Volume 108 Issue 13

AWA R D-W INNING CENTR A LR ECOR DER .COM Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Central Connecticut State University

Overtime Thriller

Volume 108 No. 13

Shankar’s Fraud Case Continued Into New Year justIn muszynsKI

danIel saunders I tHe reCorder

the recorder

Robby Ptacek dunks during CCSU’s 82-80 win over Sacred Heart.

Associate Professor of English Ravi Shankar had his court proceedings on pending fraud charges continued until January 12 last Friday.

Shankar, who was arrested twice this semester on separate charges, plead not guilty to all four charges in relation to a fraud incident that occurred earlier this year.

Mark McLaughlin, associate vice president of marketing and communications, says that Shankar was placed on paid administrative leave earlier this semester and will remain so until his legal issues have been settled.

“If his legal matters have been postponed then his leave will continue until such a time that they are resolved and at that point another decision would possibly come up for consideration,” said McLaughlin.

His charges include: an attempt to commit larceny in the first degree, two counts of false statement in the second degree and a criminal attempt to tamper with or fabricate physical evidence.

McLaughlin believes that despite Shankar being on leave, his state medical benefits are, more than likely, still in affect.

He also says that the position that Shankar is in right now is no different than any time a professor is involved in a legal investigation.

“I would say that’s a standard policy that when someone gets into a situation like that, then they are placed on leave,”

said McLaughlin.

According to the arrest warrant, Shankar purchased over $20,000 worth of tickets to a soccer game in New Jersey with his Discover credit card and then claimed the purchase was fraudulent. He claimed he only bought four tickets to the game, totaling $342.40. However, Shankar later admitted to police that he did purchase all the tickets that were charged to his card, but took a loss when trying to sell them.

The warrant says that he was attempting to make up for an investment in the stock market that saw a loss of $30,000. He also allegedly tried to erase two of his old hard drives in the IT lab, which may have held information vital to the case.

Shankar also faces separate motor vehicle charges in which, according to police, he struck a car in the rear and fled the scene. Those charges include: illegally operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, evading responsibility, failure to drive in the proper lane and illegally operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance.

He was scheduled to appear in Meriden Superior Court last Monday on the motor vehicle charges.

Jason Jones, president of the CCSU chapter of the CSU American Association of University Professors, wishes his colleague the best.

“At this point it’s premature to comment on what will happen to him,” said Jones. “The legal system needs to run its course and, hopefully, it will all be well for him and he will be able to come back.”

Senators Weigh In On SGA Efficiency the recorder

Senators may have varying opinions on whether or not the SGA meetings are being conducted properly, but, according to SGA President Eric Bergenn, they are still getting things done.

At last week’s meeting, the senate allocated a substantial amount of money towards this years’ SGA scholarships and passed two bylaw changes. The changes took the better part of two hours in the near threehour senate meeting.

“It may not be pleasant to sit through all that deliberation, but some things are going to be a rocky road, and that’s okay if it’s the will of the Senate,” said Bergenn. “Going more smoothly is desirable to some, but the process by which we are working is in the best interest of the SGA.” Senator Ivonne Lopez believes that there is always room for improvement. “Nothing’s perfect,” she said when it comes the senate taking its time during meetings.

The length of time that it takes senate to do things is just the way it is, said Freshman Senator Simms Sonet. “It’s a necessary evil that needs to be conquered at that moment.”

Senator Shelby Dattilo was pleased with how last week’s meeting went. “That original motion was passed as presented,” said Dattilo, “and that says something.” She added that it’s important to go through everything so that everyone understands what’s going on, even if that requires back and forth debate for an extended period of time. As long as people

understand the decisions made, it doesn’t matter how long SGA spends on something, said Dattilo Vice President Liz Braun said she gets frustrated when senators don’t follow the rules, especially when things get too rowdy in senate meetings. During the meeting Braun wasn’t happy with how much time the senate spent on something that would have been better discussed in a committee meeting.

SGA Resident Senator Jeremy Truex also feels that SGA has been running quite smoothly as of late.

“I do believe that Wednesday’s Senate meeting started out good, but quickly turned badly as we started to lose many senators and almost lost quorum,” said Truex. “I was worried that we would lose quorum and have to put things on hold, like last week when we were ‘filibustered’ by Senator Towler who deliberately left so that we would lose quorum, which I was very displeased with.”

“They are still not being conducted as well as they should be,” added Truex, who believes that SGA loses quorum too quickly. Senators are only required to attend meetings from 3:05 p.m. until about 4:25 p.m.

“Many senators just get up and leave when the clock reads 4:20, which is completely understandable if they have a class or another meeting or event that they must attend, but I have noticed that some people skip out of the meeting early and I will see them wandering around shortly after,” Truex said.

Some people just need to cool off, said SGA| coNT. oN 4

Kenny barto I tHe reCorder

jonatHan stanKIewICz

VP Braun and President Bergenn during last Wednesday’s SGA meeting.

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2 THE RECORDER Wednesday, December 7, 2011

NEWS

kassondra granata The Recorder

A problem with the online registration system last week led to questions about how CCSU can avoid another crash and make class sign-ups run smoother for students.

On Tuesday of last week, the system had temporarily shut down on freshmen scheduled to register that day, causing mayhem in the registration process.

At last Wednesday’s Open Forum with CCSU’s administration, a faculty member brought up the crash and questioned the IT department about methods they can take to prevent this from happening again.

“All hell just broke loose,” said the faculty member. “Just looking at the freshmen Facebook page and what was posted and the anger directed at this University, things I will not say in public, the students were incredibly unhappy about this and I understand their frustration.”

The faculty member asked if there was a way to portion out the students whether it is by last name or divided into different schools.

James Estrada, chief information officer stated that the volume of students was not an issue.

“We instituted a major upgrade in spring 2010, and for reasons that are unclear, we didn’t do a load test to make sure that the volume could be handled for registration purposes,” said Estrada.

The amount of programs running from different faculty members and the change in systems caused it to shut down.

“What we do need to address is the issue of collaboration on campus,” said Estrada.

“We found what we think is the solution but we need an outside vendor to validate it. We don’t think the issue is the number of students registering at the same time.”

Certain programs are routinely checked and IT sends out emails to the departments with the registration times to ensure that they do not run their programs at that certain time.

“We need to make sure staff isn’t running these big programs when students are scheduled to register.”

Freshman Michaela Rafferty was one of many who had trouble registering during the crash.

“I logged on at 1:30 at my scheduled time and I put in all of my CRN’s in but after 10 minutes I knew something was wrong,” said Rafferty. “My CRN’s started to work randomly. I got one class at 4:30 and the other until 6:30. I was just staring at the computer screen from 1:30-4:30 and then I eventually just gave up. I made three different schedules because I figured something like this would happen, but I still didn’t get all of my first choices.”

Freshman Maggie Hazard ended up losing out when the system went back online.

“I tried to log in and then it logged me out and I contacted a few people and they told me about the problems they were having and I just gave up. Now, I only am registered for three classes,” said Hazard.

Hazard hopes to meet with her adviser by the end of the month to figure out her schedule for next semester.

An email has been sent out by President

Flooding In Barrows Caused By Belt Kassondra Granata The Recorder

Mildred Barrows Hall suffered from water damage and residents were forced to evacuate on Saturday after a sprinkler was broken off on the 6th floor.

According to Mark McLaughlin, associate vice president of marketing and communications, a CCSU student and her male friend got into a verbal argument that evening. The friend, in order to “evaporate tension,” swung his belt around causing the belt buckle to hit a sprinkler, knocking it off the ceiling. This caused a major leak and damage to the whole right side of the building.

“There’s going to be a lot of clean up to be taken care of,” said McLaughlin. “Like the football incident in Carroll, it was an accident.”

Jean Alicandro, director of residence life, was on the scene from 2:30 a.m. until 7:00 a.m. with the police and fire marshals trying to assess the situation to get students back into their rooms.

Alicandro coordinated a meeting in the lobby with the residents affected by the flooding, and had the Resident Assistants talk to the students face to face about the accident. The building was evacuated and residents were sent to Carroll, went home or were “paired up” with other students for the night.

“There were some electrical issues from the water running in the walls, and there was a shortage,” said Alicandro. “The water ran down through most of the piping system where there are heat and cold water pipes.

Several gallons of water come out at a time and the pressure was very strong. When we alerted the police, a substantial amount of water had come out of the sprinklers and triggered the fire alarms.”

ResLife contacted every resident affected by the incident that was not present for the leak to inform them of what happened.

From the 6th floor down to the basement,

water had traveled and leaked down from the ceilings.

“There were any levels of water from an inch to just little puddles coming down,” said Alicandro. “What we did was tell people as soon as we know what is going on, we will get people in as soon as possible.”

ServPro Industries came to Barrows to start to clean out the rooms that were damaged. Facilities management monitored the moisture in each room to check for the air quality and make sure that there is no threat of mold from the water damage.

Within two to three hours, the fire marshals started letting ResLife move students back into their rooms. Currently, all of the 21 people that had moved out are back in except the room that the leak had emerged from.

“That room is not in good condition because it came from the light fixtures and it is damaged,” said Alicandro. “We are still trying to relocate them to available rooms on campus.”

ResLife had sent out an email to the 21 who were most impacted and sent them a state claims form that they can fill out with any other damage reports.

In addition to that, ResLife has also offered $40 to be placed onto their blue chip account to take care of cleaning and get rid of the small damages in their room. “It’s a small amount, but it’s enough to do your bedding and a good amount of laundry,” said Alicandro.

