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Volume 59.11

December 7, 2012 First Copy Free, Addt. Copies $.50

Lyndon State College

Twilight Dance Ensemble Premiere

Photo by Bryan Barber

Falicia Woody leaps across the stage during her solo in The Twilight Dance Ensemble’s premiere dance recital, Dec. 6. The show consisted of 14 performances ranging from lyrical ballet to hip-hop. Nikki Slabinksi gathered 25 dancers for the recital. Monday nights, Slabinski teaches dance technique classes for those looking to improve their skills and to help dancers with their choreography. Some dancers created their choreography, and chose their own costumes for the show, while others looked to Slabinski for guidance. Performers practiced their dances once or twice a week to prepare. As far as the dancers are concerned, the recital "went off without a hitch."

December 14, 2012

FEATURE

The Critic, Page 4

The Horneys

Photos by Bryan Barber

Greg Besso receives his “DJ of the Decade” award from WWLR General Manager Tyler Kittleman. From left to right: Kel Mitchell, Greg Besso, Tyler Kittleman, Kevin Lessard, Jeff Stabaloin and Victoria Reeves.

Morgan Forester Managing Editor Who likes orange soda? Lyndon State College students like orange soda - especially when Kel Mitchell is around.

Mitchell, formerly of Nickelodeon’s All That, was hired to host WWLR’s 2012 Horneys Award Show.

Cases of the pop star’s favorite beverage were wheeled into the Alexander Twilight Theater for refreshments before the show.

Tyler Kittleman, WWLR’s general manager, said they cleared the shelves of all orange soda at the local White’s Market grocery store for the event.

Students filtered into the ATT lobby around 6 p. m. Saturday, Dec. 8, for what was scheduled to be a meet-and-greet with Mitchell. However, the 90s star’s flight came in later than expected, and the meet-andgreet was moved to after the show.

Instead, attendees were given pizza to munch on. They also used this time to get their free event wristbands, which allowed them access to the show, as they waited for the Horneys to begin.

Backstage, sound technician and stagehand, Scott Vogel Jr. was glad for the re-arranged schedule.

“We were definitely really busy setting up,” said Vogel.

Having the meet-and-greet after the show meant he would have a better opportunity to meet with Mitchell.

“I’m a bit of a 90s child,” he said, “so I grew up watching him. If I happen to have the time, meeting him would be awesome.”

Vogel was just one of many students who volunteered their time to running the event. Members of WWLR and student volunteers stood in as security for the Horneys, watching all entrances of the theater until doors opened at 7:30 p.m.

As soon as doors opened, a wave of students rushed into the theater to find a seat.

The front two rows were reserved for board members of WWLR and for members of

Hosted By Kel Mitchell

Campus Band “Red Tin Box” closed the musical acts for the night. Red Tin Box was celebrating one year together as a band. The first show they played was in 2011 at The Horneys.

the four bands providing entertainment: The Summit of Thieves, Sails, Suncooked and Red Tin Box. Introducing Mitchell were WWLR News Director Kevin Lessard and Business Director Victoria Reeves. Both gave a shoutout to the Student Government Association for allocating funds to the event. Mitchell then burst onto the stage with an infectious energy that didn’t quit as he introduced the bands and announced the nominees and winners of all six awards.

Some award winners had prepared speeches, while others just basked in the glow. Marc Brunco, winner of “Best Talk Show,” was almost speechless.

“I won,” he said. “I’m absorbing the feeling.”

The entertainment for the Horneys stole the show. All four bands had the audience on their feet. Students danced by the stage to their favorites, before event security asked them to take their seats.

The Summit of Thieves kicked-off the night and was followed by Sails. The self-proclaimed indie-punk band dedicated their first song to LSC student, Ian Bruno, who recently suffered a stroke but is back home and recovering.

Suncooked and Red Tin Box also played high-energy sets that had everyone up and singing along. Suncooked announced their new EP, dropping in January, and tossed three “I’m a drifter” band t-shirts into the crowd, while Red Tin Box celebrated their one-year performance anniversary on the same stage they started on.

During all of the performances, Mitchell could be seen in the theater wings backstage snapping photos and bobbing his head to the music.

Perhaps one of the highlights was the “Orange Soda Chugging” contest. Two students, Ed Horan and Jake Reardon, were chosen from the audience to compete against one another. The competitor who

could drink two liters of soda the fastest would be the winner. It was a close match, but Horan declared his victory by slamming the empty orange soda bottle down on-stage. As Mitchell congratulated Horan, Reardon made a quick exit to the bathroom.

“He’s puking orange soda,” laughed Mitchell.

