Vol 107 Issue 22

AWA R D-W INNING CENTR A LR ECOR DER .COM Wednesday, April 6, 2011

CSUS Committee Approves Tuition Increase, Board to Vote Thursday

Central Connecticut State University

Volume 107 No. 22

2011 SGA Executive Officer Applicants Announced

matt clyBUrn the recorder

The Connecticut State University System’s Finance and Administration Committee approved a 2.5 percent tuition increase for the four state schools in a meeting at Eastern Connecticut State University last Thursday.

A vote will be held by the full Board of Trustees this Thursday at Southern Connecticut State University to determine whether the increase will go into effect for the 2011-12 academic school year.

A press release from the CSUS said that the increase is the smallest since 2000, but follows a vote by the board in September 2010 that indicated tuition would be frozen for next year.

“It is important that CSUS maintain the accessibility and affordability of its universities to the greatest extent possible,” said Angelo Messina, chairman of the Finance and Administration Committee, in September.

“Our students and potential students are among those that are most affected by the prolonged economic downturn.”

The state contributes funding that totals nearly 40 percent of the CSUS annual budget, down from 48 percent a decade ago, according to the resolution adopted in September.

Many students expressed concern with the committee’s recommendation given the board’s action in September.

“I feel like it’s unfair because I’ll be a student here next year and I think we pay tUition | cont. on 3

‘CCSU 2020’ Includes Facility Upgrades matt clyBUrn the recorder

The campus committee tasked with formulating CCSU’s master plan has met for the first time and will begin moving forward working under a program called ‘CCSU 2020,’ originally developed by former CSUS Chancellor David Carter.

Under the program, CCSU is expected to commence the spending of $240 million in projects over the next 10 to 15 years pending state legislative approval. Some funding will come from the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority for renovation and construction of campus residence halls.

The committee, co-chaired by Provost Carl Lovitt and Chief Administrative Officer Richard Bachoo, will begin developing the plan as part of a long-term initiative to update campus facilities and expand upon goals set during the late 1990’s. Committee meeting dates and a formal process for corresponding with the committee will be announced soon.

Other members of the committee include faculty, CCSU alumni, representatives from the New Britain community, a campus police officer and the university’s chief financial officer. The statement also said that additional 2020 | cont. on 3

Sen. Eric Bergenn (left) will run uncontested for Student Government Association president this month. Interim Vice President Elizabeth Braun (top right) will be running against Sen. Erika Dawson-Head for vice president. The applicants, including those running for treasurer and senator, will be finalized into candidates once the SGA elections committee verifies and approves all students. An official list will be released.

The Recorder will be holding an open forum with the candidates on April 11 at noon in Semesters. Elections will take place online and in the student center lobby on April 19 and 20.

Statement from the Editor on ‘Master Plan Includes Facility Upgrades’ In last week’s issue of The Recorder (Vol. 107 Issue 21) two articles on the front page were printed under the larger headline of 'Heading into New Decade, CCSU Plans for the Future.'

The article 'Master Plan Includes Facility Upgrades,' written by news editor Matt Clyburn, contained quotes from members of the CCSU administration pulled directly from a document hosted on the CCSU website titled 'Overview of the Master Plan.'

As it turns out, the information in the document that was subsequently used in our article is not only years old but also incorrectly attributed. While The Recorder was under the initial impression that the plan was current we also assumed that because of the heading 'Office of the Vice President, Student Affairs,' that the words were that of Laura Tordenti, which they were not, which was incorrect of us to assume. While the old document shouldn't have been used by us at all, anything 'said' should have be attributed to the office of those respective administration members and not themselves personally.

Despite blame that some might place on the actual CCSU web page, The Recorder, mainly myself and Matt, would like to take full responsibility for the mistakes made in the articles. In journalism, you can't take anything for face value. While this is something that we felt we already understood, we found out that you really can't take anything for face value.

There are no excuses for mistakes such as these and supposed facts like a proposed new statement | cont. on 3

Malloy Okays Plans, Will ‘Aggressively Pursue’ Hartford-New Britain Busway

A rendering of the potential Flatbush station. michael Walsh the recorder

Governor Dannel Malloy approved plans to build a rapid bus transit system that would connect Hartford to New Britain.

“The busway is ‘ready to go’ with 80 percent federal funding and a commitment from the Federal Transit Administration to sign a Full Funding Grant Agreement,” Malloy said in a statement on Monday.

Malloy met with both advocates and opponents of the busway before making his decision on the often-delayed project.

“Gov. Malloy’s decision to construct the busway is a visionary choice for the future of our region and the whole state,” said Rep. Tim O’Brien in a press release issued Monday. “It will create new economic

Photo | ctraPiDtransit.com

development and jobs and new community development opportunities. I am proud that we have a governor who believes in building the economy of our state by investing our state’s first rapid transit system.”

Opponents say that the project would be too expensive and would squash any future plans of having a light rail be constructed in its place.

A major reason for Malloy’s decision to push on with the project is the possibility of leaving federal funds on the table in regards to this particular project. In a letter received from the FTA, Malloy was told that should the state withdraw the project and seek funding consideration for an alternative rail system the state would have to reenter the BUsWay | cont. on 2

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT: www.centralrecorder.com

2

NEWS

THE RECORDER Wednesday, April 22, 2011

The Recorder

Student Center 1615 Stanley Street New Britain, CT 06050 T 860.832.3744 editor@centralrecorder.com centralrecorder.com twitter.com/therecorder

Editor-in-Chief Michael Walsh mwalsh@centralrecorder.com Managing Editor Nicholas Proch nproch@centralrecorder.com Art Director Ashley E. Lang News Editors Matt Clyburn Sara M. Berry Kat Boushee, assistant news@centralrecorder.com Entertainment Editor Max Kyburz entertainment@ centralrecorder.com Sports Editor Brittany Burke sportsed@centralrecorder.com Photo Editor Kenny Barto kbarto@centralrecorder.com Copy Editor Maxine Eichen Staff Writers Sarah Bogues Danny Contreras Kassondra Granata Ciara Hooks Tom Liljedahl Skyler Magnoli Chris McLaughlin Katie Moreira Justin Muszynski Terence Stewart Derek Turner Marisa Volo David Whitney

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.

Staff meetings for The Recorder are held on Mondays at 8 p.m. in the Blue and W hite Room in the student center and on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Recorder off ice.

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Renovations to Willard Hall Offices ‘Needed to be Done’ David Whitney The Recorder

Students who attend classes in Willard Hall might have taken notice to the first floor renovation that is now nearing completion.

Just a few more globs of spackle, along with some nails here and there, and the job should be done.

The new layout has been given the stamp of approval, along with a guarantee for better efficiency at CCSU. According to Administration Affairs, the project that cost over $100,000 to fund is well worth the investment. The floor is almost ready for the finishing touches but some student services have already excitedly moved in.

The Center for Advising and Career Exploration has made the move back into the location at Willard Hall and has already noticed that the new space is a huge improvement.

“This is the same area we were in before but now the space is being much better utilized,” says Kenneth Poppe, director of CACE. Poppe mentioned that before the entire middle section of the previous layout was a big opening he called “a waste.” He also said that there were several

issues before the deconstruction commenced.

“Privacy was an issue. You have students who you talk to and it tends to get personal,” said Poppe. “Before the space was too open and conversations could be heard from across the room. Plus there was asbestos underlining the carpet. This needed to be done.”

When entering the space, the center now holds an information desk and behind sit several secretary offices. Along the perimeter of the CACE service are numerous advisors in private offices ready to serve students.

Joining Poppe and the rest of the CACE services on the renovated floor is the Learning Center, which had its previous location in Copernicus Hall. Continuing Education, Campus Judiciary, Alcohol Prevention and Veterans Affairs, which was previously in Barrows Hall, are all slated to have a suite in the renovated location.

Poppe mentioned that the university had always wanted to create an area dedicated to student services. He also told The Recorder that future plans are in discussion for even more renovations in Willard Hall and nearby DiLoreto Hall.

Poppe is anticipating 1200 first year students to begin their CCSU

Rep. O’Brien: Busway Approval a ‘Visionary Choice’ BUSWAY | Cont. from 1 competitive process.

“Even if the state completed all the necessary requirements, there is no guarantee that the $275 million Connecticut would forgo now in New Starts funds would be available to the state in the future,” said Malloy in his statement.

“Connecticut has a track record of leaving federal funds on the table.

I am unwilling to run the risk of losing additional federal funds. It is time to break with history. The timing is right to undertake this project.”

The busway, which will be

located less than two miles from the CCSU campus, has been under consideration since 2003.

“New Britain is fortunate to be at the center of Connecticut’s first rapid transit line,” said O’Brien in his statement. “It will mean that our city will have opportunities for business and economic growth and jobs into the future and that New Britain will be at the center, in our state, of transit-oriented development in neighborhoods.

And the many, many construction jobs will mean employment and new opportunities for many, many New Britain residents.”

It’s 12 p.m.

Do you know who your student government candidates are?

Find out Monday at noon in Semesters at The Recorder’s open forum.

David Whitney | the recorder

Items remain from the construction to the offices in Willard Hall experience in the fall and all of them at some point will be in the new office. He’s not only encouraging new students to check out CACE, but also for any current student to pay a visit. Poppe is confident that

with the new space, CCSU can give incoming freshman a better first impression than ever before.

“This has been well overdue, it’s wonderful,” said Poppe. “It’s just a more professional area.”

CSUS Student Governments Congregate to Discuss Community Involvement kassondra granata The Recorder

The Central Connecticut State University Student Government Association hosted the 2011 CSUS SGA Summit on Friday, where they welcomed student government members from the three other CSUS schools to discuss and gain new perspectives on how to manage their respective schools, and the communities surrounding them.

The four senates were mixed together and separated into groups in which they openly discussed their schools involvement with certain ideas and events. Following the discussions were a series of presentations to present findings to the entire group in order to further their goal of creating new ideas that will benefit all four schools.

Eastern Connecticut State University presented a campaign called “Are You One?” where the main goal is for the students at ECSU to be good neighbors to the surrounding community in Willimantic.

“It’s basically our opportunity to change the community’s perception of our students,” said ECSU SGA President Wiley Dawson.

