03.23.2012

03.23.12 reportermag.com

Battle of the P A G E Book Buying Alternatives

16

The Future of the Textbook Industry

RED ALERT EDITOR IN CHIEF Alex Rogala | eic@reportermag.com MANAGING EDITOR Brendan Cahill | managing.editor@reportermag.com COPY EDITOR Nathaniel Mathews | copy.editor@reportermag.com NEWS EDITOR Vasia Ivanov | news@reportermag.com LEISURE EDITOR Evan Williams | leisure@reportermag.com FEATURES EDITOR Brendan Cahill | features@reportermag.com SPORTS EDITOR Jeff McKinzie | sports@reportermag.com VIEWS EDITOR Brett Slabaugh | views@reportermag.com WRITERS Celine Anderson, Kayla Emerson, Nilan Lovelace, Peter LoVerso, Steven Markowitz, Brett Slabaugh, Adam Watts

ART ART DIRECTOR Bradley Patrie | art.director@reportermag.com SENIOR STAFF DESIGNER Lauren Bolger STAFF DESIGNERS Emily Levine, Jon Lavalley PHOTO EDITOR Juan Madrid | photo@reportermag.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Griffin Moores, Harry Yatkowitz, Joshua Barber, Rob Shook STAFF ILLUSTRATOR Jai Kamat CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Amber Gartung, Adrian Yablin, Zac Retz

BUSINESS PUBLICITY MANAGER Anna Hazelwood AD MANAGER Julia Morrow | ads@reportermag.com BUSINESS MANAGER Lia Hoffmann | business.manager@reportermag.com PRODUCTION MANAGER Nicholas Gawreluk | production.manager@reportermag.com

Congratulations on surviving the great umbrella scare of 2012.

While it may have been a false alarm, I’m pleasantly surprised with the way the Institute responded.

And while some of the jokes that have spread across campus are admittedly quite amusing — seeing President Destler use the word “samurai” in official RIT correspondence remains a personal highlight for me — I’m less than thrilled with how some of my fellow students have reacted.

In the lockdown’s aftermath, I heard a small, but nonetheless surprising number of students complaining about RIT Alert, the Institute’s Emergency Mass Notification system. Yes, the alerts woke you up. At 8 a.m. Here’s my advice: Stop complaining, deal with it and move on.

In my eyes, the Institute’s handling of last week’s incident was certainly an improvement over my previous experience with the RIT Alert system. During a similar occurrence on March 17, 2010, I remember being profoundly confused when I received an all-clear message before the alert itself.

Instead of being barricaded up in my dorm room during the incident, I had been down in the tunnels doing laundry. By comparison, while I got several repeat messages this time, that’s perfectly fine by me.

Alert systems are supposed to be big, loud and annoying. That’s how they work, and RIT’s did just that. Any attempt to make the system convenient would have essentially declawed it, stripping it bare of its primary operative. In the case that something had gone wrong, I doubt anyone would have considered the school’s response last week an overreaction.

Take the Virginia Tech massacre, for example. Even after a double-murder early Monday, April 17, 2007, the school failed to notify students, faculty and staff until after a second round of shootings had began. The massacre wound up being one of the deadliest in U.S. history, with 32 victims.

Multiple court cases have been based around Virginia Tech’s lack of action. Last week, only two days before the incident at RIT, the college was once again held responsible in the deaths of two more victims. These families argued that, had there been a proper warning, their daughters would have never gone to the Blacksburg, Va. campus that day. A jury ruled in their favor, and they were awarded $4 million each.

In this case, RIT reacted admirably. A Regional Transportation System (RTS) bus driver, sensing a potential threat, made the reasonable decision to report it. In a post-9/11, post-Columbine world, we have to take precautions. As long as it doesn’t become a regular occurrence or descend into profiling and finger-pointing, the occasional false alarm is an inconvenience I’m willing to bear.

So indeed, I don’t feel any sympathy for your disrupted sleep. If anything, the only person I feel sorry for is our unfortunate, raingear-equipped suspect. If you’re reading, I’ve got a message for you: Keep your chin up, and don’t let anyone get to you.

That isn’t to say I’m gushing with praise for RIT Alert, either. I understand the system isn’t perfect — I would never try suggesting otherwise. While relatively minimal, misinformation did spread online. Some slept through the message; others ignored it.

I’d urge the administration not to take this valuable information in stride. In fact, this should renew your vigor to improve the system. Yes, it works, but it’s not functioning at 100 percent. Through a rather odd situation, you’ve been handed the data from a full-capacity test run. All the system’s strengths and flaws are right in your lap. Use them to your advantage.

ONLINE PRODUCTION MANAGER Jake DeBoer | webmaster@reportermag.com

Alex Rogala EDITOR IN CHIEF

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Reporter Magazine is published weekly during the academic year by a staff comprised of students at Rochester Institute of Technology. Business, Editorial and Design facilities are located in Room A-730, in the lower level of the Campus Center. Our phone number is 1.585.475.2212. The Advertising Department can be reached at 1.585.475.2213. The opinions expressed in Reporter do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute. When all the phones in my apartment began ringing, my first concern was that “The Lawnmower Man” was coming true. And if you haven’t seen that movie, watch it. Letters to the Editor may also be sent to reporter@rit.edu. Reporter is not responsible for materials presented in advertising areas. No letters will be printed unless signed. All letters received become the property of Reporter. Reporter takes pride in its membership in the Associated Collegiate Press and American Civil Liberties Union. Copyright © 2011 Reporter Magazine. All rights reserved. No portion of this Magazine may be reproduced without prior written permission.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

03.23.12 | VOLUME 61 | ISSUE 22

First year student Liz Prater sits next to a friend, Sean Pagano, after locking the dorm room door following multiple text and voicemail alerts from RIT Alert, the Institute’s Emergency Mass Notification system Friday, March 16. | photograph by Griffin Moores NEWS

4. News Desk

14. From Techmen to Tigers

LEISURE

FEATURES

7. At Your Leisure

16. The Battle of Book Buying Alternatives

9. Reviews

18. Your World, Delivered

Lost da Vinci Mural Discovered.

The coming of RITchie.

25. Repeating History

RIT Men lose in Atlantic Hockey championship.

VIEWS

An old friend returns.

Not your daddy’s “Mass Effect.”

11. An Evening with Charles Burns Wining and dining a classic cartoonist.

13. A Woman’s Guide to Manscaping Clean up that hair!

The future of the textbook industry.

Where online sales have been — and where they’re going.

SPORTS

22. Making History

RIT Women win national championship.

26. Women on the Street

How do you like your men?

29. Genre-Locked

Is the future of entertainment a one-way ticket to miasma-town?

30. Rings

RIT advertising aggravates an avid arguer.

cover illustration by Jai Kamat

3

BEYOND THE BRICKS

by Steven Markowitz | illustraions by Amber Gartung

RESEARCHERS DISCOVER POSSIBLE LOST DA VINCI MURAL On Sunday, March 18, scientists discovered possible evidence of a Leonardo da Vinci mural lost since the 16th century behind a fresco painted by another artist in Florence, Italy.

The mural, entitled “The Battle of Anghiari,” was painted in 1503 on a wall in the Hall of the 500 in the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of the Florentine government. Fifty years later, the piece was lost in a restoration project.

