S ports
Campus L ife The Kaleidoscope Arts
Lacrosse falls short of playoff berth despite victory over Edinboro
C-1
Festival kicks off at SRU
The Rocket www.theonlinerocket.com
Country artist outsells rap star at SRU
B-1
Friday, April 27, 2012
Slippery Rock University Student Newspaper
Est. 1934
Volume 95, Number 24
Dr. Norton takes tour of student center
By Kaitlyn Yeager Rocket Contributor
The spring concerts, hosted by the University Program Board, will be held this Sunday and Monday in the Aebersold Recreation Center, featuring up and coming artists Brantley Gilbert and Big Sean. Gilbert, a country artist, has more than doubled the ticket sales for Big Sean, a rapper, at close to 3,000, and University Program Board members believe that the concert will be sold out by Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Ticket purchases for Big Sean hit the 1,000 mark on Monday. Vice President of Concerts for UPB, Dave Wolfe, believes that students at SRU have wanted a country concert for the past two years, so they jumped on the opportunity, especially for an artist like Gilbert. “We caught Brantley at the right time in his career, which has created a buzz of excitement for students,” Wolfe said. “A country artist hasn’t been here for so long, so I think this helped raise ticket sales.” Anna Timko, a 21-year-old communication major, bought her Gilbert ticket the day that they went on sale in the University Union. “My best friend talked me into listening to him, and I really liked his music,” Timko said. “I was supposed to go to his concert with Eric Church last month, but I couldn’t go, so I’m
PHOTO COURTESY OF GORDON OVENSHINE/SENIOR PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITER
Slippery Rock University's acting president, Dr. Charles Curry, gives the future president, Dr. Cheryl Norton, a tour of the new Robert M. Smith Student Center on Thursday morning. The center is set to open up in the summer of 2012 and be ready for student use by the fall of 2012.
SEE BIG, PAGE A-2
Board of Governors agrees on President Norton's $225,000 salary Norton's starting salary $6,000 more than Smith's when he retired By Jonathan Janasik Rocket News Contributor
GRAPHIC BY LEXI KOVSKI/THE ROCKET
New Slippery Rock University president Dr. Cheryl Norton is set to make $6,000 more than former president Robert Smith retired making.
SRU’s new President Dr. Cheryl Norton’s salary was agreed upon earlier this month by the Board of Governors. Kenn Marshall, media relations manager for PASSHE (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education), revealed that Norton’s annual salary would be $225,000. Dr. Robert Smith, SRU’s previous president who retired in February, was earning an annual salary of $218,938 when he departed. Marshall declined to comment on how the salaries were decided on, stating that the processes are, “personnel matters.” Rita Abent, executive director for public relations at SRU, explained that recently, management employees have not been receiving annual raises. With that being said, each year the presidents are evaluated. If there is enough money available in the budget, the presidents could receive raises. “I’m sure the [Board of Governors] considers everything,” Abent said. “The Board of Governors has to look
at potential dollars that are coming in through state appropriation, but they’re also tasked with attracting and maintaining high quality presidents. In order to do that, you have to understand what the market is. "The [Board of Governors] has a responsibility to see that each of the state institutions has a highly qualified president and there are lots of institutions within the United States who are all competing for presidents, so I think they have to consider a lot of things when they make salary decisions.” Presidential candidates usually do not know exactly how much each institution will be willing to pay when they apply, Abent said. After the presidential selection process has ended and the job is offered to the candidate, they will begin to negotiate a suitable salary. Usually, the Board of Governors makes an offer that the candidate has a chance to either accept or make a counter offer. “When candidates apply for a presidency and come to visit as part of the interview process, those candidates are interviewing us as
well as us interviewing them,” Abent stated. “They’re trying to decide, ‘Is this the right kind of place for me? Is my skillset going to match the culture?’ So there are a lot of things going on during that interview process.” The state system was created by Act 188, explained Abent. The governing body of the PASSHE system is the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors hires the chancellor, and the chancellor is in charge of hiring his own staff. Then, the chancellor and Board of Governors collaborate in order to decide who to hire as presidents of the universities. When SRU was searching for the next president, the staff and faculty made suggestions about the presidential candidates and sent a list of three names to the Board of Governors and the chancellor. They interviewed each candidate and decided who they wanted to hire. The Board of Governors is a working committee that specializes in finances and evaluates the market conditions and the candidate’s qualifications. They then determine what salary to offer the candidate.
News
A-2
ROCK NOTES Dance Lessons at Ghost Riders 2 in Butler Tuesday Nights- Dance Lessons/Social dance, 7-8 lessons, 8-10:30. Open Dance ALL Types of Music to Dance to and free pool for only $5.00 packages available.
Financial Aid Deadline Approaches Students who want to be considered for financial aid for the 2012-13 academic year must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.gov<http:// www.fafsa.gov> by May 1st for maximum aid consideration.
.
To submit a Rock Note please send your announcement by 6 p.m. Wednesday to Brian Brodeur at bdb5229@sru.edu or to rocket.news@sru.edu. The Rocket does not guarantee that all requests will be published in the paper.
Big Sean cost $6,500 more than Gilbert Continued from Page A-1
really excited for Sunday.” It required more money to bring Big Sean to SRU at $56,500, whereas Gilbert agreed for $50,000. Despite less money, Gilbert has appeared to be the bigger hit with students. Shaune Johnson, a 21-year-old emerging technology major, is attending the Big Sean concert, but believes that most students on campus prefer country over rap. “We live in a rural area that is predominantly white and likes country music,” Johnson said. “I think if we were in an urban area, we would have seen more Big Sean tickets sold.” Shatreece Johnson, a 22-year-old social work major, is looking forward to the Big Sean concert because this will be her last concert at SRU. “I’m a senior, so I definitely wanted to go to this last concert,” Johnson said. This marks the first year that SRU has been able to hosts two spring concerts
for students and the public, according to Wolfe. “When we had Steve-O and Sean Kingston on campus last year, we were able to receive a lot of extra money, especially with Sean Kingston being sold out,” Wolfe said. “So this year, we had enough money for two concerts. “ Although the UPB offers a variety of music between the two concerts, students like Timko are questioning both prices and times of the concerts. “I don’t know who would want to spend almost $40 on two concert tickets here,” Timko said. “Even if I wanted to go to the Big Sean concert Monday, I couldn’t, because I have a night class.” Shatreece Johnson thought that the UPB could have planned two artists for one night and one price for a ticket. SRU student tickets were sold for $18, while the general public tickets cost $35 for each concert. “I think students would have been more willing to see two artists together, instead of back-to-back nights,” Johnson said. “Ticket prices have gone up since
SGA proposes two changes to its constitution By Erica Kurvach Rocket Contributor
Index Rock Notes...............A-2 Classifieds..........A-6 Weather map...........A-2 Sports...................B-1 Blotter.................A-3 Campus Life.............C-1 Opinion...............A-4
contact us Newsroom: (724) 738-4438 Advertising: (724) 738-2643 Fax: (724) 738-4896 Email: rocket.letters@sru.edu
220 Eisenberg Building Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, PA 16057
2011 Runner-up most Outstading Newspaper, Society of Collegiate Journalists.
April 27, 2012
The Student Government Association proposed two changes to its constitution during their meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in the University Union, room 206. Zachariah Dornisch, a senior political science major and parliamentarian, shared about SGA’s most recent constitutional changes. The SGA president is allowed to have a designee go to one Slippery Rock Borough or Slippery Rock Township meeting per month. The SGA will vote on Thursday, May 3 to approve or disapprove the vice president of Internal Affairs to serve as a voting member of the Board of Cooperative Activities. SGA gave the representatives an option to include their community outreach as a part of their required 20 office hours per week. Representatives have the option to ride the Happy Bus and talk to the students to assist them. “I like that the president is allowed to have a designee,” Dornisch said. “I don’t know how I feel about the second change. I think there was a reason why they changed it from the beginning.” The purpose of SGA’s office hours is to assist the student body. SGA members should post office hours to inform students of when a member they’re available. Students may come into the SGA office, which is located in the University Union next to the Union Café, to share their concerns or questions. SGA members are permitted to answer questions in addition to working on SGA-related assignments.
last year, so not too many students can afford two separate tickets.” Cameron Clingan, a 22-year-old safety management major, is going to the Gilbert concert Sunday night, but thinks that the UPB should have tried to get a bigger country singer to come to SRU. “I’m glad that we finally have a country artist for one of the spring concerts,” Clingan said. “I just would have liked if SRU could have had Jake Owen or Jason Aldean instead of Brantley.” The UPB had Luke Bryan and The Band Perry on the top of its list before selecting Gilbert, but conflicting schedules made it impossible for either artist to come to SRU this weekend. Sunday will be the last concert Clingan will attend as a student at SRU, but hopes the UPB can come in contact with bigger country artists in the future. “I think students want more country concerts here,” Clingan said. “I think it’s obvious by the high ticket sales for Brantley.”
