Etownian Issue 10 by The Etownian

FEATURES ‘Project Brainwash’ explores depictions of women in media | PAGE 4 SPORTS Swim teams record first victories of season | PAGE 10

The Etownian

www.etownian.com

Vol. 110. Issue 10

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Administration Hiroshima bombing survivor Shigeko Sasamori spreads message of peace, empathy installs gender-

neutral restroom in Wenger Center by SARAH WERTZ

Photo: Katie Brumbach

Shigeko Sasamori survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 and shared her experience as part of Elizabethtown College’s Peace and Remembrance Series. Since the bombing, Sasamori has given numerous talks to share her personal story, as well as to speak out against nuclear weapons and warfare. Her objective through her speeches is to spread her message of empathy, not sympathy, through her traumatic experience.

SEE FEATURES PAGE 5

lizabethtown College’s administration installed a new gender-neutral bathroom in Wenger Center. “First, for those who are transitioning, [gender-neutral restrooms] provide a safe space [for members of the campus] to use the bathroom without facing ridicule or potential bullying. Likewise, for gender-queer individuals who do not identify with the gender binary, the bathroom is also a safe space free from embarrassment and fear,” Visiting Assistant Professor of Women and Gender Studies Dr. Amy Milligan stated. Gender-neutral bathrooms are not a new idea; Philadelphia recently passed a law requiring city-owned buildings to include gender-neutral bathrooms. “This decision represents an important move for Elizabethtown College in showing its support of trans and gender queer students, faculty and staff,” Milligan said. SEE RESTROOM PAGE 2

Campus Security addresses Women’s cross country prepares for increased thefts on campus, NCAA DIII National Championship offers additional services by KARLEY ICE

ecently, there has been an increase in thefts around the Elizabethtown College campus. Dale Boyer, assistant director of campus security, c ons i d e rs mo st of these acts as “thefts of opportunity,” which means that force is rarely used to access a room or office in order to steal items; instead, people are taking advantage of open, unlocked rooms. Money was stolen from two unlocked offices in Nicarry and

five bicycles that were left unlocked were stolen in October. This is an increase from the three thefts that occurred this past September. “To be honest, we see these incidents go in cycles,” Boyer said, “Some semesters or years there may be a sharp increase. Then there is a drop off.” However, the crime data from Campus Security indicates that theft is lower this year compared to previous years. “If you stop to think about it, if you have a semester with just one person taking

advantage of everyone’s trust, he or she can be responsible for numerous thefts before being caught,” Boyer said. “We have had much worse semesters, but if you’re the person with a stolen phone, tablet, bike or money, that’s not any comfort.” Students may sometimes assume that it is acceptable and safe to leave their belongings unattended, which could be influenced from the College’s Pledge of Integrity. SEE THEFT PAGE 3

Scene on campus: Annual Tree Lighting

Photo: Athletics Department

After placing fifth at their regional competition, the women’s cross country team received a bid to join senior Traci Tempone at the NCAA Division III National Championship race in Hanover, Ind. on Saturday, Nov. 23.

by AMANDA ROBERTSON

he Elizabethtown College men and women’s cross country teams competed at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional meet on Saturday, Nov. 16. The meet was at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. The men’s team hoped to finish in the top 10, but placed 12th out of the 54 teams competing on Saturday. Sophomore Zach Trama finished in 30th place overall,

running his fastest 8k of the season and giving him an all-regional title. Trama ran a 25:35, which is roughly 5:10 per mile, and finished 50 positions faster than his regional performance the previous year. The men had two other runners finish in the top 60 including junior Dan Gresh with a time of 26:05 and senior Stephen Welsh with a time of 26:12. All seven runners on the men’s team were able to finish out their last meet of the season with season bests for the 8k. SEE SPORTS PAGE 11

Education department adds new course by JASMINE FOREMAN

Photo: Katie Brumbach

new two-credit course will be offered in the spring semester for education majors looking to travel without participating in a semester-length study abroad program. Peace Education and Integrated Schools in Northern Ireland and the United States will meet once a week to discuss and learn the history, process and practices of the Irish education system. Students will cover these specific topics through discussion forums, experimental activities, readings and an

independent research project. During the process of conducting the independent research projects, students will work closely with the instructors that are co-teaching this course – Associate Professors of Education Dr. Rachel Finley-Bowman and Dr. Elizabeth Coyle and Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Shannon Haley-Mize – while gaining a better understanding of peace education and integrated schools by identifying their individual topic, utilizing the project and giving an oral presentation at the end of the course. SEE CURRICULUM PAGE 3

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News

November 21, 2013

RESTROOM PAGE 1

Wenger restroom serves as safe space for Jays “Hopefully, we will continue to be in conversation about what the College community can do to help all Blue Jays feel safe and affirmed in their selfidentities,” Milligan said. “Many of us take for granted that we can simply use bathrooms wherever and whenever we please. This is not the case for many of our trans students, which is why this change is so important.” The new gender-neutral bathroom

“This decision represents

an important move for Elizabethtown College in showing its support of trans and gender queer students, faculty and staff. Hopefully, we will continue to be in conversation about what the College community can do to help all Blue Jays feel safe and affirmed in their self-identities.” ~ Amy Milligan

Photo: Katie Brumbach

Elizabethtown College administration has created a gender-neutral bathroom located in Wenger Center. This space supports trans and gender-queer students, faculty and staff and is considered a safe space on campus.The administration found that the restrooms in Alpha Hall and Wenger Center are the easiest to convert into gender-neutral facilities because they are single-stall restrooms.

has an external lock, which creates a single occupancy bathroom. “Most restrooms on our campus were designed as single-gender facilities with multiple stalls — so they aren’t easily converted to gender-neutral facilities. The restrooms in Wenger [Center] and a few in Alpha Hall are smaller spaces with one stall making it easier to adapt them for use by all member of the community,” Dean of Students Marianne Calenda said.

There are no plans to add additional gender-neutral bathrooms throughout the rest of campus; however, the genderneutral bathroom in Wenger Center is open to faculty, staff, students and visitors to the College. “Neutral restrooms address the needs of faculty, staff and students as well as visitors to the campus regardless of gender,” Dean of Students Marianne Calenda said.

Mock trial team attends competition at UPenn, receives multiple awards by SARAH WERTZ

lizabethtown College’s mock trial team recently attended the University of Pennsylvania Quaker Classic Invitational 2013 competition. The Quaker Classic mainly consisted of Ivy League schools such as UPenn, Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University and George Washington University with other schools in attendance as well such as Etown, University of Delaware and Drexel University. During the competition, there were four trials. Each trial had a different set of judges, whose professional jobs varied from private practice lawyers to district attorneys to law school students to professors. Half an hour before the competition, the teams found out who their opponents were and whether they were the prosecution or defense. “It’s really nerve racking that you don’t know who you are competing against and which part of the trial you are playing. The schools were randomly paired so we cannot guess the next rounds,” senior Aggie Serrame said. The judges score each participant individually with comments included. The College received two awards during the competition. Sophomore Ashley Edwards won an outstanding attorney award for her performance as an attorney for the prosecution. Serrame won the only outstanding timekeeper award. “In mock trial, once you get into your character, it’s pretty addicting,” Serrame said. “As a team, I think that our strengths include our teamwork and looking out for one another. We are able to communicate with each other and give each other constructive criticism. At one point in the competition, there was a sudden switch of roles because one of our attorneys got sick and was not able to speak, but someone was able to take that position immediately,” Serrame said. In addition to Serrame and Edwards, members of the team include: captain and sophomore Erin Krause, senior Adriana Scotto, sophomore Madeline Cochran, senior Jason Halberstadt, sophomore Josh Sollenberger, dual-enrollment student Sawyer Neale, first-year Samantha Finnegan and sophomore Colleen Taylor. Many of the students on the team are new to Mock Trial this year. The team’s next competition is Saturday, Nov. 23 at Dickinson College.

News

November 21, 2013

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THEFT PAGE 1

Campus Security increases visibility, patrols in residence halls New community policing policy attempts to decrease crime rates, reduce thefts across campus

“There was a day when that was true; however, those days are long gone, and that Pledge of Integrity is only as good as the character of the person signing it,” Boyer said. To help combat theft, there has been an increase this semester in the visibility of Campus Security officers in the residence halls and around campus. They can be seen

“There was a day when [it was acceptable and safe to leave your belongs unattended]; however, those days are long gone, and that Pledge of Integrity is only as good as the character of the person signing it.”

~ Dale Boyer

patrolling by foot, vehicle and bicycle. “Officers are required to get to know the RAs in each dormitory and take ownership for what takes place in the dormitories similar to the Department of

Justices Community Police efforts implemented years ago across America’s neighborhoods,” Leo Sokoloski, director of campus security, said. Campus Security is also working to implement community policing to decrease the amount of crime on the Etown campus and throughout the community as a w hole. “C ommunity policing on a college campus is, in essence, a collaboration between Campus Security and the campus community that identifies and solves campus-community problems,” Sokoloski said. In t his t yp e of ef for t, l aw enforcement and Campus Security are not the only people contributing to maintaing a safe environment and community on and off campus. Members of the Elizabethtown community also contribute to the community’s safety efforts. “Campus community members voice their concerns, contribute advice and take action to address these concerns,” Sokoloski said. “Community policing is a new initiative on campus. It is here to stay and with any new program or effort, it takes time to fully realize its effectiveness.” To prevent future bike theft, Campus Security is recommending to keep bikes locked, take a color

Photo: Tyler Latshaw

Dale Boyer stated that there has been an increase in thefts on campus in the past few weeks. He qualified most of these acts as “thefts of opportunity,” which means that force is rarely used to access a room or office in order to steal items. Instead, people are taking advantage of open, unlocked rooms and unattended personal items.

photograph so it is easier to identify and describe the bike and write down the bike’s serial number. To prevent theft in general, keep your doors locked when no one is in the room, use a locker when available and avoid leaving belongings unattended. In regards to the recent thefts

on campus, Campus Security is continuing its efforts to find who is responsible. “If every member of the campus community would b e g i n t a k i ng c om m on s e ns e precautions such as locking doors and not leaving personal items lying unattended, we could almost totally eliminate future thefts. No

opportunity, no crime,” Boyer said. Contact Campus Security at SECURITY@ETOWN.EDU for more information on preventing crime or use the crime incident report form, available on the College website, to report crimes that have been committed on campus.

