Sept. 30 Issue of the Merciad

Arts : & Entertainment On Page 5:

:Features On Page 3:

Sports On Page 7:

‘Arts on the Hill’ event comes

Kid Ace performs

to Mercyhurst

magic on campus

Women’s soccer defeats Seton Hill

Read more inside & online

The Merciad Mercyhurst university

Est. 1929 Vol. 89 No. 4

Wednesday, septeMber 30, 2015

New academic calendar to take effect fall 2016

By Melanie Todd Staff writer

In 2013, Mercyhurst changed from a trimester system to the current 4-1-4 system with two 14-week semesters and J-term. In the fall of 2016, the academic calendar will see another change.

“The rumors are true.

We are changing it,” David Dausey, Ph.D., academic provost and vice president of academic affairs, said.

“Mercyhurst will move to a straight semester system with no J-term but we will offer mini semester courses,” Dausey said. The logistics of the new calendar are still being finalized. Each semester will be about 15 to16 weeks with seven-to-eight week mini-semesters within each semester. Currently, the university follows a 14-week semester system with a three-weekJanuary term.

“It is a fairly common program and growing in interest.

It really is a semester system with half-semester choices,” said Dausey. Larger universi-

ties such as Elon University and Carnegie Mellon currently follow the same scheduling model.

“We are the only one [university] in this area doing this and we think this is a selling point,” Dausey said.

Under the new system, class times will be slightly shorter for semester-long courses and mini semester courses will differ in class time depending on the number of credits the course is worth. Mini-semester courses may be worth one, two or three credits.

“The flexibility of this system is favored by students and faculty,” Dausey said.

Students will have the ability to take all semester length classes if they prefer or mix in mini-length courses. This will allow students an opportunity to have more classes in the beginning half or latter half of the semester.

“If you are an athlete, you can stagger your courses for when your sport picks up.

Nothing is better than having a class be over in the middle of your other classes picking up,” Dausey said.

Photo by Salina Bowe

David Dausey, Ph.D., addresses Mercyhurst Student Goverment about calendar changes.

However, mini courses will not replace semester classes.

“Not every class can be offered as a mini. Faculty will go through workshops about what makes a good mini,” Dausey said.

Mini courses are also

designed to benefit adult and non-traditional students. “We are proposing faculty teach at least one mini course a year that is offered at an alternative time [outside the typical 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. day],” Dausey said.

One of the challenges

of J-term courses was the three- hour-long classes. Mini courses are designed to be innovative.

“We encourage faculty to be unique, such as having a onehour pre-recorded lecture that students can listen to online

whenever they want and then have one hour of class time,” Dausey said.

Summer classes will also be redesigned to help increase students’ access to classes and will begin in the summer of 2017.

“We are currently in discussion as to what the summer will look like. We want to make it easier to take summer courses.

Don’t hold me to this but we are in discussions about offering summer courses at a lower rate,” Dausey said.

Additionally, study abroad options will be offered in the summer and year round.

“There is the possibility of full semester study abroad.

Our partners that we do study abroad with are more than willing to work with us on a mini and semester schedule,” Dausey said.

Mini semesters may assist with students graduating on time or even early. “We want to offer a little more flexibility for students with the core while maintaining our liberal arts feel. There may be some minis that fit into the core.”

Dausey said.

Emmaus Soup Kitchen damaged in suspected arson

By Sergio Cortes Contributing writer

A fire allegedly caused by a regular attendee broke out at the Emmaus Soup Kitchen and its adjoined house, where Benedictian sisters live and run operations, on Friday Sept. 25.

The fire was allegedly started by a regular diner, who was caught on a security camera, according to Erie police. It spread from a trash bin on the side of the building and quickly spread through the south east side of the building. This resulted in extensive damage of the complex. “[I was in] tears. I stood there and watched this building that has housed so many folks for so long in flames.

But the Erie Fire Department was tremendous. They saved the entire building.” said Sister Mary Miller, director of Emmaus Ministries.

According to Miller, the sisters’ space upstairs is totally destroyed. The cooking area and dining room were spared.

“I saw a lot of beautiful

generosity and hard work going up in flames before my eyes.”

As soon as news of the fire spread, various churches,

1-2 3-4 5 6 7 8

all the calls and requests for help,” Miller said.

Between their insurance and construction companies, reporters and people who were eager to volunteer in any way that they could, the sisters had much to attend to, according to Miller, but she said they are grateful for the assistance they have received.

The same day the fire occurred, the Erie City Mission offered its facility to host an open dinner for anyone who needed a meal. The Church of the Nativity also offered its community center as a temporary site for the daily weekday dinners and Saturday lunches that Emmaus provides.

“

I saw a lot of beautiful hard work and generosity going up in flames before my eyes.

Contributed photo

Left: The blaze damaged the sisters’ living quarters most severely. Right: Reconstruction has begun on the soup kitchen, which is scheduled to reopen on Monday, Oct. 5.

- Sister Mary Miller

Shasta

Mullenax,

”

Amer-

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food banks and city shelters quickly reached out to offer assistance.

“Right now I’m sitting in the office, trying to sift through

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I usually don’t have a problem getting a spot. (29%) Not well at all - I’m so fed up! (29%) I don’t have a car on campus. (29%) I’m going to park in Garvey Park. (14%)

Be sure to vote in this week’s online poll: What are you going to do on Hurst Day?

merciad.mercyhurst.edu

iCorps VISTA in Service Learning, as well as two Mercyhurst students, visited the sisters the day the fire broke out.

One of those students was sophomore Jenbli Cox, who regularly volunteers at the soup kitchen.

“It’s sad because the purpose of it is to serve people.

There’s still a couple days where people aren’t being served food. Nobody was hurt so thank God for that,” Cox said.

On Monday, Oct. 5, Emmaus will open back up, with smaller seating, but they will be in their own kitchen.

They will have no bathrooms, however.

“Mercyhurst has been absolutely tremendous and I rely on the goodness of their hearts and presence,” Miller said.

Anyone wishing to contribute to this cause may go to their website, emmauserie.org, and donate.

September 30, 2015

The Merciad

Page 2

News

Forensics awarded grant to study sex of skeletons

By Erin McGarrity Staff writer

The Mercyhurst Department of Applied Forensic Sciences received a grant of $126,871 from the U.S. National Institute of Justice last week to test two new methodologies for estimating the sex of human skeletal remains and create an interactive database of the results.

Alexandra Klales, Ph.D, assistant research professor in the department, is the principal investigator on the project.

She submitted the nearly 200page grant proposal, which she single-handedly drafted in April. She found out about the award on Sept. 16.

“I started writing it about two or three months in advance, because they require fairly extensive background when you apply for this type of thing,” said Klales.

“They need to know why your research is needed, what exactly needs to be done, the impact that your study will make on forensic science everything.”

Klales graduated from Mercyhurst in 2009 with a master’s degree. As part

of Klale’s master’s thesis at Mercyhurst, she created a new method for sex estimation.

The method, which numerous forensic science agencies throughout the world have implemented, looks specifically at non-metric, or non-measurable, traits of the pelvis bone to determine sex.

The method’s ordinal grading system makes it less subjective, and scientists have found it rather user friendly.

During her time at Mercyhurst, Klales worked in the Applied Forensic Sciences Department as a research assistant on two other NIJ grants. She credits her experience on those grants with helping her earn this one.

