The Cauldron - Issue 14

Supreme Court Preps to Hear Text Messaging Case Page 3

Photo Spotlight: Wellfest

Pixel Perfect

The Cauldron Page 6

Monday, april 26, 2010

The Melting Pot

Opening Statements:

O-Bama-Obama!

Wherefore art thou Obama?

By Rob Ivory

News

CSU Women’s Center Holds Candle Light Vigil

By Kristen Mott

Arts & Entertainment

Poetry Reading Takes Precedence

By Samantha Shunk

SPORTS

McCoy Will Wear Orange and Brown

By Robert Ivory

Roger Ebert is a Work of Art…Page 12

*** ESTABLISHED 1929 ***

on campus dining:

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

By Reid May

Issue 14 | FREE

Page two : Monday, April 26, 2010

Contents Volume 110 • Issue 14

The Melting Pot

03 Opening Statements: O-Bama-Obama! wherefore art thou Obama?

03 Supreme Court Preps to Hear Text Messaging Case 04 Letter to the Editors 04 Response to the letter from KC Petraitis

News

05 CSU Women’s Center Holds Candle Light Vigil 05 Experts Speak About Health Care Reform 06 Photo Spotlight: Wellfest 07 Weekly Events Calendar

88

*Update: Last Week’s feature photography was by Pete Lindmark.

on campus dining:

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

By Reid May, The Cauldron Managing Editor

Samantha Shunk Editor-In-Chief

Managing Editor Reid May

10 Noise Inspectors We Rock So You Don’t Have To 11 Bayonetta A thesaurus’ worth of synonyms for “silly” 11 Poetry Reading Takes Precedence 12 Pixel Perfect Roger Ebert is a Work of Art 12 Concert Picks

Advertising Manager Jayson Gerbec Copy Editor Kristen Mott Copy Editor Justin Brenis

Sports

News Editor Alexes Spencer

13 McCoy Will Wear Orange and Brown 14 FIFA 10 Is Great, Again 14 Is Prime Time the Right Time?

15 Sports Flashback

Sports Editor Rob Ivory

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Arts & Entertainment Editor Jonathan D. Herzberger Layout Editor Steve Thomas Business Manager Anne Werner Student Media & Web Specialist Daniel Lenhart Faculty Advisor Dr. Rodger Govea

Mission Statement As Cleveland State University’s student run, managed, and operated alternative weekly paper, The Cauldron is dedicated to delivering information to the student and professional body of CSU; doing so without bias, without constraints, and without fear.

Presenting news, entertainment, opinion and other media that originates organically from within the student body, our distinctive media will organically flow and adapt to suit that body’s needs.

The Cauldron prints according to sound journalistic principles of accuracy, accountability, integrity, transparency and with a recognition of press freedom and student expression.

The Cauldron shall remain a forum; maintaining a strong connection to the diverse campus community, regarding but not limited to Cleveland State University, the city of Cleveland, the United States, and the Global Community.

Advertising Policy: For advertising inquiries e-mail us at cauldronadvertisements@hotmail.com or contact Jayson Gerbec at (216) 687-2270

Contact Us Cleveland State University 4th Floor Cole Center Cleveland, Ohio 44115 Phone (216) 687-2270 Fax (216) 687-5155 www.csucauldron.com

The Melting Pot This Week’s

Opening Statements O-Bama-Obama! wherefore art thou Obama?

Monday, April 26, 2010

“As president of the United States of America, you are supposed to lead by example. Obama has reached out to everybody on this ear th to negotiate with them, but he could not make the trip to Poland”

By Rob Ivory, The Cauldron Sports Editor

T

his administration continues to be a comedy of errors.

Ok, so President Obama was not the only world leader not to attend the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski last week, but I have become very upset that the media has let him get away with it, along with the lack of respect that President Obama has shown the Polish people.

Ninety-plus Polish passengers (mostly dignitaries and significant people in the Polish government) perished as their airplane crashed into the forest outside of Smolensk, Russia. The plane was heading to remember the 22,000 Polish officers in World War II, which were shot by Soviet secret police some 70 years ago.

But, the hiccup in the travel plans came when Eyjafjallajokull erupted in Iceland and literally stopped all transoceanic travel by air.

This is where leaders from around the world get it all wrong.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and other leaders failed to make the trip Courtesy: media.rd.com

Supreme Court Preps to Hear Text Messaging Case

By Justin Brenis, The Cauldron Copy Editor

3

Courtesy: portlandart.net

to Warsaw as well as President Obama.

The question that I want to pose to the readers is; why can we let the president get away with this, when a foreign leader died tragically?

As president of the United States of America, you are supposed to lead by example. Obama has reached out to everybody on this earth to negotiate with them, but he could not make the trip to Poland and show his respect for those that have passed away. I am still trying to ponder; why did Obama not go?

Think of these facts that I have been looking over: First, last September President Obama scratched the missile defense system in Poland and Czech Republic.

Both European leaders had to stick their neck out for then President Bush to reach an agreement to have these defenses in their backyard. They are/were allies much needed in Europe to help fight terrorism around the world.

Secondly, you cannot tell me that there was no way to get onto European soil. If you read this and say that all air travel stopped in Europe, I will agree with you.

I have seen the reports about people living in airports

for the week. But, if you are a passenger in an airport, you are not going to have as many choices or options as the president of the United States. Think of this, the only plane in the air after 9/11 was Air Force One. Planes are not the only mode of transportation in Europe. Therefore, the president cannot hide behind a volcano in Iceland as an excuse.

The final issue I have with President Obama is how he spent his Sunday, the day he did not travel to Europe.

Instead of going to the Polish Embassy in the District of Columbia (like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden did), nor going to the funeral in Warsaw, President Obama spent his day hitting a little white ball on a local D.C. golf course.

I really believe that President Obama has to reexamine his morals and learn a life lesson. That’s not what an American is; we will go out of our way to make sure that everybody feels comforted at any tragedy or death, not neglected.

Regardless of what side of politics you may associate with, ask yourself this one question: where has the respect, dignity, and pride gone in politics in this country?

Ok, admit it…you, and every other American out there (myself included), have a problem. As a country, we are terribly addicted to text messaging.

In the car, on the bus, at restaurants and in class people can be found tapping away at their itty-bitty QWERTY keyboards sending messages, typically not in excess of 160 characters, to everyone they know. The irony, of course, being that this is all done on a device meant, originally, for voice-to-voice communication. So why is it that we have become more inclined to abbreviate our messages down to the bare bones and send them off in text-form, instead of just dialing seven numbers and speaking to the person we wish to reach?

Well, perhaps the issue is one of privacy. Now Americans are finding that text messaging allows for indiscreet conversations to occur right out in the open.

So long as the device you are typing on isn’t stolen, and doesn’t fall into “the wrong hands” you assume there is a general expectation of privacy afforded to you, just as there would be in an e-mail, a letter, or a private phone call.

But would you think this privacy is a constitutionally protected right under, say, the 4th Amendment?

Well, the Supreme Court just began its first case on the issue, City of Ontario v. Quon, deciding whether or not, according to CNN, “a government employer may… monitor the private communications of its workers when it believes the right to use such equipment is being abused.”

For those of you unfamiliar, Amendment IV of the US Constitution, as it applies to this case, ensures that, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…”

We’ve all heard the spiel before…”Don’t use your work computer for leisure, your activity is being monitored at all times,” but have we ever thought the same for employer-provided communication devices like BlackBerrys or other text-capable cell phones?

Well, Ontario, Calif. SWAT Team Sgt. Jeff Quon apparently had not. He was recently caught using his work-only device for inappropriate means after his superior officer obtained transcripts of the device’s text messages from the service provider. According to CNN, the city government had provided the devices to their officers with service provided by USA Mobility, whose plan limited them to 25,000 characters a month before incurring overage charges.