Grad students look to break from SGA By Steph Holsinger Assistant News Editor
The Slippery Rock University Board of Co-Operative Activities discussed organizing a committee to implement a separate government association for graduate students at their meeting Thursday. According to Samuel Goodge, a graduate student in student affairs in higher education, an organization of the like, the Association of Graduate Students (AGS), currently exists and is recognized by the Student Government Association, but hasn’t been active for about 27 years. “The proper representation for graduate students just isn’t there,” Goodge said. “I feel that it is important for us to have our own organization to make sure we are fully represented.” Eight out of the 14 schools within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) have organizations of this kind on their respective campuses, according to Goodge. If the AGS were to become active again, the organization would only represent graduate students, and SGA would still represent undergraduate students. According to results from a survey presented by Goodge, tuition is 5.25 percent higher for graduate students than it is for undergraduates. Over three quarters of graduate students, 76 percent, said that they don’t feel represented by SGA, and only 13 percent use the services provided by SGA. The original motion was that Co-Op approve the proposal of AGS to start in the 2012-2013 academic year under the stipulation that a committee comprised of SGA’s Vice President of Financial Affairs, one senator, one Co-Op student at large representative, one faculty member, two AGS representatives, and the SGA business manager review the proposal before December 31, 2012. The members of the committee have not yet been decided and will be appointed upon further review by Co-Op over the summer or fall.
News
April 27, 2012
A-3
Police Blotter Magistrate April 25- Ronald Lee Miano Jr., 44, of Slippery Rock, was seen for simple assault, harassment, and public drunkenness. April 25- Brian Joseph Miller, 23, of Slippery Rock, was seen for criminal mischief. He was released on his own recognizance. April 25- Mitchell Clayton Coulter, 28, of New Castle, was seen for receiving stolen property, escape, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, and driving with a suspended or revoked license. April 25- Patrick Tack, 21, of Shippenville, Pa., was seen for criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. April 25- Paul Ryan Dodd, 28, of McKees Rocks, Pa., was seen for manufacturing or delivering drug paraphernalia, intent to possess a controlled substance by a person not registered, and use and possession of drug paraphernalia.
April 25- Shawn P. Barncastle, 40, of North Washington, Pa., was seen for bad checks and theft by deception. He was released on his own recognizance. April 25- Brandon S. Barrow, 20, of Farrell, Pa., was seen for theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. He was released on his own recognizance. April 25- Travis W. Ogorchock, 28, of Prospect, Pa., was seen for two counts of DUI. He was released on his own recognizance. Campus April 16- David Turnbull, 20, was cited for indecent assault after a report of sexual assault at North Hall. April 19- An officer responded to a report of defaced property at the Intramural Field House. The case is under investigation.
April 20- Jon Campbell, 20, was cited for disorderly conduct after police responded to a report of domestic disturbance at Building E.
April 22- Lauren McCracken, 19, was cited for underage consumption of alcohol after a traffic stop on Keister Road.
April 21- Zachary Huffman, 19, was cited for disorderly conduct after an officer observed an individual urinating on steps on Field House Road.
April 22- There was a report of damage to a motorcycle in the Lower Stadium Lot. The case is under investigation.
April 21- Samantha Casto, 19, was cited for underage consumption of alcohol after a report of an alcohol violation at Building B. April 21- Potter Meleak, 18, was cited for underage consumption of alcohol after a report of a drug violation at Building F. April 21- Tyrone Corbin, 19; Danielle Goreczny, 20; Leah Kehl, 19; Daniel Krysty, 20; Brook McCurdy, 19; Austin Naylor, 19; Katelyn Osborn, 19; Lauren Roycroft, 20; Ryan Srnik, 19, and Anare Torres, 20, were cited for underage consumption of alcohol after a report of an alcohol violation at Building E.
April 22- There was a report of a verbal disturbance at Building F. The case is under investigation. April 23- There was a report of possible theft at the Special Education Building. The case is under investigation. April 24- A walk-in reported sexual harassment at the Police Station. Notification was made to the individual advising no contact. April 25- There was a report of theft at Bailey Library. The case is under investigation. Compiled by Stephanie Holsinger
New app gives students opportunity to find jobs through Facebook By Steph Holsinger Assistant News Editor
A mobile application was recently released that provides students with resources to connect with potential employers through both Facebook and LinkedIn. Pooldip, an application that is headquartered in Silicon Valley, Calif., was released at midnight Friday morning for mobile devices, iPad, and tablets. According to Nick Horniacek, Slippery Rock University’s campus manager for the application, Pooldip provides an unprecedented platform for companies to manage and hire their Facebook fans. At its most basic level, Pooldip bridges the gap between Facebook and LinkedIn by allowing users to create a professional profile by logging in using their Facebook account, according to Horniacek. “Pooldip finally solves a key dilemma for graduating seniors who want to build their professional network but find themselves with 500 plus Facebook friends, but fewer than 50 LinkedIn connections and limited
job experience,” he said. Pooldip offers a unique approach to connecting with job recruiters by “becoming a fan” of recruiters and companies that students are interested in. Once a recruiter is followed, individuals become part of an organized and searchable “pool” of talent, according to Horniacek. In addition, information from LinkedIn can be transferred to Pooldip with the click of a button. “The most exciting part of Pooldip is that it provides a platform to easily connect with recruiters and show off who you are beyond your resume,” he said. The main concern that students have with Pooldip is their personal Facebook information being out in the open. According to Horniacek, while using the application, all Facebook profile and content information such as wall posts and photos are kept private. Recruiters are only able to view a “fan’s” professional experience. Recruiters can then narrow it down and review a “pool” of fans to seek the best
candidate tailored to a company’s job requirements. All endorsements on Pooldip are to be positive, and members are not able to leave negative feedback. “In comparison, if you “like” something on Facebook, you run the risk of releasing your personal information to a third party,” Horniacek said. Horniacek believes that the application will help overcome the gap between many students having a large number of Facebook friends, but a low number of LinkedIn contacts. “Many students leave school and do not know how to professionally network which puts them in a hole when it comes to job searching,” he said. “This application makes the process extremely easy by connecting members directly with recruiters from thousands of companies, from local businesses to Fortune 1,000 companies, while also receiving exposure through their recommendations from their inner circle, or the friends and network they have built while being a college student.” Within the first month of the application being
released in Beta version, it has already seen more than 1 million job postings and thousands are coming in each day. Some companies that are already utilizing Pooldip are Nike, Google, UPS, Boeing, Transamerica, Marriott, Encore, ESPN, Zappos, Hyatt, Apple, American Express, Pfizer, Box, Yahoo, Babar, Hertz, Chipotle, Domino’s Pizza, Target, Conde Nast, Mars and Kforce, according to Horniacek. Horniacek believes that Pooldip is most beneficial for current students or recent graduates and will only continue to grow and develop in the future. “If there’s any indication that greater things are in store for Pooldip, know this – in just a relatively short time, the Silicon Valley-based start-up already amassed over 1 million internship and job postings across the country, and they are currently expanding into Europe and Asia,” he said. Within the next few years, Pooldip has high hopes for its company, expecting to rise from its current 400 users pre-launch to over a million members.
