Volume XLIV, Issue 27: Apr. 26, 2013

observer the

volume xliv, issue 27

friday, 04/26/13

Blackstone LaunchPad: like ThinkBox and beyond

The PBL Shooting

>>alexisPARISI senior.newsREPORTER<<

10 years later mary-kate macedonia / observer Ten years ago, 62-year old disgruntled CWRU alum Biswanath Halder went on an indiscriminate shooting spree in the Peter B. Lewis building, killing graduate student Norman Wallace. Pictured above is the spot where Wallace was killed.

O

n May 9, 2003, department chair of information systems Frank Collopy was trapped in his office.

That day it wasn’t due to mountains of work.

Gunshots were echoing through the Peter B. Lewis building.

A disgruntled Case Western Reserve University alum had entered the building armed with

two semi-automatic pistols.

Breaking through a back door with a sledgehammer, 62-year old Biswanath Halder began a shooting spree, delusionally trying to bring down an “evil empire.”

He killed a 30-year old graduate student, Norman Wallace, and wounded several others.

It took seven hours before he was subdued by a Cleveland police department SWAT team.

Seven hours where students and faculty were trapped in offices as the pops of gunshots ripped through particle board, bent on creating as much destruction as possible. Seven hours where those trapped coped with their situation, mostly through email, as they communicated both with others in the building and loved ones outside. Seven hours where the campus and surrounding com-

munity held its breath, waiting for news that the violence had subsided. Seven hours until Halder surrendered to authorities, suffering from two gunshot wounds, but alive.

Seven hours of chaos.

However, looking back ten years later, the chaos isn’t what stands out to Collopy. He isn’t trying to diminish the events

to 10 YEARS LATER | 2

Vice president for student affairs to step down at year’s end Glenn Nicholls reflects on a quarter century of service at CWRU >>tylerHOFFMAN executiveEDITOR<<

When Glenn Nicholls, vice president for student affairs, first arrived at Case Western Reserve University, the campus was a different place. Long-demolished buildings still stood, the Internet – then “CWRUnet” – was just being installed, and cc’ing a colleague required a sturdy pen and carbon paper.

While the scenery and technology has changed, many would argue the student body’s administrative advocate has not. This past Friday – in between policy revisions and staff meetings – Nicholls shared reflections on more than 25 years of service and his predictions on what lies ahead for both himself and the university.

Another day at the office On an otherwise routine Sunday afternoon in June 1991, Glenn

Nicholls returned home to see the red light flashing on his answering machine. The resulting message relayed that flames were billowing from Adelbert Hall, which housed the office of the president and the majority of his cabinet.

Nicholls, who worked in Yost Hall, arrived Monday morning to discover he was one of the few campus administrators who still had an office. He witnessed campus leadership clinging to their briefcases, because it was courtesy cwru the only thing they took home Retiring vice president for with them for the weekend. “It Student Affairs Glenn Nicholls was one of those mornings when I thought ‘I’m just going to lis- ing. The Office of Student Affairs ten,’” he said. was added as a new tenant.

The fire displaced twenty uniNicholls’ office, with its Dell versity offices, and their analog desktop computer and flanking phone lines were re-established wing-backed chairs, serves as an along tables in Crawford 13 and interesting representation for how 14 so the business of the institu- both he and the university have tion could continue. “It really was changed this past-quarter century. remarkable,” Nicholls said. The New technologies and pedagofire caused an estimated $10 to 15 gies have arrived, but Nicholls’ million in damage, and many of- focus on listening rather than defices never returned to the build- manding has remained.

Looking to the past and present “The Village at 115 is something I feel especially good about and for a whole lot of reasons,” Nicholls said, gazing reflectively to the corner of his office. “For one, it’s just a great facility. But even more importantly, it was the product of a long process of a lot of conversations with students about the nature of their experience, the kind of experience they wanted to have, and our belief... in the progression of the undergraduate experience.”

The construction of the Village at 115 and these conversations with students led to the residential experience students have come to know, with a First-Year, Second-Year, and Upperclass Experience.

According to Nicholls, one of the biggest changes he has come to observe is the increasing number of students who will engage in these experiences.

to NICHOLLS | 6

Case Western Reserve University may not have the warmth of Florida, but it’s got something else from the sunshine state: a Blackstone LaunchPad program.

Originally launched at the University of Miami in Florida, this program is a co-curricular one designed to foster the entrepreneurial spirit at any university.

April 23 marked the debut of the Blackstone LaunchPad center in Thwing.

The program will help students realize their entrepreneurial potential as it mentors students on how to turn great ideas into a tangible profit. There may not be a ton of sun in the city, but there are many bright CWRU students leading the way for this new addition to Thwing Center. On the launch day alone, seven teams of students presented their ideas and innovations that are worth pursuing.

Of the seven teams, students Kevin Wang and Shinichi Inoue shined with their demonstration of Sapphire, a software they developed to track and predict grades for students. With the technology, young scholars can see their current grades and then add in values for upcoming assignments to help determine what their final grade may be.

Wang and Inoue aren’t the only ones brainstorming outside of the classroom. Third-year chemistry major at CWRU, Jean Zhao created a fuel cell-powered electric bike worth attention from LaunchPad. The bike can beat a scooter at take off and has allowed the student to start EcoSpinners.

Throughout the new Blackstone LaunchPad program, Zhao will receive mentoring and coaching that could potentially propel her company into a thriving business with products to move – fuel cells and all.

to BLACKSTONE | 4

Nine assassins take over the Jolly Scholar this weekend. Not to kill, but to entertain.

See A&E pg. 12

index 1 news 7 fun page 8 opinion 11 A&E 20 sports

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04/26/13

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Peter B. Lewis Shooting, 10 years later A look at the events of the shooting Before the shooting July 2000 Biswanath Halder, a 59 year-old CWRU MBAPlus program student, accuses a CWRU computer lab technician of hacking his email, and deleting all of his files. CWRU personnel undergo an investigation, but Halder believes that the university did not go far enough.

August 2000 Halder sends out a mass email to CWRU staff and alumni from his campus account, accusing CWRU and the technician of hacking his personal files. Halder does not register for Fall 2000 classes.

June 2001 Halder files a civil lawsuit against the lab technician, CWRU pays the technician’s legal fees. While trial is pending, Halder allegedly sends out a mass email labeling the technician as an “evil man” and CWRU as an “evil empire.” Halder also tells a housemate that if he lost the appeal, he would “f*** those f***ers up”.

April 2003 Halder’s lawsuit is dismissed. The technician receives two phone hang-ups at his home. He contacts Cleveland Heights Police to request extra security on his street due to concerns about Halder. He also notifies his supervisor and a colleague.

May 9, 2003 4 p.m. Using a sledgehammer to break the glass door, Halder enters the Peter B. Lewis building and proceeds to indiscriminately shoot at people in the building with two highpowered semiautotic pistols. He kills graduate student Norman Wallace and injures several other individuals. Students and staff duck into classrooms. Assistant dean of Weatherhead undergraduate programs Jim Hurley described the ordeal as “surreal”.

“An email came from the deans office to the Weatherhead community and told everyone to not come out into the hallways or open areas,” Hurely said. “We didn’t know how many people there were, how well armed the person was. Initially, there was limited information available.”

4:20 p.m. An eight man SWAT team arrives on the scene, entering the building. SWAT engages Holder in a seven hour pitched gun battle.

7:00 p.m. The first individuals are rescued from the building. Halder is still not cornered.

11:00 p.m. Halder surrenders to police after suffering from two gunshot wounds. He was wearing a bulletproof vest.

After the shooting May 29, 2003 The Cuyahoga County Grand Jury hands down 338 indictments against Halder, including three counts of aggravated murder with firearm, felony murder, mass murder, terrorism, and thirty-five counts of attempted murder.

June 2003 Halder pleads not guilty. His defense team claimed that he is not mentally fit to stand trial.

April 2005 Halder is found competent; his trial continues.

December 2005 Halder is found guilty on 196 counts. He is sentenced to life in prison without parole in January 2006.

mary-kate macedonia / observer The Peter B. Lewis Building, pictured above, was the site of a shooting in 2003. This May marks the 10 year anniversary of the event. from 10 YEARS LATER of what happened that day. It doesn’t seem to be a coping mechanism. He just says that what happened after the shooting sticks out more clearly in his mind. The larger campus community came together to support the fifty who were trapped.

“That evening was an extremely intense turning up of caring, warmth, affection and attention from colleagues across campus,” Collopy said, adding, “And it wasn’t only campus, but the local community as well.

When I got home, there were candles at houses up and down the street.”

Collopy says that one of the things that helped him come to terms with his experience was a later reunion between those trapped in the building and their rescuers.

Organized by then president of CWRU Edward M. Hundert, and Cleveland mayor Jane Campbell, the event culminated with a standing ovation for the SWAT team who had entered PBL under fire.

But this year, for this anniversary, according to Collopy, there is no memorial planned, or reunion that will be held. He might gather with some colleagues who were in the building at the time of the

shooting, but those plans are still up in the air.

He sees the merits in both discussing the event, and remaining silent; understands both why others would want to let the past be, and also why those believe that the past shouldn’t be forgotten.

Collopy says every year, he is “acutely” aware of the day, but doesn’t see a “profound obligation” to “elevate the day”.

It’s an event best remembered quietly.

-Mike McKenna, News Editor

Lessons learned: PBL shooting prompted drastic shifts in campus security policy >>sheehanHANNAN director.ofPRINT<<

Soon, the Case Western Reserve University community will be marking a somber anniversary, that of one of the earliest instances of on-campus gun violence in the United States. On May 9, 2003 Biswanath Halder, a former graduate student at Weatherhead School of Management, stormed through the Peter B. Lewis building, spraying bullets. To avoid the security guard posted at the front door, he bashed in the rear entrance. Before he was subdued and arrested by a Cleveland Police SWAT team, Halder wounded two people and took the life of Norman Wallace, a 30 year old graduate student from Youngstown.

The university was taken aback. CWRU police were unarmed and relied on the University Circle Police Department for armed response. “Things weren’t as sophisticated back then,” says vice president for campus services Dick Jameson, “in terms of rapid response. It clearly wasn’t as developed as it is now. We didn’t have the alert systems in place.”

To notify the campus of an active shooter situation, fairly primitive communication technology was in wide use. Security relied on a combination of email, phone trees, and fax messages to get the word out, even as response officers cordoned off the area quickly. The university now employs more speedy alert tools, like the Rave text message system. Says Jameson, “That was the state of communications at the time, if

you will. Much has evolved since then.”

In addition to upgrading alert systems, the university established its own independent police department. They recruited experienced officers, some with SWAT experience. Officers attended the police academy and were certified with the state. “It worked out very well,” says CWRU Police chief Arthur Hardee, “our former security officers knew the campus very well so they helped train our new police officers to adjust to the campus itself.”

According to Hardee, the state of campus security has vastly improved since the foundation of the department in 2006.

“We’ve had some crime on campus, but through the police department we’ve been able to alleviate a lot of the crime that’s been occurring around in the community and also on campus.”

The number of officers in the department has increased steadily since 2006, with a combination of certified police and security officers. “That number has grown considerably and deliberately over the past five or six years since we started the police department,” says Jameson. “We’ve expanded the capacity and coverage of the campus.”

Since the shooting, CWRU Police has also changed the way in which they respond to active shooter situations. Rather than focusing exclusively on SWAT-type assaults on barricaded shooters, such as the one at PBL, the CWRU police department now utilizes a rapid response philosophy, reinforced by training and semi-annual on-campus exercises. “The nature of re-

sponse has changed and developed. [...]

The officers are trained to get to the situation quickly and be able to identify, and if needed deal with, the shooter without waiting for a barricade situation. [...] You can’t sit outside and wait for the troops to arrive anymore,” says Jameson.

In addition to modifying the way in which they respond during a shooting, CWRU Police have taken a new approach that may stop shootings before they happen. Prior to the shooting, Halder made multiple threats, but the proper mechanisms were not in place to evaluate them.

“There was no formal threat assessment team prior to the PBL shooting,” says Jameson, “It simply didn’t exist.”

In response to the shooting, the university reexamined the way in which threats are evaluated, founding BRAC (Behavioural Risk Assessment Committee), to assess and address threats on campus. Now called TABIT (Threat Assessment Behavioral Intervention Team), the program evaluates threats in a formalized fashion with a cross-campus team consisting of staff from CWRU Police, Student Affairs, Counseling Services, and other relevant organizations.

Across the board, university security policy has changed drastically since the events in 2003. Rapid response, increased police and security staff, and a formalized threat response system represent a discernable shift in university policy, one that Case Police hopes will better address an active shooter situation.

observer.case.edu

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A conversation with outgoing USG president James Hale >>jennaMILLEMACI senior.newsREPORTER<<

James Hale wants to know about you.

