February 15 Edition of The Merciad

Arts & Entertainment On Page 5:

Features On Page 3:

Sports On Page 7:

MSG President

Theatre program

Tennis starts off

and VP election

presents ‘A Man

2017 season with

previews

of No Importance’

a win

The MERCIAD

Read more inside & online

Est. 1929 Vol. 90 No. 13

Mercyhurst university

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Maintenance gets a makeover

By Melanie Todd Staff writer

A new year and a new maintenance director have changed the way Mercyhurst cares for the campus. With a historic campus and Erie weather, there are many maintenance challenges each year.

“I’ve been the general manager for facilities for about nine months now. What we really started was we divided the needs of the school by seasons. Within those seasons we saw what we needed to be successful,” General Manager Forest Davis said.

Winter in Erie has difficult weather conditions for maintenance to handle.

“Snow removal is the biggest thing in the winter. We bought three new plows and developed a new snow plan to make snow removal more methodical,” Davis said.

Each season has particular challenges. Summer is always a season of preparation for the next year to come.

“In the summer months we have student turnover. We are able to fix a lot of the latent issues that, because of the weather, we just can’t get to in the winter,” Davis said.

While some problems can be tricky to tackle, the staff is working hard to actually solve the causes of the problems that emerge.

“We are trying to stay away from slapping a Band-Aid or a new coat of paint on a problem,” Davis said.

Maintenance is also focus-

Casey Bleuel file photo

Maintenance works on repairing the water main break on campus on Feb. 23, 2016.

ing more on communication with students and the university.

“We are moving to improve bedside manner. Since I’ve been here the staff is working to be more approachable to the students,” Davis said.

Last semester, maintenance

conducted a survey in order to get students’ opinions on their new approach.

“The results are back and they were fairly positive but with a little constructive criticism: the main thing being a lack of communication with the students when

fixing problems,” said Davis.

“Sometimes we have to call in an outside contractor to help with the plumbing, but that is not always communicated to the students and they are left wondering whether or not the problem was fixed.”

There will always be some

issues that arise, but overall maintenance is working to help prevent problems.

“Last year, I saw a lot of reactive issues, like putting out a fire instead of preventing it.

A lot of what we are doing is changing our operations, updating systems and making

areas, especially academic areas, more comfortable for students,” Davis said.

While Mercyhurst’s historic nature provides certain maintenance issues, it is a truly beautiful campus and maintenance is working hard to preserve that.

Immigration ban temporarily suspended

By Abigail Rinard Contributing writer

The controversy surrounding President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees from seven Middle Eastern and African countries has continued in court. On Feb. 3 James Robart, a federal judge appointed by George W. Bush, issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the ban.

The nationwide TRO is the result of a complaint filed by the State of Washington, joined by the State of Minnesota. Both states argued that the ban caused harm to their economies, as well as public universities and other higher education institutions.

The Trump administration

Merciad Index

immediately appealed the issue, to no avail. On Feb. 9, a federal appeals court unanimously upheld the suspension of the ban.

“I think that’s a perfectly reasonable thing for the court to do, because there’s no imminent threat that makes it necessarily life and death,” said Michael Federici, Ph.D., department chair and professor of Political Science.

From a legal standpoint, the Trump administration essentially has two options: appeal directly to the Supreme Court or rewrite the policy.

The constitutionality of the current policy is unclear, though the Supreme Court has a tendency to be fairly tolerant with the presidential use of international powers. It is

sometimes difficult to find the balance between civil liberty and security — and either way the court rules would have great consequences.

“If the court strikes down the ban, and then a terrorist comes through from one of those seven countries it would turn public opinion in favor of the ban and against the court,” Federici said.

With only eight justices, the Supreme Court would need a 5-3 ruling to overrule the lower courts.

“It would be best if the administration would rewrite the policy. I think it could be done in a way that is constitutional,” Federici said.

The implications of the ban, constitutional or not, extend far beyond the borders

of the United States.

“The big concern that I, and many people have, is the message that this sends to other nations. Nations that have taken tens and even hundreds of thousands of refugees in.

We’re setting a double standard,” said Joseph Morris, Ph.D., associate professor of Political Science and director of the Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics.

The domestic consequences are equally troubling. Because the rhetoric of Trump’s campaign was so hostile to Muslims, the executive order is being perceived by many as religiously motivated.

“It’s not technically a ban on Muslims alone, and it’s certainly not a ban on all Muslims.

The question then becomes,

is the intention of the ban to apply to Muslims differently than non-Muslims? And is the effect to discriminate against Muslims more than non-Muslims?” said Federici. “The real question, at the end of the day, is: is the security threat great enough that it can justify the ban?”

While there is legitimate concern about terrorism, the United States has the most extreme vetting system for refugees in the world. It is extremely unlikely, though still possible, that a terrorist would pose as a refugee.

Whether the ban is religious discrimination or not, does not necessarily affect its constitutionality. It will, however, have a big impact on American culture and society.

“Presidents have historically been both moral and political leaders. They say who is good and who is bad,” said Morris.

“I worry that it’s going to lead a nation to be suspicious of Muslims in a way that isn’t necessarily justified.”

When asked about the effect within the Mercyhurst community, Morris was unconcerned.

“We’re a pretty darn inclusive place,” said Morris. “If anything, this is a time for students to reflect on the core values and mission of the school — and work toward applying that in a mindful way.”

Online Poll Results

What are your Valentine’s Day plans?

News Features A&E Opinion Sports Laker Living

1-2 3-4 5 6 7 8

Buying myself flowers and chocolate because I deserve it. (47%) Romantic night with my significant other. (27%) Spending time with my friends (13%) Working, as per usual. (13%)

Be sure to vote in this week’s online poll:

Do you think Mercyhurst should have Greek Life?

merciad.mercyhurst.edu

@TheMerciad

February 15, 2017

The Merciad

Page 2

News

Mercyhurst alumna runs for City Council

By Melanie Todd Staff writer

Mercyhurst graduate and Merciad alumnus Emily Crofoot is running in the Erie City Council race as a Democrat.

Primary elections will be held on May 16. This is Crofoot’s first time as a candidate.

The City Council has four of its seven seats open in this election. Currently those seats are all held by Democrats.

Curtis Jones Jr. cannot run again due to term limits. Casimir Kwitowski, Jim Winarski and Dave Brennan, all whose seats are open, have not yet announced whether or not they will be running again, according to GoErie.com.

In addition to Crofoot, there have been four others who have announced that they will be running: Brad Ford, a software engineer; Adrian Ewing, a small-business owner and former council candidate, Freda Tepfer, retiree; and Jason Brendel, a former chef and food safety manager, GoErie.com reported.

Raised in North East and completing undergraduate

degrees in English and Communication from Mercyhurst, Crofoot knows Erie and its needs very well. Currently, she is the program director at the Ryan White Program, an HIV clinic at Community Health Net. “I think bringing jobs is an important aspect of being on City Council. But with so much already going on within the city, I think some things need to be tackled as they are escalating,” Crofoot said.

Overall, Erie is struggling on several scales compared to the rest of Pennsylvania and the United States.

“Erie is one of the top cities in Pennsylvania for mental health and many are not treated. The local poverty has increased and is now higher than Philadelphia,” said Crofoot. “We need to take care of and help the people that currently reside here.”

