Sports, B1
Arts & Life, B4
Eric Page will enter 2012 NFL draft
Artist Spotlight: From passion to profession
Independent Collegian IC The
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Serving the University of Toledo since 1919
www.IndependentCollegian.com 92nd year Issue 29
Exploring in the nation’s capital UT football players share experiences from D.C. trip By Nate Pentecost Assistant Sports Editor
For many college students, the latter part of December is meant for gorging on various holiday dishes, reuniting with friends and relatives and indulging in the much-anticipated college football bowl season. But in the days leading up to Christmas, it was business as usual for the University of Toledo football team. From Dec. 19 to 22, the Rockets were expected to be present on campus to practice and attend team meetings. On the morning before Christmas Eve, while many of their peers slept in, the players
were preparing to board a flight to our nation’s capital where they were scheduled to clash with Air Force in the Military Bowl. Winning a 42-41 thriller at RFK Stadium went a long way to make spending Christmas on the road worthwhile for the team, but for senior Desmond Marrow, the victory was particularly special. The Military Bowl was Dec. 28, Marrow’s birthday. He was able to celebrate his 24th year in style, along with a few dozen of his friends and family who came along to watch the NFLbound cornerback notch a ‘W’ in his final collegiate game. “It was a great experience,”
Marrow said. “And most of all we won, so it was definitely worth it. We had a goal to win the game and most of all we wanted to win for Coach Campbell [in his first game as head coach]. We as seniors took it upon ourselves to be leaders and get the job done.” As many American schoolchildren can relate, no trip to the District of Columbia would be complete without sightseeing, and the team was afforded ample opportunity for that endeavor. Partaking in tours of the capital’s historic monuments, memorials and government buildings, in addition to a — Players, Page A2
Photo courtesy of Nikki Carr
(Left to right) Band members Erin Gordon, Erin Borden, Jessica Nelson and Janessa Reuscher pose for Ohio at the National World War II Memorial while in Washington D.C. for the Military Bowl.
Rocket Marching Band reflects on Military Bowl trip By Danielle Gamble Copy Chief
As exciting as it was for marching band members such as mellophone player Megan Fraley to witness the Rockets beat the Air Force first hand, the trip itself was an amazing opportunity. “I thought it was a good culmination of the year in marching band,” Fraley, a senior and four-year veteran of the band, said. “It was a lovely final resolution… of all my years [in marching band] in one big trip that we got to go to.” The Marching Band lent support to the Rockets for the 2011 Military Bowl hosted in Washington D.C., and band members stayed in a hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue just a few blocks from the White House. The members then spent three days in our nation’s capital and were provided with time to sightsee, a provision
many band members were very pleased with. “I did like exploring,” Fraley said. “The game was nice… but it was nice to see everyone have a good time, go sightseeing and coming back to share what they learned.” Jason Stumbo, director of bands and associate music professor, said this bowl trip was very successful among the band members. He said compared to last year’s journey to Detroit for the Little Caeser’s Bowl, this was a much better experience. “Being an hour from Detroit, most students wouldn’t think that much of the trip. But Washington D.C. – that’s a trip. And I’m sure many of the students hadn’t been there before, so it was a big deal.” The band left on Christmas evening to get to Washington D.C. early enough for a prebowl performance and to allow more free time for
students. “We wanted to get there early enough so they could do any number of things,” Stumbo said. “I mean, it’s the capital, there are so many things to see and do, and we wanted to make sure they had time to do that.” Rachel Sullivan, a sophomore majoring in pharmacy and a clarinet player, was excited to see friends she otherwise would have missed over break. “We went to a lot of restaurants actually. We tried a lot of the local cuisine, a bunch of different stuff that we don’t have around here.” Karen Kolodziej, a junior majoring in pharmacy and a Rockette, was also excited to see her friends on the dance team. “We did a lot more touring and sightseeing than I thought we would,” Kolodziej said. “I — Band, Page A2
Photos courtesy of Bill Claus and Megan Fraley
(Left) Football players Vince Penza, Jeremiah Detmer, Bill Claus and Colin McHugh (left to right) pose in front of the iconic Washington Monument. (Right) Band members Sam Weber and Megan Fraley (left to right) visit the U.S. Capitol Building.