The next presentation also focused on the subject of community engagement where SCSU Sen. Brian Pedalino presented his senate’s approach to further the interaction with students at the school and their surrounding community.

CCSU also presented their contribution to the topic of community engagement in representing CCSU and their involvement with the community.

“I think that the residents need to be heard, but not everyone’s going to be happy,” Sen. Tyler Zajac said. “We at least need to try

and do our part and respect them but also make sure that we aren’t misinterpreted.”

The following group presented an idea called “Feeding Students for Feedback” where each school demonstrated an event they had where the common factor, food, is used to appeal to students to obtain their views or criticism on the school and what to improve.

Examples included CCSU’s coffee talks, ECSU’s wiener Wednesday and SCSU with peanut butter and jelly day.

The presidents of each school’s SGA offered the summit a more creative approach with the idea of a carnival where there would be booths and ice cream trucks among other activities at the event. SGA would have their own booth where they would hand out t-shirts to students that have a conversation with the senators.

The summit allowed the senates the opportunity to gain new perspectives and find ways to unite to perfect the schools and the communities around them.

“From what everyone shared it sounds like we all had a successful meeting,” said Jamie Canny, CCSU’s Interim SGA President.

“It’s unfortunate that this is the only time we get to meet every year and casually discuss this. The presidents get to talk at the [Student Advisory Board] meetings but it’s very formal and we never get to just put our guard down and openly talk and enjoy each other’s company like we did tonight.”

Canny hopes that the summit will create friendships between the schools and will hopefully lead to a continuation of discussions about SGA to increase the ability to improve each senates respective schools throughout the year.

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / NEWS

Proposed Tuition Hike of 2.5 Percent Would Raise Commuter Costs $198 TUITION | Cont. from 1 enough is tuition and student fees,” SGA Commuter Senater Sasha Savage said in an interview. “It’s just unfair to the students that are coming here.”

Still, others saw the tuition hikes coming.

“I’m glad that it’s one of the lower increases because we know it’s going to happen every year,” said SGA Interim Vice President Liz Braun. “I’m upset about the tuition hike, but I’m not shocked that they went back on their word.”

While CSUS officials said that current enrollment levels should be maintained, they could not say if reductions could affect the current system-wide faculty/student ratio of 16 to 1.

“As reductions grow, it becomes more difficult not to adversely impact the academic experience of students,” the press release said.

If the board passes the measure, tuition and fees would increase by an average of $198 for in-state undergraduate commuters and $446 for in-state undergraduates that living on campus, according to the press release.

Board Vice Chairman Richard J. Balducci echoed Governor Dannel Malloy’s recent call for shared sacrifice and said that cost-cutting measures are being implemented across the system to keep the tuition increase at 2.5 percent.

“Proposing the lowest tuition increase in more than a decade… underscores our recognition of the financial pressures facing our students and their families, as well 2020 | Cont. from 1

Despite the tuition increase, CSUS says that the tuition is competitive, falling in the middle of public universities in the northeast and is the lowest when compared to 11 universities the system sees as competition. The hike is the lowest increase in over 10 years. as the imperative to preserve the caliber of education we provide,” said Balducci.

Malloy’s budget proposals have sent many in the CSUS in a flurry to find a solution to a potential $22 million gap facing the system over the next two years. The tuition increase could bring nearly $8 million in additional revenue and leave around $14 million to be made up by additional spending cuts.

The governor asked Connecticut public universities and colleges earlier this year not to raise tuition by more than the level of inflation. Since the request,

members of the CCSU community may be asked to meet with the committee and representatives of the consulting team to provide background information and logistical support when needed.

“We’re working on getting both an undergraduate commuter and resident student, and we have representatives from Newington and New Britain on the committee,” Bachoo said. “It’s a broad-based committee that we hope to get working on a survey tool soon.”

Bachoo said that the survey will go out to students, faculty and other members of the campus community to help guide some of the committee’s thinking on the master plan.

A statement from the committee co-chairs identified two consulting firms that will help in various development stages of the master plan, Paulien & Associates, Inc. of Denver, and Symmes, Maini & McKee Associates of Boston.

“In the next 12 months we should be initiating [plans for] a brand new public safety building, a new academic building, a new roof for Barnard hall, a new residence hall and a new laboratory for the School of Engineering and Technology,” Bachoo said in an interview. “The public safety building will be in the commuter lot off of East Street and the [new academic building] will be located near Maria Sanford [Hall].”

According to the facilities

website, the new academic building project is currently in final design stages and expected to begin construction during the fall semester with a projected occupancy in mid-2013.

Not all facilities projects are part of the 2020 plan. For example, the new athletic fields and library renovations were accomplished using university funds.

According to the campus facilities website, Emma Willard Hall and Frank DiLoreto Hall halls will be renovated and linked by a 34,000 square-foot “in-fill,” a project scheduled to enter the design phase during the summer of 2013.

Other major 2020 projects include $15 million in updates to East Campus infrastructure, a $2.5 million salt shed project, $96 million for renovations to the Elihu Burritt Library and a number of code compliance upgrade projects that will cost “several million,” according to Bachoo.

Bachoo said that information on the facilities website is current and will be updated as dates and information change. A draft of the master plan report will be made available to the public before being sent to President Jack Miller for final approval.

The committee will hold two additional meetings open to the public on April 14 at 3:00 p.m. and April 28 at 9:30 a.m. in the Student Center’s Philbrick-Camp Room.

STATEMENT | Cont. from 1 fieldhouse or renovations to the student center should have been double and triple checked by myself and the writer. Unfortunately, they were not.

Since I've been editor-in-chief of The Recorder I've aimed for a new level of honesty, integrity, fairness and balance in order to gain trust from our audience, the CCSU community, and it bothers me and my staff that in this situation we have not been able to maintain that level. We will use it as another

lesson in our growing journalism careers.

While we cannot take back what we printed, we have pulled the article from our website and are working on a new and updated story about facilities on campus in regards to the master plan to place on the front page next week.

I myself take this situation very seriously and would like to apologize to anyone misquoted in the article or affected by the mistake.

Michael Walsh Editor-in-Chief

state officials have pegged the rate of inflation at 2.5 percent and the University of Connecticut trustees voted a tuition increase at precisely that rate last week.

The salary freeze, which will go into effect in fiscal year 2012, will impact non-union personnel at all four state universities, including the chancellor, university presidents and vice presidents, deans of students, police chiefs, human resources administrators, confidential administrative assistants and system-level management and confidential staff. The salary freeze was first suggested in July by CSUS Board Chairman Karl J. Krapek and

Chancellor David G. Carter, both of whom have retired from their positions.

According to the CSUS statement, the system has saved nearly $50 million in recent years by implementing cost savings and cost avoidance measures to soften the impact of cuts in state contributions, increasing payroll expenses, and other costs that rise higher than the rate of inflation on an annual basis.

The system-wide tuition increase last year was 6.3 percent for in-state undergraduate commuters and 5.6 percent for in-state undergraduate campus residents.

“Currently, the cost of tuition and fees falls about midway compared with public universities in the northeast, and is the lowest when compared with 11 competitor universities in the region which CSUS students had considered attending,” the statement said.

A freeze on the salaries of university management personnel adopted by the board in September will remain, a measure that will affect university presidents and vice presidents, deans of students, police chiefs, human resources, confidential administrative assistants and systemlevel management and confidential staff, among others.

CCSU Sustainability Symposium Expected to Draw Around 1,000 People Conference Will Focus on Water, Life and a Changing Planet katie moreira The Recorder

Central Connecticut State University’s Global Environmental Sustainability Action Coalition group is hosting its annual Global Environmental Sustainability Symposium Thursday, discussing water, life and a changing planet.

This is the fourth annual sustainability symposium that GESAC has hosted on campus in hopes to raise awareness of environmental issues. The symposium’s major focus this year is the growing environmental problem concerning the global depletion of drinkable water.

The theme for the symposium was discussed and selected by GESAC board members because it is one of the top environmental issues for the nation and human population around the world.

“We do our best to pick something that is important in the New Britain and Hartford area, also regionally and nationally,” said Charles Button, CCSU geography professor and founder and faculty chair of GESAC. Events will be held at different locations throughout campus beteween 10 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Organizers of the symposium only request is that people register online for events and notify them if they plan on attending the luncheon. All symposium events, including the

luncheon, are open to the students and the public at no cost.

“This is by far the largest environmental symposium event held on any CSU campus,” said Button, who anticipates around 1,000 people to attend events throughout the day.

The sustainability symposium brings people in from all over the east cost and one presenter, Dave Chameides, is coming all the way

from California.

Chameides is an Emmy Award-winning cameraman and environmental educator and is speaking at the ‘Chasing Sustainability’ presentation. His presentation focuses on his own experiment and experience of not throwing anything away for a year in an effort to see his impact on the environment.

The symposium is not only bringing in people from all over the country but is also attracting state and local leaders. Button hopes that policy makers leave with more knowledge about how environmental issues impact the life of the average person.

“The unique focus of the whole symposium is the attempt to have people come learn with us and come teach with us,” said Button.

The symposium has a plethora of events that focus on issues affecting Connecticut, but also events that raise awareness on a global level.

One of the presentations, ‘Listening to the Wisdom of Indigenous Hawaiians’ showcases the Hawaiian’s efforts on protecting their water supply.

“They’re an island, they are a model for what the earth is. They need to be pretty wise in what they use and do with water,” said Button. “Less then 1 percent of the world has potable water and the island is extremely aware about their water use.”

The main theme of the Symposium might be the Earth’s depleting supply of drinkable water but Button hopes that the symposium will help human sustainability in general.

“The broader goal is to bring [people] all together to have a discussion,” said Button.

Information can be found regarding the sustainability symposium and schedule of events at GESAC’s webpage.

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OPINION

THE RECORDER Wednesday, April 6, 2011

EDITORIAL

Proposed Tuition Hike Shouldn’t Come As Surprise With the news coming last week that there will most certainly be a tuition hike for the 2011-12 school year, members of the CSUS Board of Trustees should be ashamed of themselves.

Last September, members of the Finance and Administration Committee recommended a tuition freeze to ease the financial burden on students in a withering economy.

Though circumstances have changed in Hartford, both with a new governor and a reinvigorated legislature, they most certainly have not for our student peers here in New Britain.