Art researchers theorize that Giorgio Vasari painted his mural “The Battle of Marciano” on a brick wall commissioned over da Vinci’s original plaster wall to protect the original work. The scientists drilled six holes through Vasari’s work and collected samples from the painting. When analyzing the samples, they matched some pigments to da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.”

“These data are very encouraging,” said Professor Maurizio Seracini, who is working with National Geographic to determine the mural’s origin.

OBAMA ANNOUNCES ILLEGAL TRADE CASE AGAINST CHINA

President Obama announced Tuesday, March 13, that the U.S., the European Union and Japan are filing a case with the World Trade Organization against China’s export restrictions on rare materials used in many high-tech devices.

Today, China produces 97 percent of all rare earth metals that are used in products including flat-screen televisions, smart phones, cars, hybrid car batteries, petroleum, wind turbines and energy efficient lighting.

“We want our companies building those products right here in America. But to do that, American manufacturers need to have access to rare earth materials which China supplies,” said Obama.

Representatives of China said the country’s restrictions are due to environmental concerns. Xinhua, a state-run Chinese news agency, argued that it is “rash and unfair” for the U.S. to file the lawsuit, since it could hurt economic relations between the two largest manufacturers and economies in the world.

SG UPDATE: 3.16.12

by Nilan Lovelace

ATHLETE EARLY REGISTRATION PROPOSED During the March 16 Student Government (SG) meeting, a proposal to allow early course registration was brought to the council. Originally turned down in 2008, the issue has resurfaced due to RIT’s recent success and increasing rank in athletics, such as the Women’s Hockey Team’s elevation to Division I ranking. The proposal would allow athletes to register a day before their grouped year status — much like crossregistered and honors students — for quarters coinciding with their athletic seasons. Issues of registration fairness and implementation after the semester conversion are under discussion. Whether the proposal passes, as well as further discussion on the matter, is pending.

4 News | 03.23.12

US ARMY SERGEANT ACCUSED OF KILLING AFGHAN CIVILIANS On Sunday, March 11, U.S. Staff Army Sergeant Robert Bales was accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in a house-to-house shooting in two villages.

Bales acted alone and turned himself in after the shooting. In an interview with CNN, an anonymous U.S. official said Bales is in his mid30s and has served several tours in Iraq, although this was his first tour in Afghanistan. He is currently detained in U.S. custody. Investigators are working to determine his motives and have been examining his medical history and mental stability.

Bales was stationed at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a military base in Washington state. The base has a troubled history with violence; In 2010, four soldiers from the base were convicted of killing Afghan civilians as part of a kill squad. That year, three other soldiers suffered mental breakdowns, and two of them were shot to death by police, according to the Stars and Stripes military newspaper.

“This was not just a rogue soldier, [the military base is] a rogue base, with severe leadership problems,” said Jorge Gonzalez, executive director of G.I. Voice, a veteran non-profit organization.

Three days later, militants riding motorcycles opened fire on high-level Afghan government members during a memorial service for the victim, killing at least one Afghan soldier. A reporter for the New York Times reports 20 minutes of heavy gunfire that pinned down delegates at the service.

President Obama has ordered a full investigation into the shootings.

“The United States takes this as seriously as if it were our own citizens and our own children who were murdered,” said Obama.

In the shooting’s wake, some of Obama’s allies are suggesting that the withdrawal process ­­— currently scheduled for 2014 ­— be accelerated.

COMMUNITY UPDATES ANNOUNCED SG Vice President Phil Amsler announced that the recent redefinition of “family” in the Henrietta town code is unenforceable as it currently stands. Though the law may hold authority in the near future, there is no legal way in which the amount of unrelated persons living in a single household can be verified at this time. However, Amsler warned that signing multi-annual leases could bring bad news, pending proper verification methods.

SG ELECTIONS BEGIN SG elections are underway for the 2012-2013 academic year. Available positions include president, vice president, college senators, crossregistered senator, women’s senator, graduate senator and Greek senator.

All candidate packets are due by March 30.

FORECAST compiled by Peter LoVerso FRIDAY

23 SATURDAY

24 SUNDAY

25 BRICK BEAT by Peter LoVerso

UMBRELLA ON CAMPUS, THOUSANDS PANIC RIT students got a sudden awakening at approximately 8:20 a.m. Friday, March 16, when RIT Alert, the campus Emergency Mass Notification system, sent text messages and phone calls to students and parents who had subscribed to the service. The message read simply: “Shelter in Place. Person allegedly with a rifle spotted outside Kate Gleason Hall.”

This message was repeated once, and at approximately 8:44 a.m., more information and a warning to stay inside was issued: “Shelter in place — STAY indoors. Lock or barricade doors. Nathaniel Rochester Hall or Kate Gleason Hall residents.”

The Monroe County Sheriff ’s Office was called in for an emergency investigation. According to an RIT University News press release, the lockdown was initiated after a Regional Transit Service (RTS) bus driver spotted a white male carrying a duffel bag with what appeared to be the stock of a rifle protruding.

RIT Public Safety took steps to secure residential halls and academic buildings, locking doors and standing near entrances, while Monroe County sheriffs searched for the person. He was found, and the object was determined to be an umbrella with a samurai sword handle. The Monroe County Sheriff ’s Office declared an all clear at 9:15 a.m., and RIT Alert passed the message on to students at approximately 9:27 a.m.

Umbrellas and other objects, such as camera tripods, are often mistaken for firearms on college campuses. A similar situation happened last November at East Carolina University.

RIT students, while on lockdown, discussed the situation actively online on Reddit, Facebook and Twitter.

Nobody was injured, and it was determined that there were no guns or dangerous objects on campus.

MONDAY

26 TUESDAY

27 WEDNESDAY

28 THURSDAY

29

RAINBOW WEEK LOCK-IN

Activity Room, Sol Heumann Hall (SOL, 47). 9 p.m. — 1 a.m.

The RIT Gay Alliance is hosting a lock-in to celebrate the end of Rainbow Week. Join in for a night of games, light refreshments and socializing!

Cost: Free

ROC CITY ROLLER DERBY PRESENTS “LUCKY HARMS” Gordon Field House. 7 — 10 p.m.

Rochester’s first all-female, flat track roller derby league will be holding a bout with the Ithaca Suffer Jets, for advancement in the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.

Cost: Students: $8, Others: varies by seat.

STREET MACHINES OF ROCHESTER’S MOTOR MANIA

Monroe County Fair and Expo Center, 2695 East Henrietta Road, Henrietta. 10 a.m. — 4 p.m.

Rochester’s most active car club is holding a car show this Sunday, and all are welcome!

Cost: $10.

ALPHA PHI OMEGA’S SHANTY TOWN Tiger Statue. All day.

To raise awareness and funds for local homelessness, community service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega will be building and occupying a shantytown built around the tiger statue.

Cost: Free, but donations are appreciated.

CONABLE GLOBAL FILM SERIES: “EVEN THE RAIN” Golisano Auditorium, Golisano Hall (GOL, 70). 6:30 — 9:30 p.m.

