The Independent Collegian, 91st year, Issue 28

Sports, B4

Arts & Life, B1

Rockets drop first nine games; Page making his mark as one of nation’s best.

A decisive decade; And bands perform diverse selection at concert.

Independent Collegian IC The

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Serving the University of Toledo since 1919

www.IndependentCollegian.com 91st year Issue 28

Classes and programs could be cut for FY 2012 Grim financial outlook might mean cuts to programs and majors, according to university administrators

By Randiah Green News Editor

President for Equity and Diversity Larry Burns.

The University of Toledo may be offering fewer courses and majors for students in 2012.

In order to balance its fiscal year 2012 budget, UT is looking at cutting some majors that have “less students interested” in them according to Vice President for External Affairs and Interim Vice

Balancing the budget

“

UT may be looking at having to reduce its total budget by 20 percent for fiscal year 2012, which starts in June, since state funding is expected to greatly decrease.

“In the past, we’ve looked at some reductions of five percent, seven percent and at the

highest, 10 percent,” Burns said. “Worst case scenario, we will have to look at a 20 percent reduction.”

Burns said cutting certain courses and programs is something that must be explored to help balance UT’s budget.

“In tough budget times, you have to realize that you can’t have quite as many offerings,” he said. “If indeed you’re looking at a 20 percent reduction,

if that is what your worst case scenario is, then that would lead to academic programs being looked at more closely. You can’t continue to cut in utilities and maintenance, because we’ve done a lot of that over the

We’re nowhere near where we need to be...

We need to keep fighting for students and we need to keep trying to do the right thing.

”

By Vincent D. Scebbi Features Editor

With the end of the fall semester upon the university, Student Government President and Vice President Matt Rubin and Jordan Maddocks sat with the Independent Collegian on

UT receives NASA funding Jaimee Hilton IC Staff Writer

Nick Kneer / IC

SG President Matt Rubin pictured above after the “Lights on the Mall” event last night.

Tuesday to reflect on their platforms and what has been done to uphold promises made to voters.

Platforms such as a more bike-friendly campus and increasing SG’s presence on campus were some of the pacts made to UT students last spring.

“To me, that is the most important thing, that we can get our name out there and students can feel they have a connection,” Rubin said in an interview on Aug. 28. “If they need anything, I’m not some dude in a suit.

I’m somebody willing to be out there.”

IC

— Changes, Page A2

SG’s subtle progress

Matt Rubin President, UT Student Government

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Rubin said he and Maddocks have been “trying to go outside the box,” and the responses they’ve heard from students have been mostly positive.

Any student attending an array of events or meetings — SG, Page A7

The University of Toledo received a $377,000 grant from NASA to use over a three-year period for Global Climate Change education programs.

UT received the grant from NASA to develop modules on the internet for K through 12 students. To receive the grant, a group of about 10 faculty members put together a 75-page proposal, which was then sent to NASA. UT’s proposal ranked 17 out of 130 proposals sent to NASA for the grant.

“The goal of the modules is to address many of the misconceptions that people have about global warming and climate change,” said Kevin Czajkowski, professor of geography at UT. Misconceptions such as the “ozone hole” being responsible for global warming, weather events like snowstorms and cold spells disproving global climate change, global climate change having no impact on people or nature, greenhouse gases harming the economy and costing jobs, and individuals

not being able to make a difference are some of the notions Czajkowski said the program aims to dispel.

“It’s not a class,” Czajkowski said.

The program uses modules on a computer so that students can take part in the program online.

Czajkowski has been assigned the task of creating five different online modules, or lesson plans for the climate change classes.

A student starts out by taking a pre-test, and then the modules are based on about four to six class periods, with a teacher section included.

After students complete the program, students are given a post test and are awarded a certificate.

The benefit of these modules is that they are free programs that provide new ways of teaching climate change concepts, Czajkowski said.

According to David Nemeth, professor of geography and planning, “the grant explores the extent to which classroom science education on the climate change topic might benefit [students] by — NASA, Page A2

Deans approved for new colleges UT awaits full board vote after Monday’s meeting and decision

By IC Staff

New deans for the three colleges created from the pre-existing College of Arts and Sciences have been announced.

Members of the Board of Trustees Academic and Student Affairs Committee unanimously approved all three of the candidates up for consideration at their Monday meeting.

Debra Davis, professor and chair of the Department of Art, will become the dean for the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Alice Skeens, associate professor of psychology, will become dean of the College of Language, Literature and So-

cial Science.

Distinguished University Professor Karen Bjorkman, professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, will serve as dean for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Each dean has a two-year agreement.

Though the appointments became effective on Monday, salaries have yet to be adjusted and existing contracts for the three persons will not be ratified until January.

The full BOT will either approve or disapprove the appointments at their Jan. 24 meeting.

Committees consisting of faculty from the departments — Deans, Page A2

Nick Kneer/ IC

Lighting up the Mall Students gathered for the “Lights on the Mall” event, which included Christmas caroling and free hot chocolate on Centennial Mall. The event ran from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and was sponsored by Student Government, the Office of External Affairs and the Office of Dean of Students.

A2 Police Blotter The following events occurred between Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. Anyone with information regarding these events should contact UT Police at 419-530-2600.

Theft from motor vehicle

On Dec. 1, a police officer was dispatched to parking lot 27B to take a theft from motor vehicle report. The victim stated her University of Toledo “D” parking permit was stolen from her vehicle. The parking pass was valued at $125.

On Dec.1, a police officer was dispatched to parking lot 01 North to take a theft from motor vehicle report. The victim stated his driver’s side window was broken and his mounted GPS unit had been stolen from the vehicle. The GPS was valued at $300.

On Dec. 2, a police officer was dispatched to the East Parking Ramp to take a theft from motor vehicle report.

The victim stated he left his vehicle unlocked, and upon returning noticed his University of Toledo “C” parking pass, $2 in change from his ashtray, and various school supplies had been stolen from the vehicle. The total value of the stolen property was $130.

Theft

On Dec. 1, a police officer was dispatched to Carter Hall West to take a theft report. The victim stated he used his dorm key to enter his room when his hands were full of groceries so he could not immediately retrieve the key from the lock.

The victim shut the door and forgot about the key until he heard a noise outside his room.

When he opened the door to retrieve the key, it was gone.

On Dec. 1, a police officer was dispatched to the Student Union Building to take a theft report. The victim reported she was sitting in the south dining hall with her wallet sitting on the floor inside her book bag. The victim noticed the wallet had been stolen from her bag a short time later.

The

Independent Collegian

Changes From Page A1 past few years. There’s only so many ways you can reduce your budget without starting to reduce the number of academic offerings.”

Burns said this may also lead to UT having fewer faculty members, which will also help with UT’s budgetary troubles.

“We have a fair amount of part-time faculty members who are paid to teach classes,” he said. “If you have fewer classes and don’t need as many part-time faculty members, that would be an example of how funds might be saved.”

Classes that have small numbers of students enrolled, Burns said, may be cut or combined with other classes.

“This semester I had to teach a class that had 10 students,” he said. “If the class remains that small maybe they say, ‘well instead of having two public relations classes of this nature, let’s combine them so we have 25 students together in just one class,’ which will only need one part-time faculty, so we won’t need the other faculty member.”

Smaller classes could also be offered less frequently, Burns said.

Although some smaller classes may have students who are interested and dedicated to a particular subject, Burns said UT has to consider whether it can “afford to offer small groups of interested students classes.”

Burns said he does not

On Dec. 1, a police officer was dispatched to the Student Union Building to take a theft report. The victim stated he was carrying a Cannon Rebel XT digital camera in the Student Union and believes he may have set it down beside his table. The camera was the property of the Communication Department. The victim is unsure whether the camera was taken while he was sitting next to it, or if he forgot about the camera and walked away without it. The camera was valued at $700.

believe eliminating majors or decreasing the number of courses UT offers will negatively affect enrollment due to UT’s enrollment strategy to only recruit the most prepared students to UT.

companies to come in and examine all departments, looking for “alignments and redundancies” in their curricula.

When asked by a Faculty Senate member at the Nov. 30 meeting why an outside firm would be necessary to help suggest budgetary solutions, Jacobs said, “outside brains never hurt, Bringing in for heaven’s ‘outside sake.”

There’s only so brains’ Burns said he Two conmany ways you suspects UT will sulting comnot use a conpanies, Bos- can reduce your budget sulting firm to ton Consult- without starting to re- help them find ing Group duce the number of ac- ways to balance and Alixademic offerings. the FY12 budget Partners, because it were asked would be too to come and Larry Burns costly. provide UT Vice President, The proposal External Affairs with possisubmitted by ble proposBoston Consultals to help reduce the ing Group would have cost UT budget. $1.9 million in estimated fees In a letter to the compajust to utilize the company’s nies, Jacobs said UT would like to “evaluate our num- services.

UT decided not to sign an ber of departments against agreement with Boston Consultits current level” and “reing Group. duce the total number of If UT were to cut major procourses offered, and we grams for FY12, Burns said stumay wish to reduce the number of programs and dents enrolled in those majors offered at the University of Toledo. It is our purpose to measurably produce cost savings as well as From Page A1 to continue the elevation of stature that we seek.” incorporating productive social At the Faculty Senate’s science, and even humanities, last meeting on Nov. 30, Jaapproaches and pedagogies.” cobs said he asked these The modules use NASA data and models to foster critical thinking for students, Nemeth said.

The modules are put together From Page A1 by a group of people in a variety that represent each colof professions, including physilege were formed to recal scientists, geographers, enview candidates for the vironmental scientists and engidean positions three neers, among several others.

