NDSU Spectrum | Oct 24, 2013

The

THURSDAY, OCT. 24, 2013

VOLUME 117 ISSUE 16

Spectrum

NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY | FOR THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE

GARRET BECKER | THE SPECTRUM

Alcohol at the Dome?

S

Benjamin Norman | Contributing Writer

tudent government is looking into the possibility of allowing the sales of low-liquor alcohol at Bison games in the Fargodome.

Student senator Aaron Yaggie said he wants to make student government’s objectives crystal clear.

“We are not pro-alcohol; we are not promoting people to drink,” said Yaggie, a senior studying agriculture economics. “Student government just thinks [that allowing alcohol to be sold at Bison football games] would be a better way to handle some of the underlying problems.”

These “underlying problems” that occur on game days have sparked talks and debate between student government, NDSU administration and Fargodome officials.

Student government said that they believe this will be beneficial to the safety of NDSU students.

“Basically, what we are looking at is this huge problem of binge drinking before games,” Yaggie explained. “[Law enforcement] has done a good job cracking down on underage drinking before games, but the binge drinking is still really bad.”

By permitting and regulating the sales of alcohol, student government believes that ending the prohibition will

FRATERNITY HOSTS HAUNTED HOUSE

2

cut down on “pre-gaming” and abuse of hard liquors.

“I don’t think I have ever been to a football game where I haven’t seen someone pulling out hard alcohol of a purse or shoe,” Yaggie said.

Student officials met with President Dean L. Bresciani on their proposition. The assembly discussed the hypothetical positives and negatives of lifting the ban, alongside other issues that needed to be addressed.

“For any change to happen,” Yaggie said, “the university would definitely need to see some facts [supporting] how exactly [selling alcohol at the Fargodome] would be beneficial.”

“At this time, I could not say the university is going to act [on student government’s proposals],” Bresciani said in a brief interview.

NDSU’s president cited somewhat “superficial conclusions” drawn to by student government, but he said that the students “have been commendable on studying this issue.”

In other words, more hard evidence. Student government must unearth more information that will support allowing alcohol at games.

Continued on page 3

WORLDWIDE BISON PRIDE

4

MEET A BISON: BRETT KELLY

11

NATHAN STOTTLER | THE SPECTRUM

2

News

THURSDAY, OCT. 24, 2013

NDSUSPECTRUM.COM

The Spectrum

Chilling decor from Sigma Nu’s haunted house is currently on display between the Memorial Union and Family Life Center.

MATAYA ARMSTRONG | THE SPECTRUM

Sigma Nu to Host First-Ever Haunted House

Fraternity opens haunted house, raises money for American Heart Association Lisa Marchand

Head News Editor

The men of Sigma Nu are putting a spooky twist on philanthropy this Halloween season with the fraternity’s first-ever haunted house.

From 7 p.m. to midnight on Oct. 30 and 31, Sigma Nu’s house will transform into a ghoulish attraction, complete with authentic

props and actors to boot. Tickets are $5 and 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association, the irony of which is not lost on Sigma Nu’s members.

“We picked the American Heart Association kind of [because of] the irony of having a haunted house but also [for] raising awareness for heart disease and other heart problems and illnesses,” the chapter’s philanthropy chairman Ryan Justak said.

Although a paradoxical partnership for this particular event, the national Sigma Nu fraternity teams up with the American Heart Association on a regular basis.

For NDSU’s Sigma Nu, members are borrowing nearly $10,000 worth of equipment from member Sam Wangler, whose

family has been putting on a haunted house in Bismarck, N.D. for the past several years.

Wangler is keeping most of the chilling details under wraps for now, but he said Sigma Nu’s haunted house is a mixture of horrors.

“I’ve been to a lot of haunted houses, and a lot of them seem like they stick to one guy just coming out of a corner and scaring you,” he said. “We’ve got things from snakes to clowns to bloody stuff to movie figures. We have everything.”

Because this is Sigma Nu’s first attempt at a haunted house, there is no predicting what the turnout will be. However, Justak is optimistic.

“It’s not [like] anything I’ve seen on

NDSU’s campus since I’ve been here, so I’m hoping to get a good turnout,” he said.

The haunted house is open to all NDSU students, staff and faculty, as well the entire F-M community. Wangler explained that although children can attend, he suggests people be at least in their teens.

Fraternity members will be selling tickets to their debut Halloween attraction from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 28 and 29 in front of the Memorial Union Bookstore. Tickets will also be available at the door of the Sigma Nu house on the evenings of the event.

RSVP to the fraternity’s event by searching “Sigma Nu Haunted House” on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @EtaThetaSigmaNu.

Apple Could Have Access to Your iMessages Research claims that iMessage is not entirely secure Lisa Marchand

Head News Editor

In the midst of this year’s National Security Agency scandal, multi-billion dollar company Apple assured its customers that they are unable to see iMessage conversations among users. However, a recent report by research team QuarksLab says otherwise.

Apple claims that the iMessage system has end-to-end encryption – meaning the messages themselves remain private, but information regarding sender, receiver, date and time can be seen. QuarksLab explained that although this is true, Apple controls the messaging system, therefore they could have the ability to intercept iMessages.

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QuarksLab’s research report is full of technology jargon, but they state one thing explicitly.

“What we are not saying: Apple reads your iMessages. What we are saying: Apple can read your iMessages if they choose to, or if they are required to do so by a government order,” they wrote at the beginning of the report.

QuarksLab explained that since Apple controls the key infrastructure of all their devices, they could hypothetically access any and all iMessages. Apple spokesperson Trudy Miller refuted the claim. “iMessage is not architected to allow Apple to read messages,” she told the Washington Post.

She explained that Apple would have to reconstruct the entirety of iMessage in order to meet QuarksLab’s claims, which the company does not intend to do.

No solid evidence has surfaced regarding the government ever requesting iMessages

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from Apple. However, some Apple users feel that if the claims are true, it is a breach of privacy and has major implications.

“I do not feel like [the government or Apple has] a right to monitor our electronic activity,” recent Women and Gender Studies graduate and Apple consumer Courtney Schaff said. “This inhibits creativity, collaboration, and the freedom to challenge those who may be watching out of fear of repercussion.”

Senior HDFS and Elementary Education

major Alyssa Gackle identifies as an “avid Apple user.” She said she is skeptical of the rumors surrounding the allegations against the company.

“It very well could be true, but I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon and assume Apple is reading my messages,” she said. “I have bigger things to worry about.”

Whether or not Apple eavesdrops on their customers’ conversations or if the government has ever demanded access to them remains to be seen.

3

THE SPECTRUM | NEWS | THURS, OCT. 24, 2013

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Alcohol from page one Student government, though, refuses to throw in the towel.

“Basically, we still have to do research,” Yaggie said. “We are [continuing to work] on creating an appropriate proposal that would turn this into a plausible plan with more benefits and negatives.”

The student senators behind the proposal have been in contact with officials at the University of North Dakota, because they sell alcohol at the school’s Ralph Engelstad Arena.

“The Ralph serves alcohol, [therefore, NDSU student government] looked into their risk management tools they use,” Yaggie said.

UND officials have implemented several of these tools over the years, including reducing the sizes of alcoholic containers from 32 oz. to 24 oz. in 2010.

The Ralph Engelstad Arena General Manager, Jody Hodgson, told WDAZ the changes were made because “we are committed to promoting responsible alcohol consumption that… reduces alcohol-related instances both in our facility and on surrounding roadways. We believe this proactive step is the right thing to do.”

Yaggie said that student government’s final plan would help increase revenue for the Fargodome in addition to cutting down on binge drinking before games. However, he explained that there would have to be negotiations with the Fargodome before any plans commence. “[Student government]

figures if we were allowed to serve alcohol in the dome, it would nearly pay for what it costs to rent the Fargodome for [Bison games], based off of projections,” Yaggie said.

