The Minaret

Florida’s Top College Paper

Vol. 76 No. 12

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Sunday, Nov. 8

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November 13, 2009

Student Concern Brews After Off-Campus Incidents Weekend robbery may be linked to summer death of UT student; Incidents occur within one mile of campus; On and off campus safety issues are raised

One UT student robbed outside Metro Mart on intersection of North and Kennedy Boulevards

By Mel Steiner Asst. Editor-in-Chief

Saturday, Nov. 7

Two UT students robbed at gunpoint on North Boulevard and Main Street

Wednesday, Aug. 19

Ryan McCall found shot dead near intersection of North Boulevard and Palm Avenue

Two University of Tampa students were involved in an armed robbery Saturday on North Boulevard, three months after the murder of UT student Ryan McCall. The Tampa Police Department (TPD) is investigating a possible link between the two incidents.

According to the TPD incident report, at approximately 2:25 a.m. on Nov. 7 a male UT student and his friend were walking back to UT southbound on North Boulevard at the intersection of Main Street

Campus Flu Update

By Sarah Gottlieb News Editor

The University of Tampa Student Health and Counseling Center saw a record-breaking number of students during the month of October. A total of 1,337 students visited the Health Center for “sick visits,” an average of 61 student visits per day.

Two global messages were sent out just in the last week, updating the UT community on the status of H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccines. According to the most recent global message sent on Nov. 9, seasonal influenza vaccinations are available again, as are still a small number of H1N1 vaccinations and FluMist.

The Health Center began giving out seasonal flu vaccinations in September. The doses the Health Center received were used up quickly, with onethird of these vaccinations going to students. Last week, however, 100 more doses were received.

These doses became available to the UT community Tuesday on a first-come, first-serve basis.

According to Sharon Schaefer, director of the Health Center, seasonal flu vaccinations came in early this year so companies could begin to get out H1N1 vaccinations.

Only in the last month has the health center started vaccinating for H1N1. A hundred doses of H1N1 FluMist vaccine, the nasal vaccine, became available Oct. 16 for individuals between the ages of two and 49.

After receiving a first shipment of 100 injectable H1N1 vaccinations, vaccines were made available on Oct. 27 to select priority groups: pregnant women, caregivers of infants younger than six months and health care personnel. Upon receiving a second shipment of 200 doses, the Health Center expanded eligible groups on Nov. 3 to include anyone age 10 to 24 and anyone age 25 to 64 with certain medical conditions or weakened immune systems.

Of the combined 300 injectable H1N1 doses the Health Center received, only 21 were left as of Nov. 6. Of the 100 FluMist doses, 30 were left.

“I was really surprised we didn’t have a big turnout for the flu mist,” said Schaefer. “I was also surprised that the first group of priority for injectables didn’t come in very quickly.”

Schaefer said it was because the first priority group didn’t come in to the Health Center as quickly as expected that they were able to

See “Flu” [6]

when a black male approached them.

He asked the students if they wanted to buy drugs. When they refused, the suspect pulled out a black semi-auto pistol and said, “Give me what you got.”

He then stole the belongings of one student and fled through the North Boulevard Homes. Neither of the students sustained injuries.

The two students were walking back to campus from an off-campus party according to Kevin Howell, assistant director of UT Campus Safety and Security.

After they were robbed, they headed to Straz Hall and notified

UT security there. TPD was called and the investigation began.

The suspect is a black male between the ages of 18-20, around 5 feet 8 inches and 160 pounds.

He was wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap and a New York Yankees jacket.

According to Tampa Police Spokesperson Laura McElroy, the homicide detectives have met about the recent incidents and are researching the possible connection between this incident and the death of Ryan McCall.

McCall, a UT senior, was shot to death at the intersection of North Boulevard and Palm Avenue

See “Alert” [4]

Greek Variety Show 2009 See page [5]

Phi Mu Alpha, Alpha Psi Omega and Sigma Alpha Iota win the show.

Abby Sanford/The Minaret

UT Presents: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By Mandy Carr Reporter

The course of true love never did run smooth,” reads a quote from Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The University of Tampa’s students will perform the play from Nov. 19 to Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. in the David Falk Theatre.

This performance is presented by the Department of Speech, Theatre and Dance.

The play is one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies and has

Inside ...

three simultaneous interconnected plots.

There are two sets of couples: Theseus, Duke of Athens and his bride, Hippolyta; and Hermia and Lysander who decide to elope.

Their tales cross paths in the woods with complications from the Fairy King and Queen and their band of fairies.

The characters’ stories are joined by a band of craftsmen who are rehearsing a play they hope to perform for the Duke and his bride.

See “Dream” [12]

Google Wave to Make a Splash

[11]

First Love [15] Celebrity Fashion [10]

while walking home with a friend from the Retreat Bar on Aug. 19.

An unknown black male had approached the two with a gun, demanding money. After McCall and his friend gave what they had, the two turned to run and McCall was shot.

“It doesn’t appear to be [connected] at this point,” McElroy said. “But we are not ruling it out.”

Howell believes any information is helpful.

“Anytime you get something in the same area, you can narrow

Staying Positive [13]

Spartan Senior [17]

Hector Casanova /MCT Campus

News....................[1-6] Diversions..............[8] A&E..................[9-12] Editorial...............[14] Commentary....[13-15] Road to Regionals [20] Sports..............[17-20]

“To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant.” [Amos Bronson Alcott]

News

2

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

Smashing the Stereotypes

By Coryn Doncaster Reporter

Editor-in-Chief Charlie Hambos

charlie.hambos@gmail.com

Asst. Editor-in-Chief Layout/Design Editor Mel Steiner

mel.c.steiner@gmail.com

News Editor Sarah Gottlieb

minaret.news@gmail.com

A&E Editor Mike Trobiano

minaret.arts@gmail.com

Commentary Editor Derrick Austin minaret.commentary@gmail.com

Sports Editor Kyle Bennett

minaret.sports@gmail.com

Online Editor Alex Vera

minaret.online@gmail.com

Head Photographer Abby Sanford abbster50@aol.com

Head Copy Editor Shannon Grippando

The Caribbean Students Association along with the help of the other diversity organizations put together a discussion open to all students, called “Smashing the Stereotypes.”

The point of this discussion was to inform students about other cultures.

The discussion promoted equality between all nationalities and urged students to learn about a culture before making judgments.

Khristy Nguyen, an active member of the Caribbean Students Association, started the presentation off with an activity to identify the main beliefs people have about other cultures.

Six envelopes sat at the front of the room, each with a name of a nationality written on it.

The six nationalities used were African, Indian, Asian, American, Caribbean and Hispanic.

Everyone who attended had to write down the first thing that came to mind about each nationality and put it in the specific envelope.

Afterwards, Ngyuyen read aloud the words inserted in the envelopes and many responses were repeated.

Participants then could gave their opinions on the stereotypes.

Common responses for Americans were that they are obese, arrogant, closed-minded, lazy and patriotic.

Africans were described as loud, black, poor, wild and not good at speaking English.

“There’s so much more going on in Africa than people dying and climbing trees and stuff,” responded a student.

The stereotypes for Asians were intelligent, bad drivers, short, good at nails and martial arts.

Indians were seen as always eating curry, strict and attending ivy league schools.

“It depends where you are and your family background,” stated a student, referring to the stereotype that people of Indian heritage go to Ivy League schools and have strict parents.

Common responses for Hispanics were that they were illegal immigrants, many family members live in one house, they’re “mouthy” and that they were all landscapers.

One student defended his heritage, saying “Last I checked, we have a supreme court justice

Michael Hogue/ MCT Campus

who’s Hispanic. I don’t think she cuts grass for a living.”

The Caribbean heritage was linked to stereotypes such as they all smoke marijuana, if you’re from the Caribbean you must be from Jamaica, they spend all their time on the beach, they all listen to Bob Marley and they are all black.

One student of Caribbean

descent replied to the comment about music, “I listen to Vanessa Carlton. I wake up to VH1!”

“I hate when people come up to me and say, ‘Ya mon!’” said another Caribbean student.

The presentation ended with the statement, “We should always be open-minded.

If you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.”

sgrippando@gmail.com

Adviser Stephanie Tripp, PhD. stripp@ut.edu

Staff-At-Large

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

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

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

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

Your first two copies of The Minaret are free.

Each additional copy is $1.00.

SG is looking into a trial program of increasing library hours.

SG officers will be meeting with Safety & Security to assess security issues Commuter spots are now open! If you have any feedback on the lot, please email sg@ut.edu.

Exciting projects in process: Bringing a Blockbuster Express to campus and introducing rental cars to campus for students through Hertz....stay tuned for exciting updates!

Finance Bills: March of Dimes$350 for fundraiser dodgeball tournament

Mile high Stadium On Oct. 4 at 3:30 p.m., security responded to a sixth floor Stadium Center room in reference to possible drug use. A judicial referral was involved.

Vaughn Center: hot or not?

On Oct. 4 at 8:45 p.m., security responded to a fire alarm on the first floor of Vaughn Center which was declared a false alarm by the Tampa Fire Rescue Department.

Breaking: Bikes slowly becoming dominant currency in Tampa On Oct. 4 at 10:50 p.m., student entered the security office to report a stolen bike and the tire of a second bike. Security is still investigating.

Mayday! Mayday!

On Oct. 4 at 11:20 p.m., security responded to a call for assistance from a resident assistant at the Howard Johnson. A judicial referral was involved.

Up for the back nine by Straz?

On Oct. 5 at 10:11 p.m., security received a report of the theft of a University of Tampa golf cart.

Security is still investigating.

The police called it in? That’s drunk even by UT standards On Oct. 6 at 12:30 a.m., security responded to Urso Hall for a possible alcohol poisoning which was reported through the Tampa Police.

So they finally realized they were living in McKay? On Oct. 6 at 12:24 p.m., roommates called Tampa Fire Rescue when a student fainted in McKay Hall.

HoJo, No-No On Oct. 7 at 4:25 a.m., security responded to a call from a student in reference to his car being vandalized in the Howard Johnson parking lot. Police were called, and a report was made.

