The Vanguard - 02/26/2009

THE VANGUARD SERVING BENTLEY UNIVERSITY SINCE 1963

VOLUME XLVII ISSUE V

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2009

WWW.BENTLEYVANGUARDONLINE.COM

This Issue SGD suspended for underage drinking allegations Fraternity Suspension Zaang Website Sustainability Update Club Updates ..................5 Food Dude: Eric Ripert Part II ................................6 BUB Fashion Show ......7 Misuse of alcohol led to a Bentley investigation. Photo from media.collegepublisher.com

Vagina Monologues ....7

Dan Merica STAFF WRITER

For Your Entertainment: Demetri Martin ............8 Hoobastank Review .....9 Speech Recognition Software Review ..........9 Mistress of Issues: Busy Schedules ............10 Notes from Abroad .....11 The Perfect Investment, Part II ...............................12 Women’s Basketball ..15 Men’s Basketball ..........16

Sigma Gamma Delta, a well-known and influential Bentley fraternity that has been on campus since 1965, has been suspended due to allegations that alcohol was served to minors at an event on campus within the past month, according to fraternity and campus sources who asked not to be named.

Bentley University Campus Police said they have interviewed leaders of the fraternity as well as individuals involved in the incident who are not part of the fraternity but declined to discuss their investigation.

A source familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “The fraternity, as well as a few individual brothers” are being accused of “supplying alcohol to underage students.”

As a result of the ongoing investigation, Sigma Gamma Delta “is currently suspended as a student organization on campus,” said the source, a fact that was corroborated by several other campus sources who did not want to be named.

The accusations stemmed from an altercation between two students not affiliated directly with Sigma Gamma Delta. The Campus Police investigation into the incident is currently ongoing and Campus Police officials declined to release further information at the time of print.

Christina Witkowicki, the Director of Greek Life here at Bentley, echoed the statements of most individuals involved by saying “Since there is an ongoing investigation I wouldn’t want to comment on the situation until that investigation is completed.”

When contacted, the student who filed the original complaint, sparking this chain of events, said, “I would not like to discuss this story.”

While the student declined comment, he did say that, “SGD (Sigma Gamma Delta) had no involvement in the reason for filing the report.”

The President of Sigma Gamma Delta, Eddie Nabi stated, “As the head of my fraternity, all I can do is cooperate with administration and help the University complete the investigation. Until the investigation is complete, SGD is focusing on this weekend’s charity event, Airband.”

Though no final sanctions have yet been levied against the fraternity or the specific brothers involved, the Bentley University Interfraternity Council Judicial Board process specifically lays out eleven possible actions taken against a fraternity if an infraction is made. Ranging from a reprimand to permanent suspension, all of these sanctions are available to the Interfraternity Council for any deemed infraction of policy.

The President of the Interfraternity Council, Dan Christo, simply stated, “From an IFC (Interfraternity Council) standpoint, the process is essentially a legal hearing.” Christo also stated that, “Everything is not so black and white. For example, asking a new member to make you a sandwich is hazing, and

physically beating a new member is hazing. It is unlikely these two cases will have the same severity of punishment.”

“Generally the governing councils seek to have educational sanctions for member chapters that break policies so that those chapters, and maybe other chapters in the community, learn from their mistakes,” said Witkowicki, “For more serious cases/violations, punitive sanctions may be imposed as well.”

In addition to the Interfraternity Council Judicial Board process, due to the fact that it was an alcohol infraction that took place on campus, Campus Police are currently involved at this moment.

Chief Ernest Leffler stated that he would not be able to make any comment on the details of the investigation but did say that Campus Police and the Bentley administration “take any sort of alcohol violation with the utmost seriousness, both by Greek and non-Greeks and [that he] can guarantee that the laws of Bentley will be used in full.”

Lieutenant Bill Williams, of the Bentley University Campus Police Department, who works directly with Sigma Gamma Delta on events like the upcoming Airband, lamented the fact that he could not provide the Vanguard with more detailed information, but stated that, (continued on Page 14)

An opportunity for college students to make cash fast Revisiting sustainability efforts

Photo from www.zaang..com

Mike Haggerty STAFF WRITER

For all those Bentley students who think that IT 101 is the most pointless and irritating course you have to take, just wait till GB 201….just kidding. In this

constantly evolving world information and technology are two of the most important things to people, governments, business, etc. One example of some students taking advantage of their courses in information tech-

nology is available for everyone to see at www.Zaang.com.

Zaang is an up and coming website that has just recently been created by a few college kids from Syracuse University. It is essentially a blogging website specifically aimed at college students. It is a website that allows students who have questions about virtually anything and ask them to a community that can understand their situations as they are in a similar type of environment.

When you log on to Zaang, you will come to a home page that has about 10 questions that have been recently asked by fellow Zaang members, or even yourself if you (continued on Page 6)

Photo provided by Bree Johnson

James Malone STAFF WRITER

Starting in 2008, Bentley launched a series of programs designed to enhance sustainability here on campus. The programs included the introduction of recycling bins throughout the campus as well as more energy efficient lighting in Morison. Since the intro-

duction of such programs, Bentley has become increasingly dedicated to providing more outlets for sustainability in hopes of not only helping the environment, but spreading awareness. An improved recycling system is just one of the new and interesting advancements that Bentley has in store for this year.

Looking down the road of 2009, a number of new initiatives will be put place in hopes of reducing costly waste.

For March, ten students will become the first eco-representatives here at Bentley next week. Their mission: to promote green living. They will be monitoring the recycling bins as well as using bulletin boards to spread awareness about sustainability and how (continued on Page 14)

Police Log 2 Cartoon 3 Editorial 3 Voices 8 Horoscopes 10 Games 13 Falcon of The Week 16

PAGE 2

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

THE VANGUARD

CAMPUS NEWS

N

EWSBRIEFS

The Bentley Billiards Association, BBA will be sending eight representatives to the ACUI Region 1 9-Ball Tournament The team consists of four men and four women: Brian Stathers, Nghia Nguyen, Owen Tryder, and Kevin Vaughn; Ravina Mutha, Jenny Tran, Amoula Hamdan, and Leana Wathey.

These Bentley students were the top qualifiers in a tournament held earlier this year to decide who would represent Bentley.

The event is this Saturday, February 28 at Fitchburg State College.

The Winners of this tournament will compete at the National Level later this summer.

Event Webpage: http://region1.acui.org/region/01/programs/recreation.asp

___ The Bentley Leadership Society and CRAZE will host the MARDI GRAS PARTY Saturday, February 28, from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. in the Back Bay. There will be GREAT Raffle prizes including a $1000 DIRECT TV package, gift certificates to local restaurants and more!

Come enjoy food from Papa Gino’s and Chipotle, DJ music, and donate to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund!

Turn to Page 5 for the new section

CLUB UPDATES PLEASE READ

Jon McColgan

POLICE LOG

COPY EDITOR

Vandals Strike Again On Friday morning, Feb. 20, Campus Police was called to the Falcone Greenspace stairs for a report of vandalism, where apparently students smashed a television through a window. The officer found a substantial amount of broken glass and a flat screen television lying on the stairwell, along with he student who reported the 6:45 a.m. incident. The student explained that he was locked out of Falcone North, and as he was waiting to be let in, he heard a loud crash and ran under the entry awning to shield himself from a television and array of beer bottles that vandals threw through a hallway window. No one was hurt, and Facilities was called to clean up the resulting mess. No suspects were found and the case is considered closed until new information comes to light.

At 11:17 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22, a student called Campus Police to report a vandalism incident. Officers who responded found that someone had smashed a window and there was glass all over the stairwell. Vandals also discharged a fire extinguisher, leaving quite a mess between the glass shards and extinguisher foam. Facilities was notified and no suspects have been identified, thus this case is now closed.

Sticky Fingers At 2:24 p.m. on Monday, the 16, Campus Police was notified of an off-campus theft involving a student’s Bentley-issued laptop computer. The student had been staying at a hotel in New York City when he reported to the police that his laptop had been taken from his room. The student was told to speak with hotel management about the situation, and to call Computer Services. Due to sheer distance from Waltham to NYC, jurisdictional boundaries, and the lack of further information, this case is considered closed.

On Thursday, Feb. 19, Campus Police fielded a call at 2:29 p.m. from a male student reporting his Bentley-issued laptop had been presumably stolen from his suite in Fenway. The student mentioned to police that he had last seen the computer three weeks prior to reporting the theft (he uses a personal laptop instead), though noticed it was missing only that morning around 10 a.m. The student’s roommates told officers that they knew nothing about the laptop and had not witnessed its theft. The student was advised to contact Computer Services and this case is closed until further information becomes available.

Call in the Medics In the early morning of Saturday, Feb. 21, Campus Police responded to a call for medical assistance at Forest Hall. Officers found a male student with a bleeding head wound lying on the first floor of the building. The student was awake, though noticeably intoxicated, and while receiving medical treatment first noted that he “had no idea” how he got bashed in the noggin. Upon

further prodding, the student admitted that after having several shots of vodka and four beers, a Kresge stairwell got the best of him, and he smacked his head off a step. The student was brought to the hospital for further treatment and will be charged with an Underage Alcohol violation.

On the 24 at 9:57 a.m., officers fielded a call to the Rauch Circle, where a female student asked for medical assistance. The student complained of severe knee pain and informed officers that around 8:30 the previous evening, she fell on black ice that covered the Lower Campus Greenspace, and suggested that she aggravated a past knee injury. Officers transported the student to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and upon investigation found that the ice blamed for the incident had fallen victim to warmer weather, and thus will not be judicially charged.

Honey, the Stove’s on Fire!

On Sunday Feb. 22, Campus Police responded to a fire alarm in the Boylston B building at 7:17 p.m. The resident of the apartment that triggered the alarm told officers that he was attempting to cook dinner when he reduced his meal to a smoky crisp, hence the alarm.

