SRU Rocket - 9-9-11

Sports

B-1

Football:

Rock rolls past Seton Hill, prepares for Cheyney

Campus Life C-1

Student in the Quad This week's question:

In Memory:

Where were you when you heard about the attacks on September 11, 2001?

The Rocket www.theonlinerocket.com

Campus reflects on 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks

Slippery Rock University Student Newspaper

Friday, September 9, 2011

Est. 1934

Volume 94, Number 2

SRU looks back 10 years later

University budget cut by 18 percent

By Brian Brodeur News Editor

Lexi Kovski/THE ROCKET Slippery Rock University students sign remembrance banners as a part of SRU's Remembrance Week. Three banners were made and signed throughout the school year, and will be sent to New York City, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa.

By Will Deshong Rocket Contributor

Slippery Rock University is remembering the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 with a collection of events throughout the week, leading up to the 10th anniversary of the infamous date.

The university made three banners for students to sign in remembrance of the attacks.

The banners will be sent to Ground Zero in New York City, Shanksville, Pa. and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. A series of workshops were also held on Thursday in room 205 of the University Union to demonstrate and

emphasize various issues surrounding the attacks and their aftermath.

T h e w o r k s h o p s w e re infor mative ab out w hat transpired 10 years ago, but focused mainly on the psychological and social issues resulting in post-9/11 America.

D r. S u s a n L u b i n s k i , a s s o c i at e p r o f e s s o r o f profe s s i on a l s tu d i e s at Slippery Rock University, showed part of the film “The Reality of 9/11” and gave a presentation that centered on the events leading up to and following the attacks, f o c u s i n g m a i n l y on a historical perspective.

This perspective, she feels, is important to students currently enrolled at the

university because most were too young to have understood what was really happening a decade ago.

“The average age of current students was about eight or nine, so what happened was more historical for them,” Lubinski said. “You can’t understand the issues that result from 9/11 unless you understand the history of it.”

Lubinski made it a point to speak about various mistakes the United States made prior to the attacks, pointing out forewarning clues that were somehow missed by the government.

“I just wanted to show how there were a lot of mistakes m a d e ,” L u b i n s k i s a i d following the workshop. “The U.S. really had to set back and

take a look at its intelligence Nowadays, Lubinski agency.” claims things have changed While she focused a lot on d r a s t i c a l l y, b u t t h a t the historical events of the Americans need to stay attacks, it was mainly aimed strong despite that. to allow students to better “When I studied in London, understand the issues that they did hand searches at the resulted from it, including airport and had guards with the numerous social and machine guns,” Lubinski psychological issues. said. “Back then, I thought Carol Holland, director of ‘what horrible living,’ and the SRU counseling center, look where we are now. But spoke about the psychological you can’t live in fear,” she impact of 9/11 prior to continued. “That’s what they Lubinski, and Lubinski tried want you to do.” to connect the historical Lubinski also presented events to the mindset, at the i n for m at i on on K h a l i d time and now.

Shaikh Mohammed, the man “Everyone was in shock,” regarded as the mastermind Lubinski said of the mindset to the Sept. 11th attacks, who of Americans immediately also was responsible for the fol lowing t he att acks.

“People were thinking ‘is SEE REMEMBRANCE, PAGE A-2 this a test or for real?’”

Slippery Rock University was faced with more than an 18 percent budget cut to state and federal funding this summer, which caused tuition to go up seven and a half percent.

Even with the tuition increase, that still left a budget gap of $5,725,139, which the president of SRU, Dr. Robert Smith, said they weren’t completely unprepared for.

“People did a really amazing job last year, knowing that we were going to be facing a budget difficulty, of really not spending,” Smith said.

President Smith said that once the initial proposal was made by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett to cut 51 percent of funding to higher education, a lot of institutions started looking to see where they could make those cuts.

SRU had a lot of time to search for spots in the budget they could cut back on.

One way the university plans on saving $1 million is through energy costs, and the university is also planning on receiving performance funding for $500,000.

SRU undertook a new initiative this summer to go green, which not only saves money, but also helps the environment.

SEE SELF-SERVICE, PAGE A-2

Police have new "adopt-a-hall" program, help student relations By Spencer Cadden Staff Reporter

Lexi Kovski/THE ROCKET The name of the new "student center" is still undetermined, but will have a movie theatre among others.

Student center done in spring

By Catie Clark Rocket Contributor

Although there is a growing curiosity for many students regarding the new university union, or Student Center,

there is an end date in sight, with many new features to attract faculty, staff and students alike.

Christopher Cole, director of the University Union, said that the Student Center is about 70 percent complete right now and is going to be

finished early in the spring semester.

“The contract for construction goes through the end of February,” said Cole.

According to Cole, the SEE MIXED PAGE A-2

The SRU campus police have launched a brand new initiative this year, a campaign called Adopt-AHall.

The program is a further attempt by SRU police to dispel some of the fear students have of the police.

The officers are making themselves more open and available to the public in an effort to make students more comfortable around the officers.

The goals of the new AdoptA-Hall program include “[Building] a forum to share new ideas and perspectives that will allow us to address mutual concerns,” according to an official pamphlet produced by the SRU Police Department.

What this means for

students living in residence halls is that there will be an increased police presence in the lobby of each building.

Each officer is adopting a building and it will be part of their routine to regularly visit the residence hall and spend time there.

The pamphlet states they expect that through this program “Officers… [will] build relationships with students and ultimately create a strong partnership between SRU PD officers… and Residence Life staff.”

The motivation behind the program is that because the officers are easily accessible, any questions, comments or concerns students may have concerning the police force can be easily addressed.

Furthermore, if a student needs any assistance, an officer will be nearby to help with everything from answering questions to

more serious situations.

While this program seems very innocent, some students have expressed serious concerns regarding the twoweek-old program.

A senior currently living on campus, who wishes to remain anonymous, is worried about the effect the new program will have on students.

“I heard the police were trying to sync their visiting time up with the Happy Bus so they could catch drunken kids,” the senior said.

“Secondly, we already have cameras and CAs patrolling the halls, I don’t see the point in a police presence. It’s not welcome, it’s scary.”

While some students fear the potential for a “big brother” atmosphere, others have applauded the initiative.

Senior physical education SEE POLICE, PAGE A-3

News Remembrance week at SRU

Rock Notes A-2

September 9, 2011

Continued from Page a-1

Spring 2012 Student Teaching Orientation Meetings

Meetings will be held for students that are expected to student teach in the spring on September 13, 2011. Meetings will be held in the McKay Auditorium during common hour, and the Swope Auditorium from 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Meetings are mandatory. All potential student teachers must attend one of the two meetings.

This includes Elementary/Early Childhood Education, Special Education, Music Education, Secondary Education, and Physical Education. Questions may be directed to the College of Education at 724-738-2007.

Second Annual Rocktober Open 2011

The second annual Rocktober Open 2011 will be held on October 14, 2011 at 10 a.m. at the Tam O'Shanter Golf Course.

The event costs $80 for an individual golfer, and $300 for a foursome. To register, or if you have any questions, contact Kris Nolt at kmn3973@sru.edu.

Join Rock Rugby

The Slippery Rock mens and womens rugby clubs are currently recruiting players! If you're interested in playing a fun, physical, and competitive sport contact Tony Cardamone at amc1861@sru. edu.

Student Teaching Pre-Registration

Students planning on teaching during the Summer/Fall 2012 semester should pre-register for student teaching by November 1, 2011. Please see your advisor for more information.

Students must take all Praxis exams prior to student teaching.

Publicize your group's event with a Rock Note.

To submit a Rock Note to be considered for publication, please send your announcement by 6 p.m. Wednesday to: News Editor Brian Brodeur 220 Eisenberg Classroom Building Slippery Rock, PA 16057

1993 World Trade Center attack and the death of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

“He is the world’s most famous terrorist,” Lubinski said. “And he likes that title.

He wants to go down as a martyr.”

In explaining the reasoning and views of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other al Qaeda terrorists, Lubinski stressed an important factor of their radical beliefs.

“Their hatred for America is so deep,” Lubinski said, citing U.S. relations with Israel and Arab royalties and the failure to follow Sharia law as the focal points for their hatred.

“You and I cannot even

relate to it,” Lubinski said.

But differentiating the beliefs of radical extremists and the vast majority of Muslim people has been a major cause of concern in post-9/11 America, and that was what Corinne Gibson, director of multicultural development at Slipper y Rock University, spoke about following Lubinski.

Gibson showed a video titled “Being Muslim in America: The 9/11 Backlash” and had two guest speakers, Dr. Mohamed Elowny, professor of modern languages at Slippery Rock University, and Margie Riddell, a university payroll manager, speak about the Islamic religion, as well as the life of Muslims in America after 9/11.

