Volume 108 Issue 09

AWA R D-W INNING CENTR A LR ECOR DER .COM Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Central Connecticut State University

Volume 108 No. 09

Advising: Registrar’s Office Skips Credit Check A Need For Consistency kassonDRa GRanata the Recorder

“It was, I believe, sophomore year and I was supposed to take Illustration as a prerequisite for one of my design classes,” Dan Saska stated in a conversation via email.

Saska is what would be considered a “super-senior” making up two semesters worth of classes due to poor guidance by his adviser in the design program, who he does not wish to name.

“I was not alerted by my adviser in the department that if I didn’t take that class, I would essentially miss out on two semesters because of how my program is setup.”

“I was and am still pretty upset about it,” says Saska.

Academic advising is a system that CCSU offers where a student and a faculty member meet together and focus on academic planning and decision making in order to earn their degree. Advisers meet with their students and provide advice and aid in the process of choosing courses as well as supplying each student their pin number to use for registration.

Christopher Pudlinski, an adviser who has been in the communication department since 1996, sits on the Advisory Committee on Academic Advising which was established by the faculty senate in 2009.

Pudlinski believes that advising is not up to par.

“I think it’s kind of inconsistent,” said Pudlinski. “You’re going to get people you are going to work well with advising because they are familiar with the curriculum and they know about internships and then you get some people who don’t spend the time on it and aren’t familiar with it. There’s a lot to it.”

First year students are registered to an adviser for their first semester and attend an academic advising and orientation day. Alongside that, they also obtain their predetermined course schedule that their designated adviser makes for them for the first semester. As the second semester approaches, they meet again with their advisers in the fall to choose their spring courses.

After a student’s first year at CCSU, students are then assigned to faculty advisers that are in their own departments of their major.

“It is helpful,” says Brandon Tyshawn Evans, freshman. “They let you know what classes they recommend you should take and they know what they are talking about. I was left with no questions.”

To some students, however, it depends on the adviser.

“I had to correct my adviser about what was considered a lab science, I was left with more questions than answers,” said freshman Alex Kitchener.

Like Kitchener, sophomore Jess Maura had issues with her adviser.

“I have been to two different School of Business advisers and they both stink,” said Maura. “The first guy double booked every appointment time he had so we literally had to fight for the time slot in his office. Then when I finally got to speak with him, he asked me what classes I should be taking ... excuse me, but isn’t that his job?”

Negative feedback continued from students on the subject of their advisers, ADVISING | cONT. ON 3

The spring 2011 commencement, held at the XL Center in Hartford, saw over 2,500 students celebrate their graduation.

Justin muszynski the Recorder

For the past two years CCSU has been allowing students to walk at the commencement ceremonies with as little as 95 total credits accumulated, despite the minimum amount of credits for graduation being 122.

When President Jack Miller was asked about this situation he had this to say: “I must admit that I am quite surprised as I was not

aware of all this. I would think 95 credits is too few to be able to walk.”

Dr. Joseph Paige, associate vice president of Student Affairs, admits that this was not an ideal situation, but says it would have been impossible for the registrar’s office to evaluate all the applications.

“During the past two years, we have allowed students to ‘walk’ with 95 credits completed only because the Registrar’s office was severely shorthanded with only one graduation evaluator instead of the normal

pHoto | CouRtesy oF CCsu

number of three,” said Paige. “This was due to the hiring freeze that we were under. Because of this, there was only one person to evaluate over 2000 final requests for graduation as well as hundreds of initial graduation evaluations for potential August and December graduates.”

According to CCSU’s website in regards to graduation standards, the policy clearly states that undergraduate student seeking to GRADUATION | cONT. ON 3

Faculty Divided On Robert Gates Lecture

pHoto | aCClaim

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates (right) talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (left).

JonatHan stankiewiCz the Recorder

Two years ago the Robert C. Vance Distinguished Lecturer was Steve Forbes.

This year the CCSU Foundation Inc. is bringing former United States Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to campus.

The lecture on Nov. 8th, at 7:30 p.m., is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. The deadline for ticket orders is Oct. 25.

A dinner with a reception is planned before the lecture. Tickets are also required for this, but are not free. Tickets cost $125 per person and include reserved seating for

the lecture.

From the Vance Lecture Series page, on the CCSU website, it says, in small print, that: “The series is supported by a grant from the Robert C. Vance Charitable Foundation.

With special thanks to Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.” The grant is being used by the CCSU Foundation.

Robert C. Vance was a widely respected journalist who served as editor and publisher of The Herald in New Britain from 1951 to 1959 and has donated to the CCSU Foundation Inc., not only for other speakers in the Vance Lecture Series, but to CCSU as a whole with the Vance Academic Center in 2000 and the Robert C. Vance Endowed

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Chair in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2003, among others.

“The CCSU Foundation Inc., was created in 1971 [as a non-profit organization], at the request of the University, as a vehicle to obtain private contributions to support educational programs and research at Central Connecticut State University,” according to the CCSU Foundation’s webpage on the CCSU website.

It must be made clear that the Foundation is in no way an entity of the State of Connecticut nor an official part of CCSU .

“This Vance Lecture Series isn’t funded by the university but they still use our space they use our name and I think we would be doing our community a better service if we had a greater variety of speakers coming in,” said English professor Candace Barrington. She isn’t clear how the money from the $125 per person tickets will be disbursed, whether it be for Dr. Gates himself or if that money will go to a scholarship fund for students.

Nick Pettinico, Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement, said that proceeds from the event go to the Robert C. Vance Endowed Chair in Journalism and Mass Communication at CCSU. The timing of such a speaker as Dr. Gates may not be what the Foundation thought it could have been.

“Right now students and workers are rising up across the globe, asserting their democratic rights and fighting back against the economic crisis,” said an upset Chris Hutchinson, a CCSU student. “Yet, the Vance Lecture GATES | cONT. ON 3

2 THE RECORDER Wednesday, October 26, 2011

NEWS

SGA Elections Show Cause For Concern Justin muszynski The Recorder

After looking at the latest results from the Student Government Association elections, it’s hard not to examine why there seems to be a lack of interest by CCSU students in local politics, particularly ones that take place right on campus.

According to ‘Fast Facts’ provided by CCSU’s website, there are currently 10,092 undergraduate students enrolled in the fall semester. The average winning candidate in this fall’s SGA elections received less than 100 votes. Why don’t students get involved in campus politics?

SGA President Eric Bergenn says he doesn’t see it as a major issue, but also feels that everyone would benefit if the campus community were more involved.

“It’s not necessarily a problem,” said Bergenn. “It is an opinion of mine that it would be better if more students participated.

Plenty of students have complaints about the University, or classes, or anything, if they were involved they could turn their complaints into action and do something about it. Even if it means just saying the right thing to the right people, if enough people feel the same way, we will do something about it.”

Candace Barrington, the president of the Faculty Senate, admittedly says she doesn’t feel it’s all that important for students to follow the Faculty Senate but says the SGA is something that they should pay attention to, even if it’s to find out where their money is going.

“It’s probably okay that not many students follow the Faculty Senate, almost everything we do is going to seem so esoteric and outside of their sphere it probably wouldn’t serve them to come to the meetings,” said Barrington. “If I were a student I would be much more interested in the SGA and try to figure out how those student fees are being used.”

Ghassan El-Eid, associate professor of political science, encourages students to get involved with all the politics that they can.

He also feels that the SGA numbers being down are a significant problem that needs to be addressed.

“Students should be more involved because if they are it can create a better community that has more quality in its education,” said El-Eid. “The fact that more people didn’t vote is problematic, you need to look at these candidates and see what they stand for and determine who you want in charge.”

El-Eid also pointed out that it may not be that students just don’t care about the betterment of the school; they are too busy with their jobs outside of school. However, he says it’s no excuse.

“I understand students are busy with work, but it’s all about an allocation of time,” said El-Eid. “I think the students reflect the rest of the country in the fact that they don’t make the time for politics until it directly affects them, whether it be because of taxes, or they lost their job or whatever.”

Barrington agrees that students are busy balancing school and work and their personal lives.

“If you’re working 30 hours a week, and sometimes more, how can you get involved in campus politics, where would you find the time?” said Barrington. “I’m not saying it’s right or wrong that students work that much, but the fact is some do. I don’t even think that leaves enough time for them to do their school work, and if you can’t even do your school work properly how can you have enough time to follow campus politics?”

Diane Murwaski, a senior at CCSU, said this when asked if she followed the SGA: “No, what is that?” She explained that she doesn’t know anything about politics in general and that campus ones are no different for her.

SGA Senators Ryan Sheehan (left) and Jamie Canny (right) discuss a motion presented during last Wednesday’s SGA meeting.

However, said she would more than likely vote in the next presidential elections saying, “It’s different when you’re voting for the president. I don’t vote in the SGA because no one pushes me to. When there’s a presidential election so many people encourage you to participate, if the SGA was like that I would probably vote.”

Megan Genest, also a senior who didn’t know what the SGA was, agreed that if more people pushed her to vote, and her friends did, she would more than likely vote as well.

“When I turned 18 everyone was telling me I had to vote,” said Genest. “If that were true with the SGA then I might consider being involved in voting.”

Bergenn, who knew a majority of students might have similar circumstances to these two students, says that to a certain degree it’s their responsibility to get involved and participate.

“Everyone has the opportunity to get involved and everyone has a very easy opportunity to know what SGA stands for and what we do,” said Bergenn. “You get an email once every other week from an account that says ‘mySGA’ ... It’s not coded or hidden, some people just aren’t interested in anything more than going to classes and then going home.”

Kenny barto I THE RECORDER

Theatre Funding Request Pushed Back KASSONDRA GRANATA The Recorder

The Student Government Association welcomed 12 new senators at their last meeting, but their arrival was overshadowed by discussion over club funding and clarification of debates.

Senator Jamie Canny presented a motion to have all club contingency requests be checked to the bylaws before being sent to the finance committee for more clarity and to eliminate unnecessary discussions prior to voting.

“We waste our time arguing if it fits our constitution and bylaws,” said Canny. “We shouldn’t have to worry about it, just evaluate it.”

Earlier in the meeting, representatives from the theatre department spoke to the Senate about their need for $22,200 for their musical in the spring.

The department has a rise in cast members from last year from nine to twenty-five and hope to hire a professional director from New

York City.

Treasurer Nick Alaimo questioned where exactly the funds would be going to and asks the presenters if they could itemize the funds.

Senator Ryan Baldassario also asked for more specific breakdowns on how the money to be allocated (if permitted) would be spent.

“It cannot be SGA just paying for it every year,” said Senator Canny in opposition. “We need more sponsors or for them to fundraise.”

Senator Hannah Pancak made a motion to allocate $22,200 to the theatre department for the musical.

“We should definitely support this due to the high rate of people who attend the event every year,” said Pancak. “It’s always sold out.”

Treasurer Nick Alaimo made a motion to postpone this debate indefinitely in order to obtain itemized costs and quotes from the theatre department.

“I’d like to have proof and ideas,” said Alaimo. “It’s a lot of money to be giving out without proof. I’m not in favor or against this motion just yet.”

After Alaimo set the motion, the Senate debated on whether or not they should wait on discussing allocating money to the theatre department.

Senator Ryan Sheehan was in agreement with Treasurer Alaimo and believed that it would be unfair to the new senators. “We have new senators and I feel that we should take a week or so in order to discuss this.”

Senator Jeremy Truex believed that to determine his decision he needed more information in front of him.

“I want to give them this money, but we should wait until we have all of the pieces in front of us,” said Truex.

All of these events reflect back to Senator Jamie Canny’s motion to review the club contingency requests according to the bylaws before bringing it to the finance committee.

“We shouldn’t have to wait a week to decide on a motion and keep postponing it because we do not know certain information,” Canny said.

After a few minutes of debate, Senator

Hannah Pancak motioned to end the debate and the motion passed.

President Bergenn was not surprised of the outcome of the meeting.

“I think it went as expected,” said Bergenn.

“We have 12 new people joining us, we all have to get used to it. I’ve never been in this position.

Where we have half the group [who are] the people that we have added to the group ... it didn’t go necessarily worse or smoother.”

Bergenn was unclear as to what Senator Canny’s purpose was to making the motion she made.

“What I think is not understood is there is a reason I don’t turn anything away because I think that it won’t go in line with things,” said Bergenn. “The reason is because we elect 34 senators, not just a board of trustees. We can have a small board and make financial decisions and we do have a finance committee to make decisions. If we have people representing contingency, then they should have a say in it.”

3

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / NEWS

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SGA President Proposes Student Seats On Faculty Senate jonathan stankiewicz The Recorder

Eleven student voting members on the Faculty Senate seems like something that wouldn’t work, but that’s exactly what was suggested to the members of CCSU’s faculty.

SGA President Eric Bergenn proposed the idea at the Faculty Senate in Vance Academic room 105 this past Monday. Bergenn is trying to come up with more ways in which the Senate of the SGA and their faculty counterparts can work together and better represent their respective constituencies.

“There are a few ways in which the students can be represented at various committees of the Faculty Senate,” says Bergenn. He doesn’t believe that those seats have been used correctly “ to make sure students voices are heard on important issues that affect there experience” at CCSU. He doesn’t fault either group, but offers the idea of a student constituency on the Faculty Senate to make “a better working relationship between both organizations.”

Taking the time to go through both the Faculty Senate constitution

and SGA constitution, Bergenn said that both have authority over student behavior and conduct. In his printed report to the Senate, he copy and pasted the sections of each constitution that highlight student conduct and behavior. He believes that since the Senate has power over student behavior wouldn’t it be wise to allow students to be represented with voting members on the legislative body.

After reading his report Bergenn wasn’t asked any questions, but was thanked for bringing his voice forward to the Senate. Faculty Senate President Candace Barrington, immediately put Bergenn’s idea to the Committee on Constitution and By-Laws. Barrington wants them to go over the idea and see what their recommendation is for moving forward.