Dr. Sara Armengot will be hosting the Spanish film “Even the Rain” as a part of the Conable Global Film Series.

Refreshments will be served.

Cost: Free.

OASIS UTSAV: AN INDIAN CARNIVAL The Fireside Lounge, Campus Center. 11 a.m. — 5 p.m.

OASIS is hosting a carnival to help you learn more about the Indian subcontinent! There will be food, games and free giveaways.

Cost: Free.

CAB THURSDAY NIGHT CINEMA PRESENTS: “AMERICAN GANGSTER” Ingle Auditorium, Student Alumni Union. 10 p.m. — midnight.

This Oscar-nominated film tells the thrilling tale of gangster Frank Lucas’ heroin empire, and of the detective working to tear it apart.

Cost: Free.

5

2

GREEK PROGRAMMING BOARD 1

6 News | 03.23.12

4

AYL {at your leisure} reporter recommends starting a cover band Let’s face facts. Art is hard. Being forced to constantly bare your soul for someone else’s entertainment and validation is exhausting. Then there’s the whole issue of making enough money to move out of your mother’s basement. Then there’s trying to come up with a unique sound.

But originality is overrated. Honestly, whatever kind of music you try and make will sound like something that’s already been done, so why bother?

With ticket prices going through the roof these days, there’s a real niche out there for people who are too cheap/poor to pay $80 to see the Foo Fighters. This is where you come in. Round up whichever of your friends made it through marching band with you, buy some pawned instruments and Google a few dozen guitar tabs. Start with weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, then move on to house parties and strip clubs.

Before you know it, you’ll be swimming in offers to tour with other pretend bands.

Just fake it ‘til you make it. And then keep on faking it.

haiku

One does not simply Mistake a black umbrella For a brown rifle.

overseen & overheard

“Listen pal, you’re one abortion away from not being here today!”

first world problems

My Celtic doom metal jazz trio McMiles

quote

stream of facts

“Do not let a flattering woman coax and wheedle you and deceive you; she is after your barn.”

– Hesiod, Greek poet

word of the week Ultion n. – The act of seeking vengeance or revenge.

After coming up 0.2 points short of making the Dean’s List, the outraged graduate student began planning his ultion.

–Kid outside of Perkins Green

Davis and the Glory of Satan got rejected from South by Southwest for the fifth year in a row. What does A$AP Rocky have that we don’t?

Saudi Arabian baboons sometimes kidnap feral puppies and raise them as pets. The two form a symbiotic relationship, and the dogs protect the baboons from THREATS. The THREATS of the harmful gasses coming off of a comet once seemed so real that in 1910 some unscrupulous businessmen sold “anti-comet pills” to ward off the negative effects of Haley’s Comet. There is, of course, no health RISK associated with passing meteors.

The RISK of a robot apocalypse has been around longer than some might expect. In 1981, a factory worker in Japan was killed by a robot he was building when its arm malfunctioned and pushed him into a nearby grinding MACHINE. The transportation MACHINE most often overlooked in terms of its pollution output is the ship. The 15 largest ships on the sea produce as much sulfur oxide pollution as all of the cars on Earth combined.

by Evan Williams

7

reviews 03.23.12

“Mass Effect 3” by Bioware Game | Action RPG | $59.99

by Brett Slabaugh

What would you do if the fate of the galaxy rested on your shoulders? It’s a pretty cliché question, but most games don’t actually let you choose the answer for yourself. Fortunately, “Mass Effect 3” isn’t most games. In the conclusion to Bioware’s epic sci-fi trilogy, it’s up to you to save the galaxy, and your decisions determine how you will do it.

The game picks up several months after the end of “Mass Effect 2.” An ancient race of sentient machines called Reapers are waging war on all organic life — and winning. Barely escaping Earth before it falls, Commander Shepard must unite the desperate factions of galactic civilization and muster an army capable of stopping the Reaper menace. The overarching plot won’t win any points for originality, but the unique twists of the Mass Effect universe keep every moment interesting. Shepard’s decisions throughout the game have a radical impact on the composition of the final army at your disposal, and many choices will change the fates of entire species of alien life. This being the series’ end, “Mass Effect 3” isn’t afraid to seriously shake things up: If you’re a long-time fan of the franchise, be prepared to make some tough calls.

That being said, this is not your daddy’s “Mass Effect.” Combat has seen some overhauls, and is much more engaging and visceral than previous games. The writing, unfortunately, isn’t quite up to par. While some scenes will certainly be among the most memorable of this gaming generation, many have disappointingly little opportunity for player input. Other areas, such as visuals and animation, are lacking the polish we’ve come to expect from Bioware.

Despite these flaws, gameplay is relentlessly satisfying. The addition of a surprisingly entertaining cooperative multiplayer mode greatly increases the game’s longevity as well. It’s a solid game by its own right, and if you’ve been following Commander Shepard since the first “Mass Effect,” it’d be a crime not to see his quest to its finale.

For fans of: “Dragon Age,” “Gears of War,” “Alpha Protocol”

“Sounds from Nowheresville” (Deluxe Edition)

by The Ting Tings Album | Indie Rock | 72:28

by Nilan Lovelace

DIG IT!

It’s been nearly four long years since Katie White of the Ting Tings made it clear that her name’s not “Stacey,” “girl,” “ her,” or “Jane” when the hit song, “That’s Not My Name” was released as part of their debut album, “We Started Nothing.” The indie-pop album also featured hits such as “Shut Up and Let Me Go” and “Great DJ.” Even though a four year gap between albums is long for some artists, the Ting Tings never seemed like they sat in the background, as three of their debut singles continue to be featured in mainstream commercials and shows to this day.

Bringing in the spring season with a bang, “Sounds from Nowheresville” was released in the U.S. in mid-March. For all of the fans of the Ting Tings’ unusual style and vintage sound, “Sounds from Nowheresville” is just what you’d expect to hear as a sophomore album. With heavy influence from British legends the Beatles, and a peculiar style all-their-own, the Ting Tings pull away from the indie-pop beats they were known for. While a few of the albums’ original 10 tracks that will probably make you think of a night club’s flashing strobe lights, most of the album is tinged with a very subtle yet vibrant 1960s, Woodstock feel that would probably encourage many art students to finally ignite riots across campus, especially “Guggenheim.”

The main reasons the deluxe version of the album tops the original: nearly twice as many songs and countless brilliantly produced remixes. One thing to keep in mind is if “Hang It Up” doesn’t tickle your fancy, you may not enjoy that the song is featured five different times on the deluxe album. However, the additions of songs such as “Hands” and “Ain’t Got Shit” are well worth it.

For fans of: The Beatles, Lana Del Rey, Lily Allen.

DIG IT! 9

1 Project Sem

a student designed first-year program

Needed: Smart,Wacky, Brilliant, Ideas Help influence the freshman program of the future. Participate in a focus group! Your ideas will directly contribute to shaping RIT始s transition experience for first-year students starting in the fall semester 2013.

