Volume 108 Issue 23

AWA R D-W INNING CENTR A LR ECOR DER .COM Wednesday, April 4, 2012

University Secures Student’s Safety With Sexual Assualt Policy

Central Connecticut State University

Volume 108 No. 23

Is Porn a Public Service?

sArA m. berry the recorder

The campus community came together to work on a new Sexual Misconduct Protocol that is expected to go into effect on April 14 and is in its final stages of revision after being formulated since 2010.

In the fall of 2010, allegations that thenPsychology Professor and Chief Diversity Officer Moises Salinas had sexually assaulted student Krystal Rich became public, with no sexual assault policy present.

“When I was assaulted by Dr. Salinas on campus there was no policy to protect me, in terms of sexual assault. All we had was a sexual harassment policy at the time,” said Rich. “Shortly after that, the SART committee started being very active and a subcommittee was formed where they started drafting the policy.”

The following fall, Rich and Associate Professor of Psychology Joanne DiPlacido did an anonymous on-line study of 2900 CCSU students, revealing that 33 percent of females and 12 percent of males have experienced some kind of sexual harassment or sexual assault while in college. The results of the study were presented to the University and the committee working on the drafting of the sexual misconduct policy. The policy itself went into effect in October 2011 and is also available on CCSU’s website.

“There was no policy in place, and I think this is something that schools don’t want to talk about, and it took a case with somebody who was very persistent and followed through and ended up bringing changes and fortunately, it’s because of her that [Salinas] is off campus,” said DiPlacido.

The Sexual Assault and Interpersonal Violence Resource Team was then formed in June 2010 and is made up of representatives from the Women’s Center, Health Services, Counseling and Wellness, the Office of Diversity and Equity, the Committee on the Concerns of Women, the LGBT Center, and the University Police, as well as the YWCA and Prudence Crandall Center in New Britain.

“A subcommittee grew out of that group, that actually put together the initial draft of that policy. And then it went through numerous iterations and so forth and so the process has taken over a year and a half,” said Dr. Laura Tordenti, Vice President of Student Affairs. “It’s been a good process and I think it’s a good policy.”

The subcommittee, chaired by CCSU Chief of Police Jason Powell, wrote the initial draft of the policy. The policy was then sent to Tordenti, the Chief Diversity Officer Rosa Rodriguez, and Carolyn Magnan, Counsel to the President, who revised the policy in consultation with Human Resources in order to make sure it did not violate any individual

see ASSAULT - page 5

In this issue...

Ian Mangione (left) and Eric Bergenn (right) debating the merits of porn being a public service last week.

dAniel sAunders | the reCorder

AmAndA webster the recorder

Students from CCSU and Cambridge University were brought together to argue the merits of the adult entertainment industry as a public service last tuesday evening in Semesters lounge in the Student Center.

According to Eric Bergenn, President of the Student Government Association, the viewpoints expressed during the debate were

not necessarily the personal views of the students participating in the debate.

Bergenn and CCSU junior Ian Mangione were teamed up with Maria English and Alex Gordon-Brown of Cambridge University to argue that pornography is not a public service.

Their opponents were CCSU Student Government Association Senators Sky Morrell and Ryan Baldassario. Cambridge students Matt Hazell and Tom Powell joined

them.

“It’s a public service because it provides safety in sexuality,” Morrell said in her opening argument. “It allows people to explore their sexuality in a safe way.”

No type of sexuality or interest was left untouched in this debate, and at one point the term,“bunnyphilia” was even used.

see PORN - page 5

Mulrooney Gets Blitzed Over Faculty Listserv Professor Outraged Over His Exile From Public Forum justin muszynski

“If a faculty member tells another faculty member, ‘this is an event which excludes faculty,’ then there’s an obvious contradiction,” said Blitz.

“I stand by my decision,” said Mulrooney.

Mulrooney says after hearing many of the concerns students had, he believes that keeping faculty absent from the event was beneficial. He will submit his report to the provost and the graduation and retention rate council, which he is a member of. He also says he’s unsure whether he could have forced Blitz to leave because it was technically an “open forum.”

After exiting the forum, Blitz sent an email over the faculty list server voicing his concerns about not being allowed to attend the event.

“In 23 years as a faculty member, I have never been thrown out of a public meeting at the University,” said Blitz in the email.

He went on to add that a meeting held in a public room in the student center cannot be considered a private one. He also pointed out that to exclude all faculty members but one

is “inconsistent.” He also says he is unsure of what his future intentions are. He is debating whether or not to ask for a copy of the video that was taken at the event under the Freedom of Information Act. His concern is that the notes taken by Mulrooney may not reflect exactly what the students were trying to convey and he’s very interested given that the main topic debated was advising and he is an advisor himself.

SGA President Eric Bergen, who co-hosted the event, says it was a miscommunication and doesn’t blame either party.

“They’re both right,” said Bergenn.

He also said that because the issue of advising was one of the major ones by students, a student might think twice about voicing their concerns if their advisor was present. He added that an email was sent out to faculty asking them to invite their students to participate and it didn’t clearly tell them that faculty was not welcome.

“It was a small misunderstanding and if I get a chance to catch up with both of them I’ll make sure everything’s cool,” said Bergenn.

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the recorder

At the SGA’s open forum designed to allow student to voice their concerns about what’s causing low graduation rates at CCSU Monday, David Blitz, chair of the philosophy department, engaged in a disagreement with James Mulrooney, chair of the biomolecular sciences department, after he expressed his concern that faculty being present would influence the students’ opinions.

Blitz’s and Mulrooney’s accounts of the event differ slightly.

“I asked him nicely to leave and explained that it was intended to be a student only forum,” said Mulrooney.

“He said you have to leave this is student only, faculty are not allowed,” said Blitz referring to Mulrooney.

Mulrooney says that when he approached the SGA about putting on this event it was understood that he would be the only faculty member present to take notes and put a report together of his findings.

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NEWS

THE RECORDER Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Students Open Up About Obstacles To Graduation

justin muszynski The Recorder

The SGA hosted an open forum for students to voice concerns regarding any problems they have had that delayed their graduation plans.

The hot topic was advising which was a timely subject considering the advising period is ending this week.

Kat Boushee started this discussion after telling her own experience.

“My advisor not only does not know my name but she refuses to meet with me because I can’t meet with her on the one day she could meet,” said Boushee. “She gives us ten minute increments.” She added that her advisor only asks if she knows what classes she wants to take and if she believes that she will graduate on time and then gives her the pin number to register for classes.

Many students described similar situations in which they blamed advising as a reason why they won’t graduate in a timely manner. SGA senator Ryan Baldassario, who cohosted the event with President Eric Bergenn, asked how many students have had a major problem with advising. Nearly the entire room raised their hands.

Another student said being in the education department she has

two advisors, one for her education requirements and one for her particular field of focus, however neither informed her that SCI 420 is a course that she needed and is only offered every two years. She said that had it not been for her relationship with another faculty member she never would have known and would have to remain in school for much longer.

Her story also caused much debate about classes that aren’t offered every semester.

Jim Irving, a grad student, says that he nearly didn’t attend CCSU for its grad program because of his experiences that he had as an undergraduate student. He took a course that was only offered by one professor that he needed to graduate.

“I’m partially deaf so I have trouble with people with thick accents,” said Irving. “I had to keep making him repeat himself and the grade on his midterm caused me to not graduate cum laude.” He said that he didn’t file a formal complaint because he had already walked at the graduation ceremony.

A further complaint students had was in regards to student workers in the advising center and the registrar’s office. Many felt that something as important as advising should be

handled by a faculty member due to multiple issues that several people attending described. Many said that what a student would tell them versus what a faculty member would say varied drastically and even in some cases it was too late for the student who received the bad information to do anything about it.

A student in the education department said she is concerned that she won’t be able to walk early at the graduation ceremony even after she was told she could. Being in the education program she was told that students can walk early even if they need to complete more than nine credits, the minimum required.

However, she was recently told that because the registrar’s office has been understaffed for the past three years they no longer allow this exception.

James Mulrooney, chair of the biomolecular sciences department, gave a brief presentation about CCSU’s graduation rate and explained what it means. The current rate is 47 percent.

“If you look at that number it sort of implies that 53 percent of students never graduate,” said Mulrooney.

“That’s not necessarily true.”

He added that this number is misleading because the government qualifies someone graduating if they

kenny barto | THE RECORDER

SGA Senator Ryan Baldassario moderated the open forum. start at a school as a freshman and graduate from the same institution.

Meaning if someone attends CCSU but then decides to transfer to another university, even if they graduate there it still counts against CCSU. On the same token, if a student transfers into CCSU and graduates that doesn’t contribute to CCSU’s graduation rate.

“I came up with this novel idea,

‘why don’t we ask the students?’” said Mulrooney. “Let them tell us what the issues might be.”

Bergenn said he was very pleased with the turnout and would be open to hosting another similar event that chose a different topic.

“It definitely served the purpose that we were looking for,” said Bergenn.

Burritt Library Sees Continued Success After Renovations Amanda webster The Recorder

Since renovations were made last year to the Elihu Burritt Library, library attendance have at least doubled compared to prerenovation attendance and continues to climb this semester.

According to the library’s statistics, in the month of February 2011 17,583 people used the library and in the month of February 2012 there were 32,896 people who used the library, almost double the amount of people compared to the year before.

Access Services Librarian Kimberly Farrington says that it can be unbelievable at times at the number of people who use the library.

“I look out at around noon and am in shock,” said Farrington. “Every little nook is filled with people. It’s amazing.”