Thanks to this grant, Klales and two Mercyhurst graduate students will work to create an interactive, free database that will help establish biological profiles, or summaries of all biological aspects, of unidentified individuals using various statistical equations. The database will be available on both the NIJ’s and Mercyhurst’s websites. The project will begin in January 2016, and it will last two years.

Klales’ goal in this endeavor is to make her method appli-

Contributed photo

Alexandra Klales, Ph.D., examines the traits of pelvic bones of human skeletal remains.

cable worldwide so users can apply her method with confidence and in a user-friendly format.

“Lots of people like this method because it doesn’t require any specialized equipment. We just want to make sure it’s reliable and valid in other countries, and, if it’s not, we’ll formulate new equations for each population

specifically,” Klales said.

The families of unidentified crime victims, according to Klales, will benefit the most from the results of this project. Many of those individuals met an untimely death, and she hopes to have a hand in putting identities to those remains.

Dennis Dirkmaat, Ph.D, director of the Applied Foren-

sic Sciences department, shed light on what this grant means for both the program and the school moving forward.

“This further solidifies the Department of Applied Forensic Sciences’ role as a leader in the field of Forensic Anthropology,” said Dirkmaat. “The school also benefits because it clearly demonstrates to the local and

regional community, as well as to prospective students, that important, cutting-edge scientific research can be accomplished at a small school.”

On top of helping the families of victims gain closure, Klales also hopes to have the opportunity to incorporate some of her undergraduate students into the project.

“I’ve had a few undergraduates express interest, because they want the first-hand experience. There is definitely a lot of potential to integrate them, and I hope for them it provides a little look into the future at what’s possible for them when they leave here,” Klales said.

Dirkmaat, too, hopes that this research will leave a lasting impact on undergraduate students that volunteer to work with Klales on this project.

As far as working on this project at the school that started it all, Klales could not be happier.

“It feels really fantastic. This department is like my second family - I’m really proud,” Klales said. @TheMerciad

Public Health, Student designs three new t-shirts EPA to research for Admissions to distribute toxic emissions

By Melanie Todd Staff writer

The Environmental Protection Agency granted research project proposals for the Mercyhurst Public Health Department and two other universities. Students began work on the project with the new academic school year.

Mercyhurst’s goal, through its Toxic Relase Inventory program, which it will be working on with EPA, is to better inform communities, manufacturers and government on toxic emissions protection.

The finished product will make the public more aware of toxic release and encourage industries to share their techniques on reducing emission.

The data sets and databases created by the students will serve as a case study model for others to use.

“The goal is to make a national model to integrate the data sets,” said Thomas Cook, Ph.D., department chair and assistant professor of Public Health.

Last year, Cook came across a proposal that fit perfectly with the environmental health class curriculum.

“We were already collecting a lot of environmental health data for a class project and we came across the EPA call for proposals,” Cook said.

Together, Cook and the 41 students in the class, mostly junior Public Health majors, wrote a proposal for the project.

“The timing was great. We scrapped the midterm and wrote a proposal,” Cook said.

After watching two webinars and circulating various drafts, the proposal was sent off for review by the EPA. In late May, Cook was notified their proposal was accepted.

“It is a two-year project, with deliverables every six months and bi-weekly video conferences,” Cook said.

Deliverables include reports, database creation and status updates to the EPA.

A team of 20 student volunteers will work on the project.

“This is very much a student driven project. I view myself as more of a coach and give guidance from my experience,” Cook said.

Students will have the opportunity to present at local, state and national conferences.

“What we are really trying to do is deliver more than we promised to further the relationship [with EPA],” Cook said.

The information is limited by industries’ self reports to the EPA. “The quality of the data is only as good as it’s reported but there are ways to cross validate the data,” Cook said.

The students are organized into three specialized groups, including project database creation, analytics and partnership, and user experience.

Different university departments are involved in this project including public health, sustainability, intelligence studies and biology.

“It’s cool because it’s not just students from public health helping,” Emilio Amador, a junior Public Health major said.

While the project is just starting out, students are expected to give as much time to the project as they can without hindering their class performance. There is a two hours per week minimum but Cook expects students will surpass that.

“What’s really great is there’s so much student participation,” Jesse Valasek, also a junior Public Health major said.

The information is only helpful to those who have access to it.

“Dr. Cook wants me to translate the whole thing into Spanish by the end. That’s the main point of the project to get the information out there,” Amador said.

@TheMerciad

Photo by Sarah Paschal

Olivia Brandow holds a t-shirt she designed for admissions to distribute to prospective and accepted students.

By Lauren Murphy Staff writer

Olivia Brandow, a sophomore Graphic Design major, is responsible for creating three new Mercyhurst t-shirts that are now being distributed by the Admissions Office.

Brandow was a freshman enrolled in Introduction to Graphic Design when the Admissions Office approached her professor, Jodi Staniunas-Hopper, associate professor of art and the Graphic Design Program

director, to propose that the class participate in a contest to create three t-shirt designs.

Previously, the Admissions Office and the Marketing Department make the designs for the shirts, but this year admissions decided to have students create the design.

“We wanted to show students that they could ‘get the experience,’” said Andrea Grady, associate director for the Admissions Office.

The assignment was to create a series of three gender neutral t-shirts. The t-shirts had to be coordinated and had to be Mercyhurst themed. The design and concept for the

shirts also had to be original.

“Olivia really took the practice of type as art seriously and used her skills to create a unique design solution for this multi-layered design challenge,” Hopper said.

Once the t-shirts were finished, each student presented their three designs to Grady and Dana McMillin, assistant director for the Admissions Office. The presentation consisted of an explanation for the design, and why the students did what they did.

Grady and McMillin took the designs back to the Admissions Office and the department as a whole voted on the set of three that were going to be made to give to students.

“We were looking for creativity, uniqueness and something that would appeal to undergraduates. It was very hard to pick one set, they were all great designs,” Grady said.

Brandow’s designs were strictly typographic. Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed.

“My theme for the shirts was based on word jumbles and concrete poetry or typography, which was something

we learned in class,” Brandow said.

One of Brandow’s designs will be given to high school students who visit for campus tours, another will be given to those attending open houses and the third one will be given to students attending events next spring for accepted students.

When asked about the assignment when it was first announced, Brandow said she felt confident at her chances of winning, but that she was nervous because there were a lot of other good designs in the class.

“I’m excited that I won and I can’t wait to see people wearing my shirts next year,” Brandow said.

Both Hopper and Grady hope that this new partnership between the Graphic Design Department and the Admissions Department continues, and that students from upcoming years enjoy the t-shirts all the more because of it.

@TheMerciad

Hurst Hooligans Incident

Date

Location

Public intoxication

Sept. 26

4008 Lewis Ave.

Liquor law violations

Sept. 27

4008 Lewis Ave.

Liquor law violation

Sept. 27

McAuley Hall

Possession of controlled substance and paraphernalia

Sept. 27

4008 Wayne St.

Criminal mischief

Sept. 28

McAuley Hall

September 30, 2015

The Merciad

Page 3

Features

Homecoming brings Mercyhurst together

By Marco Cicchino Staff writer

The Mercyhurst community came together on Saturday, Sept. 26, to celebrate Homecoming weekend.

The majority of the events were concentrated in the vicinity of Tullio Field and Munson Park, with the preparation for the festivities beginning on Friday morning at the lot outside the Ice Center.

