5/5/17 Digital Edition

the rocket

theonlinerocket.com

Friday, May 5, 2017 • Volume 100, Issue 10 • An Independent, Student Run Newspaper

"Capping Off" Senior Year Graduation Special

President Norton Reflects on SRU

Running Around The Rock

Dr. Cheryl Norton talks about her

UPB hosts its fourth annual

accomplishments and history with

5k color run. This year's Color

the university as she prepares to

The Rock partcipates rocked a

step down as president.

"Through the Decades" theme.

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page A-6 Photos & Design by: Rebecca Dietrich / Photo Editor

NEWS

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May 5, 2017

INSIDE NEWS

SGA approves news clubs and funding SGA approved its budget for the 2017-18 year and a commission agreement with AVI.

Two students arrested for online theft Two students were arrested, with a warrant out for a third, for fraud, theft and forgery.

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NEWS

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Catch something exciting happening on campus? Want your Insta-photos to be featured in The Rocket? Just follow @SRURocket on Instagram and use # in the caption for your chance to be featured here!

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET

Students line up in the Smith Student Center on Thursday to high five President Norton.

Norton reflects on time spent as SRU president

By Daniel DiFabio News Editor

INDEX Blotter.................A-3 Opinion................B-1 Sports...................C-1 CampusLife.............D-1

CONTACT US Newsroom: (724) 738-4438 Advertising: (724) 738-2643 Fax: (724) 738-4896 Email:

220 Eisenberg Building Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, PA 16057

therocketnewspapersru@ gmail.com Awarded first place in Newspaper Overall Excellence

by The Society for Collegiate Journalists.

Current SRU President Cheryl Norton will retire on July 21 after serving as the university's president for five years.

Norton was selected as the new president on April 5, 2012, after having served as president of Southern Connecticut State University for six years. She was the first female president at both universities.

Norton grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and said she had heard of SRU growing up, but it wasn't until she attended college at Dennison University and became a physical education major, that she heardSRU because of its exercise science program.

Although she heard about it when she was younger, Norton said the first time she stepped on campus was during her interview for the position, after hearing about the opening from former president Bob Aebersold.

"My first response was 'Bob, this is a really small town'," Norton said. "He said just try it, go there and you'll like it."

Norton said visiting the campus sealed the deal.

"When you actually set foot on campus and get a sense of the community here and how welcoming they were and what opportunities there were, I was sold," Norton said.

Norton started on June 4, 2012 and said one of her first early accomplishments was "botoxing" which she said involved strategically designed initiatives that don't cost a lot of money, such as new benches and flower gardens. Norton also put more trash and

recycling cans on campus to help encourage more recycling.

"That's become one of my primary focuses, taking care of our environment," Norton said.

Norton also improved signage on campus.

While some progress was quickly made around campus, Norton said she inherited part of SRU's financial crisis, brought on by decreasing revenue and higher expenditures.

"We had to act very quickly in order to balance the budget," Norton said. "We had a challenge and I'm happy to say that we accepted it."

Norton also said she was happy with how many new programs were added during her time as president, with about 15 undergraduate and graduate programs.

"Obviously this is good for the institution but it's really good for the students," Norton said. "And it's really good for the community to have these professional careers in their backyard."

Norton said that all of this put the institution on a sharp, positive curve, and that enrollment has shown a steady increase.

"We had the highest enrollment ever in the history of the institution at 8,881," Norton said. "Which I think we should all be proud of."

Norton said that she hopes in the future the university still looks at what students need and to keep a focus on bringing students into the institution and helping to make sure they walk across the stage with a diploma.

"We're really putting an increasing focus on student success," Norton said. "While

we've had a good track record I don't think we should settle for just being good."

Norton said another thing done under her time was expanding the university's international presence.

"We need to understand what goes on outside the borders of SRU and western PA," Norton said. "The only way you can understand it is if you travel abroad or make contact with someone from another culture."

With graduation next week, Norton said that she hopes graduates this year hold SRU in high esteem.

"I hope they will be part of its [SRU's] character, and they'll continue to be a lifelong learner," Norton said.

"And that they'll continue to develop in their discipline and as a citizen. In other words use your education well as a servant to our community."

Norton said graduates have a responsibility to use their education for the benefit of themselves and others.

Norton said she plans on retiring with her husband Henry to Denver to spend time with family, but that ultimately it'll be hard not centering her life around higher education.

"I'm going to miss that kind of experience," Norton said.

"Students are amazing in their ability to excite and dream and I will miss that. I will forever be grateful for living on this campus."

A presidential search committee is currently looking for SRU's next president, hoping to have Norton's successor named by the spring 2018 semester.

NEWS

May 5, 2017

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POLICE BLOTTER Campus

May 3- Police were dispatched to the Smith Student Center for a report of an individual that stayed in the April 29- Police received a call for person(s) breaking building after hours, gained access to the roof, and April 28- Collin Carter, 20, Alek Lichniak, 20, into Kraus Hall. Police found five individuals, charges placed a banner. The individual was identified and the Jermaine Taylor, 20 and Zaysha Tyson-Ford, 20, were pending. case was sent to student standards. all issued alcohol violations after police received a call from the CA in Building B. April 29- Person called to report damage to the front May 3- Slippery Rock ambulance was dispatched to door of Rock Apartment #6; after investigation, police the Health Center and transported individual in need April 28- Borough Police requested assistance for a found the person who broke the door handle. to the Grove City Medical Center. person causing a disturbance at McDonald's on South Main Street; person was transported to the hospital.

April 30- Police patrolling near Lower Stadium C May 3- Police dispatched for an individual in Art noticed a person slumped over the steering wheel. Building 1 who had been using spray paint inside of April 29- Eric Brown, 21, was cited for public Person was ID and transported back to SRUPD and the building, which is not permitted. Case is under drunkenness after police patrolling the Central arrested for suspicion for DUI. investigation.

Loop noticed him trying to enter ATS while visibly intoxicated.

Two SRU students arrested in national online fraud operation

By Daniel DiFabio and Victoria Davis News Editor and Copy/Web Editor

A f t e r m o nt h s o f p o l i c e investigation, two SRU students have been arrested on charges including theft, fraud and forgery.

The intra-national operation was reportedly run out of The Heights apartment complex, under two miles away from SRU. The three students were running a scam in which they sold boxer puppies; victims were told to pay through Craigslist and the now defunct website, jamiespups.com.

The orders were never filled.

On Tuesday, two of the students, Lawrence Njabon Francis, 37, and Lawrence Nana Tchakounte, 26, were arrested, with the third,

Emmenuel Nkwate, 31, evading the police; a warrant has been put out for his arrest.

According to state police, The New Castle City Police Department contacted the state on March 21 regarding a possible instance of fraud they were investigating. The victim who had originally contacted the police said she had been dealing with an individual under the name of Bill Peterson, later found to be an alias of Tchakounte, who was selling boxer puppies through the aforementioned websites.

The victim wired $583 through Wester Union, with the money being picked up on March 1, at a Giant Eagle in New Castle.

New Castle police reported two similar fraud cases involving Peterson, with the total amount

stolen reaching almost $1,400.

Tcha kounte ag reed to be interviewed on April 7 by state police and admitted his full involvement as well as implicating Francis and Nkwate in the scheme.

Tchakounte said his primary job in the operation was to collect the transactions from victims at locations in Butler, Mercer and Lawrence counties. The average payment per a victim was about $700.

According to state police, "Tchakounte and Francis entered the country on students visas and are attending SRU. Nkwate entered the country via Mexico and has applied for refugee status.

He has since failed to appear for an Immigration Hearing in San Diego."

A search of Francis' room revealed nine Wester Union money receipts, which, according to state police, ranged in amounts from $52 to $1000. During the search, four laptops and three cell phones were confiscated.

Trooper Jim Long, public information officer for the state police, said that 10 victims of the scam have come forward and that there is currently not an exact number for how much was taken from victims in the scheme. "$20,000 has been accounted for at this point but we're expecting $50-60,000 once all the victims have come forward," Long said.

The university has refused to comment, citing that they were unable to comment on ongoing investigations.

See more news stories at theonlinerocket.com

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NEWS

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May 5, 2017

SGA approves Wally Rose field restoration and new clubs

By Adam Zook Rocket Contributor

SGA held their final meeting for the 2016-17 school year Monday night, with farewell addresses being given by SGA president Logan Steigerwalt and University president Dr. Cheryl Norton.

Both reflected fondly on their time spent at Slippery Rock and looked toward their future.

“Thank you so much for what you’ve done in representing the students on campus, and everything you do to make Slippery Rock a better place,” Norton said as she addressed SGA for the last time. “For those of you who are returning, I hope that you continue to help keep SRU's head and shoulders above other institutions, not just in the PASSHE system, but across the United States.”

Steigerwalt showed appreciation for members of his senate and executive board, along with SGA advisor Dr. Christine Pease-Hernandez, in a heartfelt in speech.

“Thank you all for helping guide me on this journey and allowing me to be able to stand up here and do what I do," Steigerwalt said. "You all are the real rockstars; whenever someone tells me how great of a job I’m doing, I remind them of all the hard work SGA does and that I’m just the face of it.”

Steigerwalt will be replaced by former parliamentarian Rachel Lawler. Her old position will be filled by former senator Brendan Smith. The rest of the 2017-18 executive board is comprised of Alexandra Foster, VP of internal affairs, Scott Vogelgeson, VP of student and academic affairs, Riley Keffer, VP of financial affairs and Dallas Kline, VP of campus outreach.

Pease-Hernandez will be replaced by Dr. David Kershaw as the new SGA advisor. Kershaw is a political science professor and said that he looks to provide the same leadership as Pease-Hernandez did over the last five years.

There was a lengthy process by the new SGA in deciding who the new speaker of the senate would be. Two rounds of voting were held before a candidate had a majority vote, with freshman senator Josh Jenkins ultimately being selected by his peers.

The first request approved by the new SGA was by the Green and White Society for $1,823. The money will go towards paying for their executive board members to attend a national conference in Ohio.

Morgan Koziar gave a speech during open forum, promoting an event held by WSRU-TV and The Rocket to show off their new equipment and encourage students to get involved.

Last week’s request of $47,000 to renovate Wally Rose Field by the SRU club baseball team was approved. The field will be

used for practice and games by club baseball and both men’s and women’s lacrosse.

