CENTR A L CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSIT Y Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Lifestyles
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Volume 106 No. 19
JAMEs MuLROOnEY, AcADEMIc sTAnDARDs cOMMITTEE chAIR.
Ever tried Jamaican?
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Opinion
Statistically Sounder Women’s Team After Absences Page 5
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Faculty Passes Residency Credit Requirements Recommendation STORY BY melissa traynor - THE RECORDER
Percy Jackson for All Audiences
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New Gorillaz, Ted Leo Reviewed
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Sports
Hockey Team’s DiClemente Twins
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Monday’s faculty senate meeting reviewed several committee reports, including the academic standards that recommended lower residency credit requirements to 30. The senate passed a recommendation calling for such a revision of the residency credit guidelines with most of the Senate in favor, none opposed and nine absentions. As a major debate during the meeting, the residency requirements discussion centered on the proposal presented by biomolecular sciences chair James Mulrooney of the academic standards committee. He said that after reviewing the residency standards at other peer universities that rival CCSU in size and academics, the committee found that the others only maintained a 30 credit or lower minimum for credits earned at their institutions in order to be degree- eligible. CCSU now has a 45-credit minimum, which mainly affects transfer students. University of Connecticut is a similarly located university that requires 30 credits in residency for a student to be graduation eligible. Among the concerns raised were, if the proposal to lower the requirement was not accepted, transfer students may be dissuaded from transferring to CCSU. The lower residency requirements might make CCSU seem an equally attractive option in comparison to peer schools, said Liz Hicks, associate director at the center for advising and career exploration. According to Mulrooney, there are
PHOTOS BY kenny Barto - THE RECORDER
“It sounds attractive, but, like a lot of things, it may have an unintended downside.” carl lovitt, Provost
students who directly benefit from such a proposal passing soon. He knows of two nursing students who are waiting for a requirement like this to be lowered so that they can graduate this semester and do not have to return for one extra course in the fall. Other faculty pointed out that a lowered residency credit requirement may help students who are facing a strained situation, given the economy. The CCSU Provost was not immediately convinced. “I would like to have the opportunity to run these numbers,” said Provost Carl Lovitt. “... I don’t have a clear sense of the impact this is going to have. I don’t know how many more students will want to go here.” Lovitt added that this is the first time he’s seen this proposal and that something like this may improve the graduation rate, but he could only speculate. The senate could not amend the proposal to stipulate that it went into effect immediately, but some faculty raised concerns that there should be some type of effective date mentioned in the proposal. “Most majors on campus are large enough and have enough upper-level credits that for students to complete that major, they need to be here,” Mulrooney said. “There are very few majors that are so small - like philosophy comes to mind, which is exactly 30. So
CAndACE BARRInGTOn, Faculty Senate President.
See Credit Requirement Page 2
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NEWS
THE RECORDER Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Recorder
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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. T he pur pose of T he Recorder is to approach and def ine issues of importance to the students of Central Connecticut State Universit y. Editorial board meetings for The Recorder are held on Sundays at 6 p.m. in the Blue and W hite Room in the student center.
Credit Requirement Recommendations Passed Continued from page 1 somebody has to do all their gen eds and brought in some extra credits would only have to take 30 credits.” “It sounds attractive,” Lovitt said,”but like a lot of things it may have an unintended downside.” Among other committee reports, the faculty senate discussed one by the University Planning and Budget Committee after a presentation by Lawrence Grasso of the accounting department. Grasso said that the UPBC met Feb. 3 to hear different presentations by department representatives as to how to approach budget cuts on three different levels; the presentations reflected the types of cuts that departments would prefer themselves if faced with 6, 12 or 13, or 20 percent budget cuts, according to Grasso. This way, he said, suggestions could deflect across-the-board cuts. He said that the UPBC committee’s recommendations are based on those initial presentations. The committee’s key recommendations for cuts have to do largely with administrative affairs: the UPBC submitted their recommendations to President Jack Miller that include forgoing over $2 million in lock replacements, turf for the football field and athletic scholarships. The following notes and announcements were made: AAUP’s quarterly chapter meeting is on Thursday. The CSU AAUP President Dave Walsh will be there to discuss the CSU budget. The Board of Trustees academic affairs committee will meet Monday, March 29 at 11 a.m. in the Bellin Gallery, student center.
The recommendations for lower residence credit requirements were passed by the Senate Monday.
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Men’s lacrosse players Joe Marchionni (left) and Tito Rentas (right) enjoyed the outdoors during the 55 degree weather on Monday.
3
THE RECORDER / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / NEWS
OU Meningitis Cases Declared Outbreak Elizabeth Lundblad
68 percent of students have already been vaccinated, Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi said in an e-mail. The CDC arrived in Athens (WIRE) - The Centers for Disease March 2 to begin studying the Control and Prevention has outbreak, and has been working re-classified Ohio University’s closely with local health officials. meningitis cases as an outbreak, OU freshman Andrea Robinson, after DNA tests revealed all of Cleveland Heights, died Feb. seven students who fell ill with 17 after becoming infected. “It probably has considerable the potentially deadly bacterial infection during the last two significance that it is the same years contracted the same strain. strain that’s being passed in a highNo vaccine exists for the strain, energy community,” said Dr. James called Type B, but OU will require R. Gaskell, Athens County health all students to receive a meningitis commissioner. Type B causes a third vaccine for four other strains - A, of the state’s meningitis cases, he said. Neither thePMlocal nor1 the state 17207_print_ad_D:Layout 1 2/25/10 2:16 Page C, Y and W-135 - by this fall. About The Post | Ohio University
health department has the resources to examine DNA from the seven meningitis cases, Gaskell said. “Working with (the CDC’s) study could save someone’s life,” said Charles Hammer, administrator for the Athens City-County Health Department. “It’s a preventative study to find out what’s going on.” Researchers haven’t developed a vaccine for Type B. A vaccine tested on animals created antibodies that attacked the meningitis bacteria and also damaged neurological tissue causing serious harm, Gaskell said. The new classification will not change how the CDC approaches its
investigation in Athens, Gaskell said. Gaskell said he does not expect the center to find a “smoking gun” or a “typhoid Mary,” but he anticipates its epidemiological study might reveal a pattern of behavior that can be altered. “At the time when kids first come to OU, they can be made aware of what pattern of behavior is likely to lead to this infection,” Gaskell said. With just weeks until spring break, the CDC has a limited opportunity to study the outbreak, Hammer said. He advised students to get enough sleep, exercise, wash their hands frequently, cover their mouths when coughing,
not share food or drink, avoid excessive drinking and not smoke. “Students need to take care of each other as much as possible. In other words, if you have a roommate who’s sick, you need to encourage them to seek medical care,” Gaskell said. Students need to recognize the hallmarks of meningitis, Gaskell said. These include dot-like rashes on the extremities, headache, fever, stiff neck, vomiting and weakness. The average incubation period from when a person contracts meningitis to when he or she falls ill is about four days, although it can range anywhere from one to ten days, Gaskell said.