The Multicultural Activities Council (MAC) chair, Samantha Collier, credits the success of homecoming weekend as a combination of the hard work done by Student Activities Council (SAC) chair Samantha Beckas, Mercyhurst Student Government (MSG) Events Coordinator Garrett Erwin, Student Government, the Student and the Multicultural Activities Councils (MAC) as a unit, and herself.

“It’s all about what being a Laker is. The importance of the Mercyhurst community, and the culture that is around,” Collier said.

The weekend festivities began with a 5K run early Saturday morning, one of the many events on the schedule.

The event-planning team also established a brunch with new President Michael Victor to re-integrate the alumni into the community.

Collier said the alumni make the event very special and she was elated by their support.

“We try not to expect anything because it changes in the blink of an eye, but when you go to Mercyhurst, we are all together, we are all one unit, and that’s what I love about it so much,” Collier said.

“It’s such a small college, and you meet all of the people around you, so when you have events like homecoming, Mercyhurst does it correctly, because we all know and love each other.”

The tailgate set the stage for the remainder of the day’s festivities. The events and homecoming game brought nearly 3,500 people to Tullio Field.

Although, Indiana University of Pennsylvania beat Mercyhurst football team, 35-14, Collier was pleased to see the support the team received.

“I think it’s awesome.” Collier said. “I think they did

it so well this year, I think everybody really came out to support the football team, which I love. We have a great atmosphere, everybody was super-supportive, everybody did a great job.”

Of the eight court members, senior Sports Medicine major Joey Miller won Homecoming king and senior Interior Design major Roxanne Oglesby won queen. Miller was enthralled by the support he had received in his 3-week campaign, the first official campaign to ever take place for a Homecoming title, complete with fliers and buttons.

“It takes a wrestling team and a lot of friends. I couldn’t have done it without those guys,” said Miller.

“Joey campaigned more than I did,” said Oglesby. “I just went along with that, but all his friends campaigned for him. It was exciting, my friend won with me.”

After the football game, everyone filed out of Tullio’s South stand to the Homecoming festivities. Student Government, SAC and MAC invited everyone to the Fall Festival at Munson Park, complete with tables abundant with food and a variety of activities on the front lawn of Baldwin.

There were many activities available, including a raffle, balloon-artist, hip-hop disc jockey, caricature artist and an artist who juggled flaming torches.The alumni also brought their own events, including a game of cornhole.

The campus awoke to the annual prank-filling the fountain in Munson Park with soap, which was mostly cleared out by the time Fall Festival began.

Collier is she was pleased with her work and optimistic about this event in the future.

“I think this is going to go amazing in future years,” Collier said.

The beautiful weather and Mercyhurst Athletic Band added to the all-around positive feeling of the event.

“We are showing a family kind of pride. We’re showing a love, we’re showing hope for our future. We are showing the spirit of Mercyhurst [that is] merciful, and loving, and accepting,” Collier said.

Mercyhurst students enjoyed the entertainments available for the day, including a balloon-artist, cartoonist and a juggler of flaming torches.

Seniors Joey Miller and Roxanne Oglesby, below, were crowned king and queen of homecoming. Miller carried a 3-week campaign with the help of the wrestling team and friends, making it the first official campaign to take place for a homecoming title.

Alon Moore photo

Below, to the surprise of many, the annual prank of filling the fountain at Munson Park.

Trang Nguyen photo

Trang Nguyen photo

Freshman starts Republican chapter at Mercyhurst

By Emani Burton Staff writer

Freshman Brandon McKenna made Mercyhurst history before he even moved into his dorm.

Embodying a Carpe Diem attitude, McKenna is the founding president of Mercyhurst’s first College Republicans Chapter. McKenna has been interested in politics since he was 12, beginning as a volunteer for the 2009 Barack Obama presidential campaign.

“I was so excited when Obama came to town. His campaign office was just a bike ride away,” said McKenna. “I have always been fascinated by politics.”

After serving under Philadelphia Rep. Ed Neilson and Gov. Tom Wolf, McKenna registered as Republican and immediately set to work with GOP state Senate hopeful Tim Daily. McKenna was Daily’s campaign manager and has formed lasting connections with Philadelphia GOP leaders. McKenna realized after visiting Mercyhurst that there was not an existing College Republican club.

“When I realized Mercyhurst didn’t have a chapter of College Republicans, I knew I had to start one,” McKenna said.

He reached out to several students on the social media platform Quad.

“At first, I was worried there weren’t any Republicans on campus,” said McKenna. “Research has shown that there are plenty of conservatives on campus and in the area. They just needed an outlet to really come together.”

McKenna’s club has been created in the shadow of the current 2016 Presidential Race. With no less than 15 Republican presidential candidates, club members will have a lot to talk about. Despite the presence of both a College Democrats club and a Libertarian club, McKenna does not expect many partisan debates in his club’s future. He envisions the club will focus on the more practical aspects of politics, with less debating and more action.

“The goal is to essentially engage in Republican activism on campus and to open channels where students can get involved in political cam-

paigns,” McKenna said.

He admits, however, that rising political candidates like Donald Trump have sparked political debate across the nation.

“Right now, there is no better time for people wanting to be involved in the political process,” McKenna said.

McKenna has yet to publicly endorse one candidate over another, however, he has spoken with many on campus.

“America’s voice is really being found amongst the nontraditional candidates. Those who have been leaders in their field, but not the usual career politicians. It will be interesting to see this unfold,” McKenna said.

McKenna plans to have Mercyhurst’s new branch of College Republicans to become heavily involved with the greater Erie community.

“We’ve already reached out to branches on other campuses, especially Gannon and Penn State Behrend,” said McKenna.

“It would be a great opportunity to collaborate with them.”

Mercyhurst’s first College Republican chapter ratified its

Nhi Tran photo

Brandon McKenna collects signiture for the newly created Mercyhurst chapter of College Republicans. McKenna has already attended fairs in support of local GOP officials.

constitution on Monday, Sept.

21. Since then, club leaders, McKenna and Vice President Dan Soar, have begun actively supporting Erie County GOP. They have already attended the Waterford and Albion Community Fairs, helping voters to register to support local government officials. The club has been well received among alumni.

On their Facebook page, alumni Mike Walters posted “Great idea! Wanted to do this last year before I graduated, but just didn’t have the time. Nice to know the ‘Hurst finally has College Republicans.”

Current Mercyhurst students are encouraged to “like the page and look out for flyers,” said McKenna.

The club plans to formally meet sometime in mid-October.

@TheMerciad

Page 4

September 30, 2015

The Merciad

Features

New professor is more than a designer

By Lauren Murphy Staff writer

Keyman Asefi is the newest faculty addition to Mercyhurst’s Interior Design Department.

Asefi has a background in architecture and has studied in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

While in Malaysia, he worked for GDP Architects, where he helped design large scale developmental projects. He has also worked in Korea and Singapore.

Asefi grew up in Tehran, Iran, watching his father, who is a developer. Asefi grew up around construction sites and this influenced his decision to become involved in the same field. Unlike his father, however, Asefi desired to become

a building designer.

Asefi received his master’s, on a full scholarship, from Southeast Missouri University and taught there for about a year and a half after receiving his degree.

Currently, Asefi is working a personal project called “Designing A Sufficient Building Module,” which he has been working on for the past two years. This project was intended to designed a society that is self sufficient and void of all technological advancements.

