators.

Amanda Golden Psychology Unknown Cleaning up any trash that might be lying in the ground, and making people more aware of what’s in store for Earth in the future if we stay on the track we currently are.

Molly McLaughlin Graphic Communications Hopefully 2011 Enforcing the recycling policy more around campus and adding more bins.

Lindsay Dupre Women’s Studies/ Communication 2013 More flowers planted on campus because it’s pretty and colorful :)

Lifestyles

April 13 2010

Page 18

lifestyles@anchorweb.org

TV Tropes: more informative than Wikipedia By Adam D. Bram Lifestyles Editor

Are you a movie, book, TV and game buff? Are you an aspiring writer, director or actor? Are you a pop-culture junkie loudmouth? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this Web site is for you: www.tvtropes.org. What is a trope? As the site describes, “…a trope is a convention. It can be a plot trick, a setup, a narrative structure, a character type, a linguistic idiom…It’s like porn; you know it when you see it. Tropes are not inherently disruptive to a story; however, when the trope itself becomes intrusive, distracting the viewer rather than serving as shorthand, it has become a cliché. Bad screenwriter – no biscuit for you!” TV Tropes is a database for all such conventions known to the entertainment industry. It details the recognizable pattern that can manifest in both aspects of creation and fan experience. Like Wikipedia, it’s reader edited. However, this can be a lot more informative – and extremely addictive. For example, let’s pick a film – say, Star Wars. It’s a huge franchise, so we go to the separate page for “A New Hope” (the original Star Wars film). After a quick description, it gets to the trope list. This film has given names to several tropes such as “I Sense a Disturbance in the Force” (when characters with powers can sense the same in another) and “That’s No Moon” (when a piece of land turns out to be something else much bigger than such things ought to be). It also contains such tropes as “Big No,” “Earth Shattering Kaboom” and “Stan-

dard Establishing Spaceship Shot.” You wonder what these could possibly mean, so you follow the link. “Big No,” its page explains, is just that: whenever something bad happens and a character just has to scream that word (or something similar) long and loud. It then proceeds to list just about every film, television show, book, video game, Web comic and song where this trope was used, inverted or subverted. Soon you’re following links, and your brain is full of that much more trivia. There are even people and musical groups who have their own trope pages. The Beatles contain examples of “Ear Worm” and “What Do You Mean It Wasn’t Made On Drugs?” while Johnny Depp contains examples of “Older Than They Look” and “Even The Guys Want Him.” You’ll learn everything you’ve ever wanted and never wanted to know about your favorite things, and you won’t be able to watch or listen again without noticing. Of course, a lot of it is also matter of opinion. “Your Mileage May Vary,” after all. Opposing points of view are welcome. Bonus points for getting off an obscure reference or two. One note of warning: you will get lost. So make sure you surf when you’ve got a good chunk of time on your hands. And set an alarm. Otherwise, “TV Tropes Will Ruin Your Life.”

Anchor Photo/David Okon

Never bored of the board By Milt Parks Anchor Contributor

Tired of looking at a screen? Get some friends together and play some of these classic board games. Some of the rules have changed slightly since their inception, but you can easily incorporate old and new rules as house rules. If, of course, your opponents agree. The Game of Life: A classic for years. Travel across the board and experience life. Get married, raise a family and rise to prominence in your job, all while earning life points so that, when you reach retirement, you can see just how fulfilling it’s been. It’s a lot more fun and cutthroat than it sounds. Clue: Someone’s been murdered, and everyone’s a suspect. Wander the mansion and collect clues, all the while sending your opponents on the wrong track and knowing full well that the murderer might just be you. One person, one weapon, one room. Can you solve the mystery? A lot more loose in terms of movement than the other games listed. Chess: The original tactical board game – centuries old, and still as thrilling as ever. Try and

checkmate your opponent’s king while protecting your own. You have a small army at your disposal, but choose your moves carefully for each piece could be expendable one minute and indispensable the next. Anyone claiming it as “boring” has clearly never been in the thick of a game. Apples to Apples: This one is technically a card game for four or more players, but it deserves a mention as it feels right at home with the other games listed in tone and overall objective (to have a fun time with other people). Players take turns judging which of their opponents’ red noun cards best fit the green adjective in play, and awarding the green card to the winner. The cards are often irreverent and full of pop-culture references, and winning the green often requires more than a passing knowledge of how the judge of each particular turn might view things (with myself, for example, “Crazed Baboons” always wins). Dungeons & Dragons: This is another one that stretches the definition of “Board Game” a bit. However, getting together in a room with friends and going on a bona-fide ad-

venture is worth it, if you get the right group together. This one tests your imagination as much as your problem-solving skills. For a more in-depth look at these, refer to past issues of The Anchor. Monopoly: When the words “board” and “game” are put together, this is the one most people think of first. This is the always exciting, strategy intensive, luck intensive and ruthless game of property trading. Not to mention long – well-played Monopoly games can go as long as a few days, equal to chess and just short of D&D (unless you count half-finished campaigns of the latter). The objective is simple enough: buy what spaces you can and charge your opponents through the nose to land their tokens there. Oddly mirroring real life, however, this quickly turns into a Machiavellian battle of wits. These are just the best of many games out there, and many of these games have an amazing amount of customization in the form of pop-culture collector’s editions. Get these games, get some friends together, and have a great time.

Lifestyles

lifestyles@anchorweb.org

April 13, 2010

Page 19

East Bay Bike Path a great ride ByAlan Smithee Anchor Contributor

Courtesy of

rigreenways.org

Are you a bicycle enthusiast stuck in Rhode Island? Then you have to check out the East Bay Pike Path. The East Bay Bike Path is a roughly 14.5-mile stretch of pavement for bikers and hikers that starts at India Point Park (sending you over the I-195 bridge) and ends in the heart of Bristol. There are also several other entrance points along the way for those who can’t handle the entire thing. It is a nice, leisurely ride through the Rhode Island

scenery, and several street crossings mark the only return to civilization outside of the entrances. For the most part, the path winds its way through forests and waterfronts. It is about 10 feet across, with two lanes to allow back-and-forth travel with low chances of accidents. It can be a little daunting for first-time riders. It took me a long time to recognize its beauty, for example. However, it remains a great, low-cost family outing for those who love to bike, hike or rollerblade. The East Bay Bike Path was built between 1987 and 1992 on an old railroad that fell into dis-

use. There are plans to link the northern end with a proposed 48-mile path that will follow the Blackstone River through Massachusetts. There is no charge to experience this ride, and it’s open year round from sunrise to sunset. All trash is carry-out. There is no snow-removal, so you’re out of luck during a blizzard unless you’re into cross-country skiing. Many of the entrances offer restrooms (with access for the disabled) as well as concessions, pay phones and plenty of free parking. For more information, visit www.riparks.com/eastbay.htm.

