Fall 2011 Issue 7

Sports, A5

Arts and Life, A6

The Rockets and Boise State set to battle on ESPN

From your mouth to ‘God’s Ear’

Independent Collegian IC The

Thurdsay, Sept. 15, 2011

Serving the University of Toledo since 1919

Colleges see drop in enrollment

www.IndependentCollegian.com 92nd year Issue 7

Fight against Issue 2 continues Rally held on campus to defeat Issue 2 and get referendum for House Bill 194

By Casey Cheap IC News Editor

Total student enrollment for the fall 2011 semester after the 15th day count is 22,610, a decrease from 23,085 last year.

A recent newsletter from UT’s chapter of the American Association for University Professors called some of the numbers into question, citing that: “The Blade reported a first-year retention rate of 65.2 percent for this fall (barely up from last year’s 64.5 percent), a significant drop from the UT 2008 retention rate of 69.7 percent.”

Larry Burns, vice president for external affairs and interim vice president for equity and diversity, said the drop in enrollment was expected because of the three-phase plan UT has in place to recruit students.

“After the merger [of UT and the Medical College of Ohio] in 2006, we were looking to stop several straight years of decline in the enrollment of new students,” Burns said. “Phase one was to stop the decline by recruiting as many students as possible.”

Burns said after phase one started in fall 2007, there were three straight years of “tremendous” growth, which peaked in 2010, with an enrollment of over 4,000 freshmen.

Phase two of recruiting students was the increase of academic requirements so future growth could be anticipated and UT could eventually become more selective in recruiting students.

— Enrollment Page A2

Diane Woodring/ IC

Mark Sherry, member of the AAUP, encourages people to pettion against HB194.

By Randiah Green Editor-in-Chief

Any government trying to limit its people’s voting rights should be condemned.

This is what Mark Sherry, associate professor of sociology and member of UT’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, and other union members on campus feel House Bill 194 aims to do.

House Bill 194 will put stricter limitations on when and how Ohioans will be able to vote.

Sherry along with others, held a rally on campus to encourage people to fight against the bill and sign a petition for a referen-

dum Monday afternoon.

“HB 194 cuts back the number of days in which you can vote from 35 days to 16,” Sherry said. “It eliminates all Sunday voting. You do not have to accept this.”

The bill will also prevent counties from mailing absentee ballot applications to residents and eliminate online voter registration in Ohio.

The rally, which attracted about 100 people, also continued the fight against Issue 2, previously known as Senate Bill 5.

Senate Bill 5 would have stripped all public employees of their collective bargaining

Diane Woodring/ IC

State Rep. Teresa Fedor speaks with a group of students at Monday’s rally.

rights, which allow them to bargain for their wages, benefits, health care and working conditions among other things.

The bill was signed by Gov. John Kasich in March, but approximately 1.3 million Ohioans signed the petition to put it on the Nov.ember ballot.

“People have many reasons for opposing Issue 2,” Sherry said. “Some of our concerns are that it will result in cuts to wages, cuts to benefits, increase unemployment and that it will ruin the education system as we know it.”

Issue 2 will be up for a vote in the November elections.

This is the second rally held

on campus against Issue 2.

At the first rally, which occurred last spring Sherry and State Rep. Teresa Fedor criticized UT President Lloyd Jacobs for supporting the bill.

Jacobs said in a letter sent out in February as much as $10 million could be saved at UT with the passage of Issue 2 because it could help fix “inefficiencies” in employees.

“Our ability to assign faculty to classroom work, research, or service might be improved under a scenario which includes the passing of Senate Bill 5,” Jacobs said in the letter.

The crowd at last year’s rally chanted “T-O-L-E-D-O, Lloyd

‘Secret shoppers’ to review dining halls

By Brittany Jackson IC Staff Writer

The quality and food service of University of Toledo’s dining halls will be reviewed by a group of “secret shoppers.”

These secret shoppers will go to the dining halls and other food service locations on campus and write a review based on their experience.

Amaris Smith, a sophomore majoring in communication,

was appointed by Student Government to run the secret shopper program.

The secret shopper program will be entirely run by students.

“We will review the presentation of food and the facilities,” Smith said. “The students will go to eat, check the food and then present to me a review of what they saw and tasted.”

Freshmen living on campus at UT are required to have a 10, 15

or 19 swipe-a-week meal plan.

“Since freshmen are forced to get a meal plan, the quality of the food should be attractive and the service should be good,” Smith said.

Students are divided on the quality of the dining halls, but some feel it could be better.

Delonte Greenwood, an undecided freshman, believes that the secret shopper program at UT will be greatly beneficial to all freshmen living on campus.