After the library was first renovated, attendance doubled compared to the months of September in 2010 and 2011 going from 26,447 people to 48,484 and it looks as if the same trend is continuing.

Barbara Meagher, head of the reference department, said that this semester has continued to be very busy for the reference area and that the department is running at full capacity.

In the same way that the amount of people using the library has doubled, so has the revenue being taken in by Jazzman’s Café.

According to Don DeGrutolla, general manager of CCSU dining services, Jazzman’s took in $58,041 last year and jumped to taking in $93,481 this year. DeGrutolla attributes the increase to the success of the library.

“When Jazzman’s was on the second floor there were all these signs that said

no food or drink,” said DeGrutolla. “They took down those signs and now how they have the ground floor laid out like more of a social place, almost like an extension of the Student Center.”

DeGrutolla said that with more students being drawn to the social aspect of the first floor it has definitely helped the business at Jazzman’s. Guest meals from meal plans are also accepted at the café which DeGrutolla thinks also draws in more students.

Jazzman’s increase follows the same pattern as the student activity increase. The first semester doubled the income for the café and it has doubled again since last semester.

DeGrutolla went on to say that he hopes to extend the hours of Jazzman’s for student convenience and possibly stay open during the weekends.

Jazzman’s is not the only thing affected by the increase of student activity. Library Technician Jaime Ortiz said that more

books are also being taken out this semester compared to last semester.

Ortiz said that since day one of the new renovations, there were more people using the library.

“Believe it or not, we have students who have gone here for years who are now using the library for the first time,” said Ortiz.

There’s a lot more students using the first floor, but if you go up to the reserve room there are still students who use that room.

It’s about finding a quiet place; it’s more of a social area on the first floor.”

Farrington said that she hopes to see more money being put into further renovations as she believes it will continue to bring students in.

“The other floors are not quite as busy as the first,” said Farrington, but that’s not to say they’re not busy at all. “If you go upstairs and look around you will still find people everywhere.”

Trimming The Fat: Food Sustainability Symposium At CCSU Ciara hooks The Recorder

CCSU hosted its Fifth Annual Global Environmental Sustainability Symposium with a number of events throughout the day Thursday that engaged adults as well as children in a discussion of food sustainability and agriculture.

“It’s one of the biggest issues in the world right now; the lack of food, the impacts of food from climate change, the spread between the wealthy and poor and the unavailability of food,” said Charles Button, event organizer, Associate Professor of geography and head of CCSU’s Global Environmental Sustainability Action Coalition, the event sponsor.

The events focused on talking about how food is grown and bringing awareness to what’s going into it, such as things like herbicides, pesticides, hormones and other chemicals that get pumped into the food that you eat. Efficient ways to help or change what’s happening to food was also discussed. Each event navigated to figure out what people already knew and either added, clarified or educated them on America’s, as well as the world’s, issues.

“The whole thrust of sustainability is about meeting the needs of today without compromising the abilities of future generations,” said Button. “It’s really founded on three pillars: environmental concerns, economic concerns and social equity

concerns.”

The headliner of the event was Emily Brooks, who is from Connecticut. She’s the founder of Edibles Advocate Alliance and author of How Marketing Influences Sustainable Decisions and Connecticut Farmer and Feast. According to Button, the luncheon was a big hit with about 120 people who came to hear Brooks speak. Every other speaker and group mentioned was from Connecticut as well.

Another event that was well attended and engaged the audience was titled “Genetically Modified Organisms and Connecticut Panel Discussion,” held in Alumni Hall. The panelists consisted of Bob Burns, bio intensive farmer of Aiki Farms in Ledyard; Pat Bigelow, nutritionist and founder of the UConn Student Farm and the Berlin Community Garden, and Bill Duesing, Executive Director of CT NOFA (the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut). NOFA is the plaintiff in a lawsuit against Monsanto Co. regarding GMOs. GMOs are Genetically Modified Organisms and are present in majority of our food. Bun’s discussed GMOs, the national effort asking for the labeling of GMOs and the organic farmers’ lawsuit against Monsanto.

Elizabeth Saria of Bloomfield and Valentine Doyle of Hartford, had been attending the events all day and Saria said that this was one of her favorite events.

“I was very interested to find out about

some of the downsides of having GMOs,” said Saria. “For instance the two main types of GMO products he talked about were resistance to Round Up, but what happens is the weeds then become more and more resistant to the Round Up and so then you get something worse that happens. Sort of like resistance of bacteria if you take to much antibiotics.”

A lot of students were there for classes and some found it very interesting and said it would be something that they would attend again.

“I found it very interesting,” said Elijah Boles, a 22-year-old student at Central. “I first came for a class, it was extra credit, but after being here for a half hour or so I learned a lot about how a lot of foods we eat have chemicals in it and stuff and it changed my perception on things.” One thing he said he found interesting was that 70 to 80 percent of the foods we eat have GMOs in them.

“Orange-cha Glad You’re Not a Cheeto?” was one of the events for kids in 4th-8th grade put on by Melissa Spear, Executive Director, Rachel Gilroy and a few other students from Common Ground High School, Urban Farm and Environmental Learning Center. It was a slideshow telling the story of Cheetos before they get to you and the benefits of eating healthy while making the connection to living sustainability.

“It kind of makes me afraid to have the bag of Cheetos unless I put it into another

bag like zipped up because personally I don’t like world pollution,” said Jasmine Fedele, 12.

As part of the presentation carrots and oranges were given out to promote healthy eating habits.

“I usually eat oranges because they’re good for the environment, but I really don’t want to eat Cheetos now,” said Bridgette Tetreault, 14. “The smoke from the company’s production hurts the environment.”

It was an interactive way to raise awareness with the kids. There was also a showing of FRESH, a movie shown in Torp Theatre, Fernando’s Farm; an interactive puppet show for kids; Applications of Geospatial Technology for sustainable Resource Management and Development and a jazz performance. Other event included “Designing Sustainable Food Systems: Aesthetics, Intention and Engagement” which was also held in Alumni Hall and was put on by a mother-daughter duo, Joy Wulke, environmental artist and Gioia Connell. A slew of other events were also held.

The Sustainability Symposium has been held at CCSU since 2008.

“It’s part of a national effort happening across the whole U.S. called ‘focus the nation’ and our event was the hugest there was of all of them,” Button said referring to the first CCSU Sustainability Symposium in 2008. Each year a new theme is chosen and according to Button next year’s there will be transportation and mobility.

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / NEWS

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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 Kassondra Granata kgranata@centralrecorder.com

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Student Government Association Rejects Constitution Amendment Joe Suszczynski The Recorder

The Student Government Association debated a possible change within their constitution and a by-law change proposed by President Bergenn.

Senator Chris Marcelli proposed an amendment to the constitution two weeks ago, but was subsequently tabled due to lack of quorum.

The amendment proposed a revision to Article III of the Constitution and stated that there would be a removal of the voting rights of the vice president and treasurer. The treasurer would also be required to approve commitment and disbursement of funds. Another addition to the amendment is that the senate would require a cabinet.

The cabinet would be composed at minimum of the president, vice president and the treasurer.

Cabinet positions may be created if the president wishes to do so. The president can only create a position with a majority vote of the senate.

Another addition to the amendment is that the president has the power to nominate a chairperson to fill the empty position with any member of the senate.

The chairperson could be

appointed by the president and by majority vote of the senate. If the senator is elected, they must continue fulfilling their duties as a senator as well as preside over sessions of the senate. The chairperson would not have any say or vote in any debate unless they are to break a tie. Under the amendment, the chairperson would also be responsible to make all necessary preparations for all the senate meetings as provided in the by laws of the SGA. Senator Matthew Hubbard said that he supported the amendment and said that having an elective board will only benefit them in the long run.

“I think it allows the president to go ahead and do things, and not have to worry about the stress and the chaos of having the Chair,” Hubbard said. “I think we can all pretty much agree that Eric (Bergenn) has done a fantastic job as a president. He goes out and comes back to has to explain them. President Bergenn not able to give his opinion is really detrimental to us and our functioning as an organization. For him to be able to come back an ex-officio, non-voting member, and be able to explain what is going on putting forth, will only benefit us in that right.”

Treasurer Nick Alaimo opposed the motion and said that this is

kenny barto | THE RECORDER

Treasurer Alaimo argues his point against the amendment. extremely chaotic and too late in the year to do so.

“There are no points in this amendment that show that our constitution is broken. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” Alaimo said. “I strongly suggest we vote this down.

We need to make our committee

Malloy’s Proposal Raises Concerns

smaller and efficient, not bigger and chaotic.”

The motion to pass these amendments failed due to the senate not having a two thirds majority in favor of the change.

Marcelli said he felt neutral on the outcome of the votes on his

Vietnam Veterans Welcomed Home

justin muszynski

jared todd

Gov. Dannel Malloy presented a proposal to raise the minimum GPA required to become a licensed teacher from 2.7 to 3.3 with an incentive to improve education efforts around the state.

Ronnie Casella, Chair of Teacher Education, says raising the minimum GPA may cause social issues that the governor may not be aware of.

“If we increased the GPA we would be losing many people of color, many minorities and many people who grow up poor,” said Casella. “So our teaching force would look very different at a time when we’re trying to increase the diversity in it. Essentially we would lot off a huge number of people who would be very valuable in our schools.”

Casella says people who grow up in poverty ridden parts of the state typically don’t perform as well in school as those in middle or upper-class parts. Historically, he says, minorities tend to fall in this category.

