The Minaret

Florida’s Top College Paper

Vol. 76 No. 16

ut.minaret@gmail.com

www.theminaretonline.com

January 22, 2010

Gasparilla Invasion 2010

By Charlie Hambos Editor-in-Chief

Although Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio will be handing the keys to the city over to Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, city officials are keeping security tight and sticking to a zerotolerance policy for underage drinking. This change and many others have come to this year’s 106th Annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest.

The changes come after last year’s festivities when a group of residents from the Bayshore and Hyde Park neighborhoods complained about the drunk party goers who passed out on their lawns and were caught publicly urinating.

This year, no underage alcohol consumption will be tolerated. Those choosing to consume alcohol can only do so in designated wet zones along the extended parade route and no open containers outside of the wet zones. Personal kegs, coolers,

See “Parade” [3] See “Link” [6] Image from gasparillapiratefest.com

Sushi Bar Opens In Stadium Center’s Gourmet Grocer may purchase these rolls for less than six dollars.

They also have other clasday and is available through meal sic rolls like the Philly and more exchange.

For the price of one meal, you exotic rolls like the dragon and may choose between a California rainbow. roll, a spicy tuna or salmon roll, See “Sushi” [8] a teriyaki chicken salad roll and a vegetarian combo roll, each made with either white or brown rice.

Each meal comes with a small bottle of water.

Those students who do not use the meal exchange program VirtualEm/Flickr.com

By Mandy Erfourth the first floor of Stadium Center.

Reporter The sushi is made fresh every

Scott Silvestro/ The Minaret

Ricardo.Martins/Flickr.com

Want something healthy, exotic and tasty without having to leave campus?

Have some sushi.

Southern Tsunami Sushi is now located in the Gourmet Grocer on

Start Cruising Your College Years in Style With Hertz Rentals

By Mandy Erfourth Reporter

Student Government and senior staff are making it easier for students to rent a car on campus, according to Assistant Director of Civic Engagement, Megan Frisque, since students under the age of 25 are now able to rent a car.

“A lot of freshmen come here without cars; a lot of organizations take trips on weekends. We wanted to provide a safe and also convenient way for them to do that,” Kelsie Huth, Student Government president said. The rental

cars are being provided by Hertz car rental.

Students will be able to rent a Mini Cooper or Ford Exscape by the hour or by the day.

“If they want to go to Disney, the grocery store, or an internship off campus they could rent this car,” Frisque said.

According to Frisque, there will be a website set up for interested students. “The earliest students can sign up to rent is Feb. first,” she said. Students will be able to go online to join and then receive a card in the mail.

Students will also be able to

rent the car online and then use the card to access the car.

The Ford Escape will cost nine dollars an hour to rent and the Mini Cooper $10 an hour.

It is not known yet if there will be a weekend rate.

Membership is free till May, and then there is a $50 annual membership fee and a one time $25 application fee and then students can rent as many times as they want, paying by the hour.

If students plan to use the service a lot, they can pay a flat fee and get a discount on the hourly rate. Gas and insurance is includ-

Inside ...

ed in the cost.

The cars are located in designated spots across the street from the Security Building.

According to Frisque, there will be GPS, Bluetooth and iPods inside the cars. “It supposed to be really cool inside,” she said.

Kai10/ Flickr.com

Blockbuster Rentals on Campus [2] Faith and Values Series [2]

The Stylist/New Semester Style [8] The Musical Life of a ‘Dinosaur’ in Motion [7]

Finding Love [13] Reflections on Haiti [12]

East-West Shrine [14]

Student Government and The University of Tampa split the cost of bringing the $5,000 of delivering the cars to campus, according to Frisque.

For more information go to www.connect byhertz.com.

No Break for Basketball [16]

News....................[1-5] Diversions..............[6] A&E....................[7-9] Editorial...............[10] Commentary....[10-13] Sports..............[14-16]

“Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available.” [Jim Beggs]

News

2

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

New Construction Projects Begin the New Year

By Charlie Hambos Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief Charlie Hambos

charlie.hambos@gmail.com

Asst. Editor-in-Chief Layout/Design Editor Mel Steiner mel.c.steiner@gmail.com

A&E Editor Mike Trobiano

minaret.arts@gmail.com

Commentary Editor Derrick Austin minaret.commentary@gmail.com

Sports Editor Kyle Bennett

minaret.sports@gmail.com

Online Editor Alex Vera

minaret.online@gmail.com

Head Photographer Abby Sanford abbster50@aol.com

Adviser Stephanie Tripp, PhD. stripp@ut.edu

Staff-At-Large

Jeffrey Palmer, Reporter Mandy Erfourth, Reporter Sarah Gottlieb, Reporter Coryn Doncaster, Reporter Zach Fraser, A&E Max Roberts, Artist Austin Daniels, Cartoonist Emilse Alvarado, Layout Scott Silvestro, Photographer Kara Wall, Photographer Brenton Burkett, Sports Ryan Burkett, Sports Daniel Feingold, Sports Laura Theobald, Copy Editor (News and A&E) Heather Gromley, Copy Editor (Sports and Commentary)

You can reach The Minaret directly at (813) 257-3636

The Minaret is a weekly student-run publication of the University of Tampa. As a student organization, The Minaret invites all students to take part in its production. Inquiries and comments may be sent to ut.minaret@gmail.com

Check out TheMinaretOnline.com for up-to-the-minute information on top stories and breaking news.

Your first two copies of The Minaret are free.

Each additional copy is $1.00.

Beyond the ongoing construction of the Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values, crews were busy working on several projects over the winter break and some are running over into the spring semester.

Any student or faculty member on campus during break probably noticed that University Drive in between the library and Science Wing of Plant Hall was narrowed down to a one lane road.

According to a Global Message sent out highlighting the construction projects on campus, crews were upgrading a storm water drainage sewer and found a problem in an old City of Tampa water line.

For the spring semester, the Computer Center Annex and Cass Faculty-Staff Parking lot will be closed to get the area ready for an addition to the Cass Building.

In the meantime, the Computer Center Annex will be moved to the east.

The e-mail said that sidewalks would still be open around the area under construction, but to be mindful of walking around any

January. construction on campus.

Check with theminaretonline.

Another staff parking lot is com for more updates on these also being affected. projects.

A small part of the Smiley Hall/Sykes College of Business Parking Lot has been blocked off to extend a chilled water line from the library chiller unit.

The unit powers the airconditioning in the library, Riverside Center and Smiley Hall.

The project was scheduled to end

by Jan. 19.

Students may have also stepped into a new computer classroom in North Walker Hall.

The classroom will not only function for classes but will serve as a testing center.

The classroom has wireless internet access and stored laptops for use.

In an effort to meet the demand of UT students, the Health Center is being moved to a modular facility on the newly acquired Kennedy Boulevard property by early February.

The e-mail also stated that a new facility is in the works but no dates were given as to when construction would begin.

The Cass Street Bridge will continue to be closed but traffic should restart near the end of

Photos by: Abby Sanford/ The Minaret

Faith and Values Series In For Another Semester

By Charlie Hambos Editor-in-Chief

Students who didn’t get the opportunity to attend the events that were part of last semester’s Faith, Values and Spirituality Programming Series will have another opportunity to participate this semester.

Last semester the programming, which includes film events, book club meetings and Community Conversations, began to pave the way for the opening of the Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values.

This semester’s Spirituality and Film series will present Crash on Feb. 12, at 8 p.m. in Reeves

Theater, followed by a discussion lead by Dr. Gregg Bachman, professor of communications, Dr. Audrey Colombe, assistant professor of English and Dr. Bruce Friesen, associate professor of sociology.

Attendees to the first book club of the semester will read Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age, by Juana Bordas at 4 p.m. on Feb. 19.

Registration for the book club ends on Jan. 28.

Registration forms are located in the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement.

Bordas will also be the guest speaker at the Leadership Around the World: Spring Leadership Re-

treat on Feb. 20.

The second book club of the semester will be reading The Red Tent on Friday, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on March 19.

Registration forms are located in OSLE and are due by Feb. 19.

The Community Conversation Series will meet four times throughout the semester.

The group discusses a variety of different topics in terms of faith, values and spirituality.

For more information on the series, visit the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement in Vaughn Center, room 215 or email Stephanie Russel Holz at srholz@ ut.edu.

Rent A Movie on Campus

By Mandy Erfourth Reporter

Don’t know what to do tonight, why not rent a movie?

A Blockbuster kiosk will be put in the Vaughn Center on the first floor by the entrance of the courtyard according to Megan Frisque, Assistant Director of Civic Engagement.

She also said that it’s being put in the Vaughn Center because it’s open later then the other buildings on campus.

“There are almost a thousand movies that will be in the kiosk, we’ve been informed,” Frisque said.

According to Chris McCarthy, Student Government Vice President, said that according the Blockbuster Representative the Blockbuster kiosk should be the arriving the beginning of Feb. McCarthy is just waiting on the Blockbuster Representative getting back to him to confirm this, and he is waiting on the delivery

of the machine.

“It will be this semester,” Kelsie Huth, Student Government President said. “It’s coming; it’s on the way, were waiting on their end,” McCarthy said.

According to Huth the kiosk will be exactly like a Red Box, it’s a dollar a movie a night that is paid with a credit card. There’s a touch screen feature and it has new movie rentals.

“We wanted to do things this semester that students would really care about and enjoy,” Huth said. “We didn’t want to do a lot of little insignificance stuff that students didn’t see or care about.”

Student government wanted to do something entertaining but also something that was convenient.

“I always wanted to try [one of those kiosks],” Erfourthie Bauer, junior said.

