The New Paltz Oracle, Volume 81, Issue 20

NEW PALTZ ORACLE THE

Volume 81, Issue XX

oracle.newpaltz.edu

Thursday, April 22, 2010

OUT OF THE LOOP

UCAT director cites lack of resources as reason for absence of weekend shuttle service See Story on Page 3 PHOTO BY FELICE BERNABO

RateMyProfessors.com offers students alternative to college-sanctioned instructor evaluations

INSIDE THE NEW PALTZ ORACLE • Organizations Appeal Budget.................Pg 4 • Students Gear Up For SA Elections........Pg 5 • Calendar Changes Proposed....................Pg 6 • New Paltz Unveils New Logo.................Pg 6

Story on Page 7 PHOTO COURTESY OF RATEMYPROFESSORS.COM

The New Paltz Oracle

University Police Blotter

Disclaimer: This is only a partial listing. For all incidents, please visit the University Police Department.

Incident: DMV Suspension Date: 04/18/10 Location: Mohonk/Tricor Ave. Male student arrested for a suspended driver’s license.

established 1938

Pierce Lydon EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Julie Mansmann MANAGING EDITOR _________________

James Leggate NEWS EDITOR

Justin McCarthy FEATURES EDITOR

Zan Strumfeld

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Pete Thompson SPORTS EDITOR _________________

Felice Bernabo PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Alec Horowitz

ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Jon Aiello

CARTOONIST _________________

Maxim Alter Sunya Bhutta Pamela Vivanco Andrew Wyrich COPY EDITORS _________________

Elizabeth Damiano BUSINESS MANAGER _________________

Patrick Martz Kathryn Smith DISTRIBUTION MANAGERS

Andrew Carden, Emily Canty, Kaitlyn Day, Sarah Fine, Elexis Goldberg, Ryan Patrick Hanrahan, Emily Herendeen, Sarah Hurd, Michelle S. Kramisen, Emily Kurland, Chelsea LaDue, Becky Longley, Jessica Mingoia, Jesse Ordansky, Jessica Ostrow, James Petrich, Casey Quinlan, Danielle Quitoni, Michelle Ravit, Regina Rivers, Shawn Rubenfeld, Jordan Siwek, Alex Silverberg, Sam Speer, Alison Stevens, Emily Sussell, Ashley Thompson, Chris Thurston, Nekaiya Trotman, Jennifer Von Willer, Harris Wichard, Kelly Young

STAFF

Corrections

Spot an error? Let us know.

E-mail us at oracle@newpaltz.edu

Incident: Drugs Date: 04/18/10 Location: EH Male student arrested for unlawful possession of marijuana.

Incident: Harassment Date: 04/19/10 Location: HDH Female employee reported being harassed by a fellow co-worker’s wife. Victim requested that suspect be dealt with persuant to the law. Suspect contacted and asked to come to the UPD station to be interviewed. She complied and reported to UPD.

Incident: DWI Date: 04/18/10 Location: Rt. 32/Mohonk Ave. Incident: Drugs Male non-student arrested for DWI. Date: 04/19/10

About The New Paltz Oracle The New Paltz Oracle is the official student newspaper of SUNY New Paltz. Our circulation is 3,000. The New Paltz Oracle is sponsored by the Student Association and partially funded by the student activity fee.

The New Paltz Oracle office is located in Student Union room 417. Deadline for all submissions is 5 p.m. on Fridays in The New Paltz Oracle office and by e-mail at oracle@newpaltz.edu.

All advertisements must be turned in by 5 p.m. on Fridays, unless otherwise specified by the business manager. Community announcements are published gratuitously, but are subject to restriction due to space limitations.

There is no guarantee of publication. Contents of this paper cannot be reproduced without the written permission of the editorin-chief.

The New Paltz Oracle is published weekly throughout the Fall and Spring semesters on Thursday. It is available in all residence halls and academic buildings, in the New Paltz community and online at oracle.newpaltz.edu. For more information, call 845-2573030. The fax line is 845-257-3031.

The New Paltz Oracle holds assignment meetings every Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Student Union.

Articles, photographs and illustrations are assigned to the pool of staff members and contributors.

Volume 81 Issue XX

Location: GH RA reported a strong odor of marijuana. Two female students admitted to being in possession of and smoking marijuana. Matter referred to campus judicial.

Incident: Drugs Date: 04/19/10 Location: BOH Two male students arrested for criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana and criminal possession of LSD. SUNY New Paltz University Police Department Emergencies: 845-257-2222 www.newpaltz.edu/police

Five Day Forecast Friday, April 23

Index

News............................................... 3 - 7 Community Calendar........................... 8 Editorial............................................... 9 Cartoons........................................ 10-11 Columns............................................. 12 Maxim Alter........................... 12 Julie Mansmann..................... 12 The Gunk................................ 1B - 12B The Deep End.................................. 12B Sports.......................................... 13 - 16

Sunny High: 64 Low: 39 Saturday, April 24

Partly Cloudy High: 68 Low: 47 Sunday, April 25

Don’t Be Shy! Visit us online at

oracle. newpaltz.edu Everyone is entitled to take one free copy of The New Paltz Oracle.

If you need additional copies, please contact the editor-in-chief at x3030 or at oracle@newpaltz.edu

Showers High: 57 Low: 50 Monday, April 26

Thunderstorms High: 63 Low: 47 Tuesday, April 27

Showers High: 61 Low: 47

The New Paltz Oracle

NEWS

Pg 3

Loop Plans Hit Budget Rut

By Maxim Alter

Copy Editor | Malter42@newpaltz.edu

Plans to add weekend hours to the New Paltz Loop shuttle service are currently in limbo, according to a recent announcement

by Student Association (SA) Executive Vice President Abe Uchitelle.

Uchitelle said SA set money aside last year that would pay for weekend hours based on an agreement they had with the previous Director at Ulster County Area Transit (UCAT), Cynthia Ruiz. However, over the summer, Ruiz left for another job and is currently working as the Dutchess County Transit Administrator.

According to Uchitelle, for the majority of last year, he and Town Supervisor Toni Hokanson have been meeting with representatives from UCAT to discuss the Loop service as it stands now, as well as looking for ways to push for weekends and to expand the service. But, Uchitelle said UCAT’s change in leadership caused them to become less focused on expanding and more focused on the transition between the old director and the new director.

“A lot of things were lost between that transition,” Uchitelle said. “Our agreement about the weekends was only one of the things that was lost. They didn’t have it together.”

Over the course of the year, Uchitelle and Hokanson continued to meet with representatives from UCAT. During their meetings, Uchitelle said the representatives had many reasons as to why they wouldn’t add weekend hours, the first of which being they didn’t think there was a need for the change.

For this reason, Uchitelle said, he and Hokanson were tasked with several meetings aimed at convincing them differently.

However, current Director of Transportation at UCAT Bob DiBella said the addition of weekend hours was something he saw as a necessity from the beginning, but the financial climate has changed since Ruiz was the director.

“I’ve always seen a need for it,” DiBella said. “The real problem is that we are stretched very thin with budgets and in order for me to pick up a Saturday or Sunday service, I have to hire additional employees, and I just am not in the position to do that at the moment.”

Uchitelle said he has pushed hard for weekend hours because he wants the community to be more integrated. By running weekend hours for the Loop, Uchitelle said he hopes shops and businesses in town can become more accessible to students that live on campus and the events that happen on campus can become more accessible to students who live off campus.

Stacey Rymer, a first-year sociology major who lives on campus, has had to cancel plans to travel to town during some weekends as a result of the Loop schedule.

“When the weather is nasty and it’s the weekend, I have no way to get around,” she

PHOTO BY FELICE BERNABO

Abe Uchitelle said the new director of transportation at UCAT is not upholding agreements he made with the previous director. said. “Because I don’t really like the food at Hasbrouck, my friends and I usually go out to town to eat, but without the shuttle on weekends we have to stay in.”

Uchitelle said that between 2009 and 2010 there were favorable impressions coming from Ulster County Executive Mike Hein, who would have to make the decision to give UCAT more resources.

A little over a month ago, Uchitelle said he and Hokanson met with another representative from UCAT to discuss ways to change the Loop service and to make it more effective.

“It seemed as though we were beginning to envision weekends,” Uchitelle said.

“They might have confronted their hiring freeze issue, and we were even going so far as to talk about when the bus would go on weekends… We were actually starting to get to the nuts and bolts.”

However, Uchitelle said that after the conversation made its way back to UCAT, he did not receive any word whether the new hours would happen or not. After emailing DiBella to inquire about the status of the decision, Uchitelle said he received an e-mail that did not match most of what was discussed in the previous meeting.

Uchitelle said that some changes he discussed with DiBella will be implemented and go into effect on May 1. These changes include two minor updates to the route and a change to the frequency of the Loop during afternoon rush hour.

Uchitelle said DiBella’s response was that they were not doing weekend Loop

hours, they did not have the budget or driver for weekend Loop hours and whatever thoughts he might have had that weekends could happen were not well-founded or ever agreed upon.

First-year undeclared student Erin Tornatore said the absence of weekend Loop hours doesn’t really have a large effect on her plans.

“I could just walk and get some exercise by not taking the Loop,” she said. “It doesn’t really bother me, but it would still be nice if it did run on the weekends.”

Uchitelle said there is legitimacy to UCAT’s resource issue with drivers and manpower, but the bigger issue is their intentions.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

“They don’t have the will to expand,” Uchitelle said. “I personally believe that if there is a will for it to happen, they will find a way to make it happen. They are under similar constraints that the previous director was and she was going to find ways to make it work.”

DiBella said he is not aware of any agreements Uchitelle had with the last director other than verbal agreements that it would happen in the future.

“If we could do it, believe me, I want to increase ridership and I think that is a prime area for doing it,” DiBella said. “But unfortunately at the moment, my hands are tied with budgetary constraints.”

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News Briefs

The New Paltz Oracle

Senate Hears Budget Appeals

National A woman who says she’s wanted to be a nun her entire life finally got her wish-at 92.

Chrystalla Petropoulou officially became a nun Saturday with the Greek Orthodox Church at a monastery in Calverton, L.I., in Suffolk County. ***** The Army is considering whether to rescind an invitation to evangelist Franklin Graham to appear at the Pentagon amid complaints about his description of Islam as evil, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

Graham, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, was to appear at the Pentagon on May 6 on what is the National Day of Prayer. He said he will be a guest of the Pentagon and will speak only if he’s still invited. ***** A radical Muslim group has warned the creators of “South Park” that they could face violent retribution for depicting the prophet Muhammad in a bear suit during last week’s episode.

The website RevolutionMuslim.com has since been taken down, but a cached version shows the message to “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The article’s author, Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, said the men “outright insulted” the religious leader. ***** A judge has ruled the former president of Blackwater Worldwide and four of his past colleagues at the North Carolina security firm can remain free as they await trial on federal weapons charges.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James Gates denied the government’s request to set a bond for the suspects, including a proposed US$250,000 bond for former Blackwater President Gary Jackson.

Gates did order all five defendants to turn over their passports and refrain from possessing guns.

World Briefs, pg. 5

PHOTO BY FELICE BERNABO

The Ice Hockey Club and Fahari Libertad appealed their budgets and were both allocated a portion of the additional money requested.

By Pamela Vivanco Copy Editor | Pvivanco57@newpaltz.edu

At the last meeting of the 49th student senate, members of the body discussed and voted on organization appeals.

The Queer Action Coalition (QAC) was approved $9,352 for everything they requested except for conferences, office supplies and art supplies. Some of the senators agreed that office and art supplies can go through general programming in the fall.

The Ice Hockey Club originally requested $40,000 but the Budget and Finance Committee allocated $30,932. After an appeal, they were approved $855 for ice time.

Fahari-Libertad appealed for $3,600 in order to publish two extra issues. The body approved $1800 for one more issue.

Before appeals were presented to the senate, Sen. Jeff Fonda responded to last week’s report by former senator John Mingione about The Battle of the Bands.

Fonda said that that Kaitlin Wagner, who organized the battle of the bands event had three judges set that were completely unbiased. Sen. Marty Geraghty also said that Wagner is a student “who put a lot of effort into making something really complicated happen.”

Village Board of Trustees member Brian Kimbiz announced that the noise law was on the village agenda last week and there was a huge turnout. He said it was the most crowded he’s ever seen a village board meeting during the one year that he has been part of the board.

“There were about 80 people there and our suggestions definitely had a huge impact on the way that this thing is tuning out now so it just goes to show that a little bit of effort goes a long a way with these kind of things,” he said.

