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Freshman Goalie Dismissed After First Semester at UT

By MILES PARKS Sports Writer

Leah Cesanek was the starting goalkeeper for the University of Tampa women’s soccer team in the fall. But after one semester, Cesanek is no longer enrolled at UT. Due to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), specific information on a student’s academic standing is primarily held confidential.

As the law states, it is unlawful for anyone, including the student’s parents without the student’s consent, to disclose or collect information about specific grades or marks at any point in

NEWS + FEATURES Shootout Leaves Two Officers Dead

the education process.

After contacting the university’s Dean of Students, it has been confirmed that Cesanek is currently not enrolled at UT. When asked to comment on the issue, Cesanek declined.

Touted as a top prospect coming into college, she recorded 28 shutouts in her four-year career at Haverford High School in Pennsylvania.

Her soccer successes followed her to UT, where she compiled a .75 goals against average in her first season.

But in a sudden turn, the women’s team that was once optimistic about its future now has a question mark at arguably

its most important position.

Larry Marfise, in his 12th year as athletic director at UT, tried his best to explain this situation given FERPA’s restrictions, while also emphasizing the school’s academic policies.

“We monitor all our student athletes,” Marfise said.

“We ask every coach to stay on top of their athletes. But occasionally, some fall in the cracks.”

Although academics at UT are strong among all athletic teams, women’s soccer remains one of the highest achieving programs at the school.

In November, the team was honored with the National Soccer

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

[Page 2]

The Mind Behind Black Swan Visits Campus [Page 7]

Reliving Murky Gasparilla Adventures

‘Dispatches’: New Journalism Tackles Vietnam

[Page 5]

[Page 11]

Coaches Association of America “Team Academic Award.” Prior to Cesanek’s arrival, during the ‘09-‘10 academic year, the team earned a cumulative GPA of 3.22.

Marfise is passionate about sports, but maintained that he is more passionate about education.

“Our number one goal here is to graduate [student athletes],” Marfise said, “not to win conference championships or national championships.

Cesanek tampaspartans.com “Those are nice. But what we want people to do is graduate.” less leverage with which to award As a school with a smaller athletic scholarships to student endowment than some other athletes.

Division II programs, UT has [See Cesanek, 17]

COMMENTARY Keeping Lovers On Pedestals Can Accentuate Pet Peeves [Page 13] Ditch the Rubbish by Telling Constructive Stories [Page 14]

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2 JANUARY 27 2011 | THE MINARET

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Shootout Leaves Two Officers Dead

By JOSHUA NAPIER

Asst. News Editor

Two St. Petersburg police officers were killed and a US marshal was injured in a shootout Monday morning after police attempted to deliver a domestic battery warrant to a St. Petersburg home.

Chief of police Chuck Harmon described the tragedy to FOX News in a press conference as, “the chief’s worst nightmare.”

“This is something you never hope to face,” said Harmon. “I’ve had a couple [of officers] shot, they were injured pretty significantly, but to lose two in one day is a tremendous loss for our department and our community.”

The suspect, Hydra Lacy Jr., has a criminal record dating back to 1989 and has since then been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, sexual battery with a weapon and aggravated child abuse, according to state criminal records.

Lacy was being issued a domestic battery warrant Monday morning after he failed to appear in court in November.

Police arrived at 3734 28th Ave. S. at approximately 7 a.m. to interview Lacy’s girlfriend with hopes of discovering information about Lacy’s whereabouts.

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College students today are faced with a new reality. We are entering a job market consisting of many careers that didn’t even exist when most were born.

Because of this, school counselors are being forced to constantly update their knowledge about the job market.

Marsha Sherman, a career counselor in the Office of Career Services at the University of Tampa, said that, unfortunately, “A lot of students don’t know what they want to do. There may be a job out there that they would really like and be good at; they just don’t know that it exists.”

Sherman went on to say that many students have shown interest in social media careers.

Employees in this field would use interfaces such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs to promote products and organizations.

A U.S. & World News report showed the rapid growth of the social media career field, stating that in 2010 there were three times as many job positions posted with “social media” in the title than in 2009.

Daniella Fusari, a UT senior, began using Twitter to promote the Office of Career Services in 2009 when she was working as their marketing intern.

She believes the social media is more efficient. “[It] helps us get information to the students in a faster....” Once a hobby, blogging has turned into a profitable career.

Careerbuilder.com cites bloggers making around $60,000 a year by researching and writing blog posts to promote an objective or brand and engage an online community.

Green technologies have been growing rapidly over the past decades and new careers and specialized positions are popping up in all forms, some of them very surprising.

According to Careerbuilder.com, one of the fastest growing careers that didn’t exist

ten years ago is the green funeral director.

Hitching onto the earth-friendly practices that have become prominent in many markets, green funeral directors incorporate environmentally friendly practices in funeral services to meet the needs of families while doing their best to reduce the carbon footprint.

She says that in management and finance classes, the topics of global warming and how businesses affect the environment come up often.

“I found it interesting that there are still people that don’t believe in global warming,” she said.

Merry hopes to work with advising corporations in ways to make their companies more sustainable, a job that was virtually nonexistent ten years ago.

Her goal is to eventually open her own company throughout the Caribbean that provides sustainable energy options.

At the moment, she is considering working in harnessing in wind, wave and solar energy.

When asked about her teachers’ knowledge on creating sustainable businesses, Merry said, “In business text books there is now stuff on sustainability, but teachers still have so much to learn and teach because it is such a new field.”

The same goes for many of the careers that, up until recently, did not exist.

Textbooks can only begin to provide information on these new subjects; teachers must constantly be re-educating themselves to prepare students for the quickly changing job market.

“Bigger companies are starting to realize the importance of networking and technology that younger people are more experienced in,” said Sherman.

“When it comes to hiring a person for a position, are they going to consider someone older that is experienced in dated processes or someone young that is educated in new technologies?”

College students now find themselves facing a job market that is constantly changing as jobs become obsolete and new ones are created.

Students are left with the responsibility of finding a complete education in these new fields.

However, as Sherman said, “It’s exciting when you find the career you want to go into,” especially if it’s one that you didn’t even know existed.

Channing Hailey can be reached at channing.hailey@spartans.ut.edu.

“Bigger companies are starting to realize the importance of networking and technology that younger people are more experienced in,” - Marsha Sherman, career counselor in the Office of Career Services

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gunfire so far this month, a number that has spiked 20 percent from last January, according to the police memorial fund.

At least six Florida police officers have been killed by gunmen since June — two in Tampa, two in Miami and two in St. Petersburg.

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According to The St. Petersburg Times, Lacy’s girlfriend told the officers that Lacy was inside the house, hiding in the attic upstairs.

After entering the home to arrest Lacy, gunshots were fired from the attic, killing St. Pete K9 officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz and wounding a US deputy marshal.

Officer Tom Baitinger entered the home shortly after with backup to rescue Yaslowitz and the marshal, but was also killed in the gunfire.

According to police reports an estimated 200 shots were fired by Lacy and police.

After four hours of bantering gunfire, contact with Lacy was lost at 11 a.m. according to police spokesman Mike Puetz. “We don’t know if he’s wounded or just lying in wait,” Puetz said.

At 2:15 p.m. Lacy was pronounced dead. Police found his body among the rubble of the house after tearing it to the ground as they searched for Lacy within the house.

“I consider them friends . . . and I’m going to miss them,” Harmon told the St. Pete Times at an afternoon press conference. “It’s a very hard day for the police department. It’s a very hard day for the community.”

There have been ten police fatalities by

Another hot career in the green technologies industry is harnessing wind energy.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reported that the wind industry grew by 45 percent in 2007 as more civil engineers specialized to become wind farms engineers.

The AWEA assesses the average wind farmer engineer’s salary to be around $80,000.

Christine Merry, a UT senior, plans on getting her masters in sustainability at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability.

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THE MINARET | JANUARY 27 2011

3

Spartan of the Week: Jen Gellock Having What It Takes to Manage a Team

By JOSHUA NAPIER Asst. News Editor

Junior Jen Gellock is an exercise science major with a concentration in physical education.

She plans to pursue a career in sports after graduation and is currently serving her second year as the UT women’s basketball team manager.

The Minaret had an opportunity to interview Gellock to find out how she came to be the team manager and what she is gaining from her experience.

The Minaret (M): How did you get involved with the women’s basketball program?

Jen Gellock (JG): I contacted coach Jessee because I’m interested in coaching in the future, maybe at the college level. I worked in the sports information department and had told my boss that I wanted to be the basketball manager the next year. It just so happened that coach Jessee had come into his office that day and said that his manager quit and that he needed someone to replace them. So I jumped on board.

M: What does your job as team manager entail?

JG: We film every practice, so I’m the one who is in charge of that equipment and sets it all up. There’s a clock that is run during practice. The coach has every drill timed and knows how long it takes to do each one, so I’ll keep time and keep track of points. I copy the daily practice

schedule for him or I’ll go in a couple hours before and stay after to do any work the coaches have for me to do.

M: Did you play a lot of sports growing up?

JG: Yeah I played volleyball, basketball and softball in high school, but basketball was definitely my favorite and what I was most interested in.

M: How much time do you devote to your job?

JG: Three hours a day at practice. I have to set up and break down practice, so I’m there before and after the girls get there. I also have to break down the game tape of our opponents and make a scouting report. Also I travel with the team wherever they go. I went on the road trip over Thanksgiving with them.

We went to Denver, Colo. for a tournament. Every weekend is usually filled up with traveling.

M: What do you hope to gain from your experience as the team manager?

JG: I want to continue learning. I watch how Coach Jessee teaches the girls. I really enjoy just observing for the most part and whatever he can help me with on the side — I enjoy that too. So I hope after I graduate to go to the Division I final four, where they have a coaching clinic that has about a 100 percent hire rate [...] where I can “grad assist” or assistant coach somewhere in the country. It’s a selection process.

M: Why did you decide to get

involved with the team?

JG: When I came to UT from Mass., I didn’t have friends on a team anymore. That’s what I’m used to and I missed it.

After getting involved with the basketball team, these girls have become my best friends and I’m actually living with three of them this year. Since I joined the team we are always with each other, so it’s like a family.

M: Is it important for students pursuing degrees in sports to be involved in a lot of programs on campus?

JG: Well, I’m the secretary of the sport entertainment management society on campus, which is specifically for sport management majors. I encourage any sport management majors to get involved with that program. But there is the sports information department, the marketing department and positions available with all of the sports teams. And I’m sure if you went to a coach and said that you were interested in working with the team that they wouldn’t turn you away.

M: How hard is it to balance school with work?

JG: I am the type of person that always has a lot going on, so when I am really busy it’s actually easier for me to prioritize my time than when I’m just sitting in my room for five hours procrastinating. But yeah, it does take up a lot of my time.

For instance, I’m going to have to miss a class tomorrow for an

Joshua Napier/The Minaret

away-game that is two hours away. The more activities and organizations you join, the more you’re going to learn more and meet more people. It’s necessary to network and meet a lot of people, so being involved really helps.

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First Jewish Fraternity Makes Its Way On Campus

University’s Astronomer Sets Zodiac Myths Straight

By YASAMAN SHERBAF

By RICHARD SOLOMON

News Reporter

Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) is the first Jewish fraternity on campus. AEPi, the Global Jewish Fraternity, was founded in 1913 to provide opportunities for a Jewish man seeking the best possible college and fraternity experience.

According to the website, the fraternity has over 140 chapters on campuses across the United States, Canada, and Israel, made up of over 9,000 undergraduates and the support of 93,000 alumni worldwide.

“It has maintained the integrity of its purpose by strengthening its ties to the Jewish community and also by serving as a link between high school and career,” the web-site states.

Their heritage stems from one source: “young Jewish men banding together in allegiance.”

AEPi Chapter President, Joel Podolsky is a junior at UT. “I contacted the national office in an effort to bring AEPi back to campus …. We are looking forward to making a strong and successful transition into the UT Greek community,” said Podolsky.

Marty Bock, AEPi International Director of Leadership Development, said that UT has reached out to the fraternity in the past.

“AEPi has a rich history at the University of Tampa dating back to 1970 and when this group of students contacted our office with the strong interest and ambition to bring a Jewish fraternity back to UT, we found a tremendous group of guys and an overwhelming amount of local AEPi alumni support.

The Tau Phi Chapter of AEPi is looking forward to making a positive and contributing impact on the UT campus community, as well as the local Tampa community at large.”

The fraternity’s mission statement is to develop leadership for the future of the American Jewish community. “Tomorrow’s Jewish leaders are in our fraternity’s chapters today,” the website states.

The young men in AEPi are counted upon to support Jewish causes and to aid themselves, their family, their community and their people by acting as leaders.

By being a part of this organization, Jewish men are helping reverse the growing trend among young people to abandon Judaism at this critical time.

“A goal of the fraternity is to help each student to develop character, to learn responsibility and to develop a proper set of values through living together in brotherhood,” the website states. AEPi hopes to prepare young men to be responsible citizens.

Another important goal of the premiere Jewish fraternity is “to give back to others through philanthropic endeavors and community service.”

The men apart of the fraternity practice “Tikkun Olam,” or “repairing the world” in Hebrew. The organization wants its members to not only contribute to their local communities, but to the global community as well.

The basic purpose of this organization is to provide the opportunity for Jewish men to be able to join a Jewish organization the purpose of which is not notably religious, but rather social and cultural.

