The Merciad, April 2, 2014

News On Page 4:

Students head to Cambridge

Features on Page 2:

Arts & Entertainment on Page 6:

Students join efforts to fill ‘Empty Bowls’

Annual senior art thesis on display Read more inside & online

THE Merciad

EST. 1929 VOL. 87 NO. 17

MERCYHURST UNIVERSITY

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

Students take sides on firearms

By Will Bickelmann Staff writer

Salina Bowe photo

Members of the local chapter of People for Life, a Pro-Life group, protested Romero Award recipient Sister Simone Campbell’s reception due to her stance on the subject of abortion.

Pro-Life group demonstrates against Romero recipient

By Nathan Turner Contributing writer

Forty-seven members from People for Life assembled outside of Mercyhurst demonstrating against Sister Simone Campbell and her work promoting both President Obama and the Affordable Care Act. Tim Broderick is the head of Erie People for Life, which is a nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization “dedicated to advancing true justice by working for the protection of all innocent human lives, whatever the age, race, sex, physical condition, economic status, or place of residence (including the womb),” according to its website.

In a recent interview, Broderick said, “When [Campbell] was asked point-blank at the Democratic Convention ‘Do you think the unborn deserve legal protection?’ And here’s

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a person who has extensive views on things as complex as the federal budget, the national economy, and she’s not afraid to correct the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, correct the Pope, but when it comes to the question, ‘Should human beings be deliberately killed?’ She said, ‘I don’t know.’

“We think this is an opportunity to come out and say that some people still do know that killing is wrong. And it’s wrong not to protect the most defenseless, the most marginalized of all of the people in our human family, and that is, human beings prior to birth.”

He also said that her “Nuns on the Bus” tour around the U.S. on the eve of the 2012 Presidential Election, which campaigned for President Obama, omitted the issue of abortion and human life was “a statement in itself ” as to her views.

He also said that she “did a

great job whitewashing President Obama’s record on abortion and on human life issues,” making reference to the President’s position that abortion in all forms should be legal and that it should be federally funded. And that she denied “the federal government is pouring massive amounts of money into insurance plans that pay for abortion” under the Affordable Care Act. However, Broderick’s views are not the only ones at play.

There are also the views of members of the Religious Studies department, who were the ones giving Campbell the award.

Daniel McFee, Ph.D., chair of the department, gave his comments about the protest: “I think that protests are a valuable part of American democracy…it’s an integral part of it.”

Continued on page 4

A March survey of Mercyhurst University students showed that the majority of students support issuing firearms to Police and Safety officers, Professor Gerry Tobin, Ph.D., recently told MSG. Despite this, some students still several who have qualms with the possibility of Police and Safety being permitted to carry firearms.

Out of 96 votes on this week’s poll, 34 percent agree they would feel safer on campus if Police and Safety officers carried firearms and 35 percent believe there would need to be proper training and procedure for it to be useful.

Caleb Ohmer, English and political science major and MSG vice president, saw both sides of the argument, saying “I’m hesitant approve of a jump to lethal force, when there non-lethal alternatives available...But I can still see the necessity of keeping our students safe at all costs.

With the Virginia Tech and even

Two sides offered on firearms issue See story on page 4

Sandy Hook shootings, in recent memory, it has become clear that educational environments are becoming more and more dangerous.”

Some students feel more protected knowing that Police and Safety may be able to carry guns.

Intelligence Studies student Lauren Watson said, “I would feel safer if Police and Safety were able to carry guns.

“No matter where you go in town, there is the possibility of a maniac who might want to hurt people. And in all these places there are armed police officers who have the ability to protect you. Why should Mercyhurst be any different?” she asked.

Zachary Yost, also a political science major, believes that even

regular police shouldn’t carry firearms and campus police shouldn’t follow suit.

Yost said, “I do not believe that the threshold to justify employing deadly force is high enough among regular police.

To me, the best policy seems to be for campus security to have access to firearms but that they are only carried in extreme circumstances and not to bust up a dorm party or walk around campus.”

Still, many students feel threatened by the introduction of guns into their life on campus.

Criminal Justice major Mallorie Kaput said, “Mercyhurst is a small campus, and I really don’t feel that we have many threats. I only see the possibility for unfortunate accidents with Police and Safety getting guns.”

Ian Mills, Intelligence Studies and Political Science major said, “I don’t see the need to give Police and Safety guns when the Erie Police Department already is in close proximity to campus.” @TheMerciad

Walker Business School earns reaccreditation

By Jose Nufio

Contributing writer

After almost a three-year process, Mercyhurst’s business department was reaccredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE).

The reaccreditation process started in 2011-2012 academic year with former Walker School of Business and Communication Dean Monsignor David Rubino, Ph.D., and Associate Dean Amy Doolan, Ph.D. “The reaccreditation is an indication to students that Mercyhurst has a quality program. It is also indicates to employers that business students graduated from a quality

program and to people who want to go to graduate school, that they went to a quality program,” Doolan said.

During the fall of 2011, the Walker School was informed by the IACBE that its business department was going up for reaccreditation. A selfstudy took place, in which the IACBE sent out a handbook with their reaccreditation principles. The handbook outlined their definition of academic excellence and the standards expected from the business school.

According to Raj Parikh, Ph.D., who became dean the fall of 2013, one of these standards might ask that the faculty have professional qualifications or doctorates, so the school tried to find faculty

that has those qualification.

The self-study report was submitted in January 2013.

Over the spring of that same year, a group of individuals representing the IACBE, known as the site team, visited the school to meet the faculty, review the self-study, and make sure all criteria were met.

After the visit, they wrote their own report, which was sent back to the school with recommendations and questions. The department responded and waited for the final decision. The board reaccredited the school on Dec. 5, 2013. The notification with the results was sent to the dean on March 1.

Continued on page 4

Online Poll Results

How do you feel about Police and Safety officers carrying firearms?

35% As long as proper procedure and training are present.

23% It makes me feel uncomfortable.

7% I would need more research.

34% I would feel a lot safer around campus.

Be sure to vote in this week’s online poll: Did you face any issues with the housing sign-up website?

merciad.mercyhurst.edu

Page 2

Features

April 2, 2014

The Merciad

Social Work and Art departments join efforts to fill ‘Empty Bowls’

By Nathan Turner Staff writer

An empty bowl’s message is clear: Someone is without food. Mercyhurst’s Empty Bowls program hopes to end that issue.