Weekly Arrest and Citation Log 2.11-2.18
Early in the morning of Wednesday, March 3, Daniel J. Larue, 20 of was arrested for breach of peace. He is schedule to appear in court on March 16.
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An early morning incident on Sunday, February 28 resulted in two arrests. Vicky Thong, 19, who is listed under at a CCSU dorm address was arrested on breach of peace and assault in the third degree charges and Rashaun Watson, 20, of Middletown was arrested for breach of peace and unlawful restraint in the second degree. Both Thong and Watson are scheduled to appear on Monday, March 15.
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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / ADVERTISING
H1N1 helped prevent seasonal flu breakout, health officials say Nick Demoss
The Arkansas Traveler | University of Arkansas
(WIRE) - At a time of year that usually leaves members of the UA community bedridden with seasonal flu symptoms, most UA students are able to spend their days enjoying the approaching spring weather, and it’s all thanks to last semester’s H1N1 swine flu outbreak, a Pat Walker Health Center official said Friday. Health center officials reported 634 cases of swine flu between Aug. 15 and Dec. 19 last year. That figure, said nurse manager Lyn Edington, represents only cases that were reported to the health center and does not include students who visited doctors not employed by the PWHC. As of March 5, health center staff had only encountered 44 cases, all of which were believed to be H1N1. Such a figure is remarkable, Edington said, at a time when seasonal flu is typically on the rise. A smaller incidence of seasonal flu is not uncommon in a year where a pandemic flu has occurred, she said. She added that “just because we’re not seeing (the flu) as much doesn’t mean it’s not there,” because people could be seeking treatment off campus. “Flu season can last as late as May,” according to the Center for Disease Control’s Web site. “Even if the U.S. doesn’t experience a sharp increase in influenza activity during the remaining
Pub Night Free of Problems, Class Council Says Brent Yarnell
Tufts Daily | Tufts University
winter or spring (another “wave” of influenza), continued low level circulation of influenza viruses may continue during this time.” The hope, Edington said, is that by the time seasonal flu is set to arrive, the weather will be too warm to facilitate the spread of the disease. Approximately 600 of the original 2,000 H1N1 free vaccines
are still available at the health center, Edington said. H1N1 vaccination clinics are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. The CDC recommends vaccination as the “first and most important step in protecting against the flu,” according to the center’s Web site.
(WIRE) - The first Senior Pub Night of this semester, held Thursday night at Hurricane O’Reilly’s, was a success, according to C.J. Mourning, the Senior Class Council’s vice president of social programming. “It went really smoothly, I’d say,” Mourning said. “Everything went as scheduled.” Hurricane O’Reilly’s, located on Canal Street in Boston, had a good “pub” atmosphere, according to Mourning. This was the first Senior Pub Night to take place since last fall, when incidents of public urination, indecent exposure and claims of alcohol theft forced the cancellation of the Sept. 24 pub night at Gypsy Bar midway through and prompted administrators to question the future of the event. Mourning said the approximately 600 seniors who attended Thursday’s pub night were well behaved and understood that last semester’s incidents called for an improvement. “Everyone was under control at this one,” Mourning said. “Sometimes people make mistakes, and they definitely have learned.” To ensure the continuation
of pub nights, the class council proposed various changes to the procedure of the event to gain the approval of administrators for this semester’s pub nights. Extra staff members were hired and police details were present, with the Tufts University Police Department at the bus pick-up stations at the campus center, and the Boston Police Department at Hurricane O’Reilly’s, according to Mourning. “At the last event it was difficult to take [misbehaving] people’s names down because there were so many people,” Mourning said. “With the added police detail and extra staff that was working the event it was easier.” Mourning said that having additional buses eased frustrations, and enabled students to get to the event earlier. The last bus, she said, left Tufts at 10:30 p.m. Senior Emily Wier agreed that this pub night went more smoothly that the last. “I would say that this pub night was a lot more organized and people had a really good time,” she said. Mourning added that a third pub night will be held sometime in April.
OPINION
5 THE RECORDER Wednesday, March 10, 2010
EDITORIAL
What do more applications mean? The Connecticut State University system has reported a higher than average rate of incoming applications. According to CSU spokesperson Bernard Kavaler, who recently published a reader-submitted article to the Courant's iTowns, CSU is already on pace to surpass last year's record-setting number. Kavaler also said that there’s been an 18 percent increase in the last five years. Also, the number of students transferring
to a CSU school has expanded to 51 percent since 2001. But what does the increasing number of applications really mean? If the schools keep the total number of students accepted at a constant rate, these growing statistics benefit the schools in the system. If acceptance rates appear lower, the schools might appear to be more selective than they once were. They have nothing to show about the rate of acceptance - well
at least not yet. The high application statistics are not thorough enough to really come to any actual conclusion. This also says nothing about how well the university is doing, only that the CSU has become more appealing to a greater number of to-be college students. The schools, including CCSU, are more concerned with the numbers of applications, and not the numbers that are accepted. Even though it is far too early
to say that a greater number of applications are a good thing are these: an increased number directly means greater revenue for the system, even if no additional action is taken by the prospective student; CSU overall has become a more attractive place to at least apply; CSU is allowed to be more selective (even though there is not necessarily pressure to be). Conversely, more applications could be a bad thing. For one, the
four CSU schools may just be a more affordable place to get a degree over private schools like University of Hartford or Connecticut College. The tuition is even cheaper than UConn. It makes sense that students will rely on smaller, less expensive schools like CCSU during the current economic climate.