Kimbiz also said that with all of the suggestions made, the proposal went back “to the same committee that wrote it and they want

to take all of our stuff in and see what they can do with it and come back with a new proposition.”

In her formal report to senate Student Association (SA) President Stephanie Samuel announced that plans for the Black and White affair are going really well. The ball will take place in Student Union multipurpose room from 8 to 11 p.m. on May 21 and tickets for the ball costs $10 for State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz students and $20 for non-students.

Samuel also reported that the SA executive board and United Greek Association are collaborating on a program for Haiti which is scheduled for May 9.

From noon to 5 p.m., there will be a barbeque on the Student Union concourse with food and music as well as “letter writing and poster making,” said Samuel.

At 5 p.m. everybody who wants to participate will leave campus and break off into small groups and go into town through already pre-designed routes and collect donations like non-perishable food, clothes and money from residents.

According to Samuel, town residents will know about the event and will be given the option to place a red or green flag on their doors. Houses that have the green flag means that they are aware of the event and will have donations and the houses with red flags means that those residents are not participating.

In his report to senate, Executive Vice President Abe Uchitelle announced that he and Samuel will be meeting with Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS) and possibly discussing bookstore options and making a decision.

Vice President for Academic and Governance announced that SA elections are May 3, 4, and 5 and that candidacy forms are due on Monday, April 26.

The next general meeting of the student senate is on Tuesday, April 27 at 8:30 p.m.

“Our suggestions definitely had a huge impact on the way [the noise law] is turning out”

— Brian Kimbiz

Thursday, April 22, 2010

SA Candidates Prepare for Race

By Pamela Vivanco Copy Editor | Pvivanco57@newpaltz.edu

Student Association elections will be held online on May 3, 4 and 5, and students interested in running for a student government position are encouraged to hand in signed declaration of intent forms in Student Union 428 by April 26 at 5 p.m.

Vice President for Academics and Governance Brenna Fearey said that students interested in a position on the E-board, Programming Board or Student Senate can pick up a declaration of intent form in the Student Union 428.

According to Fearey, all positions in State University of New York at (SUNY) New Paltz’s E-board are open (president, executive vice president, vice president for academic affairs and governance, vice president for finance, vice president for programming) as well as six positions in the Programming Board and at least 15 in the student senate.

Fearey said candidates for all positions ust be a SUNY New Paltz student and have at least a 2.0 grade point average.

As for people who want to run for different positions, Fearey said it is allowed.

“There was a bypass that allows people to run for multiple elections,” she said. “One can run for an E-board senate or programming board position but they can only choose one.”

Fearey also said that students are en-

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NEWS

The New Paltz Oracle

couraged and allowed to campaign under a party but no party affiliations are allowed in the ballot when students vote.

“It’s easier to work together with people. I encourage banding together,” she said, but there will be no affiliation on the ballot because “in the past, there have been party sweeps of the elections and it allows for a student who doesn’t try hard to get on simply because they are attached to the party.”

Fearey said that it is important for those running for a position to campaign.

“Facebook is always you know, unfortunately the greatest venue for people to listen,” she said. “The minute you turn in the declaration of intent, a Facebook event is what should be made immediately because groups don’t disappear.”

Fearey also advised that “dorm storming” is extremely effective, but students must make sure that they have the permission to be in the residence hall.

“I recommend [dorm storming] whole heartedly,” she said. “It’s awkward, it’s sort of embarrassing but it doesn’t matter because A) you get used to it and B) its good practice because you’re going to stand up in front of people talking anyway in a position like this.”

Aside from the process of running, Fearey said that student government is a beneficial and educating experience. Public speaking skills and working with people are only some of the advantages gained after working with the student government she said.

Sen. Samantha Kossin said by becoming a part of the student senate, she felt like she was making a difference.

“It makes you more well-rounded and better informed and you also get to know a lot of different people,” she said. “I met a lot of great people this year that I would have not been able to see on campus if I didn’t join senate.”

Aside from the positive outcomes of joining student senate, Kossin said that she does hope a few things improve. Kossin hopes that the dedication to student government from participants improves “because there’s a great discrepancy between people who care a lot and people who don’t care as much,” she said.

Sen. Eve Stern who is running for executive vice president hopes to get more people involved in student government and let the student body know that they’re there.

“There are people who don’t even know that they have a student government, what does that say?” she said. “There needs to be a lot more outreach.’”

Stern and Fearey both agreed that the student body needs to be strongly represented and whoever wants to make a change on campus should join student government.

From the morning of May 3 to 5, all students will be able to vote for next year’s student body representation, their student government on my.newpaltz.edu.

Council of Orgs Elects New Chair

By Maxim Alter Copy Editor | Malter42@newpaltz.edu

During the Council of Organizations meeting on Monday, April 19, elections for the council chair position were held and Student Association (SA) E-board members addressed club and organization representatives with reports on important events.

SA President Stephanie Samuel began the meeting with a discussion about the recent Student Assembly Spring 2010 Conference, which she said is an official meeting allowing (State University of New York) SUNY students to participate in university-wide governance. According to Samuel, the event, which took place from April 16 to 18, went very well and many resolutions were passed.

Samuel also updated students on the May 1 carnival, which will no longer have a water slide because it was not approved by Facilities Management. However, Samuel said she and the Senior Committee are still looking to have a boxing ring and other blow up machines, as well as hot dog stands and free food for students to enjoy.

Another event Samuel addressed was the Senior Ball, which will be a “black and white affair” held on May 21. Samuel said everyone is invited and entry will cost $10 for New Paltz students and $20 for nonNew Paltz students.

“It’s a dinner. There’s food, there’s dancing, there’s picture taking.

It’s like a whole big large scale event,” Samuel said. “It’s semi-formal.

You don’t have to come wearing a tux, but if you come in jeans and sneakers people are going to look at you like you’re crazy.”

Following Samuel, SA Executive Vice President Abe Uchitelle spoke to students about the recent discussion he and the Director of Athletics Stuart Robinson had with the consultant who tested the athletic fields for pesticide use. According to Uchitelle, both he and Robinson have been pushing to use less synthetics and pesticides, which Uchitelle said could be harmful to the environment and athletes.

“It was a really productive meeting,” Uchitelle said. “It turns out

some of the stuff that [the consultant] has been trying to push for us to do from an organic perspective is stuff that we’ve been trying to do…

Now that we’re finally communicating and the athletics department is communicating with this consultant, we’re finally seeing where these issues are and I think that there’s going to be a positive outcome.”

After Uchitelle’s report, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Governance Brenna Fearey spoke to students about E-Board, Senate and Programming Board elections, which will be held May 3, 4 and 5.

“If any of you are interested in having a more active voice and getting involved in student government, this is where you want to start participating,” Fearey said. “I have two more general interest meetings where you all can come and hear about what we do, what sort of opportunities you have and what you need to do to get there.”

The last general interest meeting will be held Thursday, April 22, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The declaration of intent, a signed form that must be filled out in order to run for a position, is due Friday, April 26.

Following Fearey, Council Chair Hana Akimoto addressed the allocations of offices, which will be decided April 22 in Student Union 424.

“If you are asking for an office, please feel free to come by and talk to the Office Allocation Committee,” Akimoto said. “If you already have an office space, it’s not guaranteed you’re going to get the same space, so please re-apply. There are a lot of clubs that need offices this year just because we are getting rid of some of the offices on the fourth floor.”

Concluding the meeting, Fearey held the Council Chair election, in which students were given the opportunity to nominate themselves or a friend and vote on who would represent the Council of Organizations next year. The winner of the election was second-year sociology student, Shayna Bentley.

The final Council of Organizations meeting of the semester will be held on May 3 at 8 p.m. in Student Union 100.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

News Briefs World A smoking ban that few are expected to abide by went into effect in Syria Wednesday, a country where people light up even in hospitals. ***** A Lebanese TV psychic, who was condemned to death for witchcraft by a Saudi court while visiting the country, will not be beheaded, his lawyer said Wednesday.

May al-Khansa told The Associated Press that the Saudi ambassador in Beirut informed the Lebanese justice minister that the execution of Ali Sibat would not take place.

Sibat is one of scores of people reported arrested every year in the kingdom on charges of practicing sorcery, witchcraft, black magic and fortunetelling, which are considered to be polytheism by the country’s ultraconservative judiciary. ***** Moth-eaten socks and other clothes once worn by Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, have gone on exhibit in Ukraine’s capital for the first time since the former Soviet republic became independent almost two decades ago.

The exhibition, timed to coincide with the 140th anniversary of Lenin’s birth on Thursday, was made possible under the country’s new Russia-friendly president.

In Soviet times, dozens of museums were dedicated to the life of the charismatic founder of the Soviet Union.

Leningrad, the cradle of the revolution now once again called St. Petersburg, had 11 of them. Kiev opened its Lenin Museum in 1938, even though Lenin had never been to the Ukrainian capital.

Compiled from the AP Newswire

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The New Paltz Oracle

New NP Logo Unleashed

By James Leggate News Editor | Leggat06@newpaltz.edu

The State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz revealed a new, more iconic logo as part of an effort to update the college’s image Wednesday morning.

The new logo includes abstract shapes, which can represent the new glass edifice being added to the Student Union, the ridgeline of the Shawangunk Mountains or an open door. It has been added to the college’s website and the sign at the main entrance.

Undeclared first-year student Cristal Cedano said the symbolism of the icon was not clear.

“It kind of reminds me of the mountain,” she said.

Most students asked in an informal survey Wednesday evening had not seen the logo.

“It’s not very exciting,” said Allie Meier, a fourth-year history major.

The logo was designed by the College’s Brand Marketing Task Force and an outside consultant. This announcement follows the unveiling of the updated mascot, Hugo the Hawk.

Other students were more positive about the change. Fourth-year communication and media student Elias Vandenakker said he liked the new logo.

“It reflects the area’s geography,” he said.

“Of course, I don’t even remember the other logo.”

President Steven Poskanzer said he understood that not everyone would be excited about the new logo.

“As with any logo, some will hate it and some will really like it,” he said.

PHOTO BY FELICE BERNABO

The new SUNY New Paltz logo, designed by the College’s Brand Marketing Task Force, received mixed reactions from students.

Academic Calendar Faces Change

By Pierce Lydon

Editor-in-Chief | Lydon47@newpaltz.edu

At a recent faculty meeting, students and staff made some strides to alter the current principles and guidelines used to develop academic calendars.

The reason for the alterations was that approximately every five years, Jewish holidays early in the fall semester would coincide with other days of observance and result in a full week off for students.

The concern was that international students would be stranded on a “dead campus,” according to Vice President for Academic Affairs and Governance Brenna Fearey.

There would also be an issue with the amount of scheduled instructional days for each day of the week, Monday through Saturday. As it stands, a complete semester requires there to be 15 of each.

In the original “Principles and Guidelines Currently Used to Develop Academic Calendars,” there was a distinction between federal holidays and religious holidays.

Religious holidays were originally defined as follows: “Religious holidays observed by not scheduling classes when they fall on an instructional day are: Christmas Day, including the day before, this commences the holiday

(winter) break. Rosh Hashanah – first two days, including the cessation of classes at 3 p.m. on the day prior to the holiday. Yom Kippur – including the cessation of classes at 3 p.m. on the day prior to the holiday. Passover – the first day, including the cessation of classes at 3 p.m. on the day prior to the holiday.”

Federal holidays were defined as holidays that would be “observed whenever possible.”

With the modifications presented at the faculty meeting, holidays previously considered religious holidays would be combined with the federal holidays under a heading simply called holidays and would maintain the definition previously attributed to the section known as federal holidays.

This change would make religious holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur observed only on a case to case basis. But as per educational law, students who observe the holidays would not be penalized for missing class.

Talyah Leah, the public relations representative for Chabad, a New Paltz Jewish organization, views this as a hindrance to her group’s mission and a trivialization of two of the Jewish faith’s most important holidays.

“Most students here are out of touch with their heri-

Thursday, April 22, 2010

tage. Part of Chabad’s mission is to bring those students with Jewish heritage back to their roots, form a community and a stronghold,” she said. “When students have to choose whether to attend class or attend services, it makes it more difficult to get in touch with those students. Why? Because even when you take a day off for religious observance, you still have to catch up in class, and not every professor is as understanding.”

Rose Faber, co-president of Hillel, the largest Jewish organization on campus, echoed a similar sentiment.

