Feb. 3, 2016

“She was a fierce and fearless advocate for honesty, social justice, fairness, and so much more” -Randall M. Miller, Ph.D. Remembering Catherine Murray

pg. 8-9

Feb. 3, 2016

The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University | Volume XCV | Est. 1929 | www.hawkhillnews.com

Good morning, graduates 2016 Commencement ceremonies change times MOLLY GRAB ’17 Editor in Chief

The sun sets over Hawk Hill on Jan. 30 as the snow from Winter Storm Jonas begins to melt away. (Photo by Joey Toczylowski ’19)

Online, out of mind

Effectiveness of virtual course evaluations questioned MAURA HOLCOMB ’17 Special to the Hawk In the fall of 2015, Saint Joseph’s University implemented a new online course evaluation system. The new system requires students to fill out course evaluations via Blackboard.

At the end of each semester, students are given the opportunity and responsibility to fill out course evaluations for each of their classes. Course evaluations allow professors to gain feedback on their courses and their instruction, while also gathering information on students’ opinions of the course as a whole. The new online system was put into place to expedite the retrieval of student responses.

According to Andy Starr, director of Faculty Engagement, Innovation, and Technology Management and member of the ad hoc committee on course evaluations, his biggest concern while working on the committee was changing the interface to make the system more user-friendly.

He added that an easier system to navi-

gate would encourage students to submit an evaluation.

The problem for many students, however, was that they had no idea course evaluations had moved online.

Angelo Hastie, ’17, was one of those students who had been uninformed. According to Hastie, being in a classroom setting where a professor is issuing the evaluation garnered greater results because everyone was participating.

“There is no real motivation to fill out an online evaluation,” Hastie said.

Many committee members agree that one of the biggest stipulations facing the new system is actually motivating students to take the time to complete an evaluation.

In terms of online course evaluations, the results tend to come from students on two separate ends of the spectrum: students who had either a completely positive or completely negative experience. It is argued that in-class evaluations offer a more diverse perspective, because students are required to complete the form in the presence of both their professor and their peers.

“A student is more likely to fill out an [online] evaluation if they didn’t like your class,” said Jason Mezey, Ph.D., associate professor of English.

The new system was implemented with many perks in mind. It allows students taking online courses to submit a course evaluation, which was never an option in previous years.

The online evaluations were also expected to expedite the process of compiling the statistics and getting them to the faculty in a timely fashion so that professors could use that feedback before the semester comes to an end.

However, Paul Aspan, Ph.D., associate provost for Academic and Faculty Support and another member of the committee in charge of coordinating the transition, explained that “the unanticipated problem with the new system is getting the information back to the faculty.”

At this time, the university will continue to utilize the online course evaluation system.

Photo by Matthew J. Haubenstein, M.A. ’17

The Saint Joseph’s University class of 2016 will graduate under white tents on Maguire Campus. The ceremony will progress as usual—with one important change.

The 2016 undergraduate commencement ceremony will now take place at nine a.m. on May 14. Traditionally, the undergraduate ceremony has taken place at three p.m., but with the adjusted time, the Doctoral, Graduate, Professional and Liberal Studies, and Haub Degree Completion Commencement ceremony will fill the afternoon timeslot.

Students were alerted of this change via an email from the Office of the President on Jan. 29. In the email, University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., explained,“moving the ceremony to the morning provides some additional flexibility.” Reed noted that this time change will help graduating students make special travel arrangements and celebrate with their families.

Jeanne Brady, Ph.D., interim provost, said in a statement that by switching the time of the undergraduate ceremony to nine a.m., the university will have more time to properly set up for the graduate ceremony at three p.m.

Cary Anderson, vice president of Student Life and associate provost, added that the final decision was made by Reed and the commencement committee.

Though the Commencement exercise itself will remain untouched, some seniors are concerned about the schedule change.

“It’s kind of just inconvenient, honestly, for those people who have to travel,” said Kelly Phelan, ’16. “Now they have to get up at what? Six o’clock, seven o’clock?

And get there early and find parking? … I’m sure there was a valid reason, but I think it’s a little inconvenient for the graduates and their families.”

Though this year’s commencement will be a transition for students and their families, Brady confirmed in a statement that the undergraduate ceremony will continue to be held at nine a.m. from this point forward.

“We believe this adjustment in the schedule will provide students and their families the best experience possible on Commencement weekend,” Brady wrote.

2 | News

Feb. 3, 2015

The Hawk

Department of Public Safety reports (Jan. 25-Jan. 28) Jan. 25

Jan. 26

Public Safety was notified by a Saint Joseph’s University student regarding an assault occurring in Lannon Hall. No injuries to report. Residence Life was notified. Community Standards was notified.

Public Safety was notified in regards to an unknown person damaging a table inside of the McShain Residence Center.

Facilities Management was notified. Community Standards was notified.

Public Safety was notified in regards to an unknown person vandalizing a room inside the Campion Student Center. Facilities Management was notified. Incident is under investigation.

ALCOHOL RELATED INCIDENTS

5|0

Jan. 27-28

On campus

No incidents to report.

Off campus

DRUG RELATED INCIDENTS

1|0

Public Safety Announcement There has been an increase in students walking across the train tracks at Overbrook Station. This is a concern for the Saint Joseph’s University community, as this action is not a safe practice. Public Safety advises students to use the walkway bridge or the underground walkway in order to safely cross. Under no circumstances should any student set foot on the tracks.

On campus

Off campus

Call Public Safety:

610-660-1111

NEWS BRIEFS Uber drivers protest price drop in NYC

U.S. continues the fight against ISIS

On Monday, Uber drivers stood outside of the Long Island City office to protest the price drop that began last week hoping to shut down Uber services in the five boroughs for 24 hours. Prices were lowered to increase the number of riders and decrease drivers’ idle times. Uber has said that since the price decrease there was a 20 percent increase in hourly earnings compared to two weekends before. It is unclear how many drivers took part in the protest. (NBC)

The Obama Administra-

tion continues to expand its military campaign against ISIS with attacks in Afghanistan. In the past three weeks, at least a dozen commando raids and airstrikes have been carried out against the Islamic state. It is believed that between 90 and 100 Islamic militants have been killed in these operations.

(New York Times)

Powerful storm slams southern California

A powerful storm hit southern California on Sunday, leaving one dead and thousands without power. Powerful winds knocked over dozens of trees, damaging cars, homes, and blocking roads.

Wind gusts reached 115 mph in Whitaker Peak.

The National Weather Service released a flash flood warning on Sunday for certain areas. (USA Today)

86 dead after Boko Haram attack

Boko Haram extremists attacked Dalori village in Nigeria on Saturday, leaving 86 dead. The violence of three suicide bombers went on for almost four hours.

In addition to the 86 bodies collected, 62 people are being treated for burns. (CNN)

Virginia Tech student charged with murder

On Saturday, Virginia Tech freshman, David E. Eisenhauer, was charged with murder after the remains of 13-year-old Nicole Madison Lovell were found in North Carolina. Eisenhauer had been in custody since Saturday morning for a charge of felony abduction. Motive or details about Lovell’s death have not been released. (CNN)

Compiled by Sam Henry, ’19 Image courtesy of Creative Commons

Feb. 3, 2016

News | 3

The Hawk

Supreme Court impacts St. Joe`s Professor’s project moves forward with ruling

KATRYNA PERERA ’16 Editor Emeritus A recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court has struck close to home for some members of the Saint Joseph’s University community.

On Jan. 25, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Montgomery v. Alabama by a 6-3 majority vote that minors who were charged with murder and sentenced to mandatory life without parole must be given the opportunity to argue for their own release from prison.

Mike Lyons, Ph.D., professor of communications at Saint Joseph’s University, started The Redemption Project, which focuses on these “juvenile lifers”—men and women who are sentenced to life without parole for crimes they committed as children.

This recent ruling follows a long timeline of legal debates over the issue of juvenile lifers. The most recent case was in 2012, when the Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that there can be no mandatory life sentence without parole for juveniles convicted of murder.

What this meant, Lyons said, was that a minor can still be sentenced to life without parole, but only after all other circumstances surrounding the case had been examined, such as the child’s background, who he or she was with or being influenced by at the time the crime was committed, and their psychological development.

After the ruling in 2012, Pennsylvania and other states decided to

implement it only for future cases and not for juvenile lifers already incarcerated. Montgomery v. Louisiana challenged this ruling, and argued that the law needed to be made retroactive—applied to all past and present cases.

Samantha DiGiuseppe, ’16, a student research assistant for The Redemption Project, explained that the ruling was very exciting for both the inmates and members of the project, but that the future these juvenile lifers is still unknown.

“As exciting as it is, [the inmates] don’t really know what’s next or how [the state] is going to go about taking a second look at these cases,” DiGiuseppe said. She explained that the ruling doesn’t automatically ensure that all the prisoners will be released as each of their cases will have to be retried and there is a chance that the same verdict would be reached a second time. DiGiuseppe said the hope though is that the prisoners will be able to show how they have been rehabilitated and will be granted a second chance.

The Redemption Project was started one year ago by Lyons and three juvenile lifers, Kempis “Ghani” Songster, John Pace, and Aaron “Abdul Lateef ” Phillips.

The aim of the project, Lyons said, is to use advocacy journalism and social media tools to tell the stories of these incarcerated indi-

viduals and incite change in the law and the public.

“Part of our intention is to disrupt the traditional narrative of juvenile crime,” said Lyons, “…there is another side to this story… [and] one of the reasons they’re serving life without parole is because no one has ever heard their stories.”

Last semester Lyons also taught a special topics communications class at Saint Joe’s called “Crime & Justice in the Media,” which gave students the opportunity to become involved with the project and the prisoners.

Students in the class visited Graterford Prison, in Collegeville, Pa., and spoke with the inmates involved with the project.

Carly McGowan, ’16, was one of these students. As she described it, they were working firsthand with men who were charged with first or second-degree murder.

“I had never been more nervous in my life, like palms sweating,” said McGowan of her first visit to Graterford. “And then you sit down and [the inmates are] just so nice, so genuine, so intelligent. We would sit around in a circle group discussion…and we talked about how the juvenile life issue is interesting to us, but also what they want us to do.”

After the class ended last fall semester, McGowan, DiGiuseppe and two other students, Cat Coyle, ’16, and Malia Reynolds, ’16, stayed on to work with Lyons as research

assistants. Each is now currently working on a separate section of the project, dictated by their interests.