OPINION
The Rocket
A-4
April 27, 2012
The Rocket
Our View
Volume 94, Number 24
220 Eisenberg Classroom Building Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania 16057 Phone: (724) 738-4438 Fax: (724) 738-4896 E-mail: rocket.letters@sru.edu
Editorial Board Courtney Nickle Editor-in-Chief Brian Brodeur News Editor Andy Treese Campus Life Editor Tim Durr Sports Editor Lexi Kovski Photo Editor Zane Barger Copy Editor James Intile Web Editor Stephanie Holsinger Assistant News Editor James Meyer Assistant Campus Life Editor Madeline Williams Assistant Sports Editor Liana Pittman Assistant Photo Editor Will Deshong News Reporter Mark Zeltner Faculty Adviser
Advertising Staff Emily Hunter Advertising Manager Sarah Black Assistant Advertising Manager
About Us The Rocket is published by the students of Slippery Rock University every Friday during the academic semester with the exception of holidays, exam periods and vacations. Total weekly circulation is 3,000. No material appearing in The Rocket may be reprinted without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. The first copy of The Rocket is provided free of charge. Additional copies may be purchased for 50 cents each. The Rocket receives approximately five percent of its funding from the SGA General Service fee paid each semester by students. All other income is provided through the sale of advertising. Advertising inquiries may be made by calling (724) 738-2643 or by e-mailing rocket.ads@sru.edu.
Corrections If we make a substantial error, we want to correct it. If you believe an error has been made, call The Rocket newsroom at (724) 738-4438. If a correction is warranted it will be printed in the opinion section.
Subscriptions Subscriptions to The Rocket are available. Subscriptions are $20 per academic semester and $35 for the full academic year. Inquiries should be directed to the Editorin-Chief at the address listed here.
GRAPHIC BY LIANA PITTMAN
Country and rap aren’t the only music genres in the world Are you looking for something to do Sunday and Monday nig hts in this small town of Slippery Rock? Well lucky for you the University Program Board (UPB) is hosting concerts each night – Brantley Gilbert, the obligatory country artist on Sunday and Big Sean, the obligatory rap artist on Monday. UPB has never had two spring concerts in one year before, so that’s actually pretty exciting,
especially for them. According to Dave Wolfe, Vice President of Concerts for UPB, e n ou g h m on e y w a s raised by Steve-O and Sean Kingston to allow for both concerts. We applaud UPB for hosting two concerts with two different genres. It’s clear they were trying to appeal to most of the student body. But perhaps by doing t h at t h e y s u b d u e d the buzz that usually surrounds the spring
concert. Think back to when Drake was here in 2010. That was a huge deal. The entire campus was going crazy for weeks. All anyone could talk about was that concert. It doesn’t seem to be that way this spring. In fact, neither concert is sold out yet. Gilbert has sold almost 3,000 tickets while Big Sean just hit the 1,000 ticket mark. That’s not surprising, considering that Slippery
In the Quad In the Quad is a segment in which random students, faculty and staff are asked for their opinions on a specific topic.
Rock is a small-town, rural campus. We think we can all agree that countr y is the most widely listened to genre on campus. But here’s the rub – UPB paid Gilbert $50,000 and Big Sean $56,500. So they shelled out an extra $6,500 for an artist that brought in less than half the ticket sales of Gilbert. Whoops. And despite UPB’s apparent belief in recent years, rap and country are not the only two
genres in the world. What happened to rock, or even pop? The last concert SRU had that wasn’t rap or country was Motion City Soundtrack in 2009. So that’s the suggestion we’d like to leave with UPB. Expand your options a little bit and bring some variety to campus to spice things up a bit more. Who knows, maybe next spring the campus will be abuzz for a rock or pop artist.
This week’s question: Which UPB spring concert would you rather go to and why?
Editorial Policy The Rocket strives to present a diverse range of opinions that are both fair and accurate in its editorials and columns appearing on the Opinion pages. “Our View” is the opinion of the Editorial Board and is written by Rocket editorial board members. It reflects the majority opinion of The Rocket Editorial Board. “Our View” does not necessarily reflect the views of Slippery Rock University, its employees or its student body. Columns and cartoons are drafted by various individuals and only reflect the opinions of the columnists.
Letters Policy The Rocket welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. The Rocket retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes the property of The Rocket and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Please limit letters to a maximum of 400 words. Submit all material by noon Wednesday to: The Rocket, 220 ECB, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057. Or send it via e-mail to: rocket.letters@sru.edu.
Erika Fry Senior health and safety major Hometown: Lancaster, Pa.
David Rummell Senior chemistry major Hometown: Homer City, Pa.
“Brantley. I’m a country fan. I like Big Sean too but tailgating is better for country music.”
“Neither, because I like old school rap, 90s hip hop.”
Jeanna Pozzuto Freshman undeclared major Hometown: Elizabethtown, Pa. “Big Sean. I like his music more. He’s on my iPod and iTunes.”
Opinion
April 27, 2012
Facebook isn’t for meaningless social activism
Dan Gladis Dr. Dan There are a handful of things that annoy me in this wonderful world of ours, and one of them can be found on Facebook. No, it’s not the attention-seekingstatus-person, or even the grossly overtanned, paint-roller-make-up person. It’s the person who “likes” or shares those pictures saying, “Click Like if you support…” or “Share this if you believe in…” Stop it, please. You’re not actually doing anything and you’re cluttering up my newsfeed. I feel just like an old man screaming at those damned kids to get off my lawn. I know it can be tempting to show your support for a worthy cause, but just liking and sharing is not the way to go about it. If curing cancer or bringing the troops home is your passion, then go out and do something about it. Actions are louder than words, and are incomparable to electronic blather. You are producing just about zero real world effect on the resolution of the problem. Anyone can raise the banner of “awareness-raising” to justify his or her actions, but awareness only goes so far. Without a call to action, awareness is
practically meaningless. I can know all I want about cause X, but if I never do anything to further aid cause X, then no change is made to cause X. As well, consider for a moment that you may actually be damaging the cause you care about, or are promoting something questionable. I will not get into the Kony brouhaha here, but if you mindlessly clicked share on all of those pictures and posts, I have a feeling that some may feel a rather bit silly now. As for damaging a cause, consider for a moment how we treat Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have nothing against them personally, and I am sure they are a perfectly fine people. However, they have a cause that they are reposting right onto your front door. And do you welcome them in, offer them tea, and say, “Why yes, good sirs/ madams, I would enjoy hearing about this cause of yours. More sugar in your tea?” NO. Most of us just ignore the doorbell or answer, tell them thanks but go away, and then slam the door shut again. How many converts to Jehovah’s Witness have you met recently? Exactly my point. So please, the next time you feel an emotional connection to one of those endless pictures, I beg that you reconsider. Support your causes with all the fervor of your spirit, but do so where you can affect a positive change in the world. Not, instead, where all you do is tick off your friends and family. Thank you, now please get off my lawn. Dan Gladis is a freshman history major from Aliquippa, Pa.