“The climate change debate weeks ago. today has become a battlefield The committees conof storytellers. All the storytellducted interviews with ers are making truth claims each candidate last week about climate change and misand submitted a list of conceptions generated by these “unranked names” to conflicting stories confuse the Main Campus Provost public — for example, students Bill McMillen last and their parents — about Friday. which stories are more or less McMillen then fortrue,” Nemeth said. “NASA has warded his recommena tremendous database that dations to UT President can be mined to generate the Lloyd Jacobs, who apbest knowledge available about proved them, and Vice climate change.”

President for Human Re“I’d say UT and NASA are sources and Campus working pretty close together, a Safety Bill Logie presentlot closer than most programs,” ed the names to the BOT Czajkowski said. committee.

“

”

NASA

Deans

Thursday, December 9, 2010 programs would still be able to obtain their degrees, but UT would not recruit any incoming students into the program.

Burns said it is undecided what majors, if any, will be cut but it is something that is part of the “thought process” as budget season approaches.

“Any time we would remove majors, it would be wellthought-out and discussed,” he said. “But it would certainly be part of the thought process.”

Chair of the Faculty Senate Mary Powers said she, along with a list of others, met with Jacobs last week to discuss the proposals and the possibility of bringing in a consulting firm.

“At the meeting Wednesday morning, there was discussion about the issue of sorting through the more than one hundred departments, seeking synergies, possible redundancies and alignment with the colleges in which they exist,” Powers said.

She said the Faculty Senate is in the process of forming a committee to review the 100 departments at UT. The committee will contain members of the Senate from each college.

“We participate in a monthly webinar, which is where all the grant recipients share information.”

Czajkowski said UT has a lot of freedom in how to go about working on the project.

“In sum, the goal of our NASA-funded program is to use NASA data to strengthen teaching and learning about global climate change,” Nemeth said. “My role in the program is to suggest innovative ways to empower teachers and students and parents

Quick Facts: The budget  The budget for FY11 brought a 3.5 increase in tuition and increases in general fees for graduate and undergraduate students, general fees, meal plan and housing costs.  A 3.5 increase in tuition for FY12 would generate $10 million for UT, which would only cover a quarter of the budget deficit.

Currently, no plans to increase tuition have been discussed.

to actively and systematically reduce the noise in climate change classroom debates in order to focus their scientific studies on the most credible truth claims.”

Czajkowski and Nemeth both said, by using applications of counterfactual thinking in the classroom, science education can be stimulated, especially on the subject of climate change.

The models for the online classes are to be complete within three years.

One hot decade

This decade is likely to be the hottest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization; global mean land-ocean temperature index compared to the average from 1951 to 1980: (0 C = 32 F) 0.700 C

Warmer

0.475 0.250 Average

-0.200

Cooler 1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

Source: Goddard Institute for Space Studies (U.S.), NASA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, World Meteorological Organization, Contra Costa Times Graphic: Pat Carr

2000 © 2009 MCT

A3

The

Independent Collegian

Thursday, December 9, 2010

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Extended

Forecast

Phone in your order to Rachel Rabb at 419-534-2438.

Fax in your order to 419-534-2884.

E-mail in your order to Classifieds@IndependentCollegian.com.

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Read your ad on the first day of publication. We accept responsibility only for the first incorrect insertion. If you cannot find your ad on the first day it is running, call us immediately.

Adjustments will be limited to the cost of the first insertion.

Help Wanted

Help Wanted

BARTENDERS WANTED! Make up to $300/day. No experience necessary. Training available. 800-965-6520 ext.

224

guest-oriented, and friendly demeanor. Apply in person at Stone Oak Country Club 100 Stone Oak Blvd. Holland, OH.

A.V. assistance needed in assistant living facility 2-4 hours a week $10.00 per hour Call for details: 419-699-0415 Special Education, Social Work and Psychology Majors: ·PT positions $8.25hr ·18+, high school diploma or GED, valid drivers license, auto insurance, clean driving record & criminal background check ·Afternoon/Evening and weekend availability required ·Working in residential setting with adults with Developmental Disabilities ·Assistance with participation in community outings, meal preparation, medical appointments, home maintenance, etc. ·Interested applicants please contact Jenny Huesman at 419255-6060, ext. 106 HOLIDAY HELP $14.25 base-appt.,flexible hours, work PT around classes and FT over break, may work locally or at home, customer sales/service, positions filling fast so call 419-7407299 ASAP! 2 Positions Needed Light Housekeeping. Flexible Hours. Salary negotiable. Good Typist Needed 6hrs a week. Serious Inquires Only.

Please call or leave message if necessary at 419-531-7283.

CHURCH ORGANIST NEEDED Apostolic/Pentecostal church is seeking an organist to play for Sunday morning services. Interested candidates please call 419.376.2331

Pino Holly Wealth Management Group (A division of Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network) Sales Assistant -- Part Time Position Located on Airport Highway in Holland, OH IMMEDIATE START! Duties Include: --Office Administration --Presentation Preparation --Client Contact --Prospect Contact Helpful Skills: --Typing Skills --Computer and Microsoft Knowledge Hours: Flextime -- 10-15 hrs. per week (M-F -1-8pm) Phone: 419-861-9838 Attn: Sandy E-mail Resume to: sdemascio@wfafinet.com NOW HIRING, POSITIVE MOTIVATED PERSONS! Wait Staff, Bartenders, for the Food & Beverage team. Full or Part Time Positions available. Requirements include basic knowledge of the food and beverage service. Need to work well in a team environment. Candidate must demonstrate an outgoing,

Ottawa Hills couple seeks experienced childcare for children ages 12, 10 and 6. Some light household duties required. 10-20 flexible hours per week (including weekends).

Must have car and relevant references. Competitive pay. 419 5364995.

Baby sitter wanted starting ASAP, day time hours. Local family. CPR & First Aid Required. Please call Julie at 419-215-3828 Child Development Centers.

Internships are available with U.S. Military Child Development Centers in Germany, Italy, England, Belgium and the U.S. (Florida, and Hawaii). Beginning January 2011 and ending May 2011. Related college coursework and experience required. Airfare and housing are paid and a living stipend provided. Interns receive 12 hrs of college credit (graduate or undergraduate). Make a Difference! University of Northern Iowa, College of Education, School of HPELS. Email Susan Edginton at internships@campadventure.com for more information. Please put INTERNSHIP UT/CA in the subject line of your em ail Need A Job? Work Out-ofDoors. Dependable, Honest, Energetic, Pride in Work; Good Attitude. Flexible Hours, Beautiful Yard. 419-535-0132 Need after school babysitter near campus. Call Jeff at 419245-1038.

LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCED TYPIST. 6-8 HOURS PER WEEK. EVENINGS. SALARY NEGOTIABLE. CALL 419-5317283.

Part-time work for a Computer major needed. Hours are 12 or 1 pm - 5:30 or 6 pm on Tuesdays. Contact Aryana at (419) 320-2317 if interested.

CHURCH ORGANIST NEEDED Apostolic/Pentecostal church is seeking an organist to play for Sunday morning services. Interested candidates please call 419.376.2331 Baby sitter wanted starting ASAP, day time hours. Local family. CPR & First Aid Required. Please call Julie at 419215-3828 Ottawa Hill’s mom, with 4 kids ages 9-15, seeking afternoon help with driving, laundry, cooking and errands. Must be mature and reliable. Must have own car and excellent driving record.

Please call 419-5376949 if interested.

NBC24.com

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For Rent Holland , OH $300/mo. 11x12 bedroom & full private bath, non-smoking female only, includes utilities & kitchen access (419)-410-4241 VERY NICE THREE AND FOUR BEDROOMS HOUSES behind Engineering and off Dorr. Rents average $270/person/month. Call or TEXT (419) 810-1851 or visit www. dryfuse-properties.com

For Rent 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 Bedroom Homes, 2&3 Baths, all appliances including washer & dryer, security systems, free lawn care, plenty of parking, less than 1/2 mile from campus, some within walking distance. Call Rick at 419-2838507! www.universityproperties.net

Thursday

Low

22

35

Saturday

High

High

High

27

Friday

Low

26

36

Sunday

High Low

27

31

Low

12

Weather courtesy of Chief Meteorologist Norm Van Ness at NBC24.com

 Sudoku

Spacious Single Bedroom basement apartment.

Washer,Dryer,Cable,WiFi,Garage all Utilities included. $550.00 monthly. 2 miles from Campus in Ottawa Hills 419.343.8110.

Single Family Home with separate living quarters for rent. Private bath , laundry utilities included. $400.00 per month. 419-729-1499 Two bedroom, two bath condo. Cheltenham central area. Very quiet building. All utilities included $750 per month. Carriage House West 419-349-6375 $500 short term lease, 4 bedrooms, 2 bath, game room, AC, fenced in backyard, all appliances included www.utrentals.net Shawn 419-2904098 Holland , OH $300/mo. 11x12 bedroom & full private bath, non-smoking female only, includes utilities & kitchen access (419)-410-4241 VERY NICE THREE AND FOUR BEDROOMS HOUSES behind Engineering and off Dorr. Rents average $270/person/month. Call or TEXT (419) 810-1851 or visit www.dryfuseproperties.com

For Sale OLD ORCHARD HOME FOR SALE...2921 Barrington Drive.

Neighborhood in walking distance to UT. This beautiful 4 bedroom, 2 full bath home with everything updated has been reduced to sell. It also has nice landscaping, great fenced in yard with a 2 card garage.

This location is close to all the amenities that Criket West and Westgate have to offer, which enhances this university location and mustsee home. Call Aaron Wozniak of Pathway Real Estate Company @ 419-304-7995

Service RYDER SELF STORAGEFall Special - 10’x 20’ 1st Mo. Free withYour 3 Month Rental* -- Promo Code = UTIC SECURE - PRIVATE - CLEAN - ECONOMICAL -ACCESS CONTROL. Call us 1st for your self-storage needs!!419-699-9625. 1 mile from Campus. Office Hours: Mon Fri. 10a to 6p. Sat 10a to 2p Sun Closed

Solution

Instructions

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.