Reynolds explained that she felt too invested to just let the issue go after the end of the semester.

“At the end of last year with the class, I just was like, I don’t think I can just walk away from this subject, it’s too special to me now…these are real people’s lives now that I’m dealing with,” Reynolds said.

McGowan, who is working on the project’s social media, explained that one of her goals is to change the public viewpoint of juvenile lifers.

“When you tell people that these men, that were charged with first or second-degree murder, are happy to possibly get out, people are automatically like, ‘No they need to stay in prison,’” she said. “But once you hear the stories and actually get to know them [and] you learn that he’s in prison getting an education, and getting a masters, and bettering himself…and we’re trying to share that with the public.”

When asked what he hopes the project will accomplish going forward, Lyons said that he hopes it will cause people to think differently about these cases and realize the complexity surrounding them. “Our society kind of believes in this idea of mercy, and justice and redemption,” said Lyons, “and so let’s put our money where our mouth is, let’s give these people a second chance, [and] see what happens.”

A reflection on redemption

One student’s eye-opening experiences with juvenile lifers CAT COYLE ’16 Editor Emeritus Sitting alone in the waiting area to visit an inmate at a maximum-security prison isn’t like what we see on TV. The front desk looks like a health clinic, if you add two grim guards milling about. A toddler babbles, weaving her way through a row of lockers, while her mother waits patiently, muttering with other visitors she’s probably encountered here before.

Six digits in blue ink bleed into the skin on my hands as I nervously sit in the waiting area. These jumbled letters and numbers identify Luis Gonzalez, incarcerated 35 years ago, when he and his brother were convicted of homicide after a robbery at a swimming hole off of a Philadelphia creek. He was 16.

A visitor informs the front desk guard about a clogged toilet, and is met with a disinterested nod. The guard behind a thick metal door in charge of security screening pushes a paper through a crack to let us on the outside know that an inmate is ready to be visited.

A young Latina woman—probably younger than me, and definitely new to this—sits beside me and picks at her shirtsleeve. She’s probably worried about the dress code. She waits a beat and leans over, quietly asking me what she’s supposed to do. I point up to the woman with the numbers at the front.

She ventures up, and after a glare from the front desk guard, sits back down across from me, frazzled.

“This is nothing like County,” she says.

I nod like I know what she means. I feel more out of place here than I have in my entire life.

Luis is an inmate at S.C.I. Graterford, a prison near the town where I was raised and only 20 minutes away from where I went to high school. But I didn’t know it existed until I enrolled in Crime & Justice in the Media, where we learned about juvenile lifers like Luis.

When it’s my turn, I’m led through a metal detector, three thick doors, and a flight of stairs.

The visiting room is a mad house. Men bounce young children on their laps while older siblings run up and down the isles, weaving around the guards walking in a large circle. The embraces seem out of place with the prison’s fluorescent lights and squeaking vinyl seats.

Looking past a crowd at the vending machines, I see my group.

They are huddled around in a circle, half juvenile lifers in plain jumpsuits and half my classmates. When they spot me, they shoot up and wave me over with big grins. The men talk animatedly, projecting their voices to be heard over the racket in the room. I am taken aback at the youthfulness in their features. These men have been incarcerated for decades.

We’re technically not supposed to be meeting in a group like this, but the guards turn the other way.

My professor says that they know these guys; they trust them.

The lifers choose to break into

smaller groups so we can hear each other. I’m paired with Kempis “Ghani” Songster, one of the leaders of our group. The Redemption Project was born out of his efforts. We’re researching and sharing the stories of lifers; an important task, especially given the Jan. 25 Montgomery v.

Louisiana Supreme Court decision.

At 15, Ghani and a childhood friend ran away from their Brooklyn homes, ending up in Philadelphia selling drugs from inside abandoned houses for a Jamaican gang.

One year later they were both convicted for the murder of another teenage runaway, Anjo Price.

Ghani is the most eloquent person I’ve ever met. He is open about the path that led him to a life without parole sentence. We’ve talked about the opportunities he missed growing up in prison, and he’s talked at length of his burdens, as he continues to feel remorse for the loss of a life by his hands.

Today Ghani wants to talk about his most recent visit from his mother and a newborn niece. He tucks one of his massive braids behind his ear, eyes lighting up as he mimics the motion of holding a young child. He talks about the soft skin of the baby—to him, another missed life experience—and it’s hard not to think about the guards slipping past our seats every other minute.

Until recently, Ghani had no hope of getting out. But his chances grow with a recent Supreme Court decision that mandates re-sentenc-

ing for men like him—juvenile lifers who were sentenced to life without parole. There are 400 lifers in Pennsylvania alone and nearly half of them are from Philadelphia, according to an Oct. 19 Philadelphia Inquirer article.

If he is released, Ghani says he hopes to get a graduate degree in neuroscience. He received his Bachelor’s while incarcerated, and now he wants to study the development of young brains and their decision-making processes.

When the group comes back together, we talk about the mission of the project moving forward. We want to push this issue into the spotlight, and we need to figure out how we can do it.

We need to change public perception; change the narrative of children committing crimes.

The men throw around words they have only really used in theory; suggesting podcasts and Twitter Q&As. The group laughs through one lifer’s explanation of car phones to one of my classmates. It’s easy to forget they have never touched a cordless phone.

As our time comes to a close, Ghani pulls a ticket out of his sock, pointing to a backdrop where we can take a picture together. We huddle as a group; Ghani’s braids swishing past my waist. The man is filled with quotes: poetry, religious verses, and Supreme Court opinions seem to spill out of his mouth, urging us to keep working, and keep fighting.

This story is part of an ongoing series that will document The Redemption Project.

4 | Opinions

Feb. 3, 2016

The Hawk

Editorial Voicing concern at St. Joe’s and beyond EDITOR IN CHIEF Molly Grab ’17 MANAGING EDITOR Angela Christaldi ’17 COPY CHIEF Ashley Cappetta ’17 BUSINESS DIRECTOR Julia Le ’19 FACULTY ADVISER Jenny Spinner NEWS EDITOR Ana Faguy ’19 OPINIONS EDITOR Lindsay Hueston ’16 ASSISTANT OPINIONS EDITOR Maria Spirk ’17 ASSISTANT COPY Victoria Tralies ’18 LIFESTYLE EDITOR Katie White ’17 ASSISTANT LIFESTYLE EDITOR Ciarra Bianculli ’17 SPORTS EDITOR Christy Selagy ’16 ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Maddie Kuntz ‘17 PHOTO EDITOR Matthew J. Haubenstein M.A. ’17 ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Joey Toczylowski ’19 DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER Jess Cavallaro ’18 The Hawk welcomes letters to the editor (400-600 words). They can be emailed to hawk.editorial@gmail.com.

The phenomenon of juvenile lifers is extremely prevalent in Philadelphia: We house the highest rate of American juveniles who are serving out life sentences, with 400 juvenile lifers in Pennsylvania, and more than half of these Pennsylvania juvenile lifers in Philadelphia alone, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Reflecting on our collective adolescence, we recognize that if sentenced to life in prison as minors, we would not be in college. We wouldn’t even be students.

We certainly wouldn’t be editors of this newspaper. Most likely, we wouldn’t have a voice with which to speak, other than to our cellmates or to the guards who governed our day-to-day lives. And we think it’s important to acknowledge that fact.

This idea of having a voice is not new.

Here at The Hawk, we believe in storytelling; it is our job to tell the world about the lives of others, from the borders of our own campus and beyond. When these voices aren’t heard, or are misinterpreted, people get angry. However, this anger serves a purpose: We can use it to fuel change on our campus, in our society, and in our world.

What is our responsibility to this specific population? How can we give them a voice? As citizens and students, what is our greater social responsibility to issues that are equally as horrifying in our city and our world—Syrian refugees? Racial inequality? Living wages? Where do we draw the line, or where should we widen it?

Our position as members of an educational community enables us to use our voices—particularly through the vehicle of this newspaper—to provide a voice for those who have been silenced. As our staff thought about these prisoners who have been incarcerated since adolescence, as well as other marginalized groups, we realized that this discussion is absolutely necessary. Our voices can be used on a greater scale to ensure that all around us are heard.

On a more intimate level, we can take action on this campus to make others’ voices heard, as well as our own. We can get to know our professors, who act as some of our greatest advocates. We can attend lectures and workshops, which expand our perspectives and allow us to engage in honest dialogue to truly learn what others’ experiences are like. We can encourage others to think differently about stereotyping others on campus. No one likes to live in boxes.

We can get angry at the fact that juvenile lifers will only know adulthood in prison; we can get angry at the fact that minorities’ voices are often overlooked both on our campus and in our society; we can get angry about issues that touch close to home for us; we can get angry when intentional language isn’t used in these situations—and we can do something about it.

Our education gives us a voice, and a loud one. We can shout our knowledge from the rooftops and use what we know to change lives and ensure that the voices

of others are heard just as loudly as we are.

Our education gives us the tools to be responsible, informed citizens, and to question the systems that are so ensconced in our society and in our norms.

Education allows us to question everything and understand that we have a long way to go in society, in terms of inclusion of marginalized populations. The more informed we are, the more we are able to understand how others operate, and why.

We believe in respecting others’ stories, no matter where these stories come from, and no matter what the people telling them have been through. Everyone has a story, and the more we allow people to share their life experiences, the more we can grasp their inherent human dignity. At a Jesuit university that emphasizes care of the whole person and the formation of well-rounded students, we believe in making sure that everyone is heard.

We call on our Jesuit background to be women and men with and for others— and how else do we expect to get there?

We can be a voice for juvenile lifers.

We can be a voice together with minority groups on campus who don’t feel adequately heard. We can be a voice for the people standing right there beside us.

We can, and we should.

-The Hawk Staff

Violence is a men’s issue SARA LEONETTI ’17 Hawk Staff On Jan. 27, the Cardinal Foley Center hosted a frank conversation regarding men’s violence against women.

Jackson Katz, Ph.D., a well-known anti-sexism activist, passionately spoke about how men need join the conversation about violence against women. Katz called for an acknowledgement that violence is predominantly a men’s issue, as men are more likely to be the perpetrators of violence. Katz encourages all to commit to protecting both male and female victims of such violence. I have never heard this issue framed from this perspective, and I felt it was an effective way to communicate this critical message to new audiences and initiate long-needed change. I found Katz’s speech incredibly inspiring, and realized the importance of his work in a society that often views this as only a “women’s issue.”