Empty Bowls, a national movement started in Michigan in 1999, brings together pottery makers and artisans to make handcrafted ceramic bowls which are sold to the public. The proceeds from the bowls, as well as the prof-

its from the tickets to have a simple meal of soup and bread, go towards an organization that is dedicated to ending hunger. Mercyhurst’s profits benefit Second Harvest Food Bank.

The event occurs April 13 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and features soup from Molly Brannigan’s, Joe Root’s Grill, U Pick 6 Public House, Pufferbelly, Bertrand’s Bistro, the Brewerie and Whole Foods Co-op. A ticket is $5 and a ticket with a handmade bowl is $15.

The Social Work and Art Education departments are collaborating on this project.

The Social Work Department gathered all of the resources, going around to restaurants and collecting donations for soup and bread.

The Art Education Department, with the help of Mercyhurst Prep and Collegiate Academy, handcrafted the bowls.

“It’s not just to raise money for Second Harvest,” said sophomore Michelle Ahrens.

“It’s also to raise awareness about hunger in our community, which is a lot more prevalent than people think.”

According to Sam Strathearn, a junior, the Art Education Department has made 216 bowls thus far, and the rest are being donated by Collegiate and Mercyhurst Prep.

“The Art Ed Club has been looking for a lot of service projects to do and this was a really good one because it’s actually making art for a better cause,” said

Strathearn. “For every dollar we raise, the Second Harvest Food Bank can get $17 worth of food.”

At $5 per ticket, each one pays for $85 worth of food.

“We are very thankful for our donors,” said sophomore Maggie Switzer. “[The program] teaches you about the limits of nutrition that a lot of really hungry people experience…it raises awareness about what people face.”

Junior and MSG Senator John Herrmann emphasized

this project was entirely student-run.

“We started meeting back in October to begin organizing the event, and have done pretty much everything from the start,” he said.

Please contact John Herrmann (jherrm98@lakers. mercyhurst.edu) if you’re interested in buying tickets, or Michelle Ahrens (mahren36@lakers.mercyhurst.edu) for more information.

Volunteers helped to sculpt and paint bowls for the Empty Bowls movement, including pottery makers and junior Art Education major Sam Strathearn (top right).

@TheMerciad

Taylor Rollins photos

MSG

Senator Spotlight

Hello, my name is A.J. Zahuranec and I am a junior double major in Intelligence Studies and Political Science. On MSG, I serve as the senator for the School of Social Sciences and I’m part of the Public Relations and Events Committee on campus. Aside from MSG, I am in the Ambassadors Club, Honors Program, Phi Eta Sigma, Student Alumni Association, Model International Organizations, Natural Security Club, History Club and Theatre Appreciation Club. I especially enjoy reading, film, art, theatre and international relations. If you see me walking the campus, approach me with your concerns or just say, “Hello!” Remember “We’re Your Voice!”

April 2, 2014

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The Merciad

Features

Williams went from architecture to math

By Melanie Todd Contributing writer

mercyhurst.edu photo

Lauren Williams, Ph. D., teaches Math and also draws pictures on the side.

Although it is only her first year at Mercyhurst University, and her first job, Lauren Williams feels she is in the perfect place.

“This is the first place I came to interview,” Williams said. After the interview, she stopped applying to other jobs because, “everything I wanted was here.”

There are many advantages to Mercyhurst University, she added. Having smaller classes and getting to know the students personally is very helpful.

“I can tailor examples to the students,” she said.

Involving their particular interests helps to show the

importance of math.

“My goal is to have people appreciate it and the depth of it,” said Williams. “You can use [math] even if you are not a mathematician. I do try to convert everyone.”

As a teacher, she understands that math is not everyone’s favorite subject.

“It is hard to feel motivated when you’re just solving equations; it helps to show meaning,” Williams said.

With the classes she teaches, Williams encounters students of all majors and backgrounds.

“I’ve had philosophy students who wind up actually enjoying calculus,” she said.

Williams did not always want to study math. Originally, she went to The College of New Jersey for civil engi-

neering and architecture with a dream of building bridges.

For her degree she had to take several math classes and found herself taking some extra as well.

Williams remembers “sitting in algebra courses thinking this is exactly what I want to be doing.”

Soon she decided to make math her major. She finished at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, graduating in May 2013.

She has held on to a part of her architecture dream. When Williams was little, her older brother taught her to draw and she has continued to do so throughout her life.

It has always been a hobby of hers.

“Especially in graduate school it’s nice to have some-

thing to go, to relax,” she said. “I have never thought of myself as an artist. I’m not creating anything that wasn’t already there.”

In her office hang a couple of her beautiful drawings of Milwaukee. People are very eager for her to start drawing Mercyhurst and Erie.

She looks to further her connection with math and art through elective courses at Mercyhurst. This past J-Term, she was able to a course showing how math influences art.

Usually a person has to pick between their interests when choosing a career but not at Mercyhurst, Williams said.

“All the things I’m interested in I get to work into my job.” @TheMerciad

Religion students Adopt-A-Beach team to attend conference seeking volunteers

By Jose Nutio

Contributing writer

Six Mercyhurst students will attend a conference at Syracuse University to present papers on religious violence.

The Eastern International Region (EIR) of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) will host their annual religious conference on May 3-4.

The conference, titled “19th Century Upstate New York Religions and their Heirs,” focuses on the impact of American religions in upstate New York.

On this occasion, the Mercyhurst students were selected to form two separate panels to discuss the proposed topic of religion and violence.

Verna Ehret, Ph.D., was the religious studies professor who sponsored the students’ papers. She is also the regional coordinator for the EIR, putting her in charge of the whole meeting.

“It’s very impressive. There are not many undergraduate panels that are accepted. They are usually graduate student or senior scholar panels that are accepted,” said Ehret.

“There are usually two or three undergraduate panels and this year two of those panels are entirely Mercyhurst students.”

All students were part of the senior seminar class given

by Ehret. Five of the six are Religious studies majors, while the other is a minor. Four out of six are seniors and the other two are juniors.

The students going to Syracuse include Logan Fink, Caitlin O’Neill, Lisa Siroi, Jen Detchon, Nathan Turner and Megan Briggs.

This is the most students that have gone to this event.

Two years ago, two students participated and a few years before that five students participated.

The department hopes to achieve this again.

“We are working with the religious studies department to make this a more regular event that we take students every year,” Ehret said.

The purpose of the conference is for religious scholars to present their work to the larger academic community in the hopes that it will improve the subject’s scholarship.

During the conference, stu-

dents will have the opportunity to engage with the work of professional religious scholars.

It’s an opportunity to gain a glimpse into their prospective field.

“I think participating in this event will give me a glimpse into the academic study of religion in the current day, and to get a sampling of the different studies people will be presenting,” said senior Caitlin O’Neill.