Last week’s minutes were approved, along with a stipend budget of $79,000 for the 2017-18 SGA. A vending commission agreement was also reached with AVI Food Systems at $57,500, along with approving a $0.05 increase on all vending machine items.

The UFOlogists & Metaphysical Society was officially recognized as a club. The group will look to bring in speakers and organize events to learn more about UFO and bigfoot sightings in the area.

A request of $500 towards an audio system for the SRU Gospel Concert Choir was approved for their concert this weekend. This was to reimburse them for money they had to put upfront for the equipment.

Women’s club lacrosse was approved for $215 towards transportation and equipment fees.

The SRU Western Equestrian team was approved for a request of $826. The money will go towards the entry fee, along with transportation and lodging, for the national competition in North Carolina.

The Athletic Training Club was approved for a $215.25 request towards transporting seven students to a conference in Erie this summer.

The 2017-18 SGA will meet again in the fall 2017 semester.

New Rocket staff will maintain high standards while undergoing changes

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET

2017-2018 Rocket staff

By Ryan Barlow Editor-in-Chief

Students should expect big changes in campus student media organizations as both The Rocket and WSRU-TV look to merge over the course of the next academic year.

This merger will continue the pattern of The Rocket changing its identity over the past year, having cut from 12 print editions per semester to just five per semester in the fall. With the combining of The Rocket and WSRU-TV looming, Dr. Brittany Fleming will oversee the project, serving as the faculty advisor to both organizations.

"It took me about a semester to learn the ropes of WSRU-TV and my biggest thing was just getting the students to work

as a student-media organization and not just as a student organization," Fleming said. "Student-media organizations are so different than regular student organizations, so the advisor has such a different role."

Fleming was WSRU-TV's advisor for the 2016-2017 academic year and will replace Dr. Mark Zeltner as The Rocket's advisor next year. [Zeltner has served as The Rocket's advisor 19 years, having taken a brief hiatus in the mid-2000s to serve as the communication department's chair, but ultimately returning to The Rocket.] Zeltner believes that Fleming will be a great advisor to both student-media organizations, and has some suggestions as to how she can help The Rocket stay successful.

"She's already proven she's a great advisor to WSRU-TV," Zeltner said. "I know she has a clear vision for The Rocket and WSRU-TV

that will create a bigger and stronger media presence here on campus."

Zeltner noted that he's going to have to change his weekly routine now that he won't be with The Rocket staff late on Thursday nights.

"On Thursday nights, I'm going to watch Grey's Anatomy and have a very stiff drink," Zeltner joked.

Along with the shift in faculty advisory, The Rocket will also replace seven staff members in the 2017-2018 year and will also welcome several new ones. Six of the non-returning staff members are graduating seniors.

Amongst the non-returns are seniors Ryan Barlow, editor-in-chief, Jordyn Bennett, assistant sports editor, Amanda Salvia, assistant copy/web editor, Rebecca Dietrich, photo editor, Kendall Scott, assistant photo editor and Cathryn Burton, advertising manager. Also among those not returning to staff is junior and current assistant news editor Logan Campbell.

Returning staff members include junior Cody Nespor, who will replace Barlow as editor-in-chief.

"I could've been sports editor for one more year, but in terms of vertical growth, there isn't whole lot more that I could've done with the (sports) section," Nespor said. "So moving up and being in charge of the whole paper seemed like the next logical step for me."

Also returning is junior Daniel DiFabio, news editor, sophomore Megan Bush, campus life editor, freshman Megan Majercak, assistant campus life editor, junior Victoria Davis, copy/web editor

and sophomore Eric Davies, multimedia reporter.

Additionally, The Rocket staff will feature two new members to the sports section, led by junior Justin Kraus, who will take over as sports editor and Stephen Cukovich as assistant sports editor. The photo section will also include two new staff members, with sophomore Paris Malone as the new photo editor and Carly Lutz, as assistant Photo editor. Freshman Adam Zook will join DiFabio in the news section as assistant news editor. Sophomore Heather Donat will replace Salvia and join Davis as the new assistant copy/web editor, while junior Rachel Burnett will replace Burton as advertising manager.

Nespor knows that the convergence of the two campus media organizations will be difficult, but he's glad that he'll be the man behind the transition.

"It's going to be weird and it's going to be hard to do, but I'm kind of glad that it's me that gets to do it," Nespor said. "Since I already do work with WSRU, I'm hoping that I can be that bridge. It's going to take a lot of communication, cooperation and collaboration."

Despite how difficult the move may be, Nespor is glad that he's going to have the staff that was hired for next year to go through the process with.

"The biggest thing will be building a close relationship (with each other)," Nespor said.

"That'll be the biggest thing for these new people in the first month or so. And also building trust that they can do their jobs, which we all know they can do."

Longo and Fodor in the running for Slippery Rock Borough Mayor

By Stephen Cukovich Rocket Contributor

Residents of the Slippery Rock borough will soon have to decide who their mayor will be, along with who will fill the three vacant city council seats, when members of the borough go to the polls on May 16.

Incumbent candidate Ronald Fodor, who ran unopposed four years ago, will be defending his office against challenger Jondavid R. Longo this coming election.

Longo, a 27-year-old who is running on the motto "Service over self," served his country as an Infantry Rifleman with the United States Marines in Afghanistan and is now turning to politics to run for mayor in the town he graduated college from with a degree in secondary education social studies and with a bachelor of arts degree in history.

"A lot of veterans leaving the military, including myself, have this void to fill," Longo said. "The question then becomes how do you continue service, outside of the service."

Denton Zeronas and brothers Alex and Kostas Petridis are the three city council candidates who are in support of Longo. Longo mentioned that if he were to be elected mayor, he would need some city council members on his ticket since he alone wouldn't be able get things done, but Longo said he is obviously willing to work with everyone on the council and in the community.

"It's my hope that no matter what that I can work with anybody," Longo said. "I want to have friends

or be friends with everybody, and by no means am I resigned to only cooperating with certain people; success across the board is dependent on our willingness on every side to collaborate."

The group, including Longo all work at the North Country Brewing Company together, with Longo working as the company's social media and PR coordinator. In January, the opportunity to run for mayor became clear to him, but he would need help from city council.

"Who are some folks I can trust, be good for the job, and be able to fill those shoes of the council seats that are also up for election," Longo said when describing who he wanted to fill the vacant city council seats.

Zeronas, a 21-year-old SRU secondary education social studies major, is a cook at the North Country Brewery and is running for city council with Longo's support.

"One person is not going to be able to change something, especially at a local level," Zeronas said. "It would be nice to get an actual group together that's going to be able to focus on what Slippery Rock's best interests are."

The Petridis brothers have called Slippery Rock home for many years because they grew up here, Longo said.

"They grew up here, this is their home," Longo said. "They've watched this place change, and some ways for the better, but in a lot of ways for the worse as well."

Alex Petridis started, founded and still operates The Awesome Spirit of Wildlife, which is a nonprofit organization in wildlife preservation,

particularly with amphibians and reptiles, Longo said.

Longo believes in a place like Slippery Rock Borough, the mayor should be a leader and an advocate for the police department.

"I would like to provide an environment where our chief of police is able to exercise his right as a leader," Longo said. "So he can implement the plans that he thinks are necessary for his police force because I'm a firm believer in a change in command."

The raising of property taxes is another thing Longo wishes to tackle if he were to get into office, and he understands, being a property owner in the borough himself.

Longo explained that high property taxes don't just affect the property owner but the business owners on Main Street, with tenants having to pay more.

"Anybody who is trying to come into Slippery Rock would already know how hard it is to open and maintain a business here," Longo said.

Longo is also part of Rotary International, which is an organization whose purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders together in order to provide humanitarian services and peace around the world.

"I've been saying from day one that this is not a partisan issue for me," Longo said. "This is not a Republican or a Democratic issue, this is a Slippery Rock issue that I'm concerned with."

The Rocket called Ronald Fodor repeatedly but received no response.

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May 5 , 2017

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Five Sessions

• Pre-session ............. May 17 - June 2 • Session I ................ June 5 - June 30 • Session II ...................July 5 - Aug. 1 • Summer Term .......... June 5 - Aug. 1 • Full Summer ........... May 17 - Aug. 1

Credits you can earn:

• Pre-session: 6 credits in 12 days • Sessions I, II: 7 credits in 4 weeks • Summer Term: 12 credits in 8 weeks • 18 undergraduate credits in 11 weeks • 15 graduate credits in 11 weeks

Fall classes closed?

Think Summ er School

QUESTIONS? Email: summer.school@sru.edu Phone: 724.738.2010 CLASS SCHEDULE NOW AVAILABLE

To view information on summer school and the summer class schedule: www.sru.edu/summer

Experience the Difference www.SRU.edu A member of Pennsylvania‘s State System of Higher Education

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May 5

RUNNING AROU

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Jen Timmons rejoices as she runs through the green station.

Volunteer makes "Snow Angels" in the purple color powder outside of ECB.

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, 2017

UND THE ROCK COLOR THE ROCK UPB hosted its fourth annual 5K Color Run on Sunday, April 30.

Runners passed through different color stations located throughout campus. UPB staff and volunteers threw color powder at the participants as they ran around SRU.

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Student runners, including, Brody McKenna begins their race at the starting line located by the ARC.

Justin Walko races through the green station near Building A and Building E.

Mallory MIlberger, next year's UPB President, dances as she waits for runners to arrive at her color station.

Volunteers showers the runners as they sprint through the blue station outside of ATS.

Carolyn Ferrick tosses her stash of red color powder at the approaching runners.

Photos & Design by: Rebecca Dietrich / Photo Editor

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OPINION

Our View If they happen, improvements to campus are welcomed

OPINION Volume 100, Number 10

220 Eisenberg Classroom Building Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania 16057 Phone: Fax: E-mail:

(724) 738-4438 (724) 738-4896 therocketnewspapersru@gmail.com

EDITORIAL BOARD Ryan Barlow

Editor-in-Chief

Daniel DiFabio Megan Bush

News Editor Campus Life Editor

Cody Nespor

Sports Editor

Rebecca Dietrich Victoria Davis

Copy/ Web Editor

Logan Campbell

Assistant News Editor

Megan Majercak

Assist. Campus Life Editor

Jordyn Bennett

Assistant Sports Editor

Kendall Scott

Assistant Photo Editor

Amanda Salvia Eric Davies

Assist. Copy/Web Editor Multimedia Reporter

Mark Zeltner

Faculty Adviser

ADVERTISING STAFF Catharyn Burton

GRAPHIC BY CARLY LUTZ/ THE ROCKET

Photo Editor

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 Rocket receives approximately 5 percent of its funding from the SGA Student Activity fee paid each semester by students. All other income is provided through the sale of advertising.