A class act By Adam D. Bram Weekly Warcraft

I’d like to start this week by addressing some comments I’ve received about last week’s column. Just because I haven’t gotten a character to the current level cap in two years doesn’t mean I don’t know the game that well. I’ve just never spent a huge enough block of time on a single character aside from Feyd and now Wethrilli. Additionally, I can’t play every second of every day like some people, sad to say. But I take time in the game to explore and try things out, and time outside reading forums and articles, so I know what I’m doing. On the other hand, I admit I don’t know everything. Far from it. And when I learn new things I plan on sharing my experience with the readers. That’s what this column is about. None of you have to agree with everything I say, or

even anything I say. Just don’t put me down for it. Second of all, to new or casual players: we aren’t all like this, I swear. A lot of us are, but not all. Don’t let elitists and gear heads turn you off of this fun game. We complain a lot, but we’re not a bad little group, unless you count ninja looters and people who don’t know their classes. Which segues into the main focus of this week’s column: classes. I’ve tried every class at least once, and plan to have at least one level-capped character of every class by the time WoW has expanded as far as it possibly can (I’m taking it slow now to justify the $15 per month). I personally tend to be drawn to DPS (Damage Per Second) classes and specializations, particularly ranged damage. My relatively slow reaction time makes me a fairly poor healer past early dungeon runs, and I’m not confident enough to try tanking yet (though when I reroll a Warrior, I plan on taking the Protection spec, but more on

that later). My class of choice is the Shaman, a hybrid class based on elemental powers. My specialization is Elemental, which is the ranged damage spec. However, the fact that I can utilize my healing spells while being a ranged nuke is what drew me to the class initially. That, and the lightning spells. Seasoned players may wonder why I don’t put more faith in Druids, which is a shapeshifting class with similar versatility. While I like Druids, I find their healing spells lack unless you specialize in them. When I level my Druid again (once more, the ranged damage spec Balance), I’m sure I’ll find a way to reconcile this, and if they let me keep writing for you by then you’ll hear all about it. In any case, Shamans were the first class I found I could really effectively level with. In spite of all the talk about being underpowered or redundant, I swear by them beyond all other classes. My second favorite class is the Hunter, a class based solely

on ranged damage. Due to the ability to train a wild animal as a combat pet, Hunters are arguably the easiest class to get through the game solo with. As a result of this, they are arguably the class that gets the most flak from other players for being full of people who don’t know how to play (tied with the Death Knights, which are hero classes that begin life at level 55). There’s even a widely used pejorative term for the class: Huntards. It’s still a fun if simple class to play, and taming wild beasts is a great bonus. The first classes I ever played were a Rogue and a Priest. I found them fun, but tough to keep alive after level 10. Once Cataclysm is released, and the new races are available, I’ll give those classes tries again (and you readers will have a front-row seat). Even in the case of the Priest, which is built to be a healing class, I pick the damage specialization (Shadow). Still, who knows? Perhaps my healing will get better as a result of giving my Priest a good try. I enjoy the other classes a

lot, though not as much as the five I’ve mentioned. The one exception is the Warrior class. The last time I gave a Warrior a good try was back when I first got the game (Burning Crusade had just come out the previous fall) and I was not impressed. It was fairly boring, and my survivability was the lowest of any class I’ve played. However, as more and more changes to the classes are implemented with the various expansions and patches, there’s a bit of renewed interest in playing the Warrior. This is also the first time I’m not drawn to the DPS spec. This is due to the fact that Protection, the tanking spec, allows the Warrior to get fancy with a shield. I’ll save this for the next batch of new races, if any, but it’s something I think about. Planning for the future and making sure you always have something new is almost needed in a game like this. Next week: Fun with Reputation.

April 13 2010

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Arts & Entertainment

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New to Nazarian By Justin Wilder A&E Editer

As a new week rolls in, you might find yourself wondering: what can I do that’s fun and cheap? Well not to worry, because the Nazarian Center has you covered on both counts with upcoming arts events. I mean, who doesn’t like a developing campus film scene, sweet rhythmic jazz or solid poetic justice? RIC student organization The Ocean State Film Society hosts its fourth annual film festival this Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Forman Theater. Come out and enjoy a list of RIC student-

produced films for free. “It’s a wonderful event that showcases the creativity of RIC students through the medium of film,” said Tara Maharjan, president of the OSFS. “Since the formation of the OSFS, the festival has steadily grown in popularity. “ Last year boasted 10 new student films, all voted on by a panel of judges as well as the audience’s opinion. While voting was tallied, the audience enjoyed a film from the previous year’s festival. Awards were given out at the end of the night. As a participant and viewer of last year’s festival I can tell you it’s a great time. Refreshments

are provided. Looking forward into next week, Grammy-nominated composer and pianist Kenny Werner brings his jazz quintet to RIC for a night of melodic improve on Monday, April 19. At the age of 11, this Brooklyn-born musician recorded a single with a 15-piece orchestra and performed stride piano on television. His style of jam session jazz has produced solo albums as well as collaborations throughout his career. He comes to RIC with noted musicians Rand Brecker (trumpet), David Sanchez (tenor sax) Johannes Weidenmueller (bass) and Antonio Sanchez (drums).

You can buy your tickets at the Box Office in Roberts Hall. They’re only five bucks for RIC ID carriers, but $35 for anybody else. This upcoming April 20, everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the writings of acclaimed poet Yusef Komunyakaa in Sapinsley Hall. Each spring, RIC’s Performing and Fine Arts Commission sponsors a Spring Celebration of the Arts by bringing someone to share their work. Komunyakaa, the senior distinguished poet in the graduate writing program at New York University, is one of America’s most honored poets. He has

written on subjects such as jazz, classical myth and the Vietnam War. He has been honored by countless awards for his collections of poetry including the Pulitzer Prize and Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award in 1994 for his book, “Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems 19771989.” In 1999, he was elected a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. This event is free to enjoy, and is a great treat for anyone who enjoys creative writing – both writers and readers.

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April 13, 2010

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Local talent battles it out at Night 1 of WXIN’s Rock Hunt By Edward Taylor Anchor Staff Writer

Local bands battled it out at Firehouse 13 April 6 for the first round of WXIN’s annual Rock Hunt. Four bands hit the stage and the competition was fierce. The winner of WXIN’s Rock Hunt not only walks away with the bragging rights but also wins $1,000. Firehouse 13, at 41 Central St., Providence, is and old South Providence fire station converted into an urban center geared towards artists and musicians to gather and experiment with their music and art. Firehouse 13 is not only a venue but also a residential area with people living in the upper levels. The ground level of the old firehouse was where the event took place. The large rectangular room served the medium-sized crowd perfectly. The crowd huddled towards the stage at the far end of the room when bands were performing, with WXIN staffers sitting at

long tables along the walls to take the ballots of the crowd to determine the winner. Despite the concert being held on a Tuesday night, the event drew a decent-sized crowd, and as the night went on a lot of people were letting loose and jamming out to the music. The crowd was also entertained by WXIN Alternative Rock and Metal Director Rob Duguay, who quizzed the crowd and passed out prizes. Duguay also served as the night’s announcer. The first band to grace the stage was This Time Around. The five-piece band had good sound, and is similar to a lot of the alternative rock that you hear on the radio. The band had solid instrumentals and the front man had a good vocal sound. The band had good stage presence, and put on a good show. They covered Taylor Swift’s mega hit, “You Belong with Me,” which is where I think they may have lost a bit of the crowd. It was interesting to hear the rock version of the song that we’re all constantly forced to listen to,