Preliminary conversations have taken place between Yaggie and Rob Sobolik, General Manager of the Fargodome, to discuss logistics.

“Fargodome management would definitely be open to [selling alcohol],” said Sobolik, “because of the potential revenue source. In today’s world, everybody is always looking to find other revenue sources to combat always-rising costs.”

Rising costs include labor, heating and cooling and general maintenance of the 22-year old building.

As for enhanced security and safety precautions, Sobolik said he could foresee more security at Bison games where alcohol was served.

The Fargodome is not a completely dry facility, however. When alcohol is permissible, like at events and concerts, the Fargodome has had no issue staffing law enforcement to ensure safety.

“Larger concerts like Bob Segar and Kid Rock that drew 21,500 people had ten officers,” Sobolik said.

Keping Bison games, which often have crowds of up to 19,000 fans, safe would not be a new challenge.

Not everybody yearns to see the FargoDome go wet, however.

Terry Steen is the Youth Minister for St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ada, Minn. and has been work-

ing in the concession stands with her parish’s youth at Bison games for six years.

“Right now the majority of our workers are in high school,” said Steen, “and we would then need people who are old enough to serve alcohol to work. It is just nice to not have that pressure of carding people or worrying about cutting [intoxicated] people off.”

Steen said that regardless of her worker situation, she believes allowing the sales of alcohol would continue to cause strife.

“With no beer being served, it just makes [games] a more respectable atmosphere for kids to be working in,” she said. “I personally would be very disappointed if they [allowed liquor sales at games.] I think it will only promote more underage drinking.”

Trista Ackerson, a freshman at Concordia, just started a second job as an Event Staff worker at the Fargodome. She worries about the possible changes, too. She said that allowing alcohol could present more problems for the staff.

“People can get out of control while drinking, and that would make our job a lot harder,” she said.

But student government is not putting the cart before the horse.

“We are just looking into ways we can prevent [binge drinking] and make [game days] safer,” Yaggie said.

“The administration is not against the act of consuming alcohol, either. NDSU administration really cares about the students.”

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Features

THURSDAY, OCT. 24, 2013

NDSUSPECTRUM.COM

The Spectrum

bisonpride N

orth Dakota State University is officially universal. Thanks to the “North Dakota State Bison” Facebook page, Bison pride can be seen at iconic locations, not only across the United States, but also from all ends of the earth.

Ever since ESPN’s “College GameDay” came to downtown Fargo, on Sept. 21, NDSU has been a part of what Director of Marketing Justin Swanson calls “a phenomena.”

Swanson, who is one of the administrators of the official NDSU Bison Facebook page, has received and posted hundreds of pictures of NDSU fans and alumni sporting their Bison clothes and gear in worldwide locations, such as the Great Wall of China and Africa’s highest point in Tanzania.

NDSU’s official Facebook age for Bison Athletics—which has grown leaps and bounds over the last year, Swanson said—with almost 37,000 likes, has retained a mission to not only

is

Connor Dunn | Contributing Writer Photos Courtesy of | NDSU Bison Facebook

post content, such as press releases and game recaps, but to get fans involved in NDSU Athletics and have them show their Bison pride.

Through ESPN’s “College GameDay” and an outreach campaign during Homecoming, Bison fans were encouraged to send in their pictures of Bison pride, wherever they were in the world in hopes of having it posted online, and NDSU fans answered the call.

“On the first day, four or five pictures came in and we started posting them,” Swanson said, “and all of a sudden, pictures started coming in by the hundreds from many different countries on the map and every state in the union, people showing their Bison pride somewhere.”

Swanson said the significance of this showing of Bison pride is monumental since it reveals the worldwide popularity NDSU has gained being a top-100 research university, along with the heightened success Bison football has had in recent years.

“Our fans are great across the board, the way they travel, they way there support us,”

madagascar Bailey Benson taught her friends in Antsirabe, Madagascar how to put up the Bison horns.

NDSU alumnus and CW2 Ken Paulus and SSG Nate Doll, of Detachment 42 of the N.D. National Guard, at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.

afghanistan china

Justin Cave at the Great Wall of China.

russia

Matthew Hagen in Orenburg, Russia. The monument behind him marks the dividing line between Europe and Asia.

iraq

Former NDSU Student Body Vice President Aaron T. Schwengler from his tour of duty in Iraq.

Swanson said, “but when you get pictures of fans kayaking on the Nile River giving the Bison horns or sitting on the border of Europe and Asia staying up until one in the morning to watch the Bison game on their computer, it’s a really worldwide phenomena that there are Bison fans everywhere.”

The pictures from around the world are not the only displays of the wide-reaching reputation NDSU has recently received. When NDSU plays on the road, when NDSU administrators go to conferences, when Bison fans are traveling across the country, when they walk through airports wearing Bison clothes,

people recognize and are intrigued or even respond by throwing their horns up and saying, “Go Bison!”

Bison pride is virtually everywhere with all ages and even different species, Swanson said.

“We must have gotten 200 pictures of little babies, from a day old to two months old, wearing Bison gear, and we’ve got 50 to 100 pictures of dogs wearing Bison doggie shirts,” he said.

The NDSU Facebook page even had a picture sent in of a bunny wearing a Bison shirt.

So it’s official, Bison pride is worldwide.

Aubrey Bot and Stephanie Jacobson fly the Bison flag at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. The mountain is the tallest in Africa and is also the highest freestanding mountain in the world.

tanzania

5

THE SPECTRUM | FEATURES | THURS, OCT. 24, 2013

Fifty Shades of Freed

Potential suitors for the role of Christian Grey include, from left to right, Luke Bracey, Matt Bomer, and Ian Somerhalder.

Charlie Hunnam leaves ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ movie

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Sorry ladies… but the word is out, Charlie Hunnam, from “Sons of Anarchy” will not be playing the role as Christian Grey in the upcoming film “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

According to reports, the decision was made because Hunnam was not “adequately prepared” for the role due to his “immersive” TV schedule for “Sons of Anarchy.” Since filming is supposed to begin later this month, many are wondering who will be the

F-M Foodie

Randy’s: A hometown diner done right Emily Imdieke

Contributing Writer

WE DELIVER!

next Christian Grey.

Many names are wandering the streets of Hollywood as to who could play the risqué role of Grey, and many actors seem to be questionable for the part. Clint Eastwood’s son Scott is one among many like Ian Somerhalder, Matt Bomer, Luke Bracey or even “Twilight’s” Robert Pattinson.

For the rest of the casted crew, only two are set in stone. Dakota Johnson, American fashion model and actress from the movie “21 Jump Street,” will be playing Anastasia Steele, the secret lover of businessman Grey and Jennifer Ehle, playing Anastasia’s absent but caring mother, Carla.

For those of you that may not know what “Fifty Shades of Grey” is all about, it is pretty much rated-R for ris-

It was a dark and stormy afternoon in Fargo. The halls of NDSU were eerily silent, except for the constant beating of rain upon the rooftop. The lined walls of closed classroom doors revealed through their windows desks filled with students, who lifelessly scribbled notes into their notebooks like programmed machines.

Professors barely stopped to take a breath as they ranted about their apparently ever-so-important favorite subject. Students’ heads slowly fell forward in response to the wave of fatigue that seemed to flow from the professor when all of a sudden came a HUNGER STRIKE! And all remaining ability to concentrate vanished… poof!

As frightening as it may be, this horror story is based off of true events in my life.

Shocking, I know.

Luckily, there was a ray of light last week where this tale ended when I was able to fend off my hunger by going to a diner down University called “Randy’s.”

Upon walking into Randy’s from the damp chill outside, I was instantly hit by the warmth of the restaurant as a man (whom I proceeded to name Randy in my head) greeted me with a smile.