Alicandro and her staff have also started a database and told students to send any pictures of damaged materials to ResLife and they will send it to the state.

Currently, the individual who caused the sprinkler incident is known, but the CCSU Police Department is still looking into the matter.

“They know the two individuals in the situation and they were interviewed, but there needs to be more ongoing interviews with those people,” said Alicandro “I did hear that what happened wasn’t intentional.”

kenny barto I THE RECORDER

Registration System Crash Addressed At Forum

Faculty Senate President Candace Barrington (left) and CCSU President Jack Miller held an open forum for CCSU faculty on Wednesday.

Jack Miller and Provost Carl Lovitt which was put on the “Special Announcements” section on the Central Pipeline website a week after the registration incident occurred stated, “We expect that all of recommended changes will be in place by December 7, in time for the start of the next registration

period. Please accept our sincere apologies for this inconvenience.”

Note: CIO James Estrada was contacted to provide further statement on the issue, but was not able to before this is issue was printed. For an updated version of the story, please go to www.centralrecorder.com.

Students Pledge To Forget The “R Word” kassondra granata The Recorder

Vance Hall Resident Assistants Brittany Mahoney and Alex Kanopf, hosted a program on Monday to prevent the use of the “r word” in order to avoid hurting those with special needs.

At a table in the Student Center, students were able to sign a plaque with the saying ,“Spread the word to end the word.”

“We put on a program to promote diversity,” said Mahoney. “It’s different and we thought it was important. We got $800 from the IRC Budget Committee and we’re just really hoping for a good turnout.”

Mahoney and Kanopf live on the Living Learning Community floor in Vance Hall, a place where kids of the same age group live together.

“We decided as a group that we wanted to do a program to benefit other people,” said Kanopf. “I have two brothers with a disability, and a sister with the same disability, and other people here are strongly against using the ‘r word’. It’s been big in my family and I figured it would be great to bring to the community.”

Robyn Hicock, a supporter of the program and also a committed participant in the Special Olympics, believed that this is a very important cause and everyone should understand it.

“I have a sister with special needs and I’ve been involved with Special Olympics my whole life,” said Hicock. “I’m always telling people to stop using it. It’s not that people say it on purpose it’s just that they don’t realize that it’s hurtful. This program is to get people to understand that it’s hurting people even if they do not think so.”

The campaign for the “r word” is national, but the group wanted to get a “Central

version” out there before the big day comes.

Larry Clark, a pledge and also an RA in Vance Hall found the rally very inspirational.

“I really never thought about it before, but I now realize that it is something important.

If I was a person with special needs and heard someone say it, even though it’s meant to say ‘that’s stupid,’ it would bother me,” said Clark. “I don’t use it a lot, I just don’t like the word. In middle school it was used a lot, but there’s not enough education about it and a bunch of people have pledged today and we’re still getting more.”

Alyssa Prince is also an RA and pledge in Vance who finds the “r word” intolerable.

“Personally I have a family member with down syndrome so I find it offensive,” said Prince. “It’s a new word for ‘you’re stupid,’ it’s a place holder now and it’s not acceptable.”

Katelynn Bento, a pledge, felt moved by the program and encouraged others to pledge.

“I don’t like it. I know people who have been offended by it,” said Bento. “Where I’m from, our high school had a whole seminar on it and the whole school pledged not to say it and we all feel very strong about it.”

By the end of the program, they received 150 pledges and a special education teacher, Dr. Nicholson told Mahoney and Kanopf to bring the plaque to the classrooms to gain more pledges.

“Our goal was 100 and we were just hoping for people to understand it better more than the actual number of signatures,” said Mahoney. “It’s good to see that people are more understanding and conscientious about it.”

To learn more about the “r word” pledge, you can visit www.r-word.org and “Spread the Word to End the Word.”

CORRECTION: In last week’s issue, in the story “What Happened To The Campus University Hour?”, the first paragraph should have read, “Even though CCSU changed the schedule last semster, the new campus “University Hour” is still not being utilized to its full potential.”

3

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / NEWS

The Recorder Student Center 1615 Stanley Street New Britain, CT 06050 T 860.832.3744 editor@centralrecorder.com centralrecorder.com twitter.com/therecorder Editor-in-Chief Nicholas Proch nproch@centralrecorder.com Managing Editor Kenny Barto kbarto@centralrecorder.com Art Director Ashley E. Lang

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Bergenn’s Proposal Shot Down At Faculty Senate jonathan stankiewicz The Recorder

There was no shortage of topics on the agenda at the last faculty senate meeting of the semester this Monday.

At the beginning of the meeting, President Candace Barrington addressed SGA President Eric Bergenn’s idea for student voting members on the faculty senate which he presented on October 24 to the faculty.

She consulted with the constitution and bylaws committee. They informed her that it would require amendments to their constitution which would have to be passed by the senate and ratified.

“After extensive discussion, the senate steering committee has decided not to ask the Constitution and Bylaws Committee to develop a proposal regarding [Bergenn’s idea],” said Barrington. “Instead we are encouraging the SGA to take advantage of the positions currently available to students on the standing committees of the faculty.”

Barrington asked that all standing committees get their meeting times together for the next semester immediately after the conclusion of the spring elections, especially for those committees which have student seats.

She added that instead of moving forward with Bergenn’s idea, the SGA

leaders would be invited to faculty senate meetings, put on the distribution list and given them an opportunity for opening statements in each meeting. Decisions from a committee that would affect students will now be asked to go to SGA for review before the faculty senate vote is conducted, said Barrington. SGA’s input will be requested as part of that committees’ report.

Bergenn attended but didn’t say anything during the meeting. Afterwards,he commented that he wasn’t pleased with Barrington’s decision. Bergenn said that last week he met with Barrington where they discussed what the next step was. She had told him something much different to what she said at the meeting.

“Dr. Barrington, last week, asked me if she could come to [the SGA] retreat or have an opportunity over the winter break to work with the senate and try to figure out a solution to propose something by the end of January,” said Bergenn, who thought that was a great idea.

“Today, now, it’s not even going to be heard by the faculty senate,” said Bergenn.

He thinks that the faculty senate is “sidestepping” the issue. “The first thought that went through my head was ‘what happened about working together?,’” said Bergenn. “This isn’t working together.”

The thing that bothered Bergenn was that no one in the senate at the meeting

said anything. “They just allowed that to happen,” Bergenn said. “Those are our professors, those are people that students have relationships with and they just let a small group of people take away something that they were originally going to talk about.”

Bergenn also pointed out that the senate “ignored” the fact that SGA unanimously passed a resolution to get students’ voices into the faculty senate. He thinks that since SGA passed that resolution it should have elicited some sort of response from the faculty senate.

Much later in the meeting, Robert Wolff from the Ad Hoc General Education committee presented the faculty senate with their December 2011 report. With the earliest implementation date of Fall 0f 2014, Wolff admitted that he is “trying to balance a whole bunch of things,” even with the committee’s latest report. With a meeting on December 8 at 3:05 p.m. in Copernicus 210, Wolff was asked to have another open forum in the first full week of next semester so that the committee will have another opportunity to fine tune their final report.

Wolff welcomed the idea for another forum before the committee finishes its work.

The committee decided to stick with English 110, but endorses that CCSU adopt a “Writing Across the Curriculum” program to reinforce skills and develop writing appropriate to their major’s

disciplines. Also, the committee is thinking about allowing double-counting of up to 12 credits in general education that “may be applied toward the major and minor” (12 credits toward the major; six credits toward the major and six credits toward the minor).

In the report, the committee has decided to retain the existing foreign language proficiency requirements, while adding the testing of all first-year students to help determine what level they would place. The testing would help the senate acquire more data to figure out what additional changes could be made to the requirements.

The last thing that faculty senate did was pass changes to CCSU’s disciplinary actions for academic misconduct.

“We have a procedure for students to appeal decisions of academic misconduct, but there was actually no deadline on which they could file such an appeal,” said Mark Jackson of the Academic Integrity Committee. “We felt that it was probably unfortunate to allow them to have to wait 25-years to appeal something, so we should put some deadline.” The changes suggest that faculty “attempt to notify the student in writing” of any alleged misconduct and potential sanctions to be applied.

It also gives students seven “University calendar days” to appeal to the chair of the department.

How Does FERPA Affect Students? justin muszynski The Recorder

Most students know that someone else can’t walk into the Registrar’s office and obtain a copy of their academic transcript, but what they may not know is what exactly is in place to protect them from something like this happening.

Some students may not know to what degree they are protected under federal law.

It’s called FERPA and it stands for Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Passed in 1974, it was designed to give students control over their education records so that school employees can’t disclose their private information to anyone besides the student them self. However, some say FERPA’s exact purpose is lost because it isn’t precise enough.

Jason Jones, the president of the CCSU chapter of the CSU American Association of University Professors, is one of these people.

He says that because there’s so much that should be covered by FERPA, much of it isn’t regulated the way it should be.

“FERPA is notoriously vague in terms of what counts as an educational record, so even people with a reasonable amount of expertise in it are unwilling to say what is and what is not a clear violation other than, ‘we can get a judge to say that this is,’” said Jones. “There is

a fair amount of gray area especially in terms of what happens online.”

According to the University’s website they are allowed to disclose, without a student’s consent, “directory information.” They define this as: “A student’s name, address, telephone number, dates of attendance, class standing, photographs, academic major, minor and concentration, degree candidacy, degree(s) earned and any awards received.”

