vol105issue09

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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

NEASC Visit Leaves Administration Optimistic

ELECTION 2008

BARACK OBAMA CLAIMS

CCSU

Melissa Traynor Editor-in-Chief

Central just reached its latest 10-year mark in its accreditation process with an on-site team visit last week and the school is feeling relatively positive.

Every publicly funded college in New England must be accredited every 10 years by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the region’s accrediting service.

The NEASC team appeared on campus over last Tuesday and Wednesday to assess the university on a set of 11 standards spanning from faculty and students to public disclosure.

The team, headed by Particia Meservy of Salem State College in Massachusetts, came to evaluate the school and meet with the preparation team who put together a self-study and presentation.

The self-study that was prepared over the last two years and completed in August is used to analyze every different aspect of life and work at CCSU, without hesitation to admit weaknesses, said Provost Carl Lovitt.

“It just has to cover everything,” he said of the report that took the university preparers two years to complete, “though there were some things I was a little nervous about telling them.”

He added that 2007 was a year of turmoil with incidences stemming from material published in The Recorder and the no-confidence vote in President Jack Miller. In response, CCSU addressed its diversity issues and appointed a Chief Diversity Officer and Lovitt believes it was a positive way to approach the matter.

Another area of concern that surfaced during the year was advising, and questions were raised as to whether the university could be doing more for students.

Lovitt said that advising falls under CCSU’s standard six, which describes the university’s characteristics of student development and services. As an issue that had been linked with advising difficulties in See Optimistic Administation Page3

CCSU Looks Forward to Obama Presidency A Lack in Confidence in McCain-Palin Ticket Melissa Traynor Editor-in-Chief

Amanda Ciccatelli News Editor

The results of a recent poll by The Recorder have indicated that Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama from Illinois is the clear favorite at CCSU and he leads by an over- 43 percent margin.

The poll, which was conducted from Oct. 13 through Oct. 27, was sent out via email to Central students and collected over 830 responses; 71.6 percent favored Obama while 28.4 percent leaned towards Republican candidate Senator John McCain.

Though these results demonstrate a stronger support for Obama, the numbers are consistent with national predictions for the 18-24-yearold age group vote. Harvard University’s Institute of Politics are more likely to prefer Obama with 56 percent of their support compared to McCain’s 30 percent. The IOP’s poll’s results also concluded that more young people while be “definitely” voting for Obama.

However, some CCSU students who didn’t participate, but responded to the poll via email said that they are voting for third party candidates. A group of student expressed their view that third party candidates should be represented in the poll and they would like to see support for candidates outside of the two main parties.

“The media has completely disregarded all independents running, including Ralph Nader who is holding over 5% of votes in polls and is on 45 ballots,” student Kim Sprong wrote. “There are more than two choices in this campaign and I believe it is important to let people know that there are options… The two-party system will never be dismantled if independents are blocked out.”

CCSU student Eric Bert also sympathizes with Independent candidate Nader.

“I have conflicts with both parties,” he said. “Nader is kind of a neutral guy and he doesn’t have some of the funding that the other parties don’t have, which is unfortunate.”

Several students indicated that they will be voting for Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate for President See CCSU Polls Page3

Student Veterans Receive Drop-In Center in Willard Jane Natoli

Lifestyles Editor

The Veteran’s Drop-In Center officially opened on Monday giving Central’s student veterans a place to congregate and get to know one another.

After working for 30 years to acquire a Veteran’s Drop-In Center at Central, the university has finally reached their goal. CCSU President John Miller kicked off the grand opening with a speech of gratitude towards the veterans.

“Everybody knows on campus there are problems with space and a lot of needs. Until we are able to get some of these new buildings built, it’s really difficult, but I think this is extremely important for us to have found a way to achieve,” said Miller.

Volume 105 No. 9

Miller along with the Veterans Affairs staff is proud to have built a place specifically for veterans.

Central veterans can spend time together in the drop-in center and discuss issues that are important to them.

According to Commissioner Linda Schwartz, the Veteran’s DropIn Center was a result of the summit that happened a year ago at Central.

She thanked President Miller for his hospitality and commitment to the veterans at Central.

Only a week ago Schwartz spoke at the Pentagon, specifically she said, to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. She spoke about the reality that war and the military will never go back how it used to be run.

“We are never going to have big bases and facilities that take into consideration all of the needs of our men and women in uniform. So we are on

the cutting edge of a new way to serve these men and women,” Schwartz explained.

“Knowing a drop-in center is being opened on campus makes me feel extremely happy and welcome here at CCSU,” said Michael Bareiss, President of the Veterans Appreciation Organization at Central. “The transition from military life to civilian life is not easy and having the drop-in center on campus where [veterans] can hang out and do homework between classes is a great feeling.”

Bareiss, a Gunners’ Mate Second Class Petty Officer, was on active duty in the Navy from July 2001 to July 2005 and made two sixmonth deployments to the Arabian Gulf with the Washington Battle Group. After being honorably disSee Veterans’ Center Page 2

A poll by The Recorder found that CCSU students favored Sen. Barack Obama (71.6%) to Sen. John McCain (28.4%). The numbers at left are out of 832 votes.

Drive Aims to Keep Kids Warm this Winter with Donated Coats Amanda Ciccatelli News Editor

The First Born Church in Hartford, Conn. will be holding their first annual No Kid Left Cold coat benefit where over one hundred winter coats will be presented to disadvantaged children and their families on Saturday, Nov. 15.

CCSU students are encouraged to donate a coat or two The purpose of No Kid Left Cold is to make positive changes in the city of Hartford and to help families in the Hartford community who are suffering from the economy’s condition, which may leave families without warmth this coming winter.

No Kid Left Cold aims to bring hope to families who are in need and give at least one hundred children winter coats to keep warm through the winter.

Lattoya Hales is a member of the First Born Church who was appointed to be a part of the marketing aspect of No Kid Left Cold.

“It’s not something I saw myself in, but with this particular initiative it really grabbed hold of me,” she said.

“It is just an amazing process and it really is for a good cause.”

“We are giving away new coats and accessories to them since we know these families can’t afford them,” Hales explained, “especially with this winter coming up and the gas prices and the many other things that they have to think about.”

Anyone can donate shoes, scarves, hats, gloves or other accessories to help keep warm.

Leading up the event on Nov. 15, there has been a process of seeking out the disadvantaged children from the Hartford elementary school system.

“This is specifically for elementary school kids,” said Hales. Over one hundred children from the Hartford elementary school system have already been selected and will receive the donated winter coats.

“We choose the children depending on the need within the family members,” explained Hales.

Other members of the Church aided in the selection process by visiting the schools to speak with human resources center personnel. They are similar to social workers in that they have access to most of the information about the families and children because they work directly with them.

See Keeping Kids Warm Page 3

News

2 THE RECORDER Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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 Melissa Traynor Managing Editor Peter Collin Art Director Geoffrey Lewis Associate Layout Editor Edward Gaug Copy Editor Aril Grain Entertainment Editor Nick Viccione Lifestyles Editor Jane Natoli News Editor Amanda Ciccatelli Sports Editor Kyle Dorau Opinion Editor Marissa Blaszko Editor-at-Large Karyn Danforth Web Editor John Vignali Illustrator Stefano Delli Carpini

Staff

Brad Cooper Ryan Yeomans Caroline Dearborn Lindsay LeFort Steve Packnick Jeanne Bujalski Misbah Akbar P.J. Decoteau Sean Fenwick Michael Walsh Shauna Simeone Gabrielle Pierce Mike D’Avino Doug Duhaime Ryan Robinson Kareem Mohamed

About

The Recorder is a studentproduced 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.

Meetings for The Recorder are held every Monday night at 7 p.m. in the Blue & White Room in the student center.

Veterans’ Drop-in Center

Continued from page 1

charged from the Navy, he returned to Connecticut and to college.

“When I was a freshman here at CCSU I felt out of place, like many of us do,” said Bareiss. “We are older than most seniors and want to learn, earn a degree and take on the next step in life. Joining the VAO has made me feel comfortable in my surroundings and I can relate to others.”

During his first year, there was no Central meeting place for Bareiss and his fellow veterans to call their own.

“We tried to get the idea [of a drop-in center] but it always never made up the chain of command,” he explained. “Everyone who we talked to about it was for it, but then we had a change of university presidents, and we were back at square one. I am happy to say that I have e-mailed the previous three presidents of the club and told them that we finally got it. They were very happy and surprised to hear the good news.”

Peggy Porter, the Veterans Affairs Coordinator at CCSU, and Betsy Fangiullo, the Bursar, have been waiting for a veterans drop-in center long before Bareiss and the

current CCSU student veterans have been discussing it.

“The idea has been kicked around for a very long time, at least 10 years,” said Fangiullo.

Excitement about a drop-in center at Central began again last year after a group of veterans and CCSU employees made a visit to Southern Connecticut State University drop-in center.

“We actually went down to Southern’s drop in center and took pictures and talked with those involved and they gave us some valuable information,” said Bareiss. “The funny thing is that Southern has no where near the amount of veterans we have on campus, and yet they had a drop-in center before us.”

Beginning this year, the Conn.

Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, Linda Schwartz, has mandated that all Conn. State Universities have a veteran’s drop-in center, which merely solidified the place of the one already in planning at Central.

Until now, Porter has been doing what she can on her own to help student veterans file their paperwork and give them direction and a friend

while they adjusted to campus and civilian life. A drop-in center located so close to her office in Willard 133 will make her job of connecting with veterans that much easier.

“Vets are around more often and have more contact for questions, said Porter. “There’s a new population of vets coming in. People I would talk to only on the phone or through e-mail are now here making one-onone contact.”

Fanguillo explains that the Drop-In Center serves as “a place of solace were [veterans] can network with each other and study.” Porter adds that it is a place of community for like thinking. “They’re not like the generic student,” said Porter.

According to Porter, veterans have been using the drop-in center all semester for studying and holding VAO meetings once a week.

“It’s transition place for those coming back from Iraq or Afghanistan transitioning into student and civilian life,” continued Porter, who went on to explain that not all student veterans were deployed to the Middle East, something that may go unnoticed by other college students.

“The general student population doesn’t have any idea about the orientation of vets,” she said.

The drop-in center will also serve as an area where veterans can network and find information on benefits and can receive counseling opportunities. “The center is still getting off the ground and everything isn’t all in place yet,” explains Porter.

This may be because the dropin center has been set up with no designated funding. Instead, it has been a Central community effort to get the center off the ground.

According to Fanguillo, Administrative Affairs has provided the soft walls and furniture, the Information Technology Department donated the computers and the Media Center donated the TV. An outside community group will be donating a refrigerator in the near future.

“From the time we thought of the idea to the time we actually saw the drop-in center, it took a while,” said Bareiss. “The first problem was the location of the drop-in center.

CCSU is hurting for club space and as it is right we don’t actually have our own room. They put up wall partitions so we now have some privacy.”

Amanda Ciccatelli contributed to this story.

It’s Not Easy Being Red

College Republicans Reflect on Liberal University Marissa Blaszko Opinion Editor

In general, college campuses tend to be more liberal than not; and in the middle of blue Connecticut, not much changes off campus grounds either. Still, the College Republicans have found a way to remain active on campus, even if they can’t always do as much as they’d like.

“You say you’re a Republican, you say you’re voting for McCain and you get this label,” said Tim Waldron, the president of the College Republicans. “You’re gung-ho for war; you’re anti-gay; you’re antiabortion.”

The Republican caricature, he says, is about as accurate as saying that a liberal wants everyone to get abortions – it simply isn’t true. A “diverse group”, the College Republicans are a group of moderates, conservatives and libertarians that, although they might not always agree on every subject, works together campaigning for state and local elections. On campus, however, it’s a little tougher.

“I bite my tongue a lot,” said Waldron. “There’s a lot of liberal professors and I would be hesitant to voice my Republican thoughts.”

CCSU Republicans’ treasurer Christina Scatchell seconds the opinion. “I think there are a lot more Republicans or conservatives out there who get scared in their courses and remain quiet throughout college,” she said.

Several of the Republicans even discussed the possibility of professors, especially among the political science department, lowering the grades of students from opposite ideologies – though these are just speculations.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Waldron, although he was quick to point out that there are still a lot of “two-sided” professors who try to present information as it fairly as possible, unlike a Fox News or MSNBC pundit.

Earlier this month, when the Black Student Union hosted a debate for both the College Democrats and Republicans, an overwhelming percentage of the audience made it apparent that they were not only Senator

Barack Obama supporters, but near hostile toward Sen. John McCain.

At one point, several audience members laughed at one of the College Republican’s answers to a question.

“I wanted to have a respectful debate,” said Waldron, who at one point during the night paused to tell the audience to listen to what both sides had to say. “I was disappointed.”

And although the College Republicans said that they understood where the crowd would likely stand going into the debate, they were okay with it.

If the entire campus agreed with them, “it would just get really boring after a while,” said member Doug Harding.

Either way, their goal in the debate, said Waldron, was to “reach one person.” If they found common ground with even just a small fraction of the audience, they will have done their job.

Now, just days before the election, even the mood in the country seems to be captured on the Central campus; change seems to be on the minds of many.

“A lot of people assume that I want eight more years of Bush or that I am afraid of change,” said Scatchell.

Tim Waldron at Monday, Oct. 13’s debate.

Edward Gaug / The Recorder

Optimistic Administration Continued from page 1

the past, Lovitt said that the university is acknowledging the graduation rate and greater need for improvement. The latest graduation rate figures indicate that 44 percent of students graduate in six years.

“Student should receive consistent, regular faculty advising,” Lovitt said. “For example, first year students, whether they are transfer or freshmen, should try to get to the advising center and make sure that they have an academic plan.”

Lovitt said that NEASC is aware of the concerns with advising and have been informed that CCSU is working on this problem.

The conclusion of the two-day visit came with an exit interview where the team verbalized their impressions of CCSU. Provost Carl Lovitt said that the team complimented the university on its ability to be transparent and candid during the process.

“They said that they think the students are having a positive experience here and that CCSU is in good shape. I feel that, too,” Lovitt said. “The campus is in a good place and has a good sense of direction.”

Keeping Kids Warm

3 A report that will outline the university’s strengths and weaknesses as well as make suggestions is due back to the university in December, according to Dean of the School of Graduate Studies Dr. Paulette Lemma. CCSU will then be able to review and fact-check the report and send it back to NEASC. “We’re looking forward to the Spring semester and the projections for the school,” Lemma said.

Lovitt said that a lot has changed since the school’s last accreditation process with NEASC. Since then, CCSU has been approved to offer its first doctoral, online and engineering degrees in educational leadership, the Mast of Science in data mining and the undergraduate degree min mechanical engineering, respectively.

The university has also developed a mission statement since then that has defined institutional values for CCSU and the Faculty Senate has approved a seven-point strategic plan.

Lovitt said that the university is regularly in touch with NEASC and keeps the accrediting service up to date on the campus happenings and improvements. They will report back to NEASC in five years as a follow-up to this year’s visit.

CCSU Polls Favor Obama Over McCain

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

Students from CCSU have a convenient opportunity to participate in the No Kid Left Cold cause. Students can donate between now and Dec. 8 at the WFCS radio station from 4 to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays, according to Hales.

WCFS 107.7 director Wayne DeRoy gave the First Born Church organization permission to use the radio station as a drop-off location for Central students to deliver coats and winter accessories that would keep a child warm.

“From the children that have been chosen, practically all of them will be receiving winter coats,” she said.

Beginning at 10:30 a.m., the event will consist of refreshments served by JoJo’s Coffee in the first hour for people to socialize. There will also be children and family activities including face painting and games. At 1 p.m., the coats will be distributed to the children.

To R.S.V.P to the event on Nov. 15 or request more information on the First Born Church and No Kid Left Cold, email Leila Jones at Leila.jones8@gmail.com.

of the United States, and they decided not to participate in the poll.

Though unprovoked, the vice presidential candidates made an appearance in the poll results. Some students made it clear that they were unimpressed with their presidential candidates’ running mates and it may ultimately affect their decisions.

“I am voting for Obama,” wrote Sandy Finnimore. “Palin and McCain are not competent enough to be president or vice president.

How can Palin not support sex education, abortions, and funding for teenage mothers?”

She said that she disagreed with Governor Sarah Palin’s approach to sex education with abstinence-only methods.

“She doesn’t want to teach anyone about how to have safe sex, doesn’t want to provide an option for the girls who do get pregnant too young, and she doesn’t want to give funding to those who had a child young. It just doesn’t make sense,” Finnimore wrote.

Other students were satisfied with neither Republican nor Democratic ticket.

“I definitely don’t agree with McCain’s military views and Obama is way too young to run a country,” said John Frank. “… Sarah Palin is not an adequate person to run a country.

Biden would be a good vice president, but a horrible president.”