Our waitress followed up this warm welcome by being the perfect example of a caring hostess, wanting to make sure that her guests were as comfortable as possible. She was also the only waitress on duty at the time, but still seemed to take care of everyone in a timely fashion without seeming rushed.

I almost felt like I was really part of the family there—or maybe a regular to say the least.

Randy’s has the typical diner look to it, with slightly outdated decorations, but still the cleanliness and comfort of home (except usually your home doesn’t have booths arranged in rows with trays filled with jelly servings and a multitude of sugar packet varieties— unless yours do—then good for you).

Being that it was your typical diner,

qué.

The book by E.L. James is an erotic best seller filled with scenes of sex, S&M and romance between characters Grey and Steele. But what the movie will be like is the real question everyone is waiting for.

According to a report from USA Today, the alleged sex scenes between the leads, billionaire businessman Grey and sexually inexperienced college graduate Steele, will not “push the sexual content” to the NC-17 level and will just remain rated R. The first teaser trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey is said to be aired during the 2014 Super Bowl. The movie will be in theatres August 1, 2014.

Who do you want to see play Christian Grey?

my friend ordered the “lunch special” sandwich melt off of the placard on the table, while I went for the breakfast for lunch option with a garden skillet. All I have to say is that it was definitely a good choice for warming myself up from the weather outside.

Another plus to the hearty meal of hash browns, veggies and eggs smothered in hollandaise sauce was the choice of coffee cake as a side. The usual options of toast or pancakes were available as well, but what restaurant ever has coffee cake?! It was like the cherry on top to a wonderful meal.

After my trip to Randy’s, I felt like I was ready to go out and conquer the world of college again. Randy’s is not a fancy place I would bring people I want to impress, but it is a place to which I would love to bring family and friends.

Now I know you probably were not as pleased as I was that this story had a happy ending, but just remember that if you find yourself suddenly attacked by hunger, Randy’s is great place to refuel from the gloom of school in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.

3.5/5 Stars

photo spotlight

FREAKY FAST

DELIVERY! ©2011 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

MATAYA ARMSTRONG | THE SPECTRUM

It is that season again, when the air gradually gets colder as the days pass.

a little thicker. Now, I’m not referring to snow pants and winter boots (not yet at least) but sweat-

It is incredible how fast time flies by.

ers. Sweatshirts and fall coats are acceptable—but

Some of the trees don’t even have leaves any-

sweaters are nothing but cozy and inviting. The best

more. In fact, last Wednesday was our first frosty

part about sweaters is that they are all prices. You

morning. The car windshields already had thick

can get a cute cozy one even at a thrift store.

frosty residue.

With the cold coming so fast, it is time to dress

So, get your season on—and put that sweater on.

6 THURSDAY, OCT. 24, 2013

Arts & Entertainment

NDSUSPECTRUM.COM

The Spectrum

PHOTO COURTESY OF | IMDB

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in this fall’s ‘Gravity.’

‘Gravity’ Provides Lots of Suspense, but Little Tension Steven Strom A&E Editor

“Gravity” desperately wants to be Oscar bait for the sci-fi crowd.

“Serious” award ceremonies for film notoriously overlook any and all genre films outside of categories like Best Makeup and Special Effects. So “Gravity” instead tries to be science fiction, without being a genre film.

Basically, it’s a disaster-drama in space, but one that tries to incorporate the setting into its storytelling so as not to completely sell out.

For the most part, that aspect of the film works. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are astronauts installing something or other on a satellite. I guess. Cue meteor showers and explosions!

The heart of the film revolves around the two of them trying to make it back to Earth after multiple disasters. The best parts are when the film lives up to its advertising. It’s a more realistic (if not completely realistic) take on the real-life fears of space.

Being untethered from friction and solid

ground, without oxygen or notable markings to get your bearings is a truly frightening concept, and Bullock does a more than adequate job as our vicarious representative in the film.

The visuals do a great job of enhancing this, as they’re mostly subdued. Sure, things are exploding and tearing themselves apart, but they’re mostly small things. A space shuttle here, a satellite there—the scale is reduced enough to have clearly given the animators a prime target for some of the most realistic looking CGI I’ve seen in a movie, full stop. Aim small, miss small and all that.

With all the hyper-precision paid to every bit of floating, shredded solar panel and scorched spacesuit, you’d think the same theory could be applied to the characters.

After all, the production team seemed to understand less is more in some capacity.

You’d think that, but unfortunately, no.

The characters are painted in such broad clichés you’d think the writers penned them in a zero-oxygen environment.

Granted, the site of a space disaster isn’t the most logical place to exposit on one’s backstory, but that doesn’t keep “Gravity”

from trying.

Clooney is an old-timey spaceman with an eight ball’s worth of swagger, while Bullock is the traditional Woman Who Must Overcome a Past Tragedy to Find God and Blah Blah Blah.

The characters’ personalities are just threadbare excuses to feel the correct way about them when they meet their eventual fates. Which is fine! When dealing with ciphers for our own fears, it’s probably best if we have room to project ourselves onto them.

Much has been said about the physics of how we get to those character conclusions, especially in the scientific community.

That’s a bit more cringe-worthy.

I’m all for suspension of disbelief—I read comic books about men with spider powers, after all—but it’s different when the movie doesn’t even follow its own rules.

Particularly, Clooney’s big moment shoots the idea of “realism” out the airlock.

Even if I didn’t have the common sense and basic knowledge of how momentum works to see the ridiculousness of his forced self-sacrifice (which I did, thank you) it

breaks the rules of motion presented within the movie every five other minutes.

It’s by no means a deal-breaker, but it’s the spotlight that draws attention to just how shallow the character is. It doesn’t help that a career astronaut has shockingly little of worth to say about space, or the space program beyond “look how pretty the Earth is.”

In fact, the Earth is very much the star of the show in this space film. It’s presented almost pornographically through wide-angle shots, and revered by every character within the film like the only thing worth noting in space. Intentional or not, “Gravity” comes across like an Earth propaganda film in an era of interstellar colonization. Forwardthinking this film ain’t.

So, “Gravity” is pretty to look at, fun to be scared by and has almost nothing new or interesting to say. Oh, it does have the first use of 3D that actually enhances the experience that I’ve ever seen, which is something.

If you plan on seeing this one, do it in theaters. It’s probably not worth the price of the spectacle on a small screen.

‘Young Frankenstein’ Comes Alive ‘Dark Matter’ Publisher: Game is at The Stage Meant to be Episodic Jack Dura

Staff Writer

Timing could not be any riper for Music Theatre Fargo-Moorhead’s ninth season premiere “Young Frankenstein.” A musical form of the classic 1974 film starring Gene Wilder, this production arrives at The Stage at Island Park just as Halloween creeps closer on the calendar.

“Young Frankenstein” featured Wilder along with Marty Feldman, Teri Garr and Peter Boyle in a film of monstrously comedic proportions. Parodying the Boris Karloff Frankenstein films of the 1930s and ‘40s, “Young Frankenstein” finds neurosurgeon Frederick Frankenstein (Wilder) reluctantly returning to his grandfather’s Transylvanian home.

With his assistants (Feldman and Garr) he brings a corpse (Boyle) back to life, which escapes his lab, destruction and hilarity ensuing in his wake. This musical adaptation came to life in 2007, with Mel Brooks, the movie’s creator, behind the songs and music.

“The big dance numbers, and the songs and everything, and the things that they added work so well with the movie being funny anyway,” MTFM company member Kathy Hanson said, who portrays lab assistant Inga.

Dozens of songs come to life onstage, each inspired by a scene (i.e. Frederick’s nightmare) or a line (“Vould you like to have a roll in ze hay?”). Division of the script is tipped slightly more in the songs’ favor with this show because hey, after all it is a musi-

cal.