Arrests Made for Better Women's Team Christopher Machnich The Recorder
(WIRE) - Gilbert Arenas used his team facilities as a gun locker. Tiger Woods had very public affairs; about fourteen of them, and by the time you read this that number could have doubled. Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg in a New York night club. Athletes behaving badly are nothing new to the 21st century sports scene, and no team is immune from this trend. The CCSU women’s basketball team had to find this out the hard way. In late January Shontice Simmons and Gabrielle Oglesby allegedly stole laptops from Kate Lang and Allison Rasile, two members of the CCSU swim team. Simmons and Oglesby were arrest on two counts of burglary in the third degree and one count of larceny in the third degree. It’s hard not to be overtaken by
visions of A.J. Price and Marcus Williams. Have athletes-especially those in Connecticut- not learned from watching Price and Williams, two of the University of Connecticut’s star players, get arrested and miss an entire season for stealing laptops? To make matters stranger, Simmons and Oglesby supposedly stole these laptops while staying in Carroll Hall over winter break. With only a limited number of athletes staying at Carroll, there aren’t many suspects. CCSU handled the situation as best it could by limiting the information that got to the media. Despite the negative attention these alleged crimes garnered for CCSU, there is a silver lining. It made for a more efficient Central Connecticut women’s basketball team. Statistically it’s impossible to deny. Oglesby got off to a slow start,
Some Guidelines for Protests, Not Picnics OKLAHOMA DAILY EDITORIAL BOARD
University of Oklahoma
(WIRE) - There was a demonstration Thursday on the South Oval — the goal was to be in solidarity with the California protests. But the organizers didn’t tell anyone anything else. The fact of the matter is, our generation has forgotten how to protest. Today when we see a protest, we think of half-hearted hippie protests on the left, or the ignorant Tea Partiers on the right. The state of protest in this country is abysmal considering the problems plaguing our nation and world. From the looks of Thursday’s protesters, you’d think some hippies were having a picnic with some funny looking signs on bicycles telling you the space was occupied. Here are some tips for anyone who’s going to have a serious protest any time soon. First, be honest with the journalists who come and talk to you. They come with a pulpit ready to broadcast your message far and wide. Don’t claim to be the turn-of-the-century anarchist Emma Goldman. Demanding a new heaven and a new Earth and an end to the war in Vietnam, as some of Thursday’s protesters did, isn’t going to win support. It will make
you look silly. Second, pay attention to geography. More students may be on the South Oval, but the administration is on the North Oval. If you’re protesting apathetic students, the South Oval is the place to be, but if you’re protesting tuition hikes and funding cuts, you’ll want to protest the administration. Boren’s office is in Evan’s Hall at the end of the North Oval; that’s a good place to start. Third, be active. Sitting around having a picnic on the South Oval on a pretty day may be fun, but it isn’t a protest. Stand up and do something constructive: write letters, make banners, educate each other. Do something, anything, that’s related to your cause. Inaction during a protest is little more than masturbating the revolutionary impulse — it’s just as bad, if not worse, than no action at all. Instead of making up excuses to protest, stand up and get legitimately angry about something. Protest the disintegration of our ideals into this politically correct mush, the cycle of poverty or the apathy held by a majority of Americans who solicit disingenuous news providers. Protests in the name of vanity will inevitably fail. So get mad, be loud and angry, but do it for a cause and be productive.
but seemed to come around when she scored 14 points against NJIT in December. It’s hard to say what could have been. Simmons created what I like to call “The Nate Robinson Effect.” Both Simmons and the former New York Knick, Nate Robinson, are great athletes who always demand defensive attention. Robinson can drop 30 points on a given night and Simmons tallied 19 points against Brown, but with both athletes come an unreasonable amount of field goal attempts and dangerously low percentages from the field. Robinson started the year off with a .286 field goal percentage and shot .200 from the three point line. In the eleven games played by Simmons, nine of which she started, she averaged a field goal percentage of .292 and from three shot .273. Simmons also had a two game stretch against Rhode Island and Long Island where she combined
for 6-29 from the field and 0-13 from three. The most telling similarity between these two athletes is this: their teams play better when they aren’t in the line up. After an abysmal start by the New York Knicks (4-14), Coach Mike D’Antoni sat Robinson for the month of December, resulting in a 9-6 record. The Blue Devils started the season with three wins and eight losses. After Simmons was dismissed the team went 8-9. Not a great record, but defiantly an improvement. With out Simmons getting minutes the women’s team was able to get the ball to its more consistent players. The athletes on the women’s team deserve an extraordinary amount of credit for playing through the negative media attention. Leanne Crockett shot .394 from the field, drained over a third of her shots from three, and averaged nearly
nine rebounds a game. Kerianne Dugan averaged 12 points a game, a team high, and seven rebounds. Justina Udenze gave the women’s team a presence in the paint with a .495 field goal percentage. Emily Rose held down the bench like Eddie House- the Boston Celtics version- shooting .339 from beyond three and averaged 12 points per 40 minutes of basketball. Oglesby has applied for accelerated rehabilitation, a form a probation that would erase her record of the crimes. AR is allowed if the culprit is a first time offender. Hopefully Simmons has a clean record and can also apply for AR. A senseless act committed when you’re 19 should not follow you around for the rest of your life. I wish them both the best of luck and commend the CCSU women’s basketball team for playing through a strange season.
6 THE RECORDER Wednesday, March 10, 2010
UPGRADE
Chopin's Bicentennial Anniversary Celebrated matt kiernan the recorder
Ewa Poblocka performs in Torp Theatre before a packed crowd.
kenny Barto | the recorder
World-renowned Fryderyk Chopin piano player Ewa Poblocka performed in a packed Torp Theatre last Sunday to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of Chopin’s birth, and play the music she’s performed all over the world for the past 40 years. “To me it doesn’t matter who or what the number of people that are there, it’s more about touching people,” said Poblocka, describing her passion for reaching people through music. As a little girl, Poblocka had a musically inclined family and would listen to the radio every Sunday at noon, where she would listen for who was playing and would write them down into a book. Out of all the musicians she listened to, Chopin stuck out the most. “I admire his ability in his compositions and music,” said Poblocka. Once, Poblocka had the opportunity to play a piano, dated 1848, which may have been played by Chopin himself during his time. The piano was designed for smaller room performances, which is quite different from the grand pianos that are made today. “You have to think about it differently and that can be a source of more inspiration,” said Poblocka. Often Poblocka will like to play softer pieces by Chopin, leaving the audience unsure if they should applaud when her playing stops, giving a quietness to the room that lets the pieces pleasantly settle into the minds of the listeners. Every time she plays a Chopin piece she tries to approach it differently in order to give it a fresh sound and find new inspiration.
“His music was not only brilliant, but he was also great at creating an atmosphere,” said Poblocka. Poblocka recalled performing her first Chopin concert at what she guesses was the age of nine, and having the concert hall silent. “Silence can be very important when you’re performing,” said Poblocka. During Poblocka’s Sunday performance, she played Chopin’s “Nocturne in E Minor, Op. Posth.,” the waltz “B Minor, Op. Posth.,” and “Scherzo in B-flat minor, Op. 31.” Chopin would write Polish mazurkas and waltzes as a way of connecting with his homeland of Poland because of his nationalist pride and yearning to be home again. The last piece he ever wrote was a mazurka, signaling his love for his country. His contributions to the field of music in general were vast, creating new harmonies and taking mazurkas, nocturnes and waltzes, as well as other musical compositions further than they ever were before. In addition to performing Chopin for audiences, Poblocka has played in orchestras, enjoys performing chamber music and has recorded Chopin music that includes all of his nocturnes, ballads and sonatas. She has gone on multiple world tours with the Warsaw National Philharmonic in 1984, ’89, ’90, ’92 and ’98. The S.A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish American Studies, the Embassy of Poland in Washington, D.C. as well as the Polish American Foundation of Connecticut presented the performance. Poblocka will be touring the world throughout the year, making stops in what include Japan, China and India.