Alpha Epsilon Pi is a Jewish fraternity; it is nondiscriminatory and it is open to all participants who are willing to espouse its purpose and values.

“Joining Alpha Epsilon Pi, or any fraternity, can, and will most likely, be a life changing event. It’s very difficult to explain the fraternity experience completely. Each brother’s experiences are unique,” the web-site states.

For more information on Alpha Epsilon Pi, visit aepi.org.

Yasaman Sherbaf can be reached at ysherbaf@ spartans.ut.edu.

Staff Writer

“If you don’t like your star sign, make up a constellation.”

This was the advice given by Dr. Ethan Deneault, assistant professor of physics and UT’s local astronomer.

Last week The Minaret ran a piece about the recent stir that began over the zodiac when astronomer Paul Kunkle said in a CNN interview that the constellations no longer matched up.

People latched onto this information and all over the nation the misinformed have been up in arms over the idea that their zodiacs had changed.

“I think that [Kunkle] is very surprised by this,” said Dr. Deneault.

“He was giving some information on historical astronomy. I think he forgot to mention that the constellations, traditionally, are vastly different from the standardized 88 regions by the IAU.” The IAU stands for the International Astronomical Union. In 1930, they standardized and set up the night sky into 88 different regions.

Each region gets its own

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“Your sign hasn’t changed, no one’s sign has changed, no one’s birth time has changed,” Dr. Ethan Deneault, assistant professor of physics and the University of Tampa’s resident astronomer.

And they have been changing.

Which constellation the sun is in on the day you are born no longer matches up with where it was when the zodiacs were first configured.

And this is exactly where the recent craze started with people believing their zodiacs had changed.

But that is not the case. Just because astrological constellations differ from the astronomical does not mean you have a different star sign.

“It depends on how you want to define what a constellation is and how you measure, date-wise, where the sun is. An astrologer says you’re a Scorpio

“Which constellation the sun is in on the day you are born no longer matches up with where it was when the zodiacs were first configured.”

constellation. Before 1930, there were a myriad of additional and unneeded constellations.

This is quite different from how the constellations were configured several thousand years ago. It’s not the stars that have changed, just the shapes we see amongst them.

If there was a blank part of the sky, a constellation would be made up. Astrometers, those who map the night sky, “would assign constellations and just make [things] up.” said Dr. Deneault.

“This is the staff of King George!”

But the IAU’s standardization of the night sky is a fairly recent thing.

The zodiac’s “changes” have been going on for a long time.

“The path that the sun travels on day by day is known the as ‘ecliptic,’” explained Dr. Deneault.

“The rising position of the sun changes each day and so the path has changed over the past 20,000 years.

The ancient Greeks knew about it.”

“Over a 24,000 year cycle, the constellations that the ecliptic pass through will change.”

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because you were born November 8.

But on November 8 the sun is Libra. Astrologers will say you’re a Scorpio anyway.

In Western astrology, which is the tropical zodiac, there are 12 houses of the night sky.

Saying the sun is in Taurus is no different from saying the sun is in the month of May… your sign depends on where the sun is in a specific house, in a specific month, not where the sun is in relation to the stars.”

In other words, according to Western astrology, your star sign is wholly dependant on the date, not on where the sun is.

So rest easy, everyone who’s been concerned that their sign hasn’t changed; it hasn’t.

Dr. Deneault has been frustrated over the media’s coverage of Kunkle’s words and the public reaction to them.

Apparently he isn’t the only one.

Astronomers and astrologers typically don’t get along, but here they do.

“Astronomy is a science. We’re predictive, we have data that can backup our predictions, we can follow

a nice scientific process that gets us reproducible results.

“Astrology, on the other hand, is a religious or sacred system. It’s not necessarily predictive,” said Dr. Deneault.

“Astronomers get pissed-off at astrology because some astrologers claim to be scientific, even if they’re obviously not.

“But astrologers use the same basic data as astronomers: the stars.”

In two vastly different professions that don’t agree and don’t get along, both are saying that nothing has changed, nothing has happened to the zodiacs and that all this talk is old news.

Dr. Deneault put it another way: “There’s a rift there. We don’t talk to one another. It would be akin to any other major religion having to change all of its precepts because some scientist decided to define a particular quantity.”

We have the astrologers, the devout believers, saying your zodiac has changed.

We have the astronomers, the scientists, saying that nothing new is going on with the zodiac. But most people still believe their sign has changed.

“Your sign hasn’t changed; no ones sign has changed; no one’s birth time has changed. This hasn’t affected a damn thing,” said Dr. Deneault.

Richard Solomon can be reached at richard.solomon@spartans.ut.edu.

Poll: Will you change your zodiac sign or keep it the same?

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THE MINARET | JANUARY 27 2011

5

Abroad: Reliving Murky Gasparilla Adventures Education Expands Horizons

By SHIVANI KANJI News Reporter

ZarrSadus / flickr.com

Open containers and imbibing alcohol outside of designated drinking areas has been done away with in recent years.

By JEFFREY PALMER News Reporter

As the much anticipated Gasparilla weekend approaches, student excitement is mounting to a an almosttangible level of anticipation. Campus is buzzing with talk of parties, parades, drinking schedules and plans for all manner of debauchery.

To help bring to life the widespread enthusiasm over this unique Tampa celebration, The Minaret collected a handful of student experiences — some mellow and some mad — to share with our readers.

A central component to Gasparilla, of course, is the established drinking culture.

Though open containers and imbibing alcohol outside of designated drinking areas has been done away with in recent years, parade-goers still manage to get liquored up to enjoy the festivities.

In many cases, students wake up at outlandish hours to begin drinking and pass out before the afternoon.

“I made jello shots the night before and started drinking at 9 a.m., [only] to fall asleep just a few hours later,” admitted UT senior Sarah Curran.

“Then I woke up at six, had a beer and ordered Chinese [food].”

Understandably in such circumstances, craziness has a way of escalating fast. Senior David Edgecomb reminisced about a misadventure his freshman year in which he was reprimanded by a mounted police officer for openly possessing a stash of malt liquor and blended pineapple vodka.

“He let me go, but arrested my friend who was holding it all while I tried to [urinate] behind a tree,” remembered Edgecomb.

The temptations of the holiday proved to be too much for some, to the extent that they hardly remember their actions during the day and had to rely upon the words of friends to piece their experience together.

The unresponsive body of junior Sean McCleary was dragged for several hours back and forth across campus by two friends who wanted to ensure his safety and at the same time not miss any dorm parties.

“At least I managed to hold on to my pirate hat the entire time,” said McCleary.

Not everyone resorted to the use of alcohol to enjoy the Tampa holiday.

Sophomore Tyler Alton experienced a much more moderate and, arguably, fulfilling day than many of his fellow UT students.

“When we got to the parade we eventually made it to the front. There were a lot of floats that promoted things around Tampa. There were so many beads. It was like a Tampa Mardi Gras,” said Alton. “It was a pretty crazy day. It was nice hanging out, seeing all the crazy people out there. I came back to campus and had a meal with some friends. Me and my friends then divided our beads and there were so many — too many to count.”

Though not everyone partook in the festivities, most at least attended the Bayshore Parade and witnessed the day’s happenings.

Not everyone was amused by what they saw.

“I’ve only been to Gasparilla once and stayed fifteen minutes,” said junior Samantha Pippenger, “It was boring and it rained. Then some people got into a fight and the cops were called.”

Many others, however, were delighted by the strange and outlandish sights confronting them along the parade route and still conjure them to mind with a chuckle.

“It looked like a battlefield,” said junior Aaron Feld. “People had fallen down face-first in groups of two or three. Not everyone was fully clothed.”

The story of junior Ryan Niksa proved to be bizarre almost beyond belief.

“I saw a girl in a bright neon shirt crawl along the street on all fours,”

Niksa remembered. “She was trying to eat the grass while her friends were holding her back.”

Senior Kristi Marsili was kind enough not only to share her hilarious account with The Minaret, but to impart heartfelt advice to those students soon to experience their first Gasparilla.

“After our morning with mimosas and an early afternoon with rum, my friend and I started our venture to Bayshore to enjoy the Gasparilla Celebration.

“As we continued our stumbling stroll, my friend causally mention[ed that] she want[ed] some salt. ‘Perfect,’ I thought, ‘I would love some salty french-fries right about now.’ After following the smells to a mini fried food heaven we reach[ed] our destination.

“I head[ed] toward the end of the line, but once I get there I realized I was alone. I look[ed] around in panic until I [saw] my friend already at the counter. [I]nstead of ordering, she [started] grabbing packets of salt.

“I [left] my spot in line only to approach my friend finishing her third packet of salt. ‘What are you doing?’

I asked.

“Her response was, ‘I’m taking shots of salt to absorb the alcohol, so I won’t have to pee as much.’ ‘That’s just absurd,’ I thought and disregarded her offer.

“No more than 20 minutes later I was kneeling over doing the ‘pee-pee dance.’ I [took] a look at the bathroom line and felt my bladder die a little bit.

“Then I [took] a look at my friend.

She was not only joining me in the ‘peepee dance,’ but she was enjoying two Bud Light beers in a beer helmet. So my advice to all of you for Gasparilla is to listen to the dumb ideas your drunk friends have.

And if you are really desperate, just go to the front of the bathroom line and tell that person you are going to puke on them if they don’t let you go next.

That works too.”

Jeffery Palmer can be reached at jeffery.palmer@spartans.ut.edu.

Many dream of experiencing life in a foreign country and exploring the diverse lifestyles of a different land. Here at the University of Tampa, many students are able to make this dream a reality through the Education Abroad program.

Education Abroad advisor Elizabeth Mills said that you can participate in the program in basically any country except those “where there is a travel warning from the U.S. Department of State.” A list of travel warnings issued can be found at travel.state.gov.

According to Mills, the most popular options for the education abroad program are Spain, Australia and London. “[In] 2010, we sent approximately 140 students abroad on semester-long programs,” said Mills. “We sent roughly 215 students abroad on UT travel courses and UT Athletics Abroad programs last year, as well.”

UT also offers travel courses for students who wish to go abroad for a few weeks, rather than an entire semester. The travel courses are courses offered during the spring semester that have a travel component as part of the class. Thirteen of these classes have already been planned for the semester.

UT also offers students the opportunity to get a Certificate of International Studies in which, according to the University website, “undergraduate students will earn the ‘Certificate of International Studies’ notation on their official UT transcript and will receive an official certificate to complement the UT diploma.” The program requirements include taking two semesters of a foreign language (six to eight credit hours), completing an oral proficiency interview and writing a reflective essay.

The only requirements a student must meet before applying to the education abroad program are a minimum 2.5 GPA and no sanctions in student conduct.

Once the applications are processed, the students will attend their “first step meeting,” in which they will see how a semester abroad will fit into their academic program, look at housing options and how their credits will transfer. In most cases program providers are put in place to help with housing, site support and other necessities.

Junior Alexander Krischik studied abroad at Oxford University last semester. “As Aristotle put it, ‘Happiness depends upon ourselves.’ Go out and experience the world: learn, live and be happy. There is no nobler fundamental endeavor,” said the economics and philosophy double-major.

Students have a great opportunity to learn about the culture of a country through excursions and attending classes on local history and culture.

“Studying abroad is an eye-opening experience, not only [when it comes] to other cultures, but to yourself,” said senior Kristin Curatola, who studied in Florence last semester. “I learned more about who I am and who I want to be.”

Junior Raquelle Garcete, who is majoring in advertising and public relations, participated in the program last semester and went to Barcelona. She said, “The experiences that you have and the people that you meet will greatly alter your views of the world and make you want to accomplish things in the future that you never knew you wanted for yourself before.”

Mills has noticed that “a lot of people come back changed” and they come back more “independent and self-reliant.” The experience teaches them crosscultural communication skills and how to learn to communicate in other languages.

Junior Travis Marek, a major in international business and management who studied in Rome last semester, agreed with Mills.

“Through study abroad you are not only given the opportunity to see what you have always read in history books, but also the ability to bring a feeling of self-satisfaction and cultural knowledge back to the University of Tampa,” Marek said.

“Federal financial aid is applied as well as specific scholarships for education abroad,” said Mills. “UT academic scholarships do not transfer abroad.” The deadline for the summer or fall programs is March 1.

Oct. 1 is the deadline for the spring program.

Shivani Kanji can be reached at shivani.kanji@ spartans.ut.edu.

6 JANUARY 27 2011 | THE MINARET

NEWS + FEATURES

Obama State of the Union Presents Broad Conciliatory Agenda

By MICHEAL ANGELO RUMORE Asst. A+E Editor

President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress for his second State of the Union speech Tuesday night.

The White House promised Monday that the speech would spurn the event’s typical rhetoric of “laundry list[s] of issues” and instead embrace a broader agenda.

This State of the Union will certainly be remembered as unique thanks to its unique seating arrangement.

Members of Congress usually sit along partisan lines, many members elected to sit with members of their opposing party.

The seating change was spearheaded by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), who sat together.

The previous two losing presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and John Kerry, were another prominent bipartisan matchup.

The gesture was inspired by the recent assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, which seriously injured the Congresswoman.

During the shooting twelve more were wounded and six were killed.

Many members of Congress and attendees wore a black and white ribbon in honor of Giffords.

A letter by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida) and Mike McCaul (R-Texas) explained: “The white ribbon represents hope for a peaceful, nonviolent society.