For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit Sudoku.org.uk.

© 2009 Michael Mepham. Distributed by Tribune Media Services.

All rights reserved.

Forum

A4

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Elizabeth Majoy Business Manager

Hasan Dudar Editor in Chief Jason Mack Managing Editor

Ethan Keating Forum Editor

- in our opinion -

Crucial compromise The tax reform compromise reached between Congressional Democrats and Republicans has been met with mixed reactions. The current proposal will extend the Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans, cut payroll taxes by two percent and set unemployment benefits to last 13 months, among other things. Both sides have had to sacrifice some long-held positions in order to create this badly-needed compromise. The plan provides a workable solution to the massive economic problems we face, but the nature of the debate shows that wealthy interests still hold considerable sway over public policy.

In many ways, this tax deal amounts to a second economic stimulus program under a different name. As it reads now, the current proposal stands to add about $900 billion to the national debt — even more than Obama’s highly criticized economic stimulus bill, which cost about $814 billion.

Despite doubts about the new plan’s cost and impact, it carries great potential to inspire consumer spending and spur job growth. By lowering the payroll tax and maintaining current tax levels for all Americans, it aims to rejuvenate the economy and decrease unemployment at the expense of the national debt.

Republican leaders such as Sen. Mitch McConnell and Speaker-to-be John Boehner will have an interesting time explaining to the swelling Tea Party base, which campaigned overwhelmingly against increased government spending, why the new tax arrangements call for the addition of roughly

$900 billion to the nation’s debt.

The Bush-era tax cuts have been in place for nearly a decade. If the easing of taxes on the wealthiest two percent of Americans was meant to increase private sector investment and spur job creation, we should be witnessing concrete results. Where is the trickled-down wealth that was supposed to help raise middle-class Americans?

The gap between the wealthy few and the majority of citizens has only expanded. At what point will we stop making excuses for the sake of compromise and truly challenge this untenable rich-poor paradigm?

Nonetheless, even an unbalanced compromise is better than entering the new year with continuing gridlock. The last thing our economy needs right now is uncertainty and doubt. Business owners and average consumers alike have been discouraged and afraid to make plans for next year without knowing what tax rates they will be assessed and what exemptions they can use. Seeing a definite plan materialize allows citizens to make financial decisions and plan for the coming year.

Despite its continuance of ineffective trickle-down policy, the tax compromise shows that even a dramatically divided Congress can accomplish real work when the public needs it. Both parties and many sectors of the economy can find parts of the plan they like, as it fuses key elements of the two agendas, while keeping the discussion open for alternative solutions.

Student Government should be more active in academic and administrative affairs Our Student Government has made several notable achievements this year and its members deserve praise for their work. School spirit has seen a revival since recent years. Fun and successful events have provided entertainment and social experiences, and the new campus bicycle facilities offer students more transportation options while increasing the safety of non-driving commuters. While SG’s actions have provided tangible benefits for the community, it would be nice to see them tackling issues with a more serious impact on the university and its future.

The social appearances may be necessary for our young representatives, but it would be nice to see the huge potential energy of SG channeled to academic and administrative issues.

School spirit, comfort and access to campus are important, but the organization of UT’s colleges and curricula have significantly more impact on students’ futures.

An incredible amount of drive and enthusiasm were brought to bear to initiate this year’s new programs. We would like to see this energy directed toward the academic restructuring process that has unfolded over the

last year. The combination of general student apathy and the administration’s lack of effective communication about the restructuring has resulted in a massive lack of student awareness about an issue that will have tremendous impact on students.

Since the administration failed to adequately invite students to participate in the decision-making process, SG should have done so. After all, what purpose does SG serve other than to act as a mediator between students and administration, ensuring active and productive communication between the two? Pressure from SG might have induced the administration to open up to students more; conversely, SG could have spread awareness to students and encouraged them to petition the administration on their own accord.

Small achievements and social appearances are nice, but SG has the power and responsibility to effect real change. Students are the largest and most important group on campus. Our representative body should reflect this by raising awareness and bringing student’s voices to the table in important matters such as the current restructuring.

- in Your opinion -

Fond UT reflections As I sat in my Feature Writing class last Monday presenting my final assignment on the experiences of veiled women in the world, one girl asked about my hair, which is hidden under my scarf. Yes, believe it or not, I am not bald!

Reem Subei I told the girl that I could show it to her. So after class was concluded, and it was only me and my female classmates in the room, I unwrapped my scarf to reveal my hair. Apparently, they were all wondering about it but never worked up the courage to ask for fear that they would offend me.

Little did they know that I had been waiting for them to ask, but never had the courage to discuss the matter without being asked. This incident was one of the most memorable experiences of my undergraduate years.

I am now writing my last column as an undergraduate.

It is with great pride and pleasure that I call myself a graduate of the University of Toledo. I am deeply grateful to every person who had even the smallest hand in my being where I am now.

Over the course of three years, I have been lucky enough to sit in those cozy, warm classes of our campus. I enjoyed the lectures of some of the world’s greatest professors, some of which I believe spent a long time before every class period jotting down the most difficult, complex words in the English dictionary with which to baffle us poor students.

There were professors who did not do the job

exactly the way I wanted them to, but when I forced my brain to listen to what they were saying, it was not too bad. Every professor, like us students, has her or his story and if you give them the chance to tell it, there is much to learn. In the process, you will have made a new friend who has years of knowledge over you — not to mention getting an A in the course!

I have noticed that many students create a wall between themselves and the professors, and I’m glad I was not one of those students. Take it from me: nev-

“

I am deeply grateful to every person who had even the smallest hand in my being where I am now.

”

er keep a distance between you and your professor.

They really are there because they care. They want to give you a piece of their brain and they want you to succeed, not only in their class but in life, too. I won’t say “real life” because I’m pretty sure we all know college life isn’t a dream.

Professors are just the tip of this university’s beauty; classmates are a whole other story that you shouldn’t miss out on. The students at UT are people of great intellect and integrity; don’t let them escape you! Talk to the person sitting beside you in class. They really won’t bite — trust me, I’ve tried!

While most people are too afraid to say the first word in a conversation with a stranger, all people welcome

the interaction gesture.

Classes get boring, and even if you’ve become buddies with your professor, you will still need to know the person sitting beside you in case you get stuck in a pile of snow and really need to know about the assignment you missed. Rest assured that other people need you and want to get to know you as much as you want to get to know them.

I would like to end my years of undergrad with special thanks to a few people.

Thank you, my dear energetic professor, for being so enthusiastic and excited about teaching that you made me feel like an 80-yearold in the body of a 20-yearold. Thank you, smart classmate sitting at the front of the class, for always answering every question the professor asks, correcting her notes and making me feel mentally challenged and in need of therapy.

Thank you, creepy person sitting at the back of the class, for never speaking a word while you stared at me in a way that expressed either extreme fascination or utter detest. Even you, girl who sat beside me and silently copied my notes without ever saying a word of thanks, you have taught me to start sitting all alone at the back of class.

My dear fellow classmates: college life is what you make out of it. Don’t let it stop at learning the alpha signs and exploring the reason behind female oppression in our world; take it to a more personal, social level. Speak to the person next to you — even if that means they start copying your notes.

—Reem Subei is an IC columnist and a senior majoring in communication and sociology.

The

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Independent Collegian

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Cutting a lifeline

News of continuing tax cuts for the rich comes at a time when social service agencies are facing some of the worse budget cuts they’ve experienced in years. A contact involved in HIV/AIDS activism forwarded one of the most disturbing e-mails I’ve read in years and I wanted to take the time to share some of the details with you all.

There is a proposal on the table to cut Ryan White Part B funding for individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Some of these provisions include increasing the authorization and reauthorization requirements for dental, mental and emergency healthcare, medical case management, prescription drugs and health insurance.

It is inhumane for us to continue fiscally irresponsible tax cuts at time when the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS are dependent on programs like Ryan White Part B for survival.

It’s been a little over a week since World AIDS Day. We have had debates in Washington, DC and Columbus, Ohio regarding drastic cuts to programs that are imperative to the fight against AIDS. It is not only counterproductive, it’s idiotic.

If the fight against AIDS is a real objective of our Department of Health, then it’s downright ridiculous to assume that cutting funding to AIDS programs will help.

We need to promote more aggressive educational programs involving individuals with AIDS if we want to get

the message through.

We need to go into the neighborhoods that are most impacted, including African American neighborhoods, particularly addressing the reality that African American women are being infected at rates higher than any group in the country.

We need policymakers familiar with the impacts of HIV. We need to address the

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It is inhumane for us to continue fiscally irresponsible tax cuts at time when the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS are dependent on programs like Ryan White Part B for survival.

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families that have not only been impacted by the news of a positive HIV/AIDS test, but we need to continue support for those families that will be charged with assisting, supporting and caring for those infected.

We need mental health clinicians, social workers, doctors, nurses and lowcost pharmaceutical agencies involved in the distribution of information and care if we are going to see a reduction in numbers.

More importantly, we need you. We need readers to know that HIV/AIDS is a

pandemic that is still killing. More than 60 million people have been diagnosed and 30 million have died since AIDS was introduced to the world almost 30 years ago. My father is included in those numbers.

As an 11-year-old child, I watched by father wither away and die and I’ll be damned if it happens to my mother. I will fight by writing, speaking or yelling at the top of my lungs if that’s what it takes.

These people have a right to live, but they can’t fight on their own. It will require you and I to become inspired and angry enough to tell our politicians to prioritize their objectives, making LIFE their primary concern.