Mitchell Sakofs, Dean of the School of Education and Professional Studies, says he believes that through the negotiation process it has already been decided that a minimum of 3.3 is too harsh and has been lowered to 3.0. If this were the case, he says CCSU students will have little to no problem adapting to the new requirement.

“I did an analysis of the students who actually get into our program and 92 percent of students who get into our program already have a 3.0 or higher,” said Safofs. “So it’ll have a small impact on the number of students in our school.”

Candace Barrington, President of the Faculty Senate, says she supports the idea of a concession.

“I’m all for raising standards, but I think there has to be a compromise between 2.7 and 3.3,” said Barrington. “In an ideal world, you would think the higher the standard, the better quality teacher you would get.”

Casella says from his experience, more often than not there’s no relationship that would

For the first time in over 35 years, Connecticut veterans were publicly honored for their service in Vietnam and officially welcomed home on Saturday at the Governor O’Neill Armory in Hartford.

The opening ceremony commenced with the presentation of the colors and the National Anthem sung by the USO Liberty Bells. The a cappella trio also performed military songs as the five branches of the armed services were recognized.

“We’ve waited a long time for this night, and what a great night it is,” said Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman to a spirited gathering of veterans and their families and friends.

What made the event so affecting was the sight of the many Vietnam veterans who came together in esteemed camaraderie to share memories and laughs, as well as to commemorate those who died.

“On behalf of the citizens of Connecticut, I want to thank you. Thank you very much,” said Gov. Dannel Malloy.

“We love you, we embrace you—may God bless you.”

When he was 19, U.S. Army veteran Paul Vaccari of Winsted went to fight in Vietnam. He said no one greeted him when he came home.

In 2010, Connecticut became the second state, following California, to pass legislation that declares March 30 the annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. The commemorative day ensures that Vaccari and about 80,000 other Vietnam veterans in Connecticut will always be honored.

In retrospect, Wyman said, “We learned that we don’t wait 30 years to say

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Gov. Dannel Malloy suggest that someone who performed well in the classroom would accomplish better teaching results.

“I believe that how one does on their GPA doesn’t necessarily correlate how well they will do as a teacher,” said Casella. “In fact, some of the best teachers are people who struggled in school and understand students who struggle in school and therefore connect with those students and really help them to improve.” He added that some of the worst teachers are those who had no problems in the classroom and don’t know how to help a student who is having academic woes.

Steven Ostrowski, Professor of English, says he is in favor of enhancing the standards, but says it should be gradual.

“Basically, I am for it, as we are trying to raise the bar regarding who is qualified to teach,” said Ostrowski. “However, I think changing the GPA requirement should be a process that takes place over several years, so that candidates will be fully informed of the requirement and will be given time to work to achieve it.”

Casella says Malloy bases this proposal on a program called, Teach for America that takes high achieving college students and places them in a teaching position in schools in low- income communities.

“This is the only example we know of and it’s shown very mediocre results,” said Casella.

amendment.

“It’s the will of the senate; It didn’t pass, which just means that the senate didn’t think it was a good enough idea,” Marcelli said. “I still think we should try again with something else because I think for the most part people agree that we need to do something, there’s just not enough agreement on what exactly what it is we need to do.

People don’t like it, or people don’t like it, and I hope if we see problems we can figure out ways to fix it.”

Subsequently, Bergenn passed the chair to Vice President Liz Braun to motion his by-law change.

The change read that every senator and officer shall attend or have attended a “Safe-Zone Training,” and or equivalent service, so long as one is accessible on the CCSU campus within one academic semester of the beginning of his or her term.

Senator Ryan Baldassario opposed the by law change and said that the amount of time it would take would be distracting to senators when they had other things to do towards the campus community.

Bergenn then amended the by law change so that the training would count towards office hours.

The amendment was passed with only two abstentions.

‘thank you.’ We don’t wait to tell you how much we respect you.”

Among the other speakers who expressed gratitude to the veterans were retired four-star Air Force General William Begert, U.S. Representative John Larson and CCSU English Professor Mary Collins.

“Because of you, no other generation has to endure what you had,” said Larson.

“You made it better for every person who puts on a uniform today.”

Congress initiated the Veterans History Project in 2000. The CCSU VHP records and preserves the history of all war veterans by collecting documents, photographs and interviews. It began in 2005 when CCSU partnered with the Library of Congress.

The two committees that set up the event were the Honorary Committee and the Planning Committee, which include Malloy and Wyman, Eileen Hurst of the CCSU Veterans History Project, former Connecticut First Lady Nikki O’Neill and Janice Palmer of CCSU Media Relations.

“In organizing this ‘Welcome Home’ our mission [was] simple: let us give our Vietnam veterans a hearty ‘thank you’ and the enthusiastic welcome home many of them never received,” stated Commissioner of Veterans’ Affairs Linda Schwartz.

There is also a Call for Photos campaign that was started by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to collect pictures of the 58,000 service members on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The CCSU VHP and Connecticut’s Veterans’ Affairs department have collected 252 photos thus far of the 612 who died.

Those seeking more information about the Veterans History Project or the Call for Photos campaign can visit www.ccsu. edu/vhp.

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / NEWS

Mild Winter Aids CCSU Construction kassondra granata The Recorder

The construction of the new academic building is continuing its steady pace after a mild winter following 148 of consecutive, safe working days.

“It has been a great season for these guys to be working out there,” said James Grupp, coordinator of Capitol Planning and Facilities Planning. “We have had weather delays built into the schedule and we did not have to use any of those.”

With four stories and a partial basement, the academic building will be a host to history classrooms, conference rooms and two computer classrooms as well as anthropology, sociology, geology and political science departments. The 62,640 foot building has an estimated project cost of $38 million.

In January, the team had just finished completing the west side, as well as the south side up to the north side of the building. An estimated 100 cement trucks had come through to the site to pour cement.

The next step was then adding concrete footings and finishing foundation walls in order to add the structural steel walls on to the building.

“We have had great weather and the workers have been able to put in more hours to stay on top of the project and keep themselves on schedule,” said Grupp in January.

As of now, the team is 40 percent of its way through constructing the structural steel super structure, with four out of seven column lines completed as well as four bays.

The workers are now working on the east end of the building and finishing the last two bays, which are the biggest ones to complete.

According to Grupp, all column lines and bays will be completed by late April or early May. In early May they will work on the north and south end, putting up all of the structural steel.

Once that is finished, pans will be put in for the floors to support the concrete that will be poured for the flooring.

“The workers’ progress has been great; we

The construction of the new academic building is on schedule, and is starting to take shape.

have to great guys working for us here,” said Grupp. “The Project Superintendent and Project Manager working for Gillbane are both doing an outstanding job of keeping us on a steady pace.

The workers are consistent, this is a great crew on this project.”

The Project Superintendent has recently been awarded the Excellence Award, receiving the award out of 2,600 other competitors. He said working for this project is rewarding and that he watches in amazement at the progress that is made each day.

“It’s very rewarding,” he said. “It’s pretty cool to

be able to work on something that will probably be here long after I am gone, and hundreds of students will be going through that building.”

Although the construction of the academic building is on time, students say that the building process could go a little faster.

Jess Fortuna and Megan DeCosta both said that the construction is an inconvenience and blocks their shortcut that they used to take in order to get around campus.

“I feel like it is taking longer than it should be,” said Fortuna. “It takes longer to get around campus.”

Student Dave Baker said that he will be

kenny barto | THE RECORDER

graduated by the time they finish the building, but it is a good addition to the campus nonetheless.

“It does seem a little slow, but it’s not a huge distraction,” said Baker.

Alex Garvey, another student said that he agrees with the other statements, but understands the complications of constructing a new building from the ground.

“I think it can always go a little faster, but with construction it’s a long process that needs to be done carefully,” said Garvey.

Grupp said that if they continue at this steady pace, then CCSU will be able to move into the building by the summer of 2013.

kenny barto | THE RECORDER

Steel workers work hard on the CCSU construction site and have made the most of the warm winter.

kenny barto | THE RECORDER

5

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / NEWS

Assault Policy Takes Shape At CCSU Continued from page 1 employee contracts. to do if they were a victim. We wanted our “We developed the policy, and then we employees to be able to provide the services developed what we call a protocol on how to students that they were seeking and the people in the University community could resources that we have within the university refer victims, survivors of sexual assault,” said community but also in the greater New Rodriguez.

Britain community,”said Rodriguez.

The Sexual Misconduct Protocol DiPlacido said that Rich’s experience Manual, which will soon be available on made it clear that there was a need for a policy the University’s website, defines sexual dealing with sexual assault specifically. harassment, sexual assault, and sexual “It was reactive, and that’s usually typically exploitation as well as the way universities outlines what resources DiPlacido said.

“We wanted awareness work,” are available for victims “I think the good thing, both on campus and in of the issue. We wanted now, is that the University the nearby community. now, as a result of Krystal’s The manual provides people to know what to case and her advocacy, victims with a variety is making this an issue of choices that they can do if they were a victim. ” that’s being put forward make concerning the so we’re going to talk involvement of the police about this on campus. We Rosa Rodriguezas well as what actions the need education around university will take if a Chief Diversiy Officer this on campus, that the case of sexual misconduct University is now being is reported. proactive. That’s the Another feature is that the manual outlines positive thing that has come out of this.” what employees of the university should In drafting the policy, the committee also do if they learn about an instance of sexual took into consideration policies that were in misconduct. It provides both victims and the place on other college campuses comparable accused with their rights and information on to CCSU, according to Tordenti. Rich’s case what they can expect to happen. also made clear the need to have a policy that An important part of the Protocol is the applies to both students and University staff.