The black ribbon is in remembrance of all who have died and been wounded as a result of violence.”

In addition, the Arizona congressional delegation allotted an empty seat to symbolize Giffords’s missing presence.

President Obama emerged to a spirited applause and was introduced by new House Speaker John Boehner, the face of the new Republican majority in the house.

Obama opened by congratulated the 112th Congress and new House Speaker John Boehner. He then wasted no time in acknowledging Giffords.

“As we mark this occasion,” Obama said, “we are also mindful of the empty chair in this chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague — and our friend — Gabby Giffords.”

Addressing the political battles that led to the sweeping Republican gains during

[

together tonight,” Obama said, “but whether we can work together tomorrow.”

Obama declared the worst of the lingering recession over, lauding raising corporate profits and a growing economy, but acknowledging that “we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people.”

The lame duck session of the 111th Congress was presented as proof that Republicans and Democrats could work together in the new Congress. “We did that in December,” Obama said.

The President referenced the extension of the Bush tax cuts, a major compromise that went against his campaign promise to allow the tax cuts for the top marginal rates

]

“As we mark this occasion,” Obama said, “we are also mindful of the empty chair in this chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague — and our friend — Gabby Giffords.”

the 2010 midterms, Obama said, “The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs.

And that’s a good thing. That’s what a robust democracy demands. That’s what helps set us apart as a nation.”

Bipartisanship emerged as a major theme of the speech.

“What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit

- President Barack Obama

to expire.

He later included the disclaimer that he still opposes a permanent extension of the tax cuts, which he cited as unaffordable long-term.

“The world has changed,” Obama said as he segued into another major theme of the speech: America’s economic place in an increasingly globalized world.

“The competition for jobs is real.”

The President cited China and India as major competitors in the world economy. “[China and India are] investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became home to the world’s largest private solar research facility, and the world’s fastest computer.”

Despite acknowledging the fierce global competition and the devastating affects of the recession, Obama added, “For all the hits we’ve taken these last few years, [ . . . ] America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs.”

Calling on Americans to “out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world,” Obama invoked the Space Race with the Soviet Union that prompted President John F. Kennedy’s call for Americans to beat the Soviets to the moon.

“This is our generations Sputnik moment,” said Obama. “Two years ago,

I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race.”

Obama promised to submit a budget to Congress that reflects this goal.

He also outlined the ambition of doubling US exports by 2014 and for clean energy to account for 85 percent of American energy sources by 2025.

Obama temporarily broke his conciliatory tone while praising the 2010 health care reform.

“Now, I’ve heard rumors that a few of you have some concerns about the new health care law,” Obama said.

“If you have any ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you.”

However, Obama made clear that he would not stand for a repeal of the health care bill.

“I’m not willing [ . . . ] to go back to the days when insuring companies could deny someone coverage because of a preexisting condition.”

In a mostly symbolic gesture, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the 2010 health care bill, though it was clear that such a proposal had little chance of being enacted.

Perhaps Obama’s boldest proposal was a five year freeze on annual domestic spending. Despite displaying a willingness to enact deeper spending cuts, the President asked members of Congress to “make sure that we’re not [cutting spending] on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens.”

In one of the evening’s lighter moments came as Obama called for a sweeping reorganization of the federal government.

Indicating the excesses of various government agencies, Obama added, “The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they’re in saltwater.

“And I hear it gets even more complicated once they’re smoked.” The deadpan drew a bipartisan guffaw.

Obama’s praise for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” led to one of the more contentious moments of the nights.

“Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love.”

This statement led to one of the lightest applauses of the evening. Speaker Boehner was noticeably silent.

The President also touched upon educational reform, especially the replacement of No Child Left Behind, and tax reform.

Micheal Angelo Rumore can be reached at michealangelorumore@gmail.com.

NEWS + FEATURES

THE MINARET | JANUARY 27 2011

7

8 JANUARY 27 2011 | THE MINARET

Diversions FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Abby Sanford/ The Minaret

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Steve of Apple 5 Snug, as jeans 10 Agile 14 Old-fashioned exclamation 15 One-way street sign symbol 16 Draft classification 17 New perspective 20 Turkish topper 21 U.S., French and Australian tournaments 22 Hurdles for future attys.

23 Emissions watchdog org.

24 “Dites-__”: “South Pacific” song 25 “Doesn’t bother me a bit” 34 Deathly white 35 Did electrical work 36 Roman peace 37 Inst. of learning 38 “__ the loneliest number”: ’60s song lyric 39 First name in jeans 40 Word after box or cable 41 Burst of growth 42 ’90s candidate Ross 43 Listen very carefully 46 Section of L.A.?

47 Commercial suffix with Water 48 __ Dei: lamb of God 51 Prophets 54 Barfly 57 How the poor live 60 Rivers, to Rosita 61 __ cum laude 62 Hummus holder 63 Grand Ole __ 64 Thrown weapon 65 Put in the overhead bin DOWN 1 Bezos of Amazon 2 Grimm baddie 3 Folksinger Joan 4 ’60s militant gp.

Senior guard Rashad Callaway takes a difficult shot against an opposing defender.

2/7/11

By Thomas Takaro

5 New York’s __ Zee Bridge 6 “Dies __”: hymn 7 Boyish smile 8 __ d’oeuvre 9 Seesaw complement 10 Knocks off 11 “Only Time” New Age singer 12 Pedal pushers 13 Soviet news source 18 “Come on, let’s go for a ride!”

19 Bank robber “Pretty Boy” __ 23 Barely made, with “out” 24 Lyon ladies: Abbr.

25 Civil rights org.

26 Acting award 27 Lamb Chop creator Lewis 28 Admit it 29 Flaming 30 Corn chip 31 Verdi work 32 Really enjoy, as food 33 Some turnpike ramps

Saturday’s Puzzle Solved

(c)2011 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

38 Magnum __: great work 39 Onion relative 41 Smidgen 42 Bender of rays 44 Bumbling 45 Hubbub 48 Jackson 5 hairdo 49 Golf club part 50 American-born Jordanian queen

2/7/11

51 Piece of cake 52 Outskirts 53 Sicilian smoker 54 One of a deck’s foursome 55 Maestro Klemperer 56 Melting period 58 Early hrs.

59 Covert __: spy missions

Week ending Jan. 25, 2011

#1 Album

Top tracks

( ) Last week’s ranking in top five

United States Grenade • Bruno Mars

(2) 1

Hey Baby • Pitbull

2

Firework • Kate Perry The King Coming Home • Diddy - Dirty Money Is Dead The Decemberists Hold It Against Me • Britney Spears

(3) 3 4

(1) 5

United Kingdom We R Who We R • Ke$ha

1

Grenade • Bruno Mars 21 Adele

(1) 2

Rolling In the Deep • Adele

(2) 3

Coming Home • Diddy - Dirty Money

4

Blind Faith • Chase & Status

5

Spain The Time • Black Eyed Peas

(2) 1

Only Girl (In the World) • Rihanna

(3) 3

Barbra Streisand • Duck Sauce The 100 Most Essential Pieces of Classical Music

(4) 2

Who’s That Chick? • David Guetta & Rihanna Loca • Shakira Source: iTunes

The Scoop

(5) 5

© 2011 MCT

Traces...Physical Theater and Mime

When: Friday, Jan. 28, 7 p.m.

Where: Edison Building What: Prague performance artist Miřenka Čechova.

Admission: Free

Open Dedicatory Ceremony with David Isele

4

When: Sunday, Jan. 30, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Where: Plant Hall, West Verandah and Music Room.

What: Featuring: Debra Wilke, Libor Ondras, Gretchen Geist, Aric Brian, Hein Jung, Also includes solo performance by Isele.

Admission: Free, but must sign up on www.ut.edu.

Horoscopes

By Linda C Black / Tribune Media Services

Aries (March 21-April 19) Apply yourself. Your imagination and emotions run high.

When you get distracted, go back to your schedule to find focus. Trust in yourself.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) You’re ready for action. Your ambition can provide excellent results as long as it doesn’t trip you up. Keep your humble sense of humor, and read the signs.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) Don’t mix money with love today. Pay attention to when to be passionate and when to be cool. Focus on business deals in a relaxed, easy manner.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) You feel an urge to express yourself intimately with others close to you. Be selective. Don’t just post your heart on Facebook. Real face time is still best.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) If you let the intensity today get you down, you may get sick. It’s okay to leave some projects for tomorrow.

Focus on what really needs to get done and your own well-being.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Even if the day starts off feeling a bit off balance, plug away at your tasks, and you’ll be rewarded with pleasant surprises by day’s end.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) This is another excellent day for full expression. Let your emotions flow onto the paper, the dance floor, into the cake mix, the mechanics, the engineering. Be yourself.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Your brain has been going full speed. You want to write it all down, and it’s hard to keep up. Take a walk in nature to get grounded. This energizes.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Think twice before you spend money, no matter how much you feel you need something. How long would you really enjoy it? Measure the investment in years.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take advantage of your confidence and energy today.

Go out and meet new people. Or just observe and learn something new. The world is your school.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Transform the parts into the whole. Your mind wants to run around, but your body wants some rest. Find the perfect balance, and check out the results.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) If you thought you had a lot of social responsibilities this month, you haven’t seen anything yet. Don’t worry.

Food tastes better when you share.

THE MINARET | JANUARY 27 2011

Arts + Entertainment

9

The Mind Behind ‘Black Swan’ Visits Campus

BY SOPHIE ERBER

Arts + Entertainment Columnist

The award winning psychological thriller Black Swan didn’t just write itself.

After almost a decade in the making, Natalie Portman finally danced across the silver screen as the perfectionist ballerina Nina Sayers, tormented by a terrifying combination of incredible talent and malicious mental vices.

Screenwriter John J. McLaughlin was a key player on the team of writers who scripted this dark drama.

McLaughlin currently lives in New York City and writes for film and TV. Director, producer and UT assistant film professor Tom Garrett went to NYU’s film school with McLaughlin in the ‘80s and the two produced their first feature film together back in 1987.

Because of their unique friendship, McLaughlin agreed to speak at UT. McLaughlin has many other impressive screenwriting credits, including Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell (the videogame) and The Great Gatsby, but the audience seemed to be more focused on McLaughlin’s work with Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan.

Although UT assistant professor of journalism John Capouya led the discussion, the event was casual in the sense that questions were asked as different topics came up.

McLaughlin was happy to answer candidly and at times, with a very wry sense of humor.

“[Aronofsky] wanted a ‘ballet thriller,’” McLaughlin said, “and Natalie [Portman] entered the project long before I did. She always had the part.”

McLaughlin also said he started the project “not knowing anything about ballet,” so he and the other members of the production staff went to countless live performances, immersing themselves in the exhilarating, but tumultuous world of professional ballet dancers.

“Ballet dancers have one of the shortest life spans to excel at their art,” said McLaughlin.

“It’s a lot of pressure; you’ve got to succeed quickly or you’re going to wilt.

Black Swan is very much about being an artist.”

An interesting fact that seemed to surprise the crowd was that the director’s original pitch was to have Natalie Portman

[

Each writer on the team focused on writing different aspects of the script.

“I was more the psychological horror and the ballet,” McLaughlin said.

He also helped come up with the idea of using Swan Lake as the ballet and Black Swan as the title.

“I write for a lot of female-driven movies,” explained McLaughlin.

“The black swan character was the perfect doppelganger role for someone hallucinating.”

McLaughlin gave aspiring screenwriters three hard-learned tips for success.

“Number one,” he started, “you should be the son or daughter of a celebrity or someone very powerful and rich. It’s all about connections.”

The audience laughed, thinking he was joking, but McLaughlin swiftly continued.

“Number two, you have to write a lot

“The black swan character was the perfect doppelganger role for someone hallucinating”

]

-John J. McLaughlin, Black Swan Screenwriter

also play Lily, Mila Kunis’ role in the film, in addition to her own.

One student asked McLaughlin how he successfully wrote for females and other characters with traits obviously different from his own.

“You try and look for something that you do share with them,” McLaughlin began.

“I share paranoia with Natalie,” he added with a chuckle.

and you have to finish everything. You learn from each part of it: beginning, middle and end.”

“And number three,” he concluded, “don’t be afraid to get screwed. Let them screw you; let them bend you over. Take the $5 if that’s all they’re giving you. If it’s a success, you’ll make a lot more the next time.”

Even to those not entering the film world, McLaughlin’s straightforward and

Movie Poster

McLuaghlin’s screenplay for Black Swan contributed heavily to its success.

poignant advice seemed to speak to all who attended.

“Guest speakers like this are essential for our students who are trying to get into the industry,” said Dr. Andrew McAlister, UT assistant professor of communications.

“It seems like McLaughlin’s done it the hard way and really worked his way up. I thought the advice he gave wannabe screenwriters, especially about the need to finish projects and not hold out for huge paydays, was frank and pragmatic.”

Sophie Erber can be reached at serber@ spartans.ut.edu.

Britney Reinvents Herself Again in New Single Catchy ‘Hold it Against Me’ Veers Dangerously Towards Cliché

BY RICHARD SOLOMON

Arts + Entertainment Columnist

Britney Spears has been a pretty public figure over the years.

From school girl to psycho mom, the pop sensation has garnered awards and tabloid headlines.

But despite all this, we don’t hold it against her.

“Hold It Against Me” is the first single being released from Spears’ upcoming album.