A-5
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” section are those of the writer(s) alone. The Rocket cannot verify all facts presented in a given letter, but if we are aware of an error or omission, we reserve the right to include an editorial note for accuracy’s sake.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I am writing this response to The Rocket with concern for an article in the previous issue by Dan Gladis, (“Dr. Dan,”) about the sculptures that have been recently placed on campus. Not only is Dr. Dan’s article ridiculous but it is also offensive. He refers to a specific sculpture that had been placed in front of the Vincent Science center as a “rusty metal posing as public art.” Who is he to define what is art and what isn’t art? As an art student here at SRU we are encouraged to ask ourselves this question daily and the answer is always the same: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He continues, “ To have this pleasant view interrupted by metal
absurdities, entire outof-keeping with their surroundings, is most jolting indeed.” What a ridiculous statement if I have ever heard one. The sculptures on campus are a part of the annual Kaleidoscope Arts Festival at Slippery Rock and will be displayed for the next six months. If Dr. D an is s o appalled by the assault on his eyeballs that is the sculpture in front of Vincent then he should choose to look elsewhere, at least for the next few months. I would like to deviate for a moment to inform the students of an event t h at h a s h app e n e d recently with one of these sculptures. After the f irst of these sculptures had been placed in front of North Hall, within days it was destroyed by two students in the middle of the night. T h e t wo s tu d e nt s have been caught and are being charged with felonies because this particular work was
valued at $18,000. The article written by Dan Gladis is a prime example of how disrespectful students on this campus are toward artwork. If anything, his article promotes this kind of behavior. He clearly has no idea how much time was spent preparing this so-called rusty metal absurdity. He also refers to the work as fashion forward, again, demonstrating his complete ignorance for works of art that are considered modern instead of traditional. Dr. Dan can write an opinion article pertaining to his unique aest hetics if he s o chooses. If I were him, in the future I would be more selective in the terms I used to describe works of art that I don’t enjoy. I do not think the words “absurdities,” “jolting,” or “fashion forward,” would be included. Kelly Werner Senior Bachelor of Fine Arts major
Stereotyped “Welfare Queen” doesn’t exist anymore
Susan Gardner FMLA “Welfare Queen” is a term used to describe a woman, regardless of race, that has children just for the benefit of welfare and free housing. In western culture this woman is the lowest of low. She is scum. All women that are single mothers and are on any governmental assistance, or use any other form of it, are depicted as welfare queens. The “welfare queen” is a woman who is fraudulent, a woman who has no place in life, who does not work hard, and is not trying to make anything of herself. These women are the
scapegoats in a society that has to find someone to blame for the mistakes of others. They are the reluctant victims, the ones who unintentionally received this attention. So basically, these women are victims because they are not married and they have no real stable income, so their only option to have some stability is through governmental assistance. As long as our society is looking for someone to blame, these women will continue to be the scapegoats. They will continue to have a name of ‘gold digger,’ whore, or what have you. The term “Welfare Queen” was originally used in the Reagan era to describe black single mothers mooching off of the government. The term was recently reapplied in the presidential race this year, by Newt Gingrich, who deemed President Barack Obama, the “food stamp president.” There were also other
verbal attacks thrown at Obama for the fact that more people are on food stamps than during any other presidential reign. This term should have died long ago when welfare was cut off in the Clinton era in 1996, but it is still being used to describe a woman, that quite frankly, does not exist. The fact is, according to an article from CNN, one in every six Americans is receiving help from the gover nment, and t hat includes every race, sex, ethnicity, etc. Pre s i d e nt O b ama i s persistent in his attempts to continue providing the aid these people receive, but being that the House is looking to cut the funding of these programs, his persistence may be irrelevant. I guess they still believe in the “welfare queen.”
Littering the Quad in the name of awareness serves no purpose
Tim Durr Commentary
have access to clean water is an issue I’m most passionate about. So why don’t I litter the quad with materials about Water.org? Well, that’s because it’s always windy and raining in Slippery Rock, so my flyers would get destroyed and littered across the quad. Instead, when I want to help an organization like Water.org I donate some extra change that I have or buy a water bottle on their website that goes towards research into solving the water crisis. I even went as far as emailing their human resources department and started to help with the copy editing of stories for their website. I don’t have a problem with anyone standing for a cause, but I feel that everyone should be more conscientious in how they advertise their activism for a cause. Several months ago there were bras hanging from trees in the middle of the quad. I’m still not sure why they were there, but I was very embarrassed for our university when I saw a group of potential students on a tour walking next to me through the quad. Is that the thought of campus that we want them to have? Do we want them to think that we just fill our campus with cardboard boxes, hang bras from trees, stick flyers in the ground that get blown away and all together treat our campus like a garbage dump? That is definitely not the view I want people to have of the university that I go to. I want people to be proud of the beauty of our campus and not ashamed because they see the quad littered with flyers, boxes or bras for social issues that anyone older than 15 is aware of. In addition, I haven’t seen any results coming from word-of-mouth activists who just pass out flyers and raise awareness. The clichéd old saying, “actions speak louder than words” rings the truest when it comes to making societal changes. So, stop littering the quad and hassling every student that walks by, and start to take more thoughtful and reasonable approaches to actually making an impact on social issues that are important to you.
As someone who has been a part of this campus community for over three years now, I have noticed one very interesting thing about most people here on campus. They love to rally together as social activists for different events in the quad. I’m all for supporting causes, especially when they deal with issues such as violence against women, star ving children in Africa, or Breast Cancer Awareness. My issue with this activism is that it Susan Gardner is a sophomore doesn’t accomplish much in the way of journalism major from Sharon, actually solving these problems. The rebuttal to my former statement Pa. She is also the treasurer for is that awareness is raised, but let’s get FMLA. serious, everyone who is college aged should be aware that violence against women, lack of fresh water and hunger in third world countries, and breast cancer are all important social issues. I’m not arguing that these aren’t important issues. I’m arguing that littering our quad with cardboard cutouts that have gay rights sayings on them make the campus look like a garbage dump. Let me repeat that. I am not arguing my view on any issues. I am for equality for every one of all ages, races, genders and sexual orientations. My issue lies with how activism for these issues are handled on this campus. If I want to try to make an effort to change the fact that millions of people across the world are suffering from a lack of water, then I make donations to an organization like Water.org. I don’t set up small flyers on Popsicle sticks lining the entire length of the quad that says statistics about people not having fresh water. Why don’t I do that, you might ask? Is it because I don’t deeply care about the issue? No. That’s the farthest from Tim Durr is a junior journalism major from the truth. Ask anyone who knows me, Beaver Falls, Pa. He is also the Sports Editor for and the fact that millions of people don’t The Rocket.
CLASSIFIEDS January 27, 2012
The Rocket
A-6 For Rent
ROOM FOR RENT Next School Year and Summer - Grad Students Welcome. Quiet, Clean Furnished Private Room To Study. Monthly Rent $395 Including Utilities, Private Refrigerator, Security Locks, Washer/Dryer, Kitchen, Walk to SRU and Shopping Center. NON-Smokers And Clean Persons ONLY. 724-794-8652 Call For Information.
Storage
Summer Storage Close To Campus Special Rates Slippery Rock Self Storage 724-794-1020
April 27, 2012
A-7
A-8
April 27, 2012
SPORTS
The Rocket
B-1
April 27, 2012
Lacrosse falls short of playoff berth, despite win
ALEX MOWREY/THE ROCKET
Senior attack Amy Halls drives down the field against Tiffin University on Tuesday. Halls scored her 250th career goal against Tiffin, which makes her the first person in SRU history to reach the 250 goal mark in a career.
By Madeline Williams Assistant Sports Editor
Slippery Rock women's lacrosse team was eliminated from playoff
contention despite beating Edinboro University on Thursday by a final of 10-7. In order to make the PSAC tournament, the Rock needed a win over Edinboro, and a Lock
Haven win over Indiana University. However, IUP defeated Lock Haven, 1413, ten minutes after the Rock's win on Thursday. SRU improved to 6-5 in the conference and tied its
all-time record for wins in a season at 11, but missed making the playoffs by one game for the second year in a row. A h i g h l i g ht of t he game occured during the
opening of the second half when senior Casey Quinn scored three straight goals to put SRU up, 7-5 with 27:22. Prior to its win against Edinboro on Thursday night, the Rock improved its record to 10-5 overall with a 17-10 win over Tiffin University on Tuesday e v e n i n g at M i h a l i k Thompson Stadium. In the victory, senior Amy Halls, who is already t he s ch o ol’s a l l - t i m e leading scorer, became the first 250-point scorer in school history. Senior Katie Roof also reached a milestone of her own, scoring her 100th career point to become the sixth player in program histor y to surpass the 100-point mark. “It’s such a great feeling re a c h i n g 1 0 0 c a re e r points,” Roof said. “I’m excited I accomplished it because it’s been my main goal since I first started playing.” The win marked the second consecutive season for the Rock with 10 or more wins. Halls led the Green and White with seven points on three goals and four assists to bring her career scoring to 256 points. Senior Emma VanDenburg scored five points on three goals and two assists and junior Holly Webb scored three goals. Roof finished the game with two goals and one assist. Sophomore Morgan Pettit scored twice and had one assist. Quinn added one goal and one assist to round-off the multi-point scorers for the Rock. Sophomore L auren Laubach, freshman Sarah Gonslewski, and freshman Paige Costantino each scored one goal apiece. Senior Samantha Eddy and freshman Jess Verbic each dished out one assist to cap the scorers for the
Green and White. With the win, junior goalie Natalie Crenshaw improved to 9-5, playing the first 38:40 of the game and having one save. Sophomore Ariel Gilbert stepped in for the final 21:20 and recorded four saves. Both Crenshaw and Gilbert allowed five goals each. Tiffin scored the first goal of the game, just 30 seconds into first period, but SRU answered with a goal of their own just 17 seconds later. The Rock went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-1 lead with a little over nine minutes remaining in the first half. They took a 9-4 lead heading into the half. The Green and White put together separate 3-0 runs to take a 15-5 lead with 25:08 to play in the second half, but Tiffin would never recover from the deficit. S RU h e l d T i f f i n’s Alexandria Quast, the n at i on’s l e a d i ng go a l scorer, to four goals and one assist. She entered the game leading all of Division II with 70 goals and 20 assists. Webb said the team has come together and become a much more cohesive stronger since the beginning of the season. “I think we have really come together throughout the season on and off the field to make us a stronger unit when it comes down to game time,” Webb said. “We have become better as each game passes and we’re all there to lift each other up, no matter what.” SRU will finish the regular season with a home non-conference game on Saturday afternoon against Seton Hill University. The five seniors (Hall, Roof, Va n D e n b u r g , Q u i n n , E d d y ) , a l l f o u r- y e a r players for the Rock, will be honored in a ceremony prior to the start of the home game.