Metro mashing On Oct. 8 at 12:35 a.m., a female student was struck in the face, and her debit card was stolen from her. The incident occurred off-campus at the Metro Mart as she left the store. Police were called and report was made.

“I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive.”

On Oct. 8 at 6:15 p.m., a student entered the security office to report key marks on the trunk of his vehicle on the second floor of West Parking Garage.

News

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

3

UT to Host Southeastern Regional Moot Court Tournament

By Mandy Carr Reporter

This weekend 18 University of Tampa students will take their knowledge and love of law and put it to practice.

Students will argue in mock court cases Nov. 13 and 14 as UT hosts the Southeastern Regional Moot Court Tournament.

In addition to the 18 UT students participating in the event, 32 students from other universities will come to participate.

The preliminary, quarter and semi-final rounds of the tournament will be held in Plant Hall Nov. 13 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The final round will be held at Stetson University College of Law in downtown Tampa at 2:30 p.m.

Students will be doing simulated appellate arguments. These arguments are the arguments that take place after a trial, when the side that lost appeals and argues what went wrong in the case.

Students will argue the fourth and eighth amendments.

The fourth amendment concerns search and seizure, which provides protection to citizens against unwarranted search and seizure from the government.

The eighth amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment.

According to Alisa Smith, associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the students will argue in teams of two, one

Sleep Out for the Homeless - Nov. 20-21 A 24 hour experience to help raise awareness and demonstrate to students what daily life is like for the homeless.

Kurt Hegre/ MCT Campus

team on the fourth amendment and the other the eighth.

One team will be arguing for the sides of petitions. “Who in this case is the state,” Smith said. The other team argues the defended.

The petition goes first and argues that the state did not violate the amendments.

The other side argues that they did. They will also be asked questions from the panel of judges.

“They will argue in three rounds back to back,” Smith said.

“This is really rigorous.”

In the next round, students will switch sides.

In the following round, Smith randomly decides which side they will argue. The students will argue in front of a judge panel.

The judges review them on four things: knowledge of the subject matter, response to judges’ questions, forensic skills and courtroom demeanor.

There are 400 points possible,

100 for each category. The top 16 teams will go on to Saturday’s quarter final round.

There will be three rounds again but in the first round it will be narrowed down to eight teams, the second to four teams and then the last round to two teams.

The two teams will argue in the finals at Stetson University at 2:30 p.m.

“The top 16 teams will [get] a plaque,” Smith said. Each team will get a plaque with their place on it.

The American Collegiate Moot Course Association is sponsoring the event and they make up the case.

This case is used in the regional tournaments and in the national tournament to be held in Jan. 2010 at Florida International University College of Law. The winners will be announced between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday.

* Want to be a part of serving a new emerging non profit? Join the P.E.A.C.E Alternative Breaks Program in Franklin, TN to volunteer with a new non profit Kindred Spirits Therapeutic Riding Center. As volunteers, we will spend a week helping with maintenance around the farm, assist as equestrian therapy leaders, feeders, stable hands, side walkers, yard hands, or possibly help build a brand new fence.

Please visit http://tinyurl.com/YAJQ3BE for more information and to apply! *Love the beach? Help keep it clean for not only you but the fish in the sea! Join the P.E.A.C.E Alternative Breaks Program in Key West, FL to help remove debris and garbage from the shores of the Keys with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. You will spend the week boating and kayaking to remote shores with clean up supplies. Enjoy the sun and help save a shore!

Please visit http://tinyurl.com/YDEA3YA for more information and to apply!

Applications for both trips are due November 29, 2009 at 11:45 p.m!

The deadline for applying for Winter Alternative Break is quickly approaching! *Have you ever wanted to be on Trading Spaces? Do you enjoy serving others? Fill out the application for this year’s Winter Alternative Break at Special Spaces. Decorate a bedroom for a child suffering from a life challenging illness and brighten the day of others while having some fun!

Visit www.tinyurl.com/YZYEMEZ for more information and to apply.

Applications are due THIS SUNDAY, November 16 at 11:45 pm!!

UT’s Delta Gamma presents

Party at Rigatoni's Sunday Nov. 15th 8pm-12am Great appetizer specials and DJ on the patio.

3437 W Kennedy Blvd

4 “Alert”: Front down your suspects to a several dozen,” he said. “If the victim can identify the same suspect, that’s when we can make some links.

For now, we can’t link this incident to the Ryan McCall one, but it’s a process of elimination.”

SAFETY AND SECURITY On Sunday, Nov. 8 at approximately 1:35 p.m. a safety alert was sent as a global message to UT students.

According to the UT description, the Nov. 7 incident occurred at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday and involved two suspects on the north side of the Eugene Holtsinger (North Boulevard) bridge.

“There were two suspects,” said Howell. “The TPD report

only says one because they both matched the same description. For now, it looks like at least one of them had a pistol.”

As for the location discrepancy, Howell reported to have missed the typo in the original alert sent.

He said the time difference could be “a result of human error.”

Also included in the safety alert was information of another robbery that had occurred over the weekend, involving a UT female student walking back alone from Metro Mart at approximately 12:35 a.m. at the intersection of North and Kennedy Boulevards.

However, “just based on the suspects’ descriptions, there doesn’t seem to be a link between the first incident and the second,” said Howell.

The street view from Google maps of the location of the Nov. 7 robbery.

The top marker indicates where McCall was found on Aug. 19.

The bottom one indicates the incident on Nov. 7.

News

A black male with dreadlocks struck the girl in the face and stole her debit card, which she had placed in an old pack of cigarettes.

It was unclear which corner the girl was on when she was attacked, though according to Howell, everything points to that she was located at one of the offcampus corners.

Had she been on the North East corner, she would have been on university property.

A male UT student approached a few resident assistants and reported he saw a girl walking on campus that appeared to have been mugged.

They found her and took her immediately to security. Between the three aforementioned incidents occurring so close to campus and the safety alert mistakes, some are questioning if UT is doing enough to protect and maintain awareness of its students.

Shaun Huffman, the Residence Hall Association president, feels that UT should continue to notify the students, but with the correct information.

“From a student perspective, it makes us wonder if they are doing their jobs properly,” he said.

“It’s definitely not the first time UT Security has given out wrong information to the students. When these things happen, the students feel less secure and there’s a lack of trust in the information that security provides.”

Huffman thinks the safety tips included in the alert were very important, but that instead of just stating facts, they

The Minaret | November 13, 2009 could have also put in tips on how to protect oneself in particular situations.

“This was an armed robbery.

They could have told the students what to do if they are ever in that situation,” he said. “I mean, they can do this without giving facts about situations too.”

Joe Rinalli, a childhood friend and former roommate of McCall, is upset with UT and feels that the students aren’t the only ones to blame.

“Our school needs to bring more light to the situation and take more responsibility,” he said.

“Invest more money on the safety of the students.” He suggests possibly expanding the LASER team service.

LASER Team (Law Abiding Students Ever Ready), the university’s safety escort service, runs every night during the fall and spring semesters.

Kelsie Huth, Student Government president, said the fastest way to get the information to the students is through a global e-mail alert, such as the one sent out on Sunday.

She believes that no one can be blamed for the incidents occurring.

According to Huth, campus safety does not seem to be as much of an issue as off-campus safety.

UT did not open the new parking lot until the cameras, lights and emergency phone were installed, she said.

“I’ve heard no complaints on campus,” Huffman said. “I know they are in the process of installing more blue-light telephones and just having more lights in general around campus. LASER Team also helps the students feel safer.”

HOW TO STAY SAFE OFF-CAMPUS Since McCall’s death, Rinalli and his roommates work around each other’s schedule to make sure that everyone gets a ride back and forth to their house. They also don’t walk at night.

He adds, “Three dollars is a lot better than losing your life.”

Huffman said students should not walk to places but instead, “take taxi or find some form of transportation.” He urges students to know the surrounding areas, on and off campus. “I feel that UT should present more safety awareness to incoming freshman because they aren’t as familiar with the area,” he said.

Student Government is looking into ways to help increase student safety both on and off campus.

Huth suggests that students go in groups. “They need to be aware of their surroundings; friends need to look out for friends,” she said.

“Everybody needs to look out for everybody.”

Bob Ruday, Dean of Students, feels UT should warn the campus community. He said the university can help the situation by educating students that they are in an urban campus.

“I further encourage students to not travel alone or in small numbers late at night off campus,” he said.

Howell did present, however, that “there really isn’t a perfectly safe time to go anywhere.”

“Short of putting up a fence all the way around UT, we can’t control anything,” said Howell.

“And even that wouldn’t stop everything.”

The global e-mail that went out on Sunday included tips on how to increase personal safety.

Howell said there is a higher likelihood of safety incidents involving one of our students when they travel in these neighborhoods.

“Criminals are opportunists,” said Andrea Davis, a TPD spokesperson. “Students are easy targets.”

As both investigations continue, any information on these or other incidents are helpful.

Contact CSecurity@ut.edu or SilentWitness@ut.edu to report.

Charlie Hambos and Sarah Gottlieb also contributed to this report.

Sigma Chi Rounds Up Donations to Support US Troops

By Mandy Carr Reporter

http://www.theupsstorelocal.com/4639/ http://www.theupsstorelocal.com/3751/

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

Service Chair of Sigma Chi. According to Silvestro, these founding members served in the Civil War. Silvestro, who took charge of the collections event, said the fraternity wanted to support the troops.

“It’s kind of natural for us,” he said, adding that many of their Sigma Chi brothers are serving in the military now.

In organizing the donation drive, Silvestro contacted MacDill Air Force Base which is the head-

quarters of special operations.

The fraternity decided to continue the donation drive through Derby Days, a Greek organizational event where sororities earn points in various events.

Derby Days ended Thursday.

According to Silvestro, sororities earned five points for every item they donated from the approved list.

“Were just heading the effort,” Silvestro said. “We rely on all of our donations to come from the student body.”

The University of Tampa’s Kappa Omega chapter of Sigma Chi collected donations in the Vaughn Center last week in an effort to organize care packages to send to US troops overseas.

Due to their initial success, the fraternity decided to continue raising donations through Derby Days, a Greek organizational event The fraternity raised over $900 and received a number of donation items from students between Nov. 2 and Nov. 6.