It also considers a student’s involvement in “officially recognized” activities and sports directory information. This allows for the height and weight of a participant of an athletic team to be disclosed.

Carolyn Magnan, the special assistant to the president, agrees with Jones that FERPA is a very complicated law and often times will appear as if it is cut and dry despite there being many exceptions. She explains her role in relation to FERPA and CCSU. “I usually get involved when a University employee has a question about disclosing student information and so I am able to prevent violations,” said Magnan. “If a student believes that his or her personally identifiable student information has been disclosed in a violation of FERPA, I suggest that he or she alert a CCSU employee. The appropriate person will depend on the type of violation.”

Jones points out an example in which the rules of FERPA are very hazy and a clear cut

answer still hasn’t really been provided. He says that should a professor require a student to post a blog publicly, that in and of itself could be a violation.

“There are people that have argued that that would be a FERPA violation even if there’s no formal grade attached to it,” explained Jones.

However, he says he requires students in some of his classes to run a blog site, but makes sure they know they don’t have to use their real name.

“I usually give people the option of publishing anonymously as long as it’s public because part of the point of blogging is writing for a real audience,” said Jones.

He also says that many professors may be violating FERPA and not even realize it.

If you’ve ever asked a professor for a grade through email and they complied, they more than likely have violated FERPA according to Jones. He also says that when professors post student’s grades on a list outside their classroom despite not using their name, they are in violation.

When it comes to a student’s University email it may not be as clear as you think. It is protected under FERPA, but this only means it cannot be disclosed to anyone outside the University without a warrant. Should administrators deem it necessary to read your email for a reasonable cause, they would not

need a court order because FERPA does not apply to administrators themselves.

FERPA also doesn’t allow for parents to discuss their child’s grades with faculty, and actually prohibits them from knowing what they are, regardless of if they’re footing the tuition bill or not.

“Parents are always wanting to discuss their children’s performance,” said Jones.

“FERPA gives the students the right for their parents to not know.”

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4

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / NEWS

CCSU Officer Nabs Armed Driver Near Campus justIn muszynsKI and jonatHan stanKIewICz the recorder

Police are dealing with conflicting stories about two alleged robberies that took place before the recent arrest of a taxi cab driver just off campus last week.

The first robbery, of a 9mm Glock handgun and approximately $1500 to $1800, happened just before 8 a.m. last Thursday in West Hartford, according to the incident report. That suspect has been identified as Maura Rooney, 46, of Manchester. She has been charged with larceny in the third degree along with stealing a firearm, according to her pending case detail on Connecticut’s judicial website.

It’s been reported that Rooney got in a taxi cab, unit 94, in West Hartford where

the driver, Daniel Soto, 32, of New Britain, drove her around, eventually driving into Hartford. While in the car, Rooney showed Soto the gun that she stole, along with the money.

After turning onto Brinley Avenue in Hartford, Soto reportedly pulled the cab over and, with the gun that Rooney had stolen, proceeded to rob Rooney while she was still in the rear passenger seat of the cab.

Rooney is said to have thrown cash at Soto and then jumped out of the cab and fled the scene on foot where she was stopped by the West Hartford Police. Soto fled the scene with the handgun and cash.

West Hartford Police sent out an allpoints bulletin that they were looking for Soto and the taxi cab.

CCSU Police Officer Philip Billings heard the call and, while patrolling on campus, spotted a taxi with the same cab

Feder: Publishers To Blame For High Textbook Prices jonatHan stanKIewICz the recorder

statement, that he never met her before and didn’t know that she had a gun on her.

However, according to Moore’s statement, Soto was aware of the firearm and even showed it to him while in the cab.

Rooney was unable to provide a voluntary written statement because of her suspected alcohol use. She later admitted to police that she had been drinking earlier. As a result, police have not been able to charge Soto for the alleged robbery that took place against Rooney.

According to Connecticut’s judicial branch website, Soto has not been released from custody and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on December 13.

His bail was set at $75,000.

Rooney has not been released from custody and was scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court yesterday. Her bail was set at $50,000.

V.P. Braun Looks Ahead SGA| coNT. FRoM 1 Sonet, who added that it does “get heated” in meetings, and some people do leave and come back.

Truex, a member of the Constitution and Bylaw Review Committee, added that he understands why certain things from committees get discussed so much in senate meetings. “Many people are not involved in the committees to understand what was being discussed,” said Truex. “Yes, there are minutes taken from each committee meeting, but many people will still believe that their ideas are far better than people that have been assigned to a committee, or are exercising for or against things presented whether or not they are in their own personal interest.”

Senator Heidy Sanchez reiterated that opinion.

“I believe that although many of us are on

senate for ‘the right reasons,’ there are a number of senators who have their own agendas and things to accomplish through senate, which would be respectable if they went about it in the right way and for the benefit of a majority,” said Sanchez. “Admittedly, it is hard to get one’s personal bias’ and feelings separate from the task at hand, but it is what we’ve been elected to do and I don’t think everyone takes that seriously.” She added that she sees that the senate is trying to better itself.

SGA will be having a retreat over winter break to go over rules and how to write resolutions and bills, said Braun. “Hopefully these workshops will help show how to keep committee work in committees and what other things we can actually accomplish in our senate meetings when bylaws and finances aren’t being discussed,” said Braun.

A Message From CCSU Marketing And Communications:

DO

YOU GRADUATE

WANT

When most talk about the rise in the price of attending a college or university, they point to rising tuition costs. A new report by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity explains that the rising cost of going to college is partly due to the increase of textbook and housing prices.

About two-thirds of the increase in total college costs between the 1999-2000 and 2008-09 academic years came from nontuition sources such as textbooks and offcampus housing, according to the report. The report indicates that at four-year colleges, the net student price rose by $2,988 in that time.

The data collected focused on the total price of going to college, which accounts for all the expenses students are required to pay.

Researchers compared data from the U.S. Department of Education on public two to four-year colleges and universities across the nation.

Professor of Anthropology, Kenneth Feder, PhD., has been at CCSU since the Fall of 1977 and teaches his own textbooks.

“When I started teaching [ANTH 210The Ancient World] I didn’t have a textbook,” said Feder. He wrote the book, Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries, because all of the other books he wanted to use were out of print and he couldn’t find enough copies for his students.

Feder hasn’t looked back. That book is now in its seventh edition.

Feder understands that students have a hard enough time buying textbooks thanks to rising prices and he’s seen how they have dealt accordingly. “One of the ways of monkey wrenching the whole thing is that I know plenty of students who just say, ‘If I come to the lectures and pay attention, I’ll probably get a C in the class,’” said Feder. “’I’m not going to read the book. I’m not going to buy it.’”

Textbooks are so expensive because each publisher is trying to outdo the other, said Feder. The extras that students today get with their textbooks, none of it is for free.

Feder believes it’s the publishers way of “oneupping” the other. The free discs students get and the free website among the other ancillaries are all “bullshit,” said Feder. “They don’t give you anything for free, that’s all figured into the cost of the book,” said Feder.

Feder’s idea on why publishers increase the prices is thanks to textbook recycling.

Students today buy the new textbooks and expect something when they sell that book back to make back some of their initial purchase. The books are then sold again, the next year and neither the author nor the publisher sees any of that profit. So, the publishers, who used to update books every four years, have upped the ante to two years.

“If [publishers] do that in two years, the old book is now useless,” Feder said.

Feder sees this with his new editions. As soon as he gets that box of 30 for his one class

he starts getting calls for the next edition.

“What am I going to do, slap a different cover on it?” said Feder. The newest edition of the “Frauds” book came out this year and already Feder has sent his book out for review to other professors to see what the next edition should have.

“The problem with that is, as books get fatter, the price goes up,” said Feder.

“Realistically, how much are students going to read.” Feder gets asked by the publisher what he can add to make it the eighth edition and Feder has to comply. “I don’t want it any bigger so anything I add, I have to subtract some,” Feder said. To keep costs relatively the same for students Feder has to do that since anthropology especially needs to be updated. Feder gets calls and updates on sites and discoveries on a weekly basis that would help him change and update his book.

He thinks that to cut costs of textbooks in general, everything will end up online.

“Paper and ink will disappear,” said Feder.

Feder sees textbooks in two perspectives, as the professor teaching his own book and as a student trying to make their way through college. Feder’s son, in his first semester, paid over $500 for his textbooks and some of those were rented. “I had never heard of that before,” said Feder.

A major factor going into the price is that just a few decades ago there were many private publishers. Feder used one of them, Mayfield Publishing Company out of California. “Publishers have bought out all the small publishing houses,” said Feder.

Mayfield used high quality paper, it was family-run and no one had ever heard about them. That’s what drew Feder to them. In 2000, Mayfield Publishing was acquired

by McGraw-Hill Companies. Just last year alone the company made $6.2 billion in sales.

Now, the kind of capitalism and competition that this country was founded on has fallen away, Feder said. “You need new people coming into the business with better models and cheaper books that are just as good as what’s currently out there,” said Feder.

Taking an initiative, Feder has his introduction to anthropology book published by Oxford University Press, a notfor-profit publisher. “When they advertise, and good for them, they say, ‘Here are the introductory texts you could buy from private companies that are profit making and here’s our book, it’s 30 bucks less,’” said Feder. Professors today,have the option to adopt books that are much cheaper.

“I look at a book and say, ‘That book’s a hundred bucks,” said Feder, “and my student is making eight bucks an hour,’ that’s 12 hours more to make up the cost of that book.

That’s a lot of work for the book.”