Photo Illustration by Nick Kneer / IC

Secret shoppers will be accessing the food at all the dining halls and food service locations on Main Campus.

“When we go to the dining halls, the quality of the food is usually okay, but there is that occasional undercooked hot dog or overcooked piece of chicken,” Greenwood said.

Other students have noticed some improvement in dining halls over the last few years.

“They’ve made remarkable changes since I was a freshman,” said Tyler Mercer, a junior majoring in political science. “The healthy choices they offer increase, the quality of the food is so much better and they have nutrition facts about every meal posted next to the display.”

Jenny Bugoci, a sophomore majoring in special education, remembers being a freshman and having to eat at the dining halls on campus.

“The downfall of living in the dorms is that I didn’t have a kitchen to cook my own food in and the food they provided was unhealthy,” Bugoci said. “The university offers a lot of choices, but most are full of carbs and starch. They have at least four choices, only one of them being healthy.

For example, a salad — what college student wants to eat salad everyday?”

According to Smith, secret shoppers will go to Horton International House’s Bottle Rocket C-Store, the P.O.D, Rocky’s Grille, Starbucks, ICrave, Palettes and the restaurants in the Student Union Building.

“With a positive response and variety of people, the secret shopper will hopefully grab the attention of the university,” Smith said. “Then maybe they will have to do something about it.”

Jacobs has got to go” as well as “O-H-I-O, John Kasich has got to go.”

Now with House Bill 194, Sherry said the fight has to continue.

“The Kasich administration has decided to limit your opportunities to vote,” he said. “It’s about denying people their rights. We cannot let that happen.”

Fedor, who was at Monday’s rally, called parts of the bill unconstitutional.

“If you are a citizen of Ohio and you forget to put Toledo on the outside envelope of your — Rally, Page A2

UT answers President Obama’s call to action

By John Gumersell IC Staff Writer

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama called upon universities across the nation to promote interfaith through community service.

The University of Toledo is taking steps to answer this call by walking the streets of the North End of Toledo.

UT is one of 300 schools in the nation to take part in the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge.

The initiative was created to bring people of different faiths together to tackle a community issue during the 2011-12 academic year.

A plan of action must be submitted to the White House detailing how the university plans to solve the issue in the community.

An issue can be solved in a number of ways, from mentoring students to picking up trash in the neighborhood.

To solve the issues in the North End, UT will promote ten service walks for students and community members throughout the year.

Sudershan Pasupuleti, associate professor of social work and criminal justice, said the walks will

serve as brainstorming marches to clean up vacant lots, make gardens, promote health and create places for senior citizens and other residents to walk safely during the evenings.

The walk will span over a hoop formation from a half-mile to a mile wide through the neighborhoods in the North End. During each walk, students, faculty and residents will address a new issue.

The North End was chosen for the service project due to its high crime rate, high teen pregnancy rate, number of vacant and deteriorating homes and high school dropout rate.

Pasupuleti said the North Ends’ situation is a paradox.

“The city does not help this community and therefore the community does not improve but only gets worse,” he said.

Last Friday, a kick-off event was held at Libbey Hall’s main dining room for prospective members.

Natalie Gusman, a native of Toledo and senior majoring in social work, said the North End of Toledo has garnered a bad reputation.

“People in the North End care about each other, and due to the economic — Interfaith, Page A2

A2

Rally From Page A1 ballot, your vote will effectively be thrown out,” she said. “That is unconstitutional.”

Sherry said teachers in local schools are fighting for their positions and are “likely to be outsourced should [Issue 2] pass.”

Other groups of public union workers will be negatively affected by the bill, Sherry said, including firefighters.

“These people are heroes, but under Issue 2, Kasich positions them as the public enemy,” Sherry said. “One of the worst things about Issue 2 is it endangers the safety of firefighters.

They cannot argue for minimum staffing levels on fire engines when they’re going to fight fires. That puts their lives in danger; our heroes.”

Enrollment From Page A1 Phase three will be about bringing in more prepared students once the academic standards are increased and total enrollment will begin to climb again.

“Because of the recruiting phases, we had nine consecutive semesters of [overall enrollment] growth until fall 2011,” Burns said.

Burns said UT is having trouble with incoming students’ academic preparedness.

“But we do not have the ability to defer students to satellite campuses,” Burns said, referring to the ability bigger schools have in getting students caught up to the university level.

Burns said if you count the students who traditionally get the most focus—freshmen straight out of high school — then enrollment is higher than last year.

Burns confirmed the total student population was down in all of the colleges with the exception of the College of Engineering and the College of Health and Human Services.

