Vol 107 Issue 26

AWA R D-W INNING CENTR A LR ECOR DER .COM Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Central Connecticut State University

Volume 107 No. 26

TOWING TROUBLES

Contracted Company Uses ‘Lookouts’ to Spot Parking Violators DAVID WHITNEY The recorder

At the Central Square Plaza on the corner of Stanley Street and Paul Manafort Drive, 11 different retail residents that call the plaza home see students and other locals park their cars illegally in their lot.

Recently, the vigilant patrol of the plaza has been leading to towing mistakes, as both customers and employees of the plaza’s store have seen their cars inexplicably towed away from the lot.

“It’s ridiculous,” said John Lumani, owner of Central Cuts. “I’ve been towed twice and my customers have been towed before too.

One of them thought her car had been stolen but I knew where it was.”

Lumani mentioned how there are 11 businesses and only around 30 parking spots between them.

At the center of the discussion is Empire Motors, the contracted towing company that patrols the lot daily for violators.

“There’s not one, not two, but nine signs in that parking lot that say two-hour parking and no student parking,” says John Curren, president of Empire Motors. “These people that park here are robbing these businesses from customers.”

“The reason why so many people park in ToWING | coNT. oN 2

One of nine signs located in the Central Square Plaza warning college students of the towing policy.

New Britain Resident Gets Stay of Deportation with Support From CCSU LASO, Governor Malloy kASSoNDrA GrANATA The recorder

New Britain resident Mariano Cardoso had been facing the threat of deportation for the better part of 2011.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security granted the 23-year-old Capital Community College student a stay of deportation, a result that likely wouldn’t have been achieved without the support Cardoso received from Governor Dannel Malloy, state senators and the local community, including the CCSU chapter of the Latin American Student Organization.

Cardoso arrived in the country from Mexico when he was 22 months old. He spent the early parts of his life growing up in Bronx, N.Y. before calling New Britain home for the last 10 years. Cardoso plans to graduate from Capital Community College in a month with a liberal arts degree and dreams of becoming a math teacher or engineer.

His troubles began in 2008 when he was picked up at his uncle’s house by immigration agents looking for another person. In February, he received a letter warning him of deportation.

Cardoso tried to fight the case alone before reaching out to the community and groups like LASO for help. Upon hearing his case, LASO knew that it was their job to help.

“This is what LASO is here for,” said Molly McLaughlin, vice president of CCSU LASO. “We support them and we’re family.”

McLaughlin said that Cardoso’s situation is the most controversial that she has seen thus far.

“It’s interesting that this is happening in

our own backyard and so many people are unaware of this and the DREAM Act,” said McLaughlin. “We’re trying to bring awareness to our community.”

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM Act, is a bill that was first introduced in Congress in 2001 that would protect undocumented students in the U.S. “At this time in our constitution and legislation we don’t have any rights that protect undocumented students,” said McLaughlin.

LASO has recently increased their efforts to get this bill passed ever since Cardoso has come in the picture. The group began their efforts by talking to faculty and people around campus. McLaughlin also took efforts of her own by writing a letter to congress in regards to the DREAM Act. So far, McLaughlin has collected over 200 signatures from students and faculty in support of the DREAM Act and is hoping to send it to Congress with a cover letter.

“It’s a letter to the president and Congress to pass the DREAM Act because there are so many other students going through this like Mariano,” said McLaughlin.

All the hard work eventually paid off and media exposure lead to Malloy giving his full support to Cardoso. Malloy went public on April 20 supporting Cardoso’s case in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security.

“For all intents and purposes, Mariano is American,” said Malloy in his letter. “To send him back to a country he has no recollection of and did not grow up in makes little sense, particularly as he is finishing his degree

DAVID WHITNEY | THE rEcorDEr

The Final Cycle

kENNY bArTo | THE rEcorDEr

‘The Kentucky Cycle Part 3’ began Tuesday and continues through Friday May 6 in CCSU’s Black Box Theater.

cArDoSo | coNT. oN 2

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT: www.centralrecorder.com

2

NEWS

THE RECORDER Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The Recorder

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Plaza Employees Deal With Possibility of Being Towed TOWING | Cont. from 1 the plaza is easy,” says John Gorman, a co-owner of Another Bookstore, who’s also been mistakenly towed.

Gorman said that it’s close to the DiLoretto and Willard academic buildings and that there’s relatively little open parking nearby that section of the campus for students to take advantage of.

What’s making parking their even trickier for both those trying to get away with parking illegally and those that get their cars towed away by accident, is the group of plain-clothed workers patrolling the area at random times. Once these workers see a student or anybody park their car and cross the street, they call it up to get towed.

It’s unsure how many of these “lookouts” there are but there’s more than just one taking action at the plaza.

Acting like a loss prevention employer at a retail store, they mark every license plate on a car once it parks in the lot. That way they know what time a car was parked in the lot and if they’re an actual customer or not.

“On good days, we can get up to seven, on others zero,” said a lookout who wished to have his name left unknown. “Actually, a lot of the cars we tow are repeat offenders.”

The lookout said he was an employee of the towing company and not the plaza, something Curren would later confirm.

As far as towing innocent drivers, Curren says that they release those cars free of charge and

don’t hold them to the same $88 fee that actual violators are responsible for.

“We have a program where we have the license plate numbers for each employee’s car,” said Curren.

Still, many at the plaza said that it’s not an easy task to regain possession of their car when they’re mistaken for being parked their illegally.

“I had to beg and scream to get my car back,” said Nicole Hail, an employee to the Underground Deli that sits on the lower level of the plaza.

Hail isn’t the only one to experience frustration in getting towed while being at work. The Recorder stopped by five other businesses in the plaza and in each one of the employees said they’d been towed at least once by the company.

Rebecca Zibell, an employee of Tony’s Central Pizza, has been towed twice since she started her job in September. She stated that Empire wouldn’t give her car back right away and instead, she needed to bring her boss down so that they could verify she was an actual

employee.

Curren said that he considers his towing company to be generally nicer than others.

“I could be a real jerk but I feel that we’re nicer than other companies,” said Curren.

Curren said he realizes that most cars are actually owned by parents and not students themselves and that he could technically hold them until the parents showed up. Instead, Curren said he often releases the car to the student after confirming with the parent through a telephone call.

Employees of retail stores located inside the plaza say they’ve been towed by Empire Towing on multiple occasions while at work.

DAVID WHITNEY | the recorder

Social Media Delivers News of Bin Laden’s Death Matt Clyburn The Recorder

By all accounts, the first person to break the news of Osama bin Laden’s death was @keithurbahn on Twitter. Urbahn is chief of staff to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and heard the piece of information from a “credible source,” according to his tweet at 10:25 p.m.

The leaked information came five minutes before President Barack Obama was scheduled to address the nation from the White House, and more than hour before the president eventually went on the air to make the formal announcement.

Bin Laden’s death, and the media frenzy surrounding the event, now calls into question the relevance of traditional news sources when Twitter and Facebook have both revealed the information and shared the world’s reaction to that information in the blink of an eye.

Twitter has become an increasingly reputable source of

breaking news as the microblogging “tweet” feature allows news sources to quickly disseminate short pieces of information.

According to Twitter, users were sending 5,106 tweets per second at the news event’s peak, the second highest amount in the company’s history. The evening also played host to the highest sustained rate of tweets per second. Between 10:45 p.m. Sunday and 2:20 a.m.

Monday users sent an average of 3,000 tweets per second.

Several CCSU students turned into journalists for the evening by retweeting and sharing new information with their followers.

Journalism major Derek Turner was one of the first to learn of Obama’s scheduled address.

“Everyone be talking about an #ObamaAddress at 10:30 p.m...Getting me curious. #HomeworkCanWait,” Turner said.

Once Urbahn broke the news, Turner said, “The United States of America has the body of Osama Bin Laden...Multiple Sources are reporting.” In another tweet, “No

focusing on any homework right now...#OsamaIsDead.”

After learning of celebrations happening at college campuses across the country, Turner said he wished there were similar happenings on the CCSU campus.

“Obama knows what it’s like to live in #Vance, people yelling outside at all hours of the night...#CCSU,” Turner said.

“I learned of the announcement via twitter and was glued to the computer the entire night,” Turner said. “I follow mostly sports personalities, but everyone was commenting on the bin Laden news, all Americans. Everyone was re-tweeting everyone, pictures and news was spreading throughout the world faster than I have ever seen.”

Political Science major Matthew Kitson tweeted late Sunday night, speculating that the presidential address could be about the capture of Osama bin Laden.

After retweeting several sources that confirmed bin Laden had been killed, Kitson commented on the gravity of the event.

“As a political science major, along with journalism minor, this is incredibly exciting,” Kitson said.

“Obama also will announce a 50 state tour where he will high five everyone,” in another tweet.

After the dust had settled and more details had been released, Kitson commented on an experience at CCSU. “Days when Ned Lamont came to my class made me want to get into politics and political science, but...it’s days like yesterday that make me want to do more with my journalism minor,” Kitson said.

“While news anchors were not able to really say anything, being tight lipped, it started streaming through twitter on Osama,” Kitson told The Recorder.

SGA President-elect Eric Bergenn also took to Twitter to comment on bin Laden’s death.

“This is only a moral victory, but to the families of 9/11 victims it means so much more,” Bergenn said. “Good day for USA.” Twitter users can also keep track of campus news by following @TheRecorder.

Cardoso Case a Positive For Proponents of DREAM Act CARDOSO | Cont. from 1 and looking to contribute to his community and this state.”

Malloy also expressed his support for the DREAM Act. “I strongly support the efforts of Congress in considering the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors that would providence individuals like Mariano the opportunity to apply for temporary legal status and eventually permanent legal status and citizenship,” said Malloy in his letter. “Even if the DREAM Act were eventually approved, however, it would not become effective in time to assist Mariano.”

Senator Richard Blumenthal also called on officials to defer the deportation of Cardoso and to give his support for the DREAM Act.

Blumenthal mentioned Cardoso in his statements and stated that he is going to find ways to assist Cardoso in his efforts.

“This decision is right for Mariano – and right for America – in light of his roots in the community and his future contributions to our society,” said Blumenthal in his statement announcing the stay that was granted. “I am thrilled with the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to grant Mariano Cardoso a stay of removal, renewable each year, so that he can remain in the only country he has ever known.