Oscars Shine Only Where It Really Counts michael Walsh the recorder
While I still can’t get over red carpet cohost Sherri Shepherd calling Twilight’s Taylor Lautner “the most famous werewolf in motion picture history,” or co-host Kathy Ireland stiffly standing by Precious star Gabourey Sidibe while conducting some of the world’s most awkward and robotic interviews, I must admit that the 2010 Academy Awards were mostly a success. Looking past the façade of glitz and glamour Hollywood typically spews at viewers during the annual marathon broadcast, Sunday night’s Academy Awards were home to some very special and ultimately memorable moments in cinematic history. Sunday night saw The Hurt Locker lead the awards with six Oscars, which included a best picture win over director Kathryn Bigelow’s ex-husband James Cameron and his mammoth film Avatar. Bigelow also made history by becoming the first woman to win best director, a moment which will be replayed for years thanks to Barbara Streisand’s nice touch, adding “Well, the time has come,” letting us all know who won before we even heard Bigelow’s name. The night did have a few surprises, such as El Secreto de Sus Ojos winning best foreign language film over heavy favorites The White Ribbon and Un Prophete. Mark Boal might have stolen best original screenplay for The Hurt Locker from pen master Quentin Tarantino, but that’s hardly an unjust decision, as Boal used his experiences in Iraq to write the tense screenplay for the honored film. And while the Academy truly shined as far as the awards are concerned, the broadcast
production team hardly left the night with a passing grade. The only memorable moments of the night were caused by the artists themselves. The ceremony was moving at a comfortable viewing pace until someone decided that the best original score category needed to be introduced by way of interpretive modern dance, or something else I’m not hip enough to understand. All the dancing did was slow the show down drastically. And in favor of letting the best original song nominees perform their honored songs? A mistake as far as an entertainment is concerned. A shallow mistake was also made by only allowing Governor’s Award winners Lauren Bacall and Roger Corman to stand up and be applauded. I know they were honored at a separate ceremony at the end of 2009, but when you have two legends like that in the house, they should be utilized better. And it makes me wonder what is really cared about. What kind of expensive dress the celebrities are wearing on the red carpet, or the emotional and meaningful moments inside the
theatre. For most of these winners, it might be the only time they are on that stage. It has always rubbed me the wrong way to have to see certain nameless and low-key award winners played off by the orchestra without everyone that is honored getting a chance to speak. I know time constraints are an issue, but when you spend a half hour pre-show awkwardly interviewing celebrities with superficial questions and butt-kissing comments it doesn’t put the Academy in the best light. Not to mention the fact that they spent far too long letting an actor or actress friend of each nominated best actor or actress wax poetic about that specific nominee. While some of the comments were thoughtful, funny and insightful, the overall procedure was painfully selfpleasing. These are just actors and actresses, folks. George Clooney was not nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize last night. And what would the Academy Awards be without the tributes. I won’t even begin to get into the mess that is forgetting Farrah
Fawcett in the memoriam tribute. A special stand alone tribute was given to the late John Hughes, who died in 2009, far too early for a man of his kind, was paid tribute to by many of the actors and actresses that appeared in his films. The kicker? Hughes was never nominated for an Oscar. With the touching tribute to Hughes being an ode to the ignored genre of comedy, they coupled that with a shallow tribute to horror films. Presented by none other than Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner of the non-horror film Twilight, the clips reel wasn’t all that satisfying, with footage of films like The Silence of the Lambs, which is undoubtedly more thriller than horror, dominating appearance time. They even had the nerve to include Twilight. They should have simply titled the highlight reel “A tribute to horror films: Or, sorry we'll never respect your genre as art.” If I didn’t love films and care about the awards they won, I would stay far away from the painful theatrics that the Academy Awards really are. When these artists win an Oscar, it’s the crowning achievement on a usually long and hard career. And the emotional reactions and dedications from winners such as best actor Jeff Bridges and best actress Sandra Bullock are what truly matter in life, even in one as vain as Hollywood.
Multiple Award Winners The Hurt Locker (6) Avatar (3) Crazy Heart (2) Precious ( 2) Up (2)
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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / UPGRADE
Photo courtesy of Flikr
Netflix It:
The Five Obstructions Michael Walsh The Recorder
The peculiar and unusual Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, a pioneer of the restricting Dogme 95 rules, set out to challenge fellow Danish filmmaker Jørgen Leth by making him remake his great yet simplistic short film The Perfect Human five different times. The only catch to such a strange request? In the documentary, von Trier himself decided to play puppeteer and give Leth a set of different obstructions for each recreation of his 1967 classic film. Examples of von Trier’s bizarre restrictions placed upon Leth’s quest to recreate are forcing him to shoot the film in Cuba with no constructed set. In that first obstruction, Leth also had to limit each shot to the quick cut of 12 frames and answer each and every question posed in his original short film. In the ultraminimalistic The Perfect Human, Leth asked questions like “Who is he? What can he do? What does he want? Why does he move like that? How does he move like that?” Leth was forced to answer these in a rewritten dialogue. The madness behind von Trier’s requests is really both beautiful and brilliant. The documentary as a whole is a great exercise in filmmaking. Observing Leth struggle to surpass his obstacles, and even at times deal
with demons such as having to revisit what he considers to be one of the worst places in the world (the red light district of Bombay), is an inspiring experience. It makes anyone with an artistic bone in your body want to spring out of their seat and be challenged by von Trier themselves. Leth and von Trier also play off one another in a terrific clash of the mind. They are both wonderful artists who try to push each other to their creative limits. By challenging Leth to play the perfect human himself or visit the worst place in the world, von Trier forces Leth to learn new things about himself and his art. At some point in the film there’s a serious question as to whether von Trier and Leth are playing a joke on the viewer. But that lasts for only a few short moments when you see Leth’s sincere reactions to von Trier’s bizarre obstructions, or his disproval with von Trier’s reaction to the final submitted projects. The value in The Five Obstructions comes from seeing the brilliant and creative minds of both von Trier and Leth at work. While watching, a von Trier or Leth film will let you experience their artistic ways, you don’t quite get the same point of view as you do here, watching von Trier torture Leth with obstructions he must inventively overcome.