Ehret chose the proposed panel of religion and violence because it was the topic of the senior seminar class.

Senior Megan Briggs said the class allowed her a diverse look into religious violence.

“This course has afforded me the opportunity to delve into the subject matter on a broader basis to learn much about religious violence.”

“The holistic approach enables me to offer a strong foundation for my paper, as well as any discussion that may occur at the conference,” Briggs said.

@TheMerciad

Career Fair happening in the Athletic Center

By Amanda Moore Contributing writer

The Mercyhurst University Career Fair will be taking place on April 3 from noon to 4 p.m. in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

This event features 91 companies interested in hiring Mercyhurst students for full time or part time jobs as well as internships.

Some of the larger companies coming this year include CYVEILLANCE, JP Morgan Chase, Rue 21, PLS Logistics Services, Seneca Gaming Corporation, and Zurn Industries.

“We try to get a good mix of companies for all of our students,” Associate Director for the Career Development Center Office Frank Rizzone said. “We try to get a good cross section.”

Twenty more companies are attending this year.

“What this is indicating is that [the marketplace] is not

perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but I see a glimmer of hope that things are starting to improve,” said Rizzone.

Students arriving can scan their IDs to get personalized name tags and the first 500 can get complimentary sunglasses. Once inside, the companies are divided by major for the convenience.

The students can go from booth to booth for a preinterview with the company representatives.

“Seniors and those who are graduating should come dressed for interview. Underclassmen should dress business casual,” said Rizzone.

Like any interview, Rizzone encourages students to prepare questions and resumes.

“We’ve arranged with the Docucenter that if you need extra copies of your resume all the student has to do is show up with a good, white copy of their resume and indicate that it is for the

Career Fair and they will run 20 copies on our tab,” Rizzone said.

This networking opportunity is not only for job seekers.

“I’m attending the career fair with hopes to speak with professionals about their experiences in the current heath care field. As a public health and sports medicine major, I hope to network at the event,” junior Amanda Marley said.

The career fair is not only for job searching seniors.

Underclassmen are encouraged to attend in order to learn how to network and to get connections.

“I think the Career Fair is a great opportunity to get my foot in the door with future employers,” freshman Chris Liatti said.

For more information, students can visit mercyhurst. edu/jobfair. @TheMerciad

By Mary Barnes

Contributing writer

It may not feel like there is a beach located in the same city that produces such brutal winters, but Presque Isle State Park, located just fifteen minutes away from campus, is very much a tourist attraction during the summer months.

Unfortunately, with the large amount of tourists comes a large amount of debris, which is why biology professor David Hyland, Ph. D., and Assistant Director of Student Financial Services Renee Wright became active members of the AdoptA-Beach initiative to clean Presque Isle and assess the damage and debris.

Adopt-A-Beach is an Alliance for the Great Lakes volunteer initiative that is spread throughout the Great Lakes shorelines in eight states.

The group has over 10,000 participants, each involved in monthly clean-ups on the shoreline of their choice.

Presque Isle volunteers meet at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center on the first Saturday morning of the month

for most of the year.

The Adopt-A-Beach volunteers look further into the trash problem; they separate and recycle the debris that is recyclable and assess the weight, amount, and types of debris left on the shoreline.

Doing so “provides a greater understanding of how the beaches are used, where and how many cigarette and trash receptacles ought to be placed” in order for the most effective use, Hyland said.

They also measure various weather conditions and keep track of the organisms that call Presque Isle their home.

With all of the intensive work put into the Adopt-ABeach effort, volunteers are always welcome.

Many biology courses are offering service hours for volunteering, as is the Office of Service Learning.

It is easy to get involved; the volunteering occurs at a state park, so registration is done through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

It is a simple process to undergo and reaps direct benefits to both the volunteers and the Erie community as

well.

This initiative helps Presque Isle to evaluate the cleanliness of the shorelines and ensure the area is clean and safe, both for tourists and wildlife alike.

Mercyhurst volunteers gathered a third of the total 18,000 trash pieces collected from last year’s Adopt-A-Beach outings.

The outings are scheduled for Saturdays during the Summer and early Fall (April 5, May 3, June 7, July 5, Aug. 2, Sept. 6 and Oct. 4) at 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day.

Those who are intrigued and would like to get involved should contact either David Hyland, Ph. D., or Renee Wright. You may contact them at dhyland@mercyhurst. edu and rwright@mercyhurst. edu, respectively.

For more information on this initiative, please visit www.greatlakes.org/adoptabeach and to register as a volunteer, visit www.volunteers. dcnr.pa.us.

@TheMerciad

LAKER MOMENT

By Sami Rapp

Sami Rapp photo

With the weather finally looking like spring, students found countless ways to spend their time outside of the classroom. Many students were reading outside, enjoying the sun at ‘Garvey Beach’, and pulling out the summer clothing. Several students were enjoying playing what they referred to as “Frisbee Golf”. Junior Paul Amodio, senior Joe Linza and senior Christofer Kessler were outside Zurn laughing and joking as they chased their Frisbees around the imaginary golf course. Apparently “Frisbee Golf” has a Mercyhurst tradition for years.

Page 4

April 2, 2014

The Merciad

News

Intelligence students head to Cambridge

By Nathan Turner Staff writer

Five students in the Intelligence Department are going to spend four weeks of their summer in England at Pembroke College in the University of Cambridge with the International Security and Intelligence Programme.

The five students, Katelyn Bailey, Emily Francis, Lauren Pacileo, Julie Smicinski and Ethan Redrup are the inaugural Intelligence Cohort from Mercyhurst in the program at Cambridge.

They will be part of a group of 50 students from all over the world, studying under “leading intelligence practitioners from the Anglo-American security and intelligence communities,” said Executive Director of the Intelligence Studies Department, Jim Breckenridge, Ph.D.

“We want to establish key academic relationships with the best universities in the world. The ones that teach national security and intelligence and security studies…

Cambridge is probably one of the top two universities in the world, outside of the United States, when it comes to security studies, so this was a natural partnership,” said Breckenridge.

The connection that helped bring Mercyhurst and Cambridge together came through one of Breckenridge’s daughters, who “lives in Cambridge and has a connection with one of the faculty at the Pembroke College,” he said.

“He heard about our program and asked to meet with me,” Breckenridge said. The meeting became a conversation about sending some of Mercyhurst’s Intelligence Students to study in the summer program.