Student Focus Groups March 26 March 29 March 30 April 3 April 4

Gleason A055 A650 Campus Center 1000 Campus Center 1100 Innovation Center 2740 Campus Center

5:30pm 2:30pm 12:00pm 6:30pm 4:30pm

Pizza, pop, and cookies provided To register for a focus group go to our Wiki

https://wiki.rit.edu/display/sem1project/Home For more information @RITSem1 www.facebook.com/Sem1ProjectAtRit 10 Leisure | 03.16.12 01.20.12

An Evening With

CHARLES

BURNS

by Evan Williams | photograph by Harry Yatkowitz The plates of calamari circled the table, passing hand to hand between the members of the Caroline Werner Gannett Project, a long running program that brings world renowned scholars in the arts, sciences and technologies to speak at RIT. I took what I considered to be a polite amount of the perfectly browned squid and kept the plate moving. The group of 10 was seated in a back corner of the Lento, a favorite spot for off-the-clock professors and administrators. I felt like a child spending his first Thanksgiving at the grown-ups’ table.

The chair to my right was empty, reserved for the man of the evening.

Cartoonist and graphic novelist Charles Burns’ award-winning work is as stark and unmistakable as they come. Over the course of the past four decades, Burns has risen to prominence for his dark narratives and unique illustrative style.

Burns arrived not much later, after spending the day doing radio interviews and touring Rochester. He was polite, but quiet. The small talk progressed, and as the Riesling and Pinot flowed, things became more and more relaxed. Burns himself abstained from drinking, as he said he generally did before giving a talk. Event organizer Mary Lyn Broe and Dr. Gary Skuse from the Biological Sciences department took great pleasure in explaining to Burns the concept of Rochester’s most important culinary contribution. “And it’s called a garbage plate?” He didn’t seem quite sold.

Eventually the conversation turned to music. Burns plays a Fender Strat, but says he prefers to keep his playing to himself. “It’s something I do for myself,” he explains. “If I’m ever playing and daughter walks in, I stop,” he adds with a smile. Burns and Dr. Skuse exchanged stories of odd instrument collectors, from Burns’ friend that takes great pride in his collection of cheap guitars, to Dr. Skuse explaining Dr. Destler’s massive stash of banjos.

Dinner wrapped up, and the group migrated back to campus for Burns’ packed talk in Webb Auditorium. Up on stage, Burns seemed as relaxed and open as I’d seen him all night, delving into explanations of his creative process and influences. He told tales of seeing eerie pictures in National Geographic and being unnerved by the “Clutch Cargo” animated series from his childhood. “I really internalized some of those images,” he said.

When talking about his masterwork “Black Hole,” he provided some interesting insight into the dark tale. “There have been times when I was self-censoring,” he explained. “With ‘Black Hole’ I made the effort not to do that.” His writing process sometimes becomes personal. “You reveal a little bit more about yourself than you’re comfortable with. That’s what I tried to do.” He told his father, whose own illustrations were a huge influence on him, “I think the subject of my comics is kind of bothersome. I’m not going to give it to you because that means I condone you reading it.” He added with a grin, “Just don’t let my mom read it.”

The talk ended with a handful of curious audience members’ questions unanswered and the line for autographs outside bent around the corner and down the hallway. Burns’ popularity could not be overstated. He signed every book and comic presented, and even drew quick sketches for those with notepads. As the last one in line, I handed him my copy of “Black Hole” and we chatted for a few minutes about his time in town. He joked about a raving anime fan calling into his radio show and expressed his appreciation for RIT’s vast marshlands. He felt good about the night’s speech. “Everyone I talked to said they enjoyed it, but they could have been lying,” he joked.

My evening with Charles Burns introduced me to a private genius, who loves Philly cheesesteaks and craft beer. Several people that night mentioned their surprise at how “normal” he was, as if they expected him to have horns like a character in one of his books. He might not be the eccentric artist people expect him to be, but he’s definitely a guy worth having a chat with.

Editor’s Note: Mary Lyn Broe currently sits on a board of RIT administrators and faculty that oversees REPORTER.

11

NAILS

A Woman’s Guide

to Manscaping

by Celine Anderson | illustration by Adrian Yablin

When it comes to manscaping, sometimes a woman’s opinion may just be better than a man’s. After all, women have been plucking and waxing everything from their faces to their bikini lines for what seems like forever.

There’s no shame in manscaping! I highly approve of it.

Men should be trimming everything. Yes, everything; from the hair on your head to the hair “down under.”

If you ask most girls, a guy’s nails should be cut, and most importantly clean. Dirty nails give the impression that you have bad hygiene and don’t take care of yourself. Trust me, no guy or girl wants to cuddle with someone who has nails like a vulture; I’ll be damned if a guy I’m with has longer nails than I do. To keep nails in pristine condition, there is no shame in a mani-pedi. Many guys get them, and why shouldn’t they? It’s quick and easy up-keep and it strengthens yours nails, not to mention how happy it will make your girlfriend.

EYEBROWS Remember that first thing people look at is your face. One of the most important and often overlooked areas is the eyebrows. The last thing you want them to see is what looks like two caterpillars taking refuge on your face. Eyebrows should be trimmed of any stray hairs, but not sculpted to the point where it looks they have been drawn on. Trimming them neatly and tweezing around the edges to get rid of strays should do the trick. Oh, and another thing — there should be two. If there are not, then run out and get a wax immediately.

CHEST HAIR Chest hair isn’t an all or nothing thing. There’s no problem with rocking what you’ve got. Just make sure it doesn’t get out of hand, or you’ll end up looking like Austin Powers. Chest hair should be trimmed, but natural looking.

Trimming your chest hair will make you look cleaner and send the message that you care about personal grooming.

The same rules apply for underarm and facial hair.

PUBIC HAIR The recent practice of trimming and shaving pubic hair is a trend of whic I highly approve. Having a little pubic hair is perfectly fine, but if it’s so overgrown down there that your partner needs Google maps, then it’s probably time to get out the weed whacker. While I am all for cleaning it up down there, shaving might be a bit riskier than most guys are willing to accept. Your best bet is to use a trimmer. With trimming you are less likely to get razor bumps, ingrown hairs or cuts. Trust me, getting nicks and cuts on your legs and underarms are bad enough; do you really want one on your manhood?

Keeping your pubic hairs trimmed will keep them clean, healthy, odor free and less likely to get infections. Another alternative is waxing, which for many can conjure up images of Steve Carrell in “The 40 Year Old Virgin.” However, it isn’t as bad as you think. The process is fairly simple, and while you do feel pain, it will only last a few seconds. Trust me — a little pain goes a long way. Follow these guidelines, and remember: “Trimming the hedges makes the house looks bigger.”

13

by Nilan Lovelace | photographs courtesy of Becky Simmons/RIT Archives

Pretend it’s 1955, and you’re at RIT. Imagine sitting in the stands during the last game of the basketball season. There are only seconds left on the clock, and the last play is being made. Then, the final buzzer blares. Everyone jumps out of their seats as it finally sets in that RIT has won the game and the RIT Techmen have gone undefeated for the season. You’re proud to be a Blue Grey as the team rightfully takes its spot as number one.

Given RIT’s 183 year history, its tiger mascot is fairly new. It was because of RIT’s vicious winning streak in 1955 that Harry Watts, thenhead of the RIT News Bureau, coined the nickname “RIT Tigers.” The new nickname became so popular that first year Photography major David Page was given the first faux fur tiger suit in 1962 — a costume that would eventually evolve into RITchie, the mascot we know today.