While the city had instituted a policy limiting the amount of personal conversations that would be tolerated on provided devices, considering they were specifically meant for work purposes, which Quon himself signed, he claims to have been, “unaware the city’s overall policy applied to [his] department.” This is mostly because until Dec. of 2009, when the issue arose, Quon’s superior officers would merely collect from him whatever overage Continued on Page 7

Page four: Monday, April 26, 2010

Letter To the Editors I wanted to express my severe concern and lack of journalism that went into the article “Time for the Pigskin or is It?” The writer, Matthew Wilder, was clearly negatively one sided in his commentary about the football program. Any author who writes, “Students usually want to play for a college or university that guarantees a scholarship,” is so simple minded it is disgusting.

He clearly did no research into the program we were trying to implement here at Cleveland State. The program we were looking at bringing was one built on, “Students who just happen to be football players,” which was said by none other than former [Cleveland State] President Michael Schwartz. They would pay tuition just like any student. Attend classes like any student. All the while promoting Cleveland State University and providing another thing for students to do on campus. There are students on campus at this moment who played in high school who would love to take the field again but want to focus on their academics and keeping their overall costs low.

No personal, one-on-one interviews were done with SGA Senators, Athletic Director Lee Reed, or the student representative who sat on the football committee (that was me!). It was ignorantly written on baseless information. I do not believe Mr. Wilder even attended an information session nor sought out information that would discredit his irrational beliefs or theories. He is so arrogant he wrote about a future team joining the MAC conference in 10 years. Clearly, he did not learn about the Pioneer League and the process for which the NCAA requires the start up of a team and its eventual admission into Division 1 A. Of course we could not afford a Division 1 A team! That changes the whole dynamic of Title IX requirements not to mention scholarships that are offered to students!

I saw the article when it was published Tuesday and I chose to re-read it later so I could focus on getting students out to vote meanwhile campaign for my friends. It was already too late anyway, since it had been published and distributed so any argument would have been futile. Well, I have re-read it 5 times.

Each time I grow more and more angry at the baseless information that was put forward for the student body to read. This will be my final year at Cleveland State. After six years of school, I will leave with two Bachelors Degrees and a Masters Degree and I am proud to be a Viking. But, knowing that I attend school with people like Mr. Wilder who do their best to kill positive mentalities and do not strive everyday for something better is disgruntling. It hurts me and it hurts our campus. It also bothers me that this was accepted as journalism for such an important issue for the student body.

The Cauldron’s Mission Statement reads, “The Cauldron prints according to sound journalistic principles of accuracy, accountability, integrity, transparency, and with a recognition of press freedom and student expression.” Perhaps you should forward this to Mr. Wilder so he has a better understanding of accountability, integrity, and transparency. Maybe he should have found documents like the the findings of our football advisory committee. Or gotten a hold of people who actually took part in the process.

I am furious in case you have not guessed by this point. This is why people are disgruntled with media as a whole for not publishing articles without doing all of their homework. So, I am indeed calling The Cauldron out on it. This was an important issue and it needed to be covered by an objective and well-educated reporter. Not by some random student with an uneducated opinion built on hearsay. I am holding The Cauldron responsible as a publication that should have done better to educate the students and not publish garbage that I would expect to be written by a middle school student. Regardless, of whether people were for or against the issue, The Cauldron failed to give the facts to students and may have negatively swayed votes, which may have otherwise gone the other way. This is why I am most angry. The lack of oversight and fact-checking was very apparent.

Sincerely, KC Petraitis

Response to the letter from KC Petraitis

By Reid May, The Cauldron Managing Editor

The Cauldron received a letter this week calling into question some of the statements made in the April 12, 2010 article “Time for the Pigskin or is it?” authored by contributing writer Matthew Wilder. The letter, which is being run side-by-side with this response, calls into question, among other things, Wilder’s “accountability, integrity and transparency.”

Further, it blatantly accuses Wilder and The Cauldron of acting as a deterrent against the efforts of those who have contributed to the football research and promotion done at Cleveland State University in recent months. Given the absolute ridiculous nature of the letter and the unnecessary condemnation of Wilder’s work, we have determined a response necessary.

I am repeatedly astounded when readers write The Cauldron and complain about articles, citing things that are not actually written. Do not misunderstand, we love letters. It is just difficult to understand how one can read an article and only see the words considered most offensive. This is especially interesting when the sentence you are reading is punctuated specifically, or accompanied by other text, to frame the context.

This is a clear case of such oversight. Petraitis begins this letter by citing the negativity of Wilder’s article. First, understand that an opinion piece—as this clearly was—is often directed in a certain way.

However, I have also read and re-read Wilder’s article and I find no overt negative tone.

Wilder, in fact, is mostly speculative. He reflects, he questions, and he ponders. He does not condemn football. Yes, he certainly attests to the challenges—challenges which Petraitis would be foolish to dispute—inherent in building a program.

That is not negativity. It is realism.

The letter continues to state that “[The article] was written on baseless information. I do not believe Mr. Wilder even attended an information session nor sought out information that would discredit his irrational beliefs or theories.”

Contrarily, Wilder did attend the football forum and was also present at the Presidential Town Hall, both hosted by Student Government. Petraitis needs to sort out his own “baseless information” and “irrational theories” before concerning himself with Wilder’s.

Further, Petraitis criticizes Wilder for being “so arrogant he wrote about a future team joining the MAC conference in 10 years” and states that he did not “learn about the process for which the NCAA requires the start up of a team and its eventual admission into Division 1A.” He could not be more wrong. Wilder asked, “Is the long term goal to have us play Division 1A football?” before weighing some of the benefits to such a program, as well as the restrictions of 1AA. Later in his opining, Wilder said, “It is unrealistic to start as a Division 1A program due to the cost.

However, in the next 10, 15, or 20 years, we might

want to try becoming one. Maybe we can join the Big East or the Mid American Conference.”

I see no concrete timelines, or definitive statements. Wilder does not claim to be an authority on the football question, but simply poses some questions, which are certainly not his alone.

Journalists, by nature, tend to write about things that concern others. We act as a voice for the common person. Wilder is expressing the common concerns of many. There is nothing wrong with that.

Petraitis cites The Cauldron’s mission statement, accusing Wilder of ignoring his obligations to print according to sound principles of “accountability, integrity and transparency.” Wilder sacrifices none of these principles in his work. He is accountable to his audience, by expressing their concerns, makes no lewd accusations or hasty remarks and, along with his editors, is transparent enough to respond to concerns.

My final point must cite Petraitis’ statement that attending school with people who “kill positive mentalities and do not strive everyday day for something better is disgruntling. It hurts me and it hurts our campus. It also bothers me that this was accepted as journalism for such an important issue for the student body,” and later, “The Cauldron failed to give facts and may have negatively swayed votes.”

Apparently in the world of KC Petraitis, the opinion of the man in the mirror is the only one of consequence. What he asserts here is that football is the best thing for Cleveland State and anyone who disagrees is incorrect.

Was the entire point of the vote not to allow students to make a decision regarding their own future? Who are you to decide what does and does not “hurt our campus?” I am of the opinion that football must be seriously considered because of the potential negative consequences—on budgets, smaller sports and tuition—it could bring. Am I incorrect? Maybe. The point of a ballot measure is to find out what the majority thinks. Not Wilder, and certainly not you.

Wilder’s sentiments regarding the issue were no more influential in determining the outcome of the vote than the efforts made by Student Government and other groups—like athletics—to get students to the polls. Additionally, we previously published two articles, “SGA Football Forum,” by Kristen Mott in Sports and “Breaking down Football,” by Reid May in Melting Pot in our March 29, 2010 issue, which presented a wide array of facts about football—helping students understand the issue.