The process was relatively

Pro-Life group demonstrates Continued from page 1

Concerning the possibility of dialogue with People for Life and others who disagree with giving Sister Campbell the award: “I invite dialogue. What I don’t invite are reactionary screeds which are put out either on the Internet or are not based in fact. Or people who are intentionally malicious…and are trying intentionally to score political points.”

Finally, Sister Campbell was willing a comment to the Merciad concerning this issue.

She responded to comments saying she was pro-abortion by saying, “I’m pro-life…(but) it’s more than birth. It’s all of life. It’s about nurturing those who are left out, just like Pope Francis said. It’s about pro-

portionality and engaging all.

“What I’m for,” she said, “is that we effectively stop abortions by providing support for pregnant women.

That’s where I go. It’s a political choice, how you want to deal with this issue, we are 100 percent on the same page in terms of the value and the dignity of life. What is the political consequence is how do respond to that?

“I want to work to make sure that women don’t have to make those horrible choices. I worked family law for a year and met someone who had to make that choice and it is painful and it was awful. But they were desperate and they had no other recourse in their view...” @TheMerciad

Two sides offered on firearms issue

By Nathan Turner Staff writer

Two Mercyhurst University staff offer varied views when it comes to the question of issuing firearms to campus police.

Gerry Tobin, Ph.D, a professor in the Psychology Department who was quoted in last week’s article, stated his positive opinion on the matter.

He believes that it is needed due to the increasing dangers which are surrounding the Mercyhurst campus.

“If people know your police force is armed, might that be the thing which them think ‘I’m not going there because they could fight back’?”

He also cited several incidents, such as the suicide that occurred in Sept. 20, 2013.

Another opinion in favor of arming Police and Safety came from a source in the administration, Sister Lisa Mary McCa-

rtney of the Sisters of Mercy.

“At this point in history, it seems like the most prudent way to go…because of the gun violence in our city,” she said.

“And the fact that Mercyhurst used to be considered a really safe campus because it had a rural, edge of the city environment, but the city has begun to encroach on us.”

She also cited that the Sisters of Mercy strive to establish a culture of non-violence, but that guns in “the hands of trained police officers who regularly get updated” and tested would serve as a way of protecting the students from the violence that sometimes occurs around the campus, and in Erie in general.

Despite multiple attempts to reach out to professors who were named as possible sources of disagreement, none were willing to give comment. @TheMerciad

Business school Continued from page 1

Finalizing this process has been an important accomplishment for the department.

“Every quality business school seeks accreditation, because accreditation is like getting a Good Housekeeping seal of approval, it’s tell-

ing people you meet certain standards,” said Parikh, who oversaw the final steps of the reaccreditation process after Rubino left.

The school will be accredited for the next 10 years.

For a longer version of this story, see merciad.mercyhurst.edu.

short for students.

“In December, a ton of us got an email that said we were invited to interview for the program in Cambridge,” said Pacileo, a junior.

The students were interviewed by Breckenridge, and Professors David Grabelski and Arthur Mills, and then filled out the application provided by Cambridge.

“It was a pretty rigorous application and a very intimidating interview,” Pacileo said.

After that process, five applicants were chosen and were permitted to apply to Cambridge directly. All five were accepted.

The program is four weeks long and consists of a variety of lectures and classes for three weeks, and the students writing a thesis on topics such as nuclear proliferation, terrorism, etc. during the fourth week.

With students coming from

Dane Rimko photo

(From L-R) Lauren Pacileo, Emily Francis, Julie Smicinski, Katelyn Bailey, and Ethan Redrup are the five students selected to attend Cambridge’s summer program.

all over the world, there are plenty of opportunities for students gain perspective on other countries’ intelligence practices.

“I’m looking forward to working with people on an intelligence level not from the U.S.,” Bailey, a junior, said.

Smicinski, a junior, gave

her view on what the partnership with Cambridge means for the Intelligence program.

“I think that having this opportunity really shows that our Intelligence Studies Department is being recognized internationally and starting to lead more towards the international domain...

this partnership is going to help us facilitate some sort of international agreement and help our students learn different perspectives, other than just the U.S. [perspective].” @TheMerciad

April 2, 2014

Page 5

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 Merciad Relay for Life successful or the Catholic Church. Responses on any subject are always welcomed and can be emailed to opinionmerciad@mercyhurst.edu.

Conversation clarifies writer’s opinion of award recipient

By Nathan Turner Staff writer

As with most things in life, exposure is always something which helps clarify and modify beliefs or opinions about matters.

This is most certainly true with people as well. And I must admit that I was a little hasty or possibly a little harsh on my first article about Sister Campbell.

With the infor mation I had, the picture I had may have been considered true.

But more information has recently come to life, and it came when I met her and personally spoke with her.

Campbell’s reputation is most certainly heralded for her left-leaning stances, and

it may rightfully be so, but I think that how everyone considers her opinion on abortion is not the full picture.

A lot of people see her as tacitly pro-choice, but upon further examining of it, it’s not quite so simple.

Over the course of a recent conversation, I asked her how she would respond to accusations that she was pro-choice and she said, “I’m 100% pro-life.”

She then went onto explain that she doesn’t approve of abortion, but that she actually works instead to provide the services which are needed to keep women from making that horrible choice.

She pushes for social services and women’s care that enable women to take care of the child. She pushes to

end the poverty which pushes women towards the clinic door.

For her, abortion would be solved by solving poverty.

I must admit I do agree with her on treating the causes of abortion, not just abortion, which is a symptom of a much larger problem.

While my previous article could be considered relatively reactionary, my opinion now has shifted a bit.

I do not agree with Campbell on everything she espouses, and my reasons why are too long to put in this space.

But I do agree with her view that abortion is something to be avoided and that women must be given the means by which they can avoid it.

Sufficient financial, emotional, medical support and

other needs must be met, either by private individuals, or by amending the system as a whole so that the ability to care for a child is more available on a large scale.

I still disagree with her in that we can’t try to de-legalize abortion while in the process of working on this.

We should.

We should keep trying to fight for the right of the unborn child to live. But that’s only part of it.

It’s not enough that they have the right to live. They should have the right to be born into a livable world.

Surely, we could work on both of those at the same time. @TheMerciad

Freshmen: Park at your own risk

By Naomi Greenstein Staff writer

For a school that seems very concerned with maintaining a safe campus, Mercyhurst University has created a dangerous situation for freshman drivers.

Due to the lack of parking space, freshmen are not allowed to have their vehicles on campus. There are exceptions for freshmen who must have a car because of work or other off-campus commitments.

Yet even with special permission, freshmen are still not allowed to park on campus, forcing them to use the empty parking lot across from the Arby’s down the road from

the college.