Just one year after Page began wearing his tiger suit, students convinced Student Senate to pay $1,000 to purchase a living Bengal tiger to represent the school. To repay the senate, four brothers from community service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega (APO) came together as the Tiger Committee to sell $1 stocks called “Tiger Shares” to students and faculty.

The committee sold more than 300 shares in one week, setting a spirited tone for the arrival of a two-month-old, 40 pound Bengal cub, originally called “Tora” and the “Flying Tiger.” After an Institute-wide contest, Tora was soon named SpiRIT, which stood for “Student pride in RIT.” As time went on and SpiRIT became more popular, so did the man in the tiger suit.

As the RIT Tiger, Page was much more than just a mascot: A November 8, 1963 issue of Reporter referred to him as “the human stand in” for SpiRIT. After the cub died at 14 months old — the victim of a genetic disorder — that’s exactly what Paige became. The RIT Tiger was known for much more than choreographed dances, cheers and jeers. In fact, most of the time, he appeared maskless, allowing the crowd to see the man underneath the small, sweaty Bengal head. He entertained, interacted

with the fans and even handled a cage holding the rambunctious cub. When Page graduated in 1966, the RIT Tiger was passed down through the fraternity over the next few years. However, the Tiger began to appear less and less. Soon, he just seemed to disappear.

By the time the Tiger returned to action, not much about the suit had changed. In 1979, the suit still seemed to be covered in the same fake fur covering it had been.

Over the next decade, it underwent a few changes. It no longer had the realistic tiger features it once did. By 1989, the Tiger had changed drastically. Though it became more animated in appearance, the suit added paws, whiskers, more accurately spaced black stripes, and a detailed tiger mask that never came off.

It wasn’t until 2005, when the Men’s Hockey team advanced from Division III to Division I, that the RIT Tiger became known as RITchie. The suit changed, again, to a more cartoonish tiger, though the family resemblance to its 1989 counterpart, now called Grandpa RITchie, shines through.

Nowadays, you can find RITchie almost anywhere; a hockey game, ImagineRIT, orientation and even on the quarter mile.

Chances are if anything happens at the Institute, RITchie will be there honoring our little Bengal cub by inspiring student pride in RIT.

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6 News | 03.23.12

Battle of the

Book Buying Alternatives The Future of the Textbook Industry

by Peter LoVerso | illustration by Jai Kamat

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t first glance, it may seem that each new quarter at RIT promises hundreds of dollars in inevitable textbook fees. A quick glance across the Barnes & Noble website linked from SIS will confirm this, and according to Jonathan Simkin, the owner of book price comparison site SwoopThat, the average student will pay nearly $250 per quarter in literary and reference materials.

These costs are only increasing; Simkin also states that for the past few years, textbook prices have been increasing at twice the average rate of inflation. However, as textbook pricing becomes more and more prohibitive, students are flocking in droves to alternatives, such as rentals, used textbooks and e-books.

Searching and sifting through hundreds of options on tens of websites, however, can become an enormous undertaking, to the point where students may simply give up on searching for a lower-priced book due to the sheer amount of effort it often takes to ensure the best deals. As a result, a number of websites have been springing up from RIT students and from Student Government (SG), in an attempt to make the textbook buying process as easy as possible.

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Campus Bookstores versus Online Retailers Barnes and Noble @ RIT is the official campus bookstore, and its textbook lists are directly integrated with students’ schedules. However, comparatively exorbitant prices can cause students to search for books elsewhere, although many RIT-specific books written by professors can only be found here.

Many people often accuse bookstores of price-gouging and attempting to wring more money from students; but the truth is, college bookstores don’t make much money from textbooks. According to the National Association of College Stores, the average profit margin on textbooks in these stores is about four percent, which is incredibly low for a retail product. Usually, more than 77 percent of the book’s price goes directly back to the publisher, where it pays for things like paper and printing (32 percent), marketing costs (15 percent) and income for the author (about 11 percent).

Physical book stores have a lot of overhead costs, such as personnel to assist shoppers and the cost to maintain a physical retail location, that online sellers just don’t have to deal with.

Physical bookstores will often buy back used books at a tiny fraction of what was originally paid for them, and then offer those used books back to students at a large markup.

Rentals are also available, albeit at a similarly higher price compared to online offerings. In all, a physical on-campus bookstore is guaranteed to have the books you need and the staff to help you find them; just expect to pay a bit extra for the service you receive.

An online retailer is generally less expensive, but prices vary wildly among different retailers. In response to this, two websites catering specifically to RIT students have emerged: Books for Tigers (http://booksfortigers.com) and SwoopThat (http://swoopthat.com/rit). Both websites are integrated with RIT’s course list, allowing a student to search a course number on SwoopThat, or a class name on Books for Tigers.

The websites will then return a list of the textbooks required for that class, and a list of websites and prices for that book.

Both websites will also allow you to sell textbooks and list buyback prices for different book-buying websites.

Books for Tigers is built and maintained by Derek Hansen, a fourth year Computer Science major. Hansen built the site during his free time while on co-op, often working more than 50 hours per week. He launched his site a few days after SG announced a partnership with SwoopThat, unaware that this was in the works. Comparing his website to his competitor’s, Hansen touts what he considers a superior user interface, including the ability to auto-complete course names. “Ease

18 Features | 03.23.12

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of use was really important to me as I designed the site; the auto-complete is a good example of that,” he says. “For example, if you’re taking Financial Accounting, you just need to type in ‘Fin’, and the course will pop up…” The website is not entirely finished. In the future Hansen will be adding support for e-books and begin taking other suggestions from the RIT community. However, the website currently only

“Comparing his website to his competitor, Hansen points at what he feels is a superior user interface, which includes the ability to auto complete course names.” returns the six cheapest results for each book, which makes it difficult to buy all textbooks at a single seller.

SwoopThat is a website owned by HubEdu, a Californiabased startup run by Simkin, who created the site after graduating from Harvey Mudd University. SwoopThat partners with a number of college campuses around the country, and has formed a partnership with SG to help students find their textbooks. The site allows you to select your course numbers, organized by college, and search for all textbooks at once. Results for each website with results will be shown including projected shipping costs, and, if available, one can choose to automatically purchase all their books from a single website.

In an interview, Simkin stated that he developed the idea for the website after looking at the current publishing industry and realizing that it was an inefficient business model which could be improved upon. He wanted to work together with bookstores, schools and students to lower costs for all three, a task the website does extraordinarily well. The company also shares a commission from each sale with the partner school, helping to fund RIT with each purchase — money that comes from the company’s profits, and does not impact the price the student pays in any way. The website searches for all sorts of books, including e-textbooks, and will return all results found, making it easy to consolidate all of your textbook shopping into just a couple of clicks, and one shipping cost.

However, the website is not integrated with the RIT Barnes & Noble, and will not return results for books which are on its RIT-specific website.

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Purchasing Books from other Students Another excellent way to save money is to purchase textbooks directly from students who already own the book, cutting out middle-men and saving on shipping costs. An excellent option if available, this is limited by the difficulty of communicating with large numbers of students, making it difficult to find somebody with the textbook you may be looking for. Students will occasionally organize threads on social websites such as Reddit to find their books, often meeting limited success.