The Horneys showcased a great deal of talent, but many agreed the reaction from “DJ of the Decade” award winner Greg Besso was priceless. Besso leapt across the stage to shake hands with Mitchell and accepted his award. His enthusiastic acceptance speech included a shout out to some of his friends in the audience, who stood and waved, as well as a heartfelt shout out to his girlfriend, Erin Milne, who was unable to attend the event.

In an interview before the show, Besso was hopeful for an award, but DJ of the Decade was not on his list.

December 14, 2012

FEATURE

The Critic, Page 5

Orange Soda, Live Music, and a 90’s Childhood Icon

Clive Ennis, Kel Mitchell’s manager, takes a photo of the excited audience to post on Twitter.

Award Winners DJ of the Decade: Greg Besso Best Team: Shera Howe and John McIntosh Best Talk Show: Marc Brunco Best New DJ: Tom Sheehan Most Innovative: Casey Hecker Best Show: John Plunkett

“I haven’t gotten anything yet,” he said. “But I’m hoping for director’s choice, probably best radio show…I’m sure every general manager for the past two years or so has noticed my dedication to the radio.”

WWLR did notice, and handed Besso a golden-microphone award for his dedication.

Overall, the 2012 Horneys were a hit.

Nick Potter and Marcus Jacobus watched the show from their security posts at the back of the theater.

“It was a good show,” Jacobus said.

Potter agreed.

“I was really impressed, especially the bands,” he said.

Other audience members Julia McNeil and Jennifer Lynch compared this year’s event to previous Horneys.

“It was awesome,” McNeil said.

“He definitely was the perfect person to host it,” Lynch agreed. “He got the crowd fired, and I didn’t see him calm down the

entire show.”

Both gave the show a rating of 9 out of 10 compared to past Horney events and commented on how well organized it was.

Kel and his agent, Clive Ennis, also gave props to WWLR for their event coordination.

Lessard wrote in an email, “He said we were easier to work with than most adult parties that they work with. They were both very impressed with how nice we all were. They had also mentioned that they would love to work with us again in the future, and that we could call anytime we want to talk with them about anything.”

After signing many autographs and posing for pictures with students, Mitchell sat down with The Critic for an interview.

When asked about his first impression stepping off the plane, Mitchell laughed.

“First impression when I walked off the plane, um, I need to get something to

Clockwise from above: Sails was the second campus band to play at The Horneys.

Below: Caleb Noble and Kaliegh Clowery of The Summit of Thieves on-stage. Bottom Left: Suncooked plays. Left: Kel Mitchell hosting The Horneys.

eat, because I was on a Red Eye, and I saw the place and I was like, ‘This is Vermont,’ it’s a lot of land. It’s cold.”

But he also pointed out that it wasn’t too cold as he hails from Chicago.

On the ride to the campus Mitchell had the privilege of meeting Lyndon’s infamous Cumberland Farms cashier, Mary.

Once they procured muffins for the hungry Mitchell, the group continued to campus.

Mitchell commented on his decision to host this year’s Horneys.

“We got the call to come out to do it, and I felt like it was a great cause,” he said.

“You guys are working hard and you deserve an award.”

Though most of us remember him from the show Keenan and Kel, Mitchell is currently working on four projects, including shows for the CW, Nicktoons, Disney XD and a movie coming out this spring called, “First Impressions.”

“I’ve been in the business a long time

so I just love every aspect of entertaining,” he said, when asked which project was his favorite.

The most asked question of the night was whether or not Mitchell stays in touch with his old castmate Keenan. His reply, “Not recently.”

“Our mothers keep in contact with each other,” he said, “so that’s how we converse with each other, but you know, I’m on the west coast, and he’s on the east coast.”

Now that the event is over, the WWLR club can go back to hosting their radio shows, but would like to thank all those who attended and made the event possible.

“The event couldn’t of gone better,” Lessard said. “All of us at WWLR worked very hard to put the event together, and it came out better than we expected. I can’t thank everyone enough for coming out and supporting WWLR.”

LSC CRIBZ: What's in Dr. Joe's fridge? see page 4 Volume 59.13

February 1, 2013 First Copy Free, Addt. Copies $.50

Lyndon State College

Twilight Players Hold Auditions for Spring Musical "Company"

Health and Safety Committee Votes Not to Change Pet Policy; Bertolino "Dissapointed" Samantha VanSchoick Editor-in-Chief The Health and Safety Committee has recommended not altering the current pet policy at Lyndon State College.

President Joe Bertolino asked the committee to reconsider the current pet policy to allow dogs to be on campus. Last Fall Bertolino “relaxed” the policy on a trial basis when he adopted his dog, which students named Willoughby-Vail. However, after considering the issue, the committee voted 4-2 not to change the current policy.