The money they have raised will buy more donation items to put into the care packages.

The fraternity’s list of approved shipping items for the care packages include: books, CDs, packaged foods and toiletries.

Care packages will be sent to soldiers in US Special Operation Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Six out of seven of our founders were in the military,” said Scott Silvestro, Community Members of Sigma Chi Collecting donations.

Scott Silvestro/The Minaret

News

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

Greek Variety Show 2009

5

Photos by: Abby Sanford

Sigma Chi and Sigma Delta Tau

Delta Zeta

Alpha Chi Omega

Phi Mu Alpha, Alpha Psi Omega, and Sigma Alpha Iota

Phi Mu Alpha, Alpha Psi Omega, and Sigma Alpha Iota; winners of Greek Variety Show

News

6 “Flu”: Front expand giving the H1N1 injectable vaccine to other groups of people.

After H1N1 vaccinations were made available to more groups, the Health Center saw more people come in. On Nov. 3, the first day the vaccine was offered to more of the campus population, 85 people came in for shots.

According to a TBO.com article published Nov. 5, The University of South Florida also just began vaccinating for H1N1.

The nearby university, which totals almost 36,000 undergraduates, received a limited supply of H1N1 vaccine. The University of Florida, with a campus of almost 35,000 undergrad students, received only 800 nasal mist vaccines. The University of Central Florida, with a total of almost 43,000 undergrads, received 1,500 doses of the nasal spray.

Schaefer said there is no shipment date yet for the next wave of vaccines, and she expects the Health Center to run out.

“We look everyday,” she said.

Schaefer said the Health Center is registered with Florida SHOTS (State Health Online Tracking System). According to the Florida SHOTS website, the organization is a free, statewide, centralized online immunization registry that helps health care providers and schools keep track of immunization records.

Schaefer said the Health Center registered in order to be eligible to

give out vaccinations.

“We check the computer everyday to see where our status is in terms of when they’re getting ready to ship,” she said.

Because the vaccines are distributed by the federal government, there is a certain formula that determines how many vaccinations each health care center receives. Schaefer said once vaccinations are given to individual states, the states distribute the vaccinations to various counties. Population and the amount of vaccines available are weighed, and a percentage of what is available is given to each health care provider.

Schaefer said she recommends all students receive vaccinations.

“The more people we vaccinate, the less likely we are to continue to have this outbreak,” she said. “More people will be protected and we do know this has been considered a worldwide pandemic, which just means it’s everywhere.”

She added that since the government and the World Health Organization feels it is important to get vaccinated, she would be remised if she weren’t promoting students to get the vaccine.

TESTING There is no sure way to know exactly how many UT students have H1N1 and how many have the seasonal flu.

According to Schaefer, the Health Center is able to test for influenza types A and B. H1N1 is influenza A virus, but not all

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influenza A is H1N1. If a patient has influenza A, a specimen can be sent out to a state lab for further testing. Because test results take two weeks to get back, though, few health care centers are sending out specimens to laboratories. Schaefer said most health care centers are so overwhelmed with patients that even hospitals, including Tampa General, are rarely testing.

Schaefer said sending samples to laboratories relates mostly to epidemiology. “[Testing] isn’t about treating the patient you’re seeing; it’s about seeing where the problem is,” she said.

The Health Center sent some samples to a state laboratory in August, September and October.

Schaefer said some of these samples came back positive for H1N, but not all.

Testing for H1N1, however, doesn’t appear very accurate.

Schaefer said that on a good day, accuracy is around 85 percent.

If there isn’t a lot of mucus in the sample, though, the accuracy percentage can be a lot lower.

Schaefer said many false negatives come back.

STUDENT WELLNESS Currently, the Health Center is overwhelmed with the number of sick students they are seeing each day.

Schaefer said the Health Center saw high peaks of students in the two weeks before Nov. 6. One day brought in a total number of 64 patients. The highest number of patients the Health Center can

The Minaret | November 13, 2009 usually handle is about 50.

She said she would like to see people with mild symptoms take care of themselves.

“You don’t have to have the Tamaflu to get better with this.

The H1N1 virus has been quite mild,” she said. “And the majority of people who have had serious problems as a result of getting it are people who have had other health problems.”

Schaefer said, however, that she understood how students, especially those away from home, could be afraid.

“People get scared… they read or have heard bad stories about people who got it, and they kind of panic,” she said. “You can imagine how many students either have the flu or are worried they might get it or have had their mother say they should come in and get checked.”

Schaefer said the Health Center is trying to control the anxiety level on campus related to the flu. She suggests students wait to come into the Health Center until they have more symptoms. Students who come in too soon, she said, often receive false negative test results for influenza.

“Sometimes it’s too soon to know,” she said.

Students who do test positive for influenza are given a mask they are told to wear when their roommates are present. Those who opt to take Tamaflu are required to stay out of classes for five days, though the Tamaflu usually has students feeling better in a matter of two days.

Schaefer said that many students who feel better in two days start to “walk around and go to parties and give the illness to other people.”

She cautioned that students who feel better quickly after Tamaflu should still stay in their rooms for five days.

Schaefer said during the course of the flu outbreaks it has been especially important to communicate and keep people informed. “I usually write one global email a year. I’ve probably written half a dozen already,” she said. “It’s been a very challenging year.”

To receive your seasonal influenza vaccine, FluMist (nasal) or injectable H1N1 vaccine, visit the Health Center Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. (No appointments are needed.)

Seasonal Influenza Vaccine costs $20. FluMist and injectable H1N1 vaccines are FREE and currently available to: pregnant women, adults caring for infants under 6 months of age, health care providers (nursing students, athletic training students and their faculty), anyone age 10 to 24 and anyone age 25 to 64 with certain medical conditions or weakened immune systems.

Front photo illustration by Max Roberts/The Minaret

Mattel Inc.’s Chuck Scothon Speaks About the Digital Age

By Jeffrey Palmer Reporter

One man responsible for having facilitated Mattel Inc.’s plunge into the digital age made an appearance on campus last Thursday.

Chuck Scothon, General Manager of Mattel Digital Network and Senior Vice President of Digital Play, spoke on the ninth floor of the Vaughn Center to address students on marketing techniques for the modern world.

Scothon spoke from his experience in his current positions and previous high-level positions held at corporations such as Fisher-Price, including the triumphs and challenges faced by corporations trying to excel in a changing world.

In particular, he stressed that while the tastes of consumers have remained constant, the vehicles for their tastes have undergone a dramatic transition.

“People still love the same brands,” Scothon said. “But people aren’t going to go out and buy a doll. Those days are over.”

Scothon, a creator of Barbiegirls.com, gave the audience a taste of the intricacies of marketing and consumer psychology.

He illustrated the necessity of understanding one’s target audience, through examples from his booming Barbie Girls and Hot Wheels platforms.

“Girls tend to want to interact and connect with friends,” he said, referring to the differing format of the two websites. “Boys just want to compete and let the world know how ‘bad’ they are.”

On screen, he pulled up both websites for the audience and demonstrated how a simple matter of presentation can be beneficial to website’s popularity.

“We try to make our audience feel like they’re entering a world by clicking on our link,” Scothon explained.

Underlying Scothon’s many points was the theme of the dramatic marketing upheavals ushered in by the present digital age.

He made it clear that social exchange is fast outstripping advertising in product promotion.

The best way to benefit from this tremendous resource, he said, is to engage in digital projects for consumer interaction.

“We have to figure out how play is evolving,” Scothon said.

“Through digital projects, we can tap in to the kid in each of us.”

Scothon, who traveled from Mattel headquarters in California to visit UT, said he was happy to share his experiences.

“It’s fun to get away from the office, do something different and share what we’ve learned.”

Graphic from photobucket.com

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

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The Minaret | November 13, 2009

FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 23, 2009

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Scott Silvestro / The Minaret

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Aries (March 21-April 19) Use your energy for healing. Other people respond to emotional stimuli. Optimism grows.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Optimism grows today as you sort through new information. You have everything you need to accomplish your goal.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Healing energy flows through your veins.

Use it to help others. You feel better as well.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Expand your thinking in an area where a perceived limitation has held you back.

Make optimism your best friend.

Gemini (May 21-June 21) Take time today to evaluate your diet.

Boost your energy while reducing fat intake.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Try not to run your legs off today as you check off agenda items. Leave something for tomorrow.

Cancer (June 22-July 22) You perk up after eating a healthy meal. Walking or yoga helps focus your thoughts. Take time for yourself.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Soothe your bruised ego with comfort food. Be sure you have enough to go around, because others will want some, too.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Help someone else treat a small injury.

You have a healing touch. Love cures all wounds.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Healing needs to occur. Take time to rest sore muscles. The work will still be there tomorrow.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Take a half-day off to go to the spa. The steam room relaxes your body. A focused workout relaxes your mind.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Check as many things off your list as you possibly can. Focus on your own work and leave others to theirs.

by Austin Daniels

Arts & Entertainment

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

9

Rocket Runs Out of Fuel Before Liftoff

By Zach Fraser Staff Writer

- Bake a homemade pumpkin pie.

- Make a fall playlist for your iPod. - Reminisce and watch your favorite 90s sitcom.

- Catch the women’s volleyball game on Saturday at 4 p.m.

- Attend the production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

- Listen to UT’s Symphony Orchestra concert on Nov. 19 at 5 p.m.

-Go for a bike ride around the neighborhood.

The genre of power-pop is a lot like candy: it’s good in moderation, but too much of it can make you sick.

There was a time when this genre, which blends sappy love songs with upbeat tempos, was original and enjoyable, but since the market became flooded by cookie-cutter bands who all sport the same haircuts, neon colored tshirts and jeans that look as if your little sister could fit into them.

The days of power-pop seem over.

The power-pop band A Rocket to the Moon’s debut studio release On Your Side has been highly anticipated for some time now.

The band released a string of successful EPs from 2006 to 2008, toured with bands such as The Maine and Secondhand Serenade and even managed to land a record deal with Decaydance, the record label of Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz.

Regardless, On Your Side seems like a feeble attempt to stand out in a run-down genre.

While it has some songs that are worth the attention, the album fails to make a lasting impression.