If you’re hoping for something similar to “...Baby One More Time” or “Oops! ... I Did It Again,” prepare to be disappointed.

“Hold It Against Me” is a very different sound from Spears’ previous hits.

There are obvious dub-step influences mixed in with rave and techno beats, but, like previous songs, it’s easily a catchy dance tune.

With the new trance sound, “Hold It Against Me” could be a harbinger for something bigger.

It is possible Britney Spears has evolved as a singer and this will be her new sound.

It is equally possible that she was just experimenting and this song will be a lone deviation.

Either way, “Hold It Against Me” is extremely catchy.

Lyrically, it leaves a lot to be desired.

It’s as if Spears heard terrible pickup lines for the first time and decided to

compile them all into a song.

There are no complex lyrics or clever wordplay here, but if you were expecting that, then you’re probably listing to the wrong singer.

“If I said my heart was beating loud, if we could escape into the crowd somehow, if I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?”

This line pretty much sums up the entire song, with the lyrics only differing to offer other cliché pickup lines.

That seems to be the point, but it’s still an interesting choice for a dance song.

Not that “Hold It Against Me” is bad.

While the rest of the album remains unreleased, the song appears to be a terrific choice for the first single.

I’ve mentioned before that we can’t fault bands and artists for evolving and for their sound changing as they grow.

Even if you dislike where Britney is heading, you can’t fault her for trying something different.

I’ve never been a Britney fan and “Hold It Against Me” hasn’t changed that.

I won’t be blasting this in my car and it’s unlikely I will recommend it to friends; however, those who enjoyed Britney’s old stuff will be pleased by her continued ability to get a tune stuck in your head.

Keep an eye out for the music video and her new album.

Richard Solomon can be reached at rsolomon@spartans.ut.edu.

Cover Art

Despite being a regular face on tabloid covers, Britney Spears has remained a force in popular music. “Hold It Against Me” represents the latest incarnation of Spears’s varied career.

[

]

“If I said my heart was beating loud / If we could escape into the crowd somehow / If I said I want your body now / Would you hold it against me?”

-Britney Spears

10 JANUARY 27 2011 | THE MINARET Tripping: The Virtual Vacation Network

By TODD SANBORN

Arts + Entertainment Columnist

[

Circles Eclectic Menu Underwhelms Diverse Options Clash With Poor Service

BY MORIAH PARISH

Everyone loves the thrill of going on vacation. It’s a time away from home, a well-deserved break from work and, most of all, a great time to explore what the world has to offer.

There are always those little unexpected occurrences along the way, though, that tend to make every vacation a little less “vacation-like.”

A delayed or missed flight, the crazy prices and restrictions on renting cars and, of course, the obscene prices of food around the world can put a damper on things.

Probably the biggest expensive for the average traveler is the price of lodging.

Ranging from $50 to hundreds of dollars a night, a hotel room is sure to be the most expensive part of any vacation.

A new social network called “Tripping” has set out to change just that.

Built off of the model of Facebook, Tripping allows travelers to find and meet fellow “explorers,” to set up events, coffee dates or even arrange for lodging at a native’s house.

You can specify if you are looking for males or females, choose an age range and even select which language you are looking for in a host home.

Tripping also allows Facebook users to login to their account through the website so all their information is already set into Tripping’s servers.

Currently, the Tampa Bay Area has eight hosts, each of whom can decide to broadcast on their profile whether or not they are willing to “host” or not at the moment.

Similar to the design of Facebook, the user can add a profile picture, include photos, have friends and even include references to verify their intentions.

Heidi, a “tripper” right here in Tampa, has included a brief description of herself: “I have a passion for film and a love of cultures — I’m observant and inquisitive, knowing that pursuing any itch for adventure brings an opportunity to learn, to teach, to become aware, to unify.”

A member since November 2010, Heidi has made everything from her workplace to education public for other trippers to see.

Requests can range from meeting up and discussing favorite vacation spots, to inquiring into somewhere to stay during a trip.

Tripping describes itself as “a global community of travelers,” and says, “We believe that cultural exchange makes the world a better place and we use Tripping to connect with each other.”

Justin Justice, a University of Tampa freshman says, “There is no way I would let a stranger stay in my house; the world is too dangerous for that nowadays.

Nice thought, but I couldn’t handle it.”

Currently in its beta version, the developers of Tripping acknowledge that there are bugs and fixes that need to be worked around, but are open to suggestions from users on how to improve as they develop and expand Tripping into a popular website for travelers around the world.

For more information, visit www.tripping.com.

Todd Sanborn can be reached at toddalan@ me.com.

Tripping allows travelers to find and meet fellow “explorers.”

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

]

Arts + Entertainment Columnist

Moriah Parrish/ The Minaret

Circles Restaurant serves many different styles, from Thai to American. The restaurant, a former house, is unique in its old-fashioned architecture and wood-framed windows.

Strolling down the boardwalk leading to Circles Restaurant, I was already excited.

The small retention pond underneath the planks leading to the door gave the establishment the appearance of “Key West style.”

Windows were illuminated softly from within and the scent coming from the open door was enticing.

I was immediately greeted by an older gentleman, who seated me promptly in a small alcove.

The restaurant had been a former house, as was apparent from the layout of the rooms.

The rooms had old-fashioned, wood-framed windows along the walls; one could gaze around the entire place almost, without moving.

It created a comfortable atmosphere and an “at home” feeling.

The tables were set with white tablecloths, black linen napkins, silverware and giant, stemmed wine glasses that tempted the diner to peruse the wine list that sat on the table.

The bar was in the next room.

I could see it through one of the windows.

It was beautiful, with backlighting illuminating the contents of a multitude of bottles.

I scanned the menu quickly in preparation for the server’s appearance.

They offered many different styles of dishes, Thai and American.

By the time she arrived, I knew I wanted to try the Brussels sprouts with Nueskes smoked Applewood bacon and an iced tea to drink.

The appetizer arrived quickly on a beautiful plate with the greenest sprouts I had ever seen.

They were cooked just right — hot and easy to chew, but still with a little crunch to them.

The bacon was thick-cut, tossed in an olive oil and garlic sauce.

The dish had a unique and zesty flavor I never knew Brussels sprouts were capable of producing.

For my entrée, I ordered the

[

braised lamb shank with mashed potatoes and broccoli almondine.

I opted for their famous lobster bisque, which was $2.50 more than the soup of the day, but the vegetable soup did not sound as appetizing.

The bisque arrived with a basket of rolls.

It had a pleasing orange hue to it and just the right hint of sherry — it thankfully did not overwhelm the creaminess of the bisque.

The soup itself was delicious, but the lobster was a little overdone and chewy.

It took a little longer to come out than usual, but the braised lamb was worth the wait. It also was pleasingly presented, atop potatoes and broccoli.

As the meat was, of course, still on the bone, I asked my server for a steak knife, something I thought should have been brought out with the dish.

The mashed potatoes were light and creamy and seasoned with garlic.

They were an excellent addition to the lamb, which had been braised in a stew that had been left on the plate along with the sides.

The broccoli almondine, however, did not fare as well amongst the other items.

It was soggy and the almonds were strange amongst the home-style foods.

The waitress had not brought my steak knife and had not appeared again, so I began attempting to eat the lamb with a fork and butter knife.

It was fairly easy to do, as the meat was tender and juicy from the braising.

It had a wonderful flavor, but it was a lot of work to get through the fat and fell (a thin, membrane-like covering over the surface, occurring naturally on lamb meat).

I discovered this term while doing some research after my trip. It is normal for this cut of meat to contain that substance, but had I known that before I went, I would not have ordered the dish.

The waitress had not brought my steak knife and had not appeared again, so I began attempting to eat the lamb with a fork and butter knife.

]

I was glad there had been several other dishes to curb my hunger, or I would have been frustrated trying to isolate the meat from the fat and gristle.

When my server appeared, I repeated my request and she finally brought the knife, but I had eaten most of the decent parts already.

It seemed that after all the picking through to avoid the parts that were inedible, there had not been very much meat on the cut.

Overall, I was a little disappointed with the dish.

To give them another shot, I ordered the chocolate torte served chilled with whipped cream and strawberries for dessert.

The cream was fresh — a perfect compliment to the denseness of the torte.

With a thick chocolate icing on top and two layers of fudge-like cake, I was in chocolate heaven.

The dessert was impressive and the most reasonable size — neither huge nor tiny — I had seen a restaurant serve in some time.

With my stomach full and a happy, easy feeling, I exited Circles, hoping to try them again soon.

Moriah Parrish can be reached at mparrish@spartans.ut.edu

The Dish Iced Tea: $2.00 Brussels Sprouts: $8.50 Braised Lamb Shank: $18.00 Chocolate Torte: $6.50 Average Entrée: $16 Service: Forgetful and Elusive Variety: Multiple Ethnic Plates Atmosphere: Quiet and Intimate Wine: Red and White

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

THE MINARET | JANUARY 27 2011

11

Michael Herr’s ‘Dispatches’: New Journalism Tackles Vietnam

BY CONNER MCDONOUGH Arts + Entertainment Columnist

READ This

Now

Though you may not realize it, chances are you have already come across this classic piece of postmodern journalism in some way or another. Seen Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket? Then you have already delved a bit into Michael Herr’s breakthrough book on the Vietnam War. Originally published in 1977, Dispatches was comprised mostly from pieces written by Herr for Esquire magazine from his stint of reporting on the conflict in Vietnam from 1967 to 1969. We follow Herr throughout the country, from places most have never even heard of, such as Can Tho and Chu Lai, to focal points seen in every American History textbook: Khe Sanh, Da Nang and Hue. Herr also reports on the Tet Offensive firsthand, the ultimate turning point in the Vietnam War. Within the pages of this memoir the reader is thrown into the muck and mire that was the Vietnam War, meeting extremely notable people along the way.

Herr presents the reader with figures like the drunken general who wishes to create an operation out of thin air for good press coverage, the tallest Vietnamese soldier ever seen by the author, a man who constantly apologizes for every bump in the road they hit and Sean Flynn, son of famed actor Errol, who went to Vietnam as a photojournalist and disappeared in Cambodia in 1970.

Herr also focuses on some of the more infamous characters he met there as foils within the memoir. The door gunner who jokes about shooting women and children because they are slower moving targets, the soldier who reluctantly changed plans from skinning a dead Viet Cong fighter to talking to a reporter, and the Special Forces soldiers who collected body parts as trophies.

While these are some of the more memorable subjects Herr interviews within the memoir, the biggest interviewee is the regular, downtrodden soldier (as the book progresses, the theme of soldiers with depression is seen more and more). It is within the countless interviews with these men that we as readers come to understand what the Vietnam experience was like.

Until the publication of this book, most

in the lives of these men and women to the point where their fears become our fears, their joys our joys and their losses our losses. The further into this book the reader gets, the more involved we become. When Herr hears a snap or a rustle outside the perimeter and believes it is a Viet Cong sapper, we believe it is as well.

This book is the only one of its kind.

While there are many memoirs of the Vietnam War, none of them can match the power of this one. The stories presented within the pages will often suck the air out your lungs and leave you speechless.

Here is the “unofficial” report of the Vietnam War, free from politics and governmental influence. There is no forward from a high-ranking commander nor is there an epilogue from such distinguished figures such as Kissinger or McNamara.

This is the story of ordinary people thrown into an extraordinary situation in American history.

Read this now.

Conner McDonough can be reached at cmcdonough@spartans.ut.edu.

Cover Art

Herr’s Dispatches is one of the classic accounts of the Vietnam War.

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books on the subject of the Vietnam War were purely objective, dealing with figures, tactics, political decision-making and outcomes. Herr deals predominately with how the war affected the American combatant, telling us the truth about Vietnam and providing a voice to the servicemen and women.

This is due in part to the genre and movement in which Herr was writing in at this point in time: New Journalism. Focusing more on the idea of subjectivism and the involvement of the writing within his or her own work, Dispatches is a prime example of this genre.

Herr is bringing the readers warfare with all strings attached: terror, death, excitement, tension, sadness and so on. But he does not merely gloss over these things with official reports and statistics, rather, he brings the smell of death, the adrenaline rush of excitement, the near-catatonic sadness and the tension as thick as the Vietnamese jungle.

In doing this, we are forced to take part in the book and become actively engaged

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12 JANUARY 27 2011 | THE MINARET

Commentary

Death Penalty Makes It Difficult to Assess Value of Human Life

By NARISA IMPRASERT Columnist

Who’s to say that your life is more valuable than mine? Or that my life is more than yours?

Whether you have 500 friends on Facebook or 100 “friends” in reality, it is all the same nonsense. And I will never understand those who choose to jump out of planes for the “thrill of it” or get blackout drunk every night. From my seemingly biased perspective, it’s as if they’re trying to die.

I guess I prioritize differently. After all, I’m not the typical college student. I’m more of a paranoid, Asian grandma. And two decades of life isn’t nearly enough time for me to willingly lie down in my grave.

So I prefer curling up in bed with the Food Network on and the door locked— twice, reassured by a dead bolt.

Some say I’m not “living,” but I believe I’m trying to live. I’m trying to stay alive.

And to live is such a complicated concept.

All around the world, people higher up than you and I are assessing the value of others; deciding whether one man or woman’s life is worth keeping around.

It’s tough to fathom the concept of a hierarchy that can end your life with just the snap of a finger.