Rico Lively, freshman said that he has Net Flix but would still use it because of the new releases.

-First SG meeting of the semester is next Tuesday -Gasparilla rules have changed for this year..be sure to take heed of the information around campus and join SG in Reeves Theater next Tuesday at 7pm to hear about all the changes.

-Does your organization need money? Go to utampasg.org and click on “Finance Bill” to apply for funding.

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The History of Jose Gaspar

Thus began the adventurous they realized as they neared their pirate life of the former Spanish victims that the ship was actually To many, Gasparilla commander. the U.S. Navy’s ship, the U.S.S. sounds like a place in Latin Enterprise, in disguise.

A Tall Tale America or some sort of The fateful battle that ensued There is little verified exotic Spanish dish. As knowledge of Gasparilla’s life, was bloody and treacherous. most Tampa residents can however his personal diary holds Legend has it that as the attest, Gasparilla is all about a wealth of facts about his early commanding officer of the pirates, beads, parades, and career. For example, during the Enterprise boarded Gaspar’s partying. This year will first 12 years as a pirate, Gaspar defeated ship, Gaspar tied a chain mark the 94th celebration and his crew captured and burned around his waist and neck, and of the now famous pirate 36 ships off the Florida coast. leaped into the water brandishing invasion and festival that Crews from the captured ships his sword in rebellion. lasts through the month of were given the choice of joining He declared that he would February. rather die of his own accord than his men or walking the plank.

Although most people The fate of captured women was be killed. can tell you about Gasparilla determined by his current desires. the celebration, not as many It is unknown how many ships know the story of Gasparilla were victim to Gaspar’s crew over the pirate. his entire career, but he terrorized The man behind the the Gulf waters off the coast of name is the legendary Florida through 1821.

Jose Gaspar, “the last of Upon deciding to retire from the buccaneers.” Gaspar his career as a pirate, Gaspar terrorized the waters along convinced his crew to split up western Florida and up their collective treasures and along the Gulf Coast during fortune, disband and live the rest the late 18th and early 19th of their lives as normal citizens. centuries.

However, Gaspar’s greed got Gaspar, known as the best of him as he decided to “Gasparilla” among his go on a final hoorah and pursue crew, was a lieutenant in the a merchant ship en route to Spanish Navy until 1783, Orleans. when he and his crew seized He convinced his men to a Spanish sloop-of-war and go along and end their career in set sail for Florida. style. Unfortunately for them,

By MInaret Staff

Schedule of Events Pirate Invasion

Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Route: The Jose Gasparilla sets sail at the south end of Hillsborough Bay at 11:30 a.m. and sails north to Seddon Channel, which is between Davis Island and Harbour Island, and docks at the Tampa Convention Center at 1 p.m.

Where to see: The best place to watch for the invasion will be along the channel and the area surrounding the Convention Center as well as Davis Island and Harbour Island.

Gasparilla Parade of the Pirates

Time: 2 p.m. – approx. 5:30 p.m.

Route: The parade begins at Bay to Bay Boulevard and Bayshore Boulevard. It continues along Bayshore Boulevard to Brorein Street, turns east on Brorein Street, then north on Ashley Drive. The parade ends at Cass Street and Ashley Drive There are many locations open to the public along Bayshore Boulevard and in downtown Tampa for viewing the parade.

The Winds Have Changed...

• No underage alcohol consumption or possession will be tolerated • Alcohol can only be consumed in designated wet zones along extended parade route • No open containers of alcohol outside of wet zone • Kegs, coolers, glass containers and mass consumption vessels are prohibited • Disruptive behavior is prohibited (fighting, public urination, property damage, trespassing, nudity, etc.)

Failure to follow policy of Tampa codes, ordinances or state statutes may result in arrests.

How to Protect Your Booty

By MInaret Staff

Wear Sunscreen

Ahoy! It’s chilly in the bay, but the sun still burns.

Stay Hydrated

Gasparilla isn’t on the open seas. Keep hydrated or the treasure will be a mirage by the end of the day.

Follow the Rules

ARGGHHH! Rules, Rules, Rules. The ruling winds have changed this year. Just follow them, nobody wants to see your mug shot online.

Wear Shoes, Not Flip-Flops

Aye, don’t forget your boots or the only pirate booty you’ll find is sitting down like you’ve dropped an anchor on your toe.

Wear Your Best Costume

Arrr, whether sea breeze or the sunrays, dress for the treasure and the weather.

Bring A Camera

The real treasure is in the memories so bring your camera to blackmail your friends on Facebook.

Bring Cash

There’s no booty for the broke. Food, drink and public indecency tickets, you’ll be walking the plank without you wallet.

Pick a Good Spot

Finding the treasure is all about where you drop your anchor.

Watch Out For Beads

Avast, cannon fire coming! Stay steady matey, bead hurts.

“Parade”: Front glass containers and other mass consumption vessels will be prohibited according to state and city ordinances.

An early attempt was made to move the parade route in March 2009. Instead, festival organizers and city officials are increasing the number of Tampa Police officers to 275, an additional 50 officers from last year.

The extended parade route will end at Curtis Hixon Park across the river from UT where there will be plenty of space for spectators to drink alcohol but still has to be bought there and not brought in from anywhere else.

This year, there will also be 1,600 portable toilets. This number is nearly double that of last year’s. Officials are hoping to curb the amount of public urination and other unlawful behavior at this year’s festivities.

“Gasparilla is a community tradition that our membership has hosted proudly for generations here in Tampa,” said Jim Robbins, Captain of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla in a press release. “We want everyone to enjoy Gasparilla each year, whether they attend the event or simply live nearby,” said Robbins.

Pepin Distributing, a parade sponsor has linked up with several other sponsors and Tampa city officials to create a campaign called “Respect is the Key” to communicate the idea that they want people to act more responsible for the event.

“The objective of the Respect is the Key program is to communicate to our community in a positive manner and at the point of purchase that this year, disruptive behavior and violations of city ordinances will not be tolerated by law enforcement,” said Bill Gieseking, director of Marketing for Pepin Distributing Company, Tampa’s Anheuser Busch distributor. “We care about our community and feel that Gasparilla is a very important event for our community,”

said Gieseking.

Gina Firth, associate Dean of Students says that times are changing and if students do not adhere to the changes the future of the event is in jeopardy.

“If behavior shifts are not made, Gasparilla will not be able to continue,” Firth said.

Firth understands that students can have fun during this historical event but they need to know that what they were able to get away with last year will not be tolerated this year.

“Just be smart,” she said.

Firth mentioned that Tampa Police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office will be in communication with UT to inform them of students that are arrested. Those arrested will not only face the consequences of their arresting authority but also Student Conduct on campus.

“They are putting the event as well as themselves and the future in jeopardy,” Firth said about students that would pay no attention to the new rules put in place this year.

Eric Cardenas, director of Public Information said that UT Campus Safety and Security will help close down campus entrances only allowing UT students with an Spartan ID to enter.

Cardenas said that many other organizations on campus including Team Chaos and Residence Life are helping to create a safe environment for students.

“We are trying to educate students on how they can protect themselves and doing what we can to help minimize problems,” Cardenas said.

Other sponsors of the campaign include MacDill Airforce Base, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and the Tampa Alcohol Coalition.

Event attendees 21 and older can text “pirate” to 333222 to receive messages about the changes to this year’s Gasparilla. For those under 21, they can text “change” to 333222. Go to theminaretonline.com for updates.

4

News

The Minaret | January 22, 2010 Photos Provided

by P.E.A.C.E.

Horses and the Handicapped Thank you to those who participated on Winter Alternative Breaks, you all did a fantastic job!

In the next couple weeks we will be releasing applications for: * A February weekend trip to a primate sanctuary * An end of the year trip to work with a YMCA kids camp in California Stay tuned!

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The Minaret | January 22, 2010

FOR RELEASE JANUARY 3, 2010

THE TV CROSSWORD

Scott Silvestro / The Minaret

by Jacqueline E. Mathews

1 5 8 9 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 32 35

ACROSS “The __ Wife” “Sanford and __” “Grand Ole __” Julia Child and Emeril Lagasse One of the characters on “The Simpsons” Confined Remain Late-night host, until recently “__/Tuck” Bit of sooty residue Actor Nicolas Singer Paul Admonish Mork or E. T. __ tea __ one’s time; wait patiently Actress Zellweger Historical periods Comments from Annie’s dog Cassius __; Muhammad Ali, at birth “The flowers that bloom in the spring, __ la...”

Russian space station

36 37 38 40 41 42 43 44 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 15 17

Solution to Last Week’s Puzzle

19 20 22 23 25 26 27 30 31 33 34 36 37 39 40

(c) 2010 Tribune Media Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

- A Florida spider builds its home for the new semester.

Mexican misses: abbr.

Actor Barry of “Cold Case” Huey, Dewey, or Louie, to Donald “F __”; old Forrest Tucker/Ken Berry army sitcom Pancake topper Goals “__ Life to Live” “By the Time __ to Phoenix” DOWN Billy, nanny, and their kids Talk show host Wild party John __ of “Touched by an Angel” “CSI: Crime __ Investigation” Cry of alarm Center of a tennis court “America’s __ Videos” Actor/producer/director Lee Monogram for Mary’s portrayer on “Little House on the Prairie” Al Bundy’s wife “Promised __” “Peter __”; show that starred Mary Martin __ Summer of “A Different World” “M*A*S*H” actor King toppers Like meringue Benaderet and Arthur Hit hard Moran and Gray Light, crinkled fabric “__ & Order” Perch Elec. current unit Give the cold shoulder to Branch of mathematics, for short Expert Skater Babilonia

Week ending Dec. 8, 2009

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Top tracks

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United States Bad Romance s ,ADY 'A'A TiK ToK s +E HA My Christmas Andrea Bocelli

(1) 1 (2) 2

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(3) 3 (4) 4

Meet Me Halfway s "LACK %YED 0EAS

(5) 5

Fireflies s /WL #ITY

United Kingdom

Christmas Hits Various artists

Russian Roulette s 2IHANNA

(1) 1

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Horoscopes

By Linda C Black / Tribune Media Services

Aries (March 21-April 19) Uplifting words pervade your space.