Sophomore Kevin Potter, who is leaning towards McCain, said he despised VP candidate Joe Biden for his attacks on McCain and Palin.

Ninety-three percent, or 872 of the 932 students who participated in this poll, said they are registered to vote in this election.

A second poll asking CCSU students to pick the most important issue to them going into the Nov. 4 election indicated that the economy weighed the most with 46.3 percent of the votes. Coming in second was the varied responses in the “Other” category with 14.2 percent.

Most of these responses suggested the student were unable to choose only one of the six specified issues; while the economy took most of the votes, foreign policy, education, energy, health care and the environment all hovered roughly between 4 and 13 percent of the votes each.

The poll was not scientific and was conducted online.

Other: Second Amendment rights Gay marriage Civil rights Abortion Immigration Nuclear disarmament Stronger consumer regulation Legalization of marijuana Pro-life cause Military strategy Connecticut employment Women’s health and education Taxes Quality of life Union organization

All of the above

4

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / NEWS

Advising Center Pushes Degree Evaluation Program Amanda Ciccatelli News Editor

Central’s Advising Center is a department geared towards getting students on the right track from freshman year through graduation and beyond.

A fairly new computer program, implemented about a year ago called degree evaluation has helped the Advising Center do their job even better. The program can be accessed through Central Pipeline by anyone in the Central community. It can be helpful to students who are not sure where they are in their college career and when they will graduate.

“I don’t think enough students know this exists, and we try to show as many as we can,” said Assistand Director Janice Reska.

She explained that when using the degree evaluation to access a student’s transcript, the program tells her the student’s current information. If a student wanted to declare a brand new major, they could click on “What-if Analysis” to see how many credits their new plan would take.

“The student should bring this degree evaluation to their advisors during the advisement period and the evaluation should match up to what your advisors think,” she said.

The registrar’s office made this program available and is taking the lead for to improve a student’s awareness of his/her status at Central.

Since it is so easy for students or faculty advisors to make a mistake in

choosing the right classes, Reska and the others who work in the advising center want to get students on the right track to completing a degree.

“It’s a great tool,” said Reska. “It is very, very user friendly and we don’t ‘have as many mistakes in advising and registration because of this program.”

“It’s not 100 percent accurate all the time,” Reska admitted. She explained that sometimes the programs has trouble with transfer student credits and it may count a class in two study areas. “You want to go over this with an advisor to make sure this is correct because it doesn’t handle some of those subtleties very well,” she said.

The Advising Center has used the degree evaluation in hopes that it will help students keep up with their classes and graduate earlier. One obstacle that keeps many students at Central for more than four years is the decision to change their major late in their college career.

Reska said that about 20 percent of Central students want to change their major every year. “I think a large part of it is you just don’t know what to major in. Your mom says you are good at biology, so major in biology and you dad says the jobs are in accounting, so you major in accounting,” she said.

She notices students in their junior year start to realize that they have to do interviews and support themselves with a career in just a year or two. “

They ask themselves, ‘is this something I am going to enjoy? What is my day-to-day job going to be like?’” Reska said.

“Some of the students we see changing their major are due to the fact that they started embarking on a major and then realized for a number of reasons that I didn’t get the grades to make it: ‘I didn’t past the praxis exam, I can’t repeat this class,’” she said.

The Advising Center wants to work more closely with students.

According to Reska, students can use the capabilities and assessments that the Advising Center has as starting freshman year, so that students learn right away how to access advising tools.

“If you decide to change your major you can do that earlier in your college career,” she said.

Observing many Central students who have trouble graduating in four years, Reska and her colleagues want to help students get a rich and more efficient education from Central. “There are lots of reasons for that, but that I can tell [graduation rates] big issue is very high on the president’s radar.”

Some students are working full time and going to school full time to pay for their education, while others want to graduate as soon as possible so they take 18 credits a semester and still work 30 hours a week.

“Sometimes there are certain majors that are very popular and we have limited numbers of seats open in

the earlier courses and that can push back your graduation,” Reska said.

Although Advising is not a counseling center, if students have other issues that are blocking their focus on school, then they are available to recommend resources for students.

Reska and her colleagues are proud of working hard for students.

“We want to make sure that everything is OK, not just today and not just for the rest of the semester, but for the long term,” she explained.

They can help students to be aware of a plan to graduate by understanding the classes they have to take.

“I can’t tell you how many students come to us who weren’t advised as thoroughly as they should have been or the communication was not clear,” Reska said.

Although she emphasized that a faculty advisors main responsibility is teaching, advising is still part of their job responsibility, which only happens twice a year for two weeks.

“There are certain departments who do a thorough job and a great job in advising,” she stated. Faculty advising is very influential on whether a student gets into necessary classes or not, whether they are on track and if they can finish a degree in four years, according to Reska.

She pointed out that only full time faculty at Central are trained in advising. To her knowledge, part time faculty cannot be advisors. The Advising Center has been asked to participate in the faculty advising training. They emphasize knowledge of general education requirements with the faculty advisors.

Faculty advising begins on Monday and the two-week period starts on Oct. 27 and ends Nov. 7.

Faculty advisors will post their hours outside their door, and if not the Dean should have tier hours, she said. She recommends that students prepare for their advising meeting and run a degree evaluation because it is easier on the student and the professor to have something official.

Students then know that they need to take based on the evaluation and they just need to confirm that with their advisor.

“The conversation becomes much more meaningful,” Freska said.

The student and professor can agree on the classes to register for and then they can discuss other things such as building a resume and the option of graduate school.

“Know when it is your time to register,” Reska said.

“You would be amazed at the amount of students who don’t register when they are supposed to.”

The amount of freshman keeps increasing every year leaving fewer classes for students to choose from.

“The days of waiting until the last minute to find something are slowly disappearing,” she said.

“I tell students you are spending $1000 per class, you better make it count. That is 100 hours of your time.”

5

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / NEWS

Q & A With Roger Calero

Socialist Workers’ Party Candidate for the President of the United States people. If you leave it up to the bosses and the government that represents them, they will continue to pollute the environment. They run their factories with total disregard for the wellbeing and livelihood of millions of people and the environment. So it is only until working people take control of these companies and of the government that we can begin to implement measures to protect the environment.

All the other schemes are not going to work. For example, they’re talking about wind or solar energy, but as long as it continues to be run for profits as a commodity, that will never translate into better conditions or cheaper prices for working people. You can have an electric car, but the majority of people are not going to be able to afford it. They’ll be made at prices that will continue the extraction of profits from our labor. I think that the problem is not the lack of technology, but it’s who controls it.

When it’s in our hands, we can make a big difference in that.

Melissa Traynor: I couldn’t find a lot of information about you prior to today, but do you think you can say something about yourself and your background and, most importantly, why you are running for President?

Roger Calero: I live in New York. I’m originally from Nicaragua I’ve been living here in this country since 1985. I’m a worker – a worker who has been active in different struggles and in support for organizing unions. For example when I was a meatpacker in the Mid West in Iowa and then in Minnesota I had the chance to participate in an organizing effort at the meatpacking plant where I worked where after a hard fought battle we were able to win the union and then a contract.

I’ve been involved in different social movements, the fight for legalization of undocumented immigrants – most recently, for several years. I’ve participated in and helped organize some of the protests and marches against the raids and deportations that the government has been carrying out against undocumented immigrants. I’ve participated of the course of years in actions in defense of a woman’s right to choose abortion, including defending clinic against right-wing opponents. And against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan- and I’ve helped mobilize support and marches against the war.

I believe that it’s important for a working class candidate to participate in the election.

Working people have no voice in the government. And we don’t have a voice in the election and the Democratic and Republican candidates. All of their proposals are aimed at defending the system of exploitation that creates all problems we’re facing from unemployment to spreading the financial crisis that you’re seeing today in the United States and around the world. They’re spreading wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. All the racism and sexism and the destruction of the environment – they’re the product of the system that is driven by profits of the small billionaire families that rule this country. So I think that working people need to have our own candidates, that we need to have our own party and ultimately we need to have our own government – the government that represents the interest of working people and farmers.

MT: I’d like to ask you some questions about the main issues in this election that are being talked about every day. In light of the economic crisis happening now, what is your stance on fixing it and what is your plan?

RC: There really isn’t a solution within the context of the capitalist system. Short of working people taking political power and organizing things differently on behalf of working people, it’s not possible. The unemployment will continue to grow, the instability in the financial system will continue and as they do that they will drag millions and millions of workers in this country and around the world into this chaos, these disastrous consequences. The standards of working people will continue to be deteriorated.

I believe that what we need to do, like I said, is replace this system with a different one – a socialist system. On to road to that, as we fight for it, there are a number of things I believe we can do. For example, the banking system and other key industries, like the oil industry,

MT: And the last big issue that I think is on everyone’s mind right now is the war in Iraq.

Some people are pushing to go into Iran, and others who want to bring the troops home and don’t want any part of the Middle East.

What is your position on the war or foreign policy in general?

Roger Calero is the Socialist Workers’ Party presidential hopeful.

the coal-mining industry, should be nationalized under worker’s control. They should be put under control of the workers and the unions who work in these places – in the coalmining industry. It’s the only way how we can guarantee affordable prices at the gas pump. It’s the only way how we can guarantee affordable electricity for working people. It’s the only way how we can protect the environment. It’s these companies, the capitalist bosses that are the biggest polluters of the environment. Millions of people are facing right now the threat of losing their homes and farms. We would fight for legislation that would put an indefinite moratorium – I’m not talking about what the other candidates are saying, perhaps for 90 days – I’m talking about an indefinite moratorium for as long as the crisis in capitalism continues that will protect people from losing their homes.

I believe that education should also be free.

MT: That’s actually my next question – what is your plan to give people free access to education and how you plan to approach it?

RC: The first thing that we have to clarify is, under capitalism, there is no way to have an education system that is worthy of the working class, because education is seen as something that it’s only purpose is to produce workers that will follow instructions, at the factories, that

Edward Gaug / The Recorder

will serve their needs in their capitalist economy. I believe that until we have an education system that is universal and for a lifetime it’s going to impossible too have an education system that is worthy of the working class. What I mean for a lifetime is that education should available to all workers, not just young people, that reorganize society in a way that would allow working people to continue their education.

Not the money to provide for this – it’s there. We produce an immense amount of wealth in this country that a tiny minority of families pocket and keep. We can take that wealth back and use it for education, healthcare and housing. You just saw how the government came up with $700 billion to rescue the financial institutions at the same time that they say that we need to make sacrifices, that we need to tighten our belts. Both John McCain and Barack Obama are talking about that and we think that the wealth is there to provide for this and what we need to do is organize to begin to take it back.

MT: Let’s talk about the environment and energy, technology and global climate change. What is your stance on improving the situation right now?

RC: Just like safety on the job, the protection of the environment rests in the hands of working

RC: I think that the troops should be removed immediately. Barack Obama talks about pulling the troops responsibly, he says, which basically means the same thing as what Bush and McCain are talking about, which is pulling out the troops when we think we have accomplished the political and military objectives they have.

There’s nothing progressive about this war for working people and working people in this country and everywhere should oppose it, demand that the troops be removed immediately. I think as president, we would not only do that, we would also fight to stop the intervention of Washington, by the United States government in the business of other sovereign countries, which are only carried out for one purpose, which is to defend the interest of the ruling class in this country.

MT: We’ve been talking about socialism as a third party and Republicans and Democrats around here a lot lately and one of the things that has come up is the belief that people don’t agree with voting for third party candidates because they see it as throwing away their votes. So what do you say to those people?

RC: Working people who are voting for Democrats or Republicans have been throwing away their votes for decades and the results of that is governments headed by each one of these parties that have been responsible for decades for the assaults on our living working conditions. The wars that you see abroad are carried out by both Democrats and Republicans. A vote to the Democrats or Republicans does not advance the interests of working people. It is until we act independently of the parties and the bosses, that we’re going to be able to make some significant gains. So I encourage working people to support the Socialist Workers’ Party where we have official write-in status here in Connecticut and workers and youths and students in the state to register to vote for something that they really want.

Women Educate Through Film at Local Festival Peter Collin Managing Editor

The fourth biennial Doris Honig Guenter Women and Film Festival took place over a three-day period last week at CCSU’s Torp Theater and the New Britain Museum of American Art. The festival showcased eight different films over the three days, each by a different female director.

The films covered a variety of topics including the role of women during the civil rights movement of the 1950s in the documentary Standing on My Sister’s Shoulders and the consequences of the war in Iraq on the lives of women in that country in the film My Home – Your War. Doris Honig Guenter, a former director of the CCSU Women’s Center, for whom the festival is named believes that it is a unique event and hopes that those that attend the festival are exposed to international life.

“A lot of people think of film as something that entertains and I think that one of the things

that we are trying to show is that film educates,” said Honig Guenter.

Honig Guenter also hoped that the festival would show that there are women out there who make good films about a variety of subjects and from a variety of places.

There was also an opportunity for Central students to present their films. Angelica Karlsson and Marcella Prado each presented films.

Each day was highlighted by panel discussions that covered topics that were discussed in the films. The final panel on Thursday night was a chance for students to talk with directors about how thy broke into the film business.

“There were a lot of questions afterward and a long discussion. I think that that was a really powerful event,” said Karen Ritzenhoff, the organizer of the festival. “The prime audience are really all Central students – that was the idea that started this festival.”

This was the second festival that the New Britain Museum of American Art partipated in.

Students and others in attendance of the films

www.wmm.com

were transported by a free shuttle bus to and from the school to the museum.

Ritzenhoff believed the attendance to be in the range of 920 people over the course of the three day period, but Ritzenhoff believes that

the festival has a greater impact than just drawing large crowds.

“If it makes a difference for two students who learn something they hadn’t known before – then it’s a success,” said Ritzenhoff.

6 THE RECORDER Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Editorial

Editorial/Opinion

November 4, when thousands if not millions of Connecticut residents enter the voting booth, they will be voting for more than the President. Question 1 on the ballot will read: “Shall there be a Constitutional Convention to amend or revise the Constitution of the State?”

The question doesn’t mention how the Convention would be run or what is being proposed, and is oddly vague for such an important issue.

Every 20 years, the Constitution is put on the Connecticut ballots to allow voters some freedom in deciding their state’s future. Even so, the State Constitution has been amended 30 times since 1974 by the legislative body. The first question that should be asked would undoubtedly be: why do we need a full revisiting if amendments are so easy to make?

The second should consider how a Constitutional Convention would be run.

Elected state officials would participate in the process of rewriting the constitution to the extent of electing delegates to run the rewrite. If the state were to elect the people who actually care about the issues, and are affected by them, in equal numbers, the process would be a stale-

mate. But even that would be better than what would probably happen.

These delegates would more likely be, judging by what has happened in other states, the lobbyists and special interest groups that make a living lurking in the capitol building.

Most voters can at least agree that putting the interest of an entire state in the sole hands of big business is problematic at best.

Teachers and students, specifically, have an incredibly amount to lose. The Connecticut Education Association has become incredibly vocal about their opposition to Question 1. On TeachersVoteNo.org, the CEA brought up what happened to the Massachusetts school system when our neighboring state revisited its constitution.

“The result was the immediate layoff of 9,270 teachers, the closing of 200 schools, and the elimination of many programs across the state when the proposition became law,” said the CEA. Additionally, the organization points out that, “California went from one of the bestfunded education systems in the country to one

of the very worst after the passage of Proposition 13.”

This should be of incredible interest to Central students, as CCSU was initially started as a teachers’ school and still has a large educational department; even for non-education majors, we are still all students going to a public university. Budget cuts for public schools means budget cuts for CCSU. Educational unions are not the only ones that have their futures at stake. The national unions AFL-CIO and International Brotherhood of Teamsters have sided against the constitution because of how a rewrite could harm the working class.

Two additional issues that should be incredibly important to all minorities should be that of marriage equality and the right to choose abortion. Both of these rights have already been won on constitutional grounds; going through and modifying the State Constitution would take away the firm ground the laws have been laid on, likely overturn previous rulings.

Passing the proposition would be the local equivalent of giving the federal government

a blank check to rewrite the country’s constitution. Even paying to hold the convention, considering how many times it has been amended, would be a waste of tax money in order to support those who want to cut taxes by a tiny percentage in order to make massive cuts on social spending programs.

A yes vote on Question 1 would give nonelected delegates near unlimited control over almost all aspects of Connecticut laws. If a Constitutional Assembly had actual need to take place, it should be handled through direct democracy. Voters should not only be participating in but also running the Convention, before concise issues are brought to a statewide vote.

Blindly asking voters whether or not they want to address these problems, without a clear solution as to how they should be addressed, isn’t the way the legislature should go about the Convention.

What voters really need to think about is whether or not they want to trust a body of government that would step around them in favor of a bureaucratic process with the fundamentals of state law.