The Board of Trustees must act as a figurehead of the university system it represents, not a doddering collection of suits bending to the slightest of

political winds. We hoped that this group of individuals would represent our interests at the state level rather than engage in the games that brought us to our present circumstances. We were foolish and wrong, they failed us.

The proposed hike begs the question: is anyone really surprised? Given the circumstances, no one should be.

There’s a sense of urgency surrounding the state’s budget situation and what needs to be done to make ends meet. How is the school going to afford to pay its teachers? How will the school pay for the tools and technology needed to run a 21st century university? These are reasonable questions that allude to a debate worth having.

But if you were naive enough to believe

Bathroom Politics matt clyburn The Recorder

It’s difficult to put into words just how much I despise public bathrooms. It doesn’t take someone living with obsessive compulsive disorder like myself to tell you that these places are both literal and metaphorical repositories of human waste.

A quick trip to the bathroom, for me, quickly becomes a hellish journey to the psychiatrist’s office. It will take more than a few minutes to run through the rituals that’ll make this place clean enough to perform a decidedly unclean act.

Finally, I sit down. What a pleasure to have time to enjoy the scriptures that have been etched into the stall by my forefathers – truly biblical statements that highlight the wise and philosophical thoughts of modern humanity.

Toilet paper and trash litter the floors; everything is wet, no one knows why.

I spent most of my first two decades either resisting or working up the courage to enter public bathrooms. Now that I’ve embraced them as a necessary evil, it occurs to me that my avoidance of such a place is quite backwards.

The cleanest and most upstanding among us avoid these places like the plague, yet society’s figurative fecal matter will go in and trash the place – giving both the venue and its inhabitants a bad name while making the situation worse for the rest of us.

If only people like me controlled the turf in the public bathroom, if only we didn’t resist, we just might make a better place for everyone. Our resistance to serve as leaders and standard-bearers is precisely what qualifies us to participate in the process.

While I’ve been fighting my own private battle with public restrooms, I’ve also walked among the public as a political science student, an engaged employee of a great company in Hartford and an active member of my hometown community.

Despite encouragement from the people that see me embrace each of these roles, I spend a lot of time either resisting or working up the courage to enter the public policy and political arena. It occurs to me that, much like public bathrooms, my avoidance of the situation is quite backwards.

The cleanest and most upstanding among us avoid Washington like the plague, yet society’s figurative fecal matter will go in and trash the place – giving both the venue and its inhabitants a bad name while making the situation worse for the rest of us.

If only people like me controlled the turf in the political arena, if only we didn’t resist, we just might make a better place for everyone. Our resistance to serve as leaders and standard-bearers may be precisely what qualifies us to participate in the process.

If my observation is correct, then we must stop leaving public policy to those that would just as soon turn our nation’s capital into a toilet.

Join The Recorder!

We are currently looking for: - Opinion Editor - Photographers - Videographers - Staff Writers - Graphic Designers The Recorder Meets Every Monday @ 8 p.m. in the Blue and White Room and Every Thursday @ 2 p.m. in The Recorder Office Between WFCS and the Bookstore

that CSUS tuition rates would stay the same, you are hopefully in the minority.

Any time that a state institution tells you that they will freeze prices but still leave the option open to raise the rates, it’s can be assumed they were just saying so to keep people happy and quiet.

Happy and quiet indeed; despite 11 straight years of tuition increases, our peers have remained silent. Meanwhile, these colleagues substitute a slow and incremental financial death for a swift and striking one.

Members of the board justify our present circumstance by highlighting the fact that CCSU is still among the least expensive universities in the northeast.

But these officials know that the average public university student spends much

more time in residence than their private university counterparts. So which will it be, exorbitant tuition for four years or marginally increasing tuition for six?

We expect higher participation in public policymaking from our fellow students and a greater degree of advocacy from our representatives within the Board of Trustees, but we haven’t seen it. Until we do, we’re going to see CSUS leadership parade their false publicity around pertaining to false tuition freezes to raise student body morale.

It’s apparent to this staff that the people who are being affected by these decisions will be the last to help prevent a future gaffe like this from happening again.

How We Got Here: Ashley E. Lang

ashley e. lang The Recorder

I have always loved the written word.

When I was younger, weekly field trips to the library quickly became my favorite outing.

I wandered through the wooden stacks that stretched towards the ceiling, immersing myself in other worlds, without really leaving the confines of my small town. I was in heaven.

As I got older, my love of reading morphed into a passion for writing. It wasn’t until my junior year in high school that I enrolled in my first journalism class, the only writing and newspaper design class my high school offered outside of a creative writing elective, and literature courses, all of which I had already taken for credit. It was this class that guided me towards my future and now has landed me as the Art Director for The Recorder.

I fell in love. Journalism became more then a hobby, it became a passion, much like reading and writing had been for so many years.

While I spent months researching colleges, with dreams of moving to California or New York City and becoming a famous writer, reality soon intervened- my ultimatum, my parents-decided that I had two options. They would either buy me a car or I could choose to go out of state for college.

Looking back, sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice, since no one told me I’d be responsible for the nearly $300 dollar monthly payment after they supplied the hefty down payment. And like clock work every first week of the month I cringe as I hand

over my check to a bank teller behind a sheet of glass, leaving me with nothing more than a “Have a nice day!” At the same time though, I have met some truly wonderful people, who have become some of my closest friends.

I graduated from high school in 2006 and enrolled in Manchester Community College.

While most of my other friends were packing their bags and heading to Florida, or Maine, or wherever else they enrolled in, I was driving 30 minutes, four days a week, to Manchester, Connecticut, and then driving 30 minutes back home. For the first few years I felt sad watching as all my friends prepared to move into their dorms year after year, leaving with me a bitter taste of resentment that I wouldn’t experience the typical college life that they experienced. Once the glitz and glamor of their freedom wore off, I realized how lucky I was to not have to share a small cell with a stranger, or eat school food every day until weekend trips home where I would welcome the familiarity of a home cooked meal.

I attended MCC for three years, graduating with an associate’s degree in communication with a concentration in journalism. During my time there, I worked for their school newspaper, The Live Wire, as the Layout Editor. I would on occasion write book reviews, or art exhibit reviews, but my job drifted away from writer and towards designer as each year went on.

I like to think of my time there as a wonderful learning experience in terms of my design work. I learned, through trial and error, that some design layouts were better suited for the pages of magazines, then plastered across a newspaper, but I fell in love again, this time with Adobe InDesign.

I transferred to CCSU in January 2010, enrolling as a Journalism major. I found that adjusting to life as a transfer student was just as hard as it was as a freshman walking the halls at MCC. I was starting over. Nobody knew me, I didn’t belong to any clubs, and once again had to prove myself to a whole new set of people. The following semester, after promising my advisor I would look into joining the newspaper on campus, I finally followed through and have never looked back. This tiny office in the student center has become my home away from home, much like The Live Wire office once was.

And here I am, Art Director for The Recorder. While most of our staff is busy writing stories, or interviewing sources, I am usually sitting in front of my computer Monday nights placing the stories that they write. Fitting all of Central’s news into 12 pages, the same 12 pages you are currently holding now. I am in charge of formatting and placing the photos, designing the layout spreads, creating house ads, and making The Recorder visually appealing.

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / OPINION

From the Blog michael walsh The Recorder

A few weeks ago, The Recorder staff jetted to Los Angeles to escape the cold rain and snow of Connecticut for a college newspaper convention.

It was my fourth convention of the kind. CCSU and our newspaper’s budget has been kind enough to send me to wonderful cities like San Diego, Austin and Louisville in past semesters. The anticipation to visit Los Angeles might have been higher than the rest before.

Ah, Hollywood. The land of the privileged. Where the reminder of the gifted, rich and famous never leaves your mind. You walk on top of their stars and you see the famous Hollywood sign towering over the valley, a clear sign of the absolute talent and money that has created the place you see before your eyes.

But never did I imagine that Hollywood could actually be a cesspool for exploitation and the most vicious parallel between those privileged celebrities whose stars adorn the sidewalk and the numerous cases of poverty you encounter walking up and down Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard.

Okay, I’m not naive. Where else but Hollywood could such a thing exist? Yes, that is a homeless person sleeping right beside your favorite celebrity’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star. John Wayne’s name makes for a wonderful bed.

Fear and Raging in Los Angeles

I’m sorry, but I hope the other hundreds of college journalists attending the Associated Collegiate Press conference a few weekends ago noticed the complete irony of the situation. The image of world famous celebrities in Hollywood is a farce and I think it’s safe to say most of us knew that coming in. None of that actually exists on Hollywood Boulevard.

Sure, there are renowned locations on the road, including the Kodak Theatre, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and Capitol Records – all signs of what they want you to think Hollywood is about. But the majority of the location consists of smoke shops, tattoo shops, convenience stores, overpriced gift shops and super sketchy clubs that I habitually fear. Oh, and no, I would not like to take a tour of Hollywood.

Ask the other dozen guys who already asked me why not.

I know I’m not blowing the lid off anything here, Hollywood is presumably as fake as life comes.

But the whole fabricated creation got to me. The exploitation of a little person dressed like Mr. T in order to make a few bucks by posing for pictures with some hopeless bigeyed midwestern tourist sap got to me. The lost souls who didn’t make it in Hollywood dressing up as an assortment of famous movie characters and Hollywood personalities got to me. The forced smiles of waiters and waitresses who you knew wanted to be in

Hollywood for another reason got to me.

Perhaps nothing displayed my dislike for that part of the town than my walk back from seeing Phish’s Trey Anastasio blow the roof off the Henry Fonda Theatre about a mile and a half down Hollywood Boulevard. Anastasio’s show was the absolute highlight of the trip for me. As a Phish-obsessed individual, the timing and location of the concert couldn’t have been better.

But leaving the venue at 12:30 a.m. was something I couldn’t have expected.

I tiredly wandered through the entrances of crowded clubs, with everyone doing their best impression of what bouncers wanted to see before letting you in. The crowds were dressed in a miserable black, slimming their figures and letting go of any true personality and individuality they might have as a person. Bouncers yelled at passers-by like myself, “Keep moving! Keep moving!” as to not clog up their precious velvetroped line. Hey bouncer, I’d love to leave this misery of a grouping, but this crowd of self-obsessed people just won’t let me!