Mariano is a promising young man with a bright future, and DHS’ swift action on this issue ensures that he will be able to continue contributing to his community.”

“I gained support that I wasn’t

expecting,” Cardoso said at a panel discussing deportation held at CCSU last Wednesday. “The governor and Senator [Richard] Blumenthal spoke on my behalf and it’s an honor.”

Cardoso expressed his gratitude towards LASO and all of the support he received from students and those who have helped him try to solve this issue.

“So far I have much to learn and my goal is to meet with as many people as I can,” Cardoso said.

“I know I have a lot of people to support me and with that in mind, I have something to strive with.”

At the panel the audience asked Cardoso about his experience with immigration and the threat of deportation, the response he’s received from the community

and the support he has gained by addressing the public with his issue.

Vivian Nowakowski, a New Britain resident, had a similar story to share at the panel. In 2008, her husband was deported.

Nowakowski explained her grief and the efforts that she made to get him back. Her husband was eventually able to return to the country.

“If anyone has a voice and they could help or know anyone else that could they must contact someone because this is a horrible, horrible thing,” said Nowakowski.

The DREAM Act was passed by the House of Representatives towards the end of 2010 with 55 yes votes and 41 no votes, but failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed for it to pass the Senate.

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, May 4, 2011 / NEWS

Cyberstalking: Times Have Changed, But The Laws Have Not kat boushee The Recorder

Despite the advent of social media, cyberstalking is not considered stalking in the state of Connecticut. The stalking statute, put into place in 1992, makes no mention of computers or the Internet. All forms of cyberstalking are instead considered harassment.

Now, steps are being taken to change the statutes and make cyberstalking a form of stalking in Connecticut, and thus up the penalties incurred by those who commit the offense.

On March 30, a judiciary committee heard testimony and changes to the statutes may be forthcoming. CCSU graduate student Krystal Rich spoke before the committee as a recent victim of a assault committed by a former CCSU professor.

“As a Connecticut resident and sexual assault survivor, I too, have been the victim of stalking,” Rich told the committee. “Stalking does not look the same way it did years ago. With the rise of technology over the past several years and people having access to so many different ways to connect with someone, it is a essential that Connecticut’s stalking laws include all of the possible ways a person can use the new technology to victimize another person.”

Cyberstalking laws were first put into place in California in 1999. In

2003, Florida followed suit with a bill that passed in the House and the Senate unanimously. Other states have revised their legislation to include cyberstalking in their harassment statutes.

“Stalking is a crime that is often times linked to other crimes such as sexual assault and many more forms of violence,” Rich said. “By not addressing all of the behaviors that people use to stalk, we are just leaving the door open for more violence.”

In Connecticut, second-degree stalking is when a person willfully and repeatedly “lies in wait” for another person with intent to cause that person to fear for his or her safety. If a person does indeed feel threatened, the crime is a class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2000, a prison sentence of up to one year, or both.

To be convicted of stalking in the first degree the person must already have been convicted of stalking in the second degree, break a court order or stalk someone under the age of 16.

Stalking in the first degree is a class D felony, punishable by a fine of up to $5000, less than five years in prison, or both.

In Connecticut, a person is guilty of second-degree harassment when they cause annoyance or alarm through nearly any form of communication.

Seconddegree harassment is a class C

misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of less than $500 or less than three months in prison.

According to Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services approximately one in four stalking victims report cyberstalking in some form, including e-mail or instant messaging. CONNSACS also alleges that 66 percent of stalking victims receive repeated unwanted phone calls or message, neither of which is currently covered by Connecticut’s stalking statute.

“This is one issue that should be worked on and I think that it is important that we all voice our concerns about this issue,” said Rich.

The proposed changes to the statutes include expanding the definition of first degree stalking so that it includes more past behaviors, expanding the definitions of second and third degree stalking to include threatening loved ones such as children or even pets, and increasing penalties across the board for stalking offenses.

When asked what the public could do to help this issue, Rich advised people to speak up.

“Say something, don’t be a bystander,” Rich said. “If you see someone being stalked or you know someone who is committing the stalking, report it. Speaking up is the only way we are going to break the cycle.”

Higher Ed Reorganization Deal Aims To Preserve University Missions Matt Clyburn The Recorder

A deal to reorganize the governance of Connecticut’s higher education institutions was reached last week after discussions between the Office of Policy and Management and Higher Education Chairperson Roberta B. Willis.

The agreement contains many elements proposed by Governor Dannel Malloy during his budget announcements in February, including the creation of a single Board of Regents overseeing the four Connecticut state universities, twelve community colleges and Charter Oak State College.

The agreement also calls for the creation of an advisory commission reporting to the Board of Regents.

The commission would design and implement a strategic plan for the state’s higher education system, including the University of Connecticut.

A press release from Malloy’s office stressed that state universities, community colleges and Charter Oak would remain separate entities with distinct missions. Each of the three groups will have a “lead individual” serving on the Board of Regents, presumably to advocate for policy and governance policies while a member of the body.

“I’m pleased that we were able to tie up loose ends and formalize this proposal on behalf of our state’s students who choose to attend our community colleges, regional universities and Charter Oak,” said Mark Ojakian, deputy secretary of the Office of Policy and Management in a statement. “In

the end, it’s the students who win.

By flattening our administrations costs and overhead, we can direct more money to our student and classroom instruction.”

“This proposal will help make these schools more functional to those who attend them,” Ojakian said.

Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Laura Tordenti spoke to the SGA senate about the agreement at their meeting last week, saying that the plan will be in place by July 1.

“I think that Central will continue to thrive with the reorganization,” Tordenti said.

In the statement from the governor’s office, Rep. Willis of the Higher Education Committee said that she was originally concerned about the individual institutions’ missions.

“They serve a critical and defined need in our communities, one that must be maintained even as we seek efficiencies and savings,” Willis said.

“The commitment to a strategic plan is important,” Willis added.

“The Advisory Commission will have an ongoing and permanent role, needed for us to be able to adjust to changing needs in Connecticut and responsive to student needs and workforce development needs in the state that our higher education system can address.”

Back in February, Malloy called for an annual report from the Board of Regents that identifies retention and graduation rates, resource allocation figures, cost-benefit analyses and an “affordability index” tied to Connecticut’s

average family household income.

The report is expected to include information related to enrollment and completion figures sorted by program of study, credit transferability across institutions and employment outcome data provided by the Department of Labor.

Rep. Willis said that more specifics need to be worked out, but that the plan is based on a need for change and improvement.

“In the end, we can improve student learning, help close the achievement gap, prepare student for 21st century jobs our state will need to move us forward, and make higher education more efficient and effective.

If passed out of the General Assembly, the plan would take effect in tandem with implementation of the state budget for Fiscal Year 2012.

Follow The Recorder on Twitter @therecorder for breaking news multimedia and live tweeting

Off-Campus Party Control Improved, ‘Party House’ Log May Be Published sara m. berry The Recorder

Homeowners around CCSU told committee members at Monday’s Town and Gown meeting that the partying situation has improved around campus and the effort should continue as new students move into the area in the fall.

Jonathan Pohl, Alcohol and Other Drug Education Coordinator, said the number of parties has decreased, as have the number of students who receive multiple violations.

“Some of the students I work with are quite surprised to see that their drinking is much greater than the average student,” Pohl said.

Pohl said the Town and Gown committee has long discussed the issue of publishing a list of houses where large parties occur. The committee reached a decision that may lead to a log being placed on the police department website that would list dates, addresses and the numbers of individuals who received citations at the specific incident.

Nevertheless, New Britain Police Department Detective Michael Cumminskey said that response has been positive as of late, from both students and parents.

“We try to instill in [the students] that we’re not here to make your lives miserable,” said Cumminskey. “This past Thursday, I think every student except for one that I gave a ticket to said thank you.

I’ve never been thanked so much.”

CCSU Police Sergeant Jerry Erwin said he has seen an increase in calls from parents of CCSU students.

“The parents are very thankful for being notified,” Erwin said. “Not one of them was complaining that the police were the bad guys.”

One proposal discussed to curb the partying atmosphere on and off-

about the majority of Blue Devil behavior are emphasized, such as the fact that 80 percent of students surveyed have never gotten in trouble with university authorities, most Blue Devils don’t drink and drive and that 75 percent of Blue Devils do not have poor test scores due to alcohol.

“There’s a mindset out there [that] this is college, and for some people, that’s their view of college is drinking and partying and sex and everything that goes with it,” said Jason Powell, chief of police at CCSU. One of the goals of the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Education is to change that mindset, according to Powell.

Committee members also discussed safety issues on Paul Manafort Drive following two accidents where pedestrians were struck by vehicles on the road bordering campus.

Committee members and members of the community addressed issues such as excessive speeding, deficient lighting and jaywalking students.

Pohl said that one danger is students who cross the streets in dark areas and outside of crosswalks. Five street lights on a stretch of Paul Manafort Drive are not working, according to Pohl, and the university has petitioned Connecticut Light and Power to fix malfunctioning street lights.

One suggestion for increasing safety on Manafort Drive is increasing the number of tickets issues to those who cross outside of crosswalks and put themselves in danger by jaywalking. Another suggestion called for speed bumps, increased signage near crosswalks and the addition of several stop signs.

“We did [ticket for jaywalking] some years back, but as soon as a few faculty members were given tickets for jaywalking, that activity

“We try to instill in [the students] that we’re not here to make your lives miserable. This past Thursday, I think every student except for one that I gave a ticket to said thank you. I’ve never been thanked so much.”

-Michael Cumminskey, NBPD Detective.

campus is to reach out to students before they get to CCSU. Cumminskey said that many of the students that he encounters in party situations are from the same general area of the state, and Cumminskey and Erwin expressed an interest in speaking to high school students from towns that make up a large percentage of CCSU students.

Laura Tordenti, vice president of student affairs, noted that Assistant of Student Affairs Ramon Hernandez and the police have plans to reach out to students during orientation.

One of the key programs of the Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Education is a social norms campaign targeted at students whose perception is that that majority of their peers are drinking and changing that perception.

The office recently launched the campaign slogan “Dare to be a Blue Devil,” where the positive statistics

pretty much stopped,” said Erwin.

“Traffic calming is basically some relatively inexpensive engineering solutions that slow down the flow of traffic,” Powell said.