As a Mercyhurst freshman who has experienced the parking situation fi rsthand, it is troubling to see that the university is not doing a better job to keep students safe.

The parking lot is a long and inconvenient walk for the freshmen, and most importantly, is located at a dangerously busy intersection.

To get to the parking lot, students must cross two wide and chaotic intersections.

During the day, the walk down to the lot is distressing due to the crazed drivers who barely stop to let students cross and equally terrifying when walking back alone at night, something that is unavoidable for those who

have jobs and work well into the evening hours.

Many of these freshmen drivers are upset with the supposed solution Mercyhurst has come up with for them, and are pleading for a change.

Freshman Marissa McKnight brought her car to campus in December after she accepted an off-campus job. When asked her opinion about the current parking situation, she responded by saying “I wish it was a lot closer.

It’s scary because I work at night twice a week, and I don’t feel safe walking back alone in the dark.”

McKnight says she always calls Mercyhurst Police and Safety for a ride back to campus when she works at night because she also doesn’t

feel comfortable walking across the busy intersections.

When asked what it was like having to walk to and from her car in the frigid winter months, she said “It was awful, especially on those days when it was below freezing outside.

It’s only a 10 minute walk, but it’s a dangerous one when it becomes that cold.”

Other freshman drivers have voiced complaints about the parking lot, and we only hope that the school will take our concerns into consideration and find an alternative solution for those who must have their cars on campus.

By Zachary Yost Staff writer

Online

Even though it is still nearly three years away, speculation is already rampant among the media as to who shall be running for president in 2016.

It seems that one the Democrat side Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden are usually believed to be running.

T he Re publican side is much more wide open with a myriad of people possibly running, but what seems to me to the three most commonly mentioned names are Rand Paul, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush.

While, as a libertarian, I abhor the very thought of Hillary or Biden being president (or anyone being president), it is the Republican party that appears to be doomed for irrelevance and thus it makes sense to analyze their possible primary choices before the time comes for the party to make a choice.

The Republican Party is a

explicitly telling members to leave, demonstrates several things.

Either the leadership believes in its principles and plans to stick to its guns until the bitter end, or that the establishment wants to remain in power and thus wants to crush any intra-party disagreement that threatens their power.

I suspect that in reality it is a mix of both.

Yet one must stop and wonder what has possessed the minds of the Republican leadership.

Anyone can see that the wo r l d i s c h a n g i n g , a n d yet with the word that the establishment wants old fuddy-duddies like Bush and Christie to run simply demonstrates how out of touch they are.

The very name Bush is anathema to our generation.

We grew up with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars hanging in the background and still feel the effects of them today.

As the crisis with Syria demonstrated last year, the

Read more at

merciad.mercyhurst.edu/opinion

The bookstore is now offering students a reward card. For only $3, you can buy a tall coffee or tea and a bagel with cream cheese.

After 10 purchases, you get a free drink. This is a good option for those students who are running low on dining dollars. Just remember to get your card punched after every purchase.

The Bad...

It would have been nice if students had been notified that the Saturday downtown bus was running late due to the snow storm. As a result, several students were left stranded, forced to either take a cab or walk back to campus.

The Ugly...

The online portion of the new housing contracts is frustrating many students as they try to get a top spot in the housing sign-up.

The Weird...

Spring is doing a number to campus facilities.

Now a huge puddle outsize Zurn is starting to leak into the basement. Wasn’t the winter bad enough?

@TheMerciad

Republican Party needs to change to attract the votes of our generation party in crisis. On its face the largest problem is, what some have characterized as, the Republican civil war.

In the wake of the disastrous 2012 election, where all of the high hopes and big talk of the Republican establishment came to naught, there became a very apparent divide between the more libertarian wing of the party and the old guard establishment.

Even before the election Republican leaders such as Bill Kristol f lat out said that these libertarian people should just leave the party.

This attitude is very important to take note of as Chris Christie has also expressed similar sentiments and there can be little doubt that Jeb Bush does not have family membership in perpetuity into the neo-con hall of fame simply on his family name alone.

The Republican Party has won the popular presidential vote one time in the past 20 years.

For its leadership to be

The Good...

US population is war weary and not really interested in the tired, old talking points about policing the world.

T h e d iv i d e w i t h i n t h e Republican Party is really a divide between those who want to make the Party see the realities of the 21st century and those who want to continue sailing the ship straight ahead on the same course even if that means sailing into oblivion.

I for one do not see the Republican Party changing its course enough to attract our generation in the necessary numbers and I certainly won’t shed a single tear at its inevitable demise.

Yet those who do wish to use the Republican Party to effect the changes they want to see implemented really need to step up their game in ensuring that they no longer nominate stale half-mummified relics of the past if they want to attract our generations votes. @TheMerciad

The Merciad Editors Mathew Anderson Zach Dorsch Juan Mendez Daniel Tarr Samantha Bante Garrett Erwin Alejandra Zeron Leann Krysiak Jordan Power Nicole Lawrence Sami Rapp Ethan Johns Will DeFeo Bill Welch

Positions @mercyhurst.edu Editor-in-Chief editormerciad Managing Editor managingmerciad News Editor newsmerciad Features Editor featuremerciad Sports Editor sportsmerciad A&E Editor entertainmentmerciad Opinion Editor opinionmerciad Copy Editor copymerciad Copy Editor copymerciad Graphics photomerciad Photo Editor photomerciad Web Editor ejohns89 Ad Manager admerciad Adviser wwelch

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 120B. 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

Page 6

Arts &

April 2, 2014

The Merciad

Entertainment

Senior art on display in Cummings Gallery

By Marcela Delgado Staff writer

Mercyhurst University seniors showcase their final art projects through different mediums in the senior thesis art exhibition in Cummings Gallery from March 31 through April 27.

On Saturday, April 5, from 2-4 p.m., the artists will be honored at a reception.

The Cummings Art Gallery is located in the lobby of the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center (PAC).

The name of the exhibition is “The One and The All.” A name that according to senior student, Rodolfo Claros, was one of the hardest things to choose because their work was quite different, but in the end it all revolved around life and culture.

After many sug gestions, senior student, Jen Ditchon’s suggestion was the one that got the popular vote.

The show is the capstone project for art majors.

Even though the class is required for Studio Art Majors, anyone from the Art Department can take the class.

Those majors are graphic

design, art education and art therapy.

According to Claros, the nine students of the class got together every Sunday to talk about the theme of their work, their progress, and basic things about the show, like the post card, name, etc.

The artists that will be showcasing their work are Emily Belfiore, Rodolfo Claros, Jennifer Detchon, Caitlin Ewing, Rose Heid, Victoria Knight, Muna Nehme, Megan O’Polka and Shelby Yukevich.