“Of course, I would prefer to have the days off but if this [new precedent] was the case then I would hope that professors would be understanding of students who use those days as days of religious observance.”

A decision has not been officially made on the matter as the faculty meeting on April 9 was attended by only 89 faculty members which, according to Fearey was “less faculty than at past meetings.” Twenty percent of all campus faculty members are necessary to reach quorum, “I find the indecision on this campus to be sort of widespread,” Fearey said.

Because a decision has yet to be reached, the academic calendar issue will remain on the agenda at the next faculty meeting on May 13 at 10 a.m. in Lecture Center 102.

The New Paltz Oracle

NEWS

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Website Offers Popular Service

By Allison Summers Contributing Writer | Allison.summers67@newpaltz.edu

Before choosing her professors for next semester, third-year student Amanda Williams knows exactly where to go. With the click of a button, she can see how other students feel about nearly every professor on the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz campus.

Like many other college students across the nation, Williams is no stranger to the website that has become a phenomenon in its 10 years of existence: RateMyProfessors.com.

“I use it every semester,” said Williams, “but especially for professors that I’ve never had and haven’t heard good things about. I will usually look up every class that I am considering.”

RateMyProfessors.com is a free review site that allows students to evaluate college professors and leave personal comments. The site, first called TeacherRatings.com, was founded in May of 1999 by John Swapceinski, a 30-year-old software engineer from Menlo Park, Calif. It was later renamed RateMyProfessors.com in 2001.

According to the website’s “About Us” page, “RateMyProfessors.com is the Internet’s

largest listing of collegiate professor ratings, with more than 6.8 million student-generated ratings of over 1 million professors.” The site also “offers ratings on college and university professors from over 6,000 schools across the United States, Canada, England, Scotland and Wales.”

Users grade professors on a scale of one to five. The different categories are easiness, helpfulness, clarity, the rater’s interest level in the class prior to taking it and how often the textbooks were used. Raters have the option of leaving written comments, and they can also rate a professor’s appearance as “hot” or “not.”

The average of a professor’s helpfulness and clarity scores, or the overall quality rating, determines what type of face the professor will receive next to his or her name. A yellow smiley indicates a good rating, a green face is considered average and a blue sad face is considered poor. A red chili pepper is also placed in front of a professor’s name if the sum of his or her appearance ratings is greater than zero.

“I find it to be pretty accurate because most of the time the students agree on the same thing if there is something about the professor that stands out,” said third-year student Aylin Aykanat.

Some professors said that online com-

PHOTO COURTESY RATEMYPROFESSORS.COM

RateMyProfessors.com is a popular site.

munication is not the most effective method.

Dr. Maryalice Citera, an associate professor of psychology at New Paltz, has done research on the difference between face-to-face communication and computer communication.

Citera found that people tend to be less credible online than they are in person. Though she occasionally looks at Ratemyprofessors.com, and takes the comments into consideration, she feels that the website should not be looked at as

Thursday, April 22, 2010

a valid tool for evaluating professors.

“A lot of research shows that when people are online, they tend to engage in behavior that has less civility,” said Citera. “They also tend to say things that they don’t really mean, and they’ll say it in the most negative way.”

Despite the flaws in the website, assistant professor of Spanish Ligia Aldana looks at Ratemyprofessors.com frequently and thinks it’s a helpful tool for students.

“One good thing about the website is that it’s very spontaneous, and there are many different perspectives from anyone who wants to post something,” said Aldana. “It’s a good vehicle to be able to just express a thought.”

Though the inaccuracies in some of the comments on the website are a concern for many professors, some students say they know when to trust a comment as valid and when not to.

“If a person doesn’t like a professor for personal reasons, you can definitely tell by the comments like if they say the person’s a racist or this or that,” said Williams. “But then when you see comments that say the professor uses the textbook and that they’re fair graders, you know they’re accurate.”

Additional reporting by Sarah Calandra Fine.

Pg 8

Pg 9 The New Paltz Oracle

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS “Economic Crisis: the Hit Men Strike Home, What Next and How to Deal with It.” April 22 7 p.m. in Lecture Center Room 100 John Perkins, New York Times Bestselling Author of “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” and “The Secret History of the American Empire,” will be speaking on April 22 at 7 p.m. in Lecture Center 100. He will discuss how our current economic crisis offers an opportunity for transformation and describes ways each of us can employ our individual passions and skills to prosper. Admission is free.

If you are a person with a disability who will require accommodations, please contact Zach Dreyfuss at npeconomicsclub@gmail.com.

Oral History Project Presentations April 23 6 p.m. at the Pine Hill Community Center Thanks to a grant from the Catskill Watershed Corporation, the students of Kevin LaMonda’s sixth grade class at Phoenicia Elementary School have spent the last several months gathering local histories through interviews with eight Catskill elders. Using the material they gathered, the students have been working on various creative projects.

After a pot luck supper at 6 p.m., those in attendance will be treated to poems, songs, re-enactments and maybe a short video or two. The event is free, but please consider bringing a dish to share.

14th Annual New Paltz Clean Sweep April 24 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The Clean Sweep is a great way to help make the community sparkle by giving it a fresh spring cleaning. Have fun and join area business owners, residents, local politicians, community organizations, and schools to tidy up the parks, sidewalks and streets of New Paltz.

NYPIRG’s Annual Party for the Planet April 24 Noon at Hasbrouck Park There will be all kinds of down to Earth

activities like facepainting, hula-hooping, making recycled crafts (caterpillars!), sunflower seed planting (bring a compostable cup!) and hanging out barefoot in the sun listening to the best music in New Paltz! Local bands will be jamming all day! Come dance to Snowbear, Bad Princess, Adir Cohen, Los Doggies, and Godchilla! Also, participate in the clothing swap! Freecycle your old stuff and swap for something new at the stuff swap blanket! Bring your white t-shirts for tie dyeing! This event is free and open to the entire New Paltz Community! For more information email basco54@gmail.com!

Tuesday Trek to Look for Lichens April 27 10 a.m. at Minnewaska State Park Join Eric Van Deusen, amateur lichenologist, on a trek to hunt for the ever present yet often unnoticed lichen. You may have seen these lovely green, grey, brown and gold plant-like living things decorating the trees and rocks of Minnewaska.

Come join us to learn more about them and take a hike that will culminate in a visit to Awosting Falls. Please bring a hand lens if you have one. Pre-registration is required. Pre-registration is required for all programs since they are weather contingent. For outings, please wear appropriate clothing, sturdy hiking shoes, and bring plenty of snacks and water. Our hikes will include stops along the way to interpret natural and historic features. We hike at the pace of our slowest hiker. A parent or guardian over the age of 18 years must accompany children wishing to participate in programs.

For more information and to register for programs, please call the Park Preserve Office at 845-255-0752. The Park Preserve will be open from 9 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. through April 12. As of April 13, the Park Preserve will close at 8 p.m.

The fee for parking at Minnewaska is currently $6 per car. All fees are subject to change. There are no additional fees for public programs, unless noted otherwise. Minnewaska State Park Preserve consists of approximately 20,000 acres of wild and scenic land located on Route 44/55, five miles west of the intersection with Route 299 in Gardiner, N.Y.

Free Screening of “Capitalism: A Love Story” April 27 5:30 p.m. at Rhinebeck Town Hall Free screening of the film with short presentation on how even partial reimplementation of a stock transfer tax on Wall Street could slash our property taxes. Sponsored by the Real Majority Project. For more information, contact Joel Tyner at 845-242-3571 or joeltyner@earthlink.net The Little Rebellion Launch Party April 29 7:30 p.m. at the College Terrace Join the staff of The Little Rebellion as they celebrate the launch of their website, TheLittleRebellion.com. Food and drinks will be served.

“Celebration of Writing” April 30 3 to 5 p.m. at the State University of New York at New Paltz “Celebration of Writing” will be held on April 30 from 3 to 5 p.m. Students are asked to submit writing samples and read an excerpt of their writing at the event.

Awards are given for the best writing in each category. We encourage submissions from students in all disciplines, including science, technology, social science, art, history, education or other disciplines where writing provides a necessary analysis tool. We welcome critical reviews of arts and cultural activity, social and political analyses, news stories, book reviews and science reports. Of course, we welcome creative fiction, drama and verse.

Additional information and the 2010 COW application can be found at www. newpaltz.edu/WritingBoard/#events.

Out of the Darkness Campus Walk May 8 11 a.m. at the State University of New York at New Paltz Register online at campuswalks.org.

Meetings are every Thursday in Student Union 401 at 6 p.m. Sponsored by SSDP.

To submit an announcement, write down the name of the club/event, date, time and location. Then e-mail it to oracle@newpaltz.edu. All submissions are due by Sunday at 5 p.m. Submissions are printed at the discretion of the editor-in-chief.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

OASIS OASIS is a student-staffed counseling and crisis intervention center and telephone hotline.

OASIS volunteers are trained and supervised by the Psychological Counseling Center to respond to anonymous telephone calls and walk-in requests for support, information and referral. Peer crisis intervention is provided in college-related areas such as academic stress, loneliness, sexual orientation, suicide, drug and alcohol-related problems, relationship and family conflicts.

OASIS, located in the Deyo Hall basement, room G13C, is open from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. while classes are in session, and the extension is x4945.

HAVEN HAVEN of OASIS is the student-staffed hotline and walk-in center, supervised by the Psychological Counseling Center.

HAVEN volunteers provide support, information and referral for students who have been the target of rape, attempted rape or any unwanted sexual experience.

HAVEN is located in the Deyo Hall basement, room G13c and is open from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. while classes are in session, and the extension is x4930.

Call or stop in when classes are in session. The 24-hour HAVEN beeper is 845-455-6093.

Campus Escort Call x3338 for an escort from anywhere on campus to anywhere on campus. 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. every night. Not a taxi service — for safety, not for the lazy!

Safe Rider Need a ride home from the bars?

We provide FREE rides home or back to campus please give me a call at 845-834-2213.

Facilities Management Having facilities related issues?

Please call x3301.

Thursday, T hursday, A April pril 2 22, 2, 2 2010 010

The Gunk Gym

Jams

PHOTO BY LAURA LUENGAS

Rock Against Racism Continues Despite Gray Skies!

Check out page 9B for more!

PHOTO BYMONICA SCHWERBERG

Story on Page 5B

FEATURES | 2B

The New Paltz Oracle

Hooked on Students Discourage Sexist Words Yarn SOME ON CAMPUS FIND ‘YOU GUYS’ TO BE OFFENSIVE

By Kaitlyn Day Staff Writer | N02212829@newpaltz.edu

This week, I’ll be showing you how to crochet in a circle. This is a useful skill for making bags, hats, beer cozies or anything your heart desires (that starts with a circle, that is).

If you’re enjoying this and want to learn more, come to Le Knitty Gritty on Mondays at 4:30 p.m. in the foyer of the library by the chairs.

Step 1: Make your slipknot and chain three stitches.

Step 2: Insert hook into first stitch and slip stitch (pull yarn through both loops, you will have one loop left on the yarn).

Step 3: Insert hook into the middle of the circle.

Step 4: Single crochet around the circle through the center (as opposed to in the stitches themselves). These should be 10, but there can be less depending on how tight or loose you made your chain stitch.

Step 5: Connect last stitch and first stitch with a slip stitch (mentioned in step 2).

Next Week: Learn to make a beer cozy just in time for the summer.

By Justin McCarthy Features Editor | Jmccarthy46@newpaltz.edu

person for saying that. I know it’s become just a rampant thing and it’s not like a malicious attack on anyone,” Anderson said. “But my sensitivity is so raised to it that I do get offended. I feel

be all. It’s a reflection of other problems.

And at the same time, it reinforces and perpetuates those types of sexist ideas— male-dominated ideas.”

Conrad-Hampton is now active in helping students understand the problem with the phrase and other sexist words that are commonly used.

“You guys” is a frequently spoken phrase by both male and female students. Many of them don’t see an issue with the using it. They see it as a phrase that has grown to encompass more than just men and don’t find it offensive. Some feel it just simplifies the complicated nature of the English language. Instead of saying “Hey, ladies and gentlemen,” they might argue, “Hey, guys” is simpler.

But Anderson, like others, argues that the price of excluding groups of people with one’s language is not worth the fastness and easiness it affords.

“I just feel like to do something out of the sake of convenience or easiness, I think that’s kind of a cop-out,” Anderson said. “I think that if we always did things out of convenience and easiness, nothing would ever be achieved for the better.”