“There’s a song called ‘Roll in the Hay,’ which is a great tune,” stage manager Laurie Seifert-Williams said. “Igor and Frederick have a song-and-dance number together, which is fantastic and actually [sounds like] Gene Kelly-down-at-the-corner kind of music.

“Frau Blücher will have a song that is absolutely hysterical. Of course, the big number that everyone will know from the movie is ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz,’ which is a big production number that’s a lot of fun.”

Twenty cast members present the music of the production, with a seven-piece orchestra on hand for accompaniment. If live music and dancing is not enough for attendees, two costume contests will be held after performances on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, all in the Halloween spirit.

Fans of the film and even those unfamiliar with it are all invited to see for themselves this classic comedy come to life onstage. Entertainment is what a night at the theater is all about, and a good time will be easy to glean from this production. “[I]t’s so funny that it stands on its own if you’re not familiar with,” Seifert-Williams said. “It will still be funny.”

“Young Frankenstein” runs 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 to 26 and 31 to Nov. 2, and 2 p.m.

Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 at The Stage at Island Park at 333 4th St. S. Advanced tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, $10 for students, and $7 for students on Thursday nights. Tickets are available at the box office and by phone at 701-235-6778.

Steven Strom A&E Editor

“Dark Matter” has had a bumpy road to development. The game was originally slated as a Kickstarter project, but secured less than one third of its goal of 50,000 British pounds. The game has since been released on Steam for $14.99 as of last week, but there’s a problem.

As the 2D survival horror game stands now, there is no real ending. Instead, after 14 levels of progression, players who “complete” the title are treated to an abrupt nonending, a wall of text and an admission that the story is not yet complete. It’s an unsatisfying “to be continued” curtain call in a game that makes no attempt to inform players of what they’re getting into.

“The idea was then formed to make “Dark Matter” an episodic series, with episodes selling at a budget price of $14.99,” Erik Schreuder, CEO of “Dark Matter” publisher Iceberg Interactive said in a Steam forum titled “State of the game: Clearing up any confusion.”

“The first installment is what has launched recently on Steam and is simply called ‘Dark Matter,’” he added.

According to Shreuder, the original plan for the game was to release a finished project at $30—back when it was still part of the Kickstarter campaign. Instead, the game is being split into multiple parts, “a la Telltale Games,” “The Walking Dead” and “The Wolf Among Us.” However, the Steam store page for the game makes no mention of the fact that the

game is not a complete story. That means anyone purchasing the game from the digital distribution platform is not being given the proper details about what their money is going toward.

This issue has angered many in the games industry, most of whom are concerned over “Dark Matter’s” certification on the Steam platform while other, more deserving games languish in the store’s Greenlight voting program. Many are wondering how the game managed to slip past certification without the proper documentation on its store page, especially after bypassing Greenlight completely.

Former writer and current marketing director at Inceptor Entertainment and Managing Director at Universal Resources LLC said over Twitter: “That ‘Dark Matter’ story pisses me off. And it takes a lot to piss me off. There’s indie devs all over the world who would KILL to be on Steam[.]”

Several months ago, Steam launched an “Early Access” program. In this subsection of the service, developers may put up unfinished alpha and beta builds of software for purchase. The idea is that anyone purchasing the build knows what their money is going towards—helping to finish an incomplete project.

“Dark Matter” does not appear in the Early Access of Steam’s storefront.

Schreuder freely admits that the ending of “Dark Matter” in its current state “may cause confusion and is not satisfactory,” (possibly because it doesn’t have one and they forgot to tell anybody) and that they are working on a “more conclusive and satisfying ending.”

7

THE SPECTRUM | A&E | THURS, OCT. 24, 2013

New Video Game Releases: Oct. 21 - Oct. 27, 2013

Superpowers and superheroes control this week’s new games Steven Strom A&E Editor

Transhumanists have a lot to celebrate about this week’s new video game releases.

Heroes and villains from both major comic book universes are getting their dues in the form of two new Batman games, as well as Lego Marvel Superheroes. On top of that, a director’s cut of “Deus Ex: Human Revolution” is on the rise, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles get a self-titled game to celebrate nothing special whatsoever.

The two Batman games on tap are “Arkham Origins” and its portable counterpart, “Arkham Origins: Blackgate.”

“Origins” is a brand-new console title in the Arkham universe of video games— it’s a prequel to both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.

This new title is set in and around Gotham on Christmas Eve, just as one of the Batman’s less movie-oriented fans puts a hit out on the caped crusader.

Professional criminal and supervillain Black Mask has registered open season on Bruce Wayne’s alter ego, and a bunch of previously underutilized villains want to stir up a boss fight or three.

“Arkham Origins: Blackgate,” on the other hand, is set after the events of the main game. It’s a 2D, Metroid-style, action-exploration affair from some of the makers of the “Metroid Prime” trilogy. Instead of consoles, this one is set for portable devices, specifically the 3DS and PlayStation Vita.

Honestly, I’m much more excited about “Blackgate” than the game proper, but I’ve always enjoyed the “Arkham” series as well.

Batman isn’t the only superhero representing games this week, however, even if he is being presented as the darkest. The much more lighthearted “Lego Marvel Superheroes” is hitting just about every console and portable in production later this week. That means Lego will have conquered the market on both DC and Marvel licenses in regards to block building set-based video games.

Less impressive than any of these (probably) is the new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” downloadable game. It’s based on the newish Nickelodeon CGI cartoon, and that’s literally all I know about it. As with most licensed games, it probably won’t be any good.

What’s more interesting is that it’s coming so soon after “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.” This new game’s recent predecessor was assuredly terrible. It also featured the most disturbingly rendered versions of the heroic

turtles ever conceived, and paved the way for a great many “this should have stayed in the shadows” jokes in review subheadings.

One last thing that at least “promises” to be better is “Path of the Exile.” It’s a free-to-play dungeon crawler in the style of Diablo, and it’s been getting a lot of positive attention.

The latest version of the game is out of closed beta, and up on Steam’s storefront page this week for you to decide how you like it. I’ll be too busy caring about a Metroid-style game to find out for myself, so I’m counting on readers like you to tell me if it’s worth my time and attention, much less my money.

My final announcement for this week is TK Baha’s “Bloody Harvest.” It’s the first Headhunter DLC pack for Gearbox’s Borderlands 2.

As a part of the Headhunter DLC plan, this Halloween-themed expansion to the core game is not included as part of the game’s season pass. However, it will be offered at less than the wholesale price of any previous downloadable expansion for the game, so there is that.

And that’s basically all that is worth mentioning for this week’s new game releases. It’s not a light week, to be sure, but I just know we’ll all make the right decisions regarding our wallets and lifespan allotments.

Fun Will Flow with ‘The Merry Widow’ Jack Dura

Staff Writer

For its 45th season premiere, the Fargo-Moorhead Opera is bringing an operetta filled with frothy fun to Festival Concert Hall Friday and Sunday. “The Merry Widow,” composer Franz Lehár’s best-known work, will light up the venue with its lighthearted story backed by wondrous voices.

As an operetta, “The Merry Widow” has tastes of both an opera and musical theatre. It debuted in December 1905, and quickly caught on with wild popularity and helped ignite the start of American musical theatre. Operettas of the past had little to offer in their storyline, lacking very much in substance until “The Merry Widow” came along with something wonderfully new and entertaining.

“The title character is a woman from the mythical country of Pontevedro— which really was thinly disguised Montenegro,” David Hamilton, tenor and executive director of the F-M Opera said. “She has inherited her husband’s fortune when he passed away…which actually ties up most of the economy of this little country.”

Leaving Pontevedro for Paris to live it up luxuriously, the merry widow is pursued by the Pontevedrian ambassador to halt any impending marriage. With a fortune that would collapse the economy like a house of cards should it leave Pon-

tevedro, any marriage the merry widow may enter into in Paris would spell disaster for the tiny nation.