We all recognize that women are too often the victims of rape, domestic violence, and sexual assault; however, the majority of violence committed by men is directed at other men. Similarly, in households where men abuse wives or girlfriends, children living with them face severe stressors

and potentially psychological damage leading them to becoming victims themselves. Or, even worse, the boys and girls become victims of the physical abuse. Boys abused by their fathers or who witness abuse are more likely to be abusive to others. For these reasons and many others, men have much to gain by working towards ending violence.

We must look at ourselves and question the systems in society that have made us accept the way things are in terms of violence in our society, particularly violence against women. If we do not have self-reflection, then we cannot have change. Katz focused on something called the “bystander approach,” in which peer groups enforce their own ideas about what behavior is acceptable and should be supported within their own social circles. Essentially, if you know a man who is abusing someone in their life, you need to let them know that you are not okay with it. Conversely, if you know someone who is being abused, you need to express that you are there to support them.

I realize that some members of my audience will read this and say: “Well, I am not violent and I would never hurt

Photo by Joey Toczylowski ’19

a woman, so this is not my problem.” While I will argue that no one is accusing anyone in these situations, that does not make any individual exempt from the conversation. We all like to think of people that do these horrible things as part of this “other” category that we can disassociate ourselves from. We view them as sociopaths, mutations in our society instead of products of it, but the truth is that a rapist can be like any other person in most ways. We can no longer think of this problem as something not directly involving us all, and we all must work for a solution together.

Once we deem this behavior as unacceptable, we will have the means to end it.

The key is that we all take responsibility, especially men, because men are often the ones who perpetuate these cycles of violence, and who have the most power in our society to make a change. Once we all establish that violence is not acceptable and will not be tolerated, we will be able to more effectively eradicate it from our society.

Feb. 3, 2016

The Hawk

Opinions | 5

Letters to the Editor

Jan. 27 article “Say what you mean” sparks conversation throughout the Saint Joseph’s University community In the Opinions section of the Jan. 27 issue of The Hawk, Jake Madeson, ’19, wrote “Say what you mean,” explaining his perspective on the culture of political correctness. After publication, numerous members of the university community voiced their opinions over several points made in the article.

To the Editor, On Jan. 27, The Hawk printed an article entitled “Say what you mean” by Jake Madeson, ’19. The main argument of this highly offensive and misguided opinion is that “political correctness” in the college culture is killing freedom of speech.

I’m going to take some liberties here and assume that Mr. Madeson is a white, cisgender (meaning your gender identity matches the sex you were assigned at birth), heterosexual man. Mr. Madeson has likely never experienced any sort of systematic discrimination or prejudice based on his gender, sexual orientation, or race. However, Mr. Madeson has certainly felt slightly uncomfortable when he was called out for perpetuating negative stereotypes, likely towards women, people of color, queer people, or transgender people.

I considered writing this response in a way that would be palatable to Mr. Madeson. I briefly considered explaining why freedom of speech can only include more conversation from oppressed populations. When Mr. Madeson, however, decided that his article was a lesson for all those who needed to be educated on maturity, I noticed that he forgot one thing: it’s not all about you.

We live in a world where the white, cisgender, heterosexual man must feel comfortable at all times. Indeed, we

make great leaps and bounds to ensure they never feel at fault. For example, as a woman I constantly endure risk reduction education vis-à-vis rape and sexual assault, but when we direct prevention efforts towards men they immediately feel the need to defend themselves, saying “But I’m not a rapist!” Oh, good. Problem solved. Time to go home, girls—he’s not a rapist.

Similarly, the #BlackLivesMatter movement aims to shed light on a pervasive problem in American community: too many black men and women are being killed at the hands of police officers. “All lives matter!” Uncle Bill posts on Facebook. Of course all lives matter, Uncle Bill.

But consider this: a bear is mauling someone and you are not. When the paramedics arrive, do you demand for your non-existent injuries to be examined?

I am not interested in making the white, cisgender, heterosexual man feel comfortable. I am interested in educating the population to make small, albeit possibly uncomfortable linguistic adjustments to be as inclusive as possible. Mr. Madeson is right: this behavior is not fair and equal. It is, however, just.

If Mr. Madeson cares so much about Jesuit ideals, such as “cura personalis,” where is his regard for social justice?

Where is his regard for Catholic social teaching that implores us to respect one another and treat humans with the

proper dignity that they deserve by virtue of being human?

“PC culture” is about understanding that you are not the only person on Earth, especially if you are privileged.

It is about understanding that the micro-sized aggressions and slurs you are casually spewing all over the place are ignorant and flat-out rude. Freedom of speech certainly gives you the right to speak openly, but I would hope that your conscience gives you the insight to recognize you should not say everything that comes to your mind. Freedom of speech also gives Americans the right not to speak; especially if the person we’re speaking to is unapologetically offensive.

Mr. Madeson does make one correct statement in his article: “The goal of college is to expand minds, not limit them.” This is especially true in the year 2016, when there is more diversity on (most) college campuses than ever before. College is a marketplace of ideas. Where else can you openly debate Marxism-Leninism over a subpar Campion brunch? In this context, we can learn all about different people from all different walks of life. Surely, freedom of speech is an American right; but human dignity is a human right.

I do hope over his next few years, Mr. Madeson takes advantage of expanding his mind.

—Bailey McIntyre ’16

To the Editor, Just weeks ago, the Washington Post published an article discussing the anti-hate speech laws in Germany then coming under fire due to the influx of Syrian immigrants into the country. Opponents of the law claimed that this was political correctness run amok, stifling the right to free speech in the free world. But to what extent are these laws helping or hurting the world by limiting what people can say, and in what forum they can say it?

In Mr. Madeson’s article, titled “Say what you mean,” from the Jan. 27 issue of The Hawk, he contends that on a college campus, the right to express thoughts and arguments is integral to fostering an intellectual environment. I couldn’t agree more. However, political correctness has its place. It is certainly not a black and white question of denying or upholding rights but rather a spectrum in which either extreme is dangerous.

On the one hand, the absence of political guardedness in what we say results in a self-centered society: “It is my

right to say what I want to say to anyone I say it to.” Sure you’re protecting your rights, but, in some cases, at what cost? Is unbridled speech to anyone (heterosexual or homosexual, woman or man) always allowed even if it is indecent? Even if it intentionally (or unintentionally) causes rifts or defines inequalities?

On the other hand, strict political correctness is simply a lie we tell ourselves that we are doing something about the inequalities in the world. By saying to yourself, “I never say racist or misogynistic things,” you are telling yourself that you are helping to rectify inequalities, but are you? According to St. Ignatius of Loyola, “Love ought to show itself more in deeds than in words.”

I think what ought to be policy is not “say what you mean,” but rather “say what’s best.” Think about it. Mr. Madeson mentioned the well-roundedness of our education at Saint Joseph’s University, but that well-rounded education comes with other virtues as well: Always seek knowledge and live for others. By seeking knowledge, one

must think to oneself before making a potentially “un-politically correct” statement: “Is what I’m going to say going to benefit the world? Is what I’m going to say really the truth or well-informed?” And by living for others, one must think to oneself with theory of mind, “How may those around me or whom I’m addressing feel once I say it? Is it worth it?”

Just days after the Washington Post published its article on Germany, pictures of starving Syrian children surfaced. To me, this drew out the essential point of what my reaction to Mr. Madeson’s article was—while we argue about what we can and cannot say, we continue to do nothing about the inequalities in the world. What good is speech when we aren’t using it to benefit our human race?

So before you think to yourself: “I can say whatever I want,” perhaps you should say to yourself: “I should say what is best,” or better yet, “I should do what is best.”

—Nathan L’Etoile ’16

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6| Opinions

Feb. 3, 2016

AD HOC AD HAWK The Hawk

Ad Hawk is a column showcasing voices around the university with a new writer each week.

Each writer has the same purpose: to reflect on a small moment that had a great impact on their time at St. Joe’s.

PAUL ASPAN, PH.D. Special to The Hawk I appreciate irony, so when The Hawk invited me to write about a small moment that made the biggest impact on me at Saint Joseph’s University, I had to chuckle. Those of us who love St. Joe’s do so for much the same reason: the goodness of the people here. Our lives here have been stitched together in quilts of small moments of grace. The panels of our quilts represent the blessings of encountering good people on a daily basis–in our departments, offices, and classrooms. Thus, it is difficult, bordering on the unfair, to choose a single small St. Joe’s moment that has had the largest impact on my life. Yet, since I gave my students over the years some difficult assignments, with the irony of this invitation duly noted, here goes . . .

Young faculty needs mentors. I was well blessed in that regard. One of my mentors, who always brought a whirlwind of energy, and occasionally, a little wisteria incense, into the classroom, occupied the office next door when I first moved into Bellarmine. He has been ever faithful, tolerant, and gracious to a fault with me.

However, my small moment describes how I found another mentor in an unusual fashion.

During the 1990s, I used to run on the track at Sweeney Field during lunch on some weekdays. In that era, we could still use the locker rooms in Memorial Gym/Hagan Arena. As a side note, Mandeville Hall had not yet been built, so the Erivan K. Haub School of Business had its faculty offices in Post Hall, which was then named Villiger Hall, overlooking the track. One day after a run, as I walked into the locker room to shower and change, a colleague I recognized but barely knew spoke to me: “I can see you running from my office window. Jesus, God, could you run any slower?’

“Oh, I’ve seen you running, too, and I could time you with a sun dial.”

“Heh, heh, heh, heh. You son-of-a-bitch.”

At that point, I knew I had found a friend for life.

Before long, we started running together, both on and off campus. We met for breakfast a few times a month. We talked about St. Joe’s, and my then deeply dysfunctional department (it is healthy these days). In the time I’ve known him, he’s never voted for a

Democrat, nor I for a Republican. He played Division I football at Franklin Field, while I played touch on the South Quad. We have argued about the Roman Catholic Church – he is very “traditional” whereas I resonate with what passes for “progressive” Catholicism.

We’ve also covered in conversation the joys and difficulties of marriage and raising children. He was instrumental in helping my older son get his first job in his chosen career field and has always been as interested in all three of my children as if they were related to him.