With the USG inauguration on April 30, the nostalgic senior, nearing the end of his term as the 2012-2013 USG president, is still asking, “If there is one thing that USG should be working on right now, what is it?” Here is what James Hale had to say about his experience when The Observer sat down with him to reflect on his years of leaderships roles in USG. JM (Jenna Millemaci): How do you feel about wrapping up this year as president of USG? JH (James Hale): That’s a tough question. I wish we had been more productive. I think we squandered potential in some places, but I think between working really hard on the funding bylaws so we change the way we work with student organizations next year, and then just the myriad of tiny little projects that all the committees worked on, we took a pretty good chunk out of some stuff we could work on. So definitely a positive, productive year, but still it’s probably the same story every year, but [there was] some potential we could have made better use of.

JM: What surprised you most about being the president of USG? JH: Maybe not just being president, but just being in USG, a surprising thing is your ability to build relationships with the administrative staff – folks that seem so inaccessible at the school, but are really just people. Glenn Nicholls is the vice president for Student Affairs for the university, and he’s somebody that seems super inaccessible. He’s on the president’s council, but at the same time, whenever I get a chance, I’ll sit in his office for two hours and talk about Colorado. Nothing productive, nothing related to USG or what’s going on.

That was something that I did not expect and took a lot of pleasure in being able to do throughout the year. You wouldn’t think about President Snyder being an approachable person that you could just have a cup of coffee with and chat.

JM: What was the most unexpected or biggest challenge you faced as the president of USG? JH: I think the biggest challenge with any big group like this, especially in col-

lege where a lot of it is centered around learning about yourself and how to work with a group, is balancing your desire to get stuff done, USG, and your desire to have an impact on the campus. Also, with maintaining relationships with your peers and making sure you’re being an effective team player, and being open to making mistakes and admitting when they happen… is a tough challenge. We [USG] have different perspectives, so making sure to take time to find that middle ground and spend time on that doesn’t immediately seem like it’s a productive use of time, but then without it you just squander everything you’re working on.

JM: What was the most rewarding aspect of being the president of USG? JH: I don’t think it’s occurred yet, but I anticipate it happening, and that is looking back and thinking about something that I worked on, or thinking about something that I helped people work on, and seeing that it actually had a tangible impact somewhere – influenced something.

A lot of the stuff that the USG president works on is not very immediate, I guess.

The president works with the board of trustees, the president’s office, and the provost office on things like changing the smoking policy, looking at a policy for internationalization, or helping to gather feedback for the strategic plan. But all those things will take tens of years before you’ll be able to measure how much they change the university. I cannot wrap my mind around what they might influence, but to have the opportunity to see that some day is pretty exciting.

It’s kind of a bummer too, because some of the coolest stuff that I think USG gets to work on is also some of the stuff that students care least about right now. And not to say that they should or shouldn’t, but what student cares about the strategic plan? It affects people five years from now, but how does it affect “me?” But then again, the fact that USG is given a lot of opportunity to provide input and build ideas around that means students today really are active in the university pretty deep down into what the university really does five years from now. Although if I had a choice, maybe I’d work harder on getting AC in the dorms, because I know people would care about that. But it’s a trade off on how much impact you can have.

JM: What do you think about Dan Gal-

brendan goodwine,/ office of student acitivities and leadership Outgoing Undergraduate Student Government president James Hale speaks at Tuesday’s Dorothy Pijan Student Leadership Awards ceremony. lo being inaugurated as the new president?

JH: I’m really excited for Dan. To answer your reward question again, a more immediate reward is getting to see people fill roles that I know will do better than I did. The incoming vice president of Student Life, Taylor Gladys, is going to be awesome. I think she’s going to do a great job, certainly better than I did two years ago [as VP of Student Life]. And Dan coming in as president, I think he has a skill set that I worked to build and foster throughout my year, but he’s coming in already far beyond where I was coming in as president. So, I think he has a lot more potential to do some awesome stuff.

JM: What was being president of USG like as a leadership position? Was it comparable to anything else on campus?

JH: I think that being the president of a fraternity or a president of a club can be just as busy or busier, depending on how you approach it. [With] any role, you make it out to be whatever you want it to be… It’s both fun and kind of daunting when you are the one student that any staff member, any administrator will email and say, “Dear USG president, I need feedback from students on this, what do you think?” And you have to either speak, or gather opinions and then speak on behalf of 4,000 undergraduates.

It’s kind of a scary task. Generally I think it’s a cool position because you feel like you’re a staff member of the university.

You feel like a peer to people who make decisions at the university… It’s easy to get distracted from class though, because it’s a little intoxicating.

USG Brief >>nooraSOMERSALO student.affairsREPORTER<<

At the final general assembly of the spring semester on Tuesday, Apr. 23, the Undergraduate Student Government had more topics to discuss than previously this semester. The GA had to vote on five bills and one resolution, and in addition, they had to elect a new secretary, internal development chair, speaker, elections commissioner, and three treasurers.

For starters, the GA had to make its final decision concerning the new funding bylaws that were introduced in a bill tabled at last week’s meeting. President Hale, who, among others, has been involved in the drafting of Bill B. 22-36, informed the GA that generally, student organizations have received the new possible changes in the funding process positively.

However, there was a guest at the GA who wanted the members to clarify some elements of the bylaws. A significant concern involved the authority of the USG treasurers to approve disbursement re-

quests. There was discussion among the GA about whether this section of the bylaws would give too much power to only a few people.

Some suggested that the section should be amended to include the vice president of finance as well. However, the amendment did not pass and the bill was passed unchanged with 97 percent affirmation.

The GA then proceeded to the largest portion of Tuesday’s meeting and elected the new members for the remaining open executive positions. Each position had at least two candidates with some candidates running for multiple positions. There were no nominees for representatives in the College of Arts and Sciences or the freshman caucus.

Current treasurer Laura Payne was elected the new secretary of USG. She will replace Emily Assaley starting next fall.

The new speaker of the assembly will be representative Peter Choi, who will take over the position after Matt McKee. McKee, who has served in his position for over a year, will fill the position of internal development chair, a title that was added to

USG only recently.

The GA also decided to add one more position for treasurer elections. Currently, two treasurers serve in USG. After a discussion that divided the GA into proponents of continuing with two treasurers and proponents of adding a third treasurer position, the assembly voted in favor of the latter with a close 57 percent affirmation.

The new treasurers will be Connor Toomey, Emily Assaley, and Xiaoyu Li. Michelle Kaumeyer will be the new elections commissioner next fall.

Bill B. 22-37, which was also among those tabled at last week’s meeting, was reintroduced to the GA. The assembly was to pass the bill in order to put the amended bylaws into effect as a part of the USG constitution.

In order to ratify the bill, the GA did not only have to pass it, but it also needs to be passed in a campus-wide referendum during USG elections. There were disagreements over whether the amendment should be on the referendum in the freshman caucus elections next fall or in the spring 2014

elections.

The GA finally reached an agreement and decided to move the issue to be on the referendum in 2014. However, the new funding bylaws will still come into effect starting this summer. The bill was passed with 93 percent affirmation.

The student life committee introduced Resolution R. 22-03, a resolution to encourage collaboration between Case Western Reserve University and University Circle Inc. in the development of a bikesharing program. The service would allow CWRU students to pick up a bike at a designated bike-share station and drop it off at another one after use. The resolution was passed with 93 percent affirmation.

The GA also passed Bill B. 22-34, a recognition bill tabled at last week’s meeting, Bill B. 22-32, the mass funding bill, and Bill B. 22-35, a bill to amend all the bylaws, which put into effect the amendments that were passed in the referenda during the spring elections. They were passed with 96 percent, 100 percent, and 97 percent affirmation, respectively.

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04/26/13

Town hall meeting examines campus diversity >>juliaBIANCO contributingREPORTER<<

“Inclusiveness and diversity are not merely buzzwords at Case Western Reserve University, but they are part of the very mission and vision of the University itself,” reads the university’s first Diversity Strategic Action Plan (DSAP). While this may be the plan, according to CWRU’s first campus-wide Diversity Climate Survey, this goal is not necessarily currently the reality as far as campus climate goes.

The survey, which got responses from 3,657 faculty, staff, undergraduates, and graduates, revealed that many people perceived the campus climate as uncomfortable and unwelcoming.

To address this, the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity (OIDEO), led by Marilyn S. Mobely, decided to create a strategic plan, which was adopted in March 2012. The plan was based on “Forward Thinking,” the strategic plan of the university as a whole.

The DSAP has three primary goals: improved campus climate, improved retention and recruitment of underrepresented minorities (URMs) for students, faculty, and staff, and enhanced leveraging of university resources to advance diversity and inclusion.

Last Friday, the OIDEO hosted its first Diversity Town Hall Meeting to tell CWRU community members about the progress that has been made so far. The deans of CWRU’s various schools spoke about their efforts to improve diversity.

Other speakers included Mobley from the OIDEO, President Barbara Snyder, and Provost William A. “Bud” Baeslack III. “It’s one thing to work together to design a campus-wide plan,” begins Dr. Mobley.

“It’s another thing to take the time to get feedback on that plan.”

The meeting went on to describe the large amount of headway that has been made in the past year towards advancing diversity at CWRU. One notable highlight was CWRU’s selection as the first institutional home of the Association of Underrepresented Minority Fellows (AUMF), which works towards making faculty and staff more diverse in science, technology, engineering, math, and, more specifically, in biomedical engineering.

CWRU was also one of 47 colleges to be awarded with the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award by Insight Into Diversity Magazine. The magazine was particularly impressed by the “Train the Champion” program, which has monthly meetings for faculty and staff to discuss in-

clusion, with the goal of turning them into “diversity champions.”

One sure sign of success was shown in the diversity of the freshman class, which was the most diverse in CWRU’s history.

14.4 percent of the class was made up of URMs, up from 4.4 percent in 2011.

Progress has been especially noticed in the health sciences schools. The School of Medicine recently introduced the new position of Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity to address climate issues and faculty satisfaction. Many of the other schools have also begun writing their own DSAPs, as well as implementing diversity discussions for faculty, students, and staff.

The OIDEO has also pushed the other schools to hire more qualified URM and female faculty. In the College of Arts and Sciences, 60 percent of hires made in 2012 were women, while 12 percent were URMs. The Information TechnologyServuces Department also boasts a staff that is 50 percent women and 20 percent African American. Twelve years ago, there were no women or URMs represented.

Nationally, women make 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families. Of note, the law school completely eliminated the pay disparity between men and women among its faculty and staff.

The various schools are also trying to align themselves with student groups on campus and national organizations in order to advance diversity. The School of Engineering has been working with the National Society for Black Engineers and WISER to reach out to women and URMs, while the School of Nursing has been trying to keep in consistent contact with groups such as the Hispanic Nurses Organization and the Alaskan Natives Nurses Organization.

MSASS has also begun a partnership with six other U.S. universities to help seven schools in China design programs in social work.

However, progress can still be made in each of the schools and at CWRU as a whole. For example, Jeffrey Deurk, dean of the School of Engineering, reported that the six-year graduation rate of URMs is much lower than that of other students.

The OIDEO is working on fixing this, and other problems like it, as well as creating accountability for their plans and programs. They are hoping that the release of another campus Diversity Climate Survey in 2014 will yield better results to show that CWRU has become a more comfortable place for women, URMs, and international students, as well as the community as a whole.

mike mckenna / observer Junior Joshua Schwartz and sophomore Marie Brosovich present their business proposal at the Blackstone Launchpad kick-off on Tuesday.

They are working to create bike locks which can be unlocked through scanning a card ID.

Blackstone supported app consolidates social media Do you ever find that your social media feeds become overwhelming?

Case Western Reserve University undergraduate student Matt Strayer and his business partner AJ Mihalic have a solution. Their start-up app, Widdle, is one of several promising projects that has received support from Blackstone LaunchPad. Strayer took time off from his undergraduate career to pursue the app, which he cites has become his primary focus.

Members of the CWRU community can currently signup for early access to the app, which brings together a user's Facebook and Twitter feeds and allows them to create filters for the content they wish to see.

Prospective users can learn more about the app and signup for early access at www. widdle.it.

from BLACKSTONE | 1 For Bob Sopko, the new Blackstone LaunchPad director on campus, this is just another day at work. “I’ve seen this happen many times when the power of classroom activities or creative spaces like the campus think[box] drive ideas into new products or services,” he said.

In the Northeast Ohio region alone, Blackstone LaunchPad can potentially reach up to 72,000 students each year. As the number of incoming first year students at CWRU and other universities increases, the program is estimated to be able to reach an additional 25% of students. The Blackstone Charitable Foundation, an entity that supports the program, estimates that 150 new entrepreneurial ventures will come out of the program over the next five years. When the program was in Florida, it attracted participation from 2,000 students and resulted in more than 65 start-ups.

Thanks to The Burton D. Morgan Foundation and The Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s $50-million, five-year “Entrepreneurship Initiative” in Ohio, Michigan, Maine, and the Research Triangle in North Carolina, CWRU students can put their noggins to test.

“Now available at CWRU and our three other Northeast Ohio schools, the Blackstone LaunchPad program has already achieved a high profile in the region as a powerful educational experience for students to explore their entrepreneurial ideas and aspirations,” said Deborah D. Hoover, president and CEO of The Burton D. Morgan Foundation. “The program builds on the collegiate entrepreneurial strength that already exists in our region by adding a robust campus-wide program that promotes entrepreneurship as a bona fide career choice.”