UT to celebrate unity with MLK celebration UT professor discusses By Allison Seney IC Staff Writer
File photo by Nick Kneer / IC
Toledo Mayor Mike Bell speaks at last year’s MLK celebration press conference.
The 11th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Celebration will be held at Savage Arena Monday morning. The theme of this year’s celebration is “Stand!” which is meant to give the community an opportunity to stand together for a larger cause, according to Bill Stewart, special assistant to Toledo Mayor Mike Bell. “It means stand to be heard and stand up for someone else,” he said. “The goal is to create an opportunity for people to come together.” Monday’s celebration will feature a performance from the Toledo Interfaith Mass Choir. Hari Jones, curator of the African-American Civil War Museum in Washington D.C., will be this year’s keynote speaker. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Toledo Mayor Mike Bell and UT President Lloyd Jacobs will also speak at the event. The presentation of the second-annual Unity Award, which recognizes a community member who was involved in the greater Toledo community, will also be part of the event. Stewart organized the celebration with his committee cochair Shanda Gore, UT associate vice president of equity,
diversity and community engagement, along with the Board of Community Inc. In conjunction with Monday’s celebration, the University of Toledo scheduled a series of events for Unity Week, which began yesterday. Events scheduled for Unity Week include the Unity Vigil tonight at 5 p.m. in the Student Union Building’s T-Section. Bell and Jacobs came together to kick-off the week with a press conference yesterday at Driscoll Alumni Center. “We invite everyone to be a part of the celebration,” Jacobs said. “The spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King is still alive. By his set of principals, the world is being made a better place.” Jacobs said he is proud of Bell, who has been consistent with uniting the city. Bell said unity should be celebrated every day, not just once a year. “Instead of just talking the talk, this event takes action,” he said. “We tend to forget how well off we are.” Bell said he hopes people who attend the unity celebration will leave “uplifted.” The event is free and open to the public but attendees are asked to donate a canned food item. — Unity, Page A2
New Hampshire Republican Primary By Vincent D. Scebbi Managing Editor
After narrowly escaping the Iowa Caucus with an eightvote victory, Republican Party candidate Mitt Romney won the New Hampshire Primary by a much larger margin Tuesday. Romney, a Detroit native and former governor of Massachusetts, won approximately 39 percent of the New Hampshire votes, with Ron Paul coming in second with about 23 percent of votes. Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor, collected approximately 17 percent of votes and Newt Gingrich won around 10 percent of the votes, putting him narrowly ahead of Rick Santorum. As of yesterday, Romney has 25 total delegate votes, Paul is in second with 10 and Santorum is third with eight. The total number of delegates required to win the candidacy is 1,144. Professor of Political Science at UT David Davis said Romney is the clear front-runner of Republican nominees aiming to unseat President Barack Obama. “He looks better than he did
yesterday,” he said. “Winning Iowa, even by eight votes, is a good sign. Winning New Hampshire quite respectably is a good sign.” Davis said the possibility of uniting behind one candidate is unlikely. With Romney gaining momentum heading into the South Carolina on Jan. 21, Davis said it is still unclear how much of an impact Ohioans will have on Super Tuesday, which is when Ohio and 13 other primaries occur. “I think the interesting question for Ohioans is are we going to have any fun on Super Tuesday or will all the excitement be gone?” he said. “Romney is marching forward to his coronation, but he is far from having this in the bag. If Romney appears to be the eventual winner, people will back out.” Andrew Zucker, deputy communications director for the Ohio Democratic Party, said in an email that Ohioans will be better prepared and more knowledgeable about the candidates. Davis said Romney will remain the favorite unless all of the other Republicans unite — Primary, Page A2