Crofoot sees these struggles as an opportunity to help the city grow again.

“I want to focus mostly on the homeless population, the war on drugs, gun violence, people with disabilities and those currently not being

treated for mental health,” said Crofoot.

Crofoot wants to try to tackle as many of these issues as she can.

“Also, I want to work on getting kids in the community more involved within the city in after-school programs, a mentor program, volunteering with different organizations,” said Crofoot.

With her experience in the nonprofit sector, Crofoot is no stranger as to how to accomplish her goals.

“I want to be a voice for all of the people. I want to speak to people in the city with changes they would like to see and be their voice as well,” said Crofoot.

Crofoot has a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and has always had an interest in politics in order to inspire change.

“I have always been interested in politics, more so within the last few years with all of the changes in the U.S. but also working with a wide range of people in Erie, from those with severe disabilities to homeless to those that currently live in poverty,” Crofoot

Contributed photo

Emily Crofoot, Mercyhurst graduate and Merciad alumnus, takes to Facebook to build and advertise her campaign for Erie City Council.

said.

Crofoot has worked throughout Erie and throughout Mercyhurst, working on the Merciad and serving as

student adviser during graduate school. She is also a open member of Erie’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

She is eager to see the change she can make as a city council member as well in her hometown.

Mercyhurst employees ’Hurst Liturgical Dancers to perform in England may earn pay raise

By Melanie Todd Staff writer

Mercyhurst staff may see a pay raise for the first time in the last three years. Surprisingly, this comes following 30 professors being laid off or retiring just last year.

“There was a reduction in staff and certain colleges felt it more than others, but that allowed us to use those dollars on other places, like on students. We can use those dollars to make your housing more pleasant. We could keep growing and expanding like we had done or we could invest in what we have,” English professor and Faculty Senate President Joanne Hosey-McGurk, Ph.D., said.

It is never an easy decision to cut faculty members and many talented professors left the university, she said.

“We don’t like to lose anyone but sometimes those hard decisions have to be made to keep going. It’s not a desirable thing but sometimes a necessary step,” Hosey-McGurk said.

These and other decisions made by the university seem to have freed up funds to be used, possibly for pay raises for the staff.

“As an institution, you want to let people know that their work is appreciated. Here and in other capitalist societies we do that with more money,” Hosey-McGurk said.

The Mercyhurst staff works incredibly hard not just for the money involved but also for the students, she said.

“Everyone here, pay raise or not, comes in to do the best for our students and give them the quality education that they come here for,” Hosey-McGurk said.

“I’m sure that every institution likes to believe that its faculty is completely dedicated and Mercyhurst faculty definitely is, but we do need to be able to make a living,” Hosey-McGurk said.

Education is not known to be a wealthy field. However, each year the cost of living increases. Without a pay raise this can put strain on a family that is counting on the income to make ends meet.

This problem is not unique to Mercyhurst.

“Institutions of higher education are facing budget shortfalls.,” said Hosey-McGurk. “The number of students each year is declining which means there are less dollars flowing. The baby boomers boomed.”

The tri-state area of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York has 707 colleges that are part of the Council of Independent Colleges. There are more colleges in the area that are not part of the council and all compete for a population of students that is getting smaller.

“Colleges are working to live within our means. We are making course corrections that will hopefully be able to give raises to all employees not just faculty,” said Hosey-McGurk. “I think that everyone is on the same page that if there is room in the budget, yay raises for everyone.”

@TheMerciad

Members of the Liturgical Dance Ensemble at Mercyhurst University are headed to Norwich, England, just outside of London, to perform during spring break from March 4 to 11.

The journey, under the auspices of the Sacred Dance Guild, will showcase the Mercyhurst dancers in an hour-long concert at West Acre Theatre on March 7, and also during a worship service at St. James the Great Church in Castle Acre and a community workshop on sacred dance.

The liturgical dancers’ focus is to provide performance opportunities to enrich the spiritual life on campus and in the community. The ensemble has performed at church services, retirement centers, and for other community groups.

“Liturgical dance is not all about how you look. It is much more about sharing your faith and helping others on their faith journey through your movement,” senior dancer Alexis Nale said.

The dancers include Nale, seniors Ellen Duddy and Sarah Ruesch, junior Rebecca Voul-

garakis, sophomores Grace Petron and Carrie VanOsten and freshmen Caitlin Cummings, Kristen Faraclas, Anna Foley, Hannah Gibson, Carli Petrus, Stacie Preuhs and Jenna Swartz.

They will be accompanied

by C. Noelle Partusch, associate professor of dance at Mercyhurst and co-vice president of the Sacred Dance Guild. Also traveling and dancing is the dance department’s administrative assistant, alumna Danielle Kaiser.

They are taking eight pieces of choreography, six of which are the work of Partusch. Students Sarah Ruesch and Lacey Gigliotti also choreographed works for the performance.

“This opportunity has been several years in the making and I am so excited to join my colleagues in the Sacred Dance Guild to finally make it a reality,” said Partusch. “Traveling abroad with 14 dancers and producing an entire concert of liturgical dance is something I’ve only dreamed of. The dancers I am working with are beautiful inside and out and I’m honored to have them present my work and

represent our university.”

After their performance commitments, the dancers will spend three days in London, exploring museums, historical sites and the Royal Opera House, home of the Royal Ballet.

“I am very excited to perform abroad. It is an amazing opportunity to share our faith with people from around the world. For a few of us this is the first time we will travel outside the U.S.,” said Nale.

“Knowing that through this journey we will impact people and hopefully inspire them to continue to pursue and follow Christ in every aspect of their lives is an honor.”

To help offset some of the expenses, the dancers have launched a crowd funding campaign on GoFundMe.

Official Press Release from the Mercyhurst University Public Relations Office. Catherine Rainey contributed to this report.

Hurst Crime Log Incident

Date

Location

Harassment by communication

Feb. 3

Laker Inn

Theft

Feb. 5

East 41st Street

Disorderly conduct

Feb. 7

Duval

Theft

Feb. 9

Interior Design

February 15, 2017

Page 3

The Merciad

Features

Kindness becomes random

By Jordan Pendel Staff writer

Kindness. The quality of being friendly, generous and considerate. It’s smiling at strangers, paying for somebody’s coffee or even holding the door open for someone.

Random Acts of Kindness Week is a worldwide celebration that takes place the second full week of February.

This year, it lasts from Feb. 12 to Feb. 18.

Within Random Acts of Kindness Week, they also have National Random Acts of Kindness Day in the U.S. on Feb. 17.

RAK, which is short for Random Acts of Kindness Week, is an annual event where people all over the world participate in doing exactly what the name implies, random acts

of kindness. Individuals can focus on the good and unite through kindness for a week.

“It’s simply an opportunity to leave the world better than we found it and inspire others to do the same,” the Random Acts of Kindness website said.

Individuals can practice kindness and essentially pass it on to others to do the same.

The foundation calls these people “RAKtivists.” These Random Acts of Kindness activists are anyone who believes kindness can change the world, and inspire hope and generosity with their actions as much as in their words.

The nonprofit foundation was first started in 1995 in New Zealand. They also recognize Nov. 13 as World Kindness Day. Out of World Kindness Day came Random

Acts of Kindness Week. They strive to make kindness the standard aspect of life all around the world.