Missed out but still want to hear local music? If you missed the first Rock Hunt, or are just craving for more local music clashes, the second round of WXIN’s annual Rock Hunt will take place on Tuesday, April 13, at Firehouse 13. but the song choice didn’t really match up. The second band of the night was Indiana Handshake. The hard-rock, three-piece band has an awesome sound, and had some of the best guitar riffs that I’ve heard come out of a local band in a while. The singer, who also played bass, did a great job moving around and put in intense vocals to keep the show filled with energy. The guitarist and drummer were also on the top of their game. The band had a great stage presence with both the singer and

Anchor Photo/Jesus Mendoza

Night 1’s highest scoring band , Gamblin’ Hands, rock out.

Anchor Photos/Jesus Mendoza

Chris Quiray of Indiana Handshake. guitarist moving and jumping, and the crowd was really into their music. Despite the crowd being on the small side at that point, people were dancing and running around mosh-pit style. The band also handed out free CDs at the end of their set. The third band to hit the stage was Gamblin’ Hands. The three-piece band had a great sound, which was kind of a throwback to old school rock at times with some of their funky riffs. The band’s use of backup vocals in most of their songs gave them a stronger vocal sound than most of the bands in Night 1. Their bass lines were pretty solid, as well. Despite not being overly animated on stage, which goes well with their sound, the band was really fun to watch and bob your head to. They put on a quality set with the crowd swaying to the music. The final band of the night was Formal Action. The band stepped onto the stage looking like they had just walked out of

a time machine from the ’60s. The band looked like they’d be right at home playing at Woodstock. Their drums and amps were painted to look trippy with black lights shining on them. The bassist was dressed in oldschool rock style, with his open shirt reminding me of the lead singer of Led Zeppelin. The band had a somewhat heavy sound with good guitar riffs and solid drums, but what I really admired about this band was their bass and vocals. They didn’t move much on stage, but they made up for it with character. Formal Action did a great job. All the bands that took the stage last Tuesday should be proud of their performances. The crowd had a tough job with rating the bands, and deciding which band should move on to the final round is no easy task. The top four overall bands of the 16 scheduled to perform will move on to the finals, scheduled for May 5.

Scores for Rock Hunt Night 1 Gamblin’ Hands: 49.72 | Indiana Handshake: 48.35 | Formal Action: 47.52 | This Time Around: 14.23

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Ted Leo & the Pharmacists bring the pain to the Paradise By Rob Duguay Anchor Staff Writer

On Saturday, the Paradise Rock Club in Boston was jam packed full of fans who were in for a treat of great rock n’ roll. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists sold out the joint hours before doors opened, with music fans in a frenzy to hear Mr. Leo and his band grace the stage of the Paradise and rock their socks off. You know what? That’s just what Teddy and the Pharmacists did that very evening, and it was awesome. Starting off the night were two opening bands, Screaming Females and Obits. Screaming Females are a power trio punk rock band hailing from New Brunswick, N.J., consisting

of King Mike on bass, Jarrett Dougherty on drums and Marissa Paternoster on vocals and guitar (and it also looks like she could be a 13-year-old). The great thing about this band is that Marissa can scream louder than any girl I’ve ever seen, and she isn’t afraid to show it on the Screaming Females songs like “Boyfriend” and “I Do.” After the Screaming Females ended their set, King Mike continued to distort his bass into oblivion and nearly blew the roof of the place, sending the crowd into pandemonium. Next on stage were Obits, a Stooges/ Nirvana-esque garage punk band from Brooklyn consisting of Rick Froberg on guitar and vocals, Sohrab Habibion on guitar and alternating vocals,

Greg Simpson on bass and Scott Gursky on drums. Obits surprised me with some bluesy, grungy riffs and gnarly vocals from Froberg on the songs “I Can’t Lose” and “Two-Headed Coin.” It was just what the night needed to have Ted Leo come on stage with the Pharmacists and give the crowd the biggest shot of life that no cure could ease. Leo and his band came right on stage, plugged in the cords, shot up the amps, tuned the guitars and then into “The Mighty Sparrow,” the opening track off of the band’s new album, “The Brutalist Bricks,” that came out on March 6 off of indie label Matador Records. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists then proceeded to play “Little

Dawn,” “Me and Mia,” “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?” “Where Was My Brain?” “Gimme The Wire,” “Heart Problems,” “One Polaroid A Day,” “Even Heroes Have To Die” and “Walking to Do,” and by the time the set was over, the crowd started begging for more. Clapping and shouting like there was no tomorrow, the crowd acted as one with conviction until there was an encore. Eventually, Leo came back on stage and played “Bleeding Powers” solo with him and his guitar, then Jarrett Dougherty came on stage with Marty “Violence” Key, the bassist, and set up a small drum set. Leo started playing “The Ballad of the Sin Eater,” and the entire band, including Dougherty,

joined in and had a memorable performance. As if the night couldn’t get any better, Marissa Paternoster came out and sang a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone,” (there’s actually a video on YouTube of Leo playing a solo version of the song you should take a look at) which proved to be a perfect send off for the final night of the tour the three bands embarked on over the past five weeks. If there is any band that you should see live, check out Ted Leo and the Pharmacists when they reach a club in your neighborhood – it’ll be a night that you won’t forget.

VulGarrity rocks Club Hell By Rob Duguay Anchor Staff Writer

Last Friday, I managed to catch one of the best bands currently in the Providence music scene, VulGarrity, bringing the noise to Club Hell on Richmond Street. They were playing with the 91s, a great hard rock band that reminded me of Mark Laneganera Queens of the Stone with electric, heavy and rhytmic guitar solos. There was also Woozy, which featured two bass players and a drummer playing Sabbath-esque metal-rock music, but the voice couldn’t hold up to the loud, deep roaring guitars. The last band that came on before Vulgarrity were Boston rock n’ roll band The Lights Out, that had quite the merchandise table display that was mistaken for a pinball machine the whole entire evening. The Lights Out sounded a lot like the Foo Fighters in the height

of their career mixed with some good old classic rock riffs that can even echo the sounds of Van Halen to a lesser degree. The Lights Out have a new album that came out on Christmas last year, and promises to be a great album for any fan of rock n’ roll. During their set that evening, The Lights Out busted out the songs “Red Letter Day,” “Gottagetouttahere,” and “Money or Time” that got the crowd revved up for the headline act. Tracy and Shawn Garritty, the brother-sister duo of VulGarrity, quickly went on stage and proceed to set Club Hell on fire with the performance of two musicians playing guitar, bass, drums and keyboard to make a music spectacle unlike any other band you’ll see from Rhode Island. VulGarrity rocked the stage with songs like “No Coin,” “Gone Streaking,” “Plane in the Water,” “Idiots in Photos” and “Purified,” a song from the duo’s upcoming unititled album that’ll be released