“I think it went really well,” said Bergenn. He felt the faculty was receptive and they were all very respectful of everything he brought up. Bergenn was surprised at how shocked they looked that he was there at Faculty Senate. Realizing it’s against the status quo, Bergenn knows it’s “quite a shock.” He wasn’t trying to startle them.

Bergenn knows that 11 voting members for students is a lot because part-time faculty representation only has four senators. He is more than willing to talk that number down and welcomes a discussion of his idea.

“Sometimes change is best done incrementally, but, at the same time, if you look at it from a purely pragmatic sense...I think it’s worth looking at it from the prespective of what is the best situation, not what’s closer to the best situation,” said Bergenn. The SGA may not pass things from their Senate that affect the Faculty Senate’s constituencies, but many of the things the Faculty Senate decides on affect SGA’s constituencies, said Bergenn.

It would be good for them as well, said Bergenn. Saying that you might have the student’s viewpoint and actually having their perspective there are two different things and Bergenn thinks that having a student there could affect future decisions.

“I’m not doing this to be a revolutionary,” said Bergenn. “I’m not doing it to create any dissidence.

I’m actually doing this to bring the two groups together.”

Staff Writers Rachael Bentley Matthew Clyburn Ciara Hooks

Gunarso Nguyen Nick Rosa Peter stroczkowski

Dalton Silvernail

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Former Defense Secretary Will Speak In November GATES | cont. FROM 1 series chooses the least inspiring person imaginable, Robert Gates, a Washington bureaucrat and war criminal, responsible for the deaths of over a million Iraqis.”

Hutchinson, who will be protesting with other students when Gates comes to campus, admitted that he was furious when he found out about Gates coming to campus and said that Gates doesn’t represent the ideas and aspirations of CCSU students, said Hutchinson and other students.

“CCSU has a long history of inviting kind of conservative people,” said English professor Burlin Barr. He believes that CCSU is sending a bad message to pay someone, possibly a lot of money, and to then have a dinner, costing $125 per person, which sends a message that access is something that’s bought. To him, he feels that goes against everything CCSU and even what higher education stands for.

James Mulrooney, professor of biomolecular sciences agrees with Barr in that CCSU has hosted possibly controversial people before on campus.

“I do not have a problem with Robert Gates coming, at all,” said Mulrooney. “I may not like the man, I may not agree with what he does, but he does have the right to speak.” Mulrooney is glad to have Gates on campus because whether

you agree with him or not you hear his point of view. Mulrooney sees this as an educational opportunity for CCSU to have our own campus discussion about it. Mulrooney doesn’t agree with censoring people and will not be protesting Gates when he comes to campus.

As of Friday, Oct. 21, the CCSU Student Government Association had not purchased or reserved any tickets for either the lecture or reception and dinner for students.

The Washington Speakers Bureau, which Gates is affiliated with, has yet to return any phone calls or emails sent to specifically Co-CEO of the Bureau, Harry Rhoads, Jr.

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President Miller Was Not Aware Of Students Walking Below Minimum Requirement

Committee On Academic Advising Hopes To Improve Guidance

GRADUATION| cont. From 1

ADVISING | cont. From 1

participate in the commencement ceremonies should have all but nine or fewer credits completed.

It continues that students with nine credit hours that need to be completed aren’t normally allowed to walk early but in the case of extraordinary circumstances they may appeal to the Vice President of Student Affairs or a designee.

Dr. Carl Lovitt, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, who considers this a “non-issue,” clarifies that a student being allowed to walk at the graduation ceremony and actually graduating are two different things.

“This does not mean that they are graduating early; it simply means that they are already enrolled for all of the credits that they will need to graduate that summer or the next semester and that they will be entitled to walk across the stage,” said Lovitt. “They will not graduate and receive their diploma until they have actually completed all of those credits.”

Paige says that the decision was made by himself and the Registrar, who has retired since then. The

Registrar’s office declined to comment on this issue.

Brittany Everett, a former student of CCSU who walked early at the graduation ceremonies, was part of commencement in the spring of 2010 and finished the graduation requirements later that year. She says she’s surprised how easy the whole process was saying it really wasn’t much of a process at all.

“I was surprised that they let me walk because I needed 12 more credits to finish,” said Everett. “I literally just walked down to the Registrar’s and asked and they said ‘yes.’ I didn’t know what the policy was but I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask, after they said yes the lady there filled out the application for me and that was that.”

Ramon Hernandez, the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, however didn’t know that this was happening but vaguely remembers this being an issue years ago.

“Ninety five credits sounds really low,” Hernandez said. “There was a situation two years ago where we were short staffed and they were letting students walk with almost a whole semester left but I don’t

think it’s happened since then.”

Hernandez also questions what a student’s motivation would be to walk if they needed to complete a full semester after the ceremony.

“I’m not really sure why someone would want to do that but anyone can apply and the worst that can happen is they say no.”

Everett though says she may have had an issue if she had to wait for the spring to participate in the commencement ceremonies because she may have had to move out of the state by then.

“The reason why I figured I would ask is because there was a possibility I may have had to move in January,” said Everett. “If I finished in December and moved in January I wouldn’t be able to walk with the school that I was getting my degree from.”

Lovitt says now that there isn’t a problem with being under staffed and the university’s policy will be more strictly followed.

“Now that we have a full complement of degree auditors, we will adhere to our established policy of allowing only students with 9 or fewer credits remaining to walk,” said Lovitt.

whom all chose not to name.

When bringing up the fact that there are usually negative responses from students concerning advising, Pudlinski was “not surprised.”

“The biggest challenge is to create consistency across schools and departments,” Pudlinski said.

“It’s hard to do. There’s not only inconsistency but there’s also varying work load for advising, if you have a department with 8 faculty members with 15 majors it’s a very different experience.”

Students continue to turn in negative feedback towards advising and the adviser’s experience and amount of help provided to the advisees.

“My adviser is terrible, doesn’t really do much advising, just tells me to look up classes on the catalog,” says Matt Stanley, sophomore. “I’m definitely switching advisers; that’s one of the only things I don’t like about this school.”

Saska, believes that the advising process should be presented with more clarity.

“There really should be a better system for majors with

specific goals. Pipeline is a terrible solution that I’m sure the school pays hundreds of thousands of dollars for, but I digress,” continues Saska. “It should be clear cut that you need to take care of these prerequisites before continuing in your program.”

Pudlinski believes that there are some advisers that do really well, and there are some who do not do well at all, it’s all about being constant with their students.

“I find that having the opportunity to be an adviser for students for a couple of years or more is beneficial. I find the most challenging times and the time you need the most time for advising is when a student comes to you from CACE and most importantly transfer students.”

Pudlinski along with the Committee on Academic Advising hopes to build partnerships with faculty and administrative offices in relation to advising.

“What characters advising is the school,” says Pudlinski. “There needs to be a focus on it and like I said consistency. There aren’t rewards for doing good advising, but it’s worth it.”

4

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / NEWS

Part-Time Faculty Are Changing Look Of Senate JonatHan stankiewiCz the Recorder

When you walk into the English Department and see that the number of faculty mailboxes for part-time faculty seems to outweigh the number of full-time faculty two-to-one, you may not think there is a problem there.

Budget restrictions and the need to make sure certain courses are being taught each semester proves that the increase in part-time (PT) hires on campus is needed.

What is not thought about in the increase of PT faculty is how it affects CCSU’s Faculty Senate or shared governance on campus.

The Faculty Senate works as a decision making body in activities, programs and classrooms, and works in an advisory role in matters of shared governance related to the University, accordding to the CCSU Faculty Handbook. The Senate then delegates the decision making to standing committees on campus, whose members are elected by the faculty.

The model CCSU uses allows for representation of departments in every academic school, plus representation from other AAUP units, such as part-time faculty, and even non-AAUP administrative faculty.

“The Senate is very, very important,” said Secretary Burlin Barr of the English department. Barr stressed that the campus doesn’t run like a business and the Senate helps to keep it that way. The committees do things that need to get done for a university and the role of the Senate is to be a funnel for all committees to report to, said Barr. The Senate is where the administration and faculty mesh.

Faculty should have a say in this administration and the Faculty Senate is the voice for faculty and non-union members, said Faculty Senate Vice President James Mulrooney of the biomolecular science department. Mulrooney compared the Faculty Senate to the student’s version,

SGA, but added that only the issues are different. They try to see the whole story and make decisions based on what they are told, said Mulrooney. Some faculty maybe more focused on their career: teaching, creative activity or research, and finally service, down on the bottom of the list, said Mulrooney.

The National AAUP statement on the Relationship of Faculty Governance to Academic Freedom says that, “A good governance system is no guarantee that academic freedom will flourish.” Faculty governance is simply a structure that allows for faculty to have their say and that faculty members must be willing to participate. “Faculty members must accept their share of faculty responsibilities for the governance of their institution. If they do not, authority will drift away from them, since someone must exercise it, and if members of the faculty do not, others will,” adds the statement.

In the last four years, thanks to budget concerns, there has been a real shift. On the one hand it’s very hard to argue for tenure track lines in a budget crisis, but on the other hand, the ratio is changing and that, over time, is very hard for faculty governance, said Barr on his concern for the number of both PT hires and emergency hires.

Faculty Senate President Candace Barrington feels uncomfortable at times letting them serve; she feels guilty. PT faculty don’t get paid for service and frankly don’t have the time, said Barrington.

New, young faculty are vulnerable especially if you’re not tenured, said Mulrooney. He doesn’t think it’s true, but Barrington agrees that faculty can feel that way at times. “They aren’t protected until they get tenure,” said Barrington,“I think departments do themselves and faculty a disservice if they put assistant professors on the Senate.” She knows that not everyone agrees with her on that position, but having been in that position herself she has first hand experience of what it was like.

New faculty are learning how to teach, getting used to being at the school and trying to establish their creative activity so they may not be as inclined to add service to thier plate, said Mulrooney. In addition, PT faculty who teach one to two classes, may have a full-time job or teach part-time at other schools just to make ends meet for themselves.

“Right now, I don’t have a problem, but as we keep using all of these part-

timers and these emergency appointments that are not going to be permanent here I may have a problem down the road,” said Mulrooney, who knows that we are living in this situation now and cannot predict the future of hires on campus. Mulrooney admitted that he hadn’t thought about this problem until he was interviewed for this story. Getting new voices on campus, “fresh blood,” is something that CCSU should be thinking about, said Mulrooney.

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5

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / NEWS

A New Professor’s Perspective Justin Muszynski The Recorder

“I know of a specific incident at another school where one student’s mom called the department and asked if one of the faculty members could go and pick up their child’s books at the beginning of the semester because he wasn’t going to have time to do it,” said Kristin Cistulli, instructor of psychology, when referring to students at other universities who have a sense of entitlement.

When contrasting her students and others that she has heard about, Cistulli says she notices a certain level of maturity at CCSU that you might not find in a private institution. This being her first semester here, the thing she notices the most is how students take responsibility for themselves and don’t tend to get their parents involved in their academic affairs.

“I’ve heard of similar incidents at other schools where students’ parents call not the professor when their child has trouble, not the department head, but go straight to the dean and say ‘My kid is failing this class, what should he or she do,?”’ said Cistulli. “I’ve never even heard of that happening on this campus. Nobody seems to think people owe them any kind of special treatment here.”

Another thing about CCSU that Cistulli was impressed with when she got here was the heavy involvement among administrators in helping with the success of the faculty.

She attended a new faculty orientation and the thing that jumped out to her was that the Provost Dr. Carl Lovitt chose to attend the event personally and participate to great lengths.

“Dr. Lovitt actually ran a lot of the new faculty orientation, which was really impressive because at a lot of schools, people that high up in the administration don’t put that much effort into things like that,” said Cistulli. “He didn’t just come, give a talk and leave; he was present for almost the entire

thing and ran his own session. That really says that teaching and education are very important to him.”

Something she noticed the school can use improvement on is advising, especially in cases where a student doesn’t know what they want to do with their lives. She is aware that school offers CACE, Center for Advising and Career Exploration, but also knows that it’s impossible for them to handle every student’s individual needs and concerns.

“I’m under the impression that some student’s feel that they may have fallen between the cracks in terms of faculty advising and things like that,” said Cistulli. “If a student doesn’t have a major or doesn’t know what they want to do they can go to CACE, but they have a huge case load of thousands of students that need to go to them. I wish students would realize that even though every faculty member might not have their pin to sign up for classes, we can still give advice on life and career decisions.”

Something she knows is a problem not necessarily unique to CCSU, but for schools all over the country right now. Universities don’t have many openings for tenured track careers. With the budget crisis in this country, many schools are doing what they can to save money. However, Cistulli, who is currently scheduled to be teaching here for one year, feels that tenured positions are necessary for colleges in the interest of better education and encourages them. She’s heard stories over the years at some schools where a group of tenured professors, who can’t stand each other, are essentially stuck together at the same school and sometimes in the same department.

However, when it comes to tenured positions she feels the good outweighs the bad. When asked if she’d be interested in staying and possibly being tenured, without hesitation Cistulli said, “Yes! If they would keep me, I would stay here for as long as they would have me.”

Sodexo Looking For Suggestions CIARA HOoks The Recorder

Sodexo has fed CCSU for the past six years and, unknown to some, students can have an opinion and voice with what they want to see for food options on campus.

With more than 380,000 employees worldwide, they supply the food day in and day out at CCSU, and try to find a way to keep over 1,200 students satisfied. Not every student can be happy with the food and choices available, but Sodexo is open to ideas and suggestions.

“A lot of people want the pasta bar everyday, there are other people that say, ‘Gee they have to have pasta so much.’ So we’ll try to reconcile those types of things,” said Donald DeGruttola, general manager.

A strong and successful tool used in hearing the students out and fixing things is the food committee that meets every other Wednesday night.

“We go through a process, kind of old business, new business and then hall reports. So we’ll talk about things like when groups come to us; like L.A.S.O. came to us and said, ‘Hey, can we have a special Spanish menu?’” explained DeGruttola.

The committee relays student opinions and objectives to Sodexo as well as help plan menus and events.