With small steps such as reminding others by giving them a card, students hope that they can make a difference in how people choose their words. Professor Kaufman, who identifies as a feminist, feels the issue of gendered language is an important lesson to address to young people.

“I think it comes down to recognizing how powerful language is in constructing the social reality,” said Kaufman.

“We can use language to cut people down and put them in their place or we can use language to foster greater harmony and sense of interdependence. Personally, I try to use language that fosters harmony and interdependence. Unfortunately, so much of our language is based on separating people into categories, which are inherently unequal.

So, we have a lot work to do.”

You walk into a room of a dozen of your friends of both sexes. How do you address them?Do you refer to them as “you all,” “everyone” or “you guys?”

If you choose the latter, your choice of language could be offensive to some.

The phrase is used regularly at State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz and elsewhere, but some argue it is unfair to group women in with terms meant for men.

In a recent effort by students to spread awareness about sexist language, they’re speaking up, passing out cards and circulating an essay by Sherryl Kleinman titled “Why Sexist Language Matters.”

“All those ‘man’ words—said many times a day by millions of people every day—cumulatively reinforce the message that men are the standard and that women should be subsumed by the male cat- sort of just lumped in and . . . essentially egory,” Kleinman said in her essay. “... oppressed.”

Anderson proposed the declaration, Male-based generics are another indicaa non-binding piece of legislation that tor—and, more importantly a reinforcexpresses the sentiment of the senate, er—of a system in which “man” in the and it was very receptive to her effort. abstract and men in the flesh are priviSome senators personally took up the leged over women.” cause themselves.

Last semester, the student senate “That was the first time I really startvoted to approve a declaration discoured to make an effort to eliminate it from aging insensitively chosen words and my own vocabulary,” said Eli Conradterms like “you guys.” The declaration Hampton, a fourth-year anthropology also included more blatantly offensive major with a minor in Black Studies, words like “gay” and “retarded.” who became aware of the issue after Morgan Anderson, a fourth-year soAnderson proposed the declaration. “It’s ciology major with a double-minor in sort of a symptom of other sexist issues Spanish and philosophy, co-wrote and in our society.

It’s not like the end all, proposed the declaration to the senate after being introduced to the argument by Peter Kaufman, a professor of sociology, who has distributed Kleinman’s essay to students.

Anderson said she doesn’t necessarily think that people who use the term “you guys” are being purposefully sexist, but that their use of the term reflects an ingrained, unconscious and sexist tendency.

ILLUSTRATION BY T. CHRISTIAN HELMS “I don’t fault the Cards like these are distributed by students who discourage sexist language.

“. . . My sensitivity is so raised to it that I do get offended. I feel sort of just lumped in and . . . essentially oppressed” -Morgan Anderson

Thursday, April 22, 2010

FEATURES | 3B

The New Paltz Oracle

Energy Now, Problems Later

TRENDY DRINKS MAY NOT BE WORTH THE BOOST

By Maxim Alter Copy Editor | Malter42@newpaltz.edu

“The energy drink hurt me when I crashed and attempted to drink another one but it had no effect. I was left feeling very fatigued” -Mike Rich Mike Rich, a third-year biology major, said that he has used energy drinks to pull all-nighters to study for tests and get a boost of focus.

“It made me feel energized,” he said “The energy drink hurt me when I crashed and attempted to drink another one but it had no effect. I was left feeling very fatigued.”

Weinman said drinking an energy drink on occasion to stay up or study for a test isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but those that are drinking multiple energy

Thursday, April 22, 2010

PHOTOS COURTESY OF IAMDONP.WORDPRESS.COM, SPANISHDILETTANTE.WORDPRESS.COM, ALICE-DSL.NET AND SHELFIMPACT.COM.

With brands like Jolt, Amp, Monster and Steven Seagal’s Lightning Bolt, the consumption of energy drinks has remained a popular method of getting an extra energy boost for college students since they were first introduced to the United States in the 1980s.

According to Dr. Stephen Weinman of FirstCare WalkIn Medical Center in Highland, N.Y., there are many health risks involved in drinking energy drinks, one of which is the large intake of sugar.

Weinman said the pancreas, which is the organ that secretes insulin, has difficulty handling high amounts of sugar, and by consuming energy drinks before tests or to stay up later students are increasing their chances in developing diabetes.

“When you’re drinking these energy drinks, your blood sugar goes way up and your pancreas secretes insulin in order to bring your blood sugar way down,” he said. “Instead of getting tired, you’re getting a lot of caffeine, which is a problem.”

According to a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University, energy drinks can contain harmful levels of caffeine – as much as 14 cans worth of an average soft drink. A 12 ounce soft drink generally contains around 35 milligrams of caffeine, while the same size energy drink can contain as much as 500 milligrams.

By drinking these large amounts of caffeine, Weinman said the body builds up an unhealthy tolerance.

“During the days I was in college, we drank coffee,” he said. “We didn’t have energy drinks. To this day, if I drank one of those energy drinks I’d probably have a heart attack.

What if I was drinking energy drinks a couple times a day?

What would I need now? I’d have to mainline the stuff.”

Unlike soft drinks like Coca-Cola or Pepsi, the Food and Drug Administration does not require that manufacturers of energy drinks list caffeine levels on the container. The Johns Hopkins research also cited a survey of 500 college students that found 51 percent reported drinking one or more energy drinks in the last month.

drinks in the same week may be hurting their bodies in the long run.

Devalera Sim, a graduate student in social studies, said he used multiple energy drinks on one occasion to stay awake for a final exam and ended up feeling slightly sick.

“I drank two low-carb Monsters that night and had a couple of cigs,” he said. “The next morning, I walked into the final drinking my third Monster. The sleep deprivation made me have an emotional breakdown that week. It was pretty epic.”

When studying, Weinman recommended that students get more sleep in the morning, exercise, eat more meats, potatoes and fruits and avoid foods that are high in sugar, which he said will ultimately lead to an “after meal coma.”

After consuming energy drinks, Weinman said students may have symptoms of irritability, difficulty concentrating and even sleep abnormalities. In order to live longer and stay healthier, Weinman said it is important that energy drinks are ingested only sparingly.

“Moderation is the key to longevity,” he said. “Sometimes in college that may be hard to understand. These drinks are basically drugs. It’s really best with any kind of drug to take moderate amounts and not stress your body.”

4B | FEATURES

The New Paltz Oracle

Student Senator Rounds Up Hopefuls INTERESTED STUDENTS PROVIDED WITH ELECTION INFORMATION

By Pamela Vivanco Copy Editor | Pvivanco57@newpaltz.edu

Student senators and students interested in running for a student government position openly discussed the different changes they would like see on campus on April 15 at 9 p.m. in Student Union 418.

Student Sen. Eve Stern hosted “A Night with Student Senators,” where she and other senators provided interested students with helpful information and a clearer understanding of the upcoming Student Association (SA) elections.

The student senate is a representation of the student body, and this semester Stern has been using a lot of her energy “toward seeking out people who would make great senators.”

“I hope that after doing all that hard work for next semester, it will be a team of senators that together could be very active out on campus,” she said. “There are solid problems in the school and it doesn’t just affect our students, it affects SUNY students as a whole.”

Before the discussion, Stern asked students to go around and introduce themselves: “Name, major, year and fun fact!” she said.

Once the energy in the room emerged into comfort, Stern asked each student to express an issue they had with the New Paltz campus and community.

“I have an issue with organization awareness,” said third-year biology student Victoria Samakai. “I feel like there are a lot of organizations on campus but the word isn’t spread so you really don’t know what is there.”

Aside from that, Samakai and others agreed that the treatment of transfer students is unfair and inconvenient. Samakai, who is running for a seat in next year’s student senate, said she also hopes to change the way people and the administration interact with transfer and international students.

“They don’t really cater to transfers,” she said. “When you come in as a freshman it’s easy for you to socialize, but when you come in as a transfer it’s not that easy.”

Problems with the University Police, lack of student unity and activism and apathy were some of the other issues discussed.

Marc Pottak, Chris Albach and Max Lasky are running under a party for seats in the senate in hopes of changing the drug policy on campus, among other things.

Pottak said that together they want to improve communication between the police and students as well as the administration and students, and the SA and students.

In addition he said, “We want Tasers taken away from the university police.

It’s unnecessary and dangerous to the population.”

Current student Sen. Samantha Kossin said that she joined senate because she had a problem with the “underclassmen not getting involved enough.” Even though being a part of student government is an important job, Kossin said there are some unfortunate limitations.

“People come into this thinking that they’re going to make really big changes but it’s more about smaller ones that are not less important just less noticeable but

Thursday, April 22, 2010

it greatly affects people that truly care about certain issues,” she said. “There’s only so much that you can affect or can do without overstepping your role and doing things that you’re not allowed to do.”

During the discussion, Stern and others emphasized that there are a lot of problems on campus that need to be solved and despite the limitations, it is possible.

“We could all really band together and support each other,” said Stern.

“Whether it be through a rally or through a demonstration, really show the administrators of the school and other authorities that we’re here and we’re really loud and we have issues with what’s going down at the school.”

Stern encouraged students interested in running for a seat in the senate or any other position to attend the general interest meeting on Thursday, April 22 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in Student Union 408 as well as senate meetings which take place every Tuesday in Student Union 418 and begin at 8:30 p.m.

FEATURES | 5B

The New Paltz Oracle

Heroes of the Elting Gym

SUCCESSFUL UPSTATE BAND HEADLINES SPRING CONCERT

By Andrew Wyrich Copy Editor | Andrew.wyrich63@newpaltz.edu

Gym Class Heroes graced the stage of Elting Gym on Wednesday night as the main acts for Student Association (SA) Productions concert this year.

Gym Class Heroes, including vocalist Travis McCoy, guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo, bassist Eric Roberts and drummer Matt McGiney, was chosen to perform through a process that took several months and had different possible outcomes.

According to SA Vice President for Finance Yasmin El Jamal, an e-mail was sent out earlier in the year in which students were polled on the top six artists whom they would like to see play at SUNY New Paltz.

“The top choice was Jason Mraz, but he was in studio so we couldn’t get him. We also tried Brand New, but Gym Class Heroes got more votes,” El Jamal said. “We spoke to a few people and they were the easiest to deal with, they were basically third on the list, so we negotiated with them and brought them down.”

Popular mash-up artist Girl Talk was also bid on, but they declined and ultimately Gym Class Heroes was chosen by the SA Productions board.

According to Vice President of Programming Kevin Purcell, Gym Class Heroes was chosen to be the main act because they “were in our price range and they are a great group.” Purcell said that Gym Class Heroes was one of the top five vote getters on the online survey.

The State University of New York at New Paltz will be one of many colleges Gym Class Heroes has been played at in the last months. Other colleges they have visited included Muhlenberg College, University of Mary Washington and Williams College.

Guitarist Eric Roberts said that playing at colleges is “gratifying” and that he enjoyed playing them because “usually colleges shows…get us a good draw, and allows us to reach out to a new audience.”

Bassist Lumumba-Kasongo said that college shows are “really cool” because of high energy.

“College kids are ready to get down,” he said. “I think it has been cool for me too, probably all of us, because when I was in college and bands that I really liked stopped by…it really is a trip to realize that we are that band now.

It is really inspiring.”

Roberts also said he likes the atmosphere of college shows.

“I wasn’t born yesterday; you kids get a little crazy, and I get a little crazy myself,” he said. “After our shows we

might crash a house party and get down the old school way, colleges are fun.”

Fans of the band have said that each album in their six-release discography has a different tone than the last. However, Roberts said this is evidence of their development as a band.

“It’s not a conscious effort we make, it’s just how it happens when we come out with an album,” he said. “It’s different, but the thing is you can still tell its Gym Class Heroes.”

Lumumba-Kasongo said the last three albums have not been the same in any regard.

“I don’t think that we ever set out to make an album that sounds like another album, that is part of us growing as musicians, we just are always expanding on our sound.”

As for their upcoming album, Papercut Chronicles Part II, LumumbaKasongo said that he “didn’t want to give away” the specific direction the album would take. However, Roberts said it should be a lot “darker” than previous releases.

“The climate of the industry right now, everyone’s crazy about electro and Lady Gaga, but I’m still not sure who Lady Gaga is,” Roberts said, “A lot of stuff has happened to us in the last four years and music is the way we express ourselves, and turmoil in the industry in general is effecting everybody.”