Courtesy of Lisa Gourley

this summer. That night I had was a blast, with Shawn buying me a beer and having a good chat with me before the show, VulGarrity’s manager scoring me a free drink ticket and getting on the guest list. It was a great night for local music overall, with the headliner blowing the roof of the joint. VulGarrity is also playing Night 3 of the annual WXIN Rock Hunt on April 27 at Firehouse 13 along with Glowkid,

The New United and The Intel. Vulgarrity will be on my radio show, Kickin’ Out The Jams, that morning between 10 a.m. and noon to talk about the Rock Hunt, their upcoming album and also to perform a couple songs. You can check that out on 90.7-FM and www.ricradio. org. The band’s latest album is titled “If You Sing It, They Will Hum,” and was released in 2008. It is for sale at every show Vulgarrity plays. Other songs

by VulGarrity I recommend giving a listen to are “Boogeyman,” “Cult of the Moon God,” “Zombie Town” and “Killer in the Back Seat.” If there is a band that can exemplify the originality and raw power of the Providence music scene, Vulgarrity can definitely fulfill those qualities with a sound so unique it stands alone among any other band that has graced Club Hell’s stage.

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April 13, 2010

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MGMT’s Congratulations By Rob Duguay Rob’s Album of the Week

On April 13, one of the best bands from New England in the past 20 years is putting out a new album to be placed on record store shelves and online (legal) music download Web sites worldwide. Their fan base has been craving for a new album since the days when you couldn’t get the words to “Time To Pretend” and “Kids” out of your head, which was only two years ago. This band, my friends, is none other than MGMT, whose last release, “Oracular Spectacular,” went to the top 10 of the charts in Ireland and the U.K., only to reach up to number 38 on the Billboard 200. Hopefully their newest release, “Congratulations,” will come up big for psychedelic rock purists who have been craving for an album to completely blow their mind in the past decade. The album

is a little distanced from their last one but still has the psychedelic vibe that made listening to “Oracular Spectacular” for the first time so euphoric. Songs like “Flash Delirium” and “Someone’s Missing” have a ’60s pop edge that reminds me of The Byrds, while other tracks like “It’s Working” are psychedelic post-punk anthems that make you want to bob your head to the beat like a ship in a perfect storm. The story of how MGMT formed is a very interesting one. In 2002, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden formed a band then known as “The Management” during their freshman year at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. They wanted to start a band together based purely on each other’s musical tastes, so that’s when they started playing together, experimenting noise rock and electronica before eventually finding a sound so unique that they could call it their own. Later on, due to a band using the same name, the musi-

cal project was shorted to the acronym MGMT. In 2005, after both members graduated from Wesleyan, they began to tour in support of their latest album, “Climbing to New Lows,” and their newest release at the time, a six-song EP titled “Time to Pretend.” While touring ,they were opening for glam-pop indie rock act Of Montreal to sold-out crowds. Fast foward to today – MGMT is playing a sold-out show with Jamaican reggaetronic music group Major Lazer at Brown’s Spring Weekend on April 23, making all of us here at The Anchor very jealous for anyone who is a student at Brown (rich, genius, cardigan sweater-wearing bastards). Over the latter half of the past decade, MGMT has quickly become one of the premier rock bands in the United States and the world. Playing “The Late Show with David Letterman” and even “Later… with Jools Holland” on the BBC in the United Kingdom, MGMT’s popularity has been quite phenomenal.

MGMT “Congratulations” Columbia Records

Courtesy of Wikipedia

The current lineup features VanWyngarden on vocals, guitar, keyboards and drums, Goldwasser on vocals, keyboards, syntesizers and drums, Matthew Asti on bass, James Richardson on guitar and backing vocals and Will Berman on drums and backing vocals. MGMT is currently on a 48date tour of the United States and Europe with their next date being at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 17 in Indio, Calif. The tour ends at Campo Pequeno in Lisbon, Portugal on December 18, which makes it seem not so far away for some odd reason.

Unfortunately, the only time MGMT will be in the area is that goddamn show at Brown on April 23 that’s sold out anyways, so you probably can’t go. Sorry for bringing you down, but I’m just keeping it real. If you are looking for an album that will send you into a mind warp with you coming out not knowing what crappy music is anymore, then go to your local record store or your friendly neighborhood (legal) Internet music download site and pick up a copy of “Congratulations” by MGMT, a must-have for anyone who has a brain and loves music.

Wr i te fo r Th e An c h o r !

Arts & Entertainment Review films, books, albums and video games! Attend the latest RIC Theatre performances! Get access to the hottest concerts in Providence! Whatever entertains YOU, we want to know! For more information or to submit a story contact Anchor A+E Editor Justin Wilder at: sports@anchorweb.org

April 13 2010

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Dani Californication By Justin Wilder A&E Editor

Courtesy of Showtime

Amidst neglecting my homework and hopping between bars, I’ve recently become addicted to an incredible show just ending its fourth season. Taking a page from Mr. Bram’s book, I decided to let the people know. The hilarious dick wit musings and ridiculous sexual pursuits of Showtime’s “Californiacation” make it a great show for any modern man, but a word of wisdom: you will get nothing academic done, especially with season one on Netflix instant. Hank Moody (David Duchovny) is a bestselling writer

whose sex-and-booze-addicted lifestyle has kept him from producing a single word in the past five years. Not to mention the only thing that ever seemed to mean anything in his life, ex-girlfriend Karen (Natascha McElhone), dangles unattainably in front of him. Their only child – his only cause for being a responsible adult – lives with Karen in the McMansion of her new fiancé, Bill (Damian Young). With his agent Charlie (Evan Handler) on his ass to do the only work this city of sin will allow him, blogging for HELL-A Magazine, poor Hank struggles to get his life back together, but never seems to struggle with finding some

momentary lovin’. The first season’s storyline stays fairly locked on Hank’s inability to save his writing career and self from “drowning in a sea of pointless pussy,” as his ex describes, but the characters are what make this show phenomenal. Each one added intertwines into the fold in a way that slaps you in the face. As this interlocking bubble of charming L.A. lifers grows, we find more depth within our core cast of loveable losers, especially seemingly dirt-bag front man Hank. I warn you – the intro sequence is really bad, but the show’s shot aesthetics and quick quips are fantastic.