The 12-song album produces some noteworthy songs such as Annabelle and Baby Blue Eyes, but outside of these, the tracks seem to drift away like the sound waves from your speakers.

Songs like On a Lonely Night

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and Like We Used To are catchy and enjoyable, but what drags them down, and what seems to drag most of On Your Side down, are the lyrics.

I think we can all agree that this scenario is getting annoying: guy loves girl, girl dumps guy, guy writes song about break-up.

And the annoyance has never been more apparent than on On Your Side.

“On a lonely night, you will see you’re everything to me,” sings Martino.

“On a lonely night, oh, the truth is every night is lonely without you; every night is lonely without you here.”

Unfortunately, lyrics like these plague the entire album and when you couple them together with cheap power chords and whiney vocals, you get the mess that is made on On Your Side.

A Rocket to the Moon’s debut album is full of poorly developed and produced songs; together they don’t add to the album and apart they seem just as inadequate.

Although it might have aimed for the moon, this album shows that this shuttle was screwed long before takeoff.

To contact Zach Fraser, email zfraser@ut.edu.

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Arts & Entertainment

10

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

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

The Stylist Celebrity Fashion

So, what are the styles and trends that you can pull off the celebrities and wear everyday?

1. Denim Vests: You may be afraid you’re dipping back into an ‘80s wardrobe, but denim vests can look perfect with a plain-white

> Idhren / flickr.com Cut-off denim with or without plaid is a signature trend this season and makes a statement in any wardrobe.

t-shirt or even a sundress.

This is a great alternative to a jean jacket, especially when it’s hot out.

Do not wear a denim vest with jeans or jean shorts.

Too much denim can look dowdy and messy.

2. Zip Front Dress: 57 percent of People readers voted they would wear this sexy trend.

When we think zippers, we often think punk style, but these dresses are red carpet ready, or perfect for a weekend night.

Check out a casual chic zipper fron dress from Nordstrom. com, like the Bailey 44 “Daytripper” Silk Dress, which is now 50 percent off because of their halfyearly sale.

3. Lace Tights: This trend makes any dress look sexier and more pulled together.

Take a black dress, add lace tights and black booties and you’ve got the perfect outfit for going out.

These tights are great to carry you through fall and winter, so you can still wear your summery dresses through the holidays.

4. Plaid Button-Downs & Cut-Off Shorts: Whether they are running errands or grabbing coffee from Starbucks, celebrities are always photographed wearing farmer-inspired button-downs and short cut-offs.

This style is great for Florida.

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Idhren / flickr.com This denim vest is a great alternative for fall and even into the winter months.

Wear a tank top under your button-down so you can take it off when that afternoon sun hits, and put it back on when the breeze comes back.

It’s casual and cute, and you can pick up an this complete look at Forever21 or Urban Outfitters.

5. Gold Sequined Blazers: These flashy jackets are showing up on the red carpet, as well as during nights out.

They are best when paired with a casual pair of jeans or black bottoms and a simple blouse underneath.

It may be daring, but wear it with confidence.

Just don’t show up to class in this frock; it’s a piece for special occasions and nights on the town.

To contact Daniella, email dfusari@ut.edu.

>

Celebrities are our gurus of fashion.

We all want to copy their styles and looks, but a lot of the times those fashions need to stay in the glossies and not be worn by everyday citizens.

coco+kelly / flickr.com Want to spice up your look?

These lace tights are sure to add sexiness to any style.

A Look at Ray Charles

By JP Busche Staff Writer

“Ah, your story don’t ring true lil’ girl. Yeah, I’ve got news for you, baby.”

It was Sept. 23, 1930 when Ray Charles Robinson, better known by Ray Charles, was born to Aretha Williams and Baily Robinson in Georgia.

Both worked low-paying jobs.

In the midst of the depression, his mother was a sharecropper and his father repaired railroad tracks.

Even worse, Ray witnessed his older brother drown at age five, and then Ray turned blind at age seven, both key scenes in the Oscar Winning Motion picture Ray. Nevertheless, he did not give up and went on to live in his native Greenville, Fla. and continued to St. Augustine Fla., where he received a musical education.

He was immediately influenced by the stars of that time.

Duke Ellington and Art Tatum were two of those inspirations.

Another setback occurred at age 15, when Ray’s mother died.

Once again, he didn’t let a dramatic circumstance get him down and instead of begging for money he decided to drop out of school and tour the country which granted him financial independence.

Although he got to know lifelong friend Quincy Jones while traveling to Seattle, he returned to Florida in 1947, where he record-

ed his first three songs in Tampa.

In 1953, he was able to secure a contract with Atlantic Records and already sold more than one million copies of The Things I Used to Do the following year From then on, his career kept on getting better.

The following year, 1954, he released I Got a Woman, which would become one of the songs everybody would associate with him.

He continued blending different African-American music styles, What’d I Say being one example.

The single sold millions of records and again reached no. 1 in the R&B charts in 1959.

Just two years later, in 1961, he would go on to release Hit The Road Jack, leading him to receive a grammy.

He would then go on to receive 11 more of these coveted awards.

From the ‘60s until his death in June 2004, he not only crossed the different genres of AfricanAmerican music, but also went on to rearrange the country and western genres.

Ray Charles proved to be more than a person of integrity and honor by overcoming his complicated childhood, having 12 children and reaching the age of 74 despite an intense heroin addiction and getting banned and readmitted to perform in the state of Georgia.

Arts & Entertainment

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

11

Ride the Wave: Google Wave Destined to Make a Splash

By Shannon Grippando Staff Writer

In case you haven’t heard, Google has a new toy in the works set to launch later this year: Google Wave.

And just as they wowed the world with Google Maps and their oh-so-simple Gmail service, Google Wave will revolutionize the way we communicate and collaborate on the web forever.

It’s that amazing.

Google Wave’s simplicity is its deceptive strength.

Its website states, Wave is “equal parts conversation and document.”

As its name suggests, users create things called “waves” where text, images and videos can be added and edited.

Big whoop, right? Most collaborative document applications can do that now (sometimes sansvideo).

Google Wave, however, works in real-time. Not faux real-time like instant messengers in which you type, wait for a response, read the response, and type again.

As soon as a user presses a key, Wave updates the document so all users will literally see the writer making real-time changes.

It’s like AIM or Facebook chat but with no downtime.

The best part is, Google Wave is run entirely in the browser, which means is that you can use all the benefits of Wave straight from Firefox, Safari, or any other browser without having to download a program.

If a computer has an up-todate browser, it can run Google Wave.

But Wave isn’t just for collaboratively filing weekly TPS reports or copy editing newspaper articles.

No, that’s far too droll. Wave will be open-source, allowing developers to create APIs, gadgets, widgets and all other sorts of other doo-dads that harness the dynamic power of Google Wave.

An example from Google Wave’s press release video of a fun extension is real-time Sudoku.

A user creates a Wave containing the Sudoku game and invites others to play.

Players then compete against each other to solve the most squares the fastest with mistakes costing negative points.

It’s fun, it’s simple, and it’s only the tip of the iceberg for what Wave can offer.

A chess game was also shown off. Players could view the history of the game by rewinding moves, just as any wave can be “rewound” to view previous edits.

Possibly most impressive

Google Wave Logo is the implementation of bots in Waves.

Using a bot called Bloggy, the contents of a Wave are updated to a blog in real-time.

Readers of the blog can also converse with the author through a Wave placed on the site.

A bot called Rosy instantly translates languages between users in a wave.

Google’s example consisted of a conversation in French and English.

As the English speaker wrote, the sentence would be translated word-by-word into French on the other user’s screen.

As the French speaker replied, her sentence was translated into surprisingly well-structured English.

Google Wave is destined to be the next big thing in online conversation and collaboration.

Group projects will be exponentially easier thanks to its editing abilities.

Blogs can be updated and edited seamlessly through the same tool you’re using to talk to your friend overseas in England.

Just as the iPhone became the “JesusPhone” of the mobile world, so too will Google Wave become the god-like

tool everyone will rely on just as much as they do e-mail today.

Wave is such an all-encompassing tool it’s impossible to explain all of its features in such a tiny space.

If your interest has been piqued, check out the video at http://wave.google.com and sign up for the newsletter with updates and release date information.

It may take a while to catch on, but I bet in a year or so, Google Wave will be the thing for everyone to use, whether for instant messaging, editing, or blog posting.

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Arts & Entertainment

12 A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Nov. 19th-21st at 8 p.m. / Nov. 22nd at 2 p.m.

Free Admission for UT Students, $10 General Admission, $5 for non-UT students and senior citizens

“Dream”: Front Oberon, the Fairy King, sends out his servant, Puck, to get a flower that, when its juice is sprinkled on the eyelids of a sleeping person, makes them fall in love with the first person they see.

When Puck sprinkles the potion on the wrong person, chaos ensues.

“They let me pick the [play],” said Dr. Robert Gonzalez, assistant professor of Speech, Theatre and Dance, and director of the play.

According to him, a Shakespearean play was included in the year-long cycle and when he suggested this one to the faculty, they discussed it and agreed that it could work.

According to Gonzalez, there are 24 cast members and up to 30 students all together involved in the play, whether working on the set or costumes.

“It will be done without an intermission,” Gonzalez said.

This is because he thought it would make it easier for the audience to understand and for the students to work on the play.

He also took some artistic liberties by cutting things that didn’t advance the plot or reveal

The Minaret | November 13, 2009 the characters.

“I took my cue from other productions that I have seen,” said Gonzalez.

“Like the Royal Shakespeare Company. They cut [as well], but differently.”

Gonzalez was thinking of first-time theatre goers and firsttime Shakespeare audiences when he directed the play.

He wants to make sure the audience leaves wanting more.

“This is one of the comedies that really works,” Gonzalez said.

“Some comedies do not translate over the years, [but this play’s] humor is based more on universal [themes], like love.”

According to Gonzalez, he wanted the costumes for all the three groups to be different.

The Queen Fairy’s (Titania’s) costume will have an exotic “bird” look.

The craftsmen are blue collar workers and have Victorian, science-fiction theme with a lot of brass and metal, while the royal court costumes are reminiscent of Victorian times.