Q & A section providing answers to what Because the perpetrator in Rich’s case was the committee believed would be common an administrator, it was not quite clear at the questions from both victims and those time what the procedure would be. accused of sexual misconduct.

“The protocol addresses both students According to Rodriguez, the resulting and employees as potential victims or policy explicitly applies to both students and accused,” Rodriguez said. Tordenti said that it employees of the University and to behavior is unique in CCSU’s policy, where most other that takes place both on and off campus and at universities have policies that focus on faculty campus events. Accusations against students and staff. will be investigated in accordance to the “Part of the awareness is just a statement student code of conduct, and those against that this is not a university that is going employees will be handled in accordance to tolerate any kind of sexual harassment, with the employee code of conduct and sexual misconduct, or sexual violence,” said union contracts.

Tordenti. “This is our statement on it, these “It makes it a little more user-friendly,” are our values and beliefs, and this is what Rodriguez said. “We wanted awareness of we’re going to do about it if it comes to our the issue. We wanted people to know what attention.”

CCSU and Cambridge Students Debate Porn Continued from page 1 Issues such as personal well-being, objectification of women, public safety, marketing and relationships all came into play during the vigorous back and forth debate between the two parties. What the argument essentially came down to was defining a public service and then seeing if porn fit the description.

Baldassario said that the pornography industry generated between 10 and 14 billion dollars a year, that this money circulates jobs across the country therefore creating a public service.

The Cambridge students said that something being a public service doesn’t only mean it affects a large amount of people.

“It is a good thing for society, society is better off that it exists,” Brown said. “Public education, the highways, health care, etc. make society a better place. Being an industry, that’s not good enough to make it a public service.”

After all sides had spoken, the audience members were given a chance to ask questions to the debaters. These questions were worked in with the closing arguments of each team.

One student pointed out that porn was not supported by taxes as most public

services are, and without tax money backing up the industry how could it in turn be considered a public service.

“It was a good crowd,” English said. “Good interaction, and good questions.”

The final count of the ballots revealed a count of 55 to 23 in support of the opposition.

Tempers flared time to time during the evening, but each side had only positives to say about one another coming out of the event.

“The proposition side made an incredible argument, given the direction things went, and it would have been a very close call if there were a judge,” said Bergenn. “The Cambridge students are incredible debaters, but I’m impressed by how well us CCSU students performed.”

“They (CCSU) were tactically really good at affecting the audience,” Hazell said regarding the opposition’s argument. “It was a really good debate.”

The crowd was reminded on a few separate occasions to keep in mind that the debate was not on the usual argument of pornography which centers around morality.

“Enjoy all the porn you want!” Bergenn addressed towards the crowd. “Well, enjoy a reasonable amount of porn; just don’t pretend it’s a public service.”

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6

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / SPORTS

REVIEWS The Mars Volta Noctourniquet

Nicholas Proch

used to embrace that. One track would have tastes of salsa and touches of heavy metal guitar, followed by something that is similar to ‘screamo’. It was unpredictable. Now it’s all the same muddy garbage.

At this point, it feels like the band is lost.

However, there is the potential for a stronger effort in the future. Listeners are given tastes of it sprinkled throughout the album.

Fans of the band will be happy with tracks like “Aegis” and ‘Trinkets Pale of Moon’.

They should probably be disappointed with the majority of what’s left to choose from.

That remainder is 11 tracks.

Noctourniquet is not an album that anyone should spend money on. The band has had its low points before, but has always been able to pick itself back up on the next release. For the sake of their fans, let’s hope that they can find that magic once again.

The Recorder

The Mars Volta has come a long way since its Frances the Mute album released in 2005.

Unfortunately for them, they’ve gone too far in the wrong direction. Listening to the band used to be a journey to an unexpected musical experience. Now it’s like getting lost in a frustrating and repeating labyrinth.

Noctourniquet is so far down the wrong path that they’re almost a shell of their former self, only bringing the sounds they tend to over-rely on. You can tell that John Frusciante is missed deeply on this album.

While he was only a contributor, as Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is the band’s true leader, Frusciante’s influence may have been bigger than listeners once thought.

The beginning of the album is long and drawn out. That’s nothing unusual for the band, but in this case it never really goes anywhere. There is no building up to a strong musical pressure release. It’s just noise. Luckily, once that is over, they end up at the strongest effort on the album. “Aegis” has elements of what made the band popular and a force in the music industry, repetition.

However, they know that at this point and just let that carry them for the two-minute remainder of a five-minute song.

This is where they are missing Frusciante.

It’s obvious that he was writing, or at least contributing to, the tempo changes and stylistic jumps through genres that carried their previous efforts.

Part of the band’s draw was always its ability to be unclassifiable. The members

Mac Miller Macadelic

kevin jachimowicz

Special To The Recorder

Mac Miller’s most recent mixtape is his most honest work to date and highlights his elevated status in the music business due to the mere features, as well as production highlights.

With features from Lil’ Wayne, Cam’ron, Sir Michael Rocks, Kendrick Lamar, Juicy J and more, it is obvious Mac Miller is a known artist who is here to stay. After a lackluster album release with Blue Slide Park it is safe to say, Macadelic is a great listen for Mac Miller fans.

Despite the disappointing album effort from Mac Miller with the same opinions being voiced by some on Wiz Khalifa and his album it is hard to deny their success in the past few years. Both hip-hop artists graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Mac in 2010, Wiz in 2006.

Since then, Wiz Khalifa has signed Juicy J to his group, recorded a studio album and filmed with rapper Snoop Dogg. Mac Miller has worked with Juicy J as well and also is the first hip hop artist since Snoop

PHOTO I allamericanrejects.com

All American Rejects Kids in the Street

Amanda Webster The Recorder

PHOTO I themarsvolta.com

Dogg in 1995 to release a number one album independently, which is a huge feat considering his age and race.

Mac’s first mixtape of 2012 starts off with a hard track titled “Desperado” in which Mac Miller displays his lyrical talent and reminds fans that he is still here to stay.

Sap, the producer behind Mac Miller’s breakthrough hit “Donald Trump”, produced the track “Thoughts From A Balcony” on Macadelic, displaying his versatility on the production side as Mac captures his thoughts about life.

Mac takes listeners on a drug trip journey with “Vitamins” and displays his story telling ability as a rapper as well as his creativity, skills also evident on “The Morning After,” which captures Mac exercising a slow flow while explaining his morning with a woman. Even tracks which feature lower profile artists, such as “America” featuring Casey Veggies and “Aliens Fighting Robots” featuring Sir Michael Rocks, are standout tracks.

“Aliens Fighting Robots” is surprisingly one of the best tracks on the tape, a production that will hold the listener in a trance along with traded off wordplay between Mac and Michael Rocks.

“I plan to do, something that ain’t tangible, now I’m about to hand it to the homie Michael Rocks hear what he’s saying to you,” Mac Miller exclaims before passing the verse off to Sir Michael Rocks.

On the production side of the mixtape, there are not many surprises. A producer who usually works with Wiz Khalifa and Clams Casino was also featured on the production side with the track “Angels (When She Shuts Her Eyes).”

“Fight the Feeling” is another standout track. Mac handles his own by delivering two insightful verses, telling his story once again. In the third verse, Kendrick Lamar, an extremely consistent lyricist, delivers a 16 that is reminiscent of Andre 3000.

Despite many tracks capturing Mac

There is something for everyone to enjoy on the newly released album Kids in the Streets by the All American Rejects.

Their fourth album really shows how the band has grown into a new sound while also maintaining a youthful voice lyrically that allows the album to say that there are kids in the streets instead of maturing adults.

The AAR did a lot of experimenting with

new sounds for this album including the use of synthesizers and horns which may have been somewhat of a risk for the group.

Ultimately everything was meshed together in a way that not only worked, but surpassed my expectation for this album.

The album starts off with an upbeat song called “Someday’s Gone” that is slightly tinged with the right amount of a manic effect needed for a song about a cheating girlfriend.

The album then spirals into a shameless number, “Beekeeper’s Daughter,” that uses horns to keep the message that “monogamy isn’t a part of me.” Breezy and likeable, it is a sensible remedy for the case of the previously mentioned cheating girlfriend.

Some songs seem to be made for a relaxing summer’s day playlist including “Gonzo” and “Affection,” both of which have a tranquil sound that would be perfect for a day of lounging in beautiful weather.

There are softer tracks listed on the album including a sweet and simple ballad called “I for You.” This is probably the one song on the album that doesn’t use a mixture of instruments and instead is kept to a simple strumming of a guitar and the result is just lovely.

Kids in the Streets is an album that will leave the All American Rejects fitting in with a much broader group of music fans.

PHOTO I macmillerofficial.com

Miller delving into his life through deep lyrics and soft, trance-like beats, Macadelic, definitely has some hyped up segments.

“Lucky a** b****,” featuring old-timer Juicy J, is a definite party highlight of the mixtape.

Featuring production from Lex Luger, the song is an instant head banger.

The music video for the song “Loud”

highlights the direction the artist chose to take with this mixtape, which was a darker, more psychedelic vibe. It definitely comes as a breath of fresh air considering his first album was a disappointment for the most part. Mac Miller fans will probably hear lyrics on this mixtape that they would not expect from him.