The video gave a brief

The rest of the gap will be filled by moving $2 million from reser ve funding to operation costs, making cuts to personnel, and reducing s p e n d i n g o n p r i nt i n g , supplies, travel and more.

One thing President Smith said the university wouldn’t sacrifice to help with the bu d ge t d i f f i c u lt i e s w a s the quality of the students accepted into SRU. “There are a lot of students that we didn’t admit because they didn’t have the high school qualifications,” Smith said.

He also went on to say that based on previous years, he expects that SRU will enroll 600 transfer students for the spring semester, which will also help with the budget gap.

Other options that the

university is looking into, according to Smith, include the cutting of some programs entirely.

“We’re going to have to agree on what we’re going to give up,” Smith said. “For example, this last year we gave up Life Long Learning, we just closed that entire division. This coming year, we might have to look at some graduate programs that we can’t afford to do any longer.”

Smith was adamant about making sure that students already enrolled in those programs would be able to finish out their degrees.

Another way the university is trying to save money is by better utilizing technology.

He admitted that while the new Banner program is hard to learn and get used to, it has the potential to save the university a lot of money.

“There are all sorts of self-

Continued from Page a-1

name for the Student Center is currently under proposal with the Council of Trustees, but remains ‘Student Center’ at this point in time.

The new Student Center boasts an increase of space from 84,000 square feet in the current union to 105,000 square feet.

The building will include five large and two small meeting rooms, all equipped with presentation technology, and the addition of a new ballroom, similar to the Multi-Purpose Room in the University Union, that can seat 800 people for a lecture, as well as partition walls that can break down the ballroom into two or three smaller salons.

Another new addition is a multi-purpose movie theater, located where the large glass panel is on the front of the Student Center.

The movie theater features seating for 250 and roomdarkening shades for daytime use.

“The seats are collapsible so that the room can be used for other functions,” Cole said.

Forecast from National Weather Service Saturday Friday Sunday Showers Likely, 60%

High: 74; Low: 61

Thunderstorms , 40%

service aspects of it (the Banner program),” Smith said. “You can pay your bill on it, you can check your financial aid status and you can do all this other stuff. You used to have people who had to do that.”

Another issue that students were worried about was how financial aid would be affected by the new budget.

President Smith said that SRU’s dedication to financial aid actually increased this past year.

“We probably invested $750,000 in financial aid to help offset the cost of tuition and other fees,” Smith said.

Smith did say that the budget is still in a very fluid situation, and will continue to change for a while.

SRU has made a lot of changes to adapt to the new budget, and more changes appear to be in the future.

Index

Weather Thunderstorms, 30%

High: 73; Low: 58 High: 74; Low: 56

Moving on while remembering those lost is what Slippery Rock University is trying to do this week.

The SRU campus will host a ceremonial reading of the names of those killed during the 9/11 attacks.

The ceremony began at 8:15 a.m. today at the SGA Pavilion.

The Center for Student Involvement and Leadership is sending buses to Shanksville, Pa. today to take part in the dedication of Flig ht 93 Memor i a l community service.

Vice President Joe Biden and former President George W. Bush are expected to be in Shanksville on Saturday, w hi le President B arack Obama will be in attendance on Sunday.

Mixed reactions to new student center More new components of the Student Center include a Starbucks and a Quaker Steak & Lube, in addition to an updated Rocky’s Grill.

There will also be an E l e c t r o n i c Te c h n o l o g y Center featuring computer purchasing through companies such as Dell and Apple, as well as computer accessories and service, said Cole.

Most offices and or g a n i z at i on s c u r re nt l y located in the University Union will be relocated to the Student Center, with the exception of the radio station, WSRU 88.1.

Student organizat ions, like the Center for Student Leadership and Involvement (CSIL) and the Student Government Association (SGA), were allotted six office spaces in a new, consolidated student development area.

The SGA Bookstore will be moved and will feature separate general and textbook entrances, both located on the same floor.

New offices that will be located in the Student Center that weren’t previously in the University Union are

Student self-service saves on man power, helps the budget Continued from Page a-1

account of the history of Islam and showed various personal experiences of Muslim life in America today.

This was important to Gibson.

She wanted to correct many of the stereotypes seen in the media today regarding Muslims.

Those stereotypes, she feels, need to be spoken against, especially in western Pennsylvania communities that are not always very diverse.

“It’s really important to think about those that are here,” Gibson said after emphasizing that we never forget the lives lost, but gearing attention to the future. “We need to focus on life after the tragedy. How we go on in America.”

Rock Notes..........A-2 Blotter.................A-3 Opinion.......A-4 Classifieds..........A-6 Comics................A-7

Sports...................B-1 Campus Life........C-1

Conference Services from Morrow Field House and the Women’s Center from the basement of the Behavioral Science Building.

After the move, the current University Union will be remodeled to become the Student Success C enter in order to consolidate nu m e ro u s s e r v i c e s f or students into one facility.

Student opinion of the new Student Center varies across the board. Some students, e s p e c i a l l y s e n i or s , a re worried that they are paying for a building they will never get to use.

“I don’t think the new union is necessary, “ senior chemistry major Jeremy Reott said. “I think that the money should be going towards improving the quality of our education and degrees by hiring more prestigious professors or renovating educational buildings.”

While some students would rather see the money spent on improving educational tools, sophomore accounting major Andrea Love would like to see it spent differently.

“I would rather have lower tuition costs than pay for a

new union,” Love said. “Why can’t they update the gym instead?”

O t h e r stu d e nt s , e ve n upperclassmen like junior Amelia Daley, a peer mentor in the CSIL, are excited about the move.

“Stu d e nt org an i z at i on offices like the CSIL are switching over during spring break,” Daley said. “I think the new offices are going to be great.”

It would seem that freshmen are the most excited about the prospect of a new student center.

Nick Gordon, a freshman computer science major, said that he is most looking forward to the new movie theater.

“What other school can say they have a movie theater on campus?” Gordon said. “It is definitely more convenient than making a trip to Grove City or Butler.”

For more information on the Student Center, students can visit the model located in the University Union, or follow the construction progress at facebook.com/ SRUUnion.

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Continued from Page a-1

September 9, 2011

Police Blotter Campus Sept. 2 - Hallie Doi, 21, was cited for public drunkenness on Rock Pride Drive.

Sept. 4 - Scott Macleod, 19, was cited for underage consumption of alcohol on Campus Drive.

Sept. 5 - Vincent Pupich, 19, was cited for underage consumption of alcohol during a traffic stop on Kiester Road.

Borough Sept. 2 - Parkes E. Knepshield, 18, was cited for disorderly house.

Sept. 2 - Joshua T. Miller, 19, was cited for disorderly house.

Sept. 3 - Andrew Buroer, 21, was cited for possession of an open container of alcohol.

Sept. 3 - Thomas Czarny, 21, was cited for possession of an open container of alcohol.

News

A-3

The clubs and organizations fair makes a huge splash in the quad

Sept. 3 - David Thomas Bull, 25, was cited for disorderly conduct.

Sept. 3 - Curtis Spieler, 23, was cited for possession of an open container of alcohol.

Sept. 4 - Kyle D. McCarriher, 23, Ryan Phillips, 22, and Todd Bezker, 21, were cited for disorderly house.

Sept. 4 - Bethany McCollough, 21, was cited for possession of an open container of alcohol.

Compiled by Stephanie Holsinger

Police patrol dorms Continued from Page a-1

major Maria Krafty, 20, has served as a CA (community assistant) for the past three years.

“I think it provides students with a measure of safety that they just didn’t have before,” Krafty said.“I think having an officer come into the halls and get to know the CAs and GAs (graduate assistants) will help the communication gap between Res-life staff and campus police, ultimately improving the quality of life.”

In the future, Chief Simmons of the SRU Police Department hopes to create

more initiatives to give his police force a more active and positive role in the community.

“We have a meeting with Res-life on the 19th of this month and community oriented policing helps put our officers in a positive light,” Simmons said. “This initiative is the next stop in our community-oriented policing.”

Currently there is a RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) program tentatively scheduled for Nov. 4 th and 5 th and the student community can expect more changes to come in the future for the SRU PDstudent relationship.

Alex Mowrey/THE ROCKET Slippery Rock University students gathered in the quad on Thursday during common hour for the Clubs and Organizational Fair. The fair is an opportunity for students to see all of the 109 clubs and organizations SRU has to offer, and for the clubs and organizations to recruit new members. The fair is mandatory for all clubs and organizations that receive funding through the Student Government Association.

