vol104issue03

OPINION Political Parley - Page 6

Blue Devils Stuff Owls

SPORTS CCSU Sports Go International - Page 9

- Page 7

LIFESTYLES We, The Students - Page 15

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Volume 104 No. 3

Trinity Students Protest in Support of the Danbury 11

CCSU Police Train in Emergency Response Melissa Traynor

News Editor The CCSU Police Department hosted a two-day training session in Quick Action Deployment on August 25 and 26 that was divided into executing different phases of an emergency if one should occur on campus.

“It’s a method that assists and trains us to identify and isolate the threat in a given situation,” Operations Commander Lt. Paul Tanasi said.

The training was conducted by the North American SWAT Training Association, which offers seminars to address philosophical and tactical responses necessary to enable police to effectively manage emergency public safety situations, according to a press release.

Training in Qu.A.D., which is also a symbol for the formation of four officers in an ideal situation, was created for police administrators, fire administrators, school administrators, police communications technicians, school resource officers and first responders.

See CCSU Police page 3

Stephanie Bergeron / The Recorder Students show their support for the immigrant workers called “Danbury 11” in front of the Federal Courthouse in Hartford.

Melissa Traynor

News Editor Stephanie Bergeron

Lifestyles Editor Justin Kloczko

Opinion Editor (HARTFORD) -- Over 25 Trinity College students paced the sidewalk outside the Federal Court house in Hartford on Monday in order to demonstrate their frustration with the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in dealing with a group of 11 illegal immigrants.

Nine members of the group dubbed the “Danbury 11” appeared today in court for a preliminary hearing where they argued for a trial

on the grounds that ICE agents violated their 14th Amendment rights.

According to a press release by Stop the Raids! at Trinity College, “On September 19, 2006, [in Danbury, Conn.] 11 day laborers jumped into a van expecting to go to work on a construction site, but were instead taken straight to jail. Their driver was not a contractor, but a federal immigration agent in disguise.”

Michael Wishnie, the Clinical Professor of Law at the Yale Law School, along with several law interns, is representing the nine defendants, whose names the Department of Homeland Security are not releasing.

The defense will suggest that in the seizure and arrest of the day laborers, ICE agents were “unreasonably severe,” and are contending that

the responsible officers who took them into custody had a lack of probable cause when they arrested the men without a warrant.

The defense also said that five of the nine were sent to Texas for bond hearings and were in detention for a full month.

Trinity students began chants and calland-response shouts at 8 a.m outside the Abraham Ribicoff Building. They brought signs and posters with phrases such as “Paren las Redadas,” which means “stop the raids” and solicited a few honks from passing cars.

“I would urge students to turn the fire onto this [cause] as much as possible… and focus more clearly on the structural, institutionalized racism,” said Daniel Piper, a community member involved with the protest.

See Danbury 11 page 3

Blue Devil Set for the World Stage Peter Collin

Sports Editor CCSU women’s soccer will be making a play for worldwide notoriety in the coming weeks, most notably from the exploits of their junior defender Hannah Bromley.

A native of New Zealand, Bromley is currently in China competing at the pinnacle of women’s soccer, the Women’s World Cup. Her home country of New Zealand will be up against 15 other teams, teams that will be featuring the best players the world has to offer.

Bromley transferred to Central after her sophomore year at Tennessee Tech University and was training with her new Blue Devil

teammates when she received the news of her selection.

“It was great to feel that my teammates at CCSU were almost just as excited as me to hear about the selection,” said Bromley.

Previously, the standout defender had participated with the 2004 New Zealand national team, an experience that Bromley says was exciting but doesn’t quite measure up to this World Cup experience.

Bromley is not the first CCSU student to compete on the world stage. She will be joining a long list of Central athletes that have competed internationally, including former men’s soccer standout Alex Hairson with the English College National Team and men’s

http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/

See World Stage page 8

Flags Serve as Reminder Justin Kloczko

Opinion Editor Melissa Traynor

News Editor CCSU College Republicans marked the sixth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center by displaying 1,000 miniature flags on Vance Lawn last Tuesday in the arrangement of the two towers.

Erin Stewart, the president of the College Republicans, explained that the group had been planning a more elaborate event since mid-August, but because of the inconvenient weather the project was scaled down.

The quaint arrangement of flags was meant to serve as more of a reminder than an extravagant ceremony that was taking place in New York.

“I wanted it to be more of an event for personal reflection, as in having people walk by and just see it, the memorial in the shape of the two towers- which is also an eleven.

I wanted people to look at it and say ‘Oh, wow,’” Stewart said.

Alex Jarvis, 19, who is majoring in a Special Studies in Game Programming at CCSU, commented on how the campus is becoming oblivious to the events which occurred on 9/11.

“Personally, it scares me,” he said.

Some students on campus were unaware that Tuesday was the sixth year commemoration.

“When we were putting up all the flags, we had a few people come over and ask us

See Flags Serve as Reminder page 2

2

News Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Recorder

Student Center 1615 Stanley Street New Britain, CT 06050 T 860.832.3744 F 860.832.3747 ccsurecorder@gmail.com http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/ Editor-in-Chief Mark Rowan Managing Editor Christopher Boulay Art Director/Designer Jamie Paakkonen Associate Layout Editor Conrad Akier Copy Editor Samantha Sullivan Lifestyles Editor Stephanie Bergeron Sports Editor Peter Collin Entertainment Editor Edward Gaug Opinion Editor Justin Kloczko News Editor Melissa Traynor Web Editor John Vignali Staff Gabrielle Byko Jessica Carraro Amanda Ciccatelli Karyn Danforth Chris DeMorro Jennifer L. Gonzalez Jessica Hart Steve Hart Jeff Hayden Brian Johnston Matthew Jurkiewicz Courtney Keefe Matt Kiernan Susan Kondracki Rob Messer Cassandra Montanez Brian Morache Adam Morgan David Pember Ryan Yeomans Joe Zajac

The Recorder is a student-produced publication of Central Connecticut State University and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of CCSU’s administrators, faculty, or students. The Recorder articles, photographs, and graphics are property of the Recorder and may not be reproduced or published without the written permission from the Editor-in-Chief.

The purpose of the Recorder is to approach and define issues of importance to the students of Central Connecticut State University.

Students and Faculty Question Miller, Receive Mild Answers Melissa Traynor

News Editor After the printing of the Polydongs comic in the Sept. 12 issue of The Recorder, students and faculty rallied against the student newspaper and made demands of the university such as forcing Editor-in-Chief Mark Rowan to step down.

The comic, which depicts a conversation between a square and a triangle, has provoked responses from organizations on campus such as the Latin American Students Organization.

The triangle originally makes a comment about how when he eats Smacks or Golden Crisp cereal, his urine smells like honey. The square asks if his urine tastes like honey as well.

“I dunno,” the triangle replies, “I’d have to ask that 14-year-old Latino girl tied up in my closet.” To which the square says, “Oh, tell Juanita I say ‘hola.’”

Approximately 50 to 60 students and faculty members, littered with media personnel, waved signs and displayed banners across the parking lot in front of Davidson Hall facing Stanley Street Members of the Student Government Association were present including President Alexander Estrom and several senators.

Student leader Yessica Amparo of the LASO called for the Editor-in-Chief’s resignation.

“There are certain things that the institution can do with regards to the paper and there are certain things the institution can’t do,” CCSU President Jack Miller said. “No matter how much somebody would like to see us do it, no matter how much we might like to do it our-

Conrad Akier / The Recorder A CCSU student voices her displeasure with the newspaper on camera. selves, there are certain things we can’t do.”

Students involved with the rally, such as Frank Vazquez, also touched upon issues dealing with the expansion and promotion of diversity on the campus.

“On behalf of the Latin Association, which both encompasses faculty, the Africana Studies, we would like to see what it is that the university is planning to do to diversify this campus after three years,” said Serafin Mendez-Mendez, Chair of the communication department.

Mendez-Mendez has previously expressed intentions to take action against the paper.

“Pursuant to the dispositions of the Stu-

Faculty Still Sore Over Promotions and Tenure Melissa Traynor

News Editor Following the speech that President Jack Miller delivered during the opening meeting of the academic year, members of the faculty have spoken out against the policies of his presidency and have cited his decisions regarding promotion and tenure in a list of discrepancies.

After Miller had mentioned in his speech that he expects “griping about the boss,” faculty members such as Benjamin Sevitch of the communication department, who is a tenured professor, have assembled complaints.

“He spent the meeting defending himself as if to remind people that ‘I make the decisions. If I don’t like what the Provost or the promotion and tenure committee says, I’ll do whatever I want,’” Sevitch reflected.

Sevitch also pointed out that during Miller’s research regarding past promotion and tenure decisions he did not include whether previous presidents ever agreed with the P&T committee.

“The President is supposed to consult with the P&T Committee,” Sevitch said. “Judd actually did this sometimes.”

President Miller had been criticized continually in his dealings with one case where a faculty member had applied for tenure and three cases where faculty members went up for promotion in May 2006.

In a Sept. 11, 2006 report by the President of the Faculty Senate, Tim Craine of the Mathematics Department, Miller was said to have “failed to discuss the dossiers of all four faculty members when he met with the P&T.”

Sevitch also pointed out that the four faculty members, who were approved by the Department Evaluation Committee, the Dean and the P&T Committee, but turned down by Miller, were all female.

The report also states that during a meeting with the P&T Committee, the university president had “shared with the committee his observations about the process and in particular his concern that DEC letters were not sufficiently discerning in distinguishing between stronger and weaker candidates.”

Professor Antonia Moran of the political science department, who is currently a member of the P&T committee, spoke on the levels of approval an individual of the faculty must complete in his or her application for promotion or tenure.

“First, the person must go through their department’s evaluation committee or chair, then up to the dean of the school. Their case then gets sent to the academic Vice President.

There are no decisions made at this level,” she said. “The case then goes through promotion and tenure committee and then back down to the Vice President and on to the board of Trustees.”

If the individual’s application is not accepted, they remain at their existing status, to be reviewed and evaluated annually by his or her department.

During the four cases in question, the decision went to the president for the third step, instead of the vice president. Moran explained that the change was made probably in a reorganization of the university president’s responsibilities.

dent Handbook, I request that judicial procedures be started immediately. I also wish to note that I reserve my right to pursue civil and/ or criminal prosecution of Mr. Rowan, and his editorial staff,” he stated in an email distributed via the faculty listserv.

Miller signed off with words of encouragement to the protesters.

“Students and faculty can express their opinion. They can express their opinions to advertisers; they can express their opinion in terms of reading the paper and can express their opinions to me and others on the campus,” said Miller. “And I’m glad to hear you’re doing that.”

Flags Serve as Reminder Continued from page 1 what we were doing and a few people say ‘Wow, I didn’t forget about 9/11, but I kind of forgot it was tomorrow,’” Stewart said.

She also mentioned that she believed television stations should be airing full coverage of the events to remember the day. Recently, WABC/Channel 7 had planned on airing the first hour of the 9/11 ceremonies and then allow for live coverage to be seen on their digital cable channel for the readings of the 2,749 people who died during the attacks.

“I think that they should still be showing full coverage just because of the fact that we still are involved over there and until everything is kind of finalized, whether it’d be two years from now or five years from now,” Stewart said in regards to the war in Iraq.

A poll conducted two weeks ago by the New York Times and CBS News discovered that 33 percent of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein was involved with the 9/11 attacks.

A month after the United States invaded Iraq, an April 2003 poll showed that 53 percent believed Hussein was involved. The poll was conducted after the Bush administration had warned that Hussein was aiming to use or distribute weapons of mass destruction.

The Hartford Courant ran an article last Tuesday that reported on the continuing efforts of former Bush administration officials running ads trying to purport correlations between 9/11 and Iraq to drum up effort for the war on terror.

“Of course people are going to automatically associate Saddam Hussein, because that’s who we were trying to topple over at the time, with being in charge of it,” Stewart said. “The only people you can put blame on are Americans themselves for not being responsible and not looking into issues of their concern.”

“We need to remember how we came together directly after 9/11, not this political bickering,” Jarvis said, pointing out that the war had escalated from Afghanistan through propaganda.

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

CCSU Police

Danbury 11

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1 “I’m very upset with the spirit of Danbury. It’s certainly very different from what it used to be. It used to be a community of great compassion and welcoming, respecting the dignity of all people, seeing the problems and solving it within themselves,” said Danbury resident Patricia Brown, who toted a sing which read “No democracy can survive without civil rights,” on Monday.

Brown, who is the former Director of Welfare and Social Services of Danbury, said that she is “recently retired, so [she] can hit the streets.”

Stop the Raids! is hosting a public forum on Saturday which will discuss how the immigrant community in Hartford can protect itself. It will be held in the basement of Saint Augustine’s Church, 10 Campfield Ave, Hartford.

Conrad Akier / The Recorder The CCSU police department displays their Qu.A.D. formation, which would be used in a Virginia Tech-like situation. The front and near of the formation consists of officers with M4 Carbines, a rifle which the U.S. military uses.

“It gets us in there safe and trains us how to search,” Tanasi said.

The first day of training was based on tactics involving locating a threat and removing it. Some of the topics discussed included incident preparation, unit debriefings and incident debriefings, as well as accounting for students and staff, as listed on NASTA’s website.

The second part was focused on rescue efforts and the “Safe Avenue for Escape” concept.

“In this seminar we go into the hallways of your schools or businesses and practice the

three, four, five and six-officer search techniques. We also add suspects to be located and arrested and other diversions to be dealt with,” the website states.

The event, which was sponsored by the CSU System, welcomed police from other departments to train with the CCSU police department, including New Britain and the remaining Connecticut State Universities.

“It is now very necessary to be prepared, as Virginia Tech has shown us,” Tanasi said, “but this department is highly prepared and we don’t take training lightly at all.”

He explained that it was mostly a refresher course; the department had completed training in 2002 in response to the tragedy at Columbine, but since then the department has hired new people.