If you are concerned, angered, touched or motivated in any way, please contact the following address and SPEAK OUT against these proposed cuts; put the lives of those already fighting to live FIRST. Ohio Department of Health Bureau of HIV/AIDS, STD and TB Attn: Kate Shumate, Administrator 246 N. High Street Columbus, OH 43215 Or at: HCS@odh.ohio.gov.

Please include the words “Draft Ryan White Part B Rules” in the subject line of the written comments.

—Nicole Doan is an IC columnist and a senior majoring in individualized studies.

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Call 419-534-2438 for information on how to write for the IC.

Great potential for Palin I have my doubts about Sarah Palin as a potential presidential candidate, but you have to hand it to her. Her instincts are wonderfully diabolical. She’s trapped our friends on the left in a no-win debate on American exceptionalism.

Nothing drives liberals battier. Some of them are prone to revolt at the mere suggestion that the United States has any redeeming qualities.

Bill Maher’s outburst on the Larry King show a few years ago is a sample. “You know, this country is — I’ve said this before, I’m going to keep saying it — it’s a pitiful, helpless giant ... it’s a stupid country, with stupid people who don’t pay attention.”

Now, Maher is a comedian, a funny guy, and this really makes you smile, although he wasn’t trying to be funny. I imagine he thought that with this little outburst, he could show everyone exactly how smart he is. Memo to Mr. Maher: You succeeded!

American exceptionalism usually isn’t much of an issue in politics, but President Barack Obama changed that his first year in office. During a visit to France, he mishandled a question from a reporter who asked whether the president subscribed to “the school of American exceptionalism that sees America as uniquely qualified to lead the world.”

The answer is now well known. Obama said he believes in American exceptionalism, “just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.”

As James Q. Wilson dryly noted in a Washington Post interview, Obama “did not understand how Americans feel about this.”

The idea is buried deeply in the national psyche and arises from the language of the Declaration of Independence and from the notion that the settlers who came here, unlike colonists of other ages, were concerned less with aping the mother country than creating something better.

The French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, who journeyed here in the 1830s, conveyed something of this spirit in his “Democracy in America.”

Obama himself noted the link between the Declaration and the national character in his 2004 speech before the Democratic National Convention. Apparently, when he got the question in France, he forgot.

But let’s consider the other part of the reporter’s question — the suggestion that American exceptionalism implies some sort of warrant to run the world. Actually, it doesn’t, and I don’t think the people that Tocqueville met would have made any such assertion.

America was still new and hardly a great power. But if I

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American exceptionalism usually isn’t much of an issue in politics, but President Barack Obama changed that his first year in office.

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recall correctly from my reading of the book some years ago, those Americans had a very clear understanding that they had something going that was indisputably better than Europe and the rest of the world.

The qualified-to-run-theworld idea didn’t arise from American exceptionalism, and it’s possible to argue the opposite. Prior to World War II, many Americans believed that far from trying to run the world, we shouldn’t get involved at all. We should hold ourselves apart.

Yet the isolationism that gripped the country in those years turned out to be a contributing cause of World War II. After the first World War, we retreated behind our ocean barriers, leaving the British and French — weakened by years of trench warfare — to

supervise weak security arrangements that couldn’t cope with the rise of Hitler.

By the time we got involved, things were too far gone to fix without massive sacrifice and slaughter. We learned from our mistake. We were a great power, and everything done by a great power has consequences — including an irresponsible refusal to assert leadership. Better to influence events and try to head off trouble before it festers.

While American exceptionalism doesn’t necessarily “make us uniquely qualified to run the world,” Palin’s emphasis on this theme has prompted some commentators to assert their lefty bona fides with amusing articles exhorting readers to get with it: We’re really just another run-of-themill country. Headline on a recent Michael Kinsley piece in Politico: “U.S. is not greatest country ever.”

The genius of Palin’s strategy is that it also hints at the ambivalence many Democrats feel toward the use of military force.

This is a party, after all, that has all but barred the old Truman Democrats — strong-defense figures like Sam Nunn or Scoop Jackson — from its presidential primaries.

Now we have a president who not only makes people wonder if he’s ill at ease with one of the nation’s basic ideas, but makes noises as if he sincerely believes in the fairy tale of nuclear disarmament — and hires people who describe wars as “overseas contingency operations” or invent clanking euphemisms for terrorism like “man-caused disasters.”

Palin is plowing some very fertile political ground.

—E. Thomas McClanahan is a member of the Kansas City Star editorial board.

Hate disguised under the cloak of religion The Southern Poverty Law Center is an organization with deep roots in the civil rights movement. Its ingenious lawsuits helped break the back of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist factions, and in recent years, it has joined the Anti-Defamation League as a reliable monitor of hate groups.

The Family Research Council is an influential Washington-based advocacy group with deep roots in the religious right. Its annual political forum, the Values Voter Summit, has become a nearly obligatory stop for ambitious Republican officeseekers hoping to win the support of so-called values voters. In recent years, the council has given an increasing share of its attention to opposing marriage equality and open military service by gays and lesbians.

Now, the two groups are locked in a sharp confrontation that raises crucial

questions about where the expression of religiously based views on social issues ends and hate speech begins.

Last week, the law center added the Family Research Council to its list of more than 930 active hate groups, citing the anti-gay rhetoric of its leaders and researchers, which have included calls to re-criminalize consensual sex between individuals of the same gender. The Southern Poverty Law Center defines a hate group as one with “beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.”

The council’s president, former Louisiana lawmaker Tony Perkins, reacted angrily to the designation, calling it “slanderous” and demanding an apology. “The left is losing the debate over ideas and the direction of public policy, so all that is left for them is character assassination,” Perkins said, insisting that his group

“will continue to champion marriage and family as the foundation of our society and will not acquiesce to those seeking to silence the JudeoChristian views held by millions of Americans.”

Other conservative commentators also have assailed listing the council as a hate group, calling it an affront to

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as a departure from tradition and traditional notions of civic virtue without defaming gays and lesbians as a group.

But the council goes well beyond that. Over the years, it has published statistical compendiums purporting to quantify the “evils” of homosexuality. One of its pamphlets is titled, “Dark Obsession: The

Such rhetoric is eerily reminiscent of that with which religiously affiliated opponents of African-American equality once defended segregation.

protected speech. That is a superficially compelling argument, but it won’t withstand scrutiny. It is perfectly possible for a church or an organization associated with a denomination or religious tendency — as the Family Research Council is with evangelical Protestantism — to oppose, say, marriage equality

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Tragedy and Threat of the Homosexual Lifestyle.” At various times, its spokesmen have spuriously alleged that the gay rights movement’s goal “is to go after children” and that child molestation is more likely to occur in households with gay parents.

Last week, one of its senior fellows, Peter Sprigg, told

reporters on a conference call concerning repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that “homosexuals in the military are three times more likely to commit sexual assaults than heterosexuals are relative to their numbers.”

Such rhetoric is eerily reminiscent of that with which religiously affiliated opponents of African-American equality once defended segregation. It wasn’t all that long ago that some of them argued against school integration because, they alleged, black adolescents were uniquely unable to control sexual impulses and, therefore, would assault white schoolgirls.

Exhortations against “race mixing” were commonplace pulpit messages short decades ago, though we now recognize them as hate speech. It’s past time to do the same with rhetoric that denigrates gays and lesbians.

So long as even the most objectionable religious dogma

stays under the church roof, it’s a constitutionally protected view. People’s religious beliefs — even when noxious — are a private matter. Our churches are free to order their internal affairs as they will — to set the terms of sacramental marriage as they see fit, to discriminate in the selection of their clergy, to racially segregate their membership or to separate the sexes in their schools or places of worship.

However, when a group sets out to impose its views on the rest of society by lobbying for public policies or laws, it can no longer claim special protections or an exemption from the norms of civil discourse simply because its views are formed by religious beliefs.

This is precisely the dodge the Family Research Council has been running.

—Timothy Rutten is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

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www.IndependentCollegian.com

Serious work, nonsensical fun at Groupon offices

By Wailin Wong Chicago Tribune (MCT)

CHICAGO — Do not be fooled by the odd selection of books in the reception area, where visitors can choose from "The Pop-Up Book of Phobias" or "Awkward Family Photos."

Do not be fooled by the whiteboards that are covered with detailed caricatures and inside jokes.

And definitely do not be fooled by the elaborately decorated conference room that sports pale blue shag carpeting, a twin bed and a nonworking toilet filled with chocolate coins in shiny wrappers. This room belongs to "Michael," who, according to company lore, lived there first and has been allowed to stay, although he's rarely, if ever, seen on the premises.

This is Groupon headquarters in Chicago, and hard work takes place here.

Dan Jessup, Groupon's vice president of human resources, said he tells new employees of the company, which operates the fastgrowing daily deal Web site, that "everyone here takes their job seriously, but they don't take themselves too seriously."

Strangers to Groupon's culture may "see someone who wears flip-flops and shorts and think things are lax," Jessup said. "We might not look the part of corporate America, but people

know they're held to a really high standard."

Employees say the culture at Groupon prioritizes openness and collaboration, with a refreshing lack of micromanagement and corporate bureaucracy. These traits helped put the company at the top of the Chicago Tribune's Top Workplaces survey, conducted by Exton, Pa.-based consulting firm WorkplaceDynamics.

"I tell my friends that the atmosphere is like being in the library in college where everyone is working, but we're all working on a project for the same class and it's everyone's favorite class," said Sadie McGraw, an account executive covering Fresno, Calif.

Shinji Kuwayama, a developer who joined the company in April 2009, said that unlike other workplaces where the technology department gets "locked in a box," developers at Groupon have open lines of communication with their colleagues in sales and customer service. And Jamison Webb, an editor, said he has learned how to mentor his writers "in a way where you're not talking down to people."