Walking to my hotel was a maze of misery, the homeless had found which celebrity they would sleep next to that night and the seedy clubs and bars were still full of individuals that might erupt in alcohol-fueled explosions of anger because of a simple disagreement or

because ‘the man’ was trying to kill their mood. I never so desperately wanted to leave a street for reasons that didn’t include the potential to be injured. It was just pure distaste for the gathered crowd.

A dog wandered by itself. What in the hell, you ask? Devoid of any owner, a larger and not too nice looking dog was making its way past the entrance of a club. I was surprised the bouncer didn’t ask it to keep moving as well. The nightlife was as freaky as this – I might find a bouncer having a conversation with a dog normal. You might say I wasn’t prepared, and I might say I felt my time spent in Hartford’s helpless nightlife might have given me a bit of an experience. But this was an extraordinary cauldron of people who reeked of self-loathing.

My only laughter of the walking trip back to the hotel might have been my stop into a convenience store to grab some fluids I lost while raging to Anastasio’s blistering guitar work. As I stepped up to pay, a bigger sized woman and her company walked into the store asking for an ATM. The two workers replied with a no and before I could get my change I was forced to hear their low-key cat calls to the thick-hipped lady. Then I was given an education in culture, as the two men began to describe to me how in their country a woman like that would be much appreciated by the tigers and lions.

No, I didn’t understand them. Yes, I did take part in their small talk. I left

with a smile on my face.

A smile that would turn to healthy dismay when I realized I still had many more stars to walk upon before being able to escape the freaky night and return safely to my bed. As I made the final stretch, I was reminded once again by a lamp post that the world is indeed going to end soon. Then I got another taste of the fruitful drunkenness late nights in Hollywood had to offer me. Yes, you just got kicked out of a Lucky Strike bowling alley for being a jackass, stop complaining to the police about it.

I finally made my way into my far too fancy hotel (by the way, big thanks to ACP for putting the conference in a hotel with free M&M’s in the lobby), leaving behind me a scene I’d gladly enjoy hiding from for the coming night.

But before you harp on me for harping on Hollywood, let me make it clear it was a scene I was glad I was able to experience. There’s really nothing else like it in America.

I enjoyed my stay in Hollywood and I enjoyed The Recorder winning 5th place in best small school website, but as much as I love new experiences, Hollywood’s nightlife was one of distaste. The town was beautiful when the sun was out, like most of California is, but I’d much rather have gone back to the much more calm, cool and collected San Diego.

Visit www.walshwords. wordpress.com for more from the Editor's Blog.

Letters to the Editor: The NRA On Campus Dear Editor, Once again our campus will host a National Rifle Association “University” that tells the gullible that we need less gun control and that that CCSU should allow students to bring guns to the campus and in the classroom.

Last year I attended the same event where people were told such bizarre things as the AR 15 Assault Weapon was not that bad, how we should be allowed to have “Cop Killer“ bullets and the many other outrageous and over the top claims.

Be clear this is NOT a debate about the Second Amendant with all side and points of views, but a slick commercial for one of the most powerful and well-funded special interest groups who promote a dangerous agenda advocating for more guns and looser laws that threaten our neighborhoods and campuses.

Our clueless Student Government doles out about $5,000 dollars a year to a small group call the “Riflery and Marksmanship Club” to support this circus sideshow. The same club also has a yearly stunt where they parade around in the “Empty Holster Protest” saying students should pack heat as well. Our hard-earned student fees go this garbage, while other funding to other vital programming is being cut? The club has NOTHING to due with marksmanship or shooting competitions, which might be a valid goal of a sporting club, but they admit their sole purpose is the “Second Amendment” debate under the misleading idea of “safety on campus”.

Who needs a handgun with 30 bullets like the one that slaughtered people in Arizona recently coming to our campus?

Who needs a clueless student government that wasted $5,000 a year of CCSU student fees on a handful of students obsessed with guns?

Tim McKee CCSU Student Published Online March 27

Response to ‘The NRA On Campus’ Do you feel safe on campus?

Now I understand that we have New Britain cops stationed on our campus and they do a great job, but they cannot be everywhere, all the time. That would just be improbable.

Many of you do not know about the crimes, some of them violent, that occur on this campus. Often most rapes are not recorded as the victim does not want anybody to know what happened to them. Lately there has been an increase in ‘e-mail crime alerts' on campus. To me, this shows an indicator that we are not safe from exterior threats. There is no magical gate that differentiates between college campuses and public land. Which begs the question of how do we protect ourselves?

How can students, faculty and staff protect themselves from anybody that wants to do us harm?

As it stands today, the state of Connecticut allows citizens, who have a permit to carry a firearm, to carry their personal firearms in most areas (barring post offices, government buildings, public K-12 schools, etc) but Central and other schools have regulations that state that you cannot possess a firearm on their campus, marking it a “Gun-Free Zone”.

When I hear the term “Gun-Free Zone” I chuckle, because there really is no such thing.

To clarify, a “Gun-Free Zone” is intended to bar any and all firearms from a specific location (with exceptions for the police). Basically it is a sign that says “Nobody here has a gun, we

are all completely defenseless, come attack us.” It is an invitation. I firmly believe that “Gun-Free Zones” do not work.

Let us take a look back at shootings that have unfortunately occurred in the past (mall shootings, Virginia Tech, Columbine, etc).

It obviously didn’t work then, so who is to say that it is ever going to? I am part of an organization called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC). We believe that allowing permit holders to be able to carry their firearms on campus will decrease the incidence of campus crime. It has been proven that more guns in the hands of law abiding citizens has a direct correlation to a decrease in crime (such as Utah State allowing campus carry, which resulted in the decrease of campus crime).

I am not advocating that every student be handed an M-9 when they register for classes.

Rather, all I am asking for is that permit holders who already carry on a daily basis be allowed to continue carrying while attending classes. This is not going disrupt classes or even be noticeable, as it is concealed carry.

Meaning that nobody else knows that you are carrying; it is not something that is seen. The permit holder will have their gun in a holster, safely away from the public eye.

What you may not know is that in Connecticut tw0 to 10 percent of the population carries, which means that when you go do your shopping at Stop & Shop

or gas up your car at Shell there are people carrying their own personal firearms around you, and you don't know it, nor does it affect you in any way or even put you at risk for that matter.

During the week of April 4 there will be students walking around with empty holsters visibly on their body to show that all we have to protect ourselves with is an empty holster.

We cannot fill it with a means to protect our lives against deadly force. These participants will be involved in the National Empty Holster Protest.

This will be the third year that Central will be part of this nationwide event that is put on

by SCCC. It is done through Central's own Riflery and Marksmanship Club, which will be going into its fourth year in the fall.

For those of you who are interested in joining, we meet every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Check our Facebook club (Riflery and Marksmanship) or contact ccsurifleryandmarksmanship@gmail.com for more information.

Sara Adler President of the CCSU Riflery and Marksmanship Club For more letters on the topic of the NRA on campus, visit CentralRecorder.com to read letters by marksmanship club members Brenden Zesk and Jack Kelner.

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EDITOR@CENTRALRECORDER.COM

6

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / UPGRADE

Slain Punk Rocker Honored in New Haven Max kyburz The Recorder

The Connecticut music family lost one of its brothers two weeks ago, but judging by the sizable turnout at Toad’s Place on Sunday night, he will not be soon forgotten.

In the wake of a terrible tragedy, over one thousand people filed into the famous club for not just a show, but a gathering of old friends, family and longtime supporters of Connecticut punk.

Mitch Dubey, a New Haven resident, was a victim of home invasion on the evening of March 24. No robbery took place, nor was there any demand for goods. Mitch attempted to reason with the intruder, but his efforts were cut short when he was fatally shot in the chest. He was 23.

As Dubey put every ounce of his own soul into his community, an outpouring of support for the Dubey family ensued. The following Friday was the opener for Critical Mass, a New Haven bike run. It was a time to mourn the loss and celebrate Dubey through bike riding, one of his many passions. Dubey was a dedicated employee at Devil’s Gear Bike Shop, where he worked for three years.

What Dubey will probably be remembered most for was his love for the Connecticut punk scene, a second family which he joined after migrating from California. Dubey played guitar, bass, trumpet and saxaphone, and was an integral member of the bands Swear Jar and Musth. He also was a beloved friend and frequent collaborator with ska/hardcore legends The Flaming Tsunamis. Vocalist Andy Tabar was one of Dubey’s roommates.

Dubey was to play a basement show on April 3 with his friends, but after his tragic death, they realized a bigger deal needed to be made.

“We said to ourselves, ‘Now what?’,” Tabar said on stage Sunday night. “We realized what we’re gonna do is get the biggest venue we can, get some really awesome bands to play, and raise a bunch of money for Mitch’s family.”

A benefit show put on by Manic Productions featuring Dubey’s allies in the Connecticut punk scene was originally

The Flaming Tsunamis perform in memory of Mitch Dubey, a New Haven resident killed in March during a home invasion. scheduled for the Madison Arts Barn, which holds a mere 100 occupants. As overwhelming support grew, however, it became inevitable that a much larger space was needed. Toad’s Place, a longtime fixture in New Haven music and culture, stepped forward and allowed their services free of charge.

At 6:30 p.m., the line was wrapped all the way around Toad’s and would only continue to grow. The crowd was a wide variety of supporters: friends, fans, family and volunteers. There were those who knew Dubey personally, and those who did not, but that nevertheless did not change the positive vibes.

Inside were an assortment of booths selling art prints, band merchandise, vegan desserts and records from Dubey’s personal collection.

Photo I David buchholz

A raffle was held also, with prizes like bass guitars, donated bikes and t-shirt packs. All proceeds went to the Dubey family.

Tickets went on sale last Wednesday and patrons were asked to pay a minimum of $10 per ticket. By Sunday afternoon, only a couple hundred tickets were left. By 9 p.m. the show had completely sold out.

The first band was Musth, the grindcore/ punk band that Dubey got his start in. Their energy was wild and charismatic, setting a good precedent for the evening at large.

Numerous guest vocalists were invited onstage to share in the music that Dubey had enjoyed playing.

“Originally this was just gonna be a small show to a hundred people,” somebody said onstage. “Now we’re here. This is pretty

weird.”