A Taste of Jamaica Comes to New Britain Samantha Fournier The Recorder
Most of the time, college students rely on cheap packages of ramen noodles, unappetizing cafeteria meals, late night pizza slices, and the occasional home cooked meal to keep them going. Amidst the number of chain pizza places, sandwich shops, and fast food joints that CCSU’s students could easily be tempted to stop at is a Taste of Jamaica, Caribbean Cuisine L.L.C. located on Arch Street in New Britain serving authentic Jamaican food. Upon entry, Taste of Jamaica smells of spices and the smell gets stronger when walking toward the counter near the back of the restaurant. Lollipops and red and white striped mints line the top of the counter. The friendly staff at the restaurant recommended the tender and spicy jerk chicken, which is topped with your choice of sauce and served
alongside your choice of white rice or rice and red beans. The sweet plantains served with the chicken complimented and mellowed the spicy taste of the chicken. This “small meal” which filled a small to go container and cost $6.50 was also served with a small helping of mild tasting cabbage and carrots. Small meals range from $6.50 to $12 and a variety of entrees are offered, including curry chicken, peppered steak, fried fish, and fried chicken. While Taste of Jamaica offers hot meals served daily for lunch and dinner, they also sell grocery items. Beneath the dim yellow lighting, the Jamaican flag and the flags of many other Caribbean Islands hang from the walls above white shelves stocked with Goya brand items, ginger tea, round buns, and other items that can be found at the common convenience store. Past the shelves of organized items for sale are two tables covered with palm printed table cloths, topped with a small vase holding
fake white flowers. Patrons can dine in or take their warm meals to go. Colorful triangular flags hang in front of Taste of Jamaica along with a sign that says “now open.” Since opening a little over four months ago, the woman working behind the counter says that this restaurant and convenience store has seen many locals stop in as well as customers from surrounding towns. “I’ll see you again?” asked the friendly woman working behind the counter said after filling the dense to-go container that smelled and looked good enough to widen the eyes. If you are tired of pizza and ramen and want to try something different visit Taste of Jamaica for a quick home cooked meal that will have you coming back for more in the near future. Taste of Jamaica is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Movie Review
Percy Jackson Entertaining for All Ages Rachael Bentley The Recorder
If seeing Uma Thurman as Medusa isn’t enough to tempt you to see this film, then perhaps seeing Pierce Brosnan as a centaur will. This movie is full of great actors like Sean Bean, Rosario Dawson and up and coming actor Brandon T. Jackson. Though the script was at times a little dry, the film had no loose ends and was entertaining to watch. Director Chris Columbus had a lot to live up to after he directed both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, along with I Love You Beth Cooper, and he did a pretty decent job living up to the same expectations. Though I don’t believe anyone expected this film to outdo either of the Potter flicks. Percy Jackson, played by Logan Lerman, is a teenage boy who gets thrown into the world of the gods, when he finds out he is a demi-god, and is father is Poseidon. After finding out his best friend is half goat, and being chased around by a flying, featherless demon, Percy finds himself at a camp where Heroes are made. Sound corny? Well it was, but still entertaining and Columbus even hit a few emotional buttons when the young boy gets separated
from his mother and finally gets to meet his father. The effects were very well done and almost believable. Grover ( Jackson) had surprisingly realistic looking goat legs, and the audience really loved it. As in any teenage action adventure, there was a hint of romance between Percy and Annabeth, another demi-god and daughter of Athena. But the best part of the movie, for me at least, was when Percy meets Hades, god of the underworld, and played by the one and only Steve Coogan. My shock and amusement matched that of the characters on screen when they asked, “You’re Hades?” They stood in front of a man with a biker jacket, cowboy boots and an insane hairstyle, but never doubted it again, after he transformed into a horned, fiery and angry giant. With a pretty good twist to the film and lots of fast paced fight scenes, this movie surprised me. I was not sure what to expect, but what I didn’t expect was for it to actually hit home. The best thing to do, in Percy Jackson’s case, is to walk into this movie with absolutely no expectations. If you do, I can safely guarantee you will walk out with no regrets on spending that $10. It’s a sure fire way to please young and old alike.
Photo courtesy of Fox 2000
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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / UPGRADE
REVIEWS Ted Leo and the Phamacists The Brutalist Bricks Matador Records March 9
Jamie Cullen The Pursuit Verve March 2
Gorillaz Plastic Beach EMI March 9
Dinosaur Feathers Fantasy Memorial Self-released March 5
PJ Decoteau
Matt Kiernan
Brian Johnston
Melissa traynor
Ted Leo has made a name for himself as a critical darling and a rocker’s rocker, with a swell of famous fans that includes Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. While this is all well and good as a means to playing opening acts for these bignames (which he and his band the Pharmacists have done on numerous occasions), it would be fair to say that the group deserves at least a piece of the fame that has been awarded their peers but has seemed to evade them for a over decade. It’s a shame that the group’s stellar single “Me and Mia” off of 2004’s Shake the Sheets wasn’t the smash hit that it should’ve been, but with their newest and best outing, The Brutalist Bricks, set to drop next week, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists should be in line to finally reach a wider audience. As with all Pharmacists albums, Bricks features clean, crisp production of rock songs that range from strumming guitar (“One Polaroid A Day”) to fast and loud (“The Stick”) and everything in between, all surging behind Leo’s literate storytelling and political outrage. It’s all very Rice Krispy (it snaps, crackles, and pops – get it?), so that even songs with lyrics like “Well we all have a job to do, and we all hate God” from album highlight “Woke Up Near Chelsea” never sounds overbearing and always keeps the forward momentum chugging along. The band clearly pour all of their energy into the songs, all of which dance with the precision of a heavyweight boxer, so that each track dips and ducks and eventually lands a hay-maker square in the chest. Seeing that Ted Leo has been perfecting his brand of indie-punk-rock for ten years now with only one slight misfire (2007’s Living With the Living), it’s about time they earned their title belt as one of the decade’s best rock outfits.
Jamie Cullum is an artist who has had the ability to take the traditions of jazz music and apply them to modern music, much in the way of contemporary artists such as Norah Jones and Lily Allen. Cullum keeps tempos in his music that resemble the pace of swing music with the range in voice of Frank Sinatra. His songs have the musical depth of professional jazz musicians that you would see perform in cafes and lounges, exceeding such mastery to reach the fields of pop music. The Pursuit continues his modern jazz sound that he started in the early 2000’s to rein in the new decade. Pursuit is a great collection of new material, making a comeback from his last release, In the Mind of Jamie Cullum, which strayed away from his sound, working into electronic beats. “Just One of Those Things” is a look back at traditional jazz music and the era of Sinatra, with Cullum working his fingers all over the piano during his impressive solo. It holds an old-school NYC sound, discussing a love affair in a city. “I’m All Over It” is a signature Cullum song with pounding piano chords and bass drum. The song has a great anthem of “I’m all over it now!” and Cullum later singing, “I won’t come back/ no I won’t come back.” “Wheels” sounds similar to a Coldplay track with quickly paced drums and Cullum singing quietly with bursts of verses called out. Cullum sings, “Tell you what I’ve heard/ the wheels are falling off/ the wheels are falling off the world,” attempting to cheer up someone who’s unhappy at a point in their life. What Cullum has, in addition to his vocal and musical prowess, is the passion he puts into every song he writes and performs. His songs are well crafted and make a strong attempt at getting the listener to feel what he’s feeling. The Pursuit is a wonderful modern jazz album that crosses the various genres of jazz, while speaking to contemporary audiences.