Rock splits against IUP, prepares for four games against Cal U. By Mike Hurlimann Rocket Contributor
Slippery Rock baseball returned to its normal form by winning two and losing two in their four-game series with Indiana University of Pa. The first two games of the series were played at IUP, as the Rock lost the first game 4 to 3 and won the second in dominating fashion. In the loss, Slippery Rock was able to break the scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a two-run home run from catcher Matt Accardi. After tacking on an additional run in the fifth inning on a Ben Bechtol RBI double, pitcher Zach Jeney surrendered two runs in the bottom of the inning to make the score 3 to 2 in favor of the Green and White. Jeney gave up the game-tying run in the sixth inning and was taken out of the game after five and two thirds innings pitched, where he allowed four hits and tallied one strikeout. John Kovalik gave up the gamewinning run in the bottom of the seventh on a one-one out single. In the second game on Friday, April
20, Slippery Rock was able to rack up 18 runs and get the win 18 to 4. The third inning is where the Green and White were able to rack up a majority of their runs by scoring 12 on eight hits and three IUP errors. Brandon Myers contributed five RBI’s in the big offensive inning for the Rock with a two-run single early in the inning and a three-run home run after Slippery Rock batted through the lineup. Myers had a total of six RBI’s on three hits to lead the way for the Green and White, while Kevin Jovanovich and Will Kengor each had three RBI’s on three hits in five at-bats. Freshman Garrett Peterson went six innings and had six strikeouts while giving up five hits, four runs, and five walks. On Saturday, the scheduled home games for Slippery Rock against IUP were rained out and postponed until Sunday, April 22. When play began on Sunday afternoon, Lou Trivino took the mound and pitched another complete game and earned the victory for the Rock in their first game of the day. Trivino allowed three runs, two
earned, on nine hits and had three strikeouts as the Green and White earned the victory 5 to 3. Jamison Walck, Graeme Zaparzynski, and Kengor accounted for Slippery Rock's four RBI’s. The second game of the doubleheader at Jack Critchfield Park started well for the Rock after jumping out to an early 6 to 2 lead in the second inning, but gave up five unanswered runs throughout the remainder of the game and lost 7 to 6. Kengor led the way again for the Green and White with two RBI’s, as well as first baseman John Shaffer with an additional two RBI’s. Nic McCowin started the game, but Kovalik pitched a majority of the game in relief with four and two thirds innings of work. Kovalik was charged with the loss after he allowed five runs on seven hits. Joby Lapkowicz finished the game with four walks, one hit, and two earned runs. Zaparzynski said the team has been steadily improving this season. "Our biggest improvement has been minimizing our mistakes,"
ALEX MOWREY/THE ROCKET
Junior first baseman John Shaffer slides into third base safely against Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Zaparzynski said. "The pitchers have cut down on putting runners on and defensively we have been very solid later in the season. I think our hitters have also gotten better at putting the ball in play." Going into their final four-game
series of the regular season, Slippery Rock is 22-21-1 and 10-10 in the PSAC West Division. The four-game series will be played April 27 and 28 against California University of Pennsylvania, who is currently third in the PSAC West.
Sports
B-2
April 27, 2012
Several athletes qualify for PSACs at Ed Fry Invite By Kristin Karam Rocket Contributor
The Slipp er y Ro ck outdoor track and field team attended the Ed Fry Invitational last Saturday at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. With PSACs quickly approaching, both teams are stepping up to get as many athletes to qualify as possible. Despite the undesirable weather, junior sprinter DJ Chisom felt the teams performed ver y well and are right where they should be. Several athletes qualified for the PSACs at the meet, while others improved their qualifying marks. Reaching PSAC qualifying marks on the women’s team were junior Kara Styles, junior Abby Michaelian, sophomore Heather Holmes and freshman Amanda Krise. Men’s qualifiers were senior Joe Spears, sophomore Samuel Lotz and sophomore Morgan Elliott. Leading the Rock’s success at IUP was the 4x100-meter relay team of senior Vanere Maynard, junior Mason McLaughlin, Chisom, and freshman Hunter Williams recording a time of 42.10 seconds for the win. Continuing the relay success, the 4x400-meter relay team of Williams, Chisom, sophomore
Trevor Foley and junior Ethan Geisler took the win over a team from California University of Pennsylvania’s team with a time of 3:23.47. Also in the event was the team of McLaughlin, senior Dan Hedglin, junior Kevin Jewel and freshman Monte Chapman. They finished third with a time of 3:29.57. “We’re a strong crew,” Chisom said. “It makes it hard for Coach Nate to decide each week who’s going to be on the ‘A team’. It forces us to battle each other for those four spots. We make each other faster week by week.” Chisom also won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.97 seconds. Williams recorded a victory for the Rock in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.24 seconds. Slippery Rock swept the top four spots in the 110-meter hurdles with sophomore Jonathan Boyd taking the win with a time of 15.31 seconds. Geisler posted a time of 15.46 seconds for second, Hedglin at 16.68 seconds for third, and Spears in fourth at 15.80 seconds. In the field events, senior Terrece Draper won the triple jump with a leap of 13.79 meters. Lotz took third in the event at 13.53 meters. Junior Joseph Kelly won the hammer throw with a mark of 50.29 meters. Senior Chad Noce took
second in the shot put at 15.62 meters. S ophomore Morgan Elliot also recorded a second-place finish with a time of 4:01.45 in the 1,500-meter run. In the p ole vault, sophomore David Caldwell cleared 4.35 meters and finished in second place. Success in the pole vault continued on the women’s team with a strong performance from senior Kelly Fischer. Fischer cleared 3.55 meters to win the event and reached the NCAA qualif ying standards, followed by freshman Keriann Hill in second with a clearance of 3.10 meters. In the javelin throw, ju n i or L e x i A r n o l d recorded her third javelin win this season with a throw of 38.83 meters. Junior Kim Goth took second in the javelin at 37.75 meters, Holmes in fourth at 36.16 meters, and Krise in fifth at 36.07. Continuing success in the field events was senior Cassie Carrow with two wins. “This is the strongest I have been throughout my entire college career, both physically and mentally,” Carrow said. “I credit both aspects of my training to my thrower family. I have never had a more inspirational group of people to motivate me.” Carrow won the hammer
with a throw of 45.91 meters, joined by senior Sandy Kakraba in second with a mark of 41.10 meters, and sophomore Amanda McC ool in fourth with a mark of 40.26 meters. Carrow’s second win came in the discus with a mark of 33.49 meters. Pulling the double win has always been one of Carrow’s goals, she said. She believes she has not yet done her best and expects big things at the upcoming meets in Ashland. In the triple jump, Kakraba took third with a leap of 10.80 meters and fifth in the shot put with a mark of 11.25 meters. In the 3,000-meter run, Styles recorded a time of 10:35.07 to win the event. Michaelian took second with a time of 10:45.33. Fre s h m a n Kat e l y n Wetzel placed second in the 100-meter dash recording a time of 12.60 seconds. Junior Brittany Dimare took third in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:03.83. Dimare was joined by sophomore Stephanie Turak in fourth at 5:07.27. Chisom recognized the ALEX MOWREY/ THE ROCKET importance of the next Freshman Keriann Hill sprints down the runway at a home meet in the season. Hill placed second at the Ed Fry Invitational two meets. He sees them as earlier last weekend with her season-best jump of 3.10 meters. an opportunity to improve PSAC qualifying marks and a chance to qualify, Chisom stated. “We’ll be and the Ashland Alumni for those who haven’t yet. ready.” Invitational this weekend “We, as a team, will Slipp er y Ro ck will for their final meets before peak at the PSAC meet,” attend the Penn Relays the PSAC championships.