“This project is one solution to our world’s environmental problems” Asefi said.

The concept for his self-sufficient society came from beehives and flowers.

“Beehives are one of the most sophisticated structures

created by another species.

From the repeated hexagon that creates the beehive, you will begin to understand the flower structure,” said Asefi.

“I wanted to create more than just a building, I wanted to build a new culture.”

Another project Asefi has been working on is a vertical church. The inspiration behind this project came from his desire to get more children involved and interested in church. To do this, Asefi designed a church that had slides incorporated into its architecture.

In the concept, the church has three floors that would be designated for children of different age groups. The younger children are on the lower floors with shorter slides. As the children get

MU gets spellbound

By Alexandria Albano Staff writer

Illusionist David Boyd aka Kid Ace wowed audiences on Friday, Sept. 25, during his show presented by SAC and MAC. This highly interactive show opened with Boyd introducing himself while making a bowling ball appear out of thin air and during water into wine.

In one of the acts, Boyd had an audience member write down a dollar bill’s serial number on a white board for everyone to see. Three oranges were then brought out and the participant chose one of the oranges. To everyone’s surprise the same dollar bill was pulled from within the orange the participant chose.

After that, Boyd performed one of the most well-known magic acts of all times, Houdini’s straitjacket escape.

The last act of the show was favorably received by the audience. In the beginning of the show, Boyd wrote something on the white-board and did not show it to the audience till this final act.

First, he threw around a rolled up paper ball to random people and they had to tell him whether they believed in

destiny or free will. He had the person who believed in destiny come up to the stage.

Then, he had her choose a book she wanted him to use in the act. He had her look through the book to ensure it was a real book and had her chose a random page, and got a playing card with a slit in the middle.

He moved it over the page and had her check which word it landed on. Boyd then pulled out the white-board, which he revealed to the audience. On the board was written “58/2.”

The participant was then handed a dictionary and on page 58, the second word of the page was the same word she had chosen in the book.

Many audience members were impressed, including senior English major and Mercyhurst Student Government President Caleb Ohmer, who was truly blown away.

“I loved the show. It was great. I really liked the straight jacket because I’m a Houdini fan,” said Ohmer. “I was surprised he got out of it. Also, I’m happy he did a video camera on his hands; it verified it upfront and makes us mystified by his tricks.”

Boyd kept the attention of the audience throughout the show. The audience never lost

older, they move to higher floors with longer slides. This fun addition to the church is meant to act as an incentive for children to get involved and go to church.

Asefi first decided to come to Mercyhurst, because he wanted to get his Ph.D. so he could finish his “Designing A Sufficient Building Module’”project, but he ended up taking the job at Mercyhurst.

“I took this job to get to know students. I want to open up the minds of my students to enable them to be able to turn their ideas into reality.”

For more information about Asefi’s other projects, visit www.keyman-asefi.com.

@TheMerciad

Rocktober will rock your socks off

By Brittany Smyth Staff writer

Nhi Tran photo

Kid Ace performed Houdini’s famous trick, the Straight Jacket.

their enthusiasm for what he was doing. He maintained a high level of energy, a very personable demeanor and was always trying to get to know the audience.

At the end of the performance, he stayed to get pictures with those who wanted meet him.

Tung Vu photo

Keyman Asefi worked in Malaysia designing big scale development projects. Asefi arrived at Mercyhurst to expand the minds of his students.

The Geology Department is hosting their first annual event known as “Rocktober,” which will run through the entire month of October.

Rocktober was created to inform staff and students about “rock” science and all that it has to offer. Assistant Professor of Geology and Paleontology Director Scott McKenzie and Associate Professor of Geology Nicholas Lang, Ph.D., are hosting two events in honor of Rocktober.

“It’s a great opportunity for students to learn more about earth science,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie hopes to make this an annual tradition for the Geology Department. “We want to get people excited about the earth and what it does,” McKenzie said.

Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m.,

Lang will be presenting “A Voyage Through The Solar System,” in the Walker Recital Hall. The presentation will explore Earth’s celestial neighbors and what scientists know about them. After the presentation, students and staff will be able to ask questions.

Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m.,

“

It’s a great opportunity for students to learn more about earth science.

Scott McKenzie, associate professor of geology

”

McKenzie will present, “Prehistoric Erie,” in the Walker Recital Hall. This presentation will give some insight on what creatures once roamed Erie, based on the fossil record.

There will be a chance for students to check out Mercyhurst’s own fossil collection, and how they can further

their research into Erie’s past.

McKenzie, who has one of the largest privately owned collections of meteorites and other materials in the world, will cover the story on how one local fisherman found a mammoth.

There are plenty of ways to get involved in Rocktober.

Students will be allowed to bring rocks or fossils to the presentation and professors will give them a free identification.

“My job is to get people excited about this topic, so what better way than having them bring in items they want to know more about,” McKenzie said.

Rocktober will kick off Oct. 1. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 814-824-2545.

@TheMerciad

@TheMerciad

LAKER MOMENT

By Karah Hollis

Nhi Tran photo

Christopher Dolanc hopes his research will bring to light the problems big trees are facing. His work has been featured in important science magazines.

Dolanc gets the dig on the future of trees

By Rae Pollock Staff writer

Casey Bluel photo

The wrestling team welcomed a new honorary team member during the homecoming ceremony during halftime on Saturday afternoon.

The Mercyhurst football team presented 2-year-old Tanner, who was born with a heart condition, a football signed by the team.

“The more I dig into this, the more my colleagues dig into this, we realize it’s happening everywhere. Big trees are dying everywhere,” said Christopher Dolanc, assistant professor of biology.

Dolanc’s significant research gives data and insight into what will become of trees in the future.

“If you could look at what happened in the last 80 years, that would give us a clue for what might happen in the next 80 years,” Dolanc said.

Dolanc spent time working

with the United States Forest Service researching trees in Sierra Nevada, Ca. The mountain ranges in the Sierra Nevada are of particular interest to him because the vegetation changes as the elevation increases.

Exposure to nature at a young age by his parents triggered a passion that carried into adulthood, leading him to teach. “[Teaching] at the college level is really something that I prefer because then I can also do this research at the same time,” he said. “They both complement each other so much because when you’re active in research, you can take

that back to the classroom and talk about it.”

Not only is he interested in trees, but geology, insects, the natural history of sites and how everything interacts. He describes himself as a naturalist--an interest he believes is dying.

“There were more naturalists 50 years ago then there are today because today we specialize so much in all these different things. I’m never going to be that kind of person. I’m always going to be interested in everything in the natural world,” Dolanc said. @TheMerciad

September 30, 2015

Page 5

The Merciad

Arts &

Entertainment

Collaboration ends with new event

By Naomi Greenstein Staff writer

As we transition into a year with a new president, a new mascot and new traditions, Mercyhurst’s School of Arts and Humanities will soon be introducing one more tradition that will surely leave its mark.

On Thursday, Oct. 8, Mercyhurst’s various liberal arts and humanities departments will be celebrating the arts by introducing a new event, Arts on the Hill.

Dance Department Chair Tauna Hunter explained that “Arts on the Hill evolved out of a desire by the School of Arts and Humanities to bring more exposure to the arts on a campus wide scale.”

The event, run by Mercyhurst students with faculty supervision, is sponsored by the Dance, English, Music and Art departments, in collaboration with the

Mercyhurst Theatre Program.