Swing States by the Numbers: The Recorder’s Staff Picks

Obama McCain

Nevada Colorado North Dakota South Dakota Missouri Indiana Ohio

Virginia North Carolina

8 4 1 1

2

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4

5

6

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People who picked

States we expect

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McCain to win North

Obama to win over

Bob Barr to win

expect for

Carolina

McCain

North Dakota

Florida

Stefano Delli Carpini / The Recorder

Pennsylvania

7

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / OPINION

McCain Shauna Simeone Staff Writer

We are facing a historic election and the chance for our generation to voice our opinions is upon us. It is imperative that we support the candidate who will implement positive changes to our nation and help us maintain the strengths of the United States.

Senator John McCain is ready to lead our nation and guide us in the right direction.

“I’m going to fight for my cause every day as your President,” said McCain as he voiced his readiness to lead at the Republican convention this year. “I’m going to fight to make sure every American has every reason to thank God, as I thank Him that I’m an American, a proud citizen of the greatest country on earth, and with hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me.”

One of the most trying issues facing Americans today includes how to handle the future of the war in Iraq. Sen. McCain understands that victory is essential; he believes that we need to stabilize the Iraqi government so that they are capable of governing themselves.

This will secure long-term peace and security in Iraq and will allow Iraq to be a beneficial ally of the United States in the future.

In order to reach this goal, McCain wants to continue the successful counterinsurgency strategy to prevent violence in the region. He also believes that the Iraqi government should invest in infrastructure projects to lower unemployment and prevent young men from being attracted to extremists.

McCain also understands the severity of the economic problems facing America today.

To improve our current situation he believes it is necessary to give tax relief to small businesses in order to stimulate job growth.

Privately owned businesses are responsible for 75 percent on new jobs, according to MSNBC.com, and as a Republican, the GOP nominee understands that we cannot stifle the growth ability of these businesses by slamming them with high tax rates.

McCain also wants to provide relief for families who can’t afford their mortgages by allowing them to refinance their loan. He believes that homeownership is a large part of the American dream and wants to make housing affordable for as many Americans as possible.

In addition, further steps toward free trade will allow American companies to compete overseas and cause more money to enter the United States’ economy.

All of these ideas effectively promote economic growth for the future.

Energy independence is another key issue facing Americans and McCain has pledged to

bama

do as much as he can to secure America’s energy needs for the future.

“Energy security is a vital question because it concerns America’s most fundamental interest, and above all the safety of our citizens from the violence of the world,” the Senator claims on his Web site. “When we buy foreign oil, we are enriching some of our worst enemies.”

In order to gain energy independence McCain first wants to expand domestic oil production by drilling in the outer Continental shelf. He also wants to provide incentives for automakers to provide fuel-efficient or plug-in hybrid cars.

In comparison, Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s policy ideas will stifle growth.

For example, Obama is in favor of tax increases on anyone making over $250,000 a year. A vast amount of businesses fall into this category and by increasing taxes on them, he would be minimizing job growth.

In terms of Iraq, Obama agrees that it is necessary to get the Iraqi government to be selfsustaining. The goal for Iraq should be to win the war in order to prepare America for the future. By making the end of the war a goal, Obama is demonstrating that he is not as concerned with victory and does not comprehend the necessity of success in Iraq.

Many CCSU students are thinking about, or maybe even applying for, jobs to pursue after college right now. In fact, in the summer of 2008 Connecticut had the largest increase in its unemployment rate in the entire country.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in Connecticut has currently reached 6.5 percent. No matter what, job creation is essential.

Energy independence is also essential for students at CCSU. First of all, if we control our own oil supply then prices will become lower and students will not be so drained monetarily from filling up their cars. Many students are planning to live on their own very soon, and some students already do. Heating prices for homes have gone up dramatically because in many cases oil is being used for heat. Alternative energy sources will allow future homeowners to heat their homes with a reasonable budget.

The truth is that McCain knows the recipe for the future success of America. All of his ideas will work towards his vision of a stronger and more stable economy and a safer, energyindependent nation. “Change” is a major theme is this election, but McCain is ready to implement the right type of change that will greatly benefit the lives of Americans.

The American people need to make sure they are voting for the candidate who has the best interest of the country at heart, and that man is John McCain.

Doug Duhaime Staff Writer

Once upon a time, Revolution was king.

Mobs of reformers with pitchforks and protests could strike for change, and after enough people were killed, some lasting change would result.

I am speaking primarily of the workers’ strikes and riots of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in America; but the trend predates, and gave occasion for the founding of this country.

Brave pilgrims, we embark upon our own journey this November, and we see that Revolution’s ship has sailed. Now is the time of reform, of the process of infinite logic and its unfolding. If we wish to have a hand in the change that will occur in the United States on November 4, we must work within the system we wish to change: we must vote.

We are therefore left with the candidates.

As our body politic functions in a two-party system, we are left with two candidates, and the issues: economics, energy and war.

With climbing unemployment rates, crumbling financial institutions and soaring national debt, money is on the minds of many Americans. A good portion of the presidential debates was focused on dollar bills and how each candidate intends to allocate them.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama recognizes the need for increased regulation in our economic policies, and has proposed ideas that will right the wrongs that were introduced by Republican deregulation.

In the short term, Obama has proposed tax cuts for the families that need them. Under his plan, claimed a Washington Post analysis of both candidates’ tax plans, taxpayers that make less than $66,000 will save an average of $540 on their 2008 tax returns.

Senator John McCain proposes to lower taxes for this group, on average, by $150. This tax bracket, composed of the lower and middle classes, accounts for 60 percent of taxpayers and includes many college students and recent graduates.

In the long term, Obama’s tax plan will help to repay the $10 trillion of debt the United States has accumulated. That’s a 10 with 12 zeros worth of debt, a figure that increases by $3.76 billion every day, according to Brillig. com. This Web site also hosts a national debt clock, which grows at an alarming rate every time users hit the refresh button.

Obama has stressed the importance of this task in the final debate. “Obviously, we’ve got an immediate crisis right now, but nothing is more important than us no longer borrowing $700 billion or more from China and sending it

to Saudi Arabia,” he said at the first presidential debate. “It’s mortgaging our children’s future.”

By collecting taxes from individuals who can afford to pay them (ie: those who make more than $2.87 million annually), Obama’s economic plan will yield a net increase of $700,000 from these wealthy patrons, a sum that can help to fund social programs and repay the national debt. McCain intends to provide tax breaks in the amount of $270,000 for the affluent, a failed logic that continues to embrace the “trickle down” economics that recently came crashing down.

“If I am president, I will immediately direct the full resources of the federal government and the full energy of the private sector to a single, overarching goal – in 10 years, we will eliminate the need for oil from the entire Middle East and Venezuela,” said Obama of his proposed energy policy at the same debate. This shift towards independence will be accompanied with $1,000 energy rebates for American families, paid for by the enormous profits of oil corporations.

Obama also proposes increased research on alternate energy systems. “We only have three to four percent of the world’s oil reserves and we use 25 percent of the world’s oil, which means that we can’t drill our way out of the problem. And that’s why I focused on putting resources into solar, wind, biodiesel, geothermal [energy systems],” he said. Senator Obama’s plan outlines the creation of 5 million new jobs to develop and implement these energy systems: jobs that can help provide funds for the unemployed in the short term and can create lasting solutions for the American economy in the long term.

Perhaps the most delicate topic of the debates centers on our tangled alliances in the Middle East, an economic umbilical cord that Obama seeks to sever. “I have opposed this war from the start; I thought it was a tragic mistake,” Obama said. “It’s time to bring our troops home.

It’s time to admit that no amount of American lives can resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else’s civil war.”

With over a million lives claimed and little progress in the way of establishing a stable democracy for the Iraqi people, Obama claims he will put an end to the excesses of borrowed spending and lost loved ones in Iraq. “This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century,” Obama told Politico.com.

I urge the Central students to look at the facts and “speak your latent conviction,” as Ralph Waldo Emerson insisted. For we are “ not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark.” Shine a light in November.

‘Other’

So You Don’t Have to be the Elephant or the Ass Marissa Blaszko Opinion Editor

There are two primary reasons a valid voter would chose not to exercise his or her constitutional right. First, is general apathy – the feeling that whatever is decided on Capital Hill is probably not worth paying attention to.

The second reason, one may venture to say, is the feeling that a single vote does nothing, or that even the collective vote changes nothing.

And no matter what the majority of Democratic or Republican partisan voters may claim, the very fact that half of the eligible population isn’t voting is something worth paying attention to. Because like it or not, this overwhelming percentile may have a point.

The most significant changes in American history were anything but the result of voting.

First, of course, was the Revolution – the key word here being “revolution”. What, exactly, were the odds that the British would have simply just been voted away?

Then of course there was the first wave of feminism: a movement that got thousands of women and men alike to strike, protest, and fight for their right to vote. Hand in hand were the labor movements of the 1920s, when massive strikes and bi-coastal protests fought for

basic human rights for all citizens, from safe working conditions to minimum wages.

Sometime after, there was the Civil Rights Movement when black Americans began a campaign of mass mobilization to ensure equal treatment under the law.

This is not to say, however, that these waves of political activism had little to do with voting. Many of them, one should note, were fighting for the right to vote; the others were fighting for civil rights that are directly linked to democracy.

Now, here lies the second point: American people want change. Not necessarily the liberal-change prescribed by Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, or even necessarily that of Republican candidate Senator John McCain. But both major parties have centered much of their campagins on change, and have tried to demonstrate their dedication to differing from the Bush administration by doing everything from toting voting records to nominating female Vice Presidents.

Voters, however, should be looking past the candidates’ “maverick” and “change” catch phrases before casting a ballot this election season.

Both major parties have varied little on what they are actually fighting for. Obama, groomed as the anti-war candidate, wants to re-

move combat brigades by 2010, according to his Web site, however, combat troops make up only a small percentile of troops that are actually stationed in the country. McCain, at least, has been truthful about his plans to continue the U.S. military presence in the Middle East.

Unfortunately, as Iraq veteran Adam Kokesh tried to point out at the RNC, “you can’t win an occupation.”

As for the economy, both candidates claim they will lower taxes by cutting unnecessary spending. Yet, as the College Republicans pointed out at the last debate, Obama’s social spending plan would equal up to a trillion dollars. On the other hand, McCain wants to continue an unnecessary, expensive and losing war.

Their energy propositions are equally ridiculous. McCain can’t seem to look into the future. The world will run out of oil. Between now and then, the prices will continue to rise – even if they drop sharply for about a year.

Obama wants 25 percent of electricity to be renewable by 2025, creating the same timetable as virtually every other two-party politician, including W. Bush.

Clearly, what the two major parties are offering us is not a wide range of views, but the same opinions with different speaking points.

Spain is being run by a socialist parliament. Italy has, to the complete horror of the rest of Europe, a fascist president. The Libertarians and Green Party want out of Iraq now and have advocated for zero-bailouts for Wall Street executives.

Unfortunately, the argument that voters should self-educate before voting probably serves more to intimidate voters than to actual encourage them to vote. Truly believing that a factory worker, who very likely needs to keep a 50-hour week in order to afford basic necessities, is going to pick up The New York Times is simply ridiculous.

The fact is this: no real change will come from voting. The vote, however, is not something worth dismissing. It is, now more than ever, an incredibly useful tool that we must make sure is well preserved. Those educated enough to understand the historical and cultural significance of voting should consider a protest vote, either for a third party candidate or a write-in of whomever. We need to let those running the country understand that we want more than the right to vote – we want our votes to count.

Sports

8 THE RECORDER Wednesday, October 29, 2008

President Jack Miller, the Sports Fan Kyle Dorau Sports Editor

CCSU President John W. Miller is not just the head of the University; he is also a sports fan who is often visible at athletic events and cares deeply about the workings of the teams and clubs on campus.

In an interview with The Recorder, the avid golfer with a nine handicap spoke on a variety of topics, from the state of Athletics here at Central to why Muhammad Ali is the greatest athlete in history.

A former college football player, Miller has been a sports enthusiast his entire life and is no stranger to the press box at Arute Field come game day.

Miller said he tries to make it to at least one of the games by each athletic team during the season.

“Whether it’s a women’s lacrosse game, or volleyball, or swimming, or football, or whatever, I try to always see them at least once,” Miller said.

He regards sports in the same way he views other campus activities, such as theatre productions or student award ceremonies; He likes to attend to see what his students are up to.

Of financial strategy, Miller mentioned that the CCSU holds certain events, such as home football games to fundraise and develop alumni relationships “We invite alumni and other people to come to the game, be our guests, and try and get those people to support the University financially,” he said.

With the distinction between academic and athletic funding clear in his mind, Miller said that it’s really a matter of separation and different processes to secure funding for each new building. He doesn’t want to build in another fee for students and would like the state to get involved instead of leaving the responsibility squarely with the student payments.

He understands when people ask him to spend money on academic instead of athletic or the other way around, but his general answer is lies

in the separation of these two funding processes.

“While people could look at it and say, ‘Well, why don’t you spend this on this, instead of on that?’ I understand what they’re saying, but in many instances, it’s because we can’t,” Miller said.

The school’s visibility in terms of the competition between athletics and academics is also something that he frequently comes across. Miller suggested that because CCSU sports teams have games and scores, academics are harder to approach in terms of presentation and the press. “[Athletics] bring students to the University. I’d have to go check the exact number, but we have something on the order of 500 studentathletes. Many of those who are students who wouldn’t be here if they weren’t participating in athletics,” Miller said. “I think it’s a public relations arm – one of the public relations arms of the institution.”

Miller said a sports club struggling with funding is the CCSU ice hockey team. “They get the funding that a club deserves to get. We have made it very clear to them,” Miller said and added that he believes that the funds were reduced fairly.

“Now, they have a year, and they need to either figure out how they’re going to privately get these funds, or to make plans to attend where there is a program that will meet their needs.

And I think we owe them that.”

The university president recalled some of the most surprising moments in CCSU Blue Devil history. What he considers the most memorable sports moment for CCSU during his tenure include underdog football victories and men’s soccer’s run in the NCAA tournament last year.

He said he was genuinely surprised by the football team’s victory against Georgia Southern University in September 2006.

“I would say two years past, when our football team beat Georgia Southern… I worked there for seven years, and they won the national I-AA championship three of those seven

years. They’re one of the very best programs in the country,” he said.

“For us to go down there on a road game with a brand new coach and brand new players, and to win that game was probably at the very least the most surprising moment in my four years of Blue Devil athletics.”

He was also proud of the men’s soccer team in 2007.

“I think you’d also have to put in that list the men’s soccer team last year,” he said. “Making it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament and beating both Harvard and Tulsa, which were top 20 teams in the country.”

Outside of CCSU, Miller is a fan of boxing, especially Muhammad Ali, who is his favorite athlete of all time.

“Of all the people I’ve ever seen perform, I would say he was the most athletically gifted at what he did,” Miller said. “I’ve seen some pretty great basketball players. I’ve seen Michael Jordan play, I’ve seen Doctor J play – guys that changed the game.

They were incredible athletes, but I think he was so superior and so much more gifted than anyone else at the time, or maybe since, for that matter.

There was no one who approached him.”

Miller said he doesn’t follow as closely now, but in the past he liked to watch the fights between equal boxers.

“Unlike a lot of other fighters, he had some other really good people to showcase his skills against. I don’t even know who the heavyweight champion is now. But he had Joe Frazier, he had George Foreman, he had some really top-level people. So it wasn’t like he was beating people who were mediocre – he was beating great boxers. Joe Frazier might be the second or third best heavyweight of all time,” he said.

“I admired what I thought was a very principled stand. A lot of people didn’t like him for it, but I liked him for the fact that he stood up politically for what he believed in.”

Siena Saints Cast Out Blue Devils in 6-1 Routing Kyle Dorau Sports Editor

CCSU Ice Hockey went to Siena on Friday night searching for redemption after last year’s 8-1 loss in the Super East Finals. All they found was another one-sided loss and an

Siena 6 Blue Devils 1 unfortunate injury to one of the team captains.

The Saints defeated Central Connecticut 6-1, powered by an Erik Reinfried hat trick. The loss knocks the Blue Devils down to 3-2-1 on the season.

Junior center Joe Dabkowski left the game in the first period after hurting his ankle, and did not return.

He went for x-rays and the club is still awaiting word on the severity of the injury.

With last season’s Super East player-of-the-year unable to play, the Blue Devils struggled mightily in the wide-open confines of the Albany County Hockey Facility.

“There is no doubt Siena is the toughest place we play due to the

Photo: Edward Gaug 10/4/2008

Junior captain Joe Dabkowski left the game with an ankle injury.

Edward Gaug / The Recorder

Olympic size rink and the atmosphere,” said head coach Jim Mallia.

“We need to figure out a way to compete at that arena.”

Three power play goals by the Saints buried Central’s chances against one of the top teams in the league. “When you give Siena opportunities,” said Mallia, “they will finish those opportunities and make you pay.”