CURRICULUM PAGE 1

Education dept. curriculum addition provides study abroad opportunity The education depar tment designed the course to “provide a rich opportunity to comparatively explore educational practices, as well as enrich the education programs of study, through opportunities for undergraduates to conduct research with faculty members, make connections between peace education in a global context and their own practice,” Haley-Mize said. T h e t r ave l opp or tu n it y i s available at the end of the term in May to Belfast, Ireland. It was

[This course is designed to] provide a rich opportunity to comparatively explore educational practices, as well as enrich the education programs of study, through opportunities for undergraduates.”

~ Shannon Haley-Mize

planned for those who could not study abroad for an entire semester due to scheduling challenges such as pursuing the dual certification in early childhood and special education. Nicole Morgan, a sophomore early childhood education major, said she would def initely b e interested in taking this course: “I would take this course because many of the education courses that we enroll in only give the perspective of the school systems

in Pennsylvania or the Lancaster County area. It would be extremely helpful if the classroom in which one of us was teaching is culturally diverse. I think that if there was a way for all education majors to take it, then they should definitely take advantage of that opportunity.” Although the course is designed mainly for upper level education majors, it is also available to those who are involved in a different d e p a r t m e nt a n d a r e s i mp l y interested in taking this course.

Business department creates Living Learning Community

Business LLC nears completion of first semester, allows Jays to expand educational experience by ALLISON ROHLAND AND TYLER WEARY

lizabethtown College’s Business Department, under the leadership of Associate Professor of Business Law and Business Department Chair Dr. Sylvester Williams, created the first-ever Business Living Learning Community (LLC). The Business LLC consists of 58 first-year male and female intended business majors and is located on the second and third floors of Myer Residence Hall. During a business

“The goal is to bring students who major in business together in a common environment.” ~ Sylvester Williams

department day this summer, the first-years signed up for the LLC. However, due to a lack of space, the College was unable to accommodate all of those interested in the Business LLC. The Business LLC program’s main goal is to get students in the same area of business to interact with one another outside

of the classroom as well as in the classroom. “The goal is to bring students who major in business together in a common environment,” Williams said. The program offered a writing session led by adjunct professor of English Tyler Grimm on Oct. 12 to stress the importance of writing skills in the workplace. This workshop was specifically geared toward the first-year business students. Another objective of the Business LLC is to get business students to work together as a team. In order to reach this goal, students are given the opportunity to go on various trips throughout the year. One of these is a spring trip to New York City. Another trip students can attend in the spring is to the Photo: Katie Brumbach E lizab et htown C hamb er of The business department created a Living Learning Community this year to give business majors Commerce. On this trip, students the opportunity to live and interact with each other outside of the classroom. will work as a team in a scavenger hunt. “Teamwork is huge in the determine which business concentration they Leaders of the Business LLC are available business world,” Williams said. want to pursue. Williams scheduled lectures to their students when it comes time to pick The Business LLC scheduled a trip on Oct. and times for business faculty to come to classes for the upcoming semester. “It is 28 to the Pennsylvania Capitol Building to Myer’s lounge and discuss their area of focus. important that students do not take classes meet with Senator Mike Brubaker to discuss On Nov. 13, Williams discussed business law they do not need,” Williams said. The LLC government’s perspective on business. with the students, and on Oct. 24, Edgar T. provides real-world learning experiences However, the trip was cancelled. Bitting Chair of Accounting Dr. Terrie L. — what Williams dubs, “Learning in 360 The program can also help students Riportella presented on accounting. degrees.”

Features

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November 21, 2013

Thanksgiving Traditions E

ven though students are still on campus, the upcoming holiday season is alive and well. Last night, Elizabethtown College hosted its annual Thanksgiving dinner. The traditional sit-down dinner was a smorgasbord of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and the works. The dinner — catered by Dining Services — was served by alumni, faculty and staff. Another holiday event that occurred last evening was the annual tree lighting cer-

emony with President Carl Strikwerda. A large pine tree in the Dell was decorated with lights, and cookies and hot chocolate were served to the students. Vocalign — the College’s male/female a cappella group — led the crowd in holiday tunes. WWEC 88.3 FM provided music in between the caroling and Strikwerda’s reading of “Harriet and George’s Christmas Treat” by Nancy Carlson.

‘Project Brainwash’ explores depictions of women in media by EMILY DRINKS

“R

eality TV has been functioning as backlash on women’s rights, cultural progress and social progress,” Jennifer Pozner said in her presentation “Project Brainwash: Why Reality TV is Bad for Women.” The event occurred in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Pozner, a media critic and journalist, founded Women in Media & News as well as publishing her book “Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV.” Her lecture addressed how reality TV emphasizes women’s beauty over all other qualities. “On ‘America’s Next Top Model’, women have to measure up, literally,” Pozner said. The women on the show must meet a certain height and weight standard to compete, and one medical student was told she lost because her level of intelligence may seem condescending to agents. Additionally, Pozner showed a clip of the producer of “The Bachelor” stating, “most importantly, they have to look good in a hot tub.” “Reality TV shows that are supposedly about talent turn into beauty contests among women,” Pozner said. She used “American Idol” as an example, in which Simon Cowell told one contestant she needed to lose weight to become famous. “This is an image-based business,” Cowell said. He told another contestant who sang her entire song flat that she was “not the best singer in the show, but was the most commercial.” Pozner said that women are portrayed as commodities like cars rather than as talented

or intelligent. “Fat wallet plus skinny chick. Poof. Love,” Pozner said. She added that reality TV portrays marriage to a man like “Prince Charming” as the only way for a woman to be happy and fulfilled in her life. She continued the fairy tale theme by stating that many producers frame their shows as perfect fairy tales. The shows ignore the economic role women play in society and encourage men to be the “bread winner” for the family. “They treat grown women like little girls who never outgrew their bedtime stories,” Pozner said. However, she said that the majority of couples who get married on reality TV shows split up shortly after, citing that only three of “The Bachelor” couples stayed together after the show ended. The media often excuses some of the degrading stereotypes on the by stating that they are only attempting to meet the public’s demands. “Reality TV is created to meet advertisers’ needs and not our needs,” Pozner argued. Many companies, such as Sony and Coca-Cola, pay to have their products advertised on the shows. Even if a reality TV show has lower ratings than another TV series, the reality show will continue to air because they make more money for the producers. “Reality TV can collect millions of dollars before they ever air,” Pozner said. “The main purpose is to make money for a small amount of media companies.” Reality TV is only scripted about 50 to 65 percent less than a regular TV drama. Before the show ever airs, the producers have already formed an overarching storyline for the season

Photo: Sarah Kennedy

Media critic and journalist Jennifer Pozner presented her lecture at Bowers Wednesday. In her presentation, she covered the media’s depiction of women in reality television.

through their casting decisions and editing. Pozner shared that only about one percent of what is filmed is aired. Often the shows use what Pozner identified as “frankenbits,” in which the producers take the quotes from cast members out of context to add drama or perpetuate their plot line. Pozner also addressed some on the standards men are held to on reality TV shows. She said that men who act violent and chauvinistic receive praise. Some of the men on the dating shows also have criminal records for assault, domestic violence or even murder. “Sometimes Prince Charming himself is violent and degrading,” Pozner stated. She showed a clip in which

one man was berated for allowing women to buy their own drinks, order their own meals and open their own car doors. The show host acted outraged that the man wanted equal roles for both the man and the woman. Those who do buy in to the media ideals of romance and marriage are often portrayed as “bridezillas.” Pozner stated that many myths on reality TV, such as women being catty, stupid gold diggers only serves to further degrade women. She stated that if someone only learned about American culture from reality TV, “You’d get the impression that the women’s rights movement and the civil rights movement never happened.”

Features

November 21, 2013

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CONTINUED FROM NEWS PAGE 1

Hiroshima bombing survivor Shigeko Sasamori shares experience

Sasamori visits the College, promotes peace, warns against the dangers of nuclear warfare, weaponry

by KAITLIN GIBBONEY

asamori remembered seeing bodies in the streets, trapped under houses and several thrown into the river she was close to. “I could barely see the water,” she said. Those that could walk were “walking like ghosts,” disoriented and in shock from what had just happened. Some people trapped under collapsed buildings were crying for help, but Sasamori said that most people were so injured that they could not give assistance to those who needed it. “People who have survived many years ago feel guilty that they could not help,” Sasamori said. From the side of the river where she had fallen after the attack, Sasamori moved to the other side where survivors of the attack had gathered. “I

stayed in a school auditorium for five days and four nights,” she said. “I kept saying my address and my name.” There, she stayed without knowing what happened to her family or where they were. After the blast, Sasamori was so badly burned that she was barely recognizable. Her mother would walk the streets all day, calling her name. Eventually her father found her. “I asked my mother ‘How did you find me?’” she said. “She said she looked down at me and she couldn’t recognize me. She heard my voice, saying ‘Here I am.’ That was five days after staying in a place with no food, no medication and little water.” Sasamori’s injuries sustained from the close range of the blast covered the top half of her body in large, burnt patches. She suffered from

painful burns on her face, head, neck, chest and shoulders. “My body looked like a map – a burned place here, not burned place here,” Sasamori said. “Parts of my body were like burnt toast.” Her father treated her wounds without doctors, nurses or medication. “There wasn’t enough medication,” she said. After Sasamori had recovered, it was many months before she went outside again. “I became a Christian after that,” she said. Sasamori had come to the conclusion that she was given a second chance at life for a reason. Sasamori also decided that she wanted to travel to the United States and become a nurse, which she eventually did. Afterwards, it became Sasamori’s mission to speak out against the injustices of nuclear warfare and weaponry. “That’s the reason

God gave me life,” she said. “Radiation is the devil. Sooner or later, the devil will get you.” Following the bombing, Sasamori has given numerous talks and visited many places in her calling to share her story, speak out against nuclear weapons and speak out against warfare. The goal of her speeches is to spread her message of empathy, not sympathy, through her traumatic experience. “It’s not easy to recall these memories,” Sasamori said. “I’m not asking people for sympathy. I want people to feel empathy. I get to keep going because this is my mission, and it is very important. It makes me very happy to see all of these young people who want to do something and stop the nonsense … war is nothing good. Everybody has a responsibility to keep this Earth beautiful.”