Along with my other mentor, he gave me invaluable counsel as I prepared for tenure, and promotion. But our favorite topic was teaching. Always teaching. Our approaches to pedagogy could hardly be more different, which may well be why we have learned so much from each other. One of life’s great pleasures is to talk about what you love to do with others who do it well.

In our conversations, neither of us gave any quarter nor asked any in return. He allowed me as an untenured assistant professor to push him, my tenured senior colleague, as much as he did me. I told him once, that as a full-time professor, he needed to exercise the leadership that we should expect from our senior-most colleagues, and therefore to confront the university president at that time on an important issue. He called me that name–again–but he had the conversation with the president. It cost him, but he also made a difference.

He’s retired now and I have not stayed in touch as much as I should have. When I saw him recently at the celebration of his 50th wedding anniversary, he greeted me with the sarcasm of surprise. Later, he made sure we had time for a couple of extended conversations–when he wasn’t ridiculing me for looking at my iPhone. It was a splendid evening.

Did that small moment in the locker room on a weekday afternoon affect my life more than any other I’ve had at St. Joe’s? I do not know how to measure blessings. What I do know is that Norman Maclean was right: “ . . . what happens on Sundays is foreordained.

What comes on weekdays comes from something within us, and for which we are responsible, and if it is from something deep within us it is called grace, and is.”

Paul Aspan, Ph.D., is associate provost for Academic and Faculty Support and associate professor of theology and religious studies.

Grinds my gears

Senior year bucket lists:

So ladies and gentleman, for a solid chunk of us here on Hawk Hill, coming back for our spring semester is our last time returning for a new semester. Yes, I’m pointing a finger directly at the senior class of 2016. For some of us, we have certain items that we want to complete before we say goodbye to Saint Joseph’s University. Many seniors have compiled these items into a “listicle,” titling it their Senior Bucket List.

For those unfamiliar with the term bucket list, it is basically a list people write up of things they wish to do, places they wish to visit, or people they hope to encounter. The most common type of bucket lists are ones people create of activities they want to accomplish throughout the course of their life. However, college students have also gotten into the habit of creating lists with activities that are specific to college life.

A senior year bucket list is a way for seniors to think about all of the things they want to do before the curtain drops on our college careers. Some people see bucket lists as a way to create different goals they hope to achieve during their senior year.

I’ve asked a lot of seniors if they happen to have a bucket list, and found out that there is a surprising number of people who do. When I inquired what kind of items they have on their list they told me classic things like: go to campion for Christmas dinner; get drunk on Sweeney field; rage at all the bars on Main Street in Manayunk; and probably the least tasteful item I’ve heard – spend the night in each one of the freshman dorms.

I will be the first to admit that I do in fact have a senior bucket list. Mine is not all

You only senior year once KATHERINE GRYGO ’16 Hawk Staff

that exciting and includes items such as watching the sun rise as I walk home from an all-nighter in the library and having a drink with a professor. I made this list at the beginning of my senior year, per the request of one of my roommates. She asked all of my roommates and I to make a list of things we want to do in order to get the most out of our last year, and to finally get us to do the things that we have said we were always going to do.

But one of my roommates said that she was not really into the idea of bucket lists and decided to not make one. When I asked her why she wasn’t going to, she responded that she felt like bucket lists limit a person from living in the moment and instead force them to do things not for fun but in order to check it off the list.

Having a bucket list is a way for a person to take a chance and reflect on the things that they have always dreamed of doing. Studies have shown that when people make a list of things they want to do, they are more likely to actually accomplish them. These lists can be great motivators to finally do the things you have always wanted to do.

So to all of my fellow seniors and to the St. Joe’s community, take a few minutes and sit down to make your own bucket list. Because before you know it, you’ll be walking across that stage come one May morning, and you will want to be sure that you did everything here that you ever wanted to do.

Feb. 3, 2016

Opinions | 7

The Hawk

Remembering Catherine Murray, Ph.D. “She had an incisive mind

“...Murray

was enthusiastic, energetic, and a true motivator for myself and other students.”

and a voracious love of truth, and she possessed the courage to pursue those difficult truths.”

-Brendan Maloney, M.A., ’15

-Ashley Bates Saha, ’05

BRITTANY BOYD, M.S., ’15 Special to The Hawk My mind swirled at the thought of encompassing the impact that Catherine Murray, Ph.D., had on me, the psychology department, and Saint Joseph’s University as a whole in just a few paragraphs. Murray encountered numerous students at Saint Joseph’s through her tenure as a faculty member in the psychology department and as the chair of the graduate gerontology program. Whether it was through the classes she taught, the thesis proposals and defenses she influenced, or the smiles and waves she gave to students, her presence was felt. While I know the entire university was impacted by her service and dedication as an educator, I can speak best about my own experience with Murray.

I vividly recall the immense joy I felt upon opening my acceptance letter to Saint Joseph’s and learning that Catherine Murray would be my mentor for the master’s program in experimental psychology. I never understood why she chose to work

with me, but there has not been a day that I have not been grateful for the opportunity she gave me.

Throughout my time as a graduate student, we spent countless hours together discussing my thesis research, the undergraduate classes in which I served as her teaching assistant, and most importantly, life plans and goals. I cherished those moments, and grew anxious when they did not occur as often as usual. I sometimes feared the autonomy she gave me, but she assured me that I could handle it. She challenged me when I was not ready, and she believed in me even when I was uncertain of myself.

She displayed admirable realism, yet provided unwavering support. She was bright, caring, and compassionate, and I valued her tremendously.

Not only did I value her as a person, but I admired Murray’s commitment to her work. I knew Murray was an accomplished developmental psychologist, but it was not

ASHLEY BATES SAHA ’05 Special to The Hawk Catherine Murray, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of graduate gerontology, was more than a long time psychology professor at Saint Joseph’s University; she was an institution. Talk with any psychology student or alumni and it won’t be long before they are fondly swapping Murray stories and smiling. Perhaps you will hear them giggle about how Murray was constantly losing her earrings, purse, or car keys in obscure places around campus, and how looking for Murray’s stuff was almost a rite of passage among psych students.

Or perhaps about how there were papers, books, academic journals, and student assignments covering nearly every inch of floor space in her office. It was nearly impossible to not step on something, and when seated at her desk, it was difficult to see her through all the stuff.

But behind the smiles about Murray’s many eccentricities, there was a deep and profound respect not only for what she had accomplished, but also for who she was.

Murray was a serious academic and a scientist in a time when women were thought to have no business being either.

For many years, Murray taught Research Methods, which served as a foundation course and an introduction to critical thinking. Being a researcher is not only about knowing the scientific method for finding the truth, but also about having the courage to recognize the truth when it is unpopular, and even when it forces one

to challenge previously held beliefs. Murray didn’t just teach these principles—she lived them. She had an incisive mind and a voracious love of truth, and she possessed the courage to pursue those difficult truths.

I imagine that is what made her a capable researcher and I know that is what made her the feminist and formidable activist that she was.

It will be hard for many of us to picture Post Hall without Murray bustling at top speed up and down the halls, her arms full, informing the department secretary that she had lost one of her earrings. I picture her trudging up the hill from Post Hall to Barbelin because she didn’t have time for the stairs, while I huffed and puffed behind her trying to keep up. Murray lived a life of purpose. She was a passionate researcher who believed in the life of the mind and the lifelong pursuit of truth. She was a teacher who took pleasure in working with her students and who believed minds were meant to be challenged. She was a fierce activist for human rights who worked for equality, and the belief that one’s life choices should not be determined or limited by one’s sex or gender. Murray’s contributions have made a difference not only to Saint Joseph’s, but also to the countless students and alumni whose lives she touched, and by whom she will not be forgotten. Hers was a life well lived, and at the end of the day, perhaps that is the greatest compliment.

until I took a course with her that I learned of her true passion for gerontology. Her proseminar in gerontology course opened my eyes to facts, concepts, and realities that I have never considered. It forced me to put my life in perspective, as well as the lives of the people that I care about and love. It created a dichotomy between what I considered necessary for living and what it truly means to have a life worth living.

Murray embodied her teachings. She encouraged us to think about the fulfillment of life as we age. In our final paper, she challenged us to describe the projected course of the remainder of our lives. As uncomfortable as it was, the assignment required my cohort and I to divulge biological, psychological, and other factors that could negatively impact our lifespan and contemplate what, if anything, would continue to make our lives fulfilling. This thought-provoking course not only prepared me to be a better scholar, but an en-

riched person.

Murray also provided insight in more subtle ways. One such example was in her email signature, which read, “The time will come—and it will be such a wonderful moment—when everything becomes clear.”

Although I have read this Ivan Pavlov quote numerous times, I never really understood it. When Pavlov made this statement, he was hopeful that increasing the number of researchers in his lab would allow for all his inquiries to be solved. Instead, adding more researchers convoluted the research process, and more questions arose. Similarly, Murray dedicated her life to teaching and research. However, I believe that Murray did have her moment of clarity, because she embedded her knowledge in the minds of everyone she touched, so that we can take the information and thought provoking ideas and continue her work.

BRENDAN MALONEY, M.S., ’15 Special to The Hawk When I first met Catherine Murray, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of graduate gerontology, as an undergraduate student in psychology, she was my Research Methods professor. I found her to be a little intimidating at first.

Though she had kindly asked the students to provide their names and some personal information on the first day, her overall demeanor was strict and formal. Her criticisms of our projects were meticulous, and her grading was less forgiving than that of my other teachers. Although these aspects did not initially endear her to me and some of my classmates, I came to appreciate her critiques, as they helped me to improve my writing and study habits. As a result of her approach, I definitely knew where I stood with the course material and felt more prepared for my later courses.

A few years later, Murray served as my thesis mentor in graduate school. She was much friendlier and more jovial as my mentor, and our sessions together were more relaxed than our classes. In my second year in the graduate program, however, she became a close friend. My progress with my thesis was very slow, as I found it difficult to find appropriate articles for research. On top of that, I was undergoing

a bit of a personal crisis. My time at Saint Joseph’s University was drawing to a close, the real world was rapidly approaching, and I had become uncertain about whether psychology was the right field for me.

Upon meeting Murray for a session after several months with little progress, I expected her to be angry; however, to my surprise, she was gentle and sympathetic.

She not only encouraged me to persevere, but she reminded me that life is a gift and too short to waste on nervousness and insecurity. Thanks to her guidance, warmth, and patience, I ultimately finished my thesis and gained far more confidence in myself.