One of the weaknesses for the Blue Devils this season is making repeated trips to the penalty box.

Reinfried, who had his second straight hat trick playing against Central, has made a career out of frustrating the Blue Devils.

In four games against CCSU, he has scored eight goals while notching three assists. Nicholas Orlando notched a pair of goals for the Saints, and Rob Duhoski also scored.

Despite the veteran-laden lineup, the lone goal for Central came off the stick of freshman Jeff Pease. His second marker of the season helped keep the Blue Devils

from getting blanked by Siena.

Senior defenseman John Owens assisted on the goal, earning his first point of the season.

Carmine Vetrano got the start in net for CCSU, and suffered his first loss of the season.

Siena has enjoyed a sevengame win streak against Central Connecticut State. The last time CCSU was able to defeat the Saints was in an 8-4 win on November 4, 2005. Only eight of the Blue Devils on the current CCSU roster were part of the team for that game.

Central’s next game is this Friday as they host the University of Connecticut Huskies. The two clubs tied at 4 earlier this season in an extremely physical contest.

“We will start from scratch and hit all the raw fundamentals during the week,” said Mallia. “My big focus is a consistent effort and a strong start.”

Game time Friday is 8 p.m. at Newington Ice Arena. The rink is located at 300 Alumni Road in Newington, just minutes from the CCSU campus.

9

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / SPORTS

Pick Your Poison

NFL Predictions for Week 8

Week 7 of the NFL has come and gone but the standings in our weekly Pick Your Poison has remained relatively unchanged. Our Sports Editor Kyle Dorau remains a top the leaderboard after another solid week of 10 picks but he is starting to feel the heat from Kevin Petruzielo who closed the gap to a mere one pick.

Alex Waters gets our vote for the most obscure pick of the week as he was our lone contestant to choose the hapless Browns to upset the Jacksonville Jaguars. Alex was one of four competitors for top 10 picks for the second consecutive week. He was joined by Kyle, Ryan Kennedy and our Editor-in-Chief Melissa Traynor.

Keep those picks coming and if you have any comments or questions email us at ccsurecorder@gmail.com.

Peter Collin

Kyle Dorau

Managing Editor

Sports Editor

Edward Gaug

Nick Viccione

Associate Layout Editor

Entertainment Editor

N.Y. Jets at Buffalo

Buffalo

Buffalo

Buffalo

Buffalo

Detroit at Chicago

Chicago

Chicago

Chicago

Chicago

Jacksonville

Jacksonville

Jacksonville

Jacksonville

Jacksonville at Cincinnati Baltimore at Cleveland

Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore

Cleveland

Green Bay at Tennessee

San Diego

Tennessee

Tennessee

Green Bay

Arizona at St. Louis

St. Louis

St. Louis

Arizona

Arizona

Houston at Minnesota

Houston

Houston

Houston

Minnesota

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay

Kansas City

Tampa Bay

Miami

Denver

Denver

Denver

Tampa Bay at Kansas City Miami at Denver Atlanta at Oakland Dallas at N.Y. Giants

Atlanta

Atlanta

Atlanta

Atlanta

N.Y. Giants

N.Y. Giants

N.Y. Giants

N.Y. Giants

Philadelphia at Seattle

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

New England at Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis

New England

Indianapolis

Pittsburgh at Washington

Washington

Pittsburgh

Washington

Pittsburgh

Pick of the Week

St. Louis def. Arizona The Rams were awful when the season started but it turns out it was just their coach. Jim Haslett has turned this team around. The Rams probably would have beat the Patriots if Steven Jackson wasn’t hurt. Well, if Jackson is back this week then Arizona doesn’t stand a chance.

This Week’s NFL Prediction Leader Board Rank

Name

Total Points

Current Week

1

Kyle Dorau

73

10

2

Kevin Petruzielo

72

11

3

Anthony Gonsalves

68

9

3

Carey Brimmer

68

9

5

Ed Gaug

64

9

6

Ryan Kennedy

61

10

7

Nick Viccione

63

8

8

Gary Berman

60

6

9

Marc Chouinard

59

0

10

Alex Waters

53

11

10

Edward Homick

53

6

12

Peter Collin

52

7

13

Melissa Traynor

51

10

Pittsburgh def. Washington Pittsburgh will rebound big time on the Monday night stage against Washington. Big Ben will throw two touchdowns in a low scoring road win.

Kansas City def. Tampa Bay The Chiefs will finally become a real football team and pull out a big win against a decent Buccaneers team that looks playoff-bound. The most impressive part of this win is that it will be lead by a rookie QB with no NFL experience.

Pittsburgh def. Washington Pittsburgh will look to rebound strong after a tough loss to the Giants this past weekend. They should play up to their potential and take care of Washington.

Are you an impressionable incoming freshman? A sophomore who has recently given up a time consuming bad habit? A junior or senior who has finally decided to stop being lazy?

The Recorder is looking for staff writers, illustrators and comic artists for the fall semester.

Working with The Recorder is a great way to build your resume, hone your skills and network.

If you are interested please e-mail us at ccsurecorder@gmail.com.

No prior experience is necessary.

10

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / SPORTS

NBA PREVIEW 2008-2009

After allowing a pair of simply absurd trades to go through, NBA Commissioner David Stern got his wish: a Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals. The two teams are still in good position to reach the promised land, but not without some young teams stepping up to challenge the throne.

It was a far less eventful off-season than last year’s. Gregg Popovich decided to grow an impressive beard and look like the Unabomber, Shaq rapped about the flavor of his rear end and Seattle doesn’t have a team anymore. That’s about it. All caught up? Good.

With the season just underway, here’s what you can expect from each team as they begin a grueling 82-game schedule.

Northwest Division Utah Jazz

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Jazz were nearly unbeatable at home last year, going 37-4 in Salt Lake City. They just need to shore up a losing road record in order to make the leap to championship contender. The Jazz were the only division winners with a losing record as the visiting team. They stood pat in the off-season, which wasn’t a bad move, but certainly didn’t add any excitement in an always-improving Western Conference. It’s up to their veteran core to provide a run deep into the playoffs.

Minnesota continues the slow climb back from the devastating Kevin Garnett trade. With Mike Miller and Kevin Love added to the roster, they should improve somewhat, but it’s all just window dressing at this point. This team is just flat out not good enough to compete in the ultra-talented Western Conference.

Maybe down the road Al Jefferson and Ryan Gomes will develop into legitimate stars, but that time is far down the road.

Denver Nuggets

The former Seattle Supersonics are very young and don’t have the talent to compete in the Northwest, let alone the Western Conference.

Kevin Durant is going to have to carry the load in his sophomore season, because there’s nobody else who can.

Nick Collison is a decent scoring option, but this team will show marginal improvement at best.

Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson just aren’t enough anymore.

Factor in the loss of Marcus Camby, and this could be a major fall from grace for the Nuggets. If Iverson, Anthony, and Kenyon Martin can’t outscore the opposition, Denver probably won’t win. They need to blow up and start over, because this team is on the decline and will not make the playoffs.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Southwest Division

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs attempt to re-assert their dominance in the Southwest, but will have to do without Manu Ginobili until at least December. The freewheeling shooting guard will be missed, but with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker running the show, they should still be a contender to win the West as usual. The only question is, when will their legs give out? There are six players with more than 10 years in the league on the Spurs’ roster. A youth movement may have to start, and fast.

The Lakers are just as primed for a return to the NBA Finals as Boston is. This team should be even better than last year. With Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol more familiar with one another, they will dominate the Western Conference. The Lakers’ young role players are coming into their own, and should provide the necessary support for Kobe. Expect big things once again from Los Angeles.

The Suns are getting old and their window for a championship has come to a close. Sure, they will be a playoff team, but they do not have what it takes to make a run in the Western Conference.

Amare Stoudamire and Steve Nash both have had ankle issues heading into the season, and Robin Lopez will have to sit behind Shaquille O’Neal and his expensive contract. It was fun while it lasted, Phoenix.

They are the trendy pick to make a run in the West and there’s a lot of optimism surrounding the youth and talent on this team. With Jerryd Bayless and Greg Oden set to make their debuts on what was already a decent team, things are looking up in Portland. The team should continue to develop this season, and make a run at a playoff spot.

Chris Paul leads a team that is a legitimate contender to represent the West in the NBA Finals. They have a good starting five, a solid bench and Tyson Chandler is finally living up to his potential as a big man in the NBA. Paul sets the tone for this team and, much like Cleveland, the sky is the limit for both him and his team.

Los Angeles Lakers

Phoenix Suns

Portland Trail Blazers

New Orleans Hornets

Pacific Division

Houston Rockets

The Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady combination got a bit of a jump start when the Rockets received the services of Ron Artest. While his mental state is forever in question, he will add some much-needed defense to this lineup and provide some longrange shooting in a tough division.

Point guard play is a scary thought, but with McGrady running the show offensively, the lack of a notable point guard is not as big a deal as some may make it out to be. The Rockets, and Tracy McGrady most notably, should finally make it out of the first round.

Memphis Grizzlies

You know you’re in trouble when your best option at center is Darko Milicic. Sadly, welcome to life after Pau Gasol if you’re a Grizzlies fan. There is something to get excited about in O.J. Mayo, but don’t expect this team to make a difference anytime soon.

Golden State Warriors

The loss of Baron Davis is tremendous to this franchise that seemed like it was heading in the right direction. This team lacks a superstar in a conference that rewards teams with impact players. This is a team whose leading scorer heading into this year was suspended for getting hurt in a moped accident. When Monta Ellis returns in December or January, it will be to a team that is already out of the playoff hunt.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings have a lot of decent options at power forward and center, but their guard play is suspect at best.

If they want to improve over last season’s 38-44 record, it will require breakout seasons from unheralded rookies and younger players. They will be in a multi-team battle for the basement in the Pacific.

Los Angeles Clippers

With the additions of Marcus Camby and Baron Davis, the Clippers might not be the laughingstock of the Pacific division anymore. Rookie Eric Gordon should make a difference early in his professional career, helping the Clippers out of the basement and maybe even into third place in the division. Al Thornton and Chris Kaman will continue to be an important part of the team and should mesh with the new additions. Beware, Western Conference opposition: This isn’t the same old Clippers.

11

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / SPORTS

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics

We begin with the defending NBA Champions. Obviously the focus is always on the Big Two of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce featuring Ray Allen. The accusation is that the Celts mortgaged the future for a chance at a ring last year, but that ring is all that matters. The future doesn’t look that bleak for the time being.

They still have Garnett at the tail end of his prime, and the youth continues to mature. Look for Rajon Rondo to take it up another notch, as well as Glen “Big Baby” Davis. They are once again a major contender for the championship.

Central Division Detroit Pistons

It is a common theme amongst some former powerhouse teams in the NBA. Sadly, the window for another Pistons championship is quickly closing. Rasheed Wallace is in a contract year, so he should be on his best behavior. The Pistons will still be a very good team, but it’s just unlikely that they can dethrone the Celtics or hang with the Cavaliers in the long run.

Indiana Pacers

This is a team that will be searching for an identity. With the departure of Jermaine O’Neal, they lack an inside presence and will get beat down low quite often this season. Rookie Roy Hibbert is going to be a solid pro player, but he’s just too green to get anything done this year.

Jarrett Jack should make them fun to watch, but don’t expect this team to make the playoffs anytime soon.

Chicago Bulls

As one of the most interesting teams in the NBA, they could finish at the bottom of the conference or challenge Detroit for the Central Division, and neither would be surprising. They lucked out getting the number one pick overall and selecting Derrick Rose. That creates a mess of talent at the guard position, a nice problem for coach Vinny Del Negro to have. The only question is in the paint. If Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, and Drew Gooden can make an impact, this could be a quick turnaround for Chicago.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs continue to develop around LeBron James. As usual, their season will go as far as he is able to take them. Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas are decent support for King James inside, but they aren’t the kind of players who can take over a game if need be. Delonte West is a strong point guard option as well. They will be a division contender, and may even challenge for the Eastern Conference. Again, it all lies in the hands of LeBron.

Milwaukee Bucks

Stuck in place after a lackluster draft, this team did manage to add Richard Jefferson as a legitimate scoring threat. With that said, they need defense more so than scoring.

Andrew Bogut is starting to come into his own, along with Charlie Villanueva, but unless they can play consistent defense, it will be all for nothing. They will be improved over last year’s 26-52 record, but don’t expect them to make any real noise in the East.

Toronto Raptors

With the Maple Leafs stuck in a rut as usual, the hope north of the border is that the Raptors can continue to develop as a ballclub. With the acquisition of Jermaine O’Neal, they are clearly making a run at a middle-of-the-road seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. If he and Chris Bosh can jell, they have a dangerous combo combing the paint.

This team will be improved, especially if Andrea Bargnani makes the necessary adjustments in his third year in the league. This is a team that could create a lot of matchup problems down low for opponents.

New Jersey Nets

This team is fading, and fading fast. Vince Carter has a reputation for being injury-prone and not trying, and the team he’s surrounded with shouldn’t do much to dissuade that idea. He’s past his prime, and when the best options on the team beyond him are Yi Jianlian and Devin Harris who is good, but not a guy you build your team around. If the Nets even want to be an average team in the need, they will need Brook Lopez to make an immediate impact, as well as a lot of bounces to go their way.

New York Knicks

The Knicks are a train wreck.

Mike D’Antoni doesn’t have the personnel required to run his “seven seconds or less” offense, so he will need to adjust his game plan to fit a roster that loosely resembles the Island of Misfit Toys. David Lee is wasting away in New York, where Stephon Marbury continues to be a cancer in an organization that has minimal direction. They’re still paying Isiah Thomas 21 million dollars over the next three seasons. It doesn’t look to be getting any better anytime soon.

Philadelphia 76ers

Looking at the roster this team has, it is clear that they have enough talent to put out a decent starting five, but depth is far from their strong suit. Donyell Marshall and Theo Ratliff are on this team: call it veteran leadership or call it veterans way past their prime. Take your pick. The big news was the acquisition of Elton Brand. After playing in just eight games last year, he looks to rebound figuratively and literally and have an MVP caliber year.

Southeast Division Atlanta Hawks

Orlando Magic

Dwight Howard leads this team that is eerily like the Cleveland Cavaliers. Rashard Lewis can provide some support when the need arises, but the 22-year-old Howard is the focal point on this team that is an interesting mix of veterans and youth coming into their prime. Jameer Nelson has a chance to really help this team reach the next level, if he continues his development. The Magic should win the Southeast pretty easily once again.

Washington Wizards

Gilbert Arenas is known as Agent Zero. Rather fitting, because that’s how many games he’ll play until at least January. Zero. The eccentric superstar had knee surgery once again and leaves his squad in the hands of Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. If those two can hold down the fort until the new year, the Wiz may have an opportunity to be re-energized by an Arenas comeback.

Washington should be a fringe playoff team.

As a great story last season, they limped into the playoffs with a 37-45 record and losing three straight. They then gave the eventual champion Celtics a major scare in a fantastic series. Al Horford will be a double-double machine this season.

This team is young, talented and definitely on the upswing. They won’t win the division this year, but watch out in 2009-10.

Charlotte Bobcats

The Bobcats have youth, that’s for sure. Larry Brown’s influence should help them right off the bat, but there’re gaps at key positions. Power forward relies on former Tar Heel Sean May to carry the load, and that’s not a good thing. The talent is there, but the Bobcats play in a division where they just are not improving as fast as the rest of the opposition.

Another playoff-less season for the Bobcats.

Miami Heat

If there’s a team that will make a fast turnaround from last year, this is it. Hotshot draftee Michael Beasley should make an immediate offensive impact to complement a healthy Dwyane Wade. The only issue is that he has defensive deficiencies. Throw in Shawn Marion and this team should be a contender for the division after an extremely disappointing 1567 season.

12

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / SPORTS

Blue Devils Defeat Knights, Pioneers 5-1, 1-0 Herd and Casey’s Goalkeeping Help CCSU Win Pair at Home PeTeR COLLIn Managing editor

It was the perfect way to end their days at CCSU. With seniors Hannah Bromley, Erin Herd and Jill Kusek playing their final home games at CCSU, the Blue Devils (9-5-4, 6-2) easily defeated the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (6-10, 3-4) 5-1 to complete the sweep of their weekend games.

On Friday the Blue Devils defeated the Sacred Heart Pioneers (1-14-3, 0-6-1) 1-0 behind junior goalkeeper Caity Casey’s second shut out of the season.

Central swept their home games this season, making the few they had count as they finished the season 5-0 with the weekend sweep of the Knights and the Pioneers.

Sunday’s victory clinched Central’s their seventh consecutive birth in the Northeast Conference tournament.

“It’s where we want to be every year,” said head coach Mick D’Arcy. “It’s the standard for the program - that we want to be there and put ourselves in a situation to win and go to the NCAAs.” Junior Rachel Caneen led Central with two goals and one assist during Sunday’s match that saw four different Blue Devils find the back of the net.