Only the College of Engineering, however, had an increase in the number of full-time equivalency students at the undergraduate level.

Burns said he believes enrollment for the nursing program is up, but numbers are harder to confirm because UT has a joint nursing program with Bowling

The

Independent Collegian Under the bill, 360,000 public employees will lose over $3,500 of their total salary packages, including benefits, wages and health insurance, Sherry said.

“It’s going to increase unemployment,” he said. “It’s going to damage the economy and it’s going to kill people’s jobs.”

Some who are against Issue 2, believe it is an attack on unions.

While Student Government President Matt Rubin, who was in attendance at the rally, said he has not taken an official stance on Issue 2, he pointed out unions do not always play a role in making a successful university.

“If you look at the top 50 institutions in America, you will struggle to find more than three that have unionized faculty,” he said. “It raises questions to the argument that having unionized

faculty is better for the students or an institution as a whole.”

Brent Teall, president of the UT College Democrats, said unions are the backbone of democracy.

Fedor said it is especially important for college students to fight the bill.

“With House Bill 194, I sat on that committee and I saw an unbelievable amount of Republicans trying to take your right to vote away, especially the students across the campuses all over the state of Ohio,” Fedor said. “They know when you exercise your right to vote you have a powerful message to send and that [message] is about change.”

Organizers need to collect at least 231,000 signatures from registered Ohio voters by Sept.

29 to get a referendum for HB 194.

Green State University.

“One reason the College of Pharmacy is down is because there are now six other pharmacy schools in Ohio, compared to just two in Michigan.

The amount of students didn’t go up.”

When phase three is implemented, Burns said UT will not be marketing university-wide, but marketing specific programs.

“We are [eventually] going to market and recruit for majorspecific students as we move forward,” he said.

Burns said students majoring in sales and marketing, pharmacy and engineering majors would be targeted first because their programs are well known.

He said UT will be using technology and social media to customize future students’ recruitment process.

Despite the number of transfer students being up by 4.7 percent, Burns said that getting transfer students over other student populations has not been a big priority.

“We’re doing a better job reaching out to [local] community colleges such as Monroe and Owens,” he said. “We are making things more transferfriendly as well.”

Burns admits the 0.7 percent increase in retention for this semester could be higher and highlighted some steps on what UT will be doing to attain students.

“UT will provide better

mentoring faculty and staff for students,” he said. “The more involved students UT has, the higher retention will generally be.”

Linda Rouillard, professor of French and member of the AAUP, said the numbers have been spun by the UT administration to look as positively as possible.

She believes ultimately, students will leave UT if they are unhappy, and believes this is why enrollment has decreased.

Rouillard said budget cuts have already taken a toll and have strained UT’s ability to recruit new students. “[Administrators] have already laid off staff members and faculty who attend to special needs and financial aid,” she said. “I don’t think the administration is focused on students.”

Rouillard is concerned administrators are cutting necessary costs while still more administrative positions are added.

“An extra $1.5 million in salary adjustments has been given to administrators since last year,” she said.

She also pointed out tuition has gone up in that same period of time.

In the UT-AAUP newsletter, Rouillard said, “Mr. Burns’ ability to look on the bright side is impressive. But we are concerned about the total enrollment, both the numbers and the spin applied.”

Interfaith From Page A1 status of the neighborhoods, it has gained such a bad reputation,” she said. “People in this community that need our help will be grateful for it.”

Zachary Dehm, a junior majoring in philosophy and religion and member of the initiative, said he thinks this is a wonderful community service

Thurdsay, Sept. 15, 2011 for students to participate in.

“Parts of the community so close to UT do not have the privileges we do, and it is good character to give those privileges back,” he said.

Jeanine Diller, assistant professor of philosophy, said the projects will help connect a community and spread religious diversity among students into the North End.

Pasupuleti said the university works as a catalyst for the service event.

“UT is positioned to bring religious diversity communities together,” he said.”When both the UT community and the North End come together, they will realize they need each other. They will make an impact together for this service and for future issues.”

Forum

A3

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Randiah Green Editor-in-Chief

Mike Dumont Sales Manager

Vincent D. Scebbi Managing Editor

Megan Gross Forum Editor

- in our opinion -

Enrollment takes a tumble According to recent statistics, UT has experienced a decline in student enrollment for all of the colleges combined. Fall 2011 will be the second time since fall 2007 that UT has reported a loss in the number of enrolled students.