Dr. Milligan speaks on teaching, acceptance by EMILY VASAS

r. Amy Milligan, visiting associate professor of women and gender studies here at Elizabethtown College, is also a Blue Jay who has returned to the nest. Milligan graduated from Etown in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and German. After graduation, she spent a year in Marburg, Germany with a Fulbright scholarship. After returning to the states, she earned her masters of theological studies, along with a certificate in gender studies at Duke University. Milligan began working here at the College as an adjunct professor while she was completing her doctorate in American studies at Penn State University. “It’s always been my dream to come back to teach at my alma mater,” Milligan said. Milligan said that her Fulbright year had a profound impact on her. She had time to study and take courses specific to her interests. The Fulbright gave her the opportunity to work closely with a mentor on her own academic research projects. She still visits Marburg when she can and loves going back to catch up with her contacts at the university there. Milligan is eager to travel elsewhere in the world, too. “I’m hoping to return to Israel for a second time or maybe visit Poland,” she said. Aside from her teaching responsibilities, Milligan advises Hillel, a Jewish Culture Experience Living Learning Community (LLC) here

Photo: Katie Brumbach

Shigeko Sasamori survived the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Her story was shared as part of the College’s Peace and Remembrance Series.

Target Media presents at M&M Mars Lecture by JAKE WEBER

Photo: Courtesy Photo

on campus, and Etown Allies. She is also the faculty mentor for the Stonewall Hall LLC. Milligan serves on the Thinking about Gender, Sex, and Sexuality (TGSS) Think-tank Committee, the women and gender studies advisory committee, the Prestigious Scholarship Committee and as a Campus Diversity Advocate. Milligan said her office is also a safe zone. “I’m always happy to meet with LGBTQ community members to talk with them and help connect them to resources on campus or in the local community,” she said. “It can be a really emotional and difficult role, but it is one of the best parts of my job.” Milligan chose to pursue these areas of culture and society because she always had an interest in how culture shapes people. “I’m an interdisciplinarian at heart,” Milligan said. She felt that American Studies and women and gender studies were the perfect

fit for her. They allowed her to focus on analyzing people’s self-identities. Milligan carries these interests over into the classroom, as well. She makes a point of helping her classes talk about controversial topics. She hopes that her students will learn to form their own opinions about the issues facing our society, and to think critically about things they have learned through their society and culture. She wants her students to decide for themselves what it means to educate for service. “One of the things that gives our lives meaning is working toward improving the world,” she said. “My hope is that I can help to stir that passion in others.” Teaching at Etown has been a joy for Milligan. She loves being able to work with students in the classroom. “I tell people all the time that I have the best job,” she said. Milligan is active on campus outside of her teaching responsibilities as well. “I really enjoy working on programming,” she said. This semester, Milligan has been organizing the Women and Gender Studies Roundtable discussion on the importance of feminism today. She has also been coordinating celebrations for National Coming Out Day and the Transgender Day of Remembrance. “I’ve also partnered with other groups on campus, like the Better Together Campaign, and enjoy fostering that type of crosscampus collaboration between departments!” she said. Outside the classroom, Milligan loves spending time with her family. In her free time she cooks, takes walks with her dog, reads and visits ethnic restaurants. “I’m also a big professional soccer fan!” she said. Milligan is an ethnographer, so she also spends a decent chunk of her time outside the classroom interviewing people and compiling her research. Currently, she is hard at work on two different projects. One looks at the lives of Jewish lesbians, while the other considers the role that the blue nautical star and the pink triangle play in tattooing.

n Fr iday, Nov. 15, as part of the M&M Mars Executive Lecture Series, two members of the media analysis company Target Media spoke to Elizabethtown College students and faculty. Target Media is a company whose integrated media approach provides help for companies looking to achieve marketing success. T he t wo sp e a ke rs we re John Bowser, president and CEO of Target Media, and Drew Salamone, digital me d i a and e nte r t ai n me nt executive. Etown hosted these two speakers to share their experience in the field. Bowser has over 20 years of experience in the marketing and client services field. Also, he has extensive knowledge within the credit union industr y, and has hel d v ar i ous top level management positions. Salamone has over 17 years of experience in interactive technologies and has spent 23 years in entertainment and event management. T he t wo sp e a ke rs we re introduced by Dr. Sylvester Williams, associate professor of business law and chair of the business department. Bowser spoke first and introduced their presentation as “Traditional Media and the C onstantly Evolving World of Digital Media.” Bowser began with the importance of knowing how people utilize media. As the media world is evolving, u s i ng d i g it a l ch an nel s to engage consumers becomes increasingly valuable. Bowser then engaged the audience with a couple of st at ist i c a l qu e st i ons . T he first was, “how many times a day does the average person reference to their smartphone?” The guesses ranged from 45 to 100 times a day. Shockingly, the average person uses their smartphone 150 times a day. This proves how digital media is evolving through a wide r ange of appl i c at i ons for consumers. Also, after Google, the answer to who the second largest search engine in the world surprised ever yone.

YouTube has more than 100 hours of video uploaded every minute, making it the second largest search engine in the world. Apple, the world’s most valuable brand, has a specific strategy in their marketing planning. B owser credited their excellence to a wide target audience, customer loyalty and staying proactive. For businesses, there is a wide variety of options to deploy their media, which can make choosing the proper format confusing. B owser stated that the best option t o re a c h c on s u m e r s w it h me di a is mobi le. He a ls o spoke of the rise of companies blending their advertising with programming. For example, Coca-Cola advertises through the nationally televised “American Idol” by having the judges drink from Coca-Cola cups. Bowser then gave Salamone the floor. Salamone spoke on digital marketing, his area of expertise. Digital marketing is the promotion of products or brands using one or more forms of electronic media. It allows organizations to analyze marketing campaigns in real time. Salamone also discussed the three options of media. They include paid, owned and earned media. Paid refers to TV, magazines and cinema, and targets people who are strangers to the company. Owned refers to brochures, Facebook fan pages and mobile ap p l i c at i on s , a n d t a r g e t s customers. Finally, earned re fe rs to word of mout h , Twitter and blogs, but targets fans of the company. In addition to sharing their k n ow l e d g e w it h bu s i n e s s students, Target Media also supports the College in ot her ways. The y provide internships for Etown students and donate funding for the business department. Friday’s presentation by Target Media marked the eighth M&M Mars lecture of the fall. Be sure to attend the final lecture of the semester on Friday, Nov. 22, as Etown welcomes Mark Fitzgerald, president and chief operating officer of High Real Estate Group, LLC.

Features

November 21, 2013

Travels Abroad: Discovering Etown in Unexpected Places

Photo: Austin Whitlock

by JAZMIN DEJESUS

uring my stay in England, I have been able to visit some of the most beautiful and interesting places in the United Kingdom. I’ve been able to visit Stonehenge, and The Roman Baths, and I’ve spent numerous days in the city of London. At the end of the day, though, I always make my way back to my home at Regency Hall in the small town of Cheltenham. My living situation in England is completely different than mine is in America that I almost don’t associate it with the term “dorm life.” I live on the top floor of a building entirely full of freshman, or, as they call them here, “freshers.” Each floor is called a “flat” and consists of about 7 to 10 students. We all have our own room complete with a bed, desk and chair, a set of drawers, a large bookshelf, a full closet and a private bathroom. That’s right, we each have our own

private bathroom in our room. The bathroom includes a toilet, sink, mirror, shower and even a little safe! My room is honestly one of my favorite parts about studying here in the UK. That may sound crazy, but I didn’t realize how absolutely amazing it would be to have an entire space to myself. I can do my work at whatever time I want with guaranteed peace and quiet; I can sleep in, wake up or stay out as long as I want without having to disturb or consult anyone. I never have to ask permission in order to have anyone over. And regardless of how much you love your roommate, I’m sure everyone can agree that they have moments during which they secretly wish they had their own room. I never even thought of the possibility of having my own bathroom. In America, most students end up sharing a large bathroom with multiple people every year of college until junior or senior year; they only

have to share it with three other people. After being spoiled with my own bathro om, I don’t even understand how I survived the beginning of my college career without one and to say that I’ll miss it would be an understatement. Due to my living situation here in the UK, I don’t only find myself having a lot more freedom in how my days go, but I also find that I have a lot more responsibility. Having my own bathroom is amazing, but I also have to make sure to keep up with my bathroom. Frankly, if I want my bathroom to stay clean, I have to clean it. I have to buy my own toilet paper, my own hand soap and anything else I’d need with money that comes out of my own pocket. Although inconvenient at times, it makes me feel more in control of my life and more like an adult. I really do love my living situation here, and I appreciate that I don’t only get my own space, but also a look into what adulthood will be like.