We allowed students the opportunity to make their own decisions. The Cauldron—as always— has worked diligently to “print with journalistic principles of accuracy” on this issue. Next time you attack one of our writers, especially one who was clearly—and, might I add, adeptly—expressing an opinion, make sure you read the article first.

News

Monday, April 26, 2010

Advertisement

CSU Women’s Center Holds Candle Light Vigil

Get Connected.

Stay Connected.

By Kristen Mott, The Cauldron Copy Editor

The CSU Mareyjoyce Green’s Women’s Center held a candle light vigil on April 13 to honor the 11 women that were victims of the Imperial Avenue murders.

The vigil attracted mostly students, as well as a few members from the community. The vigil commenced at 1 p.m. and began at the Women’s Center. The procession walked through the Main Classroom with photos of the victims and ended at the steps of Trinity Commons where a brief ceremony was held.

Monica Moore, a graduate assistant, was very inspired to organize the vigil. She said the vigil was intended to “honor the women as fellow women, and not just as victims.”

During the ceremony, Rev. Will Mebane, a minister at Trinity, prayed for the victims and their families. Three female CSU students gave speeches about sexual assault and substance abuse. In addition, Prester Pickett, coordinator of the Cultural Center and assistant to the Director of Black Studies, penned a poem about the victims which was read during the vigil.

Moore said that the original goal was to hold the vigil during February, which is Black History month, or March, which is Women’s History month. However, due

to scheduling conflicts at Trinity, the Women’s Center decided to hold the vigil in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness month.

Moore noted that women on campus are similar in age to that of the victims, which ranged from 25 to 52 years old.

“This could have happened to us,” Moore said.

Along with the victims all being women, they also all struggled with substance abuse. Moore pointed out that women who are addicts or recovering addicts are often given the blame for their murders, and this conception needs to change.

Moore hopes that the Women’s Center can bring awareness to the abuse these women, and so many other women in the world face each day. “Women are victims of violence in so many different forms that we’re very sensitive to that fact,” commented Moore.

The CSU Women’s Center serves to develop contact and support between women on campus. It works with other campuses to promote positive educational experiences.

The photos of the victims, along with the poem written

by Prester Pickett, are currently on display in the Howard A. Mims African American Cultural Center. For more information, please call 216-687-4674.

Experts Speak About Health Care Reform

By Samantha Shunk, The Cauldron Editor-in-Chief

Parker Hannifin Hall

CSUCauldron

.COM

Weekly in

Courtesy: csuohio.edu

Last Tuesday at noon on the first floor of Parker Hannifin Hall, two Political Science professors and the Ohio Director of Organizing for America met as a panel to speak about the health care reform. Rodger Govea, the chair of the Political Science department, moderated the event which was less of a debate than an agreement.

Govea began, “We are dedicated to the proposition that people need to understand public policy.” Through this event with the experts in the field, some CSU students, faculty and staff were able to grasp a better understanding of how health care reform came about.

Martin Plax, an adjunct Political Science professor, was the first to speak from the panel, and he revealed, “I voted for Barak Obama; he is the first Democrat for president I have voted for since 1964.” As a long time Republican, he shared the viewpoint of the opposition despite his own choice to vote to put a Democrat in office.

Plax continued, “What happened from the point of view of at least a long-standing Republican is that the president got in a hurry.”

After explaining that the reform was a good idea, Plax shared, “He ran into the opposition from the Republicans… because there were Republicans that didn’t want to accept the election, and I think that that’s a part of the issue.” He continued that there were other reasons as well, “One of the questions that some of the Republicans were asking was ‘Is this the right time to start adding government expenditures?’ at a time when the economy went south.”

The Ohio Director of Organizing for America, Greg Schultz, explained what happened to lead to health care

5

reform. “You had a historical cause that had been worked on for a hundred years. You had a president that in many ways remained above the debate; the Clinton White House basically wrote the health care bill and gave it to Congress, but this president took a different approach. He said we want to lower costs, we want to get rid of the abuses of the insurance industries, and that is as specific as he got for months and months and months.” Schultz continued to say that there really was not any other option but to reform the health care system.

Justin Vaughn, an associate Political Science professor, said that what happened with health care reform “is indicative of a lot of things that the president has done.”

After dealing with the mess left by his predecessor and the issues associated with the current recession, President Obama was finally able to deal with what he had planned to change. Vaughn continued, when President Obama finally began to get health care reform into Congress, “the Republican party chose to not cooperate.”

Plax claimed, “What struck me about Obama’s tactics was that he was going to let Congress do its work.”

Without being very involved in Congress with concern to this bill, President Obama “appeared weak really on purpose” so he was able to let Congress do what it needed to make everyone satisfied and yield a reform.

Schultz claimed, “His goal is not to just be a Democratic president.” He continued, “He needs to set his debates and his philosophy above the fray to allow his to adopt more conservative measures” to continue to get bills to pass as the health care bill did.

The Cauldron

***

• New Artists Reviews • Concert reviews • Album Reviews

Page six: Monday, April 26, 2010

Photo Spotlight: Wellfest Photography by Pete Lindmark

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Page eight: Monday, April 26, 2010

Monday, April 26, 2010 :Page seven Courtesy: images.teamsugar.com

Supreme Court Preps to Hear Text Messaging Case Continued from Page 3

DUI, Theft Offenses, Drug Offenses, Assault,Misdemeanors and Felonies

charges he racked up.

CNN determined it was when Quon’s superior officer became fed up with acting as a “bill collector” that he requested a transcript of the text message logs from the two officers’ devices that recorded the most frequent overage occurrences, “one of whom was Quon.”

It was then that Quon’s messages were voluntarily handed over by USA Mobility, revealing his indiscretions. These included, as CNN discovered, sexually motivated text messages to, “his wife, his girlfriend, and a fellow officer [which motivated] an internal investigation.”

Quon is arguing that the actions of the wireless company, in releasing the transcripts, constitute an invasion of privacy, where he felt he had previously had what the Court refers to as a “reasonable expectation” thereof.

According to an officer’s testimony in Federal Court however, the request for the transcripts was merely to ascertain whether or not the current 25,000-characters-a-month limit, “was insufficient to cover business-related messages.”

While the Federal Court ruled against Quon, the Court of Appeals ruled in his favor.

The Supreme Court, who heard the case on April 19, will now deliberate and offer their opinion on the matter at some point in the future. The issue regarding the nature of the texts and the outcome of the internal investigation however, will, according to CNN, “be put on hold pending the resolution of the larger legal questions.”

For more information, in-depth analysis, and to keep up-to-date on the Court’s decision, go to http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/08-1332.htm

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Page eight: Monday, April 26, 2010

Photo by Reid May

on campus dining:

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

By Reid May, The Cauldron Managing Editor

T

o begin this report about dining options on campus, let us evaluate what we know.

We know that when considering the most important aspects of building a university community, campus food cannot be far

from thought.

This is in part because students, especially those that live on campus and thus make up the largest component of the meal-plan holding population, are young. We know that the typical young person values good food options at reasonable prices and at just about any hour.

We also know that even non-traditional students, commuter students and any other student considers dining an important commodity. Really, considering the basic life requirement that food represents, we know that few, if any, consider food a trivial concern.

Recently, we have also begun to find that a number of Cleveland State University students have less than favorable opinions about the dining options available to them. As part of this report, The Cauldron wanted to find out what CSU students really think of dining. Naturally, we asked.

“Sometimes they try to do too much with the food and give it less appeal to the diverse crowds,” says Ross Verheul, a Fenn Tower resident. “There is [also] no real food available in between meal times, maybe just a burger or some pizza.”

Jessica Jones, a Viking Hall resident has similar sentiments, adding, “I think the dining on campus is not universal. I understand that we have different locations, but we need to have universal appeal. It makes it hard to spend a $1,000 a semester on a dining meal plan.”