Next up was Brunt of It from Rhode Island and Massachusetts, who fueled the growing vibes to the point where people began crowd surfing and stage diving, the latter activity being shooed at. Any further stage diving would have resulted in the show being shut down.

Brooklyn-based duo Slingshot Dakota made the stage next, offering a more sobering set than the previous two offered.

While their placement in the lineup would have been inappropriate in any other context (their sound being much more ballad-based than punk), it was fitting for this show. With their songs of mourning, a large wave of emotion seemed to wash through the crowd, and there were many hugs and tears.

Bringing the show back to its maximum intensity was My Heart to Joy, bringing their own unique brand of post-hardcore to the masses. They, along with reunited band Call It Arson, helped the crowd to remember the night as a celebration of life in all of its forms.

By 10 p.m., it was time for the not-toooft seen Flaming Tsunamis to take the stage.

Given their reputations for high-octane shows, as well as promises of new material being played, the crowd could not have been more excited. Beginning with an audio sample of Dubey speaking, the band and the crowd proceeded to barrel forward with the intensity their late friend would have wanted.

A mix of hits new and old were played, as well as some covers of Dubey’s favorite songs. For the final song, the Tsunamis threw all caution to the wind and commanded, “Do what Mitch would have done,” signaling everyone to rush the stage and dive off into the crowds.

Not even the Toads security guards could have halted such events to take place.

The show was not only a testament to how huge Dubey’s family truly was, but also proof of the strength that lies in the Connecticut music scene. Over $20,000 was raised on Sunday, which is sure to be greatly appreciated by the Dubey family. Links to donation pages can be found on www. manicproductions.org. Rest in peace, mate.

REVIEWS Amon Amarth Surtur Rising

Metal Blade March 29

Danny Contreras The Recorder

If there is any death metal band out there consistently putting out records of high quality and extreme intensity, that band is Amon Amarth.

Three years ago the Swedish quintet released Twilight of the Thunder Gods, their seventh album, to positive reviews. It was characterized by its technical prowess, impeccable drumming, guitars that were faster than ever, louder and darker singing than ever and bass that added composure and subtly kept the whole thing together.

Surtur Rising is by no means Twilight of the Thunder Gods, though it would be unfair to compare both albums as anything else other than an Amon Amarth production.

They’re both great in their own way. Even the music has changed. Not too extremely,

of course, you can still tell it’s Amon Amarth.

But the thrash riffs found in their more recent releases prior to this one are gone, paving the way for more melody and creativity.

The opener, “War of the Gods,” picks up where they left off in 2008. It’s brutal and violent. The double bass drums thunder through headphones and singer Johan Hegg quickly brings forth a Norse apocalypse and doesn’t let you leave. It is too catchy, almost pop-ish, to switch to another song.

“Live Without Regrets” begins similarly to “Runes to My Memory” from their 2007 release With Oden On Our Side. The machine gun-like guitars power through with some of the fastest drumming they have ever done. The vocals do not begin until a minute later where Hegg beckons more carnage. But it’s not just a straight up death metal song that a band like Cannibal Corpse would produce. Instead, it’s more melodic. More Scandinavian if you would. The lack of keyboards is obvious, but the bass and the guitars provide a lot of melody, allowing it to stand side to side with some of the best melodic death metal bands out there.

Finally, “Wrath of Norsemen” does exactly what the title says: shows you the wrath of Norsemen. It’s a slow song with a darker tuning. It rips out your jugular and fills it with piss before putting it back in your neck. A quick guitar solo stampedes in the middle of the song and Hegg’s singing is as low tuned as ever. If Satan were real, this would be his voice.

The album stands out among other Amon Amarth albums. It’s definitely darker, lyrically.

But other albums will definitely take the title for faster. The songs flow into one another so differentiating between them does become troublesome at times. What’s best about this album is the fact that they combined melodic death metal extremely well with technical death metal creating a sound distinctly attributed to Amon Amarth. This will probably be considered their magnum opus.

Wormrot Dirge

Earache March 31

Max kyburz The Recorder

Allow me to be the 1000th person to rant about mainstream metal.

Back in the late 1980’s, Earache Records provided the mantelpiece on which exalted bands like Carcass and Morbid Angel stood.

They all got their start on the then littleknown British metal label and every band to feature guttural vocals, spurting guitars and machine-gun drums to come since owes them homage.

Twenty-plus years later Earache has become a platform for “more marketable” bands, whether they be cookie-cutter 80’s thrash and Judas Priest rip-offs or teen bandwagon bands that put more work into funny song titles and t-shirt designs than song craftsmanship. Original, honest carnage seems much less important to major labels these days.

When they signed a promising Singaporean band named Wormrot, Earache seemed to dust off their roots. Though their relatively clean look suggests otherwise (no other band rocks sandals like them), they’re out to prove that metal is all about passion, not fashion. They already brought the heat in 2009 with their stellar full-length Abuse and again last year with a split CD with I Abhor.

After relentless touring and countless blog posts generating more hype than Charlie Sheen’s next TV interview, could a buzz band possibly hit a third home run?

In this case, yes. Although Dirge isn’t a grand slam (as the previous two are), the boys have feathered quite a nest for themselves.

Surprising considering how signing to a major label usually cripples a band’s sound. While they’ve expanded their sound to include hardcore punk tropes, they’ve made no effort to make themselves more accessible. In fact, the songs are even shorter than on Abuse, clocking in at a cool 18 minutes total (beating Abuse’s ultra-long 24 minute set). The powertrio actually sounds tighter; Arif handles every throat-destroying vocal, Rasyid churns out enough killer hooks to fill up a dozen records and Fit hammers away on the skins until his arms break off.

While they’re serious about what they do, Wormrot finds time to be tongue-in-cheek.

Song titles like “Semiconscious God-Size Dumbass” and “Butt Krieg is Showing” will produce chuckles as they share the floor with more sincere tracks like “You Suffer But Why Is It My Problem.” Overall, Wormrot has fun beating the crap out of your ears. Seeing how a lot of bands try to sound intense but end up sounding boring in the process, these dudes blow the competition out of the water with ease.

Though LP and CD formats won’t hit shelves until May, Wormrot realized that illegal pirating was inevitable. As a result, they’ve put up the whole album up on their website for free download. And you thought metalheads weren’t nice.

7

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / UPGRADE

Civil War Lithographs on Display in Maloney Hall Danny Contreras The Recorder

An exhibition featuring lithographs and envelope covers made by the Kellogg brothers in Connecticut during the Civil War opened on Wednesday.

The Maloney Hall exhibition, which is a collaboration between the CCSU art department and the Connecticut Historical Society, contains over 20 pieces of works.

The lithographs featured in the exhibit are created by carving into stone, metal or other smooth surfaces. The prints are then inked onto a piece of paper and colored.

“These lithographs are part of our collection,” said Richard Malley, the head of research and collection for the historical society. “The lithographs illustrate how news of the war and images of the war were shared among the civilian population of the north during the war. These were produced in large quantities very inexpensively.”

The Civil War was fought from 1861-1865 by the United States of America (Union states) and the Confederate States of America (Confederacy) over state rights.

The war started soon after seven states, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,

Louisiana and Texas, seceded from the union. The Civil War killed as many as 600,000 men.

The exhibition’s lithographs are very distinct from the other artwork of the time.

“A lot of these are based on written accounts by reporters, what we would call combat correspondents today,” said Malley.

“Which these written reports would be telegraphed back, to Hartford for example, and the artists at the Kellogg’s farm would sit down and try to recreate the accounts - the witness accounts of the engagement.”

The Kellogg brothers were an important Hartford publishing firm in the 19th century and created thousands of colorful prints for home and business use.

The exhibit commemorates the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Events continue on and off the CCSU campus into April with war reenactments at Stanley Quarter Park and speakers at CCSU on April 16 and 17.

“It was probably the most available technique to provide what today we would call real time,” said Malley.

The prints were popular thanks to their cheapness and their vivid detail of the war.

“They could be purchased for

Netflix It: michael walsh The Recorder

Vincent Cassel furthered his notoriety among North American audiences in 2010 with his incredible performance in the Oscar-nominated Black Swan. While his exploding performance wasn’t nominated for an award itself, it could have been.

Before he was dancing alongside Natalie Portman in Darran Aronofsky’s latest, Cassel was one of France’s hottest upcoming actors. Performances in heralded films such as 1995’s minimalistic La Haine and 2002’s intense Irreversible cemented Cassel among the most brightest young actors in the business, a title he oddly enough regains with his arrival to North America with appearances in the second and third films in the Ocean’s series and a major role in David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises, where the French-born actor gave a rousing performance alongside the Oscarnominated Viggo Mortensen.

You might wonder why I speak so much of one actor in Mesrine: Killer Instinct, the first of two films about well-known French gangster Jacques Mesrine.

Cassel, who plays the titular gangster, does so with an explosive energy and fire unseen of the genre in years. His performance is the most important aspect of the entire film, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the fact that it’s at heart a bio-pic about the bank-robbing and murderer that Mesrine was.

Jean-François Richet’s film is a good one itself. It breathes to life the work of JeanPierre Melville, who made gangsters priority number one through a stretch of filmmaking in the 1960’s and 1970’s in France. Like Melville, Richet’s film focuses it’s eyes on a particular gangster and the world exploding around him. Richet isn’t Melville, and that’s clear by the film’s unbalance between being a character study and action, something Melville had a clear grip on in his bestregarded films Le Samourai and Le Cercle Rogue.

Richet’s film instead relies heavily on Cassel’s worthwhile performance. The arcing story covers a lot of ground in a little

Displayed in Maloney Hall are lithographs created during the Civil War. a few cents a sheet, a few cents a copy,” said Malley. “And people would hang them in their house, they hung them in public buildings

Mesrine: Killer Instint

time, despite having the life story of Mesrine spread over two films (part two is subtitled Public Enemy #1). Richet may jump from a scene of consequence for Mesrine - a murder, a robbery, something that leads to his next prison sentence. The painful prison aspects of the film are well-covered, but the film quickly jumps to a future life where Mesrine swears crime away to live happily ever after with his wife and children.

But the erratic nature of the film’s storytelling ability is nothing to worry about when it comes to turning the film on. It’s still a well-told vision of Mesrine, highlighted by high-octane action sequences, but defined

by Cassel’s explosive performance of moral debauchery and elevated crime. It’s an intense portrayal of a man who hardly has any moral ambiguity and Cassel explores it intensely and well.