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Called to Lead: How do you handle conflict? by EMILY VASAS

he Called to Lead program sponsored a lecture entitled “Called to Lead: How Do You Handle Conflict?” at 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18. The session was open to all students, not only participants in Called to Lead. The meeting focused on conflict as a necessity of life and the different strategies people use to deal with conflict in their everyday lives. Director of Called to Lead, Director of Religious Life, Lecturer in Religious Studies, and Chaplain Reverend Tracy Sadd led the discussion, explaining the benefits and effectiveness of good conflict-management skills in life and leadership. The main tool used in the session was the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, a test which aids in identifying someone’s preferred conflict resolution style. Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann constructed the test to assess conflict-handling behavior in order to help people discover whether they are overusing or under-using the five conflict-handling modes. These modes are competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating. Competing consists of high assertiveness and low cooperation, while accommodating consists of low assertiveness and high cooperation. The other three fall between these two extremes. The Conflict Mode Instrument consists of 30 paired statements. Test participants are asked to consider the statements according to multiple situations in which they might find themselves. They are then asked to choose the one which they feel best defines how they would behave or react in the situation. It is similar to a personality test in these respects. Instead of being ranked according to personality traits, however, participants are ranked according to how they place in the percentile for each of the five conflicthandling modes. All five of the conflict-handling modes are considered valid and appropriate in certain situations. While there are some situations where one tactic might work better than others, none of the five are “wrong.” Collaboration was long considered to be the “ideal”

mode of conflict-resolution, but that is not the case any longer. While it is still an ideal to strive for, this can take a very long time to reach a resolution, because collaborators tend to search for the solution which will make all involved parties 100 percent happy. This resolution is not always possible. Sometimes it is better to avoid a conflict or to compromise on something instead. “The values of competing, directing and forcing are like the ER,” Sadd said. She explained that it is often better to have someone in charge of handling the conflict rather than trying to appease everyone involved. While everyone has a personal preference to how they approach conflict, people’s responses to conflict can be trained. People can develop those conflict-handling modes they feel they do not use as often and improve on them as they would with any learned skill. Student participants were asked where sessions on conflict-handling modes could be taken in the future. Some of the suggestions included active or real-world application of these modes, studying the cultural engagement of different modes of conflict-handling and studying their context in different majors or years at the College. Elizabethtown College’s Called to Lead program allows Etown students to explore leadership through life meaning, vocation and ethical and moral concerns. The Called to Lead program is an interdisciplinary program at the College involving faculty-led lecture sessions, academic courses, an academic mentoring program, a field trip, campus events, and networking dinners. These events help students involved in the program to earn points toward a certificate of completion and recognition when they graduate. The goals of the program include living out the “Educate for Service” mantra through leadership and helping students expand their leadership potential. Sadd founded the Called to Lead program and facilitated Monday evening’s event. The next Called to Lead event is “Listening – The Premier Skill of Servant Leaders.” It will take place at 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. in Hoover 211, facilitated by Stacey Zimmerman, assistant director of the Called to Lead program.

College-Community Orchestra performs in Leffler Chapel by KAITLIN GIBBONEY

t Elizabethtown College, community is a large part of campus life and culture. The Elizabethtown College-Community Orchestra (ECCO) performed in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center Sunday afternoon. The concert featured both student members of the orchestra and members of the Elizabethtown community. Dr. J. Robert Spence, associate professor of music in the fine and performing arts department, directed the group. ECCO is the premier wind, string and percussion ensemble at the College. The group, comprised of 75 members, plays a variety of music for both string orchestra and full orchestra. Membership in the ECCO is available to all Etown students and requires no audition. Members of the community travel to campus from all over the Susquehanna Valley in order to perform and rehearse with the orchestra. “College-Community Orchestra was founded in 1971 and has involved community members ever since,” Spence said. “The community members help to increase the depth of the ensemble’s sound. That is particularly important in the string sections – violin, viola, cello and bass.” The concert opened with W.A. Mozart’s “Overture to ‘The Magic Flute,” an epic piece that opens to Mozart’s comic opera, “The Magic Flute.” This work opens with the introduction of

an adventurer, Tamino, who is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter, with whom Tamino falls deeply in love. However, Tamino discovers that the Queen herself is the villain, and he must undergo three tasks before claiming his love. The piece presents itself as the epitome of a romantic comedy. Following the opening piece, Spence individually introduced and recognized the members of the community. A few of the community members of the orchestra were from Elizabethtown High School, while the rest were members of the surrounding community or Etown alumni. “Even now in this moment, I’m still struggling to put into words exactly what it is you’re about to experience tonight,” Spence said. “You’re here to hear some great music, and you shall.” The next piece was Philip Glass’ “The Canyon,” a dramatic episode for orchestra. “The style of music he champions is called minimalism,” Spence said. Spence chose this minimalist piece for a very particular reason. “We are about to embark on a special week in the life of our country’s history by observing the assassination of our former president, John F. Kennedy,” he said. “Another president affected by assassination, Theodore Roosevelt, said, ‘Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer

Photo: Will Scott

much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory of defeat,’” Spence said. This piece was accompanied by a light show, put together by students working the light booth and with Technical Operations Director Barry Fritz. After intermission in the second half of the concert, Johan Halvorsen’s “Entry March of the Boyars” was played, and Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” was next. The latter piece featured solos by junior Joanna Stauffer on piano, senior Cassia Beiler on violin and junior Etow-

nian Photo Editor Katie Brumbach on violin. Jacques Press’ “Wedding Dance from Hasseneh” followed and featured Cassia Beiler and Gabriel Edwards on violin. To conclude the concert, “Smooth” by Itaal Shur and Rob Thomas was performed. This rock-heavy piece featured sophomore Frank Zarefoss on guitar, sophomore Cole Goodman on violin and Gabriel Edwards on violin. “From time to time, I like to tell the students that I’m the one who writes the checks, but the ensemble is the one who cashes the checks,” Spence

said. “In an ensemble like this, the individual performers bring their personal best every day. The orchestra is a terrific asset to the College.” Despite the community members not being on campus, Spence said that it doesn’t hinder the relations with the group. “Relationships are strong between the community members and Etown students. I’ve witnessed tearful goodbyes between the community members and soon-to-be-graduating seniors who had just finished performing their final concert performance. We are, most definitely, one group,” Spence said.

Opinion

November 21, 2013

page 7

Utilizing directed, independent studies personalizes classes, improves education by SHANNA KIRGAN

ver feel like there’s something that you really want to study that Elizabethtown College doesn’t offer? Or maybe there is a course you want to take, but it never seems to fit into your schedule. Before you give up on plans or think about taking a course from another school, consider independent and directed studies. What are independent and directed studies? They are two more study options you have here at the College. With an independent study, you can pursue a field of interest or specialized area of your major or minor that is not regularly offered through the course catalogue. You write up your own proposal for the course and find an advisor to guide you through it. As suggested by the title, independent study, much of the coursework is done independently, with little structure or supervision from the advisor. The course can be longer or shorter than an average semester length, depending on the proposal, and must result in a final project — a paper, poster, artwork, etc. — to be presented at its conclusion. Directed studies, on the other hand, can be taken to fulfill a requirement that is regularly offered in the course catalogue but perhaps is not given at a time that is convenient for you. With this option, you don’t have to worry about coming up with a course proposal on your own; the advising professor will take care of it for you. Basically, this is taken like a normal class but is conducted one-onone with the professor. Directed studies must be completed within a single semester and may incur an extra course fee, which is at the discretion of your advising professor. Keep this in mind: these options are a way to meet your requirements or dig deeper into a field of interest. You should by no means treat them as a way to get out of a hard course. Currently, I am enrolled in a directed study to knock out my final major requirement before student teaching. The course is EN302, a linguistic and historical approach to studying the English language, and I am taking it with Professor of English Dr. Louis Martin, who normally teaches

Photo: Katie Brumbach

The one-on-one interaction with your professor during a directed study forces you to stay on top of your work. Independent studies, however, involve much more individual work that culminates in a final project.

the course. In the beginning of the semester, we met twice a week. Now, we only meet on Fridays for about 45 minutes to an hour. He gives me work to do, and I have a week to do it. If I finish early, I can email him. If I need more time, I do what I can. I know my professor has expectations for me, but I also know that the directed study option gives me a bit of room for flexibility. I can set my own pace. Because of the nature of the directed study, there is a higher sense of accountability. If I don’t know what’s going on, I can’t simply avert eye contact, skip out or hope someone else in the class has the answer. It’s just me and the professor. The same is true of the independent study. Upon registering, you need to know that you can be self-motivated on a less structured schedule and be prepared every time. That being said, my overall experience in a directed study thus far has been positive. The one-on-one nature of the class allows me to ask any and all questions I have about the material. My professor and I wind up spiraling into conversation or researching more about what I’m studying; because it is only me, I get more attention.

Independent and directed studies have nothing to do with what major you’re in, or whether you think you’re smart enough to handle it. It works for me because I don’t like structure and repetition, I hate questions that only have one answer and I like working at my own pace. My largest class has been 35 people, but I prefer the smaller ones. I need the chance to ask questions and explore my interests. This is your education. You have professors, advisors and faculty here who will help you do everything that you want to do. Don’t pass up something like study abroad because you don’t think you’ll fit everything. Don’t brush off a really interesting idea for study simply because the class isn’t offered. College may be the only time in your life when you have a network of people who want you to succeed. Do what you want to do. You’ll get your classes in, no matter what it takes. Whether that’s independent study, directed study or pleading with a professor to add a course last-minute for you so that you can finish your minor on time. Not that that’s happened to me or anything.

Course evaluation forms hardly serve their intended purpose Most tenured professors do not benefit from using course evaluation forms in classes by TYLER KUNKLE

t will soon be time for the day during which you barely make it to class on time, only to open the door and see some random professor sitting at the front of what you thought was your class. But just before turning to leave, embarrassed, you realize it is evaluation day! Yes, it’s that time of the semester again: term papers are due, Christmas decorations are out way too early, finals are looming like storm clouds in the distance and you are asked for your feedback on professors.