The purpose of the event is to allow students a day in which they can immerse themselves in the arts.

When asked why such an event is necessary for our school, Hunter said “the arts are the heartbeat of a liberal arts education, and it is important to generate awareness of the fact that art is infused into our lives every minute of every day.”

The celebratory day of art will commence at 2 p.m. with yoga in the Grotto, followed by an interactive tour with the “dead” residents of the Spoon River Theatre who will give monologues from Edgar Lee Masters’ Masterwork, that the actors are representing.

Other events will include a drum circle in Garvey Park, Zumba and a campus-wide dance party.

There will also be an opportunity for students to perform during an informal open mic session. All are welcome to

take the stage and read poetry, sing or play an instrument.

Activities lasting throughout the day include a bake-off, make ‘n’ take arts and crafts, and long-lasting chalk drawings that students can create on sidewalks around campus.

If the plethora of fun activities is not enticing enough, there will also be free food, competitions, prizes and giveaways.

Be sure to stay the whole day, as winners will be announced at 6:30 p.m.

Hunter hopes that Arts on the Hill will become an annual event for the school, because she anticipates that “taking an entire day to reflect on the importance of the arts in our daily lives can inspire further exploration by the entire Mercyhurst family.”

Do not miss out on attending Arts on the Hill, a new tradition to celebrate the arts.

Contributed photo

Arts on the Hill is the collaboration between the Dance, English and Music departments and the Theatre Program, and aims to get everyone involved in the arts, regardless of their major.

‘Il Trovatore’ to play in PAC ‘Timbuktu’ plays in TLT

By Rachel Sobina

By Naomi Greenstein

This Saturday, opera fans can look forward to seeing one of the best.

On Oct. 3, in the PAC “Opera Il Trovatore” will be shown at 12:30 p.m.

Written in four parts, “Il Trovatore” takes the viewers on a journey through love, war and jealousy against the harrowing backdrop of a civil war in Spain.

In the midst of this, a jealous young count falls in love with a noblewoman, who does not share his feelings.

As the show continues, Leonora, the noblewoman confesses that she is in love with someone she has never met.

Count di Luna, the commander of the troops, and

The tradition of Sunday afternoon movies at the ‘Hurst continues this weekend with a showing of “Timbuktu” this Sunday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m.

The movie centers around a family living near the ancient city of Timbuktu, just outside of the town where Jihadists, determined to control everyone’s faith, inflict terrible and harsh punishment on the people who live there.

Cattle herder Kidane, patriarch of the family, lives peacefully with his wife Satima, daughter Toya and a shepherd named Issan.

In their private world, they stay above the fray of the violence happening in the town below them.

In the town, run by the Jihadists, music, laughter, cigarettes and even soccer have been banned.

Every day, the new improvised courts issue tragic and absurd sentences for the most

Staff writer

Staff writer

miac photo

The opera “Il Trovatore” tells a story of love, war and jealousy.

the man who loves Leonora, decides to change her mind.

He sets up a trap to capture the stranger, and is shocked to find the stranger is the man in charge of the rebel troops.

The Count challenges Manrico, the leader of the rebel army, to a duel.

In the next two scenes, a

gypsy is called upon to enact revenge, but the plans go awry and a plot twist ensues.

The lovers narrowly escape and seek refuge from the people looking for them.

The final scene is called “The Execution” and contains yet another turn of events.

Tickets are $18 at the door.

‘Intern’ fails to charm

By Naomi Greenstein Staff writer

Online

The new comedy “The Intern” by Nancy Meyers proves itself to be likeable but not necessarily memorable.

Jules Ostin, played by Anne Hathway, is the founder of a successful online fashion start-up. She is work-obsessed and intolerant as her life choices are scrutinized and her vulnerabilities exposed.

Enter 70 year-old widower Ben Whittaker, played by Robert De Niro, as he tries to keep busy since the recent loss of his wife.

He takes on an internship in Jules’ fashion company as part of a project for senior citizens.

Meanwhile, Jules’ investors are demanding that she hire a CEO, which would reduce her workload, but put her under someone else’s leadership.

The film gradually becomes less about her relationship with Ben and more about her search for a new business partner and her uncertainty about whether she should even hire one.

miac photo

“Timbuktu” tells the story of a family whose faith is challenged.

trite “crimes.”

Kidane and his family are being spared the chaos that prevails in Timbuktu.

However, in the wake of a tragic accident, the family’s destiny changes abruptly in this masterful cinematic piece.

The Denver Post declared the performances in Timbuktu to be “hushed and memorable.”

Cinematographer Sofian El

Fani captures the beauty of this desert land.

Since its premiere in January 2015, the film has been nominated for an Academy Award.

“Timbuktu” is a stunning work that you will not want to miss.

The film will be shown this Sunday, Oct. 4, in Taylor Little Theatre. Tickets are $1 for students with their IDs.

Art Gallery welcomes new artist exhibit in October

By Rachel Sobina Staff writer

screenbuff.com photo

“The Intern” is likeable, but not particularly memorable.

It is a warm and funny movie, with its involving and amiable characters and delivering just about what you would expect.

The dynamic between Hathaway and De Niro is delightful and adds most of the movie’s merit, but sometimes the characters and plotting seem designed more to prove a point than tell a story.

For most of its running time, “The Intern” gets its

Full list of events can be found on the PAC website

power from Hathaway’s energy.

But, the film eventually becomes a series of monologues about ambition.

As the speeches pile up, so does the film’s magic.

However, it is Hathaway’s portrayal of Jules that carries the film.

For all of the movie’s charms, it falls short on actual substance.

I rate it a 3 out of 5.

A new show is flowing into the Cummings Art Gallery at Mercyhurst University.

The gallery will be hosting the “On the Surface” exhibit by artist Jamie Borowicz, Ph.D., which will open Oct. 5, and be running through Nov. 1.

Jamie Borowicz is in charge of the show.

He has an extensive background in art education, which he started beginning at Mercyhurst University.

He graduated with a bachelor of arts in 1982 from Mercyhurst.

Borowicz moved on to study Renaissance Art at Ohio Western University in 1992.

He then recieved a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities.

View upcoming performances: www.miac.mercyhurst.edu

He later studied at the State University of New York, Buffalo and received a Ph.D. in Anthropology from SUNY, Buffalo in 2003.

Borowicz received another grant from the Freeman Foundation, this time, to study Chinese Art and Culture through the University of Pittsburgh.

In his spare time, Borowicz has taught art at Mercyhurst Preparatory school for over 30 years, and has taught as an adjunct professor in Art Appreciation and Mesoamerican Prehistory here at Mercyhurst since 1999.

This is his 20th solo or dual display in the past three decades.

Jamie has worked for many archeological projects in Guatemala and Mexico from 1993-2007 and has had several books and other publications both here in the U.S. and in other countries.

His work in the upcoming exhibition that will be shown in the Cummings Art Gallery and will feature watercolor paintings and mixed media artwork.

The art will focus on the imagery of the natural world from a perspective that is up-close and personal.

There will be a reception with the artist on Thursday, Oct. 8, which is free and open to the public.

The hours for the art gallery for those who want to see this incredible exhibit are Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday s and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

If you have any questions, or would like any more information, call (814)824-2092 or email hdana@mercyhurst.edu @TheMerciad

www.merciad.mercyhurst.edu/ arts_entertainment

Page 6

September 30, 2015

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.