Verheul and Jones provide an interesting on-campus perspective, but what about the 14,000 people living somewhere else.

“It’s exciting for the first week, but gets old very quick,” says Josh Malek, a commuter. “Not much variety.

[The campus] needs more health foods, more whole grains. The [current] health foods aren’t that good— aren’t even that healthy.”

Quinton Banks, another commuter student relying on campus food several times each week adds, “Its pretty good, but not enough variety of food. Mix it up every once in a while, just get some newer options.”

Others have stronger words.

“Hire employees that actually care about their job. It would be nice to have people who actually care about food,” says Chris Dolton, a Viking Hall resident.

“Desserts, they suck. Pop machines don’t work all the time…I got a couple dirty cups here once in a while,” adds Kendall Riley, also a resident of Viking Hall.

Brent Bergman, an off-campus resident, shares the angriest sentiments, “[Viking] tastes like a rotting whale fetus that has been sitting in the sun for several days.

Other than that, it’s okay. Get a new company.”

Now, to be fair, not everything said about the food

on campus was terrible. Some diners consider it to be acceptable, better than where they were before or even above average.

“I love the prepared food that they make for you [at Viking]—it has gotten better recently,” says James Hrivnak, a campus resident. “I love Fenn Shoppe, but ran out of dining dollars.”

Jackson Donatello, an off-campus resident, says, “They’re good. I like them. I like to eat here [Viking] because of the buffet type thing.”

“Its decent, not healthy, but decent,” says Joe Lauria, a Viking Hall resident. “Better than nothing, I guess.”

Leanne Kocian, employed by the Human Resources department and an occasional diner at Viking Hall adds, “I wish there were more vegetarian options, but I like to come here because I like the salad bar. I appreciate the options that we have, but there should be more.”

“I like it,” says Brendon Falcone, a Viking Hall resident. “It’s convenient. The food gets better every semester. I don’t really care for the salad bar, but everything else is great.”

Examination of this array of opinions reveals several trends. First, a large segment of the dining population has serious dissatisfaction with dining services. Food is not readily available, broadly appealing or exciting. The healthy options—known as balanced choices at Viking Hall—are less than hoped for and, according to Dolton, “sit out all day.”

Diners also cite the dining staff, facility amenities and cleanliness and the price of food as a problem. Those who consider the positive side of dining fail to do so with excitement. Simply, the people who express concerns with dining services lament their cause. Those who express support do so plainly. They do not seem to care.

Now that we have properly examined the student opinions of campus dining, it is only appropriate that we consider the perspective of the people providing those services to campus. The Cauldron spoke with Jim Razzante, the director of CSU dining services, to complete this report. “[Dining is] very important—especially in the residential dining area. That’s where students hang out and relax,” says Razzante. “What we provide them there is more than just food, it’s the experience and the

ambiance.”

In the last several years, the dining brain trust at Cleveland State has been working diligently to make accommodations on a campus that is flush with construction projects—the Student Center construction having taken away a big chunk of their venues.

“We put in the Fenn sub shop to replace the subway,” says Razzante. “We also decided to increase the graband-go options because that’s what students are drawn to.”

The new Student Center will provide students with many of the dining options they desperately desire.

Personal pizzas and calzones will be cooked in a brick oven right before your eyes. A Mongolian-style grill will provide students the choice of exactly what goes into their meal and food in general will be catered to each person.

“Cooking options will be more individualized,” says Razzante. “We will have individualized cooking stations in the new dining hall.”

Students will be able to request whatever they want for their meal, instead of having large prepared dishes sitting out as the only choices, which is how Viking Hall currently operates.

The all-you-can-eat dining hall will be one of many options in the new Student Center, which will include Bar Uno, Quiznos and Chop’d and Wrap’d, which was the most requested addition to campus dining.

“We were a little surprised that Chop’d and Wrap’d was the thing everyone was looking forward to next year,” says Razzante, who spoke of the overall effort that dining has made recently to add to the healthy options on the dining menu.

“Balanced choices are our healthy option. We have dishes that list ingredients and whether the food is vegetarian or vegan,” says Razzante. “Next year will be different because the healthy person can choose what they want in their food.”

In addition to the changes at the Student Center, Fenn Shoppe is being considered for a “flatbread sandwich and pizza shop,” while the Midway Café will likely take on a “Mexican concept.”

Next year will also feature a minor change in mealplan options. Instead of a block plan, like students purchase now, they can choose a traditional dining plan, which will allot a certain number of meals each week.

A declining balance meal plan is less likely. Declining balance works by giving you initial dollar value and subtracting from it in the form of meals (which have a cash equivalency, like eight dollars to one meal swipe) or with purchases at convenience stores.

“The downfall to that type of program is that it comes at a higher cost to run,” says Razzante. “Those are often 100 percent used and our current plans usually still have meals left over.”

Dining only plans for about 160 of 180 meals to be used up—so they only purchase that much food, bringing down the overall cost. A declining option would increase

Monday, April 26, 2010 : Page nine

Courtesy: sxc.hu & dineoncampus.com

“Balanced choices are our healthy option. We have dishes that list ingredients and whether the food is vegetarian or vegan,” says Razzante. “Next year will be different because the healthy person can choose what they want in their food.” use and thus increase cost. Razzante estimated it could take meal plans up $500 dollars each.

Razzante also considered some of the other issues raised by students.

“Going to be a little bit different but a lot of staff will be moving over,” says Razzante. “The type of service that will be required will require a different skill set.”

The biggest change will be in the staff members available to cook different meal options on the spot for students.

For those students with cleanliness concerns, staff concerns or food concerns, the best method for resolution is to bring it to the attention of a staff member.

“When somebody sees something they need to bring it to the attention of a supervisor manager,” says Razzante. “We have an online comments section, but you should also feel free to approach a supervisor at a dining location.”

In summation, considering both sides of the dining issue on campus, viewpoints may not be as polarized as they appear. Students need to make a greater effort to communicate their interests to dining services, because that allows them to make the necessary changes and include coveted dining options in their plans.

Things like cleanliness and worker sanitation should not be an issue, but if they are the best solution is to speak with a supervisor—on the spot. If you do not feel comfortable, seek out the online comment section, which allows you the less direct method of influence.

In addition, if you experience a bigger problem, seek out the management team. Razzante and his staff are a very accommodating group and they really want more feedback from students.

For dining services, work needs to be done to ensure the quality of the server-student relationship on all levels,

but especially the most basic. One of the most common concerns was worker cleanliness and their level of desire.

Workers who do not care about the food they make will turn students off to campus food, despite the best efforts of the planners.

Healthy choices are easily the most disconcerting issue facing our program. Pizza and burgers make for easy work, lower prices and certainly less preparation time. However, throwing a few patties on a grill at three in the afternoon clearly is not enough to satisfy the desires of a hungry campus.

The most common issue brought to The Cauldron’s attention is that healthy options are not available enough or that they sit out all day and taste like rubber by the time dinner arrives. A great effort must be made to increase the availability of the food selection that is growing most in terms of popularity and frequency of request.

The all-you-can-eat “ dining hall will be one of

many options in the new Student Center, which will include Bar Uno, Quiznos and Chop’d and Wrap’d.

”

10

Monday, April 26, 2010

I

ors N o is e InYous pDeonc’ttHave To

We Rock So

illstring”

By Jonathan “K

e Cauldron A&E

Herzberger, Th

Stickshift Rocketship YouTube is a fantastic way to get a hold of new music – with a quick link, you can access things from anywhere in the world, and glean insight that might not exist if you just listened to the audio. So, I can see why attempting to promote a band in a way that makes use of the popular, Google-owned website makes sense.

What does not make sense, is printing out a youtube page, and mailing it to me. Three times.