Feder makes a point to use every chapter in his book throughout the semester. “That better be a great book and I better use every word of it.”

number as the one reported pulling into the BP gas station off campus on the corner of Ella Grasso Boulevard and Stanley Street.

After seeing the handgun, he called for backup.

The New Britain, West Hartford and Hartford Police Departments responded to his call for backup, said Billings.

Hartford Police took Soto into custody and charged him with possession of a stolen firearm, said Billings. The passenger, Careca Moore, 24, was released.

Soto has since been additionally charged with having a weapon in a motor vehicle and theft of a firearm.

In the police report, Soto said that when he drove to Dexter Street in Hartford he did not know there was a gun inside the taxi cab and he had picked up some “crack head” who jumped out of the car without warning.

Soto also said, contrary to Rooney’s

TO

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OPINION

5 THE RECORDER Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Cain Should Have Known This Was Coming The news from Herman Cain’s camp this past weekend shouldn’t have surprised anyone, at least not someone who has seen the way the media treats political figures.

Today’s news coverage, which is driven by ratings, has become a key component to a heavily-scrutinized industry. Cain and the supporters around him have found out how berating those organizations can be.

The ‘24-hour news cycle’ can put the spotlight on an issue for a onceunimaginable amount of time. Cain found that out the hard way. It was a lesson he should have known he was going to get.

The fact that John Edwards couldn’t get a haircut in 2007 without the public knowing should have been an obvious indicator of what he was getting himself into, but he didn’t hesitate.

At his peak, Cain was a major contender in the race to represent the Republican Party in next year’s Presidential election.

Now he is, more than likely, backing out after allowing the accusations against him to pile high for all to see.

It’s nearly impossible for a publication with our limited size, and therefore limited access to national sources, to gain any information that hasn’t already been made mainstream. However, if the sexual misconduct claims against him are true, then no one should question whether or not he should have ran. He shouldn’t have.

Cain claims that he is only “suspending” his bid for the nomination, but he should now know that he cannot resurrect this failed attempt. He would be foolish to even try.

There are two things that the media does especially well; one is that it informs the people of scandals involving anyone in the public spotlight. That ranges from political figures to reality television stars. The other strength is its ability to get that message

into our homes with overwhelming force.

Cain should be seen by others contemplating their candidacy as the poster boy for what they can expect to face.

They should have been paying attention to the missteps he’s made this year. The first of which, in hindsight, may have been his decision to run at all.

He must have known that something like this would happen. It’s the media’s selfimposed job, and some would argue duty, to find dirt on these candidates. They once again have shown that their consistency is unmatched.

It’s possible he thought he was an untouchable asset. He could have believed that the Republican Party would protect him from any onslaught against his moral and criminal record.

This wasn’t the best time for him to underestimate news media’s collective power.

His image will be forever tarnished.

A formal resignation is nothing but an admittance of guilt in the public’s mind and the networks will help to reiterate that.

While it’s easy to point out the holes in our coverage of foreign affairs, the media has left no doubts that they are well-versed in domestic muckraking.

The question isn’t whether or not he should have run, but why did he think he could hide any information from the trained journalists who would be methodically probing into his past?

We can’t afford to have a person with that level of naiveté running our country.

For any prospective candidate with a messy past, let Herman Cain be a lesson that you cannot outrun any actions. You’re better off keeping your less-examined seat in Congress than destroying your image altogether.

EDITOR’S COLUMN

Don’t Forget Dennis Ritchie kenny barto The Recorder

The Power Of ‘Peanuts’ nicholas proch The Recorder

There is a scene in A Charlie Brown Christmas that I consider to be a contender for the most-influential moment of my childhood. It may only fall short of the first time I heard The White Album and when Aaron Boone showed me to never take anything for granted.

From public pleas to my peers for their participation in our publication, to the point I brought up last week that it’s Apple users versus everyone else, the message of this segment finds its way into my daily thought process, admittedly sometimes without my knowing, more than anything from a cartoon should.

The scene is in the opening minutes of the holiday feature. Charlie Brown, who at the time was a representation of what Charles Schultz didn’t see in youth culture, goes to his mailbox. It should be filled with Christmas cards and greetings, but instead is completely empty.

“Hello in there…” The mailbox echoes his salutation and he leaves empty-handed. Then, as no one does except if on screen, Charlie Brown starts to talk to himself out loud about what he’s just experienced.

If walking in a snowstorm alone wasn’t heart-wrenching enough for the audience, “Rats. Nobody sent me a Christmas card today.”

He then forces the dagger in deeper, “I almost wish there weren’t a holiday season. I know nobody likes me.”

Schultz was, and still is, an over-shadowed master of writing emotional highs and lows.

He was scripting layered dialogue for his caricatures ahead of his time; differently from Bambi and other Disney staples, and long before audiences were enthralled with the complexity of Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant.

While you can’t see yourself coming back from this display of self-pity, you’re picked up again in the only way that works, a simple and comedic reflection of the month itself.

“Why do we have a holiday season to emphasize it?” says Brown.

Almost instantly, the audience is delivered a relatable message within that simple idea: Christmas is too commercial.

Schultz used Charlie Brown as a tool to tell a larger story throughout his works.

Brown was a representation of what was missing in the culture at that time. He was odd and unpopular, meaning audiences could sympathize with him, but longed for a simpler life, without the inequalities and complexities that were ever-present both then and now.

It’s a story in which I find myself reflecting upon frequently, if not too often. I’ve spent, or arguably wasted, countless hours of my thinking time debating whether or not the media has grown too powerful, how much credence corporations put into consumer habits and if we’re making sound political decisions.

A script that was written in the early 1960s is relevant during the 2011 holiday season for a reason. Before the country saw the problems that eventually developed within the holidays themselves, the ‘Peanuts’ creator was there to predict them.

The commercialization of Christmas, as seen in the cartoon, was just the first of many celebratory days to be fueled by retail sales.

It opened the door for Valentine’s Day to become the biggest cash cow for gift manufacturers. Find me a jewelry store that isn’t running a promotional campaign in early February and I’ll deliver copies of this publication to your door for the next year.

There is no reason that Hallmark should be dictating what is important on our calendars. I feel bad for someone who is born on or around Christmas because their birthday might as well not exist.

This special is a classic, but not because it is a cute and extended version of the comic strip, but because it has a clear message that people have forgotten what is important and have become part of the consumerist cycle.

We no longer have someone like Schultz to remind us, albeit through Linus, what “Christmas is all about… ,” but we can wait.

Most have realized it’s too late to turn back, so we can only adjust our behavior accordingly.

I’m sure that’s all that Schultz would ask for.

By the end of the special, Charlie Brown realizes that the true meaning of the holiday is only hidden and that remains true today.

This is the season of giving and we can’t forget that. Take some time in the next few weeks to reflect on what the holidays are really about, even if you can only fit it in between trips to department stores.

That’s enough venting for today. Enjoy your holiday, I’ll see you next year. Good grief.

On October 5, the entire world was shocked to hear about the death of Apple cofounder and former CEO Steve Jobs. A true visionary was lost that day, but in the wake of his death, the technology community suffered another loss just seven days later.

On October 12, Dennis Ritchie was found dead in his Berkeley Heights, NJ home. Does his name ring a bell? I didn’t think so.

Dennis Ritchie was the Steve Jobs of the 1970s, during which he developed the Unix operating system and the C programming language. Don’t know what those are? Let me try to explain it to you.

The Apple operating system is Unix based and is programmed using C, C++ and Objective-C, along with most of the applications you buy from the App Store. To put it simply, without Dennis Ritchie there would be no Apple.

Not a fan of Apple? Well, the Android operating system is Linux based and is also programmed in C. Linux, which is Unixbased, was developed to be an open source platform that would rival Windows back in the early 1990s. Although it doesn’t stack up in the personal computing market, many large companies use Linux servers which are known for being able to handle larger loads of data traffic than Windows servers. I promise, that is the most technical I will get for the rest of this article.

It’s definitely weird to think that without two men that died within seven days of each other that life would be dramatically different.

Although C, C++ and Objective-C are used heavily in the smart phone application market, it is also responsible for the majority of programs and websites including most of Adobe’s suite of applications, as well as Google and Amazon. This very newspaper, which relies exclusively on Apple computers and Adobe design software, would be

nothing without the work that Steve Jobs and Dennis Ritchie did.

We can always say someone else may have come along and developed something else, but how can we be so sure? Everyone seems to know the Steve Jobs legacy, but it’s important that people know about Dennis Ritchie’s involvement as well.

Ultimately, it’s sad that Ritchie’s death went largely unnoticeable in the public eye while much of the technology community was saddened by his loss. Our newspaper preaches that the media be consistent, a sentiment that was repeated in last weeks’ editorial regarding the sex abuse scandals at Penn State and Syracuse.

This time the media not only let the public down, but they determined that Steve Jobs’ death was more important to cover than Ritchie’s. This man has done a great service to technology lovers everywhere as well as technology haters, because applications programmed in C make life easier even to non tech-savvy people.

Although the media failed to notify the public that someone who is responsible for many things they use in their daily lives had passed away, there has been no shortage of support from people who realize just how great of an impact Dennis Ritchie made.

Fedora, a leading distributor of a Linuxbased operating system, dedicated their version 16 that was released two weeks ago to Dennis Ritchie’s memory. Many technology forums and websites have already written articles and had the same discussion that I am writing about now, but it’s safe to say that Dennis Ritchie will never be a household name, despite him being arguably more important than Steve Jobs.