“For example, you might…create some bicycle lanes or some parking areas to limit the appearance…that you can go through fast. Or you might, using some graphics, make it appear as there are speed bumps there when in fact there are none.

Or some islands…these things were discussed a few years ago.”

While Town and Gown may be able to voice their ideas, Powell said that decisions on how to deal with problems on Paul Manafort Drive will have to be reached in agreement with the university.

Any proposals to improve safety on the state road would need to be approved in conjunction with the CCSU Master Planning Committee, facilities management, the city of New Britain and the state of Connecticut.

OPINION

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THE RECORDER Wednesday, May 4, 2011

EDITORIAL

Cardoso Case Shows the Need for DREAM Act

There are those in this country who want nothing more than to kick illegal aliens off of American soil. These people are usually thick-blooded, hard-working citizens who have every right to be angry when they are losing jobs and paying taxes to support those who have snuck into the country. In the case surrounding a New Britain resident, Mariano Cardoso was not one of those aliens who deserved to be shunned and sent back over the border.

The DREAM Act, which was first introduced to Congress in 2001, would protect those in situations similar to Cardoso’s. Like many aliens seeking citizenship in this country, he has no recollection of his actual birthplace. Cardoso has been an ‘American’ for nearly his whole

EDITOR’S COLUMN

Michael Walsh The Recorder

Our Student Government Association is a sleeping giant.

Sleeping because of the lack of student interest in the group, giant because of the massive potential the group holds in the form of possible influence on our campus.

In last month’s elections a lowly 556 students voted for next year’s student government, down by more than 30 percent from last year.

If the U.S. News recent college ranking report is close to correct, CCSU currently has 9,989 undergraduate students floating around its New Britain campus. A pathetic 5.5 percent of you decided to take a long enough Facebook break last month to vote, and no matter how informed that vote was, I applaud you for it.

According to the same U.S. News report, the private Quinnipiac University has fewer

life. He knows nothing of his past and this was taken into account when his case was brought to light.

It is this light which not many in his situation can rely on. Senators and governors don’t often stand up for illegal aliens to be allowed to stay in this country. In Cardoso’s case, he received help from both Senator Richard Blumenthal and Governor Dannel Malloy, in addition to the local community that came out to support him.

This case is obviously a sensitive and unique one, but our staff feels like this can’t be the only instance of a student in this situation facing deportation. Cardoso did the perfect thing in reaching out to the CCSU LASO group, the Latin American Student Organization, to get his case more of

a following in the community.

Our staff feels that this case, and cases like this, should be an obvious indication of the need to pass the DREAM Act. It would allow more students, who are trying to better themselves and give back to the communities they come from, to stay in the country and become citizens.

Many will argue that we shouldn’t be quick to giving out citizenship like free samples at a supermarket, but the lawmakers have made a solid proposal which keeps getting stuck in legislation. In order to actually gain citizenship, one needs to get a degree or give themselves to military service.

Both of these options will be hard to argue against.

As a country, we are worried about losing

jobs and spending our tax dollars on those who don’t deserve it, but the people who will benefit from this act won’t fall into these groups. These aren’t the people jumping fences and performing low-level labor jobs their whole lives, but instead those going out and working to get their degrees to help strengthen their communities.

The United States was founded on the basis that everyone deserves freedom, among other things, and we shouldn’t be quick to forget that at one time we were all once searching for a better life. Let’s allow those who try and prove themselves, such as Mariano Cardoso and others like him, to be part of the social system and not quickly label them with a harsh tag such as ‘illegal alien.’

Who Is To Blame For SGA Election Turnout? than 6,000 undergraduate students. The Quinnipiac Chronicle reported that 2200 votes were counted in deciding their SGA’s next president, a number that puts them at a healthy 38 percent student voter turnout.

CCSU’s much maligned student involvement levels aren’t consistent with other school’s student output across the state.

Unopposed presidential candidate circumstance aside, CCSU’s student government low voter turnout is an unfortunate victim of its own process. There were 14 applicants for the commuter senator position on this year’s ballot. Thirteen of these 14 were practically handed important seats on a senate that works with nearly $800,000 of our student fees. There was a little bit more competition to be found in the resident senator category, as only eight of the 13 applicants received spots on senate. Conversely, all six students that ran for at-large senator made the cut; it didn’t matter how many votes they received in the ‘pick 6’ category.

Low voter turnout is, no secret, a product of a low student interest in much of anything on the CCSU campus. You can’t blame the student government for only having six contenders in a category that six come out of or have otherwise absurd winning rates because no one else stepped up and ran for the positions. And you can’t blame students for not caring to vote for categories where they’re allowed to select a majority of the candidates.

But still, five percent? That’s a baffling result. Roughly 20 percent of UConn’s larger student body was able to throw down votes between partying. Voting for the CCSU SGA was made painlessly simple when Internet voting was implemented, allowing students to make a difference in their pajamas.

But is the voting platform utilized the

wrong choice? After CCSU purchased its services, the university has tried to push Collegiate Link on its students for a few years now, and the only ones it has caught on to are the members of clubs - because they are required to sign up if they want to receive funding. And let’s be honest, the ones already on Collegiate Link and the ones already in clubs don’t need extra motivation to vote. They’re more aware of the elections and they’re certainly conscious to the fact that the SGA decides how much money their club will receive.

At The Recorder’s inaugural SGA candidate discussion, the consensus between those running for executive positions seemed to be that using e-mail to notify students of events should become a rarity and a thing of the past while more creative tactics should be put into motion. I mostly agree, but perhaps a friendly reminder on election day with a link wouldn’t have been a bad idea. E-mail isn’t that antiquated.

The argument can be made that these extra votes that would come from e-mail discovery on the day of elections would have been made by people who wouldn’t have voted otherwise, thus rendering their votes as uninformed and pointless. Despite this likely sound argument, the key is finding a way to somehow get these apathetic, uninterested and boring students somehow interested, engaged and hooked on student government and if that means sending out a dull e-mail that comes off as begging for votes and student involvement, then so be it.

The student government has yet to make a strong presence known in the social networking world. No universal Twitter account exists and the 32-member Facebook group hasn’t been posted on since 2010.

The only real form of marketing, outside of tacky signs and sidewalk chalk I can’t read, comes in the way of prospective candidates

sending you group invites in a naive way of thinking I’m going to vote for you because you spammed my Facebook instead of my e-mail. I hate Facebook and you’re likely achieving the opposite.

I wish I had a solution to this problem. I wish it were easy. It seems like it should be.

Students taking interest in the university their money goes towards sounds like something none of us should even think twice about, but apparently most don’t even think once about it, placing other things higher on their radars.

Whatever the necessary step is, it must be a cohesive group effort and both sides must want it. The SGA holds events and does an earnest job trying to get its name out there and not be an invisible entity, but it needs to be more creative in attracting student interest. Prospective senators need to find a way to separate themselves from the pack. Lame signs aren’t the way inside a Blue Devils’ heart.

At the same time, CCSU students must try and find time to give a damn. Your time here is shorter than you think and the best way to prepare for any potential career is to get involved at the student level. Tell me you’re too busy and I’ll laugh in your face.

I’ve heard it all before. Besides, the busiest students at this school are the ones working hard as a SGA senator, organizing weekly events for their groups and clubs or putting together media publications like this very newspaper.

I graduate in a few weeks. I’ve written many times about the potential I think CCSU has as a campus and community. I still believe in that potential. I don’t want to be cynical about my generation’s interest in things that actually matter, but sometimes I have no choice.

Five percent?

Really, CCSU?

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EDITOR@CENTRALRECORDER.COM

5

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, May 4, 2011 / OPINION

EDITOR’S COLUMN

Shrinking Pell Grants Will Outweigh Small Tuition Increases

Sobriety Checkpoint Apps:

Scourge of the Devil or No Big Deal?

Kat boushee The Recorder

nicholas proch The Recorder

The recent announcement of tuition increases has students worried about how they are going to make ends meet when the bill comes in the mail. A 2.5 percent increase doesn’t amount to a whole lot, but many of us will feel it. However, for some reason, the larger uproar is surrounding the increase that will be taxed to individuals who pay with their credit card.

An additional 2.5 percent will be added the already increased price in tuition if you rely on a card to pay your bills. It’s safe to say that most of those who are worried about these increases aren’t coming from families who can take another decrease in their available assets lightly.

Students who are in this group also most certainly relying on help from the National Pell Grant fund. A person who is eligible can receive up to $5,550 a year to use towards their tuition. This is a large portion of the nearly $8,000 full-time tuition.

A current Republican legislation has been brought to the table which would cut this program by more than 60 percent. This would save about $20 billion, but the costs could send this generation into a terrible economic downturn.

Although the bill only has a small chance

of passing, the fact that this bill is even being proposed shows that the system will change in the near future. Every item on the national budget will reviewed and this isn’t an exception.

Currently, the maximum grant is $5,550 a year, but it could go down to $3,040 a year.

This is a big cut. A student just potentially went from paying less than half of the total tuition on their own to the majority.

A plethora of students at this university are working to make their payments each semester. They don’t need to hear that they’re going to be responsible for an extra $1,000 a semester. It’s hard enough with the increases in tuition and the credit card tax.

Students are making too big a deal over the small increase and shouldn’t forget that there might be a major change in costs. This could potentially force students to take out more loans, which will follow you until you pay them off.

A grant is essentially a gift. You don’t have to pay it back and you have no one to thank but Uncle Sam. A loan, on the other hand, is very different. While you can instantly forget about a grant, you will be making payments on a loan for years to come.

Stop complaining about the small increases in tuition and start paying attention to the potential changes which will far outweigh the others.

I don’t drive drunk. In fact, after my younger brother fell asleep driving last May, I don’t even drive tired. I do, however, often find myself out driving during the peak times for sobriety checkpoints due to my job as a waitress.

In those moments while I’m waiting to have the officer shine his flashlight in my eyes and ask me his litany of questions, all I can do is wish for my bed, or dream that one day my GPS will be able to warn me about things like this.

It turns out that the day I was hoping for was already here and no one had bothered to tell me about it. I learned from an article in the New York Times that there are applications for smartphones that tell the user where the checkpoint is and how to get around it.

Genius!