Life as the A&E editor at a college newspaper is full of interesting moments like this. When the first envelope appeared, containing a single page, printed from youtube, I chuckled. When the second one came, I rolled my eyes and made jokes. When the third one came, I couldn’t ignore it anymore – it was just too ridiculous. You guys win, ok? Stop wasting the postage; I will review your music.

Be very careful what you wish for in this life.

I listened to a variety of their songs – “Super Dooper,” “Boxes of Rocks,” etc. The printout was for a song called “Travolta Operretta” so I couldn’t not watch the video; in which I was shocked to realize that these guys are probably in their late teens, early twenties. Why is this shocking?

Because the music quite frankly struck me as flat, uninspired dad-rock Dad-rock is not to be confused

Editor

Arts&Entertainment

forget the name of the city.

It was somewhere in Kentucky, or maybe Tennessee. Another concert, much like any other on the tour, the first such endeavor with honest-to-goodness label support. Which translated into equal parts jack and squat, but it was more about the symbol; these guys had “made it.” And much like any other city, I watched with pride as the band – it was as hard to think of them as “clients” as it was to think of myself as the “business guy” - played their hearts out to a moderate crowd, rocking out like they were at Shea Stadium.

A kid came up to me – probably late high school, dressed in the unofficial uniform of such shows: black hoodie, band t-shirt, jeans, and Chuck Taylors. He asked which band I was in.

“Management,” I replied; “My band broke up.”

And at that moment, something I had never considered the possibility of occurring, started happening to me: I became “The Man.” “Dude,” he said, “you label guys are all liars and thieves. The artists get a buck per cd they sell, and you pocket the rest? They don’t need you, man – you’re a cancer.” I was a bit

with actual music made by people who happen to have kids, oh no no.

Dad-rock is that special, embarrassing monster where dudes in their 40’s try to bridge “classic rock” with what they think is a modern sound. The lyrics are embarrassingly weak. The themes, both visual and aural, ape the aesthetics of bands from decades ago, without the context of why said bands were doing those things in the first place.

It is universally uninspired, and bland. It is devoid of the passion and soul required to impact an audience.

It’s not about age – B.B. King is 84 as of this writing, has more kids than we have chemistry majors, and his music will stab you in the face, kick you in the gut, and love you unconditionally.

It’s not about age. It’s about soul.

So when I say that these guys are Dad-Rockers, I mean it as an insult. It should be taken as one.

The production is of a high quality – somebody threw money and expertise at this. The videos show care, and effort. And I don’t know, maybe they’re fun in concert? Can’t say. What I can say, is that I will go to great lengths never to expose myself to their faux-bowie vocals again.

On a scale of Spacehog to Actual David Bowie, you guys are Guitar Center employees. There’s your review! Think of all the postage you’ll save.

4 stamps out of 10

stunned – again, wasn’t I supposed to be the antiestablishment punk kid? When did I become The Suit? Regardless, I shrugged. He didn’t need to hear that I lived in an apartment with 5 other music industry guys and struggled to make my $180 of rent each month. He didn’t need to know the amount of water I had to drink to offset my ramen-based diet. Though I will here state that it was a lot. “Dude,” I said, “my fondest dream is that they’ll outgrow all this, like NIN or U2. But let me ask you this – if their CD wasn’t in stores, if they weren’t touring with other bands you like – from the same label – I’m just wondering, would you know who they are?” I shrugged, and walked away.

We’d been promised a revolution – the internet was supposed to make record labels obsolete, and MySpace, iTunes and the like were supposed to ensure that the best art gets the most attention.

And I don’t mean to say that it’s not happening – but the revolution has turned out to be a slow, slow process. Still, the intrepid and enterprising artists of our generation continue throwing ideas against a wall, and seeing what sticks.

Here are two very different acts, that tried two very different approaches this past month.

Dumb Blonde, Dead We Choose To Go To The Moon On the other side of the spectrum, you have a band that has never contacted me, and likely has no idea who the hell I am. I ran across DBD through a simple banner ad above a webcomic I read with some frequency. It was there again when I came back the following day. I rarely click on links, but I had never heard of this band, nor ever seen an advertisement for a CD on a webcomic’s site before.

Color me curious.

I found myself at a little self-run website, streaming the music, and offering a ‘pay what you want’ download option, as popularized by Radiohead’s In Rainbows.

They say that they’ll be incredibly grateful for any monetary considerations, but promise to love me anyway if I just take the music.

I like promises of unconditional love.

So I head in. Acoustic “indie” pop here, of the folk-rock variety. Dude and chick.

Guitars, vocals, drums. Pretty straight ahead, and pretty clearly a fleshing out of songs that were written (and are apparently performed) as acoustic duets. A single line catches my ear from the leadoff track, “Grudge” “there’s an angel on my left, and a demon on

my right; what does that make me?”

Nothing tremendous, or spectacular, but I liked it nonetheless.

And really, that goes for the album at large. The title comes from a JFK speech, about doing things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Much like trying to promote one’s independent band, I suppose.

The speech itself is sampled in the albums closer, “Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars” in which you can literally feel them channeling Owl City, which is like channeling The Postal Service by proxy. I’ll go on record saying that I prefer “Silent Weapons” to “Fireflies,” aware that I am apparently the only person in the world who doesn’t like that song, or Owl City in general.

So, we have a good opening track, a better closing track, and a lot of average stuff in between. Is it for everybody? Nope.

Is it going to gather album of the year consideration? Also nope.

But man, I paid a dollar for this. In retrospect, the soda I am drinking while writing this cost 25% more than the album I am listening to – and those two tracks are going to make their way into my rotation.

6.5 moons out of 10.

Monday, April 26, 2010 :Page eleven

Poetry Reading Takes Precedence

By Samantha Shunk, The Cauldron Editor-in-Chief

Courtesy: moe.imouto.org

A thesaurus’ worth of synonyms for “silly”

By Pete Lindmark, The Cauldron Contributing Writer

I know it’s a little late, but it’s only been a few months, so Bayonetta is still relevant, right? This mythically confusing game is none other than Sega’s next gaming aborti…I mean feat, this time courtesy of fledgling developer Platinum Games, creators of well-loved titles like Okami and Viewtiful Joe. To say the story of this game is convoluted would be “understatement of the century” material. On my second play-through, I tried following it - only to end up with migraines as a result.

Bayonetta, the titular main character, starts out as a 500 year old witch without any memory of her past (Fan effing tastic). You’re hounded incessantly by a journalist convinced that you killed his father upon your ‘revival’ from the bottom of a pond, and as a result of, wants to kill you all kinds of dead. In case you were curious, you had been tossed in the pond as a punishment for being naughty, by your mother (or fellow witch-sister…don’t ask) Jeanne, some years back. You then find a little girl carrying around a doll that’s supposed to be a cat, the most unfortunate cat ever to be seen, and, of course, you have to keep her safe throughout the rest of the game.

Does your head hurt yet? No? Without giving anything away, the whole reason this kid is in the story at all is so one of the bosses can snack on her and revive themselves/become a god. Luckily, the journalist, who is now torn between wanting to kill you and throw you down and mount you, acts as babysitter while you go obliterate angels and lesser deities. Unfortunately he fails (Shock of the century!), meaning no special fun time for him, and thus we have what some may confuse for a plot.

Does your head hurt now? If not, kudos, and let’s move onto gameplay.

You start out simply fighting with your fists and feet, with a gun attached to each foot…that’s right kids; she has guns embedded in her (impractically high) heels. As the game progresses, you do get stronger weapons…all of which serve the purpose they were created for. You get a katana, claws that switch from fire to lightning seemingly whenever they please, a whip that can hit enemies at least a full screen away, and shotguns…again, for your feet.

Giving you an overly vast arsenal in which to penetrate

your enemy’s no-no places.