Everyone seems to be in a festive mood.

A female provides special treats for everyone.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Everything goes well today on a practical level until someone comes up with a bright new idea. Run with it! This concept is much better.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Someone wants to travel today. If you already have reservations, that’s great. If not, make a plan for later.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Group efforts result in improved cash flow. Resist spending that new money.

Instead, continue to formulate new ideas with convincing language.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) More new ideas arrive by the hour.

How to get them all into the plan? An associate provides the means to document everything.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) Practical considerations work best today.

Allow another person to make decisions.

You don’t have to be in control. You just need to be present to win.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Think about how you want to spend the weekend. As you’re doing daily tasks, figure out what you’ll need and make a list. Add something extra just for fun.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Today you find greater enjoyment in fulfilling responsibilities. You love every chance you get to find imaginative ways to get work done.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) All of the best efforts today occur behind closed doors. Be polite but firm. You have a lot to accomplish by the end of the day.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) If you can sort out the key principles in other people’s arguments, you’ll be home free on your own project.

Acknowledge the support, both personally and professionally.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You now have an opportunity to fulfill a karmic debt. No problem. You’re filled with inspired thoughts and plenty of energy.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) It’s a good thing you know where you’re headed, because others in your group don’t have a clue. It’s like leading someone who’s blindfolded.

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

Arts & Entertainment

The Musical Life of a ‘Dinosaur’ in Motion

- Donate to the Hatian earthquake victims.

By Zach Fraser Staff Writer

With the start of each new decade, it is only natural to reminisce on the last.

In the music world, the turn of the millennium brought a wide assortment of bands, some great ones and some that will all be glad to forget.

Motion City Soundtrack, the five-piece power pop group from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is surely one of the last decade’s brightest acts.

With three major albums under their belt, the seasoned veterans are looking to recapture the success that kept them at the forefront of the pop punk genre throughout the last decade.

My Dinosaur Life, the fourth installment from Motion City Soundtrack, opens with lead singer and lead guitarist Justin Pierre singing, “It’s been a good year, a good new beginning,” and no other line could summarize the effects of the bands last couple of years.

Pierre has been in and out of substance and alcohol abuse centers for years, constantly jeopardizing the bands future.

But with a new outlook on life and a pledge against drugs and booze, Motion City Soundtrack looks stronger than ever and ready to reclaim their crown.

My Dinosaur Life features the darker, more raw sound that made

7

- Reread your favorite novel from high school.

- Keep true to your new year’s resolution and hit the gym! their first release, I Am the Movie so successful. Couple that with the more commercial appeal of their sophomore release, Commit This to Memory, and you have something very special.

Lyrics have always been a strong point for the band and past experiences for Pierre surface quite vividly in Delirium, a song that paints a picture of what had been going on in his head for so long.

“There’s a voice, there’s a voice, there’s a voice in my head,” sings Pierre.

“It’s rather soothing and it tells me I’d be better off dead, but if I beat it, maybe punch it, even kick it away, then everything will be alrightly.”

Pierre continues to self reflect as he confesses, “I swim in pharmaceuticals, I swim in pharmaceuticals.

The medicine deactivates the things I take, the things that take

Cover Art

me.”

Other songs like, Stand Too Close and Pulp Fiction stand out on My Dinosaur Life with the signature Motion City Soundtrack charm, while the album’s first single, A Lifeless Ordinary (Need A Little Help), shows Pierre dealing with his past troubles and honestly asking for help.

“I think I can figure it out,” sings Pierre. “But I’m gonna need a little help to get me, need a little help to get me.

I think I can figure it out, but I’m gonna need a little help to get me through it, to get me through it.”

My Dinosaur Life is a 40 minute adventure into the lives of the members of Motion City Soundtrack and the glamorized hardships of the limelight.

If you take any message away from Pierre and company on this album, know this: the past is the past, so live for today.

- Watch both the Men’s & Women’s basketball games on Saturday beginning at 2pm.

- Attend the Business Network Symposium on Tuesday from 7:15 - 9 a.m.

- Audition for the spring musical, Candide.

- Interested in contributing to the Arts & Entertainment section of The Minaret? Email minaret. arts@gmail.com for more info.

Van Halen Joins the ‘Guitar Hero’ Franchise to Gamers Delight

By Ben Fritz Los Angeles Times, MCT Campus

Guitar Hero's previous single-band releases, devoted to Aerosmith and Metallica, were already of questionable quality before Rock Band kicked the bar out of the atmosphere with The Beatles: Rock Band.

Though a perfectly tenable game for reasons to be detailed later, Guitar Hero: Van Halen doesn't brighten the picture.

D e pending on your opinion of Val Halen's presentday relevance a n d your tolerance for Guitar Hero releases in the span of a single year, it might e v e n constitute a leap backward.

Per convention, Van Halen's visual fingerprints are all over the box and interface, and the band's likenesses come to life in typical semi-cartoony fashion.

This time, though, politics and squabbling have left former bassist Michael Anthony and former lead singers Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone off the bill.

Consequently, none of the band's Hagar- and Cherone-fronted catalog appears, either.

Whether the loss of that music and iconography is a big deal will vary from fan to fan, but there's no arguing it doesn't splin-

ter whatever hope GH:VH had for documenting its subject matter the way Beatles did.

Then again, Neversoft's inability to learn from Beatles — or the failings of its own single-band games — torpedoed that hope without the band's help.

GH:VH's 47-song track list is, like those other games, significantly smaller than the numbered (but same-priced) "Guitar Hero" game.

But the real issue comes from 19 of those songs being either Eddie Van Halen guitar solos or the product of bands other than Van Halen.

The game claims the other music has some stylistic connection to Van Halen's music, but one look at the track list (Fountains of Wayne? Third Eye Blind? Weezer?) suggests otherwise.

Whatever effort would have been necessary to kiss and make up with Hagar, if not everyone from Van Halen's past, would more than have been worth it if it resulted in a coherent, complete tribute to the band's catalog.

This, by contrast, feels like a track pack tucked inside a fullpriced game with some extra filler to justify the price.

On that note, it comes down to whether the tracks, which would cost nearly $80 if totaled up as

downloadable content for Guitar Hero 5, justify the purchase.

GH:VH at least does things — namely, a new career mode and a new suite of achievements/trophies in the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions — a track pack alone cannowt.

But do you want to buy something Activision seems reluctant to sell?

The company gave the game away to anyone who purchased GH5 earlier in the year, and it waited two months to sneak it onto shelves after most people's holiday shopping had concluded.

Pushing the game out the door at full price after previously giving it away seems like a move made for the half-hearted heck of it, which seems to have been GH:VH's artistic approach as well.

Watching a publisher practically wash its hand of a product doesn't affect the quality of the product itself, but it's hard to get excited about a game when the people who made it seem not to care.

Game Info: Guitar Hero: Van Halen For: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Playstation 2 From: Neversoft/ Activision ESRB Rating: Teen (mild lyrics, mild suggestive themes)

Arts & Entertainment

8

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

Minaret writer & fashion contributer, Daniella Fusari, uncovers UT’s fashion forward students.

Adria.Richards / flickr.com Trying to get in shape this new year?

Hit the gym in stylish active wear.

With the beginning of a new semester, a new year and a new start, my advice is to alter your wardrobe to reflect a fresh attitude.

Workout clothes: If your New Year’s resolution was to lose weight, get in shape or take up yoga, the best way to begin a workout regiment is to feel good about yourself from the get-go.

Many of your favorite places sell workout apparel, but my favorite for a great price is Old Navy.

Invest in a few pairs of women’s yoga capris ($16.50), for example.

They have a tight fit and are comfortable to run and workout in.

Pair those with a women’s active racer-back tank ($16.50), for an outfit that feels and looks great.

Check out their full collection at Oldnavy.com or at the Old Navy located in West Shore mall.

Bathing suits: It may not seem like it yet, but pretty soon you’re going to be needing those swimsuits again.

Victoria’s Secret is ahead of the game with their Swim ‘10 catalog.

They now have a big selection of awesome swimsuits that suit any style of body.

My favorites are the sexy coverage swim separates.

They are figure-flattering and come in a variety of colors.

If you have more of a rock-

Mr. Wright / flickr.com

>

>

The Stylist New Semester Style

It might still be cold outside but swimsuits are hot anytime of year. star attitude, try the gold ring bikini in leopard print.

If you are more subdued, check out the heart bandeau bikini or the butterfly one-shoulder bikini.

Whatever your attitude or appeal, Victoria’s Secret has a swimsuit for you.

All are available at Victoriassecret.com. When you feel good about yourself, your motivation increases.

Don’t go to class in dumpy clothes like you’ve just rolled out of bed.

We live in a beautiful place with awesome weather, so take

“Sushi”: Front If they don’t have your favorite roll prepared and ready to go, they will make it fresh for you on the spot.

Southern Tsunami looks a lot like the sushi counter at big grocery chain, just smaller.