Advertising inquiries may be made by calling (724) 7382643 or by emailing rocket.ads@sru.edu.

With double-digit construction projects scheduled to happen around campus this summer, we need to keep a healthy skepticism about the possible improvements.

Further improvements to Spotts, new air conditioning in Boozel, improvements to a couple extracurricular fields and a new parking lot where Kraus Hall is all sound like good improvements to campus that would benefit everyone.

However, how many times have we heard that Miller Auditorium was going to be reopened?

We are not saying that the administration shouldn’t continue to improve buildings on campus, but are puzzling improvements being made all over the place while Miller continues to sit there looking sad and dilapitaded.

Sure, we’ve all heard the argument for Miller before, about how it isn’t fair to students in the Theatre and Dance Depar tments that they haven’t had a proper performance space in over five years and how President

Norton allocated the money that was supposed to go to its refurbishment to improve the equipment found in the PT and Exercise Science departments.

While that wasn’t exactly fair of the administration to ess entially favor one department over another, it should be important for them to put an entire building on its campus to its proper use, rather than have it sitting there and wasting space in front of Old Main.

However, the non-use of Miller Auditorium isn’t the only issue here, as there are other buildings on campus that could use some serious work.

It’s already been announced that the windows in every classroom building will be replaced with ones that do not open, but can we talk about the eyesore that is both Spotts and Eisenberg compared to two beautiful buildings in Vincent Science Center and the Advanced Technology C enter. Sure, not e ver y building needs to look great on the outside, but was the point of redoing the outside of Vincent to make it look

nicer if the administration wasn’t going to follow through with updating the outside of every building in the quad.

The quad is arguably the most picturesque area on campus, so we should figure that if the administration were going improve the architecture of one their buildings that they wouldn’t quit just after one.

It is encouraging to see that the administration is addressing a big issue on campus, the lack of parking spaces, but there is a lot more that could be done. Obviously the university does not have infinite time or infinite money to do everything they want, but hopefully the administration still has all the issues on campus in the backs of their minds.

While they focus on making improvements to campus, big and small, we need to realize that no college campus is perfect and there are always improvements that can be made.

Hopefully administration and students can cantinue to work together to make SRU as great as possible.

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

In the Quad

This week’s question: What building on campus needs renovations the most?

In the Quad is a segment in which random students, faculty and staff are asked for their opinions on a specific topic.

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 Editor-in-Chief at the address listed here.

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.

Briana Hites Freshman Mathmatics Major Grove City, Pennsylvania

Cory Henshaw Freshman Political Science Major Butler, Pennsylvania

Gage Tarnaski Junior Physical Activity and Fitness Major New Castle, Pennsylvania

“Eisenberg. I haven’t been in many buildings but that one looks the oldest and all the computers crash on me ”

“I don’t know what’s going on in Spotts but they need to fix it. They need to keep going with the renovations.”

“I think most buildings are fine. I don’t go in there very often but I think Eisenberg isnt as nice as the rest.”

OPINION

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May 5, 2017

QUESTION OF

THE WEEK

Rocket Editor-in-Chief bids farewell to staff

Ryan Barlow Editor-in-Chief It’s truly unbelievable how quickly four years can come and go. Not too long ago, I was sitting in the Warner Theater in Erie, Pennsylvania preparing to walk across a stage to accept my high school diploma and looking forward to my next adventure at Slippery Rock University. Next Saturday, I’ll walk across a stage in Morrow Field House, accepting my Bachelor of Science degree in Communication, this time looking forward to my next adventure in the great unknown (aka “The Real World”).

Slippery Rock offered plenty of experiences that I had the pleasure

to take advantage of, ranging from traveling abroad over spring break to Denmark and Sweden, to directing Musical Theatre Society’s production of “The Wedding Singer.” While each of these experiences were incredible moments during my college career, the most prominent memories were spent in 220 Eisenberg Classroom Building, more commonly referred to as The Rocket Office.

I joined The Rocket my freshman year as a contributor to the sports section, with my first article being about the women’s cross country team and their first cross country meet of the 2013 season on their home site. Looking back on it, it certainly wasn’t my best work, but it’s still fun to go back and see your growth over a four-year period.

My sophomore year, I found myself on the newspaper staff as the assistant sports editor, working closely with the sports editor at the time, Brian Hepfinger, as we introduced the “Athlete of the Month” monthly poll on the website, which then only featured a graphic in one of the weekly publications in the section.

At the end of the 2015 spring semester, I was promoted to the sports editor, where I found the best possible partner for myself in Cody Nespor, who became more than just a coworker in the sports section, but also a great friend. Honestly, all of my success in the sports section should be credited to this guy, and he helped pad my credentials enough for the staff to elect me as The Rocket’s editor-in-chief my senior year.

Being EIC has been extremely difficult, as I felt I wasn’t the person most prepared for the job at the time.

It’s extremely difficult being in charge of a student organization, especially one that is so respected on both the local and national scale. I quickly found myself working a lot from behind-the-scenes, doing duties that both our readers and some staff members might not see. It was a huge shock to step away from the sports section, and instead be asked to be the man who writes out our staff editorials and is in charge of an opinion section which only gets a handful of contributors on a yearly basis.

Despite all of my new responsibilities, our staff was thrown the biggest curveball

in my four years of student media as APSCUF went on strike, resulting in the craziest three days of my lige, and the rest of the staff as well. Through all of the stellar work our copy/web editors did on social media (Victoria Davis and Amanda Salvia, take a bow), our staff put together an entire newspaper without the advisement of Dr. Mark Zeltner, which could have gone really really badly (it didn’t).

Honestly, this year with The Rocket couldn’t have gone smoother without the help of the staff that I was blessed with. Nothing about The Rocket during my tenure as EIC was successful because of me, it was successful because of them and their hard work. Sure, The Rocket will be seeing major changes in the future, but I know that the students who are involved here are committed and will continue to produce high-caliber content.

With that, I say goodbye to the staff and the friends that I’ve made in this office. It’s been my honor to work with each of you, and I’m ready to “blast off with The Rocket” one last time.

Resourcefulness and tenacity are fundamental skills for graduates

Joseph Szalinski Commentary Joseph Szalinski is a senior creative writing and professional writing major.

Having been a community college student before being enrolled at Slippery Rock, I’ve had the opportunity to experience being a student in different environments. This, coupled with me having friends who went to other schools, friends who shared their experiences, meant I had a wealth of insight to pan some wisdom from. Although I’ve noticed a remarkable number of differences between CCAC and SRU, I’ve observed a few constants that are present in

any institution, and, in every student: tenacity and resourcefulness.

These two skills are indispensable on campus and off, as they are the backbone for any successful individual. Whether one is going to school for an Associate’s Degree or a Bachelor’s Degree, or even going to graduate school, these skills are the most important to possess because alone they’re invaluable, and when complementing a more fleshed-out skill set, are even more so.

While tenacity and resourcefulness may have been factors in one’s success in high school, they matter even more in college; in the former, a strict adherence to the rules and a rehashing of recycled information was encouraged, in college, it’s quite the opposite, with freethinking and novelty being advocated.

Why these two matter so much is simple, and I’ll start with tenacity. For starters, tenacity shouldn’t be confused for work ethic. While tenacious people can be hard workers, they shouldn’t be limited to solely that.

Tenacity is about endurance, about being able to withstand all that life has to throw at you. Tenacity is not so much retaliation as it is defense. To be tenacious, requires one to be exemplary, to want to better him or herself.

Granted, ambition does falter, and lives become

busy, but tenacious people manage to weather the gauntlet of responsibility and take the hits as they come.

Resourcefulness is fantastic for the opposite reasons. Tenacity is all about endurance, so that makes resourcefulness all about calculated response(s). A resourceful student, is a creative one. And yes, creativity transcends artistic pursuits, they don’t hold a monopoly on creativity.

One can be creative in science or in business, or in any capacity really. I mentioned the word “novel” earlier. One surefire way to prove that a college education is worth pursuing is that being educated enables one to think outside the box and make their mark on a particular field. Being resourceful is also valuable when it comes to getting work done, as it benefits someone, even if they slack a little bit, or are struggling.

Not to mention that any teacher loves having students who have the ability to do a stellar job, even if the odds are against them.

Although one can survive with just these skills, it’s best to be more well-rounded and have other skills to help buoy you. As long as these skills are adopted and implemented appropriately, then everything else will follow suit. Any graduate (upcoming included) can attest to this. Just maintain the balance.

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May 5, 2017

INSIDE SPORTS

S

Tennis season ends

SPORTS

Pitching Power

Slippery Rock tennis ends a season plagued with injuries excited about the future.

Junior Alex Pantuso has impressed with his progression this seaon.

See Page C-2

See Page C-3

Historic lacrosse season ends with high hopes for the future

By Jordyn Bennett Assistant sports editor

As fast as The Rock's playoff d re a m s c a m e t r u e , t h e y disappeared. SRU lacrosse (126, 7-5) could not hold off No. 19 Indiana (Pa.) (11-6, 9-3) in its first appearance in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament since its 2007 reinstatement.

The 5-4 loss is the team's fourth to ranked opponents by less than three goals, and its second to the Crimson Hawks.

"I think its tough" Rock head coach Emily Hopkins said.

"You're so close. You're right there within one goal."

In a low scoring game, the Crimson Hawks dominated The Rock leaving them scoreless for the majority of the first half.

I U P s c ore d on l y t h re e unanswered goals in the opening 27 minutes of the game.

The goals came from three different players, but were all assisted by freshman attacker Kelly Shields.

With only 2:20 remaining, SRU's junior attacker Bre Vodde gave The Rock its first score of the contest before going into the second half.

Up 3-1, The Crimson Hawks would score within the opening three minutes of the half with yet another Shields-assisted goal, her last of the night.