“The whole plot revolves around trying to keep the merry widow from marrying a Parisian,” Hamilton said.

Packed with gorgeous music from a live orchestra, “The Merry Widow’s” repertoire bursts with tuneful songs that will leave some humming on the car ride home. The night’s voices will feature Stella Zambalis as the title character. Zambalis, a guest performer in many operatic companies the world over, has been hailed as one of the best modern sopranos on the planet. “[S]he’s just loads of fun to work with,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got a director who is just bouncing off the walls, he is so high-energy.

It’s really very much in musical theatre style. There’s lots of comic, almost slapstick comedy stuff.”

Antics in the “Merry Widow” run rampant, as the various characters rush around all through the three acts. One such example is the merry widow purchasing an entire restaurant for one night and moving it into her home.

“Our leading man Danilo is drowning his sorrow in champagne at the famous Parisian night spot Maxim’s, which is where all the can-can girls are,” Hamilton said. “So in order to kind of force him to come back into her home, she buys the entire restaurant for a night—

moves it to her house. So the entire third act is Maxim’s transposed to the merry widow’s home in Paris.”

Arguably a romantic comedy in operatic form, “The Merry Widow” holds much in store for its audience. A full-blown, fullpower production will unfold with vocal verve and resonance no one will soon forget.

Students have the enormous advantage of reduced ticket prices ($5 at the door), while NDSU students have the bonus of venturing no further than their campus to attend the show. With all the area arts scene has to offer, Hamilton hopes that area students will dip their toes in the waters of the opera this weekend, as any student who has not experienced one yet has the door opened wide.

“Why would you not want to take advantage of everything that there is to offer here?” Hamilton said.

“Sure, you want to go to Bison games, you want to go to Little Country Theatre plays, but why would you not take advantage of everything there is while you’re a student and while you can get these inexpensive tickets. You’re gonna love it.”

“The Merry Widow” is presented 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25 and 2 p.m. Oct. 27 at Festival Concert Hall. Tickets are $5 for students before the show. Other tickets range from $40 to $80. Tickets are available at the box office prior to the show and by phone at 701-239-4558.

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8

Opinion

THURSDAY, OCT. 24, 2013

NDSUSPECTRUM.COM

The Spectrum

Democracy as an Ideal, Not as a Practice

Condemning the unjust government surveillance on other countries Samantha Wickramasinghe Opinion Editor

The French news organization Le Monde revealed that the U.S. government conducted unauthorized surveillance on the French citizens, not just only suspected terrorist links but also business people and politicians in the French administration.

According the Washington Post, The U.S. National Security Agency swept up 70.3 million French telephone records in a 30-day period. Diplomats in the United States took immediate actions to reconcile with the French by encouraging continuous dialogue on the issue.

This whole scenario of the U.S. government spying on France makes me laugh.

It assures me that the so-called “allies” do not exist in power politics. In general, the French took it with a little bit of outrage and I can understand why the ordinary French citizens and French bureaucrats should be angry.

Indeed, this double standard of so-called allies is not acceptable at all. But, overall I urge the French, Americans and people from countries everywhere in this world, to identify the double standard and hypocrisy of unjust surveillances done to non-western, developing countries.

When the U.S government does this kind of surveillance in countries like Pakistan or Mexico (which is proven) there is more room for justification because obviously –terrorism, drugs, violence– you name the “bad” things are happening in these coun-

tries.

But problems come when the French are being spied. Indeed, when it happens to France the ally, chère ami, then the news is a great shock to the whole world and in fact a media sensation.

I personally cannot understand the challenges that the NSA and the U.S. government have to face in a globalized world where the nature of terrorism and threats can be sophisticated and multi-faceted. But should the government officials be allowed to be secretive and justify their actions according to the premise of protecting national security?

Where is the place to find the balance of infringing privacy and protecting national security interests? If there is a clear answer, the government only should not have the right to answer, the citizens have a call too.

I’m certain there are legal and political justifications for these actions. But the great irony is the citizens are not aware of infringement of rights until somebody like Edward Snowden or a news organization like Le Monde is revealing this information.

At the end of the day Edward Snowden, in the eyes of the government, is a traitor.

But I argue if he had not revealed all this information, the ordinary citizens would have been in the dark.

I will tell you how some people may justify this kind of surveillance by saying that “the governments will do it anyway whether we like it or not,” but these kind of delusional, narrow opinions will further cause infringing the liberties that are granted by the constitution.

If you think that United States surveillance–when done in foreign countries by infringing the right of their citizens– does not affect your personal life in the least, I should congratulate you because you are perfect “citizen” that the U.S. government would love to have.

I demand the government to have genuine transparency. I demand the government to have a narrowly trailered approach in

‘Curvy’ Fashion

Flattering or insensitive?

you have to do a walk of shame in a separate section of a store, identified as the “plus” section.

This problem crosses over into other mediums of fashion advertising too. For Amber Zolondek example, magazines write detailed columns Staff Writer on how to “dress your curvy body” or “hide The label “curvy” of- those hips.” fends me. I admit when I What? So, not only do women have to am shopping and I see any shop in a different part of the store for exof the affiliated adjectives tended sizes, but read separate articles in ordescribing the extension of der to comply with the rules of fashion for a clothing line for “bigger- their body size and type? boned girls,” I instantly put Call me insensitive, but I’m not the one whatever I’m holding down and walk away. who is recreating segregation in the consumWe get it. The sizes and measurements er’s eyes. are bigger; they are pieces made for girls All there is to say is plus sizing in today’s that are sizes 16 and up. Maybe this is just a world of apparel is not a freak show. Yet here sensitive topic based on my past experiences we are, dancing around the fact that nobody and weight struggle or possibly even seeing wants to leave it out, but don’t know how to other friends dealing treat it with a sense of with it. dignity either.

“Call me insensitive, but The issue is not It is not a disease I’m not the one recreating about women being or the pink elephant in curvy, but more or less segregation in the consumer’s the room. It’s a size; a with the label that is eyes.” number or a letter that stamped on the clothdecides which piece ing by some companies who have high- of clothing is going to fit someone’s body. lighted that some women are indeed in need If this is the struggle retailers are dealing of a larger size than the average American with, it’s time to take into account what the woman. projected consumer is thinking in the fitting Stores like Lane Bryant, Torrid and room or while reading a magazine.

Roaman’s are designed to give women sizes We need to create a society where wom16 and up a selection of clothes to shop from en should be encouraged to embrace their that are of quality, substance and style. But curves, not the labels. companies like Forever 21, Lucky Brand and Old Navy give their lines a “plus size” Amber is a sophomore majoring in publabel to help consumers identify the cloth- lic relations and advertising. ing they are looking at have larger measurements.

It’s somewhat degrading to realize that

MATAYA ARMSTRONG | THE SPECTRUM

each and every case of infringement and a clear, concise way for the citizens to access information if these infringements are necessary to protect national security.

I do not want to be kept ignorant about actions of a government and I feel the American people should stand for this basic right.

In a democracy, the government representatives are obliged to embody the ordinary citizen. In other words, there should not be a difference between the government and the people in a democracy. I will never argue thus with the North Korean leader, Kim Jung Un or ask him to stop infringing of the rights of North Korean citizens.

Apparently, his country and the North Korean people have chosen a different political system where any kind of surveillance of citizens can be justified.

But the United States is a democracy. It has to answer its people when their fundamental rights are infringed. It has to answer when the government infringes the rights of citizens of other countries, within the eyes of law and in the eyes of fairness and transparency.

The U.S. government’s unjust surveillance of the citizens in any country is completely unacceptable. These infringements destroy the trust between friends and prove the fact that over and over again democracy in this great nation is only an ideal, but in the essence not a practice.

Samantha is a senior majoring in Journalism.