The CCSU police’s last training session was held at Western Connecticut State University.

“It has only gotten better since the last time,” Tanasi said. “We’ve even tried to do [the training] in-house.”

Google Begins Indexing Facebook Elizabeth Manapsal

Cornell Daily Sun (Cornell U.) (U-WIRE) -- What you say online really does echo for eternity.

At the beginning of this month, Facebook began publicly listing users’ profiles through mainstream search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN Live. Facebook is making this part of its campaign to expand the Web site beyond the college community and into other networks.

According to Meredith Chin, coordinator of corporate communications for Facebook, the aim of allowing non-registered users to access profiles is so they can find their friends.

“This is part of our plan to shift into different demographics, and non-registered users can see the value in Facebook before they log on and register,” she said.

Currently, each search listing will only display the user’s name and profile picture. Unless a user actively opts out of being included in the search index, Facebook will automatically include a user’s profile in the public search listings, which takes a significant amount of control away from the user.

However, there is some concern that in allowing profiles to be crawled by popular search engines, employers will be able to more readily access information about job applicants, especially college students.

“Students have this naive notion that employers won’t look at their profile because it violates their privacy, but they are wrong,” said Rebecca Sparrow, director of Cornell University Career Services.

While many students think employers would never use Facebook to screen applicants, it is becoming a fairly standard practice. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a 2006 poll found that 27 percent of employers registered with the organization admitted to “Googling” job candidates.

Out of all industries, service sectors such as financial and insurance companies were 31 percent more likely to use online information. For government positions, that number drops to 21 percent.

In a recent column in The Sun, columnist Greg Wolfe said: “Why and when did a resume, interview and possible criminal record become insufficient? A person’s personal life does not affect whether he or she can crunch numbers or perform market research.”

But, Sparrow pointed out: “Employers care because it shows something about a person’s judgment that isn’t provided when they look at your resume. Employers want to understand the many facets of their employees and see if they are exercising good judgment.”

Though Facebook was initially marketed as a tool that lets users control the amount of information posted about themselves on the Internet, there is some criticism that the site has been pushing the boundaries first with the news feed and now public search indexes.

This is not the first instance of a social networking site opening up its users’ profiles to search engines.

“LinkedIn currently does [the same] with its user profiles,” said Katie Watson, a Google spokeswoman. “They are crawled and indexed by our search engine, and we rank them appropriately in the search results.”

No other networking site besides MySpace has as large of an online presence with the college community; it is necessary for students to take precautions to protect themselves in aspects of their life that they think are personal, including their voice mail and e-mail address.

However, even safeguarding these features is not enough to prevent some employers from using backhanded techniques to dig up “digital dirt” about prospects’ personal lives.

“I don’t believe this changes anything.

It doesn’t expose anything that hasn’t already been exposed. People can always reset their pri-

vacy settings if they don’t want to be listed, and their are clear instructions on the Web site on how to do that,” Chin said.

Another issue that worries job applicants is that they will no longer be assessed for their resumes or grades; rather, employers will look at other factors like appearance, sexual orientation or political affiliation, all of which are illegal reasons to reject someone for a job.

“Even if you make something private, employers can still try to find someone who can get behind your privacy settings. They could even retrieve photos that were untagged by searching around your friend’s profile,” Sparrow said.

“If you don’t want anything your employer to see 10 years from now, take it down and make your profile private. The cost of a mistake is far greater than publicly being seen by old friends and acquaintances.”

Junior Kira Grant intends to do just that.

She explained, “I will certainly be much more conscientious of my privacy settings and will take certain precautions to keep my profile private to avoid judgment from prospective employers. But it irritates me that the Facebook population has become so accessible.”

Sophomore David Musselwhite disagreed.

“Facebook serves the basic purpose of social networking,” he said. “Students need to be careful and protect their information from employers and administrators. It is a student’s responsibility to ensure they are protected. Ideally, I would set my listing to have my name and no profile picture so that people would know I’m on there, but nothing else.”

Chin recognized that by allowing profiles to be publicly indexed, this promotes easier accessibility, but ultimately, “the Web site is about connecting with people.”

While the possibility of employers trolling for embarrassing photos may seem terrifying, “I think it’s important to remember that most everyone has a social life, including the employers themselves,” Grant said.

Colorado Approves In-State Tuition for Children of Illegal Immigrants Natalie Veltman

Campus Press (U. Colorado) (U-WIRE) -- On Aug. 14, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers passed official legislation allowing the children of illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.

Students are eligible if they are United States citizens. The requirements are the same as those for all students claiming residency; students must be able to prove they have lived in Colorado for at least 12 months, are taxpayers and have a valid driver’s license.

Suthers looked into the law after David Skaggs, the state higher-education chief, expressed concern about in-state students of illegal immigrants being asked to pay out-ofstate tuition.

After careful research of the law, Suthers maintained that while the parents of such students may indirectly benefit from the cut in tuition cost, it is the student that applies for and accepts the tuition rate, not the parents.

While the topic has been hotly debated, it was concluded that the student with legal residency is the legal recipient of the public benefit.

Bronson Hillard, the University of Colorado’s director of university communications, said CU agrees with Suthers’ interpretation of the law.

“The Colorado attorney general’s interpretation of the law is identical to the CU interpretation. Domicile, a fancy word for residency, means that you have been living in Colorado for a year. If the laws for citizenship change that is up to the legislature, all we can do is look at the law as it is and follow it. We look at the student, not the parents,” Hillard said.

Samantha Silberberg, a junior advertising major, said she thinks children of illegal immigrants should be eligible for in-state tuition.

“It doesn’t make sense to prevent students from getting an education simply because their parents are undocumented workers. If the students are American citizens they should receive the same tuition breaks as any other Colorado resident,” Silberberg said.

Another student disagrees.

“Regardless of who receives the benefit directly, if the parents are still paying the tuition they are enjoying some of the public benefit, which is not fair,” said a student who wishes to remain anonymous.

Editorial/Opinion

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Editorial First and foremost, The Recorder did not give coverage to the protesting and subsequent trial of the nine Danbury labor workers on Monday, Spetember 17 in order to appease this campus in light of controversy. In fact, recognizing this story just because of recent events would be a poor accusation.

The Recorder has been following the quelling of these 11 Latino worker’s rights since the story broke over a year ago. We published opinion articles sympathetic to the Latino immigrant workers, and damned the pacification of rights by the U.S. government just last October.

What was readily obvious at the scene of the protesting was the void of local media acknowledging the struggle for basic human rights. There were about 20 students from Trinity College, including adults who had been following the developing case. On a national level, we go home to Lou Dobbs every night and are subjected to him yelling into our living rooms saying we should defend our borders from some alien invasion.

These raids go on every week; most go undetected by the mainstream media.

The 11 workers, mostly Ecuadorian and Brazilian natives, were trying to make a passive transition into this country and create for themselves a decent living. From what can be inferred, they were peaceful people who wanted to work honest jobs in a country that is perceived to be a haven for freedom.

What the workers were subjected to was entrapment.

Agents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcements, corroborating with the local Danbury police, guised themselves as workers in hardhats, raided and shipped them as far as Massachusetts and Texas to escape legal ramifications. They were slapped with exorbitant bond prices. A couple were automatically deported back out of the United States.

The raids pursued a terrorist path to intimidate these workers. What The Recorder saw at these protests was the simple recognition that a human life cannot be deemed illegal, especially under the absurd ramifications of this impeding Justice Department.

American blood is in lineage from generations and generations of foreigners who sacrificed their once stable lives to

take a chance and strive for a better one. Today, they are the virtually invisible workforce that fuels the American economy.

They take responsibility for jobs that many Americans won’t, and they perform them just as good, if not better, than some citizens who take their privileges for granted.

We are not saying America should conform to their needs.

They will learn English, bring forth old Latino traditions and melt them with American values. Like the Irish, Polish, Italian and Asian immigrants that came before them and formed the foundation of the current America, this new wave of immigrants should be embraced as building blocks for a new American century. Allowing these immigrants to become a recognizable undercurrent in the demographic will only validate the strength of the American economy. It is way overdue for this country to give proper credence to these immigrants. Naturalizing them as citizens and using their important contribution to society will only empower them and this country.

Letters to the Editor To the editorRecently I have read this weeks Recorder along with the comic strip Polydongs. Many people have sent letters complaining about this strip and I do agree with them. After reading the newspaper this morning and seeing that it was deemed to not be offensive by those reviewing it before publication, I felt the need to write in.

For people to not on any level see how this can offend people points at the clearly racist culture that we live in. More and more comedians are using race and ethnicity to try and make people laugh, some in good fun, other by pushing and furthering ethnic stereotypes. By using stereotypes as the basis for comedy, they are perpetuating a racist culture that essentially provide positive reinforcement around racist stereotypes.

In fact, people are 99 percent exactly the same genetically and race can not be determined by DNA. This means that there is exactly no real differences between everyone except for cultural backgrounds and that categorically racist humor like that published last week isn’t just an attack on a ‘minority group’, but also an offense to humanity.

Just because this may seem like it is a reasonable act to do because many mainstream comedians do it does not make it right for a university newspaper, especially one who was supposed to “strive to be sensitive” after last year’s folly.

Certainly it is not just a racist issue, but also one dealing with the age of the character which establishes that it is funny to tied up a 14 year old and commit acts equivalent to sexual assault.

Clearly there is something to be said about the content of this paper within the past two years and those in charge of running it.

Certainly I would not want the administration to step in as it would set a precedence that should be avoided in a student run newspaper, but I would highly suggest that changes be made in the organizational structure of the Recorder staff. Just because the predominantly white staff of the Recorder finds this cartoon to not be offensive doesn’t mean that all people that they serve (the entire student body) will agree.

Certainly after last year’s scandal the staff should have thought more about this decision and considered the scope of their constituent readership. It is time for change that is more than due.

Certainly we can not sit by and let the administration put a band aid over this situation with a journalistic integrity committee that clearly has lacked in providing the staff with any integrity.

Wesley C. Strong SGA Senator and Student Life Chair

While I am a staff writer for The Recorder, I am not an editor, but having no say in what comics are used makes my opinion no more or less important than anyone else’s. As a parent, I cannot in good faith approve of the comic run in The Recorder and I certainly couldn’t have my 14-year-old daughter, who to many looks Hispanic, read it. Am I an overprotective parent? In today’s world you almost have to be.

But have I seen far worse? Certainly.

I do take issue with the Hartford Courant’s article referring to the staff of The Recorder being dominated by whites. Having been to meetings, I can say that anyone who wants to write for the paper is not only free to do so, but is encouraged to as well. The fact that many who write for The Recorder are white has nothing to do with this problem; no one is interviewed, or hired, or to my knowledge turned down. If minority groups on campus don’t like what’s being written, then they should get involved and start writing themselves. The Recorder advertises throughout the campus for cartoonists, artists and writers. Given the amount of doodling I see on desks and other, more private, places, are we seriously to believe there is a lack of talent out there? And don’t tell me no one has an opinion or take on something.

Mark Rowan - save us all a lot of trouble and just step down dude. Folks are going to be calling for your resignation right and left and rather than draw it out and fight it, just do the honorable thing and step down. You aren’t fit to be the editor of a box of matches, let alone a college newspaper. I mean, come on, you’re an absolute fucking moron if you think that what you published is funny. It is disgusting, offensive, idiotic, puerile, but definitely not funny.

You have shamed CCSU and its students and I’m sad to be associated with the university right now. Someone should strip your white boy ass down and drag you around campus naked so we can mock your teeny-weeny polydong. You think you’re going to get a job in publishing? You think anyone would hire you?

Dude you’re a fucking joke.

This also goes to the entire staff of idiots.

You make us all look bad. You got no taste, no sense of humor, no class. I doubt you even have personal hygiene. Take it from me, you fucking losers, you should all quit. Stop publishing this offensive crap. I swear I’d use your fucking rag to wipe my ass if the poor quality of the printing wouldn’t make me bleed. God, I’d hate to be you.

Unsigned

As an older man with a wife and children who are of mixed race, my perspective is undeniably different than those of other students.

Years and experiences often bring with them more wisdom and perhaps a bit more caution.

Knowing Mark Rowan to an extent, I can say he is not prejudiced and neither is the staff. Are they young? Certainly. Will they learn? Definitely, and so will everyone else. That is what life is all about, and in today’s world I can only pray more of you will live long enough to gain the experience and wisdom that often comes with age.

Keep up the free speech. Fuck those assholes for complaining. Rowan draw a comic insulting yourself calling yourself a new type of insult and see how many complain. Push your rights don’t step down and get even dirtier. Look at all the publicity you’re getting, no press is bad press. Ms. Spears makes a fuck load of money off bad press, you can too. Get Justin Kloczko to write some racy shit, he can do it. I want to hear about this shit in Sweden. Good job guys CCSU in Sweden To The Recorder staff, As graduate and undergraduate alumni, my wife and are both appalled and embarrassed with the way Mark Rowan and the staff are running The Recorder. You have a right to freedom of expression but more importantly a responsibility to the campus community.

You are not representing the community that we remember and are smearing the name of our university. The Recorder should be run to improve campus life, not as a platform that serves the staff at the cost of others. It is time for the staff to go.

Jonathan and Amity Goss

Thank you for the excellent opinion article on who, what and why Dr. Paul is. Those who have an opportunity to read your opinion will have a greater understanding of who Dr. Ron Paul is and what he stands for and why.

Thank you again.

Ron Wittig New Meadows, ID

Brian Morache Dear CCSU Community: You have gone too far! You are mean spirited, disruptive, and grandiose. It will come back to get you. I am going to hire a lawyer and sue you for discrimination and hostile workplace. If you are 21 or younger, your family is libel too. Get mom and dad to start shopping for an attorney.

The South Park argument is weak, at best. South Park has nothing to do with my work conditions, and is not affiliated with a campus.