OPINION

The Rocket

A-4

September 9, 2011

The Rocket

Our View

Volume 94, Number 2 220 Eisenberg Classroom Building Slippery Rock University Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania 16057 Phone: (724) 738-4438 Fax: (724) 738-4896 E-mail: rocket.letters@sru.edu

Editorial Board Courtney Nickle

Editor-in-Chief Brian Brodeur

News Editor Andy Treese

Campus Life Editor Tim Durr

Sports Editor Lexi Kovski

Photo Editor Stephanie Martincsek

Copy Editor James Intile

Web Editor Stephanie Holsinger Assistant News Editor James Meyer Assistant Focus Editor Madeline Williams Assistant Sports Editor Liana Pittman

Assistant Photo Editor Spencer Cadden

News Reporter Mark Zeltner

Faculty Adviser

GRAPHIC BY LIANA PITTMAN

Generation Y after Sept. 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, a lot of things changed.

Ten years ago, all of The Advertising Staff Rocket staff members were Emily Hunter between 10 and 20 years old, Advertising Manager most on the younger side.

Ashley Adams On that day, our worlds Advertising Asst. Manager were shattered. Everything was turned upside down.

About Us The Rocket is published by the students Our safety had been of Slippery Rock University every Friday compromised. during the academic semester with the That day, we were sitting exception of holidays, exam periods and in our elementary school vacations. Total weekly circulation is 3,000. classrooms, bored, feeling No material appearing in The Rocket may be reprinted without the written consent of like it was just another ordinary day. the Editor-in-Chief.

The first copy of The Rocket is provided One by one, parents came free of charge. Additional copies may be to pick up our friends and purchased for 50 cents each. take them home. We were The Rocket receives approximately five percent of its funding from the SGA General being kept in the dark, too Service fee paid each semester by students. young to understand what All other income is provided through the was happening. sale of advertising.

Some of us had teachers Advertising inquiries may be made that believed we needed by calling (724) 738-2643 or by e-mailing to know.

So, they rolled rocket.ads@sru.edu. a television set into the classroom and let us watch Corrections the news as it was unraveling.

If we make a substantial error, we want to We watched those correct it. If you believe an error has been made, call The Rocket newsroom at (724) 738-4438. If a correction is warranted it will be printed in the opinion section.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions to The Rocket are available.

Subscriptions are $20 per academic semester and $35 for the full academic year.

Inquiries should be directed to the Editorin-Chief at the address listed here.

airplanes strike the World Trade Center. We heard that another plane hit the Pentagon. And yet another went down in Shanksville, Pa., not far from where we are now.

It looked like a movie.

Something we couldn’t wrap our heads around. But we watched the adults, crying and falling apart around us, clearly shaken by the attacks.

The school day ended, and we rode the bus home.

The streets were almost empty. Everyone was inside, watching the news.

From that day on, our lives were changed forever.

An event like that changes a nation, even a generation.

We can say with certainty that the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 shaped who we are today, every one of us. Those events shaped Generation Y. Airport security is now tighter and stronger than it

ever was before.

No liquid can be in a container larger than three ounces.

Everyone must go through a metal detector and in some airports, must have a fullbody scan done.

There is no cheating the security gates.

All of this sounds like a hassle. But the truth is it makes us safer. Or at the very least, it makes us feel safer.

Osama Bin Laden became a household name in America starting on Sept.

11, 2001.

Wars were started in the name of ending terrorism and finding Bin Laden.

Finally, on May 1, 2011, Bin Laden was killed in a compound in Pakistan.

“Justice has been done,” President Barack Obama said that night.

As a nation, we celebrated the victory. Bin Laden had

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

been in hiding for almost ten years, trying to outrun the United States and its allies.

And we finally got him.

For most of our lives, Generation Y has been surrounded by news of Bin Laden, acts of terrorism and the war on terror.

In elementary school, we said the Pledge of Allegiance every day. We stood there, with our hands over our hearts, mumbling the words without really thinking about them. After 9/11, we will always think about those words.

Toby Keith released a song in May of 2002 called “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American).”

The song was inspired by the events of Sept. 11, and it became one of the many anthems for America.

Keith wrote “Now this nation that I love has fallen

under attack/A mighty sucker punch came flyin’ in from somewhere in the back/Soon as we could see it clearly through our big black eye/Man we lit up your world like the 4th of July.”

Those words echoed the feelings of Americans across the country, and still do.

If there is a silver lining on the tragic and unforgettable events of Sept. 11, 2001, it’s the unification of the entire country through patriotism.

There were flags up and down the streets, in almost everyone’s front yard.

The radio stations were playing songs like Keith’s and “God Bless the U.S.A.” by Lee Greenwood.

We were united under one goal, fighting back.

Forever, Generation Y will be marked with an increased sense of patriotism, a stronger love for the country we call home.

This week’s question: Where were you when you heard about the attacks on September 11, 2001?

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 Fall 2010 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.

Crystal Davis Senior exercise science major Hometown: Erie, PA

RJ Politowski Senior criminology major Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

“I was in my 7th grade math class.

I can’t remember what we were learning at the time, but someone called my teacher and she gasped and then closed all the classroom doors and we weren’t allowed to leave. Then we turned on the TV and a lot of the adults in the school cried, but I don’t think we really understood what was happening until later.”

“I was in middle school, 6th grade.

A lot of people got pulled out of school and I remember football was cancelled. I guess we were all just in shock.”

Maryanne Thurkettel Associate Professor of nursing

“I was in San Diego at home. Around 10 minutes before 6 a.m., my son was in a chat room and it was going crazy. He woke me up by saying ‘Do you like your freedom? Because we just lost it.’ I watched the news for a few hours after that until I had a meeting scheduled at a naval facility.

I thought the meeting would be cancelled, but it wasn’t.”

Opinion

September 9, 2011

Dealing with addiction Can you go three days without technology?

Nicole Crevar Dare and Share Imagine, if you will, a weekend without technology.

That’s right, an entire weekend without computer, Internet, cell phone, television, radio, mp3, iPod, etc.

Or is this idea too hazardous for your Kindle to process?

Teenagers, especially college students, crave technology like an alcoholic craves Scotch.

It’s an addiction that needs to be addressed. Therefore, I decided to conduct a little experiment.

This past weekend, I shut off all of my electronics. You guessed it, no FaceSpace for me!

From Saturday to Monday I vowed to go “sans technology.”

So I hid my phone and prayed to the techno-God that my Rockmail wouldn’t overload.

Determined, I started my Saturday off by driving down to work, in Pittsburgh, without the radio.

I must say this was the WORST part of my weekend. I endured an entire car ride, by myself, completely consumed by my own thoughts.

But once I arrived at work and reconnected with my friends, things started to turn up. I actually began to enjoy the idea that I didn’t have to check my phone.

Who cares if the boy I have the biggest crush on finally texts me, or my aunt asks me out to dinner, or my sister tags me in

a photo.

In the little free time I had surrounding work, I focused my energy on reading ahead in my classes.

I felt productive and unbothered. A sense of peacefulness had come over me.

No one was nagging me about homework or asking me what my plans were for the night.

I was liberated of all distractions!

However, by the end of Sunday I felt like caving in.

I desperately wanted to check my phone or listen to my iPod. In fact, I neglected to run on Monday morning because I knew that it was worthless without the music.

Needless to say, I turned my phone back on by Monday afternoon. I had gone long enough.

Immediately, I felt reconnected as if my life had been on hold for the weekend. I had but four text messages, all of which were about weekend plans (and no, that boy never texted me).

That’s when it hit me. If I had my phone turned on all weekend, I would have constantly been checking it. Why? Because, like most of society, I’m a compulsive communicator who has become so accustomed to technology that I could not imagine a week without it.

This is not the path I saw myself headed on.

Case in point, the best way to address this technology craze is to find a balance.

From now on, I’m going to hide my phone in my underwear drawer and WALK AWAY. I’ve realized that a nice break from technology can turn out to be a very cathartic experience.

I can finish my homework more efficiently and set aside extra time to relax--no distractions.

So take my advice and free yourself from your BlackBerry for the night or even just a few hours a day.

Your future carpal tunnel will thank you.

Have an idea for an experiment you’d like to see Nicole do? Send it to rocket.letters@sru.edu

Any decision involving education should not be taken lightly

Michael Santoro Observation Station Since we were young, we’ve been told about the importance of education.

From “get good grades in school, it’s for your future!” to “do your homework, it’ll help you later,” instruction was followed by reasons for explaining why what we were doing was important.

Even the most random formulas in the most obscure algebra lesson were given a justification or real world application by our teachers.