Richet’s film also gently straddles the border between the slight moral ambiguity found inside Mesrine’s mind. When he turns ‘soft’ and becomes a family man, there’s an open possibility that allows the viewer to explore the hardened criminal’s other side.

But note the title of the film: it won’t last long. Mesrine, proven by Cassel’s beyond great performance, finds the killer instinct inside himself to accurately portray the lifestyle of Mesrine.

Style abound, Richet’s film fits within the classic lexicon of French gangster films.

While it won’t be a classic on Melville’s level and doesn’t exactly have the best narrative balance, Mesrine: Killer Instinct is a worthwhile film in a revived genre.

Photo I CCSU ART GALLERY

and so on. In the days before wire photos and cellphones photos it was a way to convey the events of the war to the folks back home.”

The exhibition will be open between the hours of 1 and 4 p.m.

Monday through Friday until April 22.

20 Under 20: Prime Climb A Fun Way to Stay in Shape sarah bogues The Recorder

With the winter season coming to an end, why not get out and get in shape for the summer?

At Prime Climb Inc., you can get active and in shape by participating in 40-foot tall rock climbing gyms and challenge courses with helpful lessons by a reputable staff.

Prime Climb Inc., located in Wallingford, Conn. about 18 miles from CCSU’s campus, is a great destination spot for beginner or experienced rock climbers of all ages who want to be active and have fun in a safe, comfortable and friendly state of the art indoor setting.

Two rock-climbing gyms are part of Prime Climb Inc., Prime Climb and Mountain Fun. Created in 2001, Mountain Fun is a beginner climbing gym used to introduce rock climbing to beginners wishing to just try it or move on to become a experienced climber, while Prime Climb gym is a more advanced gym.

Mountain Fun has a $20 fee for one hour of rock climbing with necessary equipment included from Friday to Sunday and a $15 fee for one hour of rock climbing with

necessary equipment included from Tuesday to Thursday.

Prime Climb has a $15 adult day pass and a $9 child day pass. The day passes do not include equipment fees so if a rock climber does not have their own equipment, equipment rentals will be charged. A harness fee for $2, a rock shoe fee for $5, a belay device fee for $1 and a complete package of everything for $7 is included in the equipment rentals.

Lessons and packages, separate costs from the normal fees, are provided to climbers who need a refresher and climbers who have mastered Mountain Fun and deserve to hit up more advanced rock climbing walls.

Birthday parties, lessons, group events and corporate team building are also among the services Prime Climb Inc. provides.

If you are in the mood to have a nice workout and have loads of fun than visit Prime Climb during any of its regular hours throughout the week.

Mountain Fun is open Tuesday to Friday 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Prime Climb is open Monday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday to Friday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Photo I Facebook.com/mesrinemovie

Prime Climb Inc. in Wallingford is an affordable way to get in shape.

Photo I primeclimb.com

8

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / UPGRADE

‘Source Code’ Wisely Combines Thrill with Touch of Humanity michael walsh The Recorder

I have faith in a few things. One of those things is that everything a Bowie touches must be good.

Duncan Jones, son to performer extraordinaire David Bowie, kept that faith alive with his debut film Moon.

While Source Code wasn’t Jones’ own project (Moon is the first of a few films that Jones says will live amongst one another in its own ‘Mooniverse’), the film seems like it could have been.

Putting aside fears that the film’s trailer that made Source Code look like a poorly acted action thriller and nothing else was only an adventure in mismarketing, Jones and screenwriter Ben Ripley combined to make a very human science fiction thriller that engages and interests the viewer with its concept and execution but also manages to tap into emotion by exploring character and the human side of things, rather than focusing solely on big ticket action.

The film doesn’t reach the level of humanity explored in the threehour science fiction films by Andrei Tarkovsky, and it doesn’t have to. It’s still a film that has some semblance of a Hollywood feeling. Regardless, Jones takes control of the film and turns Ripley’s slightly unique concept into a film worth watching and remembering for some time after.

Jake Gyllenhaal is more than good as Captain Colter Stevens, an American soldier who awakes to find himself with the mission of stopping terrorist attacks in Chicago. The mysterious figures at the head of the mission are Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) and Jeffrey Wright (Casino

Royale) and the two do their best to be the secretive, on-point and tough-willed military employees they’re supposed to be.

Ripley’s screenplay wisely allows Jones’ cameras to explore Stevens as a character rather than just a hero. Without this extra effort to dive somewhat deep into the ethics and morals surrounding Stevens situation and the people in control of it inside the military, I’d be afraid that Source Code might just be another mindless popcorn flick. Instead, the film explores what it means to be alive and as corny as it may sound, the importance of valuing each and every small worldly detail and day.

It’s because of this that it’s very important to be able to pull both societal and humanity aspects from the film while watching it.

I’m sure that for some this film can be watched without rendering a thought towards humans and still be impressive, but there’s a lot more to get out of Source Code than watching Gyllenhaal’s character try to find out who the bomber of the Chicago commuter train is.

I’d be remiss to not mention that the science in the film doesn’t matter. It’s not the point and there’s a reason Ripley’s screenplay hardly breathes a word about how the technology works or trying to get you to buy into the concept of creating parallel worlds that allows Captain Stevens to try to go back and prevent a future attack by spotting the bomber. In fact, I’d say a bigger theme that resonates with both the viewers and the characters in the film is the ability to have a suspension of disbelief along with being able to question what we think and have been told is absolute. It’s clear that Ripley and

Jake Gyllenhaal (right) stars in ‘Source Code’ as Captain Colter Stevens.

Jones want their audience to take part in this process.

Jones’ directing isn’t really daring and some might have a problem with the more restrained techniques used, but I thought it was fine. He was able to make nice use of a small setting in the repetitive train and kept the film’s

Photo I Facebook.com/Source-code-movie

Groundhog Day-esque scenes fresh and interesting each and every time. And since Source Code wasn’t an auteur-like film from Jones, he didn’t treat it like one. It’s a perfect case of knowing your audience and not going over their heads.

Only three months have gone by in 2011 but Source Code takes

its place as one of the best films released so far. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it hold that title through the summer as I can’t see one of the many soon to be released comic book films doing a better job at giving a dual sense of entertainment and a thoughtful story.

Sunny Day Spring Brews Worth a Taste Test Kenny Barto The Recorder

Blue Moon’s Spring Blonde Wheat Ale Blue Moon’s Spring Blonde Wheat Ale is probably my favorite out of the spring seasonal beers I’ve tried. I’m a huge fan of any blonde or wheat beers, so this might be a little biased, but this beer is just truly awesome. It’s not my favorite of all time, but the taste was simple; just a more dry tasting Blue Moon due to the added wheat, balanced with the sweet but tangy hint of orange. I encourage anyone to give this a taste, especially if you’ve sampled any of Blue Moon’s other beers.

Magic Hat’s Vinyl Lager Burlington, V.T.-based Magic Hat has grown in popularity around the country and is definitely one of my favorite brands of beer. They surely didn’t disappoint with their Vinyl Lager, as it is very ”scrumptious,” as described on their creatively-designed bottle. When tasting this amber/ red lager you’ll notice the extremely sweet taste, which makes this very easy to drink. For my liking, I would’ve liked a bit more hops added to this brew, but it’s definitely one that slides back easy.

Sierra Nevada’s Glissade It wouldn’t be spring without a nice golden bock and that’s exactly what Sierra Nevada’s Glissade provides.

This brew definitely has a strong taste of hops, lead by lemongrass and other floral-tasting noble hops. However, it balances out with a very sweet finish definitely worth tasting. This beer is definitely not for those who don’t like a hoppy taste, but as long as you can get through the initial hit, you will be pleasantly surprised by the smooth finish and great aftertaste that this leaves.

Sam Adams’ Noble Pils I always like to indulge in a Sam Adams, and I truly enjoy their winter blends, but their “award-winning” Noble Pils was disappointing. For something that had so much hype based on last year’s results, I expected much more. Although this is perfect to have on one of those warm spring days to cleanse the pallet, I was disappointed in the lack of flavor. It has a citrus taste to it, but it didn’t have that full body flavor that a good beer really needs. I would much rather the Pale Ale be converted back to the spring seasonal and have the Noble Pils return to their combination packs.

9

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / UPGRADE

CAN Reaches into New Britain Community for Poetry Expo ciara Hooks The Recorder

The Central Activities Network collaborated with the New Britain Parks and Recreation program to put on the program’s first poetry expo in Semesters on Thursday night. The expo showcased poetry written by the students and the staff.

“We all collaborated and for the past couple of months we put together poetry that has to do with academic enrichment, drop out prevention and teen pregnancy prevention,” said Ashley Santana, President of CAN and supervisor of the parks and recreation program at Slade Middle School in New Britain.

Joining Slade Middle School in the event were New Britain schools Diloreto Magnet School, Roosevelt Middle School and Pulaski Middle School.

Some students worked individually while others worked in groups of two on a selection of poems, artwork and videos about the three components of the

program, how they felt about the program and why their school was great. The finished projects were displayed at the show.

The students shared different aspects about themselves and the dangers of dropping out of school and not receiving a good education.

The host of the event was Jerrell Hargraves, a councilor in the program.

“We taught them different types of poetry and they tried to focus on the three components of our program,” said Hargraves. “They all had fun, they all enjoyed it.”

Elizabeth Lebby, another councilor involved in the show, started a step team of 10 girls called Turn Up L.O.U.D. about two weeks ago and they performed a drill routine at the event. It added another element of creative expression storytelling while still making these young girls stronger people.

“These were the most shy girls I had,” said Lebby. “I wanted to give them some type of confidence and leadership skills so I decided to have them perform today in front of

people. It helped their confidence and self-esteem.”

Each group of staff from the participating schools performed at the end of the show. The Roosevelt Middle School staff decided to do a parody poem on the behavior of the students they oversee. In reality, they aren’t the best behaved and don’t listen, so they described them as angels and at the end they played “Lose My Mind” by rapper DMX and as Lebby said, “jammed out.”

Family, friends and elementary school students attended the new event helping to make it a success.