Dr. Perdue

Hey guys,

Please allow me to be very brief, and blunt, in my take on the latest controversy surrounding The Recorder.

Had the character in last week’s comic been an 18-year-old British gentleman named “Chadwick,” none of you would be complaining.

The problem here is not that The Recorder is insensitive. Rather, it is that certain groups on campus erroneously believe they are entitled to immunity from being the butt of a joke.

That’s not how equality works.

Thank you, John Petroski

If you have any questions or comments concerning The Recorder, please feel free to send a letter to the Editor at ccsurecorder@gmail.com Letters must include a name and should not be much longer than 200 words. The Recorder reserves the right to edit letters.

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Petraeus Report:

The Art of Telling People What They Want to Hear

Bush or bin Laden: Who is More Evil?

Ryan Yeomans

Staff Writer

defesanet.com.br Brian Morache

Staff Writer General George Patton, one of this country’s best field commanders, once lamented that being a good general meant more than being able to lead men into battle. A good general now needed to be a good administrator, a good diplomat and a good politician. That was in 1945. Today, General Petraeus understands that a modern general doesn’t get to be or stay a general unless he is willing to tell the right people what they want to hear; if it just so happens to represent the truth, then so much the better.

The situation in Baghdad is better because there are more troops in the area. My, what a revelation! If there are more troops in one area, then the insurgents will simply move to another province or at least direct their violence at another group.

While violence against U.S. troops is down, violence against the Iraqis is unchanged. One should remember that military improvement does not mean that things are getting better.

While the U.S. military was putting 30,000 more troops in the region, the government of Iraq was taking a month long vacation and spending more time squabbling amongst it-

self instead of solving the country’s real problems. General Petraeus did at least publicly admit that Iraq had nothing to do with the attacks on 9/11 and that al-qaida has only become a force in Iraq since American invasion. Considering Dick Cheney and about half of the U.S. population still believe that Iraq was behind 9/11, these revelations are a breath of truthful fresh air.

While the military can win some victories against the insurgency, it is the politicians who hold the keys to ultimate success. There is no military solution to the problems in Iraq, and it may be that there is no good solution at all, only a varying degree of bad ones. General Petraeus didn’t get to be a general without being politically connected, and he understands that he won’t stay a general unless he gives his commander in chief, George Bush, the report he wants to hear. A quick glance over his shoulder at all the previous generals who were kicked out through promotion, reassignment or forced retirement is all the incentive Petraeus needs to understand his position.

There are military successes to be found in any operation, regardless of the outcome. The Japanese, after losing four aircraft carriers and over

350 pilots at the Battle of Midway in 1942, touted it as a victory after they seized Kiska in the Aleutian Islands during what was supposed to be a diversionary attack. Anyone can find a military victory if they look hard enough.

To the Iraqi people, especially to the insurgents, the United States is the new British Empire, occupying their country under the guise of a “mandate.” The insurgents are telling the people that we are there to stay and that we will permanently occupy their country, at least until the oil runs out. If we leave, the insurgents will be seen as liars, as having misled the people as to the intentions of the United States.

The troop reductions that General Petraeus proposes are not necessary because of successes in the field, but rather because of the limited ability of the United States to maintain such a high level of forces indefinitely. Even the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs have recommended withdrawing troops so that they can respond to other situations that may arise. An Iranian invasion as a goodbye gift by the Bush administration to the American people would be a good guess as to what that next “situation” might be.

President Bush’s Legacy Brian Morache

Staff Writer As President Bush addressed the nation, he spoke of the successes in Iraq; he also spoke of an enduring relationship between our two countries as his new goal. After hearing the President speak of how safe Anbar province is and how, because of the success of “the surge,” we will be bringing some troops home in the next six to eight months, I have to ask myself: “Just what world does this president live in?”

The Iraqi people have endured occupation by the Ottoman Empire, the British and now the United States. So just what makes anyone think that they’d want an “enduring relationship,” which translates into a permanent U.S. military presence, in their country? The overwhelming sentiment in Iraq is that the United States needs to leave. Those fighting against us are telling the Iraqi people that the United States will not leave; that we are just like the Ottomans and the British, here to exploit their country. If the United States left Iraq it would prove the leaders of the insurgency wrong and leave them with no enemy but themselves.

The President mentioned how safe Anbar province is; how people don’t have to worry

about being beheaded for helping fight against the insurgents. Taking into account the sheikh that the President congratulated and shook hands with 10 days before his speech was now in pieces all over the streets, I’d say that Iraqis helping the United States now only have to worry about being blown up. Is this what the President considers success and safety?

The worst words to come out of the President’s mouth during his speech involved the reasons why we are in Iraq in the first place keep in mind that these reasons seem to change by the hour, so a new one is really no surprise.

In establishing this enduring relationship, the President is saying that the military will be here long after he leaves office. So his plan must be then to drag this thing out for someone else to deal with. In short, American troops are fighting and dying to preserve President Bush’s political legacy. This is an absolute disgrace and an insult to our fighting men and women! How dare this man ask for our military to shed its blood for his historical legacy! Maybe it’s easy for him considering his children aren’t there, and neither are the children of any in his administration. It’s always easier to send some other mother’s son off to die, especially if you are a Republican. The ones in power seem to be

It is the time of the year once again for Americans to mourn the loss of friends, family members and co-workers and to remember all who died on September 11, 2007.

But while most of us hold the anniversary as a reminder of those who have passed and of the dangers that still exist everyday, Osama bin Laden has been spending his time grooming his beard and reading up on current events so that he can release a new video to the public. This year, bin Laden was nice enough to distribute two videos within a week, which together contain over an hour of new material.

The first video, which was released on the Thursday before September 11, contains 47 minutes of Osama speaking about everything from the holocaust to global warming. He praises the 9/11 hijackers and, as usual, suggests that Islam is the only option for savior. He continues by bashing George Bush and lists many interesting statements regarding the world’s current situation.

While I cannot support bin Laden’s opinion that all Americans should be killed and that Islam is the only way to be saved, it is hard to overlook the statements that he makes about the Bush administration.

Bin Laden states, “This war was entirely unnecessary, as testified to by your own reports,” and goes on to say that despite the Democrats attempts to end the war, nothing can be done because “those with real power and influence are those with the most capital.” I urge you to read the transcript of the video for yourself, as there are countless arguments made against Bush and his supporting Americans.

The Bush administration was quick to respond to bin Laden’s first video appearance in three years by stating that he is useless, “aside from his ability to hide in caves and spread anti-American propaganda.”

White House aide Frances Fragos Townsend went on to say that “This is a man on the run, from a cave, who’s virtually impotent other than these tapes.”

This statement causes me to seriously question the integrity of the White House’s reports. How can it be that a man with more wealth and power than most Americans and the

good at that.

As for pulling some troops out, it should be noted that the troops that will be leaving were scheduled to leave anyway, and the progress the president pointed to was occurring before and in spite of “the surge.” If the United States was to maintain 160,000 troops in Iraq for very long, this country would be looking at a necessary draft. As it is, the President’s new strategy is to continue the old strategy. Is this a brilliant guy or what? And why are we staying there?

For a president’s legacy, and maybe because we don’t know how get out? American soldiers are the best and bravest in the world; they should never be wasted in such a way. These are not reasons for our young men and women to be dying for.

Shame on you Mr. President, and shame on all of those who put him in office. It’s our country and in some small way it’s our fault.

How many days until he leaves office? Not soon enough for my liking, as most experts anticipate another one-thousand dead and who knows how many injured by January 20, 2009. Let that be Mr. Bush’s legacy and may God judge him for it.

ability to evade our searches for six years is really just hanging out in a cave all day? It seems to me that what bin Laden wants us to believe is exactly what the Bush administration thinks to be true.

Although it is obvious to me that Osama bin Laden released these tapes as propaganda to remind Americans of his presence, it is also clear to me that the Bush Administration is trying to push their own agenda in response to the videos.

By claiming bin Laden to be “impotent,” they are using this video to mislead Americans into a false sense of security, even though the imminent danger of terrorism exists now more than ever because of Bush’s actions.

As of late, if you were to bring up the president in a discussion you would find that many Americans disapprove of the decisions he has made. At the same time, Osama bin Laden presents many good arguments against the president and many of his reasons for disapproving of Bush are similar to those of anti-Bush Americans. Would it be wrong to assume that there is some kind of connection between feelings of the American people and those of Osama bin Laden? As I would love to make this connection, I ultimately cannot because of the actions of our president. If I were to say I agree with bin Laden, that would mean that I agree with a terrorist; under the Patriot Act, I could be labeled a potential terrorist and my phone could be tapped, and every move I make could be watched and analyzed.

In finding myself in this predicament, I questioned myself as to who the lesser evil actually is. I ask, “Who has done more damage to the lives of the American people?”

Personally, I worry more about the next bad decision Bush is going to make than I worry about a potential Osama bin Laden organized terrorist attack.

One thing I have realized from these videos is that while Osama bin Laden remains free, Americans are slowly becoming bound by the decisions of the president to remove and restrict the rights given to us by our knowledgeable forefathers, without whom we would not be here. I can only hope that Americans will open their eyes and see what is in front of them, in order to prevent things from getting out of hand any further.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Erin Stewart

College Republicans Religion will always play a role in the political process – whether it should or should not. People will always think and vote according to their morals and values. Given that they are Christian, Muslim or atheist, environmentalist, animal rights activist or socialist.

Our nation was formed on the principal of religion. The reason our ancestors came here from Europe was to free themselves from religious persecutions and come to a place where they can worship whatever they want to believe in; many of these ‘immigrants’ being Christian. So it was only logical that when they formed the framework of the constitution, Christian elements were incorporated into the documents.

When people hear of this, of course the common reaction is to be scared that the government is sponsoring one specific religion. While we understand that the framers of the Constitution were mostly Christians themselves, their goal was not to create a religious state. If you thoroughly examine the first amendment, it ensures us freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.

Religion will always influence politics, it’s inevitable.

Political Parley

6

Should Religion Play a Part of the Political Process?

Mark Rutkowski

Progressive Student Alliance As an atheist/agnostic I’m inclined to answer no, religion should not be a part of the political process.

However, religion clearly is a part of the political process, so I’ll address that.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of evangelists such as the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, the current trend of Christian fundamentalism has been a serious political force in United States for the past 30 years.

In contrast, the 1950s and 60s were periods of significant progressive change. The African-American civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, the growth of feminism and LGBT liberation revolutionized American life. Conservatives had to react.

In 1979, Falwell established the Moral Majority, a Christian, right-wing political lobbying organization. Their support was a major

factor in the election of President Ronald Reagan. In 1988, Robinson founded a similar group, the Christian Coalition, which organized fundamentalist Christian voters into a reliably Republican voting bloc. Instead of offering spiritual guidance and genuine expressions of faith, these men, along with many others, manipulated people’s beliefs for political gain.

In 2000, Ralph Reed, the Coalition’s executive director, coordinated political attacks against Senator McCain (intimating that his years as a POW rendered him unfit for public service and that McCain’s adopted Bangladeshi daughter was in fact his illegitimate “black child”), paving the way for a Bush victory in the Republican state primaries. The New Right has convinced millions of Americans that this is, has been, and shall always be a conservative Christian country.

Republicans on the whole have been successful at banding religion and politics together. This has been

done out of necessity. After all, when your party proposes cutting 141 domestic programs, including a $36 billion cut in Medicare spending; a $12 billion cut in Medicaid spending; a $1 billion cut in childcare funds; the total elimination of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program; the Health Community Access Program; a $3.5 billion reduction in spending for the Department of Education; and the removal of an additional 42 educational programs (these figures can be found at the Office of Management and Budget), while at the same time significantly cutting taxes for the wealthiest one percent, what do you have left to offer the vast majority of Americans come an election year? Just give me that old time religion.

The Democrats have not incorporated religion into their image as successfully as their Republican counterparts. On the other hand, they have a more secular base.

Last June, a Gallup poll found that, “Religion could play an impor-

tant but varied role in the presidential primaries and elections. [Rudy] Giuliani’s chances of receiving the Republican nomination may be hampered by his weaker performance among highly religious Republicans,” whereas “[Senator Hillary Rodham] Clinton’s chances of getting the Democratic nomination… are much less affected by religion; there is little relationship between how religious Democrats are and whom they support for their party’s nomination.”

These results attest to the importance of faith within the two major parties themselves. There is, however, an enormous difference between expressing one’s religious beliefs and masking a political agenda behind them.

Have a question you want asked in our Political Parley feature?

Send it to ccsurecorder@gmail.

Bouffant of the Vanities: Rising Birth Control Costs Will Lead to Unwanted Pregnancies A Treatise on Whoopi Joe Zajac

Staff Writer

Amanda Ciccatelli

Staff Writer The rate of unwanted pregnancies among young women may increase in the next few years due to the augmented price of birth control as sold by colleges and universities.

The government can pay millions of dollars to fix their own mistakes, but they can’t cut college kids some slack by providing financial aid in preventing unplanned pregnancies.

The Medicaid Rebate Law that was passed in January is the reason for the increasing cost in birth control pills; the law eliminates large discounts given to college health offices by drug companies. College students are just now starting to feel the effects of this law because health service departments are rapidly running out of discount prescriptions to give to students.

In last Monday’s issue of the Boston Globe, a spokesman for Planned Parenthood in Massachusetts, Angus G. McQuilken, stated that his pro-choice organization has been working hard to communicate the need for a law change.

“Birth control is basic healthcare. Making birth control less affordable for college students and lowincome women is bad public policy,

and counter to the goal of reducing unintended pregnancies,” he said.

As college students, we have little-to-no money. Many of us are paying for classes on our own. With this in mind, women cannot afford to pay $50 each month for contraceptives like the pill, patch and any other form of birth control. This is an annual $600 just for contraceptives, aside from all the other costs of living including books, rent and food. The new prices of birth control will put further debt into a college student’s lifestyle.