Waltham Fire Department was not called and the student was told to vent his room by opening windows. He will be judicially charged with an Accidental Fire Alarm violation.

At 11:53 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, officers reported to Rhodes Hall in response to a fire alarm. The alarm was found to be set off by a student who set his morning eggs ablaze on the stove, and officers noted a strong scent of burned food in the apartment. Waltham Fire Department responded to the call and the student will be charged with Accidental Fire Alarm Violation.

Vehicular Nonsense On the 17 at 9:27 p.m., Campus Police had a vehicle towed from the Farm Lot due to the car lacking a parking decal. The car was found to be owned by a freshman student who had already been warned about the Freshman Parking Regulations, and told to remove his car just the day before. Inadvertently, officers noted that there was a container of alcohol in the truck of the vehicle, leading the student to be charged with an Underage Alcohol Violation on top of the Violation of University Rules and Vehicular Violation.

Just after midnight on Friday, Feb. 20, Campus Police received a call reporting a motor vehicle accident on the North Campus Access Road.

Officers responded and found a female student, with a male student as passenger, had been driving out of the lot when the car spun out due to icy conditions and the car had struck the curb.

Due to the accident occurring on City of Waltham property, Campus Police informed Waltham PD, who then responded and handled the case.

Instant Vanguard The new way to anonymously comment on campus, by instant messaging the Vanguard at “INSTANTVANGUARD” Shout out my roommate who corrected me with "You mean YouTUBE" when I said something about the band U2.

Thank goodness for crazy lost parents and decent food at family weekend, but it's weird that they didn't decide to put new grass down...

Tom, Will you Marry Me? Love, Emily

THEN RECYCLE

Will you all be content if Arod comes out and says, "I'm sorry if the steroids have tainted all the championships I have not won."?

THE VANGUARD

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

PAGE 3

EDITORIAL Use Instant Vanguard!

Instant Vanguard is the new way to anonymously comment on your campus, by instant messaging the Vanguard.

*The Vanguard’s editorial as well as the editorial cartoon are proposed at each editorial board meeting. They are represented as being the opinions of the board as a whole, although drawn by individuals, and not the Bentley community.

EDITORIAL

screenname “InstantVanguard”

Not your family doctor, but still working for you Being away from home is hard, but add being sick to the equation and it’s Hell.

It’s like adding insult to injury when your temperature is up, but Mom and Dad are not there to wait on you or provide just the medicine you need, whether it’s aspirin or orange juice, or simply some special treatment.

When you get a cold, the natural thing to do is make the drive to your family physician for a basic check up, but students who live hours away from homearen’t about make that trip. Without that familiar solution, it is natural for the feelings of anxiety and stress to take over.

Luckily for Bentley students, The Center for Health and Wellness replaces this family and physician relationship with grace. The Center is located in Rhodes Hall, and is headed by Gerri Taylor, a registered nurse, working with nurse practitioners, rotating physicians, a parttime nutritionist, an alco-

Send an IM to AOL Instant Messenger

hol and drug prevention specialist and a health educator.

Not only does The Center for Health and Wellness practice women’s and men’s health care and provide immunizations for sicknesses such as meningitis and the flu; the Center also offers lifestyle counseling, nutritional counseling, as well as drug and alcohol education.

Their care is also personalized to each student, providing confidentiality and well as caring gestures.

“When I had the flu, they felt bad and gave me popsicles, Gatorade, and soda to help my symptoms,” stated a Bentley junior.

Frustration often abounds when it comes to the healthcare provided here at Bentley, as students are expecting the same treatment they receive at home, from familiar doctors who know their names and preferences, and this is somewhat unfair to the Center and its workers.

THE VANGUARD Bentley University 385 Beaver Street 310M1 Student Center Waltham, MA 02452 Phone: (781) 891-2912 Email: vanguard@bentley.edu Web: bentleyvanguardonline.com

The Center being perceived as “useless” by students is certainly an unwarranted generalization, and results most of the time from the services of the Center being misused, leading to this negative perception. The Center should be used as a guide to a healthier lifestyle, along with being a place to go when immediate treatment for illnesses is needed.

Actually making student visits more enjoyable seems to be a common theme. “I’m not usually a doctor person, but I’m happy I went,” said a Bentley sophomore.

Many students have noticed recent changes in patient care. “They saw me very quickly, and made it easy for me to make an appointment, even though it was flu season,” said another sophomore.

The Center may not have an answer to all your problems but more often than not, they will provide guidance on how to proceed with treatment.

by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday and see it in the Vanguard!

See results on Page 2

The Vanguard E-Board reserves the right to choose which submissions to post and not to post. All comments and IMs will be published anonymously.

Some of the most valuable services that the center provides are the health education services, which range from nutrition sessions to strees management classes, students can indulge in a overall healthier lifestyle.

Despite having a patient list of almost 4,000 undergraduates, the Center accommodates to virtually every student’s needs.

Their fast service and availability for appointments is helpful for students with busy schedules.

While the ability to make

appointments is there during the week, the fact there is no weekend hours can be inconvenient for problems during the weekend.

By having a few hours each weekend day, the Center will be able to provide more care, even when classes are not in session.

The services provided may be unappreciated or overlooked by some, but the Center for Health and Wellness is a vital part of the Bentley Community and will continue to provide essential services to the student body.

Disclaimer: The opinions published in The Vanguard are submitted by readers of the newspaper, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Vanguard and its staff. We are not able to print any letters submitted anonymously.

Editor in Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lindsay Sauvé Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Ryaboy News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rebecca Langweber Business Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Apuzzo Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robbie LaBrie Campus Life Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leslie Dias A & E Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ian Markowitz Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jon McColgan Photography Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bree Johnson

Online Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nic Smits Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . Heather Sprinkle Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ben Barenboim Advertising Manager . . . . . . . . . . . Eugene Berger Advisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maria Dilorenzo Journalism Advisor . . . . . . . . . . . . Judy Rakowsky Cartoonist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Perron, Shimon Sasaki Circulation Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stanley Rameau

The Vanguard is the student newspaper of Bentley University. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the college administration; Bentley is not responsible for statements herein.

The Vanguard is published every Thursday of the academic year, excluding examination periods and holiday breaks. It is distributed free to all students, faculty, and staff of Bentley University. The Vanguard is funded in part by the Student Activity Fee, but relies on advertising revenue to cover the majority of its costs. Advertising rates are available upon request at (781) 891-3497. Circulation is 4,000 copies. The Vanguard reserves the right to refuse an advertisement; only publication of an ad constitutes final acceptance of the offer to advertise. The Vanguard reserves the right to edit all copy for grammar, spelling, punctuation, style, libel and length.

The Vanguard office is located on the third floor of the Student Center. Mailing address: The Vanguard, Bentley University, 310M1 Student Center, 385 Beaver Street, Waltham, MA 02452. Phone: (781) 891-2912.

PAGE 4

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

THE VANGUARD

Feed your future See the difference 100 PwC interns made in Belize.

Begin at www.pwc.tv

© 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. All rights reserved. “PricewaterhouseCoopers” refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP or, as the context requires, the PricewaterhouseCoopers global network or other member firms of the network, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity. We are proud to be an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer.

THE VANGUARD

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

PAGE 5

CLUB UPDATES SASA Presents: KANGAN Sunday, March 22, 2009 6:00 p.m.

Executive Dining Room Food and After Party included.

Free with Bentley ID. Sponsored by the Student Activity Fee.

Bentley Association of Chinese Students Lunar New Year Celebration Friday, February 27, 2009 7 p.m., Back Bay Free Food, Performances, & Raffles Sponsored by your Student Activities Fee

Attention sophomores!

Important Upcoming Dates: All this week: sign and confirm roommates for Housing Selection!

March 4th: Mock Interview Night from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. in Lacava 395 Bentley Ball We took your feedback and made this year’s Bentley Ball better than ever!

The Ball will be held on March 20th at the Westin Hotel.

Transportation to and from the hotel will be provided.

Dress is formal attire and there will be a cash bar for those 21+.

Tickets are $30 and are always on sale through Bannerweb.

Tickets sold Wednesday from 12:45 p.m. - 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. in the Student Center!

THIS IS THE LAST WEEK TO BUY TICKETS! HURRY UP! YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS OUT!

The Bentley Racquetball Club will be hosting our second annual Spring Singles Tournament, with $150.00 in prizes to the top finishers.

Registration must be completed by March 1. Email tryder_owen@bentley.edu for more information!

“Integrity Among Us” David Gold Maggioli

Photo provided by David Maggioli

When he walks into the room you may not think much of him. He may be a little too tall for his own good, and his calm attitude could be mistaken for sluggish demeanor. Don’t let Bill Connolly’s looks deceive you; he works so hard outside the classroom he’d make Max Fischer from Rushmore look like The Dude from The Big Lebowski. Bill is not only finishing up his junior year at Bentley with flying colors, he’s majoring in marketing and double minoring in psychology and IDCC, but he’s also moving on up with class as well. Bill just became the president of his fraternity, Alpha Gamma Phi, and is also the president of the Academic Integrity Council and the vice-president of NASA Means Business. How can a guy stay on top of all his priorities and have so many responsibilities? Bill, the modest man he is, praises the people he works with.

“The way I look at it, I just bring a vision or a goal of something I want to see happen. But the people within the clubs are the people making it happen.” Don’t let Bill’s

humility fool you, I spoke with the vice-president of Alpha Gamma Pi, Bryant Roche-Bernard, and he would not stop raving about the difference Bill makes when he steps up for the leadership role.

Being the president of the Academic Integrity Council you would have to assume this guy has integrity, and you’re right- he does. One of his biggest goals with the organizations he’s involved in is to spread more awareness of the AIC. He wants people to know his organization isn’t filled with the kind of kids who, way back in your high school English class, would tell on you if they catch you whispering during a test.