“They have really created a very interesting costume: dreaded hair and robin hood boots.

That’s just a little sneak peak,”

said Meagan Nagy, a junior who is playing Puck.

Rodner Salgado, a sophomore, plays Nick Bottom and Pyramus in the play within the play.

He wears a gold chest plate for one scene and a donkey head for another.

“How many people get to say they had the opportunity to be an ass on stage?” Salgado said.

The stage is raked at a 14 degree angle that goes from flat level to four feet.

This is so the audience will have the sense that the play is coming down at them.

“There is heck of a lot of warming up one must do before even stepping foot on that stage,” Salgado said.

According to Gonzalez there will be blue and purple curtains hung for night time and a moon that will be on one side for the first part of the play and the other side for the second part.

Of the cast members surveyed, they said they all liked Shakespeare.

“I am slightly obsessed,” Meredith Payne, senior, said.

“This is my second involvement in a Shakespeare production at UT. I feel very privileged.”

A Military Action Movie or an Excuse to Interrogate Goats?

By Austin Daniels Staff Writer

After deciding to not go see the “must see” film of the weekend (A Christmas Carol), I opted for The Men who Stare at Goats, which to my surprise, packed the theater very well on its opening day showing.

I guess the star power of this film, which includes George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges

and Kevin Spacey, was enough to fill seats at the theater.

All in all, the film’s great cast did help carry the film that has suffered from bad reviews and its “under the radar” status.

TMWSAG follows reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor), who unfortunately had lost the affection of his wife to his own newspaper’s editor.

Out of spite to prove his wife that he in fact was the “all star,”

Wilton decides to go to Iraq to report on the war.

During his trip, he meets a man name Lyn Cassady (Clooney) who serves as not only a ticket to cross the Iraqi border but shares stories to Wilton about his past.

As the misadventures of Wilton and Cassady continue, Cassady tells Wilton his narrative, which mainly focuses around a secret organization in the military that trains men to use their psychic

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abilities to end the war completely.

Wilton learns of a man named Bill Django (Bridges), the hippie in charge of training the men of this whole operation.

There is also mentioned of Larry Hooper (Spacey), the ever long rival of Cassady during his military days.

Of course this story is wrapped around a story that is supposedly true, as well as a “how did everyone turn out?” at the end (which gives this movie of constant flashbacks some direction).

So now I determine whether this movie was good or not, in which I would answer: “better than expected.”

First, the film is carried by an all star cast.

Clooney’s delivery of his funny lines left the audience laughing out loud during the eccentricity of each situation.

McGregor in some respects to Clooney plays the straight man, which adds another layer of humor to this comedy. The character Bill Django is by far the most eccentric character of the whole bunch.

Portrayed as a hippie mentor, Bridges hits a home run.

Spacey also adds the rivalry factor in the mix, and as always,

does a great job.

All in all, the characters are different, funny and portrayed by the best of the best.

The actors truly help carry this film.

On a second note, the content and the story of this whole bizarre situation is something deserving of some merits.

Granted, this is a very loose story with a small plot, but the content which is primarily derived from Cassady’s flashbacks is astounding and funny.

True, they don’t always propel the story forward, but it does add another layer to each character, or perhaps supplement the main plot with some funny back story, which in the end provides ultimate humor.

Yes, the content is a lot to take in because it is indeed a lot of expository, yet it’s good expository.

Every outside parallel is funny, yet doesn’t ruin the current rhythm of the film.

So, again TMWSAG is a surprising little comedy with great acting that does deserve appropriate viewership.

Its all star cast provides quality humor, and the uniqueness of this story is worth value.

My grade: B-

Screen capture from The Men Who Stare at Goats

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

Commentary

13

“Don’t Worry Be Happy”: Stay Positive During Hard Times

No matter what happens everything will be alright.

Pumbaa80 / Wikipedia

By Philippa Hatendi Columnist

I’ve never been much of a positive person; I always thought people who are happy all the time were sort of disturbing.

Not much has really changed,

but I realized that in this culture people care too much when things don’t go well.

They forget to look on the positive side when negative t h i n g s happen and instead allow the well of negativity to swallow them.

They wallow in misery much longer than necessary, which prevents them from recovering, from seeing the bright side to their situation.

Grief is understandable and relieving. It is not inherently bad.

In fact, it’s therapeutic to allow yourself to reach rock bottom for a couple of hours when you get back your mathematics test and realize that you have failed yet again.

Or when you realize that your relationship is going down the toilet and needs to be flushed.

Or someone doesn’t kick the winning goal and your team doesn’t win the big game.

The problem is, some people stay there a lot more than I would have ever expected.

The implication in this society seems to be that if you have failed, you have failed, and you’re the proverbial loser thus the level of negativity ends up being disproportionate to the event that caused it.

It is true that people cope with things in different ways, depending on how important something is to the individual.

Except in order to progress, the same rule is true for everyone: you must regain your positive attitude in order to move forward.

Back home, people don’t really have time to focus on failure because there is always so much more going on in life.

If something doesn’t go well, it’s a shame and it’s too bad, but as long as you did your best there will always be other opportunities to do better.

And if there are not, you

will create them. This is not only applicable to our attitudes toward school, but our attitudes towards other endeavors in life.

You should never forsake your talent and your will to continue doing your best because of failure.

In life there will always be pitfalls, but no progress was ever made in remaining in the pits of failure.

It is important to find the positive side in all negative situations, and don’t allow yourself to think there isn’t one because there always is a positive side.

So you failed your math test, there’s three more left and thus three more chances to work toward improving yourself. And your relationship crashes and burns, thank goodness you survived the wreckage and love is still out there waiting for you.

I mean, even in the grimmest situations like breaking your leg, at least the other one is still working.

Maybe I just take things too lightly. But it’s always said that

it’s better to go after the greener pastures, rather than staying in the one you’re at.

Life is never at a standstill, and thus life will not always be a composition of failure, regret and disappointment though fate has sprinkled that in some places.

You mustn’t lose perspective in the face of all the negativity and sadness.

Surround yourself with people who make you laugh, and are able to show you the positive side of bad situations even when you can’t see it for yourself!

For if you don’t, life ends up being very disappointing because bad things (on differing scales) happen every day.

The important thing is summed up in these wise words from Bobby McFerrin, “In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. So don’t worry, be happy!”

So stop worrying, it’ll get better.

The master of infomericals: Billy Mays.

Sharese Ann Frederick / Wikipedia

that’s how the Snuggie came to be.

I guarantee if your parents showed up to your high school football game wearing Snuggies like in the commercials, you would be too ashamed to admit you were their child. (But I’m guessing if you own a Snuggie you’re not planning on going out in public any time soon.)

As entertaining as these infomercials are, it’s sad that people can actually relate to the problems shown in these commercials. I think if I’m sitting with a friend watching an infomercial, and he

says to me, “Dude, finally! I am always struggling to make waffles in the microwave!” we probably wouldn’t be friends for much longer.

So next time you’re watching TV, and it cuts to a black and white clip of a woman fumbling to fill her oven with dirty dishes while she gets handed divorce papers from a lawyer, get excited to finally learn how to overcome some annoying daily chores.

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

Infomercials Prey on Boredom and Offer Solutions to Non-Problems

By John Jacobs Columnist

This week I wanted to talk about infomercials in honor of one of my heroes who recently passed away, Billy Mays (because just like his products, he was only available for a limited time).

Infomercials usually pop up when watching any main TV stations like Fox, NBC or CBS around 2 a.m. And they catch you off guard, too; you don’t question it until it seems extra long and you start to think to yourself, “Wait, has this commercial been on for 12 minutes now?”

All these infomercials usually start the same way, a voice will come on and say something like, “Does this happen to you daily?”

Then it’ll cut to a clip in black and white of a woman bending over to pick something up and immediately jerks back to grab her back in pain while shaking her head and staring at the camera as if to say, “If only there were a better way!”

The voice comes back—“Well those days are over because the Mighty Claw is here!”—and the pitch begins. A man will walk into the shot (usually in a living room or kitchen) and start telling you random facts about some “horrible” situation people have to go through every day.

“Did you know the average person in America bends over to pick things up to seven times a day?

And did you know every time you bend over you cause stress in your

back, which could lead to arthritis and scoliosis? Well now those problems can finally be solved with the Mighty Claw!” (Thank God! I smell a Nobel Peace Prize.)

A rundown of what the product is made of and examples of what it can do then follow.

“The Mighty Claw is made up of a retracting three piece set of Japanese titanium rods, which extend on command, equipped with a rubber handle with a graphite finish which homes the easy-access hand trigger giving you control of the stainless steel claws on the end.”

He then walks over to an area with random items on the floor. “For example, look at that newspaper on the floor! If I didn’t have the Mighty Claw, who knows how long or how many tries it would take me to bend over and pick it up? But now with the lightweight six pounds Mighty Claw, bending over becomes a thing of the past!”

(Finally, I was so tired of having to use my body to do things!)

Then finally after this whole presentation, (keep in mind showing off the product and informing you on it does take around 30 minutes) we come to the price of this amazing product. They start by comparing their price to similar products, which makes you think, “Why would more than one of these exist anyway?” The man will say something like, “Competitors may charge you up to $600 for a similar product! But with this special TV offer, you can get the mighty claw for 69 easy payments of $3.99! However, if you order within the next full moon, we’ll throw in a second mighty claw absolutely free!”

Check out the Blogs and Podcasts on theminaretonline. com!

Then to wrap everything up and to give you one last reason in case you still have any doubts, they give you an estimation of how much money you’ll save by buying this product. “When you buy the Mighty Claw you’ll potentially save at least $10,000 on back surgery and prescription pain killers for the rest of your life!

Can you really afford to miss out on this deal?”

First off, if you need a payment plan to buy something off an infomercial, you probably have bigger problems than whatever it is the product can “fix.” Also, what part of these numerous payments is “easy?” If anything, wouldn’t spreading the payments out over time instead of just paying all at once be much more inconvenient?

I don’t want to still be paying for my Slap Chop two years after it breaks.

Second, I don’t like when they need to threaten me into buying the product with random statistics and “potential savings.” The arguments are usually so random and unrelated to the product in any way, it really has nothing to do with anything.