Being a witch evidently allows you to pull off moves that no normal person could do and you’ll come to find out that any attack, any attack at all, can be dodged triggering ‘witch time’ which is suspiciously similar to bullet time, an innovation that has been overused by everyone from Max Payne to Uwe Boll. This simply means (for those of you that have been living under a rock for years upon years) that time slows down, allowing Bayonetta to score a free combo on anyone she fights, bosses included.

Almost as the game starts, you learn how to do ‘torture’ attacks. These are finishing moves for normal enemies, much in the same way that ‘climax’ (insert joke here) moves are finishing moves for bosses. Both require a quick time event to enable, and haphazardly fast mashing of one of the face buttons afterwards to increase the damage dealt by this silly (I’m running out of words that mean absurd) attack. Upon activation, enemies are kicked into an Iron Maiden or a Guillotine, or other equally fun and abusive forms of torture. The forms these attacks take for bosses are even more bizarre; all of your hair (which it turns out is actually the skin tight catsuit you wear) covers only your cash and prizes, penetrates the ground, and appears behind the boss in the form of a dragon, a centipede, or a bird to devour, constrict, or plow into, then devour the boss. After each level, you’re graded on your performance. Taking no damage while violating your enemies in every way you can think of earns you a Pure Platinum medal (basically this games version of those gold stars you sought but never really deserved in kindergarten).

All that silliness being said, this game was a ton of fun.

Sure the story couldn’t be deciphered by astrophysicists or the founders of MENSA, and the gameplay is akin to Devil May Cry on ecstasy; but once you get used to or over those two things, it’s a blast. I did feel disappointed that the game beat me to all of the innuendos that I tried to make, but got over that very quickly when I realized that this isn’t mean to be taken seriously…and is indeed meant to be as ridiculous as it sounds. The bosses are as epic as you would think, there are midboss check points, there isn’t any stupid unnecessary weapon upgrading, and a select few of you will enjoy this game in the worst possible way. Try it.

Last Thursday evening, poets Elyse Fenton and D.A. Powell visited Cleveland State for a poetry reading presented by the CSU Poetry Center. Powell was scheduled to receive the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, which carries a $100,000 award, that evening, but he had the ceremony rescheduled so he could be a part of this poetry reading at CSU. Fenton began by reading from her collection Clamor, which is her first published collection of poetry. The poetry was full of emotion and images of the War in Iraq. Fenton is the wife of an Iraq War medic, so the war was a powerful force in her life when she was composing the poetry. The images of the war that she articulates are very powerful and vivid.

With poems such as “After the Blast,” “Friendly Fire,” “Deployment Ends” and “Veteran’s Day,” Fenton evokes what the war was like for her husband both as he described it to her and as she imagined. She also expresses what experiences she had while at home, and in “Infidelity” she describes having the dream of learning that her husband had died but never having one of him living.

Fenton’s first book of poetry shows the realities of the War in Iraq and the effects it has on the loved ones the soldiers leave at home.

This collection is not good for a light read, but it powerfully portrays the war in a way that may change the way a reader understands and feels about it.

Powell read mostly from his most recent book Chronic. The first poem, “Crematorium at Sierra View Cemetery Next to the High School” expressed the experience of smoking near the place where the smoke of dead bodies being cremated filled the air while viewing a funeral.

Powell revealed that this spot “was a great place to smoke a joint.” His poetry in this collection is full of serious expression with a comedic line thrown in that seems to lighten the mood, make the poems more fun and provide a bit of irony in some cases.

Powell said that this collection in Chronic is made up of mostly love poems with a little bit of the opposite thrown in because that is what life is like. He even read one poem made entirely out of movie titles that he aimed to be a confessional poem without actually confessing anything; “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” was a fun and interestingly assembled poem.

Then he read from the manuscript he is currently working on with the title Useless Landscape. “The Fluffer Talks of Eternity” spoke about the experience in the pornography industry. And, Powell finished with “Santa Baby” from one of his earlier books Cocktails because he wanted to finish with a more upbeat poem. Overall, Powell’s poetry has deeper messages hidden beneath lines and titles of songs and ironic turns within the poem which make it more of an upbeat read.

Page twelve: Monday, April 26, 2010

Pixel Perfect Roger Ebert is a Work of Art

By Justin Brenis, The Cauldron Copy Editor

That’s right, I said it…Roger Ebert is a work of art.

I mean, think about it, he has appendages that decide the fate of movies that took years of manpower and millions of dollars to put together. If you can’t please this man’s thumbs, you don’t deserve to be on the big screen… and I’m okay with this, when he sticks to what he knows, reviewing movies.

However, when he branches into other mediums that obviously, at age 67, may never have been intended for his demographic, like video games, I feel like anything he says ought to be taken with a considerably large grain of salt. Mind you, that is not to say that a 67 year old cannot enjoy or engage in a video game, just that the odds are far less likely than those of someone 30 years younger doing the same.

Revisiting an argument made before, Ebert, upon many a request to the contrary by his assumed fans, feels that video games cannot be considered art. Changing his previous argument he has decided to remove the qualifier “never” from his opinion saying that, “never, as Rick Wakeman informs us, is a long, long time.” His new arguments presents itself as such: “Let me just say that no video gamer now living will survive long enough to experience the medium as an art form.”

Clearly, I am biased here. Writing a (ideally) weekly video game review column, obviously I consider video games an art form, or, at the least, a currently developing one. In saying that, I would challenge Ebert’s opinion and agree with the very source material he used to fuel his newest blog rant, a presentation made by Kellee Santiago, a student at USC and President of ThatGameCompany, during one of USC’s TEDx (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) events.

Saying that, “games already ARE art,” she compares the current state of video games within the historical spectrum of art as a medium. She feels that games are currently the near equivalent of the “chicken-scratch” that is cave paintings from the days of the Neanderthal. While saying that Ebert is foolish to believe video games lack the potential to evolve as a medium, She also acknowledges his argument, agreeing with him that, “No one in or out of the [video game] field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great poets, filmmakers, novelists and poets.” (sic) Personally, I would counter that point. I feel that that argument is terribly subjective and is determined solely by the gamer themselves. Being an avid fan of Shakespeare, I am almost positive I have, on rare occasion, found Shakespearean elements, in an extremely diluted form, within a video game to some degree (and that’s not even counting Mass Effect 2’s brilliant Elcor Hamlet sequence).

Was this the intention of the designers? Is it merely a happy accident or coincidence because of my knowledge base? Obviously that is a whole other argument, but while it may not put games on an equal pedestal with Vivaldi, Shakespeare and Chaucer, it certainly allows them access to the tools to begin molding a pedestal of their own.

Using the Wikipedia definition of art and combining it with Robert McKee’s definition of what constitutes “good writing,” Santiago develops her own definition, which I find particularly poignant in this case. Her definition states, “Art is a way of communicating ideas to an audience in a way that the audience finds engaging.” I find that this definition, despite using Wikipedia as half of its source

(something I would never recommend doing in a research paper, let along when going up against Roger Ebert), easily applies to nearly every medium of art.

The goal of any artist is, at its very basest, to engage the person who will eventually be viewing their piece while inducing particular kinds of emotions and responses voluntarily out of the experience. I find the same applies to video games in nearly every genre. While Santiago uses purposefully artistic games like the Xbox360 Arcade phenomenon “Braid” and the PS3’s game “Flower”, I would go so far as to say even games like the original BioShock and Super Mario Sunshine back on the GameCube fulfilled the same purpose.