There is a Kindness Generator where you can register as an individual, business or group/school, and can track the random acts you and others do throughout the week. The website allows you to find and do challenges that were created by other teams, brands or celebrities.

The foundation also provides online sources for schools and communities across the globe.

Everyone involved in the random act or that witnessed it experience the positive effects of kindness in the brain. It can improve their mood and make them more likely to pay it forward. Kindness can increase your energy, happiness and lifespan. It can also decrease pain, stress and

anxiety.

These random acts of kindness do not have to be elaborately thought out or cost you any money. Just searching online for “random acts of kindness” will bring up many lists of easy acts to do.

It’s easy to make someone’s day, and by doing this yours will be a little better too. Also, these acts do not just have to be done during this week. You can do random acts for people any day of the year, and are encouraged to do so. This is just the week when it is recognized so everyone in the world can participate at once.

The Random Acts of Kindness Week is a way to remind you how much love there is in the world. It all starts with one. It all starts with you.

Contributing writer

Just this past Saturday the Multicultural Activities Council and the Student Activities Council hosted an event for all Mercyhurst students to attend with Abe Parker, a singer/songwriter, singing songs about his life.

The event, “Coffee Culture,” was put together as a mixer for all students to come, eat desserts, drink coffee, mingle with friends and listen to Parker’s music.

Parker was born in a small Indiana town and graduated from Asbury University.

His first job after graduating college was as a zip line instructor.

While this was not the job he had in mind, he found joy in what he did by bringing his ukulele to work.

He jokingly told the students in the audience that he would often play songs such as Tom Petty’s “Free Falling.”

After his short stint in the zip lining business, Parker picked up and went from his “small two-stoplight hometown” to Atlanta, Georgia, to pursue his music career.

“I really started to figure out who I was at that point,”

Parker said.

Parker played multiple songs for the audience that he wrote himself, each with a backstory.

His most inspiring story that he told ended with the encouragement and hope he had for all students here at Mercyhurst to “not give up and keep pressing on.”

He gave some inspiring words of wisdom to the audience. It showed through his vibrant personality and inspirational songs that he knows that college is hard work and it may seem easier to back down and give up; but in the end all the hard work and tough obstacles will be worth it.

Rachel Lynch and Kelly Fergus organized this event.

They got the idea when they attended the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) conference in Buffalo.

They said they saw Parker perform there and they just knew that they needed to have him come to campus to share his songs and story of pursuing what he loves to all Mercyhurst students.

Lorraine Pollock photo

Abe Parker performed at Mercyhurst on Saturday night in MSG Chambers. He inspired students to “keep pressing on.”

Abe Parker was brought to Mercyhurst for the Coffee Culture night that Kelly Fergus and Rachel Lynch created.

Ad manager

February is the month of many things: President’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Black History Month to name a few.

While many of us know the origins of the first two, the latter is often acknowledged, but perhaps not entirely understood.

Black History Month actually began as a week in February 1926. Carter Woodson, a prominent historian, and Jesse Moorland, a minister, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.

They developed the idea of Negro History Week as a time to celebrate and recognize contributions African Americans have made to civilization.

They chose the second week of February because both

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’ birthdays coincide with the time. The week was extended to a month under President Gerald Ford.

The United States is not the only country with a month dedicated to African Americans. Both Canada and the United Kingdom also have months with their own celebration, since the early 1980’s.

So what does Black History Month celebrate?

For starters, it gives a platform to acknowledge and appreciate all those who, through small acts and large ones, helped change and shape a nation. It draws attention to men and women who might have otherwise been overlooked by history.

Everyone knows the names of Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Martin Luther King Jr., but

Dear Mia, I live less than an hour away from home and every weekend my parents are asking me to come home. So every weekend I go home just for them. How can I tell them that I don’t want to come home so often without hurting their feelings?

Sincerely,

Dear Not-so-Homesick, This can be easily solved, so don’t worry. You probably have a lot of homework that needs to be done on the weekend. Calmly explain to your parents that coming home for the entire weekend takes away from things you can get done while still at school. They’ll understand that your studies come first, and you can always visit the weekend after. It’s important to be honest with your parents and tell them the truth about postponing coming home to every other week or every few weeks. Maybe one weekend when your parents think you’re staying at college you can surprise them by coming home.

Sincerely,

WebAdvisor to be replaced in Fall term

By Elizabeth Shewan

Reflecting on Black History Month from the beginning

By Victoria Krysar

*******************

Mia

Lorraine Pollock photo

@TheMerciad

Need advice? Have a problem that needs fixing? Mia is here to help. Email askmia. merciad@gmail.com for help.

Not-so-Homesick

Up-and-coming artist wows ’Hurst

By Clair Eichner

Asking Mia

for every name remembered, there are a hundred that time has forgotten or tried to erase.

Stories of bravery and intelligence. Stories that may relate to us more than we think, like the Greensboro Sit-In which was staged by a group of four college students with no connection to any civil rights organizations.

Those four men were the same age as many of the students at Mercyhurst, and their actions proved to be a catalyst in the civil rights movement.

You cannot have a history as steeped in racism as ours and pretend there will be no lasting effects.

It has been less than a hundred years since Brown v.

Board of Education ended de jure segregation in schools.

Some of the professors in this school lived through the Civil Rights Movement, less than a

50 years since its conclusion.

As far as history goes, it isn’t old news, but sometimes as a nation we try to forget things quickly. We let them sit by the wayside because it’s too painful or embarrassing to discuss.

This month encourages the study of an often overlooked part of history.

Black History Month allows us to recognize achievements of people and important events that generally are not put into the spotlight of history.

It serves as a time to reflect on the past and point toward a hopeful future.

@TheMerciad

Staff writer

In the fall, a new program will be replacing WebAdvisor. The new program, Self Service for Students, will fix problems students have with WebAdvisor in the past.

“We’re excited about this opportunity,” said Michele Wheaton, Registrar, “(to) make the lives of the students easier and more attractive.”

The new program will have the same basic function as WebAdvisor, allowing students to register for classes and view their academic profile. However, it will be more user friendly and more visually appealing.

The program will also introduce features previously not available to students. For example, the wait-listing function will make getting into classes easier. Rather having to continually check if a spot has opened, students will be able to join a waitlist and be notified when there is an opening Students will also be able to view a full course description when looking at classes, instead of just a course title and description as it is now.

An important feature will be

program evaluations. The new program will help students, taking into consideration their major, develop a fouryear plan, and tell students what courses they will need to take and when. Students will then be able to plot required courses on a calendar. By the Fall semester, all departments will have a program plan, making this feature possible.

There is also the potential for new features to be added.

“As we move forward I believe more and more items will be available for self-service,” said Wheaton. She added that Mercyhurst is always trying to keep up with changing technology.

The new program will also make the process of applying for graduation easier. Currently, the process in place is not very efficient. In the future, students will be able to apply for graduation and enter the relevant information all in the same place.

A pilot group of students will use the new program for registration in the spring. It will be available to all students in the fall.

It seems like Self Service for Students will be a help in registering and planning for classes.

Page 4

February 15, 2017

The Merciad

Features

MSG Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates

By Catherine Rainey Managing editor

Presidential Candidates

Jonah Jackson Year: Junior Major: Political Science concentrating in International Relations Minor: Communication Current MSG Position: Chair of the Multicultural Activities Council As MAC chair, Jackson sits on the MSG executive board and reports on multicultural programming, as well as representing diverse groups on campus and spearheading the “I am…” campaign.