UT has reported a total of 22,610 students that enrolled this semester, compared to a little over 23,085 students last year. Larry Burns, vice president for external affairs and interim vice president for equity and diversity at UT, stated all of the colleges on campus this semester reported a decline in student enrollment, except for the College of Engineering and the College of Health and Human Services.

What could UT possibly be doing wrong that pushes students away from attending this university? There’s a large variety of programs, student organizations, job opportunities and activities available at UT. So what’s missing from UT that potential students can’t live without?

Even though the marketing plan of “More” seen on area billboards was clever, UT could still have more. There are many programs and majors available at UT, but they don’t have it all. If someone wants to major in graphic design, radiation therapy, hospitality management or packaging, they’d have to look somewhere else.

Also, there are so many student organizations on campus, but how many students are actually part of groups that offer internship placement and networking opportunities?

In other words, what will they get out of those hundreds of dollars spent just to become a member of a group when professional organizations offer great benefits for a small amount? What if UT endorsed and supported these professional groups more?

UT may have what they think students need, but maybe the students’ needs are changing with the times and UT just hasn’t

caught on. A new era has created a new job market with fields that UT doesn’t offer education in.

UT seems to be mostly known for their engineering programs, research programs and the medical college. What about colleges that are still accredited, but not noticed by the public?

If a local student wants to major in accounting at a good business school, does UT’s College of Business and Innovation have enough marketed credentials to get this student to enroll? Right now, probably not.

UT doesn’t promote individual colleges to the public. They promote the university as a whole. Therefore, each of UT’s individual colleges should find something important about their college that they can market to potential students. Most students who want to reach their full potential want to attend the best college known for their major, which is what UT should strive to do.

Also, no matter what strip mall or food chain venue that exists around Toledo, UT is more than likely to remain a commuterbased university. Also, considering its location, Toledo’s walking distance neighborhood isn’t always a friendly place to be, especially alone.

The point is that UT may say they offer more and be willing to change, but it seems like they’re changing just to change or to follow what other universities have done. Shouldn’t they be asking students, “What is it that you want out of a college?

How can we make your UT experience more enjoyable?”

UT needs to reanalyze its relationships with their students; otherwise, the techniques needed to bring potential students in could lead to another decline in population next year.

Attempt as a college town: Pass or fail The University of Toledo Foundation has finally broken ground on the Dorr Street project to create a collegiate utopia for our university.

It’s a multi-million dollar project designed to create a “college town” atBraeden mosphere Gilchrist at UT. The University of Toledo has been improving itself these past few years. Several renovations on campus have been completed.

The Dorr Street project is great for UT students and addresses an issue that has been hurting UT -- Toledo is not a college town.

The city of Toledo is a bluecollar, manufacturing city that happens to have a great university. Toledo was once a manufacturing powerhouse with strong automobile, glass and shipping industries.

Toledo’s unemployment rate for July 2011 was 10.2 percent, a percentage that was above the national average. Like many other mid-western rustbelt cities, Toledo’s prime is long gone.

Our university cannot create a “college-town island,” independent of the rest of the city.

UT is situated on Toledo’s western border, a few miles from the downtown area. Depending on which direction you take from campus, you can see two economic extremes of Toledo.

Ottawa Hills is the high-end neighborhood sprinkled with the occasional mansion. South and East regions of UT

are lower class and can be a dangerous area to walk alone in. Muggings and break-ins happen even when precautions are taken.

Students can benefit from Toledo’s economic situation by taking advantage of its low cost of living. Toledo is affordable and has some gems, including our zoo, art museum and minor league teams.

Although, Toledo does have things to do, many are not close to campus.

I think that the quintessential college town should have everything near campus. A student could visit the food venues on

“

I think the quintessential college town should have everything near campus.

”

Dorr Street, which consists of your standard, un-inspired fast food fare. Toledo has a few bars and restaurants scattered around campus as well. You could walk to Jed’s, Jax, and Chasers, but it can be unwise to do so unless you’re in a group.

I try to ride my bicycle in Toledo as much as I can. The sidewalks, however, are incomplete or poorly maintained. The city lacks dedicated bike lanes that make it easy and safe to navigate on a bicycle.

Toledo drivers are not used to bikes in the street, so they often

just honk and speed past.

Lights on bikes and helmets are not the norm, nor are they considered “cool.” One good route that is accessible is the bike track that starts on campus and takes you to Wildwood Metropark, a great escape for students from their stressful class schedules.

UT understands that a worldclass university can raise the quality of the entire community, acting as an incubator for new and local businesses.

Northwest Ohio has been designated as a Solar Energy Hub partly due to UT’s work in solar cells.

Toledo has been moving green with new recycling efforts and urban gardening.