“Reading and painting are two of the fundamental pillars of escapism, it is through literature that I have been immersed in universes that go far beyond the real world and through painting that I express these experiences,” said Nehme.

“It is thus that I have created a series of paintings based on J.M. Barrie’s novel, Peter Pan. This series conveys melancholy in its very approach, as well as product.

It tells the story of a child through the unwilling eyes of an adult in the making.”

Nehme added, “I was really excited to see everyone’s work is vastly different and it’s great to see how it all interacts in the

Salina Bowe photo

“The One and The All” senior art student thesis will be displayed in the Cummings Art Gallery in the Performing Arts Center through April 27 with a gallery reception on Saturday, April 5.

same exhibit.”

“I enjoyed the experience of getting to do something I love everyday, which is creating ceramics, and that I loved that I could teach myself through trial

and error and fuel my passion for art even more,” Belfiore said.

“Come to the Cummings Art Gallery at Mercyhurst University and enjoy the work of our select Art Department Seniors.

There will be free beer, wine and hors d’oeuvres,” Claros said.

The show is free and open to the public weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 2-5 p.m.

For more information, call 814-824-2092 or visit miac. mercyhurst.edu. @TheMerciad

Musical sisters bring the beat La Boheme

By Megan Pacileo Staff writer

The Seattle Times says, “With their multicultural assortment of composers and a huge talent, these women have a modernist, fusion sensibility that is perfect for our age.”

O n T h u r s d a y, A p r i l 3 , Mercyhurst will play host to the Ahn Trio, in the Walker Recital hall at 7:30 p.m.

These world-renowned sisters have taken the musical world by storm. Lucia, the piano player, Angella on the violin and Maria on the cello have been known to mix contemporary music with well-known classics to create a dynamic musical experience that will leave audience members enthused and awed. The sisters say their style is classical music for this century.

Born in Seoul, Korea, the trio moved to New York City in 1981, where they began their

miac.mercyhurst.edu photo

The Ahn Trio, a multicultural and multi-instrumental group, will perform in the Walker Recital Hall on Thursday, April 3.

musical training at the Juilliard School of Music. The sisters decided to form their musical threesome while they were working towards earning their master’s degrees at Juilliard.

The members of the Ahn Trio flourish on breaking down the barriers between art forms.

They have worked to fuse their work with others, such as dancers, singers, DJ’s, installation artists, photographers, and even kite makers.

Their performances often include visually appealing staging and programs that are announced and discussed for the stage by the trio.

Recently, the trio has performed in the Czech Republic to sold-out shows.

Their unique blend of styles makes the critically acclaimed Ahn Trio one of the most anticipated shows of the season.

The Ahn Trio performs frequently throughout the United States, and also gives workshops

and master classes at middle schools, high schools and colleges, hoping to teach new audiences about classical music.

Before the start of the show, audience members should meet in the lobby of the Walker Recital Hall, for a Taste of Spring.

The Ahn Trio’s company sponsor, Frankie and May Fresh Grocer, will be there with tastes of delicious food for audience members to sample.

Trying to show the abundant availability of organic food in the Erie area, Frankie and May Fresh Grocer will bring samples from their café and other locally located growers.

Ticket prices for this explosive show run from $27 for adults to $18 for youths and students.

For more information, visit the Mercyhurst Institute for Arts and Cultures website at miac.mercyhurst.edu. @TheMerciad

Literary Festival welcomes established author

By Ryan Kushner Staff writer

Online

This Thursday, April 3 at 8 p.m. in Taylor Little Theatre, Mercyhurst University will welcome acclaimed novelist and short story author Karen Joy Fowler to kick-start the first of four creative writing centered events that will make up this year’s Literary Festival.

Fowler has authored a total of six novels and three short story collections, first making a splash onto the literary scene in 1986 with her publication of short stories, Artificial Things.

Since then, most of her writing has been sprinkled with a combination of both historical and science fiction, often containing a feminist overtone.

Fowler has won a considerable amount of awards and recognition for her writing throughout her career, including having her first two novels (Sarah Canary

and The Sweetheart Season) listed as “New York Times Notable Books.” She would go on to win the World Fantasy Award for two of her short story collections, first for “Black Glass” in 1999 and then for “What I Didn’t See” in 2011.

She is best known today for “The Jane Austen Book Club,” a best-selling novel published in 2004 that focuses on the members of a book club in Davis, California.

The novel, which spent a total of 13 weeks on the New York Times bestseller’s list, dedicates one chapter to each of the six book club members, and relates each of their individual lives and experiences directly to one of Jane Austen’s six novels.

The book was adapted into a film of the same name by Robin Swicord in 2007, which distinguished film critic Roger Ebert awarded three and one half out of four stars and hailed as “a celebration of reading.”

Full list of events can be found on the MIAC website

mercyhurst.edu photo

Established short story author, Karen Joy Fowler, will be speaking on Thursday, April 3, at 8 p.m. in the Taylor Little Theatre as a part of the annual Literary Festival event.

Her most recent novel, “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves,” was released in 2013 and contains much of Fowler’s signature wit and creativity, but was referred to as “emotionally and intellectually riskier, and more indebted to Fowler’s other books that toy with the sci-fi genre”

by National Public Radio. It has been considered one of the top works of fiction of 2013.

When not writing and winning awards, Fowler works with writers and co-creates awards.

She helped to co-create the James Tiptree, Jr. Award with fellow author, Pat Murphy, in 1991. The award is a literary prize that seeks to recognize “science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender,” according to the award’s website.

Fowler is also the president of the Clarion Foundation, a nonprofit literary organization founded in 2005 that supports the Clarion Science Fiction and

View upcoming performances: www.miac.mercyhurst.edu

Fantasy Writers’ Workshop, a workshop established in 1968 in which the website describes to provide “an intensive six-week education in the basics of creating speculative fiction.”

She will be leading a workshop on campus with Mercyhurst English majors and minors earlier in the day during her visit to the Mercyhurst this Thursday, for a hands-on learning experience with a professional who has found success in her field.

Fowler’s evening presentation is free and open to the public and will be followed by a brief question-and-answer period with students.

For more information about Karen Joy Fowler, visit her website at karenjoyfowler.com For more information regarding the Literary Festival, contact Ken Schiff, Ph.D. at kschiff@ mercyhurst.edu. @TheMerciad

opera to screen in the PAC

By Nathan Turner Staff writer

When emotions run too high in movies, the music gets loud and accentuates the drama.