Although some of these lessons have shown through in our lives, like perimeters and areas, most are left to forget as soon as we finish the test.

S o as we cont inue down the path of higher education, we’re given basically the same rationales with different lessons.

Do we ever truly question why we have chosen this specific road?

Back whenever we were younger, we all had cool dream jobs: “I want to be an astronaut” or “I want to be a police officer.”

We just naturally assumed that whatever we were

learning in kindergarten was steering us toward that exciting career.

We were young and pretty much ever ybody loved school.

We were playing with our friends, learning exciting things and everyday there was something new to discover.

Elementary school was where lessons started to become more abstract and theoretical.

In algebra, letters started representing numbers, ethics came into the equation, and our grading was much less cut-and-dry.

Phrases like “be cool, stay in school” invaded our world while we were still pretty naïve.

Growing up and becoming more aware, we graduated in little robes and hats to the big world of high school.

In high school, everybody pretty much had the same basic reason for going to college, to get a “good” job.

We all sort of had an idea of what a “good” job was, but couldn’t pinpoint where or what that job was.

Good is a vague word and, for the most part, is up to each individual to determine.

What we did know was that we didn’t have the same dream that we did in kindergarten.

I certainly still don’t want to be a firefighter, although I think that would be a pretty rewarding, yet risky, job.

Even though we had multiple years of various types of education, many of us, including myself, had no idea what we wanted to do freshman year.

Phrases like “it’ll pay off soon” and “you’ll need it later” were starting to grow a little thin since we didn’t know when or where they would apply.

So here we are, still working hard completing our college education and hoping that whatever we’re learning gives us the insight we’ll need.

But wait, there’s more.

Now the new goal is graduate school.

We’re told to keep our grades and extracurricular activities up so that we can, once again, attend another institution in order to learn about subjects that we’ll “need” to know.

How much is enough to fulfill that “need?”

Have you ever woken up and felt the pangs of hunger for higher education?

Rarely do we stop and think deeply about how the subject matter we’re learning will affect our future.

Does somebody with our current financial standing just purchase, on a whim, a car that would put them in debt without first weighing many pros and cons?

We should approach our education with the same scrutiny and diplomatic attitude that we would with any important and drastic financial decision.

A-5

Letters to the editor The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” section are those of the writer(s) alone.

The Rocket cannot verify all facts presented in a given letter, but if we are aware of an error or omission, we reserve the right to include an editorial note for accuracy’s sake.

SRU’s green initiatives fall short My name is Dan Cannon.

I graduated from SRU in 2008 with BS in Geography, tract: Environmental Studies.

While on campus during my last two years, I dedicated my free time to making Slippery Rock University a better place. I worked as a student with my peers to implement several large green projects on campus that still exist today: Leave It Green, The Green Bike Initiative and the Green Fund.

Currently, I work with hundreds of college students across the United States to build people power by running grassroots campaigns, ultimately pressuring their campuses to be more sustainable in a variety of ways.

Before I really dig in, let me first say that I really do love SRU. I am proud to say I am a Slippery Rock alum.

Coming out of college, I immediately joined the Alumni Association (I have since withdrawn because of President Smith’s decision to maintain the campus coal plant) and even applied to be on the alumni board.

SRU gave me the education and political space I needed to understand why grassroots organizing was the best way to create real political and corporate change that leads to a safer and cleaner environment on a substantial level. I like SRU so much that I subscribe to “The Rocket” and I read it on a regular basis.

Today, I was blown away with what I read [SRU going green to save some green, The Rocket, Sept. 2, 2011.]

This article is a slap in the face of all the work I have ever done, including the work my friends and I did on campus and everything my degree from Slippery Rock taught me. You all should be ashamed. This “Small Steps.

Big Payoff.” campaign is on the green washing level of corporations like Exxon Mobil.

The “Small Steps. Big Payoff.” campaign, with all due respect, is a bunch of garbage. My first question is how do you plan on holding students, faculty and staff accountable once they sign the “pledge”? With that said, please tell me you have at least thought through a way to measure your success?

A better, but still not 100% practical program would have been to at least make this a competition between dorms (where the energy usage could easily be measured and compared - year vs. year and dorm vs. dorm) with incentives provided to the winning dorm.

All in all, “lifestyle/ individual behavior”

campaigns are an insignificant way to implement large money-saving and GHGreducing change. I would hope you realize this, just like our government and corporations, I feel like the university is scared of real change (the change you saw when students organized to save the campground in 2007 and when students organized to implement the Green Fund in 2009). I feel like SRU is choosing to distract students with “I am going green” good lifestyle/ behavior feelings, when ultimately it is the institution, itself, who is to blame. SRU is literally pointing the finger at the students, encouraging them to fix the university’s problems by “going green” when in actuality, SRU should be looking at itself!

Dr. [David] Culp, you said “Energy conservation is really determined by individual people being aware that their own behavior is the key component.”

Shame on you for putting the blame on the students instead of the institution itself.

This is not the key component.

The key component would be the institution realizing that real change happens when they decide as an institution to implement the change on a large level.

You also said “I leave here at night and the lights are on in the hallways or classrooms even though there is no one else around,” Culp said, citing an example on wasted energy.”

Dr. Culp, if this is really true and a problem and you really want to fix it - educating people about turning off the lights or having them sign some pledge is not going to create the substantial change you need to have a large positive environmental or financial impact.

I know I am repeating myself, but individual/ behavioral solutions don’t create substantial change. If you really want to have a large impact, you need to create change at a larger institutional level - I feel like this is sustainability 101. Please keep in mind that I would be happy to be invited back to campus to teach a course or to consult the Sustainability Commission.

If you want to fix this, why doesn’t the university hire a team of students to run around campus and turn off the lights at night or better yet install motion sensor lights?

This idea that this problem you mentioned would be fixed by having students sign a pledge is ludicrous.

Now let’s get to the real good part: “ The Sustainability Commission hopes to see a three percent reduction in energy consumption throughout the next year, which would cut energy costs by about $100,000 per year. These plans would also reduce green house emissions by 1,335 tons of carbon

dioxide over that span.”

You want to really reduce green house gas emissions?

How about replacing the coal plant that’s on campus with clean, renewable energy. A combination of geothermal and solar heating could be an option, check out Ball State.

SRU’s plant has been in violation since February 2003 and was not addressed until March 2011! That means my university was putting my health at risk on a daily basis the entire time I was on campus (2004 - 2008).

SRU clearly knew about the violations but chose to do nothing about it!

SRU just committed to spending $6 million to install pollution controls in order to meet the bare minimum clean air act regulations after finally paying $50,000 in violation fees. This only extends the life of the campus coal plant.

Another thing I would like to point out, there are now less than 45 campus coal plants across the entire country. On top of this, in the last three years, over 50 campus coal plants have already been shut down or have commitments to shut down by 2020. A lot of this is because of student pressure, wanting clean, safe air to breathe.

Slippery Rock University clearly does not care about the visual aesthetics of its campus, the future of our climate and worse, the health of the students. Slippery Rock University, with its recent investment to update the coal plant, is seriously on a path to be the last remaining campus coal plant in the country NOW there is something to NOT be proud of. You, SRU, should be embarrassed.

Dr. Culp, you also said “It’s very much not a kneejerk reaction to any clean air violations,” Culp said in response to whether the green pledge was related to the schools past environmental violations. “They are two separate issues in reality.”

I honestly don’t know how you sleep at night, to say that these things are not related? Maybe you did not implement the “Small Steps.

Big Payoff.” campaign as a direct result of the violations, but if you are going to talk about energy consumption and lowering green house gas emissions, the coal plant, the violations and your pathetic excuse of a campaign to “solve the problem” are all directly related.

I am a proud alum of Slippery Rock University, but I will not encourage anyone to attend, I will not donate and I will continue to voice my opinion as long as the campus coal plant is on campus.

Dan Cannon 2008 SRU graduate If you would like to respond, email your Letter to the Editor to rocket.letters@sru.edu.

WANTED: CARTOONIST

CORRECTIONS: Sept. 2

Do you enjoy drawing cartoons in your spare time? Do you enjoy depicting political topics and current events in those cartoons? If you answered ‘yes’ to those questions, you’re just the student we’re looking for!

- Timothy Spear was charged with having an open container while walking down Grove City Road. The Police Blotter in last week’s Rocket listed that Spear was in a vehicle, which was incorrect.

- Spencer Scanlon, of Girlie Action, produced the ‘Barnstormer V’ concert held August 30 in Dr. Mark Chase’s barn.

Email rocket.letters@sru.edu if you’re interested!