These new industries keep jobs and knowledge local. The only way to create a better community is by working at the one we have.

I have been very happy at UT and feel it’s a great place to go to school. The Dorr Street renovation project is a move in the right direction. Toledo should continue to develop and control the area around campus.

I would like to see Toledo become more bicycle friendly in the future. A bike path from campus to downtown would make the area more accessible to students.

UT improves Toledo with its presence, but it’ll probably fall short of transforming Toledo into a college town. That won’t keep Toledo from returning to the great city it once was.

—Braeden Gilchrist is an IC columnist majoring in mechanical engineering at UT.

Issue 2 threatens security U.S. law states citizens at least 18 years of age have the right to vote for leaders of the government. If this right is removed, it would be considered an unconstitutional action against the people of the U.S. According to recent developments, a governmental debate for the Toledo area is taking place over Senate Bill 5. This bill, known to the public now as Issue 2, will take away collective bargaining rights which allows all public employees to bargain for their wages, benefits, health care and working conditions.

What does this say about the future of current UT students? Well, it’s obviously a concern considering the fact all of us want jobs out of college that provide decent pay, benefits and working conditions. That is, after all, what UT students pay for in the long-run, right?

According to Mark Sherry, associate professor of sociology, Issue 2 will “ruin the education system as we know it.” This should stir some type of opinion and anger in students and in other institutions of higher learning. They should be wondering why the government has stooped so low as to indirectly put education on the back burner.

Students progressively educate themselves in order to be prepared for what lies ahead of them in the real world. Well, the real world isn’t looking very promising at this time, especially with an ineffective bill on the verge of being passed.

Jacobs, however, said Issue 2 will correct the inefficiencies of employment at UT with the money they’d save. The administration thinks this isn’t affecting students. Actually, decreasing employment can have a major effect on students.

If a mass number of professors are let go, it would result in less available sections to teach and fewer available spots for students to take those limited amounts of sections. It could possibly even mean a decrease in full-time student enrollment. Students, you have a voice.

“They [Republicans] know when you exercise your right to vote, you have a powerful message to send and that [message] is about change,” said State Representative Teresa Fedor.

She’s exactly right. We have the constitutional right to vote against this bill. So vote “No” on Issue 2, and return the confidence we once had in the job market we’re about to enter.

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“

There’s a reason they’re number four in the country being a non-BCS team.

They’re doing a heck of a job with that program Tim Beckman UT Head Football Coach

”

www.IndependentCollegian.com

Sports Thursday, September 15, 2011

Page

5

Joe Mehling – Editor

The Rockets and Boise State set to battle on ESPN

By Nate Pentecost IC Assistant Sports Editor

Last week the Rockets came within a few plays of becoming the first in-state school to knock off Ohio State in 90 years before falling 27-22.

Toledo will have a rare shot at redemption this Friday when No. 4 Boise State rolls into town for a clash between what may be the two best mid-major programs in the nation.

“Going into a locker room after this weekend it was probably one of the hardest times I’ve had to look at the faces of 71 Rockets,” said UT head coach Tim Beckman.

“To fall 17 yards short, it was definitely a tough situation for us but our players are resilient and they understand after watching tape again and talking as a team that our next goal is to play the Boise Broncos.”

Junior wide receiver Eric Page was every bit the AllAmerican he has been billed as against Ohio State (2-0), fronting the Toledo attack by catching 12 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns and throwing for a two-point conversion in an effort that earned him MAC Player of the Week honors.

The Rockets (1-1) defense held up its end of the bargain as well, holding the Buckeyes senior quarterback Joe Bauserman to 189 yards and a touchdown on 16-of-30 passing.

However, UT was plagued by costly mistakes, allowing a punt return for a touchdown, missing a field goal and botching another, among other errors. Even still, the Rockets were 17 yards away from a game-winning touchdown when an incompletion on fourth down squandered their chances at snapping Ohio State’s 43-0-1 streak against in-state foes and notching the

biggest win in program history.

“Win or lose you have the day after the game to look at what you did well, what you didn’t do well, and then you move on,” UT senior offensive lineman Mike VanDerMeulen said.

Above all, what Toledo did not do well was avoid penalties. The Rockets were penalized a total of 14 times for 102 yards while the Buckeyes were flagged just twice for 13 yards.

“We have to cut down on the penalties, no question about it,” Beckman said. “You can’t win any football game much less Ohio State and Boise with 14 penalties.

“In today’s game, the way players are, they seem to bounce back quicker than coaches. I think playing Boise and knowing the challenge of playing the fourth ranked team in the country and what they’ve done. As much as we’ve looked up to the Boise program here in Toledo, I think our players will be ready.”