Another effect of the now-unaffordable pill is the much greater risk of becoming pregnant. The best decision a sexually-active woman in college makes is going on birth control in some form; bad decisions will be made throughout the college experience, and results can be devastating - the ages between 17 and 23 aren’t generally the ideal times to start up a family. We have been educated all our lives and have learned repeatedly to “have safe sex.” Now, if that choice is too expensive for students, there will be consequences the government is apparently unaware of.

Until now, colleges and universities have been able to offer very cheap contraceptives from pharmacies. Students only had to pay $10 or

$20 a month and could simply pay in cash. Unfortunately, another new law called the Deficit Reduction Act, created in 2005, prohibits the ability for companies to sell discount pharmaceuticals. Insurance is basically the only way to save money when buying birth control, but many students don’t tell their parents because of the convenience of buying it at school.

Therefore, health services are concerned that students will not use their family insurance when purchasing the contraception because they are worried that their parents will see the bill.

A college student’s well-being is one of the most important things to take care of while we are on our own and making adult decisions. Now that the government is allowing mistakes to be more easily made and more unsafe sex to be had, how do you think mom and dad feel about their 17-yearold freshman being on their own for the first time?

In the future, if this problem is not resolved, it is very likely that the rate of unwanted pregnancies will go up. Since the fifth grade we have all learned to take care of our bodies and be smart with our decisions. A smart decision should not be excluded because of unrealistic prices.

Whichever television producer believed teaming up the former star of the smash movie Theodore Rex, where leading lady Whoopi Goldberg was second banana to an anthropomorphic dinosaur, with the gaggle of cackling yentas all Jurassic in their own ways, be it in age or worldview, surely must be kicking himself now, for it was a recipe for disaster.

Whoopi’s transgression, in the eyes of the American public, was that she dared to express a differing viewpoint which went against the grain of popular opinion. For her to suggest that it is not simply the evil in men’s hearts which drive them to do the unthinkable but rather a mixture of social and environmental factors also was her crime here.

Attempting to bring some clarity and levity to this situation, in the context of her show, was her obvious aim, and that which had raised such a furor.

What originally started as an attempt on Goldberg’s part to put aside the strong feelings this case elicited and understand what would drive this man to do such a heinous act quickly deteriorated into an audacious tale of an animal-hating fascist who was all too eager to leap into the fray of the Michael Vick fiasco and defend his supposed right to do as he pleases with his canine property.

Watching this unfold as a spectator in this entire incident managed only to confirm my low expectations of those taking such a vested interest in this case, but especially to those whom are considered to be The View’s target demographic – housewives and shut-ins with too much free time on their hands all too willing to raise a ruckus once presented with an unorthodox opinion…on The View. Following the sound of scores of Twinkie boxes unanimously hitting the floor, they raised their leathery, cream covered

hands in defiance of Ms. Goldberg, for her ideas did not conform to their housebound worldview. To devote their own petty crusade against what is in essence, the result of free discourse is lunacy. To combat the methodical and objective stance which Goldberg took with a rising crescendo of incessant babbling is not a suitable method of rebuttal.

Let’s tackle this Whoopi Goldberg incident at its most basic. Throw out Michael Vick, and his dubious actions as of late. Dispose of the third-party groups with agendas, and housewives with big opinions. Now take Whoopi’s supposedly distasteful opinion and approach it without the filters of biased thought. Take her opinion at face value, mentally strolling past the hype, outrage and superfluous thoughts surrounding it. What was previously an evil, divisive statement has magically transformed into a sheepish, perhaps even heartfelt attempt at understanding and rationalizing such a heinous act. Is such a comment worth the outrage, boycotts and perpetual bellyaching, I ask you?

While those of us with functioning cerebral cortexes would see the obvious nuances and complexities within this case, touching upon free speech and the effects one’s environment has on a person, many a semi-intelligent person in this country still do not believe so. Michael Vick and his actions are functionally irrelevant in this discussion. To do what Ms. Goldberg attempted to do, separate ourselves from the emotions which hinder us and examine this incident from an objective stance, to put aside the outrage of self interested organizations and approach Ms. Goldberg’s comment with a critical and objective eye, then we may finally be able to get to the heart of her comments, leaving the feces-flinging and emotionally charged outbursts to the mental rabble amongst us.

Sports

7

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Blue Devils Play Taxidermist, Stuff Owls Central Steamrolls Southern, 56-34 Peter Collin

Sports Editor Junior Jo Jo Freeman scored a career-high three touchdowns and senior Ryan Holmes added two more as the Blue Devils (2-1) rolled through the Owls (2-1), 5634 Saturday evening at Arute Field.

In front of a sell out crowd of over 4,000, Central scored on its first six possessions and defeated Southern Connecticut for the third straight time.

The win also extended the Blue Devils home winning streak to 10, dating all the way back to 2005.

Central blew the game open when freshman Josue Paul ran a kick-off back 95 yards to open the second half.

Paul’s return highlighted a stretch where the Blue Devils could not be stopped, scoring on their first six possessions and nearly a seventh when sophomore James Mallory broke through for an 18-yard gain only to fumble on the SCSU one yard line.

Early on it looked as though the Owls would give the Blue Devils fits, as they drove down the field 80 yards for an easy score on their first possession of the game.

But the Blue Devils responded quickly. They countered with a drive of their own that included two fourth-down conversions, the final being Freeman’s first touchdown of the game on a one-yard run.

“We felt as a team and an offensive unit we could get the job done,” said Freeman. “We had a great game plan and came out and executed it.”

After Southern freshman Jerome Freeman put the Owls within one at 14-13, Central took off. The Blue Devils scored 21 unanswered points before the half, including a touchdown pass down the middle of the field from sophomore Aubrey Norris to junior Jermaine Roberts, who sat wide open in the middle of the end zone.

The pass was set up by freshman Alondre Rush’s second blocked punt in as many games.

“A big game like this you have to make plays and that changed the momentum of the game,” explained Rush.

Rush ended the first half with a big play and Paul began the second half with an even bigger one. After Paul caught the ball on the five-yard line, he moved toward the center of the field where he found a

seam running along the left hash mark. Paul burst through the hole, where he blew by the Owl’s defense to put the Blue Devils up 42-13.

Southern fought back during the fourth quarter as Jerome Freeman put in two of his three scores. By then, though, it was too late, as Central defeated Southern by their largest margin since a 24-0 shut out in 1997.

The Blue Devils ran for 358 yards against Southern, who has had trouble all year against the run.

“Southern competes hard and they’re really wellcoached,” said Coach Jeff McInerney, “but I didn’t think they matched up well against us.”

Coach McInerney was also very impressed by the turnout by the Central student body. The official attendance for the game was 4,136, above the 4,000 mark he had hoped for earlier in the week. He is hoping for the same results the next time the Blue Devils return home on Saturday, October 5 at 1 p.m. In their immediate future, Central will be traveling to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to take on Western Michigan on Saturday, September 22 at 7 p.m.

Above: Sophomore Jermaine Roberts (right) celebrates with fellow teammate Greg Grochowski after connecting with an Aubrey Norris pass for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half.

Center: Blue Devils Ray Saunders (left) and Anthony McCoy close in on Southern Owl Matt McGrath (right) for a tackle.

Bottom: Senior Blue Devil quarterback Ryan Holmes found the end zone twice while rushing in Saturday’s game against Southern.

Photos by Conrad Akier / The Recorder

Remaining Schedule for Blue Devils Football 09/22/07

at Western Michigan

Kalamazoo, Michigan

7 p.m.

10/13/07

vs Robert Morris

New Britain, Connecticut

1 p.m.

10/06/07 10/20/07 10/27/07 11/03/07 11/10/07 11/17/07

at St. Francis (PA) at Wagner

vs Monmouth

vs Sacred Heart at Stony Brook vs Albany

Loretto, Pennsylvania

Staten Island, New York

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain, Connecticut Stony Brook, New York

New Britain, Connecticut

1 p.m.

1 p.m.

11 a.m.

5 p.m.

1 p.m.

12 p.m.

8

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Blue Devils and Bears Play it Even

CCSU Women’s Soccer Ties Brown in Scoreless Match at UConn Classic Peter Collin

Sports Editor Sophomore Caity Casey saved 11 shots as Central settled for a scoreless draw against Brown (0-3-1) in their finale of the UConn Classic.

The Blue Devils improved to 2-3-1 on their season finishing the UConn Classic 10-1 after Sunday’s tie that followed a victory over Fairfield on Friday afternoon.

Central persevered through a tough Brown offense that out shot them 19-12.

Along with a stifling defense that gave the Bears little chance to set up plays, Casey was the centerpiece of the game providing key saves through both halves and two overtime periods.

“You try and put pressure on the ball all the time,” said Coach Mick D’Arcy.

“We want to close people down, we want to make life uncomfortable for the other teams on the field and I thought we did a good job of that today.”

Brown’s best opportunity came in the 53rd minute early in the second half. Junior Jaime Mize cut through two Blue Devil defenders and ripped a hard shot from the top of the 18-yard box. Casey stepped up and smothered the shot to end the threat.

Central controlled the ball well throughout the game using good ball movement to set up several opportunities for scores. Unfortunately the Bears managed to keep the ball out of the net.

Their best chance came late in the second half at the 87th minute mark, when freshman Beth Lloyd made a move down the sideline and connected with sophomore Rachel Caneen at the top of the 18-yard box.

Caneen cut the ball into the box but Brown’s keeper Steffi Yellin managed to slide and smother the ball.

Central provided further excitement during the first overtime period. During the ninth minute of overtime, sophomore Leah Blayney set up for a free kick 20 yards outside of the 18-yard box. Blayney sent her shot high and toward the center of the net, but Brown’s Yellin managed to leap at the last moment to punch the ball over the crossbar.

“We need to be a whole that’s more dangerous in the final third,” explained Coach D’Arcy. “As the season goes on we’re going to get better.”

Central’s defeat of Fairfield on Friday was a 1-0 affair. The Blue Devil’s lone goal was courtesy of Rachel Caneen who scored in the 33rd minute of the game. It was her second goal of the season tying her with Leah Blayney for the team lead. Three Blue Devils were named to the All-Tournament Team. Caneen and Blayney joined sophomore defender Karise Hilt on the All-Tournament Team.

The Blue Devils will return home this weekend to take on Harvard at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, September 21. They will also match up versus Yale at home on Sunday, September 23 at 1 p.m.

Top: CCSU freshman Beth Lloyd (right) soars towards Bridget Ballard of Brown.

Bottom Left: Sophomore Leah Blayney wins a header over a Brown defender. Blayney had five shots in Sunday’s stalemate at the UConn Classic.

Bottom Right: Freshman forward Erica Celini takes control of the ball after Julie Wu of the Brown Bears falls to the ground.

Photos by Conrad Akier / The Recorder

Blue Devil Set for the World Stage Continued from page 1

basketball player Tristan Blackwood with Team Canada.

The news of Bromley’s selection made its way throughout the CCSU Athletic Department. Athletic Director C.J. Jones was proud to hear of Bromley’s accomplishment, believing and looking forward to its impact on CCSU. “It’s a positive; it puts Central on the map,” he said.

Her coach’s reaction carried with it the same pride as that of her teammates and the

Athletic Department. Coach Mick D’Arcy spoke of his stalwart defender’s impact on the CCSU’s reputation in the NEC and collegiate soccer.

“The Women’s World Cup is the biggest sporting event for women,” explained Coach D’Arcy. “To have one of ours competing - the school should be very proud.”

Bromley is anxious to return home and take on the NEC with her Blue Devil teammates, but not before she has a shot at the rest

of the world. Currently, Bromley’s Kiwis of New Zealand face an uphill battle on Group D against powerhouse Brazil and home favorite China.

New Zealand fell hard in their first matchup against Brazil dropping a 5-0 decision. They followed up that performance with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Denmark. Their next match will be against host China on Wednesday at 8 p.m. on ESPN 2.

Upcoming Events Here are all of the scheduled Blue Devil home and local games until our next issue on September 26.

Friday, September 21

Women’s Soccer vs Harvard, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 23

Women’s Soccer vs Yale, 1 p.m.

9

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

CCSU Sports Go International Peter Collin

Sports Editor If you’ve recently attended a Blue Devil sporting event, you were probably treated to a competitive rivalry between two hard-fighting Northeast Conference opponents.

You might be surprised to learn that you were probably treated to something of an international affair as well.

More and more CCSU student athletes are requiring a passport to travel to school every year. Many of Centrals sports teams feature rosters that are increasingly being filled by international students.

Whether it is soccer, volleyball or basketball, Blue Devil teams are integrating these new players and new ideas into the NEC playbook.

Most prevalent among Central’s international student athletes are soccer players. That, of course, is probably not a surprise to many, as soccer is more popular overseas than in the United States.

The Blue Devil women’s soccer team has a total of nine international students on its roster, while the men’s soccer team has 11 members born outside the United States. Each team has sent players to compete at the national level for Olympic and World Cup events.

Not to be outdone is the CCSU women’s volleyball program. Blue Devil volleyball has had a steady presence of international players from north of the border in Canada during the past several seasons. This year, the roster boasts two Canadian players.

Conrad Akier / The Recorder Sophomore midfielder Leah Blayney of Katoomba, New South Wales talks with CCSU women’s soccer head coach Mick D’Arcy. D’Arcy himself is a native of Ireland.

Many of these players have made contributions to alter Central’s reputation among the collegiate community, turning the Blue Devils into a perennial contender for conference championships.

The Central Athletic Department has not made a concerted effort to recruit international players, leaving the decision within the hands of each individual coach. This approach has had a far reaching effect within the Blue Devil soccer community.

Both Central soccer coaches hail from overseas and have used those contacts to keep in touch with some of the world’s best players.

Men’s soccer coach Shaun Green believes that international recruiting is an excellent way for Central athletics to even the playing field against larger American universities that may have an advantage in recruiting talent on a national level.