Considering fracking in PA: The pros and (mostly) cons

By Amber Matha Staff writer

Pennsylvania is the third largest producer of natural gas in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

This natural gas is obtained through hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking.

This process uses a fluid mixture of water, chemicals and sand piped deep down into the Earth’s crust to fracture the shale layer and release the gas stored inside.

Before writing this article, I knew as much about fracking as I had read on Facebook, which was all negative, and highly-biased. My support of the industry was only due to the fact that we are not relying on foreign oil as heavily to power our country.

I am still not in support of fracking. However, there are some misconceptions about the industry that I believe should be cleared up and other issues that should be brought to light.

One of the main issues I’ve seen debated on social media is the contamination of water due to fracking. According to exploreshale.org, a public service site sponsored by Penn State that focuses on the Marcellus Shale Well, the well dives so far under the water table that it is highly unlikely that the fluid would move thousands of feet against gravity to contaminate the groundwater. Also, there are strict regulations on how close a well can be to private or naturally occurring water sources.

The possibility of the chemical- filled fluid leaking from the pipe is also highly unlikely, due to increases in technology that prevents leaks and spills

from occurring. The well pipe is a steel pipe which is encased in cement. This cement layer must be poured at least 50 feet below the saturated layer.

Exploreshale.org explains that the only way for gas to get into the ground water would be due to an error in the cementing around the pipe or surface spills. Since extra precautions are taken to prevent these two accidents, either situation is unlikely.

The matter that I believe should be more hotly debated is the extremely high amount of water used in the process of drilling. Three to four million gallons of water are used per treatment of the Marcellus Shale Well. Eighty percent of that water is pulled from fresh water resources. Only ten to 30 percent of that water is extracted back out of the well to be recycled. The water left in the shale is removed from the hydraulic cycle and

cannot be naturally recycled.

When dealing with such large numbers, the water loss of fracking is an astronomical amount, especially considering the water crisis in places like California.

Another matter I find disturbing is that fracking is excluded from the Safe Drinking Water Act and therefore is not monitored by the EPA. The fracking industry is also excluded from the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement that limits large water withdrawals from the Great Lakes.

For more information on fracking and the use of fracking to obtain oil, Mercyhurst will host guest speaker A.R. Ingraffea, Ph.D., on Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Walker Recital Hall.

@TheMerciad

Life at the ’Hurst: What I wish I had known before enrolling

By Colleen Niebauer Staff writer

If you’ve ever joined any club, sport, school, or summer camp, or something along those lines, in your life, then you know that there are unspoken rules and assumed knowledge involved with all of these. The only problem is that when you first join, you have absolutely no idea about any of these. There are rites of passage, experiences you have to go through in order to truly understand how to play the game. Mercyhurst is not an exception to any of this, and you may find that there are things you wish you had known would happen before coming here.

One of the biggest things that will bond you with other

students during freshman year is going to be complaining about and making fun of various situations. Disturbances such as the music blaring outside of your dorm window while the lacrosse, football, soccer, players practice at 9 a.m. in the morning would have been good to know about. Not to mention the new bells that ring hourly every day to remind us to wake up for class on Saturdays and how, universally throughout the campus, all of the washing machines are extremely unreliable. The machines will break down, they will be unavailable, they will steal your socks. No power in the universe can prevent it from happening.

Regarding homework, students will always have it and will always hate it. It will take 20 minutes to write out one sentence sometimes. These are all things that would have

been extremely nice to know, and maybe prepare for, before coming here.

Then there are the events that we simply cannot predict will happen. Having the Laker Inn turn into a swimming pool this past February is one of these cases. Another would be how fleeting our Laker Louie’s (may he rest in peace) life would be, thanks to his valiant attempts to save the Laker from 3 inches of water (although I have my suspicions of his demise being a total “accident”). There were also those two days out of the four days in all of ’Hurst history that classes were canceled.

But there are good things that we wish we had known we would do, if just to prepare ourselves or plan ahead of time, such as midnight dance parties or sleepovers in each other’s rooms or in the

By Mathew Jury Staff writer

Online

I was honored to have served this year’s Mass of the Holy Spirit as the only Altar Server to our guest celebrant, Father Dan Horan, OFM. Horan was a great breath of fresh air to begin our year on campus, though, since he celebrated this annual Mass two years ago, I feel the school should have searched for a priest whom current students would not have encountered yet at Mercyhurst.

Every year, we begin with this Mass to call upon the Holy Spirit to bless this school year. This tradition, borrowed by various Jesuit institutions, according to our chaplain Father Jim Piszker, is typically

Franciscan Friar, I understand why this choice was made.

However, I feel that in the future the school should avoid having the same celebrant multiple times in a four year period for the sake of variety.

To avoid another repeat next year, I must suggest other rather popular priests that I feel the students would benefit from.

One priest I would recommend would be Father Paul Nicholson of Ontario, a missionary priest known for his joyful adherence to orthodoxy and evangelization, as shown on his video homilies.

Father John Zuhlsdorf, famous for his well-known blog, “What Does the Prayer Really Say?” would also be a great choice for us, relating to our increasing use of technology. Since the Mercy tradition calls for social justice, who would be better to invite as a

common area of the floor in your dorm and rearranging furniture to do so, going to the C-store even if you don’t live in Warde and buying the over-priced ice cream and sushi... Stealing couches and putting them in your dorm room for more sitting space for friends to hang out on, and bunking beds for more convenience and space in your room. Making friends with your RAs and loving the little parties and events they set up for you.

There are tons of things we wish we had known about living at the ’Hurst and theories we can come up with to explain them. They make us a community. Sometimes a cynical one, but I love it.

Read more at

merciad.mercyhurst.edu/opinion

The Bad...

As predicted in last week’s issue of GBU&W (Good, Bad, Ugly and sometimes Weird), Mercyhurst athletic teams took up at least 30 percent of the seating at the always-crowded Mass of the Holy Spirit on Thursday, Sept. 24. Women and several elderly couples were forced to stand in the back and on the sides of the chapel as the men’s hockey team sat comfortably yawning and giggling throughout the hour-long Mass. It’s great that teams are represented during the signature Mercyhurst community event, but it shouldn’t have to be a reminder to guests that the chivalry of our athletic teams is apparently dead.

A flyer posted in Egan is offering a $20 reward for a missing umbrella with a handle that “resembles a sword hilt.” The sword umbrella apparently holds sentimental value...But not a blade.

The Merciad

@TheMerciad

guest priest than Father Frank Pavone, the director of the pro-life organization Priests for Life? After all, social justice begins in the womb, right?

We don’t even have to look far for other potential guest celebrants as we have our own local Father Larry Richards, a gifted orator who can radiate the Holy Spirit’s presence in a way we can relate to.

Horan was a great choice for this year’s Mass of the Holy Spirit and I was honored to serve the altar for him.

However, next year, I feel the school should try to find another guest celebrant so we don’t have our Bishop celebrate again.

@TheMerciad

Mercyhurst Dining has been serving up fresh, hand-pressed hamburgers at The Grill in Egan the past few weeks. The magnificent patties have been a delicious replacement for the frozen burgers of yesteryear, and have restored several students’ faith in Egan.

The Weird...

Mass should feature fresh speakers celebrated by a guest priest to give students a different perspective on things. I was curious about how the guest celebrant is chosen, so I interviewed Piszker to explain the criteria for a guest celebrant.