There's a pronounced tech-startup vibe to Groupon's work environment, with its young work force, flexible hours and casual dress code. Founder and Chief Executive Andrew

Mason had first created a site called The Point, which organizes collective action around social causes. Groupon was launched in November 2008 as a side project of The Point and quickly grew into a lucrative business that inspired hundreds of competitors, aping everything from Groupon's business model to the look of its site and daily e-mail newsletters.

Groupon is no longer a scrappy outfit of 35 employees, as it was in June 2009 when Jessup joined. It was profitable in its seventh month and has raised $165 million in two rounds of funding. The company has also expanded internationally, acquiring a European daily deal site in May. Mason wore a sari and President Rob Solomon donned a pair of lederhosen to announce the news to employees.

Groupon has added 587 local employees in the last year. The large influx of fresh faces has displaced the floor hockey nets and the Rock Band gaming station, which lie idle in a back hallway.

Employees say the company has a mentorship structure that ensures they are supported and listened to, even with their ranks growing so rapidly.

The executives "are not just strong leaders," Kuwayama said. "They're creating a culture of leadership where,

Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune/MCT

Decorated dry erase boards line a wall at the Groupon offices in Chicago, Illinois, September 22, 2010. in a couple months, that could be you."

Jessup's career, which straddles corporate recruiting and improvisational comedy, gives him an affinity with at least one segment of Groupon employees. Roughly half of the company's customer service representatives are involved in Chicago's improv and theater communities. Their photos cover a bulletin board in the office.

The writing staff, which is

responsible for the absurdist copy that has become a Groupon hallmark, also attracts improv performers like Webb. The improv comedy philosophy that carries over to Groupon is, "It's not about me — it's about everyone looking good," Webb said.

The challenge at Groupon is preserving the culture as the work force continues to grow and the spotlight on the company gets brighter.

Mason recently graced the

cover of Forbes, and rumors roiled last week over a reported $5 billion to $6 billion acquisition offer from Google.

"To me, culture is not a pingpong table or having Rock Band," Jessup said.

"We want there to be a human element here. ... But sometimes that pingpong table goes unused because people are working so hard.

We want people who appreciate those things, but don't work because of them."

House passes DREAM Act, but Senate prospects dim

By William Douglas McClatchy Newspapers(MCT)

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday night that would provide a conditional path to citizenship for as many as 500,000 children of illegal immigrants.

While the House approved the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act by a vote of 216-198, the fate of the DREAM Act remained uncertain as the Senate postponed a test vote on the measure.

With the lame duck session of the 111th Congress rapidly

coming to a close, Senate Republicans have vowed to block any measures from reaching the floor before votes on a spending bill to keep the federal government running and whether and how to extend Bush-era tax cuts.

DREAM Act proponents say Senate inaction or a vote against the measure would be a major setback for the drive for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration laws for years to come because of the pending Republican takeover of the House and Democrats nervous about their re-election prospects in 2012.

"The prospect of any type of

immigration legislation over the next two years is slim to none," said Jorge Mario-Cabrera, spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles, one of several groups that lobbied Congress for the DREAM Act's passage.

DREAM Act opponents, who called the measure "amnesty," said a rejection by Congress would cripple the effort for sweeping immigration legislation — one that contains a guest-worker program and a pathway to citizenship — well beyond 2012.

"If it doesn't get through this lame-duck session, it will be at least four to six years before this cause comes up again," said Roy Beck, the founder and CEO of

NumbersUSA, a group that advocates strict immigration limits and enforcement of immigration laws.

The act would allow immigrants who are younger than 30, entered the U.S. before age 16, lived here for five years without committing a serious crime, graduated from high school and attended college or joined the military, to be eligible for legal residency after meeting other criteria.

A Congressional Budget Office study estimated that the act would help from 300,000 to 500,000 undocumented immigrants.

President Barack Obama and congressional Democratic leaders — who vowed to Latino voters during the 2008

campaigns to change U.S. immigration laws — said passing the act is the right thing to do to help the nation's economy and military and a way to enhance the lives of those who may have entered the country illegally with their families but have been raised as Americans.

"These people covered under this bill are the children any parent would be proud of: our sons and daughters, neighbors, classmates, prom kings and queens, football players and cheerleaders who stayed in school, played by the rules, stayed out of trouble," Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., said on the House floor.

"If you are pulled over for a speeding ticket and you have a child in a car seat next to

you, that 2-year-old doesn't get the speeding ticket. If there is a bank robber with a toddler on his back, that toddler doesn't spend life in prison."

Republican opponents called the DREAM Act "a nightmare" bill that ignores the rule of law and could potentially take jobs away from legal American workers at a time of high unemployment.

They also claim the act would lead to illegal immigrants submitting fraudulent academic records and papers to become eligible for the act.

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., said the bill would "open the doors, yes, to criminal aliens attaining permanent status to the detriment of legal immigrants."

Rep. Lamar Smith, RTexas, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the act would take jobs away from American citizens, especially legal minorities struggling for work.

"The percent of Hispanics out of work last month rose to 13 percent and the unemployment rate for black Americans has hit 16 percent," Smith said.

"Don't the Democrats know this? Are they listening to the voters? Do they care?"

Thursday, December 9, 2010

File photo by Kevin Sohnly/ IC

The West Ramp parking garage (pictured above) near Bowman-Oddy has bike corral where students can park their bikes.

SG From Page A1 around campus can almost guarantee spotting Rubin or Maddocks talking to students about SG. According to Rubin, the duo has been attending all of the philanthropy dinners hosted by Greek organizations, Relay for Life and, most recently, the Yule Ball.

“Right before the Yule Ball, some girl came up to me that I never met and was like, ‘Hey you’re Matt Rubin right? I just wanted to thank you for representing me,’” Rubin said. “We hear that a lot wherever we go, and we’ve been trying our best. I think one of the biggest impacts we’ve had has been keeping a positive attitude at all times and being very spirited. I think I said ‘go Rockets’ at least 1,000 times while at Relay for Life.”

According to Rubin and Maddocks, SG hosted or sponsored several events this semester including the

football watch party when UT played Northern Illinois University on Nov. 9. Rubin said approximately 650 students attended the party.

“That was one of the larger events this year, and it was run by Student Government,” Rubin said. “We’ve been in full force, marketing with the Student Government pride pack bags. I’ve been seeing them everywhere I go. We were on television for the UT-BG Ball Run.” Some students the IC interviewed said they feel they have not seen Student Government or have yet to learn anything about them.

“I honestly haven’t noticed,” said Kelsey McDermitt, a sophomore majoring in professional sales.

Junior Kelsey Friemoth said she has noticed a bigger presence on-campus, referring to the SG bags and their logo’s campus presence.

“I feel like they’re doing a lot more for students now,”

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the biology major said. “You don’t see them, you see the things that they are doing, the things they are doing and promoting. You see it more than [you would have] my freshman year.”

Rubin said one big push he has made was to go and meet with leaders of other student organizations in order to get feedback on how Student Government can assist or improve their influence.

“We’ve had incredible feedback in finding out what difficulties they encounter and having Student Government work with them and creating synergy,” Rubin said. “The main thing I want to get across is Student Government is supposed to be an umbrella and uniting student organizations, and it’ll create a huge impact in how student groups interact.”

Despite Rubin’s offer of cash incentives to organizations who attend SG meetings and the $500 offer from Vice President of Student

Affairs Kaye Patten-Wallace, Rubin said the project “fell on the backburners.” He added that his plan is to set up the incentive program with Maddocks.

Natalie Stough, a senior majoring in psychology and

member of Spectrum, said Rubin’s greatest impact has been in attending many events, such as the hate crimes vigil. “[Rubin] has always been a really strong ally of ours.

As a group, I don’t know [if they’ve met] with us,” Stough said.

Maddocks said he does not expect every organization to talk to SG: In fact, most who talk to Rubin and Maddocks don’t know much about SG. His goal is to “educate them and work together to help them.”

He said a push for environmental sustainability is something they have been pushing for this year. Programs such as Rockets Recycle and RecycleMania are some examples of SG’s push toward a more environmentally friendly campus.

The plan for next semester is to more heavily involve not only students but faculty and staff in RecycleMania, a recycling competition between residence halls. Although residence halls and the Greek community are more heavily targeted to promote a friendly, competitive environment, Rubin hopes to incorporate a day where they can “clean out all their offices.”

The second push toward sustainability is the installation of LED lights

throughout all of campus.

According to Maddocks, once the project is complete, UT will be the first campus in the United States to have all LED lights set up.

The other platform promise made by Rubin and Maddocks was helping to make the university a “bike-friendly campus.” With the first bike corral installed at the beginning of the semester, Rubin said the funding for a second just got approved and its location is yet to be determined by SG. The resource room, which opened at the beginning of this semester, had difficulty finding employees to staff it despite the fact it was fully operational. Maddocks said next semester the room will be fully staffed from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Overall, the duo said their administration has made relatively large strides for SG. But Maddocks said for everything that is done, there will always be five things or more things to improve upon.

“That’s always been our motto,” Rubin said. “We want to tell everyone within the organization how great of a job they’re doing, but we’re nowhere near done, we’re nowhere near where we need to be, and we need to keep fighting for students and we need to keep trying to do the right thing.”

File photo Nick Kneer / IC

Student Government President Matt Rubin cuts the ribbon on a new student resource room in the Student Union Building Room 3509 on Sept. 8. The room helps student organizations save money and better publicize their events.

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“You can be sure that the American spirit will prevail over this tragedy.”

— Colin Powell, former Secretary of State

Section

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www.independentcollegian.com

Around

town

Dec. 9 - 18

Valentine Theatre

Arts and Life Thursday, December 9, 2010

Page

1

Vincent D. Scebbi – Interim Editor

A decisive decade As 2010 closes, the editorial staff of the Independent Collegian chooses the top 10 events that defined the first ten years of the new millennium

Santaland Diaries

Showtimes: Dec. 9-11 8 p.m.