What looked as if could possibly be a repeat of the second half was denied by SRU's lead scorer, redshirt sophomore Tia Torchia.

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET

Slippery Rock Lacrosse head coach Emily Hopkins talks to freshman midfielder Tori Penders in a game earlier this year. Hopkins led Slippery Rock to their first ever playoff berth since being reinstated in 2007.

Torchia, The Rocket's April Athlete of the Month, had two back-to-back goals in a little over a minute bringing The Rock within two once again.

The two rivals battled for nearly 20 scoreless minutes in a defensive stand still.

While The Rock did most of its damage on the field forcing 21 turnovers, The Crimson

Hawks junior goalie Angela Lontoc secured the victory with 12 saves. Each team only scored one goal each before the end of regulation.

"We weren't drawing as many shooting space balls," Hopkins said. "We had the opportunity.

We just had some great defensive stands like we have had all year."

These "great defensive" stands

is a summary of The Rock's entire season.

After coming off of a 9-8 season, it was clear that The Rock was taking steps in the right direction, but no one anticipated it to come so quickly. Hopkins said the team is taking steps SEE ROCK, PAGE C-4

Sophomore midfielder leads the way for Rock lacrosse

By Jake Bartus Rocket Contributor

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET

Sophomore midfielder Tia Torchia runs downfield in 7-3 victory versus Edinboro on March 21. Torchia scored the first goal of the game that led to the Rock's fifth straight win.

"Slippery Rock goal scored by number 23, Tia Torchia," is often heard over the loudspeaker at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium for lacrosse home games. In the month of April, Torchia scored 22 goals and had two assists while also controlling 38 draws in 10 games to win The Rocket's Athlete of the Month.

Torchia, a redshirt sophomore, hails from Seton- La Salle High School in Pittsburgh and came to Slippery Rock for various reasons. "I was just looking for somewhere that was far enough from home, but not too far from home, and this was the perfect place," Torchia said.

Torchia also mentioned that her recruiting visit to The Rock helped make her decision.

"For my recruiting visit, I stayed with my best friends now, so it was a really good experience, and after that night I just wanted to come here," Torchia said.

Torchia, a Early Education and Special Education major, has been a two time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Scholar Athlete while at Slippery Rock.

"Academics is something that is definitely really big in my family. I am proud of that, and grades are really important, "Torchia said.

Lacrosse head Coach Emily Hopkins thinks Torchia has been a huge asset to the team this year. "She's a goal scored, big on the draw, has a lot of caused turnovers, and was really our most experienced midfielder," Hopkins said.

Hopkins said the strongest part of Torchia's game is her speed. "She has a lot of speed and

is pretty tenacious and is a tough game player," Hopkins said.

Although not listed as a team captain, Hopkins says Torchia leads by her work ethic and example.

"She is always going hard, very fiery, wants to win every game, and there is not a game that she doesn't show up for," Hopkins said.

In 21 games prior to this season, Torchia had 15 goals and six assists, as well as 62 draw controls. This season, Torchia finished with 38 goals including a five-goal game against Gannon and three assists and added 65 draw controls.

The 38 goals helped lead the team to their first ever playoff birth, and Torchia was thrilled with the team's contributions this year.

"It's a good feeling leading the team in goals, it has a lot to do with the team," Torchia said.

"We have so many goal scorers on the team and people that know how to play, that makes it so much easier than it has been in the past couple of years."

Torchia said she spent most of the offseason working on stick skills and said, "it's one of the most important things." Torchia also mentioned that draw control is also an part to her game, "draw control is a huge part of the game, if you're not winning draw controls, you are not getting the ball down to your side of field as much."

After making the playoffs this year, Torchia expects similar results for next year. "We are expecting to go back to playoffs. Making it this year and not next year would be kind of tough."

With Torchia and her 38 goals and 65 draw controls returning to lead the charge next year, Slippery Rock is in a good place to make playoff trip number two.

SPORTS Rock softball drops final four games to finish in fifth place

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May 5, 2017

By Steve Cukovitch Rocket Contributor

Baseball 1.

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Mercyhurst* 34-4 (21-3) SETON HILL 31-15 (15-9) INDIANA (PA.) 20-23 (16-10) Slippery Rock 23-17 (14-9) California (Pa.) 20-24 (11-13) Gannon 18-23 (8-15) Pitt-Johnstown 18-28 (8-18) Clarion 12-30 (4-20)

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28-13 (14-6) Gannon* 22-23 (13-7) SETON HILL* CALIFORNIA (PA.)* 22-17 (12-8) EDINBORO 16-21 (7-13) Slippery Rock 17-24 (7-13) Mercyhurst 16-30-1 (7-13)

After losing their final four games of the season in doubleheaders with Edinboro University and first-place Gannon University this past weekend, the Slippery Rock University softball team finished with a 17-24 overall record on the season, including a 7-13 record in conference play to finish fifth place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West.

"Every day was a different challenge for us," head coach Stacey Rice said. "Trying to find the kid, or the players who are going to lead us was one of those things."

The Rock ended the season ranked sixth in the PSAC in batting average at .288, while ranking fifth in hits with 341.

This was due in part to the bats from junior center fielder Emily Nagle, senior third baseman Cait Baxter and junior catcher Lauren Hawley.

Nagle, who had a break-out season, led the team in hits with 71 on the season, which broke Rice's 10-year-old school record by seven and ranked her first on the team in batting average. The junior also ranked third in the

PSAC in batting average, and second in hits. She also had a 17-game hit streak earlier in the season, and 21 multi-hit games in the 41 game season.

"We have a ton of great kids returning," Rice said. "Nagle had the season of her life, so I'm hoping she can continue with that, but it's going to be hard to hit that same mark."

Third baseman Baxter finished her final season with The Rock with a bang, ending tied for first on the team in home runs with Hawley with four homers on the season. The senior was second on the team in batting average with .345, putting her at 32nd in the PSAC. Her 50 hits put her second on the team and 18th in the PSAC. Hawely, who is tied with Baxter on the team with a leading four home runs, also is tied with Baxter in RBIs with 23 each. She finished with a .299 batting average. Sophomore second baseman Megan Brown ranked third on the team in batting average at .318, with 13 RBIs on the season.

The Green and White's pitching conssited of a simple duo that included senior Carly DeRose and junior ace Brooke Dawson. Throughout the season, Rice would go

with DeRose in the first game, followed by Dawson in most of their doubleheaders, resulting in both pitchers getting credit for all of The Rock's wins this season. The Rock will possibly turn to a labeled captain next year as encouragement for someone to take that leadership position, Rice said.

"I have that philosophy where leaders just naturally emerge; you can't really make them."

Rice said. "I feel like all season we were looking for that person."

DeRose ended up with a 6-9 record this season, a 4.89 ERA, and gave up 56 runs on 82 hits with 73 strikeouts. Dawson finished off the season with an 11-9 record, posting a teambest ERA at 1.90, making her eighth in the PSAC. The junior's 94 strikeouts rank 10th in the PSAC, and also surrendered 56 runs on 121 hits.

Rice mentioned the biggest thing she looks forward to next season are the incoming freshmen that will be joining the team.

"We have some pretty good kids coming in," Rice said.

"I think they are going to provide a push for some of the upperclassmen, and when you get that friendly competition, as a coach I get very excited."

Rock tennis looks to the future

By Cody Nespor Sports Editor

Lacrosse 1.

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East Stroudsburg* 15-2 (11-1) 12-4 (9-3) Mercyhurst* 12-4 (9-3) WEST CHESTER* 11-6 (9-3) INDIANA (PA.)* Slippery ROck* 12-6 (7-5) SETON HILL* 10-8 (7-5) BLOOMSBURG 9-7 (6-6) LOCK HAVEN 9-8 (6-6) MILLERSVILLE 8-9 (5-7)

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SHIPPENSBURG KUTZTOWN Gannon Edinboro

7-9 (3-9) 7-10 (3-9) 5-11 (3-9) 2-15 (0-12)

Tennis 1.

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Mercyhurst* indiana (Pa.)* Edinboro* Slippery Rock Seton Hill California (PA.) Clarion

19-2 (6-0) 20-5 (5-1) 11-7 (4-2) 9-11 (2-4) 8-11 (2-4) 4-8 (2-4) 6-10 (0-6)

Standings as of Thurs. May 4th at 4:46 p.m.

Laboring through an injury-plagued season, the Slippery Rock tennis team leaned on young players to finish the season with a 9-11 overall record and a 2-4 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record.

"We asked a lot of our players this year, stepping up some places two to three spots," head coach Matt Meredith said. "The teams that did well in our region wouldn't have. We would've kick their butts if we were healthy."

The team lost two of their three best players halfway through the season to injury and struggled without them. Juniors Nina Barbano and Carla Corrochano Moracho both only played part of the season and would have been big contributors if healthy.

Barbano compiled a 5-1 singles record and a 4-3 doubles record when healthy this year and Corrochano Moracho had a 12-7 singles and 9-6 doubles record before being shut down.

With those two out, the rest of the team was forced to play up two spots in the lineup.

Leading the way for the Rock players was freshman Lacey Cohen. Cohen played in top flight singles and on the top doubles pair all season, finishing 13-13 in singles and 16-11 in doubles. Cohen was also named to the second team All-PSAC squad and was named the PSAC-West Freshman of the Year.

Meredith said that if Barbano and Corrochano Moracho were healthy, they would have pushed Cohen to be better than she was. "(Cohen)'s playing the best that everyone's got and so over our best are pretty darn good in this conference, especially in the west side," Meredith said. "All the ones are good, the whole way down here."

Cohen's signature win on the season came against Indiana University (Pa.) when she and Corrochano Moracho defeated the no. 15 nationally ranked Crimson Hawk pairing.

B ehind Cohen, sophomores Amanda Bruscemi and Allie Welch had to step up and play in higher spots than they had before.

Bruscemi finished the year 11-14 in singles and 12-13 in doubles. Welch finished 9-13 in singles and 9-10 in doubles. Welch played in the fourth singles spot for most of the year and said that it was a challenging transition.

"It was pretty difficult because I didn't have any experience at four," Welch said. "But it's not much different, it's just playing someone that's more challenging. I think everyone played well in their new spots and it was a tough season and we learned from it."