Some of the changes that the committee has been able to come up with have been Memorial being tray-less to help eliminate waste, the waffle bar and celebrating Bob Marley’s Birthday. The hall meetings that occur every Sunday night in each dorm are quite important because they are the food committee’s direct link to the students, their wants and needs. Hall directors from each hall report back to the committee and the committee gets back to the students the following week.

One of the oldest and most used methods to obtaining the students comments and concerns is the suggestion box located on the North Side of Memorial as well as in the Student Center in Devils Den.

“I take the suggestions out every morning I look at them, sort through them, and we could have questions as far as why do we put red peppers on as a garnish to can we have more Caribbean dishes,” explained Robert “Bob” Roy, director of dining services.

Joseph Leal, the director of retail, takes care of the suggestions collected in the Student Center, but as a collective unit the two get together, answer the questions and within a day or two post them for all to see.

“On our vegan side we do a vegan soup and actually one of our students had given us recipes and we used the recipes for that,” said Roy. Sodexo has also added a way for students to voice their opinions online.

“We used to survey students with just pen and paper up until last year. So Sodexo is just taking the next step and surveys are sent out electronically via email to all students,” explained Michael Lorusso, operations manager. “And also we have the new texting option,” he added.

There is a specific number available to students where you can text your comments, as well as a Facebook page that students can go to.

Not all the students know about these multiple lines of communication like Tyquise Holbrook, a 20-year-old junior who lives on campus.

“I’m going to throw a couple suggestions in the suggestion box like food extensions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” said Holbrook after being told about how and where he can voice an opinion. He doesn’t feel the food is nasty initially, but it becomes repetitive after a while.

There are always, at least, three managers walking around the cafeteria at peak times and DeGruttola, Roy and Lorusso don’t mind sitting, eating and talking one-on-one with students to get feedback and find out if there’s something they prefer or if they have any special dietary needs. Roy explained how he is even trying to sit at a table with a group of students twice a week and see how they’re enjoying their lunch.

Chief A.C. Roper Will Speak As Part Of Civil Rights Project Kassondra granata The Recorder

“The Speaker Series” from the “Civil Rights Movement Project” at CCSU will welcome the city of Birmingham’s police Chief A.C. Roper Thursday, November 3, at 3:00 p.m., in Founders Hall to speak on the role of police brutality and the civil rights movement.

According to the Birmingham Police Department website, Chief A.C. Roper was born in Birmingham, AL with more than 24-years of law enforcement experience.

Roper began his career with the department in 1985 where he was promoted to corporal and then served as a patrol officer, academy instructor and recruiter. In November 2007, Roper was appointed as Birmingham’s thirtythird chief of police.

Chief Roper holds a bachelor of science degree from Troy University, a masters in criminal justice from the University of Alabama and a masters of strategic studies from the U.S Army War College. Roper is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Southeastern Law Enforcement Executive Development Course.

For twenty five years, Chief Roper has served and is currently the chief of

staff of the 87th Army Reserve Support Command. Roper was deployed during Operation Desert Shield along with Operation Enduring Freedom serving as the military spokesperson for all U.S Forces in Afghanistan.

Chief Roper has received numerous rewards for his achievements including the Bronze Star and the General Douglas McArthur Leadership Award, given annually to the top U.S Army Officers in the nation.

Alongside that, Chief Roper is a licensed and proclaimed minister serving at Faith Chapel Christian Center in Birmingham.

He is also a member of the FBI National Academy Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and serves on local boards and community organizations.

Stephen Balkaran, African-American studies professor and coordinator of “The Civil Rights Project,” has been an instructor at CCSU for six years and developed the Civil Rights program two years ago.

Balkaran hopes that many will attend his fall lecture series.

“Chief A.C Roper will have a chance to explain to the University and the students here on what went wrong back in the 60’s and how police brutality became a focal point in that time during the civil rights movement.”

Working Together The Strong Relationship Between The New Britain Police Department And The CCSU PD sara m. berry The Recorder

Over the last few years, the partnership between CCSU and the City of New Britain has grown considerably. One such example of this is the Town and Gown Task Force, a collaboration of CCSU police, staff, and administrators, New Britain police and local neighbors.

Sgt. Jerry Erwin of the CCSU PD says, “Central is growing from the college it used to be to the university it is.” CCSU has a bigger population than its ever had, added Erwin.

CCSU isn’t that small of a school, with over 2,200 students on or near campus.

Over time, this became a problem with the city as CCSU students began to expand into the local neighborhoods and the Town and Gown Task Force was asked to help out thanks to bad student behavior via complaints from residents that live near CCSU, said Jonathan Pohl, of the Counseling and Wellness Center and Office of Alcohol and Drug Education Coordinator, and co-chair of the Task Force.

Now after hard work from the Task Force and CCSU Police Department Erwin is starting to see some results.

“It’s a small percentage of our students [about 5 percent] that are causing a problem out there,” said Erwin. “The majority of our students are here to go to college and succeed, and the numbers show it. Crimes across campus, whether it’s larcenies, burglaries and those types of things are down.”

Erwin advises students living in nearby neighborhoods to “act like [their] parents live there,” and avoid behaviors that would not be accepted in their hometown neighborhoods.

Erwin added “You’ll be held accountable, whether it’s off-campus or on campus.

Because those expectations were put in place, and people have slowly learned about those expectations…it’s getting much better. And it’s getting better for the people who live in these neighborhoods.” Students are starting to understand that they are an extension of the university, said Erwin.

There is progress, yes, but this generation of students isn’t always easy to deal with.

Erwin notes that “The generation we have, their parents are still believing that it’s ok to drink and smoke at college. I arrested a girl for DWI, and her father said, ‘well, don’t you guys just drive them home?’” Erwin mentioned that CCSU does have smart students and they know it’s not about drinking every night.

It’s, again, that small percentage.

The CCSU police employ a strategy known as community policing, where officers are often present on campus making rounds and getting to know students, rather than just responding to altercations and arresting students for misbehavior. They believe that this approach generates more cooperation from the university community.

Pohl and Erwin agree that one of the major concerns is not just students drinking, but students drinking to excess and putting themselves into danger because of it.

“Our officers have been trained as first responders. They’re medically trained and al that, because it is a medical emergency,” said Erwin of when students get seriously ill as a result of alcohol intake.

The actions being put in place by the Town and Gown Task Force are not just referenced toward the current students and their behavior, but are also trying to expand to potential incoming freshman. Pohl and Wentz recently presented a talk at Southington High School, one of CCSU’s largest feeder schools, to let future students know what the expectations are for behavior at CCSU, as well as how to become successful students.

Erwin said that the relationship between NBPD and CCSU is the best it has ever been, and that NBPD is a great resource. New Britain provides a different type of policing than the CCSU PD, and the relationship has been greatly strengthened due to the University beginning to provide sanctions for student behavior that takes place off campus, added Erwin.

Most of the CCSU collaboration with the NBPD is in regards to the parties and off-campus behavior that takes place in the nearby neighborhoods, however they do help each other in different aspects. There are cases where the departments do call upon each other for help. CCSU police do at times go out with NBPD to break up parties, but they have also helped in other areas. For example, Spanish speaking CCSU officers have gone to assist NB police in the interrogation of Spanish speaking suspects. When a CCSU officer leaves campus to help in the city, the city send an officer to campus to fill that role in case it is needed on campus.

The CCSU police handle on-campus crimes as much as they can. The CCSU PD currently consists of 21 officers, and most crimes are handled here. NBPD and state police do get involved in more serious cases that the CCSU police are not equipped to handle.

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THE RECORDER Wednesday, October 19, 2011

EDITORIAL

OPINION

A Bigger Issue Than Walking On Commencement Day

Budget cuts and growing deficits have taken away from the quality of performance at various levels of the state and federal level.

Our University has not been exempt from these issues. Hiring and pay freezes have hurt some departments more than others.

Our front-page story this week was about the Registrar’s office allowing students with as little as 95 credits to walk at graduation.

They were understaffed. It was impossible for their office to read every request and review it.

The blame can’t be placed on them. It would be easy for our staff to be up in arms against that department, but that wouldn’t be looking at the bigger issue. This is a perfect example of why funding cuts don’t work.

Understaffed administrations don’t operate like they should.

While our school and state legislature understand the need for new buildings to allow their students and faculty to have an enhanced learning experience, they seem

to forget that our administrators here are responsible for making sure than things run smoothly around campus.

An unforeseen problem arose from the Registrar’s office not being able to hire more staff. This was a problem that not many people saw. Are there other issues hiding out there somewhere?

Does the Financial Aid office need more people to help process requests? What about the billing offices? Do we struggle to keep facilities up to date and in working order?

If being understaffed means that you’re going to let students walk who are not within the guidelines, does that open the door for admissions to stop examining potential students’ credentials? One would certainly hope not, but the point remains that it is entirely possible with a weakened personnel.

We are part of the Connecticut State University System, or CSUS, which includes Eastern, Southern, Western Connecticut

State University and ourselves. As of last semester the CSUS is now part of the CT Board of Regents for Higher Education. This system contains 17 schools, which includes the community colleges and Charter Oak State College.

If we are now operating under such a large umbrella, with similar budget and staffing issues, it is inevitable that there are other faults in the system around the state.

The CSUS has taken great strides in the past decade to raise its level of education.

Our school, and sister schools, are viewed as some of the top institutions in New England for higher education.

It’s problems like this, which will be amplified if they are a commonplace around the system, that will set us back a step from where we’ve worked to get to. It’s communal of all the universities around the state to want to improve their standings. Something like this does quite the opposite.

There are always issues with cutting

and quality, but sometimes these situations cannot be avoided.

What can be done? Faculty and administration are always begging for fewer budget cuts. They’ve already lifted the hiring freeze at the universities. The only thing that can be done will relate to the next time we encounter a crisis like we did during the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Administration, and that includes any decision making governing body in our system, need to keep an eye on problem areas. Instead of having a surplus of assistants in Davidson to help our executives do their necessary tasks, we can move those individuals to let them assist in other administrative departments.

Budget cuts will always be a reality. Instead of letting them debilitate our necessary departments, lets learn how to adapt and stay ahead of areas of weakness. We need to remember to watch out for where they will affect us to avoid taking steps back.

EDITOR’S COLUMN

Making Connections For When You Need Them The Most matthew Clyburn The Recorder

A Need For Less Debate nicholas proch The Recorder

The perpetual tug of war, which we commonly know as democracy, needs to find a balance. The current system is teetering over the line and someone needs to speak up before one side loses its grip.

Our media is very pervasive. They find a way into our homes in the mail, on television, over radio and on our computer screens. This is especially noticeable during election season.

As you drive down your block you can expect to see sign after sign pertaining to a candidate. There comes a certain point when you stop paying attention to those signs. Your brain will eventually shut them out. There are too many, it’s an over-saturation.

The same can be applied to the Linda McMahon flyers you got in the mail, the Tom Foley television ads and the Dannel Malloy billboards. You stopped looking.

There’s another GOP debate this week. Don’t worry if you have plans and can’t watch it, in two short weeks there’ll be one more. Followed by one, on average, every ten days until March, when the Republican Party will announce their candidate for the presidential election next November.

The media has taken all motivation out of the viewer to tune in and watch.

Why would someone make their schedule around these debates when they know they can catch the next one in two weeks?

They don’t. They won’t.

This is the tug of war that the politicians and the media are having. It started as a fine idea. Why wouldn’t the Parties want more coverage? For their own benefit that only makes sense. What they didn’t want was an over load of information. So much so, that the messages aren’t remembered after the next debate.

You can ask the most astute political junkie what answers Rick Perry gave to questions posed on September 7, and they

would most certainly confuse that debate with the other four he’s participated in since then. The answers are muddled together. This weakens the quality and general intent of the debate completely.

The famed 1960 debates between Nixon and Kennedy are remembered for a reason. There were four of them. They may have been the deciding factor in that general election. If there had been a dozen meetings between the two of them, it would have watered down the meaning.

There wasn’t. Debates were rare at that time.

Today, debates are plentiful. They can be found on your television set like clockwork. They’re as common as a potato in your local market. Some of us need to fill up our gas tanks at a lower frequency than we see a debate during this season.

It’s unfortunate because these public dialogues could be very beneficial to the general population. They should be able to use them to make informed decisions when they go to the polls, but they’re now missed.

We’re playing with fire. Voter turnout is a telling number, but it doesn’t tell the real story. What will be the percentage of people who come out a year from now and make an informed judgment before they punch their ballot? Based upon the amount of information that is available, the potential is very high.

We don’t live in a world based on potential. Ryan Leaf had the potential to be the best quarterback the NFL had ever seen. Obama had the potential to turn this country around. The Tucker Car Corporation, Polaroid and the Titanic all had potential and failed.

There will be a point when these debates mean nothing. At that point the media will have won the battle against the politicians. They should be working together to make the most of each debate and not let them get lost with all the other aspects of campaigning which we’ve tuned out.

I had just gotten a B+ on my math test, I was successfully juggling my full-time job in Hartford, my role as managing editor at the Recorder and a 16 credit load in my final semester at CCSU, I was one day away from a big job interview. It was October 5, my birthday, and things were good.

On my way home from work, I remember putting “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story at the top of my playlist. “I got a feeling there’s a miracle due, gonna come true, coming to me! Could it be? Yes, it could.

Something’s coming, something good…”

On October 6, everything changed. As I walked into class, my mother called me; I could sense panic and uneasiness in her voice almost immediately. “Where are you?” she asked, then, “just call me when you’re out of class.” Somehow, I knew that my sister was in trouble.

My oldest sister, Chelsea, had been experiencing medical issues for some time.

A star volleyball player in high school and college, she was suddenly plagued with an ambiguously-defined form of arthritis that resisted treatment and confounded doctors.

Through good, pain-free days and bad, painful days, she tried to continue working as a veterinary technician, a mother to her three-year-old son, Damon, and a wife to her husband of six years.

On Mother’s Day, Chelsea had a seizure at her in-laws’ house. She was taken to the hospital and put on anti-seizure medication.