He has previously served as chief ambassador of Black Students for Unity and programmer for MAC, where he planned campus events V.I.B.E. Caribbean, V.I.B.E. Asian, Beautiful People and Who Runs the World? Girls.

“I decided to run for MSG President because since the beginning of my freshman year I have looked for ways to integrate myself into the campus community to enhance the experience of all students,” said Jackson. “I believe I bring three important qualities to the position: a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion.”

Jackson’s platform includes several plans for the university.

One is working with the Faculty Senate to standardize grading across the board for all majors. Jackson said he believes a 90 percent should be an A in every academic department.

Second is improving access to transportation off campus, which he noted as vital for freshmen, international students and other students without a car.

Third, Jackson hopes to secure a limited amount of laptops that would be available for rental by students on a temporary basis.

“I remember when my laptop was out of commission and the difficulty of having to go to the library to get work done,” Jackson said.

Jackson would also like to increase the number of iCard events to include more art performances.

“We have great arts programs here at Mercyhurst that should be given more attention,” Jackson said.

Lastly, Jackson would like to work with the newly formed MU Crew to enhance Laker Spirit at athletic events.

“Starting out as a member of several clubs and making a conscious effort to get to know and work with a diverse set of people, I have a good idea of the concerns of many students, clubs, organizations and how MSG can help,” said Jackson.

“From my time as chief ambassador, then programmer, and now chair, I have the experience of taking many leadership positions while stepping back and giving others a platform through the work I am doing.”

Katie Reisinger Year: Sophomore Major: Public Health Minor: Environmental Studies Current MSG Position: Public Relations coordinator

In the past, Reisinger has served as both freshman senator and Public Health senator.

“I’ve been really dedicated to seeing through the success of student government and Mercyhurst as a whole. I’m really grateful for what MSG has given to me and I want to continue to help the organization grow and make progress,” Reisinger said.

The main points of Reisinger’s platform include improving school spirit pride, student life and campus involvement and campus sustainability.

The candidate hopes to increase school spirit through athletics and other groups on campus. She said she would like to see the school form a unified student section, offer busing to athletic events and provide more giveaways for students.

“Another big thing is student life, focusing on an inclusive community, ensuring that as Mercyhurst grows that our class sizes and academics remain true to the community feel that we have now.”

Reisinger would like to improve student facilities, as well as look into new entertainment options, like “possibly doing a TV and movie subscription. Instead of cable, having HBO Go, which can actually help reduce our bandwidth and over time save us money.”

Other improvements would be looking into the feasibility of upgrading upperclassman housing, which is a long-term project that will require lots of planning.

She would also like to collaborate with international students to bring authentic cuisine into the dining halls and look into the possibility of bringing an outside food to campus.

The last major point on her platform is building a healthy and sustainable campus.

“Being a Public Health major and Environmental Studies minor is a really big part of who I am and it’s also part of our Mercyhurst values to be globally aware.

So I really want to help cleaning up campus and creating more healthy lifestyle options,” Reisinger said.

She would like to see a smoke-free campus, a plan that is currently in the works, and incentives for going to the REC Center.

“Even though I’m a sophomore, I don’t want people to look down on that,” Reisinger said. “Being a part of various different clubs and things on campus, I spread myself out to different areas and different groups. I think that I can pretty well represent what students are looking for and be the voice for students.”

Vice Presidential Candidates

Christian Copper Year: Sophomore Major: Intelligence Studies Current MSG Position: Sophomore class Senator

Copper said he decided to run for VP because it was a good opportunity to step up, take on a leadership position and give students the opportunity to do some cool things around campus.

“If elected, one of my priorities is to make sure your voice is always being heard.”

Copper noted that one issue that some clubs face is reserving rooms.

He said that he would like to improve the efficiency of the room reserving process. He would also like to assist clubs as they transition leadership roles from year to year, as the process can sometimes present difficulties.

“Another goal of mine is to make sure that all of our clubs and organizations on campus have every resource they need to be successful.”

Copper said that his passion for student government, interpersonal skills and communication skills make him qualified for the vice presidential position.

“I have no problem working outside of office hours to get things done,” said Copper. “I guess I’ve fallen in love with what student government does.”

Copper encourages all students to vote in this election.

“Students should still try to bring concerns and complaints to MSG, regardless of the outcome,” Copper said.

Kimmie Kramer Year: Junior Major: Intelligence Studies and Public Health Current MSG Position: Junior class Senator and Chairperson of the Spirit and PR Committee

If elected VP, Kramer plans to make a separate Facebook page for RSCOs and having information about various clubs displayed on televisions across campus, including Grotto Commons and the REC Center, so more students are aware of clubs and meetings.

“I want to bring more opportunity for students to get involved, even if it’s just going to meetings and events,” Kramer said.

Another idea she has is to partner with the Counseling Center to create a sexual assault awareness course, similar to the online alcohol awareness course that freshmen are required to take.

“If conduct issues come up, we can reference that course (with the student),” Kramer said.

A third idea is to work on having the library, or parts of it, open 24/7 during finals week.

“We could have volunteers from MSG sit and supervise, just to give students another place to study during finals,” Kramer said.

Kramer said she believes she would be successful in this position because of her hard work and dedication.

“I have so much passion for this school I want to keep improving and making it better for all students,” Kramer said.

Kramer is also the president of the Ambassador Organization.

Polls close Feb. 16 at 12 p.m.

February 15, 2017

The Merciad

Page 5

Arts &

Entertainment

‘A Man of No Importance’ is socially relevant

By Naomi Greenstein Staff writer

The Theatre Program of Mercyhurst University is back at it again in full swing as they prepare for their spring musical, a production of “A Man of No Importance.”

Based on a film of the same name, this musical centers on the character Alfie Byrne, a bus driver in 1964 Dublin who runs a community theatre, the St. Imelda’s Players, out of the church social hall.

Many of the plays he performs with his theatre group are those by another Irish artist, the playwright Oscar Wilde.

Byrne feels a strong affinity with Wilde, due in part to his own struggle with his sexuality.

Byrne’s personal struggle brings the musical to a head

when he attempts to put on an amateur production of Wilde’s “Salomé,” only to encounter the forces of bigotry and shame over a love “that dare not speak its name.”

Director Brett D. Johnson, Ph.D., dubs “A Man of No Importance” “a beautiful little chamber musical about love, acceptance and the transformative power of art.

“It’s one of those rare gems in the canon of American musical theatre …. It’s a poignant, funny little show.”

Johnson also declares the reason for choosing this specific production.

“The Mercyhurst Theatre Program is committed to producing works that are socially relevant…and not just to entertain, but also to enlighten and educate.

“At this moment of divisiveness in our country, this is a show about people from

different backgrounds coming together and elevating their lives through art, and that’s the experience I hope the students have, too.”

Performances are Feb. 23 to 25, at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 25 to 26, at 2 p.m. in Taylor Little Theatre on the Mercyhurst campus.

Single tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for senior citizens/ students and $5 for youth and Mercyhurst students with ID. All performances are general admission, with doors opening 30 minutes prior to curtain.

Come out to support your fellow students and artists by reserving your tickets today at miac.mercyhurst.edu or calling 814-824-3000.