Although she was in her late seventies upon her passing, Murray was enthusiastic, energetic, and a true motivator for myself and other students. There were several times when we chatted for half an hour after the conclusions of our sessions, and I shall miss those times dearly. I will always be grateful for what she has done for me.

Her dedication to her field, along with her patience, compassion, and wit, made her a great psychologist and an extraordinary human being whose presence this university will surely miss.

8 | Lifestyle

Feb. 3, 2016

The Hawk

Catherine Catherine Murray Murray

Saint Joseph’s community reflects on the life of Catherine Murray, Ph.D. KATIE WHITE ’17 Lifestyle Editor

CIARRA BIANCULLI ’17 Assistant Lifestyle Editor

ANA FAGUY ’19 News Editor

Catherine Murray, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology and director of graduate gerontology, died on Sunday Jan. 24. The Saint Joseph’s University community has spent the past week mourning Murray’s loss and remembering the contributions she made during her time here. A service will be hosted on Feb. 9 in the Cardinal John P. Foley Campus Center in tribute to Murray. Below is a compilation of her accomplishments and the work she did to better the Saint Joseph’s community, from the perspective of her colleagues.

“There are not words in any language to describe all Catherine Murray has done to make St. Joe’s understand, respect, and live up to its mission.

She was a fierce and fearless advocate for honesty, social justice, fairness, and so much more. She mentored us on what it meant to be a member of the faculty, which for her meant an active engagement in university affairs, the courage of convictions, and the necessity of having arguments grounded in evidence. The word ‘great’ has been cheapened by overuse, but I use it for Catherine to state she was (and will always be) a great champion. And her death is a great loss for all who have ever been associated with St. Joe’s. Let her live on by following her lead, and even pushing for the proposals she had readied for our betterment.”

Randall M. Miller, Ph.D.

“Dr. Catherine Murray is one of those special professors that makes a college into a memorable place. She taught at SJU for over 50 years and is well-remembered by generations of students—by younger faculty too— as energetic, indomitable, engaged, and committed to all kinds of good causes, from women’s equality in the academy and the classroom, to gender studies, to faculty rights. It is now exaggeration to use the old cliché ‘They don’t make them like that any more.’

May we never forget her.”

Vincent A. McCarthy, Ph.D. . logy ycho

er Cath g n u Yo

ur ine M

s ps ache e t y ra

All photos courtesy of Saint Joseph’s University Archives

Feb. 3, 2016

The Hawk

Lifestyle | 9

Catherine S. Murray (right) receives the Bene Merenti medal, 1990.

Cath erine

Mur “Catherine had been on the faculty at Saint Joseph’s (then College) for more ray t each es on than 10 years when I arrived. She was one of a very few women teaching an e of man y psy all-male student body in the day school for her first six years. It took some chol ogy class time for me to realize how lucky I was that she had preceded me. She made es. a path for the women who followed her. She was our advocate, our mentor, and in many ways, our model. In language the direct and plain-spoken na- “I’m not sure exactly when I met her; it seems like I always knew her. But it tive of New York City might have used, she ‘had our backs.’ As years passed, was clear to me early on that she was one of the most passionate advocates for the interests of the faculty, not just here at Saint Joseph’s but in general. she assumed her natural position as a leader of all the faculty and was, simply, there for all of us. Catherine Murray is not replaceable. We will just She cared deeply about this university and its faculty. And I’ve known a lot of people who have been involved in shared governance, but I don’t think have to endure our great loss.”

I’ve known anyone who was as passionate and committed consistently as Elizabeth A. Linehan, R.S.M., Ph.D. she was. She left a legacy that I think often times certainly young faculty members might not be aware of. Whatever rights and privileges that they have did not come easily. They required constant kind of vigilance to make sure their rights are not eroded. Her death is a real loss for us and for many who may not realize the contributions that she made.

“Back in the late 1980s, Dr. Murray was one of the key figures in developing She was a real fighter in her own right but it was never for selfish reasons. It the gender studies program here at Saint Joseph’s, no easy feat as, at that was always for the best interest of everybody—in particular, the faculty. She time, there was a great deal of resistance for having such a program here. was one of a kind, that’s for sure.”

Many years later, Dr. Murray served as the director of the program, and, Robert Moore, Ph.D. with other members of the Gender Studies Committee, she helped develop the Women of Purpose and Trailblazer Awards, which recognize the significant contributions to gender work by our students. She will be greatly missed by all of us who have been involved in gender issues.”

Jo Alyson Parker, Ph.D.

Catherine S. Murray (left) receives honorary degree during the academic convocation of Nov. 2, 1975, commemorating the United Nations International Women’s Year 1975.

Catherine Murray, Ph.D., chaired on the Advisory Board on Faculty Compensation (ABFC) for more than 20 years. On this board, she achieved many accomplishments that contribute to her legacy here on campus. ABFC maintained retirement and health care benefits despite economic conditions at the time; it advocated for adjustments to faculty salaries, which addressed inequities and salary creep; and it also advocated for nascent paid family medical leave policy. The leadership and passion of Murray contributed to fundamental changes and shifts for the ABFC. Murray also served as president of the Saint Joseph’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, where she worked to uphold the core values of academic freedom and shared faculty governance. She deeply believed that as a body, faculty members have common interests that must be advanced and protected.

Along with serving on many different campus organizations and boards, Murray also served on the Faculty Senate twice. In fact, she was the only person who served as president of the senate for two terms. With a strong background in leadership, Murray was one of three faculty members to revise the faculty handbook, which is the cornerstone of their shared governance. Her passion to advocate for herself and her colleagues never went unnoticed, for her determination for equitable treatment among themselves was always her goal.

10 | Lifestyle

Feb. 3, 2016

The Hawk

Finding his scholarly calling Fulbright semi-finalist goes after international research opportunity KATIE WHITE ’17 Lifestyle Editor

Photo by Joey Toczylowski, ‘19

Each year, thousands of hopefuls apply for the Fulbright Scholarship in hopes of being awarded the opportunity to study, research, or teach overseas. Esteban Valencia, ’16, is a semi-finalist awaiting his chance to study and conduct research with Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in El Salvador.

While his formal application process began last spring, the topic of Valencia’s research has been in the works for much of his college career. Combining his studies in psychology, criminal justice, linguistics, and sociology, Valencia said being able to explore different areas of his research interests in class led him to begin asking more and more

questions about community mental health.

Valencia is particularly interested in community social networks, the relationships people have with one another and their community, as well as the community’s relationship with itself.

“I wanted to know the ways in which communities and the social forces within these communities are working to facilitate [not only] individual mental health outcomes but also these community health outcomes as a whole—how individuals and institutions interact as a whole,” Valencia said.

While these issues have always been of interest to Valencia, he says the specifics of his project didn’t begin to take shape until he came across research by Salvadorian martyr Ignacio Martín-Baró.

Martín-Baró’s concept of liberation psychology, which centers on understanding communities through the oppressive social forces they exist in, especially resonated with Valencia and guided him to articulate his own research goals.

“It’s something that I found very interesting, this field of liberation psychology, and it’s not something that is particularly established in the U.S.,” Valencia said. “What I can learn about it and what I can learn about its approach is limited to what I can read. And there’s only so much one can read. For me, a goal of studying with and working at the UCA would be to learn more about this liberation psychology at its birthplace with researchers who are sort of steeped in its values [and] its work.”

Working alongside founders in this way would not only allow Valencia to come to a fuller understanding of the research he is so passionate about, but it would also play into his proposal’s unique emphasis on community benefit.

“The goal [of my project] is to involve community leaders in both the construction of the research methodology and the dissemination of the results,” Valencia said. “So the research isn’t really for me to present and say, ‘Hey, this is what I went to El Salvador and found.’ It’s a tool that community members can use to say, ‘This is how we’re looking

at these social networks and their impact,’” Valencia said.

Being able to see the greater potential impact of his project is what makes Valencia a good candidate for the Fulbright scholarship, according to Susan Clampet-Lundquist, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology, who recommended Valencia for the grant.

“I just have been so impressed over the years—I think this speaks to Esteban’s self motivation and just desire to learn, desire to make an impact. Yes, he’s really interested in research and academics, but he’s also interested in having these other experiences too,” Clampet-Lundquist said.

In addition to passionate and motivated individuals, the Fulbright program is interested in taking on students who can act as cultural ambassadors for the United States, and who will work toward the foundation’s goal of promoting better understanding and empathy across cultural boundaries.

Valencia has already taken this aspect of the grant to heart.

“We’re going beyond what sort of personal benefit can be sought out of our work,” Valencia said of himself and other potential Fulbright researchers. “For me, that means this is an opportunity to learn about a field of study that isn’t particularly established in the U.S.—to learn about El Salvador in a way that one cannot necessarily do when you’re not in that locale.”

As a semi-finalist, Valencia must wait until sometime between February and June to hear back about the results of his application. That leaves plenty of time to think about where his research may take him—or more importantly, how his research may one day take on a life of its own.

“The dream scenario I think would be something where we get there and the community becomes so involved that the proposal itself starts to take shape in a way that I myself couldn’t foresee… For me, that would just be an indication that there is all this community involvement that I myself couldn’t foresee because I haven’t been there.”

Stretching out of your comfort zone Adventures of a ‘barre’ beginner

KELLY WITTMAN ’17 Hawk Staff About a week ago, I lost my work-out class virginity.

Holding onto the comfort of my Nikes and dry-fit shirts for far too long, I decided it was time to deflower my usual fitness routine. For years, I stayed within the safe lines of the sidewalks, comforted by the non-judgmental eyes of the birds and the bees. Running was a solo sport that kept me healthy without having to murder my self-esteem next to the more experienced Jillian Michaels or Tracy Anderson.

When Jonas buried the northeast in inches of January blues, I caught cabin fever. The only way to cure the seasonal rut was to tweak a few knots tying me to old habits. My friend and fitness guru, Cristiana Caruso, ’16, encouraged me to sign up for a free class at Pure Barre in Ardmore. At first, I thought Cristiana was inviting me to happy hour, but I quickly learned that “barre” is a type of workout that mixes ballet, yoga, Pilates, and something else not yet known to this planet. All of the Victoria’s Secret models do it, and I didn’t mind sweating like the angels to look like Candice Swanepool. What can I say? I always shoot for the stars in an empty city sky.