When I asked him what qualms he has about cheating he said, “In the end cheating only hurts yourself, and it reflects poorly on our degree and on the people who work hard to earn it.” Luckily we don’t have to absentmindedly nod our heads in agreement; his argument does make sense. When you’re paying to get educated it is counter-intuitive to cheat.

It’d be nice if no one cheated, but we all know it happens. The key is trying to get it to stop. Bill’s goal to get cheating to stop is by using integrity as a device to convince people it’s not right to cheat. Bill wants to instill integrity on all ends of the campus. It won’t be the easiest task for him, but what is life without its challenges?

Besides, “Integrity,” Bill says, “is doing the right thing when no one is watching.”

Want to be featured in the Academic Integrity Council’s “Integrity Among Us” column? Know someone who fits the honor? E-mail David Maggioli for more information!

Grεεk Spεak Brad Updegrove (Sigma Gamma Delta) On Friday, February 27, at 9:00 p.m. in the Executive Dining Room of the LaCava Campus Center, Sigma Gamma Delta presents the 18th Annual Airband. It’s a night filled with raffles, auctions, dancing and a live DJ. Airband is SGD’s annual philanthropy event that gives Bentley students the chance to bid on incredible items. Each year, dozens of local businesses donate various items to the event to be sold in a live auction. This year is no different, with items ranging from neon bar signs and free tasting at the Harpoon Brewery in Boston, to brand new Sidekick cell phones and tickets to the Boston Celtics. More popular items, donated by Bentley University, include first pick in the housing lottery, first, second, and third pick in class registration times, a universal parking pass, and dinner with President Gloria Larson.

Sigma Gamma Delta Scholarship Chair and Junior Chris Barry commented saying, “My hope is that this year is as successful as last year was. We raised a great deal of money for a scholarship fund that we [the brothers of Sigma Gamma Delta] take a lot of pride in.”

Airband was created in 1988 as a live concert with proceeds benefiting the Anthony C. Cupero Scholarship fund.

The fund was set up in his name after a tragically fatal automobile accident took the life of Anthony C. Cupero, a Sigma Gamma Delta brother.

Over the years the event has evolved into a live auction

Sigma Gamma Delta Presents Airband

Photos provided by Allison Bressaw

as it remains. Still, the purpose of the night remains the same. Since 1991, Sigma Gamma Delta has raised over $200,000 with all proceeds going directly to the endowment. Last year alone the auction raised approximately $14,000.

In addition to the live auction held through the night, raffle tickets will be sold throughout the event and lucky ticket holders will have the chance to win various

prizes as tickets are drawn throughout the night.

One of the more popular parts of the night is the annual sorority dance competition, held at intermission. During this time, each sorority will perform on stage and compete to become 2009 Airband Champions.

Doors for the event open at 8:30 p.m., and the entry fee is $5 per person. Come by for what promises to be a fun night.

PAGE 6

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

THE VANGUARD

CAMPUS LIFE The Food Dude

By: Tom Hoeler

Interview: Chef Eric Ripert, Part II your web videos and saw the toaster oven. Where did the decision come from to use a toaster oven, rather than conventional oven, I read that your wife was involved?

Photo from www.randomhouse.com

As continued from last issue, an interview with Chef Eric Ripert.

FD: Getting away from the business stuff. I’ve been onto your blog (aveceric.com) quite a bit and I’ve watched all your little cooking videos probably 10 or 20 times, because I really enjoy them.

I know that you are working on a television show for the fall, what can you tell me about that? How it got started and why you decided to do one.

Chef Ripert: I decided to do a TV show because I think-the show is going to be on PBS,-it gives us a lot of freedom about creating the show that we want. It will be done in three parts. The first part will be shot at Le’Bernardin. The second part of the show will be me traveling and on location and finding inspiration. And then the third part will be cooking at home, something I would have found on trip and in relation to Le’Bernardin as well. That is the show we are finishing right now, that will be aired in September.

FD: On the show will you be cooking exclusively with the toaster oven as you do in the online videos?

Chef Ripert: She was cooking at home for my son with the toaster oven. One day I came home and I saw it, and I was very doubtful and then I was pleasantly surprised, that it’s a great appliance. She really is the one that inspired me.

FD: That means a lot of me and the rest of the college kids who you know live in a little ten by ten closet box and don’t have a lot of room for anything more than a toaster oven and maybe a microwave.

Chef Ripert: You can do quite a lot with it.

FD: So switching gears again, I have a few semi random questions, aimed at trying to get to know more about you. Most of the people who read my column know you from your guest spots on Top Chef. We all enjoyed the last one you were on when you made them peel eel and things like that, that was really fantastic.

FD: What leisure activities do you like to do when you aren't cooking and working?

Chef Ripert: I love skiing, I love hiking. I love music.

Chef Ripert: Oh no, no, no it’s a regular kitchen.

FD: What does it mean to you when you read from Restaurant magazine have one of the top twenty restaurants in the world!? What do you feel when you hear that?

FD: I was really surprised when I first watched one of

Chef Ripert: Obviously we enjoy compliments, but we don’t cook

for compliments and though the compliments come we don’t focus on it. It’s not like we are doing something expecting a compliment or a good review.

Everyday what we focus on is about cooking a good meal for our clients. That really is the focus that everyone should have.

I don’t think about compliments and reviews and things like that… If I may make an analogy, it’s like asking an actor if he’s asking for an Oscar. No, he acts because he loves acting. Now if he gets an Oscar he’s obviously happy, but it’s not the main goal or his purpose.

FD: If you had a last meal, you had access to any possible ingredient and technique, basically anything you wanted. What would your last meal be?

Chef Ripert: There is a book called My Last Supper, I said in that book…and I reconfirm that, I would love to have very beautiful shaved black truffles on top of bread. And a good bottle of Bordeaux. It’s very simple but with a magic ingredient. I love black truffles, so that would be my last meal. And it doesn’t involve too much cooking, but still.

FD: Do you have any secret food indulgences that might surprise people? I doubt you enjoy going to McDonald’s and ordering off the dollar menu.

Chef Ripert: That I don’t. I love dark chocolate. And, I love sweets; I eat a lot of candies.

FD: How much cooking do you do at home?

Chef Ripert: I cook on the weekend. We go out one night and then I cook on Sunday. My style at home is very home cooking. I do a lot of braised meat. It’s very wintery, very homey.

FD: I read that a few years ago you made a meal for a man who was losing his sense of taste?

Chef Ripert: Yes, well it was not sure. He was about to get an operation, but that operation had a risk to destroy his taste buds.

FD: Did you feel any sort of pressure that you could be making one of last things that this person ever tastes.

Chef Ripert: Yea, I didn’t really feel pressure. I felt a lot of pleasure cooking for that person. I was like, wow we’re gonna have fun, and we’re gonna make you have fun with us.

FD: I had theorized that you would like to be really fast so that you could cook thirty different things at once.

Chef Ripert: If I was twenty years younger I would say that, but at my age you are not that fast and you don’t want to be that fast. [Laughs].

FD: Where is your favorite place to eat in New York City.

Chef Ripert: Balthazar, downtown. I love going there, its very casual, and has a good atmosphere and very consistent food.

I love to go eat Japanese, and in the city we have a lot of Japanese restaurants.

FD: So my last question. I’ve always tried to teach people to cook, or write about teaching people to cook and get involved. But what are the most important things if you want to teach someone, or want to learn to cook that you need to have to just learn to make something basic like scrambled eggs?

Chef Ripert: Well, you start with

the right ingredients. You have to search for the right ingredients. That is rule number one.

And I would say I think that knife skills are probably the most important technique you must master before you move on to more complicated techniques.

And I give you an example. If you do a dish and you drop in it some big chunks of onions, when you bite into the dish suddenly it’s ruined because everything tastes like onion. But if you have the right knife skills you can cut the onion in such a tiny piece that it will compliment the food you are cooking and not destroy it. So therefore, knife skills are very important.

FD: That is certainly good advice. I think learning to cut, learning to dice is probably the hardest thing I ever had to learn Chef Ripert: But you will never regret it.

FD: No, no I never do. It’s probably the best thing I can do. So anyways I wanted to thank you again, everyone I’ve told was really excited.

It’s been a real pleasure and honor to speak to you.

Chef Ripert: Thank you.

On the phone Chef Ripert exudes the kind of confidence you’d need to reach the levels of success he has, while remaining pretty modest about his accomplishments. Anyone who has seen him on television knows he has a fairly strong French accent. But it isn't the stereotypical pretentious somewhat nasally accent we see on television and portrayed in movies.

It’s deeper, smoother almost suave in a way. Someone commented to me that it’s “manly French." I'm not exactly sure what that means but it seems to make sense for one of the best Chefs in the country.

Zaang: make cash fast (continued from Page 1) have posted questions.

You then have the ability to search for specific questions or just to click on one that catches your interest. From there you can either provide some of your own input on the subject matter, or just browse the answers that are already provided and learn something new.

Questions include asking things about relationships (birthday/Valentine’s Day gifts), good websites to get college books for cheap, good workouts/pre and post work out routines, and many more.

If you are stumped on something, there’s a good

chance that someone on Zaang will read your question and have some good feedback for you.

However, information isn’t the only thing you can get from being an avid user of Zaang; you can also make a little cash on the side. The way this works is like this: Everyday you are allotted an allowance of Z-dollars (you start with three and can increase that by earning Zdollars yourself) that you can give to other users who post what you consider to be helpful answers. You can give them to any user (except yourself) for any question, not just a question that you have asked.

At the end of each month, Zaang calculates an exchange rate between Z-dollars and US dollars and posts it on the website. You can easily withdraw your funds via PayPal. If you’re skeptical about how Zaang makes money, currently you can see ads on their website that are through Google Advertising. I have talked to one of the creators of the website (a friend from my home town) who specializes in IT and he has told me that they plan to increase advertising income and hopefully omit Google (the middle man) to further increase revenue.