She was prohibited from driving for some time, but having experienced no further symptoms by September, she was given permission to drive again.

When I saw the post on Facebook, I called Mom back and was told to bring my other sister to Hartford Hospital as quick as I could.

I packed up my briefcase in a daze and ran to my car.

An hour later, my parents were waiting for us as we came off the elevator. I don’t remember people speaking in full sentences, just fragments. Likely seizure. Jumped the curb. Rolled over. Life Star, neurosurgeon, machines keeping her alive.

When my parish priest arrived, I knew things were not going well. As they called us out into the hallway, I could see him listening to my Dad speak about 30 feet away. I couldn’t hear much, but I could see confusion, sadness, pain. “Did everything they could,” my dad said, “there are no words…29 years old.”

Stepping into a small room, I didn’t need to hear the words “Chelsea died” to know.

Always on an even keel, I vacated normalcy and punched a wall. Rarely without words, I found myself speechless.

Then, a flashback. A week earlier, Chelsea and I were at my parents’ house for dinner. We

laughed about some stupid things. Did I hug her? When was the last time I told her I love her?

In this moment, you experience the loneliest feeling of your life. Surrounded by doctors, nurses, family members, loved ones, even strangers, you stand with your hands on your head and your heart in your throat. You choke on words, but there are none.

In the days that follow, you plan tediously to mask the pain. You surround yourself with friends to overcome grief. You laugh uncomfortably as not to cry. But just as you feel yourself losing balance, you begin to feel arms reaching out to hold on.

Some of the first people to line up at Chelsea’s wake were members of the Recorder team. Colleagues that I had supported were supporting me. People that I had guided were suddenly guiding me. Text messages, wall posts and tweets of condolence became commonplace as this wonderful group of people did all they could to comfort me.

Later in the evening, brothers from my former a cappella group joined us at the wake to pay their respects. The bond in this group of musicians runs so deep that even new members came to show support and meet me for the first time. As I entered the church for Chelsea’s funeral the next day, Divisi members past and present filled the church with beautiful music as a blessing and tribute to her life.

In the days that followed, I received cards and e-mails of sympathy from professors, administrators, members of the SGA and colleagues from the a cappella society. I couldn’t help but wonder what I had done to deserve such an outpouring of encouragement and understanding. It didn’t take long to figure out the source: love and support are dividends from an investment I make daily at CCSU. Unfortunately, most of us avoid making similar investments. We hide behind the steering wheels of our cars, we hide behind the doors of our residence halls, we hide behind hashtags, usernames and profiles. We hide – day in and day out – rather than embracing all that life, and specifically this campus, has to offer.

If we know that life is fragile and painfully short, how do we justify rejecting the experiences that will improve our time here?

The act of developing relationships with people has been one of the great pleasures of my life, from getting to know professors to learning about fellow students and engaging in campus life.

The relationships I built here did more than boost my resume and fill my calendar; these investments became vehicles of love, comfort and hope when I needed it most. I encourage you to make a similar investment and embrace all that connectedness has to offer.

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / OPINION

Let’s Ask The Candidates What They Think...

By Eric M. Valad

SPEAK YOUR MIND!

Write for our opinion section! email: editor@centralrecorder.com

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8

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / UPGRADE

REVIEWS

Deadmau5 Keeps Crowd Energized All Night

Dalton silvernail and danny contreras The Recorder

Canadian progressive house producer Joel Thomas Zimmerman, better known as Deadmau5, performed at the XL Center this past Sunday, October 16, as part of his North America Meowingtons Hax Tour which featured artists from his label, mau5trap, such as Feed Me, Tommy Lee & DJ Aero, Excision and Datsik, with special guest SomeOtherFemaleInterest (SOFI).

After having our tickets checked we headed into the stadium and down to the concert floor. The stands and floor were still mostly vacant at this point and we managed to find room right against the front end of the floor, next to the stage.

Here I should mention that while I have been to my share of raves in the past couple years, I have only ever attended a handful of concerts on this scale and never for this style of music. I knew going in that it was not going to be the same experience as a rave, but I hoped and was fairly certain that something of the rave culture would find its way inside. Honestly, I was as excited to see what elements of the rave scene would be represented and what kinds of people would be in attendance as I was to see the show. I made it a point to watch as people were coming in to get a feel for who was around me and found myself surprised by a few things.

What surprised me most was how few people I saw with clothing and gear exclusive to raves. Before the show I did talk to a couple of girls wearing neon colored tutus, and throughout the night I saw a few sets of fuzzy boot covers and rave gloves (gloves with LEDs in the tips).

But, while there wasn’t as much rave gear around as I had expected, I had the general sense that most of those around me knew what to expect once the music started.

One thing that I have seen at every rave I’ve ever been to, and that I also excepted here, was the point in the night when a good number of people are standing off to the side watching the more experienced dancers take over the

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds High Flying Birds

Island/ Mercury November 8

Justin Muszynski The Recorder

After leaving arguably the biggest British band since the Beatles, no one was quite sure what Noel’s debut solo album would sound like.

Soon after listening to the first track you realize Noel Gallagher was set out to prove he was the better half of Oasis. High Flying Birds opens with “Everybody’s on the Run,” and it’s nothing short of epic. Ever since a version of it from a sound check was leaked on YouTube, Oasis fans have awaited a finalized version.

Noel doesn’t make the same mistakes that he did with Be Here Now, his latest album isn’t over bloated or overhyped.

In fact, it’s rather mellow compared to his earlier work like Definitely Maybe. Songs like “If I Had a Gun” and “Record Machine (I Wanna Live in a Dream)” have moments of tranquility followed by a chorus that’s being belted out at the top of Noel’s lungs.

As you listen you’ll certainly recognize

Photo I myspace.com/deadmau5

dance floor. But, as time went on, I was shocked by how few people at any given time weren’t on their feet. Being a concert there was of course what can tentatively be called a mosh pit, though it was relatively free of swinging fists and feet. The close quarters, which allowed for little more than fist bumping and head banging, harbored the less confident, who at a rave would be watching from the sides. Rather than making the event seemed crowded, however, the lack of inactive people added an enormous amount of energy to the night. To be fair though, the dj’s may be primarily responsible for getting us that amped up.

Feed Me opened the show and with the first note he had everyone moving. He opened with “Grand Theft Ectasy” and followed up with “Feed Me to the Stars” and “Pink Lady,” while mixing some of

Armin van Buuren’s song “Imagine” along with Dash Berlin’s “Renegade.” Along with his newer songs, Feed Me included some of his earlier music from when he went by the name of Spor. His music at the time featured a lot of drum & bass.

As he closed his set and the crew got setup for Tommy Lee and DJ Areo’s set, there was a very real feeling of apprehension. I, for one, did not have high hopes for Tommy Lee and was worried he would kill the mood set by Feed Me and the anticipation for Deadmau5. I could not have been more wrong. The Motley Cru man mixed some very well known songs into the DJ Aero’s composition. “WTF Chicken”, composed by Deadmau5 and Aero, was mixed into “Some Satisfaction” and “In Paris” by Kanye West. SOFI made a guest appearance on the song, “Devil Inside of Me” which was remixed by Lee

its roots from Oasis, however it’s the most uniquely sounding album Noel has ever put out. The guitar in this one is certainly different from Oasis albums. Instead of heavy distortion and a guitar riff after every other line, an array of instruments is taken advantage of along with several choirs in the background throughout the album.

“The Death of You and Me,” the first single, is like “The Importance of Being Idle” part two, an instant classic that cleverly surprises you with a brass section in the middle. “AKA What a Life” is certainly unfamiliar territory for Noel with its fast paced dance tune melody, but somehow he seems very comfortable with it.

Even songs that Noel himself described as not so good like “Dream On” deliver with lyrics that in typical Noel fashion sometimes don’t make much sense like, “The kids outside, they’re drunk up on their lemonade.”

High Flying Birds is a solid album that doesn’t bother inserting any filler songs, they’re all good. It’s better than any album Oasis has put out in the last ten years.

We’ll just have to wait and see if in the long run it holds up to albums like Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story)Morning Glory. It’s certain that Liam Gallagher, his brother and former Oasis frontman, has to be questioning his choice to move on to another band without Noel.

Alesana

A Place Where the Sun is Silent

Epitaph October 14

Danny Contreras The Recorder

A Place Where the Sun is Silent is a miserable excuse for an album.

Unfortunately for Epitaph Records, the Raleigh, North Carolina natives produced a 16 song album for a niche that, while small, still hasn’t died out. This album is the epitome of bad; it is not pop but leans heavily towards it with many four chord songs, while also trying to appear tough with the rougher vocals that never truly fit into any of the songs.

The album is divided into two halves (three if you buy the deluxe edition which increases the song list to 24, please don’t); the first half is based on the first four levels of Dante’s Inferno, while the second is based on five through nine. They all follow a formula of simple song structure, annoying lyrics and on and off clean/ harsh vocals. No songs stand out and the result is an overly bad effort.

“The Dark Wood of Error” and “A

and Aero, into a more trance song from its normal dubstep style.

Excision with special guest Datsik, performed mostly dubstep music. Akin to a metal show many of his mixes contained heavy and deep bass lines, with heart pounding kicks that lit the crowd up. He performed some of his own music like “No Escape,” “Subsonic” and fan favorite “Too Late.” He also played songs from other dubstep DJ producers such as Flux Pavilion’s “Bass Cannon”, “Gangster” by Dreadzone and Nero’s “Innocence.”

As they started preparing the stage for Deadmau5’s set, I found myself too anxious to stand still and went outside for a cigarette. Though I regret missing his entrance, the feeling I had as I made my way back inside, the music slowly getting clearer the closer I got until I opened the doors and it blasted through full force may have been just as rewarding. As I danced down the stairs to the stadium floor I noticed there was significantly less light being put on the crowd than in the previous sets. This quite effectively drew attention to the Deadma5, whose booth was covered in LEDs which were timed perfectly to the music, creating a magnificent light show and kept his three hour set from ever being dull.

He opened the show with a mix between “Animal Rights” and “I Said” then progressed to “Some Chords.” He played a lot of his older stuff such as “Somethings Get Whatever,” “Complications,” “Orca,” “Faxing Berlin” and “I Remember.” He quickly moved on to his newer stuff and his middle song was “Chthulu Sleeps.”

This song had a giant Chthulu in the background that looked at everyone in the audience. Following, SOFI came back on stage to perform “SOFI Needs a Ladder,” “Raise Your Weapon” and “Onetrick Pony.” Deadmau5 did a fan-service by playing “Moar Ghosts’ and Stuff ” mixed with “Ghosts and Stuff ” to electrify everyone in attendance. He finished his set with that song before coming back and finishing the concert with a mix of “16th Hour,” and “Strobe.” He took off his trademark mask and greeted the audience from the stage with a hat on before finally Forbidden Dance” are the album’s openers.

The former is a two minute intro where the voices of the band members make the music and the main singer begins narrating a story. The latter is a powerpop song with easy to understand lyrics, even harsher vocals and no-catchy-tunes guitar playing. The bass is present, but very rarely.

The biggest slap to the face of music is song four, “Beyond the Sacred Glass”. It tries to be progressive, smart and catchy but it fails. Random time measures do not ensure a good prog song and neither does quick playing. It fails at being catchy because it failed at being progressive and smart. It’s too long and too annoying to be enjoyable.

The first half ends with “Lullaby of the Crucified,” an ironic song title because the album crucifies the listener. It is a more or less quiet song, which is why is titled “Lullaby,” but it is a bit boring. It doesn’t truly ever get off the ground, and the tempo won’t make anyone headbang, or hum along.

The second half only has two songs that can be reviewed as it continues being weak throughout. “Labyrinth” is an okay song, nothing special, but not entirely bad. It does rely on a simple structure, but it truly is catchy. Not to the point of annoyance, but nevertheless catchy. “A Gilded Masquerade” is another song that remains catchy but doesn’t stand out as much. It begins rather comfortably and picks up a little bit, but never makes you hyper. The chorus is catchy and so is the drumming; I wouldn’t blame you if I caught you air drumming.

Overall, the album shouldn’t be bought.

If you’re a fan, you should consider your music choice. It’s not fun, it’s not catchy and it’s stupid. And while they’re playing to a niche, anyone outside of it will not enjoy this album at all. What I fear the most is the legions of fans thinking they know anything about Dante’s Inferno from this misinterpretation.

9

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / UPGRADE

A Prequel With Three Times the ‘Activity’ Nick rosa

The Recorder

Paranormal Activity 3 is the prequel to the other blockbuster horror films that put fear into anyone that watched them. Even if you say they weren’t scary, you definitely left thinking about what you just saw.

This film is the most terrifying one yet and most will leave the theater sweating bullets.

The activity in this film is by far the most evil and its presence is known from the get go.

You will leave the theater remembering the name Toby. The formula of this film with its characters, simple but horrifying dialogue and long scenes of waiting for something to spook you really drives you to the point where you’re forced to be scared, even though you try your hardest not to be.

The third Activity has the most ‘Gotcha!’ moments in a horror film that we’ve seen in a long while. During every camera scene, when someone walks down a dark hallway or goes into a closet, you better be ready, because if you’re not, you will jump into the next seat.

The film takes place in 1988 when the characters from the previous two, Katie and Kristi Ray, share a home with their mother Julie and new boyfriend Dennis. The young girls know of a presence in the house, while just like in the others, everyone is doubtful of the girls and say that their ‘imagination’ gets the best of them. Just like the others, the man of the house decides to put cameras all over, in the girls room, in his room and a make shift ‘tri-pod’ that swivels back and forth on fan base, showing the living room and kitchen. As the nights go on, more and more things begin to happen and go left

unsaid. Like in the other films, it becomes too late; the evil force is in charge of the house now.

The one camera that swivels back and forth is one of the best aspects of the film.