Lumumba-Kasongo said that he expects to work on it throughout the fall and winter, but according to Roberts, Gym Class Heroes “might have something to let you all know we are relevant by the end of the year, but a full album won’t be out until the beginning of next year.”

The SA Productions concert ticket prices were also lower for students this year than in recent in the past.

“Last year we had two shows, one with Immortal Technique…which was $5 and we felt that the show that had tickets for $5 sold a lot more and students could afford it more,” El Jamal said. “The non-student rate was $20 because we wanted…as many students as possible to attend the event.”

First-year undeclared student Sarah Whalen said the lower price drew her to go to the concert, which she said was a fun event to attend on a week night “What else do I have to do on a Wednesday night?” she said. “Plus, I’ve fallen in love with Travis.”

Third-year psychology major Amanda Czerniawski said she enjoyed the high-energy performance Gym Class Heroes delivered Wednesday night.

“I could not stop dancing, and everyone around me couldn’t either!” she PHOTOS COURTESY OF LAURA LUENGAS said.

Gym Class Heroes performed at Elting Gym on Wednesday at the SA Productions concert.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

6B | FEATURES

The New Paltz Oracle

Students Observe National Day of Silence 2010

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELEANOR JAILER-COLEY

The Day of Silence is meant to combat the anti-gay slurs, bullying, harassment and more. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals experience extremely high rates of depression and suicide. Therefore, the event is meant to draw attention to the heavy statistics and end the bullying. The Day of Silence was started in 1996 by students at the University of Virginia. As of 2008, over 8,000 schools from middle school through college participate in the Day of Silence nationwide.

Congratulations to the Fall 2010 New Paltz Oracle E-Board!

Editor-in-Chief: Pierce Lydon Managing Editor: Julie Mansmann News Editor: Justin McCarthy Features Editor: Zan Strumfeld A&E Editor: Maxim Alter Sports Editor: Andrew Wyrich Photography Editor: Laura Luengas Copy Editors: Sunya Bhutta, Ryan Patrick Hanrahan, Pete Thompson, Pamela Vivanco Thursday, April 22, 2010

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT |7B

The New Paltz Oracle

The film version of the comic book “Kick Ass” has great special effects with relatable characters. However, the plot is a little convuluted and confusing.

PHOTO COURTESY MAJORSPOILERS.COM

NewPOST-MODERN Movie Kicks Predecessors’ Asses SUPERHERO STORY DOES “KICK ASS” COMIC BOOK JUSTICE

By Pierce Lydon Editor-in-Chief | Lydon47@newpaltz.edu

In all honesty, “Kick-Ass” might be the second greatest superhero movie of all time. I say second greatest because anyone with a brain knows that “The Incredibles” was just that.

“Kick-Ass” follows normal high school geek Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) as he dons a spandex suit and decides to fight crime. He calls himself Kick-Ass, becomes an Internet phenomenon and subsequently gets involved with a New York City drug lord. Fortunately for him, there are a couple of other heroes who are much better at hero-ing than he, the stoic Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and the foul-mouthed 11-year-old Hit Girl (a fantastic Chloe Moretz).

Unfortunately, for the film’s titular character, those

two and more specifically Hit Girl, steal the show. Johnson plays Kick-Ass as your typical bumbling dork first– time superhero. Meanwhile, Hit Girl is dropping lines like, “You just contact the mayor’s office. He has a special signal he shines in the sky; it’s in the shape of a giant cock!” and Cage plays Big Daddy as a creepy cross between a child molester, Adam West and William Shatner.

Somehow, it works.

“Kick-Ass” is the closest we may ever get to a Tarantino-helmed superhero flick and the violence, while extremely gruesome at points (I don’t think anyone wants to see a little girl getting bashed in the face), plays as a perfect adaptation of the comic book. Hit Girl is chopping up gang members left and right. Big Daddy is a Batman-archetype who proves you don’t need to be a rich ninja to be that cool. And Kick-Ass is kind of adorable. He has a Taser and batons for Christ sakes. Kid

stuff compared to the myriad of weapons that Hit Girl and her Daddy wield.

The weakest part is the plot. The special effects are cool. The characters are relatable and fleshed out. But the plot is a little convoluted and almost confusing at times plus the thought that the mafia would be after a kid in a green wetsuit is a little much.

If this is the future for the post-modern superhero story, then I am for it. “Watchmen” taught us that audiences won’t respond to heavy-handed bullshit (that soundtrack was unbearable at some points). But “KickAss” is never like that. It’s light but not with poignancy.

There is something important here. Not that it necessarily teaches a lesson but through the blood and gore it speaks to something inside everyone. That is ultimately the goal of good films; to stir something inside us and dare us to be better.

So you liked “Kick-Ass” the movie, and now you’re going to read the comic. Excellent!

I believe that is ultimately the goal of a good comic book movie. But once you’ve read “Kick-Ass,” what’s next?

“Superfolks”

“Animal Man”

Before there was “Watchmen,” before there was “Astro City,” there was “Superfolks.” Interestingly this is not a comic book but a short novel written in 1977. It follows the superhero Indigo (a Superman stand-in) and his struggles with DUN-DUN-DUN… normal life. But eventually he gets back into the hero business. This is truly the first post-modern superhero story and it’s full of a sarcastic wit not found in enough mainstream literature. I mean Indigo is from the planet Kronk, he is weak to Kronkite and he works at as a journalist. This is the best Superman story ever written and this is coming from a tried and true Marvel fanboy.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GOODCOMICS.COM

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The first two trades of Grant Morrison’s run on “Animal Man” take much inspiration from the aforementioned “Superfolks.” But this one is actually a comic. “Animal Man” can be inhabited by the powers of any animal in the morphogenic field (read: any animal that has ever existed) but he also becomes aware that he is in a comic book and frequently uses that knowledge against his enemies. One arc of the comic has him desperately seeking out the writer after Morrison kills off his family. Plus the book tackles issues such as animal rights and vegetarianism.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEN-JENNINGS.COM

8B | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Getting

The New Paltz Oracle

By Maxim Alter

Copy Editor | Malter42@newpaltz.edu

Season 6 Episode 13:

“The Last Recruit” Tuesday night’s episode, “The Last Recruit” was – like the last couple episodes of “Lost”– a perfect combination of tension and character development. Instead of centering around the story of one character, the episode shifted between all of the main characters, finally giving us some much needed closure on a mystery that has been plaguing us since season one, as well as slowly sewing the final threads before the shows ultimate sendoff.

Even better, we are given signs of hope from both Claire and Sayid, who seem to be fighting the hold the Man in Black has on them. Even though we still haven’t been completely filled in on what the “infection” is, seeing Jack and Claire confronting each other as siblings made me almost forget Claire’s insanity and greasy hair.

Speaking of the siblings, FauxLocke (a.k.a. Flocke) reveals the mystery of their dead father, Christian, who has been wandering the island since the first season. It turns out, it was indeed the Man in Black, however his reasoning of “you needed to find water” seemed dishonest and I hope we see further development.

Since all the “candidates” were grouped together in Flocke’s camp, the vibe was very reminiscent of the beginning of the show. Like Flocke said, “It’s so nice to have everyone back together again.” I couldn’t agree more. But just when every-

thing seems to be going well for the group, Zoe (Widmore’s henchwoman) shows up and gets the ball rolling by showing just what Widmore is capable of on the other island. After she speaks a few words into her radio, a missile slams into jungle behind them. And judging from Flocke’s angry face, this means war.

In the parallel reality, Desmond continues his quest to make each character aware of the island reality.

I am very curious to see what will happen if he is successful in his mission. I believe the reason Desmond hit Locke with his car was so Locke and Jack could be together in the hospital, where Jack would eventually operate on him since he is the chief spinal surgeon there. Perhaps this will lead both characters to have a similar epiphany as Hurley, and realize the world they are in isn’t real.

Or is it? Now even I’m confused.

Anyway, in the parallel reality Sawyer has taken Kate into custody and questions their coincidental second meeting. After Sawyer brings up the idea of it being some form of destiny that has brought them together again since the airport, Kate laughs and shrugs it off. Their childish banter back and forth was very entertaining, and as usual, they seem perfect for each other. Too bad he’s a cop and she’s a criminal. Also at the police station, Sawyer and Miles get an update on Sayid’s whereabouts and decide to go after him. If you haven’t noticed yet, all of the main characters paths are crossing, which is something that “Lost” has always pleased me with.

On the island, Sayid is tasked

with killing Desmond but we are never shown the results. It is assumed however that Desmond is still alive when Sayid smiles after telling Flocke the job was done. If he is lying to Flocke, there may be some hope for him yet. As all this is going down, Sawyer and the rest of the survivors enact their plan to escape from Flocke by taking Libby’s boat over to the other island. It’s during these moments where Sawyer has some of his best one-liners ever – One of his highlights being: Lapidus looks like he “just stepped out of a Burt Reynolds movie.”

During Sawyer’s planned escape, Claire feels left out as usual since everyone decided not to include her. But when she follows and confronts them with a rifle, a very heartfelt and much needed moment between Claire and Kate pans out.

Claire finally seems on board to get off the island and back to Aaron.

But is she actually done drinking Flocke’s Kool-Aid? Only time will tell.

During their boat ride to the other island, Jack realizes what they are doing isn’t right and begins to almost quote Locke in a babble about destiny. He tells Sawyer they were brought to this island to do something, and if Flocke wants them to leave so bad, maybe he is afraid of what will happen if they stay. He says, “The island isn’t done with us yet.” Sawyer replies the only way he knows how – like a bad ass – and tells Jack, “Get off my damn boat.”

And in a literal leap of faith, Jack jumps into the water and swims back to Flocke who is waiting for him

Thursday, April 22, 2010

with a smirk on his face.

Once Sawyer and the rest of the crew reach the other island, it turns out Zoe’s deal was a sham and they are held at gunpoint. However, the moment many fans have been waiting for also happens when they reach the island: Jin and Sun reunite after almost two seasons of being apart.

The moment she touches Jin her English comes back, which leaves me wondering why it was gone in the first place. In the parallel reality, Jin and Sun have another happy ending and her baby is safe from the bullet that struck her a few episodes ago.

Just when everything seems to finally be working itself out, Zoe orders another missile to be fired, this time directly where Jack is standing on the other island. Completely disregarding everyone else, Flocke rescues Jack and carries him safely into the jungle. He needs him to survive because without him his plans are meaningless. The final words in the episode are creepily uttered from Flocke to Jack as he hovers over him: “You’re with me now.”

The next episode of “Lost” titled, “The Candidate” will not air until May 4, but until then here are my questions: Why did Sun say “It’s him” in a fit of fear as she was entering the hospital alongside Locke?

Why did Sayid not kill Desmond?

For that matter, where the hell is Desmond? What is Flocke planning to do with all of the “candidates?”

Is that a young Jacob that has been following Flocke around? And for the love of God, what is the Man in Black’s real name? I’m sick of saying Flocke.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT |9B

The New Paltz Oracle

Inspiring Change Through Music SSDP/NORML HOST ROCK AGAINST RACISM TO SEND A POLITICAL MESSAGE

By Sunya Bhutta Copy Editor | Sunya.bhutta94@newpaltz.edu The cloudy gray skies and wet green grass didn’t disrupt the sprightly events on Saturday, April 17 for the 11th annual Rock Against Racism in Old Main Quad.

During the earlier part of the day, bubbles daintily floated around the festival grounds and dozens of people were hula-hooping or dancing on the damp lawn while Rock Against Racism’s battle of the band winners Godchilla performed.

The small crowd slowly expanded throughout the evening as various performers and speakers took the stage. Hip-hop DJ Radio Rahim spoke about overcoming adversity through love.

“We can live together in peace and harmony with respect to human diversity,” he said. “Take a stand to honor each other and the gifts each person brings to enrich life…love and be loved.”

Co-founder of Rock Against Racism and advisor to the New Paltz chapter of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Rob Robinson talked about educating people about racial inequalities in the war on drugs.

According to Robinson, a white American has a one in 24 chance of going to jail in a lifetime whereas a black American has a one in four chance. Black Americans also represent over 50 percent of all convictions for drug arrests. Marijuana is the number one illegal drug of choice and is 80 percent of drug arrests, making it a major part of the issue.

“This is not a rock for pot event. This is an event with a serious political message trying to teach people about how racist the war on drugs is,” Robinson said. “Personally I am for the legalization of marijuana. I think the laws have done more harm than good, but as far as the event itself, the focus is on racism and the drug war.”