7

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / UPGRADE

Latest ‘Off-Center’ Lacks Substance jared todd The Recorder

While Off-Center Magazine has done well at creating a unique outlet for student writers, it has fallen short on literary and journalistic merits.

In reading Off-Center, I was sometimes unsure of what a particular section was trying to convey. Typically, a magazine will set out to cover a specific area of interest.

For example, if the magazine specialized in scholarly student and faculty essays instead of mindless rants, then it might have a chance of developing into a more literarily reputable medium on campus. (Unless Off-Center’s ideal audience is a crowd of hopelessly bored college students who greatly enjoy perusing jejune writings. Let’s hope not.)

The “Letter from the Editor” introduces the magazine with a litany of seemingly sporadic thoughts written by editor Jen Glifort. Only by the third paragraph am I told what is in the issue, however I never learn why particular sections or stories are in the magazine to begin with. A letter from the editor is used to draw people in, but instead I found myself questioning how much I cared to read on.

Glifort writes more about wanting feedback, and in the first paragraph attempts to enthuse readers with a certain sarcastic tone, than she does about anything intellectually stimulating related to the magazine. Disappointing.

One of the most obvious flaws of the magazine is the allotted space that is given to the unimportant. A section entitled “CCSU Says” is uncreative at best. It’s a simple list of student answers to the question, “What’s your favorite winter sport?”

There is no commentary, no quotations, no attribution and, aesthetically, is a waste of print. It’s another section that makes me wonder why I care. Sections like these should be few and far between because they run the risk of being mind-numbing. In short, these sections (another one is called “Overheard in New Britain”) never answer what is a dominant question in journalism: What?

On the “World Politics Beat:” It’s short, sweet and not at all to the point. The audacity to write and publish a global politics article in a mere three paragraphs only shows the

overt pretentiousness of the author instead of giving the reader any honed insight to the happenings in our world.

Michael McClellan, the author of the “World Politics Beat,” readily shares his opinion from the get-go.

“Ding dong, Kim Jong-il’s dead. And good riddance—what a nut job,” McClellan writes.

He goes on to write his opinion of what might happen regarding the new leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un. The article is full of personal conclusions, but lacks evidence, statistics and pertinent sources— three facets of an article that makes it not only coherent, but also insightful and trustworthy. The “World Politics Beat” fails to articulate any global notion of politics or government at all. It comes off as if the author had simply listened to the news headlines before scribbling an article lacking transition, explanation and substantial fact.

Overall, it is a shame to see such a disparity of syntax in a magazine that has true potential. I’m hoping the next issue will, on some level, engross me with information, fact, stimulating discourse and witty entertainment. And if it’s opinion, I hope it will be more cogitative than what I’ve seen in the recent issue.

From The Outside Looking In: A Studying Abroad Experience Irene W. Yukash The Recorder

One mid-April afternoon, I was confidently navigating the streets of Salamanca, Spain. There, I spent my days reading the great poetry of Lorca, admiring the works of Picasso and thoroughly studying the romance language. When I wasn’t on an educational excursion, I spent much of my downtime sun bathing by the river, getting lost in hopes of finding myself.

It was my second trip to Spain that year.

In October of 2010, I made my first trip out of the United States and landed in the place I’d always dreamt about. I had a lot of my firsts that trip, first jet lag, first World Cup, first major holiday without my family and many more.

As the wheels opened up and hit the runway, I bounced around in my seat wideeyed. I looked out of the window at my new life that lay before me. It was about six in the morning and still pitch black out. The only view I could see was of the lights of the city and my reflection in the window but this was somehow symbolic and fitting. I told myself over and over again in my mind that this was it. I made my first long term goal a reality.

I was afraid to commit to a long-term stay and regrettably only signed up for a threemonth visit. Before I even had a chance to settle in, it seemed my first study abroad experience was coming to a close. Like many 21 year-olds, I was uncertain about many things, but I knew for sure that I was not ready for that chapter of my life to be over. Before my departure, I enrolled in another trimester.

Had it not been for Visa/ Passport regulations, I would have stayed right through. A stay longer than 90 days requireds a travel visa, which I did not have.

Although it was heartbreaking to venture home so soon, my second stay in April wasn’t too far off. When the time finally arrived, I boarded the plane for the second time.

Interestingly enough, I experienced a similar landing. It was yet again an overnight flight arriving in Madrid before sunrise. I noticed my reflection in the window again, only this time, I saw a very different person than the first time.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” My older sister passed on these words to me about a year prior to my big adventure. She had gifted me a little decorative fairy that displayed the famous St. Augustine quote. Imagine if you only read the first page of your favorite book.

We would never know crucial parts of the story.

The purpose of this column is to reach out to anyone who has ever contemplated studying abroad. It is meant to guide and humor those of you who are preparing to study abroad. I also hope to bring back some memories for any of you who have studied abroad. I’d be lying if I said that this column isn’t just another excuse for me to talk about my trip, but maybe, just maybe, someone can benefit from it.

As I was putting the final touches on the first piece of my column, it hit me: why the heck should you listen to me? What can I possibly have to offer you? Well, if you’ve made it this far, allow me to take you back to where I was a year ago and to share with you the different experiences I have had, both good and bad. If I can encourage even just one person to take an adventure like I did, then this column would be a success.

Want a specific study abroad question answered? Have an experience you’d like to share? Send it to yukashirw@my.ccsu.edu.

Bookmark It! Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner Rachael Bentley The Recorder

With the semester coming to an end and beach season quickly approaching it’s never a bad idea to have a few go-to “beach reads” tucked away for impromptu trips or the lazy summer days when all you want to do is try and get a tan. For the ladies a book in that collection should be Good in Bed written by chick-lit novelist Jennifer Weiner.

Published in 2001 as Weiner’s debut novel, Good in Bed and its cast of quirky yet relatable characters still hold ground and any reader’s heart more than a decade later.

The story is told from main character Cannie Shapiro’s point of view. She’s a sarcastically funny entertainment journalist from Pennsylvania, who behind her sharp tongue is constantly dealing with her battle with being overweight, an absentee father and a mother who has come out of the closet and is living with a partner she can’t stand.

As any girl knows, that’s enough to make a person’s head spin, but Weiner pushes her character one step further.

As the book begins, Cannie is dealing with the breakup from her long-time boyfriend, Bruce. What separates this plot line from any other chick-lit

novel is the fact that her ex-boyfriend writes a sex column “Good in Bed” for a prominent magazine and his favorite topic just so happens to be Cannie.

You can only imagine how someone would deal with opening the pages of a magazine and seeing the intimate details of their sex life there in black and white and from the perspective of your ex.

That’s what Good in Bed is about.

It’s about a normal woman with normal struggles. She hates her boss.

She hates her weight. She can’t stand her mom’s new companion and she may want her ex back after all, even after she reads what he writes month after month. Cannie’s not always the strong heroine, she has faults and that’s what makes her character so relatable.

While the book itself is slow to start with a slightly predictable ending it’s definitely worth sticking with. There are ups and downs typical of the novel’s genre, but it’s

the funny voice that Weiner infuses into her writing that makes her book an interesting and easy read.

Good in Bed is a good, breezy escape for any girl wanting to ditch the textbooks and her latest issue of Cosmo for a while.

PHOTO I jenniferweiner.com

If you are interested in writing reviews or recommendations please email us at entertainment@centralrecorder.com

OPINION

8 THE RECORDER Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Thank The News Media For Its Trayvon Martin Coverage Issues from around the country frequently find a way to college campuses. We are far detached from the days of violent protesting and picketing for positive race relations, but important issues are still talked about and even debated on school grounds.

The uproar surrounding the recent shooting of Trayvon Martin has crept its way up from Florida to CCSU this week.

Tomorrow, the CCSU Carter G. Woodson African-American Studies Lecture Series will host a panel discussion with faculty from this University called “Liberty and Justice for All? The Case of Trayvon Martin and the Sanford Florida Police Investigation.”

This is a huge issue. There is no reason that students should not attend this event and be able to interject their opinion on race relations in today’s world. Whether or not that actually

happens cannot be completely predicted based on the fact that last week’s event, on hate and inequality on this campus, was highly attended.

Our publication does not have the insight close enough to the situation to make an informed opinion about the shooting, but we have enough information to know that this is an important investigation and should not be treated lightly. Also, if the claims are true from either side they are entirely troubling.

On one side you have the potential for a gruesome hate crime. On the other you have a person who, if is telling the truth, is being wrongly persecuted against. Neither situation is acceptable.

The positive that comes out of this is the strength of the news media. Television networks, newspapers, bloggers and many

more are writing and speaking out for what they are calling an outrageous crime. While some call their coverage slanted or biased, which it may be, they are following a story that is of the utmost importance.

Race relations in this country have been a paramount issue for nothing short of forever.

However, to the casual news follower, they are largely forgotten. We are, of course, long departed from the days of slavery, but tensions between cultures have never subsided for some people.

Incidents like this may happen every day and we would not know about it if it were not for the media. This extends to our local media.

In fact, in our own back yard, Hartford gun violence has prompted rallies and caused the inception of special police units to combat those who are putting public safety in

jeopardy.

This is not about the specific incident, but their ability to give light to specific facets of society that remain a consistent problem. The media’s treatment of the subject should not be criticized. Even with un-orthodox segments, which include loud and visceral rants from different national news commentators, the fact that they are covering such a subject should be applauded.

For the first time in months, the focus isn’t on the national elections that aren’t until November. They are focusing on something that is happening now and calling for an investigation. This is why the media is there.

They are serving the public. Remember that when change occurs because they gave the general public intellectual access to the situation.