The long scenes show the areas in a quiet peaceful room, and then swivels back the other way to see some activity, and then back to a peaceful room, then back again to see more activity going on. This camera angle gives the best scene in the film and one of the scariest. As the camera pans back and forth after something knocks on the door, Julie goes to investigate to see no one was there. The camera then swivels back to the kitchen where everything in the kitchen has disappeared and we can guess where it all

Netflix It: danny contreras The Recorder

Student Services, filmed in France and in French, tells the story of Laura, a college student in desperate need of money. Her desperation leads her to answer a Craigslist-like ad online, and leads to her first job as a prostitute.

However, Laura firmly believes this is a one-time thing, and meets Joe, a fiftysomething year old man, willing to pay Laura for some of her time. Being paid 100 euros an hour, she quickly falls into the habit of prostituting herself and begins answering other ads. She attempts to begin a normal relationship with Benjamin, another student she met at a bar who is in the dark about her ‘other’ job.

The movie is based on the book My Expensive Studies by the anonymous author Laura D. The story is what truly sets the movie apart. Director Emmanuelle Bercot does an outstanding job of bringing out the awkward, the angry, the subtle and the melancholic out of the actors. The cinematography doesn’t necessarily fall into Academy Award contention, but do not let it keep you from watching the film.

Honestly, you better prepared yourself for Student Services because it can be graphic at times. Some scenes revolted my stomach, while others made me want to cry. It is overall a great story. Laura is an awkward adult.

She is solitary, smart and quiet. At the beginning, she doesn’t have any love interests, and just focuses on her school work. Laura sometimes goes out for a drink at a bar with her small group of friends, but her social life extends to just that. When she replies to the ad on the internet, she takes three days to reply given the nature of the job and is at first reluctant.

Then she meets Joe, the man who will be paying her for services. Joe is some sort of politician in Paris, though not truly known. He writes to Laura mainly through letters that have instruction, and she must always get to the hotel room before he does. At first,

Student Services

he is just looking for some tender care from Laura. Their very first encounter is awkward and uncomfortable. He asks Laura to get nude, and just lay next to him. Joe caresses her, but begins talking to her about his daughter, wife and family.

Laura is disturbed by the encounter and begins to cry as soon as he leaves. I grew confused to Joe’s motives because no sexual interaction occurred. However, like they say, curiosity killed the cat as I would later find out.

After their first couple of encounters, Laura makes it to the hotel room again and there is a pornographic tape playing in the TV. It is a woman on a bed blindfolded getting burned by candle wax. When Laura opens the letter, she is told to look under the bed (where a laptop rested), and to keep the TV on—nothing more, nothing else. Joe later comes into the room and tells her to undress in the bathroom and comeback out walking backwards. She does so, and he puts a string around her neck, binds her, and performs things that no one should go through. However, Laura doesn’t retaliate because he bought her a computer while giving her extra money.

Joe’s true nature hardens Laura’s emotions and she begins getting more customers, for whom she performs favors that are not of a sexual nature. On the other hand, Laura meets Benjamin, a student at her university. The attraction is mutual, but she holds her secret from him. Unfortunately, as the story progresses, he finds out and leaves the distraught Laura to deal with her problems on her own.

The ending is not necessarily a happy one, but not a sad one either. Laura literally stops her services and goes back to her normal life. There is no lesson to be learned from this story, no moral—just the reality that college is too expensive everywhere and students must find ways of paying for it.

The movie is worth watching because the story is what truly sets it apart. The acting is good, so is the directing and sound. But, Laura D. wrote an amazing autobiography that adapted extremely well to the screen.

went.

The slow moving camera and long waits during the scenes prolong the horror and build suspense. You usually could feel when the scary scene will jump out at you, but in this third Paranormal, you are defenseless and have to wait those extra seconds in fear of not knowing what’s coming or when. It does this throughout and will have your heart pounding and blood pressure rising from the first scene.

It’s similar and doesn’t stray far from the original, but it sticks close to the plot from the other two films. Horror films that will make you think and keep you guessing what will come next will be a success. Paranormal Activity 3 delivers this to the audience and

Photo I Paramount pictures

more. When a sold out theater is completely terrified and all are screaming and going into the fetal position in their little chair, the directors, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulmani, got exactly what they wanted.

There is obviously going to be a fourth film in the franchise that will take place after the ending of the second movie next October, and all will be anxious to see how much that one will make the audience jump.

Paranormal Activity 3 will gross millions this week at the box office and for all the right reasons. Anyone who goes to watch it is actually getting every penny for their tickets.

You’re going to see it to get scared and you will be. This movie will have you eating your popcorn faster than any Paranormal yet.

Bookmark It! The Rum Diary

By Hunter S. Thompson

Thompson at the 1988 Miami Book Fair International.

Nicholas Proch The Recorder

Before you even think about going to see Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary this weekend, pick up a copy of the book that inspired the movie. Also titled with the same name, The Rum Diary is a novel about a journalist named Paul Kemp.

Written by Hunter S. Thompson, who also wrote Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, another book which eventually found Depp playing the lead on the screen, shows he had a knack for writing a page-turner even at a young age. This is considered his long lost novel, as he wrote it in the 60s when he was only 22-years old, but wasn’t published until 1998.

Paul Kemp plays a young journalist, an adaptation of Thompson himself, that flies down

to work at an English-speaking newspaper in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Chronicling events that actually happened to Thompson, the story is filled with rum, rum and more rum. It’s fun and edgy, but a fantastic read.

The characters in this book are well developed and he shows how much of a natural writer he was, as this was written before he was in the public spotlight as a novelist. Thompson died in 2005 by his own hand after dealing with physical and mental health problems for years.

There are moments when you stop and think how amazing it was that he survived his stint in the Caribbean. If you’re a fan of Thompson’s other work then this is certainly something you should pick up. At 200 pages it’s a quick read and you’ ll have plenty of time to read it before the credits roll on screen this weekend.

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / UPGRADE

Authors Create A Booklover’s Dream In New Haven Hayley smitH

special to the Recorder

Three of today’s most beloved fiction writers—Jodi Picoult, John Grisham and David Baldacci—united on a single stage to benefit the Mark Twain House & Museum.

The event, called “Mark My Words,” took place at Yale University’s Woolsey Hall in New Haven on Wednesday, Oct 19 at 8 p.m. Moderated by world community activist Malaak Compton-Rock, the best-selling trifecta answered questions regarding a variety of topics in front of an audience of about 1,800 people.

The #1 New York Times bestselling authors displayed their humor and intelligence throughout the night, discussing the publishing industry, their individual writing processes, and of course the man of the

hour, Mark Twain. After brief introductions, the panel jumped right into the discussion.

With e-books and other technological advancements changing the landscape of the publishing industry, an important question arose: what is the fate of the printed book?

The authors are unsure what the future holds, but shared some personal opinions.

While it’s always sad to see bookstores and libraries closing, said Picoult, the e-book is not so bad. Her last novel Sing You Home sold more e-books than hardcover, and it marked the first time this happened. “Anything that gets people reading is what we’re here for,” she said.

The authors agree that the e-book is here to stay. “There will always be a publishing industry,” said Baldacci. “Things will come, things will go.”

Despite the confidence in the future of the e-book, Woolsey Hall erupted with applause when Picoult declared, “The death of the book is greatly overrated.

We will always have the book.”

With over 400 million copies in print between them, Picoult, Grisham and Baldacci know first hand how popular printed books remain in today’s culture.

Giving their many fans a glimpse into the genius behind their works, the authors were asked about their writing processes and where they get their best-selling ideas.

“We steal everything,” said Grisham. “It all comes from the headlines.” Publishing many legal thrillers, Grisham says that his day-to-day observations of news stories are his main source for novel ideas. Adding that our culture is obsessed with trials, he says there is never a shortage of inspiration.

‘Judas’ Comes To The Black Box Danny ContReRas

FORGET THE CLASSIFIEDS. YOUR FUTURE STARTS HERE.

remarkable success of the authors? None other than Connecticut’s own Mark Twain.

All three authors agree that Twain’s writings have inspired their careers in one way or another.

Grisham admires Twain’s fearlessness and anger in his works, while Picoult and Baldacci share his passion for writing about thought-provoking issues in society. Picoult added that while Twain’s classics are anything but overrated, his lessfamous works show incredible talent by remaining relevant after many years of societal changes.

“Twain always said that the world’s greatest problem is prejudice,” said Picoult, “and it still is in America.” Baldacci added, “I do channel Mark Twain—I only write in a white suit.”

All proceeds went to the Mark Twain House & Museum located in Hartford.

Are Your Hangover Cures Working?

figures such as Satan, played

by Jake Frey, Jesus, played by Edgardo Moreno, and the lead This past Tuesday night himself, Judas, portrayed by CCSU’s Black Box Theatre Bryan Kopp. showed the first night of the play The once a day, four day The Last Days of Judas Iscariot production was produced performed by students of the throughout the whole month of theatre department at CCSU. September, and Siragusa would Judas, as it is commonly like to2011 extend her thanks to stage MP PRODUCTION referred to, is a story about the manager Jackie D’Albero. “She is 00 x famous 7 CTRISTAN Judas Iscariot, the betrayer kind, efficient and has so VERI030019 much of Jesus Christ, and it takes place joy in her work.” f Central Conn State U in purgatory at the trial following The play has been performed kat bousHee his death. The play was written at different prominent stages the Recorder as a form of meditation between such as Broadway’s The Public conflicting values of human free Theater and The Alley Theater Dry mouth, pounding head, will and divine will. in Louisville, Kentucky. nausea and dizziness. Most of us have been there: awakened too early with a hangover and a dim vision of what may or may not have taken place the night before.

There are many reasons for getting a hangover; according to the Mayo Clinic the main reasons are alcohol’s ability to make your body produce more urine, which makes you dehydrate and can lead to dizziness, thirst and lightheadedness. Alcohol also can irritate your stomach lining which can make your stomach hurt, while also causing nausea and even Careers For Everything You Are vomiting.

Alcohol also contains congeners, an ingredient that scientists believe can lead to hangovers. When Life’s journey is about achieving your goals and helping others achieve theirs. That’s what we believe. drinking an excess of alcohol one’s And that’s why we’re coming to your campus. Visit us at our Wireless Wednesday booth for a chance blood sugar often drops, which to fulfill one of your dreams, and to help The Buried Life fulfill one of theirs. You’ll also put yourself leads to one feeling tired, shaky in the running for a $500 Dream Bucks gift card. We’ll be at your school the first Wednesday of and weak and the expanding blood select months through April 2012. And we can’t wait to tell you how Verizon Wireless has a career vessels that alcohol produces can for everything you are. cause severe headaches.

To learn more, visit vzwcampus.com/ccsu Not everyone knows the exact cause of their hangover, but most people seem to think they know the cure, or at least what makes the next day bearable for them.

“Waking up early is not an option,” says CCSU student Jessica Hanley, “You sleep until 2. I pretty much force myself to go to the cafe and force myself to eat something…

I go for the eggs. I’m all about the VERIZON WIRELESS omelets with tomatoes.”

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“Eat a bacon, egg and cheese. And the Recorder

Sheila Siragusa, director of the play, commented on the production via e-mail: “The production process was magical. And I think that was a result of the exceptional level of commitment and work that the students contributed. We didn’t have a single rehearsal missed and theyNY021548B were prepared for 2 their respective contributions before their deadlines demanded. It was really wonderful to be able to focus so fully on the story with a group of such bright and impassioned students.”

Among the cast you will notice some important biblical

Baldacci agrees, saying that interest in the subject is key when writing. “Writing is a solitary life,” he said. “When you’re spending so much time writing a story, you have to be fully invested in it.” When he sees or hears a subject matter that interests him, he said he feels obligated to write about it.

Picoult takes a different route than the others, starting with a “What If ?” question that she can’t answer. She knows she has a good idea when it wakes her up in the middle of the night. Calling it “successful schizophrenia,” Picoult said that her characters speak to her.

Picoult also discussed her intensive research process. She has gone ghost hunting, spent time on death row, observed open heart surgery, and hung out with a man who lives with a wolf pack, just to name a few.

What else has shaped the

coffee. And a lot of water.” Senior Alex Hayowyk disagreed with the eating of greasy food and said, “Coffee helps. No eating. Really just a cup of coffee.”

Many people go for greasy food to stave off the effects of a night of hard drinking, but does it really help? According to most in the medical profession, eating greasy food the next morning is not a proven “cure.”

However, Dr. Emily Senay, health and medical correspondent for CBS News’ The Early Show, eating greasy food before commencing your night of drinking might help. She believes the grease can coat your insides and prevent some of the internal damage and slow the absorption of the alcohol.

Coffee, which many of the hung-over flock to, also has some actual medical benefits. Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor and it fixes those dilated blood vessels. So grabbing a coffee or other caffeinated beverage the morning after isn’t a bad idea.

CCSU student Heidy Sanchez is of two minds when it comes to hang over cures. She falls into the “hair of the dog” camp, as well as the bland food and soda side. “Maybe my mom thought it was a joke when she told me, but she always told me if you’re hungover to drink a beer in the morning. It works,” said Sanchez, “Lately, I’ve stocked up on Ritz Bits and ginger ale.”

While having more alcohol the next morning may initially ease your symptoms by making you slightly drunk again, it will eventually wear off, leaving you in distress again.

Drinking more in the morning to relieve your hangover can also lead to alcohol dependence and abuse.

Most in the medical profession agree that there is no real “cure” for a hang over other than not drinking in the first place. When not drinking just isn’t an option, they advise drinking water with every drink and taking an over-the-counter pain relief aid before going to bed, not when you wake up, and getting as much sleep as is possible.

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / UPGRADE

Halloween Costume Do’s And Dont’s Rachael Bentley The Recorder

With pumpkins popping up everywhere and “13 Nights of Halloween” airing on ABC Family, it’s easy to see that Halloween is just around the corner. What better way to forget the woes and stresses of midterms than going out and dressing up with your friends and having a good (safe) time? So as you’re out and about searching for that “perfect” costume, that hopefully no one else is wearing, we’ve arranged a few guidelines to make the process easier for you, and much less embarrassing when you’re looking at photos later on in life. Here is a list of some basic Halloween DO’S & DON’T’S (as in don’t do it, it’s for your own good).