Everyone, including media outlets, should be giving credit to where credit is due, not to give credit where it looks good on the evening news. So, just one time, please remember Dennis Ritchie the next time you visit Google or Amazon, or use your favorite Unix or Linux-based device.

SPEAK YOUR MIND! Write For Our Opinion Section!

Contact: editor@centralrecorder.com

6

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / UPGRADE

The Poor Choice of Canceling ‘Community’ danny Contreras the recorder

Fans of the NBC show Community got a rude awakening this past week when the network canceled the sitcom after three seasons.

Starring Joel McHale and Chevy Chase among some lesser known but equallyimportant stars, the show provides a fulfilling sense of balance between comedy and drama while never taking itself too seriously.

Its creator Dan Harmon said he based the show on his experiences at a community college earlier in his life some twenty years ago. While you can definitely see the influences of his life in there, you can never be too sure of the reality in the show. However, the writing team behind him blends these mystical themes so well into the real aspect of the show, everything seems possible.

It saddens me to see the show go. Early in the second half of last season I felt as if the show had grown too smart for its producers.

Inside of the gags and typical comedy settings were important references to pop culture from the late 50s to the present, usually in the form of culture geeks Troy and Abed. However, one need not be an expert in culture in order to get these references, but it certainly helped.

Concert Review: Hatebreed and 5FDP

But then, the show became serious. The characters became more developed, more real. A little too real, and my emotions became entangled with the show. For example, Chevy Chase’s character, Pierce, an old-racist man, struggles with addiction. While funny and completely deserved given his nature, it felt too real as he looked for a second chance.

Eventually, every time I blinked Community presented itself in some form in my life.

That could be what led to its cancellation.

Even though it’s won numerous awards in its short existence, the show crossed the line of reality a little too often. For example, one does not watch It’s Always Sunny, because you can get away with their gags, but because they’re so funnily impossible to accomplish one can always dream of it.

Community merged reality too much with its unreal themes. It made some people feel uncomfortable. Even still, I cannot help but criticize the network. For the first time in years we have a show that is relevant, funny and human, a show that appeals to all audiences from bros to geeks, to the elderly and the insane. Everyone can relate to the characters, major or minor, and that is the point of a TV show. Because sometimes our reality feels like a mass of jumbled up fantasies, and we need a mirror in the TV to show us that life is not. Community was our mirror and you’ve taken that away from us.

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special to the recorder

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Hot Chelle Rae Whatever

RCA November 29

peter stroCzKowsKI the recorder

The Nashville, Tenn. natives, Hot Chelle Rae, establish themselves as ‘D’ Students on Whatever, their second album released under RCA Records this past week.

As far as album titles go, Hot Chelle Rae’s sophomore effort couldn’t be more accurate in describing its musical content: Whatever is contrived, predictable, formulaic and a plethora of other adjectives describing pop mediocrity. Unfortunately for listeners and the state of mainstream music in general, this is exactly the kind of album that most people

will enjoy and not question in the slightest, pleasurable popular music.

The songs are slickly produced. Every hook is hammered into the listener’s head ad nauseam. They feature synthesizers and over-produced vocals, but there is not a real instrument to be heard in the whole mess.

Though the band purportedly has a shameless chart-topper, titled “Tonight, Tonight,” featuring lyrics such as, “my girlfriend just cheated on me, she’s a California dime but it’s time for me to quit her. La la la, LA LA LA”, every song on the album treads identical territory. They rely on break-ups, parties, dancing and meeting girls as their core themes. Songs generally fall into two categories: ‘sentimental slow song’ (“Keep You With Me,” “The Only One”) or ‘party soundtrack’ (every other song). Admittedly, this has always been the standard for pop rock, a genre where expectations aren’t high and the ability to rhyme is equivalent to owning a goose that lays golden eggs.

Sonically, the band isn’t half bad.

Frontman Ryan Keith Follese can croon when he needs to (“Honestly,” “Why Don’t You Love Me?”) and the backing members can keep songs upbeat, but the obvious pandering to the mainstream bubblegum crowd leaves much to be desired for anyone who enjoys music as more than a simple sonic distraction. Ham-fisted metaphors, watereddown instrumentation and lyrics, with fewer flavors than fat-free yogurt, keep this album from making any impact on anyone ranging from a Jonas Brothers fan to a soccer man.

However, any listener who finds themselves at odds with Maroon 5’s “raunchiness” will certainly want to wait a week to pick up this steamer at their local discount bin.

This past Wednesday, November 30, 2011, Five Finger Death Punch and Connecticut natives, Hatebreed, performed at the at The Palladium in Worcester, Mass; mixing hardcore and metal in an action packed show.

The newest Five Finger Death Punch album, American Capitalist, in the CD player on the drive up to Worcester definitely set the mood. The double-bass and growls from Ivan Moody previewed what had yet to come.

The line to get into the venue was 20 or so deep, but due to some connections, we got VIP treatment and bypassed security. The last step was to grab the tickets, $38 at the window.

We weaved and pushed our way through the sold out crowd of what seemed to be extra-large people, just as some Christmas music began blaring. Soon after, Jamie Jasta and the rest of New Haven’s own Hatebreed took the stage and the mosh pit began.

Almost impossible to see, we pushed out way back out of the pit and headed upstairs to the balcony. Due to our VIP treatment, we had our own private viewing platform separate from the crazy mosh pit down below.

As the concert went on, I said to myself “Is this really happening?” Hatebreed, one of the founding members of the hardcore music scene, was absolutely tearing the place down.

The paint peeling off the walls wasn’t because of them, but it might as well have been.

After Hatebreed performed, the

anticipation rose as Five Finger Death Punch roadies rolled out stacks of Ford truck grills and Jeremy Spencer’s drum set.

Lead singer Ivan Moody walked onto the stage dressed in his 5FDP gear and the crowd went wild as “Under and Over It,” the first single off their album “American Capitalist”, blared through the hallowed walls of the Palladium. The band is a huge supporter of the United States Armed Forces, even making a trip to Iraq to play for the troops. During this concert, they honored the men and women protecting our great country by playing“Bad Company” and “Far From Home.”

A 5FDP staple is when Moody tells the entire pit to crowd surf up to the front and shake his hand. The thought sounds crazy, but the sight is unbelievable. Around 20 or so people at any given moment on the hands of their fellow rockers cruising their way to the front for a moment with their idol as he belts out “Burn It Down.”

After shaking the hands of around 100 people, the guys thanked the crowd and walked off the stage. That couldn’t have been the end, their was too much energy left in the building. The lights stayed low and an encore was definitely anticipated. Movement and Moody and the band came back on stage. “I couldn’t leave you guys like that, could I?,” the 5FDP headman said. The last song of the night was dedicated to all the guys who have had that girl who has moments of insanity where she takes all his stuff and walks out…

The closing song was none other than ”The Bleeding.”

pHoto I faCebooK.Com/Hatebreed

7

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / UPGRADE

Livescribe Smartpen Makes Note-Taking More Productive The Recorder

Many students will make promises to themselves to do better, and try harder this coming spring semester. When it comes down to it, some people find it hard to change their habits. Students are always searching for the easiest way. They try to make the most of their class time so that they don’t need to do more work outside of the classroom than is necessary.

That salvation has come in the form of a pen. This pen, created by Livescribe, records your lectures while you take notes.

When you go back to look at your notes, to study or do homework, you can tap a certain sentence or word and the pen will play what your professor was saying at that exact point in time. This becomes incredibly handy when you find yourself trying to write down what your teacher has on the Power Point slides, while also concentrating on what he or she is saying.

An even greater feature that Livescribe

provides is the software that comes with the pen. A simple ten-minute download and you can transfer your notes from your notepad to view on your screen.

The software also allows you to search for specific words or phrases. This makes reviewing for tests and quizzes much easier, because you won’t need to review all of your notes searching for the one paragraph of information that you need. The Livescribe software makes sending your notes extremely easy, so if a friend misses a class you won’t have to give up your pages to give to them; you could just send it straight to them.

Right now I’m sure there are a few readers who are thinking, “There is no way I could afford this”, but you couldn’t be more wrong.

A school textbook can cost anywhere between $100-300 for some majors, and this pen only costs $99 for the basic model.

I found a hard time justifying buying myself this pen for a long time. I put it off for a year or so, but now that I finally have mine and have been using it for over a month, I can’t imagine how I managed without it. Oh,

Bookmark It! ashley e. lang The Recorder

All they knew was that she was gone. Ran away, maybe.

Dead, probably. After 40 years, the mystery of 16-year-old Harriet Vanger’s disappearance ate away at Henrik Vanger, her uncle whom she cherished. Haunted by framed flowers sent each year on his birthday, Henrik is getting desperate and will do anything to uncover the truth.

To the rest of the Vanger family, Harriet has become nothing more than a memory. It’s an unsolved mystery that they had all tried to put behind them, but not Henrik. He needed an answer. What happened to Harriet? Was she murdered, and if so, by whom?

The dramatic family saga unfolds as Henrik enlists the help of Mikael Blomkvist, a renowned journalist and part owner of “Millennium,” a financial magazine, who most recently

lost a libel suit against a corrupt and powerful company known as Wennerström. With his career in shambles, Blomkvist agrees to get out of the spotlight and spend a year writing a family history of the Vanger’s. However, the most important question he focuses on is what ever became of Harriet.

Lisbeth Slander is a ward of the state. After being declared incompetent, Slander is forced to report back to her guardian every other week, as well as forced to ask permission to access her own bank accounts, receiving a weekly allowance. Even though she is legally an adult her rights were stripped from her a long time ago.