Tickets will also be on sale at the theatre beginning one hour before curtain, but with cash only.

For more information, visit

Walker Recital Hall getting funked up for MIAC event

The cast of the play “A Man of No Importance” rehearsing one of the scenes.

miac.mercyhurst.edu.

This production contains

‘John Wick’ 2: New dog, old but good tricks Contributing writer

Peter Van Breckelen photo

By Eleanor Hein Staff writer

Feeling the Erie winter blues? Need a break from the hard studying of the spring semester? Wanting some smooth new tunes to groove to?

Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles may be just the group for you.

If you’re hesitant about checking out new music here’s some good news for you: with your Mercyhurst student ID card, can check them out for free.

Brought to Mercyhurst through the Jazz Touring Network Program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, with support from the National Endowment for Arts, the Mercyhurst Institute for Arts and Culture is proud to present Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles.

Having started playing piano and organ at the age of two and performing at the

Apollo Theater when he was just six years old, Cory Henry has continued to rise as a recognized keyboard artist and composer.

He has performed with such big names as Boyz II Men, P. Diddy, The Roots and the great Bruce Springsteen.

His first album, “First Steps,” was released in 2014 and charted on the Billboard magazine charts.

It was also placed as number 5 in Top Jazz Albums and number 30 in Top Heatseekers Albums.

His second album, titled “The Revival,” was released March 18, and was charted as number 5 in Top Gospel Albums and number 2 in Top Jazz Albums.

JazzWise Magazine describes his band’s music as “a powerful, slick and raucous new brand of funk.”

Henry also acts as the bassist and band leader of Snarky Puppy, a group which won a Grammy award in 2014 for best R&B performance by a

band and another Grammy in 2016 for best contemporary instrumental album.

Henry has distinguished himself well in the musical community.

Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles will be performing on campus in the Walker Recital Hall on Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at the box office or through the MIAC website.

Mercyhurst students get free admission with a student ID; adult tickets are $15, senior tickets are $12.50 and student and youth tickets are $10.

The performance is sponsored by the Erie Reader, the Jazz Touring Network and Rocket 101.

The 2016-2017 MIAC season is sponsored by Cumulus Media.

Come to the Walker Recital Hall to experience Cory Henry’s gospel-inflected tunes, ranging from R&B to funk to jazz.

for ages 13 and above.

REVIEW

By Austin Wood

Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles will perform in Walker Recital Hall on Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

adult situations and strong language. It is recommended

Rebecca Holt photo

“You wanted me back…I’m back.”

The second chapter of the John Wick series doesn’t innovate or change the original formula of the action movie, but it is almost impossible to take your eyes off the perfectly choreographed fight scenes that erupt almost back–to–back.

The body count in this movie is much higher than the original and the film is more “dog friendly,” which immediately makes it a successful sequel.

No one should see this film expecting spectacular acting or a witty script.

Keanu Reeves is as wooden as ever and only utters different words around throughout the course of the film’s 122minute run time.

Where “John Wick: Chapter 2” fails to communicate verbally, it excels in creating a beautifully arranged ballet of death, where every single movement is carefully calculated.

The movie starts by finishing the “loose ends” of the previous movie and quickly shifts to a new plot line that focuses on the secretive assas-

sin organization called the “Continental” from the first film.

The Continental effectively distinguishes “John Wick” from all other action movies out there by imposing limitations on where the fights can occur.

The assassins that belong to the Continental cannot engage in combat while they are within the walls of the hotels owned by the organization, providing a sort of safe harbor for the contract killers.

The Continental also acts as an intermediary for assassins to purchase their supplies.

One standout from this system is an arms dealer, played by Peter Serafinowicz, who treats his wares like fine wines, even referring to the process of selecting the firearms as a “tasting.”

Reeves is outfitted with several firearms, knives and a specially tailored bullet-proof suit before he travels to Rome to satisfy a favor from an old friend turned enemy.

Thus again, Wick is forced from the peaceful life he wants and is pitted against the world’s most dangerous killers.

Wick’s enemies this time around include the standard array of cannon fodder henchmen for him to easily

dispatch in exciting and varied ways and a standout cast of deadly assassins that literally come from anywhere and everywhere.

For example, Laurence Fishburne plays the leader of a group of assassins in New York City that disguise themselves as homeless persons.

The film also marks the first time that Fishburne and Reeves have starred in a movie together since the “Matrix” series.

The conversations between Fishburne and Reeves are among the most interesting and tense in the movie.

If you are a fan of intense and over–the–top action movies, do yourself a favor and go see this movie. John Wick is a masterful evolution of the 19’s action movie brought into the modern era.

While “John Wick: Chapter 2” probably won’t appeal to everyone, I loved it and will probably see every single John Wick movie that comes out from here on out. Good thing that John Wick isn’t very good at retiring.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

@TheMerciad

Caladh Nua to celebrate Irish heritage at PAC

By Carlena Bressanelli Staff writer

Online

What better way to embrace Mercyhurst’s Irish Heritage than by going to see Caladh Nua (a Gaelic word meaning “a new or safe port or anchorage”) on March 2, at 7:30 p.m.?

They are an Irish band with their origins deeply rooted in the southern counties of Ireland, according to the website.

The band is composed of five musicians and singers playing instruments including banjo, fiddle, guitar, bodhran, tin whistle and button accordion.

The band consists of Derek Morrissey, who plays the button accordion; Brian Mooney, who plays the tin-whistle and the banjo; Lisa Butler, who sings and plays the fiddle; Caoimhín, who plays the tin-whistle, uilleann pipes, flute and guitar; and Paddy Tutty, who is the band’s lead fiddle player and plays the bodhran.

In the words of FolkWorld, Caladh Nua “will warm your souls and set your toes tapping.”

Danny Matheson from Celtic Music Radio says “Irish music at its best.”

They are currently on tour right now and our Performing

Full list of events can be found on the MU website

MIAC photo

Caladh Nua to perform in the Mary D’ Angelo Performing Arts Center on March 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Arts Center is their second stop.

If you are not 100 percent sure you will like them, they

View upcoming performances: www.mercyhurst.edu/events

have clips and their Soundcloud on their website to get a

taste of their music.

Their albums are available through iTunes and Amazon.

To see the performance on campus, tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students/youth are $10.

However, Mercyhurst students can get a ticket for free with their student ID. They will be on tour until March 18 and will perform in several cities in Pennsylvania.

Caladh Nua respectfully delivers the music of their heritage and seamlessly carries it forward into the future.

Come celebrate Mercyhurst’s, or even your own, Irish heritage with Caladh Nua.

merciad.mercyhurst.edu/category/arts_ entertainment/

Page 6

February 15, 2017

The Merciad

Opinion

The views expressed in the opinion section of The Merciad do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercyhurst University, the staff of The Relay Life Church. successful Merciad or for the Catholic Responses on any subject are always welcomed and can be emailed to opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu.

Letter to the Editor: Greek life on campus in the works

By Jeremy Hanford Contributing writer

Since the beginning of my freshman year, I have had the desire to revolutionize Mercyhurst University by being a part of the first group to bring Greek life to campus.

My dreams and ambitions of leaving a lasting legacy here at Mercyhurst are coming to fruition, and I could not be more pleased at the process that is underway.

My peers and I have spoken for well over a year now about taking this leap of faith into the unknown.