SHOWTIME :‘DANI CALIFORNICATION’ DAVID DUCHOVNY NATASCHA MCELHONE p DAVID DUCHOVNY

Victor Victoria By Adam D. Bram Rental Raves

This week, we look at Blake Edwards’ gender-bending classic, 1982’s “Victor Victoria.” Carole “Toddy” Todd (Robert Preston) is a down-and-out gay cabaret singer in 1934 Paris. He meets the unbelievably talented and even more poverty-stricken Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews), first at a failed audition and then at a restaurant she’s attempting to scam with a cockroach (which she promptly loses). Toddy gets an insane idea that will save them both: if clubs aren’t looking for women, they might just take a female impersonator. Passing Victoria off as “Count Victor Grazinski,” Toddy becomes her manager and gets her a gig at a nightclub where she/he becomes the toast of Paris. However, Chicago businessman and gangster King

Merchand (James Garner) catches the show and finds himself oddly attracted to this “man” for reasons he can’t explain. This film is a great exploration of gender and one’s own feelings. It’s also totally hilarious. Julie Andrews is fantastic, of course, in a slight subversion of the two roles that made her famous earlier, but Preston steals the movie as he did with “Music Man.” Henry Mancini’s music and songs are good, though not particularly memorable. Garner is unremarkable, and feels superfluous except for the fact that he provides the main conflict in the story. The rest of the supporting cast is solid enough. There’s really not much more I can say without spoiling the humor. This one has to be seen. Also starring Lesley Ann Warren and John Rhys-Davis.

METRO-GOLDWYN MAYER :‘VICTOR VICTORIA’ JULIE ANDREWS JAMES GARNER k BLAKE EDWARDS

Courtesy of MGM

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April 13, 2010

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The Icons of Gaming: Where are the women at? By Robert Lefebvre Anchor Staff Writer

You might have noticed something about the article I wrote on the icons of gaming. There was certainly a lot of testosterone in it. In the early days of video games, the main characters typically consisted of boys and never girls. So what roles did girls play in early games? Well, they were usually the damsel in distress or some sort of side character that was ultimately useless to the game. Ever so slowly did girls become major characters in a game, but were they able to become just as good as their male game characters? Before I start, I just want to say that I don’t count Ms. PacMan, because she was just a female extension of her male counterpart. And she takes part in the exact same thing as Pac-Man. She might as well be Pac-Man wearing a bow and cheap lipstick. But let’s start with two of the most significant female characters in video gaming: Princess Peach of the Super Mario Bros. series and Princess Zelda of The Legend of Zelda series. Both characters were created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Both of these characters were essentially the same. They have both played the damsel in distress character throughout the games they have been in, essentially becoming the plot pushers of their respective games. But that is the only role they play. They get kidnapped by the villain and it is up to the heroes to foil the bad guys and rescue them. That’s it. Over time, the characters have evolved a bit, Zelda more so than Peach. As The Legend of Zelda series has progressed, Zelda has taken a more active role in the games, even accompanying Link on his missions. Even in the television series based on the game, they team

up to take on the bad guys. But still, at one point or another, she gets kidnapped and it is up to Link to save her. Princess Peach, on the other hand, has never played an active role in the Mario games. She just keeps getting kidnapped right off the bat and the whole game is about saving her. And as I mentioned in the last article, she adamantly refuses to reward Mario in any way. But soon a new lady arrived on the scene to become the first (real) female protagonist in video games. Her name is Samus Aran of the Metroid series. Samus was created by Makoto Kano and designed by Hiroji Kiyotake. She’s an intergalactic bounty hunter hunting

down space pirates as well as hostile aliens, known as the Metroid. When she was first introduced in “Metroid,” the developers led everyone to believe that Samus was actually a man. But at the very end of the game, it was revealed that she was a girl. Now this was a bit of a dumb move on their part. Apparently this was supposed to really blow our minds that we were really playing a girl. But all it really did was kind of insult me. I mean, really, why have me believe that the character is a man when it’s a woman? It had no bearing on the plot or the gameplay whatsoever. In the games since then, her gender is no longer in question and she still continues her battle against the space pirates. Unfortunately, one other thing has carried over from her old school days, and that is her lack of dialogue. That’s right, she is a silent hero. Numerous times I have

mentioned my disdain over the concept of a silent hero. How can we relate to a hero who mindlessly goes about doing what other people say? And with Samus, she’s a respectable character with many accolades gained from her adventures. How can we have any respect for her if she doesn’t speak for herself or give some of her own orders?

One other thing that people have noted on her character is that she is curious. Sometimes she’ll deviate from a mission to explore other areas and mysterious objects. More often than not this lands her in a bit of trouble that she has to fight out of. If you have a mission, at least stick with it. Don’t go poking your nose into something that’ll bite you in the ass later,

metaphorically or literally. Take your pick. So Samus was a bit of a lost cause, but there was one other lady who stepped onto the scene who wanted to show that women have a place in the gaming world – that they can be independent, look hot and kick ass. That woman is Lara Croft. Yes, we all know about the exploits of Lara Croft from the To m b

Raider series. But was she indeed the ideal female video game character we were looking for? Well, let’s see. She’s extremely rich, yet has the compulsive need to go exploring in lost ancient ruins for treasures untold. Well, at least she’s not sitting on her butt doing nothing like a lot of rich people do. Her breast size and luscious curves have been duly noted, causing men, fictional or otherwise, to objectify her, to which she doesn’t take too kindly. So, she refuses to be simple eye candy. But this is where the compliments end. During her tomb-raiding experiences, she’s only looking to get her treasure so she can horde it in her basement with all her other ancient artifacts. It never seems to occur to her that she should donate these items to museums or curators who might have a better understanding of the history of the item. And do you know how she makes her money? By writing about her experiences in glorified theft. She doesn’t even think to sell the artifacts, let alone donating them. And whenever she takes on a job from someone else to find an artifact, she can’t seem to predict that that person is pretty evil, turning each game into a race to hoard the thing first.

She’s also come across things like Yetis, dinosaurs and other ancient monsters of lore, yet it never occurs to her to tell people about them. I’m sure people would like to know about the T-rex wandering the cave near the construction project. At an attempt at deepening her character, it’s usually shown or mentioned how she hates killing people because it puts her in a moral dilemma. Yet, she’s killed more people than any monster or animal she has ever come across. She’s not fooling anybody. She’s not disgusted at killing people; she’s getting off on it. There’s also her personality. In the first games she seemed a little tamer, but lately she seems to get more distrusting with everyone. But then again, she keeps coming across total douches who only want to use her for their evil schemes. It’s only natural she becomes more skeptical. But she starts treating everyone like crap, even people she knows. In the first game, she comes across a guy who innocently tries to flirt with her and she responds in kind. In the remake, “Tomb Raider: Anniversary,” she responds in a way one step below shooting him in the groin. All you have to do is say no; you don’t need to lash out at the guy. So to call Lara Croft a hero is pretty much calling Richard Nixon innocent. It looks like the original girls of gaming weren’t any better than the boys. You couldn’t seem to be a female character without constant need for rescuing, silently obeying orders or being a total bitch. Of course, female characters have evolved over time to be more independent and make us want to emulate them. And maybe these characters will evolve, as well.