When the time came for me to attend my funeral—I mean class—I was terrified. Greeted by three smiles and a table full of post-workout refreshments consisting of green shots of spinach and beet juice, pivoting and lunging towards the exit sign seemed like the best decision. However, I decided to swallow my fear and signed my name on the waiver, complete with emergency contact (shout-out to my mom) then grabbed my exercise equipment. Gravitating towards the back corner, I sat cross legged on the carpet, hid-

den by a pole, and observed the people who were either my foes or fellow barre virgins. Hoping for the latter, I sized up the room. Some girls were my age, some were a little older, and the ladies in my corner were middle-aged women. To my left, in the front row, were the Barre Beasts. The alpha pack wore socks that said “Tuck yeah!” and shirts that read, “Will plank for pizza.” Oh tuck no, TUCK NO! Within minutes of scaling my surroundings, our instructor, Tammie, flew into the room on her cloud of motivation. Techno music signaled the beginning of our routine and my heart began to match the tempo of the beats.

As Tammie spoke into her attached microphone, we began a series of arm exercises using dumbbells and from there, many sets of abdominal moves. “Tuck, tuck, tuck, tuck with me now,” Tammie encouraged. Ten minutes into the class, my untrained muscles were whining for me to stop. Scanning the room, I played a private game of deciphering who was sweating first—I didn’t want to be the only one 10 minutes into the routine with her pores crying.

Our teacher then instructed us to go to the barre.

Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, as I plied using quick but subtle pulses—small movements are the key to barre and a lot harder than it sounds—I felt proud of myself for stretching out of my comfort zone and into this foreign world of fitness and barre amazons.

Mid-way through the session, I caught the drift that everybody knew what they were doing besides me. Everyone else, even the middle-aged group, knew the sequence—what pose came next and how many sets to do. I felt like I wasn’t

Images courtesy of Creative Commons

part of the party. As I held the bridge pose for what felt like an eternity, Tammie told the room, “20 more seconds. You can do anything for 20-seconds.”

“And 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, annnnnnnnd 20!

Lower down to your mat.”

I never heard anyone count to twenty so slowly. Turning towards my friend, I couldn’t even breathe the word “Help.” Sharing a moment of distress, she replied, “Tammie just used my line against me!”

The tempo of the music began to slow down as did my heartbeat. The lights dimmed signaling the final minutes of the class and we stretched our bodies using a few yoga poses.

For Caruso, the ninja of the gym, the class was a humbling experience.

“I went in saying to myself that I was in shape. I’m a fitness professional, I can squat all this weight, I was a dancer for eight years. This shouldn’t be too rough. Wrong,” she said.

As for me, I challenged my body and my mind to try something new, and though I may not have looked or felt like a VS model, I felt like a better version of myself.

They say you never forget your first, so my experience at Pure Barre will always be the most memorable one. One class set the barre for more classes and new experiences to come.

And go ahead, try the green juice. Beets aren’t so bad with a few strawberries.

Feb. 3, 2016

Lifestyle | 11

The Hawk

History: a blast from the past A trip inside the St. Joe’s Archives CAITLYN SOITTLE ’18 Special to The Hawk

Christopher Dixon in his office located in the Drexel Library. Dixon is incharge of the entire Archives and Special Collections, also located in the library. (Photo by Matthew J. Haubenstein, M.A., ’17)

A tall, middle-aged man with a salt-andpepper beard, Christopher Dixon strolls out of his office on the first floor of the Francis A. Drexel Library and makes a sharp right past carts of books waiting to be shelved.

Leisurely, he opens a gray latched door and walks down the stairs to the basement of the old building that has undergone multiple renovations since it was built in the 1960s. He unlocks another door with a small window and an eye-level navy plaque that reads “Archives and Special Collections.”

As he enters the room, crisp air washes over him. He flips a switch, watches the fluorescent lights flicker on for half a second and checks for leaks (a problem he has been working closely with maintenance to fix), all to make sure the environment-controlled room stays that way.

“One of my goals is to make sure the archives are in a safe and secure environment,” he said.

Dixon is the self-proclaimed “guardian” of the university archives, which houses items dating back to the 1600s.

To the left of the room is a large bookcase running the length of the wall and reaching the ceiling. It holds all the books ever written by Saint Joseph’s faculty.

There’s an edition of “Crimson and Gray: The Red-Tailed Hawks of Saint Joseph’s University,” with commentary from Michael P. McCann, Professor of Biology, and photos taken by Dixon himself.

New to the shelf is “Sex and the University: Celebrity, Controversy, and a Student Journalism Revolution,” by Dan Reimold, Ph.D., former assistant professor of English, published in 2010.

library at Saint Joseph’s for 25 years, first as a reference librarian and coordinator of government documents, before taking over the archives in 2009.

He said that the university’s connection to Philadelphia history is a significant part of the archive’s legacy. Bits and pieces of that story can be attained by sifting through other collections throughout the city, including the National Park Services Archives.

Three floors above the archives in the Post Learning Commons is the second, more aesthetically pleasing installment of the collection’s home.

Pieces include the strange and unexpected, varying from medieval books and Old Saint Joseph’s Church documents to limited edition bobble heads and a model of the Shakespearian Globe Theater.

and archives. Croce said he would like to see more special collections in the library.

“What’s the point of having special collections if you’re not showing it?” Dixon said.

Anne Krakow, director of the Francis A. Drexel Library, said she also hopes the archives can be displayed in more prominent places around campus, rather than being confined only to the library space.

Dixon and Croce just packed up an exhibition of watercolor paintings donated by the Pastino family, close friends of the Maguire family, of the Maguire Campus at Saint Joseph’s. They are working closely to discern what should be on display next in that space in order to properly honor the legacy of Saint Joseph’s University.

Picking out the right key from a full

By the window at the back of the room stands a locked drawer-style safe housing original blueprints for every building on campus. A copy of every yearbook ever published by the school is stacked along the wall.

In a small, stark room to the side of the basement is a moveable shelving system that holds volumes of the entire collection of The Hawk Newspaper from 1930 to the present.

Upon closer inspection, rooms of seeming disarray became a remarkably well-documented and labeled archive. Old catalogues of Saint Joseph’s that tell the story of classes, teachers and administrations of years ago decorate an intricately-carved bookshelf.

“History has always been a passion of mine,” said Dixon, who has worked in the Dixon examing one of the many copies of the St. Joe’s yearbook. (Photo by Matthew J. Haubenstein, M.A., ’17)

The Joe, St. Joe figurine. Dixon’s favorite piece in the collection. (Photo courtesy of SJU Archives)

A Hawk Newspaper circa 1930s. (Photo by Matthew J. Haubenstein, M.A., ’17)

“One of the newest pieces in the collection is the Vatican Flag that flew on campus when Pope Francis was in Philadelphia and made his visit to St. Joe’s,” he said.

Dixon’s favorite item in the collection is a figurine he calls “Joe St. Joe.” The small statue of a smiling St. Joe’s student dons a crimson letterman jacket embroidered with an “S,” while his wide, cartoon eyes look demurely off the side and his hands casually rest in his pockets. Dixon believes the figurine is from the 1940s or 1950s, but doesn’t have further information regarding its history.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind piece,” Dixon said.

“Unless I find or get another one.”

Carmen Croce, director of Saint Joseph’s University Press, is a frequent visitor to the library, where he assists Dixon with exhibits

keyring, Dixon enters through a stained glass arch into a small room with a reading table surrounded by books. Another set of double doors leads to a bright work room with seven computers used for entering data about the collection. The room is also home to a complicated contraption called a BookEye Planetary Scanner, a device used to scan old manuscripts and books without having to flip them over and risk damage.

Currently, Dixon is working on archiving and documenting birth and marital records of Old Saint Joseph’s Church. He is very interested in the church’s integral role in Catholicism in Philadelphia.

Long term, Dixon also hopes to get all The Hawk newspapers online for anyone to search and read.

A bobble Head of Timothy R. Lamos, one of the many interesting items in the archives collection. (Photo by Matthew J. Haubenstein, M.A., ’17)

12 | Lifestyle

Feb. 3, 2016

The Hawk

#HAWK TALK Tom O’Hara @taawwmm

How to hack the salad bar KRISTEN ADAMS ’17 Special To The Hawk We’ve all been there. You decide to have a healthy meal, so you bypass the double cheeseburger with a heaping side of fries and choose the salad instead. However, if you’re not picking the correct ingredients to build your salad with, then your “healthy” choice may not be worth the switch. Here are some ways to build a more nutritious and well-balanced salad: Mix your greens: It’s fine if you like the light green or white lettuces, such as iceberg or romaine lettuce, but try to add in some darker greens, and even reds, to add in more nutritional value—the more colorful the salad, the better.

Top it with protein: When adding your toppings, opt to mix in some protein! A good choice would be chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or red beans, which contain a lot of fiber, as well as protein. Some other nutritious options are hardboiled eggs (although in moderation) or shredded cheese.

Add some veggies: Make that salad as colorful as possible with different veggies! Add carrots, beets, onions, or peppers to give your salad a pop of veggie.

Go easy on the dressing: I’m sure you’ve already heard the suggestion “put the dressing on the side!” However, it’s just as important to be aware of how much you’re putting on the side.

One ladle of regular salad dressing at the salad bar can have as many as 14 grams of fat. That’s equivalent to the fat in a bacon cheeseburger! So if you must go for the ladle, try choosing a light dressing or an oil and vinegar option instead.

Add some healthy fats: Nuts and seeds contain healthy fats, so make sure to sprinkle some of them on your salad. Not only are they good for your heart, they help you feel and stay full.

Stay away from cheese chunks: As tempting as cheese cubes can be, try to skip them as much as possible! Believe it or not, each individual chunk contains approximately the same amount of fat as ¼ cup of shredded cheese.

A special thanks to Theresa Crossan, associate professor in the food chemistry department, for her help and knowledge with this article. Stay tuned for more nutritious tips to come.

@Pontifex Do you ever wear the SJU shirt that we gave you? @saintjosephs

Jill Stewart @jillstewartx3

Shoutout to the two guys from Ashwood that helped us dig out @mgrazi99’s car! #thatsthemagis

meg hen @hennessy_megan Every social media app I have opened tonight is filled with sorority stuff... Happy bid day, SJU. SJU StudntLeadership @SJUSLA Girl scouts in Campion selling Cookies! You are welcome :) Ethan @itsflanagain Waiting for you (the SJU shuttle) is like waiting for rain in the drought: useless and disappointing Lahren @laurzan

On a scale of 1 to the bottom of a hawk wrap how badly is your life falling apart right now

Images courtesy of Creative Commons

Horoscopes Aries

You tend to be a little sheepish and unsure of yourself.