Tickets: $22

The Glacity Theatre Collective will be performing David Sedaris’ Santaland Diaries at the Valentine Theatre until Dec. 11.

The performance was a hit last year and the trope decided to bring it back for another season.

The production depicts life as an elf in Macy’s SantaLand paired with ‘Season’s Greetings,’ which is about Jocelyn Dunbar, “a housewife who tries desperately to hang onto her holiday traditions even as her family falls apart.” For more information on GTC and SantaLand visit Glacity. org.

Tickets are available at the Valentine Theatre box office, online at ValentineTheatre.com or by phone at 419-242-2787.

Doors open 30 minutes prior to curtain. Studio A features clubstyle seating and a cash bar for patrons.

Masterworks Chorale Sing-Along Messiah Showtimes: Dec. 11 8 p.m.

Tickets: $15, $20 or $25

Join together to recreate Handel’s Baroque masterpiece.

This special sing-along event will allow you to participate in an unrehearsed reading of messiah, played and sung for “pure holiday musical pleasure.” For ticket information contact the Valentine Theatre box office online at ValentineTheatre.com, by phone at 419-242-2787 or in person.

Stranahan Theatre The Nutcracker Ballet

Showtimes: Dec. 11 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Dec. 12 2 p.m.

Tickets: $22.75 [3rd Level], $32.75-$52.75 [Main Floor-elevated], $42.75-$52.75 [2nd Level]; Ticket prices do not include a possible $5.75 fee, see the website for details.

The Toledo Ballet will be performing The Nutcracker Ballet at the theater on Saturday and Sunday. The classic production will showcase the talent of many students of a variety of skill levels and ages. This performance is one of two produced by the Toledo Ballet this year.

For further information, call 419-471-0049 or consult ToledoBallet.net. Tickets are available at StranahanTheatre.com or through TicketMaster at 1-800745-3000 or online at TicketMaster.com.

Handel’s Messiah Rocks!

Showtimes: Dec. 14 8 p.m.

Tickets: $35.50-$40.50 [3rd Level], $32.25-55.50 [Main Floor-elevated], $41.75-$55.50 [2nd Level]; Ticket prices do not include a possible $9.50 fee, see the web for details.

Handel’s Messiah Rocks combines stunning visuals and amazing musicians to create a unique version of Handel’s most performed oratorio. The performance features an orchestra, rock band, both adult and children’s choirs and renowned soloists. Ticket information can be found online at StranahanTheatre.com or through TicketMaster at 1-800-745-3000 or TicketMaster.com

#1 – September 11, 2001 September 11, 2001 is a day in modern history which will live in infamy. The repercussions from the actions of a handful of extremists are not only the deaths of 3,000 innocent Americans, but what followed threw a nation into the invasion of Afghanistan and a declared “War on Terror.”

The morning of 9/11 is an event similar to the previous generation’s Kennedy assassination. If one who was alive at the time was asked where they were when they heard the news that President John F. Kennedy was shot in Texas, they could give a response very quickly. It’s a traumatizing date.

The days that followed 9/11 were ones of closeness between Americans. It was obvious that no matter which state one was in, there was American flags on almost every house.

It brought together a divided country, even if it was for a few days.

The long-term effects included a spike in an anti-Muslim movement, including such controversies as the passing of the Patriot Act, Park 51, International Burn a Qur’an Day and controversies with the Transportation Security Agency.

September 11 was not just one day that occurred and then was forgotten, the day itself was one that ultimately changed the way Americans go about their daily lives.

— Vincent D. Scebbi, Features Editor & Interim Arts and Life Editor

Photo Illustration

by Nick Kneer / IC

#2 – Facebook and Social Networking While precursors such as Xanga and Myspace were present well beforehand, Facebook’s 2004 founding began the social networking revolution. People from all walks of life have taken advantage of the various media available on Facebook, but the younger generations have made the most use of its offerings.

Within a few short years, it has become common for Internet-using young adults, teenagers and even children to maintain and regularly update a Facebook page. “Staying in touch” has been reduced to clicking a “like” button on another person’s status update; making friends has become a game of sending friend requests to strangers; social gatherings are now groups of people using smart phones to check status updates and picture comments.

— Ethan Keating, Forum Editor

#3 – The Invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq Twenty-six days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the United States invaded Afghanistan to combat Al-Qaeda and Taliban combatants, with the stated purpose of finding and trying in court Osama bin Laden and other high-ranking Al-Qaeda members. The war has been marked by public opposition, both domestic and international, and allegations of human rights abuses including white phosphorus use and the torture of prisoners of war. Reports of civilian deaths vary between 14,000 and 34,000, and the United States has suffered over 1,300 losses. The conflict continues to this day.

On March 20, 2003, the United States, along with a multinational force, invaded Iraq and overthrew its government. Prior to the invasion, the United Nations sought to verify that Iraq was not in possession of weapons of mass destruction; while no weapons were found, Iraq’s cooperation with weapons inspectors was not unconditional. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003, and was hanged on December 30, 2006 by the new Iraqi government for crimes against humanity after a year-long trial. As of May 28, 2010, over 4,400 members of the U.S. armed forces have been killed during the conflict, and over 31,800 have been wounded. The Iraq Body Count Project estimates between 98,380 and 107,369 recorded violent civilian deaths from 2003 to October 10, 2010. The war has been plagued by allegations of its illegality, ulterior motives for the invasion, human rights abuses, scandals involving private mercenaries, and the overall point of the war.

—Nick Kneer, Director of Photography

#4 – Recession of 2008 Perhaps the most visible of the past decade’s events, the national recession that began in December 2007 has had a lasting impact on households across America. Factory shutdowns, boarded-up storefronts and your neighbor’s “for sale” sign all came to symbolize the largest recession in American history since the Great Depression. The unemployment rate became a permanent fixture in headlines around the nation, and colleges witnessed an unprecedented rise in enrollment numbers. Rhetoric of decades past that said “greed is good” soon turned to populist-fueled stump speeches that pitted Wall Street against the allegorical “Main Street.” In an already tumultuous decade, nothing could have generated more angst in the population than their livelihoods being in jeopardy – not to mention those of future generations of Americans. Distrust in those who preside over our institutions was brewing at an alarming rate in the years preceding the recession, but it wasn’t until the so-called “house of cards” came tumbling down that the American people’s skepticism reached its precipice.

— Hasan Dudar, Editor in Chief —Rankings continued on B2

Bands perform diverse Learning new languages selection at concert

By Vincent D. Scebbi Interim Arts and Life Editor

A wide range of music could be heard by both the UT Symphonic Band and the University Wind Ensemble yesterday at Doermann Theatre.

The concert, which started at 8 p.m., opened with the Symphonic Band playing “standard band repertoire,” according to Director of Bands Jason Stumbo.

Opening the performance was Cleveland native’s Clare Grundman’s “American Folk Rhapsody No. 2,” which was written in the 1959 about 19th century folk songs. Familiar tunes such as “Skip to My Lou” can be heard, but have a certain twist added

by Grundman, according to Andrew Rhodes, conductor of the symphonic band.

The second piece performed was the “Elegy for a Young American” by Ronald Lo Presti. Probably one of his more popular pieces, Lo Presti wrote the piece after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Rhodes said despite the fact these two pieces were written in similar times, the characteristics of the pieces are different because Grundman’s work is based on tunes from a different time period.

“The harmonies probably don’t feel as familiar; the tunes are simpler,” he said.

“In ‘Elegy for a Young American,’ the harmony pushes the envelope and chords are usually things the average person might not be accustomed to. It’s trying to really represent the stages of mourning and create

feelings of sadness or anger through the use of musical instruments.”

The centerpiece was Gustav Holst’s “Second Suite in F for Military Band.” Despite being well known for “The Planets,” the “Second Suite” is probably one of Holt’s more popular works.

Similar to Grundman, Holst’s piece is based on folk songs, though “Second Suite” focuses on British folk songs instead.

Keeping the pieces in England, the Symphonic band closed with the “British Eighth March” by Zo Elliot, based on the Eighth Army’s campaign in North Africa during World War II. Following the intermission was a performance by UT’s Wind Ensemble, which — Concert, Page B2

By Mitchell Rohrer IC Staff Writer

Learning a new language can be as easy as relaxing in a comfy chair and turning on any television channel across the world, with some help from ARGYLEtv.com.

ARGYLEtv is a free website that provides live and recorded TV shows from over 130 countries ranging from Afghanistan to Yemen and in 70 different languages. The channels vary from arts to movies to sports or even more common channels such as MTV. All of the shows they offer can be streamed through any internet browser without requiring login information.

One concern is whether it is possible to learn a new language simply by logging onto the site. The company

seems to think so according to a press release from last Wednesday titled “Learn a new language in the comfort of your own home watching TV for free online at ARGYLEtv.com,” written by the site’s CEO, Bob Leavell.

“Whether you are studying Spanish in high school [or] planning on studying French abroad in college, learning the local language just became a lot easier,” he said in the release.

Associate Professors of UT’s Department of Foreign Languages Linda Rouillard and Friederike Emonds of French and German respectively laughed at the idea of learning a language strictly by watching videos.

“Authentic videos are wonderful,” Rouillard said, “But — ARGYLE, Page B2

B2 #5 – The election of Barack Obama The President of the United States is the highest position of political power in the most powerful and influential country in the world. The significance of a colored man attaining this position is even more momentous of an event, considering the subjection and subordination of the African peoples in our country’s history. For a person of any color to break the binds of suppression, let alone a black man, epitomizes the radical maturation of our society’s beliefs on racial equality. When the people of this nation voted their executive leader to be Barack Obama, and he accepted the position of the 44th president of the United States, he put it best in the first line of his acceptance speech: “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”

— Matt Gunn, IC Copy Editor #6 Mapping the Human Genome and advances in genetic engineering Fifty years after the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure, scientists in 2003 successfully mapped the human genome, otherwise known as the code in which composes us. The chemical sequence of DNA base pairs is distinctive between every person. The international project studied every multiple variation of each gene and took 13 years to complete the mapping of 20,500 genes.