The Rockets will need to be ready when Heisman hopeful and Boise State senior quarterback Kellen Moore lines up behind center for the highest ranked team ever to visit the Glass Bowl.

Moore led the Broncos to pay dirt in four of their first six possessions last year against Toledo. He torched the Rockets defense for 267 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-22 passing as Boise State cruised to a 57-14 home victory.

“Kellen made big plays on us last year with his arm,” Beckman said. “We cannot give up big plays.”

This year Moore is without his favorite target, wide receiver Titus Young who has moved on to the Detroit Lions, but he did not miss a beat

Nick Kneer / IC

Toledo wide out Eric Page will need to be heavily involved if the Rockets want to upset Boise State this Friday at The Glass Bowl. in a stellar performance at No. 19 Georgia in Boise’s season opener. Moore lit up the Bulldogs for 261 yards and 3 scores on 28-of-34 passing in the Broncos 31-24 victory.

“He’s one of the best players I’ve ever played against or seen in a football game,” UT senior cornerback Desmond Marrow said. “He’s a perfectionist so their offense runs like clockwork.”

Eric Page put up big numbers last year in Boise,

catching 11 balls for 120 yards with running back Morgan Williams adding 52 yards on the ground for the Rockets.

But Toledo was stifled by a Broncos defense which forced five turnovers and knocked starting quarterback Austin Dantin out of the game with a concussion.

“There’s a reason they’re number four in the country being a non-BCS team,” Beckman said. “They’re doing a heck of a job with that

program.”

Boise State does not know whether three players suspended by the NCAA for undisclosed reasons will be allowed to return for Friday’s showdown but all three have returned to practice, including starting safety Cedric Febis and wideout Geraldo Boldewijn who was expected to be a big play threat this season.

Shorthanded or not, the Broncos will be ready to air

the ball out when they arrive in the Glass City and Toledo’s defense will need to find a way to contain Moore. In order to keep up with this highpowered Boise State squad the Rockets will have to display their own offensive prowess as well. And of course, minimize mistakes.

The Rockets and Boise state will meet at the Glass Bowl on Friday at 8 p.m.

The game will be live on ESPN.

Cullop names Shafir and Toledo wraps up tough Smith captains for 2011 non-conference schedule

By Nate Pentecost IC Assistant Sports Editor

File Photo by Joseph Herr

Rocket captains Naama Shafir and Lecretia Smith will lead Toledo this upcoming season.

By Joe Mehling IC Sports Editor

Senior point guard Naama Shafir and junior forward Lecretia Smith have been voted captains by their teammates for 2011 season.

“Naama has led more by example through her first three years, but it has been exciting to lately watch her develop into a more vocal leader,” Cullop said. “I’ve always felt that when your better players are also your

best leaders, you have the start of a great team. She’s one of the most talented, yet humble players, I have ever coached.

“Lecretia is a fierce competitor who has worked her tail off to earn this opportunity. She showed her teammates last year during our WNIT run just how much they meant to her. I’ve never been more proud of how a player turned a adverse

situation into a positive. She put the team’s goals ahead of her disappointment and displayed terrific leadership skills from the sidelines, inspiring her teammates to give their best.”

Toledo was able to defeat many major conference opponents en route to the WNIT championship.

The Rockets begin their season against Divison II Ashland on Nov. 5.

The UT women’s volleyball team will cap off their non-conference schedule at the Michigan/Adidas Invitational this weekend in Ann Arbor, MI. The Rockets (4-5) are scheduled to face a pair of unbeaten teams in No. 18 Michigan (9-0) and Texas A&M (9-0) on Friday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. respectively. Both Michigan and Texas A&M have dropped only four sets on the season.

Toledo will return to action on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. to face Xavier (6-3) of the Atlantic 10. The Rockets trail the all-time series with Musketeers 4-3 and have lost their last two meetings 3-1.

Toledo jumped out to a quick start this season, sweeping the field as host of the Blue/Gold Invitational but the Rockets would lose the three following contests in Lansing, Michigan to go winless at the Spartan Invitational.

Last weekend UT played host to No. 24 OSU, Alabama, and Penn at the Rocket Classic. Toledo dropped 3-1 decisions to the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide but overcame a two set deficit to defeat the Quakers, 3-2.

Nick Kneer/ IC

UT will face undefeated Texas AM and Michigan this weekend.

www.IndependentCollegian.com

Arts and Life Thursday, September 15, 2011

Sept.15Sept 19

Thursday Toledo Museum of Art The 93rd Toledo Area Artists Exhibition begins 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and runs through the weekend Friday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m. This show celebrates the best of NW Ohio’s vibrant artist community and one entrant this year will be chosen for a solo exhibition at the Museum to take place in 2012.