Take it from the powers that be: you’ve got some pretty big chops. Speak up for yourself this week and don’t let anyone try to pull the wool over your eyes.

Taurus

As a Taurus you tend to be fairly straightforward. With no time for BS, you charge straight at new situations and opportunities. Watch out this week, Taurus, as Mercury moves into your seventh house, you may find that some friend drama is on the horizon. Steer clear from the haters and you’ll find that happiness is all yours.

Gemini

Being a Gemini can be a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, your inquisitive nature drives you to ask questions and look at all sides of an argument. On the other hand, looking at too many perspectives tends to make you indecisive. Trust your instincts this week and try not to over-analyze what comes your way.

Cancer

Moody and introverted, Cancers are not usually ones to come out of their shells. However, with Mars moving into your second house this week, you will be feeling unusually social. With a pinch of luck, you may find that your prickly ways are about to change.

Leo

This lion is always the king. As a Leo, you are a perfectionist and always challenge yourself to be the best at whatever you do. However, you may find yourself facing some unexpected challenges this week as Uranus moves into your first house. Remain calm and don’t cause too much of an uproar and you will find yourself in the front of the pack.

Virgo

Shy and reserved, Virgos definitely aren’t made for trouble, but I sense that fear is holding you back. As your rising sign moves into the ninth house this week, don’t be afraid to take risks and remember that a little change never killed anyone. Actually, 2,500 lefties are killed each year trying to use power tools designed for right-handed individuals.

Take a risk, but not a big one.

Libra

Lately, you’ve been feeling distracted and groggy, which is unusual for you because Libras tend to be responsible and level-headed. Uranus is in your fifth house which means your mind is in the gutter. Wait this one out, Libra, and next week will turn out just fine!

Scorpio

Unlike their desert-dwelling spirit animals, Scorpios tend to be blunt. However, you can still leave a nasty sting. The antidote to this particular brand of poison is a whole-hearted apology. Pluto occupies your first house this week so now is a great time to just say that you’re sorry.

Sagittarius

It’s going to be a difficult week for the whole astrological menagerie, and you, Sagittarius, are no exception. It is written in the stars that a fight with a friend is on the rise, but don’t quiver and fret. With Neptune on the cusp of your fifth house, next week will bring better luck.

Capricorn

I’m going to be honest it’s going to be a bleak for you this week. With the moon in your fourth house, you’ll find yourself getting caught in random rainstorms and earning a record-breaking low score on your next quiz. But don’t let it get your goat, Capricorn! If you just stay strong, and… who am I kidding—just stay inside all week.

Aquarius

This week, the universe bears some good news. With Venus in your twelfth house, now is the time for this water sign to make some waves. Try something new by putting yourself out there and your water cup will overflow with new opportunities!

Pisces

This week is going to be insanity for you! Between classes, grades, and whatever you do in your free time, you may find that the current state of your life is filled with stress and worry. The stars say to take some time to bask in the waters of peace and serenity...or maybe just take a nap.

Feb. 3, 2016

Sports | 13

The Hawk

Isaiah Miles TOTAL POINTS SCORED each SEASON

727

MINUTES PLAYED

388 TOTAL CAREER REBOUNDS

in 2015-16

213 TOTAL REBOUNDS IN THE LAST THREE SEASONS

12-13

13-14

14-15

15-16

COMBINED

373 333 84 27

NICK MANDARANO ’18 Hawk Staff

Photo by Joey Toczylowski ’19

“Absolutely! That’s one of my dreams—playing professional basketball. I’ve been dreaming of that since day one. That’s been the goal.”

This was senior Isaiah Miles’ response when asked if he wants to play basketball professionally. Had he been asked the same question a year ago, it would have seemed silly.

Now, though, the dream has become a reality.

According to an independent NBA scout from EV Hoops, Miles playing in the NBA would likely be a stretch, but Miles has established himself as a viable NBA Development League (D-League) player.

Miles is averaging 17.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season, ranking among the top ten in the Atlantic 10 conference in both categories. He’s also within the top ten nationally in free throw percentage at 89.4 percent. The 6-7 senior’s outstanding season has made the possibility of a pro career all that much more real.

“Last year and the years before, it hasn’t really felt like a reality,” Miles said. “This year, it feels like something that could definitely happen because the agents are contacting me.

When you hear that scouts are coming to every game, like NBA scouts, you’re like, ‘Damn, this can really happen.’ It’s a possibility.”

Prior to the season, Hawks fans were wondering if it would be the last year of DeAndre’ Bembry in a St. Joe’s uniform. Fans knew the NBA was a strong possibility. Many games this season have featured scouts from NBA teams that came to see Bembry. Now, however, scouts come to see Miles play as well.

“It’s a great feeling. It’s definitely motivation to keep pushing, because you want to please those scouts,” Miles said. “I don’t really focus on myself individually as much when it comes to that. When you think, ‘Let me do this for the scout. Let me do that for the scout,’ you start playing out your game…If you just stay in your game and focus on winning for the team, it all falls into place.”

Miles acknowledges that he is a much more complete and active player now than he was just a year ago. After cutting Wendy’s fast food out of his life and dropping close to fifteen pounds, Miles says he feels more explosive on the court.

“Last year, it was live or die by the three,” Miles said. “I was just a stand and shoot guy and I didn’t want that to define my game. I feel like I can jump higher to get rebounds and I’m one step quicker.”

The improvements to his game were his decision and were motivated by his own desire to get better. He knew he needed to improve his game to become a better player.

Playing professionally can vary from the NBA, to the D-League, even to European leagues. It’s all professional basketball, and Miles isn’t picky.

“The NBA is definitely the number one goal,” Miles said. “I feel like I could be a good player in the NBA. The hybrid four [able to play power forward and other positions] is the new wave in the NBA, like [Golden State Warriors player] Draymond Green. I feel I can contribute somewhat to the NBA, but if I played overseas, that’d also be a dream. I want to just call myself a professional basketball player… I feel like that NBA opportunity will always be there as long as I continue to work hard no matter where I am, whether that’s D-League or whether that’s Europe.”

Playing the power forward position in the NBA at 6’7” could be difficult. In college basketball, that’s tall. In the NBA, that’s about average. San Antonio Spurs player Tim Duncan is a power forward and he’s almost 7’0” tall. That doesn’t faze Miles, though.

“I mean, it’s not going to be easy, but it can be possible,” Miles said. “There’s always something you can add to your game to overcome small stuff like that. I feel like 6’7” is a good height.”

The independent NBA scout believes Miles has shown he could possibly play the small forward position at the next level, rather than the power forward, and that it makes his stock rise. Miles said he could see himself playing the position, but he admitted he would have to work on certain things before he would feel confident enough to do so.

As Miles continues to find success and improve in his final collegiate season, he comes closer and closer to his dream of professional basketball.

14 | Sports

Feb. 3, 2016

The Hawk

Hawks Sink Explorers Women’s basketball beats La Salle NICK MANDARANO ’18 Hawk Staff

CIara Andrews, ’16, dribbles upcourt. (Photo by Joey Toczylowski ’19)

The Saint Joseph’s University women’s basketball team has experienced a challenging period in their season. After four consecutive losses, the Hawks saw themselves down by 13 points at halftime on Saturday, Jan. 30 against La Salle University.

It was a rough start to the game.

The Explorers dominated the first half, leading for all but almost three minutes. By halftime, the Hawks trailed 37-24 and were immensely struggling offensively. They had hit just six shots in the first 20 minutes of the game, and were shooting only 25 percent from the floor with already 10 turnovers. La Salle, on the other hand, was shooting almost 50 percent and had made 17 field goals. Sophomore Explorer guard Amy Griffin alone had hit more shots than the entire Hawks team.

Then came the big halftime adjustment.

St. Joe’s opened up the third quarter in a press defense and immediately caused havoc. Between throwing the ball away and traveling, La Salle turned the ball over ten times in the third quarter. The Hawks’ persistent defense, led by a tenacious Chelsea Woods, more than rattled the Explorers.

Woods, a sophomore, completely took over the third quarter with active,

hands-on defense and an aggression towards the basket on offense. Several times, she was able to find a path to the basket on back cuts along the baseline and finish strong.

“I was just looking for gaps,” Woods said. “My main focus was finishing, drawing the fouls and finishing.

We ran the same play over and it just worked every time.”

Her third quarter stat-line consisted of 11 points and three steals, but she provided so much more than that—she provided a spark of hope.

With just over two minutes to go in the third quarter, freshman Alyssa Monaghan drained a three-pointer from the right wing and cut the deficit to one point, and Hagan Arena erupted. It was the first and only made three-pointer for the Hawks. La Salle junior Deja Bullock had a fast break layup on the next possession and missed, publicly announcing the level of nervousness St. Joe’s had quickly instilled into the Explorers.

With a minute and a half left in the third quarter, Fairbanks caught the ball on the right block and used a drop step and a spin move to drop the ball into the basket and tie the game at 44 apiece.

Senior Ciara Andrews, then with just seconds remaining, was fouled on the dribble and went to the line to shoot two free throws. After sinking

both shots, the Hawks had their first lead since 2-0. The Hawks outscored the Explorers 22-7 in the third quarter, erasing a 13-point deficit, and turning it into a 2-point lead.

The momentum and the lead belonged to the Hawks by the fourth quarter, and they defiantly refused to let either go. A post move from Fairbanks gave the Hawks a seven-point cushion with a minute to go and the excitement of victory began to fill the arena. Some last-minute free throws added onto the lead and Saint Joseph’s walked away victors with a final score of 64-55.

Head coach Cindy Griffin called it a great comeback.

“Our kids really bought into what we were trying to do in the second half to get some easier baskets,” Griffin said.

“We were able to put some pressure on La Salle and cause them to turn the ball over, and we scored off of their turnovers. We were very calm at halftime.”

After the consecutive losses that had the team endured, a victory felt needed and very much possible.

“We were just hungry for a win,” Woods said. “We were just ready to finally win after a long…long, long stretch. I feel like we all fed off each other’s energy and that’s what pushed us.”

The Hawks will play at George Mason on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m.