“I was disappointed. I think that I had hoped that the committee would be able to find some middle ground,” Bertolino said.

Nick Russo, Vermont State Student Trustee, was one of the two members of the committee who voted yes to changing the policy. He too had hoped to find middle ground.

“The two of us who voted yes, we wanted to change the policy to make it not necessarily what Dr. Joe wanted, but to try and find some middle ground and say, ‘Look, if people want to bring their dogs on campus, we’ll allow that, but it’s a privilege not a right, and if you violate the safeguards we have in place to keep those dogs from causing harm or discomfort to others, that privilege goes away.’”

Though the current policy states that no animals should be allowed in campus buildings, some staff members have been bringing their dogs to work for years with no repercussions.

“One of the big problems with the

old policy was that there was no teeth to enforce it, and that was one of the issues George Hacking (Director of Public Safety) brought up,” explained Russo. “[Hacking] had spoken with the people who had violated the policy in the past and they continued to violate it; there’s no way to stop them.”

Russo had hoped the committee could find a solution to the problem by altering the policy.

“Even if we didn’t change it to something too far towards having dogs, we still wanted to make the policy work, because the current policy didn’t,” he said.

Though Bertolino has the authority to override the committee’s recommendation, he will not.

“I’m going to be respect the decision of the committee,” said Bertolino. “I’m not going to turn around and say, ‘Thanks, but no thanks, I don’t think that’s right.’”

Bertolino looks at the recommendation as a learning experience.

“This is a good lesson for Joe. As the new president, I genuinely and honestly didn’t think that this was going to become the issue that it became,” he said.

So why was the change such a big issue? Russo believes it was the idea of dogs in campus buildings.

“Members of the committee couldn’t get over the idea that dogs would be in the buildings, and that was really the big sticking point,” he said.

Members of the committee who voted yes either declined to comment or could not be reached in time for publication.

Photo by Bryan Barber

Electronic Journalism Arts major Jacqueline Laviolette performs her audition song at tryouts on Wednesday night in the Alexander Twilight Theater.

Courtesy Photo

The new shuttle was purchased with $30,000 of the Student Activity Fee. It will now be taking students to popular destinations such as Burke Mountain and Littleton, NH for shopping.

has even made designated drop-off Shuttle Takes LSC Students Where They Want To Be “Burke and pick-up parking spots for our shuttle Hannah Frigon Critic Staff The Campus Activity Board is looking for student drivers to drive a new shuttle bus that will take students off-campus throughout the week to destinations such as Burke Mountain and Littleton, New Hampshire.

The Ski and Ride Club and The Outing Club currently operate a shuttle on Tuesdays and Fridays that takes students to Burke Mountain. The new shuttle bus will allow students to get to the mountain on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Weston Miller, a senior Mountain Recreation Management major at Lyndon State College, thinks the shuttle busses are a great way to connect to people on campus.

“The Ski & Ride aims to connect many

people who share the same interests,” said Miller. The club creates events and activities that surround the culture of Ski and Ride and winter sports. Miller said that they like to “support local companies and business like Burke Mountain, opposed to other larger tourist resorts.”

Miller came to LSC in the spring of 2011. He always wanted to get involved with Ski & Ride but had no vehicle, which was a problem for the mountain hungry boarder. He liked the idea of a shuttle program, so the Ski & Ride Club sat down with Jamie Struck, who is the adventure program coordinator, to split the cost of the shuttle program with Outing. “We ran all the numbers to see how many times a week we could go to the mountain,” Miller said.

vans.”

Miller went on to say that being social probably helped him find rides to the mountain when he needed one, but he doesn’t want those who may be shy to miss out on such exciting activities like skiing and snowboarding. He extends the invitation that the, “Ski and Ride Club is looking to share with others and that their events are group oriented with good intentions.”

Brian Matineau, Resident Hall Director of Wheelock and Student Activities Coordinator, said that the Shuttle Program is a “great opportunity to get students off campus.”

Matineau said “this is a great chance for students who don’t have cars, and to also get out the word on what SALC does

for the students.”

Lastly, Matineau said that this is a good opportunity for work study students to have a job. Eligible students are 21 with a valid drivers license and clean driving record.

The Student Shuttle leaves from the Wheelock parking lot at 8:30a.m. 4:00p.m. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Saturday it runs to Burke Mountain and Littleton twice for each location and on Sunday it runs twice to Burke and once to Littleton. This isn’t just for snowboarding and skiing; it is also a chance for students to get off-campus to get groceries, shop, or just go off-campus to hang out with friends.