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET

Senior Kylee Woodman returns a ball in a match versus Westminster College on March 26. Woodman went 11-8 this year.

The team's three seniors, Stephanie Fortier, Kylee Woodman and Tiffany Kollah all played their last year at SRU and Meredith will need to replace all three of them.

Meredith said that he was disappointed with the senior leadership on the team saying, "It don't think it will be hard to replace the senior leadership we had this year, I'll put it that way."

Aside from the three seniors, both Barbano and Bruscemi will also not be returning to the team next fall.

Meredith said that he is extremely excited for next year. He said he is bringing in three freshmen and a transfer that he thinks will be able to immediately help the team and bring a passion for playing tennis that the team has not had in recent years.

"I'm extremely excited after this season to get going for next season," Meredith said.

"This year was a learning experience; we learned a lot and I am thrilled this one is over and we can move on to the next one."

SPORTS

May 5, 2017

C-3

Track senior nearing end of great career

By Oscar Matous Rocket Contributor

Slippery Rock track and field star Jasmine Bailey is "one of the most talented and hardworking competitors in the entire Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)", Slippery Rock head track coach John Papa said.

Bailey, currently in her final season competing for The Rock, is a graduate student at Slippery Rock.

Although a graduate student, Bailey had one semester of outdoor eligibility left, which she is nearing the end of now. Bailey said that although she did not have a choice in either competing in the outdoor or indoor season, she would have picked outdoor anyways.

“Indoor is nice with the controlled environment but it is too crammed for me,” Bailey said. “Outdoor has my favorite event, the 4x100 meter, and my second favorite event, the 400 meter, is easier to run outdoor than it is to run indoor.”

Due to Bailey has the SRU record in the 100, 200, and 400 meter and is currently on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays for the PSAC championships, Papa said that he would have to consider her, at this point, the best overall sprinter that Slippery Rock has ever had.

“Each year she has improved significantly,” Papa said. “A big part of that is because she has made a commitment to be the very best athlete that she can be. The spring coach, coach Nate Shadeck, has done a great job with Jasmine.”

Papa stressed the commitment that Bailey has made, by calling it a “grind.” To stay fit and to make the commitment year after year for five years is very tough, he explained.

Bailey said that she has "remained dedicated and successful by following a pretty standard routine," and does not allow anything “crazy” to psych her out.

She said that she follows a normal schedule, which begins with eating a good breakfast when she wakes up. Bailey continued by saying that she feels she has remained successful through determination and motivation.

“I have always been determined to do well in everything I do,” Bailey said. “I love being a part of a team, and when I am a part of a

COURTESY OF ROCK ATHLETICS

Senior runner Jasmine Bailey runs in the 4x100 meter relay race at the Dave Labor Invitational on April 1st. Bailey won two events (400 meter and 4x100 meter relay) in the PSAC Championships last outdoor season.

team, I give my 100 per cent. I have also taken weight-training more seriously, which in turn has helped me become stronger and more powerful.”

"Bailey has not just gotten to the stop, but she has stayed there, and that is not easy," Papa said.

Bailey, a 2012 graduate of Butler High School, was first discovered by Rock assistant coach Bill Jordan. In Bailey’s case, coming to Slippery Rock was a good fit and it made sense, he explained.

"The coaching staff sort of knew from the beginning how successful she was going to be at The Rock and now she is one of the most outstanding athletes in the entire conference", Papa said.

Throughout the past several years with the Green and White, Bailey said that she feels as if she has matured not only as an athlete, but as a person. At first, Bailey said was very resentful in the races she competed in.

“I realized what discipline was,” Bailey said.

“I now do what I am told and get after it in everything I do. I became a leader on the team and now push my teammates to work hard.”

Papa said that Bailey is not only talented athletically, but she also has a lot of leadership ability. “[Bailey] delivers on race day,” Papa said. “Some athletes have a little difficulty performing on race day, they can get it done in practice, but on race day they are a little ‘iffy.’ She delivers without a doubt and is a role model for the younger athletes.”

Junior pitcher's improvement a sign of team's success

By Justin Kraus Rocket Contributor

23 more strikeouts and three more wins turned out to be the difference for Slippery Rock baseball junior ace pitcher Alex Pantuso. On last year's flatlining baseball team that could only muster a 13-36 record, Pantuso did not have a great year, holding a 6.54 ERA and a .299 batting average against him. One year later, the team is 23-17 and on the brink of a playoff birth, and Pantuso is fifth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic conference in strikeouts with 74, and 14th in batting average against with .188.

"This season I've been just taking it one batter at a time instead of looking at the bigger picture, so I think that's helped me get more batters out," Pantuso said. "I think mentally just focusing on one guy at a time has helped me do that. Last year I threw the same pitches, so I definitely think it's more mental than physical."

Pantuso's pitching arsenal has always included his powerful fastball, but over his time at Slippery Rock, his breaking pitch has changed.

"My freshman year I threw a curveball instead of a slider. Once I came to college, I found out that a curveball was a little easier to pick up because a slider is harder," Pantuso said. "I switched over to a slider and it's worked out pretty well for me."

Pantuso's confident mindset is something that has separated him from the pack this year, as he said that he "pitches to everybody the same" and he "thinks it's more fun to face the guys who are the better hitters in the conference." Pantuso then expanded his remark to compliment the conference he plays in. "It's a really good hitting conference, no questions asked. Some of the better hitters can be more fun at times, just

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET

Junior starting pitcher Alex Pantuso delivers a pitch versus IUP on April 14. Pantuso leads all starters in both ERA (3.62) and strikeouts (74).

to see where your at pitching-wise."

College pitchers rarely get the chance to hit, which Pantuso talked about missing. "I definitely miss swinging the bat. Sometimes I go into the barn and hit off the tee a little bit," Pantuso said, but then clarified that him not hitting is for the best.

"It's better to focus on one thing at a time for me in particular. Being a starting pitcher, its important to rest your arm and playing in the field between starts would not help me as a pitcher."

Pantuso exemplifies the "teamplayer" mold to a tee, giving a lot of credit to his teammates for his improved performance this year.

"I've gotten a lot of help defensively this year, " Pantuso said. "whether it be Tyler [Walters] throwing

somebody out at second, or a double play, it helps limit the pitch count."

Pantuso was also ready to give credit to the coaching staff for his success.

"Both coaches have a lot of confidence in me, and that goes a long way," Pantuso said. "Having coach John [Kovalik] in my bullpens is an advantage. If he sees something in my bullpens that I'm not seeing, he lets me know. Having someone there telling you that you're doing good definitely helps you go out there and perform well."

With his 6'5" frame and a powerful mid-90s fastball, "There have been a few scouts from different teams at the games," said Pantuso, who also said that his draft stock is not affecting him right now.

When asked, Pantuso said he does not think about playing profe s s i on a l ly. " I ' m fo c us e d on Slipp er y Ro ck. [Playing Professionally] has definitely crossed my mind. I'm just going to try to take it one step at a time: if something happens it happens.

I'm focusing now on playoffs and regionals."

Pantuso will be the number one pitcher for The Rock, who finishes their regular season this weekend with two doubleheaders versus Seton Hill University, today at Kelly Automotive stadium in Butler, and Saturday at Seton Hill. Slippery Rock also has a single home game versus Gannon University slated for Monday at home, if necessary.

SPORTS Rock lacrosse looking forward to future C-4

May 5, 2017

Continued from Page C 1

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET

Senior attacker Chynna Chan looks to pass the ball during a game earlier this season. Chan finished her career with 77 points, and is in the top 15 in program history in both assists (17) and draw controls (51).

in the right direction. The Rock went 1-4 in games against nationally ranked opponents. All of the losses are games that could have been won.

Much of the team's success came from the play of senior attacker Caitlynn Palladino.

Palladino was the Athlete of the Month in March, and for very good reason.

In her final season, she was the team's lead scorer with 44 points.

Those points were well spread out coming from 32 goals and 12 assists, both second on the team.

With players like Torchia and Vodde, who were behind Palladino in points with 41 and 33 points, there are players who can fill her shoes next season.

Hopkins credits this years success, and the anticipation of next year's success, to the youth of her team.

"One of the great things about our team is that we are driven," Hopkins said. "We have a good incoming class and some good, very young players already."

Along with the return of Torchia and Vodde, junior goalie Emily Bitka is returning for her final season.

The player to look forward the most to helping the team next year is freshman ShyAnne Toomer.

The midfielder didn't start any games, but appeared in every one. She led the team in assists with 13 and also had 11 goals.

Those four will not be able to do it alone, and Hopkins knows that. Hopkins said she hopes to see some more people step up in the future.

With the season coming to an end in a heart breaking loss, Hopkins said she has no time to dwell on it, but take her team's best season as high hopes for the future.

"Next year we want to make the playoffs again," Hopkins said. "We're looking to have our first home playoff game."

C

CAMPUS LIFE

INSIDE CAMPUS LIFE New UPB staff prepares for next year

Theatre department will host play festival

Newly-elected UPB staff is ready to make a big presence on campus next year starting with activites during the first week of classes and have a connection to the community.

Plays written, produced and directed by students will be performed by theatre students as part of the "Brave New Plays" festival.

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See Page D-3

COLOR THE ROCK: Throughout the Decades

UPB hosts fourth annual 5k Color Run

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET Junior Scott Vogelgesang sprinkles bright colored powder into the wind during the University Program Board's fourth annual Color the Rock 5k color run on Sunday morning.

The color run benefits a UPB scholarship, which will be awarded in honor of former associate and Rocket Contributor dance professor at SRU, Thom Cobb, who passed away last year.

On April 30, a warm sunny Sunday morning, "Cobb was a dedicated philanthropist, always over 220 runners lined up to participate in UPB’s finding ways to give back to this university," fourth annual Color the Rock 5k Color Run event.

This year’s event featured a “Throughout the Decades” theme, where participants were encouraged to dress up from the different decades, anywhere from the 60s to today, and throwback music was played for participants as they ran.

The event started at 9 a.m. with a warm up and a performance from the SRU dance team.

Just before 10 a.m., participants and volunteers gathered in the ARC parking lot where a storm of green, blue, pink and purple erupted into the air.

At about 10 a.m. the first heat of runners were off.