As the site grows in popu-

Geico’s not the only way to make money.

larity, this plan seems more and more likely as Zaang has thus far witnessed a great turnout.

Zaang is the perfect example of the integration of information technology into the business world. These students utilized their knowledge of IT to start up their own business, and then used their knowledge of business to maintain a healthy

Photo from www.quotesmarter.com

and profitable business.

Currently Zaang is only open to schools in the Boston area, but is going national in a little over a month. It is definitely worth your time to check out this new website.

Not only is it something that could serve as yet another procrastination tool when you’re studying, but it also could put some extra cash in your pocket.

THE VANGUARD

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

PAGE 7

CAMPUS LIFE B.U.B. Fashion Show brings audience around the globe Evelynn Sidiropoulos STAFF WRITER

Outside LaCava, music could already be heard from the pre-party of the BUB Fashion Show.

The Executive Dining Room was transformed into a trendy fashion spot, where the room was dark and filled with people as well as the sound of hip-hop music.

A long, white runway ran down the center of the room.

People filled the seats on either side of the runway and on the two balconies.

The crowd’s anticipation built up as they waited for the show to start. Finally, the lights dimmed and the announcers came out to introduce themselves and explain the idea behind the show.

The show was conducted like an airplane ride, which I thought was very creative and effective. The BUB “plane ride” took us to nine different destinations around the world: Tokyo, Africa, Paris, London, New York City, Los Angeles, India, Las Vegas, and Boston. The fashions at each of these stops reflected the specific culture there.

The first stop was Tokyo.

To the beat of loud techno music, models came out one by one to display the colorful and eccentric clothes. The Tokyo fashion was loud and bold, with bright neon pink leggings, mixed patterns, and modern graphics on tshirts.

Next stop: Africa. The clothing here reflected traditional African patterns, such as colorful stripes and geo-

Bentley fashion models walk the catwalk.

metric shapes.

The women wore loose dresses, and the men wore loose shirts. The colors were bright, and mostly featured shades of orange.

In the famous fashion capital, Paris, we saw chic, sophisticated lines on the dresses and skirts. There was a strong trend of black on white.

In another great fashion city, London, the clothing was more casual than more formal Paris. There were a lot of ruffled shirts worn over short-shorts.

Next, we arrived in New York City. New York was unique in that the models wore the same t-shirts and sported jeans. Instead of simply marching down the runway, the models performed a well-choreographed walk that flirted along the lines of a dance. The moves had definite attitude, which reflected the atmosphere of New York City.

In the middle of all the fashion, we experienced “turbulence” when the Step Team came out on to the runway and performed a dance. This was a great sup-

plement to the already theatrical fashion show.

Bentley’s Step Team showed off all their coolest moves on the runway.

As the show continued, we moved to Los Angeles where the clothing was very sweet and girly. There were a lot of frilly, tutu skirts and dresses. Many of the pieces were lace-up in the back for a corset feel. Some of the prevailing colors in Los Angeles were bright pinks and purples.

India, one of my personal favorites because of the colors and sequins, showed many traditional Indian men’s and women’s dress.

The tradition, however, was given a modern twist on some pieces.

For example, one of the models wore tan beige dress pants that had the straight lines of Indian men’s pants.

On top of that, he wore a plain white shirt under a jacket that looked Indian in the cut, but modern in the simplicity. There was a line of sequins running down the front of the either side of the jacket, which gave it a more modern feel.

Photo by Evelynn Sidiropoulos

Las Vegas focused more on the ornate jewelry than the clothes. Models wore allblack outfits, and they all had long, bold necklaces or earrings on.

We finally arrived back in Boston, which was casual like London. However, this city was one of my favorites.

The models wore trendy tshirts and extremely short skirts.

The t-shirts were mostly worn belted or under vests.

Also, the footwear was unique, because the models wore colorful, trendy sneakers as opposed to the traditional sky-high heels.

Overall, it was a great show! The theme was a perfect complement to Bentley’s emphasis on the globalized economy. Getting to know fashion of different cultures can be a way to understand those cultures.

The show reflected the emphasis that this school places on multicultural awareness and tolerance.

The show was a great effort to mix fashion into a business school, and the fashion itself was inspiring as well!

Cultural dress from each stop was on display.

Photo from www.trucityvibes.com

Vagina Monologues bring discussion, laughter about womanhood, sex Leslie Dias CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

The Vagina Monologues created a buzz on campus for weeks, and whether you had seen the performance before or had no idea what it was about, or had simply seen the advertisements around campus, you were curious. A red hue glazed over the faces of the audience last Wednesday night while the actresses prepared to come on stage.

The show took several weeks of preparation with auditions starting in November and practices being held after Winter Break.

Megan Parkinson, junior at Bentley and producer of the Vagina Monologues, describes the show’s main focus: “The Vagina Monologues is a forum about a taboo topic, the vagina, that makes it okay to acknowledge that it is actually there.”

The idea began with a woman activist of the 1970s named Eve Ensler. She went

across the country and interviewed numerous women about their vaginas and asked how they felt about them and what they thought of them. It eventually transformed today into a performance of many vagina stories that is now celebrated nationally throughout college campuses around Valentine’s Day. In a monotone voice, a public radio announcer came through the speakers to start the show with its opening slide show. The slide show consisted of various interviews with groups of people around Harvard Square.

Those interviewed were asked what they thought of their vaginas, what their vaginas would wear, and what their vaginas would say. Of course the few boys that were asked during the interviews had trouble answering the questions, but the audience got a laugh at their responses.

As the monologue portion began, the actresses were set up on bleacher platforms

with red sheets draped around the stage. All of the actresses were dressed in black with a complementary red clothing article or jewelry piece. The color red was prevalent throughout the show both figuratively and literally with the description of the vagina’s physical appearance, the reference to rape and blood, the angry tones of some monologues, and the passion displayed by each actress for their accompanying monologue.

The monologues showed the vagina in various lights.

On one hand, some of the monologues represented the darker side of being a woman with issues involving rape and stereotypes. Freshman Christine Malloy, who contributed to this year’s performance as a co-chair of the show and also an actress, performed the monologue titled, “My Vagina Was My Village.”

This monologue told the story of a woman among many in Bosnia that was raped and mutilated by sol-

diers during a war. The audience captured the woman’s disturbing tale through Malloy’s emotional performance. As the most poignant monologue of the show, Malloy recognized the deep emotional connection she needed to perform the story and the uneasiness and sadness that many would feel during her act. She says, “My monologue is a more subdue monologue with a very moving message, but the girls do dread it when I have to rehearse mine!”

On the other hand, the Vagina Monologues also addressed the humorous and less bashful side of being a woman with the monologues, “My Angry Vagina” and “The Vagina Workshop.” Those particular monologues kept the audience roaring line after line. The audience was enlightened and surprised with a multitude of trivial facts throughout the show that gave the audience a new sense of the word, “vagina”.

Dr. Shelia Moeschen, a gender studies professor here

at Bentley as well as the faculty advisor for the Women’s Center, was able to participate as one of the actresses during the Vagina Monologues. Dr. Moeschen acted the monologue titled, “The Flood” which told the humorous story of a modest older woman who was questioned about her vagina.

When Dr. Moeschen was asked about some of the successful features of the show, she replied, “The success is partly due to the new cast each year.

But the Vagina Monologues is a celebration of more freedom and more acceptances in our culture climate, and it perceives these issues in a positive light.” The women interviewed about the show all mentioned the comfort and acceptance they felt in their own body after participating in the show. The Vagina Monologues helps open the eyes of the public to women’s issues as well as those issues of the transgender, gay, and lesbian communities.

PAGE 8

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

THE VANGUARD

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

VOICES

For Your Entertainment

During Family Weekend, what were you most excited to show your parents?

CHRISTINE MALLOY CLASS OF 2012 MANAGEMENT Photo from www.backstage.blogs.com

“I was really excited to bring my Mom into Boston and show her around.”

SARAH ANTOCCI & SARAH ADAMS CLASS OF 2012 ACCOUNTING “We went to dinner with our parents at our favorite restaurant in Boston. It was their first time meeting and they hit it off great! We’re going to turn this into a tradition!”

MO OFFREINS CLASS OF 2010 MARKETING “I was excited go to Mike’s Pastries with my Mom…we went there right after we went out to dinner in Boston.”

MEGAN BLIER CLASS OF 2012 MARKETING MAJOR “I was excited to bring my Mom to the basketball games…they were pretty baller.”

SUCHARITA MUKKERJEE CLASS OF 2011 ACCOUNTING “I was most excited to show my parents and my brother the library and the trading room. I think those are probably the most important parts of the university.”

Photos by Bree Johnson

Important Things with Demetri Martin When I first heard that Demetri Martin was getting his own show, this struck me as good news. Personally, I’ve always found him to be a likeable, somewhat awkward individual whose standup was always funny and original. So, following this logic, this show should already be better than anything Carlos Mencia has ever done.

If you’ve never seen or heard of Demetri Martin, his Comedy Central career includes a Comedy Central Presents special, segments on The Daily Show, and “Demetri Martin: Person.”

He presents his jokes in a very straightforward, it-iswhat-it-is format, and many of his jokes revolve around clever observations made in everyday life. In addition to regular stand-up, there is almost always a portion that involves his trusty art pad and easel, and some parts where he (somewhat unnecessarily) plays guitar and harmonica while telling his jokes.A brief sampling for the uninitiated (taken from his These Are Jokes album): “I went into a shoe store and said, ‘Hey, can I get those in a 10?’ And the guy said ‘Sure,’ and he went in the back. A couple of minutes later he came out and goes, ‘I don’t have a 10, but I have a 9’…

Great, because while you were in the back my toes were severed off. Normally it would be retarded for you to say a number less than the one we agreed on, but given my very recent accident, you’re right on.”