“Your top players in the United States are not banging down the door to play at a state university - they’re going to Clemson; they’re going Duke; they’re going UCLA,” explained Coach Green.

So what makes Central so attractive to foreign players? For Coach Green and several players, it’s a combination of the education offered at CCSU, a lack of collegiate sports overseas and an overall professionalism within the Blue Devil sports program.

For junior soccer player Yan Klukowski, Central offered all of those prospects.

“I saw it as a great opportunity both to develop as a football player and develop academically,” said Klukowski.

“We can’t get national team players from the United States,” stated Coach Green, “but we can get national team level players from other countries.”

In women’s soccer, an air of professionalism and familiarity draws talent to a growing program. Both junior defender Hannah Bromley and sophomore Ciara Crinion had connections to the school before deciding it was the place for them.

Bromley, a native of New Zealand, remained in contact with friend and CCSU goalkeeper Erin Herd.

Herd, an Australian, met Bromley while playing against each other at their secondary schools; when Bromley began showing an interest

Conrad Akier / The Recorder Blue Devil forward Christopher Brown (left) from the Isle of Man, Great Britain is one of 11 international players on CCSU’s men’s soccer roster. in CCSU, Herd helped her with the transition to the CCSU soccer program and introduced her to Central Coach Mick D’Arcy.

For Crinion, who is from Dublin, Ireland, her decision was based largely on her connection with fellow Irishman, Coach D’Arcy. D’Arcy extolled the values of Central and those of Connecticut upon Crinion, who saw Central as a chance for her to improve both athletically and academically.

CCSU Athletic Director C.J. Jones has made note of the influences of international recruits on Central sports, saying, “Obviously they’ve proven that they can play at a higher level, so that hopefully translates into them performing at a higher level, not only here, but hopefully bringing up the level of play of the student athletes that we presently have.”

The results have been impressive, to say the least. Women’s soccer won four consecutive NEC Championships from 2002-2005. The men have also had similar success, making the tournament in 2005 and producing the leading goal scorer, Englishman Alex Hairson, in NCAA Division I soccer in 2004.

The Volleyball team has done their part as well, making the NEC Tournament three straight years before falling short in 2006. This year is looking up though, as the Blue Devils have started out strong going 10-3 over their first 13 matches.

So, as you walk onto Arute Field or Detrick Gymnasium during the coming sports year, look at your program with a little more scrutiny.

Take note of who you’re watching you might be seeing an international superstar in the making.

ed from the New York Knicks to the Portland Trail Blazers, was also very helpful last season when he told me about his personal relationship with MS (a pair of his family members suffer from the disease) in the Knicks’ locker room.

Multiple Sclerosis is a very unpredictable disease that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should in the United States. The autoimmune disease primarily affects the central nervous system, which consists of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. There are four different clinical courses of the disease: relapsing remitting, primary-progressive, secondary-progressive and progressive-relapsing. Contrary to popular belief, MS is not contagious and is not directly inherited.

It is believed that nearly 2.5 million people are affected by MS throughout the world, with about 400,000 of those being Americans

who have acknowledged having the disease. It’s not always the easiest disease to diagnosis, so it’s not hard to believe that those numbers are actually a bit greater.

Of those 400,000 people, one of them is an extremely important part of my life - someone that is absolutely irreplaceable, which makes the cause all the more important to me.

I won’t give up on my goal of attending an ‘MS Night’ this season, and any help would be greatly appreciated. Please stay tuned for another installment in the ‘NBA for MS’ series in the near future.

The NBA For MS: Part II Andrew Perna

RealGM.com In late April I wrote a piece introducing the idea of the NBA embracing multiple sclerosis as one of their numerous charitable causes.

My idea revolves around the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s mid-March National MS Awareness Week. Full of fundraising opportunities, millions of people around the nation participate in MS Walks and Bike Rides – with millions more pledging loved ones and friends who take part in the events.

Things picked up rather quickly when my column went live on RealGM four months ago. With the 2006-2007 season ending, I didn’t feel there was any way my campaign would take flight last spring, but I actually gained some support. I began speaking with Indiana Pacers’ cheerleader Michelle Bowyer (she works

for the NMSS in Indianapolis) often, and I even received responses from a handful of NBA teams.

Then, all of a sudden, the bottom fell out. I wasn’t getting any action from any other NBA teams, and with the league’s schedule yet to be released, teams were requesting that we put our talks on hold until the 2007-2008 season was closer. That left me with a wealth of ideas, but nowhere to showcase them as most NBA employees were on their offseason break.

Now with the schedule having been released, there are no more excuses. I won’t rest until at least one NBA team hosts an ‘MS Night’ this season. I don’t care if the team simply announces their support of MS Advocacy; I want to see some progress. Ultimately, I’d like to see a team offer discounted tickets to fans in exchange for a donation to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, or opt to

give some of their gate revenue to the Society on a specific night (or during the annual MS Awareness Week in March).

My ultimate goal is to attend an ‘MS Night’ this season.

As I noted in my first NBA For MS piece, my goal could be considered a lofty one. However, I think I have a fair amount of support within the league. Grant Hill, the newest member of the Phoenix Suns, is obviously a huge supporter of my cause.

Getting him to comment on my efforts a few months ago also brought some legitimacy to my piece, and I can’t thank him enough for that.

I also have to thank all of the people, whether you responded as a member of the NBA, a representative from a team, or as a reader, who supported my cause with a flood of e-mails. Each one made my efforts more worth while in its own way.

Channing Frye, who was trad-

If you’re interested in trying to help make this happen, or you know of any way that I can take a few steps forward, please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated… Andrew.

Perna@RealGM.com

10

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Best Athlete You’ve Never Heard Of Rob Messer

Staff Writer Unless you were living under a rock, you probably knew that September 9 was the opening day for the NFL. Many of you may have even tuned in to FOX for the four o’clock game featuring the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers. At times, viewers may have thought the game was bidding for a spot in sports history for the title of the “Most Boring Football Game Ever.”

With the lack of excitement on FOX, some of you may have even clicked over to NBC, witnessing true sports history as Tiger Woods cruised to yet another title at the BMW Championship. After the trophy presentation and on your way back to the game you probably skipped over CBS, where a man named Roger Federer continued to write his overlooked chapter in the big book of sports history.

The Switzerland native won his fourth straight U.S. Open (the last and biggest of the four majors in a tennis season) title. This was his career major title number 12 for the 26 year old, and his 51 overall.

Okay, so he’s the best tennis player in the game today. Good for him.

Roger’s good friend, Tiger, has never won a major title three straight years, nevermind four. Federer has won the last four Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles, which is a stat that is, to quote Stuart Scott from Sportscenter, “just plain silly.”

Still not convinced?

Most of you reading this were still in high school (188 weeks ago) the last time Federer was not ranked number one in the world. Setting and breaking his own records since February of 2004, Federer has quietly dominated the sport of tennis both literally and figuratively. Obviously tennis is not a “mainstream” sport that gets the appropriate allotment of media attention. I mean, how could it with all of the dog-fighting scandals, steroid issues and corrupted NBA referees we need to read and hear about whenever we are conscious?

But why is someone who is already being referred to as “the best ever” not only getting overlooked by sports fans, but also taking the back seat to stories making mockeries of sports we grew to love and enjoy?

The world will never know.

If he keeps doing what he is doing for the rest of his career, I assure you in 20 years, Federer’s name (along with Tiger’s) will be in the debate of the most dominant athletes of all time in their respective sports.

If you’re not familiar with the sport and think that statement is one of the most obnoxious things you’ve ever heard, hear me out right now.

Unlike most of the other professional championships in sports, tennis tournaments are single elimination, not a “best of series.” If you play terrible one day, you lose. You don’t get a Game 2 or another day to make up strokes. Get injured or sick? Too bad, there aren’t any substitutes in tennis. With that said, you can look

Switzerland native Roger Federer has won the last four Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles. at the countless titles and consecutive win streaks in a new light. In the sport of tennis, you play or you lose.

For the last nine years, Roger Federer has played, and not only has he won but he has dominated. Due to his status as a foreigner, he most likely will never reach the level of

popularity of a Tiger Woods or a Michael Jordan, but that doesn’t change his status as a living legend.

So do both yourself and me a favor: next Sunday, sometime during the halftime show of the CardinalsRavens game and the Nathan’s Hot Dog contest, if you happen to skim

egesport.ch

through the channels and see Roger playing, stop. Put the remote down and watch for five minutes. If nothing else, all I am asking for from a fellow sports fan is for you to be able truthfully state, “I watched Roger Federer play.”

Blue Devil of the Week: Blue Devil Scott Melville Shorts

Women’s Golf at Dartmouth Invitational

Sport: Soccer

Major: Electro Mechanical Engineering

Lucie Sarochova shot a 77 in second round action on the par-72 Hanover Country Club at the Dartmouth Invitational, leading Central Connecticut to a seventh place finish. The sophomore finished four shots behind Amherst freshman Hayley Milbourn, completing a third-place effort.

Junior Deb Kim tied for 35th after a second day 89. Freshman Chelsea Woods (86-88-174) was tied for tied for 44th, while classmate Megan Brunswick (93-90-183) came in tied for 59th. Senior Daniella Duque (96-99) tied for 66th to round out the Blue Devil starters. Sophomore Natalie Jones tied for 62nd after shooting 92-94-186. (credit: CCSUBlueDevils.com)

Role Model: Mom and Dad

Men’s Golf at Rutgers Invitational

Position: Defense Year: Sophomore Age: 20

Tim Buczak carded a final round 71 to lead Central Connecticut to a ninth place finish at the Rutgers Invitational. The junior tied for 24th overall in the three-day event on the par-71 Rutgers University Golf Course after posting rounds of 77 and 75 yesterday.

Central Connecticut, which entered the day in seventh place, received a 77 from freshman Eric Hawerchuk and rounds of 78 from senior Matt McClure and freshman Sam Pelletier. Tom Ursa shot 82 to round out the Blue Devil participants. (credit: CCSUBlueDevils.com)

Favorites TV Show: Family Guy Car: Mercedes McLaren Junk Food: New York Style Pizza

Women’s Cross Country

Movie: Usual Suspects

Freshman Alyssa Cole finished 35th to lead Central Connecticut to a ninth place in the Ted Owen Invitational at Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain. Cole crossed the line on the 5K course in 19:15.

Freshman Katherine Bossardet came in nine spots behind Cole, finishing in 19:44. Seniors Robyn Hudak (56, 19:46), Dawn Hudak (76, 20:35) and Claire Spinks (77, 20:36) rounded out the top CCSU finishers. (credit: CCSUBlueDevils.com)

Actor: Nicolas Cage Team: Boston Red Sox

Most Embarrassing Moment on the Field

Men’s Cross Country

“Probably when I assisted David Tyrie in the neck for an own goal against Hartford.”

If I had a million dollars…

“I wouldn’t work anymore.”

Conrad Akier / The Recorder

David Hunt finished eighth to lead Central Connecticut to a seventh place showing at the Ted Owen Invitational in New Britain’s Stanley Quarter Park. The junior crossed the line in 26:39, less than one minute off the winning pace on the 8K course.

In addition to Hunt’s effort, CCSU freshmen Luke Albertson (30, 27:42) and Nate Lovitt (38, 27:57) had top-40 finishes. Junior Charles Ngetich (47, 28:20) and freshmen Robert Weston (57, 28:40) rounded out the topfive Blue Devil performances. (credit: CCSUBlueDevils.com)

11

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Pick Your Poison

NFL Predictions for Week 3

Who would have thought both the Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns were both going to pull off wins in Week 2? The Browns can very easily be 2-1 after this week, which gives Cleveland fans something else to cheer about other than the Indians and LeBron James. Unlike Houston, who is holding onto the Texans for dear life.

Sorry Rockets and Astros, but you are awful.

By the looks of things, it really isn’t too late to still hop in. Think of it as a challenge—we needed the head start. Send in your picks to ccsurecorder@gmail.com before the start of the games. The leader board will be updated every issue and the leader at the end of the semester goes off to winter break with all the bragging rights and a sports DVD package that includes Kingpin, Bull Durham and Hooisers.

Peter Collin

Edward Gaug

Christopher Boulay

Sports Editor

Entertainment Editor

Managing Editor

Buffalo at New England

New England

New England

New England

New England

San Francisco at Pittsburgh

San Francisco

San Francisco

Pittsburgh

San Francisco

Miami at New York Jets

New York Jets

New York Jets

New York Jets

New York Jets

Detroit at Philadelphia

Detroit

Philadelphia

Detroit

Detroit

Minnesota at Kansas City

Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota

Kansas City

Arizona at Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore

Arizona

San Diego at Green Bay

San Diego

San Diego

San Diego

Green Bay

Indianapolis at Houston

Indianapolis

Houston

Indianapolis

Indianapolis

St. Louis at Tampa Bay

St. Louis

St. Louis

St. Louis

St. Louis

Jacksonville at Denver

Denver

Jacksonville

Denver

Denver

Cleveland at Oakland

Oakland

Oakland

Cleveland

Cleveland

Cincinnati at Seattle

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Carolina at Atlanta

Carolina

Carolina

Carolina

Carolina

New York Giants

Washington

Washington

New York Giants

Dallas

Chicago

Chicago

Dallas

New York Giants at Washington Dallas at Chicago Tennessee at New Orleans Pick of the Week Why

0 1,085

The amount of people who picked Cleveland to win.

The amount of total yards the Browns and Bengals tallied in their shootout.

0

Mark Rowan

Editor-in-Chief

The amount of people in Connecticut who cared.

74

The amount of times Mark bragged that his Pick of the Week actually panned out. Go Cards!

115

The amount of times Chris bragged that his Pick of the Week actually panned out, despite the fact that he is 0-2. Third times a charm, baby!

Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee

New Orleans

San Francisco def. Pittsburgh

Houston def. Indianapolis

Detroit def. Philadelphia

New Orleans def. Tennessee

Can I justify using yet another shit-tastic performance from Steven Jackson to pick the 49ers over the Steelers? Possibly. Frank Gore has yet to unleash the beast in him, despite an 80-yard performance and two touchdowns against St. Louis.

Look for him to finally break the 100 mark and give Pittsburgh their first loss of the season. Big Ben and Little Willie will not run over another defense this week.

The Texans didn’t just squeak by the Chiefs and the Panthers, they demolished them. Amobi Okoye and Mario Williams have proved to be a dynamic duo, totaling four sacks in the first two games. The Texans upset the Colts at home last year so it’s not a stretch for Schaub to make the Texans a historic 3-0.

After a Week 1 romp of the Raiders, the Lions decided they didn’t want to be the laughing stock of the NFC North and started to play football. With Jon Kitna behind center and Calvin Johnson in the slot, the Lions will throw all over Sheldon Brown and the Eagles secondary. This should give me a solid 20+ points in my fantasy leagues at the same time, so win/win.

Homecoming. New Orleans.

Adversity. Monday Night. Nationally televised. Need I say more? This team is 0-2, they are battered, bruised and they will come out fired up in the ‘Dome for the game and will come out with a sure victory. This team is most definitely a playoff team and they will start their playoff run two weeks late. Expect Brees to have a big one and the defense to finally wake up out of their slumber and knock Vince Young around. It won’t be a blowout, but New Orleans has this one.

This Week’s NFL Prediction Leader Board Name

Total Points

Current Week (of 16)

1

Kyle Robbin

23

11

1

Kevin Petruzielo

23

9

2

Mark Rowan

22

10

2

Jon Lundie

22

10

2

Alyssa Smollen

22

10

2

Kyle Dorau

22

11

3

Edward Gaug

21

11

4

Peter Collin

20

8

4

Mike Luchene

20

10

4

Chase Proctor

20

12

4

Mike McDonald

20

9

4

Brian Nocera

20

10

4

Charlie Sorenson

20

9

5

Marc Chouinard

19

9

5

Jason Beaumier

19

11

5

Matthew Jurkiewicz

19

11

5

Rob Messer

19

9

6

Steve Hart

18

9

6

Joel Weisel

18

10

7

Nick Viccione

17

7

8

Christopher Boulay

16

8

Rank

9

Eric Sanford

15

8

10

Jerry Lombardo

12

0

11

Chris Culmone

9

9

11

Andy Arnesen

9

0

Entertainment

12

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

While I am usually not one for pop music, I can’t deny how good the Even if it Kills Me new Motion City Soundtrack album really is. It blends totally catchy vocals with upbeat instrumentals that makes for a fun listen.

Justin Pierre and crew are back for their third studio album, and just as on their prior releases, they impress with their own style of pop-punk that isn’t what most people think of when they hear (or read) that term. Their style is smarter and more mature than the typical mallpunk band your 13-year-old sister is drooling over. They can still bring the mood down without getting depressing (“It Had to be You”), by bringing in lines like, “Do you spend a fortune on those late-night prepaid television scams / In search of the perfect blend of steak knife and non-stick frying pan? / What if it was you? / You that I needed all along.”

The downfall of MCS is that all their albums sound almost identical. Differentiating what song came from which album is a difficult task for even the most die-hard fan. On the same note, why mess with that which isn’t broken?

Motion City’s sound is so unique that it benefits them not to stray too far away. Pierre’s vocals are distinctive enough to separate them from any other band out right now.

I will be keeping Even If it Kills Me on my weekly rotation for a long time, or at least till they come to Worcester, Mass. in the middle of November with Mae and Anberlin.

- Edward Gaug / Entertainment Editor

Motion City Soundtrack

Chamillionaire

Diamond grills, sippin’ drank Ultimate Victory and candy-coated painted cars are usually the subject to most rap albums coming out of Houston. Well, at least up until Chamillionaire released his second album, Ultimate Victory. Cham talks about politics in songs like “Evening News” and also in the first single that was released this past summer “Hip Hop Police ft. Slick Rick.” The song was a hit with an entertaining music video in which Chamillionaire plays himself, as well as a news anchor and a detective.

Cham makes it a point to not use the n-word or swear on the album, although Lil’ Wayne’s verse on “Rock Star” has plenty of bad words and it is unsure yet if a version with that verse unedited will come out. A movement of clean rap music might be a way for hip-hop to gain more yearly sales, after it was down an unbelievable 33 percent from 2005 to 2006.

When I went through the album for the first time I couldn’t get over the song “Industry Groupie.” The song itself is about a feud with a groupie and Cham mentions about 20 different rappers. Producer Jonathan Rotem sampled Europe’s 1986 hit single “The Final Countdown” for the incredible song.

Chamillionaire might not have many guests on Ultimate Victory but considering he sings most of his own hooks and lyrically tears the album up, there really isn’t a need to load it up featuring big names. This album is great and could easily overshadow Kanye and 50 for the album of the month, perhaps even year.

- Steve Hart / Staff Writer

At tention Springteenophiles and Magic rock-and-roll infidels alike, The Boss has come home to regulate.

It has been five years since Springsteen and the E Street Band have put an album out; last time was the post-9/11 opus The Rising. In between, The Boss was trying his hand out solo and with his magnum 14 piece folk ensemble. This time he is

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

back in original form.

Magic harks back to the band’s essence as a live performing machine. Springsteen wrote these 11 songs for the road on his acoustic and producer Brenden O’Brien bulked them up with the E Street Band. Avid listeners of Springsteen’s catalogue will recognize the songs on this album similar to the sound on The River - high energy rockers for the open road that play out with immense viscosity.

“Radio Nowhere” has Springsteen and E Street flexing their muscles with a message to corporate radio and a sea of disgruntled radio listeners. “I was spinnin’ ‘round a dead dial / Just another lost number in a file / Dancin’ down a dark hole / Just searchin’ for a world with some soul.” Clarence Clemons and his sax come blowing in on “Livin’ In The Future,” an extremely contagious song resurrecting the funky sound of the E Street from the late 70s.

Magic is a quick shot in the arm full of Americana. It celebrates people being able to move on, a reaction to the pessimism on The Rising. It is scarce to find Springsteen fans on this campus because his demographic is usually 50 year olds, but the attractive thing about his music is how timeless it is. It sounds new and old at the same time. He is probably one of the best writers still around and if you have the time, I highly recommend checking out his musical resume. Magic is a good place to start.

- Justin Kloczko / Opinion Editor

Dropkick Murphys

By the time a band hits their sixth fulllength, studio album, they usually have far The Meanest surpassed their creof Times ative peak and musical genius. By this late in their career, bands have a tendency to simply reshape, repackage and resell the same songs and styles that have made them famous and successful. This isn’t the case for Dropkick Murphys.

Any actual progress or maturation by the band is insubstantial, unnecessary and often a detraction from the intended experience. In short, beside the legends of the business, bands do not put out quality work this late in their career—let alone their greatest work. But this is exactly what Dropkick Murphys, the seven Irish punk rockers from Boston, have managed to do.

In a time when punk rock has lost its heroes, and rock and roll has lost its center, the Dropkick Murphys have put together a collection of songs to which the modern rock fan can cling to as the proof that quality music is still alive; that rock is not dead; that integrity is a part of punk rock.

The mandolin and fiddle, raucous party feeling and Boston accents enhance their Gaelic sound, which meshes with their brilliant guitar and vocal work to create a solid rock album.

Beginning to end, front to back, no song should be skipped over or ignored.

“The State of Massachusetts,” the first single, is what you might call the perfection of the Dropkick Murphys’ style—a rocking Irish anthem that works to all the strengths of the Boston band. Well-written vocals, flawless guita, and a fast tempo make this a model of the archetype.

But the album strikes gold with its loudest, fastest, and most energetic track, “Tomorrow’s Industry.” It’s puck rock at its best. If mainstream radio took any notice of these enterprising boys from Boston, this would be an easy hit.

The Meanest of Times is an absolute gem.

No doubt about it, their best album to date.

- Matthew Jurkiewicz / Staff Writer

The Go! Team Proof of Youth

Hailing from Brighton, England, the six-member band, The Go! Team, released their second full-length album, Proof of Youth. The record is as fun, exciting and original as any indiepop, hip-hop album out there, and it shouldn‘t have much competition since I‘ve yet to hear a group like this.

Bursting right from the first track with childlike chants and drum beats, the album has an immediate appeal to the listener. The music still holds up to anyone who’s used to the standard sound an indiepop record gives, if there is a standard sound to that genre, by using the usual guitar and pop keyboards.

The drumming thumps, creating a dance atmosphere that can communicate to any type of music fan. Trumpets and keyboards give the album an indie rock/electronica sound that makes the sound appealing and interesting.

What really sets the band apart from all others is the combination of an indie sound with rhymes that sound like they’re from 80’s hiphop, making them a blast. They go back to the roots of hip-hop by rapping about being M.C.s and partying - the simple topics.

The highlight songs of the album are “Grip Like a Vice” and “Titantic Vandalism” for their hip-hop beats. They also show their softer side on the songs “My World,” an acoustic instrumental with keyboards, and “Doing It Right,” a chanting rock song.

Women’s voices dominate the record by incorporating feminist lyrics delivered in a girlish sound with oomph. Chuck D. of Public Enemy also makes a guest appearance with his aggressive presence and tone that’s reminiscent of early Public Enemy on the rap track “Flashlight Fight.”

Proof of Youth is an album that has it all going, from pop, to indie rock, to hip-hop, to rap. The Go! Team brings style and good ol’ fun back to music.

- Matt Kiernan / Staff Writer Unmemorable verses and overblown choruses, this Happiness Ltd. is the unfortunate outcome of Hot Hot Heat’s latest failed effort, Happiness Ltd. It is an astronomic letdown to fans hoping to hear a new, mature sound from a band that has a history of trying new things.

Originating in the mid-nineties between Canadian vocalist Steve Bays and bass player Dustin Hawthorne, Hot Hot Heat started out on a brilliant note with their first full-length release, Make Up The Breakdown. “Bandages” and “Talk To Me, Dance With Me” soon found critical acclaim and were frequently aired on MTV. Hot Hot Heat was dubbed the indie-pop dance sensation that they no longer are.

After they started leaning towards a more commercial sound on the album Elevator, there was no hope left for the once adventurous quartet. Happiness Ltd. unfortunately follows this trend, and Steve Bays’ vocals sound coldly detached, almost like he himself is bored of his own music, or of his own band mates. Possible break up in the future? I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but then again, this misery does not deserve company.

If you need any more adjectives to derail you from buying this album, desperate, sluggish and monotone are just a few of the many.

Like the title track implies: “Happiness is limited but misery has no end / it’s over now / it’s over now / it’s over.” Hot Hot Heat is being buried, and their eulogy is this album.

Hot Hot Heat

- Karyn danforth / Staff Writer

Animal Collective Strawberry Jam

A n imal Collective is by far the weirdest band I’ve listened to in the past…well, ever. With a combination of outer space instrumentals and occasional nonsensical ranting, mumbling vocals, Avey Tare and Panda Bear lead the experimentalist through their eighth full-length album.

While some of their vocals are incoherent, some are done in the style of Neutral Milk Hotel, which gives a mix of melody and bizarre content. Lines like “A peace bone got found in the dinosaur wing / Well I’ve been jumpin’ in all over, (but my fuels) are slowly shrinking / It was a jugular vein in a juggler’s girl / It was supposedly leaking most interesting colors from the song,” from “Peacebone” are almost commonplace on this album.

Strawberry Jam is an album that could be accepted just the same if it were purely instrumental with no lyrics because of how the music influences the mood of the listener.

The best way to listen to this album is as you go to sleep, just waiting for the hallucinogenic dreams to take over your mind. It gives you an incredible mellow feeling and relaxes you, even in the most lyrical intensive moments.

This is perfect music to put on and just relax your mind and let it takeover your entire body, or to do ‘shrooms to - whichever is easier for you.

- Edward Gaug / Entertainment Editor

Throwback Review of the Week: celebraBad Brains tion ofIn a new Bad Self Titled Brains record

for the first time in over five years, I decided it was my duty to introduce one of the best punk albums of all time: the Washington D.C.-based Bad Brains’ 1982 album, Self Titled.

Not many people outside of the hardcore and/or punk scene know who Bad Brains is or what they’re all about; so everyone, listen up. Starting back in 1979, Dr. Know and H.R. began playing in a jazz-fusion band called Mind Power, which later gained punk influences and became Bad Brains. There are a few things that set Bad Brains apart from most other hardcore bands; to start, they are the one of the first, if not the first, bands to mix solid reggae beats with thrashy, screaming vocals and simple punk guitars. This, of course, is now a staple for any punk band from Rancid to Big D and the Kids Table. Second, they stood out just for the fact that they were a group of black Rastafarians that used their spirituality as a main theme instead of girls and drinking like most early punk bands, such as The Ramones and Sex Pistols.

Now that you have your mini history lesson on the Brains, I can get on to their most famous album, Bad Brains. Starting off with speedy drums and guitars and transitioning into H.R.’s signature early punk vocals, the Brains start their 36-minute assault. With topics such as Jah (God, as referred to by Rastafarians) and vampires, Bad Brains spoke on just about anything the band wanted to and did it in a “Jekyll and Hyde” style because they have some very calm reggae-heavy songs and some extremely loud and violent hardcore songs playing along side each other.

This definitely keeps the album fresh while you listen to it.

If you like your music on the loud side, but with a good meaning, go research Bad Brains, sit back and get ready to experience the history and background of hardcore music.

- Edward Gaug / Entertainment Editor

13

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Rental Essentials: Silver Streak

Photo: fourdesnavettes.com

New Food Network Show Deliciously Good Gabrielle Byko

Staff Writer In their quest to diversify programming to go beyond traditional cooking in the kitchen, the Food Network has launched a new food travel show entitled Have Fork, Will Travel. The premise of this show is to join along with host Zane Lamprey as he shares history and how to imitate traditional regional food on his journeys.