Since their self-titled debut album in 2001, which landed them in the Guinness Book of World Records for selling seven million copies as the most successful virtual band, Gorillaz has come a long way in the music industry worldwide. Their latest album, Plastic Beach, takes us on pretty much the same bass-driven and guest artist adventure that we are used to. The first single titled “Stylo,” featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack, leaves you slightly surprised that nothing has really changed from their style, yet wanting more from the talented foursome. Lyrically, the old-school raps have never been more intense because of how catchy they are. With lines such as, “That's what I'm talking about, love electricity, shockwave central, power on the motherboard,” there is more of a deeper meaning than we’re used to hearing. This probably has to do with how creator Damon Albarn chose the title of the album. While coming up with ideas for his latest production, the former Blur star took time to really connect everything around him. While the rest of the tracks are your usual upbeat, can’t sit still types of songs, “Cloud of Unknowing” is by far the mellowest thing you’ll hear from Gorillaz because of Bobby Womack’s soulful sound and the orchestra Sinfonia Viva. Finally, to combine everything from beginning to end, the song “Empire Ants” captures the essence of who Gorillaz are and will be forever. Starting off slow with Swedish electronic band Little Dragon, there is a smooth transition into the in-your-face techno beats that everyone has grown to love the past 12 years. Personally, there is not a better album from this group. Sure, one can argue that there will always be the essential Gorillaz songs such as “Clint Eastwood” and “19-2000,” but give it a few months and songs from this masterpiece will be requested and played through the airwaves.
The first bunch of labels I saw for this album included “1950s/ ‘60s pop” and bossa nova, which are accurate to a point if you only consider that the album could have been pop-inspired. Dinosaur Feathers produces a beautiful record, regardless of the classification. It’s not particularly weighty, but rather a nice recovery just in time for summer music. I’d love to say that it’s “easy-listening,” but am afraid that the description would only heap on more unfair labels. Fantasy Memorial really is easy to listen to, however. The Brooklyn-based Dinosaur Feathers have put together an impressive blend of airy tunes that kind of slip into the background. It takes practically nothing to make it through the whole album without even knowing that it happened (almost to a fault). This is not to say that their songs carry with them no depth. The track “Crossing the Cannon,” which has a kind of repetitive jam format, brings a lot to the table in terms of vocals, an array of Animal Collectivelike background noises and delicate guitar pickings. There seems to be only really two major chords driving the whole song - and maybe even two or three sentences in repetition - but it’s simple and it works. Surprisingly, it makes for a full-sounding song. The only real breaks in the song come from small guitar refrains, and musing, but they slip back into the same two chords. Similarly, “Family Waves” does this with its choruses. Title track “Fantasy Memorial” evokes Dirty Projects guitar picking precision and just enough quick changes in direction to keep it interesting. Again, vocals really make the song. Harmonies rise and fall with each lyric, but they reach so far in each dramatic switch that brings listeners along the sweeping vocal range. I wouldn’t say the vocals are necessarily the most impressive, but the arrangement is strong enough to cover up any weaknesses. Great timing - Fantasy Memorial is definitely warm weather music. Or indoor music in anticipation. It’s a a good collection of spring weather transition tracks - not quite there yet, but light enough to carry us into the summer.
The Recorder
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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / UPGRADE
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Calendar 3.10 - 3.17
MusIc
social satire.
3.10 Dropkick Murphys @ Oakdale Theatre Wallingford, Conn. 7:30 p.m.
3.12 - 3.18 Fish Tank @ Real Art Ways Hartford, Conn. $6.25 / 7:00 p.m.
3.11 The Lives of Famous Men @ The Space Hamden, Conn. $10 / 7:00 p.m.
"I'm telling you here and now to seek out Fish Tank ...because it's absolute dynamite... It's an explosive female coming-of-age story set against a dreary backdrop of poverty, abuse and neglect." - Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
3.12 Cold w/ Nonpoint, Day of Fire @ The Webster Theatre Hartford, Conn. $18 / 5:00 p.m.
"In Fish Tank, nothing goes right, yet Mia’s fate never seems preordained. Her constant motion might or might not be her salvation, but it keeps you in suspense until the last frame—and beyond." David Edelstein, New York Magazine
3.13 Jim Jones @ Toad's Place New Haven, Conn. $20 / 9:00
3.14 - 3.16 The Red Shoes @ Cinestudio Hartford, Conn. $7.00 / 7:30 p.m.
FILM 3.10 - 3.13 Up in the Air @ Cinestudio Hartford, Conn. $7.00 / 7:30 p.m. Directed by Jason Reitman. Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, based on the novel by Walter Kirn. Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman. Sprung from the heart of a nasty recession, Up in the Air gives us a corporate hit man who flies around the country firing the folks their corporate bosses can’t bear to face. George Clooney finds humanity in his role when he is forced to train his possible replacement: company gal (Anna Kendrick) who thinks firing via the internet is “more efficient.” Like Jason Reitman’s Juno and Thank You For Smoking, Up in the Air is a very modern combination of romance, comedy, and fearless
Written, directed and produced by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger for J. Arthur Rank. Choreography by Robert Helpmann and Leonide Massine. Cast: Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Robert Helpmann, Leonide Massine, Ludmilla Tcherina. Cinestudio is pleased to present a ravishingly restored Technicolor® print of Michael Powell’s brilliant tribute to the world of dance! The Red Shoes captured the imagination of a generation of young girls (and boys) by introducing them to the magical world of ballet. Based on Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale, it stars the flame-haired Moira Shearer as a stunning young ballerina and Anton Walbrook as the Diaghilev-like impresario who makes his dancers choose between life and art. “Truly the most beautiful Technicolor picture ever
Katie Jarvis in FISH TANK playing at Real Art Ways this week. made.” - Martin Scorsese. 3.15 Shall We Dance @ Real Art Ways Hartford, Conn. $8.00 / 1:30 p.m. A budding romance between two stars is complicated by a rumor: they’re already married. Starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Refreshments at 1:00 p.m. and discussion afterwards.
ccsu 3.11 - 3.13, 3.17 - 3.18 Sweeney Todd @ CCSU (Maloney Hall, Black Box Theatre) New Britain, Conn. $12, $8 for students / 7:30 p.m. Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 Tony
The Recorder is looking to fill the following positions for the Spring Semester of 2010: Sports writers, news staff, Web staff, graphic designers
editor@centralrecorder.com
Award–winning musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond. Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway at the Uris Theatre on March 1, 1979 and ran for 557 performances. It was directed by Harold Prince with musical staging by Larry Fuller. It starred Len Cariou as Sweeney Todd and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. The musical tells the story of Benjamin Barker, alias Sweeney Todd, who returns to London after 15 years' transportation on false charges. When he learns from his former landlady Mrs. Lovett that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by the judge who wrongly transported him ( Judge Turpin by name), he vows revenge. 3.10, 3.11, 3.14
The Blind Side @ CCSU (Semesters) New Britain, Conn. Free / 7:00 p.m. (3.11 - 10:00 p.m.) The Blind Side depicts the story of Michael Oher, a homeless AfricanAmerican youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle. - IMDB.com
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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / SPORTS
SPORTS BEGINS ON BACK PAGE
Blue Devils Break School Records at IC4A Championships CCSUBluedevils.com
The Central Connecticut State University men’s track and field competed in the IC4A Championships on Saturday to finish indoor competition for 2010. Freshman Mohamed Hrezi and the Blue Devil Distance Medley Relay team both broke school records this afternoon. Hrezi set a new school record in the indoor 800 meters, finishing 24th with a time of 1:53.14. He placed sixth in his heat, but failed to qualify for Sunday’s finals. Hrezi broke the 18 year old record of 1:53.40 set by Ralph Wolfendale in 1992. The DMR team of junior Shawn
Buchanan and sophomores Sam Alexander, Jeremy Schmid and Michael Waterbury also broke a CCSU record today. The squad finished 22nd at the championships in a time of 10:15.00 to set the new school mark. Sophomore Rashad Williams was the only Blue Devil to compete in the field on Saturday. He set a new personal best in the event. Freshman Aaron Radden, the Northeast Conference and New England Champion in the 200 meter dash, qualified for Sunday’s final but was disqualified for stepping out of the lane. Central Connecticut will continue the season with outdoor track and field competition beginning in April.