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Sonic tries to blow your mind By Robert Lefebvre Rob’s Game Shelf

I really don’t know why “Sonic 3D Blast” got such a bad rap. I think it’s one of the better Sonic games of the Genesis generation. But let’s take a closer look at this game and maybe we can find out why so many people didn’t like it. “Sonic 3D Blast” was released in America by Sega and Traveler’s Tales in November of 1996 for the Sega Genesis and the Sega Saturn, and then later for the PC in September of 1997. The main attraction of this game was that it had 3D graphics, a first for the Sonic series. Of course, “Super Mario 64” had only come out a few months earlier, making Sonic look like he’s just barely catching up with current gaming technology. Ironic, no? In this game, Dr. Robotnik, has discovered strange birds called Flickies that live on an island. They have the power to cross dimensions using giant rings and travel anywhere they want. Robotnik decides

to capture the Flickies and imprison them in his robots so he can use them to find the Chaos Emeralds, gems that hold great power. Sonic comes to the island and discovers what is happening and now must rescue the Flickies and stop Robotnik. The gameplay is done from an isometric viewpoint, meaning you look at the game from an angle from above. It’s the basic Sonic formula. Run or spin dash and roll around, collect rings, jump on the robots heads and make them go pop, or spin dash through them. Only this time instead of going in a straight line, you are free to roam around in all directions. There is also one added feature for this game, and that is rescuing the Flickies. When you destroy the badniks – the robots they are trapped in – you must collect the Flickies and have them follow you. You must bring them to their giant hovering rings and send them through them with their dimensioncrossing power. When all the Flickies in an area are collected, a door will activate that will take you to another part of the level until you reach the end. What also makes this game stand out is that the story is actually incorporated with the

Courtesy of SEGA

gameplay. In all of the other Sonic games, the story and gameplay were separated by a wrought-iron fence. There was a detailed story about Dr. Robotnik’s evil plot to take over the world, but that was only in the manuals. It never came about in the games themselves. Here, your mission is to rescue the Flickies, and that is what you actually do. The story and the gameplay have actually blended a bit. The graphics are pretty nice, but the Saturn version’s graphics are superior. The Saturn and Genesis versions both have different soundtracks, but the Genesis’ music is better and one of my favorite Sonic soundtracks. The boss battles against Robotnik are also very fun and challenging. My favorite one had Sonic trapped on a fast moving conveyor belt heading toward spikes while some kind of spiked crates were coming down the belt, all while Robotnik is hovering around shooting missiles at you. It felt like some kind of evil Scooby Doo trap. But it was a good blend of strategy and action, which many of the Sonic boss battles throughout the series manage to be. But there are a few flaws that come with this game. The most outstanding one is that Sonic’s trademark speed is gone. He’s really just jogging around the fields as he traverses the levels. The only time he actually picks up any speed is when he gets the super-speed power up. Speed is Sonic’s thing. Taking it away from him is like taking away Pac-Man’s balls or Mario’s mushrooms. You just don’t do it. Another problem is that the controls are a little clunky. Sonic’s movement does get hard to control as he can be a little slippery, but this is mainly due to the viewpoint and the fact that free movement doesn’t quite work with a D-pad. Still, it is manageable once you get the hang of it. Remember the special

Courtesy of SEGA

stages where you need to gain the Chaos Emeralds? Remember how they used to be awesome and looked like you were on some kind of acid trip? Well, that all disappears in this game, at least in the Genesis version. The Saturn version is much more appealing. The special stages just became bland obstacle courses over a bridge, and they are quite easy. It’s actually possible to find and beat them all by the second level. At first they might seem cool, but then you’ll realize they are pretty dull. One other thing people criticized the game for was repetitive gameplay. Throughout the game, all you do is rescue the Flickies, avoid obstacles and take on Robotnik at the end of the level. While repetitiveness in a game can be a bad thing, Sonic games have always been the same thing over and over again.

Going from Point A to Point B in a speedy fashion while collecting rings and jumping on bad guys. So why complain here? What did you want him to do? Get out a gun and start going Tony Montana on everyone? Okay, that would be kind of cool, but that would just be too big a break from the Sonic formula. While “Sonic 3D Blast” has some considerable flaws, I still think it’s a great game and one of the better classic Sonic games. If you’re a Sonic fan and haven’t played it, it’s been released on the “Sonic Mega Collection” for the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox, so you should try it. Sonic will always be one of the great gaming icons. Despite many of his games released in the last decade being total flops, his original titles were always fun and enjoyable – and this is one of them.

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Anchormen dominate Seahawks By Nate Chorney Anchor Staff Writer

RIC’s baseball team is rolling strong, with another win at home, this time against the Salve Regina University Seahawks last Wednesday. The top of the first inning started with Eric Blanchard on the mound for the Anchormen, where he held the Seahawks to only one hit. In the bottom of the first, the Anchormen were unable to capitalize on loaded bases and did not manage to score any runs. In the top of the second, the Anchormen’s defense held strong again, holding the Seahawks scoreless. The bottom of the second inning marked an explosion in RIC’s offense with a total of seven runs. The rally started with an RBI single by Andrew Sceeles that scored Ronald Bracchi. John Stone had the biggest hit of the inning, with a 2-run triple to right cen-

ter that sent Tim Schabowski and Gary Levesque home. The Seahawks finally showed offensive life with an RBI single to centerfield by Tom Glynn that scored Michael O’Neill. The Anchorman were unfazed by the Seahawks, and in the bottom of the third fired right back with two runs of their own off three hits, which brought Rossi and Allaire around the bags to give the Anchormen a commanding 9-1 lead over Salve. The top of the fourth brought about pitching mistakes for Blanchard, when he walked Dave Miller and then hit Nicholas Gaj with a pitch. These two base runners set up a two-run single by Pat Quinn that brought the score to 9-3. The bottom of the inning brought catcher Joseph Stutts to the plate where he absolutely crushed a pitch out of Anchormen Field to boost the RIC lead to 10-3.

The fifth inning proved to be a stalemate, but the Seahawks struck back in the top of the sixth with two runs. Miller scored on an error by the catcher and Reding knocked in Capone on an RBI single to nurse their deficit to 10-5. The bottom of the sixth marked a massive boost in the Anchorman’s lead with a four-run inning that increased their lead to 14-5, which was highlighted by a massive tworun homer that was launched by Rossi. The rest of the game, the Anchormen held the Seahawks to a shutout. The only additional action in the game was a two-run shot by Palmer that sent him and Nadiger around the bags for a final score of 165. Blanchard (1-0) was credited with the win and Andrew Spino (0-1) was the loser in this absolute blowout that lasted 2:43.

Anchor Photo/Devin Noll

Gary Levesque pitches during their last game against Salve Regina.