Aside from just mapping out the human genome, this past decade included the innovation and use of stem cells. It was in 2007 when the first tests converted adult skin cells into pluripotent stem cells. So far the advancements have lead to advances in HIV research and the treatment of Lou Gehrig’s Disease – in addition to helping scientists grow human organs and tissues.

By separating the genes and altering them slightly, there have been great advances in research as well as treatment of certain diseases. In 2009 for example, children with a congenital form of blindness were able to see

The

Independent Collegian because of gene therapy.

With great strides made in just 10 years, the possibilities in medical research are bountiful and endless.

— Vincent D. Scebbi, Features Editor & Interim Arts and Life Editor # 7 – Hurricane Katrina The August 2005 Hurricane that ravaged the shores of New Orleans and the Mississippi Coastline marked a social, political, and economic crossroad for the entire nation. In New Orleans alone, the social and political upheaval resulting from the fallout was massive: nearly 275,000 residents were displaced from their homes, the city saw an unprecedented rise in unemployment and crime and a governor and mayor would soon be forced out of office after their opponents ran on platforms critical of their handling of the disaster relief. Later New Orleans’ representation in the House of Representatives would also leave after being convicted on corruption charges. Most Americans remember the images of looters coming out of electronics stores and the body of an elderly woman in a wheel chair near the Louisiana Superdome.

2010 marked the five year anniversary, where many around the country were reintroduced to the disaster and its relief efforts

by TV news. All of the decade’s major players were involved; Cheney’s former company Halliburton was hired for the clean up efforts, Bush was criticized for his mismanagement, and musician Kanye West caught attention for saying “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” during a benefit broadcast.

— DC Guastella, IC Staff Writer #8 - 2000 Election On election night in 2000, the night ended with three states declaring results too close to call: Oregon, New Mexico and Florida. The contenders were the governor of Texas George Bush and the sitting vice president Al Gore. What followed was nearly unprecedented in US election history – a record number of states declared a less than five percent margin of victory, and a month dragged on without declaring a winner. Gore would end up taking both New Mexico and Oregon, however not

securing enough electoral votes to clinch the election. In a classic “Dewey Defeats Truman” moment, Florida reported Gore as the winner of the state’s votes.

Several requests for hand recounts, accusations of misconduct, adding “hanging chad” to the public vernacular and two Supreme Court rulings later, Bush was declared the winner.

Despite seizing the victory for the Republicans, Bush gained less than 500,000 popular votes.

After John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Harrison and Rutherford Hayes, he would become only the fourth person in US history to accomplish the technical victory.

— DC Guastella, IC Staff Writer #9 - BP Oil Spill One of the most devastating ecological events in recent memory is the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Rather than take responsibility for their involvement in the disaster, BP pointed the finger at an oil rig malfunction. The British oil giant also failed to properly deal with the spill after publicly acknowledging their involvement. Critics cite a communication breakdown between BP, Transocean and Halliburton as the cause of the slow and less than adequate response to the problem.

— LaShae Naszradi, Assistant Arts and Life Editor # 10 - WikiLeaks This proverbial online encyclopedia of formerly classified information is rising in prominence after the release of transcribed conversations between government officials that contain very “candid” statements concerning national and international “happenings.” While these meetings were not all necessarily detrimental to national security, they do have the ability to paint a negative picture of said officials based on their supposedly confidential remarks, which is why many are up in arms about the release of these records. WikiLeaks, which is rather unknown amongst the general populace, will only grow in popularity in the coming decade as more government documents are released.

— LaShae Naszradi, Assistant Arts and Life Editor

Concert From Page B1 is a smaller, more intimate group playing more like a “large chamber ensemble,” according to Stumbo.

The ensemble is comprised of students who auditioned for their spots at the beginning of the semester in which performers were given one week to play excerpts from pieces.

Considered by the program notes as his “most beloved and most performed composition and a pillar in

Thursday, December 9, 2010 the repertoire of American music,” “Rhapsody in Blue”

by George Gershwin was the Wind Ensemble’s third piece and involved student Nathanael Leonard as the piano soloist along with the original big band-like instrumentation accompanying it.

Following suit with Gershwin and keeping a jazz-like theme, the program closes with Frank Ticheli’s 1997 piece “Blue Shades.”

According to Stumbo, the ensemble’s program started as a large swirl of opportunity and it “just fell into place.”

The program started when Leonard approaching him to play “Rhapsody in Blue,” and everything else worked out after that. Ticheli’s choice was a “nice compliment” and their second piece. Kurt Weill’s “Kleine Dreigroschenmusik” was something Stumbo always wanted to play and it was written at the same time as Gershwin’s work.

“Because it’s a band concert, you have to play a march,” he said. “And that’s how the program came together.”

Kevin Sohnly / IC

The UT Wind Ensemble performing a piece from their concert yesterday in Doermann Theatre.

ARGYLE From Page B1 you are not going to learn a language just by watching TV.” However, both said they use videos and television shows with their classes.

“Videos can be a very good resource, but people need to communicate in person with someone who knows the language in order to understand it,” said Associate Lecturer of Spanish Cheryl Wessel.

UT’s foreign language video streaming service of choice is called Snap Stream and is used in the Field House’s Language Lab. Similarly to ARGYLEtv, it provides live television in several different languages – currently Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish - and professors can pick certain

times and dates to record programs for students to watch.

All of the lecturers said they like to use the service as a supplement for students to learn from outside of class but rarely use it for an actual lesson plan.

Since the Foreign Language teachers consider videos of native speakers to be helpful when learning a new language, there are other options besides viewing the shows online.

Some foreign language channels, such as Telemundo for Spanish speakers, are already on cable and satellite television. Other channels play frequently in the Student Union Building, which will provide headphones and a channel guide if students ask for it. All channels can have subtitles, an invaluable tool for comprehending what is

happening on the screen.

Even the library has videos or audio files of foreign languages, which can be easily accessed by students.

“It is more beneficial to talk to real people, study cultural information or hear the different dialects, rather than observing or overhearing, which is what people do when watching television” Rouillard said.

Even ARGYLE’s website agrees that “Listening alone will not help you earn a Masters degree or PhD.” “If someone is able to learn a language by only watching shows, then they are a very lucky person,” said Associate Lecturer of Spanish Laurie Puszczewicz, “But it would be surprising to me if they could do it strictly to TV alone.”

IPFW From Page B4

Scandal From Page B4

developer, and Ghazi Manni, the manager of a familyowned grocery store.

Karam, Manni and the six former athletes were charged on May 6, 2009 in a 20-count federal indictment for conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery. The indictment claims the eight men “did unlawfully, knowingly and intentionally combine … to carry into effect a scheme in commerce to influence by bribery various sporting contests.”

“Let me say from the beginning that we take this matter seriously, however we also consider it past history,” UT President Lloyd Jacobs wrote in a letter to the campus community when the indictment was announced.

Karam and Manni allegedly bribed UT athletes to influence the outcome of

games. They reportedly gambled $407,500 on 17 games from Nov. 2005 to Dec. 2006 on UT basketball games.

Karam has previously been connected with members of La Cosa Nostra, a Sicilian organized crime family that controls illegal gambling activity in Detroit and the surrounding area. His involvement in illegal gambling dates back to a federal investigation in the 1970s of a sports gambling syndicate in which Karam was listed as a co-conspirator.

In April of 2007, a federal judge signed off on five separate wiretaps of Manni’s phone. The FBI had also been given permission to tap Karam’s phone.

According to an indictment that was filed on June 30, former UT basketball player Sammy Villegas was charged with fixing games

during the 2004-05 and 200506 seasons and paying another player who took part in the point-shaving scheme.

He continues to await sentencing after accepting a plea agreement later in 2008.

Villegas was accused of intentionally missing two free throws late in a game against Central Michigan University on Feb. 4, 2006.

In the game, Villegas made his only shot attempt, missed his only two free throws and contributed six rebounds and six assists while committing two personal fouls and turning the ball over twice. The Rockets were a 15-point favorite in the game and covered the spread by one point with a 78-62 victory. The court indictment indicates Villegas made three calls to conspirators in Michigan on the day of the game.

Page From Page B4

UT From Page B4

can I do to become a better teammate?’ His success is not by accident.”

The Springfield High School graduate has a knack for showing up in big games for the crowd. He has 28 catches for 276 yards and two scores in three games against Big Ten opponents in his collegiate career, but he chose to stay home to play in front of his hometown fans.

“It was important for me to stay home because I wanted my family to be able to watch me play,” Page said. “I grew up watching the Rockets play and it was just a nobrainer for me.”

“He is a tremendous player,” Candle said. “It was very important to us that he stayed home in Toledo and be a part of the Rocket tradition and play in front of his home crowd and I think it was important to him as well.”

Candle and the rest of the coaching staff have groomed the former high school quarterback into one of the most prolific Division I receivers and return men in the nation.

“The coaches just give me positive feedback and help me out with what I need,” Page said. “If I ever need to talk about anything they always have their door open. It makes someone feel like they are at home wherever they are at and it really helps.”

During this season, the coaching staff was forced to help Page adapt to a

going to,” sophomore defensive end T.J. Fatinikun said.

“Just because we had our names mentioned in so many different bowls, but once I found it was Detroit I was fine, although I did want to go south.”

“I was definitely hoping for Vegas but Detroit has one of the finer stadiums to play in,” Marrow said. “We can’t complain because we are in a bowl game and that’s great.”