Editor’s Column: The Greatest Game Is Back

The Recorder

I’ve taken a lot of time this year to relate one thing to another in an attempted elegant and seemingly poetic way. I’m not going to try and do that today. Tonight the baseball season really starts (for those of you who cannot stand the fact that the season started in Japan last weekend, I’m with you. Most people didn’t even know that the games were on…

When I make the trek to Boston and into the hallowed grounds of Fenway Park, I get that same feeling every time. A chill runs up my spine.

Not many things can do it the way the sport and all that surrounds it does. Just the smell of the ballpark is enough to make me happy. The fresh cut grass, the smell of leather bound balls and gloves, the food, the overpriced beer. It’s all part of the experience, and these are things that are separate from the actual game.

As a person who loves the sport, I can’t understand how people do not see the beauty in it. They say the season is too long (last season wasn’t long enough for the Braves and Red Sox to prove themselves playoff bound). They say there is no clock and that games have no time constraints. If there were a time constraint on a baseball game, it would take away from the hundreds of calculations and tactics that are involved in every play. They call it boring and slow. It’s not comparable to any other sport.

Football is a game that happens play to play. The clock stops, the

teams gather themselves and they put their calculated machines to test in a physical manner. It’s a battle of speed and power. While I do have an extreme appreciation with the physical beings that play such sports, baseball is above that to me.

Baseball is a skill game. The odds of perfection are slim and rarely achieved, if ever.

Nothing happens to plan after the pitch is thrown towards the batter. It’s completely random. But in its randomness is complete order.

After the round ball is hit with the round bat, which is absolutely a feat in physics, fielders are expected to be moving in the right direction in order to make a decision and get an out before the runner reaches first base. With some runners getting there in less than four-seconds, that’s infinitely difficult.

What’s happening before that is even more impressive. There is a mental tug-of-war between the pitcher and batter. There are also base runners and fielders that are watching each other. The coaching staffs are making decisions about

match-ups. They are citing very in-depth statistics and are citing numerous levels of complex mathematics and statistics in their choices.

So much happens before each pitch that if you were to call it boring and simple, you are insulting the game. The beauty of this is that this is what’s happening during the game itself. For month’s, I’ve been listening to debates about teams and their front offices that are putting this game into motion each night.

Team management makes decisions that will impact their organizations for decades.

Will the Angels be the wrecking machine that everyone thinks they can be with the addition of Albert Pujols? Can the Tigers actually run away with the AL Central? Are the Blue Jays too good to be in the AL East? Finally all those questions and speculations will be answered and become reality.

Now that baseball is back, I have something to watch almost every night until the end of October.

Enjoy the show. Play ball.

www.centralrecorder.com

Nicholas Proch

mostly because they were sleeping) and I couldn’t be more excited.

There is nothing like opening day. No matter how much closer I get to my expiration date, my love for the sport never wanes. Every time I watch a baseball game I’m brought back to the countless hours I’ve spent on the diamond. I would do anything to be back there. It’s not rationale. It’s just a game, right? No, it’s not.

Baseball is a way of life. It’s a passion that I share with millions of people around the world. There is nothing that I can compare to the feeling of going to a game with family and friends. I still have the ticket stub from my first game at Fenway when I was three years old. There I was. A head the size of a pumpkin (I’ve almost grown into that supersized cranium), a miniature Red Sox jersey and my dad holding me up behind the Red Sox bullpen. They played the Oakland A’s that day.

From there, like a sunflower seed that wasn’t roasted and spit out of a player’s mouth in the dugout, my passion grew.

9

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / SPORTS

COLUMN

Don’t Forget About The Olympics

SPORTS BEGINS ON BACK PAGE

Women’s LAX Stays Undefeated At Home And In The NEC

kenny bArto | the reCorder

brittAny burke the recorder

It’s getting to be about that time again, that time that rolls around every four years and makes sports like swimming “front page of the sports section” worthy; yup it’s summer Olympics time.

Okay, maybe it’s not exactly time for the Olympic Games. Opening ceremonies aren’t until the beginning of August and it’s barely April yet, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be paying attention to the news surrounding athletes who will be competing on behalf of our country.

On top of baseball starting, the NHL playoffs just days away and the NFL draft happening at the end of the month, it’s a total sports overload, and as any sports fan knows it’s amazing, but we can’t forget about the Olympics.

Slowly but surely more and more news is becoming front and center that has to do with the games. For instance, we all know any hopes the U.S. men’s soccer team had for gold has already been squashed.

And as Connecticut residents, I’m sure most people also know that Geno Auriemma will be leading the women’s basketball team to London, which happens to be grounded by five of his former stars. Even if for some reason you don’t pay attention and put much stock into the Olympics, anybody from Connecticut should still take pride and follow Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Maya Moore and Tina Charles as they travel overseas and compete.

I love everything about the Olympics, which is why I’m pleading everyone to pay attention to the trials and events leading up to August, but the main thing I can’t wait for is swimming.

The London games will be the final farewell to the greatest Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps. It’s widely known that he’s always said he never wanted to compete past the age of 30 and at 26 this makes it his last go around. That enough is reason enough to pay attention this year.

Personally I’ve been looking forward to London since Phelps won his eighth gold in the 4 x 100 medley relay, so as a fan these games are definitely going to be bitter sweet. Phelps has put the sport of swimming on the map and despite the multiple controversies he’s faced postOlympics, no one can deny his talent and hard work.

While most people forget about the sport of swimming, now is the time to start paying attention. With the Indy Grand Prix behind them swimmers like Phelps and Ryan Lochte are making headlines again as well as Dara Torres and Jessica Hardy.

If those are names you don’t know I’d familiarize yourself with them. Torres was a prominent teammate in the 2008 games and is looking to qualify for her sixth Olympics at the age of 45. Hardy is looking to bounce back after testing positive for banned substances and getting suspended. The substance was something she had unknowingly ingested and she’s now looking for her comeback.

Sports like women’s basketball, swimming and soccer is barely scratching the surface of what is found at the Olympics. While you still have to scroll to “more sports” on the ESPN home page to find the stories, the games and its athletes aren’t something to forget about and cast aside.

The Womens Lacrosse team improved to 3-0 in the conference with wins over LIU-Brooklyn and Wagner this weekend. They have also not lost at home.

Betsy Vendel (left) had five goals in the two games. Goalie Erin Delancey was named the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the third time. She stopped 22 shots for the entire weekend, and averaged only 6.5 goals allowed for the entire week.

Josh Ingham Does It All For CCSU Baseball kenny bArto the recorder

Versatility in baseball is very rare. Players who can hit, play multiple positions in the field and pitch is something you do not see very often, but it is something you can see at CCSU. The Blue Devils are fortunate enough to have Josh Ingham, who provides just that.

Already, Ingham has shown he deserves to start in the field. As the Blue Devils’ second baseman, he’s committed only two errors so far this season, as he shares the middle of the infield with shortstop Anthony Turgeon.

On the offensive side of things, he is batting .326 (15-for-46), which is good enough for second on the team, falling short to A.J. Lowers’ .357 average. His on-base percentage is .448, also second on the team to Lowers. He has two doubles; eight runs batted in, and 12 runs scored.

“He’s been great for us,” Head Coach Charlie Hickey said. “His offense was a little bit of a question mark going in, but I think he’s shown that he can go out there and perform. He doesn’t strike out a lot, and he puts the bat on the ball.”

In addition to playing second base, Ingham is a member of the thin CCSU bullpen and is responsible for closing the most important games. He throws hard, and keeps his breaking balls low in the zone, making him extremely tough to hit.

“I was a starting pitcher in high school,” Ingham said. “In summer ball, I played third base and developed that reliever role, so I’ve been doing it for a few years.”

Ingham sees most of his success on the mound when he starts an inning. But, that doesn’t mean he’s not good at trotting in from second base and getting the key outs that are needed.

“We try not to do that,” Hickey said.

“But when we know we have him somewhat warmed up and the situation arises in the middle of the inning, he’s hard not to bring in … He doesn’t strike everyone out, but he tends to get a lot of ground balls which can be good and bad.”

His worst performance came at Sacred Heart on March 18, as he gave up one run in the ninth inning, but managed to hold

kenny bArto | the reCorder

Josh Ingham is second on the team in batting average while also holding a 0.79 ERA as a pitcher.

Even then, the same emotion doesn’t on for his second save of the season. That was Ingham’s only earned run of the year, carry over to the mound. With the score at which gives him a miniscule 0.79 ERA , 3-2 and a two strike count in the last inning which is among the lowest in the Northeast of the second game of the doubleheader, Ingham placed a breaking ball on the corner Conference.

He also has a conference leading five to secure the third win of the series. There saves, two of them coming on Saturday was no fist pump; there was no yell, as he in back-to-back games during the double barely cracked a smile while shaking catcher Danny Hickey’s hand. header.

Through those two games alone, “Coach Hall said to just go out there and ‘empty the tank’,” Ingham Said. “So I just Ingham shut out Quinnipiac in three innings, giving up only two hits, and struck went out and let it rip.”

Ingham can be two different players out one. There were zero walks, which has from the mound to playing in the field and been the story all year, as he has walked batting. Between innings, he does the same only one in his 11 1/3 innings of work. handshake with Turgeon after one of them In the entire Quinnipiac series, Ingham batted .300 with three runs scored and four takes the throw from the catcher.

After doubling, a fist pump and a hand runs batted in.