Finally, at the beginning of this semester we made the leap and scheduled a meeting with President Michael T. Victor and Laura Zirkle, Vice President of Student Life, to discuss this revolutionary possibility.

At the conclusion of this encounter, we were encouraged by the outcome and began to look for a possible Greek organization to represent us, and got into contact with Kappa Sigma. We chose to pursue a possible colonization with Kappa Sigma for a variety of reasons. Kappa Sigma is a non-denominational social fraternity that supports the Catholic Church and upholds the strong values of Mercyhurst University.

Kappa Sigma stands for excellence in scholarship, service to man, leadership with its members and fellowship to a greater power. Every value of Mercyhurst University is represented by the values of Kappa Sigma.

Kappa Sigma reaches out

with compassion to others, and allows members to become one in mind, body and spirit by knowing that a higher power exists. Kappa Sigma is the nation’s largest and most well respected social fraternity with members from all walks of life taking part in the brotherhood and covenant.

When I began the process of potentially bringing Greek life to campus, I had my own misconceptions about what Greek life is and what it stood for.

After countless hours of research, talking to alumni and speaking to fraternal representatives, my entire outlook changed.

When you think of Greek life, the first thing that comes to your head is “Animal House” and toga parties.

I have to admit that this was the first thing that came to my mind as well, but Greek life is something much different than I ever imagined. As a Greek student, you are expected to exceed the regular student and go beyond what it means to be a Laker. People do not know what it actually takes to be a fraternity member, and all the work that is involved.

As a fraternity at Mercyhurst University, members would be required to volunteer 35 hours or more per academic year and participate in six of eight philanthropic events which we would hold per school year.

As a fraternity we would help students move into housing, host mixers for students to get to know one another, hold tailgates and

spirit events for the school.

We would also coordinate with Mercyhurst Student Government in philanthropic events like Walk a Mile in her Shoes, Wounded Warrior 5K race, Breast Cancer Awareness Walks, March of Dimes events, Relay for Life marches, and fund raisers or volunteer work for local charities and organizations in the Erie community.

As a fraternity, we would host events to raise money for this wonderful organization and give back in any way we can to support those who have defended us.

We would expect members to maintain grades above the all-men’s average as a whole and to stay out of any legal trouble with Mercyhurst University, the City of Erie and the State of Pennsylvania. Members will be held to a higher standard to represent Mercyhurst University and the fraternity in a positive light. We will welcome diversity as it will help us build a better sense of community and create something Mercyhurst has never seen before.

Greek members are members and brothers forever.

Greek life creates a network between students and alumni.

When students are graduating, being a member of a Greek organization allows them to network themselves to other Greek alumni of their chapter. This presents graduates with potential job openings that they never would have been presented if they were not a member of a Greek organization.

A Greek organization

would create a strong bond between brothers that normally would never have known each other.

Mercyhurst is dominated by athletes, and many students cannot become friends if they are not athletes or do not play the same sport as somebody else. Essentially, we are trying to bridge the gap between students across campus and create newfound friendships and bonds between students in our community.

All students on campus, athletes, non-athletes, Caucasian, African American, Latino, Asian and foreign students would have the ability to meet and form bonds like never experienced on this campus. Greek life will build a sense of brotherhood and community between students that will last beyond the gates of Mercyhurst.

Bringing Greek life to Mercyhurst will revolutionize campus for generations to come. Greek life will bring about change that has never been experienced here and will spark a sense of community and inclusion that students seek and desire in a college setting.

Greek life will allow students to serve the mission of Mercyhurst and build a sense of community and family on campus. Beginning Greek life will allow those who were the founding fathers and first members to leave a lasting legacy which they will remember for the rest of their lives.

@TheMerciad

Valentine’s Day not a holiday either

By Caitlyn Lear News editor

Online

Valentine’s Day has come and gone again. For those lucky enough to have loved ones or to have the chance to be around them, it was a great day. For others, it was another night spent alone, binge watching sad love stories.

For me, the best part of Valentine’s Day is going into my job at Wegmans the next day and buying the candy at half price. Though I do have a boyfriend this year, I will still be spending my Valentine’s Day without my man.

I will be enjoying the lovely company of my fellow editors on the paper. Then I will have the thrill of studying for exams until the wee hours of the morning.

Valentine’s Day has its original roots in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. Around the 6th century, Pope Gelasius I declared Feb. 14 to be Valentine’s Day. However, it was not until the 14th century that Valentine’s Day was associated with love and romance. Chaucer

was the first man to make this link.

So how is it, that after all this time, a random day in one of the coldest and dreary months became a holiday where we celebrate those we love and shower them with gifts?

On this day every year, companies that sell things like cards and jewelry, overload billboards, computer screens and TV ads with signs telling us to buy this, or buy that, because for some reason, if we don’t we are somehow bad partners and clearly don’t love one another.

These big companies have turned something that had some historical meaning into another commercialized day.

They make billions of dollars a year on diamonds, cards with mushy messages and stuffed bears holding hearts.

Most people rely on these small tokens to express their love because no one has ever shown them how. What’s even worse is half the stuff that is given as gifts is not even kept or wanted.

Girls get chocolates, yet they are still working on losing those few extra pounds from the holidays. Cards sit on the fireplace and are then thrown away a week later. Teddy bears get stuffed in a box of mementos and forgotten.

Flowers are not watered and die.

But why does this display of affection have to be confined just one day? Do you somehow love your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife more just because it is Valentine’s Day? And can we not celebrate people other than significant others?

My parents’ wedding anniversary is on Valentine’s Day. Because it is their day, and it is also Valentine’s day, I try to do something special for them.

Sometimes I will even buy special little things for my siblings, especially now that I do not get to see them every day.

I just cannot grasp the concept of a holiday that trains us to love especially hard and be outwardly emotional on one day and not treat every day like a special day.

My boyfriend tells me every day how much I mean to him.

He does little things every day, no matter what day of what month it is.

Recently at work, I had a coworker tell me how mad she was that her ex-boyfriend did not get her flowers for Valentine’s Day a few years ago.

She went off on a rant about how inconsiderate he was. I was flabbergasted. Somehow because this man did not go out and buy a plant that will

Read more at

merciad.mercyhurst.edu/opinion

not last more than a few days, he is inconsiderate.

Yes, most people like to receive flowers, but I would rather get flowers on a Friday after a long week of finals than silly holiday.

And besides, what is the infatuation with all the pink and red? Some of us don’t like all the so-called girly colors. If the love and affection is supposed to go toward showing the specific individual that you love and care, why are all the decorations and gift catered to a specific gender?

If you really want to show the person you love that you truly care and know them, do something that you know only they will appreciate. Don’t fall into the trap of large corporations by buying flowers and chocolate.

If you really want to do something, get them something they really want, take a day with no cell phones and enjoy each other’s company, or do something with them and maybe not necessarily just for them. Better yet, do something small every day because we don’t only have to love one another on Valentine’s Day.

@TheMerciad

Good The trash that has been accumulating for many weeks was finally removed from the Merciad office and the semester-old Chinese takeout was removed from the fridge. There was much rejoicing from the staff.

Bad The potholes that were patched in the Performing Arts Center parking lot are once again gaping holes in the pavement with the addition of two more throughout the lot.