First baseman Tommy Meade led team with two RBI.
NICK KOSLOSKI | CCSUBLUEDEVILS.COM
Meade Drives in Two But Baseball Falls in Eleven Innings at Navy CCSUBlueDevils.com
Mohamed Hrezi.
NICK KOSLOSKI | CCSUBLUEDEVILS.COM
Senior Tommy Meade drove in two more runs, giving him seven RBI in the first three games of the season, but the Central Connecticut baseball team dropped a 5-4 decision to Navy in 11 innings on Sunday. Meade had five RBI in the two games on Saturday, Meade had three hits in the loss, including his second home run of the season. Navy took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Central would hold the Midshipmen without another run until the 10th inning.
The Blue Devils scored a single run in the third inning on an RBI single from junior Pat Epps. Senior Anthony Scialdone had an RBI in the seventh inning to tie the game at 2-2. Central took a 4-2 lead in the top of the 10th inning on a two-run home run by Meade, his second of the season. Navy tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the inning and then scored the game-winner in the bottom of the 11th to win. The Blue Devils fall to 0-3 on the season with the loss. In his first outing in a Blue Devil uniform, Dave Krasnowiecki pitched
seven innings allowing seven hits and just one earned run. He struck out five and walked just one and did not factor in the decision. Seniors Richie Tri, Sean Allaire and Scialdone all had two hits in the game. Junior Normand Gosselin also added a pair of hits and pitched for the first time in a CCSU uniform. He picked up the loss while pitching in the 11th inning. Meade had two RBI while Scialdone and Epps each drove in a run. Central outhit Navy 14-12 in the game, but made a pair of errors in the field, one leading to a run in the first inning.
ACHA National Hockey Tournament Brittany Burke The Recorder
Last weekend the CCSU hockey team competed in the ACHA Northeast Regional Tournament and came out on top of Bryant University and the University of New Hampshire earning their bid to next week’s ACHA National Tournament. This year’s nationals are being hosted by the Super East Collegiate Hockey League, CCSU’s primary league and are being held at the International Skating Center in Simsbury, CT a mere half hour away from CCSU. The tournament is being conducted over four days from March 17-20. There are eight games being played Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with the semifinals and finals taking place on Saturday. The sixteen teams are broken up into four different pools containing one team from each region. The Blue Devils are a part of Pool C with Michigan State, Ohio State and San Jose State. With the 5-4 defeat of UNH, CCSU (20-10-2-1) enters the nationals ranked third and will face the second ranked Michigan State Spartans (17-7-0-2) at 7 p.m. on the opening day of the tournament.
Thursday the Blue Devils find themselves playing the Ohio State Buckeyes (23-4-02) at 7 p.m. and end with the San Jose State Spartans (27-10-0-0) on Friday at 6 p.m. The CCSU team has worked hard to get their bid in this year’s tournament and with the games being held in our own back yard it is imperative that the CCSU community come out and show the athletes their support. The Blue Devils team is offering students and faculty a special ticket price of $10 for a four day tournament pass or $5 for an individual day pass, which is good for every single game. To purchase tickets you can contact team captain Joe Dabkowski at dabkowskijoc@ ccsu.edu. CCSU Schedule Wednesday, 3/17 7:00 p.m. v Michigan State Thursday, 3/18 7:00 p.m. v Ohio State Friday, 3/19 6:00 p.m. v San Jose State Saturday, 3/20 Semi Finals & Championship
Senior forward Joe Dabkowski.
kenny Barto | the recorder
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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, March 10, 2010 / SPORTS
Twins Are Key Part of CCSU Hockey Continued from page 12
Mike DiClemente.
kenny Barto | the recorder
side to playing together,” Rob DiClemente said. The brothers even have eerily similar thoughts about their relationship proving that the twin mentality works on and off the ice. “It’s been great. I don’t know, we don’t hesitate to yell at each other,” Mike DiClemente said. It seemed as if their no holds barred form of communication with each other has become as much a part of the team dynamic as the two boys themselves. “It’s funny because hearing them in the locker room going after each other. It’s kind of the brotherly love type deal, and they don’t like to admit it, but if anyone of them would get in trouble with anybody the other one would be right behind him, but they won’t admit that,” said fellow senior Joe Dabkowski. Dabkowski and the DiClemente brothers have been playing together since the days of midget and junior
RMU Ends Men’s Season Continued from page 12 The Colonials led 28-24 at the half, after the two teams combined for 23 turnovers. Central shot 9-of20 and hit a pair of threes. RMU shot only 9-of-22 from the floor and hit just two of their final 11 attempts. In the second half, a Rosario three, his second, cut the RMU lead to 32-29. A Ptacek runner, his 13th points of the game, made it 36-33 with 15:49 to play.
After Central cut it to one at 38-37, the Colonials used a 7-0 run to build the lead back to 45-37 with 12:48 on the clock. A Rosario jumper ended the run and made it 45-39. Ptacek hit another three and junior Markeys Deans hit from in the paint to make it 47-44 with under nine to play. The Blue Devil run reached 8-1 after Rosario hit his third three of the game with 8:19 on the clock, cutting the lead to one, 48-47. Ptacek hit a pair of free-throws to make it 57-55 with just over four
hockey, where the twins opted to play for the Connecticut Lazers instead of their town’s combined team. They are three of 11 seniors leaving the team at the end of the season, and it is that group’s camaraderie that both brothers said they would miss the most. “I’m gonna miss the family atmosphere, I’m gonna miss the 7 a.m. practices, it’s all gonna be missed terribly,” Mike DiClemente said. “All the guys, it’s been great, we’ve been growing up with them. A lot of the guys we’ve been playing with before this, before we made the Central hockey team…so we’re a close bunch of guys.” “All the guys, we’ve gotten so close to all the seniors that are on the team. Now we do everything together, and that’s pretty much a big part of it and waking up in the morning and practicing, pretty much the whole game because we love playing it and nothing makes us happier,” said Rob DiClemente. It is the little things about not
CCSU Falls to LIU 61-55 In Northeast Conference Semifinals
minutes to play. With the score 60-59, RMU’s Karon Abraham hit a long three to put the Colonials up 63-59. Deans answered with a hoop at the other end to make it 63-61, but Abraham hit another three to make it 66-61 with under two minutes to play. Central was led by Ptacek who tallied a career-high with 26 points. Rosario added a career-high 16 in the loss. The Blue Devils end the season 12-18 overall with the loss to the Colonials.