Soph. quarterback is
star of spring game By D.J. Vasil
Rocket Contributor
ALEX MOWREY/THE ROCKET
Senior shortstop Kristen Brant swings through a pitch as it comes toward the plate on April 19 against Gannon University. Brant has three homeruns and seven runs batted in on the season.
Final women's softball game against Cal U. cancelled By P.J. Shipe Rocket Contributor
T h e Sl ipp e r y R o ck women’s softball team’s chance to finish the season at .500 was thwarted – not by an opponent, but by the weather. The season finale set for Saturday against California University of Pennsylvania was rained out and cancelled, ending the season for SRU with a 16-17 record overall and 3-11 in PSAC play. Head coach Becky Sciacca reflected on the season and said that team showed improvements throughout the year, but it will be a completely new team coming in next season with
the exit of seven seniors from the program. “I thought that defense really came around this year,” Sciacca said. “The girls did a great job fielding the ball. The team is going to be completely different next year. We’re losing seven seniors so we will be a young team. I'm anxious to see how the girls will do considering how young we’ll be.” In what would ultimately be SRU’s final game of the season, the Rock split its road doubleheader last Thursday against Gannon University. Slippery Rock lost the first game 4-2, followed by a 4-3 win in game two. The split led SRU to end the season having won three of its past
four games. The Rock was led by Katie Saluga in game two, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI's. This was Saluga’s 10th multi-hit game of the season which ties her for the team lead with Jenna Geibel. No other player for the Green and White recorded more than one hit in the game. In game one, Gannon got on the scoreboard first and extended the lead to 3-0, which SRU never recovered from, as they were held to four hits for the game. The Rock made it a ballgame in the sixth inning when Kristen Brant delivered a double with two RBI's, but Gannon responded by adding an insurance run in
the bottom of the inning. Slippery Rock pitcher Shaylee Ianno (9-8) took the loss while pitching six innings, giving up four runs on nine hits with four strikeouts. Gannon pitcher Megan Dragon (129) earned the win while pitching seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits with nine strikeouts. In game two, Slippery Rock could not get on track offensively through the first three innings, as they could not record a single hit off starting pitcher Erica Barthlow while trailing 3-0. Everything changed in the fifth inning when Breanna Tongel and Emily Lobdell SEE JUNIOR, PAGE B-3
Slippery Rock University football concluded spring drills last Friday by holding their annual Green and White spring game, which saw the white team defeat the green team, 35-22, at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Rock head coach George Mihalik was satisfied with how the game played out. “I’m really pleased with the team’s effort in the Green and White game,” Mihalik said. “I thought there was great competition between the defense and the offense. There was some good hard hitting, and the energy and enthusiasm was high.” The white team featured the offense, while the green team featured the defense. “The first half was between the first units,” Mihalik said. “It was pretty much an even game between the first offense and first defense. As a head coach I like to see that, where one side didn’t dominate another. The second half we started the first units against the second units. It developed the way you would think. The first team defense controlled the second team offense and the first offense put up some points against the second defense.” Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jared Buck led the way for the Rock offense, posting impressive numbers, going 27-37 for 326 yards with two
touchdowns. Redshirt senior running back Akeem Satterfield was the leading rusher, gaining 107 yards on 14 carries. “I thought Jared Buck, for his first game type experience with the offense, played very well,” Mihalik said. “Akeem ran well. So did the other running backs, Jimmy Zubik, Teddy Blakeman and Brett Crenshaw.” Satterfield will look to play a full season in 2012 after missing several weeks because of a knee injury. “I felt great during the game,” Satterfield said. “It felt like nothing happened to my knee. I got fully recovered and got some decent time off and I’m back at it one hundred percent.” Defensively, the Rock was led by redshirt senior defensive end Jeff Thompson and redshirt junior linebacker Bob Westerlund. Westerlund returned an interception for a touchdown. “On defens e, Jef f Thompson showed why he should be a premiere defensive end in the conference,” Mihalik said. “Bob Westerlund also turned in a good day.” The Rock will open up the season at home Thursday, August 30 at 7 p.m. against Seton Hill University. “Another plus is, we came out of the game without a serious injury and that’s always a great way to end the spring,” Mihalik said. “I’m looking forward to the season opener against Seton Hill.”
Sports
April 27, 2012
B-3
Tennis grabs spot in national tourney By Tim Durr Sports Editor
ALEX MOWREY/THE ROCKET
Senior pitcher Shaylee Ianno winds up to deliver a pitch against Gannon University on Thursday, April 19. The Rock got the split against Gannon and Ianno received the loss after pitching six innings.
Junior catcher shines against Gannon University and prevents Golden Knights from sweeping SRU Continued from Page B-2
each had a single. Then with two outs in the inning, Saluga delivered a clutch two run double to cut the deficit to 3-2. After being held scoreless in the sixth inning, the Green and White was down to its final three outs and faced the possibility of being swept. Alaynna Beers drew a leadoff walk, and then with one out,
Ashley Knight singled to move Beers into scoring position at second base. Both runners advanced on a groundout, which left Slippery Rock down to its final out. Saluga delivered another clutch at-bat with a two run double, which gave the Rock the game deciding 4-3 lead. The victor y for the Rock was its first of the season when trailing at the
beginning of the seventh inning. Slipper y Rock pitcher Ashley Knight (58) earned the win while pitching seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Gannon pitcher Erica Bartholow (12-4) took the loss while pitching six innings, giving up four runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Rock head coach Becky
Sciacca said that she was pleased with the team’s effort against Gannon, and that it was good to see the team rally late to get the victory. “I think the team did great against Gannon,” Sciacca said. “The first game was a little shaky and unfortunately we lost. The girls pulled it together in the second game and came out with a win.”
O n Tu e s d ay n i g ht , Slipper y Rock women’s tennis found out that it qualified for the 2012 NCAA Division II Women’s Te n n i s C h ampi ons h ip and will play against Charleston University (W. Va.) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The Rock received No. 3 seed in the tournament and senior Sarah Lynch said that the team has been working on all aspects of their game since the announcement that they’d be facing Charleston. “ We have been emotionally, as well as p hy s i c a l l y, p r e p a r i n g to play Charleston this weekend,” Lynch said. After posting a 15-5 record on the season, the Green and White are ranked No. 44 in the latest Inte rc ol l e g i ate Te n n i s Association national poll. T h e No. 6 s e e d e d C h arl e s ton Un ive rs it y finished the season with a 21-7 record, won the West Virginia Intercollegiate At h l e t i c C o n f e r e n c e championship and are ranked No. 48 nationally. The Saturday match against Charleston will be a rematch from the March 15 meeting between the two teams that ended with a 5-4 SRU victory.
If SRU d e fe at s C harl e ston , t he y w i l l advance to the second round and face either No. 41 ranked and No. 2 seed IUP who finished 20-7 on the season, or unranked No. 7 seed West Liberty who finished 14-7. The second round match will be at 11 a.m. Sunday. The winner of the match will advance to the NCAA Division II Spring Sports Festival from May 16-19 in Kentucky. Lynch said that the team is looking for ward to giving the underclassmen on the team an opportunity like she had three years ago with going to nationals. “The four of us who went to nationals three years ago really want our underclassmen to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity,” Lynch said. The Green and White have a winning record against teams in this year’s NCAA tournament at 4-3. Rock head coach Matt Meredith is SRU’s leader in wins at 229-96 in 14 seasons and Lynch believes that her and teammate Dunja Drmac’s leadership ability as captains will help lead the team to victory. “I am excited for the chance to make it to nationals and I know [Dunja] and I as captains will do our best to lead the team,” Lynch said.
B-4
April 27, 2012
The Rocket
CAMPUS LIFE C-1 April 27, 2012
PHOTOS BY LEXI KOVSKI, GRAPHIC BY ALEX MOWREY
Kaleidoscope Arts Festival is a series of events showcasing arts of all genres. The events included musical performances by students and faculty, guest speakers, and a series of plays written, directed and performed by students.