Amber Matha photo

Weird The Mercyhurst University Instagram posted some strange valentines for its followers. Including, “In the fight for my love, you’re the clear Victor.”

The Merciad Editors Karah Hollis Catherine Rainey Caitlyn Lear Cheyanne Crum Diego Himede Jenny Sabliov Amber Matha Miranda L. Miller Chelsea Guida Victoria Kreysar Kristin Bowers

Positions @mercyhurst.edu Editor-in-Chief editormerciad Managing Editor managingmerciad News Editor newsmerciad Features Editor featuremerciad sportsmerciad Sports Editor A&E Editor entertainmentmerciad Opinion Editor opinionmerciad Copy Editor copymerciad Photo Editor photomerciad Ad Manager admerciad Adviser kbowers

The Merciad is the official student-produced newspaper of Mercyhurst University. It is published throughout the school year, with the exception of finals weeks. Our office is in Hirt, Room 110. Our telephone number is (814) 824-2376.

The Merciad welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and names will be included with the letters. Although we will not edit the letters for content, we reserve the right to trim letters to fit. Letters are due Mondays by noon and may not be more than 300 words. Submit letters to box PH 485 or via email at opinionmerciad@mercyhurst. edu.

Write for The Merciad, email editormerciad@mercyhurst.edu

February 15, 2017

Page 7

The Merciad

Sports

Tennis opens 2017 with Gannon upsets wrestling in win against Daemen rivalry meet

By Bernard Garwig Staff writer

By Bernard Garwig

On Feb. 5, the Mercyhurst men’s tennis team started off the 2017 portion of the season with an 8-1 win against Daemen College.

This is the second team match of the 2016-2017 season for Mercyhurst, the first being a 9-0 win against Allegheny College in the fall.

Previously, the tennis team participated in the ITA Championships held on Sept. 23-25 and the PSAC Singles/Doubles Championships held on Oct. 7-9.

Five of the six singles matches of the day went to Mercyhurst. Junior Nenad Terzic started off with a win over David’s Gonzalez Villegas, scoring 6-4 and 6-3 in their matches.

This was followed by Freshman Cormac McCooey, who bested his opponent Fabian Wilde, 6-3, 6-0, in the second singles match.

Daemen’s sole win of the day came when Ricardo Ruiz Martinez beat Mercyhurst senior Joaquin Aguilera, 6-2, 6-7, 1-0.

The next three singles matches resulted in ‘Hurst victories, with senior Conor McCooey winning 6-0, 6-4 over Mark Veitengruber; freshman Sebastian Pardo with 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 over Justin Milner; rounded out by freshman Arseniy Sklyarov winning his games, 6-2, 6-0, over

In a cross-town rivalry upset, the Mercyhurst Lakers wrestling team fell to the Gannon University Golden Knights 16-22 on Feb. 8.

The Lakers started strong with a win by all-time win record holder Willie Bohince in the 125 lb. category with a 14-7 decision over Abraham Guarriello of the Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights would take the next two matches with wins in the 133 and 141 lb. categories over Lakers Jeff Sisk and Braden Finn (6-1 and 5-1 decisions).

Logan Grass won his 149 lb. match with a 9-2 decision, but this was followed by a Golden Knight win in the 157 lb. category over Laker Cole Gavin with a technical fall (17-0) by Eric Lewandowski.

Francis Mizia won the next match-up against his opponent in the 165 lb with a fall at the 2:06 mark.

The Golden Knights would go on to win the next three matchups in the 174, 184 and the 197 against Kevin Holman (major decision 14-5), Nick Konyk (major decision 13-5), and Wes Phipps (decision 8-6).

Andy Welton won in the 285 lb. in a 11-2 major decision to round out the the day’s matches. Six matches went to the Golden Knights; four

Staff writer

Hurstathletics

Freshman Cormac McCooey came off victorious No. 2 singles and at No. 2 doubles alongside his brother Conor McCooey.

Andrew LeMar. Doubles matches were a sweep for Mercyhurst. Aguilera and Terzic won the first match with a 9-8 win over Veitengruber and Milner.

The second match saw the McCooey brothers go 8-1 over LeMar and Wilde, and the third was won by Sklyarov and Pardo over Villegas and Martinez, 8-6.

Conor McCooey has a 33-9 singles record for his career, and a 25-18 doubles record.

In addition to this, he and his brother Cormac make up a doubles team that is ranked No. 6 in the Atlantic Regionals Conference.

“I think the 8-1 win was a good first result for the team,” Conor McCooey said. “First match back after break is always tough, and we played solid. Our doubles teams need some work and singles will improve as the season goes on.”

The next time the Lakers take to the courts, will be Feb. 12, against Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

“It’s going to be a tough match,” McCooey stated.

“They’re a decent DI school and we lost 8-1 last year to them. I think we were more competitive than the score line indicates.

“All you need is five points ,and I would bet at least five of our guys outplay their opponents on any given day.”

The first PSAC match of the season will be March 3 against Millersville University at Pennbriar Athletic Club.

Mercyhurst is currently 2-0.

@TheMerciad

were Laker victories.

Head Coach Mike Wehler and graduate assistant August Mizia commented on the match: “We have three of the winningest seniors that ever have been on a Mercyhurst team in our line-up… They’ve been carrying the torch since they’ve got here.”

The nationally ranked Lakers are now 10-4 for the season and 5-1 in conference.

The Golden Knights walked away with their fourth victory against a nationally ranked team this season. “It’s tough,” said Mizia. “You don’t want to lose to a cross-town rival like that.”

On Feb. 10, the Lakers took on University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, which Coach Wehler stated is “a very solid team.” This is the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship match, and is the capstone on the regular season for the Lakers.

Beyond the Pitt-Johnstown match, the lakers will play host to the NCAA DII Super Regionals on Feb. 24-25.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” said Wehler.

“That’s the next big thing; we’ll see then how many we can get through to Nationals.”

Nationals will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 10-11.

@TheMerciad

Mercyhurst women’s ice hockey split in Syracuse

By Marco Cicchino Staff writer

For the first time in nine years, just the third time since the College Hockey America’s inception of a women’s division in 2002, the regular-season conference champion will not wear forest green, white and navy blue.

Yet if there is a silver lining, Michael Sisti’s Mercyhurst squad is still in slight contention for a first-round bye in the conference tournament after a hard-fought split at Tennity Ice Pavilion over the weekend.

After Jillian Skinner’s game-winner with 49 seconds left in regulation, the Lakers reached to a much-needed 3-2 win on Saturday afternoon.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Rachael Smith commented, “I think we just have to work like we did today, we just worked like a team…and if we keep doing that in the last four games, we’ll come out with the four wins.”

Smith and the rest of her line capitalized on a cross-checking call against the Orange’s Stephanie Grossi with 1:06

left in regulation, just 54 seconds after she found an equalizer for her team-high 12th of the season.

There was momentum clearly on the side of Paul Flanagan’s Orange after they scored two goals in 51 seconds off Jessica Convery, but Grossi, Allie Munroe and Larissa Martyniuk got entangled with Smith on the end boards to Miller’s left.

After Munroe left the scene, Martyniuk attempted to ward off an incoming Brooke Hartwick, but Grossi sent Smith to the ice on what the Orange thought was a legal hit but had been termed an act of embellishment, sending Grossi to the box and leaving her, Miller and Flanagan livid.