“Did you know around 151,000 people die every day? (Actual fact) Well, if you buy Axe Body Spray, you might not die today!”

And third, everything being sold through infomercials is completely ridiculous and unnecessary!

Can anybody really say the Snuggie was a good idea? I’m pretty sure this was invented when someone woke up extremely hung over one day, put a robe on backwards, walked downstairs and when he was asked about what he was wearing, he was too stubborn to admit he’d made a mistake, and

The Minaret is looking for • Writers • Photographers • Artists • Cartoonists

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

E-mail Letters to the Editor to ut.minaret@ gmail.com

Commentary

14

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

Editorial: Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility

& Registering for Classes

Spartanweb Crashing

Awkward Laughter

Awkward Silence

Mariah Carey in the 90s

Mariah Carey Now

Jeers

Krispy Kreme

Cheers

Dunkin Donuts

Used Bookstores

Chain Bookstores

Paula Deen

Rachel Ray

Virginia Woolf

James Joyce

Impressionism

Cubism

Copy Editors

Spell Check

Only three months after Ryan McCall’s murder, two more off-campus robberies occurred involving three UT students.

The Tampa Police Department is investigating a possible link between the most recent incident on Saturday morning (Nov. 7) involving two male UT students along North Boulevard and Main Street and McCall’s death.

Another incident occurred early Sunday (Nov. 8) morning.

A female student had her debit card stolen and was struck in the face by someone between the time she exited the Metro Mart on North Boulevard and Kennedy Boulevard and the time she approached the corner which is now university property after the land tract purchase over the summer.

TPD and UT Safety and Security, at the time of press, are still investigating the situation.

Steps can be and need to be taken by both the university and by students to do everything in their power to prevent these incidents from happening.

Students need to realize that

similar incidents like the ones that occurred last weekend can happen to them.

University officials and documents say that UT is located in an urban environment.

Let’s face it: For UT, our urban environment is when we see downtown Tampa towering over Plant Hall reminding us of our central location in the Tampa downtown area.

The other half of UT’s urban environment is beyond the gates at certain points of campus.

Once the sun goes down, we need to be very careful because these areas are not safe.

TPD has advised that these areas should be avoided at night.

If one student’s murder is not enough, then that plus two more students being victims of a robbery in the same area should be a sign enough to not walk there at night or during the day.

At this point there has never been more options such as the Courtesy Cabs and other alternative rides for students to not be walking around at that time of night.

If making a trip only a short distance off-campus by foot at night, students need to stay in large groups.

In response to these events, UT officials sent out a Global Message informing students about the incidents.

At a quick glance, there were some discrepancies between the alert and the TPD incident report that The Minaret requested.

One in particular was the location of the incident.

The alert stated the robbery occurred on the bridge, while the TPD report stated that it happened closer to campus at the intersection of North Boulevard and Main Street.

Although this was a simple human error, details like these should not be overlooked and we can only hope in the future that the right information will be presented in a reasonable time.

The alerts did their job for the most part. Students knew about the incidents but it is not clear if they will heed the warning that comes from it.

What these younger kids forced me to realize is that I’m growing up, not simply in terms of age, but maturity. It’s not something I often reflect upon, how much I’ve matured. I’m busy scrambling to write papers, establish some semblance of a love life and still go clubbing every once in a while.

It takes someone’s birthday or a Facebook group to make you realize, I’m turning 21 next year, graduating next year and hopefully continuing my studies in graduate school.

Gradually, my friends and fellow members of Quilt, the literary magazine, graduated. The texture of open mics changed, the good old faces that faithfully showed up have completely changed.

Even at the Minaret things have evolved: members came and went, advisers changed and by next year, I’ll have worked with three editors-in-chiefs and someone will have this job.

Nostalgia sets in and a strange possessiveness, everything that you knew as UT—friends, professors, places and everything else that defines your college experience— has transformed.

Does anyone remember Urso as Kennedy? The buildings that were where the Chapel now stands?

Fanny Pack Kid? When The Retreat was more lax?

It’s become more common for me to reminisce with my friends about something then have to explain what I’m talking about or simply say, “Oh right, you weren’t around when that happened.”

As soon as you settle in and think being a college student isn’t that bad when it gets down to it, you’ve got a diploma and UT wants you out of the your dorm.

No more tuition, but it’s time to pay rent, maintenance fees and student loans.

I don’t have a Peter Pan Complex nor maturity issues, but sometimes it seems as if maturity has been foisted upon me. How am I supposed to sort out my life with no adviser or OSLE to go to? And Spartan Dollars work at Publix, unfortunately.

Thanks freshmen for causing me to reflect on all this. Thanks for depressing me (just kidding).

But time passes and here we are. Old friends gone, new friends here and ready to inherit what we’ve

Nostalgia sets in and a strange possessiveness, everything that you knew as UT—friends, professors, places and everything else that defines your college experience—has transformed.

Does anyone remember Urso as Kennedy? The buildings that were where the Chapel now stands?

Fanny Pack Kid?

Influx of Younger Students Remind Columnist How He’s Matured

By Derrick Austin Commentary Editor

I’m a fossil, a relic, an antique: old—or I’m going to be. Granted, I’m only 20 but a large portion of my friends and peers in organizations are younger than me. For a while, many of my Facebook friends were joining a group called: “I was born in the 90s.”

Wait, what, I asked myself.

How is this possible? My baby brother was born in 1994!

Often age doesn’t even faze me. It’s the sneaky young ones, the ones that are “mature for their age,” that get you, make you forget that those guys and girls are only 18 or 19.

There’s not really much difference between the new freshmen and I; being born August 26, 1989, I barely squeezed into the 80s.

Still, my 80s brethren and sistren were always older. They had longer curfews, watched rated R

movies (legally) earlier, graduated from high school earlier, and turned 21 first (tragically leaving me behind at bars, sad as a wet puppy).

Among my friends, I was the baby. I looked up to them, and they watched out for me. They ran the organizations and took care of business.

Now I’m running organizations, delegating tasks and trying to take care of business. Students are asking me for advice, wondering where things are and how to take care of some problem or another.

They look to me now.

After this year, nearly all of my older friends will have graduated, leaving me—and the rest of the class of 2011—as the elder classmen.

The ones who are supposed to know exactly what to do and have their lives mapped out. We graduate in a year, supposedly prepared to enter the “real world,” the vast enigmatic territory that has very little to do with the trashy MTV show. Now that’s a frightening concept (the graduating, not the lack of gratuitous booze and sex in the “real world.”)

“

“

called home for potentially the past four years. And maturity has marked us in its way, or perhaps it hasn’t, still the world expects much of us now, I’ve slowly realized.

But, in a strange way, isn’t this partially what we came to college for? Certainly, education and clubbing and engaging ourselves in new experiences, abut college is primer for our adult lives, whether we notice or not.

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

Commentary 15 You Never Forget Your First Love, But Don’t Let It Trap You in the Past

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

By Narisa Imprasert Columnist

I wonder what they’re doing right now…where they’re at, who they’re with and are they thinking of me? There is one thing I’ll never forget: my first.

Not my first boyfriend, first pet, nor my first home, but the first person I became intimate with—not only just sexually, but full-blown love.

Love is not a cop-out to get into a girl’s pants. No, love is that addictive feeling where you willingly lose control and the obsession becomes passionate and self-sacrificing. Where you allow yourself to fall, and accept the fact that there is no guarantee that the other will fall, as well.

Many confuse love with infatuation and lust, where carnality dominates the emotional, and platonic love is a convention of the past. Consumed by love, subtle touches drive me crazy, mental images burn and my desires need constant fulfillment.

However, my day-to-day life drives me crazy. I’m still young, at the “prime of my youth,” and always bouncing from relationship to relationship. Many of these failed attempts at monogamy are short-lived and lack any real passion or actual interest.

Why you may ask? Well, because I’m simply stuck in the past. Everywhere I go, I am constantly reminded of my first.

Whether it’s a song I hear while wandering through the mall or hearing the cute little things and

sayings that kept me blushing.

Somehow, I always manage to connect every situation to my first.

I compare every new love interest to the last and subconsciously find something wrong to avoid getting hurt. Or, if I find the ideal, I always find a similar characteristic to my first and can’t suffer the constant reminders. Such a life is pathetic and painful, yet we all go through it sometime throughout our lives.

I remember my first guy; his name was “Chad,” and it was a onenight-stand. I was young, he was older and I always had a thing for athletes. I snuck out of my window at the wee hours of the night and jumped into his Ford Focus.

Doesn’t that sound romantic?

Well, it’s safe to say I stopped talking to him after a while and found myself a new boyfriend.

But as the years passed, and the boyfriends turned into temporary lovers, I still felt like my first time was nowhere near special.

Then right when I was about to give up, I met this girl at a club.

She was beautiful, intelligent, athletic, funny and passionate (not that I have a checklist). She was a “friend of a friend” and ambiguous about her sexuality. Something I found endearing, might I add.

All my close friends know how I am around someone I like.

I’m completely confident when I flirt with men, but around a pretty girl, I become a nervous wreck. In the presence of beauty, I become a bit passive. I stutter. I giggle like an idiot.

She, however, smiled, and we danced the night away. Body

Love hurts us all, but it’s worth it. Never let it hold you back.

language was my safest form of communication because I was left speechless within her presence.

But it’s safe to say I found my new first time with her, and it was much better than “Chad.” And also I found a way to screw it up as usual and continued to mentally punish myself for the many mistakes I made.

The memories of that special night are everlasting, and I constantly see flashbacks that force me to constantly “what if” every possible scenario. Self-blame kept me from moving on, I couldn’t progress. A melancholic existence

temporarily consumed my life, and I envied the life of her present lover. I either chose to be alone or fool around with someone in order to get over the pain, to get over my first(s).

Inevitably, a born-again virgin was just a silly thought, and I accepted that I could never really attain a new “first time,” but I could achieve an entirely special intimate relationship someday.

Even to this day, I still bottle up my feelings and won’t allow myself to indulge into the possibilities of future love interests. The boys I currently date lack any romance; I

jmscottIMD / Flickr

only see them at night, and regret still bombards my mind.