In 2010, 46 people were sentenced to the Death Penalty in the U.S. And in

the mere 27 days of year 2011, 3 people have already been executed. There are 35 states, including Florida, that employ the death penalty. And it’s not just in the United States, where we choose to live. We are ranked the fifth highest country after China, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

However, what many people don’t know is that we as humans have rights. Not just the typical freedom of speech or the right to have an attorney present when you’re in trouble. No, the UN has established 30 beautiful rights called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

And stated after the Preamble in Article number three is, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

Obviously, the death penalty is in direct violation of such international rights.

And that’s where assessing the value of life gets tricky. To justify someone’s death is overwhelmingly complicated.

Can you really explain why someone is no longer allowed to breathe? Who exactly is given the power to decide? And are there non-biased standards for claiming these lives?

Right now there are 3,268 people on Death Row according to the Death Penalty Info Center. 400 of which reside in Florida, including 61 women. Florida has the second highest number of prisoners on Death Row with 400 people, followed

by Texas with 335 and California having the highest number of 695. With such high numbers, do these people really have a reason to live? And do they have anything to lose? Huge assumptions can be made about their (possible) actions, but it’s in the

riacale/flickr.com

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines the way that humans deserve to be treated, now we have to seriously ask ourselves if the death penalty infringes these rights in our societies.

tossing of a coin that determines their fate.

Because someone commits crimes against humanity, does it mean they are no longer human? That they no longer deserve the right to life? To turn the value of a person’s life into zero is increasingly controversial.

It’s as if the right to life is immediately taken away with acts of sin, and that’s not written in the books.

With the various complications this penalty presents, there is constant debate in regards to enacting or abolishing it around the world. It’s similar to the pro-life and pro-choice debacle that we vote on every election. Prohibiting life before birth is just as controversial as determining the exact timing of someone’s death.

Overall, death may seem like an easy out—sometimes the best possible sanction for criminals of the extreme. An eye for an eye always seems like the most reasonably fair solution, but there is no going back if someone is proven innocent after they have already been terminated.

And to make the situation worse, modern day fools are making it closer to their own easily avoidable deaths with destructive behavior.

But I believe that taking life for granted is one’s biggest mistake. After all, it is your most valuable possession…or is it a privilege?

Narisa Impraset can be reached at nimprasert@spartans.ut.edu.

Pick Your Ending! History Re-written The Way You Would Like It

By NICOLE ROBINSON Columnist

Japanese Internment On February 19, 1942 Executive Order 9066 was signed and authorized

by Franklin Roosevelt. This law effected Japanese citizens on many levels. But what was the motivation? To what extent did it affect those it implicated? Choose your journey below.

For Ending One, see paragraph “Ending One.” Ending Two, (you got it!) see “Ending Two.” Ending Three, see “Ending Three/ Eww... the Truth.”

Ending One The streets of that time were filled with signs suggesting that perhaps, Japanese (many actually Japanese-American) should leave the country or “Go home,” after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. But the thing is, these were merely helpful attempts to tell the Japanese where to go in order to avoid being harmed.

The seemingly racially insensitive signs were in storefronts and in the mouths of civilians were actually helpful. So when the Government provided safe havens for them (although rather rundown and shoddily built) the Japanese and other random people who were seen as “alien spies,” “traitors” and as “un-American,” were given a safe haven for a period of time. You see, it wasn’t all that bad.

It’s what the founding fathers would have wanted.

Ending Two Just because you were born here, does it mean you have earned citizenship? The camps were merely check-in stations to make sure every one’s (specifically Japanese-Americans) papers were in order.

Even though there were many first and second generation people present doesn’t mean it wasn’t fair to do what they did. They merely changed the rules so you were only a “real citizen” at 5 generations or more.

And if you were a fifth generation citizen, and happened to be Japanese or suspicious, then it was six. This also excluded Irish, Italian and other immigrants and citizens.

In terms of National security, they were less suspicious, “Code Yellow” if you will.

Ending Three/ Eww the Truth Internment was a cruel reality and ripped innocent Japanese-American families apart, both American and non-American. Some never were able to see their relatives again.

Outward racism towards Asian Americans was expressed in some of the harshest ways our history has seen, by being subjected to internment/captivity. This was a low point in our history. We held our own citizens captive in the country that they lived in, some for generations. Hard to face? Yes. But we did it and we should note it and be grateful that we have changed.

The Trail of Tears Once Upon a time...

Ending One The Native Americans realized that there were more lucrative real estate prospects in the West, with better neighborhoods and schools. The bad thing was they had started to actually like their colonizers who forced their... friendship upon them. Their slightly paler friends told them that it would maybe be better for them in another place and that

they would selflessly stay behind for the greater good. It was a hard decision, but because they knew that promising business was waiting for them elsewhere, they reluctantly left their land that had belonged to them for generations. They missed their loving, caring neighbors, who had shown them such care so much that they cried the entire way.

Ending Two Thanksgiving dinner was disgusting.

The food was bland and the service poor, but the Native Americans didn’t want to be rude about it. For years they kept it a secret, trying to be as polite as they could to the settlers. Years of silence about the issue, accompanied by avoiding dinner parties at all costs, ensued. The food was so bad it even made some of the Natives sick.

So after a lot of consideration, thousands of Native Americans decided that the only way to avoid these offensive dishes was to leave.

It was actually tears of joy that they cried, knowing that the terrible dishes would never have to be eaten again.

Most of these stories and endings are huge violations to the truth of our history.

However, as of late many have been recalling history as they would like it to have been, rather than what it was on a national platform. This should raise some alarm, and not only to all the history buffs out there.

Many are rewriting and re-analyzing history so that it “goes down easier” for us.

This is not okay.

How can we face the future with the readiness that we need if we skew the past with “watered-down” perversions in order to avoid the harsh fact that we too have the capacity to be as cruel as anyone else?

Slaves were murdered on a whim, American husbands were torn away from their wives and children and many people have died because of the sick ways we were taught to hate.

For a majority of our history, we have been unequal. For only 50 years have we been trying to change that and have been able to look forward to more progressive change. An Olympic athlete won’t forget the errors that they made in the past that lead to small failures; instead they note them and use them to their ultimate success.

We must do the same.

Our past isn’t all horrible, but perhaps a good look at our weaker points will lead us to a stronger and more beautiful future.

Nicole Robinson can be reached at nrobinson@spartans.ut.edu.

escapedtowisconsin/flickr.com

The attack of Pearl Harbor lead to a part of our history that we should learn from, not hide.

THE MINARET | JANUARY 27 2011

COMMENTARY

13

Editorial: ‘Imbibe’ According to Policies or Face the Consequences Beads, pirates and parade are soon approaching.

Gasparilla, a festival commemorating the invasion of pirates in the Tampa Bay Area, will be held this Saturday.

Many people are undoubtedly looking forward to drinking and hanging out with friends.

For college students, it is one large block party, but for many, it is a time to be on the lookout for delinquent behavior.

This year, the parade will be going along Bayshore Blvd. and ending up in Curtis Hixon Park, next to the Tampa Museum of Art. University of Tampa student leaders recently worked with the Tampa Police Department to provide a one-hour seminar on staying safe during the parade.

Adults over the age of 21 will be allowed to consume alcohol in “wet zones” and in the parade route, but there will be a “zerotolerance” policy if anyone is causing disruptive behavior.

People may think these policies are extreme, but they are set up to prevent rioting and destructive behavior.

In all honesty, Gasparilla is not an event that promotes Tampa’s image.

It is cultural in the sense that we venerate history through the recreation of pirates invading Tampa, but the fact that people get drunk and disturb community members

degrades the people who live here in man people’s eyes.

If students are going to drink, they need to be cautious and aware of the environment: never take an open drink from a stranger and always stay hydrated.

It is also a good idea to go in a group.

Select a designated driver and stay together.

The worst thing for a UT student would be being caught drinking, if underage, or driving under the influence.

This not only goes on a person’s legal record, but could potentially bring other academic consequences into play.

Students should review the UT Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy for more information.

Every semester, The Minaret emphasizes the importance of starting the year off right.

Gasparilla is no exception.

According to the Tampa Police Department, there were over 400 arrests during the festival last year.

This is the second year where the zerotolerance policy will be in effect.

How will the numbers change?

Let’s make Gasparilla an unforgettable day to remember, but for the good reasons.

The Editorial Board can be reached at editor@theminaretonline.com or you may submit a Letter to the Editor form online at www.theminaretonline.com.

Trust is Something That Can Reach Great Heights If Allowed to Flourish

By CAMILLA CHEBET

Nathaniel St. Amour/The Minaret

Keeping Lovers On Pedestal Can Accentuate Pet Peeves

Columnist

By DOMINIQUE C. BARCHUS

The only way to make someone trustworthy is to trust them.

For a while my view of trust was skewed.

I trusted few, as the self-help books always recommend, and was quick to doubt people even before they did something to make them untrustworthy.

It was a preemptive move and, as sure as day, the few I trusted betrayed my trust. I was sure then that I was trusting too much, but, as I learned, things get worse before they get worse.

I was at a loss until I gave up with the preemptive move. In other words, my teenage “know-it-all” mentality was proven almost foolish and I learned something very different about trust.

It is true that trust is fragile, and of course there are those who will betray you; otherwise trust wouldn’t make sense; betrayal would not exist.

Trust, however, is a necessity. Some may see it as an issue in their relations with people, while others may view it as a fruit produced from a well-rooted, healthy relation with society. Still others may just not care for it. This does not diminish its importance in social and professional aspects of life.

We are all aware of the cliches associated with trust and its comparison with a vase (how, if broken, it can never be the same).

Trust is not a vase; neither is it limited.

Trust is many things to many people, but objectively it is a process and, depending on your view, it can be tedious and mundane or a pleasant learning experience.

To me, trust is like building a skyscraper.

With a bit of time, bricks of love to set the

Relationships have a lot of give and take. But even with compromise, no relationship is perfect. As much as people want to be everything their partners could ask for, and always be understanding, there will always be things that bother both people. When women discuss men, it tends to always be about the same thing: men don’t listen, they never understand and they do things that they know will make a girl mad.

Collectively, women think women are right and that men just do not understand.

In all honesty, it’s true for the majority of men: they don’t understand us. The mindset of a woman is just different.

Men usually claim that women complain too much, that they are too emotional and they immerse themselves in unnecessary drama. Men tend to not see events in the same light as women and they won’t. Men prefer not to give small issues attention and do not become as worked-up about the faults of other people. They are a bit more easygoing and don’t analyze situations in the same way that women do.

No one will ever have or be the perfect mate. I feel like everyone has standards for the person with whom they envision themselves. They try to find someone that best fits the mold. Males and females have different needs and no one is ever going to be 100 percent satisfied with all the aspects of their relationships, but if the person you have chosen to be with is worth the time, then patience and understanding need to play a big role. Another thing I feel like

Love and Sex Columnist

Eoin C/flickr.com

Give each other trust. That way our relationships become as great as the Empire State Building.

foundation, and the mortar of honesty, a relationship or friendship can be held together.

When things get “ugly” and the “noise” of our surroundings starts to interfere, trust becomes important, useful and something many people come to admire. The unique thing about trust and skyscrapers is their height is undefined.

There is no set limit as to how much trust can go around, no limit as to how much you trust someone except the one you set. It’s never that serious anyway.

If you trust and you get betrayed, you learn to make better choices.

It’s not the end of the world. Not trusting can become an issue soon enough and you don’t want to be passing such bad habits down to people who admire you, like your children or your spouse.

The number one trust “issue” is not betrayal, but lack of trust. Look around and see how far two people who do not trust each other can go without backbiting or arguments. I will take a guess: not very long.

Camilla Chebet can be reached at cchebet@spartans.ut.edu.

Ciro Biro/flickr.com

Even the most perfect partner has their faults.

Avoid disappointment by not idolizing them.

both sexes need to realize is that we cannot put our significant others on a pedestal. Our expectations are too high. Putting people on a pedestal will only heighten the aspects of a relationship that people do not like. If women would realize that men are pretty simple and don’t look into things the way they do, then understanding them a bit more wouldn’t be like pulling teeth.

Likewise, if men realized that females will always be slightly more emotional and try not do not take things as lightly as women do, then men would find females to be less complicated.

They will finally see that we will always have different views about things and that telling us, “It‘s not a big deal,” is not always the best route to take when trying to comfort women.

We are all human and we all make mistakes and have our pet peeves, but we are also nowhere near perfect. Neither sex should expect the other one to be.

Take your lovers off the pedestal and step back into reality. Everything will be okay.

Dominique C. Barchus can be reached at dominique.barchus@spartans.ut.edu.

14 JANUARY 27 2011 | THE MINARET

COMMENTARY

Ditch the Rubbish by Telling Constructive Stories about Society

By PHILIPPA HATENDI Commentary Editor

Ever since I came to the University of Tampa, I have been observing American society and contrasting it with my own.

There have been things about America I have preferred and things that I have severely disliked.

Amongst the things I have disliked is the inability to tell your own story.

Everything in America seems to be extreme compared to everywhere else in the world, and the desire to conform, here, is extreme.

Even rebelling against society is a sort of conformity. I have never experienced that anywhere else.

In every society in the world there are things that prevent us from living the lives we envision for ourselves: family, economic problems, tradition, religion, health, all the usual suspects.

Coming from living in Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, I have been disappointed by the stories Americans choose to live out in their society.

All you have to do to see the stories that Americans choose to put out into their society is turn on the television.