A victim of abuse, both mentally and sexually, Slander is a far cry from stable. However, what may be lacking in her social skills she more than makes up for when it comes to her mental capabilities. The world might think they have Slander all figured out, but they better guess again.

Netflix It: peter stroczkowski The Recorder

Depraved. Perverse. Mind-bending. Oddly poignant. All are accurate descriptions of Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 psychological thriller, A Clockwork Orange, adopted from Anthony Burgess’ classic 1962 novel.

The film follows Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell, Tank Girl), an amoral sociopath and sexually deviant 17-year old. Alex spends his days kissing up to his yuppie parents, avoiding his youth counselor and rocking out to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. By night, he is the leader of a gang of like-minded miscreants, indulging in ultra-violent delights such as torture, mugging, robbery, drug use and rape.

Alex has his double-life figured out completely until he reacts badly to his fellow gangbangers questioning his leadership. After teaching the chaps a proper lesson, his buddies go rogue and set Alex up after an unwitting murder is committed at a widow ’s home. The legal system dispenses with Alex quickly, sentencing him to a post-apocalyptic jail. W hile serving his time, Alex’s good behavior allows him to be nominated for early release providing his completion of the ‘Ludovico treatment’.

The treatment is a dystopian version of Pavlov ’s conditioning technique and aversion therapy, wherein Alex is injected with a narcotic that makes him feel as if he is deathly ill whilst being forced to watch videos of violence, sexual assault and other destructive phenomena, thereby conditioning him incapable of these things.

After completion of the treatment, Alex is released back into the world and is forced to cope with his inability of being who he was prior to incarceration. Dealing with his past victims, betraying old friends and new circumstances, Alex struggles with his newly imposed ‘goodness’.

It is here that the film, much like the novel poses the question, “Being deprived of the free will to commit evil deeds, would someone still even be considered human?” That question is the

and did I forget to mention that they sell the pen and all of its accessories at the school store? Seriously consider making this one

of your holiday purchases this break. There’s nothing wrong with giving yourself an extra edge when it comes to doing well in school.

Image I Livescribe.com

rachael bentley

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson Swedish author Stieg Larsson creates a realistic and gripping world of mystery. A page turner, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an engrossing novel, one that will have you hooked from the page one. A plot filled with hidden clues, sexual sadists who murder women, an obsession with biblical passages and a tough prodigy and a relentless journalist who will stop at nothing to find the person or people responsible for Harriet’s disappearance, this novel will keep you on edge.

Suspenseful and intelligently crafted, this book is a brilliant read. Larsson paints a reality with characters you will both love and love to hate as the plot unfolds. You will find yourself searching for the answer to Henrik’s question. That answer will leave you speechless.

The first in the series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is remarkably sexy and addictive. A thriller in all respects, this novel will leave you captivated. Good

thing there are two more sequels because you will not want to let these characters go.

A Clockwork Orange main theme of A Clockwork Orange, and the significance it holds immortalizes Kubrick’s film. Following Alex’s release the viewer experiences pity, anger and confusion at the state of Alex’s surroundings, his behavior and fate. Though definitely not a feelgood film, A Clockwork Orange will leave film-lovers stunned and questioning the nature of morality.

8

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / UPGRADE

20 Under 20: Paradise Resturant This weekly segment features ideas of fun things to do that are $20 or less and under 20 miles from CCSU.

sara m. berry the recorder

Just a few minutes from Central is a little treasure in the form of an Italian restaurant.

Located at 10 East Street in New Britain is the aptly named Paradise Restaurant. This small mom and pop restaurant has been in operation since the early 70s. I first discovered the restaurant several years ago when I went to dinner there with my family. I’ve since gone back many times.

I always start with the mozzarella sticks

appetizer. They are by far the best mozzarella sticks I’ve ever had. Rather than the short, round mozzarella sticks served at most places, these are inch-wide mozzarella rectangles with light breading and served with homemade marinara sauce.

There are many different entrée possibilities, ranging from pizza and grinders, to pasta dishes, ribs and fried chicken. My personal favorite is the cheese tortellini in alfredo sauce with bacon. The dish itself is bigger than I am, especially after the soup and salad that all of their entrees come with.

They have a variety of soups that change periodically, with chicken noodle and New England clam chowder always available. I always opt for the clam chowder. In addition to soup and salad, many of the dinners also come with a choice of pasta that includes shells, ziti, linguine and angel hair.

If you aren’t looking to bring home the next day’s lunch as well as have a full dinner, you can opt for the value dishes. These are less expensive, smaller portions that do not come with soup. Paradise also serves breakfast and lunch, as well as single slices of pizza. All of

their items are also available for takeout.

The food at the Paradise Restaurant is amazing, but the prices are perhaps even more amazing. You can get just about any combination of an appetizer, entrée, salad and soup for under $20. There are a few more expensive items like the veal parmesan, but even those are reasonable. You can also add a variety of wines and beers to your dinner.

My grandparents frequented the Paradise Restaurant close to 40 years ago, and as long as it is still in New Britain, I will continue that trend.

raCHael bentley the recorder

Birth Control. We’ve all heard about it. We have all sat in those awkward health classes where the teacher shows the class how to put a condom on a banana. We’ve all watched those corny 80s homemade videos where high school students talk about their options like a scene from The Breakfast Club. Those classes usually only taught a few of the many options that are actually out there.

For many college students condoms are the ultimate go-to method, mainly for being so easy to get a hold of, and because they are so easy to use. They are also one of the most reliable ways to protect against pregnancy and STDs, with only 1 out of 100 women getting pregnant each year if used continuously and correctly, according to Planned Parenthood. Using condoms allows for people to be spontaneous, which as you’ll learn, is not always the case with some birth control options. If you use a lubricant while also using a condom, don’t forget to use a water based lube instead of an oil based one, because the oils can break down the latex on the condom.

Birth control options like the pill and the patch are the easiest to use and the easiest to get a hold of for most young women, with resources like Health Services and Planned Parenthood within close vicinity. Many feel much more comfortable knowing that they are in control of their own protection, and with most insurances the pill only costs $10-$30 a month. Like condoms, using

the pill and the patch are one of the safest ways to protect from getting pregnant. For many couples the pill/patch is a safe and convenient way to keep safe if you know that the relationship is monogamous and that there should be no STDs involved. The pill also has other benefits such as helping to clear up acne, prevents bone thinning and clears up ovarian cysts.

But what about those of us who don’t have just one partner and who may just be enjoying the possibilities of having some single fun while still in college?

Thanks to a tweet sent to me from a fellow CCSU student I was introduced to the female condom. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of one, because up until that moment neither had I. Crowding around a computer with three friends I went online to do a little research.

The Planned Parenthood website claimed that this type of protection is growing in popularity everyday, but to be honest I can’t see why. They look highly uncomfortable and using one correctly seems to be a bit of a challenge, considering six to 16 women out of 100 end up pregnant each year while using them. For those of you who may be overly cautious, do not try to use a female condom and a regular condom at the same time. It will not end well.

Another option for women is a diaphragm, which is a shallow, dome-shaped cup with a flexible rim. It is made of silicone and is inserted into the vagina to basically provide a barrier. It must be kept in up to six hours after having sex and you can put it in multiple hours before intercourse. The most interesting thing I learned about the

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diaphragm is the fact that it can be washed and reused. Read into that what you will, but for me that was a definite deal breaker.

A diaphragm does not protect against STD’s so for many sexual active people, using a condom is just easier.

When I was a freshman, I lived with another girl who had a very active sex life.

I was already fully aware of that fact when one day I opened my fridge and saw a box with her Nuva ring sitting right next to my whipped yogurts. Though I was happy to realize she was practicing safe sex, I was still very confused as to what it actually was.

She explained to me later that you insert the ring and leave it in for 3 weeks. When you remove it, you get your period for a week and then you just repeat the cycle. Yes, they do get lost “up there” sometimes during sex, and you will need a doctor to get it out. However, they are one of the safer options with less than one in 100 women getting pregnant, but it does not protect against STDs. With only an 800-word space to get all of this information to you I will say there are other options out there for practicing safe sex. Planned Parenthood is a great resource for anyone who may have questions. Many reading this will probably say to themselves, “Well I already knew all of that…” which is excellent. The more people who know about their options for practicing safe sex the better. For those of you who don’t know your options, or have any questions, please don’t be afraid to ask or just search online.

It’s really amazing the amount of information that is just a few clicks away. We have come a long way since those cheesy 80s movies.

Thank goodness.

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Between The Sheets: Birth Control Options

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / UPGRADE

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10

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / SPORTS

COLUMN

Show Support For Connecticut Athletes

brIttany burKe the recorder

This past weekend, Dan Orlovsky started at quarterback for the struggling Colts team to try and give them some sort of offensive prowess. They hoped for a win, but came up short. While they remain winless without Peyton Manning, that doesn’t mean that Orlovsky didn’t have a good game.

Even though they couldn’t earn their first victory, as a Connecticut resident I couldn’t help but be proud to watch him represent our state.

The quarterback threw for 353-yards with two touchdowns in the game against New England. That day Orlovsky made a name for himself and no matter what professional team you root for in Connecticut, any resident should have been proud.

Orlovsky, born in Bridgeport, CT., is just one of multiple professional athletes who were either born in or went to school in this state.

He joins Dwight Freeney, also on the Colts roster, as another Connecticutborn athlete. Another teammate, Donald Brown, spent his college days playing for UConn. Will Beatty is a former Huskie who found his way into the NFL. Outside of football, Ray Allen made his mark on the NBA as one of the premiere shooters in league history.