Every year UPB tries to add something new to senior, president of UPB the run, and this year a theme was added to bring something new and something fun to the event, UPB director of community service and senior Anderson said. "After he passed away last year, business marketing major Samantha Anderson we thought this would be a special way to respect, said. honor and remember him."

Each station throughout the run was given a “This is my last color run; I’ve been a part of it decade, and a color go to along with it, as well as since the event started four years ago,” president accompanying music that fit with each decade. of UPB Brandon Quinn said. “I’m very happy The first station of the run was the 60s, which had with the progress the event has taken in the last the color yellow and played music from the 60s four years.” such as the Beatles. The final station of the run “It’s really exciting to see the event come was the 2000s, which had the color purple and together, and see it all happen,” Richelle Fuller, played hits from the early 2000s to today. vice president of programming for ARHS, said.

By Rachel Jackson

"It's always fun to see smiling faces covered in a multitude of colors."

-Brandon Quinn

This was the second time of the event’s four years that ARHS helped sponsor the run.

ARHS President Quin McLaughlin agreed.

“It was really great to see so many people come out to support a great cause. So much hard work goes into making this go off without a hitch, and I’m honored to get to work so closely with these phenomenal leaders,” McLaughlin said. “Plus throwing color at my friends is pretty fun.”

Junior history major Justin Walko said he had a blast attending his first color run event.

“It’s always a nice event to see people come out and participate in, and it's always fun to see smiling faces covered in a multitude of colors,” Quinn said.

“I’m excited to be able to get involved with the color run, I think it's going to be a lot of fun,” sophomore actuarial science and UPB volunteer Ashley Annarelli said. “Community Service does the color run, and I thought it would be cool to help out and volunteer.”

Junior art major Amanda Lyon had a lot of fun running in the event for the third time.

“I have come back each year for the color and the running. I love to run and being an art major, I love color too, so this is the perfect event,” Lyon said.

“I’m just honored to have been part of this organization since the start of this color run,” Quinn said. “I know the board next year will do great things and I can’t wait to see what they do.”

Look out for the color run and other UPB events on Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter @ SRUPB.

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May 5, 2017

New UPB comes with new ideas

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET Junior public relations major Mallory Milberger admires a stuffed animal at the University Program Board's Stuff-a-Plush event in the Smith Student Center ballroom in Fall 2016. Milberger will be stepping up as President of UPB come the beginning of the 2017-18 academic year.

to get involved.

“Ryan was actually my roommate freshman Asst. Campus Life Editor year and would always come back and tell us he knew who was coming but wouldn’t tell us. So I The new University Program Board (UPB) got interested in it,” Tones, a junior Integrated is excited to bring big things for students next Marketing and Communications major said. year.

“I had always wondered how we got artists The new staff consists of Mallory Milberger and speakers here. How it all happened behind(President), Dillon Tones (Vice President), the-scenes was interesting to me,” Wende, Willem van der Wende (Director of Media sophomore Digital Media and French dual Relations), Ryan Ferguson (Director of major said.

Concerts and Comedians), Celine Halt Halt, a freshman public health major, had (Director of University Events) and Nina found out about the organization before she Bracci (Director of Speakers). was even a student here, and made it a priority UPB puts on speakers, concerts and other to join it right away. events throughout the year. This year, some “For college, you get out what you put in. things UPB organized were the fourth annual You need to have a little bit of fun with it,” Color the Rock 5k, "Full House" star Jodie Halt said.

Sweetin and baseball player Alex Rodriguez Typically, UPB puts on a fall and spring coming to speak, in addition to Lil Wayne’s concert. This year, instead of both, UPB put on concert. just a spring concert. It is currently unknown “We all have a very strong passion for UPB if they will do this next year or not. so we took the next step,” Ferguson, who is “It all depends on artists availability and our currently a junior marketing major said. “We availability and current trends,” Ferguson said. started out freshman year in one committee “We have to go along with what's relevant and which led to three or all of them.” try to custom tailor a concert that will best fit Their curiosity about the behind-the-scenes the student body and community.” of bringing entertainment to students led them However, all six e-board members agreed

By Megan Majercak

they are excited to bring new things to the university next year, and students can expect big and exciting things, beginning right away with fun activities during the first week of classes so UPB will be present and known throughout the year.

“The first week of classes should be a lot of fun. We have some cool stuff planned,” Milberger said.

UPB staff hopes to have bigger interactions with members and all of the student body to provide the best entertainment possible for the student body and community.

UPB is also always looking for new members.

One of their goals this year is to have more of a relationship between committee members and directors and have more student involvement.

It is much more than an organization for communication majors, they all agreed.

Students who enjoy art can help with design and people who are into marketing and design have opportunities to use their ideas.

“This is one of the best opportunities for a student in terms of involvement and leadership,” Tones said.

“It is a way of creating college memories while gaining professional experience,” Milberger said.

Greek Life collects charity donations during week-long competition

By Megan Bush Campus Life Editor

Every year, the organizations involved in Greek Life compete against each other in a multitude of events. This year, Greek Week began Sunday, April 23 and the winners were announced on Tuesday, May 2 in the Smith Student Center.

Senior history major and alumni relations chairperson for Kappa Sigma Fraternity Seth Stinson said one of the bigger events is Greek Sing, a competition where individual members sing songs to members of other Greek organizations.

Greek Life used the Smith Center ballroom and set up the stage for the performances. Stinson said the event is open to the public, and the admission fee is a donation to an organization called Morgan’s

Army. Morgan’s Army supports a former member of an SRU sorority Morgan Yoney, who had two lung transplants and multiple other operations.

Greek Sing is divided into three categories: Formal, Informal and Partner. During the Formal category, organizations take turns singing a chosen song; every member is dressed in formal attire.

The Informal category features each organization performing original dances to mashups of different songs that fit in the theme. Stinson said this year’s theme was “Brought to you by the letter…”

“Each organization picked a letter and all the songs they used had to start from that letter,” Stinson said. “They were judged on music, choreography and enthusiasm.”

The final portion of Greek Sing was the Partner category; each fraternity and sorority were given partners for the week, and they

worked together to come up with songs and dances, similar to the Informal category.

Stinson said there are also many sporting events that take place during Greek Week, including basketball, volleyball and swimming.

“The most important events, though, are Can Castle, Book Drive, and Penny Wars,” Stinson said.

To compete in Can Castle, members bring canned goods and non-perishable food items which are used to build castles. Those castles are then judged based on categories such as design, creativity and number of items. The food was donated to “Feed My Sheep” in Slippery Rock park.

The Book Drive is a competition to see which organization can collect the most books, which are then counted and donated; Stinson said the books were donated to the

Slippery Rock Public Library this year.

“For Penny Wars, teams collect change and distribute them into buckets,” Stinson said. “The goal is to put pennies in your own bin, and silver, cash or checks in other bins.”

The money is counted, and the team with the highest number wins the Penny Wars; pennies are counted as positive and all other money is counted as negative, which is why the goal is to get everything but pennies into other teams’ buckets. Stinson said all of the money is then donated to Morgan’s Army.

“This year, we donated almost 1,000 food items, over 1,300 books and almost $4,000 to Morgan’s Army,” Stinson said.

This year, the winners of Greek Week were the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity and the Delta Zeta sorority.

May 5, 2017

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Theatre department to host "Brave New Plays"

By Oscar Matous Rocket Contributortor

The Slippery Rock University Theatre Department will host their annual festival entitled “Brave New Plays” this Monday and Tuesday at Sheehy Theatre in the basement of the Maltby Center.

The festival features plays that are written by students who practice and hone their playwriting skills over the course of the spring semester in the playwrighting class taught by Dr. David Skeele, who also teaches the directing class offered on campus. Playwriting is a class where students start off writing plays and begin to learn how stories are to be structured to obtain maximum interest, Skeele said.

“By the end of the semester we really gear this class to the festival,” Skeele explained. “When I teach it, my final portfolio assignment is the students having to come up with two ten minute plays—two very polished ten minute plays—and one solo play.”

Heading the festival is senior Ellie Petro. Petro, the production manager, said the festival has been in the works since the beginning of the semester when the production staff was finalized. There are numerous plays submitted for the festival and out of that group, the theatre faculty picks a handful, in this case eight plays, to be performed at the festival, Petro said.

Although the plays are generally all different from each other, the theatre department tries to find themes to sort of tie all of the plays together, Petro said.

“This year, our scene designer, Dr. Deb Cohen, is trying to incorporate ‘hands and clocks’ into every set piece,” she said. “There is not a specific theme that [the plays] have to be about, we just try to find similar things between them.”

Skeele emphasized how nothing compares to a playwright experiencing their words they wrote for a character come to life on stage. It is a very powerful and exhilarating experience for a student have that happen to them, Skeele said.

Among the various playwrights who contributed to the festival are sophomore Allison Valetta and

senior Rebecca McGann.

Valetta, a sophomore, said the play she wrote, entitled “Heavy in Your Arms,” is a sort of “horroresque” type of play.

“It involves a girl who, at first, seems to be fine and normal but then whose eating disorder kind of comes to life as a character,” Valetta said. “It terrorizes her, and [the audience] watches the relationship between the girl and the disorder.”

Valetta said she wrote the play last semester in her playwriting class and spent roughly three days on it.

McGann said that she wrote two plays that will be featured in the festival. One, entitled “Open Up,” is about two men who are romantically involved with each other.

“Basically, the one guy is not ready to completely admit out loud how he is feeling,” McGann explained.

“There is a surprise twist in [the play] that a lot of people did not see coming.”

McGann’s other play is a horror play called “Stay Young Forever.” “‘Stay Young Forever’ is a horror play written about kids our age and what would happen if one of them made a wish and actually got to stay young forever and how that would happen.”

McGann said that she wrote the first draft of “Stay Young Forever” last spring in a class with Dr. Skeele. “Open Up,” however, came to McGann one night last semester and throughout winter break and then spent about twenty minutes writing the first draft and has been making edits to the play, even up until last week.

Petro stressed the importance of the “Brave New Plays” festival and the impact it can have on the student body of Slippery Rock.

“A lot of people do not like going to the theatre because they think it is boring and they cannot keep their attention up,” Petro said. “But these are just ten-minute plays, so your attention is there and then the play is over and then you get to another one. You are never bored.”

Skeele called the festival one of the theatre department’s more popular events and a “hard ticket to get.”