Downtown Toledo – 2011 Art Walk Series. This is the last Art Walk of the year beginning at Washington and St. Clair St. and moving along the Arts Zone, the Warehouse District and other UpTown neighborhoods in the Downtown area.

Friday

Frankie’s Inner City – Madina Lake with They Thought We Were Strangers. Show starts at 9:00 p.m., tickets are $12 in advance.

By Megan Aherne IC Arts and Life Editor

“God’s Ear,” written by Jenny Schwartz, explores the real and surreal relationships within a family trying to cope after the death of their son.

During what was supposed to be a fun vacation, tragedy struck and left the family forever disconnected. The play presents the family’s inner and outer struggles to cope with the loss and continue their lives.

This Friday night, Glacity Theatre Collective’s production of “God’s Ear” will open at the Valentine Theatre’s Studio A on Adams Street. “‘God’s Ear’ is, in essence, a comedy about grieving. The poetic, witty language embodies a joy of life, despite its painful topic,” said Director Irene Alby.

“It is a very contemporary play.”

Swirling through scenes without really knowing what is real and what is a dream enables the audience to have a different perception on life.

“Schwartz uses the overload of information and our dependence on technology to demonstrate our increasing isolation,” Alby said.

“Despite these characters’ tragedy, they hide behind

information and cell phones in order to avoid having to truly connect to themselves and each other.”

The performance features Aggie Alt and Qarie Marshall as the husband and wife, Mel and Ted who are the parents of Lanie, played by Angelica Alby-Gabara.

Through their struggles, other characters such as a seductress, the Tooth Fairy and G.I. Joe positively and negatively influence the family.

The rest of the cast includes UT alumni Phillip Taylor, Nikki Soldner and Ernest Green as well as theatre instructor Dave DeChristopher.

“The talented actors have managed to embody their characters while still working with stylized disciplined movement that gives the play its dreamlike feel,” Alby said.

Holly Monsos, associate dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts and executive director for Glacity, designed the costumes and James Hill, chair of the theatre department, designed the set.

The theatre provides entertainment that can not be found in mainstream media.

“Good theatre offers

something you cannot get from TV, film or the internet and that is the live exchange of energy and raw emotion that audience and actor undergo together during the journey of the play,” Alby said. “I say good theatre because there is a lot of boring, bad theatre that takes no risks and offers little.

This play is very moving, but it is also very funny. In its exploration of a tragedy, it is a celebration of life. I think audiences will have the opportunity to go from extreme sadness to extreme laughter in this play and that process will be cathartic and revitalizing.”

The show will run this weekend as well as the next. Tickets for God’s Ear are available on the Valentine Theatre’s website as well as at the door 30 minutes prior to performance.

The show begins at 8:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and the doors open at 7:30 p.m. At the door, tickets are $22, and $5 student rush tickets will be offered five minutes before the show starts.

For the evening shows, there will be a cash bar for pre-show, intermission and post-show.

There is also a pay-whatyou-can Sunday matinee starting at 2:00 p.m. with doors opening at 1:30

Saturday

Megan Aherne – Editor

Nick Kneer/ IC

Aggie Alt as Mel, Angelica Alby-Gabara as Lanie, Qarie Marshall as Ted.

PARK(ing) Day

Centennial Terrace –Out of the Darkness’ Walk for Suicide Prevention beginning at noon.

Frankie’s Inner City – Highbinder featuring Downtown

By IC Staff

Brown and Bath House Betty.

Metered parking spaces on Adams Street downtown will be creatively remodeled into temporary parks to demonstrate the need for improvement in health and space in the city Friday, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The University of Toledo’s College of Visual and Performing Arts has five spaces reserved. Each space will be transformed by the departments of theatre, film, music and two for art which Barbara Miner’s installation art class is preparing.

Glacity Theatre Collective, an organization including but not limited to university faculty members, also has a space dedicated to “God’s Ear,” a play opening the same evening at the Valentine Theatre Studio A on Adams Street.

PARK(ing) Day is an annual event cities across the world have participated in.

Show starts at 9:00 p.m. tickets are $5 over 21 / $7 under 21.

Ottawa Tavern – Raising the Bar Fundraiser. Help raise money for the CCFA-Crohn’s Colitis

Foundation

of

America between 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. All the tips collected in this time will be given to the CCFA on behalf of Andy’s Fan Club, there will also be a 50/50 raffle.