“It was good to come in and get the bats clap are not uncommon. After scoring the winning run on a slide where he expertly going this weekend,” he said. “It was good evaded the pitcher, Ingham took his helmet to get the sweep, especially since they were off and ran towards his teammates, who in the bottom half of the conference, but it was fun.” mobbed him.

CCSU Gains A Much Needed Win Against Division Rivals mAtt Aveni special to the recorder

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils bounced back from a tough loss versus UConn to defeat the Quinnipiac Bobcats 9-3 on Friday afternoon to get an early series lead going into the weekend.

The Blue Devils(12-9) took on the Bobcats(3-17) for a much needed victory to help carry them in interleague play. Harry Glynne received his first win of the season, throwing seven innings giving up only two earned runs. This came after his last start, where he only gave up two runs and still got the loss to division rival, Long Island.

“He has gone out the last two Fridays and pitched pretty well … He has to have command over all three pitches. When he does that he makes his average fastball that much better.” said head coach Charlie Hickey Pitching was not the only key to victory

for the Blue Devils. They jumped out to an early lead scoring three runs in the first.

“You maximize a couple opportunities, which we haven’t had three run innings,” said Hickey The Blue Devils did just that having three innings where they scored three runs in each.

Mitch Wells went three-for-five, driving in three runs. “We got a big two out hit from Mitch Wells, add on an error and all of a sudden we got out six.” Hickey said However Wells was not the only bright spot in Fridays lineup. Tyler McIntrye started building the lead with a big two-run homerun.

The great at-bats did not end there, Jake Matuszak drove in two key RBI’s after Quinnipiac pitcher Derek Lamacchia struck out back to back CCSU hitters. “It wasn’t pretty but you know what they all count on terms of hitting the ball into the middle of the field.” Explained Hickey However, the team has not been stringing hits together all year and Hickey had only one way to

explain the display of quality at-bats. “It gets contagious.”

After the Bobcats cut the lead by scoring one run in the fifth and two in the sixth off Glynne, freshman Brendyn Karinchak threw two innings to shut the door on the Bobcats.

“Sunday [Karinchak] came in and got nine of the last 10 batters out. It’s nice when you get a guy that’s a freshman who can go out there and you know the ball is going to be in play and six batters later or seven batters later the game will be over.”

Things have not come together the way Hickey has hoped, it has been a slow start but an interdivision win versus the Bobcats just might be the win the team needed to jump start their season. The victory Friday afternoon was a true team win, every player in the starting lineup reached base and eight of the nine starters reached base with a hit.

Every coach would love a day like that and Hickey is one of them saying, “It’s a nice game to coach when you get that.”

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / SPORTS

Messina Pitching Strong For Softball Derek Turner The Recorder

As the Blue Devil softball team enters the thick of the Northeast Conference part of their schedule, they will continue to improve and find ways to win.

The story of the season thus far, especially after two big hitters went down due to injury, has been the right arm of freshman pitcher Laura Messina. Going into the week, Messina had already amassed 10 wins on the season and as of Sunday she has come within one win of tying the single season win record for Central Connecticut softball. She currently holds 13 wins on the season.

“We still think that with Laura on the mound we can beat anybody. She has just been awesome,” said head coach Jeff Franquet.

Tuesday, in-state, out of conference competition came to CCSU as the Stags of Fairfield University challenged CCSU. A pitcher’s duel took place in game one as Messina entered the circle for her 17th time on the season. Through the first five innings, not a single run crossed home plate for both teams and only one runner from each team reached third base safely.

In the sixth, CCSU finally broke through with two runs off of the Fairfield starter Rebecca Trott. CCSU’s Tessa Brown began the inning with a base hit up the middle, Nicole Springer, who would be the game two hero, singled to right field advancing Emery, who pinch ran for Brown, to third.

Alyssa McCourt drove in both runners with a single to center field. Two would be enough as Messina struck out her 12th and 13th batters of the game after a leadoff single for her 11th win of the year.

Game two showed off much more of the CCSU offense than the first game, especially first baseman, Springer. Fairfield jumped out to an early 1-0 lead aided by an error on the Blue Devil third baseman.

In the second, Fairfield added two more off starter Julie Marks, but CCSU broke out the bats in the bottom of the inning as Springer led off the bottom of the second with a home run over the right field fence.

McCourt followed with a double just inside the foul line down the right field side. Macy Stefanski sacrificed McCourt to third setting up Sarah Vlahos to drive her in with a one out double to right center.

The long ball kept flying in the third inning as Rebecca Mussatti launched a 2-run bomb into the trees past the right field fence after a Bruno leadoff double to the same side of the field. Springer collected her second extra base hit of the game with the second double of the inning to right. After a McCourt single, Stefanski drove in Springer on a groundout to the shortstop. A lone run from Fairfield in the fifth tied the game at five until the bottom of the seventh.

With the tension building, the small CCSU fan base gaining noise, Emery reached on an error by the Stag first baseman. Bruno laid down a sacrifice bunt moving Emery to second and Mussatti was intentionally walked setting up the force out. Brown struck out leaving it all up to Springer, who already had a home run and double on the game; she clinched the sweep with a 3-run walk off homerun just missing the scoreboard in dead center field. The entire team emptied the

dugout in celebration of the 8-5 victory.

“Nicole got a great pitch to drive and she didn’t miss it. She has been extremely clutch late in games this year,” Franquet added.

The homerun was Springer’s second of the game and fifth on the season, also her second of the walk off variety, the other coming versus Hartford at home.

This past Sunday Mount Saint Mary’s visited CCSU for a doubleheader with the Blue Devils. Messina took the mound for her longest outing of the year as she went eight innings in the extra inning loss in game one. CCSU struck first in the bottom of the second as Stefanski singled in Springer after she was hit by a pitch to start the inning. A Mount Saint Mary’s homerun tied the game at one and CCSU wasn’t able to score again.

For the second game in a row, CCSU played a game tied in the seventh, but this time they wouldn’t capitalize and the game would add an extra frame. In the top of the eighth Mount Saint Mary’s first baseman Liz Christiansen hit a one-out, two run home run to center and CCSU couldn’t answer, dropping the contest 3-1.

“We split with Mount Saint Mary’s, we were winning 1-0, Laura gave up a windaided home run, she missed her spot on a pitch and it was 1-1,” said Franquet.

“Arguably we could have won that game 1-0 and swept Mount Saint Mary’s which, we needed to.”

Game two looked more like CCSU softball with eight of the nine starters collecting at least one hit and three hitters driving in two or more runs. Chotkevys drove in Bruno with a single to left and two batters later McCourt plated two more with a bases loaded single right back through the box.

Mount Saint Mary’s came back with two in the top of the second, but Mussatti added another in the third when she hit a sacrifice fly to center scoring Ashley Black.

McCourt added her third RBI of the game in the bottom of the third on a single.

CCSU would be held scoreless in the fourth and fifth, but added some insurance in the sixth when Springer hit a bases loaded double to right field. Chotkevys followed with a single scoring Springer. Messina struck out the side in the seventh for her 13th victory of the season, one shy of the school’s single season record.

“In the first game Macy Stefanski came through with a hit to give us that 1-0 lead, our top four were struggling,” said Franquet.

The three strikeouts to end the game leave her at 124 which are six below the single season record as well and places her fourth on the career strikeout list.

As her stats show, Messina has been the key to the success of the CCSU softball team this season. She has been pitching in just about every game, especially with Jordan Tingley on the shelf for a while and Franquet not using Springer in the circle, because he says “we would be short a little bit defensively.”

“Julia is getting better every day, Jordan seems to be getting better with her knee injury; we’re just going to have to keep piecing things together, day by day,” said Franquet.

Even with the loss of the early season three and four hitters, CCSU is still “getting

kenny barto | THE RECORDER

Freshman pitcher Laura Messina pitched 15 innings on Sunday for the Blue Devils. She let up five runs, but struck out 18 during the double header against Mount St. Mary’s.

after it.”

“Their spirit’s there, they’re still very driven, we’re still getting after it six days a week, still lifting two days a week; we’re going to go right down to the final nail.

Hopefully when the final nail is put in we’re in the top four and we’re in that tournament,” said Franquet.

CCSU travels to Bryant on Friday and hosts Quinnipiac on Saturday as NEC play continues, both doubleheaders.

“Worst case scenario we have to win two of the four, best case scenario four of the four, if we came out of it three out of the four it would be fantastic,” said Franquet.

CCSU Athletics Receives Grant From Wal-Mart Brittany Burke The Recorder

The Blue Devil athletes are known for being champions in the Northeast Conference, but a recent partnership and $50,000 grant from the Wal-Mart foundation has given the students the chance to become champions in the community as well.

Community service and involvement has always been a key factor for Athletic Director Paul Schlickmann and his entire department.

Last year the athletes and coaches logged over 3,000 hours of community service and they’ve decided to take it one step further with the Wal-Mart foundation.

“Foremost community engagement … is part of the core mission of the university and so I see athletics as an opportunity, and as a member of the campus I see it as our responsibility to carry out that mission,” said Schlickmann. “So I think we’re in a unique position because of the 400 student athletes

that we have and the visibility that we get … we have an opportunity to be a positive front porch and so we really emphasize community engagement as one of our core operating principles.”

The department first heard about the foundation through an employee who had a contact within Wal-Mart. According to Schlickmann, once they had heard about the foundation’s heavy emphasis on community they began doing research and putting together a proposal for a potential partnership.

The $50,000 grant was awarded to the athletics department in early February with the specific purpose of combining education and sports. The money is being put to use for a variety of youth educational programs, which takes the Blue Devil athletes away from CCSU and into the local New Britain schools.