ALICE: A new campus threat response system >>brianSHERMAN campus.eventsREPORTER<<

In light of events like the tragedy of Sandy Hook, and the shootings at Virginia Tech and Columbine, which preceded it, schools and communities across America are scrambling to find a solution to the violence that has entered into the academic system. Case Western Reserve University is no exception.

CWRU Police has begun to implement a new system called ALICE. ALICE, which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate, is an initiative from the CWRU Police Department for faculty, staff, and students.

The initiative aims to help the survivability of people on campus whenever a significant threat, such as a shooting, occurs. This method also will provide

alternative options for students, faculty, and staff during the crucial moments before the police arrive at the situation.

“Our response is to engage the threat,” said corporal Paul Owens. “[This system] empowers the students, faculty, and staff.”

Owens is responsible for hosting classes that teach ALICE to the faculty, staff, and students at CWRU. His classes, which he started yesterday and plans to continue in the coming years, explain ALICE and put the attendees through several scenarios to explain the importance of the system and how to implement it.

Each aspect of ALICE is important to the members of the CWRU community. The Alert and Inform steps help to make everyone on campus aware of a threat, allowing them to respond. How-

ever, the other steps are of particular importance to the faculty, staff, and students: lockdown, counter, and evacuate.

Lockdown involves barricading doors with desks, chairs, and other heavy objects to block the entrance. As gunmen have historically simply followed the path of least resistance, any barricaded door that they encounter will likely result in them ignoring that room, saving the lives of the students and teachers inside.

Counter involves potential victims fighting back against their aggressors.

Simply throwing anything at a gunman could be enough. This could potentially save lives by throwing off the gunman’s aim or allowing someone to restrain him or her.

Evacuate is a self-explanatory portion; students, faculty, and staff are encouraged

to safely evacuate the immediate area to keep themselves out of the line of fire.

There has been some controversy about the concept of students and faculty “fighting back” against an armed gunman, but Owens still believes that ALICE is the most viable solution.

“This is a new approach to school shootings. It won’t prevent everything, but it will increase survivability and provide alternatives,” said Owens. “It is the best system. It’s better than just sitting there.”

Regardless of the controversy, the system has begun to be implemented nationwide, as police forces and schools feel the need for tighter security.

“This will help survival,” said CWRU police chief Arthur Hardee.

“With ALICE, people will be confident and survival will go up.”

observer.case.edu

news

Outside the Circle >>sarahGROFT national.newsREPORTER<<

courtesy businessweek.com Brothers Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, are suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing. Tamerlan was killed in a shootout after a high speed pursuit by police. Dzhokhar escaped, but was found hiding in a boat in a backyard in Boston.

Suspected Boston bombers found After days of searching and questioning, the two individuals who set off two bombs at the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 8, have been found. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan had recently entered into a radical form of Islam that encouraged them to post Anti-American, jihadist videos on social media.

Tsarnaev was found this past Friday, covered in blood and hiding in a boat in a Franklin Street backyard in Watertown, MA. He was discovered when the owner of the boat and surrounding property called 911 after becoming suspicious of this activity. Neighbors in the area reported hearing over 30 gunshots. Police collected at the Franklin Street home where several explosions were heard, possibly from concussion grenades, after a robot neared the boat.

About two hours later, at approximately 9 p.m., the suspect, who appeared to be injured from a shootout that occurred somewhere between Thursday and Friday, was taken to Beth Israel Hospital.

Thursday evening the two brothers killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, 26-year old Sean Collier, and carjacked an SUV from a man who later managed to escape. The Tsarnaev brothers used this vehicle to lead the police on a chase through the city streets that involved over 200 shots fired and the explosion pipe bombs made by the brothers. The pursuit ended when Tamerlan, 26, was shot several times, but his brother Dzhokhar managed to escape. Friday morning, Tamerlan was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Hospital Deaconess Medical Center.

Tim Alben, Massachusetts State Police Colonel, announced just after the suspect was caught, “We are so grateful to bring justice and to bring closure to this case. We have a suspect in custody.”

The family of the eight-year-old boy, Martin Richard, who died in the bombing, said, “Tonight, our family applauds the entire law enforcement community for a job well done, and trust that our justice system will now do its job.”

Earthquake devastates China A southwestern area of China called Sichuan Province was hit by a powerful earthquake that killed at least 132 Saturday morning. Additionally, more than 5,500 people were injured, and many more are still trapped. The earthquake struck at 8:02 a.m. local time in Ya’an city, and was a product of the same fault line that caused the 2008 earthquake that killed 87,000 people in Chengdu, the provincial capital.

Longmen, one of the townships affected by the earthquake, reported that 90 percent of the homes had been destroyed and most people had not yet been recovered. Lushan County, which is part of Ya’an, said that in their area, 600 people had been injured, 135 of them seriously.

Premier Li Keqiang flew from Beijing to Sichuan on Saturday afternoon. Xinhua, the state news agency, quoted Li as he gave a small speech, “The current most urgent issue is grasping the first 24 hours after the quake’s occurrence, the golden time for saving lives, to take scientific rescue measures and save people’s lives.” Li then took a helicopter to Lushan County’s main hospital to visit the injured.

The China Earthquake Networks Center reported that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0, and it occurred six miles underground. Its shallow location caused most of the destruction. Zhang Linpeng, a resident in the area, told the news, “Now the houses on both sides of the street have become dangerous buildings. I’ve seen people trapped in the ruins and some people died. Many of the injured have been pulled out.” Efforts to rescue trapped individuals have run into problems such as landslides.

Over 7,400 soldiers and armed police officers were sent to the earthquake zone along with two helicopters, 1,400 provincial rescue workers, 180 emergency response doctors, 120 professional rescue vehicles, and six search-and-rescue dogs.

Additionally, approximately 80,000 inmates were evacuated from their prisons in the area as a precaution. The earthquake was strong enough to be felt hundreds of miles away in Yunnan, Gansu, and Shaanxi Provinces. By the middle of the day, the number of aftershocks was over 200. Out of those 200 aftershocks, 15 had a magnitude of over 4.0.

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Russia launches animals into space Friday, April 19, saw an interesting mix of geckos, mice, gerbils, and other animals being launched into orbit. This month-long experiment will allow Russians to study how space travel affects living creatures. Scientists assure that the animals will return to the Earth alive. The animals were launched into orbit at about 6 a.m. EDT aboard a Russian-built Soyuz 2 rocket that left from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in Central Asia.

The rocket contained the BionM1 space capsule which has enough room to house 45 mice, eight Mongolian gerbils, 15 geckos and many other species. The animals will stay in orbit approximately 357 miles above Earth.

Scientists on the ground will monitor the animal’s health throughout the experiment. Nicole Rayl, project manager for NASA’s portion of the mission, told SPACE.com that “There has been a long history of this kind of biological research over the past 40 years, and NASA and the Russian side have been collaborating for that entire time, which is pretty remarkable. But each mission brings a unique focus, be it the actual duration of the mission or the specimens being flown down.”

The last time Russia decided to send animals into orbit was 17 years ago.

The mission carried rhesus monkeys, geckos, and amphibians into orbit for 15 days. This new mission however, is the longest flight of its kind in the 40-year existence of Russia’s science

program. When asked about this significance, Rayl said, “The unique nature of this mission is that it’s a 30-day mission, so it’s longer than a lot of the other animal and biological missions we’ve flown. The big importance for us is that we get to compare data from this longer mission with better analytical tools that we have today [compared] to the mission we’ve flown in the past that were similar but not exactly the same.”

The spacecraft carrying the animals will beam information about the health of the animals and the conditions inside the capsule. Scientists hope that by monitoring this information, they will be able to make predictions about the effects of long-term space travel on living things. One of the effects they are looking for specifically is the effect of microgravity and radiation on sperm motility in mice. Scientists believe that it is important to understand if people will be able to procreate in space.

Scientists will also be looking for the interactions of bodily systems while in space. “We often have very targeted scientific experiments where we have one investigator looking at say, “cardiovascular system function,” said Rayl. “[Bion-M1] is different because we have nine investigators [in] total looking at a whole organism approach to spaceflight.” After their month in orbit, the animals’ spacecraft will fall to Earth and scientists will run tests on the collected animals.

Peter B. Lewis named commencement speaker >>suneilKAMATH civic.engagementREPORTER<<

Peter B. Lewis is careful with his choices in investments of not only his money, but also his time. His decision to speak at this year’s commencement highlights Case Western Reserve University’s recent rise in national rankings.

Lewis is a distinguished business leader who was the CEO of Progressive, one of the largest insurance companies in the United States, until 2000.

He did not stop there; he is currently its chairman.

For the most part, Lewis has been a huge supporter of CWRU. He is a Cleveland native, and his father, mother, and sister received their degrees from CWRU. In fact, he has donated millions of dollars to CWRU, including $36.9 million dollars in 2002 to fund the Weatherhead School of Management’s ‘Peter B. Lewis Building.’

Lewis, however, became highly dissatisfied with CWRU administration’s management of his donation and the planning of the building. He quickly noticed that CWRU was starting to experience growing financial problems and higher employee turnover rates.

According to Crain’s Cleveland Business, Lewis called CWRU “a diseased university that is collapsing and sucking Cleveland into a hole with it.” As a result, Lewis decided to stop giving major donations to Cleveland organizations and his donation in 2002 marked his last significant gift to the University and the Cleveland area.

After CWRU President Barbara

Snyder arrived in 2007, though, the tides shifted. CWRU’s finances and management started to improve Lewis’s opinion about CWRU and Cleveland slowly started to experience a renaissance. According to the Crain’s article, Lewis stated that “She [Snyder] has impressed me since the day she arrived.” In 2012, Lewis made a $5 million dollar donation to the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), making it his biggest donation since 2002.

Lewis’ presence at CWRU’s commencement reveals he now sees CWRU as a strong and promising institution, which is destined for more positive growth.

During the ceremony, Lewis will likely speak about essential life values he has learned over the years working at Progressive and other endeavors.

In his letter to Bill Gates and Warren Buffet joining the Giving Pledge, an initiative to have the ultra-wealthy donate more than half their income to philanthropy, Lewis advised them, “Having already given away nearly half my net worth, I plan to keep on going…The catch phrases that drive my life and philanthropy include: Enjoy every day; Think outside the lines; Risk, learn and grow; Ideas are easy, execution pays off; Constantly improve; Admit mistakes, fix them and move on; Problems are opportunities; Hard work makes winners.”

Lewis will speak about his life’s motto and more, as well as receive an honorary degree, on May 19 beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the Veale Convocation, Athletic, and Recreation Center.

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04/26/13 from NICHOLLS | 1 “For years, we had classes of 700 to 800 students,” Nicholls explained.

“Then we made the decision to grow to 1000, and now we’re making a decision to grow more, and it makes a real difference,” he said.

Nicholls explained this change represents a good move for the university, though he understands there will be related growing pains. “There were growing pains when we went to 1000,” he noted.

He realizes the university will need to develop additional space to accommodate the students and explained contingency plans are in place depending on how large the next first-year class is.

“The timeline will be uncomfortable, but we’ll get there,” he said. “When you work on it, other alternatives pop up.”

He does not believe this will be a major hindrance on the next vice president for student affairs, though. “I see my successor having a lot more opportunities than challenges. This is a tremendously interesting time in higher education,” he said, citing recent revelations such as Massively Open Online Classrooms (MOOCs).

The road ahead

brendan goodwine,/ office of student acitivities and leadership Long-time vice president for student affairs Glenn Nicholls presents James Silay with the outstanding junior award at Tuesday’s Dorothy Pijan Student Leadership Awards ceremony. Nicholls, who will be retiring at the end of the year, was honored at the ceremony with the creation of the Glenn Nicholls Award for Ethical Leadership.

During his time at CWRU, many students have come to know Nicholls for his quiet voice and unhindered advocacy for students. This past Tuesday at the Dorothy Pijan Student Leadership Awards, Undergraduate Student Government president James Hale complemented Nicholls for his non-authoritarian leadership style and championing of the student voice.

“I would hope to be that sort of [person],” Nicholls said. “It makes too much sense to understand [students] and be an advocate for them.”

As he prepares to step down from his position, Nicholls expressed confidence in his team, who will continue to advocate for students after his retirement. “I have had the privilege to work with a lot of really good people and experienced, committed leadership,” he said. “The next person in my role will have this benefit.”

When asked what advice he would give the next vice president, Nicholls recommended they “get acquainted with, appreciate, and respect the staff and students and the strengths they have.”

“Don’t be afraid to make changes,” he added. “It would be a tragedy to not change things because they have been around for a long time. You need to learn the campus, know its strengths, and understand its bumps and wrinkles.”

An avid fan of hiking and national parks, Nicholls is looking forward to spending more time outdoors while periodically managing special projects for the university. He also wants to travel to the only state he has yet to visit: Mississippi. “[My wife and I] always tried to do things with our daughters. Since we lost [her] five years ago, one of the things I’ve personally wanted to do is structure very concrete time to do things with our daughters. We enjoy hiking, and we have miles of trails to pursue,” he said.