There really isn’t much of an atmosphere to it. It is tucked away in the Gourmet Grocer and unless you know where to look, it might be hard to find.

Most students appear to be finding it though. When I went, it was very crowded and everyone was getting sushi.

I had the spicy salmon with brown rice and it was very good.

I wasn’t expecting anything spec-

advantage of that: restock your sundresses and flip-flops, check out your favorite stores’ new spring collections.

If you still want to wear sweatpants, opt for ones from the Pink collection at Victoria’s Secret or a cute Juicy pair.

You can be comfortable and still look presentable.

This is the semester to feel your best and do your best.

Making small changes to your wardrobe can help remind you to feel good about yourself everyday.

To contact Daniella Fusari, email her at dfusari@ut.edu.

tacular, but it was good for sushi from a grocer and the staff was very helpful in getting me what I wanted.

Because of the instant popularity of the new venue, it might be better located outside the grocer to allow for more customers.

The Gourmet Grocer is just too small to hold the volume Southern Tsunami already seems to be bringing in.

The students were raving about the fact that we have sushi on campus now; one girl even called her friend to tell them about it.

Southern Tsunami seems to be an instance hit.

Southern Tsunami is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Scott Silvestro / The Minaret

Arts & Entertainment

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

‘Avatar’ Stays Strong at Box Office; ‘Eli,’ ‘Bones’ Get Off to Solid Debuts end.

By Ben Fritz Los Angeles Times, MCT Campus

LOS ANGELES — After a strong Martin Luther King Day weekend there’s no doubt left that James Cameron’s Avatar will surpass Titanic atop the box office charts, but two new movies managed to find their audiences, too.

The 3-D phenomenon Avatar raked in an additional $54.6 million from Friday through Monday, according to an estimate from distributor 20th Century Fox. The Denzel Washington action film The Book of Eli and Peter Jackson-directed book adaptation The Lovely Bones had healthy debuts of $38 million and $20.5 million, respectively.

The Jackie Chan family comedy The Spy Next Door, meanwhile, had a so-so opening of $13 million.

Avatar also had another big weekend overseas, collecting $129 million from 112 territories.

Its $14.5 million debut in Italy, the last major country where it hadn’t yet launched, was the biggest ever for a film there, said Fox. As of Monday, Avatar had grossed $1.12 billion internationally and $505 million domestically.

Within the next week, it will surpass the $1.24 billion that Titanic, Cameron’s last picture and still the most successful of all time worldwide, collected overseas.

Shortly thereafter, it should pass the 1997-98 film’s domestic total of $600.8 million.

Eleven years ago, of course, ticket prices were a lot cheaper—the most recent estimated average ticket price was $7.46, compared with $4.69 in 1998.

And the vast majority of people are seeing Avatar on 3-D screens, which carry a ticket price surcharge of several dollars.

The result: far fewer people have seen Avatar than Titanic so far. Avatar has sold fewer than 70 million tickets in the U.S. and Canada; Titanic sold more than 125 million.

However, despite its consistent popularity for the past five weeks, Avatar seems to have plenty of gas left, as evidenced by its small decline in ticket sales this past week-

Wins for best director and best dramatic picture at the Golden Globes Sunday night should help it with more sophisticated moviegoers who don’t often attend tentpole pictures.

“I think it will sustain modest drops as we keep moving through awards season,” said Chris Aronson, executive vice president of domestic distribution for Fox. “Some people are seeing this film multiple times and there are still a lot of others who haven’t seen it yet.”

Eli looks like it will be a success for independent financier Alcon Entertainment, following its surprise hit The Blind Side.

Produced for $80 million, the postapocalyptic tale is off to a good start and received an average audience grade of B+, according to market research firm CinemaScore.

That means it should benefit from solid word-of-mouth in the coming weeks.

Despite its religious themes, the movie didn’t play any better in smaller and midsized markets, like The Blind Side has, said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros., which released the movie for Alcon.

Despite a poor performance at three theaters over the last month, The Lovely Bones found the young female audience Paramount Pictures was targeting this weekend as it expanded nationwide.

The big question is whether the Peter Jackson-directed adaptation of the best-selling book will continue to play well or if it will quickly exhaust a small but fervent audience of teen- and college-aged females.

Mixed reviews and the movie’s poor performance in limited release indicate that it will not draw many adults.

Paramount hopes it has a smaller-scale Twilight on its hands, but with a good-butnot-great average audience grade of B, it remains to be seen if it will perform anything like the teen vampire sensation.

The Jackie Chan family comedy The Spy Next Door, which Lionsgate released for financier Relativity Media, had a mediocre debut of $13 million over the four-day weekend.

Moviegoers, overwhelmingly parents with young kids, gave the movie a strong average grade of A-.

Of the films that opened last weekend, romantic comedy Leap Year had a decent hold of 35 percent, making up a bit for its so-so start.

Lionsgate’s horror movie Daybreakers plunged 68 percent from its stronger debut, and Weinstein Co.’s Michael Cera comedy Youth in Revolt dropped off 56 percent after an already weak bow.

In limited release, the well-reviewed Leo Tolstoy biopic The Last Station opened to a solid $98,723 in three theaters following a one-week run to quality for Oscar consideration late last year.

Though there was little bad news for movie studios this weekend, total grosses were down 11 percent from the same weekend last year, according to Hollywood.com.

Big gains at the box office will be difficult in the next several months, as the winter of 2009 was huge.

9

Your guide to the upcoming flicks hitting theatres this weekend.

“Extrodinary Measures” Rated: PG Time: 106 mins Based on a true story, Fraser, Ford and Russell depict the life of John Cowley, a man devoted to solving his child’s illness. Risking everything he’s got, he defies odds.

“Legion” Rated: R Time: 104 mins When God begins to question mankind, he summons his legion of angels and starts the Apocalypse.

“The Tooth Fairy” Rated: PG Time: 102 mins Dwayne Johnson shines in a new family comedy as an ex-wrestler who is forced to become a tooth fairy.

“Creation” Rated: PG-13 Time: 135 mins The true life story of Charles Darwin hits the silver screen in this powerful tale of his life and his effects on society.

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If you have not done so already Now is the time to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid Complete yours today

Commentary

10

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

Editorial: Heed to the New Policies and Start Right

& Conan O’Brien The 90s

Jay Leno

Jeers

The 80s

Ping Wu on Project Runway

Playing Ping Pong

Futurama

The Simpsons

Capricorn

Cheers

Sagittarius

The spring semester has begun and it’s the dawn of a new decade.

Just in time for classes to begin, the excitement revels as the Gasparilla Pirate Invasion is only days away.

City and university officials are cracking down on the usual rowdy behavior after complaints soared following last year’s events.

This will be the 106th Gasparilla Pirate Invasion and every year the festivity is marked with heavy alcohol drinking and the slew of consequences that go along with the irresponsible consumption of alcohol.

Security is up and underage alcohol consumption will not be tolerated. People already seem to be taking the new rules lightly but they really need to follow them.

UT has run into several issues

over the past couple of years during this time.

The behavior of students hasn’t always been the best during these times and some students have run into dangerous situations because they were not acting responsible.

Everyone needs to look out for each other and be responsible for their actions and their friend’s actions.

UT has always been at the heart of all the action and this year will be even more as the parade route stretches into downtown.

Last year, security did not allow anyone without a valid UT ID to enter campus to prevent any trespassers and we are sure that they will be tight this year as well.

Now, if students don’t have too much fun at Gasparilla, they will

still have the rest of the semester to look forward to accomplishing great things.

The Minaret tries to reiterate at the beginning of each semester that the beginning is the best time to set the course for the rest of the semester. As soon as we end the first week, the next week will come and the next one until it is all over and we have lost track of all time.

Now is the time to make it work and start keeping up with classes and planning out how to be the most successful for the rest of 2010.

So do what is necessary, to not only start your semester on the right foot but also the New Year and new decade.

The Minaret looks forward to being your source for UT news during 2010 and beyond.

break dancing outside Plant Hall?

2. Keep O.J. locked up for a good long time.

3. With Oprah Winfrey ending her talk show in September 2011, there seems to be room for an influx of new ones. I love Ellen and Wendy Williams, but I don’t think Ricky Lake and Sally Jessy Rafael are doing much these days.

4. MTV needs to start playing music videos. Let’s never speak of The Hills and Jersey Shore again.

5. Lauryn Hill should release a new album and return from her self-imposed exile. We miss her.

6. No more digital cameras, inexpensive Polaroid cameras— because when was the last time you shook a Polaroid picture like, well, a Polaroid picture?

7. A Clinton sex scandal and I’m not talking about Bill or Chelsea.

8. Am I still a third-wave feminist? It’s about time for a fourth wave where feminist leaders stop wasting time over petty ideological battles and actually fight for women’s rights; this time without the self-righteous attitude toward women comfortable in traditional roles or towards women who don’t live in the West.

Equal rights and equal protection should be global, but western feminists don’t need to shape women from other nations in their image.

9. Make Mother Teresa a saint.

10. Late-night television needs a change; it needs a fresh face. The warfare between Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien had me thinking that now would be a great time for Arsenio Hall to reappear with a TV show—or at

least someone similar.

In the early 90s, Hall originally appealed to a largely black audience, which gradually broadened, exposing rap artists like 2Pac and N.W.A. to new audiences. Hall interviewed figures from Madonna to a sax-playing Bill Clinton to, perhaps most infamously, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam.

If NBC wants to keep late night fresh, then don’t fill the timeslot with the same old faces.