Grad speakers shouldn’t make profit

Prostitution puts women

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

The following editorial regarding sexual assault on college campuses appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday, Aug. 24. With the several alleged sexual assaults that were reported at Slippery Rock University last year, this is an issue of high importance for SRU students: One Sunday morning last February, a 19-year-old Marquette University student tearfully reported to campus security officers that she had been raped.

The officers were legally bound to report that allegation to Milwaukee police. They didn’t. They told the student they didn’t know whether a crime had been committed because the alleged encounter began as consensual.

Result: No charges were filed.

In June, Marquette administrators acknowledged to Chicago Tribune reporters Ryan Haggerty and Stacy St. Clair that the university had violated its reporting obligations for the past 10 years. That is unconscionable.

Marquette is the second major Midwestern university to come under intense public scrutiny for the way it responds to students’ claims of rape or other sexual attacks. Notre Dame was blistered by critics for its handling of sexual battery allegations in the 2010 case of Elizabeth “Lizzy” Seeberg. In that case, campus police didn’t interview the accused until two weeks after Seeberg reported the alleged assault to them. By that time, she had committed suicide.

Both universities now say they’ve improved the way they deal with such cases. That’s good. The key point for them, and for every college in America: Don’t try to bury allegations of sexual assault with protocol and process.

By Tim Rutten

Los Angeles Times MCT Campus

SPORTS

The Rocket

B-1

September 9, 2011

Fusco lands spot on Vikings roster First SRU player on active NFL roster since 1989

By Tim Durr Sports Editor

Solid play in his final attempt to make the 53man Minnesota Vikings roster was exactly what Brandon Fusco needed on Sept. 1 against the Houston Texans.

Fusco played a majority of the game against the Texans and evidently showed the Vikings what they wanted to see as he received word Saturday night that he was going to be a part of their active roster.

“It was up in the air in that final game on Thursday,” Fusco said. “I just came out and played as hard as I could. I knew it was going to be a tough go as an offensive lineman, but I made it.”

Fusco was drafted in the sixth round of the April draft and will accompany John Sullivan and Jon Cooper as one of three centers on the active roster.

During the draft, Fusco said that it was a stressful experience, but he was pretty sure that he would get drafted so he remained calm with his family and friends.

“I wasn’t sure exactly when I would be picked, so I did a lot of waiting,” Fusco said. “When I finally got the call that I was going to the Vikings, man, I can

still remember that exact moment, it was amazing.”

He credits his hard work and drive to improve every chance he had since hitting the field for the first time with the Vikings.

“My improvement every week was something that I focused on, and the coaches saw how hard I was working,” Fusco said.

“I focused on getting used to the speed of the game and did what I needed to do to make the roster.”

Fus co’s for mer he ad coach, George Mihalik said that he was extremely excite d w hen he s aw Brandon get drafted in the sixth round.

“I was ecstatic,” he said.

“When you can get drafted to the NFL it’s a huge deal.

Being drafted is a dream come true.”

Mihalik worked with Fusco to help him find an agent and get him prepared to compete in the Senior Bowl and NFL combine.

“We had to find an agent that Brandon was comfortable with,” Mihalik said. “Allen Herman ended up being the perfect fit, and then we focused on the possibility of being invited to the Senior Bowl. That’s where Brandon could show he was able to compete with Division I talent.”

Fusco was the first SRU player to compete in the

Senior Bowl and was also the first player from the University to be a part of the NFL combine.

Fusco was also part of a small number of standout Division II athletes to be invited to the NFL combine this season.

Abilene Christian's wide receiver Edmond Gates, West Texas A&M's wide receiver Stephen Burton, and fellow PSAC member, Tommie Campbell from California University of Pennsylvania all joined Fus co as Div ision II standouts at the NFL Combine.

After the Senior Bowl and NFL combine, Fusco held a pro day, which 14 teams attended. One of those teams was the Minnesota Vikings.

Mihalik said that he has kept const ant communication with Fusco since he was drafted and that the Vikings are getting a player that will fill in a key role in the future.

“The Vikings realized that they had to keep Brandon on their active roster if they wanted him for the long term,” Mihalik said. “They knew if they put him on waivers that another team would have claimed him.”

As the first Slippery Rock athlete to be on an active NFL roster since Greg Patera was on the Atlanta

Falcons in 1989, Fusco said the thought of being an NFL player finally started to set in as he prepared for his first practice since making the team.

“I had to pinch myself when I first heard the news,” Fusco said. “When I got back to the facility and everyone started to congratulate me was when it finally set in. I’ve wanted to be an NFL player my entire life, and now I just have to work hard to keep my dream alive.”

The only other former Slippery Rock University player that has made efforts to get in the NFL was offensive tackle Mike Butter wor th, who was a member of the Atlanta Falcons practice squad in 2008 and 2009.

Fusco is definitely on a much bigger scale with the Minnesota Vikings then when he was at Slippery Rock, as he joked about the confusing looks he received when he told people he went to SRU. “When I got to camp and I told people I was from Slippery Rock, I always got the same confusing look,” Fusco said. “Most people had never heard of the place. Hopefully my journey gives the school some more recognition because it’s a good story behind the journey.”

Football defeats Seton Hill, Rock prepares for Golden Rams returns home to face Cheyney By Madeline Williams Assistant Sports Editor

By D.J. Vasil

Not even thunder and lightning could stop the Slippery Rock women's soccer team as they picked up their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opening win against Millersville University of Pennsylvania (2-1 overall, 0-1 PSAC) on Wednesday, 2-0.

Due to lightning and strong winds, the away game was pushed back about two hours and 15 minutes, but that didn't stop sophomore Kara Mullins and freshman Lucy Hannon, who contributed

Rocket Contributor

Slippery Rock looks to build off its opening day win in their home opener Saturday against Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (1-0 overall) at 6 p.m.

Saturday will also mark a special day in Rock football history as the stadium will be renamed MihalikThompson Stadium in honor of coach George Mihalik’s accomplishments with the Slippery Rock football team.

“It’s overwhelming, it’s a great honor for myself and my family,” Mihalik said. “I am very thankful that President Smith and athletic director Paul Lueken and the Council of Trustees thought I was worthy enough to receive this honor.”

Rock quarterback Cody Endres was successful in his first start and now feels more comfortable with the offense.

“Each week I’ll get more comfortable in the offense,” Endres said. “It was good to get my feet wet and put on the green jersey for the first time and get out there with my teammates.”

Duplicating last week’s performance is the key to beating Cheyney this week, Endres believes.

goals that got the Green and White out to a quick lead.

The returning leading scorer from the 2010 season, junior Shelby Ward, was credited with the assist to Mullins during the 11th minute of the game.

Mullins continued her efforts later on in the first half when she connected with Hannon, tallying an assist.

Senior transfer goalie Lisa Rodgers stopped both shots on goal, earning her first shutout for the Green and White.

Junior defender Emer Flatley thought the entire team played well and said

the team has been working well together, especially in the victory over Millersville.

"The whole team played great and worked hard for each other," Flately said. "We put away the goals in the first half and kept a clean sheet.

The whole team stepped it up and produced a good win in some bad conditions."

Head coach Noreen Herlihy is excited about the amount of new recruits that came out for the team this season and is expecting them to step up and contribute immediately.

"We have a huge group of freshmen girls who came SEE WOMEN, PAGE B-4

Despite loss, Cross Country grows closer as a team from Alaska trip

By Brian Hepfinger running and climbing again in my life."

COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

Junior defensive back Zach Sheridan moves in to make a tackle on a Seton Hill running back last Saturday in the 51-14 SRU victory.

“We just have to do what we do well, like we did last week,” Endres said. “We need to come out hard and run the ball, use play action and get the ball to our playmakers.”

Coach Mihalik is also expecting big things out of Endres and running back Akeem Satterfield this week.

“Our passing game is going to be much more productive and effective,” Mihalik said.

“He’s going to have an even

greater command of the offense and Akeem is going to take advantage of the opportunities our offensive line gives him. He always gets positive yards after first contact.”

If the Rock is going to be successful on offense, it will need to neutralize the speed Cheyney has on defense.

SEE STADIUM, PAGE B-4

Rocket Contributor

On their trip to Alaska to race against the University of A l a s k a - A nchor age, Slipp er y Ro ck’s cross country team experienced much more than a typical cross country meet.

Along with the Thursday race, the team experienced seeing moose in Kincaid Park, hiking to the top of Fl attop Mount ain, exploring the breathtaking Matanuska g l a c i e r, spending an evening at the Alaskan State Fair,

in Denali National Park, seeing Mount McKinley and visiting the Sea Life Center in the port city of Seward.