However, the point of the article was not to spread the good word, no, alas, it was to celebrate Research In Motion’s (the maker

SPEAK YOUR MIND! Write for our opinion section next semester. editor@ centralrecorder.com

of the Blackberry smartphones) decision to ban these apps from their devices. Apple and Google have not followed suit, much to the dismay of the author of the article, Randall Stross, and various U.S. senators.

Sobriety checkpoints are always announced ahead of time and you can even go on the CT.gov website to access them. I could, theoretically, go on the website from my iPhone before driving home from work, no application needed. So it doesn’t really make sense to me to ban these apps.

Honestly, when I get drunk, my texts look like someone sat on my keypad. There is no way that I could open an app and correctly interpret the data and map within. I wouldn’t even think to do it.

If the information is already available in another form, how much harm is the app really causing, and how much of the fuss is just people in government wanting what they suppose is an easy cause to garner themselves support and votes from their constituents?

Of the 17 smartphone-owning CCSU students I polled, only two had heard of the apps and neither had downloaded one. I don’t think this is quite the crisis that it is being made out to be.

In a letter written to RIM by four senators, they quote an unnamed police captain as having said, “If people are going to use those, what other purpose are they going to use them for except to drink and drive?”

Perhaps, good sirs, I just don’t wish to waste my time and that of the police officers when I’m driving home from a long shift at work, or perhaps I simply value my privacy and my rights.

That being said, I’m all for catching drunk drivers. I just don’t think limiting the types of applications I can use on my cell phone is the way to do it.

Letters to the Editor Response to ‘Campus Publication’ Editorial Dear Recorder, Given your recent editorial concerning pieces published in Off-Center, we would like the chance to clarify a couple things. There seems to be a misunderstanding concerning the nature of Off-Center Magazine. The publication was created in 2006—before the incident mentioned in the editorial—to be an opinion and non-fiction forum dedicated to giving a voice to students; as such, we defend every writer’s right to uncensored publication regardless of whether or not we agree with the content or expression of the piece. Submissions are edited by an Assistant Editor and the EIC. The writer has the opportunity to accept or reject each suggestion made. This means that Off-Center publishes a writer as the writer intends to be published, which (as the Recorder noted) makes us different from other campus publications.

We would also like to clarify a couple small points about the article in question, “Sodexho or Swastixo.” Spelling the word differently in the title than in the article was a mistake. However, both spellings of the word are correct; Sodexo actually removed the ‘h’ from its name two or more years ago, but the CCSU branch continues to use both spellings on campus.

Lastly, we would like to invite you to read our “positive” treatment of Sodexo, written by staff writer Bryce McKinzie and published in the April issue of 2010. We think you should know we do publish multiple opinions on a given story or concept, but only as we receive them.

Thank you, Off-Center Magazine

In the April 20, 2011 issue of The Recorder, an editorial was printed entitled “Campus Publication Should Remember Mission Statement.” This editorial sought to describe me as a hateful racist who can’t spell proper nouns correctly. For in this editorial I was demonized for writing an article in the Winter 2011 issue of Off-Center Magazine, all because I used the term “slanty-eyed.”

After waxing pedantic about journalistic honor, the writer of this editorial got to the point. First they took offense at the title of my article: “Sodexho or Swastixo?” I will yield that though the current name of the company that provides food for our campus is indeed spelled “Sodexo,” without an “h,” until 2008 the company still retained that “h.” A French company, the name originally was an acronym for Société d’Exploitation Hotelière, which in English means “Hotel Services Society.” Most likely my editor still remembered the original spelling, and stuck with that.

As for the use of the swastika as an image accompanying the article, let me state that I had no input in deciding what picture went with what I wrote. Finally, the editorial latched onto my use of the term “slanty-eyed.” Their reaction to it suggests to me that the writer of the editorial did not actually read my article, but merely saw the term “slanty-eyed” and became offended. One might think that if the writer ever read Huckleberry Finn, they’d merely scream at the sight of the word “nigger” and refuse to read it without realizing that the term was used by Mark Twain as a social commentary.

If the writer of the editorial had actually read my article, they would have realized that in context I was implying that the quality of Sodex(h)o’s attempt at Asian cuisine was so poor that it, in and of itself, was a racial slur.

Please, writer of that editorial, take the time to read things fully before you take offense to them. Let me add that as an opinion writer, hyperbole is an important part of my toolkit, and it is through exaggeration that a lot of my points are made, and a lot of my humor is derived. If swastikas and “slanty-eyed”s offend you that much, I suggest you mature a little and learn about writing anything other than book reports and articles about the latest football game.

Finally, let me say that as an opinion writer, I don’t need to be fair and balanced. The whole point of writing my opinion is that I’m going to take a side and try to persuade you to it. It is the duty of the editors of Off-Center Magazine to find dissenting opinions and clash them against each other. I guess it seems that no one disagreed with me about the quality of Swastixo’s food.

- Michael McClellan

6

THE RECORDER / Wednesday,May 4, 2011 / UPGRADE

‘Kentucky Cycle’ To Conclude This Weekend max kyburz The Recorder

Beginning in March, CCSU theatre has brought Robert Schennkan’s scorching Pulitzer Prize-winning trilogy The Kentucky Cycle to life in the Black Box Theatre.

This week, the third and final part will be unveiled. Though staged in a small space, the room is flooded with stories of deceit and turmoil, all for the greater good of America’s progression. While that may not sound like your ideal Friday night, it’s impossible to walk out feeling unemotional.

In case you missed the first two parts, here’s a little recap: Michael Rowen, a burly settler who comes to America in 1775, begins a slow but destructive domino effect by deceiving Native Americans. After giving them weapons and a smallpox-riddled blanket, a scourge and rape of the Natives ensues. This broad act by many settlers is codified in Michael’s own act of force – the kidnapping and rape of a young Native girl named Morning Star.

She bears him a son, Patrick, who grows to fall into forbidden love with Rebecca Talbert.

Patrick kills Rebecca’s father so that she may be claimed as his wife. After revenge has been exacted and double-crosses have been made among (and within) both families, the first part ends under a cloud of uncertainty.

Now for part two: Under the high command of his brimstone-tongued father Zeke, Jed Rowen fools Talbert by joining the militia in the Civil War, where he will avenge his family’s plight by killing him. Jed’s experiences are hellish; everywhere around is misanthropic violence and deceit. Even after he’s carried out his duties, his homecoming is anything but sweet. Jed raises a family of his own: a wife named Lallie and a hormonal daughter named Mary Anne. They cross paths with a charming traveler named J.T. Wells who cunningly swindles the Rowen family out of their beloved land, breaking the heart of the daughter who has fallen head over heels

Beastie Boys

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

Capitol May 3

max kyburz The Recorder

If there’s one thing the Beastie Boys’ long awaited Hot Sauce Committee Part Two proves, it’s that they are old. Quite old indeed.

Since 1979, Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA have been sabotaging, boutiquing and fighting for your right (to party), a remarkable feat for an all-white hip-hop act.

They’ve always brought their own eclectic and quirky edge to it, hence why acts like Paul Wall and Asher Roth have failed.

Beginning as a hardcore punk outfit, they’ve always possessed a young and angry attitude even when they’ve experimented with every sound imaginable.

But even as time has been good for their legacy, each new recording has been more and more filled with recessive genes. In the case of Hot Sauce, the boys (I use that term loosely) sound tired.

Very tired. There are several reasons for this, one of them being that Adam Yauch (MCA) has been battling cancer, delaying the release for nearly a year.

Under a new moniker (by changing it from Pt.

Actors rehearse for the final installment of ‘The Kentucky Cycle.’ for the new visitor. Soon her beloved land is ravaged into the bittersweet development of industrial cultivation.

The third part will continue in Mary Anne Rowen’s struggle to preserve her family’s legacy, though she is unaware of the atrocities that plague it. Theresa Degan, a senior in her fifth production at CCSU, plays the adult Mary Anne in the second and third parts.

Acknowledging her character’s history, she is able to empathize with her.

“The problems that Mary Anne faces are still very relevant today,” Degan said. “Sure, 1 to Pt. 2), we can see what’s been taking them so long. When it unfolds, however, the results are disappointing. The opener, “Makes Some Noise,” fails to obey the title’s command. Compared to “Ch-Check It Out,” which opened 2007’s To the 5 Burroughs, it’s a whimper rather than a bang. Their middleage leaks through into muffled mid-tempos and it yields unpleasant results.

The Boys sound as though they are attempting a more “chill” sound, but their trademark whiny vocals don’t fit into that mold. The first few tracks end up being showcases for some tightly crafted beats, but they distract from what should be prime Beastie riffs and rhymes. Their collaboration with Nas, “Too Many Rappers,” bad-mouths the wannabes on the scene, but it doesn’t work when the Beasties end up sounding as weak as the contemporaries they are criticizing. Some exotic flavor is present on “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win,” which features Santigold, but it all sounds like too much experimenting and not enough solid, focused structure.

The most grueling segment (and clearest example of how they’ve pretty much lost it) is “Long Live the Fire,” which ends up sounding too much like gangsta rap, which is hard to get away with if you are a 40-something white and reasonably wealthy Jewish citizen.

Out of nowhere comes “Lee Majors Comes Again,” a brief moment of relief that bursts with that classic B-Boy charisma missing from too much of Hot Sauce. Unfortunately it arrives too late to inspire much interest in the album’s remainder, which ends with a wholeheartedly half-assed fifty-second ditty called “The Lisa Lisa/Full Force Routine.”

Though MCA’s illness must be taken into consideration, Hot Sauce seems less like a comeback and more of an application for an AARP card. May the puns on their term of preference “Ill” ensue.

Photo I MYSPACE/beastieboys

kenny barto I THE RECORDER

there’s not really people looking to buy your land to excavate minerals, and information is a lot easier to come by now, but deception, and heartbreak is nothing new. She is a real woman who has very relevant and difficult issues to deal with. She is very exciting to watch grow, though it can be painful at times.”

While the trilogy is a stunning work of drama, it must be accounted for its obedience to history. Pestilence, violence and deception are a part of America’s history, like it or not, and Shenkkan presents them uncompromisingly.

Degan said in agreement, “History is told

Fleet Foxes

Helplessness Blues

Sub Pop May 3

Ashley E. Lang The Recorder

In their second full-length album Fleet Foxes surprises and satisfies with a taste of folk that will leave ears wanting more from this Seattle-based band.