This was the first one put on by the CAN and the New Britain Parks and Recreation duo, but they vowed that it definitely wouldn’t be their last. They plan on continuing to influence and enhance the lives of young people through the self expression of poetry by making the poetry expo an annual event.

“It was a great turnout,” said Santana. “We had parents involved, we had all different types of students involved, we couldn’t have asked for a better turnout.”

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‘Hop’ Flops on the Big Screen Central Conn Summer 2011.indd 1

nicholas proch

bunny. For as cool as this role should have been, it wasn’t very fun for the audience to Despite having a complete grasp of the watch these performances.

Combining live action with animation is Aldous Snow character, from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek, Russell always a struggle, but the studio did a good Brand doesn’t have a whole lot else to say for job at making it look real. The real issue lies in himself on his resume. Hop is another attempt James Marsden, the other lead role in the film.

by Brand at the animated feature (with his He’s supposed to play a mid-twenty year old last being a smaller role in Despicable Me as who hasn’t flown the coop. While Matthew McConaughey made his role in Failure to Dr. Nefario).

He performed well in his first work, but Launch believable (he has a knack for playing it was only a supporting role. Brand lends his someone who doesn’t have a purpose or voice to Universal Pictures again, in his first future), Marsden always looks like he has true lead, as EB. EB is walking, talking, Kurt his life in control, which takes away from the Cobain-inspired wardrobe wearing rabbit. role.

Page 1 The supporting cast, in general, isn’t great.

And,VZW0879_newsad_CCS.qxd oh yes, he’s also the son of 3/2/11 the Easter1:26 PM The Recorder

They brought in Hank Azaria [The Simpsons, Dodgeball] to play the head of the ‘chicks’, but his role wasn’t as funny as it should have been. Even Hugh Laurie [House] gets lost as the character of the easter bunny.

It’s about 73 minutes into the 95 minute film that you can hear restlessness in the theater. There’s a point when the story stops, and I’m not sure where exactly it is (I’m not willing to re-watch it in order to find out the exact moment), but it happens and ruins the movie for most in the crowd.

The cast couldn’t support the weight of the awful script at hand. There’s some kind of rabbit lair on Easter Island? They can travel the earth through magical rabbit holes?

3/10/11 12:16 P

What? It’s obvious that this movie is a fantasy, but it’s too unbelievable. The fact that David Hasselhoff isn’t shocked by the appearance of a talking bunny in his talent show auditions is bizarre.

It can’t all be bad for this fairy tale, can it? It is. Brand doesn’t have a particularly memorable performance. It doesn’t feel like his usual effort and is almost forced. James Marsden is terrible. Need I continue?

The bright spot in this film might be the end credits. They’re a relief to see. While it may be a good movie to watch when you’re babysitting your eight year old cousin, stay far away from this if you’re planning on watching this for any individual enjoyment.

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Russell Brand stars as EB in ‘Hop,’ directed by Tim Hill

10

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / SPORTS SPORTS BEGINS ON BACK PAGE

COLUMN

Huskies Who? Go Blue Devils!

Brittany BUrke the recorder

I managed to avoid writing this piece until I knew the UConn Huskies had secured the championship, because even I got caught up in the March Madness.

But I have to ask, did anyone really expect that the men would be playing in the finals, while the women were sent home? If anything I thought it would be the complete opposite, but I and everyone who did not pick the men in their March Madness brackets were proven wrong by Calhoun and his talented team.

So as this article comes to life for the CCSU student newspaper, I am watching the post game ceremony from inside a CCSU building and despite the fact that I go to CCSU, I am elated as a resident of Connecticut that the Huskies won. This is because you can’t help but get pulled in to the excitement of the state team potentially taking it all, and representing where you come from.

Piggybacking off of what my editor-in-chief said last week, it is fully acceptable for a non-UConn student or alumnae to root for the Huskies. The team isn’t school specific, the fan base extends throughout all of Connecticut, and even further.

While I fully understand and embrace rooting for UConn, especially Huskies basketball in the NCAA tournament final, I don’t want to forget about the Blue Devils.

I am by no means comparing the enormity of what the Huskies did to the Blue Devils. I merely want to know why students of CCSU can’t find the same pride and excitement for their own athletics program.

The fact that we aren’t UConn shouldn’t matter. The students on the CCSU campus cheering and drinking in honor of the Huskies win should be the same students to attend a Blue Devils game and cheer on the athletes who represent their school.

I understand cheering on Kemba Walker and Maya Moore, but you should also turn out and yell C-C-S-U for Ken Horton or Leaanne Crockett amongst the other athletes on one of CCSU’s 16 NEC sports.

That’s not to say there is absolutely no Blue Devil pride, but it’s not where it can be.

We shouldn’t degrade what the Blue Devils do, because “they aren’t UConn.”

Every student attending any one of the four state schools, CCSU, Southern, Eastern or Western should show the same form of camaraderie for their universities as they do UConn.

Conway Leading Blue Devils Lacrosse to Best Season Yet chris mclaUghlin the recorder

Now in her final season, midfielder Michele Conway not only leads her team as a captain, she has also been a prominent figure in resurrecting the CCSU women’s lacrosse team.

Since the program’s inception in 2000, the Blue Devil lacrosse team has yet to post a winning season. In Conway’s first two years at CCSU the team won a combined two games.

Though the team had trouble producing on the field, Conway gave hope for the program’s future. In her freshman year she led the team in goals with 26 and finished second in total points with 29. She continued to play hard for CCSU and in her junior year helped lead the team to its most wins in a single season with five. In 2011, the progression continues, and the Blue Devils have already surpassed last year’s win total.

“It’s definitely been a journey,” said Conway. “My first two years we only won two games, so it’s really an awesome feeling to be where we are now. I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going, this program has grown tremendously.”

The 2011 season has already been the most successful season for lacrosse. The Blue Devils got off to a rough start in conference play, dropping the first three matches, but were able to pick up its first conference win on the road at Robert Morris.

The Blue Devils’ non-conference games

have helped the team compile the most wins “I always try to be loud on the field and in school history, including the team’s first lead by example,” said Conway. “I know we four-game winning streak. Though it’s her have to continue to work hard, sometimes not senior year, Conway expects the winning everyone wants to be in practice, but I always ways to continue after she has graduated. show that I want to be there and it rubs off “This year has gone really well,” said on them. I try to emulate my former captains, Conway. “We started off better than last year and they taught me to never give up.” and we got a big win against Manhattan. We Teamwork has been a big part of the still have a lot of the talent we had last year and success for the Blue Devils this year. Despite we will after I being eighth place in the leave. I think standings, the Blue Devils they will are second in the Northeast “We’re able to win games by Conference in both goals continue to win.” working together and I’m more scored and assists. Because Conway is of the continuity on third in points proud of that than my own stats.” offense, the Blue Devils are scored with in a position to be in its first - Michele Conway 28 as well as ever NEC tournament. remaining at “We know we have to third in goals keep winning games,” said scored with 23. With five games left on the Conway. “We have to beat up on the teams season, she has a shot to surpass her career we’re supposed to beat up if we want to make high in both categories. Though the stats are the tournament.” impressive, Conway doesn’t really invest too The Blue Devils have just one home much into them. game left and it will be a very emotional one “It’s obviously a good feeling, but I try not for Conway. Following last year’s tragedy of to think of those things,” said Conway. “We’re losing her father, Conway is both excited and able to win games by working together and anxious to play in senior day.

I’m more proud of that than my own stats.”

“There is going to be a lot of emotion,” Conway understands the importance of said Conway. “Last year my father passed not only teamwork, but hard work in general. away so there’s already been a lot of emotion As team captain, she tries to set an example in this season. I can’t believe it’s almost finally for the rest of the team. Given the Blue Devils’ senior day. I’m excited and anxious, I’m really success, her teammates are buying into her looking forward to that day, it’s a game we all leadership. really want to win.”

Softball Extends Win Streak to Eight

softBall i cont. from 12 three runs in the fifth with RBIs by Bruno and Macy Stefanski. Both Bruno and Dilworth were 3-for-4 in game one while Chotkevys and Knowles both went 2-for-3. Pitcher Jordan Tingley went six strong innings and struck out ten while giving up only two runs.

In game two, CCSU was puzzled by the pitching of Caitlin Bradac, and were shut down for the first three innings. CCSU answered a Bradac home run in the fourth with Kat Knowles driving in another run. The 1-1 tie would hold up until the sixth inning.

Dilworth yet again came through by kick starting CCSU’s offense with a single to center field. Kelsey Barlow would follow with a clutch RBI double to give CCSU the 2-1 lead. Two batters later, Knowles would come through yet again with a home run to deep center field, which gave CCSU more insurance going into the seventh and final inning.

Elizabeth Montemurro let up one run in the seventh, but it would be her only run allowed in four innings of combined work on the day. Julie Marks pitched four innings while striking out two while giving up one run in game two.

CCSU’s eight game win streak is the most since the 1997 Blue Devils won seven in a row. On Wed., March 30, coach Franquet picked up his 300th career victory in game one against Princeton.

In game two, the Blue Devils recorded an NCAA record by scoring 17 runs in the second inning against the Tigers. The monumental inning tied the Blue Devils for second in the NCAA for runs scored in one inning with four other teams. The all-time record is held by the College of Charleston, who scored 29 runs in 2004.

“That was a really special day for us,” said coach Franquet. “You know, the one thing I preach is that we can hit the ball, and this team has something special, they believe in themselves, and they have great team camaraderie.”

Along with doubleheader sweeps against FDU and Princeton, CCSU beat Yale and St. Francis (PA) to make up the impressive winning streak. Before the winning streak, CCSU’s record stood at 6-9-1, with all games played in Tampa, FL, Baltimore, MD, and Hampton, VA. “Things are rolling along for us right now,” said Franquet. “We might hit a bump or two along the road, but the bottom line is to be able to stay positive and keep working hard.”

CCSU continues with a busy week with doubleheaders against Temple and Hartford on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by Knowles started both games at catcher Saturday and had four hits on Sacred Heart and Robert Morris on Saturday the day to help lead the Blue Devils to a sweep. and Sunday.

kenny Barto i the recorDer

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / SPORTS

11

Stanley and Knobloch Participate in SECHL Conference All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia HOCKEY I Cont. from 12 Chaffee, the prep school in Windsor, Conn., for a year before attending Saint Anselm, and making the decision to attend CCSU rather than UConn, like other members of his family.