All the athletes had a fantastic time and were g ratef u l to have t he opportunity to go on a trip like this, according to junior Abby Michaelian.

"It was a great experience both on and off the course," Michaelian said.

"I'm so thankful we had the chance to go because that's something I'll probably never have a chance to do

They were chaperoned by head coach John Papa, and assistant coaches Meagan Cook, Bill Jordan and Chris Sherve.

Senior captain Caitlin Ha n c ox e nj oy e d t h e experience and said that it was great to visit such a remarkable place with her team.

“Alaska was such a beautiful place to see,” Hancox said. “It was an amazing trip and an allaround great experience SEE UAA, PAGE B-3

Sports

B-2

September 9, 2011

SRU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Cody Endres

By Tim Durr Sports Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF MCT CAMPUS

In quarterback Cody Endres best game when he was with the University of Connecticut, he took a big hit as he was releasing a pass downfield. Endres threw for 113 yards in his for game with SRU.

Cody Endres transferred to Slippery Rock University after being suspended f rom t h e Un i v e r s it y of Connecticut for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Endres went to Trinity High School and graduated in 2006.

He was named to the Observer Reporter Elite 11 team twice while at Trinity and was part of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 team as a senior.

He st ar te d pl ay i ng organized football when he was in second grade becaue his dad got him into the sport when he was at a very young age. " My d a d g o t m e interested in football and I started playing in second grade," Endres said.

In 2007, he was redshirted by UConn and got his first playing time in the 2008 season.

He played in five games and also made his first two college starts, throwing for 411 yards with three

interceptions in 2008.

In his second season of eligibility at UConn, Endres started six games and was proficient with a 63.6 completion percentage. He threw for 1,354 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions.

His career-high passing day came in 2009 against the University of West Virginia when he threw for 378 yards.

In 2010, he played in three games for UConn before he was suspended from playing with the team. In his three games, he threw for 471 yards with five touchdowns.

In his first game for SRU, Endres completed eight of his 13 attempts for 113 yards with an interception in the 51-14 victory.

Endres said that the transition to SRU wasn't much of a large change from when he was at UConn.

"I was welcomed by the team immediately when I got her," he said. "Football is same on every level. I did what I needed to do and got right to work and fitting in with my new teammates."

With senior eligibility on the team, Endres is looking to get his degree from SRU and go on to a career that he will enjoy.

"I want to get my degree f rom Slipp er y Ro ck," Endres said about his future after football. "After that I want to find a job that I will enjoy performing everyday."

This year, Endres said that he doesn't have any personal goals for this season and only wants to play the best he can each game for the team to win.

"I just want us to win every game that we play," Endres said. "We are looking to win the PSAC this year and make it to the national tournament. I feel that both of those goals are very achievable."

Endres said that personal things that he focuses on in his own game is to work on his footwork and mobility out of the pocket.

"My footwork is one of the main things that I look to work on," he said.

"Mainly I need to improve how I move out of the pocket and my overall mobility."

Endres said that he likes to strive for some of the aspects that NFL quarterbacks have.

"I like to look for different aspects that the NFL quarterbacks have that I try to imitate," he said. "I like different things from different quarterbacks.

Peyton Manning has such a great mind for the game and Ben Roethlisberger shows such great strength, and Tom Brady is such a solid winner."

Along with all of the different aspects that he looks to imitate from NFL quarterbacks, Endres said that leadership is ultimately what he focuses on.

His most memorable g a m e m o m e nt c a m e in 2005 when he was in high school and defeated Penn Hills in a first round playoff upset.

Looking back at his short career of playing football, Endres said that his biggest role model was definitely his father.

"My father taught me everything about football," he said. "He taught me how to be a man."

Brandon Fusco

COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION

Brandon Fusco was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round of the NFL draft. After going through training camp and preseason, he made the Vikings 53-man active roster as one of three centers on the team.

What's On Tap...

Upcoming Slippery Rock Sporting Events -Sat., September 10th @ 6 p.m.

-Sat., September 10th @ 11 a.m.

- After a big win against Seton Hill University, the Rock will take the field in its first home game of the season at the newly named Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.

- With it's last match against Millersville University

-Football vs Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

-Men's Soccer vs. West Chester University

being cancelled, the Rock will look to win two-in-arow coming off of a win against Washington Adventist University.

Sports

September 9, 2011

B-3

Storms delay game UAA sends Rock home with loss against Marauders

By Kristin Karam Rocket Contributor

Two ye ars ago, t he S l ipp e r y R o c k m e n’s soccer team entered the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game against Millersville University of Pennsylvania and beat the odds to defeat the No. 1 ranked Marauders, 2-1.

In 2010, the two met in another epic battle, this time during the regular s e as on as t he P S AC opener. The Rock faced the challenge of having a new head Coach, Michael Bonelli. Bonelli and the team quickly found their rhythm, allowing history to repeat itself as the Rock defeated Millersville at Thompson Stadium by the same 2-1 score.

This season Millersville was ranked No. 1 in the PSAC rankings and found the Rock on it’s schedule for a Sept. 7 match.

J u n i o r g o a l k e e p e r, Clayton Master said that the Rock was ready for the match against Millersville and that the key to the game was executing their game plan successfully.

"We felt very prepared," he said. "Our coaches do a great job getting us information about the teams we play throughout the season. The key is for us to go out and execute the game plan that is put

before us."

The Green and White e n t e r e d We d n e s d a y night’s game fresh off a win against Washington Adventist University, 3-2, giving them an overall record of 1-1-0.

With rain in the forecast the start of the game was delayed due to the extra time it took to complete the women’s game. As lightning flashed in the distance and heavy rains came down onto the field, the game was postponed in the 23rd minute.

Millersville was leading 1-0, but because the game didn’t pass the 70th minute, NCAA bylaws required the game to be recorded as a no-contest and that all statistics were voided. A makeup date has yet to be scheduled.

Master said that the offense will be prepared for the rematch against Millersville when the game is finally rescheduled.

"We have walk-thrus every day before a game, " Master said. "That has already been a great addition to typical practices. It allows us to focus on restarts and the team's tendencies throughout the game so we will be ready when we take on Millersville again."

Master said that the storm wasn't extremely intense but the rain SEE FRESHMAN, PAGE B-4

a

COURTESY OF JOHN PAPA

Sophomore Travis Arrigoni goes out for a strong start with a pack of University of Alaska-Anchorage runners last Thursday. The men's team lost to the Seawolves, 46-16.

for the team.”

Senior Erica Aldrich said that the trip was a fantastic experience and that it helped the team to become closer with each other.

"The experience was incredible and Alaska is completely worth visiting," Aldrich said. "Our team is still getting our feet wet as far as this season as concerned. Overall, we are happy with how we performed against a high caliber team like the University of AlaskaAnchorage."

Both teams raced the 5K

course at Kincaid Park on Sept 1.

The 8th place-ranked girls’ team fell short, losing 48-15 to AlaskaAnchorage.

Junior Stephanie Case was the first SRU runner to cross the finish line. She was sixth overall with a time of 19:02.

Overcoming an injury, senior Kara Styles was the next SRU runner in, placing 10th overall with a time of 19:30. This is her first cross country race since high school.

She was followed by

n e w c o m i n g f re s h m a n Janine Powis placing in 12th (19:52), with junior Abby Michaelian right behind, taking 13th (19:52), and Hancox finishing 14th (19:58).

On the mens’ side, junior captain Eric Geddis said, “The guys used the race as a workout, since we got off our flight the day before, and we went hiking at Flattop that morning.”

The 6th place-ranked boys’ team lost to the Seawolves by a score of 46-16.

The team’s first runner

in was sophomore Travis Arrigoni, who finished sixth place overall with a time of 15:45.

Ju n i or A l e x Kok s a l placed ninth, crossing the line at 16:07, followed by sophomore Michael Beegle who took 11th (16:16).

Freshman Chris Grooms took 16th place (16:40), and sophomore Joe Hickey finished 17th (17:01).

The teams will be back in action on September 16 at the Mack Cooper Classic on their home course at the Cooper’s Lake Campground.

The Rocket

CAMPUS LIFE C-1 September 9, 2011

LEST WE FORGET

Remembering 9/11

New training seminars held for Hearing Board Sessions for handling cases involving sexual abuse taught to board members

By Benjamin Bergfelt Rocket Contributor

ALEXIS KOVSKI/ the rocket

Biology and pre-medical major Eric Beggs, 19, visits the Flight 93 Memorial in the quad near Vincent Science Center. The memorial honors the victims on board the flight that went down in Somerset County, Pa on September 11th, 2001.