Personally, I despise evaluation day. Don’t get me wrong, the 20-minute break from normal class activities is always welcome, but after having filled out well over a dozen of those forms, it becomes tiresome and doesn’t seem worth it. I’m not even talking about the fact that one-third of the questions are not applicable to the class; I’m talking about the fact that these evaluations are all but meaningless. Admittedly, for professors who are not tenured, these evaluations are somewhat useful. First, it allows the school to see what students think of them, assuming

students took the time to fill out the form honestly and thoroughly. Furthermore, professors are likely to be interested in having some feedback to check that students are satisfied with them and to compare their teaching success with other professors. However, regarding tenured professors, I cannot say that I see a point. In all fairness, I can imagine a few of my past professors taking the time to read the comments and pour over the evaluation data as true feedback. I can even imagine some of them changing their teaching style as a result. However, I see the vast majority of professors

Photo: Katie Brumbach

As classes near their conclusions, students are required to complete course evaluations so that professors can assess the quality of their teaching.The forms are uniform for each class and therefore may not properly assess every course. It is also sometimes hard to judge whether or not course and professor evaluations are affective.

not even bothering to look at the feedback, let alone changing in reaction to it. I could be wrong about that, but I have yet to see any sort of evidence compelling me to believe that professors attribute any sort of value to these Scantronlike sheets. The test-like, fill-in-the-bubble format does little to convince me that the evaluations are anything of importance. The fact that the forms are the same for ever y course, regardless of the discipline, also harms the validity. If some professors would add their own supplement with course-specific questions, I would be more likely to take the time to give honest feedback. I wouldn’t rush to fill out the form, only to enjoy a cat nap or a daydreaming session until everyone else is done. The uniform scale for all courses is neither accurate nor reliable at measuring the performance of each professor. It really only measures how quickly a student can learn the layout of the form, fill in the appropriate questions, think of something witty to put in the open-ended comment box and walk it up to the front of the classroom. Despite the sense of anonymity of the evaluations, many students do not give their honest opinion for a variety of reasons. There is always the fear that a comment you make will be traced back to you, and no one wants to be in hot water for honest feedback. Many students, myself included, do not take the time to give the amount of feedback that would be beneficial to professors. Although the evaluations are good in theory, the structure of

“In my experience, the professors who need the feedback the most and could use an honest response to their teaching style are all tenured and set in their ways to the point where no piece of paper is going to change them. ”

tenure destroys any weight which they could hold. In my experience, the profess ors w ho need the feedback the most and could use an honest response to their teaching style are all tenured and set in their ways to the point where no piece of paper is going to change them. The fact that neither students nor professors value evaluations enough has resulted in their utter lack of importance. The whole process has become outdated and useless for any professor with tenure. I see no reason to continue forced evaluations of any professor with tenure; associate professors should still be evaluated. In fact, having fewer evaluations to fill out would result in more seriousness given to the few that students would have to do. Professors with tenure could still give out their own evaluation or choose not to do anything if they aren’t going to bother looking at the results.

Opinion

page 8

November 21, 2013

Professors should not be rushed to return assignments by SAMANTHA WEISS

o prepare college students for the “real world,” professors set strict deadlines, with harsh consequences for students who miss them. Repercussions range from a drop in a letter grade to a “0” depending upon the professor. The reasoning behind such restrictions is usually the same: in life, extensions won’t exist. In the world that professors are preparing us for deadlines won’t be for papers, but most jobs still revolve around strict deadlines set for important reasons. None of these deadlines are negotiable. The safety of a patient dictates a doctor’s responsibility to timeliness, the validity of a story dictates that of a journalist and many other professions are restricted by similar obligations. These people cannot choose to ignore deadlines. However, it seems there is an unspoken exception for professors. Regardless of circumstances, most professors do not comply with this standard. Whether relating to posting grades, returning assignments or answering emails, professors take liberties with their turnaround rates. Students raise objections about professors’ right to hand back assignments and grades on a seemingly arbitrary schedule. Some of the objections include: needing to know one’s grade in order to calculate averages, using feedback to better one’s future grades or just to avoid anxiety related to the waiting on grades. Since punishments cannot be imposed on professors, students are forced to accept these terms and whatever effects come with them. Unlike most students, I feel that it is within a professor’s rights choose to post a grade today, tomorrow or six weeks from now, to return a test or not or to answer an email

slowly if it is at their earliest convenience, not that of the student. Not only did they spend multiple years enduring similar or more extreme deadlines, but they also create deadlines that are reasonable and based on years of experience. I think that getting an exam back two classes after taking it is no more beneficial than getting it back seven classes after having taken it. What will that test do for you now that you have taken it? That’s right: nothing. Professors acknowledge this and work accordingly. As well, students often use getting their grades as a crutch. “If I got a ‘B’ on the most recent assignment, my grade on the next test isn’t important,” or the converse “If I got a C on the last test, I need an A on an upcoming project to get a ‘B’ in the course.” It should be a student’s goal to simply do well, regardless of past performance. Weighing old grades can often cause a sense of apathy among students, causing great grades to become just good enough. I feel that I am busy as a student, but I wouldn’t compare my schedule to that of a professor. Grading seventy essays takes much longer than writing one. If we are given two weeks, on average, to write a paper, why should a professor return it to us in a fraction of that time? We cannot put ourselves in their shoes in order to better understand what it requires to be a professor, but every professor has been a student and can therefore relate to our situation. Generally, I have found my professors to be reasonable in assigning work and in returning grades. In situations where professors are taking longer than expected amount of time, I have never found that one wouldn’t update me on my grades or offer me feedback face-to-face. The ways that students can get their grades are not limited to having

Photo: Katie Brumbach

While hard to believe at times, our schedules can hardly be compared to those of professors. The constant grading of papers, exams and assignments outweighs our own workloads.

them posted on Blackboard. While some professors make use of Blackboard, many have never posted any materials for their classes on it. Sitting down with a professor and having a conversation about one’s grade may be an old method, but it is effective. The

Sophomore expresses thanks for Thanksgiving Break situation by PAIGE PRESTON

here is nothing better than a little break from the late nights of studying at the High Library and the cold walks back to your dorm after the librarian asks you to leave because it’s 1 a.m. My opinion is I would rather have more short breaks throughout my college semesters rather than long, extensive breaks. I like the change in scenery from time to time. I must admit, part of me tends to miss wherever I’m not. If I’m at school, I miss home. If I’m home, I miss some aspects of school. I feel like the shorter breaks allow you to get the best of both worlds.

“No matter what length of our breaks, I look forward to taking advantage of the time off to relax from the everyday rush of a daily routine.”

Thanksgiving break is right around the corner, and I am looking forward to spending break with family and friends. There is an added bonus of the overall comfy home feeling that is hard to put into words. I like the current schedule of our break at Elizabethtown College. Our Thanksgiving break is short compared to some schools my friends attend. However, in my opinion, I would rather a shorter break especially since we will begin winter break only 12 short days after we return. Many of the schools that tend to have a longer Thanksgiving break have a shorter winter break. I would never want to shave time off of winter break. I would imagine that this is especially true for the international

students on campus. A longer break gives the students the opportunity to travel home to be with their family for the holidays. A shorter winter break caused by a longer Thanksgiving break would certainly devalue their long trip home. For some, a shorter winter break may mean not going home at all because of the added expense of travel not making the trip home worth the shorter stay. It is hard to imagine not spending holidays at home with my family. In addition, a month-long break after fall semester finals is always necessary before going at it again for the spring semester. The one change I would ask for is to have off the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. That one extra day right before the holiday would be a nice transition day. This would allow for one day of relaxing before everyone comes to our house for the Thanksgiving meal. One issue I have noticed about having class the day before the holiday is that the attendance in classes is down because of travel plans. Also, some professors end up cancelling classes because of their own plans or because they realize that many students won’t be attending their class. I believe if Etown would start the Thanksgiving break on Wednesday, it may relieve some of the pressure regarding class attendance versus holiday plans. Another annoying situation is the timing of the fall break and how it differs from school to school. When my break schedule doesn’t line up with my friends break schedules, I loathe receiving Snapchats of my friends with their puppies or the great dinner their mom made while I’m studying for a huge exam. It’s always tough being away from home when my friends are home from school. The only positive is that it gives them the opportunity to visit me at school, and I can do the same when I am home on my break. No matter what length of our breaks, I look forward to taking advantage of the time off to relax from the everyday rush of a daily routine.

time it takes to get assignments and grades back isn’t important when considering the merit of the professor or the quality of the class. Professors return work on a time schedule that works for them, while doing their best to keep us in mind.

ASK MATT by MATTHEW WALTERS Dear Matt, I think I have taken on too many extracurricular activities and jobs on campus. I think I need a break, but I love everything I do and I don’t want to quit anything. What do you think I should do? Dear Overcommitted Peer, I want you to know from the get-go that I completely understand where you’re coming from. If someone else were doing an advice column, I might have asked him or her the same question earlier this semester. Having struggled with this same question, I have found an answer that works for me and I hope it works for you, too. Obviously, no one is forcing you to quit any of your activities; the decision is entirely up to you. The solution to your issue depends on whether or not you can bring yourself to drop an activity or two. If you absolutely refuse to quit any of your jobs or extracurricular activities, then you have a few options. When you just need some time to get work done or get your life back in gear, see if you can get out of any of your commitments, even if it’s just for a day. You would be surprised with how much you can get done in the time that you would typically spend playing your intramural sports game or meeting with your club. Leadership roles are harder to get out of, but if you’re able to delegate tasks, you might be able to squeeze in some much-needed time off. If you’re sticking with each of

your activities, make completely sure you enjoy all of them. According to the question, you seem to enjoy everything you do — but you have to enjoy certain things more. And if you aren’t enjoying a certain commitment, but still refuse to quit, find something to appreciate about it. Make the most of your situation, and just remember that your resume will hopefully look better for your efforts. The path to freedom, however, is recognizing when you really have too much to handle. If you’re like me, your idea of “too much” is so extreme that most other people would not be able to manage a single day in your schedule. So even though it sounds obvious, don’t get involved in anything beyond your current activities. If you want to stretch yourself even more thinly, make sure you have a good reason for it. Recognize your limits, and if you come to the conclusion that you have to make some cuts to your schedule, do so. Oftentimes, the busiest people are just the ones who can’t say “no.” I have packed activity after activity into my schedule just because I can’t turn people down. I hate letting people down, but recognize that by taking on so many tasks, often for the purpose of not leaving people hanging, you cannot fully commit to any one area of your involvement. About halfway through this semester, I grappled with the realization that I was slightly, but equally, letting people down in each of my activities. It’s not a good feeling, and I hope you never feel the same way.