DON’T: The Naughty School Girl/ Teachers Pet. To put it plainly, most people are just sick to death of seeing this costume. Everyone has done it; you’re bound to end up matching someone else at the party and it’s just down right un-imaginative. Can’t think of a cooler or cheaper option? Go as a nerd. Suspenders, coke bottle classes, bow tie, the works. Wear that Glee tee shirt that you would never wear in public otherwise, because let’s be honest, were all a little geeky inside.

DON’T: Jersey Shore Characters The fact that some people

dress and look like Snookie on a regular basis is one reason not to do this as a costume. Do you really want to have to make people think about whether or not you’re dressed up? No. Not to mention it is out dated and you might run into Vinnie at Up or On the Rocks, since I hear he’s making an appearance soon. And if you’re thinking, “Hey, I wore it last year and everyone thought it was hilarious”, we hate to break it to you, they were laughing at you, not with you.

DO: Reversible Costumes One of the hardest parts about Halloween is that you are probably going to go to more than one party during the weekend and that once you’ve worn the costume, it’s old news. But with the invention of reversible costumes, you can save yourself the headache, and the money, plus still manage to look super cute. Some of the newest reversible costumes range from prison guard/inmate sets, to bumble-bee/lady-bugs. There is something to fit everyone’s personality.

leading lady: Katy Perry. And if you do, don’t forget the attitude.

20 Under 20:

DO: Group Costumes Remember the days when as kids we would try and coordinate our costumes so you wouldn’t be a lonely Power Ranger or Spice Girl. Well, why not do the exact same thing now? Especially with such great costume ideas like Super Mario, Angry Birds, Super Hero’s and classic Scooby Doo. There are some great couples costumes around, which are hilarious. And if you can convince your partner to wear a ‘ball and chain’, you’ve taken this hilarious saying to a higher level.

Brown’s Harvest This weekly segment features ideas of fun things to do that are $20 or less and under 20 miles from CCSU. Rachael Bentley The Recorder

Can’t seem to get into the feeling of fall? Then Brown’s Harvest in Windsor, CT is the place to go to jump-start your love for pumpkins, cider and everything autumn. Brown’s Harvest is located 20 miles from CCSU Campus, at 1911 Poquonock Avenue. It’s free to enter, and there are tons of activities to take part in. There are pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, apple cider, fresh baked goods and mums for sale everyday. You can take part in a haunted hayride, which takes you to a pumpkin

DO: Nicki Minaj Glamour Magazine and HerCampus both agree that one of the hottest costumes for this Halloween is Nicki Minaj.

If you ladies are looking for an excuse to wear bright lipstick, four-inch heels and cotton candy colored hair, then see if you can impersonate this platinum artist.

Or you could go as another

Photo I NIKIMINAJphotos.com

The Recorder

Photo I MTV

Ask Ellie: Getting Over Your Ex

Signed, Witch Slapped Dear Witch Slapped, I've heard it can take half the length of your relationship to get over someone. So in your case, it could take two and a half years. I only say this because I want you to know that it's not unusual for you to still be heartbroken such a long time after a long-term relationship.

Break-ups are never easy--whether it's six months or six years, it hurts.

In my experience, the best way to help yourself is to do what makes you feel good! Go out dancing with your friends, climb a mountain, read a good book... whatever flips your pancake!

Beyond that, I believe the most important thing you can do is remove yourself from situations that you know will upset you. If there's a movie that reminds you of him, don't watch it! If you had a "song," don't listen to it! And finally... please delete him off Facebook! Seeing pictures of him and his new girlfriend feels like a slap in the face because it is one!

There comes a point where you have to do what's best for you, and in this case, I think removing any reminders of him will ease the pain.

So try to have a little fun, laugh

when you can, cry when you need to and know that a day will come when you finally know that you're OK. I hope that day comes for you soon.

Much love, Ellie

Need Advice? ask Ellie!

Send your questions about love, sex, money, school - anything - to: upgrade@ centralrecorder.com

patch where you can pick your own pumpkins. Or, if you’re not feeling brave enough to go the scary route, you can pick up one of their hundreds of pumpkins on display.

On weekends the pumpkin patch has face painting, magicians, a corn maze and paint your own pumpkins. Or you can have Sheryl the Pumpkin Painter paint one for you professionally, with one of her dozens of options ranging from kids characters to your own personalized monogram/name. You can easily enjoy an afternoon with $20 as your budget, and it’s a great place to bring family, friends and kids.

What Does It Mean To Be Facebook Official?

Kat Boushee

Dear Ellie, Its been almost 2 years and I still can't get over my ex. We were together for 5 years and were making life plans together when things ended abruptly. Now he is with someone else and every time pictures of him and her pop up on my Facebook page, it feels like a slap in the face. Why can't I get over him? Is there anything I can do to help myself in this situation?

11

Single, in a relationship, engaged, married, it’s complicated: these are five of the eleven “relationship statuses” that Facebook allows you to post.

Dating is always evolving, and today it can be incredibly hard to know what your relationship status actually is. Are you and that cute boy dating or are you friends with benefits? Is that girl you’ve been hooking up with your girlfriend or are you just her “booty call”?

When it comes to figuring out your status, CCSU sophmore Gavin Jones recommends honesty.

“Just straight up ask. Talk it out,” he suggested. Another CCSU student, Dan Ray, agreed, “Put it out on the table. I don’t like to leave anything to chance. All those things during orientation, the sex talks kind of scared me. I like to talk it out.”

It’s true that you can’t be too careful and in today’s society you never want to feel that you are taking advantage of someone, but what happens when you have “the talk” and your partner and you don’t see eye to eye?

When it comes to putting up the relationship online and making it “Facebook official” most of the students I polled seemed to agree that it isn’t necessary to have it posted online. However, if their partner refused to post their committed relationship online, they said it would raise some red flags.

Junior Nablissa Lomotey said, “I feel like that’s how people know.

If they don’t put it on then I feel like they’re hiding something. I understand that Facebook doesn’t say everything about a person, but if you really love the person or want to be with them then you should let people know.”

In this age of publishing everything on the Internet, numerous companies have been getting into the business

of monitoring “web identities.”

Google has a tool called “Me on the Web” which gives you alerts whenever your name or email address is mentioned online.

It seems as though younger generations are putting more and more of their personal business online and in the open, while the older generations are hurriedly taking their information down, or at least monitoring it.

CCSU student Tyler Scott thinks that whether is posted online or not, talking it out is extremely important. “It’s definitely a conversation you should have if it is getting kind of intimate and you want to have that distinction between single and a relationship,” he said, “Facebook is one thing, but if you have an understanding or a mutual agreement between people, it should be a relationship and you should decide the terms.”

Another student, Jaimee Bradshaw, finds it to be a personal choice every couple in a relationship needs to make for themselves. “It depends. If you want to be public, then do it,” she said.

Tyler Scott commented that it is an issue of respect and honesty in a relationship. “Honesty is definitely the best approach. If someone is curious, I’ll tell them how I feel.

And I hope they’d do the same for me.” However, if his partner flat out refused to be in a relationship with him on Facebook, he’d have some concerns.

“If it gets to that serious point and you are committed, then it should be on Facebook. You should be proud,” Scott said, “Why do you want to be single on Facebook if you’re committed to me?”

Some people, like freshman Malcolm McMillan, said that they don’t like having their relationships posted online for various reasons. “I don’t like Facebook relationships.

It’s between me and the female,” he said, and then continued with a smile, “I keep “single” up… just in case I find somebody better.”

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / UPGRADE

Pearlstein’s Exhibit Bares All

Danny Contreras The Recorder

Philip Pearlstein’s “Paintings, Drawings and Watercolors” opened on Wednesday October 19 at the Maloney Hall Gallery. The exhibition, which contains roughly 20 of his paintings, showcases Pearlstein’s contribution to Realism, a movement he revolutionized in the early 60s when Arts Magazine reviewed one of his works.

The realist school of painting focuses on art that is objective; promoting paintings that lack narrative and promote realism.

Mark Strathy, a former student and longtime friend of Philip Pearlstein and an arts faculty member of CCSU, welcomed students to the exhibition not just for its aesthetical value but for its educational as well. “Philip is a very well-known artist; but it’s a great show for art students because they’re all based on life drawings, and that’s one of the things we stress in our program here at Central. We stress drawing from life models. People can actually come here with a pencil and paper and sketch directly from the drawings.”

His paintings are all still life, and the majority have nude models in them. Mr. Strathy stressed the fact that the models should be seen as objects within the paintings and not as characters to a story, “He wants students to see paintings as interesting compositions rather than stories. He wants you to

Mark Strathy, longtime friend of Philip Pearlstein and arts faculty member, welcomed students to the exhibit. appreciate it, you know you can appreciate a painting on various levels—let’s say you take a painting based on a Greek Myth, you’d appreciate it on a story level— on a visual level. “ Philip Pearlstein was born in 1942 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and his career as an artist began in 1958 after his graduation

from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He received a masters from New York University in arts and began his compositions then.

Pearlstein was a friend of the late Andy Warhol, an American painter known for his pop art.

Pearlstein strongly emphasized in his composition the lack of emotional value, “He really

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wanted to take the emotion out of the art—and you can see it in the paintings, the models look bored and distracted and uninterested.

There is no narrative; if you have two nude people in the room, there is usually some kind of narrative but here there isn’t. They’re just there.

He wanted to make the figures be just another object, so the figures

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are surrounded by objects, and the figures are just objects themselves,” explained Strathy.

The Philip Pearlstein exhibition will be in display from October 20 to November 18 from 1:00- 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free and free parking is available for non-CCSU attendees.

Evaluating Campus Tours kassondra granata

CAreer trAining. money for College.

Daniel saunders I THE RECORDER

As fall approaches, many anticipate the changes in the foliage and sweater weather. However, at CCSU, the season heralds the advent of the campus tour season and welcomes potential incoming students to our community.

The registration process for a campus tour is easy, and can be found on the CCSU website. Walkins are not encouraged, but the sign up sheet is simple and you receive a confirmation email letting you know where to go and what to do when you arrive on campus.

Jon Stankiewicz and I followed a tour Monday. Our group, with about 20 potential students and guardians, was quiet and did not ask many questions. Lasting two hours, the tour was very well organized and informative, leaving the attendees with information about the campus that I’d forgotten after two years as a student here.

I had forgotten there was a Wellness Center in Willard for counseling sessions and student help. Having to buy ink and other supplies for printing, it was also forgotten that the Technology Center provides $10 on your Blue Chip for printing purposes every semester.

Do a lot of us know that there is an observatory on top of Copernicus Hall?

At the beginning of the tour, all potential students and guardians met for a brief PowerPoint presentation by a recruiter. Slides provided information for the application, the process for it and CCSU statistics. The recruiter was very professional and was open to questions offered by the parents

and students. Potential students were put on the spot to state their name, what year they were and where they were from.

Both of our tour guides, Sam and Courtney, were honors students and seniors at CCSU. They were very friendly and were really able to relate to the students. As the group went around campus, the guides provided valuable particulars about safety and displayed, to the prospective students, important landmarks such as the Health Center, Technology Center, CACE and a quick walk through Beecher Hall.

Parts of the tour that lacked representation was the presentation of the academic buildings. The only building showed was Vance Academic Center, the newest building. The only scenery the guides showed was the hallway, no classrooms. The tour went into the first floor of the newly renovated Elihu Burritt Library, but no attempt was made to go into the stacks or move into the library.

The walk through Beecher Hall only showed the hallway, not an actual dorm room. What would have been better would be a walk into an actual dorm room, seeing the actual living conditions, rather than a walk through an all boys floor hallway in Beecher Hall. The guides even said that the tour may not even see a room since the boys living on the floor had no obligation to have their doors open.

From the perspective of an incoming freshman exploring schools, CCSU was portrayed as a safe, close community school with many places to go for help. Sam and Courtney provided useful direction and left the attendees fully satisfied with no unanswered questions.

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / SPORTS

13

SPORTS BEGINS ON BACK PAGE

Student Participation Is Valued In Athletics CiaRa Hooks the Recorder

When you think about college one of the first things that come to mind is sports. The gymnasium filled with the players’ families and friends, the devoted student fans from each school, the marching band and school mascot running around the bleachers.

You can count on experiencing the roars of people cheering for the good, booing to the bad and dancing in their seats to the music played by the band. There might be a section of kids with school colors and players’ numbers painted on their faces. In the college atmosphere sports aren’t just games, they’re events, events that bring hundreds, even thousands of people together.

School spirit is a huge part of the life of a college campus. It’s all about the students and their involvement and participation, because ,“without the people the University is just walls,” said Steve Villanti, a former football coach at CCSU and now the assistant athletic director.

However, school spirit is something that fluctuates from time to time on the CCSU campus.

Sometimes students participate and show support and sometimes they don’t. When a sporting event is heavily populated with a crowd of students what could be the reason for it? Is it because that’s their favorite sport to watch, they have friends on the team or is there an incentive? When a sporting event is lacking a crowd, why is that? Are the students, working, do they have class? Were they not notified about it, is the game off campus or maybe

it’s not their favorite?

For the students at CCSU the big draw seems to come from Northeast Conference football and basketball.

“Basketball is an entertaining sport,” said Harold Blanchard a 22-year-old senior at CCSU and basketball lover. “It’s all about competition, at the end of the day you wouldn’t want to go see a ‘bad game,’ you want to see a competitive intense game.”

Students flock in line with their Blue Chip cards to find a good seat for the games, and when the Blue Devils are playing their rivals, the gym and field are packed and full of anxiousness and tension.

According to Villanti the average amount of students that attend the football games is around 1,000, but can reach 1,300 during homecoming, while basketball usually draws in 750-1,200 depending on the game.

“Football has that student section in the endzone that’s pretty much full every game. Basketball has that section in the middle of the court that tends to fill up,” said Assistant Athletic Director and Sports Information Director Thomas Pincince.