It was Caneen’s first goal of the day that broke the game open for Central. Leading 2-1 at halftime, Caneen didn’t wait long to extend the Blue Devil lead.

In the 46th minute Caneen took control of a loose ball in FDU territory. Caneen blew by one defender, dribbled into the box and beat Knights’ keeper Rachel Derrico to her left.

Caneen would add her second goal in the 85th minute of the contest when sophomore Erica Celini fed the ball to Caneen just outside of the box. After making one move, Caneen beat Derrico to the outside post for her eighth goal of the season.

Central got on the board early in the first half too, opening the scoring when freshman Brittany Jackson managed to drive home the

Blue Devils 1 Sacred Heart 0 Blue Devils 5 FDU 1 ball after Caneen managed to get her the ball right in front of the FDU net.

After the Knights evened the score with a penalty kick by freshman Rashidah Sherman, Central went ahead for good on a goal by sophomore Clio Treager.

The penalty kick was the one mistake that the Blue Devils made during the game. They overwhelmed the Knights, out shooting them 21-6 for the game and by shutting them out in corner kicks 9-0.

Junior Karise Hilt finished off the scoring for Central in the 90th minute of play. After the Blue Devils were awarded a corner kick, sophomore Beth Lloyd fired the ball into the box. Hilt headed the ball in for her third goal of the season.

But for Central the story was about their three seniors who were playing for the last time in front of their home crowd.

“We tried to get a lot of support here and it turned out the way we wanted to,” said Bromley.

“It was an awesome crowd.”

For Erin Herd it was especially important to be out on the field for Senior Day in front of the crowd of 312.

Out with an injured knee since Oct. 5th, there was doubt as to whether Herd would be able to play on Sunday.

“It felt fantastic to get back out there. As soon as I went out there for the warm up I was like, ‘I’m back,’” said Herd. “My kicking and things like that I still need to work on to be back 100 percent.”

Photo: Conrad Akier 10/12/08

Freshman Brittany Jackson began the scoring in CCSU’s 5-1 win over FDU.

Photo: Conrad Akier 10/12/08

13

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / SPORTS

Mallory Surpasses 1,000-Yard Mark

CCSU Falls at Monmouth CCSUBlueDevils.com

Blue Devils 20 Monmouth 30

Photo: Conrad Akier

Senior Yan Klukowski battles for the ball during Sunday’s 3-1 loss.

CCSU Falls to 0-4-1 in NEC, Loses to Quinnipiac, 3-1 CCSUBlueDevils.com

The CCSU men’s soccer team (6-6-2) lost to Quinnipiac (8-4-2, 3-2-0), 3-1, and fell to 0-4-1 in Northeast Conference play on the road Sunday afternoon. Senior captain Yan Klukowski continued his high scoring season, tallying his eighth goal of the year. He has 21 points.

Just like Blue Devil seniors Klukowski and David Tyrie, Quinnipiac’s Graciano Brito is a MAC Hermann Trophy candidate in 2008. The senior made a definite impact in today game, having his foot in each of the Bobcats’ three goals.

He got things started early in the first half when he fired a shot on goal off of a pass from sophomore Dominic Adams in the eighth minute. Brito’s shot rebounded out and freshman forward Durval Pereira finished it off to put Quinnipiac up, 1-0.

Central got into the action when the Blue Devils were awarded their third penalty kick of the season, with only three minutes to play in the first half. Klukowski stepped to the line and put it away for his third penalty kick goal this year.

The Bobcats controlled the offense in the first period, posting 11 shots to CCSU’s two. Many of the Quinnipiac shots were off target, as junior goalkeeper Paul Armstrong

only had to make two saves for Central in the opening half.

Pereira returned the favor to Brito in the second half, feeding him in their offensive end in the 58th minute. Brito made a move to the top of the box and scored the game-winning goal to the right corner of the net. With 15 minutes remaining Brito added the insurance when he scored again off an assist from Adams. The goal marked his NEC leading 14th of the season.

CCSU ended with a slight 1817 edge in shots, but Quinnipiac recorded four corner kicks to the Blue Devils’ zero. Armstrong finished with five saves for the game.

The Blue Devils are now 6-6-2 on the season and will continue their road trip against St. Francis (PA) on Friday Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. Quinnipiac improves to 8-4-2 and will next be traveling to Robert Morris for a 3 p.m. game on Friday Oct. 31.

Blue Devils 1 Quinnipiac 3

Central Connecticut (5-3, 2-2) junior James Mallory ran for 134 yards, pushing him past the 1,000yard mark on the season, to lead the Blue Devils in a 30-20 Northeast Conference loss at Monmouth (5-3, 4-0).

He is the seventh player in team history to post a 1,000-yard rushing season. Mallory also had three touchdowns for the second straight week. Junior Ray Saunders led the Blue Devil defense with five tackles, including 1.5 for a loss.

The CCSU defense stopped the Hawks, three and out, on the first possession of the game and capitalized on the ensuing drive. The Blue Devils went 73 yards in 13 plays, burning 6:10 off the clock, to take a 6-0 lead.

Mallory, who carried the ball six times for 20 yards on the drive, scored from four yards out for his ninth touchdown of the season. Sophomore Joe Izzo missed the extra point, snapping his string of 28 makes in a row to start the season.

Monmouth was quick to answer the Blue Devil score. The Hawks took over at the 50-yard line after a 47yard return by senior Ayo Falae and scored seven plays later. Senior David Sinisi had 29 yards rushing, including a three-yard score, on the drive.

A 21-yard pass from senior Brett Burke to classmate John Nalbone on third down and nine put the Hawks inside the Blue Devil 10 yard line, setting up the Sinisi score in the process.

The Hawks added to their lead with two more Sinisi touchdown runs.

The Blue Devils did not get out of their own territory and gave Monmouth the ball back at the Hawk 46 yard line. Burke found Nalbone for 16 and 21-yard receptions to get into the red zone. Sinisi capped the

three-play drive with a 17-yard touchdown run.

CCSU punted again on its next drive, but senior Ernie Greywacz recovered a Burke fumble on the following Hawk drive to give the Blue Devils good field position. However, a one-yard Mallory run and back-toback incompletions brought freshman punter Chris Scifo back onto the field.

Two Blue Devil personal fouls, including a roughing the kicker on a field goal attempt, aided Monmouth’s final scoring drive of the half. Following the roughing the kicker penalty, Sinisi carried for seven yards, the last three resulting in a touchdown. The point after gave the Hawks a 21-6 lead with 3:34 left in the half.

Monmouth missed a field on the next-to-last possession of the half. Central responded with a drive into Hawk territory, but a hail mary throw by junior Aubrey Norris from the 42-yard line fell to the ground.

Mallory had 39 yards on 13 carries to lead the Blue Devil offense in the first half. Senior captain Josh Vargas added 23 yards on a pair of carries. Blue Devil quarterbacks, Norris and Hunter Wanket, combined to go 3-of-13 for 25 yards. Sinisi had 79 yards on 11 carries.

Junior Bobby Giles ran the ball for one series, carrying three times for 53 yards. Burke was 6-of-12 for 84 yards. Nalbone had three catches for 58 yards. Saunders led the Blue Devil defense with four tackles, including one for loss.

Sophomore Joe Valenti had six stops for the Monmouth defense.

Central Connecticut received the ball to start the second half, but the Blue Devils went three and out. Monmouth took control at the CCSU 48 yard line, and Sinisi posted his fourth and final touchdown of the afternoon three plays later. A missed extra point after the 30-yard scoring run gave the Hawks a 27-6 advantage.

The Blue Devils narrowed the margin with a seven-play, 56-yard drive. Mallory registered his second

touchdown, this one from three yards out, after a 16-yard run and two Norris completions moved CCSU inside the Hawk 10 yard line. Izzo’s point after cut the Monmouth lead to 27-13 with 3:02 remaining in the third quarter.

The Blue Devil defense forced another punting situation on Monmouth’s next drive, but the Hawks ran a fake with Sinisi. He went 51 yards down to the CCSU threeyard line. From there, CCSU stopped Sinisi twice for no gain and once for a loss of four yards to force a field goal. Sophomore Eric McCutchen was true from 24 yards to make it a 30-13 game early in the fourth quarter.

Wanket threw the first interception by a Blue Devil quarterback since the season-opener on the ensuing possession.

After a fourth down stop by the Central Connecticut defense, Mallory capped an eight-play, 84yard drive with another three-yard touchdown score. The Blue Devil defense put the ball back in its offense’s hands at the CCSU 36 yard line with 2:20 to play; however, Central Connecticut was stopped on a fourth down and nine, and the Hawks ran out the clock behind 24 more Sinisi yards.

In addition to Mallory’s efforts, Norris had 49 yards rushing and was 6-of-18 for 61 yards through the air. Senior Jermaine Roberts had four catches for 61 yards. Sinisi finished the game with 194 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries.

Giles ran for 76 yards, and Burke was 8-of-17 for 93 yards. Nalbone finished with his first half numbers. Sophomore Alondre Rush added four tackles and a pass break-up for the Blue Devil defense.

Sophomore Nick Delgado, meanwhile, blocked two Monmouth punts and had a pass break-up. Valenti led Monmouth with seven tackles.

Central Connecticut will be on the road again next weekend. The Blue Devils travel to Robert Morris for a 1 p.m. league game on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Volleyball Gets Road NEC Victory Over Quinnipiac, 3-1 CCSUBlueDevils.com

Sophomore libero Kaitlin Petrella moved into eighth place in CCSU history for career digs, and the Central Connecticut (7-11, 2-1) volleyball team defeated Quinnipiac (323, 0-3) on the road, 3-1 (25-11, 19-25, 25-22, 25-15).

Petrella recorded a match high 17 digs and now has 826 for her career and is 70 shy of seventh place all time. Fellow sophomore Lauren Snyder notched her third doubledouble of the season, tallying 15 kills and 10 digs in the victory.

The first set of action was evenly matched for a while, with the Central leading 10-7. The Blue Devils then rattled off eight straight points, mostly off of Amanda Bayer serves, to take an 18-7 lead.

Junior Jamie Baumert recorded two kills and two blocks to spark the run and CCSU went on to win 25-11.

Quinnipiac got off to a great start in the second set, taking an 11-3 lead. Central tried to cut into the lead, but the Bobcats held on to win 25-19 on a kill by Alyssa Naylor. The freshman tallied six kills on .667 hitting percentage in the set.

Set three was the most competitive between the two squads, with neither team leading by more than four throughout the period. In this crucial set, Petrella notched eight digs and senior captain Amanda Olmstead recorded a team high six kills.

The Blue Devils put the match away with an 18-8 run to end the fourth set. Olmstead delivered the final kill on the Bobcats on an assist from Bayer. The sophomore setter re-

corded a set best 14 assists for CCSU. Olmstead finished with a match best 18 kills, while adding six digs and two service aces. Baumert tallied 11 kills of her own, on .346 hitting percentage, and a match high four blocks. Bayer recorded 46 assists in the victory and added six digs and two aces.

A trio of freshman led the way for Quinnipiac. Stephanie Biediger tallied 12 kills, Kayla Lawler recorded 36 assists and Kelby Carey totaled 13 digs in the loss.

The Blue Devils are now 7-11 on the season with a 2-1 NEC record. They will next host Sacred Heart on Thursday October 30 at 7 p.m. The Bobcats fall to 3-23 and have yet to claim an NEC victory at 0-3.

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / ENTERTAINMENT

14 THE RECORDER Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Entertainment Ray LaMontagne Gossip in the Grain RCA Records October 14, 2008

Photo: 14th Floor PR

Meredith Godreau, who has been writing her own music under the name Gregory and the Hawk for the past five years or so, now has a full band supporting her, and for myself, and for other fans, this should be seen as a great step in the right direction.

That is not to say that previously, when Gregory and the Hawk was primarily acoustic with Godreau’s beautiful vocals, that it was a worse quality than it is now with the release of Moenie and Kitchi. I am simply stating my love for a supporting cast behind her Godreau was a strong enough songwriter before the band behind her to be able to make a cult following name for herself. I first saw her when at the University of Hartford a few years ago as a solo act and her voice was just as enchanting in person as it is on record. Now with the diversity that a full band brings, Moenie & Kitchi shines through as a record that is not only easy to listen to, but when it is over (only a half an hour after it starts) it spurs an immediate relisten.

The majority of Moenie & Kitchi is still acoustic with very little drums and bass.

However, The members were able to find the perfect dichotomy of downtrodden, folk-based beats and calming bass lines when need be.

Even though I would not call Godreau’s song writing all that catchy, there are still some vocal lines that I found myself humming well after I was done listening to the album. One such line is the chorus of “Grey Weather”, which I distinctly remember her showcasing at the University of Hartford. I remembered that chorus because I thought it was uber catchy then, and when I heard it on this record it made me smile like a little nancy.

Come to think of it, I feel like a little nancy for the amount that I actually enjoyed this record. Don’t judge me. It is a solid record.

Gregory and the Hawk Moenie & Kitchi Fat Cat Records October 7, 2008

Nick viccione / Entertainment Editor

Kenny Chesney Lucky Old Sun BNA Records October 14, 2008

Well ho’ dere, all ye little cowpokes! Drop yer Britney and yer Beyonce, yer Ne-Yo and BowWow, because Kenny Chesney returns this year with a musical tour de force, which will split yer britches right in half!

Proving that they always save the best for last, Lucky Old Sun gallops in at full speed at this tail end of 2008 with more soul, cheer and twang than you can shake the butt of your .22 at.

Never one to follow trends, Chesney is still one to blaze trails in his fourteenth year in the business. In the mainstream country genre, he’s still a breed apart, bucking trends and ex-

Get ready to break out the funky earthbrown wool sweater you bought at Caldor’s, cause this one’s gonna take you back.

From the very first licks on Ray Lamontagne’s new album Gossip in the Grain, it becomes abundantly clear that the singer/ songwriter has parlayed his stripped-down love-in-a-log-cabin aesthetic for a deeper throw-back sound full of brass, piano and guitars that jump and glide like it was 1975.

On his last release, Til the Sun Turns Black, it was refreshingly obvious that the artist had expanded his production without betraying the original sound that had gotten him so much attention to begin with. Though in tone it was a darker affair than his debut album, Trouble, the music was amazingly self-assured and managed to retain the intimate feel of his first songs while broadening both in range of genre and, consequently, appeal. pectations alike, especially with Lucky Old Sun, which finds Chesney trading his cowboy hat and box of snuff for suntan lotion and a bathing cap. The wild backwoods of the indiscriminate South are replaced by the sunny shore of the Gulf of Mexico as he strolls amongst the sandstrewn beaches with a Budweiser firmly in hand.

He’s not bound by the trends that still plague most mainstream country artists; it is only our fortune that the mainstream has wisely warmed up to him.

Chesney’s sincerity is unmatched and his passions burn brighter than one thousand neon bar signs. His foray into mainstream success has not dulled his character either, so when he sings, “there’s a spirit of a storm in [his] soul,” you know he’s serious. The gentle lapping of the greasy Gulf cannot hope to tame his wild backcountry spirit.

His brilliance cannot be confined to the country genre either and Lucky Old Sun proves that even when confronting a new territory lit not by tire fires but the stark sun, he is able to nestle snuggly into whatever topic he so chooses. You owe it to yourself to obtain this album at any cost.

Joe zajac / Staff Writer

Beneath the Massacre Dystopia Prosthetic Records October 28, 2008

Beneath the Massacre should just stop trying now, because Rush has been and always will be the best band to come out of Canada. But more seriously, if you like your metal obnoxiously fast and brutal to an unforgiving level, then Beneath the Massacre should be a mainstay on your play list.

With their new release, Dystopia, Beneath the Massacre features the same style that they perfected on their previous studio full length, but for whatever reason, Dystopia seems like a much more mature record.

In some video footage that the band posted on YouTube, lead vocalist Elliot Desgagnes states, “the songs are by far the weirdest, most intense songs we have ever written.” And this sentiment could not be any truer.

The over abundance of finger picking sets the underlying tone of an album that may make the faint of heart queasy when listening to it. But then again, anyone who is listening to this album is probably already a fan, and with that said, they will be able to sit through all of the time changes, blast beats and abrupt breakdowns.

Dystopia is nothing different from Beneath the Massacre’s previous full-length, and this should make fans happy. It is also a record that is being released through a bigger label and should have enough promotion to be distributed much more effectively and get Beneath the Massacre the recognition they deserve.

Nick viccione / Entertainment Editor

On Gossip in the Grain, Lamontagne once again utilizes his uniquely smoky croon over a wealth of influences, from the funk-inflected groove of “You Are The Best Thing” to the soft serenade of “Winter Birds” and the bluesy roll of “Henry Nearly Killed Me (It’s a Shame)”.