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Anchorwomen sweep Bears By Steven Bathelemy Anchor Staff Writer

On April 6, Rhode Island College’s women’s softball team hosted a doubleheader against Bridgewater State, and the seemingly unstoppable Anchorwomen took both games for the day. Bridgewater State, who entered the day with an overall record of 8-8, had their record drop to 8-10 on the season after visiting RIC. In the bottom half of the second inning, RIC scored the first run of the game. This inning showed how technical the sport of softball can be. The Anchorwomen started their half of the inning with a walk, and then with a throwing error on an attempt at a sacrifice bunt. With two women on, another bunt was attempted and the runner was out at third. So with one out, there were runners for RIC at second and third. Donielle Mattoon then hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield for an RBI. Small ball can be very valuable in this sport, and it’s something that has suited the women’s softball team quite well over the course of this season. With another sacrifice fly and a single, two more runs came to RIC in the bottom of the third. And with a double in the bottom of the 4th, RIC scored yet another run. That is where the game stayed, as RIC went on to win game one of the doubleheader versus Bridgewater State, 4-0. Chelsi Panarelli, Christina Bailey and Kristina Gingell all had RBIs in the game. Even though RIC was out-hit five to eight, they still managed to win the game with a comfortable lead. Jenna Deveines picked up a hard-earned sixth win, keeping a perfect record for the season of 6-0, as she pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing no runs or walks and fanning two. The second game of this

doubleheader did not go as smoothly as the first. The game started off with two quick outs in the top of the first inning. But with two outs, two walks were allowed. It was after this when things got just a little chaotic for the Anchorwomen. With two runners on first and second base and two outs, Bridgewater State’s Penny King singled to right field. It was quite obvious that the runner on second would score with no problem, but the Anchorwomen got a little too anxious. An error was made on the throw home by the second baseman, so not only did the runner on second base score, but the runner who was on first scored, as well. With two early runs by Bridgewater, and RIC already facing a deficit, the Anchorwomen responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Shawna Parent got things going for RIC by reaching on an error and then advancing to second on an illegal pitch. Kristina Gingell then came up to the plate and singled, bringing runners to the corners. Amazingly, RIC pulled off a double steal of first-to-second and thirdto-home. Gingell ended up scoring on a single by Danielle Mattoon, making the game an even 2-2. There it stayed, until the bottom of the fifth inning, when RIC scored another two runs to make the score 4-2. With two runners on second and third, Laura DeNoncour pinch hit for Shawna Parent and singled in the two runners. There is where it stayed for the rest of the game, as RIC ended the doubleheader sweep with a nice come-from-behind win. Kyla Puccini earned her third win, making her record for the season 3-1. She pitched a complete game, allowing just four hits, one earned run and two walks while striking out four.

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SPLIT from page

Kyla Puccini received the loss for RIC, bringing her personal record to 4-2, and threw just one and a third innings allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits and two walks, and struck out two. Amanda Berard came in for the rest of the game, pitching five and a two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks, and struck out one. The second game started off just as scary as the first, as Keene State began right where they left off, getting two runs on four hits in the first inning. RIC was not going to go down as easy as before, as they answered with a run of their own on two hits. In the bottom of the third, Danielle Mattoon

singled in Kayla Jandreau, after Jandreau opened up the inning with a triple. This tied the game at 2-2 going into the fourth inning. The back-and-forth game that RIC and Keene State had been playing the whole time continued in the fourth, as Keene State gained a run in the top half of the inning and RIC answered with another run in the bottom half. The game went on, still tied, into the fifth. Rhode Island College, which had not had the lead the entire day, finally managed to break free and take the lead in the bottom half of the fifth. With a couple of errors by Keene State, and four hits by RIC’s potent offense, two runs were scored and RIC stayed in the lead for the rest of the game. RIC starter Jenna Deveines only lasted a third of an inning,

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allowing two runs on four hits while walking and striking out none. Amanda Berard pitched the rest of the game and earned the win. Her record now stands at 6-3 after she pitched six and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on nine hits while walking none and striking out four. Keene State did manage to get one more run in the top of the sixth, but it was RIC who earned the win, bringing their record to a still-excellent 16-5 (2-2 in the Little East). Up next for Anchorwomen softball, they will host a doubleheader versus Johnson & Wales Thursday. This coming Saturday, RIC will host a doubleheader against UMass Boston, as well. The Anchorwomen hope to trim down the errors as they play four contests this week.

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Junior Amanda Berard helps the team win the game with her pitches.

Owls keep lacrosse winless in conference play By Andrew Augustus Sports Editor

After earning their third win of the season, the Anchorwomen lacrosse team welcomed their second conference opponent to RIC as they faced off against Keene State. The Owls entered with a 5-3 record, 1-0 in the Little East, while RIC was sporting a 3-3 record, 0-1 in conference play. Once the final whistle blew, Keene walked away with a 20-6 victory over the Anchorwomen. Keene did not waste any time, when midfielder Nicole Curry threw the ball past freshman goalie Kerri Montgomery 1:02 into the contest. Over the next two minutes, Keene would tally two more goals, as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Stopping the Keene State attack was sophomore Nicky Drolet, who bounced a shot past the Keene goalie, scoring the Anchorwomen’s first goal

of the game. However after the goal, Keene State responded with two goals of their own, extending the lead to 5-1, Owls on top. It was starting to look as if Keene was going to take complete control of the game, as they were executing passes and getting good looks at the net. However, Montgomery made big save after big save, keeping the Anchorwomen within four goals. Molly Voyer beat Keene’s goalie to cut the lead down to three. It appeared as if every goal the Anchorwomen scored, Keene would respond with multiple goals to keep the lead extended. Jamie Albert and Caitlyn Corace each scored a goal to extend the lead to 7-2 Owls. The rest of the half the Owls kept the strong play up and entered halftime with a strong 12-4 lead. RIC Captain Suny Almonte didn’t let the lead intimidate

Anchor Photo/Jesus Mendoza

Freshman Haley Lattinville has her game face on while defending the field. her, as she stormed up the field, scoring the first goal of the half 1:39 in. The Anchorwomen’s momentum was quickly squashed when Albert netted her third goal of the game less than a minute after Almonte’s goal. The goal by Albert was the start of an 8-0 run the Owls would go on. The Anchorwomen drove up the field but could never find the back of

the net. The 8-0 run lasted for 20 minutes and things were not looking positive for RIC. The Keene goalie stopped almost every attempt the Anchorwomen challenged her with. With less than a minute left in the game, freshman Courtney McKiernan took a free position shot that beat the Keene goalie, making the final score 20-6, Owls the victors. The Anchorwomen look to

turn things around this week as they will travel to Newport to challenege the 2-7 Salve Regina University Seahawks on Thursday at 4 p.m. Then, the team travels to Plymouth State University to take on their third conference opponent, the Panthers, on April 17 at noon. The Panthers have a 4-3 overall record, 1-1 in the conference.

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GUILTY from page

down in order again in the fourth inning with a groundout, pop-out and another strikeout for Levesque. RIC was also quickly put down in the bottom of the fourth when Greg Palmer hit into a double play. The Judges came back swinging the bats in the top of the fifth, with a lead-off double by O’Brion. O’Hare laid down a bunt on the next play, but in a daring play Levesque threw out O’Brion at third base which killed the Judges momentum. The bottom of the fifth brought about an explosion in RIC’s offense. Kevin Carey made it to third base on a leadoff triple. The judges then walked two RIC batters and set up Levesque with the bases loaded and only one out. The RIC pitcher connected with a three-RBI double that scored Jared Rossi, Allaire and Carey. Levesque then advanced on a groundout to third base and scored on a wild pitch by the replacement pitcher, Andrew Weissenberg. The fifth inning marked an impressive 5-0 lead for the Anchormen. The sixth inning marked no offense on either side and only produced one hit, for the Anchormen’s Ronald Branchi. Brandeis finally got on the scoreboard with a homerun over the high fence in left by Chris Ferro that closed the deficit to four runs. The bottom of the seventh only produced one hit by Levesque, but he was thrown out at second when he tried running for two bases.