Aside from listening to the speakers and performers, those who attended the festival could visit the assortment of booths such as Gypsy Junction which sold crystals, minerals and fossils from different countries like Brazil, Morocco and Uruguay. The

KRS-One headlined this year’s Rock Against Racism on Saturday, April 17 on the Old Main Quad.

Jamaica Junction booth, run by fourth-year T.V. production major Lisa Montanaro, attracted the most attention with tiki torches, a burning hookah and a variety of tobacco pipes, tapestries and clothing for sale.

“The music and speeches were very moving. I especially enjoyed Godchilla for bringing good vibes early in the day and getting the crowd off their feet,” Montanaro said.

NYCamp, a grassroots organization moving to end prohibition in New York State for freedom to grow the cannabis plant, set up an information booth run by Abigail Storm. The organization challenges the New York State legislator that passed in 1977 for decriminalizing marijuana but still keeping criminal sanctions in place. It also goes against the pharmaceutical companies who make 80 to 90 percent profit from cancer treatment.

“We know it kills cancer,” Storm said. “But we are for people being able to use it for all purposes not just medicine. We don’t just want permission, we want protection.”

PHOTO BY MONICA SCHWERBERG

An African-style percussion performance by Tony Vacca and World Rhythms was an energizing experience. The jungle jazz melody brought spirit and culture to the events evening.

New Paltz’s NORML/SSDP chapter President and Producer of Rock Against Racism George Selby said this year’s event was much different from last year’s because of the well received speakers such as Rev. Kenny Glasgow Sharpton who sent the powerful message of being “the contributor to your own demise” and being aware and active of the injustices in society.

Rock Against Racism ended with a performance by hiphop legend KRS-One who stressed the importance of independent thought. The crowd jammed to his inspirational beats while glow in the dark and fire hula-hoopers danced.

Selby was very enthusiastic about how the day turned out.

“This year’s event was amazing,” he said. “All our acts were great and the crowd got up to about the 700 mark. Next year’s we plan to follow a similar pattern.”

New Paltz Spins Record Holiday LOCAL RHINO RECORDS AND JACK’S RHYTHMS PARTICIPATE IN RECORD STORE DAY

By Sunya Bhutta Copy Editor | Sunya.bhutta94@newpaltz.edu It seems like there is a holiday for everything. Parents, lovers, jokers, illegal drug users, dead presidents, the Irish and a groundhog are just a few to have an entire day attributed to tthem, but the list goes on.

Three years ago a new holiday was founded for vinyl collectors foun and musi music connoisseurs called Record Store Day, which S took place on Saturp day, April 17. Besides sid being an obvious marketing v strategy to raise s sales, it is a day for recognizing independent record stores and appreciating vinyl and live music experiences over digital downloads.

In New Paltz, Rhino Records and Jack’s Rhythm both celebrated Record Store Day with band performances and big sales. The local band Breakfast in Fur played at Jack’s Rhythms along with the Massachusetts-based band NoHow, providing customers with background music as they browsed.

Owner of Jack’s Rhythms John Lefsky said he thinks what makes vinyl more distinguishable is a mix of the artwork and the sounds. The rising interest in records is what keeps his business open.

“It moves people away from listening to their iPods or downloading one track, a record is a complete work,” he said.

Vinyl was best known in the 60s and 70s but has been making a focal comeback in the past few years.

The warmer sound quality has an alluring nuance with its crackles, pops and hisses. LPs are also more socially interactive and make listening to music a communal activity.

Recent record releases come with bonus artwork, posters and even download codes or CD copies.

Besides having a better sound quality, records have also become decoration pieces to hang on a wall or novelty to collect. Tom Whalen, assistant manager of Rhino Records, said he thinks “vinyl is just a more interesting artifact than CDs are.”

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The vinyl experience is much more intriguing than clicking a buttons on your computer or CD player, which produces a basic and minimall version of the album.

Roy Verspoor, poor, a graduate student dent in English, preferss vinyl over CDs because hee doesn’t like falling into the trap of shuffling through his music library brary and skipping through tracks.

“With vinyl you get to go back to listening to an album start to finish. It’s nice to hear song after song in the same style, sometimes with the same ideas, from the same artist. I think that ends up being a nicer time - less jumpy,” he said.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PUNKBUSINESSMANAGER.COM

10B | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The New Paltz Oracle

Flaming Lips Burn The House Down POUGHKEEPSIE TRIPS OUT TO BAND’S BUBBLING REBIRTH

By Zan Strumfeld A&E Editor | Sstrumfeld34@newpaltz.edu We’re all born once, usually over a nine-month process that involves stealing nutrients from our mother and giving only stretch marks in return. But with their new album, Embryonic, The Flaming Lips were born again. And, at their Vassar College Entertainment (ViCE) show at the Mid Hudson Civic Center on Saturday, April 17, The Flaming Lips took us on an unforgettable prenatal journey that not only revealed one of the most creative processes of awakening, but was also one of the trippiest shows around.

The show began with The Hood Internet, two guys from Chicago who were just a wannabe-Girl Talk, mixing tracks like Lil’ Wayne and Talking Heads. Nothing too original or even danceable. It’s sad to see how our generation enjoys a live show where the performers stand at a table and press a button or two on their Macs. They may have just been playing Solitaire and Minesweeper for all we know. Their presence was rather awkward, actually. The entire show felt a bit like a birthday party, The Hood Internet being the awkward parent who makes bad jokes, as you wait for the birthday cake to come out (a.k.a. The Flaming Lips).

Stardeath and the White Dwarves, who recently helped cover Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon with The Flaming Lips, came on next. With flashing lights, visuals on the large screen behind them and a cohesive sound, the band really got the crowd ready.

And then the cake came out, with the icing of Wayne Coyne, Michael Ivins, Steven Drozd and Kliph Scurlock. Each band member came out of a door split from the huge screen onstage, walking down a neon orange ramp. Coyne, who apparently does

this at almost every show (according to the 16-year-old number one fan from Pennsylvania I met in the crowd), crawled into an inflatable hamster ball that began to grow and grow. The screen behind him showed a naked woman dancing and then orgasming. Coyne’s ball continued to inflate as he danced almost tribally inside of it. When the ball was finally inflated, Coyne turned towards the crowd to release himself from his ‘mother.’

Coyne rolled himself onto a sea of hands, where laser pointers (earlier given to the entire crowd) and streams of confetti scattered around the ceiling.

The show began with “Worm Mountain,” off Embryonic, where huge balloons were released onto the crowd, some filled with confetti, and the drug-filled crowd went wild. Let me reiterate, almost everyone there was on something. Even Coyne approved when he told the crowd, “[It’s like everyone] just smoked PCP or crack at the show. I think it’s a good thing for tonight.

You just make it your own spring break.”

Continuing with crowd-pleasing tracks like “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song,” “She Don’t Use Jelly” and “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,” Coyne would either be playing a guitar that had a bubble around the strings, almost like that board game Trouble, or singing through a megaphone. Vassar volunteer students also danced on stage in neon jumpsuits, having the time of their lives.

Although the band itself puts on such a powerful performance, it was Coyne who really stole the show. He is a brilliant frontman and kept the crowd interested and engaged during the entire set. Even more impressive is that all of this is done at the ripe old age (at least by pop standards) of 49. It’s pretty fucking amazing that he’s still living the dream and living it so goddamn well.

“What is love?” Coyne asked the crowd. “I don’t know what love is when you receive it but I know to give it. And I’m

The Flaming Lips performed at the Mid Hudson Civic Center on Saturday, April 17, delivering a powerful performance filled with confetti and balloons.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

giving as much as I can to you guys.”

One of the trippiest parts of the show, besides the insane visuals, flashing lights and the music itself, were two giant paper-mache hands that lay at the front of the stage. At one point, Coyne put the hands on, as the house lights went black. Beams of green light struck out from the hands, lifting them like a conductor of the crowd. It was beautiful, psychedelic and a little scary all at the same time. At another point, Coyne grabbed a large mirror, asking everyone to aim their laser pointers at the mirror, which then reflected back onto the crowd, creating an amazing echo of light over the entire arena.

After finishing their new song “Powerless,” Coyne admitted, “I’m not a very good musician but I love playing music…so thanks for letting me play that guitar solo.” Adding that “World peace is a mother-fucker,” The Flaming Lips finished the show with everyone holding up a peace sign.

The encore, which must be noted, was breath-taking. The Flaming Lips returned with Stardeath and the White Dwarves to cover “Eclipse” from Dark Side of the Moon. The light show and the atmosphere of the crowd really made you think you were attending some strange version of our generation’s Pink Floyd experience. With the predictability of the final song, “Do You Realize??” everyone sang along, and some, like that Pennsylvanian, cried.

With confetti raining from the sky and everyone smiling around one another, the celebration ended with a ray of happiness. The fact that The Flaming Lips produced their 12th studio album so successfully and provided such an incredible show, really says something about them. We can only hope that shows like this continue so it’s worth the say, $35, to attend.

And with the departure of the band from the stage, the lights came on and the candles blew out.

PHOTOS BY CONNOR SYREWICZ

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT |11B

The New Paltz Oracle

Longtime DJ Signs Off JESSE NOWONDER MARTINEZ PREPARES FOR THE FUTURE

By Sunya Bhutta

Music News

Copy Editor | Sunya.bhutta94@newpaltz.edu

While listening to the Edge you might have heard Jesse noWonder Martinez’s famous catchphrase, “It really don’t get no better than this” and for him, it really can’t get any better.

Martinez, a sixth-year radio and T.V. production major, will be graduating this May with a career liftoff, turning his passion into a profession. He was just hired by his internship at Clear Channel Radio of the Hudson Valley as a member of their promotions team.

Martinez said he fell in love with radio in high school and has devoted the past five years to studying it. He started working for the Edge when he transferred to State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz in 2007 and had previous radio experience at SUNY Delhi on WDTU. He said he came to New Paltz for a bigger market with a more instant impact.

For him, college radio and business radio are two completely different experiences.

“In college radio you can do anything you want and I’ve been blessed to learn from that,” he said.

The connection that is established between the disc jockey and the listener is what he finds most rewarding. Martinez said he really wants to affect people through music.

“In radio, it’s never really about you.

It’s about the listener,” he said. “It’s about how they react to you and the music, because there giving up their time to listen.”

Aside from hosting his own radio show, Martinez deejays parties and spins for McGillicuddy’s. Being so dedicated to music, he has deejayed a countless amount of free gigs and once played at a party for 14 hours straight. What he appreciates most about music is how it brings people together

The Green Day American Idiot musical finally opened Tuesday night at Broadway’s St. James Theatre after a run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

:: It was a happy 4-20 at the Hollywood Palladium, where a sold-out crowd gathered to watch 21-year-old singer Rome Ramirez front a mostly reunited Sublime.

It was the first stop on the band’s inaugural tour, and the audience was in a celebratory mood.

:: Sonic Youth’s website reports that the band has recorded the soundtrack to the film “Simon Werner a Disparu,” directed

by French director Fabrice Gobert. It will screen at next month’s Cannes Film Festival.

:: PHOTO BY SUNYA BHUTTA

Jesse noWonder Martinez discusses his love for radio and his life after New Paltz. and the effect it has on the listener. Whether or not the phone rings in the studio, he still knows that his show is reaching millions of homes in the Hudson Valley.

“The most powerful weapon at my disposal besides a pen is a microphone,” he said. “I can say something to put a frown or a smile on a person’s face.”

With his last show coming up, Martinez

said he can’t help but feel sad to step away from college radio and The Edge, but is looking forward to starting his career in radio.

The last show of noWonder Entertainment will air on Sunday, April 25 from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.

“I’ve always just wanted people to listen,” he said. “I just want to be remembered.”

noWonder Ent.’s Top 10 Albums of the Week 1. “Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)” - Alicia Keys 2. “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” - Usher 3. “Rude Boy” - Rihanna 4. “On To The Next One” - Jay-Z 5. “I Wanna Rock Right Now” - Snoop Dogg

6. “Back To The Crib” - Julez Santana 7. “Say Ahh” - Trey Songz 8. “How Low Can You Go” - Ludacris 9. “Tie Me Down” - New Boyz 10. “Nothin’ On You” - B.o.B.

List compiled by Gneiss (Nice) noWonder and DJ Scotto.

Their show is every Sunday night from 10 p.m. to midnight.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Phoenix are set to score director Sofia Coppola’s new flick “Somewhere,” due out this fall. The news has been hinted at for a while and makes a lot of sense considering Coppola is the girlfriend of Phoenix singer Thomas Mars. Apparently, Coppola fell hard for the epic Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix track “Love Like a Sunset” and asked the band for some more music in that vein.