If your grades are dropping, your sanity is waning or your lifestyle is terribly out of whack, it may be time to make a change. Saying “no” is impossibly hard, but ultimately rewarding. I know that you probably want to make the most of your college experience by doing as many different things as possible, but remember to leave at least a little time for yourself. If you need a break from school, head home for a weekend, if possible. You may never want to quit anything, but weigh your options. Make a list of everything you’re involved in on campus. Maybe give yourself a pat on the back for your hard work. Then order them by how much you like each of them. Don’t worry about which one looks better on your resumé or takes up the most time. Order them based on how much they enrich you — how self-actualized you feel when doing them. And if you can bring yourself to say “no,” start making cuts from the bottom up. Also, remember that this semester is almost over. Winter break is a great time to lessen your load of commitments. So what do I think you should do? Be proud. Recognize the power of your contributions. Think of all the people who depend on you. Now, think of yourself. What do you need? Time to sleep? Time to run? Time to play some Pokémon? That’s normal. If nothing else, think of your personal time as a college commitment and put it in your calendar. Regardless of what advice you choose to take, just remember: You’re awesome.

Opinion

November 21, 2013

page 9

Newest Marvel film, while imperfect, entertains much more than prequel by CATHERINE WILSONMARTIN

he best part about “Thor: The Dark World” is walking out of the theater into the world and wondering why it doesn’t look like Asgard anymore. Better than the first film, “The Dark World” brings suspense, laughs and a little bit of romance into a story that’s more fantastical than any other Marvel movie. The first five minutes of the movie are a lesson in Nine Realms history. But while Anthony Hopkins, as Odin of course, narrates a war of old, the viewer can’t help but think that it is more Middle Earth than Marvel Universe. The universe started as darkness, you see, and out of that darkness bore the Dark Elves. The Dark Elves resented the light, so they attempted to use a powerful and mystical force called the Aether to return the Nine Realms, earth included, to darkness. Odin’s father didn’t like this and managed to destroy the Dark Elves before the realms lined up and the Aether could be unleashed ... or so he thought. Turns out Malekith (Christopher Eccelston), the evilest Dark Elf and antagonist, escaped with some troops. After sleeping silently in space for 5,000 years, the realms are ready to align and the Dark Elves are fighting for darkness once again. In comes Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who while investigating an anomaly comes into contact with the Aether. Cue Thor. The rest of the movie continues, as you’d expect: the powers of good fighting the powers of darkness, with some humor and some romance thrown in along the way. Although Chris Hemsworth put

in a solid performance as Thor, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) stole the show. Loki constantly keeps the audience guessing, but it’s best when the brothers are interacting with each other. When unforeseen circumstances, caused by the Dark Elves of course, force Thor and Loki to work together, the audience is on the edge of their seats. Beneath every line of witty banter, lies the question ever y character in the movie and audience member is asking, “Will Loki betray Thor yet again?” In my opinion, the best part of the movie is the dialogue. There were quite a few one-liners that had the whole theater laughing. The clever

“Overall, I would recommend going to see “Thor: The Dark World.” If you liked the first one, chances are you’ll like this one even more.” wit of the characters and even some physical humor in this action movie made me laugh more than most comedies do. Besides the humor, the movie is visually impressive. The majestic and sparkling Asgard looked phenomenal, especially when contrasted with the desolate planet Svartalfheim, home of the Dark Elves. Even the effects on Earth were striking, with amazing tricks and angles thrown in to add to the confusion of battle. Because what is a superhero movie without a battle? As far as epic fight scenes go, this one was excellent in my book. It didn’t overpower the film, as some movies are wont to do, and it

wasn’t long enough to cause boredom. The character relationships were a stronger focus in this film than the battle. I enjoyed watching the characters interact with each other, although, besides Loki, they are all very static. Dynamic characters are something that this film lacks. While Thor can fire out a comeback to Loki’s quips, he is a relatively shallow character for a superhero. His personality is very one-sided, and although the film isn’t any worse because of it, it would be better with a little more character depth. Another aspect that was lacking was the relationship between Thor and Jane. While it drove the plot of the movie in the beginning, there just wasn’t enough chemistry between Hemsworth and Portman to make the love seem believable. They seem more in love with each other when they’re talking about each other than when they’re actually together. While the main characters remained static, what made up for it was the excellent work of the secondary characters. Towards the beginning of the movie, we see Jane on a date with “Bridesmaids’” Chris O’Dowd. Although he’s in the movie for a total of about ten minutes, he ends up being one of my favorite characters, due to his comments and his impeccable timing. Kat Dennings as Jane’s intern also does a great job. She’s funny and has a great relationship and great dialogue with all of the other characters. Overall, I would recommend going to see “Thor: The Dark World.” If you liked the first one, chances are you’ll like this one even more. There are twists and turns, laughter and tears and even an Avenger, who will remain nameless, makes an appearance. And who knows? Just maybe you’ll get the chance to escape to Asgard too.

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Photo: Katie Brumbach

Registration period cannot be left up to randomness, chance by MATTHEW WALTERS

ast year, in a fit of panic, I sprung out of bed in a nervous sweat. Obscenities flew out of my mouth as I eyeballed the red numbers on my digital desk clock. I had accidentally slept through two classes, but even worse, my future was in jeopardy. I nervously double-clicked on the Firefox logo at the bottom left of my screen, opened my Bookmarks tab and opened the portal to the netherworld: JayWeb. My registration period began at 8 a.m., and I slept through it. Fortunately, I managed to get all of the classes I needed for the spring of my junior year, considering that none of the classes were slated to fill quickly. Eliminating the stressfulness of course registration is a lofty goal and probably isn’t even reasonable. The order in which students are permitted to register, however, has the potential for improvement. I was not luckily granted an early registration time last year, I might have missed out on a critical class. Registration time can be, in extreme situations, the difference between graduating on time and having to shell out extra money for another year’s tuition — sounds like serious business to me. Plain and simple, the system must be reworked. Several friends have told me that they have always been in one of the last groups to sign up for classes from year to year. The randomly-generated order of signing up based on last name doesn’t work as it is now. Originally, I bounced around the idea of having course registration order grouped by grade point average. Students with higher GPAs would be rewarded for their academic success by being allowed to sign up for classes earlier. Hypothetically, students who care most about their classes would reap the benefits of getting into their classes. The sign-ups would still have to be broken down by class year, obviously, but adding an incentive like this should inspire greater academic achievement from students. This concept, however, would be too controversial and unfair to implement. When asking a peer when he or she is signing up for classes under this system, that person would also have to simultaneously reveal his or her GPA to you. Not everyone wants to share their grades with others. If someone is registering for next semester’s courses during your 8 a.m. class, you know who the brainiac in the room is. The poor guy on his laptop during your 2:00 class needs to step up his game. As a whole, the system forces people into potentially uncomfortable situations. In addition, GPA does not take into account the difficulty of one’s major — some are undoubtedly more challenging than others. First-year students would also have to work off of high school GPAs when signing up for spring semester classes, which makes little sense. While I like the idea of rewarding high-achieving students in such a way as this, the implementation will upset more people than not. Logistically, the sign-up system in place has its merits. Grouping people by last name keeps the traffic flow on JayWeb to a relative minimum. There should be an insurance policy in place, however, that ensures that later groups to sign up in one semester should not end up with the same fate the following semester. Perhaps the random assignation of sign-up times should only occur in the fall, and the inverse will then occur in the spring. This way, a student who gets last pick in the fall will end up on top in the spring. This system has its flaws as well, though, as middle spots may become more coveted than high ones. I can only provide so many suggestions as to how the course registration ordering system should change. The fact still remains that the system should change — answering the question of “how” may take some serious brainstorming. Regardless, our class schedules — and in some cases, our futures — should not be so largely determined by random chance. We all work too hard for that.

page 10

Sports

November 21, 2013

NFL Divisional races give fans exciting end to already stirring regular season

in Etown athletics... The women’s soccer team fell to Trinity College (Conn.) in the first round of the NCAA DIII Tournament 2-1. The Blue Jays, who had received an at-large bid, finished the season with a 12-8 record overall. The men and women’s basketball teams open their seasons this weekend. The men won their first game of the season with a 82-55 win over Gettysburg College in the Gettysburg Tip-Off Tournament. The women’s team traveled to Franklin and Marshall College for the Terry Greene Memorial Tournament. In game one of the tournament, the Blue Jays defeated Rutgers-Camden 88-41. Etown then moved onto the championship, where they defeated host-school F&M tournament title. The wrestling team defeated Hunter College (N.Y.) this past weekend by a score of 31-13. For his efforts in the past week, sophomore Jesse Meaney was named the season’s first Middle Atlantic Conference Wrestler of the Week.

Photo: Adam Ronis

Nick Foles has taken command of the Philadelphia Eagles, leading them, most recently, to a victory over the Washington Redskins. Foles has thrown 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his time as the Eagles’ quarterback.

in the NCAA... After last week’s victory over top-ranked Kentucky, the Michigan State University Spartans rose to the number one ranking in the Associated Press (AP) polls. The Spartans are the top ranked team in the nation for the first time since the 2000-2001 season. Urban Meyer was outspoken this week regarding the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) System. The head coach of the Ohio State University Buckeyes characterized the system which chooses the two teams who play in the national championship game as “flawed.” Meyer’s Buckeyes could potentially finish undefeated for the second consecutive season and once again not play for a national championship. Last season, Ohio State was on probation, banning them from a playoff appearance.

in the pros... A controversial end to Monday night’s game gave the Carolina Panthers their sixth straight win with a 24-20 victory over the New England Patriots. The Panthers improved to a surprising 7-3 record while the Patriots dropped to 7-3. In the most anticipated match-up of the NFL season, the Denver Broncos defended their home field and chances of winning the AFC West division by taking out the previously undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. The two teams will meet again in two weeks on Dec. 1 in Kansas City, with the winner controlling their own destiny for the division title and number one seed in the conference. The Philadelphia Phillies once again made headline news this week by re-signing 34-year-old Carlos Ruiz to a three-year, $26 million contract. The Boston Red Sox reportedly were interested in Ruiz’s services, forcing the Phillies to act quickly in re-signing their all-star catcher.