When emotions run too high in musicals, everyone starts singing and dancing.

Opera combines the best of both worlds: the music and the emotion, without the occasional bad dialogue and the annoying dancing that comes with a musical or a film.

La Boheme, an opera by Puccini, is playing Saturday, April 5, at 12:55 p.m. in the PAC. It’s playing as part of a program called “Live at the MET,” and is broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. It will feature interviews with the cast and crew during the intermissions of the performance.

The opera follows the life of four bohemians (some might call them “free spirits”) throughout a period of their lives in 1830s Paris. More particularly, it follows the lives of Marcello and Rodolfo and their whirlwind romances with Musetta and Mimi, respectively.

The two relationships begin on the same night and burn and rage with passion and desire and grief all throughout the opera.

The time lapse on stage is relatively brief, only covering about six months or so. But the emotions and messages within the opera are poignant enough that it has lasted from its premiere in 1896 to the present day.

The show starts 12:55 p.m. on April 5 and runs for 3 hours and 55 minutes. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and students without ID, $10 for youth, and $7 for students with ID. @TheMerciad

www.merciad.mercyhurst.edu/ arts_entertainment

April 2, 2014

The Merciad

Page 7

Sports

D’Urso, Landowski are All-Americans

By Carly Contraguerro Contributing writer

Dylan D’Urso and Jeremy Landowski of the Mercyhurst wrestling team received All-American status after just day one of the NCAA Division II National Championships.

The championship meet was held in Cleveland, Ohio on March 14-15.

To receive All-American status, a wrestler must be in the top eight in their weight class. Also, wrestlers have to win at least two matches at nationals.

“Anytime you have guys place at NCAAs it’s exciting. These guys have dedicated a great deal of time and effort to achieve their success. We also have some other very talented guys who have the ability to replicate their success at the national tournament, which is very exciting for our program,” Head Coach Mike Wehler said.

D’Urso is a sophomore and made his second appearance at the National Championship, coming back even stronger than last year after

falling short of All-American status in the quarter finals.

“Coming into nationals this year I knew I was physically in better shape because I was not cutting as much weight and my body wasn’t drained. We work extremely hard every day throughout the season, so I knew my conditioning would be as good if not better than everyone else in my weight as well,” D’Urso said.

After starting off the tournament with a win 2-1 victory, D’Urso fell in the quarter finals but came right back to pin his opponent in 3 minutes and 15 seconds time to receive the All-American honor.

D’Urso also finished third overall at the championship.

This is the highest finish a Mercyhurst wrestler has had since 2010.

“From a mental standpoint I was much better prepared this year. I knew that I was one of the top guys in the country and deserved to be recognized as that. I didn’t let the pressure of succeeding get to me and just took one match at a time and focused on what I could control out

Ed Mailliard photo

Dylan D’Urso and Jeremy Landowski received All-American status after just one day at the NCAA Division II National Championships.

on the mat. Coach Wehler did a great job of convincing me how well I really could do,” D’Urso said.

Red-shirt sophomore Landowksi started off the tournament with a loss but won two consecutive matches in the quarter finals right after with a 6-4 decision and an 8-7 decision to

earn his All-American honor.

Landowski finished No. 8 at the tournament.

“I feel the biggest thing that helped me be an All-American was the extra workouts I did. I like doing a lot of cardio because I feel like it helps me physically and mentally. My teammates pushing me at practice also

helped me accomplish this feat,” Landowski said.

With D’Urso and Landowski winning this title, they are Mercyhurst’s wrestling program’s 24th and 25th All-Americans.

To have this honor is a great accomplishment for any team and having two wrestlers receive it in the

same year shows the potential and drive that every member of the wrestling team has to succeed.

“Mercyhurst really does have a great history of success on the mats, which is even more impressive considering our program hasn’t been around for very long.”

“It’s an honor to get to be part of a group of tremendous wrestlers, and it’s definitely motivation to get my name up on our all American and national champion wall! It’s also great to get to become an AA under coach Wehler who has built this team into a national powerhouse,” D’Urso said.

“It feels really good to be a part of the line of All-Americans that this program has produced in the short amount of time it has been present.

“It is also special for me personally to be the third All-American for Mercyhurst to come out of my high school of Burrell along with Jordan and Josh Shields,” Landowski said.

@TheMerciad

Altavilla twice earns PSAC West pitcher of week

By Carly Contraguerro Staff writer

Mercyhurst’s baseball team’s Dan Altavilla twice was named the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week on Thursday, March 24 and again on Monday, March 31, Altavilla is the first player on the team to win a weekly honor from the PSAC this season.

“It is an honor being named pitcher of the week for the west. But with that being said, this would not have been possible without my teammates providing production both offensively and defensively. It is always a great feeling being able to pitch with the support of such a great group of guys” Altavilla said.

Altavilla got the first honor after he pitched his first col-

legiate no-hitter on March 21 against Clarion.

This was the Laker’s home opener weekend and their first PSAC game of the season. During the game, Altavilla walked only one batter and struck out 12, which was a career high for him.

“Pitching a no-hitter has been a career goal that I had set for myself prior to coming to Mercyhurst. It is a great feeling knowing that the extra work and practice I put in with my teammates and coaches is paying off,” Altavilla said.

The final score of this no-hitter game was 3-0. The Lakers won 3 out of the 4 games played against Clarion.

As of the Clarion games, Altavilla has pitched 22 innings and has allowed only 1 run on every 8 hits.

A lot of commitment to the team and individual work outside of practice is needed to excel like that.

“I try to spend every hour that I can outside of the classroom in the gym, at practice with the team, or at individual work outs with the coaches.”

As a team, we invest a lot of our time into the game and our success so far has come from that” Altavilla said.

The Lakers are 15-5 overall after this past week’s sweep over Gannon and are 7-1 in the PSAC. Their next game will be a doubleheader against IUP on April 1 at noon and 2 p.m. at Mercyhurst’s baseball field.

Ed Mailliard photo

@TheMerciad

Dan Altavilla was announced the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week on Thursday, March 24, and again on Monday, March 31.

Jope, Sworden earn CWPA Southern Division Awards

By Samantha Bante Sports editor

The Mercyhurst women’s water polo team lost a pair of Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) matches at the North East Aquatic Center Saturday. coming from winning the CWPA Divison II Championship on March 22.

The Lakers fell, 13-9, to No. 9 Princeton and then dropped and fell, 11-5, to Bucknell later that evening.

The Lakers have record of 9-8 with senior Cailin Jope leading the team with 38 goals scored, 10 assists, earning a total of 48 points this season for her team.

She also has a team high of 31 steals.