I guess I am just waiting to find someone that will make me forget my past, force me to live for the moment and when I’m with him or her, thoughts of my first will be almost nonexistent.

Honestly, you’ll never forget your first, but moving on is vital to life and a major stepping-stone towards happiness. Like my good friend Emily says, you have to “live in the present.”

Narisa Imprasert can be reached at nimprasert@ut.edu.

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Sports

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

17

Senior Captain Important Both on and off the Court

Tiara Cook taking a foul shot.

Abby Sanford/The Minaret

By Daniel Feingold Sports Writer

Tampa has high expectations coming back from arguably the best season in school history. The UT women’s basketball team is ranked 22nd in the nation by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Forward Tiara Cook, a rare four-year player for the Spartans, will be counted on to carry the team on the court while leading

the team off it.

Born locally in Holiday, Fla., Cook started her career in basketball at an early age. Cook’s mother played for Clearwater High School and influenced her to pick up a basketball and start to learn the game. Cook said luckily she began at a young age because she was not too good at first. Once she attended middle school, her hard work and practice paid off.

“When I got to middle school, I started playing seriously in eighth grade, and that’s when I really just stayed with it,” Cook said.

Cook was a standout at Gulf High School, averaging over seventeen points, ten rebounds and two blocks a game in her senior season. Though her “double-double” per game average is impressive, it was not her greatest high school accomplishment.

Instead, it was making a name for her team.

“They weren’t too good when I first got there,” said Cook. “So I was just like, ‘When I leave, everybody’s going to know about Gulf High School,’ and that’s what happened. We got to [the Elite Eight], we had a great season, had a great record. We won district titles so that‘s my greatest accomplishment-- being able to put Gulf High on the map.”

Then came her choice of which college to attend, a decision that heavily relied on being close to home.

“I had never been away from home. I had always been in the Pasco and Pinellas County area. I didn’t want to leave my family,” Cook said.

After recruitment from head coach

Size Doesn’t Always Matter

By Brenton Burkett Sports Writer

“Basketball is your sport. You practice, and practice, and practice… but, you’re only 5-foot-8.”

That is the opening line to a TV commercial for a local college. But it is not always truthful. For one player, the dream became a reality.

Rudy Jean is the shortest player on the Tampa Spartans men’s basketball team at 5-foot-8. But don’t let that fool you – he is also one of its most valuable assets. In fact, Jean uses his stature as an advantage.

“I’m one of the sneakiest players on the court,” Jean said. “Sometimes people don’t see me coming. And people don’t see how strong I am.”

“He’s like a pesky gnat,” said head coach Richard Schmidt. “He’ll get low so it’s tough to dribble against him. Plus he was a walk-on player for us, and those guys always work hard, at least three hours every day after class.”

The junior from East Bay High School

in Gibsonton, Fla. appeared in 25 games last season as a top reserve guard. Jean was a respectable 5-for-18 from three-point range, finished fourth on the team in assists (38) and fifth in steals (20).

This season, Jean would like to contribute more by helping to fill the roles vacated by Jonathan Ball and Matt Tomaszewski. Schmidt sees him receiving “valuable minutes” on the floor.

“I want to win, so I’ll just do whatever I can,” Jean said.

The cheers Jean received upon his entrance at Midnight Madness on Oct. 15 proved how popular he is with his fans and fellow UT students, as well as his teammates, who call him “Young Ru 22.”

“He has had a big influence on his teammates,” Schmidt said. “Rudy’s got such a good attitude about the team. He keeps everybody up.”

Jean plans to become a coach when his UT playing career ends. He and Schmidt have already discussed this idea, and Schmidt has encouraged it.

Rudy Jean driving the lane for the Tampa Spartans.

Abby Sanford/The Minaret

Tom Jessee, Cook ended up a Spartan. Jessee explained the talents he saw in Cook while scouting her.

“We saw a versatile player-- an athlete that can run and jump, a tremendous offensive rebounder, that we thought was really good down inside; good speed and quickness,” Jessee said. “We thought if we could add some outside shooting touch to her that she was really going to be a handful.”

She proved to be just that: a handful.

In her first collegiate game Cook notched 16 points against Columbus State, as a reserve. Moving along to last year as a junior her success continued. Now as a starter with over twelve points and six rebounds a game, Cook was voted an All-Sunshine State Conference player.

Coach Jessee feels Cook is a unique player for The University of Tampa because she has been with the team all four years of her collegiate career.

“Tiara has seen both sides of it. She’s seen the side as a reserve, now she’s seeing it as a veteran player and having some success,” Jessee said. “She’s as good as any other player in the league. I thought she was hands down the difference in our late season run last year.”

Cook is also being heavily relied on this year to push the Spartans over the top and earn a national championship.

“If you look at the box scores, it just not scoring. We need her to fill up the box score. We need rebounds, points, steals, blocked shots. We’re a system team and we think as long as she plays in the system, that we’ll be okay,” Jessee said..

Whether she is racking up stats or cheering her team on, Cook has also become a leader.

“No matter if she’s in the game or on the bench, she’s involved,” said Jessee.

“She was voted unanimously by her teammates as a captain this year.”

Cook puts a lot of pressure on herself as well. She knows she must be there for the team on game day, or any other day for that matter.

“I feel like I have to be able to carry the team through the ups and downs no matter if it’s on the court or off the court,” said Cook.

Though she is obviously a very gifted basketball player, she says she will not continue playing after college. She plans on moving to California next December to pursue a career in modeling.

“It’s not that I don’t have a passion for [the game] anymore,” Cook asserted, “it’s just [that] I want to start another passion that I’ve had to put aside because of basketball."

Until next December, there is a full season of basketball to be played.

The women Spartans’ first game is at Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday, Nov. 17th. The Spartans will have two more road games after that before returning to Tampa for their home opener on Nov. 25 versus Valdosta State.

Cook wants to give this season her all and leave college knowing she played as best she could. “I want to finish with no regrets,” Cook said. “I’m just going to try hard every day [and] every game to continue to win.”

Sports

18

The Minaret | November 13, 2009

Swimmers Look to Bounce Back From Early Loss

Tampa swimmer competing in the butterfly stroke against Savannah College of Art and Design.

Chelsea Michelson/The Minaret

By John Hilsenroth Sports Writer

The University of Tampa men’s and women’s swim teams both suffered their first defeat of the year last week.

After coming off a successful week of victories over Savannah College of Art and Design on Oct. 31 and a strong showing against some of the premier division one schools on Oct. 30, UT's swim teams lost Friday against Indian River State College.

When asked how she felt about the first defeat of the season, All American female

swimmer Jessie Bardin said, “We swam well, and it was going to come sooner or later. We can’t take it personally.”

Although the regular season is important, it all comes down to NCAA’s which take place in March in Canton, Ohio.

Bardin later said she “can’t wait” for the event which is just over four months away.

Assistant Coach Jimi Kiner especially seemed confident that the teams will bounce back quickly. “It is still early in the season, and both teams are already ahead of sched-

Tampa Swimmer competing in the breast stroke against Savannah College of Art and Design.

Chelsea Michelson/The Minaret

ule from last year,” he said.

He went on to say both teams are “phenomenal,” and they are equally looking stellar as a whole.

Losing is inevitable and both team’s first losses were against solid opponents.

A slight stumble this early in the season can humble the team, the freshmen in particular.

It can act as a wakeup call, and remind them that they are not perfect.

Losing can be the fire they need to motivate them to work harder and harder each

practice.

The goal is to progress throughout the season and be in prime shape come NCAA’s.

The mood of the entire swim team is confident; everyone knows they have what it takes to do great things this year, and no one is worrying about one loss.

The team’s hope to go back to their winning ways beginning Nov. 13 against Division I opponent ,Florida A&M. John can be reached at jhilsenroth@ ut.edu.

Notre Dame Tight End Rudolph Likely Out the Rest of Regular Season

By Brian Hamilton Chicago Tribune

(MCT) No one knows yet if Charlie Weis is staying or going as Notre Dame coach, and Weis wasn't up for discussing the matter Tuesday.

But he does know Kyle Rudolph won't be along for the ride these last three games.

A shoulder injury suffered against Navy means the sophomore tight end "probably" will miss the rest of the regular season, Weis

said, though he didn't elaborate other than saying a shoulder muscle is involved.

"They said (playing against) Stanford is a possibility _ I think that's a reach," Weis said. "I think he'll be able to practice again in December."

Rudolph is second on the team with 33 catches.

His absence means another stretch without a potent weapon to dilute a defense's focus _ like the Irish endured in 5{ games without receiver Michael Floyd.

Except now the season, and possibly more, is on the line the next three weekends.

Apropos of that, Weis batted down all questions regarding his tenure and job status Tuesday, constantly returning to the refrain that he's "only worrying about beating (Pittsburgh)."

He did state emphatically his lack of concern for what people outside the program think about him.

"People who don't know you, why do

ug ho ut Ev er y Sa tu rd ay ni gh t th ro

I care what they think?" Weis said. "If they don't know you, they'll have an opinion based off of what? They don't know. If they know you and they don't like you, that’s a different problem”

Join the Minaret’s Sports Staff! Email Kyle Bennett at minaret.sports@gmail.com.

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Sports

The Minaret | November 13, 2009 From “Volleyball” [Back] ing by a 25-14 score.

Leading the way for UT were juniors Melissa Vanderhall, who put up an unbelievable 20 kills, and Cunningham, who finished with a double-double of 18 kills and 15 digs.

Howlett led defensively with a remarkable 21 digs in the match.

The victory allowed UT to tie Saint Leo for first place in the conference and region.

“We proved to ourselves that we can do a lot when we put our minds to it,” Howlett said.

The win was another in a long line of come-from-behind sets and matches this season.

“That’s been one of the traits of this team,” UT head coach Chris Catanach said of their recent comebacks.

The Spartans hit the road again Sunday, this time to Jenkins Field House to take on arch-rival Florida Southern. This gave UT another opportunity for retribution, as they had not won in Lakeland since 2004.

The first set appeared to be in UT’s favor, but they nearly blew a 21-15 lead when the Moccasins cut it to 22-21. However, the Spartans won 25-23 with help from Eva Dupay and Vanderhall.