by ADAM MOORE

he NFL is heading into its final stretch of the season and divisional races in both conferences are heating up. In the AFC West, the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs top the division, both with a record of 9-1. The Chiefs have come off a 2-14 season that allowed them to receive the draft’s first overall pick. With new head coach Andy Reid under the helm, both the coach and team were able to turn the franchise around. The Broncos ended the season in a disappointing fashion, losing to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs. Peyton Manning has continued his hall-offame career and seems to be determined to bring a championship back to the Mile High city. Both teams seem to be a virtual lock for the playoffs, but only one can win the division. The divisional rivals will meet one more time during the season. With how both teams are playing, this game may determine a divisional champion. Another division that is seemingly up for grabs is the AFC North. The Cincinnati Bengals lead the division with a 7-4 record. Head Coach Marvin Lewis has his career on the shoulders of quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green. Behind them is a logjam for second place with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ravens and Cleveland Browns with 4-6 records. The Ravens have felt a hit on the defensive

side of the ball with the departures of legends Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Even the consistent Steelers have been anything but this season. Only the Browns in this group of teams is performing at a higher level of play than last season. Though the Bengals have a two game lead over the division, the teams will be playing one another to finish out the regular season and the fortunes of any of these teams could change with a big divisional win. The closest race in the NFC can be found in the East, with all teams being within three games of each other. At the moment, Chip Kelly and the new-look Philadelphia Eagles lead by just one game over Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. The New York Giants, who many had written off because of a horrid start to the season, sit in third place with a 4-6 record and are catching fire just as Tom Coughlin’s team usually does. Only time will tell if Nick Foles can keep up with his performance and if the Eagles defense can continue to dominate. Foles’ 16 touchdowns to no interceptions has been a streak for the record books. The Eagles highpowered offense has continued to succeed after Foles replaced injured Mike Vick as the starter. Even the Eagles’ defense has found stability in Billy Davis’ scheme. Players like Trent Cole and Brandon Graham have reinvented their careers to help propel the Eagles into first place. With the divisional races around the league so close, the final stretch of the season will be one to watch.

Swim teams record first victories of season with win over FDU-Florham by ADAM MOORE

oth of Elizabethtown College’s swimming teams were victorious over Fairleigh Dickinson University at Florham this past weekend, giving the programs their second wins on the young season. The men and women’s teams now have overall records of 1-5 and 2-4 respectively. The men’s swim team was able to win all 11 races they competed in, defeating the Devils in front of a packed crowd at the Alumni Pool, 129-63. With the win, Etown moved to 7-0 against FDU-Florham all-time. The meet seemed to be in Etown’s favor from the beginning. First-year Shane Bahn, sophomore Matt Jenson and seniors Michael Rentschler and Andrew Malik were able to win the 200-yard medley in 1:51.19. Malik and junior Frank Capria helped propel the Blue Jays to victory, each winning two races in the contest. Malik won the 50 free in under 24 seconds. He then went on to win with a victory in the 100 free with a time of 51.92. Capria broke his own personal records in both of races he swam in. He was victorious in the 1,000 freestyle in 11:00.00, coming in two minutes before the next swimmer. Capria then won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:17:23. Overall, five of the team’s previous seasonbest times fell during the FDU-Florham meet.

First-year Ramon Rios finishes the 200 person best in the 200 free at 2:07.25. Leppo breaststroke with a victory on Saturday. back stroke in 2:16.22. Bahn continued his later posted a season best in the 500 free Junior Hunter Smith won the 200 fly in success in the meet’s individual portion, with a time of 5:36.53 2:43.35, with Engelhardt winning the 100 winning the 500 free time by more than 12 First-year Mariselle Parisi, sophomores free and Parisi won the 200 breast. With the seconds, at 6:00:09. Colleen Barry and Rachel Engelhardt and victory, Etown improved to 2-4. The Devils First-year Kieran Koehler turned in an- junior Becki Lane made up the 200-yard remained winless with their male counterother fast performance with a career-best freestyle relay team that turned in the parts with a 0-7 record, 0-4 in conference. 2:25.06 in the 200 breast stroke. This victory group’s best time of the season thus far. The Blue Jays will get back in the water moved Koehler into seventh place on the The Blue Jays managed to excel in the indi- when they travel to Drew University tomorMiddle Atlantic Conference’s top times chart. vidual races as well. Lane went on to win the row at 6:30 p.m. Etown will then travel to The Blue Jays won Saturday’s last race of 50 free. Sophomore Amanda Long remained defending MAC Champion Albright College the day, the 200 free relay, with their only unbeaten on the season in the individual the following day at 2 p.m. come-from-behind win. Renstchler’s 24.40 on the second leg put Etown ahead in the race. Rios swam the third leg in 24.54 and Koehler finished with a 23.44 to hold off the Devils. The Jays’ winning time of 1:38.01 was 2.86 seconds faster than FDU-Florham’s 1:40.87. The women’s swimming team had the same outcome as their male counterparts, defeating FDU-Florham 170-15. The Blue Jays won all 11 events in the process, continuing their all-time undefeated streak against FDU-Florham. Just like Capria and Malik, seniors Megan Leppo and Kimberly Cosgrove won two events during the meet. Cosgrove won the 1,000 free style with a time of 11:29.22, before finishing second to Leppo in the 200 free. After the second place finish, Cosgrove won the 200 back stroke in 2:31.14. She was victorious despite it being her first attempt Photo: David Sinclair at the race all season. Both of Etown’s swim teams defeated Fairleigh Dickinson University at Florham in a home In the victory over Cosgrove, Leppo set a meet this past Saturday. The teams are scheduled to face Drew University on Nov. 22.

November 21, 2013

Sports

Women’s basketball wins big in first game of season, to face Lycoming the Etown 1,000-point scoring list after transferring from Penn State University-Berks after her first year. Sophomore Rachel Forjan, who was not to be outdone by her teammate, went on to score a game-high 21 points. Forjan was solid from behind the arc, hitting three of five shots from the three-point line. Senior captain Kendra Beittel also got in on the action, hitting six of the 14 shots she took. Beittel ended up with 10 points on the night for a Blue Jay team the that never gave RutgersCamden a chance. The Raptors got out to an early lead of 6-2, but Photo: David Sinclair could not muster up The women’s basketball team won the Terry much offense after that Greene Memorial Tournament this past weekend. point. The Blue Jays scored the next four Kreider began the seaby ADAM MOORE son with a strong per- baskets to take the lead and never looked back. he Elizabethtown formance, posting her Head Coach Sherri College women’s first double-double of the Gorman, in her second basketball team started season with 17 points and season with the team, off its season with a 88- 13 rebounds. This was made sure to give all play41 victory over Rutgers Kreider’s 27th double- ers a chance; all 10 Blue University-Camden on double of her career. The Jays on the Etown bench Saturday night in the forward also scored her were able to get time in first round of the Terry 1,000th point of her career the winning game. Greene Memorial Tour- in the victory on a free A number of firstnament at Franklin & throw early in the second years also helped the half. Kreider only needs Marshall College. Blue Jays dominate. Senior captain Taylor 272 points in order to join First-year Emily Martin

came off the bench to add to the Etown point total. Martin scored 11 points in her first game in a Blue Jay uniform. Fellow first-year Krissy Pennell had a game-high six assists in the landslide victory. Etown capitalized off of 33 Raptor turnovers with 35 points off the transition. The Blue Jays’ bench also outscored the Raptors’ bench by almost 30 points, 31-2. Juniors Erika Ferro and Emily Young, along with sophomore Alyssa Aichele, came off the bench to score 28 points. The Blue Jays’ 88 points were the most they had scored in a season opener since the 1988-89 season, when they went on to win the program’s second NCAA Division III National Championship. In that season opener, the Blue Jays defeated Bridgewater College, 95-66. Etown then moved on to face Franklin & Marshall in the tournament championship on Sunday. The Blue Jays will next face off against the Lycoming College Warriors when they travel to Williamsport, Pa. on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 6 p.m.

page 11

FROM NEWS PAGE 1

Women’s cross country receives bid to Nationals

Photo: David Sinclair

The women’s cross country team finished fifth at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships and received an at-large bid to Nationals.

Senior Traci Tempone finished in 14th place at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional meet with a time of 21:52 for the 6k on Saturday, which qualified her to race at the NCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23. Following alumni Tiffany Kulp, who graduated in 2008, Tempone is now the second runner in Etown’s history to be awarded all-regional four times during her running career at Etown. Senior Megan Tursi finished in 16th place on Saturday with a time of 21:53 and is now a three-time all-region runner. Tursi missed a season of cross country when she was abroad last year but is an occupational therapy major and plans to run during her fifth year. This could

put her in the running to be the third four-time all-regional women’s runner at the College. Senior Amanda Kerno was labeled as an all-region runner finishing in 31st place with a time of 22:15. Junior Amelia Tearnan finished in 36th place, one spot short of all-regional. Tearnan ran a season best of 22:26. The Sunday after Regionals, the women’s team received the good news that it will be joining Tempone at the NCAA Division III Championships in Hanover, Ind. Since Tempone finished in 14th place at Regionals, she automatically had a spot for Nationals, but since the team as a whole finished 5th, it needed a bid to be able to race at Nationals. This will be the women’s sixth trip to Nationals.

Men’s basketball season begins with win over Gettysburg

Blue Jays kick off season with victory; Mantz, Schwalm lead team’s offensive outburst by ADAM MOORE

he Elizab ethtown C ollege men’s basketball team started its season with an 82-55 victory over Gettysburg College on Friday in the Gettysburg TipOff Tournament. The Blue Jays were able to defeat the Bullets thanks to a strong performance from their front line. Senior Andrew Mantz led all Etown scorers with 15 points. The Blue Jays dominated the host team on the boards, out-rebounding Gettysburg by nine to propel the Blue Jays to their first win of the season. Etown trailed the Bullets early on in the game, but a three-pointer from senior Joe Schwalm and contributions from juniors Tyler Simpkiss and Evan Hathaway helped the Blue Jays go on an 11-0 run to put them up closing in on the half.

“We were really happy to get our first win under our belts. We wanted to come out strong and I think we accomplished our goal.”