Football season is heightened by homecoming. There’s pregaming, the half-time show, pre and post events and the Pep Rally, which are all good promoters and enticers for the games. ”I think [students] show the most support for football because it’s always on a Saturday and they have more time to go and also because the track record of the football team,” said Amanda Dilworth, graduate assistant and

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Marketing and incentive is the athletic department’s way of getting students more involved and down to the games. The department sends out dozens of emails to the students, puts up posters, does multiple promotions and giveaways contests and has a Facebook page.

The school will also provide a bus back and forth to the men’s soccer game at Willow Brook on October 28, starting at 2:30 p.m.

The department has formed a good relationship with SGA and Sodexo, which has a huge hand in trying to get the students to the games as well. “[SGA] has a marketing initiative this year called the ‘Cheermeister’ and they picked events here on campus, mostly athletic events, but some club events, where they’re keeping track of who attends the games and then they have a $1,000 giveaway for the person who ends up attending the most,” said Villanti.

CCSU has been trying to get to the students the first day they arrive on campus as freshman. To do so, freshman orientation welcome is held in the football stadium.

Paul Schlickmann, the athletic director, speaks to the incoming class about how important it is to build pride in the University and athletic program because essentially it’s their program. The band, cheerleaders and dance team perform as well.

It is all about creating an atmosphere that not only involves the student athletes and coaches, but also the students, alumni, faculty and staff.

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kenny baRto i tHe ReCoRDeR

The Heart Of The Defense: Anthony Occhialini Danny ContReRas the Recorder

Anthony Occhialini is the number one man between the posts for the CCSU men’s soccer team.

He has registered five shutouts this season, has allowed just one goal per game and has helped the Blue Devils to a mid-season first place ranking in the NEC. The Montville, Conn., native remains a team man and thanked his teammates and defense for making his job easier. “Last game I didn’t have any saves,” he began in regards to the 3-0 win over Robert Morris on Oct. 7. “Our defense is solid, but we just are strong overall in the midfield and the defense and it is putting less pressure on me and we’re playing well.”

While in Montville he was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s All-American as well as AllNew England, All-State and AllConference.

“He came highly recommended; I mean we saw him play,” said goalkeeping coach, Christian Benjamin. “The goalkeeping community is very small and through my contacts, he came highly recommended. That speaks volumes about the kind of student he is about the game, the kind of training, you know—for lack of a better word—his discipline in training spoke testament about what he would be as a prospect for us. So we signed him and had him come to Central knowing full well that he could push for a starting position, even in his first year.”

Occhialini looks up to Tim Howard, the United States Men’s National Team goalkeeper who began his career at Manchester United in 2006 before joining Everton FC the following year.

“Tim Howard, just because he’s the number one goalkeeper in the world to me. His footwork and the way he practices everyday is amazing and I want to be just like him.”

In the professional world, “Tony”, as the members of the Blue Devils call him, follows Londonbased Chelsea FC. While the All-American goalkeeper may be the back bone of the team, he still emphasized the group effort in the games they have played together so far.

“Christian has been helping me everyday non-stop to get me to the level I am right now,” Occhialini said. “I’m doing everything I can for this team, to be the best player and help these guys out... mold everybody around me and have the best team. Mistakes are going to happen, you can’t be a

perfectionist.”

Right now the junior is focused on playing for CCSU, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t soccer after college.

“I want to try, there’s always a shot somewhere, there’s a place for everyone. Even if it’s overseas, in Europe there’s Division I, Division II and III so there’s spots everywhere,” he said.

Coach Benjamin has high regards for Occhialini and commended his passion for the sport.

“He is a student of the game, always working hard trying to better himself,” said Benjamin. “He’s made amazing strides over the years to go from a very athletic keeper, a very focused and driven keeper to kind of stepping back a little bit and study the game and study his approaches.

It takes a goalkeeper a couple of years to calm down and acclimate themselves to the pressures of the game, and he’s been able to handle it. He’s handled it well this season and I believe this season he’s been our most consistent player.”

Before he signed for the Blue Devils, Occhialini was a highly regarded goalkeeper with offers from major programs around the country. He considered some of them, but it was CCSU who truly offered him a realistic package which would allow his development.

“When I signed for Central, I just wanted to play and keep the level I was at. I was looking at some big schools like West Virginia and UMass, teams like that, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to play. By the time I’d be able to play, a recruit would come in, and he would take me out,” he explained.

Occhialini lost his shutout streak of three games on Oct. 14 after a mistake made by a linesman in the Bryant game that allowed the Bulldogs a goal.

“He’s dominating the air [and] his distribution has been great.

His communication has been exceptional with the back four ... what really separates him from other keepers is his poise, his confidence and his maturity,” said Coach Benjamin.

He works hard every day in training and it is his dedication to the sport that has earned him the right to be at the heart of the Blue Devils’ defense and in net.

“He challenges everybody in the goalkeeping core to work just as hard and to expect a lot from themselves,” said Coach Benjamin.

Occhialini is hopeful to guide the Blue Devils to the top of the NEC Championships for the first time in four years when he faces Quinnipiac this upcoming Friday.

14

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / SPORTS

COLUMN

Learning To Cover A Loss

bRittany buRke the Recorder

I’ve seen a lot during my time as a sports writer for this paper. I’ve covered countless games in multiple sports, written about player arrests, new appointments, renovations, and the worst of all, the loss of an athlete. While nothing can come close to the emotion felt during the time of Rich Royster’s tragic death, last Saturday certainly climbed the list of hardest things to write about thus far.

Saturday afternoon I watched from the press box as the football team fell to the University of Albany 63-35, extending its losing streak to five games.

That night I sat in the Newington Arena surrounded by Boston College parents looking on as the Eagles steadily buried the Blue Devils club hockey team, 103.

As a writer I had quite a few palm-toface, shake my head, “I can’t believe this is happening” moments throughout the day, but what I felt is nothing compared to what was felt by the players.

The emotions were outpouring as the football team fought for a final touchdown, even though the game was lost, and as the hockey team took shots on net trying to soften the harsh deficit.

As I was watching the games all I could think about was what was to come after the final whistle and horn sounded; the inevitable post-game interviews.

This is one of the hardest aspects of sports journalism. How do you speak to someone and ask them why and how their team just lost the game? That Saturday I ended up just speaking to the coaches of the teams rather than the student athletes, despite the fact that I hate having a one source game story.

The student athletes who represent CCSU leave everything they have out on the field, pitch, rink, diamond or in the pool, that is obvious by the pride they have. No one ever wants to talk about a loss, whether you’re playing pee-wees or professionally, it’s just human nature.

However, despite how difficult it is, it’s something that comes along with being a professional sports journalist.

My job at the paper has given me a multitude “real world” situations to prepare me for when it comes time to walk across the stage in May and actually graduate.

I’ve learned a lot and Saturday was just another lesson. While waiting for those interviews, I was able to feel the disappointment in the air, but it is something that has to be done, and I’m lucky enough to be exposed to it now.

I began this column wanting to talk purely about the hardships faced and felt this weekend, but as I write I can’t help but want to express again just how important it is to take hold of the opportunities CCSU presents its students with. I know this may sound like a broken record, but I speak the truth. The time flies at CCSU, even though some people may think otherwise, and before you know it life will move beyond Elmer’s and having fun with friends, so do all that you can while you can, and make the most of what you have.

CCSU Soccer Drops Second NEC Match-up Danny ContReRas the Recorder

The Blue Devils lost their second Northeast Conference game, 2-0, against Sacred Heart University following a right footed free-kick from Marcello Castro in the first half, and an unassisted goal from Brian Francolini in the second half.

Following the loss, the Blue Devils remain in first place in the NEC men’s soccer league standings with 15 points out of a possible 21. They are tied at the top with Monmouth, who has 15 points of its own, but they have a better head-to-head record than that of the Blue Devils.

“The momentum was all us when [Castro] scored the free-kick. The final finish wasn’t clicking. We had two good looks at the goal that we should’ve scored,” said Head Coach Shaun Green. “I think we were the better team overall in terms of possession.

We dominated most of it. [The team] had two incidents, [one], a free-kick which is a rare mistake by Tony [Occhialini] who didn’t handle the ball.”

The first half started with complete Blue Devils possession for the first fifteen minutes of play. CCSU tested the goalkeeper with a solo effort from NEC Rookie of the Week, Eddy Bogle. Bogle broke away from three defenders to get a one-on-one situation with Fait Alex who dove to the right side of post, but his effort went wide.

Following Bogle’s attack, Reece Wilson took a chance on goal from 20 yards out, but saw his effort go high of the bar.

The Blue Devils had another great opportunity to take the lead as Jesse Menzies ran the ball down the left side of the post and crossed it for Thomas Obasi, whose efforts were once again saved by Alex.

As much as CCSU controlled the game, however, the Pioneers drew a foul from 15-yards. The Blue Devils set up a four man wall with a gap in the between the players, which Castro capitalized on to score. His right-footed effort sliced the ball from the

kenny baRto i tHe ReCoRDeR

CCSU’s Mamoudou Dioubate fights SHU’s Marcello Castro for a header during the second half. right, curled in between the Blue Devil defenders, and stopped in the hands of CCSU keeper, Occhialini, but he couldn’t keep the shot out and SHU led the match 1-0 at halftime.

The second half started and the Blue Devils kept controlling the game getting a couple of clear chances. One of them came courtesy of a Ognen Stamenkovik and Bogle who combined in the Pioneer box. The SHU keeper fumbled the ball, but in their stubborn defense kept the ball out of the net.

As soon as the chance came, a defensive mistake in the CCSU half allowed SHU to score as Brian Francolini marked Mamoudou Dioubate in the center field to take a high ball from Artur Jorge and slot the ball into the empty net. Dioubate tried clearing the ball with a header but misjudged the height.

Occhialini came out for the bal,l but Jorge’s quick feet dribbled it past him and allowed him a clear chance on goal which he scored.

“They’re a tough defensive team. They sat a lot behind the ball. Next at home we have

Quinnipiac, we need to win in order to make the play-offs. We have three games left and we need to win one in order to make the playoffs,” said Green.

The Blue Devils kept pressuring the Pioneers’ defense, but they could not come up with any answers. M. Dioubate was moved to a center striker role but the SHU defense adjusted accordingly. The match ended shortly thereafter, and gave the Blue Devils its second NEC loss.

“We have to focus right now and win the next game. Our team is playing well, you know, they still have a lot of confidence and, I felt today the scoreboard didn’t reflect the better team, and I think Central was the better team,” said Green. “We’re still in first place, though, and next week we have the opportunity to make the play-offs.”

The team will take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats this Friday at Willowbrook at 3 p.m. followed by a trip to Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday. They will return home on November 4th against St. Francis (N.Y.).

XCountry Holds Mini Meet in Preparation for NECs niCk Rosa

the Recorder

The men’s cross country team took first place for the CCSU mini-meet at Stanley Quarter Park on Friday afternoon, finishing with a low score of 27. While the men finished at the top, the women took third place in the six team field with a final score of 63.

Junior Craig Hunt lead the Blue Devils squad, finishing second overall, while the team placed five runners in the top nine.

Sophomore Elizabeth Eberhardt placed fifth overall, leading the group of three Blue Devils that finished in the top 10.

At regular meets, the course is usually an 8K race for the men and a 5K for the women.

However, this “mini-meet” was a tune up for next week’s Northeast Conference Championship at Monmouth University, so the men ran a slightly shorter 5K, while the women ran a 3K. Last year, Hunt set the 5K course record with a time of 14:55. This year he beat that record, running two seconds faster at 14:53, but it was his teammate, Alex Wallace, who won the meet in a time of 14:46, setting the new 5K course record.

Other Blue Devils behind Hunt included senior Sam Alexander, who finished right behind Hunt in third place, while senior Jeremy Schmid finished behind Alexander with a sixth place finish. Junior John Krell placed seventh, and sophomore Andrew Hill rounded out the top 10 with a ninth place finish.

Alexander came across in a time of 15:03,

pHoto i steve mClauGHlin

CCSU’s Craig Hunt finished second overall, leading the Blue Devils to a first place finish.

Schmid in a time of 15:23, Krell in 15:36, and Hill with a time of 15:37.

Also running for the Blue Devils were senior Ben Lazarus and freshman Andrew Pullaro, who finished in 11 and 14 respectively. Lazarus crossed in a time of 15:46 and Pullaro in a time of 15:50.

The CCSU men’s team finished 46

points in front of the second place team, Providence, who had a score of 73, while Bryant took third with 101 points.

The women finished third overall with 63 points, while Quinnipiac took second place with 49 points. Providence dominated in the women’s field, finishing with a twelve point cushion at 37 points.

Eberhardt was the first Blue Devil to cross the line in fifth place, while senior Alasia Griebel finished right behind Eberhardt in sixth by only three seconds. Eberhardt ran a 10:27 while Griebel ran a 10:30.

Senior Amanda Asaro also placed in the top 10, finishing in ninth with a time of 10:42. Sophomore Krisztina Dearborn finished 15th with a time of 10:52, while sophomore Megan MacBryde finished off the team score with 28 place and a time of 11:24.

Seniors Sara Larkin and Katrina Ainsworth also competed and finished with times of 11:36 and 12:48.

Providence delivered the knockout with Shelby Greany and Emily Sission finishing first and second overall, both finishing in a fast time of 10:06, breaking the course record set by their teammate last year, MaryKatie Champagne.

Both teams look strong heading into next week’s NEC Championships at Monmouth.

The men are two-time defending champions and looking to three-peat going into this year’s tournament and are looking strong and experienced in preparation for next week’s meet. The women will be looking to improve on last year’s finish of fifth place.

Blue Devils Crushed By Boston College Club Team In Embarrassing 10-3 Home Loss HOcKEY| cONT. FROm 16 third period when starting goalie, Greg Coco, was pulled in favor of Ross Mocko.

The switch in goaltenders didn’t help. Just 46 seconds into the third, the Eagles shot the puck past Mocko for their seventh point of the game.