With that, the eyes of CWRU’s best listener creased behind silver-framed glasses as he began reciting a poem by Jim Harrison. Already memorized, it was the first poem he read from a seres of volumes givem to him at the Students Who Make a Difference Luncheon.

In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and mountains of the Mexican border I’ve followed the calls of birds that don’t exist into thickets and up canyons. I’m unsure if all of me returned.

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fun page 04/26/13

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Sudoku

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<<Crossword>>

ACROSS 1. Not sit 6. A young lady 10. Sail holder 14. Hue 15. Initial wager 16. Countertenor 17. Quarrel 18. Russian emperor 19. Midday 20. Write out from speech 22. Auth. unknown 23. Dispatch 24. Fret 26. Harbor 30. French for “Friend” 31. French for “Summer” 32. Winged 33. Fizzy drink 35. Artist’s workstand 39. Plan 41. A horse’s leap 43. Australian “bear” 44. Tall story 46. Italian resort 47. Back then 49. Dowel 50. Ancient Biblical kingdom 51. A medicine that induces vomiting 54. “S.O.S.!”

56. A few 57. A type of cooking utensil 63. Fly high 64. Fail to win 65. Moses’ brother 66. Largest continent 67. Chief Norse god 68. Homeric epic 69. Scream 70. Nipple 71. League members

DOWN 1. Leave in a hurry 2. A unit of pressure 3. Seaweed 4. Person, place or thing 5. Put on clothes 6. Wedlock 7. Flavorless 8. Pierce 9. Peaceful 10. Possible 11. Beside 12. A simple seat 13. 1000 kilograms 21. Pursue 25. Detail 26. Nature preserve 27. Margarine 28. Indian music 29. Involving three parties 34. Accord 36. Expressed 37. Cocoyam 38. Weaving machine 40. Wise men 42. This is measured in degrees 45. Inability to understand language 48. Leopardlike cat 51. An analytic literary composition 52. Bullwinkle for example 53. Electronic messages 55. Braid 58. Connecting point 59. Corduroy feature 60. Operatic solo 61. Wander 62. Concludes

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04/26/13

Homeward bound >> heather O’KEEFE | WHAT A GIRL WANTS Though it snowed less than a week ago, summer is almost here. Even better, the end of the school year is coming up.

On May 7, I get to say sayonara to Case Western Reserve University and pile the contents of my dorm into the car. If I can afford any time during final exams maybe I will make a “Wisconsin or Bust” sign to plaster on my mom’s car for the drive back.

Don’t get me wrong, I really love CWRU. My freshman year has been so amazing: I liked what I studied, joined a sorority, met unique, awesome people, and tried almost every option at the Leutner dessert buffet.

However, there are some things even a great institution like CWRU doesn’t offer. Over the last few weeks, as almost everything academic comes down to the wire and crunch time is in full swing, I find myself yearning for the comforts of home more and more.

Privacy is a hot commodity that is hard to come by in dorm life, especially for us poor freshmen. Living with a roommate is the quintessential college experience, partially because of the compromises that must be made when you move into a cramped room with a total stranger. I love having a roommate: my roommate, Emily, is awesome. But sometimes all you need is your space. A shared, tiny, cinderblock-wall room is not the ideal location to get away from anything.

Thus, I am looking oh-so forward to being reunited with my bedroom. I can see it now: bright walls covered in posters, a bed you don’t have to climb into, a floor big enough to throw clothes on and still walk around. The simple bliss of blasting Wacka Flocka Flame and dropping it like it’s hot without bothering my roommate is an image propelling me through the madness of final papers and exams.

So if task one upon arriving home is a jam session in my room, then task number two is a lengthy shower. Can you imagine it? You can shower in a tub, with water of consistent temperature and pressure. I mustn’t forget the best part: this can all be done barefoot. Barefoot, I tell you!

After the best shower of the year, next up is food. Assuming I am spending my first days of summer right, noon should have come and gone, so my appetite isn’t restricted to just one meal. Regardless, it should take about five minutes for me to decide exactly what I want to eat.

First I will open the fridge for at least a minute, assessing all my options in this full size appliance so large I am prompted to question how I ever survived with

a miniature version. I can guarantee the fridge won’t hold exactly what I want to eat, so I will move to the snack drawer, then the pantry, then back to the fridge.

My food indecision is a direct consequence of the overwhelming number of options: I could have Lucky Charms, string cheese, or pudding. I could make a sandwich or a quesadilla. What’s a girl to do?

I love Leutner, but just because society says there are three separate meals at three separate times of the day with very specific food options, doesn’t mean I can’t have a bowl of Life, some ice cream, and last night’s leftovers all in one sitting.

Sufficiently stuffed, I will have to fulfill my longstanding appointment with Couch. Couch has been with me through thick and thin; after being gone for a semester, we have a lot of catching up to do. I will just have to plop myself on Couch and melt into its cleanly enormity.

That’s right, Couch isn’t a tiny loveseat. It’s comfortable, and I can fall asleep there without wondering what events have transpired upon Couch before me. The two of us, without a loud common room, will become acquainted once again while watching TV. I will flip channels and Couch will never argue with my choices, even my guiltiest of pleasures (what can I say, I have a soft spot for Millionaire Matchmaker).

Come sunset, I will separate from Couch for some family time. Family. I like to think I am a hip, independent college kid who doesn’t need her parents, but that would be a pretty blatant lie. My family makes my home.

Every time I think of coming home for the summer, I always land upon one particular scene: My family sitting around the patio, our grilled food long gone, talking about our days, weeks, year as the suburban sun sets. Eventually the mosquitoes might come out for a bite and the darkened skies will bring a chilly breeze, or a summer thunderstorm might roll in and my family will be forced to go back inside.

Sure, there are picnic pavilions and grills at CWRU, but it’s just not the same thing. While I love it here, a loud, commotion-filled dorm is not where the heart is, home is. And my home keeps tugging at my heart.

Heather O’Keeffe is a first year student studying biomedical engineering and sports medicine. Her ACL injury has peaked and solidified her interest in studying biomechanics.

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Editor’s Note Semester grades A: Accomplishment on the horizon: The Tinkham Veale University Center is one step closer to completion with an event being held today to celebrate the final construction of the steel-beam frame. Progress on the new center has been steady since the digging began in 2012, and it looks like this Cleveland construction project will be completed on time.

The Tinkham Veale Univesity Center is a welcomed and much-needed addition to the Case Western Reserve University campus and will house meeting spaces, classrooms, dining options, and a 9000-square-foot ballroom. Just don’t get caught calling it a student center, however.

B: Bringing education to the public: This month, CWRU announced that they will be offering free online courses for the first time starting May 1. These two courses, “Inspiring Leadership Through Emotional Intelligence” and “Introduction to International Criminal Law,” are opening the doors for people without the means to attend post-secondary schooling to educate themselves. Additionally, these online courses have enrollment space for thousands of students as opposed to in-person courses that cap out at a few hundred.

I: Insufficient support: As was revealed in an earlier Editor’s Note, Kelvin Smith Library is severely lacking the funds needed to keep up with the academic intensity of our institution. While KSL has been undergoing an aesthetic redesign over the past two years, attention needs to be refocused on what students really need: research resources. KSL can’t afford to cancel more journal and database subscriptions and have its students relying more and more on OhioLink. While it is great to be able to borrow materials from other institutions, our own library needs to provide for us as well.

D: Disappointing statistics: During February and March, members of the campus community can’t help but see RecyleMania flyers everywhere they look. Unfortunately, this concerted effort to increase recycling on campus wasn’t very successful.

CWRU ranked 249th out of 274 schools that participated in the competitive division of this sustainability competition.

Our RecycleMania score is only one indication of CWRU’s poor job of backing up their claims of superior sustainability. We need more ways for all campus members to contribute to our green image, not just university offices and groups such as the Student Sustainability Council.

F: Frustrating food and housing: When it comes to on-campus housing and dining, there is always room for improvement. Dining services are one of the most-cited reasons for complaint on USG’s new Moderator page, which features complaints ranging from repetitive options to unfavorable locations. Bon Appétit has proved committed to hearing from students, however. Next year, students must be sure to participate in special forums regarding dining services, such as the food committee facilitated by the Residence Hall Association. Additionally, more cooperation between RHA and the Undergradute Student Government is needed on this widereaching issue.

Housing brings its own new set of problems to the table. With the creation of the Explore, Engage, and Envision program, select second-year students were eligible to apply to live in House 1 of the Village at 115. Becuase of the overly large first-year class, these rising sophomores are now entering facilites once promised to upperclassmen, who are sure to be found in increasing numbers on Hessler Rd. and Little Italy next year.

Lisa N. Viers –OPINION EDITOR

Tyler Hoffman –EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Want to connect with the editor?

Follow The Observer on Twitter @cwruobserver or drop a line to observer@case.edu.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the columnists and contributors in this section are solely their own. They do not reflect the views of The Observer or Case Western Reserve University.

Correction: In the article titled “Corporate campaign sparks campus debate” in our April 12 edition, reporter Julia Bianco mistyped the following quote: “We weren’t trying to go out and create a riff among the CWRU community;” “riff” should be replaced with “rift.”

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The original drone strike debate >> andrew BRELAND | THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM As one of very few conservative Republican columnists in academia, most will expect this column to function as a review of a verifiably bad year for conservatives. We failed to retake the presidency, failed to retake the Senate, lost part of the majority in the House of Representatives, and lost important battles over the budget and spending, all in part due to the party’s seeming inability to respond to the American people. On that note, most would expect this column as a sort of reset: Let the summer take hold and farewell until then.

But while writing, I could not think of this column as a farewell, but instead, as more of a placeholder. The day for farewells will come eventually, hopefully a few years from now. Instead, this column will bridge a gap. I will return to writing in the fall, but as this is the final issue of The Observer for the next few months, I wanted to take a moment to explore a problem that has been bothering me recently.

The problem is free speech, and the myriad of ways we define free speech through politicians, the judiciary, and the classroom. Nearly all countries recognize the importance and fundamental nature of the freedom of speech; most have codified it within their constitutions. Several others have acknowledged the freedom through court precedent in a common law

system. However, others still have refused to recognize the fundamental right to free and open discourse; typical wrongdoers like Iran and North Korea are among those in this list.

Of course the United States recognizes a right to free speech, and the promise of such is repeated by self-proclaimed patriots around the country. We enshrine this right in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the first article of our Bill of Rights, where it is written, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”

In 14 words, we state our continued loyalty to the free flow of ideas, the free expression of perhaps unpopular opinion, and the freedom to say what we desire. And we reaffirm our allegiance to these principles each time we say the Pledge of Allegiance or invoke our ability to criticize our leaders.

The U.S. differs from most countries in that we did not qualify our freedom, but simply stated that “Congress shall make no law” curtailing speech. Stealing a phrase from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, “No law means no law.” He continued that the First Amendment is “wholly ‘beyond the reach’ of federal power to abridge.”

This view of First Amendment absolutism never garnered a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court, but Justice Black as well as compatriot William Douglas continued to espouse “literalist” views on the freedom of speech. It is to this view of uninhibited

Twitter and news: a bad romance >> ashley YARUS | KEEPING PERSPECTIVE This Tuesday, the Associated Press’ official Twitter account was hacked. Hackers tweeted that there had been two explosions at the White House and that President Obama was hurt in the attack. Within minutes this claim was retweeted more than three thousand times. The AP promptly discredited this tweet at a White House press conference and the AP’s account was taken offline. Yet, as a result of this tweet, the DOW fell 143 points in matter of seconds.

In response to a single tweet, our stock market took a visible plunge. Realistically, 143 points in not a major drop in the DOW, but if we consider that this drop happened in a few seconds, then the projected drop would have been something truly significant. However, in light of recent events and the hasty nature of reported news, the response of the market didn’t even faze me.

As of late, the news media has been an utter mess. With the Boston Marathon attacks and the ensuing manhunt, I’ve found myself lost in a sea of misinformation and confusing, contradictory headlines.

It seems that in a struggle to report the news as quickly as possible, the validity of sources has fallen to the wayside. We have lots of news, but we also have questionable reliability.

I use a CNN news app, which makes it quite easy to recognize how absurdly varied the “breaking news” has been lately. In the span of four hours I was told that the suspects of the Boston bombings had been apprehended and then that there were no clear suspects.

Once the suspects were confirmed, their nationality bounced back and forth between Czech and Chechnyan, a distinction that is rather important. The fact that Czech officials found it necessary to clarify that the suspects were in fact from a drastically different region of Europe is rather sad. Although it is clear that the nature of recent events has intensified this issue, this trend

of shaky news followed by necessary clarifications is not confined to this past week.

This latest Twitter incident simply serves to show how much of an impact social media can have. In Boston, Twitter may have warned people to stay off the streets during the search for suspects, but on Wall Street it incited a wave of panic.

To be honest, Twitter is a mystery to me, and I wish to keep it that way.