“Whenever I see an autobiography for sale in the bookstore, I just flip to the about the author section.”

“I got some new pajamas with pockets in them, which is great because before that, I used to have to hold stuff when I slept.”

With these credentials and jokes gracing his résumé, Demetri Martin seems qualified enough to entertain the world for a half-hour each week. Playing off his seeming fascination with nouns (arrows and subtitles frequently reference irrelevant things on screen, such as “person,” “pointer,” “allies”), each show has its own specific focus. The first week was entitled “Timing,” the second, “Power.” Accompanying him on his journey is his regular arsenal of stand-up, drawings, and guitar, as well as the new addition of several skits each episode.

After having watched these first two shows, there are several areas where I thought this show succeeded. Most importantly, what Demetri Martin does best remains – we get several new drawings every week as well as fresh standup that relates to the theme. Clearly (and wisely), they’ve opted to leave most of the show up to Demetri himself, and this is apparent everywhere from the characters he plays in the skits, to the interludes. I’m unsure as to if he’s the only writer at this point, but if there are others involved, they clearly grasp his character.

Additionally, I thought this show was more or less the perfect length. Whereas hourlong episodes would probably run a bit dry, especially given the focus on a single topic, these shows are brief and enjoyable. And although some parts are inevitably hit or miss, the different portions of the show are brief and varied enough to keep things interesting throughout.

While I did like what I’ve seen so far, I was unable to shake the feeling that these shows were not as funny as his earlier material, but I suppose that is to be expected given the added pressure of having to come up with new

By: Matt Weisse

jokes at a much more rapid pace. Additionally, I thought the skits at this point were typically the weakest portion of both shows. While some were funny, others just weren’t, leaving me with the overall impression that these skits just were not as good as his other methods of delivery are.

Another thing that popped into my mind was the concern as to whether or not he was the type of person that would attract the viewers similar Comedy Central comic-based shows have. Dave Chappelle had that immediate, “in your face” persona combined with those laugh-out-loud skits that just drew people to him. And even though I don’t find Carlos Mencia particularly funny, there is no denying he has a boisterous, made-to-rant on TV sort of personality.

Demetri Martin, on the other hand, is a quite a bit more subdued, so it makes me somewhat uncertain if he has the ability to draw in those who have never seen him before and/or those who aren’t accustomed to his style of humor.

As with any TV show, there is also a decent uncertainty factor, having only run for two shows thus far. Therefore, I’m curious to see what will happen as the show progresses.

On one hand, I worry that the every-week grind while prove to be too much output, and the quality of jokes will start to decline. On the other though, I have hopes that he’ll adapt to this new format, and his skits will get funnier over time. This really could go either way.

In the end, I thought these first two episodes were good, but also certainly not great as his previous efforts. I like Demetri Martin in general, and this is certainly way better than half the shows that end up staying on Comedy Central for way too long (see Drawn Together, Mind of Mencia). His style of humor might not appeal to everyone, but if you’ve enjoyed any of his older offerrings, there is no reason you shouldn’t check out Important Things.

7/10 Important Things with Demetri Martin airs every Wednesday at 10:30 P.M. on Comedy Central.

THE VANGUARD

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

PAGE 9

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT House of Blues opens its doors to rock band Hoobastank Bree Johnson PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

It was only last week that Boston’s new and improved House of Blues on Lansdowne Street opened its double doors to the public.

With over 50,000 square feet of limited and VIP seating, this new addition to the House of Blues chain draws in fans of every kind of music.

The Music Hall was full of life this past Monday, when rock bands Hoobastank, 3 Doors Down, and Safety Suit took the stage.

Triple Grammy Nominee Hoobastank is currently on tour for its new album, For(n)ever, featuring their new single “My Turn.” While Hoobastank’s first two multiplatinum albums Self-Titled Debut and The Reason rose to top of the charts when they were released, the band has high hopes for similar success from their new album.

Taking over the stage as the main act on Monday night were the members of Hoobastank including lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Doug Robb, drummer Chris Hesse, lead guitarist Dan

Estrin, and Jess Charland on Bass. At the concert, the band especially got the crowd going when they performed “My Turn,” and the crowd went into an uproar when they heard the few first notes of “The Reason.”

Hoobastank mixed up the evening by adding in a few “sing along” covers of songs such as “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey and “Another Brick in the Wall”

by Pink Floyd. When the crowd started singing along, energy flooded through the brand new concert hall.

It was a great way to introduce variety into the performance and allow Boston to get a feel for the exciting new venue.

The band also introduced interaction with the crowd with their most requested song on the new album, “My Turn.” In an interview with Chris Hess, he said that “My Turn” is one of his favorite songs to play at concerts because “Doug really gets the crowd involved…He gets the things going with the guys vs. the girls.” A small competition between the male and

Hoobastank put on a great show Monday at the House of Blues.

female vocals singing in the audience allowed for the crowd to interact and become a part of the act.

The new single “My Turn” is not only known for its interactive characteristic at concerts, but also online as well. The “My Turn” music video is the first of its kind, an interactive video medium with the look and feel of online gaming, allowing viewers to control what is on the screen.

Each member of Hoobastank performed individually in front of a green screen when creating the

video so that they can switch instruments, costumes, characters, and scenarios. The video can be seen at Myturn.Hoobastank.com. “It is a known fact that nobody watches television to see music videos now,” Chris says. “They use the internet and YouTube, so we just figured that at this day and age we should make a video that was geared towards the internet…make it interactive.”

Hoobastank has come a long way since they began as a small band originating in Los Angeles.

Photo from www.wikimedia.org

Coming to Boston for the first time in years to be greeted by hundreds of roaring fans was a pleasant surprise for the west coast band, and their excitement carried over into their music on Monday evening. After such a tremendous concert they will no doubt continue to be successful on their tour of For(n)ever.

After its grand opening only a week ago, The House of Blues also shows promise for a successful integration into the heart of Boston as one of the main concert venues.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking: an improved method of talking to your computer Tom Hoeler STAFF WRITER

One of the cooler features of computers in recent years is the advent of speech recognition software, which allows you to “talk” to your computer. Until now, it’s been relegated mostly to the realm of dictation. All of our laptops actually come with this software built into the Windows operating system; however, few, if any of us, ever boot it up or take the needed time to train it.

Nuance software is attempting to change attitudes toward speech recognition with its new Dragon NaturallySpeaking software.

At the most basic level, it looks like another in a long line of dictation software, but there’s a lot more to this product than that.

Aside from dictation, the software is built to allow you to verbally interact and instruct your computer with a long list of commands that are customized for many different types of programs and applications. For example, with a few simple commands you could open Outlook, create a new email, assign a recipient, give it a subject name and then type out the

Dragon’s new software is more than just a dictation program.

body and send it using only your voice. There are commands for Word, Outlook, Excel, Internet Explorer, AOL, and others. If you get stuck you can say “Help” and it will bring up a list of commands for that specific program you are using, which is great since you’ll probably forget the commands the first few times.

The dictation itself though works like a charm. Right out of the box, after installation the software makes you do about 5-10 minutes of training. It also gives you a ton of options to pre-set about your accent or vocabulary. They even have a

“teens” vocabulary option, though the instruction manual is entirely unclear as to what that setting means.

After just a few minutes of training, the accuracy of the software was already miles ahead of whatever Windows has been able to accomplish.

One cool feature is that, after your initial voice tests, the software has an optional step to scan your computer and further “learn” your writing style by scanning documents in your emails and folders. It will actually go through papers you’ve written and learn more about how you write. This will improve its accuracy of

Photo from www.ad-fusion.com

words in context when you speak. This can take up to half an hour, but in my test it took only 10 minutes. You can setup an automatic schedule for this which is really helpful in reducing the burden on the user to manually teach the software regularly.

Another cool tool is the transcription tool. This allows you to specify an audio file that Dragon will actually “listen” to and transcribe into a document for you. This works great if you record a speech or something; however, the product still will only be trained to your voice, so while tran-

scribing an interview would be perfect it doesn’t work very well since the software has issues distinguishing between more than one person. Still, it holds promise if you wanted to speak some notes to yourself on a recorder to have typed up later.

I dictated most of this article using the software. There were very few instances where I found an error. The most difficult part is learning to speak punctuation marks so that the software knows where to place them.

For example, having to say “period” at the end of a sentence. There is an auto punctuation mark tool that you can use but it is not entirely accurate. It basically guesses where it should input the punctuation. After just a little practice, adding things like periods and commas was easy. However, more complex punctuation marks like exclamations, semicolons, or parentheses takes more work. I found that the best practice was to backtrack through the piece once finished and insert any complex punctuation or formatting (italics, bolding, etc) manu(Continued on Page 14)

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FEBRUARY 26, 2009

THE VANGUARD

H

OROSCOPES

Brian Ceci Vanguard Staff Aries (March 21-April 19): Open up your doors and windows to air out your room.

Nobody wants to be the sick kid on Spring Break.

Taurus (April 20-May 20): Clear out the garbage that is stinking and clogging up your life this week. In the end, you’ll be left with a fresh point a view, and a lot less cockroaches. .

Gemini (May 21-June 21): Conquer one of your fears before leaving for Spring Break, otherwise you may be bringing unnecessary baggage that you will probably get charged for.

Cancer (June 22-July 22): Make sure to pack a plan B if you plan on going anywhere this week. Sources say your main means of communication may just be on the fritz.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22): Make sure to surround yourself with browns and oranges this week, it’ll bring you quite the luck…or a giraffe.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Be wary of the advice you give, some people are unwilling to hear the good or bad advice that you are giving. Test the waters first.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Listen to your parent’s suggestions this month; they could end up landing you an unexpected job….or a date.