11. Note to Disney: Keep hand drawing movies, it’s nice to see them again, but don’t make another Toy Story sequel.

12. Wasn’t there supposed to be another Duke Nukem game a decade ago?

I Love the 90s, Again: This Decade Should See Some Familiar Trends

By Derrick Austin Commentary Editor

Have you ever noticed that a lot of trends repeat themselves?

Everything comes back in style at one point or another, but they usually occur in twenty year intervals.

In the last decade—the 00s, the Aughts, the Naughties, whatever— pop culture seemed to be haunted by the 80s. VH1 started those I Love the… series with I Love the 80s; Rocky, Indiana Jones, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were featured in comeback films, and our popular music has been autotuned and digitized so much it wouldn’t

Max Roberts / The Minaret

be out of place in an 80s club.

With that in mind, it seems that the 90s are prepped for a pop culture revival.

Ally McBeal the Movie?

A sequel to Madonna’s Sex book, the fifty year old edition?

The return of grunge?

Here are twelve suggestions to help guide this new decade: 1. Boomboxes! Yes, MP3 players are light-weight, convenient and can easily contain 1000 songs, but everyone is wired out of the world, isolated from everyone else, their headphones blasting Animal Collective or Plies.

If the music’s right, there’s nothing like someone lugging a boombox on their shoulder, setting it down and letting the music play.

It’ll help return the communal feeling of listening to music, and who wouldn’t want to see people

Derrick Austin can be reached at daustin@ut.edu.

Commentary

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

11

Get the Situation on MTV’s Wildly Tanned and Popular Show

By John Jacobs Columnist

MTV’s Jersey Shore is, without a doubt, the most controversial and popular show right now.

If you don’t know what it is imagine MTV’s Real World set in a house on the Jersey shore with the most ridiculous cast of self titled guidos MTV could find.

Whether you hate the show or love it people can’t help but watch every episode.

It’s like an accident on the highway you should just drive by, but you can’t help but slow down and stare at it.

First, to run down some of the roommates on this show, we start off with the great character Mike “The Situation” (son of Dan “the instigation” and Lana “the position”). Mike is a 27 year old from Staten Island, who refers to himself and most other nouns throughout the show as “the situation.”

“Did you hear about that situation with the situation? Talk about a situation, I almost got my situation situation’d.”

Mike also prides himself on his body which he self describes as “ripped up like Rambo” and has obnoxiously large arms which are equivalent in circumference to a child’s waist.

Mike is also one of the most entertaining roommates on the show because he’s an endless source of classic quotes.

“If I walked in the door and

saw myself, I’d probably grab my girl real quick.” “…It’s not a matter of if she wants to hook up with me; it’s just a matter of when I decide.”

With confidence like that, how could any girl resist a guy like this!

And my personal favorite quote is when Mike is talking to a girl and it cuts away to him explaining what’s going on and he says, “I’m talking to my girl, Pauly D is talking to his girl. We’re going to have sex. That’s the situation.”

I think that has to be the most basic way anything has ever been explained in the history of the world. Just the way he says it I feel like I could see this as a question on a test.

“Question: If Mike is talking to his girl, and Pauly D is talking to his girl, what is the situation?

Answer: They’re going to have sex.”

Then we have Nicole a.k.a.

“Snooki,” the 5’0 tall self titled “queen of the guidettes.” She has a “poof” the size of a softball on her head and is tan to the point where she can only be described as “dark orange.”

A friend referred to her as “the Indian girl,” and when I told him she was just very tan Italian he responded, “Oh my God...”

Snooki’s main goal at the house is to find “a tan juice-head guido” at the Jersey shore, and it’s shocking she hasn’t found one yet (Stop your encouraging them!).

She’s had no luck however but has managed to get punched in the face by a man.

Then we have Pauly D from Rhode Island who’s been deemed by some of his other roommates

Meet the tanned and overworked guidos and guidettes of MTV’s “Jersey Shore.”

as “the ultimate guido” (and they mean that as a compliment).

He proudly admits he spends 25 minutes to prepare his hair everyday and is covered in tattoos which look like he just flipped through a book and picked random stuff.

There are four other roommates on the show who are basically and exactly what you would expect: a bartender with fake breasts, a guy who looks like he’s been working out since birth, his newly made girlfriend appropriately nicknamed “sweetheart,” a guy who just drinks all the time and a girl who was kicked off the show because she didn’t “work.”

If you were wondering what the point of the show was, MTV films these seven lucky people who have to work at a boardwalk T-shirt shop in exchange for living in a

house and being on TV. (Sounds like a fair trade right?)

The show breakdown consists of two minutes showing the roommates at work, then the rest of the time is broken up between showing them go to clubs, drink at the house, fight each other, fight random people, hook up with each other, hook up with random people and say “are you friggin serious” countless times per episode.

Also, if you ever wanted to learn more synonyms for “having sex,” Jersey Shore can help you on that because throughout the show the guys love to refer to that act in more appropriate ways.

Two of my favorite ones used are “pound out” and “smush,” neither sound appealing at all when referring to sex!

I’m pretty sure a girl wouldn’t enjoy hearing, “I know we’ve only

Promotional Image / MTV

been out a few times, but I really like you and I was just hoping maybe you’d let me pound you out tonight.”

And if she did respond positively, most likely she’s not a girl you would want to “pound out.”

Still, the Jersey Shore is one of the most entertaining shows on TV right now, however, as awesome as the show sounds, it’s been very controversial and some advertisers have even pulled their commercials from being shown during the show due to the negative stereotype it brings to Italians.

But it’s not like MTV portrays all the cast mates as superficial, loud, arrogant, short tempered, sex crazed people… oh wait.

John Jacobs can be reached at jjacobs@ut.edu.

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Commentary

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

“One Death Is a Tragedy; One Million Is a Statistic”

By Derrick Austin Commentary Editor

Since Jan. 12, we’ve watched the tragedy in Haiti unfold as rescue teams try to reestablish order and aid is flown in from around the world.

The Minaret is, of course, the newspaper of the University of

By Max Roberts Special to The Minaret

Joseph Stalin was right. “One death,” the dictator is reported to have said, “is a tragedy; one million is a statistic.”

While Stalin is interpreted as providing justification for mass murder, his sentiment regardless rings true during all times of great tragedy, most recently seen in the aftermath of the cataclysmic earthquake that ravaged the impoverished nation of Haiti.

At the time of this writing, the official death toll in Haiti is approximately fifty-thousand.

Estimates predict the number climbing into the hundreds of thousands.

By Philippa Hatendi Columnist

Tampa, but all of us here are not only Spartans—or Floridians, and Americans for that matter—we are humans.

Two UT students responded to the events in different ways: Max Roberts, an artist for The Minaret, and Philippa Hatendi, a columnist who witnessed the events in Haiti.

However, both were drawn to the same quote from Joseph Stalin, “One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic.”

Both columns in their ways are

lessons in empathy.

Every year, we are faced with indescribable national and global tragedies: hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, famines—the only way to clearly articulate the devastation is with numbers.

During the initial days after the earthquake, the event was described in terms of lives lost, the earthquake’s intensity on the Richter Scale, how Haiti is the most impoverished nation in the Western hemisphere.

Even pictures of collapsed

buildings across the capital city of Port-au-Prince failed to articulate the human tragedy.

While numbers and images provide various means of explanation for an informationcraving public, they stifle our ability to empathize.

One death has a story, a life.

The death of thousands—I can’t even fathom.

These two columns ask us to empathize, to reflect on these events and seek ways to prevent them from happening again.

Millions of dollars in funds and supplies have been raised in the United States alone.

While this is a phenomenal demonstration of charity, one wonders if it’s because something “bad” happened or because we can empathize with the human tragedy?

Do we look at Haiti and think, “Poor them?”

Or, are we helping because we recognize our mutual humanity, that at any moment we could be in need of help?

When I hear such things, I feel virtually nothing, save for a distant sense of unease and great sadness.

This is in no part due to a lack of compassion for my fellow man; it is entirely due to my inability to comprehend such massive numbers.

In the same way that I am unable to grasp a sense of scale when thinking of our planet in relation to its gargantuan celestial

neighbors, my brain is unable to discern the true depth of the devastation in Haiti.

W h e n ruin reaches such heights, the figure changes from a heartfelt connection t o a n overwhelmed people to merely math.

It is only in individual, personal narrative is my mind able to even begin to grasp the enormity of the

situation.

Reading various news stories, I have come across individual accounts, stories of victims pulled from the rubble, or of selfless doctors rushing to the aid of the devastated nation or of survivors tasked with the grim work of clearing ruined buildings of the dead.

When shown these small glimpses into the horror that has unfolded, I am able to begin to see the whole picture, if only in small, fleeting glances.

More importantly, these individual accounts allow me to feel tiny, comparatively imperceptible amounts of what is happening at the epicenter of the disaster.

I form a brief, but powerful, connection with the individuals featured in the news stories, allowing me a measure of empathy and raw emotion that dispassionate numbers and indifferent aggregates do not provide.

It’s difficult to grasp the enormity of a tragedy such as this, and it is the personal details that shake me.

If we are to comprehend the magnitude of such an event, it is of the utmost importance to touch on the personal and the human, lest we lose perspective and Haiti becomes another cold statistic.

“ theseWhen shown small

glimpses into the horror that has unfolded, I am able to begin to see the whole picture, if only in small, fleeting glances.

“

Max Roberts can be reached at mrroberts@ut.edu.

Headquarters at Hotel Christophe.

She tells me that at first the building moved from the left, to the right and then began to shake violently.