He stated that guest celebrants are usually chosen based on current church events, academic themes, who is getting attention and who is available for the day. According to Piszker, it also takes time to find someone and our yearly tradition is planned far in advance.

I also asked why Horan was chosen this year and two years ago. According to Horan, he was chosen two years ago due to his rising popularity in the American Church, his scholarly work and his young age as a way to appeal to students.

He was chosen because this year has been declared the Year of Consecrated Life by Pope Francis. As Horan is a

The Good...

Editors Sami Rapp Karah Hollis Catherine Rainey Jose Nufio Carly Contraguerro Megan Pacileo Ryan Kushner Mary Barnes Margaret Urso Victoria Kreysar Bill Welch

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 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

September 30, 2015

Page 7

The Merciad

Sports

Women’s soccer conquers Seton Hill

By Diego Himede Staff writer

The Mercyhurst women’s soccer team defeated the Griffins of Seton Hill University 3-1 in what everyone expected to be a tough game.

From the beginning, Mercyhurst controlled the game, showing intensity in every play. With a long-passing strategy, the Lakers were able to demand a lot from Seton Hill’s goalkeeper. In fact, by the end of the game, the Lakers shot 18 times, against nine times from the Griffins.

However, due to a defense error, Seton Hill’s forward, Emily LoPresti got to score in the 11th minute. This change

in the score did not alter Mercyhurst’s strategy.

The Lakers kept attacking throughout the entire first half, but missed clear opportunities to score.

Senior Kristina Roberti, who has been having an incredible season, tied the game for the Lakers, 1-1, three minutes before the end of the first half.

“It’s all about the team, as long as we’re scoring we are good. The team winning is all that matters,” Roberti said.

The second half was all about Mercyhurst. It took only 10 minutes for the Lakers to get ahead of the game, with an impressive goal from senior Lauren Testa. This was Testa’s second goal of the season.

With twelve minutes left

in the game finished Roberti scored again for the Lakers, putting an end to Seton Hill’s hopes of recovery.

“Even if the Lakers win with a considerable margin, they have played better in the last games. We have played way better in lost games, we made very poor decisions in the first half,” Head Coach Keith Cammidge said.

Nonetheless, he was satisfied with the game, commenting, “Overall, I am very pleased.”

The Lakers will travel to University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown for their next game on Saturday, Oct. 3. The game is set to start at 4 p.m.

Casey Bleuel photo

Senior Kristina Roberti (17) scored two goals in Mercyhurst’s win over Seton Hill on Saturday.

Roberti has six goals for the season. The Lakers current record is 3-3-2.

@TheMerciad

Volleyball rallies with home court advantage

By Haleigh Giebel Staff writer

The Mercyhurst women’s volleyball team is a close-knit family that had a rough start to the season in their away games, but things changed once they played on their home court.

“We are a great group of women who get along on and off the court,” said senior Kelly Vitt. “It really makes

coming to practice each day that much more worthwhile.”

On Sept. 4 and Sept. 5, the Lakers started off their season in Big Rapids, MI against Mckendree University, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Missouri Western State University and Saginaw Valley State University. During the weekend, the Lakers went 0-4.

During the next weekend, Sept. 11 and 12 the Lakers played four games in Findlay, Ohio going 2-2. They won against Cedarville University

and Ursuline College, but lost against Hillsdale College and the University of Findlay.

“We are looking strong,” said senior Erin Byrne. “We have faced a lot of strong competition to start the season, which is helping us expose some of our weaknesses and in turn help us improve our game.”

“Maybe more impressive than the wins is how we’ve been in our losses,” said Patton.

After the first two week-

ends of the season the Lakers record stood at 2-6.

“We have a lot of potential this season,” said Vitt. “The gym is competitive and eager to improve.”

During the next weekend, the Lakers took home court advantage and rallied to sweep their opponents and improve their record to 5-6.

On Sept. 18, the Lakers won against Concord University.

The next day on Saturday, Sept. 19, the Lakers won against both West Virginia

State University and Notre Dame College.

Moving along to the fourth weekend of the season, the Lakers went 2-2 with home court advantage again, increasing their record to 7-8.

On Friday, Sept. 25, the Laker lost against Shippensburg University, but won against Millersville University.

The next day the Lakers lost against the University of Pittsburgh at Johnston and won against Lock Haven University.

“I like the way this team is coming together,” Head Coach Ryan Patton said Next, Mercyhurst will take on California University of Pennsylvania on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7:05 p.m. and Seton Hill University on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 2:05 p.m. Both games will be played at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

@TheMerciad

Football suffers 35-14 in first loss of season

By Liz Montemorano Staff writer

Casey Bleuel photo

Redshirt senior quarterback Brendan Boylan (13) completes a handoff to redshirt senior running back Brandon Brown-Dukes (24) during Saturday’s homecoming game loss to IUP.

The Lakers faced a tough loss this past weekend against the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The 35-14 loss ended their winning streak, but the team hopes to move in the right direction after this.

Mercyhurst won the coin toss and the game started with IUP receiving. The Lakers defense started strong by stopping IUP on downs at the Mercyhurst one-yard line.

After having the ball for a short minute, redshirt senior quarterback Brendan Boylan threw one of multiple interceptions, and IUP ran the ball

back for their first touchdown.

Shortly after the Lakers turned over on downs, IUP scored their second touchdown right before the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was a lot of back and forth, until Mercyhurst had the ball on the two yard line. Boylan threw a pass to senior John Matarazzo for their first touchdown of the game right before halftime.

IUP began the second half by kicking off, followed by Boylan throwing an interception. This gave IUP the opportunity to score another touchdown.

As a team we need to improve in the rushing and

turnover battle.” Head coach Marty Schaetzle said.

The Lakers answered with a touchdown. Boylan saw senior Jaquan Williams in the end zone and completed the pass right before the end of the third quarter.

“It seems like as a team we made a lot of mistakes that we can’t afford to make when playing IUP. We’ll fix these mistakes we made this week as we get ready to play Clarion,” Williams said.

Junior Dorian Stevens recovered a fumble, giving the ball back to the Lakers. Shortly after, another interception was thrown by Boylan.

IUP scored their final touchdown making the score 35-14

IUP. With a few minutes left, IUP ran the clock ending the game.

“We learned that our preparation has to be excellent each week. No one can go into a game, test, presentation etc. and expect to do well without great preparation. These weeks are always an opportunity to evaluate a team’s character,” Schaetzle said.

The Lakers will play this Saturday at Clarion at 2 p.m.

Follow their Twitter account @MercyhurstFB for live tweets.

@TheMerciad

Baseball honored for Regional Championship

By Carly Contraguerro Sports editor

The Mercyhurst baseball team was rewarded for their 2015 baseball season, where they won the Atlantic Regional Tournament for the first time in program history and continued on to the Division II College World Series.

On Friday, Sept. 25, a ring ceremony was held at Mercyhurst to honor their success.

The Lakers went 22-6 in the PSAC conference last year.

This ranked them as No. 1 seed in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament and gave them home field advantage at Jerry Uht Park.

After the tournament, the Lakers came out on top going

4-1 and claiming the title of Atlantic Regional Champions.

“In the last game I knew we had to win. We played Millersville who had beaten us in the PSAC. It was a great game for the title win because we were able to defeat them this time,” said former player Angel Martinez.