To address this problem is another website, BookMaid (http:// bookmaid.com). Originally founded in 2007 as RITBook.com, the website allows RIT students to post their books, and puts prospective buyers in touch with sellers. Creator Dan Leveille, a 2010 New Media Interactive Development major, says students purchasing from other students often find far better prices than from any online seller.

As of press time, neither Books for Tigers or SwoopThat has ability to do this. SwoopThat advertises the ability to personally sell books to students like this, but any link to the service on the website returns an error. BooksForTigers currently is looking to integrate their metasearch function directly into BookMaid, to return BookMaid results with each search.

Physical Books or E-books?

One major questions students need to ask themselves when purchasing textbooks is whether they want a physical or digital version of the book. Digital textbooks are often cheaper than a physical version, but come with a number of downsides. They are unable to be legally resold and may come with Digital Rights Management (DRM), which could cause them to become inaccessible under certain circumstances.

Currently, only about three percent of textbooks are sold in a digital format. Leveille feels a lot of the resistance to e-books is a mental barrier. “A lot of people argue that they like to have a physical copy of the book,” he says. “ Also, I think people still have trouble rationalizing spending a lot of money on a digital file.” However, he points to products such as the iPad and Kindle as helping to educate people about the

“A lot of people argue that they like to have a physical copy of the book,” says Leveille.

“Also, I think people still have trouble rationalizing spending a lot of money on a digital file.”

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benefits of e-books and increasing their popularity. E-books also have a number of useful features, such as the ability to search for keywords in pages, and their extreme portability compared to physical books.

E-books face a few challenges within the industry, as well.

Publishers are worried about piracy of e-books by tech-savvy students who are unwilling to pay large amounts of money for content, and often will put heavy DRM on their files, which limits the number of customers willing to pay for locked content. As e-books grow in popularity, they will face heavier restrictions until a more popular compromise is found.

Renting and Lending Another cost-cutting solution is to merely rent or borrow the textbooks, which trades price for transience. A number of textbook-lending services will rent books for the length of a quarter or semester for a greatly reduced price, but will require you to give up the book at the end of this rental period. In addition, libraries will often carry copies of textbooks which they will lend to students for a short period. Another little-known resource is Wallace Library’s vast collection of electronic books, including a number of current textbooks. Wallace will allow students to download DRM-locked PDF textbooks, which will become unopenable after the borrowing period is up. However, students may reborrow the books as frequently as they like. Another online alternative to buying books, Google Books often has scanned copies of textbooks online. It is common for these textbooks to only have small amounts of preview content available for free, but often that preview will sometimes cover most of what is taught in the course.

As they continue to skyrocket, textbook prices are becoming more and more of a problem for students, and the increases show no signs of slowing. Students are starting to need to be more creative in their hunt for books, in order to pay for books and tuition simultaneously. Websites are slowly popping up, made by college-age people familiar with the situation, in an attempt to help curb rising costs by encouraging students to get the best prices possible.

The future is going to be a turbulent time for the textbook industry as e-books surge in popularity and student numbers continue to rise, and students have no choice but to stay abreast of new technology to save the most money.

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the world,

delivered A hundred years ago, the world marveled at how quickly news, people and goods could be moved with the onset of the era of flight. A trip to the store could net you fruit from South America, vegetables from Europe and corn grown at the farm down the road, all in the same place. It was a time of expansion, of changing ideals and methodologies — and, compared to today, it was nothing. Today, I can have the world delivered to my doorstep simply by tapping my fingers on a keyboard. The emergence of the internet as a commercial hub has changed the way we shop, replacing brick and mortar buildings with fiber optics and glowing screens.

by Adam Watts | illustration by Zac Retz

20 Features | 03.23.12

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t took about 20 years for the concept of online shopping to take root. At first the internet was used to help businesses easily order products from each other in bulk, then as a way of checking customers’ credit from inside stores, and finally as a wholesale replacement of the physical shop with the 1995 advent of Amazon. Probably the bestknown, and certainly the largest online store, Amazon almost single-handedly set off a retail revolution in this new internet world.

Though it started as a bookstore, the company quickly diversified into selling everything under the sun. Whatever you need, you can it find on Amazon. This newfound freedom quickly changed the way we shop. I can, right at this moment, go online and order every textbook I might need for the rest of my time at RIT. I can find video games, clothing, music and instruments, all in the same place, and I can have them shipped to me — all without leaving my chair.

This was the first phase of online shopping (or e-commerce, as it’s more commonly called these days), and in many ways it was the most revolutionary. A world that had been shrinking steadily and slowly for centuries suddenly became extremely tiny. Before Amazon, you could buy products from across the world by walking to your nearest store.

In this post-Amazon society, you can do the same without leaving your house, and pay less to do so.

As Amazon provided the online replacement for a physical shop, so Craigslist replaced the classifieds. This is a different type of commerce,

revolution in the same vein, creating a virtual auction house where anyone could sell whatever they wanted to anyone in the world. eBay’s flaw was that after the initial exited rush died down, it turned out that very few people really wanted to enter auctions for the things they bought. People got smarter about both shopping and selling, and as a result the price range narrowed back down to standard market values, with good deals becoming harder to find for buyers and sellers both. Today, eBay is more like a long-distance form of Craigslist than anything else. Yes, the auctions are still there for those who are interested in them, but most of them include a little button labeled “Buy It Now,” a concession to the speed and convenience which makes online shopping so useful in the first place.

The latest incarnation of commerce, and perhaps a glimpse of the future, is found in services like Fetchmob Co-created by Alisa Boguslavskaya and RIT alumnus Chrisson Jno-Charles, Fetchmob opened for business just last year. It isn’t anything like going to a store or buying from a stranger or anything that the other, more usual e-commerce sites have in mind. Instead, you get someone to go to the store for you. You post your shopping job on the site — you need some steak, say — and give a price you’ll pay whoever completes the task for you. You get your steak, someone else gets paid, and you have bought yourself the time it would have taken you to go to the store.

Fetchmob is part of a growing pickup-gig trend that includes other sites such as Zaarly, TaskRabbit and GigWalk, all dedicated to connecting people who are willing to supply a service to people

The existence of Fetchmob and similar sites in the face of the continued prosperity of Amazon and Craigslist raises an important question: What’s coming next? one that developed unintentionally and in the background of Amazon’s glossy commercial success. Craigslist was started in the same year as Amazon, but took longer to reach the same success, due to its start as a hobby for founder, Craig Newmark. He never really intended for Craigslist to be a for-profit company in the way that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos did, and that lack of corporate planning shows in both the services it offers and the design of the site that facilitates those services.

Craigslist is the equivalent of the classified ads in newspapers, on a much, much larger scale. Amazon, while revolutionary, is still a business selling products to a consumer, no different than any brickand-mortar store. Craigslist, on the other hand, simply offers a way for people who want to sell things meet up with people in their area who want to buy them. It is commerce by the consumer, on a scale made possible only by the advent of the internet. Before Craigslist, short of seeing a sign posted in a front lawn, there was very little way to know if anyone in your city wanted to buy your old couch, or if anyone nearby was selling a used car. Just as Amazon changed the way buying retail works, so too did Craigslist change the way we buy used.