The walls began to crumble around her. People who were trying to run from the buildings were crushed; the whole Senior Management of the UN died that day.

When we were evacuated to Log base we saw people all around us, bandaged, bleeding, dead bodies covered with sheets lying on the streets.

The trauma of seeing all these places—the city that my family and the other families of Haiti knew reduced to piles of concrete was the most terrifying experience of my life.

Every time the earth shook it was a reminder, though death had not taken survivors like us, that did not mean it wouldn’t.

I have had a pretty simply life, bereft of fear, but that day the fear kept me from closing my eyes incase I opened them and found my mother dead.

Though it may be hard to relate to this exact tragedy, I am sure that there are terrible things that have happened to each of us in our lives. That is what tragedy is—individual.

But so is strength and that’s what people needed in Haiti from what I saw, someone to inspire strength in them again. So even with this new semester starting, this new world of UT may seem bleak to newcomers, but what I say to you is what I said to myself as I waited for news of my mother, “When it’s dark in your life, just wait for the daylight.”

Daylight always comes.

Count to ten. Go on.

One…two…three…four… that’s how long it took to devastate the lives of three million people.

That’s how swift the hand of death is, how quick the scythe—I speak of the earthquake that occurred in Haiti on Jan. 12.

You have all seen the news, heard all that CNN and the BBC had to say as they poked their microphones and cameras towards the grieving population of Haiti in order to ask them how they felt.

How do they feel?

How would you feel?

How would you feel if you were listening to your little brother crying out to you, buried below rubble and you couldn’t find a way to get him out? If you had to pull your mother from a fallen wall?

If you watched the roof of the supermarket begin to crash down upon you as you put your Cheerios into the trolley?

“One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic,” Stalin said and I never thought I could apply it to anything in my life until my family and I became victims of the earthquake in Port-au-Prince.

We cannot identify with each individual death, the way that people watching CNN cannot truly identify with the thousands that died.

I realized that to every person there, when the roofs and walls of their beloved city fell, every death has a life that it ruins—there is the greatest tragedy, lives being shattered, taken too soon.

Death does not discriminate; both rich and poor were equal that day.

Philippa Hatendi can be My mother worked at the UN reached at phatendi@ut.edu.

The 7.3 magnitude earthquake destroyed many buildings, and more lives.

American Red Cross/ Flickr

Commentary 13 Many Blinded by Prejudice When Muslim Women Wear Headscarves

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

Wearing a headscarf is an expression of religious devotion, not submission.

By Carolina Medelin Columnist

I was born in a Catholic family and converted when I was 15 years old, almost 4 years ago. I am the only Muslim in my family.

When people see me walking around with my headscarf, they would never think I’m Colombian.

They probably think I’m from a Muslim country like Morocco or Lebanon. Many people think I’m Turkish, which is actually funny as my future husband is Turkish.

The questions are always the same. “Where are you from?”

“What are you doing in Tampa?”

and the classic “Why are you wearing a headscarf if your family is not Muslim?”

Islam was my choice, as is the headscarf. I only wear headscarves on Fridays to go to the mosque, and then for the rest of the day until I get to my dorm.

“Headscarf” is only a word and it’s only a piece of cloth that you put over your head. It generates, however, great controversy.

Now, all around the world, everyone thinks they have the right to talk about headscarves as if they understood exactly how Muslim women think and feel about the issue.

Carolina Medelin / The Minaret

Even though I wish I could wear the headscarf “full time,” it’s still difficult because of my parents. Even if they accepted my conversion and respect my belief, they don’t agree with me wearing a headscarf.

Four years ago, they thought it was subjugating and diminishing.

N o w, t h e y f e a r m o s t l y t h e discrimination that I can be victim of if I wear it.

Even if American society is pretty open compared to other Western societies, there are still many stereotypes that you have to face when wearing a headscarf.

The one that comes up the most is

that by being a veiled woman you are showing submission to men. I really don’t understand it.

I can’t associate wearing a headscarf with being submissive to men. I just don’t see the relation between them.

Women can as well be victims of men without wearing the headscarf.

How many women per year die in the US out of domestic violence? And how many of them wear headscarves?

There is the idea that behind every woman wearing a headscarf there is either a father or a brother forcing her to—well, neither my dad nor my brothers make me wear the headscarf. And this is the case for most Muslim women.

Of course, there are some women that are forced to cover up; however this is not the majority. The cases of forced women make, as usual, much more noise than those of the women who are deprived of their right to wear it.

Other people argue that headscarves interfere with integration. I don’t see how this can happen either.

Integration does not mean that every single person has to be the same. Integration is learning how to value and respect the differences among people.

The headscarf does not isolate women, despite what many would like to think. When I’m wearing my headscarf, I’m exactly the same person that I am when I don’t wear it. I talk, I make jokes, I laugh.

Well, it’s true that some people refuse to talk to you, or if they do, you can tell that they feel uncomfortable by the way they

look at you or the way they talk to you.

But, hey, that’s not my business after all, and people who feel uncomfortable just because of a piece of cloth need to relearn the meaning of the word “tolerance.”

The headscarf is nothing more than a piece of cloth. That’s pretty much it! Yet, it has generated heated debates all over the world!

For Muslims, wearing the headscarf symbolizes obedience to God and modesty; it guarantees that you will be judged by the content of your ideas, not by your physical appearance.

Headscarves do not prevent you from going to school or having a job, except in the cases where the schools or employers oppose it.

The choice to wear it comes only from the person who’s going to wear it—not her mom, dad, brothers, sisters or friends. The right to wear it is nothing more than freedom.

Currently there are two countries that have applied a headscarf ban: France and Turkey.

Turkey, a Muslim country, forbids women to wear headscarves at school, university and work in general. France forbids it in public schools and jobs in public institutions.

This same debate has taken place in other European countries where some politicians and feminist activists have taken the mission of “freeing” Muslim women.

But I don’t need to be freed, thank you. I’m as free as I can be, as free as the law allows me to be.

Carolina Medlin can be reached at colaya@ut.edu.

“It Is What It Is”: How To Find Love in the New Year

By Heather Gromley Special to The Minaret

“It is what it is,” my father often says. The phrase has stuck with me for most of my life and especially into college.

Now what does it mean? I feel it means we need to take everything as it comes. We all need to be a little less dramatic and realize that it really is what it is.

We don’t always have control over things and sometimes you can’t change the outcome or the inevitability.

But how often do we ever take a step back and think about the situation at hand… especially in relationships. This is your spring 2010 relationship/social column.

Ah, the new year, a time of new outfits, increased gym time, reuniting with friends from winter break, grumbling about classes (because let’s be serious, who goes to college for actual education anymore?) and of course the hopes of finding a new relationship or sustaining the one you’re in.

Resolutions come and go as fast as the drinks at MacDinton’s happy hour.

Everyone, including myself, would love to think I could find a new man (or girl if you’re a guy) in 2010.

And of course we all think we’re going to find better people than we found in 2009.

The problem is people don’t change from 2009-2010, especially at a college where the school year wraps around two years. The type of people you’re meeting and where you’re meeting them at hasn’t really changed.

Let’s face it, Ybor is still going to be sketchy, the guidos are still out there and of course the high maintenance “drunk” girls will never cease to exist.

I’m not telling you to start hanging out with a completely new group of friends or not to go out. But there is a small chance that the clientele at these places will change, it is what it is. Then again there is nothing wrong with meeting new people in a social setting.

That’s when we’re most free and sociably, right?

I’ve had many friends who have met guys out and have exchanged numbers. The issue comes after with girls, in the back of our minds we constantly wonder when or if they’re going to call and we try to remember as many details about the boy as possible.

I’m sorry ladies, but let’s get real here, is it good to be obsessing over some guy’s phone call, especially if you just met him?

Too many times I’ve heard my friends (some of my guy friends too) become completely obsessed with someone they barely know.

Or they feel like they know this person because of Facebook, which is a whole other article in itself.

But people, it is what it is. I don’t remember any long lasting relationships coming from any drunken/sociable nights out with strangers. Now relationships coming out of drunken nights with friends, who you’ve known for awhile, and once again a whole other article.

Now I do applaud you for your bravery in social situations. We all have that one friend who makes friends everywhere they go and on the flip side a friend who thinks several people are good looking but won’t make a move to save their life. I bet you’re thinking of them now, I sure am.

And that’s good that we all have introverted and extroverted friends, love and relationships wouldn’t be so much fun without them.

Now I am no expert on love, or people for that matter, but I think of myself as someone who is able to step back and see most things as “it is what it is.” I will try to be fair to both sexes and would love feedback for this column. Let me know what you think or want to talk about.

Here are some things to think about as we start our spring 2010 semester.

First of all, if you want 2010 to be different and you want to meet

someone, then you have to take the risks and chances. Don’t sit by and hope they will come to you, because most of the time someone may also like you, but also doesn’t have the balls (like you) to do anything.

Once you take a chance, it will get easier and easier. And talking to someone new, well, it is what it is, no stress.

Second, life is short; live it up.

This doesn’t mean go out every night and be ridiculous. I’m saying don’t take people for granted or waste your time with petty fights.

Embrace all of your relationships within your life (friends, family, etc) and make amazing memories with them.

Through it all boyfriends and girlfriends may come and go, but your family and friends are the ones who have seen you grow and will be there for you. Life is what it is, so you might as well make it amazing.

And thirdly, be yourself.

Don’t hide behind the stereotypical “college kid,” “jock,” “sorority girl,” etc.

For instance, I am content knowing that I need at least an hour of time away from people a day, I really like video games, I could live on the beach forever, I hate ice cream in cones and I am a hopeless romantic that would like to find love again in 2010.