One of Toledo’s league counterparts in Temple was held out of a bowl game despite an

8-4 record on the season. The Owls had the same record as both UT (8-4, 7-1 MAC) and Ohio (8-4, 6-2), who both were selected, but a worse conference record at 5-3.

“When I heard about Temple not making it I was shocked,” Stafford said. “They were also 8-4, but honestly I really didn’t worry much because Coach Beckman in our meeting broke down our scenario.”

“It’s a tough situation for those guys but I had no doubt we were going to a bowl game,” Fatinikun said. “Just because of how tough our schedule was and how good we have played as of late. I was pretty confident about our chances.”

The Rockets will take on FIU, who finished the year 6-6 and became postseason eligible after winning their final

game 28-27 against Middle Tennessee State.

“Not too many know about them up here but they have a real good team,” Marrow said.

“A good set of wide receivers and running backs and a quarterback who leads them.”

Toledo was selected by the Pizza Bowl, which had the top selection of any team in the MAC. They were selected over league champion Miami (OH) (9-4, 8-1) and West Division Champion Northern Illinois (10-3, 8-1), largely due to UT’s close proximity to Detroit.

“I was thankful for them choosing us,” Stafford said. “It has been a while since we have been to a bowl game. So any bowl game would have made me happy. I’m just glad we have the opportunity to prove to people how good we are.”

effort but we had a slow start.

“We knew they could shoot, that was something that was on the scouting report. We just need to play better defense and tonight they were just a better team.”

Freshman point guard J.T. Thomas left the game in the second half with a foot injury and did not return. Thomas IPFW previously missed Toledo the preseason and first two games of the year after surgery to his other foot.

Thomas told the Independent Collegian last night that he has a sprain and wants to return for Toledo’s next game on Saturday.

Sophomore guard Malcolm Griffin had nine points

and six turnovers while freshmen Delino Dear and Hayden Humes each had eight points.

The Rockets had 19 turnovers while IPFW capitalized with a 22-9 advantage in scoring off those miscues.

“Turnovers are something we have been talking about all season,” Holliday said. “It’s one of the things we pinpoint the most and those turn78 overs can get us 65 out of a game real quick.”

Toledo cut the lead to 48-43 with 13 minutes remaining but an 11-2 run sealed the victory for the Mastodons.

The Rockets will try to avoid an 0-10 start when they host Valparaiso on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Savage Arena.

B3

The

Independent Collegian

Thursday, December 9, 2010

seven touchdowns along with 28 receptions for 260 yards and a touchdown. He had just eight carries for 49 yards in his junior season.

Harvey McDougle Sr. told The Blade his son will not face jail time after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

“I think he’s looking at a year’s probation,” McDougle Sr. said. “He’s basically excited to just be able to put this behind him. It’s messed him up for years already.

Former UT basketball players Kashif Payne and Keith Triplett were also charged, but they have not entered pleas.

The main targets of the investigation are Detroit residents Mitchell Karam, a suburban Detroit real estate

File photo by Joseph Herr / IC

Eric Page is just 53 catches behind former wide receiver Stephen Williams for the most in school history, despite his sophomore status. quarterback switch after classmate Austin Dantin suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, but Page’s success did not end there. Redshirtfreshman Terrance Owens entered the line-up and found instant success with Page, connecting for 305 yards and four touchdowns in the remaining four games.

“T.O. has been great, he stepped into Austin’s shoes and he performs when he needs to perform,” Page said.

“T.O. and I have great chemistry. We were roommates last year and he has just stepped up a lot. He has probably improved the most out of anybody from last year. He was thrown into the fire and he has worked and succeeded.”

Page and the Rockets will travel to Ford Field the day after Christmas for the Little

Caesars Pizza Bowl against a familiar opponent in Florida International. The Rockets defeated FIU 41-31 last season in Miami, Fla. as Page hauled in five receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

“It is going to be great,” Page said. “I have a whole bunch of people coming up to support me and the team. I think it’s going to be great for the whole city of Toledo.”

Overall Page’s experience at Toledo has been nothing short of record-setting as Rocket fans will watch their home-grown talent play at the Glass Bowl and in the national spotlight for two more years.

“I have a lot of good people around me to help me out and it just proves that when you have good people around you, you can do anything.”

“

It will definitely be weird not being home for Christmas but at least I have a great excuse. I’m shopping for a bowl ring.

Desmond Marrow UT Senior Cornerback

Section B

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www.IndependentCollegian.com

Sports

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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Rockets drop first nine games after loss at IPFW

Zach Davis – Editor

By Zach Davis Sports Editor

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Toledo’s record fell to 0-9 last night after a 78-65 loss at IPFW. The Rockets extended the largest losing streak to begin a season in school history, previously set at six in 1920 and 2009.

With the loss Toledo has also lost 30-of-31 games and 37-straight road games dating back to the 2008-09 season.

“There is certainly frustration,” Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “They are working hard and they need to have some success. We don’t talk about the record, it’s about us getting better every game and I think tonight for the most part we got better from last week.”

Freshman forward Reese Holliday had a career-high 17 points with a team-best eight rebounds in 34 minutes against the Mastodons. Junior guard Jay Shunnar also set a career-high with 17 points, topping the mark he set last season against IPFW (16).

Shunnar had 14 points in the first half, but the Rockets trailed at the break 38-34 after the Mastodons hit 10 three-pointers.

“I think it was a game we should have won,” Holliday said. “First half we gave good — IPFW, Page B3

Zach Davis / IC

Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk watches the IPFW offense which hit 11 three-pointers as Toledo extended the longest losing streak in school history to begin a season at nine, previously held by the 1920 and 2009 UT teams at six.

Page making his mark as one of the nation’s best

4

Plea deals are expected in Toledo pointfixing scandal

By Jason Mack Managing Editor

According to U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin, former University of Toledo athletes Anton Currie, Adam Cuomo, Quinton Broussard and Harvey “Scooter” McDougle Jr. will enter guilty pleas in a point-shaving scheme. Currie played basketball while the other three were football players.

Attorneys for the former athletes announced their intent yesterday at a federal court proceeding in Detroit, Mich.

UT Vice President of External Affairs Larry Burns told The Blade yesterday the university is “glad that this is coming to a closure.”

“Indeed, we are saddened, mostly because of the lives this has impacted for the student-athletes and their families,” Burns said.

McDougle lost eligibility for his senior season in 200708 after being charged in U.S. District Court on March 29, 2007 despite those charges being dropped a month later.

“While these are only allegations, the university is deeply disappointed as these items are contrary to our institutional values,” Burns said after McDougle was suspended in 2007. “Words like accountability, integrity and honor are a far more accurate depiction.”

In 2004, McDougle rushed 146 times for 620 yards and — Scandal, Page B3

UT spending holiday with ‘second family’

By Zach Davis Sports Editor

When Toledo goes to their first bowl game since 2005, it won’t be a traditional holiday for most of the players. The Rockets arrive in Detroit, Mich. on Dec. 23 and remain there through Dec. 26 for the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl against FIU at 8:30 p.m.

“It will definitely be weird not being home for Christmas but at least I have a great excuse,” senior cornerback Desmond Marrow said.

“I’m shopping for a bowl ring.”

“I won’t be with my family but I’ll be with my ‘second family’—my teammates and coaches,” junior wide receiver Kenny Stafford said.

After arriving on Dec. 23 Toledo will have their first practice at Ford Field, followed by a night of bowling with their opponents. UT will also send players and coaches to volunteer at the Salvation Army Breakfast on Christmas morning at 7 a.m. to help serve food to those in need in downtown Detroit.

“It will be fun to help out during the holidays,” Marrow

said. “Everyone will be happy for a lot of reasons and we will be with our ‘second family’ that we see so often.”

The Rockets had a few bowls they had been linked to other than Pizza Bowl, including the R+L Carriers Bowl in New Orleans, La., MAACO Bowl in Las Vegas, Nev., GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala. and the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, N.M. “All along I never really knew which bowl we were — UT, Page B3

File photo by Zach Davis / IC

Sophomore wide receiver Eric Page ranks fifth in receptions and 18th in yards per game, as well as third in kickoff-return average in the nation. He was named MAC Special Teams Player of the Year and earned First-Team All-MAC honors at both wide receiver and kick returner.

By Joe Mehling Assistant Sports Editor

The Rockets finished their season 8-4 including a 7-1 record in the Mid-American Conference due in large part to sophomore wide out, and Toledo native, Eric Page, who is already having one of the most productive careers in school history.

In just his second season, Page finds himself just 53 catches behind Stephen Williams for the all-time record at UT. Page ranks fifth in the nation in receptions (7.83) and 18th in yards per game (90.08).

He also has the third-highest

kickoff return average in the country (31.76 yards).

A year removed from leading the nation in receiving yards for a freshman, Page has followed up his inaugural campaign with a season full of awards. He has earned MAC Special Teams Player of the Year and First-Team All-MAC honors at both wide receiver and kick returner, while also being recognized as a top performer by the Paul Hornung committee (for the nation’s most versatile performer) for his efforts against Central Michigan, returning two kickoffs for touchdowns, catching two scores and throwing for

one more.

Page has 94 receptions for 1081 yards and eight touchdowns receiving this year and has 25 kick returns for 794 yards and three scores. The Rockets have also used Page as a quarterback attempting four passes this year, three of which were complete for touchdowns.

“He is very good at what he is interested in, and he is defiantly interested in football,” UT receivers coach Jason Candle said. “There are constantly questions like ‘What can I do better?’ and ‘What — Page, Page B3

File photo by Zach Davis / IC

Sophomore defensive end T.J. Fatinikun and the Rockets will spend the holidays with their “second family,” or themselves, this season instead of their actual families. Toledo will be in Detroit, Mich. from Dec. 23-26.