UT again found their rhythm in the

second set and surged to a 25-15 triumph.

Vanderhall, Cunningham and sophomore Camille Hanks all came through with four kills each to boost the Spartans.

The third set was even better for UT, as they played one of their most dominating games of the season.

The Spartans sealed the match with a 25-12 trouncing of the Moccasins that saw Cunningham post a .531 hitting percentage, again leading the offense.

Cunningham finished with a matchhigh 11 kills while Hanks had ten and hit an astounding .714. Dupay was not far behind, turning in nine kills of her own. Defensively, Howlett again led the match in digs with 12. The sweep emphatically gave UT its

19 first win at Florida Southern in five years.

“We knew we were the better team,” Cunningham said. “We just needed to go in and play with confidence.… It was a great feeling to finally break the trend.”

“Winning at [Florida Southern] felt awesome,” Howlett said. “But we have a bigger goal in mind and that is to hopefully win conference and then a regional title.”

Coach Catanach agreed, saying greater emphasis was placed on staying even with Saint Leo in its fight for the conference title.

The regular season ends for UT Saturday at home against Barry.

The South Region tournament begins Nov. 18.

UT Soccer to Travel to Rollins for Regional Tournament The Spartans will need to bounce back in large fashion to stay in contention and make a push for any future in the post season.

The Spartans took down Lynn with by the score of 2-1 in double overtime. Tampa be back on Friday night and they’ll be in tallied 11 quality shots on goal in the match with goals from Ryan Griffin and Milien. their rooms enjoying their weekend.”

Milien’s came in the second overtime Lynn University was previously ranked to give the Spartans the automatic win.

No. 1 in the nation before they came to PeLynn has two of the three leading goal pin stadium in Tampa. scorers in the SSC conference. Paulo Vaz

leads the conference with 17 goals and Kyle Conrad has scored 14.

The player that hurt Tampa most in the SSC championship is the No. 2 leading goal scorer, Anderson. He has 16 goals.

With a win Friday, Nov. 13 Tampa would advance to play against the winner between Rollins and Barry.

Team Leading goal scorer, Pascal Milien works against Joao Garcia in the SSC Championship.

Abby Sanford/The Minaret

Ryan Griffin battling for the ball against Alvaro Yusty of Barry University in the SSC Final.

A. Sanford/The Minaret

From “Regionals” [Back]

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

Week 10 Fantasy Football: Ups, Downs & Inbetweens

By Daniel Feingold Sports Writer

There are three teams left that stand alone in total dominance of the NFL. I’m referring to the unbeaten New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts, and of course- my one and seven Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are now on top of the world after getting off the schneid this past weekend against Green Bay. With that being said, let’s get right to it-- who to start and who to sit in fantasy football for week ten of the NFL. Start/Bench Matt Cassel, QB, Kansas City-- The Chiefs have certainly had their struggles this season and Matt Cassel is no exception.

However, Cassel had his best game of the year in week nine against Jacksonville, notching 262 through the air along with two touchdowns. Cassel seemed to improve with the addition of Chris Chambers, and in week ten they face Oakland.

The Raiders’ D is respectable, but Cassel had a good performance against them the first time around.

Unless you have a stud at QB, I’d give Cassel a chance this week. Let him prove himself.

Laurence Maroney, RB, New EnglandMaroney has had a touchdown in the past three games, but there is no way anyone can expect that to continue.

New England is facing Indianapolis, and though Bob Sanders is done for the year, it doesn’t mean the Pats will decide to run the ball.

This rivalry usually ends up as a shootout with Brady and Manning being the stars.

Don’t expect Maroney to get the ball 20 times in this game, as that generally never happens. Bench him.

Defense/ Special Teams of the Week Atlanta Falcons-- Available in over half of the ESPN leagues, the Falcons D/ST has had a consistent season in scoring fantasy

points with the exception of two weeks.

Their week ten match up is a favorable one, as they take on the Carolina Panthers.

They allowed the Panthers offense to rack up 20 points in their first meeting but still forced two turnovers.

T h e Owned in under 20 percent of Panthers are still in the bottom half of the league in offensive yardage and have ESPN leagues.

Vince Young, QB, Tenan awful turnover ratio of minus nine. nessee-- Don’t look now, but Players to Pick Up he’s playing well and is available in Austin Collie, WR, Indianapolis-Available in over 40 percent of ESPN practically all ESPN leagues.

Daniel Feingold can be reached at leagues.

Mike Wallace, WR, Pittsburg-- dfeingold@ut.edu.

“The goalkeeper is the jewel in the crown and getting at him should be almost impossible.

It’s the biggest sin in football to make him do any work.” - George Graham

3

‘n t u O

Win Streak Bumps Tampa to No. 7 in National Poll Ryan Burkett Sports Writer

Basketball is Back

W. Basketball: The University of Tampa women’s basketball team will begin play this week.

Tampa will begin the season with a No. 22 national rank and are coming off a season when it made an apperance in the NCAA tournament.

UT will be in action on Nov. 17 at Palm Beach Atlantic.

The Spartans will return home on Nov. 20 as they participate in the Merrimack Tournament at 5:30 p.m.

Record Night Volleyball: A career night for Melissa Vanderhall helped propel Tampa to a 3-2 win over Eckerd.

Vanderhall accounted for 27 kills en route to improving the Tampa record to 27-2 (14-1).

UT will be in action at conference opponenet Barry University. UT previously beat Barry 3-0 this year.

Splash Back Swimming: Tampa swimming will get only a short break following its first loss of the season.

UT will be in action Nov. 13 against Division I opponent Florida A&M at the UT pool.

The Spartans most recently fell to Indian River State College on Nov. 6 by only 23 points combined.

Freshman Jessica Yingling going for the kill. She is second on the team with 3.36 kills per set.

Chelsea Michelson/The Minaret

The No. 7 University of Tampa volleyball team (26-2, 13-1 SSC) completed another perfect week with two crucial SSC away victories.

First up was the Nov. 4 match at Saint Leo, which handed Tampa its only home and conference loss of the season on Oct. 3. This time the Spartans stepped into hostile territory as the visiting team.

Things looked bleak for UT early, as the Lions took the first set 25-20. The loss ended the Spartans’ 30-game winning streak that dated back to the previous sweep

by Saint Leo. It was after this set that UT regained its composure.

“After we lost the first set, we all looked at each other and said, ‘We're not doing this again,’” sophomore Julie Howlett said.

“We just played like we knew we could.”

Cunningham felt the same way, calling the opening game “a

little wakeup call” and adding her teammates likely felt the same way.

The second set was a back and fourth affair that saw the Lions take a 22-19 lead.

However, UT stormed back with four consecutive kills from junior Kaleigh Cunningham, who finished with 18. This allowed UT to win the set 25-23 and even the match at one.

The Spartans found their rhythm in the third set, taking an early lead and never looking back in a 25-18 win.

The team had seven total blocks in the frame as freshman Danielle Selkridge led the way with four. The win gave UT a critical 2-1 advantage.

In the fourth set it became clear UT had all the momentum.

Tampa took an 11-5 lead and only stretched it from there, dominatSee “Volleyball” [19]

Spartans Shutout in Conference Championship at Home Kyle Bennett Sports Editor

The No. 2 seed University of Tampa Spartans were shut out for the first time all year as the Barry Buccaneers won the SSC championship by the score of 2-0.

Mark Anderson, the tournament’s most outstanding player, sealed the deal against Tampa at the 84th minute as he put a shot past Ryan Thompson from the top of the box.

Anderson trailed the play and a deflection came right to him.

Without a thought, he was able to put it in the top corner of the net past the Defensive Player of the Year Thompson.

Just three minutes later, Tampa was pressing with an offensive attack. A shot from the UT offense was deflected by Joao Garcia.

Barry’s Anderson was able to take the rebound across midfield where he hooked up with Mark Kilpatrick in a two-on-one break away.

Anderson fed Kilpatrick, and Kilpatrick was able to put it past Thompson for the second goal of

No. 10 M. Soccer

the game.

The Spartans controlled the offense virtually the entire game.

“We gotta finish,” said Adrian Bush, head coach. “You can have all the chances you want, if you don’t finish they mean nothing.”

Tampa finished with 23 shots, six on goal, while Barry managed 14 shots and seven on goal.

For Thompson, the two goals allowed were just his 13th and 14th allowed of the year while also marking 74 saves to date.

Pascal Milien, National Player of the Year candidate, had a few good looks tallying six shots total in the match, but was unable to add to his team leading 11 goals.

Lister Warren, tied with Milien for 11 goals, and Greg O'Connor also had good looks for the Spartans. Warren and O’Connor had eight shots total, four of which were on goal.

“We’ll play Barry again,” said Bush. “[Our guys] will get a chance to redeem themselves against the team that just beat them on our home field on Friday night.”

The Division II selections for the Regional Tournament were released Monday, Nov. 10.

Tampa was paired against Lynn.

Coach Bush felt that Tampa lacked emotion through much of

the game until their backs were against the wall late. “If they wanna play with emotion, then we’ll have a pretty successful postseason,” he said. “If they don’t, we’ll See “Regionals” [19]

No. 22 W. Basketball

Swimming

No. 7 Volleyball

vs. Lynn at Rollins (NCAA South Regional)

Nov. 17 @ 7 p.m. at Palm Beach Atlantic

Nov. 13 @ 3:30 p.m. vs. Florida A&M

Nov. 14 @ 4 p.m. at Barry

>>> After defeating Nova Southeastern 3-0 in the SSC semifinals Tampa fell to the Barry Bucaneers 2-0 in the tournament championship. UT dropped two spots to No. 10 in the ranks.

>>> Coming off a 26-6 (12-4) season the women’s basketball team is ranked 22nd and is the conference favorite. UT’s season ended in the NCAA South Regional Tournament last year.

>>> Both the men’s and women’s swim teams fell to Indian River on Nov. 6. Tampa will host the Division I opponent of Florida A&M as each hope to get back in the win column.

>>> The Tampa volleyball team improved to 27-2 with a win over Eckerd. UT also jumped up a spot to No. 7 in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 poll.

Nov. 13 @ 4:30 p.m.