In the premiere episode, Lamprey takes us to the south of France.

His first stop is in France’s second largest city, Marseille, where we learn about bouillabaisse. He then makes a stop at Le Four des Navettes, France’s oldest bakery, which has been in operation since 1781. They have become famous for their navette biscuit, which is named after the shape it resembles, a “little boat.”

Lamprey’s interactions with the store workers is humorous and reminiscent of past Food Network host Jim O’Connor from The Secret Life Of…, whom was replaced as host of that show this past season. Like O’Connor, Lamprey is not a chef, and relies mainly on his humor and appreciation of the taste of food to drive the show.

The remainder of the half-hour episode is dedicated to learning about French cheese. Lamprey shares how France alone has 400 unique cheeses and that the French first started to make cheese during a time when they had a surplus of milk and did not want it to go to waste. As Lamprey did earlier in the episode with the man in the bakery, he jokes around with the cheese shop owner, whom he names “Tony the Cheese Man.” Though highly enjoyable and comical, Have Fork, Will Travel is

more than about entertainment - it has substance to it as well. Lamprey divulges historical information about the places he visits, as well as the origins of their traditional foods and their cultural value to these societies.

In addition, for those who aspire to incorporate the French way of cooking into their culinary repertoire, Lamprey shares some tips in tricks to do just so. His way of sharing information and teaching about the cuisine is very informal, which is concurrent with his easy-going, relatable personality.

Overall, Food Network has produced a winning show that is both enjoyable to watch for its humor, and, I dare say, its educational merit. For foodies, travel and history buffs alike, be sure to check out, Have Fork, Will Travel on Tuesday nights at 9:30 on the Food Network.

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Brian Morache

Staff Writer How many of us have wished for a nice, relaxing getaway? As we get older, we tend to appreciate how valuable a little peace and quiet can be. This was all George Caldwell wanted as he took the Silver Streak from Los Angeles to Chicago. What he got was something else entirely.

The late 70s were great years for movies, and 1976 was one of the best. Whether it was car races, sci-fi or an action-comedy like Silver Streak, the Bicentennial Year had something for everybody. Silver Streak features the first pairing of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor with Wilder playing mild-mannered George Caldwell, a man just looking for a relaxing trip and Pryor playing Grover Muldoon, a fast-talking petty thief. The trouble starts when Caldwell gets involved in a romance with Hilly Burns, played by Jill Clayburgh, and gains possession of The Rembrandt Letters, which in turn gets him involved in murder and other mayhem.

These documents are of great interest to the powerful Roger Devereau, played by veteran British actor Patrick McGoohan, a deliciously evil man who will stop at nothing to prevent his exposure in an art scandal. Finding himself thrown off the train several times because of the letters, George Caldwell also finds himself involved in several murders and a police manhunt. So much for that relaxing trip!

Combining action and comedy, Silver Streak became the example

for so many of the ‘buddy movies,’ such as Lethal Weapon and Bad Boys, which would follow. Unlike many of the films that came after it, Silver Streak doesn’t rely on any one thing to make the film work. Sure, there is great action, but there are also interesting characters, plenty of laughs, and a good story. Even minor characters, such a Bob Sweet played by Ned Beatty, a vitamin salesman who is really a federal agent, and a porter named Raltson, played by veteran actor Scatman Crothers, add tremendously to the film. Upon arriving in Chicago, Ralston proclaims, “Hello Chicago hello! Gotta drink to that! Yeah,” as he gets on his knees, bows down and then takes a long drink from a fifth of scotch. The film’s climax includes one of the greatest crash scenes ever filmed, and amazingly it was done in only one take.

There are so many gags in Silver Streak that it could be easy to forget that there is a very good story here, as well as some of the most beautiful scenery ever filmed. The advantage of a train ride over air travel is the ability to actually see the country rather than merely flying over it. If you want a movie that will have enough romance to keep the girlfriend interested, enough action to keep you interested and the comedy to keep you both laughing, then Silver Streak is a must see. Add to that the first and best of the films pairing of these two great comedy actors, then it becomes clear why Silver Streak is a Rental Essential.

All aboard!

14

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 = recommended

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 19

FILM

MUSIC

9/19 - 9/22

9/20

Cinestudio / 2:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.

Fans of Irish, folk and alternative music were the first to hear the buzz on a new film out of Dublin, which went on to win the World Cinema Audience Award at Sundance and become independent cinema’s hottest release. Writer/director John Carney was once the bass player for Irish indie band The Frames, and his lead actor, Glen Hansard, front man for the band, wrote and performed all of his own songs in the film.

Hansard plays a street musician in Dublin, who keeps running into a young Czech immigrant (Marketa Irglova) who scrapes by in the city by selling flowers. She also is a pianist (without a piano), and as they come together to make music, friendship turns to the possibility of romance.

Rob Paine

Real Art Ways / 6 p.m.

Effortlessly mixing reggae, dub, house and downtempo electronica, Philadelphia native Rob Paine’s sound is deeply spiritual and undeniably progressive. Rob’s reggae and dub work carries on a Jamaican sonic tradition whose influence carries over into his soulful house productions, definitely not the typical electronic thumping of techno or trance. As a producer and remixer, Rob Paine has worked alongside such artists such as King Britt, Josh Wink, Jazzy Jeff, ?uestlove and The Roots, Jill Scott, Lady Alma and many others.

9/22

Atmosphere

Toad’s Place / 5 p.m. / $20 / all ages

Once

ART Until 9/23

50,000 Beds

After a year off the road, Atmosphere will perform 27 shows in support of Sad Clown Bad Fall Number 10 (limited tour series EP) with fellow Rhymesayers label mates Grayskul and Mac Lethal, and special guest Luckyiam of Living Legends. Bringing over four hours of music with four independent hip-hop artists, “Everybody Loves A Clown” tour is sure to be fun for the whole family! Look for the new Atmosphere album next spring.

Opening: Mac Lethal and Grayskul

Real Art Ways Chris Doyle has commissioned 45 different artists to make short videos, each set in a different hotel, motel or inn across Connecticut.

The exhibition focuses on the hotel room as a site filled with narrative potential. Familiar yet foreign, a hotel room combines experiences of both intimacy and anonymity.

Until 10/4

Picasso to Pop: Aspects of Modern Art

more than twenty artists who have addressed sport as medium and metaphor. The joy of athletic endeavors and their mass appeal as spectacles is acknowledged along with the turbulent and emotional elements of race, class and identity. Stop for some brief gallery talk with exhibition curator Franklin Sirmans on September 21 at 12 p.m.

Whistle Down the Wind

The Bushnell / $22 - $70 From the award-winning composer who thrilled audiences around the world with Evita, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Whistle Down the Wind comes to the states for the very first time on national tour! An extraordinary tale about the transforming power of love and faith, Whistle Down the Wind is an uplifting musical about a young girl named Swallow who finds a mysterious stranger in her barn.

9/24

Blonde Redhead

Toads Place / 8 p.m. / $20 / all ages Blonde Redhead is comprised of Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simone and Amadeo Pace.

They’re that rarest of things: a band whose voice has grown stronger, clearer and more distinctive with every record that they have made. Their reward for this has been an audience whose numbers have quietly grown over the course of their career, almost entirely by word of mouth.

Opening: School of Seven Bells

10/1 Toad’s Place / 8 p.m.

Theater Works / $35-$45 TheaterWorks celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic that was adapted into the beloved Academy Award-winning film. After she crashes her car, Daisy Werthan’s son gets her a new Oldsmobile...and a driver. Resolutely opposed to the idea, the strong-willed Daisy refuses to warm up to the affable Hoke, her new chauffeur. Over the course of 25 years, a surprising kinship develops between the Jewish schoolteacher and the African-American man hired to drive Miss Daisy.

$30 / all ages

Regina Spektor

Contemporary Combustion: Chinese Artists in America New Britain Museum of American Art The NBMAA’s next major special exhibition, Contemporary Combustion: Chinese Artists in America, includes painting, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, photography, installation and video by 10 contemporary artists. The works range in date from 1978 to 2007, and explore the themes and techniques of traditional Chinese art and how they have been retained and transformed in the 20th-21st century.

Until 10/21

For the Love of the Game, Race and Sport in America Wadsworth Atheneum / 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

“For the Love of the Game” juxtaposes The Amistad Center’s collection with the work of

Kings of Leon

Driving Miss Daisy

9/26

Until 10/14

“I like to listen to music that makes me feel a certain way--either it reminds me of something important that happened or a certain time in my life,” says Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson. “If kids are feeling that way about our songs, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

The Boston-area band is paying that feeling forward by focusing on making lasting connections with its fans.

Opening: All Time Low, The Audition

Now until 10/14

MUSIC

Wadsworth Atheneum / 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

In part due to size, light sensitivity and appropriate gallery space, the Wadsworth Atheneum has many paintings and drawings that are seldom seen. Among them are works by Picasso, Fernand Léger and Georges Rouault; outstanding watercolors by Paul Klee, Erich Heckel, and Otto Dix; and major examples by the Neo-Romantics. The Atheneum is famous for its holdings of the Surrealists, many of whom fled Europe during World War II for the United States, where they exerted a profound influence on a generation of young American artists, including Joseph Cornell, the inventive master of collage.

Toad’s Place / 7 p.m. / $15 / all ages

Until 9/30

I Am Festival

New London Waterfront Park 12 p.m. / Free After an insanely successful 2006 event, I Am Festival 2007 comes to you live on September 22 at the Historic Waterfront Park here in beautiful New London, Connecticut. This year’s installment of I Am Fest proves to be bigger and better than last year’s amazing event. More music, more food and an indie craft show that’ll have you wishing you had more in your wallet to spend. The festival features MC Chris, Scarecrow Collection, Can Kickers, Taxpayer and more.

Boys Like Girls

THEATRE

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 26

9/22

9/30

Jorgenson Center UConn 8 p.m. / $20 A veteran of New York’s anti-folk scene, Russian-born, Bronx-bred Regina Spektor has many remarkable gifts, from her unique and provocative vocal style - which can change in the blink of an eye - to prodigious piano skills garnered through years of classical training Opening Band: Only Son

9/26

Grand Buffet

Trinity on Main, New Britain 7 p.m. / $10 / all ages Grand Buffet consists of two members: Jarrod Weeks (a.k.a. Lord Grunge) and Jackson O’Connell-Barlow (a.k.a. Grape-A-Don). Lord Grunge, the self proclaimed “Don of alternative hip-hop,” and Grape-a-Don, “the King of the campground,” weave clever pop-culture laden lyrics with pop sensible, hip-hop approved beats.

9/29

moe.

Chevrolet Theater / 7 p.m. $29.50 / all ages In 2001, the solid, catchy song writing skill behind moe.’s crisp musical attack was rewarded with a four-star review in Rolling Stone for their album Dither. The risk of combining live tracks with studio manipulation paid off, earning Wormwood four stars in Blender Magazine. Now, with the new release The Conch moe. takes it yet further with the next logical step in exploring this unorthodox, albeit successful, approach.

Where Kings of Leon’s last release, 2005’s Aha Shake Heartbreak, was “a fuzz-encrusted rocket of controlled violence,” as Rolling Stone put it, packed with emphatic two-minute bursts of raunchy guitars, brawny drums, and growled vocals, Because Of The Times finds the Followills (brothers Nathan, Caleb, and Jared, and their first cousin Matthew) opening up, relaxing the rules, and reveling in the joys of their newfound musical freedom.

Opening: Manchester Orchestra

FILM 9/27

The Landscapes of Frederic Edwin Church

New Britain Museum of American Art 4 p.m.

A grand painter of the natural wonders of the Americas is profiled with live motion footage of the Catskills and an exploration of his final work of art, his house on the Hudson. Narrated

by Nicolai Cikovsky Jr. Part of the “American Visionaries” art history series.

9/28 - 9/29

Manhattan Short Film Festival

Real Art Ways / 9:30 p.m. / $9 The best short film and winner of the 2007 Manhattan Short Film Festival will be determined by the global theater-going public. After each screening, audience members will vote for the one film that is their favorite. The votes will be tallied and sent through to the Manhattan Short headquarters in NYC, where the winner will be announced in Union Square Park at 10 p.m. on Sunday, September 30.

9/28 - 10/4

War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death

Real Art Ways / 7:30 p.m.

The Media Education Foundation in Northampton, Mass. has had continual success exposing the nation’s viewers to important subjects on social and political issues. Now, it has made a beautiful primer on war. Co-directors Jeremy Earp and Loretta Alper worked with writer Norman Solomon to adapt his book by the same name. The result is a sampling of astute opinions by Solomon and others mixed with unique clips and sound bites from an avalanche of irresponsible U.S. Presidents and politicians.

Did we miss something? Know of an event we should list here? Contact us at ccsurecorder@ gmail.com.

Lifestyles

15

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

We, The Students Stephanie Bergeron

Lifestyles Editor “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle As a student first, and Lifestyles Editor of The Recorder second, I am alarmed by the atmosphere being generated on campus since the Sept. 12 publication of the Polydongs comic. I hope that everyone can step back and look at the bigger picture concerning the issues surrounding this controversy.

When the comic was first printed, it took two days for students to respond. Initially, it was the faculty who brought their concerns to the campus’ attention. Many students did not read the comic at first and were unaware of it; some brushed it off because they thought it wasn’t worth a second look.

When mainstream press came on campus Thursday evening, there were no students to be found for them to question in the Student Center. Students were enjoying their night out, celebrating another week of accomplishment as a CCSU student. It was not until Friday that The Recorder heard any feedback from students.

I know there is a great concern about how the comic reflects badly upon the campus as a whole. But, had some of the faculty refrained from contacting the press with the urgency that they did, we could have dealt with it in a more collaborative fashion. By contacting the press and not dealing with the issues together, as a campus community, we only worsened our image and prevented constructive dialogue essential to the healing process.