NHL players Jonathan Quick and Max Pacioretty were both born here. Even MLB star Joe Mauer spent some time here.

Justise Hairston, drafted to the Patriots in 2007 hails from New Britain and calls himself a CCSU Blue Devil alumnus.

These are all guys who have some sort of roots in Connecticut and that’s not even scratching the surface or getting into women’s sports.

Connecticut is largely disregarded when it comes to professional sports; it’s a curse that comes with being situated so closely to the two sports powerhouses, New York and Boston.

While I proudly root for the Giants, Mets and Bruins, I will always support an athlete that comes from Connecticut, as should every other Connecticut sports fan.

It is vital to have pride in where you come from, whether you’re supporting the school you attend or the state in which you live.

Having pride and showing support doesn’t stop with cheering on the athletes that have made the leap to the professional level.

Residents also have to support them when they’re still in Connecticut.

The state may not be ready to house a professional sports team, but we do have a plethora of other options. Whether it’s the New Britain Rock Cats, CT Whale, CT Sun or our collegiate sports, we have a lot to offer to fans.

Connecticut may be disregarded by outsiders, but it shouldn’t be by the residents. Orlovsky’s showing on Sunday was just one example of the talent that can come from our state.

We should take pride in the products of Connecticut and not ignore what hidden talent is out there.

SPORTS BEGINS ON BACK PAGE

ReCentral Looks To Expand brIttany burKe the recorder

Following a busy semester, ReCentral classes are beginning to dwindle down due to the final push toward a hectic finals week and eventually winter break.

The scheduled weekly classes offered

by ReCentral will be rearranged due to finals week and its own jumbled schedule.

According to Ken DeStefanis, the program’s recreation specialist, which classes can be held depends on the availability of student instructors.

In order to keep students of the classes informed, emails have been sent out and an updated schedule will be posted on the ReCentral website.

The slow finals week comes after a busy semester in which additional classes were scheduled to accommodate the fitness demand.

“We’ve been able to expand our programs a lot,” said Kacey Light, the fitness graduate assistant in charge of scheduling the fitness classes. “We went from having about 30 fitness classes a week to now we have about 40 fitness classes on any given week. We have also been able to acquire a new space on campus down in Davidson Hall. It’s a much bigger, nicer space and allows us to have bigger class numbers, and also kind of reach another section on campus, which is helpful for many students.”

The most popular addition to the ReCentral fitness regime was a boot camp class taught five times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Boot camp is described as a complete body toning class and only allows for five to ten students, but has

become popular amongst participants.

Early morning and late classes have also been added to the cycling schedule, which is comprised of 14 different class times with seven instructors. Not only were classes added, but so was equipment. New bikes were provided by ReCentral in order to house more students per class.

Cycling continues to be one of the more popular classes throughout the semester.

Due to this popularity and the limited number of bikes, ReCentral allows for students to sign up online to ensure a bike is held for them.

“We had record numbers that attended all our classes … our boot camp classes were extremely popular, as well as yoga, that’s always had great numbers and spinning’s always had great numbers,” said DeStefanis.

“Overall [the semester] was really great. We had a lot of new students also, which was good considering we did not get a chance to address them during freshmen orientation which was cancelled because of weather, so I guess word of mouth is good. People like what they are coming to and are spreading the word.”

According to Light, the monthly average for yoga classes is 270 students, while cycling usually reaches 400 students a month. The monthly average for the new boot camp class over the course of the semester was about 130, but that is due to the restriction in class size.

“We’ve been trying to promote our programs better too, especially with our new space,” said Light. “Really trying to get the word out to more students, using Facebook a lot to promote classes and kind of increasing our following through social media to get

more people involved and knowing what’s going on. I think it’s helped really boost attendance.”

While attendance has increased, classes have had to get cancelled throughout the course of the semester due to poor attendance. The majority of poor involvement is attributed to inconvenient class times, which is something ReCentral takes into account for the following semester.

“We’ve been able to try and track our attendance numbers pretty well this semester so we know which classes and what times work better for students, so we’re going to try and keep fine tuning our schedule to have full classes and get rid of the classes that didn’t have as good a attendance because it’s a bad time … so I’m just trying to find more of what the students need and fill those gaps,” said Light.

According to DeStefanis the spring semester should be posted in the upcoming weeks, but it will continue to be reworked depending on the availability of the instructors. ReCentral currently employs 18 instructors but is looking to hire more due to the demand of fitness classes.

As the semester comes to a close the staff at ReCentral continues to place its focus on making their presence known through fitness inspired campus events. This semester plans were stunted due to the unforeseen weather complications, but ideas for next semester are already being worked on. “[We have been able] to expand and get more people interested by offering different types of classes and getting student feedback on what they want has helped us to improve and we’re going to continue to do that in the spring,” said Light.

Women’s Basketball Winter Break Schedule December 10 Siena 12 p.m.

December 18 @ James Madison 1 p.m.

December 21 @ Hofstra 12 p.m.

December 22 vs. Marist/ Auburn TBA December 28 Bryant* 1 p.m.

January 2 @ Boston Collage 7 p.m.

January 7 Robert Morris* 1 p.m.

January 9 St. Francis (Pa.) * 7 p.m.

January 14 @ Wagner* 4 p.m.

January 16 @ Mount St. Mary’s * 7 p.m.

January 21 @ Sacred Heart * 1 p.m.

January 23 @ Bryant * 4 p.m.

January 28 Fairleigh Dickinson * 1 p.m.

January 30 Monmouth * 7 p.m.

Men’s Basketball Winter Break Schedule December 10 @ Brown 2 p.m.

December 17 @ Northwestern 2 p.m.

December 22 La Salle 7 p.m.

December 30 @ Massachusetts 7 p.m.

January 5 @ St. Francis (Pa.) * 7 p.m.

January 7 Robert Morris* 3:30 p.m.

January 12 @ Mount St. Mary’s * 7 p.m.

January 14 @ Wagner * 7 p.m.

January 19 Bryant* 7 p.m.

January 21 @ Sacred Heart* 3:30 p.m.

January 26 Monmouth* 7 p.m.

January 28 Fairleigh Dickinson * 3:30 p.m.

11

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / SPORTS

COMMENTARY

Good Luck, Valentine

dan wanat the recorder

Being a Red Sox fan, I wish Bobby Valentine the best of luck. Not simply because I want to see him succeed and bring another World Series to Boston. I bid him the best of luck because he certainly will have his hands full with a diva-filled, egotistical locker room that is already grumbling about his hiring.

I wish Valentine good luck so that he doesn’t have a heart attack as David Ortiz dances around the locker room in his tightie-whities while blaring his salsa music.

I wish him luck in trying to pry away the children from the video games and beer they love so much.

I wish Valentine good luck to not succumb to the Boston scrutiny that will arise should things veer off the path.

I wish Valentine good luck in restoring order in a disheartened franchise coming off the worst playoff-race collapse in Major League Baseball history.

With all this luck being bestowed upon Valentine, let’s take a peek at who the man really is. Well, it’s not good that the first thing that pops into most of our heads is

the time he was thrown out of a game as Mets manager. Valentine famously snuck his way back into the dugout wearing sunglasses, a hat and a fake mustache.

Aside from this snafu, which summoned negative publicity, Valentine has been a somewhat successful major league manager.

In his first year as a manager of the Texas Rangers, he transformed them from a 62-win team to an 87-win team under his regime.

After the first year of success in Texas, he was never really able to establish supreme success as the Rangers were more average than great.

After his departure from the Rangers in 1992, Valentine became the manager of the Mets in 1996 where he finally found success.

In New York, Valentine had a .543 winning percentage and led the Mets to the World Series.

Even with the success, the bloodthirsty, ravenous New York fans and media wanted more and he was fired after a sub-.500 season, just two years removed from taking the Mets to the Series. Since then, Valentine has dabbled in Japan, winning a Japanese Championship for the Chiba Lotte Marines and became an ESPN analyst before taking the Red Sox managerial position.

Managing in New York, Bobby V

has certainly faced his share of intense surveillance on his every move and decision made. Boston shouldn’t be too overwhelming for him in that sense.

The locker room is what worries me the most. Valentine being hired as manager is shaping this up to be a terrible episode of “Wife Swap”. Valentine and Terry Francona are polar opposites.

Francona is the laid-back father who drinks a 12-pack of Nattie Ice for breakfast and feeds the kids cookies for dinner. He has no control over his children and lets them run wild. The kids love the freedom as they go shoot squirrels with BB guns and refuse to bathe for days as he just sits back watching “Dog the Bounty Hunter” and admires the young’uns he’s raised.

On the other hand, Valentine is the uptight, white collar “wife” that makes sure all the children are up and ready for school at the same time every day. Every night they have a plethora of chores to do or else significant punishments are levied. Valentine loves the robotic children he has created as they eat strawberries without sugar for dessert and recite the Bill of Rights as a bedtime story.

Putting Valentine into a situation where they are shooting squirrels for leisurely activities and have as many teeth as they have

fingers is a potentially volcanic eruption waiting to happen.

The Red Sox clubhouse is a group of men who have not had to live up to any rules or regulations for Francona’s entire reign as manager. Now, the team is being put into a situation where rules must be followed.

My hypothesis is that there will be some teenage-like back lash to the new clubhouse culture set in motion by Valentine. Under Francona, they drank beer and played video games in the dugout rather then watch their teammates play.