Scorpio (Oct. 23- Nov. 21): Be conscious of the old people in your life this week, their wisdom may give you a much needed picker-upper or some nice cookies.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22- Dec. 21): Don’t let life get you down this week. Sit back with a tub of ice cream and watch some of your favorite movies. Vacation is coming soon!

Capricorn (Dec. 22- Jan. 19): Good things come in three and fours, so this week, don’t just buy one pound of cheese, buy at least three, maybe even four! Enjoy!

Aquarius (Jan. 20- Feb. 18): Watch out for the holes around your life this week; you’re clumsy nature this week will have you virtually falling in every single one of them.

Pisces (Feb. 19- March 20): Take time out for yourself this week. With stress levels high and busy schedules, you need to just prioritize. Don’t burn out too quickly.

The columns found in this newspaper are written by individual authors and do not reflect the opinion of The Vanguard, its Editorial Board members, or Bentley University. Comments resulting from the columns can be directed to the author and/or The Vanguard.

COLUMNS Mistress of Issues

Let the Mistress help you!

Dear Mistress, There is so much to do on campus, between clubs, sports, and my friends. There is also a ton of stuff to do in Boston and around Waltham. I love all of this stuff and really enjoy being involved in clubs as a member and as an executive board member. I have a part-time job as well because I need money like most college students do.

However, doing all this stuff hasn’t left me that much time to do homework or go to class.

Do I have to give up some of the things I like to do for stuff I really don’t? ~Class vs. My Life Dear Class vs. My Life, It probably doesn’t seem like a hard decision when choosing between class and another activity, especially when the other activity seems more fun or will earn you money. College has so much to offer, as you have found out, beyond just an academic experience. However, this academic experience is the ultimate purpose for you being here.

Time management is really important when you are trying to take advantage of all that college has to offer and enjoy your campus life. You might not

have to give up the things that you are currently doing if you schedule things correctly. For example, try to schedule your part-time job during hours that classes aren’t being held. You can also utilize the various syllabi you have from your classes to plan for exams or projects ahead of time.

Good time management skills don’t often come naturally; take advantage of the assistance provided by Academic Services and Academic Advising on campus. They can help you work on managing your time effectively. There is the possibility that you are just doing to many things that will make it difficult for you to excel in everything you are taking part in. Make a list of everything you are currently involved in and prioritize what is the most important.

You might have trouble at first trying to figure out what exactly is the most important.

Even if something like classes isn’t something you necessarily always enjoy, it still should take a high priority. Think about things not only in terms of whether you like them or not but about what these things mean for your life now and in the future. This doesn’t mean

By: Nicole Darvirris that the only important things are achievement and academic based, your personal life and the activities you enjoy for fun are important too.

Scale back on things that you don’t actually enjoy or can do without. Don’t be afraid to turn down another executive board position or invitation to another event. Chances are that if you are too busy you won’t be able to devote enough attention to a new position or to truly be present at an event. If you classes still seem to be a problem, it may be time to evaluate what about the courses bothers you.

It might be time to consider a new major or to try preparing for a class differently. Taking classes that you are interested in and being prepared for all of your classes might make it easier for you to do well.

Have a question? Email the Mistress at MistressOfIssues@gmail.com You can also Instant Message a question to the screenname MistressOfIssues on AOL Instant Messenger. Names have been changed to protect privacy.

This column is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to replace professional advice.

THE VANGUARD

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

PAGE 11

NOTES FROM ABROAD Question #5: Are there any holidays

or customs native to your host country that you have experienced?

Any holidays in the future that you are looking forward to? Is the celebration different in your host country than it is in the United States?

Stacie Henry PAMPLONA, SPAIN

A common theme in Spanish holidays seems to be: why just have one day of celebration when you can have a week? The majority of holidays in Spain have to do with Catholic celebrations and saint days. The week of Carnaval, the week of Holy Week, and the week of San Fermines are just some examples of holidays that I will get to experience in Spain.

There are also many more celebrations that are big in certain cities in Spain, some of which I plan to travel to see.

For example, Carnaval is going on right now, and celebrations for Carnaval have been going on in cities throughout Spain all week.

Carnaval is celebrated the

week before Lent begins, and includes things such as parties, parades, dances, and costumes. We went to a party put on by the communications department of our university, and many people wore masks as they danced and partied the night away.

Unfortunately, Pamplona doesn’t have some of the better Carnaval celebrations compared to other cities in Spain, such as Madrid or Granada might.

Carnaval seems to be an unimportant holiday, but fun nonetheless. I would call it the Mardi Gras of Spain.

The holiday that I am looking forward to the most would have to be Pamplona’s famous holiday, San Fermines, or more universally known as the Running of the Bulls. This holiday takes place starting at noon on

July 6 and runs until July 14. I even decided to stay an extra week and a half after the end of my exams just so that I could experience what is supposed to be an amazing once-in-a-lifetime event.

San Fermines is supposed to be crazy, with tens to hundreds of thousands of people flooding the small city.

Fireworks are shot off every night, and early every morning there is the running of the bulls in the streets.

While I would never actually want to participate in the running of the bulls, I can’t wait to watch it! The entire week is completely

filled with parties, parades, and all sorts of entertainment.

Holidays in Spain seem to be a much bigger deal than the holidays in the U.S. Various cities in Spain are

usually known for having exceptional celebrations of different holidays. I have heard stories about some amazing holidays, so I guess I’ll just have to travel around to find my favorite.

Photo by Stacie Henry

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FEBRUARY 26, 2009

THE VANGUARD

BUSINESS The perfect investment, Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (part II) STAFF WRITER

The last article on perfect investments covered a little bit of investment theory. In the world of theory and philosophy perfection can be achieved (efficient markets anyone?), but when it comes down to the “practice,� perfection is only a dream. In the value school of investing, the perfect investment comes along when a great business (think Coca-Cola), with elite management (think Henry Ford or Bill Gates), is selling at an extremely generous price.

The great thing about this ideal investment is that one will never have to sell their stake if the business and management remain strong. Enough with the theory, let’s talk practice!

It is important to know two things about the potential “perfect investment.� Don’t be biased, so read with an open mind, maybe do some of your own research. Second, try to understand a company because if you can’t understand a company, stay away from it! An investment in a company may possibly produce great returns; but if you do not understand what you’re investing in, it is not investing, it is speculating, so try not to speculate.

The Business An up and coming stock is Greenlight Capital Re (GLRE).

GLRE is a specialty property and casualty reinsurer.

Reinsurers offer protection to insurers. If an insurer faces many claims and/or catastrophic losses, it could be detrimental to the business, which is why they usually pay reinsurers to protect them. In short, reinsurers insure insurers: it’s a transfer of risk. Reinsurers can make (or lose) money in two ways.

They can profit if an insurance company they protect avoids catastrophic losses, if this happens the reinsurer pockets the money they are paid to protect insurers. If an insurer experiences losses, though, the reinsurer will have to pay out money to the insurer, in this case the reinsurer money.

A reinsurer can also make money by investing. When a reinsurer is paid for protecting an insurer it can invest this money in bonds, stocks and some alternative investments.

If they can make money on their insurance contracts and investments, the business could grow at an abnormal pace; but to achieve this growth, exceptional management is a necessity.

The Management When evaluating a business’s management, two factors are Year

2005 2006 2007 2008 Jan 2009 Cumulative

GLRE Investment Portfolio 14.20% 24.40% 5.90% -17.60% 0.60% 24.71%

critical: management’s alignment with shareholders and their past performance.

Compensation in the financial services industry has come under intense scrutiny lately.

Large bonuses and compensation packages were unwarranted in the industry, and it all came from shareholder pockets.

GLRE’s management is not against bonuses or modest compensation packages, as long as it does not destroy shareholder value.

GLRE’s management is paid when they perform; compensation is evaluated on a three year basis (emphasis on the longterm) and is based on the profitability of the business. Not only does GLRE have a fair compensation program, but its management owns over 20% of the company- the chairman of the company, David Einhorn, owns about 17% of the company. Do you think that many large U.S. banks would have taken excessive risks if the management had controlled a large interest in the company?

Past performance is not always a good indicator of the future, but if one evaluates how the performance was achieved, one could determine how the future performance will turn out. GLRE’s reinsurance business has a short history, since the company was formed in late 2004. The reinsurance business has been modestly profitable, achieving a 7.8% margin on its contracts in 2007; but it is still very small, with 2007 reinsurance earnings of $7.64 million.

It is safe to assume that GLRE’s reinsurance business will either be modestly profitable or breakeven in the near future, but management’s incentive to make the business more profitable could prove beneficial to shareholders in the long run.

It is difficult to analyze management’s talent when their track record is short and the business is premature. This is the case with GLRE’s reinsurance business, but it is not the case with its investment performance. GLRE’s investment portfolio is managed by David Einhorn. Einhorn has managed a fund since 1996 and has produced annualized returns in the 20% range.

Every year since GLRE was formed, Einhorn has produced remarkable returns for the company’s portfolio by outperforming the S&P 500 Index by about 11% per year. Einhorn has achieved this performance by buying strong and undervalued stocks, while shorting weak and overvalued stocks. By doing this, GLRE’s investment portfolio S&P 500 Index 3.00% 13.60% 3.50% -38.50% -8.57% -31.90%

Relative Performance 11.20% 10.80% 2.40% 20.90% 9.17% -

will have minimal risk to the downside, but strong potential to the upside.

2008 was a tough year for the markets and the economy, but GLRE investment portfolio outperformed the markets by over 20%. This year Einhorn has built an early lead on the markets by outperforming the S&P 500 by over 9% in January. It is important to emphasize Einhorn’s skill as an investor, because it is a big component of the investment thesis. Einhorn predicted the current economic crisis almost two years ago and he profited from his prediction by shorting Lehman Brothers and many other troubled financial institutions. Einhorn is a very ethical, talented and respected investor; his mere presence adds much value to GLRE. The Price Anyone can find a great business with the best management in the world and still managed to lose money if the company is overvalued in the market. For example, since 1998 Coca-Cola’s earnings have grown over 70% and its dividends per share have grown over 100%; but the company’s shares have fallen 30% in the last ten years. When valuing a business, it is important to be very conservative.