“

Resolutions come and go as fast as the drinks at Mcdinton’s happy hour.

Everyone, including myself, would love to think I could find a new man (or girl if you’re a guy) in 2010.

“

Know who you are so that other people can find things to love about you. You can’t expect to find a relationship or love in 2010 if you don’t know who you are.

So love in 2010, whether for your family, friends, your cat, car, sex, chocolate or someone new, remember it is what it is.

You can’t change the people that go out, you can’t change someone’s mind if they don’t like you, you can’t take the Jersey Shore out of some people, you can’t make the cab less than $3 a person and you can’t make the line to get in go any faster.

You can change your attitude, you can love yourself and most importantly you can realize that it is what it is, now what are you going to do about it?

Heather Gromley can be reached at hgromley@ut.edu.

Sports

14

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

Players and Coaches Show that Selfishness Rules College Athletics

By Drew Sharp Detroit Free Press (MCT)

The peasants bearing pitchforks and torches stormed Lane Kiffin's farewell "press conference" to Tennessee football last week, condemning him to the seventh level of football hell.

The new University of Southern California coach is somehow the embodiment of NCAA skullduggery.

The man who gave his word to impressionable recruits and impassioned fans, then suddenly bolted at the first breeze.

But I'm curious as to why there isn't the same degree of outrage from that same fan base when its program snatches away a recruit at the last second from a program where he made a verbal commitment?

Didn't he also give his word?

Kiffin and mercenaries of his ilk are popular targets, but they aren't the problem.

They're merely part of the

overall selfishness that has encompassed big-time college athletics.

The coaches are all about themselves.

Nobody disputes that. But the players are all about themselves, too, not to mention the fans of their respective programs.

There's more than enough slime to go around.

It isn't fair dumping it all on the coach when he finds a better opportunity.

This is business, and there's no morality in business.

It's cutthroat. It's about destroying the competition before they destroy you.

The NCAA is powerless to do anything, short of creating an earlier football recruit signing date in September or October.

That might alleviate some of the pressure on recruits who find themselves in limbo when the school they have made a verbal commitment to has a new coach just a couple of weeks before signing day.

It cannot be forgotten that

players sign with the institution.

The coach recruiting them simply is the salesman giving the pitch and closing the deal, but the contract_in this case, the letter of intent_is with the school.

And players have to sit out a year if they later decide to move among top schools, say from Tennessee to USC. But giving players unlimited mobility would create an even more chaotic climate.

And if you're not careful, all Alex Legion will bust loose.

Legion is why player movement must carry a penalty.

The former Birmingham Detroit Country Day basketball standout initially committed to Michigan, changed his commitment to Kentucky, transferred to Illinois and now has transferred to Florida International, where he'll join Isiah Thomas.

So how can coaches leave anytime they choose while players must sit a year if they leave?

Coaches have penalty clauses in their contracts.

Lane Kiffin giving his opening press conferences as the coach of USC. Robert Gauthier/MCT Campus

Kiffin had an $800,000 buyout stipulation in his Tennessee deal.

That's tip money in this highstakes illusion of coaching three-

card monte.

But had Tennessee placed a $5-million exit clause into the deal, it wouldn't have attracted Kiffin in the first place.

NCAAF Senior Athletes Showcase Talent for Shriners Hospitals and Scouts

By Kyle Bennett Sports Editor

The oldest and widely considered the most respected post season collegiate bowl game is the East – West Shrine Game.

The Shrine Game showcases some of the nation’s top graduating seniors and prospects for the National Football League.

Played consecutive years since 1925, 2010 will be no different.

This year the game will be played in downtown Orlando, Fla., at the Citrus Bowl.

The reason for being considered by many one of the most respected post season bowl games has nothing to do with the players or coaches it draws.

The purpose of the game is to help the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

The game is played to raise funds and increase awareness about the orthopedic, burn, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, cleft lip and palate care available to patients and families at no cost through the 22 locations of Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Before even stepping foot on the practice field with their new teammates, the players take a visit to the Tampa location of the

team are: Shriners Hospital for Children.

• Daryll Clark (Quarterback, There they spend six hours Penn State) getting to know the patients and • Andre Dixon (Runningback, learning exactly why they are Connecticut) playing in the game, to help ensure • F r e d d i e B a r n e s ( Wi d e these children continue to research Receiver, Bowling Green) quality treatment at no cost to • Greg Hardy Jr. (Defensive them.

Lineman, Mississippi) Following their visit to the • Kion Wilson (Linebacker, Shriners Hospital for Children each USF) side has five practices before the • Chris Chancellor (Defensive game on Saturday.

Back, Clemson) The practices were open to the Notable players participating public, as well as the media and in the Shrine Game on the West scouts (both from the NFL and the team are: Canadian Football League).

• Matt Nichols (Quarterback, Romeo Crennel is the Head Eastern Washington), Coach for the East team.

• Keith Toston (Runningback, Marty Schottenheimer will Oklahoma State), be his counterpart, coaching the • Emmanuel Sanders (Wide West team.

Rreciever, SMU), Notable players participating • Earl Mitchell (Defenseive in the Shrine Game on the East

Lineman, Arizona) • Reggie Carter (Linebacker, UCLA) • Jamar Wall (Defensive Back, Texas Tech).

The full lineups along with sponsorships links can be found on the official website shrinegame. com.

The scheduled kick-off time is 3:00 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ESPN2.

Kyle Bennett can be reached at minaret.sports@gmail.com.

Spartans Stumble in Conference Play

By Ryan Burkett Sports Writer

thetampaupsstore.com

Mention UT for VIP Discount (5% off tires & 10% off service) *Shuttle Service to & from School or Home*

The University of Tampa men’s basketball team (8-6, 3-3 SSC) finished their winter break on a low note, losing three straight conference games.

In what has proven to be a backand-fourth season, the Spartans went 3-4 between semesters.

The seven game stretch began with the Tampa Classic, held shortly before Christmas at the Martinez Center.

UT defeated Concordia, N.Y., 86-81, before losing to Delta State 58-56 on a buzzer-beating dunk the next day.

Freshman Callum Townsend led the Spartans with 22 points in the first game of the classic.

Sophomore Marcus Morrison chipped in with eight rebounds.

Junior Rashad Callaway scored 16 points against Delta State, including a 13-16 performance from the free throw line. However, a last-second dunk by Marqueys

Brown stifled UT’s efforts.

The Spartans rebounded from the defeat, winning their first two games of 2010.

The home victories came over Nova Southeastern and Saint Leo, 66-63 and 64-59 respectively.

Callaway scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half against NSU, while junior Glyn Hunter contributed 11 rebounds in the victory.

Callaway again led the Spartans in scoring with 27 points against Saint Leo while Morrison had three steals.

UT won despite the absence of its second-leading scorer, senior Mounir Benzegala.

Trouble ensued once UT hit the road. A Jan. 9 loss to Lynn by an 85-77 margin gave Tampa its first conference loss of the season.

Callaway provided the team with a silver lining, turning in a career high of 45 points for the Spartans.

Four days later the Spartans fell to Eckerd 75-66. There were,

however, encouraging signs as three Spartans scored in double figures while UT outshot the Tritons 38 percent to 36 percent.

The team came home to take on No. 23 Rollins, where their luck did not change.

The Tars handed UT its biggest loss so far this season, a 72-55 setback. Rollins never trailed and shot 55.6 percent to UT’s 33.3 percent.

While the losing streak was a step backward for the squad, the team remains encouraged.

“The morale of the team is pretty high,” Hunter said. “If we can become more consistent and translate our talent into wins we will have a successful season.”

The coaching staff shared the sentiments, focusing on the need to gel and find an identity.

“Everybody is working hard to understand their roles so they can contribute to the team,” assistant coach Justin Pecka said. “We need to improve on the mental aspect of the game.”

15

Sports

The Minaret | January 22, 2010

JANUARY SPORTS SCHEDULE Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday 1

2 M. Basketball vs. Nova Southeastern 66-63 W W. Basketball vs. Nova Southeastern 61-49 W

3

4

5

6 M. Basketball vs. Saint Leo 64-59 W

7

8

W. Basketball vs. Saint Leo 78-42 W

M. Basketball at Lynn 77-85 L

9

W. Basketball at Lynn 50-52 L

Swimming Tampa Relays Men: W. Women: W 10

Swimming vs. Emory Men: L Women: L

11

12

M. Basketball at Eckerd 66-75 L

13

14

15

W. Basketball at Eckerd 72-48 W

M. Basketball vs. Rollins 55-72 L

16

W. Basketball vs. Rollins 60-53 W Swimming vs. Rollins Men: W Women: W

17

18

19

M. Basketball at Florida Southern 7:30 p.m.

20

21

22

W. Basketball vs. Barry 2 p.m.

23

M. Basketball vs. Barry 4 p.m.

Swimming at Indian River 11 a.m.

24

25

26

M. Basketball at Palm Beach Atlantic 7 p.m.

27

28

29

30 W. Basketball vs. Florida Tech 2 p.m.

M. Basketball vs. Florida Tech 4p.m.

Young Hurler Quickly Makes His Way Through Blue Jays System From “Baseball” [Back] Cecil attended Maryland for three years until he was drafted with the 38th overall pick by the Toronto Blue Jays. He signed with the team shortly after.

“I don’t like to wait around for anything so I signed right away,” said Cecil. “They kind of used me as an example to the draftees through the years, [like] ‘look at Cecil, he signed a week, or a couple days later, he’s got his s--- started and look where he’s at today.”’