Robin Pecknold (lead vocals and guitar) truly outdoes himself on the band’s latest album. Pecknold’s sweet boyish tone suits him well throughout Helplessness Blues. His voice, soft and subtle, shines on nearly every track, creating wildly vivid images of wonder surrounded by angelic backdrops. Pleasantly painting a world of frolicking nymphs, Pecknold maintains mastery as each track streams through the air.

The beauty of Helplessness Blues lies beneath the distinct guitar rhythms, past the boyish cooing, and into a world that questions not only the morality of life, but death, and everything in between. In the opener “Battery Kinzie,” Pecknold whimsically sings, “I woke up one morning / all my fingers rotten / I woke up a dying man without a chance,” an awkwardly buoyant harmony of lost love.

“The Cascades,” a instrumental solo, begins slow with faint acoustic guitars and suddenly morphs into an anguished beat halfway through, only to settle back down into a soft rhythm as the finale draws near.

In “Lorelai,” Pecknold chimes, “We were like dust on the window /not much, not a lot

by the winners and should usually be taken with a grain of salt. It has been very fascinating to see another side of the information and to have the opportunity and guidelines to really do some research on the subject.”

The nine-act saga has been divided into three two-hour long productions with a new director taking the reins each time.

Gabbi Mendelson oversaw the first, Thom Delventhal the second and Sheila Siragusa the third. Degan noted that being in theatre classes as well as having the same professors as directors amounts to “a well-rounded theatrical education.”

“I began my work on Mary Anne with Thom, and he has a very intimate approach and is very thorough about understanding the characters in full body and mentality,” said Degan. “With him I really got to explore the soul of Mary Anne. Then moving on to Sheila’s show, I have really gotten a great lesson in keeping her real, in a sense of playing her actions effectively.”

You don’t need to have seen the first two parts of The Kentucky Cycle to enjoy its finale. Tickets are available in advance at the Student Center Centix kiosk, priced at $10 for the general public, and $5 for students.

Additionally, for you well-to-do students out there, the entire trilogy will be performed in sequence on Saturday, May 7th at 2 p.m. Tickets are $50 and will include dinner, coffee and dessert in between the three performances. According to sources, the Connecticut Forest & Park Association, which puts forth a considerable amount of its funding for protecting woodlands.

“Participating in an all-day theatre event, as audience, performer or crew member, will be a commitment that resonates with our intention to promote protection of natural resources,” said Mendelson.

Wednesday evening’s performance of part three is free to students with a ticket.

Thursday and Friday’s performances will be regular admission. / everything’s stolen or borrowed / I was old news to you then.” Again, an upbeat rhythm to a narrative of lost love and heartache that only Pecknold’s sweet vocals could do justice.

However, it was “The Shrine/An Argument” that really solidified this album in the end. An antique well in some remote green field surrounded by children tossing copper colored pennies innocently into rippling water, dissolving their faces into hollow depths, the hopes and dreams of little souls wondering in search of faith. “I’m not one to ever pray for mercy / or to wish on pennies in the fountain or the shrine / but that day you know I left my money and I thought of you only / all that copper glowing fine.” Pecknold’s sweet musings travel to the edge of his seemingly mystical and twisted fairytale only to find heartache and uneasiness in a world incomplete. Pecknold distances himself from his usual soft vocals, belting out “sunlight over me no matter what I do” periodically in between delicate guitar fingerings and musings of green apple trees.

Helplessness Blues is a truly masterful follow-up to the band’s self-titled debut album. The poetic verbiage of Pecknold captures the essence of the human spirit, the uncertainty of life, the hope in the future, and the heartbreak when it all seems to fall apart.

Photo I MYSPACE/FLEETFOXES

7

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, May 4, 2011 / UPGRADE

‘Fast Five’ Explodes with Action Nick Rosa

The Recorder

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Jordana Brewster return to the screen in the most action packed Fast and Furious yet.

With big crashes, sexy women and the addition of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as a brute federal agent, there’s plenty to bring in the mostly male audience, which has helped shell out millions over the last decade since the first installment.

Director Justin Lin, who is back for his third time around (Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift and Fast and Furious 2009) opens the film up with exploding cars, a passenger bus flipping multiple times and a huge prison break. The film begins where the last film left off, with Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) and girlfriend Mia Toretto ( Jordana Brewster) using matching hot rods to bust Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) out of a prison transport van.

Defying the laws of physics and straying away from the amount of street racing in the series, Lin puts a new edge to Fast and Furious.

All three are now on the FBI’s most wanted list and are on the run. They flee to Rio de Janeiro, where you would expect beautiful beach scenes, souped up cars and flashy lights.

But no, Lin gives us favelas, back-street garages and has gun-toting drug cartels chasing after the trio. And don’t forget the special group of agents that is lead by federal agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) who is after the three.

While people may be upset with the much less street racing and flashy toy cars contained

in the film, Lin serves up new heights with never ending scenes with metal flying everywhere.

This was the most expensive installment so far and you can see the budget wasn’t used on acting lessons. There was one too many corny one-liners and quick switches in the plot of the film that you wouldn’t normally see, especially in a Fast and Furious film. But overall, Lin did a great job making it work.

After making enemies with the city’s reigning drug lord, Reyes, Dom and the others are constantly on the run and find themselves in a pickle that makes illegal street-racing look minuscule. With Agent Hobbs and his group of special agents and Reyes’ henchman close on behind them, Dom decides the only way they can get their freedom back is to buy it with $100 million of Reyes’ money.

Dom assembles more original cast members and franchise favorites including Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), Roman Pierce (Tyrese Gibson), Han (Sung Kang) and Gisele (Gal Gadot) for “one last job.”

It’s a basic plot but has a clever Ocean’s 11 bank heist strategy thrown in that leads to a climax that will get your blood pumping through the unimaginable obstacles they have to tackle to buy their freedom.

This film is something that audience members probably have never seen before, with a giant steel bank vault careening through the streets of Rio strapped to muscle cars with steel cables, it’s something new to the Fast and Furious series.

The film had non-stop action throughout

Netflix It:

Skins

Photo I FACEBOOK/FASTFIVE

and delivered as a good Fast and Furious film.

If you’re a fan of the series I recommend seeing it, even if it can be corny at times, but the explosive action and original cast

IRC’s Mr. CCSU Energizes Alumni Hall Crowd ciara hooks The Recorder

Photo I FACEBOOK/SKINS-UK

Danny contreras The Recorder

Discard the American version of Skins and you have a great a series. The Bristol, England based series focuses on a group of seniors in high school (they call it college, mind you) and their twisted lives. If the first season was insane, lots of sex, lots of drugs, lots of drama and lots of what the f*** moments, then the second season blew the roof off the house (pardon the cliché).

Tony, a character who in the first season is a sociopath, has a life changing experience—at the end of season 1—that makes him revaluate his attitude towards his friends, life and family. Sid, Tony’s best friend, becomes emotionally involved with Tony’s ex-girlfriend and suffers a major loss in the earlier season 2 episodes.

Cassie, Sid’s girlfriend, heartbroken over Sid’s unfaithfulness, develops a bisexual promiscuity and major drug habits while still struggling with her many mental health illnesses. Michelle, finding out how much of a tool Tony was in the first season,

fills the gap he left with promiscuity and eventually finds Sid. Jal becomes a secondary character in the first half of the season in the latter episodes, however, she becomes central and develops a romantic relationship with Chris, who was evicted. Chris, the party animal-drug addict, becomes a core character in the first episodes when he is looking for a home and is still suffering from the break up caused by his ex-girlfriend and former teacher, Tina.

Anwar and Maxxie become more filler characters in this season, but still deliver comedic relief and some insight into the other characters. Effy, Tony’s sister, becomes Tony’s caretaker, and is given more talktime (she was mute in the first season) as they tried to develop her character for the following season.

In all, Skins is a portrait of what is going on in high schools everywhere. The second season just made things more realistic. By the end of the season you’ve become so engrossed with every character that major events will leave you crying.

members do more than make up for that.

With the climax leading into a sixth installment, the series seems to not disappoint its fans.

The CCSU Inter Residence Council held the annual Mr. CCSU pageant in Alumni Hall in the student center on Thursday night.

“This is our fourth year running it. Before this it was hosted by the halls on their own and then Inter Residence Council actually absorbed it,” said Ryan Sheehan, director of programming for IRC. The men of the Mr. CCSU competition put on an entertaining show. Many of the contestants seemed to use their humor, wittiness and secret talents as a way to the audience’s hearts.

The contestants each used their time on stage to show CCSU who they were and why they should be Mr. CCSU. A few of them were not new to the event because they had competed in prior years and tried to use that to their advantage.

At the end of the night there could only be one winner and the panel of judges had to make the ultimate decision after two hours of fierce competition. The judges decided the crown should go to Andy Deagen. James Flambay received second and Zak Pierce received third.

“It was awesome. I honestly wasn’t expecting it,” said Deagen after winning.

“There were so many awesome and talented people and hilarious people so I wasn’t expecting it at all.”

The show was hosted by Ryan Baldassario and Lauren Bruno, who got the show up and running. The show really got heated up though when the guys introduced themselves with a collection of songs with choreography put to them. Some of the songs included were “Whip My Hair” by Willow Smith, “Teach

Me How to Dougie” by Cali Swag District and “Friday” by Rebecca Black. The crowd seemed instantly pulled in laughing, singing and cheering throughout the performance.

“The contestants all did very well, from all the practice we put into it, it was a good show,” said Baldassario.

Peppered throughout each segment of the show were funny introduction videos put together and acted out by the contestants. In the videos they explained who they were, why they would be a great choice for Mr. CCSU and gave a sneak peak into their hidden talents.

The show also consisted of a very interesting swim suit competition and talent competition.

Marquise Holbrook did a Lady Gaga reenactment, lip syncing a few of her songs for his talent and Greg Brown decided to utilize singing and performed a piece composed of a song by Michael Jackson and one by Chris Brown.

During the formal attire section the men came dressed to impress and were accompanied by a date. They greeted their dates with a flower and strutted to the front of the stage showing off their looks. They then had a question and answer session where the audience experienced their quickness on their feet and their corkiness, answering questions like, “If you were making a movie, who would play you and why?”

IRC most recent event had a lot of momentum early on and the contestants worked hard to keep it alive. It’s a great way for students and their friends to come out on a Thursday night, be entertained and have fun “nonalcoholic fun,” as Sheehan said.