Blue Said, Red Said

Compromise will result in peace Colton Pool Staff Writer

On the recent war grounds which have been Washington D.C., over the government shutdown’s fallout, it appears that there is no peace in the middle.

You’ll hear the left quite often blame everything on those Tea Party conservatives that are “cry babies,” and that they are the ones who did all they could to stop a smooth transition to the Affordable Care Act because “they don’t get their way.”

The Grand Old Party, on the other hand, has been fighting what appears to have been a lost fight. They’ll blame everything bad on the liberals for many reasons, including raising the debt ceiling and raising the taxes, also known as “the usual.” Regular citizens siding with either side blame the other, which of course has been standard ever since the adoption of the two-party system.

However, I believe the problem goes much deeper than the issues rooting from one side or the other.

It’s both parties. I find it humorous to think that anyone would seriously believe either side is innocent here. The more I see polls that say the government as a whole— not either party—is to blame, the happier I become. The American people are not only paying attention to what is actually happening in their world, but they are also starting to form opinions of their own.

I usually learn from the conservatives with loads of government matters. However, I will be the first to admit the GOP has been far from cooperative. But at the same time,

neither has the Democratic Party, which has used their media power to intimidate the public into believing that the Republicans are one false movement away from terrorists. You can’t deny the drama-fest that is Capitol Hill.

The perfect example is the famous Affordable Care Act. This bill has been passed back and forth between the Senate and the House—with no progress being made toward a middle ground. It’s almost like trying to negotiate a curfew with a 13-year-old girl: You just can’t do it. But don’t let the media fool you. Neither side is doing what they should be.

At the same time, it’s important to remember that they are doing their job. Government leaders were elected with a purpose to represent the people they were elected by.

They just aren’t going about it the right way.

With being elected, I believe our government officials should be making sure their voices are heard and taken into account, not being blasted on megaphones with no will to cooperate.

This is why I’m calling out the leader of the free world, the Mr. Great Uniter, the one who was put in the White House because Americans believed that he could bring chance and unite us together as people, all of which have yet to happen.

President Obama knows his job. He is supposed to bring the people further together by bringing compromise to the forefront.

Instead, in an attempt to push his Affordable Care Act, he has deliberately alienated the Republican Party. What he should be doing and what I hope he does, is to come up with the middle ground for the best solution possible.

But what’s a war when everyone is worried about peace, right?

Colton is a sophomore majoring in Journalism.

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9

THE SPECTRUM | OPINION | THURS, OCT. 24, 2013

A Story of Modern-Day Slavery Michael Zastoupil Contributing Writer

A woman wipes the sweat off her brow and pauses for a second. This is the fourteenth hour she’s been working out in the field, and her arms and back ache. Although she hasn’t taken a break once, she doesn’t dare pause more than another second longer, for fear of being harassed by her supervisor.

In fact, she fears her supervisor more than anything because he sexually harasses her nearly every day.

If that’s not enough, when she goes home in one more hour—dirty and sweaty and physically exhausted—she has to share the trailer home she lives in with eight other men and women just like her. She lives the life of a typical farm worker in Immokalee, Fla., today. You can call her Maria. She picks tomatoes for a living, and she lives in modern day slavery.

Did you know slavery was still alive and well in the United States? I sure didn’t until I heard Gerardo Reyes speak at a Real Food Challenge conference in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago. I thought slavery was over, something that we abolished after the Civil War. I thought holding people against their will, making them work backbreaking hours and literally shackling them together was just something terrible from our history. I didn’t know people are working in slave-like conditions here in

the United States, right now.

Reyes told me otherwise.

He used to pick tomatoes and other fruit on farms in Florida until his boss refused to pay him, week after week. The tomato industry relies on farm workers like Reyes to hand pick tomatoes in their fields, yet these farm workers are often outrageously abused and paid sub-poverty wages. Many of the farm workers are illegal immigrants and don’t speak much English, so they just keep quiet about their working conditions, for the fear of being deported or physically abused even more.

I went to this conference in the first place because I’m interested in how students at other colleges are making their campuses healthier and more sustainable by changing the food in their dining halls. So I was surprised when many of the conversations there started to revolve around workers’ rights and “food justice.”

I quickly realized if you want to talk about healthier school lunches, buying local, or making our food system better in any way, you need to talk about the invisible people behind the scenes: farm workers. Better yet, you need to talk to a farm worker.

Reyes is now a member of the Coalition for Immokalee Workers. He and other farm workers in the coalition have been working together to raise awareness about their working conditions, and they have recently been gaining the support of tomato growers and large

food corporations in Florida.

Of the five largest fastfood corporations in Florida, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Burger King and Subway have all committed to CIW’s “Fair Food Program,” in which they pay just a penny more per pound of tomatoes to the farm workers and purchase only from tomato growers who treat their farm workers better under a new Fair Food Code of Conduct.

Gerardo Reyes said Wendy’s is the only one of the five that has yet to agree to the commitment.

Reyes’s story made me think, how can our food system ever be healthy or sustainable when some of its most valuable workers don’t even have basic human rights? These farm workers and their stories have for a long time been invisible to most of us.

We always hear from doctors, celebrity chefs and other “experts” about how to eat healthy and go “green.”

But is it “healthy” to eat a tomato grown at the expense of other people’s basic human rights? Is it “sustainable” to rely on the exploitation of illegal immigrants to keep the prices of our fruits and vegetables low? These are questions that no one is going to answer, unless farm workers can join us in the conversation.

Want to know more?

Check out the Coalition for Immokalee Workers website at http://ciw-online.org/.

Michael is a senior majoring in crop and weed science.

Heroes Who Deserve a Chance Caleb Werness

Contributing Writer

The Spectrum

let your voice be heard.

Has your academic advisor helped you succeed?

If so, please consider nominating her or him for the Outstanding Advising Award at: http://www.ndsu.edu/ http://www.ndsu.edu/accreditation/ academic_advising/. accreditation/advertising Nominations are due by November 15 30.

The last 10 years have seen a large collection of superhero films. Hollywood has snatched up somewhat of a golden ticket with this sub-genre.

The successes of the Spiderman, Batman and X-Men films have caused a demand for heroes to grace themselves on the big screen. There are a few heroes that I believe should get their chance at a movie deal.

The first is Nightwing.

For those who are not familiar with him, he is the grown-up version of Batman’s protégé, Robin.

When Dick Grayson began to outgrow his Boy Wonder wardrobe he needed persona: one to separate him from his mentor.

That was when he donned on the role of Nightwing. He retains some of the gadgets from when he

was teamed up with Batman and a few more of his own.

Nightwing uses his acrobatic experience to create a flashy form of combat.

I think a Nightwing movie would be worth it, because the evolution of Grayson moving on from Robin to Nightwing would make a good story. It would offer the chance to possibly see some of Gotham’s famous villains fight a new vigilante.

Another hero I would like to see in the movies would be Gambit. Gambit is a mutant from the X-Men series. He had a small cameo in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” His ability allows him to take potential energy and convert it into kinetic energy with explosive results.

Gambit has always had flashes of good and bad, which I think would make him an interesting hero.

His natural charm and badboy tendencies give us a superhero that is far from flawless. The subtle unpredictability that is Gambit would offer potential in the creation of a rich story.

Lastly, I think Flash should be given a chance to show what he can do. He has always been one of the support staff on the Justice League. To me, I think he tends to get over showered in the presence of Batman and Superman. This is why I believe Flash should be allowed to fly solo.

His super-speed ability is one that I would love to have. The only downfall would be finding a villain or cause for Flash to pursue.

A Flash movie would be worth seeing if a decent plot could be established. Today’s graphics could allow for some pretty awesome slow-motion sequences and super-speed fight scenes.

As we all know a good hero movie idea can be ruined with bad writing—look at Halle Barry’s “Catwoman.” If a good script can be mustered up, I strongly believe these three heroes could give audiences a great show in the theater.