The festival is the cult sensation of the theatre department, he said.

“I think what is valuable for everybody is seeing what talent

REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET Senior Rebecca McGann performs in the theatre department's production of A Christmas Carol in December 2016. McGann wrote two plays for this year's Brave New Plays festival, which will be held

exists in these students,” Skeele said. “A lot of times students are interested in what other students have to say, not just ‘old, dead guys’ where the relevance can be questioned. When you are seeing stuff written by the women who sits next to you in Biology, you kind of immediately accept that there is probably something there that is relevant to you.”

The festival shows Slippery Rock, which is a very sports-oriented school, that there are more than just sports happening on campus and it is a chance for the students to show what they are capable of doing and for other students to come and support those students,

Valetta said.

McGann said that the festival is a really great opportunity to showcase all the student-generated work together, especially because it is all student written, directed, designed, and acted. “[The festival] falls a lot on our shoulders,” McGann said. “We try to make our professors proud and ourselves proud and it is just really really cool.”

Skeele said that he always enjoys showing-off the capabilities of the theatre students to everyone.

“One of my favorite quotes is ‘Art is what tells you that what is inside you is worth something,’ and this is a great example of that,” Skeele said.

Theatre professor directs arts festival

By Megan Bush Campus Life Editor

Instructor of theatre Deanna Brookens said she’s always been an artist and an actress, so it makes sense that, after she returned to SRU as a professor, she also took on the role of director for SRU’s biggest arts festival.

This year’s festival was Brookens’ third year directing the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival, but she’s been involved since she was an undergrad here at Slippery Rock. She used to volunteer with some of the events, including the Children’s Day program held at the Robert A. Macoskey Center, which is still her favorite part of the festival.

“Children’s Day is really special to me because children’s imaginations are so expansive, and they just ooze creativity,” Brookens said. “I love getting my daughter involved.”

Other events that took place during the two-week-long festival included a performance hosted by the Women's Center called "Jane Doe," a film festival and a performance by the Get Down Gang, a dance group from the Pittsburgh area.

Brookens said she wanted to bring the Get Down Gang, as well as their children's group, the Get Down Kids, because SRU students had previously expressed interest REBECCA DIETRICH/THE ROCKET in seeing hip hop groups come to campus.

Professor of theatre Deanna Brookens dances with senior Darrin Mosely during Dancing With the Brookens said that, although she is the Stars: SRU Edition in March. Brookens directed the Kaleidoscope Arts Festival for the third time this director, she’s not the only one doing work year. behind the scenes.

“I am the figurehead [of the festival], but I am not alone,” Brookens said.

“There’s an entire committee of professors from the college of liberal arts, as well.”

Brookens said the committee starts looking for artists and programs over the summer break, and they come up with a list of ideas, sometimes returning to ideas that were turned down years prior, until finally narrowing it down based on what will be best for the students. She enjoys collaborating with the committee and that it’s nice to catch up every month and hear what they’re doing.

“There’s [also] a really strong core of students on the Student Advisory Board for the festival,” Brookens said.

Bringing back Kaleidoscope on Main, which featured live music, student performing groups and vendors, was one thing Brookens was really looking forward to during this year’s festival.

She said the festival itself encourages the community to get involved with the campus arts programming, of which SRU has quite a variety, such as dance, theatre, music, and other fine art.

“There’s so much great arts programming that goes on at the end of the year,” Brookens said about the beginning days of Kaleidoscope. “The college of liberal arts said, ‘hey, we could cross-promote our awesome arts programming in a big celebration of the arts!’”

See full story on theonlinerocket.com

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May 5, 2017

Assistant sport editor finds Oxford commas run in fear new life at The Rocket from assistant copy/web editor

Jordyn Bennett Assistant Sports Editor A Canadian dancer named Karen Kain once said, “surround yourself with people who provide you with support and love and remember to give back as much as you can in return.” Honestly, I don’t think I can ever give back what The Rocket, the staff members, contributors and our adviser have given to me. Outside of everyone boosting my ego on a regular basis (as if my head needs to get any bigger) and the wonderful compliments that I appreciate so much (that I still don’t understand what everyone sees 80 percent of the time), this organization has helped me become a better me. While only half of my undergraduate career was spent on The Rocket, it happened fast, and honestly saved my life.

When I stopped playing football and really just felt like I had nothing left, it was The Rocket that gave me so much reason to do more. I don’t think I ever actually told Dr. Zeltner how much he has influenced my life.

From our first conversation of him telling me to go find a position as a contributor and pointing me to the then-sports editor and assistant sports editor, Ryan and Cody, to telling me to apply for a position, to thinking my writings were worthy enough to receive awards, he gave a kid who had lost hope in himself and felt like no one in Slippery Rock believed in him, in very little words and so many more actions, everything he had lost once again.

So after I turn my life around, doing

exactly what I’m supposed to be doing and attempting to be some sort of a normal person, I get this position as assistant sports editor for the next school year. Cool, right?

Initially, it wasn’t. Now these two guys, Ryan and Cody, who all I had to do was send emails or text messages to about stories for a year, I actually have to interact with on a daily basis.

Ryan moved up to editor-in-chief and Cody to sports editor. I don’t have a problem with interacting with people at all, but in a new work environment where there was so much chemistry between the two, I didn’t know how we would outdo, let alone duplicate, what they had in the previous year, but it wasn’t hard.

These men didn’t just become my coworkers/overseers, they became my friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better EIC and wouldn’t have wanted anyone but him -- Sorry Cody, not my EIC, not my Rocket. And, he may not ever let me live down our haunted house experience and the fear that I had that day, but it was one of our many funny moments that I’ll remember forever. I say Cody not being my EIC very sparingly, because without him, what the sports contributors and I have done this year would have never happened. Not only were we able to have an award-wining edition that came from his leadership, but he has been my co-host on the best college sports show in the country. Whoever my co-host will be in the future has a lot to live up to.

I could continue to go down the list of staff members and what they’ve done for me, from Dan constantly making me laugh to scaring Victoria on a daily basis, but what the entire staff has done for me has given me the confidence I once lost and a group of friends that have pushed me to be the best me I can be. They may have pushed me a little too far and will be credited for the monster that is now me, but, I’m extremely grateful for having these people in my life and can confidently say that there will never be another Rocket staff like this one.

After four years, photo editor says goodbye to The Rocket

Rebecca Dietrich Photo Editor Four years, two national conferences and 84 newspapers later, my career as photo editor is coming to an end. I don’t know what college would have been like without the opportunity to work at The Rocket and I don’t think I would want to know. It’s because of The Rocket newspaper that I’ve discovered I could pursue a career in something that I was really passionate about: photography and design.

I declared my major as communication, emerging technology and multimedia shortly after receiving a position on the staff.

When I walked into The Rocket office for the first time, I had no idea of all the opportunities awaiting me. It would be here, at The Rocket, where I would find out what I was called to do.

Today, you won’t catch me without a camera in my hand.

I’ve covered every campus event imaginable, everything from sports, concerts, musicals, celebrity visits and countless more. Having the opportunity to create and share my work with the rest of Slippery Rock is something that I will always cherish.

I never thought that I would be designing newspaper covers, creating videos, and photographing the

events that I did. Being recognized for something that I truly love doing is very rewarding and I’ve been honored to win 49 awards for my work.

Not only did I see the progress in my work, but I also grew as an individual. I owe a lot of that to The Rocket for pushing me outside of my comfort zone and challenging my creativity.

I’ve spent many early mornings and late production nights at my desk at The Rocket and it’s going to be really difficult to walk out of that office no longer a member of the staff. I’ve worked with a lot of different staffs over the years and The Rocket newspaper has become a family of its own.

Every single member of this organization works above and beyond their requirements, especially our advisor, Dr. Zeltner.

We couldn’t have asked for a better advisor, so I’d like to thank Dr. Zeltner for everything that he’s done for both The Rocket and for my education.

I’ve grown to love this small town and it became my second home, but I know that it wouldn’t have been same without the friendships that I have made through The Rocket, Greek Life and the communication department. As I prepare to graduate, because of my experiences with them, I am able to stand where I am today.

I will be forever grateful for Delta Zeta. I’ve met my best friends here and have made friendships that I know will last far beyond my years at Slippery Rock. I can’t express how blessed and thankful I am for everyone who’s helped me along this journey.

I can’t wait to see what the future holds because I know the best is yet to come!

Amanda Salvia Assistant Copy/Web Editor I made the conscious choice not to go into journalism because I hated journalistic style. I specifically changed my major from journalism to creative writing.

Yet here I am, nixing the Oxford comma from every sentence to fit AP style. I’m doing it willingly. And if I’m doing my job right, you don’t even know I’m here.

Most of my work at The Rocket has been behind the scenes; if you’ve read a story in the last year and a half (or if you’ve seen a semicolon in one), it passed through me first, and I’ve checked and double-checked spelling, grammar and every single sports term to make sure it’s accurate.

I know so many sports terms now. The Rocket has been a place to develop as an editor, as a writer and as an active member of campus. I mean, during the strike, The Rocket had me literally sprinting around campus, live streaming marches and picket lines.

(If my wheezing distracted you from the

stream, I apologize. Cardio isn’t my strong suit.)

It takes all types of people to make The Rocket. I’m glad they found a need for this reluctant copy editor.

A couple thanks: first, to the staff, who made this English major feel welcome in the communication department, and who became my friends. Thanks for all the personality quizzes. I stand by my every ruling.

Next, to Kopy Korner: Thursdays were a joy when I knew I’d get to sandwich myself between these kickass women. Thank you for sharing laughter and dog pictures, for webbing (most of) the photos and for staying in on a Friday to watch Twilight in the office with me. (Also, you’re welcome for that.)

Finally, to Victoria Davis, the person who told me what I needed to hear: that I would be a great editor and that I was being stupid for clinging to my distaste for journalism. She was right. I couldn’t have had a better editor or a better friend.

Together, we grew The Rocket’s social media presence exponentially, got a tweet featured in The New York Times and listened to Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” hundreds more times than I ever wanted to. She’s the best person to have on your team, and I’m so lucky she was on mine.

I look forward to dusting off my Oxford commas again. But I will miss everything else, and I hope that even this quiet voice served the paper well.