The rub comes in the simple tease of it all.

The tracks that steer away from his worn territory of sincere ballads are also the best, but are unfortunately few and far between. These highlights are repeatedly bogged down by Lamontagne’s incessant need to return to balladry; a trait that was originally endearing but now just comes off as annoyingly cheesy. When he cries over a sickeningly sugary melody “That’s when you need someone, someone you can hold” on “Let It Be Me” and then follows up with the equally sweet “I Still Care For You,” you might consider giving up on the album completely.

The few tracks that find the singer extending his musical pallet not only sound like a whole different album, but an entirely different and altogether more interesting artist. Wherein

The Haunted Versus Century Media Records October 14, 2008

The Haunted were once an emerging band out of the Gothenburg metal scene. They joined other groups such as In Flames to try and make an impact on the growing American market.

Ultimately, they succeeded with their self-titled debut and their sophomore album Made Me Do It. After creating five albums in eight years, The Haunted are back in 2008 with their sixth album, Versus.

The opener, “Moronic Colossus” really gives the listener a preview of what’s to come…in the worst possible way. With lyrics like “Moronic colossus/ Imbecillius Rex/ Oh yeah!” and riffs that a child could think up, I can only imagine that “Moronic Colossus” is the result of a lost bet.

Although nothing comes close to the opener, Versus continues the trend of unmemorable tracks. It isn’t until the last track, “Imperial Death March,” that I became interested again.

Being the “Star Wars” geek that I am, I was excited to hear a metal cover of the original song. Would The Haunted deliver? Of course not; it was just another easily forgettable piece of music. Instead of being the potential light in this black hole of music, it solidified my ill feelings.

It’s pretty hard to say anything positive about Versus, but there are some decent moments. “River’s Run” has some promising ideas and “Little Cage” includes a great chorus and breakdown. Unfortunately, this only makes up about 45 seconds of a 40-minute album.

It seems the fall to mediocrity is complete for The Haunted. They are a band that has run out of ideas, quite possibly due to this being their sixth album in 10 years. Take a break guys, please.

Mike D’Avino / Staff Writer

Dillinger Four CIVILWAR Fat Wreck Chords October 14, 2008

After Lifetime reunited and released their self-titled album a year ago, I knew the future of punk was in good hands. Dillinger Four reassured my assumptions and raised the bar higher than New Jersey’s Best Dancers could.

While the present-day scene is filled with hundreds of cookie-cutter pop punk bands that only succeed because of their fashionable hair and clothes, D4 is bringing back traditional punk values with unmastered guitars and breakneck drumming. Patrick Costello, Eric Funk and Bill Morrisette all share time behind the microphone and all bring their own personal sound, ranging from smooth melodies to growling hardcore screaming. The melodies probably stand out the most and conjure up thoughts of

Til the Sun Turns Black saw Lamontagne pursuing these fancies more often than not, Gossip in the Grain reveals an artist seemingly afraid to take more than just a handful of chances. If he was going for 1975 he succeeded. Unfortunately the James Brown/Eric Clapton/Nick Drake sound more often than not gets drowned out by “Van Morrison sings The Captain and Tennille.”

P.J. Decoteau / Staff Writer

bands like the previously mentioned Lifetime and Bouncing Souls.

C I V I L W A R starts off very strong with “A Jingle for the Product”, a throwback style track that sounds more like 1998 than 2008.

Punk music hasn’t been this close to perfection in a very long time and it is easy to see with Dillinger Four was the band that had to do it.

After taking six years off in between albums, D4 came roaring back full of aggression (like on the track “Parishiltonisametaphor” and “Fruity Pebbles”) and strong opinions (“Minimum Wage is a Gateway Drug” and “americaspremierefaithbasedinitiative.”)

The biggest and really only problem I have is that track names on C I V I L W A R are obnoxious, unnecessarily long and overall unhelpful.

While this very trivial on an album that is so good musically, it annoys me that I can’t take cues from lyrics to remember which song I wanted to listen to. Not to mention a real pain in my ass to type.

All in all Dillinger Four has rekindled my faith in punk rock for another year. While it isn’t popular to like bands that play three chords and do little more than trash around stage, it’s something that will always have a small place in my heart and a large place in my music library.

Edward GAug / Assoc. Layout Editor

Ben Kweller How You Lookin’ Southbound? Come In...

ATO Records September 25, 2008

The toughest thing about writing about EPs are that there is never a enough material to get a good grasp on what the upcoming album is going to be like.

Fortunately, Ben Kweller changed his style so drastically that it is easy to see what his next full-length album in 2009 will sound like.

Right from the first few seconds of How Ya Lookin’ Southbound?

Come In..., there is no question that Mr. Kweller went country and there is no bringing him back. He has lost most of the indie rock sound that first drew me to his music a few years ago and adapted a pure country form that rivals the like Garth brooks and early brooks and Dunn. This is weird coming from a 27-year old with long curly red hair and scrawny build.

Though he shows his Texas background on How Ya Lookin’ Southbound? Come In..., he doesn’t lose all the aspects that got him attention after releasing his album Sha Sha back in 2002. The piano driven ballads are still prevalent, but are now accompanied by a slide guitar.

While it’s not exactly what I am looking for in my music, I still can appreciate his smarts-beyond-his-years songwriting and personal touches that make him feel so accessible.

While How Ya Lookin’ Southbound? Come In... only clocks in at just over 20 minutes, Ben Kweller does a great job at changing up his style, without alienating his longtime fans. New listeners to Kweller should go back to his self-titled release from 2006 before venturing into How Ya Lookin’ Southbound? Come In...

Edward GAug / Assoc. Layout Editor

‘Entourage’

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / ENTERTAINMENT

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A Look at Primetime Television’s ‘Sex in the City’...for Guys Kareem Mohamed Staff Writer

Photo: HBO

Whether its cruising the terrain of Los Angeles in a stretch hummer, strolling through the Arizona desert tripping on shrooms, cheating on your girlfriend with a perfect 10, hanging out with Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion or having a threesome and “crossing swords” at the Sundance Film Festival, HBO’s “Entourage” has never left viewers with a dull moment.

The flagship show has continued to gain much publicity and popularity among many young adult viewers, running into its fifth season to date with green light of season six as of Oct. 6, 2008.

Since its first airing in the summer of 2004, “Entourage” has been paralleled to HBO’s past legacy “Sex and the City” about a group of high lifestyle women living in the midst of modern day New York society. As they tackle stereotypical issues on sex, Hollywood, fame, promiscuity, friendship and relationships, both shows have portrayed chemistry between young adults unlike any other.

Even in its pre-fame days, “Entourage,” which primarily consists of unknown Hollywood household names, still provided an enjoyable show that was edgy and versatile to many different types of audiences. While “Sex and the City,” beyond its explicit content and defining women’s roles in society, also shows the glamour of female fashion, “Entourage” transcends a more masculine tone ranging from Masarati cars, an exceptionally hip soundtrack, beautiful women in bikinis (or sometimes, nothing at all), drugs, mansions and parties that most people could only imagine.

The show’s driving force, three-time Emmy Award winner Jeremy Piven, has proven to be the show’s main event. A character filled with eccentric mannerisms, aggression and a vernacular that is laugh-out-loud, Ari Gold brings a dynamic to the show that draws millions of viewers to their tube every Sunday night.

“Ari Gold is the most intricate character that I have ever seen on television,” said CCSU

Saw V’s Biggest Trap is Itself Staff Writer

The tagline for Saw V is “You won’t believe how it ends.” Halfway through the latest installment of the already abysmal series I didn’t care how it ended, just that it did in fact end and that I wasn’t part of some sick real-life Jigsaw trap set in the theater.

This fifth installment of the series of intertwining films follows the continuing endeavors of Agent Strahm and Detective Hoffman.

Because the film contains characters, references and flashbacks to the previous films, newcomers will feel extremely lost in the twisting plot.

Saw V doesn’t insult your intelligence simply for the fact that it assumes everyone in the theater has no intelligence. While that may be true of some of the people who love this poorly made series of torture/gore-porn, not everyone needs flashback after flashback to understand what is happening with the convoluted and poorly thought-out structure.

The film has no sense of timing and is oddly paced. Thanks to a lazy script, flashbacks intertwine too much with current events and we are shifted back and forth between the newest victims and a mundane detective case. The film has no clear focus on any of the events at hand.

City of Ember Fizzles Sean Fenwick Staff Writer

Photo: Lions Gate Entertainment

Michael Walsh

Sophomore Michael Theodoore, who tuned in during season three.

Surprisingly, even though “Entourage” has only been on the air for four years, its popularity has surpassed its counterpart “Sex in the City.” Now in the prime of season five, the show fulfills every teenager’s dream of being a starstudded actor living the Hollywood lifestyle.

Character Vincent Chase, portrayed by B-lister Adrian Grenier, however, has shown that fame and glory can be can be short-lived.

The current season tackles the financially broke Vince who desperately must find a job to revive his dissolving career after portraying Pablo Escobar in a studio film “Medellin” that miserably flops at the Cannes Film Festival.

Loosely based on the life of Mark Wahlberg and his real-life entourage, creator Doug Ellin has certainly created a group of characters that any guy can relate to. The show’s other standout characters include Johnny Drama, the half-brother of Vince – a machovoiced, washed-up D-list actor that represents anyone that has that old male friend that still tries to kick it with the boys. Drama, played by Kevin Dillon (brother of Matt Dillon), provides another comedic relief to the show along with the contributions of the show’s pothead “Turtle” played by Jerry Ferrara. Eric, Vinnie’s manager and the most mature of the entourage, definitely shows that dealing with fame is just as hard as managing the client.

“Entourage” also contains many cameos of real-life actors and musicians who add their own spark to each episode. Noteworthy episodes have included cameos by Jessica Alba, Scarlet Johansen, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West and even this season’s surprising guest Michael Phelps, who reportedly might appear in more future episodes.

From the success of the “Sex and the City” movie of 2007, there have been talks of an “Entourage” movie after the commencement of the series around season eight or nine.

“Entourage” goes beyond a show about guys that live a Hollywood lifestyle, but is show with characters that emulate the behaviors of male friendships on multiple dimensions.

The Saw series has very few redeeming qualities as it is. Many people seem to enjoy seeing the films for the gore and traps. V, which is the first film in the series not directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, features nothing interesting in terms of gore and traps. In comparison to previous films, this one is simply weak.

The traps, which at one point in the series were at least somewhat cringe inducing, are rather generically plotted and seem to only be there because they are expected to be. What’s the reason for this? V returns to the ways of the original Saw with a more story-driven plot that puts the gore and torture in the backseat.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the plot pales in comparison to the original “Saw” and ends up leading us on an uninteresting, dopey and ultimately meaningless detective plot that leaves you feeling bored and stupid for watching it.

As with all bad films I try to pick at least one thing out of the sloppy mess that I at least somewhat liked. In the Saw series it has always been Tobin Bell’s performance as Jigsaw. He delivers his lines in such a way that it screams cult classic. Unfortunately for Bell, he’s constantly surrounded by a bunch of nitwits that can’t utilize what very little they had going for them.

I love blood, guts and gore as much as the next horror freak does. I just prefer my faux gore to take place in a situation with at least a few

drops of creativity behind it. When V tries to be an exploitation film, it fails. When it tries to be a moral driven detective thriller like Se7en, it fails. Following Agent Strahm from location to location is like riding on those retro car rides at amusement parks. You’re destined to reach a certain point and nothing will derail that vehicle.

Saw films have always been about suspension of disbelief and right place at the right time, but like everything else there’s a limit for the amount of pure chance you jam into your plot.

If there is a god, this fifth installment would be the last nail in the coffin for the overdone series that at this point seems determined to ruin the horror genre for everyone.

Considering the fact that the previous four films have grossed $555 million worldwide on a $25 million budget I don’t see Lion’s Gate slowing down anytime soon.

If seeing these films in theaters with your friends has become a yearly October tradition for you don’t let my negative review stop you from doing so this year. Otherwise I recommend staying far away from this absurd, lacking and forgettable film. Saw V is not a pretty creation. I’m just thankful that it did eventually end.

The film City of Ember is a post-apocalyptic tale about the last humans left on the planet who have been taking refuge under the surface for 200 years.

The society they have built is terrified about the idea of leaving their city even though they are running out of supplies and the generator that has been powering the city for the past 200 years is broken. Not to mention their mayor is none other than Bill Murray (But after 200 years trapped beneath the surface of the planet, who wouldn’t look to Bill Murray for leadership?)

City of Ember is one of those big budget family adventure flicks. There have been a lot of those in the recent months (Beverly Hills Chihuahua) and they have all been a joke.

Although City is the best of this genre, that’s still not saying much. This film follows two high school graduates who are convinced there is a world outside their city.

City is filled with all types of plot holes and garbage dialogue. The people of the city have zero knowledge of the world that use to exist. How is that possible? There should be grandparents telling their grandkids how awesome the sun used to be.

Aside from the bad story and painful dialogue, this movie also falls victim to bad pacing.

After the first reel you will be looking for the exit.

The sounds in this movie are bland. The environment of the city is all gears and cogs turning. Yet, the predominant noises are the hits and misses of Murray and the rest of the cast doing a sub par job of bringing their characters to life.

Murray’s character is supposed to be a corrupt mayor who is hording all the canned goods and keeping the population from leaving.

All I see is Murray eating all the food and not letting his friends leave the party. Murray just played the mayor like himself, not one aspect of the character was distinguishable from the actor…

If you really love Bill Murray and wasting money, this movie is perfect for you. Otherwise, just stick to Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day.

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / ENTERTAINMENT

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Call of Duty: World at War

Mario Bava’s Style: Endlessly Influential

Game Review

Michael Walsh Staff Writer

Fear not Call of Duty fans, the only step back the next installment of the beloved first person shooter series takes is a step back in time.

The upcoming Call of Duty: World at War leaves the modern era Call of Duty 4 inhabited by returning to World War II, a time that has become all too familiar to gamers. “World at War” is set in the Pacific Theater and Eastern Front of World War II. When it was first announced that Treyarch would develop WaW, many fans grumbled.

Infinity Ward was behind the critically acclaimed CoD4 while Treyarch was behind the solid but not great Call of Duty 3. This fear was settled by the announcement that WaW would use an enhanced version of Infinity Ward’s CoD4.

After spending substantial time with the newly released multiplayer beta for the Xbox 360 I can confirm that WaW features the same fluid and innovative gameplay that first person shooter fans fell in love with in CoD4.

Jumping into one of the six different match types available provides the same intense rush that CoD4 did with its multiplayer.

Available in the beta to choose from are team

deathmatch, war, capture the flag, pick-up team deathmatch, free for all and search and destroy.

My personal favorite is war. The objectives of capturing bases and proceeding leads to frenzy, chaotic and explosive matches that usually run down to the last seconds in a one flag standoff.

The beta provides three solid maps to play on. Castle is a Japanese-themed locale complete with flower gardens and dojos. Makin is a dark beachside area where battle takes place on the sand or in huts raised off the water. The third and final map available to players is Roundhouse.

This war-torn train depot introduces one of the new features in WaW. Added to the mix this time around are vehicles. Tanks are featured in Roundhouse and only add to the ensuing mayhem.

Gameplay isn’t the only thing that brings back memories of CoD4. Online play works the same way as it did in last year’s installment.

Players earn points from kills, captured flags or bases and through the completion of challenges just like in CoD4. Earning enough points allows players to rank up level by level, unlocking new weapons from the five classes (bolt action rifles, rifles, submachine guns, shotguns and machine guns) and upgrade perks. Many wellknown perks return alongside new ones like those made especially for the inclusion of vehicles.

Kill streak perks return with the inclusion of recon after three kills, artillery after five kills and the release of attack dogs after seven kills.

The dogs, which replace the helicopter in CoD4, are just as annoying as their predecessor. It isn’t much fun getting mauled to death by dogs while trying to take out an enemy. One other notable difference that becomes apparent once you step on your first claymore is the increase in gore that leads to improved realism.

Bodies are now ripped in half and dismembered, something that wasn’t seen in CoD4.

With the same core gameplay mechanics and deep online modes alongside many new and improving additions, Treyarch’s WaW appears to be the frontrunner in terms of dominating the online video gaming community once again. Based on the engaging multiplayer experience alone, all CoD4 fans should head to stores on Nov. 11 and pick up a copy of what is shaping up nicely to be a top contender in this season’s crowded market.

Photo: Activision

Photo: Mario Bava Web Page

Michael Walsh Staff Writer

If there was one name that should get more respect among today’s mainstream movie going masses it should be versatile Italian director Mario Bava.

Bava is remembered by many as one of the premier names of Italy’s golden age of horror films. He is thought of as the godfather of Italian horror films and in general is one of the most influential figures in the history of films.