Caleb is a sophomore majoring in English.

What ever your preference, wake up with The Spectrum

10

Sports

THURSDAY, OCT. 24, 2013

NDSUSPECTRUM.COM

The Spectrum

Nate and Ali Moody are workhorses on their respective teams, filling versatile roles for both the football and volleyball teams for the Bison.

JOSEPH RAVITS | THE SPECTRUM

Moody Siblings Have Similar Styles Colton Pool Staff Writer

Nate Moody and Ali Moody have a lot of things in common.

Aside from having the same last name and both being graduates of Dickinson High, the siblings were both born on Dec. 17, with Nate being exactly three years older than Ali. They are also known for their hard work at NDSU. Thanks to his dedication and some injuries at his position, Moody found the field in his first season as a walk-on freshman.

“I just try to come into every practice and every game and work as hard as I can and give as much effort as I can,” Nate said.

“From there, I just practice and play as well as I can.”

Ali has exhibited the same blue-collar gene since she started her collegiate career at NDSU. Instead of being worried about how she would fit in as rookie, Ali said she just wants to see the team win.

“Of course I want to play, but before I do

I have to improve,” Ali said. “If I play, I play and if I don’t, I don’t. I just want to help the team the best I can.”

Nate was on the field since his first season at NDSU and has taken advantage of every opportunity thrown his way.

“Nate is a soldier out there,” NDSU head football coach Craig Bohl said. “He does whatever he is asked to do.”

Though he may not get the most targets, Bohl emphasized Nate plays an important role on the team. He said Nate brings a solid level of dependability in short-yardage situations.

“To be able to go out and have somebody that we feel very comfortable throwing the ball to on third down, it’s a great deal of flexibility,” Bohl said. “Those are the things that carry you through when you get deep in (Missouri Valley Football Conference) play and down the road getting into playoff play.

Those are the guys that are really carrying the torch for you.”

Nate has not only set a standard for his team, but his little sister as well.

Bypassing a redshirt season, Ali has put

in her fair share of sweat for the Bison volleyball team.

The freshman setter is known around the team as going to the grindstone with each practice and match – a state of mind which has worked her into a bigger role as the season has gone on. “(Ali) is a hard worker,” NDSU head volleyball coach Kari Thompson said.

“You’ll see her laying out for everything.

She doesn’t know what her limits are yet, which I think is great for a player like that.

You can see that energy and that excitement level that she brings.”

Though Nate has set a bar for Ali as an athlete, his biggest influence on his younger sister may be off the court.

While most freshman aren’t aware of what it takes to be a student-athlete in college before they’re hit with their first round of homework, Nate was able to provide some much-needed advice.

“I just told her to be ready because it’s not going to be how you think it’s going to be,” Nate recalled of his advice to Ali. “Things get hard, but things will get a lot easier as the

season goes on and into the offseason and into the spring.”

Both siblings said it has been nice to have each other around.

Their hometown of Dickinson is nearly 300 miles away from Fargo. Even though Ali and Nate’s parents have made it to Fargo for every home-game weekend this season, being so far away from home can be tough on anyone.

Which is exactly why Ali appreciates having Nate around.

“It’s really nice,” she said. “I can just go over to his house and stay the night. I like it a lot. (Our relationship) has gotten a lot better since I’ve gotten here.”

Though neither have an excess of time to cut out for each other, Nate said it’s been nice to see his sister more often now that she is a Bison.

“It’s nice having her here and helping her out,” he said. “She can come to over the house sometimes if she’s sick of the dorms.

Overall, it’s a good experience.”

NDSU at Indiana State Preview Bison look to avenge last year’s only loss Sam Herder Sports Editor

The only blemish on the NDSU football team’s national championship record last year was a 17-14 loss to Indiana in the Fargodome.

NDSU will get its chance at revenge when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to play the Sycamores Saturday at 2 p.m.

Even though ISU currently sits at 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the Missouri Valley Football conference, the Sycamores pose a dangerous challenge for the Bison.

“Our guys are very aware of the talent level and how competitive the Valley is,” NDSU head coach Craig Bohl said. “I think our players recognize that this is the team that defeated us last year. And so more than a revenge factor, I think it’s an eye-opening deal that these guys didn’t go to the playoffs, yet they were very good and they beat us at home.”

The Sycamores will be without backto-back All-American running back Shakir Bell. Bell was dismissed from the team Tuesday afternoon. Bell rushed for 96 yards in the win over NDSU. But Bell hadn’t seen his usual success so far this season due to a collarbone injury suffered early in the year. He only scored

one touchdown on the ground while rushing for 420 yards on 78 carries.

The probable starter in Bell’s place will be junior Buck Logan. Logan has rushed for 276 yards on 41 carries for no touchdowns.

An undesirable quarterback position has also left the Sycamores struggling. Rob Tonyan Jr. made his first career start last week in a 55-14 loss to Illinois State. Tonyan Jr. only completed 8-of-22 passes for 69 yards in his replacement of usual starter Mike Perish.

While the struggles are evident in the win-loss column, ISU has remained competitive this season. The Sycamores lost to Big 10 opponent Purdue 20-14 and have had two games decided by three points or less.

“When I looked at the record I went, ‘what the heck?’” Bohl said. “They were a team that was vying for playoffs and beat us last year. They had two pick-sixes, but they forced those turnovers. And we couldn’t tackle Shakir Bell. I mean he could still be running today. Every year is a new year but some of their losses have been close.”

The Bison will need to hit the road for the second straight week to hold off the dan-

Last year’s loss to the Sycamores at the Fargodome was NDSU’s only loss en route to a second consecutive national championship title.

two years have been in the Fargodome, including last year’s loss to Indiana State.

“Our guys have been really good as far

PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR #2 Sampson Levingston, Fr. WR 12 rec, 149 yds, 6 tds #20 Jameer Thurman, FR. DB 54 tot tackles, 33 solo, 8 tfl, 3 sacks gerous ISU team. But the road has been kind to the Bison. The only two losses in the last

as being in a routine,” Bohl said. “They’ve played well on the road. The fact that we’re

STOCK PHOTO | THE SPECTRUM

going on the road two times in a row, we try to minimize (changing the routine) as much as what we can.”

The loss to ISU last year was the only burden on an otherwise perfect year for NDSU. The Bison are sitting at 7-0 and 4-0 in the conference. To keep the tally out of the loss column in the competitive Missouri Valley, the Bison are using the game-by-game mentality.

“Our main focus right now is Indiana State,” Bohl said. “Make no mistake, I think our players and coaches recognize let’s get this win and catch our breath.”

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THE SPECTRUM | SPORTS | THURS, OCT. 24, 2013

Austin Sanchez | Contributing Writer Photo Courtesy of | Media Relations

Meet a bison:Brett kelly NDSU junior Brett Kelly loves competing. He loves it so much he’ll compete for the Bison athletically in the fall and in the spring, in both cross country and track.

Most people can’t imagine the stress of competing in two sports while keeping up academically. Kelly can’t imagine not.

“I’ll always be a competitor and I’ll miss that most,” Kelly said. “I can always find competitions later but I can’t go back and re-do college.”

He probably thought the same in high school, where Kelly competed for Bismarck Century in both cross country and soccer at the same time.

“It was fun for me and I was definitely in extremely great shape I thought.”

Now in college, Kelly has turned his full attention to running, saying, “I would have put soccer as my primary sport all through high school and even my first year of college I would have probably considered myself a soccer player. But now I’m definitely more of a runner. I’ve given up on soccer a little bit, reluctantly.”

Soccer may have been Kelly’s first love, but with a mother who ran at Jamestown College, running is in his DNA.

After a high school career that included four allstate selections and being named the 2009 North Dakota Cross Country Runner of the Year, Kelly wasn’t overlooked. After touring Iowa State and Minnesota and getting recognition from Ivy League schools, Kelly decided to become a Bison.