Conservatism gives investors a margin of safety if they are

wrong in their valuation.

It is important to be very conservative when valuing GLRE. First, don’t attribute any value to the reinsurance operations, because the reinsurance business is still premature.

Predicting the company’s operating earnings is extremely subjective and if we can’t predict the earnings we can’t confidently value the business, so just take a pass. Without the reinsurance business, all that GLRE has left is its investment portfolio, and this we can value. According to the company’s last quarterly filling in September, GLRE’s investment portfolio - which includes the company’s cash, equity investments (long and short), bond investments and other investments - is valued at approximately $991.72 million.

From the end of September up to the end of January, GLRE’s portfolio has declined by 4.73%, which would then value the portfolio at $944.79 million.

Some might end their valuation there, but it would not be conservative. Since the economy is extremely weak and the markets are not particularly doing well, so you might depreciate a portfolio by 20%, which would then value the portfolio at $755.83 million. Now let’s suppose that after the portfolio declined 20% we find out that GLRE’s reinsurance managers

did not prove to be great decision makers and caused the firm to lose $155.83 million. All we have left now is $600 million, which should do it. After valuing the business one must compare value with price. As Warren Buffett once said, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get�. GLRE’s shares ended last Friday’s trading session, February 20, at $13.12, which gives the company a market value of $475.80 million, a discount of over 20% of our valuation.

GLRE’s undervaluation by the market presents very little downside to the stock price, but very strong upside. Many businesses might be undervalued in this market, but few provide the favorable risk reward scenario that GLRE’s stock price does.

With great management led by Einhorn and a strong business, GLRE could become a “compounding machine� for its shareholders. A good book is Fooling Some of the People All of the Time, by Einhorn, to anybody who wants to learn more about Einhorn and his mind blowing experiences as an investor.

Full Disclosure: At the time of writing, Francisco Olivera DubĂłn was long shares of Greenlight Capital Re, and had no position in Coca-Cola. His positions might change at any time.

Day one Š2009 ERNST & YOUNG LLP.

of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young LLP

Francisco Olivera DubĂłn

and the possibilities are endless Day one. It’s when you take charge, meet new challenges and stretch yourself. It’s where you discover fresh opportunities around every corner. And it’s where you find the freedom to explore different services and industry sectors. From your very first day, we’re committed to helping you achieve your potential. So, whether your career lies in assurance, tax, transaction or advisory services, shouldn’t your day one be at Ernst & Young?

What’s next for your future?

Visit ey.com/us/eyinsight and our Facebook page.

THE VANGUARD

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

PAGE 13

GAMES Beer Slogans!

Last week’s answers

By: Jon McColgan

Sudoku Level: Medium By: Nic Smits

Oscars Winners & Losers

Last week’s answers

By: Jon McColgan

PAGE 14

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

THE VANGUARD

CAMPUS LIFE Recycling update (continued from Page 1) anyone can change to become more environmentally friendly. Expectations are high for the program, and there are hopes to eventually have one representative in each residence hall on campus.

Next, the construction of a solar panel wall on the exterior of the Dana Center is planned for this upcoming summer. The wall will be made of metal and will be placed 68 inches above the ground. It will cover the south side of the building and look like an “accordion of light” according to Kerri Roche, the assistant director of sustainability and energy here at Bentley.

Also planned for this summer, but with less certainty, is the construction of solar panels on the roof of the Dana Center to preheat the air in an effort to heat the pool. The problem with such construction is that, unlike the wall panel, in order to place panels on the roof, the entire roof would need to be replaced. For this addition, costs and time are main concerns, especially with the recession that has

already forced Bentley to cut back spending. This project is may be suspended until a more favorable economic climate develops.

September 15, 2009 marks the two year anniversary of President Gloria Larson signing the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).

Under the commitment, the fifteenth would also be the day where Bentley needs to meet the goals set in the agreement; ergo, Bentley must achieve carbon neutrality by this date.

In layman’s terms, this means that the net carbon emissions cannot exceed what is contained or offset. The entire sustainability department will be working fervently throughout the summer to meet this goal.

Perhaps the least cost effective objective on Bentley’s list is a reusable mug program to celebrate Earth Day 2009.

Though only a concept as of yet, the idea would be to offer reusable/recyclable mugs that students and faculty could use at places like Einstein’s and Dunkin Donuts. If implemented, the program would both encourage students to be more

Sigma Gamma Delta (continued from Page 14) “when I was made aware of the incident, I contacted the E-Board of Sigma Gamma Delta and within three minutes, everyone was made available to the detectives. I couldn’t ask for a better relationship with the president and his E-Board.”

Williams went on to say how cooperative and understanding the brothers were of the investigation and that they complied with everything asked by the police.

While alcohol was part of the issue regarding the accusations under investigation and Christo does concede that “many of our social events do involve alcohol,” he also pointed out that fraternities and sororities are “no longer having alcohol present at philanthropic events, or sponsoring Pub nights. Additionally, this past weekend Phi Sigma Sigma and Alpha Epsilon Pi held an alcohol-free social event.”

Witkowicki echoed Christo’s sentiments by addressing the fact that while most parties on campus involve alcohol, not all events

by Greek Life involve alcohol.

She also added that the Greek community at Bentley is working together to orchestrate a way to deal with “unfair stereotypes.”

Nabi also commented on the stereotypes that fraternities and sororities have on campus, stating that fraternities “often carry an unfair and negative public image due to

the influence of media and movies like Animal House.

However, here at Bentley, Greek organizations take philanthropy and community service very seriously.”

When asked how she felt Greek Life in general was perceived at Bentley and what the relationship between Greek Life and the administration was like, Witkowicki stated that “I believe the administration of Bentley, along with the leadership of the fraternity and sorority community, are working together to ensure the fraternal organizations on this campus are strong and are benefitting the institution and its students.”

Witkowicki went on to address the fact that Bentley has an obvious interest in ensuring a good relationship with Greek Life and their establishment of a position within the Office of Student Activities to direct the Greek Life Program shows that.

Witkowicki bluntly stated, “If the University wasn’t interested in working with the fraternal organizations on campus, that wouldn’t have happened. I think that says a lot right there.”

Sigma Gamma Delta’s signature yearly fundraiser, Airband, will continue as scheduled at 9:00 P.M. on Friday, February 27 in the LaCava Executive Dining Room. The fraternity was given special permission to hold the event, despite the suspension.

Speech software environmentally friendly and offer an incentive to celebrate the day.

Overall, sustainability will be making large strides during 2009 whether it is in the form of a metal solar wall attached to the Dana Center or a reusable mug. While these improvements and changes will help Bentley to become a more environmentally sound institution, the importance of such advancements truly lies in their teaching capabilities.

Ms. Roche stressed the importance of changing to become more environmentally sustainable and then using our achievements as a “teaching tool” for the entire community. She said, “We are proud with the progress we’ve made” but that there are definitely improvements that need to be made, with some being right around the corner.

Photo from Vanguard archive

(continued from Page 9) manually.

Some of the things that plague the software are the same issues that speech recognition software has always had. You have to be in a relatively quiet area or else the software will be impacted by background noise (sorry no listening to music or watching television). Also, using speech software in a crowded area is just kind of weird. No one wants to hear you telling your computer to go to webmd.com to check your symptoms. And despite how good the recognition is, every once in a while you will come across a phrase that seems to stump the program and you’ll be forced to repeat it several times to get it to register.

The professional version retails at around $900 with full access for voice commands for any software. The “plus” version includes both dictation as well as the ability to create custom voice

commands retails at $150. It will also let you interact with programs, but some are excluded that would be in the professional version (like PowerPoint). If you just want the dictation abilities, the most basic plan is only $50.

In the end, it’s hard to recommend the software almost based solely on the price.

Most users are going to be looking at the $150 version, but at that price point, unless you really need to multitask in your job, I’m not sure it’s worth it. Yes, the voice recognition and dictation are superior to whatever your current operating system comes pre-packaged with, but the rest of the functions, while quaint, still don’t rise about the level of novelty. If you really want to use speech software, your best bet might be to just spend more time training the one that comes with your computer and save yourself some money.

Score: 6/10

THE VANGUARD

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

PAGE 15

SPORTS Streaking Falcons earn bye in conference tourney Dan Ryaboy MANAGING EDITOR

There are certain landmarks in the Falcons season: opening game, first conference game, mid-way point of the season, and finally Family Weekend.

Family Weekend only means one thing to the players, coaches and fans: tourney time. Family Weekend is a time where everyone glances at the standings and takes inventory of positioning.

This year the Falcons have been up and down and right now the Falcons are on one of their upswings winning five out of six games. Currently the Falcons sit second in the NE-10 tied with AIC and Stonehill, one game ahead of both Pace and Assumption.

The Falcons find themselves in this favorable position after defeating the Pace Setters by the score of 80-69 this past Saturday on Family Weekend.

The Falcons impressive offensive attack was led by senior forward Kristy McLean who scored a team high 20 points, McLean has been a rock in the Falcon lineup this season putting up numbers making her worthy of a 1st team all conference selection.

The Falcons came into the crucial weekend tied for fourth in the conference but with the win coupled with losses by AIC and Stonehill the Falcons find themselves tied for second. The positioning is important as the top four seeds will get a bye in the first round along with home court in the quarterfinals of the NE-10 tourney.

The game against Pace was of monumental importance and the Falcons held a ten point lead early in the second

half but the Setters would not go down easy using a 13-2 run to take their only lead of the second half at 48-47.