Hell, BioShock, while being something Ebert would essentially call a “brainless shooting-gallery,” not only fulfilled its purpose as a First-Person Shooter (FPS) but completely redefined the genre at the same time. While eliciting the emotions that come along with any one gamer’s tour through the underwater hell that is Rapture, the game also forces gamers to question nearly everything they have ever thought about the FPS. When playing games in this genre we typically surrender our free will of choice to the Non-Playable Character (NPC) that gives us guiding directions and new missions to complete, and while in the end we may find we are not able to trust said character, no game directly questioned our willingness to obey quite like 2K Boston’s mega-blockbuster hit…and that’s without accounting for how aesthetically pretty the graphics are.

That is where my argument for games as art comes from. This may be a matter of opinion, but some of the best movies, the best books, the best paintings and drawings, and the most interesting architectural designs came from a desire to force us to question comfort and conformity. Whether it be out of the dangers of becoming too comfortable in a political regime, or the stark boredom of sticking to the same pattern of doing any kind of activity, or just the need to shake the status-quo, art, as a medium has always been the most convenient vehicle for change.

So then, I ask, how could a game like BioShock not be considered, in some degree, art?

Well, according to Ebert, the line is drawn between art and games because, “One obvious difference…is that you can win a game. It has rules, points, objectives, and an outcome. [One] might cite [an] immersive game without points or rules, but I would say then it ceases to be a game and becomes a representation of a story, a novel, a play, dance, a film. Those are things you cannot win; you can only experience them.”

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the primary definition of a game (from a list of four various definitions) is an, “activity engaged in for diversion or amusement.” Now it is worth noting that parts of Ebert’s argument are also included in the various other definitions, and in at least one of them they do recognize that some games have an inherent scoring mechanism. But, the primary definition, the one that your average reader will look at, and typically not beyond, not only defines games, but in my opinion could equally apply to art.

Looking at “Braid,” Santiago notes the aesthetic artistic elements as well as those in the games plot and mechanics.

The ability to rewind time and correct our mistakes, thus preventing the player from “dying,” combined with a emotionally reflective storyline throughout, she argues, makes us reflect upon ourselves a large part of the

Courtesy: issyfit.wordpress.com

a game... is an, “activity engaged in for diversion or amusement.” experience, as one would with art. Ebert counters by saying, “In chess, this is known as taking back a move, and negates the whole discipline of the game. Nor am I persuaded that I can learn about my own past by taking back my mistakes in a video game. She also admires a story told between the games levels, which exhibits prose on the level of a wordy fortune cookie.”

I feel this clearly shows where his knowledge in the field, and this argument, are flawed. Santiago notes early on that there is a distinct difference between games like chess, football, and baseball and video games. Therefore, when he compares the rewind feature in “Braid” to reneging on Continued on Page 14

Concert Picks

By Alexes Spencer and Jonathan Herzberger, The Cauldron News and A&E Editors

The semester is drawing closer and closer to a close. That’s right, soon, you’ll be outside frolicking around in shorts and t-shirts, and--Oh, wait, you’re already doing that. Why aren’t you in class? Tsk, tsk.

Well, here are some more things you can do instead of studying like you should be, or going to your night classes, whichever.

Alexes’ Pick: 4/30 The Dear Hunter @ Musica in Akron Oh, Casey Crescenzo, if there were one person on this planet who could compete with the glory that is Dustin Kensrue, it would most definitely be you, you musical genius. It’s just that you’re playing in Akron, and I don’t have a car. Why would you do this to me, Casey? Just...why?

Dear reader, if you are blessed with a mode of transportation and $11, for the love of God, please don’t miss this show. Also, please take me with you.

You can find me on Facebook,or e-mail the Cauldron.

Heck, you can send up smoke signals. Just let me know, and I’ll be there.

No seriously, someone please take me?

Killstring’s Pick: 5/2 Earth Crisis w/First Blood, Thick as Blood, Foose @ Peabody’s Earth Crisis is coming. It will cost you ten dollars.

I suppose you could not see one of the most influential hardcore bands in existence, but seriously; why would you do that?

Other Shows: 4/27 Apples in Stereo @ Grog Shop, $12 4/27 Smodcast Live! feat. Kevin Smith @ Peabody’s, $29 4/28 School Boy Humor @ Peabody’s, $10 4/29 Captured! By Robots @ Grog Shop, $12 4/29 Inhale Exhale @ Peabody’s, $10 4/30 Half Raised Heathens @ Peabody’s, $6 or FREE with Flyer available on peabodys.com.

5/1 J-Mann Band @ Peabody’s, $10 5/1 Four Letter Lie @ Peabody’s Rockstar, $10 5/1 Jason Castro @ Grog Shop, $15

Sports

Monday, April 26, 2010

13

McCoy Will Wear Orange and Brown

By Rob Ivory, The Cauldron Sports Editor

A weekend of jubilation in Cleveland started Friday night as the Cleveland Browns selected University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy as their fourth selection during the 75th NFL Draft. The Browns took McCoy with the 85th pick of the draft in the third round, the pick that Browns got from the Oakland Raiders when the Browns sent linebacker Kamerion Wimbley to the Raiders this offseason.

McCoy came into the draft as the winningest quarterback in the University of Texas history, as well as being the runner-up in the 2008 Heisman Trophy, losing to only Sam Bradford. Colt led the Longhorns to the National Championship game in 2010, but was sidelined due to a shoulder injury and was knocked out of the game.

McCoy was one of four major quarterbacks that were hyped for the 2010 draft: Bradford (Oklahoma), Tim Tebow (Florida), and Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame).

McCoy was passed by the Browns late in the second round in favor for wide receiver Montario Hardesty from Tennessee. Many analyists (and Browns fans as well) thought McCoy’s name would be called by the Browns in the second round when the Browns traded up for that pick.

However, the patient Browns waited and grabbed McCoy

just a round later.

In their NFL Draft Preview, Sports Illustrated said of McCoy, “he’s going to have to learn to make quicker decisions and throw the ball into the first row of the bleachers instead of taking the sack.” However, they would go on to say that McCoy was, “highly decorated college career, selfless leader, remarkably accurate (73.5% over his last two years).”

The NFL knew that the pick was coming as current University of Texas head coach, Mack Brown, announced the pick at the podium at Radio City Music Hall in New York. McCoy was joined by family and friends at their home in Texas and one of the newest Browns continued to thank the Browns front office and head coach Eric Mangini and promised “a lot of wins in Cleveland” as he was interviewed.

The Browns were definitely looking for the quarterback of the future in this year’s draft, as the Browns traded away Brady Quinn to the Denver Broncos (who took Tebow with the 25th pick) in March and releasing Derek Anderson. The Browns signed former Carolina Panther Jake Delhomme, an aging star that signed for just two years.

McCoy was the fourth player taken by the Browns,

as Cleveland selected cornerback Joe Haden from the University of Florida with their first pick of the draft (number seven overall). Haden finished his career (three years) with 197 tackles and eight interceptions, but most importantly, he gives the Browns a very productive shutdown corner that will be a great tandem with Eric Wright in the near future.

Cleveland also took the defensive route in the second round, as they took free safety TJ Ward from the University of Oregon. The former Duck will help the badly depleted Browns defense, as Ward is a tough guy that the Browns need. Although oftly-injured, Ward will be another step in the right direction, as he will join free agent Scott Fujita.

Notable, Ward was announced by Jim Brown, one of the greatest Cleveland Brown and running back of all-time.

Ironically, the Browns got to their third pick and took Hardesty, a much needed running back to compliment Jerome Harrison, who had a breakout few games to end the 2009 season. Hardesy is big (6-foot, 225-pound) that will pave the road for Harrison and bring many more big running games for the Browns. Many thought it would be McCoy, as the Carolina Panthers (ironically) took Clausen eleven picks earlier.

Page fourteen : Monday, April 26, 2010

FIFA 10 Is Great, Again

By Rob Ivory, The Cauldron Sports Editor Just when I thought I was over FIFA10 and all its splendor, it pulled me in again.