:: The beleaguered “Spider-Man” musical has just been dealt yet another blow: actor Alan Cumming, cast to play the Green Goblin in “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” has left the production due to scheduling conflicts.

Cumming’s departure from the show — which features music by U2’s Bono and the Edge — comes just weeks after the exit of actress Evan Rachel Wood, who was set to play the lead female role of Mary Jane, leaving the delayed musical without their two principal actors. Only newcomer Reeve Carney, who will play Spider-Man sans mask Peter Parker, remains in the cast.

All information derived from Rollingstone. com, Pitchfork.com and Spin.com.

12B | THE DEEP END

The New Paltz Oracle

This Week in the Deep End:

Matt Monath

NAME: Matt Monath ART: Portrait and landscape artist.

A fashion/editorial style in portraits, with interest in alternative portraiture as well as photomanipulations YEAR: Fourth-year MAJOR: Visual Arts, with a concentration in Graphic Design and Photography INSPIRATION: The people around him. He is interested in people who are unusually and uniquely pretty, in their own distinct way FAVORITE ARTIST: He finds it impossible to choose, but is a big fan of lots of young artists on Flickr.com DREAM: To have complete artistic control as a photographer, preferably in a studio setting, where he could have fun and alternative shoots with pop-culture figures PHOTOS COURTESY OF MATT MONATH, CAPTION BY FELICE BERNABO

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Pg 8New Paltz Oracle The

EDITORIAL

The New Paltz Oracle Pg 9

ASK NOT WHAT SA CAN DO FOR YOU . . .

We really only want to tell you one more time: get involved. Too many students are apathetic and don’t take interest in student government,and frankly, we’re sick of seeing this sentiment persist. It is absurd that senate seats go unfilled because not enough students want to run for a position. Things must be changed in order to make sure the student body gets what it wants.

Why join the Student Association (SA)? SA is one of the most powerful outlets on campus that a student can participate in. Were you a part of student government in high school? It’s like that, where you make decisions concerning budget and events, and actually have a say in what happens on campus. They make decisions about all clubs and organizations on campus, overseeing their expenses and giving approval of events and activities.

There are currently a lot of issues concerning the campus and community that students have been complaining about. Here’s where SA comes in: elected student officials try to take action to benefit the student body. For example, SA members were involved in organizing the rallies against budget cuts being handed down by the state last semester, where many students participated to voice their concerns of the huge issue at hand. Also, some SA officers have been involved in trying to get the Loop service to have weekend hours to better fit the needs of the students. Funding has been provided to support student research thanks to SA; the list goes on. Bottom line: SA cares and wants to do what is best for the students.

Being a part of SA is the best place to voice your opinion on any certain matter.

Don’t really enjoy the band that’s coming to perform on campus? Step into a seat on SA and state your opinion; this is your best opportunity to be heard.

Current positions are still open for SA and those who are interested in running can still do so. There will be a final general interest meeting on Thursday, April 22 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Also, the declaration of intent, which must be filled out in order to run for a position, is due

CARTOON BY JON AIELLO

Friday, April 26. Attending the meeting and running is the best possible opportunity for being a part of the student-run government and create change.

If you want to be heard, we deeply encourage you to step up to the plate and show what you’re worth. Students really

don’t have the right to complain if all they plan on doing is joining a Facebook group; becoming a “fan” against a certain issue is not any actual action besides pressing a button. Get off the computer and get involved. Fill the seats on the SA boards.

Editorials represent the views of the majority of the editorial board. Columns, op-eds and letters, excluding editorials, are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of The New Paltz Oracle, its staff members, the campus and university or the Town or Village of New Paltz.

Letters to the editor can be submitted to oracle@newpaltz.edu or via mail to Student Union 417 by Sundays at 5 p.m.

We ask that letters are no more than 250 words, for spacial limitation issues.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Pg 10

OPINIONS

The New Paltz Oracle

CARTOONS, ETC.

Jon Aiello Cartoonist N01717845@newpaltz.edu Jon Aiello is an aspiring super-senior in the Asian Studies program at SUNY New Paltz. His super-abilities include an uncanny memory for movie lines and a penchant for dirty jokes, neither of which have

done much to help his scholastic career.

Aiello enjoys cynicism, long scarves, 50s pin-up girls and flan. Jon dreams of one day breaking the glass ceiling faced by white males in the hibachi fry cook industry.

Do you have cartoons that you want to see printed in The New Paltz Oracle?

Send them to us at oracle@newpaltz.edu!

Sudoku courtesy of Spen Sky Sudoku Generator

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The New Paltz Oracle

OPINIONS

Pg 11

CARTOONS, ETC. Earth Day Word Search!

Do you want to write for

The New Paltz Oracle?

Our last story meeting of the Spring 2010 semester will be held on Sunday, April 25 at 7 p.m. in Student Union 417.

If you have any questions, e-mail us at oracle@newpaltz.edu!

By Josh Kusaywa

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Pg 12

OPINIONS

The New Paltz Oracle

COLUMNS The Legend of Bugabo

Maxim Alter Copy Editor Malter42@newpaltz.edu There comes a point in every boy’s life when he becomes a man. For some it is their Bar Mitzvah, for others their first kiss. For me, it was Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse.

At the sprightly age of nine, I entered what could only be descried as a redneck’s worst nightmare. The walls, creepily decorated with the heads of large woodland creatures, sang show tunes as I approached my table. After opening my menu, a trophy moose head maniacally stared down at me and in a loud burly voice shouted the dinner specials and the lyrics to “Mack the Knife.”

To be blunt, I was terrified. However, the worst was yet to come.

The surrounding dining area echoed with the laughter of innocent families, each enjoying their ample over-cooked steaks. They were clueless to the trauma they were about to endure. Joining my own family on this festive occasion were some of my closest childhood friends.

As the waitress asked us for our dessert order, I contemplated what flavor ice cream I would choose. Chocolate? Vanilla? Doom?

When my sundae finally arrived at the table, my destiny was sealed. Barely tasting the ice cream, I repeatedly shoved spoonfuls into my mouth. The whipped cream was buoyant and the chocolate syrup was evenly distributed throughout the serving glass. With a smile, I took my final bite and sat back into my confined booth, not realizing that the single chunk sliding down the back of my throat wasn’t a chocolate chip. It was a walnut – the most dangerous food item that could ever enter my fragile pre-teen body.

In a daze, my stomach started to rumble louder than the singing animals surrounding me. It was out for vengeance

and my deathly allergy to walnuts would not allow me to just get up and walk away. My entire dinner was coming out and there was nothing anyone could do.

I stared down into the small glass that once held my thick delicious ice cream, and that’s when it happened.

Tears burst out from my face as a wave of vomit filled the glass evenly to the brim. I stared at my friend as the fear in his eyes reached a level of panic. With little warning, vomit projected into his direction. It was too late for him. The rest of my family jumped out of their seats and struggled to take refuge in the isles between the surrounding booths. The waitress ran to my table holding dozens of thick reusable lap napkins, hoping to somehow stop the flow of terror. Grabbing each one, I effortlessly began to destroy them. As fear permeated the room, dozens of guests began to flood the door.

Choking on a never-ending stream of puke, I aimed my head upwards to avoid dousing the waitress anymore than I already had. My aim now shifted its way toward the moose head, which continued singing merrily, almost providing a soundtrack to the disaster. As the moose gargled on my bile, distant

screams of guests could be heard in the distance. Inside my head, I begged for it to end. Like an act of God, after 10 straight minutes of projectile misfortune, I had finally triumphed. The worst was over.

Still sitting in my seat, I turned to view the restaurant. Only a handful of others remained, and not one of them spoke a word. Even the talking moose had halted its speech – probably because my vomit had somehow short-circuited its system. After being told to leave, my mother grabbed my hand and we left the establishment. With everything I had been through, it looks Bugaboo said the dinner was on them.

Maxim is a third-year journalism major.

He is a giant movie, music and television buff and spends most of his time nerding out on any of those three things or sleeping. He enjoys writing, laughing and being creative. His ultimate goal in life was to have his own magazine and name it after himself. Unfortunately, he was beaten to it. Instead, his new life goal is to go to outer space and open a movie theater. Take that, MAXIM Magazine.

Amping Up My Wednesdays and Thursdays

Julie Mansmann Managing Editor Jmansmann60@newpaltz.edu As I type what will ultimately be the worst piece of writing I have ever published directly into an Adobe InDesign page, I am stressed. Three different people in opposite corners of The New Paltz Oracle office just called my name, all with different questions about a particular layout, an AP Style rule about disc jockeys, if a headline sounds awkward and what have you. I still have to create

the page with this week’s editorial and it’s already close to 1 a.m. I’m checking my e-mail constantly to see if a source has finally gotten back to me for a real article. And my phone has buzzed at least five times in the past three minutes with updates about what’s going on in the New York Yankees game from who I am pretty sure is the only friend I have left aside from The New Paltz Oracle editors (one more than Copy Editor Maxim Alter). So, Wednesdays are fun.

But then comes Thursday.

By and large, this is the worst day of the week. Really, Thursday is usually Wednesday Part Two, as I can’t even remember the last time that I slept on Wednesday night post newspaper production. How do I manage to get through three classes? I pull my hair up in a sloppy mess, pens sticking out in different directions, I splash some cold water on my face and I go to Jazzman’s and buy an Amp Energy drink...or four.

Hi, my name is Julie Mansmann, and I am an energy drink addict.

I can’t explain when it happened, but I certainly know how. Some might say I spread myself thin this semester, taking on what became the managing editor/secretary/mom position for this publication, the role as editor of TheLittleRebellion.com and taking four classes in my major. Sure, it’s a lot of work. And I can handle it...as long as I have my favorite yellow, purple, blue or red carbonated beverage in hand for at least two days of the week.

When my right eye starts twitiching from fatigue and and I start losing my grasp of the English language in conversation out of tiredness, I need that extra sugary jolt of caffeine, ginseng and taurine (I am starting to wonder whether or not there is cocaine in them).

This is all well and good now. I get my works done and I am able to enjoy the ability of being able to do work that I love. But, as the features section of The New Paltz Oracle informed me this week, I might die by age 38 because of my nasty new habit.

Doctors and health specialists ultimately reccomend that people drink no more than

one a week; meanwhile, I am having around four on Thursday alone. They don’t make me feel any better, really; last week, I thought my stomach was going to fold into itself and my brain felt like it was going to poun out of my skull for hours. Really, Dr. Weinman didn’t need to tell me how bad these drinks are for me because I can feel it.

Yet, I just took a sip of my second Amp of the night. I’ll likely max out around five by 8 p.m. tomorrow. All I can say is that it’s a legitmate addiction, and I think I need an intervention. Or, Pierce could always just put the final touches on my obituary.

Julie is kind of a second-year, sort of a third-year journalism major. This is her fourth semester on The New Paltz Oracle.

She survived being both news copy editor and news editor. She is enjoying her role as the E-board secretary this semester, though she really just wants to write about the Yankees, now and forever.

Come write for The New Paltz Oracle! Our last story meeting of the semester will be held on Sunday, April 25 at 7 p.m. in Student Union 417 Thursday, April 22, 2010

Pg 13

SPORTS

The New Paltz Oracle

Hawks Players of the Week For the Week Ending April 25 Second-year goalkeeper Margaret DeLauter picked up her second win on the season this past week against Mount Saint Mary College.

DeLauter collected 14 total saves and allowed eight goals in 60 minutes of play for the win.

Second-year attack Samantha DelGaudio led the Hawks past Mount Saint Mary College this past Saturday in a 16-8 victory, improving to 2-7 on the season.

DelGaudio tied her career-high by scoring five goals.

She collected two assists, picked up one groundball and earned seven team points.

Wellness and Recreation Events and Activities Personal Training Do you want to work out but don’t know where to begin? Interested in an initial fitness consultation and assessment?

You can sign up for personal training sessions! You will get an initial assessment and a personal training session. And you have the option to sign up for up to three personal training sessions.

(And it’s free! As long as you’re a student or a current AWC member if you’re faculty, staff or alumni.)

Just fill out the Wellness & Recreation Personal Training form and return it to Elting Gym 220 or 207 and help yourself get started today.

and more. If you are a student, faculty, staff, alumni, or retired faculty who is an Athletic & Wellness Center current member and would like to sign up, please fill out the Health Assessment form and return it to room 220 or in Elting Gym or sign up online.