Things would turn from bad to worse for the nine-year head man behind the bench when the Senior Assistant Captain Jillian Skinner deposited a low shot before Miller could react quick enough with her catching glove and leftarm blocker.

“It’s a physical game, and you [need] to be able to stand on your feet, so [I] definitely feel bad about that one on my part,” said Grossi, a junior

Hurstathletics

Senior Jilian Skinner scored the victory goal for the Lakers, as a result of a power-play at the last minute.

forward.

The rest of Grossi’s line had been able to beat Jessica Convery just 51 seconds before her embellishment call, as Jessica Sibley turned a faceoff win for Hartwick into her second goal of the campaign.

Convery and the Lakers (11-17-2, 7-8-1) had kept the

Orange’s attack in-check for the majority of the contest as the junior and surprise lead goalkeeper came with 2:42 of her second shutout of the campaign.

It had been a one-goal lead for the Lakers from the 5:16 mark of the first, as Nicole Guagliardo beat Miller after

catching a feed from Jennifer MacAskill.

After a clean second with 12 shots for the Lakers, Miller navigated the first 11 minutes of the third before Michelle Robillard allowed Hartwick to double Orange’s (11-12-5, 10-4-2) deficit on her teamhigh 15th of the season with

8:38 left in regulation.

Convery finished with 22 saves, one fewer than Miller, as the Lakers won their third CHA contest in their last four and improved to 11-0-1 when finding the net at least three times in a contest.

The night previous, a confident Miller—as termed by Flanagan—needed just 14 saves and two hours to pitch her sixth shutout of the season, the Orange’s sixth win in the previous seven games.

Combined with Robert Morris’ 4-1 matinée home win over RIT, the loss mathematically eliminated the Lakers from regular-season title contention, but the win the following night allowed them to remain in contention for a first-round bye, seven points back of the Orange with four conference games remaining.

The Lakers return in action on Friday when Lindenwood arrives in Erie for a dual-matinée weekend, a 3 p.m. start on Friday before Senior Day wraps up the Lakers’ home slate at 1 p.m. Saturday.

@TheMerciad

Let’s go Lakers!

Women’s basketball

Feb. 15, Feb. 18

5:30 p.m., 1 p.m.

Men’s basketball

Feb. 15

7:30 p.m.

Men’s ice hockey

Feb. 17

7:05 p.m.

Women’s ice hockey

Feb. 17, Feb. 18

3:00 p.m., 1 p.m.

Page 8

February 15, 2017

The Merciad

Laker

Living

Editor’s Choice: On graduaton

By Miranda L. Miller Copy editor

Ladies and gentlemen, we are coming up on the end of another amazing year for the Lakers.

For freshmen, that means that you all made it past the trials and tribulations of the first year of college. You were away from your parents, away from your friends, and away from your dog for long stretches at a time.

Congratulations!

For sophomores, many of you had sophomore reviews to contend with, and that is no small feat.

You came back in the fall to friends you had made, and lived in an apartment with people who weren’t family for what may be the first time.

Juniors came back to people buzzing about plans after their undergraduate career. Junior year is when the questions

from Granny at Christmas filled you with panic, rather than hope. Who are you dating? Do you want to have kids? What kind of job do you want?

Are you going to use your degree?

Stop, stop, stop, stop!

Stopping is the problem that the seniors face. We made it past the first three years, each year thinking “Gosh, I can’t wait until next year!” Now we’re out of next years. Now we’re looking at our pictures from freshman year and laughing at how silly we were and how much we miss going to Egan for Late Night together. We’re looking at photos from our apartments in sophomore year and laughing at our interior decoration skills. We’re looking back at our junior year and laughing because we thought we were stressed way back then. Boy, look at us now!

We look at how much

we’ve learned, and how much we’ve accomplished. We look at how many opportunities we’ve been given thanks to Mercyhurst and all the other people here. We wonder to ourselves, “How are we going to leave this place, these people, in only three months?”

Now’s the time for us to look ahead. Many of us are going on to grad school, or med school, or other kinds of further education. Some of us are going on to jobs. We’re going to be moving on to a whole new stage in our lives, which is thrilling and terrifying at the same time.

I know people are saying, “It’s only February! Calm down!”

I’m seeing it this way.

There are only 13 weekends until May 14. That means there are 13 Friday nights to sit around with your roommates, laughing

and talking and gossiping until four in the morning.

There are only 13 more Saturdays to wake up late and go to the movies, or to the mall, or to the lake.

That’s not including breaks.

On one hand, I am so ready to go out into the world and show them what I can do. I’m ready to grab the bull by the horns and truly begin living the “Carpe Diem.”

On the other, I wish that I had lived “Carpe Diem” a little more in the past. I will miss everything about Mercyhurst: the people, the beautiful campus, the amazing classes. I’ll look back and think so fondly of my time here and look forward to Alumni Weekend.

I know that everything has to have an end and ends are always emotional, but I can’t help but look forward with wonder.

What else is in store?

Game Zone

Way back When...

The Merciad presents articles from yesteryear in their original form, including headlines. This week, our blast from the past is from February 26, 1971.

’Hurst Announces Tuition Hike On February 4, 1971, Sister Carolyn announced to the Mercyhurst College Senate that a tuition increase of $250 will become effective September, 1971. This increase will raise the total annual cost of tuition to $1,550.

The Mercyhurst President explained the tuition increase as an effect of costs that are rising at a rate greater than the growth income. Besides balancing the budget, this income will permit the college to retain its highly qualified faculty and will allow the addition of new and equally qualified faculty. Library facilities and services will be increased in addition to a larger staff and more books.

Socio-recreational facilities being expanded to ensure the total development of the social as well as the academic needs of the students.

However, an important point that should be noted by all students is the annually contributed services of the Sisters of Mercy which totals $130,000. The expenses would be much greater if not for the generosity of the Mercy nuns. In fact, one major factor in the tuition raise is reduction in the number of religious teaching at Mercyhurst.

Lay men must be hired to replace the nuns who were teaching, and those who previously held

administrative positions.

The administration also realizes that any tuition increase can create a hardship for some families and therefore encourages students to consult the Financial Aid Office if this should be true in their situation.

There was also some apprehension concerning the possible relationship between the new athletic program and the recent decision to increase tuition for next year. However at a recent meeting of R.U.S. Dean Garvey entertainer questions dealing with the effect of the Athletic program on the latest tuition hike.

Mr. Garvey seemed to dispel the fears of the representatives by making it clear money for athletics comes entirely from the activities fee, except the salary of the Athletic director.

The Dean went on to say that Mercyhurst’s athletic, budget was rather slight in comparison with colleges which operate comparable programs. He also stated and emphatically, tuition money would not be used for athletics and that most athletic scholarships simply involve free tuition, not free room and board —which does not cost the college anything.

-Al Messina

Jokes

From Reader’s Digest, Feb. 14, 2017.

•Why should you never breakup with a goalie? ...Because he’s a keeper.

• What did one boat say to the other?

“Are you up for a little row-mance?”

• What did the guy with the broken leg say to his nurse?

“I’ve got a crutch on you.”

• During college, I worked on a conveyor belt. One day, I was on a blind date, and she asked me about my job.

“I work at the end of a belt,” I said.

With an ebullient smile, she asked, “Are you the buckle?”