The speed at which social media shuttles news is slightly horrifying, especially when you stop and consider the possible impacts of a single unwarranted post, tweet, etc. Of the more than three thousand people who retweeted the false AP tweet, how many of them actually knew what was going on?

I understand that those people must have trusted the AP as a credible source, but it’s alarming to think about how much we’ve learned to trust something as trivial as a tweet to be a vessel for truth. In 140 characters, I don’t think that any bit of news can be accurately given. Really, it’s a bit disturbing to think that the AP even has a Twitter account. The quality of reporting that I expect from the AP dictates much more explanation than Twitter allows.

Perhaps the compromise of accuracy for speed is one that both journalists and the public will have to accept. Yet, with this sacrifice comes the caveat that our news must now be taken with a grain of salt. Next time a major story breaks, I know I’ll hesitate to trust my source and perhaps wait until I see the next day’s paper.

Ashley Yarus is a freshman studying Chemical Engineering. With the onset of spring you may find her skipping around campus and smelling the fresh spring air.

She would like to thank the university for planting all of those beautiful flowers and trees.

speech and unhampered discourse that I ascribe.

While the Court carved out exceptions to the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech in Scheck v. US (1919), Sacher v.

US (1952), and Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) the American public watched as free speech rights were curtailed in the name of public safety, an ill-informed decision that remains good law today.

Meanwhile Black and Douglas voiced their strenuous opinions in defiance of the Court, to no avail. Lack of public outcry over this unconstitutional abridgement of rights left the Court more able to curtail rights further in cases dealing with erotic material – FCC v. Pacifica (1978) – and symbolic speech – Virginia v. Black (2003).

Even with these divisions between socalled protected and unprotected speech, the Court’s doctrine as to deciding these divisions has been circuitous at best, leading many, myself included, to question the veracity and jurisprudence behind many of these decisions. A question asking no more than “Can someone stop me from saying something when they don’t like what I’m saying?” requires a very involved answer when it should instead consist of one word – no.

If the same destruction of our constitutionally guaranteed liberties were conducted today, the outrage would be enormous— and it has occurred. The rights to privacy and due

process guaranteed by the Constitution and verified by the Supreme Court have been under assault by government actions like the Patriot Act, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and drone strikes... or at least some people say this. And these curtailments have led to massive protests, most recently culminating in a 13-hour filibuster by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky against the government’s perceived indifference to cutting off due process.

If the systematic destruction of the freedom of speech could be undertaken today rather than 50 years ago, one can imagine the outcry being much the same. Protests would have occurred across the country.

Politicians (read statesmen) would have lined up on the Senate floor to decry the possibility that constitutional rights could be limited as they had been. Hopefully the message would have fallen on receptive ears and ensured the continuation of our rights. And we would be better for it.

Andrew Breland is a sophomore planning to triple major in political science, English, and History. At CWRU, Andrew serves as the Vice President of the Case College Republicans and the treasurer for the Case Western Mock Trial Team.

After graduation, Andrew plans to attend law school and pursue a career as a civil litigation attorney specializing in Tort defense.

State Your Case Moving into next year, what is the biggest issue that USG is facing?

For the newest State Your Case poll, visit observer.case.edu and voice your opinion!

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arts & entertainment 04/26/13

Best albums to date and to come >>jasonWALSH musicCRITIC<< In alphabetical order, here are some of the best and biggest albums of the year.

With school ending and summer coming up, when are you going to get a better chance to explore new music?

FIDLAR – “FIDLAR” FIDLAR’s debut album was 40 minutes of garage/surf punk goodness. They address heavy lyrical themes like taking bong rips in the back seat, wanting good cocaine for breakfast, and not being able to surf. If that sounds like your kind of music, you could do a lot worse than FIDLAR. James Blake – “Overgrown” “Overgrown” finds James Blake going in more of an R&B/ gospel influenced direction than his selftitled debut of 2011.

Personally, I’m still partial to “James Blake” the album, but “Overgrown” is a solid effort from one of the biggest names in indie music and well worth your time.

Retribution Gospel Choir – “3” A side project of Low, Retribution Gospel Choir goes in the opposite direction.

“3” has two twentyminute songs on it; they’re loud, classic-rock inspired, instrumental soloing parties. If you’re into instrumental rock ‘n’ roll, this is the album for you.¬

The Men – “New Moon” “New Moon” is The Men’s follow-up to their great 2012 album “Open Your Heart.” On “Open Your Heart,” The Men went everywhere from loud punk to Neil Young-esque alt-country. “New Moon” is a little more focused, sticking mainly to their garage/punk sound, but the album has its fair share of slower songs (see the piano-based opener “Open the Door”).

Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin – “Reverse Shark Attack” This is a re-release of Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin’s collaboration from 2009, which was originally a vinyl-only release. It’s 25 minutes of Segall and Cronin doing their thing: loud, distorted, guitar freak-outs over breakneck riffs.

What a great 25 minutes it is.

Kurt Vile – “Wakin on a Pretty Daze” Kurt Vile broke out in 2011 with his album “Smoke Ring for My Halo.”

“Wakin on a Pretty Daze” is Vile’s fifth studio album, and he works with pretty much the same aesthetic as “Smoke Ring,” taking it just a little bit further.

“Wakin” breaks a solid seventy minutes at only eleven songs and more than half of the songs break six minutes. It’s a relaxed, laidback album with Vile churning out guitar solos all over the place. Somehow, though, it never drags; when the nineminute opening song comes to a close, you’re sad to see it go.

Low – “The Invisible Way” Like James Blake and Kurt Vile, Low is a band that released a very good album in 2013 that is a pretty straightforward follow-up to what they’ve been doing for a while. Low makes slow, soft rock-esque music with male/female vocal harmonies.

Most songs don’t have much more than an acoustic guitar, drums, and vocals.

White Fence – “Cyclops Reap” “Cyclops Reap” might be my favorite album of the year so far. It’s full of weird, trippy, and continually interesting psych-folkpop that is somehow pretty accessible and not at all as off-putting as that description makes it sound.

Youth Lagoon – “Wondrous Bughouse” File this one in the same very-solidfollow-ups category with James Blake, Kurt Vile, and Low. With “Wondrous Bughouse,” Youth Lagoon, aka Trevor Powers, develops the sound of his 2011 debut “The Year of Hibernation” to great effect; it’s a better, more impressive album than “Year of Hibernation.” Powers continues to prove himself as one of the most capable musicians of the current lo-fi-bedroompop wave.

The Year to Come There’s a lot of 2013 left, and here are some of the biggest, most anticipated albums still to come.

MIA – “Matangi” It seems MIA has entered some kind of middle-career slump: her third album “Maya” got panned, she started giving really hostile interviews, and stuff like that. But “Bad Girls” is going to be on her upcoming album “Matangi”, so here’s to hoping the rest of the album is even a little bit as good as that single.

The Weeknd – “Kiss Land” “Kiss Land” will be one of the other biggest rap albums of the year. After releasing his trilogy of 2011 mixtapes and receiving pretty much universal acclaim, “Kiss Land” will be The Weeknd’s debut studio album. There’s no release date yet, but it’s sure to be one of the most anticipated albums of the year.

Noah and the Whale – “Heart of Nowhere” – May 7 The English folk rockers return with their fourth album, the follow-up to 2011’s “Last Night on Earth.” Noah and the Whale seem to be one of the most consistently liked indie bands; no matter what else you listen to, it seems pretty hard for people to dislike what Noah and the Whale create.

The-Dream – “IV Play” – May 28 Terius Nash, aka The-Dream, is the producer behind “Umbrella,” “Baby,” “Single Ladies,” “Touch My Body,” and about half the other gigantic pop hits of the last decade. He also releases solo music, as both Terius Nash and TheDream. “IV Play” is his fourth (get it?) album as The-Dream, and I’ll be pretty much shocked if it’s not great.

Schoolboy Q – “Oxymoron” Schoolboy Q is affiliated with Kendrick Lamar and the rest of the West Coast crew Black Hippy. His 2012 mixtape “Habits & Contradictions” was a really good release, unfairly overshadowed by Lamar and Frank Ocean. “Oxymoron” (release date forthcoming) will be his major label debut, and it will be one of the bigger rap albums of the year.

Beyonce – TBA Beyonce’s new album doesn’t even have a title yet, much less a release date, but hey, it’s Beyonce. She can name it whatever and put it out whenever she wants and everyone (including me) will eat it up.

Mikal Cronin – “MCII” – May 7 The aforementioned Cronin’s second solo studio album. I expect more of the same, which means I’ve got pretty high hopes.

Vampire Weekend – “Modern Vampires of the City” – May 14

Probably competing with Daft Punk for the most hyped album of the rest of the year, “Modern Vampires of the City” will be Vampire Weekend’s third album. Their self-titled debut was everywhere when it came out in 2008; don’t try to tell me you never heard “Oxford Comma” or “The Kid’s Don’t Stand a Chance.”

Their second album, “Contra,” was less well-received but in the last year or so there’s been a growing consensus that it was under appreciated. Thus, everyone is psyched for “Modern Vampires of the City.”

MGMT – “MGMT” Another classic late 2000s indie band (see: “Kids”), MGMT will be releasing their third album in 2013. It’s self-titled, and a few tracks have been released, but not much more than that is known at this point.

Daft Punk – “Random Access Memories” – May 21 It’s a new Daft Punk album. Enough said.

ALBUM ART CREDITS Fidler: Wichita Recordings. James Blake: James Blake. Kurt Vile: Matador Records. Low: Low. Retribution Gospel Choir 3: Retribution Gospel Choir 3. The Men: CMJ. Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin: Ty Segall & Mikal Cronin. White Fence: White Fence. Youth Lagoon: Fat Possom Records. The Weekend: The Weekend. Beyonce: Beyonce. MIA: MIA. MGMT: MGMT. Mikal Cronin MCII: Mikal Cronin MCII. Noah and the Whale: Noah and the Whale. Vampire Weekend: Pitchfork. Daft Punk: Pitchfork. The-Dream: Billboard.

The Weeknd: The Weeknd. Schoolboy Q: Schoolboy Q.

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04/26/13

www.facebook.com/events/129888117201306/

Stephen Sondheim’s 1990 musical “Assassins” opens as a dinner theatre production at the Jolly Scholar tonight. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Ever thought an “Assassin” was sitting next to you? >>katyWITKOWSKI and staff for a musical in the space as gun he or she uses to kill while the Bal- loved presidents may not have been as arts&entertainmentEDITOR<< well, not to mention the amount of evil ladeer attempts to act as “the voice of loved as they are. They may have been John Wilkes Booth walks into a bar with Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley, Sara Jane Moore, and Leon Czolgosz. What does Booth do? Being the infamous assassin that he is, he influences the others to follow his footsteps and be forever remembered as killers, even if they don’t succeed.

That bar is the Jolly Scholar tonight and tomorrow, Saturday April 27, when Stephen Sondheim’s famous musical “Assassins” hits the main stage, or bench, or seat. And the story may begin

by Booth taking the seat next to you.

“This may be the first time that Case Western Reserve University has had a dinner theatre production,” said director Mike Suglio. “This is a completely unique experience because we utilize the space in full.”

“You’ll never see a show like this anywhere else,” continued Suglio.

And he’s right: the Jolly Scholar is a unique space indeed, even for a bar.

But imagine a near 40-person cast, pit,

infiltrating everyone involved.

“We don’t often get the opportunity to be truly despicable human beings, and it doesn’t affect the rest of our lives,” said Andrew Deike, CWRU alumnus and actor who portrays John Wilkes Booth.

Michael Knobloch, who acts as Lee Harvey Oswald, agreed. “We see these people as villains, but the show gives a background as to who they may have been.”

Sometimes the actors had to figure out who they are on stage. Alexis Attinoto plays Sara Jane Moore, the attempted assassin of president Gerald Ford, and had only a small description of her character: very little is known about her other than her foiled plot and her life afterwards. She then had to imagine: what was she like? What drove her to try to kill? Characters like the Proprietor and the Balladeer try to lead the audience to answer these questions.

The Proprietor sells each assassin the

reason,” said Knobloch, who also plays both with conviction. But why should one person play these dichotic personalities? “[Suglio] wanted to cast the same person in these two roles to juxtapose each other,” said Knobloch. Each vignette features an assassin battling their desire to kill in order to be heard, and while the Proprietor gave them the means to do so, the Balladeer tries to convince them otherwise. Then Booth “tips each [character] over the edge,” said Deike.

“Each assassin, in their respective time, feels… like an outsider. Booth gives them the answer [to their problems]: ‘Kill the president,’” he said.

Booth set this precedent by killing Abraham Lincoln, the first assassinated head of the United States.

Transcending time and place, the musical brings together the influences and aftermaths of these killers, forever in the minds of citizens for what they did. Without them, some of our most be-

remembered completely differently.

“Assassins” is full of contrasts, and the music embodies this. At an emotional pivot point of the play, Booth toys with the thought of killing himself. Right after he commits suicide, the music immediately becomes a ragtime jingle, making the audience feel upbeat after the disturbing event.