Group Fitness Schedule Monday

Health Assessments Interested in a free health assessment?

With our state of the art Polar BodyAge™ System, our trainers can assess body fat, weight, body size, flexibility, strength, blood pressure, cardiovascular, heart rate, nutrition, stress, lifestyle, disease risks

Tuesday

12 p.m.

Cycling with Corinna 3:30 p.m.

Absolute Abs with Bianca 6:30 p.m.

Vinyasa Yoga with Lana, Room 101 7:15 p.m.

Dance Groove with Elisa 7:30 p.m.

Cycling with Lauren N. 8:30 p.m.

Belly Dance with Amy 4:30 p.m.

BOSU Strength with Corinna 5:30 p.m.

Zumba with Jen

6:00 p.m.

Vinyasa Yoga with Lana, Room 101 7 p.m.

Jujitsu with Lauren, Room 101 7:30 p.m.

Willpower & Grace with Saara, Cycling with Starr 8:30 p.m.

Hip Hop Cardio with Danit Wednesday 7 a.m.

Cycling with Corinna 5 p.m.

Vinyasa Yoga with Lana, Room 101, Boot Camp with Bianca 6 p.m.

Cycle Strength with Lauren Z. Belly Dance with Amy 7 p.m.

Cycling with Stephanie Thursday 12 p.m.

Cycling with Corinna

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Friday

5 p.m.

Vinyasa Yoga with Lana, Room 101, Zumba with Corinna 5:30 p.m.

Cycling with Starr 7 p.m.

Willpower and Grace with Saara 7:30 p.m.

Cycling with Jessica 8 p.m.

Hip Hop Cardio with Danit 2 p.m.

Dance Groove with Elisa 3 p.m.

Willpower and Grace with Shelbie 3:30 p.m.

Cycling with Starr 4 p.m.

Vinyasa Yoga with Lana, Room 101 4 p.m.

Boot Camp with Bianca

Pg 14

SPORTS

The New Paltz Oracle

Joel Judson Starts Off Strong

By Andrew Wyrich Copy Editor | Andrew.wyrich63@newpaltz.edu

“Hells Bells” by AC/DC rang ominously in the background as Joel Judson, a fourth-year for the New Paltz Baseball team, went into the stretch and threw warm up pitches before the fourth inning of Monday’s game versus SUNY Oswego.

Each pitch fired from the six foot, 190 pound left-hander’s hand hit its mark with a loud thud of the catcher’s mitt, which coupled with the hellish dongs of AC/DC’s classic song, added to the imposing aura Judson has on the mound.

“Joel is the type of player that only comes around every few years if you’re lucky,” Baseball team Manager Matt Griffiths said.

“Knowing the athlete that Joel is, I am not surprised that he is having such an outstanding season for us.”

Judson is currently second on the team in average, runs batted in, hits and first in stolen bases, while also being the ace of their pitching staff. “[Baseball is] the one thing in my life that I’ve always wanted to do and succeed at,” Judson said.

“The thing about Joel though is that he has

one of the smartest baseball minds I have come across in a young player,” Griffiths said. “He truly has a great understanding of the game and how it’s supposed to be played.”

While Judson took the loss in Monday’s first game against Oswego, his dominance was visible throughout the innings he pitched.

Many times Judson coupled fastballs with off-speed pitches that had Oswego hitters on their toes. Judson had Oswego hitters swinging at balls that broke at the last minute; garnering Judson many check swings and three strikeouts.

Judson’s dominance this season has helped the Hawks reach a 16-12 record as of Wednesday, and his presence is paramount to the team’s success.

“Judson is vital to our success. His contribution to the team is truly unmatched.”

Griffiths said “Joel is absolutely one of our team leaders.”

However, his ability to play baseball and lead a team did not happen overnight. “Since I could stand up my dad would throw or roll balls to me. I would always be swinging a bat or a golf club” Judson said.

As for college baseball, Judson was offered to play for many schools because of his stellar play at Duchess Community College, but ultimately he chose New Paltz because of their willingness to let him pitch and hit, which many Division I schools did not want him to do.

“Fortunately, Coach Griffiths gave me the opportunity to do both and everything else just fit” Judson said.

“Joel’s athleticism and strong work ethic have certainly gotten him better each year since I have known him,” Griffiths said.

“Joel is the type of player that only comes around every few years if you’re lucky”

— Matt Griffiths

Weekly Sports Update

By Andrew Wyrich Copy Editor | Andrew.wyrich63@newpaltz.edu

Baseball April 19: First-year pitcher Chris Chismar fanned a school record of 20 batters in a the New Paltz Baseball team’s 2-1 victory over the visiting Oswego State Lakers. He is the ninth pitcher in Division III history to strikeout at least 20 batters and is the first to do so since 2003. The Division III record for strikeouts in a game is 22, which has been accomplished three times. He allowed one run on three hits in his first collegiate complete game. He improves to 2-0 on the season and threw 92 of his 125 pitches for strikes, while getting 12 Laker batters looking at strike three.

April 18: The Hawks fell to the visiting Red Dragons from Cortland State by the scores of 16-7 and 10-4. With the two losses, the Hawks fell to 15-11 overall and 2-3 in the SUNYAC. In game one, the Hawks jumped out quickly in the bottom of the first with two runs. Paul Merola walked with one out and Joel Judson doubled into the left center field gap scoring Merola from first base. In the nightcap, the Hawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with two runs in the first. But Cortland would take a 3-2 lead with three runs in the third, and eventually win the game 10-4.

April 15: The New Paltz Baseball team fell to the visiting Ithaca College

Bombers by the score of 13-3. The Bombers scored six runs with two-outs in the first inning to pull away from the Hawks.

The Hawks fell to 15-9 with the loss.

Softball April 14: The New Paltz Softball team earned a split this afternoon versus the Valiants of Manhattanville. The Hawks shutout the Valiants in game one, 7-0 and lost 3-2 in the nightcap. In game one, the Hawks drew first blood in the bottom of the third inning when they put up five runs, and in game two Jillian Gallagher lead off the bottom of the first with a triple, Melissa Liotta executed the suicide squeeze which scored Gallagher to put the Hawks on the board to provide a 1-0 lead, but the Hawks were unable to score in the last three innings making the final score 3-2.

Women’s Lacrosse April 17: The New Paltz Women’s Lacrosse team picked up a 16-8 non-conference win against Mount Saint Mary College. Sam DelGaudio had seven team points to pace the Hawks as New Paltz improves to 2-7 overall. Julianne Rehain added four goals to pace the Hawks. Erin Tornatore and Bridgitte Hooker each tallied two scores, including two assists for Tornatore. Brittany Hunt had one goal and three assists and Brittany Bennett and Julia Donato each had a score.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Judson would compare himself to San Fransico’s Barry Zito as a pitcher and San Diego’s legend Tony Gwynn as a hitter as major league players that mirror his style of play.

“Pitching wise, I’m probably very comparable to Barry Zito,” Judson said. “We both throw the same pitches and have about the same velocity. As a hitter I compare well to Tony Gwynn. We’re both line drive hitters that use the whole field.”

Judson’s performance on the field will be a major factor in the Hawks success down the stretch of the season.

“Without making any kind of prediction, if this team plays to their potential in the second half of the season, we will be playing well into May,” Griffiths said “Joel is our big game pitcher so his success will have an immediate and direct impact on the team’s success.”

“I still have around 2-3 starts left to make and I’ll probably be in the lineup every day,” Judson said in regards to the team’s future success. “Hopefully the eight other guys in the lineup will play well enough and pick me up if I’m not getting it done.”

The Hawks will continue their quest for a spot in the SUNYAC Tournament when they will play Old Westbury on Thursday.

SPORTS

The New Paltz Oracle

Pg 15

Ike Takes Office with a Bang

By Andrew Wyrich Copy Editor | Andrew.wyrich63@newpaltz.edu

So, originally I was supposed to write an article about who may replace New York Mets Manager Jerry Manuel, should he be axed during the season. However, due to various things that the Metropolitans have done over the last few days, I now have to save that particular column for another day.

First, I’d like to congratulate the Mets on winning an epic 20-inning pitcher’s duel on Saturday against the Cardinals. While they didn’t hit, their pitching was nothing short of brilliant and they deserved the win.

It was actually shocking to see the Mets hold their own for so long. Santana returned to his normal self, quelling my fears for just a bit longer.

Also, their pitching staff has begun to settle in a bit. Jon Niese continues to impress me, and I actually think that he could be an excellent starter for the Mets over the long term. His cutter and two-seam fastball have been terrific. His performance on Monday

was stellar, as he struck out seven Cardinal batters during the game. Once he harnesses his pitches and the hits he gives up become outs, he could be a special pitcher for the Mets. He reminds me of Andy Pettite in many ways, and I think his future is bright.

But, the true story is the front office decision to call up the first basemen of the future – Ike Davis. Davis was called up on Monday, after the Mets designated Mike Jacobs for assignment. Davis has been hitting the cover off the ball in AAA Buffalo, and basically forced himself onto the team.

In his debut, Davis had two singles, one of which resulted in his first major league RBI. Davis is the future of Mets baseball. He projects to be a middle of the order bat that the Mets can couple with David Wright and Jason Bay for the foreseeable future. While he may not be the savior for this particular season, he could be an excellent building block for 2011 and beyond. The Mets made it clear that Davis is going to play every day, which I think is the right move. He should be able to learn the position on a daily basis,

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR.COM

Davis projects to be in the middle of the batting order for the New York Mets. and not have to share playing time with the likes of the double-play machine himself, Fernando Tatis.

Ike Davis has done nothing but impress the coaching staff and fans since Spring

Hawks Bump Up Offense

By Pete Thompson Sports Editor | Pthompson51@newpaltz.edu

The Men’s Volleyball team’s season came to a close on Friday, April 9 after suffering a tough 2-3 (31-29, 23-30, 21-30, 3024, 15-11) opening round loss to no. 8 Medaille College at the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) Tournament in Cape Cod, Ma. The Hawks had a decent season, however, finishing with a 19-16 overall and 7-2 conference record.

“Our Volleyball team had much more potential than ever before especially in offense where we have registered a tremendous improvement,” said Head Coach Radu Petrus. This was his fourth season at New Paltz.

The team’s offensive improvement shined in the final match, where they acquired a .348 hitting percentage and 79 kills, opposed to the Mavericks’ .271 and 59.

Fourth-year Jake Moore had a game-high 28 kills, while second-year Kevin Stross had 17 kills and a .467. Second-year Mike Van Tyne and fourth-year Daniel Liberto added 10 and 11 kills, respectively.

Although the game against Medaille ended in a loss, despite an early 2-1 lead, the 2010 season held a number of accomplishments and exceptional performances, including a 3-1 (25-30, 30-28, 30-25, 31-29) home victory against rival Stevens College. The Hawks also beat 2010 NECVA Tournament Champions Nazareth College 3-0 (30-27, 30-21, 30-25) at the Nazareth Tournament in

Rochester, NY. In NCAA Division III, Stross is no. 1 in hitting percentage and no. 30 in kills per game, Moore is no. 4 in aces per game and no. 9 for kills per game. Third-year Andrew Cassius is no. 3 in assists per game and fourth-year Mike Fink is no. 30 in digs per game.

Stross and Moore also earned NECVA First-Team All-Metro Division for middle hitter and outside hitter, respectively. Stross finished with a .467 hitting percentage, 429 kills and 100 blocks, while Moore tallied a team-high 456 kills, 75 service aces and 56 blocks.

“They all played well the whole season, and certainly improved their performance,” Pertus said. “We can say we had a good season.”

End of Season Scores vs. New Haven

W 3-0(30-20,30-23,30-26)

vs. Sacred Heart University L 0-3(27-30,27-30,21-30)

vs. Mount Saint Vincent W 3-0(30-24,30-19,30-10)

vs. NJCU W 3-1(31-33,31-23,30-18,30-18)

vs. Sage College W 3-0(30-20,30-26,30-17)

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Training, and he has forced himself into the Mets current plans. I look forward to seeing him in orange and blue for years to come as the first baseman the Mets desperately need.

SPORTS THE NEW PALTZ ORACLE

DOUBLE

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR.COM

THREAT

Judson hopes to lead Hawks to glory with arm and bat See Story on Page 14 PHOTO BY LAURA LUENGAS

Recent callup gives N.Y. Mets fans a reason to cheer

Column on Page 15