Assistant photo editor drops the mic

Kendall Scott Assistant Photo Editor At the end of my sophomore year, looking for something to get me out of the house, I decided to apply for a job with The Rocket on a whim. I was a student in the healthcare sciences field, the only college writing class I had taken was the class every student is required to take and the only Photoshop experience I had was from the digital photography course I took my freshman year- of high school. My interviewee status as “unqualified” was an understatement. Somehow, the staff and Dr. Zeltner thought that hiring the recreational therapy major who was sweating through her blazer was a risk they were willing to take, and thus began my journey as the assistant photo editor at one of Pennsylvania’s most prestigious newspapers.

The journey didn’t cease to be unorthodox there; after my first solo assignment of photographing a pornography seminar, I was quickly immersed in covering the events of dozens of clubs and organizations and events that I didn’t even know existed on campus. I stumbled my way through Photoshop and using cameras that weighed more than my cats, and eventually, the hundreds of hours I spent in the office began to show. Of course, no success comes from a single individual, and I ceaselessly thank the people who have made my collegiate experience memorable and one that has transformed me into the moreor-less functioning person I am today.

I’d like to thank Slippery Rock rugby, a rambunctious family who immediately took in a timid Christian girl, and made Pennsylvania feel like another home to me. These teams taught me how to speak up, how to be fearless in every aspect of life both on and off the pitch and how much a group of people can truly accomplish when no one cares who receives the credit. Despite all the hits I’ve taken

to the head, I’ll never forget the nights of crazy stories, the bruises and the persistent joy of true camaraderie, because the team is always “with you.”

Thank you to my parents, my brother Kemper and my family for always being supportive of me, regardless of how well my outlook on life was at any given time. Thank you to my friends for being patient and loving towards likely the most awkward person they have ever met. To Emily, thank you for making every day an even better one than its predecessor.

And to the recreational department at SRU: thank you for the tremendous effort you put in to giving us the best education possible. I doubt that I could be taught by a more qualified, caring and wonderful group of professors.

Finally, I would like to thank The Rocket for entering my life as one of the first things that felt right when everything else seemed to be crumbling. Thank you for all the laughs from the contrasting yet amazing staff members I’ve had the honor of working with over the past two years. I mean, who can say that they went through tryouts for a collegiate basketball team the day after their 21st birthday for their job (don’t worry, it’s on YouTube), or that they spent nearly 72 hours without sleep covering a state-wide faculty strike?

Thank you to Becca for essentially teaching me how to use Photoshop and answering every question I had (there were many), and to the Kopy Korner/Vikings for the personality quizzes and keeping me sane (or perhaps just losing it with me). Finally, thank you to Dr. “Fetty” Zeltner, for somehow maintaining a balance of dry humor, snide remarks and a high standard for exceptional work. You’ve taught me everything I know about the communication and journalism world, and I have you to thank for taking mental red ink to every news article I read and every photo feature I see.

I am truly fortunate for the experiences and people I have had the pleasure of encountering over the last four years at Slippery Rock, and undoubtedly, The Rocket is solely responsible for many of them. Thank you for taking your chances on a Virginian girl with a camera who was far out of her comfort zone.

May 5, 2017

the rocket

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Thank

You

Dr. Zeltner All things must pass

By Dr. Mark Zeltner The Rocket Advisor

I tell the same story every year. I tell the same story, and I see some of the returning Rocket staffers roll their eyes and a few take out their phones. But I tell it anyway. I tell it because it means something to me and because it is true and because it explains a lot about who I am, who I was, and why student journalism is so important to me.

Here is the short version.

A long time ago in a mythical place called Missouri, a young undergraduate at Northwest Missouri State University, a state university in a god-forsaken corner of the state (sound familiar?), was struggling.

I had matriculated at the university as a broadcast major with some vague idea of becoming a disc jockey. After a few semesters this seemed like a silly goal, and besides that, all the broadcast majors were just too…earnest. Perhaps I missed the memo, but playing records and reporting on the bovine futures didn’t really seem like a calling but apparently I was alone in that opinion.

One day I wandered quite by chance into the office of The Missourian, the campus newspaper (a girl might have been involved but my memory is fuzzy on this detail). I do remember talking to a few of the editors of The Missourian during my visit. They were funny, caustic, irreverent, sarcastic and fiercely intelligent. I also think a few of them were drunk at 2:00 in the afternoon. I was shocked. I was appalled.

I was home.

When I now tell Rocket students that I “lived” in the office of The Missourian, they take it as a metaphor. It isn’t. After finding my people I spent every free waking and sleeping hour of my life in the office. This was possible because back in those days The Missourian was housed in a stand-alone building in the middle of a remote quad. (I went back to NWMSU to visit last summer and discovered the school had placed their new football field right on top of the former location of my student newspaper.

I died a little that day. Actually, I died a lot.)

It would be only a slight exaggeration to say that The Missourian saved my life. Without a doubt, my time at The Missourian saved my academic career.

In the office of The Missourian I learned a lot about the practice of journalism but more importantly, I learned about friendship, loyalty, honesty and the value of working hard every day.

Fast forward about 15 years and I am sitting on the second floor of Eisenberg on the campus of Slippery Rock University waiting to interview for my dream job as an Assistant Professor and adviser of The Rocket.

In my mind, this job is my chance to pay back all the things that were given to me by The Missourian during my undergraduate career. I am told that The Rocket is in divisive shambles and they need someone to inspire what remains of the staff and move the paper into the future.

“We think it might be a good idea to have a website for the newspaper,” I am told by the chair of the search committee.

“No problem, I can do that,” I say with confidence.

I have no idea how to make a website. I have only a working knowledge of how e-mail works.

“We think it might be a good idea if the newspaper production process becomes completely digital,” I am told by the chair of the search committee.

"No problem, I can do that,” I say with a little less confidence. I have no idea what they are talking about. I smile a lot. They smile back.

One week later, much to my amazement, I am informed I have the job. I tell my wife we are moving to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. She indicates her excitement by hurling most of the plates in our kitchen directly at my head. The adventure begins.

In preparation for my new position, I bought a copy of “Quark for Dummies” and looked around for some cheap website design software I could buy.

I settled on Claris Home Page because it seemed like the simplest program and it came conveniently loaded on two floppy discs.

When I arrived on campus in August, I found The Rocket office stuffed with design tables, wax machines and line tape—all the tools needed to manually lay out a newspaper page. I dragged everything into the hall and proceeded to dismantle all the tables so there was no turning back. Some of my colleagues’ first impressions of me were of a crazy man smashing tables in the hallway. They kept their distance for several months.

When the semester started, I was sure I was going to be fired at any minute because eventually someone would figure out I was a total fraud. But much to my surprise no one seemed to notice or particularly care that I didn’t know what I was doing. I kept my head down and hid in the Rocket office working with my student editors from morning until night. They probably taught me more those first few months than I taught them.

I could lie and say the first few months weren’t rough but they were. But eventually all the pieces started to fall together. The students recognized what I was trying to accomplish and the value of working as hard as you can to create a quality product for your audience.

They began to see the advantage of putting the organization first and putting yourself second. After those first few rocky months I looked around and realized we were producing an excellent newspaper each week using what, for the time, was cutting edge desktop design technology.

I was also The Rocket’s first webmaster. In those days our print deadline was 2 a.m. I would usually get home about 3 a.m., sleep for an hour, then get up and come back to campus to get The Rocket’s stories up on the website by 6 a.m. Then I would teach class all day. At the time this seemed like a perfectly reasonable schedule. I was actually kind of sad when we hired a student to act as our webmaster.

Just two short years later I found myself at the College Media Association/ Associated College Press convention in Atlanta, watching as my latest Rocket staff wins a Pacemaker award for college journalism excellence, probably the most prestigious award in college journalism. Even I was surprised about how

far we had come in such a short time.

What is the moral? If a lost little boy from little Northwest Missouri State University can make a success of himself, then so can you at little Slippery Rock University. All it takes is hard work, integrity and dedication to your craft—and a little luck.

This is usually where the story ends.

These days I don’t get as big a reaction to the story as I used to get. Maybe I don’t tell it as well or maybe the world has just become a more jaded place. In any event, I won’t be telling the story again. My adventure with The Rocket officially ends today.

A lot has happened in my life since I arrived to advise The Rocket 19 years ago. In the last 19 years, I have moved eight times and lived in three houses and five apartments. In the last 19 years, I misplaced one wife, fell in love twice and, unless I am completely mistaken, had one person fall in love with me, albeit briefly. In the last 19 years, I have watched Slippery Rock University evolve from a friendly little university where the administration was filled with chummy alumni into an efficient but cold educational machine.

The constant in my life has always been The Rocket, whether I was officially advising them or not. Next year the phenomenal Dr. Brittany Fleming will be taking over the advising of The Rocket, and she will begin the work of merging The Rocket with WSRU-TV. This is a change that I not only support, but instigated. I think the merging of the two organizations is long overdue and will be a good thing for our students. But I would be lying if I said that I don’t get a little sad when I realize that The Rocket I know and love will soon be gone forever.

I intentionally haven’t mentioned any individual Rocket staff members in this column; not because I couldn’t think of any that I wanted to talk about but because there are far too many wonderful students to mention in this brief space. I don’t want to leave anyone out. But I know that former Rocket staffers are all over the world working as journalists, college professors, public relations professionals and in dozens of other impressive professions. I hope each staff member that passed through the door remembers their time at The Rocket as fondly as I do. I hope that The Rocket office provided a place for them to work, study and most importantly, make life-long friends. I hope a few of them remember me and their time at The Rocket and they smile. I guess at the end of the day that isn’t a bad legacy. I’ll take it. I’m ready for the next adventure.

-30Dr. Mark Zeltner is an Associate Professor of Communication at Slippery Rock University. During his time as Rocket advisor the organization won a Pacemaker, a Pinnacle and over 400 regional and national college journalism awards from The Pennsylvania Press Association, the American Scholastic Press Association, The Columbia Scholastic Press Association, The Society of Professional Journalists and the Society of Collegiate Journalists. If you need to find him this summer, he will be sitting at the end of the bar at the Mother-In-Law Lounge in New Orleans, Louisiana. If you ask nicely, he will let you buy him a beer. Don’t ask him about The Rocket. He isn’t ready to talk about it yet.

D-6

May 5, 2017

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