Cecil believes that while he has served as a starter in the Toronto organization, his ability to also close was appealing to the Jays.

“You could say I guess they just drafted me to draft me. I got drafted as a pitcher.

I think that was one of the more valuable points, was that I could do either/or, but they wanted to start me. My whole minor league career, I came out of the bullpen once, then I started the rest of the way.”

His minor league career was successful, and thus brief. He began in 2007 by playing a short season for Toronto’s minor league affiliate in Auburn, N.Y., where his team won a championship.

He then moved up through the minors fairly quickly, playing for the single-A advanced Dunedin Blue Jays for only a month, then the double-A New Hampshire

Fisher Cats for a summer and finally Toronto’s triple-A affiliate for two months.

He was called up to the Majors on May 1, 2009.

His first stint in the big leagues did not last long, as he was back at triple-A after about six weeks.

However, the nature of the game took effect, and with ace pitcher Roy Halladay’s injury, Cecil was called back up to Toronto and stayed there for the rest of the season.

Cecil certainly had a great deal of pressure placed on him to perform well, whether it is in the minors or major league.

“The pressure builds as you go up,” said Cecil, “but nothing compares to your first major league start and nothing compares to your first major league start in Yankee stadium. There’s some steps.”

Cecil recalled the nervousness that nearly overwhelmed him during his first start in the Majors.

Despite his knees shaking, Cecil only allowed one earned run in six innings against the Cleveland Indians. How did he manage to fight off the nerves?

“I don’t know, there’s really no way to explain it. Like I said, my knees were shaking and I’m up there and I’m like ‘s--- what do I do now,;” Cecil joked. “I kind of just locked up for a second and kind of had to remind myself ‘hey, you gotta pitch now.”

What’s more, Cecil pitches in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) American League East, which means he must face the brutal

lineups of the Red Sox, Rays and Yankees.

Growing up, Cecil rooted for the Yankees and watched players like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriquez.

A few years later, he is pitching against the very same players.

Cecil had a realization of what he had accomplished after facing the Yankee lineup for the first time.

“After the fact I was like, ‘Wow, I’ve actually made it this far.’ Not many guys can say they’ve pitched against any big leaguer, let alone two Hall of Famers,” said Cecil.

Obviously you have to be extremely physically gifted to make it as far as Cecil has in such a short amount of time, but he also attributes mental strength to being a solid pitcher.

“A lot of it, I would say is psychological and mental. If you’re not mentally prepared, you don’t even have to worry about the physical side of it. If you’re not mentally prepared, then you might as well not go out on the mound,” Cecil said.

At the age of only 23, Cecil has more to prove before leaving his mark in the Majors.

A countless number of players

swiftly enter and exit the MLB without leaving a memorable footprint behind.

Cecil, with a record of 7-4, has shown he can pitch in the

MLB. He trusts that in the end, hard work always pays off.

“The work you put into [it] is what you get out of it,” Cecil said. “That’s what my dad always told me and [he also told me] that the other guy is working harder than you.”

With Roy Halladay having been traded to Philadelphia this offseason, the Blue Jays are without a bona fide ace.

While Cecil isn’t expecting to fill that position just yet, he believes that if he does well in spring training, he can become a solid pitcher in the middle of the Jays’ rotation.

He says, however, that he would be content with contributing to the team in any way.

“If I’m up there, and I’m pitching frequently, and helping them out, then I’m happy,” said Cecil.

Daniel Feingold can be reached at dfeingold@ut.edu.

“Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” -John Wooden

3

‘n t u O

Swimming to the Top

Swimming: The University of Tampa swim teams have both earned a national ranking in the CSCAA Division II swimming and diving poll.

The women’s team tabbed a number four national ranking, while the men’s team comes in with a number eight rank, as reported by collegeswimming.com.

Both teams will try to continue its success as they take on Indian River in preparation for the Conference and NCAA Championships, beginning in mid February.

Looking To Rebound

M. Basketball: Tampa will look to bounce back from its consecutive losses.

Freshman Callum Townsend has impressed thus far through the season averaging 25+ points per game.

He is shooting .368 from the field and averages four boards.

Basketball Ranks W. Basketball: After posting a pair of SSC wins the Spartans moved a spot up in the recent standings to number 16.

UT began the season ranked number 22 and have been ranked as high as number 12 this year. UT will host Barry on Jan. 23.

Clearwater Resident Breaks into the Major Leagues

Daniel Feingold Sports Writer

Like the average child growing up, Brett Cecil played little league baseball at the age of four.

He now pitches in the Majors for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Currently residing in Clearwater, Fla., Cecil was born in Annapolis, Md. His talent for the game came early, as by the age of 12 he found himself going outside of his hometown to find better competition. He spent a summer playing in Cooperstown, N.Y., the location of the Baseball Hall of Fame. When he was 13, his team played in the World Series of the Babe Ruth League, a tournament for talented youths.

Cecil played for a high school known for its outstanding sports programs, DeMatha Catholic located in Washington, D.C. Unlike football, baseball

players can be drafted as early as high school, thus forgoing college.

With all of his talent Cecil had the opportunity to play pro-ball straight out of high school, but a slight setback caused him to stay in school.

“When I was a junior in high school, they said I could’ve been a first round pick. Then, the next year [my velocity] was 87, 88 [miles per hour and] not really consistent with anything, which was probably a good thing because I went to college and got something there that I didn’t really think I’d ever [get],” Cecil said.

During his second year of college at the University of Maryland, Cecil was informed by his coaches that he would be used as a closer because his velocity was back up in the mid-90’s.

Accustomed to being a starting pitcher, Cecil was slightly disgruntled at this decision. He

Twenty-three-year old Brett Cecil tossing for the Toronto Blue Jays.

JL Photog/flickr.com

quickly realized, however, that he and it’s something I’ll never forget. greatly appreciated the new role.

If I got asked to do it today, then “I’ve never had so much fun. h--- yeah, I’m there,” said Cecil.

Just the intensity level of pitching See “Baseball” [15] in that situation was unbelievable

UT Bounces Back After Winter Break

Brenton Burkett Sports Writer

The University of Tampa women’s basketball continued its strong season during the winter intermission.

The No. 16 lady Spartans went 6-1 during the break, including a 4-1 mark in Sunshine State Conference play.

Tampa rebounded from a loss in the Armstrong Atlantic State Tournament to Columbus State (57-56) with an 80-72 win over the host team on Dec. 19.

This was the second time that UT defeated the host. AASU led at halftime, but the Spartans used an early second-half run to pull away with the lead.

Junior captain Gianna Messina scored 28 points and pulled down nine rebounds in leading her team to victory.

After a ten-day layoff for Christmas week, the Spartans returned to action on Dec. 29 and defeated Maryville 70-52.

Down 39-38 with 13:46 left, UT hit a 19-0 run and put the game away.

Senior Tiara Cook nearly had a career-high day with 28 points and Catriana Messina shoots for Tampa.

Abby Sanford/The Minaret nine rebounds. Fellow forward Taja

No. 16 W. Basketball

See “Tournament” [17]

M. Basketball

Jan. 23 @ 2 p.m. vs. Barry

Jan. 23 @ 4 p.m. vs. Barry

>>> After taking on Florida Southern UT will host SSC rival Barry University. UT will have to stop Mariessa Greene. She has won player of the week honors three of the past four weeks.

>>> Following a three-game skid the Spartans will look to bounce back as they will travel to take on Florida Southern before hosting SSC rival Barry University.

Green posted 17 points.

The new decade opened with UT’s first home conference game against Nova Southeastern on Jan. 2. Behind Caitlyn Mitryk’s first double-double of the season, the Spartans rolled to a 61-49 victory.

Mitryk totaled 16 points and 14 rebounds. Cook registered 17 points and Gianna Messina added 13 more.

Saint Leo came to Tampa, Jan. 6, and walked out disappointed.

The game was never in doubt as the Spartans dominated the Lions 78-42. Green scored 15 of her 20 points in the first half. Cook, Mitryk and Catriana Messina also reached double figures in the blowout. Cook earned her third double-double of the year with 17 points and 14 boards.

The matchup at Lynn marked UT’s first blemish on the conference schedule.

Tampa led 30-25 at halftime, and then led by as many as ten in the second half. The Knights stormed back and held the lead during the final few minutes.

A rebound off a missed free throw gave the Spartans a chance, but Angela Guiu just missed her buzzer-beater and they took a

52-50 defeat. Lynn guard Chelsea Patterson paced the victors with 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Vengeance was in order at Eckerd, where Tampa cruised over the Tritons. Gianna Messina led all scorers with 22 points, including four three-pointers.

Cook put up her third straight double-double in just 30 minutes on the floor. They helped guide UT to a 23-point halftime lead and a 72-48 road win.

The Spartans returned home Jan. 16 to face Rollins, who they defeated in the conference title game last season.

The result was the same, with UT victorious 60-53. The final score was close, but Tampa never trailed after the 11:53 mark in the first half.

The visiting Tars pulled to within four late, but Cook responded with a basket plus a free throw to seal it. Her dominance continued with a 29-point, 14-rebound contest.

Tampa (15-2, 5-1 SSC) is scheduled for a Jan. 20 meeting with rival Florida Southern (14-2, 5-1 SSC) in Lakeland. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

Swimming Jan. 23 @ 11 a.m. at Indian River >>> The men’s and women’s swim teams are both coming off wins against Rollins and look to continue to build on a successful season as they take on Indian River.

One of college football’s most memorable post season bowl games is taking place Jan. 23.

[Page 14]