The auction site eBay performed a similar, though shorter-lived

who want to buy it. In some cities, they work fairly well, with quick delivery times and generally reliable service. Elsewhere, things break down. The problem with this incarnation of e-commerce is that they have to depend on the kindness and availability of strangers, which doesn’t always work out. For example, to research this article I made an account on Fetchmob, expecting to find shopping gigs from RIT students who didn’t own cars. Instead, I found nothing.

The existence of Fetchmob and similar sites in the face of the continued prosperity of Amazon and Craigslist raises an important question: What’s coming next? The fact that these job gig sites are able to exist side-by-side with more traditional e-commerce indicates that what the future holds might not replace the old ways so much as add to them. PayPal and other digital currencies are already altering the way we think about money, just as Amazon and the rest changed the way we shop. What gets changed next? The economy is becoming more digitized by the day, and the means of getting next year’s textbooks might be an entirely different thing than last year. All we can say for certain is that the world has changed, is changing and will keep changing for years to come.

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MAKING HISTORY

RIT WOMEN WIN FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

by Jeff McKinzie | photographs by Joshua Barber

Revenge is sweet.

When the final buzzer sounded at Ritter Arena on March

17, the RIT women’s hockey team finally avenged last year’s disappointing loss against Norwich University. In this moment, fans in the bleachers triumphantly erupted into roars, players were mobbed by their teammates, and coaches grinned ear-to-ear at the final score for this historical game: 4-1, RIT.

The RIT Women's Hockey Team rushes the goal after the buzzer confirmed the team’s first NCAA National Title win Saturday, March 17, at Ritter Arena. RIT beat Norwich University 4-1 almost a year after Norwich had denied them the title.

A close game for two whole periods, RIT battled through a 1-1 tie to score three goals in the final period and secure their first NCAA Division III National Championship — the third national championship won by any team at RIT. Ranked nationally at number one in Division III for most of the season, the Tigers played like the team that started with a 15 game unbeaten streak. The dynamic team guarded the net well throughout the whole game despite a penaltyplagued start, as both teams were penalized seven times combined in the first period. From the second period on, the Tigers played consistent offense, as they took eight shots

on goal in the first period and then took 12 in each period. In the second period, the Tigers ruled the ice as they dominated on defense, allowing the Cadets to take only four shots on goal.

Both teams put themselves on the board early, with RIT scoring the first goal 9:06 into the game as third year Health Administration student Kristina Moss slapped her shot off a Norwich player and past the Cadets’ goalie Kelly Fisk. The goal, Moss’ seventh this season, helped gain momentum for the next few minutes of play.

That momentum, however, slowed drastically when Norwich’s Jackie Perez fired in a rebound from a shot by teammate Stephanie Invern at the 14:47 mark. RIT Goalie and second year Business Management student Laura Chamberlain made the save, but Perez was still able to sneak her shot by the Tigers’ defense.

RIT struck back 1:23 into the third period, when second year Packaging Science student Kourtney Kunichika made a great pass on a 2-on-1 matchup to first year Environmental Chemistry student Celeste Brown, who slithered a shot past Fisk at the left side of the net. The goal, which was Brown’s 12th of the season, energized the Tigers and sparked a dominating offensive effort that led to two more goals in less than 10 minutes.

At the 8:39 mark, Brown forced a turnover, kicking the puck to Kunichika, who was alone in front. Taking advantage of the space she had, Kunichika easily decked Fisk and shot a backhander for her 20th goal of the season.

The final goal of the game, and of RIT’s spectacular season, came just minutes later at the 11:59 mark, when fourth year Packaging Science student Ali Hills rebounded and jammed in a shot from the slot for her second goal of the season.

The win put the Tigers at 28-1-1. Twenty-eight wins is a Division III single-season record.

Tiger players Chamberlain and Kunichika were both named to the all-tournament team. Along with the goal she scored, Kunichika also had three assists in the game. According to RIT Athletics, she finished as RIT’s scoring leader this season with 45 points on 20 goals, and 25 assists in 30 games. Chamberlain, who stopped 27 shots, was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She finished the season with her own record of 17-1-1 and led Division III with a .945 save percentage.

Second year Journalism student Melissa Bromley was thrilled at her team’s goal of winning a national championship becoming a reality. “Is this real life?” she asked excitedly after the game, and joked that she thought she lost her voice.

After the game, RIT coach Scott McDonald said that the win was “the greatest thing ever,” and that it was hard to put what he was feeling into words. But McDonald said his team was prepared for this game. “We practice the same things all the time,” he said.

In an email, RIT’s Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Louis W. Spiotti, Jr. said that the win was one of his proudest moments ever at RIT. “These student athletes on this team are a very special group,” he said, acknowledging the team’s talent. “I felt they were destined to do something outstanding, and they did.”

Next season, the women’s hockey program will be making the move to Division I. When asked about what would be need to improve to ensure a smooth transition to a more intense playing environment, Spiotti stated: “I think they need to continue to do what they’re doing. It’s a winning formula. They just have to do it at another level.”

First year Environmental Chemistry student Celeste Brown slips the puck past Norwich goaltender Kelly Fisk a minute into the third period, giving RIT a 2-1 advantage.

First year Environmental Chemistry major Celeste Brown is mobbed by teammates after giving RIT a 2-1 advantage in the opening minutes of the third period.

The RIT Women's Hockey Team poses with the NCAA National Championship trophy.

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REPEATING HISTORY

Fourth year Biomedical Sciences major Chris Haltigin brings the team's second place trophy to the bench after accepting it at the post-game ceremony Saturday, March 17.

RIT Men Lose in Atlantic Hockey Championship

by Kayla Emerson photographs by Robert Shook

On Saturday, March 17, Men’s Hockey Head Coach Wayne Wilson summed up his team’s performance at a post-game press conference in Blue Cross Arena: “We didn’t get the goals we needed. It wasn’t a lack of effort.” Understandably, the 4-0 championship loss to the numberone seeded Air Force Falcons was frustrating, especially considering the Tigers’ 1-0 championship loss to the Falcons last season.

While a simultaneous game was being held for the women at Ritter Arena, the men fought hard but struggled to find their groove. In the opening period, The Tigers and Falcons spent the first 15 minutes of the fast-paced match in a stalemate, until the first RIT penalty kill. Third year Business Management major Shane Madolora briefly lost sight of the puck behind the net. It bounced off the back wall, and Falcons’ first year Cole Gunner made a tight loop around the post and scored a power-play goal at 15:15. The Tigers hoped to answer with a goal of their own, but never got the chance: At 16:25, Falcons third year John Kruse wove his way through the Tigers’ defense and scored. Reflecting on his players’ performance, Coach Wilson said, “Actually, not a bad first period. If you take away the score, I thought we played a pretty even first.” Shots on goal were 10-10 in the first.

In the second period, RIT seemed to take every opportunity for a goal: They dominated possession and took 15 shots on goal. So much for that; Falcons’ sophomore Jason Fabian scored off of a rebound at 9:23. “I thought we created a lot of chances in the second. I think we held them to maybe two flurries, but again they scored, another goal,” said Coach Wilson. “At 3-0, now it’s an uphill battle against a very good team.”