At the protest, I was dumbfounded to see faculty members step in when students tried to peacefully speak to each other. They repeatedly stepped directly in front of members of The Recorder staff, essentially forcing the conversation we were trying to have with our fellow peers to an abrupt end. By the faculty not letting different groups of students speak with each other, even if the two sides do not agree, they are guilty of somewhat similar crimes they

protest against. Although protesting is a great way to express your freedom of speech, if we do not talk about the issue amongst students, nothing will get accomplished. It will also only create more tension between students and faculty.

The Recorder is a newspaper for the students, by the students. If there is something students don’t like about it, we should be able to openly speak to each other, voicing our concerns.

Although we can take into account the wisdom and ideas of the faculty, it is we – the students – who must make it inherent upon ourselves.

Students do not want to see The Recorder being censored, nor do they want to shut it down. LASO students approached a few of The Recorder staff members, including myself, after the rally. They came to our office, knocked on our door and wanted to talk about racism on campus, and in society. We exchanged ideas and phone numbers, only hoping to defeat racism together.

We got more accomplished within the hour we spoke amongst ourselves, than the time we spent around the faculty and administration, who were not looking at the big picture.

After the rape article was published, students reacted right away.

We organized rallies, discussed ways to bring rape awareness to campus and things got accomplished. What we need to do is work together, as students, as a team, to address issues of sexism and racism. We can see the bigger picture.

We know the culture we live in, and it is not nearly the same culture as the one the faculty lives in. By having a better understanding and, being more in touch with our own generation, we can use each other to make things better.

The administration and some faculty members want to influence us into thinking censoring the paper will fix our problems. This will accomplish nothing, and will only hurt the movement more.

Certain faculty not only requested the resignation of Mark Rowan and President Miller, but also the suspension of all editors from school. Again,

this will accomplish nothing.

The request to pull all campus advertisement in The Recorder was granted. Although not all of our funding comes from these, it is detrimental to the paper. It is also immature, and nonconfrontational. We should be speaking to each other instead of attempting to censor the paper indirectly.

And what is censorship? Is pulling advertisements indirectly censoring not only the paper, but also student voices? And if advertisements are being pulled, will it not instill fear in those who write for The Recorder?

They will end up self-censoring, afraid to use their right of free speech.

If there was not a First Amendment we would not be able to protest in the first place. If we try to censor instead of discuss, we will no doubt be giving away our own rights as human beings who are, after all, the future of this world.

When free speech and the First Amendment are brought into the conversation, it is no doubt a very touchy subject. But, again, we have to look at it from an outside view.

I am a Fine Arts major here at CCSU. In each and every single class I have been faced with not only great art, but also risqué and controversial art. I have looked at images I do not necessarily agree with, or find personally offensive.

Although I believe that we did make a mistake by publishing the comic, I do not regret making that mistake. It has undoubtedly opened up our campus to real problems that need to be addressed.

I find that its creator choosing to remain anonymous does not give us any real light as to what it actually addresses. Because of this, we are left to only make assumptions. Some have said it is commenting on the incident regarding R. Kelly urinating on a girl, others say it is hate speech. Either way, in its most basic form, it is art.

Freedom of speech correlates with that of artistic expression. Although I am not defending the creator, I am trying to voice the perspective of the artistic community, which has not yet

Say “Goodwill” to Bad Rubbish Courtney Keefe

Staff Writer I don’t know where the sequins, Christmas sweaters and school-marm skirts come from. But, I do know they always end up in just one place.

In the name of research, I visited the region’s newest Goodwill Super Store in Newington yesterday, just off the Berlin Turnpike, next to Footprints. I had hoped to find a store that would defy the Goodwill stereotype of the aforementioned garments. Perhaps as a new store, the clothes could be held to a higher standard of fashion. Pink denim put out of its “fashion” misery. Shoulder pads need not apply. Mother-of-the-bride bead and lace catastrophes sold for parts!

Instead, the usual Goodwill fare looked longingly, mockingly at me from the shelves and racks: videocassettes of Bible stories; several stylish windbreaker jackets; an Anne Murray record and my pick of fine china.

Yup, Newington’s Goodwill Super Store is ten thousand square feet of pre-owned joy.

There are definite pros and cons to Goodwill shopping. For instance, walking up to Newington’s store, the automatic door will begin opening when you’re five feet away. The door alone made my trip worthwhile. Normally I’m one of those people who has to jump around and wave my arms in order to make the door open, so please don’t underestimate the joy of a door that knows you’re coming.

Items are tagged in varied colors, and each color spends a week at 50 percent off. Plus, the size you buy is pretty much the size you get, unless

you’re a dedicated clothes-shrinker like I am.

The fitting rooms, by the way, are enormous.

There is room for you and seven of your closest friends.

Goodwill can always make you smile, not to mention laugh. The highlight of my trip was a pair of black fuzzy platform shoes. Go and check them out - they’ll most definitely be there for a while.

Goodwill also offers a rewards program.

Newington’s point program gives you one point for every $15 in purchases. Once you have 15 points, you receive 15 percent off your next purchase.

However, these programs often vary from store to store. Newington’s program is not compatible with Wethersfield’s stamp program.

Also, good items go fast, and there’s usually only one of each item. If those fuzzy platform shoes aren’t your size, you’re out of luck. And, while the automatic door on the way in is awesome, you might walk into it on your way out - it’s a wee bit slow.

If nothing else, Goodwill provides an interesting place to wander around. It’s like an indoor tag sale or a used department store. It’s not a Mecca for the fashionista, nor is it the bowels of fashion hell - close though. It is ten thousand square feet of other people’s junk, and you’re welcome to it for less than $10 a piece.

I concluded my visit to Goodwill yesterday with a shopping bag. And for the price of just one shirt at another store, my $23 bought me: a pair of Express corduroys - in mint green, no less - and four almost-new sweaters. And not a sequin or Christmas tree on any of ‘em.

been heard. I believe that in the situation we are facing, and in order to further ourselves in the right direction, it is important to hear from every group on campus.

We, as humans and artists of every nature, should be allowed to make bad art or be misunderstood. Most art is created to be critical of the world and to make people second-guess themselves.

We should not fear art, but learn from it. We should be able to be confronted bluntly with the wrongs in our generation. It is then that we are challenged to fight, and to protest as one, not separately. We don’t have to agree with it, or accept it, but we must see the potential it holds for us as the new generation faced with a dangerous future.

If we try and censor art that we don’t agree with, or that offends us, we will not progress, and that directly affects what the older generation learns from us. Art has been controversial since the beginning of time. Many of the masters have painted hundreds upon hundreds of women that we shamelessly print in countless textbooks. Should we censor those as well because they are depicting women as objects?

In the culture we live in, there are hate crimes and racism towards an array of individuals. Although the comic may have been offensive, even to those not of the Latin American community, we must look beyond it as intellectual students, and towards incidents that we can actively change together.

Even though it has been said that we must first address the racism on campus before we can address anything else, we must, again, look at the bigger picture.

If we protest incidents like the Danbury 11 and the Jena 6 within the campus itself, we are not only addressing racism that is going on in the world, but within our campus.

The Danbury 11 are a group of immigrant workers who were approached by an unmarked van thinking they were going to find work; instead, they were taken directly to jail. They were taken away from their families, yet none of their names were released

to inform the families where they were.

There are currently almost 16,000 of these workers being held in prisons.

The Jena 6 are six black students in Louisiana who are being charged with attempted second-degree murder. The students were arrested after nooses were hung by white students in a tree. A fight ensued and allegedly the white student, who had been taunting them, was beaten up and hospitalized, but released to go to a social gathering later that evening.

It is important to protest issues relating to the racism within our small community because it is with these other issues that we can make examples of.

Independent and student-run newspapers, as well as individual students, have just as big of a voice as The New York Times, if not bigger. We are the ones capable of seeing the bigger picture because we are not controlled by narrow interests. We are the ones able to protest against the discriminatory hiring promotions of granting tenure. But, we cannot do it separately or with the belief that we cannot trust each other.

We must put our differences aside, and find our similarities. We have to become a voice, and what better time then now. We have the press ready to watch what we have to say, so let’s say it together. Let’s do what generations did before us and protest the bigger issues of today’s culture that only we – the students – are able to truly understand.

We must take into account the ramifications of everything, and realize that we could be the voice of a nation.

If we, a smaller college in Connecticut, took it upon ourselves to act as one driving force, the rest of the world will be forced to question how they live.

I ask and welcome each and every one of you to acknowledge your being, and wanting to be, a part of the movement I believe can change our world.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” - Ghandi

Pain in the Neck…

and Back and Shoulders Jessica Carraro

Staff Writer As I gently knead the knots out of my neck, I realize I often hear college-age students complaining about aching necks, backs and shoulders. What is causing us to joke that “we must be getting old,” when we are in our most resilient years?

Pain in the neck and shoulders can be caused by many of our daily activities; sitting at a desk, driving a car or standing without paying attention to our posture.

The most effective way to reduce pain in these areas is to improve your posture. What is proper posture? According to Spine Universe, adopting the following steps will give you the correct posture.

First, hold your head up straight with your chin in. Make sure your earlobes are in line with the middle of your shoulders. Stretch the top of your head toward the ceiling. Keep your shoulders back, and your knees and back straight.

Tuck your stomach in. Do not tilt your pelvis forward. Also, be sure the arches in your feet are supported.

You must continue to monitor your posture until it becomes a habit. If you are having difficulty maintaining proper posture, one option is to purchase a posture support to wear under your

clothing.

Stretching is another way to relieve muscle tension. Always warm up before exercising and stretch daily.

Massage-Tools.com offers some good stretches for the neck and shoulders. For neck pain they suggest laying on the floor with a thick towel placed underneath the top of your neck.

Lay in that position for 5-10 minutes.

When purchasing a pillow, choose one with a contour to better support your neck. A good tip for ladies with shoulder pain: try to lighten the amount you carry in your purse and alternate which shoulder you have your purse on throughout the day.

To relieve shoulder pain, lie on your side and bring one arm up and over your head. Hold for one minute and repeat 2-3 times on each side.

The September issue of Fitness Magazine states that 80 percent of Americans will experience back pain at some point. To help relieve back pain, cross-train regularly to help your back respond better to stress.

Pain in the neck, back and shoulders does not have to be part of our everyday lives. By taking steps such as monitoring our posture and doing stretches, we can free our bodies of constant muscle tension.

16

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Stephanie Bergeron

Lifestyles Editor The CowParade is back in Connecticut this year, and features over 60 painted, fiberglass cows. That’s over 200 hooves grazing West Hartford along the roads of Farmington Avenue and LaSalle Road.

The cow parade is the largest public art event in the world, according to The Hartford Courant. The CowParade exhibitions have toured many cities over the last nine years, including New York, Boston and even cities outside of the United States like Tokyo and Moscow.

“Over 5000 one-of-a-kind cow creations have been created by an estimated 10,000 artists worldwide,” The Hartford Courant said. The CowParade began September 10 and will be lasting until January 4 this year, which is one month longer than when they were last here in 2003.

Like in 2003, local businesses were asked almost a year ahead of time to sponsor the cows; meanwhile, artists began sending in their ideas and resumes. Marge Abrams, Creative Director of CowParade, then met with the sponsors to discuss their decision in which artist they would like to represent their business.

The big event helps to involve people of all ages and nationalities. The cow sculptures are hand-made in Poland and then shipped here when they are ready to be painted.

Artists have a few months to paint the cows, until they are gathered to be put onto display.

It’s a great feature that Connecticut is lucky to be a part of. It’s a local event that everybody gets involved in, even the local businesses. The Three Dog Bakery, a bakery that makes oven-baked dog food with all-natural ingredients, made dog biscuits shaped like cows especially for the occasion.

The Montessori School of Greater Hartford even planned a field trip around the CowParade. Using the buddy,

hand-holding system, Renee Lockhart, a teacher’s assistant, helped 25 kindergarteners tour around West Hartford Center September 14.

“They’re beautiful,” Lockhart said, in regards to the painted cows.

“The children love it.” The students, all around the age of five, looked excited, as their big eyes looked anxiously around to spot the next cow they had yet to see.

John and Radacsi Geri were also excited to see the cows. “They are very mooooving,” said Radacsi, who is a poet and journalist.

“We don’t ever miss the CowParade,” said John with a smile.

They are fans of the CowParade and have visited the event in other cities like Chicago and Montreal. They also saw the exhibition in Bratislava. Radacsi wrote an article about the Bratislava exhibition that was featured in The Hartford Courant. She went on to say that the picture she took there was also used in her article, which she was overjoyed about.

The CowParade is a huge event, and although some may think it is bad art, you cannot deny its popularity. Miniature-sized sculptures have even been created that you can collect. They are proudly displayed in the store-front windows of a few of the shops in West Hartford Center.

What is most important and wonderful about the CowParade is that, once the exhibition is over, the cows are auctioned off at the Bushnell January 26. Each cow gets auctioned for around $7,500 - the highest selling cow sold for $20,000. The proceeds of the auction get split in half; half goes to a charity chosen by the business that sponsored the cow, and the other half goes to the three official charities of CowParade West Hartford 2007: Nutmeg Big Brothers,

Photos by Stephanie Bergeron

Big Sisters; the Connecticut Chapter of the Make-A-Wish foundation; and the West Hartford Public Library, according to The Hartford Courant.

Most of the cows are displayed outside, but there are some hidden inside store-front windows. There are some of every kind and color, many of which play off of the company they represent. One cow that stands in front of a shoe store is painted wearing fishnet stockings and high heels. Its name, “Moo Shoe,” is fitting; it was painted by Sandy Welch.

The CowParade is a beautiful art exhibition that gives everyone cow fever. It’s a wonderful opportunity not only for artists, businesses and charities, but also for people to see what public art events can actually do for a community.

Life is not a support system for art. It is the other way around.

– Stephen King