Entertainment is a method of storytelling, and it irritates me to no end that Americans use such a powerful tool to tell such destructive stories.

Sure, people who try and justify some of the rubbish on TV say its only a minority of the population that really lives like this.

Thus, it is not the whole American story that is being portrayed. So my question is, why?

Why show that story? Is entertainment more important here than the values we choose to instill?

Take shows like The Bad Girls Club, Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant.

The Bad Girls Club is a show that tells the story of Americans in the form of belligerent, violent young women who are constantly getting themselves into trouble.

These young women have no respect for their own bodies, for others or for public property.

This show tells a story that glamorizes violence and destructive behavior in American society. It is the show that

legitimizes that sort of behavior as a desirable trait for a young woman. What happens when, as a result of this story, young teenage girls are influenced to grow up and behave in such destructive, despicable ways?

Can you say it’s “just entertainment” when it filters into your everyday lives, affecting them negatively?

Jersey Shore is another show that I believe depicts stories that are detrimental to society.

They, too, feature characters who practice belligerence, don’t do much to contribute to society, “whore around” with each other and create meaningless conflicts to detract from the lack of value that their

mmeellishurrrr/photobucket.com

The cast of ‘Jersey Shore’ are part of the detrimental stories that American society is upholding as standards for behavior. They don’t deserve the high pedestal of admiration given to them.

lives have on a daily basis.

Tons of young people watch Jersey Shore and admire the characters portrayed on it like Snooki and “The Situation.”

As a result, I believe more young people will believe it’s okay (I say this knowing that Gasparilla coming) to behave like that or that it will earn them some sort of admiration from their friends.

Are those the sort of people we want to be influencing the future leaders of your nation?

If they are, the future is bleak.

16 and Pregnant is the one I personally think is most detrimental. It brings to the floor stories that do not help to improve society in any way.

Stories that, in my opinion, people should keep to themselves.

Pre-teens and other teenagers watch those shows and think it is glamorous to be pregnant at the age of 16 now.

It doesn’t give an issue that is damaging to our society the proper respect that it deserves.

America should be working on decreasing teenage pregnancy rates, not turning reckless, foolish teenagers into celebrities.

Story-telling is a very powerful tool that should be used to improve and inspire society.

We should not take this beautiful artform and turn it into a way to legitimize the lapses in our society.

America thrives on being the supposed leader of the world in all fields; who will want to allow a society to lead it if it can’t even lead itself?

Philippa Hatendi can be reached at phatendi@spartans.ut.edu.

Society Should Be Kinder When Digesting Vegetarian Lifestyle

By ALYSIA SAWCHYN Commentary Contributor

According to UrbanDictionary.com a vegetarian is, “Technically a person who eats no meat or dead animal products....

Despite claims to the contrary, most vegetarians are not elitist or prejudiced....

[D]espite that most vegetarians are nonjudgmental and aren’t affiliated with PETA in any way, many get a good dose of humor out of bashing them. Presumably because the concept of not eating meat challenges their manhood and they need to defend their metaphorical d--- size.”

The second definition is, “A secret underground society that takes pleasure in torturing fruits and vegetables.

They also are trying to monopolize the bottled water market.”

Putting stereotypes of self-righteousness and fanaticism aside, what is it about vegetarians that makes them targets for easy jokes? Most of the ones I know are fairly good-natured about all the jokes, but really.

One of my good friends and roommate, is vegetarian. She told me a story recently of the last time she “cheated” and ate a piece of fish.

That night, she had a dream that she caught a fish, a sort of strange, Elizabeth Bishop-esque nightmare. When she pulled the fish out of the water it was covered in blood and so was she.

I have seen documentaries on slaughterhouses and inhumane living conditions for animals, been preached to by activists and read books on the impact of the cattle industry on America’s agriculture.

Somehow, I still manage to eat meat without too many moral qualms. The information, and the disgust it brings, only has a shelf life of 1-3 days.

skaparn/ photobucket.com

Society seems to have a hard time digesting the unconventional lifestyle pursued by vegetarians.

Perhaps if we take time to understand just how difficult it is, we might respect them more.

However, I’m fairly certain that if I dreamt about killing animals each time that I ate one, I would not find it very funny. I would also immediately stop eating meat.

Being vegetarian is choosing a diet that hugely deviates from most American food norms.

While it is no longer an uncommon practice, it still goes against some of the most basic, nutritional facts we are taught as children. For example, the food pyramid.

Almost every child, at least in the United Sates, sees one by the time that they turn 10 years old. Another example, hamburgers and hot dogs, the stereotypical, “allAmerican” foods, are hard to go without.

Have you ever asked, or heard someone ask, for a veggie burger at a 4th of July barbecue? Or, for that matter, at any type of cookout? If there are not any, responses range from “Uh, no. How about a hot dog?” to, “No, but there’s fantastic potato salad!”

If the host has been “thoughtful enough” to take into account that there may be a vegetarian guest, it’s even more entertaining. There is a slight contortion of the face, followed by an ill-suppressed sigh.

They will either go, or send someone else to go into the house, and re-emerge ten minutes later patties in hand. Then there is a passive-aggressive apology for

taking so long because the veggie burgers are kept at the very back of the fridge. The entire interaction screams, “Look how inconvenient this is for me!”

It’s true. For vegetarians, eating can be inconvenient, especially eating well. I have yet to see a drive-through place that offers anything other than cheese quesadillas or wilted salads, which are, incidentally, what my aforementioned roommate lives on. Most restaurants are not particularly sympathetic either.

I’d like to take a step back and briefly admire the fact that a large group of people regularly navigate through aisles of tempeh and spinach and say, “No meat on that, please.” I would be hungry all the time.

Try it. Eat vegetarian for one day. It’s not easy.

“No. Why? Dude, that’s totally stupid, ” are the thoughts I imagine running through some readers’ minds right now.

Try it, so you can appreciate the time and effort that some people put in to their convictions. A novel idea, I know.

Do it. Suffer through the annoyance of being very hungry when you are out to eat at a place that only has side salads while your friends complain about how full they are from that burger. Experience happiness when you discover how filling avocados are.

Maybe then, you will agree with me when I say that we should be kinder to vegetarians.

Unless, of course, a vegetarian tells you that you are a disgusting human being with no morals for eating meat. In that case, I am a firm advocate of grabbing the most rare piece of steak you can find, introducing it to the individual as “Betsy” and proceeding to make loud “mooing” noises while eating.

Alysia Sawchyn can be reached at asawchyn@spartans.ut.edu.

THE MINARET | JANUARY 27 2011

COMMENTARY

15

The Show ‘Skins’ Is Uninteresting but America’s Reaction is Hilarious

By ERIC ZORN Columnist

It seems that everyone in the media world has been talking about Skins, MTV’s new show — nearly a carbon copy of the popular British series of the same name.

Anybody who was a fan or had seen any of the British series was angered at MTV’s complete lack of creativity.

I felt cheated; the show was almost a word-for-word rip-off of the original.

They had taken something genuine and honest in it’s depiction and just replaced the actors, some characters and the location.

I’m not saying the show itself is totally honest — it’s TV, let’s be real.

But I was confused by the changes they made in the storyline, especially since they had kept so much of the original story. Why change certain parts?

Why change Maxxie, one of the most well-shaped characters from the original, into a lesbian cheerleader, for instance?

Would a gay male teen who doesn’t fit the media’s homosexual stereotype be too much for America to handle?

I felt the whole show was an insult to this country’s capacity for acceptance, tolerance, understanding and its intelligence. Did they really think that this tamed version would also be honest enough for those who liked the original to keep tuning in? That it would shock America?

Apparently so, because the Parents’ Television Council (among other groups) have been having a kind of ridiculous and hilarious conniption.

They have called the show “child pornography.” I think I saw more skin walking around my old high school.

Why are they obsessed with nudity? I

eskimo_io/flickr.com

Taco Bell pulled it’s advertising from the raunchy, new show that aims to depict the lives of modern day teenagers. If the lifestyle presented in the series offends you so much, don’t watch it!

don’t believe for a second that they all have never seen another person naked or been flashed by someone.

The fact that advertisers are pulling their ads shocks me even more. I am stunned that advertisers are so worked up over this show that they are causing their feelings to get in the way of business. Taco Bell pulled their advertising from Skins.

Yes, Taco Bell. With the tacos made with grade D meat from a tube, that can now can contain Fritos if you’d like. A company that markets to stoned and/or drunk underage teens with the munchies.

Worldwide the media loves to portray

teens drinking, at wild parties, smoking weed and having sex. So why is this show any different? 16 and Pregnant, anyone?

Dateline NBC seems to feature “the new drug” teens are doing (that I have never heard of) almost every week on their show.

I graduated high school in 2008, at age 18. I wonder how many of my peers had tried a beer, lost their virginity or had a toke by that point. I’m guessing probably everyone had.

All of this controversy makes me think of my own upbringing.

I never considered myself a wild child,

but maybe I was since my activities weren’t so different than the way they are depicted on TV. People forget that being a teen sucked and that weed and beer were commonplace.

My parents, who are probably reading this, wouldn’t find this show incredibly shocking.

My father, the advocate in the household for turning off the TV, would think these activists are idiots.

Turn off your TV and don’t let your sheltered children stay up till 11 p.m. watching a show you feel is inappropriate.

So here is my “Dear Eric” advice for everyone who was offended by the show: don’t watch.

Don’t let your kids watch it if you think it is offensive.

I do not want to have to write another article, defending a show I don’t actually like because of an organization (whose sole purpose is to be offended by things) is (surprise) offended.

Offended by somebody showing their butt, some side boob, maybe some simulated masturbation.

Maybe they need to take a page out of Skins’ script, let loose, get laid and get over it.

Have questions? Send Eric your anonymous love, sex and relationship questions to ezornUT@gmail.com. Make sure your subject box contains the phrase “UTampa.”

Make sure that you are always practicing safe sex. For more information about staying safer visit the Planned Parenthood website of FAQ’s about safer sex.

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16 JANUARY 27 2011 | THE MINARET

COMMENTARY

‘I Don’t Do That.’ Is Refusing to Give Head Relationship Suicide?

By HANNAH WEBSTER Love and Sex Columnist

One night while I was home for winter break, I found myself in a group that included some people I’ve grown up with and people I’ve never met before.

We all sat curled up in the living room, wondering what to talk about after the weather turned too cold to diffuse awkward silences with smoke breaks.

Naturally, we decided on a quick round of “Never Have I Ever.”

For anyone who is unfamiliar with this game, it goes like this: you put up ten fingers (or fill up a cup, depending on the version you are playing), you say something you have never done, and anyone who has done it must put a finger down (or take a drink).

The person with the most fingers left (or lowest BAC) at the end of the game wins and/or gets called a prude.

Basically, it’s an opportunity to either embarrass your friends with phrases like “I’ve never masturbated with fruit,” (Sorry, Vince…) or a chance to find out how many girls that guy across the room has slept with.

Sure, you can say “anything” you’ve never done, but I found out the hard way that no one gave a crap about my lack of international travel. Keep it interesting.

Keep it sexual.

The game gets going and quickly takes a turn for the dirty when one of the girls says something shocking.

In this instance, the girl was someone I have known for quite a while. A girl who lost her virginity in a church parking lot, that likes to have sex in moving vehicles and kindergarten playgrounds. Many

consider her a “freak” in all kinds of good ways. But when she says, “I’ve never given head,” I am truly flabbergasted, like many of the others sitting around me.

“I just don’t do it,” she said. “Personal rule. I’m good at sex; what do they need that for?”

Now the debate starts and we all really start to get to know one another.

Most of the guys say it’s a deal-breaker: oral sex is simply something they cannot live without.

Many of the women look at this girl with eyes full of questions, mainly “How do you get away with that? Teach me.”

But I am mostly wondering about this deal-breaker thing.

Could a relationship really survive a refusal to go downtown? Not only for guys, but for girls too?

When I got back to school, I decided to ask around. Would you break up with someone who would not go down on you?

“If we have awesome sex, then maybe not, but I would definitely want it from time-to-time. I would try to negotiate,” said freshman Joe Leiding.

“But I don’t think I could marry someone who wouldn’t.”

The male response was no surprise to me, but I was unsure of what girls would say.

You’ll rarely find a man that says he does not enjoy it, but women tend to be a little more self-conscious. Some even refuse to let their guy get anywhere near “there.”

“I guess it can be kind of embarrassing, so I think I could go without it. There are definitely other things you can do,” said freshman, Drew Leaderman.

Freshman Megan Keraghan had more of a “male-minded” response.

“I’ve had such great oral sex experiences; if I was in a relationship without it, I would be constantly thinking

Hannah Webster/The Minaret

Oral sex can be a pressing issue within relationships, it has become expected that oral is necessary to maintain relationships. This is dependant on your individual needs in a relationship.

about being without it,” she said.

I do not think oral sex is something that should just be given out as easily as handshakes.

If you find yourself in a relationship where your partner refuses to take the plunge, pushing the issue could turn into a break up.

But, depending on who you are, it might be exactly what needs to happen.

If you can’t live without it, don’t go without it. But before you swear-off

stopping at third base, think it through.

It could give you a chance to slow things down physically if sex is something you would rather wait for.

If you are in a relationship and you care about the pleasure of your partner, it might be worth a try, even if you consider it more of a sacrifice.

Plus, there is always the perk of having the favor returned.

Hannah Webster can be reached at hannahkarine31@gmail.com.