Junior Kerrianne Dugan.
Continued from page 12
Freshman forward Joe Efese.
playing hockey anymore that the whole DiClemente family will have to get used to once the boys hang up their skates. For the twins it’s the funny team rituals like teammate Erich Stoneman screaming to get everyone pumped up before a game or having to wear a pink helmet in practice if you’re last to score in a shoot out. For their parents it’s not traveling to the games, something that has tacked on 165,000 miles on their 2005 car, and spending their weekends at a hockey rink. “It’s very hard because I’ve made it to almost all of their games,” said Mrs. DiClemente. “It’s been a great experience, I can’t say enough about hockey.” While the idea of trading in the skates for a job is daunting, the brothers will have a combined 36 years of memories, which includes winning the state tournament in their Bantam days and the many years playing for the CCSU Blue Devils.
kenny Barto | the recorder
Blue Devils held a 17-16 advantage with 8:50 to play in the first half. The Blackbirds then scored the next 10 points and continued on to a 17-2 run over a six minute period to extend their lead to 13 at 32-19. Junior Chelsi Johnson and freshman Krystal Wells connected on back to back three-pointers during the stretch, before sophomore Ashley Palmer finished the half with the Blackbirds’ final six points to give LIU a 34-21 lead at the break. LIU got out to its largest lead of the game early in the second half as they led 41-27 with 15:24 to play. The Blue Devils went on an 11-2 run to make it 43-38 with 11:38 to play. Crockett, who has recorded the most three-pointers in a single season at CCSU with 57 this year, ignited the run with two straight shots from beyond the arc. After a layup by LIU’s Kiara Evans, Dowdy finished the run with a driving layup and a triple of her own.
kenny Barto | the recorder
The Blue Devils got as close as three on four separate occassions. The first came with 10:02 to play when Wade hit six straight CCSU points. The senior connected on a traditional three point play with a driving runner in the lane and then knocked one down from beyond the arc to make it 49-46 in favor of the Blackbirds. CCSU made its final push with just over two minutes to play when Crockett countered a basket and free throw by Palmer with her fourth triple of the game to pull within three at 58-55 with 2:06 remaining. LIU scored three more from the charity stripe to close it out down the stretch and finish with the 6155 victory and advance to the NEC Championship game. Four Central players finished in double figures led by Crockett and Dowdy with 16 and 15, respectively. Wade and junior Kerrianne Dugan also tallied 10 points in the defeat. Crockett and Udenze led the Blue Devils with eight rebounds, while Crockett was also tops with three blocks.
Sports 3/10
THE RECORDER Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Seeing Double: DiClementes Assist Hockey Team Brittany Burke The Recorder
At first glance it's hard to tell who is who. And if it wasn’t for the blue 12 and 18 printed across their CCSU hockey uniforms you may never be able to tell the difference. But for senior forwards Mike and Rob DiClemente, the twin thing can only work to their advantage on the ice. “We find each other on the ice a lot better than we do other people. It’s kind of weird with that twin mentality we know where each other’s going to be so it’s fun,” said Mike DiClemente. After five years on the CCSU hockey team the DiClementes are playing their last season for the Blue Devils, which has taken them to Nationals, but after eighteen years hockey becomes less of a hobby and more of a lifestyle. “They’ve been playing since they were four and this is the end and it’s really sad,” said their mother, Annette DiClemente. “It’s really sad
for us, we’ve made great friends, we have lifetime friends and even the boys have lifetime friends.” It’s been eighteen years of early morning practices and hard work, but the brothers always had someone there for support, someone who wasn’t afraid to tell them off when need be, but would back them up if they ever got into any trouble. At the last game of the ACHA Regionals their mother Annette DiClemente was reminiscing with the other hockey moms about the time her and her husband got to a game five minutes late only to find both of their boys dressed and ejected from the game. One of the boys had gotten into a fight, and his brother was there to back him up, which caused them both to get thrown out. “We’re not afraid to tell each other how we feel so we argue a lot, but it's fine, that’s how we communicate. There’s no real down See Twins Page 11
Rob DiClemente spent five years on the CCSU hockey team with twin brother Mike.
Men’s Hoop Season Ends at Robert Morris with 71-63 Loss
kenny Barto | the recorder
CCSU Falls to LIU 61-55 In Northeast Conference Semifinals
ccsuBlueDevils.com
The Central Connecticut men’s basketball season came to an end on Thursday night with a 71-63 loss at second seed Robert Morris in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast Conference Tournament. Sophomore Robby Ptacek scored a career-high 26 points in the game for Central, which finishes the season 12-18 overall with the loss. The Blue Devils won seven of their final 11 to end the season. Robert Morris climbed out to a 9-0 lead before the Blue Devils finally scored with 14:53 on the clock to make it 9-3. Sophomore Vince Rosario hit a three for the first points of the game for Central. A Shemik Thompson jumper and a free-throw cut the lead to 1813 with 8:59 to play. Central hit just four of 14 from the field to start the game, but they held the Colonials without a field goal for over 11 minutes and cut the lead to one. The Central run reached 11-1 on a pair of driving layups from Ptacek, making it 18-17. Ptacek cut it to one again at 20-19, before the Colonials finally made a field goal to make it 22-19 with 2:25 on the clock. Ptacek made his fourth field goal and scored his eighth straight point for Central to cut it to 22-21 with just over two minutes to play before halftime. After Robert Morris scored four straight from the freethrow line, Ptacek hit a long three, his 11th straight point for Central, to cut it to 26-24. Robby Ptacek led the team with 26 points.
Inside This Issue:
kenny Barto | the recorder
See RMU Ends Page 11
Baseball’s Extra-Inning Loss to Navy Page 10
Leanne Crockett. CCSU BlueDevils.com
Central Connecticut outscored Long Island 34-27 in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a 13 point halftime deficit as the Blue Devils fell to the Blackbirds in the Northeast Conference semifinals in Loretto, PA this afternoon. Junior Leanne Crockett and sophomore Alexzandria Dowdy led CCSU with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Central finishes the season with
kenny Barto | the recorder
an overall record of 12-18 after falling in the NEC semifinals for the second straight season. The Blue Devils held Long Island scoreless for the first 4:51 of the game and got out to a 4-0 lead. Junior Justina Udenze connected on a post move before senior P.J. Wade knocked down a jumper from the left wing to get Central out to the early lead. LIU fought back and the two teams traded baskets until the See CCSU Falls Page 11
ACHA Hockey Tournament Dates Set Page 10