To learn more about the negative figures emblazoned in history books forever, come to the Jolly Scholar at 7 p.m. to order food and drink in time for the show to begin. Tickets are on sale at the restaurant and bar from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, as well as at the door and on the Facebook event page.

Not only is this a great end to the semester, but you also receive a 10 percent discount of your entire bill for attending. The production will be hosting an after-party at the venue on both nights, so come early, stay late, and enjoy a great piece of theatre made possible by an enthusiastic and incredibly talented cast and crew.

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observer.case.edu

Donald Qiao, founder and president of independent student group Case TV, interviews unsuspecting students.

courtesy elaina lin

Case TV: independently bringing smiles to campus >>elainaLIN theatre&danceREPORTER<< It’s a typical day at Case Western Reserve University, until you start walking along Leutner Pavilion, where there seems to be some sort of spectacle. Video cameras surround the scene, and an unsuspecting individual is interviewing a student. All of the sudden, the student shrieks and jumps.

This is not your average interview, but rather a prank show on campus. Case TV, a new unrecognized student group founded in January 2013, dedicates themselves to pulling pranks around the CWRU community, while inciting excitement around campus.

Founder and current president of Case

TV, Donald Qiao, said, “We do pranks, we do comedy, we do romance. We do a variety of shows, all kind of things, and bring joy and excitement to the community.”

Different from the traditional hiddencamera shows, the show features interviews with students walking about on campus when suddenly, unexpected acts of mischief happen.

“We do crazy things. Life is too short to not bring joy to others and to ourselves,” stated Qiao.

Nonetheless, expressions of amusement and exuberance appear on those who have been tricked. It is a good laugh after all, and does bring smiles in unexpected ways.

“With Case TV, I think of it as a relief from my academic stress. Still, it takes so much courage to do these things,” Qiao

The Observer’s playlist of the week 04.26.13

>>jasonWALSH musicCRITIC<<

Azealia Banks - “Yung Rapunxel” If you somehow haven’t heard Azealia Banks’s “212” by now, you should get on board. It was one of the best songs of last year, and “Yung Rapunxel” is her latest effort, which comes with a super-trippy video. Hopefully hip-hop can get over its only-one-female-MC-at-a-time thing and Banks, Angel Haze, and Nicki Minaj can all peacefully co-exist.

Thundercat - “Heartbreaks + Setbacks” “Heartbreaks + Setbacks” is the new single from Thundercat, as a collaboration with electronic-glitch all-star Flying Lotus. It’s as great as you’d expect.

Thundercat’s new album “Apocalypse” is out this summer on Brainfeeder.

A Tribe Called Red & Das Racist “Indians From All Directions” Originally meant to be on Das Racist’s album, production group A Tribe

Called Red decided to release “Indians From All Directions” on their own, now that DR is defunct.

Daft Punk - “Get Lucky” So yeah, here’s the new Daft Punk song. It’s the lead single for their upcoming album “Random Access Memories,” out May 21. The music-internet pretty much exploded when “Get Lucky” finally came out, so who knows what’s going to happen when the album drops.

Janelle Monae ft. Erykah Badu “Q.U.E.E.N.” The amount of times I listened to Janelle Monae’s first single “Tightrope” (and her whole album “The ArchAndroid”) way back in 2010, plus the fact that when I saw her live she wore a cape, makes me excited for anything she does. “Q.U.E.E.N.” is the first new material we’ve heard from her upcoming album “The Electric Lady,” and it makes me even more excited.

shared.

Originally, Case TV was intended to be a show that interviewed various students around the diverse CWRU campus, seeking to bring people together through common interests and hobbies found through the interviews. But the show shifted during the shooting for the first episode when a girl was asked if she’d like to be a part of it. Wanting to bring her friends, she left for a while and when she came back, she was astonished to find that someone else had replaced her.

Her expression and reaction caught Qiao’s attention, and this incident lead Qiao to spice up elements of the show a bit, with a twist to the interviews by adding pranks. Some of the components of the show feature an actor walking up to the

interviewee and acting out some sort of spectacle. To viewers of the scene, the students’ facial expressions were priceless. At the same time, Qiao hopes to still maintain the same goal of spreading happiness to the CWRU campus, as well as filling the gaps of diversity by connecting individuals.

Case TV shows can found on their YouTube channel, where Qiao believes that by watching the show, viewers will find themselves smiling and laughing, thoroughly entertained. They hope to become a recognized student group, but are working independently until then.

Qiao explains passionately, “It is the spirit of doing the things you love without caring about what others think. It’s the spirit of carelessness. It’s this kind of spontaneity and freedom.”

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04/26/13

Watershed Down meets the Internet >>drewSCHEELER film&televisionCritic<<

courtesy mike suglio

Cast and call: Captain America visits Cleveland

This past weekend, the crew of the new Marvel movie “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” auditioned hundreds of people to be extras. Many from the area came to get their 15 seconds of fame. Here are a few pictures of those waiting on the cold, rainy day Saturday.

T. S. Eliot was predicting the modern era of television when he opined that April is the cruelest month. Most shows are slowing down as they prepare to wrap up for the season. Meanwhile, networks introduce filler shows like “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?” I haven’t caught an episode of that particular series yet, but I assume whatever he is doing, it probably doesn’t have a literacy requirement. However, online streaming services like Amazon and Netflix have changed the trend.

Last century, unused pilots would be aired on networks during the summer months. Now, the more heinous of first episodes are buried away in network vaults and hidden from public consumption. But Amazon has decided to buck this trend: imagine a dozen pilots thrown at you at once, alternating between nausea-inducing and outright terrible! It’s an endurance test not seen since the days of “Fear Factor.”

Last week, Amazon released eight pilots of potential series. “Zombieland” is zombie bland. The executive producers and writers of the movie inspiration may have returned, but this pilot lacks the charm, humor, and starpower of the original project.

Bill Murray does appear briefly in the pilot for “Alpha House,” a particularly lazy satire from “Doonesbury’s” Garry Trudeau. Trudeau somehow manages to draw more entertainment value from three panels on a newspaper comics page than a full twenty-two minutes of filmed John Goodman. And his characters are just as flat. David Javerbaum “Jeopardy!Teen-Tournament”-contestant-turned“Daily-Show”-headwriter is responsible for “Browsers,” a musical comedy so ill-designed that it makes the recent “Glee” school shooting episode look like the greatest episodes of “Mad Men” ever aired. And I think that the “Onion News Empire” is trying to be a parody of Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom,” a show that couldn’t make it to its second episode before becoming a self-parody.

The only bright spot of the Amazon piloting program is “Those Who Can’t,” which laugh-for-laugh is the single funniest comedy I can remem-

ber seeing since perhaps “The Hangover.” “Can’t” centers on a trio of high-school teachers who can’t teach and are more abhorrent than the children they babysit. It is just about as perfect as a comedy can get and if this momentum can carry through an entire season it could very well become a legendary series.

Netflix, of course, doesn’t make pilots. Netflix just throws a few million dollars at a big name to produce thirteen episodes of series like “House of Cards” and the upcoming “Arrested Development” redux. But while both of these projects have their merits, Netflix’s most recent series should make them seriously reconsider their future choices. “Hemlock Grove” is about a mysterious and brooding gypsy kid who moves to a new town when teenage girls start getting mauled and murdered. He’s a loner and a werewolf, so he tries to figure out who is causing trouble. Leading the cast is “Degrassi” alum Landon Liboiron.

As an avid fan of “Degrassi,” I like to predict which cast members will go on to have successful careers. Liboiron is one tree of a wooden actor and it’s hard to believe he keeps getting hired, just like Aubrey “Drake” Graham. Famke Janssen also appears as a mysterious woman. Unfortunately, Janssen’s character never evolves beyond “woman who looks like she is an actress who is counting down the number of scenes until she can buy a Land Rover with her paycheck.”

“Hemlock Grove” is frustrating because its aesthetic is so polished and good. Each scene is colored with these creepy muted tones and it’s a beautiful show to watch. But then you realize that there are so many werewolves with so little substance that it makes “Twilight” look like a lost Dostoevsky novel. If I had an unabridged dictionary on the desk next to me then I could probably spend a few hours searching in a vain attempt to find the perfect set of adjectives to describe Hemlock Grove. If I were particularly lazy, then I would probably make some comment about Socrates and how he would have chugged a gallon of the real stuff to avoid this Hemlock. Just remember to keep the real stuff away from Mr. Lochte. Since he can’t read, Mr. Lochte is liable to chug a bottle of pirate juice. What else could that skull and crossbones mean?

Spot Night changes, but in a good way >>anneNICKOLOFF becoming more popular (and out of musicREPORTER<< UPB’s price range). This year’s concerts, After another successful year, Spot Night may face some future changes to promote its weekly presence on Case Western Reserve University’s campus.

“We’re looking to book artists that will be getting big within the next few years, as well as moving Spot Night back to a later time,” said University Program Board (UPB) concert committee cochair Brianna Thompson.

Sometimes Spot Night is thought of as a lame series of local, unknown bands, but recognizable names began building a fan base at venues like the Spot.

MGMT, Gym Class Heroes, Jack’s Mannequin, Phantom Planet, and Big Boi performed at Spot Nights before

especially Lighthouse & the Whaler, Action Item, and William Beckett, were all “reasonably successful,” according to Thompson.

By moving Spot Night’s time to later in the evening, it may allow students who are participating in Wednesday club meetings or other extracurricular activities to attend the shows, thus consistently increasing the audience size.

UPB’s concert committee is also in charge of running the Fall Concert, which featured B.o.B. this past year.

Thompson said both the Fall Concert and upcoming Spot Nights of next semester “should bring a bright new music scene to the Case campus.”

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04/26/13

Offensive explosions mark split against John Carroll Spartan shutout 11–0, bounce back 18–8 against Blue Streaks >>courtesyCASE sportsINFORMATION<<

The Case Western Reserve University baseball team scored a season-high 18 runs in game two as part of a doubleheader split at local-rival John Carroll University on Tuesday afternoon at Schweickert Field. The Spartans were shut out in the opener, 11-0, but rebounded to take the nightcap, 18-8. With the split, the Spartans (23-10) have now won 14-of-18.

Combined for the day, senior shortstop Matt Keen was 4-for-9 with four runs batted-in and a stolen base.

In game one, the Blue Streaks (21-12) scored early and often with two in the first, three in the third, four in the fifth and two in the sixth. Jimmy Spagna highlighted the offensive surge with two homers, a triple and seven runs batted-in as part of a 4-for-4 effort at the plate. Mitchell Herringshaw also reached base four times with two hits and two walks.

In his first start of the season, junior right-hander Josh Suvak lasted just one inning and allowed two runs (one earned) to fall to 2-2 for the season. Freshman Connor Tagg threw 3.1 innings in relief, while junior Jose Vega made his first appearance in nearly a month and recorded the final five outs.

Aaron Lapaglia (7-0) shut the Spartan offense out for six innings, allowing just four hits without a walk.

In a quiet game at the plate, the Spartans were led by junior outfielder Jordan Dague who was 2-for-2 with a double.

Game two took on a completely different identity right off the bat as the Spartans scored one in the first, three each in the second and third, seven in the fourth, and four in the eighth. Keen hit a two-run single to highlight the second, while Dague hit an RBI triple down the left field line in the third. Keen then drove in two in the seventh with two separate RBI singles as his squad batted around the order.

In the eighth, sophomore outfielder Andrew Gronski shot a two-run double down the left field line, and senior first baseman Brett Ossola ripped a two-RBI single through the left side of the infield.

John Carroll accounted for its eight runs with two in the third, three in the fifth and three in the eighth. The hosts threatened to add to their game two total, but Gronski made a fine diving catch on a liner hit to the gap off of the bat of Spagna.

On the mound, freshman right-hander Neal Krentz overcame suspect defense in the third and improved to 3-1 with three earned runs in five innings. Junior lefty

arianna wage/ observer

Freshman Marques Winick attempts to beat the catcher in Case’s 18–8 win over John Carrol University.

Ray Kelly tossed two shutout innings in relief with five strikeouts.

In addition to Keen, senior second baseman Paul Pakan was 3-for-4 with an RBI, a double, and two runs scored.

Sophomore centerfielder William Meador went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a double and a walk, while Dague drove in three.

For the Blue Streaks, Spagna started

on the mound but only lasted two innings to drop to 2-6 for the season.

Offensively, Bobby Sabatino and Connor Marrero were each 2-for-4, while Marrero scored twice.

The Spartans return home to Nobby’s Ballpark to host Washington & Jefferson College in doubleheader action on Saturday, April 27 at 1:00 p.m.

sports

observer.case.edu

16

Men’s tennis top Walsh Track and field competes 7–1 on Seniors’ Day at Twilight and Sparky >>courtesyCASE sportsINFORMATION<<

Behind two wins each from freshman Christopher Krimbill and junior Eric Klawitter, the No. 13 nationally-ranked Case Western Reserve University men’s tennis team cruised to a 7-1 victory versus Walsh University during the final match of its regular season schedule on Saturday inside the Cleveland Skating Club.