There was little-to-no team unity or a sense of leadership. The athletes refused to work out on days they weren’t pitching and they faced the enormous consequences of failure because of it.

Valentine will try his best to rid the Red Sox of these flawed character traits and create a winning organization, potentially against the players’ wills. Red Sox players are already grumbling and sending petty text messages lamenting the idea of having to play in a stricter environment.

Fans should be rooting for him to succeed, even if their favorite players aren’t happy.

Good luck Bobby Valentine, good luck.

Women’s Basketball Struggles Against Tough Defensive Pressure

Kenny Horton slams one home during the second half .

15 shooting from the field while making none of her four three point attempts.

Overall, CCSU’s shooting was bad. They shot 16 of 55 from the field (29.1%) and made just 2 of 15 (13.3%) from three point range.

“That was the first team that pressured us the whole game,” Piper said. “So, we have to learn from it, grow and get better. If we get better, then it’s worthwhile, if we don’t learn from it and grow, then we’re in trouble.”

The Blue Devils have two more home games left in their five game home-stand. They will play Rhode Island on December 7th, Siena on December 10th before hitting the road for three games against James Madison, followed by two games at the Hofstra Holiday classic. Their next NEC match-up is December 28th against Bryant at 1 p.m. in Detrick Gymnasium.

Kenny barto I tHe reCorder

WoMENS BBALL I coNT. FRoM 12 was disappointed.”

“Between our two 5’s, Johnna But, CCSU still kept [Fisher] and Kirsten [Daamen], themselves in the game by playing they had one defensive rebound,” good defense against the Pioneers Piper said. “We’re lucky that Jess is as well. With 6:50 remaining, a getting in there, she ends up with three pointer by Jessica Babe put 10 defensive rebounds because CCSU within three points, 41- our 5’s are just reaching for the 38. But, Sacred Heart finished the ball and not going up and grabbing game on a 12-2 run, finishing off it with two hands and not being the Blue Devils 53-40. aggressive.”

“We talked after and said ‘How Daamen, who managed to be many times did we successfully run CCSU’s leading scorer with 14, an offense where all five of us were struggled in the post, grabbing just on the same page?’,” Piper said. one defensive rebound.

“Probably a handful of times and “They did a good job of pushing that’s not good.”

Kirsten around, and not allowing Despite her six turnovers, her to catch the ball deep in the Jessica Babe had a decent game post,” Piper said. “When she did for CCSU, finishing with 12 get it, she had some tough shots points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 and not a lot of easy looks … they assists. Her 13 rebounds are highly did a good job of keeping Kirsten uncharacteristic for a true point out of the game.” guard, especially since she was Jaclyn Babe, who had been one of the smallest players on the averaging 14.5 points per game, court, standing just 5’5”. scored just eight points on 4 of

MENS BBALL I coNT. FRoM 12 Joe Efese had 11 points in the game, while Kyle Vinales was kept to a meager five. Vinales has been an offensive powerhouse for the Blue Devils, but the Pioneers shut him down with just one field goal and one three-pointer made.

“Joe’s had a couple of good games of late,” said Dickenman.

“He’s sort of fired up [and] we’re much better when we play with emotion, as I think any team in sports is, but he is showing more energy in practice … he asserted himself and if he continued to get better than that’s a hold that we have in that five spot and maybe were starting to fill that up a little bit.”

The game against SHU was the last conference game for the Blue Devils until Jan. 5 when they play St. Francis (PA). However, the team

travels to Michigan State on Dec. 7 to open up a three game road stint. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU, which is channel 33 on CCSU’s cable system.

“We got to go [to Michigan State] and play hard,” said Horton.

“All we want to do is go in and show everybody that we can compete and go in and play our toughest. That’s really our mind set to just go in and play tough and show people we’re not just going to lay down because they’re Michigan State … that’s all we can really do … it’s a real big stage because it’s Michigan State, but like Rob said, it’s just another game, we’re going to just play hard and see what happens.”

CCSU is home again three days before Christmas on Thursday Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.

danIel saunders I tHe reCorder

Men’s Basketball Looks Forward to Michigan State

Brooke Bailey goes up against SHU defenders in the paint.

12

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, December 7, 2011 / SPORTS

Horton and Ptacek Key In CCSU Win The Recorder

The Blue Devils men’s basketball team remains undefeated in conference play after two games.

The 82-80 win over the Sacred Heart Pioneers was secured in the final seconds of a five minute overtime situation last Saturday in Detrick Gymnasium.

With 1:10 left to play in regulation CCSU trailed SHU 6865, until Robby Ptacek sunk a threepointer to tie the score. With the game tied and headed into the final seconds, the Blue Devil defense took charge while the Pioneers missed two vital three point shots of their own.

As the buzzer sounded and overtime began, it was the Pioneers who took the lead back with a jump shot from Shane Gibson.

Gibson was an offensive force that the Blue Devils had trouble shooting down in the second half.

With just eight points going into intermission, Gibson came back out to the court and exploded with 24 more points, making him the game’s leading scorer.

Gibson opened overtime play and had a total of four points in extra minutes, but it wasn’t enough to hold off CCSU. The two teams continued to trade shots back and forth, but again CCSU began to trail SHU. Down by three, Ptacek and Kenny Horton were both sent to the line to shoot two free-throws. The additional four points gave the Blue Devils the lead and sent the defense back into overdrive.

The game was decided in the final seconds by free throws. CCSU’s biggest break of the overtime came when they led the Pioneers by one with 20 seconds on the clock.

Fouled by Horton, SHU’s Justin Swidowski was sent to the line with his team down one point, but missed both shots as the crowd around him was chanting “air ball.”

The Blue Devils remained on top with three more points coming

from Horton and Ptacek at the line. “[The fans] helped us a lot, a whole lot,” said Horton. “It’s only been a couple times that crowd’s really, really been like that and that’s a big boost for us seeing that we have everybody behind us and everybody cheering, everybody doing the little chants. That just gives us that fuel and that fire that helped us pick up our intensity a little bit when we were flat.”

It was the extra attempts taken from the line that really secured the win for the Blue Devils, but it was the free throws that also hindered the team earlier in the game.

“We got a little break when Swidowski came into the game 21 out of 23 from the foul line and he made some earlier and missed them both,” said Head Coach Howie Dickenman. “They had a chance there in regulation and not really a great shot at the end, but it came down to us making foul shots in the overtime, which has kind of been our trademark, but we put stops on them when we needed too.”

At the end of the first half CCSU had gone just 1-1 in free throws while SHU went 8-11. As the game progressed the team fouled more and found themselves at the line more often. In overtime alone CCSU went 7-8 from the line, the only missed shot made by Ptacek in his final attempt.

While SHU had more attempts than CCSU, the Blue Devils were able to take better advantage of the shots they were given, especially in overtime.

Gibson may have been the game’s leading scorer, but again CCSU had three players in double digits.

Horton and Ptacek were virtually even with 30 points, three assists and five turnovers. The two seniors combined for five of the six three-point shots made, while Horton stepped up defensively with a block, steal and six defensive rebounds.

MENS BBALL | cont. on 11

kenny barto I THE RECORDER

brittany burke

CCSU forward David Simmons fights for an offensive rebound against SHU’s Shane Gibson.

Women’s Basketball Loses To SHU At Home...Again kenny barto

Another home game versus Sacred Heart for the women’s basketball team brought yet another home loss against their in-state rival as the Blue Devils lost 53-40 in their Northeast Conference opener.

“We just were not focused at all,” said head coach Beryl Piper. “Right from the get-go we didn’t run our press-break right, everything we worked on in practice we just didn’t execute, we were just doing whatever we felt like doing.”

CCSU (4-2, 0-1 NEC) have not beaten the Pioneers (6-1, 1-0 NEC) at Detrick Gymnasium since February 3rd, 2001. The Blue Devils were successful in defeating SHU in last year’s NEC tournament quarterfinals at the Pitt Center in Fairfield, however.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Piper. “We just can’t beat them here.”

The Blue Devils were troubled by a tough 3/4 court zone pressure for the entire game. Point guard Jessica Babe turned the ball over six times in large part to the Pioneers’ defensive pressure.

“We worked on a press-break for the last two days in practice,” Piper said. “Early in the game, the press-break we were supposed to use, we just didn’t do it. We didn’t flash where we were supposed

daniel saunders I THE RECORDER

The Recorder

Jaclyn Babe, who was limited to 8 points, is guarded by SHU’s Gabrielle Washington

to flash, we didn’t cut where we were supposed to cut, so we had to change it up.”

In the first half, the defensive pressure allowed Sacred Heart to open a 15-5 lead against CCSU. The Blue Devils were able to keep the game within 10 points for the most part, and even trailed by as few as one point, 21-20, with 3:47 remaining. But, three missed shots, a turnover and a foul by CCSU allowed Sacred Heart to end the half leading 30-22.

The second half led to more frustration for the Blue Devils. After the pioneers pushed the score to 3727 with 15:32 remaining, neither team scored a basket until two Sacred Heart free throws that made the score 39-27 at the 11:26 mark.

During the four minute stretch, the Blue Devils had seven missed opportunities (four turnovers, three missed shots) while allowing the Pioneers four offensive rebounds.

As the second half continued, Sacred Heart continued to dominate the offensive glass, netting nine offensive rebounds to give them 15 total for the game.

“To me, it’s loose balls in general, those are just hustle points.” said Piper. “They’re a good offensive rebounding team, we knew that, we talked about it…I WOMENS BBALL | cont. on 11