“I had the best night of my life probably, arguably one of the [best], it was awesome. It was so much fun,” said Deagen.

Don’t agree with our point of view?

Express your opinion on the latest entertainment releases!

Contact entertainment@centralrecorder.com

8

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, May 4, 2011 / UPGRADE

‘Hobo with a Shotgun’ Demands Change, Recreates Exploitation Genre Michael walsh The Recorder

He doesn’t want your pennies, nickels and dimes. He wants your blood.

Exploitation film has come a long and twisted way. What was once a genre that had ‘grindhouse’ theaters dedicated solely to the down and dirty film style on street corners across America’s best-known cities has gone wayward. With the oversaturation of disappointing home video quality horror and exploitation that lack the charm of the 1970’s productions, it’s becoming rare to find a film that breathes the same love for the cinema the successes of past year’s did.

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez got it right in their excellent, albeit it overproduced, Grindhouse double feature, a film that spawned two excellent fake trailers turned honest and excellent exploitation film. The first of those was Rodriguez’s own Machete, the second is the recently released Canadian venture Hobo with a Shotgun.

After drifting into Hope Town, Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), the titular hobo, witnesses the depraved crime and violence the town has to offer its citizens.

Backed by a corrupt police force, the sinister Drake (Brian Downey) reigns supreme over the dirty streets of the city along with his sons Slick (Gregory Smith) and Ivan (Nick Bateman) and some kind of unhuman force dubbed ‘The Plague.’ Doing his best Death Wish impression, the unnamed hobo vows to clean the city streets of the scum Drake terrorizes it with and if blood has to be the number one cleansing ingredient, so be it.

No, he isn’t asking for monetary change anymore. Our unlikely hero wants society to change

instead. Exploitation films have always been a genre that often was able to speak on messages directed towards society whether intended or not.

Rodriguez’s recent Machete was timely enough to comment on border control issues between America and Mexico and most of the ultra-violent classics, like I Spit on Your Grave, The House on the Edge of the Park and the entire Blaxploitation genre, as depraved, disturbing and sexual as they were, opened discussion, sometimes unintentionally, on race and humanity in general, exploring just what truly despicable acts are possible of those that make up our strange society.

Hobo with a Shotgun does that.

It ever so slightly turns the table on its audience. The homeless man and his prostitute friend Abby (Molly Dunsworth) are the most levelheaded and honest characters in the film. Corruption runs rampant through the police force and the town’s citizens are bribed and commissioned

by Drake to exterminate all the street’s homeless. Both are unfortunate characters more commonly seen on the other side of things in the history of film, but in director Jason Eisener’s film they’re the odd voice of advocacy for change.

But perhaps more important than the shallow message the film does send, Hobo with a Shotgun fits itself snug inside the genre it belongs in and lays claim to being one of the best in recent years by hitting all the appropriate buttons of the unofficial ‘How to make an exceptional exploitation film’ checklist.

Eisener creates a disgusting, anarchy-filled world of its own and that can only be read as a compliment. Somehow, someway, he turned locations into hopeless, unsightly areas overgrown with

PRIDE Drag Ball Raises Funds for Jim Collins Foundation

kat boushee The Recorder

CCSU PRIDE held its annual Drag Ball on April 27 to benefit the Jim Collins Foundation, a charitable organization that fundraises in order to provide gender-confirming surgery to transgender people who wish to have the surgery and do not have the money to fund the surgery on their own.

PRIDE had raised money throughout the past few weeks by allowing people to donate to see certain prominent members of the CCSU community in drag.

Several students, including Student Government Association president-elect Eric Bergenn, SGA vice-president-elect Liz Braun and former PRIDE treasurer and SGA senator Justin Blain, dressed in drag and walked the Drag Ball runway for the cause.

Blain explained his willingness to be auctioned off, saying that it was a good cause and that last year they had “a huge success and it helps to donate to the cause.”

According to Larry Clark, president-elect of CCSU PRIDE, the club reached and perhaps

exceeded their goal of $500. Exact figures will not be in until later this week.

Bergenn found it to be “an interesting experience to step out of [his] normal realm,” and mentioned that he “thought it was something worth doing.”

The ball opened with amateur drag kings and queens performing numbers and being judged by professional drag kings and queens.

The actual scheduled performances started about an hour late, and the hosts laughingly commented that they were running on “gay time.”

The winner of the amateur drag king contest, Justin Hurr, and the amateur drag queen winner, Trixie Payne, performed to riotous applause and were ultimately chosen by the hosts on the basis of audience cheers and applause.

The hosts themselves, drag kings and queens from the area, were voted in by PRIDE and the main host, Electra Shock, donated her pay back to PRIDE to allow them to hire a fifth host.

PRIDE is an organization that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students on campus, and puts on educational programs for the campus at large.

Photo I Alliancefilms

depravity. The streets are littered with yesterday’s garbage and the retro looking clubs, arcades and buildings are layered with graffiti.

A necessary sense of location inside a depressed world is created, an absolute necessity for any film trying to create circumstances as unlikely as Eisener’s.

But Eisener then does one better by using a stylish and unnatural color tone that helps instill a dreary but oddly appealing visual atmosphere to his film. Opening credits claim the shooting was done with the help of Technicolor, and whether the entire film was actually shot that way or not, it sure appears to be. The oversatured colors help Eisener give his film that unique flair that a great exploitation film

needs in order to separate itself from the pack of copycats.

The true plight of modern genre films has been the increased use of CGI effects. Nothing looks as raw and real as handmade special effects, something Hobo with a Shotgun has lots of.

Exploitation films know they’re silly, campy and unrealistic, but at the same time a not so strange amount of attention to detail is paid to what is often considered the saving grace of some genre films: the violence.

Relying on the concept of a hobo killing off scum because the scum tortured and killed the hobos and innocent citizens of Hope Town, it’s obvious that Eisener needed to have an absurd amount of death and mutilation

happen to its characters. The violence is creative and unique, a must for any film relying so heavily on it, as toasters, hockey skates and lawnmowers are just some of the objects that join the titular shotgun as other weapons featured in the film. The blood is plentiful and the amount of decapitated limbs and heads is up there with the best of them.

Hobo with a Shotgun is a delightfully crude, funny and violent film full of camp and over the top performances from a few actors we’ve seen before. Adding all that to the bright future Eisener clearly has directing this kind of slop and you’ve got one of modern cinema’s best attempts at creating something of the past.

9

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, May 4, 2011 / UPGRADE

Calendar 5.4 - 5.11

MUSIC 5.4 Ladycop @ BAR New Haven, CT FREE / 21+ / 9pm Four Year Strong @ Webster Theatre Hartford, CT $18 / all ages / 5pm doors 5.5 Guster @ Toad's Place New Haven, CT $30 / all ages /8pm doors 5.6 Mahavishnu Project @ Toad's Place New Haven, CT $15 / all ages / 8pm doors 5.7 Deftones @ Webster Theatre Hartford, CT $30 / all ages / 7pm doors 5.11 Bowling for Soup @ Toad's Place $18 / all ages / 7pm doors FILM 5.7 - 5.8 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives @ Real Art Ways Hartford, CT

$6.25 with student ID / 7:3opm The recipient of the prized Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's hypnotic drama tells the haunting story of a Thai man suffering from kidney failure who retreats to the countryside to die in the company of his loved ones. As Uncle Boonmee nears the end of his life, the spirit of his late wife returns to guide him into the unknown, and his estranged son reappears in the form of a jungle spirit. Later, the ailing man leads his family on a journey to a hilltop cave where he first came into this world.

5.4 - 5.7 Of Gods & Men @ Cinestudio Hartford, CT $7 / 7:30pm The true story of a group of eight French Trappist monks caught up in Algeria’s 1990s civil war is now a powerful film about spirituality and sacrifice in a time of violence. At the monastery the monks chant, make honey, offer medical services to the people of Tibhirine, and live out the radical ideals of humility and service to others. Outside, the countryside is filled with the warring factions of an authoritarian government and Islamist rebels, and the monks face a complex moral decision: should they flee for safety, or stand with the villagers they have dedicated their lives to aid? Winner, Grand Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival.

“Begins and ends as a testament not to God but to brotherhood, and a portrait not of war’s violence but of love’s endurance.” Rick Groen, Toronto Globe and Mail.

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10

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, May 4, 2011 / SPORTS SPORTS BEGINS ON BACK PAGE

COLUMN

Recent Blue Devil Success Story Should be Celebrated

brITTANY burkE The recorder

The CCSU Alumni Association just inducted five new members into the Blue Devil Hall of Fame.

Among the inductees were a former Olympic athlete and professional basketball player for a European

league.

Those Blue Devil athletes didn’t have their numbers retired, but they have become infamous in Blue Devil history. In fact, there have been two athletes to have their numbers retired at CCSU, Bill Detrick for basketball and Ricky Botallico, a former relief pitcher for the Blue Devils who spent 12 seasons in the major leagues.

With the latest Blue Devil graduate to make his major league debut, one can’t help but ask; should he follow suit and have his number retired, is it too early to think of such things, or should he just bide his time until he one day gets the nod to become a Blue Devil Hall of Fame inductee?

On April 25 former CCSU pitcher Evan Scribner was called up to the major leagues by the San Diego Padres to take the spot of the injured Wade LeBlanc. While Scribner didn’t see any field action in his first day, he’s been put in twice by the Padres since.

The day he was called up and the days after there were Facebook posts and multiple tweets reposting the news and proclaiming excitement

because a CCSU graduate made it up to the big leagues.

It was the most Blue Devil pride I have seen on a social media site all season, and perhaps all year, so is news like this something that the school should capitalize on?

Seeing that someone has come out of CCSU and excelled on such a national level is something that should excite CCSU students.

Something of this caliber gives the students another thing to build a community around.

Botallico spent his 12 seasons in the major leagues splitting his time with a handful of teams, and even made an appearance in the 1996 All-Star game representing the National League. So while Scribner has a ways to go before his number is worthy of retirement, the idea is something that should be kept in mind, and his career is one that should be followed by current CCSU students and alumni.

Not many numbers have been retired in CCSU’s history, but doing so will make the students even more proud to be a Blue Devil.

Former Blue Devils Inducted Into CCSU Hall of Fame

cHrISTopHEr mclAuGHlIN The recorder

With five new members getting the call to join the ranks of CCSU’s elite, another chapter of the Blue Devils illustrious Hall of Fame has been written.