Bava’s directorial debut was the dark 1960 film Black Sunday. This gothic horror masterpiece, which centers on a vengeful witch returning from the grave, is a prime example of Bava’s directing characteristics. Bava utilized imagery like no other did.

Black Sunday, which was slightly ahead of its time with its graphic nature and stark portrayal of events, gives viewers a glimpse of the kind of immersive artistry Bava would introduce with his signature lighting style in his later color films.

In terms of influence, Black Sunday kicked off the series of gothic films that would soon follow. Bava’s next significant film, 1963’s The Girl Who Knew Too Much, helped create a new genre.

The word “giallo”, which indicates mystery and crime fiction in Italy’s culture, literally translates to “yellow” in Italian. This unique genre stemmed from cheap paperback books with yellow covers that were typically mystery/crime pulp novels that included elements of eroticism and horror. Bava was the first to translate this material to the screen with The Girl Who Knew Too Much.

Giallo films have many distinctive qualities. The plots were typically of a whodunit nature and featured many twists and turns along the way. Giallo never ended simple or as expected. Strong visual elements of giallo are drawn out murder sequences and stylish camerawork of said killings. For example, many murder scenes would only show a part of the killer, such as his or her hands. With this synecdoche approach introduced by Bava, giallo became a style of its own.

A key visual image of giallo films would be introduced in Bava’s next film, the colorful Blood and Black Lace. This 1964 film introduced the symbolic image of the identity concealed killer wearing black leather gloves while holding his or her weapon of choice.

This became emblematic throughout the frenzy of giallo films that would be released in the 1960s and 1970s.

Bava biographer Tim Lucas once noted that Blood and Black Lace is one of the most influential thrillers ever made and the first authentic body count movie. Lucas also stated that the film inspired such directors as future

giallo master Dario Argento and Martin Scorsese.

Bava’s wickedly morbid 1971 Bay of Blood remains to be one of the most important and influential horror films ever created.

While Blood and Black Lace certainly was a stepping-stone for the slasher genre that America would soon adore, Bay of Blood is what really started the phase of “body count” films in the 1980s. Iconic horror franchises like Friday the 13th drew a lot from this early slasher. Friday the 13th: Part 2 lifted two kill scenes directly from Bava’s film.

Bava’s Bay of Blood, which is a film bent on money, greed and murder, was one of the first films to set up murders the way slashers do today and perfected the giallo genre Bava helped create.

Bava’s unprecedented style of lighting and use of color in films was unmatched at the time and has been used as inspiration by many. The gleaming fluorescent lights strategically placed around the set differentiate location from location. A dark, gloomy alley may be shot with a tone of blue while a room in a fancy Italian villa may be bright red.

While not every Bava film had perfect narrative, every messy plot Bava presented was more than made up for with his brilliant and influential visuals. Scorsese’s masterpiece Taxi Driver has hints of this visual style.

Argento would nearly perfect the technique in what I consider to be one of the best horror films ever in Suspiria.

Bava was not limited to horror, however.

The versatile director dipped his toes into the comic book genre with his 1968 film Danger: Diabolik. This film brought adult tones to comic book films as it focused on the suave and skilled thief Diabolik.

Bava also took on the Vikings. In 1961 he directed the epic Erik the Conqueror. While the subject matter differs from the likes of his horror films, he applied his signature lighting style to them all the same giving Diabolik that pure ‘60s feeling and Conqueror a fantasy dream like feeling.

Whether Bava was creating scares in the horror genre, stylishly murdering people in his giallo films or stepping into the crime, western or sci-fi genres he always brought his own unique sense of style and supreme creativity to the table.

A friend of mine who doesn’t look too favorably upon horror films once asked me to name a few horror films that are artistically well done. My immediate reply was any horror film by the godfather of Italian horror, Mario Bava. They don’t make them like he did anymore.

Essential viewings: Black Sunday, Bay of Blood, The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Black Sabbath, Kill, Baby…Kill!, Danger: Diabolik, Blood and Black Lace and Rabid Dogs

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CALENDAR WEEK OF OCTOBER 29

MUSIC 10.30 The Roots Gym Class Heroes @ The Palladium Worcester, Mass.

7 p.m. / $36

Though popular success has largely eluded the Roots, the Philadelphia group showed the way for live rap, building on Stetsasonic’s “hip-hop band” philosophy of the mid-’80s by focusing on live instrumentation at their concerts and in the studio. Though their album works have been inconsistent affairs, more intent on building grooves than pushing songs, the Roots’ live shows are among the best in the business.

11.2 The Homosexuals Guilty Faces @ Heirloom Arts Theatre Danbury, Conn.

7 p.m. / $8 11.3 Pelican, Kayo Dot Stephen Brodsky, Zozobra @ Daniel Street Milford, Conn.

7 p.m. / $12 It becomes fitting, upon listening to Pelican’s music, that the band hails from Chicago.

When Tortoise and their contemporaries ushered in a new wave of instrumental music over a decade ago from the Windy City, it was a pastiche of genre-defying sound, simultaneously cohesive and expansive in influence. Similarly, Pelican’s songs touch on so much from the canon of rock music. Yet they have refined their own sound over the course of their career—perhaps nowhere as progressively and courageously as on their third full-length, City of Echoes.

11.5 Matt & Kim @ Iron Horse Music Hall Northampton, Mass.

8 p.m. / $10

11.1 Polysics w/ Black Gold @ Heirloom Danbury, Conn.

7 p.m. / $12

Central Activities Network presents Pineapple Express. Lazy court-process clerk and stoner Dale Denton has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver: to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop and the city’s most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be traced back to him – and it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they’re not suffering from weed-fueled paranoia: incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both. All aboard the Pineapple Express.

10.29 – 11.1 Vicky Cristina Barcelona @ Cinestudio Hartford, Conn.

7:30 p.m.

11.3 – 11.6 Monkey Kid @ Real Art Ways Hartford, Conn.

5:30 p.m. / $6.25 Monkey Kid will, for all countries and all times, remain a work able to move and encourage those who believe only in life, stronger and more beautiful than any political compulsion.

Which is to say, I feel this film is irreplaceable and essential.” – Philippe Colin, Elle.

Monkey Kid tells the story of a nine-year-old girl’s daily life in Beijing, during the Cultural Revolution of the 1970s. Her parents, deemed “intellectuals” by the state, have been sent to the countryside for “re-education.” The child is left to learn life on her own.

ART 10.29 Pulp Art Exhibit @ Chen Gallery, Maloney Hall 1 – 4 p.m. / FREE Maloney Hall’s Inner Gallery will display works by the Robert Lesser Collection of the New Britain Museum of American Art. Come for free wine, hors-d’oeuvres and other refreshments.

10.30 Lecture Series, Screencasts: Cinema as Medium in Contemporary Art @ Yale Art Gallery New Haven, Conn.

5 p.m.

11.1 Finn Riggins , () @ The Elevens Northampton, Mass.

Finn Riggins,() is an art project with several collaborators: sound designers, film and video designers, screen printers, writers, bus mechanics, foosball magicians, air guitar masters, cowboy stuntmen, photographers, dancers, chefs, yoga instructors, bartenders, designers, quilters, ecologists, fly fishermen, triathletes, bakers, mix-tapers, carpenters, knitters, skiers, recyclers, re-users, geologists, mathematicians and so on. All independent; all DIY.

10.29 Pineapple Express @ Torp Theatre, Davidson Hall 8 p.m. / FREE

Matt Johnson (guitar/vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums/vocals) create the giddy pop stylings of Matt & Kim. The indie rock pair came together in 2004 in their native Brooklyn. Two years later, with spring shows alongside Meneguar, the tenderhearted twosome began recording their debut album. Their self-titled release followed on iHEARTCOMIX in fall 2006.

Movies are full of surprises – who could have predicted, for example, that a Woody Allen update of the Henry James construct of innocent Americans adrift in Europe would shine with such humor, sensuality and life? Maybe filming in Barcelona loosened up New York’s most famous depressive, its sun-filled countryside and stunning Gaudí architecture, not to mention its outright gorgeous actors. Javier Bardem (who won an Academy Award for No Country For Old Men) is a local artist who attempts to seduce two young Americans (Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall) who are on a summer holiday.

The shifting relationships between Bardem, the Americans and Bardem’s brilliant but unstable ex (Penélope Cruz) combine in a heady composition of polyphonic desire.

11.2 – 11.4 I Served the King of England @ Cinestudio Hartford, Conn.

7:30 p.m.

Artist Laurel Nakadate, M.F.A. 2001, presents her work in photography and video, followed by the lecture “Object Relations: Laurel Nakadate and Feminism after Raunch Culture,” presented by William Kaizen, Assistant Professor of Aesthetics and Critical Studies, University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

10.31 Angles on Art: Clothed in Mysticism @ Yale Art Gallery New Haven, Conn.

3 p.m.

Through 11.16 Tom Fruin @ Real Art Ways Hartford, Conn. $3 donation

FILM 10.24 – 11.2 Mr. Foe @ Real Art Ways Hartford, Conn.

5:30, 7:30 p.m. / $6.25 Born in 1998, in homage to the high energy and eccentric music of the 1980’s New Wave scene, Polysics was founded by members Hayashi, Kayo, Fumi and Yano. They have since built a huge international fanbase through their hyper-frenetic live shows and their multiple releases in Japan, the US and Europe.

11.2 Neva Dinova @ The Space Hamden, Conn.

7 p.m. / $12 Dreamy and sparse, delicate and moody, these are the elements that make Neva Dinova a memorable experience. Often lumped in with other groups that came along at the same time (including the Faint and Bright Eyes), the band actually started in 1993 at the height of the slowcore movement.

Jamie Bell (Billie Elliot, Flags of Our Fathers) is Hallam Foe, a troubled young man whose knack for voyeurism paradoxically reveals his darkest fears, and his most peculiar desires. Driven to expose the true cause of his mother’s death, he instead finds himself searching the rooftops of the city of Edinburgh for love. This is a juicy character part for Bell, who is fast becoming an international actor to be contended with.

Splendid use of Edinburgh, Scotland’s cityscapes, a basketfull of startling surprises in the screenplay and characters without a fleck of sentimentality. Foe is a darkly twisted, entertaining work of magical realism from one of the leading lights of the new Scottish cinema.

Life may be a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel, but for Czechs, slammed first by the Nazis and then Communism, life is more like black comedy on tap. The director and the author of Closely Watched Trains (Jiri Menzel and Bohumil Brabal) offer up the tale of a Czech waiter, short in stature but outsized in survival skills, played by the delightfully Chaplinesque Bulgarian actor Ivan Barnev. The ambitious waiter navigates his way through the joys and disasters of his first job as a hot dog vendor, marriage to a zaftig Hitler sympathizer and dangerous “misunderstandings” with Stalinist stooges.

Tom Fruin uses detritus from the streets and parks of New York City to make provocative art from forgotten objects. Fruin is both collector and storyteller; the neighborhoods that discarded his materials speak through his creations. Fruin will make an appearance at the gallery on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. to talk about his artwork.

Did we miss something?

E-mail us with your weekly campus event listings at ccsurecorder@gmail.com.

18 THE RECORDER Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Costa del Sol

Lifestyles

A Delicious Touch of Spain at Hefty Prices Jane Natoli

Lifestyles Editor

Costa del Sol resides in the first floor of a brick building on Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford; an outside patio is closed for the winter, but bushes and palm trees still line the rope fence directing visitors to the right door.

Inside introduces you to a rare form for a restaurant serving Spanish and Mediterranean cuisine in the Hartford area. Straight ahead, a walled-in bar area hosts a few businessmen sipping drinks and chatting with the bartender. To the left held a gift store for the restaurant and behind it an out of sight banquet room. To the right led to dining rooms, one that could be booked for private dining, and the other an open room for the main dining area.

Bottles of wine were stacked on shelves around the room. A huge mural of a beach with beautiful mountains and villages set the scene.

The warm atmosphere (too warm once the heat was turned on high) welcomed a more European style dining experience – relaxed and enjoyable – instead of our usual American rush around.

But relaxation comes at a price – and one that few college students can afford on a regular basis. While this is a great restaurant if your parents are coming in to visit and are footing the bill, or if an out-of-town girlfriend is coming in for the weekend and you want to impress her, Costa del Sol is not the place to go to for a bar on Friday night or to bring a group of people to eat after a game.

From a small sign reading “Appropriate Dress Required” on the door to the doubledraped cloth tablecloths, first glance tells you this is an “on your best behavior” restaurant, and although there were a few children in the room, they practically looked like stuffed animals trying so hard to fit in.

However, if you do decide that the occasion and company warrants a quiet, expensive restaurant, you’ll be in for a treat at Costa del Sol. The bread is brought to your table in a basket and a waiter uses tongs to place your portion on your bread plate along with a dish of olive oil to share. This may not be the ideal situation for someone who loves their own bowl of bread and would use up the tiny portion of oil with the

first mouthful, but you are allowed to have seconds.

There are quite a few choices of tapas, small plates, to choose from and almost none of them are recognizable as typical American choices except for one well disguised entry for garlic bread.

The Galician style octopus, at $11 for an appetizer, was served with four slices of potatoes in the center. The potatoes were the only good part about the dish for me. I couldn’t get over the extra slimy parts that I assumed was octopus fat, but my boyfriend finished off the entire portion of octopus cooked in Spanish paprika, sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.

Out of the many options for entrées, the paella seemed to be the crowd’s favorite, even offered as a take-out option. The Paella de la Casa is prepared with Spanish rice cooked in a dish with mussels, clams, chorizo, shrimp, chicken and vegetables. The minimum portion size is for two people at $42 and $21 for each extra portion. The limited selection in portions can either be an annoyance or a nice touch for a quiet romantic dinner. Either way, the food was

delicious and there was enough to even take a portion home.

The dessert, equally expensive, consisted of homemade raspberry sorbet. Rich in flavor and texture and served with a peach sauce, whipped cream and a tasty wafer, this easily could be the best sorbet around.

The selection of food and three glasses of great red Rioja brought our bill to $89 before tip. A dinner like this definitely would put a cramp in any college student’s dining for the next few weeks. But it is nice to know that there is a different, delicious, semi-formal restaurant so close to school just in case that special occasion may arise.

Costa del Sol, located at 901 Wethersfield Ave in Hartford, is open Tuesday through Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 5:30 p.m to 10 p.m., Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

CCSU Secretary Uses Dances to Increase Breast Cancer Awareness Caroline Dearborn Staff Writer

Melissa Traynor / The Recorder

Lynn Agnew, secretary of CCSU’s Office of Marketing and Communications, teaches jazz and tap dance for the “Swing into Awareness” fundraiser on November 1.

During October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, (which originally began as an awareness week in 1985,) many people across America strive to make others aware of this cancer and its threats.

Breast cancer is a disease that does not differentiate between race, socio-economic status or even sex.

Lynn Agnew, secretary of CCSU’s Office of Marketing and Communications, is doing her part to bring the Central community into the national effort of breast cancer awareness.

Agnew, who also teaches tap dance parttime at Vinnie’s Jump & Jive of Middletown, is participating in the dance studio’s Swing into Awareness! fundraiser on November 1 to benefit the Breast Cancer Coalition.

Vinnie’s is a subsidy of Middletown’s Community Health Center, a non-profit and community outreach program that advocates for a healthy lifestyle.

Vinnie’s Jump & Jive Dance Studio is participating in the fundraiser for the second year after the success of the year before.

Agnew explained that any instructor at Vinnie’s is welcome to participate in the fundraiser as a volunteer.

Agnew has taken months to prepare two routines that will be featured in the event. Sine the movie Mama Mia has been so popular, she decided to do a routine from the movie’s soundtrack.

“Thirteen people from ages 18 to 62 are in the routine,” said Agnew and went on to say that it will consist of beginner and intermediate students. She then explained that Vinnie’s is a non-traditional dance studio for adults and welcomes students on a drop-in or a steady basis.

“It gives adults the opportunity to exercise and is part of the wellness program,” she said.

According to Agnew, the Vinnie’saffiliated Community Health Center has a breast cancer and cervical cancer department that has an early detection program and is doing their part to promote all-around health.

The other tap routine that Agnew has choreographed in preparation for the fundraiser is to the song “The Happening” by the Supremes. This will be a duet performed by two of her more advanced students.

Agnew truly enjoys tapping and has been dancing most of her life. When the opportunity arose for her class to participate in this cause, she immediately took up the offer.

“Dancing is my passion,” Agnew said.

She is very proud of her students and confident in their abilities, as some of them who have come to her have never even put on a tap shoe, and are now dancing for the fundraiser.

Located at Lidia’s Reception Hall at 54 Washington St., Middletown, Swing into Awareness! will begin at 6 p.m. Admission is $20, which although sounds a bit pricy for a college student, is for a great cause.

The dance performances will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. This will include both of the pieces that Agnew has choreographed.

Agnew is very dedicated to the show, even to the point that she reserves the studio on Sundays and volunteers her own time to rehearse with students to perfect their performance specifically for the show.