Toward the end of the season it was unclear of whether or not he was going to return to CCSU or transfer again, but in the end of the love for the game, which he has been playing since he was five because of the Mighty Ducks, won out.

“I had a lot of discussions with Coach Adams this year and with myself and my parents and just figured it would be the best to stay here. I’ve tried the Division III level and I’ve got no complaints, I love playing here at CCSU.” Despite leading the team in points, Stanley is still looking to improve next season, specifically with his plus/minus percentage and his team presence.

“Personally I want to have a better year than I did this year as far as all the stats go and as far as being a team player,” he said. “On a team level I know everyone wants to make regionals because we didn’t make regionals this year and then nationals as well and I think an autobid is ultimately what we strive for as a team. And personally one of the things I want to work on is making everyone around me better, making my linemates better and making the whole offensive better as a unit.”

Stanley will have plenty of time to hone is game, returning to the ice as a Blue Devil for his junior and senior seasons.

Ryan Stanley was selected to participate in the SECHL Conference All-Star Weekend after finishing the season with 100 points.

kenny barto I THE RECORDER

Hickey Preps for Rebuilding Year David Whitney The Recorder

With baseball in full swing, Head Coach Charlie Hickey has a busy docket with his spring schedule. The coach has earned his tenure with his list of records, along with an enthusiasm for winning that would make any Blue Devil fan proud.

Originally from Middletown, Connecticut; Hickey was at the right place at the right time when the position for head coach became available at CCSU, 12 years ago. He was more than happy to come back to Connecticut to coach the sport he loves so much.

“Before I came here, I was at Providence College, but their baseball program closed.

The opportunity to come here presented itself and it really worked out perfectly,” says Hickey.

He also credits his predecessor, Coach Redman for building a baseball team of high caliber.

Hickey has tried following in the coach’s footsteps, as the CCSU baseball program has enjoyed a decorated history.

The Blue Devils baseball program, with Hickey’s guidance enjoyed their best season in 2004.

The team won 41 games and broke multiple records along the way. He claims a lot of the success came from the mentality that, “the ball just bounced the right way for us.”

This year though, coach says the 2011 season will be one of rebuilding due to the loss of nine seniors that got their diplomas in 2010. Last year the bar was raised high as the Blue Devils were once again, hoisting the trophy as conference champions.

“There are 14 new bodies on the field and there’s a lot of what I call newness with this team,” smiled Hickey.

This year, the goal will be to get these fresh faces in the game so that they get adjusted to a faster pace then what their use to.

“Some guys are ready to play.

We need some other players to get adjusted to a different game play.

We have been successful and that’s what I expect us to be.”

Hickey made note of the great experience his team endured last year when CCSU played in an NCAA tournament game against Florida State; a bigger school with an even bigger baseball program.

The game was a bit of home game for CCSU as it was played in Norwich in front a huge crowd that

cheered on the Blue Devils.

Even though the result wasn’t in their favor, Hickey is determined to get his team back into the tournament and finally get CCSU their first ever NCAA victory.

The Blue Devils are looking for the fifth appearance in the NCAA tournament this season.

Over the years, Hickey has produced some of the best players in the league and has led CCSU to four NEC Conference Championships, and over 300 victories. He has also been named NEC Coach of the Year three times during his illustrious career.

Upcoming Games Wednesday, April 6 @ 3 p.m. vs. Iona Friday, April 8 @ 3 p.m. vs. Mount Saint Mary’s

Hickey is rebuilding this season after his team won 41games last year and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament.

kenny barto I THE RECORDER

12

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 6, 2011 / SPORTS

Blue Devils Down Knights in Doubleheader Kenny Barto The Recorder

The CCSU softball team remained perfect in Northeast Conference play and increased its winning streak to eight by sweeping the doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday.

The Blue Devils won game one by a score of 8-2, and were able to edge out the Knights 4-2 with late game heroics.

“We now have an eight game win streak, which has never been done before,” said head coach Jeff Franquet. “It’s a night and day change from last year, and that was some really good stuff out there today.”

CCSU’s success started with

Catcher Kat Knowles. drove in four RBIs in the doubleheader.

kenny barto I THE RECORDER

Hockey Forwards Earn Top Season Honors Brittany Burke The Recorder

CCSU’s hockey season might have ended last month, but for forwards Jon Knobloch and Ryan Stanley, the season was extended through this past weekend in Philadelphia at the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s All-Star Weekend.

Despite missing their chance at the ACHA nationals Stanley and Knobloch were named to the Super East Collegiate Hockey League’s first and second All-SECHL Teams respectively for their performances throughout the season. As members of the All-SECHL teams, the Blue Devils competed and helped the SECHL team sweep the tournament, 5-0, finally defeating the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association, 8-2 for the top spot.

Not only was Stanley named to the first team, he was also named the SECHL Player of the Year. The 2010-2011 season also brought forth another milestone for the sophomore when he notched his 100th point.

“Obviously it’s a big accomplishment and I’m proud of myself for doing it, but also my teammates, and Jon Knobs had a lot to do with it because he’s a great player,” said Stanley. “We were on the same line for most of the year and I think it’s more like a team thing because at the beginning of the season we didn’t have very many expectations and towards the end of

the season we started playing better.

I played better, everyone sort of stepped up and it’s a good personal accomplishment but also a team accomplishment I think as well.”

Only in his third semester as a Blue Devil hockey player, Stanley entered the new season as a veteran amongst the new crop of freshmen, and quickly stepped into a role as offensive leader.

“He definitely deserves it [SECHL Player of the Year] he was a major part of our offense on the ice and off the ice, said Head Coach Ben Adams. “He contributed to the locker room readiness and pushing a lot of the kids not necessarily in the lineup all the time on a regular basis to get better and it’s great for him and great for the team and it certainly represents what we want to represent with all of our players.”

The on-ice success in the new season came as no surprise following his role in the team’s national run in Simsbury. Stanley transferred to CCSU in the spring semester, following a stint at the Division III school, Saint Anselm.

After realizing that D-III wasn’t for him, and wasn’t worth the sacrifices he was making, he chose to move back to Connecticut, and attend CCSU. “Playing there, it was a grind because you have to wake up at 6:30, go to school, go to practice for two hours at night, try to fit in your homework and it was just a lot for our talent level, because we were Division III not Division I, all

going into the NHL, and it just took a toll on your body and it just wasn’t really for me,” said Stanley.

“I still talk to some of the guys on my former team and I personally feel like I’m having more fun than them and I attribute that to my teammates and the camaraderie of our team because like I said I think hockey’s about having fun and sometimes coaches and programs get caught up in trying to be the best and here it’s very relaxed but at the same time it’s competitive.”

Following in his older brother’s path of playing university club hockey, Stanley made CCSU’s team.

Knowing forward Jeff Pease from his days at South Windsor was his in to the club. He finished the regular season with 13 points in 13 games, finding ice time from the beginning, adding to the Blue Devils’ four line tandem. At the start of the new season it was evident that he would help fill the void left by the previous year’s graduating seniors.

“People get a misconception that club hockey isn’t competitive or it’s just you drink beers and go out and play, because I thought it was that way when I first got to college, then I transferred here and I realized it was very serious and it’s great because you can get every aspect you like of hockey,” he said. “It’s competitive, but at the same time it’s not life and death and you can still have a good time at school.”

As a 20-year old freshman, Stanley had attended Loomis HOCKEY | cont. on 11

a three-run second inning. After a single by Amanda Dilworth, Stephanie Chotkevys doubled down the right field line. A costly error by the second baseman gave the Blue Devils the 1-0 lead, followed by a fielder’s choice that scored Chotkevys. Ariel Bruno followed with an RBI single.

Dilworth would continue her hot streak by doubling with two outs in the third inning. She was driven in shortly after by catcher Kat Knowles. In the fourth, CCSU added another run after Sarah Vlahos doubled, and another single

by Bruno that lead to a sacrifice fly

by Rebecca Mussatti.

The Blue Devils added its final SOFTBALL | cont. on 10

Jordan Tingley gave up one earned run in six innings on Saturday.

kenny barto I THE RECORDER

Men’s Track Looks to Continue Good Form in the Outdoor Season nick rosa

The Recorder

This past indoor season the CCSU men’s track team finished an amazing cinderella run to cap off the season with an NEC Championship, the first in program history.

After being ranked fourth this past indoor season and finishing first while placing third in last year’s outdoor NEC Championships, the Blue Devils look to make another run this upcoming outdoor season for the second consecutive NEC Championship.

The Blue Devils began the outdoor season this past weekend competing in a non-team scoring meet at Bryant University. The team recorded several good performances from its athletes.

Rashad Williams finished first in the shot with a throw of 15.03 meters and Aaron Radden finished fourth in the 400 meter with a time of 49.65 seconds.

The freshmen members on the team, Andrew Hill and Leonardo Davidson also performed well.

Hill finished seventh in the 1,500 meter run posting a time of 4:07.25 while Davidson posted a 41.25 meter toss in the discus to earn a eighth place finish.

Sophomore Nick Lindblom took third in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 56.12 seconds.

The team is picking up right where it left off from indoor with strong performances from veterans and the younger freshmen.

“They are all talented

individuals and if they keep it up I expect big things from them come crunch time and to be a big part in being contenders,” said Radden, the Northeast Conference MVP the past two indoor seasons, of the freshmen athletes on the team.

Earlier in the year, high jumper Matt Berube said he expected a top four finish in indoor and top three finish in outdoor. He proved himself wrong in indoor when the team won and now it could happen again this outdoor season.

Berube also noted that there are more events in outdoor which will lead to the team having a more of a competitive edge throughout the season.

Head Coach Eric Blake and his coaching staff won NEC coach/coaching staff of the year this past indoor season, expectations are only high for the talented young Blue Devil squad.

“I expect and honestly believe that we will function as one unit to pick up the points where we can. I don’t believe we should finish below third place.

We raised the bar for ourselves and have to live up to that and show what we are capable of,” said Radden.

The bar is raised and the Blue Devils begin their journey for their first outdoor track and field championship in the program’s history.

The men and women Blue Devil teams return to action Sat April 9 at the all day UConn invite.