“I did not pull Coco because of any poor play,” said Adams. “It was more or less to try and get a spark out of the team and Mocko just didn’t make some saves that he usually makes, which is why we were more than confident

putting Mocko in. Whether he wasn’t ready to go or didn’t have enough time to focus, whatever it may be, saves he usually makes for us, it didn’t happen tonight. I can’t fault him because those guys had to go through five others to get that shot off first.”

CCSU managed to find a spark of energy, as Jon Knobloch scored his second goal of the game. They fought to the end, but it wasn’t enough as the Eagles continued to pile it on.

“I think you’re pretty much playing for pride. Once you’re down that low you don’t

want them to keep pouring it on,” said Adams.

The score does matter, it matters a small portion in the ranking in how bad off a loss or how good of a win that will play into the ranking so they have some motivation to keep playing.”

There are two more games before the first ranking period and if CCSU could win those games they could receive a good ranking. The team’s next home game will be Friday Oct. 28 at the Newington Arena before traveling to Endicott the following day.

15

THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / SPORTS

Spending Time With The Men’s Soccer Team Danny Contreras The Recorder

Everyone has a second family. Whether it is the people you eat with at Memorial Hall or the people you party with at the club, your second family is almost as dear to you as your actual one. When I traveled to Rhode Island on Oct. 14 with the men’s soccer team, I realized how tight knit this group became in a space of two months and how much of a family these athletes had created.

The day started at 9:30 a.m. I made my way down from Carroll to Kaiser where Coach Shaun Green greeted me. We spoke for thirty minutes while he burned a movie for the team to watch on the way to Rhode Island, speaking about the tactics he devises before the matches. Green taught me how players should influence the game when they don’t have the ball, even putting some math into the tactics.

He joked with me about the teams we follow; how much of a waste Andy Carroll is at Liverpool, and how bad Arsenal performed in the beginning of the season.

At 10:00 a.m. we got on the bus and all of the players were formally introduced to me, as I shook each of their hands. We waited about fifteen minutes because goalkeeping coach Benjamin Wright ran late. As soon as he got there, Coach Green and Coach Wright teased him along with the players.

Soon after, Coach Green started the movie, which was about a fictional manager, Mike Bassett, who guides the English National Football Team to the World Cup semi-finals. The hilarious film calmed the air, which reeked of tension as the game at Bryant would put the Blue Devils on through to the top of the league if they came out victorious.

While watching the movie, Mamoudou Dioubate, one of CCSU’s three captains, sat next to me with his laptop to review the video of the match against Robert Morris. Dioubate took mental notes of his performance and muttered to himself on how to improve on it.

Soon after, Thomas Obasi joined him to watch his performance. At that point, I couldn’t help but ask them what exactly they looked for in the videos. “I look for how fast, or slow I react. How my tackles are and how accurate my passing is,” answered M. Dioubate. “I look for my positioning. I’m always running all over the place so I need to know when the plays are being made,” said Obasi eagerly.

We made a stop at Uno Chicago Grill for some lunch prior to the game. We had three

options for meals: pasta with chicken, salad with soup, or a salad with a wrap. For drinks we had two options: water, and water with ice. To my left and right sat M. Dioubate and Reece Wilson, and in front was Souleymane Sanogo, Steven Bailey and Alpha Dioubate.

At first, everyone sat in complete silence.

I looked around nervously, a bit intimidated as the majority of them stood taller than me and I’m not used to being around tall people, but I managed to break the ice by asking them which team they followed.

The answers ranged in Premier League with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal being the most common answers. M. Dioubate said he doesn’t follow his country’s international team because they don’t perform too well, while Bailey said he should because that is his team.

“I follow Jamaica because they’re my country, and I have a lot of pride in it.” M. Dioubate said he would rather see good football than bad, and laughed it off with Bailey. Our food arrived and M. Dioubate and I kept talking with Bailey and Souleymane.

We began joking around, Reece occasionally turning to me and M. Dioubate and telling him to shut up, and that he spoke too much, but everyone laughed it off and the atmosphere grew friendlier and friendlier.

We said our good-byes to Uno, and got on the bus for the quick ride to Bryant.

Once in the locker room, I sat on a couch and updated the Central Recorder Sports Twitter. I looked at Coach Green as he wrote the match’s tactics on the dry-erase board.

Coach Wright and Coach Benjamin prepped the players as Bailey played his iPod from the speakers. They joked about how much nicer the Bryant University locker rooms looked from the CCSU ones. Five minutes before the game, Coach Green gave his prep talk.

“Listen up guys, I can’t remember the last time we had an opportunity to be up in first place in the league. Okay? Now I want you guys to be out there, I want to see the tenacity, the desire in every play, in every header, in every kick. You can’t imagine how it is in Manchester United, in their locker room, week in and week out, top of the league every week. They fight for top of the league every single time they step on the pitch. You want to taste what it’s like to be on the top, you got.

But the hardest thing is not getting there, it’s staying there.”

The team led Bryant at the halfway mark 2-0. “It’s not over yet, not by a longshot.

We haven’t taken care of business yet,” said Coach Green as soon as they got back from the half. “You’ve gotta manage the game as professionals. Amateurs are amateurs

CCSU Head Coach Shaun Green is in his 27th season. because they take risks professionals don’t.

I expect you Reece and Eddy to score goals.

You know why? [Because I think you’re exceptional],” said Green as he got them worked up for the game. He rather have the team angry at him and prove him wrong than not perform at all.

“We will be number one in the league tonight. I want you to forget the first half, begin this half at 0-0. I want you to believe every team in dangerous. Believe Bryant is dangerous because they are, they can be dangerous. Believe they’re dangerous, however, with that said believe no other team is more dangerous than you. The scoreboard does not reflect the difference in quality between the teams. I want you to demoralize them.” He concluded before he passed the talk to Wright, who spoke about the individual efforts each member needs to put in.

The saddest moment in the game came when Anthony Occhialini’s shutout flew away as a missed out of bounds call on the end line by the linesmen allowed Bryant back into the game with CCSU now leading 3-1. James Perkins replaced Occhialini who came back to the bench at the verge of tears, his anger flowing through his face, annoyed at the fact his record would be taken away by a mistake. He spoke to the team, about

KENNY BARTO I THE RECORDER

how stupid the referee was and how badly he wanted to beat him up for his mistake, but he calmed down, and accepted the fact the referee isn’t perfect, and that’s what makes the game so interesting.

The game finished and CCSU defeated Bryant 4-2. We made our way to a Rhode Island family-owned pizzeria for dinner. The team sat in a row, and I sat with them. I spoke to them about my views on the game, how well defensively they performed and how the mistakes almost ruined a great game for them. I commended them for their game the week prior where they defeated St. Francis (PA) 2-0, but these guys are their own biggest critics.

They replied by saying they sucked at that game and that all their skills were off.

I laughed it off, but I imagined the pressure they must feel, to perform at this level week in week out and how it takes a toll on them.

My admiration grew, but they were humble about it. They took me in as part of the team, though I personally can’t play to save my life.

Yeah, I think I have a third family. Or close to that. After all, the welcoming I received from the team, the coaching staff, made me feel at home. The trip was fun and so was the match. But the best was “hanging” with the team and finding out what it’s like not only on the field, but off as well.

Blue Devils Lose 63-35 To NEC-Leading Great Danes FOOTBALL| cont. From 16 passes to put his team up 21-7 over the Blue Devils.

CCSU managed to find the end zone two more times before the half ended with a quick rushing touchdown from Gunnar Jespersen and a jump, stretch completion to Deven Baker in the far corner. However, CCSU’s defense couldn’t contain the University of Albany, who had also gained another 14 points. The Great Danes found the endzone seven of its first eight possessions in the game.

The game remained a game of offense as the Blue Devils threw for 144 total yards in the first half opposed to Di Lella’s 185-yards, to keep the score within one possession.

Jespersen finished the half with two passing and one rushing touchdown, while Di Lella threw four touchdowns.

“You gotta say the truth, it was not good on the defensive side,” said McInerney.

“There was some good things offensively.

I thought Jake White did [a] good job punting the ball, I think for the most part our kickoff coverage wasn’t horrible, we missed one tackle but competed on kickoff coverage, I thought our kickoff returns were good. I could never get punt block out there since [Albany] only punted once … and I thought Juan [Duque] did a good job kicking extra points …”

The third quarter began and was quiet for the Blue Devils’ offense, while the defense continued to struggle against a strong Great Dane team. No matter what defense CCSU ran, the Great Danes couldn’t be stopped, as Di Lella threw for a career and school high of five touchdowns.

Jespersen, who went 11-for-18 for 205-yards and no interceptions, shared

time with sophomore linebacker Andrew Clements behind center. The dual quarterback is an option the Blue Devils have tried occasionally throughout the past seasons, but it hasn’t been as prevalent since Jespersen transferred to CCSU. While Denzell Jones and Jake White are the usual suspects to back up Jespersen, it was Clements who took the snaps. He wasn’t utilized for his throwing as much as his rushing abilities.

Clements took snaps as a result of Jespersen’s not being able to practice the majority of the week. He finished second in the team in rushing behind Brian Fowler, but he also threw for one interception, which resulted in a Great Dane touchdown and the 56-21 lead.

“The first half we weren’t disappointed, the second half we were a bit disjointed and then we got moving again at the end,” said McInerney. “Sometimes you go in and move the football and try to make too many adjustments. We had 229 yards at half time and then I’m the one who called the pass for Andrew when he threw the pick. He just started playing quarterback this week and he can do it, but it’s just like anybody when you’ve got bodies coming at you and you gotta throw a ball or two and when you first start you’re gonna throw it to the other guys sometimes and he’s just gotta learn to throw it away, because he can throw the football he’s just got to get used to it.”

A pitch to Chris Tolbert and Bacarella’s second touchdown of the game couldn’t save the Blue Devils as time ran out.

The Blue Devils are on the road to face St. Francis (PA) next weekend, but will return to Arute for the final home game of the season against Robert Morris on Nov. 5 at 12 p.m.

DANIEL SAUNDERS I THE RECORDER

Deven Baker catches a touchdown pass against Albany’s Duane Harper. Baker finished with 81 receiving yards and one touchdown during CCSU’s 63-35 loss to the Great Danes.

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THE RECORDER / Wednesday, October 26, 2011 / SPORTS

Too Little, Too Late

University of Albany Extends CCSU Losing Streak To Five Games brittany burke The Recorder

At the beginning of the season, the CCSU football team was predicted to take the Northeast Conference title, but as the University of Albany extended the Blue Devils’ (2-6, 1-4 NEC) losing streak to five with a 63-35 win, it is clear that a three-peat isn’t in the cards.

“Everybody worries because when you get disjointed like this.

It can go south, but I don’t believe these kids would quit,” said Head Coach Jeff McInerney. “It [has] been a while since they’ve lost five games, but as the leader I’m not gonna give you a line of crap … I gotta get it straightened out and I’m capable of it and now I just gotta prove it, they call it ‘show me.’”

The Great Danes (5-2, 4-0 NEC) came to Arute Field on a four game win streak and the chance to take the top spot in the NEC outright by remaining undefeated in the conference.

The Blue Devils hadn’t lost five straight since the 1992 season.

Two quick, opening possessions put points on the board for both teams, but who was the more dominant team was clear as the first quarter forged on. Following Nick Bacarella’s 47yard touchdown, the Great Danes retaliated with an additional 14 points.

Albany’s quarterback, Dan Di Lella had an explosive day through the air completing 57 and 34-yard FOOTBALL | cont. on 15

CCSU’s Nick Bacarella after his second touchdown of the day. Bacarella led CCSU in receiving with 83 yards and two touchdowns.

KENNY BARTO I THE RECORDER

Hockey Trounced By Eagles Brittany Burke The Recorder

Unlike last weekend, there were no overtime situations for the CCSU club hockey team.

Instead, the team took the ice at the Newington Arena to face the Boston College club hockey team, and suffered a 10-3 regulation loss.

On Friday night the team traveled to New Haven to play the Yale University club team, and handily won 15-1. It was apparent in the first period that the Bulldog team was no match for the Blue Devils, but such a dominant win hindered CCSU entering Saturday night’s game against the Eagles.

“It’s very had to play a quality team after the team we played [Friday] night,” said Head Coach Ben Adams. “I think we were over confident, I think we got away from doing a lot of the little things that needed to be done to win quality games and we just kind of developed some bad habits over night. You know we were doing some things right, but the fundamentals once we turned the puck over just weren’t there tonight.”

When both teams took to the ice for warm-ups, it was visible that Boston College had the clear size advantage over CCSU. As the puck dropped and the game began, it was the CCSU athletes who used physicality to their advantage, but that didn’t last.

CCSU’s Jack Johnson took an early first period penalty and BC scored with 10:20 left to play in the opening period. The initial

Blue Devils’ forward Tim Dillon fights a Boston College defender during the first period on Saturday. CCSU was beaten handily by the Eagles’ club team 10-3.

KENNY BARTO I THE RECORDER

time spent in the box was the single penalty against CCSU in the first period, which is something that the team has had to work on.

The team only took about 12 minutes in penalties against the Eagles but go-to scorer, Matt Siracusa, was given the gate with 4:40 to play in the second period.

“I’d have to look at the sheet, but I don’t really remember our penalties hurting us,” said Adams.

“They’ve definitely gotten better, [the guys are] definitely working harder. The penalties we were taking at the beginning of the year were just straight up lazy penalties and now the penalties that we’re taking are, I don’t want to say that they’re good penalties, but they’re because they are battling, which is a lot more acceptable.”

BC took the early advantage, but a shot made by Andrew Mazurkiewicz cut the deficit in half, but the Eagles countered with a third goal to end the period.

Despite the late goal, BC continued to dominate the Blue Devils in the second period, this time with two stick-side goals that put the Eagles ahead by four.

CCSU’s power play, comprised of Ryan and Conor Stanley, Evan Mink, Kevin Paglinco and Jon Knobloch, was able to capitalize on a BC goal to up the score 5-2, still in favor of the Eagles.

No matter what the Blue Devils tried to do to gain momentum, the Eagles would counter with a goal of its own. The biggest change up for CCSU came at the beginning of the HOCKEY | cont. on 14