~ Ryan Borzager

The Blue Jays rallied after Gettysburg’s Tanner Kirkpatrick hit back-to-back threes to tie the score up at 20. Etown went on another run, scoring the next seven points on layups by Simpkiss and junior Lee Eckert. Junior Joe Bodnar hit one of his two treys in the run to help the Blue Jays regain the lead. Etown’s veteran experience was evident in its first game of the season. The Blue Jays made 12 of their first 23 shot attempts in comparison to six on Gettysburg’s first 20 tries. The Bullets put a young squad on the floor; eight of the 11 players Gettysburg put on the court were either first-years or sophomores. In comparison, 10 of the 14 players Etown played were upperclassmen. The Blue Jays headed into halftime with a formidable lead, 39-27.

Etown scored 11 of the first 12 points in the second half, keeping its foot on the gas to go up by more than 20 over the Bullets. In 22 minutes of playing time, junior point guard Phil Wenger recorded five steals, four assists and four points. In the game against the Bullets, Simpkiss scored a career-high 15 points on five of eight shots to match Mantz for the team high. Mantz led the Blue Jays on the boards with eight. Eckert totaled 12 points and seven boards. Schwalm added 11 points on the night for an Etown team that had four players with double digit scoring performances. Led by Schwalm, Etown was 10 of 18 from behind the arc. With the victory, the Blue Jays advanced to Saturday’s championship game at the Gettysburg Tip-Off Tournament, where they faced DeSales University. “We were really happy to get our first win under our belts. Gettysburg had a young team, but came ready to play,” senior captain Ryan Borzager said. “We wanted to come out strong and I think we accomplished our goal.” The Blue Jays seemingly had the Gettysburg Tip-Off Tournament title in their grasp with 10 minutes left to go in the contest. In the remaining 10 minutes, Desales outscored Etown 34-16 to claim the championship, defeating the Blue Jays 73-67. Despite the loss, Mantz was able to post a 16-point day. The center even made the first three-pointer of his career. Mantz added 12 rebounds and five blocks on the day to earn all-tournament team honors. The Blue Jays were consistent from behind the arc in the tournament, nailing seven threes in the first half and 10 for the game. Etown hit for 10 three-pointers against Gettysburg the previous day as well. Schwalm hit a game-high four threepointers to finish with 14 points and was named to the all-tournament team along side Mantz. Eckert scored 13 points and had seven rebounds, while Wenger had another strong performance, finishing with eight points, seven assists and three steals. The Blue Jays will host GwyneddMercy College on Saturday in Thompson Gymnasium at 3 p.m.

Photo: Athletic Department

The men’s basketball team won its first game of the season with a 82-55 victory over Gettysburg College in the Gettysburg Tip-Off Tournament this past weekend. The Blue Jays will host Gwynedd-Mercy College in the Thompson Gymnasium at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

page 12

Women’s soccer playoff run ends in NCAA First Round

Sports

Blue Jays fall to Trinity College, 2-1

November 21, 2013

Wrestling team defeats Hunter in New York vs. Pennsylvania Duals by CORY STOLTZ

Photo: Athletics Department

The women’s soccer team was defeated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Trinity, 2-1, after receiving an at-large bid.

by BRIAN LUKACSY

t was not the storybook ending t he E lizab et htown C ol lege’s women’s soccer team had in mind, but looking back on the season, they have a lot to be proud of. The 2013 team’s 12 wins, which included a 1-0 victory over then-seventh ranked Misericordia University, were the most they had since 2008. The Blue Jays finished the season ranked sixth in the Mid-Atlantic Region, after enduring one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the region. “Our season started out rough, losing our first three games, but then things did a complete 180. We came out and won the next four games, and in the end had an overall record of 12-8 and in conference 7-2,” sophomore Lauren Fredericks said. “We came together as a team, set goals and then accomplished most of them.”

“[A bid to the tournament] was a goal on our list, and to finally check that off was an amazing feeling.”

~ Lauren Fredericks

The team’s best accomplishment came as a pleasant surprise. Etown earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first appearance over the last six seasons. “[A bid to the tournament] was a goal on our list, and to finally check that off was an amazing feeling,” Fredericks said. “We were successful as a team this season and we really hope to grow from here.” Saturday’s f irst round game against first-time qualifier Trinity (Conn.) forced the young Blue Jays to make many defensive plays. In the first half, the Bantams recorded 10 shots but could not find the back of the net against sophomore goalkeeper Dana Robidoux. Robidoux finished the first half with three saves and five for the game. Sophomore Lauren Berry finished with a game-high six shots, but only one was on goal. Berry’s shot in the 27th minute proved to be the Blue Jays best scoring opportunity, but Trinity goalie Monica DiFiori made the save. After a scoreless first half, the

Bantams pressure finally paid off as Alexa Menard gave Trinity a 1-0 lead with her goal in the 56th minute. Just 10 minutes later, Trinity thought they had themselves a two goal lead as Karyn Barrett snuck one passed Robidoux, but the Blue Jays caught a break as the referee called her offside. The Blue Jays were never able to register good scoring chances against the Bantams’ defense as they finished with just two shots on goal for the entire 90 minutes. In the 81st minute, Rachel Zanko essentially put the game away with her goal to give Trinity a 2-0 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game. However, the Blue Jays refused to give up as sophomore Deanna Slater found senior Alyssa Koplin for Etown’s first NCAA Tournament goal since 2006. With just under a minute to go in the Blue Jays’ season, first-year Callie McClanahan had two shots go wide of the goal as Trinity hung on for the 2-1 victory in the first-round game. “Looking back on our season, I feel that it went pretty well,” Berry said. “We definitely could have done better at times, but overall, the season went well and making it to the NCAA tournament was a huge accomplishment.” The Blue Jays will return an incredible 19 players from their 22-player roster, losing seniors Koplin, Amanda Fisher and Alex Topa. Etown’s top seven pointgetters will be back next season, including Berry who led the team with 16 goals. “Our expectations for the 2014 season are going to be pretty high. However, switching conferences will definitely be a change since we won’t know what to expect coming into the games,” Berry said. “We are very lucky though to have so many returning players and the season should be a very good one.” The team will return in 2014 poised to attain some of the goals they set out to reach this season but fell short. “Having 19 girls returning is awesome. We were a young team this year and we went far. Just imagine where we can end up with a solid 19 girls returning and the addition of some first-years,” Fredericks said. “We made it far this year and plan to only go further next year.”

Nov. 21

Nov. 22 Wrestling @ Wilkes Swimming @ Drew

lizabethtown College fell to nationally-ranked New York University on Saturday by a score of 21-18. The match started off with a forfeit victory at the 125 pound slot, giving the Blue Jays a 6-0 early lead. That lead extended to 15-3 after sophomore Jesse Meaney pinned D.J. Albonico in a short 18 seconds. The NYU Violets then went on a streak, winning matches at the 157, 165 and 174 weight classes to make the score 15-12. The match was then tied at 18 after junior Jared Weaver won the heavyweight match. First-year Ben Martin hung tough with NYU’s Anthony Chu, but Chu came out with the win making the final score 21-18 in NYU’s favor. “We had some key guys out due to injury, but the young guys filling in wrestled really tough,” sophomore John Archangelo said. The Blue Jays’ next match came with a victory against Hunter College, another team from New York. Etown shot out to another 6-0 lead with wins from senior Kyle McNulty and first-year Chad Lammer. Meaney, back at it again, pinned his opponent in 39 seconds. Meaney’s three pins on the day took an impressive 1:57. Next was the 157 match, where senior Michael Henning took care of his opponent with ease, extending the Blue Jay lead to 16-3. Later, junior Zeke Zimmer managed a 16-1 tech fall win over R.J. Paquette. Etown junior Woodie Hermann followed with a pin against Dennis Melendez at the 184 class. Finally, Weaver got his second win of the day with a major decision over Izuchukwu Egonu. The Jays cruised past Hunter for a 31-13 victory. Etown’s next match will be against Wilkes University when they travel to Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. The Jays are off to a promising start, but the team is not satisfied. Archangelo said, “Our team goal is to have seven guys qualify for nationals and out of the seven win All-American honors and to win the Mideast region as a team.” Zimmer said, “the team wants to have two academic All-American’s by the end of the year.”

Photo: Athletics Department

The Elizabethtown College wrestling team won its first match of the season this past Saturday after they defeated Hunter College by a score of 31-13.

The Blue Jays are somewhat plagued by injuries this season. Senior captain Julian Meaney got hurt mid-match when he was in the lead. In addition, heavyweight Jeremy Rieth has been out this year due to injuries as well. Rieth’s teammates believe he is a key component to the team’s success. Zimmer said, “That’s a tough guy to have out of our line up.” The Blue Jay wrestling program is used to winning and they hope to keep this tradition alive this season. On Tuesday, Jesse Meaney was named this season’s first Middle Atlantic Conference Wrestler of the Week after he registered three pins in his three matches during the week. Jesse Meaney now has a career record of 20-7.

Athlete of the Week Megan leppo by ADAM MOORE Senior Megan Leppo has shown strong leadership skills as captain of the women’s swimming team. In the team’s most recent meet against FDU-Florham, Leppo won two events. The senior set her fastest 200 free style time, winning with a 2:07.25. Leppo was later victorious in the 500 free to set her season-best with a time of 5:36.53. The freestyle specialist has excelled all season in the race, winning her first 1,000 free against Lycoming College earlier in the year.

Photo: David Sinclair

In 10 years, I want to be … Traveling, starting a family and being successful in a public relations/comm. job. Favorite Etown Memory:

Major: Corporate Communications Hometown: Myerstown, Pa. Favorite athlete/sports team: Missy Franklin Favorite Jay’s Nest item: Cheese quesadilla Favorite movie: “No Strings Attached” Favorite musician/band: Maroon 5 Favorite place to visit: London, England

Nov. 23 Swimming @ Albright M Bball vs. Gwynedd Mercy

Nov. 24

Anything with the swim team. They’re my second family. Deciding to swim in college was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Greatest Etown accomplishment:

Writing for the College through the Office of Marketing and Communications

Greatest athletic accomplishment:

Swimming the 1,000 freestyle in 11:15 at the York College meet my sophomore year, which gave me the third fastest time in the MAC that year

Nov. 25

Nov. 26 Wrestling @ York Swimming vs. LVC M Bball @ Lycoming W Bball @ Lycoming

Nov. 27