Campus reflects on impact of September 11

By James Meyer

Assistant Campus Life Editor

Ten years have come and gone since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11th, 2001. Most remember quite clearly where they were on that day when the world was to become as permanently altered as the New York City skyline.

Ten years later, the after effects are still strong. In the last 10 years, airport security has become tighter than ever. The U.S. became heavily involved in two wars.

The military remains presently involved in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four co-conspirators who masterminded the attacks, were captured, followed by a heated debate surrounding how to proceed with the trial.

Then there was the capture, trial and execution of Saddam Hussein and, most recently, the death of Osama Bin Laden.

Safety and security battled sensitivity and tolerance as emotions ran high over building a mosque near ground zero and racial profiling in airports.

In the years following the attacks, Sept. 11th has SEE WORKSHOPS, PAGE C-3

S exu a l ass au lt is a problem on most, if not all, college campuses in the country.

According to a study conducted by the National Institute of Justice, a campus of 10,000 students could have as many as 350 rapes per year.

Many, if not all, of these will go unreported, with most of the women falling between 16 to 24 years old.

Some will go days, months and even years without filing a report.

Sexual assault is not just something that happens to women, but men can fall prey to it, as well.

Male victims of sexual assault are also less likely to report incidents due to embarrassment, lack of support and resources.

There are even fewer resources and greater lack of support for the LGBTQI community in this area.

“Sexual assault is 100 p e r c e nt p r e v e nt a b l e ,” Women’s Center Bridge Project coordinator Karla Fonner said. “It’s a matter of how we set up a culture that makes it easy and acceptable.”

She and Leigh Ann Datt, direc tor of the Office of Student Conflict Resolution Services, are out to end sexual assault on campus.

That plan began with the facilitation of hearing board training seminars held Tuesday and Wednesday for cases involving sexual abuse. The board, itself, is comprised of student members, university staff and faculty.

The Office of Student Conflict Resolution Services (OSCRS) exists to uphold the student code of conduct.

In regards to sexual assault, the code says, “no person shall engage in or attempt to engage in sexual assault.”

With sexual assault being in the repertoire of cases that are heard, Fonner said it is wise for board members to understand the sensitive and complex nature of these cases.

While Leigh Ann Datt facilitates, it is Fonner that provides the training, itself.

T h i s i ns t r u c t i on i s necessar y for board members to understand sexual assault, misconduct and interpersonal violence cases.

Datt said the purpose is to give board members as much information as possible.

She said they wanted to make sure students are on par with the field of conduct.

The instruction included a multimedia presentation and a discussion, and was tailored to fit the needs of the board.

While the training is not new, the subject matter is.

Those who participated i n t h e t r ai n i ng t h i s week learned about the experience of interpersonal violence, how to deconstruct trauma and the hearing of sexual assault cases.

Fonner said the goal of the training is to help the student board understand why victims act the way SEE BOARD, PAGE C-3

New art exhibit displays sculptures, portraits about life and death

By Rebecca Marcucci

Rocket Contributor

According to artist Sarah Sudhoff and metalsmith Rene e Z ett le-Sterling , death is just as much a celebration of someone’s life as the day they were born.

Sudhof f and Z ettleSterling’s collaboration of ar t work s , e nt it l e d “Aftermath,” opened on display Tuesday, followed by a reception that evening in the Martha Gault Art G a l l e r y. It d i s pl aye d various examples of death’s beauty and festivity.

Sudhoff, originally from San Antonio, Texas, typically creates largeformat color photographs as an art form. Her display in Maltby, “In the Hour of Our Death,” illustrates exactly that, death at its very hour.

Wh i l e Su d h of f an d Zettle-Sterling were not in attendance at the exhibit,

inside the gallery, a video narration telling of their wor k s an d pro c e ss e s streamed for visitors.

In the video, Sudhoff opened with telling viewers how her process began at the age of 17, when she had lost a friend to suicide.

While visiting her friend’s home, she noticed a cleanup crew steaming carpet in the bedroom.

All traces of what had happened in just 24 hours seemed to suddenly vanish. The crew saw a mess that needed cleaned, but Sudhoff saw life and believed it deserved to be celebrated.

Shortly after, she was calling crime scene cleanup crews, pitching her idea to capture these scenes.

Nearly ever yone hung up on her until, finally, she was invited to shoot photographs of what had been a part of a scene moments earlier.

Fascinated by what she saw, she said she continued

to capture what was left.

Students viewing Sudhoff ’s work at the “Aftermath” exhibit had a lot to say.

Freshman special education major Derek Shifflet, 18, was baffled by the display, but had a differing viewpoint from other students in the gallery.

“B r i g ht c o l or s a n d flowers brighten up a rainy day,” Shifflet said while viewing a picture of a floral patterned sheet that appeared to be covered in blood. He stood looking at Sudhoff ’s images trying to make sense of it all.

“It’s neat though,” he said.

Junior creative writing and art major R achel McCarren, 20, described her take on the theme of the exhibit.

“Ever ybody has a f a s c i n at i on w it h t h e macabre and moros e, there’s a psychological history and underlying

liana pittman/ the rocket

Canadian solo artist Doug Paisley played an acoustic set as one of the scheduled performers in Dr. Mark Chase's barn Tuesday evening.

my s t e r y t h a t m a k e s everyone want to look and imagine,” McCarren said.“Subconsciously it makes you feel worried, but it’s comforting for your own mortality and the benevolent question and importance of death.”

Still favoring the concept

of death, some of ZettleSterling’s works portrayed images of what appeared to be facial devices such as muzzles. Her display, e nt i t l e d “O b j e c t s o f Mo u r n i n g ,” i n c l u d e d outdated items that were once of value but are no l onge r us e d. O bj e c t s

such as Zettle-Sterling’s hand-crafted brooches represented sentimental thoughts that often go along with death. The brooches modeled the reverence of mourning.

Zettle-Sterling was SEE ARTIFACTS, PAGE C-3

Campus Life

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September 9, 2011

Student works to teach, provide humanitarian aid in Central Asia Faced with the choice of lying on a sunlit beach or going to an underdeveloped county for a summer vacation, most people would pick the beach.

But that is exactly the opposite of what junior history major Curtis Nichols Jessica Buckholtz did.Nichols, 20, made the "Student Spotlight" challenging decision of

attending a humanitarian aid trip last summer from the months of May through June.

He said he “really felt a calling to go” and felt a yearning to get there as soon as possible and make a difference.

Nichols made the lengthy trip to a very poor area in Central Asia, where the culture was predominantly Muslim.

GRAPHIC COURTESY OF MCT CAMPUS

Junior history major Curtis Nichols spent his summer helping to provide humanitarian aid in Central Asia. Nichols, 20, worked with other students to spread the Christian faith to locals in the area.

While in Central Asia, he stayed in privately owned homes across the country.

Nichols performed different projects for the people of the area. He helped provide meals to local widows, while at the same time, educating them on various subjects. He also worked in kindergarten classroom buildings in the area that were being built or were recently finished, and also visited inmates of a women’s prison in the country.

Nichols said he learned about participating in the humanitarian aid trip through the Web site, GoSummerProject.com, which encouraged him to go help.

The website is sponsored by the Campus Crusade for Christ organization. Their goal is to spread the Christian faith to other areas of the world.

Nichols was one of the 3,500 students and staff members to travel to other countries with the organization. He is also a member of the Servant Team on campus, which is composed of nearly 200 students.

In one word, Nichols described his experience as incredible.

“The love and hospitality of

such a poor country stunned me,” he said.

Nichols said he was gratified by how the people in the area were willing to offer everything they had to his group, even though they had so little themselves. He said he was immediately impressed by the work ethic and gratitude the people showed him.

Nichols said he cherishes the experiences he had while working with other local Christians. He believes he learned how passionate and determined the people of the country were, despite the lack of fruition they received.

He said he observed that the people were extremely hardworking, regardless of their circumstances.

Nichols seemed to feel that there really was not a horrible part to his trip. When asked about his worst ordeal of the experience, he chuckled.

“Coming home,” he said. “I would have loved to stay for weeks.”

Once he came home, Nichols said he realized what a huge impact the trip made on his life.

He said that in the U.S., people have so much they take for granted compared with the people of Central Asia. This experience has

given him the passion to reach out to people wherever he goes, whether it’s at SRU or elsewhere.

He said he hopes he can continue to show God’s love to others and learn more ways to impact their lives.

Faced with the question of what Nichols learned about himself through his humanitarian aid trip, he replied, “how to use the gifts I was given,” and that he wanted to “use them in ways to help others more than just myself.”

Nichols said he’s still not done with his trips. He strongly believes he would go back in a heartbeat and hopes to attend another trip in January or within the next two years. He said he would one day like to be a pastor.