Students showcase talents for Kaleidoscope Dance Film Festival president of SLAB, said that Jim Daniels “It’s good to hear the masters of the By James Meyer created by alumna was a good sport in spite of minor instrument play, and it’s also nice to Assistant Campus Life Editor
From music and poetry to plays involving meaningful life lessons and dead hookers, the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival provided opportunities for students, faculty and community members to showcase their talents in art, written word, music and theater. The SLAB release party was held at the Alumni House on Wednesday, April 18. SLAB, the Sound and Literary Art Book, takes hundreds of submissions each year to publish fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and graphic art. This year’s release party featured Jim Daniels, a poet and professor at Carnegie-Mellon University, as the main speaker. Sheena C ar roll, 22, a s enior communication and English major and
problems in scheduling dinner prior to the speaking engagement. In an effort to treat him to some Slippery Rock cuisine, the SLAB crew took Daniels to the North Country Brewery. What they encountered was something all too familiar to Brewery patrons – a long wait at the door. “It turned into an hour and a half wait, so Dr. Boggs just took him to En Lai,” Carroll said with a laugh. On Wednesday, the Collaborative Music Faculty Recital was held in Swope Music Hall. The event was sponsored by Mu Phi Epsilon, the music honorary fraternity. At the reception afterwards, students in attendance expressed their gratitude and appreciation for their music professors and for the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival.
know that they’re our teachers,” music education major Jordan Stahle, 21, said. “[Kaleidoscope] is a way to bring awareness back to the arts.” Junior music education major Amy Mikalauskas, 21, said, “I thought it was cool to showcase all the faculty, because they’ve all had concerts in the Kaleidoscope Fest and just to have them all perform in one venue was really cool. I really enjoyed it.” Mus i c e du c at i on m aj or S e an Hamilton, 20, said, “It’s cool just to see people that are so far advanced playing, and it’s great that they’re so accessible to us. They’re people we can talk to on a daily basis and get feedback from. I think seeing them perform and being
The lights dim in the ATS Auditorium, and the screen lights up to show a lone dancer in a yellow tutu, purple tights and bulky, worn-out boots to match. Moving effortlessly alongside a rundown brick building, the dancer performs her routine delicately and with grace, all while the cameraman moves the camera in sync with her very movements. This short Russian film, titled “Lola,” was one of 10 different short dance films screened at the Third Coast Dance Film Festival at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, as part of the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival. According to assistant professor of theater
SEE POETRY, PAGE C-3
SEE NEW, PAGE C-3
By Andy Treese Campus Life Editor
Student film “un(SILENCED)” explores theme of speaking out against rape, sexual violence By Courtney Tietje Rocket Contributor
Sexual violence is a big issue on college campuses, according to senior English Literature major Jennifer Reeher, 23. “One in four women on a college campus will be raped before they graduate,” Reeher said. “I feel like we need to be doing more to talk about that and start examining what we need to do to change that.” That’s why, for Reeher, it was so important to create her film, “(un) SILENCED,” which was co-directed by Scott Patton, a student at Point Park
University. The film follows college student Krystal through the retelling of her rape and her struggles to find her voice afterward. Freshman dance major Emily Shaffer, 18, portrayed Krystal in the film. “She’s just a very typical college girl,” Shaffer said of her character. “The movie is showing her after the rape and looking at how things were before and the change in her from before to after. She’s basically just someone that people should be able to identify with as a character.” Due in part because the script was
written by Reeher, because of student volunteers, use of school-owned cameras and editing programs, and the use of public grounds, the film was low-budget. However, according to Reeher, the experience the cast and crew gained from the making of the film was priceless. “It was interesting working with people with varying degrees of experience with films,” she said. “But no one had worked on a project this big before so it was definitely a learning process for all of us.” While the script was originally intended to be a one-scene
play executed at Slippery Rock, circumstances changed, preventing Reeher from producing the play here in the university. According to Shaffer, this was a “happy accident.” “Jen always talks about happy accidents,” she said. “There are a lot of things that ended up happening in this movie that weren’t what we originally intended… but I feel like everything ended up working out for it being the best that it could be. I don’t’ think I’d change anything about it.” Reeher connected with Patton, who is currently studying film in downtown Pittsburgh, to get his opinion on
whether or not they could turn the play into a film. When Patton assured her that he would help out with the project, Reeher began searching for the perfect cast and crew. The cast, including extras, was upwards of 20 people. With cast and crew combined, approximately 30 people total worked on the film. The filming process involved two weekends, including Easter weekend, according to Shaffer, in which the cast and crew worked all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. According to Shaffer, there were a SEE MAKEUP, PAGE C-3
Campus Life
C-2
Celebrities, designers write fashion books
Katie Ellis "ROCK'n Fashion" So you’ve already read your “Teen Vogue,” “Seventeen,” and “Glamour” magazines cover to cover, and you just got them in the mail yesterday? As you wait for the next issue of your favorite glossy to hit store shelves next month, you could pass the time by rereading your latest magazine, or you could head to the nearest bookstore to pick up the latest and greatest books on fashion. Celebrities, designers and magazines have published books about fashion that include everything from the staple pieces every girl should have in her wardrobe, to how to break into the industry. These books will surely help you get your fashion fix long after you’ve read your favorite magazine cover to cover. Celebrities are known for their impeccable style, and when they publish a book that reveals their secrets of dressing like a star, it is always a good idea to pick up a copy for daily reference. Millions of teenage girls know her from her reality show on MTV, but after picking up a copy of “Style,” you’ll think of Lauren Conrad in a whole new light. Her book includes tips on everything, like how to find
the right t-shirt, the right way to shop for vintage pieces, and what to wear for every occasion. This book isn’t just for fans of the girl you knew on “The Hills” – it’s for every girl who wants to add a little extra “Style” to her life. Other acclaimed fashion books from celebrity authors include “Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty, & Everything Glamour,” by Hollywood’s most in-demand stylist Rachel Zoe, and “That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels, and Everything in Between,” written by designer and style icon Victoria Beckham. Who better to write a book on the fashion industry than an actual fashion designer? That’s exactly what Christian Dior did when he wrote “The Little Dictionary of Fashion: A Guide to Dress Sense for Every Woman.” Dior reveals his style secrets for every occasion, like what is proper wedding attire and what to wear when travelling. He also shares his insight on the best accessories for every girl and how a fashionable woman should act. You’ll also learn what he calls “the three fundamentals of fashion.” Look to Dior’s book for fashion tips year after year, because they are utterly timeless. Pick up “C hanel: Collections and Creations” by Daniele Bott to get an inside look at the House of Chanel and its trademark pieces, and “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty,” by Andrew Bolton to understand the man behind the brand. While you’re waiting for
the next issue of your favorite magazine to hit store shelves, buy a copy of their best-selling book. The “Teen Vogue Handbook” is full of insider tips on breaking in to different parts of the fashion industry. Girls are treated to personal stories and insight from industry powerhouses like Marc Jacobs, Arthur Elgort, and “Teen Vogue” Editor-inChief Amy Astley. With inside information into their respective jobs in the industry, fashion fans will be able to learn a great deal about design, photography, writing and more. It may even inspire some girls to chase their dream of breaking into the business. “Seventeen” has an array of books available for their fans, like the “Seventeen Ultimate Guide to Style: How to Find Your Perfect Look” that delves in to how to add creativity to your wardrobe, and “The ELLEments of Personal Style: 25 Modern Fashion Icons on How to Dress, Shop and Live,” which celebrates Elle’s 25th anniversary. Adding any of these fashionable books to your bookshelf would be a great investment. The tips and tricks from these industry insiders are timeless, and will help you shape your wardrobe for years to come. The next time you finish your favorite magazine, be sure to pick up a copy of one of these great books. Katie Ellis is a freshman journalism major and a regular contributor to The Rocket.
April 27, 2012
Ask Ana
donations. Then again, if you are content with your experience here by the time you graduate, then don’t ignore them!