The match, moved indoors due to cold weather, also served as the program’s Seniors’ Day and was designated as a “Rally for the Cure” event with all proceeds going to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Ranked second in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region poll, Case concludes its regular season slate with four-straight wins and a 19-5 overall record. With the loss, Walsh falls to 6-16.

Opening with doubles action, the Cavaliers grabbed their lone point of the match at No. 1 in a thrilling match as Pablo Cabezon and Carlos Jaque edged

seniors Nicolas Howe and Kyle Gerber by a 9-8 score.

However, the No. 2 tandem of seniors Alex Solove and Richard Brunsting bested Chase Pucci and Joshua Gamboa by an 8-1 tally, while the No. 3 due of Krimbill and Klawitter blanked Nigel Nabuurs and Grant Bilinovich, 8-0, to give the Spartans a 2-1 edge.

During singles play, the hosts were victorious in all five singles matches that were finished. Krimbill, the region’s No. 11 player, defeated Cabezon via a 6-2, 6-2 tally, while sophomore Will Drougas won at No. 2 by 6-1, 6-1 scores versus Jaque.

In the third slot, Gerber won 6-1, 6-1 versus Pucci, while Klawitter defeated Gamboa by a final count of 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4. Junior Derek Reinbold claimed the team’s seventh point at No. 5 with a 6-2 win. The final match went unfinished.

With the regular season complete, the Spartans will now set their sights on the University Athletic Association Championship, which runs this Friday to Sunday, April 26-28, in Altamonte Springs, FL.

chen bai/ observer

Junior Derek Reinbold topped Walsh’s Nigel Nabuurs 6–2 on Saturday in Case’s 7–1 win. Reinbold improved to 19–9 on the season and is on a five-match win streak.

Women’s tennis sweeps Walsh on Seniors’ Day >>courtesyCASE sportsINFORMATION<

The No. 22 nationally-ranked Case Western Reserve University women’s tennis team posted a 7-0 victory versus Walsh University during the final match of its regular season schedule on Saturday inside the Cleveland Skating Club. The match, moved indoors due to cold weather, also served as the program’s Seniors’ Day and was designated as a “Rally for the Cure” event with all proceeds going to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The Spartans, ranked fourth in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region poll, conclude the regular season with an 11-7 overall record. With the loss, Walsh falls to 4-21.

Opening with doubles action, Case raced out to a 3-0 lead as the No. 1 duo of senior Erika Lim and freshman Surya Khadilkar earned an 8-4 victory versus Shellie Webster and Kayla Shaheen. At No. 2, seniors Kathleen Evers and Emily Pham were vic-

torious by an identical 8-4 score versus Alisha Angle and Arina Kravitz, while the No. 3 team of freshman Sara Zargham and sophomore Alexandra Lim cruised past Allison St. George and Jaclyn DiDomenico, 8-2.

During singles play, Case won all four singles matches in straight sets. Erika Lim, the region’s No. 16-ranked player, bested Webster by a 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 count, while freshman Taylor Sweeney took the point easily at No. 2 by a 6-4, 6-3 tally over Angle.

In the third slot, sophomore Marianne Bonanno won easily by a 6-0, 6-0 count versus Shaheen, while Evers completed the sweep with a victory at No. 4 by an 8-4 pro-set tally versus St. George.

The other two singles matches were unfinished.

With the regular season complete, the Spartans will now set their sights on the University Athletic Association Championship, which runs this Thursday to Saturday, April 25-27, in Altamonte Springs, FL.

Adam Invitationals >>compiledFROM staffREPORTS<<

Freshman Emily Harker claimed the individual high jump title to lead select members of the Case Western Reserve University track & field teams during the unscored John Carroll University Twilight Invitational on Friday evening at the Julie Zajac Track inside Don Shula Stadium.

Harker won the event by clearing the bar at a height of four feet, 11 inches.

Additionally, senior captain Jenna Pansky was fourth in the long jump with a leap of 14’5.5”, while freshman Ashley Leydon was third in the triple jump with a distance of 31’8.25”.

On the track, senior Meghan Thommes finished third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:10.86.

Freshman Sean Kennedy ran home to a runner-up finish during the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 10:23.72. Freshman Jonathan Freeman finished in sixth place during the 400m dash in a time of 53.76, while freshman Austin Olshavsky also garnered a sixth and won his heat in the 800m run with a mark of 2:03.27.

Also, freshman Gilad Doron won his heat and posted a sixth-place finish in the 1,500m run (4:13.28), while classmate Jarred Napier was sixth in the 400m hurdles (1:03.80).

In field events, sophomores Seth Kimble and Garrett Gustafson tied for third in the high jump as both cleared the bar

at 5’7”.

Additionally, freshman Reuben Treatman finished fifth in the javelin, with his best toss traveling 13’.

Looking to better marks before the University Athletic Association Outdoor Championship, select throwers from the Case Western Reserve University men’s track & field team took part in the unscored Sparky Adams Invitational on Saturday hosted by Baldwin Wallace University inside the George Finnie Stadium.

Senior Emily Mueller finished fifth in the shot put with her best toss traveling 37’, one-quarter of an inch. Mueller backed that performance up with a seventh-place showing in the discus throw, with her best at 116’4”.

During the hammer throw, senior Emily Tran placed eighth with a throw of 130’4”.

The team will now spend the week preparing for the UAA Outdoor Championship to be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28 in New York City.

During the shot put, junior David Leishman tied for seventh with a throw of 43’, five and one-quarter inches.

Additionally, senior Izzy Budnick placed 10th in the discus at 125’6”, while junior Harry Weintraub was right behind in 12th with a distance of 120’.

The team will now spend the week preparing for the UAA Outdoor Championship to be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28, in New York City.

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04/26/13

Softball continues dominance at home

Improves to 6–0 at Mather Field this season

austin sting/ observer

Sophomore pitcher Rachel Taylor won her 15th game of the season and earned UAA Pitcher of the Week for her performance in a 5–3 win over Hiram.

O’Brien was 3-for-4 in game two with a >>peterCOOKE solo homer in the fifth that helped invoke the sportsEDITOR<< eight-run “mercy rule.” Earlier in the contest, Sophomore second baseman Molly the second-year Spartan recorded her first of O’Brien homered and became the program’s two stolen bases to surpass 2011 graduate all-time career stolen bases leader, highlight- Beth Andrasik’s school career record of 34. ing the Case Western Reserve University soft- O’Brien now has 36 in less than two full seaball team’s doubleheader sweep of visiting sons.

In addition, freshman third baseman RaHiram College on a cold and windy Friday afternoon at Mather Park. The Spartans won chel Komar continued her torrid pace at the the opener, 5-3, and took the nightcap, 9-1, in plate with a combined 4-for-7 performance and is now 17-for-30 (.567) over the last eight five innings.

The Spartans (20-13) stayed red hot with games.

In game one, the Spartans got on the scoreseven wins in a row and 11 victories in their board first in the home half of the second inlast 12 contests.

The two losses dropped the Terriers to 10- ning. Sophomore pitcher Rebecca Taylor drew a one-out walk, moved to second on 20.

Taylor, Pakan named UAA Athletes of the Week >>compiledFROM staffREPORTS<<

Case Western Reserve University sophomore pitcher Rebecca Taylor has been named the University Athletic Association Pitcher of the Week for the first time this season and fourth time in her career, announced the league office on Monday.

During a 4-0 week for the Spartans (20-13), Taylor was 2-0 with a 2.00 earned run average and 14 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched. The right-hander recorded her 14th and 15th complete games of the season and now has 25 strikeouts versus just five earned runs in her last 21 innings of work.

This season, Taylor (15-10/3.58 ERA) leads the UAA with 142 strikeouts and ranks second with 137 innings pitched.

For her career, the second-year righthander already ranks second in school history in strikeouts (321), tied for third in shutouts (6), fourth in wins (35), and fifth in complete games (40).

The Spartans are red-hot with seven

wins in a row and 11 victories in their last 12 contests. The team travels to Wittenburg University on Saturday, April 27, for a double header before concluding their season with a four-game home stand.

Senior second baseman Paul Pakan has been selected as the University Athletic Association Hitter of the Week for the first time this spring and second time in his career, announced the league office on Monday.

During a 5-1 week for the Spartans (22-9), Pakan batted .536 (15-for-28) with three doubles, a triple, five runs scored, two stolen bases, and seven runs batted-in.

In Sunday’s doubleheader sweep versus DePauw University, Pakan went a combined 7-for-9 at the plate and matched a career high with four hits in four at-bats in game two.

For the season, Pakan is batting .354 with team highs of three homeruns, 29 RBI and six stolen bases.

Case hosts Washington and Jefferson College for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 27 at noon.

a groundout and came around to score on a double to left center off of the bat of sophomore leftfielder Ashley Parello.

The Terriers answered in the top of the third with three runs via back-to-back-toback homeruns from Miranda Wright, Jessica Bolanz, and Angela Perella and built a 3–1 advantage.

Case sliced the deficit to one with a single tally in the third on a two-strike single up the middle from junior catcher Amy Taylor to plate Komar, who drew a walk. However, Hiram starting pitcher Taylor Miller wiggled out of a bases loaded jam with a groundout and kept the visitors in front by one, 3-2.

The score remained that way until the bottom of the fourth. Freshman designated player Kristen Klemmer walked, moved on a sacrifice bunt, and easily jogged home on Komar’s homer to right, her third four-bagger of the spring.

Not done yet, the Spartans tacked on an insurance run, an unearned tally, in the sixth.

Klemmer led off with a single and scurried to second on a Terrier error. After a pop-up, Komar poked her third hit of the contest to the opposite field to plate Klemmer.

Rebecca Taylor improved to 15-10 on the mound with her 15th complete game of the spring. The right-hander allowed three runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Taylor now has 25 strikeouts versus just five earned runs in her last 21 innings of work.

Miller (2-9) took the loss for the Terriers with five runs, four earned, on seven hits with four strikeouts and five walks.

For the game, Komar was 3-for-4 with three runs batted-in and two runs scored.

In game two, the hosts batted around and jumped out to a three-run lead in the bottom of the first. The big blow came from freshman designated player Erin Dreger and her

two-run single down the left field line. Dreger eventually came around and scored the third tally of the frame on a miscue by the Terrier catcher.

The Terriers cut the Case advantage to two in the following inning with a run via a oneout homer to right by Perella.

However, the Spartans put two runs on the board in the bottom of the second. Much like the opening inning, O’Brien singled and stole second once again. O’Brien scored on a groundout and Komar promptly produced a steal of home plate after she followed O’Brien’s lead with a single of her own.

In the third, the hosts continued to push ahead with a pair of unearned runs and made the score 7-1.

Neither team scored in the fourth. Then in the fifth, the Spartans ended the game as O’Brien led off the inning with a homer to center, and Dreger scored on a double to left center off the bat of sophomore right fielder Gena Roberts.

On the mound, freshman Rebecca Molnar pitched all five innings and surrendered just one run on two hits with a walk and a career high-tying six strikeouts.

Offensively, Roberts was 3-for-3 with a double. O’Brien was 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, while Komar was 1-for-3 with three steals as the Spartans pounded out 12 hits.

Miller (2-10) suffered the loss for Hiram, lasting just one inning, while Sarah Berger went 3.1 innings in relief.

The Spartans will travel to Wittenberg University on Saturday for a doubleheader before returning home for a four game home stand to finish the season. Case will host Bethany College on Senior Day on Sunday, April 28 with the first pitch at 2 p.m. The Spartans will then close their season against Geneva College on Tuesday, April 30.

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observer.case.edu

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Second seeded men’s tennis eye first ever UAA Championship No. 13 Spartans look to top 2012’s third place finish, earn NCAA bid >>peterCOOKE sportsEDITOR<<

The No. 13 nationally-ranked Case Western Reserve University men’s tennis team has learned that it will enter the upcoming University Athletic Association Championship as the No. 2 seed and play seventh-seeded New York University at 9 a.m. Friday, Apr. 26, at Sanlando Park.

The Spartans (19-5), also ranked second in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region, have reached as high as No. 7 in the nation this spring – the best ranking in school history.

Also on Case’s side of the bracket are third seed, No. 14 Washington University and sixth seed Brandeis University. On the top of the bracket are first seed No. 3 Emory University who play eighth seed University of Rochester. The fourth seed, No. 16 Carnegie Mellon, will take on fifth seed No. 29 University of Chicago.

The team will now try to turn in the best UAA performance in program history after tying their top finish last spring. The Spartans were seeded fourth during the 2012 UAA Championship and upset then No. 2 seed Carnegie Mellon University by a score of 6-3 in the third-place match.

Leading the Spartans into this year’s championship is freshman Christopher Krimbill with an overall singles record of 22-9. Ranked 11th in the ITA Central Region, Krimbill is 6-5 in the No.

1 singles slot, 6-1 at No. 2, and 3-0 at No. 3.

Also seeing time in the top spot, sophomore Will Drougas is 21-11 with a 6-5 mark at No. 1 and a 7-3 record at No. 2. Ranked 15th in the region, Drougas became the first player in team history last season to be named UAA Rookie of the Year. Later in the spring, Drougas was the first CWRU player since 1977 to compete at the NCAA Championship Tournament.