Nichols is actively involved with many groups here on campus. He is the president of Campus Crusade, a peer mentor for the Compass Leadership program and works with several other organizations.

Nichols said he will surely continue to lend a hand to others no matter where he is.

Jessica Buckholtz is a freshman public relations major and a regular contributor to The Rocket.

Lower-budget suspense thriller revamps "mockumentary" genre Film Pick of the Week: "Apollo 18"

Shane Houston "Cinematic Suggestions"

2.5 Stars As we find ourselves glued to the television screen, we have to ask ourselves a few questions when we watch trailers for a new movie.

We must sit there and think about the movie that we are anxious to see.

Well, after gazing over the entire group of movie trailers that flashed off of my movie screen and into my eyes, the one that stuck out the most was the newly released film “Apollo 18.”

When we usually think of movies about space, we may think of something just run-of-the-mill, scientific and rather bland.

However, with “Apollo 18,” we get a new twist on an old classic. We are left to view a movie filmed entirely as though we are witnessing everything in a very firsthand way.

Most people find this filming technique to be more “real” and more “down-to-earth” (no pun intended). Well, I have to agree - this film was shot in a very unique format.

You will be sitting on your couch or your chair at the movie theater, gripping your drink. You will have

to be reminded that you’re still on Earth.

The effects they used to make everything outer space was phenomenal.

This is definitely really interesting because the budget, which was only $5 million, led to making $8,704,271 during its opening weekend, nearly doubling the movie’s worth.

The main cast was definitely an interesting choice, as well.

Under the direction of infamous Spanish director Gonzalo López-Gallego, “Apollo 18” marks this as his first time directing in the English language.

We then see the film as it ventures into the “great unknown,” with the main focus on the moon and the odd occurrences that have been happening there.

We are left to wonder what these odd occurrences are being caused by, or if they happened at all. The viewer is in control of the movie for the first 10 minutes, and even in the trailer, to decide if it is happening because of a man-made problem or, dare I say, some alien influence.

It is shot in the style of “found footage,” much like that in movies such as “Paranormal Activity" and the older, yet well-known, “Cloverfield.”

However, this film takes quite a twist. Instead of focusing on just what the camera can readily show, you, as the viewer, have to also keep an eye out for things that seem “foreign.”

This will help you determine what is really happening and what is just what you want to have happen.

As the movie winds to a close, we have to sort through all the movie’s red herrings and decide whether what we saw is real or just a figment of our imaginations.

You will be left speechless at the end when you see the outcome of the entire mission unfold.

Then, with an ending we have become accustomed to in the recent movie theatres, we see what

happ ene d b efore t he mission in a flashback of sorts and we get to finally see if our predictions were correct at all.

All in all, it was a wellfilmed movie with enough parts to keep you shaking in your spacesuit.

Shane Houston is a freshman emerging technology and multimedia major and a regular contributor to The Rocket.

Shane's Star Ratings 1 STAR - Turkey- You will NOT want to waste your money or your time on this film.

2 STARS- Lower budget yet captures your attention, though you may skip it.

3 STARS-Very interesting piece that warrants a view in the theater.

4 STARS- Extremely well-filmed and definitely worth a purchase.

PHOTO courtesy of MCT Campus

"Apollo 18," directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego, is filmed in a "found footage" style. In the film, astronauts on a secret mission to the moon encounter mysterious problems. The cause of the problems on the mission is left to the imagination of viewers until the film's finale.

Campus Life

September 9, 2011

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Workshops, reading of names honor memory of 9/11 victims

LIANA PITTMAN/ the rocket

Junior public health major Brian Rice, 19, signs a banner commemorating the victims of the September 11th attacks as part of SRU's "Week of Remembrance."

Continued from Page C-1

become a solemn day of remembrance for those who died in the tragedy.

The nation takes time to remember the victims who were in the buildings and on the planes, as well as those police officers, firefighters and emergency service workers who were killed in the line of duty that day.

In honor of the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, events on SRU’s campus this week focused on honoring the fallen, as well as looking at how to move forward for those who lived through that tragedy of our recent past.

The sound of bagpipes accompanied a march from Old Main to the gazebo in the quad this morning. The march was by the ROTC

color guard. Immediately following the march was a reading of the names of the victims of the Sept. 11th attacks.

Senior social work major Mike Crum, 32, organized this event, known as the “Day of Remembrance.”

“I was 24 and in the Marine Corps when it happened,” Crum said. “ T he ave r age c ol l e ge student was only ten years

Artifacts symbolize life, death

LIANA PITTMAN/ the rocket

Artist Renee Zettle-Sterling used metals in her sculptures to symbolize time and weight.

Continued from Page C-1

inspired by this idea from women of the Victorian era who publicly mourned death with fabrics of grey and black, colors that Zettle-Sterling included in her pieces.

Other handcrafted metals in Zettle-Sterling’s presentation included hand fans engraved with skulls and intricate doilies to represent a sort of elegance to the thought of death.

Z e tt l e - St e r l i ng u s e d elements such as blown glass to illustrate breath and tears, and metals like copper to represent time and weight.

Previous galler y ar t director, Sean Macmillian was in charge of organizing the exhibit.

“This was the last show I organized as the gallery art director and I wanted to end with a bang,” Macmillian said.“I set out to put together particular

mediums that were atypical.

Last year, I attended a metalsmithing conference in Texas where they also had a photography show and I was captivated by Sarah [Sudhoff ]’s images.

Renee [Zettle-Sterling] was a good friend of mine and she had said how she wanted to show with Sarah.”

Ma c m i l l i an s ai d he brought the exhibit to campus, hoping to gain some more acclaimed feedback.

“Campuses are a great place to exhibiting challenging work. You don’t have to like the work to gain a response from it. Whether positive or negative, a response is good.”

The exhibit will continue to be on display in the Martha Gault Art Gallery, located in Maltby room 102 until Sept. 30.

Gallery hours are from noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Board members receive training Continued from Page C-1

they do and to learn how to question victims and perpetrators.

“We want to provide a fair and equitable process for both parties,” Datt said.

Reports are handled on a case-by-case basis.

The cases, themselves, are complex, depending on a number of factors including whether or not the perpetrator and victim are current SRU students, the information that is disclosed and who is on

the board at the time.

“Most of the time, it’s not a question of whether or not sex happened, it’s a question of whether or not it’s consensual,” Fonner said.

If an assault takes place and is reported, options for help are given to the victims ranging from counseling, medical attention and reporting to the judicial office.

The sanctions the OSCRS, itself, can give range from a warning, a removal

from the university, to the revocation of the college degree from the accused.

SRU exercises a zerotolerance policy toward sexual assault.

There are ways that the average Slipper y Rock student can help prevent these crimes from taking place. One way is by recognizing the situations that lead to sexual assault, especially when drugs and alcohol are involved.

It also means making sure consent is given.

old back then. Hopefully college students now are getting the full impact of how it affected the country.”

Crum, who founded SRU’s chapter of Student Veterans of America, said that the CSIL office and SRU, in general, have been ver y supportive of his efforts.

“Some campuses don’t allow stuff like this because it turns political,” he said.

“Here at SRU, it’s different.

Everyone’s very supportive of honoring people who’ve given back, like the veterans, emergency ser vice personnel and firefighters. The support from the CSIL has been amazing. We couldn’t have done any of this without their support.”

Also in honor of the 10-year anniversar y of the attacks, a series of workshops were held in the University Union Thursday.

As the reading of names honored those who lost their lives, the workshops focused on the healing of those who are still with us.

“President Smith asked f o r t h e w o r k s h o p s ,” Jena Hazlett, a graduate assistant and program coordinator for the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, said.“We had t wo on dis aster preparedness, one by the Red Cross and one by Butler County Emergency Management.”

The disaster

preparedness workshops took place Wednesday and focused on taking steps to be prepared for natural disasters and man-made disasters.

Dr. Carol Holland from the SRU counseling center conducted a psychological first aid workshop. The workshop fo cus ed on those who survived 9/11 and teaching them to know how to deal with the pain.

Ms. Corrine Gibson, director of multicultural development, conducted

“Being Muslim in America: The 9/11 Backlash,” which explored the prejudice and fear surrounding Muslims, particularly in America, following the 9/11 attacks.

“We often remember those people who died, and it’s very important that we remember those who lost their lives,” Gibson said after addressing the crowd. “But we also want to remember those who are yet here and how we move past this tragedy of 9/11.”

ALEXIS KOVSKI/ the rocket

Events on campus for the "Week of Remembrance" included a reading of the names of those who died in the attacks.