The Ski and Ride Club, Outing Club, SGA and CAB encourage every student to take a part in this beneficial service.

Company to Premiere see page 4

Volume 59.21

April 26, 2013 First Copy Free, Addt. Copies $.50

Lyndon State College

Psychology Professor Studies Election Results Substance Use The election results for the 2013/2014 Student Government Association are finally in after a revote was held Monday through Wednesday this week for the executive vice president position. Both executive vice president candidates, Brittany Bernier and Daniel Weiner, accused each other of breaking the SGA Constitution by campaigning within 10 feet of the ballot box. Students also voted on Constitution changes proposed by the Constitution Committee. All proposed changes passed. To view a list of the changes, go to lyndoncritic.com.

President

File Photos

Haley Craig- 95 Nick Chapin-20

Executive Vice President

Brittany Bernier- 82 Daniel Weiner-49

Administrative VP

Melissa Segall Top "write in" candidate

Financial Controller

Matt Green-123 votes Ran unopposed

Earth Day at LSC see page 3

Morgan Forester Managing Editor

Just one day after the infamous 4/20 – the holiday celebrated by marijuana smokers nationwide– Dr. Meri Stiles and research assistant, senior psychology and human services major Andrew Cochran, released their 46-question survey to evaluate the effects of substance use by Lyndon students.

Though the release date seemed to be linked to this day of substance use, Stiles and Cochran say there was no correlation.

“No, I knew it was 4/20 only because my daughter is attending UVM and she said ‘it’s that day’,” Stiles said. “We wanted to send it out a week earlier but the technology was an issue.”

Stiles and Cochran have been working on this survey for quite some time, compiling questions from a previous survey created

by Stiles as well as research and literature on substance use.

“This is my area of study and my research area,” Stiles said, “So I’ve been studying substance use behaviors in adolescents and young adults for really the last 15 years, and so I’ve done a number of different studies and looked at different variables.”

One of the variables that holds particular interest for Stiles is the sense of community at Lyndon.

“Because the college is such a community and because people really care for each other and look after each other, it’s kind of unique in that regard,” Stiles said.

She continues to explain that talking about substance use can sometimes cause individuals to become defensive, but when the topic is approached from a community perspective and looks at how individual use can affect a community as a whole, people are much more open to the conversation.

According to Cochran, Lyndon also has multiple characteristics that make it the perfect location for a substance use survey.

“There’s more substance use in rural areas, more substance use in colleges and in poorer areas. Lyndon fits all three of those areas so I think it is very pertinent not only for Lyndon but for other rural, poor, small schools,” Cochran said.

Since there are so many variables being evaluated in their survey, Stiles and Cochran hope to use the information they gather to create a substance use prevention program for the college.

See "Study" page 3

Photo by Brian Lacharite

Popular Burlington band Kat Wright and the Indomitable Soul Band performed at Earth Day Celebrations.

Alum Pleads Not Guilty to Lewd Act Critic Staff Reports A Lyndon State College alum and suspended WCAX television reporter pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of lewd & lascivious conduct and a misdemeanor charge of prohibited acts in Caledonia Superior Court Monday.

Caledonia Superior Court Judge Mary Miles Teachout released Henson on conditions that he not contact the victim or enter The Packing House.

According to court documents, on March 15, Henson allegedly attempted to stick his tongue down the throat of the victim, slap her butt, and stick his hands down her pants.

Henson, a 2004 graduate of the television studies program, has not been on the air at WCAX since the incident. He remains suspended.

Lyndonville Police Chief Jack Harris wrote in his report that the alleged victim, a student at LSC in the TV studies program, saw Henson at the bar after LSC’s “Dinner with the Boss,” an event at LSC that aims to give graduating seniors advice about entering the job field. The alleged victim

spoke with Henson in an attempt to do some networking, furthering discussions held at the LSC event.

Harris wrote in his report that the student bought a few of the members from the event a drink and “began to talk with them about television. (She) advised that the ‘sexual activity’ started with gentle touching.

She said Henson would put his arm around her for ‘far too long.’ (She) advised she made hints for Henson to back away, but she did not want to be disrespectful. The female said as she went to dance, Henson followed. She said that Henson began touching her, but at the time, she figured it was because he was ‘drunk’ and they were dancing.”

The student told police that as the night went on, the “touching” continued, became more frequent, and despite the student informing Henson that she had a boyfriend, he continued to follow her around the bar. The student then stated that Henson grabbed her after saying that he was going to go home with her. This same set of circumstances allegedly occurred a second

See "Lewd" page 3