Question: "Ana Graham"
Question: Dear Ana, SRU seems to want to give me an aneurism at the end of each semester, as I am trying to deal with 50 million things AND I have to worry about scheduling. By what means should I seek my vengeance for the tortures they inevitably send every time finals approach? Inigo Montoya
Answer: Dear Inigo, It depends on when you plan on exacting your revenge. Like all universities, ours can make their students’ lives inconvenient because of one important thing – we are paying them to receive an education and eventually a degree. We are paying them in order for us to put up with the craziness of the professors, the administration, the departments, and the sick jerk who creates the class schedule every semester. If we don’t pass our finals, it is our fault, because ultimately we are responsible for our own education – college just gives us the groundwork and credibility. S o I disagree with the idea of exacting revenge, because the only person you have to blame is yourself. T h at s a i d , i f y o u continue to feel bitter after graduating, I’d suggest you do the ultimate revenge you can have against an institution with a const ant ly f luc tuating budget – ignore their letters asking for alumni
Dear Ana, A bottle of ... mouthwash ... leaked in the backseat of my car. How do I get that minty alcohol smell out of my vehicle? It gives me really bad headaches. Freshbreath
Answer: Dear Freshbreath, I, too, have had the smell of …mouthwash… plague upholstery, and in all seriousness, a mixture of vinegar and water will remove the smell. Trust me, I am an expert on… mouthwash…to the point that my breath smells like a mint garden most Tuesdays.
Question: Dear Ana Why is it that people get mad at others for not going to sporting events or joining Greeks, but then think it’s okay to not support the arts here on campus? Isn’t it all a part of school spirit? Arts Pride
Answer: Dear Pride, It is definitely a part of school spirit to support the arts – we have so much talent in music, dance, theater, art and writing at this school, and that is something to be proud about. The fact that we have promotions, such as the Ka leidos cop e festival, actually does really help raise awareness because it involves both the campus and the community. Brave New Plays, the dance department performance, t h e c u r r e nt s t u d e nt
art exhibits and many other events have been showcasing in the past couple weeks what students here have been working so hard on all year. I’m not sure why ignoring the arts is okay here, and while I agree that this is a problem, I must disagree that it is seen as a bigger deal to attend sports events or join the Greek system here. The only sports event that anyone I know of have went to is our homecoming game, and it was three years before I learned that we had a baseball team. Also, our Greek system, while a popular choice, isn’t as large here as it is at many schools (for example, there aren’t any “real” fraternity or sorority houses here). As someone wrote to me a couple of weeks ago, this school has a problem with all-around school spirit, a plague that will be hard to fight.
Question: Dear Ana, Any tips on staying motivated? I can’t stay off of Netflix
Answer: Dear Netflix, This question reminds me of a short time when I was involved in a sorority and I learned how the sisters helped each other out when it came to not slacking on their finals. What you need is a trusted friend who would change t he p assword to your Facebook and other accounts you find enjoyable, as well as temporarily pause your Netflix account – not cancel it, just pause it until you are done with finals or whatever goal you are reaching. You can pause accounts on Netflix as well as Hulu, which helped me greatly when I realized my addiction to “Daria” was damaging my grades last semester. "Ana Graham" is a senior public relations major and a regular contributor to The Rocket.
Looking to advertise?
CONTACT US!! E-mail rocket.ads@sru.edu
Campus Life
April 27, 2012
C-3
Poetry, plays, art and music celebrated in arts fest Continued from Page C-1
able to talk to them can directly influence our playing. I just think it’s cool that the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival brings in so many things that people don’t see on a regular basis.” Throughout the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival, Miller Auditorium hosts Brave New Plays, a series
of short plays written and performed by students. Jason Wolfe, 23, a senior philosophy major, expressed great appreciation for the actors and directors who brought his two plays, “The Heretic’s Agony” and “Painting of Love,” to life on stage. “It was an inspiring and rewarding experience, seeing
my work go from the page to the stage,” Wolfe said. Wolfe described his play, “The Heretic’s Agony,” as a play about living life to the fullest but with an interesting twist. “It’s a solo play, but the guy on stage is handcuffed to a dead hooker, so technically there are two people on stage,” Wolfe said. The plot involves a man
who resolves to live a life of sin in defiance of God, whom he believes was indifferent or responsible for the death of his wife and child. “He’s yelling at God, because his wife and his child both died in the act of giving birth,” Wolfe said. “He thinks that God did this because he loved his wife more than he loved God. It ends
with him unshackling himself and announcing to God that he’s going to live life to the fullest and continue to live in defiance to God.” Upcoming Kaleidoscope events include Taiko drums Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Swope Music Hall and the James C. Maynard Sculpture Invitational Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Sculpture Building.
New genre implemented for film, dance Makeup effects set scenes for Continued from Page C-1
and Kaleidoscope director Colleen Reilly, the film festival was part of a series of “Uncommon Hour” events to fit the daily schedules of the university. In its third year, the film festival’s central theme for this year focused on films that told different stories with different film techniques and dances that incorporated various artistic styles. “These [films] feature dynamic choreography and innovative filmmaking, and we thought those were nice fits with the already existing departments on campus,” Reilly said. Jennifer Keller, professor of dance and assistant to the Dean of the College of Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts, said the film festival was started by SRU dance graduate and festival curator Rosie Trump. “She called me back in September and said, ‘Would SRU want to partner with us and screen this at your university?’” Keller said. “So we jumped on that, and were really excited to feature that as part of Kaleidoscope.” Keller said the films varied in meaning and story, but they all were a part of a newer genre of film. “The genre that [the films] all belong to is called ‘Dance for the Camera,’” Keller said. “’Dance for the Camera’ is a relatively new field that combines film directors, dance choreographers, videographers [and] storyboard writers into creating these short films. The camera moves, and the camera is as much a partner or a participant on the screen as the subjects themselves.” In this particular genre, Keller said the camera is sometimes fixated from a point-of-view perspective of the dancer’s body. This approach for using different
camera angles is employed as a means to capture movements on camera, while actually moving with the dancer. When describing the sort of preparations required for such films, Keller used one of the short films in this year’s film festival’s lineup as an example. “There is one piece called ‘Stranger Dances,’ and in this particular selection, a film student went up to strangers on the street and asked them to dance, and then out of the very improvisational footage, edited together this film,” she said. “So that is someone that used just one camera and one person on the street, not on any fancy kind of set, that put their film together.” Reilly said faculty from the Department of Dance brought this series and style of films to her attention for this year’s film festival. “I certainly know that Jennifer Keller has been working in this area, between dance and film technology, so this is supporting that curriculum, but also just raising awareness about the possibilities of this kind of art form,” she said. Though the series of films was a collaboration involving Rice University in Houston, TX, Keller said SRU dance students work on similar projects as part of their curriculum. “We currently have students that are developing ‘Dance for the Camera’ films, and right now we feature those in our senior dance concert,” she said. “This year, we had seven films that were created by students and were screened.” Keller said that she feels hopeful for her students’ projects gaining attention from other areas. “We would love to have our students submit their work to a national festival like this,” she said. “That would be wonderful.”
student-directed production Continued from Page C-1
lot of makeup effects required for the film. Reeher hired SRU graduate Kelly Myers, of Natrona Heights, Pa., as the primary makeup artist. Makeup effects included lots of bruises, wound makeup, and the stitching up of Shaffer’s mouth, symbolic of her inability to speak after her rape. “It took longer to do the sewn mouth because the adhesive, which is called spirit gum, needs to get tacky in order to stick to anything,” Myers said. “Each zigzag of string on her mouth was a separate piece… then I had to add the blood. I would say it probably took me 30 minutes for the mouth the first time I did it.” Myers planned and researched specifically for the film. “For wound makeup, you always want research images of actual wounds, which is always fun to Google for,” she said. “You then would do sketches from the research of your designs for the show.” Afterwards, Myers said she has to stay on set the entire filming period to do touch ups. “Once on set I find a space out of the way to set my kit up and wait for the director and actor to be ready for me,” she said. “You always want to move as quickly as possible because oftentimes everyone is waiting around for you. I make sure there are pictures taken of all the bruises so that I can replicate them again if needed, and to put in my portfolio. I then stand by to freshen up the makeup between takes.” If there is one thing that Myers, Reeher, and Shaffer agree upon, it is that film-making is a process. “Ultimately, I’m really happy with what we have, and as much as it can be stressful, it was definitely worth it,” said Reeher. “Being able to have everyone on set and coming together and saying ‘You know what? This going to be a really crazy stressful two weeks for everyone, but it’s worth it to be able to bring that [awareness] to people.”
C-4
April 27, 2012