The Falcons, using the same resilience they have shown all season, countered with 9-1 run of their own, in which the Setters were held scoreless for four and a half minutes. The run which was fueled by Kim Brennan and Colette Josey gave the Falcons a 56-49 lead with just under 12 minutes left in the game.

The Setters would once again provide to be a tough out as they climbed within three points of the Falcons on multiple occasions, with the final time being with just over eight minutes remaining in the game, but the Falcons used a 13-3 run to open a 7562 lead with 2:46 remaining.

Brennan had six of the 13, and freshman forward Lauren Massie helped out with four Brennan and Josey each finished with 15 points, and each helped out in other ways as well. Brennan had four assists and four steals, and Josey provided seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Bentley also received 10 points from junior post Kelly Barrett.

Both teams were very impressive from the field as the Falcons shot a blistering 54% from the field while the Setters shot 52%. The difference in the game came off Pace turnovers as they committed 23 of them leading to 27 Falcon points.

The Falcon playoff faith would be decided a short two days after as the Falcons hit the road to take on bitter rival Assumption. The game was of huge significance; a win and the Falcons receive a

bye and host a quarterfinal at the Dana Center, a loss and the Falcons would have to host a first round game.

The Falcons responded in a huge way defeating the Greyhounds 71-60. The win gave the Falcons a home date against a to be determined opponent on Tuesday March 3.

The Falcons got off to a very quick start grabbing a 50 lead early and holding on to the lead to the last few seconds of the half when Assumption took a 31-28 lead into the half.

The Greyhounds would hold the lead for the first seven minutes of the second half, the lead would peak at 8 with 16:54 remaining in the game.

The Falcons would be behind for the last time with 13:29 remaining in the game when Assumption held on to a 42-41 lead, after that point the Falcons would extend the lead all the way to seven with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Assumption would not go down quietly cutting the lead to four with nine minutes left in the game, but that deficit would be as close as the Greyhounds would get with the Falcons pulling away down the stretch.

The Falcons were lead by a dominating performance by Colette Josey who poured in a season high 25 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. The only other Falcon in double figures was senior swingman Kristy McLean.

The Falcons finish the regular season 19-10 including a 15-7 conference record, now the Falcons look to postseason play with a chance to regain their supremacy atop the NE-10.

RECENT RESULTS Baseball (1-6) at Saint Leo (2/18) at Florida Tech (2/20) at Florida Tech (2/21) at Florida Tech (2/22)

L 8-7 (11 inn.)

L 2-0 L 9-2 W 11-10 (11 inn.)

Hockey (17-14-1; 15-10-1 Atlantic Hockey) Mercyhurst (2/20)# Mercyhurst (2/21)#

L 6-4 W 3-1

Men’s Basketball (24-4; 18-3 NE-10) at Southern Connecticut State (2/18)* Pace (2/21)*

W 64-56 W 85-77 (OT)

Men’s Indoor Track Northeast-10 Championships (2/21) Men’s Swimming (8-4) No Events Scheduled Women’s Basketball (18-10; 14-7 NE-10) at Southern Connecticut State (2/18)* Pace (2/21)*

Northeast-10 Championships (2/21)

5th of 8

Women’s Swimming (6-6) New England Div. II-III Championship

2nd of 22

* Northeast-10 Game # Atlantic Hockey Game

UPCOMING SCHEDULE Feb. 28 Hockey vs. Connecticut#

7:05

March 2 Men’s Basketball vs. TBA (NE-10 Quarterfinals)

7:00

#Atlantic Hockey Game

Sudoku Solutions

Photo by Bree Johnson

W 65-50 W 80-69

Women’s Indoor Track

* Northeast-10 Game

The Falcons used efficient half court offense to shoot down Pace.

7th of 8

PAGE 16

FEBRUARY 26, 2009

THE VANGUARD

SPORTS Falcons claim fifth straight regular season crown, look to NE-10 tourney Robbie LaBrie SPORTS EDITOR

The Falcons established themselves as the team to beat back in the beginning of February when they took down the team sitting atop the Northeast-10 conference standings not once, not twice, but three times in a single week.

They knocked off Stonehill, who was in first at the time, then Merrimack who had taken over the top spot, then UMass-Lowell who almost defended their lead in Waltham, but lost in the final minutes.

Now Bentley has set an NE10 record in becoming the first team to ever capture five straight conference titles. Last week’s wins over Southern Connecticut and Pace combined with a UMass-Lowell loss locked up the unprecedented title for Bentley.

This year’s crown was the unlikeliest of at least the last three years. Keeping in mind that the Falcons went undefeated the last two seasons, the Bentley men got off to a very mild start this year, losing three conference games in the first half of the season to Southern New Hampshire, New Haven and Stonehill.

But since that loss to Stonehill, which also happened to end the Falcons’ 42 game winning streak at home, Bentley has torched every opponent who has been unlucky enough to cross paths with them. They won 15 out of 16 games to close the season, finishing strong against Southern Connecticut State, Pace and dropping the season finale to Assumption.

However, the hot streak was not easily maintained at the end. The Falcons had to fight it out starting on February 18, when they went down to New Haven, Connecticut to take on Southern Connecticut State in what should have been a very lopsided game in favor of Bentley. But the game ended up being anything but lopsided, as the Owls brought their “A” game.

Southern Connecticut has

5

Senior Lew Finnegan has been a consistent force all season for the Falcons.

Photo by Bree Johnson

they suffocated their opponents with rebounds and free throws.

Tracey went to the line first.

He hit the first free throw and missed the second, but Finnegan grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled.

Then the two played a little role reversal as Finnegan hit the first and Tracey grabbed the board off the missed second shot. He got the ball off to Mike Quinn, who stepped on Southern Connecticut’s throats by draining 4 from the line in the final 22 seconds to end the game.

Jason Westrol paced the Falcons throughout the game, pouring in 22 points to go along with seven assists, six rebounds and four steals. Brian Tracey led the charge at the end though, to make his total 13 points for the game. Finnegan and Quinn scored eight and nine respectively.

If the Falcons thought the game against the Owls was tough, they had no idea what kind of challenge they were up against in a family weekend matchup with Pace in Waltham. While seniors Lew Finnegan, Michael Sikonski, and James Oberg brought flowers to their moms at the begin-

ning of the game, it was sophomores Brian Tracey and Tom Dowling and junior Jason Westrol who led the charge after the tip.

It was a back and forth matchup that provided Bentley students and their families with even more excitement than they could’ve dreamed of. There were multiple lead changes throughout the game and by the end of 40 minutes; there was still no winner with the game tied at 69.

Pace’s Laurence McGhee, who shined all game, knocked down a three with 20 seconds left to knot it up, and Bentley was unable to capitalize on the final possession of regular time.

By the end of the game, it was evident that team work, depth and passion are the things that have put the Falcons on top this year. At one point Bentley held a ten-point lead in overtime, and eventually locked it up to the delight of the crowd, 85-77. The Falcons again hit

been one of the few teams in the NE-10 to get consistently pushed around all season. They sit in last place in the conference, five games behind New Haven who finished in 14, second to last. But they didn’t play like a cellar dweller team against Bentley, as they held down a three point lead at half time and a two point lead at the midpoint of the second half.

Unfortunately for Southern Connecticut, the underdog story really was just too good to be true. Jason Westrol, Lew Finnegan, Brian Tracey and company proved to be too much for them to handle. Down 44-42 midway through the second half, Bentley decided enough was enough and went on an 110 tear comprised of six points from Tracey, three from Tom Dowling and two from Finnegan.

This was the key stretch in the game, where the Falcons really took control and established a 53-44 lead. However, Southern Connecticut did not give up, fighting to get it back to a five point game with a minute left on the clock. But this is when the Falcons did what they’ve done to so many teams over the course of this streak;

The Falcons clinched their fifth straight regular season NE-10 title with a win this past Saturday against Pace.

Did you know the Falcons are the first team in NE-10 history to win five straight regular season titles?

almost every free throw and locked down on defense in the end to extend the streak to 15.

Tom Dowling and Brian Tracey led the team in scoring with 18 apiece, but it was a night in which nobody in particular took the game over, but rather the whole team stepped it up to come out on top. Junior guard John Brandt was one of those role players who came up big, as he scored nine points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds.

Just to prove that the Falcons can get it done in a number of different ways, this was a night where the starters went a pedestrian 17 of 48 from the field, while Tracey and Brandt combined to go 9 of 14 coming off the bench. The Falcons are hard to beat because if you try to shut down just Westrol or Finnegan, they can beat you in so many other ways, with so many other guys.

And even then, Westrol and Finnegan could probably still beat you. Westrol didn’t have a bad day himself. All he did was put up a nice double-double with 17 points and a career high 13 boards.

Despite a tough loss against Assumption on Tuesday, the Falcons are still entering the NE-10 tournament as hot as any team in the conference, and that is scary.

Bentley will get a bye in the first round and will play the team with the lowest seed to advance through that round, most likely somebody towards the bottom middle of the conference.

The regular season has come to a close and now we will find out if the Falcons have what it takes to make a run in March.

It’s a whole different game, but if the Falcons keep playing their brand of basketball, they will be hard to beat.

FALCON OF THE WEEK Kaduboski Named Falcon of the Week

Sophomore Anne Kaduboski of the women’s swimming team has been named the Falcon of the Week. Kaduboski had an outstanding weekend at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association Championships, winning two gold medals and medaling in the other five events she competed in.

Kaduboski won the 100 butterfly in a school and pool record 57:38 seconds. She won the 200 butterfly in a meet and pool record 2:05.28.

She took home the silver medal in the 50 butterfly and was part of two silver medal relay teams in the 200 freestyle and the 800 freestyle. Her relay teams also won bronze in the 200 medley and the 400 medley.

Kaduboski was named the Northeast-10 Co-Women’s Swimmer of the Week on Monday.