Sunday

Downtown Toledo – Wan-

der the Warehouse District 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A loft and home tour featuring amazing living spaces, shops, restaurants, galleries and art venues. $10 tickets can be purchased the day of the event at any tour site. Ticket includes entry into all sites or tours and is loaded with coupons for local businesses and restaurants.

Monday

Toledo-Lucas County Public Library–Film FOCUS, an independent film festival in the McMaster Center at Main Library. Experience powerful, first-run feature films by independent filmmakers at 6:15 p.m. on Mondays until Oct. 24.

6

From your mouth to ‘God’s Ear’

Around TOWN

and

Page

Nick Kneer / IC

Ernest Green as Guy and Nikki Soldner as Lenora come from the underworld to tempt.

According to their website, the project began in 2005 in San Francisco where an art studio converted a parking space into a temporary park.

“Since 2005, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement, with organizations and individuals (operating independently of Rebar but following an established set of guidelines) creating new forms of temporary public space in urban contexts around the world,” the website said.

Its purpose is to “call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated to improve the quality of urban human habitat.”

The UpTown Association hosts the Toledo event. According to their website, there are 20 participants committed.

For more information visit www.parkingday.org.

Lions, tigers, pythons oh my

By Max Peltier IC Staff Writer

Imagine a tiger or perhaps a Burmese python sitting with you in your house.

“Elephant in the Living Room” is a documentary that explores this subculture of exotic animal owners in America.

The movie highlights many of the issues that come from ownership of these types of animals and the fact that most states do not have permits or regulations in regards to possession of exotic animals. Exotic animal auctions are also an issue examined in the movie.

The main character is Tim Harrison, a public service agent in southern Ohio who specializes in catching exotic animals that break loose from their owners.

Terry Brumfield serves as Harrison’s antagonist. Brumfield owned two fully-grown lions as pets in the film.

Director Michael Webber shows other people explaining about their ownership

and sale of exotic animals.

Jaw-dropping images of the unconventional animals Harrison rescued from residential neighborhoods.

The stories that he tells are gripping and shocking, to say the least.

Once Brumfield appears on screen, the movie becomes much more emotional.

Brumfield explains how he uses the two lions as emotional crutches to deal with depression he incurred from a car accident that left him with back and neck injuries.

The pain seen in his eyes is intense and real whenever the thought of having to give up his lions arises.

Throughout the movie, Brumfield says he is not sure if it is right for him to keep the animals, but he will never give them up because they are like his own kids.

Documentaries can sometimes become bland and uninteresting when the director crams all the information into an hour and a half, but this film does not do this.

Instead, “Elephant in the Living Room” portrays an incredible amount of heart and insight about a topic that is not prominent in many conversations.

This is a fantastic first documentary from Webber and I am excited about his next project which might be about the criminal justice system in the US as it follows a murder suspect.

After the screening, Webber participated in a question-and-answer-answer session with the audience and host Kirk Baird over speakerphone.

KB: What was it that initially interested you in this topic? Where you surprised about the statistics, or horrified. What happened with it?

MW: I am not a member of the humane society or PETA or anything like. You know, I love animals just like anyone else, but really I am a filmmaker. What we look for is compelling characters with people who are in unique situations. You can’t get any more unique than when they

are raising lions in their house or someone like Tim Harrison who was pulling pythons out of people’s homes and Bengal Tigers out of their basement.

KB: How long did you work on this film?

MW: I developed it for about a year. The actual shooting took place for about 18 months and then it took another six or so months for post-production. It was basically about two years or so.

KB: People are probably not aware of this, but Terry was killed in a railroad accident last year, correct?

MW: That’s right.

KB: So, did he ever get the chance to see the final film?

MW: Yeah, he did…We talk about that on the DVD… Our first showing in Ohio opened up to 2,000 people in Dayton and he had never seen the film. I didn’t let any of the subjects of the documentary see the film and he showed up and got to see the film in front of 2,000 people, and it was a good experience

for him.

KB: Talk about the reaction to the film, both positive and negative.

MW: We have a lot of positives. We won five best documentary awards. It ended up getting 20 film festival invites within the first few months.

It ended up opening in April in about 60-plus cities and became one of the highest rated documentaries and films this year. So, critics and audiences have just overwhelmingly embraced the film, the story and everything. As a filmmaker it is more then I could have really hoped for.

Audience Member: Are we the only country crazy enough to do [unregulated exotic pet ownership]?

MW: I don’t know the specifics of every country, but I am told that this is actually an issue in a lot of other countries as well, and I have heard of a lot of actually worse things in other countries.