Conservative Christians and Young The Effects of the Texting Obsession Present In Our Generation People Tend to Divorce More

By ANNA FATA

Daily Texan, University of Texas

UWIRE Divorce is more common among conservative Christians and young people, according to a recent study.

U. Iowa sociology professor Jennifer Glass presented her study on skyrocketing divorce rates in regions highly populated with conservative Christians to an overflowing crowd at U. Texas on Friday.

“Politically and religiously conservative states, especially in the Deep South, exhibit higher divorce rates than politically and religiously liberal states in the Northeast and Midwest,” Glass wrote in her study.

The average divorce rate in the United States is 47.9 percent, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

She said the paradox can be explained by the accelerated transition into adulthood and early marriages that young conservative Protestants practice.

Factors that lead to high rates of divorce among Christians are the prohibition of sex before marriage leading to marriage at an earlier age and teachings against abortion and birth control, which lead to “shotgun weddings,” she said.

The average age of marriage for American women is 27, she said.

Young married couples may also experience financial problems because of lower degrees of education and increased unemployment, which are risk factors for divorce, she said.

“You’ve got a local religious culture that involves everyone — whether they share that religion or not — to behave in particular ways,” Glass said.

A woman brought up in an agnostic household in a conservative Christian area may also marry at a young age in response to society. Because many men marry at a young age, some young women feel like they have to marry earlier in order to secure a quality husband, Glass said.

Another reason divorce rates are higher in conservative Christian regions is because residents of less religious and more liberal areas are more likely to live together for extended periods of time, she said.

Journalism graduate student Mark Coddington got married at age 22 and has been married for four years. He said his Nebraska hometown exemplifies the conservative Christian culture of Glass’s study.

“I have been around that culture, so I really understand why more and more marriages end the way they do,” Coddington said.

U. Texas Catholic Center director and priest Ed Nowak said his church requires couples to take marriage preparation courses that build communication skills and give couples realistic ideas about what to expect in marriage in an effort to limit divorce.

By MIAMI HURRICANE EDIT. STAFF Miami Hurricane, University of Miami

UWIRE - It has become a crucial form of communication for college-aged students like us. We do it during many activities, such as driving, bicycling, during class, while exercising and sometimes even in the shower. Everywhere we look, someone’s holding onto a cell phone and letting their thumbs do the talking. Even our grandparents do it.

According to a report from the Nielsen Company last year, American teenagers send and receive 3,146 text messages a month, which translates into more than 10 messages every hour of the month that they are not sleeping or in school.

The media is full of stories explaining how the American youth is too dependent on technology, how texting has become a huge distraction for us and how it can ultimately lead to severe issues such as unemployment. Just how bad is texting really? Isn’t it just a new form of communication like the telephone once was?

Although texting isn’t going to be able to replace face-to-face interpersonal friendships, it still changes the way people communicate. The real issue at hand is that people can hide from real human interactions behind walls of technology.

More than other forms of communication, the Internet and texting has become a lifestyle. You never have

to leave “the grid.” In our parents’ era, with four television channels and a partyline telephone, you had to spend time with other youth and deal with the sometimes uncomfortable nature of growing up and getting along with people.

Today, kids don’t get that experience in this world full of advanced technology.

Instead, people will admit over text messages things they normally wouldn’t admit over the phone or in person. For example, texting has made breaking up with a significant other a lot less personal.

The world of texting can be so comfortable and safe, but you don’t learn anything real or worthwhile.

Not to mention, language suffers because people have replaced writing out full words with acronyms such as “lol,” “btw” and “lmk.”

Unfortunately, we go to great extremes to send a simple text message. As soon as we get a text notification or alert, we have a desire to instantly read it- even if we’re on the road. We all know texting while driving is dangerous and wrong, so why do we do it anyway? And what will it take for people to stop? Having to pay thousands of dollars for someone else’s car damages?

Texting is a reality, and it’s not going anywhere. But with so many people hooked, the question is, how do you unplug and still stay connected?

The answer is simple- use it in moderation. Don’t give in and make it an unhealthy obsession.

THE MINARET | JANUARY 27 2011

Sports

17

Tampa Club Hockey Team Nets a Spring Schedule Spartans set for rematch against FIT to begin new semester

Photo Courtesy of Thorn Viryasiri

With a win in its inaugural game, the UT hockey team is scheduled to play FIT twice this weekend. The first game, played in Oldsmar, will be a home game for the Spartans.

By APRIL WEINER Sports Writer

The University of Tampa ice hockey team has nailed down a competitive schedule for the 2011 spring season.

UT is set to play two games against Florida Institute of Technology, after beating the Panthers in the club’s inaugural game back in November. UT will open the 2011 portion of their season Friday night at its newly named home rink, Tampa Bay

Skating Academy in Oldsmar, and face FIT in Melbourne, Fla. the following night. The team has gotten the initial game out of the way, which was a big step.

“We kind of know how we stand as a college hockey team. We know we can compete against other college hockey teams,” goaltender Mark Baccoli said.

But there’s still a lot up in the air.

The two teams that will take the ice this weekend are very different than the teams that took the ice in November. For UT, they

lost two players, but added three new faces.

The team also has a new alternate captain, forward Phil Gilchrist.

“I have no doubt that Phil will be able to step up and perform an important role in team leadership. He’s a good guy and he’ll work well with Cody [Kopf] (alternate captain) and Leif [Benner] (captain),” Coach Steve Kucera said.

Gilchrist doesn’t believe that the leadership change will make a significant impact though, because it’s still the same core team. “There’s not something I need to do more than others. Maybe down the line, as the team starts getting more developed, my role will start coming through. Until then, it’s just trying to get the guys to have fun,” he said.

The FIT squad is different this time around too. The previous game was affected by a tragic plane accident that killed four people, including FIT students.

“While we played FIT, we did not play their full squad last time. There were five kids that didn’t skate because of the plane crash, they were so shaken. We played against a good team with good players, but not their full roster,” Kucera explained.

“I’m a scientist. You can’t deduce any kind of trend from one game. They played very well in that one game; I think they have the potential to play very well in the future.”

Kucera stresses the importance for the team to remember that they’re still a new team and they don’t know exactly what to expect.

“Never underestimate your opponent.

You don’t go into a game cocky. It may work for the Jets, it worked all year until [this past weekend] but that’s just not who I am when I step onto the ice. When you do

that, you’re communicating that you don’t respect your opponent,” Kucera explained.

Plus, there’s the old “any given day” adage.

“If you underestimate your opponent you can be careless. You can pay dearly for that in a hockey game. And it’s needless,” he added The team responds to Kucera’s mentality. “We have to go in there with high expectations and play hard. We can’t go in thinking that we beat them last time, it’ll be an easy game,” Baccoli said.

These are also the first games since the winter break so it is important for everyone to stay on their toes. The team also hasn’t had as many practices before these games as they had before the first game. “Hopefully it’ll be like a bike, they’ll pick up where they left off,” Kucera said.

But he’s unsure of what to expect from the team following the break. The team works with conditioning coach Dr. Wilson, who helps each player formulate a training plan. “[We’ll] see what extent of Dr. Wilson’s advice they took over the break. It’ll show on the ice whether they followed it or didn’t follow it. But [the break will] be equally hard on FIT as well,” Kucera added.

At least one player is concerned about the conditioning of the team. Gilchrist is already looking to the future conditioning.

Gilchrist, a personal trainer and adult fitness major, plans to help with the conditioning aspect.

“Our main priority is just to keep all the boys in shape and next year go above that,” he said.

April Weiner can be reached at april. weiner@spartans.ut.edu.

Women Spartans Get Back on Departure of Goalie Leaves Many Unanswered Questions Track With Conference Victory [From Front, Cesanek]

Cesanek was on scholarship, though the exact amount is unknown. Marfise said that coaches are required to look at academic records in high school when recruiting, and the athletic department prides itself on only accepting students who would also normally be accepted into the university.

Marfise reiterated multiple times during an interview that it is the responsibility of each team’s coach to keep tabs on their athletes.

Progress reports are highly recommended, though not enforced. The athletes are supposed to give them to professors, who then return them to the department. It should be very difficult for an athlete, especially a starter, to slip by and end up out of the school, without notification.

In an October interview with The Minaret, Cesanek didn’t allude in any way to academic struggles or difficulties.

She had a constant smile and positive attitude, referring to UT as “awesome” and her teammates as close friends. She also spoke of her two sisters, her mom and grandma and seeing her father on weekends. She described her family as “close knit” and described her parents as “strict about schoolwork.”

The comment now most striking and thought-provoking is an answer referring to her work ethic, in response to a question

about why she was a better fit for her team than past goalkeepers.

“Putting forth effort is not hard,” Cesanek said. “I knew coming in, if I tried, even if I wasn’t at the highest level yet, it would look good. I’d be working.”

Marfise said there is a long list of resources for students having difficulties in all facets of university life. From Gateways advisors to mental health counselors to money set aside for tutoring help beyond the University’s resources, he is certain that the school could have helped solve the problem had they known what the problem was.

“This is one young lady we hate to see leave,” he said.

There are more questions than answers at this point for UT women’s soccer fans.

Women’s soccer head coach Gerry Lucey declined to comment.

In the coming months, more facts should surface. Recruiting for another goalkeeper has already begun. Currently, there are two active players on the team’s roster listed as goalies. But neither freshman Casey Merson nor junior Alexa DellaRocco (listed as a forward/goalkeeper) have logged any minutes in net last season.

“It’s difficult for us to lose somebody,” said Marfise. “All our student athletes I think of as my own sons and daughters.

For someone to just be here one semester and then not stay … that’s real hard.”

Miles Parks can be reached at minaret. sports@gmail.com

Samantha Battersby/The Minaret

Catriana Messina is shooting 46% for the Spartans and is playing almost 30 minutes per game.

[From Back, W. Basketball] something for them to snap out of the last game and a half. Coach Jessee gave a speech at halftime that woke them up. The Spartans erupted for a 57-point second half to win 79-64.

“It was like opposites. They shot lights out in the first half and not so good in the second half, and we shot poorly in the first half and were lights out in the second half,” said Jessee. The Spartans went 1319 in three point attempts in the second half, and went on to win by a comfortable margin.

“We have a lot of shooters on our team, but you don’t want to fall in love with the three. That’s what hurt us against Florida

Southern,” said Messina. Florida Southern hit 13 three pointers in their victory over Tampa, many of which were uncontested.

“Nowadays, most players are a three point player or a layup player. The midrange game is not as prevalent. I think we’ve done a good job at not settling for three’s, and not forcing them. We’ll take what they give us, and it’s important to know that just one make can give our shooters plenty of confidence,” said Jessee.

“We play Florida Tech Wednesday on the road. That’s a tough game and they’re 5-2 in the SSC, 16-3 [overall] and undefeated at home. So that could be a big win.”

John Hilsenroth can be reached at jhilsenroth@spartans.ut.edu.

18 JANUARY 27 2011 | THE MINARET

SPORTS

NHL All-Star Game Brings a New Look in 2011 Sidney Crosby not participating, but festivities will still go on

By DANIEL PINEYRO Sports Writer

Over the past two decades, the NHL All-Star game has received criticism from fans who claim that the game itself has a tendency to feature players more interested in playing a slow and safe game instead of the high-paced, hard-hitting hockey game that one would expect out of the league’s best players.

In an attempt to quell these criticisms, league officials have revamped this year’s All-Star game format in hopes of igniting the competitive spirit of the game’s participants.

Since the NHL All-Star game was first implemented in 1947, it has undergone a myriad of changes.

What first began as a small charity event has now become an interactive showcase of the world’s greatest hockey players. Rather than continue with the Eastern vs. Western conference format, this year’s All-Star weekend, which will be held from Jan. 28 to Jan. 30 in Raleigh, NC., will have more of a school-yard feel.

Captains for each side will select from a pool of players who were chosen by a combination of fan balloting and the NHL Hockey Operations Department.

Each captain will be required to select three goalies, six defensemen and twelve

forwards in any order they choose. After the selection of the rosters, the captains will select among 12 rookies to fill out the rosters for the NHL SuperSkills competition.

League officials are hoping that the new format will bring out plenty of small side stories that will drum up interest for the game among players and fans alike.

For example, with Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal being one of the captains, one has to wonder if he will choose his brother, New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal, or if he would rather go headto-head against him.

Similarly, the dynamic Sedin twins, who have played their entire NHL careers as teammates on the Vancouver Canucks, might end up playing against one another for the first time in their professional careers.

Another one of the stories that the league hoped would play out was the CrosbyOvechkin rivalry which was highlighted earlier this year during the NHL’s Winter Classic.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you feel about him, Sidney Crosby, the league’s top vote-getter for the AllStar game, announced on Monday that he would not participate in the All-Star game due to a concussion suffered during the Winter Classic when he took an awkward

hit to the head from Dave Steckel of the Washington Capitals.

Despite the league’s poster boy not being able to participate, the All-Star weekend should still be vastly more entertaining than that of previous years.

The new “Fantasy Draft” will take place on Friday, Jan. 28, and will kick off AllStar Weekend. I personally look forward to this event as it will be intriguing to see what tactics are used by both captains as they try to build the best team.

The following day the teams will participate in the SuperSkills competition in which players will show off their skills in various competitions including the fastest skater, breakaway challenge, shooting accuracy, hardest shot and the elimination shootout.

The SuperSkills competition has been a long-time fan favorite since fans get to see the players in a different light; as they joke with each other and the media and simply enjoy themselves throughout the night.