“I toured Iowa State and they probably would have been my second choice and then the Gophers probably my number three,” Kelly said. “But I kind of decided after touring those schools that I just couldn’t handle the huge programs and feeling like I was just a statistic going there. Here it felt like it was going to mean something for me, and it definitely has.”

It’s meant something for the program as well, as Kelly has been one of the Bison’s top performers. He led NDSU at both the Stanford Invitational and the Summit League Championship last year and repeated his performance in Stanford this year, where the Bison finished third amongst D-1 teams.

“This year at Stanford was a bigger race for me,” Kelly said. “Getting out there this year and knowing what happened last year, it wasn’t a fluke. I knew where I could be this year and it gives me a lot of confidence going into next year.”

Purple Pain Vol. 1.03

Toughest Conference Game could be Any Week for NDSU

The Spectrum

ratings as of 10/21

Freshman

Sam Herder

No. 1 NDSU

Senior

#2

at Indiana St.

Football Pick’em No.17 N Iowa

Missouri St.

at No.25 South Dakota St. at Western Illinois

No.3 E Washington at No.5 Montana

Georgia Southern at Appalachian St.

No.12 UCLA at No.2 Oregon

(NFL) Green Bay at Minnesota

Total Points

Throwback Thursday

excuse for a football game this past Monday, the Vikings defense played average football. Jamarca Sanford started playing like he wanted the free safety job while Marvin Mitchell yelled really loud a couple times. That means he did something, right?

If Frazier can get his defense up to play while the offense fails to move the ball, I’d say that’s pretty darn impressive. Granted they were playing a New York Giant football team that, well, isn’t that good at football.

The problem for the Vikings is that Frazier played Freeman as a last ditch effort to save his job. Yes, the Vikings needed a fresh face at quarterback, but someone who joined the organization 14 days ago is a position you don’t want to put anyone in.

Freeman only saved Greg Shiano’s job Monday night and for now, Frazier is still the man in Minnesota.

But time is ticking away.

The growing impatience and depression in Minnesota will not end smoothly.

Someone’s getting fired and someone’s getting traded.

The Purple Pain continues. Thankfully Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love and Cory Brewer 2.0 are almost here to save the day.

HOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWL!

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Colton Pool

T h e tough part of the NDSU football team’s schedule was supposed to come at the beginning of conference play. The Bison’s first two Missouri Valley Football Conference games were against top-ten ranked teams and programs picked to compete for the conference title: South Dakota State and Northern Iowa.

But as we should have learned from the past, there really is no tough part of the conference schedule. Every game has the potential to be more dangerous than the previous. The reason is simple: the MVFC is the best league in the FCS. And they play defense.

If someone would have predicted the current standings two months ago, I’d say they were crazier than Jon Gruden watching the torturous Vikings-Giants game.

The Bison are in first, naturally. Youngstown State is right there as well with a

At some point you just have to say “Eff it.”

I s n ’ t there something better I could be doing with my time? Are the Lynx on?

Should I be studying for a Principles of Advertising test? Isn’t there something else out there I can invest myself emotionally in? Not every fan goes through this torture, right? Is this what it’s like to root for Cleveland?

The questions are endless when you root for a loser that goes out and plays the worst Monday Night Football game in your lifetime, stumbling through the game like they were a zombie attempting to infiltrate a prison while taking a crowbar through the skull. And right now, Vikings fans are in Depression City, population: yours truly.

That got dark, but it’s my reality.

Unlike you, I spent my Monday night on my couch, wearing my once lucky Vikings T-shirt (I burnt it after the game and is now in a middle of a field somewhere in West Fargo), attempting to console myself as my football team embarrassed

themselves on the national stage, with the unsettling thought that the Vikings play in front of a national TV audience two times in the next three weeks. It was just an awful, awful night.

Essentially, it was the Vikings season in a nutshell.

Unstable offensive line play that could effectively strain the water for my Ramen Noodles, a nonexistent run game that has Adrian “Purple Jesus” Peterson fantasy owners steaming with hatred and incompetent play calling from an offensive coordinator that’s unable to run a two-minute drill in the Tecmo Bowl.

The problems have been growing for the Vikings this season and it makes me ponder when a change on the sidelines is coming.

Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier is 27-47 in his three-plus years in Minnesota with only one playoff appearance. Yes, at times it seems like the talent hasn’t been there for a head coach to succeed, but when you look at the roster, the Vikings should not be a 1-5 team in 2013.

Frazier has been the coach for as many games as Brad Childress and the one conclusion Vikings fans can draw is Frazier is a defensive coordinator. That’s all he will ever be.

Bringing back that poor

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Stephanie Stanislao

Sports Editor

now all-mighty Coyotes.

To say the Bison can cruise through the rest of conference play is about as inaccurate as a Vikings quarterback rolling out to the left.

But with 24 seniors on its roster, the Bison don’t need to read this column to realize they still have a dogfight on its hands the rest of the year. The only two losses last year came to conference opponents that didn’t make the playoffs.

So far, NDSU has avoided any legitimate upset scares.

“Our guys have been really good as far as taking it one game at a time,” Bohl said. “Our guys are also experienced in the Valley. Our number one goal is to win the Valley. And the best way they know how is to win the next game and not count on someone else to slip up.”

Are chances good that NDSU goes through the rest of the year loss free? Probably. And that may be essential to lock up a No. 1 or 2 playoff seed, considering two other FCS teams are undefeated and several others with one-loss records. And we all know what happens when the Road to Frisco goes through Fargo.

But for now, like Bohl said, let’s take this one game at a time. You just never know when the toughest conference game of the year will arrive.

Staff Writer

28

Joe Kerlin

Sam Herder

4-0 conference record. But then the MVFC decided to say, “let’s get weird” like a college student on Friday night.

South Dakota (without the state) are in third with a 3-1 conference record? The Coyotes were winless last year, yet they beat UNI in overtime last week.

Speaking of the UNI Farley Davidsons, after beating Iowa State to begin the year, the Panthers are 0-3 in the conference. SDSU is a lowly 1-3 in league play. Being ranked in the preseason Top 10 poll seems a long ways away now for these teams.

“When you look at the standings … I would not have picked it that way at the beginning of the year,” NDSU head coach Craig Bohl said. “We’re in the meat of the conference schedule and there’s a lot to play for and I’m sure there’s going to be some upsets as we finish out the season.”

NDSU’s next opponent, the Indiana State Shakir Bells, are also 0-3. (The Sycamores are now Bellless. The running back was dismissed from the team Tuesday afternoon). But the Sycamores only lost to Big 10-opponent Purdue 30-24 earlier this year. ISU was the only team to beat NDSU last year, and they didn’t even make the playoffs.

The coming games after are against Illinois State, conference contender Youngstown State and the

Joe Kerlin

Travis Jones

Valley shakeup proves no one is safe

Even when he reminisces on his favorite individual performance, Kelly can’t help but bring it all back to the team.

“What we did as a team was a pretty big deal, I think. That was a huge race for us in terms of boosting our confidence and knowing that we are where we want to be.”

When the team needs a boost in confidence, they don’t need to look any farther than one of its leaders, Kelly. A top three finish at the conference championships is what he is aiming for and says, “If I didn’t do that, for this season, I probably disappointed myself.”

It may have taken time for Kelly to admit to being a runner, but it didn’t take time for him to adapt to NDSU. With a “dad on campus” in his coach Don Larson, otherwise known as Lars to the team, and his teammates doubling as roommates, Kelly is a part of a family of runners here.

“I’m going to miss the most, I would say, the guys on the team, the coaches, the trainers and everyone that has been here in our Bison family.”

Fortunately for Kelly, and for NDSU, the junior runner still has one more year of eligibility left after this year, and he’s going to make the most of it.

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