While the CCSU Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame induction is held every year, this year’s was a historical one. For the first time in school history, members of the women’s soccer team have been inducted into the Blue Devil Hall of Fame.

Jacqueline Hadden (’00) and Jane McFarlane (’01) became the first representatives of women’s soccer. Joining Hadden and McFarlane in this year’s class, is Corsley Edwards II (’01), Marcin Kaczmarek (’02) and Jack Suydam (posthumously). Each new member has accomplished a lot, both during their time at CCSU, and after.

“We’re here tonight to recognize and honor a group of people who have made tremendous contributions through athletics or via other alumni activities,” said CCSU President Dr. Jack Miller.

Following the opening reception, emcee for the evening, Vice President Chris Galligan got on stage to begin the ceremony. Though the banquet was to honor the new Hall of Fame Inductees, the Alumni Association began the event by presenting awards to other alumni’s for their service to CCSU. The first alumni award winner, Alex Cortes (’00), was presented with the Young Alumni Award. Since his graduation in 2000, Cortes has been working his way up at ESPN. He is currently the Senior Manager of Internal Communications, and was recently selected to the CCSU Alumni Board of Directors.

The next recipient of an Alumni Award

has been a member of the Blue Devil Hall of Fame since 1964. Robert Skinner (’55) was a member of the Blue Devil football team, and helped lead them to an undefeated season in 1954. For his contributions to CCSU, Skinner was given the Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2004. Continuing to give back to the Central community, Skinner was presented with the Kaiser Alumni Service award.

“It is with great pride and joy that I stand here today to receive this award,” said Skinner.

“Let me thank you for having remembered me through the miles and decades, this award is a privilege that I shall cherish forever.”

The 2011 Distinguished Alumni Service Award, was received by Len Gengel (’87).

Like the others, Gengel was awarded for his services to CCSU. He has been involved in both campus initiatives and student affairs projects, but since January 2010 he has been dedicating his efforts to a special project in Haiti.

“This campus has prepared us for the most unnatural act of mankind,” said Gengel. “I thank all of you for this wonderful award, and I thank you for the support we have received.

I thank you all for having been so humble to listen to me.”

After Gengel came the new inductees.

Hadden was called to the podium first, becoming the first woman soccer player in school history to be inducted. Hadden had a successful career during her time at CCSU. She was team captain, is the current record holder in assists, and helped lead the Blue Devils to two NEC titles, and the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Hadden currently lives in Australia, but made the trip to New Britain for her induction.

“I feel this award is beyond me as an individual,” said Hadden. “I feel that way

because it recognizes my achievements as an individual, but I would like to accept this award on behalf of the women’s soccer program, and on behalf of the wonderful group of women I had the privilege of playing with.”

McFarlane was the next member to be inducted. Like Hadden, McFarlane had a noticeable impact on CCSU soccer. From the start, McFarlane made her presence known by taking home the NEC Rookie of the Year.

Her success continued throughout her career earning the NEC Player of the Year award, as well as being named team captain in her senior season. Like Hadden, McFarlane resides in another country, but still made the trip from Scotland to receive her honors.

“To be honest when I first found out I was being inducted, I was speechless,” said McFarlane. “It’s an honor and delight to be back at CCSU, I always said four years was never enough.”

The third inductee, Kaczmarek, resides overseas, but was unable to coordinate the trip from Poland due to family circumstances.

Kaczmarek made a name for himself at CCSU in NCAA swimming. He holds records in the 100 and 200 yard butterfly, and is an eight time champion at the ECAC Swimming and Diving Championship. In 2000, he was named to the NCAA Division 1 All-American Team, and later represented Poland in the Olympics. Despite being unable to attend, Kaczmarek sent a letter to accept the honor.

“I regret very much not being here to share in the celebration,” said Kaczmarek. “I’d like to thank the Alumni Association, and the Hall of Fame Committee for selecting me for this honor. I am also truly humbled for my inclusion in this special group of individuals.”

For his efforts in not only starting the CCSU Swim Team in 1967, but helping

it run smoothly for 23 years, Suydam was given the nod to join the Hall of Fame. His contributions are what led the natatorium to being renamed in his honor. Though Suydam passed away, his family was in attendance, and his youngest daughter, Sondra, spoke on his behalf.

“By sharing our memories and laughter, we can absorb this recognition and the kind of man he was, and we might all feel like he is very much alive with us tonight,” said Suydam. “Thank you for helping bring my father home.”

Rounding out the 2011 Hall of Fame Class, was Edwards. Edwards was unable to attend, as he is playing professional basketball in Croatia and is competing for the Euro Cup. During his time at CCSU, Edwards lead the CCSU to two NCAA Tournament appearances.

He finished his career second all-time in points scored and seventh in rebounds for CCSU. After being named the NEC Player of the Year in 2002, Edwards was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the NBA draft. While he is busy playing ball in Europe, Edwards was able to send a video thanking CCSU for his induction.

“This is a great award that wouldn’t have happened without the people sitting in this room,” said Edwards.

After the inductions, all of the current members of the Hall of Fame that were present were brought on stage to be joined by the newcomers.

“It has been a great evening for the Central family,” said Associate Director of Alumni Affairs Cathie Jost. “It’s always great to be here with friends and family members to celebrate the accomplishments of the alumni, it’s truly overwhelming.”

but like McInerney predicted prior to the game, the defense needs work, which is the opposite of last season. Despite only being a scrimmage, the defense allowed for 31 points by both teams.

Freshman kicker Steven Calitri also struggled on the field taking over for Joe Izzo, but McInerney has confidence in his young talent.

“We probably got about 16 defensive players that can play and are ready to play in a game,” said McInerney. “When you divide two teams out there you’re gonna have some guys who are just not ready to play at this time, but you don’t have to be, that’s why you have summer and 29 days of camp to get them cranked and ready to roll.”

The Blue Devils will have a small break to finish out the school year, but will pick things back up over the summer, before the team opens up at home against the Southern Connecticut State University Owls on Sept.

3 at 12 p.m.

Gunnar Jespersen.

Friendly ‘Blue and White’ Game Ends In Tie fooTbAll I coNT. from 12

In his second spring game as a Blue Devil, and last year’s game MVP, Jespersen was more comfortable with his line, which only comes with experience. The second year quarterback finished the game 14-of-18 with 210-yards and a single touchdown.

“I threw the ball a lot less, but I felt more comfortable on the field. This year I know what I’m doing,” said Jespersen. “Last year I kind of felt like a deer in the headlights, they were signaling plays I didn’t know what they were calling, half the time I just let the receiver run and see where he’d go and throw him the ball late.

“This year we’re a little more fine tuned, like I said I feel more comfortable and that helps…Last year we put in a brand new offense this year’s our second year in the offense in the system so everyone has an idea of what we’re doing instead of trying to piece together a bunch of different position groups all at once.”

While Jespersen is next year’s starting

quarterback, freshman quarterback Denzell Jones also had a big game, serving both as a quarterback and wide receiver. The 6-foot6 rookie from Bloomfield completed five of his seven attempts for a total of 39-yards. His ground statistics proved to be better than the ones he gained in the air, as Jones ran for 63-yards, caught for 54-yards and took the ball in for a touchdown.

“Denzell Jones like to compete, he’s a Big East player at receiver he’s 6’6’’ and can run,” said McInerney. “I don’t know if he’d be a star in the Big East but he can play at that level and in this league he should be extremely, extremely good, and obviously you’re gonna see him make plays.

“I want him to be the quarterback here in ’12, he’s gonna be the quarterback here in ’12 …but we’re still trying to develop him on both sides to keep his horns sharpened at quarterback because I want the transition to be better than it was the last time.”

The offensive side of the ball was in sync,

kENNY bArTo I THE rEcorDEr

11

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, May 4, 2011 / SPORTS

SGA VP Hopes to Separate Club Sports from the Rest Brittany Burke The Recorder

As it stands, the CCSU club teams and the regular clubs are clumped together. This means that club teams such as ice hockey, rugby, lacrosse, baseball and equestrian follow the same rules when it comes to base budgets as clubs such as the Latin American Student Organization, the car club and the construction management club, which makes requests difficult for both the team and SGA. However, this could all change if newly elected Student Government Association Vice President Liz Braun has anything to say about it. As part of her platform, Braun had the idea to separate club sports from the rest of the clubs.

“Right now I’m planning on giving [club sports] their own process, because right now the paper work they have to fill out, it caters to the general clubs on campus and the team club that has league dues and equipment and uniforms, that’s completely different,” said Braun. “So the first thing would be to fix up that to make it [easier] for them, then hopefully I’d like to separate it so when we’re doing the budget process, it’s more like comparing apples to apples rather than apples to oranges.”

While running for vice president, she and SGA president-elect Eric Bergenn reached out to the respective club teams as a way of getting feedback and help in trying to polish her idea. She has traveled to the Newington ice rink to speak with members of the ice hockey club following a pickup game, worked with the men’s lacrosse club in formulating a base budget to enhance the team’s ability to get the money they need to cover next year’s expenses, while also corresponding via e-mail with the other club teams.

“I think it’s a really great idea,” said Bergenn. “The way that budgets are requested is very specific and it doesn’t cater at all to the need of club sports teams, but it seems to fit all the other clubs pretty well. So to come up

with a creative way to give them something to actually base their budget request and line items on would be helpful for both club sports teams and the senate to decipher what fits into what line items the best.”

Braun’s idea, while still in its early phases, will eventually see an overhaul of the way in which club sports fill out budgetary requests.

This will also allow for the club sports to have a separate budget to request money from.

“I definitely want to break [the budget] apart, possibly give [club sports] their own pool of money, it’s definitely going to be tough to get it past the senate, but that’s definitely my plan and creating more fundraising opportunities for the sports clubs and working that into their budget,” said Braun.

“A lot of sports clubs come to us and ask for the full amount and they don’t take into account in their request member dues and fundraising, so this semester I worked with lacrosse club and created a whole new budget incorporating their fundraising and member dues and it ended up cutting their request in half and making the SGA more apt to giving them the money,” said Braun. “I’m going to work with them and teach them how they should present their budget and how it’s going to differ from other people’s budget.”