Freshman Jena Clinch follows with 20 points scored, 24 assists and 40 points total.

Along with Jope being named Southern Division Player of the Week, sophomore Jesse Sworden was selected as the Southern Division Defensive Player of the Week by the the Collegiate Water Polo Associa-

Ed Mailliard photo

Cailin Jope and Jesse Sworden earn CWPA Southern Division Awards after the Mercyhurst University waterpolo team won the CWPA Division II Championship.

tion (CWPA) last week.

“It feels good to know that Mercyhurst is not being overlooked. Having team members earn this award

shows that we are competitive within the Southern division,” Sworden said.

“It’s cool to receive the Southern Award, there are

a lot of good players in the Southern Division and for me to be selected feels great,” Jope said.

Sworden leads the

Laker s’ defense with a 6-7 record as the lead goaltender, with 124 saves and 32 steals.

“I think the team has

done well, but I know we can do better. As a team we have certain aspects of our playing that we do well.”

“If we can take the things we do well and make the details even better, we can take our game to a higher level in these next few weeks of league play,” Sworden said.

“I think we’ve done very well coming together as a young team. We had a lot of new players last year and received a lot more this year.

We have worked hard year round and this has created great team chemistry and we bring this to our games.”

“Winning DII Champs was a great step for this team for we just came off of a long spring break with not winning too many games. Despite the losses, we pumped ourselves up and played two great games to become DII champions again,” Jope said.

The women’s waterpolo team will travel to Grove City to take on Grove City College Thursday, April 3 at 6 p.m. @TheMerciad

Page 8

The Merciad

Laker

April 2, 2014

Living Geek Weekly: Oculus VR

By Zach Dorsch Managing editor

Oculus VR will be acquired by Facebook It was announced last Tuesday that Facebook is planning to purchase Oculus VR, a company responsible for creating the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset, for $2 billion in a combination of cash and Facebook stock.

The creation of the Oculus Rift was funded by the website Kickstarter.com during which it raised $2,437,429 — far above the company’s goal of $250,000.

The purpose of the rift is to change the way to play video games, watch movies and ultimately change how we interacted with media.

This is done by strapping a goggle-like object onto your face that has a screen on the inside.

Now Facebook is preparing to purchase this company even though the company has yet to actually release a commercial product.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted via a blog post the reason for purchasing this company. “Oculus’s mission to enable you to experience the impossible.

Their technology opens up the possibility of completely new kinds of experiences,” he said.

He later went on to say that Facebook will not be changing Oculus’s plans of creating an immersive gaming experience but rather help to accelerate the process.

Facebook will help Oculus build its product and create strong partnerships to support more games.

Of course, once that mission is achieved, it is looking into expanding into experiences like having court side seats at a basketball game or a teacher allowing students to travel all around the world.

Though this all may sound like this purchase will help the company out, it still has its down sides. Many people are angry that this Kickstarter project, which was made up of 9,000 backers donating anywhere from $10 to $5,000, sold out to a massive company before the product was even released on the market.

The biggest critics to this move was the video game community. Many gamers are canceling their pre–orders for the Oculus Rift now that Facebook owns it.

Stating that Facebook will eventually turn this device into another way to mine personal information as well as sell ads.

One of the biggest oppositions of this move was the gaming community of Reddit. Many posts were made to r/ gaming explaining how users could cancel their Oculus Rift Pre-Order.

Gamers were not the only ones furious with the decision.

Game developers such as Markus Persson, the creator of the popular game Minecraft, said he would no longer be making a version of Minecraft for the Rift.

Not everyone feels this way though.

Many developers working to make games for the Oculus are being optimistic seeing this partnership as a way that could be a good thing for Virtual Reality by allowing it to reach a much larger audience.

Another developer speculated if Facebook would even intervene with the product, bring up two bigger purchases Instagram and WhatsApp.

@zdorsc22

Beauty Talks Lemon Toner

By Leann Krysiak Copy editor

How’s your skin care routine? Do you remember to always wash, tone and hydrate your face?

The first rule of great skin care is to always take off your makeup before going to bed. The second rule is to always tone after washing your face.

Using a toner as part of daily routine can help clean a little deeper than using a cleanser alone.

It also helps shrink pores, balance the pH of your skin and protect from absorption of impurities.

This week I have a couple of easy toners to make:

Squeeze lemon juice onto a cotton pad and wipe all over the face. The article said to rinse after a few minutes but when I tried it, I didn’t and my skin did not feel sticky.

This one is especially beneficial for someone with oily skin.

I have been using the lemon toner for about a week and can definitely see the acne scars have faded.

Tea Toner 1-2 bags mint, green or chamomile tea 1 cup of water 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (optional)

Lemon Toner 1 lemon

Boil the water. Add tea bags and steep for 10 minutes. Let the mixture cool. Strain and store in an air-tight container.

After toning, be sure to follow up with a moisturizer suitable for your skin type.

Need help finding the ingredients? Check out the ingredient guide on Fresh Face Forward’s Recipe page.

Did you like it? Love it? Tell me what you think on the Fresh Face Forward’s Facebook page or send your comments to freshfaceforward@gmail.com. @LeannKrysiak

Diffic

Caramel Flan

Prep

ulty: E

Time:

Total T

asy

20 mi

ime: 4

nutes

0 min utes

By Sami Rapp Photo editor

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

For the caramel: 2. In a pot over low to medium heat pour 3/4 cup of sugar to make caramel. Don’t stir the sugar; gently swirl the pot to move sugar.

3. Once sugar is melted, pour into bottom of ramekin. Swirl ramekin till caramel covers the bottom, move fast because the caramel will harden quickly. Let the caramel harden.

For the custard mixture: 4. Whisk four large eggs 5. Combine eggs with 1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condense milk and 1 (12oz) can of evaporated then whisk together.

6. Once caramel has hardened, pour custard into ramekin.

7. Get a roasting pan and line it with a thin kitchen towel and place the ramekin into it.

8. Pour hot water into the roasting dish till the water comes half

way up the sides of the ramekin.

9. Cook for 20-30 mins.

10. Take out of oven but leave the ramekin in the water for another 10 mins.

11. Remove ramekin and let cool completely then cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, overnight is the best.

To Remove: 12. Gently run a knife around the edges to loosen, then carefully flip the ramekin over and remove the flan. Enjoy!

Notes: Flan is meant to be eaten cold. Cupcake or cake pans can work as well. Can store up to 5 days in the refrigerator if cover in plastic wrap.

Guest recipe from Emily Esteban-Baughman eesteb17@lakers.mercyhurst.edu

@srapp93