EA Sports introduced Ultimate Team -- a journey into the world of card collecting, meets fantasy sports, meets strategy games, meets the beautiful game.

Here is the deal. You get cards with players, managers, coaches, club crest, footballs, kits (jerseys), stadiums, additional points to player ratings or contracts, and more rewards at the gold, silver, or bronze level. Obviously you have to get the most tokens to buy the gold packets (which means you start with bronze level players), so your choice of squad and how you perform on the field is critical.

Now you need to put your players in a formation and make sure your are the best quality club, while having a great chemistry.

The interesting part of Ultimate Team is that chemistry comes in a few ways: First, chemistry is conducive of where players are from, what league they play in, and what position they play at. Your best chemistry will come from teammates and obviously, two Spanish players from La Liga (Spain’s top league) are going to have a better chemistry than a German playing in the Ekstraklasa (the Polish top league) and an Australian playing in the K-League (Korea). The more you can put players together that share similar values, the better chemistry you will have.

The one thing I would like to see is players who speak the same language, having a better chemistry. For instance, if I have a player from Brazil playing in Primera División de México, he should be able to have a good chemistry with Spanish players from La Liga. (Before I get any hate-mail, I know that Brazilians speak Portuguese, Mexican’s their own form of Spanish, and I Spain a different type of Spanish. I just think that they would be able to communicate better than somebody that does not understand Spanish).

Now that you have your team ready to go, you have to get more coins to buy more packs of cards to get the ‘ultimate Team’.

To get those cards, you have to put your best on the field as goals, possession %, man of the match, and more count towards your coin total.

To play you have the decision of what mode you want to play at. You can enter a tournament against the CPU or Online against other Ultimate Team squads from around the globe. If you can win the tournament (usually just four rounds), you get a tournament bonus, based on the difficulty of the tournament and your reward is, you guessed it, more coins.

Tournaments are tricky because you have to reach certain criteria to enter (some as easy as winning two trophies and others like the maximum number of nationalities in the match squad is four). Thankfully, FIFA 10 allows you to have different squads made up of the same or different players at the same time, so you can tweak your squad as needed.

If your not ready to make the commitment of a tourney, or you want to simply try a new formation for your club, you can play on online game with your squad, or simply play against any team already on the game like you would in the regular FIFA 10 game. The great thing about that mode is, that you can play an unlimited number of ‘free’ matches while you wait to finish your tournament.

However, your players have a certain number of games on their contract and if it runs out, you have to sign them again (with a certain card from your pack), sell them back, or let them sit on your roster. If you need that quick fix, you can head to the auction block and get a player (at any level) that other owners look to sell.

You have plenty of search options, so if you are looking for that specific piece, you will be able to find it. You can bid, but there is also a ‘buy now’ option if he will make your squad the best in the game.

The game keeps stats of all your players, as well, so you can track you player’s progress.

Overall, Ultimate Team takes the best of FIFA 10 and makes a manager out of you at any level. If you are unsure about what you are doing, Ultimate Team has great video tutorials about all the facets of the game.

Good luck, and we’ll see your Ultimate Team on the pitch!

Is Prime Time the Right Time?

By William Wodka, The Cauldron Staff Writer

This year the NFL has tried something new to entice fans to watch the NFL Draft.

In prior years the draft has always been a two-day event starting on a Saturday at 12pm. This year the league has decided to change the format, placing the draft on a Thursday night and having it continue over a three day period. The league has also shortened the time that the teams get to deliberate on who they would like to pick. This is to keep the draft going at a relatively fast pace and keep the audience tuned in.

But is this plan for the NFL a good idea or will they lose more viewership than expected?

Last Thursday was not only the draft but also a Cavaliers playoff game, and for those who are into hockey, the hockey playoffs were in full stride. The NFL will tell you that putting the draft on during the primetime will have helped them in viewership, but I do not think that will be true. Most people, unless you are a die-hard fan who has to watch every round, will have ended up watching either just the first round or the first round and part of the second round. Most of the players that are talked about in the media will be taken in those rounds and then after that, it is more of a bore to watch guys that you do not know get drafted.

Putting the draft during the primetime the league has to go up against different sports that are in the playoffs. Playoffs are always a big draw for people to

watch and the high flying fan-favorite Sidney Crosby will be on the ice along with Kobe Bryant and Lebron James on the court. Here in Cleveland there is so much to watch, which is good for each person who loves a different sport, but bad for leagues trying to figure out who is watching which. On Thursday there was a Cavs game for the basketball fan, an Indians game for the baseball fan, the draft for football fans and hockey playoffs on Versus for the hockey fans.

For those who love to watch more than just one, they would have been flipping between all sorts of games.

Overall I think the NFL should stick to the old time slot that they had. A lot more people will be willing to watch it on a day and time when there is likely nothing on. I also think that the league is cutting out the college kid audience that they would normally get. Most college kids go out on Thursday nights and a lot of them know the guys that are in the draft. I myself know James Starks who is looking to get drafted out of the University of Buffalo. So many of these college kids would not have seen their friends get drafted.

In the end, I think the league had the right idea by trying to get a bigger audience and shortening the time on the teams. But I do not think primetime is the way to go. Saturday is perfect because other than NASCAR they really are not running up against any other sport.

Courtesy: i xboxoz360.files.wordpress.com

Pixel Perfect Continued from Page 12

a move in chess he is - by his own admission comparing apples to oranges. From that point on his perspective is skewed in such a sense that of course the game’s rewind mechanic would not implore him to any amount of self-reflection, and no amount of writing would compel him to think about his own choices, mostly because he has decided “Braid” is a virtually erred game of chess, which it clearly is not.

His final, and possibly weakest, argument is that Santiago, in showing her vision of art and media in the 21st century, disproves her entire point. As Ebert puts it, “she shows a visual with six circles, which represent, I gather, the components now forming for her brave new world of video games as art. The circles are labeled: Development, Finance, Publishing, Marketing, Education, and Executive Management.

I rest my case.”

Rest your case, do you? What exactly are you trying to say? Are you saying that the very industry that created you, the film industry, which you call art, does not thrive off of those very six same components? Are you telling me that Michaelangelo, in painting the Sistine Chapel did not, in some cruder fashion, have to figure out the development, the financing, and the management of the project before beginning to paint? That Beethoven didn’t have to meld his publishing knowledge, his education and certain marketing savvy into his plans to write new operas? I’m sorry, but that is just clearly incorrect and

insultingly pretentious of you.

In the end, Ebert feels that we, as gamers, are the ones all proving his point for him. Our incessant search for what he feels is “validation” of some sort shows that we clearly are insecure in the fact that games could ever be an art form. “Bobby Fischer, Michael Jordan and Dick Butkus never said they thought their games were an art form,” he says, “Why aren’t gamers content to play their games and simply enjoy themselves? They have my blessing, not that they care.” Well, granted blessing aside, it isn’t validation we are looking for Mr. Ebert. What it is we are looking for, I feel, is the acceptance within the artistic community we so readily deserve. That being said, you cannot rightfully write us off as whining and looking for validation when we come to you, one of America’s foremost artistic critics, and ask that you acknowledge what we, as a vastly large community, already know. Just because you are not as well versed in our particular field, does not mean we are wrong.

If anything, while you may acknowledge your issue with video games as a matter of “taste,” to me it means that you’re afraid of what you don’t understand, and the easiest way to solve this is to pick up a controller and learn…it isn’t hard, and you’ll find we’re a very forgiving group. So give it a shot Roger, surprise us all and try and evolve your opinion like we all know you’re capable of…you ridiculous work of art, you.

Monday, April 26, 2010 :Page fifteen

The Sports Flashback

Charles Pinkney’s final resting place, 2010

By Robert Ivory, The Cauldron Sports Editor

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