In the final period, second year Business Management major Adam Mitchell received a game misconduct penalty which took him out of the game. Fans were somewhat consoled by positive updates from the women’s game at Ritter, but the situation at Blue Cross was bleak. Despite the disproportionate score, the two teams went all-out until the very end, and Madolora was pulled out for the last two minutes of the game to give the Tigers a man advantage. The Tigers sustained this until the final seven seconds, when Fabian scored his second goal of the game: an unobstructed goal from far away.

The results of the game did not go as the Tigers had planned, but they played exceptionally. When Coach Wilson suggested that, “Maybe last night took a little more out of us than what we thought,” he said. The seniors next to him nodded — the team was tired.

Coach Wilson is optimistic: “These guys [the seniors] have accomplished an awful lot over their four years, and there are better days ahead as well; we’ll win some more championships.” He added, “We’re disappointed, but that’s because of the bar [the seniors] have set for the program.”

RIT finished the season with a 20-12-6 record.

For a recap of the Friday, March 16, Men’s game against Niagara, visit Reporter Online at http://reportermag.com

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eet r t S Women ON THE

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Angela Read (Second year Interior Design) “I like the guy to be a gentleman. I like a guy who cares about me and respects women.”

LEFT | Emily Lechner (First year Fine Art Photography) “Tall, athletic, funny and smart. All these things are important.”

RIGHT | Emily Rollin (First year Photojournalism) “I like my men… women.”

LEFT | Shauntavia Sanjurjo (First year University Studies) “I like my men geeky but cute. There’s something about a man talking about his CPU.” RIGHT | Marie Dejager (First year Liberal Arts Exploration) “I agree, as long as they’re cute, it’s good. Cute, smart, nice and a good personality.”

26 Views | 03.23.12

Brittany Bochette (2011 Electrical Engineering Graduate) “Tall, dark, and handsome with a nerdy side.

And funny.”

Toni Ann Drenckhahn (Second year Visual Media) “Someone who will appreciate my cowboy boots.”

Anna-Marie Lee (Third year Interpreting) “I’ll second that.”

Olivia Goree-Cunningham (Second year Photojournalism) “Nice person with a good sense of humor.

Attractive helps.”

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Roc Stars rs c Sta Ro vs. ts SufferJets fferJe Su Ithaca Ithaca

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halftime show by the RIT pep band PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT

D E K C LO G E N R E

by Brett Slabaugh

hink of your favorite piece of entertainment — it could be a movie, a book, a video game whatever.

Got it? Now think of what makes it special. There must be something that sets it apart from all the other movies or books or video games, because if there wasn’t then it wouldn’t stand out. There might be others like it, but it’s unique.

Now throw that unique element out the window. It ruins it, right? Great entertainment is defined by what helps it stretch above and beyond its competition. Without that, we’re left with a bland miasma of meaningless content. And unfortunately, if things continue the way they have this past decade, we’re looking at a one-way ticket to miasma-town.

Video games are suffering the most from this descent into uniformity, with films close behind. As technology marches forward, we demand that these industries keep up. However, riding the cutting-edge gets expensive quickly, and at some point in the past decade producers realized that there was an easy way out. We as consumers have demonstrated that we don’t mind spending money on the same kinds of movies and games we bought the last year — and the year before that — as long as this year’s version is bigger and better.

This strategy worked for a while, but it seems that the inevitable has happened: We’ve hit a technological ceiling. There’s nothing that we can’t do with special effects anymore, and video games have practically reached photorealism. Now that we’ve seen the biggest and prettiest explosions, where do we go from here? The answer, of course, is somewhere new.

When graphics stop getting better every year, who’s really going to care about “Call of Duty 19”?

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone by now; we’ve been nearing this point of visual fidelity for years. Yet somehow, nobody has done anything to capitalize on the inevitable demand for fresh ideas. No bigname studios, at least. And really, how could they? Most of these industry heavyweights have spent the last decade cranking out the same kind of

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content. Why would EA stop churning out “Battlefield” games when they know that each one is practically guaranteed to sell in the millions?

These studios have painted themselves into a corner, unable to branch out because of sales-driven tunnel vision. So who does that leave to provide new and interesting concepts?

Why, the indies, of course. Independent studios, lacking the front-end funds to make conventional blockbuster titles, have no other choice but to experiment. Countless indie projects will inevitably flop, but many are sure to leave you wondering why nobody else is paying attention to these small-time studios. The Independent Games Festival celebrates these unnoticed gems, and each year it recognizes unconventional games with the Nuovo Award. This year’s recipient, a work-in-progress called “Storyteller” prompts the player with a distilled plot (such as “A man falls for a woman he used to hate.”) and a number of comic book-style panels to tell the story. The player must use a limited set of characters and narrative devices to construct a series of scenes that satisfies the requirement. It’s half puzzle game and half creative writing.

Nobody was asking for a game like “Storyteller.” It’s not an RPG, though roles are played; it isn’t quite a puzzle game, though the gameplay hinges on logic. Big studios aren’t willing to risk shots in the dark like this. If it doesn’t fall cleanly into a conventional genre, there’s no dedicated sea of customers to rely on. It’s dangerous, but developers need to start taking risks like this for the medium to advance.

Right now, studios are making games based on what they know will sell, rather than taking a step back and focusing on making something fun and interesting. If this is going to change, two things need to happen. First, heavyweight studios need to start experimenting with new directions — not necessarily in place of the traditional angle, but in addition to it. That’s up to them. Second, we need to do what we can to make these experiments less of a risk. The more demand there is for radical new ideas, the more we’ll see, and once studios are rewarded for making fresh content rather than cashing in on remakes, everybody wins.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of REPORTER.

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Rings 585.672.4840

compiled by Brett Slabaugh TUESDAY, 12:48 P.M. (FROM TEXT)

FRIDAY,1:30 P.M. (FROM TEXT)

This is a public

So Rings, I hear you like badasses. Not to brag, but I just entered the library through the exit only door. Feel free to call me sometime.

service announcement:

PLEASE WEAR PANTS. That is all.

WEDNESDAY, 11:08 P.M. (FROM TEXT)

The art building people must have time consuming [poopsies] because they have impressive stall art.

SATURDAY,10:43 A.M. (FROM TEXT)

You know you’re at RIT when the first college sporting event you’ve attended is a robotic basketball tournament.

SATURDAY,9:49 P.M. (FROM TEXT)

FRIDAY,2:58 P.M. (FROM TEXT)

My favorite part about frigid Rochester weather is how it makes the lives of RIT parking officers very unpleasant. May winter last forever!

SATURDAY,1:16 P.M. (FROM TEXT)

You know you are a nerd when “Hii” I like going to an Institute where the autocorrects to “GUI.” knowledge of all things Pokémon related is considered valuable At the hockey game, [fans] from Bentley need to stop banging on [the] glass I pay $50,000 a year for. information.

SATURDAY,8:44 P.M. (FROM TEXT)

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30 Views | 03.23.12

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585-427-7777 | livetheprovinCe.Com provinCe Clubhouse - 220 John street ACROSS FROM RIT PERKINS STREET ENTRANCE

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