Braun’s idea will show more understanding for the club sports more so than the SGA policies have in the past. Unlike other clubs, the team sports need money to pay for league dues, uniforms, game officials, away game transportation and facility dues.

“It’s very hard for us to go through budgets for sports clubs because it’s hard to fit things into office supplies or conferences for sports clubs so to give them an opportunity to talk about instead of bringing into entertainment, putting on games and sports equipment, instead of supplies it would make things much simpler for both sides,” said Bergenn.

Despite the extra costs, club sports are grouped together by the SGA, which is what Braun would like to change. While Braun would like to try and implement her idea in

Liz Braun hopes to help the lacrosse club and other club sports by re- kenny barto I THE RECORDER working the SGA budgets for club sports. time for the next base budget requests she still has to get the changes past the SGA senate.

“It’s something that could happen fairly quickly, but it is something that the senate may want to discuss, however, I mean it’s something that could happen quickly, but there’s no base budget requests until the end of next year whether or not we want to incorporate that into next year’s contingencies is still up in the air,” said Bergenn.

The idea to separate the two entities came to Braun after spending time helping to create the men’s lacrosse base budget.

“I know that whenever the base budget process would come around the captain of the lacrosse team would come in and he’d happen to be in when I was in,” said Braun.

“We’ve had hour to two hour long discussions of how we could make his budget better and it just never worked out because I didn’t have enough support from other people and

they didn’t have enough support from other people, so it was kind of just me and him working together.”

“I’ve always had this idea that the sports clubs weren’t getting as much out of it, and of course the whole thing with the hockey club asking for rink fees, it was just tough and it was just [Senator] Ashley Foy helping them out, and nobody else,” said Braun. “So I just think it would be easier if it was separated in the first place so they wouldn’t be compared to LASO…I just want to help out the clubs who don’t get so much support from us because we give certain clubs a ton or support but we sometimes miss out on others.”

As of right now the sports clubs and regular clubs remain on the same plane, but Braun plans to continue formulating her idea over the summer months with the help of the captains from each of the prospective teams.

Blue Devils Sweep Conference Opponent For First Time Since 2009 BASEBALL I Cont. from 12 Coach Charlie Hickey. “It’s a nice way to play, and it pays dividends when you can play five to one or six to one baseball.”

The first game of the series on Friday saw a blowout that inflated the scoreboard to a football-esque score of 26-3. The Blue Devils were led by key offensive efforts by Mitch Wells (5-for-7, 4 RBI), Pat Epps (4-for-7, 5 RBI, HR) and Sean Miller-Jones (3-for-6, 6 RBI, HR).

“Everyone was on base [on Friday],” Hickey said. “We just went out there and had a really good game offensively and were able to keep their offense in check.”

The big win gave both Krasnowiecki and Neumann the momentum and confidence to take the mound and hand in impressive

performances on Saturday. Krasnowiecki started off strong by striking out three batters in the first. However, as the case has been all season, he struggled a bit with his command and walked one batter who eventually made it to third after a throwing error on a stolen base attempt, but couldn’t score.

Krasnowiecki didn’t run into any more trouble until the fourth inning, where a leadoff single and another walk put runners on first and second. Quinnipiac used some small ball tactics and advanced both runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. With just one out, Krasnowiecki made some key pitches and ended the inning with a strikeout and ground out.

Other than the fourth inning, Krasnowiecki did a great job of scattering his baserunners. He allowed one hit in the fifth,

kenny barto I THE RECORDER

Sean Miller-Jones hits the home run that broke the 5-5 tie in the 12th inning on Sunday.

one walk in the sixth and worked a one, two, three seventh to secure yet another shutout.

He accumulated only three hits, walked three and struck out six to improve to 4-3 on the season with a 3.02 ERA. Over his last four starts, he has an ERA of just 0.66 (two runs in 27 innings) and has held the opposition to a .157 batting average (14 for 89).

“I had no idea it was that low,” Krasnowiecki said. “I always go back after the fact and look at anything, but that’s definitely surprising, and it makes me feel great about how I’ve done so far.”

On Saturdays, Krasnowiecki shares the mound with another outstanding pitcher in Neumann, who continued his success by starting game two of Saturday’s doubleheader with 4 2/3 innings of perfection.

Neumann simply cruised through the Quinnipiac lineup until the Bobcats got back-to-back hits in the fifth, but was able to ease his way out of trouble with the help of a double play. With no outs in the seventh and a runner on first, Neumann was hit in the foot by a line drive, but it was deflected right to Wells at third base, who was able to quickly get it to first for out number one. Neumann’s tempo seemed to be interrupted, as he gave up one more hit that allowed the first and only run to score for Qunnipiac.

Neumann’s final line stood at seven innings, five hits, one run, no walks and five strikeouts in a seven inning game that took just an hour and 16 minutes.

“I thought all-in-all it was pretty good out there today,” Neumann said. “They were getting themselves out today and in the beginning it was four pitches, four fly balls, so it made it a little bit easier.”

Neumann leads the Blue Devils in ERA (with a minimum of three appearances) at 2.09. He has walked just nine batters in 56 innings.

“It’s like a competition to see who can do better every weekend,” Krasnowiecki said. “I think he fell off a little, couldn’t finish it off in the seventh inning, but it was a good day out there all around.”

Neumann feels the same way about his teammate that starts ahead of him on Saturdays.

“I definitely feed off of him, he’s a hard worker,” Neumann said. “And it helps out our bullpen a lot to be able to come out and

throw complete games.”

For Hickey, he embraces the added team chemistry on a day that is supposed to be the toughest of the series.

“It gives you a good feeling when you’re going to play a series that you play four games,” Hickey said. “We haven’t been here in a while, so I trust that we’ll find even better pitching from now on.”

With the Blue Devils going into Sunday for the chance at a sweep, Harry Glynne took the mound for his second straight start in the number four slot of CCSU’s weekend rotation. Glynne turned in an impressive performance, going seven innings, giving up four hits and one earned run while striking out five and not giving up a single walk. Nick Boyd took the ball in the eighth with a 5-1 lead, and gave up four earned runs to the Bobcats. The 5-5 tie continued for four more innings, largely because of good relief pitching from both sides. Josh Ingham pitched 4 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, giving up five hits and struck out eight.

“We saw Josh Ingham come in and get some outs against a team that could taste winning,” Hickey said. “He threw strikes and made the big pitches, and did really well out there.”

With two outs in the 12th inning, MillerJones came through with his 10th hit and 11th RBI of the series with a huge home run to left field.

“That felt good,” Miller-Jones said. “As a group we wanted that sweep, and to get the winning run was just felt really good.”

The Blue Devils added a second run from Danny Hickey hitting an RBI single after Tyler Caserta and Normand Gosselin got on base. Josh Ingham worked a scoreless bottom half, completing CCSU’s sweep of Quinnipiac.

“You don’t get caught up with all that stuff,” Hickey said. “It was just an opportunity to come out and take advantage of a team that had been struggling and to put us in a better position as the season winds down.”

The Blue Devils will play their second to last out of conference game at Boston College on Wednesday and will face Sacred Heart over the weekend, who is tied with the Blue Devils for third place in the conference at 15-9.

12

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, May 4, 2011 / SPORTS

Bittersweet Celebration

Coach Jeff McInerney poses with his NEC championship ring with most of his seniors that will be graduating this month before the spring football game.

Brittany Burke The Recorder

Spring training has come and gone for the reigning Northeast Conference Champion CCSU Blue Devils football team. Beginning on April 1 with practices, the Blue Devils’ spring season came to a close, culminating in the annual Blue and White scrimmage game.

The day’s events included more than just a football game. The 2011 team captains were announced during half time, preceded by a performance from the CCSU dance team.

The senior athletes taking over as Blue Devils captains are Brendan Brackett, Brian Fowler, Dominic Giampetro, Gunnar Jespersen and

Gene Johnson.

While the new captains celebrated at the half, the entire team was able to rejoice as the NEC Championship rings were handed out on the 50-yard line. The first ring to be presented on the field was the one belonging to the belated Rich Royster. Royster’s ring was given to his parents by Head Coach Jeff McInerney, followed by the rest of the team.

Once awards and rings were handed out the game got underway. The eventful and productive game ended in a tie with a score of 31 all. The fact that the team was playing against one another didn’t stop McInerney, who oversaw both squads, from making the match interesting by putting out all the stops.

“Overall I felt really good about it, I always like these games to be tight and close and fun its boring if you come out and win 38-16,” said McInerney. “It’s just flat out boring. You got to see balls thrown around and people running for touchdowns. I am all about that, I am about putting on a show and so overall I thought good.”

Junior Kevin Woolfolk struck first for the blue team with a nine-yard run to put his team up 7-0. Woolfolk went on to be named the game’s most valuable player. By the end of regulation, Woolfolk had racked up 119-yards in eight carries, with three touchdowns.

Following his initial touchdown, Woolfolk managed to find the endzone twice for back

kenny barto I THE RECORDER

to back scores in the fourth quarter. In his last touchdown run Woolfolk ran for 48-yards to put the blue team in front 31-23.

“Kevin’s always been a great player,” said McInerney. “Kevin’s had some unfortunate things happen. He was a star in high school, he went to Trinity college, was an extremely talented player since he’s been here in the freshman year, played a little bit then he got hurt, then he came back, then he got hurt again…Kevin can play and he’s really, really, really good and he’s just got to get his confidence, this was the best medicine for him.”

FOOTBALL | cont. on 10

Saturday Starters Key in Sweep at Quinnipiac Kenny Barto The Recorder

This weekend, the CCSU baseball team came away with four huge road victories against conference foe and in-state rival, Quinnipiac. It was the Blue Devils’ first Northeast Conference series sweep in over two seasons, the last coming in 2009 at Long Island.

Even though the series covered three days, Friday through Sunday, the story mostly rested on two pitchers’ performances in the doubleheader on Saturday. Dave Krasnowiecki and Nick Neumann both turned in their second straight complete games, which were instrumental in CCSU getting the weekend sweep. For Krasnowiecki, it was his third shutout in four starts.

“It reminds me of some days when we had Barry Hertzler and Louie Pappariella running out there on Saturdays,” said CCSU Head BASEBALL | cont. on 11

Nick Neumann (left) and Dave Krasnowiecki (right) both pitched complete games at Quinnipiac on Saturday.

Photos: kenny barto I THE RECORDER