In the eighth inning, both teams’ defenses held strong, allowing no runs for either side. In the top of the ninth inning, with the Brandeis Judges down to their final three outs, down by four runs, the RIC Anchormen brought in Matt Thadeio to close the game. Thadeio, who followed Bobby Venditto after Venditto pitched a scoreless eighth, hit the first batter, but struck out the next two, Posch and Zach Mallis. With their final out left and down to their last hope, O’Hare came to the plate. O’Hare swung and connected with Thadeio’s pitch but grounded out to third. The Anchormen triumphed over the Brandeis Judges with a final score of 5-1. Levesque was credited with the win for RIC and John McGrath picked up the loss for the Brandeis Judges, who used seven pitchers in the game. Levesque had an enormous game both at the plate and on the mound and was the key to the Anchormen’s victory, going 3-4 and driving in 3 runs and scoring once. “Gary was outstanding today. He threw the ball well and performed,” RIC Head Coach Scott Virgulak told WXIN radio in a postgame interview. With a sweep over Plymouth State in a doubleheader on Saturday, RIC extended their winning streak to five games. The Anchormen have won 9 of their last 11, and go on the road to UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday at 3:30 before hosting Johnson & Wales on Wednesday, also a 3:30 start time. – With reporting by Anchor Editor Nicholas J. Lima.

Anchor Photo/Devin Noll

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Anchor Photo/Devin Noll Senior Jackie Dube swings for the fences.

Softball takes down Halks 8-3 By Steven Bathelemy Anchor Staff Writer

The Anchorwomen’s fourth win in a row and their 15th win of the season out of 19 games came against Roger Williams University on April 8. The Anchorwomen can hardly hope to play much better than they are right now – their pitching is phenomenal, their offense is unstoppable and their defense is making the plays when they are supposed to. They took down the RWU Hawks, 8-3. Luckily for Roger Williams, which now holds a record of 13-12, the Anchorwomen did not have the opportunity to beat them twice last week. While getting ready for the second game of the doubleheader, it was discovered that the distance from the pitching rubber to the plate was three feet too long. Since Roger Williams could not fix the situation, the game was cancelled. The game started off with a bang, as Kayla Jandreau singled to left field. It was as though the hitting spread like wildfire, as seven batters came up to the plate in the first inning and RIC scored three runs to start things off. In the top of the second, RIC continued right

where they left off and added a couple more hits, and an extra run. In the bottom of the second, Roger Williams managed to pick up two unearned runs as RIC shortstop Donielle Mattoon made a costly error, putting two runners on base and no outs in a situation where she could have turned two and had no runners base and two outs. The third inning was rather quiet, and in the top of the fourth and fifth RIC managed to garner two more runs, making the game 6-2. That was how it stayed up until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Roger Williams scored an extra run. This time the first baseman for RIC committed the error, doing the same thing the shortstop did in which a double play should have occurred, but did not. RIC answered Roger Williams run with two of their own, making the game 8-3. That score was the final, as RIC went on to win. Even though Mattoon committed an error that gave RWU two runs in the second inning, she definitely made up for it with her bat. Mattoon ended the game with an RBI on four hits and three runs scored.

As a team, the Anchorwomen combined to make it a 12-hit night. Kyla Puccini earned her fourth win, making her record 4-1. Puccini pitched just four innings, allowing five hits, two unearned runs and picking up two strikeouts. Amanda Berard finished the game off for RIC, pitching the last three innings and earning her fourth save of the season. She allowed just two hits, one unearned run and struck out one. The women’s softball team’s next opponent was Keene State on April 10, where they split a doubleheader at home.

MVPs Jaci Lata: 2 hits, 2 runs Donielle Mattoon: 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 RBI Chelsi Panarelli: 12 putouts, 1 assist

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April 13 2010

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Anchor Photo/Devin Noll

Junior Gary Levesque makes his first appearance as pitcher for the Anchormen during the game against Brandeis.

Softball splits doubleheader against Owls

Judges guilty of loss as Anchormen cruise By Nate Chorney

By Steven Barthelemy Anchor Staff Writer

After a four-game winning streak, Rhode Island College’s women’s softball team came back home Saturday to host a doubleheader against Keene State, and dropped their first game. The Anchorwomen have played hard and exceedingly well over the entire season and, of course, they were able to immediately pick themselves right back up and win the second game. Keene State, which now holds a record of 11-9, somehow managed to out-play the Anchorwomen in game one of the doubleheader. A problem that has showed up every now and then throughout the season

is defense, despite the team having great pitching and offense. The problem with the defense is that they give up errors in times of stress. With a walk and a single to open up the game, it was evident that RIC’s defense panicked in a throwing error to third base. Because of this error and an unearned run that was scored to open up the game for Keene State, they were provided with the confidence and determination to take the lead and keep it throughout the game. Keene State then came up the top of the second and scored another two runs, on three hits, which made the score 3-0. The game remained rather quiet for a couple innings after that, up

until the fourth inning when Keene State managed to garner yet another run on two hits, and on another costly RIC error. It was not until the bottom of the fifth that there was any offense from the Anchorwomen, when they scored two runs on two hits. Michelle Perrin doubled to right center to plate two runners who were on second and third with two outs. Keene State quieted RIC the following inning, and scored an extra run of support in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the same inning, RIC went down one-two-three and saw their four-game winning streak come to an end with a final score of 5-2. See SPLIT Page 30

Anchor Staff Writer

On a beautiful, sunny Thursday afternoon, the Rhode Island College Anchormen squared off against the Brandeis Judges on the diamond at Anchormen Field. In just two hours and six minutes, the Anchormen were victorious with a 5-1 victory. The starting pitchers were John McGrath for the Judges and Gary Levesque, who was making his first appearance of the season at pitcher, for the Anchormen. In the top of the first, the Anchormen quickly ended the Judges offense with two strikeouts by Levesque. In the bottom of the first, Kevin Carey walked to first but was caught stealing at second.

Shortstop Kyle Allaire was given a charity trip to first base, as well, but never got the chance to advance when Levesque grounded out to the Judges second basemen. Artie Posch and Sean O’Hare both singled in the top of the second but both were left on base when the Judges failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position. The Anchormen quickly retired the Judges in the top of third in a one-two-three inning that included another strikeout by Levesque. In the bottom of the inning, the Anchormen were finally able to knock in a run off an RBI groundout by Allaire that scored Justin Corso, which gave the Anchormen a 1-0 lead. Brandeis went See GUILTY Page 31