Following the performance there will be a swing dance lesson from 7 to 8 p.m.

Then, from 8 to 11 p.m. a live band, The O-Tones, will play swing music and R&B so guests can dance, incorporating the swing dance lesson that they just received, explained Agnew.

The O-Tones are an impressive ensemble from western Massachusetts, made-up of singers Ann Percival, Zack Danziger and Mary Wit. Walt Chapman, “king of Boogie Woogie piano style and organ riffs,” according to the group’s Web site, as well as drummer Pieter Struyk, and tenor sax player Kerry Blout complete the band.

Throughout the evening refreshments will be served and there will be a silent auction and door prizes.

Instead of spending another Saturday night at dinner and the movies, for roughly the same price one may consider attending this evening that Vinnie’s and others are working hard to put together for a good cause.

19

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / LIFESTYLES

Displaying the Art of Picture Books

Making Social Networks a Bit More Social Karyn Danforth Editor-at-Large

Marissa Blaszko / The Recorder

Debbie Herman and her daughter Violet Robinson look at a book on display.

Doug Duhaime Staff Writer

Although students may not have heard of artists Kate Greenaway, Maurice Sendak or Tomie DePaola, their featured works in the Chen Gallery are more than likely pieces of art that CCSU students have grown up with.

The reception for the “The Art of the Picture Book” show took place last Thursday in Maloney Hall.

The original artwork currently displayed in the gallery is made up of authentic versions of children’s storybook illustrations – before they were printed and mass-produced. Seeing the work first hand is, to say the least, an experience.

Since very few works are shown with the text they illustrated, they feel more like complete pieces of art than commissioned illustrations. Some have a completely fine art feel, which the books they were made for understandably lacked.

In addition, a few of the displays include the printed book for viewers to look through, giving them the ability to compare the original illustration on the wall to its post-production counterpart, as well as the story it illustrated. In most cases, the difference is noticeable, although not dramatic.

The best part of the visit might be recognizing the pieces of art hung on the wall from the days back when teachers read from the book in elementary school. The fact that the pieces were exhibited as art worthy enough to be hung

on a gallery wall— and not just functional pieces in a children’s book—might have very well been the point of the gallery. And if it is, the show is a success.

In all, the works featured had a much higher quality than the idea of a “picture book” would connote. Unfortunately, the fact that the illustrations were competing with the Pulp Art display in the inner gallery at the same time probably distracted viewers away more than it served to help draw attention to the opening.

The pulp covers, which were reviewed by The Recorder last year when they hung at the New Britain Museum of American Art, show stories of beautiful women getting swept up by sea creatures and villains on the verge of sin— far from Mother Goose in her rocking chair.

Although the works in both galleries were essentially created to illustrate lower-brow literature, the themes clash.

The only other problem with the reception was the turn out. Instead of the live music and packed room that the last opening saw, the turn out was less than ideal. Although this meant more time too look at the actual work, as well as more free wine, the opening lacked the excitement it should have had.

Still, “The Art of the Picture Book” is certainly worth checking out, especially if students have an hour between classes and want to look at something other than Intro to Economics coursework.

The Chen Gallery is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and admission is always free.

Undeclared Doesn’t Sound So Bad Brittany Selvaggi

Special to The Recorder

A year ago I was feeling a little more than unsure of my chosen major, which at the time was Elementary Education with a B.A. in English. I was already in my second year in the program, which was way too far in to consider switching, because who wants to turn five years into six?

But then I figured out that teaching wasn’t going to be in my future, and I was forced to switch my major from a Bachelor of Arts in English to a Bachelor of Science – and yes, five years suddenly became six.

Now that I’m finally a semester and a half away from graduation, I wonder how many Central students switch their majors, and how much switching is to blame for students needing more than four years to graduate.

Interestingly enough, although many students don’t graduate from Central in the typical four years, it might not be entirely from switching majors. Central has recently undergone research to watch how many students switch their majors and how often, and surprisingly many don’t do it as much as we are led to believe.

For example, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment found that only one out of ten students switches majors fall-to-fall semesters. That means that only 10 percent of students delay graduation for this reason.

Many more students do change their majors, but it may be more normal than people are

accustomed to believing. Students may go from an undeclared major to something more solid, or a pre-B.S. to a BS. In this case, 32-40 percent of students switch from a pre-major to a major, but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost any time.

Students who are undeclared switch 41-46 percent, but they should have been taking the correct classes the whole time and just decided to make their major official. It just takes some people longer to declare any major at all, and why should they rush when they could choose the wrong major early on? After all, it could delay graduation.

Looking back on my own graduation-delayed situation, one must ask whose fault is it that it took me six years to complete a four-year degree? My own, actually, and maybe the advisement or lack thereof. We’ve all had advisors that didn’t have the answers or time, or sent us on the run.

Maybe someone could have asked me a few questions, preferably the right ones, and figured out that I never belonged in the teaching profession in the first place. I found out through a private career counselor that I don’t have a teaching bone in my body and that my original Elementary Education major was never going to work anyway.

So in the end, remaining undeclared for a bit longer in college, even though it results in skewing the “switching majors” percentages, or numbers that make students look more fickle than they really are, may indeed help students graduate on time.

Over the past five years, social networking has become the juggernaut of the information superhighway. With interfaces like the ever popularized MySpace.com and Facebook, users can stay connected to friends and family all over the globe with a simple click of a mouse.

But when does checking and updating lose its lackluster; is it really that fun to type wall posts and read what your friends are doing rather than being able to participate with them?

Distance makes it hard for friendships to stay intact; are social networking sites doing all they can for users to maintain the bonds they treasure?

Coming in from stage left, Cambridge, Massachusetts based company Conduit Labs dances across the stage in a top hat and cane, ready for their big debut as the next possible social networking breakthrough.

Nabeel Hyatt, co-founder and CEO of Conduit Labs, noticed there was something missing from all the popular forums. “There isn’t a place on-line for avid social networkers to react, to play rather than leave wall posts,” he said.

“Ultimately our task is for people to get to know each other better.”

Hyatt hopes to invoke upon the Internet community the value of quality over quantity of the friendships made on-line. With users having the ability to add ‘friends’ without actually knowing them, Hyatt wanted to create a product that helps users focus on the friendships they already have.

“There is this culture on the Internet of getting more and more friends on every social network,” Hyatt said. “For us, to get the thousandth friend is less important than finding new and interesting ways to have fun with the friends you

already have, that, and listen to some cool music.”

Conduit Lab’s first creation, Loudcrowd is in private beta, currently selectively released to Facebook users, as it is still being reworked and developed for its mainstream release later this year. “It’s the Internet without all the boring,” Hyatt said.

“Loudcrowd is evolving into an interesting way to experience music. It’s a flirty dancing game where the user gets to play with friends and meet new friends; it’s like Rock Band meets Facebook.”

Auto-generated tag lines are Hyatt’s favorite part of the game. When talking to another user, a person can choose an automated message coded in by the creators of the game, which are generally silly pick up lines.

“I love logging into the system to see the new tag lines the guys put in there,” he laughed.

Loudcrowd will take shape over time, even giving the possibility of users having the capability to create and construct their own play lists to dance to.

Once released to the public, it will be free to play, but certain parts of the service will need a little dough. “Not until we put enough value into it will we charge for Loudcrowd,” said Hyatt.

Conduit Labs is a collaborative effort between artists, engineers, and business people to make a non-commercialized product that will appeal to younger audiences.

Encouraging college students who are considering a career path in Internet based groups such as Conduit Labs, Hyatt simply said, “Make something.”

Hyatt hopes that most will enjoy Loudcrowd’s innovative concept and major focus on music. “We wanted to express our passion for music,” admitted Hyatt. “My favorite song is the Ting Ting’s ‘Shut Up and Let Me Go’; it’s completely drilled into my brain.”

Marissa Blaszko / The Recorder

British artist Banksy incorporate the animitronic floating “Fish Fingers.”

Banksy Goes Beyond Graffiti Marissa Blaszko Opinion Editor

On October 9, a small pet store opened its doors in Manhattan. And within days, two bouncers stood outside trying to manage the mass of people that lined 7th Ave., waiting to get in. The reason is simple—Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill is the only shop in New York to house breaded fish, infant chicken nuggets, and a sex-starved monkey. Of course, this shouldn’t be surprising once one takes into account that the “owner” of this pet store is none other than British guerilla artist Banksy.

The shop is Banksy’s first gallery showing in New York City, and although it isn’t his usual display of stencils, murals, and vandalized “fine” art, he may be onto something.

Upon waiting outside, the first thing any gallery visitor would notice is the truly amazing amount of people who, walking past the store, stop and stare in amazement at the rabbit filing her nails in the vanity mirror. When the passer-by inevitably tries walking in, he or she is stopped by the bouncer, who tells them to get in line.

It is here when those who are already waiting watch the New Yorker, who was more than likely in a rush not thirty seconds ago, waiting in the fifteen minute long line to get inside.

Banksy’s draw, be it his street art or gallery exhibitions, is unique only to him. He has a stronger fan base and more recognizable work than almost any “mainstream” artist—although to claim that Banksy is any longer part of the underground is absurd. Even though many authorities agree that the identity of the graffiti artist is most likely Robert Bank of Bristol, and even though he is clearly wanted in multiple countries for serious

acts of “vandalism,” Banksy has become a huge name in every political and artists scene in the Western world.

The Village Pet Store is also the first time Banksy has chosen to work with animatronics.

The leopard jacket moves its tail so elegantly it’s incredible; the expressions on the monkey’s face while it watches animal-porn on the Discovery Channel are human like. The still pictures featured in this article cannot do the swimming fish sticks justice.

Simply put, Banksy has once again proven that he cannot be ignored.

Unfortunately, the store is less than 300 sq. ft., according to the Wooster Collective, and cannot hold more than 20 people at a time.

The limited amount of pieces—which total to only eight displays—makes it hard for viewers to stay in the store for more than 20 minutes: about how long they stood in line.

In all actuality, the Pet Store is more of a single unified instillation than a collection of pieces housed in a gallery—the employees working the “cash register,” who are more likely the gallery curators, are even dressed in pseudo-hillbilly costume. The lighting, the dirty floor, the shelves all act to create a shop that’s as convincing as it is bizarre.

That isn’t, of course, to say that the shop isn’t worth the trip—just that it’s not a day trip in itself. For a CCSU student, a round trip to NYC would include about $30, taking into account driving, parking, and the New Haven train fair. The gallery is free, and the fact that it’s in the East Village makes it an even better trip, since the entire surrounding area is littered with great restaurants, parks, and things to do.

The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill will be opened until Oct. 31—but given the success of the gallery thus far, one can only hope that we’ll see more of Banksy around this part of the world.

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 29, 2008 / ENTERTAINMENT

THE FRAMEWORK OF ARCHITECTURE Nick Viccione

Entertainment Editor

Recently, I was able to sit down and talk with Keith Allan, front man of the Syracusebased hardcore band Architect. The talk started off casually with questions about their upcoming release, then took a more serious turn when I presented questions about politics and this country. As you will come to find out, those are topics Architect is passionate about.

Nick Viccione: For our readers who may not be too familiar with Architect, how about a brief history, why you guys got together and what you had envisioned as a band from the beginning?

Keith Allen: Well it all started around 2004.

The two bands that we were all apart of at the time, which were Found Dead Hanging and World as a Virus, both broke up and out of the ashes of both of those bands, the first incarnation of Architect was born.

When we first got together, we all just wanted to form a band that we could use as a platform to help push our strongest ideals and thoughts through. When it came down to it, we wanted to be a hyper aggressive and pissed off band that we could really spend some time with and a band that could grow with us as we grew into young adults. We have changed a lot since our inception including a slew of members, but overall, the theme has retained. Heavy fucking music for pissed off people.

NV: We’ll get into your thoughts and ideals in a few. Did all of your original members come together right from the start or did you have to go looking for some?

KA: When Found Dead Hanging and World as a Virus broke up, it fell right into place very easily. I was in FDH with our bass player TJ and he played with Jay and Shawn from WAAV. So it was the three core members of WAAV including myself. We shared members and gear. It came together rather quickly.

NV: Were you guys were all on the same page musically? Sometimes, when new bands form from old bands, it is either really easy to gel, or some of the members have different mindsets. Did you have to work out any kinks?

KA: For the first few practices, we met up and just talked about sounds and tones. As time went on we talked a lot about song structures as well as content and lyrics. As far as the actual song writing went, we screwed around with transitions with certain parts.

As it stands right now, we have a crazy song-writing process. It can take months and in some cases, even a year to finally get ourselves stoked on a completed song. We still have riffs from three years ago that will be on upcoming records. We are releasing our new album on Nov. 25 and there are even riffs that we wrote years ago, that will be on another record after that one even; the record that we plan to release in 2009.

We all know that everyone in the band has a job to do and everyone does it damn well.

Everyone has equal input and it rolls along like some well-oiled, yet twisted machine.

NV: Let’s talk a little bit about Ghost of the Salt Water Machines, which is your new record out soon via Metal Blade Records. Was this record harder to write than your previous record, All is Not Lost?

Photos: Return to the Pit

KA: Ghosts of the Salt Water Machines was not harder to write. It was just different. All is Not Lost was just a bunch of songs we had written quickly and the recording was done in three days or something like that. We are happy with those songs, but overall, it was not so much a record as it was a collection of songs. Ghosts of the Salt Water Machines was written as a whole record. It took about six months for the bulk of the material to surface and be organized. We had a lot of ideas just mashed in our heads and we spent a lot of time just trying to get them all out.

The tone of the record was set as raw. We wanted a very heavy, live feeling. Basically, we wanted our stuff to sound the same as it would live. For the most part, aside from a few fun edits and effects, everything we do on Ghosts record will be heard in a live setting. We did our own pre-production for it. From there it only took a week to get it recorded and mixed. It is very straightforward and in-your-face and ultimately, we think it is a logical progression. Sonically, it is not very far removed from All is Not Lost.

The only things that changed were our personal lives and the world around us.

NV: Any specific reason for the name?

KA: Well, basically, people are the salt water machines. The ghost is what we believe to be the collective karma that we make for ourselves by doing what we know is inherently wrong, things like greed, war, destruction to our planet and ourselves. Everything is building and stacking against us and eventually it is going to come crashing back down. The few in power make the rest of us suffer. This record is just a glimpse of that through our eyes.

NV: Since this will be printed in a college newspaper - there are a lot of people on campus that care deeply about the state of this country, but on the other hand, there are many that could care less. Which brings me to a timely question and something that I know you guys are passionate about. Should we vote?

KA: Well, the short answer is yes. It really sucks that our systems have been corrupted so much that you can pretty much count on your voice not being heard on a national level. It is terrible to not have a candidate that you feel remotely comfortable with. The current presidential candidates have a lot of ghosts in their closets. The people in this country either do not care about digging deeper than the commercials and “debates” that they watch or they are afraid to know that the left-right paradigm is a fallacy and the best interests of the people are being forsaken for big business and war mongering global elitists. However, on a local level, voting could make a small change. If you can help elect an alderman or decent judge in your community, you might actually help make a difference. It might not be huge, but it could be enough to keep the crazy fundamentalists on an even keel.

NV: So, judging from that answer - I take it that you believe that no matter who gets elected into office, Obama or McCain, the same shit will still go on underneath our noses?

KA: Yes, there is no question about that. They are puppets and no matter who wins we are all

screwed! I know that sounds cliché but it is so true it is downright sad.

NV: Now for something a little more interesting, I am forcing you to state one reason apiece to vote for both McCain and Obama.

No backing out of this question.

KA: I accept your challenge! Vote for McCain because at least with him you know what you are in for. He wears himself on his sleeve and lets all of his crazy right wing Christian bullshit guide him around like a dog. Aside from his war mongering and profiteering, all of his policies can be found in the bible. With Obama, I think people are going to get sorely disappointed. He seems like a bright and shining star but it is the media and a big smile. The dude is just as fucked as McCain but he comes off like a fresh face and a sense of renewal, but it is just not so. On the other hand, with Obama, you are giving the gift of “fuck you” for at least four years.

NV: A lot of college students tend to get their political information from a variety of places. You may not be all about the media, but is there one source you tend to favor over others?

KA: The Internet. I mean, television and newspapers are all owned by big business, so you have to seek out the truth. My favorite place to get info regarding anything is National Public Radio and the Alex Jones radio show. Then again, it also depends on what you are looking for. If you want the weather, go look outside. If you want to know about the Federal Reserve, look up stuff from Craig Paul Roberts.

NV: Well that was a productive set of questions. I see that you are embarking on a decent sized tour at the end of the month. I hope everything goes well for you.

KA: It better. We hate touring.

NV: Do you do anything special to gear up for tour?

KA: Yeah. Lift weights, eat meat and fight frat kids.