Joining Krimbill and Drougas in the Spartan singles lineup is senior Kyle Gerber, juniors Eric Klawitter and Derek Reinbold, and freshman Harrison Smith.

Gerber, the program’s all-time wins leader with 135, is 19-12 this season with a majority of his matches at No. 3.

Klawitter, an All-UAA pick in doubles last season, is 21-10 with significant time at both No. 3 and No. 4. Reinbold is 19-9 overall and 7-1 at No. 5, while Smith is 11-5 with a majority of his matches at No. 6.

In doubles, the No. 1 tandem of junior John Healey and senior Nicolas Howe are ranked second in the region with a 7-4 mark.

Gerber and Krimbill, ranked 11th in the region, are 12-2 overall and 9-2 at No. 2.

Seniors Richard Brunsting and Alex Solove are 15-6 overall with a 6-5 mark at No. 3.

The championship matches are set for Sunday, April 28.

chen bai/observer Sophomore Will Drougas looks to make another big impact at the UAA Championship where he became the first Spartan named Rookie of the Year in program history.

Fifth-seeded women head to UAA Champsion with high hopes No. 22 Spartans to take on No. 7 Maroon in opening round matchup Top seeded Emory University, ranked No. 3 nationally, will take on eighth seed New York University with the winner taking on either Case or Chicago. On the bottom of the bracket, No. 2 seed Carnegie Mellon University takes on the No. 7 seed University of Rochester. The Tartans are currently ranked No. 13 by the ITA. No. 10 Washington University, the third seed, will take on No. 24 Brandeis University, the UAA’s sixth seed.

The Spartans finished the regular season at 11-7 overall with eight dual matches versus nationally-ranked foes.

In the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s most recent rankings, the team sits fourth in the Central Region and No. 22 nationally – both bests in program history. Although the fifth seed, the Spartans look to have their work cut out for them against nationally ranked No. 7 Chicago, the second highest ranked team in the UAA. Chicago is courtesy case sports information the top ranked team in the Central Region, three spots ahead of Case.

Sophomore Marianne Bonanno improved to 9–11 with a win on Saturday The team will now try and better its against Walsh University’s Kayla Shaheen 6–0, 6–0. Bonanno has competed UAA performance from a season ago, all season across the Case lineup. when it finished seventh.

Leading the Spartans into this >>peterCOOKE upcoming University Athletic AssociasportsEDITOR<< tion Championship and will square off year’s championship is freshman Sara with No. 4-seeded University of Chi- Zargham with an overall singles record Having worked its way through a cago at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 25 at of 15-8. Ranked third in the ITA Central Region, Zargham is 5-7 in the No. 1 rough non-conference schedule, the Sanlando Park.

The tournament boasts six schools singles slot and 2-0 at No. 2. The rookie No. 22 nationally-ranked Case Western Reserve University women’s tennis ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis As- also advanced to the semifinal round of team has earned the No. 5 seed in the sociation top 30.

Flight A singles during the USTA/ITA

Central Region Championship in St. Louis, MO this past fall.

Also seeing time in the top spot of the lineup after returning from studying abroad in the fall is senior Erika Lim. Lim, the team’s No. 1 player as a junior and currently ranked 16th in the region, is 3-2 at No. 1 and 3-5 in the second slot.

With plenty of depth on the roster, Head Coach Todd Wojtkowski has a lot options available following Zargham and Lim in the singles lineup. Freshman Taylor Sweeney, sophomore Marianne Bonanno, freshmen Surya Khadilkar and Michelle Djohan, and senior captain Kathleen Evers have all seen significant time in the lineup throughout the spring semester.

Sweeney is 12-10 this spring having played six matches at No. 2 (4-2) and 10 at No. 3 (5-5). Bonanno is 9-11 in the bottom four slots, while Khadilkar is 13-8 overall with time in the lineup from No. 2 to No. 6.

Djohan posted a 10-5 mark including a 3-1 record at No. 6, while Evers was 7-3 in the bottom three slots and will provide an experienced presence.

In doubles, the No. 1 tandem of Lim and Khadilkar are ranked sixth in the region with a 7-1 mark.

The bottom two doubles tandems could be mixed and matched with any number of combinations.

Final place matches are set for Saturday, April 27.

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Men’s cross country nabs 30th place finish at NCAA Championship The men’s cross country team posted one of the best seasons in program history, linking a 30th place finish at the NCAA Division III Championship Meet with a third place finish at the Great Lakes Regional and a fifth place UAA finish. The runners closed down their season with a fifth place conference finish, their best since 2008. With the postseason on the line, senior co-captain Chris Kelly punched his ticket to the national championship with a ninth-place finish at the Great Lakes Regional Championship, helping the Spartans eek into the NCAA field with an at-large bid.

The men then traveled to the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Indiana where they competed at the national championship for the first time since 2008.

The team scored 736 points led by Kelly’s 128th place finish. Other runners for the Spartans were David Dixon (137th), Phil Yeung (221st), Anthony Spalding (236th), Timothy Travitz (251st), Ethan Teare (260th), and Dishen Lin (268th).

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Softball continues rise in UAA Two years after finishing their third straight winless conference season, the Case Western Reserve University softball team looks to keep improving under third-year head coach Josie Henry. The Spartans have won gone 3-5 in each of the past two conference championships and with an extremely young roster; the team looks ripe for improvement.

A third place finish at this past year’s UAA Championship set the tone for the Spartans this season as the team has dominated their non-conference schedule.

With eight games to play, the team currently sits at 20-13, six wins away from last year’s win total, the second most in program history only to the 2001 squad’s 31-10 record. The team has to like their odds with six of their last eight games at Mather Field where they are currently 6-0. Home field advantage has been a huge benefit for the team the past two seasons, with an 18-6 record. In fact, the only thing that can beat the Spartans at home seems to be the weather, which caused the team to cancel or reschedule its home opener four times.

Women’s tennis earns first national ranking The women’s tennis team entered the ITA’s top 30 rankings for the first time in program history and the players currently stand at No. 22 as they head into the University Athletic Association Championship. The women are currently the fifth seed entering the tournament, and will look to improve on a seventh place finish in 2012. The women have jumped up the regional rankings to a program best No. 4 this season as well. The team is 11-7 overall and has played eight matches against ranked programs.

The team’s rise has been led by freshman Sara Zargham who has had an immediate impact in the top spot. Zargham is 15-8 in singles and is ranked third in the ITA Central Region. Also ranked is senior Erika Lim who is 16th in the region. Lim and freshman Surya Khadilkar are the team’s only ranked doubles team at No. 6 and are 7-1 so far this season.

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Four Spartans named to All-UAA Volleyball Team

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The Spartan volleyball team capped off another successful season in one of the nation’s toughest conferences with a record four members named to the All-UAA team. Case finished 5-5 overall for a fourth place finish in the UAA, which boasts three top-15 teams ranked by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The team finished 24-11, tied for the third most wins in program history. The four selections to the conference team were the most since 1999.

Leading the Spartans was senior libero Rachel Gulasey who earned secondteam honors. Gulasey finished her career as the program’s all-time digs leader and is a three-time All-UAA honoree. Sophomore Natalie Southard built on last year’s UAA Rookie of the Year award with a second-team nod. Southard was second on the team and ninth in the UAA in kills. Senior right side hitter Hanna Collins ended her career on a roll earning her first ever All-UAA nod as an honorable mention. Rookie outside hitter Carolyn Bogart also earned honorable mention All-UAA accolades for her performance.

UAA’s 25th Anniversary Weintraub breaks 25-year old hammer throw record Teams annouced

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The University Athletic Association turned 25 years old this year, and with it came the announcement of the 25th anniversary teams by the conference office. The teams consist of UAA Most Valuable Players and student-athletes who accumulated five or more points with two points awarded for All-Association First Team recognition and one point for second-team accolades.

In total, 65 Spartans were named to the 25th Anniversary Teams, including 27 MVPS. Eleven of the players honored are members of the Spartan Club Hall of Fame.

Football boasted the most honorees with 27 while wrestling was second with 11. Baseball was third with five honorees while softball, women’s basketball and cross country each had four.

Men’s cross country and women’s soccer each had three. Men’s soccer and basketball each had two and volleyball had a single player.

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Junior Harry Weintraub broke a 25-year old school record in the hammer throw on his way to one of the finest seasons in Case track and field history. Weintraub had a toss of 188 feet, nine inches to beat Erwin Grabisna’s record of 185’3”, set in 1988. The throw earned him a third place finish at the All-Ohio Championship on April 13 and is the seventh best throw in Division III this year.

Also a winner of a conference title in the weight throw at this year’s UAA Indoor Track and Field Championship, Weintraub has been named UAA Athlete of the Week three times in his career and is currently on a two-week streak of receiving the honor.

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Top 10 moments of the 2012–13 season >>compiledFROM staffREPORTS<<

Baseball wins first-ever conference championship

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A year after finishing second place in the University Athletic Association, the Case Western Reserve University baseball team finally won a conference championship. The Spartans continued a meteoric rise in the association standings, clinching a share of the conference championship with a 5-3 record in UAA play. Although the Spartans ended up sharing the title with Washington University, Case beat the Bears in both of their meetings at the UAA Championship. The title was the first ever for the program and was highlighted by four players earning All-Tournament honors for their performances. Seniors shortstop Matt Keen, pitcher Jarrett Gish, and centerfielder Paul Pakan all were honored along with freshman pitcher Neal Krentz.

The program, which has seen its record win totals increase each of the past four years, will look once again to setting a record this season. The Spartans currently sit at 23-10, four wins away from last year’s record of 27 wins with nine games remaining. A top team in the UAA in both hitting and pitching, the Spartans have continued to excel through the non-conference schedule. The team, which has won seven of its past nine games, will have to like its odds for topping that record and earning a bid to the NCAA Championship.

Men’s tennis cracks top 10, second seed in UAA Championship

The men’s tennis team has rocketed up the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national and regional ranking this spring. The Spartans began their season with high expectations after a third place UAA finish in 2012. Entering the 2013 season with a No. 17 ranking, the best in program history; the Spartans opened their season against a gauntlet of top 30 teams. Winning the first 12 matches of the spring, the team shot up into the top ten, achieving a record ranking of No. 7. A brutal spring break trip dropped them slightly in the rankings but the team sits comfortably at No. 13 as they head into the UAA Championship Tournament with the No. 2 seed. The No.2 team in the ITA’s Central region, the Spartans will face a tough UAA field that features five top 30 teams this weekend.

Leading the Spartans are a quintet of centrally ranked players. Freshman Christopher Krimbill is 22-9 in singles and is ranked 11th in the Central Region. Sophomore Will Drougas is the Spartans’ other ranked solo player, having gone 21-11 for a rank of 15th. Juniors John Healey and senior Nicholas Howe are 7-4 in doubles and the second ranked tandem in the region. Krimbill and senior Kyle Gerber are 12-2 as partners and are ranked 11th.

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Iacono named UAA MVP, All-American Following a season where she led the UAA in scoring, senior guard Evy Iacono became the second Spartan to be named an honorable mention All-American and the conference’s Most Valuable Player. Iacono raked in 17.9 points per game for 447 total points this season, second in program history. Iacono finished her career as a Spartan third in points scored, tied for first in three-pointers, fifth in field goals made, and sixth in steals, free throws made and assists. Iacono played a key role in Case’s first ever win in 25 years over Washington University when she led the team with 23 points, five assists, and three steals in a 72-68 win over the then No. 7 Washington Bears.

Iacono helped lead the Spartans to their best season in the past decade as they finished 16-9 overall and 8-6 in the UAA, wrapping up as fourth in the conference. The 16 wins were the most in program history since the 2001-02 season when the Spartans went 20-9 and made the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans have now had five winning seasons in the past six years.

Ultimate Frisbee team improves three places, takes fourth at championships The Case Western Reserve Fighting Gobies, otherwise known as the Ultimate Frisbee team, took 4th place in the USA Ultimate Ohio Conference Championships, an improvement of three places over their 2012 finish of 7th. This also gained the Gobies a trip to the Ohio Valley Regional Championship on April 27th and 28th at The Ohio State University where they will play top teams from Ohio and Pennsylvania for a shot at the National Championships in Madison, WI. The Gobies went 5-0 on the first day to the tournament, beating Cleveland State, Dayton, Akron, Toledo, and Ohio State.

The weekend ended on a sour note as Case dropped both games on Sunday to Ohio State and Cincinnati to take 4th place.

The USA Ultimate College Series is the playoffs of a season that saw the Gobies take 3rd place at University of Kentucky’s Cat Fight 2013, riding a 3-1 record on Saturday to finish the weekend 6-2 and beating Indiana in the 3rd place game. The Gobies also took 2nd place at Chicago Invite, a national tournament featuring over 60 college ultimate teams. The Gobies fell to the Oregon State Beavers after a whirlwind weekend with wins against Michigan State, University of Missouri, University of Iowa, and North Texas.

The team hopes to keep improving on these results starting next fall as they will be returning most of the team as seniors next year.

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photos courtesy of observer archives