The biggest program to date has been the March Madness Reading Program, which took place the entire month, like the basketball tournament.

“Kacey Light, who’s our grad student who’s coordinating our efforts for this program came up with this incredibly creative idea to tap into the Read Across America program and do a March Madness reading contest,” said Schlickmann. “… She made reading competitive but reading fun and that’s the whole point of the program and our kids are going around and reading to them and just encouraging them to just read for fun and to read for their own benefit.”

This particular facet has the athletes going to the classrooms and serving as mentors to primarily elementary kids. While the main beneficiary of the educational programs is the youths, CCSU will also benefit.

Getting the athletes who are often just seen on the fields and courts out into the community will help broaden the CCSU fan base and get members of New Britain to come to the campus and watch games.

The first program hosted by the department did just that. During basketball

season CCSU held a girls’ sports clinic to go hand-in-hand with National Women’s Sports Day. As part of the clinic the girls got tickets to go to the CCSU games later that day, which helped fill the Detrick bleachers.

“Our niche is this community,” said Schlickmann. “So it’s really imperative that we try and build relationships with our campus community, with our immediate community, And how do you do that? You have to get out and build substantive relationships with people and that means to youths. That means their parents that means our alumni network so on and so forth so it all comes back to my view in terms of, yes we want to build a fan base and we want people to feel passionate about Central Connecticut athletics and that’s always in our mind and we’re always trying to do that.”

The partnership between the CCSU athletics department and Wal-Mart foundation is just for one year, but can be renewed annually pending on how things go.

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / SPORTS

Blue Devils Tame Bobcats In Weekend Sweep Kenny Barto The Recorder

The CCSU baseball team did what they were supposed to do this weekend, as they handled the struggling Quinnipiac by sweeping the four game series.

“Any time you can sweep a series is huge,” Head Coach Charlie Hickey said. “To get ourselves to a point where we are 9-3 in the conference is great, especially when we’re starting two freshmen on the weekend.”

The Blue Devils’ (15-9, 9-3 NEC) sweep against the Bobcats (3-20, 2-10 NEC) is a repeat of last year’s series where the Blue Devils outscored Quinnipiac 43-9 in the four victories while playing in Hamden.

The CCSU team kicked off the series by compiling nine runs in the first five innings to support Harry Glynne’s solid pitching performance. The offense was led by Tyler McIntyre’s first inning home run, as well as Mitch Wells’ double and two singles, which brought home three runs.

Glynne went seven innings, gave up two earned runs on four hits while striking out six. Brendyn Karinchack showed yet again that he can shut the opposition down, as he went two innings, gave up only one hit, but put zeros on the board otherwise to lead CCSU to a 9-3 victory. “[Karinchak] has been very consistent,” Hickey said. “When you can put a guy like that in and six or seven batters later the game is over, that’s huge for us once we get towards the end of the season.”

On Saturday, the Blue Devils played the Bobcats close, winning by one run in each game, 6-5 and 3-2.

In game one, Quinnipiac got a run off of Cody Brown in the second inning, which held until CCSU put up four runs in the fourth inning, all coming with one out.

Anthony Turgeon started it by going the other way with a double deep down the right field line. Dylan Delacruz advanced him to third on a single, followed quickly by a Chris Renzoni single and an A.J. Lowers double that scored Turgeon and Delacruz respectively. Josh Ingham singled to deep right, which brought home Renzoni and Lowers.

The Blue Devils brought home two more in the fifth. One of them was a wild pitch that scored J.P. Sportman, and the other was Renzoni’s second RBI single of the game.

Cody Brown won his fourth game of the season, but let up all five runs on six hits, two walks while striking out only one. Ingham came in to pitch from second base and went the final two innings for his fourth save of the season.

In game two, Jack Greenhouse had issues in the first two innings, but settled nicely, following up with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings.

He ended up going six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out two

Anthony Turgeon attempts to turn a double play during game one of the double header on Saturday. and zero walks. CCSU’s limited offense came from Wells, and McIntyre, who had an RBI each; with the third run scoring on a double play in the second inning.

Ingham saved the day yet again, getting the first two batters to ground out and fly out, with the final batter striking out looking on a breaking ball at the knees.

In the final game of the series, CCSU came out strong, scoring all of their thirteen runs in the first five innings. Delacruz went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and three runs batted in.

McIntyre continued his strong weekend as well, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI. Jake Matuszak, Sportman, Mike Washburn, and Ingham also had two RBI’s each.

The strong offensive showing was backed up by Casey Brown’s seven shutout innings, which gave him his second win of the season.

He let up only four hits, and struck out four.

His only walk of the game came in the seventh inning, but he bounced back getting the final three outs easily.

Hickey brought in Tom Coughlin and

Todd Savatsky for the final two innings, who both combined to give up all seven runs in the game, although only three of them were earned.

Still, Brown’s seven quality innings was the first time that the freshman did that well.

“It felt good to go out there and pitch like that,” Brown said. “We knew they were struggling, but it always feels good to go out there and not give up a run.”

The performance came just one day after his brother gave up five runs in his victory against the Bobcats. Last weekend, the twins agreed that it’s always a competition between the two, and this is likely Casey’s first win in that competition.

“I don’t know if I won, because both of us got the win,” Brown said. “We just go out and hope for the best, in the end as long as we win, that’s all that matters.”

The 13-7 victory gave the Blue Devils the sweep, prevented Quinnipiac Head Coach Dan Gooley from getting win 500, and gave coach Hickey his 356th win, the most of any coach in CCSU history.

McIntyre batted .353 for the entire week,

Club Rugby Finding Success at CCSU Kyle Penn

The Recorder

Rugby players are known across the world as some of the toughest competitors in all of sports. They step onto the field with nothing but their minimal equipment, their uniform and their bravery.

Universities and colleges all over the globe have rugby teams that represent them in the sport. The Hooligans represent CCSU on the field.

“Hooligans” is the nickname of the Men’s Rugby Club. Coached by Eric Rentz, a CCSU alum and a member of the Hartford Wanderers Division 1 Men’s Rugby Club, they play in the New England Rugby Football Union at the Division III level.

Junior Nick Kowaleski has been the president of the club for two years and says their goal is to promote the sport of rugby.

Throughout his career on the team, which he joined as a freshman, Kowaleski has seen positive expansion of the program.

“Our program has had tremendous growth since I joined. Students know that there is a rugby team, and many people are interested in learning more about the sport of rugby,” he said.

The team plays two seasons, one in the spring and one in the fall. The actual season takes place in the fall and normally consists of seven regular season games that count towards divisional standings and playoff qualifications;

the spring season is a way to prepare for the fall. fund raisers to boost their budget. Events such The team plays squads from both Connecticut as volunteer programs and community service and Massachusetts events also enhance their growth. All of the on The team has had success over recent campus and off campus promotions, “really years. They have made the playoffs the past help to keep our program running at the level three seasons, and made it to the semifinals in that we like to have it,” said Giansanti. the fall of 2010, the farthest the team has gone Their recent success has increased the in the playoffs since 2004.

Hooligans’ recognition in the Kowaleski said that community, but attendance “I want to attract fans on game day is not as high making the playoffs is hard to do in their to the game by showing as they want it to be. They division because there believe that fans will get are so many teams and them that they will be their worth if they attend the a limited number of games. spots in and just recently very entertained” “I want to attract fans the team was asked to to the game by showing move up to Division II, them that they will be very which they see as a great Rich Domschineentertained,” said junior Rich achievement.

Domschine. “It is always Junior Rugby Player They acknowledge nice getting support from these achievements and students from our school and growth, and know that their success does not it is always nice to see a good crowd come out come easy. According to Marcus Giansanti, for a game.” a team captain, they had to find a solid work The aim of the club is to grow as a team ethic and focus. and in the community and to encourage “When I started playing rugby here people to take interest in the sport of rugby. at CCSU, the club focused more on the They are open to anyone interested in playing social aspect of the sport as opposed to the for the team, whether they are a newcomer competitive aspect. Since then, we have to the sport or they have experience playing. become a much more athletically focused Whether someone is a fan or player, Kowaleski club,” he said. says it is very simple for someone to get The team also attributes the Student hooked.

Government Association for the club’s growth.

“If people come and watch, I guarantee SGA helps to fund the team, but they also use they will fall in love with the sport.”

kenny barto | THE RECORDER

driving home five runs while scoring five of his own and earned the NEC Player of the Week award. Brown’s seven shutout innings earned him a share of the NEC Rookie of the Week award.

Still, the Blue Devils still face many issues.

They left 35 runners on base in the 32 innings they played against the Bobcats, who have only won three games the entire season.

“That’s definitely a problem in and of itself,” Hickey said. “We have to get better at situational hitting, and even then we’ve done a little better than previous series. We’ve got to be more patient, and hit when we’ve got guys on base, it’s that simple.”

CCSU will travel to Bryant and play the conference series with nine innings on Thursday, two seven inning games on Friday, and another nine innings on Saturday. They also face the University of Rhode Island at home on Wednesday.

“We’re going to play five baseball games in four days,” Hickey said. “It’s going to be a true test of what this team can do, but I think if we hit better in those key situations, and keep pitching good, we will see better results.”

Have a passion for sports?

Email:

sportsed@ centralrecorder.com Meetings held Mondays @ 7:30 in Blue & White room in the Student Center

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / SPORTS

Break Out

The Brooms Story On Page 11

kenny barto | THE RECORDER