The Lakers then advanced to the DII College World Series in Cary, NC. They played hard, winning their first game 3-1, but then fell to University of Tampa, who ended up winning the tournament and Cal Poly Pomona.

Although their trip to Cary was cut short, there is only celebrating to be done to commemorate their historic accomplishments.

The team ended their season

Let’s go Lakers!

ranked fourth in the country with a 40-11 overall record.

The ring ceremony was an emotional night with family, alumni and friends coming together for the celebration.

The ceremony was held under a tent in the parking lot

by Tullio Field where a table was set up with the championship rings and trophies on display.

“Being back with my old teammates and alumni was awesome. Alumni said they were supporting us the whole journey by following stats and watching live games when they could. Having their support was special for the team,” Martinez said.

The host of the ceremony was alumni Ryan Schreiber.

Speeches were given by Head

Date

Coach Joe Spano and Assistant Coach Charlie Spano to start off the night.

“As a coach, the ceremony was a great way to say thank you to our team, parents, fans and administration for an amazing season,” Assistant Coach Charlie Spano said.

Then, each player was awarded with a replica Atlantic Regional Championship trophy, given by the NCAA Program, and a championship ring.

The championship ring features the words NCAA Division II World Series on the front with the Mercyhurst “M,” Atlantic Region Championship on the one side and the players name and number on the other side.

“For me, the ring represents

10/2/15 10/3/15 10/3/15 10/4/15

the pride, dedication, success and more that the team has,” Martinez said.

Schreiber called each player up by giving their stats from last year and saying how they contributed to the team.

“I think for the rest of their lives each player will be able to look at those rings and reflect on what we accomplished,” Spano said.

It was a personal ceremony as jokes were brought up as certain players were announced and nicknames of players were mentioned.

“The season we had in 2015 was a total team effort. I think for the rest their lives each player will be able to look at those rings and reflect on what we accomplished. That’s why it was so important to have

Sport

Volleyball Volleyball Men’s hockey Men’s hockey

Contributed photo

The rings represent the baseball team winning the Atlantic Region Championship.

this night,” Spano said.

Although the team’s regular season does not start until 2016, they have weekly practices and scrimmages to prepare. @TheMerciad

Time

7:05 p.m.

2:05 p.m.

7:05 p.m.

4:05 p.m.

Page 8

The Merciad

Laker

September 30, 2015

Living

Historically Tory: History in the Making

By Victoria Kreysar Ad manager

Last month I made another leap into adulthood and decided to lease a car. It was not so much a decision as a requirement--sooner or later, the luck in timing, placement and degree of detriment would run out with my Jeep and I would find myself stranded with a broken axle, a blown piston or some combination of the two.

I began shopping around for a new car. Now, if you’ve ever experienced car shopping, you know it can be placed in a linear graph with a line starting high and steadily taking a nose-dive. The idea of a new car is great and exciting, and you’re filled with promises of shiny new gadgets, speakers that work wonderfully

and, of course, that new car smell. The more you begin to look, and I mean really look, you find there are entirely too many choices, none of which are entirely appealing and they all come with a car payment you could certainly do without.

Well, after a week of test drives, I realized two things.

The first, I was surprisingly too vertically proportioned for the Subaru Crosstrek, as my head touched the ceiling.

The second, I was going to get a Honda CR-V. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing awful about Hondas, and the CR-V is reliable; but I’m a 21-year-old in grad school, not 39 with three kids who are late for soccer practice and a dog I have to pick up from the vet. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, look at a new CR-V and the

type of person driving it.

Better yet, watch the line of cars picking up kids from school and simply count how many CR-Vs there are. In an effort to make me feel better, someone said, “at least it’s not a minivan,” to which I realized that is by far the saddest, comforting thought I’d ever faced.

My friends began the running joke of my “mom car,” asking if it came with the car seats when I bought it or if I had to pay extra? Did I remember the dry cleaning on my way back from the grocery store? They have begun giving me ironic bumper stickers that read “Mercyhurst Mom” and “Dog Rescue Mom.” I have no doubt that in a few days, I will wake up to a fictional stick figure family clogging up my rear window.

But when it comes down to it, it is a good car. The new

CR-V gets great gas mileage and has a high safety rating, is good in snow-essentially everything my Jeep was not.

That’s when I realized the third thing I learned from this experience: there is almost always a difference between what you want and what you need. What you need is rarely what you want and what you want is almost never what you need.

The car drives well and is boring. I no longer have to worry about breaking down; there’s no adrenaline rush when I hear a strange noise outside my window. In fact I don’t have to put my windows down because the AC works just fine. It is what I need for my life right now because owning a Jaguar E-Type is simply not in the foreseeable future.

Maybe that’s the true sign

of adulthood: not just accepting responsibility of a car payment, but making the conscious decision to go after what you need instead of what you want. It’s distancing yourself enough to know for the moment you need this and not that.

If this is the case, when do we get to be selfish and go after what we want? Should we wait until after we have what we need? Is there a time when we should stop leasing what we need and try to buy what we want?

So often we make a decision based on this concept of longevity, thinking what we need will outlive what we want. Because maybe what we want is often short-lived; it lasts until the end of the week or the month. It goes just until school ends or the year ends. It looks good on paper

or it looks good for a short moment. There are countless moments when it only sounds better in our minds.

For those reasons, we chose what we need over what we want. It’s why I’m not in a Bugatti Veyron racing around Europe. We need to be forward thinking creatures. Can we ever afford to stop being pragmatic and absolute?

Should we forgo the notion that the future will be brighter and string together as many wants as possible in the hope that our wants and needs will overlap? Maybe that is the secret to happiness, finding some ridiculous way to make what you want and what you need the same.

Top 10

Events this Week 1. Men’s Hockey Begins 2. Yoga with Professor Santillano 3. “Il Trovatore” in the PAC 4. “Oh the Places You’ll Go” Event 5. “Timbuktu” in Taylor Little Theatre 6. “Get Your Comic On” Event 7. On the Surface: Works by Jamie Borowicz 8. Lecture: Cognitive Aging: Understanding ‘Senior Moments’ 9. Open house food at Egan 10. Volleyball plays Cal-U

Way back When...

The Merciad presents articles from yesteryear in their original form, including headlines. This week, our blast from the past is from Dec. 19, 1956.

IRC Poll Reveals Collegiates Show Conservative Tendencies Mercyhurst is definitely conservative in its attitude toward world affairs.

This fact was brought out forceably when the results of the recent IRC poll were tabulated. This poll was sent to all affiliated Catholic colleges by the national IRC Commission of the NFCCS. The results showed that the students here feel that the United States should continue aid to the Arab countries, even though Russia is making overtures in that section of the world. The majority felt that Israel did not have just provocation for her attack on Egypt. Some felt that, while she had provocation, she still had no right to

resort to armed warfare.

The Suez issue should have been taken immediately to the U.N. last July, thereby possibly avoiding the latest conflict in the East, according to Mercyhurst opinion.

The Students of Mercyhurst feel that the situation in the East should be handled by a special committee of the U.N., such as the United Nations Emergency Force that has been set up.

An encouraging note was observed by the poll-takers - most of the students are well-informed enough to have definite opinions on these questions. There were very few “I don’t know” answers.

Announcing. . .

Two lectures on Parliamentary Procedure by Dr. James Waldron, head of the Business Administration department of Gannon College. This will be one feature of the Leadership Program to be sponsored by Student Council in February. Every student is invited to participate.

Game Zone

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