Hawks take the court Men’s basketball wins against Rhode Island CHRISTY SELAGY, M.A., ’17 Sports Editor

Shavar Newkirk, ’18, looks for an open pass. (Photo by Joey Toczylowski ’19)

The Saint Joseph’s University men’s basketball team won their game against the University of Rhode Island on Saturday, Jan. 30 with a final score of 64-55.

“I put on the board [before the game]… this would be a toughness test,” St. Joe’s head coach Phil Martelli said. “The noise, the intensity with which they play—they play off of their head coach… We passed the toughness test.”

The Hawks (18-3, 7-1 A-10) fell behind at the beginning of the game when the Rams (12-9, 4-4 A-10) scored the first four points of the game. However, the Ram’s lead didn’t last for long, as the Hawks went on a 7-0 run started by freshman Pierfrancesco Oliva.

With 10:05 left to play in the half, Rhode Island junior Kuran Iverson tied the game at 11 points. The knotted score provided the Hawks a push in the right direction, and a 9-0

run spearheaded by graduate student Papa Ndao put the Hawks in the lead.

In that run, Ndao hit a threepoint shot—the only three-pointer of the entire game for the Hawks.

The Hawks went 1-15 in three-point shots on the night.

Martelli wasn’t too happy with the way certain aspects of the game played out, although he appreciated the win and did see a few positive aspects.

“We made one three-point shot, so we have a ways to go, but we did a really nice job defensively on really everybody,” Martelli said.

The Hawks increased their lead to double-digits on a layup from junior DeAndre’ Bembry with 5:06 remaining in the half.

The Hawks’ lead was cut back to single digits early in the second half after Rhode Island sophomore Jarvis Garrett scored the first five points of the half. The Hawks retaliated with an 18-4 run that featured eight points from senior Isaiah Miles, who scored a total of 17 points in the game while grabbing eight rebounds.

The Rams continued to fight, though, and cut the lead to single digits five times in the last four and a half minutes of play. A layup from Rhode Island with six seconds remaining sealed the final score.

As Martelli told the team before the game, the match would test their endurance. Martelli said there were areas of the team’s playing that needed to be improved, especially for the later part of the season.

“Again, this was a toughness test, which we passed,” Martelli said. “The basketball we did not pass. That’s not the level of basketball that we’re going to need at the back end of the season.”

Bembry scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the game, good for his eighth double-double of the season. Sophomore Shavar Newkirk had 12 points, including six free throws in as many attempts.

The Hawks will travel to the Bronx on Saturday, Feb. 6 to take on their Atlantic 10 and Jesuit university rival Fordham University.

Feb. 3, 2016

The Hawk

Sports | 15

Water polo swims upstream St. Joe’s club sport dives in head first CHRISTY SELAGY, M.A., ’17 Sports Editor

In fall 2013, Chris Belletieri and Kevin Shaloo decided to join a club sport, one neither of them had ever played before: water polo.

Belletieri, now a junior at Saint Joseph’s University, decided to join the team at the suggestion of his friend Matt Sibona, who is now a team captain and also a current junior.

“He was telling me I should come out and try for it,” Belletieri said. “I gave it a try and [have] stuck with it ever since.”

Prior to joining the water polo team, Belletieri didn’t have a background in swimming, though he had been a part of the crew team in high school.

Unlike Belletieri, Shaloo, who is also a junior, had been swimming since he was six years old. Shaloo and his roommate—who was also his high school swimming teammate—went to the activities fair their freshman year in hopes of finding a club to join.

It was there that they met the captains of the water polo team.

“We didn’t have that much interest in club swimming because it was kind of a small team, and we had been swimming for so long it would have been a big difference between the teams,” Shaloo said. “Water

polo seemed like an interesting sport. I rode crew in high school as well, so it was nice to play a game as opposed to doing a race kind of deal.”

The St. Joe’s club water polo team was founded in 2009 by a group of high school friends who had played water polo in the past and wanted to continue playing in college, according to Sibona.

According to Belletieri and Shaloo, the team has greatly improved since their freshman year, due in part to their practice schedule. The group practices in the O’Pake Recreation Center pool four or five times a week, depending on the season.

“This past fall was our best season yet,” said Sibona, who is studying abroad in Auckland, New Zealand this semester, in an email. “In this year’s playoffs we entered two games above .500 and went 3-1 in the tournament to place third overall. The best feeling about that was beating Bucknell [University] who was seeded first place and Bloomsburg [University], two teams who had beaten us in the regular season…We made the season mean something when it needed to.”

The practices are an important part of keeping the team in shape and training for

their games.

“It’s a lot of work,” Belletieri said. “[It’s] a lot of swimming; a lot of treading. It’s a lot of endurance-based [things].”

Although people may be unfamiliar with water polo as a sport, Shaloo related it to a few other sports in order to better explain the game. “[Water polo] is pretty much handball in the water,” Shaloo said. “You’re not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool.

You’re only allowed to use one hand at a time on the ball… There are seven players in the pool at a time: one goalie and then six offensive and defensive players. It’s kind of like basketball in the way that offense also plays defense, and defense also plays offense.”

Belletieri and Shaloo recalled that the team didn’t play too well during their freshman year. The team’s attitude and determination have changed over the past few years, though, forming a team that has been able to make quite a splash. Last year, the team placed third in the Mid-Atlantic Championships.

Belletieri also noted that, in the past, other teams didn’t see St. Joe’s as much of a threat. Now, however, the team is seen as a more challenging opponent, not just an easy

win for the opposing school.

“I would say there was a big dynamic shift from just doing it all for leisure and some exercise and just getting some guys together who enjoy the sport, to more of a competitive aspect with the attitude in mind that we’re going to go and try to win,” Shaloo said.

Belletieri and Shaloo also see the team’s dynamic as a large part of the reason why they have been more successful in recent years. Many of the players live together in the townhouses, which Shaloo believes has been a positive bonding experience for the team.

The team also has a good balance between being serious and having fun, according to Belletieri and Shaloo.

“I feel like we’re laid back, we’re good with each other, but when we know when it’s time to get serious, and actually put your nose down and get to work, we do get to work,” Belletieri said. “We’re also all pretty goofy with each other. We all like each other. We’re a giant family, I think… We have a really good group of kids.”

The team will play their games this semester on Sundays at Villanova University.

Photos by Dylan Eddinger ’19

16 | Sports

Feb. 3, 2016

The Hawk

‘On the right track’

Men’s and women’s track and field excel at Penn State

CHRISTY SELAGY, M.A., ’17 Sports Editor The Saint Joseph’s University men’s and women’s track and field teams had impressive weekends at the Penn State National Invitational on Friday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30. The two teams combined for 10 IC4A and ECAC Championship-qualifying times, in addition to a number of personal records for other athletes.

Junior Torey Doaty led the men’s team, which earned eight IC4A-qualifying performances. Doaty placed first in the 500m invitational with a time of 1:02.94, which matched his personal best.

Men’s head coach Mike Glavin had nothing but the highest praise for Doaty on and off the track.

“Torey’s a great athlete,” Glavin said.

“He’s a better person than he is an athlete.

Not just a good guy, because he is that, but an all-around encompassing person. He’s your magis.”

Doaty was part of the 4x400m relay team that not only qualified for the IC4As, but also broke a school record. Sophomore David Henderson, senior Chris Banks, junior Doaty, and senior Alec Peabody broke the Hawks’ 4x400m relay record with a time of 3:11.12, 0.10 seconds faster than the record set the previous year. The relay ranks 25th nationally as of Saturday night, according to a press release from SJU Athletics.

One of the keys to the success of the 4x400 this season has been the five runners who comprise the relay, according to Glavin.

“We have five guys that we can interchange,” Glavin said. “Last week, we hit 3:13.85, and I think it was Chris Banks who was not on that relay and [junior] Eddison Gulama was. We have five really high level 400 meter runners who can all work… If you’ve got one or two fast ones, that’s one thing. When you’ve got five who can be on the relay, there’s a very friendly competitiveness there.”

Other IC4A-qualifying performances came in the 200m from Peabody; the 400m from Henderson; the Distance Medley Relay from freshman Dylan Eddinger, junior Gulama, sophomore Steve Thompson, and senior Quinn Davis; the 800m from Thompson and Eddinger; and the 3,000m invitational from Davis.

“Everyone had a really good meet,”

Doaty said. “There were a lot of people who ran PRs… everything’s just coming together really well, and everyone -all their training is coming together. It’s looking good for a good season at the A-10 [Championships], which is in a couple weeks.”

Glavin was pleased with how the team performed, and he saw their success as an indicator of more to come, especially in regards to the Atlantic 10 Championships and the IC4As. “Whenever that many guys run that usefully [to qualify for the IC4As]… Things are really on the right track,” Glavin said.

“To say the least, I was happy for them.”

The women’s team also had a successful weekend at the meet. Sophomore Claudine Andre and freshman Nathaniela Bordeau both qualified for the ECACs in the high jump and 200m, respectively.

According to women’s head coach Melody O’Reilly, both Andre and Bordeau have “an incredible work ethic,” which has been a key factor in their success.

Andre set a new collegiate-best with a high jump performance of 1.73m. Bordeau also set new collegiate bests, in both the 200m with a time of 25.04 and in the 60m with a time of 7.75.

Bordeau said her main focus when she competes is to run her hardest and pass anyone in front of her, without really thinking about any specific qualifications.

“I was just really happy [to qualify for the ECACs], because when I go to a race, I don’t really think about it- I just give it my all,” Bordeau said. “So knowing that my all pays off, it just feels good.”

O’Reilly was also impressed by the team’s other performances, especially in the events that set new personal bests for the athletes.

“We have a really great group of young women, and they’re all working really hard,” O’Reilly said. “Everybody is just kind of hitting that point in the season where we’re all starting to see breakthrough performances. I know for a fact I had four on my side of it that had four personal bests yesterday [Jan. 30 I have others who are still waiting for that breakthrough, but overall, as a team, they’re working really, really hard.”

Both the men’s team and the women’s team will head to the Geigengack Invitational at Yale University on Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 6.

Photos by Dylan Eddinger ’19

SJU Students - Want the chance to win $10,000?

Every student in attendance at the men’s basketball game on Wednesday, February 3rd will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to compete for $10,000 at the February 28th game vs. Saint Louis Come show your support for the 18-3 Hawks against St. Bonaventure!

The Hawk Will Never Die