Finally, at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30, the NHL All-Star game will be played.

Although it may still only be for bragging rights, I expect the competitive nature of these great players to come out when they hit the ice for their respective teams in this school-yard style showdown. clydeorama/flickr.com Daniel Pineyro can be reached at Ovechkin highlights the biggest named players at this year’s All-Star game. dpineyro@spartans.ut.edu.

Packers Outlast Bears, Steelers Send Jets Back to New York

richardcox8592/flickr.com

Jay Cutler is being criticized for departing the NFC Championship Game due to injury, making way for third-string QB Caleb Hanie to nearly pull off late game heroics for the Bears.

By TIM SHANAHAN Sports Writer

Ben Roethlisberger is a true winner. A proven warrior. He makes the plays at the beginning, middle and end of the game to get the job done. Consistency equates to victories.

This past Sunday, the Steelers defeated the Jets by a score of 24-19. Ben Roethlisberger did not have the greatest statistical game of his career. But, he moved the ball to consume clock.

Play calling won and lost the game for both teams. The Steelers made the precise and gutsy play calls at the precise time.

Talk of the Town Professional Sporting Events in the Region

The Jets made the erroneous play calls at the wrong times.

The game proved to be a tale of two halves. The Steelers completely dominated the first half. They led 24-3 at halftime. In the second half, the Jets had figured out how to score and hold Pitt. However, it was too late.

Throughout the game, the Steelers were the more physical team. Behind Rashard Mendenhall in the first half, Pitt. ran through a tired-looking defense. They were getting worthy pushes on the line and exploding through holes. Pitt conquered time of possession, having the ball for over 21 minutes.

The Jets had a strenuous time running the ball in the first half. Tomlinson finished the game with nine carries for 16 yards.

Shonne Greene finished with nine carries for 52 yards. I cannot comprehend why the two had the same amount of carries.

Greene runs over defenders and falls for excess yards on close to every touch. I feel you need to go with your dominant back at some point. New York had a whopping 12 total yards before their last drive in the first half with a minute left.

The game concluded with abysmal play calling for New York. At the end of an eight-minute drive, they failed to get the ball into the end zone on two downs from the two-yard line. Two run plays needed to be called to power into the end zone.

It is arduous to overthrow a dominant team on their home field twice in five weeks. The Jets were unable to do so. Big Ben and the Pittsburgh Steelers will attempt to win their third Super Bowl in the past six seasons.

Aaron Rodgers has made Packers fans forget about Brett Favre. Like Roethlisberger, this wasn’t Rodgers most paramount game. Nonetheless, the Packers were able to topple the Bears by a score of 21-14.

The Bears were down 14-0 early in the first half. They then got into a habit of strictly passing the ball. They failed to allow their run game to get involved. Forte was running well previously. Jay Cutler failed miserably to move the ball while he was in the game. He was removed in

@ The Rays made a big-named splash over the weekend by agreeing to terms with both Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez. Rays fans will hope to see “Manny being Manny” at the Trop.

The Magic are in a battle for the Southeast crown. Orlando stands in 3rd place in the division 2.5 games back of the Miami Heat and five games back of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference.

the early part of the third quarter, due to a medial collateral ligament sprain.

Current and former players around the league have ripped Cutler. His coach and team have all rallied behind him. I see nothing wrong with Cutler not returning.

No one knows how badly his knee hurt except himself.

Therefore, we cannot criticize him for that. Having said that, Jay Cutler has character issues. If this is the biggest game of one’s life, one will find another way to get involved in the game. At that point, Cutler needed to bring any energy mentally he was unable to bring physically. It is just the right thing to do as a teammate.

The Green Bay Packers offense was terrific as it has been all season. Sunday, their volatile defense played with such fire and vigor that it was astonishing to capture.

Their secondary attacked footballs and their line got after the quarterback. The Pack had an unlikely hero who made some keen plays on defense. Undrafted rookie cornerback Sam Shields tallied a forced fumble, a sack and two interceptions.

Third String Quarterback Caleb Hanie provided a spark off the bench for the Bears. He gave them hope to get back in the ballgame. He drove down the field with under three minutes left. Unfortunately for the third-stringer, he threw a fourth down pick to end the game with Chicago being down a score.

Tim Shanahan can be reached at tshanahan@spartans.ut.edu.

@ The Lightning are in the midst of its longest home stand as they host the Flyers on Feb. 1. Tampa holds sole possesion of first place in the Southeast behind Steven Stamkos, the NHL’s leading scorer.

THE MINARET | JANUARY 27 2011

SPORTS

19

Now in Pros, Former Spartans Credit UT For Their Success [From Back, Baseball] where he played for the Cyclones in the Class-A Short-Season New York-Penn League. Pinera went 2-3 with the team and finished the season with a 2.44 ERA. In 62.2 innings pitched, Pinera struck out 54 batters and walked only 12.

When Pinera was asked about the transition from college to the minor leagues, he responded, “The transition is definitely not easy but everyone goes through it. Pitchers and position players are all a little uncomfortable when you first get there with the wooden bats and smaller seam balls, but as the season went on, you could notice everyone getting used to the changes.”

Pinera also added a reference to UT when he stated, “Playing at UT was an excellent experience. Playing in that program made the transition to minor league baseball much easier.”

Going in the 23rd round was righthanded pitcher Austin Evans, who signed with the Chicago White Sox, joining Schwartz in Bristol. Evans finished the season with a 2-2 record and a 5.19 ERA. In 16 game appearances and 26 innings pitched, Evans collected 22 strikeouts.

In the later rounds of the draft, Dylan Brown was selected in the 37th by the Mets. Brown appeared in 45 games with the Rookie Gulf Coast League Mets. He posted a .173 batting average, including 24 hits.

Brown had two doubles, two triples, four home runs and nine RBI at the conclusion of the season.

The final Spartan to be selected in the MLB draft came in the 50th round.

Left-handed pitcher John Wiedenbauer was chosen by the Los Angeles Angels

and began play with the Rookie Arizona League Angels. Wiedenbauer went 0-3 on the season with a 6.46 ERA. In 39 innings pitched, Wiedenbauer struck out 28 batters.Nine Tampa players were drafted, passing the previous record of six for the Spartans.

After the draft, the signings were not quite finished. Tampa’s Correy Figueroa signed a free agent deal with the Kansas City Royals. Figueroa played with the

[

Abby Sanford/The Minaret

Former catcher Blanke enjoyed the most successful season of the 10 Spartans participating in the minor league systems. He hit .329 with seven homeruns and 43 RBI and was named MVP.

“I would have not been as nearly prepared or as confident as I was if I didn’t play at UT.”

]

Idaho Falls Chuckers in the Rookie Pioneer League. He appeared in 30 games, collecting 19 hits and three RBI. Figueroa ended the season with a .209 average and one stolen base.

The future is unknown for the ten UT Spartans playing in the professional ranks in 2010, but they certainly remember their past – Head Coach Joe Urso and the University of Tampa baseball program contributed to their talents in more ways than one.

“The baseball program is one of the top programs in the country and prepares players for professional baseball,” Mike Blanke said.

Pinera emphasized Blanke’s comments, saying, “I would have not been as nearly prepared or as confident as I was if I didn’t play at UT.” Maya Todd can be reached at mtodd@ spartans.ut.edu.

MINARET

4

SPORTS

NFL Playoffs [18]

The Win

UT’S SOURCE SINCE 1933

Spartans Defeated in Conference Battle Loss to FSC ends 25 game home winning streak

By JOHN HILSENROTH Sports Writer

A brief rundown of Spartan sports

No. 16 M. Basketball [17-1, 6-1] Jan. 29 vs. Barry [4-12, 1-6 SSC] at 7:30p.m.

After getting off to a school-record 16-0 start the Spartans fell to SSC rival Florida Southern at the Bob Martinez Center.

UT responded with an overtime win at Nova Southeastern 86-78 on Jan. 22.

The Spartans are led by pre-season All-American Rashad Callaway who is averaging better than 18 points per game.

No. 24 W. Basketball [14-3, 6-1] Jan. 29 vs. Barry [8-9, 1-6 SSC] at 5:30p.m.

Dating back to the 2009 season Tampa had been riding a 25-game home win streak before falling to Florida Southern.

The Spartans are led by Taja Green who is averaging over 17 points per game as they hold sole possesion of 1st place in the SSC. UT owns the all-time series with a 37-17 record against the Buccaneers.

Swimming

Feb. 17-20 at SSC Championships in Orlando No. 11 W. Swimming defeated Indian River College as Heather Glenday picked up her second SSC Swimmer of the Week award.

No. 12 M. Swimming fell to Indian River but both teams look poised to make a deep run in the postseason as they have compiled 13 wins.

Super Bowl Coverage The Minaret will be featuring special coverage of the 2011 Super Bowl in next week’s edition.

We will feature analysts from many different writers as we explore the various matchups between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Talk of the Town [18]

Samantha Battersby/The Minaret

Messina driving the lane in a loss to Florida Southern. Senior leadership has been the key to UT’s success as they have dominated the SSC.

The University of Tampa women’s basketball team had its 12 game win streak, as well as its 25 home game win streak snapped last Wednesday against Florida Southern, 77-72. In a back and forth game, the Spartan defense let them down in the closing minutes.

“You’ll score on them [Florida Southern]. They don’t value defense as much as we do, but we just couldn’t get many defensive stops, especially in the end. The last 1:27 of the game showed our inexperience and youth. We panicked, but we will move forward,” said Coach Tom Jessee.

Senior captain Gianna Messina echoed Jessee’s frustrations regarding the team’s defensive effort. “Our defense was a major problem. They had a lot of open three’s, and they even missed a few. They could have beat us by more,” she said.

Florida Southern shot 1327 (48 percent) from three point

range in their five point victory.

The win streak meant a lot to the players and to Coach Jessee, but they know they can always start another streak.

“The streak was a picture of what we said we wanted to do.

We wanted to build a program, something that is consistently good. I think we have done that, and as long as we protect our home court, we will be okay,” said Coach Jessee.

Jessee’s mentality has been instilled into the senior leadership.

“It’s always hard losing to a conference rival, and that was the first time we lost to Florida Southern while I’ve been here.

The 25 game home win streak went back a long way and it was awesome to be a part of it, but you can’t dwell on the past.

Besides, we’ve already started a new streak after we beat Nova Southeastern on Saturday,” said Messina.

Trailing 34-22 at half against Nova, the Spartans needed [See W. Basketball, 17]

Former UT Sluggers and Hurlers in the Pro Ranks Ten Spartan draftees pursuing the Major Leagues

By MAYA TODD Sports Writer

Last year, the University of Tampa baseball team sent a record-setting ten players into the minor leagues. This year, their rookie seasons are complete and they are ready to conquer yet another year in the pro ranks.

Their individual seasons were all different and the numbers show who thrived in the minors and who are still working to break out.

Outfielder Jared Simon was the first of the Spartans to be selected in the 2010 MLB draft, going in the sixth round to the Colorado Rockies. Simon went to the Class-A Short-Season Northwest League to play for the Tri-City Dust Devils, where he played 62 games and put up a .226 batting average.

Simon accumulated 53 hits including six doubles, three triples, one homerun and 19 RBI. In the tenth round of the draft, right-handed pitcher Josh Bowman was the second Spartan with a ticket to the minors.

Signed by the Oakland Athletics, Bowman traveled across the border into Canada where he played for the Northwest League’s Vancouver Canadians.

Bowman went 0-2 with the team while putting up a 3.57 ERA. In 21.2 innings pitched for the Canadians, Bowman posted 23 strikeouts.

Mike Blanke, ex-catcher for the Spartans, was drafted in the 14th round by the Chicago White Sox. He went on to play for the Great Falls Voyagers in the Rookie Pioneer League where he racked up the accolades.

Blanke boasted a .329 batting average with 79 hits, 20 doubles, one triple and seven home runs.

The White Sox farmhand collected 43 RBI and ended the season with a slugging percentage just over .500. He appeared in 62 games and was named Most Valuable Player of the Voyagers at the end of the season while also being named to the Pioneer League’s all-star roster.

“I was excited about my opportunity to play professional baseball and I felt like I improved a lot over the last year,” Blanke said.

“The coaching and instruction that I received from both the coaches at University of Tampa and the White Sox was unbelievable and helped improve all areas of my game.”

Carmine Giardina, left-handed pitcher, was chosen shortly after Blanke in the 15th round of the draft. Giardina was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels and went on to play for the Orem Owls of the Rookie Pioneer League as well. Giardina went 3-3 with a 5.51 ERA in six starts and 14 appearances with the Owls. In 32.2 innings, Giardina struck out 31 batters.

Abby Sanford/The Minaret

Former pitcher Carmine Giardina is one of 10 Spartans who signed minor league contracts following the 2010 season. He tossed 32 innings in 14 games.

Two rounds later, UT slugger Mike Schwartz was chosen in round 17 of the draft.

Schwartz also signed with the Chicago White Sox and began play in the Rookie Appalachian League for the Bristol White Sox. Schwartz played in 38 games for Bristol, accumulating a .241 batting average. With 27 hits,

including eight doubles and one home run, and 26 walks, Schwartz finished the season with a .414 on base percentage.

Right-handed pitcher A.J. Pinera went one round later.

Pinera, after signing with the New York Mets, went to Brooklyn [See Baseball, 19]